February 21st, 2017. It's been 466 days since the Nov 8, 2016, election of some rich asshole, no. 45, and 394 days since the Jan 20th inauguration.
WATCH: Marco Rubio booed by Parkland crowd after angry father rips him for ‘pathetically weak’ inaction on guns
Watch Marco Rubio get shouted down by Parkland community (Photo: Screen capture)
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An angry Parkland, Florida father whose daughter was killed in last week’s mass shooting ripped into Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) Wednesday during a town hall debate on gun control in South Florida.
“Your comments this week and those of our president have been pathetically weak,” Fred Guttenberg told the Florida Republican, causing raucous applause and cheers from the crowd.
“Look at me and tell me: guns were the factor in the hunting of our kids in this school this week,” he continued. “And look at me and tell me you accept it and you will work with us to do something about guns.”
The crowd cheered once again after Guttenberg’s comments and booed the senator as a split-screen showed Rubio’s reaction.
Watch below, via CNN:
Parkland gives standing ovation to superintendent who refused the rich asshole ‘solution’ to arm teachers
Superintendent Robert Runcie and town hall crowd (Photo: Screen capture)
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During a packed stadium of Parkland, Florida students, teachers, parents, police and politicians, the school superintendent refused to allow one of the solutions that came from President some rich asshole.
During the “listening session” at the White House Wednesday, the rich asshole suggested to survivors and victims’ families that arming teachers was the solution. Superintendent Robert Runcie shut the idea down fast and he did it with a crowd behind him.
“To our teachers at Stoneman Douglas, you work so tirelessly,” Runcie said. “You love the students as your own babies. And, some of the dialogue that I have heard recently is about arming teachers: we don’t need to put guns in the hands of teachers.”
Applause began and quickly got louder and louder as the audience stood in agreement.
“You know what we need?” he asked. “We need to arm our teachers with more money in their pocket. This country plays a lot of lip service to the importance of the teaching profession but never put our money behind it. Let teacher compensation, benefit and working be part of the debate as well. So, I say to all our teachers thank you for what you do every day. We love you and we are going to do what we can to continue to support you.”
Watch the commentary below:
the rich asshole-Russia probe counsel to interview ex-the rich asshole aide Nunberg: sources
Ex-the rich asshole campaign aide Sam Nunberg on MSNBC. Image via screengrab.
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Sam Nunberg, a former political aide to some rich asshole, will be interviewed on Thursday as part of a U.S. special counsel’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Nunberg started working for then-businessman the rich asshole in 2011, making him one of his earliest political advisers, but he was fired from the Republican’s campaign in August 2015 before the heat of the 2016 presidential race.
Nunberg’s interview in Washington with U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is about a week after investigators questioned President the rich asshole’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon. Nunberg visited Bannon in the West Wing and considers him a close friend, according to an interview with Newsmax last year.
Nunberg, 36, is also an associate of the rich asshole ally and longtime political consultant Roger Stone.
Patrick Brackley, the attorney who will accompany Nunberg to visit Mueller’s team, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mueller’s investigation arose in part from the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia had meddled in the election and that its goals eventually included aiding the rich asshole who won a surprise victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Russia denies the allegations and the rich asshole says there was no collusion between Moscow and his campaign.
Mueller has charged several the rich asshole associates and more than a dozen Russians.
Nunberg has had an on-off relationship with the rich asshole over the years. He was dismissed months into the presidential campaign after Business Insider reported that he had written racially- charged Facebook posts in 2007. Nunberg told Business Insider he did not remember writing them and apologized.
the rich asshole later sued Nunberg seeking damages of $10 million, saying the former aide had broken a confidentiality agreement. The lawsuit was settled in August 2016 and the one-page filing in a New York court did not provide details of the terms.
Nunberg said in a court filing in the case that the rich asshole accused him of being the source for a media report about an argument between two other the rich asshole campaign aides, Corey Lewandowski and Hope Hicks.
Nunberg denied being the source for the media report.
In an affidavit, Nunberg said the argument was part of an affair between Lewandowski, then the rich asshole’s campaign manager, and Hicks, then the rich asshole’s spokeswoman and now White House communications director.
At the time Alan Garten, a lawyer for the the rich asshole Organization, called Nunberg’s allegations “categorically untrue.”
‘some rich asshole and the NRA have met their match’: Nicolle Wallace explains ‘savvy’ students have changed gun control debate
Nicolle Wallace, host of 'Deadline: White House' on MSNBC
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MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace wondered if “savvy” activism by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting massacre survivors could potentially mark a turning point for the gun control debate in America.
