… whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite. — Thomas Jefferson
By Blue Bronc, a Trail Mix Contributor
The significance of the students doing what we used call a “die in” is most likely lost on Trump (SFB) and the greedy old perverts. I see it as the most recent awakening of America and our history of protests. The republicans (small r), led by the like real smart person, have brought us out of a lethargic stage and into a mood to change America back to the better path. SFB has energized the Woman’s March, the scientist march, various Black Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Puerto Ricans and who knows how many other non-white men, women and LGBTQ people.
The talking heads focus on tut-tutting Dems for being overly confident and ready to lose the 2018 mid-terms. This is not a D vs R fight. This is about those willing to stay with a man who refuses to confront or stand up to the Russians and the old KGB man, Putin. This is about people who thought they were not being represented by their elected officials. This is about people willing to elect a person who enthusiastically told us he liked to feel up or even sexually assault women, even young women in their teens.
This is about people who are blatant racists, misogynists, homophobes and bullies, willing to attack those of us who are not.
Thinking back a little over a year ago, or back to 2004 or 1998, many of us wondered about why there were few protests about our government actions and policies. A topic that was thought to possibly jump start protests and marches was to restore the draft, but for everyone. That never got anywhere, as the privileged in the Congress would never endanger their own fruit of the loins. Other thoughts were that our young-uns are beyond protests due to electronics overwhelming any thinking.
None of those were acceptable or understandable. We are Americans. Our greatest protest made our country. Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Africa, and many other lands where we are currently fighting for people who are not Americans have all been but hidden. But, many of us volunteer our lives to protect these United States, and also to help others who are not here. None of those wars brought the protests like we had in the late sixties and early seventies.
What is happening today?
I suspect that today’s students (I find that label wonderful – it covers many people) are finally tired of being killed when there is a very simple solution at hand. During the period when assault style weapons were banned mass murders were nil. As soon as the AR-15 style weapons became available mass slaughter began. The short, ten year, ban on assault style weapons showed it worked. Reinstate the ban.
Hunting does not require a weapon that discharges a bullet guaranteed to destroy the game. The bullets do big damage to the victim. A 30-30 does a better job hunting large game, such as a deer. I know and worked with people who lived on game they hunted. I am not concerned about that. I am concerned about murderers who hunt and kill people. They do not need a combat weapon. The AR-15 style and AK-47 style rifles are combat weapons. Reinstating the ban against a combat or assault style rifle is important.
More Posts by BlueBronc
“…today’s students (I find that label wonderful – it covers many people)…”
bbronc, all of us.
but some of us need more remedial help then others…. the critters in critterville for example
associated press:
Jimmy Carter ‘deathly afraid’ as wife underwent surgery
[….]
Jimmy Carter addressed concerns about his wife’s health and surgery in remarks to several hundred people attending the holiday event. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Carter said his wife had suffered problems for years that appear to have been caused by scar tissue from an operation she had long ago.
“Saturday night they operated and found the scar tissue from the old operation about 50 years ago had strangled almost 2 feet of her small intestine,” Carter told the crowd.
He said doctors “didn’t give me a lot of hope” until the operation concluded hours later.
“I was deathly afraid,” Carter said. “I prayed for three hours.”
He said a doctor finally came to him at about 5 a.m. Sunday morning and “told me she was going to be OK.”
The Carter Center said in a statement Sunday the surgery was successful. It said Rosalynn Carter was expected to remain hospitalized for several days as she rests and recovers.
The former first lady married Jimmy Carter on July 7, 1946. She emerged as a driving force for mental health during his presidential administration and after he left office.
[…continues…]
The cadre of surviving student leaders are so wonderfully articulate and on-point in their appreciation of what happened at their school. They are unwilling to accept bull-shit deflections of responsibility such as that offered by their governor, Mr Scott.
I don’t know if the Miami Herald has the strength to champion the cause that the students are forming and will express. But surely that Paper in concert with the Tampa Bay Times and the Orlando Sentinel can muster the combined voice to be heard throughout the Southeast if not the Nation.
And, if these ultra-committed students miss a a semester or two of university because of their efforts, they should be awarded constructive semester hours by each member of the State University System.
BlueB… most excellent post!
It’s great to see these young people protesting and engaging in the process… finally. Hope they realize the fight isn’t won over night.
the gop SUCKS!
ps… Pogo… we’ll be up north the first full week of March.
Here in my tiny community of Belvedere (Hampstead, NC) we have our own local posting thing for lost dogs, need of a plumber, etc. Someone dared mention mass murder with the infamous AR-15. So, being me, I stirred the pot a little with the following post that I think is somewhat relevant to this thread.
