Trego's Mountain Ear

The chart, from CDC, provides a specific perspective – that, since 1981, 55.6% of gun deaths were suicides, and that 31.6% were gang homicides.  It kind of makes the “gun control” legislation – like banning 30 round magazines and “assault type rifles” look a little bit ineffective.  I don’t like suicide – permanent solutions to temporary problems aren’t something I approve of (kindly ignore the dangling preposition).

Finding out that about 80% of homicides are gang homicides . . . well, you don’t join a gang to get tips on obeying the laws, and gangs tend to be a more urban phenomena.

The next chart – with data from the labor department – gives a bit of a perspective on how we’re being affected by inflation.  As I look at the gasoline costs, I really wonder if I shouldn’t be getting a second-hand Smart car to drive instead of the Talon . . . but as a child of the sixties, it’s nice to drive something that gets with the program when my right foot gets heavy.

And this map shows me that I surely don’t want to drive across Montana on Highway 2 in an electric car.  I’m not certain, but it looks like the last charging station to the east is in Shelby or Cutbank . . . and the mile marker at the North Dakota line is 668 if I recall correctly.