Random Thoughts 4/27/26: More Ballroom!

I was up too today.  We have the loudest cat in the history of domesticated felines, and she doesn't take my "stop yelling!!" instructions seriously, at all, at any time of day, particularly during the wee hours of the morning. 

After getting up and trying to appease her with her favorite cat food (which she didn't want to eat today) and getting myself some coffee, I scrolled through the latest news about the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) dinner, which I'm sure by now everyone knows was interrupted and ultimately canceled because a lone gunman who had issues with the FOTUS and/or members of his administration decided Saturday night needed some violence to shake things up. 

While there have been lots of stories about the bad guy's 'manifesto' and about the security and how close he didn't actually get to anyone in the room, and some 'tales from the crypt' from reporters who were there, I spent my time trying to wrangle my random thoughts on statements from the FOTUS and the CoolAide Cabinet (that's the MAGA influencer horde) about how the incident at the WHCA event was a reason why we need the One Big Beautiful Ballroom the FOTUS is dead set on having, whether anyone likes it or not, into something at least somewhat coherent. So, without further ado,

Just THINK of the many benefits that would flow to ALL Americans if we were able to host conventions at the new White House Ballroom and Casino!! Oh, crap - sorry, that last part is top secret. Pretend we're in a Satirical Comedic Information Facility (SCIF).

We NEED a giant ballroom at the White House - what a wonderful way to get Americans into 'our house! I mean, most of us will never get to make a separate trip to take the tour because of our social media history, or our voter registration info (Wrong Party? No Tour for You!), or (especially for the married ladies) the mismatch between our birth certificates and our LinkedIn 'Yes, that's really my resume, not one I pulled off ChatGPT' profiles. 

Now that I think about it, the way things are going, I soon won't know a single person who could pass a security check - and damn proud of it, frankly. But I digress; that's the nature of random thoughts.

Back to the task at hand: think of the activities that could be held there, if only they made the darn thing big enough! A YUGE ballroom is what we need. I mean, if the billionaires who are donating to pay for access to the administration - er, sorry, I meant to proudly pay for the facility - want more ballroom (don't they all?), they just need to spring for a bigger ballroom!! Not this four- or five-story-tall, 90,000-square-foot thing that's proposed, but one that has five, six, or even 1000% more floorspace! Just think of it!

A bowling convention, with temporary lanes, hundreds of teams, and weeks - yes, weeks! - of activity, bringing REAL Americans to the People's House! Or, the NCAA's March Madness Final Four, with boatloads of gamblers who could spend their downtime in the casino wing - darn it, pretend I didn't say that. If I'm not careful, I'm gonna end up in trouble!

CPAC! TPA! NRA! The Union of Out-of-Favor Dictators! Huge Crypto-TikTok-National Security Conferences! The Association of Former White House, Pentagon, and Local News Correspondents! The Billionaire Boys Club - their membership is growing by cheats and bounds, almost daily! Plus, they could probably help out with bunker design! Big Pharma - those conventions are massive, and I've heard they give out lots of free samples! Research Scientists - they don't have anything else to do anymore... why not let them convene at the glorious facility to commiserate, instead of having to do that via Zoom from their basement labs? Gatherings of white South African farmers, or Scandinavian Trump Card holders! The possibilities are endless!

Farm equipment displays all over the White House lawn, and inside the ballroom, especially those from Case and New Holland; after all, they make stuff in red and blue, true American colors! Sorry, John Deere, that green and yellow just don't cut it anymore - Bad Boy Mowers can handle it from here, as long as nobody brings any of those electric and battery models - just the good old 'drill baby drill' kind (insert that famous John Dean scream here). Heck, we could even have a real Tesler car sales floor, not just a couple of cars! And how could I forget military equipment? We have the best of the best, once we replenish our supplies - and we could even have the Trump family drones on display! My patriotic heart is practically beating out of my chest! 

Boxing matches! UFC cage fights! Cornhole Championships! Heck, we could even bring back Jarts, in celebration of our country's glory days when kids were kids and ERs were plentiful! And what a wonderful place to hold the new annual Congressional Paintball Tournament? Much safer than that outdoor baseball tournament, right? 

And medal presentations, in a room full of gold!! The FIFA Peace Prize! The Trump Epstein Prize! The Melania Einstein Prize! And what better place to host ceremonies for Olympic Gold Medals Won by Men! Maybe even the Noble Prize folks would want to come here for their annual festivities! And, oh, for heaven's sake, I almost forgot Pardon Parties! Woo hoo!

And just think of how cool the State of the Gold-Plated Union speeches would be! Lots of political speakers; patriotic music (yes, Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood, I'm talking about you!); miniature statues and representations of some of our wonderful national parks and monuments; merch tables - can you even imagine?! Dozens of DoorDash Grannies, legally-present farmworkers, many more relatives of crime victims, and so much more! And don't forget the Democratic and Republican Party conventions! How fun!

