Well said. As usual. Your anguish and outrage are eloquent. And shared.
I was thinking today about a past letter you wrote (pre this horrific event) about how the Democrats must be smarter about messaging. It’s always been obvious that the right wing has had us beat in PR though I hope that is changing -I note that pro-choice people are now finally referring to those who would ban abortion as ‘anti-choice’ instead of enabling them with the oxymoronic ’pro-choice’ label. That took years!
Which brings me to my point: The right has perpetuated a myth that only conservatives are ‘patriotic’ and love our country and our flag. And we let them do it. We need to change that message. I wish, hope, that this upcoming March For Our Lives and future marches/demonstrations, would show a sea of our flags. I want cars to have American flag decals next to their progressive bumper stickers. I want to not see a car or a group of people with the American flag and assume they’re MAGA people. To change hearts and minds, we need to take back our flag.
Ok rant over. May you enjoy your holiday weekend. A break is needed 🤷🏻♀️
Ellen, 2 years ago, after the murder of George Floyd, I told my husband that we had to put up the flag every day along with the banner of Science Is Real Black Lives Matter BLM Love Rainbow. I was so tired of the flag being hijacked by Rush Limbaugh, etc. I could always tell when a conservative talk show host instructed their minions to "fly the flag" because the flag would pop up on the same conservative owned houses. We have flown every day since. This has been going on since Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, etc. said that anyone who did not agree with invading Iraq were not patriots. We need to redefine what it means to love this country. It should mean that we work for the betterment of the country and it's people, not for individual wealth.
"We need to redefine what it means to love this Country", Yes, and, the word 'Patriot'. I am 77 and never called anyone a Patriot until today. I have seen & heard many loving Patriots
Before the 2016 election, I bought a dozen American flag lapel pins and handed them out to my politically active friends. Today, I wear an American flag pin on most jackets I own - I bought my most recent pin - a heart shaped American flag on a visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential library. I pair it with my Elizabeth Warren pin - Nevertheless, She Persisted and a Crush the Patriarchy pin of my daughters. I challenge Robert’s readers to go on Amazon and buy the blingiest American flag item you can - mine is a rhinestone ball cap and wear it proudly. I am as patriotic as ever.
The flag is in my front yard every day. I refuse to allow anyone to take my flag away from me. Ukraine's flag is right next to it as well and my Black Lives Matter flag that states all are welcome in my home.
Ellen, I was offered a free little flag today at an Ace Hardware store, and I refused... The clerk seemed taken aback. Only as I walked out of the door did it hit me: the flag has indeed become a symbol of hate. Yes, and we must change that!
Thank you Kathy. I made a brief passing comment to a woman yesterday that was obviously reclamimg the flag symbol; she turned and said. "We are in a fight for the soul of this Country".
That is so true. Yesterday I spoke w/a woman who said, "it's not like the old days where you could debate policy. Now it's a contest between reality and lies."
I have vowed to never vote for a Republican for any elected office, local, state or federal. I've made this vow now for two reasons: 1) Women's Rights that are being taken away 2) Guns that aren't being taken away. The No Choice, Pro Death party has got to be aborted and put out of its misery. My Texas state representative who wrote the "constitutional carry" permitless gun bill will not get my vote. Governor Abbott has made a ass of himself promising to eliminate rape in Texas in response to flack about the Heartless Anti-abortion law and again now with Brainless solutions to controlling guns with more guns. 1. Remove the ban on holding gun manufacturer's liable 2. Require liability insurance for all gun owners 3. Ban military weapons 4. Ban high capacity magazines 5. Raise the age to buy a gun to 21 with background checks 6. Require ID/fingerprint locks on guns so they can only be fired by the owner 7. Require gun permits with written tests on gun laws and safety and tests to show competency in handling the gun. 8. Provide free inflatable penises to give insecure men the feeling of being a big man. 9. Make the penalty for rape a penectomy. 10. Show all the Republicans to the exit door VOTE them OUT!
