The "Draft Biden" SuperPAC releases its first advertisement. I don't know how I feel about it.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Draft Biden, a super PAC encouraging Vice President Joe Biden to run for president, released its first advertisement on Wednesday. 

The 90-second ad, “My Redemption,” first released on the Internet, uses Biden’s own words from his commencement address at Yale this year to describe how the tragic loss of his wife and infant daughter in a 1972 car accident made him a better parent and a stronger person. Biden’s sons, Beau and Hunter, survived the fatal accident, which occurred just a few weeks after Biden’s election to his first term in the Senate. 

“The incredible bond I have with my children is the gift I’m not sure I would have had, had I not been through what I went through,” Biden intones, as we see images of his Senate swearing-in by his sons’ side in the hospital. “But by focusing on my sons I found my redemption.” 

The ad then shows images of Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in late May at age 46.

Okay let me just admit up front that his ad bothers me.

Now it took me a bit to really understand what about it was bothering me, but now I think I know.

It's the fact that the ad seems to use the numerous tragedies in Joe Biden's life to sell him as a potential Commander-in-Chief.

That, to me, is not something which convinces me of a person's leadership abilities.

What's more it seems like an attempt to tap into the viewers emotions and elicit sympathy for Biden, which I assume is supposed to then translate into warm feelings about him as a person.

Well I have warm feelings about Joe Biden as a person, but this ad actually makes me suspicious that those feelings, which have a lot to do with Biden's authenticity and the recent passing of his son, are being manipulated for potential political gain.

And I can tell you that if true, my feelings will go from warm and fuzzy to extreme dislike in a matter of seconds.

I recognize that this is a SuperPAC, and not affiliated directly with Biden, but it might serve him well to make sure that point is understood by the public at large if he is actually considering throwing his hat into the ring. 

Beau Biden, Joe Biden's son, has died of brain cancer.

Courtesy of Reuters:  

Former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, died on Saturday after battling brain cancer, the vice president said. He was 46. 

"The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words," Vice President Biden said in a statement released by the White House. 

"We know that Beau's spirit will live on in all of us, especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter," he said. 

Beau Biden had announced last year he planned to run for governor of Delaware in 2016. 

He was diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2013 and underwent surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. After getting a "a clean bill of health" in November of that year, his cancer recurred in the spring of 2015, the vice president's office said. 

He sought aggressive treatment and had been hospitalized this month at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center outside Washington. 

His family was with him when he died. "Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did," the vice president said. "In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known."

I had another post scheduled for this slot, but I simply could not let this unfortunate event pass without comment.

Here is the statement from President Obama:  

Michelle and I are grieving tonight. Beau Biden was a friend of ours. His beloved family - Hallie, Natalie, and Hunter - are friends of ours. And Joe and Jill Biden are as good as friends get. 

Beau took after Joe. He studied the law, like his dad, even choosing the same law school. He chased a life of public service, like his dad, serving in Iraq and as Delaware's Attorney General. Like his dad, Beau was a good, big-hearted, devoutly Catholic and deeply faithful man, who made a difference in the lives of all he touched - and he lives on in their hearts. 

But for all that Beau Biden achieved in his life, nothing made him prouder; nothing made him happier; nothing claimed a fuller focus of his love and devotion than his family.

 Just like his dad. 

Joe is one of the strongest men we've ever known. He's as strong as they come, and nothing matters to him more than family. It's one of the things we love about him. And it is a testament to Joe and Jill - to who they are - that Beau lived a life that was full; a life that mattered; a life that reflected their reverence for family. 

The Bidens have more family than they know. In the Delaware they love. In the Senate Joe reveres. Across this country that he has served for more than forty years. And they have a family right here in the White House, where hundreds of hearts ache tonight - for Hallie, Natalie, and Hunter; for Joe and for Jill; for Beau's brother, Hunter; his sister, Ashley, and for the entire Biden clan. 

"I have believed the best of every man," wrote the poet William Butler Yeats, "And find that to believe it is enough to make a bad man show him at his best or even a good man swing his lantern higher." 

Beau Biden believed the best of us all. For him, and for his family, we swing our lanterns higher. 

Michelle and I humbly pray for the good Lord to watch over Beau Biden, and to protect and comfort his family here on Earth.

