Another mass shooting in the US

[Blackmac]

You shouldn't wish death on anyone, but I think we all secretly pray that there will be a disgruntled ex employee at an NRA rally one day soon.

[Kawazaki]

You shouldn't wish death on anyone, but I think we all secretly pray that there will be a disgruntled ex employee at an NRA rally one day soon.

I believe that all guns are banned from NRA events.

[Kiwias]

You shouldn't wish death on anyone, but I think we all secretly pray that there will be a disgruntled ex employee at an NRA rally one day soon.

I believe that all guns are banned from NRA events.

So no good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun who breaks in. A real turkey shoot.

[Gumboot]

I thought the NRA was close to bankruptcy and that Wayne Le Whatsit guy was under investigation for all sorts of dodgy dealing?

[Kiwias]

I thought the NRA was close to bankruptcy and that Wayne Le Whatsit guy was under investigation for all sorts of dodgy dealing?

There was some news about it but their lobbyists are obviously still active and effective. I have not heard whether WLW was actually tried or anything. Quick look on Google and found this

The group is still facing a corruption lawsuit NY AG Letitia James filed in August, 2020, that LaPierre diverted millions to pay for trips and other lavish items
In May, the group made a failed bid to file for bankruptcy to move its organization from New York to Texas
LaPierre admitted that it was done in an effort to avoid litigation in New York, and a judge denied its bankruptcy petition
The National Rifle Association board of directors have voted to reelect CEO Wayne LaPierre his position as the group's chief executive officer - despite a scandal over the group's financing.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... wsuit.html

[Rhubarb & Custard]

I think the NRA are due to go before an appellate court.

They'd filed a motion along the lines of the NY AGs office was biased against the NRA and was seeking to end a non-profit group with whom it disagreed politically in violation of its 1st amendment rights, and that any technical transgression a group like the NRA might fallen foul of (whilst also denying any wrong doing) gave far too great a latitude to the AG's office to go after any non-profit in this situation so the AG's investigation should be terminated, not just for them but to protect non-profits more generally. That was rejected by the courts saying the NRA hadn't put forward "any viable legal claims that the Attorney General’s investigation was unconstitutionally retaliatory or selective."

Seeing as the court said they hadn't put forward ANY viable legal claim they naturally appealed for good reasons and not just as a delaying tactic, and it's that appeal which I think is still pending

[tabascoboy]

Well it has been a few days since the last one....

Four dead at US teen birthday party shooting

At least four people killed in shooting at 16th birthday party in US state of Alabama on Saturday

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65293737

[Kiwias]

How come a football team has a pastor?

[Niegs]

How come a football team has a pastor?

Marginal gains!

Have you not seen this phenomenon?

[Kiwias]

How come a football team has a pastor?

Marginal gains!

Have you not seen this phenomenon?

It is official: America is a weird country

[charltom]

You shouldn't wish death on anyone, but I think we all secretly pray that there will be a disgruntled ex employee at an NRA rally one day soon.

I believe that all guns are banned from NRA events.

Quite a lot of NRA events are shooting competitions, so that clearly isn't true.

[charltom]

How come a football team has a pastor?

Strangely enough, this is fairly common in the UK too, as I recently discovered.

[Kiwias]

How come a football team has a pastor?

Strangely enough, this is fairly common in the UK too, as I recently discovered.

At public high schools?

[inactionman]

Not a mass shooting, but an interesting article on attempts to sue Sig Sauer for selling unsafe guns that are apparently prone to going off by themselves.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... es-on-own/

This bit stood out:

Firearms are one of the few products that are exempt from federal consumer product safety regulations. No regulatory body has the power to investigate alleged defects or impose a mandatory recall of guns. As thousands of P320s circulate in the civilian market, waiting for buyers, SIG Sauer faces lawsuits from at least 70 people who allege the company is selling a defective product.

That took a moment to sink in. There's no regulatory body that can restrict sales of guns that can go off by themselves. Not only can they not stop dangerous idiots with guns, they can't stop dangerous guns.

