The unspoken common factor:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Last edited Wed Jun 14, 2017, 05:44 PM - Edit history (2)

If the shooter's a Muslim, it's all about Islamic extremism.

If the shooter's black, it's all about race relations.

If the shooter identifies as being liberal, it's all about the hateful political rhetoric towards Donald Trump and the Republicans.

If the shooter isn't any of those things, it's all about "mental illness" (but there will be no discussion about fitness to own firearms, thank you very much.)


You know, I only wish there was some sort of common factor that unites all of these categories, something that could be discussed regardless of the shooter's background or identifications or motives.

Shoot....I don't know what it is, though.

[Tom Rinaldo]

1. Perfect. Thanks n/t

[leftstreet]

2. The USA is in crisis. Congress is playing baseball

and there's that

DURec

[gopiscrap]

4. no shit what the fuck is congress playing god damn baseball for

I pay my taxes for them to legislate not fucking play a child's game

[BumRushDaShow]

6. They have been doing it every year for almost 100 years

It's a charity event.

https://www.congressionalbaseball.org/

[gopiscrap]

8. fuck that, I have always objected to this sort of shit

they're supposed to be working not fucking around sucking up for charity...all of life is political, nothing else, nothing less...every fucking political decision that is made has a direct impact on our lives, some more than others (like my dad dying in Vietnam) and (mom having her leg amputated because of world war two) specially in these times, I object to them playing

[BumRushDaShow]

9. The games are held after hours

and not during the legislative day.

The bigger problem is that they are in recess/"vacation" far too many days when they should be putting together legislation.

But I do disagree with this -

"all of life is political, nothing else, nothing less..."

As a note, this hyper-partisanship that we see today was only rarely to this extreme in the past. If you want people to "work", which requires that they "work together", then they need to be able to talk to each other without all the vitriol.... and these types of activities help to bring people together as "people".

For those of us whose families have been here many generations in this country, and who have been impacted far worse than what you see right now, we know that things change... It may take awhile but it happens.

[gopiscrap]

10. when you are a congressman you are on a salary

you're being paid 24/7 it's not like teacher being on a salary with defined hours other than eating, sleeping and needed functions, you should be working

[BumRushDaShow]

11. They are federal government employees

like I was. I agree that their hours can go around the clock but I sure as hell don't want a legislator popping speed or snorting cocaine trying to work "24/7/365".

However they need to at least go back to the schedule that Pelosi implemented with much fanfare, back in 2006 when Democrats took over the House -

[*** Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 6, 2006

<...>

"I have bad news for you," Hoyer told reporters. "Those trips you had planned in January, forget 'em. We will be working almost every day in January, starting with the 4th." The reporters groaned. "I know, it's awful, isn't it?" Hoyer empathized. For lawmakers, it is awful, compared with what they have come to expect. For much of this election year, the legislative week started late Tuesday and ended by Thursday afternoon -- and that was during the relatively few weeks the House wasn't in recess.

<...>

Hoyer and other Democratic leaders say they are trying to repair the image of Congress, which was so anemic this year it could not meet a basic duty: to approve spending bills that fund government. By the time the gavel comes down on the 109th Congress on Friday, members will have worked a total of 103 days. That's seven days fewer than the infamous "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1948.

Hoyer said members can bid farewell to extended holidays, the kind that awarded them six weekdays to relax around Memorial Day, when most Americans get a single day off. He didn't mention the month-long August recess, the two-week April recess or the weeks off in February, March and July.

He said members need to spend more time in the Capitol to pass laws and oversee federal agencies. "We are going to meet sufficient times, so the committees can do their jobs on behalf of the American people," he said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/05/AR2006120501342.html ***]

[Tarc]

15. Oh shut up, you make the DU look absurd with this ridiculous rhetoric

There are many things to condemn Republicans for. Rec league baseball participation is not one of them.

[Neema]

3. "Left Wing Rhetoric." That must be stopped by any means necessary.

I feel the same way I felt when Comey announced that they were reopening the investigation into Hillary's emails just before the election. That this is a significant moment and it won't bode well for democracy.

[Iggo]

5. K&R

[oasis]

7. Exactamundo.

[Mr.Bill]

12. Only one candidate in 2016

advocated violence as he stood in front of arenas full of people.

I don't have to tell you who that was.

[Bucky]

16. Damn that Vermin Supreme

I think we can all unite in our loathing of this despicable man

[elmac]

13. the party of second amendment remedies

you reap what you sow. This disgusting act of murder won't change anything, it happens every day, but will give the networks something to blab about for a day or 2.

[HelenWheels]

14. The common thread is GUNS

[Initech]

19. Ding ding ding ding ding ding!!!!!!!

The common thread is the fact that in America it's easier to buy a gun than it is to buy a house or a car, or even basic necessities. We need to make it harder to buy guns, not easier.

[mac56]

17. "Shoot."

[tosh]

20. +1.

[AntiFascist]

18. The common thread should be obvious, it is right-wing attitudes and politics...

The right-wing is clearly anti-Muslim and loves to stir up extremist hatred toward the US. They will actually support terrorists when it suits their political agenda.

The right-wing is oppressive towards blacks, suppressing black votes at every opportunity. Trump supporters are at the extreme racist fringe and pose a threat to decades of civil rights advancement.

Trump stirs up conflict between the extreme right and liberals by speaking out about "Second Amendment solutions", encouraging violence toward protesters, and calling for the imprisonment of political opponents or journalists who seek the truth. The fact that foreign enemies were responsible for placing him in power might be enough to push some people over the edge...

...and finally by overturning mental health regulations governing gun ownership, it now becomes easier for such people to commit these kinds of acts:

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-set-overturn-guns-mental-health-regulation-557237

[IronLionZion]

21. The common thread is they are all used to justify removing rights from people

except for gun rights.

Watch them crack down violently upon free speech and protests and use this as the excuse. They'll repeal the first amendment to protect the 2nd.

GOP has already addressed the gun issue, the London attack didn't use guns so that proves we need more guns to protect us against trucks running people over. AltFacts

[ecstatic]

22. male gun owners. nt

[Amaryllis]

23. The Portland killings were stabbings, not shootings. Guns are common to shootings. There

are other commonalities such as justification and normalization of hate speech, like Meryl Streep said about Trump. People who are mentally unbalanced exist across the spectrum, but any of them can be impacted by the normalization of hate speech and violence.

AND we need to do something about guns.