"Well, I think that you're citing a study that I believe was conducted by a health insurance company that's critical of the Affordable Care Act, so that part I'm not particularly surprised about," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said."
...pretty much captures all that is wrong with this presidential administration.
Earnest said this in response to yet another study that predicts higher health care premiums under Obamacare.
That study, which Mr. Earnest finds fault with, was conducted by a company that doesn't toe the political line, apparently.
The problem here though, is that this White House is soooo elite, soooo smart, sooooo intelligent, that they think the only conclusion that is correct is their own, all evidence to the contrary be damned. (And we're not just talking health care here).
I spent the morning working on some thank you notes, didn't get them finished, but got about half of them done.
I really wanted to see my friend Milly Rose in Minden; she owns Second Hand Rose Antiques, as regular readers know, but she's also a good friend and she's been praying hard for me and my mama. It made me feel better to go see her. Milly is such a positive, upbeat person it's just impossible to feel sad around her.
I'm the administrator for her Facebook page so I needed to take some new photos of the shop and that's always fun. Of course I always find some wonderful treasure to bring home.
I took lots of pictures but you'll have to keep an eye on her Facebook page to see them. I did bring home these two pins (above) because I have a thing for pins. The butterfly is a Weiss and I love it.
I also picked up this American Fostoria rolled bowl; I have a collection of this pattern which began when I inherited some pieces from my grandmother.
We had a good visit and it lifted my spirits.
I'll share one other picture with you: this is Milly's adorable Boston Terrier, Heidi. She's a doll!
Via Instapundit, books are becoming anachronistic:
Today, with reading so often done and “books” acquired digitally, stored in pixels on hand-held devices, we see fewer new titles gracing the offices of colleagues and teachers, the homes of friends. No longer on display, they can no longer be conversation pieces. The average age of books on shelves is rising steadily and even these becoming anachronistic. Shelves are given over to decoration, clocks, cups, bells, photographs. My wife and I wonder, “what will our kids think, 10 or 20 years from now, when they see an apartment without a single book in it?” Maybe nothing. We would be horrified.
In the first three months of the year, members of the first family have been on three vacations, averaging a vacation a month. And now it's being reported that the first daughters are on a spring break vacation in the Bahamas.
...and to this one at Breitbart which begins by noting that the White House is closed for tours:
One premier destination is off-limits this year, however. A few weeks ago, the Obama Administration announced it was suspending public, self-guided tours of the White House as a result of the automatic sequester cuts that the administration proposed in 2011. While America's students stand outside the White House fence, the First Daughters, Sasha and Malia, are enjoying spring break with friends at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
I actually don't care where the Obama girls are, but the optics on all this are not good, I don't think. I can't help but recall the wailing from the left that George Bush was taking so many vacations (mostly to his ranch in Texas).
But it does seem to me that while the country is feeling the pain of the sequester, Obama's notion that "everybody's gonna have to have some skin in the game" doesn't apply to him.
So while the daughters are enjoying the Bahamas, the White House is closed to tours, the FAA has closed 149 small airport control towers (including the one at the downtown Shreveport airport). The sequester has also cut military spending which has caused, among other things, the cancellation of air shows across the country; it has cut the budget of the National Parks Service which forces layoffs of workers at the height of the summer season (and dirty bathrooms!), and in Louisiana alone, cut 7,000 civilian Department of Defense jobs. Among other things.
Those screeching about Malia and Sasha's privacy have a point, but so do those of us pointing out that it's time Obama put some skin of his own in the game.
Maybe I'm hyper-sensitive these days, but this post this morning from The Foundry set my teeth on edge. The post highlights a new paper by Heritage expert Jason Richwine that uncovers the deep, dark secret that states are paying teachers too much in pensions:
That’s right—the real cost of education is far higher than we’ve been told, but it’s not because of extra classroom resources or newer facilities. It’s because of teachers’ pensions.
The beef seems to be, really, that states are "hiding" the true amount of that pension figure. I understand Heritage wants accuracy in reporting the figures. They aren't suggesting teachers shouldn't get pensions, but the tone of the piece was unsettling.
I'm all for transparency but I'm sure sick of people beating up on teachers.
When I retire after thirty years in the classroom my retirement take home pay will be well under $3,000 per month.
I realize each state is different in how pension plans are structured, but in my state I contribute to my pension monthly. I don't pay into Social Security but I pay the same percentage into my pension plan.
