The Come Out!

Sad to say, but this was the biggest news story of the day yesterday....

NBA center Jason Collins on Monday announced that he's gay in a story for Sports Illustrated, becoming the first active player in a major American team sport to announce that he is gay.
"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation," Collins wrote. "I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."

I can partially see his point and then again I can't...I keep asking myself over and over again...Why is this newsworthy? Why is this a big deal??


NBA commissioner David Stern commended Collins for his announcement.
"As Adam Silver and I said to Jason, we have known the Collins family since Jason and Jarron joined the NBA in 2001 and they have been exemplary members of the NBA family. Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue,"Commisioner Stern said in a statement.

Leadership?? What leadership?? So if I say that I love brown to dark skinned Black women with big butts..is that leadership?? I'm just making a statement about my sexual preference..That's all..Has absolutely nothing to do with anything else I do outside of the bedroom.

Jason's twin brother, Jarron Collins, played for 10 seasons in the NBA, last with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2010-11.
The NBA Players Association also said in a statement that it supported Collins.
"As Jason wrote, pro basketball is a family, and he has and always will be our brother. The NBPA is dedicated to fighting for the best interests of and uniting all players regardless of race, creed, color, age, national origin, or sexual orientation. Today is another example that we are intent on continuing that work.
"We congratulate Jason for having the courage to 'raise his hand,' as he wrote in his story, and start the conversation."
The reaction of other active players has always been a question when it comes to an athlete in a major sport coming out. Other players don't get any bigger than Kobe Bryant, who tweeted his support Monday.
"Proud of @jasoncollins34," the tweet read. "Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU"

While Kobe Bryant was accepting of Collins, NFL players Mike Wallace and Alphonso Smith were among athletes to take a dissenting tone on Twitter.
Mike Wallace deleted two tweets about the subject, then later wrote, "never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don't understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended."

Alphonso Smith, meanwhile, wrote in a series of tweets that, "It's a shame I have to apologize for my TRUE feelings."

White House spokesman Jay Carney called Collins courageous and said the White House supports Jason Collins and views his decision as another example of progress and evolution in the U.S. as Americans grow more accepting of gay rights and same-sex marriage. Last year, during his re-election campaign, President Barack Obama announced his support for gay marriage.

President Obama called Jason Collins later Monday and told him that he was impressed by his courage, according to a White House official who was not authorized to discuss the private conversation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Former President Bill Clinton, whose daughter Chelsea attended Stanford with Collins, also applauded Collins' announcement.


"Jason's announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] community," he said in a statement. "It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities.
"For so many members of the LGBT community, these simple goals remain elusive. I hope that everyone, particularly Jason's colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned."

The 34-year-old Collins, who is a free agent, ended last season with the Washington Wizards after being traded by the Boston Celtics.

"Now I'm a free agent, literally and figuratively. I've reached that enviable state in life in which I can do pretty much what I want. And what I want is to continue to play basketball," he wrote. "I still love the game, and I still have something to offer. My coaches and teammates recognize that. At the same time, I want to be genuine and authentic and truthful."

Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld issued a statement on behalf of the team:
"We are extremely proud of Jason and support his decision to live his life proudly and openly. He has been a leader on and off the court and an outstanding teammate throughout his NBA career. Those qualities will continue to serve him both as a player and as a positive role model for others of all sexual orientation."
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said in a statement that he was "extremely happy and proud" of Collins.


"He is the consummate professional and he is one of my favorite 'team' players I have ever coached. If you have learned anything from Jackie Robinson, it is that teammates are always the first to accept. It will be society who has to learn tolerance. One of my favorite sayings is, 'I am who I am, are whom we are, can be what I want to be, its not up to you, it's just me being me,' " Rivers said.

Jason Collins has an endorsement deal with Nike, which issued a statement of support.
"We admire Jason's courage and are proud that he is a Nike athlete. Nike believes in a level playing field where an athlete's sexual orientation is not a consideration," it read.


