Saturday, October 17, 2026
Voters Still Have Trump Far Underwater On Job Approval
The chart above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between October 10th and 12th of a nationwide sample of 1,403 registered voters, with a 3.5 point margin of error.
Two-Third Of Adults Prefer A Government-Run Health Plan (Like Medicare For All)
Oregon School Shooting Adds To The Epidemic Of Mass Shootings In U.S.
On Thursday, there was another mass shooting - this time at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon. It took the lives of four people - a teacher and three children (ages 5, 8, and 11). Another child and adults are in the hospital with serious wounds.
I wish I could say this was a rare event in the United States, but it's not. It was the 370th mass shooting in the first nine and a half months of this year. That's well over an average of one mass shooting for every day of the year, and each of those mass shootings has a minimum of at least four victims.
This is not normal for any other country, but for the U.S. it is actually a small decrease in mass shootings. But no other country has the number of firearms the U.S. has (more firearms than citizens of the country). And no other country has such lax laws concerning firearms - so lax that anyone (criminals, terrorists, the dangerously mentally ill, etc.) can easily and legally get any kind of gun they want (including assault weapons).
I would love to think this school shooting with young children as victims will spur our politicians to finally do something, but the mass killing at Sandy Hook of young children shows that is unlikely. The politicians, (especially Republicans) will offer thoughts and prayers (which help no one) and do nothing.
They will claim the Second Amendment to our Constitution prevents them from passing sane gun laws. But the Second Amendment only protects the right of law-abiding citizens to own a gun. It does not guarantee criminals and other dangerous people that right.
We could have sane gun laws and still protect the right guaranteed by the Second Amendment. A good start would be to plug the holes in our background check law - making it impossible to buy (or receive) any firearm without a strict background check. We could also ban the purchase and ownership of assault weapons - who have no purpose except the mass shooting of people.
The sad truth is that no community (urban, suburban, or rural) is immune to the epidemic of mass shootings. It can (and does) happen anywhere people gather - schools, churches (and mosques and synagogues), clubs and bars, concerts, grocery and other retail stores, places of employment, etc.
There are too many soft targets to protect them all, and that means every person in the country is in danger of becoming a victim. The one thing we could do is pass some sane gun laws. But that will only happen when we elect politicians who care more about innocent victims than the money from gun manufacturers.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Trump Bends To The Will Of Voters - Execution Will Not Be Broadcast
Fox Poll Shows Voters Trust Democrats More On Most Issues
The charts above are from the Fox News Poll -- done between October 9th and 12th of a nationwide sample of 1,202 registered voters, with a 2.5 point margin of error.
Millions In U.S. Struggling To Afford Basic Necessities
The charts above are from a Pew Research Center survey -- done between August 24th and 30th of a nationwide sample of 5,166 adults, with a 1.6 point margin of error.
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