Lacking the Will and Some Full Days
It's been more than a week since the largest modern-day mass killing in the United States. Republicans were all on point in the days after the shooting, stating that now was not the time to talk about any sort of meaningful gun control legislation. They were apparently too busy organizing their thoughts and prayers. People of all political stripes were posting their favorite memes on Facebook -- memes which best aligned with their convictions about what to do, or not to do.
The meme to the left is a good example of what conservatives were posting. I couldn't help but notice that the examples used in that particular meme all resulted in stricter controls for each of the methods listed. Timothy McVeigh used a fertilizer bomb to kill hundreds, and the government responded with much tighter controls on the sale of the kind of fertilizer he used to make a bomb. The 9/11 terrorists used box cutters to commandeer aircraft and fly them into buildings, and the government responded with tighter controls on what's allowed onboard an aircraft. Richard Reid tried to blow up a passenger jet with a shoe bomb, and the government responded by requiring people to remove their shoes for inspection before boarding an airplane.
Do you see a pattern?
Twenty children between the ages of 6 and 7 were killed at Sandy Hook elementary school in a mass shooting in 2012. Republicans responded that it wasn't appropriate to use the tragedy as a reason to discuss gun control legislation because it would only be politicizing it. And nothing was done in the months and years that followed to try and minimize the risk for such a tragedy ever happening again. And these sorts of senseless tragedies continue to happen again and again and again and again without even a discussion among our politicians about the problem because republicans won't partake in the discussion.
I don't have any delusions that we'll ever come to some reasonable laws to drastically reduce the amount of gun violence in our country. As others have said, if we couldn't find the will to do it after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook, it's not likely to happen. We spend trillions of dollars chasing a bogeyman in the Middle East while for every life lost at home or abroad to terrorism we lose 1049 lives here due to gun violence. And yet republicans won't even have a discussion about it. Where is the sense in that? And where is the sense in continuing to spend trillions on wars we'll never win? But that's for another discussion that republicans won't partake in.
Here's a link to a Wiki page detailing what other countries have done in their efforts to control gun violence. Why do we in this country have to stand in such stark contrast to every other developed nation in our number of mass shootings and deaths? My god—can't we do better?
Switching gears...
I was at a gathering of fellow Jefferson high school alum on Saturday night where I learned that Amy Ebner passed away last March from lung cancer. She had also been suffering from MS. So sad. I always thought she was the prettiest girl in school. She lived just a couple blocks from us in Bloomington. I didn't have any contact with her from middle school on as our paths diverged. I have two lasting memories of her from some 50 years ago. I recall us chatting in front of Hubert Olson Elementary where she was on her bike and I was asking her who her teacher was for the upcoming year. We were going into 6th grade. The other memory I have of her from all those years ago was of Amy beating everyone in our class in a running race. She was taller and faster than all of the boys. Those memories have always remained with me.
I woke up Sunday morning to a beautiful blue sky and light winds. We had a full day planned but my Serotta was begging me to go riding first. And so we did. I needed that, and I felt so refreshed when I was done. I've not been spending enough time on my bikes lately because golf seems to be winning out for my attention. I can ride throughout the winter but I can't say the same for golfing so I'm trying to get my fill while I can with just a few weeks remaining in the golfing season.
Tammy and I stopped by to see Steve where he was displaying his blown glass at an art fair in Sogn Valley, about 45 minutes away. The fair had lots of talented artists but it also had lots of biting beetles. We spent most of our time there chatting with Steve before leaving to meet Rachel, Drew and Drew's mother Jenny at Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings for a wine tasting—and to meet Jenny. We had such a nice time! We spent a couple hours there sipping the various wines and munching on an assortment of cheeses, crackers, and olives while chatting our time away.
I hadn't planned to do yardwork today but I did and I'm glad because I got lots done! All of our gardens are cleared of both healthy and dying flowers and all of our hostas have been cut back. And I mowed the lawn again to vacuum up the leaves after having just done it on Saturday. It was a full day of work; I finished in the dark and in a drizzle.
