#trump entire nra speech

[diretodaamericanews]

Trump se compromete a PROIBIR a mutilação sexual de crianças em TODOS os 50 estados

Ideias Principais Crítica ao governo de Joe Biden Restaurar políticas conservadoras e valores judaico-cristãos Defesa de juízes conservadores como Antonin Scalia e Clarence Thomas Posição pró-vida e crítica ao Partido Democrata quanto ao aborto Combate ao “Deep State” e reforma do FBI e do Departamento de Justiça Eliminar a teoria crítica da raça e conteúdo inapropriado das…

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

Trump and his sycophants have destroyed the Republican Party. They are no longer conservatives either fiscally or on foreign policy. They are a party of chaos beholden to the right-wing culture warrior oligarchs. They are the derogatory agents of those oligarchs and the corporations owned by them. They make decisions based on the whim of a deranged madman.

They have gone from being closet racists/bigots to being full blown Nazis that call for the extermination of their culture war scapegoats they call “vermin” (marginalized people/political rivals). They take this term directly from Hitler who they openly embrace in speech and writing. They no longer care about tax cuts for all but just for the 1% and corporations. They want endless wars to profit from and to distract and rally their deplorable base. They no longer want small, limited government but opt for a massive government that intrudes into its citizens private lives and tramples their freedoms.

The party of law and order is now a party of criminals, sex offenders, grifters, traitors, and murderous street thugs. They are proud of this and fund raise and merchandise from their lawlessness. They have bought control of what is now an illegitimate SCOTUS which never allows them to be held accountable.

They use the KKK, Neo-Nazi groups, armed right-wing militias, Neo-Confederates, and white supremacists to persecute their opponents and victims in the streets and inside the Capitol itself. They tell us to “get over it” when mindless gun violence decimates our families in every public venue from churches, to schools, to 4th of July celebrations, movie theaters, shopping malls, and even a Super Bowl parade.

The police, courts, and legislatures are infested with their white nationalist/supremacists and Christo-fascists. They openly take money from Russia and others to influence our foreign policy and economic policy. Money from Russia is funneled into the NRA and Congress to allow a massive proliferation of gun violence on our streets that destabilizes our society.

They claim to be the party of the military but they degrade and insult our troops and cast our veterans into the streets. They abandon our allies and our treaty obligations at the behest of foreign dictators that bribe them.

They bust our unions and pass laws to weaken or prevent organized labor. They are forcing society to become wage slaves with no security, insurance, or pensions. They force our workers into the “gig economy” where everyone works incredible hours 7 days a week at multiple jobs and still are left unable to afford rent or mortgages. Nearly the entire population is one or two paychecks away from being homeless.

Decades of trickle down economics has seen our tax dollars poured into the accounts of billionaires, millionaires, and corporations with not a penny trickling down to the working class. The middle class has been practically wiped out by cruel Republican legislation written by political think tanks established and funded by oligarchs. The only thing these pseudo-conservatives conserve is their own wealth.

This is late stage capitalism run amok. The economy has been drained and now the oligarchs and corporations are plundering the government. They have taken advantage of decades of right-wing propaganda proliferated by Fox News, conservatives talk radio, and internet podcasts that have brain washed the rural areas into blaming the Democrats that are trying help them while convincing them to vote for the Republicans who have impoverished them. The French Revolution in reverse.

They see the Orange Dictator as their last best chance to completely take over the government and create a kleptocracy that pulls the strings behind an autocracy that pretends to be a republic.

The chaos of the Republican puppets is to distract everyone from the takeover by the oligarchs, corporations, and deep pocketed foreign adversaries.

[dankusner]

Donald Trump tells NRA crowd he wants to retire in Texas

Former President Donald Trump received an ovation at the National Rifle Association’s annual meetings in Dallas on Saturday when he teased that he might relocate to Texas.

“I want to move to Texas and I want to retire in Texas,” Trump said to applause. “A lot of people are moving to Texas.”

Trump, who made his official residence in Florida in 2019, has not hidden his love of Texas over the years.

While in the White House, he made 18 trips to the state, and he has returned 13 times after his presidency.

By comparison, former President Barack Obama made 11 visits to Texas over two terms in office.

President Joe Biden has made seven trips to Texas since taking office.

Trump is expected back again Wednesday, when he has a scheduled fundraiser in Dallas with oil pipeline company billionaire Kelcy Warren.

Although the NRA convention brings gun owners from around the nation, Trump spent big parts of his 98-minute speech focused on Texas, including talking about former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, a GOP primary election in Beaumont and Gov. Greg Abbott.

Trump called Abbott “a very special man” and a “hot politician. Very hot.”

Then he weighed in on the Texas GOP primary elections, specifically, telling people in the crowd to support Beaumont businessman David Covey in his campaign against House Speaker Dade Phelan.

Covey was at the speech in Dallas, and Trump told the crowd he has his “complete endorsement” in the May 28 runoff election in Southeast Texas.

Finally, Trump started talking about playing golf with Romo.

“He may be a better golfer than a football player,” Trump said.

But it wasn’t all about Texas. Trump also took time to lambaste Robert F. Kennedy Jr., warning the crowd that he was a disaster and they should not be tempted to vote for him in November.

“Do not think about it,” Trump said. “Don’t waste your vote.”

And of course, Trump talked about his support for the NRA, reminding the crowd about what he did for the gun rights organization during his tenure as president, namely appointing conservative judges.

Former President Donald Trump suddenly stopped talking for more than 30 seconds during a speech at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas over the weekend, leading President Joe Biden’s campaign to capitalize on speculation about whether his Republican opponent is fit for office.

The pause came as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee addressed gun owners after receiving the association’s endorsement.

Trump’s critics were quick to attack, saying Trump froze during his speech and is unfit to serve.

His supporters said he paused for dramatic effect.

The campaigns’ sparring was the latest in a back-and-forth about both candidates’ ages and mental competency.

Biden is 81 and Trump is 77.

The Biden-Harris HQ account on X, formerly Twitter, posted a 44-second clip showcasing Trump’s more than 30-second pause.

The Biden-Harris HQ account attacked Trump’s entire address, criticizing his speech as 'bizarre' and 'slur-filled' and alleging the dramatic music playing in the background during Trump’s pause is a song favored by conspiracy theorist group QAnon.

The Biden-Harris campaign’s post Saturday was the second time it appeared to attack Trump’s competency over the weekend.

On Friday, the account called Trump 'feeble' after his podium shifted when he leaned on it at an event in St. Paul, Minnesota.

On Trump’s side, social media users speculated Trump’s pause was due to a problem with his teleprompter.

But Trump said that was not the case.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the 30-second 'period of silence' is a standard part of his speeches and that the Biden-Harris campaign was to blame for the 'fake story' that he froze.

'The reason they came up with this Disinformation is that Biden freezes all the time, can’t put two sentences together, and can rarely find his way off the stage without help,' Trump wrote. 'Donald Trump doesn’t freeze!'

During his address Saturday, Trump promised to undo gun regulations passed during the Biden administration and stoked fears of the Biden administration 'coming for your guns.'

'In my second term, we will roll back every Biden attack on the Second Amendment,' Trump said

Dallas’ NRA Deal Is Public’s Business

Taxpayers deserve to know where money goes

Cities in Texas and across the country play a cutthroat game to win big business, from corporate relocations to massive conventions.

The name of the game is public incentives, and it’s played with your money.

That is why we wince when public officials resist attempts to disclose who gets the money, and how much.

Once a contract has been signed, the people on whose behalf that contract is signed have a right to know what it says.

Watchdog reporting by KERA News revealed that Dallas offered a generous deal to the National Rifle Association so that the group would host its 2024 convention in town.

There are many reasons to be concerned about the NRA coming to town, but a city that is in the convention business is limited by law in discriminating based on content.

And Dallas gives out incentives widely to bring groups to its convention center, as do other cities.

What should concern us all about the NRA contract is that city representatives didn’t want to show it or talk about other groups that benefit from tourism incentives.

When KERA requested the contract, the city blocked release of the dollar amounts.

It told the office of the Texas attorney general that the information should be withheld because its release would provide an advantage to competitors.

An assistant attorney general disagreed and forced the city to release the information.

That is how we learned that the city gave the NRA a discount that more than halved its $931,990 bill for renting the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

On top of that, the NRA was offered a $450,000 subsidy in public tourism funds.

Was that a sweetheart deal for the NRA or a common practice of discounting for big conventions?

Hard to say, and that’s one reason why making these contracts public is important.

KERA asked City Hall and Visit Dallas, the nonprofit tasked with marketing the city, what other groups qualify for tourism incentives.

Spokespeople demurred, citing “confidentiality.”

It’s an unacceptable response to a straightforward question about who is getting public funds on behalf of the people of Dallas.

And it’s baffling given that an annual report about Dallas tourism funds cites examples of events that received incentives, such as the NCAA Women’s Final Four and the International Roofing Expo.

Craig Davis, CEO of Visit Dallas, told us the NRA wasn’t treated differently than other groups that are automatically considered for incentives based on their estimated hotel bookings and economic impact.

The amount of the subsidy is dependent on the number of confirmed hotel rooms as determined by an audit after the event.

Davis said officials protect information about incentives not to keep the public in the dark but to avoid revealing Dallas’ playbook to other cities competing for convention business.

“Our only concern is that we provide this to someone who could use this against us in the future,” he said.

We get that competition is fierce and that officials need wiggle room during negotiations.

But incentive programs can run out of control without public scrutiny.

