Pray for Paris

Paris was ruthlessly struck by a coordinated terror attack from what looks to be ISIS.  They have killed over 150 people and some may still be at large.  So I ask for everyone to stand in solidarity with France and to say never again.  It is time to first mourn and then to fight.  Stand with France in the fight against the evil that is ISIS.  May God protect us on this perilous path.

Issue 721 How to make Aid Churches work November 13, 2015

So, we need to get money together to get this aid church idea up and working.    This means salaries if and where needed, money for training and also equipment when and where required.  Now where will all that come from?

Money for the idea:  Well most of the money will be from donations.  It is a church and it is already set up to receive donations in the first place.  Therefore telling parishioners what the money will be going for, they may be more inclined to donate more to help get this running.  Most of that money will initially go toward training for fields in both mental and physical health that require the least amount of education time and logistical support.  So anti-bullying and physical health instructors would be a few of the earliest ones to be set up and working first.  In the meantime the Church can play host to AA and yoga instructors and similar to fill in the gap until the priests themselves can perform such duties.  Additionally, the churches should embrace growing their own food for themselves and parishioners which even may include natural cures.  These can be sold to help support priest training and also stay in theme with providing for the health of the churches proverbial flock.  Other easy things to sell are honey which can be made into wine and even ointments and teas to help fight bacterial infections.   Even providing fishing bait in the form of worms and small fish farms can help as the worms aerate the soil of the gardens (if they are growing any food) and the fish if they die can be used as fertilizer (live ones obviously sold as bait so that people can feed themselves by fishing if need be).  Donations in the form of exercise and medical equipment will also help greatly.  Crutches and wheelchairs alone can help as the church can use such hand me downs to be a medical supply store of sorts to those who are struggling to buy such equipment for their loved ones.   

Ultimately however is for the church to set up its own schools or programs to train priests and parishioners in these fields.  In this instance, the church will remove all the fluff from the courses that you would expect at a college such as liberal arts requirements or credits and focus on the skills exclusively needed to be a professional in the fields of physical and mental health.  The money generated here of course will be further used to support the programs or this can be provided free depending on what the church decides.  Practical training will ensue once the knowledge is obtained in the form of apprenticeships for students and priests.  Basically we usurp the entire college system to train the next generation of Doctors (basic practitioners), nurse practitioners, nutritionists and psychologists.  It may even be able to teach these classes in the churches themselves as seminars so as to eliminate the issue with large scale universities or they can post seminars on-line to also provide the information.  Again, all these specialties and even classes will be broken up between each church so that you get people using multiple churches depending on that churches specialty(s) is.  This avoids overcrowding and backlogs of parishioners coming into the church for these services with the churches being overwhelmed and at the same time prevents one church attempting to steal another church's parishioners away (a major obstacle that keeps some churches from working together).  Ultimately the church's end up as a network to provide free health services and potentially free practical education as well.

Conclusion:  So what do you think?  Will this work?  Well for certain, it will not work if the priests try to convert people to the faith while performing their services with respect to health care.  So no trying to convert people at all.  Besides that, the church needs political will to implement such a change and it of course will take time.  But time is what they seem to have plenty of.  As such we got nothing to lose for trying to give the church (or mosque or temple) another tool to help their parishioners.

Issue 720 Aid Church: Physical November 12, 2015

So we talked about the mental health portion of this concept yesterday. However, I hinted that the physical portion of the idea was not just doctors.  So to satisfy your curiosity, let us begin.