Between the room rental, banquet setup, media setup, catering and bar fees, entrance fees, and the money spent in the casino (oops, I said it again...), we could probably fund Social Security for another few years, or shave a few thousand percentage points off the National Debt! Not to mention that we'd need thousands of low-paid AMERICAN workers to staff the facility, and if we just hurry up and build the darn thing, they won't have to pay taxes on their tips, OT, or Social Security - honest!

This is a brilliant idea - we REALLY need that ballroom, dammit! Let's end the lawsuits, end the petty bickering, think way more bigger, and get this thing built! 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.

Ranting and Raving (v9): Getting Away with Murder

I almost don't even know where to start with this one, it's so horrifying and so incredibly painful and so insanely stupid, it's hard to even talk about. 

Back in February, in Texas, of course, a nine-year-old girl was shot and killed by a guy who was robbed at an ATM. Here's the story from Houston's KWTX.

Police said the victim of a bank ATM robbery, Tony D. Earls, 41, is in custody charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after Earls fired his gun at the wrong vehicle, striking and killing an innocent 9-year-old girl.

Earls, the robbery victim, was at the bank’s ATM drive-through making a transaction when an armed robber appeared on foot and robbed Earl at gunpoint.

According to investigators, Earls took out a weapon and fired several rounds in the direction of the suspect, but it’s unknown if the suspect, who is still at large, fired back.

The robbery victim then fired several rounds “at a pickup truck he thought the robbery suspect had gotten into,” police said.

The vehicle’s occupants, a family of five, were not involved in the robbery, police said, adding a stray bullet struck a 9-year-old girl in the backseat of the pickup. She was taken to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, where she later died.

 Earls did not know the stray bullet struck the girl when he called police to report the robbery.

It goes to show that anytime there are guns involved, the danger to innocent bystanders is extremely high,” said Houston Police Executive Chief Matt Slinkard.

And then, in July, this happened.

HOUSTON — The family of a 9-year-old Houston girl who died after she was shot by a man who had opened fire when he was robbed at an ATM said Wednesday they remain angered by a grand jury’s decision to not indict the man.

“That was not an accident. That was not self-defense,” April Aguirre, the aunt of Arlene Alvarez said during a news conference as a photograph of the girl as she lay in a hospital bed bloodied and bandaged shortly before her death was shown.

Tony Earls, 41, had been charged with aggravated assault, serious bodily injury, in Alvarez’s Feb. 14 death. A Harris County grand jury in Houston on Tuesday could have indicted him on this charge or several others, including manslaughter and murder, but declined to do so.

And this is not a surprise - at least, it's not a surprise in Texas, where everything is bigger, including the stupid stuff. 

Texas law “gives very, very broad self-defense rights for people carrying guns, even if the person makes a mistake,” said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

The murderer's attorney said the robber fired and the murderer "fired back in self-defense," and the murderer "continues to grieve for Alvarez but that the grand jury made the right decision and that the person responsible for her death is the robber." The murderer, they said, 

did what we believe anyone in that situation would have done. We are relieved that, despite the emotion and tough decisions that had to be made in dealing with this case, justice was served for (the murderer).

I'm sorry, but there is zero justice being served here, 

• Unless you think that an idiot who's so dumb he'd shoot at a random vehicle in the ATM line deserves justice. 
• Unless you think that an innocent nine-year-old little girl is acceptable collateral damage for a robbery. 
• Unless you think that a person who shoots at a stranger's vehicle in an ATM line is acting in self-defense, when he doesn't even know whether the person who robbed him is in that car, or any other car in the ATM line.
• Unless you think that someone's going to rob a guy at an ATM by driving up to it, getting in line behind other cars, parking his car, getting out, walking up to the car at the head of the line, robbing the drive, going back to his car, getting in, starting it up, and sitting in line until cars move and he can get out of line and drive away. Maybe ATM robbers are that dumb in Texas, but up here, they'd have come on foot, hidden in the bushes, approached your car, stolen your money, and run away. 

There's also especially zero justice being served here if you believe that the only person or entity responsible for a murder is the person who pulls the trigger, which of course is what you tell us all the time. It's never anyone other than the shooter himself, 

• unless it's bad parenting;
• unless it's video games and movies;
• unless it's not saying prayers in school;
• unless it's too much screen time;
• unless it's woke corporations;
• unless it's socialism and critical race theory;
• unless it's red flags that were missed;
• unless it's red flags that weren't missed.

Yeah, unless that last bullet. 

Rick Ramos, the attorney for the Alvarez family, said Wednesday that (the murderer's) actions were reckless and he questioned whether (the murderer) was capable of carrying a weapon as his lawyers had indicated in court records that he had suffered from mental illness before the shooting.

Chew on that for a second. The guy had known mental health issues? The things we're supposed to be worried about?

Aren't we always told that we need to make sure that there's plenty of money that "may" be used for mental programs, and that schools and teachers and coaches and friends and classmates and neighbors and scout leaders and pastors (oh wait, it's never the pastors' fault, what was I thinking?) and everyone else need to identify these issues and make sure they tell someone?