Jason Collins wrote that he first considered coming out during the 2011 NBA lockout, which interrupted his routine and "forced me to confront who I really am and what I really want."
He said the first relative he told he was gay was his aunt Teri, who is a superior court judge in San Francisco. He said she told him, "I've known you were gay for years," which made him "comfortable in my own skin."
Collins said he realized he needed to make his sexual orientation public when his former roommate at Stanford, Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy, who is straight, marched in Boston's Gay Pride Parade last year.

The Boston Marathon bombings earlier this month then reinforced to him "that I shouldn't wait for the circumstances of my coming out to be perfect. Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?
"When I told Joe a few weeks ago that I was gay, he was grateful that I trusted him. He asked me to join him in 2013. We'll be marching on June 8," Collins wrote.

Collins said that he told his brother during a breakfast meeting last summer.
"He never suspected. So much for twin telepathy," Collins wrote. "But by dinner that night, he was full of brotherly love. For the first time in our lives, he wanted to step in and protect me."
Collins says he quietly made a statement for gay rights even while keeping his sexual orientation a secret. He wore No. 98 with the Celtics and Wizards -- 1998 was the year that Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming, was killed, and the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization, was founded.

Collins was blown away by the support he received.
"All the support I have received today is truly inspirational," he wrote on Twitter. "I knew that I was choosing the road less traveled but I'm not walking it alone."
In 713 career games with the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Celtics and Wizards, Collins has averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Philadelphia 76ers president Rod Thorn, who acquired Collins in a draft-day trade when he was in the Nets' front office, told ESPNNewYork.com's Ian O'Connor that he doesn't believe teams will discriminate against Collins in the free-agent market.

"It's so hard to get good players, and tough enough keep them once you get them, that I think virtually everybody looks at players now and asks, 'Can he help us?' I just don't think his sexual orientation matters in today's world," he said.
Collins' statement is quickly showing signs of resonating.

He picked up more followers on Twitter in the hour after his story than in his previous 430 days on the social networking site, going from 3,700 to over 9,000. A short time later @jasoncollins34 had over 13,000 followers.

Several male athletes have previously come out after they retired, including the NBA's John Amaechi, the NFL's Esera Tuaolo and Major League Baseball's Billy Bean. But Collins is the first to do so while planning to continue playing.
Professional soccer player Robbie Rogers, who publicly came out early this year, tweeted, "I feel a movement coming," in reaction to Collins' announcement.
Advocacy organization GLAAD released a statement from Aaron McQuade, the head of its sports program.
"'Courage' and 'inspiration' are words that get thrown around a lot in sports, but Jason Collins has given both ideas a brand new context," he said. "We hope that his future team will welcome him, and that fans of the NBA and sports in general will applaud him. We know that the NBA will proudly support him, and that countless young LGBT athletes now have a new hero."
The co-founders of You Can Play, a Denver-based non-profit organization advocating for equal treatment for LGBT athletes, coaches and fans, also saluted Collins.
"A man with a big heart, speaking a couple of small words, has helped change the course of sports," co-founder Brian Kitts said. "Saying 'I'm gay' sets a new standard of honesty, openness and teamwork that will positively affect athletes and fans at every level of sports."

I wrote on my Facebook page yesterday-" You know It would be nice one day when such announcements like this are not even newsworthy. Sad to say, that day hasn't come yet. He's been in the NBA for 12 years and this is probably the most press he has ever gotten and here it is for his sexual preference and not his play on the court...History is going to judge us all for this kind of thing!"

Indeed it will!

The President Has A Sense Of Humor (Who Knew?)

The President recently spoke at the White House Correspondants dinner...He showed he has a great sense of humor....Scan the crowd and look for surprising others who also are good sports and have a sense of humor...Again...Who knew?

Saturday 7 (7 ways to get sh%$ Done!)

1.Do The Hard things First...


If you got something that's a bit of a challenge looming, don't procrastinate, get right to it. When you keep putting things off, you waste energy thinking about it. Energy that could've been used to do it! Tackle challenges head-on, or they start to seem insurmountable.


2.Take Your Own Time Seriously.

