February 22nd, 2017. It's been 467-467 days since the Nov 8, 2016, election of some rich asshole, no. 45, and 395-395 days since the Jan 20th inauguration.
CNN’s Dana Bash calls BS on White House claim the rich asshole wanted to ‘rebrand’ active shooter drills: What about ‘duck and cover?’
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President some rich asshole seemed to indicate active shooter drills were too scary for children. As the White House tried to clean up his remarks Thursday, they said that the president simply wanted to “rebrand” the idea of an “active shooter drill” so that it would be called something like “security drill” or a “safety drill.” The concern was about not scaring children.
“We have to harden those schools, not soften them,” the rich asshole said.
CNN’s Dana Bash called the excuse absolute nonsense.
“No. Absolutely not,” she said, explaining it didn’t add up for her. “I mean, I guess maybe it does in the rich asshole White House, because he knows from branding, for sure.”
She noted that historically, children have been forced to handle far worse.
“If you kind of look back in history, that’s happened way before the three of us were in school, but during the Cold War, they did drills where kids were told to go under their desks, duck and cover. And some of those kids were even given dog tags with their names on them in case they died and told that. So, — and you know, as far as I know, there were no mass school shootings back then.”
She went on to say that the “branding” in the 1950s “was pretty harsh back then.”
“Of course not. That is not the issue,” she dismissed the White House excuse. “It seemed as though that was kind of a creative way to try to thread the needle and explain what the president meant when he said what he said.”
Watch her poignant comments below:
WATCH: NRA-loving sheriff goes down in flames when confronted by Parkland teacher who doesn’t want to shoot anyone
Stoneman Douglas High School teacher Sarah Lerner, CNN's Jim Sciutto and Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones (Photo: Screen capture)
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During a CNN discussion between Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones and Stoneman Douglas High School teacher Sarah Lerner.
Lerner explained that there is no reason that she as a teacher should all of the sudden be security guards on top of everything else.
“I have no desire to own a gun, shoot a gun, carry a gun, touch a gun,” she told Jones. “I don’t think my coming to school with a gun would have changed anything. I wasn’t in the building. I’m in building six, not building 12. So, if I would have been on campus with a gun, there would have literally been nothing for me to do.”
Fill-in host Jim Sciutto asked if she would have “felt” safer if she had a gun, but she still said she would not.
“I don’t need to have a gun to keep me safe,” she said. “I knew the SWAT team, FBI, Broward Sheriff’sOoffice, local offices were here securing the campus would keep me safe. That made me feel safe. If I had been in my classroom with 15 students, I wouldn’t have used it. I didn’t see the shooter. I heard the shots when I went outside. But having a gun would do me no good.”
Lerner went on to say that even if she had a gun she would likely have had it locked up. So, the presumption that somehow she would immediately be able to pull a weapon and take a guy out is absurd.
“If I had a gun on campus, it would have been locked in my closet, and if somebody had come in the room, in the time it would take me to get my keys and open my closet I would would be dead,” she explained.
Jones said that the only solution is to gives teachers guns because police can’t arrive in time to kill the suspect.
Sciutto argued that there was an Armed Resource Officer (SRO) and trained uniformed guard. Neither of them took the shooter out.
“Listen, I don’t want to attack this one person too much,” he said. “I spoke to a U.S. retired U.S. general tonight who commanded troops in Iraq and said that reaction to violence is not uncommon. I mean, if the armed trained uniformed security guard at Parkland didn’t do it, why would we expect teachers like Sarah or others to be that frontline responder?”
Jones said he wouldn’t expect Lerner to be a frontline responder. He said he did expect the officers there to be. He didn’t have a solution for the fact that so-called “good guys with guns” were unable to stop the shooter.
“So, just for argument sake, sheriff, if I were to have a gun and carry it at school and this happened in the cafeteria where I am not, how am I helping?” she asked. “If someone comes into my classroom and I’m on the other side of the room not near my gun, how is the gun going to help keep me safe? He’s going to shoot me before I can access my gun?”
The sheriff conceded that there’s no way to keep her safe if someone comes into the classroom to shoot her when she has her gun in the closet.
“Only thing to do is beg for your life or wait for the police to get there,” he confessed. “You have people that are trained.”
“So, if I’m going to be shot anyway, then why do I need to carry a gun?” she asked, cutting in.
“Because you’ll save the lives of other students,” he tried to claim, after just admitting nothing would save her. “If you had the gun you wouldn’t be shot.”
However, Jones just admitted that if she did have a gun and had to go to the other part of a classroom and unlock the gun she would be shot and killed before anything could be done. If she had a gun and the shooting happened in another area of the school, she wouldn’t be able to get her gun and then find the shooter and subdue him.
All Jones could do is pretend he didn’t agree that nothing could be done. The two “agreed to disagree.”
Watch the debate below:
Two top White House advisers may leave over tensions with the rich asshole: sources
FILE PHOTO - U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster talks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 17, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
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Longstanding friction between U.S. President some rich asshole and two top aides, the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff, has grown to a point that either or both might quit soon, four senior administration officials said.
Both H.R. McMaster and John Kelly are military men considered by U.S. political observers as moderating influences on the president by imposing a routine on the White House. They have also convinced the rich asshole of the importance of international alliances, particularly NATO, which he has criticized as not equally sharing its burdens with the United States.
However, all the officials were quick to add that the tensions could blow over, at least for now, as have previous episodes of discord between the president and other top officials who have fallen out of favor, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Asked about sources saying that either National Security Adviser McMaster or Chief of Staff Kelly, or both, might be leaving, White House spokesman Raj Shah on Thursday did not address the possibility. He said, “the president has full confidence in each member of the team.” Press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday that the rich asshole “still has confidence in General McMaster.”
Neither Kelly nor McMaster responded to requests for comment on whether they would remain in the administration.
the rich asshole swatted McMaster in a Twitter post after his comments at a European conference last weekend that he was certain Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election campaign, which the rich asshole has been reluctant to acknowledge.
Kelly and McMaster have chafed at the rich asshole’s treatment of them in public and in private, which both at times have considered insulting, said all four officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The current and most potent irritant, they said, is Kelly’s effort, supported by McMaster, to prevent administration officials who have been unable to obtain permanent high-level security clearances from having access to the government’s most closely held secrets.
Under pressure to act last week, Kelly strengthened the security clearance process in response to a scandal involving Rob Porter, a former official accused of domestic abuse by two ex-wives. Staffers whose interim clearances have been pending since June would have them revoked on Friday.
That would bar the rich asshole’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner from reading the president’s daily intelligence brief, which often contains information on covert operations and intelligence collected from spy satellites, spies, and close U.S. allies.
“There have been running battles between the rich asshole and his generals,” said one of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Kelly is a retired Marine general and McMaster an Army lieutenant general.
“But the clearance business is personal, and if the rich asshole sets special rules for family members, I‘m not sure if Kelly and McMaster would salute,” the official said.
White House officials were working to find a compromise that would allow Kushner to continue his work as a senior adviser to the rich asshole, another source familiar with the situation said, also speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House matters.
Under current law and regulation, the president has authority to grant any level of clearance to anyone he chooses, but officials wanted to avoid that option, this official said. There was no sense that Kushner would be leaving his job.
Kelly declined to comment on anybody’s specific security clearance. He said in a statement that he had told Kushner days ago that he had “full confidence in his ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign policy portfolio.”
Kelly said those duties include overseeing the Israeli-Palestinian peace effort and serving as an integral part of the U.S. relationship with Mexico.
McMaster’s support for Kelly on the security clearance issue is only his latest difference with the rich asshole. Officials in the Defense Department said there have been discussions about him returning to the Army, possibly as head of the Forces Command at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina. McMaster, 55, previously served as deputy commander there.Although he has been supportive of the rich asshole on many issues, including threatening North Korea with military action, McMaster has taken a harder stance on Russia than his boss.
After U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians, a Russian propaganda arm and two other firms on Feb. 16 with tampering in the election to boost the rich asshole, McMaster said the evidence of Moscow’s meddling was “incontrovertible.” [nL2N1Q61CL]
the rich asshole publicly chastised McMaster in a Twitter post, saying McMaster “forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted by the Russians.”
Meghan McCain’s ‘Pathetic’ Husband Called Out Over Tweet Calling Mass Shooting Survivors ‘Idiots’
Meghan McCain’s husband, the founder and the publisher of The Federalist, a right-wing site, unleashed an appalling tweet following the CNN town hall Wednesday in which the audience was filled with survivors of mass shootings, including the recent massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. National Rifle Association spokesperson Dana Loesch came face-to-face with survivors and grieving family members. But, to McCain’s husband, Ben Domenech, the survivors are just a “bunch of idiots.”
That didn’t go down well on Twitter.
This "Room full of Idiots" as called by Meghan McCain's husband, Ben Domenech, are American Citizens. Senator Marco Rubio is a public servant, and as such should meet with them. If he is uncomfortable, then he is not qualified for that job.
Can anyone imagine the lever of grief of losing a child and then, have to endure disgraceful remarks?
CNN's Shameful Town Hall Is A Clarifying Moment On Guns thefederalist.com/2018/02/22/cnn…
Calling the victims idiots is pretty pathetic----twitter.com/BullishBear87/…@MeghanMcCain was pathetic this morning...make a great couple...
Meghan, what the hell is wrong with your husband? @MeghanMcCain @bdomenech
Hey Ben what happened to your tweet calling 17 year olds who just saw their friends murdered "idiots"? I can't seem to find it.