“8. Provide free inflatable penises to give insecure men the feeling of being a big man.”
😂
Thanks, Cathy, Great list !
I would add ban silencers:
House Bill 957 (Oliverson/Springer) repeals the criminal offense of possessing, manufacturing, transporting, or repairing a firearm silencer. It also ensures that any firearm suppressor manufactured in Texas, and that remains in Texas, will not be subject to federal law or federal regulation.
I like all you’ve written…but I’d add…if women are no longer able to make decisions about their bodies…any man who impregnates a woman with an unwanted pregnancy , MUST get a vasectomy…They either wear condoms or accept the consequences of their behavior! Rapists definitely need an organ removal, and mandatory life imprisonment.
Thank you, Cathy, for this list of actions, filled with your usual energy. I wish I could believe that voting Republicans out would solve the problem. Is there still time for me and all the rest of our liberal Democratic clan to surrender our passivity and our arrogance? Inaction in the face of dead children is not the moral high ground. Get rid of the filibuster and push those gun laws through.
We need 60+ Senators who care more about people...ALL THE PEOPLE...more than money, more than power, more than ego. Until then...it will only get worse and more horrific. I am preparing myself.
I think it will get exactly that--worse and more horrific--because we have passed some point, some moment in time when we could have acted and turned slowly around and we missed it--through inattention, through our damned cheery lenses that always tell us all is well. For the first time in a long long life of political activism, I don't see the solution, I can't see the way out on any front. In fact, I can't see even a place to begin. I've never felt this and I don't know what to do with it;
Deeds not words, Dean. Advocacy with action. Yes, never give up. The Ukranians show us what the price of freedom and democracy is. Their determination and resilience is what we need. It is never too late. The people united will never be defeated. El pueblo unido jamás será vencido! https://unionsong.com/u443.html Join with one other person and start fighting in all the non-violent ways you can come up with. Here's a good guide to start from.
How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning --
I will march I will continue to protect our children I will work to replace senators to hopefully enlarge the derelict Supreme Court i will continue to voice my outrage to the Republican cult and pledge myself to random acts of kindness daily.
May 28, 2022·edited May 28, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I watched Abbott's press conference this afternoon. (He wasn't wearing his usual navy blue pullover with the star on the breast that seems meant to make him look like a cop rather than a civilian--presumably because the cops in Ulvade don't look like such macho men right now.) His presentation was all about the free benefits the state plans to provide to the families of the victims and the entire community of Uvalde. I found this ironic to say the least. I thought this was what, in Texas, they call socialism. Will the Texas Republicans approve any funds for the expansion of mental health care and other services that, as Abbott himself said this afternoon, some people are going to need for a long time after this horrible crime? Texas is one of twelve states in the country that has steadfastly refused to expand Medicaid with federal funds from the Affordable Care Act. And just last month, Abbott took $211 million from the Texas agency that oversees mental health care to fund his stunt on the border. So much for his claim that the answer to the several recent massacres in Texas is more mental health care.
All this is so transparently craven and hypocritical that, if we lived in any kind of normal country, his political career would be effectively over already. But he is leading in the polls over Beto O'Rourke, and several Texans commenting on a Washington Post article about him today expect him to be reelected. I've sent Beto a contribution anyway. And earlier this afternoon, I helped work the phones in Pennsylvania, where John Fetterman stands a good chance of picking up a Senate seat for the Democrats and the Trumpian troglodyte Doug Mastriano needs to be defeated in the governor's race. So there are many things we can do to fight back. Thanks as always, Robert, for your encouragement.
Nailed the evil bastard, donated to Beto since 2018 (Ted cheated). Abbott thinks he has rigged the next election for the repubs, may a blue tsunami swamp the lying bastards and wash away their stench
I find the inaction of the armed responders to be unforgivable. It makes me physically ill to read about them waiting around when they should have responded immediately. I never again want to hear about “a good guy with a gun” as an excuse for unlimited gun ownership. If Congress won’t take action, then it’s time for the voters to vote every senator and representative who resist reasonable gun reform out of office.