Time is a precious commodity...one that shouldn't be wasted..Especially , YOUR time!
 Schedule 15 minutes into your day Just to think about what you have to do and more importantly, when you plan to do it!.


3. Carve out time in your schedule for things you really care about the most.
 This is self explanatory!

4.Maximize Your Mornings..

Really successful people don't sleep a lot..They are driven (Which is why I'm not super successful and writing three blogs for free!) Get up early, get shaved and or showered..Go riding your bike or running..Get the old juices flowing!  After the age of 50, good luck with that!

5.Keep Your Long Term Goal In sight!
If you shooting for something...half of the fun is in the getting there...Always keep sight of the big picture..Never lose sight of that..Keep your eye on the prize.

6.Speak Up!
Again, Self explanatory...Don't be afraid to ask for what you want or what you need to help you get wherever it is you are going!

7.Stop Multi-tasking...

K.I.S.S. -Keep it simple stupid....Always works for me.

Weekend Humor

A fifteen year-old boy came home with a Porsche and his parents began to yell and scream,

''Where did you get that car?''

He calmly told them, ''I bought it today.''

''With what money?'' demanded his parents.

"We know what a Porsche costs.."

''Well,'' said the boy, ''This one cost me fifteen dollars.''

So the parents began to yell even louder. ''Who would sell a car like that for fifteen dollars?'' they asked.

''It was the lady up the street,'' said the boy. "I Don't know her name-they just moved in. She saw me ride past on my bike and asked me if I wanted to buy a Porsche for fifteen dollars.''

''Oh my Goodness!,'' moaned the mother, ''She must be a child abuser. Who knows what she will do next? John, you go right up there and see what's going on.''

So the boy's father walked up the street to the house where the lady lived and found her out in the yard calmly planting petunias. He introduced himself as the father of the boy to whom she had sold a Porsche for fifteen dollars and demanded to know why she did it. 

''Well,'' she said, ''This morning I got a phone call from my husband. I thought he was on a business trip, but learned from a friend he has run off to Hawaii with his secretary and really doesn't intend to come back. He claimed he was stranded and asked me to sell his new Porsche and send him the money. So I did.''

Have a great weekend everybody~!

Jigga's Next Move!

I know, right? Why am I writing about Jay Z?....(He is my favorite Hip Hop Artist) It's a slow news day and look, He's on the cover of Time Magazine this week, so why can't I write about him if I wanna?

The man who calls himself Jay Hova, Hovie, Jigga and just plain Jay Z ,but was born Sean Carter may have begun as an MC, but he's branching out into sports management with the imminent sale of his stake in the Brooklyn Nets and the birth of his fledgling Roc Nation Sports agency.

 Jay-Z launched Roc Nation Sports, a joint-venture sports management agency with Creative Arts Agency, at the beginning of April. Since National Basketball Association rules specify that agents can't represent professional athletes and also have a stake in a team, the move is required if the rapper wishes to be certified as an agent for the NBA.

Jay-Z discussed his decision in a statement posted on his Lifeandtimes.com site Thursday (April 18):

"Being a member of the Nets organization surpassed some of my greatest ambitions. It was never about an investment; it was about the NETS and Brooklyn. My job as an owner is over but as a fan it has just begun. I'm a Brooklyn Net forever. It's been an honor to work with Mikhail Prokhorov, Dmitry Razumov, Christophe Charlier, ONEXIM Sports and Entertainment, Brett Yormark and all the wonderful people involved in making the Nets first class. My sincerest thanks goes to Bruce Ratner, who first introduced the idea of moving the Nets to Brooklyn. A thank you and deepest appreciation goes to the fans. You are the lifeblood of any team."

Mr. Carter went on to say-


"The Nets have made their mark on the NBA and as they enter a new era, Roc Nation does as well; as we embark on Roc Nation Sports. Our newest endeavor is committed to building the brands of professional athletes as we have done for some of today's top music artists. For Roc Nation Sports to function at its full potential, NBA rules stipulate that I relinquish my ownership in the Brooklyn Nets. It was a tough decision but as I stated earlier, it's not about ownership. Congratulations to The Nets on a great season and making the playoffs! I will always be a Brooklyn Net." 

