HE SURE HAS MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF

The State Legislature is getting close to declaring sine die for the 83rd Session. There is one legislator who has made a name for himself in his brief time in Austin.

In May 2012, Jonathan Stickland scored an upset victory over Bedford, TX City Council Member Roger Fisher. Due to their being no Democratic opponent in the November 2012 Election for HD-92, Stickland scored a comfortable election night victory of 4-to-1 over the Libertarian candidate.

Since arriving in Austin in January, Rep. Stickland has made quite the reputation for himself (NY Times story).

First off, I have to commend him for his efforts to do right for our Veterans. I give credit where and when it is due. He is pushing legislation that would allow children attending Texas schools that have deployed parents returning home up to 10 excused absences.

However I cannot look past the things he has said in the past.

Rep. Stickland can attempt to pass himself off as a legislator that is looking out for the good of his constituents. His election was backed largely by the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party which is a cancer on Northeast Tarrant County politics. At a recent Mid Cities Democrats meeting, a member was in attendance in one of their meetings. Their discussion was about Agenda 21 and Eminent Domain.

Agenda 21...? Wasn't that the order Chancellor Palpatine gave to Clone Troopers to eliminate the Jedi in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith?

No.

Agenda 21 is a United Nations proposal that was put together in 1992 to ensure a more livable planet for future generations.

Wait...

Nineteen FREAKKIN' NINTY- TWO?!

You mean to tell me that these people are paranoid about some United Nations proposal passed in the 1990s?!

It has been twisted by far-right elements as somehow the United Nations is going to circumvent the sovereignty of the United States Constitution.

Do these people realize how much power United Nations resolutions and proposals have on the United States?

About as much power if the Mayor of Denton declared 29 October Michael Watts Day.

These people are nothing new. I remember hearing the stories about UN Black Helicoptersduring the Clinton Administration in the 1990s and my God.... talk about paranoia. These people make Dale Gribble look sane.

These are the types of people that Rep. Stickland has aligned himself with.

Oh there's more...

There's always more.

Rep. Stickland in his campaign literature stated that marriage is between one man, one woman, and God.

You know... I remember reading a Daily Kos story during the 2012 Elections about how Gay Republicans were continuing their naïve belief that their party will dump their anti-gay rhetoric. Well, just recently at a RNC meeting in Hollywood, CA there was an approved resolution reaffirming their anti-marriage equality stance. It was unanimous. So much for learning the lessons from 2012.

There is one line in the Daily Kos article that stood out:

"Every generation has its retrogrades."

A recent ABC News-Washington Postshows that 58% of adults support gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to get married.

That same poll asked persons 18 to 29. Support for gay marriage in that age bracket is 80% or 4 out of 5 people. That will eventually influence the other age brackets. I will no longer support gay marriage as a person 18-29... In 6 months, I will support gay marriage as a person 30-44.

I hate to say this, but... Rep. Stickland will become a retrograde for my generation when it comes to same-sex marriage.

In addition to his campaign literature, the Burnt Orange Report and D Magazinereported that Rep. Stickland hired Tony McDonald as his Chief of Staff. Mr. McDonald has a known history of homophobic and racist statements. Here is snippet of them from the Burnt Orange Report.

It didn't help that during a Tea Party Q&A session during the campaign in March 2012 he made this statement on why he would oppose Rep. Joe Strauss's candidacy for State Speaker of the House: "because as a Christian, I believe we must call evil evil."

Rep. Stickland later apologized and stated that he didn't know that Joe Straus was Jewish (you would think that would be something the Texas GOP would inform candidates about, but....). Opposition to Joe Straus's re-election as House Speaker especially among Republicans has been one of focus prior to the start of every new session. It is a contentious issue among the various factions of Texas Republicans and has even dangerously flirted with anti-Semitism. An observation from the Star-Telegram's politics blog cites that members of the Jewish Press were unsure whether to cry foul because of the complexities of the situation.

Rep. Stickland signed on to the letter asking the Boy Scouts to keep its ban on allowing gays to openly serve as participants. He said to me that he is pro-gay.

Really? He did.

