NM’s love affair with guns – ABQJournal Online

We “love” guns in NM. We have lots of guns in NM. Lots of injuries and death by guns. Lots of violence and fear due to guns. More guns. More guns! More guns!!! There is nothing we can do about gun violence except buy a guy and celebrate your freedom. 

NM’s love affair with guns – ABQJournal Online

By Colleen Heild / Journal Investigative Reporter
Monday, January 18th, 2016 at 12:05am

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico loves its guns.

Nearly 50 percent of New Mexicans have a gun in the home, according to a 2013 survey by public health researchers from Columbia University and Boston University. The national gun ownership rate was 29 percent.

As for ownership of federally registered firearms, such as machine guns, short-barreled shotguns and short-barreled rifles, New Mexico ranked fourth per capita in the United States in 2013, according to Bloomberg News. …

And it is one of the most dangerous states in the country for gun violence, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The state in 2014 had the eighth highest rate of firearms deaths in the United States, considering suicide, homicide and accidental deaths caused by guns. That ranking was up from ninth place a year earlier.

Over the past five years, the number of visits to New Mexico emergency rooms for firearm injuries increased 65 percent, according to New Mexico Department of Health.

a01_jd_18jan_guns-Map-fixed

High violence rates

Federal data shows New Mexico’s overall firearm injury death rate is more than 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Moreover, the state was deemed the second most dangerous in the country by USA Today, based on violent crimes committed per 100,000 people. …

Department of Health data shows that nearly 70 percent of firearms injury deaths in New Mexico from 2009 to 2013 were due to self-inflicted gunshots. About 27 percent died from intentional injury or homicide. Less than 1 percent of firearm deaths were accidental.

Meanwhile, New Mexico emergency department visits involving firearm injuries increased dramatically from 2010 to 2014.

The largest increase involved firearm injuries caused by assaults, which increased by about 53 percent, said Dr. Tierney Murphy with the state DOH. Accidental or unintentional firearm visits increased by 34 percent, and self-inflicted firearm injuries jumped 20 percent over the five-year period.

“When you look at the emergency department visits for firearm related injuries, it primarily affects males,” Murphy said, noting that 86 percent of the visits involved male patients. “The highest rate was among young males (age) 15 to 24.”

NM’s love affair with guns – ABQJournal Online

Report: NM fourth-most dangerous state in the U.S. | The NM Political Report

New Mexico is once again the fourth-most dangerous state in the country, at least according to the latest yearly survey of violent crime by 24/7 Wall Street.

The annual survey from the financial news website is based mainly from violent crime rates from the FBI 2014 Uniform Crime Report, which is the most comprehensive look at crime in the nation. …

New Mexico’s violent crime rate ranked at 597.4 incidents for every 100,000 residents. That’s more than one-and-a-half times the national rate of 366 incidents per every 100,000 people.

The report notes that immigrants and Hispanics will feel the brunt of the crimes more than other groups because of high poverty rates in those communities and the link between poverty and crime. New Mexico is home to the second-highest poverty rate in the nation.

Aggravated assault is the most frequent violent crime in New Mexico, according to the report, which happened to an average of 422 of every 100,000 people.

New Mexico has the second-highest rate of incidents in the country with 3,542 such incidents for every 100,000 people.

New Mexico previously ranked fourth and second on the same survey from 2013 and 2012, respectively. The financial news website also ranked New Mexico high on another unflattering list—as the worst-run state in the U.S.

Report: NM fourth-most dangerous state in the U.S. | The NM Political Report

Celebrate MLK Day by watching armed angry white men scream about “taking back Amerikkka” (from those dark folks, liberals, and queers)

A bunch of armed white thugs have taken over public land — stolen that land from you and me. They wave their weapons at anyone who dares to approach our public land. As they fester in their rathole, they draw more and more sick whackos to their pit. This is Amerikkka. You’ll only take Amerikkka from their cold dead hands.

It is a stark reminder of “white privilege” (white power?) that armed white terrorists get away with something we all know would be over if they were non-white. A white guy with a gun can steal from everyone but a black kid with a hoodie would be dead.

Happy Martin Luther King Day. He was killed by an armed white lunatic just like these pompous self-important thugs. As was JFK and others. Peace.

(I’m still waiting for the NRA, one responsible gun owner, or a single Mormon to condemn these criminals.)

Does the NRA support armed insurrection? As long as it sells guns.

Have I missed the NRA’s condemnation of the armed thugs in Oregon? Has a single “responsible gun owner” called this “irresponsible”? Has one pro-gun person said publicly it is wrong to use guns to steal and threaten fellow citizens?

The NRA’s silence is support. They’ll gladly do business with terrorists, with anyone who’ll buy guns and bullets and scare other people into the same. Worse, these braying jackasses and tin-pot revolutionaries are the poster children of the NRA: bold white men holding an oppressive government at bay with guns and more guns. Defenders of the Constitution, though they are only interested in a dozen words therein. Proof that the only law we need is a “good guy with a gun.” Heroes of the NRA? If you haven’t burned your NRA card yet, you’re a co-conspirator in sedition.

I’ve heard it is the duty of peace-loving Muslims to condemn each act of violence linked to Islam. Where are the Mormons on this? Where’s Harry Reid, gun-loving Mormon, on this? These dangerous lunatics believe god is guiding them and protecting them. (Fools don’t realize the reviled Federal government is protecting them. But their grasp of reality is stretched.)

