The bottom line hasn't changed one iota: there is the choice in November between democracy and autocracy. Let's keep the eyes on the ball and hope, that the goalposts haven't been moved.
J.D. Vance has already blamed it on Democratic rhetoric. Yet, the harshest comments I am aware of are "Trump is unfit to be President" which is hardly inflammatory - not to mention TRUE! I also do not recall seeing any memes of Trump within a bullseye or with a noose around his neck - something the MAGA Republicans have done numerous times with Democratic politicians and judges.
Several GOP candidates running for high office in NC have come out in favor of killing people as a "solution".
It's all projection. Republicans and T in particular are experts at accusing their opponents of exactly the same behavior as their own. For some, I'm sure it's intentional; for others, I suspect that they realize that their own behavior is unacceptable but they justify it by assuming everybody is like them.
Trump orchestrated the whole thing last night. You shouldn’t believe a thing of this. Trump is more than capable of doing this, especially with the help of Putin, Bannon and Stephen Miller and I’m sure Orban delivered a message from Putin to Trump when he visited Maralago.
What does that have to do with “going there”? Trump is perfectly capable of “going there” regardless of the danger to anyone else.
He’s also counts on the Dems not able to really respond negatively even though he would and congressmen and senators will and are blaming Biden, putting the target right on Biden. Is Trump telling them to stop? Of course not.
I understand how Dem Politicians must respond, but that doesn’t mean we all shouldn’t to make the FBI investigate the possibility when it’s so likely.
We in NC, a purple-hopefully-turning-blue state, must continue to educate our children that our culture is their’s to live and mold. We adults have not done a good job, and electing people to our legislature and court system who care about justic and peace is the only answer. Please vote in November and beyond,
His initial reaction was very good, realizing he'd been hit and dropping to the ground. It didn't take long for his feral instincts to take over though, as he fought with his protective detail to stand, raise his fist in defiance, and apparently yelled "Fight, Fight, Fight!" to incite the crowd. How sick!
Of course, the picture I just described is a Rohrschach test.
Yes, Trump showed us what his psyche is based on in that moment. His face showed a frightening feral rage, which doubtless covered a deep seated fear.
I saw the same look on his face back in October, 2020. On his return from his bout with Covid, he ripped off his face mask as he entered the White House with that same look of an absolutely feral rage. I guess that time it was because he was angry at being forced to wear the face mask. It was frightening then, and even more so now.
You really believe Trump would have stood to punch his fist and expose his body if he really thought it was an assassination attempt? As to his bloody ear. I saw him touch his ear and to me that was to start the flow of fake blood like actors do. Sorry, Trump isn’t courageous enough to defy a real assassination attempt. He’s bringing on sympathy for more donations and riling up his base to kill Biden in retribution. Remember his desire for riling up the crowd to kill Pence. And do you believe he cares one iota that someone died in the process?
Yes, I do. Because the Secret Service said it was safe to move him. If there was anything fake about this, it would have been exposed pretty quickly, and President Biden wouldn't have said what he said.
Your thinking is soooo wrong. No way the FBI would expose Trump that quickly. They hadn’t even had time to run an investigation yet. And may not expose Trump at all or even investigate what I believe.
No way Trump exposes his head and body if he thought there was danger. Just no way. And the Secret Service wouldn’t know at that exact time the danger was gone. It was Trump who defied the Secret Service to try to appear so strong and punch out, exposing himself the way he did.
Trumps followers in that crowd and at every rally he does are all he's got. If they disappeared, if he didn't have that adoring influence he could not function. He would be nothing.
And that's what you call "turning down the rhetoric?" They are already making t-shirts with the "historic" photo. There will be thousands of them at the convention this week....
Sorry Bob, it was just a general reply from what I've been reading this morning. Especially when you said "His initial reaction was very good, realizing he'd been hit and dropping to the ground. It didn't take long for his feral instincts to take over though, as he fought with his protective detail to stand, raise his fist in defiance, and apparently yelled "Fight, Fight, Fight!" to incite the crowd. How sick! Those had been my thought too. It should have said "violent" rhetoric...
Stefan, I fully agree. Just as the only question at the debate was is Biden too old, that is the only question now.
Biden must use every opportunity to show vigor and fire. Even (and especially) the assassination attempt.
THIS will dominate the news for a month. Biden should head to PA. Biden should speak out with ferocity about gun violence. Biden must seek every opportunity to dispel the ONLY concern voters have about him.
YES!!!! Speak out about gun violence!!!! Maybe now that their dear leader has been injured, they will take note. John Fetterman has working on that for years in PA!!
Will the apparent attempt on Trump’s life, with an assault rifle, cause him or his supporters to re-consider their position on allowing people to have such weapons? Somehow, I doubt it. Further thought: This incident presents Democrats with a valuable opportunity to make gun control a central issue in the campaign. Large majorities of Americans believe that we need more gun control; the fecklessness and hypocrisy of Trump and his ilk in response to the shooting should be used against them. (And, cynically, doing that will reduce the sympathy generated by the incident.)
I wish we could stop all reference to “guns” in conjunction with strict guidelines and only call them “assault weapons” which is what they are. There is a different feeling to the words assault and weapons than guns.
I find myself wondering if our rural, local right-leaning weekly paper will publish the letter to the editor I helped a friend write about second amendment rights under authoritarian governments last week.
"If you love your guns, be careful who you vote for in November. While “liberals” often get a bad rap on gun control issues, authoritarian governments tend to have very strict gun laws on the left and the right ends the political spectrum.
In Viktor Orban’s Hungary, the ownership and use of firearms are legal but highly regulated, and civilians are not allowed to own assault style weapons. Citizens must go through a stringent process to obtain a gun license:
Applicants must be adults with no criminal record. Hungarians need to pass theoretical and practical exams, as well as physical and mental evaluations. They need to pass background checks and training classes as well. Licenses are issued by the police.
Authoritarian leaders also have a much easier time enacting these laws due to the nature of their power. Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law raising the minimum age to own firearms from 18 to 21 on June 28th 2021, just 5 weeks after a May 21st school shooting in Kazan.
Remember that it was President Trump’s administration that banned bump stocks in November 2018, just over a year after a man used the devices in a Las Vegas mass shooting in October 2017, bypassing the legislative process.
Project 2025, and its short version on Trump’s election website, Agenda 47, detail the Conservative plan of sweeping reforms that will remove the built-in checks and balances in our government, and grant the President unprecedented powers. The recent Supreme Court ruling that the president cannot be indicted or charged for crimes committed in the course of “official acts” is the first step in this.
An authoritarian government may end up being much more than we expect, with presidential powers unlike what we have ever seen in this country since we overthrew King George. Be careful what you wish for this fall. "
Approaches like Jon has mentioned are not meant to change Republican's minds (except maybe 1-2% of them). As nearly always, it's about changing the minds and votes of the about 15% who haven't decided who they'll vote for and why. How many of THAT group are disturbed by our extreme levels of gun violence and would appreciate Democrats weaving Trump's wounding into the evidence that several big gun safety measures are needed? My guess is that's a substantial percentage.
Chip away at the margins. That's how elections are won, IMO.
Trump's followers reconsidering their positions on guns, the Constitution, women's rights, the environment, or anything, really, would require logic, something they seem to totally lack.
Robert, Respectfully, I don’t believe it entirely possible to have a productive conversation about Saturday evening’s attempted assassination without tackling Heritage Foundation President and Project 2025 Coordinator Kevin Roberts’ statement that it would be “bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
As a point of fact, I also would note that the shooter was a registered Republican.
Barbara, where did you read that the person was a registered Republican? I am reading that Republicans, Elon Musk, British MP Nigel Farge of the right wing party Reform UK, are seemingly blaming the media and Biden's "attacking rhetoric." It is quite a turn around from guns don't kill people, people kill people. Saying that Biden's attacking rhetoric is what caused this person to go after Trump. However, if this person is Republican he is not coming from Biden's Democratic base. In reading Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat's book Strongmen about fascist leaders of which Trump is one, she talks about them playing up their victim-ness. In this case Trump would be correct, but a bigger victim is his aide who is dead. I think that they have to continue "condemning" Project 2025. I also think the whole thing is terrifying. I really do not want to see Trump's base turn around and try to revenge kill.
"The gunman did not have a criminal history reflected in Pennsylvania’s public court records, and officials said they had not identified a motive. A voter-registration record showed that Mr. Crooks was registered as a Republican, though federal campaign-finance records show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, through the Democratic donation platform ActBlue in January 2021."
Well never know all the details I'm sure, but the fact that right wing people including those in Congress are saying on social media that Biden ordered the "hit" or that it was the rhetoric of Democrats recently. You can't make this up, the guy who promised to be a dictator and that he was on a revenge tour to punish political enemies, and the group that said they want to commit violence against "the left" and "take their country back" is now playing the victim card. They even got a Trump photo op out of it. You couldn't script it better, especially with the recent SC ruling and people talking about fighting back against Project 2025.
Thank you for all that you do Mr. Hubbell, you've saved my sanity and given me hope and helped me become a better person and more informed human many times. If I can give the comment sections some additional info I'll always lend a hand.
PhillyT, While I appreciate the link, more so I appreciate your thoughtful analysis of the potentially insurmountable messaging the Republican Party is mounting. In my view, this moment can be met only with a most calculated and aggressive counterpunch mounted by a most charismatic Party leader. Surrogates, no matter how compelling, won’t suffice.
