So will someone please explain to me, because I'm not that bright,

[Octafish]

9. My bad, Doc.

This is part of the message that got missed by ABCNNBCBSFauxNoiseNutworks for the past 12 years:

The NRA Brags That They'll Work Out Of President GW Bush's Oval Office

by John Mintz
Washington Post, Thursday, May 4, 2000

The National Rifle Association's second-ranking officer boasted at a closed meeting of NRA members earlier this year that if Republican nominee George W. Bush wins in November, "we'll have . . . a president where we work out of their office."

First Vice President Kayne Robinson, who is in line to succeed NRA President Charlton Heston, added that the NRA enjoys "unbelievably friendly relations" with the Texas governor. Robinson, who is also chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, made the comments Feb. 17 before 300 members in Los Angeles. He also described 2000 as "a critical election" in which Bush's success would ensure "a Supreme Court that will back us to the hilt."

SNIP...

Gun control groups say Bush has rarely strayed from NRA orthodoxy and for years has aggressively promoted its political platform. The NRA said it is proud of its ties to Bush.

SNIP...

At the Los Angeles meeting, [font color="red"]LaPierre expressed confidence that the GOP-led Congress will do what the NRA wants[/font color]--even though the group briefly stumbled last year. In the aftermath of last year's Columbine High School massacre, in which 12 students and a teacher were shot dead, the Senate humbled the NRA by voting to close a loophole under which firearms purchases at gun shows are exempt from background checks. Gore cast the crucial 51st vote, and gun control forces were exultant.

CONTINUED...

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/050400-01.htm

Sorry about that. It's a natural reaction, on my part.