;)
Monday
Mar222021
The Commentariat -- March 23, 2021
Afternoon Update:
After January 6, nothing seems impossible. -- Jeanne, in today's Comments
President Biden speaks about the mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado (first 6:27 min. of video):
Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "The city of Boulder, Colo., barred assault weapons in 2018, as a way to prevent mass shootings like the one that killed 17 at a high school in Parkland., Fla., earlier that year. But 10 days after that ban was blocked in court, the city was rocked by its own tragedy: Ten people, including a Boulder police officer, were killed at a supermarket in the city's south end on Monday after a gunman opened fire, law enforcement officials said.... With unanimous support from the council, the law banned the possession, transfer and sale of most shotguns and certain pistols and semiautomatic rifles with pistol grips, a thumbhole stock, or any protruding grip that allows a weapon to be stabilized with the non-trigger hand.... On March 12, Boulder County District Judge Andrew Hartman ... [ruled] that, according to a 2003 Colorado state law, cities and counties cannot restrict guns that are otherwise legal under federal and state law.... The National Rifle Association cheered the ruling on Twitter last week, noting that its lobbying arm had supported the lawsuit against the ban." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yeah, the "thoughts and prayers" cliche makes me sick, too. Here's another one that's even more insidious, because its purpose is to shut up gun-control advocates masked behind the calculated pretext of expressing respect for the victims of gun violence. We hear this after every mass shooting:
There will be a time for the debate on gun laws. There will be a time for the discussion on motives. There will be a time for a conversation on how this could have been prevented. But today is not the time. -- Colorado State Shooting Association, a plaintiff in the Boulder assault weapons ban, in a statement
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Senators quickly splintered along partisan lines over gun control measures on Tuesday as Democrats demanded action in the wake of two mass shootings in the past week and Republicans denounced their calls, highlighting the political divide that has fueled a decades-long cycle of inaction on gun violence. At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee that was scheduled before shootings in Atlanta and Boulder that left at least 18 people dead, Democrats argued that the latest carnage left Congress no choice but to enact stricter policies. They lamented the grim pattern of anguish and outrage followed by partisanship and paralysis had become the norm following mass shootings.... Even before the recent shootings, Democrats had already begun advancing stricter gun control measures that face long odds in the 50-50 Senate."
~~~~~~~~~~
Marie: When I wrote a couple of days ago that the country was getting back to normal, I didn't fully comprehend that "normal" meant two mass murders within a week.
Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden's economic advisers are pulling together a sweeping $3 trillion package to boost the economy, reduce carbon emissions and narrow economic inequality, beginning with a giant infrastructure plan that may be financed in part through tax increases on corporations and the rich. After months of internal debate, Mr. Biden's advisers are expected to present the spending proposal to the president and congressional leaders this week, as well as begin outreach to industry and labor groups. On Monday, Mr. Biden's national climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, discussed his infrastructure plans -- and their role in combating climate change -- in a meeting with oil and gas industry executives. Administration officials caution that details remain in flux." An AP story is here.
Sean Sullivan & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration is searching for new ways to stem the surge of migrants at the southern border, dispatching officials to Mexico and Guatemala to seek their governments' help, sending sterner warnings to would-be migrants not to come, and devising alternative pathways to apply for legal entry without showing up in person. The strategies, which administration officials outlined Monday, reflect the growing pressure on President Biden and his advisers to slow the increase in illegal crossings that has accelerated since he took office. Biden is navigating sometimes competing demands: pleas from border lawmakers to more aggressively dissuade would-be migrants, and exhortations from human rights advocates to treat them humanely. The sharpest challenge is how to deal with thousands of children taken into custody under a policy of not turning away unaccompanied minors." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I know the problems seem insurmountable, but it is such a comfort & relief that we have an administration that is trying to the right thing in the right ways instead of what we experience for four years with an administration that knocked itself out to do everything wrong -- and the crueler the better. ~~~
~~~ Stef Kight of Axios: "Exclusive photos from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary overflow facility in Donna, Texas, reveal the crowded, makeshift conditions at the border as the government's longer-term child shelters and family detention centers fill up.... Each of eight 'pods' in the so-called soft-sided facility has a 260-person occupancy, said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who provided the photos to Axios to raise awareness about the situation. But as of Sunday, he said, one pod held more than 400 unaccompanied male minors. Because the Biden administration has restricted media coverage at housing facilities, images like these offer a rare window into conditions." Includes photos. ~~~
~~~ Julia Ainsley, et al., of NBC News: "Border agents in the Rio Grande Valley, the center of the migrant surge, were authorized Saturday to begin releasing adult migrants and families from custody before they have been given dates to appear in court, according to an internal document obtained by NBC News. The move is 'intended to mitigate operational challenges, including risk to national security, during significant surges of illegal migration as currently exist in the Rio Grande Valley' by reducing the time immigrants spend in custody, according to the document. Some immigrants said they were being released without knowing how they would be contacted."
