The police chief in Aurora, Colo., said he is confident that massacre gunman James Holmes acted alone.
The police chief was dead wrong.
Standing at Holmes’ side as he unleashed an AR-15 assault rifle and a shotgun and a handgun was Wayne LaPierre, political enforcer of the National Rifle Association.
Standing at Holmes’ side as he sprayed bullets and buckshot into a crowded movie theater were Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, a President and a would-be President, who have bowed to the NRA’s dictates and who responded to the slaughter Friday with revolting, useless treacle.
Standing at Holmes’ side as he murdered 12 and wounded 59 were the millions of zealots who would sooner see blood flow and lives end than have to check a box on a gun registration form.
In a vain claim of innocence, the fanatics will say Holmes is a monster and a maniac, that he fired and fired and fired as a man possessed. Each protestation clamps their fingers with his around the trigger.
Because they made sure that virtually everyone, Holmes included, has unfettered legal access to heavy weaponry. And they made sure he was permitted by law to drive to the kill scene with a fully loaded arsenal.
Such is the conscienceless extremism of America’s gun lovers that they accept wholesale slaughter as akin to a fatal highway pileup. Accidents happen, in their grotesque view, and so do mass killings by firearms.
Yes, they do. Massacres come and they go and nothing meaningful changes except that the body count goes up.
The big attacks leap to mind.
There was Columbine — amazingly, just down the road from Aurora — where two severely disaffected high school students gunned down 13.
There was Virginia Tech, where a student who had been diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder murdered 32 and wounded 17 on two rampages.
Lower death tolls — two, three, four, five — in offices, parks and restaurants slip from memory as awful but routine, cause for momentary pain and nothing more.
The day-to-day mayhem of street-crime shootings, responsible for more deaths than all the mass carnage combined, makes it to the police blotter, the courts, the newspapers, the emergency rooms and the cemeteries.
Every Aurora-like spasm provokes the question: How did the killer get his guns?
Overwhelmingly, the answer is that he acquired them legally from a licensed dealer under the permissive laws of the local jurisdiction and the deliberately porous oversight of the federal government.
In Aurora, the authorities say someone lawfully bought the weapons used by Holmes and that he carried them lawfully until the moment he pulled a trigger. Even the purchase of the AR-15, a rapid-fire, military-style semi-automatic fit for nothing but combat, was by the books.
Once, federal law would have kept Holmes’ hands off a superdeadly weapon like the AR-15. In 1994, under President Bill Clinton, Congress outlawed the manufacture and possession of assault weapons, but the statute had a 10-year expiration date.
IN 2004, it went off the books to cheers from the NRA, led by LaPierre, who keeps Washington in line and who went to ground Friday, declining comment “until all the facts are known.” As if they aren’t already.
Obama postures as supporting a new assault weapons ban but has done exactly nothing to restore the prohibition. Nor has he moved to close the loophole that allows for gun purchases without background checks at weapons shows.
His statement about the Aurora massacre was a dodge. Obama said in part: “If there’s anything to take away from this tragedy, it’s the reminder that life is very fragile, our time here is limited and it is precious, and what matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it’s not the trivial things which so often consume us and our daily lives.”
With all due respect, the presidential takeaway should have been a drive for strengthened gun control, if only for the assault weapons ban. In righteous anger, Obama should have confronted the NRA’s political might regardless of polls that show a strong sentiment against restoring the prohibition.
So, too, Romney, who was no less saccharine than Obama in discussing Aurora and is no less craven on gun control. As governor of Massachusetts, he signed a state assault weapons ban and defended tough anti-gun statutes. Then, as a presidential candidate, he joined the NRA and has since professed fealty to the group’s positions.
Through their inaction and their silence, Obama and Romney have fallen into line with all those who enabled Holmes to take hold of that AR-15 and will enable others to do so in the future unless America’s political leaders develop the courage to fight to save lives.
In 2009 Congress Woman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) warned America, especially American Politicians who were Angry at the Election of a BLACK President, that all of this Hateful Rhetoric from the Tea Party & NRA, being spewed out into the Media would eventually Spawn a Wave of Violence.
Hatred Rhetoric cultivated by the Klu Klux Klan, WHITE Supremacists, Skinheads, the Aryan Nation, the Tea Party, some Angry GOP Leaders & a few RACIST Democrat Leaders too.
It looks as if Nancy was Right!
In 2010, the U.S. Census results revealed there are now more BLACKS & Latinos living in America than WHITE People.
This has caused many WHITE People to become Fearful & to feel "Threatened" because they sense that they NO longer have Total Control over American Society.
The ONLY way to maintain WHITE Control is to place FEAR into the Hearts of many BLACK & Latino people via Mass Murders i.e., "LONEWOLF/ DOMESTIC TERRORISM" and to Cut off Our Money by Refusing to HIRE Us.