Whoa, this one is a “pot stirrer.” And, I love stirring the pot. OK, so if FBI Headquarters had notified their office in Miami, then what? Up until the moment the school shooter entered the high school he committed no crime. How would he have been stopped. Just because someone is crazy does not mean crazy is against the law. No law enforcement officer could have arrested this guy or done something to stop him.
So, if a witness could have been found to swear this guy was a danger because of some mental illness then he could have been incarcerated for an “evaluation” for a limited duration of time then released. Does anyone think he would have told a “shrink” that when released he was going to kill high school students with his assault rifle; not?
My solution is to round up all the nuts and gas ’em for good, however, who decides and how do we decide who the nuts are?. The problem with this is, who is going to do the rounding up; other nuts?
It looks as though we are just going to have to live with our children being gunned down by the one nut who we just cannot stop; unless, we get serious about changing the laws about assault rifle ownership.
The spirit of America is in good hands.
Pilar, you are asking the nonthinking to think – that never works
business insider: Mueller’s office just unsealed a charge against a new player in the Russia investigation
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office has charged a wealthy Russian lawyer with making false statements to the FBI, according to a court filing unsealed on Tuesday.
Alex van der Zwaan, the lawyer, is well-connected and represents the interests of a number of Russian oligarchs. He is also the son-in-law of German Khan, a Ukrainian-Russian billionaire and businessman.
Van der Zwaan was charged with “willfully and knowingly” making “”alse, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations” to federal investigators about his work for the law firm Skadden, Arps, Meagher, & Flom LLP and Associates in 2012. The firm was employed by the Ukraine Ministry of Justice to compile a report about the trial of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
[…continues….]
cnn: Trump blames Obama for inaction over Russia meddling
so why isn’t he also rage tweeting about mitch who put the cabash on a bipartisan alert about the Russians?
Ah, the Tampa Bay Times ( http://www.tampabay.com ) is with the program:
I’d like to see a boycott of violent movies, TV shows & music, as well. Garbage in, garbage out. Science.
Good job Pilar — what kind of response did you get to the pot stirring comment?
The students are wonderful — I like their “no BS” chorus – too bad the goopers and their Russians allies are harassing them with false statements.
Reading from the Conservative side on the death of Conservatism
In the age of Trump, the movement Bill Buckley founded needs rebuilding
The pernt I was after in posting the Meet my leedle Fran post, and the super soaker water pistol ad was the kind of drivel what comes at people in the form of entertainment and Sales.
@@@@@@@@
This to know and remember: In the end……he will chicken out, as he always has. Take it to the spank.
Thanks Blue B. One thing is for sure, Trump energizes the Democratic base better than any Democrat out there.
He is bereft of “core”.
patD – Because the Trump WH is NOW colluding with Pute-y & the russkies to change the focus?
It ain’t gonna work. These kids are gonna be old enough to run for office some day. They will win & things will change…but it won’t take that long. They will not be silenced. They will not lose steam like many adults. This is real.
Between Bobby 3-sticks & protest marches, Donny’s tweets should be getting increasingly erratic. Just waiting for him to post something incriminating in the wee, small hours.
He wanted a military parade. Citizens fighting for for their lives will be marching on 3/24. Clear your calendar Donny.
Why aren’t pro-life groups vocally supporting a ban on assault weapons? I guess they don’t care about the kids after they are born. Conservative craziness.
He wanted a military parade. Citizens fighting for for their lives will be marching on 3/24. Clear your calendar Donny. BID
hmmmmmthere is a good idea here –
BiD, and so many of them favor the death penalty.
Mick Mulvaney is a disgusting person. He’s a rich guy who is smart but has no morals or perhaps morals that allow for double standards and the code is “me first.”
and Mick – Salsarita is Tex-Mex, not Mexican. And Blue Apron is almost entirely fresh food and delivered to the door. You are a sorry piece of humanity and I hope I am near-by when your karma bites your big fat ass.
“Why aren’t pro-life groups vocally supporting a ban on assault weapons? I guess they don’t care about the kids after they are born. Conservative craziness.”
BiD, in addition to being for the death penalty as craig notes, they also seem hell bent on cutting out health care, food and other life saving programs. best to stay in utero in their world.
?
Patd that’s great I hope people are sending it to SFB’s twitter account
patd, “so why isn’t he also rage tweeting about mitch who put the cabash on a bipartisan alert about the Russians?” That supposed to be some sort of sarcastic question or something? 😉
I don’t see why people react in surprise as if this was the first time SFB lied
How do you make the Cheeto-In-Chief even more paranoid?
With an on-point Mueller meme.
And, they try to hide behind Jesus with all of their in-humane ideas. Please don’t do that.
