“In light of the recent events in Texas, I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week.
“I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans. I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation.”
Students and youth organizers with the March for Our Lives gun control movement are planning nationwide protests following the Texas elementary school shooting, including a march on Washington, D.C., on June 11.
Organizers and activists also plan to meet with lawmakers in the Capitol from June 7 to June 10 to push for universal background checks, according to the group’s website.
“Our message and ask is simple: no longer will we be held hostage by our lawmakers and no longer will we tolerate feeling unsafe in our communities,” the group wrote on the website.
“Regardless of what party you stand for, if you do not support lifesaving measures like universal background checks, we will pledge to vote against you this fall and in future elections. “
“Since the Dunblane shooting in 1996 and the following legislation, there have been no school shootings in the UK. In terms of mass shootings in general, there have been just two since Dunblane, in Plymouth in 2021 and Cumbria in 2010.”
~Yes, let’s arm teachers, send retired vets to guard schools, and, get rid of all but one door to keep kids safe.~
~Why don’t we just build schools like maximum security penitentiaries?~
Between Abbott and Paxton you’d do well to find 3 functioning brain cells.
And Cronyn and Crenshaw are pussies. Trying to have it both ways with voters. Claim on the one hand “I refused to appear at the NRA gig” and on the other “I had personal (Cronyn) official (Crenshaw) business elsewhere. Not exactly the power of their convictions.
You just know there will be MAGAts who take their kids to Houston for Circque du NRA.
I still can’t believe MJ Hagar didn’t beat Cornyn after his terrible debate performance. Ah, but she is a Dem (liberal) and a woman, so her military service didn’t matter, either. Cornyn is best known for serving multiple terms and doing absolutely nothing but riding that fence. His backside must be full of splinters.
Our hearts are broken because our democracy is broken.
Again, we face a preventable tragedy for which a possible solution was rendered impossible not by a lack of democratic will but by the confluence of two factors: An extreme, irrational party that has rejected democratic principles, and a constitutional structure that is ill-equipped to deal with it.
The sole reason there has been no meaningful gun-control legislation following the shootings at schools in Parkland, Fla., or Newtown, Conn., is the GOP’s adamant refusal to cross the gun lobby and its extremist base. Already awash with guns, the country has instead witnessed a further relaxation of reasonable gun restrictions. Age limits have been lowered. Gun licensing requirements have been repealed. Gun owners have been allowed to carry concealed weapons.
This is gun fetish run amok. Republican politicians pose with weapons of war in campaign ads and shoot at whatever object can be most dramatically destroyed. No sane society would permit this.
….
If the Democratic Party — the only party that still supports democratic values and at least tries to solve problems — can muster the discipline and the will, it can run in 2022 and 2024 on ending the stranglehold of unhinged, minority rule. It must electrify its supporters, pledge to tame if not eliminate the filibuster and make clear that, without Democratic victories, we would face an America few would hope to bequeath their children. The Republican obsession with controlling women, unlimited gun ownership, white grievance and other deadly ideologies must be identified, denounced and defeated. Democrats should be clear about the choices: white nationalism or tolerance; gun massacres or reasonable gun restrictions; control of women’s bodies or respect for women’s autonomy.
Democrats should not rule out solutions that are immediately available. Remember, Republicans spent decades creating a Supreme Court that would destroy decades of precedent and impose its partisan will on the rest of the country. Democrats must seed the political ground not only for this election cycle but for the future. Constitutional amendments may be far-fetched now, but Democrats can initiate the debate on them. They can also move on other structural fixes, such as campaign finance reforms and limitations on lifetime tenure for Supreme Court justices.
As Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson famously said, the Constitution is not a suicide pact. Every conceivable legal and constitutional reform must be on the table. We need not accept the slaughter of children, the debasement of women, the erosion of pluralism or other aspects of the Republican agenda.
