Today in Supreme Court History: July 14, 1913

7/14/1913: President Gerald R. Ford's birthday. He would appoint Justice John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court.

President Gerald Ford

Comments

[AmosArch]

So leftists. Is running around murdering political opponents like a death squad sweeping through some tin pot banana republic ‘protecting democracy and the rule of law from Jan 6th and MAGA insurrectionists’?

Do you feel any shame chasing around a young boy with a lynch mob just because he defended himself from violent ANTIFA attackers trying to murder him then turn around and have no problem with innocent people being slaughtered simply for attending a political rally?

Are you disturbed at all that your compatriots are en masse either dismissing this brazen attack claiming it was staged or are outright in mourning that it did not succeed?

[Sarcastr0]

Did it even once occur to you to not turn this into a partisan rage party?
Or wait till all the facts are in before you go writing a narrative? Though facts have never been much of a thing for you.

[AmosArch]

I don't need an investigation to see all the leftists calling this a false flag setup by trump or mourning its failure.

[AmosArch]

www dot reddit dot com slash r slash AITAH slash comments slash 1e2obc1 slash aitah_to_think_it_was_a_set_up_that_donald_trump slash

https://i.ibb.co/q1CNqN4/image-2024-07-13-180903063.png

https://i.ibb.co/4St30Wp/destiny-triples-down-v0-tjgoncpwkfcd1.webp

[Sarcastr0]

1. You can find idiot randos saying anything and everything in Reddit.
2. You being about the same level of rando idiot going off about death squads.

I won’t say you are the right en masse, not being an idiot myself.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Don't feed the trolls.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

>I won’t say you are the right en masse, not being an idiot myself.

Dunning–Kruger.

[AmosArch]

Destiny is one of the biggest leftwing personalities on youtube.

One of the major early narratives on the politics subforums in reddit (before the moderators wised up and hid it) was that this was a setup and trump had himself shot to boost his popularity. just one example post case gaining thousands of upvotes. This narrative was also pushed by tons of people across multiple social media sites.

tons and tons of leftists particularly on Twitter ironically are mourning the failure of the plot. You could probably spend days or maybe even weeks scrolling through such tweets. If you took the entire activist left population of twitter such people would probably form a considerable percentage if not majority.

It makes sense that you are unfamiliar with how the younger internet leftists operate but the setup narrative and outright mourning the assassination did not succeed are hardly isolated cherry picked opinions.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

He is familiar with it, but he has his marching orders to tone-police, concern troll, and to gaslight in protection of the State.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

So noble of you to finger wag AmosArch!

It’s so important when a Leftist does something horrible, for us to all be measured and considered. It’s not so important in the reverse, natch!

Great contribution to the conversation, Sarcastr0.

Oh, there’s last nights thread that needs Karen’ing and tone policing! So hop on it!

[Brett Bellmore]

Well, fine, 99.999999% of Democrats didn't shoot Trump, that much is true. But can we ditch the "existential threat to democracy" rhetoric, at least? Because this is what happens when people BELIEVE crap like that.

[Sarcastr0]

Looks like. Democrat didn’t shoot Trump, for whatever that’s worth,
For once in your life, wait till the facts are in before you write the story, Brett.

But no, not going to self censor, thanks for asking.

[Mr. Bumble]

Given that the FBI is in charge of the investigation expect a long wait.

[Sarcastr0]

Yes, in the thread accusing the left of conspiracy theorizing this was a great move. I think you should also accuse the secret service of being in on it. And Soros.

[Mr. Bumble]

You are projecting again El Douche. I made no mention of a conspiracy only reflecting on (F)lowers (B)y (I)rene's (H/T The Simpsons) record to date when it comes to investigations.

[Sarcastr0]

You intimated a coverup don’t be coy.

[Mr. Bumble]

More likely I intimated incompetence.
Bring Efrem Zimbalist Jr. back.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Did it occur to you to wait till all the facts are in before you go writing a narrative? Though facts have never been much of a thing for you.

Also, every one on the Right should self-censor. But not me. I'm a noble civil servant and have superior rights and privileges to the lowly citizen.

Sincerely,
Sarcastr0

[Brett Bellmore]

You're right, he was a Republican donor to the Progressive Turnout Project. A favorite Republican cause!

Even NBC thought, when mentioning his nominal party registration, that it was worth mentioning that they had no idea how recently he'd registered as a Republican. Maybe even just a few days ago...

[TwelveInchPianist]

"But no, not going to self censor, thanks for asking."

And you shouldn't. But you've had no problem demanding that others self-censor in the past.

[Sarcastr0]

Criticism of a comment as bad is not a call for censorship.

[TwelveInchPianist]

No one said it was.

[Kazinski]

We know the shooter was an ActBlue contributor in 2021, and registered Republican in 2022, that's all we know now.

Oh yeah, they tried to shoot Trump.

[Don Nico]

"Looks like. Democrat didn’t shoot Trump"
It also looks like the guy make a contribution to a Democrat group. Take your own advice and don't claim what you don't actually know.

[Mr. Bumble]

Why should he start now?

[Joe_dallas]

Nico
good point - there is a lot we dont know yet.

Probably somewhat similar to Jared Lee Loughner who shot 18 or so people including gabby giffords who suffered from mental illnesses with political leanings spanning across every spectrum.

Like you said - far too much is unknown at this point

[Sarcastr0]

Yet again you don’t read what I’m replying to. Brett: “Well, fine, 99.999999% of Democrats didn’t shoot Trump.”

Brett is saying a Democrat did shoot Trump. Brett is wrong. Or at the very least jumped the gun before all the facts are in

[Joe_dallas]

Sarcastro - you repetitively accuse Brett of partisanship, even though you display some of the most egregious levels of partisanship of all the commentators on this blog. Brett is probably one of the more rational commentators, yet you get so far the top, that you cant see your own egregious levels.

[Sarcastr0]

What I accuse Brett of is not partisanship, Joe. Most of us are partisans here.

[Joe_dallas]

yes you do - almost every comment is out of line and complete jerkish.

As stated, brett comment's are almost universally rational and reality based - unlike your excessively woke BS.

[Sarcastr0]

"brett comment’s are almost universally rational and reality based"

Could you post this tomorrow on the open thread? It's just an incredible comment to see.

[Don Nico]

S_0 ,
Yet again you make excuses for the nonsense that you spout. I did read Brett's comment and your response. Your usual "again you don’t read what I’m replying" does not wash . Brett did not say that a Dem shot Trump. You read that into his comment and ignored the principal substance about toning down inflammatory rhetoric.

We have no idea of what motivated the shooter. The SS sniper made sure of that. But the FBI will get us a pretty good idea.
People would do the country a favor by withholding their baseless speculations.

[Mr. Bumble]

"But the FBI will get us a pretty good idea."
You really believe that?

[Sarcastr0]

Brett did not say that a Dem shot Trump.

Yes he did.

"99.999999% of Democrats didn’t shoot Trump" is not 100%. That is for a reason.
I'm not reading anything into the comment that isn't there.

I haven't spun any stories or made any speculations about the shooter myself.

[Joe_dallas]

you certainly implied otherwise

[TwelveInchPianist]

"“99.999999% of Democrats didn’t shoot Trump” is not 100%. That is for a reason."

It's perfectly consistent with not knowing the party of the shooter. Read better.

[Sarcastr0]

Yeah, this isn't symbolic logic, TiP. Don't play the moron.

[Mr. Bumble]

Tip: Stop being a moron.

[TwelveInchPianist]

Name calling when you don’t have an argument?

No, it’s not symbolic logic, it’s basic math and reading comprehension. And you apparently suck at those.

"I’m not reading anything into the comment that isn’t there."

Except the part that says a Dem shot Trump.

[Don Nico]

"I’m not reading anything into the comment that isn’t there."
Sure you are. Since you don't what what if any motivations the shooter had, you filled in the blank with your own partisan prejudice.

And again you ignore the principal comment that Brett made.

[Don Nico]

In fact, Brett did not say that a Dem shot Trump. He did say "can we ditch the “existential threat to democracy” rhetoric."
That is inflammatory fear-mongering can justify violence in some people.

[Sarcastr0]

People have called me vermin and that I get gassed on this website. Trump talks about pollution of the blood.

I'm not really buying this push for the left to self censor.

And Brett did say a Dem shot Trump. It is the only way to read his comment.

[Joe_dallas]

Sarcastr0 3 mins ago
Flag Comment
Mute User
People have called me vermin and that I get gassed on this website. Trump talks about pollution of the blood.

What do you think should happen when the majority of your comments are jerkish woke BS.

[Sarcastr0]

Fair enough, I am quite the doodoohead, how perceptive if you to point it out.

But then don’t talk about cooling down the rhetoric.

[TwelveInchPianist]

"And Brett did say a Dem shot Trump. It is the only way to read his comment."

No, you can read to mean that 99.999999% of Dems didn't shoot Trump, and 0.0000001% may or may not have. In fact, that's the only way to read his comment, without reading something into it that isn't there.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Get an education, Don Nico. Start with standard English.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

100% of Democrats didn’t shoot Trump.

[Frank Drackman]

%1000 of your comments are revolting, Revolting.

[SimonP]

“Can’t we just all put behind us the fact that Trump has already attempted to usurp the peaceful transfer of power through fraud once, and as part of their strategy discussions they were talking about sending the military put to attack protesters?”

Trump has described himself as “your retribution,” and has repeatedly described this election in similarly existential terms. The difference is that the left’s rhetoric is based in reality and the actual things that Trump has done and has promised to do.

[TwelveInchPianist]

Biden recently said, "We're done talking about the (June 27) debate. It's time to put Trump in the bullseye.", comments very similar to the map by Sarah Palin that the left claimed was likely to incite violence.

As was the case with Sarah Palin, the comment was almost certainly not related to the attack on Trump.

But since we know that the left believes that such comments are likely to incite violence, it's quite possible that that was his intent.