Just admit to being a fearful, control-freaks who want to live everyone else’s lives for them.
Man, I wish they’d all just rapture their asses on out of here.
pogo, beyond sarcastic. there’s just not an accurate emoji out there to express it well enough.
seriously, aside from the twit’s obvious reason, why hasn’t the media jumped on mitch about his part in the Russian invasion?
only media I’ve seen were stories like this last month at politico
Joe Biden said Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stopped the Obama administration from speaking out about Russian interference in the 2016 campaign by refusing to sign on to a bipartisan statement of condemnation.
[….]
…a former Obama White House official on Tuesday afternoon echoed Biden’s frustration with the Senate majority leader, pointing to the way Obama’s White House chief of staff Denis McDonough described the dispute in an op-ed last summer.
“Our administration’s interest in making sure the response was bipartisan wasn’t for the sake of being bipartisan. It was necessary because we needed the buy-in from state and local election administrators (many of whom were Republican partisans and/or skeptical of federal government),” the official argued in an email. “Unfortunately, as is well documented, Senator McConnell was unwilling to help — only making matters worse.”
btw, too bad this article hasn’t gotten much coverage, but understandably a lot has been going on of late.
from this weekend’s new York mag:
Do You Believe Her Now?
It’s time to reexamine the evidence that Clarence Thomas lied to get onto the Supreme Court — and to talk seriously about impeachment.
On the same fall night in 2016 that the infamous Access Hollywood tape featuring Donald Trump bragging about sexual assault was made public by the Washington Post and dominated the news, an Alaska attorney, Moira Smith, wrote on Facebook about her own experiences as a victim of sexual misconduct in 1999.
“At the age of 24, I found out I’d be attending a dinner at my boss’s house with Justice Clarence Thomas,” she began her post, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court justice who was famously accused of sexually harassing Anita Hill, a woman who had worked for him at two federal agencies, including the EEOC, the federal sexual-harassment watchdog.
“I was so incredibly excited to meet him, rough confirmation hearings notwithstanding,” Smith continued. “He was charming in many ways — giant, booming laugh, charismatic, approachable. But to my complete shock, he groped me while I was setting the table, suggesting I should ‘sit right next to him.’ When I feebly explained I’d been assigned to the other table, he groped again … ‘Are you sure?’ I said I was and proceeded to keep my distance.” Smith had been silent for 17 years but, infuriated by the “Grab ’em by the pussy” utterings of a presidential candidate, could keep quiet no more.
Tipped to the post by a Maryland legal source who knew Smith, Marcia Coyle, a highly regarded and scrupulously nonideological Supreme Court reporter for The National Law Journal, wrote a detailed story about Smith’s allegation of butt-squeezing, which included corroboration from Smith’s roommates at the time of the dinner and from her former husband. Coyle’s story, which Thomas denied, was published October 27, 2016. If you missed it, that’s because this news was immediately buried by a much bigger story — the James Comey letter reopening the Hillary Clinton email probe.
Smith, who has since resumed her life as a lawyer and isn’t doing any further interviews about Thomas, was on the early edge of #MeToo. Too early, perhaps: In the crescendo of recent sexual-harassment revelations, Thomas’s name has been surprisingly muted.
[…continues…]
50 years later and everything old is new again…..
Whatta kid, eh?
Quinnipiac poll released today:
U.S. SUPPORT FOR GUN CONTROL TOPS 2-1, HIGHEST EVER, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY NATIONAL POLL FINDS; LET DREAMERS STAY, 80 PERCENT OF VOTERS SAY
[…]
2018 Congressional Elections
American voters say 53 – 38 percent, including 47 – 36 percent among independent voters, they want the Democratic Party to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives this year. Voters say 54 – 39 percent, including 51 – 38 percent among independent voters, they want the Democrats to win control of the U.S. Senate this year.
[….continues…]
Jeez. The website of the bump stock manufacturer crashed after Donny made the announcement. Hoarding & jCking up the price to resell them. Jerks.
What is to stop someone from using a 3D printer to make those things?
If Donny thinks this is enough to stop the wave, he’s wrong. The assault weapons have to be banned, as well.
Mental health funding needs to be put in place.
About this lawyer Mueller just nailed. No second chances, like some prosecutors allow. Lie once, you’re out. Mueller is kick ass.
Fifty some years later and Dylan sings for the kids in Parkland……amaze balls
The majority of kids don’t live out west in the wide open spaces…….
It would probably break protocol, but every time Suckabee lies for Donny (which every time she opens her mouth), I would love to hear the members of the WH press corps respond with a loud, “We call BS”!