Deleting posts is cowardice. pic.twitter.com/wmhxpMyuoy
And this was Meghan McCain’s husband Ben Domenech’s tweet from last night. Neither one has respect or empathy for gun violence victims.
’like, really smart’ Deb
Oh look...
Here's a loser piece of shit calling survivors of the school shooting "a crowd of idiots" twitter.com/bdomenech/stat…
What a douche bag
Since he brought up the word ‘idiots,’ watch Marco Rubio squirm:
Florida school shooting survivor Cameron Kasky challenges Sen. Marco Rubio: "Can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the NRA?" cnn.it/2sFKUXW #StudentsStandUp
Domenech was outed in 2006 for plagiarizing from other publications.
the rich asshole’s Former Adviser Just Shoved A Reporter At CPAC, Told Him To ‘Fuck Off’ (VIDEO)
some rich asshole launched a war with the free press and it got physical at the Conservative Political Action Conference when Sebastian Gorka shoved a reporter with Mediaite and told him to “fuck off.” A video shows Gorka shaking reporter Caleb Ecarma’s hand, but then, the former the rich asshole aide raised a hand to him and then shoved him.
Seb Gorka just got in my face, told me to "fuck off" and shoved me — guess he's still not my biggest fan twitter.com/maxwelltani/st…
Watch:
It’s hard to hear, but @calebecarma tells me Gorka told him to “fuck off” and he won’t talk to him because Caleb is “irrelevant.”
Mediaite reports that Gorka recently challenged the reporter to a duel in an email after Ecarma mocked his Mustang on Twitter.
“Seb Gorka illegally parked his shitty four cylinder Mustang on the sidewalk. Can’t even afford a 5.0 V8 GT. Sad!… Seriously tho what the hell is the point of buying a Mustang if it’s not a V8. Answer me coward @SebGorka,” Ecarma tweeted at the time.
Gorka and the reporter have a history.
I just confronted @SebGorka about the time he challenged me to a fight over email and he got in my face, shouted "you're THAT asshole!" and told me to "fuck off!"
While both of the men are acting childishly, Gorka should show more restraint as a former official with the rich asshole administration.
Gorka, who obtained U.S. citizenship in 2012, has a warrant out for his arrest in Hungary that was issued before some rich asshole became the so-called president. The warrant, issued on September 17, 2016, is reportedly for “firearm ammunition abuse.” Gorka teamed up with half-term Governor Sarah Palin in September to throw their support behind alleged pedophile Roy Moore during the campaign for Alabama’s Senate seat. Yeah, he’s that kind of a guy.
some rich asshole has not applied extreme vetting to his own administration.
Mattis to recommend the rich asshole allow transgender troops stay in the military: report
BY AVERY ANAPOL - 02/22/18 04:37 PM EST
Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to recommend to President the rich asshole that he allow transgender troops to remain in the military.
Mattis will reportedly voice his support for allowing transgender troops to remain in the U.S. military in a meeting with President the rich asshole this week, officials with knowledge of the issue told The Washington Post.
Mattis and the rich asshole were scheduled to meet Wednesday, but the meeting was postponed.
the rich asshole announced in a series of tweets last July that he would bar transgender individuals from serving in the military. He later issued a memo that barred the enlistment of new transgender recruits and prohibited the Defense Department from paying for gender affirmation surgery.
The memo allowed for Mattis to determine how to deal with transgender service members already in the military.
Several courts have since blocked or partially blocked the ban, allowing the military to accept transgender recruits starting Jan. 1.
Mattis's recommendation on the issue was expected by Feb. 21.
Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Thursday that Mattis will provide his recommendation to the rich asshole this week.
“This is a complex issue, and the secretary is taking his time to consider the information he has been given,” she said. “It’s an important issue, and, again, he sees all of his decisions through the lens of lethality. And as you said, it was a self-imposed deadline.”
Updated 4:55 p.m.
the rich asshole says a school ‘is frankly no different’ than a military base
The president is openly calling for the militarization of public schools.
During a White House school safety event on Thursday, President some rich asshole made no bones about the fact that he wants to militarize public schools.
The president repeatedly expressed his desire to keep schools safe by “hardening” them — namely, adding armed guards, and in some circumstances, allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons.
the rich asshole went as far as to say that to him, a school “is frankly no different” than a military base, his implication being that it’s equally absurd to ban firearms from either.
The specifics of the rich asshole’s proposal remain unclear. During a White House press briefing held shortly after the rich asshole’s event ended, Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said that the rich asshole administration is definitely opposed to any new weapons ban, but beyond that, remains in “a listening phase.”
In lieu of discussing concrete proposals to keep schools safer, the rich asshole spent most of Thursday’s event going on a number of rants. At various points, the president sounded off about the dangers of violent video games, called MS-13 members “absolute animals,” heaped praise upon Kellyanne Conway, expressed a surprising revulsion to active shooter drills in schools, suggested that John Kelly would make an ideal armed guard in a school, and repeatedly referred to Nikolas Cruz — the gunman who killed 17 people last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School school in Parkland, Florida — as “a sicko.”
the rich asshole also dismissed anyone who doesn’t think more guns are the answer as naive idealists.
“I hear so many of these wonderful plans where you are going to live in this Utopian school and there’s not going to be any protection, there’s not going to be any guns, there’s not gonna be any bullets flying at the perpetrator — the animal that wants to destroy the lives of families and children. Unless you’re going to have offensive capability, you are wasting your time.”
But throughout it all, the rich asshole avoided the subject of gun control. In fact, the topic of AR-15s, which was Cruz’s weapon of choice, wasn’t brought up a single time during the course of the event.
The only person who mentioned gun control was the Democratic mayor of Parkland, and the rich asshole quickly changed the topic.
Completely dehumanizing: Trump calls gang members "absolute animals. These are not human beings, these are animals."
(The Parkland shooting happened in one of Florida's safest cities.) pic.twitter.com/KhLbU5fHE2
The mayor of Parkland mentioned the need for gun control but Trump didn't even acknowledge it. pic.twitter.com/1GmiQt2DdF
the rich asshole also ignored that an armed guard was on duty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High and was unable to stop the shooting.
the rich asshole’s disinterest in gun control stands in contrast to the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who made clear during a CNN town hall event on Wednesday that they support an AR-15 ban. Perhaps the most remarkable moment of the event happened when Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) mentioned the possibility of an assault weapons ban as though it would be a very bad thing, leading the crowd to erupt in cheers.
Rubio responded by telling the cheering crowd that their position “is a valid position to hold,” and he backtracked after it ended. With nobody around to boo him or ask him why he didn’t do more to keep their children safe, Rubio tweeted that “banning all semi-auto weapons” is “a position well outside the mainstream.”
White House spokesman asked about Stormy Daniels, awkwardness ensues
Raj Shah wouldn't even commit to asking the rich asshole and telling reporters what he says later.
On Thursday, Stormy Daniels’ name was uttered for the first time during a White House press briefing.
“Last week the president’s personal lawyer acknowledged a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. Is the president aware that his lawyer paid that kind of money to a porn star to buy her silence? Does he approve of that?” ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked deputy press secretary Raj Shah.
Shah attempted to dodge the question, but Karl pressed him.
“I haven’t asked him about it, but that matter has been asked and answered in the past,” Shah said, alluding to a talking point the White House frequently deploys about how the final verdict regarding the rich asshole’s sexual conduct was rendered by the voters who elected him.
“No, not since he acknowledged this last week, this is the first time we’ve had a chance to ask about it, so can you go back can we find out if the president approved?” Karl replied.
But Shah wouldn’t even commit to asking the rich asshole about it.
“I haven’t him asked that. I haven’t asked him about that,” Shah reiterated.
“But will you ask him about it, Raj?”
“I’ll get back to you.”
Karl was referring to the rich asshole’s longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, admitting last week that he paid $130,000 to Daniels weeks before the 2016 election. Daniels previously said she had an affair with the rich asshole, and the October 2016 payment came as she was in talks with media outlets who wanted to tell her story.
In a statement Cohen provided to the New York Times, he didn’t detail the reason for the payment. But during a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Daniels effectively confirmed the existence of a non-disclosure agreement regarding her relationship with the rich asshole.
Days after Cohen admitted to the payment, the New Yorker published an in-depth report about an affair between some rich asshole and Playboy model Karen McDougal. The affair reportedly began in June 2006 — the year after President the rich asshole married Melania the rich asshole, and right around the same time Daniels said her affair with the rich asshole started. According to the New Yorker, four days before the 2016 election, a the rich asshole ally paid $150,000 for exclusive rights to McDougal’s account of her affair with the rich asshole — effectively killing the story.
In a statement provided to The New Yorker, an unnamed White House spokesperson characterized the McDougal story as “just more fake news.” But notably, the statement doesn’t flat-out deny the affair. Instead, the spokesperson merely claims that the rich asshole says it didn’t happen.
Neither Daniels or McDougal have accused the rich asshole of doing anything to them without their consent, but 14 other women have accused the rich asshole of sexual assault. Earlier this week, the rich asshole reacted to a Washington Post feature story about Rachel Crooks — one of the his accusers — by falsifying her account of being assaulted, and then claiming it proved his innocence.
The White House’s official position is that all of the rich asshole’s accusers are lying.
While Shah’s refusal to say anything about the rich asshole and Stormy Daniels isn’t surprising, a New York Magazine piece published earlier this month revealed that Shah was privately happy to see the rich asshole become a subject of widespread criticism after a recording of him bragging about sexual assault was published in October 2016, right around the same time Cohen was making the payment to Daniels.
“I’m kinda enjoying this, some justice,” Shah emailed a colleague just hours after the recording hit the internet. “I honestly don’t think it’s the worst thing he’s done but he somehow got passes for the other acts.”
