Friday, October 02, 2015
And The Count Keeps Climbing
Another Shooting Adds To The Epidemic Of Gun Violence
We've had another tragic shooting in the United States. This time it was at a community college in Oregon. A 20 year-old man entered the campus, and after his ridiculous shooting, at least 13 people are dead, and up to 20 more wounded. I don't know if he was a right-wing terrorist, a muslim terrorist, a criminal, or a person with severe mental problems. At this point, it really doesn't matter.
What we know is that this is happening far too often. There have been 142nd school shootings since the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut -- and this is the 45th school shooting this year (in 2015). And that's just the tip of the iceberg. In 2015, we have been averaging at least one mass shooting (a shooting in which at least four people are killed or wounded) every day. And if you consider all shootings, that average goes much higher.
I know that many on the right don't want to admit it, but we have an epidemic of gun violence in this country. I don't know what else you could call it. And it doesn't have to be this way. No other developed country has this much gun violence (and neither do most third-world countries). We continue to have this obscene and rising level of gun violence because our politicians refuse to do anything about it -- either because they are afraid of ending their own political career if they take a stand, or because they have been bought off by the gun manufacturers (through their lackey, the NRA).
That is inexcusable! We must take action. The easiest thing we could do is to plug up the holes in our background check law for people trying to buy a gun. Currently, about 40% of the guns sold in this country every year are sold without a background check being done (or required). That should not happen. No gun should be sold anywhere in this country without a background check first being done. And over 90% of the American people would support closing those holes in that law.
That would not completely solve the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S., but it would significantly reduce the amount of deaths from gun violence -- because it would make it much harder for terrorists, criminals, and the dangerously mentally ill to get a gun.
Some of you may say that these people would just buy their gun illegally. But it is not that easy to buy an illegal gun -- the police see to that. And many, if not most, of the guns that go on the black market are bought legally (by people who should not be able to purchase a gun) and then sold illegally. Closing the holes in the background check law would reduce the number of guns available on the black market.
I'm sure the right-wing, the NRA, and other gun nuts can come up with all sorts of silly (and untrue) reasons why we should do nothing about this epidemic of gun violence. But we must act anyway. And there is no legitimate reason why we shouldn't at least close the holes in our background check law.
Could Donald Trump Really Win The GOP Nomination ?
But that may not be true.
This article by Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post presents a good case for Trump (or another outsider) winning that nomination. Here is part of that article:
I've spent an inordinate time of late trying to understand the rise of Donald Trump and what it tells us about how Americans view politicians, politics and the state of the country more generally. I came across this chart, which was released recently by Gallup, and thought it told the "why" of Trump as well as anything I've seen.
Half of the country believes that the federal government "poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. HALF! The party breakdown is even more remarkable. Two-thirds (65 percent) of self-identified Republicans believe their government poses an immediate threat to their rights and freedoms. (Worth noting: Just 32 percent of Democrats feel that way.)
That is a startling number -- and speaks not only to the massive disgust and disenchantment among Republicans toward the government, but also the urgency of the perceived threat that it poses. The idea of the government swooping in to restrict your rights is not an abstract discussion for many people -- especially those who identify as Republicans. It is a real and present danger.
The chart above also suggests the idea of the government as an active threat to personal liberties is rapidly rising. A decade ago, only 37 percent of the public called the federal government an immediate threat, and as recently as 2003, only three in 10 people viewed the government that way. Explains Gallup head honcho Frank Newport: "Republican agreement with the 'immediate threat' statement has been higher during the Obama administration than was Democratic agreement during the Bush administration, thus accounting for the overall rise in agreement across all national adults." . . .
What you have at work is the usual contempt/concern about the federal government mixed with increased Republican worries about not just President Obama but the priorities he has pursued and will pursue before he leaves office.
Trump speaks directly to those fears and that anxiety. Yes, he says, your worries about the direction of the country are warranted. It is going to hell in a handbasket. The people in charge are trying to fundamentally change what it means to be Americans right under our noses. And it goes without saying, the only way to address this creeping government state is to elect someone like Trump (okay, Trump himself) to bring things back to the "way it used to be."
