In response to tragedy, Australia is already moving to act. In the US, the data show firearm mortality isn’t inevitable—but only where policy keeps up with reality.
Thanks for all this. The other "light" in all these other shootings of the last week was that the man who wrestled the gun away from one of the shooters in Australia, did so without having gun himself showing great courage. Where in America we have too many citizens stating everyone should be armed in public. That would be horrific chaos.
That scene you commented on was shown repeated & I believe is a pure example of humanity & hope!
There is another video I saw only once...no criticism...the 2nd shows a couple attempting to disarm the elder shooter & perished when that person obtained a 2nd firearm & shot the couple, another heroic & selfless act of humanity 🙏
I am a retired physician who has had the time to think about what options we have going forward regarding healthcare. I would like to share an idea with you and ask that you share it with others if you think it is worthy of consideration.
In this time of great unrest in our country, the conditions may be ripe for getting rid of insurance companies in the mix of healthcare. It is my opinion that a wealthy country such as ours should be using our wealth to help the patients not companies that work with health insurance and or with drug cost.
I suggest that we consider at this time setting up Medicare for all. We have the structure available to us in the current Medicare program. It will be easy to add more providers, including pediatricians using the current guidelines for Medicare membership. We could make this seemingly complex turn around by enrolling everyone in Medicare, ceasing their enrollment in insurance companies, including drug coverage and put the money into care of patients, payment for Physicians and other providers and probably even having money left over for clinical research.
I identify you as a leader in the area of healthcare, including in its current chaotic situation. Please consider and share with your colleagues if you approve of this possible re-organization plan.
Societies reflect the decisions of their citizens and leaders. It is as simple as that. Priorities impact the decision-making processes. A society without empathy favors decisions that benefit the individual even at the neglect of society as a whole. That is the crux of the gun violence problem. Our constitution grants citizens the right to own an object that requires infallible safeguards and responsibility in order to prevent damage to society. We start from the wrong premise. To solve the problem, a major change in paradigm is required. We need to look at the macro rather than the micro. The well-being of the society may outweigh (dare I say trump instead of outweigh) a specific right of the individual. This could generate the counterargument that the government is infringing on citizens' rights. Still, there is no other right afforded by our Constitution that has led to an epidemic of loss of life. As a pointed-eared hero of mine once said, “the need of the many outweighs the need of the few, or the one.”
I agree with much of what Dr. Faust wrote. What makes optimism so hard is not ignorance but tolerance. Tolerance for incompetence dressed up as policy. Tolerance for absurdities that would once have been disqualifying. Tolerance for a Congress that abdicates responsibility, a Court that has become a ruling oligarchy, and an administration that punishes organizations like the AAP for having the courage to speak up for what is right.
We are watching a moral sorting in real time. Some institutions are showing profiles in courage. Too many others are making deals with the devil and calling it pragmatism. As Chayefsky put it in Network, I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore. That is not hysteria. It is recognition.
Thanks for all this. The other "light" in all these other shootings of the last week was that the man who wrestled the gun away from one of the shooters in Australia, did so without having gun himself showing great courage. Where in America we have too many citizens stating everyone should be armed in public. That would be horrific chaos.
That scene you commented on was shown repeated & I believe is a pure example of humanity & hope!
There is another video I saw only once...no criticism...the 2nd shows a couple attempting to disarm the elder shooter & perished when that person obtained a 2nd firearm & shot the couple, another heroic & selfless act of humanity 🙏
JJF Phm 🇨🇦
I am a retired physician who has had the time to think about what options we have going forward regarding healthcare. I would like to share an idea with you and ask that you share it with others if you think it is worthy of consideration.
In this time of great unrest in our country, the conditions may be ripe for getting rid of insurance companies in the mix of healthcare. It is my opinion that a wealthy country such as ours should be using our wealth to help the patients not companies that work with health insurance and or with drug cost.
I suggest that we consider at this time setting up Medicare for all. We have the structure available to us in the current Medicare program. It will be easy to add more providers, including pediatricians using the current guidelines for Medicare membership. We could make this seemingly complex turn around by enrolling everyone in Medicare, ceasing their enrollment in insurance companies, including drug coverage and put the money into care of patients, payment for Physicians and other providers and probably even having money left over for clinical research.
I identify you as a leader in the area of healthcare, including in its current chaotic situation. Please consider and share with your colleagues if you approve of this possible re-organization plan.
Susan C Ristow MD
392 Clear Spring Ave.
Durango, CO 81301
Susanristow1@mac.com
9707997074
Societies reflect the decisions of their citizens and leaders. It is as simple as that. Priorities impact the decision-making processes. A society without empathy favors decisions that benefit the individual even at the neglect of society as a whole. That is the crux of the gun violence problem. Our constitution grants citizens the right to own an object that requires infallible safeguards and responsibility in order to prevent damage to society. We start from the wrong premise. To solve the problem, a major change in paradigm is required. We need to look at the macro rather than the micro. The well-being of the society may outweigh (dare I say trump instead of outweigh) a specific right of the individual. This could generate the counterargument that the government is infringing on citizens' rights. Still, there is no other right afforded by our Constitution that has led to an epidemic of loss of life. As a pointed-eared hero of mine once said, “the need of the many outweighs the need of the few, or the one.”
I agree with much of what Dr. Faust wrote. What makes optimism so hard is not ignorance but tolerance. Tolerance for incompetence dressed up as policy. Tolerance for absurdities that would once have been disqualifying. Tolerance for a Congress that abdicates responsibility, a Court that has become a ruling oligarchy, and an administration that punishes organizations like the AAP for having the courage to speak up for what is right.
We are watching a moral sorting in real time. Some institutions are showing profiles in courage. Too many others are making deals with the devil and calling it pragmatism. As Chayefsky put it in Network, I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore. That is not hysteria. It is recognition.
And here's another from the Boston Globe:
"I’m a scholar of gun violence. Not even I can process what happened at Brown."
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/17/opinion/brown-shooting-gun-policy/?p1=Article_Feed_ContentQuery#bgmp-comments
I found Meg Ranney's article on the Brown shooting, "First we Grieve" to be spot on. Action will follow.
Here's a gift link: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/grief-action-brown/685258/?gift=Q7jKtVZHML6-cYtdRlZVU_OZrNP0ShVUL5T-xfvtRdw&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Thank you for sharing.