“One thing he can do for all of these kids turned activists, is to say, ‘I’m going to ask my allies in the media and online to stop smearing you, to stop accusing you of being actors, to stop calling calling this a hoax.’ These are people that also — what they have in common, the people smearing the students from Parkland, Florida, with his base ,is that they’re his supporters,” Wallace noted. “These are some of the same voices that echoed his messages.”
“It is highly unlikely some rich asshole would ever do that because I, quite frankly, think showed historic restraint he hasn’t lashed out at the children himself yet for their direct targeting of him,” explained Time magazine columnist Elise Jordan. “He has on so many other occasions attacked anyone who attacks him, literally a pregnant widow.”
“I feel a daily struggle for this White House staff to impress upon the president how he cannot just use the power of his office to hammer into these young children who just experienced great trauma,” Jordan, who served in the George W. Bush White House, continued.
“I want to add, we are at the point we’re saying it shows restraint that president doesn’t attack high school kids after a shooting,” noted Dr. Jason Jones, the politics editor of The Root. “That’s where we are as a country.”
“I watch these students all day long and this doesn’t look like the gun debate in America, this doesn’t look like post-Columbine, this tragedy doesn’t look like post-Newtown,” Wallace noted. “This looks like the #MeToo movement, this looks like the Women’s March.”
“This looks like something bigger, and these activists, these are television and Twitter savvy warriors, these student activists fighting for common sense gun reforms, I think some rich asshole and the NRA have met their match. Am I watching too much TV?” Wallace asked.
“No, I think it’s a significant movement, Nicolle,” answered Republican strategist Steve Schmidt. “I think so for this reason: a lot of these members of Congress have fired an AR-15 and they’ve heard the loud sound of that weapon while firing it, but most of them haven’t been on the receiving end of that sound, hearing live rounds being fired at them like these kids have, and so I think we have a generation of kids in this country who, frankly, feel hunted.”
Watch:
House Republican oversight chair seeks EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s travel details
FILE PHOTO - EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks during a meeting held by U.S. President some rich asshole on infrastructure at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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The Republican head of the U.S. House of Representatives oversight committee sought details on Wednesday on how Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt got clearance to take numerous first class-flights revealed in recently released travel records.
Trey Gowdy, who led a high-profile investigation into a 2012 attack on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi during former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tenure, sent a letter to Pruitt questioning whether the administrator followed federal regulations regarding official travel.
The letter comes a day after House Democrats sent a similar letter requesting details of Pruitt’s first- and business-class travel and the process for requesting permission for each premium flight.
Gowdy questioned a statement that EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox had made to the media last week that Pruitt had a “blanket waiver” enabling him to fly first class, which he later amended.
“Clearly, federal regulations prohibit a blanket waiver to fly first class except to accommodate disabilities or special needs,” the letter said, adding that Pruitt needs to obtain a waiver for each flight.
Complaints about travel arrangements by Pruitt and other the rich asshole administration cabinet members re-emerged last week. Last year, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned after reports that he used private jets for routine travel.
The Washington Post had reported that he spent over $100,000 in taxpayer money for premium travel, based on records obtained by the Environmental Integrity Project.
Gowdy asked the EPA to provide the oversight committee a log and details of each flight taken between Feb. 17, 2017 and Feb. 18, 2018, information on whether Pruitt obtained a waiver to purchase a first class or business class ticket and the cost of tickets for each EPA employee traveling.
That watchdog group on Friday obtained new travel records, shared with media, showing Pruitt and EPA employees spent upwards of $150,000 on premium commercial and chartered flights from March to August 2017.
Gowdy said he wants answers from Pruitt on the travel questions by 5 p.m. EST on March 6.
‘He brought Cliff’s Notes’: Internet unloads on the rich asshole for reminding himself to show empathy for mass shooting survivors
President some rich asshole (Screen capture)
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Amid the White House’s listening session for people directly impacted by mass shootings in schools, an Associated Press photo circulated of President some rich asshole holding a response cue card that included the phrase “I hear you.”
Naturally, Twitter took note of the phrase.
“Raise your hand if you’re surprised that the rich asshole needs to reminded to say ‘I hear you’ in a listening session,” user Amy Bingham tweeted.
Raise your hand if you're surprised that Trump needs to reminded to say "I hear you" in a listening session. twitter.com/MikeDelMoro/st…
“The president had to be reminded to show empathy in a listening session on gun violence,” another said. “Let that sink in.”
The President had to be reminded to show empathy in a listening session on gun violence. Let that sink in. twitter.com/MikeDelMoro/st…
Read more responses below:
Barack Obama sang “amazing grace” at a funeral in Charleston and Donald Trump needs a fucking cheat card to show empathy. twitter.com/ap_politics/st…
Oh gawd: Trump had a 3 point cheat sheet for gun control meeting - 3rd point: “I hear you.”
