80 Comments

I never heard of Ingrid Andress before & if I'm lucky, will never hear of her again, as I totally ignore all hillbilly alleged music. She was obviously drunk & thoroughly wasted when she screeched that out, but I'll bet even 88 year old Swiss actress Ursula Andress could've done a better job!

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I wish EZ had added a link to Mike Downey's column in the LA Times about Roseanne's version of the national anthem. It was hilarious.

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They announced her as a Grammy nominee. Now we know why she’s not ‘Grammy winner’.

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If only the storms and resultant weather alert interruptions had happened earlier so we could have missed that, instead of missing much of the last two rounds of the HR derby.

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And it turns out I was correct that she was drunk, as she then voluntarily went into rehab today!

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Thank you, Mr Zorn, for not losing sight of the threat that the MAGA movement, Trump, and his lickspittles pose to this nation and the world. The Saturday shooting has changed nothing and the 'unity' that Trump has in mind is that we should all be united in fealty to the Dear Leader and his weird blend of "Christianity," authoritarianism, xenophobia, and misogyny.

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I am amazed that Trump chose Vance because the VP is usually someone who doesn't threaten the popularity of the President himself. That won't be a problem, however, as Vance is smart and will just wait his turn. The biggest problem for us, however, is that Vance has something Trump never had - and that is authenticity. He lived the life - you can read his book and "feel" his life (his version, anyway). And that will be enormously appealing to some on the fence. If the Republicans win, they could have 4 years of Trump and 8 years of Vance (or 10 if Trump happens to die or retire with 2 years or less of his term remaining). They have 16 years left to solidify their style of government (which is that of minority rule, to top it off), because by 2041, the population is supposed to become a majority of blacks and browns - and that will be problematic for them. How I wish more people would vote like Eric - on the policies of the party. We are star-struck, Hollywood types, and too many of us are charmed by the personality of the candidate. On top of that, Republicans use PR better. They choose a slogan, and all leaders repeat it - over and over. Democrats appear disorganized because we try to include everyone, and often one constituency disagrees with another. So, we have much to overcome, politically. But I am proud of all of us who stick to the core values of the Democratic Party and fight for equal rights for all. It will take all of us - in every way possible - this year. Mobilize!

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Vance authentic???

He's a fraudulent as a three dollar bill!

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Yeah, he's a worthless demagogue like Trump but far smarter. Trump is a useful idiot for the right whereas Vance is the right.

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By authentic, I mean that he did live the life that many of his supporters lived. He knows what it is like to be poor. Trump never had that for a day in his life. His switcheroo from "Never Trump" to the dark side will be very appealing to the Trumpers, and fence-sitters may be intrigued by his personal history.

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Jul 16·edited Jul 16

Authentically a fraud. He grew up in a working lower economic class family but he wasn't really a hillbilly, didn't grow up in Appalachia - just visited now and again. He blames the white Appalachians for being poor and not trying to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, completely ignoring the governmental and societal mechanisms that serve to keep people from getting any bootstraps with which to pull themselves up. Says that if these dumb rednecks would just work hard like he did, they would have better lives; that their lives are bad is their own fault. That those same people will likely vote for the Trump/Vance ticket is appalling.

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Great to see a review of what we all know and remember about incitements to violence from the orange turd. And no, it's not too soon. You are right -- Dems should take the exit ramp off the "high road" asap and get back to focusing on the real threat we are facing in November. We're already seeing Republicans blaming the shooting on a recent remark by Biden that the campaign needs to keep a "bullseye" on Trump and his totalitarian inclinations. Never mind that the comment was made on a private phone call to high-end donors, none of which would have been expected to be polishing the scope on their AR-15's any time soon.

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Oh come on. The remark was widely reported.

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Yes, it was subsequently leaked. But that's not the point. The remark was made in a private setting to a specific audience who were unlikely to consider it a call to arms like the examples Eric posted.

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I was looking at a New England Journal of Medicine article that indicated since 2020 the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 19 was firearm related. Thomas Crooks was 20 so he just missed being part of that stat.

The news indicates he “ borrowed” his Dad’s Ar-15, bought 50 rounds of ammo and headed out to the political rally.

We make it so easy peasy for young people (as well as adults) to act out psychotic episodes with firearms in hand. This Crooks wacko did not appear to have a long term plan or even a reason for his actions. It looks like an impulse driven action that young adults (particularly males) seem to get a lot in our crazy gun loving country.

The media correctly says we need to tamp down on the political rhetoric and violence,. But does not want to discuss the massive availability of guns if we fail in this attempt.

I expect the Secret Service to get the blame for the shooting at the rally. But I think the real lesson here is that with all the guns and troubled folks out there, no Secret Service or Security outfit can totally protect anybody in the United States.

And the only place folks can feel fairly safe from gun violence is on a plane flying between US cities.

