Well, apparently the shots fired near Trump’s golf course (not Mar-a-Lago) in Florida were related to a guy with an AK-47 in the bushes a couple of holes ahead of where Trump was golfing:
US Secret Service agents opened fire on a man armed with a gun who they believed was targeting Donald Trump as he played at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The agents were several holes ahead of Trump when they spotted a gun poking through the bushes, one of the people said. The man then fled in a vehicle that was later apprehended. An AK-style rifle was found at the scene.
Trump was nearby but was safe, according to the Trump campaign. “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office is expected to hold a press conference this afternoon. Palm Beach officials were briefed by local law enforcement that they believed Trump was the target, according to a person familiar with the matter.
This is from the Post’s coverage:
The Secret Service has long been concerned about Trump’s vulnerability on his golf courses, which remain open to parts of the public and are often near heavily trafficked areas.
Here’s the thing about narcissists: the shortest distance between two points is never the path they take. Their ego needs always, always come first. So, even though the Secret Service advised against outdoor rallies, Trump had one in Butler, PA, and a nutter took a shot at him. Now, in the middle of a campaign where he’s sowing nothing but hate, he decides that he’s going to golf on Sunday, and something the Secret Service warned about happened yet again. (If anyone has a link to a site that tracks campaign appearances, I’d love to see it, because Trump isn’t doing much but golfing and showing up for anemic rallies on occasion.)
I’m not saying this is Trump’s direct fault — the point I’m making is that people like him are shit magnets because they aren’t serious about anything other than their own self-image. Trump’s was seriously damaged this week in the debate, and Tay-tay’s Harris endorsement was nearly lethal. So he needed a little time on his course with his emotional support team, which presumably included Laura Loomer and a cast of a few other third-rate sycophants who glom onto him like remoras. Never mind that his personal comfort zone is a place where he might think twice about going after causing so much pain to so many people. He had his needs, and those always come first.
(Also, don’t miss Watergirl’s post about Jennifer Schiff’s new book, directly below this one.)
Author Jennifer Schiff – A Mocktail for Murder!
Ryan
Aren’t AK-47’s illegal in the US?
raven
@Ryan: no
Other MJS
Time for a GOP-led investigation of why nobody is taking shots at Kamala.
different-church-lady
I’m relieved to know that Trump will protect our constitutional rights to the arms people are trying to kill him with.
Mai Naem mobile
I wouldn’t be surprised if its a GOPr trying to get rid of their losing ding dong who’s the top of the ticket. There’s a clip of Megyn Kelly absolutely losing it post debate immediately after being told that Taylor Swift had endorsed Harris Walz. If Kelly’s acting like that, you can imagine how some rando unstable GOP nutjob is feeling.
Butch
He’s already issued a money beg over the incident.
cmorenc
50 days out from a tight Presidential election, Trump is spending Sunday playing golf? Priorities, priorities.
Ken
It would be insane to suggest it*, but if someone wanted to destroy Trump, making him feel unsafe at his rallies and golf games would be an excellent plan.
* So expect to see it being suggested by Fox and the House Judiciary Committee in five… four…
different-church-lady
Also: obviously I’m not going to do this, but you just know if it had been Harris the entirety of MAGA would be screaming “FALSE FLAG!!!” at the top of their lungs.
different-church-lady
@cmorenc: You never know when you’re going to be looking for your ball in the rough and stumble across a health care plan for America.
Starfish
@different-church-lady: It’s too soon to talk about gun control so let’s do thoughts and prayers.
lollipopguild
@different-church-lady: A “concept of a plan”.
Falling Diphthong
@Ken: If you buy into the idea that God is directing the path of the bullets, God has apparently decided that he wants Trump in an ongoing state of fear and humiliation, and alive to experience that.
dmsilev
@cmorenc: It’s that or spend the afternoon spreading racist lies and/or whining about Taylor Swift. Golf probably is his optimal strategy right now.
Delk
“Staged” is trending.
Jeffg166
@Delk:
My first thought.
Andrew Abshier
If I was a remora, I would be insulted. Just saying.
Ken
Neatly explains the Laura Loomer stuff too.
cmorenc
Be interesting to find out whether the latest would-be Trump assassin, like the first, is a RW nut job who thinks Trump is betraying true MAGA hard-right principles. Or else, simply a nutjob looking to redress inchoate grievances against the world and seeking fame as he gets martyred in suicide-by-cop fashion.
bjacques
Well, that guy was no Squeaky Fromme. Then again, few people are. I think this is known as a double bogey.
God is clearly keeping Trump alive for a special purpose, which is to be beaten stupid in November. After that, the disappointed incels and groypers can do whatever they like with him.
Baud
@Delk:
Probably not. They have the would be shooter. Who’s throwing their life away for a staged stunt for Trump?
Chris
@cmorenc:
Very much hope it’s a frustrated right winger again: that’s the whole reason the first assassination story sank without a trace.
J.
