PhotOh! Debunking Eric Cantor

By GottaLaff

My pal VNDNBRG had an interesting comment under the Cantor: I Didn't Know Shot Was Random Until After My Presser post.

Cantor is a liar:

It was a nondescript building (no signage at all), bullet through 1st floor window (Cantor used 2nd floor for meetings once in a while), and building was not in his district (Richmond is in Bobby Scott's 3rd district). It was a threat all right!

Yeah, a threat to whoever was located on the first floor.

VNDNBRG was angry enough to do a little poking around.

He struck gold.

Here's a photo of the building that was hit:

The round struck with enough force to break the windowpane but did not penetrate the window blinds.” The building, as you can see from this picture, does not show any visible sign that it belongs to Cantor.

Here is a map of the district in question via Bobby Scotts homepage. The dot on Richmond closely corresponds with the Google map of building address:

(click on image to enlarge)

Here's a closer look:


Now check out the address at the bottom of Cantor's own page (click to enlarge):


That's right. Eric Cantor doesn't refer to the building that took the bullet. The address for their Richmond office:

March 25, 2010

The Richmond Police Department is investigating an act of vandalism at the Reagan Building, 25 E. Main St., Richmond, Virginia.

How does he dress himself in the morning? He apparently doesn't even know his own office address. And if he does use that other office, it must be only occasionally, because he forgot what floor it was on.

Maybe his advisers could remind him:

There is no sign identifying the light-green building as the campaign headquarters for Cantor, although its principal occupants, Ray Allen Jr. and M. Boyd Marcus Jr., are well-known in the political community as advisers to Cantor. It is identified as the Reagan Building.

Reminder of what Cantor said:

"Just recently I have been directly threatened. A bullet was shot through the window of my campaign office in Richmond this week, and I have received threatening emails," Cantor said, citing the fact that he is an elected official, and that he is Jewish.

Excellent work, Agent VNDNBRG!

Cantor: I Didn't Know Shot Was Random Until After My Presser

By GottaLaff

Hey Eric. It's always a good idea to get your facts straight before you shoot your mouth off (no pun) to the press, blame Democrats for "dangerously fanning flames" (and boy, are their arms tired; rimshot), and claim a bullet was intended for you.

"Just recently I have been directly threatened. A bullet was shot through the window of my campaign office in Richmond this week, and I have received threatening emails," Cantor said, citing the fact that he is an elected official, and that he is Jewish.

(Follow the links above for more details.)

Timing is everything:

Cantor's spokesman is now claiming in media interviews that Cantor didn't know that the bullet was randomly fired when he revealed the incident on national television Thursday.

The incident occurred at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning -- more than two days before the Cantor press conference. This afternoon, spokesmen for Cantor told CNN and the Plum Line that Cantor did not know when he gave the press conference that the bullet was randomly fired.

Maybe he should have checked the police report. Others did.

Of course, ClusterFox jumped right on the pretend "Cantor's office was shot up" bandwagon:

The news of the "shooting" was apparently first reported in a Fox "exclusive." Within an hour of the press conference, Fox was framing the incident this way on TV: "Gunman Shoots Up Office Of Number Two Republican."

Oddy, Cantor's people didn't acknowledge the following out loud when it became public:

Things looked even worse for Cantor when the Richmond Police Department today began explicitly describing the incident as "random gunfire". But now, Cantor's office is claiming in media interviews that Cantor didn't know that the bullet was randomly fired when he held the dramatic press conference.

Let's recap:

A random bullet landed on the floor of an office in the same building that houses Cantor's office. It wasn't intended for him at all. Yet he pointed fingers at the Democrats and said it was an anti-Semitic attack on his very life, but that's okay because he claims he just. Didn't. Know.

How responsible of him.

Mr. Reliable. And voters are supposed to trust this guy? Or are they just supposed to go into auto-sympathy mode while he plays the finger-pointing victim?

Police Statement On Cantor Office Vandalism Shoots Holes in Story

By GottaLaff

Remember earlier when Eric Cantor blamed the Democrats for fanning the flames of the threats directed at them?

He then claimed that:

A bullet was shot through his own campaign office this week, but he won't release details, because that encourages threats. They should be treated as security issues dealt by law enforcement.

I liveblogged that this morning. "A bullet shot through his own campaign office..."

He said he was "directly threatened."

He wouldn't release details, because that would be politicizing the situation, said he.