This may explain why Mitt Romney is Intentionally Pandering to the Tea Party, KKK & Voters with Racist tendencies during the 2012 Election.
In 2010 a Tea Party Blogger warned Nancy Pelosi that her Life was in Danger that a "Thousand Little Wacos" were on the way.
In 2011, a 22-yr old WHITE, Young Man Shot & Killed 6 Innocent People in Arizona. One of the Critically Wounded was former Congress Woman Gabrielle Giffords.
In 2011, 4 Older, WHITE Men were Arrested in Georgia for plotting to Kill Pres. Obama & Blow up Federal Gov't Buildings.
In 2012, a 28-yr-old, Half-WHITE, Florida Man Shoots & Kills an Innocent 17-yr-old BLACK Student returning to his Father's house after purchasing some Skittles Candy & an Iced Tea Beverage.
The Gunman later tried to use Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Gun Law.
A Gun Law sponsored by the NRA.
In 2012, a WHITE, High School Student in Ohio Shot & Killed 3 Innocent Fellow Students.
In 2012, GOP Members & a few "Turncoat" Democrats Vote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in Contempt.
In 2012, James Holmes, a 24-yr-old, WHITE Medical Student from California, but Studying Neuroscience in Aurora, Colorado, Shot & Killed at least 12 Innocent People, while Wounding 50 others.
In case you are wondering, I am trying to illustrate a Pattern of this type of Increasing Gun Violence Behavior in our Nation since Pres. Obama's Election.
Both Democrats & Republicans in Congress have been Bought with BIG Money from the NRA.
Donating Millions of Dollars each year to our Congress Members is why the NRA has the Power to Pass Destructive Gun Laws such as Florida's "Stand Your Ground".
Its also why people like James Holmes in Aurora, those 2 Boys from Columbine High School, that Kid from Ohio & that Gunman from Arizona are often able to gain access to Guns used to KILL Innocent People.
When is Congress (Democrats & Republicans) going to STOP pandering to the NRA, STOP hiding behind the 2nd Amendment and Enact some REAL National Gun Control Laws in America???
A gunman dressed head to foot in body armor and brandishing three weapons, including an assault rifle, opened fire in a theater crowded with families and children at a midnight showing of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” in a Denver suburb early Friday morning, killing at least 12 people and wounding 59 others, police and federal officials said.
The suspect, James Holmes, 24, told the police after his arrest that he had booby-trapped his Aurora apartment with explosive devices, leading the police to evacuate five buildings in the neighborhood as they sought to disable what they described as “incendiary devices” rigged to trip wires.
Mr. Holmes’s only criminal history was a traffic summons, said Aurora’s police chief, Dan Oates. Mr. Holmes earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in neuroscience in 2010 from the University of California, Riverside.
During the attack, witnesses said Mr. Holmes had entered through a side door of the packed theater and first set off at least two smoke devices before firing randomly at audience members, who had just settled into their seats. Within minutes, he was arrested in a parking lot behind the theater near his car, the police said.
Mr. Holmes had apparently planned the attack for some time: He wore a gas mask, body armor, a tactical helmet and was dressed completely in black. He entered the theater with an AR-15 assault rifle, a Remington 12-guage shotgun and a 40-caliber Glock handgun. A fourth gun, another Glock pistol, was found in his car. The authorities believe that Mr. Holmes acted alone, and that the death toll may increase because some of the injuries were serious.
The police and witnesses described a scene of utter chaos inside the darkened, smoke-filled theater as bullets resounded loudly around them, and people who had gone to see a PG-13-rated action movie were suddenly forced to scramble to safety as friends and loved ones were felled around them.
Chief Oates said he did not know how many shots Mr. Holmes had fired, saying only that it was “many, many rounds.”
Jordan Crofter, 19, said he had felt lucky to have snagged a seat in the front row at the midnight screening. But about five minutes into the movie, he said, a side door swung open and a man in black wearing a gas mask calmly strode through.
At first, Mr. Crofter thought perhaps the man was part of the movie. But within a few seconds, he said, the man hurled two gas canisters down the theater aisle.
“He walked in so casually, like he knew what he was doing,” said Mr. Crofter. “I heard two pops. Everyone was distracted. That was when the panic and the chaos started.”
Mr. Crofter said that once he noticed that the man was also carrying a rifle, he ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could.
“He started shooting, and everyone ducked and started screaming,” he said. “He looked like he was ready to go into battle, It was like he was walking around and having fun. Emotionless.”
With the investigation in its earliest stages, the authorities said they were unsure what prompted the attack, or whether Mr. Holmes had ties to any hate groups.
“No motivation yet,” one senior law enforcement official said, adding, “The kid’s not talking.”Mr. Holmes however, did tell the police that he had explosives at an Aurora residence, which led F.B.I. agents, along with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the local police to cordon off a north Aurora neighborhood, focusing attention on a third-floor apartment in a red brick building.