[tabascoboy]

Not a mass shooting, but an interesting article on attempts to sue Sig Sauer for selling unsafe guns that are apparently prone to going off by themselves.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... es-on-own/

This bit stood out:

Firearms are one of the few products that are exempt from federal consumer product safety regulations. No regulatory body has the power to investigate alleged defects or impose a mandatory recall of guns. As thousands of P320s circulate in the civilian market, waiting for buyers, SIG Sauer faces lawsuits from at least 70 people who allege the company is selling a defective product.

That took a moment to sink in. There's no regulatory body that can restrict sales of guns that can go off by themselves. Not only can they not stop dangerous idiots with guns, they can't stop dangerous guns.

"That would be a violation of mah rights! 2nd Amendment don't say nothin' about trigger locks ''n shit"

[GogLais]

How come a football team has a pastor?

Strangely enough, this is fairly common in the UK too, as I recently discovered.

At public high schools?

I’m pretty sure Everton have a chaplain. In dire need of divine assistance as it happens.

[Line6 HXFX]

I remember when the US blocked the bill that would legislate against high capacity magazines. It was a bill designed so that people could have a chance to intervene and jump the shooter before he could reload, after firing 15 shots, instead of 35 shots.


I mean why the fuck wouldn't you pass it? I was staggered when it failed, still am. Sometimes you just have a jumping off point, throw your arms in the air and conclude they are just a stupid stupid fucking idiot nation, beyond redemption, their democracy is corrupt and in the pocket of lobby groups and rich shit heads.

[Hugo]

their democracy is corrupt and in the pocket of lobby groups and rich shit heads.

Yeah. Its not really a democracy by any stretch of the imagination, its a system of government where the politicians are all bought off by the rich.

Even if you overlook the fact that the US has been complicit in toppling democratic governments (Iran, Guatemala, Brazil, Chile) Its what makes the countries pretensions at spreading democracy so laughable.

[tabascoboy]

Not a mass shooting but pertiment all the same. Here we have another citizen "exercising their rights". What a fucked up nation...

Ralph Yarl: Black teen shot at doorstep after ringing wrong doorbell

Protests erupted in Kansas City, Missouri, over the weekend after a homeowner shot a black teenager twice who rang their doorbell by mistake.

Ralph Yarl, 16, was sent by his parents to pick up his brothers from a friend's house on 13 April, but went to the wrong address.

The suspect shot Mr Yarl through his door.

Police have released the shooter from custody but not identified them.

Mr Yarl was released from hospital on Sunday and is recovering at home with his family, his father Paul Yarl told the Kansas City Star.

"He continues to improve," his father told the paper. "He is responsive and is making good progress."

Prominent civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Lee Merritt are representing Mr Yarl's family in the case. They criticised officials for releasing the suspect, who they say is a white male.

"You can't just shoot people without having justification when somebody comes knocking on your door - and knocking on your door is not justification. This guy should be charged," Mr Crump said.

The suspect was taken to police headquarters to provide a statement before being released. In Missouri, a person taken into custody for a felony investigation must be released or charged within 24 hours.

Investigators are looking into whether or not the suspect is protected by the state's Stand-Your-Ground laws, which grant people permission to use deadly force if they feel seriously in danger. Critics say such laws facilitate violence against black people.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65299127

[Kiwias]

I'll see your shot at the front door going to the wrong house and raise you with being shot after turning into the wrong driveway, despite not getting out of the car and already heading out of the driveway on realising the mistake.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65307556

[Simian]

I'll see your shot at the front door going to the wrong house and raise you with being shot after turning into the wrong driveway, despite not getting out of the car and already heading out of the driveway on realising the mistake.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65307556

Just needed a good guy with a gun in the car, didn’t they?

What a fucking ridiculous country.

[Kiwias]

I'll see your shot at the front door going to the wrong house and raise you with being shot after turning into the wrong driveway, despite not getting out of the car and already heading out of the driveway on realising the mistake.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65307556

Just needed a good guy with a gun in the car, didn’t they?

