Heather Cox Richardson PhD gets a Letters from an American Nobel for the power of her vital summation, her useful detail and her accuracy and for her succinctness tonight. This is a midnight masterpiece.
Sandy. I wanted to post something about the Uvalde massacre upon which Professor Richardson continues to inform us. Which is so important in keeping this from fading to a fleeting memory. I received this from a friend yesterday. Apparently it is circulating but is first time I saw it. A letter from a mother. So…..so wrenching. Talk about a mother’s truth….. we must continue to honor the families…and do what we must to protect our children of the world as we raise them.
From Facebook/ shared with me.
“…written by a mom of one of the Uvalde victims:”
"The chicken soup in her thermos stayed hot all day while her body grew cold.
She never had a chance to eat the baloney and cheese sandwich. I got up 10 minutes early to cut the crust off a sandwich that will never be eaten.
Should I call and cancel her dental appointment next Wednesday? Will the office automatically know?
Should I still take her brother to the appointment since I already took the day off work? Last time Carlos had one cavity and Amerie asked him what having a cavity feels like.
She will never experience having a cavity.
She will never experience having a cavity filled.
The cavities in her body now are from bullets, and they can never be filled.
What if she had asked to use the bathroom in the hall a few minutes prior to the gunman entering the room, locking the door, and slaughtering all inside?
Was she one of the first kids in the room to die or one of the last?
These are the things they don’t tell us.
Which of her friends did she see die before her?
Hannah?
Emily?
Both?
Did their blood and brains splatter across her Girl Scout uniform?
She just earned a Fire Safety patch.
What if it got ruined?
There are no patches for school shootings.
Was she practicing writing GIRAFFE the moment he walked in her classroom, barricaded the door and opened fire?
She keeps forgetting the silent “e” at the end.
We studied this past weekend, and now she doesn’t need to take the spelling test on Friday.
None of them will take the spelling test on Friday.
There will be no spelling test on Friday.
Because there is no one to give it.
And no one to take it.
These are the things I will never know:
I will never know at what age she would have started her period.
I will never know if she had wisdom teeth.
(Or if they would have come in crooked.)
I will never know who she spoke to last. Was it the teacher? Was it her table partner, George? She says George is always talking, even during silent reading.
Did she even scream?
She screamed the lyrics to We Don’t Talk About Bruno at 7:58 AM as she hopped out of my car in the circle drive.
She always sings the Dolores part, her sister sings Mirabel and I’m Bruno.
“And I wanted you to know that your bro loves you so
Let it in, let it out, let it rain, let it snow, let it goooooo……..”
Did the killer ever see Encanto?
Could we have sat in the same row of seats, on the same day, munching popcorn?
What if Amerie brushed past him in the aisle? Did she politely say, “Excuse me,” to the boy who would someday blow her eye sockets apart?
Was he chomping on bubble gum as he destroyed them all?
If so, what flavor?
Cinnamon?
Wintergreen?
Was the radio on as he drove to massacre them? Or did he drive in silence?
Was the sun in his eyes as he got out of the car in the parking lot?
Did his pockets hold sunglasses or just ammunition?
These are the things I will never know.
There is laundry in the dryer that is Amerie’s.
Clothes I never need to fold again.
Clothes that are right now warmer than her body.
How will I ever be able to take them out of the dryer and where will I put them if not back in her dresser?
I can never wash clothes in that dryer again.
It will stand silent; a tomb for her pajamas and knee socks.
Her cousin’s graduation party is next month and I already signed her name in the card. Should I cross it out?
That will be the last card I ever sign her name to.
The dog will live longer than she will.
The dog will be 12 next month and she will be eternally 10.
What will the school do with her backpack?
It was brand new this year and she attached her collection of keychains like cherished trophies to its zipper.
A beaded 4 leaf clover she made on St. Patty’s Day.
A red heart from a Walk-a-Thon.
A neon ice cream cone from her friend’s birthday party.
Now there will be no more keychains to attach.
No more trophies.
Surely they can’t throw it out?
Would they throw them all out?
19 backpacks, full of stickered assignments and rainboots, all taken to the dumpster behind the school?
Is there even a dumpster big enough to contain all that life?
These are the things someone else knows:
The moment the semiautomatic rifle was put into his hands--was “Bring Me a Higher Love” playing in the gun store? “Get off my Cloud” by the Rolling Stones? Maybe it was Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”
Did the Outback Oasis salesperson hesitate as they slid him 375 rounds of ammunition?
not my problem my kids are grown and out of school
Or I don’t have kids, so I don’t have to worry about their skulls getting blown across the naptime mat
Or fingers crossed there’s a good guy with an equally powerful gun that will stop this gun if needed
Did they sense any danger or were they more focused on picking that morning’s Raisin Bran out of their teeth?
My Nana used to say, “Pay attention to what whispers, and you won’t have to when it starts screaming.”
But now I know there is a more deafening sound than children screaming.
More horrific even, than automatic rifles on a Tuesday morning.
I beg the world:
Pay attention to what’s screaming today, or be forced to endure the silence that follows."
Note: There is a question whether Amelie’s mother was the author. Please read it under that advisement.
————————————————-
That was truly one of the most wrenching things I've ever read in my whole long life. May Amerie's mother and all who mourn somehow, someday find peace. Thank you for sharing it, Christine.
I've posted this as well along with the comment that whether or not Amelie's mother, or another mother, wrote it is irrelevant because it expresses the deep pain that all of the Uvalde parents, mother and fathers, are experiencing. And all of the pain that parents of children in other school massacres experience and probably will experience for the rest of their lives.
Wow....so heart wrenching. Is there a way I can share this. Yesterday, my ex-classmate posted a rant from a black man defending the second amendment. Neither he nor she understands that we can ban assault weapons and large magazines and people can still have their guns for hunting, target shooting, and defending their home. We can also take gun ownership more seriously with requirements for buying one. I took it on, of course, and mentioned at the end of my rant that parents had to provide DNA to ID torn up bodies. I wanted to say something about being so-called pro-life and isn't Jesus about love, but didn't.
The person that shared with me pulled it from Facebook stream that has been focused on Uvalde. So I do not know. My sharing is because my take is that any one of the parents perhaps could have written it if their thoughts now about their children fell onto paper. Same as with Sandy Hook families….Parkland families ………….
My perspective is that material is authentic or not. If Amerie's mother said she didn't write it -- that is the answer. I do not understand your logic -- it could be by someone else's mother?
And the list keeps on getting eternally longer. Innocent blood will forever flow until those who are so uncaring or just selfish are themselves affected to the same extent as so many parents already have. There is a secret that some of us realize. Such happens daily as careless gun owners lose their children every day. Of course we rarely hear of it because the loss is scattered singularly across this huge land but with so many guns in the hands of careless people, innocents still die.
I don't understand why it matters who wrote it. The content and the feeling express what every parent of a child murdered in a school mass shooting is undoubtedly experiencing.
I concur that the content expresses deep grief. But facts matter, as readers of HCR know very well, since she documents every Letter with verifiable sources.
There are different versions about whether it was indeed Amerie's mother who wrote it and whether she took it down from social media or whether she requested her name not be used in sharing what she wrote. Unless and until a trusted source presents the facts of the situation, we can only just appreciate the power of the content and the pain it expresses.
#ucker Carlson thinks gun control is about Democrats quaking in their boots, afraid of gun owners coming after them because they know they are an illegitimate government?!?!?! I wish someone could/would go on his show and read what this grieving mother has written, so that his audience could see what the desire for sensible gun control is really about. The overwhelming majority of Americans, including people of ALL political persuasions, want sensible gun controls. When will the influencers on Fox Entertainment stop spreading hateful, hurtful lies to incite anger and resentment, and start treating their audience with the respect they deserve?
A lawyer friend of mine framed gun ownership under property law. It’s an argument I had not heard of yet. “I may own a cat and leave it in my backyard, but I have no right to own a Tiger. And I have no right have a Tiger loose in my backyard.”
So haunting and chilling Christine, but necessary. Like the PBS Newshour segment last night with David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart ( https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/brooks-and-capehart-on-the-wave-of-gun-violence-in-america ) where Jonathan said, sadly, that the only thing that may make a difference in response of legislators, gun owners, citizens, gun organizations, etc, is to have photos of the children, or what is left of the children after being hit by bullets that explode in their bodies (see 60 Minutes last Sunday ( https://www.cbsnews.com/video/60minutes-2022-05-29/#x ) such that they cannot be identified. Their parents have to give DNA samples to identify them. Appalling that we allow these weapons of war to be used against students, movie-goers, grocery store shoppers, concert attendees, churche members, doctors office workers and patients, newspaper offices, nightclubs, etc etc etc. Shall we harden all of these venues: it's not just schools?