But by bringing it up, he did just that. Did Cantor just shoot himself in the foot?

The Richmond Police Department released this statement Thursday:

March 25, 2010

The Richmond Police Department is investigating an act of vandalism at the Reagan Building, 25 E. Main St., Richmond, Virginia. [...]

A first floor window was struck by a bullet [...] The building, which has several tenants including an office used by Congressman Eric Cantor, was unoccupied at the time. [...]

A preliminary investigation shows that a bullet was fired into the air and struck the window in a downward direction, landing on the floor about a foot from the window. The round struck with enough force to break the windowpane but did not penetrate the window blinds. There was no other damage to the room [...]

So it was a building where Cantor had an office, but the bullet did not enter the office.

The gun was fired into the air. Apparently, it was not intended to hit Cantor's office in particular.

We need gun control, but okay that'sanothersubjectforantoherday.

Shooting in the air is dangerous, and this shouldn't have happened. But, Cantor doesn't appear to have been the target.

If you'll excuse the metaphor, Cantor's story was shot full of holes.

H/t: VNDNBRG

Biden: US to appeal dismissal of Blackwater charges

By GottaLaff

Paddy's computer is being eaten alive by evil intruders, and I'm still under the weather, so please bear with us.

That said, let's talk Blackwater. They never cease to provide us with mounds of controversy. Allow me to quote myself:

I previously posted about how much an Iraqi life is worth to Blackwater. And prior to that, I posted about charges being dismissed against them in the deadly 2007 shooting.

In fact, every post I write about Blackwater is jam packed with death and destruction, ethics vacuums, and overall creepiness. And yet the U.S. government still has them on their payroll.

Veep Biden made noises about an appeal, and whaddya know! He kept his noisy promise:

Speaking at a joint appearance with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad, Biden said he was "disappointed" with the ruling, and that the Justice Department would file the appeal next week.

The September 2007 shootout in Baghdad's Nusoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and two dozen wounded.

I hope they get somewhere with this. I'd love to write up a post with a happy ending for a change.

US to review court decision on Blackwater killings

By GottaLaff

Earlier I posted about how much an Iraqi life is worth to Blackwater. And prior to that, I posted about charges being dismissed against them in the deadly 2007 shooting.

In fact, every post I write about Blackwater is jam packed with death and destruction, ethics vacuums, and overall creepiness. And yet the U.S. government still has them on their payroll.

Which is why I have my doubts that they this will lead to a satisfactory conclusion:

The US government said Friday it will review the decision by a US court to drop charges against American private security guards accused of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in an unprovoked attack in 2007.

"We respect the independence of the judiciary. The decision of the judge does not exonerate the defendants or necessarily terminate the proceedings," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters.

"The Department of Justice, in consultation with the State Department, will carefully review the judge's decision and assess all available legal options," said Crowley, the assistant secretary of state for public affairs.

Color me jaded.

Judge dismisses all charges against Blackwater guards in deadly Baghdad shooting.

By GottaLaff

This turns my stomach. I can't see how the Blackwater thugs can skate on this. Via an e-mail alert:

WASHINGTON (AP) Judge dismisses all charges against Blackwater guards in deadly Baghdad shooting.

More when I get it. Meantime, Cable Guy is here, and I'll be offline for a few, so this is all I can post on this for now.

UPDATE, via an L.A. Times alert:

A federal judge has dismissed all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in a deadly Baghdad shooting in 2007.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said today the Justice Department overstepped its bounds and wrongly used evidence it was not allowed to see. He said the government's explanations have been contradictory, unbelievable and not credible.

Blackwater contractors were hired to guard State Department diplomats in Iraq. Prosecutors say the guards fired on unarmed civilians in a busy intersection, killing innocent people.

More soon at: http://www.latimes.com/

UPDATE: Here is the document dismissing Blackwater. This should go over well with already-angry-at-America types.

Gun point

By GottaLaff

I read this letter to the editor in today's L.A. Times. I'd never seen the argument expressed quite this way before, and it made a lot of sense:

Guns, gun rights -- and 4 dead

Re “Crazy about guns,” Editorial, Dec. 1, and “Four police officers slain in Seattle-area ambush,” Nov. 30

After previous mass murders, the anti-gun-control advocates often argued that if the victims had guns, the number killed could be limited because gun-toting honest citizens would blaze away and stop the criminal. Now that four police officers -- all well trained, armed and wearing bulletproof vests -- have been killed, have we heard the last of that argument?

