New York State Attorney General, Letitia James’ Press Conference
LIVE STREAM: PBS / YouTube
LIVE STREAM: NY AG
NY AG Letitia James to make ‘major’ announcement after Deutsche Bank turns over Trump finances
New York State Attorney General Letitia James will make a “major national announcement” today.
The NY AG released a statement saying she’ll speak from her office at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, but offered no other details.
Some reports suggest James’ announcement will be related to New York state investigations into President Donald Trump’s businesses. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Deutsche Bank has turned over Trump’s financial records after the Manhattan District Attorney’s office issued a subpoena last year.
Speculation:
Is this about Deutsche Bank?
Is it the NRA?
Is it something else?
*****
Update: I’ll be updating this as we go.
Chief Oshkosh
Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Candlestick?
germy
I don’t know if it’s better, but here’s the PBS feed (via youtube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXFgj2935Ec
Gin & Tonic
@Chief Oshkosh: Can’t be. The mustard was never located.
piratedan
hints have alluded to the NRA being involved, maybe she has proof that the Russians have been using the NRA as a money laundering vector and as a conduit to influence US policy.
A Ghost to Most
Meanwhile, Nancy stuffs Jim Kramer:
RawStory
SiubhanDuinne
@A Ghost to Most:
Nancy SMASH! gazed around her Garden of Fucks to Give; and behold, there were none.
Elizabelle
No nothingburgers allowed. Where is the beef?
I am just disappointed Trump and his lawyers have been so adept at running out the clock. Because, we forget sometimes, his great superpower is being one of the most litigious SOBs out there.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: I just added that to the rotating tag nominations.
Calouste
Maybe it is about stealing or price gouging PPE by Jared- related entities.
germy
wants to dissolve the NRA in its entirety.
Chief Oshkosh
@Gin & Tonic: You caught me.
Elizabelle
WaPost:
The chief executive of the National Rifle Association and several top lieutenants engaged in a decades-long pattern of fraud to raid the coffers of the powerful gun rights group for personal gain, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the New York attorney general, draining $64 million from the nonprofit in just three years.
In her lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James called for the dissolution of the NRA and the removal of CEO Wayne LaPierre from the leadership post he has held for the past 39 years, saying he and others used the group’s funds to finance a luxury lifestyle.
She also asked a New York court to force LaPierre and three key deputies to repay NRA members for the ill-gotten funds and inflated salaries that her investigation found they took.
James accused the NRA leaders of flouting state and federal laws and signing off on reports and statements they knew were fraudulent, while diverting millions of dollars away from the NRA’s charitable mission to benefit themselves and their allies.
WaterGirl
Pro-tip, which you surely all know already. You can open two tabs with a post like this – one that you can listen to/ watch and another so you don’t lose your place in the video as you comment or refresh to see new comments.
germy
A culture of non-compliance.
“We don’t need to follow no rules… we’ve got guns!”
Elizabelle
More of the WaPost story by Carol Leonig. Nice to think of Wayne LaPierre in The Big House.
The attorney general requested that the court bar the four men — LaPierre, general counsel John Frazer, former treasurer Woody Phillips and former chief of staff Josh Powell — from ever serving in a leadership position for a New York charity in the future.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Her investigation, which began in February 2019, found a “a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent,” according to a statement by the attorney general’s office.
Her lawsuit paints a picture of widespread wrongdoing at the influential gun rights group, and a freewheeling atmosphere in which top officials repeatedly took advantage of their positions for their personal benefit.
scav
@Gin & Tonic: Or maybe that’s why the mustard went in the lam(b)?
germy
@Elizabelle:
Nothing about laundering russian money?
SiubhanDuinne
She’s stringing up Wayne LaPierre by his toes. GOOD.
CaseyL
I’d be more interested in focusing on the NRA as a Russian money-laundering scheme. The internal corruption doesn’t mean much to me, except insofar as the money skimmed off for personal use didn’t go to a PAC (they had the Russian $$ for that).
germy
C’mon. You people expect LaPierre to buy his suits at the Mens’ Warehouse? JoS A Banks?
Elizabelle
Thank you, AG James, for taking the NRA off the board as a source of political contributions from here on out.
Link to WaPost article; worth a click; long and comprehensive. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nra-lapierre-ny-attorney-general/2020/08/06/8e389794-d794-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html?tidr=a_breakingnews&hpid=hp_no-name_hp-breaking-news%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar
Wayne LaPierre: meet your jackbooted thugs. Although you were a thug yourself, the whole time, as princeling of the NRA.
And a lot of these NRA supporters are locked down at home, due to COVID, watching this; hearing of his living large. LOL. And they’re armed!
Ken
@Elizabelle: So I’m imagining two audiences here.
“Hey, US NRA members – these guys were stealing your donations.” Response: Probably closing ranks and screaming about liberal persecutors.
“Hey, Russia – these guys were embezzling the money you were illegally sending them, instead of using it to influence US elections.” Response: LaPierre accidentally falls down an elevator shaft onto some bullets while drinking drano.
Aleta
National level (so leaving out her office’s investigation of NYPD lawlessness) in the last week she’s targeted T admin policies against asylum seekers, repro rights, census counts. To quote her foe: “I wish her well.”
Chief Oshkosh
Given how the money could’ve been spent in additional furtherance of a shit agenda, I am overjoyed to find that rank-and-file NRA assholes were conned.
Cream on top would be if Russian connections lead to criminal charges, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
But ultimately, like Reiner, I don’t care all that much if it doesn’t involve Trump’s balls in a vise turned by a strong black woman.
Elizabelle
@germy: I hope we learn about that. Maybe it’s in the documents; maybe she and her team will elicit that information now that they have at least 4 NRA executives with feet to the flames.
Who will squeal and turn on the others first?
Wayne LaPierre, you are going down.
She’s mentioning Ackerman McQueen too. $70 million in two years. What gives?
I hope the GOP on Capitol Hill are watching this, with stricken faces.
Let’s have a parade of photos of Ted Cruz, etc, hobnobbing with Mr. LaPierre.
hueyplong
I can remember a time when this news would be exciting.
I’m down to two “interesting” headlines:
1. “Vaccine Demonstrated to Be Effective” (coming from another country so there is some hope that it’s true)
or
2. “Trump Dead”
How many more than 155,000 other Americans have to die before people openly contemplate a cost-benefit analysis on the relative importance of keeping above ground what is often called The Soviet Shitpile?
germy
@Chief Oshkosh:
I like how it’s framed that the rank and file were ripped off, and that they’ll be compensated. Maybe that’ll prevent some of the members from yelling “we’re under attack!” ?
This is for their benefit.
Not sure if their racism, and the howling of the board members will drown that part out.
Elizabelle
Laughing, because clearly Wayne LaPierre and crew saw the mighty NRA as sheep to be fleeced.
And they are!
Them not eagles. Them worms.
Mary G
Every time a right winger goes to jail, an angel gets his wings.
gene108
@CaseyL:
I do not know what they can find about that.
Took them one and half years to get enough information to announce prosecution for the embezzlement of donor funds.
It’d be wonderful to unravel the entire Russian money laundering network, but the Russian money laundering network is a global affair, and maybe too much for the NYS AG to unravel on her own.
scav
Oh, I am taking a joy that I should probably atone for, thinking of a few of my favorite far right Repub gun-fun nutjobs faces, especially as the living one is in NY. . . .
feebog
“Violated multiple laws”. Holy crap, she is bringing the receipts. Short of indicting Trump, this is the best news we could get on a Thursday morning.
Ken
Perhaps exploring the Russia connection needs more evidence, such as records of the payments. Does the NY attorney’s office already have the NRA’s books? If not, will this lawsuit get them access?
Elizabelle
@feebog:
Maybe that’s next week.
And fuck that DOJ “guideline” that hamstrung Robert Mueller. Go for blood. Apologize later.
SiubhanDuinne
“For years, the NRA has been operating as a breeding ground for greed, abuse, and brazen illegality.”
gene108
@Chief Oshkosh:
The NRA have been big funders of Republicans. They used to back a few Democrats in the 1980’s and 1990’s, but gave up sometime back, and now are exclusively a wing of the Republican Party.
Knocking out the largest, and oldest, gun lobby group in the country that exclusively backs Republicans will hurt Republicans.
