Cartoon of the Day

More cartoons by Mike Thompson here.

End of the Month Blog Roundup!

More on this here via TPM.

The NRA's Political Spending infographic by JLMC. 

First up, The Atlantic's been serving up some excellent and relevant analysis this month:

James Fallows breaks down Obama's Inauguration rhetoric.
Senior Editor, Richard Florida, looks at the geography of gun-related deaths as well as what role gun regulations and factors including the economic, social and political characteristics play in contributing to gun violence.

Tomdispatch gets deep into the Obama cabinet shakeup as well as Defense Secretary nominee, Chuck Hagel and Vietnam via Nick Turse.

A new year,  a new war. Mali: Another country that (probably) most of us have had to wikipedia in recent weeks. Chris Hayes hosts a very comprehensive panel about why Mali matters:

Reducing Gun Violence Means Addressing Poverty, Desperation

By Nathan Rothwell

Firearm-related homicides in U.S. cities rival those of the deadliest nations

I would like to preface this piece by acknowledging that my perspective on gun control is colored by personal circumstances. For example, I have no children – nor do I intend to. Perhaps I would feel stronger about limiting the availability of firearms if this were not the case, or perhaps not. In any case, I freely admit that this bias exists.

I have also never been a victim of gun violence, nor do I directly know anyone who has. This likely sets my opinions apart from those who tragically cannot say the same. But this is important to note, because the great gun discussion which has gripped the nation for decades includes a wide variety of perspectives, with every one of them colored by individual motives and experience. Honestly, I would not have this debate any other way.

With that said, there is only one place for this debate to begin. Special attention must be brought to the conversation’s loudest voice, belonging to none other than Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Association.

Over the last 15 years, the NRA has been acknowledged as one of America’s most influential lobbying groups. They have proved to be quite successful in lobbying toward a single goal: promoting gun ownership. While there is nothing inherently wrong with their objective, they seem unmoved by the resulting consequences. When LaPierre argues in favor of putting more guns near schools in the name of protecting children, is he concerned with promoting safety, or gun ownership? When the NRA releases its own video game almost immediately after blaming video games for our national violence problem, how can it be argued that they do not value promoting gun ownership above all else?

This should go without saying since it’s so painfully obvious, but it unfortunately must be repeated again, as the NRA would rather not admit to it – firearms are offensive weapons and instruments of violence. They hold the potential to end a life within the blink of an eye, and this potential is realized every day when lives end at the barrel of a gun. LaPierre and his organization seems completely unwilling to own up to these simple facts, which makes them difficult to take seriously when discussing gun control.

There is just no overlooking the fact that gun violence cannot be committed without guns. The NRA deserves to be taken to task for constantly and disingenuously skirting around this obvious truth. However, and as much as it pains me to do this, I have to agree with their staunch opposition to recent gun control legislation.