Reminder: have empathy. twitter.com/dmartosko/stat…
It stands to reason that Donald Trump needs a prompt to show any empathy. twitter.com/davidmackau/st…
Donald reveals the rest of his notes at the school shooting "Listening Session" pic.twitter.com/tVSLExTmmQ
Maybe if we had "Be a better president" on his hand it would work? twitter.com/RawStory/statu…
He ‘didn’t hear a damn thing they said’: Angry Americans crush the rich asshole demand to arm teachers
some rich asshole at school shooting listening session (Photo: Screen capture)
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President some rich asshole sat with his arms crossed at one point and proposed his ideas for how to stop school shootings. Many parents and survivors found problems with his words and some corrected him.
Some pointed out it was obvious these parents were all pre-screened so that they wouldn’t be talking about gun control.
It was noted that the rich asshole also likely went off script when he said he would support background checks, something the NRA opposes.
Donald Trump just went off script on live TV and promised shooting survivors: "We'll be doing the background checks."#ParklandStudentsSpeak
the rich asshole proposed arming teachers in classrooms, something the internet blasted, but also parents and teachers in the room with the president shot down. When they explained why they didn’t support it, applause echoed through the White House room. Interestingly, the rich asshole once said that his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton incorrectly stated that he wants guns in the classroom. “Wrong!” he responded to it. Less than two years later, that is exactly what he proposed.
They also noted Education Secretary Betsy DeVos smiling throughout the whole meeting.
Here are the best takes below:
I am so embarrassed that Trump is my president right now. I cant believe these are his solutions to passionate kids. #ParklandStudentsSpeak
Earlier today the Florida House approved a bill to post 'In God We Trust' in every public school.
Meanwhile yesterday they refused to even debate an assault rifle ban.
God is NOT going to save the next victims, you morons. @FloridaGOP
Remember to VOTE!#ParklandStudentsSpeak
Reminder: There was an armed security guard at the school in Parkland. Seventeen people still died. The "good guy with a gun" argument is utter nonsense. The ease of access and prevalence of guns in America is the problem. More guns is not the solution. #ParklandStudentsSpeak
WHAT THE F ARE THESE PPL SUGGESTING?
These ppl were obviously vetted to reflect exactly what Trump & the NRA wants!
ARM TEACHERS?
ARM JANITORS?
ARM GUIDANCE COUNSELORS?
ARE U FUCKING KIDDING ME?
THE NRA WANTS THESE CONTRACTS TO SELL GUNS TO SCHOOLS!
#ParklandStudentsSpeak
Solutions given...
- Ban assault weapons
- Raise age for AR-15
- More security
- Focus on mental health
- Different path of entrance at schools
Trump...
- Give teachers guns#ParklandStudentsSpeak
Samuel Zeif to Donald Trump: "I don't understand, I turned 18 the day after [the shooting]. Woke up to the news that my best friend was gone. And I don't understand why I can still go in a store and buy a weapon of war — an AR-15.” #BanAssaultWeaponsNow #ParklandStudentsSpeak
This administration is more willing to ban entire RACES of people than to ban assault rifles#ParklandStudentsSpeak
A brave Sandy Hook father: "My wife is a career educator and she will tell you... school teachers have more than enough responsibilities right now without the responsibility of lethal force to take a life."
Applause in the room. #ParklandStudentsSpeak
- White House is a gun-free zone
- Camp David is a gun-free zone
- Mar-a-Lago is a gun-free zone
- Trump Tower, NYC is a gun-free zone
- Trump Tower, Chicago is a gun-free zone
- ALL Trump golf courses (worldwide) are gun-free zones
#ParklandStudentsSpeak
Trump asked parents what should be done to prevent school shootings.
Approximately 6 parents have responded. Not 1 has advocated for gun control.#ParklandStudentsSpeak
Just FYI: It took 1 school shooting for the UK to completely ban guns. America has 13 since the beginning of 2018.
14 including Parkland#ParklandStudentsSpeak
Teachers do everything and now you want to make them be police too. Unbelievable! #ParklandStudentsSpeak
Trump didn't hear a goddamn thing they said. The answer is put more guns into schools?
Are they going to pay teachers money for being in a dangerous job?
Pay for their gun training and health insurance if they're shot?