First National Bank dumps NRA, will no longer issue NRA Visa card
The bank says "customer feedback" caused the change.
For more than a decade, the First National Bank of Omaha has offered special branded Visa cards to National Rifle Association members to support the group. On Thursday, following two days of public pressure, the bank announced it “will not renew its contract” with the NRA.
The bank confirmed, in a tweet, that “customer feedback caused” the decision:
Please END your relationship with the @NRA. #NRABloodOnYourHands
Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA. As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card.
On Tuesday, ThinkProgress reported that First National Bank was one of at least 22 corporations that the NRA says offer incentives to NRA members. The bank and its parent company did not respond to repeated inquires about whether last week’s horrific mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, would cause it to reconsider its relationship with the group leading the charge to oppose gun violence prevention efforts.
But less than 24 hours later, ThinkProgress spotted that the website advertising the “official credit card of the NRA” had mysteriously vanished, with an error message appearing in its place.
Neither the bank nor Visa responded to repeated ThinkProgress inquiries about the disappearance, but the bank did respond on Twitter, to many outraged customers, many of whom threatened to cancel their accounts because of the relationship.
Any comment @FNBOmaha? I’m not afraid to switch my accounts back to my previous financial institution. twitter.com/thinkprogress/…
We appreciate you taking the time to voice your concerns. First National Bank issues the NRA Visa Card to the organization members. I will make sure to pass your feedback on to our leadership team.
First National Bank is the first of the corporations to officially end its relationship with the NRA in the aftermath of Parkland.
There are still at least 21 corporations with ongoing relationships with the NRA.
Reality sets in for the coal industry: the rich asshole is powerless to save it
Coal plants now shutting down faster under the rich asshole than Obama.
President the rich asshole campaigned on a pledge to end the supposed “war on coal” that he claimed President Obama had been waging. But the reality is that more coal capacity was retired in the first 45 days of 2018 than in each of the first three years of the Obama administration.
In fact, Bloomberg New Energy Finance reported last week in its 2018 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook that by the end of last year, coal plant owners “had announced 12.5GW of planned retirements for 2018, foreshadowing the largest year for coal decommissioning since the 15GW of retirements in 2015.”
Mary Anne Hitt, Director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, explained this week that “a coal plant has retired every 16 days since the rich asshole was elected.” That’s the same pace as during the Obama administration’s full eight years, but much faster than the pace during Obama’s first term.
So do those numbers mean the rich asshole is also waging a war on coal?
The truth is there never was a “war on coal.” There’s been two big battles, though. The first is an economic battle in the marketplace, where low cost renewables, natural gas, and energy efficiency became so cheap that costly and inflexible coal (and nuclear) plants simply could not compete.
Wind, solar power, and batteries have been coming down in price so fast that building new renewables is now cheaper than just running old coal plants.
The second battle is for public health, fought by state and federal governments along with local activists and the Sierra Club, to reduce some of the most dangerous and toxic air pollutants, a lot of which come from coal plants. Call it a “war on air pollution” or a “war to save lives.”
Even the rich asshole’s own Environmental Protection Agency put out an analysis last year concluding that its effort to undo Obama’s Clean Power Plan could kill some 100,000 Americans over the next few decades.
But it’s really economics that is driving the shift away from coal. And no many how many public health protections the rich asshole administration undoes, they can’t change the fact that existing coal plants are albatrosses. Solar and wind power plants are so cheap that last year they beat natural gas in the race to replace dirty, costly coal.
If there had ever been a war on coal, then the numbers suggest the rich asshole is still waging it. But in fact coal wasn’t doomed by politics, but by the desire for cheap power and clean air.
Columnist takes down NRA’s Wayne LaPierre and Dana Loesch for CPAC speech: ‘Why not say that facing those students?’
Thomas Friedman (Photo: Screen capture)
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During a Thursday interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman called out the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre and Dana Loesch as nothing more than cowards.
During the Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday, Loesch stated outright that the media “loves” mass shootings.
“Now, I’m not saying that you love the tragedy, but I am saying that you love the ratings,” she told the CPAC audience, to cheers. “Crying white mothers are ratings gold to you and many in the legacy media in the back.”
Friedman was appall.
“It’s disgusting,” he told Blitzer. “Just disgusting.”
“It’s hard to believe she can say something like that, whether you’re on the left or the right, to say, to suggest that the legacy media loves mass shootings, crying white mothers, because of ratings,” Blitzer said.
“What a courageous woman,” Friedman said sarcastically. “Why not say that last night when you were facing those students? You go before a hyper-conservative convention and say that? Wayne, what a tough guy, what a tough guy, to be able to give that message to super conservatives, not stare those parents in the face, what a — it’s just disgusting, Wolf.”
Blitzer agreed going on to say it was amazing she would smear journalists covering the story and giving a voice to those harmed by the tragedy.
“What it shows you, Wolf, they’re out of arguments,” Friedman continued. “And all they can do is deflect on the honest situation, which was the vast majority of Americans do not want to eliminate the Second Amendment. They don’t want to take away guns from people that want to hunt, use them for marksmanship, or protect themselves. They want to make sure that people who do that have — that it is controlled in a way that people use them in these kinds of mass shootings or reduce the option for that, and as I said, countries that do that, the example of Japan, have massive reduction in gun violence.”
Blitzer went on to ask Friedman if the NRA has too much of a stranglehold on Washington. “One party has completely sold their soul to them. That’s what the Republican Party has done.”
Watch the conversation below:
New Manafort indictments show ex-the rich asshole chairman ‘is going to die in federal prison’: Legal analysts
Paul Manafort (abcnews.go)
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NBC News national security analyst Frank Figliuzzi and CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Thursday reached the same conclusion about the “significance” of new charges filed against former some rich asshole campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates.
Special counsel Robert Mueller unveiled “superseding indictments” against Manafort and Gates, which totaled 32 counts against the former the rich asshole campaign aides—including charges of tax and bank fraud.
“The continued charges on Gates tell us that he’s not yet committed to cooperating and many of us thought he was on the cusp of cooperating,” Figliuzzi told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace. “That clearly is not happening. His defense is in chaos right now. His attorneys, as you know, have pulled away from him, asked to be taken off the case. He hasn’t signed up a new attorney yet.”
“With regard to Manafort, look, this is all about having Manafort flip on the rich asshole,” Figliuzzi continued. “It’s all about showing the Russia connection. Manafort has that kind of information available. He’s not flipped yet. He’s not cooperating. And I’ll tell you what, if he doesn’t do it with these new tax charges, you’re looking at Manafort literally dying in federal prison based on the tax charges are horrific in terms of the gravity of it, the time you’ll spend in prison.”
And this takes awhile—to get the IRS to sign off on federal tax charges, you’ve got to really make your case and Mueller has clearly made it here,” he added.
Figliuzzi went on to describe Mueller’s team as a “dream team,” repeating “Manafort is about getting to the Russian collusion with the rich asshole.”
“And until Manafort gives it up, this case is not going to be over yet, and it’s a domino effect, right?” Figliuzzi said. “You get Gates, Gates flips on Manafort, you get Manafort, Manafort flips on the rich asshole. And you’ll understand the inner workings of how the Russians were working the campaign. That’s what this is about. You’ll continue to see charges until there aren’t any left to charge on Manafort and Gates, and eventually one of them or both of them is going to break and cooperate or, as I’ve said, die in federal prison.”
Over on CNN, Toobin echoed a similar statement.
“If he’s convicted after trial … he is going to die in prison,” Toobin said later adding “the stakes couldn’t be any higher.”
Watch below:
Watch below:
MSNBC’s Frank Figliuzzi:
CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin:
Broward County Sheriff suspends deputy after footage shows he never went into the school during Parkland massacre
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel (Photo: Screen capture)
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Two deputies are being suspended without pay by Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, according to a statement Thursday afternoon.
According to the press conference, the school resource officer assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School the day of the shooting never went into the building when a “code red” was called. Israel said that when he watched the footage of the deputy staying outside while children were being killed inside “made me sick.”
Deputy Scott Peterson then resigned after the suspension was announced.
Watch his announcement below:
.@BrowardSheriff Israel on the school resource deputy who stood outside and failed to engage the shooter: "Devastated, sick to my stomach. There are no words.” #ParklandSchoolShooting
‘They’re scared this time’: MSNBC panel recoils in horror at NRA ad blaming ‘mainstream media’ for gun violence
Morning Joe panel (MSNBC)
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The NRA blamed the “mainstream media” for encouraging gun violence by interviewing the survivors of the latest school massacre — and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said the group’s leadership should be held liable when a reporter was inevitably harmed.
The gun manufacturer lobbying group released a new ad Wednesday night starring gun activist Colion Noir, a week after the Parkland school shooting that left 17 dead, and the “Morning Joe” hosts played portions of that video and a previous one featuring NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.
“It would be too easy to look at the people in front of the cameras and focus your anger and disgust at them,” Scarborough told his astonished guests afterward. “You should instead focus on Wayne LaPierre and focus on the financiers who are making money off every mass tragedy when gun sales skyrocket. It’s just too simple to look at those people and say, ‘My god.’ They’re doing Wayne LaPierre’s bidding, they’re doing the NRA D.C. lobbyist bidding, and those people are doing the bidding of financiers, extraordinarily wealthy people, who are making money off of these tragedies to sell more military-style guns.”
He said both ads seem to be an “incitement to violence” against journalists.
“If somebody gets killed, that’s going to be exhibit one in court, and they’re going to be — and Wayne LaPierre is going to be held liable,” Scarborough said, “and the multimillionaires or the billionaires that they’re doing the bidding for.”
