Fresno Famous

The season for celebration was not so joyous this year for me because of these recent tragedies. There's just been so many of them. It's the 27th of December, we've got a few more days left in this year and yet I wonder if we'll be able to make it to 2013 without another one.

The mass shootings reached a new level of shocking depravity. And now we find out the same kinds of guns were used at several of the different shootings. Similarity between the perps points to solutions. And if they're so darn crazy it didn't seem to affect their ability to choose especially deadly and efficient fire power. And it was easy for them to get the guns, body armor and ammo. 

We now know that it was a mistake to allow the NRA to dictate this policy in the legislature. To allow the flooding of our country with so many guns has clearly made us all less safe. There is a reason why guns are not allowed in court houses, government offices and on airplanes: The only people who have guns in these places are the police. And rightly so.

To hear the pro-gun lobby, like Wayne La Pierre of the NRA make their case it's no wonder even Right-wing newspapers like The New York Post called Mr. La Pierre a gun nut: http://nypost.tumblr.com/post/38575877192/gun-nut-n-r-a-loon-in-bizarre-...

He just doesn't make sense any more even to some conservatives and gun owners. Their argument that to protect the 2nd amendment through unlimited gun availability doesn't ring true with the majority of Americans any more.

I just saw Carol Costello (http://www.facebook.com/CarolCNN) interview David Keene, head honcho of the NRA on CNN. He tried to make his usual arguments and he came off as unreasonable and a little unhinged.

http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2012/12/27/nr-costello-nra-presid...

We will never be able to talk these extremists into a moderate point of view. They're blinded by a religious-like ideology that keeps them from anything reasonable and will not change. I have no interest in arguing with them about any of this either at the real water cooler or the online one.

I do enjoy listening to and watching informed talkers on the radio or tv debate these important issues, but they're paid to do so to inform and entertain. 

There is a way to peace and justice and it's through the ballot box.

The only thing we can do is to make sure to vote in every election and don't elect these extremists to our legislatures. That's where they do their dirty work, fighting all attemps at gun control. And if any law does get passed, like the Assault Weapons ban in 1994-2004, they try to weaken it in some way or chip at it over time.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban

Over the last 80 years they have been trying over and over again to unravel Social Security.

I heard a pro-gun person argue about the man in China who went into a school and attacked a bunch of little children in a mass-stabbing. He asked, "Are we going to ban knives?" The only problem with their argument is that all those children lived because a knife isn't as deadly as a Bushmaster assault rifle.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/12/13/3101119/22-children-1-adult-hurt-in-...

 I didn't put up any Christmas lights this year and I wouldn't have even put up a tree but we had relatives coming over and we felt obligated to try to put forth some sort of holiday cheer. Christmas was still pleasant, we had a nice dinner and exchanged gifts, but it must have been so depressing for the families of the victims of these mass shootings.

Besides the tragedies there were also some triumphs. Obama's re-election and the approval of Obamacare by the Supreme Court was right up there. The recession seems to be easing up a bit as each new quarter shows an improving economy.

We also met some wonderful new friends this past year and I reached 62 and started receiving benefits from Social Security after paying into it for over 40 years. And, Obamacare is set to start kicking in in 2014, just 1 year away. I'm hoping my health care premiums will go down because of the roll-out of the exchanges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_exchange#Health_insurance_...

We take the good with the bad and try to make the best of it. Life will go on and we will, somehow find a way to happiness.