I 100% agree with you Barbara, I feel like we lost the information war to the right wing and bad faith actors on Twitter, and Facebook years ago. The fact that Elon Musk is egging on this nonsense is despicable. We've got to keep staying the course.
Biden is so classy, the fact that he reached out to Trump twice and even spoke to him to confirm he was okay speaks volumes about his character. This was even after Trump and right wing politicians blamed Biden for the attack. If Trump were a better President and person he'd immediately snuff out all talk of a government hit and Biden being behind it, to bring a sense of civility back to this discourse but we know that won't happen. The fact we even have to deal with this is crazy. It's also ironic that someone who has encouraged fighting and violence a few times is now himself a victim of it, is able to play the victim is peak irony. I'm so tired of this timeline.
I agree with you, Biden has been trying but when you have an entire media apparatus and self serving politicians seeking to twist this into a few points during a very close election it's going to be tough.
PhillyT, I expect, while the statement I’m about to make won’t play well on this particular site, I would be remiss were I not emphatically to assert that my concerns don’t rest with Biden’s ability to govern but with his ability to campaign, notably in this particular climate.
Barbara, I read that too. In retrospect, trusting CNN may be a miscalculation on my part, but we shall see as this will now breathlessly play out as CNN ignores Biden’s press conferences and speeches over the next two weeks
Dave, I would note, since last night, the steady drumbeat that “the media and the Democrats have blood on their hands,” has dominated social media. This moment must be met with our Party’s leader, without a script, from the heart, taking full advantage of the bully pulpit and aggressively not allowing said deceptions to go unanswered.
The Gaslight Theater has script writers available 24/7. As more information on the shooter becomes available, I’ll point to Biden’s initial comments condemning the violence, offering that he has opinions but will refrain from commenting until more facts are in. Rational thinking being demonstrated
I agree with you, the administration should address the issue of violence and retribution in the fullest, not letting Team Trump MSM define the narrative, but rather, Biden challenge the media on its normalization of Trumpism, the Bully, the instigator of hate
Dave, While I hold your constraint and rational thinking in high regard, I view our top priority, more so than battling with the media, as taking the fight to the Republican Party that has shown, again and again, it will do whatever it takes to hold power.
Biden talked about the scourge of gun violence in this country at the press conference I believe. I am sure he will amplify that issue and his recently established office of gun violence prevention. And the majority of the country is with him and us on that. B
The Washington Post article also noted that the only information they can confirm at this time is that the shooter was registered as Republican in his PA county.
“Revenge kill” strikes me as chillingly accurate. I watched the footage in which he got up and raised his fist and I heard him say “Fight! Fight! Fight!” With his face twisted in hatred and rage. He IS inciting his followers. It’s all he knows. We need to be careful not to let this divide us further. Much as I loathe the harmful behavior of Trump and extremists bent on destruction of everything I/we hold dear, my first response was actually hoping Trump was okay. Go figure, but I choose not to actively wish for harm to anyone, which certainly helps keep me grounded and committed to actively doing what I can to support Biden and other good Democratic candidates who have integrity. This is a good overview that includes details about the shooter as well as a photo: https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/2024-isnt-nearly-done-with-us?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=283462&post_id=146596125&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1hfuu&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
I imagine he was very scared and covered that up with the usual bravado. In reality, the words fight, fight, fight from a person consumed with the need for revenge really means kill, kill, kill. Inciting violence every darned day.
She wrote the book while Trump was president and he is in it. She also discusses Mussolini, Berlusconi, Hitler, Mobutu, Gaddafi, Pinochet and Franco. In it attempted assassinations are mentioned, and sometimes by people within the party of the person who cannot take it any more. They usually know best what is going on. Another book that really gives a helpful perspective on this sort of shooter is Prof. Kathleen Belew's book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. She talks about the organization of the modern right wing militia in the USA, and how they melded into the political mainstream after the Oklahoma City bombing, and their methods for creating a lone wolf, who is not really a lone wolf, just a cog in a machine. Their goals have been race war and White Supremacist Domination of the planet with everyone else who does not agree with them being killed off.
Linda, in an article in the Guardian Sunday morning, it was noted that the gunman was registered as a Republican in Pennsylvania. The article said clearly that further research was being conducted to try and ascertain the man’s political leanings.
The Guardian article I was first faced with was an interview with right wing PM Nigel Farge saying his friend Trump was hurt because of the hateful speech against him. My friend also told me about the donation to a Democratic organization. What my first thought was, because I knew right away that Trump was okay, was why did they kill the shooter if they wanted to know why he did it. The context of this, is that I have been reading Strongmen by Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on fascism. She is discussing different aspects of several fascist leaders, including Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Berlusconi, Franco, Ghaddafi, Mobutu and Trump. I am at the part where she talks about resistance to Strongmen, and it seems like there have been so many people who have tried to kill these strongmen, but usually they catch the person or persons and interrogate them first. They may try and sentence them to death, but they want to find out what they can about why it happened. It is really hard to do post mortem, and now anyone can throw any interpretation on it that they want to. The right seems to be blaming Biden and the Press basically for raising awareness of the ugliness of Project 2025. I think going forward we all should be talking about it, so that we are not silenced by the right using this horrid action as an excuse for why we should not say that Trump is a criminal and a bad man.
Linda, I also wondered why they killed Crooks. However, they can certainly do lots of research through his social media, interviews with family, friends, teachers .... although apparently he was quite bright and did well in school.
My understanding about law enforcement (at least in this country) is that an officer is trained to only draw their weapon with the intent to use deadly force if they believe they must fire their weapon. In this case, though, to prevent further injuries and deaths, snipers were in position to remove any nearby threats, not to mention, at the instant the shooter began firing from the rooftop, he lost any presumption of innocence. I'm sure the law enforcement snipers were also prepared to take out any other nearby shooters.
I have now read in several places that Crooks was indeed a registered republican. For which I cannot be grateful enough. However, a few years earlier he did donate to a progressive org. Sounds like a mixed up puppy (duh).
Mixed up puppy sounds about right to me. Our local papers are saying that in his family his mother is a Democrat; his father is a Libertarian; and he was a Republican. They also said that his father legally bought the weapon that was used.
My husband read that the father gave him the AR only 6 months ago! Another reason to believe that this was not done to be a photo op for tffg's campaign.
The guy is so young. We will not know what his motivation was because he was killed. I have grown up knowing that the cop shows rarely show legal arrests and yet we are supposed to sympathize with the hero or heroine who are cutting corners and breaking the law because winning is more important than how you play the game. Interestingly enough, in Scandi crime dramas, if there is even the suspicion of not following the rules, the boss is all over the character, and it is not portrayed as business as usual, like, no worries, you will be cleared. Usually you see them video recording their interviews and following the rules. I do not know the situation on the field and I am sure people used their training and did what they believed to be best. Just now, there is no way of asking this guy what was going on, and if there are others involved.
I think I already posted: they can look at his social media postings, do interviews .... like they do with school shootings, etc. I believe we will learn a lot more.
Washington Post...."Crooks was registered as a Republican, according to Pennsylvania’s voter status records". I saw his voter registration form on X last night but can't find it again.
There are two men with the same name. The 69 yr old is the one who contributed to the Progressive Turnout Project. I can't insert the photo from X but I copied this much...
Another MAGA talking point down the drain.
Thomas Crooks, who donated 15 bucks to Act Blue, is a 69-year-old Democrat who lives in Pittsburgh and just happens to have the same name as the Republican who shot Trump.
Robert, I appreciate you writing and only would note, aside from an outlier unappreciative of your work, no one I’m aware of would “condone or endorse” the violence unleashed at the Trump rally.
Robert's statement stunned me, and again demonstrated the close alignment of Trump, Trumpism and the Heritage Foundation. He's a mouth piece and strategist for Trump.
Laura, I would add that the steady drumbeat blaming Trump’s opponents for Trump’s indictments, for the gag orders, and now for trying to kill him must be met with our Party’s leader, without a script, from the heart, aggressively not allowing said deceptions and distortions to go unanswered.
Are you saying you believe the rhetoric of the night before had a lot to do with the attempt. I did not hear Biden call for violence against Trump, nor do I think this will turn out to be on a whim.
Chris LaCivita, one of Trump’s senior campaign advisers, said this on X last night:
“for years, and even today,leftist activists, democrat donors and now even @JoeBiden have made disgusting remarksand descriptions of shooting Donald Trump it’s high time they be held accountable for it the best way is through the ballot box”
Ilene, While I interpreted Laura’s statement to mean something different, until the meaning of the indefinite pronoun “this” is clarified, we won’t know.
Thanks for the update. I got in at about seven this morning so the West Coast and was a behind others who set the record straight. At the outset of the coverage on TV there was just so much breathlessness conjecture I couldn’t continue to listen to the inanity of it all.
Like most things in life, it's more complicated than that. He's also been identified as having given $15 to a "Democratic-aligned" group which is involved in turning out the youth vote.
Lucinda, The point is that the shooter’s profile, albeit incomplete, doesn’t fit the messaging about media and Democrats having blood on their hands currently inundating social media.
We can only hope and pray that this incident will open the eyes of those on the right to the necessity of common sense gun laws. If the murder of innocent school children won't do it, maybe this will. Praying for the recovery of everyone affected by senseless violence.