The other panelists had not seen the two ads in their entirety before, and they expressed shock at their dark and threatening tone — but one guest said the NRA’s quick response to the backlash after this shooting showed something had changed.
“It’s quite shocking,” said Daily Beast columnist Margaret Carlson. “What that shows me is — the NRA usually goes to ground after a mass shooting and goes silent, but they’re scared this time, or that ad wouldn’t be out there. I think it shows maybe they see a difference, maybe the young people are going to have this as their one issue — and if they do, they will be a force against the NRA.”
Guests blame ‘crazy’ people for gun violence at CNN town hall, ignore facts
Those with mental health issues are 10 times more likely to become victims of violent crimes.
Discussion over gun control and Second Amendment rights devolved into a derogatory debate over “crazy” and “insane” individuals at a CNN town hall event on Wednesday night.
Speaking with students, parents, and teachers from Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida — the scene of last week’s deadly mass shooting — guests Dana Loesch, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association (NRA), and Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel frequently peppered their responses with phrases like “crazy,” “deranged,” or “mentally insane,” ignoring studies and statistics showing that those living with a mental illness were far less likely to commit violent crimes.
“Do you guys want to stop mentally insane individuals from getting firearms? Yes? They have to be in the system…. You can convict them, you can adjudicate them mentally unfit,” Loesch said at one point in the evening.
Referring to suspected Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz, Loesch added, “This is why I came down here. I don’t believe that this insane monster should have ever been able to obtain a firearm. Ever. I do not think that he should have gotten his hands on any kind of weapon. …This individual was nuts.”
Sheriff Israel, who clashed with Loesch on several points, seemed to agree.
“I come here tonight with 39 years in law enforcement. I’ve Baker Acted people. I’ve taken weapons from people,” he said, referring to a statute from 1971 that allows authorities to involuntarily commit those deemed to have a “mental illness” to an institution for examination. “The men and women that I’ve worked with for 40 years, we know how to keep America safe…. We have to take weapons out of the hands of people that suffer from mental illness.”
He added, “When police encounter someone…we shouldn’t have to wait until they are a danger to themselves or someone else. We should be able to take them to an institution that’s going to examine them and take weapons away from them, right then and there.”
The conversation continued into Thursday morning, with President the rich asshole repeating the arguments on Twitter.
“I will be strongly pushing Comprehensive Background Checks with an emphasis on Mental Health. Raise age to 21 and end sale of Bump Stocks!” he wrote. “Congress is in a mood to finally do something on this issue – I hope!”
Neither the rich asshole nor the guests at CNN’s town hall event on Wednesday night mentioned extensive research showing that those who have mental health conditions are more likely to become victims of violent crime than to carry out acts of violence themselves. According to the Department of Health & Human Services, only 3-5 percent of violent acts can be attributed to individuals living with “a serious mental illness.” By contrast, those with mental health issues are 10 times more likely to become victims of violent crimes than the general population.
Additionally, the continued demonization of individuals living with a mental illness — even in the face of tragedies like the Parkland shooting — may have disastrous, unintended effects. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013, the majority of gun owners and non-gun owners supported the idea of barring people with a mental illness from accessing firearms, even if those individuals had not been determined to be dangerous; half of the study’s participants also believed that “people with serious mental illness are more dangerous than members of the general population.” Most were also “unwilling” to work with or live next to someone with a serious mental illness.
The researchers concluded that, while most Americans were supportive of increased government spending on mental health treatment to reduce gun violence, the negative attitudes that accompanied many of those discussions could further “exacerbat[e] stigma or discourag[e] people from seeking treatment.” This is especially important to consider, given that one in five adults in the United States experiences some form of mental illness, and one in 25 live with “serious” mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“Using that kind of language [‘crazy,’ ‘insane,’ or ‘deranged’] sends the message that it’s OK to trivialize mental illness and lazily substitute real people’s lived experiences for ‘wild,’ ‘silly,’ ‘dangerous’ or ‘out of control,” activist and writer Lydia X. Z. Brown told Mic in June 2016.
Restricting those with mental illnesses from accessing firearms is also unlikely to affect the overall rate of violence in the country, according to experts.
“Most violence in society is caused by other things,” Jeffrey Swanson, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, told ProPublica in 2014. “Even if we had a perfect mental health care system, that is not going to solve our gun violence problem. If we were able to magically cure schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, that would be wonderful, but overall violence would go down by only about 4 percent.”
He added, “If someone has a history of any kind of violent or assaultive behavior, that’s actually a better predictor of future violence than having a mental health diagnosis. If someone has a conviction for a violent misdemeanor, we think there’s evidence, they ought to be prohibited [from owning guns.]”
It’s unfair then to target a group of people traditionally disinclined to commit acts of violence, experts argue — and that fact has not escaped many of the parents of the country’s youngest shooting victims.
“I think it’s important to note that someone with a mental illness is highly unlikely to ever commit an act of violence. It’s a very small percentage. What we’re really dealing with here is more of a lack of mental wellness,” Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, said during a gun violence listening session at the White House on Wednesday.
She added, “This is about anger and fear. That’s not something that you can diagnose and put in mental health hospitals. This is more about funding for mental health services.”
READ IT: Mueller unveils ‘superseding indictment’ against Manafort and Gates including tax and bank fraud
Special counsel Robert Mueller and former the rich asshole campaign chairman Paul Manafort, composite image.
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Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged onetime some rich asshole campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates with a slew of “superseding indictments” according to documents unsealed Thursday.
They face a total of 32 counts, including tax and bank fraud, and conspiracy.
You can read the full indictment below:
Manafort-2 by Noor Al-Sibai on Scribd
‘Omission is usually a crime’: Fox’s Shep Smith blasts White House for defending Kushner’s foreign contacts
Fox News host Shepard Smith (Screenshot)
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Discussing the White House’s announcement that new security clearance rules will not affect presidential aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner in spite of his more than 100 omissions of foreign contacts on his security clearance forms, Fox News host Shep Smith noted that the White House appears to be engaging in a double standard.
“An omission for most people when they fill out [security clearance form] FS-86 can be a crime, punishable by prison,” Smith noted when speaking to Axios’ Alayna Treene. “Not in this case, apparently.”
Treene noted that Kushner had to revise his clearance forms repeatedly, especially in light of the 2016 rich asshole Tower meeting where he along with some rich asshole, Jr. and then-campaign chairman Paul Manfort met with a group of Russians and Kremlin-connected individuals.
His willingness to re-submit those forms, the Axios reporter noted, appears to be the White House’s justification for why he is not subject to new security clearance rules placed into effect after the scandal involving former aide Rob Porter, who had an interim clearance due to FBI investigation into allegations of spousal abuse.
Watch below, via Fox News:
'Lock her up' chants break out at CPAC
BY JULIA MANCHESTER - 02/22/18 04:25 PM EST
Chants of "lock her up" erupted at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday after a speaker mentioned former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
"She's already in a jail of her own making somewhere in the woods in upstate New York," conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said in response to the chants.
The "lock her up" chant was frequently heard at President the rich asshole's rallies throughout the 2016 presidential campaign and became something of a rallying cry for some of his supporters.
the rich asshole's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, then serving as a surrogate for the GOP candidate's campaign, joined the crowd at the Republican National Convention in 2016 calling to "lock her up."
"Lock her up, that’s right,” Flynn said. “If I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today."
The chants have also taken place at rallies that the rich asshole has held since becoming president.
the rich asshole memorably told a crowd at a campaign rally last year that they’d have to “speak to [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions” after the crowd chanted “lock her up” in response to a reference to Clinton.
During the 2016 campaign, the rich asshole called for a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton's use of a private email server when she served as secretary of State, telling her during a debate that she "would be in jail" if he was president.
Schumer: I'm 'amazed' how fast the rich asshole caved to NRA
BY MAX GREENWOOD - 02/22/18 07:05 PM EST
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that he is "amazed" at how quickly President the rich asshole bowed to the National Rifle Association (NRA) after he threw his support behind a proposal to arm trained teachers.
"Not surprised the NRA reeled President the rich asshole back in," Schumer said in a statement. "Just amazed at how fast it happened."
Schumer's comment came after another statement earlier Thursday, in which he accused the rich asshole of having caved to the NRA's demands on gun reform in the past.
"I hope this time will be different," Schumer said in the earlier statement.
the rich asshole signaled a shift on gun control reform this week after facing pressure in the wake of a deadly shooting at a South Florida high school.
He suggested in a tweet Thursday that his administration would push for stricter background checks for gun purchases, and would seek to raise the age to buy guns.
But he also voiced support for a plan to implement concealed carry for highly trained teachers, and get rid of gun-free zones around schools.
Schumer's second statement on Thursday did not follow any further comments from the rich asshole.
In another tweet on Thursday, the rich asshole defended the NRA, which has faced intense scrutiny in recent days, calling the organization's leaders are "Great People and Great American Patriots."
the rich asshole: 'I'm thinking about' pulling ICE out of California
BY RAFAEL BERNAL - 02/22/18 12:50 PM EST
President the rich asshole said Thursday that he is thinking of pulling federal immigration enforcement officers from California over the state's sanctuary policies.
"Frankly it's a disgrace, the sanctuary city situation," the rich asshole said at a White House meeting on school safety.
Opponents of the administration have been critical of the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the law enforcement agency responsible for interior immigration enforcement, and its operations in California since the state declared itself a "sanctuary" jurisdiction.
the rich asshole said California is uncooperative with federal law enforcement, particularly when it comes to dealing with gang crime.
