Just in case you wondering whether the NRA has any moral basement — they don’t:
The ad, posted to the NRA’s Stand and Fight website, criticizes Obama for opposing the NRA’s proposal of increasing the number of armed guards in schools as a way to prevent shootings like the Sandy Hook massacre.
“Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” asks the voiceover on the ad. “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?” It continues, “Mr. Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security. Protection for their kids and gun-free zones for ours.”
Yes. President Obama wants to protect only his daughters. In fact, he wants his daughters to be the last girls standing.
This is just stupid.
[via MSNBC]
[cross-posted at ABLC]
Ted & Hellen
In what way did this NRA ad “GO AFTER Obama’s daughters?”
Nemo_N
Just a reminder that the “gun debate” can not be other than a circus when one side is filled with sociopaths.
JWL
I held Ronald Reagan in contempt. But when Nancy was attacked for … well, whatever the hell it was for- drapes in the White House, or some such bullshit- it offended me. I rose to her defense.
The NRA are scum. And I mean each and every member. Fuck ’em ALL.
JCT
The stench of desperation is thick.
Couple this to the article on the Sandy Hook guy being besieged by conspiracy theory stooges and you have a delightful picture of the true lunatic right wing.
They should be at the top of Wayne LaPierre’s mental health list. And then all their guns should be confiscated.
piratedan
yeah, because he’s not really the President, his family doesn’t need the protection unlike all of those OTHER legitimate Presidents. Because the country is like a woman who’s being raped, we have ways of shutting all that down so that no undesirables hold the office.
srv
Surely he can train his daughters to rush and overpower any potential Jihadi.
arguingwithsignposts
I don’t predict this will have the effect the NRA desires.
Also, fuck off troll&headcheese.
ulee
We are now cross posted instead of reading full post. What I want to know is, what is your major malfunction, ABL?
halteclere
Hey, my kids are also be prime kidnap material. Just because I’m not the most powerful man in the world does not mean that evil nations don’t want leverage on me, too. I mean, with enough pressure, I could tell these bad guys how to avoid paying their tolls! Just think of the consequences!
ruemara
@ulee: For the bajillionth time, COLE himself told her to do things this way.
Wag
The NRA is full of scared little WATB guys who can’t deal with reality.
And the sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
And according to the NRA the President is a nearer.
hitchhiker
The president’s daughters are in danger 24/7 because the country is full of racist nutcases who are armed, thanks to the NRA. And now the NRA wants to mock the president for needing to protect his daughters from the racist nutcases who would like nothing better than to make Obama suffer and pay the price for being all uppity and lazy and socialist and Kenyan?
The NRA has just guaranteed that the president is going to take them down. And we get to watch.
Avery Greynold
If Obama’s daughters had protection just because they were in school, they might have some logic here, but really now, they have 24/7 protection as specific terrorist targets. But to embrace NRA logic, ALL children should have armed guards 24/7. Schools, parks, malls, streets, doctor’s offices, baby sitting, etc.
scav
Could the Rapture have taken place and instead of souls all the hinges have been spirited away, leaving the broken minds behind on this terrestial plane? Our Hinge Who Art Left the
Building? They’ve seriously lost the plot and/or connection to even nominal humanity.
Arm The Homeless
As a commenter earlier mentioned, this is simply a ploy to try and trip up Obama while trying the change the debate. The shit-stain @ #1not withstanding, it’s a ploy which will most definitely not resonate with most people who have two neurons to rub together.
I would like to advise the NRA to keep it up, it makes it easier to mock their supporters when their loudest voice comes across as unhinged and dangerous to a peaceful society.
Hill Dweller
@piratedan: Also, too, Secret Service protection is automatic for every President, rendering their personal opinion on the matter irrelevant. It’s hard to be a hypocrite when you don’t have a say in the decision.
The NRA is flailing.
WaterGirl
@hitchhiker: Let me search my drawer for the note I wrote to myself quite some time ago…
:: searches :: Oh, here it is.
Do not seriously piss off President Obama. And do not fuck with his family. It will not end well for you..
SatanicPanic
Next they’ll be asking why we can’t all ride on Air Force One and live in the White House.
Villago Delenda Est
The reason the President’s family has Secret Service protection is because cowardly scum will go after the family to get to the President, if they don’t have the protection.
You know, cowardly scum. Like the NRA.
ulee
@ruemara: Seems a bit inconsistant. Is Zandar given the same consideration? Perhaps he is and I’ve missed it. He is a much better writer. I just find it annoying that other front pagers aren’t offered the same consideration.
Anya
David Gregory’s next question: What do you make of the NRA’s new ad criticizing the president for arranging secret service protection for his children while apposing armed guards in public schools? Do they have a point?
Maybe Chuck Schumer will intorduce a Senate resolution condemning the NRA.
Strandedvandal
@ulee: Write Cole an email and ask him. He loves that shit.
WaterGirl
@ulee: Forget about it, ulee. It’s Chinatown.
Or, as I like to say, it is what it is. There are more important battles to be waged. :-)
Arm The Homeless
Ulee, are you new or just a liar? Betty has most of her writing here cross-posted at Rumproast you silly twit.
Mike E
This is what losing looks like.
ulee
Whatever, I shouldn’t even care about this, but ABL’s writing is mediocre while Levenson writes the paper that walls the room. I’ll let it go. I’m sure I’ll be blasted for my opinion.
Anya
@Avery Greynold: If Obama’s kids had armed guards in Chicago when he was just a US Senator from Illinois then they’ll have a point.
Sly
I see a middle-ground on this that everyone should be able to support:
When every NRA member agrees to undergo the months of upfront training that is required of Secret Service agents before they start the job, and additionally agrees to perform the weekly training regimen that includes hours of firearms training that is required of Secret Service agents in order to keep the job, they can have their Man Cards back and even keep them.