Bang.

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.

Newspaper threatened with ‘another Fort Hood’ for criticizing Tea Party protest

By GottaLaff

It only takes one:

Police in Michigan are investigating after an irate reader of the Port Huron Times-Herald reportedly called in a threat to the newspaper after it criticized a local House representative's participation in the anti-health reform Tea Party protest two weeks ago.

"A 60-year-old Port Huron woman threatened to take a gun to the newspaper and 'do what they did at Fort Hood,' according to police," the Times-Herald reported on Tuesday. [...]

The Times-Herald says police have not yet decided whether the woman will be charged.

And the hostility spreads, no thanks to the Becks, Limpdongs, Bachmanns, Congress members, and Palins of the world who do nothing to discourage it, and more often than not incite it.

H/t: sdpdx

Poll: Only Slight Rise in Concern About Islamic Extremism After Fort Hood

Obviously Fox is slacking at it's job. Further findings they note state the older and less educated you are, the more likely for you to be afraid. Go figger.

A new Pew survey taken shortly after the November 5 shootings at Fort Hood shows a modest uptick in concerns about Islamic extremism in the United States and internationally but no dramatic surge in such worries. Slightly more than half of Americans (52 percent) reported being "very concerned about the possible rise of Islamic extremism in the United States," up from 46 percent in April 2007.

Check out this graph comparing fears about Islamic extremism in 2007 versus today:

Interesting to note that Pew found Americans paying very close attention to the Fort Hood shooting, with more following that story closely than any other, according to the group's News Interest Index.

Laffy on the radio: Palin, Ft. Hood,Obama threats, priest beating

By GottaLaff



I was on the Radio Machine with the absolutely wonderful Angie Coiro (on San Francisco's progressive station Green 960) the other night, discussing a few of my posts.

If you missed the Big News, I now have a regular radio spot with her every Friday night at 6:45 Pacific!

As Angie's special correspondent and demented sidekick Buttercup, I bring her one silly story and one serious one every week, or whatever else happens to pop up in the week's news.

A Teen's Reaction to the Fort Hood Memorial Service

By GottaLaff

Image via Fort Hood Sentinel

I've previously posted the observations of a remarkable high school student regarding the Ft. Hood shootings. Her insights were unique and poignant. Please read them here and here.

She just IMed me the link to her own blog post on the same subject, and I strongly recommend going over here to read it. Just to tantalize you, here is an excerpt or three:

The United States has been at war in Afghanistan since the fall of my second grade year, and in Iraq for half of the years I have been in school. [...]

My brother wears the same uniform as the grieving soldiers, and he has served at Fort Hood. I lived with him at Fort Hood during one of his trainings for his career as an army truck mechanic. The buildings in the background of the live shots were familiar to me, and I imagined that afternoon what it would be like to attend a memorial for my own brother. [...]

We have not seen military funerals for any of the 5000 military service members killed in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan since I learned to write my name in cursive. Our morning announcements don’t indicate the number of those forever wounded in body or soul in that time. And we have certainly seen no mention of Afghan or Iraqi civilians killed by our military since my adult teeth started coming in.

Remember, the author just turned 18. The "professional" punditiots could take lessons.

Fellow Soldiers, family and guests take a moment of silence during a memorial service for 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Soldiers: Spcs. Jake Velloza, Jeremiah McCleery, and Shawn Sykes, June 18, at Fort Hood’s 1st Cavalry Division Memorial Chapel. Sgt. Karl Williams, 3rd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

Video- President's Weekly Address: Veterans Day and Fort Hood

Video- Kristol: No trial for Hasan, 'They should just go ahead and convict him and put him to death'

Bill's been around long enough, you think he'd know how these things work.

VIDEO: Nidal Malik Hasan is not being charged with terrorism

By GottaLaff

Per the press conference on MSNBC just now, you might be interested to know that Nidal Hasan, the man who is being charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder at Fr. Hood, is not being charged with terrorism. There may be further charges in the future.

To quote my pal Twitter CindyScott54, "I'm sure that will cause some whigs to flip."

Yes, there was some major ball-dropping, plenty of warning signals, rampant conclusion-jumping, and a whole lot of inappropriate profiling.