Can we not invoke "praying for" in these comments? It is just too much like the NRA gun-nut politicians who always say (a) our thoughts and prayers are with all the families who have had children slaughtered in X, and (b) but this isn't the right time to discuss gun laws.
I'm sorry you're offended by my words, but I will not have my Christian faith (I'm a life long Episcopalian) silenced because others have bastardized what it means to be a follower of Christ. I wholly support your right NOT to pray, as I support anyone of any faith. ~~Edited to correct my ommision of the word "NOT".
"I wholly support your right to pray, as I support anyone of any faith."
That is my point - as an atheist and a realist, I don't care for your "thoughts and prayers" when people get slaughtered by destructive bullets ... these pseudo-Christian word are used as cover for most of the darkness and malevolence in the world, and I call Total BS on all of it.
Just a gentle reminder that Robert asked for civil respectful discourse, and you are each entitled to express your opinions, kindly and respectfully.
If you don't like someone's "thoughts and prayers" then just keep scrolling, and don't click the "like" button.
I'm not religious but I understand that for many, religion brings them comfort. But for the Christo-fascists, I vehemently oppose their attempts to impose their values on the rest of us.
"Just a gentle reminder that Robert asked for civil respectful discourse, and you are each entitled to express your opinions, kindly and respectfully."
It sounds like you wish to shut down robust debate altogether. If as an atheist I'm not allowed to be deeply sceptical of the "thoughts and prayers" meme that is used and abused in every shooting event, then how is there ever going to be progress on this subject?
I believe "thoughts and prayers" is a deliberate and cynical cover for evil acts perpetrated by conservative people over decades, and I don't wish to be silenced for that belief.
You seem to misunderstand what I wrote in response to your first comment to Denise. She was courteous in her reply to your telling her "Can we not invoke "praying for" in these comments?" but you persisted, which is why I suggested you just move on.
But instead you accuse me of wishing "to shut down robust debate ..." simply because I suggested a little respect even if you disagree with her right to pray if she wishes. smh...
... and I fail to see how your comment telling her not to use the words "praying for" is even relevant or a "robust debate" on the topic of gun violence.
fwiw I too find the phrase "thoughts and prayers" to be so overused that its intent has been greatly diluted, but I'm not going to shush another human who faithfully believes in prayer, and I don't care about nor would I silence *your* opinion about "thoughts and prayers."
At this time I decline to engage further since it feels like I can't help you understand my POV, which really isn't much different from yours. My initial comment was merely to ask that you respect Denise's right to express her opinion, even if you are mortally offended by her reference to praying.
Seriously, best wishes, good luck, enjoy an interesting life.
When used by legislators avoiding the truth. But many of us use that phrase lovingly and meaningfully. Seems like an unnecessary argument but I believe that is because we are all on edge. People are scared.
The conversation between Denise Bell and IanWilliams is an example of how volatile are the feelings around this subject, especially when we call for action rather than express feelings. Denise's "We can only hope and pray," is a call to action to us all. IanWillams "Can we not invoke praying for" is a call for action to us all, to withhold words. Both have the potential to offend, although I suspect entirely unintentionally. Both were followed by passionate feelings which deserve to be heard when expressed. So may I respectfully add a suggestion that, as much as possible, we express our own feelings on this subject, and leave "calls to action" for things such as "work as hard as we can, read this article, write more postcards," etc. Blessings,
The initial moment, disbelief, followed by rationalization and judgment. And then I turned inward and began to capture all the feelings moving through me. My compassion was there in the shadows.
Shootings always stir and move me deeply - whether its a intentional mass shooting or the one life taken by a driveby shooting. But this one did not. What is going on? This is not how I want to BE in this moment! How did I get here? How did we all get here? Is this an invitation to wake up, see the shift in my heart...our hearts and now do something about it?
Ive always been a compassionate person but recent years it seems I have become more selective in doling it out. This is not who I am! Despite my reluctance I believe what is required of me in this moment is to return to the practice of compassion towards all people, particularly those I dont align with. But will "they" do the same for me? My experience suggests "they" will not. But maybe Im wrong this time. Maybe Ill be surprised. But does it really matter?
I see now in my initial reaction how Ive allowed political fear, hate, disinformation from the far right chisel away my true nature. No more. I am better than this. We are better than this. Our humanity requires we be better than this. So I start with me. I will soften my edges, breath and lead with my heart rather than my rational, score keeping head. I will BE compassionate towards all beings in this moment and the next, and the next. I can live better with myself. And who knows maybe it will catch on.
Wishing us all peace at this time, a cooling down, a stillness so that each person can be settled. We can be settled. I hope that folks on both sides can relax, soften and take a step towards healing and closing the divide via simple acts of compassion for one another. Amen.
Laura, I share your call for a “cooling down” period and the need for stillness and introspection for each of us to settle down in the wake of this horrific act of political violence. The moment must challenge all of us to step back, reflect and then act.
It called to mind a song “Let There Be Peace on Earth” originally written by Jill Jackson-Miller in 1955 and initially written for and sung by the International Children’s Choir created in Long Beach, California. It has since been sung throughout the ensuing years by many recording artists and included in songbooks by a variety of Christian denominations and represents what Jackson-Miller called “the life-saving joy of God’s peace and unconditional love” in the wake of dealing with her own suicidal issues from the failure of her marriage. It pointedly begins with the lyrics: “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
Each of us must become peacemakers in our own individual ways and within our own hearts. That peace must begin with each of us and trust that it will have an assured, ripple effect in all we say and do.
However, fostering that peace should also spur us to action and steel our resolve to get out the vote in these November elections for all candidates, including President Biden, who seek gun control and seek to protect our democracy and the Constitution. Compassion must stir us to action!
Fully agree, we must vote and turn out the vote. Im a member of Moms Demand Action a grassroots part of Everytown. President Biden has been Endorsed by Everytown, the highest level of recognition. Very few candidates achieve this. And thank you for the history of that song. I did not know its genesis.
I have a college friend who granddaughter was one of the victims of Parkland. We simply cannot ignore the rhetoric spewing out of Trump’s mouth nor can we ignore the words of any Republican who speaks on social media or on MSM. They incite their base while spreading misinformation and disinformation purposely. It’s up to us to stay together like glue, no matter what. #STICK LIKE GLUE! VOTE BLUE!
Im so sorry for your friend. I have grandchildren and cannot imagine that loss. The gun culture and the hostile rhetoric is reeking havoc on individuals, our communities and our institutions. Im reading some books about people who believe and think differently than I to help me understand their orientation and how we might pivot away.
My own opinion is that our society needs more hopeful and positive alternatives, especially for young men. I thought Biden/Harris revamping the Civilian Conservation Corps to the American Climate Corp was brilliant. It is an important step that I hope will give positive, constructive and hopeful paths for young people as they engage to help address our climate crisis.
And absolutely Yes, #VoteBlue. Ill be doing what I can to GOTV.
I was reading something (sorry, can't remember where) about angry, idle young men causing trouble at other times in history too. Thus was the Boy Scouts born. Apparently that was an attempt to give them something productive to do. So the climate corps is a great follow-on, especially considering how much work there is to do to save the planet.
Laura, you probably know that Buddhists cultivate compassion. If you're not familiar with Pema Chodron I highly recommend that you look her up and listen to or read her work on the topic. It's a wonderful philosophy.
Thank you Paula. You are so kind. Yes Im familiar w Pema Chodron. She was my first step into Buddhist practices which I undertake now, that in combination w/ Christian mystic traditions. Sometimes I think Ive "arrived" haha...and then something challenging arises (like yesterday) only to humble me and remind me that Ive more to let go of, more to love, more to discover, more to do...it is a worthy journey as it calls on true self but humbling and illuminating.
Ah, that's excellent. Well, as we know and as both Pema and my yoga teacher would admit, the struggle is always there. All we can do is give it our attention. But it does help to have some tools.
It is obvious to me that the Trump campaign will, and already has, made this a campaign issue. This is an opportunity for the Biden/Harris campaign to define the narrative of this as a campaign issue, which it is.
The issue is Trump's use of political violence as one tactic to overturn our democracy.
Trump has two very smart and very ruthless campaign managers. There are already patriotic photos circulating of Trump with his fist in the air in front of an American Flag, bleeding. He is a martyr.
Biden believes in democracy and understand the ways in which Trump has exhorted violence and threatened to use political violence to intimidate poll workers, will condone and pardon people who beat up police protecting the capitol and threatened to kill his Vice President, has threatened to jail or execute his political opponents.
Biden believes in the rule of law and the independent prosecution of people who commit crimes, including the crime of attempted assassination of an opposing candidate, or anyone who may have assisted that person in committing the crime. Political violence as a tool to win an election is a tool of dictators.
The choice is between one candidate who uses violence to intimidate voters, election workers, and political opponents, versus a candidate who denounces the use of political violence, or the use of the legal system to jail and punish his political opponents.
Biden/Harris are the only ones who can change the narrative away from Biden and on to Trump, now, not one week from now or in a month, and before some stupid Democratic officeholder makes it about how they don't feel sorry for Trump (which someone just said)
I am on the Biden/Harris campaign bus. But I need Biden to make my work easier. Trump will make this about Democrats and Biden. Do not allow that. Change the narrative back to Trump.
Judy, I agree with you. And yes, as Trump was being taken away the fist in the air spoke volumes to me.