[not guilty]

Not that it matters, but Pennsylvania voter records listed a Thomas Matthew Crooks with the same address and birth date as the shooter as a registered Republican. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-rally-shooter-identified-rcna161757

[Mr. Bumble]

Day late, dollar short.

[Michael P]

He got the marching order but didn't realize the campaign had moved on.

[Don Nico]

"Not that it matters" That is certainly true. Hopefully the FBI will be able to uncover some of his motives.

[bernard11]

But can we ditch the “existential threat to democracy” rhetoric, at least?

The trouble is he really is a threat to democracy.

Just because you have an excuse for everything doesn't mean those excuses are valid.

[Don Nico]

Maybe yes, to some extent. But "existential threat?" That is gross hyperbole. Move to Gaza or northern Israel or Ukraine and you'll know what an existential threat is.

[Krychek_2]

According to CNN, the shooter was a registered Republican. But don't let facts get in the way of your rant.

[AmosArch]

Cause we all know being registered republican for what is probably a short time automatically guarantees you are an Alex Jones binging Bible thumping abortion banning hardcore conservative like our resident santamonica who has been busy campaigning hard for MAGA trump in every thread.

It sure totally makes sense for a hardcore conservative to try to assassinate his god hero and also donate to democrat groups. Its not like someone could register republican for a variety of reasons like being signed up unwillingly, trying to manipulate a primary or even as a red herring.

LOL this flimsy narrative and the people who absorbed and are bleating it out like good little robots are such are laugh.

[Brett Bellmore]

According to NBC, they have no idea when he last changed his registration. I don't think they'd have mentioned that if they didn't have some doubts...

[Krychek_2]

You guys are completely hopeless. His Republican registration may not be conclusive evidence, but it does mean that the one piece of evidence that currently exists points away from this having been the work of leftists or Democrats. I see some crackpot GOP congressman from Georgia is already claiming that Biden gave the order (though if he did so in his official capacity he's presumably safe per SCOTUS).

The fact that the shooter was a registered Republican makes the more plausible explanation FOR THE TIME BEING PENDING OTHER EVIDENCE that he was afraid Trump might lose to Biden and wants a different nominee, or (less likely but still possible) that it's a false flag. Whatever happened, though, maybe we should wait until there are more facts.

[Jerry B.]

So, "I'm going to jump to conclusions, but let's wait for more facts."

[Krychek_2]

What conclusions have a jumped to? It's hard for me to imagine writing something more tentative and hesitant than what I just wrote.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

How many registered Republicans donate to Act Blue?

How many Democrats register as Republicans in closed primary states to undermine and improperly influence Republican voter choices?

[Krychek_2]

Registered Republicans who donate to Act Blue, a lot. Lots of Republicans have concluded that Trump and his policies are bad for both the GOP and the country. Doesn't make them either Democrats or leftists. Any more than me wishing Biden would drop out of the race makes me a closet Republican.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Ok, let me rephrase. How many actual Republicans contribute to ActBlue?

None. ActBlue is for communists and foreign governments to influence US politics.

[Krychek_2]

So are you claiming the shooter was a communist or a foreign agent?

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

If he donated to Act Blue for progressive causes, then yes. He's a shitty communist. Because that's what progressives are.

[Joe_dallas]

Krycheck - Basically what he is saying is that far too much is unknown at this point to jump to conclusions.

A registered republican and donating to Act blue are polar opposites. Jared Lee Loughner likewise had political leanings spanning wide spectrum of politics.
Most likely , the guy was suffering from severe mental illness and had no concept of his true political leanings. But again - too much is unknown at this time.

[Krychek_2]

That’s actually a pretty good hypothesis and it would not surprise me that much if you turn out to be right. And his mental health issues are probably more to blame than his ideology.

Please remember though that this entire discussion started when someone with no real evidence blamed “the left”. And judging from the comments here, some on the right have convinced themselves that the left is to blame. So, how long until there’s a revenge act ?

And how much escalation will there be after that? Dr Ed may get his much desired civil war after all.

[santamonica811]

I've been a registered R for years and years. I have contributed to ActBlue. And to Planned Parenthood. (And, in 2016, to Donald Trump, to my everlasting shame.)

There are actually lots of Republicans who have supported some or most or all of the historically Rep goals, but who don't feel great about voting for a rapist, or for a convicted criminal, or for a pathological liar. Or for a shitty-in-general person. (It's my sense that a lot of those R's have left the party, and they're now officially Independent-but-voting-R-in-almost-all-elections.)

Make of that what you will, from my one data-point.

[David Nieporent]

Pedantry alert: He did not, of course, donate to ActBlue. ActBlue is a platform via which one can direct donations to candidates or organizations. (One can donate to the platform if one wants, but that's not what happened here.)

Intelligence alert: lots of people are not rabid partisans (or trolls, as in JHBHBE's case) and make small donations to candidates or organizations for reasons other than rabid partisanship. (Moreover, this donation was 3 years ago, and people do change their views over time.)

[Davy C]

OK, look. ActBlue is not like the ACLU or something that merely leans Democratic. It's *explicitly* Democratic. They say so themselves.

[jslinner]

How many people by the name of Thomas Crook? Hundreds according to LinkedIn. There is no proof he donated to ActBlue.

[Joe_dallas]

Federal Election Commission records show that on January 20, 2021—Biden’s inauguration day—the 20-year old Crooks donated $15 through ActBlue, the progressive donation clearinghouse, to the Progressive Turnout Project, which says it “is dedicated to mobilizing the Democratic party and defending democracy.” In donor records, he listed his occupation as unemployed, and listed the address descended upon by police.

[Sarcastr0]

Internet Sherlock harder - I think you've nearly cracked the case!

[jslinner]

ActBlue doesn't take donations from people under 18, which he would have been at the time of that donation.

[Joe_dallas]

He donated to act blue -
Thats a much better indication of his true party affiliation and beliefs than the party registration.

Lots of people register with the opposition party often due to local politics,

He

[Mr. Bumble]

He's dead, so we will never really know (unless he left a manifesto). Oh wait if he left a manifesto it won't be released.
Ongoing investigation or copyright or something.

[CountmontyC]

The shooter also donated to a leftist organization via ActBlue which is a Democrat aligned fundraising organization.

[Krychek_2]

By the way, as a side note, the Bible does say that Antichrist will suffer a head wound from which he will recover. Just sayin'.

[Mr. Bumble]

Not up on my Bible studies; want to provide a cite for that?
Interesting that you think Trump is the Antichrist.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

I love these clowns.

Trump is the Anti-christ. He must be stopped by any means necessary. Put the bullseye on Trump. We're going to take him out. I want to take him out behind the gym and beat his brains in.

Also:

"Oh I'm so concerned about the retaliatory rhetoric!, oh my public political discourse! You 1776 patriot types should self-censor, it harms our sacred Democracy when deplorables express their views! We abhor political violence! Oh my dog whistles!"

lol hypocrites

[Krychek_2]

C'mon guys, I was making a joke. I'm an atheist who believes in neither the veracity of the Scriptures, nor the existence of anti-Christ. But here's the cite:

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Revelation 13:3.

[Mr. Bumble]

Thanks. Always willing to learn. Surprised that an atheist would be familiar with that passage.

[Krychek_2]

This particular atheist spent two years in seminary learning to read the Scriptures in Greek and Hebrew. Sometimes getting people to disbelieve the Bible is as simple as teaching them what it actually says.

[Drewski]

n America, atheists generally are more knowledgeable about Christian scripture and doctrine than Christians and it's not even close. Second place goes to agnostics, then Jews, then Mormons, before you finally get to evangelical Protestants. This is according to a Pew survey a few years back. It's not too surprising to atheists, agnostics, Jews, or Mormons, but everyone else seems to Dunning-Kruger themselves into a frenzy whenever this makes the rounds.

[Don Nico]

K-2,
You’re losing it.
Why not speculate on why the Secret Service did not have an outpost on the next building the highest spot in the area. The shooter had an unobstructed line of sight to the stage. Was that gross negligence? Let’s see what the FBI finds out

[Krayt]

It’s almost impossible to have grown up without religion in the US, and certainly 30+ years ago.

While growing atheism is a good thing, some also have lamented the loss of common touchstone references, Revelation above is only one of many.

Also, politics is religion. It uses the same arm twisting and social control mechanisms which made religion evil, instead of just a harmless lifestyle choice, to band large numbers together to seize power and force itself on the unwilling, so the "priests" can continue enriching themselves as centuries past.

[hobie]

Lol! A few weeks ago I posted all the marks of the Antichrist which played remarkably similar to Trump. But I didn't know about the headshot. Interesting

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Don’t they teach you guys anything at autism school about recognizing your inadequacies and shutting the fuck up in situations requiring normal thinking? Leave the thinking to your betters, Mr. Bellmore.

[Frank Drackman]

It's "Bettors" so Revolting, how did you feel when you realized "45" was just erected "47" at 6:02 PM yesterday? It's the 2024 Version of "Nixon Looking like a Cadaver/McGovern picking a Schizo for VP/GHWB looking at his Watch/McCain picking Palin/Romeney and his "Binders of Women"/Hilary Rodman's "Basket of Deplorables"
Problem for DemoKKKrats now isn't finding someone to replace Parkinsonian Joe, but someone stupid enough to take the "L"
OK, Common-Law-Willie-Harris-Brown is stupid enough

Frank

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

I continue to doubt there are enough half-educated, superstitious, bigoted, on-the-spectrum, disaffected white males left in America -- even in the desolate, can't-keep-up rural and southern stretches -- to elect Donald Trump, who has never won the popular vote in his life (so far as I am aware) yet managed to take the presidency with an uncalled, three-cushion shot at the electoral college.

Trump could win. If he does it will be a bad four years for America but nothing better Americans can't withstand. But the decades-long record indicates Trump is a vainglorious, soft, lying, cheating boor who tends to fail unless his father's money is available to prop him up.