@Delk: I didn’t know that “staged” was trending, but it was my first thought.
And even though the suspect was caught, how Trumpian would it be for him to hire someone incompetent?
prostratedragon
@different-church-lady: 😆😆
Baud
@J.:
Very. And that would be awesome if he spills.
JPL
@raven: Did you hear from Ozark? I’m on and off so I’m hoping that I missed the update.
cmorenc
If the would-be-assassin had succeeded today, to whom would the GOP pass the nomination? Would they give it to Vance (in somewhat analogous fashion to how when Biden dropped out, => Harris, his VP)? Or would they attempt a major do-over and turn to someone like Haley as the Presidential nominee (rather than e.g. give it to Vance and nominate someone like Haley as his new running mate)?
trollhattan
Trump is a crisis actor.
Pass it on.
McNaughton at his usual subtle self, thinks sideways blood streaks are manly.
https://cdn10.bigcommerce.com/s-dcvfa4/product_images/uploaded_images/fight-fight-fight-final-sm.jpg
lollipopguild
@Ken: Speaking of Loomer I could not figure out what took them so long to see the damage she was doing to him in public.
raven
@JPL: nope
Jim Appleton
@Andrew Abshier: ETA ¿mmx: What do you have against remoras?
cmorenc
@lollipopguild:
It would be irresponsible to not speculate that it was because of what she was doing to him in private.
lowtechcyclist
An AK-47? Didn’t that guy know everyone else has moved on to AR-15s? How passé of him, how behind the times!
different-church-lady
@cmorenc:
It would stay with Trump’s corpse.
different-church-lady
@lowtechcyclist: Have you seen what inflation is doing to the cost of assault weapons?!?
SiubhanDuinne
@Butch: I am both utterly shocked and not the tiniest bit surprised. In all truth, I’m glad I still have some capacity to be even a little bit shocked at his behaviour, even though I’m way too used to it after a decade.
trollhattan
@lowtechcyclist: He must be a tankie, getting extra shootin’ cred for a commie rifle.
rk
False flag, crisis actor, manufactured BS. Also, I don’t care do you? Plus, thoughts and prayers to the second amendment goddess.
Mai Naem mobile
@lowtechcyclist: he couldn’t afford an AR15 because of the Biden economy so he had to settle for a cheapo AK-47.
Jinchi
I wouldn’t put it past his people trying to regain the “hero” narrative they had back in July.
Personally, I can’t muster much sympathy for a Republican politician being targeted. And I certainly don’t consider him a hero for having survived. He’s got an entire security team keeping him safe.
Our kids have had to live through the last 12 years under perpetual fear of school shootings and the rightwing response has been to enshrine the right of every domestic abuser to own a personal arsenal.
Maybe they’ll think about doing something now that they’re the ones taking fire.
lowtechcyclist
@different-church-lady:
Outrageous, isn’t it? They need to make a campaign issue out of that!
Matt McIrvin
@different-church-lady: Don’t worry, the LGM commentariat are on it.
SatanicPanic
@cmorenc: brokered convention, probably
Mai Naem mobile
@Butch: for what reason is there a money bleg for this? His supporters are fools.
KatKapCC
He’s probably hoping to get shot* again. Twisted stupid asshole.
(*I still have some doubts about the first one…)
SatanicPanic
Man, twice in one campaign. Pretty crazy.
Betty
@cmorenc: You know how Trump complains about Biden being overthrown by a coup? I think he is afraid that could happen to him. J. D. wouldn’t do anything like that now, would he? It would be irresponsible not to speculate though.
A Ghost to Most
Sometimes, it pays to hire a professional. See Paul, Rand.
ljdramone
@Ryan: actually no, there are plenty of semiautomatic variants of the AK-47 available in the US.
And if you want the military version that can fire full auto, it’s easier than you might think to get a federal license that lets you buy one.
America, fuck yeah!
KatKapCC
@raven: Are there any weapons at all that are illegal in this gun-happy country? I suppose average citizens can’t go rolling cannons down the street, but otherwise…
jonas
We’ll see, but the default response is that the only thing wrong was that *they* weren’t armed heavily enough in response. Taken to its logical conclusion, every American should have a Secret Service detail every time they leave the house, but obviously a better one than Trump has, given that this is apparently now the second time they’ve let a heavily-armed nutjob within range of him.
Anoniminous
He tweets he hates Taylor Swift in the morning.
Gunman with AK-47 found lying in wait at his golf course in the afternoon.
h’mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
KatKapCC
@Other MJS: Please, let’s not even joke about that.
jonas
@Ryan: In states that allow it, you can have an AK-style gun as long as it’s semiautomatic.
Mai Naem mobile
The FBI agent at the presser looks like a Josh Shapiro doppelganger. If Josh ever becomes POTUS this guy could totally be his decoy.
KatKapCC
@Baud: Like 90% of his supporters? It’s a cult. If he told them to slit their own throats, a lot of them would do it. They literally think he’s the messiah.