Here are some things that came to my mind. Bobby Kennedy was killed on June 6, 1968. The 1968 Democratic convention was in Chicago. Hubert Humphrey was the Democrats’ candidate in 1968. He lost. Richard M. Nixon won. He was urged to resign in his second term rather than be impeached since he did not have the votes in Congress. He left the White House on August 9, 1974. As I understand it, Chicago is the site of this year’s democratic convention. All rather weird coincidences.
The key point you make, Judy, is we better work to shape the narrative. I, for one, can only imagine Trump at the podium next week at the Republican convention.
An earlier post got it right, let’s not be distracted but continue to focus on Trump’s plans, The Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Project and the ever present misinformation and gaslighting that has been the standard response by way too many.
Our Substack writer Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse title resonates at this moment. We must go slowly, calmly and courageously forward. This shooting adds to our challenge but we cannot let it excuse anything untoward. We must march forward with civil discourse.
(Amended re: Richard M. Nixon - 11:05 am Mountain Time.)
The shooting of Robert Kennedy in 1968 altered that campaign, and likely the election. John Wilkes Booth, after shooting Lincoln, shouting "Thus ever to tyrants" in Latin as he jumped yo the stage from the President's box. Some individuals get so incensed by supposed harm to themselves that they harm others, in this case, Trump as a political figure.
I detest Trump, but nobody has the right to shoot him.
I appreciate reading your calm, rational response to these events. I was full of energy to write what I've come up with and eager to type it out, and then it hit me that I had much to say and, simultaneously, nothing to say. Perhaps this is wisdom forming from 63 years of a very eventful life. What I mean to impart is I will refrain for now as much is speculation. I find this time calls for me to sit with this for a time and when it settles my words might be better shared.
Great observation, Kathy. I started a couple of comments last night but had to stop myself from saying something awful, but I can't help but having those thoughts rattling around in my head.
We have to put every ounce of effort into winning the election in November, up and down the ballot, so we can continue repairing the fabric of our nation torn by senseless violence, revenge, and selfishness. We must return to caring for each other.
Good choice Kathy. I commend you. When contemplating speaking, ask yourself three quick questions. Does it need saying? Does it need saying now? Does it need saying by me? If any one of the three answers is NO don’t say anything. Not always possible, I know. However, this little tool can help you live a better life. The seismic shift is on now. Roger stone has assured us, he is a seditionist with an army of traitors ready to overthrow the election when his candidate looses again. He will, and they will…try, and fail again.
One of the reasons Dianne Feinstein stayed in the Senate until her death at aged 90 was in hopes of reinstating the federal Assault Weapons ban which she had gotten passed in 1994 as a first term Senator, and which sunset I believe 10 years later. A bill was introduced in 2023 by her and two others which among other provisions raised the age of purchase to 21. The shooter here was I have read 20 so would not have been able to purchase the weapon used to injure Trump and kill or injure others.
Here’s another book to read : “Gunfight” by Ryan Busse, a gun manufacturer executive who saw the craziness of the NRA and dropped out. Whenever there was a mass shooting, gun sales went up ( owners were convinced the government would finally come after their weapons so they bought more). My suggestion: don’t get caught up in the noise. Stay calm. Keep your head down, work on voter registration and getting people to vote. Democracy requires work to make it work. There is no substitute.
Yes. Today, and tomorrow, and onward, I am going to ignore anything that says or implies that "Trump just won the election" just because someone shot at him. Speculative garbage is just that. Today I am going to write more postcards and reflect on my thoughts and fears and what I can actually do for myself and the world. I am going to trust Biden and Harris to lead the way on this new campaign issue and continue contrasting us and them.
It's been about 13 hours since the attempt to silence frump and the coverage is already too much. Dozens of school children gunned down each year and an attempt on this liar, this criminal, generates non-stop MSM coverage? Give me a break. Move on because nothing will change, except perhaps more gun sales and random gun violence. And, of course, Felonious Don will tell us endlessly how tough he is.
Robert, this attack was very frightening. The fact that the outer perimeter was not protected by the police or the Secret Service is alarming. Look, Trump has a big mouth and he’s dangerous but I don’t wish or anyone else to be assassinated. We’ve lived through too many of those. I want to say though, that Trump is like a cat with nine lives. He has managed to upend the rules of law, engaged members of Scotus as if they’re his own personal attorneys, and now has survived an assassination attempt. How does he get to be so damn lucky?
My same thoughts Marlene. The more apt question is how did America become an insane asylum? Seriously. Gun violence is only one of many serious abnormal behaviors that indicate a deep psychosis. Drug addiction; racism; hyper capitalism and a society constantly distracted by consumerism. Women and others targeted as objects for oppression.Reality has exceeded our ability to cope. Yet we must cling to hope. We must dig deep into ourselves to find the courage to be and the inner peace that will strengthen our resolve to act for love and social justice recognizing our limitations but also broadening our scope of understanding.
Yeah, his security really, really blew it. The other unreal thing was the sheer number of people around him who didn't duck down, protect themselves, crawl away. They were standing up, taking pictures! Is that normal behavior?
I can understand shock. But taking pictures? Especially as this was immediately afterwards. Do Americans have so little survival sense? Then again, there are people who think bears are cute and cuddly. Or climb over a barricade to take pictures of a lion.
Luck, fortuitous, fate, happenstance, right place/wrong time, chance, etc., all point to the idea that we make some things happen and, therefore, have some measure of control while other things happen to us that are outside our power to control and therefore we have no responsibility for. These are things we think we didn’t make happen.
This is a very popular worldview, or, more deeply, a generally unexamined, unquestioned paradigm that touches on the deep questions of who we are and the nature of power. To question such deep assumptions or generally agreed-upon beliefs is to court criticism.
To just perhaps begin to open up a possibility of discussion, consider this.
For a very long time, many people have considered the idea of dualism. Dualism is the idea that life and the world itself exist or come into being in such a way as to always have opposites. These opposites express an underlying reality, something very fundamental about the nature of the universe.
These opposites express themselves in very everyday ways we give little or no thought to like up/down, left/right, light/dark, yes/no, in/out, male/female, etc.
This notion of opposites is expressed in the terms yin/yang which goes well beyond simple opposites to include the idea that there is a bit of the opposite in each side and that going far enough into one eventually becomes the other.
Now, in yin/yang style, let’s return to the beginning.
Marlene raises the notion of luck. Here’s my challenging, maybe initially shocking, question. What if luck had nothing to do with it? Even way more challenging, what if there isn’t anything called luck?!?
Hey, it’s the weekend. Relax. Don’t worry. Cause every single thing gonna be alright. ;)
Ok, back to our precious and perhaps ferocious hold on the concept of luck.
How can luck, power, and yin/yang be related, and how does this relate to Lucky Don?
I assert that we Westerners have a longstanding one-sided view of power. We only recognize or validate yang power and fail to consider yin power. Here’s what I mean while translating male/female for yang/yin.
Yang or male/masculine power or energy is outward going. It’s the power of moving out from where you are. It’s the release of energy. It’s aggressive energy. It’s pushing. It’s making things happen. It’s being intentional, purposeful, and focused. It’s dividing and exclusionary. It’s scattering outwards. It’s throwing, hitting, climbing. It’s external and externalizing. Sounds masculine/male, like boys and men, yes?
In our dualistic universe, the opposite is also always required and present, even if not noticed, recognized, or acknowledged. So, what is Yin or female power or energy in this model? Well, what are the opposites of the above male/masculine powers or energies?
Yes, I know this may all land as incredibly, ridiculously, so typically stereotyped as to be instantly dismissed. Just stay with me just a bit further.
In engineering, there are only two fundamental forces: compressional forces that push things inwards, making them more dense and compact. The opposite is tensional forces that pull things apart, making them less dense. Inward-moving feminine/compressional energy. Outward-going tensional forces pulling things apart masculine energy.
Think of this: Explosions release energy—energy going outwards, pulling apart forces. Burning gas pushes the car forward, and the explosion of gunpowder pushes a bullet forward. The release of chemical energy in our cells drives all the large movements of our bodies. Masculine, outward-going energy.
Now we come to the point, f i n a l ly (if you’ve been reading with masculine energy and demand to get to the point). Feminine energy manifests as the power of attraction. Compressional forces in engineering terms. And what, dear reader, are these forces that attract in life as we live it moment by moment?
From an engineer’s viewpoint, there are two major ones. The attractive powers of magnetism and gravity. No biggie, right? Just the basis of elections, oops, I meant electricity and all modern technology and the force of gravity that forms and holds the planets, stars, and galaxies together. No big thing that feminine power. Merely that which makes life possible.
How does all this relate to Lucky Don, you ask? Good question.
Our culture, like most, recognizes, validates, acknowledges, appreciates, accepts, is proud of, and generally wants displays of masculine power. And usually more and bigger is better. We are a culture heavily focused on, to the point of being dominated by, male/masculine energy.
We also like young children who go through a phase where things have to be kept separate (the development of our male side energies, which is important to do AND ALSO NEEDS TO BE INTEGRATED with our feminine energies) like foods on a plate or demanding others to “stay out of my room” or “don’t touch me” kind of demands.
So, if the unacknowledged feminine energy side is the power of attraction, how does that show up in real life? How are we using our generally unrecognized, unappreciated feminine power?
