U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

Tragically the death total is now up to 19 children dead.

Watch: Chris Murphy erupts on the Senate floor after latest mass shooting leaves 14 children dead



Senate Republicans were denounced on the floor on Tuesday for their refusal to address America's gun violence crisis.

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who represents survivors of the fatal mass shooting in Sandy Hook,

"Mr. President, 14 kids — dead — in an elementary school in Texas right now. What are we doing? What are we doing?" he asked.

"Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they're going to be next. What are we doing? Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate, why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in position of authority, if your answer as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives we do nothing? What are we doing?" he asked. "Why are you here?"

"Our heart is breaking for these families. Every ounce of love and thoughts and prayers we can send we are sending. But I'm here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg any -- beg my colleagues. Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely," he asked.

"Why are we here?" he asked. "What are we doing?"




Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Deleted tweet by Arizona Republican Paul Gosar. He wasn’t trans. He wasn’t leftist. He wasn’t an illegal alien. The only thing Gosar got right was the name. Another in an endless list of despicable acts by Gosar just to promote hate.

[Rick Plant]

President Biden @POTUS

Thank you to Prime Minister Kishida and Mrs. Kishida for the warm welcome to Japan and for hosting yesterday’s tea ceremony and dinner.








Yesterday was a great day of meetings with Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Kishida. The United States and Japan are demonstrating the strength of democracies in action, and we’re working together to create opportunity and prosperity throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1528891095714783232


Yesterday in Tokyo, we launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to create a stronger, fairer, more resilient economy for families, workers, and businesses in the United States and in the Indo-Pacific region.






The future of the 21st century economy is going to be largely written in the Indo-Pacific. That’s why we launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to help all of our countries’ economies grow faster and fairer.

Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1528903675296550913

[Rick Plant]

GOP's Ken Paxton sued for allegedly lying to the Supreme Court about the 2020 election



Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has been sued by the Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline for "dishonest" representations to the United States Supreme Court while attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The lawsuit, a copy of which was posted online by Reuters legal columnist Alison Frankel, accuses the attorney of "professional misconduct."

"Respondent made representations in his pleadings that: 1) an outcome determinative number of votes were tied to unregistered voters; 2) votes were switched by a glitch with Dominion voting machines; 3) state actors 'unconstitutionally revised their state’s election statutes;' and 4) 'illegal votes' had been cast that affected the outcome of the election. Respondent’s representations were dishonest," the commission argued.

"His allegations were not supported by any charge, indictment, judicial finding, and/or credible or admissible evidence, and failed to disclose to the Court that some of his representations and allegations had already been adjudicated and/or dismissed in a court of law," the lawsuit continues. "In addition, Respondent misrepresented that the State of Texas had 'uncovered substantial evidence… that raises serious doubts as to the integrity of the election process in Defendant States,' and had standing to bring these claims before the United States Supreme Court."

The lawsuit cites the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, stating, "a lawyer shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation."

The Commission for Lawyer Discipline asked the court to "impose an appropriate sanction, including an order that Respondent pay reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs of court and all expenses associated with this proceeding."

Read the full complaint: https://www.rawstory.com/ken-paxton-2657391024/

[Rick Plant]

Watch: Ron Johnson attempts to flee through locked door as he avoids question on school shooting



Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) refused to answer a question about gun background checks on Wednesday.

CNN's Manu Raju caught up with Johnson in a Senate hallway following the mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas. The senator immediately tried to avoid the CNN reporter by fleeing through a door that turned out to be locked.

"In the wake of this shooting, why not expand background checks, including on firearms and all gun sales?" Raju asked.

Johnson, however, pretended not to notice the reporter who was inches from him.

"Why not expand background checks?" Raju pressed.

Johnson continued ignoring Raju until the senator eventually found an unlocked door and disappeared.

According to the Brady Campaign, Johnson has received $1,269,486 from the National Rifle Association.

Watch: https://twitter.com/victorjacobo_/status/1529512043279265794

[Rick Plant]

Herschel Walker’s Response to the Uvalde Shooting Was Incoherent. So Is His Senate Bid

The former Heisman Trophy winner is riding Trump’s endorsement — and not much else — to a showdown with incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock


Heisman Trophy winner and Republican candidate for Senate Herschel Walker speaks at a rally on May 23, 2022, in Athens, Georgia.

"What I like to do is see it and everything and stuff.”

This is how Hershel Walker responded on Tuesday night when asked about gun control in the wake of a shooter killing 21 people, including 19 children, at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school hours earlier.

Manu Raju @mkraju

Asked if he believes there should be new gun laws in the wake of the Texas shooting, Georgia Senate GOP nominee Herschel Walker told me in ATL: “What I like to do is see it and everything and stuff.” He didn’t engage further.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1529281988158541825

The hollow incoherence on display here is sadly typical of the man Georgia’s Republican voters just deemed worthy of representing them in the Congress.

