On the way home for Christmas (in New Hampshire), my long drive took me past Newtown, Connecticut, site of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre. I didn't attempt to go to the school, knowing that it would still be roped off as a crime scene. It was Friday, exactly one week from the shootings. But I stopped on Main Street, … Read More
Not The Answer
A sixth-grader in Kearns, Utah brought an unloaded handgun to his elementary school on Monday, reportedly at the urging of his parents. According to the local Fox affiliate, the 11 year-old told his fellow students he was encouraged by his parents to bring the gun to school “for protection” following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on … Read More
Corporate America Disassociating Itself From Guns (A Little Bit)
In response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, major businesses are rethinking their relationships to firearms. As the bodies of the 26 dead are lowered into the ground this week, three companies have announced they’ll break from the sale or association with the lethal weapon that took their lives. Here are the companies that are reassessing guns in the … Read More
Who Is John Lott?
When the Ol' Perfessor aka Glenn Reynolds aka "Instapundit" wrote an op-ed for USA Today (aka McNewspaper) about how we should get rid of gun-free zones, his first witness was author William Burroughs, whose weaponry expertise is limited to shooting his wife in the forehead while drunk. His second witness was gun "expert" John Lott. If you watch the 24 hour … Read More
Five States Where It Is Harder To Get An Abortion Than It Is To Get A Gun
1) ARIZONA: When it comes to gun regulations and restrictions, Arizona is one of the most lenient states in the country. In fact, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg hired undercover agents last year to demonstrate just how easy it is to purchase firearms in Arizona without being subjected to a background check. But Arizona also passed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the … Read More
Kudos
Sen. Joe Manchin, NRA stalwart, stating the obvious: "I just came with my family from deer hunting," Manchin said on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe." "I’ve never had more than three shells in a clip. Sometimes you don’t get more than one shot anyway at a deer. It’s common sense. It’s time to move beyond rhetoric. We need to sit down and have … Read More
To The Editors Of The Rock Hill Herald, in Rock Hill, Carolina?
What's the matter with you people? Are you tone-deaf?
To The Editors of The New Republic
So, basically,what you're saying here is that mass killings of children is the price we pay for the "benevolent protection of the Second Amendment". I disagree. And I think there is much we can do without running afoul of the Second Amendment. But if you're really going to draw a line in the sand, you've got a fight coming. And … Read More
Reflections On Newtown
As last Friday's horrible events sink in, and get incorporated into the longer string of horribles that this nation must endure, I share the following disjointed thoughts: 1. Mike Huckabee is a douchebag. Mike Huckabee on Fox News (of course), saying that we shouldn't be surprised that "schools become a place of carnage" when we have "systematically removed God from our … Read More
Breaking: School Shooting In Connecticut
Again? RT @hartfordcourant: #Newtown groups of students, some crying being escorted away from the school — Michael van Poppel (@mpoppel) December 14, 2012 BREAKING — Newspaper says a child, apparently seriously injured, being carried from Newtown, CT elementary school — Michael van Poppel (@mpoppel) December 14, 2012 Elementary #school #shooting in #Newtown, CT.Responders on scene are reporting several injured.Will update … Read More
Breaking: SCOTUS To Review DOMA and Prop 8 Cases
The Supreme Court granted cert in the so-called "Prop 8" case from California. They also decided to hear the appeal of a case testing the constitutionality of DOMA – the Defense of Marriage Act. Section III of DOMA prevents the federal government from treating as married for the purpose of federal law same-sex couples who are legally married under state law. … Read More
No News Is Good News
Not a single person was reported shot, stabbed or slashed in New York City on Monday. Very unusual, but part of a downward trend since the 1990's. In fact, in 1990, there were 2,245 murders. Last year, there were only 472. This year (which is almost over) – 366.
The GOP Voter Fraud Scandel Grows
Well, well. The party that is so worried about voter fraud that they will suppress voters, is now in the hot seat for… voter fraud. Even here: The North Carolina board of elections is determining whether a GOP-allied firm, Strategic Allied Consulting, submitted fraudulent voter registration forms in the state, following reports the group submitted 106 “questionable” forms in Florida. In the … Read More