GUN REGISTRATION LAW: The House of Representative just passed a measure that will not only require states to automate and share information regarding individuals disqualified from legally purchasing handguns, but also provide limited funds to support the process of state level automation and information sharing. The FBI already maintains a database [NICS] of individuals barred from legal gun purchases. However, states do not routinely forward such information, for reasons of politics or antiquated record systems. So background checks are not terribly effective or reliable.
The gunman [terrorist?] in the Virginia Tech massacre was deemed mentally unstable and should have been prohibited from purchasing the two guns he used in the shooting. The unfortunate aspect of the measure is that it took a tragedy for Congress to act on a measure that is pure common sense and should have been addressed years ago. It is the typical government response of putting up a traffic light only after several people have gotten killed in accidents at a dangerous intersection.
HONESTY ALERT: A recent alert has been raised at the White House due to a major threat to the security of the Administration. It seems that there has been an insurgent movement of officials willing to actually tell the truth in public and for attribution. Despite strenuous efforts by White House functionaries to stamp out this emerging threat, the damage seems to be spreading as the alien menace grows. In a recent outbreak, the attempts by Vice President Cheney to plant false press stories alleging that the US military had caught Iranian agents “red handed” in the act of supplying arms to Iraqi and Afghanistan insurgents were foiled.
Secretary of Defense Gates publicly denied that any such capture had occurred. At best, he said, the interdiction suggested arms smuggling to drug dealers in Afghanistan, but there was NO EVIDENCE to connect the incident to formal or official Iranian government action. The NATO Command supported Secretary Gates and refuted the Cheney disinformation campaign. Unless checked, this outbreak of truth could cripple the Bush Administration apparatus and could even compel the President to deal honestly with Congress and the American people. Political and Psychology Experts seriously doubt that Bush and Cheney have the ability to tell the truth, and this could lead to a serious crisis for the Bush administration.
LET’S STAND HIM ON HIS HEAD: Many bystanders are scratching their heads about the lack of progress being achieved by the Iraqi Parliament toward the “benchmarks” established by the Bush Administration. Some of the confusion could be dispelled and better understanding gained by simply looking a bit more carefully at the specific “benchmarks” involved and the priority that the Bush Administration places on them.
The highest Bush priority seems to be approval of the draft legislation on oil revenue sharing. A fair question might be asked whether this should be the first order of business. The country is in such chaos that pumping and exporting oil is itself a dicey proposition. Is it truly most important how the revenue is dispersed when the revenue itself is under threat of being cut off? Looking behind the rhetoric about “power sharing” related to oil revenues, the real issue is forcing the vulnerable Iraqi Parliament to adopt a US drafted oil deal that grants to US and multinational oil companies rights and concessions far in excess of the licenses and leasing rights granted by any other OPEC nation.
The Iraqi Parliament has told US envoys that efforts to stabilize the country with some kind of unified security forces and to reduce factional violence are more appropriate priorities that oil legislation. But the Bush Administration will hear none of it. Cheney personally told Prime Minister Al-Maliki that the oil deal must pass soon or the US might be forced to withdraw its support of the current government. [Notice that Cheney DID NOT threaten to leave Iraq.] So the pressure to meet “benchmarks” debate is akin to standing the Iraqi government on its head and then kicking it when it falls down. Now doesn’t THAT make more sense?
MAKING THE LIST: Perhaps you cannot make it on the air as a candidate for the next American Idol or America’s Top Model or the like. It would appear, however, that you have a much better chance of making a different prestigious list - The FBI’s Terrorist Watch List. The most recent report indicates that there are now more than 509,000 currently on the List.
Since the US total population is slightly less than 300 million, and more than 1/3 of those are children, the basic math suggests that you have about a 1 in 400 chance of winding up on the Terrorist Watch List. Those odds are far better than any hope of securing a spot on a dream reality TV show. And let’s be frank, the usefulness of any screening list with more than a half million names is in serious doubt. If grabbing that fleeting chance for celebrity is your goal, then perhaps making the FBI Terrorist Watch List is your best hope.
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