SAR #12352

There's little to suggest that the good guys win.

Hidden In Plain Sight: The NRA crowd is never going to vote Democratic, so why don't the Democrats quit trying to curry favor with them and their specious arguments?

Noted: Wouldn't Obama's Newton speech be a tad more tolerable if he extended the same concern shown there to the families of the children oour drones have killed in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen or Somalia?

And Justice For All Some: How is it that HSBC gets to pay a fine for financing terrorists, while a Somali contributing to a Muslim charity get sent to jail?

Timing: As part of their ongoing and deeply held concern for the well-being of Americans, the House of Representative (for which read “Republicans”) want to reduce food stamp funding by $16 billion, even though a record 47.7 million Americans are currently receiving assistance from the program, with no decrease in the number or the need predicted until employment approaches normal levels.

Word Choices: Social Security does not need to be 'fixed' because: a) there is nothing wrong with it, and b) cats get 'fixed' and it involves serious cuts.

Merry Christmas to You, Too:McDonald’s has told its franchise holders that if they approach scheduling properly, by Christmas enough of their employees will be so desperate that they will work on Christmas without asking for overtime pay – a concept that McDonald's does not acknowledge as applying to any of their employees. Ever.

Sign Of The Times: The NRA has taken down its Facebook page.

Inconvenient Truths: Saying we have a budget deficit in the US today is the same as noting that we are in a severe recession. In recessions tax revenues plummet while social safety-net expenditures rise. Viola, a deficit. compound that with a egregrious tax cut for the rich and presto! the current deficit. Abolishing the tax cuts will help. Promoting economic growth via stimulus spending - say on infrastructure that we're going to have to fix pretty damned soon anyway - and the economy will pick up as the people get jobs and start spending. And, glory be, in a rising economy the tax revenues will grow and the social safety-net spending will fall and the deficit will become pocket change. As for the debt – well, single payer healthcare would pretty much solve that one.

Just Say No - And Mean It: Following the 1966 Port Arthur murders, Australia adopted sweeping gun control laws. Since then there have been no mass shootings in the country, and gun violence has diminished significantly. So don't say it can't be done.

Porn O'Graph:Mirror image.

The Parting Shot: