Society

It was a no-brainer (or as known in Republican circles, a "Gohmert") for Republicans to vote against background checks, an assault weapons ban and a gun magazine limit. And it was just as easy for them to be "outraged" by the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi. Only If deaths help them politically, do they matter.

The "world's greatest deliberative body" chose to deliberately deny the will of the people in a vote that kept a vote from happening. Cowardice. Craven cowardice.

Who but someone who hated our government would try to assassinate the elected officials in it? Who but someone who hated huge swaths of America would try to assassinate those in the media they see as not speaking for them? Who but an American would touch both bases?

President Obama has indeed brought bipartisanship to Washington DC...in a chorus against change.

Taken as written, this mandatory gun ownership law would technically apply to children, including toddlers and even infants. Backers of the bill have said it is not an oversight, it was intentional and meant to enforce respect for the 2nd Amendment and gun education from cradle to grave.

Republicans claim they only have a problem with the way they communicate their message. Perhaps this more severe, lost Ryan Budget could be presented in a more appetizing way, perhaps as the wrapper on a Big Mac, so it would get the respect and lengthy consideration it deserves.

When you see what guns can do in the wrong hands each and every day -- not just once in a blue moon -- there is no time for fantasy.

The GOP claims to be the party of law and order but fights to let terrorists and the mentally ill people buy semi-automatics at gun shows. Some might call this hypocrisy but Republican marketing guru Frank Luntz might use a snappy, focus group tested phrase for it like, "Freedumb".

When the NRA and their political puppets in the GOP and on Fox News say, "This is not the time to talk about gun control," this time, the response needs to be, "This is exactly the time and we're not only going to talk about, we're going to do something about it!"

Happy Thanksgiving! Our PlanetPOV tradition on this day is to use our magical elves to tell us what many of the well known figures in politics are grateful for...and by magic elves, we mean making claims of national security breaches to the FBI who then use the Patriot Act to seize private emails.