Guest Commentary |A snake in the bird cage and the Trump assassin

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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The world watched a miracle take place as former President Trump barely missed an assassin’s bullet.

Thousands of people in the audience witnessed this in person and multiple millions of people watched it live or have since seen the video replayed many times.

July 13 will go down as a day that will forever be remembered in American history. It was a sad day when there was an attempt made to take a former President’s life while he was campaigning for reelection.

While most Americans are relieved that the heinous attempt on Trump’s life was not successful, we mourn that some people sitting in the crowd were not as fortunate. At this writing one man in the crowd was killed while two more persons remain in critical condition. The question has surely been asked why such innocent people have to suffer and even die while simply attending a political rally? Most likely, the assassin’s target was only Trump but he was apparently not concerned that others might die as a result of his actions.

Evil always afflicts the innocent. Time and time again, we have seen mass school shootings where a shooter had a specific target in mind yet others were killed and suffered along with the targeted victim. Evil has no boundaries or concerns about the results of its actions.

We have heard it said over and again that this was a sad day in America. It is also sad that every political campaign event will be crawling with security at an even higher level. This doesn’t mean that the most recent event in Pennsylvania was not crawling with security. At any event a snake can slither into a crack and then suddenly strike to inflict pain and devastation.

Recently, a neighbor was out of town and his sister was taking care of his two pet birds. She was shocked when she went to feed them and discovered a four-foot-long snake was in the cage and had killed one of the birds. How the snake got into the house is unclear. How the snake got up to the elevated level where the birds were seemingly safe is hard to understand. However, it was there and in time would have killed the second bird.

Somehow, my cousin got the head of the snake between a pair of scissors and called another neighbor to help. They managed to cut off the head of the monster snake before dragging it out of the bird cage. Unfortunately, one precious pet bird perished and the second one was terrorized before the snake was killed.

Assassins and mass shooters are like slithering snakes crawling quietly to strike their victims. They hide, they are creepy, sneaky, and plot to move under the radar. The Secret Service, FBI, and local police must work hand in hand to screen every nook and cranny as well as every high and low space to hopefully deter such an act from happening again.

Tragically, it’s happened too many times before. Abraham Lincoln was sitting in an unprotected theatre booth in Washington, D.C.

President Kennedy was riding in a convertible and was a wide-open target from various angles. Martin Luther King Jr. was caught off guard on the balcony of a Memphis Hotel. John Lennon and his wife were simply walking into their New York City apartment building. There are many others that have been targeted throughout history.

We can never let our guard down. Even when our guard is high, there is the risk of a slithering villain lurking in the vicinity.

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He is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Guest commentary: A country in crisis, we need a plan from our government

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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How do we solve the mass shootings? Do we take away all the guns? Or, do we require that every American carry a gun and be prepared to shoot back? Do we eliminate the assault rifles? Or, do we have more security guards at malls, grocery stores and work places carry assault rifles?

We have a crisis in America with gun violence and mass shootings. What will Joe Biden and Congress do about this problem? Will they even attempt a solution? Mr. President and members of Congress, we need a solution.

How do we solve the ongoing Covid-19 crisis?

Many have resumed life as though the problem is solved but in too many states people are still dying from the virus. A great effort has been made to solve this world pandemic. The creation of vaccines that seem to be working and an all-out effort to protect people with mask and distancing has made for an unforgettable year. But, what do we do now? It’s not over. The virus and different strains of the virus are still very alive.

Common sense is critical. The world must go on. The government cannot spend the next year printing off stimulus money and paying people to stay home with nice unemployment checks. This mess is not over and we need a good game plan from our President and Congress.

The previous paragraph leads us to another crisis in this country. Businesses are trying to get back into business but the workers are few.

Restaurant owners across the nation are crying because they can’t find enough cooks and servers.

Many of the former workers are collecting unemployment. They are collecting as much or more than they made showing up for work and thus we have a shortage of willing workers.

Unemployment and the stimulus were a shot in the arm for the country but not one with lasting favorable results. Unemployment eventually ends and people must go back to work. In the meantime, many businesses in America are facing a crisis of trying to come back to life with very little help.

We need a get back to work plan from our President and Congress. Everybody cannot do their jobs at home. The factory worker, the restaurant worker, the medical community, public workers, and much more have to be able to safely leave their homes and do their jobs.

America has been filled with tension and pain this year over the senseless killing of George Floyd. We have viewed too many other senseless police shootings on national television. We don’t need racial tension in this country.

Most of the people in this country are good people and we can’t let these incidents destroy our American family. However, we need a plan from Biden and Congress. What is your idea?

And then there is our crisis on the border. Our government needs to send a stronger message to those people south of the border. What will Congress do?

What would you do? Let your representatives and senators know.

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Guns, knives, trucks and airplanes can all kill

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Terrorists proved on September 11, 2001 that guns are not necessary to kill 2,753 people.

Timothy McVeigh proved that a truck load of explosives can kill 168 people and injure 680 more as well as destroy one-third of building and damaging many others in Oklahoma City.

A man with a knife killed four people and wounded two others in Los Angeles last week.

A weapon of mass destruction can be a plane, an automobile, a knife, a gun or whatever an evil person chooses to utilize at a certain moment.

By and large the weapon of choice has been an automatic weapon capable of holding a high-capacity magazine.

Whether it was Las Vegas, Columbine, Charleston, El Paso, Dayton or sadly too many other locations to name, the weapon of choice has been an automatic rifle with high-capacity bullet magazines.

A truck can kill people but normally you can hear and see a truck coming. A knife can kill people but not as many as a rifle with a magazine clip holding 70 or more bullets.

An evil person can walk into a church, theatre, Walmart or school and immediately have a couple of hundred people huddled together as a target. He doesn’t have to aim. He just points the weapon and pulls the trigger. The gun acts like a sprayer of bullets hitting people so fast that running or dodging is almost impossible.

The shooter looks for scenarios where people are trapped with limited escape door opportunities. Thus a shooter with a bullet clip of 50, 70 or more has a potential of killing many people in just a minute or less.

This is why Congress must enact background checks, strict licensing for high-powered rifles and limit the number of bullets a clip can hold at one time.

However, here is the problem: What is the magic number? My ordinary pistols hold six shells and my automatic ones hold more, so what is the magic number of bullets that Americans will be limited to in one clip?

Will it be 10 or 15 or 20? Honestly, there is no right number because a skilled marksman will still be able to kill.

The hope is that maybe the ending of one clip or emptying of one pistol would give someone a chance to tackle the monster if anyone is still alive. Hopefully, someone in the room will have a gun and be able to stop the shooter.

I’m for limiting magazine capacity but it won’t eliminate terrorism and mass shootings. It’s a Hail Mary and our Congress has to do something but we have to do more.

Hollywood and network television has to change.

Universal Studios/NBC television is the biggest hypocrite of all. They constantly bark gun control and are negative toward the National Rifle Association yet coming out with a movie titled "The Hunt", which is supposedly about liberals hunting deplorables and killing them. This kind of junk is a huge part of the problem.

Hollywood, the music industry and video games makers must dramatically change their tone. Barney Fife in the Andy Griffith show carried a gun but he never made any of us want to kill anyone or hate people.

Guns, knives, trucks and airplanes can all kill. There are many other weapons that will kill massive numbers of people. We can’t eliminate them all. Our greatest need is a culture change.

Dr. Glenn Mollette

----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. -----------------------------------------------------------