Are we nuts?

As far as I know, the United States is the only country on the planet that has a Second Amendment, which in its most basic terms is interpreted as the Constitutional right to bear arms.

And as far as I know, the United States is the only country on the planet that continues to slaughter its own people with a horrendous butcher's bill of nearly two mass murders a day. So far, there have been over 560 mass murders in this country this year alone (the Gun Violence Archive, a highly referenced non-profit research group, defines a mass shooting as four or more people who are shot or killed, not including the shooter.)

Is there a correlation between all of this carnage and the Second Amendment? I guess that depends on who you are and what you believe and how you draw your correlation lines to connect the dots.

All of this grief and sorrow bubbled up to the surface again with last week's mass slaying of 18 people in Maine, perpetrated by a gunman using a military-style AR-15. The rifle is basically a weapon of mass destruction, usually holding a magazine clip of 30 rounds. The gun is generally chambered for 5.56x45 mm ammunition or .223 Remington ammo, with a muzzle velocity of 3,300 feet per second, which just so happens is fast enough to break the sound barrier.

Created in the 1960s, the lightweight weapon was used in the Vietnam war. It's sole purpose is designed to kill human beings. A single round can mutilate the human body. At the speed of sound. At the speed of an innocent and desperate cry.

Curiously, handguns are still the primary weapon of choice in mass murders. They are used in about 78 percent of mass murders from 1982 to August 2023, according to Statistica. Fairly or not, the AR-15 probably has earned its bloody reputation if only for the havoc its creates.

So here we are, once more wondering how we got to this place while the rest of the world wonders the same thing.

Second Amendment proponents (I always thought the Second Amendment was designed to create a well regulated militia as opposed to a loosely regulated armed citizenry) point to mental illness concerns with many of the shooters, and while there might be some substance to that argument, it makes no sense when the rest of the world also deals with mental health issues within their populations but suffers little to no mass murders at all. In my mind, the rest of the world renders the Second Amenders mental health argument as invalid.

The Supreme Court weighed in on firearms in 2008 with the Heller v. District of Columbia decision. In that case, the conservative court favored Dick Heller – who opposed a ban on handguns in the home – by a 5-4 decision.

Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority opinion, added to the limited nature of the ruling, "Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. (It is) not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose."

Scalia's opinion could see into the future. We seem to have more open carry laws than ever before. Some states no longer require training, certification or any other form of registration to carry a weapon. Even age restrictions are being lowered in some states to purchase a weapon.

Why? What are we afraid of?

We seem to be traveling a dangerous path and it's becoming more fraught with fear by the moment. 

And there's no reasonable end in sight.

Wow, what a week

What is wrong with the Republican Party?

OK, OK, I know that is a loaded question. But does it really take more than three weeks to elect a new Speaker of the House?

For that matter, did we even need to elect a new Speaker?

Because Republicans are searching from within their own caucus for a nominee, and apparently can't find one, does that mean even they have to admit their party is drowning in chaos? 

And now, the search for a Speaker comes at a perilous time for this nation, what with international democracy-threatening conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. And, of course, there's that little matter with a previous president who is overwhelmed with indictments while trying to run for re-election.

To my mind, the whole mess began in January when Kevin McCarthy, so transparently eager to become Speaker, agreed to terms whereby if he was chosen, his position could be ended by a vote of the House after a single motion to vacate the office.

Big mistake to agree to that, Kevin.

But that's what happened. Congratulations, Kevin. You outdid yourself. You're the first Speaker in American history ever to have his seat vacated by House vote. See ya.

Incredibly, Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican bomb thrower who is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for a number of allegations, including violating sex trafficking laws, presented the motion to vacate. You can't make this stuff up.

After a harried search for a nominee to replace McCarthy, the Republicans came up with ... Jim Jordan? Well, there's a winner for you. He's been in Congress 17 years, and has yet to sponsor a bill that has become law. So why does he keep getting re-elected? Do they not teach civics in Ohio? Jordan is also a bomb thrower and a Jan. 6 election denier (or rather, Big Liar) to boot. Just who you want to run the House and be second in line for the presidency, right?

But he, too, failed to gain the necessary 217 votes to become Speaker. In fact, after three ballots, he kept shedding votes. He eventually became the first Speaker nominee in modern history to fail to reach the 200-vote level. And this after apparently trying to bully other members (the Republican way, it seems) to vote for him. Ha.

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Here I am stuck in the middle with you.

So now what? The House can't vote on anything unless it has a Speaker. Which means, for the time being, funding for Ukraine and Israel is on hold. Funding to keep the U.S. government operating runs out in November, so there's that. And God knows what else.

Unless the GOP comes up with a consensus candidate, the best solution I can figure is some kind of shared government leadership with the Democrats. That would mean, heaven forbid, concessions, cooperation and compromise. Imagine that. A true democratic government that actually works for the people.

History repeats...again

Given the current state of the world, I wish I knew more about the conflicts between Jews and Muslims, about Judaism itself, about the creation of the modern state of Israel. 

Or is it Palestine? Or is it Canaan?

I'm not quite sure what Hamas is. Or Hezbollah. Are they more than terror organizations? Are they states? Are they governments? From where do they get their power? From where do they get their financing? From where do they get their endless flow of arms? With whom do you negotiate?