Firefighters perched on a cherry picker were seen breaking the window with an ax.
The police described the apartment as being full of wires.
“It’s something I’ve never seen before,” said Chief Oates.
John Priest, who lives in the neighborhood, said that his 21-year-old son had been in the movie theater with two friends during the shooting, but was unharmed. The two friends, however, had been wounded — one was hit by a bullet in the buttocks and grazed in the leg, and the other was shot in the leg. Neither injury is life threatening, he said.
“How could people do something like this?” he said. “I don’t understand this.”
Aurora, which has a population of about 325,000, had only six killings in all of 2011, according to F.B.I. crime data.
At Gateway High School, where the authorities have directed people to gather to get news about friends and family members, Rosemary Ratcliff said she had so far been unable to find her son, Abdullah, 17, who she believes had been at the midnight screening.
“I haven’t heard from him, and none of his friends are picking up their phones,” she said in a near-whisper as she left the school.
The authorities have not released the names of victims, but Pentagon officials said that some members of the military were among the casualties. The officials said they did not yet have an accurate count, or know what branches of the service the victims were from, or whether they were dead or injured.
The injured were sent to six hospitals in the region, including Children’s Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado Hospital.
“The entire emergency department staff was called in,” said Dr. Comilla Sasson, who said that even though the emergency room was full before the shooting happened, it admitted 20 victims who ranged in age from 3 months to 45 years. The victims’ injuries included gunshot wounds and shrapnel injuries, Dr. Sasson said. Nine people were in critical condition.
At least three other people were in critical condition at other hospitals, officials said.
The shooting erupted at the Century 16 Theater during the first showings of “The Dark Knight Rises.” Throngs had gathered, some dressed as characters from the highly anticipated Batman sequel.
The police and witnesses said after the gunman entered the theater through an exit door that there was the smell of either pepper spray or tear gas in the theater as gunshots rang out.
Chief Oates said the device made “a hissing sound” before starting to emit smoke.
President Obama, in southern Florida as part of a campaign swing, was notified of the shooting by his top counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, at 5:26 a.m., the White House said. He later released a statement saying that he and his wife, Michelle, were “shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado,” and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
Mr. Obama was briefed Friday morning by Mr. Brennan, Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director, and Jacob Lew, the White House chief of staff. “We do not believe at this point there was an apparent nexus to terrorism,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One.
Mr. Obama returned to Washington on Friday afternoon, cutting short his Florida trip, his campaign said.
In remarks in Fort Myers, Fla., Mr. Obama talked in highly personal ways about the tragedy. “My daughters go to the movies,” he said. “What if Malia and Sasha had been in the theater as so many of our kids do every day? Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight.”
He reflected on the fragility of life and the triviality of so much of what passes for daily existence, calling on the country to remember what really matters. “The people we lost in Aurora loved and were loved,” he said. “They were mothers and fathers, they were husbands and wives, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled.”
He asked for a moment of silence and asked the crowd to “spend a little time thinking about the incredible blessings that God has given us.”
Both Mr. Obama and Mitt Romney, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, said they planned to pull television campaign advertisements in Colorado.
The movie studio Warner Bros., which is owned by Time Warner, released a statement Friday morning, saying that the company and the filmmakers were “deeply saddened” and “extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time.”
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, who has waged a national campaign for stricter gun laws, called on President Obama and Mr. Romney to more concretely address the issue of gun violence in their campaigns.
“You know, soothing words are nice,” Mr. Bloomberg said during his weekly radio program, “but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country.”
On Friday morning, television images showed several ambulances moving about and dozens of police officers gathered at the Century 16 complex in the early morning darkness. A police robot could be seen inspecting a white compact sedan, its two doors and trunk wide open, in the parking lot of the movie complex, television images showed, though it was unclear whether the car belonged to the gunman.
Cellphone video appeared to show the traumatic scene outside of the large multiplex immediately after the shooting. Some people wandered away with bloodstained shirts as others could be heard screaming, “Get out of here!”
JAMES HOLMES, who opened fire before the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises,” could not have seen the movie. Like many whose misery is reflected in violence, he may simply have been drawn to a highly publicized event with a big crowd. In cynical terms, he was seeking a publicity tie-in. He was like one of those goofballs waving in the background when a TV reporter does a stand-up at a big story.
James Holmes must also have been insane, and his inner terror expressed itself, as it often does these days, in a link between pop culture and firearms. There was nothing bigger happening in his world right now than the new Batman movie, and in preparation for this day, or another like it, he was purchasing firearms and booby-trapping his apartment. When he was arrested after the shootings, he made no attempt at resistance. His mission was accomplished.
