How Many Is Enough???

Re-posting in its entirety. It is disgusting that the Republican majority are never going to let any gun control legislation see the light of day.

How Many is Enough??

After Tucson, victim of Virginia Tech shooting asks: 'How many is it going take?'

By Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 20, 2011; 11:36 PM

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he would hear, one navy blue suit nodding to another.

They would listen to what Colin Goddard had to say, shake his hand, then open the door for the next Washington lobbyist or constituent.

See, Goddard doesn't really warrant a second glance on Capitol Hill. He's a tall, well-spoken, broad-shouldered 25-year-old with a good suit and purposeful handshake. Plus, the arguments he was peddling on sensible gun control had been heard before.

But as Goddard was giving his earnest, wonky spiel about banning the kind of magazines that Jared Loughner allegedly used to spray gunfire in Tucson or requiring background checks on people who buy weapons at gun shows, those listening didn't know there were three bullets painfully worming their way through his body.

If he wriggled in his seat too much, it hurt. And if you touched his skin in a certain spot, you could feel the outline of one of the 9mm hollow-points poking through.

So after trying to play it straight for a while - just another young climber doing his time in the marbled halls of Congress - Goddard realized that he had to speak up about why he cared so deeply about this issue.

"The whole dynamic changed once I told them," Goddard said.

He told them what it felt like to be in French class at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, conjugating verbs one minute, then trapped in what looked like a bloody war movie the next.

He told them how feels to be shot four times - left knee, left hip, right shoulder, right hip. (No pain, at first. Just the trickle of blood.)

He told them what it's like to see a pile of bodies so high, the police can't open the door.

And he told them that the 32 people killed at his college that day by Seung Hui Cho might still be alive if it hadn't been so easy for Cho to get the semiautomatic handguns he used.

Gun control activists are often grieving parents, a Million Moms marching. Rarer among their ranks: a 6-foot-3 guy with a high and tight haircut and an easy way with a shotgun.

Goddard's a former ROTC student. He's a sportsman. Three months after he was shot at Virginia Tech, he went wild-duck hunting in Madagascar. His knee hurt a little. But firing a shotgun at Daffy? No problem.

He went on with his life - graduation, internships, job.

But when an oceanography class at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb was interrupted on Valentine's Day 2008 by a graduate student who went off his medication and fired three pistols and a shotgun into the stadium-style lecture hall, killing six, Goddard's mind went right back to that day in French class.

"I was glued to the TV watching it all. Minute by minute, reliving it all," he said in an interview this week.

And that's how he wound up taking a job at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

"I didn't even know who Jim Brady was," he said. "My generation doesn't even know about Jim Brady," the press secretary who was shot and partially paralyzed during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981. "But this is my generation's issue. We are the ones who grew up doing gunfire attack drills in class. Why shouldn't we do something about this?"

He has gone undercover at gun shows all over the nation, his hidden camera capturing how easy it is to buy an assault rifle from someone for $400, no identification necessary.

"It's like buying a TV. Or a sofa," he said.

Apparently, that's not enough for the lawmakers from both parties who are ignoring the bill introduced in the House this week by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) that aims to limit the high-capacity magazines used in these mass shootings.

Come on, now. If you're not going to listen to Goddard - a guy who knows guns and likes to shoot them, who hunts, who walks around with bullets in his body - then what will it take, lawmakers?

When are you going to stop saying "yeah, yeah, yeah" and really listen to what the folks fighting for sensible gun control are saying?

Maybe watching a movie about it will help. Goddard's journey from college student to gun control advocate was made into a documentary, "Living for 32," that will be shown at the Sundance Film Festival next week. Produced by Maria Cuomo Cole and directed by Kevin Breslin, the documentary is on the short list for an Oscar, too.

The timing for the film couldn't be better, given the shootings in Tucson.

Goddard was furious that day. And he asked the question we all should be asking.

"How many is it going take? How many?"

