The bigger picture  by Tom Reynolds

For their own benefit, politicians like to phrase issues in a narrow way that ignores the bigger picture; a picture that often tells another story.  Here are some examples of narrow views and then the related bigger pictures that rarely get publicized.

Every time there is a shooting, it gets extensive coverage in the media.

Guns also used defensively.  On September 2, 2026, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) posted, “The report…indicates a range of 500,000 to 2.5 million defensive gun uses each year.”

Affordability is a major issue in the coming election. 

            Per the U S Bureau of Labor statistics, the Consumer Price Index rose:

• 7.62% from 2017 to 2020 (Trump)      1.91% per year
• 21.4% from 2021 to 2024 (Biden)        5.35% per year
• 7.41% from 2025 to 2026 (Trump)      3.70% per year

And remember, the increase does not go away but is included in the next year’s base.

A major driver of the current inflation is the War in Iran.  Some political candidates say we should withdraw from Iran and use the money in America.  The idea of withdrawing from Iran gets some support when people fill their gas tank. 

What’s the dollar value of this of Iran not having a nuclear weapon and deciding to impose a fee on every ship going through the Strait of Hormuz?  How safe would you feel if Iran could again fund terrorists around the world?  

The modern sporting rifle (AR15) is continually called an ‘assault rifle’ or a ‘weapon of war.’

            Per an FBI report in 2023:

• More people are killed by hands and feet than ALL rifles 
• More people are killed by blunt instruments than ALL rifles
• More people are killed by sharp instruments than ALL rifles.

The idea of Medicare-for-All gets a lot of support from certain candidates and constituencies.

Shouldn’t we get rid of the Billions of fraud in the Medicaid, SNAP and other government programs before we dangle a bigger pot of money in front of criminals who are salivating at the thought of another huge government debacle?

Politicians justify their anti 2nd Amendment efforts as making citizens safer, especially children in schools.

Every school shooting since the ‘Gun Free School Zone Act’ was finalized in 1996 has been in a Gun Free Zone.

In movies, “silencers” go poof poof when shot.

            Most unsuppressed gunshots range between 180 decibels to 140 decibels

Silencers / suppressors reduce noise from between 40 decibels to 20 decibels

A Jackhammer is 135 decibels

That aint poof poof.

Governor Hochul credited her “strategic investments” for record‑low crime, especially murders; “We continue to deliver measurable results with record low crime across New York.”

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Gun related homicides:

2000-2019               Were between 10,800 to 14,600 each year

2020                          19,384          (Covid)

2021                          20,958           (Covid)

2022                          19,651

2023                          17,927

2024                          15,364

2025                          12,850

Does anyone besides me see a relationship between the increase in homicides during the heavy Covid years and then the decrease in homicides as we get further away from Covid?