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The two teachers who protected their students did not need time to think. They instinctively put their bodies in front of the children to protect them. They gave their lives to protect them.

How could the police just stand and wait when they knew that those children were calling 911 and begging for help?

It seems to me that those police, from the top on down, should resign their positions immediately.

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Robert, I found your math very clever and wonderfully devastating for "Senator" Cornyn. Of course I could argue that split-second decisions mean the second is split at least in two so that would be 175,560 split-second decisions. I live in Texas so I'm putting "Senator" in quotes since he is not representing me or the majority of Texans. The two horrors that stand out in this for me are 1) those beautiful children so mutilated and torn by bullets that their parents could not identify them requiring DNA to identify them. Do people understand the true barbarity of that!? 2) those cowards staying put while listening to gunshots coming from the classrooms with each shot meaning a child was dying or dead. How many did they let die that could have been saved if 1 split-second right decision had been made. It certainly shatters the argument for more "good guys" with guns. This should mean court martial for each and every one of them and impeachment of both Texas "Senators" for not upholding their oath to the Constitution and putting all their constituents in mortal danger. In a democracy rights come with the responsibility to protect the rights of others and most assuredly the right to life. Rights which one applies only to himself is called anarchy. There is no way for them to distract us this time. Change is now inevitable and close at hand. There are no "good" Republicans anymore. Step 1: President Biden declares a national emergency and raises the age to buy guns to 21. 2. We, the People, oust every Republican in November 2022 and vote in a super majority of over 67 Senate seats to non-Republican candidates. 3. In January 2023 a new law codifying gun safety and accountability is passed and bans assault guns. 4. The illegitimate Justices on the rogue Supreme Court are impeached in February 2023. 5. President Biden nominates the replacement Justices in March 2023. 6. in April the rights including women's rights taken away in June 2022 are restored in April 2023. And we all live happily ever after not in a fairy tale but with the United People of America. To the veterans of our military services, thank you for your service and sacrifice.

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May 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

"All healthy societies are ready to sacrifice the existential moment for their children's future and for children after those. The sense of the future is behind all good policies. Unless we have it, we can give nothing either wise or decent to the world."

--C.P. Snow

I believe Snow says everything we need to guide us to make smart decisions about guns, climate, public health, education, democracy, human rights, and virtually every other issue we face.

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All the complex issues taking our time, energy, resources and focus from democracy, voting rights, gun safety and climate change, to human rights, abortion, racism, health care and on and on, can be solved quite simply. The United States is a Democratic Republic where we elect representatives to speak for us, unfortunately there seems to be only one party listening to “we the people”. The second party seems more interested in listening to “we the monied”. Corporate or private dollars speak louder than ethics and morality.

The lowest trump card beats an ace all the time, and the vote trumps the money all the time. There are more Democrats the party of ideas, than Republicans the party of status quo. Nothing changes with minority rule.

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE THE BASTARDS OUT!!

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May 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I am once again grateful for your eloquent and powerful response to the Republican refusal to work with Democrats to solve another of this country’s problems; in this case assault weapons. In addition you gave us the contrasting images of two teachers’ instinct to protect their students versus the 19 police waiting on the safe side of the locked door. Waiting for what? Who ordered them to wait? Your split second decision math is graphic and effective and real. Thank you for that!

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May 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

In the aftermath of the Columbine shooting (1999), I suppose I understood, at least theoretically, that sometimes it takes a generation for an event to awaken our awareness. But if now, so many years after that event, we still are behaving as though it did not occur (e.g., Littleton,1999; RedLake,2005; Blacksburg,2007; Newtown,2012; Roseburg,2015; SantaFe,2018; Parkland,2018; Uvalde,2022), then, as men and women who are concerned with one another’s lives, can we afford, lest we become accomplices, to remain silent each time leadership asserts (in a country with more guns than people) that this is not who we are? I don’t expect an answer. I simply ask, this Memorial Day, that we sit with the question.

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IT is always amazing to me that when one of these horrific mass [or even individual ] shootings that the republicans right away say we should pray for the families, but any discussion about taking some kind of action like enacting some gun law protections is politicizing the situation and this is not the right time. Well if politicizing means taking some action[s] to save lives, than I'm all for it. We're virtually the only country where every time we turn around there are more deaths and we won't take any steps to try and make changes. As plenty have said , we require licenses to drive and drink, et. but won't do anything about guns. I don't care if people want to have guns for things like hunting, but automatic weapons are only for one purpose - killing! These "gung ho" gun folks think they are macho, but they really look and act like little kids still trying to play cops and robbers. They are mainly a bunch of cowards who have yet to grow up and don't care about others.

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May 30, 2022·edited May 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Thank you Robert. Yesterday, DOJ Public Affairs published a "Justice Department Statement

on the Mass Shooting at Robb Elementary School '.DOJ will review the chaos. "The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions & responses that day ... to help first responders prepare for and respond to Active Shooter events." Presumably that review will include the capable actions of 9-1-1 Operator's ability to patch in to the police the six (6) calls from children within Room #111. A review should include a Log of interagency digital communications leading to the monent the Feds ( U.S. Border Control) "overrode" the Local ICD Onsite Commander & charged the Shooter ending the tranedy at 87,781 seconds into the debacle. Never again.

