Category: Politics, Religion & Money

Sweet home, Alabama?

A long time ago, in a piece of e-mail I sent to cartoonist Jimmy (“Arlo and Janis”) Johnson, who lives in Mississippi and attended college in Alabama, I made a crack about my being a confirmed Yankee. I don’t think Jimmy appreciated it, and I regret making the comment, because I enjoy and admire Jimmy’s work so much, and I have tremendous respect for him. Yet I have to admit that I can’t help but feel my Massachusetts mindset kicking in when I read something like this statement from Alabama’s new governor.

“Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother.”

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12644212

At least he’s being up front and open about his prejudice. I would be surprised if a majority of Alabamans have a problem with this, but maybe that’s just my own prejudice coming through.

No Regulation Accepted

Monday’s Diane Rehm Show on NPR had a discussion on civility in politics. Former Virginia Representative, Republican Glenn Nye, had this to say about gun control.
[audio:http://dogratcom.s3.amazonaws.com/Audio/2011/Jan/DianeRehm.mp3|titles=Diane Rehm Show: Jan 18, 2011]

I think we should be cautious in how quickly we move in terms of policy discussions, like gun control, right now. The reason is because we understand it’s an emotional issue. It’s an emotional debate. If we’re going to have a thoughtful discussion on gun control, I’m all for it anytime. But I think it — I think that we shouldn’t rush right now.

Oh, come on. How can anybody rush into a discussion on gun control, when there’s nothing to be said that hasn’t already been hashed over a million times for decades? Honestly, to say in one breath that he’s “all for it anytime… but we shouldn’t rush right now,” does nothing but prove why Nye is an NRA-approved candidate.

The NRA operates on the same “slippery slope” premise as pro-abortion activists — the assumption that accepting any compromise is equivalent to taking another step closer to losing everything. The difference is, that the NRA insists that gun laws don’t work. If they honestly feel that gun crime won’t be reduced by restricting legal access to guns, then prove the point by letting semi-automatic, as well as automatic weapons, be banned — except for the police. But even there I have a concern, and here’s an example why.

Another crazy, confused kid

Only a few details about accused killer Jared Lee Loughner have come to light. It seems that he was declined enlistment to the Army due to suspected drug use, although that isn’t confirmed yet. Also, Loughner’s targeting of Giffords apparently goes back to some contact he had with her in 2007 — before the Tea Party, and before Obama.

So it’s not possible to draw a direct line between the toxic political tone of the times, and what Loughner allegedly did. However, I’ve seen video of Giffords back in March saying that she was concerned about Sarah Palin putting crosshairs on Democratic districts. Based on that, Palin’s PAC was aware of how the map was perceived, and yet left it in place.