No parent should have to bury their child, and I think that all of us who are parents, regardless of our political points of view, are grieving with Joe Biden right now.

So with that in mind I am going to include Sarah Palin's remarks as well courtesy of Facebook:

Our family's prayers are with the Biden family tonight on the loss of their son, brother, husband and father, Beau Biden. He was a veteran of the Iraq war and was awarded the Bronze Star in recognition of his service, and continued his service in public office as well. We enjoyed the short time we got to spend with his beautiful family during the VP debate in 2008. Rest in Peace, Beau. 

Psalm 18:2 “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” 

- Sarah Palin

Joe Biden has dealt with more loss in his life than I think most of us could bear, yet he still manages to walk through life with that huge smile plastered to his face while treating the people he meets as if he really cares about each and every one of them.

And that just might be because he does.

On behalf of myself, and all of us here at IM, I want to send our condolences to the Biden family.

Update: I think this is a much better picture to illustrate Joe Biden's love for his son.

Death toll in Nepal rises to almost 2,000.

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Nepal climbed above 1,900 on Sunday and was continuing to rise as officials struggled to gauge the full scale of the disaster and the world rushed to provide desperately needed aid. 

Dozens of aftershocks jolted Nepal on Saturday and Sunday as people sheltered where they could. Nepalese authorities continually revised the number of dead upwards a day after the Himalayan country was shaken by a magnitude 7.8 quake that wrecked houses, flattened centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches on Mount Everest. 

More than 5,000 people had been injured, with the number of dead and injured expected to rise in the coming days. Nepalese police officials said more than 700 people died in Kathmandu alone. 

An avalanche triggered by the quake struck a section of Everest’s base camp, killing at least 17 people and injuring 61 others, local reports said. Further up the mountain, about 100 climbers were safe but facing difficulty getting down as the route back to safety was damaged, with the situation of more people on other other routes on the mountain still unknown and rescue efforts under way.

So much devastation!

My daughter arrived back home last night after being on the road with a traveling stage show for almost a month, and she sort of shamed me by asking how I could be so focused on the President's WHCD speech and not this tragedy.

She had a point.

I guess part of the reason I had not written about it is that I found it a little overwhelming and didn't know what I could do to help here on this blog.

The US is responding by sending a disaster response team and a million dollars in aid, but I imagine that amount will go up as we learn more about the devastation and loss of life.

I would suggest to those that want to help that they could start by making a donation to the Red Cross, because you know they will be in the thick of things.

If any of you have more information, or more legitimate places to donate, please let us know.

After all we are really one community sharing this planet, and what hurts one of us, hurts all of us.

Two year old kills eleven year old sister with unsecured handgun. Yay, 2nd Amendment.

Courtesy of The Salt Lake Tribune:  

A 2-year-old boy apparently shot and killed his 11-year-old sister while they and their siblings played with a gun inside a Philadelphia home, police said Sunday. 

Jamara Stevens was fatally shot Saturday morning with a gun that police believe was brought into the home by the mother’s boyfriend a few hours earlier. 

The mother was home with her four children in a master bedroom, Lt. John Walker said. Police say the shooting occurred when she left the room at about 10 a.m. to use the bathroom. 

The 2-year-old pointed the loaded, cocked gun in the direction of his sister and the gun discharged, according to investigators. 

The fatal bullet struck Jamara’s shoulder and then traveled to her chest. Jamara was rushed to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, but died about a half-hour later, police said. 

It appears that the boyfriend at least TRIED to place the gun out of reach of the children. However it seems he did not understand the tenacity of children in their efforts to get their hands on something new and forbidden.

Police believe the mother’s boyfriend had brought the gun to the house and stashed it on top of a refrigerator. It’s not immediately clear who brought it to the bedroom. 

Homicide detectives are investigating and will forward information to the district attorney’s office, police said. No charges have been filed.

And it is unlikely that any charges will be filed, since this appears to be the very definition of an accidental shooting. 

However it is an accident that simply could not have taken place before the arrival of the boyfriend, and his weapon.

I am sure the boyfriend believed that his gun made him and everybody around him safer, only to learn that often it has just the opposite effect.

