Can it be different this time? Could this be the moment when in the face of yet ANOTHER incident -- again, shocking then the last -- when a nut with a gun obliterates human life with the pull of a trigger there are actually legislative actions taken by politicians who are more focused on the deaths than whether the gun lobby will seek to defeat them? This sounds like a … [Read more...] about Obama Asks Cabinet Members for Proposals to Curb Gun Violence
Britain’s Police Are Still Unarmed: Why?
And, despite the dangers, overwhelmingly wish to remain so. This is interesting to consider. George Bernard Shaw once called the US and Great Britain two countries divided by a common language. Despite the intense interactions between us, to this day the cultures of the two most prominent English-speaking lands are very different. In coming days, there will be debates … [Read more...] about Britain’s Police Are Still Unarmed: Why?
Where Was God Last Friday?
One pastor's perspective here. Also: What people need from Christians most in the wake of the Newtown tragedy. (By the way, it's authenticity.) Warning: If you don't want a Christian's faith perspective on the tragedy in Newtown, please don't read either of the linked posts. Out of respect for those of different perspectives, I haven't crossposted the pieces on The … [Read more...] about Where Was God Last Friday?
Consoler-in-Chief Aims to Do More. Can He?
“In the coming weeks,” says the President at the Newtown Memorial, “I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens--from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators--in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. “Because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as routine. Are we really … [Read more...] about Consoler-in-Chief Aims to Do More. Can He?
Report Details Extensive Walmart Bribery in Mexico
Report details extensive Walmart bribery in Mexico (via AFP) Retail giant Walmart aggressively bribed Mexican officials to get the necessary permits to open more than a dozen supermarkets across the country, the New York Times reported Tuesday. The newspaper said its own investigation had identified 19 store sites that were the target of bribery, and … [Read more...] about Report Details Extensive Walmart Bribery in Mexico
How Government Encourages Corruption by Financial Institutions
The recent fines of HSBC for money laundering follow a government pattern of merely slapping the major financial institutions on the wrist for corrupt behavior, actions which encourage further corruption. HSBC forfeited $1.25 billion as part of the agreement and paid an extra $665 million in fines. This penalty was given for the bank’s laundering of billions of dollars of drug … [Read more...] about How Government Encourages Corruption by Financial Institutions
Signs of Evolving Gun Debate after School Tragedy
Signs of evolving US gun debate after school tragedy (via AFP) New signs emerged of an evolving US gun law debate, with several top lawmakers appearing more open to stiffening controls on firearms after the Connecticut school massacre. Rising demands for stricter gun control laws, in a nation where bearing arms is a constitutional right, came a day after … [Read more...] about Signs of Evolving Gun Debate after School Tragedy
Sanitizing the Gore for Our … Protection?
[Warning: Graphic animal photo below. May be disquieting to some readers.] We have slowly inured ourselves to unspeakable horror. And now it goes down as smooth as that latté frappuccino on the morning commute. It started out as a reasonable thing -- as all such things do. But something happened along the way and we fell prey to that most devastating and commonplace … [Read more...] about Sanitizing the Gore for Our … Protection?
Is This Any Way to Treat a Marine Double-Amputee Afghanistan War Veteran? (Updated)
UPDATE: A Delta Airlines official conceded Friday that “we failed” Marine Cpl. Christian Brown, the double amputee prevented by a flight crew from taking a first-class seat offered by strangers after he was clumsily wheeled down the length of the plane to the last row in coach. Read more here === Original Post: Exactly one year ago, Marine Lance Cpl. … [Read more...] about Is This Any Way to Treat a Marine Double-Amputee Afghanistan War Veteran? (Updated)
Senator Michael Dukakis?
Having voted for Michael Dukakis back when he ran for President in 1992, I think it will be kind of cool if he becomes a Senator, which looks like it might just happen. Although Senator Kerry (whom I don't much like, but whatever) hasn't even officially been offered the job or accepted, I view this talk as indicative that it's probably going to happen, and I doubt there'll … [Read more...] about Senator Michael Dukakis?