What a fucking ridiculous country.

Should have been driving this

[Gumboot]

[Jim Lahey]

Wow. Just fucking nuts.

Sometimes I wonder if these fucked up stories are just made up by Russian bots to discredit the US. Like surely half of them can't be true!?

[robmatic]

The oul fella at the door was 85 and fuck knows what the 16 year old was saying. Could have been telling his mate to hurry the fuck up and scared the shit out of the old codger. The problem is guns and everyone telling everyone else in the states they need to be scared of each other be that from murder or micro aggressions. You better be on your guard either way

It comes from that whole thing about needing a gun to be on guard against home invasions, as if a reasonable course of action for a criminal to take is to rock up to a random, occupied suburban home and burst in so that you can nick the 10-year old TV.

[Jim Lahey]

At what point do people become fearful of visiting the US?

I'm not there yet tbf, still have plenty of family and friends there, and need to go twice a year with work. But I do get that uneasy feeling sometimes walking through a shopping mall, thinking is today the day that Michael Douglas from Falling Down is going to be standing behind me in a queue for some food . . . .

[CM11]

At what point do people become fearful of visiting the US?

I'm not there yet tbf, still have plenty of family and friends there, and need to go twice a year with work. But I do get that uneasy feeling sometimes walking through a shopping mall, thinking is today the day that Michael Douglas from Falling Down is going to be standing behind me in a queue for some food . . . .

Not all out fear but I've no interest in going there these days and haven't in years. It's just such a batshit country on so many levels.

[Slick]

At what point do people become fearful of visiting the US?

I'm not there yet tbf, still have plenty of family and friends there, and need to go twice a year with work. But I do get that uneasy feeling sometimes walking through a shopping mall, thinking is today the day that Michael Douglas from Falling Down is going to be standing behind me in a queue for some food . . . .

Not all out fear but I've no interest in going there these days and haven't in years. It's just such a batshit country on so many levels.

I've no interest either, partly to do with a bit of fear about the gun culture and a bit left over from a pact I made with myself years ago that I wouldn't visit until Guantanamo was closed down. It's now also a bit to do with the mental politicians. I'm quite happy to see the rest of the world I haven't seen rather than encouraging these pricks.

[Gumboot]

At what point do people become fearful of visiting the US?

I'm not there yet tbf, still have plenty of family and friends there, and need to go twice a year with work. But I do get that uneasy feeling sometimes walking through a shopping mall, thinking is today the day that Michael Douglas from Falling Down is going to be standing behind me in a queue for some food . . . .

The sprog and I are heading there in a few weeks. We share the same concerns, but are somewhat comforted by the thought that we probably won't be visiting any schools.

[tabascoboy]

The oul fella at the door was 85 and fuck knows what the 16 year old was saying. Could have been telling his mate to hurry the fuck up and scared the shit out of the old codger. The problem is guns and everyone telling everyone else in the states they need to be scared of each other be that from murder or micro aggressions. You better be on your guard either way

Well, guess we should find out exactly what happened

Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced that Andrew D. Lester, 84, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

Yarl's family and legal team claim the boy rang Lester's doorbell twice before the homeowner opened fire with a .32 revolver. Lee Merritt, one of the family's attorneys, told NBC News that the 16-year-old "was confronted by a man who told him, 'Don't come back around here,' and then he immediately fired his weapon".

According to local reports, Lester told police that he believed someone was breaking into his home and fired two shots through his door. A witness also told a local news station that he heard Yarl "screaming that he had been shot".

[laurent]

This is getting worse.

Yet they won't do a thing.

[dpedin]

At what point do people become fearful of visiting the US?

I'm not there yet tbf, still have plenty of family and friends there, and need to go twice a year with work. But I do get that uneasy feeling sometimes walking through a shopping mall, thinking is today the day that Michael Douglas from Falling Down is going to be standing behind me in a queue for some food . . . .

