Donald Trump and his unpatriotic obsession with despots like the Saudi ghoul Mohammed bin Salman

Trump is crazy! He defends Saudi Crown Prince at White House Over Jamal Khashoggi Killing Read more (Legit World): 

Echo opinion letters: The NYTimes editorial board correctly called out Donald Trump’s disgraceful defense of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman 👿💢of Saudi Arabia after being asked by an ABC News reporter about the murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But in reacting as he did, Trump, undoubtedly unintentionally, called out the prince.

In Trump's disgusting castigation to the reporter, Mary Bruce, the he said to her, “You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”

In more than 40 years as a psychiatrist, I have observed something that will be obvious to most: Innocent people, wrongly accused, are generally indignant and angry.

Guilty people, rightly accused, are embarrassed or even ashamed (if they have the moral fiber for it).

When Donald Trump least intended it, the truth slipped out.

From Harold Schwartz in West Hartford, Connecticut

"Trump thinks Ms. Bruce’s job is to report to the president rather than to report about what the president does," from Bernard Joshua Kabak in New York.

Donald Trump is not interested in supporting democracy but admires dictators

An election choice like no other- democracy or fascism❓

Unlike our current president Joe Biden, the alternative is disasterous.  Trump aims to be a dictator❗

Echo opinion letter published in the Waterbury Connecticut Republican Americans newspaper:

Are we better off now compared to four years ago? (Maine Writer- IMO, the COVID pandemic and Trump are synonomous!)

The answer is a resounding yes, if for no other reason than this: We now have a president who, should he lose the next election, will accept the results graciously and respectfully.

The contrast with the former president is clear. He acted and continues to act in an erratic and dangerous manner when faced with an unfavorable outcome. He did everything in his power to circumvent the will of a country that emphatically rejected him in 2020, going so far as to foment an attack on the Capitol, Congress, and on his own vice president! 

Trump considers the protections enshrined in our Constitution mere suggestions for him to twist, subvert, and defile as he sees fit. And still he claims to be a member of the ‘law and order’ party.

He aspires to be a dictator, there can be no denying that – he said it himself. His idols are Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, and Vikor Orbán. Is that what we want for our country? The American Revolution was fought and won to break free of the shackles of a king. Why would any American be in favor of further eroding our democracy and subjecting the United States to the iron fist of authoritarianism? 😡

“You can’t love your country only when you win.”

#VoteBlue2024  #VoteBidenHarris

From Stephen Tarnowski from Southbury Connecticut

Anti-Trumpzi manifesto: Cult Trump followers have no moral scruples

Chris Shays (opinion): The very real and dangerous possibility of the return of Donald Trump to a Trumpzi administration, opinion echo published in the News Times, in Connecticut, by Chris Shays.

Wow❗ Is it possible Donald Trump is not subject to the proverbial saying … the last straw broke the camel’s back? Is it possible with Donald Trump there is no final straw❓😲

• I thought when he said he could kill someone on 5th Avenue, and no one would care, people would prove him wrong.
• I thought when he talked about how he could grab a woman in her private parts, and get away with it, he was finished politically.
• I thought when he called opponents and others, nasty names, voters would see him as a petulant child, and be done with him.I thought when it became known he paid hush money to cover up his sexual liaisons with a Playboy Bunny and a porn star, voters would finally say, “get out of the race.”
• I thought when he was found guilty of sexual harassment, defaming his victim, and required to pay her millions of dollars, his political future was over.
• I thought when he and his family had business dealings with foreign entities while president, the public would finally say, “I have had it with this guy and his family.”
• I thought when he attacked U.S. Sen. John McCain by saying, “McCain was not a war hero because he was captured” most Americans would find his comments cruel and highly offensive.
• I thought when he refused to honor our troops buried in Europe, calling them “losers,” or when he went to Arlington Cemetery and asked Gen. John Kelly, who lost his 29-year-old son in Afghanistan, “I don’t get it, what was in it for them,” most Americans would finally conclude, “I can’t vote for any president, who has such disregard for those who gave their lives in service to our country.”
• I thought when he parroted Adolf Hitler, that “immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country,” surely this would cause him loss of support, especially since his own wife was a recent immigrant. 
  