And don't we know, for certain, that mental health issues are why we have so many shootings here? 

Heck, even the NRA tells us that - here's some of what they were telling us back in 2013:

Since 1966, the National Rifle Association has urged the federal government to address the problem of mental illness and violence. As we noted then, “the time is at hand to seek means by which society can identify, treat and temporarily isolate such individuals,” because “elimination of the instrument by which these crimes are committed cannot arrest the ravages of a psychotic murderer.”

Of course, the NRA also said this, and yes, the emphasis is mine:

A person cannot be federally disqualified from owning a gun based simply on a psychiatrist’s diagnosis, a doctor’s referral, or the opinion of a law enforcement officer, let alone based on getting a drug prescription or seeking mental health treatment. Doing so would actually discourage troubled people from getting the help they need.

Chew on that for a second. Keeping a person from having a gun will keep them from getting the mental health care they need?

What the actual hell? Isn't the very decision to get a gun instead of getting treatment for a mental health problem enough of an indication that the person shouldn't have a gun? 

Nope - not in Texas. 

Because Texas doesn't have red flag laws. 

Because Republican legislators Texas, last year, made it possible for anyone, regardless of anything, to carry handguns without a background check and without any training. 

In a nutshell, a person in Texas needs to do exactly as much to get and carry a gun as a nine-year-old little girl needs to do to go with her parents to the ATM: absolutely nothing.

But have no fear: while justice was served here for the murderer, the 'real' killer is still out there... you know, like the real killer of Nicole Brown Simpson is still out there.

... investigators planned to focus on finding the unidentified robber and holding him responsible for Alvarez’s death, with authorities now offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Clearly, the person responsible for the murder of a child is not the person who murdered her. It's not the shooter, like we've always been told. It's not the guy who has known mental health issues, who "took out a weapon and fired several rounds in the direction of the suspect" and then fired several more “at a pickup truck he thought the robbery suspect had gotten into.” 

It's the guy who robbed the guy who did all of that. 

Wondering on Wednesday 6/9/21

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Lordy, there's a whole lot of stuff to wonder about this Wednesday, so let's dive in.

You've probably heard about the richest people in America - and by people, I mean the living, breathing kind, not the brick-and-mortar kind - who pay diddlysquat in federal income taxes, while the rest of us regular folks diligently pay our fair share.

The investigative journalists at Pro Publica have obtained IRS records for the richest Richie Richs in the country, and they're letting us in on a pretty poorly kept secret: the rich *are* different. Here's just a taste of what they've found about what they're calling the 'true tax rate' guys like Bezos, Bloomberg, Buffett and Musk pay, based on the taxes they paid each year compared to "how much Forbes estimated their wealth grew in that same time period." 

According to Forbes, those 25 people saw their worth rise a collective $401 billion from 2014 to 2018. They paid a total of $13.6 billion in federal income taxes in those five years, the IRS data shows...(which) amounts to a true tax rate of only 3.4%.

I don't know about you, but I'm certain My Sweet Baboo and I are paying way more than 3.4% as our 'fair share' and it feels really wrong that the billionaires are paying only that much on theirs. 

So here's what I'm wondering: why is it acceptable for extremely rich brick-and-mortar people (aka corporations) and their living, breathing founders and CEOs and what not to all pay zero or nearly zero in federal taxes.  

I also wonder why the Rs are adamant that raising taxes on either type of people is a non-starter. And yes, in case you're wondering, I wonder how this information got leaked, and how long it's going to take to find the leaker.

Have you run out and purchased a gun cabinet's worth of Swiss Army knives yet? If not, I wonder what on earth you're waiting for? According to the judge who struck down California's assault weapons ban, 

Like the Swiss Army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Good for both home and battle.

I'm wondering also about all the people who said you shouldn't take a knife to a gun fight, and if our border patrol agents and TSA screeners are all armed with those 'perfect' red-handled homeland defense items.  

I'm also wondering about Florida Man Matt Gaetz, who shot down all the stuff the NRA has been saying for years about guns and hunting and target shooting and stuff. Here's Gaetz:

The Second Amendment is not about, it’s not about hunting, it’s not about recreation, it’s not about sports. The Second Amendment is about maintaining within the citizenry the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government if that becomes necessary. I hope it never does, but it sure is important to recognize the founding principles of this nation and to make sure that they are fully understood.

It appears Gaetz and the judge are on the same side of the gun issue, but not the same page, but that's not where the wondering is. Rather, I'm wondering how Gaetz pretends he hopes it doesn't become necessary to have an armed rebellion against the government, when we just had one six months ago? And when he's on the road with nutjob Marjorie Taylor Greene trumpeting support for the guy who was - and still is - the object of the insurrectionists' affection?

The Grim Reaper has spoken on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, saying that it's unnecessary.

The Supreme Court concluded that conditions that existed in 1965 no longer existed. So there’s no threat to the voting rights law. It’s against the law to discriminate in voting on the basis of race already. And so I think it’s unnecessary.