What bothers me most, I think, about this Heritage post is the vicious comments about greedy, lazy teachers in the comments. I know...NEVER read the comments. I can't help myself. It's like watching a train wreck.
"I'm so tired of you teachers comparing yourselves to people who in their jobs risk their lives. You risk spilled coffee. Look at the numbers, as a teacher this should be an easy task for you. Standard test scores are in a free fall. Children who are graduating today some of them can't even read. You teachers have abandoned the kids for your Unions and the income you can get along with golden benefits..."
He goes on, but you get the idea. Obviously Thomas has never taught school.
The unions are a problem, more so in some states than in others. But not all teachers are part of the NEA. Not all teachers are union. I dropped my NEA membership when I found out that part of my dues were going to support Barack Obama's re-election whether I liked it or not.
The general idea that teachers follow like lemmings into some group-think liberal indoctrination of our children is just ridiculous.
I think if we are so concerned about what states are spending education dollars on, we need to really look at where that money goes. Too often, nationwide, it goes to systems top heavy in administrators and bloated central office staff, or to staffing positions that have nothing to do with educating children and are redundant to jobs already in place.
How many billions of dollars are going to implementing this new Common Core curriculum which is already repletewithproblems? New training, new textbooks, new testing...there's a whole industry out there related to Common Core now.
If the federal government would get out of the education business we would all be better off.
And quit beating up on teachers, for crying out loud, and don't begrudge teachers their pension. Trust me, it's not all that much.
In an attempt to get back to blogging about politics, and to refocus, I decided to cruise some of my old haunts and see what they're talking about.
I present the Random Roundup:
Pirate's Cove, always one of my favorites, notes that the Obama administration has unfrozen some $500 million for the Palestinian Authority. Someone please tell me why we are giving money to a terrorist group?
Must see! The Daley Gator has video of the Sergio Garcia shot he made yesterday one handed, backwards, FROM UP IN A TREE! Woah now! You've gotta see this. Amazing.
The Reaganite Republican has a picture of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee and I've got to say, as much of a Jeep lover as I am, I don't like it.
Legal Insurrection notes the collapse of the 7-round magazine limit in NY and the strategy behind it.
Bob Belvedere discusses the difference between conservatives and republicans.
If you've been following the Amanda Knox story, Saberpoint has a post you may find interesting.
Paco has questions about Joe Biden's travel expenses.
And that about covers it for now. I'll do some more poking and exploring tomorrow. I've got to pace myself, you know.
Surveying the political blogs it seems that things are still pretty much the same. That's not a bad thing or a good thing necessarily, but I do wonder, is anybody listening? I mean, does anybody really care if the Obama girls are vacationing in the Bahamas or what nonsense Bloomberg is up to this week? I guess we have to just keep shouting into the void and hope somehow we make a difference.
I promise I'm not going to blog about my grieving process everyday, but I AM trying to get back into the habit of daily blogging. So bear with me.
I always feel better when I feel like I'm making forward progress on things, so today I contacted the attorney about setting up a meeting on filing the succession; I called the Social Security office and the other places mom got pensions from and make notifications there. That was about two hours of automated answering system hell so that was enough for the day.
Honestly, when you call a pension department to tell them this person has died, their recorded announcement of "We are so sorry for your loss. Please accept our condolences" would have so much more authenticity if it came from a real person.
I wasted another two hours today on Facebook and Pinterest. I discovered Smashbook on Pinterest. Is anybody doing these things? I think they're cool looking. I've ordered two and am going to give it a shot. I used to love scrapbooking and this seems like mini-scrapbooking on the go. I think I'm going to do one on the "treasures" I pick up from estate sales so I'll know where they come from. They'll be perfect for trips, like if I actually get to go to Iowa this summer to see Steve's family. Here's one from the blog Inspiration Everywhere:
If you're building a house it would be a cool way to keep up with ideas. Example:
Here's a little video about Smashbook:
I'm going to give it a shot and see if I like it.
After I wasted the morning on the internet, I went to the grocery store where I forgot half of what I went for and nearly left one of my bags on the carousel which make the clerk chase me out into the parking lot with my whole chicken in her hands. That's the second time in two days I've done that.
Forgetful.
