In a day that has already seen a diplomatic assassination, it looks like we might have a terrorist attack on our hands. A truck ran into a Christmas market an hour or so ago in a major public square in Berlin. There are reports of several dead, 50 injured. The incident happened in Breitscheidplatz in western Berlin. Because of the similarity between … Read More
Photo Op
Hey! Look! It’s President-Elect Donald Trump! And who is with him? Why, that’s Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. This was yesterday as they were meeting at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster NJ. I wonder what that was all about. Kris Kobach is a central figure in the nativist movement and the architect of Arizona’s notorious “papers please” law. … Read More
Does Korematsu Provide Precedent For A Muslim Registry?
No. No, it doesn’t. Not even a close call. Let’s just all get on the same page. This is happening: Trump surrogates are already citing Japanese internment camps from WW II as “precedent” for Muslim registry pic.twitter.com/DVnjtom0mc — Brendan Karet (@bad_takes) November 17, 2016 And the obvious question is…. would it be constitutional for the government to require citizens to … Read More
The Terrorist Capture — Funny Story, Actually
I know, I know. Very little blogging this past week. I just have a lot going on… what can I say? Hopefully my embedded twitter feed let everyone know I was paying attention to events. The big news today was, of course, the arrest of suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami, the bomber of a Chelsea neighborhood in NYC this past weekend, … Read More
9/11 – 15 Years Later
It is kind of cool to have a blog for this long — I can go back and look at past reflections of past events. I write about my 9/11 experience here. I had left New York by the time 9/11/2001 happened, but, like everyone else in the country, I experienced that day. For me, I came to lump it … Read More
Two Little Bits of Non-Election Good News
What with Gene Wilder’s death bumming everybody out, and the constant harangue of a senseless election, here’s a couple of political things to brighten your day: (1) Governor LePage of Maine is considering resigning Gov. Paul LePage raised the possibility Tuesday that he may not finish his second term, amid mounting pressure from Democrats and members of his own party … Read More
Nice Terror Attack: At Least 84 Killed, Including 10 Children, As Truck Slams Into Bastille Day Crowd
He drove more than a mile through the crowd, swerving at times to make sure he hit people. The videos of the carnage are devastating. The driver, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was shot and killed. The victims include two Americans: Texas residents Sean Copeland, 51, and his son Brodie, 11, who were on vacation with their family in Nice. Here’s what we know about … Read More
More and More, It Looks Like The Dallas Cop Killer Was A Nut
Dallas police now believe that Micah Johnson, who shot and killed 5 Dallas police following a Black Lives Matter march, was actually planning some sort of mass attack, but advanced his plans to take advantage of the BLM march. His house was full of bomb making equipment, far too much to have put together in recent days. He had received … Read More
Tony Blair Lied Britain Into The Iraq War (P.S. Bush Did, Too)
Across the pond, rather than running bullshit investigations like our Benghazi hearings, the parliamentarian body did something useful and tried to discern how they got involved in a huge quagmire. Sir John Chilcot delivered a devastating critique of Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, concluding that Britain chose to join the US invasion before “peaceful … Read More
RNC Deletes LGBT Reference In Its Orlando Statement
In its original statement following the Orlando shootings, the Republican National Committee made an attempt to acknowledge that the attack specifically targeted LGBT Americans—a sad attempt, but an attempt nonetheless. But meh, who really cares about that aspect anyway? So they finally just edited gays out altogether. Rebecca Ruiz reports on the line that was just too dangerous to include: “Violence against any group of … Read More
Trump Comes Right Out And Says It
The Washington Post had a headline which said that Trump was suggesting that Obama was somehow in league with terrorists. Trump was incensed and banned Washington Post from Trump events. Then, this morning, Trump outright suggests that Obama is somehow in league with terrorists. An: Media fell all over themselves criticizing what DonaldTrump “may have insinuated about @POTUS.” But he’s … Read More
Americans Reaction To Orlando Shootings
Here are the major take-aways, as I see it Most Americans see Orlando massacre as an act of terrorism and a hate crime Americans are divided on whether the massacre could have been prevented Most Americans approve of Obama’s response to the massacre Americans are split on Hillary’s response to the massacre Most Americans, including Republicans, disapprove of Trump’s response to the … Read More
Obama Addresses The “Magic Words”
.@realDonaldTrump What is your obsession with magic words? Delete your run for president. https://t.co/uXTaMdL6nN — Ken Ashford (@KenAshford) June 12, 2016 Obama had his own response today….
Was Trump Wrong About Orlando Shooter Motive? (Were We All?)
Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016 Just a second there, stupid politician man. Palm Beach Post: A former classmate of Omar Mateen’s 2006 police academy class said he believed Mateen was gay, saying Mateen once … Read More
Trump’s National Security Speech: Based on Lies
In the wake of the Orlando gay nightclub massacre, Trump seized the opportunity to Muslim-bash in a national security speech, even though (as I will write soon) it looks less and less like the shooting was a bonafide Islamic terrorist attack. Vox summarizes the lies: 1) Trump: There’s no screening for refugees coming to the US We’re not screening people. … Read More