Pregnant woman accidentally shot to death by her husband, a state trooper.

Courtesy of Philly.com:  

Police released the identity of a pregnant woman accidentally shot to death Friday afternoon in Montgomery County by her husband, a state trooper. 

JoAnne Miller, who was 22 weeks pregnant, was taken to Mercy Suburban Hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper body. She died soon after she was admitted. Doctors performed an unsuccessful emergency cesarean. "The baby never had its own breathing or heartbeat," said the Montgomery County coroner, Walter Hofman. 

The shooting in the home on the 3000 block of Stony Creek Road in East Norriton occurred around 2:30 p.m. Friday, police said. The officer pulled the trigger while taking apart his .45-caliber handgun for cleaning but did not realize the gun was loaded, police said. 

I am not going to make any snide remarks because this is truly a tragedy.

However it is instructional in showing that any gun introduced into a household is far likelier to put the inhabitants in danger than to protect them, even when the gun is in the hands of somebody trained to use it for protection.

This gun had a purpose, and that purpose is ostensibly to protect life, but in reality a gun is only good for one thing. And that is the taking of life.

In this case the life of a mother and her unborn child.

3 year old dies after knocking handgun off counter. Remember guns don't kill, gravity kills.

Courtesy of RTV6:

A 3-year-old has died after being shot in the head Saturday evening at his family's home near Broad Ripple Park, IMPD officials confirmed. Investigators said they believe it was the result of an accident. 

Police said the child was shot in the head with a handgun. The incident occurred on the 1800 block of East 68th Street, just a few blocks north of Broad Ripple Park. 

IMPD Lt. Christopher Bailey said investigators believe the child shot himself after pulling the gun off a kitchen counter. Lt. Bailey said detectives are still investigating and once they're done, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office will review the case to see if criminal charges need to be filed.

Police said they were alerted of the incident just after 6 p.m. Saturday after a 911 caller stated a "gun went off and struck a child." 

It seems that there is still some confusion as to whether the gun fired accidentally when it was pulled off the counter or if the child actually pulled the trigger.

Either way this is a tragic accident that was easily preventable, and one that SHOULD result in charges against the adults who demonstrated such fatal irresponsibility. 

People need to be educated that guns are NOT a tool for self defense. Pepper spray, martial arts training, and even house alarms can be categorized as such, but not guns.

Guns are instruments designed to take a life.

THAT is their sole function. And THAT needs to be the consideration when bringing one into your home.

Especially when you have young children whose lives have suddenly become more dangerous, not less dangerous.

They used their own bodies to protect the children.

Courtesy of the Telegraph:

The centre of the destruction was Moore, a suburb of 55,000 to the south of the city. 

There, the Plaza Towers primary school was directly hit by the tornado, and 24 children are feared to have died inside. At least seven bodies have been pulled from the rubble of the school and authorities have confirmed that more casualties are expected. 

One witness at Plaza Towers told KOCO television: "We pulled a teacher out and she was on top of three kids. The kids were fine but the teacher was in a bad way and we wheeled her into an ambulance. As far as I know most of the kids got out. 

"There were kids running around screaming. The school is just gone, you can't tell what was the front and what was the back. People were screaming for their children." Another rescuer said: "They've been pulling out third graders. It is absolute chaos down here. It's horrific." 

One teacher described lying on top of six children in a bathroom to protect them. 

The children pulled from the rubble were passed down a human chain to a triage centre in the car park of the school, which taught 500 pupils. 

Many of the children had been taken to a local church to shelter before the storm hit. Around 75 were believed to have been kept at the school by teachers as they sought to ride out the tornado.

 A second school in the storm's path, Briarwood Elementary, was also flattened.

A teacher hugs one of the students from Briarwood Elementary School.

I can barely imagine how terrifying it must have been for these children, and the teachers left behind to protect them. But story after story is emerging of these educators literally shielding the bodies of their students with their own.

I think the next person I hear say a derogatory remark about a teacher I will punch in the mouth.

The devastation that you can see in the pictures is bad enough but take a look at the video one family captured as they emerged from where they took shelter from the storm.

When they entered that space they were surrounded by the walls of a house, and when they emerge there is nothing but sky above them.