  
  
• I thought when he lost the election, refused to accept the verdict of the American voters, and called state officials urging them to find him more votes out of thin air, he would come across as a serious threat to the historic peaceful transfer of power.
• I thought when he rallied his supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, and the resulting violence, looting and destruction in the Capitol building that followed, most Americans would never consider voting for him again.
• I thought when he announced if re-elected president, he would pardon those found guilty of attacking the Capitol, most Americans would finally reject him.
• I thought when he announced his campaign was about “revenge and retribution,” the public would renounce such a destructive mission for any president of the United States to pursue.
• And then I thought this is it, finally … all Americans will be outraged with his Christmas greeting, hoping his political opponents would “rot in hell,” and then in the same breath wish his supporters “Merry Christmas.”

Nevertheless, given all that had already transpired, how foolish of me to expect this would be the “final straw.”

Cult Republicans are obsessed with tanking American democracy

#RepublicansAreTheProblem!

Maine Writer- In a court of law, it would be very easy to accumulate a preponderance of evidence to prove how deep Republicans are willing to sink our American democracy for the sake of obstructing progress.

This echo opinion letter was published in The Day, a New London, Connecticut newspaper 

"This moron Gosar has to go. He really seems to be out of touch", wrote Richard McGill in The Day.

Dear Editor: I was disgusted to watch the cult Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives discuss censuring Rep. Gosar for his nasty, immature, malignant, and inappropriate cartoon depicting killing other members of the House and attacking President Joe Biden. 

The fact that only two Republicans stood up to say it was wrong is equally frightening. Rep. McCarthy's* speech did not address the behavior but was another of his diatribes against the opposing party. Can they not see the act of Mr. Gosar as wrong?

The party of "Lincoln, law and order and Reagan" seem to be confused. I do not believe that either Lincoln or Reagan would condone this behavior and treatment of another citizen or member of Congress. They certainly would not condone ignoring subpoenas from Congressional hearings, storming the Capital or just being anti everything the other party suggested just to be on the opposite side.

Americans would benefit from our representatives, by insisting that they  listen to the other side, discuss differences and work to come to consensus. Both parties were elected to do our business, not theirs and to work for us, not themselves, their party or past office holders.

Be Americans, not partisans or cult obstructionists for a change.

From Alan Armstrong in Mystic, Connecticut

Charlie McCarthy and ventriloquist Edgar Bergen

*Rep. Kevin McCarthy speaks like he is controlled by ventriloquist #TFG (aka "Trumpty-Dumpty").

Republican virus! Contaminated by stupidity!

This echo opinion letter was published in the Journal Inquirer a Connecticut newspaper:

For a whole year former #TFG Donald Trump was holding back the truth and spreading misinformation. Thanks to all the false conspiracy theories he and some conservative Republicans were spreading, it may well have cost over 500,000 lives. Trump has the blood of those lives on him. That happened on his watch. (Genocide!)

Vaccines are here and saving lives, as are masks. Unfortunately, a majority of Republicans and misguided citizens chose not to do either, so the pandemic is raging once again.

Children who can’t get vaccinated are falling ill and ending up in intensive-care units. The majority of the cases are occurring in Florida right now, where (stupid!) Governor Ron DeSantis is standing fast against mask mandates in schools, where the virus will spread. He is threatening to withhold salaries and possibly firing people for implementing mask mandates against his wishes.

DeSantis is a direct disciple of Trump, so this is not surprising but it is disgusting.

Doctors decide what is medically right for a child and masks work to keep children safe and alive. Does DeSantis truly not want that?

Nobody has the right to drive drunk and kill someone. And no governor has the right to not allow safety measure to keep kids alive.

These Republican governors will have the blood of children on their hands.

Return sanity to the Republican Party. Enough is enough

From Marcy Klein, Manchester Connecticut

Trumpzi deplorables alert! "Trump knew he lost the election."

Echo opinion by columnist Mike Reynolds published in the Meridian Connecticut Record Journal: 

Donald Trump knew he lost the 2020 election, so in retaliation, he incited a failed sedition!

