Guns in the hands of madmen, by who's definition?

Frankly I just don't get it......

America is currently embroiled in a nationwide debate over gun control, pro gun, anti gun, both sides are polarized in their beliefs of what should or shouldn't be done to protect the innocent. Although the two sides are generally light years apart in their proposed solutions they do share one thing in common, a underlying opinion that things must change and the innocent must be protected from the whims of gun toting madmen.

On this issue everyone has an opinion, the Right tends to lean towards protecting the 2nd amendment, while the Left favors (as usual) legislating away the rights of law abiding citizens in the belief that this will have an impact on the occasional madmen. While the Right refers to the Bill of Rights and crime statistics, the Left has the Vice President doing a road show, the President holding press conferences with children, and gun violence "celebrities" such as Gabby Gifford's forming groups and making the speaking circuit. In fact Mr Obama isn't waiting for the normal political course of actions to take place on this issue, he simply issued 23 Executive orders as part of his campaign to disarm the American people. Not only do these Executive orders address actual gun control but in some cases cross into areas that erode civil liberties, case in point turning doctors into informants by ordering them to “ask patients about their guns” and reporting on them.

Whether you consider the above actions right or wrong, it is very apparent that those currently in power see curbing gun violence and it's impact on innocents the political "flavor of the month" with the American people. Now please don't take me wrong, I am certain that many of those speaking out for change do so sincerely and out of passion, and I myself believe that something needs to be done to curb the violence perpetrated by gun toting madmen. However, my opinions on the solutions to this problem are best saved for another time.

What I don't get is this.....

A better perspective on government fiscal stupidity

The fuse is burning

Like most sensible people I often worry where the continuous overspending by all levels of government will eventually lead. Ongoing spending by Municipal, Provincial, or Federal governments seems to indicate a total lack of common sense or any fiscal responsibility on the part of our elected officials. It's almost like they live on a different world where money literally grows on trees and they function using a system of math where two plus two does not equal four. The alternative would be that they are simply stupid or incredibly naive about managing money.

Now while our Canadian Federal or Provincial governments are not by any stretch of the imagination "fiscally responsible" they do not even come close to displaying the free spending mindset and the reckless fiscal abandonment that our American neighbors to the south are engaging in, particularly at the Federal level in Washington. Watching their antics as they battle over adjusting personal tax rates higher, debt ceiling increases, and implementing spending cuts, would be comical if it was not so serious that the outcome has the ability to negatively impact the entire global economy. Even a simpleton knows that you can not continuously spend more than you take in, unfortunately this basic fact seems to be lost on America's elected officials especially the guy currently serving as President.

So if a simpleton can understand the concept, why can't supposedly bright elected officials?
Here's what I think........

Guns, Guns, Guns, What's the answer?

Since the tragedy at Newtown the issue of gun violence in America has been first and foremost in everyone's mind, and rightfully so. This is just one more incident where innocent lives were destroyed and America's love affair with the gun appears to be the culprit.

Pro gun or anti gun, few are suggesting that the status quo is acceptable after this recent slaughter of the innocent by one unsettled individual. The public and Government both feel an immediate urgency to do something, anything to make America a safer place for its citizens and particularly its children. Unfortunately many of the suggestions on how to prevent future horrific tragedies are based more on raw emotion than they are on actual facts or common sense. Prior to making any decisions the country needs a sufficient period to bury it's dead and to mourn. After that there will be time to determine to think things through and hopefully come up with solution that has some chance of actually curtailing the problem.

In my own humble opinion if America truly wants to ensure that its children are protected from random gun violence simply passing more legislation to control guns is not a stand alone solution that will have any immediate affect. Why? I feel there are a number of reasons

Whoohoo...... The world didnt end

When I initially woke up this morning it took me a moment but something dawned on me, I had in fact woken up...the world was still here.

My first thought after this realization set in was, Duh...Stupid Mayans.

However once the cobwebs cleared from my head and I was able to think clearly I realized that it was never the Ancient Mayans that foretold the world ending today, they simply predicted the end of a cycle on their long day calendar. It was ill informed doomsayers that incorrectly interpreted the meaning of the Mayan calendar and predicted the end of us all. Duh....Stupid Doomsayers

None the less, even though this appears to have been a false alarm (remember the day is not over yet), maybe we should view it as somewhat of a second chance, a new beginning, so to speak. So moving forward these are some things I personally would like to see take place starting tomorrow.