I don't necessarily think that this is the right time to get political, but I cannot let this go without mentioning that both of Oklahoma's Senators voted against providing relief to New Jersey after Sandy.

Somehow I imagine they will have changed their tune about government spending. Don't you?

Update: More unbelievable video.

By the way for those wondering how come these people did not have time to get all of the children to safety you should know that there was ONLY a sixteen minute warning, and that the schools are some of the best constructed buildings in the area. Literally the ONLY way to have been completely safe was to go underground, and from what I am hearing the bedrock under this town makes that very difficult.

Something to keep in mind as we help each other deal with the shock and the fear left over from yesterday's tragedy.

Just when you thought things in Sandy Hook, Connecticut could not get any more horrible.

Courtesy of Buzzfeed:

Less than a day after the tragic shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut that claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults, members of the Westboro Baptist Church are already announcing plans to protest during and after President Obama'a visit on Sunday. The hate group is best known for its protest of the funerals of U.S. service members. 

“Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment," Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of the church, tweeted.

You know usually I would suggest that people simply ignore these ignorant, assholes but the thought that these poor people, many who have just lost their babies, would have to see the hateful signs these animals will undoubtedly wave in their face is too disgusting to contemplate.

I know that the First Amendment guarantees free speech and I know that THIS is how these people make their pathetic hate filled lives seem purposeful, but this is simply too much to ask these grieving families to bear.

The folks over on Reddit are organizing a human blockade of silent protesters to keep the Westboro folks from disturbing the service.  As some of you may remember from an earlier post today this has been done successfully in the past.

Students at Texas A & M block Westboro protesters during funeral

People lock arms to prevent Westboro protesters from attending memorial services in Aurora, Colorado.

Well I certainly hope that somebody does something to interfere with Westboro's agenda of hate.

Someday I may have to subject myself to yet another reading of the bible just so I can figure out exactly WHERE this group finds their excuse for this disgusting display of inhumane behavior.

President Obama's Weekly Address. The Comforter in Chief.

Comforting, respectful, peppered with a few unobtrusive religious references, and ultimately hopeful.

Well done.

Now just imagine Mitt Romney delivering a similar address. (Or better yet do your own side by side comparison.)

Remember there is MORE to being the President, than simply increasing the number of jobs.

We knew who would NOT call, but we also knew who would. Update!

Courtesy of CNN:

Obama called Giffords on Sunday "to offer his support" and say that she, other shooting victims and the Tucson community are "in their daily thoughts and prayers," the White House said in a statement. 

"The president expressed amazement at the courage and determination Rep. Giffords has shown along her incredible road to recovery, calling her an inspiration to his family and Americans across the country," the statement added. 

I never had any doubt that President Obama would make it a priority to call Gabby today.  And I have known since I first saw this picture.

The comforter-in-chief would never let this day pass without making sure to let Gabby know that he is still thinking of her. Just like somebody else we know would take great pains to NEVER mention a word about the tragedy.

Today the people of Tucson will have the opportunity to tell Gabby just how proud they all are of her, and share her pain at the loss of those six innocent lives.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is among those in Tucson, Arizona, on Sunday to mark one year since a shooting rampage that left her and 12 others wounded and six people dead, an anniversary that her chief of staff said has been "difficult emotionally for everybody."

I will hopefully have footage of the event to update this post with later.

Update:  I don't have any video but I do have a news report to share:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords led a crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, her words ringing out across a cold Tucson night in a rare public appearance Sunday evening at a candlelight vigil one year after surviving a deadly shooting that killed six. 

The Democratic congresswoman stepped onstage to cheers from the crowd. Ron Barber, a staffer who was wounded in a deadly shooting one year ago, invited her to lead the audience in the pledge. 

The crowd chanted: "Gabby, Gabby." 

She limped to the podium, and husband Mark Kelly helped lift her left hand over her heart. After a year in which she has struggled to speak, Giffords recited the pledge with the audience, head held high and a smile on her face as she punched each word. 

The remembrance at the University of Arizona capped off a day of events, including a church service that drew hundreds in the afternoon and a citywide bell-ringing at 10:11 a.m., the exact time a gunman started shooting at a Safeway political event. 