MaryPat, Barbara (on this chain of exchanges) has stated that she learned on FB that the letter was not written by Amerie's mother. Misinformation and Disinformation spreads faster than the truth. From my point of view, it is best to know the facts before passing the letter on. While its authenticity may seem unimportant at this moment, our civil society has been invaded by alternate realities, a Big Lie (and many other lies) have destabilized our country.
“...how vulnerable is the whole texture of facts in which we spend our daily life; it is always in danger of being perforated by single lies or torn to shreds by the organized lying of groups, nations, or classes...” (Hannah Arendt, “Lying in Politics: Reflections on The Pentagon Papers.”)
Copy and paste it on your computer, save that document, print it out. Then send it to you Congressional reps, all of them. That’s what I’m doing. Or copy and put in an email. HIT SEND
Thanks to the mom who constructed her thoughts to share with the world. To use her new and unwanted role as a parent of a slaughtered child, I grieve with her and am grateful she had the courage to write this. And thank you Christine for adding this to our comment section today. I will carry these words with a heavy heart and more resolve to be a part of the change.
Thank you for sharing. It is heartbreaking no matter who wrote it and I think captures the pain of grief and desolation that comes from senseless deaths.
Christine, Why don't you check on FB and with your friend about the letter's authenticity? That is the source of Barbara's comment. If it is inauthentic, you know what to do.
I am no longer a Facebook user, Fern. The person that shared it used the title that I posted. “written by a mom of the victims of Uvalde victims”. That was from Facebook stream also. I see names in the body of letter but did not specify which parent wrote it.
No logic used. I said that It felt it was something written by a parent that experienced personally the particular tragedy of school shooting. The words moved me. In fact, I had no words after reading it. The roosters came to roost.
Thanks, Christine. You know I'm a hawk on this. Our civic society is coming apart by alternative realities and foundationally destabilized by THE BIG LIE and many other lies. I haven't been loosened by it, tightened up even more is the 'truth' of it. Salud, friend.
Reacting to the arrest, Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) told Newsmax , “If you’re a Republican, you can’t even lie to Congress or lie to an FBI agent or they’re coming after you.”
Proving once again he is the Dumbest Fcking Goat Roper To Ever Live.
closely contested by the rest of that congressional delegation who all suggested "hardened grade schools and concealed-carrying grade school teachers" as a solution for mass murderers...
Hard as it may be, these republicans that are lying and denying need to see the videos and pictures of these small children’s bodies after the destruction of a semiautomatic rifle. Maybe then the one drip of humanity they may have will cause devastating pain. Gun laws MUST be changed. We are being murdered by the pure greed and lust for power that these evildoers are obsessed by. We MUST stop this madness!! As I see it there are two ways we can rid ourselves of these democracy robbers.Vote Them Out! Which they are working diligently every day to keep us from doing. Or bring the madness to them. They are trying so hard to stir a civil war that will keep us busy and distract us while they continue to dismantle our democracy and rob us.
The truth is They don’t care. I still have hope that if we come for the vote in November by the millions they will not be able to pull off their scam. Not sure but I have to believe this will work. We have to save our democracy. It is a in our face fact that they are trying to destroy it.
The GOP senators and all 9 Justices of SCOTUS should be made to walk through them, step over their tiny shredded bodies, look at what used to be their sweet faces but are now unrecognizable. Assault rifles are made to shred adult bodies in such a way as to be unsurvivable...what they do to children is what Ted Cruz did to bacon. When you live in a gilded tower you feel safe from the carnage. Cruz and assoc all live in wealthy protected enclaves, their children go to uber exclusive schools, they do not live in this world, many never have.
Ordinary people do not need to own a weapon for meant for military combat. If you want to shoot such a weapon, join the army or marines and experience all that goes with being a real warrior. The republicans don’t expect to have these kind of terrible things happen to them. I read that by refusing to regulate weapons and ammunition, we are practicing child sacrifice. How horrible we have become! That mother’s letter broke my heart.
I agree. These hardened criminals should be made to see those photographs, see the carnage they reaped upon those innocent children and teachers. They deserve nothing less.
Biden should not ask for gun laws. He should demand gun laws. Republicans and Fox News should be bombarded with demands they tell their followers to not shoot anyone for any reason. This would be more effective than a promise to cooperate on gun laws as the gun group fans the flame of violence.
Probably not by this point but he is a great practitioner of one of the basic traditions of our democracy--negotiation and compromise for the good of the country.
Sadly, the Republicans' goal for decades has been to obstruct, obfuscate and downright do traitorous deeds. If only we all had realized it as it started happening and kept happening over the years. If only we can stop it now, but the web they've brilliantly, silently woven is a tangled one.
Did any of the Ulvade parents have an open coffin for their child’s funeral? I heard that some were cremations because of the damage to their small bodies. My heart aches for those families and all families of school shooting victims.
Emmett Til’s mom had guts and fury, as most of his body remained intact. Those babies’ entire bodies were not. Lawsuits are already being filed against the gun manufacturer.
During Rep. Eric Swallwell’s jermiad against Republicans who will do nothing to stop the carnage (and actually encourage it), he recounted the woman in the Bay Area who is a leader of Moms Demand Action, and who told him that when her six year old daughter saw the photos of the children killed in Uvalde, she asked, “Which picture will you pick for me?” Stop and think about that for a moment. “Which picture will you pick for me?” when I am shot down by some sick or angry person who can just walk into a store and buy a weapon powerful enough to mow down dozens of people going about their lives, who never did anything to the shooter. When will we say, “Enough!” loudly and long enough to change things?
I heard that story on MSNBC. It’s as heart-wrenching as the Dirge of the Uvalde Mother. Scalia’s ghost hangs over this. Anyone who reads the Second Amendment and knows American history, knows that we have a “well-regulated (?) militia” and that the guns of the period were one-shot muskets. But then Scalia was as overweight as many of the police I saw in Uvalde coverage. If you are that large a target, you may not be able to move fast enough to do more than pull a gun and today it must be a BIG gun.
De Adder always nails it. Here’s a thought on that topic that also occurred to me: The children who could get out were taking refuge in a funeral home. Why was there a funeral home across the street from the school? Coincidence? Or....[expletive-filled rant warning]
Someone from the fucking 1% plutocrat class or Mitch McConnell or someone go around buying up all the fucking funeral homes and putting them across the street from schools now? And flower stores while they were at it? Because I can not think of one Goddamn more reason that Congress hasn’t moved to tackle sensible regulations. They leave drivers’ licenses to the states, which is why we couldn’t get the high-standard IDs needed to fly from Pennsylvania for ages. RealID requirements have to meet certain standards to be valid to fly. Simple, sensible federal guidelines need to get put into place asap.
Would laugh but ain’t no joke. The lengths they go to for stupid is astonishing. When will the weight of the stupidity come crashing down. It knocked me down long ago.
I don't think I can imagine a much worse situation than a bunch of untrained and mostly terrified schoolteachers, armed, in a room with only one door. What in god's name is wrong with these people's brains
Good insult, however, "Goat Roper" is not usually associated with someone of Mexican descent as you have done here with the word Texican. It is usually used in the Anglo/White community to disparage another Anglo/White.
Gohmert has no Mexican lineage at all.
So, simply referring to Gohmert as the Dumbest Texas Goat Roper to Ever Live would be more accurate and less broadly insulting although I don't think many folks of Mexican descent are reading this board despite some of my efforts.
M. Sanchez, who translates all of of HCR's work into Spanish, for the Spanish version, might take offense if that person is from Texas or has family in Texas.
Or I, being an actual Texican, (born in Texas with a man originally from Mexico as a father) might take offense.
But, I did not. Long ago I learned to ignore ignorant comments.
Thank you for the education. Your undeserved patience is duly noted. I asked my adopted nephew from Guatemala how he dealt with the ignorance and insults. This teenager said "he went around it."
Barbara When I was researching my book on Egypt, when I dined with an Egyptian communist friend, he would greet me “Hello you imperialist son of a bitch” to which I’d reply “Have you read any of those stupid books on Lenin’s sayings yet?” And then we’d have a delightful evening.