Frankensteinbeck
@Ken:
I figure that was baked in from Putin’s perspective. Russia is possibly the most corrupt country on Earth. That the NRA would be skimming would not only be obvious, but the way to ensure they kept working for him.
PenAndKey
Can’t now, their parent company JoS. A. Bank just announced they were filing for bankruptcy protection 3 days ago. Maybe he can snag a couple of their suits out of the cleaning facility dumpster before they’re shredded.
gvg
calling for the disbanding of the NRA seems pretty significant. Especially if we want to actually restrict guns by laws. Morally that would be pretty significant IMO if it goes through. The NRA actually does have lobbying effectiveness. There are more extreme groups, but they don’t have the political experience so it would help I think?
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Another fine candidate for rotating tag.
germy
Josie
Her statement that, under New York law, no one is above the law could be heard as a warning to some other powerful people. I hope she continues to push ahead with her wonderful work.
Shalimar
So the NRA is like Acorn, except the allegations are 100 times worse and they’re actually true. Where has James O’Keefe been while this career-making investigative story was out there?
artem1s
@A Ghost to Most:
love NFLTG Nancy Smash causing good trouble!
Elizabelle
I am LOVING how they are citing The Trump Foundation as precedent.
Keep dragging that name into this.
JPL
Next do trump.
Jay Noble
Ollie North in there anywhere??? Or was he part of bringing this out?
Omnes Omnibus
There will be criminal charges coming out of this as well.
Elizabelle
@Omnes Omnibus: Please, please, please.
Criminal charges. For way more individuals than these 4 mooks.
And now- — Q re Deutsche Bank — will not comment. Not subject of this presser.
Elizabelle
@Jay Noble: That is an excellent question. Was Ollie North a whistleblower here?
PenAndKey
You’ve gotta love their smarmy, condescending sense of invincibility and willingness to threaten violence if the law doesn’t go their way. Why, you might even say it’s seditious.
I’m glad the laws against sedition are off the books because they are so easy to abuse, but when does rhetoric like the NRA is showing here cross the line into actually inciting violence?
Jay Noble
Trump tries to float pardons in 3 . . . 2 . . .
SiubhanDuinne
@artem1s:
Yup! The persistent spirit of John Lewis!
Elizabelle
WSJ wondering if conservative states’ AGs will now go after other groups (unsaid: liberals).
Idiot question. More a suggestion to the state AGs listening, I think.
piratedan
@Josie: also makes me wonder if they’re handling it like this…
indict them for the shit that you have oversight for, tax fraud, evasion… and leave the other traitorous shit out there hanging in case anyone wants to roll over on their mates for some exceedingly juicy follow ups on money laundering…
SiubhanDuinne
@Jay Noble:
State charges, not federal. Of course, he probably doesn’t know that.
germy
I love some of these questions:
“You say members were victimized. Aren’t you victimizing them further by dissolving the organization they belong to?”
Jesus.
Frankensteinbeck
@PenAndKey:
Chickenshit bravado and violent fantasies of toughness that they’ll never be called to back up are the product they’re selling and the core of the 3% movement.
WaterGirl
The question about which political campaigns received donations from the NRA seems interesting. Response: “this investigation is ongoing.”
Elizabelle
LOL to think of LaPierre and the other jackholes using looted NRA funds to pay for their own defense.
Asking about NRA money going to political campaigns
Response: Not the subject for today but “Our investigation is ongoing.”
Yea.
Omnes Omnibus
OMG, some of the questions are dumb. “Aren’t you concerned that NRA donors will be victimized by you stopping people from scamming them?”
Josie
@piratedan:
Good point. I did feel that there was a very pointed message in her statement, even though she did not mention names.
PenAndKey
@SiubhanDuinne: Pffft. Like a little thing like “jurisdictional authority” matters to Trump. He’ll probably write up some idiotic EO and gaslight that it’s legal anyway.
Aleta
How is it fair to the victims of these criminals to shut the criminals down, since the victims are fond of the criminals?
Elizabelle
This is an excellent day for Democratic campaigns, and for gun safety legislation, going forward.
Take the corrupted bully out of the mix. Thank you.
I hope we see a lot of screams and squeals from those the NRA owns on Capitol Hill.
WaterGirl
Last question is a 2-parter, both of which were asked already.
Response:
“Thank you for these questions that were already asked and answered, but we will answer them again.”
germy
Washington Post
Elizabelle
@germy: I remember that.
A mass shooting that killed a bunch of high school kids. Ack! I, Wayne LaPierre, am in personal danger. Pay up!
There is no hole deep enough for these creeps.
Omnes Omnibus
@PenAndKey: It would matter to a court. Trump has no more power to pardon someone for a state crime than you do.
Omnes Omnibus
@Elizabelle: Freezing the assets too. Tee hee.
geg6
@germy:
I am not normally one to advocate for violence, but if anyone needs a baseball bat vigorously applied to his nutsack, it’s LaPierre.
Anonymous At Work
Just me or is she setting up RICO charges if Biden wins?
WaterGirl
@germy:
I am confused – I don’t even see a tweet from Joe here.
MisterForkbeard
@Ken: The Russia connection wouldn’t be handled by the NY State AG unless it broke New York specific laundering laws, etc. I’m pretty sure that’s far outside of their remit.
Instead, she’s nailing them pretty hard on things she can control. Which is good! Except the NRA has already been somewhat of a failure since 2016 anyway, so I don’t think it’s going to have a huge effect going forward. Hopefully it will keep them from recovering, though.
Mike in NC
I’ve just read a July 13, 2017 article published in The New Republic, written by Craig Unger, entitled “Trump’s Russian Laundromat”, which gets into good detail on Fat Bastard’s incredibly sleazy connections to the Russian Mafia, both in Moscow and New York/Florida.
germy
Chief Oshkosh
Can someone here with a Big Brain explain what the AG’s statement means in actual, real-physical-world outcome? It seems to me that all that is happening is that the NY AG is filing a lawsuit against the NY branch of the NRA.
She called for the dissolution of the NRA. With respect, get in line behind thousands of others, AG James. And how does the NY AG have any power over that, at all? The case she’s bringing is, of course, in NY. Is that even the “home” of the NRA? I thought NRA’s headquarters are in DC (or nearby).
She called for top NRA leadership to step down. Uh, why would they do that? I can almost (almost) guarantee that nobody in the NRA, including those who were conned, will do anything to make that happen. No matter how much was stolen, the tribe will not go after its leaders just because an outsider, and in this case, a black, female outsider, brings a lawsuit against their leaders.
So, please, help this cynic see the light. Tell me why this is going to have the big, national effect that we’re all discussing this morning.
Aleta
@Aleta: to be fair, the actual question was about the fairness of shutting down the whole organization (for the crimes of its former heads). But it seemed to me intended for political pushback.
WaterGirl
So… what is the answer to the question I posed in the title?
Game-changer?
Nothing-burger?
or somewhere in between?
Amir Khalid
@Omnes Omnibus:
That’s one of the things that particularly annoy me about media Q&As. It’s really not that hard for a reporter to do a little research and come up with intelligent questions, or even to think of them on the fly. But these guys … sheesh.
germy
@WaterGirl:
They were responding to this statement from Biden:
jonas
Close, but more like “We don’t need to follow no rules…we’ve got every Republican in Congress by the balls.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Chief Oshkosh: The NRA is a registered charity under NY law. If it or its officers violate NY law, all of this is within her power.
Omnes Omnibus
@germy: Looks like complete sentences to me.
jonas
@Chief Oshkosh: IANAL, but another possible angle here is that they’re going after the donor cash pipeline. If NRA members see that the whole thing is one huge scam designed to enirch the top leadership, they’re probably going to be a lot less eager to step up and write a check, no matter how hysterical the “The libs are commin’ fer yer gunzzzz!” appeals get.
Immanentize
@Chief Oshkosh: The NRA is a long-time non profit organization incorporated in the State of NY. No where else.
As OO says above, the AG of any state in which a non profit or charity is incorporated has huge investigatory and regulatory power over that org. Forcing people off the board or out of power is a very standard move. I think it happened at the United Way a couple of decades ago?
artem1s
@Elizabelle:
they are probably going to get hit for not reporting expenses related to lobbying too. After a certain threshold the organization has to pay a pretty hefty excise tax on expenses related to political activity. under reporting can mean officers can be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars per infraction. and that’s not counting the back taxes for under reporting. That may have to wait until Barr isn’t with the DOJ anymore though – not sure if NY State would have state tax laws that would apply the same way the federal laws do. But all these guys are probably going to jail and facing hefty tax fines too. about time.
p.a.