"I'm sitting here watching all those images again. The ambulances. The people crying. The police racing. The flowers. The candles," he said, sitting back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling. "How many is enough?"

E-mail me at dvorakp@washpost.com.

Birthday: The Big 27 + 5

Yep. I'm 32. If he were alive it would be his birthday too. I used to love Jim Morrison....

It's funny when you get into your 30's and it's your birthday. No one really cares too much - including me. I think I got more emails from retailers wishing me a happy birthday (My Hair Salon, Gap, Corrigan Sports, Borders, etc.) than from people I actually know. I'm not complaining or anything - it's just funny.

When you are 32 all of your friends have kids so no one can go out to celebrate on a week night - AND being the holiday season getting folks together on the weekend is just as hard....

Hubby and I celebrated my birthday on Saturday by spending the afternoon in 2 different bars to watch VT beat Boston College in the ACC Championship Game. We went home, took a short nap and then went to Sotto Sopra for dinner. Food was great but a little overpriced. I think next time we will just go to Paza Luna...

I guess that's it for now.

Other than I feel the need to comment on some recent posts by Capitol Swell.... I love the B52's.

So Sorry

It has been a while since I've written. Sorry.
Hubby had foot surgery and then Thanksgiving came and went and now i'm back at work. Fun Times.
2 more weeks until Christmas break. I can't wait.
Let's see... what's new.... not much really. I need to do some more Christmas Shopping. That's about it. Oh, I need to send out my Christmas cards too. Maybe I'll get around to it this weekend.
I have a busy weekend coming up. Friday is my office Christmas Party. I guess we can call it Christmas again since the one Jewish person on staff will be leaving soon. ;-)
Saturday is the ACC Championship game with VT and Boston College at 1 and then Hubby and I are going out to dinner for my birthday Sat night. Woo Hoo! Sunday night the Ravens are playing the Redskins at home. We might go out for a bit to watch the game.
hmm..... work is kinda slow right now. Just focusing on constituent mail. yuck - but it must get done.
perhaps i'll write something a little more interesting later.
peace.

Football

Husband and I went to the VT game last weekend in Blacksburg and had a great time! - hopefully i'll get some pics up soon. Tech won that game against Georgia Tech and we won this past Saturday too. Unfortunately we are still not ranked although we did get a few votes (63). Our opponent next week, Nebraska, is 3-0. Hhmm.... i'm glad we beat North Carolina the other day but we were really uneaven. I'm afraid Nebrasks will give us a run for our money.

Also - hubby and I went to the Raven's game yesterday - again, had a great time. Pro football is always fun - especially when you get suite level tix at the 50 yard line. Go Ravens!

Day 17(ish): Going As Well As Can Be Expected

So... in the interveining 12 days since I last posted we went to a Labor Day BBQ and cheated on the diet (more with alcohol than food really), I had a work staff retreat where I cheated (2 glasses of wine and some potato chips), and we played poker last weekend and we both cheated (wine and a cookie or 3). I think we are doing pretty well though. I am base minue 3.8 lbs and hubby is base minus 4. We are going to Blacksburg this coming weekend (YEA!) so we will once again be off the diet - but i think we are going to do another week of Phase 1 before we move on to Phase 2. God I can't wait. All I want is a freaking muffin and a sandwich. Now I just need to figure out where I can find whole grain muffins and bread - or learn how to bake them....

I am really looking forward to going to the 'Burg for the weekend. We got free Tix to the Georgia Tech game. I really hope we win. That whole East Carolina thing was soooo depressing. I don't know if I'll be able to blog during any of the games this season if we are going to suck this bad. I think i will just get more depressed. I mean, we are in a "building year" and all but still.....

anyways... GO VT!

BTW - the half marathon is now 4 weeks and 3 days away. I've ran 5 miles a few times the last 2 weeks but i need to up it to 6. I just don't know when i'm going to have the time. 6 miles takes over an hour for me. I just can't do it in the AM b/c I am so hot afterwards - even after I shower. I need to do it at night or over the weekend (not possible this weekend.) I am going to run 5 miles tonight when i get home from work. It is getting a little dark now around 8 so i'm kinda worried about that but i think i will be ok... i don't think i have any reflecty clothes tho... hm...

ok - that's it for now. - Peace!

