tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55075640459228561232024-02-19T07:41:10.036-05:00The Hanging ShingleUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-57746120133436781762017-03-23T14:51:00.001-04:002017-03-23T14:51:32.736-04:00This is not normal<a href="http://time.com/4710456/donald-trump-time-interview-truth-falsehood/?xid=homepage">Hell, this is not lucid.</a> It's about an even split between things that are wrong and things that are gibberish.
<blockquote>These are great people. I think they are great people and they are going to, I have a lot of confidence in them. So hopefully things will straighten out. But I inherited a mess, I inherited a mess in so many ways. I inherited a mess in the Middle East, and a mess with North Korea, I inherited a mess with jobs, despite the statistics, you know, my statistics are even better, but they are not the real statistics because you have millions of people that can’t get a job, ok. And I inherited a mess on trade. I mean we have many, you can go up and down the ladder. But that’s the story. Hey look, in the mean time, I guess, I can’t be doing so badly, because I’m president, and you’re not. You know. Say hello to everybody OK?</blockquote>
</p><p>Huh?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-67937174023736303282017-03-23T14:46:00.003-04:002017-03-23T14:46:38.543-04:00Cry 'Havoc!'...<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/gorsuch-confirmation-hearing-to-focus-today-on-testimony-from-friends-foes/2017/03/23/14d21116-0fc7-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html?utm_term=.f57b5dfd4de9">...and let slip the dogs of Warren!</a>
<blockquote>Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s pick to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, faced a critical blow on Thursday as Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would join with other Democrats in attempting to filibuster the nomination — a move that could complicate his confirmation and lead to a total revamp of how the U.S. Senate conducts its business.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-59769077192807899472017-03-23T14:44:00.001-04:002017-03-23T14:45:28.656-04:00Pete Buttigieg, rising as fast as any rising star in the Democratic Party, is talking about his congressional district, which is currently represented by a Republican.
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Seems noteworthy.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNsJimtK1Bl84KaHy9A34cWlu3uJnS3VbGo2695k4V63uRIR_LOx21rtIX9EdwIryLo8ghwmAie56HR1a2BUim2xZTAXZkuoZKTWJSjjGbMOWVuoG_MTrAqeV6VdtIJUV6bMLcUz8AUA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-03-23+at+12.20.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNsJimtK1Bl84KaHy9A34cWlu3uJnS3VbGo2695k4V63uRIR_LOx21rtIX9EdwIryLo8ghwmAie56HR1a2BUim2xZTAXZkuoZKTWJSjjGbMOWVuoG_MTrAqeV6VdtIJUV6bMLcUz8AUA/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-03-23+at+12.20.24+PM.png" width="400" height="169" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-16544160352189268902013-06-07T13:37:00.000-04:002013-06-07T13:37:08.733-04:00Romney RevisionismI don't know if he thinks lying makes it better, or if he really doesn't know what he's talking about. Generally, I follow Hanlon's Razor, and try not to attribute to malice what can just as easily be explained by stupidity, but <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/06/romney-talks-christie-irs-2016/?hpt=hp_c3">either one seems plausible at this point.</a></p><p>
<blockquote>Talking about what went wrong, Romney said they didn't get the turnout from minority voters that they needed and he acknowledged his campaign was outmatched by his opponent's massive organization.
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"I think he had as many as 10 times the number of ground workers, paid staff, that we had, because <b>he could afford them and we couldn't</b>," he said.</blockquote>
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Uh, Romney's campaign directly spent over $480 million. I'm pretty sure they could have afforded a better field program than the one they actually built.
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The Obama campaign had more ground workers and paid staff because they managed their funds a lot better than Romney did and prioritized their field and data programs higher than Romney's. Mitt squandered a fortune on consultant fees and <a href="http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-11/politics/35767760_1_romney-campaign-officials-obama-campaign-ad-strategy">wildly mis-targeted his media buys</a>, which wasted millions of dollars that could have gone to build a more competent field program.