I’m not sure there is an easy link between movies and gun violence. I think the link is between the violence and the publicity. Those like James Holmes, who feel the need to arm themselves, may also feel a deep, inchoate insecurity and a need for validation. Whenever a tragedy like this takes place, it is assigned catchphrases and theme music, and the same fragmentary TV footage of the shooter is cycled again and again. Somewhere in the night, among those watching, will be another angry, aggrieved loner who is uncoiling toward action. The cinematic prototype is Travis Bickle of “Taxi Driver.” I don’t know if James Holmes cared deeply about Batman. I suspect he cared deeply about seeing himself on the news.
Should this young man — whose nature was apparently so obvious to his mother that, when a ABC News reporter called, she said “You have the right person” — have been able to buy guns, ammunition and explosives? The gun lobby will say yes. And the endless gun control debate will begin again, and the lobbyists of the National Rifle Association will go to work, and the op-ed thinkers will have their usual thoughts, and the right wing will issue alarms, and nothing will change. And there will be another mass murder.
That James Holmes is insane, few may doubt. Our gun laws are also insane, but many refuse to make the connection. The United States is one of few developed nations that accepts the notion of firearms in public hands. In theory, the citizenry needs to defend itself. Not a single person at the Aurora, Colo., theater shot back, but the theory will still be defended.
I was sitting in a Chicago bar one night with my friend McHugh when a guy from down the street came in and let us see that he was packing heat.
“Why do you need to carry a gun?” McHugh asked him.
“I live in a dangerous neighborhood.”
“It would be safer if you moved.”
This would be an excellent time for our political parties to join together in calling for restrictions on the sale and possession of deadly weapons. That is unlikely, because the issue has become so closely linked to paranoid fantasies about a federal takeover of personal liberties that many politicians feel they cannot afford to advocate gun control.
Immediately after a shooting last month in the food court of the Eaton Centre mall in Toronto, a young woman named Jessica Ghawi posted a blog entry. Three minutes before a gunman opened fire, she had been seated at the exact place he fired from.
“I was shown how fragile life was,” she wrote. “I saw the terror on bystanders’ faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath.”
This same woman was one of the fatalities at the midnight screening in Aurora.
Sources: AP, ABC News, Christian Science Monitor, CNN, Denver Post, Fox News, Huffington Post, NY Daily News, NY Times, Think Progress, Washington Times, White House, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps
At this point in 1980, Jimmy Carter was on the path to oblivion but didn’t know it. Barack Obama may share Carter’s fate if he doesn’t change course soon.
The 1980 presidential race was neck and neck until the end. It finally broke for Ronald Reagan when voters concluded that Carter could not cope with the economy and that Reagan, despite his conspicuous flaws as a candidate, was a viable alternative.
The Obama campaign is in a similar position. It might eke out a victory, but it is at risk of losing control of the economic narrative. Its best hope is to stop nickel-and-diming Mitt Romney and laundry-listing forgettable initiatives and, instead, give independents reason to think that Obama has a clear, viable plan to bolster the economy.
This election will be decided largely by independent voters, most of whom can probably tell you that Mitt Romney’s economic plan is to repeal Obamacare and shrink the government. It may not make much sense, but it’s clear. Ask what Obama’s plan is, and they won’t be certain. They will know, however, that what he has done hasn’t worked. And by the fall, many independents will have made up their minds.
The president’s failure, so far, to show that he understands the scope of the economy’s problems and knows how to fix them does not stem from having nothing to say: investment in education, energy, innovation and infrastructure are reasonable things. But they are also slow-acting, small-bore stuff. Such talk does not include additional economic stimulus, an element that many economists, especially Democratic-leaning ones, consider crucial to prevent a double-dip recession. Nor does it deal realistically with long-term growth in spending.
So Obama should draw a map and send it to Capitol Hill in the form of a bill — a president’s strongest statement that he intends action. A big legislative proposal can frame the issue and paint Obama’s intentions in bold colors.
It should include three elements:
1) Long-term fiscal retrenchment.
The easiest and best way is to adopt the Simpson-Bowles deficit plan. The Simpson-Bowles commission’s recommendations have been established as a credible bipartisan solution. Adopting its plan outright would signal that Obama is not playing partisan games and would redress the (justified) criticism that he has finessed the deficit. Not least, Simpson-Bowles compares favorably on grounds of balance, economic plausibility and public appeal with the budget of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), which Romney endorsed.
2) Short-term economic stimulus.
Republicans will howl about more spending. Let them. Stimulus measures make sense when unemployment is high and the world is teetering on the edge of a second recession. And provided they are coupled with a credible long-term retrenchment, they are politically and economically defensible. Such measures have a further political advantage: Obama and the Democrats would be running on what they believe is the right answer, instead of running away from it.
3) A two-year debt-limit extension.
Declare that another debt-limit fiasco is unacceptable and demand that the issue be taken off the table. Let Republicans explain why they want to hold a gun to the economy’s head.
