U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

Texas Democrat Demands FBI Probe of Police Response to Uvalde Shooting



U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas urged the FBI on Thursday to investigate law enforcement's response to the deadly elementary school shooting in Uvalde, a demand that came as local police officers faced growing scrutiny and anger over their actions during the massacre and contradictory statements in its wake.

"The people of Uvalde, of Texas, and of the nation deserve an accurate account of what transpired," Castro, a Democrat, wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray. "However, state officials have provided conflicting accounts that are at odds with those provided by witnesses."

"Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter."

Castro pointed specifically to officials' divergent, muddled, and fast-changing narratives on "whether the school security officer and the gunman exchanged fire outside the school" and "how long law enforcement officers were in adjoining classrooms while the gunman barricaded himself in a classroom with students and teachers."

Shortly following Tuesday's shooting—during which a gunman identified as Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers—a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) claimed that a school police officer exchanged gunfire with Ramos before the shooter entered the building through an unlocked door.

The director of DPS later altered that account, saying a school police officer "engaged" Ramos but there was no gunfire exchange.

On Thursday, Victor Escalon Jr.—a regional director of DPS—said that, in fact, no officer confronted Ramos before he entered Robb Elementary School and killed more than 20 people.

Escalon also revealed during a press conference Thursday that the gunman—who crashed his grandmother's vehicle in a nearby ditch—was outside the school for roughly 12 minutes, firing shots at passersby, before he entered the building, an account that conflicted with earlier statements from local authorities.

The gunman was inside the school building for about an hour before a Border Patrol agent shot and killed him.

In his letter on Thursday, Castro noted that "a block of time between 11:30 am and 1 pm local time has yet to be fully accounted for."

"Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter," Castro wrote. "I urge the FBI to use its maximum authority to thoroughly examine the timeline of events and the law enforcement response and to produce a full, timely, and transparent report on your findings."

"Your agency must ensure that the American people have a complete and comprehensive account of how this tragedy occurred," he added.

It's hardly surprising that the details of such a chaotic and horrific incident would come into clearer focus in subsequent days, but the deep contradictions and false messages from state officials have been jarring, particularly to grieving parents who were on the scene as the massacre unfolded.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that "people who arrived at the school while Ramos locked himself in a classroom, or saw videos of police waiting outside, were furious."

"The police were doing nothing," Angeli Rose Gomez, a parent of two children at Robb Elementary School, told the newspaper. "They were just standing outside the fence. They weren't going in there or running anywhere."

The Journal reported that Gomez "was one of numerous parents who began encouraging—first politely, and then with more urgency—police and other law enforcement to enter the school sooner."

"After a few minutes, she said, U.S. Marshals put her in handcuffs, telling her she was being arrested for intervening in an active investigation," according to the Journal. "She said she saw a father tackled and thrown to the ground by police and a third pepper-sprayed. Once freed from her cuffs, Ms. Gomez made her distance from the crowd, jumped the school fence, and ran inside to grab her two children. She sprinted out of the school with them."

https://www.rawstory.com/texas-democrat-demands-fbi-probe-of-police-response-to-uvalde-shooting/

[Rick Plant]

Dem interrupts Greg Abbott presser to demand action on gun safety: ‘You have to do something man’



The Democrat who represents Uvalde in the Texas State Senate interrupted a Friday press conference held by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to demand he call the legislature back for a special session on gun safety legislation.

During the press conference, as Abbott was talking about Texas having a long history of allowing 18-year-olds to buy long guns, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez seized the floor.

"My colleagues are asking for a special session, you are getting a letter tomorrow," Gutierrez announced.

"The Senate Democratic Caucus, we have asked for changes, I'm asking you now. I apologize for interrupting your press conference about the needs of this community," he added.

Prior to the press conference, Gutierrez was interviewed by CNN. “There’s no way in the world that an 18-year-old kid should access a militarized weapon like it happened in this situation,” he said. “And I put that on people that are in power in Texas.”

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[Rick Plant]

Right wing Republicans like Ted Cruz want to do more for Russia than help the United States of America. Think about that....it's always about Russia with these traitors.   

Letter reveals Ted Cruz demanded Biden lift sanctions on Russian ammunition manufacturers

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was one of several lawmakers who wrote to the Biden administration in September demanding an end to the embargo on Russian ammunition imports.

"The group sent a letter dated Sept. 3 to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen accusing the administration of using the sanctions as a means to enact gun control measures and arguing that it would exacerbate a shortage of ammunition," said the report. "'Wholesalers, retailers, small businesses, gun owners, and shooting sportsmen rely on ammunition imported from Russia and are rightfully concerned that this is an attempt at gun control,' the lawmakers wrote in the letter."

The sanctions were first imposed in response to the 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok. He survived this attempt but was imprisoned on dubious charges upon returning to Russia.

'Two weeks before the letter was sent, the lobbying arm of the NRA wrote about the sanctions, calling it an 'overreach' and 'crusade against law-abiding gun owners' by the Biden administration," said the report. "The letter mirrors the same points the NRA made in its article. The organization wrote that it is exploring all of its legislative, legal and policy options to block the policy."

