Sam Brownback: “I thank the Chair. Certainly, all of our thoughts and prayers are with the people in Colorado, across this country and…”

“I thank the Chair. Certainly, all of our thoughts and prayers are with the people in Colorado, across this country and across the world, who have been touched by the terrible tragedies in the shootings. We cannot ignore the shootings that took place in Littleton, CO. I think we really must say that this time we will address these problems that are in our culture. They are here. We have a culture that glorifies violence and killing, where perverse things are put on television as normal. Ours is a culture that has far too much darkness in it. Just listen to some of the words of the writers in various newspapers across this country when they have discussed today's culture. This was in last Thursday's Washington Post in the Style Section, mind you. Its headline: ``When Death Imitates Art.'' It says: Before Teenagers Commit Violence, They Witness It in American Culture. Here is how the writer starts: In what used to be the dark corners of our culture, there is now a prime time cartoon with a neo-Nazi character, comics that traffic in bestiality, movies that leave teenagers gutted like game, fashion designers who peddle black leather masks and doomsday visions. It's all in the open now, mass produced, widely available. Even celebrated. On countless PCs, killing is a sport. And there's Marilyn Manson, a popular singer who named himself after a mass murderer and proclaims he is the Antichrist.…”