In Texas, Abbott and his crew of evil think that they have fixed the next election with their “voting integrity” bull Schitt laws. May a tsunami of rage prove them wrong
The Republicans have become the party of death. I say this not only after the deaths of children in Uvalde, deaths that resemble a horror movie. The Republican's Supreme Court's commitment to deaths via gun and the deaths of women from botched abortions is matched only by its commitment to the death of democracy through its refusal to involve itself in gerrymandering cases.
We have sadly learned that "19 good guys with guns cannot--or perhaps will not--stop one bad guy with a gun." I share Robert's exhaustion and fury with the impious cant of Republican NRA apologists and his horror with its consequences. I believe this tragedy will have serious reverberations come November, as soundly defeating these bunko artists at the polls is the only way we will get real change.
Mr. Hubbell...I own firearms, and I'm every bit as disgusted by this horror as anyone, and perhaps more than some. And if the scenario of law enforcement's failures in Uvalde was even half as egregious as you described here and what I'm seeing elsewhere, I'd say these words you wrote are going far too easy on them. As to the rest of the cabal of cynical self-interested aiders and abettors, I've often registered my disgust and opprobrium regarding the likes of them in numerous places, and only refrain from doing so now as the anger about these latest revelations prevents me from writing in a way that would likely be fit to print in your space. Just imagine the ugliest thought you've had about these people up until now, multiply it by several factors of ten, and that ought to just about cover it.
Hi. thanks for your note. You and other readers have expressed what I am feeling; the reality of the situation is so unbearable that I cannot force myself to think about what it was like in that classroom--which is your point. It is difficult to find the words to write about what happened, and I worried that last night's post was intemperate. But gun violence assaults almost everyone in America with heart and a conscience. As a new grandfather, I am already dreading the day when my granddaughters will enter a classroom and depend on the actions of adults to protect them. Uvalde has shaken us to the core.
I'm glad that you didn't let the judgment of "intemperate" stop you from posting. Your words are powerful expression of what so many of us are feeling. AND WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT!!!! So thank you for that.
I live in DC, so I don't have any representatives with power to vote that I can turn to or support. But I get about 8 texts a day from Democratic candidates from all over the country, and even though I'm on a fixed SS income, I'm sending a few dollars to as many as I can whenever I can. I don't believe that all republicans are devils and all democrats saints. But I do think we can trust that if we can hold/grow the majority in the House and add enough to the Senate, to make S and M irrelevant, (oops, Oh, well, I just cannot bring myself to write their names) we will have a chance to get some good work done on murder control and voting and privacy rights. It's got to be a numbers game and we've got to amass and inspire as many voters as we can. Blessings,
"...gun violence assaults almost everyone in America with heart and a conscience."
One of the best observations I've seen about how so many people are feeling and why. And I've seen a lot.
Wouldn't know how to put it any better, no matter how hard I might try. So, I won't. I'll just say props for that razor sharp and very insightful summation of this national heartache.
I have some of our young school-aged grandchildren here with us for a visit this weekend. I know exactly how you feel.
Paraphrasing my Rabbi last night, buying a beer at 18 is illegal; buying an assault weapon, not a problem. No question about a background check before adopting a puppy, but out of the question when purchasing an assault weapon. Everyone on the road is required to pass a driver's test and have a license. What steps does an 18-year old have to take before buying an assault weapon? None.
“I’m not allowed to fish without a license,” Jimmy Kimmel said during his opening monologue on Thursday. “It shouldn’t be easier to get an AR-15 than a rainbow trout.”
Rage channeled into persistent grassroots protest and strategic advocacy with elected officials is essential. Make gun safety a ubiquitous litmus test!