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He also came off as a self-important, dishonest, uncaring jerk, which might have had some impact on his low-dollar fundraising efforts. But either way, he could easily have afforded a better campaign, he just didn't have the skill to build one.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-22803425421987302692013-06-04T14:55:00.001-04:002013-06-04T14:55:20.814-04:00Chris Christie knows what he's doing<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/04/chris-christie-special-election_n_3384968.html">Calling for a special election in October</a>, when there's already going to be a general election in November, is an expensive hassle that will annoy voters and pundits alike. That's probably the best that Christie could have hoped for. The worst-case scenario for him would be going up against the Cory Booker GOTV machine, simply because the biggest obstacle to his reelection is the likelihood that Democrats will simply mob the polls in this off-year election.</p><p>
When you look at it that way, it's worth $24 million to Christie to call for an October vote. It's terrible financial stewardship for crass political purposes, but they're <i>really important</i> crass political purposes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-46405798154114596042013-06-04T14:13:00.000-04:002013-06-04T14:13:08.563-04:00Just when you thought racism couldn't get any more racismerKinda makes me wanna sing a verse of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." But <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/05/31/backlash-greets-cheerios-ad-with-interracial-family/">not in the happy way</a>:
</p><p><blockquote>Who would have thought that breakfast cereal would trigger the latest racial battle line? In this case, a Cheerios ad much like every other homespun Cheerios ad — with a heart healthy message and loving family – ran into trouble from some commenters because of the kind of family it featured. Mom is white, dad is black and their cute little daughter is a mix of the both of them.</p><p>
That’s it.</p><p>
Cheerios had to disable comments on YouTube – I’m not going to repeat them but you can imagine the general witless racism with stereotypes about minorities and warnings of race-mixing as the end of civilization. Late Friday night, after a day of widespread news coverage, the ad had more than 8,400 thumbs-up votes on YouTube, versus about 900 thumbs-down.</blockquote></p><p>
If your conception of the American state or your core convictions can be shaken by a commercial for bland cereal, you've got bigger problems to worry about.</p><p>
And you're also an asshole.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-47680395698801375322013-05-24T15:20:00.000-04:002013-05-24T17:20:58.591-04:00Harvard Law, folks! Let's give them a round of applause.I'm beginning to wonder if the GOP might not be making an attempt to undercut the President's legal background by having some of its own HLS grads act like complete idiots.
</p><p>
First example: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/tom-cotton-corruption-of-blood_n_3322251.html">Congressman Cotton of Arkansas</a>.</p><p>
Sure, I'm obligated to point out how obliviously unconstitutional the Cotton Amendment was. But stunning stupidity aside, there's something really depressing in his follow-up:</p><p>
<blockquote>“I sympathize with their plight if they are harmless, innocent civilians in Iran. I doubt that that is often the case.”</blockquote>
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He seems to be suggesting that it's more likely that people from a country governed by a domestically oppressive, murderous regime are coming to America in order to attack us than that they're coming to seek shelter and aid from us.
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Setting aside the rest of the offensively paranoid racism, that's a really sad--and very unpatriotic--sentiment to hear from a Congressman. I tend to think people from countries that murder demonstrators in the streets who come to the U.S. are probably more interested in taking shelter in our freedoms than attacking them. When the world looks up at the Shining City on a Hill, does Rep. Cotton really believe they're thinking "hey, a shining city on a hill! Let's attack it!"?
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Next we have someone who I don't think will ever run dry as a fount of entertainment (unless he's actually elected and put in a position of power, in which case I don't think anyone will find it funny at all): the GOP nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2013/05/23/ba5a1276-c310-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html">E.W. Jackson</a>, who <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/e-w-jackson-no-federal-role-disaster-relief-because-turns-government-god">doesn't think</a> federal disaster relief is constitutional, says that the idea of GLBT Pride Month <a href="https://twitter.com/ewjsr/statuses/2015816277">"makes me feel ikky all over,"</a> and, of course, <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/05/ew-jackson-three-fifths-clause-slavery.php">this</a>:
</p><p><blockquote>In an April 28, 2011 statement while he was a Senate candidate, conservative minister and lawyer E.W. Jackson held up the three-fifths clause as an “anti-slavery” measure. The context of his statement was to attack President Obama after a pastor at a church service he attended referred to the three-fifths clause as a historical marker of racism.