I don't wonder so much about Senator McConnell's opposition to ensuring everyone has the right to vote; that's to be expected. I do wonder, though, what Sen. Joe Manchin thinks about this, since he said there are ten Rs who would go along with allowing debate on the bill. 

As always, there's more, but that's it for now. What are you wondering about?

Email of the Week (v21)

I know I've got an in-box full of emails from the Biden team, now the Biden-Harris team, and I thought about incorporating pieces of those in today's post.

But then, there was that lawsuit filed by the NYS AG, Tish James, seeking to put an end to the NRA, and as expected, there was a reaction from the man at the center of it all, Wayne LaPierre.

The lawsuit alleges Mr. LaPierre spent hundreds of thousands of the organization’s dollars on private plane trips, visiting the Bahamas “by private air charter at least eight times” in three years, according to a summary of the suit. He and his family were often allegedly “gifted the use of a 107-foot yacht” by an NRA vendor and he spent more than $3.6 million on travel consultants, including luxury black cars, over two years. He also is said to have secured a post-employment contract without board approval worth more than $17 million.

(For his part, LaPierre apparently argued that he needed to go to the Bahamas on a 107-foot yacht complete with a gourmet chef and two Jet-skis for “security” reasons. He doesn’t need a bigger boat, but he damn sure needs a better alibi.)

And, it should be noted, there was really no surprise about the lawsuit - the investigation had been well-publicized long before James announced her decision. Similarly, there's been ample time for LaPierre to draft the mother of all emails to recruit people like me.

So, without further ado (and without fact-checking the claims included in it), here's your email of the week:

The radical fringe of our country – now openly supported and cheered by anti-gun politicians, elites, and the media – is working to tear America down and tear our nation apart.

Our cities have fallen under a cloud of violence, mayhem, and destruction. Crime rates are soaring.

JOIN NRA!

Anti-gun politicians are shuttering gun shops and doing everything in their power to deny law-abiding Americans our Right to Keep and Bear Arms – and at the same time, ordering the police to stand down in the face of criminal violence.

This is nothing more than a disgusting, brazen attempt by gun-ban politicians to shackle freedom and leave regular, law-abiding Americans defenseless.

And now, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James just launched yet another attack in their war on our freedom – one they’ve been plotting and planning for years.

THEY ARE SUING TO FORCE NRA TO CLOSE OUR DOORS FOREVER.

JOIN NRA!

Even on the campaign trail when she ran for office, Letitia James made it clear that she hated the NRA and everything we stand for.

She vowed that, if elected, she’d use the full power of the Attorney General’s office to silence our voice – even claiming that NRA isn’t a charitable organization but a “terrorist” one instead.

The fact is, NRA is the oldest and most effective civil rights organization in America – representing millions of law-abiding citizens from all walks of life.

JOIN NRA!

But according to Letitia James, NRA members are “terrorists” because we support a freedom enshrined in our Constitution that she personally despises and wants to eradicate from the face of the earth.

And now, she’s deployed the full power of the Attorney General’s office to take down the NRA – with a lawsuit to revoke our New York corporate charter that’s been in effect since 1871 and dissolve our Association.

JOIN NRA!

This isn’t politics as usual. It’s a vendetta – by despotic government officials who believe their power entitles them to muzzle and destroy opposing views.

They’re inspired by pure contempt for the law, and by an unbridled and burning hatred for the NRA.

They know that the minute NRA closes its doors for the last time, our nation’s first and most important line of defense for the Second Amendment will be gone forever.

Make no mistake. NRA is fighting back with every ounce of legal strength we can muster. And others have joined us – even the ACLU – because they know that if the government can weaponize its power to shut down the NRA, it can shut down any organization in America.

But we can’t win this fight without you.

That's why I'm asking you to join the National Rifle Association TODAY.

This weaponization of government power is like something you’d expect to see in Communist China – NOT in the United States of America.

JOIN NRA!

This isn’t simply a fight for the continued existence of the NRA. It’s a fight for the continued existence of American freedom as we know it.

This is a fight for the Right-to-Carry permit in your pocket that you’re sure to lose if and when NRA goes out of business.

This is a fight for the guns in your safe that are certain to be banned and confiscated if NRA is forced to shut down.

And this is a fight for your God-given right to protect your life and your loved ones against violent criminals – who will still have their illegal guns long after you hear that knock at your door.

So please, join NRA today. Add your VOICE, your VOTE, and your MEMBERSHIP to our FIGHT.

JOIN NRA!

Let’s not allow Andrew Cuomo and Letitia James to shutter and silence our great NRA fighting machine that’s done so much for freedom’s cause. Let’s not allow Cuomo and James to destroy our right to peaceably join together under the NRA banner to fight for the Constitutional rights we cherish.

And let’s not allow Cuomo and James to weaponize government – and turn this nation into a place where those in power can shut down any organization or silence any voice they disagree with.

If we win this battle, we will score the biggest victory for freedom in the history of the NRA – and make a mark on the Second Amendment and the First Amendment that will be remembered for generations.