Let me thank you again for all the wonderful messages and notes you've sent. It means a lot. I think the best thing for me to do is to stay busy. I do better when I'm busy. I have closets to clean out and a junk room to clean out this week. That ought to do wonders.
I went through and deleted blogs that haven't updated in over a year or in a very long time. I've left a few that are "dormant" because I'm hoping they'll come back online; I left snaggletoothie because I can't bear to delete him and because I like looking at his old posts sometimes. I left one or two dormant blogs there because they are informative (The Dialysis Diary). I deleted three that had gone "invite only" and apparently I didn't get the invite.
As I get back into things I'll add blogs that are relevant and active. For now, we have a leaner, meaner blogroll.
I'm at loose ends today. I always went to see mom on Sunday.
It'll take some time for me to re-establish old routines, I guess, or to establish new ones. It's just crazy windy outside today, and cold, or I'd go work in the yard. The sun is beautiful but I don't do cold.
I've tinkered around the house a little; done some laundry, piddled around rearranging things in china cabinets. My son wants me to make gumbo today so I might do that.
I want to thank you all for the messages, notes, prayers and support you've sent my way. It means a lot. Really, it does.
Over the next few days I'm going to get this 'ol blog dusted off once again and see if she still starts. I'm going to update the blogroll too. Since the election some of those blogs over there in the sidebar have "gone dormant" as my good friend Bill Jacobson noted when he checked his own blogroll. I'd like to update it with new, active blogs and since I've been out of the loop for about a year feel free to share the names of any really good blogs you're reading these days.
Right now I'm just sitting here enjoying the quiet and watching the neighbor's oak leaves fall like rain in this wind.
I have written a great deal in this space about my mother through the five or so years of this blog but now mom and I have ended a long journey together. I got the call Tuesday morning that she had moved on without me.
Mom died in her sleep during the night.
It's sad for those of us that loved her but she was more than ready, was totally at peace with it, and was looking forward to seeing my father, her parents and her good friends. And I know she isn't suffering anymore.
She was frustrated in later years by neuropathy that robbed her of feeling in her hands, by hearing loss, and eventually by diminishing eyesight.
It's difficult, of course, because I've spent the last eight years or so taking care of her needs. It will take some time to get used to not going by every day to check on her.
It will be okay, though. She and I spent a lot of time talking about this; she wanted to be sure I was ready and so she had everything organized and lined out ages ago. I've even found a little notebook where she wrote down every little piece of cut crystal or vase, every wedding gift and piece of silver, every piece of furniture, jewelry, and every item of importance to her in her house; she wrote down where it came from, who gave it to her, or from whom it was inherited. She wrote down which child she wants to have it after she's gone.
In that notebook she also left me a list of things to do: "Call the Social Security office so they don't send anymore checks!" "Get plenty of death certificates! EVERYone needs one!"
She had been through this with her parents and was trying to make it easy for me.
I still bungled things though. I did the obituary for the paper but I should have done it ahead of time rather than after they called me. I left out a couple of things, like that she was a graduate of Centenary College and a Chi Omega. She was proud of that.
She'll forgive me for that, though.
I'm going to copy/paste the obit here because eventually it will fall off the internet and The Times won't have it available anymore:
Mary Earle Texada Phillips Shreveport, LA - Mrs. Mary Earle Phillips passed away on Tuesday, March 19, 2013. A graveside service will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 22, at Forest Park Cemetery, St. Vincent Ave. Officiating will be The Rev. Paul Martin, Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Phillips was a native of Coushatta, LA and a resident of Shreveport, LA for most of her life. She was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church and a graduate of C. E. Byrd High School. Mrs. Phillips was preceded in death by her parents, Florence and John Pintard Texada; her husband, William H. Phillips, Jr.; and granddaughter, Melissa Renee Phillips. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Margaret Grayson and husband, Gordon and Patricia P. Becker and husband, Steve; son, William Hutch Phillips and wife, Laura; grandchildren, Mary Francis Archer, Patricia Nicole Sumrow and John P. Austin; and great-grandchildren, Alex Archer and Benjamin Sumrow
The family requests that memorials be made to the Byrd High School Alumni Association. The family would like to express their sincere appreciation the The Glen and Harmony Life for their compassionate care.
It's amazing the acts of kindness that occur when something like this happens. Mom just wanted a simple graveside service; that's been the custom in our family for as long as I can remember. I took care of the arrangements, got it all set up, and then got a message from a wonderful friend who asked if I'd like him to play something at mom's service. Of course I hadn't thought about anything like that. So he asked me what mom liked.