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“Rev. [Charles Wallace] Smith must not have understood the 3/5ths clause was an anti-slavery amendment. Its purpose was to limit the voting power of slave holding states,” Jackson, an African-American, said in his statement.</blockquote>
</p><p>The Three-Fifths Compromise was the way that the South was able to dominate American politics until the Civil War. It's why more than half of Presidents before Lincoln were Southern slave-owners. It's why the list of Speakers of the House before the Civil War is dominated by Southerners and slave-owners. To claim that it was an "amendment" is bad enough for someone from HLS (the sort of mistake we expect from the laity), but to claim it was "anti-slavery" is stupid beyond all mortal ken.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-50225352506528759282013-05-12T14:16:00.000-04:002013-05-12T14:16:16.597-04:00"Community" inches closer to six seasons and a movieWhen Joel McHale made his deal with Satan, it seems <a href="http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/community-renewed-nbc-parks-and-rec-amy-poehler-1200478598/">he did a good job of reading the fine print</a>:<blockquote>“Community” has squeaked out a fifth season renewal from NBC. And the Greendale Community College gang undoubtedly owes a debt to the expanding SVOD marketplace for persuading NBC that it was worth investing in what will probably be a last hurrah for the cult-fave series from Sony Pictures TV.</blockquote>
</p><p>I don't expect the ratings to get any better, but the last few episodes of the season that just ended were surprisingly solid. There's also the added benefit that, knowing this is almost certainly going to be all she wrote, and not having Chevy Chase around to deal with, they can go ahead and give the cast something for their highlight reels. If Alison Brie doesn't have her own sitcom deal within the next few years, it's a sign that there is no justice in the world. Donald Glover needs a feature film (as funny as "Mystery Team" was, the man deserves an eight-digit budget). And poor Danny Pudi has spent too much time stuck in what I call "Spiner's Valley": that career trough that only comes when someone plays an essentially expressionless character for too long and afterwards can't really get any parts that require real acting. They need some showpieces.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-18649819796315368452013-05-12T14:07:00.002-04:002013-05-12T14:07:19.602-04:00Read it with the eyes you use for reading<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/10049454/Dont-make-fun-of-renowned-Dan-Brown.html">I'm unsure whether to consider this pastiche or parody</a>, but I'm leaning extremely funny pastiche.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-73046686360250674932013-05-06T02:04:00.000-04:002013-05-06T08:32:04.570-04:00A crazy man and a "fighting rifle"<i>(Cross-posted at DailyKos)</i></P><p>
On March 10th, in the small town of Middlefield, Ohio, James Gilkerson took a right turn too fast onto the State Route 608. Two local police officers--Erin Thomas and Brandon Savage--were patrolling in their cruiser and saw the turn. They pulled Gilkerson over.
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Before they could approach his car, he stepped out with an AK-47 holding 40 rounds and opened fire on the officers. Thomas was wounded. The two officers returned fire, hitting Gilkerson. He doubled over in pain and yelled, "kill me!" He stood back up, raised his AK-47 back towards the officers, and started firing again. The officers again returned fire, killing him.
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The dashboard camera ran the entire time, and the audio was recorded as well. This footage is <a href="http://video-embed.cleveland.com/services/player/bcpid1949055968001?bctid=2350624009001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAQBxUNqE~,xKBGzTdiYSSRqIKPsPdkNW3W_DNtPBTa">now available</a>, though it is extremely graphic, and I wouldn't recommend watching it.
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The Cleveland Plain-Dealer <a href="http://photos.cleveland.com/4501/gallery/items_found_in_car_of_middlefield_shooting_suspect_james_gilkerson/index.html">released a slide show of items found in Gilkerson's car</a>. In addition to many more high-capacity magazines, he also had literature on corpse disposal, ammunition and explosive manufacturing, a book on homemade weaponry, a book on constructing suppressors, a copy of "Invisible Resistance to Tyranny" (which, according to its Amazon page, promises to teach readers "the many paths of invisible resistance to tyranny - intelligence collection and dissemination, propaganda, support for active operations and, if it should ever come down to it, direct operations against a totalitarian regime"), and a couple of training manuals in gunfighting.
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It was one of those last items that stood out to me as I looked through the slides. Specifically, this one:
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<div class="dkimg-l"><span class="image_container"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/dk-production/images/30989/small/yeagerrifle.jpg?1367695596" alt=""></img></span><div class="dkimg-cap">This manual was recovered along with ammunition and other militant literature from the car of an insurrectionist who attacked police officers in Ohio back in March.</div></div>
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I noticed, as I skimmed past it, the logo on the bottom-right corner.
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<b>"Tactical Response"</b>
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Tactical Response is the weapons training company run by James Yeager. Mr. Yeager, you might recall, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/10/james-yeager-start-killing-people-obama-gun-policy_n_2448751.html">made headlines in January</a> for a web video where he promised to "start killing people" if President Obama pursued tougher gun control:
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<blockquote>"James Yeager, CEO of Tactical Response, a Tennessee company that trains people in weapon and tactical skills, claimed in a video posted on YouTube and Facebook that he would "start killing people" if President Barack Obama decides to take executive action to pass further gun control policies, Raw Story reports.
