Government To Blame for Texas Church Shooting That Left 26 Dead, Says Court

Plus: Trump's absurd lawsuits against social media, states take aim at Google app store, and more...

The U.S. government bears responsibility for the mass shooting that took place at a Texas church in 2017, a federal court says. The shooting—one of the deadliest in recent history—left 26 people at the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church dead. A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. Air Force is 60 percent to blame.

The shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, had been in the Air Force before getting court-martialed on suspicion of assaulting his wife and stepson. He pled guilty to aggravated assault against the stepson and assault against his wife, was sentenced to 12 months confinement, and got a bad conduct discharge.

But the Air Force failed to alert the FBI to his domestic violence charge. Had it done so, Kelley would've been put in a federal database that prohibited him from legally purchasing guns. Instead, he went on to legally purchase an AR-556 rifle that he used in the shooting, along with several other firearms.

"Had the Government done its job and properly reported Kelley's information into the background check system—it is more likely than not that Kelley would have been deterred from carrying out the Church shooting," wrote Judge Xavier Rodriguez of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in his opinion.

The judge seems to be making the assumption beloved by advocates for stricter gun laws: that if the shooter were barred from legally purchasing or owning guns, he would have been deterred from committing violence. That's a big if.

"The decision follows a lawsuit brought by the families of the victims against the government," notes CNBC. "Rodriguez also ordered a later trial within 15 days to assess monetary damages owed to survivors and victims' families."

The families also sued the store that sold Kelley the rifle he used in the shooting. The Texas Supreme Court dismissed the suit last month, noting that the store had done nothing wrong since Kelley passed his background check.

---

FREE MINDS

Trump is suing Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The former president filed class-action lawsuits against the social media sites on Wednesday, saying they violated his First Amendment rights. "Defendants' callous disregard of its Users' constitutional rights is no better exemplified than in the matter currently before the Court," the suits state.

As Reason's Robby Soave wrote yesterday, former President Donald Trump's case is "completely absurd and will be laughed out of court." Only the government—not private companies—can violate the First Amendment.

Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are not state actors. It was Trump filling the role of state actor at the time of the social media bans. The First Amendment does not compel private entities to hand the government a megaphone; it constrains the government from requiring private entities to engage, or not engage, in speech. As NetChoice's Steve DelBianco points out, "The First Amendment is designed to protect the media from the President, not the other way around."

---

FREE MARKETS

Google Play Store latest antitrust target. Another week, another dubious anti-tech antitrust case filed by attention-seeking attorneys general. This time, the top prosecutors from 37 states have filed a civil suit against Google. (Here's Google's response.) "The case marks the fourth antitrust lawsuit lodged against the company by U.S. government enforcers in the past year," notes CNBC.

The latest suit focuses on the Google Play store, which lets Android phone users find and download apps. "Google's durable monopoly power in the markets for Android app distribution and in-app purchases is not based on competition on the merits," the states argue. "These monopolies are maintained through artificial technological and contractual conditions that Google imposes on the Android ecosystem."

Last week, a federal court dismissed antitrust complaints brought by states and the Federal Trade Commission against Facebook, ruling that they had failed to actually show that Facebook is a monopoly.

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QUICK HITS

• "Election fraud is the GOP's new fundamentalism," suggests Bonnie Kristian at The Week.

• It's time to retire generational labels, argues sociology professor Philip N. Cohen.

• A newspaper editor in North Carolina was jailed over one of his reporters taking an audio recording at a murder trial. "Judge Stephan Futrell sentenced Gavin Stone, the news editor of the Richmond County Daily Journal, to five days in jail before having the editor hauled off to jail. Stone was released the next day but still faces the possibility of more time in lockup," reports the Associated Press.

• Extremism "is in the eye of the beholder," writes J.D. Tuccille. "And too many campaigners against extremism seem eager to turn their efforts into restrictions not just on what people do with their ideas, but also on the range of ideas they are allowed to voice."

• New research casts doubt on the efficacy of intermittent fasting.

• "The percentage of Americans who evaluate their lives well enough to be considered 'thriving' on Gallup's Live Evaluation Index reached 59.2% in June, the highest in over 13 years of ongoing measurement and exceeding the previous high of 57.3% from September 2017," notes Gallup. "During the initial COVID-19 outbreak and economic shutdown, the thriving percentage plunged nearly 10 percentage points to 46.4% by late April 2020, tying the record low last measured during the Great Recession."

• Is an increase in gun sales driving up violent crime? Stephen Gutowski argues that the opposite is true:

There are several reasons to believe the gun sales spike is not driving the murder increase. In fact, it seems more likely the exact opposite is true. I talked about this is a member exclusive over at @TheReloadSite. I hope @chrislhayes gives it a read. https://t.co/OZPJkGd1mC https://t.co/e1d4lFUOPy

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) July 8, 2021

• Some good criminal justice reform news out of Rhode Island:

HUGE NEWS!!! Today RI governor @GovDanMcKee signed HB5254 into law, creating a legal framework for the operation of safe consumption sites. Anyone who receives city or county council approval in RI can operate. THIS IS A HISTORIC FIRST FOR THE US!!! ????????????https://t.co/yvw8RFo6qv

— Jennifer J. Carroll, not that kind of doctor (@veruka2) July 7, 2021

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The former president filed class-action lawsuits against the social media sites on Wednesday, saying...

...that it would be the classiest action anyone has seen.

[Don't look at me!]

The biggest, the best!

[Earth Skeptic]

Hugest?

[perlhaqr]

Yuge.

[The Encogitationer]

Bigly yuge!

[Martha Hank]

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[Fist of Etiquette]

Google's durable monopoly power in the markets for Android app distribution and in-app purchases is not based on competition on the merits...

The AG's have hopefully coordinated all this on their iPhones' Facetime app.

[Brian]

With 37 states suing Google Play and and 25+ states suing the App Store, I guess some states are claiming they both have a monopoly of App stores.

Things are looking good for the Nokia/Blackberry stores right now…

[Agammamon]

Its weird when 'people simply find our product better' has become 'monopoly'.

Google doesn't have a monopoly on the Android app store - you can get apps from tons of places. But they conveniently offer the stuff in one place.

Next these people will consider grocery stores to be monopolies.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Election fraud is the GOP's new fundamentalism...

Which is, of course, white supremacy incarnate.

[Earth Skeptic]

Hmm, what about the Democrat brand of white supremacy, is in "black people are helpless without elite white oversight?"

#SlavesAreHappierOnThePlantation

[criticaljeff racial theorist]

Seems like " Voter Suppression" is the Democrat's

[Mother's Lament]

In related news, Here's why chemleft and White Mike's messaging on that has changed recently: Democrats Conveniently Revise History by Claiming They Were Never Against Voter ID.

Bosses orders apparently.

[R Mac]

I’m actually impressed. It seems they’re on the initial e-mail list.

[Fist of Etiquette]

It's time to retire generational labels...

OK boomer.

[Jefferson's Ghost]

+++ LOL

[Earth Skeptic]

Otherwise we're gonna need about two dozen separate bathroom categories.

[Rich]

"Rodriguez also ordered a later trial within 15 days to assess monetary damages owed to survivors and victims' families."

Just give 'em $6 trillion and be done with it.

[Spiritus Mundi]

11th amendment for the win.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A newspaper editor in North Carolina was jailed over one of his reporters taking an audio recording at a murder trial.

Judges are snugly in the pocket of Big Steno.

[Rich]

It's time to retire generational labels

Wait.... Is "old fart" considered a generational label?

[Longtobefree]

No.
It is racism/sexism/genderism if directed at anyone other than a straight white male.
It is ageism if directed at a straight white male.

[Stuck in California]

Nah, that's not generational. Every generation reaches old fart status eventually. And some of us sooner than others, too. I've been wishing I had a lawn just so I could yell at kids to get off of it since my 30s.

[The Encogitationer]

No need for a lawn. Just yell "Get off my lawn!" from the window of your concrete jungle apartment and the young whippersnappers will really stay the Hell away!

[The Encogitationer]

It's time to retire generational labels, argues sociology professor Philip N. Cohen.

OK, Boomer.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And too many campaigners against extremism seem eager to turn their efforts into restrictions not just on what people do with their ideas, but also on the range of ideas they are allowed to voice.

Look, the pendulum has swung from the GOP and foreign extremism all the way back to the Democrats and domestic extremism. This is just the cost of doing business with a huge government full of alphabet agencies dying to do the partisans' biddings.

[Don't look at me!]

That’s a dangerous idea.

[Earth Skeptic]

You forget perpetuating the bureaucracy and enlarging the fief.

[Ken Shultz]

"As Reason's Robby Soave wrote yesterday, former President Donald Trump's case is "completely absurd and will be laughed out of court." Only the government—not private companies—can violate the First Amendment."

