Courtesy of CBS News:
More than 100 days since the tragic mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., a pro-gun control group is airing an ad featuring family members of those who died in the shooting.
The ad, released by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, calls for a series of new gun control measures in Connecticut, including comprehensive background checks, a limit high on capacity magazines and an assault weapons ban. Even though the tragedy at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School spurred a nationwide conversation about reducing gun violence, legislation at the state level remains stalled.
The family members in the ad make an impassioned plea for action. "Don't let the memory of Newtown fade without doing something real," says Terri Rousseau, whose daughter Lauren Rousseau was a teacher at Sandy Hook and among the 26 victims of the shooting.
The ad, airing in the Hartford market, also features Lauren's father, Gilles Rousseau; Neil Heslin, father of Jesse Lewis; Chris and Lynn McDonnell, parents of Grace McDonnell; and Jillian Soto, sister of Vicki Soto.
I cannot get through that video without tearing up. Their pain is heartbreaking.
Yesterday the President said "shame on us if we've forgotten."
I haven't forgotten, have you?
Months After Massacre, Obama Seeks to Regain Momentum on Gun Laws
ReplyDeleteWith resistance to tougher gun laws stiffening in Congress, a visibly frustrated President Obama on Thursday implored lawmakers and the nation not to lose sight of the horrors of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
“The notion that two months or three months after something as horrific as what happened in Newtown happens and we’ve moved on to other things?” Mr. Obama said in remarks at the White House, surrounded by relatives and friends of victims of gun violence, including some from Newtown. “That’s not who we are. That’s not who we are. And I want to make sure every American is listening today.”
The president has just a small window in which to persuade Congress to back a series of gun control measures that will come up for a vote in the Senate early next month. And his remarks, delivered in an impassioned and off-script manner, were aimed at reviving the impetus that gun-control advocates fear they are losing as more time passes since the shootings.
A filibuster threat is growing in the Senate. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, has said a ban on certain styles of semiautomatic weapons is virtually assured of defeat. And a senior Republican senator who opposes the president’s efforts, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, is now floating a competing gun bill.
These complications only add to the strain surrounding negotiations over a bipartisan bill that would strengthen the background check system for gun purchases — talks that have so far drawn the support of only one Republican, Mark Kirk of Illinois.
As senators at the heart of those negotiations returned to their home states this week, their staffs continued to try to reach consensus back in Washington. But they have yet to produce anything more than an outline of what legislation might look like.
Mr. Obama’s appearance, from the East Room of the White House, suggested just how delicate the situation had become. Rather than read from teleprompters, he seemed to speak extemporaneously much of the time and expressed irritation in a way that he generally does not. At some moments, he paused and took a breath as if collecting himself and circled back to some of his points for emphasis.
“Shame on us if we’ve forgotten,” he said.“I haven’t forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we’ve forgotten.”
The renewed push by the president, who will travel to Colorado next week to rally support for new gun measures, is just one piece in a broader nationwide effort, timed to coincide with the two-week Congressional recess, by gun control groups like the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s coalition.
At the same time, the National Rifle Association
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/us/politics/obama-makes-impassioned-plea-for-gun-control.html?_r=2&
Top donors threaten Dems: Do the right thing on guns, or no more money
ReplyDeleteWith red state Democratic Senators remaining skittish about embracing Obama’s gun proposals, at least two top Democratic donors are stepping forward and vowing to withhold any and all future financial contributions from any Democrats who don’t support the centerpiece of Obama’s plan: Expanded background checks.
Kenneth Lerer, a New York businessman who is chairman of Buzzfeed.com, and David Bohnett, a technology entrepreneur and philanthopist based in Los Angeles, are both major financial supporters of Democratic candidates, having each given scores of large contributions over the years. They are both key players in the political fundraising world and wield influence among other donors and fundraisers.
Neither will give another dime to any Senate Democrat who does not support expanded background checks, I’m told — and both will suggest to other donors that they do the same. The move underscores the rising importance of gun control as an issue in Democratic politics — and the rising frustration in some Democratic circles with elected officials who continue to regard gun politics as a third rail, at a moment that presents a real opportunity to achieve serious reform, with a policy that enjoys near universal public support.
“At some point you have to draw a line in the sand — for me that time is now,” Lerer told me in an interview. “If candidates or officeholders can’t support something like comprehensive and enforceable background checks, then I wouldn't think of giving them any money going forward.”
more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/03/28/top-donors-threaten-dems-do-the-right-thing-on-guns-or-no-more-money/
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/03/28/this-and-that-59/
...So the public’s appetite for legislative action to combat gun violence is still there. The problem lies with our lawmakers. A number of red state Dem Senators are still refusing to say whether they will back expanded background checks, and Republicans who support that as a general policy goal — such as Tom Coburn — continue to withhold support for the proposal over bogus concerns about record keeping. Dem Senators Joe Donnelly and Kay Hagan are now indicating they’re generally supportive of the idea, which suggests some movement. But this simply isn’t good enough. Where are Kay Hagan, Mark Pryor, Heidi Heitkamp, and Mary Landrieu? The time to declare independence from the NRA is right now. As Michael Tomasky writes:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/03/28/the-morning-plum-dont-punt-dems-its-not-too-late-to-defeat-the-nra/
The gunman in the Newtown, Conn., massacre fired 154 bullets from his Bushmaster military-style rifle in fewer than five minutes, killing 20 first-graders and six adults. He brought with him 10 large-capacity magazines, each holding up to 30 rounds, which allowed him to reload quickly. He also carried two semiautomatic handguns, one of which he used to take his own life.
ReplyDeleteIs this supposed to be the price of the Second Amendment? Is this the kind of America we want?