Have a hard time thinking the gunhumpers will turn on the NRA no matter what. That would require functioning brains and active moral compasses. Figure the NRA response will be “liberal Liberal LIBERAL SOOOOOCCCCIIIIIIAAAAAALIST!!!”- worked since the 1880’s…
Crashman06
@Chief Oshkosh: I’m in this boat. Hate the NRA as much as the next guy and would love to see their executives in prison for embezzlement. But as Forkbeard said above, they haven’t been a very effective organization (perhaps because of corruption like this) for the last few years, so I don’t see how this makes much of a dent in anything nationally.
Chief Oshkosh
@Omnes Omnibus: In New York.
How does this affect the NRA in other states or nationally? Is NRA’s NY registration THE registration for the entire organization? Not trying to be difficult or a smart-ass — I’m just ignorant of the facts
ETA: DOH! I see Immeanetize (sp?) answered. THANKS! :)
Chief Oshkosh
@Immanentize: Thanks! That’s a big part of my knowledge gap filled.
This makes more sense now. Thank you.
Kattails
@SiubhanDuinne: Had just finished watching the presser, started down the comments, got to yours and laughed quite loudly. That was elegant. Oh and I missed saying happy birthday the other day, hope it was lovely.
artem1s
@Anonymous At Work:
yes. the federal stuff will have to wait until Barr is gone from the DOJ and whoever is heading up the IRS.
JPL
@Immanentize: If there assets are frozen, does that mean no ad spending? I read that the NRA purchased ad buys in the midwest.
Captain C
@Frankensteinbeck: Plus, it would be an excuse to take them out if he ever needed one.
Immanentize
@Chief Oshkosh: the entire NRA is incorporated as a charitable organization in NY. So the whole of the organization, everywhere, is under NY jurisdiction. Just like most big corporations are incorporated in Delaware.
sdhays
@MisterForkbeard: That makes the recent drama at the SDNY US Attorney’s office all the more interesting
ETA: What have the NY state investigators found that they’ve been forwarding to SDNY?
Omnes Omnibus
@JPL: Correct. No lobbying money. No ads. Etc.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Elizabelle:
I blame our grotesquely corrupted and pathetic judiciary, both state and federal. There is no sense of alacrity among moderate to left-thinking jurists, and the only principles that seem to be bedrock are related to the sanctity of honoring their calendars. They’re terrified to address the wrongs of the powerful in any meaningful way. Meanwhile, their Federalist Society goin counterparts aren’t afraid to flex on behalf of ideology.
Elizabelle
I hope we see a lot of press conferences like this one, going forward.
Today it was the NRA. Tomorrow or whenever: Deutsche Bank. And there are so many other criminal and civil cases associated with Trump and the GOP.
And now it’s in stereo, because Cyrus Vance Jr. is motivated to actually do and try to keep his job.
And — maybe there are AGs in other states with surprises to come.
Immanentize
@JPL:
Generally, when assets are frozen, already committed contracts (including employee salaries) can continue. So if there was already a contract, the NRA can pay it. Assets include tangibles like buildings, etc. Cannot now be sold without court approval.
Chief Oshkosh
@Immanentize: Thanks for the further clarification. I am now more edumacated. Among many benefits that arise from that, I can now start happy hour earlier (or nap time — or both), since I have now learned something today. :)
Elizabelle
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I hope these investigations turn up some corrupt judges, not just the whack ideological ones. (Although if we can remove some of them, go for it.)
I hope that former “Justice” Anthony Kennedy and his son have a sinking feeling, every single day. There is more to that story.
Omnes Omnibus
@Immanentize: Good point. No new buys. No new fees. No new ads they haven’t already contracted for.
WaterGirl
@germy: Ah, that context is very helpful, thanks!
Kent
If liberal interest groups are committing the same crimes as the NRA then they should. But I doubt many national liberal groups are based in red states.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: That’s why they are saying that Joe didn’t write it. Even though it’s their guy who can’t speak in complete sentences, and uses the same 100 words over and over.
Elizabelle
Curious how Kay knew this was the NRA in the crosshairs. Someone mentioned she knew that, a day or two ago.
Wonder what news or rumors were getting out on that.
Omnes Omnibus
@Kent: They could go after the state branches of national organizations, but it wouldn’t really have the same effect.
Elizabelle
@Kent: Gonna be interesting to see if we have any conservative-linked and Republican-linked “charities” decamping to red states.
Reporters and observers: watch for that.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Their stupidity makes my brain hurt.
Anya
I don’t understand any of this. Why aren’t they being charged with fraud if they were misappropriating the organization’s donations? Should that not be illegal?
trollhattan
@p.a.:
Nah, they’ll flip that victim card tucked handily up their sleeve and insist this is something George Soros squeezed in between funding ANTIFA and digging cross-border tunnels for MS-13.
RobertDSC-Work
I wonder what the junior senator from Vermont has to say about this.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: It gets easier when you realize that they are 8-year-old mean boys who are still in the “I’m rubber, you’re glue” phase.
scav
There’s a certain satisfaction — I would love to think value, but I’ve been disappointed too often — in setting off a few more nagging voices in the back of their partisan heads (the nightmare vaults) ceaselessly whispering “You’ve been played. You’ve always been played.” Peel off a few more into at least not voting out of shame. Others will probably double down, setting up specific dedicated charities to pay for NRA directors pool boys, suits and vacations, and donate mightily just to Own The Libs! Evangelicals will swiftly follow suit.
ThresherK
@A Ghost to Most: I don’t give a toss about Jim Cramer. Going on his show should not mean anything to a Dem. But Nancy showed how to do it.
The tiretracks she left on his head will be visible for weeks.
JPL
@Omnes Omnibus: I think the ad buy was for ten million, which isn’t insignificant, so I wonder if they knew this was coming down.
Omnes Omnibus
@Anya: Think of it as a process. This is one step. Criminal charges will be coming too.
Emma from FL
Christ on a Harley. No joke, but can some of you try therapy or transcendental meditation, or something?
No, the gun humpers will never change. But that’s not our damn problem if we can marginalize them. Jesus it’s been how long since the flipping Civil War? Some people can’t change. Take that as read and concentrate on those who can.
With its assets frozen, the NRA will not be an electoral factor. No cash, no ads.
If they can claw back enough to compensate the rank-and-file will will look to the centrist mass as less of a political power play and more of smashing a crime ring.
Sometimes coming for something at an angle is easier than head-on.
trollhattan
@WaterGirl:
It’s not exactly Karl Rove’s “attack their strengths” but it’s all they’ve got ATM. Your man is a sack of neuroses and bad behavior, so fabricate a mythical narrative for your opponent and hammer the holy crap out of it, no matter how clumsy and desperate you look doing so.
WaterGirl
@Anya: One of her answers addressed this, I think. This is a civil case because the AG is in charge of non-profits. She will refer everything they discover that is outside of her scope overseeing non-profits.
Criminal charges would come from a different organization, who will have all the documents she supplies them with.
But I agree with Omnes – criminal charges will be coming.
frosty
@WaterGirl: So let’s get some approvals and get them in the tags. I keep seeing ancient ones.
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: Pretty much.
Elizabelle
A tale of two newspapers.
AG James’ press conference is top story at the WaPost. Heavily displayed. And Carol Leonnig had a long and well-researched story up to go before it occurred.
At the FTF NY Times — which is IN NEW YORK STATE, for dog’s sake — crickets. Try to find that story. It’s halfway down the page, among many other stories, with “breaking” over it.
Anya
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks! It was hurting my head.
Anya
@WaterGirl: I am going to read the whole thread now. Thanks!
Roger Moore
@CaseyL:
Two points:
gkoutnik
If the NRA collapses, perhaps the void will be filled with an organization that actually serves gun owners re: safety, training, competition, research, etc. Then all the 2nd amendment crazies can create their own organization – and fund it themselves.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Governor DeWine has tested positive for COVID. He was tested as part of protocol for meeting Trump in Ohio. He has no symptoms.
piratedan
i’d say that this is a pretty significant hit on the RW…
say you get the entirety of the NRA for illegal tax shenanigans and you shut them down due to that. That in and of itself is a good thing. One less strident voice who’s been given control of the soap box in our national discussion regarding the need for an AR-15 to be in the hands of Joe Consumer.