Does this definition extend the Red Scare?

When Hollywood studios were blacklisting actors, producers, directors, and writers--because they were afraid of what the government would do to them if they didn't--was that an excellent example of private companies exercising their association rights?

Or was that an example of a violation of freedom of conscience and free speech through government intimidation?

P.S. FTC Chair Lina's Khan's case to force the breakup of Facebook--over their toleration for "misinformation" on their platform (among other things)--has not been completely dismissed.

[Ken Shultz]

This is a pretty good idea for a satire piece. Rehabilitate the Red Scare from the perspective of a journalist today--and write it up as a defense of free speech. End with an Edgar Allen Poe type flourish a la his "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether". Reality is driving progressive libertarian journalists insane. Go ahead. Defend the Red Scare from the perspective of free speech without sounding insane. I dare you.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Nobody slays a strawman like you Kenny.

And you should definitely start your own "Babylon Bee"-style satire site, with solid-gold ideas like that. At least submit it to "Readers Digest".

[Ken Shultz]

What strawman?!

It's the same principle.

Were the studios exercising their free speech and association rights by blacklisting writers and others under intimidation by the government? Or was the Red Scare a huge infringement on our freedom of speech, association, and freedom of conscience?

The same thing is happening here. The Reason Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Google, et. al. took action against conservatives ranging from President Trump and Parler to everyday average conservatives online--in the wake of January 6--was not because of the capitol riot. It was because the Democrats took absolute control of the government when the results of the Georgia runoffs were announced in the wee hours of January 6.

The House Democrats released a report in October of 2020 promising to break up Amazon, Facebook, Google, and others on a company by company basis. The purpose of breaking those companies up was to address their tolerance of "misinformation" among other things. Biden publicly proclaimed his non-opposition to the plan, and he appointed the lead author of that plan, Lina Khan, to be the chair of the FTC--which was already suing to break up Facebook. There was already a Justice Department antitrust case against Google.

As of January 6, the Democrats and the U.S. government are the same thing. The Democrats have control of the White House, the House, the Senate, the Justice Department, and the FTC. Why pretend that has no bearing on the behavior of companies that are under threat of a breakup for tolerating "misinformation" on their platforms? If this were happening in Russia or some other country, people like you would see it clearly.

If you don't think government intimidation had anything to do with Amazon deplatforming Parler, Facebook deplatforming Trump, or social media's general unwillingness to tolerate speech that might reflect on Democrats badly--like discussion of Hunter Biden's emails or the origin of Covid-19--then the issue isn't that I created a strawman. The issue is that you're being willfully blind to rank government intimidation of social media. And, yes, it's very much like what we saw during the Red Scare.

Defend the Red Scare in terms of free speech, without sounding crazy. I dare you. And, yes, to people who are knowledgeable, you'll sound just as crazy as you do when you defend government intimidation of social media in terms of free speech.

[Lawrence Paillant]

What strawman?!

Don't worry, none of sarcasmic's sockpuppets know what the term "strawman" actually means.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

He should sue the federal government under 1A if as others here pointed out that it is about the feds "consulting" with tech companies to deplatform him. The tech companies should only be involved for discovery purposes. Now if he sued for them violating a contractual agreement then that would be fair game.

As for Red Scare, the federal government should've be sued under 1A by those brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee, not the studio heads. If I were a studio head, I'd be well within my right to fire any commie bastard (as long as contractual agreements are met), I didn't want to freely associate with.

[Don't look at me!]

^This guy doesn’t get it.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

Change my mind.

[Ken Shultz]

It should be noted that the Red Scare was also happening against the backdrop of antitrust (or vice versa). The feds were looking to break up the studio system, and, ultimately, they forced the studios to divest their theater chains and could no longer be vertically integrated.

"Hughes signaled his willingness to the federal government to enter into a consent decree obliging the breakup of his movie business. Under the agreement, Hughes would split his studio into two entities, RKO Pictures Corporation and RKO Theatres Corporation, and commit to selling off his stake in one or the other by a certain date. Hughes's decision to concede to divorcement terminally undermined the argument by lawyers for the rest of the Big Five that such breakups were unfeasible.

While many today point to the May court ruling, it is actually Hughes's agreement with the federal government—signed November 8, 1948—that was truly the death knell for the Golden Age of Hollywood. Paramount soon capitulated, entering into a similar consent decree the following February. The studio, which had fought against divorcement for so long, became the first of the majors to break up, ahead of schedule, finalizing divestiture on December 31, 1949. By this time, there were 19,000 movie theaters in the United States.[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_system#The_end_of_the_system_and_the_death_of_RKO

In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee subpoenaed 79 individuals in Hollywood to testify against charges that they were injecting communist propaganda into their films. The Hollywood Ten were the first go be blacklisted deplatformed, but hundreds more were forced out under government intimidation, as well. I'll provide another link below.

What's happening to day is more or less the same thing. I suspect the reason some people can't see the parallels is either because they're unfamiliar with the facts or because they've lost their objectivity. I really do believe that some people's hatred of Trump is so far gone, that they'd rather insanely defend government intimidation and First Amendment violations--rather than say anything in defense of Donald Trump. I think we should all make an effort not to be one of those people.

[Ken Shultz]

Here's a list of all the blacklisted people from 1947 - 1950 and then those were blacklisted after 1950. There are hundreds of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_blacklist#The_Hollywood_Ten_and_other_1947_blacklistees

They were deplatformed. If the Red Scare were happening today, they'd be kicked off of social media for their beliefs--just like conservatives are being deplatformed today for their beliefs.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

I agree. That's for why I am against giving the government further/expanded powers to regulate and that the way forward is to reduce their authority over any company. If Twitter, a private company, can be made a public company by any branch of government, then I suspect that will be the death of private property and enterprise in this nation. I see Trumps actions here as short sighted and misplaced, not wrong in the grand scheme of standing up for his right to speech.

Hopefully the next time Republicans gain power throughout the government, they will pass legislation to restrict the regulatory state, big missed opportunity there in Trumps first 2 years. Though the filibuster probably kept that from getting on the table - still would be nice if they at least made the case to the American people and put pressure on moderate Democrats to cross the aisle. Though I'm hoping his judicial nominees pan out in regards to judicial deference to agency regulations.

[Ken Shultz]

The purpose of the antitrust actions against Amazon, Facebook, Google, and others is to force them into a consent decree that will allow the FTC and the Justice Department to oversee their activities forever--much like the consent decrees that broke up the studio system were in place forever and so are the consent decrees in which the tobacco industry gave up their freedom of speech right to advertise in exchange for the settlement of the claims against them.

By the time Republicans take the House and/or the Senate in 2022, these issues will be settled through consent decrees. It will be too late. If the rationale in Trump's suit prevails, we will have a much brighter future for free speech than the one we're heading towards now.

In the meantime, please understand that although free speech, freedom of association, and private property rights are all extremely important issues, they are not the issue here. Defending the studio blacklists of the Red Scare era as a fight for free speech, freedom of association, and private property rights would be ludicrous. It was the result of government intimidation and the threat of the government breaking their companies apart. And it's the same thing now.

[Leo Kovalensky II]

It was the result of government intimidation and the threat of the government breaking their companies apart. And it’s the same thing now.

I don't disagree with this sentiment, but why go after the social media companies and make them the target of your ire? The issue is a government that is so outside of its core functions that it can intimidate private industry in the first place.

If the Republicans would simply carry that message I would be fully on board. Government should have no say in how social media companies conduct their business, either for or against censorship. Full stop.

Instead, Republicans would rather join in the game and want to use government in their own way to go after social media to force them to bend to their will. Trump's lawsuit is no better than the people who would use S230 as a cudgel to force social media not to censor.

[Ken Shultz]

"I don’t disagree with this sentiment, but why go after the social media companies and make them the target of your ire?"

Because they're the ones who are colluding against him and violating his right to speak on social media. If the social media companies are colluding to exercise monopoly like power, as the FTC and the Justice Department contend they are, then they have common carrier obligations that arise as an aspect of that. In short, if someone defrauded you, you should sue the person who defrauded you, and if the social media companies are colluding against you, you should sue the entities that are colluding against you.

If anything were anti-libertarian, surely it would be suing the government to force Facebook, Google, and Twitter to reinstate you. He says they're colluding against him to violate his rights, and if that's the case, then he should be suing Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

Incidentally, when Parler was hauled before a Democrat dominated committee to testify about their activities before and during the Capitol riot, their lawyers put together some documents with all their emails between the FBI and Parler. It turned out that Parler had been instrumental in warning the FBI about the Capitol riot ahead of time. They repeatedly referred all violent threats to the FBI and cooperated with all investigations, and, it turned out, that there was farm more Capitol riot organizing activity on Twitter than there was on Parler.

