As mentioned in my reply to JD’s post of
Here’s the bothersome (at least to me) slideshow I put together of the NRA’s efforts at “grooming” or indoctrinating children into the gun culture:
Aug 052023
Jun 122022
Yesterday, the radio opera was “The Rake’s Progress” – probably the only opera ever based (loosely) on a set of paintings (later published as engraved prints) designed to tell a cautionary tale. The music is by Stravinsky composed during his Neo-classical period, so it’s singable, and not much like The Rite Of Spring (not that I don’t like The rite of Spring.) This was the last opera to be broadcast by the Met – but from here on out until the Met picks up again in the fall, WFMT will take over and play an opera every Saturday, chosen from different opera copanies all over the world. I have not yet looked at their playlist, but have heard enough in past years to know it will be well worth listiening to. (It was through this program that I was able to hear “Scalia/Ginsburg” – though I think it was composed when both were still alive. Ironically, it take place in the afterlife, explaining to the recording angel [or someone like that] how on earth such different people could get along so well IRL. But I digress.) The paintings and prints are all public domain and can be seen on Wikipedia.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Rolling Stone (in cooperation with POGO) – Inside the Capitol Cops’ Jan. 6 Blame Game
Quote – New documents describe critical errors in the Capitol Police’s handling of intelligence prior to the Jan. 6 attack on Congress, revealing missed warning signs that — despite the undeniable heroism of many of its officers — contributed to the agency’s failed defense of the Capitol. The documents, which were obtained by the Project on Government Oversight, add to a body of reporting by the government and the press surrounding failures by the Capitol Police intelligence division and its key leaders to clearly, consistently, and widely communicate the severity of raw intelligence threats to the Capitol and lawmakers — a failure that on Jan. 6 left Congress under-defended and rank-and-file officers unprepared.
Click through for details. I’m not sure it shuld be called an “intelligence failure” when someone somewhere deliberately suppressed some or all of the intelligence – and the reprisals reported certainy suggest that that happened. It’sa shame tha honest, patriotic officers such as Edwards, Sicknick, Goodman, and others had to suffer for it.
Crooks & Liars – News Coverage Of Hearing Cautious, Twitter Not So Much
Quote (screenshot only):
Click through for more reaction. Many people, including me, have wondered whether the hearings would change the mind of even just one person. The tweet I quote is for us.
Law and Crime – Manhattan Judge Dismisses NRA’s Countersuit Against State AG: Gun Group’s ‘Witch Hunt’ Claim ‘Is Simply Not Supported by the Record’
Quote – A Manhattan judge has dismissed the National Rifle Association’s countersuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), rejecting the gun group’s accusation that it’s the victim of a political “witch hunt.” In February, the attorney general’s office warned that advancing the NRA’s counterattack would give regulatory targets a new tool to “harry prosecutors.” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen considered the competing arguments for months before ruling in the AG’s favor, but the blistering 14-page opinion suggests that it wasn’t a close call.
Click through for parts of the “blistering opinion.” Tthis story was really the only interesting thing I could find which was not about the insurrection or the hearings.
Food For Thought
Eat yout hearts out, Don Caron and Rocky Mountain Mike:
Jun 052022
Glenn Kirschner – Trump aide Peter Navarro indicted for contempt of Congress; what’s next for defendant Navarro?
Meidas Touch – Proud Boy whines after being Denied Entry to Trump Rally
The Lincoln Project – Donald Trump Visits The NRA
Ring of Fire – FBI Nabs Capitol Riot Duo After They Sent Photos Of Themselves Inside The Capitol
CNN – Robert Reich on Biden’s Plan to Fight Inflation, and Why We Need a Windfall Profits Tax on Oil
Jimmy Kimmel – Lie Witness News – Roe vs Wade Edition
Beau – Let’s talk about disbanding Uvalde departments….
