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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
May 15, 2023
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A horse died Sunday after a race at Churchill Downs, making it the eighth fatality in recent weeks at the home of the Kentucky Derby.
Rio Moon “suffered a catastrophic injury to his left foreleg a few strides after the wire,” according to notes in the Equibase chart for the sixth race.
The 3-year-old colt ridden by Martin Garcia was euthanized, the chart said. Rio Moon was trained by Dale Romans and was winless in six career starts with earnings of $11,621.
Two horses were euthanized after being injured in races on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 6. Five others were euthanized after training and racing incidents at the track in the days leading up to the Derby. ..............(more)
https://apnews.com/article/churchill-downs-horse-deaths-6de38601fd41fb946c126fc5f780e3bc
Horse dies at Churchill Downs, 8th recent fatality at home of Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A horse died Sunday after a race at Churchill Downs, making it the eighth fatality in recent weeks at the home of the Kentucky Derby.
Rio Moon “suffered a catastrophic injury to his left foreleg a few strides after the wire,” according to notes in the Equibase chart for the sixth race.
The 3-year-old colt ridden by Martin Garcia was euthanized, the chart said. Rio Moon was trained by Dale Romans and was winless in six career starts with earnings of $11,621.
Two horses were euthanized after being injured in races on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 6. Five others were euthanized after training and racing incidents at the track in the days leading up to the Derby. ..............(more)
https://apnews.com/article/churchill-downs-horse-deaths-6de38601fd41fb946c126fc5f780e3bc
May 15, 2023
Trump's dogwhistle to the Christian right is a permission slip to openly hate women
As Trump doubles down on "grab 'em by the p*ssy," the Christian right gets comfy admitting they love male dominance
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MAY 15, 2023 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) During his CNN "town hall" last week, Donald Trump offered a lip service denial that he had sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll in the 90s when asked about the recent court verdict affirming he did it. He soon shifted, however, to the message he really wanted to send: A winking admission that he did it.
"What kind of a woman meets somebody and brings them up and within minutes you're playing hanky panky in a dressing room?" he said, blaming Carroll for the assault as the audience laughed approvingly. He ranted about how she has a cat named "Vagina," implying that she's a slut who deserved to be raped.
When host Kaitlin Collins asked if it is good or bad if powerful men can sexually assault without consequence, Trump replied, "Fortunately," adding cheekily, "Or unfortunately for her."
The MAGA audience ate it up, making it clear that they agree with Trump that rape is a hilarious punishment to inflict on women for "crimes" like being independent or sexual.
Sadly, however, this reaction will likely not make a dent in the Beltway wisdom that Christian conservatives dislike Trump's violent misogyny, and are merely overlooking it out of political expedience. Most of the people squealing in laughter at Trump's victim-blaming likely consider themselves "Christians." Sounds an awful lot like those "Christians" are just fine with sexual violence. Trump declared that Carroll deserved to be raped and bragged that he was entitled to do it. And they clapped. ............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/15/dogwhistle-to-the-christian-right-is-a-permission-slip-to-openly-hate-women/
Trump's dogwhistle to the Christian right is a permission slip to openly hate women
Trump's dogwhistle to the Christian right is a permission slip to openly hate women
As Trump doubles down on "grab 'em by the p*ssy," the Christian right gets comfy admitting they love male dominance
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MAY 15, 2023 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) During his CNN "town hall" last week, Donald Trump offered a lip service denial that he had sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll in the 90s when asked about the recent court verdict affirming he did it. He soon shifted, however, to the message he really wanted to send: A winking admission that he did it.
"What kind of a woman meets somebody and brings them up and within minutes you're playing hanky panky in a dressing room?" he said, blaming Carroll for the assault as the audience laughed approvingly. He ranted about how she has a cat named "Vagina," implying that she's a slut who deserved to be raped.
When host Kaitlin Collins asked if it is good or bad if powerful men can sexually assault without consequence, Trump replied, "Fortunately," adding cheekily, "Or unfortunately for her."
The MAGA audience ate it up, making it clear that they agree with Trump that rape is a hilarious punishment to inflict on women for "crimes" like being independent or sexual.