In addition to marching, we must vote, "all of us this time," to borrow Cathy Learoyd's famous phrase; the more than 100 million of us that typically haven't voted in past elections need to act and remove the politicians, judges, and other public officials who made this tragedy inevitable. We need to become citizens again or else American democracy is lost. If Texans elect Abbott, Cruz and the rest of the "cowards and liars" that presided over this crime against humanity back into office, then America is finished. Republican urgings to "tone down" the rhetoric of outrage is a fascist act; we must now do just the opposite and commit loud, boisterous, passionate acts of democracy and like O'Rourke in Texas, get in Republican faces and denounce them. Our liberty is at stake; our Constitution requires that we arise and defend it against all enemies foreign, and in this case, domestic. Let the Republicans and all those Democrats complicit in their schemes experience the indignation of the People, our impertinence and our refusal to allow their lies to obfuscate the truth. We must also let Biden and rest of the conciliatory Democrats know that there is no "high road" here. Our failure to act and denounce the gun lobbies and their shills in congress will only lead us down the low road to Hell, which is clearly the destination of the Republican Party as now organized around the being of Donald J. Trump and all the fascist miscreants that support his cause. This is our moment of truth as a democratic nation. It is an emergency and we can't afford to wait around outside the Swamp while our liberties are being murdered like the police did at the school in Texas while innocent children were being slaughtered within. We must ensure that men and women like the ones surrounding the liars in Texas never hold public office again! The future of our Republic is at stake and we must act boldly. As Abraham Lincoln said: " The best way to predict your future is to create it." Viva La Revolution!
Furthermore, it was nauseating to watch Abbott in a news conference, all worked up and full of false outrage, declaring that he was not given the facts, and promising that he would get to the bottom of it and reveal the truth, as though that were the most important thing to the parents and families that lost children.
Abbott is lying. As are the law enforcement officers who are giving finger-pointing briefings. They have decided it was the fault of the "school police" for not stopping the shooter. B.S. There were Texas marshals present, Border Patrol agents, DPS, etc. They all failed.
Now we know: "good guy with a gun" is a fiction. A damn lie made up to protect gun sales. Let's move the conversation on to reasonable guar rails for the sale of guns: limited magazines, minimum age to purchase, required licensing and registry, no more these obscene "private guns sales at gun shows", national red-flag registry.
I feel the emotions and anger you are feeling through your words Robert, I share those emotions. I am a moderate 60 yo democrat and what has changed for me over these horrible days - that only added on to the horrible feelings after Buffalo - is that we need new leaders like Beto and like Malory. And we need more media like Sky news that ask the questions that us in the public ask of GOP politicians. I am angry that Diane Feinstein is still my Senator. My mother was an elected official and her husband convinced her to run for reelection (over the objections of me and my sister) when she had dementia. It was horrible for her and horrible for her community. We need change and with that comes change in our leadership. Schumer's immediate comment that he will not bring gun legislation to the floor was another example of my view that we need more fighters.
Thank you once again, Robert. And yes, NO TONING DOWN. Once again words fail to describe the shear shameless banality of these Republicans. A friend said to me, these are NOT 'school shootings', these are CHILDREN EXECUTIONS! --- Stop the execution of children
I will march. . I will continue to write postcards to voters. I will vote. I will surface solutions as I read about them. And for every headline (NYTIMES included ) that leads with ‘there is no solution “, I will ask them to report on known data, because the data exists.
Well said. As usual. Your anguish and outrage are eloquent. And shared.
I was thinking today about a past letter you wrote (pre this horrific event) about how the Democrats must be smarter about messaging. It’s always been obvious that the right wing has had us beat in PR though I hope that is changing -I note that pro-choice people are now finally referring to those who would ban abortion as ‘anti-choice’ instead of enabling them with the oxymoronic ’pro-choice’ label. That took years!
Which brings me to my point: The right has perpetuated a myth that only conservatives are ‘patriotic’ and love our country and our flag. And we let them do it. We need to change that message. I wish, hope, that this upcoming March For Our Lives and future marches/demonstrations, would show a sea of our flags. I want cars to have American flag decals next to their progressive bumper stickers. I want to not see a car or a group of people with the American flag and assume they’re MAGA people. To change hearts and minds, we need to take back our flag.
