Better late than never, President Obama !
The president, yesterday, reviewed his proposed executive actions, which include:
It's not much but it's something. Now...we'll see how much hue and cry ensues from the NRA et al.
A good read on this topic from the Rude Pundit.
(Other posts on gun control are accessible via the Label Cloud in my sidebar).
The president, yesterday, reviewed his proposed executive actions, which include:
Background checks for all gun sellers, overturning current exemptions to some online and gun show sellers.
States providing information on people disqualified from buying guns due to mental illness or domestic violence.
Increased workforce for the FBI to process background checks, hiring more than 230 new examiners.
Congress being asked to invest $500m (£339m) to improve access to mental healthcare in the US.
The departments of defence, justice and homeland security exploring "smart gun technology" to improve gun safety.
(From BBC website yesterday)
It's not much but it's something. Now...we'll see how much hue and cry ensues from the NRA et al.
A good read on this topic from the Rude Pundit.
(Other posts on gun control are accessible via the Label Cloud in my sidebar).
This issue DOES separate Bernie from Hillary. Bernie at the middle-road, Hillary at the left. The recent polls indicate Americans are divided down the middle. As would be expected, the GOP candidates are crying foul over Obama's very mild, very reasonable mandate, which in the long-run doesn't amount to a whole lot, but it's a start in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI have a big mouth and I use it when my neighbors start-in with their accusations of the government regulating their 2nd Amendment rights any time gun control is discussed by the collective, usually after another of our many mass killings. I've never liked guns and I don't understand those that do, so there is a sharp divide between me and the gun owners. There are typically three types of gun owners: protectionists, hunters, or the combination...and I believe all three categories are symptoms of mental illness.
I know of two separate incidents in and around my neighborhood over the past several years involving individuals keeping loaded guns in their homes for protection...one keeps loaded guns in every room. Both were involved with intruders entering their homes, but neither was able to get to their precious guns. The owner of a nearby convenience store shot and killed a person blatantly stealing a case of beer...I fail to understand either person.
You usually give more credit to the average Joe Citizen of the USA than I do, Twilight, but this gun issue is one more idiocy that permeates the American population. Gun sales and applications for permits are at an all-time high, due to the perceived threat of 2nd Amendment rights being "unconstitutionally" stripped from the dumb-sheep citizens of this country.
Most of this country's problems stem from:
“WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US.” Walt Kelly
Our politicians simply mirror our insufficiency of perception.
Astrologer Leigh Oswald stated, “We are shocked when we suddenly have discovered under Pluto in Capricorn, that the power bases often tacitly sanction a prevailing culture that is much less than fair or sensitive to all. What is the definition of a civilised society? That is a big question now and it is not a question that is asked, as we assume we live in one, whilst not questioning the criteria.”
ReplyDeletemike ~ Bernie's position on this is realistic in the circumstances. There's never, ever going to be a complete or even a very sturdy ban on the public owning guns in this country - embedded as it has become in the "psyche" of the USA. I'd bet, though, that Bernie, once out of his rural, hunting-obsessed state, would be more likely to harden his stance on this issue. I hate the idea of hunting too, yet again it is embedded and unlikely ever to go away. Even in the UK, where gun control is very tight, some hunting still goes on.
ReplyDeleteI'm absolutely anti-gun, but in the years I've been here I've realised a ban ain't gonna happen - not in my lifetime, not in anybody's lifetime however young they are right now. So it's best to support any helpful attempt in the right direction. As Bernie said in one of the debates "People shout at each other but it does no good at all." (or some thing along those lines).
I do try to side with the public, always, because I'm one of them. I try to understand them. It's hard. In some cases it's impossible, but there are reasons for their attitudes. Custom and practice dies hard, tradition dies hard. Regulation is the best we can hope for. I'm hoping for stronger regulation, getting stronger at each opportune juncture. Sadly that's how it'll have to be (at best).