Ever pick up the phone and the person you were about to call was on the line because they just called you and you picked up before it rang and you were kinda in shock and disoriented, wondering what just happened? Or think of someone or thing and it suddenly somehow just shows up? Notice how your mind might be dismissing this idea by saying, yea, but that’s just a coincidence and not something I actually did.
There are scads of examples like this and loads of books and articles and this writing is already way long and femininely meandering.
So, good reader, hopefully (femininely) this may give you a moment pause (also an expression of feminine power) to reconsider giving away your feminine power and control to fate, luck, or chance and begin to reclaim or simply own the other half we all share with our recognition of masculine AND feminine expressions of power.
Lucky Don, hmmm, maybe, maybe not. Is there really anything called luck?
So Bern, you’ve really made the case that men are possess a different brain than women and that’s for damn sure! If men would step aside and let women run things, we would not have wars, children would not be dying of gun violence, women’s rights would be restored, people of a different color than white, would be free of any labels, and peace would exist.
Thank you for reading that long post. I didn't get across what I meant and that is my failure to communicate.
The physiological differences between men and women and what behaviors these differences give rise to is a VERY interesting conversation. I actually have a background in this conversation having practiced a bodywork method called Hellerwork, which is an offshoot of Rolfing.
There is a book by Torkum Saradarayan and it's called "Women, Torch of the Future." This is the close of that very wonderful book that he wrote about the role of women in the world. He closes with this.
"Compassion is more elevated and deeper than love, for compassion is inclusive and has no separative elements in it. Compassion is all unifying. To have compassion is to have a love that is not limited to your physical or emotional sentiments nor by partial intentions or conditions. It is limitless. It is love for the sake of the life of every atom, of every cell, of every life form. It is all-inclusive love, not only of humanity, but of everything that exists.
Compassion is the love that really harmonizes. If you consider love at the present stage of human understanding, it is only partial in our minds. You say I love my country, but actually you are telling me that there are other countries that you do not love. This is not compassion. Compassion is love for all.
In India, many spiritual groups worship the mother, the world mother. The world mother is the principle of compassion. The heart of the woman can respond to the needs of all life forms if it is kept free from separativeness and crystallizations. The heart of the woman even senses the pulse of the life forms of vegetable, animal, human, and superhuman forms.
Because of her compassion, she achieves great heights of understanding life. Through compassion, she initiates herself into the greatest states of awareness.
Conscious woman.
This is what is needed in our social, economic, and political worlds. The new age woman will teach, through all the avenues of human endeavor, one great subject, the value of life. She is going to find out how to change this distorted world into a family of nations in which human life is not wasted. She will make sure that right conditions prevail to ensure that the coming generations will be able to create a new culture, a new civilization, based on the principles of purity, beauty, and love. Women of the world hold our destiny in their hands. Let their strength increase year after year.
As I end this writing, I am remembering a beloved friend of mine. It was during the Great War, and he was dying of burns all over his body. Is it possible, he whispered to me, to see my mother? Your mother has been told, and we are waiting for her. I want to live until my mother comes, the boy said.
The boy's mother came after traveling for two days. Her son was still alive, but in great pain and suffering. His mother was a very beautiful woman. In dignity and solemnity, she entered the room and went over to her son. She put his head on her heart and said, "I am here." "I know," he said, and he passed away.
Through my tears, I was watching her. It seemed that she was hugging all the children of the world. In my suffering for both of them, I went over to her and put my hand on her shoulder and said, "Do not let us die anymore." She looked at me with big, tearful eyes and said, "We must not fail in the future."
This was a promise for me, and I wanted in my own way to remind her of her great promise for coming generations.”
So yes, we need to restore the role of women in our world community.
The energetic differences between masculine and feminine energy and the point of feminine energy showing up as the power of attraction are more what I was going for than the physical differences giving rise to different behaviors and the misunderstandings that arise from that.
More about Torkum Saradarayan’s book “Women Torch of the Future”
Trump experienced the violence he has continually advocated for others. Karma is a bitch. Sadly, it probably won't change the Trump Maga Party or it's supporters.
"Trump experienced the violence he has continually advocated for others. Karma..." my initial thoughts, too. I don't want him assassinated - only beaten at the ballot box, tried and convicted, and jailed. Silenced.
Thank you for opening the comments section of your newsletter.
I was sorry to know of this incident.
In my opinion, violence starts with words. Words matter. On both sides of the red and blue divide, there has been a lot of language among people expressing a wish for the physical demise of one candidate or the other. It's also become common to say things like, "Can't we just take him out?" -- an allusion to assassination.
In my own interactions with my Republican opponent, the Communications Director for my Republican opponent is fond of saying things like, "Elise will crush you", or "We will destroy you", or "Stefanik will clean your clock" (an expression meaning a punch to the face). This is not OK. I have called them out on it in the press. Sadly, once this language comes from the candidate's inner circle, it is echoed by the supporters.
The Bronx Supreme Court, in 2005, held that ‘‘electoral contests are not a street brawl, where anything goes. Rather, the principle is reaffirmed that any candidate, whether incumbent or challenger, whether backed by the Party apparatus or insurgent, must proceed fairly and abide by the rules.’’ Mosley and Figueroa v. Rosario, 3 Misc.3d 1123(A) (Sup. Ct. Bronx Co. 2005).
Thank you so much, Jan Kretz. Please let me know if you have any thoughts on how I can let others know about my bid for Congress. www.paulacollinsforcongress.com
I agree with most of the comments about guns in the United States. Paul Auster wrote a wonderful book concerning guns in Bloodbath Nation. I encourage everyone to read this well written book. I am saddened to see this happen at this time in our political struggle and just hope it focuses on the need to have some real rules about having and acquiring guns. It also highlights the lack of security or the tough job of doing a complete security check and how a rifle was able to be in an area this close to anyone giving a public speech and especially one protected by so many security people shows how dangerous guns can be. We hope for the full recovery of Trump and would hope it wakes him up to the problems his angry and hateful rhetoric insights violence from all sides of political life.
I expect that the attempt on trump’s life with an assault rifle will cause just as much enlightenment on the subject of gun control as his infection with SARS-CoV2 did about the Covid pandemic.
Yet we have to keep trying, do we not. It was not that long ago that we had a ban on assault weapons. If we want to change the political will change the politicians to people who have the mind to think, the humanity to feel, and the courage to act.
Sadly I agree especially from a person that talked about drinking chlorine to combat COVID. I suspect this will lead to more need for guns as protection.
Whatever direction this election was going to take us is now lost to the insanity that will soon follow. The crazies will be crawling out of their holes as this is exactly what motivates them. Facts will have little value or influence in the short term, only wild eyes speculation and accusations, it’s already started in some quarters. Thankfully President Biden is working very hard to keep the country informed and calm but unless we can restore compassion and civility to our society this situation will quickly spiral out of control. Please everyone, no matter your beliefs about this senseless act, stay calm, don’t overreact and say think you shouldn’t. Relax, stay safe and let the “FACTS” speak for themselves.
The bottom line hasn't changed one iota: there is the choice in November between democracy and autocracy. Let's keep the eyes on the ball and hope, that the goalposts haven't been moved.
Totally agree, since TFG will milk this for all it's worth & blame Dems & possibly even President Biden, because that's who he is.
J.D. Vance has already blamed it on Democratic rhetoric. Yet, the harshest comments I am aware of are "Trump is unfit to be President" which is hardly inflammatory - not to mention TRUE! I also do not recall seeing any memes of Trump within a bullseye or with a noose around his neck - something the MAGA Republicans have done numerous times with Democratic politicians and judges.
Several GOP candidates running for high office in NC have come out in favor of killing people as a "solution".
Mark Robinson told an audience (in a church no less) that "some people need killing". (https://newrepublic.com/article/183443/mark-robinson-north-carolina-gov-candidate-hateful-rant-killing)
Michele Morrow, candidate for NC Supt. of Public Education, has posted on social media calling for the public execution of Barack Obama. (https://politicsnc.substack.com/p/and-you-thought-mark-robinson-was?utm_source=publication-search)
But, as I have said more than once, if it weren't for DOUBLE STANDARDS today's Republicans would have NO standards whatsoever!
It's all projection. Republicans and T in particular are experts at accusing their opponents of exactly the same behavior as their own. For some, I'm sure it's intentional; for others, I suspect that they realize that their own behavior is unacceptable but they justify it by assuming everybody is like them.
Trump orchestrated the whole thing last night. You shouldn’t believe a thing of this. Trump is more than capable of doing this, especially with the help of Putin, Bannon and Stephen Miller and I’m sure Orban delivered a message from Putin to Trump when he visited Maralago.
I'm not going there. Somebody died.
What does that have to do with “going there”? Trump is perfectly capable of “going there” regardless of the danger to anyone else.
He’s also counts on the Dems not able to really respond negatively even though he would and congressmen and senators will and are blaming Biden, putting the target right on Biden. Is Trump telling them to stop? Of course not.
I understand how Dem Politicians must respond, but that doesn’t mean we all shouldn’t to make the FBI investigate the possibility when it’s so likely.
I had the same thought exactly.... and unfortunately, Putin wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice someone.... same with tfg
I had 3 friends who I called after who also had the same thought.
