Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Optimism opens the door to great things.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

It’s the corruption, stupid.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Watergirl Broke the Rule

Watergirl Broke the Rule

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Never say that it’s a “slow news day”:

The parade celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty-cementing Super Bowl win ended in gunfire and chaos, with officials reporting that multiple people were struck near the site of the rally that followed the parade, and that one person has died. Police said they took two armed people into custody, and local television live streams showed parade-goers running from the rally site and police entering buildings.

The day had started as a joyous party, the first time in 20 years any city had celebrated back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

But it ended far differently; police asked attendees to leave the rally area and asked witnesses for information about the shooting. Some children who attended the parade with their families to see Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the team’s other stars were separated from their families in the crowd and needed to be reunified with loved ones.

Making sure you’re scared everywhere is a gift from the Republican Party that just keeps on giving.

Reader Interactions

147Comments

  5. 5.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Horrible.  Is it racist for me to guess that the shooters will turn out to be native-born men and probably white?

  7. 7.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    If only everyone in the crowd had a gun…

    then there would have been even greater chaos.

    Fuck the Supreme Court that gave us this murderous mayhem. By allowing guns everywhere the Republicans have made it seem like you need a gun everywhere you go to protect yourself.

    If you want to really know how bad it is check out the JustRolledIntoTheShop subReddit where the mechanics in there post about the vehicles that come into the shop with weapons and ammo in them.

    There are a bunch of gun-toting chickenshits out there thanks to the Republican party, so beware.

  9. 9.

    Alison Rose

    I hate guns and if I had my liberal gun-hating way, every gun in the country would be melted down and built into a gigantic middle finger sculpture across the street from the NRA HQ.

  10. 10.

    Marmot

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Is it racist for me to guess that the shooters will turn out to be native-born men and probably white?

    Of course. And just out of bounds to suggest they might be MAGA nuts. And don’t blame the guns!

    /s

  12. 12.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​
     

    Is it racist for me to guess that the shooters will turn out to be native-born men and probably white?

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    When I dared the universe for news, I was hoping for a Jack Smith response to the Supreme Court, or other good news.

    I’ll be more specific next time!

  14. 14.

    prostratedragon

    @JML:  Also too many assholes who just gotta be them. These problems are interrelated; the guns matter could be resolved straightforwardly, but see above.

  16. 16.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: Front Pagers must be careful. A few months ago, Annie Laurie put up a post titled “The Case for Chill” and war broke out in the Middle East.

  17. 17.

    japa21

    Some reporting that it was a dispute that got out of hand. No specific ideologies or intentions behind it. Still early.

  20. 20.

    jackmac

    I’m the radical lefty that MAGAts, NRA screechers and other 2nd Amendment blowhards warn about. I’m all in favor of confiscating ALL guns (okay, they can have some payment for the weapon).

    Of course, full scale disarmament will never happen in this country, but registration of all weapons, enforcement of laws, making gun owners liable for damage their weapons cause and the removal of the scourge of high-power weapons is a good start.

  22. 22.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @japa21: “Some reporting that it was a dispute that got out of hand.”

    In 21st century America there is no better way to settle a dispute than with a gun.

    As long as you pull your trigger first.

  24. 24.

    Brachiator

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Horrible.  Is it racist for me to guess that the shooters will turn out to be native-born men and probably white?

    The only thing you can be sure of is that the people involved are stupid assholes.

  27. 27.

    Alison Rose

    NYT on today’s national security thingie: (gift link)

    The United States has informed Congress and its allies in Europe of new intelligence about Russian nuclear capabilities that could pose an international threat, according to officials briefed on the matter.

    Officials said that the new intelligence was serious — but that the capability was still under development, and Russia had not deployed it. Consequently, it did not pose an urgent threat to the United States, Ukraine or America’s European allies, they said. The information is highly classified, and officials said it could not be declassified without cutting off its source.

    A current and a former U.S. official said the new intelligence was related to Russia’s attempts to develop a space-based antisatellite nuclear weapon. ABC News reported earlier that the intelligence had to do with such a capability. Current and former officials said the nuclear weapon was not in orbit.