For those who roll their eyes about Trump -- and, to an only slightly lesser extent, Ben Carson -- you might be missing the boat on how your fellow Americans feel about their government. And, for those who laugh off the possibility of an "outsider" candidate being the Republican nominee, all you need to do is look at the Gallup chart above to see why you shouldn't.
Thursday, October 01, 2015
Congress Puts Government Shutdown Off Until Dec. 11th
I guess you could say that the country has dodged a bullet. There will be no government shutdown today. Majority Leader McConnell finally blinked, and he and 31 other Republicans joined all Senate Democrats (and both Independents) in passing a continuing resolution that would continue to fund the federal government for about another 10 weeks. The vote was 78 to 20 (with two senators not voting).
That resolution reached the House of Representatives yesterday, and as expected, Speaker Boehner stuck his finger right in the eye of those who have caused him so much trouble -- by immediately bring the continuing resolution to the floor for a vote (without any provision to defund Planned Parenthood). The resolution passed the House by a vote of 277 to 151. All Democrats voted for the resolution, and they were joined by 91 Republicans.
This is not a good thing, but it is better than having the government shut down today. I say it's not good, because all they have done is to delay the shutdown until December 11th -- a date that would certainly ruin christmas for many federal employees.
Nothing has really been accomplished except for a delay. The same forces and arguments still exist, and you can bet the teabagger element will try again to shut down the government in December. They are playing a political game, and don't really care what is best for the country.
60% Of Americans Have Little Or No Trust In The Media
The chart above represents the results of a recent Gallup Poll -- done between September 9th and 13th of a national sample of 1,025 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.
This result should trouble all of us, because it shows that only 40% of the people in the U.S. have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the media, and 60% have little or no trust in the media. How can we sustain a democracy when 60% of the people don't believe what the media reports? Doesn't a democracy depend on the voting population knowing the truth (and believing they have the truth)?
And sadly, I believe that 60% is right. We don't get all of the news it is important for us to know, and much of what we do get is slanted to favor those in power. Why is this happening? Because about 95% of all media outlets are owned and controlled by only six giant corporations. We only get the news those six corporations want us to have.
Thank goodness for the internet. Anyone willing to put in some time and dig deeply can find the truth there. Unfortunately, most people are too lazy to do that. They just accept what they are told by the corporate media (even if they don't fully believe it).
I fear for our democracy.
We Already Have A Third (And Fourth) Political Party
Every so often, the Gallup Poll does a survey in which they ask the public whether a third political party is needed. They have just released the latest poll on this matter. And just like in the preceding two years, a significant majority (about 60%) say a third party is needed in this country.
It would be an understatement to say this result frustrates me. Why? Because we already have four political parties that are on enough state ballots to theoretically have a chance to elect a president (acquire 270 electoral votes). And those four parties span the political spectrum -- Green Party (left), Democratic Party (center-left), Republican Party (right), and Libertarian Party (far-right).
Maybe those responding to this survey have been living in a cave somewhere. I have to ask -- what more could you want? If you really believe more than Republicans or Democrats should get votes, then vote for the Green Party (if your preference is for a leftist) or the Libertarian Party (if your preference is for someone on the far right). Those parties are on your ballot, and if you truly believe a "third party" is needed, then all you have to do is vote for one of them.
I understand why this belief persists. It is because the media, beholden to the two biggest parties, refuse to cover the Greens and Libertarians. The Democrats are afraid they will lose votes if the Greens become popular, and the Republicans are afraid they will lose votes if the Libertarians become popular -- and they are both probably right.
But that is not a sufficient reason for the media to refuse to cover the Greens and Libertarians. In doing so, they are failing the American people -- and failing to fulfill their obligation, which is to fairly cover the political process. We don't need the media to be the "gatekeeper" of electoral politics. We need them to fairly report on ALL of the choices available to American voters.
And while I'm on this subject, the presidential debates should include the candidates of all political parties that theoretically have a chance to get 270 electoral votes. That means it should include candidates of the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Green Party, and the Libertarian Party. Anything less is simply not fair to the American people.
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