Awoke to news that an Army Reserve firearms instructor who is living with psychosis (hears voices, and was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment recently) shot up a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston last night. The above photo is allegedly security cam footage from the bowling alley. The shooter is white and in his 40's, on the run, and considered dangerous.
Bowdoin (pronounced Boh-den) is really taking a beating lately. The shooter is from that very small town as was last summer's shooter who came out of prison in another state and immediately massacred his parents and two of their friends. Then went out to Interstate 295 and started shooting at cars.
The college by the same name, which is in Brunswick not Bowdoin, is on lockdown this morning. So is Bates College where my gun-loving representative, Marine veteran Jared Golden earned his degree after returning from killing people in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Why can other countries control gun violence but the U.S. won't or can't?
Shooter Robert Card's social media presence was that of a right wing nut case. You know, kind of like the new Speaker of the House whose first act in office will be bringing forward a bill to send Israel more billions to continue their slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Not achieving gun control is a Democratic Party strategy akin to not saving abortion access -- so useful to fundraise off of that there is low motivation to solve the problem.
In Maine, a hunting state with weak gun control laws, the Democrats control both the Senate and the House, and the Governor is a Democrat also. Will this be enough to pass strong gun control laws in the wake of last night's massacre? Doubtful, but I can hope.
When I say Maine is one big small town I mean things like my grandson's cousins on his mom's side live in Auburn, a twin city to Lewiston. His older cousin will not attend school today as all schools for miles around are closed while the manhunt continues.
Back in 2020 when I ran against Susan Collins for her senate seat, Project Veritas "tricked" me into admitting I believe in gun control. Subsequently Collins voted "no" on background checks, a fact being circulated widely on social media.
Both corporate parties profit from violence, domestically and abroad. Neither will do anything meaningful to stop it. We have lost our representation in government, which breeds fear, which spikes gun sales. Meanwhile we have hugely inadequate mental health care because we have hugely inadequate health care of any sort.
It doesn't have to be this way, but it will continue until the people wrest control of their government back from corporate interests. Second Amendment defenders will tell you that's why they need to cling to their guns, to ward off tyranny. Sorry fellas but the government's drones, robots, lasers, and directed energy weapons are not threatened by your AR-15.
But you are, because the people most likely to die of gun violence are...gun owners.
The way to bring down this miserable government is a general strike. But that is a subject for another time.