Ok rant over. May you enjoy your holiday weekend. A break is needed 🤷🏻♀️
Thank you always. Ellen
Their claim of the flag is as phony as their claim of Christianity. And I’ll just add humanity
My husband and I have started to put a flag out on our porch for this exact reason.
Ellen, 2 years ago, after the murder of George Floyd, I told my husband that we had to put up the flag every day along with the banner of Science Is Real Black Lives Matter BLM Love Rainbow. I was so tired of the flag being hijacked by Rush Limbaugh, etc. I could always tell when a conservative talk show host instructed their minions to "fly the flag" because the flag would pop up on the same conservative owned houses. We have flown every day since. This has been going on since Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, etc. said that anyone who did not agree with invading Iraq were not patriots. We need to redefine what it means to love this country. It should mean that we work for the betterment of the country and it's people, not for individual wealth.
"We need to redefine what it means to love this Country", Yes, and, the word 'Patriot'. I am 77 and never called anyone a Patriot until today. I have seen & heard many loving Patriots
this week.
Before the 2016 election, I bought a dozen American flag lapel pins and handed them out to my politically active friends. Today, I wear an American flag pin on most jackets I own - I bought my most recent pin - a heart shaped American flag on a visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential library. I pair it with my Elizabeth Warren pin - Nevertheless, She Persisted and a Crush the Patriarchy pin of my daughters. I challenge Robert’s readers to go on Amazon and buy the blingiest American flag item you can - mine is a rhinestone ball cap and wear it proudly. I am as patriotic as ever.
Love this, Tanya!
We did exactly the same—for exactly the same reason!
I do the same Karen!
Thank you Ellen, not a rant. You are a 'patriot'.
The flag is in my front yard every day. I refuse to allow anyone to take my flag away from me. Ukraine's flag is right next to it as well and my Black Lives Matter flag that states all are welcome in my home.
I agree completely with you. When I see someone with an American flag, I think MAGA. which is horrible.
Perfectly stated, Ellen.
Ellen, I was offered a free little flag today at an Ace Hardware store, and I refused... The clerk seemed taken aback. Only as I walked out of the door did it hit me: the flag has indeed become a symbol of hate. Yes, and we must change that!
Thank you Kathy. I made a brief passing comment to a woman yesterday that was obviously reclamimg the flag symbol; she turned and said. "We are in a fight for the soul of this Country".
That is so true. Yesterday I spoke w/a woman who said, "it's not like the old days where you could debate policy. Now it's a contest between reality and lies."
Bravo, Ellen.
I have vowed to never vote for a Republican for any elected office, local, state or federal. I've made this vow now for two reasons: 1) Women's Rights that are being taken away 2) Guns that aren't being taken away. The No Choice, Pro Death party has got to be aborted and put out of its misery. My Texas state representative who wrote the "constitutional carry" permitless gun bill will not get my vote. Governor Abbott has made a ass of himself promising to eliminate rape in Texas in response to flack about the Heartless Anti-abortion law and again now with Brainless solutions to controlling guns with more guns. 1. Remove the ban on holding gun manufacturer's liable 2. Require liability insurance for all gun owners 3. Ban military weapons 4. Ban high capacity magazines 5. Raise the age to buy a gun to 21 with background checks 6. Require ID/fingerprint locks on guns so they can only be fired by the owner 7. Require gun permits with written tests on gun laws and safety and tests to show competency in handling the gun. 8. Provide free inflatable penises to give insecure men the feeling of being a big man. 9. Make the penalty for rape a penectomy. 10. Show all the Republicans to the exit door VOTE them OUT!
I especially like #8, 9 and 10.
“8. Provide free inflatable penises to give insecure men the feeling of being a big man.”
😂
Thanks, Cathy, Great list !