Officer Brian Sicknick, Ashli Babbitt, Kevin Greeson, Benjamin Philips and Roseanne Boyland, all lost their lives inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6th. We know how they died. Sicknick was reported to have been bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher while defending an entrance. Babbitt was gunned down by Capitol Police as she tried to jump through the shattered window of the House chamber door. Philips succumbed to a stroke and Greeson to a heart attack during the sudden excitement. Boyland was trampled to death under a crowd of her own compatriots while rushing the door to the Senate chamber.

Passionate heroism, tragically misplaced patriotism, innocent victimization, and naïve hubris were all on display in a whirling Walpurgisnacht of chaotic violence deliberately targeted at the sacred temple of our democracy — all while the crowd cheered.

We know how they died. We know when they died. But WHY did they die?

Beyond tragic, a (cult leader!) lame duck (deplorable!) could not accept the plain fact that he had lost an election. For months, he continually told us that his victory was being stolen from him by a deep-state cabal hiding evidence of massive election fraud and the “real” results of his irrefutable victory. 

Republicans in the House and Senate cynically staged a protest vote during the House certification ceremony to appeal to ideological extremists in their constituencies. Meanwhile, that president invited over 10,000 supporters — Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Q-Anon and other violent paramilitary groups — to rally outside the White House. There, that president told them to march on the Capitol and to “show strength.”

They were ready. Some had brought firearms, clubs, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and zip-tie handcuffs to kill, capture and otherwise serve his purpose. They had erected a gallows in the parking lot. They reached the Capitol, assaulted the small force of police guarding the building and smashed their way inside chanting death cries to the elected leaders in the House and Senate chambers. When they reached those chambers, though, they found them empty. Their intended quarry had escaped. They sat around, vandalized offices and wondered what to do next.

The horrible violence failed and five dead lay bleeding in the wake. The next day, Donald Trump grudgingly called for a “peaceful transition of power.”

What was it all for? Trump knew he had lost. The senators and representatives who staged the protest vote knew he had lost weeks earlier. There was nothing to gain. Nothing to prove.

Perhaps, though, there was something to avenge — and to exploit. The 10,000 would never admit it, but they were frightened. Facing a future where their hold on the few scraps of power and privilege they had left would be taken from them by people who do not look, speak, feel, believe or aspire as they did (and leave them starving for these things), maybe they panicked. Before any group of people starves, they do three things — consolidate resources, build up their army, and raid the neighbors. Frighteningly, this happens whether the threat of starvation is real or imagined.

A group who thinks they are in this kind of danger is not hard to sway. All you do is repeat to them that they are the deserving, that the undeserving are after what they have, and that those people are the enemy who deserve only death. Then they are willing servants.

In my view, Trump plans to open his own media company after he leaves office and to use his claim of “legitimate hold” on the presidency to cement the attention of his revanchist audience.

Did five people die for a publicity gimmick? I think so, and hope not.

Mike Reynolds is a social studies teacher in the Hartford Public School System and a former guest member of the R-J editorial board.

Donald Trump is not above the law- high crmes and misdemeanors

Letter to the editor published in The Connecticut New Haven Register - Donald Trump tried to leverage the Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, in other words, "bribery", for his own personal political purposes.

I'm calling on my representative to support drafting articles of impeachment and voting to impeach Donald Trump. It’s far past time for Congress to use its constitutionally given powers to stop Trump’s assault on our democracy and elections. After all, no one is above the law — not even the president of the United States.

Over the past few weeks, Trump’s lawlessness has risen to new heights. First, a whistleblower complaint (and White House “transcript”) showed that Trump bullied the Ukrainian government to interfere in the 2020 election by threatening to withhold military aid. Then, we learned that White House officials tried to cover up the conversation by hiding evidence of it on a secret server. Now, every time you turn on the news, there’s another country he’s pressuring to interfere in our elections for his own personal gain or a new memo that brings more criminal activity to light.

Poll after poll shows that more Americans support impeachment than ever before. Even some Republicans are starting to speak out in favor of investigating Trump’s activity. All of this is making it harder for those who still don’t support impeachment — Republicans and Democrats alike — to defend their position.

Trump is a threat to our elections — the very backbone of our democracy — and he’s acting as though he’s immune to the rule of law. As Congress continues its work on other important bread-and-butter issues, we also need them to use the impeachment process to remind Trump that every American is beholden to the rule of law.

From Dominic Percopo in West Haven Connecticut

Echo call for compassion toward innocent immigrants - editorial: Donald Trump's disdain for diversity

An editorial echo published in the Connecticut newspaper The Middletown Press

The common thread that weaves together multiple outrages in America today — mistreatment of migrants at the border, children separated from their families and kept in cages, longtime residents far from the border facing threats of deportation — stems from the White House and Donald Trump’s apparently overwhelming disdain for the nation’s growing diversity.

From the beginning of his candidacy for president, Trump has made immigration his signature issue, and he has used it to inflame his supporters. Since taking office, he has missed no opportunity to scapegoat, vilify or otherwise demean people who come to this country in search of a better life for themselves and their families.

This manifests itself in a variety of ways, all of which have salience in New England, thousands of miles from the Southern border. 

On Friday, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont encouraged families  that are worried about promised raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to utilize a state-prepared toolkit designed “for parents who seek to have a plan in place for the safe care of their children in the event that they are detained or deported.”

Although there are people who are unauthorized to be in the country, and perhaps they have committed crimes. They should face consequences. No one is calling for a blanket amnesty on every undocumented immigrant.

But we also need priorities. The powers and resources of the federal government are limited, and dedicating those resources to the forced removal of people quietly living their lives decades after entering the country, many of whom have jobs, families and an otherwise secure place in the community, is so far down the list of priorities as to be nonexistent. ICE raids, in threat or in reality, are cruel and counterproductive.

Meanwhile, closer to the border, a humanitarian crisis is only growing worse. Observers, including lawmakers, have reported desperate conditions as migrants seeking asylum are held in unsanitary, unsafe facilities that defy their rights and deny them their dignity. Those who would fulminate about so-called “illegal immigrants” need to remember that seeking asylum at the border is not illegal, and that only our broken immigration system has created a situation where people wait months or years for their status to be settled.

Rosa DeLauro, the longtime Connecticut congresswoman, planned a trip Monday to see for herself the conditions at a Florida facility that houses migrant children who have traveled to the United States on their own. Previous visitors have said it is overcrowded and lacks the capacity to properly care for children being forced to stay there.

No part of this is necessary. Immigration has been a part of America since its founding, and is essential to our continued vibrancy. Even if the president doesn’t understand that, the rest of us must stand for people who are most threatened by the tides of anger washing over our nation. And all of us must work toward a better, more humane future for everyone in America, no matter their immigration status.

Donald Trump listen up! "No fake news in Mueller Report!"

Editorial echo from The Middletown Press, a Connecticut newspaper: Mueller report shows who gave ‘fake news’

Most Americans were in agreement about whether Trump lied to the public about the matters under investigation by Mueller — 58 percent believe he did so, reports Vox by By Gabriela Resto-Montero

Dateline:  DONALD TRUMP- more lies.

Redacted pages.....and redacted pages in the Mueller Report, censured by #fakeBarr, but the narrative exposes Trump lies.

This shining truth is evident in the much-anticipated Mueller report released Thursday — there was no so-called “fake news.”

Read all about it. No Fake News in the Mueller Report!

As Special Counsel Robert Mueller began his investigation into areas of conduct by Donald Trump nearly two years ago, the news media pursued its own in-depth reporting on the administration. For every revealing story reported and published in some of the most respected media outlets in the country — The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN — the president would cry “Fake News.”

But he was wrong, and that diversionary tactic is exposed now for what it is — another lie.

The 400-plus pages of the report released by Attorney General William Barr, with redactions of classified material and referrals to criminal courts for further investigation, merit close scrutiny. The American people, for whom Mueller worked, need for him to appear before Congress and explain his reasoning.

The investigation centered on two overarching areas — did the president or his campaign collude with the Russians to influence the 2016 election, and did the president obstruct justice in the investigation? On the face of it, the answer appears to be no on both counts.

Whether Mueller determined there was insufficient evidence of obstruction of justice because others in the White House tried to thwart the president’s attempts should be explored.

But for now we are focusing on the integrity — and necessity — of journalism in contrast to the lies and manipulation by the president and his circle.

