Shots Fired At Congressional Baseball Game Practice...

[BoSoxGal]

Yesterday I wanted to make a joke about how UPS hasn't just stolen much of the USPS's business, it's also now appropriated the whole 'going postal' in the workplace thing. (Yesterday's other mass shooting in SF.)

But yeah, then I realized there is zero humor in what our country has become.

I'm Facebook friends with Lenny Pozner, whose little boy was murdered at Sandy Hook. He doesn't know me, he has lots of friends - I'm only mentioning it because I follow him and a few other pages on gun violence. I'm constantly reminded from Lenny's page that he is a victim of serious, scary internet stalking by people who consider him an enemy of liberty and the Constitution, who truly believe he was a player in a government false flag op and that his son never existed.

What are we?!

I spent 3 years fearing for my life with my own personal gun toting Sovereign Citizen stalker who lurked outside my office on nearly a daily basis, and who always seemed to be in the grocery store or diner with me - although granted, it was a small town. I lived in beautiful Montana country and was afraid to go hiking alone for the first time in my life.

The only thing that *might* have made me feel safer was carrying my own weapon (I got the permit, but didn't really want the weapon in my home); but I'd FAR rather live someplace where such violence is so rare as to be far from anyone's daily considerations.

It seems like that *should* be a basic measure of a healthy free society - it sure seemed the case when I was young, anyway.

I'm losing hope for our country. I'm actually doing serious research now into teaching abroad, if it can be managed with my health. My health that was ruined in part by the toxic stress of daily fearing for my life.

[Guinevere]

155 mass shootings so far this year.

Because there aren't enough guns, and they aren't readily available enough, obvs.

Oh well, that's just one of those things, nothing can be done about it.

Thanks Obama, for confiscating them all......

[Sue U]

[Guinevere]

But the liberals are to blame. Yeah.

[Burning Petard]

Well, I have to confess, today I possibly share many right wing-nuts feelings about 'fake-news' from the Washington Post. Generally, I take what I read there as reliable and factual. But then occasionally I come across something where I have more actual knowledge than the typical reader. For instance: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pu ... d0255d4ee1

This is the WaPo's factual article about the background information released by the FBI so far about James Hodgkinson. I paid closer attention when it began describing the fire arms he used. First, they were legally purchased from dealers, with federal background checks, in Virginia. The guns were described as "a high-powered 7.62 mm rifle and 9 mm handgun." I say to myself: What does WaPo mean by 'high-powered'? And why the specified 7.62 mm and 9 mm? These numbers describe the diameter of the hole running the length of the barrel and says NOTHING about the actual power the gun delivers. The rifle was described as an 'assault rifle' The most common 7.62 assault rifle is the AK47 which most likely fires the 7.62x39mm cartridge developed by the Soviets. This cartridge in typical military surplus or commercial loads delivers about 1500ft/lbs of energy at 100 yards. The SKS is the AK47 made outside the old Soviet bloc. However there are also readily available commercial variations of the M16 which fire the 7.62 Nato/.308 Winchester cartridge which delivers 1900 to 2600 ft/lb of energy with common commercial loads.
Compare this to the old cartridge developed by the military after the Spanish-American war, the venerable .30-06 (.308 caliber, same as 7.62mm and approved in 1906) This was the standard military small -arm cartridge used in the standard GI rifle and many full auto machine guns beyond the Korean war. And in most of the USA it backs the base-line deer rifle other deer rifle cartridge was compared with. It delivered about 2300 ft/lbs at 100 yards with a 168 grain slug in the standard load for the M1 Garand. But commercial loads that deliver anywhere up to about 2800 ft/lbs at 100 yards are not uncommon. But American creativity is unbounded and there are M16 commercial variations that will take much more powerful 7.62mm cartridges developed for sniping that put 3500+ ft/lbs of energy on the target at 100 yards.

So just how informative is it to tell me it was a 'high powered 7.62 mm'? High powered compared to what? Most hunters would not use a 7.62x39mm cartridge for sport because it is relatively low powered and not very accurate. Its only virtue is that it is obsolete military and therefore really cheap.

Also some stories have said more than 50 rounds were fired, without any information about who fired them. I think there were at least 5 policemen involved in this shooting and they would have been using semi-auto pistols with magazines holding at least 16 rounds and perhaps 20.

Such numbers give a first impression of precise data, with no useful precision really there--in other words, fake news

Personally, I like the quote just above, from Senator Paul Rand in 2016. I think is the honest, unvarnished truth about the Second Amendment. The fundamental reason why so many reasonable people reject that reading out of hand--it is unthinkable, incompatible with the also commonly held belief that the sacred US Constitution and its first 10 Amendments were given to the god-blessed people of the USA by the holy Founding Fathers so must never be questioned. I would vote for complete repeal, no modification, of the 2nd, long before repealing the 3rd (putting troops in my bedroom, using my bathroom) even though the 3rd has never been applied.

snailgate.

