;)
Monday
Apr282014
The Commentariat -- April 29, 2014
Michael Doyle of McClatchy News: "At least 4.1 percent of defendants sentenced to death in the United States are innocent, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As a result, the study's authors note, 'it is all but certain that several of the 1,320 defendants executed since 1977 were innocent." ...
... as far as anyone can determine (and many are looking), none of cases included in the .027% error rate for American verdicts involved a capital defendant erroneously executed. -- Justice Antonin Scalia, concurring opinion in Kansas v. Marsh, 2006
Guilty? Innocent? It Doesn't Matter. This Court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who has had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince a habeas court that he is 'actually' innocent. Quite to the contrary, we have repeatedly left that question unresolved, while expressing considerable doubt that any claim based on alleged 'actual innocence' is constitutionally cognizable. -- Justice Scalia, dissent in re Davis, 2009
Another Great Reason to Be an Originalist: Bloodlust. For me, therefore, the constitutionality of the death penalty is not a difficult, soul-wrenching question. It was clearly permitted when the Eighth Amendment was adopted (not merely for murder, by the way, but for all felonies -- including, for example, horse -- thieving, as anyone can verify by watching a western movie). And so it is clearly permitted today. -- Justice Scalia, speaking at a Pew Research Fortum in 2002
Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Obama, stung by criticism of his response to turmoil from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, defended his approach to foreign policy as a slow but steady pursuit of American interests while avoiding military conflict, and he lashed out at those he said reflexively call for the use of force. Standing next to the Philippine president, Benigno S. Aquino III, a visibly frustrated Mr. Obama said on Monday that his critics had failed to learn the lessons of the Iraq war." ...
... The full press conference. Ed Henry of Fox "News" asks his Fox "Newsy" questions beginning at about 30:45 min. in:
CW: I missed the underlying CNN story, by Scott Bronstein & Drew Griffin, on the Phoenix VA, about which Henry asks: "At least 40 U.S. veterans died waiting for appointments at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system, many of whom were placed on a secret waiting list. The secret list was part of an elaborate scheme designed by Veterans Affairs managers in Phoenix who were trying to hide that 1,400 to 1,600 sick veterans were forced to wait months to see a doctor, according to a recently retired top VA doctor and several high-level sources." It is a horrifying story. ...
... CW: The main reason I missed this story: CNN -- which uncovered the story -- was the most liberal media outlet to cover it. If liberal media are unwilling to cover stories that disgrace the Obama administration or liberal policies, they are no better than conservative media who cover only stories that reflect badly on President Obama and Democrats. So thanks, Ed Henry. That was one Fox "Newsy" question I appreciate. ...
... Josh Hicks of the Washington Post on President Obama's response to Henry's question about the Phoenix VA. ...
... Josh Levs & Elise Labott of CNN: "The United States expanded its sanctions against Russia on Monday, targeting members of President Vladimir Putin's 'inner circle' and technology that could be useful to Russia's military. President Barack Obama said the 'targeted' sanctions are in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine." ...
... Juergen Baetz of the AP: "The European Union on Tuesday released the names of 15 new targets of sanctions because of their roles in the Ukraine crisis. The list includes Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff and first deputy defense minister, and Lt. Gen. Igor Sergun, identified as head of GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. The decision taken by the EU governments' ambassadors in Brussels brings the total number of Russians or pro-Russian individuals in Ukraine targeted by the EU's sanctions to 48." ...
... David Stout of Time: "Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel received 'assurance' from his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoygu, on Monday that the Kremlin would not send troops amassed on its western border with Ukraine, where separatist forces have called for Moscow's assistance."
Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Reacting to a series of highly publicized rapes on college campuses, the White House on Monday released guidelines that increase the pressure on universities to more aggressively combat sexual assaults on campus."
Mr. Kerry Regrets. Brett Logiorato the Business Insider: "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement in 'support for Israel' Monday night, after a day of high-profile controversy surrounding his weekend warning that Israel may become an 'apartheid state' if Israeli-Palestinian peace talks fall through. 'I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution,' Kerry said in the statement." ...
... Here's Kerry's official statement. ...
