JUST SOME POSTS

Well I have not posted since right before Christmas when the Christmas poem came to me. We (the collective we) were lamenting about goings on in far off lands and learning new ways to disrespect each other. Now we are back to one of the tried and true ways - fighting over gun control. Before I get into it let me let you give you some facts about me - I do not own any guns. I have never watched Fox news (except for switching between them and MSNBC and PBS on election night - I enjoy the contrast). I have voted for Democrats and Republican over my voting years. I try to get to facts instead of emotions on issues that are very inflammatory, like gun control. There has been another school shooting by a crazed individual with a gun; no THE gun, that all the world's troubles have been attached to; the AR-15. (AR-15-style is more correct, as actual AR-15s - trademark name owned by Colt - are a small part of the market as every rifle manufacturer makes a variant) This rifle is a semi-aut...

I just corrected a gross mistake here on the number of auto deaths. I am not sure what happened, but I had the number very wrong on the high side. I truly try to check these things with two sources prior to publishing, but I do make mistakes. I found this myself in reading some older posts for background for another. My apologies. SP 8/29/18 I wanted to comment on one of the most controversial and widely discussed topics today - gun control/gun violence. Especially with two heinous acts within a span of about a month, this is top of mind and discussions. I just wanted to put some perspective on these events, as well as bring up some points and questions. I am not trying to dismiss the tragedy or horror of these killings ; just trying to have a rational discussion (which is always difficult when concerning an inherently irrational subject). First let's get into the perspective part: As horrific and seemingly common these "mass shootings" are - in reality they are st...

I am writing this in the aftermath of the horrible, senseless shooting at the Aurora, Colorado premier of the new Batman movie. As the news media does, it has covered every aspect of this tragedy. One of the things that always pops up after a shooting like this is the calls for gun control and gun laws. I am always amazed that there are actually sane and rational people out there that think more gun laws and/or bans will solve things like this. We cannot "put the genie back in the bottle", as it were. Unless there was a way to eliminate all the guns on the planet (and wouldn't the armies of the world look cute with their shiny spears) and the knowledge on how to build them, gun violence will never go away*. I think even the most adamant gun control nut would agree that is not possible. For those of you still with doubts, here are some examples - after billions of dollars and millions of arrests, is marijuana still available? How about cocaine, heroin, etc? Has pros...