Bromides of the Day!

If you always do what you have always done, you will always get the result you have always gotten
Doing what you have always done and expecting different results = The definition of insanity

Two days have passed this week; both punctuated by more senseless gun violence. If you regularly watch the national news, chances are you have seen coverage of the two incidents, one in Florida (Monday), and one in New Mexico (Tuesday).

On Monday afternoon at Cobb Grove 16 Movie Theater in Wesley Chapel, Florida, Chad Oulson, 43, was sending text messages during movie previews. Curtis Reeves, Jr. 71, a retired Tampa police officer, who sat behind him, asked him several times to stop.

Mr. Reeves left for a few minutes; then returned. At some point Mr. Oulson indicated he was texting his young daughter. According to witnesses, an argument ensued, popcorn was thrown, and Mr. Reeves pulled out a pistol and fired at Mr. Oulson. Mrs. Nicole Oulson, 33, raised her hand to try and shield her husband from the bullet. The bullet hit her hand and then struck her husband, killing him.

Mr. Reeves used a .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol in the shooting. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said an off-duty Sumter County Sheriff’s Deputy secured the weapon, and made sure Mr. Reeves remained in place until authorities arrived. The parties were part of an audience of approximately 25, who were at the theater to see a movie about Navy Seals on a mission in Afghanistan.

Sheriff Nucco characterized the unarmed deputy as a hero.

Yesterday a 12 year-old 7^th grade student at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, New Mexico started his school day by shooting two fellow students, an 11 year-old boy, and a 13 year-old girl. The young man is in critical condition; the young lady is in serious condition.

The 12 year-old, who used a shot gun which he carried in a band instrument case, opened fire in the school gym as students waited out of the elements for time for class to begin. A school staff member also incurred minor injuries, and declined treatment.

Susana Martinez, New Mexico Governor, said a member of the school staff, and a New Mexico State Police Lieutenant intervened to end the shooting and prevented further casualties. Pete Kassetas, New Mexico State Police Chief, said that by the time his deputies arrived by 8:11 a.m., the weapon had been laid on the ground. After securing the scene, authorities facilitated the transfer of the students to nearby Roswell Mall where parents picked up their children. Police asked parents to stay away from the school during the investigation.

The Roswell shooting is just the latest school shooting in the country. Only a month ago, a gunmen opened fire at Arapahoe High School in Colorado. Shootings, in schools, theaters, malls, and elsewhere are simply the order of the American day, or so it appears.

Monique Salcido, 13, witnessed the shooting in the Berrendo Middle School gym. In an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan last night, she described the details of the incident as she saw it unfold. She knew all of the principals involved, including the victims and the shooter.

At the end of the interview, she uttered the following poignant statement:

“I wasn’t really scared of what happened. But I don’t want to go to Berrendo anymore because of what happened. I’m afraid it’s going to happen again.”

In the coming days, we will see numerous news programs on which hosts and guests discuss guns in America, and what to do about the epidemic shootings that result from them. The NRA will proclaim guns are not the problem; advocates for stricter gun control will argue just the opposite. Meanwhile, the same old song and dance will echo again, and again; nothing will change. In the end, we will have only the “Bromides of the Day!”

I’m done; holla back!

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