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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Imca (Veteran)
Demongodofchaos2 Face me now, bitch! from In a Cultivation World (Ancient one) Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Face me now, bitch!
#290028: Sep 13th 2019 at 3:34:18 PM

Beto O'Rourkes other name.

Watch Symphogear
ITNW1989 a from Big Meat, USA Since: Nov, 2012 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
a
#290029: Sep 13th 2019 at 3:35:12 PM

It's O'Rourke's birth name. "Beto" is a common Hispanic nickname for Roberto; the right insists on calling him Robert Francis as a way to try and make him seem like he's appropriating Hispanic culture.

Extra bonus points for the death threat tweet: Robert Francis is also the full name of Robert F. Kennedy, so whether or not that was intentional by Cain, well, it's bad optics, which is also why it's even easier to interpret the tweet as a death threat.

Edited by ITNW1989 on Sep 13th 2019 at 3:36:36 AM

Hitokiri in the streets, daishouri in the sheets.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#290030: Sep 13th 2019 at 4:03:17 PM

That's probably why it got deleted.

RainingMetal (Handed A Sword) Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#290031: Sep 13th 2019 at 5:13:57 PM

Just more proof that civilian guns are in the wrong hands.

ASAB: All Sponsors Are Bad.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#290032: Sep 13th 2019 at 5:34:59 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/09/13/day-967/

    Day 967: Moral compass. 
1/ A federal appeals court revived a previously-dismissed lawsuit that accused Trump of violating the Constitution's emoluments clause. The lawsuit claimed that Trump's "vast, complicated and secret" business arrangements violate the Emoluments Clause, which bars presidents from accepting gifts from foreign governments without the permission of Congress. The case was originally dismissed by a lower-level federal judge in December 2017. Earlier this year, Trump won a separate emoluments suit by the Democratic attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia when the case was dismissed by another federal appeals court's. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / Politico / CNN / Axios)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/13/politics/donald-trump-ethics-lawsuit/index.html

📌 Day 902: A federal appeals court dismissed an emoluments lawsuit against Trump. The judges rejected the premise of the case that the Trump International Hotel – blocks from the White House – had violated the domestic and foreign emoluments clauses of the Constitution by accepting money from state and foreign governments at Trump's hotel in downtown Washington. While Trump stepped back from day-to-day management of the businesses, he still maintains ownership. "Even if government officials were patronizing the hotel to curry the president's favor," the court said, "there is no reason to conclude that they would cease doing so were the president enjoined from receiving income from the hotel. After all, the hotel would still be publicly associated with the president, would still bear his name, and would still financially benefit members of his family." All three judges on the panel were appointed by Republican presidents. (NPR / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / CNBC)

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/10/740258653/appeals-court-dismisses-emoluments-lawsuit-against-trump

📌 Day 144: In a separate case, the Justice Department argued that Trump can accept payments from foreign governments while he is in office. Advocates from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington brought the suit against Trump in January, asserting that because Trump-owned buildings take in rent, room rentals and other payments from foreign governments he breached the emoluments clause. (Washington Post / Politico / The Hill)

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/09/trump-foreign-payments-emoluments-feds-239380

2/ Trump plans to pay for his border wall using funds from more than four dozen Air Force construction projects poses a variety national security risks, according to a report composed by the Air Force. Some of the affected Air Force projects include money for a project to build facilities to store more than $1 billion in munitions at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, replacing a boiler at a base in Alaska, "whose failure is 'imminent'" and could result in the evacuation of the base, a new entry-control point at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to protect troops, and construction in support of the European Defense Initiative, a program to boost U.S. military presence and discourage Russian aggression. (NBC News / Axios)

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/trump-s-plan-pay-border-wall-air-force-funds-risks-n1054091

📌 Day 959: The Pentagon will divert funding from military construction projects in 23 states, three territories, and 19 countries to pay for Trump's border wall. Among the projects being defunded to pay for Trump's border wall, include nine schools for military children on bases in the U.S. and abroad, a daycare center at Joint Base Andrews, Hurricane Maria recovery projects at military installations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, construction projects in Europe designed to help allies deter Russia. In total, $3.6 billion will be taken from 127 projects to fund 11 border barrier projects in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. (New York Times / Washington Post / Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-pentagon-idUSKCN1VP2VY

📌 Day 957: The Trump administration will divert $3.6 billion this week from 127 military construction projects to build to build 175 miles of Trump's border wall. Trump declared a national emergency in February to draw funding from federal accounts to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said about half of the funding will come from military construction projects outside the United States and half will come from projects within the country. (Politico / Washington Post)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/03/trump-administration-prepares-to-raid-military-projects-for-border-wall-1479981

3/ The Air Force sent crews to Trump's Turnberry resort in Scotland on 40 different occasions since 2015. That number is much higher than previously known, and it represents the preliminary results of an Air Force review launched last week after news reports about the Air Force sending crews to Trump's properties. The preliminary tally does not indicate how many of the stays at Trump properties occurred since Trump became president, but the Air Force significantly increased the number of stops in Scotland under Trump after signing a deal with the Prestwick Airport at the end of the Obama administration. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/air-force-trump-scottish-resort-1493624