We in NC, a purple-hopefully-turning-blue state, must continue to educate our children that our culture is their’s to live and mold. We adults have not done a good job, and electing people to our legislature and court system who care about justic and peace is the only answer. Please vote in November and beyond,
I know, it makes me laugh when they say "we need to turn down the violent rhetoric." A good start would be to shut down his truth social platform..
His initial reaction was very good, realizing he'd been hit and dropping to the ground. It didn't take long for his feral instincts to take over though, as he fought with his protective detail to stand, raise his fist in defiance, and apparently yelled "Fight, Fight, Fight!" to incite the crowd. How sick!
Of course, the picture I just described is a Rohrschach test.
Yes, Trump showed us what his psyche is based on in that moment. His face showed a frightening feral rage, which doubtless covered a deep seated fear.
I saw the same look on his face back in October, 2020. On his return from his bout with Covid, he ripped off his face mask as he entered the White House with that same look of an absolutely feral rage. I guess that time it was because he was angry at being forced to wear the face mask. It was frightening then, and even more so now.
He looked vile during his fight fight fight moment
Rabid, I'd say.
Agree 100% with your comment.
You really believe Trump would have stood to punch his fist and expose his body if he really thought it was an assassination attempt? As to his bloody ear. I saw him touch his ear and to me that was to start the flow of fake blood like actors do. Sorry, Trump isn’t courageous enough to defy a real assassination attempt. He’s bringing on sympathy for more donations and riling up his base to kill Biden in retribution. Remember his desire for riling up the crowd to kill Pence. And do you believe he cares one iota that someone died in the process?
Yes, I do. Because the Secret Service said it was safe to move him. If there was anything fake about this, it would have been exposed pretty quickly, and President Biden wouldn't have said what he said.
Your thinking is soooo wrong. No way the FBI would expose Trump that quickly. They hadn’t even had time to run an investigation yet. And may not expose Trump at all or even investigate what I believe.
No way Trump exposes his head and body if he thought there was danger. Just no way. And the Secret Service wouldn’t know at that exact time the danger was gone. It was Trump who defied the Secret Service to try to appear so strong and punch out, exposing himself the way he did.
Who said trump was smart, idiotic is his reaction
Thanks for clarifying your comment.
Trumps followers in that crowd and at every rally he does are all he's got. If they disappeared, if he didn't have that adoring influence he could not function. He would be nothing.
And that's what you call "turning down the rhetoric?" They are already making t-shirts with the "historic" photo. There will be thousands of them at the convention this week....
Sue, I'm not sure what you're replying to here since the chain has grown.
Sorry Bob, it was just a general reply from what I've been reading this morning. Especially when you said "His initial reaction was very good, realizing he'd been hit and dropping to the ground. It didn't take long for his feral instincts to take over though, as he fought with his protective detail to stand, raise his fist in defiance, and apparently yelled "Fight, Fight, Fight!" to incite the crowd. How sick! Those had been my thought too. It should have said "violent" rhetoric...
Thanks, Sue. I figured there was a disconnect.
That’s my fear, that he’d wildly proclaim himself as being targeted by President Biden. That claim would be laughable but pitiful in the wrong way.
Stefan, I fully agree. Just as the only question at the debate was is Biden too old, that is the only question now.
Biden must use every opportunity to show vigor and fire. Even (and especially) the assassination attempt.
THIS will dominate the news for a month. Biden should head to PA. Biden should speak out with ferocity about gun violence. Biden must seek every opportunity to dispel the ONLY concern voters have about him.
YES!!!! Speak out about gun violence!!!! Maybe now that their dear leader has been injured, they will take note. John Fetterman has working on that for years in PA!!
Excellent suggestion. Speak out against gun violence.
Exactly! Two choices: democracy or autocracy.
Well, one good thing has happened. The Ds are FINALLY getting off the get rid of Joe bandwagon.
Yes! This inspires me to work even harder in my efforts to get out the democratic voters!
Will the apparent attempt on Trump’s life, with an assault rifle, cause him or his supporters to re-consider their position on allowing people to have such weapons? Somehow, I doubt it. Further thought: This incident presents Democrats with a valuable opportunity to make gun control a central issue in the campaign. Large majorities of Americans believe that we need more gun control; the fecklessness and hypocrisy of Trump and his ilk in response to the shooting should be used against them. (And, cynically, doing that will reduce the sympathy generated by the incident.)
All that’s needed to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. tRump was surrounded by good guys with guns . . . . how’d that work out?!?!
I wish we could stop all reference to “guns” in conjunction with strict guidelines and only call them “assault weapons” which is what they are. There is a different feeling to the words assault and weapons than guns.
This is spot on, Jane. Totally changes the conversation. Will begin using today.
Just make sure that the weapons being commented upon are in fact AR's. Not all are, obviously, so making that mistake could cause problems.
Fine for him, not so much for some people around him. Like always.
My initial thought exactly. Followed by a lot of thoughting and praying.
I find myself wondering if our rural, local right-leaning weekly paper will publish the letter to the editor I helped a friend write about second amendment rights under authoritarian governments last week.
"If you love your guns, be careful who you vote for in November. While “liberals” often get a bad rap on gun control issues, authoritarian governments tend to have very strict gun laws on the left and the right ends the political spectrum.
In Viktor Orban’s Hungary, the ownership and use of firearms are legal but highly regulated, and civilians are not allowed to own assault style weapons. Citizens must go through a stringent process to obtain a gun license:
Applicants must be adults with no criminal record. Hungarians need to pass theoretical and practical exams, as well as physical and mental evaluations. They need to pass background checks and training classes as well. Licenses are issued by the police.
Authoritarian leaders also have a much easier time enacting these laws due to the nature of their power. Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law raising the minimum age to own firearms from 18 to 21 on June 28th 2021, just 5 weeks after a May 21st school shooting in Kazan.
Remember that it was President Trump’s administration that banned bump stocks in November 2018, just over a year after a man used the devices in a Las Vegas mass shooting in October 2017, bypassing the legislative process.
Project 2025, and its short version on Trump’s election website, Agenda 47, detail the Conservative plan of sweeping reforms that will remove the built-in checks and balances in our government, and grant the President unprecedented powers. The recent Supreme Court ruling that the president cannot be indicted or charged for crimes committed in the course of “official acts” is the first step in this.
An authoritarian government may end up being much more than we expect, with presidential powers unlike what we have ever seen in this country since we overthrew King George. Be careful what you wish for this fall. "
It wont change one Republican mind on gun control issues. When Scalise was shot, he didn't change his mind either! Shameful!!
Approaches like Jon has mentioned are not meant to change Republican's minds (except maybe 1-2% of them). As nearly always, it's about changing the minds and votes of the about 15% who haven't decided who they'll vote for and why. How many of THAT group are disturbed by our extreme levels of gun violence and would appreciate Democrats weaving Trump's wounding into the evidence that several big gun safety measures are needed? My guess is that's a substantial percentage.
Chip away at the margins. That's how elections are won, IMO.
Trump's followers reconsidering their positions on guns, the Constitution, women's rights, the environment, or anything, really, would require logic, something they seem to totally lack.
no. They will arm themselves more heavily.
They already are.
Just what I have been thinking.
Doubtful
If that were the case it might become an important talking point as we move forward.
Robert, Respectfully, I don’t believe it entirely possible to have a productive conversation about Saturday evening’s attempted assassination without tackling Heritage Foundation President and Project 2025 Coordinator Kevin Roberts’ statement that it would be “bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
As a point of fact, I also would note that the shooter was a registered Republican.
Barbara, where did you read that the person was a registered Republican? I am reading that Republicans, Elon Musk, British MP Nigel Farge of the right wing party Reform UK, are seemingly blaming the media and Biden's "attacking rhetoric." It is quite a turn around from guns don't kill people, people kill people. Saying that Biden's attacking rhetoric is what caused this person to go after Trump. However, if this person is Republican he is not coming from Biden's Democratic base. In reading Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat's book Strongmen about fascist leaders of which Trump is one, she talks about them playing up their victim-ness. In this case Trump would be correct, but a bigger victim is his aide who is dead. I think that they have to continue "condemning" Project 2025. I also think the whole thing is terrifying. I really do not want to see Trump's base turn around and try to revenge kill.
Linda, I flipped to CNN about an hour ago and the only information they offered about the shooter was that he was a registered Republican.
The NY Times also has a link with suspected information on the gunmen. They also confirm he was a registered Republican.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/14/us/politics/trump-gunman-thomas-crooks.html?smid=url-share
"The gunman did not have a criminal history reflected in Pennsylvania’s public court records, and officials said they had not identified a motive. A voter-registration record showed that Mr. Crooks was registered as a Republican, though federal campaign-finance records show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, through the Democratic donation platform ActBlue in January 2021."
Well never know all the details I'm sure, but the fact that right wing people including those in Congress are saying on social media that Biden ordered the "hit" or that it was the rhetoric of Democrats recently. You can't make this up, the guy who promised to be a dictator and that he was on a revenge tour to punish political enemies, and the group that said they want to commit violence against "the left" and "take their country back" is now playing the victim card. They even got a Trump photo op out of it. You couldn't script it better, especially with the recent SC ruling and people talking about fighting back against Project 2025.
thanks for including a shareable link to the NYT. Very helpful!
Thank you for all that you do Mr. Hubbell, you've saved my sanity and given me hope and helped me become a better person and more informed human many times. If I can give the comment sections some additional info I'll always lend a hand.
