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WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended

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WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended

WhitePeoplePalooza, doing business as The Virginia Citizen’s Defense League’s (VCDL) annual day of lobbying in Richmond, Virginia, has come to an end. Without, apparently any acts of extremist domestic terrorism.

Robert Evans (above), as well as Eve Ettinger and JJ McNabb have all the details in their twitter feeds.

The most depressing part is the result of discretion being the better part of valor. The counterprotestors, from legitimate civil rights groups to antifa stayed home because they couldn’t be sure they’d be safe. Some of that is they were unsure just who was going to show up and what kind of agro they’d encounter. The proud boys and patriot prayer and III%ers and OathKeepers and a bunch of other “patriot” and “militia” groups with a history of street violence did turn out. Including leadership, despite them being either wanted for arrest in other jurisdictions for violent behavior at previous events or being on bail awaiting trial for the same thing. And these groups, especially the OathKeepers, blew enough smoke on social media, that no one could be sure if they had law enforcement support for what they might do. As a result those who would oppose them stayed home or out of the way. While this meant that WhitePeoplePalooza ended with no violence, at least that I’ve seen reported, it also meant that if you can turn out enough white Christians in support of extreme positions who are heavily armed and make a lot of noise that they have law enforcement support, that you can prevent others from dissenting for fear of violence – both from the white Christian demonstrators and, possibly, from police allied with them. And that’s a problem.

And then there were these dipshits!

I’m pretty sure this guy isn’t Jewish, despite his outfit.

And this guy is definitely not an ancient Israelite. Also, why is Joe Stalin laying hands on the President in prayer?

Anyone know why Ice T is doing security for the InfoWars schmucks?

Here’s a better picture of this genius:

WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended 1

As for the doofus with the Barrett .50 cal, I don’t think the guy did much marching, just stood around posing for pictures. Those things aren’t light, they’re not ergonomic, and they’re not designed to be humped around all day. They’re a long range sniper rifle, though there are now better and lighter alternatives thanks to improvements in ballistics. Barretts weigh about 30 lbs depending on how they’re configured and customized. Comparatively, most AR pattern rifles weigh between 6 and 10 lbs depending on caliber and configuration. My guess is if he had to walk farther than a block carrying that thing he’d stroke out.

Obligatory:

WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended 2

Open thread!

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Armed fanatics in Virginia

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Please stay safe, Virginians; armed fanatics are roaming around:

The other photos in reporters’ Twitter feeds are surreal. There’s an Info Wars armored vehicle rolling around too. It’s worth remembering what inspired these lunatics to intimidate their fellow citizens and attempt to cow lawmakers:

Three bills that will prohibit firearm possession in public spaces, limit monthly handgun purchases, and require background checks for firearm transfers passed the state Senate on Thursday, marking the first of stronger gun-control legislation proposed by the new Democratic majority in the General Assembly.

That’s it. There’s an exemption for transfer of firearms between family members, so there’s not even the excuse of opposing laws that impede the generational transmittal of grandpappy’s shootin’ arn.

For what it’s worth, I think the gun-humpers will lose this battle eventually. Allowing unfettered access to weapons that can kill dozens of people in under a minute just isn’t sustainable long term. The question is how much blood will be shed before sanity prevails. Here’s hoping none is shed today.

Open thread.

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Look Ma, a Metaphor

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America, fuck yeah:

Video footage shows the moment two women buying a rifle failed to notice a baby falling off the shop counter.

The customers can be seen admiring the gun inside a pawn shop while the infant sits on top of the glass counter beside them.

But while they are busy talking to each other, the shop assistant behind the counter leaps forward and tries to grab the baby as it slowly topples head-first towards the ground.

Luckily store manager Bill Reel noticed the child seemed “unsteady” and raced forward to catch it just before it hit the concrete floor.

The younger woman can be seen clutching her hand to her chest in shock as the father-of-four hands the baby to the other woman, believed to be the grandmother.

A little heavy-handed as far as metaphors go, but I’ll allow it.

This kid has no fucking chance they should just allow the clerk to keep it.

