1574 Feel Better Now?

1574 Feel Better Now?

Of course you do.  You separated yourself from the NFL and the NRA and all the other Ns you follow long enough to watch President Obama’s speechlette on ISIS from the Oval Office.

Miss Grundy corrects and grades the speech: C+ (see end note.)

--Don’t worry folks, we’ve got a great strategy to get rid of these death dealers and it’s working. (Wrong and wrong.)

--No boots on the ground. (Improbable)

--ISIS is a cult of death and doesn’t represent the majority of Muslims in this country and worldwide. (Right and we hope so.)

--But Muslims better start helping the rest of us in getting rid of the few bad apples. (Correct. All your own work?)

--The San Bernardino shootings were a terrorist act. (Correct.)

Your work is improving, Barry. But you have to get your head out of the clouds and try a more realistic approach to both the problem and to your followers.  That’s a Gentleman’s C+.  I expect better next time.  

  Sincerely,

Miss Grundy

Most pundits to whose babblings we had access immediately after the talk called the president’s speech “passionate.”  If that’s an example of his passion, Michelle probably is profoundly frustrated when they turn the lights out.

As are many of the rest of us.

The talk, in prime time on a Sunday night, was meant to rally us to do our best and come together and all that good stuff.  It wasn’t passionate.  But it was sincere.  Or at least it sounded sincere.  If you suspended disbelief, it was a nice summary of what’s failed so far.

The Republicans who control congress have pledged in plain English to thwart everything Obama proposes.  So far, they’ve done a pretty good job of it. If a white Democrat is elected in 2016, they’ll probably ease up a bit.  But not as much as any reasonable person would hope.

Republicans in the House and Senate continue to oppose a law to bar people on the no fly list from buying guns.  They’re worried someone on the list by mistake will be deprived of his God-given, Constitutionally guaranteed right to own a firearm.

It has never occurred to people that if someone is put on the list in error, the government has a duty and obligation to fix the mistake.

Shrapnel:

--The owner of the apartment where those lovely killers in San Bernardino lived opened the place to news photographers.  Now we know what kind of underwear Bonnie wore and where Clyde kept his ammo.  And you can bet that with all the publicity, the next tenant will pay a much higher rent… including bragging rights.

--The New York Times ran a pro- gun control editorial on its front page, something it hadn’t done since August of 1920.  The 1920 piece opposed Warren Harding’s presidential bid but he won.  So how effective is a front page editorial even in a major newspaper?

--What happens when a bunch of people each known as “the smartest guy in the room” get together in the same room? Do they work as a team?  Or do they compete to prove they’re the smartest of the smartest?

I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®

Please address comments to wesrichards@gmail.com

© WJR 2013