No Way To Prevent It?

I spent this morning trying to suppress my gag reflex.  The news channels featured a parade of gun "enthusiasts" (what a charitable euphemism that is) reciting the tired old defense that "there's no way to prevent mass shootings and gun violence" because those who wish to commit such crimes will find a way to do so no matter what, so therefore any gun legislation is just a waste of time.  Basically, fuck it and good luck.

I would merely like to remind these idiots that laws and regulations are never guarantees of perfect outcomes.  They are statutory recognitions of societal norms, values and expectations, and they come with the deterrent "teeth" of enforcement and penalties for violation.

Despite laws against them, murder, theft and arson continue.  But as a society we'd never consider doing away with such laws.  We'd never say "Since we can't stop these crimes entirely, there's no point in any laws prohibiting them.  So fuck it."

But that's precisely the position taken by the gun nuts.  And they're not trying to be satirical. 

http://www.theonion.com/article/no-way-prevent-says-only-nation-where-regularly-ha-57086

How To Avoid Becoming A Mass Shooting Victim

by Joe Blundo, Columbus Dispatch, 10/5/17.

Despite the fact that we live in a country awash in guns, there’s no need to panic. Keep things in perspective.

Here are a few simple steps you can take to avoid becoming the victim of a mass shooting:

Be informed about where mass shootings have occurred. Those locations include schools, churches, workplaces, hospitals, public transportation, city streets, private homes, theaters, concert venues, restaurants, military bases, nursing homes and other locations too numerous to list.

Avoid those places, and you should be fine.

Study the groups that have been targeted in the past. Those who seem particularly vulnerable include elementary-school students, middle-school students, high-school students, college students, concertgoers, churchgoers, moviegoers, employees, families at home, drivers, pedestrians, those sitting down and people doing nothing in particular.

Exercise extra caution if the list describes you or anyone you care about.

Educate yourself about firearms. Sniper rifles that can kill you from 2 miles away are legal. So try to stay 3 miles away from them.

Heed our leaders. You can’t expect politicians to intervene in the regular slaughter of citizens when they have so much fundraising to do. But they are rock-solid supporters of the idea that you’re on your own.

Hence the “active-shooter” suggestion to run, hide and fight.

If you decide to run, keep in mind that the average bullet travels about 1,700 mph. And if you decide to hide, make sure you do so in an armored personnel carrier because bullets can pierce construction materials. And if you decide to fight, make sure you have good aim. Because nothing scares a heavily armed, suicidal gunman in body armor like having a stapler thrown at him.

Remember the NRA mantra: The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. But let’s modify it slightly: The only thing that can stop a bad guy from firing automatic weapons on a crowd from the 32^nd floor of a hotel is a good guy with automatic weapons in the room next to him. Maybe next time the good guy will be there.

Move to another country. It might sound extreme, but if you find yourself just too upset by gun violence, you could relocate to safer countries. They aren’t hard to find.

Vote out of office every state legislator and member of Congress too spineless to address the issue of gun violence. I mean, in the unlikely event that, after a gunman killed 59 and wounded more than 500 in Las Vegas this week, you’re starting to think that government has a duty to, you know, govern.

Joe Blundo is a Dispatch columnist.

jblundo@dispatch.com

__________________________________________
P.S.  I sent a congratulatory email to the columnist, and he sent me this prompt reply:

Blundo, Joe	12:49 PM (1 hour ago)
to me

Thanks! By failing to act, our government is essentially saying that not enough of us have been killed in mass shootings to warrant its help. I don't see how that attitude can continue for much longer, but I thought the same thing after Sandy Hook.

Joe Blundo

Yes, Robbie, Now IS The Time

(Another email to my Republican Senator Rob Portman.  By now, I'm sure I'm on his do-not-respond shit list.)
_____________________________________

Las Vegas.  Yet another horrific mass slaughter here in Gun-Nut Nation.

Enough is enough.  I demand -- the majority of Americans demand -- that you do something!  No more of your cowardly "thoughts and prayers."  No more "now is not the time."  Get off your ass, Robbie!  We need action and legislation.  Now!  Not later.  Now is the time.

The problem is not just mental health.  We have far too many guns in America, and it's ridiculously easy to get more of them.  Our insane policies have created a deadly public health and safety issue, and it's only getting worse.  I realize it took us decades to get this crazy-stupid about guns, and I must accept the fact that it will take decades to reverse our mistakes.  But we must begin.  Now is the time.

Ban bump stocks.  Ban high-capacity ammo magazines.  Ban military-style assault weapons. Ban open-carry.  Reject the silencer-legalizing SHARE Act.  Enact Manchin-Toomey, as you should have done back in 2013.

If you quit the NRA, Robbie, you wouldn't need to
pose for awkward, inauthentic photos like this one.

You can't do everything, but you can do some things, you can take steps.  You can begin by disavowing the bloody NRA.  They are complicit in every single act of gun violence in this country, and when you take their money, so are you. Refuse their bribes.  Then start voting for sensible gun legislation. 

Will you do it?  Will you do anything?  We'll be watching you.
 

Cozumel Recap

The lovely Mrs. Gammons and I are recently returned from a ten-day vacation in a great place, where we enjoyed beautiful weather and interesting people.

