>>IOW, you're blind to the facts and when presented to you (whether it is the pure statistics (Australian case), Amnasty International, Canadian comparison, or the gun ban lobby), you'll ignore it, just because you think "THAT CAN'T BE TRUE, it must be gun ban propoganda.
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>You wouldn't believe what a well orchestrated propaganda can do. I've seen people turn their opinion by 180^o in a day (example at hand - when Milosevic told Karadzic to accept the Z-4 plan, and then changed his mind and condemned him for accepting it; the public opinion agreed with the boss immediately both times). And what would you expect with a consistent mantra being repeated for a couple of centuries?
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>>though the american society does not support any political initiative to do something about that, because that would instantly kill the 'american dream'.
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>Another repeating mantra, to the point where one comes to believe it's not worth thinking differently, because of the vast inertia of the masses in that regard.
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>>IMO, there are a few steps to do:
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>>- Get rid of corruption in political parties
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>Ban lobbying, or tax it 90%.
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>>- Eliminate the influence of small powerfull groups (e.g. religious right, weapon industry).
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>And a few other industries. Basically, make it impossible to buy a law.
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>>- Increase taxation and make sure that the netto income of poor don't decrease.
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>Agree. And make sure the existing tax money doesn't get squandered.
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>>- Use the money from the tax to repair infrastructure like health care
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>Can't fix what doesn't exist. There is no health system here, there are individual programs, which may or may not be available at your nearest health store. You need to shop around and make sure all the middlemen make their fees.
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>>- Gun control.
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>Speaking of which... if guns are banned, isn't then anyone carrying one immediately breaking the law? Then, "only criminals would have guns" becomes "anyone with a gun is a criminal", which would give the law enforcement a simple way to arrest them without too many legal hurdles. I just don't see our friend John mentioning this anywhere. Must be something with American legal system that would make this line of thinking useless.

Yep, in holland it is, unless you're wearing a military or police uniform.

Walter,