Sadly, however, this reaction will likely not make a dent in the Beltway wisdom that Christian conservatives dislike Trump's violent misogyny, and are merely overlooking it out of political expedience. Most of the people squealing in laughter at Trump's victim-blaming likely consider themselves "Christians." Sounds an awful lot like those "Christians" are just fine with sexual violence. Trump declared that Carroll deserved to be raped and bragged that he was entitled to do it. And they clapped. ............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/15/dogwhistle-to-the-christian-right-is-a-permission-slip-to-openly-hate-women/
May 14, 2023
Not having cellphone allowed US boy to save runaway bus from crashing
While other students on the bus were engrossed with their devices, Dillon Reeves noticed the driver in distress and guided bus to safety
(Guardian UK) A Michigan boy who recently stopped a school bus from crashing after the driver lost consciousness leapt into action because he was the only passenger not distracted by an electronic device, according to a new report from CBS.
On Sunday, two weeks after seventh-grader Dillon Reeves regained control of a school bus when its driver became unconscious, the network reported that the boy’s parents’ refusal to provide him a cellphone paid off in a big way.
Dillon’s father, Steve, told CBS: “What else are you going to do when you don’t have a phone? You’re going to look at people, you’re going to notice stuff. You’re going to look out the window. It’s a very powerful lesson, maybe a change-the-world kind of lesson.”
In the CBS report, several passengers on the bus with Dillion – who are the equivalent of year eight in the UK – revealed that they were immersed in their electronic devices when their driver began to lose consciousness as they were being driven home from school on 26 April.
....(snip)....
Dillon’s parents said their son’s heroic actions are reason enough to hold off on getting him a phone even more.
When asked by CBS to comment on his parents’ decision to withhold from giving him a phone even longer, Dillon shrugged and said: “Whatever. My parents are old school.” ...........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/14/michigan-boy-saved-school-bus-no-cellphone
Not having cellphone allowed Michigan boy to save runaway bus from crashing
Not having cellphone allowed US boy to save runaway bus from crashing
While other students on the bus were engrossed with their devices, Dillon Reeves noticed the driver in distress and guided bus to safety
(Guardian UK) A Michigan boy who recently stopped a school bus from crashing after the driver lost consciousness leapt into action because he was the only passenger not distracted by an electronic device, according to a new report from CBS.
On Sunday, two weeks after seventh-grader Dillon Reeves regained control of a school bus when its driver became unconscious, the network reported that the boy’s parents’ refusal to provide him a cellphone paid off in a big way.
Dillon’s father, Steve, told CBS: “What else are you going to do when you don’t have a phone? You’re going to look at people, you’re going to notice stuff. You’re going to look out the window. It’s a very powerful lesson, maybe a change-the-world kind of lesson.”
In the CBS report, several passengers on the bus with Dillion – who are the equivalent of year eight in the UK – revealed that they were immersed in their electronic devices when their driver began to lose consciousness as they were being driven home from school on 26 April.
....(snip)....
Dillon’s parents said their son’s heroic actions are reason enough to hold off on getting him a phone even more.
When asked by CBS to comment on his parents’ decision to withhold from giving him a phone even longer, Dillon shrugged and said: “Whatever. My parents are old school.” ...........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/14/michigan-boy-saved-school-bus-no-cellphone
May 14, 2023
(Guardian UK) Crossings at the US border with Mexico have dropped 50% after Title 42 restrictions ended at the end of Thursday and the Biden White House implemented an arguably tougher immigration policy, American homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden on Sunday told White House pool reporters that the border situation immediately after Title 42’s elimination was “much better than you all expected”. The president said he did not plan to visit the border “in the near term” because to do so at this stage “would just be disruptive”.