That’s why we are glad that Texas in recent years has peeled back the curtain.

Cities’ economic development agreements are now searchable through a state database, and lawmakers updated open-records law to make government contracts more transparent.

Once an agreement stipulating the use of public money and public property is final, it belongs in the daylight.

[swldx]

BBC 0408 19 May 2024

12095Khz 0359 19 MAY 2024 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from TALATA VOLONONDRY. SINPO = 55434. English, dead carrier s/on @0358z with ID@0359z pips and Newsroom preview. @0401z World News anchored by Stewart Macintosh. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in eastern city of Dhahran. During the meeting, the strategic relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them in various fields were reviewed. Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has threatened to resign unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sets out a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip. Mr Gantz set an 8 June deadline for a plan to achieve six "strategic goals", including the end of Hamas rule in Gaza and the establishment of a multinational civilian administration for the territory. "If you put the national over personal, you will find in us partners in the struggle," he said. "But if you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss, we will be forced to quit the government." Mr Netanyahu dismissed the comments as "washed-up words" that would mean "defeat for Israel". Over 10,000 Protesters in Tel Aviv had been calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and trigger new elections, as well as for an immediate ceasefire in order to release the hostages held in Gaza since October 7. The Pacific territory of New Caledonia is "under siege", the mayor of its capital has said, following days of rioting that has left six people dead. Nouméa mayor Sonia Lagarde said numerous public buildings on the archipelago had been set on fire and that, despite the arrival of hundreds of police reinforcements, the situation was "far from getting back to calm". French gendarmes have launched a major operation to regain control of a 60km (37-mile) road between Nouméa and the airport, France's interior minister said. Persistent heavy rains fuelled a third consecutive week of deadly flooding in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, devastating a region which is a key agricultural and economic driver of the national economy. The National Rifle Association is formally supporting former President Donald Trump, an expected endorsement that came Saturday at the group’s annual convention in Dallas. The endorsement of his presidential campaign came shortly before Trump took the stage to keynote the NRA’s annual meeting, a speech he used to paint a picture of President Joe Biden as trying to erode gun rights without citing specifics. Sports. @0406z "The Newsroom" begins. 250ft unterminated BoG antenna pointed E/W w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), JRC NRD-535D. 250kW, beamAz 315°, bearing 63°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 15359KM from transmitter at Talata Volonondry. Local time: 2259.

[garudabluffs]

JOIN US FOR THE 152nd NRA ANNUAL MEETINGS & EXHIBITS IN INDIANAPOLIS, IN!

The 2023 Annual Meetings & Exhibits will take place at the Indiana Convention Center on April 14-16, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The Exhibit Hall is open all three days and will showcase over 14 acres of the latest guns and gear from the most popular companies in the Industry.  From entertainment to special events, it’s all happening in Indy!  Make plans now to join fellow Second Amendment patriots for a freedom-filled weekend for the entire family!

"Later this week, Republican leaders will speak at the NRA’s annual convention in Indianapolis, where firearms, as well as backpacks, glass containers, signs, and umbrellas, are prohibited. Those speakers will include former president Trump and former vice president Mike Pence. The resolution and the speeches at the NRA convention seem an unfortunate juxtaposition to the recent mass shootings.

508 Comments "...in my lifetime (b-1953) the world population has increased more than threefold. At US levels of consumption, the world would need four earths. At world average consumption, the world would still need 1.75 earths.

According to an article by Abrahm Lustgarten (Propublica), millions of Americans will be climate refugees in the next several decades. https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-change-will-force-a-new-american-migration

[reading-writing-revolution]

August 3, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

Aug 4

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way: former president Trump has raised $102 million since he left office, but aside from a recent donation of $100,000 to his chosen candidate in a Texas race which is not yet in the public disclosures (she lost), has spent none of it on anything or anyone but himself. Since January, he has convinced donors to fund his challenge to Biden’s election and to fund Trump-like candidates in the midterm elections. But election filings and a release of donors to the Arizona “audit” show he has not put any money toward either. So far, about $8 million has gone to the former president’s legal fees, while funds have also gone to aides.

The second piece of news that is surprising and yet not surprising is an ABC story revealing that on December 28, 2020, the then-acting pro-Trump head of the civil division of the Department of Justice, Jeffrey Clark, tried to get then–acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen and acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue to sign a letter saying: “The Department of Justice is investigating various irregularities in the 2020 election for President of the United States. The Department will update you as we are able on investigatory progress, but at this time we have identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.”

It went on to say, “While the Department of Justice believe[s] the Governor of Georgia should immediately call a special session to consider this important and urgent matter, if he declines to do so, we share with you our view that the Georgia General Assembly has implied authority under the Constitution of the United States to call itself into special session for [t]he limited purpose of considering issues pertaining to the appointment of Presidential Electors.”

The letter then made the point clearer, saying the Georgia legislature could ignore the popular vote and appoint its own presidential electors.

This is classic Trump: try to salt the media with the idea of an “investigation,” and then wait for the following frenzy to convince voters that the election was fraudulent. Such a scheme was at the heart of Trump’s demand that Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky announce an investigation into Hunter Biden, and the discrediting of 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton over an investigation into her use of a private email server.

In this case, Donoghue and Rosen wanted no part of this antidemocratic scheme. Donoghue told Clark that there was no evidence of fraud that would have changed the outcome of the election and wrote: “There is no chance that I would sign this letter or anything remotely like this.” Rosen agreed, saying “I am not prepared to sign such a letter.”

The less obvious story today is the more interesting one.

Trump and his loyalists feed off Americans who have been dispossessed economically since the Reagan revolution that began in 1981 started the massive redistribution of wealth upward. Those disaffected people, slipping away from the secure middle-class life their parents lived, are the natural supporters of authoritarians who assure them their problems come not from the systems leaders have put in place, but rather from Black people, people of color, and feminist women.

President Joe Biden appears to be trying to combat this dangerous dynamic not by trying to peel disaffected Americans away from Trump and his party by arguing against the former president, but by reducing the pressure on those who support him.

A study from the Niskanen Center think tank shows that the expanded Child Tax Credit, which last month began to put up to $300 per child per month into the bank accounts of most U.S. households with children, will primarily benefit rural Americans and will give a disproportionately large relative boost to their local economies. According to the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent, “the...nine states that will gain the most per capita from the expanded child allowance are all red states.”

The White House noted today that the bipartisan infrastructure deal it has pushed so hard not only will bring high-speed internet to every household in the U.S., but also has within it $3.5 billion to reduce energy costs for more than 700,000 low-income households.

Also today, after pressure from progressive Democrats, especially Representative Cori Bush (D-MO), who led a sit-in at the Capitol to call for eviction relief, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that in counties experiencing high levels of community transmission of Covid-19, it is extending until October 3 the federal moratorium on evictions that ended this weekend. It is doing so as a public health measure, but it is also an economic one. It should help about 90% of renters—11 million adults—until the government helps to clear the backlog of payments missed during the pandemic by disbursing more of the $46 billion Congress allocated for that purpose.

Today, the president called out Republican governors who have taken a stand against mask wearing and vaccine mandates even as Covid-19 is burning across the country again. Currently, Florida and Texas account for one third of all new Covid cases in the entire country, and yet their Republican governors, Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, are signing legislation to keep Floridians and Texans unmasked and to prevent vaccine mandates. Biden said that he asks “these governors, ‘Please, help.’ But if you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”

At a Democratic National Committee fundraiser last night, Biden told attendees that Democrats “have to keep making our case,” while Republicans offer “nothing but fear, lies, and broken promises.” “We have to keep cutting through the Republican fog,” he said, “that the government isn't the problem and show that we the people are always the solution.” He continued, “We've got to demonstrate that democracies can work and protect.”

—-

Notes:

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/03/trump-spending-millions-gop-candidates-502233

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-backed-candidate-ballot-us-house-runoff-texas-2021-07-27/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-officials-rejected-colleagues-request-intervene-georgias-election/story

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/02/gop-scamming-rural-trump-voters-continues-new-study-shows-latest/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/08/03/fact-sheet-top-10-programs-in-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-investment-and-jobs-act-that-you-may-not-have-heard-about/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/08/03/remarks-by-president-biden-on-fighting-the-covid-19-pandemic/

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0803-cdc-eviction-order.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/03/cdc-will-extend-the-federal-eviction-moratorium-through-oct-3.html

https://news.yahoo.com/dnc-fundraiser-biden-accuses-gop-123000070.html

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/08/02/remarks-by-president-biden-at-a-virtual-fundraising-reception-for-the-democratic-national-committee/

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/03/cori-bush-eviction-crisis-502313

Cheryl

Aug 4

Just two things. I live in a rural red county in Virginia. I have always been astounded that folks here predominantly vote Republican against their best interests.

To get votes here, Democrats HAVE to make two things clear. First and foremost - that Democrats are not "coming to take people's guns away." That is the biggest fear out here in red country - the predominant reason folks vote Republican. Gun control is a vote killer and will be until Democrats out maneuver the NRA - and make crystal clear that great-granddaddy's hunting rifle is not at risk.

Second. ALL of the folks here benefiting from social welfare DO NOT associate that money as coming from programs supported by Democrats. That is "my govamint check" - and the government in their minds is Republican. The Democrats must inundate rural areas with advertising that clearly links child care money and internet services with Biden and the Democratic Party in conjunction with exposing Republicans who vote against the bill. Persistent Hard Ball is the only thing that is going to work here.