... Dylan Byers of Politico: "Secretary of State John Kerry's private remarks to a meeting of influential world leaders last week were allegedly taped by [Josh Rogin,] a reporter from The Daily Beast, a fact that led to a personal apology from Trilateral Commission chairman Joseph S. Nye on Monday." ...
... CW: AND kudos this time go to Diplomatic Security, the agents responsible for protecting U.S. State Department personnel. It boggles my mind that American security officers are so inept. How did Rogin slip past these bozos? Was he wearing a Groucho mask, or what? ...
... The Ever-Diplomatic Ted Cruz Is Outraged. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Ted Cruz called for the resignation of Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday afternoon, criticizing Kerry for reportedly telling world leaders that he fears Israel could become an 'apartheid state.'" ...
... Juan Cole: Five ways Kerry understated Israeli apartheid policies. "Israeli society inside 1967 borders is not broadly characterized by Apartheid conditions, though Palestinian-Israelis do labor under legal forms of discrimination.... Still, the most thorough comparison of the Apartheid system of racial segregation with Israeli practices can only be made of the West Bank and Gaza, where Palestinians are ruled by Israel but kept stateless and without rights."
Rod Dreher of the American Conservative (and a super-religious guy): "Man, the 12 minute speech Sarah Palin gave to the NRA convention is awful. It's just witless, red-meat blathering, delivered in that nasal whine of hers that makes it sound like she's chewing wads of tinfoil.... [In] part of a long harangue about lily-livered liberals, delivered in such a way that makes Archie Bunker sound like Cicero, [Palin says,] 'Oh, but you can't offend them, can't make them feel uncomfortable, not even a smidgen. Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.' OK, stop. Not only is this woman, putatively a Christian, praising torture, but she is comparing it to a holy sacrament of the Christian faith. It's disgusting -- but even more disgusting, those NRA members, many of whom are no doubt Christians, cheered wildly for her." ...
... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post finds more conservatives who found Palin's speech appalling. He includes Andrew Sullivan, who has derided Palin from the git-go, & who now goes full-Nazi:
It is the kind of statement you might expect from the Khmer Rouge, or from the Chinese Communists who perfected 'stress positions', or from the Nazis, whose Gestapo pioneered 'enhanced interrogation', i.e. brutal torture that would leave no physical traces. Except it's worse than that. Even totalitarian regimes have publicly denied their torture. Their reticence and lies are some small concession of vice to the appearance of virtue. Not Palin -- who wants to celebrate brutal torture as the American way. And then she manages to go one step further. She invokes torture in the context of a Christian sacrament. Not since the Nazis’ Deutsche Christen have we seen something so disgusting and blasphemous in the morphing of Christianity into its polar opposite.
... Worse Than Hitler? According to the help, Adolf Hitler was "charming" & Eva Braun was "elegant" & pleasant to the household staff. Not sure if Palin's employees would give her such high marks. ...
... Ms. Palin Does Not Regret. Evan McMurry of Mediaite. Palin stands by her waterboarding-baptism punchline -- and mentions again what a wonderful world it would be if she were "in charge."
... In Search of Palin's Source. Steve M. has a must-read on the history of waterboarding & its relationship to -- baptism. Hey, maybe it turns out Sarah Palin is a serious Christian scholar! Coming upon gems like this is why I loves the Internets.
Charlie Savage & Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "Edward J. Snowden ... retained a well-known Washington defense lawyer [-- Plato Cacheris --] last summer in hopes of reaching a plea deal with federal prosecutors that would allow him to return to the United States and spare him significant prison time."
From Torturer to Suburbanite. Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: A brutal torturer who ran Afghan "intelligence" operations after the US-led invasion of 2001, turns up living in a two-storey pink stucco house in Southern California. The "case touches on critical questions looming over [the US Afghanistan] disengagement. What will happen to thousands of Afghans seeking to accompany the American exodus? And how will U.S.-built institutions in that country -- particularly its intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) -- treat those left behind?"
No Cuffs for the Congressman. Jason Hanna, et al., of CNN: "U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm failed to report more than $1 million in sales and wages at a Manhattan restaurant he once ran, using unreported cash to pay workers 'off the books' to 'evade taxes and keep more money for himself,' a federal prosecutor said. Grimm, R-New York, pleaded not guilty on Monday in federal court in Brooklyn to 20 counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, filing false tax returns, hiring unauthorized aliens and perjury. A former FBI agent who used to investigate fraud, Grimm wore a dark suit and was not handcuffed during the hearing. He was released on $400,000 bond, secured by his home in Staten Island. As conditions for his release, Grimm, 44, must surrender his guns and passport. He told reporters that he would remain in office while fighting the charges." ...
... Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post summarizes the charges in Grimm's indictment. The indictment, via CBS New York, is here. ...
... Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times adds background.
The Sporting Life
Never Mind. Asawin Suebsaeng & Patrick Caldwell of Mother Jones: "Does it really matter whether racist LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling is a registered Democrat? Or a Republican? Or a member of the Pirate Party of Russia? Well, according to multiple conservative media outlets, yes, it does matter.... The Donald-Sterling-Is-a-Democrat meme ... took hold within right-wing media." (Or, as Akhilleus wrote yesterday, "The Drudge and Breitbart sites haven't stopped digitally quivering all weekend. A racist who isn't one of theirs. Jesus be praised. How the fuck did that happen?") "... here's a news flash for those conservatives eager to bring up the topic: He's a Republican.... [Emphasis mine.] There's little reason to get excited about Sterling's political affiliation. But if you choose to do so, you ought to get it right." ...
... Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs: "... whenever a high profile public figure is caught uttering racist comments, or a whenever a sociopath commits mass murder, the entire right wing media machine immediately starts searching through public records to see if that person ever, in his or her entire life, donated to a Democrat or registered as a Democrat in an election. And if they find what they're searching for, they immediately start ranting in unison that the person in question is proof that the 'real racists' or the 'real psycho killers' are actually, yes, liberals.... The point of making Sterling out to be a 'liberal,' of course, is to ... retaliat[e] for their hero Cliven Bundy being exposed as a racist. But anyone with more than two brain cells can see the huge difference in these two cases: the right wing turned out en masse to support Cliven Bundy and praise him as a hero of the conservative movement, while no liberal or" Democrat has uttered a single word of support for Donald Sterling." ...
... CW: I think Johnson is wrong here. The NAACP was going to give Sterling a lifetime achievement award. That sounds like quite "a word of support" to me. (Yes, I would consider the NAACP a liberal organization.) ...
... Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: "... conservatives ... can't acknowledge this larger context of Democratic support for the things that have mostly improved black people;s lives and Republicans' almost total opposition to them since at least the 1980s. To acknowledge all that would be to acknowledge that they've been wrong on one of the most searing issues in American political history. They of course can't do that. So they have to construct this alternative, fantasy narrative.... They can't acknowledge ... the damage that racism has done. So they turn racism into a mere personal attribute, thereby divorcing it from any notion of political power."
It's the Girlfriend's Fault. -- Donald Trump
It's the Girlfriend's Fault. Also "racism'"s fault. And the NSA's. And the media's. -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
It's the Girlfriend's Fault. Also, he still has been the worst owner in the modern history of professional sports. -- Charles Pierce
It's Obama's Fault. This is not news to anybody who has known of this guy. This guy is a big Democrat. The only reason he's in trouble is because he did not give enough money to Obama.... Everybody in the media, from LA to New York, who's acting shocked about this, I'm telling you they've known who this guy is for the longest time. They've known he is a slum lord. They know that he is a racist. They know that he's basically a despicable human being, and now he may be demented. -- Rush Limbaugh
NBA Sterling is a Democrat... — Matt Drudge ...
... CW: I checked Drudge's site Monday evening & was shocked, shocked to discover he hadn't made a correction & issued a profound mea culpa. He just took the story down. Being a winger means never having to say you're sorry. ...
... The Nation republishes part of Dave Zirin's 2010 book on pro-ball owners. In it, he details what a total dirtbag Sterling is.
David Moore of USA Today: "Sponsors are pulling a fast break away from the Los Angeles Clippers and their embattled owner, Donald Sterling. As the condemnation of Sterling and his racially insensitive comments spread Monday, major financial supporters of the NBA franchise announced they were severing ties with the Clippers. In rapid succession, the mass exodus included used car seller CarMax, State Farm Insurance, Kia Motors America, airline Virgin America, P. Diddy's water brand, AQUAHydrate, Red Bull, Yokohama tires and Mercedes-Benz."
