I had to shake my head and laugh when the news coverage announced an urgent trace of the rifle used in the shooting was being done.
Let me get this straight – Republicans want NO gun laws – at all – but yet when their fellow Republicans get shot, then they want to find out where that gun came from and they want it NOW
Okay – got it.
I guess those 20 kids and their teachers at Sandy Hook that were gunned down should have been Republicans? And maybe Alex JOnes would not continue to spread the conspiracy theory that SAndy Hook is a just big hoax?
Remember our old blogging friend Cap’n America (he used a few other nics I don’t recall). Anyway, he gave a good lesson on today’s weaponry and ammo. Here’s his post:
Quote
“Congressman Steve Scalise sustained a single rifle shot to the left hip. The bullet traveled across his pelvis, fracturing bones, injuring internal organs, and causing severe bleeding,” MedStar said in a statement put out by Scalise’s office. “He underwent immediate surgery, and an additional procedure to stop bleeding. He has received multiple units of blood transfusion. His condition is critical, and he will require additional operations.
Unquote
———————————
This is typical of the wounds created by the assault weapon, or more specifically the “intermediate” round designed for an assault rifle like the M-16. From the Civil War to Vietnam, battle rifles were designed to kill at distance and fired a large projectile that tended to go straight through the victim. The Hague Convention even stipulated that rifle bullets must be of the “full metal jacket” type to minimize the horrendous wounds that frangible (or deforming / breaking up) bullets cause.
Weapons designers made assault rifles much more lethal at shorter ranges by using very small diameter bullets (the 5.56 NATO round is almost the same diameter as a .22 bullet) fired at a high velocity. The bullet tumbles and yaws, creates huge cavities, and a hydrostatic shock wave that damages organ and tissue without even directly hitting them, exactly like the kind seen in Congressman Scalise. That’s also why when the Wichita Police shot John Paul Qintero in the buttocks, it killed him–a 9 mm pistol bullet would not have been life threatening, but an assault weapon can kill if it hits any part of the torso or head.
The same thing that makes them so effective on the battlefield is what makes them so lethal in the hands of a Hodgekinson or an Adam Lanza.
On edit–here you can see for yourself. A firearms instructor fires a .223 at a cantaloupe, a coconut, and a cement block. The smaller round does significantly more damage to the first two, causing a much bigger exit wound in the cantaloupe and blowing the coconut to pieces. This is the effect of yaw, cavitation, and hydrostatic pressure. The concrete block has no water, so it doesn’t affect that.
Now watch to see how Congress reacts to this shooting by making sure every one of their Club Members get their own security detail (like Scalise) – aka bodyguards – and all at the taxpayers expense.
We don’t need more body guards – we need to look at the damn bullets and guns that are now all too easily accessible to all Americans – and even mentally ill Americans – thanks to these Republicans.
Did anyone else notice how Trump was reading his speech yesterday – word by word – and seemed to be unable to put forth one empathetic sincere emotion?
I remember President Obama after Sandy Hook – that man was torn up inside to think all those beautiful young children and their teachers were gunned down by pure evil.
And who has Trump cited as his source of news – Alex Jones – the very guy who has made a lot of money off fools that believe his conspiracy theories – one of which is the SAndy Hook massacre was a big hoax.
Trump does not even begin to compare to President Obama – IMHO. As for this unity that Paul Ryan called for yesterday – sure, Paulie, we’ll see what you and the rest of your Republicans will do the next time your boy Donald tweets out some more inciting and hate-filled words.
Oh – wait a minute – that did not take very long – did it?
Trump is back to his usual Tweeting self – did you read about his Tweet this morning?
This is what a ‘real’ president does in times of a tragedy. Did you also notice Obama did not call a press conference to pat himself on his back while reaching out to Republicans?
Choice of Words and actions do matter. I have always admired Obama’s ability to be optimistic and hopeful – even when those same Republicans that Obama was concerned about yesterday were pushing that known Birtherism Lie for 8 years.
A new AP-NORC poll shows a majority of Americans believe the president tried to interfere with the investigation into Moscow’s alleged election meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion.
Excuse me – but am I the only one that remembers how these same Republicans treated Congresswoman Gabby Giffords when she was shot and was in a coma for days – and then recovered under extraordinary odds and she is still dealing with her injuries from someone who clearly should have NEVER been able to get his hands on guns.