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In a frenetic address to the camera, Yeager puts a call out to other gun rights advocates to <b>"load your damn mags" and "get ready to fight"</b> in what he claims will turn into a "civil war" if gun control measures in the country get any stricter."
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rNhsJLEEZ54" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><blockquote>Transcript: <i>"Fuck that. I'm telling you, if that happens, it's going to spark a civil war and I'll be glad to fire the first shot. I'm not putting up with it. You shouldn't put up with it. And I need all you patriots to start thinking about what you're going to do, load your damn mags, make sure your rifle's clean, pack a backpack with some food in it, and get ready to fight. I am not fucking putting up with this. I am not letting my country be ruled by a dictator. (yelling) I am not letting anybody take my guns! If it goes one inch further, I'm going to start killing people."</i></blockquote>
</blockquote>
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Mr. Yeager's permit to carry a concealed weapon was temporarily suspended after that video, but was returned to him last month.
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The course book that Gilkerson had with him was for a two-day Tactical Response training program called "Fighting Rifle." Here's <a href="http://www.tacticalresponse.com/course.php?courseID=1">the course description from their website</a>:
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<blockquote>You know how to shoot your rifle or subgun now let us teach you how to FIGHT with it! This course is far more advanced than any other rifle course you can attend (with the exception of our advanced course) and covers trajectory, battlesight zero, gear set-up, sling configurations, transitions to pistol, use of cover and concealment, practical ready and firing positions, close- and medium-range snap shooting, weapons handling, urban applications, team drills, firing while moving, multiple targets, plus the tactics required to employ this potent tool in combat. Every student leaves this class with empty mags, a red hot rifle, and a smile from ear to ear! This is one of our most popular courses.
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This class is great for nearly any magazine fed rifle or subgun and any traditional military style rifle. We will show you how to run your MP5, AR, AK, RPK, FAL, M1A, G3, VZ-58 or whatever weapon you have!</blockquote>
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To my knowledge, Tactical Response hasn't made any statements about the Middlefield shooting, not even to comment on the attacker's form and technique. And just because he had what appears to be materials from this course doesn't mean he necessarily received training--I'm confident he could have picked it up from the same source as the other literature in his car, which I assume probably came from a vendor at a gun show or a table at an extremist right-wing rally--but I think it's worth looking into, especially as the course is regularly taught in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
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In January, the CEO of this company says he wants "patriots" to "load your damn mags, make sure your rifle's clean...and get ready to fight," because he's ready to "start killing people." In March, someone with his company's training materials from a course on how to better kill people using assault weapons opens fire on police officers with an AK-47 loaded with a high-capacity magazine.
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Say what you will, it's a uniquely American story.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-77349061718407624372013-05-04T14:24:00.001-04:002013-05-04T14:24:31.598-04:00Add "claustrophobia" to the list of things I will never forget in my lifeAlso, as true today as it was when it was written:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BvUZijEuNDQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I mean, except for the part where Art Fleming and Don Pardo are involved. But that shit about not even getting the home game is spot on. I was seriously bummed about that part.</p><p>
Also, I didn't get to meet Johnny Gilbert, which made me sad. But other than those two things--no home game, no Johnny--it was a total blast. We played a great game (all of our scores were well over $20,000), and I got paid $1000 to play a game and visit L.A. Not a bad deal.</p><p>
Recommended reading: <a href="http://www.bobharris.com">www.BobHarris.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-23889204370424505512013-04-24T03:42:00.000-04:002013-04-24T03:42:24.234-04:00Good News in Gay RightsFrance <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-gay-marriage-water-cannon-police-legions-19020308#.UXc87SuDShY">legalized gay marriage</a>.</p><p>
Rhode Island <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/gay-marriage-faces-pivotal-vote-ri-19020016#.UXc9eSuDShY">is about to pass gay marriage</a>.</p><p>
Delaware is <a href="http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/22048309/delaware-lawmakers-vote-on-gay-marriage-bill">getting close as well</a>.</p><p>
We live in <strike>interesting</strike> hopeful times.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-37712344274586379802013-04-18T11:33:00.000-04:002013-04-18T11:33:06.000-04:00Senatorial MisfireAs expected, the Senate failed to move forward on any firearms legislation.</p><p>
The most popular proposal--toughening penalties for straw purchasers and weapons traffickers--failed by a vote of <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00099">58-42</a>, with only Republicans voting against it.</p><p>
The second-most popular proposal--a Republican plan to gut states' rights by mandating reciprocity for concealed-carry permits issued in any state, whether that state required an extensive training course or that the applicant collect three box tops from Remington products--failed <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00099">57-43</a>.</p><p>
The weakened background checks proposal from Sens. Manchin and Toomey, which was already a compromise of a compromise, <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00097">failed 54-46</a>.</p><p>
Reinstating the ban on high-capacity magazines <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00103">failed</a> with no Republicans supporting it. Same with <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00101">the Assault Weapons Ban</a>.</p><p>
No matter how the issues may split us, we are all united in the common belief that Congress is overpopulated with cowards and idiots.</p><p>
Also, what he said:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1liUQ4imjCQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-14957119257423189852013-04-15T11:03:00.000-04:002013-04-15T11:03:29.419-04:00Tragic irony strikes again.This time <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/man-kills-self-with-gun-at-nra-500-nascar-event.php?ref=fpblg">at the NRA 500</a>.