In a Facebook conversation dated 25 August 2011, before he entered politics, then-private citizen Jonathan Stickland stated this:

I am pro-union rights, and I am pro-gay marriage.

In fact he said a LOT of things in that conversation... At the bottom of this post is the complete conversation taken from my Facebook page.

Here are some of the lines:

George you have missed the boat buddy. The government is not able to do it anyways. The country is broke. I know you don't give a flip about that fact and are ok with denying it until it kills us all but I know it is real.

The middle class is gone because of retarded liberals like yourself who punish people for being successful and succeeding. You have run all the good jobs to other countries because companies refuse to pay the 2nd highest corporate tax rates in the world. You continue to try and pick winners and losers in the free market ruining the chances of a entrepreneur ever getting going. You did it with your liberal policies.

Your savior Obama refuses to do anything about it. he is Bush's 3rd term as far as I am concerned. He has nothing to offer but keeps throwing shit in the way of the free market working through all of it on its own. Amazing she hasn't died already.

What pisses me off about morons like you is you refuse to own up to the truth. Fine have your beliefs, but don't bullshit me and tell me you give a flip about the constitution. Or free markets, or that your anything other than a socialist and a weak one at that. Obama sold you up the river yet you still beg to suck off the teet for more. It is horribly sad to see you care more about your damn political party than this country, otherwise Obama would at least have a challenger in the primaries.

But nope ain't gonna happen. You'd rather sick back collect your unemployment, go on a march or two on my families dime in San Fransisco and shout about how the white Christian man is ruining your life and the environment. And how bad Bush sucks and Bachmann is a hater. You care more about Obama winning and the GOP losing that fixing this country or holding Obama accountable for his lies and deceptions. You make me want to puke.

Wow... where do I begin?

I am a bit extra heated tonight... I just wrote a $2600 check to the state of Texas for my property taxes that will go to pay for a educational system that sucks and my family will never use. It is bullshit and its unfair.

Guess what? People pay their taxes just like I do and my family members and my friends who live in your district. Hate to inform him, but he is not a beautiful and unique snowflake.

It is not my responsibility to help other peoples children Stacey at the expense of my own. I didn't sign up for it. If I want to help them let me decide on my own which way I want to do it. It is immoral for someone to take my money and spend it on things I disagree with. That is not freedom and it is not Liberty.

I don't have kids. Though, my sister has a daughter. I want to ensure that she is well educated and has the opportunities that I didn't have as a student. I want her to learn math and science so that she might find something that excites her and leads her to well paying career in a competitive global environment. As a matter of fact, I want that for all the kids in this country. Having uneducated people is not a good strategy for the short term and it most certainly is not good for the long term.

I hope the Birdville ISD sends him a bill demanding that they are refunded for at least trying to educate him. I wish that my mother (who lived in the school district while my sister and I attended Birdville school's) could ask for a refund on such a defective product of this fine school system.

One more thing, he authored a letter and later wrote HB 649 supporting Hobby Lobby in their decision to deny employees contraception coverage.

As a man, I'm tired of this contraception debate. In fact, my mother, sister, and various aunts are tired of the contraception debate. They and various women I have talked with are tired that cis-gendered men, who are biologically incapable of becoming pregnant, are making decisions on women's health care choices. I thought we settled this in the 1960s. Apparently not. I had to inform him that 68% of Texan Women support some form of access to family planning and contraception.

Maybe he skipped those days in middle school and high school when we had those gender segregated assemblies explaining the key physical differences between boys and girls.

Why have I finally decided to share this information?

Rep. Stickland is an example of that the Tea Party led GOP is NOT in the best interest for Texas. Instead of serving the people who live in his district, he is at the call to an extreme agenda and only serves a small group of individuals with a limited world view. They say jump and he says how high. Rep. Stickland is anti-woman, anti-education, anti-LGBT, and an overall regressive individual set to hold Texas back.

I am part to blame for this happening. I have enabled this behavior by trusting that Republican Primary voters in HD-92 would have the sense to choose someone who previously served in government over a high school dropout. I regret not getting this information out to more people like I should have. Maybe this information will be good for when he runs in 2014.