Anoniminous
@KatKapCC:
Actually ……
trollhattan
@Anoniminous:
Battle Hymn of the Republic may contain an answer.
J.
@Baud: It would be, but he — I assume the shooter is a he — will probably keep his mouth shut or will lie until after the election or doesn’t get paid.
Baud
@KatKapCC:
Those people will do things out of passion, like Jan 6. They’re not the type of people to plan methodically for their own self sacrifice.
Mai Naem mobile
I hope there’s a bunch of undecideds who decide to vote for Kamala from stuff like this because they don’t want the day to day chaos of a TFG presdiency.
KatKapCC
@Baud: Agree to disagree. There is nothing whatsoever I would put past his minions.
Baud
@KatKapCC:
Well, I wouldn’t put anything past them. But I don’t think it’s the likely situation
JPL
@raven: shit
Tehanu
Objection, no evidence whatsoever that Dump can think, let alone think twice.
Matt McIrvin
@Chris: The people who do this stuff usually aren’t very ideologically coherent. Mostly they want to be famous and important, or they are just pro-chaos types.
JPL
trump needs to golf at military sites, like President Obama did. No more outdoor rallies, etc.. So sad.
trump should take some time and think about why so many people hate him.
The Audacity of Krope
Their best days are past them.
Anoniminous
@jonas:
If you are willing to find a Class 3 dealer, do the paper work, and pay the fee you can own fully automatic weapons up to and including machine guns. The prices are steep. A working brand new, fully automatic, M-16 will set you back ~$35k +/-.
Or you can fly to places like Somalia and pick-up a AK-47 for a little over $500. Granted, somewhat of a challenge to get it to your basement.
piratedan
well, there are plenty of guns out there and no telling who could have ownership and access to them.
Do I want Trump assassinated… NO
In jail, yes.
it’a a big shopping list of pissed off peeps that are out there.
Naturally, there are multiple minorities, disenfranchised folks that could be goaded into taking a shot, but there’s also what we saw and speculate from Butler, some kid just feeling homicidal and not really caring who came across his path, as long as they were famous.
I don’t want to read tea leaves until LEO says who this person was…
Ceci n est pas mon nym
So it’s not saying you couldn’t have a working cannon, just that if you did it would be (gasp) regulated! What kind of commie pinko nonsense is that?
Matt McIrvin
@jonas: We forget how many plots to kill Barack Obama there were. Most of them just never got that close to him. One guy did take a shot at the White House while he was in it.
Suzanne
@Jinchi:
Same. I obviously don’t want political violence because it’s a form of terrorism and bad for society as a whole, but I don’t give a shit about TFG as a person.
Like I said about Travis Kelce potentially, hypothetically smearing Elon Musk’s brain on the sidewalk…. I didn’t say it should happen, just that I wouldn’t be upset if it did.
KatKapCC
@The Audacity of Krope: The ones in the womb, you mean?
hrprogressive
Probably a RWNJ mad that Convicted Felon Donald Trump isn’t harsh enough on abortion with his waffling on the FL amendment he said he was against, before he was for.
Frankensteinbeck
@Anoniminous:
I was listening to a military historian and gun collector talking about this. It’s not just the gun itself. Machine guns need spare parts and those parts are expensive or just plain unavailable. Ammo is if anything more expensive than the gun. Of course, he was also concerned about the need to have a place way the Hell out in the middle of nowhere to safely play with it, which too many of his fellow gun collectors don’t care about.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Hey MAGAs? I do not want to see him shot, OK? I hope he stays perfectly healthy so he can endure and enjoy all the trials he’s managed to have postponed till after the election.
Delk
Martyrdom or prison?
The Audacity of Krope
@Suzanne: I affirmatively do not want Trump killed. The nation needs to see him roundly defeated at the ballot box for his program of hate and jailed for his crimes, for our own health.
Suzanne
@JPL: Or he could stop running for president, return to private life, and golf wherever he wants. He could have all the “executive time” he wants.
SiubhanDuinne
@different-church-lady:
So I’ve been told, but let’s save it for BJ After Dark, shall we?
lowtechcyclist
@KatKapCC:
Oh, I have no doubts. There was a real shooter, and those were real bullets, but none of them hit him. Maybe his ear got cut by a flying shard of glass, but it healed too quickly and completely for a bullet wound to be believable.
Frankensteinbeck
I am not putting a bet on anything in terms of the shooter’s motivation. I’m not even putting money on it being a shooter, rather than some random Florida idiot with a gun who the Secret Service (as they should) felt was too near a former president. This is the only time I can think of when ‘false flag’ is actually on the list. Trump and his people are completely god damn stupid enough to think they could fake an assassination attempt to make him look brave.
Anoniminous
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
You underestimate the persistence and ingenuity of your fellow citizens. :-)
KatKapCC
@lowtechcyclist: That’s what I was referring to. At most it was a tiny cut from a shard of glass. But they acted like it grazed his tiny little brain or something.
eclare
@JPL:
Yeah.