Congressional Elections
Dan Balz & Peyton Craighill of the Washington Post: "Democrats face serious obstacles as they look to the November elections, with President Obama's approval rating at a new low and a majority of voters saying they prefer a Congress in Republican hands to check the president's agenda, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Obama's approval rating fell to 41 percent, down from 46 percent through the first three months of the year and the lowest of his presidency in Post-ABC News polls."
Scott Brown Runs on Fauxbamacare. Ezra Klein of Vox: Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass), who is running for a Senate seat representing New Hampshire, "is picking up on a real opportunity.... The polls around Obamacare are frustrating both to the law's principled supporters and its principled opponents. There is, in theory at least, a huge opening for an unprincipled opponent -- someone who opposes 'Obamacare', but supports virtually all of the policies in Obamacare. Someone who supports Fauxbamacare.... The polls are clear. The American people don't want Obamacare. However, they like what's in Obamacare. And they don't like it when Republicans try to get rid of Obamacare. Brown's position shows Republicans a way out: a rebranding of Obamacare, accompanied, perhaps, by some vague tweaks and changes to be named later." ...
... CW: Pay attention, Jean Shaheen.
Beyond the Beltway
Josh Sanburn of Time: "The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) announced Monday it would increase the dosage of sedative midazolam from 10 mg to 50 mg while upping the dosage of hydromorphone, which is used to stop one's breathing, from 40 mg to 50 mg. The change follows the January execution of Dennis McGuire, who reportedly made snorting and snoring noises during the 25-minute process."
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Reader Comments (15)
Sec. John Kerry said it like it is, and good for him for doing so. As we know the status quo fits Israel perfectly as they slowly invade more occupied territories until the Palestinians have little left to fight for. According to Juan Cole, Israel has approved the construction of 14,000 new illegal squatter homes JUST in the last 9 months of condemned negotiations. It's well-known Bibi appreciates Obama about as much as the GOP does, so giving him the honor of claiming a breakthrough in negotiations was far-fetched from the beginning.
http://www.juancole.com/2014/04/israeli-apartheid-understating.html
I watched a respectable news program last night on Arte, a French-German collaboration. On it, they had a journalist/professor Joav Toker on claiming that Obama's perceived "weakness" abroad is partly to blame for the social/political chaos these last few years from Kiev to Iraq to Egypt. He claimed the world needs a stronger, more assertive American foreign policy because otherwise regimes go rogue knowing no consequences will follow. It's the first time I've heard the Obama's "weak" argument here in France, but obviously they completely forget at the heritage Obama inherited after the Bush years of condoning torture, illegal invasions of sovereign countries (which isn't only a Bush legacy as we've been doing it since forever but Iraq/Afghanistan are the first arguments when we decry Russian intervention into Ukraine's sovereignty) and the War on Terror against the networks that we helped organize/fund in their beginnings. This all sounds to be like a case of "Blowback" as described in Chalmers Johnson's book.
Bush's years of American adventurism are ridiculed here in Europe, and luckily these "Obama is weak" theorists are the minority as well, although nobody on the show confronted him on it. But then again the EU can't own up and admit that their Union completely lacks any semblance of unity when it comes to foreign policy. Too many diverging national interests. But they're happy to sit back and criticize.
A Man with a Plan––interesting piece on the Israeli/ Palestinian situation from Ari Shavit who gives us some historical context and offers up his ideas.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117503/new-plan-middle-east-peace
Nino, Nino, Nino.
Wherefore art thou, Nino? And how comes thou to be of such hypocritical and disagreeable nature?
Well, he wouldn't be the Dark Lord if he wasn't such an abominable asshole and so smugly and selectively interpretive of history and law, all the while pretending he's not.
For someone who presents himself as a strict constructionist, Scalia has made a career out of cherry picking what he needs to come up with the desired result. Does that sound unscrupulous? That's because it is.
His version (interpretation) of the job of the Supreme Court is not to interpret but to enforce the wishes and designs of the blessed Founders. Does that sound fetishistic and weird? That's because it is.
It's also disingenuous, intellectually dishonest, and mostly impossible. Marbury v Madison clarified the role of the court in its ability (and, according to Hamilton in Federalist 78, the duty) to interpret law and to "ascertain its meaning".