"Well, she really liked Frank Sinatra, but...", and he laughed.
"I'll tell you what," he said. "I can do 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong. How would that be?"
Perfect! Mom loved that. I just couldn't have planned it better.
Bill Allen will never know what a wonderful gesture that was and how much it meant to me.
I have a strong support system, a great husband, and good friends, so I'll be okay.
It'll take some time, but I'll be okay. Mom would insist on it!
The latest casualty to the sequestration is the 2013 Barksdale AFB Defenders of Liberty Air Show; KTBS announced the cancellation this morning:
The Barksdale Air Force Base 2013 Defenders of Liberty Air Show has been cancelled. It was scheduled for the first weekend in May. Officials are blaming the cancellation on budget cuts forced by the sequestration.
The show attracts tens of thousands each year from all around the three-states region: Mr. SIGIS and I went last year and had a grand time.
Yes, air shows like this one are expensive to produce. But it is events like this one that not only are huge recruitment tools for the Air Force, but are also fundraisers for individual squadrons. The Shreveport Times spoke to retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Peyton Cole who wasn't surprised:
"That's what I figured was going to happen," said Cole, whose concerns are for the effect on individual units on base, such as squadrons and the Global Power Museum. "I'm concerned that if you don't have an air show or open house, your squadrons that rely on vendors to make their money for the year don't have any venue to do that," he said. "This is a blow to the operational squadrons on base that derive their funds from vending at the air show and open house. These are funds that go to pay for ancillary things the Air Force doesn't pay for...".
These funds might be going away gifts for outgoing squadron personnel, wedding gifts, etc. Another thing that squadrons raise money for is to fly airmen home for Christmas.
The Blue Angels were slated to perform this year but last week it was announced that the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds would be cancelling their schedules due to sequestration, so it's likely that the Barksdale Air Show won't be the only one affected.
Oddly enough, last year when Steve and I were on base touring the static displays and watching the air performances, he commented that it might be one of the last air shows for a while. Elections have consequences and just as most of us have seen the negative ramifications of Obamacare coming down the pike from the very beginning, Steve predicted the negative effects coming down the pike for the military.
I mean, really, Obama has no concern for the recruitment aspect of the military. He'd like to downsize and drastically cut the military. "Peace through superior firepower" holds no special significance for him. It's back to the days of Jimmy Carter when airmen would rob parts from one plane just to keep another in the air. Enemies sensed weakness like a shark sense blood in the water.
It's all enough to make one want to bang one's head on a wall. I'm sure liberals are just fine with the cancellation of frivolous things like air shows - after all, that money could be so much better spent on....new TSA uniforms? At least when you get your invasive pat down it'll be by someone who is dressed for success! Oh well, you know. The military is so 2007 now. We're withdrawing from Afghanistan, don't you know? Think of all the Obamaphones we can buy with the cost of just one air show! Think of all the food stamps! The golf outings with Tiger! Hawaii!
Good grief. I used to wonder if people would wake up before it's too late but I don't worry about that now.
The goose is cooked. The low information voter rules the day.
There's nothing like a little snap of spring in the air to make one's heart long for baseball. The crack of the bat, the satisfying smack of ball to glove, the chatter from the dugout...it's pure heaven.
Steve and I live within a good fastball of Centenary College and I can hear the baseball team's batting practice from my house. So we decided this weekend to venture on over to Sheehee Stadium and check out some Gents baseball.
We went yesterday for the first game of a double-header against the University of Dallas; Centenary lost the first game and won the second. It was cold and windy so we only made one game. We were surprised to learn there was no admission cost; we asked a couple of people if we needed tickets or needed to pay and everyone looked at us with a quizzical expression and said no.
As the weather was much warmer today, and no wind, we headed back out to catch the last game in this series against Dallas.
It was a small crowd but everyone was settling in for a nice afternoon of baseball when we got there; this lady was working on her tan while cheering on her team:
Parents and photographers:
Even Sock Monkey had a front row seat:
As the game began the Gents lined up to cheer on their batters (note all the baseballs on the roof of that building on the right):
Play ball!
Dallas had some really good hitters:
And the game stayed close.