Aid Church:  So like mental health, Priests specialized in different forms of physical health will be divided up between churches, with some specializing in one kind or another.  Yes, doctors in the form of nurse practitioners will be in some to provide basic diagnosis for common problems like bumps and bruises to the cold and the flu.  It will focus primarily on physical exams and inoculations as it takes a lot of infrastructure and expensive equipment for more complex medical care.  As such, that will be only a small portion of aid churches providing that form of care due to expenses (we have to teach a priest to be a doctor so of course just making it free will be difficult).  Therefore the other parts of physical health will be people who specialize in things like nutrition or even yoga and Tai-chi.  Yes, simple things we take for granted health wise.  Real physical health.  Nutritionists will need simple blood testing machines that are becoming cheaper so as to help their patients develop an eating plan for their dietary needs.  Weight loss specialists for those patients that are obese or are suffering from weight related problems will team up with nutritionists and therapists.  Yoga, tai-chi and other soft martial arts and meditative practices will aid in helping people keep their body in shape without mutilating themselves through over exercise.  There may even be room for exercise equipment and physical (recover from injuries) and occupational (develop ways to overcome physical disabilities in work and at home) therapy equipment for physical and occupational therapists to have a role in the physical health portion in these aid churches.  Helping people recover from accidents and for dealing with disabilities is something that can be expensive, but if a priest does it for free, then more people will have access.  The physical health field is wide and even includes studying the movement of the body to aid people in knowing how to prevent injuries to themselves.  Disease prevention and learning how to use medication properly will also be something that is key.  These priests, once they obtain the knowledge and gain the experience needed will be able to pass that knowledge on to their patients and parishioners in the form of free education. As such, the church can become a pseudo college or licensing course for people interested in these fields like yoga instructor, fitness instructor or nutritionist.  Seminars for learning first aid and CPR can also be provided.  All of it dealing with people's physical health and teaching and working with them to maintain that health.

Conclusion:  Like with the previous mental health portion, the biggest issue primarily is educating these priests or rabbi/imam as the case may be.  However it is still free health care by people who give of themselves more than they take.  Priests and their counterparts in other faiths are meant to be teachers, and expanding that to being healers only makes logical sense.  Churches are seeing less and less people because they do not stand for anything, they do not take on the issues, but at least they can still do some good by helping to become a network of people who help people both mentally and physically while they work out what they stand for.  See you tomorrow for part three of this concept, the actual funding for this idea to get it off the ground and how we can work to make health care truly free.

Issue 719 Aid Churches: Mental Health November 11, 2015

I feel health care will just keep getting more and more expensive and everything government does will simply compound the problem.  However, the Churches, and other religious institutions can potentially offer some forms of healthcare for free.  Let us discuss.

Aid Church:  The concept is that Churches or other religious institutions can act as home bases for priests trained as various forms of doctors.  The easiest to get working, with respect to equipment needs, is the psychological field (you need a private room or a common area and maybe a couch, and chairs).  Issues with people trying to overcome mental trauma, or conditions are many and is a field that needs to be expanded (especially with the recent issue of people with violent mental conditions acquiring guns).  So these priests can be trained by the church in mental health.  So we could have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) specialists, substance abuse specialists, couple counselling and even anti-bullying and child psychology specialists.  If the church's' train the priests, the churches can be set up where each church will specialize in one or two of the different psychological issues so as to bring people into the church themselves primarily for treatment without the church being overwhelmed and looking like a hospital.  Churches can circumnavigate some of the laws and restrictions of even getting these "aid" churches up and running.  Mainly, the churches can bypass the issue of America's health care system with people with mental conditions needing to be a danger to themselves and others to get treatment of some form.  Of course this will not work if the church seeks to indoctrinate people.  As such, at all times the priests turned psychologists will seek to empower individuals to fix themselves.

Conclusion:  This is the mental aspect of aid churches.  The idea to create cheap (preferably free) and effective health care for people who need a psychologist and or therapist.  Kids need people to talk to, and PTSD victims need support.  These aid churches can be that support and even advice people how to help their family members who are suffering in some way.  Latter if it expands it can even set up retreats and other activities for people who suffer mentally.  Remember this is the mental portion which just requires priests or rabbis and Imams if you will to be trained in these specialized areas of psychology or even sociology. Training that can be done partly online and partly in classrooms potentially set up by the church itself.  Tomorrow we will add in the physical component to this concept, and I do not just mean doctors.

Issue 718 Pissed off Killers November 10, 2015

So we talked about preventing gun violence yesterday, but there's one group that really cannot be stopped.  Let us discuss.

