COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Personally, I have no idea why someone needs a rifle with a capacity greater than five rounds but...



Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Colton Haab said he was approached by CNN to ask a question at Wednesday night's town hall but decided not to after the network gave him a "scripted question," quashing one he wrote himself. Haab, a member of the Junior ROTC shielded students while the school was under attack from the shooter, said he was going to ask about using veterans as armed security guards. "CNN had originally asked me to write a speech and questions and it ended up being all scripted," Haab told WPLG-TV. CNN aired a town hall on the Florida school shooting with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) that included NRA's Dana Loesch and Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel that was moderated by Jake Tapper. Students and parents asked questions about gun control and school safety. "I expected to be able to ask my questions and give my opinion on my questions," Haab said. "Colton Haab, a member of the Junior ROTC who shielded classmates in the midst of terror says he did not get to share his experience," WPLG's Janine Stanwood explained. "Colton wrote questions about school safety, suggested using veterans as armed school security guards but claims CNN wanted him to ask a scripted question instead so he decided not to go," Stanwood reported. "CNN had originally asked me to write a speech and questions and it ended up being all scripted," Haab said. "I don't think that it's going get anything accomplished. It's not gonna ask the true questions that all the parents and teachers and students have."

95 comments:

  1. I hunted with a single barrel, single shot 12 ga. It taught me how to aim and hit. I hunted deer with the same gun and a rifled slug. That taught me how to reload on the run.

    In the military, I trained with the M1 Garand and the luxury of 8 shots. I quickly moved from marksman to sharpshooter.

    When we established our right to bear arms, we were on an equal technological footing with government troops, flintlocks on both sides. The Civil War changed that, with repeaters and Gatling guns.

    No one in their right mind would expect that we have a right of technological parity in choice of weapons with the government. Common sense requires a limit. The last war we actually won was with the M1. In celebration of that win, I suggest that this should be the civil technological limit protected under our right to bear arms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not everyone is a sharpshooter.
      How does outsourcing the security of the rights of the individual to the government line up with the Constitution?
      Does it even line up with common sense?

      Delete
    2. Cost is a deterrent in the parity of a civil militia vs the government.
      I would vote no to any ban or laws designed to keep the people under government control.

      Delete
  2. Soft targets are the chosen location for terrorists, criminals and cocksuckers.
    Solution: Don’t be a soft target.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      If you need 30 rounds to respond to a hold up, you better just give the guy your wallet and hope for the best.

      .

      Delete
    2. How many rounds does it take to bring down a bear?
      A pack of coyotes?

      These are my concerns, city boy.

      Delete
    3. .

      :o)

      I guess it depends on how good a shot you are and the round you are using.

      If you are concerned, maybe you need a bigger gun.

      .

      Delete
  3. The 2nd Amendment, which isn't about shooting deer or protecting one's home, but about shooting tyrants, and maintaining a free state, doesn't mention the M1, or anything but 'arms', and a 'militia'.

    We are supposed to be the guarantor of our own freedom.

    If treasonous Hillary has tanks, doesn't it stand to reason we should have them too ? !

    I'm waiting to hear what Wayne LaPierre has to say on these matters at CPAC today. I generally go along with the NRA line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had my first .22 at age 10, my first shotgun, a single shot 20 ga., at age 12.

      Never have had a tank, or wanted one.

      Delete
    2. Or could even get into one, given my hip problems.

      I'll leave the tanking to spry Quirk.

      Delete
    3. When the need arises I count on Quirk to tank up, and, like the Patriots in Moscow, Russia, back in the days of Yeltsin, shell commie headquarters to keep the totalitarian monsters contained.

      Delete
    4. .

      I think my days of 'tanking up' are pretty much over.

      (Although I do on occasion still get a little 'tanked up'.)

      .

      Delete
  4. .

    Ditto.

    Those that argue you need 30 round clips so we are prepared to march against the tyranny of the federal government if we have to are living in a dream world. They obviously didn't watch the videos of the firepower brought to bear in Boston after the Boston Marathon bombing.

    We are a country of laws and we'll sink or swim based on out commitment and defense of those laws.

    There are plenty of small (and even larger), reasonable steps, we can try to limit the damage done by the bad guys. Limiting magazine capacity is one of them.

    Polls have shown an overwhelming majority of Americans say they favor universal background checks. Unfortunately, the chances of getting Congress to move on this are probably nil.

