$100,000 Anti-Gun Advertising Blitz, and More!

$100,000 Anti-Gun Advertising Blitz

The debate over universal background checks for gun-buyers is about to get hotter.

And yes, it all has to do with the Obama propaganda machine, and the diligence of his spineless cronies and boot licking lackeys! 

Remember ACORN, well these folks are no better than that crooked group. The group is called "Organizing for Action" (OFA) and they are the successor group to Obama’s campaign backers.

Now, OFA plans to spend up to $100,000 on Obama's new campaign, a national day of action marks the first test of the group's ability to mobilize the president's 2.2 million campaign volunteers to push for legislative change.

That's right, if you wanted to know what could get Obama off the golf course - it's campaigning! And yes, the Campaigner and Chief Barry O will probably hitting a stage near you. A little song and dance, a tap dance to Bill Clinton Campaign music and Barry O is a happy president.

Will other Democrats join him on stage? Probably, OFA organizers have not disclosed which lawmakers will be included in the campaign or in their advertising blitz - but you can be assured that it will be a liberal laced event!

One source says that the OFA ads will run a grizzly dire blood laden anti-gun ad featuring Hollywood stars and special effects like guns that fire 500 rounds from a 20 round magazine, bloody corpses, and mutilated victims of guns that seemed almost possessed by some evil force.

Of course we all know that guns can't fire without the assistance of a man or woman physically pulling the trigger - but let's not get details like personal responsibility or criminal behavior in the way of sensational advertising meant to keep hatred for gun owners alive and well.

OFA plans to sponsor more than 100 events in 80 or more Congressional districts started today in an effort to pull a scam on America. The scam is that Americans want action, that they demand action, action right now, all to ban evil guns.

The group says it expects thousands of people to participate in the events.

Mostly by out of work Obama campaign workers who will conduct candle-light vigils, letter-writing campaigns, and news conferences on Obama friendly MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, NPR, and the BBC.

Executive director Jon Carson said the events display the strength the grassroot organization brings to support the president's agenda.

If by "grassroot" he means the propaganda machine funded by wealthy liberal socialist who have been Obama supporters since day one, then they are certainly rooted.

"We have voices in every corner of this country who are supporting his [liberal] agenda and can make their neighbors understand where their members [of Congress] stand on these important issues,” Carson said, according to USA Today.

The liberal line of BS is that Obama has "presented a sweeping plan to rein in gun violence, in the wake of the Dec. 14 elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn." When in reality, nothing is further from the truth.

President Obama, Barry O for his golf buddies and big money liberal donors, wants to institute a plan that has been tried and does not work. In fact, his hometown - no not his village in Kenya - has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation.

Yes, just as Detroit is the perfect example of a liberal economic plan going to shit, Chicago is the perfect example of a anti-gun lobby taking it in the shorts! Barry O's hometown of Chicago is more dangerous than Afghanistan! And no, that's not a joke!

Obama administration spokesman, oops, I mean OFA director Jon Carson said OFA backs the entire plan, which also includes limiting ammunition magazine sizes and banning guns.

The Obama propaganda group chose the issue for its first push, Carson said, because the majority of Americans support background checks.

More than 92 percent of voters support universal background checks for gun-buyers, according to a Quinnipiac poll earlier this month.

Background checks to find criminals trying to buy guns! It's meant to stop criminals. Law abiding citizens understand that.

What gun owners don't understand is why law abiding citizens need to be kept on file as if they are criminals?

On file? Yes, on file in a National Gun Owner Registration Data Base. What is the reason for that if not for confiscation by the government?  No one in the Obama administration can answer that. Imagine that!

Currently the checks are only required for purchases from licensed gun dealers.

OFA is organized as a social welfare organization under the U.S. Tax Code, and marks the first time a president has established such a group using his former Presidential Campaign staff. And if you think it's only Obama, you'd be wrong. The Democrat Party's National Committee is working to support Obama's liberal agenda.

Carson said the group is “100 percent focused on issue campaigns” and won't be working on any candidate's election politics. The Democratic National Committee will instead work to help elect more Democrats to Congress, with Obama committing to hold at least 14 fundraisers this year.

OFA has come under some criticism because of how it is organized. The Democratic Party is under strict contribution limits, but OFA can take in an unlimited amount of money.

That's right, this Obama propaganda machine is allowed to raise large sums for its events and advertising - and keep it!

It is questionable if the group will take money from political action committees or federal lobbyists, but Jim Messina, who has moved from being Obama's 2012 campaign manager to chairing OFA says they won't.

OFA's offices are now in Washington, but will relocate to Chicago, Obama's hometown, by June. They probably located to Washington out of fear of being in the Chicago which many now refer to as the "Murder Capitol of the United States."

The organization hopes to survive past the president's second term. And yes, there is talk that they are gearing up for Obama to run again in 2016 challenging the law restricting the president to only two terms.

Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer calls the OFA a “dangerous” precedent that allows special interests to influence the administration.

SECOND SHOT!