WaterGirl
@ulee: Everybody gets blasted when they raise this issue. :-) It’s not personal.
Arm The Homeless
Then start your own fucking blog and stop whining about staffing decisions here. But I did enjoy your preemptive self-martyrdom. It was cute
ulee
@Arm The Homeless: Betty is also a better writer than ABL. Does she get “full post?”
Ash Can
Personal note here: Susan Ford was a classmate of mine in undergrad. I sat next to her numerous times in American Government class, and she was a delightful, IntellIgent, down-to-earth person. And you’d better goddamned believe that there were big guys in black suits stationed in the hall outside the classroom, and if they weren’t packing then Susan’s dad’s administration should ALL be held responsible for dereliction of duty. In other words, armed SecSvc guards for presidential offspring are SOP and have been for a while, and I suspect the NRA may have directed its vaunted firepower prowess at its own flat feet this time.
gnomedad
I fully support individual Secret Service protection for all students, financed by funds diverted from Death Star construction.
Arm The Homeless
WTF are you whining about now? Betty writes at whatever length she wishes, and then posts all of it at RR as well. No points awarded, go sit in the corner.
ruemara
@ulee: It is fair to have an opinion. However, the standards that Cole agrees upon with the bloggers he invites are up to him.
Alison
@ulee: Ulee, what you might be “blasted” for is complaining about the same shit so many other people complain about all the time. I think you are a relatively new commenter around here so maybe you don’t know it, but on almost every single post from ABL, there are people who whine about the cross-posting, about her chosen subjects, about her language, about EVERYTHING. It’s been done to death, and it’s utterly pointless. If you don’t like one of the FPer’s writing, it’s pretty simple: skip their posts. What’s the point of commenting on someone’s post just to say “I don’t like your writing style/posting style/gif usage/etc”? It’s like going to a restaurant and telling the chef that you don’t like the dishes the people at the next table ordered. So pick something else from the menu. Not so hard.
ulee
Arm. It’s just an opinion. You’re not cute but you do whine.
scav
@Arm The Homeless: yeah, she and Bernard are quite the double-act tonight.
arguingwithsignposts
ITT: one half comments about the substance, one half comments from people who have nothing better to do than shit all over other people’s threads.
Mark S.
I don’t have any kids, but I’d rather they go to a school where guns aren’t allowed than one where there are a bunch of yokels armed with assault rifles and NRA memberships. But I also haven’t spent the last twenty years inhaling paint and listening to talk radio, so maybe I just don’t get it.
Arm The Homeless
@Ash Can: This, a bazillion fucking times, this!
Pretending that POTUS’s family is not a major fucking target is not only niave but when applied solely to the first AA president is sickening in its implications.
eemom
@ulee:
I’ll go you one better in terms of being blasted.
The topic of this post is an utterly disgusting, sickening act/statement by utterly disgusting sickening people.
It is going to have ZERO effect on anything that anyone cares about. (Indeed, in this case it is so reprehensible that it is most like to backfire on such people.) That is true of about 90% of what ABL posts about here.
Arm The Homeless
@ulee: Ah, yes, the ” I know you are, but what am I? ” right gambit. Brilliant!
Here’s yer sign…
RobertDSC-iMac G5
Please proceed, NRA.
My solution: a couple of Tomahawk missile strikes on NRA headquarters when LaPierre is confirmed to be in the building.
Fuck these motherfuckers sideways.
Arm The Homeless
Superfluous ” right” in there, sorry for any confusion.
gwangung
@ulee: Stop projecting, kid. It doesn’t look nice.
Arm The Homeless
@scav: whiners gotta whine, trolls gotta troll. They are forced by the momentum of their ideology, or so I have been told.
ulee
@Alison: Alison. Cole can do what he wants. It’s none of my business. It’s an editorial decision I disagree with. But I’m not the editor. I do know good writing when I read it.
Alison
@ulee: You don’t have to agree with it, sure, but what’s the point of voicing the disagreement? Also…”good writing”? I mean, come on. This isn’t a novel, it’s a simple “hey, look at this fucked up thing” blog post. We’re not the damn Pulitzer board here.
ulee
gwang. Go fuck yourself, kid.
eemom
@Alison:
um, most of the other FPers here get beaten on too, all the time, for some of those same things and for others and no one seems to think that’s any kind of outrage.
“If you don’t like it don’t read it” is up there with “don’t feed the trolls” and “if you can’t say something nice about someone…” in terms of practical advice on a blog.
Arm The Homeless
@ulee: Now you’re getting how this place works. So fuck yourself as well.
eemom
@ulee:
I like the cut of your guts.
Narcissus
@ulee:
What does this even mean
Alison
@eemom: Yeah, some of the others get a lot of crap, like Bernard I guess, but come on. ABL gets way more of it, and the criticism toward her tends to be way more personal. It’s one thing to actually disagree with the content of a post, with the ideas or the beliefs in it or whatever, but this “OMGZ STOP CROSS POSTING” stuff is just silly. And I stand behind “don’t read it if you don’t like it” – there are certain topics that get covered here that I don’t give half a fuck about, so…I don’t read those posts, and I sure don’t spend time commenting on them just to say HEY GUYS I DON’T LIKE THIS. Because who gives a shit?
arguingwithsignposts
Fucking meta comments, every goddam time.
Mnemosyne
@eemom:
Huh? People always pipe up to defend Soonergrunt, Tom, and Zandar against their trolls.