Charge tax payers for that? #ParklandStudentsSpeak
Why is Betsy DeVos smiling placidly during these tortured and painful survivor stories?! Another MAGA ghoul devoid of a soul. #ParklandStudentsSpeak
So a student who was a victim brings up Australia and how they solved the problem .. only to have the adults in the room spend the rest of the time discussing mental health and armed teachers IS THE FUCKING PROBLEM #ParklandStudentsSpeak
Trump's proposal during his "listening session" to arm teachers and bring more guns into our schools is beyond preposterous. That's like saying the solution to lung cancer is to smoke more cigarettes. #ParklandStudentsSpeak
To hear Trump rail against mental hospitals not being around anymore or there not being enough cops to cover schools -- who wants to tell him the reason why is because of GOP budget cuts? #ParklandStudentsSpeak
Jeffrey Toobin goes on epic rant against the rich asshole’s desire to arm teachers: ‘Does anybody remember their teachers?’
CNN's Jeffrey Toobin (Screengrab)
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Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Toobin gave a powerful speech against President some rich asshole’s response to the shooting massacre in Parkland during an emotionally-charged segment of CNN’s “Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday.
“Jeffrey Toobin, what did you think of the White House event?” Blitzer asked CNN’s senior legal analyst.
“It was very interesting and I think Gloria [Borger] is right there, was no rancor and no vitriol,” Toobin began. “Personally, I’m pro-rancor, pro-vitriol. I am pro someone doing something about this rather than being polite!”
“When you hear the President of the United States say the answer is to give every teacher in America a gun, that is insane,” Toobin blasted. “That is an insane idea.”
“Did anybody go to school here? Does anybody remember their teachers?” Toobin asked rhetorically. “Do you think we should give all of them guns? Do you think — do you think they want guns?”
“Just what kind of country do we live in when we’re talking about giving every teacher in America a gun and that’s a solution to this problem?” Toobin wondered.
Watch Jeffrey Toobin responded to the White House event:
‘I’m pissed!’: the rich asshole-supporting dad screams at the president after his daughter was murdered in Parkland
Andrew Pollack (Photo: Screen capture)
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President some rich asshole on Wednesday hosted a listening session in the White House with high school students and teachers about safety on campuses following last week’s mass shooting in Florida.
Father Cary Gruber begged the president to do something.
“Please, Mr. President,” he begged. he went on to cite qualifications for weapons in Israel, which mandates significant training and an age requirement at 27. “We gotta do something about this. We can’t have our children die, please.”
Mayor Christine Hunschofsky, of Parkland, Florida, cited a father of a fallen student who works as an airline pilot. He told her that he firmly supports the Second Amendment, however, he doesn’t think there is any reason to have assault rifles.
Another parent of a fallen student told her that the signs missed by the FBI for the shooter reminded him of the signs missed on September 11, 2001.
Another angry father, Andrew Pollack, was spotted wearing a rich asshole campaign t-shirt in the hours that followed the shooting. At the White House today, he announced that he was not going to sleep until it was fixed. He noted that there are so many places that are protected.
“I’m here because my daughter has no voice,” the father said of his slain daughter. “She was murdered last week and she was taken from us. Shot nine times on the third floor. We as a country failed our children. This shouldn’t happen. We go to the airport, I can’t get on a plane with a bottle of water, but we leave some animal to walk into a school and shoot our children. It is just not right. And we need come together as a country and work on what is important. And that is protecting our children in the schools. That is the only thing that matters right now.”
He went on to explain that stadiums are safe, embassies are safe and he walked into the Department of Education Wednesday only to see a security guard in an elevator.
“How do you think that makes me feel? In the elevator they got a security guard. I’m very angry this happened,” he continued. “Because it keeps happening.”
He went on to say he didn’t care about guns, he just wanted to secure his child’s school.
Watch the comments below:
Photo Of the rich asshole’s Notes Prove He Has To Be Instructed On How To Act Human (IMAGE)
some rich asshole held a White House listening session in which a series of heartfelt stories and pleas for change were told during the meeting Wednesday with people affected by some of the nation’s highest-profile deadly school shootings, including the most recent school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead, including children. For once in his life, the rich asshole appeared to be listening as each person spoke.
A revealing photo taken by the Associated Press during the White House listening session on gun violence shows the rich asshole’s notes for the event.
“What would you most want me to know about your experience?” read the top handwritten line on the card. The last line on the card was, “I hear you.”
That’s right, the rich asshole literally needed a note to tell mass shooting survivors that he hears them.
Twitter users found that odd, too, probably because it is.
You'd like to think that was a gimme that no one needed to write down, especially for a "listening session." Sheesh.
I’m having trouble realizing this IS reality.
something you would have to keep reminding a psychopath
Lordy. If he only had a heart and wasn’t a sociopath he wouldn’t need empathy flash cards. If only we could get him to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
how embarrassing.
Trump is a crisis actor.
your notes when you are prepped on how to appear even remotely human
the rich asshole really wasn’t listening. After hearing the pleas from grieving parents, the rich asshole is now floating the idea of arming teachers in an effort to prevent future school shootings, despite the fact that he slammed ‘Crooked Hillary’ in 2016 when he claimed that she said he would arm teachers.
