I thought that Sandy Hook would be the worst thing I would witness...

[Moostache]

And today I see the threads about the Assisted Living Center in New Jersey and photos of the infected and assumed infected and I hear stories from all angles about how "America NEEDS to get back to work" and "Open for business" and "Controlled Infections" and I am in the same level of despondence as I was that day.

Then, I was the father of a then-6 year old who was the same age as many who were slain at Sandy Hook, and my heart was ripped from my chest and the sucking wound has never really healed...now my little girl is becoming a young woman and I am reminded DAILY how much of a shot to the nation's soul that horror was...

Today, those residents are the same age as my parents, and my parents are not yet in assisted living, but are on a path to require such care in the coming months or years (if we all survive this)...I see assholes like Hannity, Beck and Patrick saying things like 'they should die glad to die for the economy' and I want to rip their throats out...

WTF happened to America in the last 20 years? How did we ever get to this low point, this catastrophe, this void of leadership?

I'm sorry, but my depression is really settling in and overwhelming me right now...I can't see how this country EVER recovers or becomes better than it was once, and we're a long, long way from even breaking even again.

This CAN'T be how things like life and death and family and aging are discussed and dealt with - in naked $ and cents figures, as if we are all just entries on a ledger and someone needs us and our families to go so their 'value' can increase?

I want to hug those obviously traumatized residents and workers and the worst thing is not only can I not do so, they can't get hugs from anyone in that scenario.

This can't be real...it just can't be.