Senators Do Bad, Feel No Shame

Most Republican, and some Democratic, senators shamefully decided to vote against the wishes of about ninety percent of the American people, defeating* a measure that would only weakly address the horrific death toll caused by firearms by extending background checks. Those senators' shame was assuaged by the knowledge that their overlords, the National Retailers of Armaments, will reward their assault on the American people, as always, with riches beyond their dreams.

If only the people would remind their elected officials that although the NRA can give politicians seas of money, only the people can give them votes.

I expect that, in the wake of the explosions at the finish of the Boston Marathon, we will hear a spokesman for the NRA declare that "The only way to stop a bad man with a bomb, is a good man with a bomb." I do not expect the spokesman to admit that what stands between the weapons manufacturers and twenty murdered children, is the NRA.

*Clarification:  By "defeating," I of course mean "filibustered" so that there was no actual vote on the actual measure.

The Cost of Doing Business

Recently, financial behemoth HSBC was ordered to pay a $1.92 billion dollar fine for money laundering. Sounds like a great big fine, until compared with HSBC's great big assets--over $2.55 TRillion. The bank apparently broke a few federal laws (the Bank Secrecy Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act). Regulations are all too often insufficiently enforced, with penalties not stiff enough to deter bad behavior; indeed, fines simply become part of the cost of doing business.

Following on the heels of the news of the HSBC fine was news of yet another mass shooting of innocent people. Twenty children, boys and girls who were only 6 or 7 years old, were shot multiple times, along with 6 teachers and administrators, as several of whom tried to stop the killer or protect the children. The killer finally, shot himself; it is reported that a woman found shot dead in a house in town may have been the killer's mother, also shot by him.

Early responses to the news included such reactions as "I can't believe this happened," and "How could this happen here," along with various politicians saying, "Now is not the time to talk about gun control." The gun lobby spends vast sums promoting their agenda--and for a large segment of the interests the NRA represents, these murders are just part of the cost of doing business.