Man opens fire: Hope you're not at a school board meeting

"Man Opens fire...."

How many times have I come across this headline since Columbine? Maybe because I'm young, but it seems that random shooting - not actually knowing the guy or gal you're shooting - has increased since 1999.

This time it was a school board meeting in Florida. The man even asked all the women to leave before he opened fire. What a gentleman. Wonder if he asked the men he shot where they would like to take the bullet?

All this leads me to wonder: why are civilians killing civilians these days? The Florida man's motive was that his wife lost her job. Didn't it used to be only famous people that got killed when a person was mad and agitated for something that didn't have to do with any individual? i.e. US Presidents (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy, Ford), celebrities (John Lennon).

 President Garfield getting shot up.

Today ordinary people get shot: teachers, students, local citizens at a school board meeting. Wonder what it means when seriously ill and frustrated individuals open fire on ordinary folks as opposed to public figures? Is this a comedown?

Olbermann Wronged?

Courtesy of TPM:

Keith Olbermann has been suspended from MSNBC, indefinitely and without pay, after news that he had made political contributions to three Democratic candidates.

"I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night," Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, said in a statement. "Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay."

Politico reported this morning that Olbermann had made the maximum donation, $2,400, to three Democratic candidates this year: Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords and Senate candidate Jack Conway.

MSNBC has not responded to requests for more information.

Also revealed today, Fox News' Sean Hannity and his wife gave $10,000 to Rep. Michele Bachmann this year. Fox did not respond to a request for comment.

According to a 2007 story, MSNBC and NBC News policy requires employees to report any potential conflicts of interest, including political contributions, and get prior approval from the president of NBC News.

Other MSNBC personalities, including Pat Buchanan, have given to political campaigns. Buchanan gave $2,250 to Republican candidates between 2005 and 2008.

Chris Hayes, editor of The Nation, is reportedly filling in for Olbermann tonight. Hayes contributed $500 to Democratic candidates in 2009.

MSNBC vs Fox - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

MSNBC vs Fox - The Daily Dish By Andrew Sullivan

While MSNBC isn't owned by News Corp. the honchos over there need to look at what Fox is doing and realize suspending Olbermann is stupid. Like everyone doesn't already know who Keith votes for anyway.

Rudy Giuliani

Why is a Republican - yet moderate- saying what Barack Obama needs to say? Why can't a Democratic president stand behind the LGBT community? Instead he seems to be standing behind the Pentagon's efforts to stall the process of repealing DADT.

Explanation for absence from a blog nobody prob reads

Sorry I have been remiss in writing posts on here. If anyone bothers to read this blog, I do know of one special person, I guess I've been busy with "life."



School can be a bitch, mainly because it takes alot for me to concentrate, and also because I'm working on post college plans to get me out of this "right-to-work" state once and for all.



Hallelujah!



I don't want to share it now because it might fall through and because I don't wanna put all my eggs in one basket.



Anyways, I'm pretty scared about the upcoming elections in November. I feel there is so much at stake and I read good things and bad things about a Republican victory in the House, i.e. Obama might move more towards the left.



Sometimes I just get confused and don't know what to believe. All I know is that when I cast my vote on election day it will be for the lesser of two evils. This decision will be base on all that I have read, and what I can make sense of from all the hoopla surrounding the elections and the candidates running for office.



This research takes time and I know I am not the average voter. Depressing.



But who am I kidding? This fish of water white-boy in S.C. will vote a straight Democratic ticket. Hell I may even vote for Alvin Greene's pathetic self, who is a heck of alot better than gay hating Jim DeMint.

Pam's House Blend:: Second 'I don't want to counsel gays' lawsuit struck down by the courts

Pam's House Blend:: Second 'I don't want to counsel gays' lawsuit struck down by the courts

Boy did I miss this one. I agree with Alvin at House Blend: if Ms. Graduate student Augusta State can't do her job counseling a wide spectrum of people, in this case she was against homosexuality, than there is a major problem.

She just can't decide to counsel only white, straight Christians. You can't get away with that running any type of business, at least overtly, and Ms. Keeton didn't either.

Jeez.

What About the Workers?

The Republican candidate for governor Nikki Haley visited Aiken recently touting her "Less Talk. More Jobs" platform espousing her belief in limited government involvement in small businesses' affairs among other talking points. Evidently, she is a Charlie McCarthy for conservative job creation (more leeway for businesses), ideas and talking points (emphasizing the small businesses of S.C. as the cure all for our wilting state economy). Basically, talking points we've been hearing for the past quarter century from Republicans ( Democrats are guilty too). However, Republicans running for office, not all, but most, sound more robotic than Dems in my humble opinion. Ms. Haley, when speaking to a crowd, sounds like she's trying her best to fit within the all white male Republican party of S.C. - even though she's supposedly anti-establishment - daring not to veer off course. Very few of her views, if any, sound anti-establishment. In fact, all sound like a broken record: no gov't intrusion, tort reform, cut taxes, 2nd admendment rights, etc. etc. The only thing revolutionary about her candidacy is that she's a woman of Indian descent running in state where Strom Thurmond was a senator for most of his racist, white supremacist life.

On thing that strikes me is the lack of talk about workers. Instead, Haley focuses on the small business owner. Everything is about making it easier on the business; nothing about how the current crisis affects workers. Her platform is about jobs but for whom?

Maybe, she hopes to get people back to work by cutting the capital gains tax as she has proposed. I wish I could believe this but any further tax cutting seems a bad idea in a broke-ass state with a small tax base. Keeping money within businesses that they would pay in taxes does not emboldened the owner to hire more people in my book. But then where is there tax relief for the worker? Again not a word about the S.C. citizen unless it has to do with supplying labor for small businesses.

Right-to-work= No unions= no capital gains tax=CHEAP LABOR

Support for technical schools: supply labor for businesses recruited to S.C.

Support for state colleges: nada a word. Maybe a liberal arts education isn't as important as learning a trade? Perhaps, I'm not being a snob, just discerning, one makes you THINK and question politicians.

I think Haley needs to brush up on her Marx. Sigh.

Fin.