Sad days. All the way around. The state of the world, the state of the weather.
A hard rain fell again for most of the night. I lay awake listening to it slap against the roof tiles.
Look what all our rain is doing to the local flowers.
These are recent photos of peonies and roses in our yard and a neighbor's.
Yes, sad days. Sunday and Monday were grey ones, maybe in mourning of the Orlando's massacre. This morning it is sunny, with blue skies and bright white clouds of beau temps. Let's hope it will last!
ReplyDeleteNo sun here at all. It's drippy and gray. But it's not raining... yet.
ReplyDeleteThe world is crazy.
ReplyDeleteIt can't decide here in the south whether to rain or not. We've had a few sprinkles, but that's it. I might have to water the tomatoes, which feels unfair when the skies are gray.
But the wind! A crazy tramontane all night long.
And to add to our woes our town water supply has been contaminated by the floods and we are being issued with bottled water.
ReplyDeleteOn the other issue, I assume that all we can hope for is that sometime in the future the NRA can no longer afford to buy Congress.
In every country politicians have been for sale for eons if you put up the price. I don't see it change very soon, if at all!
DeleteStricter gun laws didn't prevent the Paris massacre last year. I'm not saying the U.S. doesn't need to tighten its laws — it definitely does — but somebody who is determined to kill will find a way.
DeleteI do agree with you. There are too many of these assault riffles on the market and too easy to get.
DeleteO/T Beau temps didn't last. Now it's raining...for a change!
Just this morning I heard an interview with a gun dealer who said that he ordinarily sells about
ReplyDelete3 or 4 assault rifles in a day. Yesterday he sold about 10 an hour, and during lunchtime he sold
15 of them. The good old boys at the NRA must be delighted.
its way too easy to buy guns here......it wont prevent crazy people completely but it could be more difficult!!
ReplyDeleteand why anyone needs an assault weapons.....
I agree .. too easy to buy them, no background checks and punishments are not harsh enough.
DeleteIt was heartbreaking to listen to six surgeons explaining how they dealt with the injured and the wounded on that sunday morning and into the day plus the damages done by a bullet from those assault rifles ( which are used in wars theatres) versus those from a gun or an ordinary hunting rifle. We are living in a mad mad world :(
ReplyDeleteAgreed, all around.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that the world laughs with flowers, but your photos show that the world cries with them as well. I'm thinking that the ban on assault weapons will go back in place within the next couple of years. Still no amount of terrorism will make us go back in time, don't forget the progress that has been made for our country in our lifetime. Two steps forward and one step backward, etc. BTW, the flag at the Catholic hospital where my new granddaughter was born is at half mast. Her baby's mom was born on the day Patty Hurst was kidnapped- Feb. 4,1974- those were some crazy times, too. So it goes.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Sandy Hook shooting, of 20 six and seven-year old children, would have turned the tide. And in Orlando, many of the victims were so very young, in their early 20s.
ReplyDeleteThe Guardian has a most sobering article on gun violence in America: 1000 mass shootings in 1260 days:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/oct/02/mass-shootings-america-gun-violence
And here in Los Angeles, a man was arrested with all sorts of assault rifles and explosives the night before gay pride, June 12. His intent, apparently, was to disrupt that gathering.
Here is the Guardian link live. Thanks, D.
DeleteSo many things are so sad I feel wordless. I truly believe there is much much more good in the world, and I reflect on Mr. Roger's words on looking for the helpers. But such sadness.
ReplyDeleteI think I have become very pessimistic about all this. Better gun control laws would make a difference, but wouldn't cure all. But we have to start somewhere.
ReplyDeleteBetter gun control laws? This terrorist was interviewed by the FBI three times and passed a background check. Worked for a security company. Please take off your rose colored glasses. See the enemy for who they really are.
ReplyDeleteWe have seen the enemy and she or he is us. My point about gun control is that it seems to be too late. It's a little bit like internet privacy issues. It's too late. Or expelling illegal immigrants -- too late! We need to find real solutions to real problems, not blame some imagined enemy. Take your glasses off too.
DeleteIt shows a lot of guts to post as Anonymous, it says it all!
Delete
DeleteBetter to wear rose colored glasses than the dark glasses of anonymity! Laws most certainly will help and I see them happening when our next President is elected. Some of us will never give up hope. We've come too far to give up now.
I own what you call "an assault "weapon. I own a semi-automatic rife and a semi automatic pistol. I have a lifetime permit for these weapons and they are kept in a gun safe when I am not practicing at my local DNR range. Stop pointing fingers at law abiding citizens for owning firearms.
ReplyDeleteAsk the Europeans how it feels to be disarmed. Are they any safer? Do they feel safer? I will protect myself and my family if the need arises.
By the way, I am a women and I am 63 years old.
Hi Sharon, this is a friendly forum with diverse opinions united with a love of France. Let's keep it that way. I don't think any of us were pointing fingers at law abiding folks like you. There would be no crime ever if everyone abided the law.
DeleteI'm a 70 year old woman who shot a bb gun as a child and liked cap guns. I've traveled in many countries and know that they are all safer than the USA, but I will never own a gun of any sort.
I agree with Evelyn. But a lot of my neighbors here have and use guns. They're mostly hunting rifles. The Europeans are not disarmed, and unfortunately there is more and more gun violence here in France.
DeleteYour neighbors grew up on the land and hunting is a Sunday ritual. Southerners love to hunt the same way and there is a love of nature and sport there.
DeleteI sometimes wonder how the violence of the sixties and seventies would have felt if I had been as old as I am now. There was a lot of violence with the Civil Rights movement and we are in a time of unrest now. It will be interesting to see how things play out in our futures.