The former president will continue to “run” for president as long as the money keeps rolling in. Doubtless, as far as he’s concerned, the money is his to do as he pleases. The accounts should be closely monitored by DoJ and charges should be filed for any improper use of the funds.

Just now the thought came to mind that any of the donated funds spent on personal expenses, including legal defense fees, qualifies as income and should be subject to income taxes. Those taxes would be yet more personal expenses that could not be paid from political donations.

The tax man is going to be the one that gets him.

© 2021 Heather Cox Richardson. See privacy, terms and information collection notice

[arcticdementor]

In the late 1990s, Michael Lind wrote about different “republican” epochs in American history: the Anglo-American republic (from the Founding to the 1920s), the Euro-American republic (1920-1965), and the multicultural American republic (1965 to the present). Lind hoped the fourth American republic would be a transracial one based on the idea of what he called “liberal nationhood”—classically liberal in respect to human rights, individual property, free speech and markets, but also liberal in the more statist, New Deal-like economic sense.

If the United States is to survive as a unified state under its present configuration, something like Lind’s idea of liberal nationhood will have to coalesce. But there’s one big problem with constructing a new concept of American-ness centered around liberal ideals, no matter how one defines them: Americans hate each other.

…

A short list of American civil sectors operating in a state of total inadequacy and on the verge of revolution-inspiring dysfunction would include health care, higher education, housing, job training, water (and agriculture), infrastructure, and public transit. In other words, nearly every service and institution on which the majority of citizens depends.

Without question, replacing Trump with President Joe Biden represents a restoration of America’s ancien régime, but for how long? Whether due to incompetence, a lack of strong leadership, or genuine political hurdles, the Biden administration will almost certainly enact only a small fraction of its purported agenda prior to next year’s midterm elections. Then there is the question of who exactly this agenda would actually benefit.

…

Perhaps a version of Lind’s liberal nationhood was possible back when Barack Obama took office in 2009. But Trump’s 2016 election should have illustrated the extent of Obama’s failure to reconstruct New Deal-level social safety nets, move the country past race, and mount a sustained attack on corporate power. Instead of FDR 2.0—which most of America was ready for by 2008—the country witnessed the birth of woke corporatism, with Obama as condescending frontman. The result was the entrenchment of racial division and racialist doctrines along with the exponential growth of corporate power and oligarchical wealth.

So if the dream of rebuilding America around notions of liberal nationhood is likely a mirage; if postmodern multicultural nationalism has clearly failed; and if rebuilding a more hard-edged version of U.S. nationhood around Reagan and Trump-style nostalgia for the Anglo-American past remains repugnant—what, then?

The answer is separation: Red and blue America finally accept that for the past 60 years they’ve grown irreconcilably apart, and that they are in fact separate nations—each worthy and deserving of independence from the other. Dissolve the United States, I say, and start an American Union that works more like its European counterpart. The breakup, in fact, has already begun.

In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sued the federal government and the Centers for Disease Control over COVID-related restrictions preventing the cruise ship industry from reopening. DeSantis also recently sent Florida state troopers to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas and Arizona at the request of the governors there. Not long after, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem followed suit. In the same month, five rural Oregon counties voted in favor of joining Idaho. The plan for a “Greater Idaho” also includes six counties in Northern California that fancy themselves as a breakaway “State of Jefferson.”

A few weeks later, 11 heavily armed men wearing tactical gear were arrested in a standoff with police on Interstate 95 in Massachusetts. The group holds to the “Moorish sovereign ideology,” believing that the United States has no right to force them to adhere to any laws. One of the members could be heard challenging the fictions of America’s racial pentagon, declaring, “I’m not ‘Black,’ I’m not ‘Hispanic,’ I’m not ‘Latin-American.’ ... I am a Moors national.” Another member of the group proclaimed America’s 13th and 14th Amendments “fictitious entities.”

…

The marketing of the smartphone represents the greatest instigation of mass addiction in world history. Predictably, it has brought with it socially deleterious consequences that rival those of the Opium Wars. Silicon Valley’s massive data-mining efforts don’t just create “filter bubble” echo chambers that sire political division based on petty grievances and clickbait sold as news; they also provide the means to manipulate the nation’s “consumers” (a group we used to refer to as “people”) into impulse-buying items they often don’t need and routinely cannot afford. Often the items are manufactured in China, destroying the American industrial and retail sectors that employ—or should employ—millions of Americans. Hence the only sizable employers left in many American towns are prisons, Amazon distribution centers, and fast-food outlets, with the unemployed and underemployed being shuttled around the corners of this new American labor triangle.

On a national level, the centi-billion-dollar social media industry is one of the biggest contributors to our national demise, routinely allowing sociopathic halfwits to organize online mobs to enforce groupthink and destroy the lives of others at a speed and frequency unfathomable 20 years ago. Social media’s detrimental effect on our political culture should be obvious, yet Americans exhibit nowhere near enough skepticism regarding the encroaching role of corporate technology in their lives—regardless of whether they are being constantly surveilled by multinational companies or turned into human data farms and spied on by government agencies.

…

In the mid-1990s, around the same time Lind wrote The Next American Nation, the Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam published “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” one of the most widely read academic essays of the era and later transformed into a bestseller respected and cited by academics, the rarest of feats in American publishing.

In his work, Putnam documented the many troubling ways modern life was eliminating civic engagement and healthy social interactions that used to come about through participation in groups like bowling leagues and organizations like the Masons or the Rotary Club. Americans were bowling more often but—how poignant—they were doing it alone. In the 1990s, Americans were still joining groups, but not ones that provided any close social contact. Rather than joining the Elks Club, Americans in the 1990s were participating in organizations with more activist missions—like the Sierra Club or the NRA—that required little besides paperwork and a mail-in donation. Rather than cavorting with their neighbors in meeting halls where they broke bread together, danced, and spoke to people with differing political views, Americans were spending far more time isolated and alone.

The release of Apple’s iPhone was nearly a decade away when Putnam began writing about the decline of America’s “social capital.” Still, by the end of the Clinton era, it wasn’t hard to see the future: a society plagued by dopamine-device addiction, obsessed with the self, and yearning for social attention, but with no clue how to acquire it in a healthy or sustainable way. Technology and suburban living had transformed leisure into an insulated experience taking place inside American households: children frozen in front of the Nintendo, teenagers sitting in their rooms with headphones on, and parents glued to the television set.

In his new book, The Upswing, Putnam charts the course of America’s sense of community and civic-minded togetherness over time, and discovers that “bowling alone” is nothing new. According to his findings, American society exhibited weak social, political, and cultural ties throughout most of the 19th century until about the mid-1890s. At the end of the Gilded Age, American culture gradually started to turn away from its selfish “I” focus. By the 1920s, the positive trends became distinct. The country moved away from a selfish, individualistic orientation toward a more egalitarian-minded one—cooperative in everyday behaviors, cohesive in expression, and characterized by a more altruistic mindset.

…

Like most in the field of political science, Putnam is not a prognosticator. But he appears to believe that because the progressive and New Deal eras coincided with the birth of America’s brief “we” orientation, a new progressive era would be just the trick to jump-start a new upswing in American togetherness. Robert Reich, secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, maintains a similar, more economically focused position; it’s a standard line of thought for boomers and early Gen Xers of the establishment left. Barack Obama and the entire oeuvre of his presidency were the embodiment of this mindset (which, given what happened in 2016, should tell you a lot about how it went).

As a proud prognosticator, I’d like to offer up a different thesis than the “I-we-I” curve Putnam found: that the precipitous rise and fall of American cohesion was a brief accident of history in an otherwise selfish, narcissistic, liberal-individualist “I” oriented nation, to borrow Putnam’s term. The decades of American cohesion experienced mainly between 1920 and 1960 were an anomaly; the success of Franklin Roosevelt, the New Deal, and the “liberal consensus” that followed briefly afterward were the result merely of Roosevelt’s unique political genius and the tail winds of winning two world wars while all most of Eurasia was reduced to rubble.

…

What’s more, the specific dates of Putnam’s historical curve of American cohesion align almost perfectly with the country’s legislation on immigration restriction—a fact that neither the political scientist nor his readers want to think about too thoroughly. The first American restrictions on immigration started in the 1880s and 1890s, and piecemeal changes were made throughout the oughts and 1910s. By the early 1920s, harsh and highly limiting restrictions were put in place even as Anglo America culturally destroyed German America. The eradication of German culture in the United States established firm ethnopolitical expectations for all Americans going forward: Conform to Anglo individualist political norms, speak English, and think like a Protestant—or get the hell out.

These nationally dominant WASP norms defined and held together the so-called “Greatest Generation,” which created unparalleled wealth and opportunity for their boomer children. In the 1960s, prosperous young boomers began dismantling this Anglo-Protestant system of norms, but had offered little of substance to take its place. In the rapture of what Tom Wolfe called America’s “Third Great Awakening,” self-righteousness disguised itself as “social activism” and new-age enlightenment. Spoiled elites—highly unappreciative of the New Deal’s populist approach and the decades of labor battles that created the pressure for change—turned a blind eye while corporate America worked diligently to return the American economy to Gilded Age levels of inequality and worker disdain.

The idea that America’s inherent hyperindividualism was concealed during the “we” period of 1890-1960 by historical contingency is supported by Putnam’s own major study on ethnic diversity and its effect on community togetherness from 2007. Given Putnam’s progressive political commitments, he seems to have initially conducted the research hoping to prove that more immigration and ethnic diversity strengthens American communities. But what he found was nearly the opposite.

…

Yet despite the data he and his research team found, Putnam insisted that diversity and more immigration benefit American society as long as we overcome certain behaviors and attitudes—a claim based on the progressive assumption that people’s natural reactions can be conquered in the long run through deliberate effort and ideology promoted, presumably, through education.

The fact that diversity apparently reduces social outgoingness for most people—and greatly increases social anomie—illustrates something wrong with the Anglo-liberal individualist project, namely that it is largely at odds with the nature of the human (and animal) enterprise. The idea that there are aspects of humanity and nature itself that resist the “fixes” of new social constructs is something progressives, with their devotion to often one-dimensional understandings of science and Enlightenment rationalism, have a lot of difficulty accepting.

No matter how it’s framed, though, Putnam’s findings on diversity and social cohesiveness contrast with the woke ideals that now dominate the country’s elite class. The woke crowd would have us believe that constantly focusing on racialist differences—whether real or imagined—will light the path toward a just American society. But if we examine the lessons of Putnam’s research without the filter of contemporary progressivism, what we find is a lucky country whose otherwise destructive cultural tensions and character flaws have been cantilevered by blessings of history outside its control.

…

Last month, I spoke by phone with a political operative who runs the blog Red State Secession under the pseudonym Chris Rhodes, where he advocates, among other things, for the secession of Southern Illinois. “Some of my clients are liberals and would be pretty upset,” he explained, never giving me his real name. In our conversation, Rhodes explained how seriously some conservatives plan to push back against a political imbalance they feel gives them “little or no voice at all.”

When it comes to universities, the legacy media, Hollywood, and Big Tech, it’s hard not to see where Rhodes is coming from. But in terms of elected representation, the notion that red state conservatives do not receive adequate voice is one from a parallel universe. The states of Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah, Nebraska, and New Mexico have 16 senators between them, despite combining for a total population smaller than that of Los Angeles alone. Meanwhile, the state of California—with a population nearly 3 million larger than all the provinces in Canada combined—is provided with just two senators. New York is similarly underrepresented at the federal level.

…

Perhaps American elites refrain from challenging the Constitution, generation after generation, because in the end, they admire the Framers’ design of the “most exclusive club in the world.” Coastal leftists like Nikole Hannah-Jones can dye their hair the color of a tomato frog and offer up the pose of a punky radical, but in their backgrounds and approach, the “anti-racist” crowd is cut from the exact same cloth as the authors of the Federalist Papers: educated elites contemptuous of democracy and all the rebellious messiness it inevitably brings. The now out-in-the-open alignment between the social justice set and business elites helps explain why red-state populists loathe Pulitzer Prize winners who try to control—from the comfort of democratically unaccountable private institutions—what children learn in public school.

In my conversation with Rhodes, he laid out two different scenarios for how rural secession in America could work. In states dominated by blue urban centers, more rural counties could break off, join with other rural counties on their borders and form new, larger rural states, such as a Greater Idaho. That’s scenario No. 1. In scenario No. 2, Rhodes described the possibility of rural counties declaring independence together—maybe as one country, maybe as separate countries, or maybe as separate states. This makes little sense, but such are the considerations of a desperate and frustrated movement.

“There’s an enormous pool of conservative resentment that hasn’t been expressed yet. The pandemic put many people out of work. If there’s another economic collapse [like 2008] many of these people will have nothing to lose,” Rhodes told me. That prediction seems a bit more realistic.

“There’s widespread belief on the right that the election was stolen,” Rhodes continued, repeatedly reminding me it’s a position he agrees with. “There’s a growing sense that there’s no point in participating in federal elections. Our goals for governance are not compatible with the blue people. We accept that now.” Rhodes then gave me the cellphone number of the leader of the Greater Idaho movement and emailed me a long list of secession-related materials. “Given what happened last summer, I’m personally amazed at how restrained the American right has been thus far,” he said.

Disturbed, I reached out to Michael Lind, hoping he’d provide some answers, even if they weren’t palliative. Over the phone, I told him about my prediction that a breakup of the country was inevitable in the medium to long term. He politely disagreed.

“Basically, all the cities even in the red states are liberal, and if you drive out a few miles, the suburbs surrounding them are red,” he told me. “Unless you have an archipelago of cities connected by underground tunnels, or a Berlin airlift, secession doesn’t work. In terms of class and culture there is a secession going on, though. That’s where we’re headed with the melting pot: You’re going to have a working-class melting pot that’s frozen out of power and lives out in the boondocks. Then you’re going to have an urban college-educated elite melting pot [with all the power and wealth].”

…

“If secession won’t work, what happens if we don’t solve our economic and political divide?” I asked him.

“We become Peron’s Argentina,” he answered, without missing a beat. “It’s where I think we’re going to end up anyway. We’re showing signs of it ... your capitalists are mostly a rentier class, living off unearned income from banking, agriculture, finance, or stock sales … elites tied to the military and a nationalist coalition of interests. The working class is immobile. It cannot move at all.”

The American future Lind and I discussed was increasingly Latin American in character—a state of affairs where the threat of instability and violence is perpetual. Left and right are rarely meaningful distinctions. Political parties and movements merely represent the facades of elite factions tied to various competing parts of the corporate and security states. Dysfunction and power entrenchment rule the day, and there’s little hope of individual mobility across class lines. Maybe underground tunnels aren’t such a bad idea after all.

[go-redgirl]

Donald Trump Fully Endorses Ted Cruz for Senate

by Charlie Spiering  4 May 2018

President Donald Trump endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday, speaking in Dallas, Texas at the National Rifle Association conference.

“Full endorsement for this man — Ted Cruz,” Trump said at the beginning of his speech.

Cruz waved at Trump from the crowd, which cheered and shouted “Cruuuuz.”

“Boy that was very rousing, that’s a good sign,” Trump continued.

Trump urged everyone in the audience to vote in the midterm elections and warned them not to be complacent.

“You watch how well we do in ’18, you watch,” Trump said. “Get out and vote. Don’t be complacent.”

Read More Stories About:

2018 Elections, Big Government, Donald Trump, national rifle assocation, NRA, Ted Cruz, Texas

INDIVIDUAL COMMENTS:

TheLineIsDrawn • 19 hours ago

I supported Cruz in the primaries but couldn't be happier with President Trump. He is a canny fighter and gets results. In fact, considering everything Swamp Land is throwing at him as he successfully sorts out a mountain of thorny messes kicked down the road by predecessors, the pugilistic Trump may be uniquely qualified for the Presidency in the times we live in.

bankruptfromobamacare TheLineIsDrawn • 19 hours ago

You hit the nail on the head.

proreason bankruptfromobamacare • 18 hours ago

Ted would have been an excellent president as well, but it is unlikely that he could have withstood the flak as well as President Trump has been able. And Trump has proven that he is able to get out of the rigid political boxes that the country has been grappling with for decades.

I hope that Ted will eventually accept a SCOTUS seat because there are some potential successors out there who might be a better fit for president in the era of scorched earth politics (Tom Cotton, hello!!) and Cruz is one of the few people in the world who has the intellect and determination to be as successful a jurist as Trump has been a president.

jason callio proreason • 18 hours ago

Ideal scenario. 8 years of Trump draining the swamp and restoring liberty to the finical / public sector. Followed by 8 years of Cruz restoring sanity and constitutional principals back to our out of control progressive controlled judiciary. Trump removing the commies from the public sector institutions. Cruz restoring the constitution back to our courts. Sounds good to me.

gordonfreeman jason callio • 18 hours ago

I'm a Cruzbot, myself, but I like Trump as well. What I can't stand are the purist, concern trolls, who would rather unite with the RINOs. Like the purists at National Review. I wish they would STFU and get on the Trump Train to 2024.

Steelman gordonfreeman • 18 hours ago

I was torn between supporting Trump or Cruz back during the primaries. Either one of them would've been a good choice in my opinion.

Cruz is the #1 go-to guy of the NRA, so any of you that care about your gun rights might want to cut him a little slack and not root against him.

Schrödinger's cat Steelman • 17 hours ago

There has been no one ever - ever before - like TRUMP !!!

He breaks the mould !!!

In a class of his own !!!

Don't they hate him for it ??? LOL

MAGA

Texaslee Schrödinger's cat • 16 hours ago

One thing for sure he is in it for all the American people, and he was already rich enough to not be bribed all the time like democRats and Rinos....

dirk dominick Texaslee • 11 hours ago

"rich enough"? none except accountants and government's irs know trump's true worth. it's easy to be rich one day and in liquidation the next in industries like real estate and entertainment and technology. so far so good so maybe it will last.

merecedes Schrödinger's cat • 15 hours ago

HE REALLY IS THE GREATEST!!!!!!!!!!!

TMZ2 Schrödinger's cat • 12 hours ago

Think he is good, well my state is favoring Kobach as governor. I pray for both guys Trump and Kobach. The left is freaked out by them. Kobach might eventually run for potus if all things work out.

 Gumbo Joe Schrödinger's cat • 17 hours ago

Do you burn candles at your shrine?

cheatemandhowe Gumbo Joe • 16 hours ago

Do you still eat out of your catbox?

Gumbo Joe cheatemandhowe • 16 hours ago

Only the big pieces.

cheatemandhowe Gumbo Joe • 16 hours ago

Cool, makes cleaning it so much easier.

GeorgiaPeachie Gumbo Joe • 16 hours ago

He's not like you marxists.

marine72 Gumbo Joe • 15 hours ago

Yes, don't you?

