It was just a horrible coincidence, albeit a bloody one.
But only hours after I ran this post with the picture of Donald Trump brandishing an AR 15 rifle.
The same weapon was used to slaughter a large number of high school students in Florida.
A heavily armed young man barged into his former high school about an hour northwest of Miami on Wednesday, opening fire on terrified students and teachers and leaving a death toll of 17 that could rise even higher, the authorities said.
And Trump never looked more hypocritical.
For no President of the United States has done more to promote that deadly weapon.
Or received more ad money from the NRA during the last election campaign.
And as for Rick Scott and little Marco Rubio they too are both in the pockets of the NRA and are just as hypocritical.
Florida Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Rick Scott were swift to condemn the horrific school shooting in their state on Wednesday afternoon, offering prayers after a gunman killed at least 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
But both men have a history of coziness with gun advocates, receiving “A+” ratings and endorsements from the National Rifle Association ahead of their respective elections in 2014 and 2016. The distinction is reserved “for legislators who have excellent voting records on Second Amendment issues and who have vigorously fought to promote and defend the right to keep and bear arms.”
Even though the AR 15 has been used to slaughter the innocent from the children at Sandy Hook, to the LGBT people at the Pulse night club in their own backyard.
And Donald Trump so loves the NRA and that gun, that he has his own custom made model.
With the motto of the state of New Hampshire emblazoned on it:
LIVE FREE OR DIE.
Great eh?
Tell that to the slaughtered children of Parkland Florida.
And to the monstrous maniac with their blood all over himself...
And of course, make America truly free again.
By bringing down Trump in the next election...
Dont change the puppets change the string holders.
ReplyDeleteLots of countries have guns. My beloved Austria loves its guns, Switzerland mandatory every household have a gun. I grew up with and still love guns. The problem in the USA is not guns, its the nuts, its the sick society crying for help.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem is the unhealthy worship of a gun culture in the USA. It is, at least, a two-pronged problem. First there is a worship of guns and the legend of the long gunman (see all those Western films) and the presence of too many guns among populations that are untrained in proper gun use, and too often mentally unstable.
DeleteIn the US, having a gun (handgun?) in the home increases the odds that you will be shot.
Part of the problem are the guns. Removing guns would definitely help. It is hard to carry out a mass murder with an axe.
In the longer term, you are correct, the USA has some serious societal problems that need to be addressed.
lone gunman not long!
DeleteHi Steve...the more guns there in a society the more blood will flow. And remember it's not just people killing others, it's also people killing themselves. I would like every gun lover to spend some time in an emergency room, or go out with an ambulance crew so they can see the what guns can do to people, and the way they can shatter the lives of those who knew and loved the victims...
DeleteThe AR-15 is still legal in Canada. FYI
ReplyDeleteI think guns having over two shot capacity should be illegal. If you cant do it with two shots, your not competent. If you need a hundred shots your not defending yourself or shooting Moose.
DeleteThat’s nice, but your opinion doesn’t matter. That and the government, including this one, doesn’t agree with you.
DeleteI can see it now: A new recipe for Riddled Moose
DeleteHi anon@11:22 AM...yes the AR 15 is still legal in Canada but it is restricted. And when a group of Cons recently started a petition to lift those restrictions, thanks to the Trudeau government it went nowhere....
DeleteActually, it shook the guys at RCMP Specialized Firearms Services to the core.
DeleteAccording to the CBC, this is the 18th school shooting in the USA this year. They are averaging a school shooting every 2.5 days.
ReplyDeleteKeep those prayers coming everybody. Just don't do anything effective like even rudimentary gun control.
Given that the USA is planning a major upgrade to its nuclear arsenal, I wonder if Trump is planning on selling the old weapons on the world stage. /sarc
I really doubt that Trump is much of a gun lover in real life. It's a prop or toy. Remember the fun he had pretending to drive that big truck, wroom, wroom ....?
That does not reduce the damage he does by brandishing a gun or allowing small arms exports.
Given his lifestyle, he may never have even have fired one. He's probably afraid of guns.
The presentation rifle reminds me of the papal bicycle presented to Pope John Paul II when he visited Canada. Beautiful custom-built bicycle and he never even took it home with him. I remember seeing in on display in the Maison du citoyen in Hull.