Rebecca Rainey of Politico: "The Senate on Monday confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as Secretary of Labor, clearing him to take the helm of the agency amid historic unemployment and economic uncertainty.... The Chamber voted 68-29 to approve Walsh, a former union leader who enjoyed Republican support for his commitment to working with the business community.... Walsh said during the Monday press conference that he would be traveling to Washington on Tuesday to be sworn in and was officially resigning as Boston mayor that evening.... Unions hailed Walsh's confirmation as a transition to a more worker-friendly Labor Department.... Walsh is the last Cabinet-level official to be confirmed, and the vote followed a blitz of Senate action on Biden's Cabinet nominees in the last few weeks...." ~~~
~~~ Kevin Liptak of CNN: "President Joe Biden is the first president in more than 30 years to have all of his original Cabinet secretary nominees confirmed to their posts.... While Biden did withdraw one nominee that he had designated Cabinet-level -- Neera Tanden, who he had selected as his budget chief -- the people now serving atop all the major administration agencies are his first pick." ~~~
~~~ BUT. Ben LeFebvre of Politico: "The White House has withdrawn its nomination of Elizabeth Klein to become the Interior Department's deputy secretary, as the Biden administration faced push back from Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, sources familiar with the situation said Monday.... Klein is a former Obama administration official and deputy director of the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at the New York University School of Law who focused on renewable energy and climate change issues. The Biden administration pulled her nomination after hearing of opposition coming from Murkowski, a moderate Republican whose vote is crucial to Biden's legislative agenda and who has sought to expand the oil and gas industry in her state, one of the sources familiar with the matter said."
Washington Post Editors: "After Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the regime of Xi Jinping as a 'threat to global stability' and criticized its repression in Hong Kong and Xinjiang province, China's Yang Jiechi responded with a 17-minute tirade that, among other things, advised the United States to 'stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world.'... Mr. Blinken's speech and other tough opening moves by the Biden team were exactly the reset that was needed after the Trump administration's confused and often contradictory treatment of China.... The administration has made clear that its strong opposition to China's human rights abuses and belligerence toward Taiwan and other neighbors does not preclude cooperation on matters of mutual interest.... China and the United States lead opposing camps in a global contest over the future of human governance."
We Are Not Amused. Evan Perez of CNN: "Attorney General Merrick Garland is quietly ushering in a change in tone at the Justice Department, making few public comments and staying out of sight -- and unlike his predecessor -- eschewing commentary about ongoing investigations. That's one reason why an interview by Michael Sherwin, the former acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, discussing his push to use a rarely used sedition law to charge January 6 rioters and the possible culpability of ... Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection, reverberated in the new no-drama Justice Department.... David Laufman, a former Justice prosecutor echoed some of the internal criticism, saying, 'It's flat out improper,' adding 'I don't think it's OK for an [assistant US attorney] to be talking to the media about what charges are appropriate in a case under investigation.' Sherwin didn't get prior approval from his Justice Department bosses before the 60 Minutes interview, according to people briefed on the matter, a break with protocol." See yesterday's Commentariat for links to stories re: Sherwin's remarks. MB: Neal Katyal pointed out on MSNBC that Sherwin was a Trump appointee.
The New York Times synced audio & video of the Capitol insurrection:
Spencer Hsu & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Two months into one of the biggest criminal investigations in U.S. history, prosecutors are preparing to start plea discussions as early as this week with many of the more than 300 suspects charged in the U.S. Capitol riot -- even as investigators race to piece together larger conspiracy cases against those suspected of the most serious crimes, according to people familiar with the discussions. The planned plea talks follow efforts by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which is overseeing the prosecutions, to first create a system for efficiently organizing what they expect will be upward of 400 criminal cases and the growing pile of associated evidence, these people said. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation."
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Although investigators continue to bump into [Roger] Stone as they probe members of the Oath Keepers and of the Proud Boys..., it remains unclear what that means as prosecutors review what, if any, influence Stone, other high-profile right-wing figures or Trump associates had on them.... Five Oath Keepers in ... [recently-filed] photos and court filings are among 10 members and associates charged with conspiring to obstruct Congress's confirmation of the 2020 presidential election results. The Justice Department and FBI are now weighing whether a larger conspiracy case can be made.... Stone, who has consistently said he was not involved in the Capitol riot and did not have advance knowledge of the breach, is not charged and has not been accused of any crime." The article details some of the "cameos" in which Stone has appeared with Proud Boys & Oath Keepers. MB: Because Stone's face is blocked out of some court-filed photos, they have presented a sort of "Is That Roger?" game for reporters.
Divorce in the Time of Sedition. Carly Roman of the Washington Examiner: "Detective Michael Heinl, a 30-year member of the Shaler Township Police Department, filed for divorce from his wife, Jennifer, in February in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, according to records cited by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.... Jennifer Heinl, 55, told the FBI that she traveled to Washington, D.C., alone and participated in the Stop the Steal' rally..., but she denied involvement in the storming of Capitol Hill.... [But] agents reviewing security footage from inside the Capitol Rotunda saw Heinl [there and charged her].... [The man she apparently accompanied to D.C., Kenneth] Grayson was arrested on Jan. 26 on charges of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building; disorderly conduct impeding government business; disruptive conduct in the Capitol building; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol; and obstructing an official proceeding."
Louis DeJoy's Ten-Year Fail Plan. Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will unveil the largest rollback of consumer mail services in a generation as part of his 10-year plan for the U.S. Postal Service..., including longer first-class delivery windows, reduced post office hours and higher postage prices.... DeJoy is expected to emphasize the need for austerity to ensure more consistent delivery and rein in billions of dollars in financial losses, according to the people.... The plan, which he told the panel was eight months in the making, is meant to reset expectations for the Postal Service and its place in the express-shipping market." ~~~
~~~ Marie: There is one thing that in retrospect, we may thank DeJoy for. His "vision" is so grim that it could force Congress to stop making impossible demands of the USPS and start treating the postal service as a vital, Constitutionally-mandated government service. It's true that subsidizing the USPS could put private carriers at a disadvantage they don't currently suffer. But how bad is that? After all, the USPS has obligations these private companies don't have: a stamp costs the same whether you're sending a letter from Brooklyn to Brooklyn or from Brooklyn to an island in Alaska. And by developing partnerships with private carriers, the postal service might not hurt these private entities at all. A USPB board & postmaster general with actual vision could work it all out.
Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Of all Donald Trump's prophecies and predictions ... at least one wasn't entirely wrong. 'Newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I'm not there,' he augured in 2017, 'because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes.' Barely two months into the post-Trump era, news outlets are indeed losing much of the audience and readership they gained during his chaotic presidency.... After a record-setting January, traffic to the nation's most popular mainstream news sites, including The Washington Post, plummeted in February, according to the audience tracking firm ComScore. The top sites were also generally doing worse than in February of last year, when the pandemic became a major international news story.... Yet news organizations plainly benefited from a 'Trump effect' long before the pandemic set in." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Now, if only there were some way to gauge Americans' anxiety level. I can tell you that even though I remain essentially locked in my house after more than a year (tho I'll be getting out more soon) and have the same sort of personal difficulties that we all have over the course of life, I feel so much more relaxed and hopeful than I did for the entire four years Trump had access to the Oval Office. People were reading & watching the news so much for the same reason they slow down to gawk at an accident. Whether a dumpster fire, an auto crash or a train wreck, it's a lot like Donald Trump. ~~~
~~~ Marie BTW: If you are interested in learning about Donald Trump's big plans to start his own social media network, there have been stories about it here and there over the past two days. I guess you could Google them. Because I don't care enough to look 'em up.
Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel & Caitlin Moniz of CREW: "Betsy DeVos[..., Donald Trump's wealthiest cabinet member...,] reported at least $225 million -- and potentially well over $414 million -- in outside income while working as Donald Trump's education secretary, according to an analysis of DeVos's financial disclosures by CREW.... [While a big chuck of Betsy's cash haul came from her family's pyramid scheme Amway,] she maintained a stake in Neurocore, a brain performance company targeting children, and failed to recuse from matters related to the company despite the potential for conflicts of interest. She pledged that her husband would stop making political donations for the duration of her tenure, but he continued to donate throughout the 2018 and 2020 election cycles."