</p><p>
<blockquote>A medical examiner says a man who died in the infield during a NASCAR’s NRA 500 race at Texas Motor Speedway shot himself in the head. The event was the first NRA-branded race in NASCAR’s premier series.
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The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office on Sunday said the death of 42-year-old Kirk Franklin of Saginaw was a suicide.
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Fort Worth police have said a man who was camping in the infield died of a “self-inflicted injury” after getting into an argument with other campers. The incident happened late in the Sprint Cup race.</blockquote>
</p><p>
In related news, <a href="http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/eleven-year-old-brings-ar-15-to-nh">an 11 year-old carried an assault weapon</a> at a rally at the New Hampshire state house, and <a href="http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/tactical-response-ceo-james-yeager-gets-his-gun?ref=fpb">a gun nut who declared he was "gonna start killing people"</a> if gun control passed had his concealed carry permit <i>restored</i> after its previous revocation. </p><p>
But at least the King of England can't come in here and push us around.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-1247254842532622032013-04-11T12:32:00.004-04:002013-04-11T12:32:57.972-04:00Wait...CNN did investigative reporting?!!AC360 does the obligatory "how easy is it to buy a gun at a gun show without showing ID?" hidden-camera investigation.
</p><p>
The answer, as it has always been, is "really damn easy."
</p><p><object width="416" height="234" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep_734"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_embed_2x_container.swf?site=cnn&profile=desktop&context=embed&videoId=politics/2013/04/11/ac-pkg-savidge-gun-show-gun-buying.cnn&contentId=politics/2013/04/11/ac-pkg-savidge-gun-show-gun-buying.cnn" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_embed_2x_container.swf?site=cnn&profile=desktop&context=embed&videoId=politics/2013/04/11/ac-pkg-savidge-gun-show-gun-buying.cnn&contentId=politics/2013/04/11/ac-pkg-savidge-gun-show-gun-buying.cnn" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="416" wmode="transparent" height="234"></embed></object></p><p>And yes, for the record, these were all illegal purchases under federal law, since they were made outside the buyer's home state. So if someone tells you that they don't want new gun laws but do want to see more enforcement of the laws that we have, remind them that we need to expand background checks for precisely that reason.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-27132527526739698812013-04-10T10:23:00.002-04:002015-10-10T03:04:51.541-04:00Manchin-Toomey: A major misfireThe <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/background-checks-deal-manchin-toomey.php">AP reports</a> that, an hour from now, Sens. Joe Manchin (Sad about being a D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) will present their compromise on background checks. If the details that have leaked thus far are accurate, it's nowhere near acceptable:
</p><p>
<blockquote>The emerging deal would expand required background checks for sales at gun shows and online but exempt transactions like face-to-face, noncommercial purchases, said Senate staffers and lobbyists, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks. Currently, the checks are required only for sales handled through licensed gun dealers.
