The NRA Jumps the Shark

Owning an assault rifle did not make Nancy Lanza safer in her home.

Having armed citizens in the crowd did not stop Jared Loughner's killing spree.

Yet, the NRA keeps peddling the same snake oil that an armed society is a safer society, this time washed down with a chaser of unfunded mandate for our cash-strapped schools.

Too many children are already killed accidentally by guns in their homes (or in their parents' cars). Having more children in close proximity to guns at school on a daily basis will inevitably result in more tragedies.

All the NRA cares about is boosting gun sales.  It's only a matter of time before they advocate arming schoolchildren.

Am I the only one who thinks that Wayne LaPierre could have modeled for the creatures in They Live?

I thought Showtime Put "The Borgias" on Hiatus This Weekend...

I didn't bother to tape The Borgias while I was out of town because I thought they were skipping the holiday weekend. Now, when I get back home (and to my computer), I see snippets online about the Pope's Butler being thrown in prison in the Vatican for stealing documents from his desk, exposing corruption in the Vatican, and suspicions that a rogue Cardinal is behind it all.

It sounds like I missed an episode...oh, wait.  That's a news story that broke over the weekend about the latest developments in the 2012 Vatileaks scandal.  The references to a papal butler and a detention facility inside the Vatican made me think they couldn't possibly be talking about this century.

Indulging in Schadenfreude

Former Calumet County DA Ken Kratz has filed for bankruptcy.

For those who don't recall, he was the official who abused his office by preying on vulnerable women, aided and abetted by the Office of Lawyer Regulation, which decided that was not a sanctionable offense until the public outcry forced proceedings against him.

Gingrich Book Tour to Continue

Newt Gingrich's victory in the South Carolina primary means that he will continue his book tour (disguised as a presidential campaign) for at least another month.

Last year, most of his campaign staff resigned due to the candidate's refusal to actually attend campaign events (instead going on a cruise with his wife). He was unable to gather 10,000 valid signatures in the state of Virginia (where he resides) in order to get on that state's primary ballot, despite having paid canvassers to do so. In Wisconsin, half a dozen enthusiastic volunteers could get that many signatures in a single weekend. Clearly, this is not a serious campaign. However, it has helped Gingrich sell a lot of books, and it has ensured a few years of lucrative speaking fees, as well as a probable show on Fox News next year. That should pay his Tiffany's bills.

I wonder if Gingrich's major donors realize they are being suckered.

Let Them Drink Merlot...

...if they can't afford $350/bottle pinot noir.

Paul Ryan has been in Washington so long that he doesn't even understand why ordinary Americans find this tale of Beltway privilege so offensive.

"I was an economist so I started doing the envelope calculations and quickly figured out that those two bottles of wine was more than two-income working family making minimum wage earned in a week."

Wisconsin's Cronyocracy Continues

Governor Scott Walker appointed Stephen Fitzgerald, the 68-year-old father of Wisconsin's top Republican legislators, to head the State Patrol.  Even the Wisconsin State Journal thinks it doesn't pass the smell test. The elder Fitzgerald can now pad his pension and retire on his own schedule.  One would think that Scott Walker would know that insider deals to boost public pensions can come back to bite an executive in the ass. He must be counting on the anger-diffusing power of a Green Bay Packer Superbowl victory.

In other State Patrol news, the security detail assigned to the Governor's family will be increased from four to six.  The reasons cited involved the family's two teen-age sons, who are still living and attending school in Wauwatosa.  Their mother splits time between Madison and 'Tosa, and their grandparents will soon be moving in to help out.

In the meantime, it must be a tremendous relief to the concerned parents that a couple of dedicated State Patrol officers will be keeping an eye on the boys and chauffeuring them around.