With hugs and tears, southern Arizonans remembered the dead, the shattered lives and those who acted heroically after a gunman opened fire at an outdoor meet-and-greet that severely wounded Giffords and killed six.

This is the kind of strength that many might claim to possess, but few actually do.

I have to admit that I thought I was pretty formidable once, but compared to Gabby Giffords I don't consider myself too damn impressive.

Amazing woman.  Simply amazing.

Update 2: Picture of Gabby leading the pledge. 

How's that for a great end to the weekend?

Sunday is the anniversay of the Tucson shooting that wounded Gabby Giffords and twelve others, and killed six more. Here is the story of the woman who tried to shield little Christina-Taylor Green from the hail of bullets that ended her young life.

Survivor of 2011 Tucson shooting Suzi Hileman

Courtesy of AZ Daily Sun:

Suzi Hileman brought 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, her neighbor and friend, to a Tucson grocery store last Jan. 8 so the girl, who was interested in politics, could meet a real-life female politician. When a gunman began firing on the crowd waiting to meet Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Hileman tried to block the little girl from the bullets. 

Hileman, 59, was shot three times herself but was unable to save Christina, who was fatally shot in the chest. Hileman was forced to look into the little girl's eyes as she lay dying and begged her to stay alive. 

Hileman granted a request by The Associated Press to share her thoughts _ in her own words _ as the one-year mark of the shooting rampage approaches and how she's managed to put her life back together after that tragic morning when she couldn't bring Christina home to her parents. 

The following is what Hileman wrote:

_______________________________________

I'm reminded of Jan. 8 every time I change my clothes. My scars, surgical and weapon-related, will never let me forget. 

I'm reminded of Jan. 8 every time I try to lift something or contemplate walking instead of driving to visit a friend. 

I'm reminded of Jan. 8 every time the school bus goes by, missing one little girl. 

It's not a great place to go and I try not to stay for long but it wouldn't be honest to deny it.

There's more but I want you to click the link to read the rest.

I tried to read the above article to my daughter last night, and was surprised that I could only get a few sentences in before choking up and being unable to continue. I found myself overcome with emotion at the memory of that terrible day, at the struggle Gabby Giffords has gone through during her rehabilitation, and at the loss of that beautiful little girl which this selfless woman tried so hard to protect.

This brave woman has refused to let this terrible incident define the rest of her life and has started a non-profit organization that is dedicated to supporting, creating and promoting intergenerational mentoring projects. You can read more about that by clicking here: GRandparentsINresidence (GRIN).

I can only hope that on Sunday, which marks the one year anniversary of this tragedy, that the woman who so thoughtlessly put crosshairs over Tucson, Arizona, marking Gabrielle Giffords for removal, finally feels at least some portion of the sadness, and sense of loss, that many of us will share with the people of Tucson, as they remember the day that tore their community apart.

But honestly I do not hold out much hope.

Exotic animal massacre in Ohio senseless tragedy.

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I heard bits and pieces of this throughout the day, but it was not until I sat down to watch Rachel that I heard the entire unbelievable story in its entirety.

I was surprised at my outrage and visceral response to the story.

I had always considered Jack Hanna to be a goofy animal handler who occasionally showed up on the Tonight Show, but his raw emotional response to this tragedy, really touched my heart and gave me new respect for a man who clearly has a deep and abiding love for our fellow creatures.

As I listened to his description, it sounded for all of the world like the plot to a low budget horror movie. Sadly this is one that was all too real, and one that led to a completely unnecessary loss of life.

Just for the sake of comparisons take a look at what a REAL humanitarian trip to Haiti looks like.

Michelle Obama in Haiti from The White House on Vimeo.

And remember THIS was eight months ago. Undoubtedly well before the Grizzled Mama realized she could use the disaster and the suffering people as a back drop to soften her image and attempt to make herself appear to actually have compassion.

Also take note of how comfortable and accessible Michelle Obama is with this community.  She obviously feels connected to the people in a way that Palin obviously did not.  And NO it has NOTHING to do with skin color.

Earthquake of 8.8 magnitude devastates Chile.

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A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, killing at least 85 people, triggering a tsunami and damaging buildings more than 200 miles away.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe".

This is absolutely terrible. First Haiti and now this.