A view from our seats:
Faithful fan Princess comes to every game:
There were several dogs there today. All very well behaved, of course!
A respectable crowd stayed until the very end today:
This is the concession stand; yesterday we kept them busy selling coffee and hot chocolate because it was so cold. Today we had hot dogs, peanuts, and cokes! What else are you going to have at a college baseball game?!
The game was tied going into the ninth:
And the suspense was high:
At the top of the ninth it was all tied up:
When the Gents came up to bat, no. 25, Jemari James hit a ball down the first base line, Dallas had a little trouble fielding it in the corner, James rounded second and ran to third; the ball was overthrown toward third and James made home plate. Gents win!
After a wild celebration at home plate both teams shook hands and another game is in the books.
It was an exciting finish to a good game.
The Gents will be at home again next weekend against Trinity University with a Saturday double-header. The schedule is here.
If you're looking for a nice way to relax and enjoy some top notch baseball, keep the Centenary Gents on your radar. It's a great way to spend an afternoon!
After Barack Obama stands before the nation and vows to send us spiraling further into debt with a multitude of new programs that miraculously won't cost a dime and all anyone can talk about is Marco Rubio taking a sip of water?
Never mind that the proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9.00 will increase unemployment. I mean, if I have a small business and I have ten employees, I'm going to cut back to eight if I can because I can't afford to keep ten anymore. If I have a business with enough employees to force me into Obamacare, I just got an incentive to cut a few of them back.
But for goodness sake, let's don't talk about that! Let's talk about Marco Rubio taking a sip of water!
Drudge, in his own way, pushes back:
Because it's okay when liberals drink water. Just not Republicans.
Obama made no mention of Benghazi and his massive failure to protect those Americans, respond to their call for help, or even hold accountable those responsible. But who cares? Marco Rubio took a drink of water on national television. From Politico:
Obama vowed to expand the federal government's role in federal education - as if holding states hostage by forcing Common Core on them was not enough. Most states have been compelled to accept the pitiful Common Core curriculum in order to be considered for federal grants and monies. National education standards are, in fact, unconstitutional but this president has coerced the states to adopt them. Shame on them all. But what difference does it make? Marco Rubio was thirsty.
The New Yorker breaks down the moment into microseconds:
By the second minute of Marco Rubio’s official Republican response to the President’s State of the Union address last night, it was clear that the Senator’s body was betraying him. His lips caught each other in the way they do at moments of stress, when we are suddenly confronted, after long lapses of unthought, with the actual mechanics of speech. Under the hot lights, Rubio’s mouth went dry. A few minutes later, sweat trickled down his right temple, and he moved his hand instinctively to wipe it away. The dry mouth persisted, and, at times, his eyes flashed with a kind of pleading and mounting desperation: the speech was less than halfway over, with words and words to go. His hands, already large in the frame when he kept them low in front of him, flashed a few times to his lips. And then back to his temple. By the eighth minute, he seemed to have adjusted, and it looked as if he might push through to the end. But then, three minutes later, he made a gamble and reached for a water bottle offscreen: he lurched down to his left and fumbled a bit, making a terrifyingly intimate moment of eye contact with the audience before taking a quick sip from an unfortunately tiny bottle and then ducking to put it back.
In his speech, Obama continued his partisan politics by blaming Republicans for sequestration and just about anything else that he can get away with, but he accepts no responsibility for anything. Disgusting. But at least he didn't take a drink of water on the national stage!
At least Rubio has been a good sport about it. He's been chugging water on the news shows all day long today.
Good grief. Don't we have anything else to talk about?
I'm not watching the SOTU address. I'm well aware of the SOTU.
I was, actually watching the Westminster Dog Show which was ever so much more interesting. That's kind of where I am with politics these days. Gone to the dogs.
True story:
I was visiting with a liberal friend whom I adore. Politics aside, we have other areas of common ground on which we can be friends.
Tonight this friend, who is almost 70, told me he needs a hip replacement. The doctor looks at the x-rays and says, "Yep. You need a hip replacement. You've got no cartilage.". But then the doc tells him that because Medicare has clamped down on such procedures he has to do physical therapy first.
My first thought was "Are you serious?!"
But ten seconds later, of course, you realize that with Obamacare naturally nobody is going to get a hip replacement. Why waste resources on the old and infirm?
