It’s the economy, stupid
: Hello, George, are you listening?
How ironic
: I have one smart British friend who says that Americans just don’t understand irony. He’s probably right. I can’t tell whether he’s being ironic when he says it.
I also can’t tell whether Nick Denton is being ironic today when he embarks on a very bloggish riff on the Second Amendment. I hope he is. Inspired by the mad sniper in Washington, Nick says, “the gun lobby is about as convincing as the tobacco companies which pretended cancer had nothing to do with cigarettes. Crud. Easy access to firearms *is* associated with higher murder rates.”
But, sadly, he doesn’t stop there. He then argues:
And there is still an honest case to be made for the Second Amendment. It goes something like this. Guns do result in more fatal murders, but that is a small price to pay to guarantee freedom. The balance between the individual and government is ultimately determined by force. All the rights — to privacy, a fair trial, of free speech, to property — are underpinned by the power of individuals to organize against overmighty government, demonstrate, and ultimately take up arms. At a time when we are giving central government more powers, the counterweight of a people’s militia is more important than ever. Even as a madman runs amok in the DC suburbs.
Smell like irony to you? I sure hope so. Tell me I don’t have to call the Libertarian Deprogramming Unit.
But then, I’m just a blunt American.
Ba-one-da-two-bing-three… Ba-one-da-two-bing-three
: This is what makes Boing Boing the alpha blog (as someone called it; sorry I can’t remember who): Cory Doctorow discovers Crunch’s new course in cardio stripping.