It's been one year...

So today is the one year anniversary of the tragedy at VT.
You know... emotional pain is an interesting thing. Why do we keep going back and forcing ourselves to remember and re-live painful events? Is this part of the healing process? I don't know.
I find myself looking for more stories about what's going on in Blacksburg today knowing full well that when i read them or watch them on TV I am going to get emotional. Why am i doing this to myself?
I really don't want to go to work today. Just too tired - drained.

VT.... what are we going to do?

We have been to 3 BCS Bowl Games and have lost all of them. I'm sad but I think we will be ok. There's always next season. I'm going to start saving for the National Championship in Miami on Jan 8, 2009.

YEA VT!

We beat Boston College in the ACC Championship Game and we will be playing Kansas in the Orange Bowl on January 3rd. I was attending a baby shower at the same time the game was on so I didn't see much of it. It was on the TV but the sound was low and with so much going on during the party that it was difficult to focus on the game. I did hear the last 5 minutes or so on the radio on my way home. YEA! We are going into our bowl game ranked # 3 in the country!! How awesome is that!

Go VT!

We beat UVA today. YEA! They took the lead once for a few minutes but then we came back and kicked their behinds.
Next Saturday at 1 pm we will be playing Boston College for the ACC Championship. Sweet.
The only thing that sux is that I won't get to watch the game. I will be attending a friend's baby shower - which is occuring at the exact same time. I plan to TIVO the game but i doubt i will watch it unless something really crazy happens. I've given S.O. a pass so that he can watch the game instead of attend the baby shower (it is a coed shower).
He owes me big time.