    Trump's proposed rule to ban bump stocks is a no-brainer it's so obvious.

    There are a lot of things that could be done that most people would agree with.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      The 'ditto' was obviously for Deuce's comment not the guy who wants that tank that he would never be able to get into given his bad hips.

      .

      Delete
    2. The age of ownership will be raised, some license required that shows one's sanity, like a concealed weapons permit is taken to do, schools will begin to have armed guards....that's my hunch.

      Delete
    3. Laws are for mankind to live.
      Not to be buried by the best lawyers or corrupted judges.

      Delete
    4. .

      I was an NRA member through the 90's. I left when I realized their overriding philosophy is that they cannot allow 'any' tightening of guns rules no matter how reasonable because they view the entire issue as zero-sum and a slippery slope that will lead that one change to another and then another.

      IMO, that thinking reflects cowardice. It shows an unwillingness to debate the facts and convince people to your way thinking. Instead, you employ bullying tactics and buying the votes of lawmakers.

      .

      Delete
    5. IMO, that thinking reflects reality.

      Delete
    6. Despite the fact that the Obama administration approved the sale of bump fire stocks on at least two occasions, the National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law.

      The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.

      Delete


    7. .

      Thank God no bullying by our beloved media.

      .

      Delete
    8. You can ban all the ARs, all the bump stocks, and all the hi-cap magazines, and guess what, people, lots of them, will still die. The horse is out of the barn on firearms. We need to take steps to keep the loonies on the path (song by Pink Floyd). or in the barn. This ain't about gun laws, ya'll.

      Taking Deuces's example of a single shot gun. The kid in Florida with any dexterity would have been able to reload a single shot gun and kill 5 to 10 people before he would have ran out with the rest of the students or someone had the balls to tackle him and restrain him. So 5 to 10 versus 17? Is that a success story? I can see the headlines now: "Mentally ill kid (who the FBI and local police have been watching for months) kills 6 people in a school before being tackled by students. Thanks the lord he didn't have an AR with a bump stock."

      Delete
    9. .

      The other 1o kids who didn't die in your example would have probably disagreed with you given the chance.

      .

      Delete
    10. My point is, smart ass, is it's a bandaid, not solving the problem.

      Delete
  5. Wayne LaPierre is speaking soon, Fox is covering the event.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NRA has been for hardening the schools since forever....

      Delete
    2. .

      Looked like the same ol Wayne to me. Almost the first words out of his mouth were you have a bunch of opportunists out there trying to use this tragedy to take our guns away.

      It's the pattern we've come to expect.

      The shooting took place about 8 days ago. The day after it happened, twitter and other social media exploded with stories that it was staged, that the students were actors.

      There are three or four stories out there today concerning fake stories about specific students being professional actors and about one women crying whose picture is constantly showing up after each of these shootings (the same picture) insinuating she is a crisis chaser. These stories are put out by bots. Twitter has been pulling them down right and left.

      I saw an interview a few days ago with two GOP ex-senators discussing the shooting. I recognized both of them but can't tell you their names. Anyway the one argued that these seventeen and eighteen year old students didn't have the intelligence and experience to organize the protests they were talking about and so it was most likely being organized by outside groups probably financed by guys like Soros. Condescension on steroids.

      In today's polarized society, it's the new rules of the road. No wonder the Russians find their job so easy.

      .

      Delete
  6. Too little too late.

    The left has seized control of all the institutions. They redefine everything for their cause. Who would have believed they could have done that to marriage? They did. They control the schools, the media and the press as well as a good piece of the courts and civil service.

    We are surrounded. We lost. If we do not adjust the law, we will lose the next election. Trump will be impeached and the Democrats and the courts will redefine the 2nd Amendment, the way they want. We will be unhappy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Surrounded.

      We have them right where we want them.

      Delete
  7. We did not take these people seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  8. .

    Credit to Trump, Rubio, and others who met with those students and listened.

    .

    Much better tha

    ReplyDelete
  9. You do realize, the same as I, that there is no federal solution to this problem. The best plan was as in the previous post, the Israeli approach with the use of armed guards, backup armed staff, fences and gates. Nothing else will work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Two factor electronic weapon lock boxes for teachers volunteering to use said weapons once a shooter is on premises.