It was not “fake news” that a foreign country tried to influence the American election, and succeeded. This should scare everyone. It was not “fake news” that Donald Trump Jr. and others met with Russian operatives in Trump Tower during the campaign season. It was not “fake news” that Trump ordered his attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay off a porn star and keep his extramarital affair secret.

Democracy can teeter on the edge of autocracy when the ruler tries to discredit the truth and baldly attempts to turn the American people against the institution working on their behalf — the press. Remember President Trump calling the media “the enemy of the people?” That is chilling, and couldn’t be further from the truth.

Instead, the Mueller report shows, “fake news” — lies — came from the White House. Under oath, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders admitted that she made up the assertion that many rank-and-file Justice Department personnel had lost faith in their leader at the time, James Comey. This was fabricated as an excuse for President Trump to fire him.

That is one example. We do not have enough space to get into all the lies put forth by the (MaineWriter #fakePresident Donald Trump. (The website PolitiFact does a good job of that.)

Whether you describe yourself as conservative, liberal, progressive, whatever — journalism is for the people. Be informed.

A free and unfettered press, one that does not shirk from reporting on those in power, is essential to democracy.

Judicial temperament is the echo subject in multiple opinions

Hartford Courant letters - serial skepticism voiced about the Brett Kavanaugh judicial temperament from Higganum, Coventry and Woodstock in Connecticut :

#1 Not Justice Material

I found Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony powerful, moving, and credible. Apparently much of the country did as well, including many Republicans and even President Donald Trump, who called her "compelling ... and she looked like a very fine woman".

But regardless of Dr. Ford's veracity, Judge Kavanaugh's vengeful rant following her time showed him to lack the calm, apolitical, impartial, fair temperament to be a traffic court judge, let alone a Supreme Court Justice.

His insults of Senators and his claim that this judiciary hearing was a last-minute smear campaign by Democrats and "left-wing opposition groups" fueled by anger at President Trump and revenge for the Clintons was unhinged.

Can anyone believe that a Justice Kavanaugh would be an unbiased arbiter when presented with a case brought by a Democrat? This man should not be on the Supreme Court.

Scott MacDonald, Higganum

#2 Impartiality Required

The spectacle of the Judge Brett Kavanaugh's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee has certainly made for excellent daytime television drama.

However, Judge Kavanaugh's last appearance before the committee -- when he raged against his accuser and senators as well -- revealed one character flaw that truly casts doubt upon his suitability for the highest court in the nation.

The concept of impartiality is essential to factual findings based only on the evidence presented before the court, and the loss of this sort of impartiality is obviously improper.

During his testimony, Judge Kavanaugh opted for the Trumpian approach by blaming the Democrats for his perceived pillorying and suggesting "revenge on behalf of the Clintons." Whether of not this indignation was deserved or imagined, it revealed that his impartiality could be significantly affected.

That degree of anger exhibited during the Senate committee hearing should cause all to doubt if Judge Kavanaugh's temperament is suitable for the Supreme Court.

Gale Morganroth, Coventry

#3 Unfit to Judge

Regardless of whether the sexual abuse allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh prove true or false, Mr. Kavanaugh displayed a lack of emotional temperance during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings that shows he is unfit to make judgments in the highest decision-making body in our beloved country.

Karen Ryker, Woodstock

Republicans stand behind untethered 2nd amendment but childrens lives don't matter

Speaking as a Roman Catholic woman, I'm calling out House Speaker Paul Ryan. Shame! Childrens' lives matter!

Reports, post the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut, described the dead children killed by a gun carrying killer, as being stacked like cord wood. They were among the 28 people who were the victims of the deranged school shooter, a misfit named Adam Lanza. He was believed to suffer from a personality disorder and lived with his mother, said a law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation.

Following the deadly and preventable killings, the US Congress became paralyzed about enforcing common sense gun regulations to help prevent future mass killings. Nothing worked because Republicans in Congress prefer to save 2nd amendment rights rather than protect people from being the victims of gun violence.

Finally, President Obama took executive action to strengthen gun purchase laws. He intends to create barriers for convicted criminals and terrorists, to help prevent them from using loopholes, whereby they can buy guns without background checks. Believe it or not, Republicans are screeching like wounded hyenas about this common sense executive action.