Walker is best known for his Heisman Award-winning turn at the University of Georgia, followed by a relatively lackluster career in the NFL. He hasn’t done much since that would indicate he’d be a capable public servant. He has, however, pledged his allegiance to Trump and flirted with the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged, landing him the former president’s endorsement and, in turn, frontrunner status to land the nomination.

Walker doesn’t have much in his background to portend a career in Congress, but he does have a history full of red flags indicating he’s unfit for office, which is probably why Republicans have been warning that he has little chance to unseat incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in the general election this fall. Here’s a brief list of the warning signs that Walker could be a disaster should he wind up in Congress.

He’s a compulsive liar

The scant few qualifications Walker may have for public office are largely fabrications. The Associated Press reported last summer that though Walker has repeatedly claimed his company employs hundreds of people, brings in $70-$80 million a year, and owns a chicken processing division. None of this is true. The company listed just eight employees when it applied for a Covid loan in 2020. Walker admitted in a court case that the company brings in less than $2 million a year. He doesn’t own chicken processing plants, either; he only licenses his name to them. The Daily Beast reported last month that Walker also lied about owning the nation’s largest upholstery business.

Walker has lied about his academic achievements, as well. CNN reported in April that though Walker has repeatedly claimed to have been the valedictorian of his high school and graduated from the University of Georgia in the top one percent of his class, there’s no evidence either claim is true. CNN even points to stories from the time about Walker saying he maintained a B average at UGA, and that he had a 3.0 GPA before his grades began to suffer. He never graduated, having left school early to enter the NFL draft.

Walker’s most ridiculous lie, however, may be that Trump has never claimed the 2020 election was stolen. “I’ve never heard President Trump ever say that,” he said.

The Republican Accountability Project @AccountableGOP

According to Herschel Walker, Trump has never said the election was stolen.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1529104369928785920


He doesn’t believe in evolution

It shouldn’t come as a shock that Walker didn’t finish in the top of class considering some of the hare-brained beliefs he’s spouted. He seemed perplexed about evolution, for example, during a church appearance in March. “At one time, science said man came from apes, did it not?” he said “If that is true, why are there still apes? Think about it.”

He’s pushed quack Covid remedies

Trump once suggested that Covid could be cured by bringing “light inside the body.” Walker has made similarly outlandish claims.

“Do you know right now, I have something that [you can bring] into a building, that will clean you of Covid, as you walk through this, this dry mist?” he told Glenn Beck in the summer of 2020. “As you walk through the door, it will kill any Covid on your body,” he added, claiming the product was “EPA-, FDA-approved.”

Walker said that “they” don’t want the public to know about the miracle spray.

He has a long history of abusive and threatening behavior

Walker has talked openly about his struggles with mental health, writing in his 2008 book that he has experienced violent urges. Walker has on multiple occasions described playing Russian roulette, and has also threatened physical harm on those close to him.

The Associated Press uncovered court documents showing that Walker’s ex-wife, Cindy Grossman — who filed for divorce in 2001, citing “physically abusive and extremely threatening behavior” — in 2005 filed for a protective order against her ex-husband. She claimed Walker was unable to accept that she was dating someone else and started calling her family members. Her sister said Walker threatened to kill Grossman and her new boyfriend, “stat[ing] unequivocally that he was going to shoot my sister Cindy and her boyfriend in the head.”

The threats continued, with Walker telling Grossman’s sister that he wanted to “blow their fucking heads off.” He also allegedly confronted Grossman at a mall, during which he “slowly drove by in his vehicle, pointed his finger at [her] and traced [her] with his finger as he drove,” according to Grossman.

The protective order was granted, and a judge temporarily banning Walker from possessing firearms. When his book was released in 2008, Grossman elaborated on Walker’s abuse in an interview with ABC News, alleging he held a gun to her head in 2001 said, “I’m going to blow your fucking brains out.”

He was too scared to show up for the Republican primary debates

Walker has bailed on the Republican primary debates, opting instead to stick to events where he can control the narrative while letting Trump’s endorsement buoy his polling numbers. “Herschel Walker is ignoring the Georgia voters and ignoring us,” Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said during one of them in May. “If that’s what he does now, that’s what he’ll do in the future.”


Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Latham Saddler points at an empty podium belonging to candidate Herschel Walker as he participates in a Republican primary debate on Tuesday, on May 3, 2022, in Atlanta.

He won’t acknowledge that President Biden won the 2020 election

The primary prerequisite for landing an endorsement from Trump is a belief in the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen. Walker hasn’t railed against election fraud like some of Trump’s other preferred candidates, but he certainly isn’t acknowledging that Trump lost to Biden. “I don’t know,” told The New York Times when asked if Biden won. “I do think there was problems. And I think everybody else thinks there was problems, and that’s the reason right now everybody’s so upset.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/herschel-walker-georgia-senate-primary-1357872/

[Rick Plant]

This article is from last year, but even law enforcement was concerned about this dangerous Texas gun law that allows anybody under the sun to carry a gun without a permit or a background check. 18 year olds in Texas can now purchase any amount of guns and ammo they want while they still are not allowed to purchase alcohol or tobacco legally until they are 21. 