Lone Gunmen:  Lone Gunmen, spontaneous killers, those who plot out murder over the course of time. All these individuals cannot really be stopped unless for whatever reason they provide some warning sign that people pay attention to.  And this is not just them obtaining a gun or leaving a note either.  These spontaneous killers, or in some cases premeditated killers will use any weapon they deem fit to do the job (or any object in reach) for any motivation they deem acceptable.  Which means sharp objects like garden tools, and kitchen knives are far game.  Heavy objects like pipes, rocks, and even frying pans also play well.  Heck even frozen meat on the bone will suit their murderous intent (yes, it has happened).  Even an unloaded gun works as a weapon to bludgeon someone to death.   If you want a gun?  Why buy one from anyone, all the parts are at the local hardware store which allows you to make a submachine gun in the privacy of your own home.  From there you just need to buy the bullets.  Bombs?   Again the local hardware store or even the local supermarket will have the items you need and the internet the design plans to follow.  No matter what, these individuals who want to kill someone will find ways to do so for as tiny a reason as their victim bumping into them.  They are spontaneous or they are patient looking for an opportunity.  They are predators looking for a victim and they are nearly impossible to stop.

Conclusion:  So is there any way to stop these people?  Can we stop spontaneous or premeditated murder when it comes in the form of the lone gunman?  Truth is, we cannot unless people are in the right place and time.  And even then, they need the power to be able to stop the act and the police can only be in so many places at once.  Yesterday's solutions will help to maybe stave off those who would otherwise give into anger, but that is not enough.  Basically, we need the right to defend ourselves by means we deem fit.  And as such, the gun, or other self-defense capability will always be needed.

Issue 717 Preventing Gun Violence November 9, 2015

We all want to prevent gun violence.  That is something everyone can agree on.  But how?  Here are some ways to do so.

Gun Violence prevention:  These are some methods to prevent gun violence:

1) Counselors in schools: Some kids and young adults are angry.  They experience bad home lives or have to deal with issues relating to other kids in school.  As such, giving a place for these kids to talk and for councilors to empower these kids will help resolve the anger as much as possible.  Perhaps using some techniques for patients who experience post-traumatic stress and/or anger management techniques can help these kids overcome their anger issues and thus not resort to violence.  (In all cases the kids will have the privacy of Doctor patient privilege save if they pose a danger to themselves or others if it comes to that.  This insures that the kids know that they can speak freely and thus approach the councilors in confidence).  It can even be mandatory or as part of a class on dealing with stresses in everyday life.

2) Team up with Churches:  Religion can help a lot.  By getting Churches and other religious institutions involved to aid in reinforcing morality and faith, this can help guide young kids and young adults into finding ways to deal with issues without resorting to violence.

3) Reforming Mental Health:  One of the biggest issues with gun control is mental health.  There is a lack of reporting on people who have mental health issues to the people who perform the background checks.  This must be fixed as soon as possible.  Additionally, people with mental illness in the United States cannot get help unless they are deemed a danger to themselves or others.  This too must change so that these individuals can receive help sooner before the danger becomes all too real.  The last few mass murders with a gun all happened (as far as I know) due to a mentally ill person who managed to get their hands on a gun (both legally and illegally as the case may be).  As such, a network on which people seeing counselors/therapists can be created so as to aid in tracking these individuals treatment which will include a grading system for the therapists to judge if their patients pose a threat to anyone.  This grading system can then be used by background checkers to see if the person can get a license for a firearm.  Also, an ask for help clause should be made so that if a person who has a mental illness is not being treated, they or a personal representative can request help for them to receive some sort of treatment.

4) End some forms of Victimless Crimes:  Drug gangs seek to protect themselves because they cannot call the police.  These gangs infringe on each other's territory and this results in shootings.  Gangs also use guns for intimidation, and of course out right murder.  This can end via legalizing drugs.  The gangs will cease needing to exist as there will be now legitimate ways to get these drugs which will force these gangs to break up, go legitimate, or resort to other forms of crimes.  Basically have a special pharmacy or clinic dispense the now legal drugs with a prescription insuring the safety and security of the addict.  Same can be said for prostitution and them trying to protect themselves.  By legalizing these amongst similar victimless crimes we can reduce gun violence and our prison populations while we are at it.

