Guns Don't Kill People, Free Access to Guns Kill People

Being that we are in the midst of an active political campaign that latches onto the latest headline in a desperate attempt to generate their own top of the fold notoriety, it is hard to believe there has been almost no conversation on gun control. Granted that the Democratic Party has become an impotent imitation of Republican opposition, but you would think the recent spate of mass shootings would be ceased upon for political capital. There is no defensible stance for the resistance to reasonable gun control. Sportsman can still have their guns but they don't need automatic weapons to kill Bambi's mom. Registering ballistics reports for every gun sold doesn't invade anyone's privacy, only makes catching criminals easier. Delaying the purchase of a gun months to do full background checks including declarations on mental history and use of psychoactive drugs doesn't negatively affect anyone other than looking to exact immediate vengeance on someone. If you want a gun, you need to prove you can handle it. I understand that the economy and Iraq should be center stage but how about some thought about getting our gun culture in check. Want to know how out of control it is, see the ad below.

I'm a Genius, Trust Me

Personal privacy has never been a priority of the internet. The right search string can find just about anything and anyone. Now there are a couple of websites that make the job of being a digital voyeur much easier. These personal information conglomeraters take all of the data about you scattered around the internet and gather it together into one stalker-ready resource. Personal and professional data bumping into each other to produce a mutant offspring that was never meant to see the light of day. Of course, in the Web 2.o world, embarrassing people with facts of their own life is not enough. Sites like Spock.com, allow you to not only adjust your own profile but to classify others by whatever derogatory term you wish. Slander and libel disguised as accurate description. Others have already made comment on how these sites have been used to mislabel people as despicable criminals. Imagine if these sites became popular enough that they produced the top Google hit every time you searched your name. The first thing most people would see of your internet presence would be malicious terms pranksters planted on you (or all the wonderful fictitious tags you add to yourself - Nobel Prize here I come).

By the way Spock.com, if you are reading over my shoulder, my name is Sage Tyler, a 38 year old lumberjack from Walla Walla, Washington.