If federal agencies were to "pull out" of the state, the rich asshole said, "you would have a crime mess like you've never seen in California.
"If we ever pulled our ICE out, if we ever said, 'hey, let California alone, let them figure it out for themselves,' in two months they'd be begging for us to come back, they would be begging. And you know what, I'm thinking about doing it," he added.
Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan in January warned California should "hold on tight" for more ICE operations in the state.
But on Wednesday, Homan said the agency doesn't conduct raids, but rather "targeted enforcement operations."
"We don't go into neighborhoods, knock on a bunch of doors looking for people different than us. Every person we arrest, we know exactly who we're going to arrest, we know exactly where we're going to arrest them," Homan said on Fox News.
the rich asshole also complimented Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a frequent target of the rich asshole's criticism over his recusal on the Russia investigation, on his handling of gang violence.
"You're doing a great job on the gangs," said the rich asshole.
Also present at the meeting were Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, White House chief of staff John Kelly, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and White House adviser Kellyanne Conway.
"Frankly it's a disgrace, the sanctuary city situation," the rich asshole said at a White House meeting on school safety.
Opponents of the administration have been critical of the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the law enforcement agency responsible for interior immigration enforcement, and its operations in California since the state declared itself a "sanctuary" jurisdiction.
the rich asshole said California is uncooperative with federal law enforcement, particularly when it comes to dealing with gang crime.
If federal agencies were to "pull out" of the state, the rich asshole said, "you would have a crime mess like you've never seen in California.
"If we ever pulled our ICE out, if we ever said, 'hey, let California alone, let them figure it out for themselves,' in two months they'd be begging for us to come back, they would be begging. And you know what, I'm thinking about doing it," he added.
Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan in January warned California should "hold on tight" for more ICE operations in the state.
But on Wednesday, Homan said the agency doesn't conduct raids, but rather "targeted enforcement operations."
"We don't go into neighborhoods, knock on a bunch of doors looking for people different than us. Every person we arrest, we know exactly who we're going to arrest, we know exactly where we're going to arrest them," Homan said on Fox News.
the rich asshole also complimented Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a frequent target of the rich asshole's criticism over his recusal on the Russia investigation, on his handling of gang violence.
"You're doing a great job on the gangs," said the rich asshole.
Also present at the meeting were Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, White House chief of staff John Kelly, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and White House adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Schumer: the rich asshole caved to NRA on gun control
BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 02/22/18 12:23 PM EST
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday sought to increase the pressure for President the rich asshole to buck the gun lobby on reform, only to declare a few hours later that the rich asshole had already caved to the National Rifle Association (NRA) on gun reform.
"The last time he showed support for sensible gun reform — no fly, no buy — he quickly dropped his support once the NRA opposed it. I hope this time will be different," Schumer said in a statement early Thursday afternoon.
the rich asshole this week appeared to signal a shift on guns in the wake of last week's school shooting in Florida, where 17 people were killed.
He said in a tweet earlier Thursday that he will be "strongly pushing Comprehensive Background Checks with an emphasis on Mental Health," as well as raising the age for buying a gun.
"Raise age to 21 and end sale of Bump Stocks! Congress is in a mood to finally do something on this issue — I hope!" he added in the tweet.
But the rich asshole also expressed support for implementing concealed carry for trained teachers and getting rid of gun-free zones around schools.
As a result, a few hours later on Thursday, Schumer said that because the rich asshole is open to "the NRA-backed proposal to arm teachers," the NRA had "reeled" the president "back in" on guns.
“Not surprised the NRA reeled President the rich asshole back in," Schumer said in a second statement. "Just amazed at how fast it happened.”
In 2016, during his presidential campaign, the rich asshole indicated he would consider backing a "no fly, no buy" policy to restrict individuals on the airline terrorist watch list from being able to purchase guns and said he would meet with the NRA to discuss it. The NRA opposed such legislation, and the rich asshole later walked back his support, saying he "understands exactly" the organization's position.
Schumer cited that shift on Thursday, saying that historically, the rich asshole and GOP lawmakers "have toed the NRA line."
"The real test of President the rich asshole and the Republican Congress is not words and empathy, but action. Will President the rich asshole and the Republicans finally buck the NRA and get something done? Could this time be different?" he added.
the rich asshole also praised the NRA on Thursday, saying they are "Great People and Great American Patriots."
"They love our Country and will do the right thing. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he added in a tweet.
NRA says it can’t find ThinkProgress’ coverage of broken U.S. background check system. Here it is.
"Where are those headlines?"
Appearing Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch attacked ThinkProgress by name for allegedly failing to cover America’s broken background check system.
Loesch suggested that the failure of media outlets including ThinkProgress to cover those deficiencies was driven by a desire for the system to fail and, presumably, for mass shootings to continue.
Naming ThinkProgress and three other outlets, Loesch asked, “Where are the stories about how only 38 states submit less than 80 percent of criminal convictions to the background check system? It’s only as good as what is submitted to it… I have to question whether they want this system to fail. Where are those headlines?”
Here are those headlines.
February 16, 2018: Oregon House passes bill to close ‘boyfriend loophole’ in background checks for guns
The Oregon House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would expand a federal gun ban to include people convicted of domestic violence against partners they’re not married to, closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole.” The bill would also ban people convicted of misdemeanor stalking from owning a gun. The legislation heads next to the Senate, of which leadership supports, and then Gov. Kate Brown (D), a sponsor of the bill.
November 6, 2017: The Texas shooter got a gun because America’s background check system is a disaster
Sutherland Springs, Texas shooter Devin Kelley was legally prohibited from purchasing a gun, but the Air Force base at which he was stationed never entered his domestic abuse charge into the background check system — and he’s not alone. Many domestic abusers are likely able to purchase firearms because their convictions are never entered into the database.
June 15, 2017: EXCLUSIVE: In 2016, the FBI allowed 300,000 gun sales before completing a background check
Despite promises to fix the system, however, new data the FBI shared with ThinkProgress shows that there were more than 300,000 default proceeds in 2016. Of all background checks performed that year, 3.24 percent resulted in default proceeds. That figure is up from 3.02 percent in 2015 and 2.76 percent in 2014.Gun dealers don’t have to notify the FBI when they proceed with a sale after the three-business-day deadline, so it’s unclear how many of those default proceeds resulted in an actual sale without a background check.Government data also shows that many of these cases are associated with misdemeanor domestic violence charges. States do not always share related records, and often domestic violence charges aren’t easily identifiable in FBI databases. That raises concerns that firearms could get into the hands of convicted abusers.
July 11, 2015: How our flawed background check system put a gun in Dylann Roof’s hands
Reported lapses in the FBI’s background check system allowed Dylann Roof, accused of murdering nine people at a historically black church in South Carolina, to purchase a gun. Now, the emerging details about Roof are reigniting a contentious debate over gun policy that tracks closely with similar conversations following other recent mass shootings…Information about Roof’s previous drug charges, which should have triggered the rejection of his attempted gun purchase, wasn’t easily accessible in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). But federal law currently operates under a “default proceed” process — which means that, even if a background check hasn’t been completed, the transaction can legally go through anyway after three days have passed.
June 6, 2014: Why domestic abusers can still buy guns
And while restraining orders and misdemeanor abuse convictions bar gun ownership in federal background checks, some 35 states don’t enforce their own laws against these major categories of abusers, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.Even among those categories of crimes that are banned, the FBI far too often doesn’t get the data they need to make the background check system effective. Only three states appear to be submitting complete records to the FBI. Those states — Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New Mexico — account for 79 percent of all state domestic violence records submitted, while some states are submitting no records at all. Most states also do little to remove guns from abusers after they are convicted. Forty-one states have no clear law on the books requiring all domestic abusers to relinquish the guns they already own.
June 14, 2013: Nevada governor vetoes background check bill on eve of Newtown six month anniversary
Defying 87 percent of the state’s voters, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) vetoed a universal background check bill for gun purchases on Thursday — one day before the six-month anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.The bill, passed by Nevada’s Democratically controlled state legislature, would have required a background check prior to all gun sales and would have increased reporting of mental illness data. The National Rifle Association’s lobbying arm called the proposal “misguided gun control legislation being forced on law-abiding citizens of Nevada.”
April 4, 2013: Your essential guide to the background check debate
Criminals and mentally ill individuals can buy guns at gun shows or online and many who go through a federally licensed dealer often slip through the cracks because states are not putting records into the NICS system. In fact, following the Newtown tragedy, the NRA successfully attached riders to the resolution funding the government through September that limited enforcement tools against crooked dealers and interfered with ATF gun trace reports. That’s why the Manchin-Toomey bill expands checks and improves the existing system.
These are just a handful of dozens of ThinkProgress stories over many years on deficiencies in the background check system and the connection of those deficiencies to mass shootings. ThinkProgress has also extensively covered the NRA’s opposition to bipartisan improvements in the system, including the Manchin-Toomey legislation in 2013.
The Daily Show exposes Fox News ‘crisis actor’ Tomi Lahren in convincing conspiracy YouTube video
Tomi Lahren (The Daily Show / Screengrab)
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“The Daily Show” on Thursday revealed what will likely be a devastating blow to right-wingers who claim students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are actually “crisis actors” hired to parrot Democratic talking points.
In a video mimicking the font, color scheme and musical score of conspiracy YouTube videos that emerged in the aftermath of this month’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, “The Daily Show” explained how Fox News contributor and conservative talking head Tomi Lahren is herself a so-called “crisis actor.”
“Crisis actor exposed,” the video reads. “Right now, a mainstream media organization is paying a young person to pose as a victim on TV.”
“In fact, this victim is being coached to recite highly scripted talking points,” it adds.
The video ends with a demand to pull Lahren off-air.
Victims of the Parkland massacre on Feb. 14 have been inundated with internet conspiracy theories claiming they’re “crisis actors” working to push an anti-gun platform—a bogus allegation even peddled by some Florida officials. A board member in Lake County, Florida wrote an extended Facebook post asserting Hogg “is an imposter and quick background would expose him.” That board member later said he was duped by the online conspiracy.
Wednesday, a Republican Florida politician was fired after claiming students David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez are “actors that travel to various crisis when they happen.”
Last week, a very real survivor of the Parkland massacre slammed Lahren for accusing “the Left” of using the shooting to push “their anti-gun and anti-gunowner [sic] agenda.”
“A gun has killed 17 of my fellow classmates,” senior Kyra Parrow wrote on Twitter. “A gun has traumatized my friends. My entire school, traumatized from this tragedy. This could have been prevented. Please STFU Tomi.”
Watch the video below, via @TheDailyShow/Twitter:
White House: the rich asshole not looking to ban an entire class of firearms
White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah holds the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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President some rich asshole does not want to ban the sales of an entire class of firearms, the White House said on Thursday, despite mounting pressure to put assault weapons such as the one used in last week’s deadly school shooting out of civilian reach.
“We don’t think the immediate policy response would be to ban an entire class of firearms,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said at a daily press briefing. “What we’re looking for is solutions that don’t ban a class of firearms for all individuals but ban all weapons for certain individuals who are identified as threats to public safety.”
White House spokesman: the rich asshole opposes ‘active shooter drills’ in schools because it’s a scary ‘brand’ name
Raj Shah (The White House)
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White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah on Thursday said that President some rich asshole wanted to re-brand “active shooter drills” because the name could frighten children.
During Thursday’s White House briefing, one correspondent noted that the rich asshole had suggested that active shooter drills were problematic in schools.
Shah insisted that the rich asshole only wanted to rename the drills instead of completely banning them.
“I did talk to him about that,” Shah revealed. “He said the term ‘active shooter drills’ is frightening for young children. He thinks a drill that has a different name and different brand — so the brand of it frankly doesn’t frighten children might be a better approach.”
Shah added that “safety drills” was a more appropriate name.
“The term ‘active shooter drill’ for a young child could be very frightening,” he concluded.
Watch the video below from CNN.
US judge denies Paul Manafort’s request to modify his bail terms
Paul Manafort (Youtube)
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President some rich asshole’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, lost a bid on Thursday to modify the terms of his bail, after a federal judge said his proposal to pledge certain properties as collateral was “unsatisfactory.”
The ruling against Manafort by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson means that he will be forced for now to remain under house arrest unless he is able to offer other alternatives that are acceptable to the court.
Manafort and the rich asshole’s former deputy campaign manager, Rick Gates, were indicted in October as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into whether the rich asshole campaign colluded with Russia in Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
They face charges including conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud the United States and failure to register as foreign agents for political work they did representing a pro-Russia Ukrainian party.
‘I just don’t know what that means’: the rich asshole gets completely lost during meeting on school shootings
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill speaks with President some rich asshole (Screen cap).
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President some rich asshole on Thursday appeared to get completely lost during a discussion on preventing school shootings being held at the White House.
During the talk, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill talked about active measures that schools can take during shootings that can go into effect automatically without the police even being on the scene.
“We also have countermeasures that can be employed by the sheriff’s department within seconds to contain the attacker and in a sense turn the attack on them,” Hill said. “That is a critical piece.”
A confused the rich asshole asked him to explain the concept of countermeasures.
“I just don’t know what that means,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t know what that means.”
Hill proceeded to give him an example to illustrate it.
“If you are in a hallway, with an active shooter in a hall, and he’s going around looking for targets, you got the doors locked, and somebody is monitoring and, for example, they have smoke canisters that can come in and blind to shooter, which distracts them,” he said. “That gives time and, you know, that critical time when he is allowed looking for targets.”
the rich asshole still didn’t seem to understand the concept, however.
“In the meantime, he’s shooting everybody, though,” the president said.
“Well, in this particular school, they’re locked down,” Hill patiently explained.
Watch the video below.
Watch these 5 unforgettable moments from CNN’s town hall on gun control
Watch Marco Rubio get shouted down by Parkland community (Photo: Screen capture)
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A CNN town hall on Wednesday night offered a national platform for the grief, anger and growing call for gun reform following the Feb. 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Since the mass shooting, which left 17 dead, students have organized and participated in school-walkouts, pushed for gun reform and created the March For Our Lives. During the town hall, students, Florida teachers and parents questioned and pushed their elected representatives (including Sen. Marco Rubio, who was given an A+ rating from the NRA in 2016), the local sheriff and a spokesperson from the NRA on gun control, school safety, and the influence of the gun lobby.
Here are a few notable moments from the almost two-hour long broadcast:
1. Student asks Marco Rubio if he will continue to take money from the NRA
Senator Marco Rubio looked incredibly uncomfortable during the town hall, and seemed especially frustrated while speaking with MSD student Cameron Kasky. Though the exchange between Rubio and Kasky was frequently interrupted by the crowd, Kasky managed to boldly ask Rubio, “Can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the NRA in the future?”
Florida school shooting survivor Cameron Kasky challenges Sen. Marco Rubio: "Can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the NRA?" cnn.it/2sFKUXW #StudentsStandUp
Though Rubio tried to side-step the question, Kasky continued his line of questioning, even at one point framing the question, “in the name of 17 people, you cannot ask the NRA to keep their money out of your campaign?”
2. Parent of victim calls out the rich asshole’s and Rubio’s responses
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime died in the shooting, first addressed Rubio by telling him, “Your comments this week, and those of our president, have been pathetically weak.”
Rubio blinked intensely and glanced at the ground, as those in the crowd stood in applause.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in Parkland shooting, to Sen. Marco Rubio: “Look at me and tell me guns were the factor in the hunting of our kids ... and you will work with us to do something about guns” cnn.it/2HyYZKa #StudentsStandUp
Guttenberg said to Rubio, “Look at me and tell me guns were the factor in the hunting of our kids in this school this week. And, look at me and tell me you accept it, and you will work with us to do something about guns.”
Rubio spoke about ending bump stocks and improving background checks, but was ultimately booed for his dismissive comments about banning assault weapons.
Following the town hall, Rubio continued to hold steady in his position about assault weapons, tweeting:
Banning all semi-auto weapons may have been popular with the audience at #CNNTownHall, but it is a position well outside the mainstream twitter.com/davidafrench/s…
Rubio’s tweet goes against what national polling data indicates about public opinion.
3. History teacher asks NRA spokesperson to define Second Amendment term
When Diane Wolk Rogers was given the mic, she first honored one of her students who was killed during the shooting, Carmen Schentrup. Then she squared off with the NRA’s Dana Loesch, asking of her, like she asks of her students, to define a term.
She asked Loesch, “What is your definition of a ‘well-regulated’ militia, as stated in the Second Amendment?,” and added, “And using supporting detail, explain to me how an 18-year-old with a military rifle is well-regulated. And the world — our country, our nation — is gonna grade your answer.”
Loesch responded by not answering the question, but rather saying, “George Mason was one of the founders. And he said ‘the militia is the whole of the people.’ It’s every man and every woman.”
4. Sheriff Scott Israel pushes back against NRA’s Dana Loesch
Though Israel and Loesch appeared at the same time to continue answering questions, they also argued back and forth between themselves.
Emma Gonzalez, one of the most-high profile student activists from MSD, asked Loesch a question about gun capabilities and bump stocks. Loesch’s response was primarily about the shooter and mental illness. After Loesch’s response, Israel countered:
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch: “You just told this group of people that you are standing up for them. You're not standing up for them until you say, 'I want less weapons'” cnn.it/2GvjvtZ #StudentsStandUp
5. Rubio questions large-capacity magazines
A question from student Chris Grady, who enlisted in the Army, asked Rubio about limiting large-capacity magazines.
In one of his only clear answers of the night, Rubio stated, “I’m glad you asked that question because I traditionally have not supported looking at magazine clip size, and after this and some of the details I learned about it, I’m reconsidering that position.” Rubio went on to explain his changing mind on this issue, including that a different size magazine “…wouldn’t have prevented the attack but it made it less lethal.”
A Florida shooting survivor says CNN made this insulting move, but the network denies it
Jeffrey Caplan
Posted with permission from Rare
Colton Haab/WPLGColton Haab said he decided not to attend the event after CNN wouldn’t let him ask the question he wanted to deliver and instead gave him an alternate question. A member of the Junior ROTC at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Haab shielded students while the school was under attack from the shooter. He said he wanted to ask about the potential for hiring veterans as armed security guards at schools to prevent future shootings.
“CNN had originally asked me to write a speech and questions, and it ended up being all scripted,” Haab told WPLG-TV. “I don’t think that it’s going get anything accomplished. It’s not gonna ask the true questions that all the parents and teachers and students have.”
“I expected to be able to ask my questions and give my opinion on my questions,” he said.
RELATED: Canadian artist’s poignant cartoon in the aftermath of the Florida shooting has struck a nerve
CNN aired the 2-hour town hall Wednesday night; in attendance were many of the survivors of the Florida high school shooting and their parents, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch and Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. It was moderated by Jake Tapper, and students and parents asked questions about gun control and school safety.