I would add ban silencers:
House Bill 957 (Oliverson/Springer) repeals the criminal offense of possessing, manufacturing, transporting, or repairing a firearm silencer. It also ensures that any firearm suppressor manufactured in Texas, and that remains in Texas, will not be subject to federal law or federal regulation.
I like all you’ve written…but I’d add…if women are no longer able to make decisions about their bodies…any man who impregnates a woman with an unwanted pregnancy , MUST get a vasectomy…They either wear condoms or accept the consequences of their behavior! Rapists definitely need an organ removal, and mandatory life imprisonment.
I say the only remedy for rape is a penectomy. Vasectomies are reversible and does not get rid of the man's weapon, his sword.
A great list of solutions! Thanks.
Thank you, Cathy, for this list of actions, filled with your usual energy. I wish I could believe that voting Republicans out would solve the problem. Is there still time for me and all the rest of our liberal Democratic clan to surrender our passivity and our arrogance? Inaction in the face of dead children is not the moral high ground. Get rid of the filibuster and push those gun laws through.
We need 60+ Senators who care more about people...ALL THE PEOPLE...more than money, more than power, more than ego. Until then...it will only get worse and more horrific. I am preparing myself.
Act! You are already more prepared for this than you know.
I think it will get exactly that--worse and more horrific--because we have passed some point, some moment in time when we could have acted and turned slowly around and we missed it--through inattention, through our damned cheery lenses that always tell us all is well. For the first time in a long long life of political activism, I don't see the solution, I can't see the way out on any front. In fact, I can't see even a place to begin. I've never felt this and I don't know what to do with it;
Deeds not words, Dean. Advocacy with action. Yes, never give up. The Ukranians show us what the price of freedom and democracy is. Their determination and resilience is what we need. It is never too late. The people united will never be defeated. El pueblo unido jamás será vencido! https://unionsong.com/u443.html Join with one other person and start fighting in all the non-violent ways you can come up with. Here's a good guide to start from.
How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning --
by George Lakey
Thanks, Cathy. I belong to a group one of whose pieces of wisdom is that we must act our way into right thinking. Too many words.
I will march I will continue to protect our children I will work to replace senators to hopefully enlarge the derelict Supreme Court i will continue to voice my outrage to the Republican cult and pledge myself to random acts of kindness daily.
As will I.
I watched Abbott's press conference this afternoon. (He wasn't wearing his usual navy blue pullover with the star on the breast that seems meant to make him look like a cop rather than a civilian--presumably because the cops in Ulvade don't look like such macho men right now.) His presentation was all about the free benefits the state plans to provide to the families of the victims and the entire community of Uvalde. I found this ironic to say the least. I thought this was what, in Texas, they call socialism. Will the Texas Republicans approve any funds for the expansion of mental health care and other services that, as Abbott himself said this afternoon, some people are going to need for a long time after this horrible crime? Texas is one of twelve states in the country that has steadfastly refused to expand Medicaid with federal funds from the Affordable Care Act. And just last month, Abbott took $211 million from the Texas agency that oversees mental health care to fund his stunt on the border. So much for his claim that the answer to the several recent massacres in Texas is more mental health care.
All this is so transparently craven and hypocritical that, if we lived in any kind of normal country, his political career would be effectively over already. But he is leading in the polls over Beto O'Rourke, and several Texans commenting on a Washington Post article about him today expect him to be reelected. I've sent Beto a contribution anyway. And earlier this afternoon, I helped work the phones in Pennsylvania, where John Fetterman stands a good chance of picking up a Senate seat for the Democrats and the Trumpian troglodyte Doug Mastriano needs to be defeated in the governor's race. So there are many things we can do to fight back. Thanks as always, Robert, for your encouragement.
Hi, Daniel. Thanks for the information about Abbott's use of mental health funds to stage his stunt about immigrants. I will use
Here's the source, Robert. I had two digits backwards--the amount he took from mental health was $211 million ($210.7 million, to be more precise). https://abcnews.go.com/Health/gov-abbott-places-shooting-blame-mental-health-texas/story?id=84993527
Nailed the evil bastard, donated to Beto since 2018 (Ted cheated). Abbott thinks he has rigged the next election for the repubs, may a blue tsunami swamp the lying bastards and wash away their stench
Amen!