The sprog and I are heading there in a few weeks. We share the same concerns, but are somewhat comforted by the thought that we probably won't be visiting any schools.

We used to go to South Carolina every couple of years golfing. Last time we had just got back from local Walmart, situated in a posh area, to discover on local news that a couple of crack heads had decided to hold it up armed with guns about 10mins after we left it. They had a cache of guns, ammo and drugs in their car. Luckily they were so off their heads they were disarmed before any shooting. This plus SC is a very redneck Trumpy state has put us off returning. TBF we were always looked after by the locals but the drugs, particularly Fentanyl, and guns seem to be pervading every neighbourhood now.

[tabascoboy]

I'll see your shot at the front door going to the wrong house and raise you with being shot after turning into the wrong driveway, despite not getting out of the car and already heading out of the driveway on realising the mistake.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65307556

Just needed a good guy with a gun in the car, didn’t they?

What a fucking ridiculous country.

Shooter sounds like some loner nutbar shoot "trespassers" on sight type.

A man in upstate New York was charged with murder on Monday in the killing of a woman who was in a car that mistakenly drove into his driveway, officials said.
...
"There's clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicle," Sheriff Murphy said. "There's no reason for Mr Monahan to feel threatened."

The friends drove away from the house and attempted to call for help in a nearby town, but Ms Gillis was pronounced dead by paramedics.

Mr Monahan was "uncooperative with the investigation and refused to exit his residence to speak with police", the sheriff's office said in a news release.

[sockwithaticket]

I've come across comments on various threads about gun incidents where people mention things they've overheard at gun ranges and it seems that there's a non-negligible proportion of American gun owners itching for an opportunity to finally discharge their weapons into another human being. Shooting someone for momentarily being on your driveway seems like an example of that.

[Line6 HXFX]

Look the only way you get doners and lobbyists out of politics, people like the NRA etc, is publicly funded political parties. Issue vouchers, and give voting age citizens a 50 quid/dollar voucher, to donate to the political party of their choice..Political parties will be funded by the people not NRA or arms dealers, pharmacutical giant types. In the UK just 100 people provide 50% of the funding of political parties, they hold terrific power..it is completely undemocratic..a voucher scheme would put the funding of political parties, directly in the hands of the people.


Simple workable solution, which will motivate your MP to fight tooth and nail for your donation and have to answer to you.

It will change politics overnight.

[Jim Lahey]

Look the only way you get doners and lobbyists out of politics, people like the NRA etc, is publicly funded political parties. Issue vouchers, and give voting age citizens a 50 quid/dollar voucher, to donate to the political party of their choice..Political parties will be funded by the people not NRA or arms dealers, pharmacutical giant types. In the UK just 100 people provide 50% of the funding of political parties, they hold terrific power..it is completely undemocratic..a voucher scheme would put the funding of political parties, directly in the hands of the people.


Simple workable solution, which will motivate your MP to fight tooth and nail for your donation and have to answer to you.

It will change politics overnight.

Nah.

Having the public vote with their vouchers, then vote again at the ballot box sounds like a waste of time. Plus will lead to further radicalisation of politics with waster parties that are unelectable hoovering up resources.

And tbh, not all lobby groups are bad. They raise issues that career politicians have no expertise in. Yes there are some nut job lobby groups but a lot of them play important roles in advising politicians and civil servants.

Plus we are capitalists. You should be able to spend your money how you please (within reason, no guns or slaves please, go easy on the drugs and hookers).

[inactionman]

Look the only way you get doners and lobbyists out of politics, people like the NRA etc, is publicly funded political parties. Issue vouchers, and give voting age citizens a 50 quid/dollar voucher, to donate to the political party of their choice..Political parties will be funded by the people not NRA or arms dealers, pharmacutical giant types. In the UK just 100 people provide 50% of the funding of political parties, they hold terrific power..it is completely undemocratic..a voucher scheme would put the funding of political parties, directly in the hands of the people.