One of the things that might come from this lawsuit is that it may force Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter to divulge any communications they had with the Democratic Party, Nancy Pelosi, the Justice Department, the FTC, and the Biden administration in regards to whether certain parties should be deplatformed. If they were being told by the same parties that bad things would happen to them if they didn't deplatform this app and that user, that would be strong evidence of collusion.

I'd start with this observation if I were on Trump's legal team: Google is under an antitrust suit saying they should be broken for a number of things. Among them, they're accused of using their app store in a monopolistic way to disadvantage their competitor's apps. Considering that they're under the threat of a break up over using their app store to disadvantage their competitors, I'll kiss a statue of Lenin on the ass. Why would they deplatform a competitor without--at least--asking the Justice Department for an okay first?

I don't go before the city council on construction plans until I've talked to each and every one of them about whether they're okay with the choice of shrubbery in the landscaping and the choice of color in the paint. Do you think Google is dumber than I am when it comes to asking regulators for permission before they do something the regulators are threatening to break them up for doing?

Meanwhile, if Parler was turning their users in to the FBI for surveillance, so was Twitter and the others. It would be interesting to see what kind of emails went back and forth between Twitter and the Justice Department before, during, and after January 6. If there's nothing to found there, I'll be a monkey's uncle.

[Ken Shultz]

"Considering that they’re under the threat of a break up over using their app store to disadvantage their competitors, I’ll kiss a statue of Lenin on the ass [if they weren't communicating with the Justice Department]. Why would they deplatform a competitor without–at least–asking the Justice Department for an okay first?"

----Ken Shultz

Fixed!

The point is that if the Justice Department is suing you for disadvantaging competitors with your app store, you probably wouldn't deplatform an app like Parler without at least getting their okay first. And if it's really the government that's making the decisions about who is and who isn't deplatformed, then we really shouldn't be talking about this in terms of Google's property rights and their app store.

It's the same thing with Trump on Facebook and Twitter. Nancy Pelosi was accusing him of inciting insurrection in public. If other Democratic Party/government entities were doing likewise behind the scenes, then talking about Facebook and Twitter's property rights is absurd. The government is not only threatening to break them up over "misinformation" but also is actually acting to do so through antitrust. Why are we talking about property rights under those circumstances?

A business owner letting a customer keep his change is an example of someone exercising their property rights. A business owner letting a customer keep his change because Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, Lina Khan, and somebody from the Justice Department are all pointing a gun at your face is not an excellent example of someone exercising their property rights. It's a fuckin' robbery.

[Bill Godshall]

Ken wrote:
"so are the consent decrees in which the tobacco industry gave up their freedom of speech right to advertise in exchange for the settlement of the claims against them."

Although 7 large cigarette companies agreed to the so-called Global Tobacco Settlement in 1997, that deal required Congressional approval, which never occurred.

I helped mobilize the coalition in 1997/98 that convinced enough US Senators (led by Judd Gregg of New Hampshire) to reject that legislation, which was introduced by John McCain and approved by his Commerce Committee before dying after a Senate cloture vote.

In response, the 46 AGs negotiated their own deal with the 7 cigarette companies in 1998, which was called the Master Settlement Agreement.

[Ken Shultz]

Suing the studios might not have made sense because if the studios didn't want to make the movie you wrote, what could the government do--force them to make your movie against their will?

Suing the social media platforms probably makes more sense because you aren't counting on the social media platforms to make your content for you. The courts don't need to remedy the situation by forcing the studios to make movies against their will. On social media, you're creating your own content without the assistance of the platform.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

You need the assistance of the platform to distribute the content. They can't force Walmart to distribute a movie that Walmart didn't create any content for, either. If some pro-bestiality group were to write, film and press/burn the DVDs with no illegal content just stating their cause, Walmart would still be well within its rights to say no thanks, take that trash elsewhere.

[Ken Shultz]

You seem to be missing the point that the courts forcing the studios to make movies on a movie by movie basis is practically impossible, but ordering a social media platform to reinstate your account isn't practically impossible.

You seem to be arguing about the theoretical limitations, but that wasn't what I was talking about at all. The reason victims of crashes in drunk driving cases don't sue so the court will go back in time and make it so the crash never happened is because that is physically beyond the court's ability to do.

The courts can't make a studio produce every film you want exactly the way you want it, promote it the way you want it, with the actors you want, the director you want, and edited the way you want. If they did that, they might need to go in and seize control of the studio and oversee the production of every single film made by a victim of the Red Scare. That isn't just impractical. It's practically impossible. And so, there probably wasn't much the court could do about the studios refusing to create your work.

That is not the case with social media. My understanding is that Trump is simply suing to be reinstated. And issuing an order to reinstate his account is not a practically impossible thing to do in the physical world. And he will be able to make his own content if and when he's reinstated. And that is why suing social media makes more sense than suing the studios.

[Leo Kovalensky II]

On social media, you’re creating your own content without the assistance of the platform.

You didn't build that app, those servers, or that brand!

[Ken Shultz]

No. You're just creating the content.

[Leo Kovalensky II]

But denying that the social media companies have built something that constitutes their property (intellectual or physical) which is integral to the process of both content generation and distribution is short-sighted on your part.

what could the government do–force them to make your movie against their will?
You get this part right, but then it falls apart in the next portion where you say it is "probably" ok for force social media companies to let you use their service, seemingly against their will. Forcing the social media companies to avail everyone of their services; app generation, server access, branding, etc is no different than forcing the movie companies to produce movies under their production brand.

[Ken Shultz]

"But denying that the social media companies have built something that constitutes their property (intellectual or physical) which is integral to the process of both content generation and distribution is short-sighted on your part."

I'm not denying that it's their property.

I was pointing out that the reason suing the studios didn't make as much as sense was because communist writers weren't actually producing their own content. Forcing other people to produce content is very different from simply allowing them to create their own. Because Trump (and others) are merely suing to for a remedy that will allow them to make their own content, suing social media platforms makes more sense.

Whatever other tangent you're running off with is your own.

The idea that antitrust law doesn't apply to people who using their own property to collude against market participation--not even when they're doing so under threat of a breakup by the government--is a tough case to make. That's what was happening during the antitrust cases during the Red Scare, and that's what's happening now. The fact that they were using their own property to blacklist people--because of government intimidation--is no excuse in my book.

[Jerryskids]

3. Twitter has increasingly engaged in impermissible censorship resulting from threatened legislative action, a misguided reliance upon Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230, and willful participation in joint activity with federal actors. Defendant Twitter’s status thus rises beyond that of a private company to that of a state actor,and as such, Defendant is constrained by the First Amendment right to free speech in the censorship decisions it makes.

You don't have to read very far into the lawsuit at all to realize that somebody hasn't actually read the lawsuit or is engaged in question-begging when they say that only the government can be guilty of violating the First Amendment.

[Leo Kovalensky II]

and willful participation in joint activity with federal actors.

As SAGN correctly points out above, then Trump should be suing the "federal actors" that are engaging with Twitter.

[Jerryskids]

Trump is suing the federal actors. He's suing the federal actors at Google, Twitter and Facebook.

[Leo Kovalensky II]

If you want to break the link between big government and big industry, suing big industry probably isn't the best solution. Big industry will simply further entrench themselves with big government for more protection, and the racket continues.

[Mike Laursen]

This is kind of obvious, but your argument has a timeline problem: when Facebook suspended Trump’s account, his administration was in charge of the Federal Trade Commission. So, they went against the sitting President at the time, risking retribution from him.

[Mike Laursen]

Another problem with Trump’s case is that Trump himself has launched a social media site. That makes him a competitor of Twitter, especially, since his site largely copies their site.

It’s hard to argue being excluded from social media sites when you have your own social media site.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

So did Parler.

[Mike Laursen]

Question: How much were the film studio executives already sympathetic or not sympathetic toward communism? How much were their arms twisted, and how much were they always on board?

I ask because it has been a common criticism of social media executives that they are liberal leaning. It has not been shown that they needed to be coerced to suspend Trump, and that it wasn’t in line with their sentiments in the first place.

[R Mac]

Poor Dee talking to herself.

[Rich]

Intermittent fasting, which restricts your snacks and meals to a certain timeframe during the day,

is not *real* fasting. It's like calling a lunchtime quickie "intermittent sex".

[Jerryskids]

Or me suggesting that quitting smoking is easy because I quit smoking every single day.

[The Encogitationer]

See my post below for some real fasting.

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

"The percentage of Americans who evaluate their lives well enough to be considered 'thriving' on Gallup's Live Evaluation Index reached 59.2% in June, the highest in over 13 years of ongoing measurement and exceeding the previous high of 57.3% from September 2017," notes Gallup.