Hokies win Coastal division with 33-21 defeat of UVa
Tech gets rematch with Boston College in ACC title game
November 24, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Looking for an ACC title game bid with a slim two-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Virginia Tech Hokies scored 10 unanswered points in the final period to clinch the ACC's Coastal division and punch their tickets to Jacksonville, earning a 33-21 win over rival Virginia on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium.
With the triumph, the No. 8 Hokies (10-2, 7-1 ACC) secured a rematch with Boston College in next Saturday's ACC Championship game, which is set to kickoff at 1 p.m. in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Tech also recorded 10 wins for the fourth consecutive season, beat the No. 16 Cavaliers (9-3, 6-2 ACC) for the eighth time in nine tries, and improved to 15-1 in ACC road games since joining the conference four years ago.
"We need to give our seniors a lot of credit," Tech head coach Frank Beamer said after the victory. "I think they are the first group to get 10 wins in all four years, and to beat a team like Virginia all four years is an accomplishment, too. The turnovers kind of got us in trouble but you've got to live with those. The big plays kind of got us, but we made some big plays ourselves.
"I'm proud of that too," Beamer said of the 15-1 road mark. "I always preach that it doesn't matter where you play, when you play or who you play; we need to play the same way with consistency. I think we have kids who like the challenge of going into a visiting stadium and taking the crowd out of the game."
Statistically, Tech tailback Branden Ore broke out with his first 100-yard rushing performance of the season, tallying 147 yards on 31 carries. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor recorded 17 yards on nine carries including two scores, and in the highly successful two-quarterback system for the Hokies, Sean Glennon enjoyed another solid day, completing 13-of-19 for 260 yards and a touchdown. Split end Josh Morgan hauled in four balls for 75 yards, while flanker Josh Hyman caught four for 63. Defensively, Cam Martin registered nine tackles, while Vince Hall, Brandon Flowers, Chris Ellis and Barry Booker each made seven stops. Five of Booker's tackles were for a loss.
Virginia Tech opened the game with some trickery after forcing a Virginia punt. On the return, Eddie Royal pitched the ball to Justin Harper on a reverse, and 43 yards later, Harper was out of bounds at the UVa 41 with great field position for the Hokies. An 8-yard run by Branden Ore was sandwiched by a pair of catches by Royal - a 16-yarder from Glennon and an 8-yarder from Taylor - before Taylor took the ball into the end zone from nine yards out to give Tech a 7-0 lead at 12:12 of the first quarter.
The Hokies increased their lead to 10-0 on their next possession, when at 5:47 from 20 yards out, Jud Dunlevy hit his first of four field goals on the day to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive that lasted 5:23.
"He's been a big part of our football team," Beamer said of his kicker, who now has 21 field goals on the season, one shy of the school record of 22 held by Shayne Graham and Chris Kinzer. "He's been solid as a rock."
The Cavaliers countered on the ensuing drive to cut the margin to three. On third-and-10 from his own 28, UVa quarterback Jameel Sewell connected on back-to-back 22-yard passes - the first to Maurice Covington and the second to Jonathan Stupar - to the move the ball to the Tech 28. After another 1-yard completion to Stupar, tailback Mikell Simpson busted up the middle for a 27-yard touchdown run at 2:37. Chris Gould's PAT made it a 10-7 game.
The Hokies didn't waste much time getting Dunlevy back into field goal range, as 1:53 later with 34 seconds on the first-quarter clock, he drilled a 37-yarder to give Tech a 13-7 lead. The drive was keyed by a 56-yard bomb from Glennon to Royal on the opening snap, and was one of six catches for a career-high 147 yards in the contest for the senior flanker.
Royal and the Hokies tried to continue their creativity on their first possession of the second quarter, when Royal attempted a pass on another trick play. His pass was under thrown and picked off by UVa's Chris Cook, who returned it to the Tech 48. Seven plays later, Sewell ran it in from eight yards out and Gould hit his PAT to put the Cavaliers on top 14-13 with 6:35 left in the half.
The Hokies, however, were able to get the momentum back right before the intermission. Virginia was again threatening in Tech territory when Brandon Flowers jumped Sewell's pass with a diving interception - his fifth of the season - at the Tech 35. After a 26-yard completion from Glennon to Josh Morgan, Royal made up for his miscue by hauling in a 39-yard scoring pass from Glennon with 12 seconds remaining for his third touchdown catch of the year. Dunlevy's PAT gave the Hokies a 20-14 lead at the half.
"It was the game plan - we saw a match-up that we liked and we kept going at it," Royal said of his big day. "That's why I came to Virginia Tech - to make plays like that. [On the touchdown], the ball almost knocked me down it was such a good throw. That play was all Sean Glennon."
Dunlevy's third trifecta of the game was set up when freshman Davon Morgan blocked a punt from the UVa 38 that the Hokies recovered at the 26. It was just the second blocked kick of the season for the Hokies, with the last one coming from Stephan Virgil on a punt in the Duke game. Dunlevy extended the Tech lead to 23-14 at 7:51 with a 29-yarder.
The Cavaliers' final score of the game, like its second, was set up by a Hokie turnover. This time, UVa's Chris Long sacked Glennon and forced a fumble that was picked up by UVa's Antonio Appleby at the Tech 28. Seven plays later, Sewell battled into the end zone from the 2-yard line for his second rushing score of the day. Gould's PAT at 2:51 made the score 23-21 and kept the outcome in doubt heading into the final period.
The Hokies erased that doubt, however, with 11:50 remaining when Taylor rushed for his second touchdown of the game to cap an eight-play, 68-yard drive. His designed draw up the middle was denied on third-and-goal from the UVa 5, but the freshman improvised and beat a Cavalier defender in a foot race to the pylon to give Tech a 30-21 advantage.
Dunlevy set the final score with a 26-yard field goal at 4:26 to set up Tech's battle with Boston College, which stole an improbable 14-10 victory from the Hokies at Lane Stadium back on Oct. 25th.
"Now that we've got 'em, we've got to figure out how to beat 'em," Beamer said of the rematch with the Eagles for all the marbles. "That's a big ballgame for us, but it's the one we worked so hard to get to. Now it's time to take care of business."