JOIN NRA!

That's why it's important for you to join NRA today. And when you join, you'll receive a $15 or more discount on your dues, valuable members-only benefits, plus a FREE GIFT of your choice.

But the best benefit of all is leading the fight to save your Right to Keep and Bear Arms...a fight we can't win without you.

So PLEASE, let me hear from you today.

We need to fight back against this attack like we’re fighting for the Declaration of Independence and our freedom – because it’s ALL on the line.

In Liberty,

Wayne LaPierre
Executive Vice President

Ranting and Raving (v7): Leave it to a Dem

You have got to be freaking kidding me. Seriously.

Today, 89 days from the most consequential presidential election in memory, the New York State Attorney General decided to drop a bomb on things by suing to dissolve the National Rifle Association.

Honestly? You simply cannot make this stuff up. From the Wall Street Journal article linked above,

The extraordinary move against the nation’s largest gun-rights group comes after an 18-month investigation by Ms. James. As a nonprofit registered in New York since its founding in 1871, the NRA is regulated by the attorney general’s office. 

The suit alleges that longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre and three other top officials “instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA,” failed to properly manage the organization’s money and violated numerous state and federal laws, according to a news release announcing the complaint.

I. Just. Can't. Even.

This is the election equivalent of Patrick Mahomes handing off to a 49ers defender on purpose, and then refusing to chase him down, allowing the Super Bowl-winning touchdown to be scored against Kansas City. Seriously. If Tish James were an athlete instead of a politician, she'd be thrown off her team, publicly accused of cheating to help the other team win, investigated by her league (and by more than on state Attorney General). She'd join the 1919 Chicago Black Sox in perpetual ignominy.

People thought James Comey's announcement about the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails in July 2016 was interference? Some think that his subsequent letter to Congress at the end of October was the quantifiable straw that broke the camel's back on  her election chances? This is ALL of that, and worse.

It's worse because it's New York against the country. It's the most hated blue state attacking gun owners, for Pete's sake. Even if that's not her intention, it's like attacking Santa Claus AND not saying Merry Christmas anymore AND stealing Easter eggs and Halloween candy from little children in red states, all rolled into one, and streaming it live on Disney+.

This is the stupidest thing to come out of New York since Donald Trump.

There's ZERO urgency with this - absolutely zero.  I don't care that she spent 18 months investigating, I really don't.

I've spent more than enough time reading articles about it, all of the sordid details and the infighting and chest-clutching being done in the organization over all of this nonsense, and it's definitely nonsense, and it's a definitely a swamp and all of that, but good grief - 89 days before the election, an election in which the Dems are already under attack by people pretending that the most extreme anti-gun people in the party are the mainstream of the party?

Seriously? Seriously? What the actual hell???

When the Dog-whistler in Chief has been saying, for MONTHS that the Dems are going to take away people's guns and erase the 2nd Amendment - you know, like it's a Confederate soldier on a papier mache pedestal in Richmond or something - and NOW Tish James pulls this out of her...hat?

As long as I live, I will never cease to be amazed by the ability of educated Democrats to shoot themselves in the foot - and the other foot, and the knee, and the other knee. It's as reliable as the sun coming up tomorrow that, at the WORST possible time, a Dem will do something stupid, unnecessary, and self-serving - it's guaranteed.

Here's what James said:

The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” Ms. James said in the press release. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”

If you ask me, what that REALLY means is something along the lines of

The Governor's influence has been so powerful that attention to him went unchecked for weeks and months while he made daily appearances  talking about the pandemic, and multiple appearances on his brother's national cable show, and I don't have that kind of access or a famous brother who can help me out so today, we seek to dissolve the undivided attention on the governor by doing something so brazen that people won't have a choice but to talk about it. And me. And me! 

Tell me it's not that. Convince me, I dare you. I've got time.

And I'll ask you this: If it isn't that, what is it?  What possible other explanation is there for pulling something like this, this close to this election?

Donald Trump has been known to say that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and none of his supporters would leave him. Well, Tish James just shot the Biden campaign in the middle of the forehead.

Don't believe me?  Wait for the polls.

Wait for the polls.

In Case You Missed It (v9)

Here's a recap of this week's posts, in case you were too busy to read 'em when they came out.

Our Sunday School classroom visit brought us another chat with Minnesota's Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who's running to be the Democratic presidential nominee. She spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation. One of the topics? Whether or not the whistleblower should talk with the impeachment investigators. She could go either way on that, but noted

That Ambassador Taylor testimony was devastating. It showed that this was not just one phone call, that this had been a plan for a long time, for the president to put the interests of America behind his own personal interests to get dirt on an opponent. It's a pattern. He does it for his business. He does it for his partisan interests. He does it every single day.

You will deserve Extra Credit for this one.  Because the president delivered some 8,000 words on the raid that led to the suicide of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he got himself his own post. It would have been impossible for me to have commented on the the entire thing; it was hard enough to pull together this loose conglomeration of his truly bizarre comments, like this one about the Kurds.

