Showing posts with label David Brooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Brooks. Show all posts

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Do We Need To Show Empathy And Respect For Shootin' Snowflakes? Nah!



Driftglass has a searing takedown of David "Bobo"Brooks' much- mocked op/ ed telling us non- gun- humpers to be more respectful of gun humpers as a prelude to a dialogue on gun control. Brooks has a long history of divining what "Real America" has on its mind and what is "moral," which miraculously always aligns with Brooks' and his plutocrat audience's views and inclinations (as Driftglass demonstrates once again).

Not naming names, but clearly referencing Bobo, E.J. Dionne, Jr., wonders why gun humpers are to be endlessly indulged to the detriment of our society:
Supporters of even modest restrictions on firearms are regularly instructed that their ardent advocacy turns off Americans in rural areas and small towns. Those in favor of reforming our firearms laws are scolded as horrific elitists who disrespect a valued way of life. 
And as the mass killings continue, we are urged to be patient and to spend our time listening earnestly to the views of those who see even a smidgen of action to limit access to guns as the first step toward confiscation. Our task is not to fight for laws to protect innocents, but to demonstrate that we really, honestly, truly, cross-our-hearts, positively love gun owners and wouldn’t for an instant think anything ill of them. 
What is odd is that those with extreme pro-gun views — those pushing for new laws to allow people to carry just about anytime, anywhere — are never called upon to model similar empathy toward children killed, the mourning parents left behind, people in urban neighborhoods suffering from violence, or the majority of Americans who don’t own guns. [snip]
How come only one side of the supposed culture war on guns is required to exude respect for the other? Because the culture-war argument is largely a gimmick pushed by the gun lobby as a way of demonizing its opponents. None of us who endorse stronger gun laws wants to disrupt anybody else’s way of life. And none of the measures we are proposing would do that.  (our emphasis)
For anyone foolish enough to think narcissistic sociopath Donald "Rump" Trump's directing Confederate States Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III to propose regulations banning "bump stocks," here's a reality check:
Trump’s memo calls on the Department of Justice to try to ban these devices. 
There’s a big question, however, whether this would be possible. The Justice Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) already initiated the rule-making process for potentially banning bump stocks late last year. But they concluded at the time that federal law likely does not allow them to ban bump stocks and other similar devices by themselves — meaning they would likely need Congress to pass a new law to act. 
If this holds up, Trump’s memo will essentially have no effect — since federal agencies simply won’t be able to ban bump stocks. Although Congress could still ban the devices through new legislation.  (our emphasis)
You can easily see that this has been set up to provide the appearance of action to ride out the current firestorm; that the National Rifle Rampage Association supports this Potemkin approach rather than legislation tells you all you need to know about its sincerity.

It's being said that, thanks to the outrage and moral courage of teenagers (think about that -- teenagers) across the country, we may be at an inflection point.  But, as with our ongoing struggle with reactionaries, the only way any victory can be achieved will be through the ballot box, not just this November, but in every election -- Federal, State, local -- that follows until these NRA Republican stooges are gone.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party - The Gloom And Doom Sets In (UPDATED)


There are several dispatches to relay this morning (please have your popcorn buttered and ready!):

-- Neo- fascist fartbag Donald "Rump" Trump has a "very special guest" who'll be (we all presume) making an endorsement today* in Iowa =cough=sneeze= Snowbilly Grifter Sarah Palin =cough=.   Just the thought of it is causing some pearl- clutching on the right.

-- The looming inevitability of either a Rump or Sen. "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz nomination is driving "establishment" Republican hacks into heavy palpitations.  Driftglass covers David Bobo Brooks' cri de coeur:
[Brooks] The idea that most women, independents or mainstream order-craving suburbanites would back a guy who declares his admiration for Vladimir Putin is a mirage. The idea that the G.O.P. can march into the 21st century intentionally alienating every person of color is borderline insane.

Worse is the prospect that one of them might somehow win...
[Driftglass] Shorter David Brooks: Oh my holy stars and bars! When did the Republican Party fill up with all these... Republicans!
While over at the once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle, former Dumbya hack Michael "Mushroom Cloud" Gerson despairs for the future of the party:
For Republicans, the only good outcome of Trump vs. Cruz is for both to lose. The future of the party as the carrier of a humane, inclusive conservatism now depends on some viable choice beyond them. 
For the response to which, we must crib Driftglass' shorter, above, for "Mushroom Cloud's" detached- from- reality vision:
 Oh my holy stars and bars!  When did the Republican Party fill up with all these... Republicans!
-- Meanwhile, desperate, professional Republican ratf*ckers like Karl "Turdblossom" Rove are busy trying to damage Hillary Clinton by (such geniuses!) boosting Sen. Bernie Sanders:
Sean Spicer, the chief strategist and spokesman for the RNC, spent much of the evening tweeting Sanders-friendly commentary on the debate, often with the pro-Sanders hashtag #FeelTheBern. At one point, Spicer gently chided Sanders for what he deemed a poor response to a question and added, “come on we are trying to help u.”

After the debate, the Republican political action committee America Rising promoted the narrative that Sanders won the debate. “Clinton needed a win last night. Instead, everyone is talking about how well Bernie Sanders, her chief rival, did,” spokesman Jeff Bechdel wrote to reporters.

Meanwhile, American Crossroads, a group co-founded by Karl Rove, is airing an ad in Iowa bolstering a core tenet of Sanders’s case against Clinton: that she has received large sums of campaign contributions from Wall Street, and therefore can't be trusted to crack down on big banks.
When your party and its candidates for President are toxic disaster zones, ratf*cking and laughable diversions about the best you can hope to do.

* UPDATE:  Well, it's official - Tweedledumb is endorsed by, well, Tweedledumber:

UPDATE 2:  As our Silver Spring Bureau Chief notes in the comments, Mama Grizzly's son Trek Trap Turd Track was arrested on assault and domestic violence charges last night.  What a great American family!

UPDATE 3:  And who's to blame for Trash Trek Turd Track's domestic violence and general Palin-style assholery?  Why, President Obama, of course!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Hmmmm, We're Guessing Larry Craig, But. . . .


. . .it could have been any number of closeted Senate Rethugs. Lindsey Graham? Missy McConnell?

When conservative pundit David Brooks lets a Rethug Senator's hand rest on his inner thigh for more than a second, well. . . .that's interesting!!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Quote of the Day

"The Democratic response to the economic crisis has its problems, but, let's face it, the current Republican response is totally misguided. . .after a decade of profligacy, the Republicans have decided to demand a rigid fiscal straight jacket at the one moment in the past 70 years when it is completely inappropriate." -- Conservative columnist David Brooks in the New York Times.

Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut.