The deadly loophole: Gunning for trouble

By GottaLaff

Hey kiddies, guess what? Another mentally unbalanced person got their hands on a gun because of guess what?

Go on, guess.

Give up?

The gun show loophole! Yayyy!

Yes, the right wing, anti-government Pentagon shooter, John Patrick Bedell, got his gun at a gun show through the gun show loophole, with no background check. Feel safer yet?

QuickDraw McLoopHole had already been declared too, er, abnormal to buy one through a federally licensed dealer, but pfft! That didn't matter:

Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.

Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both guns were once seized in criminal cases in Memphis. The officials described how the weapons made their separate ways from an evidence vault to gun dealers and to the shooters.

Wow, hmm, gee, how'd that happen?

[O]n the day of the Pentagon shooting, March 4, the Tennessee governor signed legislation revising state law on confiscated guns. Before, law enforcement agencies in the state had the option of destroying a gun. Under the new version, agencies can only destroy a gun if it's inoperable or unsafe.

Seems Version 2.0 needs to be updated.

But with that in mind, it's only natural that oversight would tighten up, right?

[...] 24 states — mostly in the South and West, where gun-rights advocates are particularly strong — have passed 47 new laws loosening gun restrictions.

Gee, that doesn't seem logical. Oops, did I say "logical"? Logic has nothing to do with this!

What, am I nuts?

No, but QuickDraw was:

[T]he weapons first went to licensed gun dealers, but later came into the hands of men who were legally barred from possessing them: one a convicted felon; the other mentally ill.

Change we can't believe in.

But come on, realistically, what are the chances of some psycho ending up finding that one special dealer who would slip him a lethal weapon:

Law enforcement officials say Bedell, a man with a history of severe psychiatric problems, had been sent a letter by California authorities Jan. 10 telling him he was prohibited from buying a gun because of his mental history.

Nineteen days later, the officials say, Bedell bought the Ruger at a gun show in Las Vegas. Such a sale by a private individual does not require the kind of background check that would have stopped Bedell's purchase.

But privatizing stuff is the GOP's answer to everything. What could possible go wrong? Death? Don't be silly. Murder? Ridiculous! Selling lethal weapons to a disturbed individual who would subsequently go on a shooting spree? Impossible!

Here's the deal, gun owners: Nobody's trying to take your firearms from you. But keeping them out of the hands of unstable felons and the mentally ill doesn't do anything to threaten your freedoms.

The real and growing threat is to innocent lives, not the Constitution.

Pentagon Shooter, Las Vegas Shooter's guns both from same place

This is strange. With state and city budgets getting the shaft, I'm sure this will only get more common. More here about the Pentagon shooter.

WASHINGTON -- Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.

Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both guns were once seized in criminal cases in Memphis. The officials described how the weapons made their separate ways from an evidence vault to gun dealers and to the shooters.

The use of guns that once were in police custody and were later involved in attacks on police officers highlights a little-known divide in gun policy in the United States: Many cities and states destroy guns gathered in criminal probes, but others sell or trade the weapons in order to get other guns or buy equipment such as bulletproof vests.

(snip)

A nationwide review by The Associated Press in December found that over the previous two years, 24 states - mostly in the South and West, where gun-rights advocates are particularly strong - have passed 47 new laws loosening gun restrictions. Gun rights groups are making a greater effort to pass favorable legislation in state capitals.

John Timoney, who led the Philadelphia and Miami police departments and served as New York's No. 2 police official, said he doesn't believe police departments should be putting more guns into the market.

"I just think it's unseemly for police departments to be selling guns that later turn up," he said, recalling that he had once been offered the chance to sell guns to raise money for the police budget.

HuckPAC coordinator steps down, citing clemency decision

By GottaLaff

Original post about HuckaPardon here. Here come the repercussions.

HuckaT. Oa. St:

The Arkansas coordinator for Mike Huckabee's political action committee resigned Tuesday, citing the former Arkansas governor's decision nine years ago to grant clemency to Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of murdering four police officers in Washington state.

Jason Tolbert is a conservative blogger, and was the (volunteer) Arkansas state coordinator for HuckPAC.

"My departure was with a heavy heart but was done after serious prayer and consideration," Tolbert wrote on his Web site. "Some have asked about the timing. As most could imagine, the recent news of the last two days along with the response did play a role in this decision but was not the sole factor."

Update on Washington cop killer

By GottaLaff

Here's a quick MSNBC update on the Washington cop killer:

He was shot dead earlier, as has been reported. On his body was one of the policemen's guns. More have been arrested for aiding and abetting him, helping him get away.

Meanwhile, the punditiots are insinuating that Mike Huckabee is toast.

