Troubled by. . .

1.  Gun deregulation to the extreme places more weapons on the streets of cities and in the hands of extremists.  People die.

2.  Evictions allowed in Texas ahead of national/federal guidelines.  People move into homelessness.

3.  Politicizing vaccines and their delivery.  People get sick and paranoid.

4.  Needlessly, and dishonestly disputed,national election results.  People lose trust in democracy.

5. The "Big Lie" that Joe Biden "stole" the eleection.  People doubt our system.  

6.  Vote recounts ad nausem.  Wasted funds.  More doubt and division.

7. Voter suppression legislation passes in many states.  People ask why worry?   

8.  Texas Legislature does NOTHING to promote, discuss or consider racial equity strategies.  People feel abandoned. 

9. Bizarroo conspiraccy theories disseminated by the so-called "Q anon" crowd.  People are duped.  

10.  The more than 100 U. S. House members who voted against election results and refused to seat their electors. . . .on January 6!  Faith in our union lost.  

11.  January 6, 2021.  New precident for rebellion.

12.  Violence rooted in  racism perpitrated against people of color.  Fear spreads. 

Troubled by all of these things and more for my own sake and that of my family, not to mention the vulnerable impoverished.  

Strange times, right?  Possibly not.  Thus, I remain troubled. 

Guns and cities

I can't speak for people who reside in rural areas of our nation. 

However, I can speak from an urban context.

 The ready availability of guns, including semi-automatic weapons designed for military and law enforcement actions, destroys our confidence and sense of safety. Tragically, the presence of these weapons all too often destroys families and permanently disrupts lives.

These realities explain why the President's words during his state of the union speech last Tuesday night meant so much to me.

 How about you?

 

Archie Bunker's solution to skyjackings to visit Texas campuses

Years ago an "All in the Family" program featured Archie Bunker's solution to airline skyjackers.  It went something like this:  "Sure dare, Meathead, yous pass out the 45s as people get on da plane and yous solve your problem!" 

Apparently the Texas legislature agrees.  They seem to be adopting the same logic as Bunker in regard to the campuses of Texas colleges and universities.  I couldn't believe this report that appeared in The Dallas Morning News on Monday, February 21, 2011. 

Have we simply lost our minds? 

Read it and tell me what you think.

Legislation to allow concealed handguns on Texas campuses worries Dallas-area students

By LAUREN MICHAELS and AMBER BELL
Staff Writers
Published 21 February 2011 01:30 PM

Supporters of legislation that would allow students and faculty to carry concealed handguns at colleges and universities in Texas say their goal is to make campuses safer.

But some of the Dallas-area students they hope to protect say they’d feel less secure knowing their peers might be armed.

“If the gun was out there, I would feel uneasy,” said Russell Ansley, a junior at the University of Texas at Dallas. “It could create an atmosphere of hostility.”

Phil Montgomery, a junior at the University of North Texas, said he’d rather see more security officers than ask students to pitch in.

“I don't feel I should have to take a gun in order to be safe at school,” he said. “Having an officer or two in a building would be more beneficial than having any kid that wanted to bring their own weapons to school.”

The bill has broad support in the Legislature but faces several hurdles before becoming law. Neither the House nor Senate has considered the measure. Texas would be the second state, after Utah, to pass such a broad-based law.

The measure’s proponents say it could help prevent campus gun violence, such as the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007, Northern Illinois in 2008 and UT-Austin just last year.

Click here to read entire report.