PhillyT, While I appreciate the link, more so I appreciate your thoughtful analysis of the potentially insurmountable messaging the Republican Party is mounting. In my view, this moment can be met only with a most calculated and aggressive counterpunch mounted by a most charismatic Party leader. Surrogates, no matter how compelling, won’t suffice.
I 100% agree with you Barbara, I feel like we lost the information war to the right wing and bad faith actors on Twitter, and Facebook years ago. The fact that Elon Musk is egging on this nonsense is despicable. We've got to keep staying the course.
Biden is so classy, the fact that he reached out to Trump twice and even spoke to him to confirm he was okay speaks volumes about his character. This was even after Trump and right wing politicians blamed Biden for the attack. If Trump were a better President and person he'd immediately snuff out all talk of a government hit and Biden being behind it, to bring a sense of civility back to this discourse but we know that won't happen. The fact we even have to deal with this is crazy. It's also ironic that someone who has encouraged fighting and violence a few times is now himself a victim of it, is able to play the victim is peak irony. I'm so tired of this timeline.
I agree with you, Biden has been trying but when you have an entire media apparatus and self serving politicians seeking to twist this into a few points during a very close election it's going to be tough.
PhillyT, I expect, while the statement I’m about to make won’t play well on this particular site, I would be remiss were I not emphatically to assert that my concerns don’t rest with Biden’s ability to govern but with his ability to campaign, notably in this particular climate.
I just woke up to a loud thunder storm. I don;t know what to say, but you and Barb Jo cover it quite well A solid group we have here.
I will repeat a quote from Robert that I used above, "Republicans are unconstrained by the truth."
Especially now, it's important to cite sources. Thank you, Barbara, for doing that.
BTW, I like links. Please provide them, everyone, whenever possible.
Bob, I agree with you about links and will continue to provide them, whenever possible.
Yes, sources and links will deter high jinks.
Barbara, I read that too. In retrospect, trusting CNN may be a miscalculation on my part, but we shall see as this will now breathlessly play out as CNN ignores Biden’s press conferences and speeches over the next two weeks
Dave, I would note, since last night, the steady drumbeat that “the media and the Democrats have blood on their hands,” has dominated social media. This moment must be met with our Party’s leader, without a script, from the heart, taking full advantage of the bully pulpit and aggressively not allowing said deceptions to go unanswered.
The Gaslight Theater has script writers available 24/7. As more information on the shooter becomes available, I’ll point to Biden’s initial comments condemning the violence, offering that he has opinions but will refrain from commenting until more facts are in. Rational thinking being demonstrated
I agree with you, the administration should address the issue of violence and retribution in the fullest, not letting Team Trump MSM define the narrative, but rather, Biden challenge the media on its normalization of Trumpism, the Bully, the instigator of hate
“YOU, created this to sell advertising”
Dave, While I hold your constraint and rational thinking in high regard, I view our top priority, more so than battling with the media, as taking the fight to the Republican Party that has shown, again and again, it will do whatever it takes to hold power.
Yes.
Biden talked about the scourge of gun violence in this country at the press conference I believe. I am sure he will amplify that issue and his recently established office of gun violence prevention. And the majority of the country is with him and us on that. B
This event feeds right into maga victimhood.
THis is getting good.
I read that he also gave $15 to a progressive PAC in 2021 but if he was only 20 years old yesterday, sounds weird since he would have been 17.
I read that too. Weird indeed.
The Washington Post article also noted that the only information they can confirm at this time is that the shooter was registered as Republican in his PA county.
Thanks Barbara.
Really? That’s kind of a game-changer if that’s true AND if the media keeps reporting that.
“Revenge kill” strikes me as chillingly accurate. I watched the footage in which he got up and raised his fist and I heard him say “Fight! Fight! Fight!” With his face twisted in hatred and rage. He IS inciting his followers. It’s all he knows. We need to be careful not to let this divide us further. Much as I loathe the harmful behavior of Trump and extremists bent on destruction of everything I/we hold dear, my first response was actually hoping Trump was okay. Go figure, but I choose not to actively wish for harm to anyone, which certainly helps keep me grounded and committed to actively doing what I can to support Biden and other good Democratic candidates who have integrity. This is a good overview that includes details about the shooter as well as a photo: https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/2024-isnt-nearly-done-with-us?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=283462&post_id=146596125&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1hfuu&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
I don’t think his first words were fight, fight, fight. It looked like another “f” word to me. But maybe I just expected that from him.
I imagine he was very scared and covered that up with the usual bravado. In reality, the words fight, fight, fight from a person consumed with the need for revenge really means kill, kill, kill. Inciting violence every darned day.
The Washington Post reported the shooter was a registered Republican and used an assault rifle
Read Tim Snyder’s column today with historical perspective.
Thanks Ruth. I did read it today. I am also reading what Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat says.
She is an authority on fascism. I am currently reading her book Strongmen, and am on the part where they discuss resistance.
https://books.google.de/books/about/Strongmen.html?id=m76LDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y
She wrote the book while Trump was president and he is in it. She also discusses Mussolini, Berlusconi, Hitler, Mobutu, Gaddafi, Pinochet and Franco. In it attempted assassinations are mentioned, and sometimes by people within the party of the person who cannot take it any more. They usually know best what is going on. Another book that really gives a helpful perspective on this sort of shooter is Prof. Kathleen Belew's book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. She talks about the organization of the modern right wing militia in the USA, and how they melded into the political mainstream after the Oklahoma City bombing, and their methods for creating a lone wolf, who is not really a lone wolf, just a cog in a machine. Their goals have been race war and White Supremacist Domination of the planet with everyone else who does not agree with them being killed off.
Linda, in an article in the Guardian Sunday morning, it was noted that the gunman was registered as a Republican in Pennsylvania. The article said clearly that further research was being conducted to try and ascertain the man’s political leanings.
The Guardian article I was first faced with was an interview with right wing PM Nigel Farge saying his friend Trump was hurt because of the hateful speech against him. My friend also told me about the donation to a Democratic organization. What my first thought was, because I knew right away that Trump was okay, was why did they kill the shooter if they wanted to know why he did it. The context of this, is that I have been reading Strongmen by Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on fascism. She is discussing different aspects of several fascist leaders, including Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Berlusconi, Franco, Ghaddafi, Mobutu and Trump. I am at the part where she talks about resistance to Strongmen, and it seems like there have been so many people who have tried to kill these strongmen, but usually they catch the person or persons and interrogate them first. They may try and sentence them to death, but they want to find out what they can about why it happened. It is really hard to do post mortem, and now anyone can throw any interpretation on it that they want to. The right seems to be blaming Biden and the Press basically for raising awareness of the ugliness of Project 2025. I think going forward we all should be talking about it, so that we are not silenced by the right using this horrid action as an excuse for why we should not say that Trump is a criminal and a bad man.
Linda, I also wondered why they killed Crooks. However, they can certainly do lots of research through his social media, interviews with family, friends, teachers .... although apparently he was quite bright and did well in school.
My understanding about law enforcement (at least in this country) is that an officer is trained to only draw their weapon with the intent to use deadly force if they believe they must fire their weapon. In this case, though, to prevent further injuries and deaths, snipers were in position to remove any nearby threats, not to mention, at the instant the shooter began firing from the rooftop, he lost any presumption of innocence. I'm sure the law enforcement snipers were also prepared to take out any other nearby shooters.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/heres-what-we-know-about-thomas-matthew-crooks-the-suspected-trump-rally-shooter/ar-BB1pX7dD
I have now read in several places that Crooks was indeed a registered republican. For which I cannot be grateful enough. However, a few years earlier he did donate to a progressive org. Sounds like a mixed up puppy (duh).
Mixed up puppy sounds about right to me. Our local papers are saying that in his family his mother is a Democrat; his father is a Libertarian; and he was a Republican. They also said that his father legally bought the weapon that was used.
My husband read that the father gave him the AR only 6 months ago! Another reason to believe that this was not done to be a photo op for tffg's campaign.
The guy is so young. We will not know what his motivation was because he was killed. I have grown up knowing that the cop shows rarely show legal arrests and yet we are supposed to sympathize with the hero or heroine who are cutting corners and breaking the law because winning is more important than how you play the game. Interestingly enough, in Scandi crime dramas, if there is even the suspicion of not following the rules, the boss is all over the character, and it is not portrayed as business as usual, like, no worries, you will be cleared. Usually you see them video recording their interviews and following the rules. I do not know the situation on the field and I am sure people used their training and did what they believed to be best. Just now, there is no way of asking this guy what was going on, and if there are others involved.
I think I already posted: they can look at his social media postings, do interviews .... like they do with school shootings, etc. I believe we will learn a lot more.
I know that is what is typically done, but still, it is all interpretation of others not the person themself speaking. It is not the same.
His political party registration has been widely reported by multiple sites.
NYT
Washington Post...."Crooks was registered as a Republican, according to Pennsylvania’s voter status records". I saw his voter registration form on X last night but can't find it again.
https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/2024-isnt-nearly-done-with-us?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=283462&post_id=146596125&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1hfuu&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email There is a copy of his voter registration in this piece.
The NYT has reported that he "donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, in January 2021."
There are two men with the same name. The 69 yr old is the one who contributed to the Progressive Turnout Project. I can't insert the photo from X but I copied this much...
Another MAGA talking point down the drain.
