#SaharasMusings – Red vs Blue Gun Violence

Sniper GIFs | Tenor

I grew up in a house with guns.  In fact, we had the only firing range allowed in Omaha in our basement.  When my dad finished his tour of duty in Korea as a Marine, he came back a sniper.  A very good sniper.  He won Marksmanship awards.  Back at that time, the Omaha police department didn’t really have any gun training facilities, so my dad was allowed to train them in our basement.  Got pretty loud, some days. 

Needless to say, we were all taught gun safety.  I remember firing his .45 as a child.  Wow, what a kick.  To be honest, I never fired another weapon until I met Bob and we acquired our own guns. 

Dad’s rifles and hand guns were kept in their bedroom closet, with no gun safe.  And, as far as I know, none of us kids had any inclination to touch one without his approval.  We didn’t want the wrath of dad on us.  No way. 

Scalloped 2nd Amendment Right to Bear Arms Buckle - AndWest

So, of course, I believe in our right to bear arms. Our forefathers knew if are rights weren’t protected, we could be taken over by either our own government or another country. 

Cat-with-gun GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

However, in our current society, the Democrat’s (blue) are claiming that the increase in gun violence is due to all the lax gun laws in our Republican (red) states.  Their data shows that the most gun violence is in Red States.  So, they keep clambering for more gun control and, in reality, they want to totally disarm our nation.  There data isn’t wrong.  However, they aren’t looking at the whole picture.  Of course.  Can’t go against their own narrative. 

Puzzle Piece GIFs | Tenor

The biggest piece of the puzzle they’re missing is gun violence by CITY, not state.  Well, that opens up a whole new can of worms.  One the Democrat’s don’t want to acknowledge, let alone admit. 

So, let’s take a look at the top cities in 2021 with the highest homicide rates and their political leanings, whether Red or Blue. They are listed from the most murders to the least.  Click on the above links to see the exact numbers. 

Memphis, TN – Blue city in Red state

Detroit, MI – Very Blue city and Blue state

Milwaukee, WI – Blue city in Red state

Atlanta, GA – Blue city in Red state

Kansas City, MO – Blue city in Red state

Louisville, KY – Blue city in Red state

Indianapolis, IN – Blue city in Red state

Las Vegas, NV – Very Blue city & Blue state

Columbus, OH – Blue city in Red state

Minneapolis, MN – Blue city & Blue state

Albuquerque, NM – Blue city & Blue state

Houston, TX – Blue city in Red state 

Dallas, TX – Blue city in Red state 

Nashville, TN – Blue city in Red state

Tulsa, OK – Red city in Red state

Denver, CO – Blue city in Blue state

Portland, OR – Blue city in Blue state

Ft Worth, TX – Red city in Red state, but right next to Dallas which is BLUE. 

Oklahoma City, OK – Red city and Red state

San Antonio, TX – Blue city in Red state

Charlotte, NC – Blue city in slightly Blue state

Austin, TX – Blue city in Red state

Colorado Springs, CO – Red city in Blue state

Wichita, KS – Red city in Red state

Seattle, WA – Blue city in Blue state 

Boston, MA – Blue city in Blue state

Raleigh, NC – Blue city in slightly Blue state

Mesa, AZ – Red city in Blue state

Arlington, TX -Slightly Red city in Red state.  Again, not far from a very BLUE Dallas

San Diego, CA – Blue city in Blue state

El Paso, TX – Blue city in Red state

Do the math GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

Let’s do the math.  Out of the top 20 states, 10 of them lean RED.  IF you only look at those numbers, it looks bad for us lawless gun owners in RED states.  But hold your horses there, young man.  What’s causing those RED states to have such high homicide rates?  Well, golly geez, look at all them BLUE cities in those RED states. Out of the 31 cities, 24 are run by Democrat’s.  The same liberals that have the strictest gun control laws on the books. That makes no sense, right?  

Hmm, I wonder if there’s a correlation?  Of course there is.  

When I was having this exact same discussion with one of  my liberal leaning family members and showed her the TRUE stats, she brushed it off and said, – Well, that’s because those are the biggest cities. 

