Dan's Cyber Space

Despite calls from leaders worldwide, including the U.S.,  for Israel to halt its assault on Hamas in Gaza, Israel continues to conduct aerial attacks against the Palestinians in the Gaza region.
Israel is currently mobilizing its reserve forces with tanks and artillery along the border between Israel and Gaza in an all-out effort to step up the attack against Hamas with ground forces, if necessary.
What does everyone think about the attack of Israel against the Palestinians?  Do you think that Israel has a right to move against Hamas in the fashion that they have chosen?  Do you think a cease fire will be possible in the near term or will the U.S. have to get directly involved, either politically or militarily to halt this attack, which has already claimed 280 lives in two days?

Retailers this Christmas season are anticipating a dramatic drop in sales.  Already, retail giants like Wal-Mart and Macy's are experiencing a dramatic decline in retail sales pre-Christmas.

With the decline in the financial markets and the rise in layoffs nationwide, it's no wonder that people, in general, don't have the money to spend on Christmas gifts that they had last year at this time.

The nationwide jobless rate has exceeded 6.5% and some states, such as California, have reported jobless rates in excess of 9%.

The financial future is grim for the U.S.  Perhaps the U.S. should return to the original spirit of Christmas before it was commercialized. 

Although I don't have any handguns or rifles in my own home, the right of the individual to own such weapons has always been thought to be a right under the Constitution wherein it states that "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  

On Thursday, the 26th of June, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gun ownership by individuals who want such weapons for protection.  This decision marked the first time that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the individual's right to own guns, not just the right of the states to maintain militias.

Justice Antonin Scalia, in his writing of the 5-4 decision, stated that the Constitution does not have the right of "Absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home."  Furthermore, Scalia stated that the nation's capital went too far in controlling the sale of handguns to the point that they made it almost impossible for an individual to possess a handgun for their own protection.

However, the Supreme court warned that the individual's right to possess a handgun for the "traditional lawful purpose" of protection in the home is not unlimited.  "It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose," Justice Scalia stated.

This landmark ruling of the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's 1976 law, which made it practically impossible for an individual who resides within the District to own a handgun, and even spelled out how weapons that were legally owned should be stored.

What do you think of this recent ruling by the Supreme Court?  Do you think that American's have a right under the Second Amendment of the Constitution to own handguns, shotguns, and like weapons and store them in their homes for their own protection?  What about the criminal element?

---Posted by Dan Calloway

The NY Times is reporting today that George Carlin, standup comedian and actor who is known for his outlandish comedy and routines such as, "Seven Words That You Can't Say on TV," is dead at 71.

The cause of death is being reported as heart failure, following a long-time battle that Mr. Carlin had with heart disease. 

He was recently awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, but hadn't officially received it.  He was to be awarded the prize at the Kennedy Center in November of this year.

George Carlin was definitely the Modern Man.  If you want to see that George didn't slow down on iota toward the end of his life, check out this You Tube Video of one of George's last comedy spots.

Posted by:  Dan Calloway