Could Obama get something like this enacted before Election Day? Of course not. Could he even get it voted on? Possibly. Would he be justified in putting the package before Congress and demanding action? Absolutely. Doing so would show that he knows the economy is in trouble, that he believes the status quo is unacceptable and that he is determined to act.
One other advantage: Setting forth a boldly enunciated, easily graspable program puts Obama in a stronger position to criticize Romney’s plan as dangerously contractionary. Instead of going for Romney’s capillaries (his years-old record as governor; his even-older record at Bain Capital), Obama could go for the jugular by drawing a contrast that should be at the campaign’s core: The Republicans’ mistimed, precipitous austerity threatens to bring on another recession.
Obama could attempt to squeak through the election with a campaign modeled on, ironically, that of George W. Bush in 2004. Bush sowed just enough doubt about his challenger, and managed to pick off just enough swing voters in key states, to eke out victory. Obama is doing something like that now.
But the economic head winds Obama is fighting are much stronger than those faced by Bush, and his approval ratings are lower. In any case, a narrow victory based on electoral salami-slicing and negative advertising would leave Obama without a clear mandate or agenda for his second term. Ask Bush how that works out.
Six months before Election Day, nine states that President Obama carried four years ago are now firmly up for grabs in the latest New York Times ranking of key battleground states, while Mitt Romney holds an early advantage in two other states the president won in 2008.
As the general election race intensifies, Mr. Obama begins with a slim edge in several critical states and has a variety of paths to winning re-election, according to the Times analysis of electoral votes.
But there are considerable opportunities for Mr. Romney, whose candidacy is in a position of strength in enough states where a victory could deny the president a second term.
The Times ratings, which will be reviewed periodically throughout the campaign, find nine states are locked in the tossup category: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
In the quest to win the necessary 270 electoral votes, the president has 185 solidly on the Democratic side and Mr. Romney has 158 in safe Republican territory.
The analysis finds 115 electoral votes in the tossup category, with 32 leaning Democratic and 48 leaning Republican.
The Times rankings are based on interviews with Republican and Democratic strategists and the economic climate, political volatility, polling and electoral history in each state.
Here is a brief rationale for the current collection of toss-up states:
Colorado:
The president’s victory here in 2008 was among his favorites, after the state had voted Republican in eight of the nine prior presidential races. A wariness of big government is testing Mr. Obama this time, but Mr. Romney faces his own challenge appealing to independents and women, whose support was critical to Democratic wins in races for the Senate and governor in 2010.
Florida:
A wave of home foreclosures and a sour economy has complicated Mr. Obama’s path to a repeat victory here.
A growing number of conservative retirees offer Mr. Romney hope, but the outcome could hinge on whether he can win over Hispanic voters, particularly younger Cuban Americans in southern Florida and Puerto Ricans in central Florida.
Iowa:
The state that paved Mr. Obama’s path to the presidency could complicate his re-election, despite an economy that is more robust than many other states. Mr. Romney faces a challenge of exciting evangelical voters who did not support him earlier this year at the Iowa caucuses. In a close race, these six electoral votes are critical to both sides.
New Hampshire:
The president is leading in some early polls, but the state is too volatile to make any predictions at this point.
Mr. Romney has been seen as a favorite son, having been governor in the state next door, Massachusetts.
The Republican gains in 2010 have created a backlash among some Democrats in a state that will be a backdrop for the presidential campaign.
Nevada:
The Romney campaign has a ready-made laboratory to argue that the policies of the Obama administration have not worked, particularly in a state with the nation’s highest rates of home foreclosure and unemployment.
But the president is traveling to the state again and again, hoping his appeal to Hispanic and lower-income voters will deliver the state again.
Ohio:
It is hard to picture Mr. Romney winning the White House without Ohio.
An improving economy could help Mr. Obama, particularly with a revival in the auto industry, but the state’s conservative leanings still pose a significant challenge.
It will likely break late, with neither candidate winning the early enthusiasm race.
Pennsylvania:
Republicans have lost the last five presidential elections here, but it is not an automatic lock for Mr. Obama. Democrats have an edge in voter registration, but new voting laws concern party leaders.
This state could eventually lean Democratic as the campaign moves along, but the president has yet to prove that the key independent voters will be on his side.
Virginia:
The population shifts in Northern Virginia are changing the state’s political demographics. The president carried the state by seven percentage points in 2008, but that margin belies the true fight underway in the state this time.
This is one of the states Mr. Romney needs to put back in the Republican column if he is to be elected.
Wisconsin:
The political climate here is volatile, given the June recall election of Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican.
A flood of outside money – pro-union and antiunion – has created a charged dynamic.
The president has an early edge over Mr. Romney, but the environment is too uncertain to safely move the state into the Democratic-leaning column.
The Times rankings also include four states that lean Democratic, including Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Maine, which allows its electoral votes to be divided and Mr. Romney is fighting for at least one.