She totally missed the whole point, or choose to ignore it. 

If those cities didn’t have such strict gun laws, and were being run by a Republican, I believe the gun violence wouldn’t be the same.  You can see in Chicago, once a Democratic mayor was elected, their gun violence went through the roof.  

Blame GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

And, No, I’m not trying to pass the buck onto the Democrat’s.  Well, maybe a little, since it’s their laws that are causing all the deaths and mayhem.  Still, what we also need is more help for our mentally ill populace.  Instead, they get neglected and ignored until they do something that puts them in the spotlight.  Mass Shootings. 

I am in no way a mathematician and all my figures and statistics were gleamed off the internet.  But I hope I’ve presented them in a better light than what the left-leaning media and Democrat’s have done. They have perverted the truth for their own agenda. The real question is, WHY?

Posted in #SaharasMusings | Tagged | 10 Comments

Featured Audio Book: Secret Supers by Andy Zach

Jeremy Gentle fell flat on his face at therapy. That was normal since he had cerebral palsy. But his new superpower wasn’t normal. Then, things got weirder when his best friend Dan Elanga got a different superpower. But Dan was still blind. 

Kayla Verdera and Aubrey Wilcosky, two girls in their middle-school special ed class, discovered they too had new superpowers. Kayla was mute and needed a walker. Aubrey lost two legs and used crutches. But they were as powerful as the boys. What should the four friends do? 

Jeremy knew if the word got out, it’d be a media circus. Then, they started fighting crime as the Secret Supers. Who knew a disability could be a perfect disguise? No one would ever think of disabled kids as superheroes. But they ran into problems they never expected.

Other Books in Series:

Villain's Vacation: Secret Supers 2 by [Andy Zach, Sean Flanagan, Leslie McKee]      Secret Supers in Space: The further adventures of disabled teen superheroes by [Andy Zach, Sean Flanagan, Leslie McKee, Rik Hall]

Posted in #FeaturedAudioBooks | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books For Sale

Excalibur Saga by Sahara FoleyHopebreaker by Dean F. Wilson      Bright Morn of Issareth - Vol IV - The Red Book - Part I by Sable Jak

 

Resthaven by Colin Darney      Hunted by Antara Mann      Ambassador 1: Seeing Red by Patty Jansen

 

Searching for Shelter (Aftermath Book 1) by Misty Zaugg      The Guardian Program by Herman Steuernagel      The Ring Keeper by A.J. Park

 

Khyven the Unkillable by Todd Fahnestock      The Ones You Meant To Save by Shane Shepherd      Song of Death by C. A. Varian

 

AND  MANY  MORE

Posted in #BookfunnelPromotions | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Get Free Sci-Fi

Get these books fast! This promotion ends April 13th!

         

 

           

 

           

 

           

 

AND  MANY  MORE

Posted in #BookfunnelPromotions, #FreeeBooks, #Giveaway | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Featured Free eBook: The Wonderful World of Scary Ass Shit by Vaughn Ashby

Your parents are lying bags of dicks, everything you ever had a nightmare about is real, and probably was hiding under your bed.

Parallel dimensions exist, let’s get that out of the way right now. What matters more is that something is causing them to merge. A process, to put it bluntly, that can only be described as slamming one’s tit in the proverbial plane of existence’s door… or simply put, maximum unpleasantness in all the wrong places.

Monsters, creatures, anything really that can trigger that burning fear sensation that makes you wish you were already dead, they are real. Like real-real, like really-really real. Trust me, but also no one… see what I did there? The Aurora Wasteland seems to be the epicenter of it all. A focal point for the strange and weird. It’s an area that lives beyond man-made borders. A place made up of people you wouldn’t want to meet. People you wouldn’t want to be, because escaping from the nightmare that is the Aurora Wasteland, well, that’s just not possible.

Logan, Gabe, Monahan, and Jeff are and have been best friends since childhood, only they’ve never met, except they have and know everything and nothing about each other. Perfect stranger and the tightest of friends. Makes sense? Because it shouldn’t, it doesn’t to them.

