Hypocrite

President Barack Obama assured the grieving, Sandy Hill Elementary School community of Newtown on Sunday that "you are not alone" and vowed sternly to wield "whatever power this office holds" in a quest to prevent future mass shootings.

"We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. In the coming weeks, I'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens -- from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents, and educators -- in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have?" Obama said.

All this coming from the man who with Eric Holder refuses to answers questions on the infamous Justice Department planned and lead gun running scandal called "Fast and Furious" which exported over 2,000 assault weapons to Mexican Drug Cartels,... resulting in a low ball estimate of 3,000 murders of Mexican citizens and two Federal Law Enforcement officers. Hypocrite.

Obama is all over the place and the news concerning the heinous murder of children and adult school teachers and staff,..as he should be, but is absent on Fast and Furious and absent on the terrorist attacks on our consulate in Libya which resulted in four American deaths. Hypocrite.

And just when you thught you heard enough there is a reported Obama fund raiser going out with a video of Obama's speech about Sandy Hill, asking for contributions.  Hypocrite.

The Best and Worst Run States in America

From the article "The Best and Worst-Run States in America" by Michael B. Sauter, Alexander E. M. Hess, Samuel Weigley and Ashley C. Allen from 24/7 Wall Sreet

Every year, 24/7 Wall St. conducts an extensive survey of all fifty states in America. Based on a review of data on financial health, standard of living and government services by state we determine how well each state is managed. For the first time, North Dakota is the best run state. California is the worst run for the second year in a row - no surprise there.

The successful management of a state is difficult to measure. Factors that affect its finances and population may be the result of decisions made years ago. A state’s difficulties can be caused by poor governance or by external factors, such as extreme weather.

To determine how well the states are run, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed hundreds of data sets from dozens of sources. We looked at each state’s debt, revenue, expenditure and deficit to determine how well it is managed fiscally. We reviewed taxes, exports, and GDP growth, including a breakdown by sector, to identify how each state is managing its resources. We looked at poverty, income, unemployment, high school graduation, violent crime and foreclosure rates to measure if residents are prospering.

The best-run states have certain characteristics in common, as do the worst run. The high-ranking states all have well-managed budgets. Each of the top ten has a perfect, or near-perfect, credit rating from Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s, or both. Of the ten worst-ranked, only three received top scores from one agency, and none from both. California is currently the only state rated A- by S and P, the lowest score given to any state. These poor-ranked states have high debt relative to both income and expenditure.

Best-Run States:

1. North Dakota
 Debt per capita: $3,282 (22nd lowest)
Budget deficit: None
Unemployment: 3.5% (the lowest)
Median household income: $51,704 (20th highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 12.2% (13th lowest)
Republican Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Legislative Branch.

2. Wyoming
Debt per capita: $2,694 (18th lowest)
Budget deficit: 10.3% (32nd largest)
Unemployment: 6.0% (7th lowest)
Median household income: $56,322 (13th highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 11.3% (6th lowest)
Republican Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Legislative Branch.

3. Nebraska
Debt per capita: $1,279 (2nd lowest)
Budget deficit: 9.7% (34th largest)
Unemployment: 4.4% (2nd lowest)
Median household income: $50,296 (22nd highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 13.1% (tied-15th lowest)
Republican Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Legislative Branch.

4. Utah
Debt per capita: $2,356 (15th lowest)
Budget deficit: 14.7% (25th largest)
Unemployment: 6.7% (tied-11th lowest)
Median household income: $55,869 (14th highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 13.5% (tied-17th lowest)
Republican Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Legislative Branch.

5. Iowa
Debt per capita: $1,690 (7th lowest)
Budget deficit: 20.3% (18th largest)
Unemployment: 5.9% (6th lowest)
Median household income: $49,427 (24th highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 12.8% (14th lowest)
Republican Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Split Legislative Branch.

Worst-Run States:

50. California
Debt per capita: $4,008 (18th highest)
Budget deficit: 20.7% (17th largest)
Unemployment: 11.7% (2nd highest)
Median household income: $57,287 (10th highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 16.6% (18th highest)
Democrat Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Legislative Branch.

49. Rhode Island
Debt per capita: $9,018 (3rd highest)
Budget deficit: 13.4% (28th largest)
Unemployment: 11.3% (3rd highest)
Median household income: $53,636 (17th highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 14.7% (24th lowest)
Democrat Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Legislative Branch.