As a white male in Egypt and then the Congo, I had some sense of what it was like to be a ‘minority,’ though my experience was minimal to that of a woman or a Black in my country then—and even now in some areas.
Having worked in a lot of different countries before retirement I always found it useful to attempt at least to understand things that show your ignorance and can be taken as insults. Sometimes you can read about it, other times you can ask about it over dinner. Some simple examples - Germany, you don't address business colleges by their first names, Germans don't, the first name is reserved only for very close friends. Hungary, you don't toast others by clicking glasses, from their history this was done at a public hanging of many by the victor in a conflict. In Brazil, you don't make a hand signal of OK by using your thumb and fore finger. In means you are a perfect asshole.
One of my first learning of this was in Wales, when I was dictating a letter and said "and slash or" for "and/or". I was told you can't say that here. I ask why, she said in an whisper slash means to take a piss. You say "and diagonal line or".
I have worked with people from other Countries as well. There can be a huge difference between a Culture gap and deliberate racism. In my Graduate program one of the classes covered cultural differences in business. I well remember the gaffes Presidents have made in other countries.
Dave And in Spanish ‘pico de Oreo’ in Central America can mean ‘sing like an angel’ while in Chile it could mean that a man was a ‘swordaman (active with the ladies.’ When, as an American diplomat, a candidate friend asked me to speak about him at a political rally, I used this double entendre phrase with the desired affect.
J I am embarrassed that in my haste I made the a instead of e mistake when I often have chided folks for the reverse. Your comment has affected me positively . A fine effect.
You do raise an interesting conundrum: how do you thoroughly insult and offend someone (like that idiot Gohmert) without inadvertently insulting a whole class of people who may resemble that someone (like all the idiots who wouldn't be caught dead sharing a graveyard with Gohmert)?
That is fascinating. "Goat roper" is in fine use in Oregon, where it really applies to white folks, but that is because we are 90% white (outside of the Portland metroplex). I was not familiar with the etiology.
I heard it first when I worked in Bakersfield, CA as a probation officer….it referred to a high school group, white but “lesser than”, who were cowboyish and rough around the edges
I used "Texican" to remind my fellow Texans where they stole Texas from. I am not using it as disparagement of Hispanics - I'm using it as disparagement of people like the Gomer. However, since the language police arrived with the flashing lights and siren on, I removed it.
Mike, in Idaho, goat-roper always referred to Basqe shepherds. Still an insult to a Latino community, just a slightly different target. My daughters are half Basque.
My thoughts exactly, and leave it to Louie to tell the truth on Republicans and expect an award. Texas has plenty of evil, but he is more moronic, idiotic and useless than the others and so proud. Not a whiff of integrity or shame.
Well, I think MTG, she of the "peach tree dishes" where Bill Gates is growing lab-created meat that he is going to force all amurrrikans to eat gives him a run for his money. Goat-boy thinks his whiteness and his, er, flaccid member give him privileges. And they do. Because he is not in jail.
People were marking themselves safe from peach tree dishes on Facebook. And yesterday I saw a bowl supposedly made of peach wood. Gangrene is another who needs a sock in her maw.
The "peach tree dishes" made me laugh out loud. Marjorie 3 names and her ilk are truly quite dumb, and Gohmert just officially joined that group What a stupid, STUPID thing to say!
This discussion reminds me of one from Iowa. It applies to us when it comes to Voting. We had a production manager of Alcoa's Davenport Works that came up off the tools. He was raised as an Iowa farm boy. He would look you in the eye, in a meeting, and say "your remind me of an old hownd dog sitting on his balls and howling because it hurts. Too stupid or lazy to get up and do something about it. "
We hillbillies say “gravy sucking pig” which sure does describe state legislators living high off the hog with gold-plated benefits while constituents have no teeth.
I’m hustling, sunburnt, mosquito-bitten, blustered (oops blistered, tho I have been known to bluster😂), swollen-footed, and ready to go get more today. But I work for a living, and obvs don’t have deBlasio’s 3M in campaign funds to hire a manager, let alone paid canvasers, so no idea other than “not nearly enough yet” although I’m hustling and friends are trying. It would take a small miracle this weekend, need them by Wednesday to prepare and bind for Friday.
And Professor HCR Irregulars in Manhattan & Brooklyn today want to meet up and sign or better still walk a page’s worth for a fellow Ragged Irregular? I’ll be in Prospect Park and Tompkins Square Park today, could really use some volunteers!
ROFLMAO ! What you said and Dr R.’s ex. of the subpoena being the “ Hey ! We need you to come talk with us “. Should the Committee put “ Pretty Please on them “ ? OMG I’m laughing so hard way to early in the morning.
That's for sure. How could he be so stupid? But, at the same time, he brings up an important point in admitting that he lied to Congress and the FBI. Now, if we could hear from other Repub. politicians who would go on the record to endorse Gohmert's statement; then, many other Americans could understand why they need to thin the herd of such criminals.
I couldn’t agree with you more. But honestly I think they are so hell bent and bound that even if TFG or Everyone on Fox said they were guilty it wouldn’t matter. Not because I think all Repubs think like the worst of them. I don’t think those Repubs really see that “ Out of control train that’s headed for us and them “.
I understand he is working on a 28th Amendment, guaranteeing all Americans the 'right to lie.' When that passes, the answer to your question is 'everyone.'
I just thought of it ! Anyone on here on other Social media needs to find the “Cop’s Song “ and post the song with his whining ! “ Bad Boy, Bad Boy What You Gona Do When They Come For You Bad Boy! Suits him perfect !
Heather, how do you keep up with all this news?! You’re such a treasure chest of information and in-depth knowledge!
Tonight, I loved your lines about Navarro:
“Navarro was livid at being arrested and handcuffed and put in a cell, saying that if they had just called him and said they needed him down at court, he’d have shown up.”
The icing on the cake was: “He appeared to miss the point that the subpoena he ignored is basically a call that says, ‘Hey, we need you down at the court….’”
"“Navarro was livid at being arrested and handcuffed and put in a cell, saying that if they had just called him and said they needed him down at court, he’d have shown up.”"
Rowshan, perhaps the first time in American history a rich, white man has been treated like a black man. He is actually sitting in jail.
So, look for Tucker Carlson to try to incite hysteria in all the poor white men who would ALSO be treated like a black man if they break the law to stir up violence.
Rich white men can see a real threat in the arrest and jailing of a rich white man (for any reason at all).
Those rich white men are not going to take this arrest well and they have a LOT of money and resources and dark, well armed "security firms" at their disposal.
Shocking but not surprising that Tuckie is still wanting a civil war. Or maybe he just wants Dems to cower in fear at the republican loose cannons who threaten such. Except they are not loose cannons, they are the “legitimate political party” engaging in “legitimate political discourse.” Ok, MSM, time to call traitors what they are. Jennifer Rubin does it regularly. Sign on to her columns, she nails it
Now add in rich white male politicians and we have a class of people who really think they are above the Law. TFG promised them the United States of America on a platter. And they believed him. Now TFG is living it up playing King in Florida while his most loyal minions are being subpoenaed, indicted, and shackled. The pattern still holds true. Useful idiots all of them. Consumed and duped by their own greed and lust for unshackled power.
He was out in a few hours. Another commentor on WaPo thread was in the room, giving us the skinny. The DOJ asked the judge to take his passport because he is an extreme flight risk. The judge declined. He said he was representing himself. The judge assigned him a public defender 'to advise' him. He is a bad economist, with zero legal thoughts or experience. He whined for most of the arraignment. He freaked the night before on Ari's show when Ari pointed out that trump had invoked "executive privilege" for no one. Conclusion: Navarro is going to sing like Pavarotti at the Met.
Mike The slammer is the only way truly to get the attention of these white elite scum bums, either in politics or business. I believe that the only Fortune 500 CEO who was sent to jail for his crooked shenanigans was the head of Tyco. None of the bankers or rating agency executives were even slapped on the risk for their criminality (my opinion, not the Chickenshit prosecutors—see the Chickenshit Club book).
Disraeli wrote a book about ‘two nations’ in England neatly 200 years ago. It exists in America today. Justice should be color and gender blind. THEN America would be exceptional.
He did get special treatment. He "wasn't tasered when arrested. Wasn't shoved to the ground with a knee on his neck. Wasn't roughed up the way TFG suggested criminals be treated."