Not that any of that matters, because as their dimension merges with another, they seem to be the only ones that remember anything about it… the old dimension that is. Even then, only their memories remain, while their lives have been swapped out like a saggy bag of gold. Merged with the them from the new dimension. It’s ok to be confused, none of it makes sense to them either, even if it should.

Then there is Patty, the fifth friend they didn’t even know they had, except they did. Patty knew it was coming and tried to stop it, The Merge that is. Only he failed and died graphically for it. Dragging the knowledge he had about everything to his grave. Now the four friends have to figure out how to try to pry themselves out of this dimension and to get home if it’s even possible. All while navigating their new lives, relationships, and the strange and weird known as The Aurora Wasteland, that just keeps pulling them in deeper.

Lost and with little to go on, a book by the title of TETHERED is found to be left specifically for them. A book written by the so-called discoverer of The Aurora Wasteland. A book whose contents may seemingly be more important to them than they know.

It’s ok to be confused and scared, but I should warn you, if you’re reading this, then it’s already too late. The Aurora Wasteland has you. It knows you. There is no escape. Trust me, because well… it’s better you just figure out what’s going on, for your own sake and sanity. Read, watch, listen, do that you have to do, consume it all. Because you’ll need it.

Welcome to The Wonderful World of Scary Ass Shit and the AURORA WASTELAND.

Other Books in Series:

The Wonderful World of Scary Ass Shit 2: The Blue Dick Ghosts of Mount Tekarra by [Vaughn Ashby]      The Wonderful World of Scary Ass Shit 3: The Never Ending Flats of Endless Endlessness by [Vaughn Ashby]

Posted in #FeaturedFreeeBooks | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Featured Book: Surviving Contempt (Of Magic and Contempt Book 5) by Jade Thorn 

Melody had no illusions that leading her own coven would keep her safe. All it did was paint another target on her back and give her even more responsibility. In a way, it was nice, because it meant she was truly free.

Yet now she had even more people depending on her, forcing Melody to put her personal concerns aside and deal with Bestia for once and for all. Being pulled in so many directions meant she had less time for her friends and the men in her life at a time when she should be focussing on forming their family.

With new revelations comes even more heartache, refreshing her determination to break away from her past.

Could fighting for the very people who’d saved her from harm, destroy the relationships she was trying to protect

One thing was certain, none of them were safe as long as the remnants of Bestia still walked free, and nothing, but nothing was more important than their destruction

Could Melody save them all once again, without losing herself in the process?


**Warning, this is a dark why choose story with elements that may cause some readers distress, including but not limited to descriptions of past physical and sexual abuse, neglect, torture and death. Please consider carefully before purchasing. Not intended for readers under the age of 18.**

Other Books in Series:

Beneath Contempt (Of Magic and Contempt Book 1) by [Jade Thorn]    Held In Contempt (Of Magic and Contempt Book 2) by [Jade Thorn]    Civil Contempt (Of Magic and Contempt Book 3) by [Jade Thorn]    Breeding Contempt (Of Magic and Contempt Book 4) by [Jade Thorn]

Posted in #FeaturedBooks | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Featured Free eBook: Bren’s Blessing (The Quasar Lineage Book 1) by Pearl Tate

I never thought I’d end up being abducted by aliens!

I never thought I’d end up being abducted by aliens!

I was living my dream, rotating in space around Mars on the Mars Hope Skylab. As the first American woman this far into space, I’ve accomplished more in my twenty-eight years of life than most.

I enjoy my job, so when things go sideways and aliens board my lab, I try to stay positive and make sure that I just observe and stay alive. But I’m immediately grabbed and taken to their ship.

Unable to understand them and not knowing what they have planned for me, I have to make some hard choices about whether living is the best way to go. And how far will I go to live?

It appears that I’m now the property of the alien that grabbed me.

He’s big, possessive and seems to want to get to know me a lot better…

PLEASE NOTE: This SciFi Romance alien book contains Adult Language and Steamy Adult Bedroom Scenes. It is intended for 18+ Readers & Adults Only.