One less group of lawyers filing lawsuits about gun legislation at the local, state and national level
one less conduit thru which to wash international money into ads for the GOP
and shutting them down now, just when you would expect an uptick in traffic for their usual spate of lies won’t be missed.
Will the bad guys find other avenues, most likely, but pulling pieces off the board for them to use is always a net positive good, isn’t it?
germy
And if there are, I doubt they’re brazenly committing crimes the way the NRA did.
The reporter seems to base the question entirely on politics, rather than the rule of law. As if a national liberal group based in a red state would be as vulnerable as the NRA criminals.
When a reporter gets caught up in the horse race mentality of the beltway media, they see everything in terms of scorekeeping:
“Ah! Tish got the NRA! That means Attorney General Stonewall Bedford Lee can now indict the National Wildlife Federation! Breaking news!”
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Yup yup yup. The story of Kennedy père et fils, DeutscheBank, Trump/Trump Organization, and Kavanaugh is going to be just jaw-dropping when it finally comes out.
I have no idea how to find it now, but do you remember seeing a brief video clip taken, I think, right after the announcement of either Kennedy’s retirement from the SC or Kavanaugh’s nomination? Kennedy and Trump were walking together and as they came to a corner Trump said something — no audio, so don’t know what — but whatever he said, it was enough to make Kennedy stop dead in his tracks. He looked, quite literally, as though he were having a heart attack or stroke on the spot. I think if we knew what Trump said to him at that moment, we would have answers, or at least strong hints, to many of our questions.
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: Too lazy to look, but is it a 501(c)3? I used to volunteer for a small (but multi-state) 501(c)3 that was registered in NYS, and even though it was microscopic – and ethical – the NYS regulatory authorities take the registration and their responsibilities *very* seriously.
Chris Johnson
Fuck me, didn’t see this coming. I’m guessing it’s SO obviously fucked that NY can do this with some reasonable chance of success in spite of the obvious ‘third rail’ factor.
I mentioned how I’d had to cut ties with rightwinger ex-friends. I do not see how this alters their position in the slightest. They were already acting as if the Dems, ‘deep state’ and whatever, were intending to dissolve the NRA. They wouldn’t have said, as I would’ve willingly hazarded, that the NRA was entirely an arm of Russia at this stage. And that, as I see it, is the clincher: they must really have the goods on ’em, to run with this knowing how it spins.
Give a fuck quotient, apparently zero.
Them as needs evidence, apparently have lots.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
This is so not surprising.
low-tech cyclist
@gkoutnik:
On the crazy side, there’s already the Gun Owners of America, which thinks the NRA is too mushy. They’ll probably pick up more than a few new members.
Elizabelle
@germy: Yeah. That WSJ reporter’s question was from the fever swamps.
But: Murdoch property.
Ken
@SiubhanDuinne: Maybe. Then again, Trump might have said “I made poopy!” and Kennedy stopped short because – well, wouldn’t anyone?
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: I don’t remember that clip (cuz I watch virtually nothing with Trump in it; avoid him at all costs) but jackals — let’s look for it. A few of you noticed it too.
Subaru D’s question:
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’m guessing the reporter’s reasoning is that the NRA doesn’t need to be dissolved, only the people responsible for stealing from the members should be removed, I guess? Still stupid. The NRA is a corrupt organization; the corruption culture there is probably widespread
Nina
Thoughts and prayers
trollhattan
@Ken:
Found myself thinking along the line of “Epstein showed me some pictures the other day….”
Roger Moore
@p.a.:
They already have, at least to a limited extent. The problem is that’s gun nuts turning on the NRA for being a bunch of squishes who aren’t vigorous enough in defending gun rights. The true crazies have moved on to organizations like Gun Owners of America.
frosty
@SiubhanDuinne: Did you nominate it? Because I just did (giving credit to Elizabelle)
Sab
@Elizabelle: They have been going after liberal non-profits forever, so the liberal non-profits tend to be extremely careful in how they spend their money and how they prepare their tax filings. They know there is a target on them.
The difference has been that the NRA and other right wing outfits have been able to misbehave with impunity. Remember what the Republicans did to Lois Lerner at the IRS? They blew up her career because she was just doing her job of keeping political lobbying organizations from pretending to be tax-exempt non-profits.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): No, the question, like many others asked, viewed the whole thing as a political matter rather than a legal one.
Immanentize
@Gin & Tonic: I haven’t looked it up either, but I assume it is both a 501(c)(3) and also has a 501(c)(4) component for its lobbying activities. That would be the norm non profit set up for a group that both takes tax free donations and lobbies. OO might know more?
Doug R
@Elizabelle:
“I know the squealers when I see them”
Omnes Omnibus
@Immanentize: I’d be guessing too. And I am too lazy to look up the filings.
Elizabelle
Interesting. NPR, from September 2019. (Found this via a WaPost reader comment.) On the heels of the Senate hearings into the NRA and Maria Butina, etc. (Remember her?)
The NRA & Russia How a Tax Exempt Organization Became a Foreign Asset
It’s from the US Senate Committee on Finance Minority (Democrats! Yea Democrats!) Staff Report.
Probably why it sank without a trace. Those icky good government types.
germy
And they give lucky pierre the last word:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/us/new-york-attorney-general-sues-nra.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
Elizabelle
@germy: The FTF NY Times did that with the Deutsche Bank story too. “Don’t get excited folks — mighty Trump will run the clock out.”
I really wish we could slap them sometimes. Who is insisting on that takeaway from the story? It’s not the reporters.
It’s from the top. The publisher’s suite. And this new one seems to be even worse than Pinch.
Nicole
@Aleta:
I KNOW! I think that may be the dumbest thing I’ll hear all week.
Full disclosure, I did not vote for Tish James, because I thought she was too cozy with Cuomo, but she’s won me over. Watching her dismiss the reporter who asked about the Weinstein settlement, and then call out the one who asked a question she’d already answered- well done. She answered everything really, really well, and those were some head-smackingly stupid questions she had to field.
But the one about the “victims” takes the cake.
SiubhanDuinne
@frosty: Oh, I’m glad you did! Thanks! Nope, I just threw it out there in the comments. Bad me.
Elizabelle
@germy: And 5 million members, most of them still breathing — perhaps.
But where did most of the money come from? It’s not a nothingburger, FTF NY Times.
Roger Moore
@Gin & Tonic:
Nope; they’re 501(c)4. I think it’s too hard for a 501(c)3 to do the degree of lobbying the NRA does even with the current lax enforcement of charity laws.
germy
@Elizabelle: Some good reporting there, but the top dogs in the executive suite have an agenda. They don’t want things shaken up too roughly, apparently.
FelonyGovt
@WaterGirl: I really can’t believe they are pursuing the “Biden has dementia” angle when Trump is out there every day tossing incomprehensible word salad. Biden comes off as a kindly older man, maybe a step slower but sincere and certainly all there.
Seanly
@hueyplong: “Trump Dead”
Damn, don’t get my hopes up like that!
jonas
Right over the scars from the tracks left by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show a couple of years ago.
yellowdog
@Elizabelle: Perhaps she is waiting until Barr indicts Biden on some ‘Trumped’ up charge. Sauce for the goose.
germy
@Elizabelle:
It’s always illuminating who they give the last word to.
They could have ended with a Tish James quote (plenty to choose from) but they went with “This is wrong.” And they couldn’t even get a current comment from LePierre. So they dug up one from last year, to make their point.
My local sinclair tv station does the same thing. They’ll attempt straight reporting, but then give the last word to the conservative (or the police, or the crooked business owner).
Roger Moore
@FelonyGovt:
They will keep going back to attacking their opponents for their own weaknesses as long as it keeps working. Given the intelligence of the American news media, that is likely to be around the heat death of the universe.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
OT:
Maybe he’s going to bake them a cake.
sdhays
OT: Apparently Mike Dewine has tested positive for COVID-19.
Elizabelle
@germy: “Balance.” Right, FTF NY Times and Sinclair. Right.
misterpuff
@Mary G: At the least, the angel gets a right wing!
germy
Baud
@germy:
Kind of uncivil to talk about the Republican base like that.
artem1s
@sdhays:
guess he’s not coming to the Trump plague deplorable fundraiser tonight at the Shoreby club in Cleveland.
feebog
@SiubhanDuinne: I remember that clip. Obvious that Kennedy was taken aback by whatever Trump said. I’m not confident that the Kennedy/Kavenaugh thing will ever be unwound Too many other criminal investigations and I would think it would be a very tough investigation to conduct.