 
RocNation Sports' inaugural signee is New York Yankees four-time all-star Robinson Cano. However, it's all but assured that the business mogul and rapper will quickly move into the NFL and, obviously, the NBA.
While Mr.Carter is shedding his stake in the Nets, valued at about $350,000, his share of the Nets' Barclays Center home has grown; Forbes speculated that he transferred some of his Nets ownership to the arena. Carter owns 0.2% of Barclays, which works out to roughly $2 million of the billion-dollar complex.

Good Luck to you Hov!

R.I.P. Richie Havens

RICHIE HAVENS

January 21,1941- April 22, 2013

A giant in the music world has fallen!

Richard Pierce "Richie" Havens was an American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense and rhythmic guitar style, soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. In all of the confusion and foolishness going on in the world...I momentarily forgot to pay homage to this American Treasure...Forgive me!

Keith's Favorite Quotes

Color Of School Closures

I didn't write this...It comes from something emailed to me, but it is something to think about...Observe the illustration above and tell me what you think?

"There is no evidence to suggest that school closures work. Despite what policymakers say to justify these mass closures, reports have shown that the majority of students who are affected do not get placed in high performing schools. And though closures are often touted as a way for districts to save money in tough economic times, those savings often fail to materialize and can in reality cost taxpayers millions in hidden costs." -Philadelphia School Union Website.


Mass school closings have become a hallmark of today's dominant education policy agenda. But rather than helping students, these closures disrupt whole communities. And as U.S. Department of Education data suggests, the most recent rounds of mass closings in Chicago, New York City and this city,Philadelphia disproportionately hurt Black and low-income students.

See a pattern here?  Hmmmmmm!

I don't want to just present a problem with no solutions...Here are some viable alternatives-

What is the alternative to closing schools? Evidence-based policies that provide students, schools and communities with the opportunities and resources they need to succeed, including:

• Wraparound academic, health and social services to help struggling students get back on track
• Recruiting, training and retaining high-quality teachers in every classroom
• Equitable school funding systems so that those who face the toughest hurdles receive the greatest resources
• Universal high-quality pre-K so that all students start school ready to learn
• Expanded learning time, including after-school and summer programming
• Turning schools into community hubs that provide expanded services to both students and community members

For more information, check out this report from Communities for Excellent Public Schools, "A Proposal for Sustainable School Transformation."
Here are just a few of the many groups organizing against school closures in the cities highlighted in the infographic. If your organization is doing anti-closures work, let us know and we'll add it!

• Chicago: Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
• New York: Coalition for Educational Justice
• Philadelphia: Philadelphia Student Union
• National: Journey for Justice

Think about it people!

What A Weekend It Was

If we start with Thursday....Things just escalated....I thought that it would take the FBI and Law Enforcement some time to even identify the marathon bombing suspects...But ,to my surprise, they identified them and had their photos plastered all over the new media early Thursday morning.

I knew that if these two guys saw their photos, it wouldn't be too long before they decided that it was a nice time to take a vacation...ANYWHERE but where they were..The Boston area...

Sure enough one or both them shot and killed an unsuspecting young Patrolmen near the M.I.T. Campus on Thursday night and took his vehicle...They then carjacked someone else's SUV and held up a 7/11...A vicious gunbattle with police followed early Friday morning and one of the suspects, the older brother was killed..The second suspect was wounded ,but escaped...

As you can guess...This was the talk on the streets all day Friday...CNN and MSNBC ran non-stop coverage of the entire thing and the Boston Police cornered and took suspect two into custody...

Despite a serious throat wound preventing him from speaking, the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect is beginning to respond to questions from investigators, federal officials tell NBC News.
Nearly 48 hours after he was taken into custody following an intense gun battle and manhunt, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was communicating with a special team of federal investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. He was responding to questions mostly in writing because of the throat wound, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The suspect remains in serious condition.
The throat wound may be the result of a suicide attempt, investigators said.


