These killers reflect a bigger issue with how we deal with, or hide from the mental health issues in our Country & State. This is not about guns or God, the lack of a God, it's about the mentally ill. We saw it in the Hillary bomb threat last week, the Colorado Church shootings and the Virginia Tech campus shootings. On and on these events go and treatment for mental health is not even a Presidential campaign issue. Perhaps some of your readers have some thoughts on how to solve or at least get help to these people since our Political leadership is clueless in this area. In California the mental health care system went away in the 80's during Republican budget cuts, combined with the Democrats protecting privacy issues. Now people with mental health issues cannot get assistance. Many other states have cut there mental health programs or never had them. In California the police can pick people up (it's called 5150), and hold them for 72 hours, but they are often out of custody without getting any help, before the officer can finish the paperwork. Because of privacy rules when someone is 5150'd even family members cannot get information nor suggest further treatment during the 72 hour hold time. Can you imagine there are people that have been 5150'd hundreds of times over a 10 year period and never received help?

This time the mentally ill intruded into people lives and ended them, and perhaps will bring the issue of the mentally ill out for a few minutes only to be shoved aside by more important things like Paris Hilton claiming to read the bible, or reports of Britney Spears running a stop sign. If you think it's a leap to say homelessness and mental health go hand in hand it's not. True not all of the homeless have mental issues but one needs only to look at your local homeless scene to know mental health plays a huge role.

The homeless are a fact of life throughout the state and nation. Few people realize how many live among us. Just walk along the edge of your local park's trails, along creeks and look under the bridges. Look for well worn foot paths that lead to hidden encampments. The area often has abandoned shopping carts and disassembled bikes (read probably parts of stolen bikes from the area) which are a pretty good indication of the presence of the homeless. Often you will hear the voices of the homeless from these areas.

The system to help is broken. It is a matter of money and votes, and these people do not have any money or votes, nor are they represented by anyone that cares enough. Perhaps if there was a profit in caring for the people with mental health issues, this could be fixed. Just the stigma of the mental health label has people turning away and not wanting to do something. Again our candidates are ignoring the issue. The people we elect to fix this see no reason to tackle this because there are few votes from this group. Again perhaps some of your readers will have some thoughts on getting the elected officials to put a workable program in place. Sorry I lost it for a second ..... thinking elected officials will actually do something other than posture to get re-elected.

To have a better United States of America we have to preserve our Constitution so our children will still have Civil Liberties when they are adults.

Ron Paul 2008!

Huckabee has become very good at saying the right things at the right time--just what we don't need more of.

Last night, Glen Beck aired an episode with a Huckabee interview where Huckabee talked about his tax program. His program would do away with all personal and corporate taxes and levy a retail tax of 22-30%. Sounds clean but the reality is that the common man would then be paying 22-30% more for everything--cars, goods from Home Depot, clothing, McDonalds, shampoo--you name it.

What would then happen to the economy--it would shut down as people realize that the old car has a few more miles left and stop spending--yesterday's fashions don't look so dated anymore.

Huckabee seems sincere. Sincerely he seems to be an idiot.

Get the God Talk out of our elections. The day we completely to trust these traders from the temple with our government is the day we go down. Take a look at the compassionate christian, GWB and you'll see the brand of compassion that we are in for with another one of these hypocrites.

CDallas

As the "Political" season becomes more intense, the voters have been exposed to, one way or another, all of the top five candidates from both parties. As their "education" is broadened, the voters are beginning to align themselves with a particular candidate(s). Thus, the preference "Polls" are beginning to show the changes. Huckabee (R), for example, is beginning to look more attractive to many of the independants and even the more conservative/moderae Republican voters. I would not be suprised that he may have some more gains, and indeed his ideas for the most part are good and he should be examined.

I am part of the Grassroots movement for Gov. Huckabee, and although I consider myself a Christian, I am by no means an evangelical, (I am Orthodox), nor am I part of the far-right. I was a Hippie back in the day, marching on Washington against the Vietnam war. I had to fight my own Government to vote at 18. I watch with amazement while the press is used by politicians for their negative agenda against Mike. They are mere "puppets of negativity"---prisoners of horizontal thinking. Part of what keeps holding Americans down, not building them up, their words are bricks in the wall that divides and polarizes this nation. Christian-bashing is now politically correct. Appealing to Christians is now called "Playing the religion card". What about playing the "9-11 card"? How about the "Money Card." For me, the reasons I support Gov. Huckabee have nothing to do with playing gin rummy for the presidency. It is because he is not playing that game. He is not trying to buy the white house. He is out there, taking the pot-shots and mud-slinging and encouraging me to remain positive--to continue to Hope. . .to Believe---not in Jesus Christ, but in America.

"Christian Bashing" has become politically correct because politicians like Huckabee have made it the platform of their candidacy.

Our future President needs more than faith. Faith won't get us out of Iraq. Faith won't put us back in good graces with the rest of the world. Faith won't bring back this "surging economy". Faith won't bring us together.

If Huckabee and his kind would stop talking about faith and recongnize that a large portion of Americans are sick and tired of where faith has gotten us in the last seven years, he might stand a chance in the general election.

Faith is silent.

CDallas is correct in saying that Huckabee's fairtax would slow America's spending: BECAUSE THAT'S THE POINT! Americans are spending more than they are making, we need to encourage saving, which will lead to investment and ultimately a stronger economy. For the common folk, its just a different way of paying the same amount in taxes, but instead, their conscience will steer them away from spending rather than in the current system in which they have less of a drive to work because the IRS punishes you for working. Plus if Americans actually saved then we wouldn't have such a crisis with entitlement programs like social security.

I think you miss the point. Yes, Americans need to save desperately. However, a major slowdown in spending means loss of jobs in the retail sector which leads to job loss in manufacturing which leads to more retail job loss and so on and so on. Wages then decrease as workers are forced to take less to get a job. Hence, savings goes out the window and corporations continue to reap the rewards.

Saving is another issue but will certainly fall if the taxes of this country are firmly bound to the consumer.

I am a Huck supporter. I realize he will be vetted by the press and every crack pot that doesn't like him will take pot shots at him. I believe Mike Huckabee can stand up to this barrage and America will see a genuine man with a plan. There are a couple of things that draw me to him. I think the Fair Tax is a great idea and I am so excited about his ideas for education. Music and the arts were my favorite things in school. It helped me hang in there until history and english engrossed me also. Go Huck!

Also,

Taking a line from Martin Luther King Jr --I have a dream! No longer Republican against Democrat -- but American's all!