He's actually livid that he no longer has an automatic pass now that his champion lives in Florida rather than the West Wing. Maybe he ought to move into Mara Lago and become a parasite to tfg's secret service contingent. There must be some kind of PAC job for him...
Well, that could explain why so many of them have routinely failed to obey the subpoena. They saw it as a sort of open invitation, no need to RSVP, just turn up if you feel like it.
I think his wide eyed quote about their coming after Republicans was his wake up call which he is trying to share with the others because they all believe that they are invincible because they see lump as invincible and are aping his behaviors.
Sorry, but voters need to demand that those representing them have knowledge. of where all the states are, what is regulated and what isn't, what each area of government is responsible for, what their constituents expect, and train loads more. That there are so many idiots running our federal, state, and local governments is because those who vote just vote their party or are swayed by the notorious television ads. Once they get into office, that is when the greed begins. I had a friend whose father in law was the VP of the U.S.. He told her that it isn't the money. (Before lobbies) It isn't the sex. It. Is. The. POWER. It is an aphrodisiac.
Those definitely find their way into their lifestyles. When my first husband began law school, his goal was to become a judge. He had the opportunity to clerk. After one day, he came home with dashed dreams because of the corruption.
Gailee and every one else here. Help me. I see his statement being intentional and totally purposeful. Allow me. He knows that this is his show, because it will(has) garner(d) front page news. The Re-Dublicans Lov It! Heck, they probably scripted it for that POS in order to keep fueling (and fooling) their base of mindless twits. His words to them... and believe me, they heard it loud and clear... THAT HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS HAVE BEEN STEPPED ON. Why? Well obviously his base aint stubid... they heard him say it fer crissakes. That's all the fool-fuel they need.
People.. we have seen this tactic day in and day out from these pinheads. Jack-asses like him are stupid like a fox. Don't fall for this tactic. Meanwhile, keep an eye on your car tires. He probably carries a retractable ice pick.
The importance of tonight’s content cannot be over emphasized. We are dealing with a sad, sick, emotionally disturbed political party gone nuts. Quite literally, the GOP paranoia has gone mad. David Stockman and GHWB’s slam of Gov. Dukakis come to mind. It’s impossible to find an honest leader atop the GOP. America cannot be a one party three ring circus. I love no party. But the party system matters. Constitutional democracies deal with party politics. Tonight we have one party and one Tucker Fox Fix sham party staffed and funded in Moscow. What next?
What next? The return of democracy and people raising their eyes from the screens occasionally to smell and hear and touch and taste and a renewed respect for truth.
Navarro's temper tantrum speak volumes about him: take part in an attempted coup, defy subpoenas, and then act as if the FBI should have chauffeured him to jail and stopped along the way for a latte and massage. Be still my heart! They dared handcuff him and shackle his legs? As in standard protocol? And in public? Oh you poor entitled well-off white dude.
On a related note, I read somewhere today that three federal grand juries are now empaneled to handle the massive Justice Department investigation. And Navarro knows there's a boulder rolling downhill toward him — much bigger charges than contempt of Congress.
The DOJ wants him to squeal like a trapped rat. He will. The obscene self interest that brands the Teflon Mob will ensure his testimony. Meadows already gave them an entire book of self-incrmination. DOJ is in the historic position of going hard after sitting members of congress. McCarthy, Gosar, Perjury, ...etc.
I’ll be enjoying watching it become not so rare. Because for now, we have an Atty General who does not have the filter that sorts out privilege or rich or white or male. And I’ll enjoy listening (or not) to Tuckems’s voice raise another decibel or two like the little prick that he is.
Yo Mike... good aim. And the "apparatchiks" operators imbedded in so many influential places in our country. As a Labor Union President; the head of ICE; League of American Voters; Right to Life; the RNC? Don't just pick one. Is that a Whammo Slingshot and a depleted uranium shot yer using?
Heather Cox Richardson PhD gets a Letters from an American Nobel for the power of her vital summation, her useful detail and her accuracy and for her succinctness tonight. This is a midnight masterpiece.
Sandy. I wanted to post something about the Uvalde massacre upon which Professor Richardson continues to inform us. Which is so important in keeping this from fading to a fleeting memory. I received this from a friend yesterday. Apparently it is circulating but is first time I saw it. A letter from a mother. So…..so wrenching. Talk about a mother’s truth….. we must continue to honor the families…and do what we must to protect our children of the world as we raise them.
From Facebook/ shared with me.
“…written by a mom of one of the Uvalde victims:”
"The chicken soup in her thermos stayed hot all day while her body grew cold.
She never had a chance to eat the baloney and cheese sandwich. I got up 10 minutes early to cut the crust off a sandwich that will never be eaten.
Should I call and cancel her dental appointment next Wednesday? Will the office automatically know?
Should I still take her brother to the appointment since I already took the day off work? Last time Carlos had one cavity and Amerie asked him what having a cavity feels like.
She will never experience having a cavity.
She will never experience having a cavity filled.
The cavities in her body now are from bullets, and they can never be filled.
What if she had asked to use the bathroom in the hall a few minutes prior to the gunman entering the room, locking the door, and slaughtering all inside?
Was she one of the first kids in the room to die or one of the last?
These are the things they don’t tell us.
Which of her friends did she see die before her?
Hannah?
Emily?
Both?
Did their blood and brains splatter across her Girl Scout uniform?
She just earned a Fire Safety patch.
What if it got ruined?
There are no patches for school shootings.
Was she practicing writing GIRAFFE the moment he walked in her classroom, barricaded the door and opened fire?
She keeps forgetting the silent “e” at the end.
We studied this past weekend, and now she doesn’t need to take the spelling test on Friday.
None of them will take the spelling test on Friday.
There will be no spelling test on Friday.
Because there is no one to give it.
And no one to take it.
These are the things I will never know:
I will never know at what age she would have started her period.
I will never know if she had wisdom teeth.
(Or if they would have come in crooked.)
I will never know who she spoke to last. Was it the teacher? Was it her table partner, George? She says George is always talking, even during silent reading.
Did she even scream?
She screamed the lyrics to We Don’t Talk About Bruno at 7:58 AM as she hopped out of my car in the circle drive.
She always sings the Dolores part, her sister sings Mirabel and I’m Bruno.
“And I wanted you to know that your bro loves you so
Let it in, let it out, let it rain, let it snow, let it goooooo……..”
Did the killer ever see Encanto?
Could we have sat in the same row of seats, on the same day, munching popcorn?
What if Amerie brushed past him in the aisle? Did she politely say, “Excuse me,” to the boy who would someday blow her eye sockets apart?
Was he chomping on bubble gum as he destroyed them all?
If so, what flavor?
Cinnamon?
Wintergreen?
Was the radio on as he drove to massacre them? Or did he drive in silence?
Was the sun in his eyes as he got out of the car in the parking lot?
Did his pockets hold sunglasses or just ammunition?
These are the things I will never know.
There is laundry in the dryer that is Amerie’s.
Clothes I never need to fold again.
Clothes that are right now warmer than her body.
How will I ever be able to take them out of the dryer and where will I put them if not back in her dresser?
I can never wash clothes in that dryer again.
It will stand silent; a tomb for her pajamas and knee socks.
Her cousin’s graduation party is next month and I already signed her name in the card. Should I cross it out?
That will be the last card I ever sign her name to.
The dog will live longer than she will.
The dog will be 12 next month and she will be eternally 10.
What will the school do with her backpack?
It was brand new this year and she attached her collection of keychains like cherished trophies to its zipper.
A beaded 4 leaf clover she made on St. Patty’s Day.
A red heart from a Walk-a-Thon.
A neon ice cream cone from her friend’s birthday party.
Now there will be no more keychains to attach.
No more trophies.
Surely they can’t throw it out?
Would they throw them all out?
19 backpacks, full of stickered assignments and rainboots, all taken to the dumpster behind the school?
Is there even a dumpster big enough to contain all that life?
These are the things someone else knows:
The moment the semiautomatic rifle was put into his hands--was “Bring Me a Higher Love” playing in the gun store? “Get off my Cloud” by the Rolling Stones? Maybe it was Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”
Did the Outback Oasis salesperson hesitate as they slid him 375 rounds of ammunition?
not my problem my kids are grown and out of school
Or I don’t have kids, so I don’t have to worry about their skulls getting blown across the naptime mat
Or fingers crossed there’s a good guy with an equally powerful gun that will stop this gun if needed
Did they sense any danger or were they more focused on picking that morning’s Raisin Bran out of their teeth?