At his age and with the tendency of people to take pot-shots at him the Pontiff may have decided he would not get a lot of use out of it in Rome.
Hi jrkrideau....Trump was once for gun control, until like everything else it became politically expedient to be against them. I'm sure he probably fired a few guns at the military academy he was sent to, but no doubt didn't want anyone to see him with one lest they might think he was not crippled by a devastating bone spur in his ankle, and sent to Vietnam...
DeleteHow nice of president Donnie Doolittle to send out those tweets though they were lacking the true nature of the problem. Let me add what he should have said.
ReplyDelete"So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally unstable"(but he could still buy a gun).
"even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior"(but he could still buy a gun).
"Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem"(but he could still buy a gun).
As your graph points out Simon, Donnie Doolittle has 11.4 million reasons not to talk about guns and if he behaves, I'm sure it'll increase in the run-up to 2020 so now is definately not the time to talk about guns.
JD
I had to jump through more hoops to take out a student loan to attend university. I had to prove that I could operate a vehicle safely before obtaining my driver's license. You have to undergo hundreds of hours of training before being authorized to handle scissors as a professional hairdresser. The GOP thinks voting and going to the public restroom without proof of proper identification is more "dangerous" than purchasing a domestic WMD. They want women to wait 72 hours before undergoing a medically-sound abortion, and even then with the most onerous restrictions and hurdles to jump through that basically make it all but impossible to obtain one within the legal timeframe. Trump demands "extreme vetting" (read: the paper bag test) for immigrants from every other country but "Normegia" that isn't pure as the driven snow (and even Scandinavia has gotten more diverse as of late trying to balance the refugee load with the rest of the EU).
DeleteYou get carded at the convenience store trying to buy smokes or booze. You have to undergo a credit check before buying a car. You even have to enter your cell phone number before signing up for Gmail or Facebook, and prove other criteria of identity when requesting a password reset. All these things that are far less dangerous and yet you have to go through any number of steps and face potential rejection before being allowed to do it.
But buying a gun? A thing that was designed with the intent to maim or kill another living being? Nah, it's "unconstitutional" to give anyone pause before doing that!
Sometimes I really hate my own country and wish I could become a refugee defector in Antarctica. Unless, of course, the penguins are packing heat at the rates Americans are.
Hi JD....I just finished watching a tape of Trump addressing the NRA, where he called himself the best friend the ever had, at least since Ronald Reagan, who it must be said had some reason lived to regret his enthusiastic endorsement of those crazy gun lovers.And then as you predict, went on to say that he knows he can count on the NRA to not support any other candidate but hi in the next election. So they do deserve each other...
DeleteIt seems that the mass killer was a far-right white supremacist.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/florida-shooting-latest-nikolas-cruz-white-supremacist-republic-parkland-school-a8212851.html A terrorist, even younger than the mosque murder guy in Québec and the other young man who shot many people in a historically Black church in Charleston.
HI lagatta... That story hasn't been confirmed yet,, but what has been confirmed is that he was a racist, wore Make America Great Ahain caps, and did horrible things to animals which is almost always the sign of a budding serial killer. So terrorist definitely and monster as well...
DeleteWhat morality can a Government claim when it neglects the safety of it's children to provide profit to the NRA? Hypocrisy abounds, for shout that abortion kills babies, and then that poor working mothers are neglectful because they work to pay for the children they may not have wanted, and judge the raising and lifestyle of the kids based on your own ideology. When a shooter strikes ignore the deaths of these same children to terrorists, those mentally persuaded through ads and talk radio and social media designed to lead them to believe outlandish lies and that that they have the moral authority to kill others, even children, as a right given them under the 2nd amendment. Feed the fear and ignore where it will inevitably lead.
ReplyDeleteI really wish we could put a NRA office inside the public schools, for it is easy to be tough behind a keyboard or in a secluded safe environment, not so much fun in a less secure place.
Hi Filcher...I can understand where gun love comes from. For when I was a young boy I was always urging my Dad to buy one, but he always refused. Back then I was very annoyed, but now I realize how wise and good he was. As I said above I wish people could see the results of gun violence up close, because it's not a pretty picture. I recognize that they may be necessary if you live in a rural area, but as for guns in our cities I see no reason for them at all...
