One Month Anniversary Quote of the Day

It's been one month to the day since the massacre of children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary school. Tomorrow, Vice President Biden will present the recommendations of his committee, which are expected to include more extensive background checks, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and a reinstatement of the ban on assault rifles. In the meantime, the great Charles P. Pierce at Esquire.com asks the pertinent questions:

"How long are we supposed to pretend that the NRA really cares about the plight of the mentally ill in America? For that matter, how long are we supposed to pretend that the NRA is really bothered by the fact that young children are exposed to shooting games that glorify the use of actual firearms? I'm sorry, but [West Virginia Sen. Joe] Manchin and his 'fellow sportsmen' have had more than enough time to wrench their organization away from the sociopaths who run it, and more than enough time to turn it back into a genuine interest group, and not a front for the weapons industry. Here's what let's do. Let's put the assault-weapons ban back in place. Let's ban the high-capacity magazines. Let's establish a rigid and effective system of background checks. Let's close the gun-show loophole. Once we do all that, then we can have the commission on mass violence, where we all tug our forelocks about videogames, and then we can determine as a nation to spend whatever tax dollars have to be raised to do better by our citizens with mental illness. But let's do the gun part first. What say you, Senator Joe? You in?"

It was only a matter of time before the knees started to buckle and the National Rampage Association put pressure on the politicians to block rational gun control and safety measures. We'll see how much counter-pressure the public can put on them.