More Books in Series:

Matthias's Miracle - A Sci-Fi Alien Romance: The Quasar Lineage Book 2 by [Pearl Tate]    Amari's Adored - A Sci-Fi Alien Romance: The Quasar Lineage Book 3 by [Pearl Tate]    Devlin's Darling - A Sci-Fi Alien Romance: The Quasar Lineage Book 4 by [Pearl Tate]

Posted in #FeaturedFreeeBooks | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

March 2023 Free eBooks – 1st to 15th

European-robin GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

I was going to comment that the robins seem to have arrived early this year.  Then I did a Google search and found out that robins don’t migrate south during the winter.  They start to flock in large numbers and then search for sources of food like berries and such.  They will start showing up again in the cities once the ground starts thawing because they can get the food they really want like worms and bugs.  Regardless, I love hearing their birdsong in the mornings and watch them hop along the ground.  Welcome Back!

Posted in #FreeeBooks | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

#SaharasMusings – Our Society is a BULLY

Meme Creator - Funny don't be a bully Meme Generator at MemeCreator.org!

We all know children can be bullies and especially in school.  I was bullied a lot during 6th grade as I was so introverted and meek and couldn’t stand up for myself.  Now I can and why I absolutely hate bullying and bully’s. 

Sadly, bullying didn’t stop at the school playground.  No, it has expanded into our adult lives too.  This post came about because one of our authors has been bullied by her publicist and his co-worker.  (No names will be called out.) Which got me to thinking.  Of course.  Our society has turned into one big BULLY. 😂😥

From Meriam-Webster: BULLY

1 to treat (someone) in a cruel, insulting, threatening, or aggressive fashion 
2 to cause (someone) to do something by means of force or coercion

 

TROLL | What Does TROLL Mean?

As an author, I’ve run across Trolls before on Goodreads.  People who just love beating writers down because they can and are totally anonymous. The reason why most authors stay away from that slime pit.  I always wondered how these people act in real life.  Do they treat their family and friends the same way?  I doubt it.  Which is one of the greatest pitfalls of the internet and social media.  It’s give rise to people throwing their weight around without any repercussions.

Then, there’s Twitter.  A real cesspool if there ever was one.  Authors have been mocked, threatened, and their careers ruined because an author had the audacity to write something they didn’t approve of. Some of the Trolls even went to the extremes of hunting them down and harassing them in person. What would that be called but BULLYING.  And we do nothing to stop it, thereby, condoning their actions. 

Accountable Cancel Culture GIF - Accountable Cancel Culture Thats Cancel  Culture - Discover & Share GIFs

Which leads me to CANCEL CULTURE and why I say our society has turned into a BULLY.  Cancel Culture is not politics but has bled into the political arena as the TROLLS/CRYBABIES screaming at the top of their lungs that WE HAVE TO DO WHAT THEY SAY take political office and push their agendas onto unsuspecting citizens.  And it’s not just happening in the USA.  No, Canada and Europe are all fighting the culture war, as well.

I didn’t intend for this post to turn into a Black Pill moment, as Tim Pool would say.  But then I saw a YouTube video that James O’keefe posted about how he was treated by the board members of Project Veritas and what actually led up to him being fired.  And I’m sure the board was BULLIED by Pfizer as he’d just exposed them for their nefarious activities with their COVID vaccinations.

Long, but worth the watch if you really want to know the truth of our world.

Then, I learned about Josh Alexander in Canada who got arrested for protesting for the girls in his catholic school over having transgender girls with them.  They complained to him that they they didn’t feel safe in their bathrooms but the management wouldn’t listen to them or him.  So, he got arrested for trying to speak his mind.  Really?  How sad our world has become. 

My questions is, Why are we allowing the minority to run and ruin our countries?  When you let bullies run your lives, there is no room for discourse, debate, or any opinions but their own. And you will ALWAYS be wrong.  You will be told over and over, as they scream at the top of their lungs, that you are all foul, racist pigs.

As a few apt sayings go: “The loudest one in the room, is the weakest one in the room.”

And: “He who shouts loudest usually has the least to say.”

So why are we letting the BULLIES run our lives?

Fear.  Fear of the BULLIES who take our lunch money everyday.  

