It’s important to keep in mind that most gun owners are not NRA members, and, generally, vehemently disapprove of the organization’s indifference to safety, which make the danger of mass shootings many times higher than it would be if guns were registered, background checks were enforced, owners were trained, and assault weapons were banned. (more…)

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Indicting Trump

There is speculation that “no one wants to be the first (to indict Trump), but everyone and his dog wants to be second.”

I can’t say, but it sure will be a great day when the ball starts rolling here.

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When you have an ultra-right-wing cause, say, the concept that Trump is a gift, sent from God to save America–and you lose Jon Voight, you know you’re completely lost.

This is the equivalent of Fox News’ admitting that Joe Biden is actually a sane and decent person, or that Vladimir Putin doesn’t have the legal and moral right to indiscriminately torture and  execute innocent Ukrainian civilians while the rest of the world looks on with admiration, so deeply envious of his strength and power.

Stuff like this doesn’t happen even day of the week.

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The assertion in the meme here is simply false.  Iceland, Canada, Australia, and Sweden have virtually identical rates of consumption of drugs like antidepressants to the United States (12% – 15%), though they have almost no gun violence.  That’s because, in general, they have strict laws that govern the sale of guns.

I saw a similar assertion the other day to the effect that Godlessness causes gun violence.  Well, just look.  Monotheism is virtually nonexistent in Japan, but so are guns.  Result: Japan has virtually no gun deaths.

To the people glomming onto baseless claims:  Is there some rule that says you’re not allowed to access data and think for yourselves?

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One might think that political corruption, insofar as it’s illegal, would be carefully hidden from view.  One might hope that the political leanings of our elected officials are based on their personal philosophy and sense of duty to the people they serve.

But that doesn’t explain why a) Marco Rubio is attacking the NBA because they advocated for “common-sense gun laws,” and b) he has received $3,303,355 in campaign contributions from the NRA.

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It hasn’t been a good last few years for law enforcement here in the United States, which makes me feel sorry for all those many police personnel who serve with courage and honor.

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Here’s another indication that America may have reached the limit of its patience with the gun lobby and the routine massacre of our schoolchildren.

Boston Garden, home to the Boston Celtics, asks for the support of its patrons.

Now, of course, this is Massachusetts, which: (more…)

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We sometimes forget that being one of the country’s most thoroughgoing  ass****s comes at a price.

Imagine you’re Ted Cruz.  Everywhere you  go, you need to be prepared for exactly what happened at this restaurant.

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It hasn’t been a good last few years for the United States, and world opinion reflects that.

Perhaps the most significant issue, as shown in the bar charts below, is the erosion of democracy, as exemplified in the attempted coup, orchestrated by former president Donald Trump. (more…)

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The author of the tweet here has a great deal of common sense, though there are only a few present-day interpretations of the Constitution that seem to miss the mark.  In particular:

The idea that the Second Amendment prohibits us from enacting common sense gun laws is ludicrous, and I’m not the only one with this opinion.  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger once said, “The gun lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American people by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”

The notion that “corporations are people” and should therefore be afforded the rights to free speech as guaranteed under the First Amendment is arguably even worse.

Where we’re going with the 14th and 15th Amendments and the right of all citizens to vote, regardless of race, is anyone’s guess.  In the American South, Republicans are removing ballot boxes from predominantly black neighborhoods.  If that doesn’t violate the Constitution, it’s hard to imagine what does.

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