VIDEO: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Mike Huckabee About Commuting Suspected Cop Killer

By GottaLaff

Via Mediaite:

Yesterday, I posted about about Mike Huckabee's commuting the suspected Washington shooter's sentence some years ago. Now Bill-o interviews HuckExplain:




"We didn't have any information from the prosecutor," sez HuckaHole. And then he goes on to blame everyone else. Poor Huck, he's in deep and is trying so very hard to dig out. Diggity dig dig. Just like a prairie dog.

"It's not your fault," says Bill-O. He's so compassionate and open-minded, isn't he? How could we have misjudged him?

H/t: Texbetsy

HuckaWiki hijacked: "Mike Huckabee (THE IDIOT)"

By GottaLaff

(click on image to enlarge)

Yesterday I posted about Mike Huckabee's commuting the suspected Washington shooter's sentence some years ago. That report was damaging enough on its own, but some Wikipedia readers took the information and performed the written equivalent of TPing Huck's Wiki page:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's Wikipedia page has been edited to include hostile remarks about his commutation of an individual suspected in the fatal shooting of four police officers. [...]

"WILL FOREVER BE KNOWN AS THE IDIOT WHO RELEASED THE COP KILLER MAURICE CLEMMONS HE WAS SERVING A 35 YEAR SENTENCE FOR ARMED ROBBERY THE IDIOT RELEASED HIM AFTER 9 YEARS," reads the addition made by an unknown user.

The user, or users, also added "THE IDIOT" to Huckabee's photo caption.

It's one thing to opine about Huckabee's judgment (or lack thereof). It's quite another to be childish enough to deface Wikipedia like a giggling eighth grader sneaking around behind Mom and Dad's back. Grow up, Wiki users.

Mike Huckabee commuted sentence of Washington cop-killer suspect

By GottaLaff

Maurice Clemmons

CORRECTION and UPDATE: Per CNN just now, Clemmons is "person of interest", not a suspect... yet. They "really want to talk to him" says Hunter George PIO, Pierce Co. Sheriff's office.

UPDATE: Could this be why Huck suggested he wasn't up for another run in 2012?

Those four policemen who were murdered in a Washington state coffeehouse this morning? The suspect is one Maurice Clemmons.

Politically speaking, this does not bode well for Mike Huckabee:

Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors.

"This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County said Sunday night when informed that Clemmons was being sought in connection to the killings.

H/t: Oliver Willis and TPM

Bill Bennett: Whitewashing Terrorism

By GottaLaff

My pal Karoli has a post up about Bill Bennett's disappointment in Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s non-terrorist status.

First, Karoli gives us three different definitions of "terrorism":

In those three definitions, there are two common threads: politics and the victims.

Then she defines what terrorism isn't:

Simply put: age, gender, race, religion, or IQ of the attacker.

Bennett does his little rantette, to which Karoli responds:

Laser sight aside, the fact of Hasan’s religion and obviously Arabic name does not automatically toss him into terrorist territory.

Larisa Alexandrovna and I got attacked for holding views very similar to Karoli's. This is what happens when one doesn't fall in line with the hatriots. Karoli puts it this way:

The very worst spin you can realistically place on this attack is that it was an act of war on a United States military installation. [...] [T]here have been no clear statements that what he did was anything other than a selfish, deranged, tragic act of violence.

Even if one accepts the premise that he acted to make some sort of statement about being shipped to Afghanistan or the Afghanistan war itself (which is weak and unsupported at this stage), it’s still not an act of terror because it was a military officer doing violence on a military installation.

And finally:

One of the reasons that the civilian/military distinction is so utterly crucial is because acts of terrorism are intended to frighten civilians into silent acquiescence. They are intended to force a specific set of religious or world views on an entire populace. They are intended to make civilians, who are NOT fighting wars, afraid. Hence the term, terror. [...]

This is why Randall Terry’s abortion doctor jihad, abortion clinic bombings, and cold-blooded shootings of abortion doctors like Dr. Tiller are terrorist acts.

This is why people who put up signs threatening war and assassination of our President are terrorists.

In the last two examples, the jihadists are white as snow, American as applie pie, good ‘guns, god and gold’ types. [...]

We all have fear. The challenge is overcoming it, not putting it into a box called “terrorism”.

Hatriots tend to march in lock step, put things into boxes, and that is truly terrifying. Independent thought is their Kryptonite.

Please go read the rest of Karoli's excellent post here.

Hasan Was Worried About Results of HIV Test

By GottaLaff

The suspected gunman in the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, Nov. 5, 2009, was identified by ABC News as Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. He appears here in a Defense Department photograph.

(Handout)

Jumping to conclusions before an entire story is out is typical of reportage these days. It's irresponsible and it serves nobody well.

It seems to happen every time there is a big breaking news story, followed by correction after correction. Meantime, the original imprint has effectively made its way into the narrative, and it's no easy task to undo the damage.

That occurred to me as I noticed the Hasan reporting unfold, so I thought I'd share.