      Delete
    2. We have this security at our facilities: "Guard Dog" electric fences, scanned entry with photo security badge for scanning. No duplications, immediate void as soon as a person is terminated, quits, etc. In the case of a school, same scenario, the moment a student graduates, quits, gets kick out, etc, the card is voided. Same for teachers? There are some loop holes, such as someone holding the gate for someone else, but it works 99% of time.

      Delete
    3. That sounds good. That, and a couple armed teachers or coaches ought to about do it.

      Delete
  10. It took a couple of days, but the full power of the MSM was brought to bear on Google/YouTube to amp up their censorship fast!

    A video critical of Florida survivor David Hogg now cannot be found anywhere on the Internet!

    Articles by the NYTimes, Cnn, et-al are now free to characterize the incident however they please, as all evidence to the contrary has been wiped from existence.

    ...and Geller and Jim Hoft have been removed from CPAC for having the audacity to not go along with the program.


    CPAC Joins the Leftist Social Media Giants in Censoring Conservatives


    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/02/21/geller-cpac-joins-leftist-social-media-giants-censoring-conservatives/

    School Shooting Survivor Turned Activist David Hogg’s Father in FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines [VIDEO]

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/exposed-school-shooting-surviver-turned-activist-david-hoggs-father-fbi-appears-coached-anti-trump-lines-video/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Articles by the NYTimes, Cnn, et-al are now free to characterize the incident however they please, as all evidence to the contrary has been wiped from existence."

      ===

      Sorry, left out our very own MSM Cheerleader, Mr. Two Dot.

      Delete
    2. Is that the same feller I know as Chief Two Dot ?

      Delete
    3. .

      Good Lord, the BOT Boys are back spreading their Fake News

      Usually I would simply shake my head and smile but now the haole jumps on the 'Blame the Students' bandwagon.

      Pathetic.

      And disgusting.

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      MSM Cheerleader?

      Let's see this charge comes from Whine-Boy "I call them WaPo when I like their story and MSM whan I don't" Doug.

      Flaming hypocritical prick.

      .

      Delete
    5. .

      David Hogg, a 17 year old survivor of the Florida high school shooting turned activist, now receiving death threats, accused of being a 'crisis actor', and now because he is proud of his FBI dad is accused of being a manipulated tool of some vast left-wing conspiracy.

      And the proof? Well, gee, I saw it in a Youtube video or some idiot at Gateway Pundit told me so.

      Moron.

      .

      Delete
    6. Find the words 'crisis actor' in the linked article, sir.

      Delete
    7. .

      The Bot activity, the hacking, the altering of social media posts, all of this stuff has been going on since the 2016 election much of it tied to known Russian sources but a lot not. The activity grows when something arises that allows them to sow discord and leverage the political and cultural split in the country. The school shooting in Florida is just the latest instance.

      Snopes: Story that Laura Phelps a 'crisis actor' who lost a child at both Sandy Hook and Parkland rated FALSE

      Florida shooting survivor's mother says family now receiving death threats

      Florida State Rep's aide fired after retweeting phony YouTube video calling Florida HS students 'actors'

      Pro-gun Russian Bots flood Twitter after Florida shooting


      Plenty of stories out there but the useful idiots here fearing the dreaded MSM like Snopes and Wired would, without question, rather get their daily 2 minutes of bile from places like Gateway Pundit.

      .

      Delete
    8. Find the words 'crisis actor' in the linked article, sir.

      Delete


    9. .

      There is no left wing censorship by YouTube and Google.

      .

      Delete
    10. .

      DougThu Feb 22, 07:27:00 PM EST
      Find the words 'crisis actor' in the linked article, sir.


      "David Hogg, one of the acting students recruited by the same minds behind the anti-Trump Women's March, is having trouble reciting his lines: pic.twitter.com/D6dolHEJVT"

      — Lucian B. Wintrich (@lucianwintrich) February 21, 2018



      Close enough for government work.

      It also contains the seeds of another meme going around. All the faux angst and crocodile tears being generated about the high school shooting is being manufactured left wing groups sponsored by George Soros.

      Lucian Wintrich. Doug's kind of guy.

      .

      Delete
    11. Not my kind of guy, but neither are your friends that remove everything they want/MSM tells them to remove, making a truly informed discussion impossible.

      Delete
    12. Do you contend none of them have been coached?

      Does CNN not have an agenda?

      Delete
    13. Maybe you saw the videos of him asking for retakes before they were taken down?

      Delete
    14. (I saw one that had audio of someone in the background coaching him up. "You're doing fine, David.")

      Delete
    15. .