KatKapCC
@Frankensteinbeck: Considering it’s Florida, hiding in the bushes on a golf course with an AK seems fairly tame. But we don’t know everything yet. Maybe he was wearing a leather cowboy outfit while sitting astride an alligator and snorting lines of crushed up Ozempic off its head.
The Audacity of Krope
The world’s greatest sharpshooter couldn’t hit that point blank under high magnification.
Elizabelle
Last paragraphs of a well reported article by Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times:
The Audacity of Krope
Ozempic is an injectable solution. Happy to help.
Elizabelle
LA Times article: backpacks with ceramic tile and a Go Pro. Hmmm.
KatKapCC
@Elizabelle: You know that thing where you laugh so hard there’s no noise coming out?
Yeah.
me
If https://bsky.app/profile/sharonk.bsky.social/post/3l47y3afrlo2t is true the guy is a 2016 Trump voter and Ramaswamy (!) supporter.
Starfish
Some news stories are starting to name Ryan Wesley Routh as the would-be assassin, but a lot of times they don’t like to name names for fear of triggering copycats.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/live-blog/live-updates-trump-campaign-says-trump-safe-gunshots-florida-rcna171212
This article said he is 58 so he was probably not protecting the honor of Taylor Swift.
NotMax
“Sir, you have the finest dimpled balls. Bigly fine.”
//
Baud
@me:
Tulsi!
KatKapCC
@Elizabelle: Ceramic tiles? Was he planning to whip them at Trump like shuriken?
VeniceRiley
As J Divans just admitted today, they’re creating stories. They do not care if they’re untrue or whom they harm.
That goes for this latest rabbit hole too.
Starfish
@Baud: Did you see the comment that said “The first attempted assassination by a radical centrist”?
lowtechcyclist
@Elizabelle:
Dear Eric: I realize that you are dumb as shit, but have you considered the fact that there are hundreds of millions of firearms in this country? As long as that remains the case, the answer is: plenty! DUH.
Goddamn, boy, how dumb can you get?
WaterGirl
@JPL: i even wrote to Ozark’s sister-in-law today and it came back as undeliverable. I found phone number for her online, but it was out of service. Then I found a cell phone online and left a message on that, without being sure it was the right number.
And I wrote to Ozark a third time. Nothing yet. Starting to get worried.
Frankensteinbeck
Wow, this just got bizarre. He… wanted people to THINK he was carrying a backpack full of equipment?
The Audacity of Krope
The new part is where they admitted it…/RalphWiggumVoice
Starfish
@WaterGirl: Thank you for looking into this!
Chris
@The Audacity of Krope:
Even the world’s greatest shooter can’t hit something that ain’t there.
Geoduck
Maybe someone covered both of these, but… this site lists upcoming Shiatgibbon/Vance rallies. He’s supposedly going this week to Michigan, New York and North Carolina.
And evidently Loomer wasn’t with him on the golf course, she blasted out a Tweet or whatever about rushing to his side.
Nukular Biskits
@WaterGirl:
I was wondering why I haven’t seen him comment in a few days.
Where do he and missus live?
Timill
@The Audacity of Krope: And moreover, if he were killed, the GOP would pick someone more competent to run, and the sympathy vote would help them win. And I really don’t want anything happening that helps the GOP in November.
lowtechcyclist
@KatKapCC:
There’s one that I’m pretty sure is illegal. Hint: “One, two, FIVE!”
Nukular Biskits
@Frankensteinbeck:
If I had to guess, he was trying to improvise a bullet-proof vest?
Geminid
@KatKapCC: Maybe the guy’s some flooring contractor Trump stiffed on a tile job.
NotMax
@Elizabelle
Eric’s much too frequent (and rote) evocation of “my father” is nothing if not reminiscent of Norman Bates’ going on and on about “my mother.”
//
WaterGirl
As much as I loathe Trump, I want him wrapped in bubble wrap until the election.
KatKapCC
@Chris: Like trying to shoot fish in a barrel, except the fish is a single neon tetra and the barrel is the size of Wembley Stadium.
RandomMonster
What were the ceramic tiles for?
Elizabelle
@lowtechcyclist: I feel great passion and love for the schoolchildren and random people under threat from guns.
They are running out of lives, too.
The Butler PA shooting was on Saturday, July 13. Somehow feels more recent, no?
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Ugh.
Thank you for checking.
Frankensteinbeck
@Geminid:
We’re not lucky enough to live in that timeline. That would be hilarious.
Starfish
@Nukular Biskits: It has been longer than that. People were looking for him last week, and some people said that it has been a few months since his last comment, but I am not sure how they searched to find that.
Another Scott
@KatKapCC: My uncle had a 3-pounder cannon that he would occasionally fire at artillery ranges. (Shot frozen concentrate OJ cans filled with concrete.)
