Time Out

I'm taking a time out for a week or so. The insanity in Tucson. The resulting calls for a new "Assault Weapons Ban" (which makes no sense to me), the calls to ban large capacity magazines (as if killing only three or four, instead of six, would make a difference), have me very angry.

It seems we want to do everything EXCEPT deal with the issue.

It's all about the rhetoric, the anger, the uncertainty, the upsidedown economy, the unwillingness to pay for almost any kind of services, the stigmatization of EVERY kind of "different", and the growing intolerance. For me, this calls for a time of reflection, a time to recharge.

I'm sure everyone will get along quite well until I'm back -- but, in the meantime, please remember, "solutions" that seem too easy, that marginalize people, that are only "feelgood", sre usually CRAP.

Real answers to our violent society, to the growing lack of opportunity, to the huge inequalities in our society require more than "band-aids".

Rep. Giffords would STILL be in critical condition if he "only" had a revolver with five or six shots. If he had a smaller magazine a reload would have been much faster. If he were an experienced shooter, he would have dropped one mag. free, and had another in action in less than a second. The professional anti-gun lobby doesn't want folks to know this stuff. They want to minimize the Second Amendment. None of these things is an answer -- folks are frightened by real answers. They mean REAL change.

It seems there were quite a few "red flags" surrounding the shooter. It also seems his family does not believe in mental illness (even though I have NO PROOF of this -- it's just conjecture).

Given some of the views in our society when it comes to mental illness -- I'm surprised we don't have more outbursts.

Anyway, take it easy -- and don't forget -- please hold the Republicans to their word. You know, MAKE them accept PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for their words and the actions that follow.