Danny Jensen
December 8, 2008 | 3:02 pm EST
The Kommisar's in Town...
Officials at the Republican National Committee have signaled they will try to pass a resolution next month accusing George W. Bush of “embracing socialism”. Top GOP members say they are fed up with the President’s bailouts to Wall Street and Detroit, a betrayal of the party’s core principles of laissez-faire capitalism.
With 2008 coming to a close, it is truly delightful to observe the Republican party in such a state of disarray. NRA approved guns have not only been turned inward, after the GOP’s devastating losses in the November elections, but are now being discharged on rapid fire. Add to this an internal Red Scare, where the onetime champion of the Conservative Movement is being schizophrenically demonized as a Commie in an incredibly lame effort to distance these very same Republicans from the President they enthusiastically followed off a cliff. Disastrous policies have consequences, as these politicians and policy makers are quickly learning. However rather than own up to their failures, the GOP is apparently trying to pull a switcheroo on the public by claiming that it was somehow the man, and not the policies, that got us where we are today. I just hope Republicans keep up the infighting and these ridiculous stunts rather than do any soul searching that might get their organization back on track. These clowns deserve as much time in the political wilderness as possible, and stupid human tricks like the one described above will ensure a long exile from power in Washington.
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In another upsetting, but not entirely shocking move, the Bush Administration has overturned a 25 year old ban on carrying concealed, loaded guns in national parks. A farewell bow to the pressure of lobbyists, incuding the NRA, the relaxed restriction will likely prove more of a threat to the saftey of visitors to parks and wildlife refuges, rather than protect anyone, as the supporters argue. I mean really, what are these people doing in parks that they really feel the need to be packin’ heat?! Did a possum steal their trailmix?! The risks associated with carrying a loaded firearm, far out weigh any supposed safety claim. The Administration doesn’t have to look far to realize the potential hazzards of accidental shootings. But Cheney jokes aside, national parks should be places for peace and relaxation, not target practice for 2nd Amendment zealots.
The rule, soon to be in place, will be difficult to undo, as MSNBC reports:
The park rule will be published in the Federal Register early next week and take effect 30 days later, well before Obama takes office Jan. 20. Overturning the rule could take months or even years, since it would require the new administration to restart the lengthy rule-making process.
Hopefully Obama will find a swift way to repeal this and other last minute lame duck legislation.
takepart by getting involved with the Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence and fight for stricter gun laws. And here’s Lewis Black to share his thoughts on gun control:
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Coalminers shut down a mine in Blacksville, WV (the red dot on the map) last week in protest of the filming of an Anti-Obama ad at the facility. The work stoppage, which gave 440 miners the day off, was in response to a film crew, hired by the National Rifle Association to shoot interviews for an attack ad against Barack Obama, being given permission by the management at the Blacksville #2 coal mine to enter the facility and ask miners their opinions on the Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate. Workers at Blacksville #2 took notice of the production and phoned in their concerns to the headquarters of their union, the United Mine Workers of America. The union, which has endorsed Mr. Obama for President, subsequently called for a work stoppage “Memorial Day”, a part of the union’s contract, to protest the exploitation of their workers in the political advertisement which they felt was contrary to their interests.
While the response of these West Virginia coal miners to the NRA ad might have come as a surprise to the right wing, it makes perfect sense to me. While I was in West Virginia over the summer I was pleased to find a region much more diverse and open than the stereotypes leveled against it. It’s not West Virginia either, indeed both southern and rural areas across the United States are coming more and more to realize the integrated America on display in, say, a Craig Brewer movie or HBO’s True Blood than the typical racist depictions of the past. All of this is very good news for those working for true equality in this country, and bad news for those who continue to play on hate and fear politics in order to distract people from the real issues that affect their lives.
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The Supreme Court opened fire on gun control laws declaring that a sweeping ban on handguns in the nation’s capital violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms. In a 5-4 ruling, this landmark decision states that the Constitution protects an individual’s right to have a gun.
Wow. Is it just me or does this seem like an awful idea? Here are 10 films that make a strong case for gun control:
Michael Moore’s controversial documentary about the roots of America’s predilection for gun violence
2) Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story
Terrence Fisher, a teen living in a housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, had seven of his friends shot and killed by a gun. Terrence is not a gang member or a drug dealer he is just a normal teenager who likes making hip-hop with his friends. What could Terrence do to stop gun violence in Bed-Stuy before losing another friend, or his own life? Terrence and a fellow teen filmmaker, Daniel Howard, picked up a camera to tell the story about gun violence in Bed-Stuy.
A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core
4) Unforgiven
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.
When two poor greasers, Johnny, and Ponyboy are assaulted by a vicious gang, the socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to mount between the two rival gangs, setting off a turbulent chain of events.