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Late Night Open Thread: When Narwhal Tusks Are Outlawed…

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… Actually, as far as I can tell from a cursory google search, because the narwhal is a protected species, only pre-1972 narwhal tusks are legal in the U.S. (The one spontaneously repurposed in London was a pub ornament, date of its collection unspecified.) And given the legal ones are hella pricey, there’d probably be fewer stories like this…


I’m not fond of unannounced drop-ins either, but jeez.

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Breaking: Shooting at Duncan, Oklahoma Wal-Mart

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There has been a shooting at the Wal-Mart in Duncan, Oklahoma.

There aren’t a lot of details available. Duncan is about 90 minutes south of Oklahoma City. The local police department doesn’t appear to have a Twitter account and the county sheriff’s office’s Twitter account is secured and not open to the public. The Duncan Banner, the local newspaper, has most of the available details:

Duncan Police Department have confirmed the suspect in this morning’s Walmart shooting is dead. It is confirmed three are dead, including the suspect.

District Attorney Jason Hicks is on the scene. He has confirmed the scene is contained and this is not an active shooter situation anymore.

The Duncan Banner is meeting with DPD in 15 to 20 minutes for a media update.

—

At approximately 9:54 a.m. calls on the police scanner indicated a shooting at Walmart with three down and suspect still at large. The suspect, according to DPD, is now dead.

Red River Tech is on lock down. Duncan Public Schools is on lock down as well. According to Tom Deighan with Duncan Public Schools, schools are on lockdown and school will continue as normal inside. The district says parents should not try to pick up their child at this time. Children will not be released because of the lockdown protocol.

It is unclear at this time how severe the injuries of the victims are. The Banner will update more as information becomes available. Please use caution when traveling in this area and be aware of law enforcement as they work to secure the scene.

The shooting has made the national cable news, which is how I heard about it, but there doesn’t appear to be video or even large scale local TV news coverage because of where Duncan is. As is almost always the case with these types of events, information is going to come out in fits and starts and will likely be adjusted and revised as new, better, and more accurate information becomes available.

Open thread!

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Breaking: Saugus High School Shooting

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There’s been another school shooting. This time at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, CA. The LA County Sheriffs Office is currently reporting 3 wounded dead. The other schools in the area are on lockdown as the shooter is still at large.

Here’s the live feed from NBCLA Channel 4:

More to follow as it comes in.

Updated at 11:48 AM EST

And MSNBC’s Pete Williams has just reported is that law enforcement authorities have informed reporters that the suspect has been found and is no longer a threat, but he is unclear what “no longer a threat” means. And while there are five wounded, there are no fatalities, so that’s a revision.

Updated at 12:40 PM EST

I had to step away for a bit, but here are the most recent updates.

First, the number of victims has been revised again.

And the suspect has taken his own life.

Update at 12:43 PM EST

The latest information on the suspect from the LA Sheriffs Office contradicts Pete Williams reporting that the suspect is dead.

Pete Williams is correcting his reporting on air as I type this.

Update at 1:22 PM EST

Open thread!

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Russiagate Open Thread: Maria Butina Released from Federal Prison

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Per NPR:

… The Russian national, who pleaded guilty late last year to conspiring to act as a clandestine foreign agent, was released Friday into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Now she’s expected to be deported quickly back to Russia.

Her release closes a fraught chapter for Butina, who for months occupied a spotlight in the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Prosecutors accused Butina of scheming to forge a connection between Moscow and the Trump administration, as well as several heavy hitters in the conservative political community — including officials at the National Rifle Association and the National Prayer Breakfast…

She still has at least one NRAphilic defender — “U.S. Rep for KY’s 4th District, Chairman 2nd Amdt Caucus, Political Science Denier”:

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Late Night Open Thread: Does Dan Crenshaw Have 30-50 Feral Friends?

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So Rep. Crenshaw doubled down, because OF COURSE…

show full post on front page

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Dan Crenshaw May Be the Dumbest Person on the Planet

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He said this. Out loud. For everyone to see. A member of congress is handing out guns to people who couldn’t pass a background check.

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Senator Scott’s Amnesia

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Since joining the US Senate, former Florida Governor Rick Scott has tried to pass himself off as a DC outsider and non-pol with new ideas and a refreshing lack of allegiance to party orthodoxy. It’s bullshit of a particularly pungent variety that will be familiar to anyone who has followed his career.