Elizabelle
@germy: Here’s the last segment of Carol Leonnig’s excellent WaPost story. Maybe a shout out to a source?
WaPost: New York attorney general seeks to dissolve NRA in suit accusing gun rights group of wide-ranging fraud and self-dealing
scav
@germy: We’re a bit over-supplied with the breed: look at the legions eternally supporting giving them tax-breaks as well!
Baud
@germy:
I hate when people politicize criminality.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@germy:
@Elizabelle:
Yeah, y’know I’ve noticed a bunch of media outlets do that too. They give the last word in the article to the conservative/police/monied interest
It’s a subtle tell of who they think should be listened too. I’m sure if pressed they would just reply they were trying to be “balanced” or some bullshit like that
germy
Well that clinches the deal. I’m voting for Trump.
Baud
@artem1s: Maybe this is how he got out of going.
Yutsano
@artem1s: Well…it’s even worse than that. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chuck Rettig, the 30 year mob tax lawyer from Beverly Hills is blocking something here. But there’s a worse problem. The division of the IRS that handles “charities” and non-profits is TINY. It’s the smallest of the divisions in the IRS by far. And thanks to the Republicans it’s even smaller now. Remember the whole “yer punishing mah charity becuz it’s conservative!” stupidity? Yeah, that hit that division hard. It only has one office in Cincinnati and I think has no more than a thousand people. So it’s not surprising that they wouldn’t have the resources to investigate anything like the NRA. This is also why the politization of the churches is running rampant. If so many do it and you have limited resources you have to decide what to do and where.
germy
Senior legal advisor to team trump says:
Roger Moore
@sdhays:
Any chance he’s faking it as an excuse to avoid being seen with Trump?
ETA: I’m only halfway joking. If Trump gets any more toxic, I sincerely expect people to start faking COVID as a way of avoiding him.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@artem1s:
It’ll be interesting to see if he continues to remain asymptomatic or not
I seriously wonder how much longer Trump can avoid COVID-19 if it’s this transmissable. I’m sure DeWine had similar protocols in place and yet he still got it somehow
Omnes Omnibus
@germy: Eh, fuck her.
sdhays
@Roger Moore: You’re definitely not alone in this. I had the same thought.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy: what’s the twitter meme?
Giant brain: Make a huge promise you almost certainly can’t back up about the biggest problem facing not just the economy, not just the country, but the entire fucking world!
Galaxy brain: Put a date on it.
mrmoshpotato
@A Ghost to Most: Haha, Jim’s all “Oh jeez!”
Cramer, you delicate jackass!
jonas
@artem1s: DeWine started out on the right foot in his Covid response in Ohio, then a bunch of feral jackasses in the legislature browbeat his eminently qualified public health director into resigning and pushed reopening everything before they were ready. Now everything sucks and Dewine has Covid.
Well played. Idiots.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@germy:
@Omnes Omnibus:
Serious question: has anybody ever corrected a Republican/conservative on that “Democrat” thing they do. Like, to their faces?
Elizabelle
@Baud: LOL. I wondered about that too.
And Trump is now thinking the event might be hopping with coronavirus. Twofer.
The Moar You Know
@gkoutnik: The “void” will be filled with the Gun Owners of America, who are so far to the lunatic right that they make the NRA look like a collection of hippies.
I imagine GOA is having quite the party today.
germy
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I doubt it.
jonas
Or for Republican senators avoiding reporters asking about some insane/illegal/illogical thing Trump said: “I’m sorry, I haven’t seen the tweet, suffering as I am from a bad case of Covid. Which is why I have to go now…”
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@germy: I don’t remember anyone predicting anything being available anytime in 2020, with 2021 only barely possible.
But there’s no doubt he’ll ANNOUNCE “vaccine for everyone” the way he announced “testing for everyone”. Also that he may use executive powers to try to grab all the doses set for Phase 3 trials and divert them to either a Jared-run black market or give them to rich donors. Thereby letting the rich be our Phase 3 guinea pigs.
That could work out well, in the long run.
mrmoshpotato
@SiubhanDuinne:
Yes.
ETA – “Jim, you dumbass, perhaps you mistook them for a party not full of craven, greedy assholes.”
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@jonas:
Acton has even recently resigned from her position as a health consultant to DeWine and gone back to her old job at the Columbus Institute. I’m sure it was because of his decision to allow schools to reopen this fall.
DeWine fucked up by not putting a mask mandate in place before reopening. I think he’s a cowardly, corrupt mediocrity
Calouste
I like that the AG is playing the angle of “we’re going to give the embezzled money back to the members”, because I suspect, as she probably does as well, that the intake of the NRA that’s on the books (membership fees and donations) is going to be significantly lower than the outgoing that are on the books plus the embezzlement. And then the question is “where did that money come from?”
germy
Roger Moore
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
My worry is that Trump is going to announce a vaccine is ready right before the election come hell or high water. He just wants to say he’s got this under control, and facts be damned. He will happily kill or cripple millions with a vaccine that isn’t ready yet if it would boost his reelection chances.
Elizabelle
@germy: Jenna Ellis. Another law degreed blonde Fox babe. How do they keep finding these weasels? (Answer: Trump found this one defending him on Fox. Of course.)
Also a staunch Christianist. Not quite as pretty as Kayleigh whatever, but same Barbie Doll mold.
From Dan Abrams’ site, Law and Crime, December 2019:
Trump’s New Senior Legal Advisor Criticized Conservatives for ‘Acquiescing to LGBT Agenda’ After Pulse Mass Shooting
I saw the “Ellis” and wondered if she was a Bush family outlier. A la John Ellis Bush (Jeb!). Undetermined.
Elizabelle
@Calouste: Prezactly.
The NY AG’s office can read and knows math.
cain
@WaterGirl:
Bah! if you used firefox’s picture in picture, you won’t have to do that ! :D
Gin & Tonic
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Jesus, that blood-soaked motherfucker is still around?
dnfree
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I just received your photo in an insert in the Daily Herald. Looking good, and a nice write-up.
mrmoshpotato
@Elizabelle:
Fixed.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: Did you destroy all the horcruxes? No? Well then…. Or is he an empty the earth from his native land out of his coffin and stake him through the heart type? Demonology is tough.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Roger Moore:
I figure it’s better than even odds that he will.. The question is whether it’s an offhand comment made on one of his rambling morning calls in to Fox and Friends, and then a lot of backtracking, or if he tries some East Room announcement. I assume one of the reasons Fauci is hanging in is to throw himself in front of that particular train. But some time around Oct 15 he just says “we have a vaccine, actually, we have a beatiful vaccine, the doctors want to do a couple of things, science things, before we start injecting it, but it’s a great vaccine, terrific, like nothing anybody’s ever seen. The doctors can’t believe it. In a couple of weeks, we’ll start injecting it, we’ll see what happens. In fact, I had Don Jr and Eric sign up to be test subjects…” Just kidding. I don’t think he cold name both Fredos in one breath.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Gin & Tonic: What is dead can never die.
sdhays
@Gin & Tonic: You can’t just turn on a faucet and bathe yourself in blood (yet). You have to go out and work for it. Poor guy just can’t retire.
Roger Moore
@Gin & Tonic:
Corrupt Republicans make cockroaches look easy to squash. This is the main reason I think we need to prosecute everyone from the Trump Administration who we can make even a remotely serious case against. Failure to put away everyone involved in Watergate, Iran Contra, and all of GWB’s wrongdoing has left the Republican Party infested with criminals who believe they will never face consequences for their wrongdoing. We need to teach them they will.
SiubhanDuinne
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I correct my RWNJ brother on this (and other wrongheaded things he says and believes) all the time.
But you probably meant GOP elected officials and prominent conservative media figures, not rando relatives.
mrmoshpotato
@germy:
They misspelled “penis replacement!”
Wonkette is right – the NRA is Weak, Sad Poop.
sdhays
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I wouldn’t be surprised if he demands that he personally gets injected with the Russian vaccine before everyone else.
Whether or not his people comply with that demand or are able to talk him down is another questions.
Yutsano
Going OT: Is it me or is J-Rub almost giddy here?