Breitbart Administrator Schrödinger's cat • 16 hours ago

your gag-reflex is practically non-existent. the job you do on donny's junk is unmatches

Cadaverville Mayor Steelman • 15 hours ago

Cruz would NOT have beaten Hillary. Trump was the ONLY candidate (of all that ran) who could stand strong against all the BS and not back down (from the ENTIRE liberal media, etc.) Cruz would've folded to protect his family and try to stay "above the fray" which would have resulted in a Romney defeat!

Deplorable Trump Voter Cadaverville Mayor • 13 hours ago

I agree at least Cruz is no Rubio. I do not think he and his family could have handled what Trumps family has handled.

Deplorable Trump Voter Mike Resce • 12 hours ago

Cruz wife wrote that trade deal building a North American Union. that Trump ripped up. She worked in every administration since Bush 1. Heidi Cruz. I do not Trust him but Trump fired her. He would not endorse Trump. Look it up yourself. Why would she work with Obama. Our President knows all of his secrets that is why he kept calling him lying Ted.

blip tard Deplorable Trump Voter • 9 hours ago

Cruz can best be applied to right us by the constitution.. As for the outsider piece.. Trump is the only one that could do that. I wake up everyday thanking my lucky stars we don't have that crook hilary in there! Whew.

blip tard Cadaverville Mayor • 9 hours ago

Cruz is a fantastic Constitutional Conservative but I voted for Trump because of exactly what you said. Most of all, I'd like to see these good conservatives support Trump 100%. Mark Levin is a pretty good example. The thing I disagree with Mark about is the NAFTA deal.. What happened is with clinton starting it, then bush/obama carrying it fwd, our country was gutted into a series of ghost towns where mfgring left. The country was effed so far over that we needed Trump to fight fire with fire. Also, could anyone have won PA/MI/OH like trump - hillary's "blue wall"? The answer is NO.. because to win those, Trump has to take care of the Union types(typically dems), meaning pulling back the wreckage caused by NAFTA - this typically goes against what conservatives are saying about how free trade should be. Trump is the one who gets it done. Now if we can get everyone on board.. We can keep going forward!

 NotMarySue lyndaaquarius • 13 hours ago

Any Republican would be going through this press BS. George W did, and it was ugly every day. He couldn't do anything they didn't harp on.

Kim Cain Steelman • 10 hours ago

Nobody we know in public or private life could have taken what Trump has and flourished. You gotta give him that.

Trump is a trooper.

Karen from outstate gordonfreeman • 16 hours ago

The purists like pure Liberals are alike. They believe in unicorns and fairies-the tinkerbell and Nathan Lane kind-they have no clue about real life.

Vonnie gordonfreeman • 13 hours ago

That's why I cancelled my subscription, I thought I had subscribed to the wrong magazine. Would they rather have a damn Democrat!

Nora brave Glorious_Cause • 10 hours ago

Are you on drugs?? How is attempting to repeal obamas govt takeover of healthcare, pushing for pro 2a legislation, cutting taxes,cutting regulations, and cutting govt jobs, growing government?? Half of the country that were dems jumped ship when obamy pushed the left into communism, including myself. There is no more dems and repubs, just patriots and communists. You are the weakest commenter live ever seen.

 Mort Meek gordonfreeman • 12 hours ago

There are no ‘purists’ at National Review anymore. Only never-Trumpers and RINOs who pretend to be led by principle when they are making decisions on anything but principle.

elgavilansegoviano jason callio • 13 hours ago

...Agree with you 100%, ...Ted Cruz 2024!!,...

 Outer Mission Kid jason callio • 16 hours ago

What, no Pence?

Missionaccomplished jason callio • 7 hours ago

LMAOFF!!!

 Reaganwasright jason callio • 11 hours ago

I'm thankful there are still people who think like you left in this country. There is a chance to save the mess these criminals have created.

 Lou proreason • 17 hours ago

Cruz has taken notes in how to deal with the swamp when he becomes President thanks to President Trump

[lydia-can-live]

#Resist

That 45 needs a cheat sheet to help him empathize with people who have lost someone to gun violence (#5 “I hear you”) but yet wants to arm teachers in classrooms, makes me so sick I don't know what to do with my emotions.

Why are more guns NOT the answer?

Chris Kyle was a good guy with a gun. 4 tours in Iraq. He was an expert shooter. He was killed, with his friend, by someone who they were trying to help. They were all armed. No teacher will ever be equipped to defend human lives because in that moment even highly trained soldiers couldn’t. 

This “shoot ‘em up” mentality is a product of NRA propaganda and the Hollywood fantasy of a good guy with a gun. And, bonus! it sells more guns! Scared and desperate people want to defend themselves and unstable people wanting to create chaos are out there buying more guns!

More guns is creating anxiety everywhere. Did you see that story about students making sure their wheelchair bound teacher knew that in the event of a shooting they had agreed they were going to carry her out?

Or the boy who volunteered to guard his classroom door and take bullets if necessary because he didn't want to survive a mass shooting if his classmates didn't? Or the little girl who didn’t want to wear her light-up shoes to school because she thought it would make her a bigger target for a shooter?

Your right to own an assault rifle is the direct result of the NRA, not the Constitution. (Republican GHB disavowed the NRA because of its unethical means to create more gun sales.) The 2nd Amendment is an antiquated idea that farmers and land owners should have guns to come together if the newly “United States” needed a militia against an outside force. It was also a way for land owners to control the slave population. 

The Supreme Court decided in 2008 (Thanks Scalia) via Columbia v. Heller, that the Second Amendment protects the rights of the individual. This changed the entire meaning of the 2nd Amendment to obfuscate the original intent, which was to arm a militia in the face of tyranny, or an uprising. SCOTUS changed the meaning of the 2nd Amendment. If the 2nd Amendment is to be withheld for every American then why did every branch of the federal government fight to take down the Black Panthers? You know why.

Why is a gun owner and his right to own an AR-15 more important than everyone else’s right to go to school, or the movies, or a night club, and not get their organs blasted?

I used to sit outside and listen to assholes shoot at coyotes, cans, whatever (it’s all the same to them.) Everyone around us had 10 acres. One time a bullet whizzed by me while I was reading a freaking book. My 85 pound dog jumped in my lap. We rushed into the house.

I can only imagine a tiny fraction of what kids hiding in classrooms or closets felt, hoping they were not going to be shot with an automatic rifle.

You cannot hunt with this weapon. It obliterates the animal. Most of these guys hunt with a bow. The automatic rifle is to shoot at shit and get off on the power of it. They are weapons of war, not a weapon to hunt or protect your family. These people destroying their AR-15s or turning them into the police get it. They know they don’t need this machine that was designed to do only one thing. Obliterate its target. 

We need background checks. We need a waiting period before you can buy a gun.

You can’t drive a car without going through driver’s education and obtaining a driver’s license; you can’t drive a car without insurance. You have to update your license every 4 years. You can’t drive a truck without a CDL (commercial driver’s license). You can’t drive a fuel or oil tanker without a Class A CDL with tanker and hazmat endorsements.

But any asshole over 18 can go to a gun show and buy any gun they want because the NRA has secured through their monetary contributions to politicians relaxed laws and regulations associated with getting a fire arm.

Imagine if the auto industry had influenced Congress to relax regulations on cars. Seat belt laws, mandatory child protective seats or clean air emission tests would not exist.  Imagine if MADD hadn’t fought for tighter drunk driving laws?

They banned lawn darts in 1988 because one person was killed. The lawn dart association was not available for comment. /s

The NRA and its wealth have the US in a deadlock because politicians like Marco Rubio are afraid to promote policy that protects human lives because it will cut off their sweet campaign contributions. If you need the NRA’s cash to survive as a politician you are working for yourself, not your constituency. 

Trump is in the NRA’s back pocket because he is a con man and knows nothing about policy or law making. He’s the figurehead of a take down of our democracy and it’s up to us to stand up and fight back. Emma Gonzalez, the young woman who survived the school shooting in Florida and who delivered a passionate speech that has been viewed millions of times has more than 590,000 followers on twitter in less than 2 weeks. She has more followers than the NRA. People are behind this movement. People are behind these kids. This is the Revolution we need.

I stand with #banassualtweapons, I stand with #neveragain, I stand with #blacklivesmatter, I stand with #timesup & #metoo And remember, if Trump hadn’t won the election Mueller wouldn’t be looking into Manafort, Flynn, Gates, et all. The pain we are feeling now, and the fight ahead of us, will pay off if we all continue to #RESIST

https://twitter.com/Emma4Change

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxD3o-9H1lY

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/what-i-saw-treating-the-victims-from-parkland-should-change-the-debate-on-guns/553937/

http://www.newsweek.com/antonin-scalia-ronald-reagan-supreme-court-orlando-shooting-newtown-sandy-hook-472460

[fapangel]

You've been screeching bitch tears about antifa as though you're part of an opressed people, yet you never once showed anywjere near the same condemnation when a white supremacists shot up a black church.

This showed up in my inbox alongside this: 

Note the focus on non-whites getting shot. I haven’t condemned any recent mass-shootings by other spree-killers either, but all he cares about is the one where white people shot black people. Hmm. 

The same applies to police shootings. Gun owners - like me - are keenly aware of how often cops kill law-abiding gun owners of any color for no reason - such as Daniel Shaver, who was gunned down in a hallway as he was belly-crawling towards police on their orders. Why? Because someone saw him, through his hotel window, holding one of the air rifles he used in his pest-control job and called the cops. And the cops - upon being told that a private citizen was seen holding a longarm in the privacy of his own hotel room, decided to come down on the place with a fucking SWAT team like he’d been seen strapping on a baby-lined suicide vest or something. The cops shouldn’t have been there at all, much LESS fucking magdumped on him as he was crawling towards them face-down, on their orders. 

