In Case You Missed It (v49)

Grab your cuppa and settle down for our review of last week's posts. It was kind of a tough week, I have to tell you, so be warned.

For Sunday School, I took one for the team,  I really did. I mean, Nancy Pelosi. Chuck Schumer. Steve Mnuchin. These three are not great interviews, especially when they are all pushing their agendas. I find it difficult to listen to each of them, much less all three of them in the same classroom session. But I did it, for you.

One of the best lines of the day? Mnuchin, talking about aid to states and municipalities. He of course used the White House talking points about "poorly managed" states and local governments.

But, he said,

We can deal with in January, if there's ongoing issues, we can pass more legislation. This will be the fifth bill. We don't have to get everything done at once. What we should do is get things done for the American public now, come back for another bill afterwards.

Seems he's planning on being around for a while. Anyone up for helping make that not happen?

I tried to find something more palatable for your Extra Credit, and even though I did devote quite a bit of time to Larry 'I Find it Hard to Understand Something Called Systemic Racism Because Lots of White People Voted for Barack Obama' Kudlow trying to do math with Dana Bash (who deserves a medal for putting up with him, I might add), I also spent some time in the Meet the Press classroom (again, taking one for the team) with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Like Mnuchin the day before, Durbin hit the party line, saying that the Dems had dropped a trillion dollars from their plan, so the Rs should add a trillion to theirs - meeting in the middle, as it were.  There was more, too, including scathing remarks about

"this urban legend, which I say is an urban lie, about people sitting at home bingeing on Netflix and eating chocolate-covered cherries," simply is not happening 

And another thing?

Durbin argued that actually "doing something directly about the coronavirus" is more important than unemployment. 

...this notion that you're going to have the same instant results of testing that (the president) does with his White House visitors or Major League Baseball does overnight, that isn't the real world out here. The people are waiting in line for testing, and they're waiting for results from 5-12 days, which makes them almost pointless. That is a priority for us. Testing to deal with coronavirus is key to opening the economy and opening our schools.

Moving on, I believe my inclusion of the information below in my Wondering on Wednesday post may have been the reason why I had so many hits from Russian IP addresses in the second half of the week. We'll see if that's true with this re-post.

Moving on to QAnon - something I honestly NEVER anticipated typing - it seems we'll have an honest to goodness supporter of the conspiracy theorists in the House come January. As noted in this NPR story,

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a construction executive, won 57% of the vote in Georgia's heavily-Republican 14th Congressional District, handily defeating neurosurgeon John Cowan, who had pitched himself as, "All of the conservative, none of the embarrassment."

I did like Cowan's campaign slogan; there are actually loads of Rs who could probably use that, if they were willing to distance themselves from you know who.  And he, of course, was not able to distance himself from Ms. Greene.

President Trump congratulated Greene on Wednesday morning, calling her a "future Republican Star" who is "strong on everything."

Shocked, I amn't.

I was a little shocked, however, by the fervor with which the NRA's Wayne LaPierre tried to woo me over to his side, now that the lobbying organization has been hit with a lawsuit by NY's Attorney General Tish James (something I wasn't thrilled about).

And while LaPierre's love letter was the winner of the coveted Email of the Week, it didn't win me over.  He started out all lovey-dovey, with gentle tugs on my heart-strings, telling me about the "radical fringe of our country."

And here's how it was at the end, all capitalized and throbbing, or something.

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.

Yeah, no - but thanks for trying.

And, blissfully, it was TGIF time, even though it wasn't the best week ever.

Now, why would I say something like that? Maybe because we're having to deal with this...

How about the new birther attacks, suggesting that Kamala Harris is not eligible to be Joe Biden's VP because, you know, she was born in the USA.  Does that sound familiar to anyone, maybe from a few years ago? And now, maybe trying to keep another person of color out of the White House? This is a tried and true tactic of the Trump squad; you can hear Tamara Keith's reporting that it's playing out in living color - again from tonight's All Things Considered.

So - your cuppa should be at least cold, if not empty, if checked out all of these posts - but at least you're up-to-date on the full and veritable pastiche from last week.

I'll be back later with Sunday School.  Word has it Jared's making a classroom appearance, and I know you'll not want me to miss that.

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

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.