In this group, Michigan and New Mexico are the most competitive and could become true tossups as the race progresses.
In an interview last year, Mr. Romney declined to commit to competing aggressively in his native Michigan, saying he would make his determination on the state of the race rather than family sentiment.
This state is worth watching closely.
The Times rankings also include four states that are leaning Republican, including Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina.
(One electoral vote in Nebraska, which also allows its allocation to be divided, is also included in this category, after Mr. Obama won it in 2008.)
In this group, North Carolina is the most competitive and could become a toss-up as the campaign develops.
Four years ago, Mr. Obama narrowly carried the state and is aggressively targeting it again.
Arizona is another state to watch, with the president’s re-election team sizing it up over the summer to see if it is worth making a full investment in the fall.
President Obama began his Independence Day celebrations by hosting a naturalization ceremony for active duty service members in the East Room of the White House.
It was the third time the President has hosted this kind of service, and he told the audience, which included the families of the service members who were taking the oath of citizenship, that it is one of his favorite things to do.
"It brings me great joy and inspiration because it reminds us that we are a country that is bound together not simply by ethnicity or bloodlines, but by fidelity to a set of ideas."
Before the President gave his remarks, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas presented the countries of the candidates for naturalization and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano delivered the oath of allegiance.
President Obama told the new citizens that is was an honor to serve as their Commander in Chief, and to be the first to greet them as "my fellow Americans."
With this ceremony today -- and ceremonies like it across our country -- we affirm another truth: Our American journey, our success, would simply not be possible without the generations of immigrants who have come to our shores from every corner of the globe.
We say it so often, we sometimes forget what it means -- we are a nation of immigrants.
Unless you are one of the first Americans, a Native American, we are all descended from folks who came from someplace else -- whether they arrived on the Mayflower or on a slave ship, whether they came through Ellis Island or crossed the Rio Grande.
Immigrants signed their names to our Declaration and helped win our independence. Immigrants helped lay the railroads and build our cities, calloused hand by calloused hand.
Immigrants took up arms to preserve our union, to defeat fascism, and to win a Cold War.
Immigrants and their descendants helped pioneer new industries and fuel our Information Age, from Google to the iPhone.
So the story of immigrants in America isn’t a story of "them," it’s a story of "us." It’s who we are. And now, all of you get to write the next chapter.
If only other WHITE Citizens from the State of North Carolina, could be more like the late Andy Griffith, this region of the United States would begin to express Progress more rapidly.
Isn’t it time for North Carolina to Abandon the Klu Klux Klan's RACIST Philosophy and to Embrace Diversity. REAL, 21st Century Diversity?
R.I.P. Andy Samuel Griffith June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012
So many people wanted to place Andy Griffith in the past, in a place that never really was.
Griffith himself preferred to live in the present.
There was surprise and some disappointment when in 2008, Griffith reteamed with his TV son, Ron Howard, to reprise their roles in a black-and-white, tongue-in-cheek, pro-Obama video message.
The president, in a statement mourning Griffith, who died on Tuesday, said, “A performer of extraordinary talent, Andy was beloved by generations of fans and revered by entertainers who followed in his footsteps.”
Griffith supported another Democrat, N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue, in her campaign.
Counting down the days of her lame-duck tenure and fresh off the GOP legislature’s successful override on three bills she vetoed, she said in her statement: “Throughout his career, he represented everything that was good about North Carolina: a small town boy and UNC graduate who took a light-hearted approach to some of the attributes he grew up with and turned them into a spectacularly successful career.”
In 2010, an ad in support of health care legislation seriously dented Griffith’s approval numbers in his beloved North Carolina, a poll showed. Which was enough of a shock that a Democratic consultant suggested to the News & Observer, “It's a good time to call up Barney Fife.”
I get the feeling Griffith didn’t crave a sidekick at those moments; he mainly made up his own mind about things like that.
If he had done what a lot of folks, including me, wanted, he would have starred in more films like 1957’s “A Face in the Crowd.” That Elia Kazan classic revealed a dark heart beneath the lead character’s country charm while making prescient points about the dangers of media manipulation and the unleashed egos of the powerful.
Griffith instead preferred to serve up Southern comfort that confounded stereotypes without rocking the boat.
Griffith said in interviews that Mayberry was meant to be a throwback – and it was no doubt an escape for many – though its portrait of loving, understanding parents and respectful children who learned from their wiser, slyer elders was subversive in its own way. Perdue said, “In an increasingly complicated world, we all yearn for the days of Mayberry.”
Not all.
In the idealized small town of Mayberry, reminiscent of Griffith’s own Mount Airy, N.C., hometown, not much happened. When “The Andy Griffith Show” made its television debut in fall of 1960, of course, history-making change roiled the actor’s own North Carolina, with the image of Southern sheriff a ways off from Andy Taylor’s folksy friendliness.
