Maybe it’s the snowball effect of the Portman domestic violence/security clearance scandal with the Devin Nunes memo (they seem related somehow) combined with the proposed Harvest Boxes mixed with the latest school shooting. Have we reached a tipping point?
I got that impression yesterday when I saw a CNN analyst break down in tears and one by one, cable news guests were genuinely angry at yet another senseless shooting claiming the lives of innocent victims. This time, there was more of a sense of frustration that the young adults who carry out these violent acts are not getting the help they need, that their anger and emotional state is going unaddressed, and that their access to firearms was an unacceptably dangerous situation that demanded action this time.
Something changed yesterday. I think it’s a despair that anything can be said or done to get through to the party in charge to dial it back even a little. It’s not learned helplessness anymore. That’s what we had before when there wasn’t such a clear target, excuse the expression. Now, we can all see who is responsible, who is holding things up.
There’s only one party in charge right now and the rest of us are being held hostage to its conscienceless opportunists and the paranoid base it has provoked over and over again with anti-government rhetoric. They think we want to take their guns away but they aren’t saying what they’re afraid of that necessitates having mini-arsenals in the first place. They are preparing for a war but against whom? And who is inflaming them with this fear, uncertainty and dread?
They’ve resisted talking about the problem or coming up with a solution. They’ve cynically thrown out accusations of “playing politics” when a tragedy like this happens. There was a wave election predicted for the fall anyway. I get a sense that a bigger backlash is on its way. We may finally have hit the point where we are no longer disposed to suffer while we still have the means to abolish the forms to which we have become accustomed.
The Second Amendment people have overreached. Before these outrages, no one wanted to take their guns away. We only wanted regulation, a nasty word to the political minority in charge.
Regulation not being forthcoming, the choice is clear now: the political minority is an obstacle to our safety. They need to go. That’s what I heard yesterday.
It’s going to be a big wave but this last triggering event is significant. There were already stresses building up with the tax cuts amounting to very little, the elections possibly being hacked while the executive branch does nothing, officials of dubious character having access to our most secure intelligence, chemistry teachers and landscapers separated from their children and deported without hearings, extortion, pornography, money laundering, domestic violence, the denigration is women, Las Vegas shooting and now this. This was the event that shook us and released the stress and added to the mass and momentum behind the wave. I think it’s too late to stop it now and it’s going to be more powerful than expected.
************************************
Lento e Largo- Tranquillismo by Henryk Górecki
Translation (from Polish)
Where has he gone
My dearest son?
Perhaps during the uprising
The cruel enemy killed him
Ah, you bad people
In the name of God, the most Holy,
Tell me, why did you kill
My son?
Never again
Will I have his support
Even if I cry
My old eyes out
Were my bitter tears
to create another River Oder
They would not restore to life
My son
He lies in his grave
and I know not where
Though I keep asking people
Everywhere
Perhaps the poor child
Lies in a rough ditch
and instead he could have been
lying in his warm bed
Oh, sing for him
God’s little song-birds
Since his mother
Cannot find him
And you, God’s little flowers
May you blossom all around
So that my son
May sleep happily
************************************
Podcasts are where it’s at, people. That’s where the philosophers, policy wonks and data analysts are these days. If you’re not listening to Trumpcast, The Ezra Klein Show, The Weeds, Pod Save America (millenial paradise that one), Stay Tuned with Preet or FiveThirtyEight, you’re missing out on some of the best critical analysis of current events. That’s especially important if cable news feels like just another pie fight.
The latest podcast I’m listening to is The Good Fight with Yasha Mounk who teaches government at Harvard. This podcast is more in the philosophical mode. The latest episode is an interview with Jennifer Rubin, conservative columnist at The Washington Post. Rubin reminds me of a John Dean or Norm Ornstein. The scales have fallen from their eyes and they’re now seeing that in spite of all they’ve been taught for years, the Party defending the constitution is NOT the Republicans. If you’re interested in hearing what an ethical conservative with a conscience sounds like, check it out.
Filed under: General |
The Confluence 
Let’s not forget that not all of the responsibility for this evil system is found in this country.
Hopefully, this will motivate enough of the Voluntary Non-Voters to get the hell off their couches and vote from now on.
Part of the shock is not that these mofos would sell out, but that they would sell out for such a low price (“kopeks on the ruble”, indeed).
*sigh* I HATE WORDPRESS WHICH WON’T LET YOU FIX YOUR OWN MISTAKES.
This might as well be a real billboard.
Jeez, you were up early too. The humidity is making my hair look like Roseanne Roseannadanna’s. Desperately need a haircut.
Agree with the post and hope things get shaken up. Have you looked at the people who are at trump rallies, even the young ones standing behind him? This needs to come back to trump, Rs, NRA…The young teacher in the Maddow show was so on point when she concluded her interview calling on Congress and government. I saw the CNN analyst, ex FBI I think break down. Now if only the print/TV media do their jobs.
How right I was. May be the media people or others find a pic of him in one of the trump rallies.
https://mobile.twitter.com/TIME/status/964201415286624258
Expose NRA and the politicians:
This is that wonderful young teacher I saw on Maddow show.
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) February 14, 2018
In a subsequent tweet, she shared a list of lawmakers who have received NRA funding.
