The Solution To Our Gun Problem (No, Really!) October 26, 2026October 25, 2026 But first . . . MALIGNANT NARCISSISM Jim Stewartson: Hello friends: As I’ve documented extensively, the president of the United States and the world’s richest man are both malignant narcissists—a combination of the worst personality traits known to humans: narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, sadism, and paranoia. Despite their innate antisocial behavior, this combination of traits also enables certain malignant narcissists to lie, cheat, and steal their way into power. Psychologist Erich Fromm, who defined malignant narcissism, said: > “It gives them that certainty and freedom from doubt which is so impressive to the average person.” But when malignant narcissists gain power, especially if they insulate themselves to the outside world, they can become psychotic: > “Psychosis is a state of absolute narcissism, one in which the person has broken all connection with reality outside.” The way they keep themselves from going insane is through the acclaim of others: > “Public figures who prevent the open outbreak of their potential psychosis by gaining the acclaim and consensus of millions of people.” When challenged, they will quite literally change the world around themselves to fit their own alternate reality: > “To transform reality so that it fits their narcissism, and to destroy all critics … prevent the outbreak of insanity.” Incredibly, America, and by extension the entire world is now in a scenario where two malignant narcissists have seized power—and are both literally going insane because the world is not bending to their reality. The fact that these are the most powerful people in the world must be a learning moment for all of us. We cannot keep elevating people like this into positions where they can hurt people—because they always will. > Step #1: Wrest the gavels from Republcians too cowardly or corrupt to stand up to the malignant narcissist many of them privately despise. Vote! SwipeBlue! Step #2: Win! Just as the good guys did yesterday in Brazil (where Lula defeated Trump-backed right-winger Bolsonaro and halted Latin America’s rightward shift) and in Serbia (where a Serbian Nationalist Leader Who Courted MAGA Just Lost in a Landslide). And now . . . THE SOLUTION TO OUR GUN PROBLEM At the end of Fareed Zakaria GPS yesterday — here’s the audio version, with minimal ads — he discusses Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, The American Way of Killing. A ten-minute listen (starting at 29:00) will save you a couple of hours reading, because Gladwell’s conclusions are simple: > The Second Amendment was required by Virginians, who were outnumbered dramatically by their slaves (even when counting each as just three-fifths of a person), and who wouldn’t ratify the Constitution and allow America to be born without the assurance that their slave patrols — which sounded better as “militias” — would not be curtailed. > It’s not that we have too many guns in America — though obviously we do. (No putting that genie back in the bottle.) Or even that Republicans allowed the assault weapons ban to expire. (Though, shame on them.) It’s that we have too few police. > Berlin and Los Angeles are comparable in size. Berlin has 18,000 cops, L.A. has 8,000. Because we have too few cops to get at the root of violent crime before it is even committed, we wind up spending a fortune on prisons instead. > Our very own Baltimore is a recent success story that may show the way. Ten minutes every citizen — and elected official! — should consider.