A year ago, today, America mourned the massacre of nine worshippers at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. Not much has changed regarding gun control laws since the day when Dylan Roof wanted to start a race war by murdering: Cynthia Hurd, 54; Susie Jackson, 87; Ethel Lance, 70; Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, 49; Hon. Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41; Tywanza Sanders, 26; Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., 74; Rev. Sharonda Singleton, 45; and Myra Thompson, 59. 

Even after The Honorable Clementa Pinkckney, South Carolina State Senator, was gunned down, Congress still has not passed a law requiring background checks, banning the sale of assault weapons and other common sense measures. Should we be surprised based on their actions or lack thereof after the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in January 2011 in which six people were killed?

To this day, congressmen shamelessly offer ridiculous rationale for holding fast to their position regarding gun control. Some even blame President Obama as if they have no role in the legislative process in the United States. 

After the most recent massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, again, we mourn the loss of 49 victims of senseless gun violence.  More than 50 people were also wounded in that incident. 

At what point do we, as Americans, care enough to elect representatives who will put American citizens first? Enough is enough. If we don't care enough after the Massacre at Mother Emanuel or Orlando or San Bernardino or Sandy Hook or Aurora or any weekend in some cities in America, then shame on us. 

Miss me with the hashtags, catchy slogans and creative graphics expressing unity, outrage and sympathy to yourself if you are not going to do anything more than lip service or be a keyboard commando. 

Sleep in Paradise, Emmanuel Nine, you are not forgotten. Disarm hate.

The propaganda of President Obama’s speech is deafening. You can read it in its entirety by going to the White House website but I’d like to share some of the egregious statements made by this nation’s leader.

“Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. “

How dare the President discuss personal responsibility to our little darlings. Hmmm…shame on him.

Here’s more:

“Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.”

And there he goes actually praising our children, letting them know that each of them is special. How dare he?! The President’s speech goes on and on which such mind-controlling rhetoric.

The political leaders and parents who have taken to the airwaves with vicious attacks against the President and his message will likely find a way to continue trash him although his message his positive and uplifting.

Here’s my favorite excerpt from the President’s speech:

“But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. 

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.” 

In a nation where the high school dropout rate is abysmal at best, the uproar over President Obama’s speech is a tremendous waste of time and energy. The most vocal opponents of the President’s speech are likely people who just oppose the President. Period. End of story. Insert any issue President Obama proposes and the story will be the same.

It's been eight long months but Al Franken will finally be sworn in as Senator from Minnesota. Sure, I could attempt to make light of Minnesotans electing a wrestler for governor and electing a comedian as their Senator but it's really not funny. Eight months ago, it would have been comical; now, it's just a relief that the situation has come to a close.

Norm Coleman, the incumbent who lost to Franken by a mere 312 votes is the same person who lost to Jessie "The Body" Ventura in the race for governor.

Votes in the Senate race had been counted, recounted, challenged and re-counted again. It seemed as if there would be no end to the madness. Eight months later, the Minnesota Supreme Court declare Al Franken the winner and Norm Coleman concedes. The Democrats have now reached the magic number 60 for a supermajority but that is, at best, an illusory victory.

Get Twitter buttons

There's an ongoing poll on MSBNC asking readers to give President Obama a grade on his performance thus far. As you may know, he is fast approaching the end of his first 100 days as leader of the United States of America.

Here's a snapshot of the voting so far.

These results don't comport with the results of the CNN poll or other poll results I've seen but we'll check the results again Wednesday morning.

If you feel so compelled, vote now. The President's first 100 days expire on Wednesday, April 29; be sure to watch his news conference that evening.

I just watched a moving tribute to Marie Olbermann, mother of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on his show Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Sadly, Mrs. Olbermann passed away.

She was quite a lady and well-known for her love of major league baseball. I have not been a Keith Olbermann fan long enough to know of her getting beaned by Chuck Knoblauch and the subsequent celebrity to follow. She seemed to be quite feisty and a lot of fun to be with.

My prayers are with Keith Olbermann, his dad and the rest of Marie Olbermann's family, friends and loved ones. Ashe'.

Read Keith Olbermann's tribute to his mom here.

One of my favorite political commentators, Ed Schultz, starts his new show tomorrow at 6 PM EST on MSNBC. He strengthens the already powerhouse MSNBC line-up.

Former DNC Chair Howard Dean comments on Michael Steele's bumpy start as chair of the RNC. Steele should listen and so should the influential Party members unless they choose to go the way of the Titanic.

© 2009, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.

Senator Roland Burris, Junior Senator for the State of Illinois, the man who literally went on a media tour after his appointment to the seat by then embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich, would have respective public officials and the American public to believe that he is not guilty of perjury after revelation of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother seeking Burris’ assistance in fundraising for the governor. I know that is a long sentence but this is a weird situation.

Senator Burris and his legal counsel were not prepared for the questions from the media at yesterday's press conference. There was stammering, stumbling, and obvious defensiveness. Not a good look.

If anyone didn’t think Burris was tainted by Rod Blagojevich before, they sure think it now.

© 2009, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.

You know, amidst the almost overwhelming excitement of the transition to new leadership in the United States, I must admit that I will miss President Bush. Yeah, I really will. Unfortunately, for him as a human being and his family, the Bush II tenure as POTUS will not characterize him positively.

Bush is largely perceived by the masses as fodder for comedic material. From his mispronunciations, sometimes-incoherent statements, lies (Mission Accomplished, WMDs,etc.) and that lasting image of him ducking those shoes, one has to feel a tinge of empathy for the guy.

You know, President Bush is like any celebrity we think we know but don’t really. We know them from the media and sometimes the media is not kind. We don’t know the human side of George W. Bush. Surely, some of the ribbing he’s taken has been hurtful. The conversations with family and friends attempting to justify his actions and decisions must have been stressful. I really feel sorry for the guy and his family. And then he made that Palinesque farewell presidential address he gave the other night.

He should be on a farewell apology tour to the American public rather than trying to blame everyone else but himself. His eight years as POTUS were disastrous and we’ve not yet realized the depths of the damage.

Regardless of the books written by Karl Rove and others, the tremendous loss of American lives at home and abroad, almost total collapse of the American economy and legendary slow response to the destruction by Hurricane Katrina will forever taint/paint the legacy of Bush II.

© 2009, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.

By now you've heard about the foolishness caused by the false report of an assault on a young, female John McCain supporter. The young lady, a Caucasian, reported that she had been attacked by a black man. Not your average-sized black man but a 6feet 4 inch dark-skinned black man. Now if that's not said to scare the hell out of white women and piss white men off, I don't know what is.

But, in this "post-racial" world that we live in, there will be other incidents such as this. The reality of the aftermath of Ms. Todd's lie is that somewhere in the Philadelphia area where this attack allegedly occurred, black mothers were trying to get their sons home and pray that they were safe from the cops and vigilantes looking for revenge for the victimized Ms. Todd.    

Ms. Todd obviously has some psychological issues but she doesn't get a pass for telling a lie and bruising herself. This false accusation crap is old and tired but obviously still effective. How many of you still remember the uproar caused by Susan Smith and Charles Stuart?

While the McCain-Palin campaign doesn't condone such actions by Ms. Todd, they must realize that this is the type of hatred stoked by the flavor of their town hall meetings.

Thankfully, law enforcement doubted Ms. Todd's story from the outset. There could have been a completely different and violent reaction but there wasn't. On the other hand The Drudge Report and Politico.com did but into it and were forced to apologize later.

What happens next with Ashley Todd? I say she needs to be incarcerated for several years and be forced to pay restitution for the cost of law enforcement and other incidentals.

© 2008, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.