I noticed a brief article in the Tampa Bay Times online Sunday night teasing an announcement that the Parkland, Florida students behind the March for Our Lives movement would be making Monday. A press conference was set at the City of Parkland Amphitheater. Now that the big rallies have waned and there are fewer cameras in their faces, they are ready for their next step which was described as the following:

The group provided few details in a release announcing the event —  will be held at the City of Parkland Amphitheater at 10 a.m. Monday. But organizers did write that “the students will be harnessing the enormous energy and passion against gun violence displayed by the millions of people at the 800 March For Our Lives events across the country on March 24 and turning it into action.”

You remember the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, right? Immediately after the horrific mass shooting at their school earlier this year, a few of them were turned into instant cable television stars by network anchors who encouraged their anti-gun message. The gun-grabbing left was only too happy to prompt diatribes from a couple of 18-year-olds in particular. The more vitriol the better in their televised appearances for David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez.  The adult hosts listened as the NRA was blamed for gun violence at the hands of the mentally ill and politicians, like Senator Marco Rubio  (R-FL) were held personally responsible while never challenging the attacks.

Hollywood embraced the students and paid for trips to Washington, D.C. for rallies. Corporations jumped on the bandwagon, too, with freebies and suddenly these high school students were looked upon as gun experts and policy-makers. The kids knew that no one would dare speak out against the events because it would appear cruel and unsupportive to those who survived the traumatic event. They seized upon that, as a matter of fact, and the manipulation continues today. Emma Gonzalez even admitted this much during a press opportunity, as reported in Axios.

• Emma, now stopped for selfies wherever she goes, is headed to the New College of Florida in Sarasota.

• She told me her message to politicians about gun reform is: “If you don’t support this, … it’ll look like you’re going against kids.”

A graduation ceremony was held Sunday for the senior class and young Hogg continued on with his schtick of anti-Rubio stunts. He sported a price tag which read “$1.05” from his orange cap. This is the amount he claims each student in Florida is worth to Rubio based on  NRA campaign donations.

Senior David Hogg, a prominent voice in the Never Again movement, wore an orange cap with a price tag for $1.05 attached to the tassel. According to Never Again, the price tag is intended to represent how much each student in Florida is worth to Republican Senator Marco Rubio based on how much money he received from the National Rifle Association.

The color orange represents the color hunters use and the kids think this is clever. Apparently, some adults agree, as teachers joined in with students painting orange under their eyes and on their lips. (CNN)

Some Stoneman Douglas teachers and students wore an orange-red color on their lips and under their eyes. The makeup came from the Lipstick Lobby, which will give proceeds from the sale of the shade to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Thanks for the tassel @marcorubio pic.twitter.com/xZPFBhgFOm

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) June 3, 2018

Hey, guess who showed up for the Parkland graduation? Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon. He was described as a surprise guest speaker. No word of any celebrity sightings at the Santa Fe High School graduation, also held last weekend. Funny how one tragedy is paid more attention than others.

So, it’s time for the well-rehearsed youth to hit the road with the act. The young people are going to twenty states with 75 stops all in 60 days to register voters and promote gun grabbing, er, reforms to gun laws. According to the Axios article, the tour begins in Chicago.  The tour is billed as  “March for Our Lives: Road to Change”.

The tour launches Friday, June 15, at a Peace March in Chicago, led by students from St. Sabina Academy. From there, students will make 50 stops in states that include Texas, California, South Carolina and Connecticut.

There will also be a separate tour through Florida, stopping in every congressional district.  The statement from the organizers said they will go “where the NRA has bought and paid for politicians”.

We’re going to places where the NRA has bought and paid for politicians who refuse to take simple steps to save our lives — and we’ll be visiting a number of communities that have been affected by gun violence to meet fellow survivors and use our voices to amplify theirs.

“We showed our politicians that we refuse to accept gun violence as an unsolvable issue,” the organization’s website says. “Now it’s time to turn our energy into action.”

A few groups have come forward as supporters of the summer trip. So far, there is no transparency as to who is footing the bill, though.

Groups including Rock the Vote, Headcount, NAACP and Mi Familia Vota will be working with the student bus tour to support digital and in-person voter registration.

Safe travels, kids. Let’s hope the trip is educational.