OrangeVerse XLII: Card Carriers

The president and his great vice president went to the NRA convention to chat with patriots and stuff. In case you weren't invited, here are some poetic excerpts from Donald Trump's remarks. In verse, of course.  Trump's remarks were before the ouster of Ollie North as president of the NRA, which forestalled the ouster of Wayne LaPierre as CEO of the group. 

We Are The Champions

Chris Cox Wayne LaPierre Oliver North --

I've been following Oliver

for a long time. 

Great guy. 

Three extraordinary champions for the 2nd Amendment

And I'm a champion for the 2nd Amendment

and so are you. 

It's not going anywhere.

It's under assault.

It's under assault

but not when we're here.

Not even close. 

Most Importantly

I want to thank all of you

the proud

card-carrying

members

of the NRA. 

Every day,

you stand up for our

God-given rights

without exception

without fail, and

without apology.

Thank You. Thank You.

Together we are fighting

for the timeless values that

have build and sustained our nation.

And our nation is greater today

than it has ever been. 

Stronger. Richer. 

We're doing better 

than ever before.

We are Great Americans.

You're doing a great job. 

Believing in our Beliefs

We believe in the rule of law.

And we will always protect and defend

the Constitution of the United States.

And there are some people

that are running right now; 

I don't think they have

that number one on their list.

Power to the People

Every day of my Administration

we are taking power out of Washington DC

and returning it to the American people

where it belongs. 

And you see it now

better than ever

with all of the resignations

of all of the bad apples.

They're bad apples.

They tried for a coup; it didn't 

work out so well.

And I didn't need

a gun for that one, did I?

What's it Called?

It's called what we all together

have done - started two and a half years ago

on that great November 8th.

That was a great day.

Remember that day?

And in a year and a half

we have one called "November 3rd."

It's November 3rd this time. 

Get ready to vote.

You better. You better

get ready to vote.

But it's all called

"draining the swamp"

and we are doing it faster

than anyone ever thought possible.

Very proud of that.

Defcon Three

Far-left radicals in Congress

want to take away your voice

your jobs

your rights

and they especially want 

to take away

your guns.

You know that. 

They want to 

take away

your guns. 

You better get out there

and vote. 

You better get out there

and vote. 

It seems like it's
a long ways off.
It's not.

There was more - a LOT more - about the economy and immigration and crime-living Democrats and Paris and guns and the Revolutionary War and de-regulation and the fake news and on and on and on it went. 

We did learn that there's going to be no more #MAGA, there's a new slogan coming - #KeepAmericaGreat I guess, which will look like #KEG spelled wrong on shirts and hats. 

There'll be more poetry for sure, and we likely won't have to wait long to get it. 

TGIF 4/5/19

Friday again? Already?

I'm thinking the folks who handle security at the president's private club down there in Florida had a kinda bad week. How else would you describe letting someone into the club just because they had the same name as another member?  Especially after all of the hullabaloo we just went through with a Chinese woman offering photo ops and access to with Trump personally, as well as with other of the rich and famous who hang out at the president's private club.

And of course, the president isn't the least bit concerned with security at his club - or with stopping the influence-peddling there. So, maybe I'm wrong, maybe the security folks had a good week, if their boss isn't concerned?

Well, maybe not so fast. Because Mike Pompeo, he's concerned, noting that, while he can't talk specifically to the incident, it

tells the American people the threat that China poses the effort they're making here inside the United States, not only against government officials, but more broadly. 

Whew -- that's clear as mud now. I guess we can describe it as a badly good or goodly bad week, or something.

Sidebar: Guns and Money

In my post the other day on how investors are looking to get some key principles implemented by gun manufacturers, I talked about the many ways that folks are considering, or already using, to try and change processes that allow guns to get into the wrong hands, or to keep guns from becoming extraordinarily capable of mass destruction (as opposed to being only ordinarily capable of such destruction).

There were several approaches in the post, but there's one more that wasn't mentioned. It's the one taken by former President George HW Bush back on May 3, 1995:

Dear Mr. Washington,

I was outraged when, even in the wake of the Oklahoma City tragedy, Mr. Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of NRA, defended his attack on federal agents as "jack-booted thugs." To attack Secret Service agents or ATF people or any government law enforcement people as "wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms" wanting to "attack law abiding citizens" is a vicious slander on good people. 