4/ Trump is not planning to name Mike Pompeo as national security adviser while also keeping him as Secretary of State. Trump confirmed that he spoke to Pompeo about the idea, but said that Pompeo "likes the idea of having somebody in there with him, and I do, too." Trump said he has 15 other candidates in mind to replace John Bolton, who Trump fired as national security adviser earlier this week. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/trump-wont-name-pompeo-national-security-adviser-1493611

5/ The U.S. is preparing to send 150 troops to patrol northeastern Syria. Trump announced a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria last December, but the new troop deployment is part of an expanding series of military and diplomatic steps the U.S. has taken in recent weeks to defuse tensions with Turkey, which opposes U.S. support for the Syrian Kurdish fighters. The U.S. currently has around 1,000 troops in Syria. (New York Times / The Hill)

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/461228-us-could-deploy-150-troops-to-syria-report

6/ Ivanka Trump told a crowd of high-end donors that she got her moral compass from her father after being asked to name the personality traits she inherited from her parents. Ivanka said that Melania gave her an example of how to be a powerful, successful woman. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/13/ivanka-trump-donors-1488704

7/ Trump complained that energy efficient light bulbs make him "always look orange." Trump also complained that energy-efficient light bulbs are "many times more expensive than that old incandescent bulb." (CNN / Mediaite)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/13/politics/trump-orange-light-bulbs/index.html

📌 Day 958: The Trump administration relaxed requirements for energy efficient light bulbs that Congress passed in 2007. The Energy Department's filing in the Federal Register will now prevent new efficiency standards for inefficient incandescent and halogen bulbs from going into effect on Jan. 1st. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/climate/trump-light-bulb-rollback.html

poll/ 38% of Americans say climate change is a "crisis" – up from 23% five years ago. Another 38% say climate change is a "major problem." (Washington Post)

https://beta.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/americans-increasingly-see-climate-change-as-a-crisis-poll-shows/2019/09/12/74234db0-cd2a-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html

    Dept. of Dem Debates: 
Trump gave a bizarre speech during the Democratic debate. Trump talked about fake tax cuts while Democrats debated how to pay for their ambitious policies. (Vox / Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/trump-democratic-debate-1493699

Andrew Yang announced a $120,000 giveaway during last night's Democratic primary debate. Yang said his campaign plans to randomly select 10 families and give them a total of $120,000 over the next year as part of a pilot program for his universal basic income plan. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/andrew-yang-120000-giveaway-for-ubi-pilot-program-1493622

Biden incorrectly claimed that the Obama administration didn't separate families at the border. The Obama administration did not separate families as a matter of policy, as the Trump administration did as part of its "zero tolerance" border policy in 2018, but separations occurred on a case-by-case basis for parents being prosecuted on more serious charges than illegally crossing the border or in cases when an adult was suspected of not being a child’s parent. (CNN / The Hill)

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/democratic-debate-september-2019/h_ca819e341152d783479eb2dc6240c08c

Biden tried to clarify his record on Iraq War during Democratic debate. Biden is still struggling to explain his vote for the war and when his feelings about intervention evolved. (NPR)

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/12/760043103/biden-tries-to-clarify-his-record-on-iraq-war-during-democratic-debate

Beto O'Rourke: "Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47." O'Rourke said that as president, he would prioritize mandatory buybacks of assault-style weapons. (NPR / CNN)

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/12/760386808/orourke-promises-to-take-your-ar-15-but-americans-are-split-on-buybacks

Fact-checking Democratic candidates on the issues at the ABC News debate in Houston. (ABC News)

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fact-checking-democratic-candidates-issues-abc-news-debate/story?id=65417684

Bernie Sanders said his administration will "cancel all student debt in this country." Sanders also pledged that under his administration every teacher in America will make at least $60,000 a year. (ABC7)

https://abc7news.com/politics/sanders-we-are-going-to-cancel-all-student-debt-in-this-country/5536358/

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#290033: Sep 13th 2019 at 5:59:38 PM

Just more proof that civilian guns are in the wrong hands.

I'm not sure who the right hands are these days.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
RainingMetal (Handed A Sword) Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#290034: Sep 13th 2019 at 6:03:12 PM

Certainly not the conservative hands. Which gives me a bit of an ironic feeling that the Liberals should be trusted with the Second Amendment, as they're far less likely to abuse it. Lack of NRA lobbying and a higher average composure would be citations.

ASAB: All Sponsors Are Bad.
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#290035: Sep 13th 2019 at 6:05:46 PM

Far as I'm concerned, any gun with a civilian is a gun in the wrong hands.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#290036: Sep 13th 2019 at 6:32:31 PM

As opposed to cops?

