OpinionList: 2-15-13

Posted by The Opinionista on Feb 9, 2013 in OpinionList | 0 comments

This week brought us a lot of shockers including the GOP’s filibuster of Hagel and the Pope’s resignation, which due to the length of my opinions, I have decided not to include in this week’s OpinionList. Each of these two subjects will have its own post.

Roger Ailes Is Delusional: Fox News Chairman, Roger Ailes, accuses President Obama of formenting hate. “The president likes to divide people into groups. He’s too busy getting the middle class to hate rich people, blacks to hate whites. He is busy trying to get everybody to hate each other.” What can I say to this travesty except that this is nothing but a case of the “pot [falsely] calling the kettle black.”

Tea [Sex] Party: A tea party group produced a bestiality video featuring a panda fellating Hillary Clinton (when she was still Secretary of State). Both the panda and Hillary Clinton were impersonators, of course. Next time a RWNJ speaks to you about morals or family values, talk about the panda (and not the one that does Kung Fu).

Blade Runner Kills Girlfriend: Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, has been charged with the murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp in South Africa. Pistorius, a gun enthusiast who in 2011 made a Nike ad “I am the bullet in the chamber” allegedly shot multiple bullets at Steenkamp fatally wounding her. While a shocked nation mourns, I cannot help thinking that Pistorius, who made history by being the first double amputee to run in the Olympics, will now be remembered as a murderer whose future will neither include blades nor running.

Unfasten Your Seat Belts: American Airlines has been allowed to merge with U.S. Airways which, according to The Atlantic, means that “Four airlines now control 86% of air travel in the U.S.” What this really means is that we can expect to have more delays, get charged even more for things that should be included in a ticket fare, and generally be treated even more like cattle stuffing as many of us as possible in economy. I think the time has come for fast-speed trains to start giving airlines some much-needed competition.

Assault Weapons Ban, Now: After President Obama’s SOTU speech, CNN reported that assault weapons only represent 4% of gun-related deaths in the U.S. and that the real problem we face is handguns. While I have to admit to being surprised by this statistic, it doesn’t change my position. If we can eliminate the possibility of a crazed shooter walking into a school and killing innocent children in minutes, then we must ban this type of weapon. That still leaves the problems of handguns, one that, unfortunately, has no easy solution.

Note: Original Publication Date: 2-15-13. Publication date has been changed exclusively for display purposes.