In My Orbit
Digital Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Too much swirling in the universe in general, and in my own world; so I'll touch on the hot topic for the week: President Obama signing 23 executive orders in yet another step toward attacking the Second Amendment and trampling the Constitution. Ed Morrisey's column in The Fiscal Times does a good job of pointing out the incompetence and pretentiousness of this latest action from the Smoke and Mirrors Presidency.
"The President also announced almost two dozen executive orders that he will sign to bypass Congress on gun violence, a threat that had civil libertarians outraged over potential abuses of power. Instead, the list is a demonstration of executive impotence, procrastination, and an approach that has little to do with the actual Newtown mass murder."
On the other side of the spectrum, Gary Younge of the Guardian waxed eloquent about how principled President Obama is for doing something about this problem of gun violence and starting a national conversation:
"His address implied that, after four long years, he had finally worked out what both the office of the presidency in general and his presidency, in particular, were for. Appealing over the heads of a stubborn and gridlocked Congress to the nation at large, the president sought to rally the nation to both a moral cause and much-needed civic engagement."
Excuse me while I yawn. It appears Mr. Obama is very selective about what rallies him to action. Why did it take the tragedy at Sandy Hook for the President to take action? Were the 532 homicides in his adopted hometown of Chicago in 2012 alone not enough of a clarion call?
Urban Grounds blog points out that Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation; yet, this does not prevent young black men from shooting other young black men on the regular, with young girls and teenagers caught in the crossfire. "10-year Old Daughter of a 24-year Old Mother Shot While Playing Outside on Chicago Street at 11:20 p.m." and "Obama Visits Chicago, Gun Violence and Murders Drastically Reduced in the Presence of The Won".
When has Obama sermonized, lectured, and vowed to do something about it? From my general Google search, next to never.
So much for sweet home, Chicago.
So while President Posturing did his dog and pony show with children in tow on Tuesday, Charles "Chuck" Hicks chose to use Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday to walk for Civil Rights and the Second Amendment. Courtland Malloy in his Washington Post column profiles this Civil Right's leader and his dual stance that marching for Civil Rights includes marching for gun rights:
"'The Klan would drive through our neighborhood shooting at us, shooting into our homes,” recalled Hicks, 66, who grew up in Bogalusa, La., and has been a civil rights activist in the District for more than 35 years. “The black men in the community wouldn’t stand for it. You shoot at us, we shoot back at you. I’m convinced that without our guns, my family and many other black people would not be alive today.'"
Malloy points out that Hicks and his family are under constant threat for their stance and presence in the Civil Rights struggle:
"In the current debate over gun rights vs. gun control, predominantly white pro-gun groups such as the NRA and Second Amendment Foundation cite oppressive British rule over the American colonies as the basis for the “right to bear arms.” The terrorism cited by black gun owners such as Hicks, however, is much more recent.
"Just last year, for instance, on the King holiday, arsonists burned a car that belonged to Hicks’s sister in Bogalusa and attempted to burn the home where she and their mother live. His sister is an outspoken advocate for civil rights in Louisiana. Last week, a car was seen circling the block around their home, parked, then suspiciously sped away when neighbors approached. The FBI is investigating both incidents.
"According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 1,000 hate groups are operating today in the United States, most of them neo-Nazis, Klansmen, white nationalists, neo-Confederates and racist skinheads with a particular antipathy for black people.
"Infringe on the Second Amendment? No way, say 30 percent of African Americans (myself included), according to a recent Pew poll. No doubt many of them believe, like Hicks, that it’s better to have a gun and not need it than not have one and wish you did."
Damn skippy--count me among them.