Other Republican lawmakers who signed the letter include Caucus Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).

AFP

[Rick Plant]

Republican arrested for DUI won’t say where he was before crashing car at 3:45 am



The likely GOP nominee for state treasurer in Vermont is refusing to answer press questions sessions about an incident that resulted in his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence only weeks before filing for office.

"Kevin Divney, a 57-year-old financial analyst who lives in Londonderry, was arrested around 3:45 a.m. on May 11 in the town of Landgrove. A Vermont State Police press release later that day said he showed "signs of impairment." The release did not say whether he was injured in the crash," the Burlington weekly Seven Days reported Friday evening.

Divney is facing "perennial candidate" H. Brooke Paige for the GOP nomination for treasurer. Paige is also the only Republican running for attorney general.

"A political newcomer, Divney declared his candidacy under the wire on Thursday, but has the backing of Vermont GOP Chair Paul Dame," the local news site VT Digger reported.

Divney has appeared on CNBC and Fox Business as a financial analyst.

"In a phone interview on Friday, Divney told Seven Days that he was heading home on the night of his arrest, but he would not say from where," the weekly reported. "Divney was more willing to discuss his candidacy, explaining how he began considering a run for treasurer after he was contacted by the state GOP not long after his arrest. A phone call with former Republican governor Jim Douglas, who once held the treasurer position, ultimately convinced him to run, he said."

Dame, the GOP chairman, is still supporting Divney.

"Although I don’t know the details of exactly what happened, it’s very uncharacteristic," Dame said. "It doesn’t look like a pattern, and I think he’s got some of the best technical experience that we’ve had for somebody in this position."

"At the end of the day, voters will decide," he added.

Treasurer Beth Pearce (D) did not seek re-election due to health reasons. Former Financial Regulation Commissioner Mike Pieciak is running unopposed for the Democratic Party nomination.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/vermont-gop-state-treasurer-candidate-was-recently-charged-with-dui/Content?oid=35668348

[Rick Plant]

Another Republican who claims to be  "America First" but she votes against Americans each time she votes on a bill.   

[Rick Plant]

'Boldly ignorant' Ted Cruz slammed by retired NYPD detective for his suggestions to protect kids



Appearing on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show," a retired NYPD detective expressed disgust with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over his attempts to dismiss the idea of new gun laws to protect children in schools and instead is insisting America needs to turn schools into fortresses.

In interviews and appearing at the NRA convention this weekend in Houston, Cruz has vociferously disregarded the easy availability of high-powered weapons and instead focused on a door that was left open at the elementary school where the shooting occurred.

After host Phang shared a clip of the Texas Republican making his case, she asked former law enforcement detective Marq Claxton his thoughts on what Cruz was proposing.

Calling the controversial senator "boldly ignorant," he proceeded to rip Cruz's proposal apart.

"Marq, I was a prosecutor for half my career, I never prosecuted somebody for leaving a door open. How absurd is this proposal by Ted Cruz that the solution is to make sure that we don't have too many doors at our schools?' host Phang asked.

"Ted Cruz's statements were boldly ignorant and dismissive of the clear obvious danger that is faced by so many people in society because of the prevalence of violence and gun violence in particular," he replied. "It really shows just how so many political electeds lack the fortitude to move forward and do the right thing: save lives."

"Instead of sloganeering, Mr.Cruz and his other elected colleagues really should be working on legislation that provides, or minimizes the risk of damage, and could quite possibly and probably save lives," he continued. "That is some additional gun restrictions, some background checks, there are other things that are out there that will undoubtedly be effective and save lives, and prevent these gun violence deaths."

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[Rick Plant]

'The evil in Texas' is Greg Abbott: Uvalde state senator calls out governor over his NRA comments



Appearing on MSNBC with host Alex Witt, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez who represents the district that was home to a mass shooting at an elementary school on Tuesday, hammered Gov. Greg Abbott for not doing anything to limit the availability to purchase high-powered weapons and then having the audacity to speak to an NRA convention just days after the 19 children and two adults were murdered by a gunman.

Noting that Abbott used his speech to lament the "evil" in the world that he blames for mass shootings, Guiterrez begged to differ.

"Last night, a speaker after speaker denounced the massacre," host Witt prompted the lawmaker. "They insisted that any new gun laws are not the answers to prevent future tragedies. Sir, it feels like statistics are indicating otherwise, and the feelings of the vast majority of Americans are simply being ignored. Even right there, it is like the speakers are playing to the crowd in the convention center. They are ignoring the throngs of protesters outside. What is your reaction to their tin ear?"

"I think it is the most disgusting thing coming to a community three days after a massacre like this, they should have canceled," he began. "They refused."

"Abbott should not have gone, he says 'Well, I didn't go,' well he sure sent us a video in support thereof, right?', he continued "He talking about mental health, talking about evil. The only evil that we have in Texas is that we have a feckless leader. That he has refused to do anything on this issue, even a modicum of gun-sense sense. That is the evil in Texas."

"Governor Abbott was probably pulling a CYA by not attending the convention," host Witt added. "He claimed he was busy doing other things. Perhaps."

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