Scott won the governorship during the country’s Astroturf tea party era using a similar ruse, casting himself as a businessman with fresh ideas. He was and remains a thoroughly corrupt fraudster who regards the $150 million-plus of his personal fortune he spent on his campaigns as an investment that will pay off when he redirects the flow of government contracts toward his businesses.

In other words, Scott is just as corrupt and craven as every other Republican politician, just wealthier than most. In yesterday’s Post, opinions editor James Downie identified how Scott is a chickenshit on gun control, just like a common Republican:

Appearing on the Sunday talk shows a day after another mass shooting left seven dead in Midland and Odessa, Tex., would Scott tout the bill he signed as an example to fellow Republicans that the NRA need not be feared? No. Instead, he was too scared of the NRA to even talk about much of the law that he himself signed…

Scott described “what we did in Florida” in similar terms on CNN’s “State of the Union,” as well as in an August op-ed for The Post: “The steps we took in Florida, in addition to committing $400 million to increasing school safety, included a ‘red flag’ provision.”

You might be thinking at this point, “That’s doesn’t sound like all that much.” But Scott himself left out many of the key changes the law made. It also banned bump stocks (which increase the rate of fire for semiautomatic weapons), implemented a three-day waiting period for firearm sales and raised the minimum age to purchase a rifle from 18 to 21. The latter change was significant enough that the NRA is suing over it, yet somehow it managed to slip Scott’s memory.

The truth is that after Parkland, then-Governor Scott and the Republican-majority statehouse would have been happy to do the NRA’s bidding as usual and sweep the latest massacre under the rug with “thoughts and prayers.” They’d done so after the Pulse nightclub massacre, which at the time was the single deadliest shooting spree in US history.

The difference in Florida was the Parkland survivors. They wouldn’t let the news cycle move on, and they were savvy enough to tie their protests to voter registration drives and political action.

Thanks to their efforts, for the first time in decades, Republican lawmakers in Florida feared backlash from disgusted citizens more than the NRA and gun nuts. That’s why meaningful gun safety laws were passed in the GOP-controlled legislature and signed by Scott.

Trump and the Republicans in Congress are right where Scott and the FL statehouse were when Emma González gave her “We Call BS” speech. They’re hoping media attention from this latest spate of massacres blows over so they won’t be pressured to restrict access to guns in any meaningful way. Scott is part of that effort, which is why he’s omitting key details about what happened in Florida.

The guns are the problem, but Republicans will do anything to avoid taking the obvious steps the rest of the developed world has taken to stop the carnage we Americans routinely endure. But why is this still the case, when the NRA is in a weakened state and public sentiment is clearly shifting?

Yesterday in comments, Kay highlighted one possible motive for this hysterical paralysis: If gun nuts belatedly admit that guns are the problem, that’s tantamount to admitting they were wrong to insist on unfettered access to firearms for decades and that people died as a result of that mistake. She described it as a “sunk cost” situation.

I think that’s true, and because it is, nothing will budge rank and file gun nuts from their reflexive defensiveness on guns. Their own part in enabling the massacres is simply too horrifying to admit the possibility.

But Republican politicians can be moved, as the actions on which Scott developed selective amnesia demonstrate. The Parkland survivors made Florida Republicans more fearful of backlash from voters than they were of the NRA. Nothing will change at the federal level until we replicate that on a national scale. I believe we will.

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Fuck Greg Abbott With A Rusty Chainsaw

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The balls on this prick:

“I am heartbroken by the crying of the people in the state of Texas. I am tired of the dying of the people of Texas. Too many Texans are in mourning. Too many Texans have lost their lives. The status quo in Texas is unacceptable, and action is needed,” Abbott said.

Man, if only Governor Abbott were in a position to do something. He should probably talk to the fucking asshole who signed these bills:

A series of new firearm laws will go into effect in Texas on Sunday just hours after a shooting left five people dead in the western part of the state.

The laws will further loosen gun restrictions in a state that’s had four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. They will make it easier to have guns just a month after a shooter stormed a Walmart in El Paso and killed 22 people.

Eat a bag of dicks, you scumbag.

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The Second Amendment is Again Waging War On The First: Alabama and Texas editions

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Bouncing off of Adam’s post about the Odessa murders…

Last night a bunch of folks gathered together for some fun, a high school football game in Mobile, Alabama.  A teenager showed up with a gun and shot ten other kids.  By some astonishing good luck, no victims died.  Nine of them had to go to the hospital and six have been released from care already.  The shooter left the scene and turned himself in this morning.