Overall as voters we have enabled this behavior. I'd like to believe that Texans do not share Rep. Stickland's views, but sadly in the Republican Primary Election for HD-92 in 2012 the voters felt differently.

Dan Patrick (not the sportscaster), Debbie Riddle, Louie Gohmert, Joe Barton, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, and countless other Republicans who aligned themselves with an extreme agenda seem to think they speak for all of us. I would like to think that my fellow Texans do not share their extreme views.

There is one thing I have asked myself: Why do we let these people speak for us?

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro put it bluntly when he spoke at the University of North Texas back in February: "People DON'T vote."

We know things about people like Rep. Stickland, but we do not get active and most importantly... WE DO NOT VOTE. Rep. Stickland and his co-horts count on you on being apathetic because he and his party can't win on the issues because they are on the wrong side of the issues. Again, I bring up the contraception issue. Here is a person who will shout personally liberty from the mountain tops...

#StandWithRand
— Jonathan Stickland (@RepStickland) March 7, 2013

But he is willing to side with someone who is willing to limit women in making their own personal and private health decisions and has also stated his opposition to marriage equality. I thought it was "with Liberty and Justice for All" not, "well... Liberty for only THESE people."

And who could forget this gem from The Rachel Maddow Show back in May 2010 when Rand Paul won the Republican Primary for US Senate in Kentucky.

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The national Republican Party recognized they are having problems winning elections and that embracing an extreme agenda might provide short term and regional success but in the long term and the grander scope it is turning off key voting demographics.... particularly Women voters.

Surprisingly, they make up 50% of the electorate... who knew.

But in states like Texas there is an attitude of business as usual among Republicans. Though this session has been slightly better than the previous one, they are still pursuing a radical agenda that guts education and other services that people are reliant on, give more power to corporations, and embraces bizarre policies (such as allowing teachers to carry firearms in schools).

We can't count on the Republican Party to get their house in order because they are too afraid of what might happen if they go against the extreme Tea Party Agenda. We need to follow the examples of voters that participated in the 2012 US Senate races in Missouri and Indiana. They said no to Todd Akin and no to Richard Mourdock. Certainly we can say no to this agenda.

It begins in 2014 and most importantly it begins with you... if you are willing to get involved.

  Stickland Conversation 25 August 2011

COURAGE IN THE FACE OF TRAGEDY

WITH THE FIRST PICK IN THE 2013 NFL DRAFT....

DISASTER IN TEXAS AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

I cannot count how many times I have driven through West, TX on my way to Austin and other points southward. I use the small Texas town as a reference point in my travels. As I am heading south, I am getting close to Waco. Heading back north to the Metroplex, I know I am getting close to Hillsboro and the 35W-35E split.

People regularly stop in West to take advantage of the bakeries largely influenced by Czech peoples that settled in Central Texas in the 1880s and 1890s. The town is named after its first post master.

While West is known here in Texas for its food it sadly gained national notoriety in the chaos of last week.

A fertilizer plant located near a middle school and apartment complex exploded last week. Right now 14 persons are dead but it is expected to rise as the missing are accounted for and more than 160 are injured. Some media outlets claim that the explosion was felt as far north as Arlington, TX. Richter scales in Hockley, located 142 miles southeast of the explosion, registered it as a 2.1 earthquake.

On scene responders have compared this to the Oklahoma City domestic terrorist bombing which destroyed the Murrah Federal Building back in April 1995 by use of a truck bomb containing fertilizer. They are correct to make that comparison but the Oklahoma City bombing involved two tons of ammonium nitrate, a key component in making fertilizer. This plant had 270 tons of that material.

If this sounds too familiar to Texans, it should.

On 16 April 1947, a similar explosion involving fertilizer occurred in the port city of Texas City, TXthat killed 700 people, injured 5,000, and nearly wiped the city off the map. The explosion shattered windows in Houston and was felt as far east as Louisiana. One of the ship's anchors landed in a field and was later constructed as a memorial to this horrible event.

The outpouring of relief has been outstanding. The federal government is pledging it will do to help this small community recover. Baylor University in nearby Waco saw long lines for blood donations. The Texas Rangers baseball team held a goods drive during their recent homestand to send these products down to West.