Obama's Totalitarian Government

As for those who oppose Obama's abuse of power and efforts to scuttle the 2nd Amendment by rendering it in effect null and void?

Well, more than a dozen lawmakers who oppose President Obama's plan to restrict gun ownership are now to be considered "Political Targets" as they are targeted in a series of advertising as part of a national day of action.

Yes, it is happening here right now. Anyone who opposes Obama's policies are now considered Political Targets just like in a Communist state!

Believe it or not, here in the United States, lawmakers who oppose efforts to reinstate any form of gun ban, magazine restrictions, or any sort of federal terrorist sort of watch list called a National Gun Owners Registration List, are now being targeted by the Obama administration through this group the OFA!

I was always under the belief that "Political Targets" or "Political Dissidents" were only found in places ruled by tin horn Dictators and Communist governments.

Political dissidents are people severely persecuted by oppressive governments for political reasons.

Political dissent refers to any expression designed to convey dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Such expression may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence.

Historically, totalitarian governments have sought to punish political dissent. Though now being attacked in the United States under Obama, the protection of freedoms that facilitate peaceful dissent were once a hallmark of free and open societies.

Under Obama's totalitarian government peaceful dissent will not be tolerated.

Yes, totalitarianism relates to imposing a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed.

Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the government holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life whenever necessary.

Look around and ask yourself if this is not happening on a federal level here?

THIRD SHOT!

ALL  GUN  OWNERS  SHOULD  BOYCOTT COMCAST  CABLE  PROVIDER

Comcast Bans Gun Ads after it takes control of NBC

There was a time in America when companies gave a shit about pissing off the public. Well, those days must be long gone.

Today, companies routinely join in to help further the liberal agenda. Why? Well, I have no idea other than they must not be worried about the impact of their actions on their product sales.

The latest is Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider. This company will no longer accept advertisements from businesses selling guns. Imagine that!

The policy change was quietly instituted on February 8th after Comcast acquired a controlling interest in NBC, which already had a policy of not accepting ads relating to firearms.

The ban came to light when John Kupiec, president of the advertising agency Canadian American Corp., attempted to purchase an ad for Michigan-based gun store Williams Gun Sight Inc. but was denied, according to CBS News' Detroit affiliate.

"Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept new advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward," the cable provider said in a statement to CBS.

"This policy aligns us with the guidelines in place at many media organizations."

That's fine, but gun owners should think twice before using someone who is obviously against the Constitution and the Bill of Rights!

Executives at Williams Gun Sight called the policy anti-Constitutional.

"We’re a perfectly legal company selling a perfectly legal product and they have chosen us out of all the industries out there to make a stand on what’s right or wrong," Williams’ Chief Operating Officer Dan Compeau told CBS.

Kupiec said Comcast is the cable provider for two-thirds of the domestic market, which he believes represents a monopoly in the industry.

"The next step is we want to get the lawmakers on Capitol Hill to review the monopolistic rights this company (Comcast) currently enjoys as the largest cable provider in the United States," Kupiec said, adding that his firm will consider legal action as a last resort.

Compeau said Comcast previously accepted their ads.

"We were totally caught off guard by it," he said. "All these TV stations are taking millions, if not billions, from alcohol companies — and alcohol deaths, alcohol sickness, way outpaces anything a gun can do. [Comcast] is two-faced."

Kupiec, who has worked in advertising since the 1980s, said this is the first major ban he has ever seen, and that if they wanted to advertise on the Outdoor Channel, The Discovery Channel, or NBC Sports, it wouldn't be a possibility.

"If you’re a gun range, if you sell firearms, ammunition, whatever, they will not accept your advertising," he said. "I’m an avid hunter and I believe this is a direct threat on the Second Amendment, a direct assault on legal businesses in the United States, and I think it’s antitrust."

I say ALL GUN OWNERS SHOULD BOYCOTT COMCAST to show them that we are not to be slighted and treated poorly.

NEXT SHOT!
Teacher reportedly refused to grade student reports on guns

At Denton High School in Denton, Texas, one teacher has possibly lost her mind.

An English teacher at Denton High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area allegedly refused to grade two student reports because they discussed guns.

MyFoxDFW.com reports that the teacher, Dewey Christian, told his students to write a report on anything they wanted.

Marshall Williams, one of Christian's students, told the station he chose to write about a Fort Worth gun show he had attended. He said Christian told him he would get a zero on the assignment because of the topic.

Another student, Alex Wright, said Christian rejected his report because it mentioned hunting.

After telling his mother, Kimberly Williams, about the incident, she and Marshall met with Christian, according to the report.

Kimberly Williams' cell phone video recording of the meeting reportedly shows Christian explaining that he refused to grade the report because of concerns about school violence.

She told MyFoxDFW.com her son's report had no political references to guns and didn't mention firing guns.

"If it went against any district policy I would support it completely, but it doesn't. It's just his own moral beliefs trying to be put in his classroom and I disagree with that," Kimberly Williams told the station.

Her son said he wrote about attending the gun show because it was an enjoyable experience.