DeleteCons dwell in an altered state of mind where death by gunshot involving a deranged citizen is an acceptable price to pay in order to protect freedom but its a horrendous crime if perpetrated by a deranged terrorist sympathizer. In a normal world death by gunshot from either source is horrendous and needs to be stopped by removing uncontrolled access to guns not adding more of them.
ReplyDeleteIf the freedom fighter that lives in the altered state of mind ever has to become a reality there are endless suppliers that would be willing to provide advanced killing weapons to help overthrow the oppressive governmental freedom suckers. In the meantime relax, enjoy life, get rid of the guns and find another hobby.
This guy WAS a deranged terrorist sympathiser.
DeleteHi anon...I agree with you, and furthermore I would point to the examples of Britain and Australia, where strict gun control laws have greatly reduced gun violence and made life safer for everyone. It can be done, all it takes is the political will...
DeleteMuch as I don't want to get dragged down in another gun thread, I'm sick and tired of seeing this carnage almost every other day and nothing being done about it because the GOP doesn't want to offend their merchants-of-murder paymasters. (I don't want this cancer to spread to Canada either, but I can already see inklings of it with those rural farmers in Saskatchewan celebrating an unjust victory in the Boushie tragedy practically begging to have "stand-your-ground" laws implemented there.) I am not confident that anything will ever be done, though, because of that entrenched financial interest and the unhealthy gun culture that does encompass not only white supremacy but toxic masculinity. As Upton Sinclair said, "it is very difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it." Or something else he holds near and dear to his sense of "security."
ReplyDeleteInstead of "thoughts and prayers," though, once again it's time to repost this statistic from Politifact. Great job America, you're committing mass murder-suicide at home and all over the world, and the GOP has the damn gall to call themselves "pro-life."
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/aug/27/nicholas-kristof/more-americans-killed-guns-1968-all-wars-says-colu/
BTW: NRA now stands for National Russian Association. It's no accident that they gave the most by far to Comrade Trumpovich. That's Russian "dark money" being laundered through the nation's foremost politically-empowered death cult of Mammon and funneled directly to their Muscovian Candidate. Read Nancy MacLean's Democracy in Chains and Jane Mayer's Dark Money for a disturbing yet spot-on analysis of why and how this is all possible.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/nra-russia-and-trump-money-laundering-poisoning-us-democracy-commentary.html
My sincerest hope is that they too are part of Robert Mueller's investigation, and that he brings the whole damn military-industrial complex that Ike warned us about crashing down and burned to the ground.
Charlton Heston has a lot of blood on his cold, dead hands. About time to pry the guns away once and for all. America has proven that they really aren't responsible enough to have "well-regulated" militias. Not with a party of self-serving nihilists in charge who doesn't want any regulations to benefit the general welfare at all.
Hi Jackie...I'm sorry to say but I don't believe your country will ever escape it's gun nightmare. There are just too many guns, and after every massacre more people buy them to protect themselves. Even in my lovely Maine, when I go out with my Marine cousins I am constantly horrified by the number of heavily armed people I encounter. And let's not talk about New Hampshire with the licence plate Live Free or Die staring at you in the face wherever you go. I can't help feeling that even a fender bender could be fatal. Violence is humankind's curse and unless we can eliminate it or greatly reduce it our future is bleak...
DeleteMany of those who support gun ownership, including AK whatevers, will focus on mental illness. However, mental illness is not the problem and the mentally ill should not become the focus of this. The problem is mentally ill people having access to guns. Trump suggests this should have been reported. Well it was, to the FBI but unless some one does something illegal, there rants on face book, etc. falls under the American first amendment which gives them the right to free speech.
ReplyDeleteAs to dealing with the mentally ill, Americans don't have a great medical system. The local police were well aware of the young man and his family did try to deal with his mental illness. The problem is the young man was able to legally purchase and own a gun.
The NRA and a whole lot of people in the U.S.A. will do nothing regarding the ownership of AKs, etc. and will do nothing about the mentally ill owning guns. Its profit over safety. Never let it be said the American gun lobby let the death of hundreds of children in schools come between them and their profit and never let it be said American politicians let money come between them and saving the lives of children. Profit and power first. Lives of children last. ?Remember those same politicians weren't too fast off the mark to provide health care for children either. In the grand scheme of things American children aren't important in their political and profit structure.