Though I think today’s reaction is less outrage and more, “Really, this shit again?”
ulee
@Alison: The point of voicing my disagreement is that ABL writes her posts with the addendum-FULL POST HERE- which links to her own blog. Isn’t it enough to be on Cole’s blog, like all the other front pagers? Does she have to self promote to such an obvious level and when someone expresses some disagreement she then “cross posts,” which is pretty transparent stuff. Why not just be grateful to be on John Cole’s blog and cross post instead of saying full post here. She shouldn’t have done it and now she is trying to correct it by not acknowledging it.
Arm The Homeless
@Alison: Lonely people with more horded newspapers than common sense. Losers like that need any affirmation they can get, otherwise it’s just them and the voices in their heads.
Redshift
Yes, NRA, when you have people who are known likely targets for attack, and cost is virtually no object, you can protect them with people with guns.
As soon as they advocate for funding for personal bodyguards for all children (and adults — the adult Obamas have Secret Service protection too!), then they can call it a serious counter-proposal and we can decide which is more effective and cost-efficient. Until then, they’re just trolling at about the level of a z-grade wingnut blogger.
Mnemosyne
@ulee:
Either you’re newer here than I thought or you’re pretending not to know that Cole has said SEVERAL TIMES that this is his specific and explicit deal with ABL.
If you don’t like that Cole gave ABL a specific and explicit deal that the other posters don’t have, take it up with him.
Arm The Homeless
@ulee: Read the cross-post, it’s the same exact article, you whiner. Damn, you’re fucking dumb AND lazy.
Evolving Deep Southerner
God damn. Good crowd here tonight. Fuck. Lighten up, Francises.
eemom
@Mnemosyne:
ummm……and people DON’T pipe up to defend ABL??
ulee
@Mnemosyne: I did not know that. I think it is lame but I’m ignorant for not knowing this.
handsmile
Watch out for exploding crania from NRA leaders and their Congressional confederates (as well as much consternation from Village pearl-clutchers) when the President delivers this message in this manner later today:
“Barack Obama is to step up pressure on Congress to act on gun violence by surrounding himself with schoolchildren from across the country when he unveils proposals on Wednesday aimed at preventing a repeat of the Newtown massacre.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/15/obama-newtown-gun-control-agenda
Bronco Bama, indeed!
Also too, from TPM tonight I learn that Edwin Meese is still alive and capable of croaking the no doubt heavily-medicated or lubricated opinion that Obama can be impeached for Executive orders on gun safety.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/01/impeach-obama-guns-edwin-meese.php
Alison
@ulee: So, let’s see. We either get you as a depressive moper who we all spend hours attempting to placate and lend emotional support to, or we get you as a needlessly whiny asshole who is seriously overreacting to something that has been repeatedly noted on this blog as being the way the fucking blog owner wants it.
Seriously, dude. Just stop. You need some perspective.
ulee
Arm–the cross post being identical isn’t the point. It’s the self promotion you dumbass.
Mandalay
@ulee:
You are so on the money. I know exactly what you mean. It’s a fucking outrage. Most nights I can’t sleep because of the injustice of it all. I keep trying to believe that we are heading towards a better and fairer society, then things like this come along and destroy my faith in human nature.
So I went to the doctor and he diagnosed my problem…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MQrEwYxZW4&feature=player_detailpage
Imani Gandy (ABL)
@ulee: when i don’t feel like writing a pithy summary, i’ll cross-post. “cross-post” means, it’s cross-posted.”read full post” means go read the full post at my blog (or don’t.)
it’s really not that difficult a concept, and as you’ve been told, it’s my deal with cole. this month i started doing the pithy summary thing to see how it works, so you can get the gist of the post without exerting yourself and clicking a link.
if you have a problem with it, email cole. he loves when people do that.
Arm The Homeless
Ah, so Betty posting her cross-link to RR is different how?
ulee
@Alison: Alison. I see you as a creepy apologist who complains about who isn’t in with the in crowd. You’re in, babe. Congratulations.
Redshift
Congrats, everyone, you’ve made our whiny troll the subject of the thread, just like he wanted.
eemom
@Alison:
Wow. That’s pretty brutal for someone who purported to be concerned with someone else’s life or death mental health issues — and all because that person gave some shit to a FPer that is no worse — indeed, far less nasty — than other FPers receive on a regular basis without so much as an eyebrow being raised.
Redshift
@eemom:
Yeah, cause arguing with them is exactly like saying “Writing bad! Why are you allowed to be here?”
Such substance! So compelling!
Mnemosyne
@eemom:
Okay, now I don’t know what the hell it was you were trying to say, because it sounded like you were trying to claim that all of the front-pagers get thumped on but people only pipe up to defend ABL when in fact plenty of people pipe up to defend the front-pagers I named and more.
eemom
@Redshift:
To carry on with my thesis here, how is that different from the fate of any other troll on any other thread?
Arm The Homeless
@Redshift: It’s a sickness, I admit.
In penance, I offer the blog gods this piece of ‘Muricana
ulee
@Imani Gandy (ABL): Imani, I don’t really care. It’s just when you write SEE FULL POST, it’s pretty obvious you are promoting your own blog. I don’t care. Jesus, it was just an observation. Keep doing it or don’t. I think it’s lame but that’s just my opinion.
SatanicPanic
@Redshift: I don’t know if it occurred to them that Obama has never made the case that guns are always bad in all situations. I mean, if they want to go even more out there into crazy town, they could say “Hey, Oblamo is commander in chief of the military, he’s letting them keep their guns, HIPPOCRIT!”
eemom
@Mnemosyne:
My point was that there’s a “how dare you attack ABL” mentality which is different from simply defending a FPer from an attack on the merits. Other FPers get the latter but not the former.
ulee
@Redshift: The last refuge of a whiny troll is to call someone else a whiny troll. Don’t you see that you are trolling? Maybe someday you’ll understand.