[dales]

Thanks Obama, for confiscating them all......

Oh that pesky 2nd amendment gets in the way, yet again.

[Econoline]

I really wonder if the true motivation of the shooter was to commit "suicide by cop". Apparently he was basically homeless, sleeping in his van and showering (and hanging out for hours every day) at the Y. According to his wife (with whom he did not get along, to put it mildly) he was just about completely out of money and on on the verge of moving back to their house in Belleville IL. If he was also a political nutball, he might well have figured that if he was going to end it he might as well go out with a bang.

Just a thought.

[liberty]

Threatening letter sent to Georgia politician (Republican).

Trump Supporters Attacked At Capitol Upset With Law Enforcement ... It happened Saturday as supporters of President Donald Trump

[Bicycle Bill]

Democrats easily defeated Republicans 11-2 in the 2017 Congressional Baseball Game, in an annual tradition that has taken on renewed importance in the wake of Wednesday's shooting in Alexandria, Virginia.

One day after a gunman opened fire at a Republican congressional baseball practice, shooting House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and three others, lawmakers took the field Thursday evening at Nationals Park in Washington.

The annual Congressional Baseball Game pits Republicans against Democrats, but this year the focus has turned to showing unity in the wake of the shooting.  Interest in the charity baseball game has skyrocketed in the aftermath of the shooting, as staffers and lawmakers look to rally around Scalise and the three others who were shot: a congressional staffer, a lobbyist and a Capitol Police special agent.

At the end of the game when Democratic manager Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle was presented the winning trophy, he called Republican manager Texas Rep. Joe Barton to join him.  Doyle gave the winning trophy back to the Republicans to put in Scalise's office.

There were 24,959 tickets sold, which was a record for the game that was first played in 1909.  More than $1 million has been raised this year for Congressional Sports for Charity.  Ivanka Trump, joined by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and her two eldest children Arabella and Joseph Kushner, presented a $50,000 check from "Friends in the Trump Administration" to "Congressional Sports for Charity" at the game.

The game raised about $500,000 for charity last year, according to spokeswoman Meredith Raimondi.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/politics/congressional-baseball-game/index.html

Capitol Police special agent David Bailey, who was injured in Wednesday's shootings, took the mound on crutches and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

-"BB"-

[Guinevere]

Buried in the article above but deserving of a post all its own --- and from @jaketapper: "Congressional Democrats won the baseball game, but gave the trophy to GOPers to put in the office of Congressman Steve Scalise."

[Lord Jim]

A very nice gesture.

Apparently Scalise's injuries from the gunshot were far worse then initial reports indicated, but it looks like his condition is finally beginning to improve:

Hospital: Scalise still critical, 'has improved in the last 24 hours'

Washington (CNN)As his colleagues played baseball in his honor Thursday evening, MedStar Washington Hospital Center medical gave an update on Rep. Steve Scalise, who remains in critical condition but has improved.
Scalise, the third ranking member of House Republican leadership, was among six people who were injured after a gunman opened fire Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia, during a Republicans' early-morning practice ahead of a charity baseball game.

The gunman, identified by officials as James Hodgkinson, died after the shootout.

"Earlier today, Congressman Steve Scalise underwent a second surgery related to his internal injuries and a broken bone in his leg," MedStar said in a statement Thursday. "He remains in critical condition, but has improved in the last 24 hours. The congressman will require additional operations, and will be in the hospital for some time."

The Congressional Baseball Game, an annual tradition, went on as planned Thursday. Though the game pegs Republicans against Democrats, attendees and participating lawmakers showed unity in wake of the shooting. More than $1 million has been raised for Congressional Sports for Charity so far, the game's organizers announced.

[liberty]

Baseball gunman had list of GOP lawmakers: reports

The gunman who opened fire on a congressional Republican baseball practice in Virginia on Wednesday had a list of names that included several GOP lawmakers, according to multiple reports.
The Daily Caller first reported that James T. Hodgkinson had a list of Republican names in his pocket that was recovered by the FBI.
Hodgkinson's list included Republican Reps. Mo Brooks (Ala.), Trent Franks (Ariz.) and Jeff Duncan (S.C.), according to reports.
Fox News reported that GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Morgan Griffith (Va.), and Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.) were also on the list.
"There are a number of different indications now that this was a pre-meditated situation," Franks said Friday on CNN's "OutFront," though he declined to discuss the reported list.
Brooks and Franks were at the baseball field where the shooting happened, but Duncan had left before the gunman had opened fire.
Duncan had said that before he left the practice he was approached by a man he later believed to be Hodgkinson who had asked whether Republicans or Democrats were on the baseball field.
Hodgkinson, who posted a slew of anti-Republican and anti-Trump posts on social media over the years, opened fire at the baseball practice in Alexandra, Va., injuring House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and three others.
Hodgkinson was injured in a shootout with police and later died of his injuries, according to officials.
Updated: 8:20 p.m.