Al Whicher who served on my [United States Secret Service] detail when I was Vice President and President, was killed in Oklahoma City. He was no Nazi. He was a kind man, a loving parent, a man dedicated to serving his country - and serve it well he did.  

In 1993, I attended the wake for ATF agent Steve Willis, another dedicated officer who did his duty. I can assure you that this honorable man, killed by weird cultists, was no Nazi. 

John Magaw, who used to head the USSS and now heads ATF, is one of the most principled, decent men I have ever known. He would be the last to condone the kind of illegal behavior your ugly letter charges. The same is true for the FBI's able Director Louis Freeh. I appointed Mr. Freeh to the Federal Bench. His integrity and honor are beyond question.

Both John Magaw and Judge Freeh were in office when I was President. They both now serve the current administration. They both have badges. Neither of them would ever give the government's "go ahead to harass, intimidate, even murder law abiding citizens." (Your words) 

I am a gun owner and an avid hunter. Over the years I have agreed to most of the NRA's objectives, particularly your educational training efforts, and your fundamental stance in favor of owning guns.

 However, your broadside against Federal agents deeply offends my own sense of decency and honor; and it offends my concept of service to country. It indirectly slanders a wide array of government law enforcement officials, who are out there, day and night, laying their lives on the line for all of us.

You have not repudiated Mr. LaPierre's unwarranted attack. Therefore, I resign as a Life Member of NRA, said resignation to be effective upon your receipt of this letter. Please remove my name for your membership list.

Sincerely, [signed] George Bush.

That's right -- resigning from the NRA is another tactic that might add to the critical mass I think we need.

Bush did it because he didn't like how the organization talked about other Americans,specifically those who served in government and law enforcement. Today, it could be because of their seemingly cavalier approach to what's happening all too often in our country. If enough people do this, it could might reduce their cash flow and  perhaps limit their political influence in the process.

If enough people do it, of course.

And while the 'Mr. Washington' the letter was addressed to -- then NRA president Thomas Washington -  died suddenly only a few short months after this letter from Bush,Wayne LaPierre is still around and still speaking with unabashed recklessness on behalf of the NRA. If ever a good man with a gun wanted to exert some pressure on the NRA, now's a great time to give it a shot.

All roads lead to Rome, they say...

School Safety, Trump Tweets Style

Ah...  there it is.

It's so much fun when the Republicans slam gun-free zones, as if people who have their minds set on committing maximum mayhem actually wander around looking for a places that have the little "gun free zone" signs up, and pick those places to do the deed.

I'm not pulling an OJ hypothetical thing here or anything like that, and there's a chance I may be wrong. But for the most part, I think if you're bullied at school, or picked on at school, or thrown out of school, if you're mad and want to get back at the people who picked on you, and you've got mayhem on the brain, you're not going to go to go rob a bank - you're going to go not just to any school, but to your own school, the one in your neighborhood, the one where you know the lay of the land, and do what you think, for some sad, sad reason, you have to do.

Columbine. Sandy Hook. Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Red Lake Senior High. And more, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, community colleges, colleges, universities.

If "it's not the gun, it's the killer," why is the president no less blaming the sign? Is he honestly suggesting that "guns don't kill people, signs kill people?"

And if the president thinks it's the sign, how does he explain this? CPAC was a gun free zone, we're told. You know, CPAC where the president spoke? Where the NRA's Wayne LaPierre went into his dark place?

And let us not forget another dark, big-tent-Republican-and-Conservative gathering that was a gun-free zone?

RECOGNIZE OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO OPEN CARRY

FIREARMS AT THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION AT THE

QUICKEN LOANS ARENA IN JULY 2016

That's right -- someone petitioned to have the Republican National Convention, the one that nominated Trump, be a gun-filled zone, for a whole host of reasons, including that Cleveland is a top ten most dangerous city, they said, and the RNC and the arena were "putting tens of thousands of people at risk both inside and outside the convention site." 

And ISIS. And evil-doers and criminals. And Barack HUSSEIN Obama... those were other reasons why guns were needed.

But here's the thing: the folks who petitioned weren't fighting the arena's gun-free policy as a matter of principle - it's not like they wanted it to be always and forever gun-free. They just wanted it to be gun-free when they were there. Because, well because I have no idea. Either a person at the Q is a sitting duck, or they're not. The pro-guns shouldn't be able to have it both ways.

And yes, I know the Administration did more today than just this idiotic tweet, but JeezPete (as a friend of my brother's used to say), why does he have to tweet this nonsense? 

Oh wait - never mind. It must be to provide cover for the fact that his school safety plan doesn't include all the things he promised?  Yeah, that's probably it.

Wayne's World

Did you catch Wayne LaPierre's talk at CPAC the other day?

He talked about 'hardening' schools and making them safer, of course. He also took credit, on behalf of the NRA, for the National Instant Check System, and for fighting to make sure that all the bad people who needed to be in the background system were there. Many people disagree with those characterizations of the NRA's positions, but that's a story for another post.

What I wanted to share with you is LaPierre's vision of America; if you like the 2016 Republican National Convention or Trump's inaugural address, you'll love this stuff.

As usual, the opportunists wasted not one second to exploit tragedy for political gain. Saul Alinsky would have been proud. The breakneck speed of calls for more gun control laws, and the breathless national media eager to smear the NRA - think about that, in the midst of genuine grief, in an understandable passion, as millions of Americans searched for meaningful solutions, what do we find? Chris Murphy, Nancy Pelosi and more, cheered on by the national media, eager to blame the NRA and call for even more government control. They hate the NRA. They hate the Second Amendment, they hate individual freedom....

For them it is not a safety issue, it is a political issue. They care more about control and more of it, their goal is to eliminate the Second Amendment and our firearms freedoms, so they can eradicate all individual freedoms. 

 They fantasize about more laws stopping what other laws fail to stop. The truth is, laws succeed only when people obey them, that is what the law-abiding majority in this country practices. But once again, so many existing laws were ignored. Their laws do not stop illegal criminals from crossing our borders every single day. Their laws do not stop this scourge of gang violence and drug crime that savages Baltimore, Chicago and every major American community. Their laws have not stopped the plague of opioids and Chinese fentanyl that floods the streets and kills victims every single day in this country. No wonder law-abiding Americans all over this country revere their Second Amendment that protects them more than ever. They do not care if their laws work or not, they just want to get more laws to get more control over people. 

Hold a moment please - the "breakneck speed" with which LaPierre moved from hardening schools to protect children to accusing Democrats and the media of being responsible for, or at the very least complicit in, all of society's ills and of trying to take over the universe was truly breathtaking.

And that's not all. There's a whole cabal of America-hating bastages at work here that need to be foiled, don't you know?  You don't know?  Well, follow along.

Obama promised a fundamental transformation of our country. And you know what? It began with his own national party, a party that is now infested with saboteurs who do not believe in capitalism, do not believe in the Constitution,  do not believe in our freedom, and do not believe in America as we know it. 

Obama may be gone but their Utopian dream, it marches on and president Trump's election, while crucial, cannot turn away the wave of these new European-style socialists bearing down upon us. I'm not just talking about Bernie Sanders, I mean, he's near the end of his career. What about Elizabeth Warren, Bill De Blasio, Andrew Cuomo, Cory Booker, Christopher Murphy and Keith Ellison?  They are not Democrats in the mode of John F. Kennedy or Tip O'Neill.

They hide behind labels like 'progressive' to make their socialist agenda more palatable and that is terrifying. And that should terrify every citizen who values the American ideal in this country of individual liberty. They politicize the Department of Justice. They weaponize the Internal Revenue Service, the EPA, perhaps cripple the FBI and the Intelligence Community, and seized and embedded leadership in all of them to advance their agenda 

Set aside, for a moment, the idea that my Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo and New York City's mayor Bill De Blasio have anything to do with the DOJ, the IRS, the EPA or the FBI and the Intelligence Community. Note also that that Keith Ellison, as a DNC executive - and a Democrat in the House - has even less influence than do Warren, Booker and Murphy in the Senate. But again, the truth and facts are not what we're looking for here.

This is a raw meat fest, CPAC is, and everyone knows it. I was naive, I guess, as to how raw the meat was - it's still on the hoof, for Pete's sake. It's blue and mooing, I tell you. Ready to get some of that?

Absolute control in every corner of our government is their ultimate dream. These intellectual elites, they think that they are smarter than we are. They think that they are smarter than the rest of us. And they think they are better than we are. They truly believe it. And you know it. 

The privileged and the powerful, they think they deserve to be in charge of every level of power but you know what? The United States Constitution makes it absolutely clear that they are not in charge. We, the people, are in charge of this country! But Washington - OH. MY. GOSH. The city likes to ignore that. Our intelligence community shrouds everything in secrecy, driving into darkness every dirty memo. And every dirty institutional secret and memory, in the name of national security. But when the leaks come, as so often occurs in the light of day, it reveals nothing about the security of our country and it reveals everything about the corruption of those in power. That is because in a captive society, the loss of transparency results in the loss of truth. 

And I'm thinking, "in the midst of genuine grief, in an understandable passion, as millions of Americans searched for meaningful solutions", the Executive Director of the NRA went off the deep end, way off the deep end, into the dark spiral of paranoia.

I can understand a bit of bad apples in organizations as large as the FBI. But what is hard to understand is why nobody at the FBI stood up and called BS on its rogue leadership. I mean, really, where was the systemic resistance that should protect every powerful institution that serves us? The lowest-ranking Marine knows to resist an unlawful order. The rank and file in every powerful institution must police its own leadership.

Do you think the membership of the NRA was hearing that call, to resist the urges of LaPierre and his bizarro world vision? And do you think LaPierre was right to co-opt the Parkland teens' rallying cry of "we call BS" for his own purpose?

But still, too much of today's Washington, nobody speaks out. Nobody challenges authority. Everyone keeps their mouths closed and their heads down. And that is exactly how socialistic societies function, when leaders do whatever they want, when resistance and repercussion disappears, and when the fundamental concept of moral behavior is expunged. 

The state rules the day and anyone who resists is smeared right into submission. Yep, you know it. - yes, the "art of the smear." 

The state rules the day, and the president, its leader, is a master of the art of the smear - it's one of the ways he vanquished his 16 opponents.

We live in a socialistic age of the art of the smear. It does not have to be true, it just has to stick somewhere, anywhere. It is designed to degrade, destroy, and it is all over the national media to serve their agenda.

Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!  Oh, sorry - I digress. I was practicing the Art of the Smear, which I'm sure will be a new Trump book now that the title has been handed to someone on a sliver platter.

And socialism is a movement that loves the smear. Racists. Misogynist. Sexist. Xenophobia and more. These are the weapons. These character assassinations scream to permanently hang on their targets and create a growing segment of victims. Because socialism feeds off of manipulative victims. You name the group and they will find a way to turn them into victims, they keep their movement growing by finding somebody to be offended every minute of every day.

You know, those 20 manipulative first graders and the six manipulative adults at Sandy Hook, and the 14 manipulative teenagers and three adults at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and all of the other manipulative victims of other mass shootings, the bastages. 

They do not like free speech any more than they like the Second Amendment. They like only limited speech, controlled speech, controlled by them through safe zones where they can shame the outspoken or riot to shut them up. If you still think that we have full First Amendment freedom in this country, try going right now at Berkeley and speaking out in favor of conservative causes or even the Second Amendment.

Forgetting, he must be, the sad tale of Milo Yiannopoulos. You see,  CPAC's sponsor invited Milo, who was the victim of those riots-against-free-speech-at-Berkeley to speak at the 2017 gathering of this same voodoo-juice-drinking crowd -- and then disinvited him when his free speech was a little too freely offensive. How soon, how soon, the conservatives forget that CPAC is a safe zone itself!

He then talked about how the "socialist state dreams of manipulating schoolchildren" to get information from them, all kinds of information about their parents, what they watch on TV (ironic, since the NRA and LaPierre point out how violent video games cause mass shootings) and if they own guns and stuff.

And all that private information will be entered in to the ultimate list, that cloud of data storage that couldn't care less about due process and constitutional freedom and your privacy as an American citizen and then it is just a short hop to the systematic destruction of our most basic freedoms in this country and you all know what they are, but let me say them: family; faith; individual responsibility; and self destiny. A free market economy; patriotism; respect for our national flag and our national anthem. Personal liberty and justice for all... It will not take long if we stay on the path we are on to erase them completely. That is the consequence of this new socialist wave in America.  