My Nana used to say, “Pay attention to what whispers, and you won’t have to when it starts screaming.”
But now I know there is a more deafening sound than children screaming.
More horrific even, than automatic rifles on a Tuesday morning.
I beg the world:
Pay attention to what’s screaming today, or be forced to endure the silence that follows."
May we fill that kind of silence with Light.
Unita!
Note: There is a question whether Amelie’s mother was the author. Please read it under that advisement.
————————————————-
That was truly one of the most wrenching things I've ever read in my whole long life. May Amerie's mother and all who mourn somehow, someday find peace. Thank you for sharing it, Christine.
Yes. Wrenching. Profoundly so. Impressive. Important. Good. Sandy
I've posted this as well along with the comment that whether or not Amelie's mother, or another mother, wrote it is irrelevant because it expresses the deep pain that all of the Uvalde parents, mother and fathers, are experiencing. And all of the pain that parents of children in other school massacres experience and probably will experience for the rest of their lives.
Wow....so heart wrenching. Is there a way I can share this. Yesterday, my ex-classmate posted a rant from a black man defending the second amendment. Neither he nor she understands that we can ban assault weapons and large magazines and people can still have their guns for hunting, target shooting, and defending their home. We can also take gun ownership more seriously with requirements for buying one. I took it on, of course, and mentioned at the end of my rant that parents had to provide DNA to ID torn up bodies. I wanted to say something about being so-called pro-life and isn't Jesus about love, but didn't.
Amerie's mother did not write this--she has gone on social media to say it is fake. Nevertheless, whoever wrote it, it is indeed heartbreaking.
Barbara, I have been trying to check the authenticity of the letter. Where did you learn that it is allegedly fake? Thanks
The person that shared with me pulled it from Facebook stream that has been focused on Uvalde. So I do not know. My sharing is because my take is that any one of the parents perhaps could have written it if their thoughts now about their children fell onto paper. Same as with Sandy Hook families….Parkland families ………….
My perspective is that material is authentic or not. If Amerie's mother said she didn't write it -- that is the answer. I do not understand your logic -- it could be by someone else's mother?
And the list keeps on getting eternally longer. Innocent blood will forever flow until those who are so uncaring or just selfish are themselves affected to the same extent as so many parents already have. There is a secret that some of us realize. Such happens daily as careless gun owners lose their children every day. Of course we rarely hear of it because the loss is scattered singularly across this huge land but with so many guns in the hands of careless people, innocents still die.
I just posed the question to Snopes.com but don't know if they'll move on it or notify me what they may find.
In a private FB group that I am in. But I saw on FB in more than one place
Thanks, Barbara. I am not on FB. A disclaimer about it hasn't crossed my eyes yet.
I don't understand why it matters who wrote it. The content and the feeling express what every parent of a child murdered in a school mass shooting is undoubtedly experiencing.
I concur that the content expresses deep grief. But facts matter, as readers of HCR know very well, since she documents every Letter with verifiable sources.
Agree except that the mom was requesting that her name not be associated with it (at least that is what I read)
There are different versions about whether it was indeed Amerie's mother who wrote it and whether she took it down from social media or whether she requested her name not be used in sharing what she wrote. Unless and until a trusted source presents the facts of the situation, we can only just appreciate the power of the content and the pain it expresses.
Interesting.
No tight to mock a comment in false prose.
Not kind to mock the mother. Compose the Broadway play, the screenplay, do not lie about the mother. That’s evil.
Thanks for that correction, Barbara.
#ucker Carlson thinks gun control is about Democrats quaking in their boots, afraid of gun owners coming after them because they know they are an illegitimate government?!?!?! I wish someone could/would go on his show and read what this grieving mother has written, so that his audience could see what the desire for sensible gun control is really about. The overwhelming majority of Americans, including people of ALL political persuasions, want sensible gun controls. When will the influencers on Fox Entertainment stop spreading hateful, hurtful lies to incite anger and resentment, and start treating their audience with the respect they deserve?
A lawyer friend of mine framed gun ownership under property law. It’s an argument I had not heard of yet. “I may own a cat and leave it in my backyard, but I have no right to own a Tiger. And I have no right have a Tiger loose in my backyard.”
Heartbreaking.
So haunting and chilling Christine, but necessary. Like the PBS Newshour segment last night with David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart ( https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/brooks-and-capehart-on-the-wave-of-gun-violence-in-america ) where Jonathan said, sadly, that the only thing that may make a difference in response of legislators, gun owners, citizens, gun organizations, etc, is to have photos of the children, or what is left of the children after being hit by bullets that explode in their bodies (see 60 Minutes last Sunday ( https://www.cbsnews.com/video/60minutes-2022-05-29/#x ) such that they cannot be identified. Their parents have to give DNA samples to identify them. Appalling that we allow these weapons of war to be used against students, movie-goers, grocery store shoppers, concert attendees, churche members, doctors office workers and patients, newspaper offices, nightclubs, etc etc etc. Shall we harden all of these venues: it's not just schools?
Brilliant. Poetry. When In disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state...
This is so moving. Thanks for posting. So many questions, with no answers.
No. There are answers.
Agree. No sweeping it under the debris.
Beyond heartbreaking. Should be required reading in Congress and the Senate. Daily. Christine do you have a link for it so we can share?
MaryPat, Barbara (on this chain of exchanges) has stated that she learned on FB that the letter was not written by Amerie's mother. Misinformation and Disinformation spreads faster than the truth. From my point of view, it is best to know the facts before passing the letter on. While its authenticity may seem unimportant at this moment, our civil society has been invaded by alternate realities, a Big Lie (and many other lies) have destabilized our country.
“...how vulnerable is the whole texture of facts in which we spend our daily life; it is always in danger of being perforated by single lies or torn to shreds by the organized lying of groups, nations, or classes...” (Hannah Arendt, “Lying in Politics: Reflections on The Pentagon Papers.”)
That's my case MaryPat.
Amen.
Copy and paste it on your computer, save that document, print it out. Then send it to you Congressional reps, all of them. That’s what I’m doing. Or copy and put in an email. HIT SEND
Thanks to the mom who constructed her thoughts to share with the world. To use her new and unwanted role as a parent of a slaughtered child, I grieve with her and am grateful she had the courage to write this. And thank you Christine for adding this to our comment section today. I will carry these words with a heavy heart and more resolve to be a part of the change.
Thank you for sharing. It is heartbreaking no matter who wrote it and I think captures the pain of grief and desolation that comes from senseless deaths.
Christine, Why don't you check on FB and with your friend about the letter's authenticity? That is the source of Barbara's comment. If it is inauthentic, you know what to do.
I am no longer a Facebook user, Fern. The person that shared it used the title that I posted. “written by a mom of the victims of Uvalde victims”. That was from Facebook stream also. I see names in the body of letter but did not specify which parent wrote it.
No logic used. I said that It felt it was something written by a parent that experienced personally the particular tragedy of school shooting. The words moved me. In fact, I had no words after reading it. The roosters came to roost.
Thanks, Christine. You know I'm a hawk on this. Our civic society is coming apart by alternative realities and foundationally destabilized by THE BIG LIE and many other lies. I haven't been loosened by it, tightened up even more is the 'truth' of it. Salud, friend.
A masterpiece. Exquisite pain, exquisite prose poetry, and prose... Sandy
Heartbreaking.
My head is bowed, Christine. Unita!
Thank you for posting this, Christine.
Indeed it is!
👍👍👍Absolutely!
Yes! Thank you Sandy.
Agreed!
Absolutely true, this is a masterpiece.
Well said, Sandy Lewis. I concur.
Reacting to the arrest, Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) told Newsmax , “If you’re a Republican, you can’t even lie to Congress or lie to an FBI agent or they’re coming after you.”
Proving once again he is the Dumbest Fcking Goat Roper To Ever Live.
closely contested by the rest of that congressional delegation who all suggested "hardened grade schools and concealed-carrying grade school teachers" as a solution for mass murderers...
