Open Thread For June 17, 2017
Rhode Island Teacher of the Year Has Photo Taken With Trump. And what a photo it is. You have to check this out.
The Witch Hunt Is Due to Trump’s Deputy Attorney General. Or so Trump says. He’s gonna try to get Rosenstein fired to get someone in there who will agree to fire Mueller. Trump knows that not only his presidency, but likely his business empire, could crumble if Mueller is allowed to do his job.
Why Amazon Must Be Stopped. The legal argument, which also goes to the inadequacy of our anti-trust statutes. BTW, guess you saw that Amazon is seeking to buy Whole Foods?
Even Trump’s Lawyers Are Lawyering Up.
GOP Governors Seek To Put Brakes on Obamacare Repeal. Well, some of them. The real scummy ones made sure that their constituents never enjoyed access to Obamacare in the first place.
Could This Guy Be President Some Day? I like what I see.
Trump Blows Up Cuba Policy Because He Can. Speaks to the few remaining dead-enders down in Miami.
What do you want to talk about. Anyone at Firefly?
Mistrial declared in Cosby case. Winner: the law.
He may well have done the crime, but there just wasn’t enough evidence. Serious charges require serious evidence. A clear verdict of guilty might have appeal to certain emotions but would have been an affront to the law.
Prosecutors say they will retry the case. But unless they come up with more evidence, mistrial is the appropriate outcome.
Trump, and Rubio, can appease the remaining “dead enders” in Miami for now. In the long run the money to be made will sweep away all other concerns like usual. And you just know Trump wants to build golf courses and perhaps “Mar A Lago South” there. As noted check out the Teacher Of The Year Award photo, it’s a good laugh to say the least.
Whats strike me the most about this lastest mass shooting event is the ferocity of the M4 and its variants. I have been unable to stop thinking about the damage this weapon created in Steve Scalise. He was shot once in the hip. The velocity of the bullet caused it to continue. It shattered his pelvis, he may never walk again. The reports said it damaged organs (at the bottom of his abdomen) as it passed, I’m guessing it aquired an unreported “tumble” widening its passage through the body. It ruptured blood vessels and caused extensive bleeding and loss of blood. I didn’t hear it in reports, but I’m guessing it passed completely out of the body. Once out, the bullet was free to enter and destroy the next person, had there been one. Is this really the self defense weapon of choice for the home? I detest the conversations we have about guns in our country. We seem to be courting disaster using the very means we say we are using to prevent disaster. Guns are dangerous. Not everyone realizes that anymore. They are thought of as “acccesories” or “toys” or “manly man objects”. It is nightmarish at least. Let’s wake up and do what the constitution says we may do: “well-regulate”.
Steve Scalise the man may be as good as his friends say. He may be a completely decent man. Worthy of praise. BUT then there is how he is doing his job. Really, does a good man propose removing health care from 24 million FELLOW citizens? Should not behavior of this kind by considered “callous” disregard by the rest of us? In light of what he is doing as he does his job, should he be considered a “good” man? Is it realistic to separate the ball-player from the legislator? Can we say that how he leads his life is what we all should aspire to? Should we teach our children to be like him? I could go on, but you get my point. I don’t want violence in our country. Turn on your television and you see what violence has done in Eastern Ukraine, Syria, Iraq. It is not what any reasonable person would encourage. Don’t, then, shoot the likes of Steve Scalise, but for God’s sake, vote him out and vote a “good” human being in.
The SKS bullet is larger and the powder charge greater than the M-4 (and most variants).
That DT’s lawyers are lawyering up is some of the best evidence we have that the investigation is expected to go forward. I applaud that.
@meatball: The fact that you know that off the top of your head is a great illustration of what’s wrong with this country. Thank you for that service.
Re: Amazon’s intent to purchase Whole Foods. Amazon’s stock rose more than the stated purchase price.
Dude, I was in the military. But I did actually have to look it up.
A better comparison to SKS would be the M-1 Garand (.30 caliber)that the US military used in WW2 and was the service rifle prior to the commission of the M-14 (same caliber as SKS, .308) that was replaced by the smaller caliber(.223) M-16 in 1964. The modern M-4 service rifle operates exactly the same and uses the exact same ammunition developed in 1964 for the M-16. The only difference is that the rifle is shorter (and therefore lighter) in order to operate in the close quarters of urban warfare as opposed to jungle warfare.
I was going to say, unless you are/were police military.
I read the other day (can’t remember or I’d link) a story by ER docs about injuries caused by different types of bullets. Scalise’s injuries are consistent with the nasty sort that basically blows apart on impact. The piece was written after the ballfield attack, and it left me with the impression that Scalise faces a long road to recovery. The bullet apparently crossed his abdomen and tore up everything in its path, which probably includes the bladder as well as the colon.
I don’t believe in gun control, because it doesn’t work piecemeal. But restricting what kind of bullets civilians could buy seems like it might help reduce the carnage.