You can get a 9 pounder if you want something bigger.
AFAIK, those don’t require a “tax stamp” that a machine gun requires.
HTH!!
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
different-church-lady
@Matt McIrvin: Of which I am no longer a member: Loomis banned me in a fit last week.
lowtechcyclist
@WaterGirl:
Good idea – maybe he’d suffocate. ;-)
Starfish
@Elizabelle: Several schools across the country have either closed for a day or had all the kids skip because of threats to their schools over the past couple of weeks.
Matt McIrvin
@Other MJS: Serious answer: I’m sure people are trying, but Harris probably listens to her security detail and doesn’t take unnecessary chances. And they’re not the agents selected to be most loyal to Donald Trump.
I foresee more questions being asked about the Secret Service and what the hell they’re doing there, though.
Matt McIrvin
@different-church-lady: I’ve been hearing that from a lot of people lately. I think he went on a real bender.
Nukular Biskits
@Starfish:
I guess I could go back through the site and check but I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been months.
Well, as in more than 2.
Edit: I f’ing hate google. Anyway, It looks like the last time he posted was in July (?)
karen marie
@Jinchi: Scalise got shot, and Republicans just screamed “MOAR GUNZ!”
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
Someone found a comment from August 28.
lowtechcyclist
@Nukular Biskits:
IIRC, someone found a comment of his from August 28. So weeks, not months. But still worrisome.
ETA: beaten to it by Baud, of course.
The Audacity of Krope
Have we received confirmation that such a person both exists and would be willing to run as a Republican?
Jay
@KatKapCC:
The hardest grades of ceramic tiles, the kind used for high traffic flooring and traction outdoor areas are semi effective bullet proofing against handgun calibers . They cause the bullet to shatter on impact. Enough layers of them will stop high powered rifle rounds, but not armor piercing rounds.
While the round will cause the tile to shatter, if there is a shock barrier between the tiles, the impact will not cause the layers of tiles to shatter, and of course, if the shattered tiles are contained in a backpack, the shards of the tiles will still provide an effective “sandbag”.
Starfish
@Starfish: The most recent thing I am seeing from OzarkHillbilly is from August 28
Elizabelle
@Starfish: Yes. That is terrible.
On another note, I wonder if the shooter could argue he suffers from Trump induced PTSD?
I think a lot of us are unnerved in these last weeks as we wait for Kamala to trounce him in the election.
Trump has been a terrible affliction, and the sooner he is embroiled in his many upcoming trials, and incarceration, the better. He needs to be out of the limelight. We need to breathe.
Elizabelle
@Jay: I know. I wondered if it might be some makeshift type of bulletproof vest. A backpack for front and back.
And the Go Pro! Please let him be a rightwing influencer.
The Audacity of Krope
@Matt McIrvin: I banned myself. Seems like I saved Loomis the trouble as all I was doing over there was raising pitchforks since July.
Darkrose
@Starfish: *shrug* It’s just a fact of life.
Nukular Biskits
@lowtechcyclist: @Baud:
I’ll go with y’all’s info.
Like I said, Google broke their search engine.
different-church-lady
@Matt McIrvin: I was tweaking him, but I think he banned me because someone else pissed him off so much he just decided to scorch the whole joint.
Starfish
@Elizabelle: I think that the choice that several clever people made about making it so Trump is never really accountable for any of his crimes is not winning him love and support.
With it being a slow news day, I am wondering if anyone saw the news story about the leaked John Roberts memos where he decided that they were going to take up all the extra special Trump immunity nonsense.
karen marie
@Anoniminous: Speaking of which … whatever happened with last week’s highway sniper? Wasn’t that Tennessee? It’s completely dropped off the radar, as the kids say
Update: Oh, sorry, it’s Kentucky.
Governor Beshear has “implored citizens not to turn Couch into a folk hero for evading capture.”
Jesus Christ.
eclare
@WaterGirl:
Oh no…I know his first name IRL was Tom. Do we know from the Gofundme what his last name was and approx where he lived? Maybe we could Google based on that.
lamh47
At this point, I guess we can just expect these stunts every time the campaign is imploding…smh. Chile even the other side should be tired of the damn drama…smh
Elizabelle
@Starfish: You will never believe it. (You will.) The FTF NY Vichy Times headlined their article on that as:
Cuz Trump. He is a winner!
Anoniminous
@karen marie:
They are still looking for the suspect: 32-year-old Joseph A Couch.
Quinerly
@Baud:
Today is the first day I have looked closely at comments in threads for a few weeks. I actually have met Ozark in person. Before he moved to the country, he hung out in my old neighborhood in St. Louis and we traveled in some of the same circles. I think one of his sons is still in the area and may still lease an apt from a friend of mine. Ozark and I have a close mutual friend, also.
With that said, I will check around.
Baud
@Quinerly:
Thanks, Q.
Starfish
@Anoniminous: Has anyone asked J. D. Vance if he knows where a guy is?