From a Koch / Reason libertarian perspective, the contrast between 2017 and 2021 is far more substantial than a mere 1.9 percentage point difference in some obscure metric. Our philosophy is only concerned with the richest people on the planet — especially our benefactor Charles Koch — and under Biden billionaires are doing MUCH better than they were under Drumpf.

#InDefenseOfBillionaires

[Fist of Etiquette]

New research casts doubt on the efficacy of intermittent fasting.

I knew the Church was feeding me a line on Lenten sacrifice.

[Rich]

"OK, I'll give up *hard* candy."

[Longtobefree]

I always give up broccoli.

[ElvisIsReal]

YOU SUCK

[The Encogitationer]

So just give up religion for the next Lent.

[The Encogitationer]

Actually, we all intermittently fast...between meals and snacks and during sleep...unless you're on an IV of glucose, of course. In these small doses, intermittent fasting seems to have gotten the human species this far.

For more than 30 day intervals, however, intermittent fasting only seems to be efficacious at fulfilling Irish Potato Famines, Holocausts, Holodolmars, 5-year plans, and Great Leaps Forward.

[Fist of Etiquette]

During the initial COVID-19 outbreak and economic shutdown, the thriving percentage plunged nearly 10 percentage points to 46.4% by late April 2020...

This is why they should only poll the pajama class.

[Kungpowderfinger]

“AR-556” huh?

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Not a mistake - It's a Ruger model number.

[Kungpowderfinger]

My bad

[Unicorn Abattoir]

In all fairness, I had to look it up to check.

[Rich]

Is an increase in gun sales driving up violent crime?

Is an increase in house sales driving up arson?

[Wearenotperfect]

Is an increase in house sales driving up arson?
No, it's driving up domestic violence.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Is an increase in gun sales driving up violent crime?

We don't need to study this any further. The hypothesis is automatically true.

[Fat Mike's Drug Habit]

Well shit then, better go buy some guns to protect myself against all these new violent criminals. Thanks for the heads up!

[R Mac]

I’m spending a fortune just replacing all the guns I keep losing in boating accidents.

[Fat Mike's Drug Habit]

It's never safe to take your guns out for a nice day on the lake while a Democrat is in charge.

[KillAllRednecks]

Call me crazy, but people being out of work and not allowed to live normal lives might have more to do with crime than gun sales.

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

Yikes! Your takes are usually so insightful, but this is a rare misfire.

I learned in college that violent crime — especially in Democrat-controlled cities — is always the fault of Republican policies. The most obvious offender is insufficiently tough gun safety laws.

[Don't look at me!]

The most obvious offender is insufficiently tough gun safety laws in neighboring states.

FTFY

[KillAllRednecks]

Yeah Americans for Prosperity is a bunch of commies.

Your satire would be funny if it was accurate.

You’re just another lying fascist.

The Koch’s(the non dead one) didn’t support Trump in 2020. Only in a warped fascists mind could that make them “liberaltarians.”

Look up who’ve they’ve funded over the years. It ain’t progressives.

Fuck off.

[Sevo]

asshole gets flagged

[KillAllRednecks]

Rummy gets more senile.

[Lawrence Paillant]

As a self-confessed homeless alcoholic and drug addict, don't you feel just a little uncomfortable calling anyone else "rummy", sarcasmic?

[Sevo]

asshole gets flagged up and down the thread.

[KillAllRednecks]

Do you need a meeting?

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

"Look up who’ve they’ve funded over the years. It ain’t progressives."

I've only been old enough to follow politics for less than a decade; in fact 2016 was the first time I voted. I've also acknowledged that the Democratic Party's emergence as the objectively more pro-billionaire party is a recent phenomenon, driven by its increased focus on identity-based issues (race, gender, sexuality).

So maybe Mr. Koch supported Reagan's reelection in 1984. Heck, he might even have supported Bush's in 2004. What matters right now is that billionaires are better off with Democrats in power than with this new "populist" (meaning alt-right white nationalist) GOP.

#LibertariansForBiden

[KillAllRednecks]

“ Koch Industries also gave to at least six lawmakers who refused to certify, even though, after the election, a Koch executive said the company would “continue to evaluate, among other criteria, the civility of candidates in deciding whom to support.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2021/04/16/toyota-koch-industries-among-companies-donating-to-legislators-who-voted-against-certifying-election-results/

[KillAllRednecks]

ML saying Forbes is run by progressives in 3, 2, 1…

[Lawrence Paillant]

Bertie and Malcolm Forbes were deeply progressive, as were most Republicans from the turn of the 20th century up until the New Deal. Steve Forbes is just a run of the mill chamber of commerce '80s Republican.

[Lawrence Paillant]

Well that's just dastardly! How could they support those crazies who refused to vote to certify the rightful election of Trump in 2016? Oh shit, nevermind, those were the guys.

[Lawrence Paillant]

Awwww sarcasmic is angy. Drunk off your welfare-addicted ass in your section 8 apartment at 8:30 in the morning as usual. At least you lost custody of your kids so you can't rape your daughter anymore.

[KillAllRednecks]

You got me! I’m not a Mormon hater living in the PNW.

I’m a drunk sarc sock living wherever he lives(California?).

[Lawrence Paillant]

Well I can't take all the credit, sarcasmic. You're the one who outed this sockpuppet at least a dozen times while you drunk-posting. As many handles as you run you'd think you'd eventually get a little better at socking, but being a self-confessed homeless drug addict and alcoholic you're clearly not very good at learning from your experiences.

[Ron]

all crime is up wether with a gun or not so that kind of defeats the correlation unless people owning a gun causes others to be criminals?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Today RI governor @GovDanMcKee signed HB5254 into law, creating a legal framework for the operation of safe consumption sites.

So now we're going to let people freely pass tuberculosis back and forth? NIMBY!

[Not Robbers=Nut Rubbers]

Well, at least I know where to go when I want to find excrement on the sidewalks of Rhode Island.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The U.S. government bears responsibility for the mass shooting that took place at a Texas church in 2017, a federal court says.

Armed self defense restrictions. I agree.

[Eeyore]

Government to blame for shooting? Sure they might have fked up, but it is still the shooters fault. This headline might as well say, "Government failed to gun control hard enough."

[Don't look at me!]

Turns out government is incapable of gun control.

[Leo Kovalensky II]

Government is incapable of controlling much of anything; drug use, prostitution, immigration, guns...

When will we finally learn that the "cure" is worse than the "disease" in most cases? Government control of anything only drives that behavior underground and creates monopolies in markets that criminals operate in (by definition). Anytime someone says that the government should control anything, the first question should be is the thing in and of itself worse than the prospect of criminals (gangsters) running those markets. Prohibition of alcohol is a shining example.

[Earth Skeptic]

We have to accept that a large number of Americans have ceded their autonomy to whatever they perceive as their government. They now expect if not demand that officials take care of them and tell them what to do, and they get VERY upset if things turn out badly. Like most addicts, they also get upset if anyone challenges their dependency.

So “government failed to gun control hard enough” is exactly how they interpret this tragedy.

[Jerryskids]

I am assuming that's what the judge in this case was going for. If neither the legislature nor the president is going to enforce strict gun control laws, it's up to the judiciary to demand it be done.

[R Mac]

I’m kinda torn with this one. I’m against gun control, but if the government can go after citizens for not following existing laws, then why can’t citizens go after the government for violating gun laws? The Air Force violated a law. As the judge noted, the gun store isn’t the one that fucked up, but if the Air Force HAD listed him, but the gun store didn’t run a background check, the gun store would be held liable. Saying he could have gotten the gun illegally anyway wouldn’t have saved them.

[Leo Kovalensky II]

I agree with this sentiment in general. Even if laws are bad, government should have some accountability for not enforcing them if citizens can prove government negligence led to a violation of their civil rights.

The problem is in what happens next. John Q Taxpayer is on the hook for government's negligence and the individual negligent parties within the government go unpunished. See almost every civil case against police officers as an example.

[Sarah Palin's Buttplug 2]

Right-Wing Extremism Has Been Taking Root In Rural Kansas For Decades

GARDEN CITY, Kansas — Patrick Stein was bitter. Battles with drugs and the failure of his business in the 2008 recession had derailed his life.

He fumed at the federal government for not doing more to help people like him while immigrants flooded in around him in Garden City.

He went to Washington, D.C., seeking a bailout like the banks and auto companies were getting but left humiliated when members of Congress from Kansas ignored him.

“I saw how disgustingly corrupt, how wasteful our system is,” Stein told New York Times reporter Jessica Pressler.

His story of frustration and anger — at Washington, at big business, at a perceived threat to white culture — echoes long-festering grievances in the rural Midwest that fueled sometimes-violent actions against the government. Episodes that make the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol less a surprise and more of an evolution of far-right dissent.