Hard as it may be, these republicans that are lying and denying need to see the videos and pictures of these small children’s bodies after the destruction of a semiautomatic rifle. Maybe then the one drip of humanity they may have will cause devastating pain. Gun laws MUST be changed. We are being murdered by the pure greed and lust for power that these evildoers are obsessed by. We MUST stop this madness!! As I see it there are two ways we can rid ourselves of these democracy robbers.Vote Them Out! Which they are working diligently every day to keep us from doing. Or bring the madness to them. They are trying so hard to stir a civil war that will keep us busy and distract us while they continue to dismantle our democracy and rob us.
The truth is They don’t care. I still have hope that if we come for the vote in November by the millions they will not be able to pull off their scam. Not sure but I have to believe this will work. We have to save our democracy. It is a in our face fact that they are trying to destroy it.
The GOP senators and all 9 Justices of SCOTUS should be made to walk through them, step over their tiny shredded bodies, look at what used to be their sweet faces but are now unrecognizable. Assault rifles are made to shred adult bodies in such a way as to be unsurvivable...what they do to children is what Ted Cruz did to bacon. When you live in a gilded tower you feel safe from the carnage. Cruz and assoc all live in wealthy protected enclaves, their children go to uber exclusive schools, they do not live in this world, many never have.
Ordinary people do not need to own a weapon for meant for military combat. If you want to shoot such a weapon, join the army or marines and experience all that goes with being a real warrior. The republicans don’t expect to have these kind of terrible things happen to them. I read that by refusing to regulate weapons and ammunition, we are practicing child sacrifice. How horrible we have become! That mother’s letter broke my heart.
You are so right. It's a shame that no one appears to have read the Second Amendment. What's become of the famous "originalists" on the Court?
I agree. These hardened criminals should be made to see those photographs, see the carnage they reaped upon those innocent children and teachers. They deserve nothing less.
Biden should not ask for gun laws. He should demand gun laws. Republicans and Fox News should be bombarded with demands they tell their followers to not shoot anyone for any reason. This would be more effective than a promise to cooperate on gun laws as the gun group fans the flame of violence.
He can't really be thinking he'll get cooperation from his "dear friends" across the aisle, can he?
Probably not by this point but he is a great practitioner of one of the basic traditions of our democracy--negotiation and compromise for the good of the country.
Sadly, the Republicans' goal for decades has been to obstruct, obfuscate and downright do traitorous deeds. If only we all had realized it as it started happening and kept happening over the years. If only we can stop it now, but the web they've brilliantly, silently woven is a tangled one.
Exactly! Pro lifers more than willing to create posters of what is suppose to be an aborted fetus!
Then maybe we need to start organizing and protesting outside gun shops with posters of gun carnage and shout “Protect the Born!”
Michele, that’s actually a brilliant idea!
They are cowards of the most moronic kind. They will never, unless their child is one.
Yes. Zero compassion
Did any of the Ulvade parents have an open coffin for their child’s funeral? I heard that some were cremations because of the damage to their small bodies. My heart aches for those families and all families of school shooting victims.
Emmett Til’s mom had guts and fury, as most of his body remained intact. Those babies’ entire bodies were not. Lawsuits are already being filed against the gun manufacturer.
During Rep. Eric Swallwell’s jermiad against Republicans who will do nothing to stop the carnage (and actually encourage it), he recounted the woman in the Bay Area who is a leader of Moms Demand Action, and who told him that when her six year old daughter saw the photos of the children killed in Uvalde, she asked, “Which picture will you pick for me?” Stop and think about that for a moment. “Which picture will you pick for me?” when I am shot down by some sick or angry person who can just walk into a store and buy a weapon powerful enough to mow down dozens of people going about their lives, who never did anything to the shooter. When will we say, “Enough!” loudly and long enough to change things?
I heard that story on MSNBC. It’s as heart-wrenching as the Dirge of the Uvalde Mother. Scalia’s ghost hangs over this. Anyone who reads the Second Amendment and knows American history, knows that we have a “well-regulated (?) militia” and that the guns of the period were one-shot muskets. But then Scalia was as overweight as many of the police I saw in Uvalde coverage. If you are that large a target, you may not be able to move fast enough to do more than pull a gun and today it must be a BIG gun.
Possibly never under America's current system of government.
Somebody over on HH posted this artist rendering about AR15's. Here it is on Twitter.
Worth a look: https://twitter.com/DHStokyo/status/1532576221770358784?s=20&t=4YfdUNPcnrs5U8LUw2qbyg
De Adder always nails it. Here’s a thought on that topic that also occurred to me: The children who could get out were taking refuge in a funeral home. Why was there a funeral home across the street from the school? Coincidence? Or....[expletive-filled rant warning]
Someone from the fucking 1% plutocrat class or Mitch McConnell or someone go around buying up all the fucking funeral homes and putting them across the street from schools now? And flower stores while they were at it? Because I can not think of one Goddamn more reason that Congress hasn’t moved to tackle sensible regulations. They leave drivers’ licenses to the states, which is why we couldn’t get the high-standard IDs needed to fly from Pennsylvania for ages. RealID requirements have to meet certain standards to be valid to fly. Simple, sensible federal guidelines need to get put into place asap.
Would laugh but ain’t no joke. The lengths they go to for stupid is astonishing. When will the weight of the stupidity come crashing down. It knocked me down long ago.
I don't think I can imagine a much worse situation than a bunch of untrained and mostly terrified schoolteachers, armed, in a room with only one door. What in god's name is wrong with these people's brains
TCinLA,
Good insult, however, "Goat Roper" is not usually associated with someone of Mexican descent as you have done here with the word Texican. It is usually used in the Anglo/White community to disparage another Anglo/White.
Gohmert has no Mexican lineage at all.
So, simply referring to Gohmert as the Dumbest Texas Goat Roper to Ever Live would be more accurate and less broadly insulting although I don't think many folks of Mexican descent are reading this board despite some of my efforts.
M. Sanchez, who translates all of of HCR's work into Spanish, for the Spanish version, might take offense if that person is from Texas or has family in Texas.
Or I, being an actual Texican, (born in Texas with a man originally from Mexico as a father) might take offense.
But, I did not. Long ago I learned to ignore ignorant comments.
Thank you Mike. I did not realize that. The clarification is necessary and appreciated.
I had no idea this was disparaging to Hispanics. I just had an image of Louie roping goats.
So did I.
Texican.
Thank you for the education. Your undeserved patience is duly noted. I asked my adopted nephew from Guatemala how he dealt with the ignorance and insults. This teenager said "he went around it."
Barbara When I was researching my book on Egypt, when I dined with an Egyptian communist friend, he would greet me “Hello you imperialist son of a bitch” to which I’d reply “Have you read any of those stupid books on Lenin’s sayings yet?” And then we’d have a delightful evening.
As a white male in Egypt and then the Congo, I had some sense of what it was like to be a ‘minority,’ though my experience was minimal to that of a woman or a Black in my country then—and even now in some areas.
Having worked in a lot of different countries before retirement I always found it useful to attempt at least to understand things that show your ignorance and can be taken as insults. Sometimes you can read about it, other times you can ask about it over dinner. Some simple examples - Germany, you don't address business colleges by their first names, Germans don't, the first name is reserved only for very close friends. Hungary, you don't toast others by clicking glasses, from their history this was done at a public hanging of many by the victor in a conflict. In Brazil, you don't make a hand signal of OK by using your thumb and fore finger. In means you are a perfect asshole.
One of my first learning of this was in Wales, when I was dictating a letter and said "and slash or" for "and/or". I was told you can't say that here. I ask why, she said in an whisper slash means to take a piss. You say "and diagonal line or".
I have worked with people from other Countries as well. There can be a huge difference between a Culture gap and deliberate racism. In my Graduate program one of the classes covered cultural differences in business. I well remember the gaffes Presidents have made in other countries.
Yes, crossing cultures requires careful use of language and care with words.
"crossing cultures requires careful use of language and care with words" Not a bad idea within our own culture.
Dave And in Spanish ‘pico de Oreo’ in Central America can mean ‘sing like an angel’ while in Chile it could mean that a man was a ‘swordaman (active with the ladies.’ When, as an American diplomat, a candidate friend asked me to speak about him at a political rally, I used this double entendre phrase with the desired affect.
Speaking of careful use of words, I think you mean "effect". Or not.
J I am embarrassed that in my haste I made the a instead of e mistake when I often have chided folks for the reverse. Your comment has affected me positively . A fine effect.
I like that.
Sometimes the best revenge really is living well. He is having a great life.
Barbara,
Yes. That is the only way to keep moving.
Thanks, Mike, for this explanation. I had no idea.