So there you have it:  two cities, two crowds just going about their business, trying to have some good times on a weekend, and two assholes who demonstrate as brutally as possible the the right to free assembly can’t be fully trusted in these United States.

Second Amendment absolutism is at war with the right to assemble, to express our ideas freely, to pray if and as we choose.

Practically or actually unregulated guns directly threaten civil society.

Gun violence does more than just murder individuals.  It threatens the ability of Americans to express the consent of the governed.

The citizens of Mobile, of Odessa and Midland, of everywhere in the US,  no longer have the full enjoyment of their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of an afternoon’s entertainment.

I know that mass shootings produce a relatively small fraction of the death toll from firearms; suicide takes two thirds of that total.  But terror is not about the absolute destruction terrorists are able to inflict; what counts is the impact on the terrorized society, the change in our behavior, our expectations, and our ability to make free and unfettered choices about whatever it is the terrorists care about.

That’s what mass shootings do: make it harder for all of us to live the way we want.

The fight against the NRA, #MoscowMitch’s GOP and the rest of the gun cabal is a campaign against those who are, right now, using the tools or terrorism against the United States of America.

Georges Seurat, The Circus, 1891

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Breaking News: Another Weekend, Another Mass Shooting in Texas

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As of now there are at least 5 dead and 21 wounded and/or otherwise injured in a mass shooting spree in Odessa, Texas. The shooter was killed by the responding law enforcement officers and was a white male in his mid 30s. According to police reports to the news media, he attacked the cop who pulled him over for a traffic stop and after shooting the officer he hijacked a mail truck, took off, and went on a spree shooting.

As always, this will be a fast moving story and details are likely to change as today moves into tomorrow.

Open thread!

 

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The Parkland Peace Plan

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As predicted last week, Trump is already caving on his latest feint toward gun safety legislation after promising to “look very strongly” at universal background checks and red flag laws in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton massacres — this despite the fabled moderating influence of Ivanka.

The NRA is at its lowest ebb in decades. Board members and employees are running from the organization like Trump White House lackeys fleeing a process server. Even a Fox News personality called out the epic corruption of the NRA’s Trump-scale tacky-grandiose chief Wayne LaPierre last week. So this cave is the latest data point on Trump’s crap negotiating skills.

My husband is famously bad at negotiating. Our daughter and I still tease him about walking into a Ford dealership several years ago, clapping eyes on his future truck and exclaiming, “Oh my GOD! I LOVE it!” right in front of the salesman. We were fleeced most thoroughly soon after, of course, and the mister is no longer permitted to even ATTEND major purchase events.

But the mister is steely-eyed and canny at the long table in comparison to the credulous fool in the White House, who has handed over our economic fate to China’s Xi, been pantsed by tin-pot dictators worldwide and sports Vladimir Putin’s brand on his ass. In that context, it’s no wonder the weakened sociopaths at the NRA were able to vaporize Trump’s mealy-mouthed resolve to “look very strongly” at new gun safety regulations with a single phone call.

Luckily, the March for Our Lives group, founded by Parkland massacre survivors, isn’t waiting around for Trump to nut up. This morning, they released an ambitious gun safety proposal: A Peace Plan for a Safer America. Here are its main points:

1. CHANGE THE STANDARDS OF GUN OWNERSHIP: Advocate and pass legislation to raise the national standard for gun ownership: a national licensing and registry system that promotes responsible gun ownership; a ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other weapons of war; policies to disarm gun owners who pose a risk to themselves or others; and a national gun buy-back program to reduce the estimated 265-393 million firearms in circulation by at least 30%.

2. HALVE THE RATE OF GUN DEATHS IN 10 YEARS: Mobilize an urgent and comprehensive federal response: declare a national emergency around gun violence and announce an audacious goal to reduce gun injuries and deaths by 50% in 10 years, thereby saving up to 200,000 American lives.

3. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE GUN LOBBY AND INDUSTRY: Hold the gun lobby and industry accountable for decades of illegal behavior and misguided policies intended to shield only themselves; reexamine the District of Columbia v. Heller interpretation of the Second Amendment; initiate both FEC and IRS investigations into the NRA, and fully repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

4. NAME A DIRECTOR OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION: Appoint a National Director of Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) who reports directly to the President, with the mandate to operationalize our federal goals and empower existing federal agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) – agencies that have all been structurally weakened by the gun lobby. The National Director of GVP would begin by overseeing a down payment of $250 million in annual funding for research by the CDC and other federal agencies on gun violence prevention.

5. GENERATE COMMUNITY-BASED SOLUTIONS: Fully fund targeted interventions addressing the intersectional dimensions of gun violence, including community-based urban violence reduction programs, suicide prevention programs, domestic violence prevention programs, mental and behavioral health service programs, and programs to address police violence in our communities.

6. EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATION: Automatically register eligible voters and mail voter registration cards to all Americans when they turn 18. Create the “Safety Corps,” a Peace Corps for gun violence prevention. The younger generations are disproportionately affected by gun violence. They should have a say in how their country solves this epidemic.

It’s a smart plan that frames gun violence as a national health issue that reaches far beyond mass shootings. And it focuses on political mobilization, which is critical. It also signals that the Parkland group possesses political savvy that morons like Trump, his dingbat daughter and wastrel son-in-law can’t begin to match. Unlike those clowns, the Parkland kids are building on the past work they’ve done nationwide and swinging for the fences when opponents are at a weak point.

Senator Murphy of Connecticut sees hope (The Post):

“My hope is that they focus like a laser on youth turnout,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said of March for Our Lives’s 2020 efforts, after reviewing the proposal. “The election is over the minute young people decide to turn out. The only reason that Trump would get reelected is if young people stay home. The issue of gun violence is one of the only issues that truly motivate young people to shake off their indifference and aversion to voting.”

Democrats, who in the past would at least nod toward gun owners and do photo ops while hunting, are embracing gun control with greater urgency than they have in any election in recent memory, a sign that they are sensing movement among voters. During the 2018 midterms, when Democrats recaptured the House majority, nearly 70 percent of registered voters said gun policy was “very important” to them, ranking the issue ahead of taxes and immigration, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.

This is what we’ve lacked — a sense of urgency to match that of the gun nuts. But thanks to the gun nuts’ maximal resistance to commonsense positions backed by 90% of Americans — and the insane among that group’s limitless appetite for mass murder — the pendulum might finally swing toward sanity, and perhaps a lot further than seemed possible even a couple of years ago.

You can read more about the plan, sign the petition and donate to March for Our Lives here.

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Ding Dong (Open Thread)

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Friends, let us savor (even though the fare is provided by Politico):

‘I’m worried’: Allies fear NRA has lost its power in Washington

The National Rifle Association’s internal turmoil is preventing the once-mighty organization from crafting a plan to blunt the latest gun control push, highlighting the group’s weakness at a crucial political moment.

The disarray at the NRA is alarming allies who say President Donald Trump and Congress appear to have a brief opening to pass legislation while the group is so politically feeble it isn’t able to aggressively lobby lawmakers against proposals or hold them accountable for their votes, according to a half-dozen Republicans familiar with the situation…

Multiple Republican Senate offices said they haven’t heard from the NRA, which touts 5 million members. The NRA has been slow to respond to the litany of scandals. And Trump has told aides the NRA is vulnerable and on the verge of being “bankrupt,” according to a Republican close to the White House.

The article says Republicans are worried that meaningful gun safety legislation will be passed in the short term. They needn’t be. Trump has already moved on to blaming mass shootings on the closure of old-timey insane asylums.

It’s perfectly on-brand for Trump to question the death merchant lobbyist’s fiscal health after they gave him $30 million in 2016, but a Venn diagram of gun nuts and Trump supporters would be damned close to a perfect circle, so he’s unlikely to cross the NRA in any significant way.

Still, it’s glorious to see the blood-gargling sociopaths at the NRA engulfed in cascading corruption scandals like common TV preachers. LaPierre seems determined to cling to power, which is great news for people who wish the organization a messy, protracted demise.

An unfavorable election cycle that sweeps NRA toadies out the door might finally wrest political power from the organization’s cold, bloody hands. It wouldn’t solve our gun nut problem, but it sure would make it harder for gun nuts to impose their will on the majority of Americans. A girl can dream, anyway.

Open thread!

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