Officials are hoping to glean more information about the twin blasts Monday at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, which killed three people and injured more than 180, and determine whether Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed in a firefight with police after a wild chase into the Boston suburb of Watertown on Thursday night, received assistance from others.
Word that the wounded suspect is able to communicate with authorities came as a surprise, especially after details about the severity of his injuries began to emerge earlier in the day.


Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told an interviewer that “we don’t know if we’ll ever be able to question the individual."
Law enforcement sources had said earlier they were putting the final touches on charges against Tsarnaev and would announce them Sunday. However, Justice Department officials said late in the day that charges would not be announced until Monday at the earliest. They did not give a reason for the delay.

Authorities have told NBC News that a special high value detainee interrogation team will question Tsarnaev without advising him of his Miranda rights. A “public safety exemption” allows investigators to question a suspect without being informed of his right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning when it is thought that he or she might have vital information about a threat to public safety.
Also on Sunday, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said that surveillance video clearly puts Tsarnaev at the scene of the attack, acting suspiciously.

"It does seem to be pretty clear that this suspect took the backpack off, put it down, did not react when the first explosion went off and then moved away from the backpack in time for the second explosion," Patrick said on “Meet the Press.” "It's pretty clear about his involvement and pretty chilling, frankly."
Patrick noted that while he had not personally viewed the video recordings, he was briefed by law enforcement on their contents.

More details about the Thursday night chase surfaced over the weekend. The brothers hurled a pressure-cooker bomb similar to the two that went off at the marathon during the firefight, Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said on Saturday. The men were in two cars when confronted by a lone police officer, Deveau said, and later threw four grenade-like explosives at pursuing officers.


Still, much remained unknown as of this writing about what might have driven the two suspects to violence. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said on “Meet the Press” that Tamerlan may have traveled under an alias when he took a trip to Russia in 2012.

That trip may have been when Tamerlan, who the FBI identified as Suspect 1, “got that final radicalization to push him to commit acts of violence and where he may have received training,” said committee chair Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.

Also, crime scene units returned to the scene of Monday’s twin explosions that brought an annual springtime rite to an end in screams and smoke. Debris and trash not far from the bomb site on Boylston Street were taken away in garbage trucks on Sunday after being sifted for evidence.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Sunday he has not seen evidence to link the bombings to any militant or terrorist group, and declined to speculate on whether or not Tsarnaev could be sent to Guantanamo Bay.

"We just don’t have the facts, and until we get the facts, then it will be the responsibility of law enforcement, DOJ, and other institutions to make some determination as to how that individual should be treated, detained, charged, and all that goes with it,” Hagel said. “But right now we just don’t know enough about it.”

Investigators are taking a look at Tsarnaev’s behavior after he returned to the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth after the Monday bombings, Gov. Patrick said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”
“There is evidence of some frankly kind of normal student behavior in those ensuing days, which when you consider the enormity of what he was responsible for certainly raises a lot of questions in my mind and as I say more to the point in the minds of law enforcement as well,” Patrick said. “Those are the kinds of leads that still have to be pursued and run to ground.”

In Boston, the hunt for the suspected perpetrators gave way to a time to mourn a week after the attacks. A funeral for marathon victim Krystle Campbell, 29, a restaurant manager, is scheduled for Monday at St. Joseph Church in her home town of Medford, Mass.

Menino and Patrick along with the central charitable One Fund Boston called for a minute of silence at 2:50 p.m. Monday to mark a week since the bombings. Bells will ring throughout the city and Massachusetts after the minute’s passage, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
One person injured in the marathon blast was released from the hospital on Sunday, though 52 are still receiving treatment in Boston hospitals, with three in critical condition.

About 36,000 runners participated in the London Marathon on Sunday amid heightened security, many of them wearing black ribbons to commemorate the victims in Boston or carrying “For Boston" signs.

And so It appears that a week that began with a bang has ended in a wimper...A new week begins...The smoke is settling.