Or how about the recent killing of a white woman from Australia, who was shot dead by the very police officers she herself called for help? Better yet, the fuckup who shot her fired because he heard a “loud noise” - and he shot across the squad car, past his own goddamn partner in the driver’s seat. 

But who gives a fuck? They’re all just “a white male”, right? But when people of color are murdered for no fucking reason by incompetent cops, then it’s a big fucking deal. Then it’s problematic, and systemic racism. As someone who has a concealed carry permit, I’m intimately familiar with how many cops persecute permit holders - the guy dating my sister for a while was pulled over by the cops in a nearby town, and they split them up and started questioning my sister and a friend that was with them about why her boyfriend had a gun. He has his permit on him, and they knew it was valid, since they can look that up in their car’s computer. But they still treated him like a criminal waiting to happen. 

But of course the left-wing fucks who’ve fought gun rights in general, and concealed-carry in particular, every step of the way, don’t give a flying fuck - until a black man with a concealed license was shot, and then they’re racing to make up lies about how the NRA didn’t denounce it “enough.”  All because the NRA didn’t immediately take to social media to denounce the cop as evil racist murdering scum. Failure to automatically assume the cop was 100% at fault was unacceptable, nay, counter-revolutionary. Never-you-fucking-mind that Colin Noir, a black man, gun supporter, and chief champion of the Black Guns Matter movement, pointed out that “the NRA doesn’t need to make a statement about Philando, because they gave him his own show. I’ve been fighting for gun rights under the NRA brand for years.” Yeah, this young black man has his own damn show on “NRATV;” and as the Guardian story notes, this NRA-sponsored, endorsed and supported commentator, using the NRA’s own platform, was scathingly harsh on the police for the Philando Castile shooting. But who fucking cares about that, right? Failure to reflexively and immediately blame whitey for being the evil one is unacceptable. 

This is symptomatic of the racist narratives that underpin the entire left-wing’s movement - it’s clearly visible in the anarcho-communist Antifa’s obsession with “defending minority communities by any means necessary.” It’s the way collectivists think - not of individuals, but of communities. Ergo, the Black Community, the Asian-American community, etc., is the smallest unit of concern they have. To conceive of people as individual citizens, equal before the law, is alien to their way of thinking. Witness this shithead lambasting me for talking like I’m an “oppressed people-” to him, that’s the only unit of legitimacy there is. Only oppressed people get to bitch - and if they are oppressed than any murder, violence and mayhem is justified in the name of revolution. 

This is why Black Lives Matter supporters are ambushing cops across the country, and why anyone who disagrees with leftists on immigration policies - including Trump and all his supporters - are labeled fascist Nazis who deserve to have their heads smashed. The left is just as racist and race-obsessed as the white supremacists they claim to be saving us from. They’re just another team playing the same horrific game - and naturally, if you dare disagree with them at all, you’re labeled as one of them, as this fuckface here’s trying to do with me. And as we’ve seen with the spate of craven cowardice from various GOP politicians and CEOs, being called a Nazi or white supremacist is a slander with terrible power in our society. It’s how the left bullies dissidents into silence so they don’t point out that violent, radical leftists are the exact same kind of scum. Fortunately, there’s still people with the courage to call them out. 

As for this violence not being “new,” that’s a blatant fucking lie. “Neonazi” groups in the past could be broken down into two rough groups; skinheads, who are violent chav fucksticks in general who get Nazi tattoos because they’re edgy and mean, and Illinois Nazis, goose-stepping attention-whore clowns that’ve been the butt of jokes since the 1980s, as the linked clip demonstrates. You’ll also recall that when Antifa staged mass riots to disrupt Trump’s inauguration and torched a Muslim-American immigrant’s limousine in the process, or when they showed up with shields and weapons to violently assault people at Milo’s University of Washington speech, or when they smashed windows and brutally beat bystanders before Milo’s planned speech at Berkeley, there was no organized resistance to them by anyone at all. The first time someone actually came prepared to fight back, he was so alone in that regard that he became his own meme, the “Alt-Knight.” It wasn’t until the April 15th event that the “alt-right” showed up at all; that event was when about 50 Oath Keepers showed up and a white supremacist with a characteristically retarded haircut socked some skanky antifa pornstar. (This is also the event where Eric Clanton went around smashing skulls with a u-lock for Antifa.) Since the media is useless and real reporting is dead, Mr. Retardo Haircut is the only White Supremacist's presence I can verify, but at the time I saw discussion on /pol/ naming white supremacists that’d flown in from Europe, which should give you some idea of how miniscule their numbers are - Antifa mobilized 1,500 or so rioters - not “protesters,” but actual masked hooligans with weapons smashing shit - to shut down Milo’s speech. Hell, the Ku Klux Klan themselves had a fucking rally in Charlottesville back in July, and they mustered... 50 total dudes. The “white supremacists” have had better turnout during various clashes in Portland, but as the Willamette Week notes, said supremacists are almost always skinheads and biker gangs, demographics more defined by being criminal, anti-social fuckbags in general, with “white supremacy” being an excuse to put cool viking patches on their jackets. Not surprising, considering Portland’s been called “skinhead city” in the past. 

Compare that to Charlottesville. The media breathlessly predicted as many as “a thousand” white supremacists would show up - how many actually did, I haven’t seen any news agency put a fucking number to, aside from “hundreds,” referring to both sides - and considering that they were carpooling and flying in from as far away as Texas, I doubt there was that many - but it was still more than showed up at any prior event. If one presumes that the retards carrying tiki torches the night before were all white supremacists (as opposed to everyone who showed up for the actual event the day after,) counting torches visible in this video and this one with airborne drone shots, there were at least 150 or so - still pathetic turnout for an event scraping people from all over the country, but still three times the actual white supremacists verifiable present at any other event. Furthermore, this time, lots of them brought shields and clubs and helmets, ready to scrap - mirroring antifa’s own tactics. 

This is new - and if you want to know where it comes from? What’s driving this? Look no further than this video that shows the white supremacists, in their own words, crediting the unceasing aggression and violence of the radical left as being the chief thing pushing new recruits into their arms. Fucking hell, Bannon went on-record crowing about how he wants Democrats to talk about racism every day not five days ago. And what’s more, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE FUCKING TOLD YOU ASSHOLES WOULD HAPPEN. I, personally, said it on this very goddamned blog: 

Some people do actually believe this shit and they are mostly Democrats - hell, here’s a Gallup poll with the numbers if you doubt my analysis. And to re-iterate, they’re inflaming extremists on both sides of the spectrum, because the more violence antifa commits, the more the Illinois Nazis will croon “see, we were right all along!”

The “Nazis” were a bunch of fucking retarded CHUDs seig heiling on dodgy message boards and defending the supreme might of das Reich’s wunderweapons on WWII forums - until you miserable fucks catapulted them into the national spotlight, and then legitimized them by using violence against people you claimed were them; making it seem like you couldn’t beat their arguments, so you had to resort to force, like knuckle-dragging thugs. You could never tell the difference, because you’re insane zealots who consider any disagreement with your sacred politics - such as immigration law - to be absolutely unforgivably fascist. You motherfuckers started this, because you refused, refused to accept the outcome of a democratic election. You vile bastards are pushing this country further and further towards civil unrest and even civil war, and you’ve got the fucking gall to tell me I’m pretending to be concerned about them becoming violent, when I was warning about this back in fucking May? 

I’m not going to stop blogging, writing, or tweeting - because you fucks will never stop trying to destroy the foundations of our nation’s civil order to get your way. I’m not going to stand silent while you bastards do your utmost to plunge our peaceful and prosperous nation into a new era of civil strife, hatred and bloodshed.

So keep crying, you bastard, because I’m not going anywhere. 

[valencing]

today’s podsa ep was OUTSTANDING and i’m not even gonna be able to remember all the things i loved so help me out but:

1) everyone in the studio together!!! telling each other how great they look!

2) discussion of pundit’s haircut. discussion of pundit’s difficulties in wine country. discussion of pundit having her own side of the helix mattress. i’m in pundit fandom.

3) J O E A M E R I C A *______* listen. i have had to endure the seb gorka impression so often that sometimes i forget how much i love joe america. i completely lost it. so did favs and tommy. five stars.

4) tommy being called TOM by favs and breaking down the whole russia thing. what is hotter than tommy intoning the word treason into my ear? literally nothing. 

5) lovett’s impassioned speech about anti-democratic forces. he was ON!!!

6) favs being mean to lovett in the al franken interview, in the ads, and in the outro while clearly making love-eyes at him the entire time. 

7) al franken was great! how fuckin refreshing after some of the duds we’ve had to sit through recently. loved the pivoting discussion. loved the bit about the different healthcare systems. loved the believing in ghosts joke. should i read his book? yikes. 

8) lovett’s insistence on telling his three stories was ADORABLE and i love that he wanted to talk about trump in cognitive decline bc unfortunately that’s my fave problematic topic. 

