Break time is over… back on your head

The bridge at Anacapa Island

I am sitting in SoCal…Southern California, really close to the Pacific Ocean, as in right across the street. Salt water is always a balm for my soul and spirit. Salt air is something I miss every day living in Flyover Land. Seriously. So spending this past week walking near the water, being on the water, or even thinking about the closeness of the water has been a real treat.

Assiduously avoiding the news, I focused on the adventure at hand, blissfully unaware of three mass shootings in the days before the holiday. Then I made the mistake of glancing at the Washington Post homepage. 

What is wrong with a country that sits down for a meal based in some fantasy feast that never occurred while the colonists were already bent on the destruction of the Indigenous People of the east coast and then marks that day by allowing (and I do mean allowing) people to arm themselves so they can shoot up clubs and stores? Oh, wait. Shooting up stuff fits right into the first Thanksgiving, doesn’t it?

What does it say about this country other than We, the People seem to love guns more than we love our kids and our families?

According to the Washington Post, there have been more than 600 mass shootings in the US this year, 50 in November. How is it that a large segment of our population continues to believe  guns coupled with the ease of access to automatic and semi-automatic weaponry is NOT a problem. That absolutely nothing has changed in the decade since first graders and their teachers were gunned down at Sandy Hook. 

So while I stand on a beach and watch surfers, I have no doubt in my mind that someone else is standing at a counter buying an AR-15-style weapon and hundreds of rounds of ammo before he goes off to shoot up a shopping mall decked out for Christmas. Kinda like one of them shooting galleries at the local fair, dontcha think? I don’t think too many of us have to wonder real hard about the prize.

Meanwhile, a variety of sources claim the GOP-led House of Representatives will be focused on investigating Hunter Biden and proving President Biden is an influence peddler. Compared to Feckless Loser, he’s not even a piker,  but anything the GOP can do to stop Congress from functioning appears to be open game. Which really begs the question: who are these people working for if not We, the People, and why are they totally disinterested in anything that benefits real working folk? 

One might want to understand why the GOP is bent on the absolute deconstruction of the American economy. One would think their constituency is concerned about what’s gonna happen to Grandma if they repeal/cut back Social Security. Or how they’re gonna pay for doctor bills if the ACA is repealed since the GOP has yet to provide any clues about substitute plans. Let’s not even talk about planes, trains, or trucks if the roads, rails, and airports continue to degrade with use and no maintenance. Or maybe that’s just me.

And lest we forget, Feckless Candidate had a dinner party with fine people Kanye West and Rick Fuentes the other night. Of course, Fuentes has already turned on FC, calling for a more right-wing candidate to “outflank” the man he most recently embraced. In case you’re wondering why this shit matters, it’s because he’s one of the guys who is warning Jews to leave the US. Do not, for one New York minute, think he is alone in his hatred. 

Rumor has it it’s gonna snow on Tuesday as I am winging my way homeward. Not thrilled by that concept at all. 

The WP's Tip o'the Week

An iPad is handy, but it ain't perfect.