The investigation has begun in asking why did this plant explode.

Again, the Texas City disaster was sparked by a carelessly flung cigarette into a ship carrying fertilizer to help Europe recover from the destruction caused by World War II. It is reported that the West fertilizer plant was last inspected.... even those reports are conflicting. Some reports have that the plant was last inspected by the state as recent as 2006. Other reports is saying that OSHA last inspected the plant in 1985. In 2012, the plant was fined $10,000 (later down to $5,250 after the plant said corrective actions were taken) for not having a sprinkler system in place.

Overall, the West plant had NO safety protections in place.

Among the destruction of property and loss of lives, this tragedy was avoidable.

Let's look at OSHA. Again... THE PLANT WAS LAST INSPECTED BY THIS ENTITY IN NINTEEN EIGHTY FIVE!! OSHA's budget suffered a $99 million cut in 2011. Who voted for that cut...?

One of them was West's representative in the US House, Bill Flores.

Bill Flores also voted against Hurricane Sandy relief.

You know who also voted against Sandy relief....? Senators Ted Cruz and Ted Cruz Jr. John Cornyn.

Here is why Senator Ted Cruz voted against Sandy relief:

Hurricane Sandy inflicted devastating damage on the East Coast, and Congress appropriately responded with hurricane relief. Unfortunately, cynical politicians in Washington could not resist loading up this relief bill with billions in new spending utterly unrelated to Sandy.

Emergency relief for the families who are suffering from this natural disaster should not be used as a Christmas tree for billions in unrelated spending, including projects such as Smithsonian repairs, upgrades to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration airplanes, and more funding for Head Start.

Two thirds of this spending is not remotely “emergency”; the Congressional Budget Office estimates that only 30% of the authorized funds would be spent in the next 20 months, and over a billion dollars will be spent as late as 2021.

This bill is symptomatic of a larger problem in Washington – an addiction to spending money we do not have. The United States Senate should not be in the business of exploiting victims of natural disasters to fund pork projects that further expand our debt.

Hey, genius.... Texas leads the nation in FEMA declared disasters since 1 January 2009. We've had all kinds of weather events in Texas in that time period. Here's some I can list off the top of my head that have happened in our state's history:

1. Hurricanes Alicia, Rita, and Ike striking the Houston Metro Area

2. Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (still talked about to this day)

3. Summers where temperatures are in the triple-digits and the resulting brush fires and droughts

4. Metroplex snowstorm during the week leading up to Super Bowl XLV

5. Tornadoes... I remember the one that cut through downtown Fort Worth in March 2000 that blew out the windows of a building.

Senator, maybe you need to bone up on your Texas History instead of summoning the spirit of Joseph McCarthy.

If you recall during the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary, Texas Governor Rick Perry flamed out.... bad. One of his campaign points was to greatly reduce the size of government by getting rid of three government agencies. Sadly, he could only count to two.

Since his failed presidency bid, Governor Perry has taken full credit for Texas's economic successes that he has taken ads in papers in blue states such as California, New York, and Illinois telling companies that in order to escape the perceived burdens of over regulation and taxation, you should move to Texas.

After what happened in West, I wouldn't blame a company having second thoughts about relocating to Texas. Not only that, but my home state is near and/or at the bottom of key education and health care statistics. Such an inviting environment for business growth (#sarcasm #snark).

And of course who could forget this speech he made to the Austin Tea Party back in April 2009 where he flirted with secession.

But the minute disaster strikes in Texas... he suddenly becomes President Obama's best friend.

Oh... that link was from 2 May 2011 when the Governor got his britches in a bunch over the President going to Alabama in response to the tornadoes that struck Tuscaloosa on 27 April 2011 that killed 300 people. Meanwhile, all but TWO of Texas 254 counties were burning due to unseasonably warm and dry weather that took place over the Spring and the loss of life was minimal.

The tornadoes in Tuscaloosa was sudden while the Texas wildfires were ongoing. Oh and what else happened in May 2011...? THIS.

You know what the Governor's response was to this problem...?

Pray for rain.

That seems to be his solution to everything recently instead of you know... GOVERNING.

OK, here's Governor Perry asking President Obama for help with the West disaster.