"I feel like he has just stomped on our right to free speech. He told us we would not be allowed to express ourselves and didn't even consider what we had said," Marshall Williams told the station.

In a statement to MyFoxDFW.com, the Denton Independent School District said, "The teacher has accepted the paper and apologized to the student for misperceptions. The teacher's intent was for guns not to be trivialized in any school situation because of recent events."

Her job is to teach, not be a Political Commentator spewing her own self-righteous beliefs.

LAST SHOT!

Fox News "The Five" Co-host Rape Remark: Bob Beckel Apologizes for Campus Comment

Fox News co-host Bob Beckel is apologizing for comments that critics said marginalized date rape as a less-serious form of sexual assault.

An afternoon regular on "The Five," Beckel was taken to task for implying that rape on college campuses was not as serious as some were making it.

On Tuesday's program, the liberal commentator had asked, "When was the last time you heard about a rape on campus?"

"What are you talking about? It's rampant," co-host Eric Bolling shot back, with co-host Dana Perino adding, "In particular, date rape on campus."

“Well, date rape, yeah, that’s one thing,” Beckel responded, appearing to brush the issue off.

After being lambasted on social media, Beckel took to the air on Wednesday to apologize for the distinction he had made.

"Yesterday, a number of people responded to what I said about date rape as if I didn't think it was a serious issue," Beckel said.

"Of course I think it's a serious issue. It's a horrible, horrendous issue. And it's simply put, this, rape is rape," Beckel continued.

"Whether it's date rape or it's somebody coming in off the campus trying to rape somebody else. I very strongly feel that way. And so, I just want to straighten the record out on that. I simply was trying to make -- there was not a distinction to make here. It simply was that date rape is rape. And that is, by any other definition, rape is rape."

Federal statistics from 2010 estimated that 25 percent of college women "will be victims of rape or attempted rape before they graduate within a four-year period" and that schools of more than 6,000 "average one rape per day during the school year."

"The Five" conversation stemmed from comments made by a Democratic Colorado state representative, Joe Salazar, who was speaking on the floor of the Colorado House on a proposal to ban firearms from the state's campuses.

Salazar suggested that women shouldn't be trusted with guns when they are under emotional duress, saying they wouldn't be as rationally capable of knowing when they are about to be sexually assaulted and that may lead to accidental shootings.

"It’s why we have call boxes; it’s why we have safe zones; it’s why we have the whistles — because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at," said Salazar.

"And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop … pop a round at somebody."

In my opinion, Bob Beckel is just a typical liberal big mouth fool who is completely insensitive to everyone and everything except his own self-interest.




Story by Tom Correa

Texas To Stop Enforcement Of New Federal Gun Laws

New Bill In Texas State Capitol Stops Local Enforcement Of New Federal Gun Laws

First off, why is the Federal Government expecting States to enforce Federal Laws?

If the Federal Government wants to make laws - then they should be the ones to enforce them. States should no be responsible for having to enforce Federal Laws. 

Using that logic, under a measure in the Texas Capitol, local police officers could be convicted of a crime for enforcing any new federal gun control laws.

Rep. Steve Toth, a newly elected Republican from the Woodlands, said his proposal would prevent officers from carrying out any future federal orders to confiscate assault rifles and ammunition magazines.

"There's a federal law, there's a 30-round magazine right in front of you - what do I do?" Toth said in an interview. The measure known as the Firearm Protection Act "answers that question in spades," he said. It moved Tuesday to the House Committee on Federalism.

President Barack Obama has proposed federal laws banning such weapons, but no such laws currently exist. If they are indeed Federal Laws, then the FBI or some other Federal law enforcement agency - and there are many - should get off their backsides and try enforce them without using State time, money and personnel to do their job. 

And why be selective about it, if pot is a Federal crime than have the FBI or whoever else enforce those federal laws pertaining to marijuana. Just because Obama was a drug user and pot smoker, should that mean that he will call of his federal law enforcement from enforcing federal laws in say Colorado where the State is now saying its legal.

The word out of Washington DC is that they are not going after the Federal law breakers in Colorado because the Obama administration is in favor of legalizing drugs and pot.

The opposite is true for a state which let's say would legalize the ownership of "machine guns". The feds would be all over it because they want to see gun banned altogether. And yes, the feds would request local police to assist them in the enforcement of the federal law prohibiting the ownership of "machine guns" unless properly licensed.

The states are having budget problems. How many states would save money if they told the federal government to enforce their own laws while the states tended to only theirs?

Rep. Steve Toth's proposal would create a Class A misdemeanor for police officers enforcing any new federal gun regulations.

It also would establish cause for the state attorney general to sue anyone who seeks to enforce new federal gun regulations. It is one of several states-rights measures being offered by conservative state lawmakers nationwide in response to federal gun control proposals.

Courts have long upheld the federal government's right to enact new laws, which generally supersede state law.

After the Civil War, during the Reconstruction Period, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution were passed. With these Amendments, it became spelled out that a state cannot make a law that supersedes a federal law - the concept being that we are Americans first before being citizens of a state.