The armed turds in Oregon aren’t heroes. They are bullies, pompous, and self-righteous. They are Confederates and will share the same fate.

Gun owners have a chance to be compassionate …

WHEN UNSPEAKABLE VIOLENCE IS ENACTED UPON INNOCENTS, SAY, IN A SCHOOL OR MOVIE THEATRE, AND THE SURVIVORS AND THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS, IN THE THROES OF PAIN AND ANGUISH, WANT TO ASK, “WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?,” “HOW DID
THIS HAPPEN?,” AND “WHAT CAN WE DO TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?,” AND ONE OF THE AREAS THEY (STILL WE) FOCUS THEIR SCRUTINY IS THAT OF THE HIGHLY EFFICIENT WEAPONS OF WARFARE THAT ARE CASUALLY AVAILABLE TO US CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES, THEN WE FRIGHTENED GUN OWNERS HAVE THE CHANCE TO BE HUMAN AND SAY, “OKAY, THIS IS A HORRIBLE TRAGEDY. LET’S OPEN UP A CONVERSATION HERE.” INSTEAD, I’M SURMISING, OUT OF FEAR, WE THROW UP OUR DEFENSES AND BEHAVE IN A VERY CONFRONTATIONAL WAY TOWARD SUCH A CONVERSATION , CITING THE SECOND AMENDMENT AS THE ULTIMATE PROTECTION OF OUR RIGHTS, NO MATTER HOW RIDICULOUSLY MURDEROUS THE FIREARM, WHICH, UNFORTUNATELY, MAKES US LOOK LIKE DICKS.
NICK OFFERMAN

Nick Offerman on guns

Ducky flies to Peru

We found Ducky abandoned on a picnic table in a campground near Alamosa, Colorado. That was the trip that was nearly ruined by millions of caterpillars falling from the aspens they were denuding. The same trip we saw hundreds of unrelated swallowtails wallowing in mud along the road.

Ducky was just sitting there. That’s his thing. You know his kind well. Perhaps, New Mexicans feel a stronger connection to his kind thanks to Bosque del Apache, or, more likely, the Deming Duck Race.

Since he joined the pack, Ducky has ridden on the dash of our truck. He accompanies us on the mundane daily trips and the longer escapes we live for. This is why I impulsively grabbed him to take to Peru.

I admit that I considered Ducky might fill the roll of the sock monkey and other peripatetic icons dotting photos on the Web. He might add some whimsy, I hoped. Early on, I was very self-conscious about pulling him out and posing him. I don’t mind being affected or eccentric, but I’m not that into him at home. He’s just along for the ride. By putting him in the frame, I brought him into our group, most of whom looked at me indulgently, at first.

These are the best photos of Ducky in Peru, from departure to return. I couldn’t photograph my favorite moment involving Ducky. As we passed through airport security in Cusco, I pulled Ducky out of my pocket at the last moment and put him on top of a pile of other items. I loved seeing the faces of the security personnel soften as they looked from Ducky to each other and smiled. The world craves more whimsy.

Ducky on his way to Peru
Ducky on his way to Peru.

I love you, man!
I love you, man!

The joy of birding.

On the Madre de Dios river in Manu, Peru
On the Madre de Dios river, Manu, Peru.

Watching macaws
Watching macaws.

Cloudburst and sunny smile
Cloudburst and sunny smile

Cloudburst and sunny smile. I was delighted when Melissa Wilson reached for Ducky. Seize the whimsy! The rain ruined one of our best birding  opportunities, yet gave me more joy than I can say.

long journey home

You can go home again. It just takes forever.

Most of my blog entries regarding the trip are on Ah, Wilderness! Follow this link to 170 photos from the 2 week journey.

This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) By Talking Heads

Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb – burn with a weak heart
(So I) guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground
Head in the sky
It’s o.k. I know nothing’s wrong, nothing

Hi yo I got plenty of time
Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you’re standing here beside me
I love the passing of time
Never for money
Always for love
Cover up and say goodnight, say goodnight

Home, is where I want to be
But I guess I’m already there
I come home, she lifted up her wings
Guess that this must be the place
I can’t tell one from another
Did I find you, or you find me?
There was a time Before we were born
If someone asks, this is where I’ll be, where I’ll be

Hi yo we drift in and out
Hi yo sing into my mouth
Out of all those kinds of people
You got a face with a view
I’m just an animal looking for a home
Share the same space for a minute or two
And you love me till my heart stops
Love me till I’m dead
Eyes that light up, eyes look through you
Cover up the blank spots
Hit me on the head

Songwriters: BYRNE, DAVID/WEYMOUTH, TINA/HARRISON, JERRY/FRANTZ, CHRISTOPHER
© Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
For non-commercial use only.
Data from: LyricFind

—–

One of my favorite Talking Heads tunes. “I love the passing of time. …. Love me till my heart stops / love me till I’m dead.”

surface

Your body is an ocean.
Deep below,
under crushing pressure,
a volcanic fissure spits fire
and bloody light reveals
monsters writhing in mortal combat,
while miles above,
your fleeting smile
is a sailboat
on stalled waters.

12/11/08 2am
[Previously published on: Apr 5, 2013 @ 02:00 ]

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." — Sam Adams