May 312022
Glenn Kirschner – Georgia DA Willis issues 50 grand jury subpoenas; is “weighing racketeering charges” against Trump
Meidas Touch – BREAKING: Jim Acosta EVISCERATES NRA Board Member and leaves him SPEECHLESS!
Rebel HQ – Trevor Reed’s Father SHREDS Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Actions
Truth Matters – Slaughter of the Innocent (featuring Senator Chris Murphy DCT) hanky alert
Robert Reich – Why Your Barbecue Is More Expensive This Year
Puppet Regime – Zuckerberg Practices Free Speech On Elon Musk
Beau – Let’s talk about metaphors, hair, and Florida….
Dec 072021
Glenn Kirschner – All the President’s Lackeys: Bannon, Clark, Eastman & the Others. Watergate vs. the Insurrection
MSNBC – Biden Breaks Down How Build Back Better Act Will Lower Cost For Families Dealing With Diabetes
Meidas Touch – SCOTUS Poised to Strike Down Legal Precedent from Roe v. Wade
Rebel HQ – Ethan Crumbly’s Parents Face Justifiable Consequences. I’m not sure how long I have been saying “Responsible gun ownners should take the lead in drafting legislation to regulate gun ownership and use – because, if they don’t, the rest of us will, and they won’t like it,” but it’s been since before I was married, an our next anniversaty will be our 38th. It was so long ago that the NRA was still considered a responsible organization.
Really American – Madison Cawthorn Claims Women Are “Earthen Vessels” (but Chip has a good idea)
politicsrus Christmas Greeting (Yes, it’s early, but you’ll need time to get your figgy pudding on)
Beau – Let’s talk about not talking about race…. Most of the time I agree with Beau, and he’s right on the institutional level. But he’s wrong on the individual level. On the individual level, it’s more like, yeah, if you don’t have pancreatic cancer for example, you don’t need to talk about it in order not to be hurt by it. But if you are being eatne away by pancreatic cancer, not talking about it won’t make it go away.
Dec 312020
It’s another tired day here in the CatBox, but I managed another post today. Tomorrow is a WWWendy Day. After the destinking the TomCat, we plan to have a special dinner. I will still be in the saddle tomorrow, as she’s coming in mid-afternoon. But I’m not big on year in review articles, so I don’t know what I’ll have to work with. Tonight we can celebrate New Years Eve together: ZZZZZZ with me!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:13 (average 5:38). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: The House of Representatives had a busy Monday, returning early from the Christmas break to easily override a Trump veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and pass a boost to the stimulus bill survival checks from $600 to $2,000. So Trump got a rebuke and a gift at the same time. Trump was walloped on the NDAA, with 322 voting to override to 87 sticking with him.
The Senate will convene at noon on Tuesday, when Sen. Mitch McConnell will indicate how the Senate is going to proceed with what the House is presenting to him this morning. The veto override won’t be an issue, even though it requires the same two-thirds majority as in the House. The Senate passed the NDAA with a 84-13 margin under Trump’s veto threat. The override vote could happen as soon as Wednesday, or Democrats could force a delay as they demand a vote on the $2,000 survival checks.
Loeffler and Perdue are now on board, saying “yes” to the checks. After saying “no,” of course.
Sens. Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey have vowed to block the defense bill until they get a vote on the $2,000 survival checks. “That relief passed in the House today with 44 Republicans voting for it,” Markey tweeted Monday. “Senate Republicans must do the same and get the American people the help they need.” Sanders said in a statement Monday, “Let me be clear: If Sen. McConnell doesn’t agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year’s Eve.”
Major Kudos to Bernie. A New Years Eve filibuster has the added benefit of slowing the spread of Trump* virus by keeping GOP Senators from sponsoring super-spreader events at home. Nevertheless, it won’t work, because Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch will not give-in. RESIST!!
From Crooks and Liars: You would think being “anti-wife beating” would be a bipartisan thing.
But what about “that guy I went out with once is stalking me and he has a gun”?