The 14th Amendment specifically was designed to stop a state from say making slavery legal. But at the same time, the federal government must enforce its own laws without the assistance of the states - especially if that state is keeping its law within the guidelines of the U.S. Constitution.

Asked how legal precedent for the supremacy of federal law would affect enforcement of his bill, Toth said he expects a legal challenge.

"It may end up in the Supreme Court," he said.

One point of interest is the question of just how does the federal government get the state police agencies to enforce federal laws when in fact no state laws are being broken?

And really, other than staying within the parameters of the U.S. Constitution, why would any state have to do what the federal government orders them to do?

Federal police agencies in every state to enforce federal laws? A centralized Big Brother federal government telling people what to do and how to act? The complete loss of state's rights?

Are these things possible? Should anyone at the state, county, or local levels of government be taking orders from Big Brother Federal Government?

Isn't is enough that states meet federal "guidelines" so that states don't violate a citizen's U.S. Constitutional rights?

Why should a state assist the federal government when it is violating an American citizen's Constitutional rights? I say let the feds enforce their own laws, and if they are violating the Constitution, then it will be for a federal court to decide if the federal government actually has the authority they think they have.

Several recently elected lawmakers gathered at a news conference Tuesday with Toth and Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff who successfully contested implementation of certain provisions of the Brady gun laws in the 1990s.

"The federal government is not our boss," Mack said. "If there's any place that that's applicable and true, it's the state of Texas."

Referring to Greg Abbott, the attorney general who helped draft the bill, Mack added: "And we've got a great attorney."

And yes, I agree. The federal government is not our boss.

Now, how do we make them understand that?


Story by Tom Correa

PTSD Does Not Make You A Murderer

Recently, with the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut and the killing of decorated Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in Texas, the focus on mental health and gun ownership is front and center in the news.

On February 3rd, 2013, Chris Kyle, a former U.S. Navy SEAL credited with the largest number of confirmed sniper kills, was one of two people fatally shot at a North Texas shooting range Saturday, Texas Highway Patrol confirmed to Fox News.

Eddie Ray Routh of Lancaster was arraigned on two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, at the shooting range about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Capt. Jason Upshaw with the Erath County Sheriff's Office said Routh used a semi-automatic handgun, which authorities later found at his home.

Upshaw said. Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Routh was unemployed and "may have been suffering from some type of mental illness from being in the military himself," but he didn't know if Routh was on any medication.

The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that Routh was a corporal in the Marines, serving in active duty from 2006 to 2010. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and Haiti in 2010. His current military status is listed as reserve.

Routh is being held on $3 million bond.

Bryant said the trio went to the shooting range around 3:15 p.m. Saturday. A hunting guide came across the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield around 5 p.m. and called 911.

After the shootings, Routh left the shooting range in Kyle's black pickup truck, Bryant said, first going to his sister's home in Midlothian, where he told her and her husband what he had done. The couple called local police.

Routh arrived at his home in Lancaster, about 17 miles southeast of Dallas, at about 8 p.m. Police arrested him after a brief pursuit and took him to the Lancaster Police Department.

Travis Cox, the director of a nonprofit Kyle helped found, told the Associated Press that Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh to the range. Littlefield was Kyle's neighbor and "workout buddy," Cox said.

"What I know is Chris and a gentleman -- great guy, I knew him well, Chad Littlefield -- took a veteran out shooting who was struggling with PTSD to try to assist him, try to help him, try to, you know, give him a helping hand and he turned the gun on both of them, killing them," Cox said.

Chris Kyle's nonprofit, FITCO Cares, provides at-home fitness equipment for emotionally and physically wounded veterans.

Please understand, what I am about to explain is factual.

If killer Eddie Ray Routh does indeed suffer from PTSD, then it must be understood that his having PTSD should not be used as an excuse nor as an explanation for his committing murder.

Fact is, having PTSD does not make you a murderer!

A Justifiable Fear Of Losing One's Rights

Out of what took place there in Texas and up in Connecticut in December of last year, a national debate on gun violence and mental health is presently taking place.

And yes, President Obama's reaction to the horrific event that took place in Connecticut is on the minds of a lot of gun owners around the country. Americans are worried about his over-reacting.

President Obama wants, among other measures, to institute a Gun Ban, create a National Gun Owner Data Base of law abiding citizens who are exercising their 2nd Amendment rights, and he wants to forbid anyone who has sought mental health assistance from owning firearms.

The government likes to group people, and they see those with symptoms of PTSD as a group that should be restricted from owning guns.

Now let's understand what that means. If President Obama gets his way, then everyone who has PTSD, everyone with some sort of of anxiety disorder, will be restricted from owning guns in America.

That in turn means that an estimated 24.4 million Americans would automatically lose their 2nd Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. Yes, that's how many Americans suffer from some anxiety order.

PTSD is an Anxiety Disorder.

There are several recognized types of anxiety disorders, including:

Panic disorder: People with this condition have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. Other symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, chest pain, palpitations (irregular heartbeats), and a feeling of choking, which may make the person feel like he or she is having a heart attack or "going crazy."

