(In)Action

In the past week, we've been doing our part here to explain the severity of the #BorderChildren crisis. They are indeed real people. They are not mere political footballs.

But for the newly "rebranded" soon-to-be-ex-Governor Rick Perry (R) and his fringe militia loving BFF Sean Hannity, today is the perfect day to pack extra heat at the Texas Border. Of course, we're just wondering why they didn't invite the rest of the Open Carry Texas crew to join them. We're sure they would have loved to pack heat alongside them.

Perhaps instead of trying to (mis)use a genuine humanitarian crisis to score political points, Governor Perry should actually do his job? Did he miss the big news occurring in his own state?



Yesterday, Ron Lee Haskell was arrested after Spring, Texas, police finally convinced him to surrender. He's suspected of killing 4 children and 2 adults. Another young girl was wounded in the shooting, and she's still in critical condition.

This comes just days after a major shooting next door (in Louisiana). On New Orleans' famous Bourbon Street, Trung Le is suspected of shooting 1 person dead and injuring 9 other people. Keep in mind that this occurred on Bourbon Street. That's where tourists like to "whoop it up" and enjoy themselves.



Sound familiar yet? It should. Last year, we witnessed multiple shootings on the Las Vegas Strip. And just this past March, we saw another near miss on The Strip.

Last year, Congress had the chance to do something on gun violence, even something as tiny & modest as expanding background checks for gun purchases. But for Dean Heller (R-NRA), that was just too much. And for Rep. Joe Heck (R-NRA), the "portal" wasn't right. For them and many of their G-O-TEA colleagues, it was far easier to serve as "what stood in the way" than to make any effort to prevent more senseless bloodshed.

And so far, it looks like they prefer Rick Perry's brand of heat packing (photo-op) "action" over real action. We've been seeing them grandstand on immigration reform. And... Well, they're not pretending to act on gun violence any more. Apparently as long as the NRA is happy with their inaction, they're happy. Never mind the "new normal" of bloody dystopia all the rest of us must live under.