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Though many details of the emerging agreement were unclear, Manchin and Toomey are among their parties’ most conservative members and a deal could make it easier for some hesitant senators to support the background check measure, at least for now.</p><p>
Some Republicans might vote to begin debate on the legislation but eventually oppose the measure on final passage. Other parts of Obama’s gun effort already seem likely to face defeat, including proposed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.</blockquote>
</p><p>This might be useful for breaking a filibuster, but it's pretty useless otherwise.</p><p>
I accept that the assault weapons ban is dead on arrival (and said as much to <a href="http://swampland.time.com/2012/12/14/outside-the-white-house-gun-control-activists-make-a-subdued-call-to-action/">Time Magazine</a>), and I'm resigning myself to the idea that the high-capacity magazine restriction is probably going to be defeated as well. After all, those measures only enjoy around <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us04042013.pdf/">58-59% public support</a>.</p><p>
Universal background checks--criminal history and mental health checks for every gun purchase, whether made at a dealer or a gun show or out of the back of a Subaru--consistently poll around 90% support. I can't think of any active legislation that's more popular.</p><p>
Yet here come Manchin and Toomey, exempting a huge number of face-to-face transactions. I could live with exempting gifts between immediate family, but to say that I can sell a gun to a stranger in a parking lot and not have to run a background check is to leave one huge goddamn hole in the background check system.</p><p>
Years ago, people conflated the "gun show loophole"--a rule that allowed licensed dealers to move inventory into their "private collections" and then sell those guns at gun shows without conducting background checks--with the problem of face-to-face sales conducted by non-dealers. So now, all Manchin and Toomey have to do is include sales at gun shows in their bill, and people will think the problem is solved.</p><p>
It isn't. This might be useful for getting past the filibuster, but this would make terrible, weak law, in an area that's begging for real reform. Every sale needs a check, and any bill that falls short of that is inadequate.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-39578022236712180592013-04-08T01:41:00.000-04:002013-04-08T01:41:41.455-04:00Important Collegiate Sports NewsThe New College [] defeated the Ringling Clowns (I don't know what their actual mascot is, but this works), by a score of 19-18.
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Okay, that's not the greatest score for a football game, but hell, a win's a win.
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NCF Football: Still Undefeated! Fight on, null set!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-59689715900786789432013-04-03T10:17:00.000-04:002015-10-10T03:02:53.958-04:00Article 3:16I can't wait until the North Carolina legislature tells us <a href="http://www.wral.com/proposal-would-allow-state-religion-in-north-carolina/12296876/">the proper interpretation</a> of the 13th Amendment, too!
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<blockquote>A bill filed by Republican lawmakers would allow North Carolina to declare an official religion, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Bill of Rights, and seeks to nullify any federal ruling against Christian prayer by public bodies statewide.</p><p>...</p><p>House Bill 494, a resolution filed by Republican Rowan County Reps. Harry Warren and Carl Ford, would refuse to acknowledge the force of any judicial ruling on prayer in North Carolina – or indeed on any Constitutional topic:</p><p>
"The Constitution of the United States does not grant the federal government and does not grant the federal courts the power to determine what is or is not constitutional; therefore, by virtue of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the power to determine constitutionality and the proper interpretation and proper application of the Constitution is reserved to the states and to the people," the bill states. "Each state in the union is sovereign and may independently determine how that state may make laws respecting an establishment of religion." </p><p>
...</p><p>
The bill goes on to say:
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SECTION 1. The North Carolina General Assembly asserts that the Constitution of the United States of America does not prohibit states or their subsidiaries from making laws respecting an establishment of religion.
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SECTION 2. The North Carolina General Assembly does not recognize federal court rulings which prohibit and otherwise regulate the State of North Carolina, its public schools or any political subdivisions of the State from making laws respecting an establishment of religion.</blockquote>
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The North Carolina General Assembly may assert that if it wishes, but then the North Carolina General Assembly will affirm it's run by witless, illiterate buffoons who should by all rights be drafting legislation with Crayolas on construction paper.</p><p>
Someone needs to remind these fine Southern scholars that, when it comes to the federal-state relationship, the courthouse they should be remembering is Appomattox.</p><p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-33863077923328209082013-04-02T00:33:00.002-04:002013-04-02T00:33:34.463-04:00In the Memphis city rain<a href="http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2013/03/31/under-huge-police-presence-memphis-uneasily-faces-the-klan/">Protest in Memphis features 61 Klansman, 47 teeth.</a>
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It's good that only 61 racist twits were willing to show up, even with a massive police presence there to keep them from getting their hoods shoved up their asses.
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It's bad that any Klansmen were anywhere, because they are all massive assholes.