      :o)

      I said I wasn't going to laugh but you sir are precious.

      .

      Delete
    16. Your usual substantive self.

      Delete
    17. .

      Me substantive? I'm not the one making the charges you are. And because the kid stumbles (I'll take your word for that) you accuse him of being managed.

      Does CNN have an agenda? Of course. That's why they had the kid on in the first place.

      But riddle me this. This same kid has been talking since the day of the shooting. His story hasn't changed. Why would he need prompting to keep repeating the same story?

      .

      Delete
    18. The record is far from complete, that's my point.

      ...it was more complete a day ago, but that's no longer available in our Brave New World.

      Delete
    19. Lucian's grandad was a medical doctor born in Sosnowiec, Poland!

      Delete
    20. The child's question of Rubio was a masterpiece beyond the ability any one person to concoct.

      Delete
    21. Grandpop served as an officer in the Polish resistance. :-)

      Delete
    22. .

      The child's question of Rubio was a masterpiece beyond the ability any one person to concoct.

      Shit, Doug. Maybe within the crowd you hang with.

      .

      Delete
    23. .

      Grandpop served as an officer in the Polish resistance. :-)

      Jeez, Doug, you keep making my case. What does that have to do with the antics of this little twerp?

      .

      Delete
    24. .

      Keep making up excuses. Eventually, you may find one that you can slide out of here on.

      .

      Delete
    25. .

      DougThu Feb 22, 07:57:00 PM EST

      Not my kind of guy, but neither are your friends that remove everything they want/MSM tells them to remove, making a truly informed discussion impossible.


      More clever repartee from Fake News Man.

      What the MSM tells them to remove?

      Clever. (Or, just that crazy tic symptomatic of Doug's fixation with that nebulous group, the MSM, a group which he adamantly refuses to define?) The only problem with his theory of course is that social media, guys like Facebook, Twitter, Google could give a shit about the MSM except as a source of input that generates user interest.

      In the end, the only things these platforms are interested in are clicks and the revenue they can generate from them. That's why as a business they have no interest in purging phony accounts or taking down fake news stories that generate a lot of clicks. It takes money to track and delete bots, fake news stories, or phony sites and when they take them down they in many cases lose even more revenue. Why? Because the always an audience among the Illiterati for the kind of conspiracy stories generated by many of these sites. They eat them up.

      So why are the social media companies now deleting bots associated with Russia or putting out fake news stories? Because of the pressure they are receiving from governments here and in Europe since 2016. Examples in Europe, the UK has been threatening them with libel laws to impose fines. For example, 'Leave' groups there were complaining about the coverage they were getting over Brexit. In Germany, they passed a law affecting the social media companies that allows fines of up to $50 million if fake news stories aren't taken down within 24 hours. Here there have been a number of Congressional hearings because of the effect of the Russian interference in the 2016 election and social media's inaction in taking the stories down.

      These companies are acting voluntarily now to avoid even further government control in their businesses in the future.

      When new policies are put in place with these companies they make the policy changes known to their users and provide a means (usually a phone number they can call) if their accounts get inadvertently deleted while the offending bots or fake news sites are being taken down.

      .

      Delete
    26. Excellent display of your detachment from reality.

      Delete
    27. ONE Example, of Many:

      PragerU Takes Legal Action Against Google and YouTube for Discrimination

      This is speech discrimination plain and simple, censorship based entirely on unspecified ideological objection to the message or on the perceived identity and political viewpoint of the speaker

      - 36th Governor of California Pete Wilson
      Browne, George, Ross LLP

      LOS ANGELES — Prager University (PragerU) has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to stop Google and YouTube from unlawfully censoring its educational videos and discriminating against its right to freedom of speech.

      The lawsuit cites more than 50 PragerU videos which have either been “restricted” or “demonetized” by Google/YouTube. The PragerU videos range on various subjects presenting a conservative point of view, and include a video by noted Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz on the founding of Israel. PragerU previously compiled a complete list of their restricted videos here, which includes: “Why America Must Lead,” “The Ten Commandments: Do Not Murder,” “Why Did America Fight the Korean War,” and “The World’s Most Persecuted Minority: Christians.”

      In correspondence cited in the filing, Google/YouTube made it clear that the censorship of certain videos was because they were deemed “inappropriate” for younger audiences.

