Another week has passed, another tragedy has happened and social media is abuzz with all kinds of nonsense and hatred.
Let’s get something straight – 59 human beings lost their lives in Las Vegas at the hands of person who obviously had issues. As I write this, that reason has not yet been found or revealed.
I’m really not sure how President Trump, Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama had anything to do with this sense of insanity, but for some odd reason, any one of those three people and countless other reasons are being blamed for the tragedy.
Not only did 59 fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, husbands and wives die, but over 400 others were injured from the stampede or wounds from bullets.
Emotions have been at a high level, but when I see people getting on the back of Jimmy Kimmel for tearing up on national TV regarding the shooting, well, that’s just sad.
Las Vegas is Kimmel’s hometown. Anytime a disaster happens in your hometown, whether you currently live there or not, it affects you. It was very clear the Las Vegas shooting affected Kimmel.
If you didn’t shed a tear over the senseless murders in Nevada, maybe you need to take a look at yourself and wonder why you didn’t. Take a moment to look at the photos of all 59 dead and read their biographies to see who they really were.
If there is a platform to rid semi or automatic assault weapons, the incident in Vegas is certainly one.
No NRA people, it’s not a movement to rid firearms; it’s a plea to ban assault weapons. Nobody wants to stop a hunting enthusiast from enjoying his or her sport or breaking the Right to Bear Arms amendment. You don’t need an AK-47 to kill a deer or a turkey.
But it’s too easy to buy an assault riffle in this country.
It’s time to pass a law banning automatic assault rifles so mass murders like the one in Las Vegas are prevented. Keep those types of firearms in the military and not on the streets. I’d even go as far as banning the flesh-ripping bullets used by the Las Vegas assailant.
I often scratch my head wondering how people running the most powerful country in the world are unable pass legislation to better our health care or ban semi or automatic weapons.
I know why nothing gets passed in Washington. Powerful lobby groups have a huge presence in D.C., not to mention tons of money for their cause.
After a mass murder in Australia in 1996 where 35 people were killed and 18 injured, that country’s government passed the National Firearms Agreement banning semi-automatic, self-loading rifles and shotguns as well as imposing stricter licensing and registration requirements.
In 2002, Australia made additional changes to the gun laws, restricting the caliber, barrel length and capacity of sport handguns.
The Australian government had a buy-back program after the laws changed where 661,000 firearms were handed in and destroyed. Since 1996, homicides in Australia have decreased by 20%.
Should the U.S. government get rid of all firearms? Certainly not. But stringent, tighter laws controlling guns just might be what we need to stop mass murderers from carrying out their plots.
Tom Petty
Last week I wrote about the rock band Chicago and how its music affected my teenage years. Now, another musical legend has passed away. Tom Petty died of cardiac arrest at the age of 66.
When you look at Tom Petty’s song catalog, he had a ton of hits. Petty’s first album with the Heartbreakers came out in 1976.
His band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, completed a huge 40th anniversary tour a few weeks ago in California.
Petty and the band put out 13 albums, the last one in 2014, and he also did three solo albums.
One of my favorite musical ventures by Petty (outside of teaming up with Stevie Nicks) was when he joined forces with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynn to create the super group, the Traveling Wilburys, a highly successful group that put out two albums and several hits.
Quote of the week
“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.” – Denis Diderot, French philosopher
Thought of the week
“The world is divided into people who do things – and people who get credit.” – Dwight Morrow, American statesman
Bumper sticker
“Garden as though you will live forever.” – William Kent, English architect