CNN’s Don Lemon Bluntly Frames the Gun Control Issue in Light of School Shooting
I've been a moderate talking head on some of CNN's Don Lemon's panels over the years but before I was on I was a fan of his -- considering him one of the most thoughtful and blunt spoken people on the air. He cuts through all the spin and frames the issue as it is. And here he does it again: on the lack of restrictions on guns: Here's my review of his book last year … [Read more...] about CNN’s Don Lemon Bluntly Frames the Gun Control Issue in Light of School Shooting
Turn Kindergarten into Fort Knox? Go Ahead! (Die Welt, Germany)
Until a few days ago, Die Welt editor Iris Anyali, who has a son in an American kindergarten, made fun of the security measures at his school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. But Anyali writes that after the tragedy of Newtown, Connecticut, she will never do so again. For Die Welt, Iris Anyali, writing about her change of heart, says in small part: My five-year-old son Finn … [Read more...] about Turn Kindergarten into Fort Knox? Go Ahead! (Die Welt, Germany)
Some Newtown Residents Would Rather Hug Their Assault Rifles Than Children
If you think that Newtown, Connecticut is the new Ground Zero for stricter gun law advocacy, think again. Efforts by the police chief and other town leaders to try to gain some control over assault rifle gunfire and explosions at unlicensed rifle ranges and elsewhere, including a wooded area near an elementary school, are being met with resistance by assault weapon … [Read more...] about Some Newtown Residents Would Rather Hug Their Assault Rifles Than Children
Home of the Brave (Cartoon Note)
LEGAL NOTICE ON CARTOON: This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Reproduction elsewhere without licensing is strictly prohibited. See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Home of the Brave (Cartoon Note)
Now is the Time
WASHINGTON -- We should mourn, but we should be angry. The horror in Newtown, Conn., should shake us out of the cowardice, the fear, the evasion and the opportunism that prevent our political system from acting to curb gun violence. How often must we note that no other developed country has such massacres on a regular basis because no other comparable nation … [Read more...] about Now is the Time
Husband of Principal Slain in US Shooting Opens Up
Husband of principal slain in US shooting opens up (via AFP) The husband of the principal killed as she tried to stop a gunman from mowing down children at her US elementary school told CNN on Monday that he was angry at first that his wife put herself in danger. Dawn Hochsprung was in a meeting Friday morning when gunshots rang out in the hallway of Sandy … [Read more...] about Husband of Principal Slain in US Shooting Opens Up
Republicans Plan Push to Rig Rules So They Can Win More Electoral Votes
The big news since the election is that the results revealed the Republican Party is now at a disadvantage given its inability to win over key, growing demographics that gave Barack Obama a clear-cut victory in November. So what does the party do? Expand its tent? Try and attract more moderates, blacks, gays, women, Latinos, Asians? Nope. According to the National Journal it … [Read more...] about Republicans Plan Push to Rig Rules So They Can Win More Electoral Votes
Why Newtown Children Lost the Right to Life
How can a God who values embryos in the womb deliver 20 innocent young lives to the twitch of a trigger finger? One unblessed by guidance from a Higher Power but respectful of those who are asks with acute anguish: In shock and mourning, can we reach out to one another? Those who defend prenatal Right to Life surely can’t believe it stops at birth. Yet, as Barack Obama … [Read more...] about Why Newtown Children Lost the Right to Life
The Connecticut School Slaughter: We Have Heard All the ‘Buts.’ It Is Time Now for the ‘Hows’ (Updated)
UPDATE: In the most eloquent and powerful words I have heard thusfar on the Newtown tragedy, conservative Republican Joe Scarborough, “a conservative Republican who received the NRA’s highest ratings over four terms in Congress,” said, “I come to you this morning with a heavy heart and no easy answers. Still, I’ve spent the past few days grasping for solutions and … [Read more...] about The Connecticut School Slaughter: We Have Heard All the ‘Buts.’ It Is Time Now for the ‘Hows’ (Updated)
Agatha Christie, Ian McKellen, Michael Jecks, and ‘Democratic Art’
Ian McKellen reprises his role of Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings films in The Hobbit, projected to be the first of three films chronicling the prequel time before the Rings adventures. In an interview with TIME, McKellen pronounced that the one playright in whose plays he's acted that he hates to be Agatha Christie, the noted mystery writer. McKellen claims, "I've done a … [Read more...] about Agatha Christie, Ian McKellen, Michael Jecks, and ‘Democratic Art’