Government by the NRA, for the NRA, and of the NRA:

The House kept illegal gun sales safe for drug dealers in Mexico on Friday, by voting down a measure that would require gun dealers to report multiple sales of AK-47s and AR-15s, the weapons of choice used by the murders in Mexico.

The NRA dumps millions of dollars into the reelection campaigns of elected government officials, who in turn care only about being reelected, without regard for human life.

According The Washington Post, "[M]ore than 65,000 guns recovered in Mexico have been traced back to the United States." So we get our illegal drugs from poverty stricken Mexico, and we sell them our guns so they can murder each other. All sponsored by the National Rifle Association and its lackeys in Washington. And you don't believe in vampires?

Nepotism is spelled "W-i-s-c-o-n-s-i-n":

So, the Assembly speaker in Wisconsin, where the Republican governor is trying to use the budget crisis to bust up public unions and do irreparable harm to the Democratic base in that state, is one Jeff Fitzgerald, who has directed the state police to find AWOL Democratic senators in order to create a forum, necessary to get the vote needed for the union busting plot. His brother is Scott Fitzgerald, the Senate majority leader, and guess what, their daddy is Stephen Fitzgerald, who was recently appointed chief of the state patrol after having failed to win election as a county sheriff. The new job pays $105,678 per year.

Are you starting to get a clearer picture of what's going on in Wisconsin?

For more entertaining takes on the Republican party's attempts to exploit the current financial mess for purely political reasons, see Gail Collins' op-ed on Big Bird vs. Nascar.

Class and Race in America:

Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott examine "Hollywood's Whiteout" in today's New York Times, raising important questions about race and class struggle in America.

Silence of the Lambs:

The New York Times reports that Tuesday will mark the fifth anniversary of the last time that Justice Clarence Thomas has spoken during oral arguments during a Supreme Court case. Thomas, whose wife owns an extreme right wing lobbying firm in Washington, is best known for staring at the ceiling in either boredom or extreme anger while cases are being argued.

In the meantime, Justice Scalia with whom Thomas shares ultra right wing political views, asks more questions than any other member of the court, averaging 25 questions per hour, peppering litigants with questions about the infallibility of the founders' intentions in creating the divinely inspired constitution.

Speculation about Thomas's many years of silence include his admission that he is self-conscious about the manner in which he speaks, an attitude he attributes to his experiences as a youth. Others, however, believe Thomas is simply following orders to keep his mouth shut or face ridicule at home.

No More Plain Vanilla:

Except in Utah. Census numbers illustrate the blending of America. (See The New York Times' story.) The nation no longer looks like it did in the 1950s, saying something about the lily white Teaparty and their whining leadership. While old folks are still predominantly white, American youth is clearly a blend, and this might play into how the care of seniors will evolve over the next twenty years. The thing is old folks vote, while the young often don't.

Another Right Wing Judge Attacks Health Care:

People who hate other people and love money have found another like-minded judge in Florida to declare the new health care law unconstitutional. Federal Judge Roger Vinson ruled that the whole law was unconstitutional because it requires people to purchase health insurance.

Whether the Supreme Court will support the ruling or not remains to be seen. Of course the whole problem could have been moot if the U.S. had done the morally correct thing decades ago and socialized medicine rather than making people's misfortunes a mode for making a few people rich.

(See The New York Times' story.)