Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre

Another Mass Murder Incident, This Time At Michigan State, On Anniversary Of Parkland, Florida Massacre In 2018!

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Sadly, the night before the five year anniversary of the Parkland (Marjory Stoneman Douglas) High School, Florida Massacre, Michigan State University witnessed a gunman kill three and wound five others, and at this point, gun massacres are totally out of control!

There have been 67 Gun Massacres in just 44 days at this writing, and no solution, as Congress will not do anything to stop the carnage!

So our children in these two cases, plus the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre in Connecticut in 2012, and the Uvalde, Texas Elementary School Massacre in May 2022, and innumerable others just add to the tragedy with no end!

And this is not even considering gun massacres that take place in every other possible, conceivable venue across American society!

We have more firearms than people in this nation, and the danger is not just what we see, but the potential for widespread right wing terrorism, leading to civil war all over America, and creating a very dangerous situation on the world scene, as well as domestically!

Ten Years Since Tragic Sandy Hook Massacre, And Lack Of Action On Guns!

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It has been ten years since the horrific massacre of 20 children and 6 teachers and administrators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and there has been a total lack of action on gun regulation.

The National Rifle Association and most Republicans in Congress and the state governments have refused to take ownership of the need for gun regulation, and the banning of AK-47 and AR-15 firearms, as only needed for hunting and the military.

The horrors of what happens to victims of gun violence by use of such firearms has not made those involved in the firearms industry, and those who are financially supported by that industry, to have a conscience!

So we have had many more school and college tragedies, most notably the Parkland, Florida Massacre on Valentine’s Day 2018 at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Florida, sadly besmirching the name of the legendary environmental activist that the school is named after!

And of course, there have been unbelievable numbers of other massacres in places of worship, supermarkets, concerts, and many other public venues!

A special salute to Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy who has been a true hero in working to attempt major reforms, sadly to no avail!

How anyone who has turned away from their conscience in the reality of gun violence everywhere, making America the most violent society in the civilized world by far, is unfathomable, but the struggle must go on!

9th Anniversary Of Sandy Hook Massacre, And “Pro Life” Republicans Have No Concern!

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It has been nine years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre in Connecticut, whick killed 26 young children and teachers.

In February, it will be four years since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Massacre in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and teachers.

Most recently, we had the Oxford High School Massacre in Michigan that killed four and wounded seven others.

And the list goes on, and not only with educational institutions, but also with all public places imaginable over many years!

But “Pro Life” Republicans who are consistently anti abortion have no concern about the massive loss of life due to the reality that there are no guidelines or regulations on gun purchase and ownership!

The hypocrisy is massive, and there is a need for commitment to change!

The Michigan School Tragedy Demands Action Be Taken On Guns!

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The horrific Oxford High School Michigan school tragedy, another massascre, is a new turning point in the fight against the National Rifle Association and the Republican Party, which has no value on life itself, just making money and winning elections!

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre in 2012 and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Massacre of 2018, despite great efforts to bring about some regulation of gun sales and background checks, nothing has been done!

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connnecticut has been the champion of the movement to stop the mass deaths caused in America by lack of government action on all levels, and again, he is appealing for action!

Why should young people in schools at all levels have to be fearful of their lives being snuffed out by unstable young people and their unfit parents who often contribute to the issue as in the new case in Michigan?

And why should we have the highest gun death rate in the developed world, and have all of us fearful that a firearm will end our lives no matter where we are in public places?

And the parents of the student in Michigan must be held accountable for their reckless, uncaring behavior, which helped to lead to this horrendous development, which took the lives of four students and wounded seven other students and one teacher, and it makes one wonder about the responsibility of proper parenting!

Gun Massacres Keep On Raising Death Count, And Senate Does Nothing!

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America is in the midst of another Gun Massacre Crisis, and the death count is rising, and the US Senate does nothing!

The US Senate has become the burial grounds of any hope to protect Americans from gun violence, and it has twice happened in the last week, in Atlanta, Georgia and Boulder, Colorado.

