shootings – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Being Drilled for Armed Killer Opening Kindergarten Door

David Posnett — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:36:00 +0000

By Charline Spektor (with permission). She was the owner of Bookhampton stores and is now a Grandma.

My grandson began public school kindergarten a few weeks ago. He is so excited, and he comes home to tell “the best thing that happened today.” The other night at dinner he began: “Today in school we had a drill. It’s called lockdown. I thought it was lockup but it’s lockdown.”

None of us moved. And he continued. “We’re getting ready for a bad person who can come in and want to hurt us. The drill is you have to listen. That’s the drill. Listen. Don’t talk. Go into the closet. You have to go into the closet. If you don’t fit in the closet you have to go into your cubby. And you can’t say anything. And there can be a lot of noise. Close your eyes. Don’t say anything. Even if you have to pee. That’s okay. The drill is you don’t move, you don’t talk. Until someone comes to say you’re safe.”

My grandson just turned five. He is the most beautiful, wondrous gift on earth, as are all of our children, precious to us beyond words. As he told us about the lockup, lockdown drill, my daughter pressed her fingers into my hand: Don’t speak, don’t cry. And my daughter-in-law said, “Angel baby, you are such a good listener, I am so proud of the way you know how to listen. Did you go into the closet?” My grandson nodded. And then he said, “Ahma, did you ever have a drill like that? The kind where you had to be ready for someone bad to come in? Talk about it.”

Talk about it? Talk about what it means that we have created a gun-loaded society where sociopaths can be armed and murder children in school? Talk about what it means that children in kindergarten are being prepared for murder? Talk about the teachers who are teaching how to hide from bad people with guns, preparing children to be assaulted by people who have guns. Murderers with murderous intent who have guns.

I want to ask every single person I know: is this what you want for our children? Do you want our children having lockdown drills? Why didn’t we have lockdown drills? Because gun money was not controlling our country and our politics. Our childhood was not awash in the nightmare of gun-holding murderers. And yes, it is political. And yes, we have been sold and played, and our children’s lives have been put at risk.

We cannot afford to be silent for one more minute. I sat silent as my grandson told me the truth: This is what we have allowed our country to become, a freak show of random violence.

Talk about it? I wanted to say please forgive me. Forgive us.

The cash-and-carry politics of this country corrupted our moral intelligence. Our communities of silence have failed our children. We are facing a midterm election, and one of the remaining opportunities to speak up. Lee Zeldin co-sponsored a bill that permits concealed weapons to be carried in New York. When Zeldin sold out to the gun lobbies, he kicked open the door to the assault of our children.

Who the hell is responsible for my small grandchild being drilled for the day that an armed killer opens his kindergarten door? It’s political. I am voting against Lee Zeldin. I am voting for Perry Gershon.

Courage. Vote for our children. VOTE GERSHON. Please share.

Thank you,

Charline

Trickle Down Hate Crimes

David Posnett — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 17:19:22 +0000

Devastatingly awful. The rise of hate crimes & Trump’s vitriol are not independent or coincidental. It’s not the media, it starts in the oval office and trickles down.

Trump

(and his minions)

↓

VITRIOL
HATE

direct INSTRUCTIONS for violence

↓

And the NRA / Trump / Zeldin, they are promoting more guns. Guns for the nutcases, guns in schools and guns in the churches and synagogues.

Barbara —

The news coming out of Pittsburgh this morning is unspeakably tragic. A Synagogue — a place of worship, peace, and safety — invaded. 8 dead. Dozens wounded. All at the hands of a hate-fueled anti-Semite with a powerful military-style weapon.

The President is talking about how we need more weapons of war in our streets and places of worship. The NRA is silent. GOP politicians are “deeply troubled” yet again. But they don’t act. They won’t act. Even though it’s right-wing bigots committing the mass-violence, they’re fully bought-and-paid-for by the NRA and the giant corporations it represents. That’s the truth.

As veterans, we stand in solidarity with all who face these acts of violence — violence that Donald Trump has encouraged and fueled through his extremist rhetoric since day 1. And we’re devoting every resource available to make sure Congress does the right thing this time and puts an end to this terrorism in our communities.

I need you to make a pledge: can you promise to either vote for, donate to, or volunteer with a candidate who OPPOSES the NRA’s agenda of using bigotry and division to fuel corporate profits?

Oppose the NRA »

For years, the NRA has fed violent, paranoid rhetoric to their massive audience. And since his campaign begun, Donald Trump has done the same. They share apocalyptic, terrorizing propaganda videos, openly threatening peaceful protesters with menacing violence. They spew hateful rhetoric about Muslims and people of color in our neighborhoods. And Congress is fine with this as long as the campaign contributions keep flowing.

We have to break that cycle, and call out the NRA for what they really are: propagandists who will use racism and bigotry to stir up fear and hate, and watch mass-shootings from the sidelines as long as it means they can sell more guns and maintain control over Congress.

Join us today in pledging to support as many candidates as possible who will fight for peaceful and secure communities.

Our hearts ache for the people of Pittsburgh, the Jewish community, and for all who’ve been subjected to such terrorism. I know we can’t undo what happened today, but we can fight tooth and nail and hopefully reduce the chances of it ever happening again.