It was sad to see people killed and wounded at the rally, it is even sadder that society seems to accept the gun violence.The solution to “bad” folks with guns is more “ good folks” to shoot them with acceptance of any collateral damage.

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Hi Peter - The current reports are that the shooters father legally bought this semi-automatic rifle a good number of years ago. Are you proposing that law abiding citizens should be banned from purchasing semi-automatic rifles? A serious question because that would encompass the overwhelming majority of hunting rifles.

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founding

What do you mean when you refer to a “law abiding citizen”? Do you mean someone like Thomas Crooks who had no prior convictions?

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Hi Joanie - His reports to date indicate that the shooter's father purchased the rifle lawfully, which meant that he complied with all legal requirements to purchase it, and had nothing in his history that disqualified him from gun ownership.

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founding

Would Thomas Crooks, who had no prior convictions, be considered by you to be a “law abiding citizen”?

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I'm not sure what word blame you are attempting to play with this Joanie, but I believe that anyone who had not committed any criminal offenses would appropriately be considered a law abiding citizen. When they break the law, they are no longer a law abiding citizen.

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founding

I guess what I am getting at (or “playing with” as you would say) is that a person’s dangerousness cannot be assessed by whether they are a “law abiding person.” When Thomas Crooks was driving to Butler, Pennsylvania, he was a still a “law abiding person” because he had not broken any laws. But he was dangerous as h**l, and we all would have been better off if he hadn’t got his hands on an AR-15.

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Well Dave, I read over my comments and I do not see any proposals to ban guns. It appears you are projecting here.

My only point that I wonder about, did the kid say “Hi Dad, going to a rally, mind if I borrow your Ar-15?” Or did he just take it without permission? I do not question the legality of the gun purchase by the Dad, but I do question his judgement if he gave permission or how he stores his guns.

By the way, I have fired Ar-15s, the military M-16 (on full automatic) and various deer rifles. If you hunt game with an Ar-15, you are not a hunter, you are a wack job smoking anything that moves. You know, like people who fish with dynamite.

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you basically make the meat worthless because of all the lead fragments in the meat

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Frank, you sound like a legit hunter. And you are absolutely correct.

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That’s why now hunting is the preferred method of taking deer for food

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I heard on the news last night that the son told his dad he was going target shooting, asked to use the rifle and the dad said sure.

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Well, I guess the son was going target shooting in a manner of speaking.

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Hi Peter - I know you did not make any specific proposals regarding guns. But when you believe the problem is that America is a wash and guns, this was a lawfully purchased and owned firearm that would not have been in the family possession unless they were prohibited from purchasing it. So that's why I was wondering if you were advocating a ban on the purchase of semi-automatic rifles. Absent that, they're really isn't any regulation that would have stopped the family from having this rifle.

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Dave, my point is more with all the guns out there, people are in many cases not responsible in storing or loaning out their weapons.

Children find loaded guns in the home with bad results. Despondent teens or adults for that matter have a dark depressive episode and a gun is available.

Guns are a very effective method of quick suicides.

Two guys fighting over a parking place result in some broken noses and some cussing. Now add a situation where both are carrying legal firearms and the result could be deadly.

See the New England Journal Report, our kids are dying from gun related situations…a lot of them. This should be an issue of concern to all Americans.

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Yes!! Semi or fully automatic weapons need to be limited to the armed forces or the police. There is no reason on this green earth for regular folks to own these weapons of mass destruction.

If you want to "defend" yourself in your home, buy a shotgun. And if you hear an intruder, aim it at the sky. It will scare the ne-er-do-well and not accidentally kill your drunk neighbor who got into the wrong house.

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If your house is locked up, it ain't a drunk neighbor in the wrong house!

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You're missing the point, David. Even if purchased legally, he had the responsibility to keep it out of the hands of someone that shouldn't have it. I own 2 handguns. No one gets to touch them except me. If I hand one of them to someone who then uses it to illegally shoot someone else, then I share responsibility.

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Hi Laurence - I completely agree with you on that. I feel the same responsibility as you do with my firearms. The only report on this I have seen is that the shooter told his father that he was going target shooting, something he had done previously, and was not prohibited by law. Absent any apparent reason for concern, I don't know that we see fault in the father in this.

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Well Dave, the son gets killed, a Dad gets killed, two other people are hurt, Trump gets nicked and a whole lot of folks get traumatized.

While you worry about who is to blame and who is innocent, why not focus on possible solutions?

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Hey Peter - I appreciate the dialogue. If we are talking about another shooting like this attempted assassination, the clear first place to start is a review of the multiplicity of apparent egregious security lapses that allowed this shooter to get on the building, be there for half an hour and get multiple rounds off that caused the death and wounding. Joanie's comments seem to be suggesting that a ban on AR-15 semi-automatic rifles is the response to prevent these, but I don't believe that will have any material effect as even average shooters with most any large caliber long gun could have made the shots that the shooter made last Saturday. Personally, I strongly favor common sense restrictions on the possession and use of firearms by people with a criminal history, diagnosed mental health issues or in response to court orders under red flag laws. But I don't believe that any of these would have applied to this situation. Have a great day!