Alison
@ulee: The fuck are you talking about? Apologist for who? And don’t call me babe, you condescending jerk.
Jeez, you are a real piece of work.
The prophet Nostradumbass
It’s pretty simple. If you’re interested in reading ABL’s posts, but are annoyed by the way they’re cross posted, subscribe to the ABLC RSS feed and read the posts there, and don’t click on them here. If you are just bitching for the sake of complaining, or have some weird personal problem with here, you can always skip the posts. They’re pretty easy to spot, whether you use the RSS feed, or the front page. Same goes for Betty Cracker’s posts and Rumproast.
Gex
(Reposted from last thread which now looks dead)
Hey all,
Long, long day. It was day two on the ventilator and we just didn’t see the improvements we needed to see. I’m pretty sure we’ll be extubating her tomorrow. And of course after that, you don’t know what will happen or how long it will take.
I know I detailed some of the difficulties I have with her and her love of stand up comedy. But I am really grateful I was able to give her the opportunity to pursue it.
She was horribly abused as a child. Her mother divorced her father and married a sociopath that raped her between the ages of 5 and 15. I’ve no doubt that he is continuing to victimize her with this cancer. Early sexual activity is a risk factor, and if it wasn’t that it was her inability to get the annual exams that would have headed this off much earlier, before it metastasized.
In 2008, she quit the office job she hated. She didn’t want to be part of the problem anymore, working for Wells Fargo. I’m so grateful I was able to support her and that she spent her last years doing something that she truly, passionately loved.
Things happened so quickly this weekend. It looked like we were turning a corner towards recovery when the port infection took over and she took a sudden turn. Even though I lived in that room with her for almost two weeks, we didn’t have the conversation you’d like to have if you get the chance before a loved one dies.
And I’m okay with that. Beyond supporting her in comedy, the cancer months also provide me with a peace of mind on that front. I know that I could not have done one single thing better when caring for her during her cancer treatments. There isn’t anything I could have said last week that would do a better job of showing her how much I love her. I’m glad I will not have to wonder about that and that I won’t have any regrets over it.
Such a strange place to be in. This isn’t done, but there’s nothing left for me to do. Real life continues moving right along out there somewhere, but I haven’t been in it for a while. I will have to return to it. The idea of trying to catch up when I am so depleted is stressful. I’m glad I don’t have to do that just yet.
My communications have abrupt stops these days. When my brain is done, it is done. It’s done now.
arguingwithsignposts
@ulee:
I do not think that phrase means what you think it means.
Alison
@eemom: Well, when the person – who I *was* concerned about – suddenly starts acting like an asshole over something that is so entirely not a big deal at all, I’m not going to shy away from saying “hey, stop being an asshole”. Depression is not an excuse to be rude. And I can feel sympathy for someone while also wishing they weren’t being purposely rude and annoying.
Arm The Homeless
@eemom: In the end, Cole and ABL get the page clicks, and cute animals with sad stories get the help they deserve. Telling trolls to get bent is simply gravy. Let’s keep the pepper perspective of what this place is for, ok?
? Martin
@ulee:
Yes you do. You wrote 12 comments about it. 1/7th of all the ones posted in this topic.
But I support having Cole apologize to you for letting ABL fuck up your private blog.
Cmm
@ulee:
FFS if the other front pagers are in any way bothered by this, I am sure they can make their feelings known without you to speak for them. They didn’t get to be front pagers by keeping their opinions to themselves after all. This is John’s site, after all, he gets to run it Any wayhe wants to. If you don’t like it, be sure to cancel your subscription and demand your money back. Oh, wait…
Mandalay
@Imani Gandy (ABL):
It really is as though these folks believe that their internet bill increases, or their mouse gets worn out, if they have to click a link. Or maybe they are so important that they cannot afford to spare the two seconds to link to another site?
I just don’t get it. Why does having to click a link cause so much (apparently genuine) outrage? A competent psychologist would be in seventh heaven going through some of the threads here.
Arm The Homeless
Pepper=proper
arguingwithsignposts
@Gex: I was posting when you must have posted your update. You have my deepest sympathies. I again wish peace upon you and your mate, and the situation resolves in a way that is best.
Redshift
@eemom:
If you’re on a blog that doesn’t ban people, you can either try to ignore the trolls, or you can have a blog where the topic is the trolls whenever they want it to be (like it is on this thread.)
I have no trouble skipping over FP’ers that I find uninformative and annoying, like Bernard and whatisname who used to be here, Freddie. If someone else can’t, I have no problem with them arguing against their points, but posting comments that say nothing but “why is this writing in my face” when you clicked on the link that put it in your fucking face, then that’s just trolling.
Ignoring trolls is hard, that’s why they’re so destructive. Skipping posts is not hard at all. If someone actually wants to, that is.
eemom
@Redshift:
Not sure what you mean. I didn’t say “bad writer” or “why are you here” was compelling or had substance. My only point is that it’s no worse than the kinds of things that are said to other FPers. I should know; I’ve said them.
Alison
@Gex: Gex…I wish I knew what to say. I am so very sorry for the pain you’re both going through. I don’t know the right words, and maybe there aren’t any, but we’re all thinking of you.
Alexandra
*pops corn*
Redshift
@Arm The Homeless:
You are forgiven.
Gex
I also realized on the way home from the hospital today that THIS is the year Minnesota is likely to pass marriage equality.
Mike in NC
The FBI should declare fucking Wayne LaPierre to be “Public Enemy #1” and force him to ditch his $900K job to run and hide. Put a price on that bastard’s head. Dead or Alive.
scav
@Gex: Thanks for the update amidst everything else you’ve got to deal with. The best to both of you.
