Cootie-Catcher

http://vimeo.com/81479036


Much has been made (on the right) about Mr. Obama's handshake with Raul Castro. There are lots of delightful rejoinders, if you want to play the game. My favorite (I think from Edroso) was, "hey, the United States has more political prisoners in Cuba than Raul Castro does." But it's obvious--if you look I mean--that it serves the authoritarian right well to have people still residing in the land of reason getting all het up about some handshake in South Africa. There's only so much "het" to "up" at a time. And they sure don't want us getting upset about this:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/children-killed-guns-newtown-anniversary

Remember all that hooey about how all we need is more good guys with guns. In our state they passed new laws allowing these "good guys" to bring their guns more places. Now they can bring them to state university campuses (even though the campus security people begged that this not be allowed). I'm not sure, but it might even be illegal now in NC to put up a sign banning weapons. Maybe that's one of those pending things, for the next Legislative session.

Anyway, somebody bothered to do the math. At least 194 children have died from gunshot since Newtown, and most of them died at home, from interactions of various sorts with weapons owned by their parents--no doubt good people all.

Aside from the horror of Newtown itself, and the tragedy of all those utterly senseless murders, both at Newtown and following, each and every day, the biggest tragedy we face is the utter incompetence of the so-called mainstream press, which allowed the National Rifle Association and Wayne LaPierre to hijack the conversation which needed to happen after Newtown and turn it to its own ends. Our Congress subsequently managed to do absolutely nothing about our insane proliferation of firearms, aside from retaining a ban on plastic weapons already in place.

Meanwhile, Even John McCain fulminates about the cooties Mr. Obama must have caught yesterday when he shook Raul's hand. No doubt Romney will also weigh in. MSNBC will no doubt cover this kerfluffle tonight.