Is a demographic solution to American gun mayhem inevitable?

Is a demographic solution to American gun mayhem inevitable?

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Twenty years ago it would have been hard to imagine the our country's present acceptance gay marriage. In 1994, the year in which The American Medical Association first opposed treatments intended to cure homosexuality, if you had predicted that homosexuals would be a protected class and that it would be illegal to fire a person for being gay in 2014, you would have sounded like a crazy person. But times have changed. Old, angry a-holes die off by the day and they are replaced by younger people with, by and large, a more mature and less terror-filled world view. So it is fitting to wonder what might our gun mayhem situation be like 20 years from now.
Once and for all…Is Congressman John Carney Stupid or Cynical?

Once and for all…Is Congressman John Carney Stupid or Cynical?

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It is a question that keep coming around and I used to think that he was simply not very with it. But when I keep hearing that he is being used like a two dollar whore by Peter G. Peterson (and he seems happy about it) I have to assume that he knows about Peterson's half a billion dollars applied to advocating for cuts to social safety net programs - and just doesn't give a fuck.
I’m humbled to have been named one of Fix the Debt’s Fiscal Heroes, but there is much more work to be done. For far too long, both Democrats and Republicans have spent trillions of dollars the nation didn't have. I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make the tough decisions necessary to put the country on better fiscal footing.
christine-odonnell-tea-party

The GOP civil war is over; The Tea Party won & America Lost

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The Republican Party cannot win a national election, but it is unified and dedicated to red-fanged political nihilism. The Democratic Party is too infested with collaborators (Yes I'm talking about you John Carney) and corporate sell outs (Hello Senators Carper & Coons !) to be an effective counterweight to the idiocy. That is the new normal. America had a nice run. It is all over now.
Things Americans don’t know or care about – The Hunter Biden Files

Things Americans don’t know or care about – The Hunter Biden Files

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1) Joe Biden has a son named Hunter. 2) Hunter just got a big payday from a Ukrainian gas company on account of his famous last name. (Not that he needs the dough.) 3) Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. 4) People in other countries, like France and Germany, think it looks bad that Hunter took that job because President Obama is currently contending with some bullshit currently going down between Ukraine and Russia. 5) People in other countries, like France and Germany and every other country in the world except North Korea, pay more attention to world events than we do. 6) Some people in this country who are paid to care about what people in Europe think say that Hunter Biden's new job clashes with the U.S. "narrative" that we are all about international law and human rights - and not about taking everybody's oil and natural gas. 7)There is no number seven.
Tyranical Chipotle Tramples Freedom

Tyranical Chipotle Tramples Freedom

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I was going to write a post parodying wingut reaction to Chipotle's decision to ask its patrons to not menace other patrons by brandishing their firearms. But winguts these days defy parody. Here is the hysterical whine of the "Tea Party Nation" on the topic:
Kiss me I’m English

Kiss me I’m English

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Happy Saint George's Day everyone! Grab a pint glass of your favorite English beer, or fix yourself a nice gin and tonic, and enjoy your pretend Englishness today - preferably with the aid of alcohol. There will be readings from Douglas Adams and a half-assed game of cricket later. Until today, Saint Georges Day hasn't really be celebrated around here and I mean to fix that. We are Americans and holidays are what we do. So let the word go forth - today we are all English.
While a wealthy rapist walks, nobody thinks of the real victims – the AG office lawyers

While a wealthy rapist walks, nobody thinks of the real victims – the AG office lawyers

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The Delaware Bar association and others will tell you - the AG office lawyers are the true victims in the "du pont heir will not fare will in prison" case. They are hamstrung when trying to convict wealthy people because the wealthy people can hire lawyers. (Lawyers from the very best firms that the AG office lawyers may hope to join in a year or so.) They also have to contend with the fact that they have a boss that leaves the trickiest decisions most fraught with huge downsides entirely to them. How can we expect the AG office lawyers to prosecute a case they may lose? Obviously we can't. The AG office lawyers in this case were facing a lose/lose situation. Either they prosecute the rich guy and likely lose because they are utterly outclassed by the defense lawyers and the child rapist goes free, our they cut a ludicrously lenient deal that allows the child rapist to go free. Obviously in that situation, you cut a deal.
“Delaware Judge enshrines unequal outcomes for child rapists based on wealth” continues to be a national story

“Delaware Judge enshrines unequal outcomes for child rapists based on wealth” continues to be a national story

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Of course, this type of unequal justice has been the norm forever. However, the egregiousness of the crime has finally pulled back the curtain. The son of the Vice President of the United States is involved, and a Delaware judge laid it all out in plain language - the rich get special treatment. The botched prosecution by the AG's office and Jurden's resulting sentence wasn't simply bad, it was so bad that it amounts to an attack on the courts. It spits on the idea that poor people can get a fair shake in our legal system. Resignations and firings must ensue. They will not ensue. Nobody will be fired and everyone will go back to pretending that justice is blind in a few months (weeks?...days?). The courts will survive this, but they will be diminished in authority and legitimacy. We will have taken one step closer to the ledge. This is one step away from the ideals expounded on in the Declaration of Independence and one step toward another run of the mill plutocracy. In the end we will be another footnote. A historical curiosity that showed a possible other path to the world for a few brief centuries, then got tired of the rigorous effort required to maintain equality and justice.
Multimillionaire du Pont family heir was spared jail for raping his three-year-old daughter because judge decided he would ‘not fare well’ behind bars

Multimillionaire du Pont family heir was spared jail for raping his three-year-old daughter because judge decided he would ‘not fare well’ behind bars

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The headline above is from the UK's Dail Mail The News Journal's own headline (Judge said du Pont heir 'will not fare well' in prison) also does a good job laying out the brutal facts of the case. The wealthy literally have a different set of rules. They have judges like Jurden and an entire criminal justice system devoted to keeping the screws on the middle and lower classes while ensuring that the well connected 1-per-centers don't need to feel the slightest discomfort regardless of the egregiousness of their crimes.
Are “attracted” voters really worth more than “chased” voters?

Are “attracted” voters really worth more than “chased” voters?

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The thesis at the heart of all my recent posts has been that "attracted" voters are inherently more valuable to a campaign than "chased" voters. I look at recent history and see the lackluster performance of Democrats during midterm elections, and mentally discount a chased voter to some fraction of a voter while I mentally add a premium to attracted voters. So, let's say each voter that the DNC manages to frighten into thinking about voting is worth .95 eventual votes and every teabag that is inspired by the teabag nonsense is worth 1.05 future votes. On election day a vote is a vote, but over the course of a campaign the marginal difference between the chased and the attracted must add up. Right? ...