Newtown Conn. - Sad State of Affairs

Smoky Lake Signal Article, Number 250 (December 19, 2012)

Whispering in the Wind

When I first started to write this year-end, political column it was my intent to be upbeat and offer a few humorous comments about politicians; how they might view their elected office and how they might make important political decisions.  My assessments were to be strictly based on their birth date and their resulting zodiac sign – after all this is the season for forgiveness and offering insights without serious judgment or criticism.  Those intentions were shattered on Friday when reports aired that a 20 year old kid had killed 26 people in Newtown Connecticut – of the 25 killed at the elementary school, 20 were aged 6 to 7 years, virtual babies!

The Massacre and the U.S. Response

Last Friday’s horrific crime at Sandy Hook’s Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut has shaken much of world and in the United States it has shaken the country’s population to its core.  The crime, perpetrated by a 20 year old named Adam Lanza was just a kid himself, so what triggered such a horrible, senseless act?  I did read somewhere on the internet that he was an avid player of those violent video games.  Nonetheless almost nothing is known about Adam Lanza himself other than he was quite, reserved and withdrawn.  As to the possible motive for the mass murder, authorities appear to be dumbfounded.  The consensus amongst many informed observers and politicians is that the United States’ loose gun control laws and the constitutional right to bear arms are the prime causes of this and other mass murder events in the United States.  On Sunday President Barack Obams offered his view in a well crafted, telling statement: “We can’t tolerate this anymore.  These tragedies must end.  And to end them, we must change.”  In my view it will take months, if not years to sort out the circumstances of the Newtown massacre but there no question in my mind, Obama will take some quick legislative action regarding assault weapons and he will get some support from his usual Republic adversaries.  Where the president is going to find his greatest opposition, it’s going to be with those Republicans beholding to the very powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA) – one Republican (Louie Gohmert) from the Great State of Texas has suggested that more guns are needed and that if the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown had a gun she might have stopped Adam Lanza – the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School died last Friday from gun shot wounds.   

HAVE A VERY BLESSED, MERRY CHRISTMAS – GET TOGETHER WITH FAMILY AND GIVE EVERYONE BIG HUGS, TELL THEM HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO YOU AND IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD AND WILL MAKE THEM FEEL GREAT!