Land of the free to bear arms and kill your own family!

Yay, America!
Adding to the many GFC*-related suicides by formerly wealthy people, now a "nice guy" in LA has shot and killed his wife and five children before killing himself: 'Fatal fax: 'nice guy' snaps and kills family'
How long before the NRA tries to muscle its way into the debate about this incident? Because, whatever Chuck Heston thought, people like this shouldn't have guns lying around their home - all the stats show** that a gun is more likely to kill the gun's owner or a family member than a would-be robber or road-rage recipient. I understand this guy was upset and saw no way out, but if he didn’t have ready access to a gun, do you really think he would have, say, stabbed his family to death with a knife?
Plus, I reckon religion needs to take some of the blame here - and not just because I think religion should usually take some of the blame: he finished a letter he wrote just before committing this cowardly deed with "Oh lord my god is there no hope for a widow's son." I’m positive this guy thought he was going to an afterlife, as many Americans do - harps and all, and perhaps managed to con his kids into going along with it because they would all be together in “a better place”.
Problem is, there is no afterlife. Just a bunch of dead kids and his huge mess to clean up in this one.
* GFC in this context is referring to the Global Financial Crisis, not the Geelong Football Club.
** I know that 73% of statistics are made up (just like that one).

Here comes the sun

Before I rant up about moving house and Foxtel and stupid stupids, I think it’s appropriate, on this exhaustingly sunny, 43° Celsius day (109.4° Fahrenheit for those of you still living in the Imperial Past), to draw attention to our collective Governments’ (Federal and State and probably Local and let’s include Galactic, too) failure to tap into this nigh-inexhaustible power source. By which I mean the Sun, silly.

Just yesterday (when it was a meagre 38° Celsius) I read about my country’s lack of investment in and encouragement for renewable energy sources.

Oystein Oyehaug, renewables chief of Norwegian solar cell manufacturer UMOE, was reported to have said it was "amazing" that the Australian economy remained so reliant on old industry favourites such as coal and iron ore mining. "In the long term you should be doing more than mining for the Chinese.”

Great line.

The article goes on to point out that Australia “now risks being outshone even by the US, with new President Barack Obama declaring his aim of doubling renewable energy production in three years.”

The US?

Have we fallen that far?

Whilst on this (and I know I've made comments on this before, but it, like, hasn't been fixed, yet), late last year Tim Colebatch pointed out that the Rudd Government's emissions trading scheme will likely result in Australia pumping out more emissions in 2020 than we do now.

Good one, fellas (and lady).

So. Libs – duds. Labor – duds. Democrats – demoduds. Greens? Dare I hope?

Or should I just make a prediction that ends in “duds”?

Bye-bye, Bush

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out - because Obama won't like ass-prints on his new door.
PS I moved house over the Exmas break, and I've been saving up all my rant juice for a big tirade about the horrendous experience soon, my pretties...