After his business failed, Stein moved into a trailer on his parent’s property where he spent a lot of time on right-wing news sites growing angrier.

https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-07-02/right-wing-extremism-has-been-taking-root-in-rural-kansas-for-decades

Could be any one of you Peanuts.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Now do BLM and Antifa.

[Sarah Palin's Buttplug 2]

Rioters with looters and arsonists pissed off because the police is indiscriminately killing them.

[Lawrence Paillant]

It's definitely hard being a black man in America. You're just peacefully minding your own business strong-arm robbing a convenience store while stoned off your ass and some cracka ass pig comes along and shoots you while you're trying to wrestle his gun out of the holster.

[Sarah Palin's Buttplug 2]

So you're stupid enough to believe the best way to deal with the growing disproportionate black male crime problem is to kill a few of them using excess force like Derek Chauvin did.

[R Mac]

What happened to Chauvin again?

[Sarah Palin's Buttplug 2]

Whoosh. Right over your head again.

BLM was rioting almost a year before Chauvin's conviction.

[R Mac]

You brought him up pedo.

[Lawrence Paillant]

BLM rightly started rioting, looting, and burning down cities 7 years ago in reaction to Michael Brown being murdered by a white supremacist thug for doing nothing more than walking down the street while black.

[Cronut]

That's definitely the best way to deal with the growing disproportionate black male crime problem.

[Lawrence Paillant]

What are you talking about? I'm on your side! What right did those slimebag pigs have to come and harass an honest black man just trying to mind his own business and buy a banana at the convenience store? These white supremacist fascists think accidentally using fake money to pay for your bananas is some kind of a crime! Society will not progress one bit until we pass the kind of serious criminal justice reforms that California and New York have. No black man in this country should have to fear for his life just because he walks out of a store with $900 worth of merchandise and accidentally forgets to pay for it. It's not like the fascist pigs ever hassle white people for that!

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Antifa is mostly white, and openly calling for the destruction of the republic.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

LOL, like clockwork:

Wuthnow, a Princeton sociology professor, traveled across rural America for years interviewing people for the book. He argues that the antipathy that many rural people feel toward the federal government stems from the belief that Washington is both ignoring them and driving cultural changes that threaten their values.

“To be honest, a lot of it is just scapegoating,” Wuthnow said in a 2018 Vox interview.

“That’s why you see more xenophobia and racism in these communities,” he said. “There’s a sense that things are going badly, and the impulse is to blame others.”

"This isn't a problem. If it's a problem, it's not that bad. If it's bad, there are worse problems we need to focus on."

Just more deflection and cluelessness by an urbanite who doesn't actually understand rural culture and socio-economic dynamics.

[Fat Mike's Drug Habit]

Maybe if they just keep telling those ignorant hicks how wrong they are about everything they'll switch teams.

[KillAllRednecks]

Who’s fat Mike and what drugs does he have?

[Lawrence Paillant]

You listen to Ministry and still think Jon Stewart and Mean Girls are culturally relevant and you've never heard of NOFX, sarcasmic?

[KillAllRednecks]

I’ve heard them and they’re ok.

Don’t like much punk.

Unless Eistu Greevance reads this then I love bland punk like the Sex Pistols and South Park cuz he’s my buddy!

[EISTAU Gree-Vance]

Hi KARen!

South Park is “bland punk”? Haha. What a doosh.

The ramones are bland punk.

[KillAllRednecks]

I could of phrased that better! Thanks for the constructive criticism pal!

I agree! The Ramones are bland. I like the Sex Pistols better than them, but they’re still bland.

[KillAllRednecks]

I like the New York Dolls and Johnny Thunders. Are they bland in your expert opinion?

[KillAllRednecks]

Also what the fuck is Ministry and I’ve never seen Mean Girls.

Stewart is a hell of a lot funnier than Trevor Noah

[perlhaqr]

Ah yes, the vaunted "Kirkland Strategy".

[Cronut]

Related:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna1352?__twitter_impression=true

So now any parent opposed to racialized curriculum, who runs for local office, is a QAnon follower. These fuckers are so desperate and terrified that the proles are getting out of line.

The scapegoating quote is hilarious. The progs have been scapegoating white, middle and working class people for all of America's ills for decades. If they're not blaming middle and working class people for everything wrong with America, they're shitting on them and calling them names. In the rare moments when they're not doing that, they're completely ignoring them while expecting them to do all the heavy lifting required to keep society moving forward.

They are exectly the reason why people like the guy in Kansas or the guy in the school board article are so angry and fed up, and are taking things into their own hands.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

The progs have been scapegoating white, middle and working class people for all of America’s ills for decades.

What DiAngelo and Kendi are spouting today isn't any different in substance from what Marcuse and other cultural Marxists were promoting in universities in the 50s and 60s, or what SDS and Weather Underground wrote in their missives about "honky America."

[Cronut]

For a long time, most middle class Americans were willing to go along to get along as long as the cultural Marxists and Weather Underground types stayed on the fringe, they could continue to prosper, they were still able to have some amount of trust in institutions, and they were generally left alone for the most part.

The problem now is, the progs have entirely taken over the Democratic party, every institution is top to bottom prog zealots, and prog politics has invaded every aspect of their lives. They can't turn on the TV or look at cat videos on Facebook without some prog bullshit invading their space. They can't send their kids to school without them coming home indoctrinated into the prog social justice cult, their prosperity is continually under threat from some retarded prog policy like the GND or Biden's housing plan, and on top of it all, they are watching their own financial security get flushed down the toilet while guys like Zuckerberg make billions off them.

And these types of news articles don't help. The average Apple Pie American has more in common with the alleged villains in the article than they do with the ivory tower sociologist, and it only pisses them off more.

But the progs will never get that. They'll continue to squeeze because they just can't help themselves, and then be shocked when people reject them.

At this point, the only hope is that a few more sane, moderate Democrats are able to get some kind of foothold within the party, and bring it back to somewhat normal.

[Lawrence Paillant]

Jesus fucking Christ, what is it with you insane leftist retards and fucking Kansas? 17 years and counting.

Yet strangely the only political murders committed in this country in the current century have been radical leftist psychopaths.

Oh also, you're a kiddie fucker who posted child porn at Reason.com and got your account banned. Is pedophilia 'extremist'?

[Sarah Palin's Buttplug 2]

You're full of shit, you lying QAnon asshole.

There have been dozens of right-wing politically motivated racist murder sprees here since 2002.

QAnon is a sickness of the Trump cult.

[Fat Mike's Drug Habit]

So you're conceding the point about your pedophilia then?

[Lawrence Paillant]

No, I'm not, you kiddie fucking sick piece of shit who posted child pornography at Reason.com and got your account banned.

There have been dozens of right-wing politically motivated racist murder sprees here since 2002.

Name one then, kiddie fucker. Should be pretty easy right?

It's hilarious that you're so obsessed with QAnon and also coincidentally happen to be a kiddie fucker. Little too close to home for you there, pedophile?

[Sarah Palin's Buttplug 2]

Fuck off, you little Dylann Roof apologist.

And I was banned? No one told me that. You QAnon types who call anyone you don't like a pedo have taken the sting out of the accusation.

Fucking idiot.

[R Mac]

“Fuck off, you little Dylann Roof apologist.”

This is when you know the pedo realizes he lost.

[KillAllRednecks]

There are a lot of Dylan Roof apologists on this comment section.

Mormon Bob, Chuck, Red, ML

[R Mac]

Cite?

[KillAllRednecks]

Mormon Bob, Chuck, and Red are Mormon so they belong to a racist church.

ML hates non whites

[Jerryskids]

Don't worry, in a few years we'll all be right-wing extremists for refusing to acknowledge Xi Jinping as our Lord and Savior and praying to Him 5 times a day.

[Rich]

The U.S. government bears responsibility for the mass shooting

"I shouted out 'Who killed the Kennedys?'...."

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Jello Biafra?

[icandrive,nigga]

"Texas is the reason that the president's dead"

[KillAllRednecks]

You gotta suck suck Jackie suck

[EISTAU Gree-Vance]

Holy shit, talk about bland punk!

Haha. What a doosh. Is glen Danzig your idol, little man?

[KillAllRednecks]

I’m not a huge Misfits or Danzig fan.

They’re better than the Sex Pistols though.

[KillAllRednecks]

Other than Never Mind the Bollocks what did the Sex Pistols do?

Nothin for nobody!

Half the songs on that album blow anyway

[KillAllRednecks]

Why am I arguing with your square lame ass?

You’re seriously lame dude.

Don’t tell me what shithole suburb you’re in because I will bash your fascist, square face in.