In solidarity,

Alexander McCoy
U.S. Marine Corps veteran
Common Defense

Stop the madness and

VOTE PERRY GERSHON

on Nov 6th

We Need Gun Safety Legislation.

David Posnett — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 00:07:04 +0000

“The Troubles” in Northern Ireland

Op-Ed by Kate Browning

Imagine our schools patrolled by armored vehicles and soldiers with semi-automatic weapons because of the fear of violence.

This is not something I need to imagine. It is a memory.

I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during a period of armed struggle known as “The Troubles.” I still carry the memory of soldiers and tanks in front of my school, St. Genevieve’s. I fled the violence of Northern Ireland, fell in love with and married an American soldier, and resolved to raise my children in the peace and safety of the United States of America.

So, when I now hear some say that the only remedy to the massacres that have become all too common in America’s schools is to turn them into armed camps, I am horrified. Let me tell you from first-hand experience, seeing a tank or an armed soldier in front of your school does not make you feel safer. That is the past I fled, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it is not our future.

I am inspired by the voices of the students at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School decrying the failure of our so-called leaders to protect them. One of the reasons I am running for Congress against Lee Zeldin is that he is complicit in that failure. Because of people like Congressman Lee Zeldin and Speaker Paul Ryan, we cannot make any progress on reasonable measures that will protect our children.

As the wife of a decorated veteran and New York City Police Officer and the mother of two active duty soldiers, I support the 2nd Amendment. And yes, I know how to shoot a gun too. But I also support common-sense laws to protect Americans.

For instance, I support the Department of Homeland Security’s “no fly” list, which says that certain people are such a threat that they shouldn’t be allowed to board a commercial aircraft. I imagine you do too. Yet, the House of Representatives will not pass legislation to prevent those same people from buying a gun.

Think about that for a minute. There are people we deem so dangerous that we will not allow them to step foot on an aircraft, yet those same people can legally purchase military-style assault weapons and unleash terror in any school in America. That is just the tip of the iceberg of Congress’ failure to enact common-sense laws to protect us.

Lee Zeldin is proud of his “A” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA). An “A”?

That’s absurd. It is impossible to represent the interests of Suffolk County and be in 100% agreement with the NRA. How do you earn an “A” from the NRA? Among other things:

Lee Zeldin co-sponsored the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which infringes on New York’s laws by allowing residents from other states to carry concealed weapons in our communities.
Lee Zeldin opposes any ban on semi-automatic weapons, like the ones used in Sandy Hook and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School.
Lee Zeldin voted to make it easier for people with mental illness to purchase weapons, including military-style assault rifles.

We can do better. Let’s tackle the factors that lead to school shootings head on. We need to ban assault weapons from getting into the hands of civilians. If someone wants to have an assault weapon, then they can enlist in the military or law enforcement. People suffering from mental illness need help, not weapons. Let’s say that if you can’t board an airplane, you can’t buy a gun. Let’s have a federal background check system that does proper background checks. We must reject the false choice that we must either surrender our 2nd Amendment rights or turn our schools into armed camps and our teachers into snipers.

Let’s protect our kids with actions, not words. The answer to gun violence in schools is not to put more guns in schools, it is not to make our schools into fortresses. I am still the same hopeful immigrant who believes in the promise of America, and I know that we can do better for our children.

— Kate Browning, Candidate for Congress, NY-01

Put Our Safety First

David Posnett — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 01:52:59 +0000

Tuesday Feb 20th, 3 PM: Rally in Patchogue at Lee Zeldin’s Patchogue Office

Put Our Safety First – Protect the Russia Investigation/ Gun Reform Now!

Zeldin’s voting record on guns:

“Mr. Zeldin has accepted $14,850 from the NRA since his first congressional run, the most of any sitting NY representative, and has earned NRA’s A rating” –Editorial, East Hampton Star, 10/05/17

Co-sponsored Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which compels states with strict concealed carry requirements to allow individuals from states with no or lax permit requirements to carry a concealed weapon. (H.R. 38) Opposed by police commissioners and District Attorneys across the country. (12/6/2017)
Voted in favor of H.R. 3354, which among other harmful provisions prohibits federal funding of CDC research on gun violence. (9/14/17)
Voted to end federal checks that prevented 167,000+ veterans deemed “mentally incompetent” from owning or buying firearms. H.R.1181 (3/16/2017)
Voted to prohibit bans of firearms in airports and other public transportation facilities. Griffith Amendment to H.R.2406 (2/26/2016)
Voted to restrict the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms from regulating the sale of ammunition for semi-automatic weapons. H.R.2578 (6/1/2015)

The rally in Patchogue at Lee Zeldin’s Patchogue Office was attended by 400-500 people, with Newsday and other press outlets present. Here are some pictures. Videos on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/dposnett/videos/10213198645013157/
https://www.facebook.com/cindy.morrisproothi/videos/pcb.1848659871864496/1848656928531457/?type=3&theater

shame

big voice in a tiny body: go girl: go girl!

the victims

blood everywhere