KatKapCC
@Anoniminous: I had to Google to see if that was really his name. Oh Lordy.
Jinchi
If you believe the social media posts they’ve found, the gunman was a 2016 Trump voter who became disillusioned and who wanted to recruit fighters to defend Ukraine in 2022.
Elizabelle
Top of the WaPost right now:
FBI investigating Trump golf course episode as a potential assassination attempt
and at the right:
People. It ain’t the Secret Service. (Although kudos to them today.)
Whoever said Trump needs to play on military golf courses. Yep. Inconvenience the bastard.
danielx
@Matt McIrvin:
Can’t even read comments there.
me
The guy was interviewed in the NYT about a crazy plan to recruit Afghans to fight in Ukraine.
https://archive.is/k5fkz
eclare
@Quinerly:
Thanks.
WaterGirl
@eclare: I did all that. I have the email Ozark always used when he sent me email. No answer. I tried the email that his SIL used with GoFundMe for the receipt of funds. That came back as undeliverable. I have her full name, including her middle name, so that’s how I was able to find the phone numbers with google. I know exactly where they lived. I have not yet tried paper mail to the address for his SIL. Hoping maybe I will get a return call based on the voicemail I left at the cell number I found on google.
I have the names of the kids, etc from his BIL’s obituary.
edit: Sounds like Quinerly might have some connections. Fingers crossed.
karen marie
@Elizabelle: Oh, NOW guns are a problem?
Ewic Twump – in 2016, spreading the message of “we’re going to take our country back,” at a gun club and backed by the NRA.
He can go fuck himself.
raven
@Frankensteinbeck: 50cents a round is not expensive.
Mousebumples
@Frankensteinbeck: I figured the tile was used to provide a flat place to stand and aim the gun from. But I am not a sniper so that’s just a guess.
raven
@WaterGirl: I’ve emailed him too. Nada.
Elizabelle
@me: The subhead on that NY Times article. My my my. They are active in all our communities, too.
eclare
@WaterGirl:
Thanks. This is unsettling just after Steeplejack.
karen marie
@me:
A comment below the “please join Vivek Ramaswamy” thing:
Fucking awesome.
Baud
@karen marie:
I don’t get it. How is a Ramaswamy supporter a centrist?
TBone
@different-church-lady: that comment is a thing of beauty that shall live in my heart forever.
Baud
Aug 28 was just two and a half weeks ago. Not a radical amount of time to be off somewhere.
The Audacity of Krope
They don’t really believe in anything.
Starfish
@Baud: This man was a Trump supporter, and then he was looking for a not-Trump to settle on after he was disappointed by Trump.
WaterGirl
@eclare: Absolutely. Ozark may be fine. I worried about Amir and then he came back after 4 weeks. Yeah, I know, the next time Amir didn’t come back.
Chris
@The Audacity of Krope:
“Centrists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude. At least it’s an ethos.”
Gravenstone
@different-church-lady: Someone will be along shortly to accuse the Trump campaign of setting this up to try and curry sympathy.
@Delk: Aaaanndddd, here we go!
Quinerly
@Baud:
I agree. Hope we all aren’t jumping the gun.
The Audacity of Krope
@Chris: Good reference.
me
https://bsky.app/profile/theophite.bsky.social/post/3l47yclnv5o2r lmao
karen marie
@Baud: You have to read the series of bloots or whatever they’re called on bluesky. “Centrist” here is defined the way the fucking NYTimes defines it – whatever position is taken by a “polite” Republican. He thought Ramaswamy and Haley should be the President/VP candidates.
Gin & Tonic
This guy’s Ukraine connection is not helpful.
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
I just messaged a mutual friend.
Baud
@The Audacity of Krope:
@Starfish:
Seems weak.
Kay
I’m turning into a Trump assassination truther.
Come on. What is up with this?
The Audacity of Krope
@Baud: So was the attempt by the sound of things. It’s only because Trump is a colossal moron that this asshole was able to get this close.
I usually like that Trump won’t take professional advice, but I don’t want to see him die over it.
Starfish
@me: I think people are taking these posts too seriously. This man sounds like one of those armchair political observers who becomes an armchair epidemiologist and an armchair international relations expert.
Also, with all of these being screen shots, I am sure some people are going to start mixing in fake ones in there.
Someone was sharing one where he said something about Israel to paint him as anti-Israel, and I have no clue if that was real or not.
I think the word Judea was used if someone is a) still on Twitter and b) wants to search.
TBone
@Elizabelle: jesus fucking christ
Gravenstone
@Baud: Dangle a pardon on inauguration day?
lollipopguild
@Kay: Are you just asking questions?
Starfish
@Kay: It turns out that the alleged shooter is too old to be a Swiftie extremist.
Baud
@Kay:
Do your own research!
Shalimar
@Frankensteinbeck: If the guy with the gun near the golf course didn’t actually fire it (and all the shots were fired by Secret Service according to the story I just read), then he isn’t a shooter.
