I recently returned from a one-month visit to the United States. My family and I slept in five different states and visited a couple of others. Naturally, I was observing the differences between the US and Italy and between the US of today and what I remember from the last visit two years ago.
By far what stuck me most was the obesity. It's noticeably increased over the years. It occurred to me it cannot be explained by the super-sizes of everything from water bottles to hamburgers. I had thought that was it, but now I wonder if even the decent food is contaminated with so much antibiotics and chemicals and genetically modified material that the poor people don't stand a chance.
It's sad.
The second most impressive thing I noticed was the almost total absence of guns. Every day I scanned the people for who might be carrying concealed. There were very few, which could be easily determined due to the summertime dress code. I realize some of those folks might have had a gun in the glove compartment of the car and certainly some had guns at home, but the overall impression was that gun ownership is not the commonplace way of life we often hear from the gun-rights crowd.
In the early days of my stay, which was the end of June, the Fast and Furious scandal was in the news. That's when Holder was held in contempt. In one of the reports, it was mentioned that the actual events took place under Bush. I was shocked. I'd never heard that little factoid before, which makes sense since I had gotten almost all my information about the story on sites like The Truth About Guns and The Sipsey Street Irregulars. Reading those blogs, it was obvious to me they were attempting to distort the story into something more than a simple sting operation gone bad, but the fact that they'd so calculatedly avoided ever mentioning that the gun-running incidents actually predated the Obama reign confirms my opinion of their less-than-honest intentions.
One extremely enjoyable thing about my vacation was the almost total disconnect from e-mail and blogs that I arranged for myself. I checked in from time to time, but I really benefited from the restful and relaxing life style the disconnect allowed me during those weeks. I feel rejuvenated. I feel optimistic about the future of gun control. I had a chance to step back and see just how fringe-like and fanatical the gun-rights folks are. One day I watched a 20-minute info-commercial starring Wayne La Pierre in which he hit all the talking points for which he's famous. It was to drum up NRA memberships. I thought he's the one fighting a losing battle. In spite of the apathy and lack of resources on the gun-control side, common sense and reason will prevail.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Don't Expect Gun Control From Washington D.C.
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Oh look, an Aurora, Colorado Copycat Killer Wannabe
I thought the machine gun ownership was fascinating. More crazy gun guys demonstrating the gun culture failure.
From MSNBC.com:
Maine police arrested a heavily armed man driving on the state turnpike who carried clippings about the cinema massacre in Colorado and claimed he attended the new "Batman" film with a loaded gun, authorities said on Monday.
Timothy Courtois, 49, was driving 112 mph on the Maine Turnpike with an AK-47 assault weapon, four handguns and several boxes of ammunition in his car when state police pulled him over about 10 a.m. on Sunday, said Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.
He told police that he was headed to Derry, N.H., to shoot a former employer, McCausland said in a statement.
Courtois told police he had attended the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," at a theater in Saco, Maine, on Saturday night with a loaded gun in his backpack, he said.
Police found clippings in his car about the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., where 12 people were killed and 58 wounded by a gunman at a Friday showing of "The Dark Knight," he said.
At Courtois' home in Biddeford, Maine, police found several additional guns, including a machine gun, and thousands of rounds of ammunition, he said.
Courtois was slated to appear in court on Monday in Springvale District Court on initial charges of speeding and carrying a concealed weapon, McCausland said.
From MSNBC.com:
Police: Man was driving 112 mph on Maine Turnpike with AK-47, 4 handguns, boxes of ammo
Police: Man was driving 112 mph on Maine Turnpike with AK-47, 4 handguns, boxes of ammo
Maine police arrested a heavily armed man driving on the state turnpike who carried clippings about the cinema massacre in Colorado and claimed he attended the new "Batman" film with a loaded gun, authorities said on Monday.
Timothy Courtois, 49, was driving 112 mph on the Maine Turnpike with an AK-47 assault weapon, four handguns and several boxes of ammunition in his car when state police pulled him over about 10 a.m. on Sunday, said Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.
He told police that he was headed to Derry, N.H., to shoot a former employer, McCausland said in a statement.
Courtois told police he had attended the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," at a theater in Saco, Maine, on Saturday night with a loaded gun in his backpack, he said.
Police found clippings in his car about the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., where 12 people were killed and 58 wounded by a gunman at a Friday showing of "The Dark Knight," he said.
At Courtois' home in Biddeford, Maine, police found several additional guns, including a machine gun, and thousands of rounds of ammunition, he said.
Courtois was slated to appear in court on Monday in Springvale District Court on initial charges of speeding and carrying a concealed weapon, McCausland said.
Monday, July 23, 2012
WaPo: Six Facts about Guns, Violence and Gun Control
Good piece in the WaPo.
The only part I'd quibble with is the last claiming gun control isn't popular. My beef is why "keeping gun laws the same" goes on the side of the ledger as "making laws less strict."
If we break out the numbers, making gun laws less strict usually hovers in the high single/low double digit range.
The only part I'd quibble with is the last claiming gun control isn't popular. My beef is why "keeping gun laws the same" goes on the side of the ledger as "making laws less strict."
If we break out the numbers, making gun laws less strict usually hovers in the high single/low double digit range.
Colorado Shooter (alleged) Has Facebook Fans
Do some people think that you get some kind of pass or do-over, after killing (allegedly) a dozen people, and shooting up more than 50 others, not to mention what was done to the two theaters showing the movie as well as the horrors and trauma done to all the law enforcement, first responders, health care providers, neighbors to the shooter, etc.?
Who could possibly justify photoshopping this guy's face in place of a real hero? or glorify the fictional villain after this event? Do we have this many people who are simply hateful contrarians with no regard for life -- these people are pioneering new lows of shallow and vile.
From Opposing Views:
James Holmes Facebook Dedication Page Getting Plenty of Likes
By Michael Flood McNulty, Mon, July 23, 2012
Who could possibly justify photoshopping this guy's face in place of a real hero? or glorify the fictional villain after this event? Do we have this many people who are simply hateful contrarians with no regard for life -- these people are pioneering new lows of shallow and vile.
From Opposing Views:
James Holmes Facebook Dedication Page Getting Plenty of Likes
By Michael Flood McNulty, Mon, July 23, 2012
Only hours after the Aurora shooting claimed 12 lives early Friday morning, an individual took to Facebook and created a page in dedication to alleged shooter James Holmes.
Despite lots of anger and criticism directed towards the page's yet-to-be-identified creator or creators via the comments, more than 425 people have already Liked the page as of Monday morning.
Responding to angry comments, the person responded "It's a page for those who like James, give him a second chance."
Although in horrible taste, it doesn't appear like the page breaks any law -- yet. However, Facebook may feel it violates a company policy and take down the page. That hasn't happened yet, however.
To give you an idea of what you'll find there, two images on the page include:
Despite lots of anger and criticism directed towards the page's yet-to-be-identified creator or creators via the comments, more than 425 people have already Liked the page as of Monday morning.
Responding to angry comments, the person responded "It's a page for those who like James, give him a second chance."
Although in horrible taste, it doesn't appear like the page breaks any law -- yet. However, Facebook may feel it violates a company policy and take down the page. That hasn't happened yet, however.
To give you an idea of what you'll find there, two images on the page include:
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