Mr Mueller has the bull by the tail and is facing the situation.
there are many who would benefit from evil befalling him. May the gods grant him security.
The lawmakers in Tallahassee are tone deaf and/or too beholden to the NRA to do the road get thing.
This is not going away & the idiots in office don’t be there once their terms are up.
Russia, Ukraine, Van der Zwaan, Gates, Manafort, Kushner, Trump. This thing goes deep.
“Connect the dots, la-la-la-la.” -PeeWee Herman
The criminal information on lawyer who pled guilty seems less like enhancing a case against Manafort, more about Trump/Russia conspiracy.
Yeah, so far it’s russians, but high as the stakes are there’s a bunch of American people better watch out behind um…..
Manafork, for one……..
Political assassinations are neither that rare, nor that difficult.
I read a whole shit-ton of spy books. I might be some kind of um …….
—nahhh
But the one which stuck, for whatever reason, was SPIKE….by Armaud de Bourchegrave and this other guy…….Read it and lemme know what ya think. Might have been Salinger. Pierre, not JD.
Hey, my thought is that those there Russians weren’t doing that shit for grins. While there may be NO COLLUSION (sorry, couldn’t resist) Li’l Donnie wanted to, tried to, was disappointed when the dirt whun’t forthcoming from the RUSSIAN LAWYER. Noting improper about that, or at least so sez SFB.
Oh, and by the way, d’ja see that Bernie got 4 Pinnocchioed for trotting out a (very) old zombie claim about gun purchases without background checks?
THE SPIKE……. Robert Moss was the other guy
1980
BOBSLED!! US women are FLYING!!!
The mayor of Dallas just said the NRA with its current policies is not welcome in Dallas. They are scheduled for a national convention in Dallas in May. I hope every leader looks for something they can do locally and does it.
Women’s downhill !!!! Go Lindsey, GO!!!
Ain’t gonna happen for gold for Lindsey … but crossed in 2nd and that ain’t bad.
Pogo you are a great fan
They’ve set up a website
MarchForOurLives.com (.org?)
Clooney, Oprah & Spielberg are donating big. It’s great that they are stepping up to bankroll the event, but the kids are much more powerful & eloquent than anyone in Hollywood.
Voter registration/energized first-time voters. Anyone in Congress/the WH/State government who doesn’t step up on this issue now will be very sorry on Election Day…and in Election Days to come.
The old guard is too busy trying to hang onto their little piece of the pie to notice the power of this movement.
I wasn’t sold on there being a blue wave before. This changes things.
Yes, if the lawyer’s involvement with Gates & Manifort & Russian-backed candidates in the Ukraine looks anything like campaign Trump…it goes deep.
KC, thanks. I love seeing our athletes doing well in the Olympics. I just love it.
Looks like Lindsey will end up with bronze. Not bad. Not bad at all. Good on her. And we put 3 women in the top 10 in downhill world. That is HUGE!
And the US women are doing well in the 2 person bobsled. Second to the Germans.
Saw some haters (right wing assholes) calling Lindsey ugly after she said she would not go to the White House and that she wasn’t there to ski for SFB but was there to ski for the American people. (Fucker must be both blind and stupid). Qwery, what kind of asshole doesn’t think that skiing for the people in your country rather than the president SFB of your country is a good thing? And who the fuck thinks calling arguably the best women’s downhill racer in history ugly is a good thing because she won’t give SFB a photo op? Prick would probably grope her ass.
He called her ugly — wow has he had a good look in the mirror lately wow what a jerk
To paraphrase Dean Wormer, Fat, blind and stupid is no way to go through life.
The goopers are such cowards especially the ones in the senate
Dallas Mavs’ HR Director just got canned. He was head of HR at a company I worked for long ago. He was a dog (I could tell ya stories), so it’s pretty amusing that he was making sure others were acting appropriately in the Mavs organization.
I. In the first weeks of the trump Administration, the republican Senate and House passed the Guns for Maniacs Resolution, H.J. Res 40, and trump then signed it into law. This makes every member of Congress who voted for it an accomplice to all the maniacs who shoot up schools, killing our children.
II. Formerly, US law prevented people from selling or lending firearms or ammo to insane people :
Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d), it is unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person “has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution.”
III. I want to see the list of the names and the color pictures of all the kids who were killed by the Guns for Maniacs Law. I want this document sent in late September to every voter in America along with the name and picture of the local mis-Representative or Senator who voted to kill our kids. List each perp/pol as being Pro-Death.
IV. Who will help me bring this indictment before the American people ? How can you help ?
It’s great to read Bink again. I mean it.
Where art thou, Solar ? Your country’s kids still need you.
WE CAN DO IT !