There may be something less interesting than one person’s encounter with the course of a bad case of flu. It doesn’t even interest me that much, and TMI about the matter does neither of us any favors.

What does not destroy you, in my experience, anyway, does not necessarily make you stronger. I find it makes you weaker and more suspicious. But I feel resurrection of the Goddess at hand.

She is rising. I sat out late night in the gentle breeze that only last week was raking my skin with claws. I was looking at the iPad’s dim glow with some photos of the big Memphis Blues Gala at the White House.

Given the time differences, it might have been a good opportunity for the pesky NorKos to heave a couple missiles in the air, but they may not understand the criticality of the Delta Blues to the Republic. The President may be prepping a post-White House career as a crooner, since Mick Jagger forced a microphone on the Leader of the Free world, insisting he do a few bars of “Sweet Home Chicago.”

I dunno. It just seemed a little surreal, like when W urged us to get to the malls and start shopping after 9/11. Anyway, afterward, I slept through the night and woke to All Things Considered. There was some breathless discussion about the dimming of the threat of filibuster to the gun control legislation.

I am OK with that, encourage it even. There was a vigorous debate abut this not so long ago- 1968- and though it was a really, really big crisis, a Congress that still had a shred of civility in it came up with this. It has been on the books since passage the year before we landed on the Moon, at the end of a decade when guns were used as political weapons:

Gun Control Act of 1968:

“(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person – (1) is under indictment for, or has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year (2) is a fugitive from justice; (3) is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)); (4) has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution; (5) who, being an alien – (A) is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or (B) except as provided in subsection (y)(2), has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26))); (6) who (!2) has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; (7) who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship; (8) is subject to a court order that restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child, except that this paragraph shall only apply to a court order that – (A) was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had the opportunity to participate; and (B)(i) includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or (ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury; or (9) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.”

The Vice President addressed this, saying that there were not enough resources to police the provisions of the law as it is, so obviously what we need is more laws, right? That is where things get a little weird, Everything about all these awful crimes was already illegal under existing law. I have never heard of a prosecution of a straw-purchaser in firearms. It may just be a matter of not paying attention, but there are supposed to be heavy penalties.

Smokin’ Joe though has always considered this a sort of gateway to a better world when his wife Jill would just blast a twelve gauge off the porch. Of course, if he bought the shotgun and let her use it without a background check he might get in big trouble.

It is hard to figure- they must have rooms full of earnest 20-somethings who grind out the talking points for the grownups who have no clue what they are talking about. Of course, not having any real knowledge, the talking points generated by the kids are flawed from the beginning.

The Progressives are better than the right on the social media thing, that’s for sure. Plus, they don’t even have to be correct. That is a huge advantage.

I don’t know if I will get back to this or not. Folks have strong opinions about it, and I have neither the health, resources or interest to stay inside the spin machine. There are valid things to talk about, whether based on legal, constitutional, ethical or purely emotional grounds. It is a person’s right right to feel how they do. But feelings don’t trump an objective look at the facts.

But actually they do, I guess. My stars from the media wars include the male Colorado legislator who made the astonishing recommendation that adult females not carry weapons in self-defense, since they could mistake the intent of a violent assault. Instead, he recommended sagely, the woman could always puke or claim to be having their period to fend off rapists. Seriously. But that just had a deranged misogyny that offended.

I would prefer if my Mom was attacked she was the last one standing, blowing the smoke out of the barrel of her Smith and Wesson.

The most revealing confusion was from an elected idiot who currently represents Pat Schroeder’s old district in Denver. Remember? She thinks magazines disintegrate when fired, when to the contrary, they are almost indestructible. She apparently confused “bullets” with “magazines” and both with “clips.”

Which 20-something wrote that talking point?

How can you have a civil discussion with illiterates?

Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com