? Martin
Yes, they are. If some jackass kidnaps my kids, the leader of the free world isn’t likely to give up the nuclear codes to get them back.
ulee
Oh my god, OK, guys, I, like, really dont care. It was just, like, a comment, and you guys are like ready to build a citadel. You are all really reasonable, but Alison, is like, really, defensive. I think they call that projection. Whatever.
Mnemosyne
(Reposted from below, too)
@Gex:
I’m so sorry, Gex. I know you guys have been fighting this thing hard.
The only advice I will give you is to go ahead and say whatever else it is you need to say, even if you think she’s unconscious and can’t hear you. I’m convinced that my dad was able to hear us up until the end even though he couldn’t communicate anymore.
Many {{{{hugs}}}}.
Imani Gandy (ABL)
@ulee:
You have an odd way of showing it.
Arm The Homeless
@Gex: I ain’t real good with empathy, but for whatever it’s worth, I send much mojo your way, and thanks for ripping your heart out in real-time, it’s given me some perspective.
Imani Gandy (ABL)
@Gex: I’m very sorry for what you’re going through. My deepest sympathies.
handsmile
@eemom:
It may not be any “different from the fate of any other troll on any other thread,” but wouldn’t you admit that it’s been an epic capture here: of 101 comments (as I write this), 69 are related to ulee or “meta comments.”
Ulee:
You should know that I wrote a reply to you at the end of John Cole’s “Open Thread” tonight.
ETA: Ah! How good to hear from Gex.
TS
@ulee:
p.o. ulee – I am too old and set in my ways to say it out loud but also too f.u.
eemom
@Gex:
Yesterday I was at the funeral of my best friend’s mother. It was a Catholic service. As I have said many times, I detest the Catholic church as an institution. But there was one part of the service I really, really liked: where everyone turns to the people around them and shakes their hands and says “Peace be with you.” I thought, there is really no greater good you can wish for anyone than that.
Peace be with you.
Redshift
@eemom: My point is that saying “why are you allowed to be here?” is worse than what’s said to most other FPers, even by you. Letting a writer have it with both barrels because of something they wrote is responding to what they wrote, which is the purpose of comments. Complaining about their posting at all, and when pressed, adding substance-free complaints like “I know good writing” that never give any evidence they’ve read a word of it, yeah, that’s worse, because it’s just about the person, not about the content.
Alison
@ulee: I’m going to try to engage here in good faith, but as I noted in (I believe) my first reply, it’s not simply what you said, but the fact that it has been said over and over again on ABL’s posts, people have been told by JC that he wants it this way, and to stop making a thing out of it. So it’s just frustrating to see the same old canard come up yet again.
Where was I being “defensive”? And projection of what, exactly?
Mandalay
@Mike in NC:
Not cool at all.
Steeplejack
@Mandalay:
Fix’d.
RobertDSC-iMac G5
Funny, that was the thing I first rejected before leaving the Church several years ago. I would refuse to participate in that part of the proceedings, sitting down and hanging my head in silence. It was something I never could believe in, especially with the goings-on in the world.
That said, best to you and yours, Gex. Sending good thoughts your way.
ulee
@Imani Gandy (ABL): Imani, I just got dragged into an elongated conversation. It’s not a big deal. Really. Keep on with you deal with Cole if it feels right. It’s none of my business. I was just making a comment and it turned into a thread. Apparently there is some outrage that I think that Zandar is a better writer than you and does not get the same consideration. Sounds like you’ve got a good deal.
Cmm
As for the actual post topic, just as the far right nuts only hurt themselves when they p start explaining how you can’t get pregnant from legitimate rape, you see how much damage the decades inside the bubble only listening to each other has done. They have no idea how insane what they think are slam dunk debating points sound to the rest of the world.
Since we haven’t been soaking in 10 years of “gun free zones” being spoken as a sneering epithet, “protection for their kids, gun free zones for everyone else” sounds about right.
Please proceed, Mr. LaPierre.
Glyph_2112
I was going to blast the NRA, but realized I was on the wrong thread. Apparently this is a very important discussion on having to click on a link. Ummm, I don’t have an opinion on that but promise to give it my full attention.
handsmile
@eemom:
What a truly lovely comment with which to end my tumults today on the Intertubes.
From an ex-Catholic who fully shares your sentiment on that ritual:
Peace be with you.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@eemom:
my mom goes to a Presbyterian church, and they do something very similar on most Sundays.
Redshift
@Gex: Aww. All I can say is it sounds like you were good for each other for the time you have had, and you have all the sympathy I can offer.
eemom
@RobertDSC-iMac G5:
Well, I guess I had a different perspective because it was such a new thing to me. In Greek Orthodox services, the closest we come is an interlude where you’re not allowed to smash something over someone else’s head.
Allan
@ulee: Derailing troll is derailing. What about the topic makes you so anxious to change the subject? Does your basement have a scale model of the White House with bulls-eyes painted all over it?
TS
@Gex:
Dear Gex – your comments from the heart over the past week bring us back to the real sadness of life – and the happiness of a partner we love regardless of what the future holds.
So many folks are sending hopes and wishes your way at this time – it may not help – but is is there
Gex
@Redshift: Fourteen years. We got asked about it a lot. Straight people find that to be very impressive these days!
gwangung
@ulee: Dude, you’re being an ass. And people are telling you that you’re being an ass. And you’re behaving the way you’re accusing others of behaving–projecting.
If you don’t like being told that, either don’t post or change your behavior.
Cmm
Bitch, pleez. One doesn’t get “dragged into a conversation” in real life outside of mobster movies, let alone when typing on a screen.
