Gun Control Filibuster Ends With Emotional Appeal

After Senate Republicans reportedly agree to allow Democratic- sponsored gun control legislation to come up for a vote, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) ends the 15- hour Senate Democratic filibuster with an emotional appeal.



Let's see what the National Rifle Rampage Association's flunkies in the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/Shooter's Party do next (spoiler alert:  little to nothing).

Mid-Week Rainbow Song

Over the years, Cyndi Lauper's 1986 hit recording has become an informal anthem of the LGBT community. Here, in memory of the lives lost in Orlando, is a live performance of "True Colors."

But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow

Tests Of Leadership (UPDATED)

In the aftermath of the horror in Orlando over the weekend, there were responses from officials ranging from President Obama's remarks...



... to those of Republican neo- fascist narcissist slimeball Donald "Rump" Trump, who followed up this humblebragging tweet on Sunday...

Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016

... with these comments on "Fux and Friends":

"We're led by a man who is a very -- look, we're led by a man that either is, is not tough, not smart, or he's got something else in mind," Trump said. "And the something else in mind, you know, people can't believe it. People cannot -- they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the ways he acts and can't even mention the words radical islamic terrorism. There's something going on. It's inconceivable."

Implying the President of the United States -- the person responsible for eliminating Osama bin Laden and the Taliban leadership -- is in league with terrorists?  (Is he a secret Muslim? Why won't he say the magic words "radical Islamic terrorism!?")  This after his self- congratulatory tweet on being smart (!) for foreseeing what nobody else in the world could foresee:  another terrorist attack! This on a day when the country was mourning the loss of dozens of innocent lives.  All in a day's work for this thing we call Rump, and another in a long series of examples of why he is completely unfit for the office of President!

As others have noted, it's fair to ask the so-called "leaders" of the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ Shooter's Party if they agree with Rump's assessment of the President's loyalty to his country. How about it Paul "Lyin'" Ryan?  What do you say, Mitch "Missy" McConnell?

UPDATE:  Who was the prescient one? (h/t Balloon Juice)

Obama 10 days before the Orlando massacre, responding to a question on gun control https://t.co/d8mQ3SbQye pic.twitter.com/RkhaUP5KWE

— Alex Ogle (@Alex_Ogle) June 13, 2016

Horror -- Again (UPDATED)

This time it's Orlando, Florida, and it's the worst in American history....








UPDATE:  Here's what you should know about this horrific event.

UPDATE II:  Charles Pierce on what is lost with every mass shooting:

It is never innocence which gets lost in these episodes. It's illusions. Americans can make war on each other for the most sacred of reasons—reasons drawn from the Scriptures of all faiths, reasons drawn from our own conceptions of the divine, of our relationships with our personal Lords and saviors. We have a positive genius for this kind of thing. [snip] 

This thing happened because this is America, where these things happen more often than any other place in the world. This thing happened because who we are comes up so very short of who we believe ourselves to be.