      “Watch any one of our videos and you’ll immediately realize that Google/YouTube censorship is entirely ideologically driven. For the record, our videos are presented by some of the finest minds in the Western world, including four Pulitzer Prize winners, former prime ministers, and professors from the most prestigious universities in America,” stated PragerU founder Dennis Prager.

      https://www.prageru.com/press-release-prager-university-prageru-takes-legal-action-against-google-and-youtube-discrimination

      Delete
    28. Here's a list of the over 40 videos we request YouTube remove immediately from restricted mode:

      ​How Iraq Was Won and Lost
      Is Fascism Right or Left?
      Why Do People Become Islamic Extremists?
      The "Anti-Hate" Group That Is a Hate Group
      Gun Rights Are Women's Rights​
      Why America Must Lead
      The Least Diverse Place in America
      If You Live in Freed, Thank the British Empire
      College Made Me a Conservative
      Gun Rights Are Women's Rights
      Gender Identity: Why All the Confusion?
      Is the Death Penalty ever Moral?
      Why Did the Democratic South Become Republican?
      What's Wrong with E-Cigarettes?
      Why Isn't Communism as Hated as Nazism?
      Where Are the Moderate Muslims?
      What's Holding the Arab World Back?
      Born to Hate Jews
      Is Islam a Religion of Peace?
      Are the Police Racist?
      Why Don't Feminists Fight for Muslim Women?
      Who's More Pro-Choice: Europe or America?
      What ISIS Wants
      Are 1 in 5 Women Raped at College?
      Islamic Terror: What Muslim Americans Can Do
      Did Bush Lie About Iraq?
      Israel: The World's Most Moral Army
      Radical Islam: The Most Dangerous Ideology
      The Most Important Question About Abortion
      Why America Invaded Iraq
      Israel's Legal Founding
      Pakistan: Can Sharia and Freedom Coexist?
      Ten Commandments 9: Do Not Bear False Witness
      Why America's Military Must Be Strong
      PragerU Live: Alan Dershowitz (6/28/17)
      PragerU Live: David French (6/20/17)
      Dennis Prager Talks Politics With Gloria Alvarez and Felipe Moura Brasil
      Dennis Prager and J-Street’s Alan Elsner Debate Israel
      Dennis Prager: Why Socialism Makes People Selfish (Live event from Wyoming)
      Ami Horowitz - How Is Muslim Immigration to Sweden Working Out?
      Ami Horowitz - Do White Americans Have White Privilege?
      Ami Horowitz - What's Wrong with Socialism?
      Ami Horowitz - How America Students React to the U.S. Flag vs. the ISIS Flag

      https://www.prageru.com/petitions/youtube-continues-restrict-many-prageru-videos-fight-back

      Delete
    29. .

      You are probably right, Doug. They are saying they have to protect the only audience that could possibly take this guy seriously, children. Does sound kind of discriminatory.

      .

      Delete
    30. .

      By the way, I noticed you left a number of his classic videos off the list, like...

      "The Rape of a Name is Also Rape" or

      "When a Woman Isn't in the Mood - Part II"

      (While you would think that "When a Woman Isn't in the Mood - Part I" would have been sufficient, and in fact, a damn short tape, evidently not.)

      .

      Delete

    31. "The only audience that could possibly take this guy seriously, children."

      ===

      Yep, Dershowitz, Hirsi Ali, Andrew Klavan, Victor Davis Hanson, Johna Goldberg, among others, all dimbulbs renowned only for their books for children.

      Serious argument, for sure.

      Delete
    32. Sometimes your sarcasm serves only to further expose your silliness.

      Delete
    33. ...Arthur Brooks is another of the child-level presenters.

      Delete
    34. .

      The record is far from complete...

      Ironic.

      Today, in defense of Prager and his fundamentalism, you argue for complete openness.

      What I don't hear you arguing about is openness, being able to hear both sides of an argument, when it comes to discussion of the Russian investigation something that affects our national security.

      Forget what federal group it is that determines which documents are considered official and must be archived for the official records and for FOIA, but whichever one it is has determined that Trump's tweets are part of the official record. Trump loves the number of people he has following his tweets. It grows every day. It's a source of pride that he brags about. However, he selectively blocks followers who offer up negative comments in response to his tweets. However, I never hear a peep from you about him distorting the historical record.

      It appears your umbrage is also selective.

      .