CNN issued a statement Thursday morning contradicting Haab’s assertion. The network said it invited Haab to participate in the town hall, but that his father stopped him from taking part. According to Real Clear Politics, a source at CNN also said Haab wanted to give a longer speech at the town hall, rather than just ask a question. The source also noted that the subject Haab wanted to address, arming teachers and having armed veterans guard schools, was discussed at length during the event.
RELATED: Marco Rubio knew he had a tough crowd for CNN’s town hall on gun reform, but even he wasn’t ready for this
CNN’s full statement read:
There is absolutely no truth to this. CNN did not provide or script questions for anyone in last night’s town hall, nor have we ever.
After seeing an interview with Colton Haab, we invited him to participate in our town hall along with other students and administrators from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Colton’s father withdrew his name from participation before the forum began, which we regretted but respected. We welcome Colton to join us on CNN today to discuss his views on school safety.
the rich asshole says John Kelly would stop mass shootings if he was a teacher with a gun: ‘The bullets would be flying’
some rich asshole (AFP/File / SAUL LOEB)
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President some rich asshole on Thursday insisted that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly could personally stop any school shooting if he were a teacher armed with a gun.
At a roundtable discussion about school violence, the rich asshole noted Kelly was a four star general and a “tough cookie.”
“If he was a teacher, I wouldn’t mind having him have a gun,” the president said. “Because I guarantee you, he can use it better than anybody. There’s not security guard that you’re going to hire that’s going to handle a gun better than him. So if he’s a teacher and other friends of his from the Marines are teaching or other people like that, you want them to have a gun.”
“But almost more importantly, nobody is going to attack that school,” he continued. “Because they know General Kelly is the history teacher. He’s teaching about how we win wars, okay? And he’s got a concealed weapon. But they’re going to know he got a concealed [weapon] because we tell them that the bullets are going to be flying in the other direction.”
the rich asshole argued that if the nation continues “with this nonsense about a gun-free zone” then schools would be “a target for the killer.”
Watch the video below from Fox News.
‘I was a dumbass’: Florida school official blames Google after spreading ‘imposter’ claims about Parkland teen
Bill Mathias (Facebook)
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A Florida school board member admits he was duped after he was called out for promoting Parkland conspiracy theories on social media.
Bill Mathias, a Lake County School Board, shared a post accusing 17-year-old David Hogg of being an “imposter” after the Douglas High School student called for new gun safety laws, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
The elected official concedes he was dubious after encountering the claim, but he did a cursory web search and posted the content anyway.
“At first I thought fake post, so I Google search: David Hogg crisis actor,” Mathias posted on Facebook. “I don’t care where you stand on the ‘gun’ issue, this is WRONG… Truth is he is an imposter and a quick background would expose him.”
Other Facebook users directed Mathias to accurate information showing Hogg was confirmed as a senior student at the school where 17 of his classmates and teachers were gunned down on Valentine’s Day.
“I was a dumbass, because it wasn’t truthful,” Mathias told the newspaper. “Initially, when I Googled the young man’s name, there were several posts right off the bat that said he was a crisis actor.”
Mathias deleted the post and walked back his claims on social media before speaking to the Sentinel.
Survivors of the Parkland massacre have become outspoken gun safety advocates over the past week, and right-wing websites and others have spread conspiracy theories questioning their motivations and associations.
Hogg’s mother revealed her family had been targeted by death threats prompted by the conspiracy theories.
Mathias said he’s sorry for posting the content without making sure the claims were accurate.
“The immediate findings seemed to support allegation,” Mathias said. “I did not go deep enough.”
Lawsuit says race motivated the rich asshole to end immigrant protections
President some rich asshole (AFP/File / SAUL LOEB)
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A group of Haitian and Salvadoran immigrants on Thursday filed a lawsuit claiming that the decision by U.S. President some rich asshole’s administration to terminate the protections that allowed them to remain in the country was racially motivated.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston seeks to challenge the rich asshole administration’s decision to terminate the temporary protective status enjoyed by thousands of immigrants from Haiti and El Salvador.
The lawsuit cited statements it said showed the Republican president’s “dislike and disregard for Latino and Black immigrants,” most recently in reported remarks in January by the rich asshole saying immigrants from Africa and Haiti come from “shithole countries.”
“The animus directed towards Latino and Black immigrants is a clear and unfortunate thread running throughout President the rich asshole’s statements – and is actualized by his Administration’s policies, such as the ones challenged by this lawsuit,” the complaint said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined to comment.
Temporary protective status, or TPS, offers protection from deportation to immigrants already in the United States, including those who entered illegally, from countries affected by natural disasters, civil conflicts and other problems.
Some 200,000 Salvadorans had been allowed to live in the United States under that program in the wake of two devastating 2001 earthquakes in their home country that left hundreds of thousands living there homeless.
About 59,000 Haitian immigrants were likewise protected from deportation after a devastating 2010 earthquake. Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration extended the status several times after the initial designation.
In January, the rich asshole administration announced that the Salvadorans’ temporary protected status would end on Sept. 9, 2019, giving them 18 months to leave or seek lawful residency.
That move came after the administration in November ended TPS for people from Haiti, similarly giving people from that country 18 months to return to the impoverished Caribbean country or legalize their status in the United States.
In announcing the end of the designations of Haiti and El Salvador for TPS, the Department of Homeland Security said the conditions in those countries no longer supported their special statuses.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice filed Thursday’s lawsuit on behalf of six immigrants from El Salvador and two from Haiti as well as Centro Presente, a Massachusetts-based Latin American immigrant organization.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed a similar case in January over the decision to rescind TPS for Haitian immigrants.
WATCH: Meghan McCain rolls her eyes when Ana Navarro points out ‘parents lost their children’
Ana Navarro and Meghan McCain (ABC/screen grab)
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The View co-hosts Ann Navarro and Meghan McCain on Thursday battled about the best way to prevent school shootings.
“Nothing should be off the table,” Navarro said during a discussion about school shootings. “And definitely assault weapons ban should not be off the table. We need to stop tiptoeing.”
Noting that she was the “only NRA member at the table,” McCain complained that NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch was treated badly during a CNN town hall on Wednesday about the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
“There are 7,000 people there in a community that is raw from a crime that just cost 17 innocent lives,” Navarro said. “They are there and they are venting their emotions. That place was full of students, it was full of parents who’ve lost their children.”
At the mention of grieving parents, ABC cameras caught McCain appearing to roll her eyes.
“You can’t ask them to be restrained,” Navarro continued, “and to hold back their emotions. It’s just too damn raw.”
“I know they are raw,” McCain said angrily. “I also know that Dana Loesch is a friend of mine and I felt like — if we are going to have a respectful conversation between Second Amendment rights supporters and people who are on the complete opposite of it who can’t be yelling that you’re a murderer.”
McCain later denied that she was rolling her eyes.
I was looking at the monitor - and i repeatedly said on air how much respect i have for the teenagers and their activism.
Watch the video below from ABC.
Fla. shooting survivor's mother: We have received death threats
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 02/22/18 11:04 AM EST
The mother of a student who survived the deadly Florida high school shooting said her family has received death threats in the wake of the tragedy.
Student David Hogg and other survivors of the Florida shooting have made frequent media appearances in recent days to call for renewed action on gun violence. They have since become the subject of conspiracy theories falsely claiming they are actors who were coached ahead of their television appearances.
Hogg's mother, Rebecca Boldrick, told The Washington Post her family has received death threats online since the conspiracy theories surfaced.
“I’m under so much stress,” she told the Post.
“I’m angry and exhausted," she continued. "Angry, exhausted and extremely proud.”
Hogg has spoken out in recent days against the conspiracy theories against him, saying he is not a "crisis actor" but is someone who had to live through this tragedy.
“It’s annoying. I hate it. But it’s part of American democracy,” Hogg said in a phone interview with the Post. “Am I an actor? No. Am I a witness? Yes.”
Earlier this week, a Florida state lawmaker's aide was fire hours after claiming two survivors of the Florida shooting -- including Hogg -- who had appeared on television were actors.
Benjamin Kelly, an aide to state Rep. Shawn Harrison (R), emailed a Tampa Bay Times reporter after Hogg and Emma González called for legislation to stop gun violence in an appearance on CNN.
According to Tampa Bay Times reporter Alex Leary, the staffer said, "Both kids in the picture are not students here but actors that travel to various crisis when they happen."
Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R) later tweeted that he fired Kelly.
Survivors of the shooting have spoken out in multiple interviews against gun violence. Some appeared Wednesday night during a CNN town hall, in which residents of Parkland, Fla. were given the chance to question Florida lawmakers and a National Rifle Association (NRA) spokeswoman.
Students in schools across the country this week have also staged walkouts and marches to demand action on gun control.
NRA spokeswoman claims shooting survivors wanted to ‘burn her’
"I wouldn't have been able to exit if I didn't have a private security detail."
NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch claimed on Thursday that the crowd of shooting survivors in attendance at CNN’s gun control town hall on Wednesday night had threatened to hurt her, forcing her to flee the event with her husband to avoid any danger.
“I had to have a security detail to get out,” Loesch said, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland. “I wouldn’t have been able to exit if I didn’t have a private security detail. There were people rushing the stage and screaming ‘burn her.’ And I came there to talk solutions, and I still am going to continue that conversation on solutions, as the NRA has been doing since before I was alive.”
Incredible speech by @DLoesch at #CPAC2018.
God Bless this woman and everything she does to help defend our 2A!
Full Speech: pscp.tv/w/bV19RTU0MTMz…
Loesch had been invited to the CNN town hall to address questions from survivors of a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last week that left 17 people dead. The majority of the exchanges were heated, but most remained civil, with the occasional booing from the crowd.
