LaPierre just a sympton of country's ills

I know with his last name, Wayne LaPierre got his daily butt-whippings at recess when he was growing up from boys named Junior, Skeeter and Whipper (and probably from girls named Bubba June). Bullying is a sad and deplorable act indeed; bullying while being abjectly racist is even worse.

LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association, is desperately shoring up his brown-nosing techniques with gun manufacturers and survivalists and weekend militia types, and comes across  looking like a panicky racist in the attempt.

"Apocalypse is coming," is the undertone of his harping message about why citizens of this country needs assault weapons and mega-clips. "Protect yourself" is not a bad mantra for anyone, but when LaPierre brings in images of African-American busting into stores and looting or hordes of immigrants swarming up from the South to take "our" jobs, he steps over a broad and defined line.

It's hard for common sense thinkers to take him seriously, but millions of Americans do because of cultural biases, personal prejudices, belief in internet blather and the pulpit palaver of fear mongers on TV and radio and fear of what the future holds.

LaPierre and other brain-dead followers of his platitudes are against any change in gun legislation, including universal background checks. Really? Several polls show that more than 90 percent of Americans are FOR universal background checks.

Who could be against background checks? Those that are, including LaPierre and the likes of House Speaker John (What Century Is It?) Boehner. Why? Simply because President Obama is for it. That's the politics of today and it's a stain on the governmental process. It's not that kicked-around "slippery slope" argument; the Constitution takes care of that.

What's the answer? Until the principals from both parties are ousted and bipartisanship and calculated compromise for the good of the country is once again the norm, there is no answer.

Our elected politicians are acting like children and until this country has term limits for House and Senate members and until the voters decide to change the faces of those that are an embarrassment to us all, it will remain status quo.

And groups with deep pockets -- the NRA, insurance companies, oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, financial institutions -- will run the legislative agenda of this nation.

Just look in the mirror to see who is responsible for this mess ... and who can change it.