TS
And the NRA – not a great idea to attack the President’s family – it will never get a positive result – nor the one you may be looking for. A lot of people with sympathy for the gun owners just changed sides
Gex
A couple things I want to add.
1) I truly looked forward to being able to get back here and post these things and connect with the Juicers.
2) Today I learned that it is the simple act of people taking the time to reach out to you and say something kind is really tremendously helpful and meaningful.
ulee
@Alison: You know what, Alison? I don’t think you realize the reality of our lives. So I’ll parrot what you said to me–I don’t know if you’re looking for attention or if you’re lonely—that was after I tried to hang myself. You know, people do hang themselves. So I’m fine now but your perspective on things is zero.
Ted & Hellen
It’s weird how some people try to imply that Cole hates getting emails.
He gets them all the time and answers a lot of them.
Redshift
@Gex: LOL
Edo
@Gex: It’s closing on the first anniversary of my father’s death from cancer. We were nowhere near as close as you two were, but I know what it is to lose somebody without a final conversation.
I’ve been told that I can be eloquent, but I can’t be tonight. All my sorrows, Gex, and all my prayers.
All of my sympathy, from one without words to better offer it.
Edo
I’ve been told that I can be eloquent, but I can’t be tonight. All my sorrows, Gex, and all my prayers.
All of my sympathy, from one without words to better offer it.
ulee
@gwangung: I can post and you can change your behavior.
Darkrose
@Gex: Thanks for letting us know. I wish I could think of something deep to say, but since I can’t, just know we’re all thinking about you.
/hugs if you want ’em
scav
@eemom: Oddly, the one bit I had a similar response to is at the Othodox service where those that trooped to communion bring chunks of bread back for the rest of us and it was real bread too, once in a while soaked in wine. No idea if its official or a local tradition, was just a nice touch (and provides sustenence when they do go on a bit sometimes).
WaterGirl
@eemom: @Alison:
I gotta say I’m with eemom on this one.
Edo
I’ve been told that I can be eloquent, but I can’t be tonight. All my sorrows, Gex, and all my prayers.
All of my sympathies, and I wish I had better words to offer them.a
Evolving Deep Southerner
@Gex: I am so sorry. Don’t know you at all, but I am. Peace be upon you.
Cmm
Gex, I am so sorry for your situation and so glad you have no regrets about the care you gave to your partner. I am embarrassed to admit that, coming late to these updates and not having seen other posts by you, I had assumed you were male, by default, since your partner was explicitly referred to as “she,” and I am gay myself. How deep the heteronormative conditioning goes. I am so sorry you did not get the chance to make your union “official” but the thousands of caring decisions you and she made for each other over the years are what determines a relationship’s strength and validity, not a judge or a clerk.
I wish peace to you and a peaceful resolution for her.
Alison
@ulee: Dude, I am honestly asking: looking for attention about what? I was responding to things you said with explanations as to why people might not want to hear it, why I felt it wasn’t necessary, etc. I really do not see how that translates to “attention seeking”. I truly don’t.
And yes, I know people kill themselves. I have, in fact, known people who have done so. That is why I did try to reach out to you before with support.
But I really don’t get where you’re coming from now, saying I’m looking for attention and projecting. All I’m doing is responding to you.
As for “not knowing the reality of our lives” – well, same to you, you know? My life has been really fucking shitty for the past couple of years, due to severe illness and my entire world getting turned upside down because of it. You don’t have a monopoly on pain and difficulty, as should be obvious if only by our friend Gex’s situation. So if you want people to realize that they don’t necessarily know the “reality” of your life, you should do the same.
JordanRules
@ulee: This is the type of drama that this blog does better than most not to promote. A big reason I come here. You seem to be bringing some ill subliminals that are hella dysfunctional and disruptive.
Quick pivot shall we…How do you feel about the topic of the post?
Alison
@Gex: You speak the truth, no doubt about it.
Darkrose
@eemom:
This made me laugh so loudly I scared the cats.
Ted & Hellen
Is it at all possible that Ulee is DougJ?
Either way, Salute!
Gex
@Cmm: It’s called playing the odds. I do that a lot too. Then I have to remind myself that the facts really are that most people are straight and operating under that assumption makes a lot of sense, so long as you can handle those times when it is not the case without being a dick about it.
Edo
@Gex: It’s closing on a year since the night I lost my father to cancer. We were nowhere near as close as you two, but I know what it is to not have that final conversation.
I’ve been told that I can be eloquent, but I can’t be tonight. All of my sorrows, Gex, and all my prayers. All of my sympathies, and would that I had better words to offer them with.
Valdivia
@Gex:
just wanted to send you a warm set of hugs.
piratedan
and I want to give thanks to cleek for the pie filter, amen. Beats watching ulee attempting to perform the argument sketch sans humor.
ulee
@JordanRules: I think the Secret Service should be armed in protecting the President’s children. I believe there should be strict gun control with regular mental health checks and proficiency training for any weapon. Semi-Automatic weapons should be banned. There is no need for them.
Kane
The powerful opposition to Health Care reform lost. Those opposing the repeal of DADT lost. Those opposing the restructuring of the US auto industry lost. The powerful lobby opposing the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lost. The all-powerful Grover Norquist and his tax pledge opposing tax increases on the wealthy also lost. And those opposing immigration reform have already grudgingly accepted defeat. And although they don’t know it yet, the NRA and those opposing responsible gun laws are about to lose.
This is change. Good change. Change you can believe in kind of change.
WaterGirl
@Kane: I appreciate the perspective. It’s so easy to get dragged down into the discouragement from some of the day-to-day battles – it’s really helpful when someone points out the big picture!