[Frank Drackman]

Jerry Sandusky thinks Presidents are erected by Popular vote.

Sad!

Frank

[Mr. Bumble]

He has plenty of company in putting that forward.

[Jerry B.]

But he also reportedly contributed to ActBlue.

[Krychek_2]

So what? Believing Trump and his policies are going to be a disaster for the GOP and the country does not make one a leftist. Any more than wanting Biden out of the race makes me a conservative.

[Brett Bellmore]

No, the causality runs in the other direction: Being a leftist makes one believe that Trump and his policies are going to be a disaster.

Realistically, Democrats often register as Republican in states with closed primaries, such as the state the assassin came from, in order to mess with the GOP selection process.

But how often do you think genuine Republicans donate to Act Blue?

[Krychek_2]

Correlation is not causation. Yes there are more Democrats than Republicans who think Trump is a disaster, but there are plenty of Republicans who think that too. Including, privately, probably most of the GOP leadership.

[Brett Bellmore]

"Plenty". Yeah, you'd have trouble getting them all into one stadium, but there aren't enough of them to have any influence over the party, aside from having been strategically placed before people found out about it.

Is this your standard for whether a President is awful? That not his ENTIRE party likes him? Because Biden fails that test, too. Every President does.

And, yes, Republicans who don't like Trump are concentrated in the party leadership, Republicans who do like him are concentrated in the party's base. Don't I keep saying this? That the GOP has an entrenched leadership who are at odds with their own party's voters?

[SRG2]

That the GOP has an entrenched leadership who are at odds with their own party’s voters?

I'm surprised no-one has set up a White Workers' Party to attract the base away from the GOP. Trump is as near as you get.

[Jason Cavanaugh]

"No, the causality runs in the other direction: Being a leftist makes one believe that Trump and his policies are going to be a disaster."

I have plenty of conservative views which Progressives would abhor, and I'm sane enough to realize that Trump has no business being anywhere near the Oval Office a second time, so how about you shut the fuck up for once?

[Joe_dallas]

Jason Cavanaugh 4 hours ago
Flag Comment
Mute User
“ so how about you shut the fuck up for once?

Jason - You certainly like to display your maturity

[bernard11]

Being a leftist makes one believe that Trump and his policies are going to be a disaster.

Which means nothing. If you are a leftist of course you think Trump’s policies are going to be a disaster, and if you are hard RW you think Biden's policies will be.

These are sufficient but hardly necessary conditions. Lots of people who are not leftists by any reasonable standard think that.

[David Nieporent]

No, the causality runs in the other direction: Being a leftist makes one believe that Trump and his policies are going to be a disaster.

Being intelligent and moral makes one believe that Trump and his policies are going to be a disaster. Being liberal would also do it.

Realistically, Democrats often register as Republican in states with closed primaries, in order to mess with the GOP selection process.

Another completely made up conspiracy theory from Brett.

(To be clear, I am not saying that this never happens — though, Brett, predictably, did not say "In states with closed primaries, some people register with the other party to participate in the other party's primary process." No, Brett framed it as something that Democrats do. And he framed it as "mess with," because of course he did. — I am saying that this does not "often" happen.)

[Joe_dallas]

Krychek_2 4 hours ago
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Mute User
So what? Believing Trump and his policies are going to be a disaster for the GOP and the country does not make one a leftist.

good job - finding justification for his donation to actblue - "justification" more closely resembling best excuse you can come up with.

[jslinner]

No evidence he donated to ActBlue

[Mr. Bumble]

You've posted this twice now. Is there a point you're trying to make?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

It is reported that the guy who shot Trump is a young white male, registered Republican (in a town that elects Republicans), carrying an AR-type rifle.

I doubt we will learn that he was attending a legitimate university, training to be a professional, socially well-adjusted with plenty of friends, or a humanities major. More likely a guy who was mostly good enough at math to graduate from an average high school, without much more going for him.

Amos Arch perceives these circumstances as cause to rage against Democrats, liberals, and leftists.

[Frank Drackman]

No kidding Revolting? Most potential Presidential Assassins aren’t well adjusted people’s? Sometimes I think you really are Jerry Sandusky

Frank

[Davy C]

He won a $500 "star award" from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to media reports. A bit better than what is required to graduate from an average high school.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

The words being used to describe him include “weird,” “loner,” “odd,” “misfit,” and “strange.” There is no indication he accomplished much of anything beyond getting through an average high school with no friends.

There is no indication he attempted to become properly educated.
That is consistent with reports he was working as a “dietary aide” at a downscale nursing home, which means he was serving pudding and canned carrots to residents of the third- or fourth-best old folks’ dumping ground in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

He lived at home with his parents. His father bought the AR-type gun and his parents were the kind of people who didn’t know or didn’t care that their loser son had explosive devices in their 1,000-square-foot home.

Sounds like a real achiever and a well-adjusted, popular social sparkler. Likely a Volokh Conspiracy fan.

[Frank Drackman]

Ability to fog a mirror is sufficient to grad-jew-ma-cate from your average pubic high screw-el

[jslinner]

This should be treated with the same seriousness as the attempted assassination of Pelosi and her husband.

[Dr. Ed 2]

No. This time there is a dead and two critically injured bystanders.

Treat it as terrorism, which it is...

[jslinner]

Deaths should be taken as seriously as they were in the pandemic.

[Dr. Ed 2]

What bothers me about this -- beyond the sheer incompetence of not having someone on the roof that the perp was on -- is that no USSS were hit.

First round hit Trump -- they had no way to know that was coming.
Then they mobbed him.

But four of the remaining 5 killed or seriously injured BYSTANDERS who were (in one case) 17 rows back. We don't know where the 5rh round went.

This wasn't an assassination attempt -- it was terrorism. Before this, people in the audience didn't have to worry about being shot.

And the FBI identified him by DNA. Would that that be the DOD's DNA database? Was this someone who had washed out of BASIC?

[Frank Drackman]

He washed out of computer language?

[Dan Schiavetta]

Barr v. Lee, 140 S.Ct. 2590 (decided July 14, 2020): stay of execution (actually denial of preliminary injunction) denied to death row inmates because their claim that execution by pentobarbital sodium injection was “cruel and unusual” was unlikely to command four votes for certiorari (the per curiam opinion points out the surprising [at least to me] fact that the Court has never found a method of execution to be cruel and unusual); Ginsburg and Breyer dissent on the basis that the death penalty is unconstitutional, Sotomayor because this issue should not be disposed of so hastily on an application for a stay (the lead petitioner, Daniel Lewis Lee, was executed the next day, the first federal execution in 17 years)

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Thank you for not getting distracted :-O

[Dan Schiavetta]

It was actually a relief to do this today.

[Davy C]

Although I'm against the death penalty in almost all cases, it's not unconstitutional.

[Frank Drackman]

July 13, 2024 a “Bernie Bro” guarantees that “45” will be “47” in January.
Gerald Ford, “Win” Buttons, (“Whip Inflation Now”), Pardoned Milhouse (you know how I know it was a good thing? all the DemoKKKrat heads that exploded when he did it) Tripped on stairs even more than Parkinsonian Joe, but Ford was only in his early 60’s. The original Poster Boy for TBI

Frank

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Notice how Democrats only shoot at the best presidents?

[Krychek_2]

Just to be clear, most Democrats are completely horrified at what happened and the sole silver lining appears to be that the shooter wasn't a Democrat.

First, there's very little that would actually insert more toxicity into the current political environment than an assassin, whether successful or not.

Second, this makes it more likely that the GOP will win the White House in November.

Third, who thinks shooting presidents is a good precedent?

Left and right both have their nuts. But the idea that this is something grown up leftists or Democrats would hope for is absurd.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

"Most"? That's a bold claim.

[Jerry B.]

Read the comments in, say, the Washington Post in any story about the shooting, and you’ll find that largely the only disgust is that the shooter wasn’t more accurate.

[Davy C]

To be fair, the more moderate people are less likely to bother to post comments.

[tylertusta]

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that most Democrats are indeed horrified at what happened.

But a not small number of self-styled progressives wish that the shooter aimed a little bit more to the right.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

The guy who shot at Trump was not a Democrat. He was a Republican carrying an AR-type gun. From a downscale, white Republican town.

Trump is not our president. He was a lousy president, among our worst.

Other than that, though, great comment!

[David Nieporent]

Notice how Democrats only shoot at the best presidents?

Given your racist trolling, I'm surprised to hear you admit that Lincoln was one of our best presidents.

And since this shooter was a Republican, it fits that pattern.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

"July 13, 2024 a “Bernie Bro” guarantees that “45” will be “47” in January."

The shooter was a registered Republican. A half-educated loser.

His father is described as a right-winger who identified as "libertarian."

The entire family is being described as antisocial, withdrawn, and weird. Maybe with gun nut tendencies.

The shooter's hometown is white, Republican, and downscale.

At the Volokh Conspiracy, a blog operated by disaffected right-wing law professors, that's a "Bernie bro."

[not guilty]

I am a proudly partisan Democrat. I understand motivated reasoning. That having been said, for the commenters on this blog to try to wring partisan advantage out of the tragic shooting of Donald Trump and the death of a bystander is grotesque. There is a time for politics. This isn't it.

It matters not one whit whether the shooter was a Republican or a Democrat.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Gerald Ford later said that his nomination of Stevens was his most important legacy and he was willing to rest his presidency on that alone. Or something along those lines. It is a bit ironic given Ford famously went after Douglas, who he replaced. Stevens himself was a Republican, if like Souter, of the liberal sort.

I'm against the death penalty. But, if the Trump Administration wanted to go on an execution spree after three (including Timothy McVeigh) federal executions took place since the 1960s, at the minimum it should have been done with more due process than the Supreme Court warranted necessary.

The executions had multiple issues, down to those SCOTUS rushed along in January 2021. The per curiam referenced was the only time the Supreme Court offered any substantive comment & thin at that. Here, the court of appeals set up an accelerated process to examine the issues. SCOTUS overturned them.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks!