So, this friend will do the PT which has zero potential for success (because the doc says he has no cartilage, remember) and will likely exacerbate the pain, but hey!, maybe in ten years, he can get a hip replacement if he sits around on a list long enough.
This is reflective of why I've seemingly stopped political blogging. I'm screaming into a void. I tried to warn people that this was coming. Your doctor doesn't get to make decisions about your care - the ipab does. Your doctor can't look at your x-rays and prescribe treatment! He has to look at a formula, your age, and the cost in order to determine if treatment is feasible.
Faced with the inevitable reality of Obamacare, in the same breath this friend also expressed profound hope that "we can get everyone covered on healthcare.". Free healthcare for all.
Free? What's free? Somebody has got to pay. It's not going to be "free.". Ever. Never ever.
Here comes the tide of illegals now about to drain your healthcare system, baby. You think finding the care you need NOW is hard? Just wait.
Why are liberals shocked when what they voted for shows up on their daily plane and bites them? We TOLD you this was coming. It's basic economics, people! Nothing is "free!"
My friend is a wonderful, kind, big-hearted person and like I said, we agree on many (non-political) things. I'm sorry my friend can't get the treatment he needs when he needs it.
He should have read my blog back when I was screaming "Don't do it!! Don't vote for Obamacare!"
The sad thing is...I don't see it getting better. Ever. The Republicans are too divided. The Tea Party conservatives vs. the Democrat-Lites. I don't see a reconciliation there which means a perpetual Democratic stronghold on the horizon shored up by imminent amnesty.
We are screwed.
I once thought that we're going to have to just let it all destruct, implode and rebuild from the ashes but I'm no longer that optimistic.
The think I love about "antiquing," or just going to see Milly Rose, is that you never know what you will find. I almost always find something cool at Milly Rose's shop and it's always something I really "need"!
The other cool thing, to me, about this hobby is the rush you get when you find that thing, that thing that you didn't know you needed, you don't know what in the hell you're going to do with it, but you just have to have it. It doesn't happen every trip, but when it does...well, it's really fun!
We went yesterday to Minden to visit Milly and do the Mardi Gras parade over there. (I'll post more on that later today). One of the first things I saw was this:
What in the world...? I was drawn to the wood and the unusual shape of the thing. I opened the lid on the top piece and the drawer:
Love!
It's an old cash register drawer! That spindle you see in the top picture? It worked in sync with an old adding machine. When I got it home, I pulled the drawer out - there's a mechanism in there that makes the drawer pop open when prompted by the adding machine. (There was also a dirt dauber nest in the top compartment! Lagniappe!)
I brought the thing home, thinking I'd set it on this antique desk that I have, but really, what to do with it?
I'm thinking right now it's going to make a perfect jewelry box! Line it with some velvet maybe. Necklaces in the top and earrings and pins in the drawer, maybe. Rings on the spindle?!
But just look at these worm holes:
Such character!
But I don't really need a cash register...I'm open to suggestions. Anybody have a good idea to re-purpose this besides my jewelry box idea? Otherwise, I think I just bought the coolest jewelry box ever.
Rev. C. L. Bryant's fabulous documentary, Runaway Slave, is now out on DVD. If you haven't seen this film I urge you to order it and watch.
I went to the theater five times last summer and watched it. I loved it. My review is here.
The title refers to Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad in the 19th century; Rev. Bryant contends that we need a "new Underground Railroad" to help lead blacks from the tyranny of enslavement by the United States government which is bent on keeping so many dependent on the government dole.
The documentary is a masterpiece of photography and symbolism as well as strong in its powerful message. Yet even with the seriousness of the subject, in the end I was left optimistic and hopeful.
The trailer:
I've ordered my copy already because even though I almost know it by heart by now, I still want to watch it over and over again.
I think there's something going on in D.C. today...an inauguration of some sort. I'm not turning on the t.v. today. I've got my XM radio tuned to the forties station and am tending to household matters today.
A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.
…None of which would have stopped the Newtown atrocity. The shooter stole the guns from his mother, who passed a background check (Connecticut has that); the guns, being stolen and used rather than resold, would have been effectively invisible to a hypothetical database; the guns were not in fact owned by a mentally unstable, violent person who used them to murder children (they were stolen by somebody who used them for that); and penalties for possession of firearms around schools or by minors obviously had no effect on the shooter (who was, by the way, a legal adult).
He makes a legitimate point.
