Brothers Caleb, 21, and Joshua Brimmer, 19, waiting for President Barack Obama to arrive in Roseburg. "I think he (Obama) should listen to the American people." Posted on 10/09/2015 11:15:41 AM PDT by TroutStalker
It's little more than an hour until wheels down in Eugene for President Barack Obama. He is meeting with the families of victims of the Umpqua Community College shooting, then flying to Seattle for Democratic National Committee roundtable.
Gov. Kate Brown will accompany Obama on his visits. Neither are expected to speak publicly. Yet, many see Obama's meeting the grieving families as a maneuver to push gun control laws in Congress.
Especially after Obama's impassioned speech, saying mass shootings could be prevented with stricter gun laws.
Already, protestors are in position to greet Obama when his plane lands in Eugene.
Conservative leaders in Douglas County say they expect at least 2,400 to show up among three different protest sites.
Meanwhile, another college shooting was reported Friday morning in Flagstaff, Arizona. At Northern Arizona University, a freshman killed one student and injured three others before surrendering to police.
The incident has fueled social media activity on both sides of the gun control debate.
The Oregonian's political team, Ian Kullgren and Jeff Mapes, are in Roseburg today, so you can follow their Twitter accounts by clicking their names.
We'll also be updated this blog all day with news from the ground. So, check back early and often.
11:11 a.m.
Brothers Caleb, 21, and Joshua Brimmer, 19, waiting for President Barack Obama to arrive in Roseburg. "I think he (Obama) should listen to the American people." 11:07 a.m. Read: Protesters turn out for Obama in Roseburg
It's the first Oregonian/OregonLive dispatch from on the ground today.
The group suggests demonstrators bring water, snacks and firearms if they feel the need to, but only handguns and to keep them holstered.
"Show the world that American gun owners are responsible patriots," a post by the group reads. "Look out for each other."
10:53 a.m. Not everyone is mad at Obama's visit. Oregonian reporter Rebecca Woolington said some people are gathered at the Roseburg Airport in support. She reports:
"I am embarrassed of what's going on up there," said Bryony Allenby, pointing up to the other protesters."
Allenby, who lives in Winchester, said she and family wanted to move away from the protesters who don't want Obama to visit.
Allenby said she went to UCC, is still very connected to the school and lives nearby. She heard gunshots last week.
"It's a very rare privilege to be able to be that close to the president of the United States of America," Allenby said.
Nkenge Harmon Johnson, CEO of the Urban League of Portland, also appreciated his visit.
Steve Mims, the Ducks football writer for the Eugene Register-Guard tweeted: "Politics aside, just can't believe there are people who don't welcome a president to console those who lost so much."
10:48 a.m. Photographer Beth Nakamura is talking to some protestors. Rick Halle, who is with about 10 other people, said he wants to have a peaceful protest that gets across the message that they don't want Obama "pushing political agendas on us."
"We're upset that literally within moments of this tragedy Obama was using it to force a political agenda," Halle said.
TV stations have been showing the crowd slowly grow in size since 9 a.m.
10:12 a.m. While we wait for Obama's plane in Eugene, let's start with some relevant reading.
This morning, Oregonian political reporter Denis Theriault published a story about how researchers and psychologists have made strides in identifying people who might be moved to rampage to stop them before they start.
"You're not going to be able to look at someone and say, 'Two years from now, he's going to be the next school shooter,'" said Mario Scalora, a psychologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who consults nationally on how to thwart mass shootings and other targeted violence.
But Scalora and others said listening — and speaking up when something isn't right — can stop such crimes. A burgeoning field of study called risk assessment is also making a difference.
Mass shootings "are very preventable," Scalora said. "In a lot of cases, there are warning signs."
Read the story: Stopping mass shooters: Experts share lessons since Thurston
That story reflects on an Oregon school shooting in 1998. Read about that one and other in this list of mass shootings in Oregon.
How do authorities determine what constitutes a mass shooting? We have your answer: How many U.S. mass shootings? Why it's so hard to pin down
-- Molly Harbarger
It would have been more grammatical if it said “Go Golfing.”
How about Obama: GFY, LOL
Obnoxious slob, knowing he was not welcome, showed up anyway and changed the theme to ‘he was here to comfort the families’. Class always shows!!!
BTW, how are the jobs out there. Looks like a really nice place to live.
Most of rural Oregon and Washington is very depressed from the shut down of mining and logging, pressure on agriculture (ripping out irrigation to support Salmon) and such. It’s slowly buiding itself back up, but there are many counties that are shrinking.
I try to vacation in the rural outback every chance I can, at least I can buy my breakfast and stay at little motels.
A lot of people have figured out how to have nice lives, it’s slowly picking back up.
When one looks at the ideology and the type people perpetrating mass violence (overwhelmingly leftist) what you say looks like a sane and rational approach to reducing gun violence.
I have advocated it for a long time. Liberalism is a cancer and a danger to weak minded people who follow that religion.
I took the time to document it a couple of years ago as shown below. I took two pictures, one showing a large gathering of liberals, and one showing a large gathering of conservatives.
Here is an example of what the liberal protesters carry when they want to make a point. This analysis was from the Antiwar protesters at The Gathering of Eagles on March 17, 2007. What you see in this picture is absolutely, 100% TYPICAL.
Here is an example of what the conservative protesters carry when THEY want to make a point. This analysis was from the Taxpayer March on Washington on 9/12/2009. What you see in this picture is absolutely, 100% TYPICAL.
Conservatives not only show wit and originality in the content of the materials they use to express themselves, but also spend time making them both readable and legible. They take pride in their handiwork, and they can do this because they have a deeper understanding of the issue at hand.
Liberals often have mass printed signs that lack originality and wit in an attempt to ensure everyone has a sign (created by someone else) that says something that the "someone else" want them to express. When you see liberals carrying their own handmade signs, they often look like this, poorly lettered and shallow in content:
I have seen this contrast over and over again. What I have concluded from this is that while liberals may have some form of conviction about a subject, it is because they want to believe something they have been told without thinking it through. Most of them have an "understanding" of an issue that is a foot wide and a fraction of an inch deep. They will doggedly stay within that framework regardless of facts and logic, and their expression of that viewpoint in their signs and banners illustrates a lack of depth, understanding and originality.
Basement dwellers unite !
Cool illustration. Thanks for sharing the pics and your thoughts.
You are most welcome...the contrast was very striking to me when I saw it.
How I despise liberalism.
Not only would Alaska 'tourism' pick up, but the EPA would blame all the yellow glacial meltwater on global warming.
Obama is the turd in the punchbowl at every party.
I think the protesters must have been effective because there was not a single report of this visit on any of the usual sources that would be praising even the slightest show of support.
It was hypocritical and mean-spirited of him even to think about going there.
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