Amen, Jen, amen.
too bad it’s too big for a bumper sticker, but ms rubin truly has a usable mission statement here for 2022 campaigns:
The Republican obsession with controlling women, unlimited gun ownership, white grievance and other deadly ideologies must be identified, denounced and defeated. ….
We need not accept the slaughter of children, the debasement of women, the erosion of pluralism ….
Republicans don’t give a shit, they homeschool their kids
Hey, Greg, here’s what your (thoughts and) prayers are worth…
Isaiah 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
Oh please, watching Cruz at vigil praying with victim families, day before he promotes guns at NRA convention.
Hey remember when the “good guy with a gun” at Parkland ran the other fucking direction?
“The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House last week following a tragic mass shooting at a supermarket in a predominately Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. But Republicans have pushed back against the measure put forward by Democrats…”
“…Chuck Schumer changed his vote from an “aye” to a “no” at the end in a procedural move to be able to bring the bill back up again in the future if he wants.”
“The failure of the domestic terrorism bill in the Senate underscores yet again how challenging it is for lawmakers to enact any kind of major policy change in the wake of mass shootings amid a highly polarized political environment and widespread GOP opposition to stricter gun controls.”
Is there a way to sanction/freeze assets of the NRA and its lead monsters? They need to pay for those funerals and hospital bills; the funeral homes and families should not be stuck footing the bill.
The NRA has plenty of money to pay for Republican politicians, the least it can do is pay for a few dozen, child-size caskets.
If you want to protest the real baby killers, they’ll be at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend.
Had I but known I was a member of the master race all this time, I would have done a whole hell of a lot more master stuff.
We need a new court system to process bankrupt souls.
Texas has another lesson –
Much attention on schools , locked doors , combat training for teachers.
Well , what about Walmart ? The gunman that shot up the El Paso store was there to kill anyone brown.
All this talk about schools , is foolish.
The Las Vegas sniper was not after kids, he was after bodies , any color , any age , any flavor.
‘Goodfellas’ actor Ray Liotta dead at 67
Not enough to say an 18-year-old doesn’t need a weapon of mass destruction. No civilian needs an AR-15!
No civilian needs an AR-15!
Unless the drunken fucking Russians are at your door.
Republicans want to arm teachers and ban books.
God Bless Del.
John Micek: A lesson for Democrats from Pennsylvania
You’d be hard-pressed to find a Pennsylvania Democrat who didn’t think Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was going to win his primary for U.S. Senate.
And even if he did lead in the polls heading into election night, the comprehensiveness of Fetterman’s win — he carried all 67 counties, and beat second-place U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb by a little more than 32 percentage points — was no less eyebrow-raising.
Poobah, Drunk Shakespeare is coming to DC – you and Dave should catch it. It is a great time.
Bob, not really mentioned by Micek is that Fetterman had the huge advantage of having a statewide platform to run on having won the Lt. Gov. race 4 years before and served as Lt. Governor for 4 years. Lamb never had a chance profile wise, being a Congressman (1 of 18 in PA) from the Western PA district he represents, where he squeaked by in his 2 runs for office, winning by 2.2% of the vote in 2020 and by a margin of less than 700 votes in 2018 in the special election. but winning by a healthy margin of 12.6% in the general election that year. Outside of Pittsburgh he wasn’t particularly well known and for a Democrat he was pretty conservative.
What’s all this nonsense I’m hearing about people wanting wider teeth?
“The gunman crashed a truck in a ditch near the school at 11:28 a.m., fired at two passersby on the street, then entered the school 12 minutes later through a back door before police arrived, DPS officials said Thursday.”
“He was not confronted by anybody,” Victor Escalon, a DPS official, said during a press conference Thursday. The agency is leading the investigation into the shooting along with Uvalde police.”
I’m still going to blame the deranged monster with the assault rifle.
“At least three musicians who were set to sing in a concert at this weekend’s annual convention of the National Rifle Association have canceled their performances …”
“Larry Gatlin, of the Gatlin Brothers fame has also canceled his plans to perform, telling CNN, in part, “I cannot, in good conscience, perform at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend.”
