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@realDonaldTrump
Replying to @realDonaldTrump
So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!
7:12 AM – Feb 15, 2018
That’s what Donald Trump tweeted on the morning after the mass shooting at a south Florida high school that killed 17 children. The pro-gun lobby and their elected collaborators in Congress tend to shift quickly away from the issue of guns and turn to mental illness after these mass shootings. In this instance, Trump even blames the students for not taking action. “Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem.”
Meanwhile, Florida Senator Marcus Rubio said on the Senate floor that it’s “unfair to blame Congress” for these shootings. He essentially said that the shootings would happen anyhow, even if Congress finally passed some gun legislation. He’s right about that, especially because Congress would never pass any gun control measures with any teeth in them. They won’t even pass legislation to keep people on the government’s terrorist watch list from buying guns. They won’t pass universal background checks. And, they won’t even bring up a bill to keep guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill. Those are actions that are widely favored by Americans, but Congress won’t touch fearing retribution from gun makers, represented by the National Rifle Association.
So here’s the synchronicity in this rant: the day of the above tweet by Trump was the one-year anniversary of his signing into law of a bill that made it actually easier for mentally ill people to buy guns. Yet, In the tweet, he chastises the students for not doing anything. A shameful anniversary, indeed.
Interestingly, Trump signed that bill quietly and out of sight of the press. However, White House photographers say there are pictures of Trump signing it. CBS News has made five requests for those pictures, but the White House won’t release them. At least they recognize that the truth would look bad, and the truth is that Trump made it easier for mentally ill people to carry out mayhem.
Trish and Rob, thank you. Now I understand the objections were aimed at a Congress and other governing bodies that are sitting on their wealthy asses doing absolutely NOTHING to address or correct this unrelenting tidal wave of assaults against innocents….especially our precious children. I cannot imagine what I would do if my boys were such victims. I’d like to see the entire Washington groups of lawmakers thrown out en masse. This isn’t the America in which I grew up, and I mourn that loss.
I think they’re feeling that after every one of these shootings, there’s a lot of rhetoric, prayers and condolences, but then nothing changes. But these high school kids form parkland may change the landscape. You can be sure they aren’t going to forget this and some of them will be old enough to vote very soon.
P.S. I am distressed, seriously disturbed, totally surprised by the comments that object to “Christian prayers and condolences”. What’s going on with this? In the interim since January 1, 2017, until today, February 17, 2018, our family has suffered the losses of NINE loved ones. Nine. Some were family. Some were dear friends. Every phone call, every visit, every word on every card, were welcomed and embraced by us because these people were letting us know that they CARED. That they took time from busy lives to share in our sorrow and grief and to offer that caring. So, what shall we do? Just turn blind eyes and deaf ears to these tragedies and to those who are trying to cope with the worst life has heaped upon them? I am not a Christian. I am Traditional Wiccan, and MY form of ‘prayers and condolences’ is performed in rituals using candles and sending as much Love as I can through the ether, with the certain knowledge that the intended recipients will FEEL that invisible ‘caring’. I also request that the OtherWorldly Helpers will greet the new arrivals with warmth and will wrap the survivors in cloaks of comfort and peace. So, if we object to the ‘prayers and condolences…..WHAT??????? I need to understand.
My sense is that people are fed up with a congress that offers prayers and condolences then doesn’t do a damn thing to change gun laws.
CJ I think that for a lot of people those are “just words”. For you and I and many others when we say prayers are sent we actually send up a prayer . I also surround the family and deceased in loving pink energy and light a small candle in the persons name. I will not stop doing that because I do believe in prayer and I’ve seen first hand how it helps.
On a related subject to the Parkland shooting, let’s remember Marjory Stoneman Douglas for her beautifully penned book and not for a mass shooting of students at the school named after her.
The Everglades: River of Grass, published in 1947, changed the notion of the Everglades from a useless swamp to South Florida’s most significant habitat and source of fresh water. It’s a wonderful work written by an environmentalist long before the concept that we reside in a fragile environment was recognized.
Darren hits the nail on the hill, as we in the U.S. are witnessing more and more….killers using vehicles to drive through large crowds mowing down innocent victims. And there are attacks by terrorists with knives as well as the suicide bombers who wear their weapon of destruction on their bodies because they are convinced there will be 72 virgins waiting for them post-death.
Regarding these school shootings,if our three sons were school age now as opposed to being dults, I would home-school them.
But….there are no ‘safe places’ anymore.Schools, nightclubs, parades, organized runs for various causes, movie theaters, churches….the list goes on and on. It seems the frequency of pure EVIL has exploded, sending its inhabitants onto our planet.
Tragedy after tragedy. So sad.
OK. I’m a pacifist. PERIOD. However, there is a time and a place for everything. My Dad was a cattleman who spent his working days on horseback, riding through fields and pastures and herds of cattle. He had no choice but to carry a gun, a rifle, with was kept in a saddle gun bag in front of his saddle. Why? Because there were rattlesnakes inhabiting the fields and pastures and had no fear of the cattle. On one occasion, such a rattlesnake slithered out from behind a large rock and struck the horse my Dad was riding before Dad could get the rifle free. He then shot and killed the serpent, but his horse died. There were many occasions when Dad had to get off the horse and walk through the herds, and he had to carry the rifle with him. In fields and pastures that had ponds, there were also water moccasins that slid onto land out of the water. They are deadly, as are rattlesnakes. So, just as law enforcement officers carry, there ARE
occupations where guns are absolutely necessary. The gun laws desperately need to be
severely changed, but MUST NOT TAKE GUNS FROM THOSE RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE WHO MUST HAVE THEM, and then, only a specific TYPE of firearm. GUN CONTROL, not gun obliteration.
In 1996, Australia bought back assault riles from citizens who owned them. This followed a mass murder – defined as 5 or more people. There hasn’t been one since. Trump could do that immediately, if he wanted to.
While that is true for assault rifles in Australia, we had more than five run over and killed in the main street of Melbourne a year ago by a nutcase who used his car as a weapon and other nut-bag want to be terrorists have tried to copy that prick’s feat as recently as January this year.
And we had a guy run down 7 people yesterday, but none were killed thankfully.
There are still a lot of single gun deaths, too (mainly criminals killing each other) and knife attacks and deaths are all too common in Australia at the moment.
Still, I must say that I feel safer over this side of the planet than over there from what I see in the news.
And our farmers can still own guns like CJ’s dad did.
Our snakes make rattle snakes look like pussy cats when it comes to deadliness.
And the cops still have guns, including automatic weapons to fight potential terrorists with illegal guns and bombs.
And who needs an assault rifle anyway, unless you are a cop or army personal?
Thanks for the clarification, Daz. I guess nutcases will always find a way to kill others, but at least with a ban on assault rifles, it wouldn’t be quite as easy.
According to the wisdom of our great leader, students and community are to blame for not doing more to prevent a lunatic from buying a submachine gun and mowing down his classmates on Valentine’s day because he was pissed off. As always, it’s not his problem. Recently saw an article showing the amounts of money republicans, and Trump, have received from the NRA – it’s pretty mind boggling, and very clear that they are all bought and paid for by the makers of death. Nothing is going to change, including the continual hipocracy of these “christians” with their ‘prayers”.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-florida-students-done-150722680.html?.tsrc=fauxdal
We all get tired of hearing about prayers and condolences…