Category: Gun Control

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In Memoriam

If it's war these Trumpists/QAnon Nutbags want, it's war they're going to get. And we're going to take as many of them with us as we can. Fuck this shit!

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Why Can No One See This?

Hard to believe it's been nearly 20 years now, but when I landed my first full-time job after returning to Phoenix from San Francisco, I worked with a guy who was like this. He had an entire bedroom in his house stacked floor to ceiling with firearms of various types. We weren't close; we seldom spoke, but he was a damn fine looking man and verily I lusted in my heart for him from the moment I came on board. All that disappeared after he proudly showed off photos of "collection."

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Paint Over the Second Amendment

From :

You know what? Fuck the Second Amendment. Oh, it was a perfectly fine amendment when it was written, but c'mon, it was written in 1789 (it was ratified a couple years later, in 1791). That was a long time ago. Things have changed. That's the nature of things, isn't it. They just change.

Look, the US Constitution has been amended 27 times. Why? Because things change. Because stuff that made sense at one point in time doesn't necessarily make sense at another. Because even smart, reasonable, concerned people sometimes make a mistake or do something stupid. I mean, back in 1917 it must have seemed reasonable to amend the Constitution to prohibit the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors. But a decade and a half later, the American people thought "Lawdy, we fucked that up" and they had to repeal the entire 18th Amendment.

We can do that again, only with the Second Amendment. We could just repeal it. Or rewrite it so it's not so fucking stupid. The 18th Amendment probably saved a bunch of lives by making it a lot more difficult to get drunk. But we've been able to find a somewhat reasonable balance between saving lives and being able to have a decent merlot with our supper.

We can do the same thing with guns. We really can. We can shitcan the 2nd Amendment. Hell, Thomas Jefferson (who knew a lot about writing Constitutions) kinda thought we could scrap the whole entire Constitution every couple of decades and cobble together a new and more timely one. You know, a Constitution that met modern needs. Seriously, Jefferson said, "The earth belongs always to the living generation." Ain't no reason for us to be locked into something written by folks 230 plus years ago.

Here's what Jefferson wrote to James Madison in September of 1789:

[I]t may be proved that no society can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation. They may manage it then, & what proceeds from it, as they please, during their usufruct. They are masters too of their own persons, & consequently may govern them as they please. But persons & property make the sum of the objects of government. The constitution and the laws of their predecessors extinguished then in their natural course, with those who gave them being. This could preserve that being till it ceased to be itself, & no longer. Every constitution then, & every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force, & not of right.

And yes, usufruct is an actual word. It refers to the temporary legal right to use and enjoy the fruits or profits of something belonging to another. It's from the Latin usus (meaning 'use') and fructus (meaning 'fruit'). Let's say your daddy dies and leaves you everything, including the house you grew up in, BUT because your daddy is a complete asshole, he stipulates the woman he divorced your momma for can continue to live in the house as long as she wants. It's legally your house now, but your asshole dad's girlfriend still gets to enjoy it. If she wants to paint the walls red, she damned well can, even if you think it's a bad idea. Usufruct.

What Jefferson is saying is that the next generation can enjoy the Constitution their parents left for them but they're not locked into it forever. When your asshole dad's girlfriend dies (yeah, this is a metaphor), you get control of the house and you can repaint the walls.

What Jefferson was saying is this: we can paint over the 2nd Amendment. We can and we should. Because the walls have been red way too long.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Five people were killed and at least 18 were wounded/injured last night during a drag show at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, the annual event honoring the memory of transgender people killed by acts of anti-transgender violence.

We shouldn't have to live like this.

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It's Obvious!

I fear however, that once again, as the memory starts to fade, the public is losing interest—and the NRA funded members of Congress breathe a collective sigh of relief.

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It's Pathological

But oh, the schadenfreude!

I cannot wait for the J6 Committee to get their hands on Jones' texts.

As the latest defamation trial of Alex Jones wound down to its conclusion, an old saying seemed to become more and more apropos.

How can you tell Alex Jones is lying? His lips are moving.

In the trial that concluded Thursday in Texas, the jury only needed to decide how much Jones owed Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis—parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis who was murdered in the 2012 school shooting. Sandy Hook victims in Texas and Connecticut already won a default judgment against Jones for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

As such, it would behoove Jones to only tell the truth while on the stand, under oath. Instead, the InfoWars founder and host was caught in several lies including one about the judge presiding over the trial—Texas District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble.

The still grieving parents' attorney Mark Bankston asked Jones' directly if his InfoWars website and program repeatedly shared a meme depicting Judge Gamble on fire.

On the second day of Jones' testimony, Bankston asked:

"You've been broadcasting repeatedly a picture of our judge on fire, haven't you?"
Jones' lawyer immediately objected, but Jones still answered:

"No!"

After Jones' first day of testimony, Bankston called for sanctions against him and his lawyer Adino Reyal for knowingly presenting lies to the jury to influence the ruling.

Judge Gamble chastised Jones for lying and not answering the questions he was asked.

The judge provided explicit instructions and guidance on telling the truth then dismissed the parties for the day.

You can see Judge Gamble's excoriation of Jones here:

In response to being told not to lie, Jones told Judge Gamble:

"I believe what I said was true."

The judge—appearing exasperated—replied:

"You believe everything you say is true. But it isn't. Your beliefs do not make something true."

She later added:

"Your belief that something is true does not make it true. It does not protect you. It is not allowed."

"You are under oath. That means things must actually be true when you say them."

https://twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/1554874601112469505

On Jones' second day of testimony, plaintiffs' attorney Bankston questioned him about using InfoWars to further defame his clients—Heslin and Lewis—during the trial.

Bankston said Jones also used his platform to try to discredit Judge Gamble, but on the stand, under oath, Jones denied it.

Bankston asked:

"In fact, Mr. Jones, you're telling the world not to believe what happens in this courtroom because the judge worked with Child Protective Services, who you say is involved with pedophilia and child trafficking?"

Jones replied:

"No, that's not what I'm saying."

After Bankston shared more damning evidence…

…Jones justified his answer by claiming he didn't direct or produce the InfoWars segment.

He also suggested it might be taken out of context which Bankston disputed.

Bankston responded:

"Is there anything before and after that that will make it great to show pictures of our judge on fire and tell the world that she's involved with pedophiles?"

"Tell the context that comes before or after that makes that great."

Despite being told the day before about the difference between truth, opinion and conjecture, Jones once again chose to lie then backtrack.

People were astounded at Jones' hubris.

https://twitter.com/AnnOkla/status/1555638766433345536

https://twitter.com/ChafedCharlie/status/1554989631535398912

https://twitter.com/ChafedCharlie/status/1554989631535398912

 

On Thursday, the jury awarded Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis $4.1 million.