Mayorkas’s and Biden’s remarks on Sunday were a defense of the policy which replaced the expired measure that allowed border officials to expel migrants 2.7m times to their home country or Mexico without hearing their asylum claims, ostensibly to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Advocates have argued that the new Biden restrictions mimic two Donald Trump-era policies, but Mayorkas defiantly touted the updated measures, saying on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that the “US Border Patrol has experienced a 50% drop in the number of encounters versus what we were experiencing earlier in the week before Title 42 ended”. ..........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/14/border-crossings-reportedly-decrease-after-title-42-rules-scrapped
Border crossings reportedly decrease after Title 42 rules scrapped
(Guardian UK) Crossings at the US border with Mexico have dropped 50% after Title 42 restrictions ended at the end of Thursday and the Biden White House implemented an arguably tougher immigration policy, American homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden on Sunday told White House pool reporters that the border situation immediately after Title 42’s elimination was “much better than you all expected”. The president said he did not plan to visit the border “in the near term” because to do so at this stage “would just be disruptive”.
Mayorkas’s and Biden’s remarks on Sunday were a defense of the policy which replaced the expired measure that allowed border officials to expel migrants 2.7m times to their home country or Mexico without hearing their asylum claims, ostensibly to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Advocates have argued that the new Biden restrictions mimic two Donald Trump-era policies, but Mayorkas defiantly touted the updated measures, saying on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that the “US Border Patrol has experienced a 50% drop in the number of encounters versus what we were experiencing earlier in the week before Title 42 ended”. ..........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/14/border-crossings-reportedly-decrease-after-title-42-rules-scrapped
May 14, 2023
Neal Rubin: We can’t defeat spotted lanternfly that could plague Michigan wine industry
(Detroit Free Press) We’ve been warned before that spotted lanternflies are a threat to all that is holy and we should fight them with every weapon we can muster, including the bottoms of our shoes.
What I didn’t know until last week is that ultimately, they will defeat us, or best case, let us escape with a draw. We don't have enough technology, enough manpower or even enough shoes to chase them away, no matter that we already have the best slogans.
“Kill it! Squash it, smash it ... just get rid of it,” said the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
"Stomp It Out!" said New Jersey.
"See it. Squash it. Report it," said our own state of Michigan.
Yet the spotted lanternfly, which apparently cannot read, continues its advance. ..........(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/2023/05/14/spotted-lanternfly-invasive-species-michigan-wine-industry/70199488007/
We can't defeat spotted lanternfly that could plague Michigan wine industry
Neal Rubin: We can’t defeat spotted lanternfly that could plague Michigan wine industry
(Detroit Free Press) We’ve been warned before that spotted lanternflies are a threat to all that is holy and we should fight them with every weapon we can muster, including the bottoms of our shoes.
What I didn’t know until last week is that ultimately, they will defeat us, or best case, let us escape with a draw. We don't have enough technology, enough manpower or even enough shoes to chase them away, no matter that we already have the best slogans.
“Kill it! Squash it, smash it ... just get rid of it,” said the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
"Stomp It Out!" said New Jersey.
"See it. Squash it. Report it," said our own state of Michigan.
Yet the spotted lanternfly, which apparently cannot read, continues its advance. ..........(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/2023/05/14/spotted-lanternfly-invasive-species-michigan-wine-industry/70199488007/
May 13, 2023
Some US cities along the southern border say they have not seen a surge of migrants expected after expiration of Title 42
Amid pressing concerns that a surge of migrant crossings would be triggered by the expiration of the US border restriction policy known as Title 42, some southern border communities have reported receiving fewer-than-expected migrant arrivals since the policy has been lifted.
“We continue to encounter high levels of non-citizens at the border but we did not see a substantial increase overnight or an influx (of migrants) at midnight” after the policy expired Thursday night, Blas Nuñez-Neto, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for border and immigration policy, said Friday morning.
Officials have warned that the lifting of Title 42 – a controversial Trump-era policy from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic which allowed authorities to swiftly turn away migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border – could invite a crush of migrants and aggravate the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. The policy’s expiration is due to the declared end of the national public health emergency around Covid-19.