The recent brutal assault by Hamas against Israel has thrown all these questions into my head. Israel has declared war, but war against an organization. I think. Wars are generally declared between states. Between governments.

And all of this is happening when Ukraine (who is led by a Jew) is fighting for its sovereign survival in yet a different upheaval. So just where are we in world history? Are these conflicts ultimately interconnected? Is it all about oil money? What does this all mean?

Because I am something of a World War II buff, I guess my first serious introduction to antisemitism was Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews and the subsequent Holocaust in the 1940s. But even the Holocaust is really just a pinpoint on the million-year timeline of Jewish persecution.

So is the Holocaust why Israel was carved out of Palestine by the United Nations in 1947? One has to think that while the concept of a Jewish homeland was noble, perhaps in the end it wasn't so clearly thought through if the result is never-ending conflict. Is shortsightedness the reason why we are where we are right now?

All I know about the creation of Israel can be found in the movie "Exodus." I should be better than that. 

To me, the most sorrowful thing from all of this is the generational fighting between the combatants. It really does go back a million years, perhaps more. The conflicts serve to magnify human bias, human hatred, human capacity for brutality, continuing as they do from one generation to the next.

Where does it end?

How does it end?

When do we learn?

 

Topped off

Remember the hail storm we had back in June?

Well, trust me. We had one. And it was pretty significant, dropping hailstones about the size of golf balls. I'd never seen anything like it in my life, and I'm an old guy.

The storm caused considerable damage. Both of our cars were peppered with the stuff and had to be repaired for thousands of dollars of dent damage.

Fortunately, our insurance paid for everything except the $100 deductible, and both of our cars look great. Kim got her car back about a month ago, and I got mine back about two weeks ago.

But then there was the roof on our house...

We had the roof put on about 19 years ago, shortly after we moved in, but there was no way it was going to survive the pelting it received from this storm. It was due up for a new one. I had four roofing companies look at it before we decided on Wimmer Siding Windows and Roofing. And, once again, our insurance came through.

But we had to wait about a month or so before Wimmer could pencil us in. That's how busy they were.

In the meantime, of the nine houses on our block, five of them already had new roofs installed. It was like we were living in a new construction site. We'd even reached the point of paranoia worrying about roofing nails all over the place. We figured it would be a minor miracle if we could get through the summer without a flat tire.

Anyway, the roofing crew arrived last Tuesday, happily hammering away, and within 30 hours, we had our new roof.

Here's a photo essay about the process:

1. The house before the crew arrives.

2. The six-man crew begins work early in the morning.

3. More shingles come flying off the front of the house.

4. Roof underlayments go up. Progress.

5. The shingles go up. Starting to look like something now.

6. Here is the finished roof. Looks good.

These are the hailstones that caused all the trouble in June.

 

So now we have a new roof. We feel pretty safe, secure and dry at this point, although time will tell.

The crew cleaned up after itself when the job was done, carting off old shingles and using magnets to pick up most of the loose roofing nails. But there will always be loose roofing nails. We did our own cleanup afterwards with borrowed magnets and I found 20 more nails, including five in the street.

So I suspect I'll be paranoid for at least a year. But at least I'll be dry.

Stiff as a board

 It's been years since I picked up a golf club. Maybe even a decade. Maybe longer.

That wasn't how I envisioned my retirement. Back in the days when I was a working stiff, I would hit the golf course with a certain amount of regularity, perhaps hitting the links twice a week. I'd even reached a degree of competency, scoring in the mid- to high 80s on most courses. Every once in a while, I'd even break 80. You know, just enough to keep me coming back.

But then something happened. I'm not quite sure what. I thought when I retired, I'd end up playing golf more often. You know, all that fresh air and exercise. The camaraderie of being with your friends. The pure and primal exhilaration of hitting a ball with a stick. It was all there.

And then it wasn't. Instead, I practically stopped playing the game.

"Why don't you play some golf?" asked my wife. "You don't play anymore. Go play some golf."

I think she actually was trying to get me out of the house. But I always had an excuse.

"It's too hot" or "I'm too tired" or "I've got yard work to do" or "I'm watching something on TV."

This was so unlike me 10 years ago.

Then, earlier this week, I got a text from my friend and former Dispatch colleague Donnie Roberts:

"Any interest in reviving your golf game?"

Back in the day, Donnie and I would hit the course once a week or so, which helped tremendously to break the stress of working deadlines at The Dispatch. But he quit playing, too, following surgery and other diversions. Donnie drives 18 wheelers for a living now, so his stress level is still there. My stress level is wondering if I should cut the grass today or not.

But, what the heck?  I suggested to Donnie that we should hit the driving range first. You know, to kick off the rust. We could do a golf course some other time.

So we did. Yesterday we met at Hit 'n Run in Linwood. When I pulled up, Donnie had a large bucket of balls waiting for me.

Both of us wondered if muscle memory would kick in. Nothing with the word "memory" in it is a guarantee at this point in our lives, but remarkably, after a couple of mishits and wormburners, we started hitting golf course-worthy shots. About 90 minutes later, after we worked our way through our buckets, we decided to play a round next week and see what happens.

In the meantime, I'm dealing with a different kind of muscle memory. I'm stiff as a board. I'm sore. My back won't rotate. My shoulders won't work. My wrists are shouting at me.

I forgot I'd gotten older, but I shouldn't have worried. My body is reminding me.