[Ken Shultz]

Tucker Carlson is a lightweight wanker, but no matter what you think of him personally, what the NSA did to him would seem to expose the Biden administration's promise not to spy on journalists as a lie.

https://www.axios.com/tucker-carlson-putin-interview-surveillance-c9952d7c-33d7-45e9-be68-2ba4c3817f98.html

It may be entirely appropriate for the NSA to spy on the Russian officials Carlson was interacting with in order to get an exclusive interview with Putin, but if people inside the NSA are leaking his name to left wing media outlets--whether it's meant to smear Carlson or not--then it seems to me that the law was broken and procedures were not followed.

Bureaucrats may be incompetent, but they're meticulous and they tend to follow procedures and the law--no matter how dumb the procedures and the law. Chances are that someone higher up ordered these violations of policy and the law.

I maintain that cuneiform, the very first form or writing, was invented by Sumerian bureaucrats for the express purpose of writing CYA memos. If someone ordered a bureaucrat to violate policy or the law, there's probably a CYA memo out there somewhere.

This needs to be investigated.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

I do think it's rather hilarious that the whistleblower allowed him to point out that the NSA spooks were going to do exactly what they ended up doing. You'd think the smart thing to do would be to not prove Carlson right and just memory-hole the spying, but these people are utterly incapable of adapting to sudden changes in anything that doesn't conform to their white paper predictions.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

I don't think it's a question of adapting. They think they're untouchable, and so far they've been right.

[Lawrence Paillant]

Snowden came forward with conclusive and incontrovertible evidence that the NSA was spying on every man, woman and child in America and had verifiably lied about it in congressional testimony and exactly nothing happened. Loretta Lynch illegally unmasked hundreds of Americans in the waning days of Obama's administration in a panicked attempt to save Hillary Clinton's election prospects when the fake pee pee tape dossier wasn't doing the trick and exactly nothing happened. These people have total and complete impunity. Even if anybody in D.C. wasn't a worthless piece of subhuman shit who supports their illegal blackmailing operations that have been going on since the 1950s, they'd be destroyed by the self-same blackmailing operations if they dared to speak up. The funny thing is that the left used to pretend to give a fuck about that shit when it was their CPUSA and SDS terrorist cronies who were being targeted. Now that they have captured all of those institutions there's nothing to see here. Good thing libertarians have spent half a century fellating communists and castigating anyone who thought it might not be a great idea to erect a permanent bureaucracy composed entirely of radical totalitarian Marxists as a McCarthyist racist cocksucker.

[R Mac]

This. The FBI literally got caught lying on a FISA application to spy on the soon-to-be President, and one guy got probation, and half the country doesn’t even care.

[Ken Shultz]

They may have already released Carlson's emails to the press by then. They couldn't unring the bell.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

I like Tucker, but that fake laugh of his is annoying as hell.

[Ron]

Tucker has some good points but he is a terrible debater, even when i agree with his point he often looses the argument to others. And yes the fake laugh is comparable to AOC's laugh. he should stop that

[Jerryskids]

Someone had suggested something to the effect that when Tucker Carlson listens to his guests speaking he effects the look of a cocker spaniel attempting to understand calculus and I find that a very apt description. Furrowed brow, mouth hanging open, puzzled look on his face, that's his go-to look.

[The Encogitationer]

It's his version of the trademark NPR host's "Hmmm...Hmmm...."

[Minadin]

"Some good criminal justice reform news out of Rhode Island:"

Did we quote a twatter with pronouns in their handle?

[JimboJr]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/national-education-association-takes-down-pages-crt-anti-racism-mandatory-vaccine-assembly-proposals

Pages on CRT, anti-racism and mandatory vaccine resolutions disappear from NEA website.

They are seeing that sunlight is the biggest enemy of CRT

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Sunlight is racist!

[Fat Mike's Drug Habit]

Only against Northern Europeans though, so it's fine.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

If it wasn't for sunlight we wouldn't see color, so maybe it's anti-racist.

[Eeyore]

Are we sure that racism isn't infrastructure?

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

"Last year, Americans got a lot more guns and got more violent. Is it crazy to see a relationship between these two simple stark facts?"

Is Chris arguing that his pet minorities and fellow mentally ill white liberals can't be trusted to own firearms because they're more likely to kill each other if they do? After all, the murder rates are climbing in deep blue Democrat-voting cities, not safe, high-trust red areas.

[JimboJr]

"After all, the murder rates are climbing in deep blue Democrat-voting cities, not safe, high-trust red areas."

It is crazy how much this continually gets glossed over by the media in service to their narrative. It's also how you can tell they dont give a fuck about black lives, just black votes, and control of black people.

We had 5 shootings over the 4th weekend in our town (small city, 150,000). Every one a young black male. A quick glance at the local paper online and every assault/homicide arrest was a young black male, every wanted criminal a young black male. Inner city chicago has what 1/6 of the national shootings/deaths over the 4th weekend?!

The left does not do anything about this or give a single fuck about black people. They just want to infantilize and coddle them to get their votes, not fix the real underlying problems.

But we really have to do something about whiteness!

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

It’s also how you can tell they dont give a fuck about black lives, just black votes, and control of black people.

Black Lives only matter when they're killed or harmed by cops specifically, and white people generally. They go radio silent when they're ethnically cleansed by Hispanic gangs or shoot each other up in the streets.

I'd actually support them looting the local Foot Locker and Target over their own people killing each other.

[JimboJr]

That video of those black men breaking into that car and executing that hispanic couple...no coverage at all

If it was white men, and really any minority as the victim, would be a daily national news story. Statues erected. White supremacy! Lynchings are returning! Protests and looting.

But since it is overwhelmingly black people doing this stuff to other black people the media has to bury their head in the sand. The narrative must be maintained.

[KillAllRednecks]

How’s crime in whatever shithole exurb of Denver you live in traitor?

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Come by and find out, you hicklib pederast. I gave you the address, now put your money where your mouth is.

[Lawrence Paillant]

sarcasmic is a little pussy bitch faggot who pisses his pants when challenged to fights and instead tries to deflect and invite his opponent to come hang out with him at concerts for boomer Marxists.

[KillAllRednecks]

Your real address? You don’t live at an Islamic center in Denver.

You live in a shithole suburb.

Pussy little traitor boy

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

I keep telling you to let me know the day and time you'll be there, and you keep pussing out like the bitch-ass hicklib pederast that you are.

Southwest tickets are cheap, hicklib. Wanna get away? Just knock on the door, say "airee feek," and they'll let you right in.

[KillAllRednecks]

Your real address you waste of life traitor?

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

I gave it to you, you hicklib pederast pussy.

Portland to Denver's only $200 roundtrip. When are you showing up?

[KillAllRednecks]

You’ll know if I come up.

Don’t get your magic underwear in a bunch.

I hope your kid shoots himself. Who’ll be lolweedguying then buster?

[EISTAU Gree-Vance]

If you come up? To Denver? From Portland?

Haha.

[KillAllRednecks]

Your directionist!
The Northern hemisphere could be the lower part of earth, so heading south could be up!

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Lol, no, you're not "coming up," sharmuta. You're going to continue being the hicklib pederast pussy you always are, and stay right in your Portland shithole.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Well well well, look who's back.

https://archive.is/nTBjP

“White people founded this country,” he said. “This country wouldn’t exist without white people. And white people are done being bullied.”
Fuentes warned: “If America ceases to be this people, if America ceases to retain that English cultural framework and the influence of European civilization, if it loses its white demographic core, and if it loses its faith in Jesus Christ, then this is not America anymore.”

So, "America" equals "English culture" and "white demographics" and "faith in Jesus Christ".

And these are the people that libertarians are supposed to suck up to?

[chemjeff radical individualist]

And just to be clear:
We're told every day here that progressives are evil, they are scum, they are horrible people, they are just beyond reproach. Conservatives, on the other hand, they may be misguided about a few things, but they are well-intentioned, natural allies, people we can work with.

And some of you want to hop into bed with disgusting people like Fuentes here.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Go live in the ghetto or barrio for a few years and then get back to us, fat boy.

[KillAllRednecks]

The shithole outliers of Denver you call home ain’t tough little traitor boy.

Shut you fascist pie hole coward!

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Come out to Denver and make me, you hicklib Gacy wannabe pederast. All you have to do is let me know the date and time.

[Lawrence Paillant]

sarcasmic tries to date you and invites you to a concert in 3...2...

[R Mac]

You know, if you’d have taken him up on that offer, you’d have been invited to shoot guns on a half million dollar rental property. So who’s laughing now?

[KillAllRednecks]

If I’m in Denver you’ll know pussy

[Lawrence Paillant]

If he checks the police blotter for vagrants soliciting handies behind 7-11, maybe.

[Mother's Lament]

Shouldn't someone inform the cops if he does? There's Mormon's in Denver, and KAR/sarc makes death threats against them almost daily.

