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Donald Trump would have lost in a landslide without the support of women. Many women voted for him, and that's what it took for him to win. Despite his habits of mocking disabled people and grabbing women he doesn't even know by the pussy, women voted for him. Not a majority, granted, but more than enough to elect him. Why would so many women do that? Because they voted with their gonads rather than their brains. They voted for the guy they thought had the biggest and hardest dick, and in this case he was the only option. If a woman had run against McCain or Romney the man would have won big. Because women don't want somebody in charge who will look out for them. Given the option, they want somebody who MIGHT fuck them. That's why they like 50 Shades of Grey and before the the Story of O. Makes me think the guys who say women shouldn't be allowed to vote are right.

So where and how does it end? Well, it probably doesn't. We will continue to kill each other until somebody creates a weapon that will wipe us out. I'm not all that concerned about nukes. They are, primarily, just really big explosives. And chemical weapons? There are ways to be protected from them and time and weather dissipate them. But biological weapons? That may well be what gets us. Somebody in a laboratory, probably right here in this country, will create a variant of influenza or smallpox or one of the hemorrhagic fevers that is airborne, 99% lethal, and is so different from what currently exists that nobody has a natural immunity. Why would somebody release something like that? Because he can. Because we are, deep down in our genetic makeup, designed to kill each other.

On the other hand, this affinity for homicide, if it doesn't destroy us, may be the factor that saves us from some threatening species from another part of the galaxy. If they are intent on killing us, we can and will try to kill them, instead. And we are very good at killing.

Today we have death penalty statutes in several states, plus a federal version. This is a way for prosecutors, judges, juries, and the general public to experience the thrill of killing another human being, while avoiding the guilt that sometimes goes along with it. The problem is that we express horror and bewilderment at the cold-blooded killings committed by people we call sociopaths or psychopaths, when actually they are mostly like the rest of us. Why do we kill people? Because we like it. Look at all the video games. Sure, some folks like things like Bejeweled and Farmville. But a hell of a lot of folks like what are called first-person shooters. We like shooting other people and blowing things up.

Hunters are another thing. Those who hunt animals for food and catch fish to eat are one thing. Those who kill animals for the fun of it are something else entirely. The people who inhabited this land before the Europeans came were, at least most of them, avid and skilled hunters. But they used every part of the animal they could possibly use. When the buffalo hunters came and slaughtered large numbers of bison, skinned them, and left the corpses to rot, the plains Indians did not understand at all. The guy who has a room in his house with mounted heads of animals he has killed is undoubtedly very proud of what he has done. And what is the point? It is a vicarious way to kill other people. The animal is a substitute. Shows courage and "manliness"? Piffle. Shooting an animal from 150 yards away with a high-powered rifle means you are brave? Here's what you do. Take on that bear with a knife. That will show me you are brave. And stupid. Because open season on humans is not permitted by our civilized society, the next best thing is to kill some animals.

As further evidence of how much we enjoy killing each other, consider the era when execution was done in public. That covers many centuries in many different countries. These public executions, whether by guillotine or hanging or by burning at the stake, were always attended by a large crowd, who came to enjoy the show. And the brutality in the Roman Colosseum, with demonstrations of gladiators cutting each other to pieces and captives sent into the arena to be ripped apart by wild animals and all the assorted horrors they could think of to entertain citizens (and the Romans could be very creative)--why do you think they needed to build such a big place, with seats for so many people? 

It seems to be a common occurrence: somebody, somewhere, shoots somebody else--or several others. Then people, with the avid encouragement of the media, go to yapping and yammering about the tragedy and horror of the episode and pontificating about the reason why it happened. Really, it's simple. Pay attention because the explanation is so simple it could just slide on by. We are homicidal as a species. That's it. It is in our genetic makeup every bit as much as the urge to procreate or protect personal territory. Way, way back, maybe a million years ago, the guy who was quick to pick up a stick or a leg bone and hit the "stranger" with it was more likely to survive to produce offspring than the guy who hesitated. And that's how evolution works--the genes for those who survive encounters get passed on to future generations. And the women wholeheartedly supported the process by choosing mates who were likely to be able to protect their children. They still do.