Thing #1
This Memeorandum summary of a Fox News headline is a great example of why Americans are collectively unable to pass sensible gun safety regulations or even have a coherent debate on the issue:
Here’s a description of the proposal, which Fox News cribbed from a real news organization for propaganda purposes:
The Obama administration wants to keep people collecting Social Security benefits from owning guns if it is determined they are unable to manage their own affairs, the Los Angeles Times reported.
If Paw-Paw can’t be trusted not to blow his Social Security check on magic beans, he shouldn’t have a fucking gun. In a sane country, this would not be controversial.
Thing #2:
I’ve been on a road trip for the past several days, so I’ve only sporadically been able to follow the Netroots Nation kerfluffle. When I read about it, my first thought was, “How Netroots Nationish.” That’s not to minimize the importance of the issue – I’m just a bit surprised people reacted as if the BLM protests were an interruption of some sacred Democratic rite. Isn’t NN always kind of a shitshow?
Reading the subsequent clashes online over the issue, I’m struck by how quickly they devolved into screaming matches over how bystanders are reacting to the controversy. This has inspired the following honest, 100% snark-free question: Why should we give a flying fuck about the behavior / rhetoric of the various candidates’ supporters? Doesn’t it make more sense to focus on what the candidates themselves do or say?
IMO, there was entirely too much focus during the 2008 primaries on what Clinton’s and Obama’s respective supporters did or said. I certainly fell into that trap big time and spent way too much time bashing / being bashed by PUMAs. It had its amusing moments, but in retrospect, it was a gigantic waste of time and effort.
Does Bernie Sanders count sanctimonious fools among his supporters? Certainly! Are some Martin O’Malley partisans insufferable buffoons? Of course! Are a not-insignificant number of Hillary Clinton’s supporters hectoring blockheads? Absolument!
But so fucking what? If party apparatchiks, campaign functionaries or the candidates themselves act like assholes or ignore important issues, that’s fair game, and we should discuss it until the cows come home. But I don’t give a fuck if their supporters are assholes on Twitter. This Team Jacob vs Team Edward bullshit is dumb and pointless, and I am done with it. At least for today.
Thing #3:
This is the most Florida thing to happen in the history of Florida:
Florida Man Shot in Ass Protecting Turtle Nests From Drunk Guy
An elderly Florida man was shot in the buttock with his own gun this week after confronting an intoxicated man who was disrupting sea turtle nests…
Right in the buttocks. Open thread.