PROGRESSIVE DISCUSSION WEEKEND EDITION 3/2 - 3/4

I saw this on FB yesterday. It was written by someone named Jennifer Abel who is a teacher in VA, and shared on FB by a friend of mine. I thought it was excellent, so wanted to share it with all of you.
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"So I am confused. When the person with the AR-15 comes down the hall firing dozens of rounds in seconds, is the teacher armed with a handgun supposed to open the classroom door and expose the children to rapid gunfire while she tries to shoot the guy spraying her with bullets?

Do you think the children’s screams would distract her from getting a good shot?

Or is she supposed to hide the children in closets and cabinets before opening the door to the guy with the semiautomatic weapon?

Is she wearing the handgun all day every day? Is it loaded? Is it concealed under her clothes or in a holster on her waist? Could a child with impulse control issues grab the loaded handgun from her and use it against her or the other students?

And when she is holding and aiming a loaded weapon and the police respond to the 911 call, how will they know that she’s a good guy with a gun and not the bad guy with a gun? How will they know not to mistake her for the shooter and shoot her?

Will the bonuses for the teachers carrying guns come from the money saved by cutting Title I funding or from the money saved by cutting funding for the arts? Or is it coming from the money we’re saving by not funding investigations of college rape reports? I am just wondering if guns are more important than reading or art or girls’ safety - trying to draw out the priorities of our country on a flowchart."

Interesting thought about Orrin Hatch, Linda. I hadn't thought about that, but it's definitely a possibility. He is acting and speaking out strangely for what has been his nature up until now. Remember he and Ted Kennedy were very good friends even though on opposite sides of the aisle. I didn't like him back during the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings, and I never agreed with his politics but until now he's generally comported himself with a lot more decorum and has been one of the few willing to look at more than one side of an issue. He may very well be losing it mentally. As you and I have found out the hard way, dementia can cause complete reversals in personality.

As for the JA and his position on guns, you can never count on him to maintain any position. He's not just a flip flopper. With him it's more like those rides at a carnival. One second you're upright, and the next you're standing on your head.

I had not read that JA wants Jared and Ivanka out. That's an interesting possibility. Wonder if it is true? If so, I definitely think he would be a coward about it and want to push the responsibility for it off onto someone else.

When I was a child my Mom told me I could think anything I wanted about other people or their ideas.

You can't control thoughts that pop into your head. However, you can control what comes out of your mouth. You don't need to be cruel,rude,or mean just because you can. Orrin might have a disease. If that's the case those around him need to encourage him to seek help, sit down, and shut the hell up.

If he doesn't have a disease, and this is simply who he really is, it appears putting a bully as well as an unqualified thug in the WH encourages other bullies to show their true colors, in and out of DC.

Are we street thugs now with no filters? Have we lost all honor and ethics? Does our "in your face" and "up yours" spirit really make us proud? We might as well be slugging it out in the street. America the beautiful is now America, the rude, crude, and indifferent.

The world is watching. They no longer see a beacon of Light and Hope. They see out of control, shoot em' up, arrogant, bloated, puffed up, mean spirited and ugly Americans. Our children are watching too. What do you think they see?

I see that an unqualified TV reality host and his minions have taken over the government of the United States with a lot help from his friends. We refuse to admit that.  We actually call him a president and his mean spirited minions an administration.  I can't do it. I just can't. 

I read this article this morning and thought it was interesting. Julian Zelizer speculates that the JA turmoil and chaos could actually be less chaos and more a deliberate plan towards re-election in 2020. That he gives just enough to attract some moderates, and then pulls back to keep his base happy. The tariffs are to appease the Rust Belt. He gives just a little to all the groups with the hope of pulling back those former supporters who are openly becoming dissatisfied with him. Is it possible that instead of being a total lunatic the JA is actually just a shrewd manipulator? Maybe. Regardless he's totally self-absorbed and cares nothing for the people of the country. He did manage to pull off a win when most people believed it impossible for him to even get the nomination much less the presidency. I keep hoping Mueller will deliver a blow he can't recover from, or that he will ultimately destroy himself. God forbid we get stuck with an additional 4 years of this mania.

www.cnn.com/2018/03/02/opinions/trumps-week-not-so-crazy-opinion-zelizer/index.html