Media Quiet About San Antonio Theater Shooting

On Sunday December 17, 2012, 2 days after the CT shooting, a man went to a restaurant in San Antonio to kill his X-girlfriend. After he shot her, most of the people in the restaurant fled next door to a theater. The gunman followed them and entered the theater so he could shoot more people. He started shooting and people in the theater started running and screaming. It’s like the Aurora, CO theater story plus a restaurant! 

Now aren’t you wondering why this isn’t a lead story in the national media along with the school shooting?

There was an off duty county deputy at the theater. SHE pulled out her gun and shot the man 4 times before he had a chance to kill anyone. So since this story makes the point that the best thing to stop a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun, the media is treating it like it never happened. Only the local media covered it. The city is giving her a medal next week.  http://tiny.cc/l4a3pw

My take on this?

Here in Southern California I patiently wait and count the days until all pens, sharp objects, liquids and other items are surrendered at the door of movie theaters. Perhaps this can extend to restaurants and other places?

Am I the only one smart enough to see that this is California's answer to the budget problems in this state after sales tax increases and business taxes have driven so many employers out of the state, reducing revenue?

Yes! We are soon to be the center of the USA for not only being ground zero for the homeless BUT we are going to have our employment problem vanish as one resident it five will now work for the folks who supply the TSA folks at the airports! We just might find those folks at the entrance to every building which has public access! The side business will be coffee stands and snack carts to feed patrons as they wait in line for security checks for their turn through the detectors.

Yes, California will lead our great nation in safety and our economy will flourish (on paper) as unemployment drops to zero as the minimum wage task force of armed folks with GED educations rises to be the primary workforce in the golden state.

Reporting from the streets of Los Angeles - Skid Row

The political machine is back in full swing after the November election.  Maybe nationally it will be business as usual? Locally here in Los Angeles they are trying to raise sales tax... again.  Drive consumers to Orange County or Ventura to buy that big screen TV, appliance or your next car and save hundreds or thousands of dollars.

The voters in California approved a measure to give the public school system even more money even though our state government has proven themselves as totally inept at managing money.  California is 47th in the nation when it comes to spending per student and yet our government had the gall to ask for more money.  From my point of view they should have let the system fail and rebuilt it from the ground up.  We should have sent a message to our folks in Sacramento.  Guess we will get what we asked for, get what we deserve ... again.

Meanwhile, here is Los Angeles, the homeless mecca of the nation, things continue to get worse regardless of what the media reports.

No longer are the primary residents people with substance abuse, alcohol abuse or mental illness the primary residents of skid row.  They are now families, children, out of work people who have lost their jobs and run out of unemployment benefits, returning veterans from the mid east and folks who have lost their homes to big banks and big business.

I count folks on the street each month.  I see the number tell a heartbreaking story.  But, rather than trust my numbers let me use some numbers to compare two recent months, September 2012 and October 2012 from Union Rescue Mission, the largest mission in the nation.

Total Mental Health Clinic Sessions - 62 vs 110

Total Health Center Visits - 496 vs 537

Total Dental Clinic Visits - Individual Patients Seen - 453 vs 664 Total Legal Clinic Visits 53 vs 105 Total Meals Served 63,755 vs 65,968 Total Nights of Shelter (per individual) This does not include families which is another 2,232 people - 22,799 vs 23,445 .

The above are the figures for only TWO months and the increase from one month to the next.  From where I sit things are not getting better.

Feel free to pass this piece along to others via the link.  If you would like to help just go to www.urm.org.  There are many ways you can help.  You can donate in many ways in any amount.  You can even donate $10 from your cell phone and feed five people in a mater of moments.  (To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction. )

Thank you.