Next? Aurora, Colorado. Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. The Washington Navy Yard. The college town of Isla Vista, California.

Naturally, we respond by trying to pinpoint the cause: bad parenting, mental illness, guns, video games, the media, heavy metal music, or just plain evil. Once some ‘other’ is identified as an offending agent, we set up a kind of quarantine so that it can be banished from society and no longer threaten. Hoping to allay fears and respond to emotionally charged demands for action, politicians jump on this or that bandwagon with proposals for legislation aimed at sequestering and eliminating would-be culprits. Then we go about our lives, until the next mass shooting occurs and the cycle is repeated.

In the short term, this process makes us feel safer than looking inward and thinking: ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ But what if the reality is that the underlying cause of mass murder lies not in something external to ourselves, but rather something at the root of human instinct and behaviour that’s also interwoven into American popular culture? This possibility suggests that, rather than trying to get rid of some offending external agent, a more meaningful approach might require looking within ourselves and our own communities for a solution.”
……It would seem that the fear of falling victim to the kind of violence featured heavily on the nightly news, ranging from domestic murder to global terrorism, has become something of an industry in the US. At the same time, whether morally justified or rationalised, protecting oneself and one’s family by arming against ‘the bad guys’ and taking ‘an eye for an eye’ remains an enduring US fantasy.

Too little , too late? Don’t hold your breath folks, but is this a good sign?

State lawmakers have launched a nationwide non-partisan coalition to combat gun violence, in part because the Congress has failed to reform gun laws, members of the group said on Monday.

Some 200 lawmakers from 50 states have joined the alliance, American State Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention, said the group’s founder, Democratic New York State Assembly member Brian Kavanagh.

Kavanagh told a news conference the group would focus on state-level gun control reforms, including the prevention of interstate gun trafficking and tightening background checks on buyers.

Congress has “failed in its responsibility” to prevent gun violence, said Jose Rodriguez, a Democratic state senator from Texas.

“We can’t continue in the same path that we’ve been in as a country,” he said.

Handguns are seen for sale in a display case at Metro Shooting Supplies in Bridgeton, Missouri, November 13, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Young
Handguns are seen for sale in a display case at Metro Shooting Supplies in Bridgeton, Missouri, November 13, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Young

Radicalism in U.S. Politics by writeforthemasses , reposted

from the Politics of Writing..

If both parties are at extreme non-productivity, one will eventually have to assume dominance. This would be in the same manner that there was a cultural revolution in the 60’s. I don’t mean the reemergence of hippies, I mean the finding ourselves as a nation, and when that happens the nation will lean a certain direction and we will continue the cycle. The cycle of party domination and then slip into bipartisanship, then eventually stagnation.

A battle of radical politics: mass activism, cultural evolution, social rethinking. One can’t be completely sure when something like this will take place, but we can be sure it will happen. It could very well be a conservative shift like in the 80’s, or a liberal shift such as in the 60’s. Maybe we’ll have two as a response to one another, this is all speculation. The point is things are changing and people are obviously not happy with the way things are, especially after going through events like the government shut down. The people want somebody to blame and everyone will stick harder to their beliefs than before.

for more… https://thepoliticsofwriting.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/radicalism-in-u-s-politics/

The Logic of American Politics – May 26, 2015

The Logic of American Politics – May 26, 2015.

A local op ed that is Excellent…. about American politics today..

 

By Grayce Goin

If I hear one more candidate for president say “God told me to run for POTUS” I will run up and down the street screaming while pulling my hair out.

It is not so much the declaration that would cause me to act thus, but rather the awareness of those that will vote for such charlatans. If there is a god why would it talk to politicians, most of whom walk a tightrope of morality? They are no better than the snake oil salesmen that crowd the airwaves on Sunday mornings insisting that planting of seed with them (frequently $1000) will cause god to send them a windfall – I always wonder if that is a tree limb for their heads.

I can’t help but wonder why even the fundamentalists aren’t afraid of their pastors in positions of political power. Can’t they see the inevitability of someone from another sect being elected and have different religion shoved down their throats.

And why are they afraid to do any research?

Just recently Ted Cruz told a Christian group that the Democrats in the Senate were working on the bill that would outlaw the first amendment to the constitution!!! They just took his word for it, not one person questioned this statement.

The governor of Texas called out the National Guard . . . why? . . . because branches of the U.S. military were holding joint service training sessions and he wanted to insure that they did not take over Texas.

Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced a bill to change a D.C. law. They would make it legal for employers to discriminate against women who use contraception or seek family planning services.

A black doctor who is jumping in the POTUS ring, after using every possible social service while growing up now wants to close out all avenues of assistance because: it is causing the destruction of the African-American family.

A white woman, former corporate CEO is so far running on the platform that Hillary can’t be allowed to win. This CEO has no political or governmental experience, but of course knows all that is needed to run the country.

There will be more candidates jumping out of the clown car in the days and weeks ahead. We will be amused by some of them, disgusted by others, occasionally both at the same time. The sad part is: none of this is really funny.

I recently read an article that demonstrated that only 17% of eligible voters gave us the House of Representatives we now have. Those in the House are now attempting to destroy Social Security, Veterans Benefits, Food Stamps, Homeless programs, the EPA, OSHA; the list goes on and on while they keep cutting taxes for corporations and the top 1%.

The only hope for the future is to get people to vote in every election. The midterms matter greatly, as is currently being demonstrated by fools who have no clue about the constitution. We need dramatic change made to our election process. Instead of having a bunch of clowns pointing fingers at each other for months on end, the parties should pick their candidates early on and spend the time deciding on their platforms, then debate that with the opposition.

American politics . . . no logic to be found here.

Why Medical Cannabis Patients Should Support Recreational Cannabis

Hillside Grove

image

So you are a legal medical cannabis patient. Your life has started to improve and maybe you don’t take as many pharasuticals anymore or maybe you don’t need to take any now. Your mobility has gotten better and you can once again travel around but there are now limits on your travel.

You can only travel within your own state where your medical recommendation originates in. Otherwise you can’t bring your medicine with you across state lines even if the state next to you has medical laws there is no guarantee that state will recognize an out of state medical cannabis recommendation that does not originate from their state. Plus going over state lines with cannabis is a felony.

What does that mean for the person who tries to stay within the law? A few things: If traveling you don’t bring medicine with you and therefore might suffer from your…

View original post 104 more words