We can't possibly know how Jay and Madison and Hamilton and others would respond to the vicissitudes of the modern world, much less rule on them. But for Scalia, because something was A-OK in 1791 (capital punishment) it must be perfectly fine today. And not just fine, but necessary.
Well pardon me all to hell, then. If that's the case, if we have to live in the world of the late 18th century, then there are only 16 states. Slavery should still be okay, and, according to Scalia, the 14th amendment has no business being applied to racism, sexual discrimination, or privacy, meaning Brown v Board of Education and Roe v Wade are unconstitutional.
But you knew he'd hate those rulings, didn't you?
But if he was a true originalist and the words of the sainted Founders were sacrosanct, why toss out the preamble to the 2nd amendment? You know, the part that sets the ground rules for everything that comes after it, the part that talks about the right to bear arms as applied strictly to well regulated militias, not to drunken yahoos.
Oh...wait a second there, bub. Preambles are the bunk. We're only going to consider the second part, the part that he INTERPRETS as saying that those drunken yahoos can carry concealed weapons into schools and day care centers, because that's what the Founders wanted.
At least in Nino's febrile, cherry picking, anti-originalist when wingnuts require it, hypocritical, cynical, ideologically blackened little brain.
Shit, didn't it used to be a capital offense to walk around with your fly down? In that case, round up all those wingnut droolers parading around in Wal Marts screaming about how Obama hid their oatmeal.
Hang those slimeballs.
Then give Nino his medal and a nice piece of pie.
(Okay, I wasn't going to get into this but.....speaking of capital punishment, who decided that injections stopping someone's ability to breathe until they slowly asphyxiate, or wiring them up to 10,000 volts were humane ways to exercise the right's passion for killing people in the name of, you know, freedom? Who did that? Wouldn't it really be more humane to just shoot them in the head? When did firing squads become passé? Because if you're going by the letter of the Constitution, what has become de rigueur in capital punishment situations is not at all humane, meaning not constitutional. But if your goal is to inflict pain and suffering while ending another (possibly innocent) life, you know, the fundamentalist, Cotton Mather, George W. Bush, Nino Scalia way of doing it, well, then why not choose burning at the stake or having prisoners drawn and quartered? While they watch? Probably wouldn't be able to refrain from jerking off. Sick bastards.
I don't get it. But then again, if and when the wingnuts take over the House and Senate, it would be unlikely that anyone would be able to nominate anyone even half as smart or "moderate" as Scalia wants us to think he is. At this point, they'll want Judge Roy Bean or some Roland Freisler clone as the next Supreme.)
PD,
A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
Oops. Sorry. Couldn't help it.
Interesting article. The other day I heard David F (for "fucking") Brooks sniff that Kerry was wasting his time and ours by aiming for peace in the middle east. Why? There are wars to be started, don't you know? Man up, boys! Let's bomb something. Also, Palestinians can't be trusted. (But Bibi can? Sheesh.)
Okay, so Brooks is an idiot.
But the problem with the Shavit plan is that it requires what seems to be an prohibitive non-starter right from the get-go: stop expansion of settlements. Hey, great idea. Wasn't that one of Kerry's ideas too? Or part of one?
As long as Bibi and the Israeli conservatives in Likud and the even more fundamentalist parties hold sway, that ain't gonna happen.
Someone has to get the drop on Bibi and force them to go along. But as someone yesterday wrote about the NRA, they don't want peace. They want constant warfare. This isn't to say that the Palestinians are all sweetness and light, but Israel being the biggest player in this game, it will be up to them to start with a show of faith in some peace process.
Barring that, it's same 'ol, same 'ol.
Two men, no plan, no canal, no Panama.
No cool palindrome, and no peace.
That's five no's and one peace. The no's have it.
At least for now.
@AK: Man with plan that's bound to fail;
Bibi's sway prevents a way to save the day;
A judge at the top is seen as a fop,
And Brooks is a total idiot.
Fine fettle for a fine fella, I'd say~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Franz Liebkind, author of "Springtime for Hitler":
"Not many people know it, but the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer."
--------------"The Producers", Mel Brooks
Patrick,
Vat is dis "baby"?