9) i’m so happy that they interviewed TWO of lovett’s crushes??? lovett talking to deray is always amazing. “i wanted to wish you a happy birthday but i didn’t know what to say and it felt weird so i just think that’s interesting culturally and not at all a feature of how you make me feel and maybe we could talk about that?” Deray: “ANYWAY, some interesting news about felony enfranchisement.” i’m glad they discussed the whole nra thing bc that was nuts. OH AND ROMPHIMS. FAVS EXPLAINING THAT LOVETT FINDS HIS SUMMER CLOTHING CONSTRICTING. I CAN’T. 

10) WHAT WAS LOVETT DOING IN WINE COUNTRY? HE HAD TO FLEE FOREST FIRES!!! WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO RESENTFULLY PAY A FRIEND BACK FOR? discuss. 

in conclusion, i love episodes where lovett shines and i think he shines MORE on podsa than on lioli?? maybe because his political rants tend to be great, whereas his pop culture rants are hit or miss. or because on podsa he doesn’t have to MANAGE things, he can like...relax? also i feel like i don’t give favs enough credit for being such a good, smart host. like he’s not usually the one with the fireworks commentary or the one displaying personal vulnerability but that stuff couldn’t happen the way it does without him providing the structure and the sense and asking really good questions. ilu favs!!! forearms and light!!!

[trand-politics]

Trump, 2a, and other small rants

Full disclosure, guys: I’m a gun owner. I currently own 4 long guns, with two more in the process of being acquired from the wife of a deceased relative.

I like being able to shoot. I do so as a hobby. Most days it’s just in the woods. A friend and I fill some gallon jugs with water and food coloring, and grab a couple empty cans of house paint, and go out on my great-uncle’s 40 acres. He has a straight ~90 yard path that we can do some mild distance shooting as well. Those jugs make a nice poof when you hit them. It’s like an explosive target without the explosives.

I tell you this because I want to provide some context when I talk about not wanting more gun control in the US. It is a fun hobby and an excellent vent for safe owners.

Safe, legal gun ownership is hard. It involves massive safes, trigger locks, combination locks, a multitude of keys, and hard cases. It involves solvents capable of dissolving lead and brushes strong enough to clean brittle steel yet delicate enough to not damage its engravings. It’s time consuming and money intensive.

So when I’m putting in all that work to be safe- for every 5 hours of shooting it’s about 2-3 hours of cleaning and manipulation of safe for storage- and someone tells me, at the end of all that, that he wants to take away my ability to pursue this hobby? 

How about fuck that.

It’s tradition for me to say “both sides are wrong” and I see no reason to break from tradition here. Let’s talk about each side.

The left wants to either restrict guns, restrict features, or price ammo and firearms out of reach of the typical person. 

The first is just unrealistic on a cultural level. Cars kill more people than guns every year. The ability to own one of those things is in the Constitution. 

On the second point, it’s weird to gun owners that there are “assault features” that our friends consider scary. My 10-22 is a simple semi-automatic .22 rifle. I got mine with a wood stock and traditional rifle silhouette. Many states do not restrict these at all, though I know that in New Jersey I’d need to leave my 25 round magazine back in MI (more on that later). But take the 10/22 and put on a black polymer stock with a pistol grip and suddenly it’s an “assault weapon” per Massachusetts and some politicians. And those 25 round mags? A practiced shooter can reload in under a second. You figure 2-3 shoots per second for a lot of shooters, and having to reload saved ~2.5 seconds for 25 rounds. It’s not significant.

Pricing ammo out of reach defeats the purpose of the 2a, which is to allow individuals to defend against tyranny. As the wealthy have more disposable income with which to buy firearms, this pricing scheme simply means that only the wealthiest people will have guns. That seems entirely unfair.

Mrs. Clinton ran on a campaign of holding firearm manufacturers liable for gun violence, a position which even Sen. Sanders said was off. An auto manufacturer is only held liable for a vehicle fatality when it’s proven that there was some flaw in the design that the manufacturer knew of or could reasonably have known of. Mrs. Clinton’s position implies that guns are inherently faulty simply by nature of their existence.

Now let’s talk about Republicans’ plans to put a gun in every person’s hands, often without restriction. That seems pretty silly to me, as well. There are people legitimately unfit to own firearms. I’m a user of the r/guns subreddit and every day I’ll look at a post and think “you probably should not own a gun.” Further, the insistence that more guns = less crime is objectively false, as proven by comparison to nations with more restrictions.

So what’s the solution to that mess? I think it’s stronger enforcement plus a rearrangement of the law to allow for more efficient enforcement. Suppressors are covered by the National Firearms Act, and require a $200 fee, plus a lengthy application process, to purchase. The current wait on an application’s processing is eight months. That tells me that the department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) does not have the resources it needs to comply with existing law. Give them those resources. Further, reduce restrictions on suppressors. Contrary to a rather crass claim by Mrs. Clinton, a suppressor (she used the term silencer) does not completely muffle the sound of a gunshot. It lowers the report by a few decibels. A jet engine is as loud as a gunshot. Picture the difference between standing five feet from a jet and standing thirty feet away. That’s roughly the difference between a suppressed firearm and a standard one. Those shots still echo; they can still be heard from a great distance. Eliminate restrictions on them, and allow the ATF to use its freed-up resources to investigate cases of fraud and illegal firearm sales.

The list of things that can disqualify you from buying a gun is pretty extensive, and includes: any involuntary mental health hold in your life; felony conviction of any type; any domestic abuse conviction whatsoever; being deemed mentally unfit by a mental care professional; using illegal drugs (marijuana is still illegal at the federal level and the background checks are done at the federal level); a restraining order being filed against you if the judge determines that it is in the best interests of the victim for you to be barred from owning a firearm; and attempting to buy a firearm for anyone prohibited for any of these reasons (a straw purchase). That list is inclusive of everyone that I would prefer not own a firearm. 

___

I don’t get the NRA. Every time a major shooting happens, they have to get into the mix and make an ad that shines a highly negative light on gun owners and gun ownership. They don’t even support gun owners’ interests, but rather, the interests of gun manufacturers. Most recently, they offered to trade banning of bump-fire stocks for more protections for manufacturers. This organization is ridiculous, and I consistently refuse to buy any product which will give a portion of that money to the NRA.

___

Is the GOP’s current platform simply “Take whatever a reasonable person would do, then do the opposite?!” They’re cutting taxes while increasing spending. They’re eliminating access to healthcare. They’re still increasing the size of the goddamn military even while one of the wars we started is about to end. They keep trying to break net neutrality. The EPA’s authority is getting weakened, and federal land is being sold off. They’re trying to pull us out of the UN, isolating us from the world in an age of globalism and friendship among nations. With Nikki Haley’s most recent comments to the UN, it seems this administration is trying to start a war with Russia, the nation that put them in power! And the president wants to strengthen libel laws to squelch any speech that dares criticize him.

Then there’s NAFTA. That agreement has been disastrous for Mexico. It allowed us to dump our subsidized corn on them, while our auto manufacturers filled the country with low-paying, no-skill jobs that Americans would never do for any wage. It’s ridiculous how much we benefit from it. Yet our current president keeps talking about how harmful it is and how much it needs to be renegotiated.

I’m so sick of the GOP talking about health care. They had seven years to come up with a new plan and they didn’t even have a plan that worked for their own membership. I get it. Healthcare is hard. That’s why it took so much negotiation to get the Affordable Care Act passed. And now that repeal has failed, the president has banked on an interesting strategy: Break ACA, then blame Democrats for it being broken. I don’t think he realizes that the executive orders he signs are public. You can’t snap your driveshaft in half then claim it’s your friend’s fault your car doesn’t work any more than you can strip out the means by which a bill works then blame someone else when it doesn’t. 

Health care is so hard, guys. Both parties have an end goal and neither seems to recognize that it will take a lot of incremental steps to make progress toward those goals either way. Democrats’ goal of universal care probably goes through small steps like expanding MediCare, increasing what it covers, adding more incentives for states to buy into it, raising the maximum wage one can make to qualify for it, increasing the minimum coverage requirements of health care plans, then making medicare universal. Republicans will want to do the opposite- lowering the maximum wage to qualify for MediCare, adding additional requirements like drug testing and community service, expanding Health Savings Accounts and providing incentives for their use, and reducing the requirements of what must be covered. As far as this goes, I stand with the left. I consider good health to not only be a right, but a national security issue. There’s no point in protecting citizens from outside threats if they get killed by a bacteria that could easily be cured if one didn’t need to pay $100 to see a doctor and $100 for the medication. I’m sick of friends being bankrupted over a hospital stay.

I’m

sick

of

it.

