Familiar Territory

As you may have heard Steven Kazmierczak, a mentally-ill former student, went on a shooting rampage at Northern Illinois University. 16 wounded, 5 dead plus Kazmierczak himself - who stayed in character and took the coward's way out denying his victims and their families justice and his own family the chance to ask the simple question of "why?" May he burn in hell.

You already know how Act II goes. Here's today's "New York Post":
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02162008/news/nationalnews/college_killer_crazy_for_violent_vid_gam_97871.htm

Yes, once again so far as the media is concerned the fact that the shooter at one point played a gun-related video game ("Counterstrike," this time) loosely translates to "case closed." Jack Thompson has already done his news rounds, expect to hear from Joseph Lieberman, Tipper Gore, Hillary Clinton and maybe L. Brent Bozell and Lynne Cheney if we're "lucky." This is, of course, also an election issue because one of the three likely presidential candidates, one Barack Obama, happens to be the Jr. Senator from Illinios.

Lemme spoil the beginning of Act III for ya: You're probably going to hear about the need to "clamp down" on media/gaming violence from the candidates. Almost-certainly from John McCain, partly because it's an issue he's been on the "pro" side of before but more likely because Joe Lieberman is his Robin (Jason Todd version.) Of course, what John McCain thinks on the matter means precisely bupkiss because he's a Republican and - whatever their other MYRIAD flaws might be - at the end of the day the Republican Party's default-setting on corporate regulation is to be against it. Republicans grouse and grandstand about it, but at the end of the day it's Democrats - whatever their other MYRIAD positives might be - tend to be the ones who pull the trigger when it comes to federally "encouraged" censorship/regulation. And everybody already knows where Hillary Clinton stands on the matter - NEXT TO Tipper "Parental Advisory Warning" Gore.

So, then, all eyes on Obama, who here has a REAL chance to show his starry-eyed young disciples some actual substance behind "Hope," "Change" and the rest of his lovely-sounding but fairly empty "new kind of Democrat" roadshow. Senator? This is YOUR state and a big issue in the country YOU want to lead. What say you? Are you going to be the Democrat who finally says "no" to the pro-censorship whiners... something that would be an ACTUAL "Change?" Or are you going to let all those bright young things at your rallies down and be more of the same.

I'm not holding my breath.