Revenge update....

looks like Boston College beat Clemson last night so as long as we beat UVA next weekend we will play BC in the Championship game...

Revenge....

I hate Miami. I am glad that we kicked the crap out of them earlier tonight. And like I said, we need to beat UVA next Saturday to go to the ACC Championship on December 1st.

Currently Boston College is playing Clemson. Whoever wins this game will also be in the ACC Championship. I hope it is BC. That way when we end up playing them in the big game we can give them a little pay-back for what happened on 10/25 when they beat us in the last 4 minutes of the game....

Revenge is a dish best served cold....

We Are.... Virginia Tech!

The "Hokies Thank the World" event brought together thousands of Hokies on the Virginia Tech Drillfield to spell out a message of thanks to the world in recognition of the global outpouring of support and love for the Virginia Tech community following the events of April 16. The message of thanks was recorded by ground, aerial, and satellite imagery and will be shared with the world for free through www.HokiesThankTheWorld.org. The event took place on November 17, 2007 beginning at 10:35am and ending at approximately 11:12am on the Virginia Tech Drillfield in Blacksburg, Virginia. check it: www.hokiesthanktheworld.org

by the way - VT kicked the crap out of Miami tonight - 44 to 14. We still need to beat UVA next weekend if we are going to play in the ACC Championship.

VT Football

so... we won again today. we are 3-1 but we still don't look that great. Our offense and defense looked good during the first half and then the offense fell apart during the second half. Our defense won the game for us again. We need to do better. Next weekend we play Clemson but i won't be able to watch the game.

Back in Blacksburg

S.O. and I and a few friends from Baltimore went to Blacksburg this past weekend. It was AWESOME! I love the place but I didn't realize how much until I go back. It has been TOO long since i've been in the 'burg. I miss it a lot.

We went back for the class of 97, 98, 99 reunion, but really it was just an easy way to get football tix and a hotel room on campus.

We took off work on Friday and headed down early. It took 6 hours b/c we stopped twice, once for an oil change in Mt. Airy, MD and again in Harrisburg for lunch. The first thing we noticed in Harrisburg - and on the drive down - was that there are many more options for food on the drive down I-83. Now, in addition to the McD's, Wendy's, and Subways, you also have 5 Guys and Chick Fil-A. Sweet. We ate at Chick Fil-A. My "spicey" chicken wrap was OK, but not spicey at all.

We made it to the burg by 3 pm. We checked into the new Alumni hotel and then tooled around town for a few hours. We did a drive-by of the places we used to live - what shitholes - and then we went to the bookstore and spent WAAY too much money on VT stuff. Sweatshirts, T-shirts, Polos, a backpack, and 2 ponchos (it was rainy).

We went to Sharkey's (where everyone planned to meet at 8) for dinner around 6. Sharkey's is now located one spot from where it used to be - now in the old Arnold's location. Sort of weird, b/c I went into Arnolds a total of 2 times in the 4.5 years I was in Blacksburg.

Anyways, we had wings and ribs for dinner - with Miller Lite. Peeps started showing up around 8 and we were there until about 10:30 pm. D mentioned that he used to work there and so we got the employee discount so the tab was $20! Sweet! even if we didn't get the discount it would have been like $35. Way cheap.

We left Sharkey's and went to Champs - upstairs. We "tried" to play some darts and D and I won the first game but failed miserably during the 2nd game. It was at that point we decided to head back to the hotel.

Saturday AM we got up pretty early and made it to campus to our tailgate spot and had a beer in hand by 10AM. The game started at 1:30 pm so we were ready to go! The game was good. We won and that is awesome, but we didn't look great. Taylor looked good and I am excited that he did well, but i just think we still have a ways to go if we are going to win the ACC.

