The GOP and the Foxies should be very very afraid of this youth-led movement. These kids will be voting within the next few months and years, i.e. before their revolutionary energy is dampened by the realities of trying to succeed in a world where damn near everything is determined by $$$$$$$$$.

Don’t know why spellcheck keeps changing my “its” to “it’s”. Ignorant machine.

Even if Lamb should lose, the fact that he got so close will give the GOPers nightmares for months to come.

Methinks now-former StateSec Tillerson has already reserved a chair on the bank of the river down which the body of this cartoonish administration will hopefully soon be floating.
A friend who had been a diehard, life-long GOPer is telling anybody willing to listen that he’s going to vote against his party until the current administration and it’s Dear Leader are out (his words, with no urging on my part).

PS: During his address at Marine Le Pen’s far-right party in France, Steve Bannon actually called Trump “our beloved President”. A Fascist/Nazi salute if ever there was one.

So true, scooter, so true.

Trump did not disappoint, providing the following as his main reason for firing Tillerson and hiring Pompeo: (paraphrasing) the former was not in synch with Trump-think while the latter was. This from the very same person who prided himself on wanting conflicting ideas in the WH so that he could get all the facts. In reality, he’s playing a game called “let’s you and him/her fight”. More mindful people get the same jolt of adrenaline watching a game of bumping cars, with the added advantage of not having to fear a trigger-happy administration with nuclear capabilities.
Is anybody taking bets on who will be next to be shown the door? My money’s on Jeff Sessions then McMaster.

mlp!: Here’s hoping it’s the third option.

Totally off-topic but I must share this.

A couple of years ago, a group of Italian women and like-minded gentlemen created a movement against the killing of women (often by their partners, legalised and not). They’re following the MeToo movement with interest and recently crafted a slogan of their own that I simply love for the way it adds a badly needed collective nuance.

My hat’s off to the Wetoogether! movement!

No need to apologise, John McKee.

It’s important to counter the vacuous pro-gun mantras by continuing to remind ourselves that other countries have done something effective. That’s FACT not opinion. In my book, those countries are showing themselves to be truly civilised. Even their conservative politicians are anxious to keep their citizens safe.

Even Canada has significantly lower death rates from firearms. Why’s that? Personally, I put it down to the FACT that they’ve always been “particular” about who can own a gun, about what sort of firearms are acceptable in private hands, and about cracking down on anybody who shoots at anything that cannot be defined as “game, in season” (including human beings).

Excellent post mj,

CNN is interviewing a lot of the students most of whom talk a lot of sense. They are a lot better at analysing the situation than the GOP politicians and CNN is perversely presenting both categories, the one after the other. It’s enheartening, and I hope those kids will continue to speak out.

Tucker Carlson is either a fool or a disingenuous idiot. Most probably, both.

Yet another mass killing and the only message that the mealy-mouthed GOP politicians have to offer is logic-defying stuff:

“This is not the time to talk about that .. people are grieving”, etc. etc. (aka let’s not talk about that EVER). This empty phrase is not in synch with polls showing that over 8 out of 10 Americans want something to be done!

“This is the work of mentally ill people”. Any attempt to identify and target the mentally ill would call for a level of surveillance that flies in the face of the Constitution.

People outside the USA are appalled at the degree of stupidity being demonstrated daily, on a subject where simple common sense should prevail:

1) there’s no way to claim that a person with a six-shooter can have the lethal power of a person with a 30-shooter. One politician had the gall to say that the same fire power can be obtained by quick-changing the magazines. Anderson Cooper begged to differ, saying that even a brief pause can give potential victims time to get away. The politician wasn’t listening. Oh how I would have cheered had Anderson insisted on getting an answer! I guess he was trying his best not to discourage other GOP politicians from appearing on CNN.

2) a person who cannot get his hands on a firearm (more rigorous background checks) simply can’t do as much damage with bare hands, a baseball bat, a crowbar, or even a knife. Having to engage in close combat may even bring some people to their senses.

3) why on earth would a teenager living in a heavily urbanised area want to buy an assault weapon? For heaven’s sake, Florida law does not allow them to buy a glass of beer or wine, or even a pistol. But they can buy an AR-13. Boggles the mind.

