Et Tu Brute?

One of the most under appreciated benefits of having a woodstove/fireplace is that there’s always a stack of old newspapers lying around that is slowly shredded into tiny ribbons by mice who then haul bundles of it into your underwear drawer, give birth next to your jockey shorts and then generally use them as their own personal toilet. Somebody asked me once if I ever regretted living so far out in the boonies? After giving it some thought, I responded…

“Once you jump out of bed with the sunrise as your alarm clock, get dressed and then have to get partially undressed to rescue a hairless preemie tangled up in your pubes, there’s just no going back to city life.”

Where was I? Oh yeah, old newspapers. I like going through old papers, reading the articles to compare what all the pundits predicted about this development or that with what has come to pass. Occasionally, I also do this with Brady Bunch reports.

Titles are always a good place to start…

#1 “Guns & The 2008 Elections: Common Sense Gun Laws Won, The NRA Lost, & What It Means.”
-A report by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, November 6, 2008

#2 “President Obama’s First Year: Failed Leadership, Lost Lives.”
-Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, January 2010.

In order to fully appreciate the desperation of this adversary, one need only acknowledge how far they’ve fallen and how fast. Their own words have always been their own worst enemy; our job has always been to remind them of that.

#1 “The 2008 elections marked a major victory for common sense gun laws. Never in our nation’s history have we had an incoming President and Vice President more supportive of strong gun laws.”

#2 “President Obama’s first year record on gun violence has been an abject failure.”

#1 “After eight years of an Administration that catered to the gun lobby…”

#2 “In just one year, Barack Obama has signed into law more repeals of federal gun policies than President George W. Bush’s eight years in office.”

#1 “Barack Obama’s campaign also provided a model to politicians of how to talk about the gun issue.”

#2 “…the White House muzzled cabinet members who called for sensible gun laws.”

#1 “One of the biggest losers in the 2008 elections was, undoubtedly, the NRA.”

#2 “Administration officials parroted NRA slogans to just enforce the law on the books…”

It gets better.

#1 “The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is a national non-profit organization working to reduce the tragic toll of gun violence in America…”

#2 “Mr. Holder, however, emphasized the Administration’s focus on the tools available “right now” and said, “I look forward to working with the NRA to come up with ways in which we can use common sense approaches to reduce the level of violence we see.”

This is an intentional slight against the Brady Bunch. Holder’s use of the phrase “common sense” makes that clear and he also uses the simple word “violence” without the gun qualifier. We are winning, for now.