I still remember House Speaker John Boehner refused President Obama’s offer to ride with him and others on Air Force to attend the Memorial Service for the victims – even while Gabby was in the Intensive Care at the hospital still fighting for her life.
And what was Boehner’s excuse for declining Obama’s offer – he had a fundraiser in Washington DC that night.
WTH……and then Republicans wonder why there is a deep political divide in our country?
Most White House officials feared Robert Mueller would go after President Trump for obstruction of justice.
The signs were everywhere: James Comey’s testimony that Trump urged him to drop the FBI probe of Michael Flynn; Trump’s forceful denial, and counterattack on Comey’s character; Mueller hiring high-powered lawyers steeped in complexities of presidential power; followed by the president contemplating firing Mueller.
With the Washington Post bombshell report that the obstruction probe is in full swing (“Trump’s actions now a focus of Mueller inquiry”), the reality has White House officials and Republicans sweating profusely for several reasons:
They know Trump talked to countless people about ending the Flynn probe, so they assume Comey’s version of events is true.
They assume he did, indeed, ask Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, if they could help derail the Flynn probe, as the WashPost reported. They also assume he said similar things to other officials.
Nobody has privately mounted a straight-faced argument to us that Trump didn’t say this stuff to Comey or to Coats/Rogers. That’s telling in itself. The fact that the Trump public position — that Comey is a perjurer — isn’t being argued in private.
Any obstruction probe requires context, which means investigators digging into the finances of Flynn, Trump and Jared Kushner. This is the phase of the probe many Republicans have always feared most.
The obstruction probe is simply a new layer to the bigger underlying matters: Did Flynn have illegal or improper contacts, and did the Trump campaign collude with the Russians to influence the 2016 campaign? So the investigation is metastasizing.
Trump’s wife and Chief of Staff had to dissuade him from firing Mueller this week, the N.Y. Times reported. Why fire someone if you have nothing to hide?
Text to Jonathan Swan from a GOP operative close to the White House: “Leak was probably a response to stories about POTUS firing Mueller. Can’t fire him now.”
The White House response came from Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz: “The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal.”
But the article notably doesn’t attribute anything to the FBI. It cites “[f]ive people briefed on … interview requests” for “senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice.”
That sounds like lawyers for people contacted by the investigation.
Sound smart: With each passing day, Republicans find it harder to chalk all of this up to rookie mistakes.
What to watch for: In addition to condemning the FBI for leaking, expect White House surrogates to start saying that there is nothing unusual about Mueller is looking into this as part of his investigation. He’d be attacked for doing an incomplete job if he finished his investigation and hadn’t explored this issue.
And now this shooting of Republicans on that ball field – it will be interesting to see how that factors into the P.R. strategy of the Trump Team to garner some sympathy?
I just left a national blog about some lawmakers are wanting increased security details for themselves – aka body guards.
Why should taxpayers pay for the security of the politicians that created this mess? IMHO
These fools made this mess – they need to clean it up.
I’ve been a fan of Hank Williams for years – not Hank Jr. – the ‘real’ Hank Williams.
While we’re talking about Pastor Sam – I saw on local news that Good Ol’ Sammy allowed that bill to become law without his signature.
This is the law that bans concealed weapons in state hospitals.
Sammy’s reason for not signing it? He believes in the Right to Bear Arms and feels this bill is wrong – but he is not going to fight the Legislature over it.
Hmm…State Hospitals? Isn’t this where mentally ill people live and are treated?
What is this obsession with Far Right Religious Republicans and their obsessive need to pack heat?
Don’t they trust their Jesus to protect them and keep them safe?
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/6/14/1671766/-Rand-Paul-Tweet-Re-Using-Guns-To-Shoot-At-Government-When-It-Becomes-Tryrannical
This link has some very interesting interactive graphics and lots of details and information about shootings in America.
The math of
mass shootings
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/mass-shootings-in-america/
some people are beyond feeling sorry for them. These folks are to be pitied.
No amount of money can buy class, integrity, honor, self respect or a clear conscience.
The answer is yes. The vote was House Vote 77 – Repeals Rule Restricting Gun Sales to Severely Mentally Ill.
https://projects.propublica.org/represent/votes/…/house/1/77
I had to shake my head and laugh when the news coverage announced an urgent trace of the rifle used in the shooting was being done.