You know, I hear a lot of quiet in this room and I sense your anxiety. And you should be anxious and you should be frightened. If they seize power, if the so-called new European socialists take over the House, and the Senate, and God forbid they get the White House again, our American freedoms could be lost and our country will be changed forever.

I wonder, was the anxiety coming from LaPierre's ranting and raving?  Mine sure was.

And the first to go will be the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. History proves it. Every time, in every nation, in which this political disease rises to power, its citizens are repressed, their freedoms are destroyed, and their firearms are banned and confiscated. It is all backed in this country by the social engineering and the billions (billions of dollars, he means) of people like George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, Tom Steyer and more, and gleefully promoted by those who have risen to power in the so-called national news media and seized control of social media to spread their propaganda.

They do not tell us news, you all know it and people know it all over the United States. They say it to me every day, they do not tell us news, they tell us what we need to think... 

You know, some people out there think that the NRA should just stick to its Second Amendment agenda and not talk about all our freedoms, but real freedom requires protection of all of our rights, and the Second Amendment isn't worth its own words in a country where all of our other individual freedoms are destroyed...

Forewarned is forearmed -- the NRA TV channel is looking to be way more bigly involved, and way more bigly accessible, just like NBC and CNN. Which are fake news. And Fox, which is real news, except that it does exactly the same thing as LaPierre just described the media doing, which was bad, in case you didn't catch that.

And now, the big finish - and yes, he does talk about guns again. I forgot that he was the Executive Director of the NRA for a second there - as, I think, did he.

Let's be clear. We are never talking about an armed resistance against the socialist corruption of our government. We are always talking about a resistance armed with the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights in our country. The genius of those documents, the brilliance of America, of our country itself, is all of our freedoms are for every single citizen and there is no greater personal individual freedom than the right to keep and bear arms, the right to protect yourself, and the right to survive. 

It is not bestowed by man, but granted by God to all Americans as our American birthright. So I call right now today on every citizen who loves this country and who treasures freedom to stand and unflinchingly defend the Second Amendment, the one freedom that protects us all in this country.

And yes, in case you were wondering, LaPierre did close with the "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.

And yes, in case you were wondering, CPAC, according to several reports, including this one, and this one, is a gun-free zone.

The Dirty Snowpile Awards for 2013

All the big Hollywood award shows are over, Ben Affleck has shaved off his beard, and the good, bad, and ugly of fashion have been all been identified. And now, as the temperature here in Syracuse heads north of 60 degrees, it's time for the Dirty Snowpile Awards. I'm sure this year's winners will be just as proud as those from  2010 and 2011  to receive this prestigious honor.

So where do we start?  We had a lot of material to choose from, no question about that -- and we have a repeat winner or two this time around, some 'defending champions', if you will.  Here goes:

The 'Put an Idiot Bumper Sticker on your Own Forehead' Dirty Snowpile goes to John Sununu, for his engaging and idiotic appearance with Soledad O'Brien on CNN.  Sununu, who suggested O'Brien put an Obama bumper sticker on her forehead, was trying to make a point by referencing an actual document - the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessment on the costs of repealing the
Affordable Care Act - and pretending it said the ACA cut Medicare benefits by over $700 billion.  This was not the case, but it didn't matter to Sununu - say something loud enough and often enough and people will believe you.  Unless it's Soledad O'Brien, who actually read the CBO letter and called Sununu on the lie- er, misstatement.

The 'Groucho Marx' Dirty Snowpile goes to National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Director Wayne LaPierre, for embodying the oft-cited Groucho quote about belonging to a club that would have him as a member. LaPierre, by his comments after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, his statements after other mass shootings that it was 'too soon' to talk about them, and his inflammatory statements since then, has done more to fan the flames of gun control advocates than the horrific shootings themselves.  The NRA would do themselves a favor if they found another mouthpiece.


The 'Talk Less, Do More' Dirty Snowpile goes to jointly to Congress and President Obama. All of them need to get to work.  Recent attempts at playing nice (Obama taking Senate Republicans to dinner, or having lunch with House Republicans) are fine but we don't need any more photo ops. We know what you all look like, we know what you think is important -- but we don't need photo opportunities, we need real opportunities.  Remember what they say: "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." Now's the time to try.