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#290037: Sep 13th 2019 at 6:34:13 PM

[up][up] I wouldn’t go that far. Most gun owners are perfectly responsible. I mean, it’s not even like the US is the only country where civilians own guns or something either.

They should have sent a poet.
TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#290038: Sep 13th 2019 at 6:59:38 PM

[up]x4 And that statement is exactly why Gun Control debates get absolutely nowhere. Even if that was meant to be a sarcastic quip.

An irresponsible idiot with a gun is an irresponsible idiot with a gun, first, last and nothing second. Assigning partisan optics to it is beyond stupid.

> inb4 Most nutters are far-Right

It would be the same no matter what they profess to believe. A life taken in the end is still a life ended. What ideology it was taken in the name of is completely irrelevant.

Edited by TechPriest90 on Sep 13th 2019 at 10:00:27 AM

I hold the secrets of the machine.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#290039: Sep 13th 2019 at 7:14:08 PM

It would be the same no matter what they profess to believe.

Hypotheticals don't change reality, the reality here being what you just admitted: that most mass shootings are enacted by far-right extremists.

So no, the ideology isn't completely irrelevant.

Frankly, one of the real reasons why gun control debates never go anywhere is that you can never talk about the type of people doing these shootings without somebody seemingly taking personal offense somehow.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Sep 13th 2019 at 10:16:09 AM

i'm tired, my friend
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#290040: Sep 13th 2019 at 7:22:37 PM

[up] So what’s the plan here then? Pass a law saying registered Republicans aren’t allowed to buy guns?

There’s not really any way to turn the point you’re making into effective legislation. Obviously we should be doing our best to combat extremism in the US, but that is sort of tangential to the topic of gun control.

Edited by archonspeaks on Sep 13th 2019 at 7:23:26 AM

They should have sent a poet.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#290041: Sep 13th 2019 at 7:36:29 PM

[up]I'm not proposing any plan, just saying that claiming ideology has absolutely nothing to do with the topic when most mass shooters have espoused far-right views is objectively untrue.

i'm tired, my friend
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#290042: Sep 13th 2019 at 7:38:40 PM

[up] Which is fair, but it’s not like we’re talking about ideology in a vacuum here. People seemed to be suggesting that conservatives shouldn’t be allowed to have guns, and I think it’s fair to point out that kind of talk isn’t really conducive to progress on gun control.

They should have sent a poet.
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#290043: Sep 13th 2019 at 8:54:47 PM

@Charles: Well, I'm not fond of the police as an institution, I think it is a Necessary Evil at best, but in theory any given cop has full training and psychological conditioning to be able to remain levelheaded in times of stress and only fire his gun when it is absolutely necessary.

Emphasis on "theory", here.

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#290044: Sep 13th 2019 at 9:07:23 PM

"An irresponsible idiot with a gun is an irresponsible idiot with a gun, first, last and nothing second. Assigning partisan optics to it is beyond stupid."

A gun crime can be committed by a registered, background-checked previously law abiding citizen, who handles his or her gun responsibly. It's not a question of responsibility, it's a question of malicious intent, and that's fucking everywhere in America. The people committing these crimes aren't blundering into gunning down dozens of people — they're ticking time bombs, people who escape notice because they dot every I and cross every T, and still somehow they end up shooting up a school, because they had a really bad week and the gun was available.

So when Charles asks whose are the right hands, the only logical answer is "no one's."

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#290045: Sep 13th 2019 at 9:13:57 PM

[up] I wouldn’t exactly call total disarmament a realistic policy goal though.

They should have sent a poet.
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#290046: Sep 13th 2019 at 9:14:34 PM

Without touching the landmine that is calling literally every gun owner a "ticking timebomb" I don't see how much practical benefit saying "no one" has when it's very obvious that's never going to be a thing that's possible to do.

Imca (Veteran)
#290047: Sep 13th 2019 at 9:18:01 PM

Besides damaging actual approaches to gun control more? None.

nombretomado (Season 1) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#290048: Sep 13th 2019 at 9:21:35 PM

Feels like we're tilting away from gun control as a topic in current political going-ons, and more like we're talking about gun control policy in general. We have a thread for that.

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#290049: Sep 13th 2019 at 9:23:20 PM

Actual approaches to gun control are flat out impossible when background checks represent the furthest from the status quo that any sitting politician is willing to venture. While gun ownership is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution, massacres are as American as apple pie.

Bringing it back to the topic, I sympathize with Beto's righteous fury over gun violence, but he's a fool if he thinks what amounts to compromise solutions to gun control can be achieved as the culmination of his policy aims while gun ownership is so deeply ingrained and normalized in our culture.

Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Sep 13th 2019 at 12:28:56 PM

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#290050: Sep 13th 2019 at 9:44:06 PM

Here's the relevant statistics on gun ownership in the USA as per Gallup:

What Percentage of Americans Own Guns?

About 30% of adults personally own guns, while 43% live in a gun household (meaning someone in their family is a gun owner).

Disgusted, but not surprised

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