Earlier that same year, four students from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro challenged segregation with the first sit-in, at a F.W. Woolworth lunch counter.
Mixing rose-colored fiction and real life, it would be nice to think Floyd the barber would have given those nice young men a shave and a haircut in Mayberry.
But not even Griffith believed that. A former colleague told me about a call back from Griffith to answer a question on race that he had stumbled on in an interview; it was about his decision to skirt that particular lesson in “The Andy Griffith Show.” It would have been the one thing Sheriff Andy could not have solved in a half-hour, he figured, so he left it alone, my friend reported.
But the man who thought a long time about that question lived to see his home state give a close victory to the black man he supported.
Andy Griffith, who died this morning, has been buried on the grounds of his farm on North Carolina's Roanoke Island, according to Twiford Funeral Homes. A small group of family and friends held a private service beforehand.
But though Griffith was swiftly transported to his final resting place, the tributes to the Andy Griffith Show and Matlock star haven't ceased since news of his passing at 86 broke just hours ago, with everyone from James Van Der Beek to President Barack Obama paying their respects.
The body of Andy Griffith, a North Carolina native and actor who for years won over audiences with his folksy appeal, was buried Tuesday morning less than five hours after he died.
He passed away at around 7 a.m. ET at his home on Roanoke Island, authorities reported.
At the request of his family, Griffith's body was lowered into a grave on the island at about 11:30 a.m. ET, according to a funeral spokesperson who declined to be named, citing the sensitivity of the matter.
"It had been planned for some time," said the spokesperson, who declined to reveal where on the island the body was buried.
"This was the wish of his family."
Most known for his role as the sheriff of Mayberry on the CBS series "The Andy Griffith Show," Griffith died Tuesday after an unspecified illness and "has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoke Island," the family said in a statement.
But the speed with which the public learned of his death and was informed of his burial seemed especially fast, according to some observers.
"It's not very common," said Larry F. Stegall, executive director of the state's Funeral Directors Association. "I don't recall having heard of it, and I've been here 32 years."
Traditional funeral customs often allow for a more extended period between death and burial, so family and friends may have more opportunity to visit and pay their respects.
Still, said Stegall, "the family's wishes are always abided by."
"Andy was a person of incredibly strong Christian faith and was prepared for the day he would be called Home to his Lord," Griffith's wife, Cindi, said in a statement on Tuesday.
A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Griffith also was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. His 1996 album, "I Love to Tell the Story -- 25 Timeless Hymns," netted him a Grammy Award.
Born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, in 1926, Griffith was a 1949 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received a degree in music.
Andy Griffith, who charmed audiences for half a century as an actor, comedian, and gospel singer, died today in his home in Manteo, North Carolina. He was 86.
Griffith, known for his iconic roles as the sheriff of Mayberry and the defense attorney Ben Matlock, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
This afternoon, President Obama marked his passing, saying, "A performer of extraordinary talent, Andy was beloved by generations of fans and revered by entertainers who followed in his footsteps."
Because Charlotte is Extremely BORING, RACIST & SEGREGATED!!!
There is NOTHING Here to hold a Tourist's Interest for 5 Days.
Really!
If you think I'm Exaggerating please come visit Charlotte for yourself.
And don't just visit Uptown Charlotte & South Park, please also visit Southwest Charlotte, East Charlotte & West Charlotte then tell me if you noticed any 21st Century Progress.
Besides the little Light Rail System that is.
Its the 21st Century and yet Charlotte is still stuck in the 1950's with the Klan Still ruling EVERYTHING,
most BLACK People are still Afraid of WHITE people and a City still Segregated, with Most of the Property Tax, State Funding and Federal Funds being Invested ONLY in WHITE Communities.
A growing list of Democrats in competitive districts and states will not attend this year's Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The elected officials said they intend to spend the time with their constituents, especially given the four-day event's close proximity to Election Day.
Rep. Mark Critz of Pennsylvania is up for election in November in a re-drawn competitive 12th Congressional District. In a statement, Critz said it is more important that he spend time in the district "listening to the people" instead of at the convention, scheduled to take place between September 3 and September 6.
"Since I was elected, my focus has been on creating jobs for people here rather than focusing on the agendas of the political parties in Washington and that will remain the case as long as I am serving in Congress," he said Thursday.
Two New York representatives made their plans clear this week as well. Rep. Kathy Hochul, who won a competitive four-candidate special election in 2011 to replace Republican Rep. Chris Lee after he resigned, said "I guarantee that my time will be better spent meeting the farmers, small business owners and other people who put me here."
Rep. Bill Owens also won a close special election in 2009 that received national attention to fill the House seat left vacant by Republican incumbent John McHugh.
His office said the congressman will spend the time working in his North County district.
These names were added to members of the West Virginia delegation who made their intentions clear earlier this week.
West Virginia's Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, Sen. Joe Manchin and Rep. Nick Rahall earlier in said they will not attend the events.