As this debate moves forward, and it will, it's important to keep our heads, and wits, about us. The administration who vows to "never let a crisis go to waste" will certainly move to enact something here, although I suspect and terribly restrictive legislation will have a difficult time moving through Congress.
What we need to me more concerned about is Obama's already demonstrated penchant for running around Congress.
Tom Gresham has a rational, thoughtful op-ed today in which he says:
We have a clear track record of what works to increase our safety. We know what doesn't. Arming good people does, in fact, reduce crime. Banning certain types of firearms, or the loading devices, does nothing to stop mentally ill people and criminals.
Focusing on the failed siren song of gun control diverts us from doing things that actually work, such as programs to secure firearms. Congress eliminated the funding for “Project Childsafe,” a program created by the firearms industry to educate gun owners about safe storage and to distribute millions of gun locks.
Americans will not willingly give up their guns. Nor should we. Gresham argues for the benefit of safety and education programs and that's something both sides can agree on.
As a sort of grounding plug to this whole debate one only need consider the story in the news today of the woman hiding in her attic who had to shoot an intruder to protect her two children. She had absolutely no choice in the matter.
I was reading some discussion about this case on Michael Yon's Facebook feed; Yon wrote:
There are numerous lessons here: 1) Do not break into someone's castle
2) .38 is too weak. Always has been. Always will be
3) 6 shots are not enough. What if there had been three intruders? She hit this guy five times and he was still alive and talking, which means he could still pull a trigger.
4) Do not mess with momma bear when she has cubs.
In the comments there was discussion about what a good shot this lady was. She hit him five times with her .38 revolver. He's got a punctured lung, punctured stomach, and a punctured liver yet he was still able to get in his car and try to drive away. I suspect she might upgrade to a weapon with a little more firepower. Or upgrade ammo.
If the gun-control advocates have their way, she wouldn't be able to upgrade to a semi-automatic style weapon with a clip or magazine.
Michael Yon raises a good point, though. What if you're attacked by more than one intruder and you only have six shots?
We need to keep level heads as this discussion moves forward. There are bad people out there, crazy people to be sure, and it's a plain fact that no amount of gun control will keep weapons from them. None of the proposals mentioned so far would have stopped the Sandy Hook massacre.
As for me, I'm going to learn how to shoot. I'm signed up for my first class already and I'm looking forward to learning.
I've done exactly two political posts since the November election which recently prompted a friend of mine to ask if I've given up political blogging.
I've asked that question myself lots of times.
I haven't. I think, though, that after the election I felt much as I did after the passage of Obamacare. I felt like I'm just screaming into a void and nobody is listening. On one level, I just figured, "Ok - the American people want a socialist, big government system; it's what they voted for, so let 'em have it." When the Obamacare vote happened, I was deflated. I had researched, written thorough, well documented posts, and nobody was listening. In November, I felt there was no way that America would vote Barack Obama back into office given his record spending, Fast and Furious, Obamacare, Benghazi, etc. But the low information voter doesn't care about those things.
And he won. Again.
And then I hunkered down. I've been paying off credit cards and restructuring things in preparation for the coming financial apocalypse. And it IS coming.
And so political blogging went by the wayside here as I just shook my head in frustration and decided nothing I say could change things.
Meanwhile, Governor Bobby Jindal enacted his education reform agenda and I've been putting in ungodly hours at work just trying to stay ahead of that barrage. There is much to be said about that, but I don't really feel like I can do that right now.
And then this past August my mom fell and fractured her neck and that meant lots of hospital sitting as one complication after another arose. She is finally settled now, the neck brace is off, and she is living at The Glen. She likes it there and she is safe and well cared for.
I've noticed a malaise among some of my other blogging friends, but not all of them. And it's true that if anything is going to ever change then we can't all fall silent as I have. One voice won't change things, but a chorus of us stands a better chance to bring about change.
A big part of me just doesn't want to cave into the tyranny. It's what they want.
I'm not finished with the political blogging. I've just been frustrated and distracted. Trying to survive, if you will. I heard today that surviving is the new normal.
As far as this fiscal cliff crap sandwich goes? I think the Republicans are their own worst enemy and I'm just as sick of most of them as I am of the Democrats. John Boehner needs to resign. It's all just disgusting.
Political blogging? Yeah, I'm still here. 2016 is coming before you know it and we better have our collective shit together.