Hyenas screech when empowered to feast on their prey

Obviously, the Republicans who screech the loudest about common sense gun regulations, like "Trump the Chump", "Cruz to loose" (aka "Senator Cruz"), and now add Speaker Paul Ryan to the triad, don't have any children among those whose bodies were stacked like cord wood, after the tragic Sandy Hook slaughter.

I'm especially disturbed by the negative response to the President's protective executive actions by politically blinded right wing politicians, like Congressman Paul Ryan. These wrong minded politicians and their zealous followers are obsessed by second amendment rights and blinded by guns while they need to protect human life. 

Indeed, the second amendment right wing zealots who lack compassion for victims of gun violence are a national embarrassment!

Americans must support President Obama's executive actions to help protect public safety during a growing gun violence epidemic. At the same time, American voters must reject all Republicans who are supporting 2nd amendment rights to own weapons, rather than protecting human beings from gun-violence. 

Childrens' lives matter!  (Rep. Paul Ryan alert!)

Sandy Hook A Nation Sends Sincere Condolences to Victims Familes

There's a productive way to honor the innocents murdered on December 13, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a seriously mentally ill perpetrator.  It's called prevention.

An upcoming anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre of elementary school children and their teachers is fast approaching. This entirely preventable human tragedy is now focused on a release of the 9-11 emergency tape recordings containing transmissions between victims and dispatchers. But this exercises won't prevent future school shootings.  

On the anniversary of the school shooting in Connecticut that left 20 first-graders and six adults murdered, one way to grasp the full tragedy of this all-American town is by tracing the ordinary day that led up to it.  So, that's what some are doing.  They're recreating the events of the day. But, instead of retracing what happened, an exercise that won't change anything, the real debriefing should be on prevention.  

While our nation mourns the one year anniversary of this preventable tragedy, the community erased the symbol of the entire event by destroying the building where the murders occurred.  Although this is understandable, given the scope of the heinous tragedy, it's also a way to keep the event out of future memories. "Out of sight out of mind," so to speak. 

There's one honest way to  honor, remember and tribute those who were innocently murdered on December 13, 2012.  Preventing all future preventable firearms homicides is the best way to extend to those victims families our sincere condolences. 

Americans will, no doubt, do due diligence on December 13, 2013, in remembering the one year anniversary.  No doubt, there will be a moment of silence in many Connecticut communities.  

Nevertheless, nothing else will have changed to improve gun safety in America. Guns continue to perpetrate needless mayhem while politicians are terrified to stand up against the dangers caused by the preventable public heath hazard caused by firearms.  

Now that the Sandy Hook school building doesn't exist, the memory of the killing event will quickly become part of the town's silent history. It's typical for people to avoid any reference to the murders, because it's just too sacred a memory to mention, without doing more harm.  It makes sense to take down the school building because it's more of an unusual attraction than a memory.  Yet, memories fade quickly in the absence of symbols.

Taking down the building will prevent ghouls frome visiting the scene. But, the lack of prevention will, sadly, eventually cause harm. Some other unsuspecting community will relive the Sandy Hook experience, because nothing has been done to prevent a repeat or copy-cat incident by another deranged person who has access to guns. 

While our condolences go out to the Sandy Hook victims families, we must also extend our apologies to these sad people. Their extraordinary loss hasn't produced a change in America's infatuation with the deadly impact of guns. I'm so sorry.

Americans should listen to the brave Sandy Hook families who lost innocent children and loved family members- Scott Pelley Discusses Common Sense Gun Control Legislation

Although it was certainly a difficult 60-Minute segment to watch, (we can hold the Sandy Hook families in our prayers) just imagine how much courage it took for them to speak to Scott Pelley on 60 Minutes.

At the Newtown CT town hall, Pelley met seven families from a group called Sandy Hook Promise, which works for change and remembrance.

I wonder how many of our nation's legislators watched this segment.  

Shame on legislators who may have deliberately avoided hearing what the Sandy Hook parents said to Pelley. Lawmakers who are asked to give an "up or down" vote on proposed national gun regulation must take responsibility for hearing what the victims of a mass murder have to say about this public policy.
Families of Newtown Connecticut, site of the Sandy Hook Elementary, want the tragic memory of 12/14 - the date of the Connecticut massacre -- to spur new gun control legislation in the U.S. They expressed support for universal background checks and limiting the size of large, human killing, ammunition clips, during the April 7, Pelley interview.