Now before I get letters and comments stating "how dare you politicize a tragedy," let me ask you this: if we don't learn from this, are we not dishonoring the dead and injured? To not learn from the mistakes is an equal tragedy.

This brings me to the next point of this post: the role of government.

I am thinking about the ones who have to bury their dead. I am not feeling too confident about their chances for compensation from the industries that flaunted in the face of both regulations and good old common sense. You know... an explosion involving fertilizer in Texas has happened once, maybe we should make sure that it doesn't happen again. Maybe we should make sure that cities don't build too close to a fertilizer plant. Perhaps we should find a way to hold companies accountable when their actions cause a mass casualty event like the one we saw last week.

The injured... Here are some stats about Texans when it comes to access to health care from the Texas Legislative Study Group titled "Texas on the Brink."

Percent of Population Uninsured: 1st

Percent of Non-Elderly Uninsured: 1st

Percent of Low Income Population Covered by Medicaid: 48th

Meanwhile, Governor Perry and his cohorts in the Texas Legislature have vehemently and repeatedly stated their opposition to set up a Texas health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act also known as "ObamaCare." One of the most sue happy State Attorney Generals, Greg Abbott, was involved in the efforts to overturn "ObamaCare" in 2012. Supreme Court ruled otherwise. The cost of this opposition is having nearly 6.2 million citizens, or 25%, without access to health care.

Shorter Greg Abbott: Sorry you don't have health care, but TEXAS SOVERIGNTY!!

Governor Perry and Texas Republicans can moan about the federal government, but in the end it is nothing but bluster and usual empty Texas bravado. The moment disaster strikes they are first in line asking for help instead of telling their constituents "tough luck." And if the help is not to their liking, they'll bitch about it. Just wait sometime after the cleanup and recovery... I'd say in March 2014 as Republicans are fighting off primary challenges from the far-right reaches of their party, you'll hear Texas Republicans bemoan about the burdensome federal government when that same federal government is there when disaster and uncertainty strikes.

Back in August 2011, I remember having a conversation with one of my many aunts. We talked about how the House GOP was blocking relief efforts from Hurricane Irene that hit near my old stomping grounds in Virginia. The only way that Virginia and places affected by the storm was going to get any relief was if there were budgets cuts.

One of the persons calling for these cuts was House GOP Leader Rep. Eric Cantor.... who represents Central Virginia.

My aunt made this observation: "Everyone becomes a big government liberal when disaster strikes."

Last week there was a lesson to be had in the destruction and chaos that took place in Boston and West. I watched the ceremony honoring those lost in the West disaster today and there was such praise for those who rushed into unknown danger. Our policies must reflect the praise we have our first responders to disasters.

I've regularly used this quote to describe why we should care for our Veterans, but I am extending it to those who go into unknown danger. It is the closing line from President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address on 4 March 1865.

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

A SENATE IN THE GUN LOBBY’S GRIP (by Gabrielle Giffords)

This op-ed appears in the opinion pages of the New York Times dated 18 April 2013.

Gabrielle Giffords was a former Democratic representative from Arizona from 2007 to 2012. On 8 January 2011during a meet and greet at a Tucson, AZ supermarket a gunman opened fired killing 6 and wounding 14 including the Congresswoman who took a gunshot to the head.

Among the dead was Chief Judge of the US District Court of Arizona John Roll; Gabriel Zimmerman who was the community outreach director for the Congresswoman; and Christina Taylor Green, a 9 year old girl who was brought to meet her Representative in the US House.

For his crime, the gunman was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years in prison without parole in November 2012.

The assassination attempt left the Congresswoman gravely wounded and having to relearn basic motor skills.

Along with her husband, former astronaut and retired Navy Captain Mark Kelly, she is the founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions which focuses on sensible gun control legislation while upholding the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

On Wednesday the United States Senate voted 54-46 to expand background checks to gun shows and Internet sales. The vote needed 60 to invoke cloture.

This was her response to the Senate's inaction.

SENATORS say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets. The fear that those children who survived the massacre must feel every time they remember their teachers stacking them into closets and bathrooms, whispering that they loved them, so that love would be the last thing the students heard if the gunman found them.