They’re going to have to make their own decision. The Kurds have worked along incredibly with us, but in all fairness, it was much easier dealing with the Kurds after they went through three days of fighting, because that was a brutal three days... 

That's right:  the American president just bald-faced mocked the Kurds. You literally can't make this stuff up, nor can you make up the rest of his comments.

Our first Update of the week was a look at the outside income limits on New York's legislators, which have been quashed by the courts. Good government groups are looking for the Leg and the governor to try again in January. They reminded Albany leaders of  "too many instances of corruptions and conflicts of interest" stemming from legislators seeking personal gain related to their other jobs or jobs held by family members.

This is why the Commission concluded that restricting outside income “will eliminate both the perception of and any actual conflicts of interest” and “eliminates the possibility for the public to question whether the citizens of this State are being properly served.” 

Wondering on Wednesday took a look at issues that the NRA is facing, with excerpts from documents in a lawsuit the group is fighting with its former ad agency, and what that might mean for efforts to improve gun safety laws.

...with the messy lawsuits, and if things in this August Mother Jones article are still true, and we continue to see polling showing  the majority of Americans  - including Republicans - favor universal background checks, red flag laws, and more, I'm wondering how long politicians will continue to fear the NRA at election time, and if they stop being afraid, will we be able to get these very popular measures passed and signed into law?

Thursday's update was our weekly feature on the Democratic presidential candidates and their emails. Here's just a small part of a thing I made up, using (bolded) subject lines from one candidate's emails. 

I'm so vulnerably asking, I really am vulnerably asking.  It can't end like this. I don't say this lightly, but we could be on the verge of a TRAGIC mistake!!! This could be the end. It might be time to pack up. go home. it's dire.

Surprisingly, the candidate that sent me those emails is NOT the one who just dropped out of the race.

In Friday's Poll Watch, I took a look at new data from a Washington Post/ABC News poll, showing (among other things) that

49% of us (44% strongly) believe Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 47% (37% strongly) think he shouldn't. This is reflective of results from an October WaPo/Schar School poll, where the same percentage believed he should be impeached and removed. For comparison, only 33% thought Bill Clinton should suffer the same fate. 

And, earlier today, we had a Quick Take on the candidate that did drop out of the Democratic race -- Beto O'Rourke.

He had issues getting traction in the 'moderate' lane of the race, running along with Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar in that space. Biden came in with an advantage there, and both Mayor Pete and Klobuchar had done much better in the debates, significantly overshadowing O'Rourke (and in some respects, overshadowing Biden as well). And it seems, his shift to the left may hurt him going forward.

Dive in -- comment freely -- and come back for more next week!

Wondering on Wednesday (v188)

Today's wondering begins not in the halls of Congress or anywhere else in DC, but in a Dallas courtroom where the NRA is suing its former ad agency, Ackerman McQueen (AMc). The whole thing is a mess, but here's a quick recap from the Daily Beast.

According to an Oct. 25 amended complaint filed in its ongoing lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen, NRA officials believed the short-lived TV outlet - which featured shows from right-wing stars like Dana Letch and Dan Bongino - "strayed from the Second Amendment to themes which some NRA leaders found distasteful and racist." 

You know, distasteful and racist like "a picture of cartoon character Thomas the Tank Engine wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood."  This whole thing is part of a big ugly fight between the gun rights group and AMc, and comes on the heels of the litany of scandals that the NRA has faced:

a ProPublica report alleging sexual harassment by a senior NRA staffer; vicious infighting among top executive; and reportedly out-of-control spending and debt fueled by legal fees, unpaid bills and expenses on lavish travel, clothing and makeup for LaPierre and his wife. 

So, what's to wonder about? Well, with the messy lawsuits, and if things in this August Mother Jones article are still true, and we continue to see polling showing  the majority of Americans  - including Republicans - favor universal background checks, red flag laws, and more, I'm wondering how long politicians will continue to fear the NRA at election time, and if they stop being afraid, will we be able to get these very popular measures passed and signed into law?

Turning now to San Francisco, we learn that Twitter will ban ALL political ads, beginning November 22nd.  The company's CEO, Jack Dorsey, tweeted the decision this afternoon, saying that "political message reach should be earned, not bought."  And, he offered some insight, including this:

For instance, it‘s not credible for us to say: “We’re working hard to stop people from gaming our systems to spread misleading info, buuut if someone pays us to target and force people to see their political ad…well...they can say whatever they want! 😉” 

We know that politicians have been suggesting that Facebook needs to verify the truth of an ad, or not accept it. We've all heard about Sen. Elizabeth Warren's fake ad, suggesting that the social media giant and its CEO had endorsed Donald Trump in 2020. Facebook accepted that ad. And, the Biden campaign had asked Facebook to take down lies or debunked statements pushed by the president regarding the Ukraine thing.

