A few days ago CNN host Pierce Morgan went off on the pro-gun lobby, and put US gun laws in a global context.  Lots of emotion:

Right, so gun control apparently kills people?

Some food for thought:

• Of the 45 school shootings in the world since the Columbine tragedy in 1999, 31 of them have taken place in the United States.
• The US has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world.  There are 270 million firearms - that is nine guns for every ten Americans.
• Between 2002 and 2003 there was a spike in gun ownership, from 34% to 43%.
• Today, the age demographic with the highest rate of gun ownership is the 50 - 65 group.
• In 2010, 31,672 people died from gun violence in the US.

George Will on ABC News' Sunday Show This Week with host George Stephanopoulos:

“There is something like an emerging consensus,” Will said, noting voters in three states recently endorsed same-sex marriage initiatives. “Quite literally, the opposition to gay marriage is dying.  It’s old people.”

In just eight years marriage equality ballot measures went from a tool that increased conservative turnout to a net plus for the progressive movement.  Same-sex couples in Washington state were able to receive marriage licenses as of a few nights ago.  I know someone who was there at midnight at the steps of the state capitol in Olympia.

Following the 2012 election, for the first time it truly feels like we are in a new century.  Last decade felt like a lost decade.  The Bush-Cheney Administration took America backwards.  Thanks to Barack Obama and the entire grassroots progressive movement's embracing of new technology to push their message, we are slowly getting rid of discrimination traditions that hurt America.  As a 30-year-old, it is a great time to be American!

From Macro Trends, showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise and decline over the last 10 years.

The stock market has nearly doubled under Obama, adding $7.3 trillion in market cap, according to Bloomberg Businessweek in mid-October.

I want a budget deal to get done.  Fear and panic, which Wall Street never has responded well to in modern history, could sink the stock market and lead to short-term job losses and potentially a 2013 recession.

But what happens if Democrats and Republicans do not agree on a deal, and we go into the new year with a set of tax increases?  This chart shows that the tax increases that would take effect in January would help put us on path to long-term budget sustainability.

And remember, there is a difference between debt and deficits.  When it comes to the deficit, revenue increases produced by going over the dubbed "fiscal cliff" would almost eliminate the deficit.  It reminds us how damaging the Bush tax cuts, 33% of which went to the top-1%, have been in increasing both the national debt and yearly deficits.

If you just listened to conservatives you would think that Barack Obama is responsible for our high budget deficits.  Actually, if you look at something called math, the budget deficit is shrinking at the fastest rate since WWII.

Obama inherited a disaster, as most people reading this post might agree.  Over the last three years it definitely has been heading in the right direction:

From fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2012, the deficit shrank 3.1 percentage points, from 10.1% to 7.0% of GDP.

That's just a bit faster than the 3.0 percentage point deficit improvement from 1995 to '98, but at that point, the economy had everything going for it.

Wish this was articulated better by Obama during the campaign.

I have been blogging politics off and on for more than eight years.  I kept a reasonably low profile during the 2012 election, while still following the race like a true political junkie.  Working nearly full time while trying to earn an MPA has been a difficult challenge for me.

Though I am still balancing my first quarter of graduate school with work, family and social life, I remain dedicated to building this web site.  Another reason for the lack of blogging can be attributed to my struggle over the best way to present information to help influence social change.  There is so much I want to write.  But the blogging culture discourages that.  The average person looks at a web site for three seconds.  When it comes to political information, people want to read something completely to the point.  Charts, graphs, short quotes, and videos are really the way to go.  I look to blogs such as Political Wire as examples of how to correctly blog.

So in the weeks and months ahead, as my daily postings grow, I can assure you that there will be more relevant information that is short, sweet and to the point.  That is how I intend to grow this web site and do what I was very effective at six years ago: influencing the political process.

From Des Moines, Iowa.  In a very personal speech, different than his usual stump speeches, Obama reflects on his road to the presidency.

This guy is truly the most remarkable political figure of our time.

..as do the rest of the anti-science crowd in his not grand but very old party.

Erick Erickson of Red State blog won't be upset if Romney loses.  No really, I'm serious.  He won't be upset:

My world view is pretty simple. I think this world is destined to go to hell in a hand basket by design. I think things are supposed to go to pot. So if Barack Obama wins, I won’t be upset. If Mitt Romney wins, I won’t be running through the streets cheering. I think, either way, it is all part of the design. 

And now the conservative narrative begins to change, as some of the more influential activists recognize the inevitable is about to happen on Tuesday.

Looks like someone is already getting ready for 2016.  More importantly, it underscores a growing sentiment among conservative insiders that Romney has already lost (via Americablog):

The email, titled “What’s really at stake this Tuesday …” came from Gingrich Marketplace and went out to people who’d given their contact information to the Gingrich campaign when the former speaker of the House was still in the presidential race. Bygone candidates, such as Gingrich and Herman Cain, regularly rent out their email address lists to advertisers.

“The truth is, the next election has already been decided. Obama is going to win. It’s nearly impossible to beat an incumbent president,” advertiser Porter Stansberry wrote in the email to Gingrich supporters. “What’s actually at stake right now is whether or not he will have a third-term.”

Romney lost two out of the three debates.  He could not overcome the widely held belief that he is insincere, out of touch and is a man of multiple positions.

With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if he runs again.  After all, it is Mitt Romney.

On Marine One, touring the devastation with Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Barack Obama is either tied or holds a lead in every Ohio poll released today.  In the Time Poll he is out in front by five.  Obama also holds a slight lead in Virginia.  Though, Florida is a bit more of a challenge.

Obama supporters should be more confident in Ohio because of the huge advantage over Romney on the ground there.  While Obama's campaign is more meticulously nationalized, Romney has given up field operations to the RNC and state parties.  There are less offices and volunteers.  The only two states where Republicans are adequately organized are Virginia and Florida.  In Ohio it is a different story:

"The Romney campaign doesn't do the ground game," Rick Wiley, the RNC's political director, told me. "They have essentially ceded that responsibility to the RNC. They understand this is our role." The disadvantage of this is that the RNC is composed of its state Republican Parties, which vary dramatically in quality. States like Florida and Virginia have strong Republican operations, while those in Iowa and Nevada haven't recovered from attempted takeovers by Ron Paul partisans, and the Ohio GOP still bears the scars of a protracted leadership fight earlier in the year.

The race in Ohio is by no means over.  We still need an overwhelming turnout on election night.  Conservative groups will still attempt to coerce Democratic-leaning districts into not voting.  But at least this news about Ohio is encouraging.