Northam Wisely to Ban Guns from Virginia Capitol Grounds

In my view, gun fanatics who parade around with the open display of guns do so for two principal reasons: (i) to compensate for deep feelings of sexual inadequacy, and (ii) to intimidate others, especially those who oppose the open display of weaponry in public places. Recognizing this latter motivation, Gov. Ralph Northam is about to ban guns from the Virginia Capitol grounds as the legislative session proceeds and in advance of an expected gathering of gun fanatics who oppose common sense gun control measures that a significant majority of Virginians want enacted.  There is zero legitimate reason that legislators and others should feel threatened and intimidated by gun gun fanatics around the Capitol - or any public place. A piece in the Washington Post looks at Northam's common sense move and the likely shrieks and whines of the gun nuts and white supremacists (in my mind, the two are typically one and the same).  Here are story excerpts: 

Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday will announce at least a temporary ban on firearms on the grounds of the state Capitol, two people briefed on his plans said late Tuesday.

The move comes just days after newly empowered Democrats banned guns from the Capitol building and an adjacent legislative office building. And it comes just ahead of a gun rights rally planned for Monday, which organizers say will draw tens of thousands to Capitol Square.

The rally has drawn interest from militias and extremist groups across the country, raising security concerns in Richmond.

Security has been unusually tight during the General Assembly session that kicked off last week, as Democrats — who won control of the House of Delegates and state Senate in elections in November — consider far-reaching gun-control legislation. . . . . Crews have been erecting steel crowd-control barricades around the manicured Capitol grounds in recent days.

The teenagers who normally work in the House and Senate as pages were given the day off Monday, the first business day after a joint House-Senate committee on Friday banned weapons from the Capitol and legislative office building. The ban is not subject to review by the full legislature.

Hundreds of gun rights activists flocked to the Capitol that day to protest the ban and to testify against the first gun-control bills to make it to a Senate committee that morning.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced four bills to the full Senate. The measures would require background checks on all firearms purchases, allow law enforcement to temporarily remove guns from individuals deemed a risk to themselves or others, let localities ban weapons from certain events and government buildings, and cap handgun purchases at one per month.

There were no incidents Monday, but law enforcement officials remain concerned about the rally planned for next week. That event is being organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, one of many grass-roots groups that turn out every Jan. 20 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — for what is a traditional day of citizen lobbying at the state Capitol.

Democrats won their majorities in the November elections, ending a 26-year stretch when Republicans were able to quash any proposed restrictions on guns.

Gun control took on greater prominence in the fall elections following a deadly mass shooting in a Virginia Beach in May and after the GOP-controlled legislature swiftly adjourned a special session that Northam had called in the aftermath.

Kudos to Northam.  Hopefully, (i) the ban of guns on the Capitol grounds becomes permanent, and  (ii) the four bills reported out to the Virginia Senate sail through to quick passage.

Trump Will Rule By Threats and Intimidation

As Adolph Hitler rose to power, many conservative politicians and wealthy industrialist thought that they would be able to control Hitler and moderate his extremism.  History, of course, showed that these individuals were hubris filled fools.  A similar hubris has been on display among many Republicans, especially those like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, who throughout the GOP primary and presidential campaign have smugly thought that they could rein in Donald Trump.  Now, with Trump maintaining his own security forces - hired mercenaries, if you will - unlike any previous president or president elect and his clear intent to threaten and intimidate Republicans who oppose him, it is quickly becoming apparent that these members of the GOP are just as stupid as their German counterparts from over eight decades ago.  In some ways, it will be delicious to watch these Republicans be crushed by Trump.  The draw back, of course, is that such defeats will only increase Trump's authoritarian rule.  A column in the Washington Post looks at the nightmare Republicans have brought onto themselves and the nation.  Here are highlights:

Back when Republicans were fretting about Donald Trump’s ideological inconsistencies and lack of devotion to conservative orthodoxy, one might have predicted that if he became president there would be constant tension within the Republican world, as everyone sought to shape administration policy and maximize his or her own influence.

That looks to be true — just not quite in the way we thought it would be. Instead of conservatives outside the administration pressuring Trump to adhere to conservative principles, we may see a situation where the pressure moves in a different direction, enforcing unanimity behind Trump’s agenda, whatever it may turn out to be. Rachael Bade reports today that there’s already a system being constructed to punish anyone on the right who questions Trump:

Since the election, numerous congressional Republicans have refused to publicly weigh in on any Trump proposal at odds with Republican orthodoxy, from his border wall to his massive infrastructure package. The most common reason, stated repeatedly but always privately: They’re afraid of being attacked by Breitbart or other big-name Trump supporters. . . . . An editor at Breitbart, formerly run by senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon, said that fear is well-founded.