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): People with OCD are plagued by constant thoughts or fears that cause them to perform certain rituals or routines. The disturbing thoughts are called obsessions, and the rituals are called compulsions. An example is a person with an unreasonable fear of germs who constantly washes his or her hands.

Social anxiety disorder: Also called social phobia, social anxiety disorder involves overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. The worry often centers on a fear of being judged by others, or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or lead to ridicule.

Specific phobias: A specific phobia is an intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as snakes, heights, or flying. The level of fear is usually inappropriate to the situation and may cause the person to avoid common, everyday situations.

Generalized anxiety disorder: This disorder involves excessive, unrealistic worry and tension, even if there is little or nothing to provoke the anxiety.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) : PTSD is a condition that can develop following a traumatic and/or terrifying event, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, or a natural disaster.

It's All About Trauma

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which there was the potential for or actual occurrence of grave physical harm.

Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, and military combat.

People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal, may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury can increase a person’s anger and hostility and diminish his or her self-control. But the link between those disorders and outright violent behavior is weak and hard to pin down with certainty.

Symptoms of PTSD often are grouped into three main categories, including:

Reliving the trauma: People with PTSD repeatedly relive the ordeal through thoughts and memories of the trauma. These may include flashbacks, hallucinations, and nightmares. They also may feel great distress when certain things remind them of the trauma, such as the anniversary date of the event.

Avoiding people places and reminders: The person may avoid people, places, thoughts, or situations that may remind him or her of the trauma. This can lead to feelings of detachment and isolation from family and friends, as well as a loss of interest in activities that the person once enjoyed.

Increased arousal: People with PTSD often have lasting and frightening thoughts and memories of the event and may or may not make some sufferers emotionally numb.

They also may have excessive emotions; problems relating to others, including feeling or showing affection; difficulty falling or staying asleep; irritability; outbursts of anger; difficulty concentrating; and being "jumpy" or easily startled.

The person may also suffer physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, and diarrhea.

And No, PTSD Is Not Just A Veteran Thing!

Most people who experience a traumatic event will have reactions that may include shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and even guilt. It is common for every one of us to have these reactions.

These reactions are common; and for most people, they go away over time.

For a person with PTSD, however, these feelings continue and even increase, becoming so strong that they keep the person from living a normal life. It can be so intense that it becomes a quality of life issue.

People with PTSD have symptoms for longer than one month and cannot function as well as before the event occurred.

Fact is, women who are rape victims are the number one sufferers of PTSD in America.

It is a fact that almost one-third (31%) of all rape victims develop PTSD sometime during their lifetime, and more than 1 in 10 rape victims (11%) still has PTSD today.

Rape victims were 6.2 times more likely to develop PTSD than women who had never been victims of any crime (31% vs 5%).

Rape victims were 5.5 times more likely to have current PTSD than those who had never been victims of any crime (11% Vs 2%).

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are approximately 96.3 million adult women in the United States age 18 or older.

If 13% of American women have been raped and 31% of rape victims have developed PTSD, then 3.8 million adult American women have had rape-related PTSD.

If 11% of all rape victims have PTSD, then an estimated 1.3 million American women have PTSD right now.

And yes, if in fact 683,000 women are raped each year, then we know that approximately 211,000 will develop PTSD annually.

Under President Obama's plan, if any of those women get mental heath assistance - then they will lose their rights to own a firearm for protection.

How About First Responders?

Yes, while some folks think PTSD is just a military or veteran thing - it's certainly not. In fact, if you look at the numbers, First Responders have the second highest incidents of PTSD symptoms.

Fact is that by the mere nature of their occupation, their work, their duty, their day in and day out responsibilities Police, Fire Fighters, EMT, Paramedics, ambulance drivers, are all intrinsically likely to have PTSD.

It is simply a fact because they are confronted with traumatic events where they have to witness and manage death and suffering from crime and accidents. In many many instances First Responders can also be put at considerable direct risk of injury or death simply because of the nature of their job.

Anyone can get PTSD at any age. This includes those risk occupations such as First Responders, combat veterans, survivors of physical and sexual assault, physical and mental abuse victims, those involved in car accidents, work related accidents, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and many other serious events.

Not everyone with PTSD has been through a dangerous event. Believe it or not, some people get PTSD after a friend or family member experiences danger or is harmed. It is also believed that the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one can also cause some level of PTSD.

General PTSD Stats

Here are some statistics on PTSD. And yes, some of these statistics may surprise you.

•70% of adults in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. That’s 223.4 million people.

•Up to 20% of these people go on to develop PTSD. As of today, that’s 31.3 million people who did or are struggling with PTSD.

•An estimated 8% of Americans – that’s 24.4 million people – have PTSD at any given time.

•An estimated 1 out of 10 women develops PTSD; women are about twice as likely as men.

•Among people who are victims of a severe traumatic experience 60 – 80% will develop PTSD.