But it has also happened in the Sandy Hook Massacre of 2012 in Connecticut; in the Parkland, Florida Massacre in 2018; in the Charleston Church Massacre in South Carolina in 2015; in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Synagogue Massacre in 2018; the Orlando, Florida gay nightclub shooting in 2016; and the list goes on and on and on!

Only America has this level of gun violence, and no ability to pass ANY legislation to regulate sales or prevent combat weapons from being sold, which is only designed to cause mass loss of life by crazed gunmen!

This is exasperating, and somehow, there has to be an epiphany, so that America is not the only nation that allows mass killing of their own citizens!

President Trump In Time Of Tragedy: A Horrific Leader, Unable To Express Deep Mourning And True Compassion

Ronald 55 Comments

Donald Trump is truly the most horrific leader possible in time of tragedy, unable to express deep mourning and true compassion and empathy.

Think of Ronald Reagan and the Challenger Astronaut Disaster in 1986.

Think of Bill Clinton and the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995.

Think of George W. Bush after September 11, 2001.

Think of Barack Obama after the Charleston Church Massacre in 2015, and the Sandy Hook School Massacre in 2012.

These and many other disasters are times when we look to leaders to act appropriately, and we see Presidents of both parties and all philosophies know how to act.

Not so with Donald Trump, who instead:

Throws paper towels in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and threatens to cut off funding for the island.

Shows up at an inappropriate time after the Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre, when funerals for the victims are being held.

Comes to Paradise, California, after the most disastrous fire in modern history, and refers to the town as “Pleasure”, of all names.

His body language and facial expressions show he does not give a damn, and he does not know how to console and hug and show a dose of empathy and compassion.

Rather, he is going through the motions, more staging an appearance so he can draw attention to himself than anything else.

Donald Trump proves again, and again, and again, and again, that he is a horrible human being, a disgrace to the American Presidency, who deserves none of our compassion as he faces the challenge of a Democratic House of Representatives ready with subpoenas and investigations galore, which will stress him out in massive ways.

It could not happen to a “better” person.

The Extreme Right, Fox News Channel, And Evangelicals Care Only About Fetuses, But Not Those Born: A Mockery To Say They Are Pro Life!

Ronald 4 Comments

In the wake of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the extreme Right conservatives, including on Talk Radio, Fox News Channel, and supposedly devout Evangelicals, rushed to the defense of the National Rifle Association, and had the gall to claim that the articulate students who are promoting national and state action are “out of line” and in many cases are “actors”!

This is the same argument used against parents at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, after 20 young children and six teachers were massacred in December 2012, that they were “actors”, and that those victims are imaginary.

Face the facts: the extreme Right including so called “religious people” care only about money and profits and not about life, with so many schools being victimized by mass shootings.

They claim to be “Pro Life”, while the only lives they are concerned about are fetuses not yet born, and once they are born, and often in families with poverty and mental health issues, then they are on their own, as government sets out to cut any support for such children.

They are massive hypocrites of the tallest order, and it is time to declare war on these people who have no concern, unless and until their own children were to be, unfortunately, victims.

There is no excuse for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and innumerable other Republicans and conservatives, to show lack of concern or commitment to change the laws in the midst of this constant crisis of violence on campuses.

And it is not just schools, but movie theaters, shopping malls, outdoor concerts, churches and all other public places that have seen mass bloodshed, more than any nation in the world, with the difference being that other nations–Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Japan–had experienced such bloodshed and passed strict laws after, and the violence has abated to very few such incidents of tragedy.

So the Right Wing must be combated with all the massive activism of students, parents, and all decent people across America, who value life over guns!

The Urgency Of Gun Control Legislation To Stop “War Zone” Syndrome, And Save Multitude Of Lives, While Preserving Reasonable Gun Rights

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The shock of the Las Vegas Massacre, following the Orlando Pulse Massacre, the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre, and so many others, demands the attention of Congress, as the urgency of gun control legislation presents itself.

We must stop the “War Zone” Syndrome that has led to more deaths by domestic terrorists than on September 11, if one counts all the death since 2001.

