By Chad Love

Is the National Rifle Association's power on the wane? Please don't beat the messenger, but that seems to be the thrust of a recent blog post from the Economist that argues the NRA's influence on national elections is mostly an illusion and that it's also on the wrong side of changing demographic shifts that in the future will further erode its influence.

"...Paul Waldman, of the American Prospect, has recently argued that the NRA's dominance is a myth. He has looked closely at the figures and writes, “Despite what the NRA has long claimed, it neither delivered Congress to the Republican party in 1994 nor delivered the White House to George W. Bush in 2000.” He also argues that NRA money has no impact on congressional elections, as it spreads its money over so many races, and that NRA endorsements are “almost meaningless” as most go to incumbent Republicans with little chance of losing.

By Chad Love

Here's one from the "Would You Like That Frappuccino Leaded Or Unleaded?" files. Customers at a Cheyenne, Wyoming Starbucks got a surprise recently when a young girl's purse gun went off--in her purse.

From this story in USA Today:

Police in Wyoming say nobody was hurt when a small gun that was inside a girl's purse fired while she was in a Cheyenne Starbucks. The bullet went through a chair and into a wall and narrowly missed several customers. Police say the mishap occurred while officers were at the coffee shop around 7:00 a.m. on Monday. They found a gunshot hole in the purse and a small, Derringer-type, double-barrel .38 Special inside.

By David Maccar

Doctors and gun control groups are already saying they will challenge a Florida law signed Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott that makes it illegal for doctors to ask patients about gun ownership. Doctors say it’s the same as talking with patients about safe storage of poisons in the home or about using car seats.

From this story on ABCNews.com:
"Gov. Rick Scott should realize the risks to public health and safety that he would be sanctioning by giving into the gun lobby's agenda," the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence said in a joint statement with the Florida chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians and American College of Physicians. When it was first proposed in January, the gun gag bill sparked outrage among pediatricians, who said asking parents about guns in the home was not only their right but their responsibility.

By Chad Love

A New York restaurant owner, adopted as an infant, recently discovered his biological father is, coincidentally, a famous epicurean…Mr. "Kill it and Grill It" himself...

From this story in the New York Daily News: 

A Brooklyn restaurateur, adopted as a baby, was shocked to learn his biological father is none other than "Motor City Madman" Ted Nugent. Bay Ridge native Ted Mann, 42, got the news about "The Nuge" in an October phone call from a sister he never knew he had. She had reached out to the adoption agency that placed him. "I'm like, 'What!?'" laughed Mann, whose newest eatery is Cubana Social in Williamsburg. "It took me a little while to kind of breathe normal again - and not just sit in my house staring at YouTube videos of him running around like a crazy person."