...But still it’s hard for me to accept that the right to “keep and bear arms” extends to the kind of arsenal that Adam Lanza — and his mother, Nancy, whom he also killed — assembled and kept in their home.
Lanza was outfitted like a commando, with guns and ammo clips engineered to kill the maximum number of people in the minimum amount of time. There were other weapons in the family’s possession that would have seemed better suited for recreation or self-defense — the reasons why, according to the National Rifle Association, we need to arm ourselves to the teeth. But Lanza left a .22-caliber rifle at home and a 12-gauge shotgun in the car he drove to the school. He had maximum mayhem on his mind.
Search-warrant documents released by Connecticut authorities suggest just how disturbed Lanza was. Among the items discovered was a newspaper article about a 2008 shooting at Northern Illinois University in which six people, including the perpetrator, were killed. There were also three photographs “with images of what appears to be a deceased human covered with plastic and what appears to be blood.”
Police found books on Asperger’s syndrome, a condition related to autism that Lanza, 20, was thought to have. They also found a “military-style uniform” and written journals whose contents have not been disclosed. An affidavit in support of the search warrant quotes an unnamed witness who described Lanza as “a shut-in and an avid gamer who plays ‘Call of Duty,’ ” an extremely violent — and popular — video game.
You read the documents and you begin to form the impression...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-adam-lanza-had-maximum-mayhem-on-his-mind/2013/03/28/bc5ff472-97e2-11e2-b68f-dc5c4b47e519_story.html?hpid=z3
Newtown shooter Lanza had more than 1,700 rounds of ammunition in his house
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/newtown-search-warrant-items/?hpid=z2
“Shame on us if we’ve forgotten…..”
ReplyDeletehttp://theobamadiary.com/2013/03/28/shame-on-us-if-weve-forgotten/
Palin Rails Against Consultants, But Spent Millions On Them In 2012
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin's super PAC released a web video earlier this week, drawing heavily from her speech at CPAC during which she took jabs at “the big consultants, the big money men, and the big bad media.” But over at The Daily Beast, columnist John Avlon points to SarahPAC's spending record during the last election cycle, which saw the former GOP vice presidential nominee's group shower consultants with millions.
"Seen through the lens of the invaluable Center for Responsive Politics, PalinPAC spent $5.1 million in the last election cycle (more than it raised in that time period, raising some questions about Palin’s claims of fiscal responsibility)," Avlon wrote. "But the real news comes when you look at how donors’ money was actually doled out: just $298,500 to candidates. The bulk of the rest of it, more than $4.8 million, went to—you guessed it—consultants."
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/palin-rails-against-consultants-but-spent-millions-on
O/T, but apparently Don Young is in more trouble than just the investigation into his campaign finances
ReplyDeleteHe called Mexicans "wetbacks" during a radio interview. Yeah, I always knew that Don was such a thoughful guy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/don-young-wetbacks_n_2976351.html
Oh, and also too, that paragon of vicious slander and stupidity Ted Cruz is now accusing President Obama of increasing gun violence, and taking "advantage" of the Sandy Hook tragedy..
Golly, he must make $arah's bitter little heart just jump for joy at the thought of more guns for everybody
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/ted-cruz-obama-sandy-hook_n_2974471.html
Dana Loesch got a bit hysterical last night on Piers Morgan Live in her desperation to spew NRA talking points over Newtown, repeating over and over again, “He reloaded four times! Anyone can reload! He reloaded four times!”
ReplyDeletePiers was trying to have a discussion about the fact that Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people in 300 seconds using an AR-15, but Dana was not having any of that. She wound herself up so tightly that she exploded, “If you stab someone with a spoon it can be qualified as an assault weapon!”
Watch the March 28 edition of CNN’s Piers Morgan Live via Media Matters:
Dana Loesch, “He reloaded four times! And he reloaded four times! Anyone can reload! He reloaded four times!”
Poor Piers begged her to let him finish asking his question. “Dana, let me finish. Are you telling me that doesn’t qualify as an assault weapon?”
Dana Loesch, “By the technical definition, Piers, no! Anything can be qualified as an assault weapon. If you stab someone with a spoon it can be qualified as an assault weapon.”
(Actually, the definition of assault weapon according to Bing is “war weapon:
Read more...
http://www.politicususa.com/loesch-spoons-assault-weapons-accuses-van-jones-spreading-uneducation.html
I'm sorry, but I don't think that was powerful at all. I'm not a rubber-necker, I don't dance on people's graves, but the public needs to know what these high capacity weapons do to victims. Those children were shredded. They were fucking closed-casket materials. The NRA wins when we go along with their tactic that don't kill people
ReplyDeleteMy heart breaks for those parents, those families. It's something that never needed to happen, a tragedy that it did and that so many innocent lives were lost in the blink of an eye.
ReplyDeleteI really do hate guns. I do. I have never liked them, even though I grew up with them. I don't find them sexy or attractive or impressive. I find them killing machines. That's all they're designed for, to kill. People and animals. Both of which are dear to me. I hate living in a gun culture, a culture that thrives on violence and destruction. Sickens me.
And now it's out of control with children dying every day, girlfriends being mowed down, brothers losing brothers, assholes acting out their rage and ignorance. All justified under the 2nd amendment? BULLSHIT.
That ad was hard to watch. I haven't forgotten. These gun lovers need to know that no one is taking away their right to own a gun. They're too wee wee'd up to listen to reason. How does requiring background checks infringe on anyone's right?
ReplyDeleteMother and Fathers need to show id to get otc allergy medication and no one's whining about their rights being infringed.
What did Adam Lanza need 1700 bullets for? Therapy for his alleged Asperger's Syndrome? To be the "cool kid" in the militia? Where are our priorities?