One day we're going to see his crazy ass on the news, and feel terrible that we always just dismissed his ranting as hyperbole.

[KillAllRednecks]

I called the Mounties on your fascist ass.

I told them there’s an inbred, fascist compulsive liar somewhere in the shithole part of BC.

I told them you don’t like hockey too. You’re in big trouble now.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

You keep saying that and you keep pussing out, you hicklib pederast.

[KillAllRednecks]

Try giving me your real address

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Try not being a hicklib pederast pussy.

[KillAllRednecks]

You worship a bunch of perverts dude.

Shut the fuck up pussy

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Come out to Denver and make me. You know the place.

Or you could just unmask your email.

[buckleup]

Sounds like jeffy is coming out of the left wing progtard closet finally. Admitting it is the first step there fatty.

[Lawrence Paillant]

Fuentes has a lot more in common with you than anybody who has ever described themselves as "conservative": he's race-obsessed and hates Jews.

[Brian]

If you haven’t noticed, conservatives are on the receiving end in a lot of places.

Does it bother you that doesn’t seem to hold?

Progressives make hating conservatives and republicans their favorite public pastime.

It’s not like they’re playing nice.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Okay? Left-wingers can be tribalist morons too.

[JesseAz]

You sure seem desperate to direct attention away from the left. Why is that huh?

[Quo Usque Tandem]

Fuentes? I never voted for the guy, never sent him any money, or supported him in any way; not sure how this equates to hopping in bed with him.

[criticaljeff racial theorist]

I've never heard of him.
Are corporations and school boards and the Pentagon mandating the teaching of Fuentes' books and philososophy? I must have missed that

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

And these are the people that libertarians are supposed to suck up to?

Yet another resident of white liberal suburban whiteopia whining that someone's pointing out how shitty his neighborhood would be if it wasn't full of white suburbanites.

[KillAllRednecks]

Racist asshole

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Hicklib Gacy wannabe pederast.

[KillAllRednecks]

You lie just like your fascist buddies.

Coward!

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Pussies don't hide their hicklib cadaverous selves in Portland when they could be in Denver after talking about stabbing people in the left temple and cutting the penises off of small children.

[KillAllRednecks]

Homophobic Traitor Mormons shouldn’t talk all kinds of treasonous shit and make deals involving their REAL addresses but then puss out.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Hicklib pederast Gacy fans don't talk shit and then puss out when offered the chance to meet the object of their threats in real life.

[KillAllRednecks]

I hope your kid dies so he doesn’t grow up to be a hateful Mormon Nazi like you.

Love not hate! You’ll never understand that being an evil Mormon.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Your mother already died out of shame from having a hicklib pederast for a son.

[Lawrence Paillant]

sarcasmic may be a self-confessed homeless drug addict alcoholic who subsists on welfare at taxpayer expense and he may have lost custody of his kids in his acrimonious divorce for which he refuses to take any responsibility because he raped his underage daughter, but at least he's not a racist!

[Mother's Lament]

Except that he's also a racist.

[Don't look at me!]

Opinions and ideas are dangerous.

[Brian]

Sometimes white people feel left out because they’re not allowed to have a culture.

[Lawrence Paillant]

Well well well, look who’s back.

Your moronic strawmen?

I don't know what's more hilarious, that a guy named "Fuentes" is a white supremacist, that a gal named "Cortez" is a "woman of color" or that you think the former is any more a representative of "conservatism" than the latter. Meanwhile, two of the other "women of color" referenced as perpetual victims have been encouraging savage attacks against Jews in the streets of Los Angeles and New York City with your full-throated (in the sense of having 3 feet of cock stuck in your throat) approval.

[Jefferson's Ghost]

"And these are the people that libertarians are supposed to suck up to?"

Libertarianism is sometimes called the "Night Watchman State," among other things, and traces it's origins at least as far back as Taoist-based anarchism. The main point of libertarianism is that we don't "need" leaders telling us what to do or think. So, no actual libertarian would "suck up" to anyone.

[JesseAz]

Wait. When did Fuentes get elected to a government office as a conservative? Oh. He is some random racist? Guess that is equivalent to the current democrats and leaders at national groups like the NEA.

Jeff, I know you hear this often. But you're a fucking idiot.

[JimboJr]

A guy at work says his grandfather is super racist. Maybe we should get a quote from him too?

[R Mac]

Is he a conservative? Because if so, Jeffy will track him down himself eventually and post about him.

[Jerryskids]

So, “America” equals “English culture” and “white demographics” and “faith in Jesus Christ”.

Yes, indeed, that is what America was founded on. If you believe that "America" is an ideal rather than a geographical place, you kinda have to admit that the Magna Carta, the Enlightenment, the Reformation, capitalism and Western Civilization played a larger role in its foundation than say the teachings of Lao Tzu, the Mayan codices, the history of Mansa Musa or Genghis Khan, or the Law of Lek.

[Mother's Lament]

Chemjeff can't into history post-Vietnam, and will dismiss everything from the Magna Carta to the Law of Lek as unfortunate relics of Western colonialism.

Also, as a leftist chemjeff doesn't believe that brown people have their own personal agency, and like the Gnostics Jeff imbues his fellow whites with the powers of demiurges. So in Jeff's mind the current material universe (America) is evil, while the non-material (Progressive utopia) world is good.

[R Mac]

Sad.

[Mickey Rat]

When you tepidly criticize or even encourage identity politics, but just for "brown" people, this is the reaction you get.

[Jefferson's Ghost]

""Last year, Americans got a lot more guns and got more violent. Is it crazy to see a relationship between these two simple stark facts?"

Well, maybe not "crazy," but really, really, stupid. Or both?

[Jerryskids]

Last year, the Democrats took over the White House and the Senate and America became more violent. Is it crazy to see a relationship between these two simple stark facts?

It's not crazy, it's perfectly normal to mistake correlation and causation. Just as it's perfectly normal to think New York City is the capital of New York, that median and average are synonyms, and that Sherlock Holmes was a real person.

[Jefferson's Ghost]

+

[TrickyVic (old school)]

They did not take over until January of this year.

Just sayin.

[Don't look at me!]

More proof masks do nothing for the Fauci flu.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/iocs-bach-arrives-tokyo-greeted-061112921.html

[Lawrence Paillant]

Well, the """"""""""female"""""""""" athletes can still wear them as codpieces I guess.

[Minadin]

Japan only had like a 4% vaccination rate last I checked.

A Japanese woman tried to put out the torch during the run the other day with a super-soaker, because she was worried that foreigners would be bringing covid along with the Olympics.

[Don't look at me!]

Why would they need to be vaccinated when they are the most mask wearing society that we were supposed to emulate?

[Earth Skeptic]

'The latest suit focuses on the Google Play store, which lets Android phone users find and download apps. "Google's durable monopoly power in the markets for Android app distribution and in-app purchases is not based on competition on the merits," the states argue. "These monopolies are maintained through artificial technological and contractual conditions that Google imposes on the Android ecosystem."'

Next up: GM, for designing and selling cars that require GM-compatible parts and accessories, since not being able to bolt on things from Ford or Toyota is a clear demonstration of monopoly power.

[Lawrence Paillant]

It would be a lot more like GM having proprietary gas tanks that can only be filled by proprietary nozzles only available at GM-owned gasoline stations and building a clause into your sales contract that using non-GM gasoline violates the warranty and voids your ability to continue using "your" vehicle. The Play Store does not "help users find apps". It's the only way to officially load apps onto an Android device, and sideloading APKs violates the terms of the user agreement you blithely click "accept" on when you set up your device because you're a paints-on-head drooling into a cup abject fucking retard.

[Mother's Lament]

"GM having proprietary gas tanks that can only be filled by proprietary nozzles only available at GM-owned gasoline stations and building a clause into your sales contract that using non-GM gasoline violates the warranty"

This.

[Jerryskids]

"Market dominance" has always depended on how narrowly or broadly the FTC decides to define the market and hence has always been a matter of deciding who they want to fuck with and who they don't.

[Dillinger]

had tree guys at mi casa yesterday there was a giant woodchipper in my yard ... thought of you guys

[Mother's Lament]

"As Reason's Robby Soave wrote yesterday, former President Donald Trump's case is "completely absurd and will be laughed out of court." Only the government—not private companies—can violate the First Amendment."

I see Reason's Robby Soave is pretending that Tom Perez totally didn't order the social media companies to ban Trump, and that somehow, magically, it was in Twitter's corporate interests to ban it's biggest draw.

When a political party can force private companies to ban it's biggest enemy and censor news stories that reflect poorly on it, you better believe that it's the biggest first amendment violation in American history.

Reason magazine and the fifty-center's here are gaslighting us when they pretend otherwise.