We stayed at a lovely resort.  As is the case at all such places, one must beware the "special breakfast" -- a sales presentation for 30-year memberships in a vacation club, delivered by perky young sales reps who walk you around and then sit you down for the same buffet breakfast included with everyone's room. Every day, we saw another young couple suffering through their eggs and coffee while enduring the pitch.  Just say no!

We met some wonderful folks from Pittsburgh, Nova Scotia, Virginia, Texas, California, Oklahoma and Missouri.  (I've rarely met a person from western Pa. or a Canadian that I didn't like.)  Of course, we also met some heavily-tattooed skinheads from Louisiana and some blatant racists from Baltimore.  (Seriously, what kind of people travel to an all-inclusive Mexican resort and start tossing out the N-word?  WTF?  Ugly Americans.)  We focused on the good people and ignored the assholes.

Betty & Dot, with the
lovely Mrs. Gammons

Our new friends Betty and Dot were most agreeable.  Never had a bad word to say.

Here I am, relaxing poolside

Mostly, we did nothing.  Gotta stick with your strengths.  We kicked back, ate, drank, and socialized.  We thought about snorkeling, but never did it.  I read two great books.  (Watch for Buster's Book Review coming soon.)  We went into town once.  It was nice enough, an endless retail opportunity like most other centros --  "Come in, take a look."  "Good price for you!"  "99% off!"

Even in Cozumel, news from Trumplandia was unavoidable.  With great personal interest and concern, I followed yet another last-ditch attempt by GOP Senators to kill me by replacing Obamacare with some cost-prohibitive piece of shit.  Again I peppered my cowardly senator, Rob Portman, with emails and got the usual response from him -- nothing.  Again, John McCain rode to the rescue.  This is ridiculous and it's wearing me out.

Where we were, we escaped the hurricanes and earthquakes, but Puerto Rico was pounded by Hurricane Maria.  Our dilly-dallying fake president, a.k.a. Malice In Blunderland, doesn't even know that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory but he does know that "this thing called the Atlantic is tough stuff."  He declared the hurricane damage in Puerto Rico is their own fault because they're poor, and he gleefully got into a Twitter war with the mayor of San Juan because she asked for help.  "Do it yourself!" said Drumpf.

The Clown Prince also shot off his big stupid mouth criticizing the football players kneeling in protest.  Social media (including yours truly) and the entire NFL told him to go piss up a rope.



Despite the daily embarrassments flowing from the States, we met many kindred spirits down there, especially among the locals.  In a gesture of solidarity, my new amigos gave me an honorary one-day induction into the Mexican army. 


Here I am working border security, protecting the country against invasion from the Orange Menace to the north.  I was proud to serve.

"Go ahead, make my day."

 

New Commemorative Months

(Sent by a faithful reader and college student.  Thank you, faithful reader!)

Taking A Hoof, Paw, Or Talon Is Not Allowed

Watching college football, I notice that many teams bring their animal mascots onto the field.  This is a good old tradition which adds a little extra flavor to the competition.  There are many examples -- Bevo, the Texas longhorn steer; Ralphie, the Colorado buffalo; Uga, the Georgia bulldog; Mike, the LSU tiger; Nova, the Auburn eagle; Smokey, the Tennessee hound dog; Tusk, the Arkansas pig; Rameses, the North Carolina sheep; Sir Big Spur, the South Carolina rooster; and many others.

LSU's Mike lounges during the anthem.

Sadly, I notice that these mascots do not always stand for the national anthem.  This is totally disrespectful to our gallant military warriors who bravely fought and died for our right to have sleeping dogs and buffalo chips on our football fields.

Georgia's Uga sleeps through it!

Texas's Bevo showed the ultimate disrespect.

I say fair is fair, and what's good for the goose is good for the gander (and for the rooster and for the cow).  Show some gosh-durn respect and make those ungrateful animals stand up for our flag and our recycled English drinking song.  If they continue to take a hoof, or a whatever, I say fire 'em!

We Can't Let This "Stay In Las Vegas"

Well, it's happened again.  A man checked into a Las Vegas high-rise hotel with a bunch of automatic weapons and tons of ammo.  Last night from that perch, he celebrated his Second Amendment rights by firing hundreds of rounds into a crowd of concert-goers below, killing over 50 people and wounding 500.  Friggin' awful.

This morning, in remarks clearly prepared by someone else, our fake president recited the usual canned platitudes.  He didn't call it terrorism (which he would have tweeted instantly had the shooter's name been Ahmed), and he didn't say jackshit about the ultra-complicit NRA.  Instead he offered "warm condolences," thoughts and prayers, and praise for the first responders.

With our epidemic proliferation of lethal weapons, with super-easy access to even more guns, and with foolish laws like open carry and drive-and-carry, we've completely lost our minds on the gun issue.  Thoughts and prayers in the aftermath just don't cut it.  We need action.  We need a change in our laws and in our thinking.  And I'm sure the first responders did what they were supposed to do, but wouldn't it be better if they had less to respond to?

A friend who agrees with me on most things often tells me that Democrats need to stop talking about our American gun problem because it's a "losing issue."  Really?  Tell it to the dead.  It was definitely a losing issue for them.

Our addle-brained society has done nothing but watch as various gun nuts have slaughtered servicemen, public employees, high school students, college students, movie-goers, gay dance clubbers and elementary school children.  Nothing has changed.  Maybe we need different victims.  Perhaps murdering some country music fans will make us snap out of it.  Probably not.