America

[WaspInWales]

Plus, will any new gun control laws make it through both houses?

[Sandydragon]

Plus, will any new gun control laws make it through both houses?

It would need a President who had campaigned for controls and had won a huge mandate and who also had the political nous to barter, bribe, bully, and convince both houses that he was right and the will of the American people was clear.

Trump has none of that.

[Which Tyler]

Plus, will any new gun control laws make it through both houses?

It would need a President who had campaigned for controls and had won a huge mandate and who also had the political nous to barter, bribe, bully, and convince both houses that he was right and the will of the American people was clear.

Trump has none of that.

I seem to remember Obama (soft on guns) using up a hell of a lot of political capital on just getting restrictions for the mentally ill put in place - didn't he also try something to do with assault weapnnos / bump stocks but fail.
Of course, reversing that was one of Trump's first acts; whilst he's now aghast at how easy he made it for the mentally ill to get guns (on the black market, as he didn't even know these things were available on general sale)

[morepork]

Plus, will any new gun control laws make it through both houses?

It would need a President who had campaigned for controls and had won a huge mandate and who also had the political nous to barter, bribe, bully, and convince both houses that he was right and the will of the American people was clear.

Trump has none of that.

I seem to remember Obama (soft on guns) using up a hell of a lot of political capital on just getting restrictions for the mentally ill put in place - didn't he also try something to do with assault weapnnos / bump stocks but fail.
Of course, reversing that was one of Trump's first acts; whilst he's now aghast at how easy he made it for the mentally ill to get guns (on the black market, as he didn't even know these things were available on general sale)

Obama tried it a few times after Sandy Hook and got knocked back every time. Not even the most token concession on assault weapons was given. NRA lobbyists were meeting with Trump the day after his public fuckwittery meeting with legislators BTW. Look for tweets about Gunz!! and 2nd amendment!!

[Which Tyler]

Obama tried it a few times after Sandy Hook and got knocked back every time. Not even the most token concession on assault weapons was given. NRA lobbyists were meeting with Trump the day after his public fuckwittery meeting with legislators BTW. Look for tweets about Gunz!! and 2nd amendment!!

Well, whoever gets in his ear last before he says anything, seems to be the one who wins.
I guess the toilet cubicle next to his is prime property in the Whitehouse (Helluva price to pay though, given his diet)

[J Dory]

Obama tried it a few times after Sandy Hook and got knocked back every time. Not even the most token concession on assault weapons was given. NRA lobbyists were meeting with Trump the day after his public fuckwittery meeting with legislators BTW. Look for tweets about Gunz!! and 2nd amendment!!

Well, whoever gets in his ear last before he says anything, seems to be the one who wins.
I guess the toilet cubicle next to his is prime property in the Whitehouse (Helluva price to pay though, given his diet)

Now you're just talking shit.

[morepork]

I wonder how many times he has fallen asleep on the shitter with pron playing on his phone, a half eaten big mac in one hand.

[Digby]

Man shoots himself to death outside the Whitehouse, D.C. police advise they have a natural death squad on the scene. They either need to rename the squad, or reconsider that guns aren't natural

[morepork]

Trump administration caves in to the NRA. What a fucking surprise.

[Digby]

Shocked, I say shocked. That said I can understand people taking a states position on this rather than federal if they consistently think in terms of the states setting their agenda, that doesn't seem to much apply to the orange buffoon however.

[morepork]

The North Koreans need but put a sex doll wearing a wig with an audio loop of empty platitudes interspersed with propaganda and suggestion (like Satan in Led Zep lyrics) in a room with Trump and they will get all their wee hearts desire.

[Digby]

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way ... each-house

[kk67]

Plus, will any new gun control laws make it through both houses?

It would need a President who had campaigned for controls and had won a huge mandate and who also had the political nous to barter, bribe, bully, and convince both houses that he was right and the will of the American people was clear.

Trump has none of that.

They'd also need to not mind being shot.

[morepork]

Fucking wombles.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/us/t ... harge.html

[kk67]

It didn't accidentally go off. He's a moron.
It's like when horsey people say 'the horse hurt itself' ,..... no, you hurt the horse.

[Digby]

It's a weird old place is America as we see again in the updates or lack thereof to the State Senate in Wisconsin. Essentially there are some empty seats in the senate, and rather than hold special elections to fill them (essentially bye elections) the senate in Wisconsin being Republican is seeking not to hold the elections for fear they'd lose the seats to Democrats. Now you might think it's for the voters to decide but there are many games afoot.

The claim they didn't need to hold special elections for the seats open since last December stems from a bizarre interpretation of the requirements to hold a special election to fill a vacant seat. Essentially, as I understand it based on a cursory read of a poorly written piece, the seats became open last year and because the requirement states an election must be held if the seats become vacant before May in an election year then this being an election year the Republicans have decided no special elections are needed. Which is to say the seats became vacant last year, and whilst that's before May of this year the seats became vacant the year before an election year when there'd be a requirement to hold an election - simples no?

The courts told the GOP this was a stupid position, and that when the requirement is to hold special elections for seats vacated before May in an election year it doesn't mean only in an election year. The GOP have responded to this and their concerns about Democrat getting election by seeking to change the law so they don't need to hold elections (and simply wait for the general election later this year), whether the GOP can pass such a change to the law will depend on whether they can whip their party senators into line, right now some are saying they have concerns based around what might loosely be termed a flagrant disregard for the basic values of a democracy.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/pol ... 460036002/

[Digby]

For reasons that don't need to be looked into too closely I've found myself on the Fox News site and simply to amuse myself I've clicked on the World news section. And I note they've broken down some stories by region as follows

The Americas:

US urges Kosovo, Serbia to normalize ties through dialogue (clearly if the US urges talks it's a story about America)

The Latest: North's TV reports on Kim meeting without images (clearly also talks about North Korea is about America)

Islamic State haunts northern Iraq months after its defeat (yes, well...)