This week Senate Republicans again showed us who they are.
Senate Republicans are blocking re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) over the so-called “Boyfriend Loophole.” USA Today:
…the most recent version of the bill passed by the House last year intended to close the “boyfriend loophole,” which proved to be a large point of contention for many Republicans.
Previous versions of the act barred those convicted of domestic violence or abuse from purchasing and owning a gun if they were married to, lived with or had a child with the victim. But the 2019 amendment hoped to extend that provision to include dating partners and stalkers.
Though it had support from all Democrats who voted but one, only 33 Republicans voted to move the legislation forward, and the GOP has been accused of giving into the National Rifle Association, which has opposed the change.
Blocking VAWA to protect the gun rights of stalkers with a history of domestic violence is so evil it’s… Republican. Thank God for Joe. RESIST!!
From NY Times: Josh Hawley became the first senator on Wednesday to take up President Trump’s demand that lawmakers challenge the results of the 2020 election, saying he would object to Congress’s certification of the Electoral College results on Jan. 6.
The move by Mr. Hawley, Republican of Missouri, is unlikely to alter the outcome of the election, but it will force Republicans to publicly affirm President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory in a politically fraught test of loyalty to Mr. Trump.
Mr. Hawley, an ambitious freshman senator, framed the objection as “an effort to highlight the failure” of states “to follow their own election laws as well as the unprecedented interference of Big Tech monopolies in the election.” He did not repeat the president’s false claim of widespread voter fraud.
“Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard,” Mr. Hawley said in a statement. “I will object on Jan. 6 on their behalf.”
The decision ensures that the certification process, typically a formality, will instead become a debate on the House and Senate floors, elevating Mr. Trump’s repeated false assertions. The Constitution requires that challenges to the certification process be endorsed by lawmakers in both the House and Senate. While Mr. Trump’s most strident allies in the House had announced that they would object to Congress’s effort to certify the Electoral College results, they had so far been unable to persuade a member of the Senate to publicly back their effort.
What an asshole! And what an embarrassment to residents of that state. While no citizen of that state is to blame, except those that voted in that Nazi, Hawley makes Missouri such embarrassing misery that the Kansas City Chiefs should relocate out of shame… preferably to Portland or Denver. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast from the past): Steppenwolf – Born To Be Wild
Steppenwolf wanted to create rock music as it might have developed here, had there been no British influence. Ah… the memories! RESIST!!
19 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!
May 072020
It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. Store to Door is delivering groceries this afternoon, and I have to put them away. Tomorrow please expect no more than an Open Thread or Personal Update. It’s my day to get zapped with Radiation. WWWendy is taking me. When I return, I plan to have some chili con goop, so the green cloud I send north to Squatch will be radioactive.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:11 (average 5:48). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Trump* Virus Update:
Cases: 1,266,785
Deaths: 74,962
Recovered: 213,138
Short Takes:
From Alternet: A new report from Vanity Fair’s Diana Falzone published Wednesday recounts a series of stories in which the federal government has allegedly seized personal protective equipment — desperately needed during the coronavirus crisis — from private hands.
One businessman who owns a medical equipment supply firm said the FBI contacted him on the suspicion he was price-gouging, which he said his profit margins disproved. But his future shipments of N95 masks, which he planned to sell to “fire departments, nursing homes, and EMT departments,” were seized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he said. Vanity fair reported that the document officials used to seize his orders cited President Donald Trump’s executive order claiming authority to determine the allocation of COVID-19 resources.
In the Republican Reich, every billionaire that wants PPE can get it. That’s why Republicans steal PPE supplies from heroes. RESIST!!
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Parallels Between Gun Rights Debate And Virus Debate
The NRA and Republican billionaires have one thing in common. Both don’t give a damn how many Americans their policies murder, as long as their money and power increase! RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast from the past): Brian Hyland – Sealed with a Kiss with Lyrics
Ah… the memories! RESIST!!
Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!