scary place

With the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy apparently over, there some lingering issues. Why is it more important to be first than to be right in this country? In the race to be first, several major news outlets got some very important facts, details and thoughts wrong. Over on one channel there was a lot of talk of Al Qaeda. Now, Al Qaeda may have been behind this bombing, but I doubt it. Look at the destruction that Al Qaeda has rained down on the world. this bombing didn’t look like anything that they have done over the last 20 years. There was the widely reported “fact” that the bomber was “brown-skinned.” Where did this nugget of nonsense come from? There were several outlets that reported that one of the bombers was captured hours or days before he was actually taken into custody. Why can’t these major networks simple take the their time and be right? Report facts. I can go to the water cooler for rumors and mindless guessing.

Where is the right-wing outrage over the background check legislation being held up in the Senate? Remember that during the healthcare debate conservatives were screaming at the top of their lungs that Obama was thumbing his nose at the will of the people. They pointed to public opinion polls from late 2008 and 2009. Now, the data on gun control is pretty clear, especially if you look at the data over time. The American people want more and better gun laws. I don’t care if the specific law wouldn’t have prevented Sandy Hook. What I would like to see is the removal of guns from the hands of criminals and Americans who are mentally ill.

The media are killing us. Using the mentality “if it bleeds, it leads” Americans see nothing but death and violence on the news. “Somebody shot someone. News at 11.” The constant bombardment of our brains with death and destruction has led us to believe that the world is a very scary place. We need to be armed. One gun is good, but what happens if you are in the dining room and the burglar is coming through the bedroom window? This means that we need to either carry a gun with us at all times or place a gun in every room in the house. Then we will be safe.

Remember District Attorney Mike McLelland who was shot to death? Weeks before his death he knew he was a marked man. He stated that he was going to carry a gun with him at all times. He stated that he was a soldier. Nevertheless, McLelland ended up dead.

Mo’ later.