The Assault Weapons Ban Worked. Dubya And The Rethugs Did Away With It. Lawrence O’Donnell:
The blood of the Uvalde students is on their hands. Where the fuck was that ‘well-regulated militia’?
Afroman Victim Of Police Home Invasion. Cops End Up In Music Vid. Cops Sue For ‘Emotional Distress’. I can’t make this stuff up:
The law enforcement officials who raided the Ohio home of Afroman during a raid last year are suing the rapper after he used footage from the police search in music videos and on social media. A copy of the complaint, obtained by VICE News, claims that the seven Adams County Sheriff’s officers suffered “emotional distress” from Afroman’s use of the footage.
Guess this doesn’t qualify as causing emotional distress:
“I’m 50 years old, almost. I’ve never had the police kick in my door,” Afroman told VICE last month. “I’ve had them walk up on me and say, ‘OK, I smell weed, I’m gonna have to write you up for this,’ and blah, blah, blah. I’ve had that all day. But I’ve never had the police come running in with AR-15s or whatever assault rifles, traumatizing my children, kicking in doors, and vandalizing my property.”
Video shot by his wife, as well as footage from home surveillance cameras, showed officers searching the rapper’s clothes and CD collections, and breaking down his door. Afroman also accused the officers of seizing $5,000 only to return $400. The footage was eventually used in music videos for “Lemon Pound Cake” and “Will You Help Me Repair My Door.”
Pro-tip to the distressed cops: Just don’t watch the music videos, and you won’t get your precious feelings hurt. Like this one:
and this one:
Do Vince McMahon and Pro Rasslin’ Explain Trump’s Popularity?:
Donald Trump (left) and Bobby Lashley shave the head of Vince McMahon at Ford Field in Detroit on April 1, 2007. There aren’t any public entertainments that Trump likes as much as wrestling, Abraham Josephine Riesman said. | Carlos Osorio/AP Photo
The analogy might be a bit tortured, but there’s some truth to it:
Michael Kruse: Since the summer of 2015 when Donald Trump came down the escalator to announce he was running for president, plenty of people, of course, have noted this relationship that he’s had with Vince McMahon and his links to professional wrestling — the body slam, the shaved head, WrestleMania 23, the WWE Hall of Fame, etc. But it’s sometimes, I think, seen as this goofy, campy bit of his backstory. Why is it more serious than that?
Josie Riesman: I’m a big believer that our cultural influences, even if they seem frivolous to the untrained eye, have a massive influence on the way our political brains function. And Trump has been watching wrestling, specifically McMahon family wrestling, since he was little. He was watching wrestling in New York, which was controlled by Vince’s grandfather and then father, in the 1950s and ’60s. I think it’s really important to understand that there aren’t any public entertainments that Trump likes as much as wrestling. I really think he, like many people in this country, reveres wrestling. And by 2015, he’s already had a few years there where he had really sort of discovered a new voice for himself, which was basically being a wrestling heel — being able to learn how you can work a crowd into a frenzy by tossing them the red meat of obscene things that you’re not supposed to say but that are true, and then also tossing them complete ridiculousness. When you do that mix of fact and fiction and you scream it, and there’s a crowd that’s very interactive, not only is it a drug for the performer but it’s also a school for them. You really come to understand how to poke an audience in a way that a more subdued public speaking gig can’t teach you.
What do you want to talk about?