Bade tells an interesting story about one Republican congressman who made some mild comments about how there might at some point be areas of disagreement between Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill. He was skewered in Breitbart, then Sean Hannity — who has made himself into Trump’s Renfield — took up the criticism, and in short order the congressman was deluged with threats and abuse.

It’s awfully handy that the administration has Breitbart at its disposal, an influential (at least within the right) media outlet that can not only echo the White House line but also target dissenters for retaliation, supported by an army of online enforcers standing ready to take anyone who strays and make his or her life miserable.

What we’re seeing so far is a conservative movement that, whatever its prior feelings, is now utterly devoted to the greater glory of Trump. And the message is going out that anyone who objects is going to regret it. This is something conservatives have practice at — after all, the tea party movement spent a great deal of its time punishing those who showed any signs of insufficient devotion to the cause and maintaining unanimity through fear.

[N]ow, no matter what they thought before, members of the right are coming together around the idea that their goals demand unswerving loyalty to Trump. As Tim Alberta reports in National Review, conservative lawmakers “are understandably reluctant to preemptively criticize an incoming president who’s popular with their constituents back home — and who could jeopardize their political careers and livelihoods with a single retaliatory tweet.

[P]ublic dissent is going to be met with swift retribution. We know that Trump is hypersensitive to even the mildest criticism and intensely vindictive when it comes to those he feels have crossed him. It looks as though those tendencies are going to be embodied not just in his administration but also in the entire conservative movement.

 

The moral, of course, is that an amoral narcissistic bully should never be elected to any high office, particularly the presidency.  Sadly, what should have been so obvious to anyone rational was beyond the comprehension of angry white Trump voters that put emotion and their desire to reclaim their so-called white privilege ahead of all else, including the best interest of the nation.  We all will pay a high price I fear before this is all over.

Is Cuccinelli's Campaign Seeking to Intimidate and Have Police Watch Bloggers?

 

I am hardly the only Virginia blogger who is seeking to educate readers and others as to the severe danger Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli poses to the Commonwealth of Virginia and the rights and liberties of its citizens, especially those Kookinelli despises: gays, blacks, women and non-Christians for starters.   One such blog is called Cooch Watch 2013 which is reporting on (i) the growing Star Scientific scandal, (ii) Kookinelli's anti-women agenda, and (iii) and all of the other regressive and Christofascist agenda items so loved by Kookinelli.  A post in Blue Virginia suggests that Cuccinelli may not be too happy with such scrutiny and raises the question of whether or not Cuccinelli may be preparing to use the police to harass those who want the public to know all they need to know about Cuccinelli.  Here are excerpts:

Wow, this does not look good at all [see image above]:

An anonymous Cooch Watch supporter got into Ken Cuccinelli's Henrico Field Office and sent us this picture. We did our own research and this is real, folks. Cooch's minions have "Cooch Watch Watch" up and running in cooperation with the police.

In sum, according to the "Cooch Watch" folks, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is alleged to be coordinating with local police in Henrico County to keep an eye on a bunch of bloggers who pose absolutely no threat to anyone. If this is really what's going on here: wow. 

So, let's summarize Cuccinelli's unethical behavior over the past couple years: 

*"U.S. Navy Veterans Association" scam/Bobby Thompson scandal? Check.
*Using the powers of the AG's office to persecute a scientist he didn't agree with (Democratic AG candidate Mark Herring has called that behavior by Cuccinelli "UnAmerican," and he's right!)? Check.
*Using Virginia taxpayers' money to have a state employee ghost write his book? Check.
*Crony investing with a slimeball company that pushes "tobacco candy" to kids? Check.
*According to CoochWatch, having the police keep an eye on a bunch of bloggers who don't want him elected? Check. 

P.S. One person on the "Cooch Watch" Facebook page wrote, "[I] just called the 501-5000 number. [T]he lady who answered the phone professed ignorance about the possibility that a sitting politician is abusing state power by asking one of the coercive agencies of the state (the PD) to spy or harass a women's health advocacy group. She also verified the 328-2570 number as an east end PD office number."

I will let readers draw their own conclusions.  Personally, in my opinion, such conduct would be very much in keeping with Cuccinelli's fascist inclinations.  His definition of "freedom" and "liberty" translates to extremists and Christofascist like himself imposing their beliefs on all citizens.  The man is in my opinion mentally ill and is a would be Hitler at the state level - although his ambitions extend far beyond Virginia.  He needs to be roundly defeated in November.