To Little Too Late

The recent breaking news out of Uvalde, Texas, of two indictments related to the Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24, 2022, seems like too little too late. Former Uvalde schools police Chief Pete Arredondo, and former Officer Adrain Gonzales were indicted on June 26 by a Uvalde County grand jury on multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment over their actions and failure to immediately confront the shooter. They were the first of nearly 400 federal, state and local officers that converged on the school that day.

I don’t know how anyone can wrap their head around the horrific tragedy. The gunman who entered an unlocked door of the school and began the carnage is responsible for the mass murders. His actions represent the epitome of evil.

However, the ineptness of officers from Uvalde police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Texas Department of Public Safety also contributed to the number of losses. They were identified as public protection officials that rushed to the school and then waited 77 minutes before breaching a classroom and killing the gunman. The gunman killed 19 students and 2 teachers.

Reportedly, the “most significant failure” was when the officers who arrived treated the gunman as a barricaded subject, and not an active shooter. Allegedly, based on months of investigations, the protocols and training associated to an active shooter situation were not followed.

Of course, bringing folks to justice will never fill the void in the lives of families who are painfully aware each morning when they awaken that something precious and irreplaceable was taken from them. Envision if you will, how you would feel if you were one of those parents, a family member or a friend

I can’t begin to imagine how the families of the victims work through their grief with the knowledge that some of the deaths could possibly have been avoided if law enforcement officials were not cowering inside a room.

At some level, it is human nature to want justice even though it only serves as a band aid to dispel the legitimate anger associated to law enforcement officials not doing their job. The knowledge that some of the victims lay dying or begging for assistance when there was no response leaves a sick sensation in the pit of my stomach.

I suspect that most families still in the midst of heartache and grief resulting from the untimely malicious deaths of their children will believe that two indictments associated to child endangerment and abandonment are too little to late. 

My heart goes out to those families and to that entire community.

All My Best!

Don

I Thought It Was Highway Robbery

When we stopped for fuel mid-afternoon yesterday, the General asked: “Did you see the windshield in that truck?” I had no idea what she was talking about. I didn’t even see the truck. I know what you’re thinking, “Who’s surprised?”  Okay, so I was lost in thought while I was pumping gasoline. 

I thought it was price gauging! Had I initially paid attention to the price per gallon, I would have gone on down the road. The thought of “highway robbery” came to mind. How’s that for being melodramatic?

I wanted a candy bar, so I was going inside the convenience store anyway. Why not look at the windshield that had garnered the General’s attention.  I couldn’t believe my eyes. My first thought was hail damage, but it looked more like the windshield had been hit by a boulder or two.  I’m thinking it had to be a rockslide down a mountain in Colorado, but I wouldn’t have wanted to drive that far. There is something about signage that says, “Look Out for Falling Rock”, that aways gives me pause for concern.

I did notice some hail damage on the hood of the truck, but it paled in contrast to the busted windshield. The thing that confused me most is that from my perception, there was no way the driver could see through the windshield to drive. From the outside, I couldn’t see through the windshield.

It may have been a tough FORD truck, but without a new windshield the vehicle was not safe to drive. I’m thinking the truck was a 2003 model, but I could be mistaken. It looked like one of my first Ford trucks. That was a long time ago.  

I bought the truck from the General’s nephew at a dealership in Marble Falls. He was a successful new car salesman at the time. He had the gift of gab; a baby face and he wasn’t a pushy salesman. I wasn’t looking for the “family discount”, but I wasn’t paying sticker price either.  Though that was at least twenty years ago, I’m sure he remembers that I looked at every truck on the lot. I was not an easy sale. Like I said, I wasn’t paying sticker price.

Only once have I paid sticker price. That was with my last truck (post pandemic) when there was a shortage of computer chips, and nothing was for sale. I’m generally a bargain hunter, but my previous truck had fifty thousand miles on it. I normally trade at forty thousand miles, but nothing was available. I paid full price for that truck and was pleased to find it. It is my truck that currently has $15,000 worth of hail damage.