[justsomeantifas]

Here’s your dose of “What the Fuck Is Going On” News (2/27/2017 - 2/28/2017 Edition)

Trump announced yesterday that he is seeking a "historical increase" in military spending, hoping to book Pentagon spending by $54 billion. The cost of this will be funded through cuts elsewhere in the government, which will include a large reduction in foreign aid. Trump claims that this buildup in the military is needed because it's depleted in a time we need it most. In reality, our military is one of the most powerful in the world and the U.S. spends far more than any other country on defense. (source)

Ken Blackwell, who serves as Trump's domestic policy chairman confirmed that a "religious freedom" executive order is still coming. A draft of the order was leaked a few weeks ago that would allow exemptions for those who oppose same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, trans identity, etc. Blackwell expressed his vision for the bill where he hopes that religious people will no longer be forced to do business with LGBTQ people, a group he doesn't think is a class that is discriminated against. (source)

The Trump administration plans to abandon the federal government's opposition to Texas' voter ID laws, which are considered some of the toughest in the country. Voter rights activists have long opposed this law due to the ways it disenfranchises voters, mainly those with disabilities, minorities, and those in poverty. This should come as no surprise due to Attorney General Jeff Sessions being in favor of such laws. (source)

Yesterday the Senate confirmed billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as Trump's commerce secretary. Ross is now the second member of Trump's Cabinet who was deeply involved in companies that contributed to the housing crisis, joining Steven Mnuchin. He was invested and involved in two companies who were involved in illegal foreclosure practices. (source)

Another executive order was signed today that will revamp or rescind a rule that defined the rivers, streams and wetlands that are protected by the Clean Water Act. The executive order has no immediate legal effect, but instructs the new EPA administrator Scott Pruitt to begin repealing and rewriting the sweeping rule that is designed to protect American waterways from pollution. (source)

Wayne LaPierre, the CEO of the NRA, gave a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). LaPierre talked about the ban on Trump's executive order that barred travel from seven Muslim-majority countries where he said it was "a form of violence against our constitutional system." He then went on to tell the audience where he encouraged "full force of American freedom guns" against anarchists, Marxists, communists, socialists and other left-wingers. (source)

House Republicans shot down an effort to make Trump's tax returns public and show if he’s hiding any more conflicts of interest. The House voted almost entirely on the party line and rejected the effort. (source)

The White House is expected to investigate the death of Navy SEAL, William Owens, who died in the Yemen raid last month. Owens father has been outspoken against Trump using his son's death to deflect criticism on the raid. Trump went on Fox and Friends this morning where he talked about Owens further and removed himself from the responsibility. He continually cited that "they" wanted the mission, "they" started the mission, and "they" were responsible for Owens’ death. (source)

(Note: this post along with the following are citing Trump interview with Fox and Friends this morning, the transcript can be found here. In the Fox and Friends interview, Trump also said that he believes Obama and his people are responsible for the White House leaks. “I think that President Obama is behind it, because his people are certainly behind it.” Trump offered no proof to these accusations.

Trump was asked about the jobs he has yet to appoint and he responded that he will not be appointing people to certain positions because "they're unnecessary to have." The interviews on Fox and Friends were surprised by the revelation because Trump has not announced that he's cutting the jobs of those he's supposed to appoint.

They asked Trump about his announcement that he is skipping the White House Correspondents dinner. The administration previously put out that Trump wasn't attending because he is "too busy running the country" to waste his time with this, however Trump provided a different answer this morning. He said that it has to do with him not being treated "properly" by the media.

Jeff Sessions announced that the DoJ will stop allocating money to lawsuits against police departments. He said they will revamp the DoJ mission in an attempt to reverse the suffering morale of law enforcement, which, "as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable deeds of a few bad actors." Sessions also stated that he doesn't know how the DoJ will handle the recent Chicago probe that revealed civil rights violations stating that the reports are "anecdotal" and "not scientifically based." He then went on to say he DID NOT EVEN READ THE REPORTS. (source)

Jeff Sessions also made comments yesterday about his desire to crack down on states who legalized marijuana. He said that it's "an unhealthy practice" and "we're seeing a real violence" from those who use it. (source)

And now your daily reminder that: Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water. Standing Rock still needs your support. The American infrastructure report card still averages poorly with the rating of a “D+” On 2/26 another Jewish cemetery was attacked in an act of anti-Semitic vandalism, here is their donations page.

[jackiesedley]

School shootings, gun control laws and TRUMP in all his “glory”

On Feb. 14, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz committed a mass shooting at his former high school, Stoneman Douglas High, in Parkland, Florida, leaving 17 dead and dozens injured.

Some headlines claimed that this was the 18th shooting of 2018 thus far, while others argued there had only been three. After more intensive research, I found that the only substantial evidence regarding nationwide shootings that seemed irrefutable was that there have been over 200 school shootings, resulting in over 400 injuries and/or deaths, since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, according to The New York Times.

In his Feb. 15th address to the nation, President Trump expressed his deepest sympathies for the families and communities affected by the Florida shooting—with the assistance of a teleprompter. While Trump made sure to address mental health, religion and the importance of prayer and support systems, he suspiciously refrained from mentioning gun violence, gun control, even the word “gun.” He also ignored the fact that research has yet to prove any correlation between mental disorders and gun violence.

As per usual, Trump’s more explicit thoughts on the shooting came out via Twitter, the only platform of his that seems to allow him free-rein to speak his mind without review from his administrative aides. In his tweet, he explained that there were “so many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”

Perhaps the most contradictory factor of Trump’s speech was the fact that while he blamed the entire tragedy on mental illness, his past actions have directly worked against solving this posed issue. Just last February, Trump signed a bill into law that rolled back a regulation introduced by Barack Obama following the Sandy Hook mass shooting, which intended to strengthen background checks for gun purchases and limit people with severe mental health issues from purchasing guns.

Unfortunately, in attempting to uncover evidence to counter Trump’s incoherence, I realized that there is a shocking lack of reliable research surrounding gun violence in the United States. Government gun research began dwindling down in 1996, when the passing of the Dickey Amendment stated that “none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.”

The National Rifle Association, more commonly known as the NRA, has been a key player over the past two decades to limit any movement to gain funding for firearm research and statistical data.

Additionally, the definition of “mass shooting” has also greatly contributed to confusion regarding statistics. Whether sources differ in distinguishing based upon location, number of casualties or intent, there does not seem to be one standard method of tracking mass violence in America.

There are institutional methods and practices that can strengthen research surrounding mass shootings within the nation without involvement of governmental organizations. For one, online databases provide a space wherein users can input factual information regarding shootings. Public advocacy for widespread change can also spark a movement toward research and prevention, as displayed by the students involved in the Florida shooting; in fact, they seem to be advocating for change more than any legislative body across the nation.

If Trump has any ounce of reason or intelligence in his body—which is proving to be more and more debatable—he must have even the slightest inclination that gun control regulations possess the potential to limit the number of mass shootings in the United States. Due to his narcissistic tendencies and inability to accept defeat or take accountability for his wrongdoings, however, Trump would much rather incite a call to action reliant on policies and promotions he has consistently advocated for. Instead of calling for a focus on stronger gun control laws, or even suggestions of how to house a fire arm without putting your child in immediate danger, he simply called upon the nation to “work together to create a culture in our country that embraces the dignity of life that creates deep and meaningful human connections.”

The nation should be both alarmed and disgraced that we have reached a point where 15-year-olds are telling legislators that enough is enough. While conservatives claim to hold immense respect for victims and their families, the lack of action being taken to prevent shootings like these from happening again speaks to the absence of true empathy.

Yet again, our country’s leader and Congress members on all sides have chosen to take the beaten path when responding to a nationwide issue. If the first two months of the year are any indication, 2018 does not look like a promising time for a natural decrease of gun violence. The only way to make any change is direct action; however, as this involves trekking down the road less traveled and implementing newly-crafted, “liberal” laws and mandates revolving around gun control regulation, the president and NRA may very well be standing in the way of the nation’s progress.

February 25, 2018

[stoph8co]

FUCK YOU DONALD TRUMP.

You wanna slam Kathy Griffin? Seriously? Her mistake was APOLOGIZING at all.

She’s a comedian, not a politician, not a reporter, she is not a journalist for CNN. She is a personality with a gift for humor. Don’t like her? Fuck off. Don’t like that she is protected by the right of free speech? Don’t listen. Don’t look at it. I don’t even believe Trumpler’s son saw the image and gasped or screamed or whatever the story is. Trumpler is the I CAN NOT TELL A TRUTH President. Turmpler doesn’t ever tell the truth, he is a prolific liar. He has a long history of lying and that’s what he does: LIES. He is not smart, he is not a genius. He is a cold blooded racist narcissistic loser whose Daddy paid for his whole life. He has squelched on loans, defrauded companies, built a fraudulent University then had to pay off those suing him, not paid people he hired and contracted, threatened workers he hired with deportation and is just an awful human being. He can’t even honor the commitment of marriage. He has cheated on every wife he ever had, had children with multiple women and is an UGLY fat stupid white NRA/KKK and RUSSIAN enthusiast who only cares about getting more money to pay for his orange makeup and his hair weave, plugs and McDonald’s happy meals and KFC buckets of chicken. Griffin’s only mistake was apologizing. There is no reason to apologize to DONALD TRUMP for mocking him. NONE. He should get on his hands and knees and beg forgiveness from OBAMA for Birther, to the American people for causing daily drama and strain with him being in the oval office being a completely inept loser, and apologize to all the men and women he has been awful to his entire life or not paid, or harassed and bullied, like Rosie... and so on and so on. The list of people he has been ugly and hateful to is very very long and well documented. FUCK YOU DONALD RUSSIAN TRUMP. You are a dumb fat stupid old ugly ass ORANGE freak. Can’t wait until you are impeached, kill yourself or just have your heart implode on your fake ass.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2017/06/03/kathy-griffin-press-conference-donald-trump/102442452/

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/03/entertainment/bill-maher-kathy-griffin-controversies/index.html

http://time.com/4804294/kathy-griffin-venues-cancel-donald-trump-photo/

[masscentralmedia]

Trump Stokes Gunowners’ Fire at NRA Rally in Atlanta

Trump Stokes Gunowners’ Fire at NRA Rally in Atlanta

A crowd cheers President Donald Trump during his speech at the National Rifle Association convention in Atlanta on April 28. (Kayla Goggin/CNS)

ATLANTA (CN) – On the eve of his 100th day in office, President Donald Trump spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of thousands at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, who stood at attention for his entire speech.

Trump reassured the crowd that…