First, I start with a short, passionate and heartfelt clip from Jimmy Kimmel …
Next, a shout-out to singer/songwriter Don McLean of American Pie fame for having a conscience. He has cancelled his appearance at the upcoming NRA annual meeting this weekend in, of all places, Houston, Texas. McLean issued a statement saying …
“In light of the recent events in Texas, I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week. I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans.”
Of course, if he truly had a conscience, he would never have agreed to appear at their event in the first place, but … better late than never I suppose. Others are also pulling out and I will have a good laugh if the venue is only about 2% full all weekend!
Daniel Defense, the company that manufactured the weapon used in Tuesday’s school massacre, has also pulled out of the NRA convention this weekend. Their reason is not likely any sudden attack of conscience so much as fear of being assaulted by people who are angry and looking for a target for their anger. And there should be fury toward this company who not so long ago posted this picture …
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 🙏
I am sickened.
Some, such as the not-so-illustrious Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz, still plan to attend … surprised, aren’t you? Every single person who attends that convention is a target for my anger, so they should probably be thankful that I won’t be there, eh? Does anybody else see the irony in that this nation is banning books by the dozens … BOOKS 📕 📚 that open minds, educate, and help us make the world a better place … while at the same time refusing to ban assault weapons such as the one used on Tuesday, the ones that have been used so many times to kill thousands of innocent people? There is something intrinsically wrong here …
The following chart lists the 50 senators who have taken the most money from the NRA. Is one or more of your state’s senators on this list? One of my own state’s senators, Rob Portman, has taken more than $3 million in donations from the NRA and I am more ashamed of him than ever before. He is retiring this year, but I’m not doing any happy dances because he’s likely to be replaced by someone even worse, J.D. Vance … an unqualified bozo who loves guns, lies, and will do just about anything to get his name in print. Read those senator’s names and look at the amounts … now do you understand why our lives mean less than nothing to these men and women who we have elected to act in our best interests?
| Senator | NRA Donations | Gun Deaths in State per Year |
| Mitt Romney (UT) | $13,647,676 | 365 |
| Richard Burr (NC) | $6,987,380 | 1,311 |
| Roy Blunt (MO) | $4,555,722 | 1,074 |
| Thom Tillis (NC) | $4,421,333 | 1,311 |
| Cory Gardner (CO) | $3,939,199 | 715 |
| Marco Rubio (FL) | $3,303,355 | 2,568 |
| Joni Ernst (IA) | $3,124,773 | 264 |
| Rob Portman (OH) | $3,063,327 | 1,402 |
| Todd C. Young (IN) | $2,897,582 | 907 |
| Bill Cassidy (LA) | $2,867,074 | 946 |
| David Perdue (GA) | $2,002,462 | 1,459 |
| Tom Cotton (AR) | $1,968,714 | 534 |
| Pat Roberts (KS) | $1,581,153 | 368 |
| Pat Toomey (PA) | $1,475,448 | 1,503 |
| Josh Hawley (MO) | $1,391,548 | 1,074 |
| Marsha Blackburn (TN) | $1,306,130 | 1,103 |
| Ronald Harold “Ron” Johnson (WI) | $1,269,486 | 592 |
| Mitch McConnell (KY) | $1,267,139 | 690 |
| Mike Braun (IN) | $1,249,967 | 907 |
| John Thune (SD) | $638,942 | 95 |
| Shelley Moore Capito (WV) | $341,738 | 305 |
| Martha McSally (AZ) | $303,853 | 1,013 |
| Richard Shelby (AL) | $258,514 | 961 |
| Chuck Grassley (IA) | $226,007 | 264 |
| John Neely Kennedy (LA) | $215,788 | 946 |
| Ted Cruz (TX) | $176,274 | 3,139 |
| Lisa Murkowski (AK) | $146,262 | 165 |
| Johnny Isakson (GA) | $131,571 | 1,459 |
| Steve Daines (MT) | $123,711 | 197 |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) | $109,547 | 576 |
| Roger Wicker (MS) | $106,680 | 576 |
| Rand Paul (KY) | $104,456 | 690 |
| Mike Rounds (SD) | $95,049 | 95 |
| John Boozman (AR) | $82,352 | 534 |
| John Cornyn (TX) | $78,945 | 3,139 |
| Ben Sasse (NE) | $68,623 | 169 |
| Jim Inhofe (OK) | $66,758 | 679 |
| Lindsey Graham (SC) | $55,961 | 829 |
| Mike Crapo (ID) | $55,039 | 242 |
| Jerry Moran (KS) | $34,718 | 368 |
| John Barrasso (WY) | $26,989 | 104 |
| Lamar Alexander (TN) | $25,293 | 1,103 |
| Mike Enzi (WY) | $24,722 | 104 |
| John Hoeven (ND) | $22,050 | 93 |
| Susan Collins (ME) | $19,800 | 146 |
| Deb Fischer (NE) | $19,638 | 169 |
| James Lankford (OK) | $18,955 | 679 |
| Jim Risch (ID) | $18,850 | 242 |
| Tim Scott (SC) | $18,513 | 829 |
| Kevin Cramer (ND) | $13,255 | 93 |
I am writing to a number of members of Congress this week with a simple, single question: 89% of people in this nation support stricter gun regulations, and some 67% support a ban on assault weapons – so why don’t you? How can you claim to represent the people of this nation when you are voting against their will, against their best interests?
Fellow countrymen … now is the time for us to stop the madness, to stop electing and re-electing men and women who have no conscience, whose own lust for power and wealth are their only priority. Research the candidates in your district and state, make sure the candidate you support does NOT support the NRA, does not support wealthy corporations over the interests of the people. Look at that list above … if any of them are from your state and are up for re-election this year, vote them out!!!
Filosofa's Word 