“CNN has reached out to other musicians slated to perform, including Danielle Peck, T. Graham Brown, Jacob Bryant, and Lee Greenwood, known for Independence Day favorite, “God Bless the U.S.A.”
Is Ted Nugent still alive? He’d prolly fill in for one of the musicians with the decency to now out.
“Andy Fletcher, a keyboardist and founding member of Depeche Mode, has died, the band announced on their official social media channels. He was 60 years old.”
found this from 2019 after another mass shooting in TX
be sure to read the article for background and watch his other tweet “blame video games” with accompanying comments
Canadian Comedian Delivers Subtle Yet Scathing Parody On U.S. Gun Violence | HuffPost Entertainment
need more of this. when cornyn also canceled, it may have started/stirred something among the GOPer crowd.
American Pie’ singer Don McLean pulls out of performing at NRA convention after Texas school shooting (msn.com)
Cornyn and Crenshaw Drop From NRA Convention (hillreporter.com)
the hill:
TX AG, Ken Paxton, said laws don’t work.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/texas-attorney-general-gun-control-b2087244.html
Ummm, after the school massacre in Scotland, a gun law was passed. What happened? Zero school massacres in the UK since that time.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/crime/dunblane-massacre-texas-school-shooting-sparks-calls-for-reform-similar-to-those-following-uk-mass-shootings-3708002
“Since the Dunblane shooting in 1996 and the following legislation, there have been no school shootings in the UK. In terms of mass shootings in general, there have been just two since Dunblane, in Plymouth in 2021 and Cumbria in 2010.”
~Yes, let’s arm teachers, send retired vets to guard schools, and, get rid of all but one door to keep kids safe.~
~Why don’t we just build schools like maximum security penitentiaries?~
Between Abbott and Paxton you’d do well to find 3 functioning brain cells.
And Cronyn and Crenshaw are pussies. Trying to have it both ways with voters. Claim on the one hand “I refused to appear at the NRA gig” and on the other “I had personal (Cronyn) official (Crenshaw) business elsewhere. Not exactly the power of their convictions.
You just know there will be MAGAts who take their kids to Houston for Circque du NRA.
I still can’t believe MJ Hagar didn’t beat Cornyn after his terrible debate performance. Ah, but she is a Dem (liberal) and a woman, so her military service didn’t matter, either. Cornyn is best known for serving multiple terms and doing absolutely nothing but riding that fence. His backside must be full of splinters.
Jennifer Rubin is back, and she’s on point. WaPo.
Amen, Jen, amen.
too bad it’s too big for a bumper sticker, but ms rubin truly has a usable mission statement here for 2022 campaigns:
The Republican obsession with controlling women, unlimited gun ownership, white grievance and other deadly ideologies must be identified, denounced and defeated. ….
We need not accept the slaughter of children, the debasement of women, the erosion of pluralism ….
Republicans don’t give a shit, they homeschool their kids
Hey, Greg, here’s what your (thoughts and) prayers are worth…
Oh please, watching Cruz at vigil praying with victim families, day before he promotes guns at NRA convention.
Hey remember when the “good guy with a gun” at Parkland ran the other fucking direction?
✌️🇺🇦🇺🇸
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/26/politics/senate-domestic-terrorism-bill-vote/index.html
“The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House last week following a tragic mass shooting at a supermarket in a predominately Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. But Republicans have pushed back against the measure put forward by Democrats…”
“…Chuck Schumer changed his vote from an “aye” to a “no” at the end in a procedural move to be able to bring the bill back up again in the future if he wants.”
“The failure of the domestic terrorism bill in the Senate underscores yet again how challenging it is for lawmakers to enact any kind of major policy change in the wake of mass shootings amid a highly polarized political environment and widespread GOP opposition to stricter gun controls.”
Is there a way to sanction/freeze assets of the NRA and its lead monsters? They need to pay for those funerals and hospital bills; the funeral homes and families should not be stuck footing the bill.
