President Obama's speech wa superb, and he gave hope to all Americans.

Scoreboard: Obama/Hope 1 McConnell /Cynicism 0

As a President, Mr. Obama showed the leadership and guidance we needed. As other Presidents before him did when the Country needed a leader.

Sarah did her part as she represents the Tea Party and she had a right to represent that group as she gave her video speech.

Speaker Boehner couldn't make the trip due to a fund raiser in DC. Speaker Boehner's spoke person did say the speech by the Speaker was just three minutes and he got home to watch the President on TV.

It was good to see so many American leaders attend to show their respect as Justice Kennedy and former Justice Sandra Day O'Conner was also there. The unity that spilled was heart warming and the words were exactly what we needed as a country. Many will look to follow and a few will continue to go in the wrong path. As the President has said so often it's ok to agree to disagree but be respectful. We have alot of work ahead and we should do it together as a country.

see you same time same place

I have waited this week before writing to someone about what has happened in Tucson and what is happening throughout the country as a result. This is not about "politics", except as it has changed for the worse, the care that our nation provides for the mentally ill people who are a part of our everyday lives. I am a Psychiatrci-Mental Health Registered Nurse with a Masters degree in that subject from The Catholic University of America in Wash., DC. I have had a 42 year career that has included caring for children, adolescents, adults, elderly adults, recipients of hospice services, and emergency service personnel (fire, police, EMS, ED staff, dispatchers, physicians, and the news media). Although I am licensed as an RN in South Carolina, I am currently retired from my active nursing role.

I am writing because I have waited for these few days to hear someone in authority say that what we need in this country is not more gun or ammunition control, but better and more research into the causes, treatment, & assessment of mental illness, and more care being provided for the mentally ill individuals who live among us all the time. Since the shootings and arrest this past Saturday, I have heard many people make the statement that the alleged perpetrator is "mentally ill", but no one has stated the obvious issue, which is that mentally ill people are not getting the care they need. This young man, Jared, did not receive the care he needed. These shootings may very well have been avoided if he had received care and treatment.

It is ironic that, at this point in the history of psychiatry and medical care of the mentally ill, that we can now determine at the biochemical level in the brain, what is wrong with people who are depressed, paranoid, schizophrenic, bi-polar, psychotic, and all the other terms that are mentioned when someone is determined by the public to be mentally ill. It is clear from the discussion of what the community college in Tucson did when the alleged perpetrator was acting in a disturbing manner that his behavior was frightening to more than a few people. It is also fairly clear to someone who has dealt with the mental health system in Virginia, West Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Missouri, and South Carolina that the mental health system in Arizona was not readily available to the Community College as a method of dealing with this frightening person.

I have heard commentators on several news shows make statements about how the alleged perpetrator was acting and they appear astonished by his irrational behaviors. None of the behaviors mentioned this week appear abnormal for a person with a severe mental illness. We all see people with mental illness in our communities, and it is very easy to look the other way and ignore their discomfort and fears.

Paranoia is the result of fears and can rise to the level of panic where the paranoid person believes that they have to act to protect themselves before others take action against them. Delusions of being better and smarter than everyone else, with all the answers, are born in extremely poor self esteem issues. Many of the symptoms of severe mental illness are the result of biochemical changes in the brain at the cellular level and can be corrected to some extent by the use of medication. Many of the most recent medication advances in this treatment do not have the side effects of the older medications that were used and overused in the past. Patients who once exhibited major symptoms of schizophrenia can be treated and become functioning and productive human beings. None of this happens when the mental health system is gutted to save money for more important issues. This is what has happened all across the USA and it is not likely to change soon unless people demand it.

New gun laws and limitations on the type of ammunition clips that are available will not stem the tide of violent outbursts by severely mentally ill people in this country. Only the best identification, care and treatment of the mentally ill will move us in that direction. Please do not take my word for this, but talk with nurses and doctors who are engaged in the care and treatment of the mentally ill in communities across the country. Check out any major hospital Emergency Department for how many mentally ill persons fill their beds with no place to go for treatment. Our priorities are misplaced and we are paying a high price for this. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Ellen C. Manson, RN, MSN; Santee, SC 803-347-8689; solutns1@yahoo.com