DL Open Thread: Sunday, July 30, 2023
How Congress Armed The NRA–And America. Worst offender? John Dingell. Investigative reporting at its best:
Long before the National Rifle Association tightened its grip on Congress, won over the Supreme Court and prescribed more guns as a solution to gun violence — before all that, Representative John D. Dingell Jr. had a plan.
First jotted on a yellow legal pad in 1975, it would transform the N.R.A. from a fusty club of sportsmen into a lobbying juggernaut that would enforce elected officials’ allegiance, derail legislation behind the scenes, redefine the legal landscape and deploy “all available resources at every level to influence the decision making process.”
“An organization with as many members, and as many potential resources, both financial and influential within its ranks, should not have to go 2d or 3d Class in a fight for survival,” Mr. Dingell wrote, advocating a new aggressive strategy. “It should go First Class.”
To understand the ascendancy of gun culture in America, the files of Mr. Dingell, a powerful Michigan Democrat who died in 2019, are a good place to start. That is because he was not just a politician — he simultaneously sat on the N.R.A.’s board of directors, positioning him to influence firearms policy as well as the private lobbying force responsible for shaping it.
And he was not alone. Mr. Dingell was one of at least nine senators and representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, with the same dual role over the last half-century — lawmaker-directors who helped the N.R.A. accumulate and exercise unrivaled power.
Trump’s Legal Fees: What, And Who, Is He Paying For?:
Former president Donald Trump’s political group spent more than $40 million on legal costs in the first half of 2023 to defend Trump, his advisers and others, according to people familiar with the matter, financing legal work that has drawn scrutiny from prosecutors about potential conflicts of interest between Trump and witnesses.
That total is more than any other expense the PAC has incurred during Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and, according to federal filings from earlier this month, more than Trump’s campaign raised in the second quarter of 2023. It will bring the PAC’s post-presidential legal spending to about $56 million, as Trump faces a federal indictment in Florida, state charges in New York, and the prospect of additional criminal indictments in Washington and Fulton County, Ga.
Trump’s advisers say the costs of providing lawyers for dozens of people are necessary and will continue mushrooming as investigations continue, trials are scheduled and the possibility of more charges looms.
While interviewing potential witnesses associated with Trump, prosecutors have raised pointed questions about who is paying for their lawyers and why, people familiar with the questions said. Trump advisers told The Washington Post that the PAC, which raises most of its money from small-dollar contributions by Trump supporters across the country, is footing the legal bills for almost anyone drawn into the investigations who requests help from the former president and his advisers.
To our barrister readers: Is it legal for someone to pay the legal fees for their alleged criminal co-conspirators? Seems like hush money to me.
Cali Rethugs: A Drive-By Smash-Up We Can All Enjoy:
In a move backed by former President Trump’s campaign, the California Republican Party on Saturday changed its rules for allocating delegates in the state’s presidential primary — a shake-up that could discourage other GOP candidates from campaigning here and make the state less competitive in next year’s nominating contest.
Tensions flared as the California GOP’s executive committee approved the plan, with some pro-Trump demonstrators denouncing the move, police getting called and two factions nearly coming to fisticuffs.
Although demonstrators argued that the state party leadership was trying to undermine the former president, the decision by the California GOP’s executive committee reflects a concerted effort by the Trump campaign to mold state party rules across the country to benefit his candidacy.
Protesters wearing red “Make America Great Again” caps and carrying American, Trump and “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flags gathered outside of the committee meeting, chanting Trump’s name and “America first!”
After they tried to enter the meeting and were blocked by security guards, Irvine police officers showed up and tried to cool emotions.
Later, two pro-Trump factions began screaming at each other, with one side accusing the other of being white nationalists and the other responding that their foes supported open borders. They started jostling with one another and nearly came to blows before other protestors stepped between the two groups.
Tastes Great! Less Filling!
Arkansas Law Designed To Prosecute Librarians Put On Hold. Temporarily. Yes, ‘prosecute librarians’. And booksellers. Signed into law by the odious Sarah Hucksterbee Sanders:
Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
13 Reasons To (Maybe) Be Less Pessimistic. True to form, I remain ambivalent. And unconvinced.
What do you want to talk about?
Well I’ll be damned – maybe Trump was right and Dingell really is in hell.
Willing to bet that AI will be used for more evil then for good, also willing to bet the NRA has it’s well funded hooks in many more politicians then just the deceased Dingell. In true cynical fashion I also say there is no amount of carnage, no dozens of murdered children that will make some Americans wake the hell up as worship of the precious gun continues.