Political Upheaval

President Obama after Oregon shooting: “Our thoughts and prayers are not enough.”

It’s a tragedy, and something needs to be done about it.  But I am so sick of politicians and media spokesmen always explaining away terrible acts of violence with mental illness.  It only increases the stigma against those who are mentally ill, and makes the world more dangerous for us.

Mentally ill people are much more likely to be victims of violent crime than they are to commit one.  And rhetoric like this contributes in no small way to that statistic.

Hey there,

Thanks for the photo share! Courtesy of highenoughtoseethesea:

Cam Richards, Puerto Rico

Sans-Souci Palace, Haiti

“Henri Christophe, as he was better known, was among the key figures in the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), which resulted in Haiti becoming the first and only country in the world where slaves won and held onto their independence. A former slave himself, Christophe managed the plantation that was Milot for a time during the Revolution. After the fighting was over and independent Haiti’s first leader, Jean-Jacques Dessalines was assassinated (October 1806), Christophe returned to Milot and created a separate government from that based in Port-au-Prince. Naturally, he was soon elected as the first President of the State of Haiti, as he called it, eventually elevating himself to Henry I, King of Haiti, in 1811.

The Palace, constructed between 1810 and 1813, was known throughout the modern world at the time as The Versailles of the Caribbean. Sprawling gardens, fountains, bronzed lions, artificial springs, opulent furniture, decor and art pieces from all over the world were once literally everywhere the eye could see. The statue below, for instance, was imported from Italy for Henri’s wife, Queen Marie-Louise. There were once 15 of them scattered all about Sans-Souci…