Edo
When I tried posting from my phone, you said you ate the comments. When I tried posting from my tablet, you said communications difficulty. FYWP.
eemom
@scav:
ah yes….peace and such aside, this is one of many examples of Eastern Orthodox superiority over Catholicism. Instead of that lame ass wafer, we have ACTUAL bread (take, eat, for this is my body) and ACTUAL wine (take, drink, for this is my blood).
Quite right that the bread is yummy too….when I was a parochial schoolchild at St Spyridon in Washington Heights, NY and they dragged our hapless little butts to church occasionally during school hours, we used to sometime save the bread to eat as dessert at lunchtime.
amk
@Ted & Hellen: rwnj teabagger trolls seem to be afraid enough to pounce on the first chance.
ruemara
@Gex: I wish I had more to say than I’m glad you were able to love each other. Nothing else is more important.
amk
@Kane: excellent recap of what really happened under the kenyan muslin dictator in the last 4 years.
A Humble Lurker
@Gex:
I wish you and her the very best, whatever that is for you.
ulee
@Alison: Alison. I know I do not have monopoly on pain. I was responding to some post a few days ago when you said–I don’t know if you’re lonely or not…buts its creepy.—I was talking about a suicide attempt and you were responding-yea, get some help. That’s fine. I don’t even want to talk about it anymore. I’m past it, quit my job, getting support, etc. You seem like a nice person and I don’t want to argue with you. Now I’ve criticized Imani and you’re all full of hate for me again. I do not think I am the only one with difficulties and pain. I believe you when you say you have a severe illness. I do, too. It sucks. If I’m critical in this blog I’m just being academic. I will say now if I’ve said anything to hurt you Imani, I apologize.
? Martin
California’s budget deficit is gone. The proposed budget for next year includes modest spending increases, no new taxes, no new cuts.
Unemployment is down to 9.8%. Still very high, but dropping fast. Budget surpluses are expected as unemployment continues to drop.
Housing prices in SoCal went up 20% in December.
Republicans are going to have to find a new state to complain about.
Linda
Gosh, they’re right. Having janitors and teachers jumping into action with guns they hardly ever use in a tense, confusing armed shootout is exactly like having trained law enforcement agents who know what they are doing in the same situation. Who wouldn’t be in favor of both?
The prophet Nostradumbass
@Linda: the NRA aren’t so much in favor of actually doing that as they are interested in using it to change the subject, so that people argue over their diversion, instead of gun control.
PurpleGirl
@Gex: {{{{{{hug}}}}}}.
PurpleGirl
@The prophet Nostradumbass: Lutherans and Episcopalians also have The Peace in their masses.
Narcissus
@Alison: oh snap
PurpleGirl
@piratedan: and digging the hole ever deeper.
Linda
@The prophet Nostradumbass: But of course. Like their touching concern for the mentally ill, and our violence-wracked media. All of a sudden.
CarolDuhart2
@Alison: What I don’t get is the complaints about this. If Cole didn’t like it, he wouldn’t have allowed it in the first place. And if Cole didn’t like what she writes, she wouldn’t be a front pager. Maybe the real reason is that she brings up front and center the fact there are some real live bigots out there who just don’t like black people. It’s hard to believe everything is “postracial” when we still have a lot of folks who haven’t even progressed to “preracial” yet.
If stuff like this annoyed me that much, I’d stop reading a blog. Life’s too short.
Jamey
@arguingwithsignposts: And one half from people who just aren’t very good at math…
JPL
@Gex: Hugs!
Xenos
@eemom:
It is pretty amazing to see how those little Greek kids sit so perfectly still over the course of those long services… my 1/2 Greek kids could never do it! I spoiled them by taking them to very liberal Episcopal churches where the kids are allowed to run amok.
Xenos
@Gex: Many hugs. It is the highest calling for humankind – to love one another fully and unconditionally.
greenergood
@Gex: Gex, like a previous poster above, KEEP TALKING to her. Tell her everything you want to say. Pretend she’s answering back, and then talk some more. And hold on to her, her hand, her face, touch her – touch and hearing are deep deep in the brain, and she’ll know somewhere inside that she’s not alone, whether she stays with you, or passes. She is lucky to have you as her true love.
Peregrinus
@Gex:
I’m so sorry to hear this. My prayers and thoughts are with you and yours.
WereBear
@Gex: It is beautiful that you were able to make some of her dreams come true.
Get your rest.
AxelFoley
@Kane:
Aye, verily.
AxelFoley
Gex, I don’t know you, and until yesterday, I didn’t know what you and your significant other are going through. But, I want to echo everyone else’s thoughts–I pray for the best for you and your love.
Paul
Of course they are! What a dumb question. Does the NRA now believe that the office of the President (irregardless of who occupies it), is not worth protecting?
BTW – it is beyond swine to bring in the poor kids into an ad like this. The last poll showed that about 54% of the American people approved of the NRA. Hey 54%, that also means you take ownership of disgusting ads like this. The same thing goes for the 3-4 million NRA members. You own this garbage!
Omnes Omnibus
@Gex: Gex, I am so very sorry.
aimai
Gex, I’m so very, very, sorry. But it sounds like you have done everything that a child could do for a parent and in the most loving and conscious way. I’m in awe of you and what you have accomplished. I know how hard the end game is. Peace be upon you and yours. If you swing that way read to yourself from Rumi’s Red Book. I found it very comforting.
brantl
What’s new?
Betty Cracker
@Gex: I’m so sorry, Gex. Much peace and strength to you both.
brantl
@Ted & Hellen: You’re kind of slow, aren’t you?
brantl
@ulee: You really are an idiot.
