Virginia Vs. Bloomberg

7:00 AM: The New York Times is today reporting that the Attorney General of the state of Virginia has sent a warning to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg informing him that it is now a felony offense in VA. for a non-law enforcement entity to attempt to buy a gun under false pretenses. Bloomberg has been aggressively pursuing 27 states that provide some of the guns used to commit crimes in the Big Apple. As part of the NYC effort, private investigators hired by the city are sent into other states to try to buy guns for someone else, which is against federal law. Well, Virginia, the state that was recently in the news as the site of the worst mass murder in U.S. history, can be justly proud of its determination to protect its gun dealers and the gun lobby. Said a spokesman for the mayor: “We wish that Attorney General McDonnell was as aggressive in enforcing the laws that prevent illegal guns from getting in the hands of criminals as he was in enforcing the laws that protect the gun lobby." This is a not-so-nice epitaph for the victims of the VA. Tech. massacre.

On a happier note, for dog lovers anyway, the New York City Parks Department has made it official: dogs can run off lead in certain city parks at designated times. They were doing it anyway, so, while this is just an acknowledgement of a de facto situation, it is also a humane recognition that dogs need and love to run and there is no reason why responsible owners should not be able to exercise their dogs. In Philadelphia, the same situation exists where I take Bradley several times each day. However, it's against the law for him to be off lead. The police look the other way and do not harass the many dogs and their owners who use the local "dog park." We even have our own weekly "DPHH," "dog park happy hour," on Friday evenings. The owners have a beer and chat while the dogs romp off lead. Out here on Fire Island it's a bit tougher. We run our dogs on the beach but we have to be on the lookout constantly for the authorities. When I lived briefly on Long Island, it was horrible. There is not one single legal place to take your dog for exercise in the entire county. No wonder I hated it so much!

I understand that Rev. Al apologized yeaterday in regard to remarks he made suggesting that Mitt Romney was not a man of faith. Good for Rev. Al. Something tells me that gay Americans will have a long wait for Romney's apology for his hateful anti-gay behavior and statements in regard to the gay marriage struggle while he was governor of Massachusetts.

I've invited my friend John LaRocca, who is another dog lover, not to mention a wonderful progressive thinker and writer, to join in the conversation here at HTP. I've known John for about 40 years, although we haven't seen each other in many years, since John lives in Scottsdale, AZ. I'm looking forward to his contributions, whether they be about politics, dogs, or whatever is on his mind. Welcome, John!

Photo: Frida (1990-2001) on the beach at Fire Island with a full moon. You're still in my heart, girl.

Jim

Are We Numb?

What a sad, sad morning in America this is. You have to feel so very sorry for those poor kids who involved in the horrible shootings yesterday in Virginia. What is the answer?

I took this photo in Washington, D.C. in early March of 2003, at a rally I attended that was organized as a last ditch attempt to stop the invasion if Iraq. Unfortunately, we who marched then and protested Bush's mad plan to invade Iraq were not successful in preventing the lawless invasion that took place on March 20, 2003. Now, over four years later, as the seemingly endless war drags on at a staggering cost in human life, I wonder, as we mourn those poor kids who were killed yesterday in Virginia, if we have become numb to the thousands and thousands of innocent civilian deaths that have occurred and continue to occur each day in Iraq? Where are the protests? If we had a non-volunteer armed services, would even more people be demanding that we get out of Iraq?

Jim