You stated, "I do try to side with the public, always, because I'm one of them." Well, everyone is a member of "the public". There are so many members of the public that I would NEVER identify as having commonality with me. Not trying to raise your BP here, but apply a few demographics and you (and I) are very quickly removed from the mainstream. I read your blog, Twilight, and you quite often showcase members of the public that are deviants of some sort or other. Likewise, your personal, of-interest posts wouldn't get you very far should you ever run for public office...LOL. One of my favorites was from a number of Xmases past, showing XXX-rated, Pagan cartoons [BTW - where is that post?...I've searched, but never have found it] and I suspect that post all by itself would be enough to have your possessions re-located to the nearest highway on the outskirts of town by some "concerned citizens" of your small city. Even to say that one supports the efforts of the middle-class, hard-working person, falls apart with a few more identifying adjectives thrown-in.
ReplyDeleteI understand your intent, but as our country's polar oppositions come to light over and over, such as with gun control, or any topic, I don't think that one can say there is such a thing as the average or typical, American citizen. The notion of "as American as apple pie" has died a languorous death.
mike (again) ~ You say There are so many members of the public that I would NEVER identify as having commonality with me.
ReplyDeleteCommonality is that we're all human isn't it? With all too human frailties! I do try not to judge too harshly those who have had different experiences and backgrounds from my own - which has been through quite a narrow lens. I'm not of mid-mainstream perhaps, but still of the stream in general.
What would be the point of blaming, over and over, those of the public with whom we don't agree ? Would it make a positive difference, or would it simply add to the bad feeling that is already overflowing online, everywhere? It's done by many around the net, every day - all it does is further divide and alienate, in my view.
LOL! I don't doubt that some folks in our town would have me in the stocks and enjoy throwing rotten veggies my way if they could, if they knew my views in detail. :-D My life and experiences have been quite different from most of theirs though. Why do they think as they do ? Why do I?
Polar oppositions here are real, I agree, have said so many times in the past - but that doesn't mean we can't try to understand the other side - a little bit - not to excuse, in any way, any obvious odious doings or opinions, but to try to see why things are as they are. Looking down our noses at others, our fellow-citizens ain't going to help anything.
I don't recall the cartoons you mention - I've looked quickly through tags around Christmases past but nothing came up. I wonder if you're mixing up this blog with another in memory? Can you recall any vague content of one or more of the cartoons? If so it might strike a chord in my memory - maybe it wasn't Christmas involved but some other time of year?
mike ~ Changing the subject :-) An old friend in England just sent me this hologram example video - very weird!
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/vZRFcGrrsyc
One of the many potential definitions of commonality is that we are all human, but subdivisions abound. Not desiring to assign blame is much easier when one hasn't suffered a tremendous loss caused by variants of human commonality. It's one thing to disagree with another, but a different beast when the actions of others inflict terrible harm. I agree that there's bad voodoo everywhere on the internet and elsewhere, but that also represents a variant form of the commonality: hateful, hurtful bloggers and commenters. The three movies, "Trumbo", "Johnny Got His Gun", and "Son of Saul", supposedly explore variations of commonality from different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteRe - XXX-rated Pagan cartoons, Xmas post...yes, I'm 95% sure I read-saw it here, maybe four or five years ago. All I recall is that it was a Pagan presentation in lieu of the more typical Christian Xmas...it may have been a solstice post a couple of days prior to Xmas. There were several cartoons, the one I remember was a Pagan family celebrating in their backyard...they were all nude and it involved fertility...the entire background was red, with black ink drawing.
Re - youtube hologram...I immediately thought that the video was manipulated. The comments indicate such, as well. It's a nice video, either way, but I don't think that holographic techniques are that advanced currently. All of the holograms that I've seen on TV depend on dark backgrounds.
Small steps in gun control but better late than never and certainly better than no action at all.
ReplyDeletemike ~ Assigning blame though, if doing so, has to be specific, not just, for instance "the American public are idiots" 0r "morons" or "slobs" (I've seen that thrown at lot around the net). The ones we need to blame first are those in charge of this darn circus we call life!!
ReplyDeleteHmmm will keep trying to recall the post you remember. So far no bells ringing. I certainly have never deleted any posts - I've deleted a few videos I'd made myself, due to copyright purges, and any posts containing them, that's all.
I'd not be surprised if the hologram video had been tampered with. We can't believe anything found on the net these days! Cleverly done though.
By the way...we watched a film on Netflix tonight called "Chloe and Theo" - if you haven't seen it, do take a look, I think you'd be interested. (It's no rom-com even if the title gives that impression, but still, best to have Kleenex to hand).
Bob ~ Hi! Yes, agreed!
ReplyDelete