Weekend Humor (Several Bar Jokes)

He: Can I buy you a drink?
She: I would much rather have the money.

He: Will you go out with me this Saturday?
She: Sorry. I am planning on having a headache this weekend.

He: Go on. Don't be shy, ask me out.
She: Okay. Go out.

He: I think I could make you very happy?
She: Why? Are you leaving?


Have a great weekend  everybody!

Are You Kiddin Me?

Are you serious? Are you kiddin me?? a common sense bill, a no brainer and those gutless wonders in congress couldn't get the bill passed!! A common sense bill that was asking for more in depth background checks for potential gun purchasers...Proof positive that in this season...CONgress is the opposite of PROgress!

Shaking my damn head!!

Yesterday, Despite an impassioned push by President Barack Obama and an emotional lobbying effort by the families of mass shooting victims, proponents of a compromise measure to expand gun background checks on Wednesday fell six votes short of passage in the Senate.

The vote on the amendment was 54 to 46. Sixty votes were needed for the amendment to be adopted.
The deal was the result of a deal struck between Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. It would have extended existing background check rules to gun sales made online and at gun shows.

Speaking in the Rose Garden after the vote, a visibly frustrated President Obama decried the defeat of the measure as parents of victims of last year's Newtown school shootings and former congresswoman Gabby Giffords looked on. "All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington," he said sternly, urging backers of gun control to continue the fight.

 Slamming critics who said that victims were used as "props," President Obama said that their voices and experiences should have been welcomed, adding that gun lobbyists "willfully lied" about the consequences of the background check measure.

As the bill was defeated, Patricia Maisch -- a survivor of the Tuscon shooting that targeted Giffords -- yelled "Shame on you!" from the Senate gallery. They have no shame...Some of them have not a shred of human decency either!

After the vote, Patricia Maisch said outside the chamber that she screamed when she realized the amendment had been defeated.

"They need to be ashamed of themselves," she said. "I think the ones who voted no ... they have no soul. They have no compassion for the experiences that people have lived through, gun violence, who have had a child or a loved one murdered." My sentiments exactly.

Although backed by many victims of gun violence, including the Newtown families, the legislation was vehemently opposed by the National Rifle Association, who said it infringed on the rights of gun owners.
In a statement, NRA-ILA executive director Chris Cox applauded the proposal's defeat: "This amendment would have criminalized certain private transfers of firearms between honest citizens, requiring lifelong friends, neighbors and some family members to get federal government permission to exercise a fundamental right or face prosecution," he said. "As we have noted previously,
expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools."

Four Republicans -- Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine, Mark Kirk of Illinois and amendment author Toomey -- broke with the rest of the GOP to support the background check legislation.

Four Democrats -- Sens. Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Pryor of Arkansas -- voted against it.
Those Democrats are now the targets of liberal groups vowing to advertise their 'no' votes. In a statement shortly after the defeat, Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Stephanie Taylor slammed the four defectors.

"Today, the Senate voted against the 91% of Americans who support background checks to stop gun violence," she said. "We'll be holding accountable Democrats who voted against their constituents by running ads in their states, featuring some of the 23,000 gun owners who have joined our campaign for common sense gun reform."


Also on Wednesday, the Senate voted down an amendment backed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California that would have banned "military-style" assault weapons; it was voted down 40 to 60. By a similar margin, a proposal to limit high-capacity ammunition magazines was also defeated.

Opposition to changing the gun laws in previous weeks was so intense that some questioned whether the background check measure would even come to a vote Wednesday. Gun control backers won a surprisingly robust bipartisan victory on a procedural vote last week that allowed debate on the background check deal.

Much of the momentum that fueled that brief victory was credited to the parents and relatives of children killed in the Newtown shootings last year. Newtown families lobbied extensively on the Hill, reportedly bringing several lawmakers to tears with deeply personal stories of the grief caused to their families when a lone gunman mowed down 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Some of the Newtown family members were present in the Senate gallery when the background check amendment was defeated.