On Wednesday, a minority of senators gave into fear and blocked common-sense legislation that would have made it harder for criminals and people with dangerous mental illnesses to get hold of deadly firearms — a bill that could prevent future tragedies like those in Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., Blacksburg, Va., and too many communities to count.

Some of the senators who voted against the background-check amendments have met with grieving parents whose children were murdered at Sandy Hook, in Newtown. Some of the senators who voted no have also looked into my eyes as I talked about my experience being shot in the head at point-blank range in suburban Tucson two years ago, and expressed sympathy for the 18 other people shot besides me, 6 of whom died. These senators have heard from their constituents — who polls show overwhelmingly favored expanding background checks. And still these senators decided to do nothing. Shame on them.

I watch TV and read the papers like everyone else. We know what we’re going to hear: vague platitudes like “tough vote” and “complicated issue.” I was elected six times to represent southern Arizona, in the State Legislature and then in Congress. I know what a complicated issue is; I know what it feels like to take a tough vote. This was neither. These senators made their decision based on political fear and on cold calculations about the money of special interests like the National Rifle Association, which in the last election cycle spent around $25 million on contributions, lobbying and outside spending.

Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear: I’m furious. I will not rest until we have righted the wrong these senators have done, and until we have changed our laws so we can look parents in the face and say: We are trying to keep your children safe. We cannot allow the status quo — desperately protected by the gun lobby so that they can make more money by spreading fear and misinformation — to go on.

I am asking every reasonable American to help me tell the truth about the cowardice these senators demonstrated. I am asking for mothers to stop these lawmakers at the grocery store and tell them: You’ve lost my vote. I am asking activists to unsubscribe from these senators’ e-mail lists and to stop giving them money. I’m asking citizens to go to their offices and say: You’ve disappointed me, and there will be consequences.

People have told me that I’m courageous, but I have seen greater courage. Gabe Zimmerman, my friend and staff member in whose honor we dedicated a room in the United States Capitol this week, saw me shot in the head and saw the shooter turn his gunfire on others. Gabe ran toward me as I lay bleeding. Toward gunfire. And then the gunman shot him, and then Gabe died. His body lay on the pavement in front of the Safeway for hours.

I have thought a lot about why Gabe ran toward me when he could have run away. Service was part of his life, but it was also his job. The senators who voted against background checks for online and gun-show sales, and those who voted against checks to screen out would-be gun buyers with mental illness, failed to do their job.

They looked at these most benign and practical of solutions, offered by moderates from each party, and then they looked over their shoulder at the powerful, shadowy gun lobby — and brought shame on themselves and our government itself by choosing to do nothing.

They will try to hide their decision behind grand talk, behind willfully false accounts of what the bill might have done — trust me, I know how politicians talk when they want to distract you — but their decision was based on a misplaced sense of self-interest. I say misplaced, because to preserve their dignity and their legacy, they should have heeded the voices of their constituents. They should have honored the legacy of the thousands of victims of gun violence and their families, who have begged for action, not because it would bring their loved ones back, but so that others might be spared their agony.

This defeat is only the latest chapter of what I’ve always known would be a long, hard haul. Our democracy’s history is littered with names we neither remember nor celebrate — people who stood in the way of progress while protecting the powerful. On Wednesday, a number of senators voted to join that list.

Mark my words: if we cannot make our communities safer with the Congress we have now, we will use every means available to make sure we have a different Congress, one that puts communities’ interests ahead of the gun lobby’s. To do nothing while others are in danger is not the American way.

HE'S MAD

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THEY DESERVE A VOTE

On 14 December 2012, Adam Lanza murdered his mother. His killing spree did not end there. Lanza confiscated his mother's heavy weaponry and drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT. Parents had just dropped off their children for what was supposed to be a normal Friday. After 9:30 AM ET, Lanza shot his way into the school using a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle. In five minutes, Lanza discharged 154 shots in 5 minutes from the Bushmaster. In that five minutes, 20 elementary school students and 6 teachers were killed.

This is part of a long sad history of America's relationship with firearms.