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Listen up Senator Cornyn and the rest of you lying Republican "gangsters set out to rob the world," as Woody Guthrie described the fascists of his era: "All you fascists bound to lose." Guthrie's guitar was his "Fascist killing machine," the instrument of justice he used effectively to challenge the fascist threat. Well, here we are again, only this time the evil is arising right here in the U.S.A. within the Republican Party, and all freedom-loving Americans must now stand together in solidarity and resist, condemn, and actively defy, via civic and political means, the anti-democratic forces mobilized to destroy the Constitution. Let this Memorial Day be the day we all make the split-second decision to confront the cowardly bastards who allowed innocent children and teachers to die while they stood by and watched it happen, and then lied and made excuses about it in the aftermath. Protecting the nation against people like this isn't something to think about, it's a split-second decision to act now, in the present moment without any concern about the outcome. As Chris Hedges said: "I don't fight fascists because I think I can win. I fight fascists because they're fascists." Woddy Guthrie's weapon was his guitar; our instrument of resistance, if we all choose to use it, is our constitutional right to vote. As Abraham Lincoln said, "The ballot is more powerful than the bullet."

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I haven’t read all the comments so this may have been addressed but I keep thinking that the delayed response by the police may have been consciously or unconsciously related to racism. It was reported that the area and the school were heavily Latino. Given the tenor of our time and racially motivated violence it is not unreasonable to think that Latino children are not as “valuable” as white children. I have not read any analysis of this horrible incident that mentions this possibility. Thoughts?

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May 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I wonder, if approaching the midterms, Democrats should consider leaning into this issue almost exclusively as the single most compelling way to distinguish most of our candidates from most of the GOP's. Messaging is often a weak link for Dems as many of the issues that animate us don't lend themselves to simplistic, MAGA-style phrasing. But common sense gun control might be the most efficient way to to 1) appeal to the reasonable wishes of the vast majority of Americans who are justifiably horrified by these massacres, 2) clearly distinguish Democratic candidates from their Republican opponents and avoid getting bogged down in unwinnable debates about vulnerabilities like inflation, high gas prices, etc. that, though global in nature, will still be blamed on Dems by the GOP and 3) own a crystal-clear and easily-understood issue. The electorate tends to support the President in times of war. The casualty statistics that comprise gun violence in America are tantamount to that of a war, albeit undeclared. Perhaps we should declare it as such as a winning strategy. And as Rob (and so many others) have correctly said, I make no apology for politicizing this inherently -- and tragically -- political issue.

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May 30, 2022·edited May 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

"Avoid politicizing?" Seriously? To express my feelings, let me quote from Charles Blow's opinion piece in today's NY Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/29/opinion/gun-safety-republicans.html)

"I understand that Republicans are the opposition, that they have come to accept staggering levels of death as the price they must pay to advance their political agenda on everything from Covid to guns.

But I am on the same page as they are on one point. They see the passage of gun safety laws as a slippery slope that could lead to more sweeping laws and even, one day, national gun registries, insurance requirements and bans. I see the same and I actively hope for it.

When I hear Democratic politicians contorting their statements so it sounds like they’re promoting gun ownership while also promoting gun safety, I’m not only mystified, I’m miffed.

Why can’t everyone just be upfront? We have too many guns. We need to begin to get some of them out of circulation. That may include gun buybacks, but it must include no longer selling weapons of war to civilians." . . .

"Gun culture is a canard and a corruption.

It makes people fearful and convinces them that guns provide security. More guns equate to even more security. But in fact, the escalation of gun ownership makes society less safe."

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May 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I agree with reader Larry Lewin 100%! I am going to work like crazy to elect in or out of office encumbents & candidates who support the gun laws Americans have supported & asked for. Ban assault weapons. Ban high capacity magazines. Background checks. Raise the age to buy a gun. Red Flag laws. This along with our voting rights, reproductive rights, climate solutions. From these all other public policies for the good of the nation will come. Access to healthcare, affordable housing, etc. It is time to stop praying & as Robert implores with every issue, activate. We don’t have to take on the nation, each of us can work within our precinct, our county our 2 US Senators. Keep it simple & focused. We can do this.🔥🇺🇸💪💙

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I think we need to be clear that “politicizing the tragedy” is nothing to be ashamed of and not, in any case, something that only Democrats do. When Republicans observe something they don’t like, they are quick to impose - and act on - their supposed solutions. What was Trump’s reaction to the “tragedy” of “caravans” of unwanted immigrants coming to our borders an attempt to politicize the tragedies that motivate these people to make the journey?

So when the accusation of politicization rears its ugly head, we should just say, yes, that’s what politics is for, and you also do it all the time. We cannot let them define the boundaries of the permissible.

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Cowardice. Raw cowardice is what we saw from those gun-toting so-called servants of the people. They should be given jail time at the very least.

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I went to pick up a grocery order (delivered to my car in the parking lot), and felt myself scanning the people moving about. I realized my subconscious was remembering the Buffalo shooter, and how he started killing people in the parking lot first.

My husband and I are going to attend a climate rally (which will be attended by mostly “blue” voters) outside of our state capitol building, which is located in a more Republican, pro-gun area of our state. I privately wonder if we shouldn’t go, because this sort of crowd may be a tantalizing target for someone like the now-famous confederate flag waving insurrectionist who hailed from that same area.

My point is: by giving gun owners all of the freedoms they think they are constitutionally due by the second amendment, it seems that the rest of us are giving up our freedoms overall.

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