The events in Colorado the other night are a terrible tragedy. I pray for the families of the people who died and for those who are still in the hospital. Life is so short and you really never know when and where you could meet your end. It really makes you appreciate the people and the time that you have.

I have read of several people that used themselves to shield a loved one or their children from harm during that rampage and I am amazed at the courage those people exhibited and wonder if I would be able to do the same thing. I would like to think so. I would like to think that my love for my children and wife would help me overcome the abject terror of being in that type of situation. I guess you don't know until faced with it.

Well I will sign off and try and get this sinking, sick feeling out of the pit of my stomach and live life hoping something like the Aurora, Colorado shooting never happens again.

Staying at home as a man in this day and age doesn't seem to hold the stigma that it might have in decades past, but it still holds a bit of a stigma in my own mind. Its funny, the contradictions that run through your head as you change the diapers for the third time that day or get the girls into their seats for lunch; I love being here and I love being the one that takes care of everyone, but am I doing the right thing?

I went through four years of college to earn a degree and another two to get a Masters that I am not using and might never get to use because of the economy. I wanted to be an academic librarian but universities and colleges are downsizing. There isn't really anywhere to go right now. My other problem is that I have been a stay-at-home dad now since our son, Nicholas, was born in 2006. Any contacts or references that I had after Library school have essentially gotten stale. So from a professional standpoint I am a no go as far as hiring.

All of the above aside I love being here for the girls during the day. They are a joy from their big smiles and jumping in their cribs in the morning, to the cuddles in the evening when it is time to go to bed. They are so different from their brother it just is amazing to me on an almost daily basis.

My rant for today...

I, unfortunately, live in the politically blighted state of Florida. The sunshine, saltwater, and beaches do not help the fact that the voters of this state elected a Governor that is willing to allow the less fortunate in this state to suffer and possibly perish because of political ideology that is not even in step with main stream American political sentiment (read: those people who cannot pull themselves out of poverty by their own bootstraps).

The Obama administration and Congress enacted a law in 2010 that changed the way in which healthcare will be provided in the near future. It establishes healthcare for nearly, if not all, of Americans. This great State and its leader have decided that they will ignore federal law. Not accept federal funding for healthcare initiatives and prepare for the full implementation of the law in 2014.

This effectively means that people with preexisting conditions such as cancer and COPD, conditions that require a great deal of care and money, will go virtually untreated. This effects low income and indigent people, not the wealthy members of our society. These individuals will now suffer through untreated cancers and diseases and ultimately die.

I was always under the impression that this country was founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? I wonder if this came with the unspoken caveat, "But only for those lucky few who could afford it."

I believe there is a God. I believe in the teachings of the Catholic church and I am under the impression that many other Americans have similar beliefs. Christ was a champion of those who could not help themselves. His ministry started with the poor and those who had no real voice in the communities of the day. He taught that the meek will inherit the kingdom of God and that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven. If the people who voted for Rick Scott and the Republican lead legislature that enables Scott to move forward with his ultraconservative, business friendly agenda, have similar beliefs in Christ and the teachings of the bible, then I wonder why they have forsaken their core beliefs?

It must be ok to let people suffer. It must be morally right to allow men, women and children to die of awful diseases. I have a different view of what is morally right and the principles upon which this country was founded. I may very well be wrong. I may be deluded into believing that all human beings deserve respect and care. But, I truly and sincerely hope that I am right. Protecting the wealth of individuals and business DOES NOT MEAN abrogating our responsibility to defend and protect those who cannot defend and protect themselves.

I wonder if Jesus would feel that Governor Scott was doing the right thing?