Things will no doubt improve once we're out of the the Americas


Africa:

Ball tampering plot: Smith, Warner banned for 12 months


Middle East:

Greek authorities search for migrants after emergency call


Australia:

The Latest: Russia vows to retaliate for expelled envoys



Some of those aren't too bad I suppose, and the stories can easily be about more than the headline

[kk67]

For reasons that don't need to be looked into too closely I've found myself on the Fox News site and simply to amuse myself I've clicked on the World news section. And I note they've broken down some stories by region as follows.

Wow.
You fool.

[kk67]

Fox news...Grow up.

[morepork]

Minute by Minute has easily qualified that. Wake up.

[rowan]

Shocking

With alarming regularity, unarmed men, women, children and even pets are being gunned down by twitchy, hyper-sensitive, easily-spooked police officers who shoot first and ask questions later, and all the government does is shrug and promise to do better.

Killed for standing in a “shooting stance.” In California, police opened fire on and killed a mentally challenged—unarmed—black man within minutes of arriving on the scene, allegedly because he removed a vape smoking device from his pocket and took a “shooting stance.”

Killed for holding a cell phone. Police in Arizona shot a man who was running away from U.S. Marshals after he refused to drop an object that turned out to be a cellphone. Similarly, police in Sacramento fired 20 shots at an unarmed, 22-year-old black man who was standing in his grandparents’ backyard after mistaking his cellphone for a gun.

Killed for carrying a baseball bat. Responding to a domestic disturbance call, Chicago police shot and killed 19-year-old college student Quintonio LeGrier who had reportedly been experiencing mental health problems and was carrying a baseball bat around the apartment where he and his father lived.

Killed for opening the front door. Bettie Jones, who lived on the floor below LeGrier, was also fatally shot—this time, accidentally—when she attempted to open the front door for police.

Killed for running towards police with a metal spoon. In Alabama, police shot and killed a 50-year-old man who reportedly charged a police officer while holding “a large metal spoon in a threatening manner.”

Killed for running while holding a tree branch. Georgia police shot and killed a 47-year-old man wearing only shorts and tennis shoes who, when first encountered, was sitting in the woods against a tree, only to start running towards police holding a stick in an “aggressive manner.”

Killed for crawling around naked. Atlanta police shot and killed an unarmed man who was reported to have been “acting deranged, knocking on doors, crawling around on the ground naked.” Police fired two shots at the man after he reportedly started running towards them.

Killed for wearing dark pants and a basketball jersey. Donnell Thompson, a mentally disabled 27-year-old described as gentle and shy, was shot and killed after police—searching for a carjacking suspect reportedly wearing similar clothing—encountered him lying motionless in a neighborhood yard. Police “only” opened fire with an M4 rifle after Thompson first failed to respond to their flash bang grenades and then started running after being hit by foam bullets.

Killed for driving while deaf. In North Carolina, a state trooper shot and killed 29-year-old Daniel K. Harris—who was deaf—after Harris initially failed to pull over during a traffic stop.

Killed for being homeless. Los Angeles police shot an unarmed homeless man after he failed to stop riding his bicycleand then proceeded to run from police.

Killed for brandishing a shoehorn. John Wrana, a 95-year-old World War II veteran, lived in an assisted living center, used a walker to get around, and was shot and killed by police who mistook the shoehorn in his hand for a 2-foot-long machete and fired multiple beanbag rounds from a shotgun at close range.

Killed for having your car break down on the road. Terence Crutcher, unarmed and black, was shot and killed by Oklahoma police after his car broke down on the side of the road. Crutcher was shot in the back while walking towards his car with his hands up.

Killed for holding a garden hose. California police were ordered to pay $6.5 million after they opened fire on a man holding a garden hose, believing it to be a gun. Douglas Zerby was shot 12 times and pronounced dead on the scene.

Killed for calling 911. Justine Damond, a 40-year-old yoga instructor, was shot and killed by Minneapolis police, allegedly because they were startled by a loud noise in the vicinity just as she approached their patrol car. Damond, clad in pajamas, had called 911 to report a possible assault in her neighborhood.

Killed for looking for a parking spot. Richard Ferretti, a 52-year-old chef, was shot and killed by Philadelphia policewho had been alerted to investigate a purple Dodge Caravan that was driving “suspiciously” through the neighborhood.

Shot seven times for peeing outdoors. Eighteen-year- old Keivon Young was shot seven times by police from behind while urinating outdoors. Young was just zipping up his pants when he heard a commotion behind him and then found himself struck by a hail of bullets from two undercover cops. Allegedly officers mistook Young—5’4,” 135 lbs., and guilty of nothing more than taking a leak outdoors—for a 6’ tall, 200 lb. murder suspect whom they later apprehended. Young was charged with felony resisting arrest and two counts of assaulting a peace officer.

This is what passes for policing in America today, folks, and it’s only getting worse.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/03/29 ... s-america/

[kk67]

It does seem odd that cheating is becoming an industry standard.

[WaspInWales]

I thought giving the good guys guns was supposed to fix the problems?

[Digby]

Paul Ryan to announce he's sticking the tax cut in his back pocket and running away so if the Dems do well in the coming elections he's not tainted when it comes to any future Presidential run. He mayn't announce it quite like that.

[morepork]

Expect a bit more of this.