Even before the lifting of Title 42, border community leaders have said they are overwhelmed by the flow of migrant arrivals and are struggling to meet their needs as social services are pushed to the brink. ...............(more)
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/13/us/title-42-border-immigration-saturday/index.html
Title 42 migrant "surge" -- more breathless media hype than reality
Some US cities along the southern border say they have not seen a surge of migrants expected after expiration of Title 42
Amid pressing concerns that a surge of migrant crossings would be triggered by the expiration of the US border restriction policy known as Title 42, some southern border communities have reported receiving fewer-than-expected migrant arrivals since the policy has been lifted.
“We continue to encounter high levels of non-citizens at the border but we did not see a substantial increase overnight or an influx (of migrants) at midnight” after the policy expired Thursday night, Blas Nuñez-Neto, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for border and immigration policy, said Friday morning.
Officials have warned that the lifting of Title 42 – a controversial Trump-era policy from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic which allowed authorities to swiftly turn away migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border – could invite a crush of migrants and aggravate the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. The policy’s expiration is due to the declared end of the national public health emergency around Covid-19.
Even before the lifting of Title 42, border community leaders have said they are overwhelmed by the flow of migrant arrivals and are struggling to meet their needs as social services are pushed to the brink. ...............(more)
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/13/us/title-42-border-immigration-saturday/index.html
May 13, 2023
(Detroit News) Professional soccer is coming back to the Motor City this summer.
English Premier League club Crystal Palace will square off against La Liga’s Sevilla in a preseason match at 7 p.m. on July 30 at Comerica Park, 313 Presents announced Friday.
The contest marks the first time in six years that international soccer will be played in Detroit. Comerica Park hosted its first soccer match between Italian Serie A side AS Roma and French League powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain in July 2017 as part of the International Champions Cup.
“We are thrilled to have international soccer return to Comerica Park for a match between two elite football clubs,” Howard Handler, president of 313 Presents, said in a statement. “This matchup will provide metro Detroit’s soccer fans a unique opportunity to watch their favorite European clubs play once again in person.” ............(more)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/soccer/2023/05/12/comerica-park-to-host-international-soccer-match-this-summer/70212328007/
International soccer returning to Comerica Park this summer
(Detroit News) Professional soccer is coming back to the Motor City this summer.
English Premier League club Crystal Palace will square off against La Liga’s Sevilla in a preseason match at 7 p.m. on July 30 at Comerica Park, 313 Presents announced Friday.
The contest marks the first time in six years that international soccer will be played in Detroit. Comerica Park hosted its first soccer match between Italian Serie A side AS Roma and French League powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain in July 2017 as part of the International Champions Cup.
“We are thrilled to have international soccer return to Comerica Park for a match between two elite football clubs,” Howard Handler, president of 313 Presents, said in a statement. “This matchup will provide metro Detroit’s soccer fans a unique opportunity to watch their favorite European clubs play once again in person.” ............(more)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/soccer/2023/05/12/comerica-park-to-host-international-soccer-match-this-summer/70212328007/
May 13, 2023
(Salon) I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that automobiles were not invented until the late 1800s and did not come into regular use in this country until the early 20th Century, otherwise the Supreme Court would be busy doing away with requirements for driver's licenses, auto registrations, and environmental regulations on exhaust emissions and gas mileage.
At least that would be true if the reasoning used by Justice Clarence Thomas in his decision in a landmark Second Amendment case was applied to cars, that any regulations of guns in this country must be "consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." In the case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, New York state held that a citizen must show a need to carry a firearm in order to obtain a firearms license. The Bruen decision, handed down last year, overturned the law, saying essentially that because at the time of the writing of the Second Amendment there were no laws requiring the licensing of firearms, no law could require such a license now.
Bam!
With one decision, Clarence Thomas threw out about 200 years of jurisprudence and laws that had been passed regulating guns in this country for reasons of, for example, public safety. Before the Thomas decision, if a state wanted to limit gun purchases to those over 21 years of age or forbid the ownership of firearms by people who had been convicted of domestic abuse or those who had a restraining order against them because they had threatened a domestic partner, then the state could pass those laws.
