The photos of the "crowds" at the tank parade remind me of when Bill Hicks would come on stage in an almost-empty club, scan the room slowly, and announce "I've had more people in bed than this" ...
When the president sends a cabinet member on TV to announce "We are using the military to liberate an American city from its elected leaders," where do you go from there. What is left to say. The idea of that being anything short of a near-universal "Wait, what the fuck is going on" moment proves how far we've backslid.
This is from 2022 but it was absolutely right. The practiced buffoonery of Trump 1, all the "just kiddings" and "seriously but not literallys" absolutely succeeded in desensitizing people who are hardly paying any attention to the harder stuff they always intended to do next. ...
The basic fallacy in chasing votes by being "tough on immigration" is that the modal American's position on the issue is "Deport the Bad ones and keep the Good ones," and they alone know who is which, and that simply does not translate into workable policy. So this kind of gestapo stuff horrifies some of the same people who cheered when Trump promised to do it. There are true sociopaths who love this, but "No, I meant only the BAD immigrants! Not my coworker/friend/neighbor!" is as likely a reaction as enthusiasm. You cannot do immigration policy that satisfies these people because what they want is nonsensical.
So by the time center-left parties fully commit to chasing the far right by "getting tough" on immigration, the backlash has already begun to build and they walk right into it. "I thought you people wanted this!" No, they want something impossible and convinced themselves they'd could have it - the "eat whatever you want AND lose weight!" of immigration policies.
It is hard to grasp but large masses of Americans are both racist/xenophobic AND not racist/xenophobic enough to applaud what Trump is doing. It's goldilocks shit, they want a level of racism/xenophobia calibrated exactly to their personal preferences, and you just can't make that policy. Don't try. ...
AP: Trump extends olive branch, invites Musk to White House cellar to taste some brand new amontillado ...
Xynzee says:
On related note even in Texarse the state troopers have a bit sanity. They refused entry to large groups of open carry pervs to state legislature with magazines locked in place.
Though how that changes things I'm not quite certain, but I'm sure the fact that a loaded magazine is someone's pocket or hand or in a concealed weapon rather than in the weapon itself means something to someone somewhere.
wetcasements says:
Deregulate guns, hyper-regulate vaginas.
Fuck the GOP.
middle seaman says:
Guns will protect us when the Chinese invade, says the guy. We need the guns to protect us against the government controlling us, says the other.
Hey guys, invaders have tanks and bombers. The NSA invaded your guts and we didn't see you protest much.
Garbage.
Dbp says:
LK says:
And how are we supposed to convince kids to not bring concealed blades to school, when the teachers are carrying?
Seth says:
LK is right. Plus, remember the story, less than 2 weeks after the Newtown shooting, about the toy cop in a Michigan school who left his loaded gun in the bathroom? Kid found it. Profoundly, amazingly lucky nobody wound up hurt.
Cognitive Dissonance says:
Having looked at the linked article, I just want to talk about this line:
Cognitive Dissonance says:
Not sure what happened with the last post there. Does WordPress have a problem with paragraphs and quotation marks?
”It’s one thing to have a trained peace officer with a gun in school; it’s a completely different situation when you have a custodian or a teacher with a gun. …"
I don't know about you fine folks, but something about the phrase "peace officer with a gun," and something moreso about the phrase "peace officer with a gun in school" just makes me nervous.
c u n d gulag says:
Who needs insurance?
They'll simply write a law in which parents of children wounded or killed in a school, can't sue the school district, or the state.
ec says:
LK,
No worries about kids bringing weapons to school. They can just take the guns off the teachers.
Amused says:
What c u n d gulag said. The same people who push for guns in schools are also in favor of sweeping tort reform, so I'm sure their next order of business would be to deprive people injured or killed by guns of any civil legal remedy.
JohnR says:
Why would the legislators care about this? They don't pay for the insurance. "The people" didn't pass that stupid law, the legislators did. "The people" will be told that this is why government doesn't work and will then be even more determined to vote in Teabagging lunatics who will pass more insanely stupid laws because the voices in their heads (God? Is that you?!) tell them to. "The people" are just really dumb that way.
cwk says:
Hmm, so what you're saying is that according to the invisible hand of the market, more guns does not, in fact, make one safer. I'm sure our nation's conservatives will be revising their opinion on this issue in short order.
Lecturer says:
THE FOUNDING FATHERS WROTE THAT ALL MEN ARE TO CARRY A BRACE OF PISTOLS AND SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE AND HAVE ROVING GUNFIGHTS AT ALL TIMES ESPECIALLY SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS FEED THE BLOODSTAINED GOD IA IA LIBERTY FHTAGN
J. Dryden says:
@ c u n d gulag: Insurance is for people who don't pray hard enough.
GMVictory says:
Even better, most of Kansas is poor and rural. This law does not allow exceptions for any public building either unless they have security measures and procedures that must meet State guidelines. Many counties and municipalities will not be able to afford the security upgrades that are required.
Even some of the wealthier population areas are scrambling to keep guns out of their buildings. I wonder if there isn't a security company or two who might be offering their services to these government agencies for a low, low price now that they are needed?
Vinny says:
I'm curious as to why there was no mention an Insurance companies raising insurance premiums for the University of Colorado when they began allowing folks to carry guns. Maybe UC is willing to pay higher premiums?
Brian M says:
J Dryden: Can't Google-Fu a source, but I had read somehwere that insurance is indeed considered "evil" bu some dominionists.
J. Dryden says:
@ Brian M: That doesn't surprise me, though really, I mostly associate that attitude with Ned Flanders: "Ned doesn't believe in insurance. He considers it a form of gambling."
Freeportguy says:
Is this the type of knee jerk reaction conservatives ALWAYS warn liberals about after a shooting…?
Tim H. says:
Now we know "What's the matter with Kansas?" was a rhetorical question. One must admire the persuaveness of politicians that can convince a majority of voters that hair of the dog that bit them is the solution.
Big Sister says:
Oh, geeze, I had to google Ned Flanders. See what happens when you don't watch television?
Brian M says:
Big Sister: At least you don't know who the Kardashians are!
Big dog says:
Is Kardashian some kind of assault weapon?