    The threat came to light after Representative Michael R. Turner, Republican of Ohio and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued a cryptic statement calling on the Biden administration to declassify the material. Mr. Turner’s statement, and his decision to share the information with others in Congress, set Washington abuzz about what the intelligence was.

    But the statement infuriated White House officials, who feared the loss of important sources of information on Russia. While Mr. Turner has been an ally to the White House on Ukraine aid, his remarks on Wednesday became the latest flashpoint in strained relations between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans.

    The intelligence was developed in recent days, and while it is important, officials said it was not a break-the-glass kind of warning of any imminent threat. But Mr. Turner urged its release.

    “I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the administration and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat,” Mr. Turner said.

    It goes on (and on). Sounds like a bit of a mess.

  28. 28.

    jackmac

    And completely off topic. How’s this for a scapegoat? In the wake the  49ers’ defense allowing a game-winning overtime touchdown pass in Sunday’s Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers fired their defensive coordinator this afternoon.

  33. 33.

    cain

    @Alison Rose: Turner is an idiota and does not seem to understand how intelligence gathering works and what to say and not say. Speaking out loud that we know that Russia has this capability will make them start searching for leaks.

  34. 34.

    Dangerman

    @WaterGirl: On specificity, the winning OT play involved something called a corndog. Why? Hell if I know.

    So, might I suggest something specifically involving Trump and a Corndog. Not cling for violence. Maybe a good Heimlich maneuver would cause him some good.

  35. 35.

    Barbara

    @jackmac: I dunno, but I did watch the OT and SF would have been complete toast if KC hadn’t committed a penalty on third down, which gave it a chance to get that field goal.

  38. 38.

    Michael Bersin

    @zhena gogolia:

    Watched the parade on television from fifty miles away. I’m not a join in a crowd of one million people celebrating something fun and silly person. Parking in normal circumstances is a pain, too, so we didn’t even consider attending.

    Though, a lot of friends who attended are still checking in.

    This is sad and painful. It was supposed to be a lot of people just getting together and having fun on a really nice day.

    But, instead, we get asshole(s) with guns. That’s 21st Century America.

  39. 39.

    Brachiator

    @jackmac:

    Steve Wilks, who had replaced DeMeco Ryans after the Houston Texans hired Ryans as their head coach last year, was only able to make tweaks to the 49ers’ existing defensive system Shanahan has been partial to.

    Unfortunate. Hope he can find a spot where he is more appreciated.

  42. 42.

    Almost Retired

    As Claire McCaskill noted on MSNBC, the gun-humping Governor was spirited off to safety by his substantial security contingent.

  46. 46.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Alison Rose:

    Another Republican politician trying to give an assist to the head of the International American Republican Party, Vlad Putin.

    The Republican party’s love affair with Ruzzia is a threat to America and the world at large.

  49. 49.

    Anoniminous

    @Albatrossity:

    First as a policeman* in Wichita where the town ordinance required visitors to leave their guns at the police station and receive a claim ticket to get them back when they left.

    * and pimp, but   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  a man cannot gamble and live on a mere $60/month

  50. 50.

    Gretchen

    It was a joyous day here until this happened. One scared high school kid who was separated from his friends said Coach Reid stopped and hugged him to calm him down.
    I hate that I was hoping Taylor Swift wouldn’t go with all the incels whipping up hatred towards her. And when I saw all the people lining the parking garages on the parade route I thought it would be easy for someone to bring a gun there. My daughter said they decided not to go for fear of something like this happening.

  52. 52.

    JPL

    Four people were shot in the parking lot of a local Atlanta high school, because why not.   Injuries are non life threatening.

  56. 56.

    Chris

    The parade celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty-cementing Super Bowl win ended in gunfire and chaos, with officials reporting that multiple people were struck near the site of the rally that followed the parade, and that one person has died. Police said they took two armed people into custody, and local television live streams showed parade-goers running from the rally site and police entering buildings.