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The Republicans own this violence from their promotion of violence with their 'do you feel lucky punk' promotion of guns as their replacement of social programs through defunding and derision that are intended to improve quality of life and equal opportunity for all and their militarization of police departments and derision of diplomacy in solving conflicts. Their anti-LGBTQ, anti-DEI actions and rejection of programs intended to end bullying increase the inevitability of violence because they are telling the affected people that they don't belong and have no place in our society, leaving frustration and anger to fester.

The fact is that Trump and the GOP are the enemy of our inclusive, liberal society and must be removed from power if we are to reduce violence proactively, through inclusion because blaming law enforcement for not reacting quickly enough is far too late. Vote Blue, any Democrat is essentially better than any Republican these days.

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‘It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.’ Methinks, it's more about Satan protecting his own.

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I am a person without a faith, but I do wonder what kind of god it is that makes capricious choices about who survives shootings, who scores the winning walk-off homer, who finds romance and who doesn't, etc., etc. The only ones that I know of that do such things are the Hellenistic gods who are omniscient but make no pretence about being all-loving except in the carnal sense.

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Apparently God did intend for Saturday's Trump rally to be remembered throughout history as an act of His divine intervention in the world. That would have worked, too, if God had done His own Old Testament smiting Himself, instead of sending an amateur hit man.

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Most excellent

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A little republican inspired nostalgia-character counts and what would Jesus do? As I watched the DT assassination attempt all I could think of was his previous celebration of violence-seems that Karma's a bitch. Afraid nothing will change

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founding

Depending on which version of Luke you believe, Jesus would pray for forgiveness to those who are killing him.

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Of course Jesus would forgive-I just wanted to point out the shift in values that has occurred

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Eric, it's been determined that there is another man in the same county as the "alleged" shooter. He's a 67 year old man with the same first and last name. He donated $15 to a Democratic cause, not the 20 year old.

Chuck

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author

I saw it reported that the address on that donation matched up with the address of the shooter.

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I’m surprised. My source is usually spot on. Thanks for the correction.

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founding

My current nightmare is that on the second day of the new Trump Presidency, Justices Thomas and Alito resign and he proposes two 45-year-olds with the same antediluvian judicial philosophy to the newly Republican Senate. Aaaack!

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Did anyone else catch this in Lester Holt's interview of President Biden? Hold asked the President if he had heard from the director of the Secret Service since the shooting, and Biden replied that yes, he had heard from and been in contact with him. Apparently President Biden is unaware that the director of the secret service is a female that he appointed, or perhaps he forgot.

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He also told George Stephanopolous that he “didn’t think” he watched his debate.afterwards. And today he told the NAACP that Obama sent him to Detroit as VP “during the pandemic” to help fix it. I think the Democrats need to enable some double-secret super-delegates and nominate someone less impaired.

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As usual, a very provocative column. Why is Eric surprised about Vance? Normal politicians try to choose someone to get support in a weak area. But this is Trump we're talking about. Of course under MAGA ideology more guns should be allowed at the Republican convention. But Republicans are as good at saving their own hides as anyone. I have thought from the very first that the shooter was probably apolitical. Like, over the past decade, we haven't seen a ton of examples of young people hoping to make names for themselves and go down in a blaze of glory and be famous? Like Columbine? Finally, I saw an online comment about what a warrior and fighter Trump was. How brave does one need to be to be a target when one is supposedly surrounded by the Secret Service and doesn't know a bullet is coming?

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Has anyone heard of there being any credible evidence that the assassination attempt was anything other than that? When I read Neil Steinberg’s EGD post late last night he had written the words, “The assassination attempt, if that is what it was…”, but when I read it again this morning, he had edited out the latter part. What else might it have been? Was Mr. Crooks just trying to give Trump a scare? Maybe just trying to shoot Trump’s cap off his head without harming him, sort of like what Blondie does to the lynch party officiators in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

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Switching to thoughts about Biden resigning and having an open convention: Has anyone read the column by Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal? It is written to convention-going Democrats and suggests that since we are in chaos anyway, why not be open to the idea of choosing someone else as the standard bearer. I know she is not a Democrat, and I expect to be vilified for suggesting that you read it. But it has some important things to say. Remember Truman?

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founding

Plenty of democrats have similar sentiments.

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Never take advice from a right wing loon like Noonington!

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It seems to me Trump is relishing his invincibility, portraying himself as the brave wounded warrior. Once again, the real threat from weapons of mass murder is shrugged off by the party supporting their distribution to all. It's not surprising since violence is his mantra, remember he enjoyed watching the J6 attack on the capitol. Why anyone would vote for this sick freak is beyond me.

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