Video taken by Twitter user “Michelle” (@hope4tigers) on Wednesday night does appear to show Loesch being escorted from the BB&T Center stage by security detail, however the footage does not show any town hall attendees “rushing” the stage, as Loesch claimed, and audience members can be heard chanting “shame on you,” not “burn her.”
Still, it’s not clear what may have happened after the video ended or if any attendees “rushed” or threatened Loesch at that point.
Chris Loesch, husband of the NRA's Dana Loesch, says they had to flee the scene of the CNN town hall fast because it could've gotten "dangerous" for them.
We use words not weapons pic.twitter.com/QdUKLujm2k
Additional footage from CNN digital reporter Emanuella Grinberg shows the crowd booing and pointing fingers at Loesch as she leaves the stage.
Loesch’s claims were echoed earlier in the morning by her husband, Chris, who said during his own CPAC panel on “fake news” that the couple had been forced to flee the town hall event to avoid danger.
Loesch has previously been criticized for her participation in a number of NRA ads which some have deemed threatening. In a video last spring, Loesch claimed that progressives and the media were a danger to American society, stopping just short of calling for violence against them.
“They use their media to assassinate real news. They use their schools to teach children that their president is another Hitler. … And then they use their ex-president to endorse the resistance. All to make them march, make them protest, make them scream racism and sexism and xenophobia and homophobia and smash windows, burn cars, shut down interstates and airports, bully and terrorize the law abiding — until the only option left is for police to do their jobs and stop the madness,” she said. “And when that happens, they’ll use it as an excuse for their outrage. The only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth.”
Loesch later claimed that liberals and the press had overreacted to the ad, saying in a Periscope video, “The language of the left is violence and it has been because they think it’s an acceptable form of protest.”
Mueller probe holding up Kushner security clearance: report
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN - 02/22/18 08:05 PM EST
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference is holding up White House adviser Jared Kushner’s security clearance, CNN reported Thursday.
Sources told CNN that the process to complete the security clearance can’t be completed until Mueller’s team wraps up its probe into ties between Kushner and Russians and other foreign contacts.
It's unknown when Mueller's investigation will conclude, but there is no indication that it will end any time in the near future.
Kushner has emerged as a key player in Mueller’s probe. The special counsel is reportedly looking at the adviser’s dealings with foreign investors for his family's real estate business during the presidential transition.
Kushner’s contacts with Russians and his relationship with former national security adviser Michael Flynn are also reportedly included in the probe.
Questions over Kushner’s security clearance reached a fever pitch earlier this month after it was revealed that he, along with several other top Trump aides, had been working with temporary security clearances more than a year into the administration.
Chief of staff John Kelly said earlier this month that the administration will change its policy on the temporary clearances, cutting off some of them.
Kushner is reportedly resisting giving up his high-level access as Kelly carries out the review.
Kelly said in a statement this week that he has “full confidence” in Kushner to carry out his vast portfolio of foreign policy responsibilities, even without a full clearance.
The White House has also said that the review of security clearances wouldn’t impact Kushner.
Mueller files new charges against Manafort, Gates
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN - 02/22/18 04:41 PM EST
Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed new charges against former the rich asshole campaign staffers Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.
A grand jury in Virginia filed 32 charges against the two men, including failing to report income including subscribing to false U.S. individual income tax returns and assisting in the preparation of false U.S. individual income, according to court documents.
Other charges include failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts and bank fraud.
The charges are related to Manafort and Gates’ work as political consultants and lobbyists for the Ukrainian government and politicians.
“From approximately 2006 through the present, Manafort and Gates engaged in a scheme to hide income from United States authorities, while enjoying the use of the money,” the indictment reads.
Both men had already been charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, and pleaded not guilty to the charges last year. However, Gates is reportedly nearing a plea deal with Mueller and will testify against Manafort.
the rich asshole raises concerns about impact of violent movies: 'Maybe they have to put a rating system for that'
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 02/22/18 01:41 PM EST
President the rich asshole on Thursday warned about the influence of violence in movies while discussing school safety and mass shootings, suggesting it could be a contributing factor to recent mass shootings.
the rich asshole made the comments during a meeting at the White House on school safety attended by lawmakers and top administration officials, where the president addressed a number of issues in addition to gun violence.
"We have to look at the internet, because a lot of bad things are happening to young kids and young minds, and their minds are being formed, and we have to do something about maybe what they're seeing and how they're seeing it. And also video games," the rich asshole said, according to pool reports.
However, ratings systems already exist for both video games and films in the United States. The Motion Picture Association of America and Entertainment Software Rating Board both rate and classify content based on its suitability for specific audiences.
The president's remarks come a week after 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The alleged gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, was a former student at the school and reportedly used an AR-15 rifle he legally purchased.
the rich asshole held a "listening session" on Wednesday with parents of victims as well as survivors of last week's shooting, where the president stressed that his administration would take action to strengthen background checks for gun purchases.
"We're going to be very strong on background checks," the president said. "It’s not going to be talk like it has been in the past. It’s been going on too long. Too many instances, and were going to get it done."
the rich asshole also tweeted earlier Thursday in support of raising the age required to purchase a rifle like the one used in the Parkland attack to 21, as well as banning the sale of bump stocks, which let semi-automatic rifles fire more rapidly.
President the rich asshole expressed optimism on Thursday that the National Rifle Association would back new restrictions on guns, despite the gun lobby declaring opposition to the president’s proposal to raise age limits on certain purchases.
Speaking from the Oval Office at a meeting with local officials on school safety, the rich asshole said he had spoken recently with officials at the NRA and said they’re “ready to do things.”
“I don’t think I’ll be going up against them,” the rich asshole said.
“I don’t think I’ll be going up against them,” the rich asshole said.
“I think we're making a lot of progress and I can tell you there's a tremendous feeling that we want to get something done,” he added. “And we're leading that feeling, I hope, but it is a great feeling, including at the NRA, including with Republican senators and hopefully Democrat senators and congressmen."
Still, new fissures have emerged between the president and the NRA, which spent more than $30 million to help him get elected in 2016.
The NRA strongly opposes raising age limits for purchasing guns. Federal law prevents people under 21 from buying hand guns, but those aged 18–20 are legally able to buy rifles like the AR-15 used in the Florida high school shooting last week.
Still, new fissures have emerged between the president and the NRA, which spent more than $30 million to help him get elected in 2016.
The NRA strongly opposes raising age limits for purchasing guns. Federal law prevents people under 21 from buying hand guns, but those aged 18–20 are legally able to buy rifles like the AR-15 used in the Florida high school shooting last week.
“Legislative proposals that prevent law-abiding adults aged 18–20 years old from acquiring rifles and shotguns effectively prohibits them for purchasing any firearm, thus depriving them of their constitutional right to self-protection,” NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said.
“We need serious proposals to prevent violent criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from acquiring firearms. Passing a law that makes it illegal for a 20-year-old to purchase a shotgun for hunting or an adult single mother from purchasing the most effective self-defense rifle on the market punishes law-abiding citizens for the evil acts of criminals.”
the rich asshole on Thursday reiterated his belief that 21 should be the age of purchase for guns.
“The NRA will back it,” the rich asshole said.
The president has also voiced his support for a ban on bump stocks, which can be affixed to a semi-automatic rifle to make it fire more rapidly.
The NRA has said it supports a federal review of bump stocks to see if new regulations are appropriate, but the group opposes an outright ban.
the rich asshole has instructed attorney general Jeff Sessions to see if bump stocks can be banned through regulatory channels, although gun control advocates say that legislation is necessary.
And the rich asshole has said he supports “comprehensive” background checks that appear to go beyond a NRA-endorsed bill that would incentive agencies to comply with the existing background check laws.
Speaking Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the premier annual event for grass-roots conservatives, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre dismissed calls for new legislation, saying they come from people who “fantasize about more laws stopping what other laws fail to stop.”
Still, the rich asshole and the NRA are on the same page on at least one new proposal.
The president is advocating for school officials who have been trained in firearms safety to be armed to protect against potential shooters.
Gun control advocates oppose measures that would put more guns on school grounds. But conservatives say schools are “soft targets” that are attractive to shooters because they know they are gun-free zones.
“We need serious proposals to prevent violent criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from acquiring firearms. Passing a law that makes it illegal for a 20-year-old to purchase a shotgun for hunting or an adult single mother from purchasing the most effective self-defense rifle on the market punishes law-abiding citizens for the evil acts of criminals.”
the rich asshole on Thursday reiterated his belief that 21 should be the age of purchase for guns.
“The NRA will back it,” the rich asshole said.
The president has also voiced his support for a ban on bump stocks, which can be affixed to a semi-automatic rifle to make it fire more rapidly.
The NRA has said it supports a federal review of bump stocks to see if new regulations are appropriate, but the group opposes an outright ban.
the rich asshole has instructed attorney general Jeff Sessions to see if bump stocks can be banned through regulatory channels, although gun control advocates say that legislation is necessary.
And the rich asshole has said he supports “comprehensive” background checks that appear to go beyond a NRA-endorsed bill that would incentive agencies to comply with the existing background check laws.
Speaking Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the premier annual event for grass-roots conservatives, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre dismissed calls for new legislation, saying they come from people who “fantasize about more laws stopping what other laws fail to stop.”
Still, the rich asshole and the NRA are on the same page on at least one new proposal.
The president is advocating for school officials who have been trained in firearms safety to be armed to protect against potential shooters.
Gun control advocates oppose measures that would put more guns on school grounds. But conservatives say schools are “soft targets” that are attractive to shooters because they know they are gun-free zones.
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