    Oh look, yet another terrorist attack that somehow miraculously will NOT lead to us waterboarding anybody, stuffing anybody’s children in a cage, locking anybody up without a trial, tapping anybody’s phone line without a warrant, shooting any unarmed person in the back because “I feared for my life,” or even, God forbid, making anybody fill out a form!  It must be another day ending in Y in the most exceptional country on Earth!

  58. 58.

    Shalimar

    @Baud: Black dudes are always better for shooters.  Republicans might get scared enough to do something about guns.

    Though their solution would probably be to ban black dudes from owning them.

  60. 60.

    Shalimar

    @Alison Rose: Sounds like the news is that Russia has nukes that still work 30+ years later./s

    Even if this is Turner trying to get information out to help Ukraine, I stand by my earlier agreement with Watergirl that no one in the gang of 8 should be issuing press releases talking about classified information like this.

  62. 62.

    Gretchen

    MO Governor Parsons was at the rally. He’s the guy who said federal gun laws don’t apply in Missouri and signed every loosened gun law he could get. I wonder if he was scared when he heard the shots. He was reportedly nearby.

  67. 67.

    Shalimar

    Note to self: Buy body armor before next year or I might have to start rooting against my team so we can avoid the annual victory mass shooting.

  69. 69.

    Tony Jay

    “Republicans have brought the scourge of gun-violence to every street in America, flooding our nation with weapons of war and stripping away the laws and regulations that wiser generations relied upon to keep our communities safe. Well, we’re not safe anymore. Nowhere is safe. Not our schools. Not our churches. Not our own homes. Bullies in combat cosplay are terrorising a majority who just want the guns locked away so that their children, our children, your children, can live their lives in safety. And if elected, I will not rest until they have that safety once again.”

    I wonder how many voters would be attracted by that kind of pitch?

  72. 72.

    Geminid

    @Alison Rose: Yes. In fact, Rep. Turner just came back from a visit to Kyiv, where he and four House colleagues assured President Zelensky that they would get an aid package passed.

    This morning’s Politico Playbook has an item about the situation in the House. It’s worth reading because it involves the aid package. In a nutshell, Speaker Johnson is in over his head.

    One of Johnson’s problems is he does not control the Rules Committee even though it has a Republican majority. This Committee is a powerful gatekeeper for legislation, and normally a Speaker stacks it with his or her loyalists. But back in January, McCarthy had to let his opponents pick 3 of the members. They don’t owe Johnson any more than they owed McCarthy and neither do the other Republicans, and the 3 Democrats don’t either.

    The Playbook item did not give a prognosis for the aid supplemental, but it did imply that a petition to discharge is on hold for now. The likely Repubublican signers say they’re not ready, that they still will try to work through Johnson. And he’s floundering over FISA powers renewal legislation because his caucus is divided on that.

    There is another wrinkle: Jeffries, Clarke and Aguilar don’t know how many Republicans they need for the petition because some of their own members won’t not sign it because of objections to Biden’s Israel/Gaza policies. Leadership will be trying to get as many of them on board as they can.

    I still think the aid package is going through, but there will be some twists and turns in the process and it may not play out until well into March.

  77. 77.

    Harrison Wesley

    @TBone: So do I.  I think all my sibs in TX (even the non-lib bro) loved her.  Jim Hightower is still around, so that’s something I guess.

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    PSA:  If you donated to the Ukraine thermometer before 5pm Eastern today, it’s not too late to send me the email letting me know which quilts you want raffle tickets for.

  82. 82.

    JPL

    Jack Smith filed his opposition to the supreme court.    Muellar she wrote has the brief.   I can’t copy it since, I’m not on twitter

    This is Jack Smith’s document     link

  86. 86.

    JPL

    @Baud:  How quickly will the supremes react to his filing?

    I just hope someone calls him Citizen trump, cuz he definitely doesn’t like that.

  88. 88.

    cain

    @Geminid:

    There is another wrinkle: Jeffries, Clarke and Aguilar don’t know how many Republicans they need for the petition because some of their own members won’t not sign it because of objections to Biden’s Israel/Gaza policies. Leadership will be trying to get as many of them on board as they can.

    That’s kind of dumb – both areas are genocide. You are _not_ going to fix Gaza  – but you can save Ukraine and also weaken an opponent that is funding our opposition and making it harder to negotiate better with Israel.