Cassidy
@ulee: So we have someone new joining us…
brantl
@Mandalay:
Their mice do get worn out; very, very, very minutely. And it really chaps their asses.
Kay
The worse part about this is, it’s a lie. Anyone who knows anything about public schools knows they have constant funding battles. Anyone who knows anything about public schools knows we were never going to get trained law enforcement in public schools as a result of the NRA push for more gun nuts in schools. I knew they were going to do this half-ass and on the cheap. I knew they were going to arm school staff who had some ridiculously low bar to “qualify”.
And that IN FACT is what’s happening. Gun nuts pushed for more guns in school and now we’re seeing the reality of that, which is school “security” who meet the same laughably low standards for qualifying as your average gun nut.
It’s the equivalent of advocating for people with a learner’s permit to drive school buses, although a learner’s permit requires MUCH MORE training than your average gun nut receives.
So, they’re lying. They don’t want the equivalent of the Secret Service in schools. They want your run of the mill gun nut in schools. That’s how reckless they are with other people’s children.
emma
@Gex: remember to care a little for yourself too, ok? You are in a long battle, you will need energy and staying power. Peace and hope for the two of you.
El Cid
Yeah! And how come we can’t have fighter jets and tanks and battleships because Mr. Hypocrite Obama lets the army have those so they can protect him!
Kay
I think it’s interesting because it revelas the arrogance of these folks. Any random gun nut patrolling a school is the equivalent of the Secret Service. You know, in their minds.
They don’t take weapons seriously at all. All the bullshit they spout about safety is contradicted by their belief that guns are actually not dangerous at all.
Because anyone who actually believed that guns are weapons and not toys or fashion accessories would never, ever put a poorly-trained armed person in with other people’s kids.
El Cid
@Kay: I don’t see how it’s so important to have all them fancy ‘firefighters’ with their gubmit pay and gubmit pensions since I got a garden hose and surely you ain’t got to have no more trainin’ to fight fires in houses than washin’ yer car…
LAC
@ulee: is there a shut the fuck up button on you? Arguing with you is like using a croissant as a dildo. It doesn’t work and it makes a mess! ( thanks “veep”. )
Thanks for fucking up this thread, idiot
handsmile
@Kay:
I had not thought about the matter in this way. Thanks for such an incisive analysis.
Violet
@Gex: So very sorry to hear your update. Sending hugs, love and light as you navigate these challenging days.
Tone in DC
@El Cid:
LULz.
“What is this CPR shit, anyway? I ain’t kissin’ nobody who ain’t mah wife. And smoke inhalation… well, how the hell am I gonna enjoy mah cigs without inhaling?”
RalfW
@ulee: @ulee: Repeating the same useless argument over and over will not win you supporters to your cause.
Particularly since your “cause” is totally pointless.
Persia
@Gex: So glad to hear from you and so sorry that this is happening. I hope you get to peace.
Kay
@handsmile:
It’s also a very basic misunderstanding of that the Secret Service actually does, in practice, and I think that misunderstanding goes to their paranoia and resentment. A group of us from the rural counties were invited out to meet Obama on the tarmac in Toledo. It was (supposedly) some sort of local welcoming event, but it’s a campaign event, obviously. We went and it involves standing around for a couple of hours watching the Secret Service secure the whole area and us taking terse commands from them :)
In any event, a lot of the commands had to do with keeping “us” (the public) out of what they (must) anticipate as some potential line of fire. We kept idly wandering around (like people will do) and they kept herding us back to “safe” areas. They pay an enormous amount of attention to the safety of THE PUBLIC. They have TWO jobs, and only ONE of them is protecting the President. The other is to protect people from those who would harm the President.
That is the EXACT opposite attitude of the gun nuts, with their wildly irresponsible and dangerous push to arm teachers and school staff. There, the members of the public who might get caught up in this shoot-out they envision aren’t even considered.
I think it’s so telling that the gun nuts see this as The Shooter versus the President, just as they see armed teachers as the The Shooter versus The Teacher. They don’t SEE the rest of the people in the school. That’s an attitude, a way of thinking.
Rathskeller
As a strongly pro-gun-control person, I hope they spend millions putting this ad in every market in America.
ABL
@Kay: good point. Hadn’t thought of that.
handsmile
@Kay:
Thanks for expanding upon your perspective, well-illustrated by that anecdote.
mrs. handsmile and I will be traveling to Washington for next week’s Inauguration. Our jubilation to be present there, among hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens, will be enhanced by the knowledge of the experience and professionalism of the Secret Service in providing both very visible and invisible security to us all.
Trakker
@Kay:
Your comment was spot on. This is rarely communicated to the public. How much easier their job would be if they only had to protect the President. Thanks for contrasting the Secret Service’s mission to the NRA’s video game view of the world. Priceless.
g
@ulee: I’m sure I’ll be blasted for my opinion.
No, just your shitty lack of grace and civility.
John M. Burt
@Gex: Holding you in the Light, Gex.
Ted & Hellen
@g:
Because ABL always sets such an excellent example of grace and civility in her posts.
John
@Ted & Hellen: And of course you being the self appointed arbiter of such grace and civility.
Andrew Pulrang
Another way of viewing this video and its argument is that it is part of a category of arguments centered on the supposed “prvileges” of the Presidency. And it’s sort of a sign of desperation. When all else fails, harp on the fact that the President has privelages and you don’t. Last night, a Republican Facebook friend put up a random note saying that no wonder our country has problems, when all this money is being spent on a party for the President (a.k.a. the Inauguration). Its criticizing the traditions and trappings of the office, as if they were the selfish, elitist ideas of this specific President. And, of course, as if they would object or even think of objecting if a Republican were President.