"The Substance of Their Cause." Michael Gerson of the Washington Post faces one true thing about his political party of preference: &"... the case of Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) remains ... instructive and disturbing. Johnson is a Republican who prefers his racism raw...: : Whites who propagate a destructive lie, attack the democratic process and commit violence are Johnson's kind of people; African Americans who protest a history of injustice are a scary horde.... But... Johnson did not face the hygienic repudiation of his party.... Republicans have abolished their ideological police. The reason is simple. After four years of Donald Trump, Johnson's sentiments are not out of the Republican mainstream. They are an application of the prevailing Republican ideology -- that the 'real' America is under assault by the dangerous other.... Under Trump's cover, this has been revealed as the majority position of Republicans.... One of the United States' venerable, powerful political parties has been overtaken by people who make resentment against outsiders the central element of their appeal. Inciting fear is not an excess of their zeal; it is the substance of their cause." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I have felt a little slimy for repeatedly calling the Republican party "the party of racists," even though the evidence is there. There are white Republicans who are not particularly racist, even if few of that ilk hold public office. So I'd like to thank Gerson for giving me "permission" to keep up the slimy work.
Senate Races 2022
Alabama. As If to Make Gerson's Point. Isaac Arnsdorf of ProPublica: "... in hours of right-wing media interviews before and after the deadly insurrection on Jan. 6..., Mo Brooks, the Alabama congressman who is about to launch a campaign for Senate..., repeatedly raised the prospect of violence as a possible response to Donald Trump losing the 2020 presidential election. 'This is pretty much it for our country,' Brooks said in a December podcast interview that has not been previously reported. 'In my judgment, it rivals the election of 1860,' he added, referring to the election of Abraham Lincoln, 'and we saw what ensued from that' -- meaning the Civil War.... Brooks was outspoken in baselessly accusing Democrats of 'stealing' the presidential election and seeking ways to keep Donald Trump in power.... Brooks is set to make his announcement alongside Stephen Miller, the former White House adviser who drove Trump's hardline immigration policies, including family separation. As an aide to then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, Miller frequently drew from white nationalist and white supremacist websites.... On Dec. 2, Brooks became the first member of Congress to say he would object to the Electoral College votes from key states that delivered Biden's victory." MB: I wonder if JeffBo will lend MoBro his Confederate army uniform to set the desired tone from Mo's campaign.
Missouri, Too, Has Choices! Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "Nearly three years ago, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens left the state capitol in disgrace as he faced down two criminal charges, an ethics probe and public fallout over reports that he'd had an affair with a hairdresser and then allegedly tried to blackmail her with nude photos. Now, the criminal charges have been dropped, the ethics case has been closed and Greitens is aiming for a Lazarus-esque comeback. The Republican announced on Fox News on Monday that he will run for the U.S. Senate seat opening next year with the retirement of Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) -- a move that quickly froze out some other GOP figures angling for the seat." MB: Remember that Missouri dumped the solidly middle-of-road Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill for the seditionist Repubican brat Josh Hawley, so we know how this could go.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday said it would review an appeals court's decision that threw out the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of helping carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Last year, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston, upheld Mr. Tsarnaev's convictions on 27 counts. But the appeals court ruled that his death sentence should be overturned because the trial judge had not questioned jurors closely enough about their exposure to pretrial publicity and had excluded evidence concerning Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Dzhokhar's older brother and accomplice.... Lawyers for the federal government urged the Supreme Court to hear the case even though it did not satisfy some of the usual criteria for review.... Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge who now teaches at Harvard Law School, said the Biden administration should consider whether it wants to pursue the appeal, noting that the Trump administration had sought Supreme Court review." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.: "Federal health officials said early Tuesday that results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine may have relied on 'outdated information' that 'may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data,' casting doubt on an announcement on Monday that had been seen as good news for the British-Swedish company as well as the global vaccination drive. In a highly unusual statement released after midnight, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that the data and safety monitoring board, an independent panel of medical experts under the National Institutes of Health that has been helping to oversee AstraZeneca’s U.S. trial, had notified government agencies and AstraZeneca late Monday that it was 'concerned' by information the company had released that morning." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here.
The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Colorado. Richard Lyons of the New York Times: "Colorado has been the scene of a number of multiple fatal shootings in recent years, including these that made national headlines[.]" More on the Boulder mass murder under today's and yesterday's News Ledes.
