Our descent into violence

Pittsburgh: a felon with an AK-47 guns down three police officers. In Oakland, four police officers gunned down by another felon with an assault rifle. In Washington State, a frustrated wife-beater mows down five of his kids with a rifle while they were playing on their lawn in a trailer park: the kids were easier targets because he hadn't been able to track down his wife. And then the 13 dead last week in Binghampton after an insane former immigrant walked into an immigration center and shot randomly because he thought people were making fun of his poor English skills. In one month, 57 people lost their lives to mass shootings, all committed with weapons that had been banned by the Assault weapons ban that Bush let expire in 2004.

Our fetishism for guns is spilling over to our southern neighbors as Mexico struggles desperately to fight the drug cartels whom our demand for drugs has made incredibly rich while the lack of gun control laws has made weapons smuggling across the border a piece of cake.

Our country seems to be brewing with anger. Driving in rush hour traffic is enough to witness people slamming their steering wheels and shouting at each other, middle fingers flying from all lanes. Some are frustrated by their boring jobs. Some, many, by the lack of jobs and they have become addicted to watching the rants of lunatics on Fox News. Many of them are angry because they think Obama is the anti-Christ who will take away their guns in a major offensive against our very freedom. The delusional representative from Minnesota Michelle Bachmann warned that our President is getting ready to institute "re-education" camps for young people. Hannity thanked her for "defending our freedom against tyranny." The borderline schizophrenic Glenn Beck warned that "they don't surround us, we surround them," as he cried, begging for our country to be taken back. Take our country back from whom?

If Fox News sounds even crazier than they normally do--as lately they have clearly transgressed into the militia loony territory--we really have to be worried. These appalling statistics should give us pause: 17,000 Americans murdered each year and more than 70% by guns; our murder rate is three times that of Canada and England and five times that of Germany.

The Democrats need to use this tragically deadly month to pass strict gun control laws, including the assault weapons ban, and ignore the NRA maniacs. Even if this means losing the next round of elections.