Manchin, the conservative Democrat representing West Virginia who has distanced himself from the president in the past, said in a statement he will spend the fall "focused on the people of West Virginia, whether that's representing them in my official U.S. Senate duties or here at home" instead of on the next election.
The first-term Manchin won a special election in 2010 following the death of Sen. Robert Byrd and is now up for a full six-year term. He will face off this fall against Republican John Raese, who Manchin ran against in the 2010 special election.
Rahall's communications director said "Coming on the heels of Labor Day, Congressman Rahall prefers to spend that time in West Virginia with his constituents."
Sen. John McCain won West Virginia with 55.6% of the vote in 2008, and it went for former President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Successful Democrats in the state tend to be more conservative.
Representatives for the Democratic National Convention did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At the Democratic convention four years ago, her spirited speech helped unite the party behind Barack Obama. And four years from now, many Democrats hope she’ll be the White House nominee delegates rally around.
But as for the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte – Hillary Clinton won’t be coming.
This year, she’s secretary of State. And as the country’s chief diplomat, she’s expected to stay above all things partisan.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will be at the DNC in Charlotte, his spokesman, Matt McKenna, confirmed Friday.
But various federal statutes and the State Department’s ethical guidelines will keep Secretary Clinton in Washington.
“Given her current position, she will not be attending, consistent with her not engaging in any political activity whatsoever,” Philippe Reines, spokesman for the Secretary of State, told the Observer in an email Friday.
It’ll be the first time in decades Clinton will miss a Democratic National Convention, Reines added – “possibly all the way back to ’68 in Chicago.”
And Clinton isn’t the only Cabinet member expected to skip the Charlotte gathering. Federal statute also precludes the attorney general and the secretary of Defense from attending political gatherings, including national party conventions, Reines said.
“I can’t think of one (of those office-holders) from the modern era who has attended,” he said.
Michael Bitzer, a political scientist at Catawba College in Salisbury, also doesn’t expect to see Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in town.
“The Big Four,” he calls these non-partisan appointees. “While they are political appointees, they are in a class by themselves,” he said. “They are representatives of institutions that are oftentimes seen as apolitical.”
And among that quartet, Secretary of State Clinton is maybe in an even higher class.
“She is certainly the president’s ambassador and personal representative around the world,” Bitzer said. “Getting involved in base partisan activities may leave a taint when she travels around the world.”
For years, Clinton and her husband were either the stars or marquee speakers at Democratic National Conventions.
In 1992, Bill Clinton was nominated. In 1996, when she was first lady, he was re-nominated. In 2000, she was a U.S. Senate candidate in New York. And in 2008, she was Obama’s foe-turned-supporter, urging her millions of backers – especially the women who saw her as an inspiring symbol – to unite behind the party’s nominee.
“She did a lot to open doors for women,” said Charlotte’s Pat Cotham, a member of the Democratic National Committee.
Cotham said the news that Clinton won’t be part of the upcoming party in Charlotte “is a disappointment, but we certainly understand. She’s served our country and has done an admirable job as secretary of State.”
Would Cotham like to see her continue serving the country in the White House?
“I would love that,” Cotham said.
Clinton has said publicly that she thinks her political days are behind her, and she has not openly encouraged talk about another run for the presidency in 2016.
But many Democrats would be thrilled if she changed her mind. That includes Bill Clinton, judging by some of his recent talk.
Bill Clinton showing up, Bitzer said, could help Hillary Clinton stay viable for 2016 even as she stays in Washington.
“We’ll get the surrogate of Bill,” Bitzer said. “In fact, it may be better for Hillary to send Bill … He could go before the delegates – those hard-core Democrats – and drop none-too-subtle hints that ‘We’d like to see you again in four more years.’ ”
Charlotte-region unemployment rose in May, eclipsing the 10 percent mark in three surrounding counties, according to data released Friday by the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Employment Security.
Unemployment in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill metro region increased to 9.5 percent from 9.1 percent, just slightly above the statewide unemployment rate of 9.4 percent.
Rates are not seasonally adjusted.
In Mecklenburg County, the unemployment rate increased to 9.6 percent, up 0.6 percent from April and down 1 percent since last year.
May unemployment rose in 76 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, though compared to the same month last year, unemployment was down in 88.
Unemployment rates in Charlotte’s surrounding counties:
- Gaston County- 10.3 percent; down from 11.5 percent in May 2011
- Union County - 8 percent ; down from 9 percent in May 2011
- Cabarrus County - 9.1 percent; down from 9.8 percent in May 2011
- Iredall County - 9.8 percent; down from 11.3 percent in May 2011
- Catawba County - 10.8 percent; down from 12.4 percent in May 2011
- Lincoln County - 10.1 percent; down from 11.6 percent last year
Welcome to the BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ Blog. (Established 2008)
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