In response, Facebook said that "politicians are not allowed to share a previously debunked viral hoax in ads, but their direct speech was ineligible for fact-checking." And, Katie Harbath, Facebook's head of global elections policy, said

Our approach is grounded in Facebook's fundamental belief in free expression, respect for the democratic process, and the belief that, in mature democracies with a free press, political speech is already arguably the most scrutinized speech there is. 

So, here's what I'm wondering:

• Should Facebook and Twitter and the rest of the social media companies be required to fact-check everything that's published on their platforms? 
• Should these companies be required to fact-check only ads and promotions, things they're paid to publish?
• Should the companies be allowed to left our speech - truth, lies and everything in between - flow freely without fact-checking any of it?
• And finally, why are these companies being treated differently from any other media platform -television and radio stations, newspapers and magazines, web-only news outlets, and so on, who aren't fact-checked at all, except by other media companies?

And finally, tonight, I'm wondering when the president and people in the media will stop referring to the summary memorandum of that beautiful phone call with Ukraine's President Zelensky as a 'transcript'?  It's happening all over again, because of the revelation that Lt. Col. Anthony Vindman, a Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, said the 'reconstructed transcript' of the call was incomplete and that his efforts to have it corrected were rebuffed.

As a reminder, here is the disclaimer that appears on the so-called transcript:

CAUTION: a Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation (TELCON) is not a verbatim transcript of a discussion. The text in this document records the notes and recollections of Situation Room Duty Officers and NSC policy staff assigned to listen and memorialize the conversation in written form as the conversation takes place. A number of factors can affect the accuracy of the record, including poor telecommunications connections and variations in accent and/or interpretation. The word "inaudible" is used to indicate portions of a conversation that the notetaker was unable to hear. 

I get why the president calls it a transcript - no need to wonder about that - but I don't get why reporters are more careful when describing a document that expressly states it's not what they say it is.

I mean, if they're not careful, Facebook will start fact-checking them.

We Don't Need to Take People's Guns Away

If you saw last week's debate, or yesterday's interview with Beto O'Rourke on Meet the Press, you know that he's on record with a mandatory buyback of AR-15s and AK-47s and other 'weapons of war.'

Don't get me wrong -- I think these guns are unnecessary, and have no purpose other than inflicting a great deal of harm in a very short period of time. But the mandatory buyback - confiscation with pay, if you will - is wrong. And I don't think most Democrats, or most Americans, believe it's right, or constitutional, even though O'Rourke says it can be done using the Commerce Clause without stepping on the Second Amendment.

This is exactly the kind of position that will make it much harder to get Donald Trump out of office next year. Besides, there are too many other things the majority of us do agree on, such as background checks for all gun sales; red flag laws, given courts the ability to have someone's guns temporarily removed; allowing medical professionals to collect and study data on gunshot victims; and so on. That's where the current Congress should be focused, regardless of what O'Rourke and the other candidates think.
Back in 2013, a friend and I had a very long conversation about guns, which culminated in my post The One in which We Agree.... The post outlined what we, after days of discussion and negotiation via email and chat, were comfortable with to try and shift the dial on gun safety and enhance the principles of responsible gun ownership. Here's what we agreed was reasonable, not overly burdensome on current and prospective gun owners, and which might be achievable (if only...):

1. People choosing to exercise their right to bear arms need criminal and mental health clearance. Yes, this is background checks, and yes, it's intrusive to a certain degree, but it doesn't feel unreasonable to me. 
2. Registration of all gun purchases on a federal gun license. I'm okay with a federal license; I appreciate states having different tolerances for gun legislation and ownership, but certainly in the case of concealed carry permits, we need one law, not many.
3. Mandatory safety training for each type of firearm purchased. This is so simplistic it's ridiculous, and I'm not sure whether it's already the law of the land, but if not it certainly should be.
4. Yearly renewal of the federal gun license, including proficiency testing. Again, not rocket science. He suggested not only proficiency, but also moral simulation, to gauge a person's decision-making ability, such as when to fire vs. when to de-escalate, which I think is a fascinating approach. 
5. Reducing the price of ammunition, thereby making it more readily available so people can practice with their weapons. I had a hard time with this one, but coupled with all of the other things we'd change, and a couple of qualifiers, I decided I could live with it. My qualifiers? Eliminating Internet ammunition purchasing and adding mandatory reporting of large volume ammo purchases, similar to how banks are required to report large cash deposits.
6. We agreed we need to eliminate black market gun sales, but neither of us offered anything here. I'm not sure how to do it, other than good old fashioned police work, finding out who's selling guns illegally and stopping them. It'll take quite a bit of effort, but coupled with other changes, it may be possible to make a dent.

Yes - these would impact law-abiding gun owners more than they impact criminals. But here's the thing: when it comes to mass shootings, most of the perpetrators were law-abiding citizens right up until the point they started killing innocent people. With the right rules in place, it's certainly possible that we might have been able to prevent one or more mass shooting. 

