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While driving into work this morning, I heard an interview on NPR with the director, Mikhail Tkach, of a 24 minute film of Russian Lieutenant Yuri Shalayev, titled The Occupant. Shalayev was captured by the Ukrainians in early April -- Russia launched an unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
During the interview, Tkach commented about the Russian soldiers looking frightened, "I think that Russians soldiers do not really understand what they are doing here and why they are doing that. Having our own investigation on what is their motivation, the main motivation was because they were offered to have some mortgages so that they can have their own apartment and they have some privileges if they serve."
A few years ago, Parkland happened. The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, was pressured to get on camera and address the issue, but not the Parkland one. A few weeks later, a shooting happened in Santa Fe, Texas. Ten people -- eight students and two teachers -- were fatally shot, and thirteen were wounded.
The Governor held a presser stating he was creating a Taskforce of key individuals -- many were hand picked based on previous support and status within the community. Their goal was to present to the Governor and the Texas Legislature recommendations.
Those recommendations were talking points that surfaced at the presser or soon after to keep students and teachers safe at school: school hardening, school resource officers (SROs), mental health, threat assessment, and fusion centers, to name a few.
Republican Texas Senator Larry Taylor authored the bill and carried it through the legislative process. It was a big victory that held a lot of promise. I for one thought so too.
Side note: the Texas Legislature is unique in that they only meet every other 2 years for 140 days to write and pass legislation.
The following legislative session, 2021, an odd one for many reasons. One being the COVID-19 restricted participation in committee hearings. The second being it provided a great opportunity for the Texas conservative leadership to pass bills without scrutiny.
One bill passed allow people to open carry a firearm without a permit. Another law prohibited government offices from preventing individuals from carrying a firearm.
A day after the Uvalde event, Governor Greg Abbott was joined with other conservative state leaders for what was a repeat of that presser he gave in 2018 after Santa Fe. He said the same thing. The only thing that was different was unexpected appearance of Abbott's challenger, Beto O'Rourke.
As a Texan, I respect the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Even if it means ignoring "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State." Because, let's be honest, if you can't make sense of the sentence structure then you were a bad student or had horrible teachers.
Back to my point, I respect the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, as a Texan. However, we must put into perspective what a DDM4 Version 7 can do to a close up target. This is the same AR-style used by the gunman at yesterday's Uvalde Massacre. The damage was so incredibly bad that parents were asked to provide DNA swab samples to help identify victims.
Watch the video below what a DDM4 Version 7 can do. It's a powerful weapon, indeed. But then question yourself why it's okay for an 18 year old to purchase this gun without proper background check.
We saw how politicians respond when confronted by a citizen, a voter, a parent. They coward and deflect and respond with the same rhetoric. So, if we want change, we need to be loud at press conferences, hearings, and meetings and question our politicians.
Best known for his comic book illustrations of Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian and Wolverine, Barry Windsor-Smith was born on May 25, 1949 in London.
He displayed artistic abilities as an early age. He pursued an education in arts, earning a degree in Industrial Design and Illustration.
Before he turned 21, he published a single page "Powerhouse Pinups" of Marvel Comics characters for Terrific and Frantic comics. A short time after, he flew to the U.S. and met with the infamous Stan Lee who gave him the job of drawing both the cover and story of X-Men No 53.
Windsor-Smith left Marvel to become the creative director and lead artist at Valiant Comics. He was with Valiant Comics until 1993. He did work for Malibu Comics' Ultraverse, WildStorm Productions/Image Comics, and Dark Horse Comics.
In the 2000s he worked on several cover arts for Marvel Titles before publishing Windsor-Smith's Young Gods and Friends with Fantagraphics Books. In 2021, Fantagraphics released Monsters, a 366-page graphic novel.
I remember receiving the December 1994 Playboy edition and being at first excited for its thickness. The Gala Christmas Issue featured Bo Derek, a blonde bombshell best known for her role in the romantic comedy 10, opposite Dudley Moore. Plus, the issue had some good articles -- no joke.
And in the middle of the issue lived the centerfold of Elisa Bridges, a petite brunette who -- based on the Playboy write-up -- preferred being one of the guys and doing guy stuff.
In her photo spread, she's wearing a sexy one-piece monokini, a cute school girl outfit, lace tops, and the sexy small red dress featured as her centerfold. She loved lovely. A dream. To me, the image of a perfect companion.
Unfortunately, there is a tragic and sad story about this young model. A story one would expect in a crime-drama or even a challenge on Grand Theft Auto.
The five-foot brunette was born in Miami on May 24, 1973. She was raised in Texas, and graduated from Marcus High School outside Flower Mound, Texas. Her mom was Cuban-born and her father worked for an oil company.
After appearing as Playmate of the Month, she appeared in several video productions from Playboy Home Video until 2002. She was sought after and men loved her. With fame, darkness was a plenty with prescription and illegal drugs.
"Elisa Bridges, Miss December 1994, died Feb. 7 [2002] from natural causes in Los Angeles," is the statement Playboy posted on their website.
"Natural causes," was the empire's assessment. However, the LA Coroner's Office determined accidental overdose. The report said her death was caused by acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin, methamphetamine, meperidine, and Alprazolam.