Nearly four months later, just last week, Connecticut passed a gun control law that expands background checks and limits ammunition magazines to 10 rounds. Tomorrow, these families will push for the same in Washington. They believe that their only chance is to keep the resonance of that date ringing. Something else we noticed about "12/14," add them together, and you get 26, the number of lives lost at Sandy Hook.

Here are the parents in their own words:

Jimmy Greene said: Our daughter, Ana was six years old. And in those six years, can look back and say it was an honor to know her. She taught me about how to love, how to give. She was beautiful and every day I cry. 
Francine Wheeler said: This is (a picture of) Benjamin Andrew Wheeler. Ben was six years old. He has a brother named Nate. And Nate was hiding when he heard Ben and his classmates and educators get shot. 

Mark Barden said: And we lost our sweet little Daniel Barden. He was known as the kid that would talk to somebody sitting alone. He was genuinely an old soul.

Nicole Hockley said: This is (a picture of) Dylan. I think the picture kind of sums him up perfectly. He was always smiling and always laughing. And he was very pure. Possibly because of his age. He was six. And possibly because he was autistic.
Neil Heslin said: I'm Neil Heslin, Jesse Lewis's dad. Jesse was six years old. He was my best friend and my buddy. He'd introduce himself as Jesse and Daddy. He was my whole life. 
Bill Sherlach said: Mary was the school psychologist at Sandy Hook Elementary School for 18 years and truly believed that that was the place that she was meant to be, doing what she could call "God's work." 

Terri Rousseau said: Lauren grew up with this idea that she wanted to be a teacher and work with other children. She had a sort of innocence about her, a kind of denial of all the ugly things in the world. We had no idea that some ugly thing would come and take her from us.
Those are memories Terri Rousseau, Mark and Jackie Barden, Nicole Hockley and others wanted state legislators to remember in Hartford, Connecticut. 
Mark Barden said: The lawmakers are going into their caucuses to discuss the legislation at hand. And the rope is there, I think, just to separate the various lobbyists who want to approach them as they go in there, as a last ditch effort to appeal to their cause. That's where we were. 
Mark Barden said: And we (gave them) a letter that we wanted them to read. And we had pictures of our children to give them a personal connection to why we're asking them to go in there and legislate. 

Scott Pelley asked: Why the photographs?
Nicole Hockley responded: They need to not just look us in the eyes, but look our children and the lost ones and see those faces, see what's gone and remember this isn't just about political parties. This isn't just about careers. This is about people. And this is about making change to save people. And it's important to remember the people you are doing this for. 

Mark Barden said: The universal background check is very important. And to that point, I think (the Connecticut legislation) has done a wonderful job. They've worked very hard and they have passed almost everything that we were hoping they would. And they have done it in a bipartisan way, which I think is a great message to send out to the other states and to the federal government as they begin this process.

Scott Pelley asked: Mark singles out the universal background check. Does anyone else find another part of the law important?
Bill Sherlach said: I think the idea of limiting the size of the magazines is critical.

(Bill Sherlach's wife, Mary, tried to stop the gunman.)
Bill Sherlach said: You can have a million bullets, but if you have to put them in one at a time, the ability to do any kind of real damage is significantly reduced. 
Scott Pelley said: The legislature has decided to limit the size of magazines in Connecticut to 10 rounds. The gunman at Sandy Hook was using 30-round magazines. I've heard the argument made, "You can change these magazine clips in these rifles in a matter of two seconds. So what difference does it make?" 
Bill Sherlach: Well, I mean, there was one instance where it wasn't two seconds. And it allowed 11 kids to get out of the classroom. 
Bill Sherlach: It's simple arithmetic. If you have to change magazines 15 times instead of five times, you have three times as many incidents as where something could jam. Something could be bobbled. You just increase the time for intervention. You increase the time where kids can get out. And there's 11 kids out there today that are still running around on the playground pretty much now at lunchtime. 

