ssssshhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As Sen. Ted Stevens readies himself for a court appearance today to answer his indictment, there was a five-minute spot on NPR this morning with some commentary primarily from fellow Republicans. For now, most sound supportive of the senior senator from Alaska but the best quote, without a doubt, came from Utah Senator Orrin Hatch who questioned the timing of the indictment in relation to Stevens reelection effort this fall, and I nearly quote, “I’m not one to say the Justice Department if full of sleazebags, but…” I’m glad Sen. Hatch wouldn’t be one to say that. Imagine how that might sound if another Jurassic Senator was to say something like that aloud? It’s as if a body couldn’t possibly imagine this Justice Department stumbling into the political fray.

(end of mostly laughable bit…beginning of bitchy bit)

Another story from this week that hit a note was about a neighborhood of NW D.C., Trinidad, which has been under a police roadblock / ID check / lockdown for a few months. The violent crime there has been devastating with something like 26 murders already this year – and innumerable other non-fatal shootings. The D.C. police chief has said that until someone tells her it’s unconstitutional she’ll continue with the police roadblocks around Trinidad. A few things struck me about the problem; first, roadblocks constricting a neighborhood don’t qualify as any type of long-term solution to the crime and policing issue. If anything, it’s an activity I’d file under political expediency. More importantly, it reflects the huge differences in gun ‘ownership’ supporters and the violence that’s prevalent in America. The supporters of gun ownership – in the home, on the streets, in their cars, on their hips – primarily justify their position by using two very basic arguments: hostile home invasions and criminal activity (also known as the “only the criminals will have guns if they are banned” plea). In our high-minded debate about the prefatory phrase of the Second Amendment and the twisting of statistics to meet our needs, we don’t actually give a shit about the number of guns and violence around America. I doubt that any of the people so offended by any restriction on guns give a damn about a neighborhood in NW D.C. where shots ring out all day and night. A place where law enforcement is spending untold amounts of time and money in order to basically quarantine the problem from the fucking law-abiding citizenry that feel more guns is the ultimate solution to their fear of home invasion. What more guns across a city get you is more violence. Trinidad is an example of what happens when everyone has piles of guns in a confined and highly populated area. The reason the NRA humps and their paid membership don’t really care about guns in America is because they don’t care about inner city neighborhoods and the untold number of kids being gunned down. They simply want to feel as if they are the police and their God-given task on this Earth is to patrol their living rooms and shopping malls with Colt .45s and Glocks. I have a deal for those law-abiding citizens and divine gun owners; how about you take your guns over to Trinidad and stop the crime just like you claim you’d do if someone came into your church or your mall with a gun. If you see something illegal going on then I expect you to Rambo-up and double-tap the bastard between the eyes. If you claim you could or would do it in a parking lot in Montana or from the S’barro tables in the food court of Reston, then I think you’d be a great help in stopping the heathens in their tracks. Remember that jackass in Texas who killed a couple of burglars coming out of his neighbor’s house? He was just protecting his own, taking the law into his own hands, keeping the World safe. Maybe he could come to D.C. and straighten some stuff out. Fire away, Johnny.

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