But not after Justice Thomas had his say, backed up by members of the same Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority that threw out Roe v Wade with its decision to allegedly return regulation of abortion to the states in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization. Soon after the Bruen decision, federal judges and courts of appeals around the country began to use Thomas' logic to throw out gun regulations that had existed for decades. .......................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/13/is-justice-thomas-the-worst-justice-ever/
Is Justice Thomas the worst Supreme Court justice ever?
(Salon) I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that automobiles were not invented until the late 1800s and did not come into regular use in this country until the early 20th Century, otherwise the Supreme Court would be busy doing away with requirements for driver's licenses, auto registrations, and environmental regulations on exhaust emissions and gas mileage.
At least that would be true if the reasoning used by Justice Clarence Thomas in his decision in a landmark Second Amendment case was applied to cars, that any regulations of guns in this country must be "consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." In the case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, New York state held that a citizen must show a need to carry a firearm in order to obtain a firearms license. The Bruen decision, handed down last year, overturned the law, saying essentially that because at the time of the writing of the Second Amendment there were no laws requiring the licensing of firearms, no law could require such a license now.
Bam!
With one decision, Clarence Thomas threw out about 200 years of jurisprudence and laws that had been passed regulating guns in this country for reasons of, for example, public safety. Before the Thomas decision, if a state wanted to limit gun purchases to those over 21 years of age or forbid the ownership of firearms by people who had been convicted of domestic abuse or those who had a restraining order against them because they had threatened a domestic partner, then the state could pass those laws.
But not after Justice Thomas had his say, backed up by members of the same Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority that threw out Roe v Wade with its decision to allegedly return regulation of abortion to the states in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization. Soon after the Bruen decision, federal judges and courts of appeals around the country began to use Thomas' logic to throw out gun regulations that had existed for decades. .......................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/13/is-justice-thomas-the-worst-justice-ever/
May 13, 2023
(Guardian UK) One day he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The next he was on prime-time television pushing election lies, defending his own coup attempt and refusing to back Ukraine.
To his millions of critics, it was another week that proved Donald Trump is unfit for office and dangerous to democracy. But to the top leaders of Trump’s Republican party, it was another week to keep heads down and say nothing.
Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives; Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate; leading state governors and even most of Trump’s potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 have made a habit of siding with him or remaining silent as each scandal comes and goes.
Critics say their complicity underlines how comprehensively Trump took over the Republican party and shaped it in his own image. Even though McConnell and others privately loathe Trump and wish him gone, they dare not alienate his fervent support base. Rick Wilson, a former Republican consultant and co-founder of the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group, sums it up in one word: fear.
“They are afraid of the mob, they’re afraid of the horde, they’re afraid of the anger and the craziness and the rage and the threats that come any time a Republican elected official really stands up and opposes Donald Trump,” Wilson said. .............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/13/trump-lies-republicans-congress-mccarthy-mcconnell
As Trump's lies and scandals deepen, the GOP responds as usual - with silence
(Guardian UK) One day he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The next he was on prime-time television pushing election lies, defending his own coup attempt and refusing to back Ukraine.
To his millions of critics, it was another week that proved Donald Trump is unfit for office and dangerous to democracy. But to the top leaders of Trump’s Republican party, it was another week to keep heads down and say nothing.
Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives; Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate; leading state governors and even most of Trump’s potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 have made a habit of siding with him or remaining silent as each scandal comes and goes.
Critics say their complicity underlines how comprehensively Trump took over the Republican party and shaped it in his own image. Even though McConnell and others privately loathe Trump and wish him gone, they dare not alienate his fervent support base. Rick Wilson, a former Republican consultant and co-founder of the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group, sums it up in one word: fear.
“They are afraid of the mob, they’re afraid of the horde, they’re afraid of the anger and the craziness and the rage and the threats that come any time a Republican elected official really stands up and opposes Donald Trump,” Wilson said. .............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/13/trump-lies-republicans-congress-mccarthy-mcconnell
May 13, 2023
It's bigger than guns: Why the right does little to stop violence
Conservatives have cultivated a negative and hyper-individualistic view of human nature
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MAY 12, 2023 5:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) On Saturday, an avowed white supremacist neo Nazi attacked a mall in Allen, Texas, killing at least eight people and wounding seven others. Children were among the casualties.
