Apr 4, 2013
Greg Dworkin brings us news of the Connecticut legislature's completed work on post-12/14 gun policy reforms, set to be signed into law today, plus a new Q-Poll showing continuing and overwhelming support for universal background checks (even as respondents acknowledge the data could theoretically be used for government confiscation programs). Yesterday was an extraordinary day in #GunFAIL story collection, and we recapped some of the most outrageous and egregious among them, including new entries in the dangerous trend of firing bullets through the homes of neighbors. Next, we noted the new round of strikes by fast food workers in New York, and checked in with Mike Hummel (aka bluebarnstormer) on last night's community event in Biddeford, ME, where bakers and other workers in the former Hostess plant there are facing the same threats and thefts that plagued his plant in Lenexa, KS a few months back. Afterwards, we actually segued back to #GunFAIL, comparing the labor fights to the gun issue in the sense that both controversies appear to depend on manipulation of the facts, and the so-called "conservative" side seems to get pretty irate when people start sharing information about what's really happening out there. Finally, we looked at David Cay Johnston's attempt in The National Memo to begin calculating the cost of the NRA's proposed "School Shield" program. First, of course, we have to wonder whether it's an idea likely to work and actually save lives and prevent injuries, but also, how many of us think the "conservatives" behind it will be there with funding when the bill comes due?