4) competent hunters need only one bullet to down their prey. Anybody who claims to want a rapid-fire weapon for hunting is being disingenuous. Pistols and machine guns are for killing people. Period. (cue the idiot who will remind me that AR-whatevers are not machine guns).

5) requiring a gun owner to undergo basic training (as required for car drivers) would probably result in fewer accidental deaths involving firearms.

6) a country awash with guns is actually enabling deaths by gun. A toddler is at no risk of being wounded or killed by a gun if there are no guns lying about. The potentially suicidal would have to find some other – usually more deliberative – way to do away with themselves. The time to think may deter them.

Rant off. (though I could go on and on and on).

Just read some of those tweets. …. Isn’t that sort of behaviour what the USA usually condemns when done by ISIS and the Taliban? I guess it’s not OK only with others do it.

The rank hypocrisy of so many GOP-ers is what gets me most. The investigation on Bill Clinton started by focusing on a real estate deal but the only thing that special counsel (Starr?) could get on him was lying about a blow job. Nowadays, it’s clear that Starr was out to get anything he could on Bill Clinton, no matter what. His failure is a pretty good proxy indicator of the futility of that particular proble. Any way, the final emphasis on lying about a blow job created a lot of hilarity in Europe and the whole impeachment process was deemed silly, even stupid.

Flash forward to today and we have the GOP and the White House screaming that Mueller does not have the right to expand the scope of the ongoing investigation. Money laundering is always a crime, working on behalf of a foreign power may also be a crime. Hell, they don’t even want to consider a foray into the possibility that Donald Trump may be lying about having had a romantic encounter with a buxom blond porn star while Melania was in a maternity ward. What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander but the GOP slogan has been and will always be IOKYAR.

Hogan. Such sycophancy must be recognised. I wonder if he also believes in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

I fear that Sen. Flake’s address may have been too subtle to be truly understood by the Trumpers who wouldn’t recognise the Constitution if it slapped them in the face. What’s needed for them is a baseball-bat, call-out-Trumpism-for-what-it-is (i.e. deeply unAmerican) talking-to.

My crystal ball is telling me Sen. Flake may be laying the groundwork for a strong push-back against the ongoing attack on traditional Republican values. Wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see him challenge President Trump in 2020.

Isn’t there some sort of double-jeopardy law to prevent such harassment?

I, too, am looking forward to these awards. Eagerly. In anticipation of that “OMG, I really put my foot in it this time!” effect.

I copy what Truman wrote.

Over here in Italy there are a few guys who look just like him: bald pate, beady cold eyes, no ears (literally or figuratively), flapping mouth and a roller-coaster-cum-bulldozer delivery style that’s supposed to convince by not answering the questions asked. Funnily enough, all of them are shills for Italy’s prototype populist aka a businessman’s-smarter-than-anybody-else disaster on two feet and bearing an enormous ego. That said, Berlusconi wasn’t able to do as much damage as Trump can.; that’s why he (Mr. B) wanted to reform the system in a way that would give him the power. Both are authoritarians who don’t like criticism but Mr. B. wasn’t as crass about it. That may be because he’s smarter than to rile up hornets’ nests.

And all too many of these very sick individuals claim to be followers of Christ.

Boggles the mind.

My wish for the new year: may they reap what they sow, aka have the opportunity to experience the same level of loss or harm. Nothing more but nothing less, either.

Excellent point, John McKee. Methinks they doth protest too much, eh?

Kevin: the story we get is that the person who reported those words to the DOJ/FBI was an Australian diplomat. To quote the current POTUS, “The rest of the world is watching” and not much liking what it sees.

Boggles the mind to recall that this simple-minded bully used to be an elected sheriff, i.e. to uphold the law. Methinks the sort of actions he’s pushing are against the law.

I take this opportunity to wish all of you a very peaceful end and a hopeful beginning of the new year. May saner minds with a better understanding of the values of America prevail. This site has gone a long way towards helping me cope with an insane world. Thanks to all of you.

PS: Had a friend knit me a pussyhat for the street meetings I’ve started to attend. Never thought I’d ever wear shocking pink but it’s all for a good cause.

Posting on this thread seems to have placed my computer at risk. I’ve gotten a not secure message and am outta here.