Walmart Goes Where Others Fear to Tread

On a day where Senate Majority Leader managed to demonstrate his lack of understanding about our three branches of government; show his yellow-bellied fear of his retaliatory president; prove without a doubt that he is without cojones; and ignore the will of the American people, the world's largest retailer made a very different decision. 

First, McConnell. 

In an interview with conservative talking head Hugh Hewitt, he said Trump is looking over different proposals and "he expects to hear back next week" about what Trump would support, according to this report from Politico, which quotes McConnell saying

I said several weeks ago that if the president took a position on a bill so that we knew we would actually be making a law and not just having serial votes, I’d be happy to put it on the floor. If the president is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it it’ll become law, I’ll put it on the floor.”

Now, let's look at leadership of a different kind, starting with a few news reports, starting with this New York Times article:

In response to the shooting in its El Paso store last month that killed 22 people, Walmart said Tuesday that it would stop selling certain types of ammunition that are commonly used by hunters but can also be used in military assault rifles.

The nation’s largest retailer made the announcement after weeks of discussion about how best to respond to the violence on Aug. 3. The company said that after “selling through our current inventory commitments” it would discontinue the sale of certain short-barrel rifle ammunition and all handgun ammunition.

 And here's another look at it from a CNBC article:

The biggest retailer in the world is additionally asking customers at Walmart and Sam’s Club to no longer openly carry firearms in stores, in states where “open carry” is allowed, unless they are authorized law enforcement officers. Open carry legislation is currently on the books in more than 26 states, Dan Bartlett, executive vice president of corporate affairs, said during a call with members of the media.

Now, let's look at some excerpts from the memo issued by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, who begins with references the shooting in El Paso and the one in Southaven, Mississippi, where two Walmart associates were killed by a third. 

Our immediate priorities were supporting our associates and the impacted families and cooperating with law enforcement. In parallel, we have been focused on store safety and security. We’ve also been listening to a lot of people inside and outside our company as we think about the role we can play in helping to make the country safer. It’s clear to us that the status quo is unacceptable.

After visiting El Paso on Aug. 6, I mentioned that we would be thoughtful and deliberate in our responses. We’re ready to share our next steps.

He highlighted changes the company had previously made, including decisions to "to stop selling handguns or military-style rifles such as the AR-15, to raise the age limit to purchase a firearm or ammunition to 21, to require a “green light” on a background check while federal law only requires the absence of a “red light,” to videotape the point of sale for firearms and to only allow certain trained associates to sell firearms."

Talking about the changes being made today, McMillon acknowledged the decisions he announced would "inconvenience" some customers, but he hoped for their understanding; he also reiterated the company's commitment to focusing on "the needs of hunting and sport shooting enthusiasts," including guns, ammunition, clothing, etc. And he noted that the changes introduced today would significantly reduce Walmart's market share on ammo from around 20% to perhaps as low as 6% over time. 

Speaking about store safety, there are changes coming for open carry states (but not for concealed carry). Here's why those changes are needed (emphasis added):

...there have been multiple incidents since El Paso where individuals attempting to make a statement and test our response have entered our stores carrying weapons in a way that frightened or concerned our associates and customers. We have also had well-intentioned customers acting lawfully that have inadvertently caused a store to be evacuated and local law enforcement to be called to respond. These incidents are concerning and we would like to avoid them, so we are respectfully requesting that customers no longer openly carry firearms into our stores or Sam’s Clubs in states where “open carry” is permitted – unless they are authorized law enforcement officers.

We believe the opportunity for someone to misinterpret a situation, even in open carry states, could lead to tragic results. We hope that everyone will understand the circumstances that led to this new policy and will respect the concerns of their fellow shoppers and our associates.

He promised a respectful, "non-confrontational approach" to explaining this particular change to customers. (And, not for nothing, but what the hell is wrong with the people who have been "attempting to make a statement" in this manner?) 

Walmart is also going to work with fellow retailers, share their best practices and, likely, proprietary technical specs and other information on their firearm sales platform. They'll do this free of charge. 

And, McMillon added some comments for our 'leaders' who are pitifully bad at leading on this issue, many in large part because they fear for their own political survival, I'm convinced. Again emphasis added.

Finally, we encourage our nation’s leaders to move forward and strengthen background checks and to remove weapons from those who have been determined to pose an imminent danger... and we believe the reauthorization of the Assault Weapons ban should be debated... We must also do more, as a country, to understand the root causes that lead to this type of violent behavior. Today, I’m sending letters to the White House and the Congressional leadership that call for action on these common sense measures... these horrific events occur and then the spotlight fades. We should not allow that to happen. Congress and the administration should act. Given our decades of experience selling firearms, we are also offering to serve as a resource in the national debate on responsible gun sales.

We understand... our deeply rooted place in America and our influence as the world’s largest retailer. And we understand the responsibility that comes with it. We want what’s best for our customers, our associates and our communities. In a complex situation lacking a simple solution, we are trying to take constructive steps to reduce the risk that events like these will happen again. The status quo is unacceptable.

Yes. The status quo is completely unacceptable.