Former Senator, Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords, who narrowly escaped death after being shot in the head in 2011, and her husband Mark Kelly slammed senators for "ignoring the will of the American people."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein pushes for an assault weapons ban in the U.S. while speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday.

"We will use every means possible to make sure the constituents of these senators know that their elected representatives ignored them, and put Washington, D.C., special interest politics over the effort to keep their own communities safer from the tragedy of gun violence," they said in a statement.

Vice President Joe Biden, who has led the White House’s effort on the gun legislation after the Newtown shooting, presided over the Senate for the vote.

Speaking during a White House-organized Google Hangout earlier Wednesday, Biden appeared to acknowledge that defeat was likely but assured supporters that victory was not lost forever.
“If we don't get it today, we'll get it eventually,” he assured gun control supporters.
"I see this as just Round One,"  President Obama said in his Rose Garden remarks.I see it as frustration and disbelief!...but...That's just me.

Keith's Favorite Quotes

Mass shootings, Knifings and now bombs....America is just too violent! Time for a change...The type of change that you can't legislate....The type of change that comes from within...

-Keith

Death In Beantown

It's too early as I write this to say who did this...I don't know and right now it appears that nobody knows, or if they do, they're not saying...Which is what I would expect...but as you've probably now heard...Another one of those terribly violent events has occurred, which both horrifies us all across race, nationality, religion and even political viewpoint and unites us as a nation...

It's just a shame it takes events like 911, Newtown and now this to do so... "This" was this..

With thousands of runners still on the course, two bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people, injuring scores more and turning the city’s most celebrated event into a grisly spectacle of shattered glass, blood and screams.

Video from the scene showed people fleeing and an enormous cloud of white smoke after two blasts went off about 20 seconds apart. Emergency personnel carried bloody spectators away.
“We saw two big puffs. I thought maybe it was fireworks. Then it went off again. And then all of a sudden we heard people crying and running away,” said Serghino Rene, who was a few blocks away. “It was a huge horde of people just running away.”


Steve Silva, a photographer for The Boston Globe, described “injuries nothing short of horrific.” Jackie Bruno, a reporter for New England Cable News, said on Twitter that she saw people’s legs blown off.
Federal officials told NBC News that Boston police were guarding a “possible suspect” who had been wounded in the blasts, but they cautioned that there was no information at the federal level to consider that person a suspect.


A third, undetonated device was found near the finish line, a House Homeland Security Committee official and three law enforcement officials told NBC News. Authorities also reported an explosion at the John F. Kennedy presidential library, elsewhere in the city, more than an hour after the blasts, but police said that it appeared to be caused by a fire. The police commissioner urged people in Boston to stay inside.

At the marathon, police said at least 23 people had been injured, but the count from hospitals was much higher. Boston Medical Center said it was treating 20 patients, including two children. Massachusetts General Hospital had 22 patients, Tufts Medical Center nine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital as many as 20.

Dr. Alisdair Conn, chief of emergency medicine at Mass General, characterized the blasts as a military-style bombing.
“This is like a bomb explosion we hear about in the news in Baghdad or Israel,” he told reporters. I have often wondered how people in Israel and the Middle East live with this type of thing, which seems to happen everyday over there.

President Barack Obama planned to address the nation at 6:10 p.m. ET.

Gov. Deval Patrick characterized it as an attack, but there were no details about who might be responsible.Race organizers, in a post on Twitter, said: “There were two bombs that exploded near the finish line in today’s Boston Marathon. We are working with law enforcement to determine exactly what happened.”

The Obama administration was in touch with state and local authorities, a White House official told NBC News. President Obama directed the administration to provide whatever help was necessary, the official said.

Suspicious packages were found after the blasts at three Boston subway stops, and authorities were investigating. New York police deployed extra security to landmarks, Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House was closed to foot traffic, and the Pentagon tightened security. San Francisco put its police on heightened alert.

Federal authorities briefly grounded flights at the Boston airport as a precaution.

Right now they are saying that only two people are believed to be dead...That's two people too many..Stay tuned.