Asshole GOP senator wants to talk about impeaching judges he disagrees with because they caught the party cheating
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Pat Toomey, the Republican senator from Pennsylvania, is adding fuel to his party's fire in calls for impeaching judges.
Pennsylvania Republicans are panicking about the state’s new, fairer congressional maps and talking about impeaching judges to punish them for it. And now Sen. Pat Toomey is joining them.
The state Supreme Court struck down the gerrymandered maps and issued new nonpartisan ones after state lawmakers refused to comply with the court’s order to redo the maps. And that has some Republicans openly calling for impeachment of the justices whose ruling they don’t like.
The shockingly undemocratic conversation started earlier this month. Republican state Rep. Cris Dush circulated a memo declaring five of the state’s justices “guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.”
This week, Rep. Ryan Costello, who now faces a more competitive re-election bid under the new maps, joined the calls for impeachment. He accused the justices of engaging in “a politically corrupted process” and claimed they had rigged the election against him.
The response from Pennsylvania’s Republicans is nothing short of hysterical. They had every opportunity to engage in the process of redrawing the districts, but they chose not to. Instead, they took their complaint to the United States Supreme Court, which declined to interfere.
So now they want to overthrow the court entirely. It’s a terrifying response that shows just how afraid Republicans are of losing their firm grip on power in the state, and possibly the House of Representatives, now that the districts are no longer rigged to favor them.
Florida governor with A+ NRA rating goes into hiding after massacre
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Rick Scott is skipping a national town hall on gun violence and backing out of an NRA convention.
Following the third horrific mass shooting in Florida in less than 18 months, and specifically in the wake of the grassroots gun-safety movement born in Parkland, Florida, the governor with the A+ NRA rating has gone into hiding.
Not only Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott skipping Wednesday’s night’s nationally televised town hall meeting on gun violence, where he was invited but declined to participate, but it appears he’s quietly scrubbed himself from a speaker role at the NRA’s upcoming national convention in May. The high-profile event is a must for someone like Scott, who’s expected to run for the U.S. Senate.
Rick Scott is a main speaker at the NRA Leadership Forum in May. #NeverAgain #NRABloodOnYourHands #RickScott #MSDStrong #VoteThemOut2018
But no more. All mention of Scott has been removed.
Suddenly being an NRA poster boy isn’t good politics for Scott, and he doesn’t want to talk about it.
And for good reason.
Scott’s radical gun agenda has included “lifting restrictions on guns, preventing doctors from asking patients about their weapons, opposing stricter background checks and cutting the cost of getting a concealed weapon license,” according to the Miami Herald.
And over the strenuous objections of the Florida Sheriffs Association, Scott made it legal for people without concealed weapon licenses to carry guns in emergencies, such as hurricane evacuations.
Today, when Scott does appear in public, he stresses “mental health” over gun restrictions as a way to combat mass shootings. Yet “during his seven years as governor, Florida’s per-capita spending on mental health has fallen to 50th in the nation,” the Washington Post recently noted.
For years, Scott basked in the glow of NRA adulation, as the radical gun group showered him with praise and donations.
The NRA backed Scott’s election bid in 2014, awarding him with an “A+” rating. Since he took office, the NRA has marveled at how many laws Scott has been able to pass that weakened gun laws in the state of Florida.
“Rick has signed more pro-gun bills into law in one term than any other governor in Florida history,” the organization cheered.
Suddenly, Scott doesn’t want to answer for his NRA agenda.
‘These kids hate America’: Fox News fans spit venom at Parkland massacre survivors’ speeches
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Lorenzo Prado addresses his fellow students on gun laws (Screen cap).
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Shooting survivors at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday rallied their peers to demand tougher gun laws — and Fox News fans were not happy about it.
As Fox News live-tweeted quotes from students at Wednesday’s rally, the network’s Twitter followers reacted with rage that the students were getting any significant coverage.
Many Fox fans accused the students of being “retarded” teenagers who “eat Tide Pods” and “can’t even wipe their rears properly.” They also fumed at the idea that they should give up their AR-15 rifles simply because Nikolas Cruz used one to murder 17 people at the students’ high school.
Check out the worst reactions below.
Get back to class
Who funded your trip?
take their phones away for 48 hours and watch how these kind loving kids will act ! #ParklandStudents #NeverAgain
These kids can't even wipe their rears properly, and you think I'm going to take advice from them? WRONG.
Are these the same kids who eat tide pods?
I'm sorry, this kid can't speak correctly. Shouldn't have a special education student make a speech. He's hard to follow.