Getting back to the truck with the damaged windshield, I was standing in front of the truck taking a picture, when the driver of the truck got out of the vehicle.  You could have knocked me over with a feather!  From his body language (i.e. scowl on his face), he didn’t appear to be a happy camper.  I attempted to engage him in conversation, but he wasn’t in a talking mood. He appeared to be in a hurry. Maybe I don’t give folks the benefit of the doubt, but as he headed inside the store, I had the thought he was going to purchase a six-pack or two and lotto tickets.

Have you ever noticed the persona of folks who always have money for lotto tickets? They look like they don’t have a dollar to their name, but they buy twenty dollars’ worth of lotto tickets, a carton of cigarettes and something to drink inside a paper bag.

By the way, I checked Google this morning to see if what I recently had been told about laws surrounding underage drinking in Texas was true. I was sure it wasn’t, but I was wrong.  In Texas, it is permissible for a minor to consume an alcoholic beverage if it is in the visible presence of the minor’s adult parent, guardian or spouse. Where else but Texas?

All My Best!

Don

THERE ARE NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO WILL NOT SEE

Thanks for the encouraging words related to my current trip to Washington, D.C.  The friend who affirmed in response to my facebook posting from yesterday: “Don, You’ve got this” made my day. I knew it was true. Another friend suggested that I walk like a Marine. That, too, put a smile on my face.

Historically, I have relied on Priceline Express Deals or Hotels.com as a source for booking a hotel.  It was an exercise in futility this time.  I checked the prices on several hotels I’ve stayed at in the past and their prices ranged from $500 to $1,000 a night plus tax.  That simply is not doable for the non-profit corporation where I work.

In recent years, I’ve occasionally used AirBNB and found it significantly less expensive, but you never know unless the information is shared the distance to the closest Metro Station. I prefer to mix walking with the Metro to get to where I need to be. 

I was beginning to panic when a friend suggested Booking.com.  I’m staying at a boutique hotel near Union Market this trip and the presence of indoor plants and a few antiques make for a very pleasant setting.  The walk to the Metro is reportedly ten minutes. I beg to differ, but it worked out okay.  I still have Uber as a backup plan.

Today when I’m on Capitol Hill, I plan to both walk and talk like a Marine ready to engage in battle.  So far, my words seemingly have fallen on deaf ears, but what the State of Texas finds acceptable for children from hard places makes Texas look less efficient than a third world country.  It is unacceptable!

I have mentioned previously that Texas spent over $30,000,000.00 over an 18-month period to pay for off-duty policemen to watch kids in hotel rooms, churches, and other makeshift emergency shelters. One corporation, headed by a former Texas Ranger to supply “rent a badge” oversight had a $26.4 million dollar contract.  That seems unacceptable when there are children’s homes with an openness to provide care with little to no cost to the state.

In 2018, the Federal Government passed a must-pass omnibus budget act that had over two thousand pages of other legislation attached to it. One of those, included the Family First Prevention Services Act. It limited out of home care for which Title IV-E funds could be used to foster care (six or fewer) for children not needing treatment services due to severe mental health and behavioral problems. 

That eliminated children’s home from being a resource. Though most children’s home provide services without cost to the state or federal government, the state opted not to use them since they were no longer identified in the continuum of care.

Last month I read that there are thousands of serious occurrences negatively impacting children in unlicensed placements in Texas. The childcare licensing act of 1973 was enacted to protect the health, safety, and well-being of children. It required state agencies to meet the same requirements. That legislation has fallen by the wayside in how the Texas is choosing to do business.

For over 12 years, Texas has had monitors reviewing child welfare cases to ensure the State is complying with expectation regarding the care of children. The reports read like a horror story for children. Texas doesn’t always get it right.

The past Monday, Federal Judge Janis Jacks fined the State of Texas, $100 thousand dollars a day until they comply with expectations designed to keep children safe.  Child welfare officials could not confirm to the court that even the housing being provided for child is safe.

H.B. 4852 – Create Acceptable Respectful Environments of Children (CARE) Act that would restore children’s homes to the continuum of care, while providing a host of safeguards for children is part of the answer to the foster care shortage. Only one Congressman from Texas has signed on to the legislation as a cosponsor. 

Perhaps it’s true: There are none so blind as those who will not see.

All My Best!

Don