I find the inaction of the armed responders to be unforgivable. It makes me physically ill to read about them waiting around when they should have responded immediately. I never again want to hear about “a good guy with a gun” as an excuse for unlimited gun ownership. If Congress won’t take action, then it’s time for the voters to vote every senator and representative who resist reasonable gun reform out of office.
In Texas, Abbott and his crew of evil think that they have fixed the next election with their “voting integrity” bull Schitt laws. May a tsunami of rage prove them wrong
The Republicans have become the party of death. I say this not only after the deaths of children in Uvalde, deaths that resemble a horror movie. The Republican's Supreme Court's commitment to deaths via gun and the deaths of women from botched abortions is matched only by its commitment to the death of democracy through its refusal to involve itself in gerrymandering cases.
We have sadly learned that "19 good guys with guns cannot--or perhaps will not--stop one bad guy with a gun." I share Robert's exhaustion and fury with the impious cant of Republican NRA apologists and his horror with its consequences. I believe this tragedy will have serious reverberations come November, as soundly defeating these bunko artists at the polls is the only way we will get real change.
That is exactly why they have rigged the next election. It will take much more than politics as usual
Mr. Hubbell...I own firearms, and I'm every bit as disgusted by this horror as anyone, and perhaps more than some. And if the scenario of law enforcement's failures in Uvalde was even half as egregious as you described here and what I'm seeing elsewhere, I'd say these words you wrote are going far too easy on them. As to the rest of the cabal of cynical self-interested aiders and abettors, I've often registered my disgust and opprobrium regarding the likes of them in numerous places, and only refrain from doing so now as the anger about these latest revelations prevents me from writing in a way that would likely be fit to print in your space. Just imagine the ugliest thought you've had about these people up until now, multiply it by several factors of ten, and that ought to just about cover it.
Hi. thanks for your note. You and other readers have expressed what I am feeling; the reality of the situation is so unbearable that I cannot force myself to think about what it was like in that classroom--which is your point. It is difficult to find the words to write about what happened, and I worried that last night's post was intemperate. But gun violence assaults almost everyone in America with heart and a conscience. As a new grandfather, I am already dreading the day when my granddaughters will enter a classroom and depend on the actions of adults to protect them. Uvalde has shaken us to the core.
I'm glad that you didn't let the judgment of "intemperate" stop you from posting. Your words are powerful expression of what so many of us are feeling. AND WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT!!!! So thank you for that.
I live in DC, so I don't have any representatives with power to vote that I can turn to or support. But I get about 8 texts a day from Democratic candidates from all over the country, and even though I'm on a fixed SS income, I'm sending a few dollars to as many as I can whenever I can. I don't believe that all republicans are devils and all democrats saints. But I do think we can trust that if we can hold/grow the majority in the House and add enough to the Senate, to make S and M irrelevant, (oops, Oh, well, I just cannot bring myself to write their names) we will have a chance to get some good work done on murder control and voting and privacy rights. It's got to be a numbers game and we've got to amass and inspire as many voters as we can. Blessings,
"...gun violence assaults almost everyone in America with heart and a conscience."
One of the best observations I've seen about how so many people are feeling and why. And I've seen a lot.
Wouldn't know how to put it any better, no matter how hard I might try. So, I won't. I'll just say props for that razor sharp and very insightful summation of this national heartache.
I have some of our young school-aged grandchildren here with us for a visit this weekend. I know exactly how you feel.
The ugliest thoughts have reached Everest heights
Paraphrasing my Rabbi last night, buying a beer at 18 is illegal; buying an assault weapon, not a problem. No question about a background check before adopting a puppy, but out of the question when purchasing an assault weapon. Everyone on the road is required to pass a driver's test and have a license. What steps does an 18-year old have to take before buying an assault weapon? None.