Simple workable solution, which will motivate your MP to fight tooth and nail for your donation and have to answer to you.

It will change politics overnight.

To some extent, this already happens in the UK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Money

Opposition parties are given a certain amount of money by Parliament to support their activities, the amount given depending upon how many seats and votes they hold.

Not exactly super-donor levels, but still a degree of revenue dictated by how many people voted for them.

[Line6 HXFX]

Look the only way you get doners and lobbyists out of politics, people like the NRA etc, is publicly funded political parties. Issue vouchers, and give voting age citizens a 50 quid/dollar voucher, to donate to the political party of their choice..Political parties will be funded by the people not NRA or arms dealers, pharmacutical giant types. In the UK just 100 people provide 50% of the funding of political parties, they hold terrific power..it is completely undemocratic..a voucher scheme would put the funding of political parties, directly in the hands of the people.


Simple workable solution, which will motivate your MP to fight tooth and nail for your donation and have to answer to you.

It will change politics overnight.

Nah.

Having the public vote with their vouchers, then vote again at the ballot box sounds like a waste of time. Plus will lead to further radicalisation of politics with waster parties that are unelectable hoovering up resources.

And tbh, not all lobby groups are bad. They raise issues that career politicians have no expertise in. Yes there are some nut job lobby groups but a lot of them play important roles in advising politicians and civil servants.

Plus we are capitalists. You should be able to spend your money how you please (within reason, no guns or slaves please, go easy on the drugs and hookers).

Voting and donating is a great idea. I could vote for Labour (tactically to oust the Tories) but fund Plaid Cymru, to build up their funds to get us the fzrk out of this shite Union.
Waster parties will finally have to be accountable to the public for their bullshit, instead of super donors, lobbyists and " think tanks" for not shouting the word woke, ten times in a sentence.
You think Anne Widdecombe or Nigel Farage is accountable to anyone, they can just spout right wing, autocractic think tank bollocks and get cash.
Look at the platform of the latest Reform Party conference. They just talked bollocks that represents no one.
At least a voucher system will make a level playing field.


Not saying all lobbyjng is bad, but removing the power of the purse from lobbyists and putting them in the same queue as everyone else for a hearing and giving the fifty quid vouchers is democratic.

[Line6 HXFX]

Look the only way you get doners and lobbyists out of politics, people like the NRA etc, is publicly funded political parties. Issue vouchers, and give voting age citizens a 50 quid/dollar voucher, to donate to the political party of their choice..Political parties will be funded by the people not NRA or arms dealers, pharmacutical giant types. In the UK just 100 people provide 50% of the funding of political parties, they hold terrific power..it is completely undemocratic..a voucher scheme would put the funding of political parties, directly in the hands of the people.


Simple workable solution, which will motivate your MP to fight tooth and nail for your donation and have to answer to you.

It will change politics overnight.

To some extent, this already happens in the UK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Money

Opposition parties are given a certain amount of money by Parliament to support their activities, the amount given depending upon how many seats and votes they hold.

Not exactly super-donor levels, but still a degree of revenue dictated by how many people voted for them.

I want to remove all super donors, powerful interests and think tanks, and democratise democracy.
50 quid Voucher system will do that.


...yes I realise this will probably dissolve all of the various Unions power in the Labour Party too.
But collectivisation of these vouchers will only be on a local level, not a national level, Union members are scattered everywhere. It would be difficult for a union to tell their members in the various districts, boroughs and towns who to fund (admittadly not impossible) , but at the end of the day, real power will be in the peoples hands. Which is good.

[CM11]

Over here we've no foreign donations, tiny cap on anonymous donations (€100) and small cap on donations from single person/entity (€6350).

Ironically it means SF can take huge donations via NI and use that outlet to campaign as the party of the people in the South while the traditionally 'rich' parties are largely powerless to counter.

We had a whole political storm a few months ago because a friend of one of our ministers put up some posters and the minister didn't declare the benefit in kind, amounting to about €1600l