Georgia. Kate Brumback of the AP: "A man who survived the shooting that killed his wife at an Atlanta-area massage business last week said police detained him in handcuffs for four hours after the attack. Mario Gonzalez said he was held in a patrol car outside the spa. The revelation, in an interview with Mundo Hispanico, a Spanish-language news website, follows other criticism of Cherokee County officials investigating the March 16 attack, which killed four people. Four others were killed about an hour later at two spas in Atlanta. Gonzalez's accusation would also mean that he remained detained after police released security video images of the suspected gunman and after authorities captured that suspect about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Atlanta. Gonzalez questioned whether his treatment by authorities was because he's Mexican."
Illinois. Julie Bosman of the New York Times: "The proposal in Evanston, a lakefront suburb of Chicago, on Monday was both pioneering and rare: a blueprint to begin distributing $10 million in reparations to Black residents of the city in the form of housing grants.... But as the details of how the money would be distributed are beginning to take shape, elected officials, residents and activists for racial equity in the city say they are far from united on the specifics.... In Evanston, the housing grants are more narrowly targeted to residents who can show that they or their ancestors were victims of redlining and other discriminatory 20th-century housing practices in the city that limited the neighborhoods where Black people could live. Eligible applicants could be descendants of an Evanston resident who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969; or they could have experienced housing discrimination because of city policies after 1969." MB: This is the kind of reparations I can support, as it targets specific, provable instances of racist discrimination. So naturally, people don't like it. ~~~
~~~ Dorothy Brown in a New York Times op-ed (March 20): "Black Americans are often unable to build wealth from homeownership in the same way their white peers are, in large part because home prices are generally set by the people who make up the majority of buyers: white Americans. White families typically prefer to live in predominantly white neighborhoods with very few or no Black neighbors. Homes in these neighborhoods tend to have the highest market values because most prospective purchasers -- who happen to be white -- find them most desirable. Black Americans, on the other hand, tend to prefer to live in racially diverse or all-Black neighborhoods.... 'There's a carry-over of the redlining and steering days, before the fair housing laws were passed. So the difference in property values almost tracks 100 percent with the demographics of the area,' said Wayne Early, an Atlanta-based realtor and community economic activist." A CBS News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: In 2000 and again in 2014, I was house-shopping. (A big difference in the two searches was that in the first, I was looking for a fairly large house and in the second for a small house.) My choice location was pretty broad: East Coast. In both instances, my ideal find would have been (1) a stone house (real stone-built, not a stone facade), (2) with some kind of water view, (3) in a racially-diverse neighborhood.In both searches, I could find only two out of three.
News Ledes
The New York Times' live updates of news developments about the mass shooting in a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket are here: "The Boulder Police chief said on Tuesday that a 21-year-old man from a Denver suburb had been charged with 10 counts of murder in the shooting on Monday at a grocery store in Boulder, Colo., that left 10 people dead. Police Chief Maris Herold identified the suspect as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa of Arvada, a suburb of Denver about 20 miles from Boulder. Michael Dougherty, the district attorney in Boulder County, said he had 'lived most of his life in the United States.' Chief Herold said the suspect had been taken into custody with a leg injury but was in stable condition and was expected to be taken to jail later on Tuesday."
New York Times: "Elgin Baylor, the Lakers' Hall of Fame forward who became one of the N.B.A.'s greatest players, displaying acrobatic brilliance that foreshadowed the athleticism of later generations of stars, died on Monday in Los Angeles. He was 86."
New York Times: "George Segal, whose long career began in serious drama but who became one of America's most reliable and familiar comic actors, first in the movies and later on television, died on Tuesday in Santa Rosa, Calif. He was 87."
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Reader Comments (22)
So here I read, "trump appointee", "sedition charges" and before my second cup of coffee kicks in I think, "obfuscation" & "difficult to prove". This guy's throwing gum into the works so nobody gets convicted. Then, these disgusting excuses for 'leaders' can say, "nothing really happened". Or, 'believe what I say, not what you saw'.
Citizen,
Yeah, or he simply wanted to telegraph to his white supremacist, seditionist Trump pals to get their shit together and here's what's coming so be prepared. This is also a great way to rile up the whackos (although riling up doesn't take much, they stay pretty much riled all the time).