•Almost 50% of all outpatient mental health patients have PTSD.

•Somewhat higher rates of this disorder have been found to occur in African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans compared to Caucasians in the United States

Veterans are no different than anyone else with PTSD.

People with PTSD avoid certain activities and environments, are hyper-vigilant, have intrusive memories and are often depressed. Headaches, troubled sleep, poor attention span, and muddled thinking are the hallmarks of PTSD.

Impulsive behavior is sometimes seen, too. But surprisingly, anger, hostility and aggressiveness are less common symptoms.

Veterans with PTSD are two to three times as likely to be physically abusive of their wives and girlfriends as those without the diagnosis. They’re three times as likely to get into fistfights when they go to college.

One study showed they are especially prone to “impulsive aggression,” but that “premeditated aggression” was far more common in veterans without PTSD than in those with it.

•Lifetime occurrence in veterans 9 – 31%. The prevalence of PTSD in combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars varies from 9 percent to 31 percent, depending on whether severity of impairment is included in the measurement.

•In the past year alone the number of diagnosed cases in the military jumped 50% – and that’s just diagnosed cases.

•Studies estimate that 1 in every 5 military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has PTSD.

•20% of the soldiers who’ve been deployed in the past 6 years have PTSD. That’s over 300,000.

•17% of combat troops are women; 71% of female military personnel develop PTSD due to sexual assault within the ranks.

(Military statistics as of 12/2010)

Teens And Children!

•15-43% of girls and 14-43% of boys will experience a traumatic event

•3-15% girls and 1-6% of boys will develop PTSD

•As many as 30 – 60% of children who have survived specific disasters have PTSD

•According to the National Center for PTSD: “Rates of PTSD are much higher in children and adolescents recruited from at-risk samples. The rates of PTSD in these at-risk children and adolescents vary from 3 to 100%.”

•3 - 6% of high school students in the U.S. who survive specific disaster develop PTSD

•More than 33% of youths exposed to community violence with experience PTSD

•According the the National Center for PTSD: “Studies have shown that as many as 100% of children who witness a parental homicide or sexual assault develop PTSD.

Similarly, 90% of sexually abused children, 77% of children exposed to a school shooting, and 35% of urban youth exposed to community violence develop PTSD.”

•According to The Effects of High Stress on the Brain and Body in Adolescents report from Yale , Stress is believed to contribute to the physical and behavioral health problems of adolescents.

Of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, 2.3 % have fair or poor health, 5% miss 11 or more days of school because of illness or injury, 10% have smoked cigarettes, and 17% have used alcohol; of adolescents between ages 12 and 19, 18% are overweight.

So Should You Lose Your 2nd Amendment Rights Because You May Be One Of The Millions Of Americans Who Suffer From PTSD?

PTSD affects our quality of life, but it doesn't automatically make us Murderers.

It should certainly not have anything to do with us losing our Constitutional Rights. 

The negative impact of traumatic events can manifest in a variety of indirect ways, such as increased alcohol use, interpersonal and family conflicts, social withdrawal, depression, sleep problems, amplify physical pain, somatic distress, and basic performance deterioration at work and at home.

Anxiety and stress impacts the way we see the world, it creates negative thinking, and cognitive distortions. It also diminishes our memory, our ability to concentrate, our attention span, and even our decision-making capabilities.

If someone has PTSD, then they should know that they are not alone. Whether they’re looking for information on general PTSD stats, combat related symptoms, women's issues, or teens and children problems with PTSD, there is help available.

Whether it's counseling, groups, psychiatric and non-psychiatric medical treatment, people with PTSD should not feel as though they will lose their Civil Rights under the Constitution if they seek help.

True support includes understanding that PTSD symptoms effect millions of Americans, and those who suffer from PTSD should not be looked upon as Lepers.

The term mental Illness already has a stigma that goes along with it. Many do not seek help because of that stigma.

Now with a national debate on gun violence and mental health taking place, it would be a crime if a police officer couldn't get some counseling if he needed to, or if a rape victim couldn't get help, or if a veteran couldn't talk about what he or she may have experienced -- all simply out of fear that if they did, then they would lose their rights to own a firearm, to hunt or to protect themselves.

President Obama's plan to curb gun violence should not go forward because it will hurt more than help in more ways than he understands.

Story by Tom Correa

Cow Facts and Trivia

Are cows as innocent as they seem?

If your image of cows is one of gentle placid animals looking at you with those large soft cow eyes and contentedly chewing their cud, good for you!

A recent article published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 20 people a year are killed by cows in the United States.

The cows actually attack humans – ramming them, knocking them down, goring them, trampling them and kicking them in the head – resulting in fatal injuries to the head and chest.

These behaviors remind us that mother cows, like other animals, can be fiercely protective of their young.

The bond between a cow and her calf is very strong and continues after the calf is fully grown. In non-commercial herds, some cows will nurse their calves for up to three years.

In January 2009, a cow reportedly knocked a woman off her bike and stepped on her legs in Boulder, Colorado. The woman was not seriously injured. News sources cited the incident as the result of a "cow engaging in people-tipping.”

