I don't think there is a woman alive who hasn't experienced a sexual assault at some time in her life. In fact, I believe that every woman has experienced multiple sexual assaults in her life. That includes myself. Here is a sampling of what I have been subjected to.

1. At one time I was in a bowling league. One evening, during one of the last matches of the season, a male member of the team I was on suddenly pulled me to himself so quickly and with such force that I was unable to push him away before he forcefully kissed me on the lips against my will. He persisted in a long, hard kiss despite my effort to push him away. When he released me, he said that the kiss was because I might not have another chance with him. Oh the conceit, the arrogance. I walked out immediately, leaving the rest of the team to their game.

2. I was in my dentist's office for a routine cleaning and checkup. There was a new dental tech on the staff. While he had his drill in my mouth, he kept touching my right breast. I tried to shift my position. When that failed, I tried to insert my arm between myself and his arm, but he kept circumventing my effort. Laying back on the chair with his drill and mirror in my mouth, there seemed little I could do. I reported him to my dentist, and the man was fired. He was convicted of sexual assault in another case a few months later.

3. While flying on a business trip from New York to The Hague in the Netherlands, I was assigned a window seat on the plane. Such seats can get colder than the rest of the plane, so I covered myself with a blanket. Somewhere over the Atlantic, as I was dosing off, the guy in the isle seat used the blanket as cover to slip his hand under my skirt and into my panties. He was so quick that before I even knew what was happening, he was fondling me and penetrating my vagina with his finger. First I was shocked, then terrified. Here I was at 30,000 feet, blocked in my seat, scared out of my mind, and afraid of the humiliation and the accusing thoughts and stares of the other passengers if I made a scene, so I simply suffered through the violation. The Bastard got away with it.

I've lost count of the grops, cat calls, and learing looks from lecherous married men. These incidents only scratch the surface of what women all over the world must endure everyday. And that's before the times I was discriminated against in the work place my guys who believed that a woman wasn't capable of solving a problem that was eluding them. But I've ranted long enough for now.

The Death of two reporters at the hands of a former colleague who apparently held a grudge for a real or imagined slight two years ago is the latest in a string of tragic shootings. We all feel sorry for the victims and their families. And I suppose we should also feel some sorrow for the shooter, who has suffered some form of mental illness for so long. We feel sorry for society as a whole as well.

Society's pain will inevitably lead to renewed calls for more and stricter gun control. The proposed controls are almost always centered around taking guns out of the hands of the public. But everyone knows that is impossible. They are born of frustration. What people really want is to believe they can control the cause of crime.

But the gun is not the cause of crime; the cause is the tendency for humans to be violant and the inability of some people to control that tendency in themselves. Nevertheless, the "Get the Guns" people still believe that violating the rights of millions of citizens because of the crimes of a few will accomplish something.

I am 73 years old. I have been handling and shooting handguns, rifles, and shotguns recreationally since I was 12, and from my late teens to my mid twenties I was a competition shooter. In the 63 years since I picked up my first gun, I have never had an accident, and I certainly have not shot anyone or committed any crimes. Will someone please tell me how taking my gun will prevent crime?!

Of course many will say they don't want my gun (unless it's on their list of what they think I don't need), but simply want to ensure that the mentally ill won't be able to get a gun. That too is impossible. Why? Because just because I haven't gone crazy yet, there is no way to predict if or when I may go nuts, or even a way to prevent me from lying on the background check application when asked if I have ever been treated for any mental defect. So we're back to confiscation.

People, confiscation of guns isn't the answer. It's just a feel-good attempt to control the uncontrolable.

Freddie Gray died in Baltimore, Maryland, about a week ago. His death came as he was being arrested by Baltimore police. I don't know what the charge was, but that is actually irrelevant at this point. What is to the point is the police department is trying to determine why Freddie Gray died. The autopsy says that he died from a severed spine suffered while in police custody. They're trying to determine why.

I can tell you why right now: it's because police are trained to maintain control of an individual after he's been taken down by placing their knee in the man's back. Too much pressure on the spine at this point, while emotions are running high and adrenaline is flowing, can easily result in spinal cord damage. I suspect that this is what happened to Freddie Gray.