Kay
@lollipopguild:
And doing my own research!
Kay
@Baud:
ha! I got there right after you
TBone
@lollipopguild: 😆😎
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Kay:
On a somewhat related note, I wonder if these “do your own research!” types ever bring that same mindset to everyday mundane stuff, like car repair or plumbing? Or do they trust the experts to fix their cars and their faucets? Assuming they can’t do those things on their own of course
NeenerNeener
@Betty: I expect it to happen to him but only if he wins in November. The 25th Amendment is better than a gun because Vance can personally deliver the coup de grace.
WaterGirl
@Quinerly: Great! Hoping for happy news.
Ruckus
@cmorenc:
I haven’t read to the bottom yet, but for shitforbrains it’s no longer priorities, it’s whatever loiters in that useless, shrinking and decompensating brain. And it is decompensating. He’s 78 yrs old in a body that has never had proper internal maintenance guidance. Many people do not make it as far as he has with his concept of eating, activities and self induced pressure, all the while thinking he’s going to be king and live forever. I do believe that it is all catching up to him, and rapidly.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@WaterGirl:
Had no idea Ozark was missing. Hoping for the best and he’s just taking a break. Haven’t seen Brachiator in months either. The last comment via Google search I could find was June 7th
Baud
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Oh, you’re right. So many people drop in and out it’s hard to keep track.
Mousebumples
@Baud: and wasnt he concerned about some health issues for his wife? Hopefully, he’s only off the grid to take care of her (eg traveling for a referral)
Baud
@Mousebumples:
He usually mentions when he’ll be gone.
Shalimar
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): My resident conspiracy theorist/libertarian/antivaxxer waited 11k miles between oil changes on his car and still hasn’t replaced the broken garbage disposal in the kitchen sink after 8 months. If the rest are like him, no, they don’t trust experts in normal life. They just let everything go to shit.
Gravenstone
@JPL: But he won’t be able to sponge off the till at military courses.
Rusty
@different-church-lady: I left LGM after Campos diagnosed Biden with Parkinson’s and also was a complete jack ass to Cheryl Rofer. I went back a few times later, but the level of asshole was off the chart. Not having spent time there for the last couple of months now has been healthy.
Gravenstone
@Suzanne: I’m going to suggest this toothpaste is never going back in the tube. He’s done enough to piss off folks on his own side that he’ll forever have to be looking over his shoulder for that particular bogey man. Granted he has lifetime Secret Service protection, but a casual detail is significantly different than event prep and protection while in or running for office.
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
Maybe Watergirl needs to set up a “proof of life” feature here where if you don’t comment at least once a week, you’ll be signed up for a year’s subscription to National Review.
Elizabelle
@Gravenstone: Bingo.
Gravenstone
Welcome to Republican wet dream America, you fuckwit.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Baud:
Yeah, it’s normal for people to take breaks after awhile. Life happens, interests change. It’s still concerning though when a regular poster disappears without warning. You can’t help but wonder if they’re ok
Timill
@The Audacity of Krope: Ron de Santis? Nikki Haley?
“More competent than DJT” is a very low bar.
Eric S.
@KatKapCC: The few times I golfed in FL the locals warned me not to search for lost balls in the trees. Spiders, snakes, gators. Maybe it was them messing with me a bit but I took it as sound advise. And I’m not a very good golfer. I lost a lot of golf balls even for me.
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
I’ve been meaning to set up a system for myself but keep putting it off.
Bobby Thomson
This time it wasn’t on film and no one got killed, so much easier to cover up the choreography
Bobby Thomson
This time it wasn’t on film and no one got killed, so much easier to cover up the choreography
The Audacity of Krope
@Timill: Ron DeSantis proved himself pretty incompetent this year. I’ll give you Nikki Haley.
Even if they try, she won’t get them anywhere. In my life, so far, Republicans only get worse.
Bobby Thomson
Delete double post
catclub
The tandoorian candidates?
Gravenstone
@KatKapCC: Probably home grown attempt at ballistic protection.
satby
@Baud: well, if it’s any comfort, there’s no obituary for him. He didn’t answer when I emailed him Monday either.
I’m wondering if he went to Louisiana to help his younger son and got caught without power.
The Audacity of Krope
Sounds too tasty and too othering to be the right label for us to choose.
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
In all seriousness, as an infrequent commenter here but a longtime lurker, I have often wondered about folks who disappeared. It’s fortunate that many folks have someone who cared for them to drop a line to let the community know but I suspect that’s probably the exception rather than the rule.
wjca
So, not totally on board with the “Real ‘Mericans” focus.
Elizabelle
@catclub:
Funny.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Nukular Biskits:
Noooooo! It isn’t that unusual for me to disappear for a week.
CaseyL
@catclub:
[*chef’s kiss*]
The Audacity of Krope
@CaseyL: Apparently I’m slow tonight.
