It’s January in June again here in the NorthWET and all the way into the mountains of California. Wind, hard rain, perhaps even snow in the upper elevations. A good day to huddle inside, read and think.
- Congressman Barry Loudermilk seems to understand that guns save lives back in his home state of Georgia. But (how predictable can these people be?), in D.C. he’s all in favor of only the special people being “allowed” to bear arms.
- OTOH, another congressguy who was also on the shooting scene performed a hellova lot better. Damnfine statement. Here it is in writing.
- The enduring problems of highrise fires. A reminder from London this week.
- In the “questions you never imagined asking” department: Is it unconstitutional for the president of the United states to block people on Twitter?
- Scientists are beginning to zero in on the sweet spot between the stress-relieving properties of cannabis and it’s stress-inducing properties.
- Meet the eyeborg.
- And the blind man with a bionic eye.
- Dog obedience trials became popular in the U.S. because poodle-loving women wanted to demonstrate that their dogs weren’t airhead nitwits.
- More evidence that having a dog is good for you.
- And for you feline fans: cats acting weird.
It’s that kind of day.
During my last visit to Colorado, I noticed that the dispensary that I bought some edibles from had dosage guidelines on the package. It’s edibles especially that can get one too high, such as what happened to Maureen Dowd. Following the guidelines helps.
My wife lost her battle with cancer last week. Profoundly sad times for me and my family.
Condolences, R_V
“My wife lost her battle with cancer last week. Profoundly sad times for me and my family.”
Oh, rochester_veteran, I am so sorry. I knew she was being treated for cancer, but not that she was so close to death. I know it does very little good, but you and your family will be in my thoughts.
I doubt that congresspeople would have had guns on their person while practicing for a baseball game, but they could have had them nearby in the dugout (if they were able to get to them when the bastard started shooting). But it’s possible this attack may wake up a few to the realization that ordinary situations should allow for defense by everyone; while the attack was apparently against them as Republicans, baseball practice is an everyday event across the nation. Sometimes experience is the _only_ teacher to bring home the reality of an issue.
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I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I don’t think it’s professional for politicians, businesses, or any institution to use social media at all. “Social” is just that, and has nothing to do with the business at hand. Many people – Trump included, and especially Trump – speak off the cuff, spontaneously, or ignorantly – and thus earn derision, anger, or loss of respect.
When an individual speaks for himself, s/he is not speaking for the business. What s/he says is neither private nor secure, and may be – often is – damaging to future plans or reputation of the business.
They can be seen as stupid, arrogant, or egotistical for speaking at all, and may be embarrassed by having to apologize – or forcing the business/institution to apologize – for their words or actions.
They may well end up getting fired, as several prominent people have been.
And they often say things in the heat of reaction and spontaneity on social media that – in the case of any politician – is “classified” or misinterpreted (intentionally or not), and is impossible to retract or adequately explain away.
In short, get off of social media, and shut your damn mouths!
Claire, she went fast (admitted to the hospital on Sunday and died on Tuesday), which was good for her as it lessened her suffering, but was devastating for the rest of us. Her sisters were able to make it here from Ohio and when the doctor told us how bad off she was, we got our kids and the family all together around her bed and prayed for her and told her how much we loved her and held her hands and the nurse removed her from the ventilator and she took her last breath a couple of minutes later. It’s been running through my head over and over again ever since.
“Most of us are here in D.C., so how do you have the gun here and just transport it to Virginia?” Loudermilk said when Virginia’s laws were pointed out. “I think we need to look at some kind of reciprocity for members here.”
So pass H.R.38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/38
Easy peasy.
Would H.R. 38 apply to DC? Because it was my understanding that it won’t. Lots of people really are devoted to the idea of keeping DC a zone where only the predators have guns.
Very sorry to hear, RV. There will be a time for all of us, I guess. I’m very glad you can take some consolation in the fact that things went quickly for her. And if we’re going to go, being surrounded by a loving family is as good as it gets. For whatever reason, I’m thinking about Robert E. Lee’s remark when receiving news of the death of General A.P. Hill, about a week before Appomattox, “He is at peace now; it is the rest of us who must suffer.” Knowing she wouldn’t want you to has to help as well.
I think Trump’s use of Twitter was a stroke of genius which probably made the difference in the election. It enabled him to communicate directly with the American people without having to fight through the extremely biased distortions of the drive-by media. I think the decision to stick with it is great, too. I do agree that there are many serious problems with how he chooses to express himself.
Would H.R. 38 apply to DC?
Good question. H.R. 38 applies to “any State that—
“(1) has a statute under which residents of the State may apply for a license or permit to carry a concealed firearm; or
“(2) does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms by residents of the State for lawful purposes.”
D.C. does have a carry permit system, forced by the Supreme Court. But is it a “State?”
It certainly wants to be.
And, of course, Congress can change D.C.’s gun laws any time it wants to.
Sorry for your loss R V.