How did AZ shooter fall through the cracks?

        It took Sarah “mama drizzly” 6 days to write 8 minutes worth of dodge, blame, re-direct and framing?  Well I guess its better than Rush who immediately came out with a delusional screed that the AZ massacre was actually lefty conspiracy to discredit the Tee potty, “the left wanted a massacre like this”…. Ok Rush we confess, we planned the whole thing to take out one of our most effective and electable politicians.  Also we have enlisted the tooth fairy to work on your bridgework so that you look better on Tee Vee.

        Point missed here was that while everyone on the left is taking great pains to blame “the dialogue” citing factual examples of hate speech on the right (and Left) who used it recently.  We have missed the fact that the right has been very quick to ask why the system that they are bussily trying to dismantle – bad – broken - fascist - Marxist govment not catch him before he became yet another mass murder. 

To this I hasten to point out that I was in Southern California when Reagan cut mental health services so deep that they had to release thousands of mentally Ill patients right out onto the streets of LA… (remember Camarillo guys) it was amazing to see an explosion of people that were, up to that time, getting “supervised” care for their “ILLNESS” suddenly homeless and on the street where they no longer could be watched or properly cared for.

        Ya want to talk about why the system didn’t catch this guy Rush, Sean, Sarah ?  well I’ll tell you.  It’s because Republicans have opposed spending any state or federal money on it for 30+ years. Mental health has been the bastard son of the health care debate for decades, and anyone that has tried to open a rational dialogue on it has been pilloried by the likes of Sarah and Rush – to the point where it would be folly for anyone on the left to even open the talk, let alone suggest any legislation. God knows they tried.

        One key point of Obama Care, not on peoples radar unfortunately is that it addresses just this issue – effectively putting Mental health in the same package were it belongs – as part of a comprehensive health insurance plan, FINALLY.  This is the plan that Beck says is going to “destroy this country”.  Really Glenn ? making sure that a parent of a potentially violent kid with mental illness can go get help for the kid instead of being forced to wait until it become a law enforcement issue.  That’s what is going to bring down the US ?

        A mother of one such case was on the news recently and she made the point perfectly.  She told of how she had seen increasingly violent behavior from her son and had gone to every agency she had at her disposal to try and get her son the help she could clearly see he needed.  Instead, “the system” told her that there was nothing they could do for her until the kid crossed the line and it became a law enforcement issue.  By that time he had killed a cop and is now incarcerated and getting the meds he should have gotten BEFORE he deprived a law enforcement officer of his life. 

        One of the really important (and tragically under reported) features of Obama care is that it would give parents like Loughner’s access to mental health facilities so that they at least have a base line for intervention that they do not have now.    This is how you catch guys like this before they open fire.  If Jared Loughner had had swine flu – or been bleeding from an injury he would have been placed in appropriate care.  Because he was mentally ill, there was nothing whatsoever they could do about.  Obama care finally treats mental health issues just like any other health issue and forces the insurance industry to recognize it as such AND PAY FOR IT – bout damn time.

        This is how you handle the next mass murderer now drifting into madness with no one legally capable of intervening until it is too late.  One million people have died by gun violence since the assassination of JFK according to statistics (this includes suicides by gun, robbery etc).  These are mental health issues and the Health care reform bill that the right is trying to kill, finally addresses it sensibly. Why do we have to have another AZ massacre before we support this legislation.

Ed Martinez