Yes, lets hear it from dtrump once more how he is making American great again: a country where the mentally ill are free to own guns to kill children in schools.
a country which runs out of money regularly because they can't pass a bill to fund it
a country which has a failing infrastructure.
a country which has a lousy health care system for all those but the financial elites.
it doesn't matter how many children are killed by gun men in schools, nothing will change. dtrump, the republicans the nra will all blame the mentally ill and move on.
Hi e.a.f...yes that's a good point. It's all to easy to blame the mentally ill, when the real problem is too many guns and most of the killing is done by those who are not mentally ill. And the real criminals are those who allow this situation to continue even as the slaughter of children continues. ...
DeleteI wonder if we would get a different response if DT's son had been shot?????
ReplyDeleteKathleen you ask a great question. However, it is my opinion dtrump doesn't care about his children enough to put them first and the NRA second. His children and grandchildren all have government funded body guards.
DeleteWhen the child of the wealth is killed in the U.S.A. all that happens is the person is sentenced to death, but no changes to the gun laws. Its always profit over people. You can always have another child, but profit, well once that chance has sailed, its gone.
Hi Kathleen...well of course we would. Trump only cares about things that affect him or his crime family. But his over enthusiastic embrace of the gun lobby, and all those deaths will come back to haunt him...
ReplyDeleteDoubtless, but I don't want to see anyone shot, not even a cat-killing moron like the two older Trump sons. Not even Trump; I'd rather see him doing hard time.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/GordsC0ffeeGirl/status/964784780452810752
ReplyDeletehttps://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/15/florida-school-shooting-viral-trump-tweet/340395002/
Infographic: Mass shooting statistics in the United States
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/mass-shootings-in-america/
Michael's essay: America's self-destructive love affair with guns (Sunday October 08, 2017)
Audio & Transcript
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-october-8-2017-1.4327802/michael-s-essay-america-s-self-destructive-love-affair-with-guns-1.4329052
(Audio) From 2016: Why the U.S. will never fix its gun problem
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/america-guns-and-violence-remembering-beaumont-hamel-the-backfire-effect-1.3637113/why-the-u-s-will-never-fix-its-gun-problem-even-after-sandy-hook-and-orlando-michael-s-essay-1.3638661
(Audio) Why gun control always loses, even after a bloody massacre (Sunday October 01, 2017)
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-october-1-2017-1.4311896/why-gun-control-always-loses-even-after-a-bloody-massacre-1.4329047
Send to your American contacts:
ReplyDeleteHave your representatives in Congress received donations from the NRA?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/nra-donations/
https://www.cagle.com/david-fitzsimmons/2018/02/school-shooting
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chicagonow.com/patriotic-dissenter/files/2017/11/thoughts-and-prayers-nra.jpg
https://www.nonramoney.org/
ReplyDeleteINteresting news article from Amarillo Feb 14, where an armed man took 100-150 hostages in a church. One of the students in the mission led part of the congregation to a safe place, and went to rescue more. He ran into the armed man, and wrestled the gun away, whereupon the police entered and shot our hero.
ReplyDeletehttp://amarillo.com/local-news/news/crime-and-courts/2018-02-14/apd-shoots-faith-city-mission-student-who-d-taken-gun
"One or more officers fired shots at the student, who had wrestled the gun away from the hostage-taker. The student was hit and taken to a local hospital by ambulance."
This destroys "more guns make us safer" argument, as you can not tell the criminals from the heroes, and the more shooters you have in a place, the more likely innocents will be shot by overeager vigilantes, or by police, or identified by witnesses as an accomplice, or create a situation where it becomes muddled and confusing and leads to wild conspiracy theories, such as multiple shooters in Las Vegas.
http://progressive.org/magazine
ReplyDeleteThe Potential Rise of American Tyranny
http://progressive.org/magazine/how-it-could-happen-here-the-potential-rise-of-american-tyra/
TrumpBox
http://progressive.org/dispatches/trumpbox-180216/
Buster the Little Nuke
http://progressive.org/dispatches/buster-the-little-nuke/
http://progressive.org/topics/mark-fiore/
David