Stevens was a moderate Republican. There actually were liberals in the GOP in those days.

[Mr. Bumble]

...and conservative Democrats.

[Joe_dallas]

Sam Nunn is a good example
JFK is another example -

[JoeFromtheBronx]

"court has never found a method of execution to be cruel and unusual"

Yes. There were multiple cases involving lethal injection, including Glossip v. Gross. Sotomayor wrote one of the dissents, noting perhaps the firing squad would be a better method.

Early cases upheld the firing squad and electrocution (Brennan years later dissented in another case, providing gruesome details).

The Supreme Court around 1990 refused to examine the merits in a case involving cyanide gas. Stevens wrote a dissent opposing it. After ending his support of "tinkering with the machinery of death," Blackmun dissented when SCOTUS didn't take a case involving hanging.

Recent SCOTUS opinions have shown little sympathy for these cases, implying only something akin to actually being burnt at the stake is disallowed.

Evidence of botched executions, with likely suffering taking place [of course, some are not sympathetic, the Eighth Amendment notwithstanding], has been present in multiple cases.

[Jonathansingletary]

Weird question, but: does the punishment have to be cruel -and- unusual to be found unconstitutional?

[CountmontyC]

Just a guess because the amendment does say cruel an unusual I would say it has to be both.

[NvEric]

Seems cruel and unusual would apply only to non-death penalty crimes.

Drawing and quartering was allowed in the 1600s, in England. Moreover, digging up corpses to stick the head on a pike or hang them on gates for months did occur also after Cromwell's death.

In light of historical standards, cruel and unusual punishment would have to go past those.

[Mr. Bumble]

Digging up a corpse is unusual at least and possibly cruel to the family but I don't think the corpse would care much.

[Noscitur a sociis]

If you spend a second or two thinking about it, it might occur to you that the amendment was aimed at something that they thought might actually happen, perhaps because it had happened before.

And sure enough, the historical evidence is profoundly clear that the primary purpose of the ban on cruel and unusual punishments was to ensure that the U.S. government would never resort to what the founders considered barbarically torturous forms of execution that were at least notionally still authorized in England.

[Dan Schiavetta]

yes

[not guilty]

"Weird question, but: does the punishment have to be cruel -and- unusual to be found unconstitutional?"

Yes.

[Mr. Bumble]

What do you think would have been a cruel and unusual punishment at the time of the adoption of the Constitution?

[not guilty]

What I think doesn't matter, and I am not inclined to research it today.

[Brett Bellmore]

So what? I've been through medical stuff that would make a botched execution look like a stroll in the park, (except, of course, I was alive afterwards, because the medical stuff worked, and so did the executions.) and that doesn't make the practice of medicine torture.

Sure, I'd object to going out of the way to make sure the guy has a painful death, but if an execution incidentally happens to involve pain on a level innocent people often experience, I'm not going to regard that as constitutionally significant.

[Sarcastr0]

This was a crisis actor.
I recognize him from Home Alome 2.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Did it even once occur to you to not turn this into a partisan snark party?
Or wait till all the facts are in before you go writing a narrative? Though facts have never been much of a thing for you.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

If God alone protected Trump in that moment, why did God let that worthless loser carry an AR-type rifle to an obvious rooftop location within sniping proximity? This sounds like a paltry, low-quality God who wouldn’t deserve respect from smart, good people. Or maybe people stressed by circumstances just say stupid things under pressure, like crediting an illusory God in this situation.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

This is why, Rev.

https://x.com/stillgray/status/1812325147384086597?t=GeFTXYIEViabqc1htJjdrw&s=19

The primary mission of today's Secret Service is to incorporate diversity into it's ranks. Diversity is important to national security, as you can see from the video.

[Kleppe]

Glad to see you're still alive, Rev. After seeing yesterday's news I was worried you were rapidly approaching room temperature on a rooftop in Butler.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

You confused me with a gun-toting, unaccomplished, twenty-something Republican from a downscale community?

Mr. Bellmore ascribes his substandard conservative thinking to autism and brain-pickling chemicals. What's your excuse?

[TwelveInchPianist]

Yeah, Kirkland's not a gun-toting twenty-something Republican.

[Frank Drackman]

So where was Alec Baldwin at 6pm yesterday?

[Frank Drackman]

Ironically, if the shooter had a Bolt Action Remington or Winchester, "45" would be dead. The popularity of the AR-15 probably saved his life.

[Swede425]

LOL!
Dems/MSM yesterday: Trump is literally Hitler!
Dems/MSM today: My thoughts go out to Hitler and I hope Hitler has a speedy recovery.

[Sarcastr0]

Assuming you are right about the rhetoric (you are not). Would you prefer they cheered on the shooting, for consistency’s sake?

[Swede425]

Oh, hey, look who doesn't have any social media.
They're already doing that, hero.
And they were doing it from the moment the assassination attempt was first reported.
In fact, I'm watching now to see when a few reporters get fired based on their (understandably) now deleted tweets. And several politicians who have also (understandably) deleted their tweets.
Hell, I'm even on the countdown list for one crazed Canadian leftist loon who teaches at a Canadian medical school to get fired. She also (understandably) deleted the tweets that will get her fired.
All these smart leftists who, once again, failed to understand that the internet is forever.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Trump is a bigoted, Bible-thumping, cheating, lying, un-American asshole.

You seem to be his target audience. Like any successful peddler of shoddy goods, Trump knows his downscale audience with cynical precision.

[Swede425]

You seem awfully salty this morning, Artie.
Get some bad news or something?
It's almost like you're disappointed.
Drink water. You'll feel better.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

I sense my treatment of disaffected wingnuts at this shit-rate blog rarely changes.

You might be especially cranky today. That could explain your unusually stupid contributions.

[Mr. Bumble]

Confirming Swede425's comment.
Next time be more careful when you zip up Rev. and you won't catch your scrotum in the zipper.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

If you think my recent comments are out of character, you must be bad at recognizing when someone is mocking and scorning you (and other culture war roadkill).

[Mr. Bumble]

Am I supposed to care about the rantings of a disaffected misanthrope?
I don't.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Your betters don't care whether you care.

All better, mainstream Americans want and expect is your continuing compliance with the preferences of the culture war's victors.

And we shall continue to have it. You get to whine and whimper about it as much as you like.

[Noscitur a sociis]

Bible-thumping?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Bible-thumping, Bible-selling, Bible-fucking-up, etc.

[Sarcastr0]

An uncited string of nitpickings.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

I'd prefer they take responsibility for their rhetoric instead of lying like you are.

[Jerry B.]

Read the comments in the WAPO articles about the shooting, you’ll find many who just wish the shooter had been a better shot.

[TwelveInchPianist]

"Assuming you are right about the rhetoric [of Trump being Hitler] (you are not). "

No? Care to explain this TNR cover?

[Sarcastr0]

Stretching who is the MSM to pick those nuts.

[TwelveInchPianist]

You prefer MSNBC?

Donald Trump has Truely Earned Comparisons to Adolf Hitler

[Michael P]

Or Mike Godwin in the WashPoo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/20/godwins-law-trump-hitler-comparisons/ (earlier, the WashPoo said the comparison "belittles Hitler")

Noam Chomsky in the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/noam-chomsky-believes-trump-is-the-worst-criminal-in-human-history

Maybe the lesson here is that Sarcastr0 is the real nut who is outside the mainstream of the left.

[Sarcastr0]

So “Dems/MSM yesterday” means ‘lets reach back to see if there are any particular stories in the past 5 years.”

Nut. Picking.
You want to make a general condemnation of the MSM and Democrats for accusing Trump of being Hitler? And that seems to be the story the right is planning for....You have a lot more work to do.

Not that you will bother to do it. Personality cults make things a lot easier on the critical thinking front.

[Michael P]

Gaslight0 has now forgotten that people use "yesterday" to figuratively man the recent past, while pretending that the WashPoo and New Yorker are full of nuts. The pattern of rhetoric continued for eight years. We have yet to see whether or will continue.

The right has been condemning the MAM and Democrats for that overblown rhetoric this entire time. Now that someone did what Rick Wilson, Joe Biden and others literally asked for, and leftists of all stripes are remarking how they are sorry that the shooter missed, it's really not clear what "lot more work to do" falls to the *right*.

[Sarcastr0]

I'm noting you're making a blanket statement and backing it up with a few examples over the past 5 years.

[Michael P]

You must be new here. The comment system only lets you embed two links in a comment.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Don’t forget the other two links posted prior.

The New Republic.
The New York Times.
The Washington Post.
The New Yorker.

Sarcastr0 characterizes this is “nut picking” and not examples of MSM characterization. There is no amount of examples that would satisfy his standards of accusation when leveled against his political tribe.

He has no shame. Nor integrity.

[Sarcastr0]

'I have all the anecdotes you need to prove the general rule...they're just here, outside this comment.'

Nice jerb.

[TwelveInchPianist]

"I have all the anecdotes you need to prove the general rule"

What general rule?

[Michael P]

There's a general rule that Gaslight0 will make consistently uneven demands for ideological rigor. Anything he disagrees with must be supported by multiple indisputable lines of evidence before he will concede that his point was not really the real point. Anything he agrees with is proven as soon as any commenter here writes it.

[Krayt]

You all know who else had a non-aggression pact with Russia for mutual benefit?

[SRG2]

Dems/MSM yesterday: Trump is literally Hitler

To my observation, far more right-wingers assert that this is what the Dems/MSM claim than the number of left-wingers who so claim.

[Swede425]

That's not a credit to your observational skills.
Perhaps you should open your eyes then.
‘There’s none so blind as those who will not see’.

[SRG2]

Tu quoque

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

https://x.com/newrepublic/status/1810009748697448541?s=19

Right there. This has been going on since 2016.

[David Nieporent]

To my observation, far more right-wingers assert that this is what the Dems/MSM claim than the number of left-wingers who so claim.