PaulWartenberg
From what I’m seeing, this is the follow-up to the bombshells that were dropped in 2019 about the NRA having financial woes, highlighted by the circus of Ollie North trying to oust Dark Lord LaPierre and failing. I looked back and noted the state of New York was opening an investigation back then because the NRA’s non-profit was filed in their state. This is going to be another circus where the NRA is going to try to paint this as a 2nd Amendment “Theur Takin Yur Gunz” while the reality is this is a criminal fraud investigation and the 2nd Amendment says nothing about fraud.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@dnfree: Is it an ad for the over-55 community I live in? I know they’re using our picture for that. I hope they told readers to buy my books!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@SiubhanDuinne:
Yeah, that’s who I meant. I’m sure they do it on purpose. It’s too consistent otherwise. And it comes across as so petty and childish
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: Game-burger!
trollhattan
@Elizabelle:
Isn’t “Supply Fox News and Republicans with snarly blonde lawyers” one of the organizing principles of the Federalist Society? Coulter, Ann is an early prototype.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@sdhays:
Is there even any proof that the “Russian vaccine” is even real? Or actually safe/effective?
IMO, it’s just Putin trying to one-up the West and look good to the Russian people
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@germy:
You’re probably right, but then why is such an obvious slight so often ignored? A reporter ought to call out McConnell for such obvious disrespect
J R in WV
@germy:
Those all look like perfectly cromulent sentences to me, especially when compared to any given 2 or 3 sentence production by Trump in any written format.
Gin & Tonic
@PaulWartenberg: I agree that clearly Ollie North either has already or soon will be having long chats with the prosecutors. Question: did he suddenly develop some kind of ethics, or is he just pissed he wasn’t in on the grift to the degree he felt was his due?
piratedan
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): on the other hand, running good QA (Quality Assurance) is a Russian hallmark, just look at how efficiently they’ve dealt with dissent. I imagine that their health care sector is just as proficient…
cain
@Crashman06:
They are a honey pot, they run up the 2A fear and these people give them money which they then feed to politicians for kickbacks or whatever.
Humdog
I think your white flowered shrub is a summer sweet, clethra. Sorry for long delay in response.
@Gin & Tonic:
trollhattan
@Yutsano:
Your assessment isn’t wrong, she brings the hammer, the tongs and a second, larger hammer to the Republicans, and has extra time for Collins and her brow furrows.
We may soon discover that JRub is permanently gone from the Republican camp. Whatever they once may have represented to her seems irretrievable. Since I can’t recall when they last functioned in good faith I also can’t envision their reconstruction.
Calouste
@Gin & Tonic: I go for option two, but it be great to see soon-to-be-former right wing hero Ollie North being a witness for the prosecution, and consequently getting ripped to shreds by the howling right wing hyenas. I wonder if he’ll start complaining about all the death threats he’ll be getting.
Chyron HR
@germy:
Gee, it’s so weird that the NRA is incorporated in rootless cosmopolitan New York and not Real America. It’s almost like Republican leadership are the ones who really hold red states in contempt.
Gravenstone
@SiubhanDuinne:
Imagine it was Trump, as usual saying aloud the parts they desperately want to keep quiet. Kennedy was probably all “quiet!, they’ll hear you…”in his moment of panic.
dnfree
@Dorothy A. Winsor: yes, it is. It mentions you as a well-published young adult author who writes at local Barrington coffee shops, pens a blog, and belongs to the Barrington Writers’ Workshop. And your husband is an engineer who accumulated 25 patents and is known for his work to reduce emissions and increase fuel economy.
I wonder if he knows my niece Stephanie. She’s an engineer for the large firm named on your husband’s sweatshirt.
Calouste
Btw, I like in all this that LaPierre felt the need to buy a $6million fortress, because contrary to what he has been selling the rubes for years, he doesn’t actually really believe that a gun magically protects him.
Roger Moore
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
The Russians certainly have the capability of developing vaccines. Russia has produced capable scientists for a long time, and even as hollowed out as their scientific establishment is it isn’t too hard to believe they could make a vaccine. But there are serious questions about safety. It sounds as if they shortened their testing to push the vaccine out as fast as possible, which is understandable but stupidly risky. We test the hell out of these things for good reasons.
Calouste
@Chyron HR: IIRC it’s historical, the NRA was founded there in the 1870s and just never moved.
Elizabelle
@Yutsano: Yes. Loving today’s Jen Rubin. WaPost: It has suddenly dawned on Senate Republicans: They’re doomed
Shorter Jen Rubin: Karma’s a bitch, Susan Collins and Martha McSally. She describes them as “staring at defeat in a few months.”
jonas
As I said, I think he started out making the right moves and imposing the lockdown, but in the end, he wouldn’t stand up to the morons in his own party and stood by while they railroaded Acton. Total coward. Now with Covid.
Gravenstone
@FelonyGovt:
That’s precisely why they’re doing it. Lower expectations for their guy by throwing up endless clouds of chaff.
sdhays
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I assume it exists, but it’s pretty clear that they aren’t worrying too much about safety or efficacy. That will all sort itself out in the greater population.
But Dump claims to be taking hydroxychloroquine (which I still don’t know if I believe), which doesn’t work and isn’t particularly safe, so why would that stop him?
WaterGirl
@Anya: By “one of her answers”, I meant that I thought the AG had addressed that in one of her answers, which is why I felt like I could answer.
In case my response came off badly, I want to clarify that I wasn’t suggesting that the answer was upthread, or that you shouldn’t have asked the question.
WaterGirl
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Has DeWine been wearing a mask?
Another Scott
@germy: +1
The public Airing of Grievances did seem to start at the abrupt end of Ollie’s watch (as illustrated in comments above).
Cheers,
Scott.
sdhays
@jonas: What’s “funny” is that “mediocrity” is pretty much the highest you can expect from a Republican nowadays.
Jean
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I remember Barney Frank responding once, calling them Republicanisticas, or something close.
The Moar You Know
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Of the various candidates out there, it’s right at the bottom given what little we know about it. Which almost certainly means that, middle of October, Trump will start pushing it on the American public as “the cure”.
geg6
@Gin & Tonic:
I’ll go with number two, please.
Geminid
I read that the NRA has been inflating their membership numbers for some years, counting members who have passed on to the great shooting range in the sky. But firearms industry entities have more than taken up the financial slack. That’s why after the Florida high school shooting, when the NRA initially tried to offload blame for mass shootings on video games, it backed off. Some of their donors were making money licensing their virtual products- silencers, etc.- to the shooter games.
PAM Dirac
@Calouste:
AG James mentioned “ongoing investigations” and “discovery” a number of times. She sure sounded like someone who has worked out the details. And from the way she handled the questions, she sounds like someone who isn’t going to let bullshit throw her off-track.
Another Scott
@Roger Moore: I think it’s simpler than that. He’ll announce that a vaccine is ready, put on a dog-and-pony show in the Rose Garden of him getting a shot, and that will be the end of it as far as he’s concerned.
“You saw me get the vaccine! Everyone can get the vaccine just like I did! And that’s why I’m your favorite president!!11”
It’s all about him.
There’s too little work being done to prepare for distribution if/when hundreds of millions of doses are eventually available. The DoD isn’t the right outfit to be heading that effort.
The country won’t be on its way over the COVID-19 hump until months after Uncle Joe takes office. At the earliest.
Cheers,
Scott.
trollhattan
Evidently VP Dense went after Roberts today. …”a disappointment to conservatives.”
This seems like a thumpingly stupid tactic to which I can only add, “keep up the good work, Mikey.”
Gravenstone
@germy: “And you can get yours for FREE! All you have to do is prove that you voted for ME!”
trollhattan
@Another Scott:
Best case if everything goes right with one or more of the vaccines currently in stage 3 trials, is key folks begin getting their COVID jabs at year’s end, which if Donny thinks about it will be after the election.
piratedan
@Jean: since they refere to the Dems as “Democrat” Party… maybe we can just call them “LieCans” instead of Republicans…
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne:
Omnes gets more of his comments nominated than anyone else, by a large margin.
And frosty is the most reliable jackal about using the form. Most people just say something in the comments and hope that somebody (me) notices and adds it to the list.
WaterGirl
@Roger Moore: I’m surprised they aren’t both 501(c)3 and 501(c)4.