Columbine High School, DC Beltway Sniper, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Tucson, Aurora, Oak Creek, and Sandy Hook are examples of mass shootings that have taken place in the United States.

The American people have had a enough.

We are tired of burying our children. We are tired of the excuses that nothing can be done about this. We are tired that a small vocally loud minority of people are dictating the debate when the numbers are on our side.

Over 90% of Americans support universal background checks. 86% of gun owners support universal background checkswhen purchasing a firearm. Gun owners also support background checks for ammunition purchasing and extended magazines.

The reason why the shooter in the attempt on former Congresswoman Gifford's life was stopped: It wasn't a good guy with a gun as NRA's Wayne LaPierre stated in his speech on 21 December 2012. It was that the shooter had to reload his 30 magazine clip and there was a struggle to stop him from reloading. He had 30 BULLETS in his weapon!

In the Sandy Hook shooting, the shooter released 154 bullets in 5 MINUTES!

The NRA, the Alex Jones's, and other gun fetishists can hoot and holler that all these proposals are an assault on the Second Amendment. Let them. They think that stockpiling firearms and bullets is somehow a deterrent to another American Revolution and that they can they can take on the American military.

First...

“There are these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.”

- President Barack Obama, Third Presidential Debate, 22 October 2012

You want to take on the US military...? "Bye-bye! Have fun stormin' the castle!"

And second comes from "The Daily Show." One of the first episodes after their Christmas hiatus addressed the NRA and various pro-gun responses to the Sandy Hook shooting. Among them was conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's interview with CNN's Piers Morgan where he famously ranted that "1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms!" One of the pro-gun viewpoints and among members of the Texas Legislature to prevent mass shootings is to start arming teachers.

What a great idea... Let's give people who are underpaid and overworked firearms. (#sarcasm #snark)

Jon Stewart tears apart the notion that any proposed gun control legislation will lead to the downfall of America with this quote:

“No one is taking away all the guns. But now I get it. Now I see what is happening. So this is what it is, their paranoid fear of a possible dystopic future prevents us from addressing our actual dystopic present. We can’t even begin to address 30,000 gun deaths that are actually in reality happening in this country every year because a few of us must remain vigilant against the rise of imaginary Hitler.”

- Jon Stewart, 8 January 2013

Already a handful of states (Colorado, New York, and Connecticut) have passed tougher firearms legislation since the events in Newtown, CT. Now it looks like it is heading towards the US Senate. Last Thursday the Senate voted 68-31 to allow debateon major gun legislation reforms. The vote had 16 REPUBLICANS vote in favor of allowing debate over the 13 Republicans that threatened to filibuster a vote on allowing debate. It was a cause for celebration because of how dysfunctional the United States Senate has become. This is going to be a long, drawn out process.

For their efforts in getting something done, the families affected by the tragedy have sacrificed their personal comfort. It would be understandable if they retreated to a private life because their grief was so great. These families must be admired for the personal courage to step up and tell our country that we have had enough of a family going through such a horrific tragedy.

I've heard the detractors. They are ridiculous. "Why should we make laws if only criminals will break them?" These people, in other words: "(expletive) making laws."

If that is your attitude, maybe you need to rethink your job. Maybe you should rethink serving in government.

For example, drunk driving fatalities. We had a problem with that in this country. What did we do? We increased the penalties for drunk driving and lowered the threshold for driving while drunk from a blood alcohol content of 0.10 to 0.08. I still remember the drunk driving lecture I got in high school (very, very graphic film..). During my time in the Navy, I had to sit through drunk driving lectures. Some programs we implemented was a safe ride program and have a designated driver when you go out (and believe me, that was true this one time...). If you had too much to drink, you could call someone to get you someplace safe. Yes we still had people go to Captain's Mast, but doing nothing about this issue was not the answer.

We should at least try to solve the problem of gun violence our country faces.

They deserve a vote.

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING

Two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday. As of this time three people are killed along with 176 injured. Tonight 71 remain hospitalized with 24 in critical condition.

One of the dead was an eight year old boy who was in attendance with his family watching his father run the race. His mother suffered a serious head injury and his six year old sister lost a leg.

