Do we want less gun violence, or don't we?

980+ mass shootings (defined by 4 or more dead, non-drug/gang/war related) in the US since Newtown. That says it all. And keep in mind that the vast majority of gun deaths do not occur in mass shootings, but the less-reported suicides and "regular" homicides.

http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/10/02/445379809/stuff-happens-comment-creates-firestorm-for-jeb-bush

And the typical tone-deaf, uncompassionate, guns-before-people response from GOP leaders (in this case, my favorite guy to hate, Jeb). Basically after a national tragedy relating to guns: "shit happens." But when Muslims attack us: "Bomb them to hell!" I hope Jeb's rivals and the MSM call him out on this.

http://gawker.com/you-dont-pass-a-pool-fencing-law-after-a-child-drowns-1734383068

Jeb is saying we shouldn't rush to impulse legislation after a tragedy. But after a kid fell and drowned in a pool in FL, Jeb's gov't rushed to create a pool fence law. Was that such a bad thing? How many people and pets were saved by that knee-jerk reaction? Like Kahneman's "Thinking Fast and Slow," sometime you want to think fast for your survival. Don't let the trauma fade away so you delude yourself into thinking that it's not a big problem and it won't happen again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/books/review/thinking-fast-and-slow-by-daniel-kahneman-book-review.html?_r=0

And for those who say it's a mental health issue and not a gun issue, I disagree. The vast majority of mentally ill or "weird loner" people are not violent. So unless you want to infringe on the rights of millions of innocents (in a Minority Report style preventative action), I don't see how this will help. Sure it's better safe than sorry to report to authorities if someone you know is concerning you, and those authorities have to respond to legit threats effectively (like how we're trying to deal with suicide prevention warning signs). Of course we as a society should pay more attention/resources to mental illness, hate ideology, and isolated youth. But it won't prevent most mass shootings.

Only locking up guns will do that. Some would say that the Oregon shooter purchased his guns legally and no bkgd. check would have blocked him. So maybe that's the problem: properly interpret the 2nd Amend. (how the courts did pre-NRA) and strictly limit private ownership of guns (or ammo, or both). Maybe people can still buy them, but must store them with 3rd party highly regulated gun locker companies (so it's not the evil gov't controlling our guns). In order to check out the guns, the owner has to be lojacked and have a witness legally vouch for their mental/emotional state. Maybe critics would say that such a system would leave us vulnerable to criminal attacks. Then buy a dog or mace, or support leaders/laws that address the root causes of crime like poverty, education, and racism.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/so-you-think-you-know-the-second-amendment

Alternatively, some people think that the gun culture in SUI "works" because of a deep tradition of safety and personal responsibility (hard to measure). Like how strongly Americans feel about personal freedoms (and football), if we placed a similar or larger emphasis on gun safety, peaceful conflict resolution, and accident prevention, then maybe we could have our guns but not the tragedies (but we have a long way to go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBIOJJkEQT4). Keep in mind that SUI's gun deaths per capita are still one of the highest in the 1st world too.

http://world.time.com/2012/12/20/the-swiss-difference-a-gun-culture-that-works/

I'd prefer Trump over Jeb

Because the latter just keeps proving that he is the biggest tool in the world! At least Trump is right about money in politics, taxing the 1%, and women's health.

Some highlights from last night:

Rand calls out Jeb for "getting away with" smoking pot as a kid because he's privileged, but plenty of dark skinned poor people get their lives ruined by a drug conviction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZgYLo-89vg

Bush "faulted" Trump for inviting Hillary to his wedding, and Trump said that everyone on the stage was beholden to their donors but him, who has refused millions. Of course Jeb tried to deny this.

https://youtu.be/ZSsKGBIuFW8?t=137

Trump also alleged that Dubya's failures is the reason why Obama became the next president. Then Jeb totally pivoted and said, "At least my brother kept us safe," to thunderous applause. Kept us safe!?! Didn't 9/11 happen under his watch? How many Americans and our friends died in Iraq and Afghanistan on his watch? How many vets committed suicide and/or got addicted to drugs, and how many military families were impacted by divorces, disabilities, etc.? How much did public health suffer due to panic/hardships from the financial crisis? And of course - Katrina. His terrible grasp of historical context is mind-blowing. Yes, Trump sucks about facts and policy. But he's a CEO and manages his own brand, so at least he gets big picture stuff better than those other bureaucrats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT0ZFolQWqY

It's kind of funny how it was everyone-vs-Trump now. He's not used to getting called out and attacked (more than he's dishing out) I'm sure. But it might backfire and make Trump look more sympathetic/righteous. Of course every front-runner has to deal with more scrutiny, but the roles dynamic is interesting here. To his supporters, the DC establishment is trying to sink Trump because he's a legit threat now an would really shake things up if he got power. But that is why Trump is popular, so I doubt his fans would prefer to support guys like Jeb or Rubio just because they seem to know more about policy. I guess his fans would prefer that he not utter so many apish insults, but he fires them up, which is more than the other hopefuls can claim. Can we please have at least 6 of those losers bow out this week!?!

http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/09/16/440718361/the-1-passage-you-need-to-read-to-understand-donald-trump-s-appeal

And sorry I forgot to add Jeb's most pathetic move of the night: http://www.ijreview.com/2015/09/422637-jeb-bush-pulled-this-hilarious-power-move-when-standing-next-to-trump/

Have some self-respect, man. Dubya is twice the man Jeb is (for better or worse).