It was sooo exciting to be in the stadium with all of those other Hokie fans! It was a lot of fun!

After the game we headed back to the hotel to ditch the cooler and leftover beer - then we headed back to Main Street. We walked. Good idea.

We went to Sharkey's and stayed there again until about 11 pm. D and I headed back to the hotel but we had to stop at Souvlaki's on the way. THey have the best gyros ever - cheap and tasty. They have always been really good - i just never really thought about it before.

Sunday we got up around 9 and went to breakfast at Boudreaux's. They have awesome gater-bites but it was too early for gater so we had regular breakfast food. Cheap and good.

We made it back to Baltimore around 4ish - a bit later b/c the Ravens game was already on the radio before we got home... not too much later after 4 though.

It was a great weekend and all it did was make me want to go back again soon.

Some day we will end up there again - if D's job goes away or when we retire... we will end up back in the 'burg.

It took me a while to enjoy small-town livin' but once you discover all of the cool things about a place you don't want to leave. We love the City but we love the 'burg too. What we need to do is win the lottery and then we can live in both places.

One other thing I wanted to mention was that on Friday D and I went to visit the VT memorial to the 32 Hokies who were murdered on April 16, 2007. It was quite moving. Walking by all 32 of those stones with the victim's names engraved in each stone really hit me...

so, that's it for now... I miss VT and can't wait to make it back to town.

Additional Thoughts about VT

I watched the memorial service while at work yesterday. I knew that when I couldn't stop crying while trying to dry my hair before coming to work that I should have stayed home.

The memorial service was very moving but i have to say, the thing that keeps getting to me is looking out my window at the flag flying over the Capitol at half-staff.

that is what really makes it real for me.

this is just such a horrible thing. I am heartbroken over this. My beloved university was defiled and will never be the same again.

I will never feel the same way about the university as i did when i woke up Monday morning. Everything has changed.

All i want to do is be there in blacksburg with other hokies...

I saw a few people at the gym last night wearing VT shirts... I imagine they are feeling the same way as I am. Although I didn't know anyone there it is still devastating.

I can already tell that what is really going to piss me off about this is that people will forget those who were murdered and injured and will only focus on the "controversy" of why the students weren't notified to stay off campus after the first shooting.

WBAL's water cooler question of the day this morning was, "in light of the incident at VT, have your views on gun laws changed?" - What a stupid question.

I do believe in a right to bear arms, and apparently this kid did everything legit and by the book. Changing the gun laws in VA or nationally won't prevent this type of thing from happening again. Although I do support an assault weapons ban, something like that would not have had any impact on this situation.

The only thing that will prevent this from happening again, is people paying attention to their friends and acquaintances, and if something seems off - TELL SOMEONE! The media is reporting that this murderer had all of the classic signs of someone capable of doing this and yet no one intervened. Apparently a former teacher recommended he go to counseling but it seems nothing came of it.

That's it for now. Work starts soon. I am sure I will have more to say later.

Where Were You When....?

Our generation has a few of these...

Where were you when OJ ran from the police in his white Bronco?

- I was in my dorm my freshman year at VT watching on a friend's TV.

Where were you when the Columbine Massacre occured?

- I was on my couch at 1108 Progress Street in Blacksburg eating a bowl of cereal.

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

- I was working in Washington, DC at the CEG. I remember being scared to ride the Metro home to my apartment in Alexandrea, but I did it. I remember walking home from the Van Dorn Metro station (about a mile) and being able to see the smoke from the Pentagon.

Where were you when the Space Shuttle Columbia distegrated on re-entry?

- I was unemployed - working out at the gym that morning and watching it live on TV.

Where were you when the U.S. found and captured Saddam Hussein?

- totally random, but I was in Wal-Mart and they had their propaganda monitors tuned to the news

Where were you on April 16, 2007, when a mad-man murdered 32 people at Virginia Tech?

- I was at the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, again watching it unfold in real time.

..... It is sad. unfortunately this list will only get longer...