New Texas law allowing people to carry handguns without permits stirs mix of fear, concern among law enforcement

Starting Sept. 1, most Texans will be able to carry handguns in public without going through training or having to get permits. Law enforcement officers worry that could make their jobs more dangerous.

AUG. 16, 2021

A new state law will soon let most Texans carry handguns in public without going through training or having to get permits. Gov. Greg Abbott lauded the so-called “constitutional carry” legislation and other firearms bills when he signed them into law.

“You could say that I signed into law today some laws that protect gun rights,” Abbott said at the bill signing in June. “But today, I signed documents that instilled freedom in the Lone Star State.”

But some Texas law enforcement officers fear that removing restrictions to carrying handguns could increase crime rates while putting officers and residents in danger.

“When it comes down to it, it’s just a sense of disappointment that the bill ultimately was passed,” said Kevin Lawrence, executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association.

Conservative activists have long pushed for a permitless carry law in Texas, but such measures got little traction in the previous three legislative sessions. In 2019, a permitless carry bill didn’t even get a committee hearing in the Texas House.

When lawmakers gaveled in for the 2021 regular legislative session in January — the first since back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Midland-Odessa — some legislators expected to pass substantive firearm restrictions.

Instead, the Texas Legislature moved in the other direction.

Advocates of permitless carry said a shakeup in House leadership and the growing number of states with similar laws meant this year was their best chance to get a bill through. The Senate and House passed different versions of House Bill 1927, but agreed to a negotiated piece of legislation in May. The House approved the final version 82-62.

It was part of a slew of pro-gun legislation that lawmakers passed this year. Other measures passed include a bill that would bar government contracts with those who discriminate against the firearm industry as a whole, one that would remove firearm suppressors from the state’s list of prohibited weapons, and a House bill that prohibits state and local governments from enforcing new federal gun regulations.

“Texas is finally a pro-gun state despite years of foot-dragging, roadblocks, and excuses from the spineless political class,” Texas Gun Rights executive director Chris McNutt said in a statement after Abbott signed the bill. “I’m proud of the work grassroots gun owners have put in to get Texas Constitutional Carry finally signed into law.”

None of the five lead authors of HB 1927 responded to requests for comment.

Currently, Texans are mostly required to be licensed to carry handguns, regardless of whether they are open or concealed. To attain a license, applicants are required to submit fingerprints, complete four to six hours of training, and pass a written exam and shooting proficiency test. This doesn’t apply to rifles, which do not require licenses to be carried in public.

The new law — set to go into effect Sept. 1 — will allow anyone 21 years or older to carry a handgun in public without need for a permit or training as long as they aren’t otherwise prohibited from owning a firearm by law, such as people with felony or domestic violence convictions.

Most Texas voters opposed the idea of allowing people to carry handguns in public places without permits or licenses, according to a University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll conducted in April. Although 56% of Republicans supported unlicensed carry, 59% of all voters opposed it.

Texas law enforcement officers voiced staunch opposition to the new law as it moved through the Legislature.

“I don’t know what it’s a solution to,” said James McLaughlin, executive director of the Texas Police Chiefs Association. “I don’t know what the problem was to start with.”

Lawrence, also the chair of trustees for the Texas Fraternal Order of Police, said part of the reason the bill got support was because of some increased crime rates last year, leading Texans to fear that law enforcement might not be able to protect them. He also noted it could have partially been pushback to calls last year to “defund the police,” a movement that aims to lower law enforcement budgets and reallocate funds to social service programs.

“The entire process was done to appease a certain block of voters, to appease a very, very vocal, active group that were just demanding that they be allowed to carry guns,” he said.

Lawmakers added several amendments to the bill to assuage law enforcement’s concerns, including a requirement that the Department of Public Safety offer a free online firearm safety training course.

Ray Hunt, executive director of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, said the bill could potentially have grave consequences for law enforcement officers, noting that it could be harder for them to decipher whether someone carrying a weapon is legally able to do so.

His opposition toward the bill lessened after lawmakers changed it to ease law enforcement’s worries about certain provisions, including one that would have banned officers from questioning a person based solely on their possession of a handgun.

Hunt and other law enforcement officials hope their fears over the permitless carry law won’t come to pass.

Law enforcement heavily condemned 2016’s “open carry” law that permits Texans to openly carry handguns in public as long as they have a permit. Many said they didn’t end up seeing noticeable effects after it passed.

“We were completely opposed to ‘license to carry’ when it happened, and we said all of the same arguments that we’re saying now,” Hunt said. “And nothing happened, so we’re hoping that we’re overreacting. We’re just concerned because anytime there’s more guns, there’s a problem.”

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/16/texas-permitless-carry-gun-law/