I think I hear my golf clubs calling me for tomorrow—or is it my bike? I'm quite sure it's my clubs I'm hearing. Can you hear them?
The meme to the left is a good example of what conservatives were posting. I couldn't help but notice that the examples used in that particular meme all resulted in stricter controls for each of the methods listed. Timothy McVeigh used a fertilizer bomb to kill hundreds, and the government responded with much tighter controls on the sale of the kind of fertilizer he used to make a bomb. The 9/11 terrorists used box cutters to commandeer aircraft and fly them into buildings, and the government responded with tighter controls on what's allowed onboard an aircraft. Richard Reid tried to blow up a passenger jet with a shoe bomb, and the government responded by requiring people to remove their shoes for inspection before boarding an airplane.
Do you see a pattern?
Twenty children between the ages of 6 and 7 were killed at Sandy Hook elementary school in a mass shooting in 2012. Republicans responded that it wasn't appropriate to use the tragedy as a reason to discuss gun control legislation because it would only be politicizing it. And nothing was done in the months and years that followed to try and minimize the risk for such a tragedy ever happening again. And these sorts of senseless tragedies continue to happen again and again and again and again without even a discussion among our politicians about the problem because republicans won't partake in the discussion.
I don't have any delusions that we'll ever come to some reasonable laws to drastically reduce the amount of gun violence in our country. As others have said, if we couldn't find the will to do it after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook, it's not likely to happen. We spend trillions of dollars chasing a bogeyman in the Middle East while for every life lost at home or abroad to terrorism we lose 1049 lives here due to gun violence. And yet republicans won't even have a discussion about it. Where is the sense in that? And where is the sense in continuing to spend trillions on wars we'll never win? But that's for another discussion that republicans won't partake in.
Here's a link to a Wiki page detailing what other countries have done in their efforts to control gun violence. Why do we in this country have to stand in such stark contrast to every other developed nation in our number of mass shootings and deaths? My god—can't we do better?
Switching gears...
I was at a gathering of fellow Jefferson high school alum on Saturday night where I learned that Amy Ebner passed away last March from lung cancer. She had also been suffering from MS. So sad. I always thought she was the prettiest girl in school. She lived just a couple blocks from us in Bloomington. I didn't have any contact with her from middle school on as our paths diverged. I have two lasting memories of her from some 50 years ago. I recall us chatting in front of Hubert Olson Elementary where she was on her bike and I was asking her who her teacher was for the upcoming year. We were going into 6th grade. The other memory I have of her from all those years ago was of Amy beating everyone in our class in a running race. She was taller and faster than all of the boys. Those memories have always remained with me.
I woke up Sunday morning to a beautiful blue sky and light winds. We had a full day planned but my Serotta was begging me to go riding first. And so we did. I needed that, and I felt so refreshed when I was done. I've not been spending enough time on my bikes lately because golf seems to be winning out for my attention. I can ride throughout the winter but I can't say the same for golfing so I'm trying to get my fill while I can with just a few weeks remaining in the golfing season.
Tammy and I stopped by to see Steve where he was displaying his blown glass at an art fair in Sogn Valley, about 45 minutes away. The fair had lots of talented artists but it also had lots of biting beetles. We spent most of our time there chatting with Steve before leaving to meet Rachel, Drew and Drew's mother Jenny at Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings for a wine tasting—and to meet Jenny. We had such a nice time! We spent a couple hours there sipping the various wines and munching on an assortment of cheeses, crackers, and olives while chatting our time away.
I hadn't planned to do yardwork today but I did and I'm glad because I got lots done! All of our gardens are cleared of both healthy and dying flowers and all of our hostas have been cut back. And I mowed the lawn again to vacuum up the leaves after having just done it on Saturday. It was a full day of work; I finished in the dark and in a drizzle.
I think I hear my golf clubs calling me for tomorrow—or is it my bike? I'm quite sure it's my clubs I'm hearing. Can you hear them?
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