Take a minute to [un]wind with our Sunday newsletter. Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what you may have missed from [un]Divided this week.
Backward solutions
Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson are expected to unveil new proposals this week aimed at so-called “gun violence.”
This ought to be good.
First – don’t trust anyone to solve a problem that they refuse to properly identify.
“Gun violence” is gang violence.
Second – be wary of any leader who blames violence first and foremost on inanimate objects.
Let’s peek at just a few of the proposals Democrats have already floated ahead of the 2023 legislative session, according to FOX 13 in Seattle:
- Ban semi-automatic rifles (have no fear, the warlord of CHOP will just open up his trunk down on Aurora!)
- Restoring local authority to create gun laws (oh great, just what we need – a patchwork of gun policies from city-to-city, county-to-county. I’m sure the gang members in South King County will be sure to stop at the city line and educate themselves on Seattle’s rules and regulations before firing that bullet into a teenager’s head).
- Requiring a permit to purchase a firearm (ahh yes, I’m sure the gang members will be first in line to apply for one of those bad boys, and the government won’t at all use the database of permit holders for something nefarious in the future! Just what Americans expect – a permitting process to practice Constitutional rights.)
- Addressing inequitable and biased policing (this won’t at all be an exercise in performative politics, I’m sure).
- Investing in community-based programs and education (Hey, now you might be on to something).
The only thing on that list that even comes close to a true solution is the last one. Common sense tells us that the time to stop gang violence is long before the gang gets its newest member. Helping families to stay together, building wealth, keeping steady jobs, getting a quality education – these are the best violence prevention methods out there.
And given their stated concern with "gun violence," you would think Democrats would be laser-focused on holding criminals who use guns to commit crimes accountable. Wouldn't that be priority number one? You'd think ... but this is the same party that just last year proposed reducing the penalty for drive-by shooters who kill someone, even if that someone was an innocent bystander.
How do we wrap our minds around that?
As I wrote in a Twitter post over the weekend:
From backward solutions to no solutions
Governor Inslee this week released his own proposed budget for the state, with an emphasis on housing, homelessness, and behavioral health. In theory, those are great priorities.
Inslee says his budget would prioritize building housing for those most in need, such as.
- Emergency supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.
- Housing for people with special needs such as developmental disabilities or chronic mental illness.
- Community capacity for behavioral health, including a new diversion and recovery center for people with behavioral health needs and criminal justice involvement.
- Affordable housing units for lower- and middle-income workers making less than 80% average median income.
- Down payment and closing cost assistance for low-income, first-time homebuyers.
“Our traditional systems for funding housing take an incremental approach, but if there was ever a time we need to move faster, it’s now,” Inslee said. “Homelessness and housing shortages are burdening every community in Washington. We can’t wait decades to build, we need housing now or the numbers of people sliding into homelessness will grow.”
But here is the thing.
Jay Inslee has been the governor of Washington for 10 years. During that time, the number of homeless people in our state has skyrocketed - to a staggering 13,000 today (although I believe that estimate is low).
How can we possibly put our faith in someone to fix a problem he has presided over?
And remember what I said earlier about not trusting someone who can't (or won't) properly identify the problem? Well, take a look at this slide from the Governor's office:
Anyone who has spent time covering the homelessness crisis in and around Seattle will tell you that it is a drug crisis, first and foremost, followed by a mental health crisis. Does affordability factor in? Sure. But let's think about this with clarity for a moment.
Let’s say you are an individual living on your own in an apartment and you can no longer afford the rent. What do you do? Most of us would a) look for a cheaper apartment b) get a roommate c) consider not living in one of America’s most expensive cities.
Very few of us would head down to 3rd Avenue and start sleeping on a sidewalk or purchase a ramshackle RV and park it on Alki Beach.
Now, that's not to say there aren't women fleeing domestic violence situations or families without a safety net who need a roof over their head - but that is the exception, not the rule. Those people are easy to help, because they want the help.
We can't fix these complex problems until we're willing to be fully honest about what the problems are.
Twitter troubles
As I discussed on Friday's episode, Elon Musk had a rough week at Twitter.
After initially deciding not to ban an account that was sharing the real-time location of his private jet, Musk changed his mind after his son was in a car that was being stalked by a crazy person.
Most parents could understand his concern, but Musk took things a step further - and perhaps a step too far - when he started suspending the accounts of prominent journalists who had reported on the debacle. Most of them had (inadvertently or not) shared the tracking information as part of that reporting.
Musk later reinstated the accounts after posting a Twitter poll letting users decide what should happen to them (mob justice?).
This morning, Twitter took another controversial move - designed to crush old competitors and potential new competitors (like Mastodon, which is being pushed by some of the left as a solution to Elon Musk's Twitter takeover).
Now, Twitter is a business. I get that. But Elon Musk has said he purchased Twitter because he believes there needs to be a universal town square where free speech reigns supreme. If he truly means that, then every decision Twitter makes should be evaluated in that context.
Housekeeping
Not a lot of housekeeping on my end today, gang. I continue to work with Apple Podcasts to figure out why new episodes aren't populating. Hopefully that will be cleared up soon.
We will have regular episodes throughout the holidays. Typically, we cancel a show if it lands on a holiday - but both Christmas and New Years are on the weekend this year which is awesome!
Thank you for all your well wishes this week. I'm feeling much better!
Have a great week and thank you for your commitment to give common sense a comeback!
