Jobs and Uzi's

Political blogging has turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. First of all, there are so many people who do it so well (see "Politically Correct" links in the sidebar for examples) that it's a little intimidating to join the fray. It also takes quite a little while to do a thoughtful and researched post. I had intended to post on Labor Day about Bush's record on jobs:

• How he will be the first president since Herbert Hoover to face the electorate with an economy that has fewer jobs than when he took office (over 1 million lost to date)

• How the number of people working part-time because they can't find full-time jobs is up 35 percent since Bush took office.

• How the rising number of part-time workers may explain the 45 million people who don't have health care (since most full-time working people get their health insurance as a job benefit.)

• How almost 90 percent of new jobs created since last August are in job categories paying below-average wages, and how this may explain the rising number of people living in poverty.

• How far off the job numbers are from what the administration has predicted would happen after his tax cuts were enacted. This graph shows the situation nicely:

Payroll Jobs: Lost and Missing

The big story is "Missing Jobs." Since January 2001, the economy should have added 6 million jobs. The blue line shows what was needed to keep up with population growth (according to Bush's Council of Economic Advisors [CEA]). The green line shows that in November 2001, the CEA thought Bush's tax cut policies would create enough jobs to put the job market back on track by the end of his term.

Truth is, though, the week just flew by and I haven't taken the time to post anything about jobs.

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Which leads to another problem with political blogging: how do you stay focused?
Do you post about deficit spending or foreign policy?
Environment or education?
Energy policy or gun control?

Well, how about gun control?

Do you have your orders in for your Hi-Point Carbine assault rifles and a TEC- DC9 assault pistols? Next Tuesday morning expect to see lines forming outside Red State Wal-Marts as the Assault Weapons Ban is finally lifted after 10 long years. Ten years during which countless sportsmen and hunters have been killed or maimed by charging herds of pheasants, bunnies and deer, carnage that could have been avoided if only they would have been carrying guns that could spray armor-pircing rounds at a 6-shot per second clip.

In a triumph of democracy, the President and Congressional leaders are watching the ban die a slow, painful death (sort of like the Columbine teacher who was shot by one of these guns) even though a majority of Americans support the ban.

A new study, "Unconventional Wisdom," by the Consumer Federation of America and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, found that a substantial majority of likely voters in 10 states support renewing and strengthening the federal assault weapons ban, as do most gun owners and National Rifle Association supporters. The survey found that:

• Voters in Midwestern states supported renewing the assault weapons ban slightly more than those in Southwestern states. Midwestern states (Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri) averaged 72 percent support for renewal. Southwestern states (Arizona and New Mexico) averaged 67 percent. In Florida, 81 percent of likely voters support renewing the ban.

• Rural states, traditionally seen as very conservative on gun issues, strongly favored renewing the ban. Sixty-eight percent of voters in South Dakota and West Virginia support renewal.

• Majorities of gun owners in all but two states favored renewing the ban. Even in those two states, Missouri and Ohio, only slightly less than 50 percent of gun owners and NRA supporters favored renewing the ban.

• In nine of 10 states surveyed, union households supported renewing the ban by at least 60 percent. In Pennsylvania, 80 percent of union households supported renewing the ban and 73 percent supported strengthening it.

• At least 60 percent of current and former military members and military families supported renewing the ban in all states surveyed. In Wisconsin, more than three-fourths (77 percent) of current and former military members and military families support renewing the ban.

Even the President says he supports the ban, but he won't do anything to encourage the Republican Congress to extend it. Why? The NRA. They are holding off on giving him their endorsement until the ban dies.

And die it will.
Even though police officers overwhelmingly support the ban.
(Remember police officers? Heroes of 9-11? Featured heavily at the recent Republican National Convention?)

Even though captured Al-Qaeda training manuals specifically mention the ease of obtaining assault weapons in the USA:

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I guess the hardest thing for me about political blogging is that it's depressing to really study this stuff, then watch Bush rise in the polls because his campaign appeals so much to the masses who don't seem to really study this stuff.

Comments

[Zanny]

Just a little "it's a small world" comment about your blog. Do you remember Brian Reardon? I used to date him back when I was in high school and early college. I think you refer to him has the spy wannabe. Anyway, he is all grown up now and is on the President's National Economic Counicl of Advisors that you quoted. In fact, I think he is kind of a big whig:Special Assistant to the President on Economic Policy, or something like that. Anyway, see www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/economy/photoessay2/07.html to see a picture of him with Bush doing presidential ecomomic business. Perhaps you could have him do a guest debate on your blog. Love, Zanny