No one is saying that the Second Amendment should be destroyed, although it is clear that the Founding Fathers did not intend for all citizens to have firearms, as the amendment discusses a “well regulated militia”, and not the concept of everyone carrying firearms, even those who are mentally ill or have had criminal convictions.

But to demand a return of the Brady Bill, named after Ronald Reagan’s Press Secretary, James Brady, permanently disabled by the Assassination attempt against Reagan in 1981, but not renewed under George W. Bush in 2004, is not to ask too much.

To demand that background checks be done on gun purchasers; that loopholes that allow people to buy weapons online and at Walmarts and at gun shows without any search about their backgrounds be ended; that mentally disturbed people not be allowed to purchase weapons; and that the concept of allowing the expansion of gun silencers legislation, allowing gun owners to be able to fire at will without any sound being made for the potential victims to be aware of the sounds so they could duck or evade; or other reasonable measures, should be seen as sensible.

We have the highest gun violence rate of any Western civilized nation, comparing to Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and we must work to lower the death rate from suicide as well as violence against innocent civilians.

This should not be a partisan issue, as the Republicans, as well as the Democrats, need to see the issue of public safety as their major responsibility, and the National Rifle Association and its despicable leadership including Wayne La Pierre, who only are concerned with profits, must be defeated in their effect on our government policies.

All kinds of activities are licensed in our society, and guns need to be regulated in a responsible manner.

The Positive Contributions Of The Joe Biden Vice Presidency

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Joe Biden, the 47th Vice President of the United States, is leaving public life after 44 years in the federal government, 36 as a US Senator from Delaware, and 8 years as Vice President.

Joe Biden is a true national treasure, who if not for the death of his son, Beau Biden, in May 2015, might have run for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2016, and might very well have defeated Hillary Clinton, and then won the election in the crucial states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.

Although Biden will be 78 in 2020, he has the energy, the knowledge, the experience needed to defeat Donald Trump, and he just might return to the Senate in 2018, if Tom Carper follows through on his plans to retire.

So it is not yet time to say Biden’s career is over, although in elective office, it might be, but he will play a public role because it is in his blood to do so, and he will not stay silent when he sees wrongs being done by the Donald Trump Administration.

The alliance of Barack Obama and Joe Biden was the closest one in American history, possibly matched by Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale, who in two days will have both survived the amazing total of 36 years since the Presidency and 40 years since their election in 1976!

Obama utilized Biden’s connections on Capitol Hill; and gave Biden an office in the White House, as Carter had done for Mondale; and had weekly lunches with Biden as Carter did with Mondale.

Joe Biden was a true Presidential Advisor, full time participant, and trouble shooter, and was not afraid to disagree with Obama, particularly on foreign policy, his expertise, but was always a loyal part of the team once a decision had been made by the President.

Biden’s warm, sincere personality was lovable, and he was able to work across the aisle on Capitol Hill with Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Paul Ryan, and other influential Republicans, and the entire Senate honored him recently for his cordial and effective role in the Senate.

Biden took the lead on gay rights and gay marriage; protection of women against violence; immigration reform; environmental advancements; gun control legislation after the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre; and the War on Cancer after his son died of that horrendous disease. Foreign leaders also, totally, respected him.

Joe Biden could be regarded as the greatest Vice President in American history, and his lifelong contributions will mark him in history as a very special political leader!

Thank you for your service to the nation and to Barack Obama, Vice President Biden!

Unbelievable! 8,250 Americans Killed Since Sandy Hook Massacre, More Than Iraq And Afghanistan Wars Combined!

Ronald 7 Comments

It has been nine months since the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre, and 8,250 Americans have been killed by gun violence!

This is more than the 4,000 dead in the Iraq War and the 2,000 killed in the Afghanistan War combined over the past decade!

And what just happened in the DC Navy Yard on Monday is just another example of the tragedy, that nothing is being done to react to this massive loss of life!

What does this say about our society?

It says we are a very sick society, and have an unwillingness to do anything about the loss of human life on such a scale, about 900 a month on the average!

How can anyone be otherwise than ashamed and troubled, about this carnage?