Yeah. And, anyway, it's a silly claim. Trump is figuratively Hitler, not literally Hitler.

[SimonP]

So here’s what we know.

Someone in the Pittsburgh area by the name of “Thomas Crooks” gave $15, in 2021, to a scammy organization that purports to work to turn out the vote among Democrats. This is being widely reported as being “Thomas Matthew Crooks,” the Trump shooter, but it is not clear on what basis, because there are multiple “Thomas Crooks” in the Pittsburgh area, and the FEC record does not include enough information to cleanly identify the ActBlue donor as the Trump shooter.

We have fairly clean evidence that Thomas Matthew Crooks was a registered Republican. We do not yet have any basis for saying that this reflected his actual political leanings or was merely a strategic registration.

There are images of the Trump shooter showing him wearing merchandise associated with a YouTube channel called “Demolition Ranch.” Demolition Ranch features gun-related and demolition-related content and is not itself virulently right-wing, though it is possible to associate it with some right-wing Twitter accounts,

While he did not apparently succeed in his primary goal, the near-miss nature of Trump’s injury suggests that Crooks at least was familiar with his weapon and that his goal was to kill Trump (rather than to achieve a “near miss” that would valorize Trump in the media, much as we have seen Republicans already trying to do).

It seems clear that the shooting was a security failure of some sort. Witnesses claim that they saw Crooks getting into position, despite the fact that the Secret Service likely should have secured the roof he was on and responded before Crooks managed to get a shot off.

That’s all we know, so far.

I think that, given what we know now, we may never have a fully satisfying narrative to explain why this guy did what he did. He may prove to have been a leftist driven mad by existential dread over the threat of re-electing Trump. He may prove to have been a right-wing gun nut with highly idiosyncratic views about politics that drove him to the same madness. Either scenario seems to fit what we currently know (or may know, based on the equivocal nature of the ActBlue donation).

I would suggest that, for commenters eager to blame Biden or Democrats for this assassination attempt, weaving conspiracy theories or directing invective at leftists is precisely the kind of high-temperature rhetoric that some on the right are blaming for the Trump shooting.

[Kleppe]

"Weaving conspiracy theories"

Are you talking about the people claiming the assassination attempt was staged?

[SimonP]

I was more referring to the politicians directly blaming Biden for “ordering the hit.”

My recitation of the facts should have been sufficient to convey where I think the “false flag” theory lands.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Biden is more culpable than Sarah Palin was.

It's funny how you guys forget we have your own precedential petards to hoist you upon.

[David Nieporent]

"That 20-year-old shooter was inspired by Joe Biden's fiery rhetoric" is like the least believable string of words in the human language.

https://x.com/velodus/status/1812333396443517073

[Kazinski]

I haven't heard anyone accuse Biden of ordering the hit, what I did hear was about 10 days of left-wing cable news commentators claiming Biden had legal authority and immunity to order a hit.

[Michael P]

"We’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye." - Joseph Robinette Biden

"Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" - Henry II of England

[TwelveInchPianist]

Mike Collins did, but it's possible he was mocking the people who said the same thing about Sarah Palin.

[Sarcastr0]

Kaz, you have quite a few of your compatriots showing you’re willfully blind.

I like Michael P: “He got the marching order but didn’t realize the campaign had moved on.” Just a full on fictional narrative read to go.

I’m sure the messaging will coalesce better soon. But quite a few of the righties on here are showing who they are in these early hours, and it's not fact-based truth-interested analysts.

[Michael P]

That's rich, coming from the guy who thinks an assassination attempt isn't a reflection of "partisan rage".

[Sarcastr0]

We don't know what it was a reflection of.

[Michael P]

It's tiresome what you claim not to know.

https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/08/14/beware-isolated-demands-for-rigor/

[Sarcastr0]

"The problem is when someone chooses to apply philosophical rigor selectively."

I'm not doing that.

Bottom line - we don’t know what it was a reflection of.

You're just writing a story. One that says a lot about you, and not much about reality.
And what it says about you is how much you're caught up in hating Dems for everything.

You should get a hobby other than politics.

[Jason Cavanaugh]

You have no idea what motivated his dislike of Trump, you fucking retard.

He could have had a political difference.
He could have hated rapists.
He could have hated fraudsters.
He could have just want his name in the news.

Plenty of other reasons aside from 'partisan rage' that could have been a motivation. You people are truly the dumbest fucks around.

[Frank Drackman]

Maybe he supported MAGA, missed on purpose, knowing he'd be killed by return fire, and guaranteeing "45" becomes "47"

Frank

[Joe_dallas]

ason Cavanaugh 4 hours ago
Flag Comment
Mute User
"You have no idea what motivated his dislike of Trump, you fucking retard."

Jason - Another example of your maturity

[Jason Cavanaugh]

I speak to each of you in the manner you deserve.

You seem to have trouble engaging with the arguments. I wonder why?

You may continue to cry now.

[Swede425]

Hahahahahaha!

Go infiltrate a Klan meeting. But don't wear robes and a pointy hat.
Wear your BLM gear instead.
Make sure to report back to us with how that turns out.

[SRG2]

If it does turn out that Crooks, definitively, was a right-wingnut, the Trump supporters will still blame Biden and claim that, yes, i n this case it wasn't a leftist, but it might have been, and may still be, and in any event rhetoric, etc.

[Mr. Bumble]

Who is the "wingnut"?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

" Who is the “wingnut”? "

The half-educated bigot, customarily.

The superstitious hayseed, most of the time.

The Republican whose claim to libertarianism is hollow, frequently.

The disaffected Volokh Conspiracy fan, in this context.

The worthless, un-American clinger.

[Swede425]

Holy crap, this frothy guy.

The front of your shirt all wet?
I'm sure the front of your pants are.

[Kleppe]

When Trump wins in November, I bet the Dems' preferred flavor of copium will be Biden's decision to suspend his campaign ads and pause messaging following the assassination attempt.

Let this comment serve as an indelible reminder that Biden was in free fall BEFORE Trump was shot.

[SimonP]

No. Don’t be an idiot.

Biden is playing out the clock. This disrupts the drumbeat of messages trying to get him to drop out, which will make it easier for him to get the “virtual nomination” done and end the conversation.

I am hoping that his total flatfootedness in the face of this attack will accelerate efforts to replace him with a candidate who can respond to a dynamic and historically unprecedented campaign. But I doubt that will happen.

[Mr. Bumble]

The rally goer who died as a result of the assassination attempt on Trump has been identified as Corey Comperatore, the retired fire chief of Buffalo Township.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13633285/donald-trump-rally-attendee-killed-shooting-assassination-corey-comperatore.html

[NvEric]

Maybe he was the real target.

[Mr. Bumble]

Are you really that stupid or do you just play stupid in these threads?

[Michael P]

Por qué no los dos?

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Mr. Volokh should have open threads on weekends, apparently.

[Kazinski]

Josh kindly provides a vehicle for comments every morning if we need it.

But now that we do know the particulars, there I'm not seeing much to discuss.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

He doesn't technically limit these threads but they usually are generally limited to the subject at hand with perhaps a few other comments.

It just happens they are scheduled every day even if there are no other posts for those days.

Current events led to many more comments about a wholly separate matter. Eugene Volokh has open threads which are generally better for that purpose.

Open threads are just that -- intended for general issues. This implies other threads are best used for the subject of the posts. The serious nature of events makes the current discussion understandable, of course.

[hobie]

18:12:23: Male agent: “Let’s move, let’s move.”

Agents start to stand up, lifting Trump.

18:12:33: Trump: “Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes.”

18:12:35: Male agent 2: “I got you sir, I got you sir.”

18:12:36: Trump: “Let me get my shoes on.”

18:12:37: Another male agent: “hold on, your head is bloody.”

18:12:39: Male agent 2: “Sir we’ve got to move to the car sir.”

18:12:42: Trump: “Let me get my shoes.”

18:12:43: Female agent: “OK, [inaudible].”

18:12:47: Trump: “Wait, wait, wait” then fist pumps to crowd. He mouths “fight” three times – a move met with cheers by the crowd.

18:12:54: Agent: “We got to move, we got to move

[Kazinski]

What's your point, who's going to play Trump in the movie?

https://images.axios.com/UpfDv8OONlT0U7yLD6KETQU-e-E=/2024/07/14/1720951326046.jpg

[Mr. Bumble]

hobie never has a point.

[hobie]

The transcript speaks for itself. A vain, self preoccupied, coward. We're I in the same situation, I would I hope I would have more concern for my protectors than myself

[Mr. Bumble]

"We’re I in the same situation...
Hahahahahahahahahahahah!

[Kazinski]

Nothing wrong with reassuring the crowd, and a live TV audience that he is fine and only had minor injuries.

Your preferred outcome would have been Trump gets hustled out of the venue with no one knowing how severe his injuries are and the entire country waits an hour or two getting contradictory updates, and shitposters on X fueling wild speculation.

Nope, Trump did exactly the right thing letting the crowd, and the entire world, know that he was OK, immediately.

[hobie]

He needed to stay in the huddle like he was supposed to, but he had to be the meerkat and poke his head up for publicity and therefore, by extension, pull all the heads of his protectors up to shield him. This vainglorious stunt will be damning in the long run

[Don Nico]

"This vainglorious stunt will be damning in the long run"
Says you. How could anyone know?

[Michael P]

Wishcasting.

hobie is a sick fuck who cannot stand that Trump kept calm under fire and reassured the crowd that he was not only physically okay but unbowed in spirit. He is spinning madly in a futile attempt to make Trump look like the bad guy here.