Now before some politician gets a hold of that information and wants to make political points with PETA by calling for a ban on cattle, let's look at some other facts and trivia about cattle.

Facts you may already know:

A cow is a mature female, and a bull is an adult male of the bovine family.

A heifer is a young female cow that hasn't had a calf yet. 

A cow can’t produce milk until she has had a calf.

Cattle is the name for the entire "cow" family.

There are an estimated 920 different breeds of cows in the world

People first domesticated cows about 5000 years ago. Someone had to be the first to try some milk, researchers are working to find out who and why?

The Greek physician Hippocrates recommended milk as a medicine some 2,300 years ago.

Cheese was an important item in the diet of the Vikings, and was an article of commerce in ancient Rome.

Monks in Europe developed the art of cheesemaking in the Middle Ages.

On his second voyage to the New World, among other freight, Christopher Columbus brought cattle.

Cows came to America with the Pilgrims. They arrived in the Jamestown colony in 1611. The arrival of dairy cows from Europe in America in 1611 helped end starvation in the Jamestown Colony.

The first documented ice cream parlor opened in 1776, in New York City. George Washington reportedly liked ice cream so much, he ran up a $200 bill for ice cream one summer.

In 1841, a New York and Erie Railroad stationmaster asked a farmer to try shipping milk by rail 60 miles to New York City. They successfully shipped a wooden churn holding 60 gallons. A few years later wooden containers for shipment were replaced by metal cans.

The modern large-scale dairy industry developed with the growth of cities and fast, refrigerated transportation. Mechanical refrigeration began in the 1880s.

The glass milk bottle was invented by Hervey D. Thatcher in 1880. Some of us are old enough to remember when Milkmen delivered bottled milk to our door.


In 1892 Nathan Straus established the first infant milk depot in the United States. He offered sterilized milk for sale at five cents a quart or one cent a glass.

Cows can walk up a flight of stairs, but they can’t walk down a flight of stairs. Their knees don’t bend properly for going down.

A cow can emit about 350 liters (230 grams) of methane per day. A 1,000 pound cow produces an average of 10 tons of manure a year.

Calves are born with pads on their sharp little hooves to protect their mother’s birth canal. These pads wear off easily as the little calf struggles to stand up.

The smallest type of cow is a breed called Dexter, which was bred small for household living.

The tail is the cow’s mood barometer. Unlike the dog, a “wagging” tail does not mean a happy cow.

Not being milked in a timely fashion, dinner off schedule, calves bellowing, and flies are the major causes of crabby cows.

Crabby cows generate crabby farmers.

There are 9.2 million cows in the U.S. And only 2.1 million lucky bulls. (Source: USDA, Aug. 09).

In an average herd, there is 1 bull to every 30 cows. Yes, he stays busy!

It takes 21.2 pounds of whole milk to make one pound of butter.

It takes 12 pounds of whole milk to make one gallon of ice cream.

Cows don’t bite because they have no upper front teeth. Instead they have a thick, tough pad of skin on their top jaw. They curl their very large tongue around the grass and feed they eat.

Definition of cow tongue:  a variety of meat many people will not eat because it clearly crosses the line between a cut of beef and a piece of a dead cow.

Modern domestic cattle are believed to belong to either the species, Bos taurus (Holstein, Brown Swiss, Jersey and Guemsey), or the species, Bos indicus (humped cattle like the Brahman). Some cattle are a cross between the two species.

Humans and cows have the same gestation period which is about nine months.

Milk contains 4 necessary minerals: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc.

There are approximately 350 "squirts" in a gallon of milk. Don't believe it, I'm sure I'll repeat myself later.

Cows are very social animals. They form large herds and just like people, they will bond to some herd members while avoiding others.

They "moo" and use different body positions and facial expressions to communicate with each other

A Holstein's spots are like a fingerprint. No two cows have exactly the same pattern of black spots on their white body.

The Holstein produces the most milk of all breeds

The average dairy cow produces about 10 gallons of milk a day

A cow drinks about 30 gallons of water per day

Cows spends 6 hours a day eating, and 8 hours a day chewing cud

A dairy cow can produce 5 gallons of ice cream a day

Cows can live 25 years if people would let them

You can guess the age of a cow that has horns by counting the number of rings on the horns. Before counting, make sure the horns belong to a cow.

A cow stands up and sits down about 14 times a day. That’s 11 more times than your average couch potato, and not as much as a NASCAR fan!

One cow produces from 200,000 to 350,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

The record milk production for a single cow in a year is 55,660 pounds of milk.

It takes about 350 "squirts" for each gallon of milk from a cow's “udder” end.

A cow weighs about 1,000 to 1,400 pounds.

A 1,000 pound cow produces an average of 10 tons of manure a year.

Ladies, if you marry a dairy farmer, be prepared to hear at the dinner table on a regular basis a discussion of manure.

Cows can detect odors up to five miles away. At a mile their noses are better than a bloodhound. The U.S. government was going to use drug-sniffing cows but decided against it.