This guy needs to be fired immediately because you're right, "Trump appointee" translates easily to "traitor".
AI've got to say that Biden has far outstripped what I expected of him. We all know that no one is really ever ready to be president (some far less than others, such as a certain Orange Traitor), but if there is someone as ready as possible, it's Biden. His years in the Senate, combined with eight years as Vice President in an administration which didn't exile him to the boonies have provided him with a post doc degree in governing. Plus, unlike the Trumpies, who didn't know shit about the government, American history, laws, ethical governance, or how to make ice cubes, Biden has surrounded himself with people who know what government can do and how to do it.
One big problem he is (and will continue to be) running into is the extremists in the Party of Traitors (meaning nearly all of them). He is already being ripped for not delivering on breaking through the hyper-partisan status quo* in DC (last Sunday, George Fuckanopoulos let him have it, to which Biden replied something like "Jesus, I've only been here six weeks!"). But all R's have to do to make sure this is an undeliverable campaign promise is to do what they always do: nothing. Seriously, if they sit on their hands when asked to step up to help constituents reeling from their unforgivably criminal moral indigence during a hundred year plague, they won't vote for anything with a bipartisan stamp on it.
But Biden is doing a good job of promoting HIS relief bill (something Obama didn't do very well). If Democrats play this correctly, they can help candidates going into 2022 elections, but that's a big "if".
Democrats have never been very good with playing out a good hand. They often fold with three of a kind to Republicans who hold nothing but a single high card.
*And speaking of that hyper-partisan status quo, it bears repeating that the hyper part is entirely the responsibility of the Party of Traitors. Nuff said.
SAME AS IT EVER WAS....
In schools, in movie houses, during concerts, on highways and byways, in police raids, and now in a grocery store. Open carry laws make it so much easier. Cognitive dissonance ––and always afterwards the shock! as though we haven't learned anything about prevention and protection.
Last night someone on MSNBC said:
"I can't imagine the grief those in Boulder must be feeling."
I shut the T.V. off and went to bed.
It's still mighty white of them...
As the Justice Department (with "help" from Trump traitors), wades through the piles of insurrectionists and white supremacists who attempted to overthrow the government and install the dictator Trump in an office he lost in a democratic election, it's worth recalling that there has only been one true government overthrow in this country, and it was accomplished by white supremacists.
Wilmington, NC, in the 1890s was an unlikely model of racial peace and (somewhat) equality. There was a thriving black middle class with a decent representation of professionals, doctors, lawyers, business leaders, their own newspaper (an extreme rarity in the south), and even black elected officials. Blacks and whites lived together in mixed neighborhoods, peacefully.
All of this was too much for the Trumps and Ron Johnsons and Proud Boys of those days.
White supremacists staged a violent coup in 1898, murdering dozens of black men, spreading vicious rumors in white owned newspapers about how black men were beasts, liars, and violent rapists looking for white women to defile. After the massacre, blacks and any whites friendly to black equality, were either beaten or killed and all of them were run out of the city. The supremacists took over the government and passed racist laws that stayed on the books until the 1970s.
Police were an essential part of the massacre of black residents. (They're still at it.)
So it's no surprise that a party composed mostly of racists (and if they are not themselves overtly racist, plenty who go along with the racists) would promote, support, then work to normalize an attempt to overthrow the federal government.
And here's the thing: it won't be the last time. The next time might not be as violent, but they're already working day and night to make sure that blacks, and whites friendly to equality (Democrats) have a hard time voting.
It's all mighty white of them.
One more thought this morning...
Fatty pisses on yet another tradition. A good one.
For generations, presidents who leave office, either because their term was up or they were voted out, kept their own counsel and allowed their successor the opportunity to make their own way.
Not Trump. The narcissism is strong with this one. He won't shut up.
He's on Faux, Newsfucks, and OANN non-stop yapping about how "he knew" Biden would slip on those steps, and still blowing smoke about his "stolen" election. Now he's talking about starting his own anti-social media outlet for lies and treason.
This type of crap, by the way, is why so many Roman emperors were killed*, many by their successors.
If you want a chance to do your own thing without some loser running around spreading lies about you and going out of their way to fuck you up, well...when in Rome.
And to any R trolls out here, or FBI Trump pals, yeah, it's a joke.
*Over 80 Roman emperors were assassinated.
PD,
They left out "thoughts and prayers".