The NRA has plenty of money to pay for Republican politicians, the least it can do is pay for a few dozen, child-size caskets.
If you want to protest the real baby killers, they’ll be at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend.
unfortunately… so true…
only in america, ted
Had I but known I was a member of the master race all this time, I would have done a whole hell of a lot more master stuff.
We need a new court system to process bankrupt souls.
Texas has another lesson –
Much attention on schools , locked doors , combat training for teachers.
Well , what about Walmart ? The gunman that shot up the El Paso store was there to kill anyone brown.
All this talk about schools , is foolish.
The Las Vegas sniper was not after kids, he was after bodies , any color , any age , any flavor.
Not enough to say an 18-year-old doesn’t need a weapon of mass destruction. No civilian needs an AR-15!
A ‘meteor storm’ of 1,000 shooting stars per hour may light up the skies over North America next week
https://www.livescience.com/potential-meteor-shower-may-30-31
No civilian needs an AR-15!
Unless the drunken fucking Russians are at your door.
Republicans want to arm teachers and ban books.
God Bless Del.
John Micek: A lesson for Democrats from Pennsylvania
You’d be hard-pressed to find a Pennsylvania Democrat who didn’t think Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was going to win his primary for U.S. Senate.
And even if he did lead in the polls heading into election night, the comprehensiveness of Fetterman’s win — he carried all 67 counties, and beat second-place U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb by a little more than 32 percentage points — was no less eyebrow-raising.
Poobah, Drunk Shakespeare is coming to DC – you and Dave should catch it. It is a great time.
Bob, not really mentioned by Micek is that Fetterman had the huge advantage of having a statewide platform to run on having won the Lt. Gov. race 4 years before and served as Lt. Governor for 4 years. Lamb never had a chance profile wise, being a Congressman (1 of 18 in PA) from the Western PA district he represents, where he squeaked by in his 2 runs for office, winning by 2.2% of the vote in 2020 and by a margin of less than 700 votes in 2018 in the special election. but winning by a healthy margin of 12.6% in the general election that year. Outside of Pittsburgh he wasn’t particularly well known and for a Democrat he was pretty conservative.
What’s all this nonsense I’m hearing about people wanting wider teeth?
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/26/uvalde-school-shooting-police-response/
“The gunman crashed a truck in a ditch near the school at 11:28 a.m., fired at two passersby on the street, then entered the school 12 minutes later through a back door before police arrived, DPS officials said Thursday.”
“He was not confronted by anybody,” Victor Escalon, a DPS official, said during a press conference Thursday. The agency is leading the investigation into the shooting along with Uvalde police.”
I’m still going to blame the deranged monster with the assault rifle.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/26/entertainment/don-mclean-nra-performance-canceled/index.html
“At least three musicians who were set to sing in a concert at this weekend’s annual convention of the National Rifle Association have canceled their performances …”
“Larry Gatlin, of the Gatlin Brothers fame has also canceled his plans to perform, telling CNN, in part, “I cannot, in good conscience, perform at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend.”
“CNN has reached out to other musicians slated to perform, including Danielle Peck, T. Graham Brown, Jacob Bryant, and Lee Greenwood, known for Independence Day favorite, “God Bless the U.S.A.”
Is Ted Nugent still alive? He’d prolly fill in for one of the musicians with the decency to now out.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/26/entertainment/andy-fletcher-depeche-mode-death-cec/index.html
“Andy Fletcher, a keyboardist and founding member of Depeche Mode, has died, the band announced on their official social media channels. He was 60 years old.”
thurs night Hitch
45 mins ✌️ 🌎
BETO is headed to Houston.
eh maybe ill do something here why not
back in my day
i said, back in my day
‘no longer my day’ implied
more honest but less powerful
daddy said he didn’t mean it in the pejorative
condolences to Red Molly
was waiting to try this one
tip the waitstaff, which is me actually, so tip Craig
NEWTHREAD