Boing Boing has a great wrapup of a Times article (behind a paywall) detailing the total donations to Democratic candidates currently in the race; it’s eye-opening to see how far ahead Bernie Sanders is and more importantly the fact that he takes in smaller amounts from more people. The Democratic Party had better not ramrod Biden in as the nominee like they did with Hillary last time.
So this is what you get with stupid open carry laws for assault weapons in flyover states:
Man in body armor and armed with rifle sparks panic at Missouri Walmart.
The armed man who walked into a Missouri Walmart store dressed in body armor and fatigues and was detained at gunpoint by an off-duty firefighter is “lucky he’s alive still” considering the situation he created, a police official said.
…The man entered the store with a tactical rifle, a handgun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition, KYTV reported, citing police. He was said to have been stopped by the armed firefighter after leaving through an emergency exit.
Just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you should be allowed to take it shopping with you. And the only people allowed to concealed-carry weapons, in my opinion, are federal agents and police officers. This is going to continue happening, and someone somewhere is going to get killed. This moron is lucky he’s not dead.
While Baltimore has its share of rats and mess, I’d say Washington is about 100% worse. The President can go fuck himself. Rep. Cummings is the delegate for my district. He seems to be doing a great job of getting under Trump’s skin, which is exactly why I keep re-electing him.
News at 11: the President is a racist. Like it wasn’t already obvious. “Go back to where you came from” is the shit racist third-graders yell at other kids on the playground. What’s now painfully obvious is that our president should have to repeat the third grade.
So apparently the Mueller Report has been released in a redacted format, and it says something completely different than the Barr summary. There are multiple takes on what it actually says, but the consensus seems to be that the Trump campaign colluded with and benefited from Russian interference in the election knowingly and willingly. Most importantly, Mueller made it to the point where he could have said Trump’s team committed obstruction but stepped back.
It’s been clear since the beginning that this presidency is riddled with blatant corruption and a complete lack of civil and moral ethics; these are people who went into public service without the public good in mind. What we need is a large group of lawmakers and legislators with the moral courage to stand up to the Executive Branch and actually call them out on their hypocrisy and lies. This was a missed opportunity to do just that, and it will be swept under the rug as fast as the next news cycle.
“I just thought, If the typical N.R.A. member knew that this is how the organization really works, then there’s no way they would give money.” But Davis felt that the culture of the organization discouraged complaints.
I just inherited my father’s guns, and as a law-abiding citizen, I’m going to be licensed in the state of Maryland to own them. But there’s no way I would have ever joined the N.R.A. before reading this article; after finishing it, I’m even more disgusted by their absolute lack of ethics and morals; from what the article says, it’s just a moneymaking scheme for a P.R. firm and several top officers of the association.
From the Washington Post: The Supreme Court unanimously decided that the Constitution’s prohibition on excessive fines applies to states as well as the federal government.
The Eighth Amendment states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Two of those commands — regarding bail and cruel and unusual punishments — have been deemed to apply to state and local governments. But until now, the ban on excessive fines had not.
Having your car seized and sold just because you ran a stop sign is egregious and immoral. Now it’s illegal too.
The Atlantic did a great pictorial of the 116th Congressional swearing-in. The difference between the Democratic side and the Republican side is stark and staggering.
Dear Mr. President:
Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.
Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.
– William McRaven, former commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, in today’s Washington Post. Damn. (thx to Jen for sending this to me)