God have mercy on your NRA-kept souls:
Richard Burr
$6,986,620
Roy Blunt
$4,551,146
Thom Tillis
$4,418,012
Cory Gardner
$3,879,064
Marco Rubio
$3,303,355
Joni Ernst
$3,124,273
Rob Portman
$3,061,941
Todd Young
$2,896,732
Bill Cassidy
$2,861,047https://t.co/y9US2i6CPD
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) February 14, 2018
PLUS reported Russia funding in the tens of millions.
“the political minority is an obstacle to our safety. They need to go.”
Gosh, why are they gearing up for war. *shrug* just paranoid I guess.
Has Blizzy forgotten what happened the last time his culture decided to assert itself with armed force?
(h/t Driftglass)
Not to mention that his culture consists disproportionately of the superannuated.
It’s kinda hard to goose-step effectively on a Hoverround. 😈
Thanks. I needed a laugh.
The shooter was a white supremacist. I guess we all know just what kind of war he and his ilk are gearing up for: the kind of war that Charles Manson envisioned.
We in the white supremacist community deplore this act of violence. White supremacism is a religion of peace. The real danger is that anti-white supremacist bigots will be emboldened by this heinous act, which should not justify a backlash against peaceful white supremacists. We are your husbands, sons, fathers and co-workers.
White supremacy and a “religion of peace” seems like an oxymoron since the very concept of supremacy and domination implies violence towards the submissive group if they don’t comply.
Anyway, aren’t you making the same argument that Muslims make when there’s a horrible act of terrorism? And we actually believe them because fundamentalist extremism is a small fraction of Islam. But we also tell Muslims that it is their responsibility to discipline its extremist members. Just like there are the same elements in Christianity.
But a religion whose very reason for being is based on treating anyone not white male Christians exists on a foundation of cruelty, lack of empathy and ignorance. Why should we admit ANY of you to polite society?
For what it’s worth, this kid needed therapy early in his life. He had parents who died. He was adopted. He was let down by the school systems he went to which are alwats too ready to wash their hands of kids with psychological or neurological problems. In spite of what he did, I feel sorry for what happened to him. Every child deserves to be treated like royalty and be given the best chance in life. I just get the feeling that this kid fell through the cracks and ended up associating with the worst possible group -white supremacists.
No, living in a liberal society means that we don’t discriminate based on color, religion or creed. Just as we don’t condemn all Muslims because some of them want to enslave women and murder gays, so we don’t condemn white supremacists because some want to kill Jews — not all of them are like that. The solution to anti-white supremacist bigotry is education. We need more positive portrayals of white supremacists in the media, more representation of white supremacists among elected officials and CEOs. Above all, white supremacists should be allowed to come out of the shadows and live in peace. If you attack them, they will only become more isolated and radicalized, leading to further incidents like this, which none of us want. Do keep in mind though, that some terrorist attacks will always be part and parcel of living in a modern, vibrant, diverse country.
Omg! That’s funny as hell.
I’m still struggling with the idea that we need to give White supremacists a chance to show their quality. As if.
From Wonkette:
Of Course the Florida School Shooter Was a Girl-Hating White Supremacist.
Yes, the easy availability of military-grade guns is one major factor,
but here’s another one.
Robyn Pennacchia:
I. HATE. SPAMMY. 😡
Not blaming Chump for this, but his MAGA message has certainly resonated with a particularly savage group of people in our country. And acts from these hate groups have been on the rise since his election.
If anyone can find the video, there was one of the teachers talking to Shepard Smith today. She gave one of the most powerful and compelling responses to something like this, and the lack of action from our government I’ve ever heard. Definitely worth listening to her.
Wow.
No way am I letting trump off the hook or his crazy cult like supporters. RD is right. There is a lot more anger towards the usual Republican rhetoric this time. This mom is angry, rightfully so. Teenagers who were there are calling for action, they are eloquent and articulate. Teachers are speaking up. We need to keep this protest going. It breaks my heart to see this mother in such anguish. Somebody was tweeting that plane hijacks were common in the 60s and people were opposed to all the security we now have in airports. But we are used to it now. People need to take on the NRA and the Republicans and make schools secure and gun free zones. How could this guy buy a gun? Start with that.
Bon appetit, Monsieur LaPierre.
I’m sure Chump will get right on reversing his reversal after this last massacre.
This is something I say. The whole “we have the right to own as many guns as we want” argument. Where in the second amendment does it say you can stockpile ammunition? We definitely need caps on how much ammo you can legally own. They can stop you from buying antihistamine if you’ve already bought some within a certain time frame, but you can buy bullets like they’re going out of style. No one needs 10,000 rounds to protect your family from home invasion. They should also be priced so high, you’ll have to sell a kidney to afford to buy them.
And we need to outlaw certain types of ammo altogether, No one needs armor piercing bullets to bring down a dear–the ONLY thing they’re for is to kill cops, those individuals Chump supporters and 2nd amendment rights fanatics claim to support with all their hearts. Even cops don’t want those bullets in circulation, they can’t have, but any joe-shmo can.
You don’t need them. You’re not at war on our streets. and if you think that, then get the hell out of our country, because you’re paranoid as hell and too dangerous to be around normal people!
These kids are great and that girl in the middle is so good. But watch towards the end, how that amateur-looking compared to these eloquent kids, fucker Anderson leads them to ‘both sides’ stuff. NRA is not paying Democrats and one party that is complicit in status quo and which has the power to do something but is not, is the Republican party.