Let me get this straight – Republicans want NO gun laws – at all – but yet when their fellow Republicans get shot, then they want to find out where that gun came from and they want it NOW
Okay – got it.
I guess those 20 kids and their teachers at Sandy Hook that were gunned down should have been Republicans? And maybe Alex JOnes would not continue to spread the conspiracy theory that SAndy Hook is a just big hoax?
Remember our old blogging friend Cap’n America (he used a few other nics I don’t recall). Anyway, he gave a good lesson on today’s weaponry and ammo. Here’s his post:
Quote
“Congressman Steve Scalise sustained a single rifle shot to the left hip. The bullet traveled across his pelvis, fracturing bones, injuring internal organs, and causing severe bleeding,” MedStar said in a statement put out by Scalise’s office. “He underwent immediate surgery, and an additional procedure to stop bleeding. He has received multiple units of blood transfusion. His condition is critical, and he will require additional operations.
Unquote
———————————
This is typical of the wounds created by the assault weapon, or more specifically the “intermediate” round designed for an assault rifle like the M-16. From the Civil War to Vietnam, battle rifles were designed to kill at distance and fired a large projectile that tended to go straight through the victim. The Hague Convention even stipulated that rifle bullets must be of the “full metal jacket” type to minimize the horrendous wounds that frangible (or deforming / breaking up) bullets cause.
Weapons designers made assault rifles much more lethal at shorter ranges by using very small diameter bullets (the 5.56 NATO round is almost the same diameter as a .22 bullet) fired at a high velocity. The bullet tumbles and yaws, creates huge cavities, and a hydrostatic shock wave that damages organ and tissue without even directly hitting them, exactly like the kind seen in Congressman Scalise. That’s also why when the Wichita Police shot John Paul Qintero in the buttocks, it killed him–a 9 mm pistol bullet would not have been life threatening, but an assault weapon can kill if it hits any part of the torso or head.
The same thing that makes them so effective on the battlefield is what makes them so lethal in the hands of a Hodgekinson or an Adam Lanza.
On edit–here you can see for yourself. A firearms instructor fires a .223 at a cantaloupe, a coconut, and a cement block. The smaller round does significantly more damage to the first two, causing a much bigger exit wound in the cantaloupe and blowing the coconut to pieces. This is the effect of yaw, cavitation, and hydrostatic pressure. The concrete block has no water, so it doesn’t affect that.
Now watch to see how Congress reacts to this shooting by making sure every one of their Club Members get their own security detail (like Scalise) – aka bodyguards – and all at the taxpayers expense.
We don’t need more body guards – we need to look at the damn bullets and guns that are now all too easily accessible to all Americans – and even mentally ill Americans – thanks to these Republicans.
Did anyone else notice how Trump was reading his speech yesterday – word by word – and seemed to be unable to put forth one empathetic sincere emotion?
I remember President Obama after Sandy Hook – that man was torn up inside to think all those beautiful young children and their teachers were gunned down by pure evil.
And who has Trump cited as his source of news – Alex Jones – the very guy who has made a lot of money off fools that believe his conspiracy theories – one of which is the SAndy Hook massacre was a big hoax.
Trump does not even begin to compare to President Obama – IMHO. As for this unity that Paul Ryan called for yesterday – sure, Paulie, we’ll see what you and the rest of your Republicans will do the next time your boy Donald tweets out some more inciting and hate-filled words.
Oh – wait a minute – that did not take very long – did it?
Trump is back to his usual Tweeting self – did you read about his Tweet this morning?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/newsus/gop-senator-jeff-flake-shares-obama-called-him-after-alexandria-shooting/vi-BBCGU1X
This is what a ‘real’ president does in times of a tragedy. Did you also notice Obama did not call a press conference to pat himself on his back while reaching out to Republicans?
Choice of Words and actions do matter. I have always admired Obama’s ability to be optimistic and hopeful – even when those same Republicans that Obama was concerned about yesterday were pushing that known Birtherism Lie for 8 years.
