A New Hampshire Democrat’s Priorities

It’s not the budget deficit.
It’s not our underfunded pension program.
It’s not the ever-rising tax rates just to own a house.

It’s not automatic weapons.
It’s not handguns.
It’s not armor-piercing bullets.
It’s not misbehaving kids with tattoo guns.

It’s not marijuana.
It’s not heroin, PCP, cocaine, LSD.
It’s not children huffing paint thinner or glue.
It’s not some new designer drug.
Or even the flawed notion of the war on drugs.

It’s not terrorist attacks.
It’s not chemical weapons.
It’s not nuclear attack.
It’s not dirty bombs.
It’s not hijacked airplanes being flown into buildings.

It’s not H1-N1.
It’s not smallpox.
It’s not equine encephalitis.
It’s not the superflu that will turn your innards to liquid shit.
It’s not HIV.
It’s not cancer.
It’s not diabetes.
It’s not obesity.
It’s not autism.
It’s not parents who won’t vaccinate their children because… who knows.

It’s not the food we eat.
Or the arsenic in our water.
Or the water bottles made from BPA.
–Or even any disposable plastic bottles.
It’s not collapsing bee populations.

It’s not a disappearing middle class.
It’s not stagnant incomes.
Or the ever-growing divide between rich and poor.
It’s not home foreclosures.
It’s not inflation or regressive taxes.
It’s not corporate bailouts, handouts, kickbacks, or subsidies.

It’s not Walmart.
It’s not cheap foreign goods.
It’s not falling education standards.
With rising education costs.

It’s not constant warfare we export to other countries.
It’s not the disabled veterans who come back.
It’s not our loved ones who never come back.

It’s not rising costs to do business.
It’s not the increased number of rules and regulations.
It’s not the rising cost of healthcare.
It’s not politicians who think they can conjure jobs from thin air.
It’s not the ever-present, interfering hand of Washington D.C.
And its ever-encroaching policies upon New Hampshire.

It’s not earthquakes, tidal waves, ice storms, climate change, forest fires, oil shortages, or oil spills,
It’s not the destruction of natural resources. It’s not overcrowding, hungry mouths, or bed bugs.

It’s not racism.
Sexism.
Nationalism.
Or any -ism.
Or bigotry.
Or hate crimes.
It’s not school bullying.
Or teen suicide.
–Or even teen pregnancy.

It’s not the murderers.
It’s not the rapists.
It’s not the child-diddlers.
It’s not the sociopaths.
(–Or the psychopaths.)
It’s not the home-invaders.
It’s not the fraudsters.
It’s not the drunk drivers.
It’s not road rage.
Or people who don’t wash their hands after using the toilet.

It’s not “the Jews.”
Or the atheists.
It’s not the skinheads.
It’s not the radical Muslims.
It’s not the fundamentalist Christians.
It’s not those wacky Scientologists.
It’s not doomsday cults or other people trying to hitch a ride on a comet.

“In the opinion of this Democrat, Free Staters are the single biggest threat the state is facing today.”

Schumer on Gun Control

Washington Post: A middle ground on gun limits

“The gun debate of the past two decades has devolved into a permanent tug-of-war between the National Rifle Association (NRA) and advocates of gun safety.”

Note the framing technique: NRA v. people who like gun safety.

Question: how many of these “gun-safety advocates” can even describe the 4 Rules of Gun Safety?

“In the current state of play, moderate gun owners have become convinced by the NRA and other, even more radical gun organizations such as Gun Owners of America that the goal of all gun-safety advocates is to take away their guns. These owners view even the most reasonable gun-safety proposals with suspicion, fearing a slippery slope to a ban on firearms. This paranoia is what gives the gun lobby its power.”

*blink*

*blink*

Someone proposing toothless gun-control feeding off of paranoia? Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.

One of These Things Is Not Like The Other

In the past week, the Sandy Hook murders (December 14) have dominated the news, and have revived the mindless call for gun control.

Here are some other recent gun-related incidents in the news–that you probably didn’t notice.

December 11. Portland, Oregon. Oregon Clackamas Mall Shooting. A masked gunman enters the Clackamas mall with a stolen rifle. Firing several rounds, he kills 2 and injures 2. A 22-year-old holiday shopper, with a concealed-carry pistol, confronts the gunman. The shopper doesn’t even fire at the gunman, but the gunman sees the shopper’s weapon. Gunman retreats and shoots himself in the head.

December 16. San Antonio, Texas. Two wounded at theater shooting. A young man started shooting at a local restaurant, then continue his shooting at a movie nearby movie theater. An off-duty sheriff’s deputy runs toward the gunshot sounds. Finding the gunman emerging from a bathroom with his gun drawn, she shoots him four times, stopping him cold. One person injured.

In the span of one week: Sandy Hook, Clackamas, San Antonio.

One of these things is not like the other.