The Women’s Freedom Ride, a cross country ride for women, arrived in Madrid NM this afternoon while I was hanging around there with Johnny. We actually were there to film this for the store.

https://youtu.be/4u_giSTJ9xI

. . . but the truth is I don’t believe ANY politician when it comes to taxes, healthcare, guns, and money. What he is saying is stuff I believe in. Regulating guns sales to common sense laws would make all of us safer, but history has shown us that they’re lying pieces of shit and are not to be believed.

A MUST READ TO THE END
Guess our national leaders didn’t expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating and deeply personal.
The following is a portion of the transcript:

“Since the dawn of creation there has been both good &evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

“The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain’s heart.

“In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA – because I don’t believe that they are responsible for my daughter’s death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel’s murder I would be their strongest opponent

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy — it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies!
Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage,
You’ve outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question “Why?”
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

“Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact.

What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs — politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws.

Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

“As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him.

To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA — I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter’s death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!” – Darrell Scott

Do what the media did not – – let the nation hear this man’s speech. Please send this out to everyone you can!

So I get up early and meet my Italian friends in Santa Fe to ride out with them for a bit and at the hotel one of them notices I’m carrying a gun. It’s not a big deal to them, except for the one that happens to be a police detective in Rome. He and I talk a bit about guns and the like and I empty the gun and pass it to him. Once again, it’s just another gun.. Then he sees the bullets, THEY are a big deal. They’re illegal in Italy. I carry hollow points. So I strip one out of the magazine and give it to the detective. You’d have thought I gave him gold. I rode with them for an hour and then headed home to fix the swamp cooler.

Andy & I did a half assed repair on the cooler yesterday, which didn’t last. I picked up the missing parts today on the way home and fixed it right when I got home. Easy job when you got the right stuff.

If in Santa Fe, you have to stop @ Harley, right? Well, of course you do. While there I gave one of the girls a massage. She’s a masseuse and was complaining about not having anyone to massage her and she “really” needed one bad, so I obliged.

To cap off the day, we had a farewell party for one of the Old Fartz. Bob Bob Bob and Bernadette had about 30 of the Old Fartz over to wish Bob and his wife a fond farewell. Nice guy but deaf as a stone and his hearing aids are just a marginal help..

Busy Saturday!