No problem Lynell.
TCinLA is pretty entertaining with steady insults and foul language that could, among some communities, be offensive.
No big deal. Anyone not white who grew up in America is already well insulated from broad, ignorant insults.
Hey now. Half the population (ie we “dumb broads” only got the right to vote a century ago, regardless of our skin color.
Do you ever wish for an apology, though?
Fuck pretty words. I want reparation$.
I was talking to Mike in Upstate NY about dealing with insults directed at Hispanics. You appear to have lost the thread.
Barbara,
No, I never wish for something that, without exception, will never occur.
People who use insults as part of their language never apologize.
In their mind, they are so right, that no apology is ever needed.
You betcha. Ain't gonna happen, though.
I was responding to Mike on his experience of being Hispanic and listening to insults.
You do raise an interesting conundrum: how do you thoroughly insult and offend someone (like that idiot Gohmert) without inadvertently insulting a whole class of people who may resemble that someone (like all the idiots who wouldn't be caught dead sharing a graveyard with Gohmert)?
That is fascinating. "Goat roper" is in fine use in Oregon, where it really applies to white folks, but that is because we are 90% white (outside of the Portland metroplex). I was not familiar with the etiology.
I heard it first when I worked in Bakersfield, CA as a probation officer….it referred to a high school group, white but “lesser than”, who were cowboyish and rough around the edges
Same usage in Oregon.
I used "Texican" to remind my fellow Texans where they stole Texas from. I am not using it as disparagement of Hispanics - I'm using it as disparagement of people like the Gomer. However, since the language police arrived with the flashing lights and siren on, I removed it.
Mike, in Idaho, goat-roper always referred to Basqe shepherds. Still an insult to a Latino community, just a slightly different target. My daughters are half Basque.
My thoughts exactly, and leave it to Louie to tell the truth on Republicans and expect an award. Texas has plenty of evil, but he is more moronic, idiotic and useless than the others and so proud. Not a whiff of integrity or shame.
Excellent description TC!
How can anyone with an ounce of intelligence and decency be a frigging Republican. As far as I am concerned they are scum.
Well, I think MTG, she of the "peach tree dishes" where Bill Gates is growing lab-created meat that he is going to force all amurrrikans to eat gives him a run for his money. Goat-boy thinks his whiteness and his, er, flaccid member give him privileges. And they do. Because he is not in jail.
Linda, the "Peach tree dishes" is a classic from Perjury Taylor Greene.
People were marking themselves safe from peach tree dishes on Facebook. And yesterday I saw a bowl supposedly made of peach wood. Gangrene is another who needs a sock in her maw.
🤣🤣 yes she does
The "peach tree dishes" made me laugh out loud. Marjorie 3 names and her ilk are truly quite dumb, and Gohmert just officially joined that group What a stupid, STUPID thing to say!
He didn’t just join; he’s a charter member. Remember his chart with strings to prove Hillary’s guilt? Laughed till I cried.
Please TCinLA, don’t insult goats!
"Goat Roper" is an old Texanism - "too dumb to rope a goat"
This discussion reminds me of one from Iowa. It applies to us when it comes to Voting. We had a production manager of Alcoa's Davenport Works that came up off the tools. He was raised as an Iowa farm boy. He would look you in the eye, in a meeting, and say "your remind me of an old hownd dog sitting on his balls and howling because it hurts. Too stupid or lazy to get up and do something about it. "
Or too dumb to pour P**** out of boot with a hole in the toe (I KNOW thats not exactly correct - but close)
I like your style! My father’s best friend, Julian Brazelton, taught us tons of those: suck egged dog, for one. Thanks for the clarification.
We hillbillies say “gravy sucking pig” which sure does describe state legislators living high off the hog with gold-plated benefits while constituents have no teeth.
(guffaw because I can’t help it).
Salud, Laura. (How are signatures going on petitions?)
Thank you for asking, Christine.
I’m hustling, sunburnt, mosquito-bitten, blustered (oops blistered, tho I have been known to bluster😂), swollen-footed, and ready to go get more today. But I work for a living, and obvs don’t have deBlasio’s 3M in campaign funds to hire a manager, let alone paid canvasers, so no idea other than “not nearly enough yet” although I’m hustling and friends are trying. It would take a small miracle this weekend, need them by Wednesday to prepare and bind for Friday.
And Professor HCR Irregulars in Manhattan & Brooklyn today want to meet up and sign or better still walk a page’s worth for a fellow Ragged Irregular? I’ll be in Prospect Park and Tompkins Square Park today, could really use some volunteers!
"Egg sucking dog"
I can even hear him say it….”he was a suck egged dog”….
ROFLMAO ! What you said and Dr R.’s ex. of the subpoena being the “ Hey ! We need you to come talk with us “. Should the Committee put “ Pretty Please on them “ ? OMG I’m laughing so hard way to early in the morning.
😄😂😄
There's a lot of competition for that award.
He and several others are insane, seriously. Narcissism, delusional, sociopathic...you name it.
ah, how about insurrectionist...?
Yah, I struggle to even grasp the reasoning that could come up with a statement like that and think that somehow it makes him a victim.
EVERY bully identifies as a victim
You never know. There could be even dumber…
I think there's a whole flock of them
That's for sure. How could he be so stupid? But, at the same time, he brings up an important point in admitting that he lied to Congress and the FBI. Now, if we could hear from other Repub. politicians who would go on the record to endorse Gohmert's statement; then, many other Americans could understand why they need to thin the herd of such criminals.
I couldn’t agree with you more. But honestly I think they are so hell bent and bound that even if TFG or Everyone on Fox said they were guilty it wouldn’t matter. Not because I think all Repubs think like the worst of them. I don’t think those Repubs really see that “ Out of control train that’s headed for us and them “.
Well said, Marcia--“Out of control train that’s headed for us and them “.
Shit for brains, clearly not organic.
Oh, poor Louie! Who you going to lie to?!
I understand he is working on a 28th Amendment, guaranteeing all Americans the 'right to lie.' When that passes, the answer to your question is 'everyone.'
I just thought of it ! Anyone on here on other Social media needs to find the “Cop’s Song “ and post the song with his whining ! “ Bad Boy, Bad Boy What You Gona Do When They Come For You Bad Boy! Suits him perfect !
This is called Whitey Gohmert Privilege
“Too dumb to breathe”
Heather, how do you keep up with all this news?! You’re such a treasure chest of information and in-depth knowledge!
Tonight, I loved your lines about Navarro:
“Navarro was livid at being arrested and handcuffed and put in a cell, saying that if they had just called him and said they needed him down at court, he’d have shown up.”
The icing on the cake was: “He appeared to miss the point that the subpoena he ignored is basically a call that says, ‘Hey, we need you down at the court….’”
"“Navarro was livid at being arrested and handcuffed and put in a cell, saying that if they had just called him and said they needed him down at court, he’d have shown up.”"
Rowshan, perhaps the first time in American history a rich, white man has been treated like a black man. He is actually sitting in jail.
So, look for Tucker Carlson to try to incite hysteria in all the poor white men who would ALSO be treated like a black man if they break the law to stir up violence.
Rich white men can see a real threat in the arrest and jailing of a rich white man (for any reason at all).
Those rich white men are not going to take this arrest well and they have a LOT of money and resources and dark, well armed "security firms" at their disposal.
Shocking but not surprising that Tuckie is still wanting a civil war. Or maybe he just wants Dems to cower in fear at the republican loose cannons who threaten such. Except they are not loose cannons, they are the “legitimate political party” engaging in “legitimate political discourse.” Ok, MSM, time to call traitors what they are. Jennifer Rubin does it regularly. Sign on to her columns, she nails it
Jeri, thank you for the pointer to Jennifer Rubin. I will look her up.
But, so far, Tucker Carlson's paid work for Putin is not being penalized in any way.
In fact, he has been vastly rewarded for the simple act of doing Putin's bidding on Fox.
Jennifer Rubin - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jennifer-rubin/
I'm signed on to Jennifer Rubin. She's terrific.
As a former conservative, Rubin's words have a particular bite. One of my favorites.
Jennifer Rubin is absolutely brilliant! No former Republican is as articulate as she is 💟
Thank you. I will.
Now add in rich white male politicians and we have a class of people who really think they are above the Law. TFG promised them the United States of America on a platter. And they believed him. Now TFG is living it up playing King in Florida while his most loyal minions are being subpoenaed, indicted, and shackled. The pattern still holds true. Useful idiots all of them. Consumed and duped by their own greed and lust for unshackled power.