A new AP-NORC poll shows a majority of Americans believe the president tried to interfere with the investigation into Moscow’s alleged election meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion.
https://www.apnews.com/20a964f63cc84a01b84ed2fe6fd5cee8/AP-NORC-poll:-Most-in-US-think-Trump-meddled-in-Russia-probe
Excuse me – but am I the only one that remembers how these same Republicans treated Congresswoman Gabby Giffords when she was shot and was in a coma for days – and then recovered under extraordinary odds and she is still dealing with her injuries from someone who clearly should have NEVER been able to get his hands on guns.
I still remember House Speaker John Boehner refused President Obama’s offer to ride with him and others on Air Force to attend the Memorial Service for the victims – even while Gabby was in the Intensive Care at the hospital still fighting for her life.
And what was Boehner’s excuse for declining Obama’s offer – he had a fundraiser in Washington DC that night.
WTH……and then Republicans wonder why there is a deep political divide in our country?
From AXIOS:
Most White House officials feared Robert Mueller would go after President Trump for obstruction of justice.
The signs were everywhere: James Comey’s testimony that Trump urged him to drop the FBI probe of Michael Flynn; Trump’s forceful denial, and counterattack on Comey’s character; Mueller hiring high-powered lawyers steeped in complexities of presidential power; followed by the president contemplating firing Mueller.
With the Washington Post bombshell report that the obstruction probe is in full swing (“Trump’s actions now a focus of Mueller inquiry”), the reality has White House officials and Republicans sweating profusely for several reasons:
They know Trump talked to countless people about ending the Flynn probe, so they assume Comey’s version of events is true.
They assume he did, indeed, ask Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, if they could help derail the Flynn probe, as the WashPost reported. They also assume he said similar things to other officials.
Nobody has privately mounted a straight-faced argument to us that Trump didn’t say this stuff to Comey or to Coats/Rogers. That’s telling in itself. The fact that the Trump public position — that Comey is a perjurer — isn’t being argued in private.
Any obstruction probe requires context, which means investigators digging into the finances of Flynn, Trump and Jared Kushner. This is the phase of the probe many Republicans have always feared most.
The obstruction probe is simply a new layer to the bigger underlying matters: Did Flynn have illegal or improper contacts, and did the Trump campaign collude with the Russians to influence the 2016 campaign? So the investigation is metastasizing.
Trump’s wife and Chief of Staff had to dissuade him from firing Mueller this week, the N.Y. Times reported. Why fire someone if you have nothing to hide?
Text to Jonathan Swan from a GOP operative close to the White House: “Leak was probably a response to stories about POTUS firing Mueller. Can’t fire him now.”
The White House response came from Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz: “The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal.”
But the article notably doesn’t attribute anything to the FBI. It cites “[f]ive people briefed on … interview requests” for “senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice.”
That sounds like lawyers for people contacted by the investigation.
Sound smart: With each passing day, Republicans find it harder to chalk all of this up to rookie mistakes.
What to watch for: In addition to condemning the FBI for leaking, expect White House surrogates to start saying that there is nothing unusual about Mueller is looking into this as part of his investigation. He’d be attacked for doing an incomplete job if he finished his investigation and hadn’t explored this issue.
And now this shooting of Republicans on that ball field – it will be interesting to see how that factors into the P.R. strategy of the Trump Team to garner some sympathy?
I just left a national blog about some lawmakers are wanting increased security details for themselves – aka body guards.
Why should taxpayers pay for the security of the politicians that created this mess? IMHO
These fools made this mess – they need to clean it up.
Richard Crowson sings it and it is fun!
http://kmuw.org/post/crowson-we-saw-light
I’ve been a fan of Hank Williams for years – not Hank Jr. – the ‘real’ Hank Williams.
While we’re talking about Pastor Sam – I saw on local news that Good Ol’ Sammy allowed that bill to become law without his signature.
This is the law that bans concealed weapons in state hospitals.
Sammy’s reason for not signing it? He believes in the Right to Bear Arms and feels this bill is wrong – but he is not going to fight the Legislature over it.
Hmm…State Hospitals? Isn’t this where mentally ill people live and are treated?
What is this obsession with Far Right Religious Republicans and their obsessive need to pack heat?
Don’t they trust their Jesus to protect them and keep them safe?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pence-hires-outside-counsel-to-deal-with-russia-probe-inquiries/ar-BBCK1BI?li=BBnb7Kz
—
Hmmm…..interesting development..
Pass the Popcorn