48. Illinois
Debt per capita: $4,790 (11th highest)
Budget deficit: 40.2% (2nd largest)
Unemployment: 9.8% (tied-10th highest)
Median household income: $53,234 (18th highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 15.0% (25th highest)
Democrat Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Legislative Branch.

47. Arizona
Debt per capita: $2,188 (12th lowest)
Budget deficit: 39.0% (3rd largest)
Unemployment: 9.5% (tied-13th highest)
Median household income: $46,709 (21st lowest)
Pct. below poverty line: 19.0% (tied-8th highest)
Republican Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Legislative Branch.
note: Arizona is impacted by a very large illegal immigrant population that is training services.

46. New Jersey
Debt per capita: $6,944 (5th highest)
Budget deficit: 38.2% (4th largest)
Unemployment: 9.3% (14th highest)
Median household income: $67,458 (3rd highest)
Pct. below poverty line: 10.4% (3rd lowest)
Democrat Control of Executive (Office of Governor) and Democrat Control of Legislative Branch.

Heroes at Sandy Hook Elementary

My God, the unspeakable horror of losing your child, especially from senseless violence.  Nothing can ease those parents' pain.  Nor the pain from the families who lost adult family members who were members of the staff at Sandy Hook Elementary.  However, self sacrifice and serving others is still alive in this country when we see multiple examples of school staff endangering themseleves and in many cases, paying the ultimate price to save children and others.  God Bless them, and God please grant the parents and families peace and grace over their losses.   

From an Associated Press article: A worker who turned on the intercom, alerting others in the building that something was very wrong. A custodian who risked his life by running through the halls warning of danger. A clerk who led 18 children on their hands and knees to safety, then gave them paper and crayons to keep them calm and quiet.

Out of the ruins of families that lost a precious child, sister or mother, out of a tight-knit town roiling with grief, glows one bright spot: the stories of staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School who may have prevented further carnage through selfless actions and smart snap judgments.

District Superintendent Janet Robinson noted "incredible acts of heroism" that "ultimately saved so many lives."

"The teachers were really, really focused on their students," she told reporters Saturday.

Some of them made the ultimate sacrifice.

After gunman Adam Lanza broke through the school door, gun blazing, school psychologist Mary Sherlach and principal Dawn Hochsprung ran toward him, Robinson said. Hochsprung died while lunging at the gunman, officials said.

The 56-year-old Sherlach, who would have been tasked with helping survivors cope with the tragedy, died doing what she loved, her son-in-law, Eric Schwartz, said.

"Mary felt like she was doing God's work," he said, "working with the children."

Just this past October, Hochsprung had tweeted a picture of the school's evacuation drill with the message "Safety first."

Victoria Soto, (photo at top), a 27-year-old teacher, reportedly hid some students in a bathroom or closet and died trying to shield them from bullets, a cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC News. Those who knew Soto said they weren't surprised.

"You have a teacher who cared more about her students than herself," said John Harkins, mayor of Stratford, Soto's hometown. "That speaks volumes to her character, and her commitment and dedication."

In other cases, staffers both saved students and managed to escape with their own lives.

Teacher Theodore Varga said that as gunfire echoed through the school, a custodian ran around, warning people. He appears to have survived; all the adults killed were women.

"He said, 'Guys! Get down! Hide!'" Varga said. "So he was actually a hero."

Someone switched on the intercom, alerting people in the building to the attack by letting them hear the chaos in the school office, a teacher said. Teachers locked their doors and ordered children to huddle in a corner or hide in closets as shots echoed through the building.

In a classroom, teacher Kaitlin Roig barricaded her 15 students into a tiny bathroom, pulled a bookshelf across the door and locked it. She told the kids to be "absolutely quiet."

"I said, 'There are bad guys out there now. We need to wait for the good guys,'" she told ABC News.

One student claimed to know karate. "It's OK. I'll lead the way out," the student said.

Clerk Maryann Jacob was working with a group of 18 fourth-graders in the library when the shooting broke out. She herded the children into a classroom in the library, but then realized the door wouldn't lock.

They crawled across the room into a storage space, locked the door and barricaded it with a filing cabinet. There happened to be materials for coloring, she said, "so we set them up with paper and crayons."

One person who wasn't in the school at all also is being lauded for his grace: Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie died.

Speaking to reporters Saturday, he said he was not mad and offered sympathy for Lanza's family.

"I can't imagine," he said, "how hard this experience must be for you."