[Scooter]

The comedy really does just write itself.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Or perhaps three acts

[Scooter]

Now that Scalise is out of danger, I can't help but note the irony that the white supremacist homophobe was saved by a black man and a black lesbian.

[Scooter]

He voted against her marriage. But she took a bullet for him.

Next time an LGBT vote comes up, will Rep. Steve Scalise remember?

Last week, the nation cheered Crystal Griner, the courageous Capitol Police officer who, with her professional partner patrolman David Bailey, helped to save the life of Representative Steve Scalise in the horrific shooting in suburban Virginia.

Griner literally took a bullet for Scalise. According to CBS News, Griner and Bailey "rushed" the shooter" despite their own wounds.

House Speaker Paul Ryan praised Griner as a hero in a speech on the floor of the House. She is an African-American lesbian who married her wife, Tiffany Dyar, in Baltimore in 2015. Scalise, the House Majority Whip whose life she helped to save, has a lengthy record of voting against LGBT rights, opposing same sex marriage time and again.

Donald and Melania Trump graciously brought Griner flowers in the hospital to honor her heroism.

Though June is LGBT pride month, when the queer community celebrates our heroes and sheroes, Trump did not declare June as Gay Pride Month, as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama had done. But he did issue proclamations hailing June as "Home Ownership Month," "Great Outdoors Month," and "National Ocean Month."

And Griner isn't the only LGBT person to demonstrate heroism when an episode of gun violence exploded. On January 8, 2011, Daniel Hernandez, a gay Latino intern, ran towards Representative Gabby Giffords as the shots rang out in that Tucson parking lot. He held her up and stanched her bleeding in the midst of the chaos so that she would not choke on her own blood.

The 20-year-old was acutely aware that he had to keep her engaged if she were to survive the shooting. As he held her, he asked her a series of questions such as "Are you in pain?" to which she would respond by squeezing his hand or giving a thumbs up. He stayed with her in the ambulance on the ride to the hospital, holding her hand and asking her questions, as he tried to contact her husband and her parents.

Two years later, he was the target of an anti-gay smear campaign.

In the recently concluded legislative session in Austin, the Texas GOP introduced 24 anti-gay bills designed to discriminate against LGBT Texans. Two years after the historic Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges granted marriage equality, Lone Star Republicans are pursuing a case in the Texas Supreme court that they hope could eventually overturn the decision that allowed gay couples to marry.

In the coming legislative "special session," Governor Greg Abbott has prioritized the passage of House Bill 2899, which would nullify local non-discrimination ordinances protecting LGBT Texans and target the most vulnerable among us, transgender children, for discrimination.

It would be refreshing if this latest act of heroism from a courageous lesbian officer, who put her life on the line, could open the eyes of the leaders of the Republican party to the ways in which gay lives — and LGBT rights — matter.

[MajGenl.Meade]

I do not understand the equation that says that personally and publicly honoring and acknowledging the bravery and self-sacrifice of a human who happens to be homosexual must of necessity mean personal or political agreement that homosexual marriage is an unarguable right?

This is not to refuse the legality of same. I do not support the position that the laws should be disobeyed or evaded by those who do not approve of homosexual marriage on moral or religious grounds. I'm also not debating whether such should or should not be an unarguable right.

I question only the rationality of the argument that is made; because the homosexual officer helped save lives, therefore homosexual marriage is OK.

Also I admit to begging the question there; the syllogism could perhaps be expressed in a different and less biased way?

[oldr_n_wsr]

the syllogism could perhaps be expressed in a different and less biased way?

you mean the media is trying to stir something up?
That can't be. Aren't they always unbiased, unopinionated and unsensationalistic?
Can't just say, "two police officers wounded while on duty guarding congressman".

[liberty]

Whether or not the officer is homosexual or not is irrelevant. All police take an oath to protect and defend. She was not doing a favor for someone just her job. She is not even a hero; she did demonstrate courage, but she was getting paid to do what she did.


Do you remember when the pilot landed the airliner in the Hudson Rivers? He was not a hero either. He saved a lot of lives, but he was only doing his job.

[Scooter]

Can't just say, "two police officers wounded while on duty guarding congressman".

When a white supremacist homophobe is given full protection of the law, to the extent of risking their own lives to save his, by two people whom the white supremacist homophobe does not believe deserve equal protection of the law, I would say that that merits comment.