[Mr. Bumble]

Was this a vainglorious stunt:
"On October 14, 1912, former saloonkeeper John Schrank (1876–1943) attempted to assassinate former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt while he was campaigning for the presidency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Schrank's bullet lodged in Roosevelt's chest after penetrating Roosevelt's steel eyeglass case and passing through a 50 page thick (single-folded) copy of his speech titled "Progressive Cause Greater Than Any Individual", which he was carrying in his jacket pocket. Schrank was immediately disarmed and captured; he might have been lynched had Roosevelt not shouted for Schrank to remain unharmed. Roosevelt assured the crowd he was all right, then ordered police to take charge of Schrank and to make sure no violence was done to him. "

From Wiki

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

" Nope, Trump did exactly the right thing "

There's the disaffected, spectrum-inhabiting clinger in a hermit shack perspective.

[Michael P]

You spinning that story says a lot more about you than about anything else.

[Frank Drackman]

Dey bonze dey bonze dey thigh bonze

[Kazinski]

I think the one thing we know now is that the Secret Service protection was not robust enough. There just shouldn't be an un-monitored rooftop where a gunman is in plain sight of the President within easy rifle range.

Reportedly Trump's detail has been asking for more resources to protect Trump on the campaign trail for a while now. We will find out more about that later I am sure.

But there isn't much doubt that DHS has been playing weird games withholding Secret Service protection from RFK Jr, I don't know if that affected the resources available to protect Trump.

There needs to be a full investigation about why perimeter security was so lackadaisical, why bystanders saw the gunman long before the counter snipers did, and whether lack of sufficient manpower was a factor

[Michael P]

And don't forget that the left wanted this to succeed: https://nypost.com/2024/04/19/us-news/house-democrat-introduces-bill-aimed-at-trump-that-would-strip-secret-service-protection-from-felons/

[Kazinski]

9 cranks.

I'm not going to blame the entire left for them, but those 9 cranks should certainly be remembered for who they are, and every time they speak up about any other issue they should be reminded about how faulty and partisan their judgement is.

[Sarcastr0]

I honestly appreciate not coming in with the blanket condemnation, Kaz. That's a good temptation to resist. May I be as abstemious when I next am tested.

[Michael P]

It's kind of dumb to dismiss elected officials as mere "cranks" or "nuts", or to pretend that bills they propose are examples of nutpicking.

They proposed that bill specifically so that this kind of attack would succeed. That's what we should remember about their judgment and their values.

[Kazinski]

Look, for every Ilhan Omar, or Cori Bush, we've got an MTG, or Boebert, even my own Congressman Paul Gosar has shown some equally poor judgement.

So no, just like I don't want to be judged by the next crazy thing MTG says, I won't say the cranks represent the entire Democratic party, unless of course the entire party or caucus supports their nutty bill.

[Michael P]

Ilhan Omar and Cori Bush were not among those nine "cranks". Neither was Hank "Guam" Johnson. Jamaal Bowman is on his way out after his fire alarm stunt.

If we're just counting noses, you named three out-there Republicans, versus more than a dozen Democrats. I disagree that it's a case of "for every one of theirs we have a crazy too" -- but we haven't even gotten to the leaders, where Biden said to put Trump in the bullseye and Nancy Pelosi fantasized about punching Trump (https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/18/politics/nancy-pelosi-trump-punch/index.html).

That single bill is not by itself good reason to condemn the left generally, but there's a much broader pattern of behavior that we should condemn and that the left should change.

[Noscitur a sociis]

Yeah that’s a good point, Republican presidents and congressional leaders never say dumb or crazy things.

(Not that there’s anything remotely wrong bullseye thing, for all Biden’s other problems.)

[Michael P]

NaS doesn't always argue against straw men, but when he does, it's an absurd one.

[Sarcastr0]

Michael, heal your own party, maybe:

https://x.com/mtgreenee/status/1812551674705195066
We are in a battle between GOOD and EVIL

The Democrats are the party of pedophiles, murdering the innocent unborn, violence, and bloody, meaningless, endless wars.

They want to lock up their political opponents, and terrorize innocent Americans who would tell the truth about it.

The Democrat party is flat out evil, and yesterday they tried to murder President Trump.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Marge should search pedocon on Twitter.

[Michael P]

Yes, you’re quite right to complain that she left out that the Democrat Party is the party of surgically mutilating children. (We were talking about direct support for violence, not strong but fundamentally accurate rhetoric.)

[David Nieporent]

It’s kind of dumb to dismiss elected officials as mere “cranks” or “nuts”, or to pretend that bills they propose are examples of nutpicking.

A small but noticeable percentage of elected officials are cranks who propose crazy bills, either because they themselves are crazy or just because they want attention.

It's pretty dishonest of you to pretend that this bill would've stripped Trump of Secret Service protection, though; the point of the proposal was how to handle someone who was in prison.

[Swede425]

I don't feel nearly so constrained.
Go visit Twitter Land.
The lefty freak show is on full parade.
We've got the press/actors/politicians/run of the mill losers who are telling everybody exactly how they feel about this attempted assassination.
Well, I mean NOW you'll have to be satisfied with the screenshots of their mostly deleted tweets. Imagine that. Deleted.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

" Reportedly Trump’s detail has been asking for more resources to protect Trump on the campaign trail for a while now. "

I was wondering what delusional, uninformed right-wing kooks have been saying.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Two things we know for sure:

1. Elected Democrats will extend far more grace to Trump and Republicans than if the situation were reversed. We know this to be the case given what Democrats have said on this topic so far compared to the cruel and conspiratorial Trump and Republican reaction to Paul Pelosi.

2. Any act of grace will do nothing to soften hearts and minds or cool the temperature. Nor will it ever be returned in kind.

But that’s the thing about grace, the most important time to extend it is when it’s unwanted and undeserved.

[Don Nico]

"Elected Democrats will extend far more grace to Trump and Republicans than if the situation were reversed. "

Pure speculation. But for the moment they have little choice but to be gracious.

[LawTalkingGuy]

It’s not. We’ve seen how they reacted now. And we’ve seen how republicans reacted to Paul Pelosi. These two parties are not the same. They have different values.

[Kazinski]

Elected Republicans?

I agree a lot of internet Rando's speculated about the relatively minor Paul Pelosi, but of course Newsweek points out internet randos on the left are hardly covering themselves in glory:

"Almost immediately, social media platforms and various online forums were flooded with posts alleging that the entire incident was a hoax. Proponents of these theories argue that the attack was orchestrated to garner sympathy or admiration for Trump and boost his support ahead of the 2024 presidential election."

And of course there is already a TikTok compilation of people upset the shooter missed.

Quit patting yourself on the back.

[LawTalkingGuy]

“relatively minor Paul Pelosi.”

He suffered a fractured skull.

“Internet randos”

Sen Ted Cruz:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ted-cruz-refuses-to-apologize-for-pushing-paul-pelosi-attack-conspiracies

Rep. Clay Higgins

https://www.nola.com/news/politics/clay-higgins-tweet-now-removed-mocks-nancy-pelosi-after-her-husband-was-attacked/article_8af5bd42-58ba-11ed-afa9-8b429cffb8d7.amp.html

[Armchair]

What "exactly" did Ted Cruz say?

Cruz shared a screenshot of a thread by far-right troll Matt Walsh which claimed it was “absurd” to call DePape (The assailant) a “militant right winger”—

Instead, he (Cruz) called the attack “utterly unacceptable” and labeled DePape a “deranged lunatic.” “The day it happened, I said it was [a] horrific violent attack and my prayers [were] with the Pelosi family—they remain [with the family],”

So, calling an attack utterly unacceptable by a deranged lunatic is somehow "bad"?

[LawTalkingGuy]

So, calling an attack utterly unacceptable by a deranged lunatic is somehow “bad”?

Why are you being so dishonest here? I’m pretty clearly
referring to the Matt Walsh conspiracy endorsement and his refusal to apologize after the facts came out.

[Armchair]

What “conspiracy” did Cruz somehow endorse? Because you’re not being clear at all. The “conspiracy” that the assailant wasn’t a “militant right winger”? Is that the “conspiracy”?

If you're being "clear" you should be able to clearly indicate what EXACTLY was somehow being endorsed.

[LawTalkingGuy]

The conspiracy where DePape somehow wasn’t a dude who had accepted right-wing lies about the election and was something else. It turns out that exactly what he was and Cruz refused to apologize for amplifying a lie.

[Armchair]

Stretching a lot there....

[Don Nico]

If that is bad, why is Mr Biden calling to "put a bullseye on Trump" okay?

It is all bad and all destroying any political comity in the US.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/11/04/us-midterm-elections-2022-live-updates-trump-biden-polls/

Gov Glenn Younkin

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/09/youngkin-pelosi-attack-comments-00066020

[Michael P]

Nothingburgers squared. MTG was probably right that if Paul Pelosi had a gun, we would have had a very different (much happier) ending where Pelosi was uninjured except perhaps from recoil. Note that that article doesn't explain what she did to supposedly get the crowd to boo or exactly what they booed. It's the same kind of conclusory and support-free attack I criticized in your earlier links.

[LawTalkingGuy]

She lied about it being a drugged up illegal immigrant and got the crowd to boo him.

[Michael P]

DePape was illegally present in the US at the time of the attack, and he had a long history of drug abuse linked to mental illness. On what basis do you argue that the description "drugged up illegal immigrant" was incorrect? And what does that have to do with endorsing or normalizing that kind of violence? She was pejorative towards Pelosi's attacker!

[LawTalkingGuy]

Rand Paul not understanding what grace is:

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/rand-paul-nancy-pelosi-daughter-husband-tweet-b2213101.html

And FWIW, more from him on a different violent act:

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/06/16/politics/rand-paul-new-jersey-judge

[Michael P]

OMG! Rand Paul denounced the attack on Paul Pelosi and pointed out that Nancy Pelosi's daughter endorsed violence!

That exactly shows that Republicans are more gracious than Democrats, though. Thanks for the admission.