And it was without a doubt an inexcusable crime, a devastating tragedy... but officially, it was not terrorism.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

"Why didn’t my school show ... memorials for... the 100+ Ft. Hood soldiers that ... committed suicide this year?"

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I posted something I hope you already read, or will read. It was about a Texas school district that thought President Obama's education speech should be off limits, but didn't blink when kids watched him talk about mass murder. I described the point of view of one of the students.

That teen and her brother recently called Fort Hood home, and now the 25-year-old brother is in the Army, stationed in Afghanistan.

I have now been given permission to link you to the 18-year-old's blog site. She goes by the name freckles cassie and, she shows up here too.

Here's a comment she left on one of the blog posts that was well worth quoting:

Why didn’t my school show us the memorials for all if the 100+ Fort Hood soldiers that have committed suicide this year? Or all of the homeless vets who die from lack of VA health care? Or even all of the memorials for all of the soldiers & marines killed in Iraq & Afghanistan?

From the Department of Sad Irony: Freckles Cassie, a teenager who writes blog entries and comments, is already heads and shoulders better at analysis and is more astute than anyone on ClusterFox and most punditiots in general.

Go get 'em, Freckles Cassie.

Video- Carlson on Ft. Hood shooting: "A lot of people would say political correctness got us into this mess"

Dueling Obama Ft. Hood speeches: "Best ever" v. "Unemotional"

By GottaLaff

Why not just have a weekly show featuring two critics arguing, ending with thumbs up or down and call it "At the Speeches"?

Exhibit A:

Was it George W. Bush’s megaphone-amplified rallying cry on the ruins of the World Trade Center? Bill Clinton’s shared grief and call for restraint after the Oklahoma City bombing? Ronald Reagan’s wrenching tribute to the Challenger crew?

President Barack Obama’s salute to the 13 dead from a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, was largely unemotional.

Exhibit B:

President Obama's speech at Fort Hood may go down as one of his best ever.

The president was able to balance his duties as Commander in Chief while consoling a nation in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy. That he was able to do this while taking away the focus on the shooter's religion was even more impressive.

It was one of those speeches that makes you especially proud to be an American.

Marc Ambinder: "I guarantee: they'll be teaching this one in rhetoric classes. It was that good. My gloss won't do it justice. Yes, I'm having a Chris Matthews-chill-running-up-my-leg moment, but sometimes, the man, the moment and the words come together and meet the challenge. Obama had to lead a nation's grieving; he had to try and address the thorny issues of Islam and terrorism; to be firm; to express the spirit of America, using familiar, comforting tropes in a way that didn't sound trite."

Chuck Todd: "That's going to be a speech that's remembered and quoted from for quite some time; struck a balance of commander and consoler; not easy."

All in all, I'd give it 3 thumbs up. The video is already out.

School: Obama education speech? No. Empty boots & Taps? No problem.

By GottaLaff

I have a friend who has a high school aged niece living in Williamson County, Texas. The niece's 25-year-old brother is in the Army, stationed in Afghanistan.

I just heard from my friend, just a few minutes ago. It turns out that the niece was very distraught today... so distraught, in fact, that she had a panic attack and had to leave school. You see, the brother and sister lived in Fort Hood from 2004-2006.

The sister wanted to know why she needed her parents' permission to stay in school for President Obama's education speech, but not for the empty boots and Taps that aired without restriction during today's speech honoring those slain by the Ft. Hood shooter.

Good question.

She is still pulling herself together as I write this, which, per my friend, requires a wash cloth and substantial make-up touch-ups.

Yes, in all its education-oriented wisdom, the school district banned the president's speech about why it's important to stay in school, work hard, and aim high. Kids at high schools throughout the district needed the okay from Mom and Dad for that...except those in U.S. government classes. I guess those kids were immune to indoctrination.

However, witnessing the agony of families mourning for their children, fathers, sisters who died at the hands of a fellow soldier? That works for Williamson County.

And speaking of military deaths, putting a young girl through the daily pain and anxiety of wondering whether her own brother is alive or dead, or could come face to face with another Nidal Hasan? She can handle that, she's old enough. That won't leave an imprint at all.

But hearing these words will scar her forever:

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

That was a no-no, but this is perfectly acceptable:

I join her in her fears for her brother's life... and in her tears over the priorities of what's left of our so-called family values.

VIDEO: President Obama's speech at Ft. Hood

By GottaLaff

Tears:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

What a speech. Wow.