Repealing NRA's 'Stand Your Ground' Laws

HOME POLITICS NATIONAL NEWS WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Joe Conason Carl Hiaasen Connie Schultz E.J. Dionne Gene Lyons Jonathan Alter April 16, 2012 THE BIG STORY, BY E.J. DIONNE Ending Our Feckless Fealty to the NRA It's understandable if unfortunate that the controversy surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin has polarized the country along both racial and ideological lines. But there is one issue that should not have any racial connotations: the urgency of repealing "Stand Your Ground" laws. And leave it to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to speak the blunt truth about why these laws are dangerous -- and why the National Rifle Association keeps pushing them anyway. READ MORE AROUND THE WORLD Taliban Attack Pakistan Prison, Free 380 Prisoners Taliban militants armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades battled their way into a prison in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, freeing close to 400 prisoners, including at least 20 described by police as "very dangerous" insurgents, authorities said. READ MORE POLITICS Tax Fight Not Going Anywhere It's Tax Day, and and Republicans will force votes in Congress this week on competing tax plans that affect millionaires and smaller businesses. They know the proposals are doomed from the start. But that doesn't matter to either party. Their efforts, including a Senate vote today on President Barack Obama's "Buffett rule" proposal to impose a minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans, are more about pontificating than legislating, aimed at voters in November's congressional and presidential elections. READ MORE NORTH KOREA Kim Jong Un Makes First Public Speech North Korea's new leader addressed his nation and the world for the first time Sunday, vowing to place top priority on his impoverished country's military, which promptly unveiled a new long-range missile. Kim's speech was the culmination of two weeks of celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of his grandfather, national founder Kim Il Sung -- festivities marred by a failed launch Friday of a long-range rocket that generated international condemnation and cost North Korea a food aid-for-nuclear-freeze deal with Washington. READ MORE CARTOON OF THE DAY   (c) 2012 Eastern Harbor Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 28 West 27th Street, Suite 502 New York, NY 10001