Cows are able to hear lower and higher frequencies better than humans. That's why you can't sneak up on them, they can hear a whisper.

Cows have almost total 360 degree panoramic vision and are able to see colors, except red. So a bull, in a bullfight, doesn’t see the red of the toreador’s cape – just the movement of the cape.

Cows drink anywhere from 25 to 35 gallons of water each day, equal to a bathtub filled with water and eat about 40 to 50 pounds of feed per day.

Dairy cows can produce up to 35 gallons of saliva a day.

To you, cud may be disgusting. To a cow, it's delicious.

Cows are ruminants or cud-chewing mammals. Sheep and camels are also ruminants.

Each day a cow spends 6 hours eating and 8 hours chewing her cud. (regurgitated, partially digested food).

You have probably heard that a cow has four stomachs. Not true.

A cow has only one stomach which contains four digestive compartments: the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum.

The rumen is the largest compartment and acts as a fermentation chamber. It holds up to 50 gallons of partially digested food. This is where cud comes from. Good bacteria in the rumen help the cow to digest her food and provide protein.

The reticulum is called the hardware stomach because if cows accidentally eat hardware scrap (like a piece of fencing), it will often lodge here causing no further damage.

The omasum acts like a filter.

The abomasum is the fourth compartment and is similar in structure and function to the human stomach. We just can’t store hardware like the cow.

When galloping through boggy, soggy places or deep mud, cattle can run faster than horses. They have cloven hooves and their toes spread so their wide feet do not sink as deep as those of the solid-hoofed horse.

The temperature of milk when it leaves the body of a cow is 101 degrees Fahrenheit. The milk is then quickly chilled and stored at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here's a Tip: to keep milk from turning sour, keep it in the cow!

Speaking of ice cream, an average of 48 pints of ice cream per person is consumed each year in the U.S. – more than any other country. I have long argued that ice cream is one of the basic food groups.

Cows produce 90% of the milk in the world. Any warm-blooded animal such as goats, sheep, horses, reindeer, camels and water buffalo also produce milk.

Today, farmers use machines to milk more than 100 cows per hour. Before milking machines were invented in 1894, farmers could only milk about 6 cows per hour.

Until the 1850's, nearly every family had its own cow.

There is the same number of cows as there are people in Friesland, Netherlands.

On August 18, 1953, four cows in Stearns County, Minnesota were picked up by a tornado and set down again unharmed.

India has 30% of the world’s cattle, but because the cow is respected as a sacred animal, it is allowed to roam the streets in towns and cities unharmed.

Old cows in India have their own nursing homes. Is that where we got the phrase, "Holy cow"? Could be!

The World Championship Cow Chip Throw is held each April in Beaver, Oklahoma.

Never try to pick up a soggy cow chip!

Studies have shown that classical music helps cows produce more milk.

Cows don't produce as much milk if they listen to hard rock like Heavy Metal or modern Country music.

It takes all the milk from 330,000 cows each year to fill the milk needs of Wal-Mart.

The Masai tribe in Africa traditionally lives on a diet that includes cow blood- taken straight from the still-living cow. This is obtained by firing a short arrow into the jugular vein of the cow. The blood is usually mixed with milk. See, this occurs in places other than Chicago!

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that destroyed much of the city has long been blamed on Mrs. Kate O'Leary's cow kicking over a lamp.

In 1997, the Chicago City Council, after much research, passed a resolution exonerating Mrs. O'Leary and her cow.

The “got milk” mustache advertising campaign began in 1995.

The city of Boston was laid out by cow paths. Yes, cow paths!

Wisconsin has the most dairy cows, Texas the most beef cows, California produces the most milk and cheese.

Plastic milk containers came later, believe it or not, they started in 1964. And yes, the world hasn't been the same since!

Indicators That Your Cow Might Have Mad Cow Disease:

• She insists on wearing a little A-1 sauce behind each ear as cologne.
• She refuses to let you milk her, saying, “Not on the first date.”
• She takes up painting and cuts off one of her ears.
• She wants to get a silicon implant for her udder.
• She appears on Oprah, claiming to be a horse trapped in a cow’s body.
• She demands to be branded with the “Golden Arches Logo”.
• She insists that all Hindus are sacred.
• She insists that evaporated milk comes from dehydrated cows.
• You find her hiding secret plans to burn down half of Chicago.
• She quits the family dairy business and applies for a job at Burger King.
• She starts giving you Milk of Amnesia.
• She purposely blinds herself with a dart and yells out, “Bulleye!”
• She joins the Hell’s Angels because, hey, she’s already got a cool leather jacket.
• She gets a job at the Beef Marketing Board.
• She tips other cows over and laughs.
• She spends half the day sitting in the Lotus Position chanting “moo” backwards.
• She insists that she’ll give you chocolate milk if you start feeding her Hershey’s bars.
• She laughs hysterically until milk spurts out her nose.
• She claims Milk Duds are the result of stupid cows.
• She looks like Hillary Clinton!

Now you know!