  89. 89.

    Geminid

    @Alison Rose: I was being playful, not passive agressive. Honest. I was a little cranky yesterday, and I got over it. But I followed up with some info because I know you care deeply about this matter.

    I also wanted to point you and others towards Political Playbook, because it comes up every morning at ~6:30 a.m. and reports a lot of good Wahington info and links to a lot of other good reporting. It’s been a good source on the aid bill so far.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    @cain:

    I believe it has humanitarian relief for Gaza too. Maybe if a temporary cease fire is in place soon, that’ll loosen some resistance.

  94. 94.

    Manyakitty

    @JPL: may each successive day get exponentially worse for him until he explodes into a splat of Man Tan and Cheeto dust.

    ETA: I think I’ll start calling him citizen trump from now on.

  102. 102.

    trollhattan

    @Jackie: The WORST! ;-P

    Gone are the days of the “latte-sipping, chardonnay-swigging effetes.”  I blame the move from the ‘Stick to San Jose.

  103. 103.

    Soprano2

    I’ve got a friend who went to the parade and and said she’s ok, they weren’t near Union Station. Of course, here you can’t say on FB that it’s the guns, stupid, because they all get mad if you do.

  105. 105.

    Geminid

    @cain: This is what House Democratic leadeeship and other members have to convince their resistant colleagues to believe. I suspect they’ll be able to talk some down and keep the no voters below 10 or less.. But they may need to see how many will go along before they and Republican Ukraine hawks try to put a petition to discharge through.

  106. 106.

    trollhattan

    @mrmoshpotato:

    “There might be a million there!”
    “Where’d I put that gun?”

    Not fond of crowds, really not fond of gigantic crowds in a place they have no idea how to manage.

  108. 108.

    bbleh

    @JPL: @Baud: boy howdy!  And Engoron has not been entirely silent about his weariness with the antics of Law Team Trump.

    I would be interested to know what the process is, once Engoron says “thou shalt surrender $X00,000,000 unto the People of New York” and Law Team Trump files all possible appeals (and then some).  Eg, to what extent is it like Carroll I and Carroll II (the sequel, 15 times bigger, 15 times badder!) where he has to pay into escrow or post a bond?  And how does that intersect with the duties of the … monitor? whatever her title is.  Is everything (or almost everything) just frozen?  And what will poor Eric do during the days?

  109. 109.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @NotMax:  You can’t bring them in to their convention sites; that was a big point of discussion here when they had their convention in Nashville several years ago.

  112. 112.

    Jeffro

    It doesn’t matter who the shooters were, or why they shot up the parade today.

    It’s the guns.  800+ police officers on hand, and they couldn’t stop it, because the guns are everywhere.

    How many officers “responded” at Uvalde?  250+?  Didn’t matter.

    As many others have pointed out, the only difference between a good guy with a gun and a bad guy with a gun is…a split second.  And then families grieve their kids.

    Want to defend your home?  Great, do that…after you’ve been through a background check, training, waiting period, and regular re-licensing.

    Want to go hunting?  Awesome (not really, but ok)…do that after you’ve been through a background check, waiting period, training, and regular re-licensing.

    Any other reason?  Gun #3 or higher?  Open carry?  Weapons of war?  Get the ENTIRE fuck out of here.

  115. 115.

    mrmoshpotato

    @EarthWindFire:

    But…but I thought an armed society was a polite society. /s

    Well, if it’s only white people who are armed…

    Oh wait…  Shall I start rattling off all the white-shooter mass shootings in this country?

  117. 117.

    Ruckus

    @NotMax:

    “With great power comes the absolute need for great responsibility.”

    I find that sometimes responsibility is the last thing that some want. And usually at the wrong time.

  119. 119.

    TBone

    @Alison Rose: I confess that’s where I got the idea, of which I am still not disabused.  It seems so simple (but yadda yadda big gubmint).  Molly Ivins (I posted her screed above) had the right idea:  Ban them all.  If you want protection, get a dog.

  121. 121.