Bill Arnold
@Elizabelle:
With an inexpensive elk rifle, that would be roughly 800 meters. (That’s a long shot, for sure.)
With a few-K $ sniper rifle (many makes and models available legally in the USA), more like 1000-2000 meters.
(Assassination drones are not yet a regular thing except for governments.)
Jay
@Bill Arnold:
There was a recent assassination attempt on a jailed former President using an FPV drone in South America. They tried to blow up the wing of the jail he was held in. They blew the wing up, but didn’t kill him.
WildHornets in Ukraine, a volenteer group in Ukraine have developed a FPV drone that can fly at 385 mph, has a range of 25 miles, can climb to 40,000 feet and carry a load of 30lbs.
Bill Arnold
@Gravenstone:
Could also be misreported, and they were actual ceramic armor plates.
CaseyL
Those tweets from Routh – assuming it’s the same Ryan Routh as the alleged would-be shooter, are… interesting.
Perfectly lucid in spelling and tone, somewhat less than sane in content.
Unless he really was someone who traveled the world recruiting mercenaries for this or that conflict, I’m not sure where he thought he would get 50,000 Afghan soldiers, how he proposed to send them to Taiwan, or what war he said they would help win.
But the best has to be his tweets all but begging Nikki Haley to join forces with Vivek Ramaswamy as the GOP Presidential/VP candidates…
…no, I take it back: the best is a tweet he sent Trump in 2020, as a “greatly disappointed” supporter, wherein he asked Trump “..are you retarded?”
SW
I should think the fact that Republicans keep shooting at Trump is a bad sign for his electoral chances.
Bill Arnold
@Jay:
:-)
Yeah, I left off the “, but will be” [a regular thing].
I am not looking forward to a future with FPV assassination drones, let alone autonomous or semi-autonomous ones.
Want to scare some high level person? Anonymously release an open source facial recognition AI model that can accurately pick their face out of a crowd, that can be run quickly on very modest hardware.
Dual use! Paparazzi will love it!
Elizabelle
@SW: I hope so!
Jay
@Bill Arnold:
Probably not. SAPI plates cost the US Government $300 each and ESAPI plates $600 each.
America Rustica, a faux slate floor tile, which is the hardest floor tile I have ever worked with, (both for hardness, and difficulty in cutting), sell for $2.88 per tile. You can’t even chip them with a 12oz framing hammer.
wjca
Paparazzi will hate it! It will automate their jobs right out of existance. (Good riddance)
sab
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Yes, I have missed Brachiator too.
Geminid
@Bill Arnold: Some non-state actors are using military drones now. Iran has developed a drone-killing drone that it has provided to Hezbollah and the Houthis. Hezbollah has used them to shoot down Israeli drones, and the Houthis have shot down several American “Reaper” drones with theirs.
There were reports this spring that the Kurdish nationalist PKK shot down two Turkish drones over northern Iraq. The Turkish military is operating against PKK forces there, and analysts believe the PKK used the Iranian drone-killer. Turkiye won’t confirm this and neither will Iran, but Iran’s support for the PKK is an open secret. If the PKK shoots down a Turkish helicopter with this weapon, Turkiye will retaliate against Iran.
David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch
These people are usually deranged: Hinckley, Oswald, Squeaky, Arthur Bremer, Zangara, etc.
Jinchi
@Elizabelle:
Eric can cry all he wants. It’s more than his father ever did.
kalakal
@KatKapCC: iCBMs?
Ksmiami
@Eric S.: spoiler. They weren’t in fact messing with you…
kalakal
Can’t have been done by a true Floridian, they’d have thrown a ‘gator at him
@Butch:
Isn’t it too soon to
talk aboutfund raise off this incident?trnc
@lowtechcyclist:
Hi, Eric. Just fyi – he never loved you. Good luck.
Kirk
@Nukular Biskits: I’m an off-and-on commenter for a bit of time here so there are one or two people who might wonder. So what I’ve done is given guidance to spouse, child, and a trustworthy third party that includes a list of “please drop a message to these and tell them what happened. Your choice whether you stay for answers.”
Soprano2
@WaterGirl: I assume you know his real name.
Matt McIrvin
@Nukular Biskits: Given my general flakiness and sometimes just being busy, there’s a real possibility that I’ll just lose interest in commenting here at some point for an extended period, and I start to wonder if people would become concerned about my well-being.
Steve in the ATL
@Baud: sorry, this feature is available only for valued commenters
mr perfect
@catclub: 66 year old white male of European descent, no Indigenous or Asian heritage. I love tandoori.
mr perfect
@Jinchi: Word.
mr perfect
@Matt McIrvin: I appreciate your input Double M, here and at LGM.
The Lodger
@CaseyL: A merc with an attitude… Too bad for him Deadpool is copyrighted by someone who has excellent lawyers.
Msb
@JPL: if he did, he’d lose the income from food and lodging for his staff and the Secret Service team. For hi, the grift always comes first.