Poor kid is retarded
The left indoctrinated these poor kids. Mindless zombies preaching Dem talking points we are all honestly sick of hearing.
Why do these kids hate America?
#MAGAForAll #stillmypreident @FoxNews
FOX wants to report on the kids protesting in Florida at the state capital but doesn't want to report on who is paying for the buses that transport them, why? Who's paying to organize the children FOX???????? Do your job!
‘People died’: Angela Rye shuts down S.E. Cupp for being flippant during Parkland shooting discussion
Angela Rye and S.E. Cupp appear on CNN (screen grab)
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CNN contributor Angela Rye battled HLN host S.E. Cupp on Thursday about the best way to stop mass shootings like the recent killing of 17 at a school in Parkland, Florida.
During a discussion about the future of gun safety legislation, CNN host Brooke Baldwin asked Rye if President some rich asshole would “walk the walk, not just talk to the talk” when it came to preventing school shootings.
“I have yet to see him walk in a way that is supportive of policy that helps to shape American lives in any meaningful positive way,” Rye said before being interrupted by Cupp.
“We just had a big tax cut,” she quipped. “That they’re real happy with.”
“Some folks are real happy with it,” Rye observed. “Particularly very elitist rich folks are happy with it.”
“No, middle class,” Cupp opined.
“I just want to talk about gun control right now, S.E.,” Rye advised.
“I’m trying to not let you get ahead of yourself,” Cupp said.
“Oh, I don’t need you to help me,” Rye replied, soundly slightly annoyed. “I’m fully grown, I’m 38 years old, honey.”
After Rye argued that military-style assault rifles should be banned, Cupp disagreed.
“Banning a whole category of guns that responsible for less than 2 percent of gun crime might feel good, but it doesn’t actually work to solve gun crime,” the HLN host stated.
“You say 2 percent, but when you talk about 6 and 7 year olds being dead,” Baldwin pointed out.
“Well, when you put it in that context, it’s awful,” Cupp agreed. “But let’s talk about the 80 percent of gun crime that perpetrated in our cities, suicide deaths equally as awful. And shouldn’t we be finding passable legislation that can actually target gun crime in meaningful ways? Not just ways that sound impactful, but really are.”
“If we save one life, it matters,” Rye replied. “I am here to save the one life. It could be 1 million lives, I’m into that too. I don’t think we should take anything off the table.”
Rye also wondered if President some rich asshole was willing to consider Sen. Diane Feinstein’s (D-CA) bill to ban assault weapons.
“There are some very tangible things that can be done,” she said.
“That is so — no, no, no,” Cupp said, talking over the CNN host. “Tangible things that can be done is absurd. If it were a tangible thing that can be done it would have been done when Democrats had the White House, the House and the Senate.”
“I can tell you why,” Rye shot back. “I can give you three letters: NRA.”
After the two jabbed back and forth several more times, Rye lamented “the [negative] energy in this conversation.”
“People died,” Rye noted. “[That energy] doesn’t have to be here.”
“That sounds really good,” Cupp snarked. “We’re talking facts and when you say it’s tangible to pass an assault weapons ban, it isn’t.”
“Now, it’s time for us to take the NRA out,” Rye said.
“What do you mean ‘take the NRA out’?” Cupp asked sourly.
“It means we start standing up organizations and fund them to do things very differently from what the NRA is doing,” Rye explained.
“How are you going to take me out?” Cupp pressed.
“I thought you wanted to have a conversation but you’re not listening,” Rye concluded. “Do you want to listen now or do you still want to host?”
“I’m asking,” Cupp said.
Rye repeated her previous answer, adding that the NRA was “dangerous for the country.”
Watch the video below from CNN.
Calls for new gun laws are falling on deaf ears
BY REID WILSON - 02/21/18 01:37 PM EST
Renewed calls for stricter gun controls following a school shooting in Florida that left 17 dead are falling on deaf ears.
Legislators in states across the country have delayed, defeated or refused to take up new measures to prevent more gun violence — despite the impassioned calls of victims from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
In Florida's legislature, House Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to revive debate on a measure to ban assault weapons with student survivors from Parkland watching in the gallery.
The bill, introduced after the 2016 killings of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, failed on a party-line vote.
"It seemed almost heartless how they immediately pushed the button to say 'no,'" Sheryl Acquaroli, a 16-year-old student from Stoneman Douglas, told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
Advocates for gun control also ran into opposition in other states.
In Arizona, Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to force debate over whether to ban bump stocks and other modifications to increase weapons' rate of fire — and instead voted to debate an anti-porn bill.
In Florida, just after the vote to not debate an assault rifle ban, legislators did debate a measure that declares pornography a threat to public health.
The shooter who killed 59 people in Las Vegas last October used a bump stock, leading to calls for their banning. But efforts to do so in Washington have gone nowhere.
President the rich asshole on Tuesday called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to draft a memorandum banning bump stocks. the rich asshole is scheduled to hold a listening sessions with students and teachers on Wednesday afternoon.
Ten other gun control measures — including legislation requiring universal background checks for gun purchases and a bill to prohibit those convicted of domestic abuse charges from owning a weapon — have been bottled up in the Arizona House Judiciary and Public Safety Committee this year. None have received a hearing.
Meanwhile, measures to loosen restrictions on guns have actually moved forward in some cases.
A Florida legislator breathed new life into a proposal to end a ban on guns in schools. State Sen. Greg Steube (R) said he would bring the measure up for a hearing, though legislative leaders suggested they had little appetite for a floor vote.
One measure that has received a hearing in Arizona would loosen gun safety rules in foster homes. That bill, which has advanced out of a state House committee, would end gun safety requirements in homes of foster parents.
In Wisconsin, where Democrats tried to force a vote on a measure requiring universal background checks for all gun purchases, Republicans used a legislative tactic to rewrite the bill to fund armed guards in schools — a policy backed by the National Rifle Association.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) called the Democratic tactics “sad.”
In South Carolina, legislative leaders threw cold water on a Democratic proposal, which was introduced after the Parkland attack, to ban sales of AR-15 rifles to those under the age of 20.
“No one wants to see loss of life, ever,” House Majority Leader Gary Simrill (R) told The State newspaper. “Restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens is not going to be the answer to the problem.”
Instead, Simrill suggested allowing those with concealed weapon permits to carry their firearms in more locations. South Carolina legislators are also considering measures that would arm teachers.
Two Democrats in the Ohio state Senate this week introduced legislation to ban the possession of weapons like the AR-15. The measure would require those who own assault-style weapons already to dispose of them. But the measure is unlikely to advance through the state House, where pro-gun Republicans maintain control.
Another bill to ban bump stocks has languished in the state Senate since it was introduced.
In Missouri, Republicans delayed hearings on a handful of measures meant to roll back restrictions on gun rights. The bills, which would have allowed concealed carry holders to bring their guns to church and other locations, blocked colleges from banning firearms on campus and preempted laws requiring electronic firearm tracking systems, were ostensibly delayed so that they could be heard alongside Democratic proposals.
But gun control backers pointed out the hearings, initially scheduled for Tuesday, fell on the same day as the gun control group Moms Demand Action was to hold its annual lobbying day in Jefferson City.
State legislators in Wyoming on Tuesday debated a “stand your ground” law that would grant immunity to someone charged with assault or murder if they claim to have acted in self defense. The legislation would put the onus on prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person had not acted in self defense before going to trial.
Some Democrats in bluer states have also marked the Florida massacre in their own push to implement stronger gun control laws.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) on Tuesday testified before a state Senate committee on a measure to restrict access to firearms for people convicted of stalking or domestic violence, or for those who have an active restraining order against them. The Oregon state House voted to pass the legislation last week, a day after the Florida attack.
And in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said he would sign legislation to reduce the size of ammunition magazines, close the gun show loophole and ban certain types of firearms and ammunition. Several of those measures have already made progress in the New Jersey Assembly.
“I think parents watching should feel that we are doing everything we can,” Murphy said at a news conference in Trenton.
Quinnipiac poll: the rich asshole's approval rating slides
BY LUIS SANCHEZ - 02/21/18 12:47 PM EST
President the rich asshole’s approval rating has fallen 3 points in the latest Quinnipiac University poll, which was released on Wednesday.
The new poll, conducted Feb. 16-19, found that 37 percent of American voters approve of the rich asshole’s job performance, while 58 percent disapprove.
This marks a decline from the last Quinnipiac poll, released on Feb. 7, which had the rich asshole’s approval rating at 40 percent, the highest it had been in seven months.
The lower ratings follow controversy concerning former White House staff secretary Rob Porter’s resignation after being accused by his two ex-wives of domestic abuse.
Nearly 60 percent of voters said they disapprove of how the rich asshole handled the Porter case.
Special counsel Robert Mueller also brought charges against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian groups last Friday for interfering in the 2016 election.
Fifty-seven percent of American voters said they disapprove of how the president responded to the threat of Russian interference in the 2018 elections. The same percentage said the rich asshole is not fit to serve as president.
More than three-fourths of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, said the Russian government did try to influence the 2016 elections and 68 percent said they are concerned that they might try to do it again in 2018.
the rich asshole still maintained a higher approval rating than both parties in Congress. Only 22 percent of Americans approve of how Republicans are handling their job. Democrats have 28 percent approval.