LuciaMia
Oh, yeah . I notice now he refers to it not as ‘a vaccine before the end of the year’ but ‘before Nov. 3.’
mrmoshpotato
Hell of a hoax virus there, boys.
WaterGirl
@germy:
Fixed that for you!
Eljai
I haven’t watched John King in years because I’ve always thought he was a rightwing tool. Lis Power of Media Matters confirms this for me. Just fuck right off, John King.
Roger Moore
@Chyron HR:
To be fair, the NRA has been based in New York since it was founded almost 150 years ago.
WaterGirl
@cain: Oh my god, I hate picture in picture. On the TV, on a computer, anywhere. Ugh.
trollhattan
@Geminid:
Probably correct. I’ve read they have flogged “lifetime memberships” forever so even if somebody quits in a huff, they keep being counted as member if a lifer.
mrmoshpotato
@Eljai: It would be a big deal if John King’s nutsack was used as one of those hanging punching bags, but it’s an election year.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: And yet I never get tagged as “beloved commenter” like Amir does. Stupid teacher’s pet. I’ll show him… ::mutter::
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: She sticks in the shiv with her last line:
“Hey, it is what it is.”
Mike in NC
Does deported Russian spy Marina Butina figure into any of this?
jl
Weak sauce. Unless the NY AG nails center mass five times with a sniper rifle from several hundred yards, it didn’t happen and doesn’t count in court against the NRA. It says so in the Constitution. Does the AG even know the difference between a clip and a magazine? Nah, is my bet.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike in NC: Sure, why not?
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: Yeah, that was such a compelling question that one person answered it over 2 hours later. :-)
piratedan
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m sorry, I thought you were on the respected curmudgeonly comment track trailblazed by efgoldman, gotta adjust the damn scorecard… again….
Yutsano
Is this a two-thirds of a way to a Tbogg until we get a new thread day? Asking for a friend.
Hoodie
@Geminid: In other words, the NRA became a strawman lobbying organization for the firearms industry, hiding behind the guise of representing 2nd amendment loving gun owners. Of course, this is right out of the classic corporate playbook (greenwashing, astroturfing, etc.). It was particularly useful in reaction to events like Sandy Hook, where directly pimping for firearms manufacturers after a massacre of little kids and their teachers would be more than a bit unsavory. While I’m all too happy to see the NRA dissolved, I doubt the gun manufacturers who provided a lot of the NRA funding cared that La Pierre was skimming, except to the extent it may have diluted their lobbying resources (I doubt it did, GOP congress members are relatively cheap). In fact, it likely was more feature than a bug, as it incentivized La Pierre et al. to be as servile to the industry as possible and have few inhibitions about being as extreme as they needed to be to maximize gun sales.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: hahaha
Well, you are on my beloved commenters list, in case that helps even the slightest little bit.
trollhattan
Duck!
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: The first time my garden was featured in a Sunday Garden Chat, I got such a pathetic adjective in front of “commenter” that it actually hurt my feelings.
It wasn’t exactly “not a serial killer” but there wasn’t a lot more warmth than that. :-)
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: I’ll bet 75-110 feels pretty damn major.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: You’re WELCOME! ?
catclub
@hueyplong:
Well, latest model says another 145k by december. They should have given a number for number of additional dead by November 3.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@trollhattan: Urgh! NO! no more days of no power in August . Off to price generators…
Major Major Major Major
It’s reasonably likely we (humans) will have invented a reasonably effective, reasonably safe vaccine by winter. But we will not have ten billion doses for a long time.
Amir Khalid
@Omnes Omnibus:
I guess I’m just too lovable for my own good.
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan: Wow.
trollhattan
@WaterGirl:
Right? “Hey, my house is gone” versus “Hey, I don’t see my neighborhood” isn’t a big distinction.
Immanentize
@WaterGirl: As I suspected way up above:
Pretty normal set up.
catclub
It would be very wierd to find out L James is getting lots of campaign donations from GOA.
Gin & Tonic
@WaterGirl:
That’s a pretty obvious non-denial of the allegations that you *are* a serial killer.
catclub
@trollhattan: is this about Beirut? Or Hiroshima?
snoey
@Another Scott: I see a whole lot of vaccine readiness prep PSAs from the CDC etc. with a 10 ton background hint about who to thank for the coming miracle.
trollhattan
@catclub:
The predicted hurricane season, which NOAA basically set to “11.”
Ladies and germs, the president!
No guns? Sounds good, sign me up.
Yutsano
We should have a thread for this, but 55 years ago the Voting Rights Act became law. Seems like a decent time to restore and improve it for the 21st century.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@WaterGirl: That would be a yes! Have lived through hurricanes/typhoons in Hawaii, Guam and Connecticut. Seeing the waves break up OVER base housing, which sits on top of a cliff was interesting. Sandy was scary partly because people did not take is seriously at first. Then we saw the waves coming up over the ocean adjacent roads a full 12 hours before the eye was supposed to reach us and people realized whether it was officially still a hurricane or not it was going to suck. If you want to scare yourself look up the 1938 Long Island Express.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
So if we don’t hear from Amir in a while should we assume you traveled to Malaysia and killed him? Is that what happened to Steve in the ATL? : p
Dorothy A. Winsor
@dnfree: He might if she works in the Product Engineering Center in Waterloo.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WaterGirl: I don’t know.
I’m still somewhat confused about whether wearing a mask would have protected him from others, rather than just others from him.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: “Artisanal Commenter Watergirl…”
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
I shall try to keep that in mind. I know I’m guilty of not using the form.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): On advice of counsel, I am exercising my rights under the Fifth Amendment.
ETA: How’s that for a rotating tag thingy?
SiubhanDuinne
@Eljai:
Oh fuck him, sideways, rusty, etc.
Chief Oshkosh
@Kent:
Many civil rights groups are based in the south.
SiubhanDuinne
Deleted. Duplicate. Tired eyes. Weary brain. Old age.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Dorothy A. Winsor: there’s a picture floating around the internet of DeWine wearing his mask with his nose exposed. From what I understand, to the extent a mask does protect the wearer, it’s from covering the nose. And who knows who Mrs DeWine or the younger DeWines (if there are any) or DeWine staffers he trusted have been exposed to without his knowledge.
Elizabelle
@Eljai: John “Joke” King of CNN.
He is such a tool. Dana Bash was once married to him. That explains a lot, no?
SiubhanDuinne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
There. No charge.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@trollhattan: no guns, hell, Joe Biden is a threat to god himself!
gvg
@Elizabelle: They Featured a big story about how badly the US screwed up in handling the pandemic which specifically says it’s mostly Trumps fault. They have stories about other Trump administration officials and that the Ohio Gov. tested positive before a Trump visit that now won’t happen. Plus Lebanon explosion. Halfway down the front page looks about right for the NRA charges story to me.
Amir Khalid
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
GASP!
kitfoxer
@SiubhanDuinne: I almost never comment here, but here’s a link with the video you mentioned. Sorry, I don’t know how to embed it as a tweet (even though we’ve been instructed several times!)
https://twitter.com/eleven_films/status/1049449309790322688
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
WHUT?? I did not know that. Must check the googles and wikis.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SiubhanDuinne: after she was married to Panetta COS and coldly righteous MSNBC contributor Jeremy Bash
at what point does your knowledge of the personal lives of Beltway pundits and officials become indicative of an addiction?
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: Yep. Proving how bright the two of them are.
They spawned a son. Divorced not long after. Washington is wired for Republicans. Your nonpartisan media.
Elizabelle
@kitfoxer: Your link does not work. Would love to see it.
SiubhanDuinne
@trollhattan:
I certainly wish no harm to jackals and other good people, but I’ll admit to taking some pleasure that Trump is only going to stress out even more, and thus fuck up even more, if he has a slew of major hurricanes to deal with in the weeks leading up to the election.
AGAIN, I WISH NOBODY HERE ANY HARM.
Calouste
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Wait, “God”, the ethereal entity sometimes referred to as “the Almighty”, is going to get hurt by a 78-year-old? Maybe the nickname is not that appropriate.
Elizabelle
Does this work? No audio. RE Trump and Anthony Kennedy.
https://twitter.com/eleven_films/status/1049449309790322688?lang=en
kitfoxer
@Elizabelle:
Maybe this will work?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
You live in America, silly. You don’t have any rights ; )
SiubhanDuinne
@kitfoxer: Your link keeps taking me back to one of my comments.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Amir Khalid:
You’ve been put on notice
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
That’s the one! Doesn’t Kennedy look simply appalled?
