Let's get one thing straight. What happened in San Bernardino was no 9/11. Yes, it was a terrorist attack, but it pales in comparison to what happened that fateful September morning fourteen years ago.
While the FBI continues to search for clues as the exact motivation behind this mass murder, this much is certain. Young Muslims are being radicalized everywhere in the world, INCLUDING the United States. It matters not whether the total is a few dozen or a few hundred. The fact is it is happening and we'd better start doing something about it or we can expect more of these attacks.
There is enough blame to go around here. Let's face it, the Obama Administration completely botched Syria. The whole red line in a sand fiasco, while not on the same scale as the Iraq invasion under Bush, nevertheless will go down as one of the all-time screw ups in American foreign policy. Every effort should've been made to depose Basher al-Assad and aid the Syrian rebels. Obama's desire to avoid another Libya and not embroil the U.S. in a potential quagmire blew up in his face. The U.S. is now in the process of having to deal with two very bad decisions: one by Bush to topple Saddam Hussein and the other by Obama not to topple Assad. One hundred eighty degrees from wrong is still wrong.
Another tactical error by the Administration is this reluctance not to use the term radical Islam. While I understand to some extent the need not to give ISIS and other terrorist groups the satisfaction of claiming Islam for their own, it is absolutely ridiculous to refer to them as mere thugs as he has done repeatedly. With all due respect, Mr. President, Tony Soprano was a thug. These people are terrorists who represent a very extreme and conservative view of Islam. They are not just a few rotten apples in the midst of an otherwise healthy orchard; they comprise a significant percentage of Middle-Eastern Muslims who share that same world view. It is high time you and your administration wake up to that fact.
But now we come to the real culprits in all this: our good buddies over at the GOP. Just a couple of days after the attack in San Bernardino, Ted Cruz held a Second Amendment rally in Iowa. You heard right. Fourteen people are executed gang style and conservatives' favorite poster child holds a rally in support of guns for everyone. I'd say unbelievable, but sadly it's quite believable.
And while shit-for-brains was pissing on the good people of San Bernardino, Republicans in the Senate managed to pass a bill. No it wasn't a bill to close the loophole that allows terrorists to purchase guns. We can't have any of that. No, this bill was to defund Obamacare and it was passed through reconciliation, meaning it only needed 51 votes to get through. Well, I'm glad to see the GOP has its priorities in order.
This entire political party is the laughing stock of the country. Donald Trump is leading in the polls to capture the nomination, followed by Ted Cruz and Ben Carson. Seriously, I got nothing. The party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower has now become the party of Moe, Larry and Curly.
The mass shooting in San Bernardino was the 355th such shooting this year. That's right. We've had more mass shootings in this country this year than we've had days. And this trend is likely to continue, so long as the NRA owns the GOP and, sadly, quite a few Democrats. The truth is if you live in this country, you are six time more likely to get shot than if you lived in Canada.
In other words, we're screwed!
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