Boston hospitals are reporting they had to perform several amputations on the wounded. The injuries sustained are due to the bomb containing pellets and nails as projectiles. Some of the injured had between 10 to 40 of these objects in their bodies. Combat Veterans that were in attendance at the marathon have compared this event to an Improvised Explosion Device (IED) that they have experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Boston Marathon is an annual event that captures the city as part of the Patriot's Day celebration in the state of Massachusetts that celebrated the start of the American Revolution in April 1775. The Red Sox play a rare 11AM game in order to accommodate this event. The marathon has several participants from all over the world.

The finish line, a scene of triumph and accomplishment, is now a scene of death and tragedy. It is currently an active murder scene. It might be a certain period of time before we know who perpetrated this awful event.

These are the details that are known right now.

Two observations about this event.

First, condemnation.

I condemn the person(s) who perpetrated these attacks. I have full faith in our investigative and law enforcement processes that they will bring the perpetrators to justice. A former FBI agent suggested that those involved in the attack will not receive a Miranda warning.

No, you give them Miranda. It is events like these when our ideals are tested and we answer to our better judgment.

I condemn the people who do not have their facts straight in reporting the story. I understand that in the media environment we live in you have to be the first to report the story. Especially CNN for raising that President Obama did not call it a "terrorist attack" in his statement to the White House Press Corps. Seriously...?! And the news media wonders why the general public dislikes them.

There is one thing that is lost in trying to always being first: being right. The media needs to do a better job in getting the story right so that misinformation does not infiltrate the process and cause further harm.

I condemn the fear peddlers. Alex Jones and his minions from the rocks where they crawled from with their nonsense. One infiltrated one of the hospital press conferences. Fox News regular Erik Rush for this tweet (it has been deleted, but the screen shot exists). Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for using this event to derail attempts for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for saying on the Senate floor yesterday: "I think it’s safe to say that for many, the complacency that prevailed prior to September 11th has actually returned." What do you mean by "many" Senator? If you mean this President, he's crippled Al Qaeda's capabilities. Do you mean the American people? Should we live in constant paranoia like you do?

And of course, the Tea Party with the usual blame Obama for everything.

These people do not provide anything constructive and should be instantly marginalized as the cranks and cooks that they are.

Now, praise.

High praise to our first responders. Yesterday was the deadline for filing a federal income tax. It is our tax dollars that pays their salaries. Allow me to step on my soapbox for a second: We praise them for their courage and heroism in the response of chaotic events like the one witnessed on Monday. Let's hope that the policies we implement reflect this praise.

Finally, I close with this observation.

I remember the feeling of uncertainty after the 9/11 Attacks. Airline travel across the country halted. Major League Baseball, in the middle of the pennant races, ceased for a week. National Football League games for the upcoming Sunday were postponed. Eventually, life went on but it wasn't the same. There were new security procedures in place that took time to get adjusted to.

The first flight I took post-9/11 was in August 2002 going to Navy boot camp at Great Lakes, IL. It was a shock because I had flown as a kid and going through security was take a walk through the metal detector. As we know today, it is this complex procedure where you have to show identification and you take your shoes off and there is an expanded list of items you can't take on the plane.

In November 2001, New York held its annual New York City Marathon. There were concerns about security along the route, but the marathon went on as planned. It was a symbol of resiliency and endurance. Remember, New York had hosted 3 games in the 2001 World Series; along with President George W. Bush throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in Game 3.

Amby Burfoot, 1968 winner of the Boston Marathon, authored this piece for Runner's World and the Running Times.

This quote stood out:

This wasn’t just an attack against the Boston Marathon... It was an attack against the American public and our democratic use of the streets. We have used our public roadways for annual parades, protest marches, presidential inaugurations, marathons, and all manner of other events. The roads belong to us, and their use represents an important part of our free and democratic tradition.

I trust and believe that will not change in the future--not in Boston, not at the Boston Marathon, and not at other important public events. Yes, we must be ever-vigilant. We cannot cover our eyes and ears, and pretend violent acts don’t threaten our great institutions.

But our institutions did not become great by following a path of timidity and cowardice. And we can only hope that, when pummeled, as the Boston Marathon was today, they will rise again, stronger than ever.