Posted in #SaharasMusings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

#Crystals101 – How to Identify Your Crystals

Best Rock Identification Apps - EducationalAppStore

You found your first piece of stone/crystal that you fell in love with.  Just had to pick it up or buy it.  Now what do you do with it?  How do you identify it?  That’s the question of the year.  😂🤣

When I first started on my crystal journey, I’d heard of quartz and agates but not much else.  My mind was blown when I learned there are so many forms of crystals.  And each type has numerous variations.  It can be mind-numbing and overwhelming, to say the least.  So the first thing you need is a rock indentation app to download to your phone or tablet. 

The one I use is Rock Identifier: Stone ID.  I didn’t realize there was a free version, so I bought it.  I think the paid one lets you store and catalogue your rocks/crystals.  It didn’t cost very much so it was worth it.  The rock identification  apps have, from what I can tell, a 97% accuracy rate.  It will take the picture of your rock and compare it against three possibilities.  It will give you quite a bit of detail about the three alternatives, which is cool.  Still, if you have a crystal with a similar makeup to another rock, it can be a challenge.  Even people who deal with rocks/crystals can still get confused.

Rainbow Moonstone

Point in fact, geologists identified and named a crystal Rainbow Moonstone, but it actually has the composition of a Labradorite and not a Moonstone.  Why did they do that?  Who knows, but it’s confusing enough for us novice rock hounds without them mudding the waters. 

Below, I will be showing you the four most common minerals you’ll hear about.  The crystals in thee videos are from my own collection. I am by no means an expert and still learning, but I hope it helps you with your journey. 

AGATE

Agates are the most common rock/crystal you’ll find.  They have a tendency to merge, (I call it marry), with other crystal formations.  They can be found all over the world and usually along river/stream  or the banks of a lake.  When the materials surrounding the agate geode gets washed away, the agate comes free and then gets pushed down the stream or washed up on the banks.  Very similar to how gold is found.  However, gold is heavier so ends up on the bottom. Hence, panning for gold during the gold rush.

The common types of Agate are Flower and Moss Agates.  Though there are Blue and Red Agates as well.  And, as I said, they marry with so many other types of minerals, so you can see it with Jasper and Amethyst, to name a few. 

From My Agate Collection

QUARTZ

Quartz is another very commonly known crystal and I think most people have heard of Rose Quartz.  I know I had.  I also found out that it’s a very prized mineral in China.  You can get bathtubs made from Rose Quartz.  Wow.  Can’t even imagine how much that would cost. 

Out of the Quartz family, Clear and Citrine are the two most powerful crystals in the world.  I found out, while doing this blog, that Amethyst is also in the quartz family.  We learn something new everyday.  You can sometimes find veins of Quartz in other crystals.

There is also the Garden Quartz, which I forgot to video.  I LOVE this crystal and it’s only mined in one area in the world, making it expensive and in hot demand. 

From My Quartz Collection
From My Amethyst Collection

FLUORITE

Before I started collecting crystals, I’d never heard of Fluorite before.  Maybe you have, but it’s very common, and in big demand, in the crystal community.  Here, again, you have many different variations of Fluorite – Purple, Green, Yellow, Rainbow, Watermelon, Silkie, and the most expensive, Blue.  And Fluorite ca be found in other minerals, but a quality piece of Fluorite will only be itself. 

From My Fluorite Collection

JASPER

Here, again, Jasper is a crystal I’d never heard about but very much loved.  You have your Red Jasper, Polychrome, Bloodstone, and Ocean Jasper.  And Jasper can have Agate interspersed in it making it hard to identify sometimes.  Pink Amethyst with Agate & Ocean Jasper with Agate can look so alike.  Yikes.  However, Ocean Jasper is the most sought after, with a trademarked name  and only found at one site.  And Ocean jasper can come in so many flavors, white, pink, yellow, red all swirled together.  The colors are amazing and what draws crystal lovers to them for decoration.

From My Jasper Collection

That’s it for this post.  As I said, I’m not an expert and am just learning as I go.  Next time I will go over the lesser known, but just as beautiful, crystals.  Let me know what’s your favorite crystal and if you want me to address any questions you may have.  Thanks for reading.   😍😍 

Posted in #Crystals101 | Tagged , , | 1 Comment