On a related note, the 'Who the (Heck) are You' Dirty Snowpile goes to the handful of people who still approve of Congress.  Approval rates have fluctuated a bit over the past several months, but I don't remember when it was even as high as 20%. I'm reminded of when we were kids, not excited about eating our vegetables.  Dad would tell us there were starving kids in other countries who would love to have our food, one day, my brother challenged him to name one. Can anyone name one of these 'approvers'?

And then we have the 'Wading Through Roe v. Wade' Dirty Snowpile to, well, to everyone - male or female, Democrat or Republican - who said anything about rape and abortion in the last election cycle.  We had Akin  and women's bodies 'shutting that thing down' and Mourdock with 'God's intent' and jokes about aspirin being a contraceptive and Louise Slaughter with her Nazi references -- it's all nonsense.  If people want to try and legislate abortion away, so be it -- it will be up to the courts, ultimately, to decide whether any new law are legal. In the meantime, can we please just stop letting the stupid people talk about it?


The thing about dirty snowpiles is, the dirtier they are, the longer they stick around. Sometimes it feels like that with our elected officials, doesn't it? It's a pretty good thing that you can control the budget of the agency you formed to investigate your own allegedly bad behavior, isn't it? Kind of makes it hard for that agency to do a good job, when with the stroke of a pen the funding can be cut. But that's the way it works for the Congressional Ethics Office, under the House Ethics Committee.  And speaking of ethics, say goodbye to Jesse Jackson Jr. (and his wife) who agreed to fess up to stealing money from campaign contributors. Let's give these folks the 'House (of Cards) Ethics' Dirty Snowpile; this one looks ready to tumble over any minute.

And what about the Presidential contest last year? Lots of Republicans, fighting each other, and in the end they all lost. Not because they were bad, but because of which one of them won. And so, the 47% Dirty Snowpile goes to none other than Mitt Romney. We all remember the 47% comment, right? That, and all those gifts that Obama gave to voters. Yeah, that's what it was, the 47% and those stinking gifts.

Albany has its own set of issues, apart from the fun that everyone has in Washington.  Here in New York, we have Andrew Cuomo, that Sonova Governor, who was elected fairly easily.  Now, apparently, he thinks he's the Supreme Commander of the Empire (State -- you're the Governor of the Empire State, Andrew). It doesn't, but apparently no one's told him that yet.

Cuomo earned One Man in a Room Dirty Snowpile. Cuomo blew a perfectly good opportunity to craft legitimate gun legislation; he shot it all to hell, actually, by pushing an emergency bill, and by not focusing on the things that people generally agree on. Instead, the NY SAFE Act, shoved down the throats of New Yorkers, satisfies no one.  Typos and bad law passed under cover of darkness (led by the Transparency Governor) don't make NY SAFE.  They make us look like morons.

And speaking of morons. The 'My Future's So Bright, I Have to be a Republican' Dirty Snowpile goes to State Senator Malcolm Smith, the sitting Democrat who tried to bribe his way into the Bloomberg Post as a Republican. I'm not sure whether this says more about his creativity or the foolishness of his partners in crime, so anxious to have any politician in their pocket they'd take one of any stripe.

There will be more to fall as Preet Bharara, the rising star US Attorney for the Southern District of NY, continues to investigate. And that will be a good thing for all of us who lose a little bit of faith in the system each and every year.

Sadly, I could hand out as many awards as there are dirty snowpiles here in Syracuse during an average spring. And even though temps are starting to get up there, we do still have a couple of dirty snowpiles left in town.  So, I'll do one more -- we'll have an even 10 this year.

The 'Make Mine a Single' Dirty Snowpile goes to local State Senator John DeFrancisco, for applauding himself for not double-dipping (retiring to collect a pension and continuing to collect a salary as a legislator at the same time).   While some think it's laudable that he chose not to double-dip, DeFrancisco's comments when questioned by a reporter left a few things to be desired.  He started out OK, noting that he wasn't really retired, and I agree that seems pretty simple and straightforward.  But then, he added

If I get hit by a car tomorrow and I died, it would be a $100,000 benefit, which is probably about two years pension and then my wife has nothing further. That's a real concern. 

Yeah, that's a real concern for everyone who works, Senator, including the taxpayers who support your $113,000 salary and who will be paying the $50,000 pension you've earned on your part-time job.  But we're glad you're taking care of yourself first, we really are.

And with that, the snow shovel is in the shed until next winter.