As seen in many other mass killings in America, the apparent terrorist's weapon of choice was an AR-15 assault-style rifle. The AR-15 and its variants are literally weapons of war designed for maximum and efficient killing at close to mid-range distances.
How did the Republican Party, "conservatives", and other gun fetishists and ammosexuals respond to the tragedy in Allen, Texas? Their usual talking points about "gun rights" and "freedom" again show that they value guns more than human rights, safety, and human life – even if such values demand sacrificing America's children to the gun god Moloch.
On Saturday, former Fox "News" propagandist Megyn Kelly recited these fictions and fantasies on Twitter:
....(snip)....
Fact 1: Criminologists and other experts have shown that the presence of armed guards do not substantially influence the decision by mass shooters about what schools to attack.
Fact 2: As seen in the horrific mass murder at a school in Uvalde, Texas, a heavily armed police force cowered, refusing to enter a school because they were in terror of one killer who was armed with an AR-15 assault-style rifle.
....(snip)....
In reality, the right-wing's (literal) death embrace of guns (and resulting gun violence) represents something far worse and more dangerous for American democracy and normal society: these beliefs and policies are a type of political philosophy and theory of human nature and society where violence is incorrectly believed to be everywhere, unavoidable, and thus we should come to accept it as normal. And moreover, that violence is an unavoidable and "natural" way of resolving political disputes, conflicts, and other questions. This is the beating heart and foundation of fascism and other illiberal politics. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/12/its-bigger-than-guns-why-the-right-does-little-to-stop-violence/
It's bigger than guns: Why the right does little to stop violence
It's bigger than guns: Why the right does little to stop violence
Conservatives have cultivated a negative and hyper-individualistic view of human nature
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MAY 12, 2023 5:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) On Saturday, an avowed white supremacist neo Nazi attacked a mall in Allen, Texas, killing at least eight people and wounding seven others. Children were among the casualties.
As seen in many other mass killings in America, the apparent terrorist's weapon of choice was an AR-15 assault-style rifle. The AR-15 and its variants are literally weapons of war designed for maximum and efficient killing at close to mid-range distances.
How did the Republican Party, "conservatives", and other gun fetishists and ammosexuals respond to the tragedy in Allen, Texas? Their usual talking points about "gun rights" and "freedom" again show that they value guns more than human rights, safety, and human life – even if such values demand sacrificing America's children to the gun god Moloch.
On Saturday, former Fox "News" propagandist Megyn Kelly recited these fictions and fantasies on Twitter:
Serious q for gun control advocates: you've failed to effect change. Pls face it. You can't do it, thx to the 2A. We're all well aware you don't like that fact, but fact it is. What's next? Must we just stay here sad, concerned, lamenting? Could we possibly talk OTHER SOLUTIONS?
Mental health interventions (smthg real, not the BS we now do), greater willingness to lock ppl up (w/protocols in place for civil libs) who are deemed to be threats, fortification of soft targets, coordination of media response to not lionize shooters, etc.
....(snip)....
Fact 1: Criminologists and other experts have shown that the presence of armed guards do not substantially influence the decision by mass shooters about what schools to attack.
Fact 2: As seen in the horrific mass murder at a school in Uvalde, Texas, a heavily armed police force cowered, refusing to enter a school because they were in terror of one killer who was armed with an AR-15 assault-style rifle.
....(snip)....
In reality, the right-wing's (literal) death embrace of guns (and resulting gun violence) represents something far worse and more dangerous for American democracy and normal society: these beliefs and policies are a type of political philosophy and theory of human nature and society where violence is incorrectly believed to be everywhere, unavoidable, and thus we should come to accept it as normal. And moreover, that violence is an unavoidable and "natural" way of resolving political disputes, conflicts, and other questions. This is the beating heart and foundation of fascism and other illiberal politics. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/12/its-bigger-than-guns-why-the-right-does-little-to-stop-violence/
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Member since: Fri Oct 29, 2004, 12:18 AM
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