David Wheeler said: The more bullets you can get out the end of that gun in the least amount time, that is the single area that I believe affects lethality. And the size of the magazine placed in that weapon is a direct contributor to that--a direct contributor to that factor. There is a place for 30-round magazines, in the military, on the battlefield, at a range. If they stay at the range, they stay at the range.

(Wheeler's statement above is the issue that zealots with  the National Rifle Association won't accept. They continue to spread the mythical venom of "people kill people", rather than guns. For for some bizarre reason, these obsessed NRA supporters leap to the conclusion that owning assault weapons will protect them from other evil intended people. They won't accept the fact that it only takes one bullet to kill a person. Firing hundreds of bullets can only mean a killer is intending to commit mass murder.)

In my opinion, if those brave families who suffered such terrible loss can stand up to prevent further mass murders by supporting gun control, then we have a responsibility to listen to what they are saying.

Duo of States - Colorado and Connecticut - Lead on Reasonable Gun Control Legislation

Connecticut plus Colorado are only one twenty-fifth of our nations United States. They are as different as the magnificent Rocky Mountains are from the beaches of Long Island Sound.  

Connecticut joined the nation in 1778, and was one of the original 13 colonies.  Their state's representatives William Samuel Johnson and Roger Sherman signed the US Constitution in 1787, where the Second Amendment, allowing Americans to own guns, was  important enough to be listed second among the inalienable rights provided for all citizens.  

Colorado became a state in 1876, nearly a century after Connecticut was born.  It is a beautiful state, but the first settlers endured the rugged terrain, living side by side with cliff dwelling Native Americans and opportunistic gold diggers.  

Colorado and Connecticut don't have much in common, except for the first letter of their state's names.

Except, the two share the devastating experience of being where three of the most horrific gun violence incidents recorded in our nation's history occurred.  

1.  April 30, 1999- Columbine Colorado: 12 students and one teacher murdered by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Their massacre of innocent students sparked debate about gun control measures to protect against future incidents.  The shooting resulted in an increased emphasis on school security, and a moral panic aimed at goth culture, social outcasts, gun culture, the use of pharmaceutical anti-depressants by teenagers, teenage Internet use and violent video games.  

Nevertheless..... thousands of gun deaths later and on...

2.  July 20, 2012 - Aurora, Colorado:  A mass shooting by James Eagan Holmes in a crowded movie theater where 12 people were killed and 58 injured.  The lone suspect in this mass shooting has since exhibited suicidal behavior while in custody and has a history of receiving mental health counseling prior to the shooting spree.  

And then, following thousands more deaths by gun violence.....

3.  December 14, 2012 - Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut - Adam Lanza, 20, fatally shot and killed 20 students and six adult staff members in a mass slaying.

Make no mistake, all of the above deaths perpetrated by four evil intended mass murders were preventable deaths caused by gun violence.  Although the murderers pulled the triggers, the guns were the vehicles by which these deaths occurred   They were all preventable homicides. In the absence of guns and the ammunition needed to fire them, the victims of these shootings would likely be alive today because they were overwhelmingly young when they were murdered.  

Today, Colorado and Connecticut have led the nation by passing reasonable gun control legislation to offer innocent people some protection against future mass murders and gun violence.  Neither state created a utopia in passing gun control measures.  They also didn't take away Second Amendment rights from law abiding citizens.  But, the two states bravely did something to deter what has become a national epidemic of gun related deaths.

In spite of the National Rifle Association's control over right wing Republicans, who obsessively oppose gun control, two brave Democratic state governors defied the political risks associated with passing gun control measures to protect against future massacres.  Governor Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut has joined his colleague Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado to lead the nation in passing gun control measures to ban assault weapons, the deadly kind used to kill people in mass murders.  

Now it's time for the US Congress to follow the lead of these two very diverse states and their brave executive officers.  Our nation needs to stop the escalation of gun violence and, moveover, eliminate the blackmail of the NRA against politicians who dare to stand up for protections against mass murders who gain access to guns.  Shame on politicians who falls victim to NRA strong handed tactics, when these public servants are elected to protect the public from harm.  

It's time Americans vote all extremists out of office, but particularly the officials who put innocent citizens in harms way by putting the rights of mass murders to own guns above the public health of innocent people.