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More on the possible political artistry involved in posing for a mug shot. Ace had more along these lines last night....

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:In an interview with The Fix, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) gave every indication that he has been thinking long and hard about a run for the White House. He even claims to have raised $700,000 through...

The AP has an incredible story about the televised Saddam trial in Iraq. It's striking the different ways people choose to remember Hussein:The moment Saddam Hussein appeared, a Shiite housewife spat on the screen and then sat gnawing her fingers,...

SDP has pointed out that Chad Schuldt, the Clear Cut Kidder, blamed Republicans for the anti-Herseth letter campaign of Kurt Woodward, state coordinator for an organization called Progressive Democrats of America. Here is Schuldt?s false accusation:My theory? Someone in the...

Brazilians Reject Proposed Gun Ban

Brazilians soundly rejected a proposal to ban the sale of guns in a national referendum Sunday, striking down the bid to stem one of the world's highest firearm murder rates following a campaign that drew parallels to the U.S. gun control debate.

With more than 92 percent of the votes counted, 64 percent of Brazilians were opposed to the ban, while 36 percent backed it, said election officials, giving the 'no' position an insurmountable lead. The proposal would have prohibited the sale of firearms and ammunition except for police, the military, some security guards, gun collectors and sports shooters.

There are a number of interesting ramifications and issues associated with this - aside from the primary fact that the Brazilians were not willing to cede full responsibility for personal protection to an all too ineffectual governmental system.

Some Brazilians said they resented the referendum because they feel the government is ducking its responsibility to keep the peace. "It's immoral for the government to have this vote," said Pedro Ricardo, an army officer in Sao Paulo. "They're putting the responsibility on us, but ... the way to cut down on violence is to combat the drug trade and patrol our borders."

Hmmmm. Sounds sort of familiar doesn't it!? Enforce borders? What a concept!

About 39,000 people in Brazil are killed by guns each year, compared to about 30,000 people in the United States, although the U.S. population is about 100 million more than Brazil's, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hello? Come again? Does anybody know what the US Centers for Disease Control is doing collecting data on gun deaths in Brazil? One shudders to learn the answer.

Jonathan Last offers this interesting précis:WHAT DOES MODERN HISTORY have to teach us about the age of American empire? The final chapters of the British Empire offer lessons and parallels aplenty. Empires don't last forever, and the combination of martial...

The Boss still has faith. After meeting with Steinbrenner for 45 minutes to an hour in Tampa, Fla., Torre was sure he wanted to return for his 11th season as Yankees manager. "We didn't use the word love, but it...

... would you find Country Joe McDonald serving as chairman over the Veteran's Day ceremonies. And fighting over whether or not one of the co-founders of Gold Star Families should be the "keynote" speaker, no less....

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