      Delete
  11. CNN Refused to Allow Florida Shooting Hero Colton Haab to Ask Questions at Town Hall That Didn’t Fit Their Narrative (VIDEO)

    Haab is the brave 17-year-old member of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps who ushered 60 to 70 people to safety in an open JROTC room during the Parkland school shooting. The high school junior may have saved many lives by using the Kevlar sheets from the marksmanship program to try and protect his peers. His actions were so important that the US Military is currently considering awarding him with a JROTC Medal of Heroism.

    Despite his heroism, the student told the Local 10 News that he was not allowed to ask his prepared questions at the CNN event.

    “CNN had originally asked me to write a speech and questions — and it ended up being all scripted,” Haab told a WPLG reporter.

    Haab had been planning to speak on school safety and the possibility of using veterans as armed security guards.

    When he found out that the questions would all be scripted, he opted out of going entirely.

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/cnn-refuses-allow-florida-shooting-hero-ask-questions-didnt-fit-narrative-video/

    ReplyDelete
  12. By the way, ole ASH shore is quiet about the US lesbian Hockey Team beating the Canadian lesbian hockey team last night. Yes he is! Why you could just hear a little ole bitty pin drop! yes suh! Da ole Black Panther, he ain't sayin nuthin. no suh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :)

      Heh

      That was a super game though, I have read.

      Delete
  13. NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch said Thursday morning at CPAC that she wouldn't have been able to exit last night's town hall on the Parkland, Fla. school shooting if she didn't have a security detail. Loesch faced off with students who survived the shooting at a CNN-hosted forum.

    ...

    "The government can't keep you safe and some people want us to give up our firearms and rely solely upon the protection of the same government that's already failed us numerous times to keep us safe. And then they also call Trump a tyrant but they say they want the president to also confiscate our firearms?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Deuce wrote:

    "No one in their right mind would expect that we have a right of technological parity in choice of weapons with the government. Common sense requires a limit. The last war we actually won was with the M1. In celebration of that win, I suggest that this should be the civil technological limit protected under our right to bear arms."

    Makes sense to me. Too bad it is a heretical viewpoint in America.

    MOME, Congratulations to you all for the USA women's hockey win. From the little I saw of the game (last 5 mins of overtime and the shoot-out) the US team deserved to win. rah rah, go USA go USA - all the USA Olympic athletes can now stand proudly at Ivanka's feet for the closing ceremonies.

    ReplyDelete
  15. In particular, Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was one of the 17 victims who lost their lives in last week’s tragedy, gave a speech while Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel And NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch sat on stage.

    ...

    This was not Alhadeff’s first appearance on CNN.

    Her impassioned response to her daughter’s death last week brought CNN host Brooke Baldwin to tears during a live broadcast.

    ReplyDelete
  16. How about that cop, that stood outside the door while the shooter killed the kids? What a flamer!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Gates' legal team has been in flux recently, with his existing lawyers, Shanlon Wu, Walter Mack and AnneMarie McAvoy, seeking to withdraw for reasons that have not been explained publicly.

    Longtime Washington defense lawyer Thomas Green of Sidley Austin formally entered an appearance in the case Thursday and consented to the other lawyers departing.

    Lawyers for Manafort and Gates did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new charges. The judge in the Washington case has imposed a gag order, but the Virginia case will be heard before another judge, T.S. Ellis.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Missouri Governer Eric Greitens was indicted on Thursday on invasion of privacy charges for taking a photo of a naked mistress before he ran for governor.

    The woman now claims it was traumatizing.
    She went back to his house later that same day for more sex.

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/mo-governor-greitens-indicted-felony-invasion-privacy-charges-taking-pic-naked-mistress-video/

    Eric Robert Greitens is an American politician, author, and former Navy SEAL, serving as the 56th Governor of Missouri since January 2017. A Democrat until 2015, he switched to the Republican Party.

    Wikipedia

    ReplyDelete
  19. His three lawyers have asked to leave the case, a request that Gates is not opposing. The details of those discussions remain sealed beyond a court filing that said they involve "highly sensitive matters" that would "potentially be prejudicial to [Gates] as well as embarrassing."

    Another lawyer, Thomas Green, notified the court on Thursday that he would be representing Gates. The Times reported Sunday that Gates was planning to plead guilty and testify against Manafort.