Der Fuhrer never said "baby"!
Scalia v. Science.
According to the National Academy of Science (and in other instances, proven by facts), a not insubstantial number of those put to death in this country are innocent. Over the course of three decades, the authors of this research conclude, about 340 innocent people were put to death. They also indicate that the 4% rate is extremely conservative meaning that the number is probably much higher.
But not according to Justice Scalia (boy is that an oxymoronic title) who suggests that no one put to death in this country has been innocent. Also, like many conservative fans of the death penalty, he likes to cling to the idea that even if some death penalty convictions are in error, the facts are largely unknowable.
Bullshit, say the authors of this study. Bullshit, also says recent history and the Innocence Project which has been able to free 316 prisoners doomed to die, who were innocent. And those are only the ones freed by DNA evidence. Unsurprisingly, 198 of those were black. Another reason conservatives hate initiatives like the innocence project and any effort to determine the extreme injustice of the death penalty.
But what does Scalia care about innocence or science or evidence when it might ruin all his fun? Wingers hate and fear science but love punishment and pain (for the under classes, of course).
What we need is a kind of Epic Rap Battles of History meeting between Scalia and a scientist, or maybe just a statistician. Perhaps Nate Silver. Or we could do an Epic Rap Battle between Scalia and Alexander Hamilton.
They can be illuminating:
Epic Rap Battles of History: John Lennon vs Bill O'Reilly
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/27/1294972/-I-ve-Got-A-Gun-And-There-s-Nothing-You-Can-Do-About-It?detail=email
How about this? There is no earthly reason for packing a gun to a children's baseball game. I think his purpose was to intimidate people, especially women. What a pathetic excuse for a human being. This story almost literally made me want to puke.
How does Scalia manage to keep his tricorn from spinning out of control every time he looks at Ginsberg, Sotomayor, and Kagan. Imagine his constructionist heart contemplating the fact that they have a vote at all. Wenches...... Then there's Thomas. Such irony. Obviously, he belongs outside on the lawn, silently holding a lantern. But then there's the added offense of the white wife. The stockade is too gentle.
Diane,
Thomas already has the silent part down.
Good point about Colonial Scalia. Women, Jews, a black guy. I don't know how he does it. I mean, how does he reconcile the women having more than a fourth grade education?
It's hard being an arrogant, unreconstructed, hypocritical, 18th century wingnut.
Barbarossa,
Another moron with a gun. And this time a moron who wants everyone to know he's a moron with a gun. And that there's nothing anyone can do about it. And don't forget, if some mom or dad or grandparent--or even kid--came up to Mr. Stupid and Armed, he could shoot them and claim self defense under Georgia's Stand Your Ground and Murder Someone statute. He could claim that he feared for his life and had to put a cap in that granny's head.
He'd be the next Fox hero within hours. Sean Hannity would be offering to lick his balls on national television.
This is what the Modern GOP stands for. An armed lunatic stalking children's baseball games, smirking and daring anyone to stop him from pulling out his piece and showing what a big man he is.
David Brooks would be so proud. Finally, a manly man. Scaring those 9 year old kids.
Wonder what his party affiliation is?
Another thought about Mr. Stupid and Armed in Georgia.
What if it were a black man stalking a children's ball field, daring anyone to do anything about his weapon? Think the sheriff would let him off with a shrug?
More gun fun in Georgia.
Armed scumbags stalking children have nothing on the heavily armed guy who walked into a FedEx plant this morning and shot 6 people then, with the genuine sense of propriety and courtesy demonstrated by so many armed lunatics, turned one of his many guns on himself and spared the state of Georgia the sad duty of having to arrest one its finest son of a guns. Oh, unless he could prove those other unarmed employees were a threat.
Georgia is the NRA's State of the Week!
Wayne said to kill 'em all!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/us/politics/immigration-bill-hinges-on-new-obama-attitude-boehner-says.html?emc=edit_cn_20140429&nl=us&nlid=57056906
So the President can possibly, maybe, have some kind of (unspecified) Immigration Bill this session if he first approves the Right's position on a number of (unspecified) "small" bills (in light of today's news, arming kindergartners comes to mind--and if he deports all of the undocumented immigrants first.
Sound like a great deal.