“I’m not allowed to fish without a license,” Jimmy Kimmel said during his opening monologue on Thursday. “It shouldn’t be easier to get an AR-15 than a rainbow trout.”
Rage channeled into persistent grassroots protest and strategic advocacy with elected officials is essential. Make gun safety a ubiquitous litmus test!
Yes!
In addition to marching, we must vote, "all of us this time," to borrow Cathy Learoyd's famous phrase; the more than 100 million of us that typically haven't voted in past elections need to act and remove the politicians, judges, and other public officials who made this tragedy inevitable. We need to become citizens again or else American democracy is lost. If Texans elect Abbott, Cruz and the rest of the "cowards and liars" that presided over this crime against humanity back into office, then America is finished. Republican urgings to "tone down" the rhetoric of outrage is a fascist act; we must now do just the opposite and commit loud, boisterous, passionate acts of democracy and like O'Rourke in Texas, get in Republican faces and denounce them. Our liberty is at stake; our Constitution requires that we arise and defend it against all enemies foreign, and in this case, domestic. Let the Republicans and all those Democrats complicit in their schemes experience the indignation of the People, our impertinence and our refusal to allow their lies to obfuscate the truth. We must also let Biden and rest of the conciliatory Democrats know that there is no "high road" here. Our failure to act and denounce the gun lobbies and their shills in congress will only lead us down the low road to Hell, which is clearly the destination of the Republican Party as now organized around the being of Donald J. Trump and all the fascist miscreants that support his cause. This is our moment of truth as a democratic nation. It is an emergency and we can't afford to wait around outside the Swamp while our liberties are being murdered like the police did at the school in Texas while innocent children were being slaughtered within. We must ensure that men and women like the ones surrounding the liars in Texas never hold public office again! The future of our Republic is at stake and we must act boldly. As Abraham Lincoln said: " The best way to predict your future is to create it." Viva La Revolution!
Furthermore, it was nauseating to watch Abbott in a news conference, all worked up and full of false outrage, declaring that he was not given the facts, and promising that he would get to the bottom of it and reveal the truth, as though that were the most important thing to the parents and families that lost children.
Abbott is lying. As are the law enforcement officers who are giving finger-pointing briefings. They have decided it was the fault of the "school police" for not stopping the shooter. B.S. There were Texas marshals present, Border Patrol agents, DPS, etc. They all failed.
Now if Alex Jones wants to see a performance meant to propagandize, just watch a rerun of that insult to the intelligence of any two brain cells
Now we know: "good guy with a gun" is a fiction. A damn lie made up to protect gun sales. Let's move the conversation on to reasonable guar rails for the sale of guns: limited magazines, minimum age to purchase, required licensing and registry, no more these obscene "private guns sales at gun shows", national red-flag registry.
I feel the emotions and anger you are feeling through your words Robert, I share those emotions. I am a moderate 60 yo democrat and what has changed for me over these horrible days - that only added on to the horrible feelings after Buffalo - is that we need new leaders like Beto and like Malory. And we need more media like Sky news that ask the questions that us in the public ask of GOP politicians. I am angry that Diane Feinstein is still my Senator. My mother was an elected official and her husband convinced her to run for reelection (over the objections of me and my sister) when she had dementia. It was horrible for her and horrible for her community. We need change and with that comes change in our leadership. Schumer's immediate comment that he will not bring gun legislation to the floor was another example of my view that we need more fighters.
Thank you once again, Robert. And yes, NO TONING DOWN. Once again words fail to describe the shear shameless banality of these Republicans. A friend said to me, these are NOT 'school shootings', these are CHILDREN EXECUTIONS! --- Stop the execution of children
I will march. . I will continue to write postcards to voters. I will vote. I will surface solutions as I read about them. And for every headline (NYTIMES included ) that leads with ‘there is no solution “, I will ask them to report on known data, because the data exists.
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/we-can-reduce-gun-violence-in-the?r=2y0f0&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email