Mr. Gray's death is an unfortunate and tragic accident that should force police to reevaluate the methods they use to take people into custady.

He crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on Saturday, Feburary 7th. Billy was between 12 and 14 years old, and he was being treated for a leaky heart valve for the last 3 years and a swollen heart condition for 1 year. Three years of treatment kept him alive, but his condition finally caught up with both him and me. It was quick. No pain; no suffering as far as I could tell. I didn't even have to make a decision to have him put down. He just waited 'til I was out of the room and then closed his eyes.

I loved that dog so much, and it's been hard. I've cried enough tears to cause the Mississippi river to overflow it's banks. Now I am starting to move on. I suppose I'll wait a few months and then look around for another little bundle of fur to love. I hope that new love will be half as good as Billy was.

Why does ISIS indiscriminately slaughter men, women, and children? It's simple: they believe that if they can create enough chaos, they can hasten the coming of the twelfth Imam, the ultimate saviour of mankind. He will appear with the return of Jesus Christ to finally bring peace and justice to the world.

This comes from the Koran itself, which Muslims believe to be the actual words of God himself, not just an interpretation of God's will by human writers. That said, it must become clear that the intent of ISIS is to intentionally provoke a war with the West. They want war, and they will commitment any atrocity or series of atrocities to see that that goal is achieved.

War is a goal ISIS can and will eventually achieve just because the West will run out of all other options. So why don't the leaders of the Western nations recognize this truth. Are they so stupid as to not believe these nuts. Are they all as naive as Neville Chamberlain was prior to WWII?

He has alienated all of our most trusted allies. He has removed all of our most senior military commanders. He allowed the entire middle east to descend into chaos. He has weakened our military capability to pre-WWII levels. And now he wants the authority to commit what's left of our military to wage war without limits against anyone in any geographic area of the world without limit and without getting prior approval of Congress, all in an effort to salvage the reputation of his failed presidency. His most probable thought is that, if Congress fails to give him this authority, he can blame the continued collapse of the middle eastern nations on Congress, and if war is waged and goes poorly and we must later withdraw, he can blame his successor for botching a war that he had "under control" before he left office.

Mr Barack Obama, sir, history has not forgotten Nero. History has not forgotten Caligula. History will not forget that ISIS is a barbaric organization. And history will not forget or forgive you for failing to abide by your oath or for attempting to destroy this nation. Whether you succeed in that is yet to be seen.

Mr. Obama let his pants slip down a bit when he compared today's Muslim Extremists to the Christian Crusades of 1000 years ago. That kind of statement could only be made by a Muslim taught to hate the west, or a Muslim sympathizer. And what Mr. O failed to point out was that the Crusades were a response to Muslim hordes streaming out of the middle east to butcher European communities that refused to submit to their god.

The Crusaders pushed the Muslim invaders back into their own lands, where they remained for a thousand years. During that time, the West evolved into a more civilized people, while the Muslim radicals did not do so. Now they are on the move again, and our government is unwilling to recognize the threat for what it is despite the abundance of evidence available.

The New York Times newspaper is reporting that Professors there are outraged now that the costs of Obamacare are beginning to be applied to them. What a bunch of hypocrites.

It never ceases to amaze me how politicians and professors who have academic credentials can dream up pie-in-the-sky programs that sound good on paper but won't work when applied to daily life. These people have credentials, but they have no concept or understanding of how day-to-day things work in the real world. A pox on them all.

"May we all be forgiven for the inapt missteps of our past, and presented with new opportunities to accomplish the things that we've dreamed of doing."

Words of Thomas DePrima in his novel "A Galaxy Unknown".

Thank God Harry Reid is no longer Majority Leader in the Senate. It's too bad that he's still in the Senate at all. He has been acting like a dictator. That is not what this country is about. He has abused his power just as much as Pres. Obama. He has been a total disgrace as a senator, and an embarrassment for both the state of Nevada and the Democratic Party.