That said, we're finding out more about the Ft. Hood shooter:

Major Nidal Hasan seemed worried about the results of an HIV blood test taken a week before the Fort Hood shooting rampage, according to federal investigators piecing together background details on Hasan's life.

The information came from a member of the Fort Hood medical staff who was in the building where Hasan is accused of opening fire on November 5 and killing 13 people.

I have a feeling future revelations will take us in an entirely new direction. I have a source who has suggested that a few twists and turns are in store. We'll see if he's onto something soon enough.

H/t: Jason Leopold

Sarah Palin: 'Profile away!'

By GottaLaff

Not holding back any more, eh Barbie? Nope, not even trying:

I asked about Palin's upcoming visit to Ft. Hood. "We had planned on that before the tragedy struck," she said. She commented on the trail of evidence linking the alleged Ft. Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan, to militant Islam. "There were such clear, obvious, massive warning signs that were missed," she said. "This terrorist, even having business cards" that identified him as an "SoA" or soldier of Allah. Palin blamed a culture of political correctness and other decisions that "prevented -- I'm going to say it -- profiling" of someone with Hasan's extremist ideology. "I say, profile away," Palin said. Such political correctness, she continued, "could be our downfall."

That was from Matthew Continetti, the author of The Persecution of Sarah Palin.

This dolt could have been second in command, and most likely wants to be first in command, the next president of the United States. She honestly believes she is qualified and that the country has done her wrong.

She is damaged, and I am not saying that with any humor or pleasure at all. None.

H/t: Ben Smith

Shallow Thoughts: What religion was practiced by the Orlando shooter?

By GottaLaff

Today's Shallow Thought:

As our pal Wolfe Tone of A Bodenstown Perspective noted, will the media will go out of their media way to point out that this shooter is probably a Catholic?

Pfft, nah. As Wolfe said, "He's just another crazy person, because he's NOT a Muslim."

That was today's Shallow Thought. Thank you for wading in.

Shooter thought Obama would ban guns

By GottaLaff

Remember, everyone: If you think there is a law about to be passed that affects you, break it before it takes hold. If that means mass murder, so be it:

Police did not immediately release the gunman's identity, but his friends identified him as Richard Poplawski, 23. They described him as a young man who thought the Obama administration would ban guns.

One friend, Edward Perkovic, said Poplawski feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon." Another longtime friend, Aaron Vire, said Poplawski feared that President Obama was going to take away his rights, though he said he "wasn't violently against Obama."

Problem? Solution: Bang, bang. Problem solved. And now he's so dead he won't be able to see the error (understatement) of his ways/logic. [Laffy Note--CORRECTION: He is not dead. Getting my shooters mixed up. Plus, as Paddy just pointed out, the text of the article I quoted here has changed, too. All of it's a bit confusing, but I made my point.]

Then again, he had no ability to reason.

To make matters worse, this is typical of how some people see the president and his policies, despite how many times he's explained them. It's criminal... literally.

BREAKING: Arkansas Democratic chairman shot

By GottaLaff



We'll be updating as we get more information...

Watching CNN now. Little Rock attack, one person was shot at Democratic party headquarters.

Bill Gwatney is in critical condition after being shot three times.

The suspect was shot and apprehended.

UPDATE: Right after this incident, at state Baptist headquarters, a gunman entered, spoke to someone, and ended up running out. They're trying to see if there is a connection, because the circumstances were so similar.

UPDATE:

The gunman asked to speak to the party chairman, Bill Gwatney, and fired three shots at the office near the state Capitol. [...]

The suspect was chased into Grant County, south of Little Rock, and apprehended after being shot, the police spokesman said. The suspect's condition and motive were not known.

Sarah Lee, a sales clerk at a flower shop across street from the party headquarters, said that around noon Gwatney's secretary ran into the shop and asked someone to call 911.

Lee said the secretary told her the man had come into the party's office and asked to speak with Gwatney. When the secretary said she wouldn't allow him to meet with Gwatney, the man went into his office and shot him, Lee said.

She said the secretary described the man as in his 40s and white and drove off in a blue truck. [...]

Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat who served with Gwatney in the Legislature, had been on a flight to Springdale in northwestern Arkansas but returned to the Capitol after hearing about the shooting, Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said.

Karen Ray, executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas, sent her workers home early "out of an abundance of caution." [...]

Gwatney, who owns and operates three car dealerships in Pulaski County, served 10 years in the state Senate. Gwatney was Beebe's finance chairman during Beebe's run for governor in 2006.

UPDATE: Per CNN, the suspect has died.

Per CNN, Mr Gwatney has died.

Shooter's reading list: Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage

By GottaLaff

Looky who the bad guys read:

Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

This nutcase decided that "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of media outlets." He said he was motivated by a hatred of "the liberal movement."

They reported, he decided.