Slippery slope

NRA Fights Legislation That Would Ban Gun Sales To Those Currently On Killing Sprees

American Taliban

Todd Akin (R-vagina dentata) should have stuck his foot - or something - in his mouth. Instead:

[W]hat I said was, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” But what I meant to say was, “I am a worthless, moronic sack of shit and an utterly irredeemable human being who needs to shut up and go away forever.”

Well, the first quote is true.

Then, Akin's excuse machine said he misspoke. Ha. Misspeaking is saying "black" when you mean "blah" or something like that. Or not.

Republicans think women get what they deserve.

Helpless to change

Change is not coming. There's no hope for an end to insane massacres:

"I hate to say it, but we as Americans are basically experts at this kind of thing by now,” said 45-year-old market analyst Jared Gerson, adding that the number of media images of Aurora, CO citizens crying and looking shocked is “pretty much right in line with where it usually is at this point." "The calls not to politicize the tragedy should be starting in an hour, but by 1:30 p.m. tomorrow the issue will have been politicized. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if the shooter’s high school classmate is interviewed within 45 minutes."

"It's like clockwork," said Gerson, who sighed, shook his head, and walked away.

The tools for mass killing are readily available to a succession of crazy people, but we staunchly refuse to do anything further about it:

“It’s hard to prevent someone who is really bent on committing a crime from getting them,” [Eugene Volokh, an expert in constitutional law at the University of California, Los Angeles,] added, and “it’s unlikely that gun laws are going to stop him.”

Make no mistake about this. The social and political choice that we Americans have made about guns is that they should be more or less freely available, even if one predictable cost of this free availability is much more frequent mass killings than other nations have. Not to mention much more frequent murders than in other nations.

Good, bad, or indifferent, that's what we've chosen. And it's why we're so familiar with this that the Onion's satire is so apt.

Update (7/22): Some Teapublican wingers will come right out and admit to the inevitable correlation of mass killings with the easy-access gun rights they favor:

I suppose there's value in getting the issue thoroughly out into the open.

This ain't Israel in 4 B.C.

No time for fundamentalist imperryalism:

God said He would not be present at Perry’s much-talked-about Christian day of prayer on Aug. 6, calling the governor’s use of his public office to endorse a religion both “irresponsible” and a violation of the Constitution.

Unfortunately, those who claim god talks to them hear their own desires as the voice of god.

Conscience of journalism

Rupert Murdoch's sterling reputation at risk!

As news of the scandal continues to blemish the tradition of journalistic excellence and dignity exemplified by News Corp.–owned outlets such as the New York Post and the Fox News channel, Murdoch himself has remained focused on rectifying his missteps, starting with paying those affected out of his own pocket.

“Look, anyone who knows me knows that I have never cared about money,” said Murdoch, explaining that his distress over invading the private lives of citizens far outweighs his concern for his company’s quickly falling stock prices. “While some of my competitors focus on sensationalist or partisan headlines to sell papers, I’ve always been willing to do whatever it takes to ensure my products are as fair and committed to the truth as I myself am. After all, truth and fairness are what people have come to expect from Rupert Murdoch.”

“You don’t get to be the world’s most successful media mogul by being unscrupulous,” Murdoch added.

Or at least his sterling...

Only encourages them

You can't save old people's or poor people's lives:

"I don't think I can vote for someone like that," Pennsylvania Republican Eric Tolbert said. "He says he's sorry, but how do I know that's the real Mitt Romney? What happens if he gets elected and tries to help sick people again?"

"I like Michele Bachmann now," Tolbert added. "Because what this country needs is a president who doesn't give a fuck about helping people.

That's just an incentive for them to get sick more and more.  Are we going to have to save their lives over and over again?

Hobgoblin

GOP calls Democrats "Chicken Little":

In support of their position, Democrats have pointed to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that show repealing the law could result in a loss of up to $14 trillion in the nation's GDP.

Everyone knows you can't trust numbers, much less the CBO.

Or the Onion, for that matter.

End of empathy

Classic Republican response, "Tough shit." Here done humorously.

When it's ripe

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

After all, bullshit is important to me.

(Hat tip Philosoraptor.)