Florida school shooting survivor to Congress: 'We will vote you out'
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 02/21/18 12:44 PM EST
A student who survived last week's Florida high school shooting is issuing a stern warning to Congress if lawmakers don't take action: When we're old enough to vote, we'll vote you out.
During a Wednesday rally in front of the Florida state Capitol, Florence Yared said Congress is "directly responsible for every community that has lost people to gun violence."
"And you have the power to change this. And if you don’t, then we will change you," the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student said to cheers.
Yared added that many young Americans can't wait to be able to vote and run for office to "make a change" and "make a safer world."
"You adults have failed us," she said. "So we, the next generation, will not fail our own kids."
"If you do not take action now, then we, the future leaders of America, will," she added.
Students who survived the Parkland, Fla., shooting are rallying Wednesday both in Tallahassee and in Washington, D.C., to demand action on gun control.
Since the shooting, which left 17 people dead, students across the country have become vocal advocates for reducing gun violence.
Students have organized walkouts in recent days as a call to action and show of solidarity.
They are also planning a march next month in D.C. to protest against gun violence.
President the rich asshole has signaled a willingness to support some new gun control provisions, such as improving the national background-check system and banning bump stocks, which are used to make guns fire more rapidly.
But it remains to be seen if Congress will move forward with any new restrictions.
On Tuesday, Florida lawmakers killed a motion to consider a ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines.
the rich asshole: Why doesn't DOJ investigate Obama administration?
BY JONATHAN EASLEY - 02/21/18 09:16 AM EST
President the rich asshole is pressuring Attorney General Jeff Sessions to open an investigation into the Obama administration over Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
the rich asshole took to Twitter on Wednesday to vent that Democrats are not under investigation, as special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into allegations of collusion between the rich asshole campaign and Russia heats up.
Question: If all of the Russian meddling took place during the Obama Administration, right up to January 20th, why aren’t they the subject of the investigation? Why didn’t Obama do something about the meddling? Why aren’t Dem crimes under investigation? Ask Jeff Sessions!
So far, Mueller has induced guilty pleas out of the rich asshole’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos for lying to the FBI. Both men are cooperating with the special counsel.
the rich asshole’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Richard Gates face a litany of charges over alleged financial crimes. Gates is believed to be in talks about working with the special counsel to build the case against Manafort.
And last week, the special counsel announced indictments against 13 Russians, exposing an alleged ring of foreign nationals who used social media platforms to sow divisions in the U.S. and undermine Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
That indictment was careful to note that there is no evidence at this point to suggest that any Americans knowingly worked with the Russians.
But the rich asshole and his allies in conservative media have been sounding the alarm for months over what they say is evidence that Democrats ignored warning signs of Russian meddling and in some cases bent the law to ensure the president and his associates would be investigated.
The Mueller indictment of the Russian internet trolls says their work predated the 2016 election, provoking Republicans to accuse the Obama administration of not taking the threat seriously enough.
That has led to a round of bickering between the rich asshole officials and former Obama administration officials over who has been tougher on Russia.
Ned Price, a former member of Obama’s national security council, argued Tuesday on MSNBC that the Obama administration focused on preventing Russians from manipulating voter rolls and votes and that they were successful in that area.
“This is a rich line of attack coming from a president who spills secrets to the Russians in the Oval Office, who relishes time with [President Vladimir] Putin both on the phone and in person and a person who refuses to enact punitive sanctions on Moscow for its attack on our democracy,” Price said.
Democrats have hammered the rich asshole for not yet implementing new sanctions against Russia that were passed by Congress.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that those sanctions are still under review as she defended the administration as being tough on Moscow.
“The president has been extremely tough on Russia,” she said, arguing that the rich asshole pushed through $700 billion to rebuild the military, has “helped export energy” to Eastern Europe, arm the Ukranians and close diplomatic properties in the U.S. while upholding Obama-era sanctions there.
“There are a number of places that Obama was too weak and refused to take and put pressure on Russia, where this president has,” Sanders said.
Meanwhile, a political fight rages over the infamous dossier compiled by British spy Christopher Steele and paid for in part by Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
The FBI and Department of Justice used that dossier, which relied heavily on intelligence from Russian officials, in part to secure warrants to spy on Carter Page, a former the rich asshole campaign adviser.
Republicans have alleged that law enforcement officials hid from the surveillance court the Democratic origins of the dossier.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) sent letters this week to former senior Obama administration officials demanding answers on what they knew about the dossier and when they found about it.
Conservatives have also sought to draw attention to Clinton operatives Sidney Blumenthal and Cody Shearer, who passed along their own research on Russia to a State Department official when John Kerry was secretary of State.
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