[LawTalkingGuy]

No. It actually shows he doesn’t know what grace is, asshole. And neither do you.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Not elected ever but even so, Trump Jr:

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3712538-donald-trump-jr-mocks-paul-pelosi-attack/damp/?nxs-test=damp

Kari Lake

https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/01/kari-lake-mocks-paul-pelosi-attack

[Don Nico]

LTG,
You're making excuses. The attempted assassination of a Presidential candidate is a greater assault on the public order.
Of course, the RW nut core says bad things against Dems. Of course, some Dems call Trump Hitler, an existential threat to democracy and and even threaten violence.
None of that is helpful. None.
But right now pols have to sound united.

[LawTalkingGuy]

I’m not making excuses for anything. I’m pointing out that elected democrats are behaving better than elected republicans. Pretty straightforward.

[Michael P]

No, you've *claimed* that, and you've been shown to be wrong.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Where? You just said NUH UH.

[Michael P]

We showed that just down-thread, where you keep insisting that a single supposedly sarcastic comment is somehow worse than implying that the assassination attempt was staged or explicitly saying it was Trump's fault.

[LawTalkingGuy]

I’ve produced lots of links of prominent republican officials making light of Paul Pelosi. You have two state reps. These are not the same.

“supposedly sarcastic comment”

You don’t actually believe this.

[Michael P]

No, you produced links accusing elected Republicans of doing that, but the only actual quote even close to that effect was a supposedly sarcastic comment about how Paul Pelosi was doing.

You don’t actually believe this.

If you're now suggesting that it was not sarcastic, I will not argue that it was.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Okay. I think the issue is you don’t actually know how human beings communicate things.

[Michael P]

Judging from the below, I understand that a lot better than you do. You either fall for simple-minded lies or you confuse a president for his son.

"It is not so much the ignorance of mankind that makes them ridiculous, as the knowing so many things that ain’t so."

[LawTalkingGuy]

You either fall for simple-minded lies:

Lies like knowing what sarcasm is or reading people’s tweets that they sent from their own accounts? Okay.

“or you confuse a president for his son.”

Where did I do that? (Also idk if this is a great take for you considering how much you rely on Hunter Biden stuff)

[Michael P]

I already told you what the lies were. You insisted that you had read them, which implies that you fell for them.

The only actual things that come close to the kind of comment you claimed you showed were from Donald Trump Jr., but you said you were showing behavior by elected Republicans.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Dude. I linked several examples. You just didn’t want to believe them and claimed they were lies. To do so you rejected the concept of sarcasm and the evidence of your own eyes where they showed the tweets at issue.

And I didn’t confuse Trump Jr with his dad because I clearly identified him as not an elected official!!!

[Michael P]

You linked to several examples of leftist rags mischaracterizing what Republicans actually said, and blaming them for what other people said, in an attempt to explain why it wasn't fair to blame elected Democrats for things that unelected Democrats say. Or, later, that state-level elected Democrats say.

You specifically argued that Rand Paul was morally wrong to say there is "no room" for attacks like the one on Paul Pelosi. That's the kind of right-wing comment that you object to.

[LawTalkingGuy]

“You specifically argued that Rand Paul was morally wrong to say there is “no room” for attacks like the one on Paul Pelosi.“

Okay, please copy paste where I “specifically argued” that Rand Paul was “morally wrong” for something.

[Armchair]

You posted a link how Cruz said the attack on Paul Pelosi was "utterly unacceptable" and done by a "deranged lunatic" and that Cruz's prayers were with the Pelosi family.

That's hardly making light of the situation.

[LawTalkingGuy]

“You posted a link how Cruz said the attack on Paul Pelosi was “utterly unacceptable” and done by a “deranged lunatic””

You’re forgetting the part where Cruz endorsed a Matt Walsh conspiracy theory and refused to apologize.

[Don Nico]

But one can point out many instances of vicious language going the other way.
In the 80's I worked for 6 years for a progressive Dem US Senator. The viciousness of political comment and the toxic atmosphere were not present. They did start with Mr Gingrich.
It will only stop if we all try to tone done the rhetoric and vindictiveness that inevitably follow.

[Joe_dallas]

LTG

correct the parties are not the same
yes - we also saw how the democrats reacted to attempts to assassinate -
Kavanaugh
Scalise
virtually no condemnation from democrats

virtually no one praised praised the attack on pelosi (except a few fringe nut cases) and numerous republicans condemned the attack.

Your extreme partisanship clouds any rational thought you may have.

[LawTalkingGuy]

yes – we also saw how the democrats reacted to attempts to assassinate –
Kavanaugh Scalise virtually no condemnation from democrats.”

You know we can look stuff up, right?

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/members-of-congress-political-world-react-to-alexandria-shooting/

Lots of democrats there. Obama also reaches out to Jeff Flake who was there. Bernie gave a speech on the senate floor about it.

As for Kavanaugh Democrats could have been more forceful (the guy not getting close was likely the reason it was muted), but they did immediately pass a security enhancement bill.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna33427

Oh and here’s democrats firing someone who said bad things about Scalise:

https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/24/politics/nebraska-dem-fired-scalise-shot/index.html

[Jason Cavanaugh]

Sonja_T over there demonstrating how she shouldn't have a law license because she can't tell the truth.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

" But for the moment they have little choice but to be gracious. "

Like prominent right-wingers in the wake of the Pelosi incident, you despicable, worthless. gullible clinger?

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Hey did you ever see that video of that guy taking a crap on Pelosi's driveway? lol that was funny.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

No, I must have missed it while watching the video of a former UCLA law professor turning in his keys and leaving campus, taking his racial slurs with him.

[Michael P]

How quickly you forget the near killing of Steve Scalise, the spontaneous attack on Rand Paul and the near assassination of Brett Kavanaugh.

The right has been far more gracious and tolerant than the left has. This can be expected to continue.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Elected Democrats uniformly condemned those too, dude.

Seriously show me an example of an elected Democrat doing anything close to what Trump did with Paul Pelosi. (Also remember when Sotomayor was on a hit list of a Trump supporting MRA activist who had actually killed a judge’s son and republicans didn’t give a shit).

You’re getting grace from them, and you don’t deserve it. You’re lying because you know you don’t deserve it. But like I said, it’s most important to extend when it’s undeserved.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

There's plenty of Democrat supercuts floating around that prove you a liar.

[LawTalkingGuy]

There’s a super cut of elected democrats making jokes about this? Or any other horrible event he mentioned? Please link it. Because I can show republicans behaving horribly after Paul Pelosi. Hell I’m sure if I looked at YOUR comment history you were also just as cruel and conspiratorial.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Plenty of Democrat supercuts of them dog whistling the need to assassinate President Trump.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Even if that’s true, you didn’t refute my point.

[Michael P]

Maybe you should cite the specific "what Trump did with Paul Pelosi" that upset you. Was it when he said "With Paul Pelosi, that's a terrible thing, with all of them it's a terrible thing. Look at what's happened to San Francisco generally. Look at what's happening in Chicago"?

How does that compare to examples like Antonio Parkinson and London Lamar at https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/some-tennessee-state-lawmakers-strike-partisan-tones-after-assassination-attempt, to pick just a single state in the last 24 hours?

Yawn. We can see who is lying here and doesn't deserve grace. It's you.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Two tweets from state reps.

Versus:

Trump himself:

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/29/trump-mocks-pelosi-family-as-he-rallies-conservative-support-in-california-00119243

https://time.com/6226946/paul-pelosi-attack-gop-response-political-discourse/

[Michael P]

You think it's terrible that Donald Trump asked "how’s her husband doing, anybody know?"

Or, from your second link:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote he was “horrified and disgusted” by the assault. Former Vice President Mike Pence wrote, “This is an outrage and our hearts are with the entire Pelosi family.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said to Fox on Sunday that he had texted with the speaker. “Let me be perfectly clear, violence or threat of violence has no place in our society. What happened to Paul Pelosi is wrong,” McCarthy said.

Again, please be specific about what bothered you.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

"“how’s her husband doing, anybody know?”"

WOAH! THAT'S TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR!!! WOW, HOW HEINOUS!!

[LawTalkingGuy]

He was being sarcastic. And don’t pretend like you don’t understand that, seeing as you’re being sarcastic right now.

[Joe_dallas]

He was criticizing her politics and policies.

While I dont have access to a transcript of the statement made by trump (and neither do you), politico is a well known left leaning rag, so it very likely that was not the actual quote.

[Jason Cavanaugh]

Why bother coming up with a lie when you could just ad hominem the source without any evidence whatsoever?

Fuck off, Joe. Politico is far more trustworthy than anything you've ever said.

[Joe_dallas]

Politico and the rest of the left leaning media have a well known history of distorting facts -

You are fully aware of that Politico frequently misquotes statements for political gain.

[Joe_dallas]

Jason - typical name calling and insults when woke leftist BS is exposed. Certainly a good indication of your maturity.

[LawTalkingGuy]

You think it’s terrible that Donald Trump asked “how’s her husband doing, anybody know?“

You can’t possibly be this fucking stupid. Do you know what sarcasm or a mocking tone are? It was mock concern. Everyone understood that.

Also did you read the rest of the article?

[Michael P]

Did YOU read the rest of the article, and in particular notice how much of it was conclusory and based purely on assertions unrelated to what Trump actually said?

DARVO harder, dude.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Yes. I did. I posted it.

[Noscitur a sociis]

You think it’s terrible that Donald Trump asked “how’s her husband doing, anybody know?”

I’m not trying to put words in anyone’s mouth, but… yeah? That seems like a good example of the kind of thing LawTalkingGuy was complaining about.

(I’d be surprised if people on the left aren’t making similar jokes by this time next year, although since Trump will probably be the president at that point he doesn’t need to let it bother him much.

[Michael P]

He was complaining about one sarcastic comment, and saying that is worse than accusing Trump of causing or staging an assassination attempt?

I thought he was trying to argue something that made a lick of sense, but I guess I was wrong.

[LawTalkingGuy]

I was saying that elected democrats are behaving better than elected or prominent republicans would. I was right. You have two state reps in your examples, I have former presidents, current senators, current reps, current governors, etc.