[KillAllRednecks]

You mean “fifty rublers?”

Of course not because you’re the biggest troll here.

[Mother's Lament]

Don't you have some Mormon kids to go shoot at, you psychotic, antisemitic troll.

[KillAllRednecks]

Please cite where I was anti Semitic you lying fascist?

[Mother's Lament]

Every single thread we had about Israel recently. You're criticism wasn't just aimed at the state but the people and their characteristics, and you weren't fooling anyone about the basis of that hate.

You're a racist, fascistic, antisemitic piece-of-shit, and I believe your continuous threats of violence against Mormon's too mean that you should be investigated by the FBI.

[KillAllRednecks]

You should have no problem citing an example then

[KillAllRednecks]

My offer still stands. I will quit posting if you can provide evidence of me being anti Semitic.

I’m sure your Mormon pals Bob, Chuck, and Red would appreciate you getting rid of me

[KillAllRednecks]

Crickets from the LYING FASCIST COWARD

[Sevo]

asshole gets flagged

[KillAllRednecks]

Rummy gets more senile

[criticaljeff racial theorist]

Reason can't help themselves. The mask keeps slipping.
This lawsuit is repeatedly referred to as "absurd", though it is crafted after a SCOTUS opinion, while being totally mischaracterized, and yet there is no judgemental language used to describe Cuomo's end run around the 2A, invitimg nuisance lawfare in direct contrevention of settled law.

Likewise, we just went thru the LEAST secure election in modern times, preceded by a silly season where the Electoral Clollege was attacked, States were said to be gerrymandered, and launched in earnest by Stacey Abeams and her absurd claim to have won the GA governor race, despite being 50,000 votes shy with record black turnout. Trump lost the state by around 10,000 for comparison.
So an effort was launched to do away with every safeguard in the voting system in her name -- no more purging the rolls of the dead and those that moved out of state. Then came the pandemic, and every blue machine in a purple state simulataneously swung into action to change the rules, often in direct contravention of law. No deadlines, no signature verification, postmarks ignored, unsecured drop boxes, ballot harvesting, poll watchers shut out, mail out ballots to every name on the unpurged rolls, etc. And an effort to enshrine permanent one party rule thru Federalizing all of the above, in direct conflict with the Constitution.

And now we are told, once again, here after all that, Republicans Pouncing is the real issue.

See You Next Tuesday, Liz

[criticaljeff racial theorist]

Indeed it has become so blatantly obvious that the Woketarians here prefer Team Blue to Team Red deep in their heart of hearts, despite the existential threat the Progressive Ds are to all basic liberty, I began questioning why. The obvious answer is that the "cocktail party" crew has a cultural aversion to Republicans, who are seen as tragically unhip, and there may be simmering resentments of the 70s culture wars. But that is merely by now just an institutional memory, because everyone other than fossils like Fonzie weren't even alive for most of the Libertarian- Conservative culture clashes during Anita Bryant and Phyllis Schlafly's heyday. So there must be something else.
The only thing I can come up with is the tendency of insurgent factions to fight among each other rather than banding together to fight the oppressive regime. Maybe impure Conservatarians are a more convenient target than the filthy depraved progressives.
Or maybe, they are afraid of winning.
Maybe some relish the martyrdom associated with being the outcast rebel whose ideas have no chance of ever being heard. Maybe that is why the Libertarian Party will never win any election anywhere. They secretly want to live under one party Democrat oppression, so they can do the easy loser role and piss and moan rather than having to do the actual work of coalition building and occasional compromise necessary for winning.. So they attack their imperfect natural allies, and empower what should be their natural arch enemies.

[The Encogitationer]

"These monopolies are maintained through artificial technological and contractual conditions that Google imposes on the Android ecosystem."

Does Android have a Spotted Owl that needs protection by the Gummint?

[Mickey Rat]

The 1st Amendment specifically is to protect the people's right to free speech against the actions of Congress. Protecting from the President is incidental due to the executive authority is to enforce laws duly enacted by Congress. Trump's lawsuit is alleging that Congress blackmailed the social media companies into suppressing his speech. This continues into the present despite Trump being a mere citizen now, and not thy he president.

What Trump is alleging almost certainly happened, though it may be difficult to prove. Does Reason want to give tacit approval to a way for Congress to subvert the free speech/press guarantees of the Constitution even though it may mean siding with Trump?

[mad.casual]

Does Reason want to give tacit approval to a way for Congress to subvert the free speech/press guarantees of the Constitution even though it may mean siding with Trump?

Reason's going to continue to give overt and full-throated approval to Congress's attempts to subvert the free speech/press with or without Trump. They've even deemed the law giving Congress authority to regulate and indirectly approve of what can and cannot be said "the 1A of the internet". They do so despite the fact that Congress's Law openly subverts other parts of the 1A.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Lolweeddude:

Parents are arrested after their four-year-old son accidentally shot himself dead while his father shopped in a Colorado weed dispensary
The shooting occurred in a parking lot outside the Maggie's Farm dispensary in Manitou Springs around 12pm on Tuesday
Police said the boy - who was not named - was in a car with his mom Ashlynne Perez and younger sibling while his dad Carlos Perez went into the store
The boy found a gun in the car and fired it at his head, killing himself
Ashlynne, 25, and Carlos, 26, were both arrested and charged with criminally negligent child abuse resulting in death

[KillAllRednecks]

That’s horrible!

I know you hate drugs and alcohol because you’re a Mormon fascist, but Jesus Christ you Mormons sure can go low.

Scumbag traitor coward.

I hope your son shoots himself so he doesn’t grow up to be a Mormon Nazi.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Did your mother shoot herself from having you for a son, or was it cancer?

[RickAbrams]

Assum9ng the court reported the facts accurately and that is a huge "if," then the government was liable. I won't quibble about the degrees of liability. Had he been in the data base, then he could not have purchased the gun in the manner he did.

Some people cannot accept the concept of personal responsibility by saying, "If it did not happen this way, it would have happened another way. Thus, I am not to blame." That is not the way the law functions. If you break the law, then you are liable for the foreseeale consequences of breaking the law. The law was written because certain violent people are prone to shoot and kill others. The law was broken and he did what the law was designed to prevent.

If his brother had bought the gun and gave it to him, that too would have been illegal and the brother would be legally liable. The brother could not then say, "Well, if I did not buy the gun for my brother, he would have stolen one or my sis would have bought a gun for him." The possibility that other people might engage in criminal behavior does is no defense to your engaging in criminal behavior

[Tionico]

ENB you DO"T get it, do you?
All the fuss and hollere that we need more background checks" BECAUSE of incidents like this mass shooting and you pooh pooh the validity of them? Yes, had the two different Air Force desk jockeys DONE THEIR JOB and forwarded the felony charges and the Bad Conduct Discharge records, he'd not have been so easily able to buy this murder weapon. Not saying he cold not have... but to sit there and say this decision is goofy when so many have used THIS incident to scream for more background checks.... does not wash.

What we REALLY need is a database system accissible to anyone wanting to sell a firearm, such that if I do not know the putative buyer I can check to assure he is not "prohibited". Instand, no fee, no visit to an FFL, no high cost manned telephone boiler rooom, anyone can enter the buyer's namem DOB state of birth, maybe a couple other tings, and the system returns PROCEED or DENY in a few seconds. That way we can all buy and sell with the confidence we are not arming the Sinaloa Cartel, or the neighbourhood nutjob wanting to go off his nephew. ANd since the informatioin on the gun being purchased is not relevant, no possiblity FedGov can retroactively construct a database on who has what guns. The better to come and take them with My Dear......

[n00bdragon]

So, if the Air Force is 60% responsible for the murders does that make Devin Patrick Kelley only 40% responsible for them? How does someone literally pulling the trigger on a gun get away with only 40% responsibility for the murder? Not even half responsible? What other common everyday actions are people less than half responsible for?

[mad.casual]

As Reason's Robby Soave wrote yesterday, former President Donald Trump's case is "completely absurd and will be laughed out of court." Only the government—not private companies—can violate the First Amendment.

As Reason commentariate's Mad.Casual writes here, Robby Soave will continue to be laughed out of libertarian circles for his wilfull naivete about this stance. Only media stooges--not the government--can regurgitate propaganda so obliviously.

We do not need a censorship of the press. We have a censorship by the press... It is not we who silence the press. It is the press who silences us. - G. K. Chesterton

[Tony]

The judge seems to be making the assumption beloved by advocates for stricter gun laws: that if the shooter were barred from legally purchasing or owning guns, he would have been deterred from committing violence. That's a big if.

I know a bigger if: The fewer restrictions we have on gun sales, the less violence there will be in a society.

Oh look I proved it wrong and it only took half a thought. Didn't even have to look it up.