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It's interesting that they chose to protest because parks named for Jeff Davis, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and the Confederacy were being renamed. The obvious conclusion is that having stuff named for Jeff Davis, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and the Confederacy makes the Klan happy. So, you know, DON'T HAVE THINGS NAMED FOR SLAVERY-LOVING RACIST JERKS WHOSE VERY EXISTENCE IS A BLIGHT ON AMERICAN HISTORY. Because having stuff like that makes the Klan happy. And they shouldn't be happy. Because they are all massive assholes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-65621599268024572392013-04-01T22:50:00.002-04:002013-04-01T22:51:28.376-04:00Inadvertent April Fools' Day HumorKeep <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-what-the-iraq-war-taught-me-about-syria/2013/03/31/5ef2e6d0-97b2-11e2-814b-063623d80a60_story.html?hpid=z2">digging for that pony</a>, Jackson.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-54383605542783513452013-03-31T19:17:00.000-04:002013-04-01T22:53:58.100-04:00Preempted familyLooks like my dad's appearance on "60 Minutes" to discuss the Pioneer Hotel fire is being preempted by some collegiate sporting event involving craziness. Hopefully they'll broadcast it before too long.
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<embed src="http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf" scale="noscale" salign="lt" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" background="#333333" width="425" height="279" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" FlashVars="si=254&&contentValue=50143796&shareUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50143796n" />
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UPDATE 4/1: Here's the full segment. </p><p><embed src="http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf" scale="noscale" salign="lt" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" background="#333333" width="425" height="279" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" FlashVars="si=254&&contentValue=50143931&shareUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50143931n" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-29120094936241177342013-03-28T12:45:00.003-04:002013-03-28T12:45:56.720-04:00Half-Cocked PedantsI have decided that the most annoying subset of people are those who insist on correcting anyone who uses the word "clip" instead of "magazine."
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Having been around guns since I was a kid, owned them since I was about 13, regularly shot them for many years, and having both sorts of devices within arm's reach of me now, I've never once been in a situation where the terms "clip" and "magazine" weren't freely used interchangeably, except for conversations where some pedantic gun control opponent wants to pretend that people who disagree with him don't know anything about guns.
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I have never known anyone to give two shits about the distinction except in that context. I've never been to a range where someone passes a magazine to his shooting partner and asks him to "reload that clip" and everyone on the line stops to correct him. I've never heard anyone yelled at for saying they got a "new clip for my Sig" or anything of the sort.
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Yeah, it's technically inaccurate to say "clip" instead of "magazine." Nobody gives this much of a crap except when trying to be dismissive. Ever.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-5779413371951920102013-03-26T15:06:00.002-04:002013-03-26T15:07:30.020-04:00SCOTUS marriage cases began todayI think the odds are good for Team Love in the marriage equality cases, but let's be clear about the stakes:
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No matter what the Court does, DOMA's expiration date is coming up fast, and we can expect not only federal rights but full faith and credit being extended to marriages entered into in any state.
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What we can't bank on is that gay Americans in every state will have the right to marry without sneaking across the border to somewhere more accepting. Without the Court extending constitutional protection to the right to marry, there may, for the rest of our lives, be states that refuse to treat gay and lesbian citizens equally.
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You can look at <a href="http://www.freedomtomarry.org/resources/entry/marriage-polling">national polls supporting marriage equality</a> and say that gays and lesbians are now powerful enough to get what they want through the democratic process, but that's a very bird's-eye view of the landscape. <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2012/11/09/behind-gay-marriage-momentum-regional-gaps-persist/">Take a look at individual states</a>, and you'll understand that in many of them, gay citizens are still viewed as second-class. Unless the Court acts to protect those Americans, this inequality could remain for generations to come.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-46842928148267999982013-03-26T00:03:00.001-04:002013-03-26T00:03:27.310-04:00Hey, Towson University has a Nazi Club!<a href="http://rt.com/usa/maryland-college-campus-patrols-825/">College boys at Towson U.</a> Went in dumb, come out dumb too.
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I'm sure the people of Baltimore will be just <i>thrilled</i> to have white supremacist vigilantes wandering around.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507564045922856123.post-45373806461953430892013-03-25T18:07:00.000-04:002013-03-25T18:08:32.453-04:00We don't know for sure if George Zimmerman is a racist*, but ain't no doubt that his mama <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/george-zimmermans-brother-pimping-comparison-of-trayvon-martin-and-alleged-georgia-baby-killer/">raised at least one</a>.
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(* - Yeah, we do.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0