Why Sly won for Creed

There were many cheering Rocky fans last night as the creator mind and star of the boxing series won the recognition they felt was long overdue.

Sylvester Stallone was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay at the 1976 Academy Awards for the first Rocky but was defeated for both. But now, after his Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actor for the series Spinoff Creed, Stallone is unarguably a shoe-in to finally win that golden statue.

But it wasn't so much his performance in Creed that won him the Golden Globe last night as the character he portrayed. Rocky Balboa has been with us for 40 years-40 years! We've seen him fall in love, get married, have a son, lose his wife to cancer, and now we've seen him battling cancer himself. Seeing the character of Rocky Balboa go through chemotherapy was like seeing a favorite uncle go through chemotherapy, because he's been in our national psyche for so long that it feels like he is a member of our American family. To many Americans and die hard Rocky fans, Rocky Balboa is the embodiment of the American Dream-an underdog boxer who faces off against the heavyweight champion of the world and in the end achieves fame and glory.

His win last night was also the culmination of a great reversal of fortune for the Rocky franchise from the lows of Rocky V, which tanked at the Box Office back in 1990 and was seen as a dismal end for a franchise beloved by so many fans. Stallone said later he did V because of greed and was his prime motivation for writing and directing Rocky Balboa, which not only did better commercially and critically than the previous installment, but also had one of the most inspirational motivational speeches in movie history.

Oscar nominations are this Thursday morning. When Stallone's name is read for Best Supporting Actor, you can bet they will be many fans cheering his name, ready to stand in his corner one more time.

Why I Agree With The President's Action on Gun Violence

I was never more ashamed of my government than on that fateful day in April, 2013, when the U.S. Senate voted to block common-sense gun control legislation that would have expanded background checks in the wake of Sandy Hook. The key word is blocked. The measure, which would have prevented criminals and people with mental illnesses from buying a gun, actually passed with 54 votes, but because it didn't get those three extra votes the Senate GOP and several red-state, Pro-NRA Democrats were able to filibuster it (I'm thinking about you, Mark Pryor. How did that vote turn out for you?).

In the almost three years since that "shameful day for  Washington", as the President described it while standing in the Rose Garden with family members affected by Sandy Hook, this nation has experienced even more senseless gun tragedies in Isla Vista, in Charleston, in Lafayette, in Roseburg, in Colorado Springs, and just recently in San Bernardino. 33,000 Americans died in 2013 from gun violence, including 21,000 who used guns to take their own lives. This has gone far enough, and that's why I'm glad the President acted today. 

With Congress unwilling to do their jobs, instead focusing on another Repeal Obamacare bill, the President stood with Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in the Tucson Massacre five years ago that left six people dead, along with several other people affected by gun violence, to announce his executive order that would help prevent tragedies like Tucson and Newtown and San Bernardino from happening in the future. 

The core  of the executive order is that it would expand background checks to guns purchased online or at gun shows. This is supported 90% of Americans, including 90% of gun owners, which isn't much of a surprise because it's common sense. What's the point of going to a gun store and find out your criminal history prevent you from buying a gun when you can just buy one at a gun show, or, more conveniently, buy one over the internet? Does anyone seriously think domestic abusers, criminals, and people with mental illnesses should be able to go out and buy a gun? (I know the NRA does but that's a whole other matter). The executive order will also direct the FBI to hire an additional staff of 230 to help process background checks 24/7. $500 million in additional funding for mental health services would need Congressional Approval. 

By far the biggest moment of the speech was when the President shed a tear when mentioning the first graders that were gunned down at Sandy Hook, saying that whenever he thinks of them it "makes me mad". It makes me mad to, that we live in a country where most of our representatives care more about scoring political points and winning the next election than keeping their constituents safe. But I'm glad at least we have a President who understands that this has gone on long enough, and that we need to do something about it.