We’re busy with today’s BradCast on KPFK, so, until later, here are a few items that may, or may not, matter to you this afternoon…
• President Obama names Vice-President Biden to head up a task force to work on new gun safety regulations to be submitted to him by January. Press conference transcript here.
• Supreme Court rulings on what gun control measures are allowed by the 2nd Amendment are actually quite narrow and leave a lot of room for further interpretation and rulings. Here’s a quick legal analysis of where the court seems to stand at the moment.
• Robert Bork dies. In an attempt to be generous upon the occassion of his passing, we’ll associate with Ian Millhiser who observes today: “At his best, Bork was a voice for the kind of judicial restraint that conservatives all but abandoned the minute President Obama took office.” Bork had been selected by Mitt Romney to help him select judges as President. Mitt Romney’s dream died first.
• 3 State Dept. officials resign after a report on Benghazi attack finds “grossly inadequate” security measures at the U.S. consulate on the night Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed last September 11th. “We did conclude that certain State Department bureau-level senior officials in critical positions of authority and responsibility in Washington demonstrated a lack of leadership and management ability,” said report panelist Adm. Mike Mullen. In response, Sec. of State Hillary Clinton accepted all 29 of the panel’s recommendations, while nursing her reported recent concussion that has, to date, kept her from testifying to Congress on the matter.
• Something or other occurred today in regards to the so-called “fiscal cliff” negotiations, but we couldn’t care less what it was. At this point, after Sandy Hook, the “fiscal cliff” stupidity feels a whole lot like the “Summer of Sharks” did, in retrospect, after 9/11. Of course, after Obama’s prepared remarks at his presser on guns today, the D.C. press wanted to ask him, almost exclusively, about “fiscal cliff” bullshit. Same as it ever was.
• Finally, here’s your 7 day forecast…
Discuss.
“Apocalypse Friday”:
When the modern Gregorian calendar reaches December 31, the world doesn’t end; we’re supposed to flip the calendar page and start the new year at January 1.
When the Mayan calendar reaches the end of its (very) “long count”, the world doesn’t end; we don’t even need to “flip the rock”, just start the count over at 1.