Events of the past few days--the multiple fatal shootings--certainly have me on edge as much as anyone, considering that you never know when you may cross paths with someone like the gunman in Binghamton, obsessed with guns in addition to undergoing the stresses that we're going through.
Don't know if any policies can help reduce this problem; after all, how can you ban someone from purchasing a gun who has no criminal record and has not undergone psychiatric treatment, which was the dilemma with the gunman of the Virginia Tech killings--he hadn't been confined for mental health treatment, so nothing could have stopped him from buying guns legally. This situation is way past scary.
Just as scary is talk of budget cuts in DC. Of course, they're necessary, but one can only hope that they're not done in such a way as to make a bad social situation too much worse. According to the Washington Post, the budget axe is supposed to fall fairly evenly across agencies, but then I heard that the greatest cuts are to take place to outpatient mental health facilities. What?! Um, it's good that the police and fire departments aren't scheduled to take cuts, but then if outpatient mental health services are cut even closer to the bone, they'll have even more work, and more strain for them and us all. Ugh.
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Stumbled across another "version" of the timely Isley Brothers classic, Harvest for the World. Actually, it's the prelude to the song, a shorter, yet haunting, rendition. For those of us who feel the strain.
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