Killers

By now, unless you're living under a rock, you've been blasted day and night about the tragedy of 9 people who were gunned down by a crazy killer at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.  It was a senseless and depraved act.  Full stop.  No one can pretend to understand what demons the asshole who pulled the trigger had running around in his head that would lead up to this act.  I guess the only good thing, if it is a good thing, is that he is now dead.

This stupid killing spree is unfortunately becoming all to common in our country.  It seems that every few months we see another crazy guy (and most are guys) go off the deep end and kill some number of innocents.  And that brings out all the hand wringers.  "What are we going to do?" they cry.  And the head hand wringer is President Obama.  He predictably comes to the podium in the White House press room, decry's the event, tells everyone that we're with the families, and then launches into his frustration that no one is doing anything and he's getting tired of it.  As if he is some janitor in the back room.  HE IS THE PRESIDENT!!!  There is plenty he could do but he is a political coward and a gas bag.

Since he just drones on and on that something should be done, but then he does nothing, let me help him.  There is plenty he could do.  The first thing is to implement some gun controls.  Now all you second amendment types don't go apoplectic.  There are 310 million weapons in this country.  No one is talking about rounding them up or getting rid of them.  And if they did, I'd be first in line to cry bullshit.  But...there are some things he could do on the federal level to limit some of the most dangerous weapons in the inventory.  He could sponsor legislation to slow the proliferation of guns and better regulate the ones already out there.  Many would support a ban on military style assault weapons.  Armor-piercing bullets and other types of the most devastating ammunition could be better controlled and would receive wide-spread support.  There is technology today to implement tracing technology so that every bullet can be identified by manufacture and buyer.  Better, more comprehensive background checks and waiting periods are a no brainer.  Better regulations at gun shows could be something that is implemented nation-wide.  All these things could be done.  Or at least tried to be done.  He could call a major conference on deciding what could be done to reasonably restrict weapons.  It could include all levels of government.  And none of that would endanger the 2nd Amendment or endanger the public.  But...it would require leadership.  It would require political will.   It would require that he invest time in it.  It would require that he care.

But for my money all that would be pretty minimal and wouldn't be nearly as impactful as putting some attention on mental health.  Because...it's not the arrow, it's the Indian.  Here's the deal.  You don't do something like this unless you have serious mental health issues.   I always hesitate to say we need to throw money at it, but we need to throw money at it.  I don't have the answers, but there are a lot of smart people out there who probably do.  Here's a good example.  There is a program in California being developed to determine whether potentially dangerous people own guns illegally.  But it's way behind in implementation because of bureaucratic delays.  There are other programs that I'm sure could be implemented to identify these nut cases and treat them accordingly.  And who would object?  Who would not think this is a good idea?  Uh...no one.  But what would it take.  It would take leadership.  It would take him picking up the phone to talk to people about it.  He could also call a White House conference on this issue.  Bring in all the state and local folks. Come up with solutions.  Twist arms to get something done.  But no...he'd have to expend political capital and he won't do that.

Here's another one.  School security.  No...not putting an armed guard on every campus or razor wire around the perimeter.  But every district superintendent and every principal should be held accountable for appropriate safety measures and insure drills are conducted to minimize damage if an incident occurs.

Or....what about parental responsibility?  President Kennedy launched a national physical fitness agenda.  How about a parental responsibility agenda.  What about making sure every parent knows that they have a responsibility to observe and report signs that your child or your child's friend is emotionally disturbed and may be a potential threat.  Why couldn't he speak out on this?  He has the bully pulpit!  There have been too many disappointments with this guy to count, but perhaps the biggest is his not doing anything to improve the state of young black men in this country.  He could have made a difference.  He could have been heroic.  6 years ago I thought he would.  And it's been a bitter disappointment.

So when Obama slithers out and says he's mad about something and then hits the links, for me it falls on deaf ears.  He is all talk...no substance.  He could do something.  HE IS THE PRESIDENT!!!  He just chooses not to.  What a jackass...