5) Bullies:  School bullies are one of the major reasons why kids turn to violence as many students feel like they cannot do anything to save themselves.  They see school staff as incapable of protecting them.  As such two things need to happen.  One, victims need to be empowered and kids seeing other kids being bullied need to go to the aid of those kids to surround the bully so the bully knows they are alone in their stupidity.  The Second thing is real punishments for bullies.  This means being scared strait, in school punishments so they don't play video games all day, extra school work for their actions, embarrass them, or appeal to their ego and charge them with a code of honor so that they will defend kids from being bullied instead (make them see that they can become a hero of justice to a degree).  Basically ways to deter them from actually performing the act of bullying.  This can even mean showing them the horror of what their actions can result in like footage/pictures of kids cutting themselves due to stress, committing suicide or committing murder out of revenge.  Make them realize that their actions have really horrible consequences.

Conclusion:  While these ideas will not solve all gun violence, it will at least help reduce it.  And that should be the goal.  To reduce the need for a gun outside of something for recreational shooting sports and personal defense. Anything is better than arguing about faulty gun control measures and not getting to the heart of the issue, the human heart.

Issue 716 Gun laws that work November 6, 2015

We are going to go over some current gun laws that are already in effect that we know actually do something to prevent crime, while also pointing out some limitations.  Let us begin.

Gun Laws that prevent crime:  First and foremost, most gun violence is perpetuated by people with criminal records.  As such, background checks that aid in making it impossible for these people to buy a gun legally do work for the most part.  But why are these criminals still able to get guns despite the fact that background checks prevent them from doing so?  Simple.  In some cases the statute of limitations has passed.  Depending on the State's laws, some minor offenses are overlooked past a certain point.  This is reasonable, for you have served time.  More severe crimes however prohibit you from owning a gun for life.  Instances of people getting guns illegally is a person who is legal buying guns and then selling them to people who legally cannot own a firearm.  This is highly illegal for obvious reasons.  Even giving a person who has been forbidden to carry a gun for free is also in violation of the law.  These laws here do deter law abiding citizens, but criminals do not follow the law.  Also, if you have been institutionalized or are "not of sound mind" you cannot own a gun as per the background checks red flags (red flags being instances you would not be able to purchase a firearm).  This clause prevents people with psychiatric disorders from buying guns.  The weakness however is that our mental health system does not treat people with mental issues if they do not show signs of being a danger to themselves or others.  As such, there is no early detection of people with mental disorders who can potentially go on a rampage.  And even those who are registered as mentally troubled may still be able to get a gun because the psychiatrist and those institutionalized by the State may not have provided the information on those mental cases to the people who perform the background checks.  Obviously a serious flaw in the system.

Other gun laws that work well are bans on automatic weapons and certain types of explosives, and waiting periods.  The automatic weapon ban is good for most regular people do not need an automatic, rapid firing, weapon that shoots all the ammunition in its ammo clip in less than 30 seconds.  The only people who need such things are people legally authorized to have such weapons as part of the police, military, government officials or licensed individuals who sell guns and/or provide some sort of other service that the government allows.  In short, getting your hands on a fully automatic weapon or other weapon like cannons or explosives is neigh impossible.  Except there is one loophole.  You can modify your existing gun that you own to make it fully automatic.  People doing this for someone else is illegal (though doing it yourself is not).  The only other effective law is the waiting period.  The waiting period basically says you cannot get your gun till a specified time later on.  Usually the wait is two weeks to a month after purchase, and that is if you clear a State background check.  Waiting periods are designed to make sure a person who is heated with rage, revenge, or similar emotion cannot act upon said emotion immediately. As such, less people going out to get a gun cause they lost a bar fight or to kill their cheating wife or husband (at least they are not going to kill them with a gun that night).  But if the attempted murder is premeditated, with the waiting period factored in, then there really is no hope. 

Conclusion:  Things like the assault weapon ban and similar do nothing to prevent gun violence.  In fact the FBI did studies and their numbers will tell you that most gun laws do nothing to stop violent crime.  The gun laws and their weaknesses above are the only ones that actually do anything to prevent gun violence (from what I have read), though they are unable to stop all of it.  The reason being is that criminals do not follow the law and they never will.  If they did, then the laws preventing murder by saying you cannot murder anyone would be enough.   But criminals do not care about anyone but themselves.  So more gun laws is not the answer.  Strengthening the ones above would however have an effect, but are not the sole solution.  More outside of simply saying who can and can't own a firearm must be done.  And some of those things I will discuss with you on Monday.  Have a good weekend and see you then.