Gun control legislation getting nowhere fast. MSNBC host uses kid as a prop. And a crazy dancing dad makes me happy

It is amazing to me how our Congressional politics work these days. Some issues, issues that are matters of life and death, matters that could not BE more important, often don’t even come up for debate.

That’s right, in this great country of ours, formed under the banner of democracy and free speech, we have to sit by and be disgusted as time and again one party in Congress decides not to allow an airing of two sides of an issue; no, that’d be too dangerous.
No, they decide, as the Republicans seem to be doing right now, that an issue this important doesn’t even deserve to be heard or debated. No, let’s just shove it under the rug and pretend it doesn’t exist; pretend that thousands aren’t dying each year because of a weapon.

We have a raging epidemic of gun violence in this country, and it gets worse and worse every week. Just three months after Newtown, we’re still getting disgusting stories like this; we have a freaking FOUR year old child shooting and killing a SIX year old child, and the all-caps is intentional because I can’t even believe it happened even as I read the horrifying details.

The proposed ban on assault weapons was already defeated in Congress, as Harry Reid once again folded like a cheap suit, something he’s had lots of practice doing.

Now a smaller bill that includes background checks for all gun purchases (really? This is such a controversial thing?) may be filibustered in the Senate.

Barack Obama spoke in Hartford the other night, and his words were poignant. He talked about honoring those who died in Newtown, and that their deaths shouldn’t be forgotten.

And yet, with so many dying needlessly, our leaders fiddle and refuse to take even the most basic steps toward sensible gun legislation.

Makes me sick to my stomach.

**And now, for those who think I only take shots at Fox News and Republicans, here’s a truly tasteless act performed by an MSNBC host.

I love MSNBC, naturally, but stuff like this just is so wrong. One of their regular hosts, Krystal Ball (I can’t believe that’s her real name, but apparently it is) had her toddler daughter on a segment last Friday, asking her about whether boys should get to marry boys and girls get to marry girls.

It is posturing and pimping out your kid to the highest degree, and Ball and MSNBC should be ashamed. You can make your point plenty well without using your offspring as a prop.

youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAPllrspDVU&w=560&h=315%5D

**And now, because this will put a smile on your face, a father dancing like a lunatic with his kids at a Chicago White Sox baseball game last weekend.

He’s either really exuberant or really drunk; either way, I love his enthusiasm.

 

Keith Olbermann shockingly gone from MSNBC. And Honey Buns, the favorite food of Fla. prisoners

Well this was pretty stunning.
Keith Olbermann, the No.1 television voice for liberals like myself, abruptly announced on his show “Countdown” that Friday was his last show.
Was he fired? Not really. Apparently he and MSNBC, always at each other’s throats, agreed that he wouldn’t continue.
Yeah, right. There’s got to be more to the story than this. I don’t know if Comcast, which like five minutes ago finalized its deal to buy NBC, had something to do with this.
I don’t know if Keith was forced out the door, or if he’s got something else cooking.
Whatever it is, he’ll be sorely missed. Olbermann grew on me. Sure he’s pompous, and a little obnoxious.
But after years and years of liberals being beat over the head by the likes of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and others, it was so refreshing to hear someone hit back from our side.
Olbermann is incredibly smart, very clever with words, and has a definite presence that makes you want to listen to him.

In tribute, here’s my favorite Olbermann “special comment” he ever did, exploding on George Bush in 2008:

**When I used to work for a newspaper in North Carolina, and I had a late deadline in the office and needed just a little snack, I’d walk to the vending machine, insert my $.85, and buy a Honey Bun. Then I’d pop that sucker in the microwave for 20 seconds, take it out, and sticky, gooey sweet goodness was mine.

I’d sometimes feel sick an hour or so after, but man, those Honey Buns were darn tasty.
I bring all this up because I heard this on NPR this week and it sounded ridiculous, but it’s true: Apparently at Florida prisons, Honey Buns have become more valuable than cigarettes and money. They’re used for everything, and the sweet treats can make or break the peace in jail.
Read the details here. Honey Buns. Who knew?
I wonder what a Ding Dong would go for in the can.