    Green did not respond to a request for comment about the new charges, and neither did Manafort's spokesman.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Off topic break -

    Neanderthals Had a Creative Side, New Cave Art Studies Suggest

    Dating shows cave art at several sites in Spain were created before modern humans arrived, scientists say


    By Robert Lee Hotz
    Feb. 22, 2018 2:00 p.m. ET
    99 COMMENTS

    In a new study released Thursday, archaeologists say prehistoric cave paintings like these red geometric figures on the wall of the La Pasiega cave in Spain were made more than 64,000 years ago, well before the arrival there of early humans, and were painted by Neanderthals.

    In a new study released Thursday, archaeologists say prehistoric cave paintings like these red geometric figures on the wall of the La Pasiega cave in Spain were made more than 64,000 years ago, well before the arrival there of early humans, and were painted by Neanderthals. PHOTO: P. SAURA

    Neanderthals, once considered the low-brows of human evolution, may have been among the world’s first artists, creating cave paintings long before modern humanity arrived on the scene, scientists reported in two new studies Thursday.

    Although these primitive cousins of humankind mastered fire and made tools, most archaeologists have assumed until now that they lacked the cognitive capacity for artistic expression, unlike early humans who painted vivid images of lions, rhinos and other animals on cave walls.

    In the new studies of paintings in three Spanish caves, archaeologists used a sensitive dating technique to measure minerals that had slowly built up as water dripped onto the paintings over time. It revealed that these prehistoric images had been painted at least 64,000 years ago—a time when Neanderthals were the only hominids inhabiting Western Europe, the scientists said.....

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/neanderthals-had-a-creative-side-1519326000

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    1. Let me know when they find Neanderthal Porn.

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    2. Why don't you just setup a camera in your bedroom?

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    3. :) I knew you had a good sense of humor, Doug.

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  21. Contrary to the traditional view of them as brutes, it turns out that Neanderthals were artists.

    A study in Science journal suggests they made cave drawings in Spain that pre-date the arrival of modern humans in Europe by 20,000 years.

    ...

    "We have examples in three caves 700km apart, and evidence that it was a long-lived tradition. It is quite possible that similar cave art in other caves in Western Europe is of Neanderthal origin as well."

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  22. Basque is unrelated to any other language known.

    Some far out speculation has it that it was the original Neanderthal chat-chat.

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    1. Basque language, the oldest language in Europe - Bizkaia Talent
      https://www.bizkaiatalent.eus/en/pais-vasco-te-espera/...de.../euskera-antigua-europa/
      Euskera is the oldest living language in Europe. Most linguists, experts and researchers say so. Euskera is a very old language whose origins remain unknown. Renowned linguists and historians believe that it can be the direct descendant of the language spoken by the dwellers of the caves of Altamira, Ekain or Lascaux.

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    2. Other speculation has it descending from the paleolithic Quirkian chat-chat which came from Poland and environs to the south west to Spain.

      Some linguists have even dared to suggest they find occasional evidence of paleolithic Quirkian, now in written form (finally !!) on internet blog sites.

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    3. Ancient DNA cracks puzzle of Basque origins - BBC News
      www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34175224
      Sep 7, 2015 - DNA from ancient remains seems to have solved the puzzle of one of Europe's most enigmatic people: the Basques. The distinct language and genetic make-up of the Basque people in northern Spain and southern France has puzzled anthropologists for decades. One theory proposed that... they were an ...


      Unusual 'relic language' comes from small group of farmers isolated ...
      www.sciencemag.org/.../unusual-relic-language-comes-small-group-farmers-isolated-t...
      Sep 7, 2015 - Welcome to Basque Country, where many people speak a musical language that has no known relationship to any other tongue. Many researchers have assumed that Basque must represent a “relic language” spoken by the hunter-gatherers who occupied Western Europe before farmers moved in about ...

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  23. In other words, Neanderthals may have looked different than modern humans, but cognitively it appears they were just like us.

    Soressi, the archaeologist from Leiden University, said one complication of these recent revelations is that it makes the demise of the Neanderthals harder to explain.

    "All of what we know today tells us that it is not because Neanderthals were dummies that they disappeared," she said.

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  24. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. from the paleolithic Quirkian chat-chat which came from Poland and environs

      **from the paleolithic Quirkian chat-chat which came from the marshes of Poland and environs**

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  25. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he’s considering pulling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers out of California.

    Why? Because he feels the state is giving his administration “no help” in targeting the violent MS-13 gang, especially in Los Angeles.

    ...

    Trump’s quotes spread quickly across social media where some were immediately supportive of the idea.

    Other’s were concerned about or completely against the idea.

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