Huddling Up For Autism

This month, April is Autism Awareness Month and as part of the activities sponsered by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Eagles football team is the Huddle Up For Autism event given at Lincoln Financial Field here in Philadelphia.

My wife and I took our grandson to the event yesterday...

This free, fun-filled day  included field and locker room tours, arts and crafts, magic shows, games, face painting and more. There was also be special appearances by Eagles personalities!

My grandson had the time of his life yesterday and may even of found a sport that he loves and will one day master...Golf.. We couldn't get him out of the indoor golf range!! Imagine that! The second coming of Tiger Woods!

Saturday 7 (Seven Sexy things We Guys Wish you'd try)

1.Psst,hey ladies wanna know a little secret? Guys love spontaneity too.Yeah, we do. It’s kinda sexy, it’s fun, and it ensures there’s never a dull moment when we are with you. If your plan is to catch him off guard and drive him wild, we know just the tricks to try. (Grab those notebooks!) Turn the heat up at home with one of these seven sexy ideas.
Turn off your I-phones or Smart phones and unplug the clock, it's time to hunker down with your man. Skip your to-do-list for the day and make a new one where everything on it can be done in bed. It's fun, it's free, and sure beats working all day, doesn't it? Go ahead. What  you waiting for? Play hooky already!

2.So assign us some uh "Love" (or sex) homework!

Call or text your  man and give him a little "erotic homework" to bring home. Ask him to make a list of the 10 places on your body he'd like to kiss you, or his 5 favorite spots to have sex. The anticipation will build as he completes his assignment and he will be eager to turn it in and practice what he's learned.

3.Put your "toys" in our hands!

Got the guts? These days there is no shortage of pleasure products on the shelves at your local drugstore.

 Although the selection can be vast, most of them look like more fun for you ladies than us - until now.

Introducing the Hanky Panky Remote Bullet by Pure Romance. The sleek, waterproof, wireless bullet has ten powerful speeds and slips discretely into your panties. On the way out, give us the wireless remote control, which works up to 25 feet away, and let the games begin. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

4.Be our "Secret Admirer" or" Secret Crush!"

You can still remember the smell of those beautiful roses we sent you on your birthday, but when was the last time you showered your guy with public displays of affection?

 Surprise the lucky guy for lunch looking unbelievably hot in that dress you know he loves, or have a note telling him to "Come home, now!" delivered to his office by a messenger...

Yeah...now that's what's hot!

5.Serve us yourself for uh, desert!!

After you've both enjoyed a delicious meal, it's time for a one-of-a-kind dessert in bed. Hand him a jar of edible chocolate body paint and a brush, and light a candle -- it's on like popcorn babyyyyy!

6. Go Skinny Dipping.

This may be a bit forward...Depends on how far along and advanced your relationship is. ..But as the weather continues to warm up, stay on the lookout for the perfect place to sneak off to for a naughty and naked dip for two.

Your guy will love that you took the initiative to locate the perfect rendezvous point, and you'll love the excitement in his eyes when he finds out you're willing to go there.

Let's hope!

7. Take a Hot soapy sudsy bath together!

If you're really not feeling  number 6...Number seven is the alternate water sport so to say..A little fizz, steam and a hot bath can go a long way for your sex drive. Skip the showers in favor of a romantic evening in the tub together for some sensual foreplay before bedtime..

Who said that this blog is just politics and wasn't fun anymore?

Weekend Humor

A Man wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company's Christmas Party. The man is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn't taste like alcohol at all. He didn't even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong.

  The man had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a single red rose!! He sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house.

He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror. Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick: "Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to get groceries to make you your favorite dinner tonight. I love you, darling! Love, Jillian"

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper.

His son is also at the table, eating.

  The man asks, "Son... what happened last night?"

"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door."

Confused, he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect
order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??"

His son replies, "Oh THAT...Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, I'm married!!"

Broken Coffee Table $239.99
Hot Breakfast $4.20
Two Aspirins $.38
Saying the right thing, at the right time...PRICELES­S!!!!!

Have a great weekend!

Keith's Favorite Quotes