It is getting closer to the man in Florida and those still clinging to him for protection.
He was out in a few hours. Another commentor on WaPo thread was in the room, giving us the skinny. The DOJ asked the judge to take his passport because he is an extreme flight risk. The judge declined. He said he was representing himself. The judge assigned him a public defender 'to advise' him. He is a bad economist, with zero legal thoughts or experience. He whined for most of the arraignment. He freaked the night before on Ari's show when Ari pointed out that trump had invoked "executive privilege" for no one. Conclusion: Navarro is going to sing like Pavarotti at the Met.
Unfortunately, like sleazy, crazy Bannon, he will get to pick his trial date then released! The two of them should be in some lockup !
Mike The slammer is the only way truly to get the attention of these white elite scum bums, either in politics or business. I believe that the only Fortune 500 CEO who was sent to jail for his crooked shenanigans was the head of Tyco. None of the bankers or rating agency executives were even slapped on the risk for their criminality (my opinion, not the Chickenshit prosecutors—see the Chickenshit Club book).
Disraeli wrote a book about ‘two nations’ in England neatly 200 years ago. It exists in America today. Justice should be color and gender blind. THEN America would be exceptional.
Wait till they come from tfg....
This was the most uplifting part of the letter: Peter Navarro is dirt and dangerous and should be in jail for the rest of his pathetic life…..
And....twitter was alive with comments that he was actually in jail for a period. HA!
Navarro wasn’t tasered when arrested
Wasn’t shoved to the ground with a knee on his neck
Wasn’t roughed up the way TFG suggested criminals be treated
He thought his white privileged a$$ deserved special treatment
What an obnoxious petulant child
Precisely, Joanne!
He did get special treatment. He "wasn't tasered when arrested. Wasn't shoved to the ground with a knee on his neck. Wasn't roughed up the way TFG suggested criminals be treated."
👍👍👍👍👍
Yes, isn't that brilliant? "He appeared to miss the point" etc.
He's actually livid that he no longer has an automatic pass now that his champion lives in Florida rather than the West Wing. Maybe he ought to move into Mara Lago and become a parasite to tfg's secret service contingent. There must be some kind of PAC job for him...
That statement truly showcases their lack of knowledge of how the government works.
Well, that could explain why so many of them have routinely failed to obey the subpoena. They saw it as a sort of open invitation, no need to RSVP, just turn up if you feel like it.
Or this happens: "DOJ declines to charge Meadows and Scavino with contempt of Congress" CNN.
I was beyond disappointed when I heard this….
They want Navarro to testify so they can RICO the rest of them.
They know better, it’s just a “screw you”
I think his wide eyed quote about their coming after Republicans was his wake up call which he is trying to share with the others because they all believe that they are invincible because they see lump as invincible and are aping his behaviors.
Not knowledge. Pride cometh before the fall. Entitlement
Sorry, but voters need to demand that those representing them have knowledge. of where all the states are, what is regulated and what isn't, what each area of government is responsible for, what their constituents expect, and train loads more. That there are so many idiots running our federal, state, and local governments is because those who vote just vote their party or are swayed by the notorious television ads. Once they get into office, that is when the greed begins. I had a friend whose father in law was the VP of the U.S.. He told her that it isn't the money. (Before lobbies) It isn't the sex. It. Is. The. POWER. It is an aphrodisiac.
Ok. Toss up. Pride. Lust. Greed.
Those definitely find their way into their lifestyles. When my first husband began law school, his goal was to become a judge. He had the opportunity to clerk. After one day, he came home with dashed dreams because of the corruption.
They should be required to read the Constitution in law school. And lose their license to practice the first time they foul our laws.
Unfortunately they don't all go to law school. But creating a program they have to complete and pass would be a great idea.
Gailee and every one else here. Help me. I see his statement being intentional and totally purposeful. Allow me. He knows that this is his show, because it will(has) garner(d) front page news. The Re-Dublicans Lov It! Heck, they probably scripted it for that POS in order to keep fueling (and fooling) their base of mindless twits. His words to them... and believe me, they heard it loud and clear... THAT HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS HAVE BEEN STEPPED ON. Why? Well obviously his base aint stubid... they heard him say it fer crissakes. That's all the fool-fuel they need.
People.. we have seen this tactic day in and day out from these pinheads. Jack-asses like him are stupid like a fox. Don't fall for this tactic. Meanwhile, keep an eye on your car tires. He probably carries a retractable ice pick.
His warning shot across the bow, ¨You can't even lie to Congress or even an FBI agent.¨
I laughed out loud and scared my cats over that one.
Gohmert has a law degree. He knows that a subpoena means, "Hey, we need you down at the court..."
Did not know that. Well, that certainly cheapens the degree of everyone else who graduated that school....
Not only that, he was an Army JAG attorney. He knows the drill. Many of the current political thugs are lawyers.
The first time I saw Mr. Navarro on The Newshour I thought, who is this guy? A fast talking ignoramus, perfect for the former administration.
Don't be fooled. He has a JD from Baylor and was a JAG lawyer for the Army. Fast talking? Yes. Ignoramus, not at all. Just s political thug.
Navarro is not a lawyer, his degree is for an economist, and he is not a very good economist.
The importance of tonight’s content cannot be over emphasized. We are dealing with a sad, sick, emotionally disturbed political party gone nuts. Quite literally, the GOP paranoia has gone mad. David Stockman and GHWB’s slam of Gov. Dukakis come to mind. It’s impossible to find an honest leader atop the GOP. America cannot be a one party three ring circus. I love no party. But the party system matters. Constitutional democracies deal with party politics. Tonight we have one party and one Tucker Fox Fix sham party staffed and funded in Moscow. What next?
Sandy,
"America cannot be a one party three ring circus."
That is exactly what happened to Germany in 1939, so, the existence proof is there.
Not exactly.
What next? The return of democracy and people raising their eyes from the screens occasionally to smell and hear and touch and taste and a renewed respect for truth.
Salud Sandy!
I remember 1988, when I knew that Daddy Bush was full of Schitt.
Lee Atwater aka GHWB.
Navarro's temper tantrum speak volumes about him: take part in an attempted coup, defy subpoenas, and then act as if the FBI should have chauffeured him to jail and stopped along the way for a latte and massage. Be still my heart! They dared handcuff him and shackle his legs? As in standard protocol? And in public? Oh you poor entitled well-off white dude.
On a related note, I read somewhere today that three federal grand juries are now empaneled to handle the massive Justice Department investigation. And Navarro knows there's a boulder rolling downhill toward him — much bigger charges than contempt of Congress.
Yes, Michael! Get ready all of those that have disparaged Atty Gen Garland relentlessly. The scales of Justice are strong as well as the timing.
That pimp Navarro is squealing like he’s already on the spit. Because he is.
UNITA! 🗽
Trump will throw him under the bus, he will blame all of them for the insureection and fraud
In all these cases, trump is Individual One.
I love this, Michael!
Where’s the pic, I’ll put it with another fav of John Mitchell in cuffs.
The DOJ wants him to squeal like a trapped rat. He will. The obscene self interest that brands the Teflon Mob will ensure his testimony. Meadows already gave them an entire book of self-incrmination. DOJ is in the historic position of going hard after sitting members of congress. McCarthy, Gosar, Perjury, ...etc.
Lisa, exactly.
This very, very rare arrest of a rich white man with good connections will not sit well with other rich white men.
And, those guys have access to a lot of resources in media, in security and in armaments.
I’ll be enjoying watching it become not so rare. Because for now, we have an Atty General who does not have the filter that sorts out privilege or rich or white or male. And I’ll enjoy listening (or not) to Tuckems’s voice raise another decibel or two like the little prick that he is.
Yes YEs and YES, Christina! I may have to turn on captions when that weasel starts speaking…like chalk screeching on the chalkboard.
The DOJ is going to get faux . We know they've incriminated themselves, too. I'll bet some of them have also received subpoenas.
Their money buys propaganda
Also, Russian money buys "them" (like Tucker Carlson).
Yup.
Yo Mike... good aim. And the "apparatchiks" operators imbedded in so many influential places in our country. As a Labor Union President; the head of ICE; League of American Voters; Right to Life; the RNC? Don't just pick one. Is that a Whammo Slingshot and a depleted uranium shot yer using?