[Michael P]

You have leftist rags lying about "former presidents, current senators, current reps, current governors, etc." Maybe that's all you care about. I want actual quotes.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Dude. Just stop. You know what sarcasm is. You saw the tweets of the conspiracy theorists. Glenn Youngkin actually apologized because he recognized he was wrong.

Part of the fun of Trumpism is getting to revel in the cruelty. It’ll be easier on your psyche if you just embrace it. This is a super safe space for it.

[Michael P]

What did Youngkin say that was objectionable? The article you actually linked quotes him as saying:

Speaker Pelosi’s husband, they had a break in last night in their house and he was assaulted, there’s no room for violence anywhere, but we’re going to send her back to be with him in California. That’s what we’re gonna go do.

That’s factually wrong as a prediction about the election campaign he was supporting — and was pretty obviously doomed to be so — but morally unobjectionable and explicit about there being “no room” for such attacks.

You’re the one who needs to just stop with the lies.

[LawTalkingGuy]

“You’re the one who needs to just stop with the lies.“

Youngkin wrote her an apology dude. He made light of a serious situation and recognized it was wrong.

If he can do it so you can you.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/09/youngkin-pelosi-attack-comments-00066020

[Michael P]

Saying there’s “no room” for that kind of attack is “making light” of it?

Thanks for clarifying how dishonest you are, and how much more decent Republicans are than Democrats. That's "very fine people on both sides" level of hoax.

[LawTalkingGuy]

I don’t get why you’re being like this? You’re trying to spin what Youngkin said when he himself literally apologized to Pelosi with a personal note.

You’re ignoring actual tweets and statements that are shown in the many articles I linked.

You’re pretending you don’t know what sarcasm is.

What’s the point of this behavior?

[Armchair]

LTG,

You're linking to quotes made by Republicans that express concern, and condemn violence. And somehow are insinuating that this is wrong and bad.

[Michael P]

What's the point of your behavior in applying a grotesque double standard in your attempts to make elected Republicans look worse than elected Democrats? You're applying extremely uncharitable interpretations of things -- like Glenn Youngkin apologizing for not being deferential enough about the attack that he decried -- to deflect blame from your guy saying things like "put Trump in the bullseye".

It's quite clear what is going on here.

[LawTalkingGuy]

I linked congressmen endorsing conspiracy theories.

Trump mocking the situation.

Youngkin making light and then apologizing.

Rand Paul being a dick about the attack because of Pelosi’s daughter.

Marjorie Taylor Greene lying and getting the crowd to boo.

Just admit they behaved poorly. It’s not that hard.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Don't forget autistic, lying, antisocial, right-wing asshole Elon Musk. Did that faux libertarian stain on America ever apologize for what he said about the Pelosi incident?

[Estragon]

Have we just memory holed the Paul Pelosi jokes?

[Michael P]

Are "the Paul Pelosi jokes" like the Russian pee tapes and evidence of collusion?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

” The right has been far more gracious and tolerant than the left has. ”

That’s just your ignorance, bigotry, and lack of character talking.

You are the essence of the Volokh Conspiracy's target audience.

[Swede425]

LOL!
Guys, he knows this FOR SURE! You know, if the situation was reversed. Except it isn't reversed. It's lefty violence. Again.

But it is Sunday, so thanks for the homily on grace. You work with Rev. Artie on that?

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

"Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation.

He's a threat to our freedom. He's a threat to our democracy. He's literally a threat to everything America stands for."

6/28/24 a Tweet by President Biden

[LawTalkingGuy]

Wait til I show you what republicans tweet about democrats.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Ok! I'll stand by!

[Mr. Bumble]

Still waiting.

[LawTalkingGuy]

No. You’re not actually. Because you know what I’d post and how it would make you look.

[Michael P]

We're still waiting.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Why should I bother linking things for you when you’re just going to pretend they didn’t say what they said?

[LawTalkingGuy]

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/28/couy-griffin-cowboys-for-trump-tweet-dead-democrat-video/5279278002/

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/09/1053895408/paul-gosar-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-anime-twitter-video-backlash

[Armchair]

""I've come to the conclusion that the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat," Griffin said before clarifying moments later that he meant a political death"

Clarifying moments later....

[Michael P]

That's astonishingly weak sauce. Is that really the best you have? It's not like advising people to harass politicians (years before she advised people to go out and riot in order to secure a conviction in an ongoing trial):

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/25/politics/maxine-waters-trump-officials/index.html

Or this guy whose rhetoric led to a different assassination attempt:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/06/08/2020_flashback_schumer_tells_kavanaugh_you_have_released_the_whirlwind_and_you_will_pay_the_price.html

[LawTalkingGuy]

No comment on the Gosar one, eh?

Also Schumer was referring to something Kavanaugh said himself.

[Michael P]

If you think the Gosar thing is bad, I can only recommend you avoid the Biden 2024 campaign's official Xitter photo.

[Kazinski]

Couy Griffin's highest ever office is a county commissioner in New Mexico.

Gosar tweeted a cartoon, which was not appropriate, but hardly a serious threat.

Gosar for the record is my Congressman, he won the district in '22 running unopposed, with 95% of the vote. It's a pretty deep red district.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Yeah the issue was Trump retweeting it.

And I’m sorry but posting a video of yourself killing a colleague is not simply “inappropriate” it would be a fireable offense in any office other than the US Congress.

“ Gosar for the record is my Congressman, he won the district in ’22 running unopposed, with 95% of the vote. It’s a pretty deep red district.”

Well that reflects extremely poorly on you and your district doesn’t it?

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Hoo boy, things are getting curious!

Here's a video of the wannabe assassin in a Blackrock video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjmLqoGRqNo

There's also this one of him on campus saying he wants to slit every Republican's throat.

https://cdn.videy.co/T9ZGkUaM.mp4

But m'uh voter registration!!Q

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

These are your fans, Volokh Conspirators.

And a substantial part of the reason the going-away parties at UCLA occurred after, not before, former professor Volokh left campus.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

This makes no sense. Are you okay?

[Jerry B.]

He’s never been okay.

[Sarcastr0]

LOL look who you're replying to about who is okay.

[Krayt]

Wow, I had no idea Ford’s nomination was so controversial.

[Kazinski]

Profiles in Courage:
"Not long before shots rang out, rallygoers noticed a man climbing to the roof of a nearby building and warned local police, according to two law enforcement officials.

One local police officer climbed to the roof and encountered Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer. The officer retreated down the ladder, and Crooks quickly took a shot toward Trump, and that’s when Secret Service snipers shot him, said the officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation."

Although that is probably what caused the shooter to miss, having to rush his shot.

And the account seems to say that the shooter only got off one shot, it had to have been at least 2-3 shots.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/gunman-pointed-rifle-at-local-officer-before-firing-at-trump-during-rally-sources-tell-ap

[Sarcastr0]

Not gonna ding the local policeman for not making a target of himself by trying to climb up a ladder before getting shot.

Your point about the Secret Service above is legit though – this site and others have had stories here and there about them being bad for a while and if this served for a bottom-up investigation and reform I would not be unhappy.

[Kazinski]

I'm not going to rip him for not sacrificing his life, but for being totally ineffective.

If nothing else, the crowd is yelling he's got a gun, which if the secret service isn't responding, he should loose off a warning shot into the ground to instantly get their attention. It would have instantly drawn the counter snipers attention to the rooftop, and maybe saved one innocent life.

[Sarcastr0]

I'm not going to wargame this out, but he already got the shooter's attention, looked like.

Dunno what the timing of the counter snipers' attention was.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

They were waiting for permission to fire. Of course it didn't come. Maybe the leadership wanted to wait for some reason.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

How was former president Trump still speaking after a police officer had (1) climbed onto the roof atop which a man with a rifle was lying 150 yards away, (2) confronted the shooter, and (3) scrambled down from the roof when the kook aimed a rifle at the officer?

We may learn that the answer involves the nature of the area (Butler County, Pennsylvania) in which this incident occurred (and its police officers and departments), although local failures and inadequacies do not foreclose questions concerning the Secret Service's conduct. The apparent delay in safeguarding a legitimate presidential candidate after an obvious threat had been identified and addressed is remarkable.

[Krayt]

Normally you do simple outrage trolling. Stirring conspiracy theory generation in your opposition is a new thing for you. Quite impressive.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

It’s now being reported that the gunman was atop that roof, seen carrying a rifle, for “three to four minutes,” yet Trump was still at the podium.

This event was being conducted in the sticks, but surely there was a walkie-talkie somewhere in the vicinity of the Butler Farm Show facility. Or maybe someone could have run 150 yards in less than three minutes?

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Add on there the counter-snipers had the guy in their sites and waited for him to get 8 shots off before returning fire.

The Deep State.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

This was Butler County, a bigoted, superstitious, half-educated, can’t-keep-up Republican backwater. Everything is fucked up in Butler County.

[M L]

.

[M L]

If Trump is a secret Russian asset, or an existential threat to the country in some way, intends to destroy "democracy" or overthrow the system, is like Hitler in some meaningful way, etc . . . then isn't killing him justified and praiseworthy?

[M L]

The director of the Secret Service was focused on using social media influencers to attract more female applicants. I’m shocked that this strategy has not resulted in a more competent and skilled workforce.

https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1812582499949641867

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Is there any surprise about this? The Pentagon has been infiltrated by the same idiotic D.C. Marxists.

Washington D.C. is the greatest threat to human freedom and flourishing humanity has ever faced.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

That filthy vile man Biden is using this as a campaign stump speech and even dusting off that creepy ass whisper.

[Michael P]

What do you mean?! In America, we resolve our differences at the battle box. I heard it from an authopotative source.

https://x.com/WarMachineRR/status/1812640278978687150

[Jerry B.]

“If the battle box doesn’t work, fall back on the bullet box”?

[NvEric]

The post today by I.S. is not a helpful nor intelligent.
He should be fired.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

You mean he should pack his bags and depart campus, just like former professor Volokh?