H.E.Wolf
@PAM Dirac:
It’s usually safe to assume that because of systemic sexism and racism, most white women in leadership positions, and most men of color ditto, are twice as qualified as their white male peers.
Most women of color in leadership roles: four times as qualified as their white male peers.
[ETA: This is a side note:] As a college student, I was shocked when I heard a white female executive say, “We have to make the workplace safe for mediocre women.”
That makes more sense, many years (and workplaces) later….
Gin & Tonic
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: After the first. I cannot easily think of a subject less interesting than this.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): As bad as things are here, that’s not true. OTOH, here.
Chris Johnson
@trollhattan: Rare, my ass. This is the new normal: climate change. That’s what climate change IS.
You cannot simply increase the energy in the climate without this happening. This is the primary result, the first thing to expect.
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan: If Biden is elected, amending the Constitution will no longer be the heaviest of lifts shouted the Soviet shitpile mobster conman who wipes his orange ass with it.
catclub
I remember a radio show on empowering teachers. It appeared to work, as long as everybody was really smart, incredibly motivated, and gave 110% all the time. Nobody mentioned that the job was too hard and therefore not sustainable.
japa21
@WaterGirl: Hell, I didn’t even get an adjective in front of mine on Sunday. Not that I would expect anything loved beloved, respected or maybe even just a “occasionally noticed” commenter.
tomtofa
@piratedan: Easiest to just call them ‘Republics”.
From a comment a little later: “I’m sorry to hear my Republic
ancongressman has COVID.” Like that.mrmoshpotato
@japa21: commenter *YAWN* japa21
?
Omnes Omnibus
@japa21: How about “complete son of a bitch” commenter? That would be kind of cool.
japa21
@mrmoshpotato:
@Omnes Omnibus: Both would probably be appropriate.
Matt McIrvin
@Elizabelle: It’s a threat: “go after our real crimes and we’ll attack you for fake crimes!”
germy
@mrmoshpotato:
I remember the show “King of Queens” when the lead character is being talked into trying to get donations from co-workers or something. “You’re popular at work, right?”
HIs reply: “I’m liked, but I’m not well-liked.”
Matt McIrvin
@Dorothy A. Winsor: There’s strong evidence that, worn correctly, a mask will protect others from you, and weaker but suggestive evidence that it will also protect you from others, to some extent.
A few studies seem to indicate that cloth masks can cut down on the viral load you breathe in, which could affect the severity of illness, so that, while you may still get infected, it’s much more likely to be mild or asymptomatic.
But it’s still early days with all of this stuff. And it sounds as if DeWine might not have worn his mask correctly all the time.
Elizabelle
@Matt McIrvin:
Yup. It was lame sauce, too.
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: I don’t know about appalled. Anthony Kennedy looked startled, for sure.
But it kind of seemed to be a social convo. Maybe it was gossip. Cannot tell.
If I was more curious, I would see if I could find C-Span’s video/audio of the event, clearly held at the White House. They might have captured some of it, at least on audio. They’re always a lot better than listening via the cable news gabfests.
artem1s
@Omnes Omnibus:
you forgot
Richard Grant
We don’t always have to say NRA. From now on, we can call it the National Rifled Association.
H.E.Wolf
@catclub: I know (coming from a multi-generation line of teachers) what you mean!
Well, perhaps in 2021 the Biden Administration can start by tossing out Betsy DeVos on her low-quality ear (hat-tip to Kay), and appointing someone with a history of listening to the rank-and-file as Secretary of Education….
Elizabelle
LOL. Just looked in on the NY Post. The presser about the NRA — blockbuster news in NYS, no?
No. The NY Post has Kanye West as lead story. Enormous photo of him. And then a bunch of celebrity crap.
Midway down the page: smallish item with photo of Trump with blue sky behind him. Headline:
I kid you not. No indication whatsoever on what suit is.
WereBear
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
The thought has occurred to me as well. Since I grew up on science fiction, I live by the law of unexpected consequences.
Rand Careaga
NRA dissolving (artist’s conception): http://www.rcareaga.com/raiders_of_lapierre.jpg
karensky
@germy: Agreed. And, right now we don’t need provocateurs posing as journalist.
J R in WV
@Chyron HR:
Why would you think Wayne LaPierre wanted to be wealthy in Bugtussle OK, when he could be wealthy in New York City, home of some of the finest food in the world? No point in stealing millions and millions of $$$ with nothing good to spend in on!!!
Can you even buy custom firearms in Bugtussle? Would Wayne even want a custom firearm? When I’ve seen him handling any kind of gun he looks very insecure with them.
PS, I know you were being sarcastic, I just wanted to make my own point and used your pretty funny remark as my hook…
James E Powell
@Omnes Omnibus:
You got a special post celebrating your birthday, so maybe not beloved, but certainly honored & esteemed.
Roger Moore
In related news, apparently the DC AG is suing the NRA Foundation, the associated 503(c)3 charity. The allegation is that the charity loaned money to the NRA on unreasonably favorable terms and otherwise funneled money to the NRA for reasons that can’t be explained as part of its charitable mission. It doesn’t help that the charity had an overlapping board with the NRA, so it lacked sufficient management independence to say no.
Elizabelle
@James E Powell: Or just older. Older. Do not forget that.
Kidding.
J R in WV
@Elizabelle:
Here is is repaired: Justice Kennedy shocked
I dunno how it got screwed up with a balloon juice addr as the link, but the actual text Kitfoxer posted was the correct link, I just copied it and pasted it to see the shock on Kennedy’s whole body. Amazing stuff…
ETA, and, as often happens, others were there before I was able to get there. Last post? I’m good at that, also, too….
Just One More Canuck
@japa21: on a similar topic a couple of years ago, I went with “barely sentient” or “grudgingly tolerated”
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: It’s all good if I see someone say that – I add it directly to the spreadsheet of nominees. I don’t mind doing that a bit, it doesn’t even take 15 seconds.
But if I don’t happen to see it, then the would-be nominee goes into the dustbin of history.
Another Scott
@catclub: Based on the averages, a sensible guess is an average of at least 1,000 more dead Americans every day until everyone starts wearing masks and taking distancing seriously.
If we do that, then we’ll get back to the trough where we had roughly 500 deaths per day on average.
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.
dnfree
@Dorothy A. Winsor: she has worked with people in several locations, currently in North Carolina, previously in Horicon and I think somewhere in Iowa but not Waterloo. She works on designing some kind of riding lawn equipment I think.
Omnes Omnibus
@James E Powell: I had to share it.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I don’t know if someone has supplied a link below, but I just fixed the link in the comment you replied to.
WaterGirl
@japa21: Okay, I’m in good company then.
On the plus side, you didn’t get a “whoever the hell this japa21 is”!
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Yeah, but who got first billing?
I think I went with Omnes and Subaru Diane because that rolled off the tongue better than Subaru Diane and Omnes.
Another Scott
@Chris Johnson: I was thinking about the wind noises on Mars and summer storms here, and made the connection – again – that you just mentioned. Think about Jupiter and Saturn. Giant planets, lots of energy in the atmosphere, and storms (like the Giant Red Spot) that last for hundreds of years.
It really shouldn’t be surprising that storms on earth will get more frequent and more intense as more energy is added to the atmosphere – it’s what nature shows and tells us happens.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ruckus
@sdhays:
He could be taking it for rheumatoid arthritis, for which it is sometimes prescribed when seemingly everything else fails.
He could also be lying, which is a much more plausible answer.
debbie
I know this isn’t James’s motivation, but I’d like to think of this as the Democratic Party’s October Surprise, two months early.
BruceFromOhio
Need a comment condenser bot for this TBogg-wannabe thread. Or fuck, I’ll go weed the garden and watch Maddow later.
KenK
@PenAndKey: Wayne would look good in “pinstripes” (wink wink)
currants
@SiubhanDuinne: YES. “Behold, the field in which I grow my fucks. Lay thine eyes upon it and see that it is barren.”
frosty
@SiubhanDuinne: @WaterGirl: It’s an easy form to use. All hail WaterGirl for setting it up!
MomSense
@currants:
I just ordered that needlepoint kit. Cannot wait time stab fabric!
JR
Going to go with nothing burger, possibly even unhelpful in the context of a national election