    Nukular Biskits

    @Odie Hugh Manatee:

    By allowing guns everywhere the Republicans have made it seem like you need a gun everywhere you go to protect yourself.

    Correction:  Republicans (and other “2A patriotic conservatives”) often exempted themselves of that allowance.

    Can’t carry a firearm into the state legislature, Congress or a federal courtroom.  That’s simply too dangerous … for them. Protection from guns is not for “the little people”.

  122. 122.

    TBone

    @Gretchen: I’m so old I remember the exact time of the exact day and exactly what I was doing when we heard that the assault weapons ban WE HAD expired.  I was remarking to one of the partners (divorce and family law lady you didn’t want to ever mess with in any manner) how bad things were going to get. I still support the Brady org.

  123. 123.

    Jackie

    Oh, somebody’s feelers are gonna be hurt and betrayed…

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday Joe Biden would be better for Russia as president than Donald Trump, ahead of a potential rematch between the two in this year’s U.S. election.

    “[Biden] is a more experienced, predictable person. He is a politician of the old school. But we will work with any leader of the United States, who is trusted by the American people,” Putin said in an interview on broadcaster Rossiya 1 TV when asked to choose between the two.

    snip

    Putin used Wednesday’s interview to downplay speculation about Biden’s cognitive health, recalling when the two met in Switzerland in June 2021, less than a year before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    “When I met with Biden in Switzerland — it was, indeed, a few years ago, three years — even then there were talks about him being incompetent. I saw nothing of the sort. Yes, he glanced at his notes. Honestly, I glanced at mine too,” Putin said. “There’s nothing to it.”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/biden-would-be-a-better-president-than-trump-says-putin/

  125. 125.

    TBone

    On March 23, 2021, President Joe Biden proposed a new ban on assault weapons after the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings and 2021 Boulder shooting both occurred in the previous week.[63]

    On July 29, 2022, the House of Representatives narrowly voted in favor of passing new sweeping firearms restrictions, 217 in favor to 213 against.[64] The bill went to the Senate where it lingered until expiring at the end of the term.

  126. 126.

    Manyakitty

    @Jackie: between Putin and Bibi saying that Biden is still plenty sharp, I don’t know how to respond. Maybe that’s what it will take for our media to listen?

  130. 130.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Alison Rose: Man, they really are just THAT stupid (Republican congressmen in general).

    Just pig-ignorant, aggressively stupid. Turner really needs to be investigated for breech of national security secrets.

  131. 131.

    Glidwrith

    @Baud: You missed the best parts: he shot his car and induced his partner to do the same while there was a previously searched, handcuffed suspect in the car.

  132. 132.

    Jackie

    @Manyakitty: Between Putin and Bibi proclaiming Biden’s still sharp and both noticeably NOT praising TIFG’s mental astutely, is going to cause a social media meltdown (I hope!)

    The article was picked up by several RW blogs and media sources, so surely TIFG will hear about it.

  137. 137.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: @smith:  I have a post ready to go up, but Anne’s Laurie’s post hasn’t been up long, TaMara is editing something in the backroom, Cole is sure to jump in soon and a likely Ukraine post so I’m waiting for the dust to settle a bit before posting it.

  138. 138.

    cain

    @Baud: I think the money we give Israel needs to be primarily for humanitarian relief. They got plenty of weapons. It’s not like the old days when they are surrounded by enemies with SA, Jordan, and Egypt all out to get them. Now you basically got soup’d up street gangs out there trying to get you. It’s not remotely the same thing.

    We spend a lot of time bullying nations. I think we can bully Israel and walk calmly into Gaza and administer first aid as needed.

  139. 139.

    Glidwrith

    @Jackie: I checked the comments section, looks like he got lucky-which also speaks volumes about the cops competence because the idiot cop was SURE the suspect must have had a gun with a silencer and was trying to kill him.

  146. 146.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:

    I used to work in professional sports. You don’t really manage crowds, you manage how much trouble they can get into. And I always had more issues with competitors than the crowds but then to the competitors I was sort of the police and the judge. They then had to go to the participant court, which was another duty, where I was the equivalent of the DA. It was on occasion, less fun than it sounds like.

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