Brady Campaign: 'Gun Violence Destroyed Christina
And Her Dreams'

post from TPMMuckraker on 26 January 2011 12:01:46 AM. © TPMMuckraker

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, issued a statement criticizing President Barack Obama for not mentioning gun control during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

"How can President Obama tell us that 'the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that all deserve the chance to be fulfilled,' without talking about the gun violence that destroyed those dreams?" Helmke asked, referencing the 9-year-old girl killed in the massacre in Arizona earlier this month.

"It wasn't the lack of innovation, education or investment, or too many regulations or too much debt that ended Christina's life and her dreams - it was a clearly dangerous man who had way too easy access to a gun with a high capacity ammunition magazine - good only for killing many people quickly. We need the president to push for laws to reduce the gun violence that shattered Tucson, and Christina's family, and that shatters the lives of more than 100,000 Americans every year."

"President Obama tonight failed to 'challenge old assumptions' on the need for, and political possibilities of, reducing the gun violence - which he suggested should be done two weeks ago in Tucson. He failed to recognize the power of our laws to set us on a course to reduce gun violence. We are disappointed, but we're also determined to continue our efforts to help make our nation safer by pushing to strengthen our gun laws.

"We need the president's support now for changes in our laws to ban large capacity ammunition magazines, to tighten restrictions on who can legally purchase a gun, and to require effective background checks before these guns can be purchased.

"We're calling on all Americans to contact the president and their members of Congress; tell them to stand up to the gun lobby and pass the common sense laws that will help keep us safer."

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"Civility costs nothing", except a good blog
post.

post from field negro on 26 January 2011 12:00:20 AM. © field negro

I was going to post a little earlier, but I wanted to make sure I heard Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party response to the State of the Union address, first. (Let the battle of the heart and soul of the republi-clown party begin.) It was so bad that FOX didn't carry it. Those folks over at FOX are really smart, they must have known that she would make their side look bad. Thankfully CNN had no such issues.

Anyway, on to his O ness: The speech, for the most part, was good. I wish he had the courage to talk about gun control, but I have come to expect less not more from O. All the kumbaya stuff was a bit much as well. (Where is Joe Wilson when you need him?) Folks sitting together like that sucked the life out of the room. I don't know about the rest of you; but I want my politics to be like my bedroom activities:lively. Tonight was more like a Sunday morning service. And I am talking Catholic service not Southern Baptist.

But I get it. One of their colleagues is still fighting to get her life -as she once knew it- back, and the nation is still mourning over Arizona. The spirit and the tone of the speech reflected that reality. To his credit, O seemed to be trying to stick to that theme of civility and corporation, and the republi-clowns, for the most part, were playing along.

I am glad he can do it, because I sure as hell can't. But hey, great leaders have to rise above partisanship. In order to accomplish anything politically in A-merry-ca you have to work with those who oppose you ideologically. This is one of the true paradoxes of the A-merry-can political system, and it holds true time and time again.

"We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled.
That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation.

Now, by itself, this simple recognition won't usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.

I believe we can. I believe we must. That's what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they've determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all - for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics. "

Whenever I listen to O I think of that quote by Friedrich Schiller: "Every true genius is bound to be naive".

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Rachel Maddow praises Keith Olbermann, says he
was a 'freaking successful' pioneer

post from AMERICAblog News on 26 January 2011 12:00:16 AM. © AMERICAblog News

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2011 Investment Strategies: 9 Buys, 9 Sells

This week I am really delighted to be able to give you a condensed version of Gary Shilling’s latest INSIGHT newsletter for your Outside the Box. Each month I . . . → Full Story: 2011 Investment Strategies: 9 Buys, 9 Sells

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