@AK: "the party of traitors" folded up their cards some time ago and let the chips lay dormant. When enough people vote for Q's and disgraced repubs then wees gots ourselves a party whose punch bowl overflows with something a lot stronger than kool- aid. You have rightly said " Democrats have never been very good at playing a good hand..." Yes– but I think Democrats have gotten a firmer spine after seeing what four years of "fresh hell" delivered–- and maybe–-just maybe, we will be celebrating the Biden administration years from now as one of the great achievements of the 21st century.
I have to think big today in order to quell my anger.
I could not listen to the "thoughts and prayers" one more minute. I am fully aware that we could have massacres every other day and the people in charge would be expressing shock. Someone last night did say people should just stop with the "shock talk." It is no longer shocking. Just as the mental and social and real-time injustices being perpetrated by the Party of Traitors, or GQP, are not surprising in the least. After January 6, nothing seems impossible.
We are so lucky to have a Frrreeeeeedom loving party like the Party of Racists and Traitors to make sure that every mass murderer wannabe has access to weapons like AR-15s. What would we do without them?
Live?
Jeanne,
GQP. Exactly. A party that has wed itself irrevocably to violent, conspiracy-mongering crazy people. A party that puts these people up for election, then supports their vile, democracy hating insanity. Anything to whip up the whackos against an opposing party that believes in truth, fact, science, equality...America.
This is a party whose media shills are frothing at the mouth thinking of watching with glee, a former KGB agent now running Russia, beat up an American president. And rooting for the Russian.
They very recently bowed low before a treasonous liar who promoted America First. That’s never been the case. What he, and they, meant (and mean) is Me First.
Doh!
Poor Fatty. He’s having a yuuuuge sad because that awful Joe Biden, who stole his crown, like, illegally too!, goes on the TV and gets nothing but “softball questions”, when he, poor Donald, used to get hammered on Fox by questions like “How does it feel to be the greatest president in history?” and “Can normal mortals ever be as smart as you, oh mighty Donald?”
Hahaha. The only thing missing with this sad pile of insensate flab is a sign on his fat ass inviting passersby to “Kick me”. Does Melanie have an “I’m with stupid” T-shirt in her many closets hanging next to the “I really don’t care” jacket?
https://mobile.twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/1374058891651211265
And on a lighter note: the Mormons being sued by one of their chosen winners, https://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/03/23/james-huntsman-files/. This pretty much says it. The Mormons are likely more well-armed than any single group other than the Nazi/Proud boys. Throughout the West this church of followers and annointed winners has been making sure things like the historic success of women in Wyoming isn't repeated, https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/list-firsts-wyoming-women. Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Colorado LDS have untaxed resources to sour the political process. Though, it is a bit ironic that people who call themselves Latter Day Saints should take it upon themselves to postumously baptize The Chosen people. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/mormons-holocaust-victims-baptism-lds-church. One person's cult is another's religion. Tax'em all and tax the individual's doing the tithing.
Somehow it's "never the right time" to discuss the senseless slaying of innocents. Perhaps Colorado can declare a "Firearms Appreciation Week", with a 25% rebates on assault rifles instead?
Moscow Mitch is really, really skeeered.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/23/mitch-mcconnell-senate-filibuster-reform-nuclear-winter-democrats-republicans
A better take on the odious Thoughts ‘n Prayers bullshit
https://youtu.be/tkD4xSqNVII
In Maryland, it's perfectly legal to own and use a high capacity magazine for your assault rifle.
However, it is illegal to buy, sell, give or receive one.
However, if you drive to Virginia you can buy as many as you wish and bring them home.
However, If you hand one of them to your neighbor saying "Happy Birthday, Butch" and he accepts it, you and he are both criminals.
Unless, however, you both jump in a car, drive across the Potomac, you then hand it to Butch on the other side of the bridge, make a u-turn and drive home -- then it's all perfectly legal.
Besides:
Article Two: Armed vigilantes being necessary to the security of slaveholders, the right of white people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
“Don’t believe a word that comes out of my mouth!”
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ex-trump-lawyer-reasonable-people-wouldn-t-accept-her-fraud-n1261827
Ps. “But I still believe it!”
Wink wink
NiskyGuy,
So, boiled down, the "insanity defense" yet again.... because...as the saying goes.... that's all they have.
(Or maybe I'm missing the finer points of their argument.)
PD,
Your latest post:
Brilliant. Thanks.
I think PD’s restatement of the second amendment is spot on.