Thomas Crooks, who donated 15 bucks to Act Blue, is a 69-year-old Democrat who lives in Pittsburgh and just happens to have the same name as the Republican who shot Trump.
Thanks.
That is fair discourse. I am trying to prevent comments that condone or endorse the violence on Saturday.
Robert, I appreciate you writing and only would note, aside from an outlier unappreciative of your work, no one I’m aware of would “condone or endorse” the violence unleashed at the Trump rally.
Robert's statement stunned me, and again demonstrated the close alignment of Trump, Trumpism and the Heritage Foundation. He's a mouth piece and strategist for Trump.
Well-stated, Morgan.
I believe this also had a large part in this action.
Laura, I would add that the steady drumbeat blaming Trump’s opponents for Trump’s indictments, for the gag orders, and now for trying to kill him must be met with our Party’s leader, without a script, from the heart, aggressively not allowing said deceptions and distortions to go unanswered.
Are you saying you believe the rhetoric of the night before had a lot to do with the attempt. I did not hear Biden call for violence against Trump, nor do I think this will turn out to be on a whim.
Chris LaCivita, one of Trump’s senior campaign advisers, said this on X last night:
“for years, and even today,leftist activists, democrat donors and now even @JoeBiden have made disgusting remarksand descriptions of shooting Donald Trump it’s high time they be held accountable for it the best way is through the ballot box”
Ilene, While I interpreted Laura’s statement to mean something different, until the meaning of the indefinite pronoun “this” is clarified, we won’t know.
I’d like clarification too, hence the question. Laura seemed to be responding to a previous moment.
Thanks for the update. I got in at about seven this morning so the West Coast and was a behind others who set the record straight. At the outset of the coverage on TV there was just so much breathlessness conjecture I couldn’t continue to listen to the inanity of it all.
Richard, Thanks for writing. I surely understand wanting to limit one’s intake of largely inane coverage.
Wow. Powerful statement.
Jan, I presume you are speaking favorably.
Has this been established? Lots of conjecture. Not proven but if it were that would change the discussion dramatically.
Richard, While his profile remains incomplete, the shooter is registered as a Republican.
BBC had him giving $15 via Act Blue. Lots we still don’t know.
And the donation of $15 was in 2021. A while back.
Like most things in life, it's more complicated than that. He's also been identified as having given $15 to a "Democratic-aligned" group which is involved in turning out the youth vote.
Lucinda, The point is that the shooter’s profile, albeit incomplete, doesn’t fit the messaging about media and Democrats having blood on their hands currently inundating social media.
Kudos to President Biden for his compassionate response and stern rebuke of political violence.
He demonstrated what we need in a president. I'm sure we'll see quite the opposite from the other side.
We can only hope and pray that this incident will open the eyes of those on the right to the necessity of common sense gun laws. If the murder of innocent school children won't do it, maybe this will. Praying for the recovery of everyone affected by senseless violence.
Can we not invoke "praying for" in these comments? It is just too much like the NRA gun-nut politicians who always say (a) our thoughts and prayers are with all the families who have had children slaughtered in X, and (b) but this isn't the right time to discuss gun laws.
Brought to you by a rational atheist of course!
I'm sorry you're offended by my words, but I will not have my Christian faith (I'm a life long Episcopalian) silenced because others have bastardized what it means to be a follower of Christ. I wholly support your right NOT to pray, as I support anyone of any faith. ~~Edited to correct my ommision of the word "NOT".
"I wholly support your right to pray, as I support anyone of any faith."
That is my point - as an atheist and a realist, I don't care for your "thoughts and prayers" when people get slaughtered by destructive bullets ... these pseudo-Christian word are used as cover for most of the darkness and malevolence in the world, and I call Total BS on all of it.
Just a gentle reminder that Robert asked for civil respectful discourse, and you are each entitled to express your opinions, kindly and respectfully.
If you don't like someone's "thoughts and prayers" then just keep scrolling, and don't click the "like" button.
I'm not religious but I understand that for many, religion brings them comfort. But for the Christo-fascists, I vehemently oppose their attempts to impose their values on the rest of us.
"Just a gentle reminder that Robert asked for civil respectful discourse, and you are each entitled to express your opinions, kindly and respectfully."
It sounds like you wish to shut down robust debate altogether. If as an atheist I'm not allowed to be deeply sceptical of the "thoughts and prayers" meme that is used and abused in every shooting event, then how is there ever going to be progress on this subject?
I believe "thoughts and prayers" is a deliberate and cynical cover for evil acts perpetrated by conservative people over decades, and I don't wish to be silenced for that belief.
You seem to misunderstand what I wrote in response to your first comment to Denise. She was courteous in her reply to your telling her "Can we not invoke "praying for" in these comments?" but you persisted, which is why I suggested you just move on.
But instead you accuse me of wishing "to shut down robust debate ..." simply because I suggested a little respect even if you disagree with her right to pray if she wishes. smh...
... and I fail to see how your comment telling her not to use the words "praying for" is even relevant or a "robust debate" on the topic of gun violence.
fwiw I too find the phrase "thoughts and prayers" to be so overused that its intent has been greatly diluted, but I'm not going to shush another human who faithfully believes in prayer, and I don't care about nor would I silence *your* opinion about "thoughts and prayers."
At this time I decline to engage further since it feels like I can't help you understand my POV, which really isn't much different from yours. My initial comment was merely to ask that you respect Denise's right to express her opinion, even if you are mortally offended by her reference to praying.
Seriously, best wishes, good luck, enjoy an interesting life.
When used by legislators avoiding the truth. But many of us use that phrase lovingly and meaningfully. Seems like an unnecessary argument but I believe that is because we are all on edge. People are scared.
Denise, I wrote a comment to both you and IanWilliams but there was no way to notify you both in one message, so I'm letting you know here. Blessings,
The conversation between Denise Bell and IanWilliams is an example of how volatile are the feelings around this subject, especially when we call for action rather than express feelings. Denise's "We can only hope and pray," is a call to action to us all. IanWillams "Can we not invoke praying for" is a call for action to us all, to withhold words. Both have the potential to offend, although I suspect entirely unintentionally. Both were followed by passionate feelings which deserve to be heard when expressed. So may I respectfully add a suggestion that, as much as possible, we express our own feelings on this subject, and leave "calls to action" for things such as "work as hard as we can, read this article, write more postcards," etc. Blessings,
Sadly these types of individuals don’t care about gun violence. It is a sad day for America but guns are always the culprits weapons.
The initial moment, disbelief, followed by rationalization and judgment. And then I turned inward and began to capture all the feelings moving through me. My compassion was there in the shadows.
Shootings always stir and move me deeply - whether its a intentional mass shooting or the one life taken by a driveby shooting. But this one did not. What is going on? This is not how I want to BE in this moment! How did I get here? How did we all get here? Is this an invitation to wake up, see the shift in my heart...our hearts and now do something about it?
Ive always been a compassionate person but recent years it seems I have become more selective in doling it out. This is not who I am! Despite my reluctance I believe what is required of me in this moment is to return to the practice of compassion towards all people, particularly those I dont align with. But will "they" do the same for me? My experience suggests "they" will not. But maybe Im wrong this time. Maybe Ill be surprised. But does it really matter?
I see now in my initial reaction how Ive allowed political fear, hate, disinformation from the far right chisel away my true nature. No more. I am better than this. We are better than this. Our humanity requires we be better than this. So I start with me. I will soften my edges, breath and lead with my heart rather than my rational, score keeping head. I will BE compassionate towards all beings in this moment and the next, and the next. I can live better with myself. And who knows maybe it will catch on.
Wishing us all peace at this time, a cooling down, a stillness so that each person can be settled. We can be settled. I hope that folks on both sides can relax, soften and take a step towards healing and closing the divide via simple acts of compassion for one another. Amen.
Laura, I share your call for a “cooling down” period and the need for stillness and introspection for each of us to settle down in the wake of this horrific act of political violence. The moment must challenge all of us to step back, reflect and then act.
It called to mind a song “Let There Be Peace on Earth” originally written by Jill Jackson-Miller in 1955 and initially written for and sung by the International Children’s Choir created in Long Beach, California. It has since been sung throughout the ensuing years by many recording artists and included in songbooks by a variety of Christian denominations and represents what Jackson-Miller called “the life-saving joy of God’s peace and unconditional love” in the wake of dealing with her own suicidal issues from the failure of her marriage. It pointedly begins with the lyrics: “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
Each of us must become peacemakers in our own individual ways and within our own hearts. That peace must begin with each of us and trust that it will have an assured, ripple effect in all we say and do.
However, fostering that peace should also spur us to action and steel our resolve to get out the vote in these November elections for all candidates, including President Biden, who seek gun control and seek to protect our democracy and the Constitution. Compassion must stir us to action!
Fully agree, we must vote and turn out the vote. Im a member of Moms Demand Action a grassroots part of Everytown. President Biden has been Endorsed by Everytown, the highest level of recognition. Very few candidates achieve this. And thank you for the history of that song. I did not know its genesis.
Thank you
I have a college friend who granddaughter was one of the victims of Parkland. We simply cannot ignore the rhetoric spewing out of Trump’s mouth nor can we ignore the words of any Republican who speaks on social media or on MSM. They incite their base while spreading misinformation and disinformation purposely. It’s up to us to stay together like glue, no matter what. #STICK LIKE GLUE! VOTE BLUE!
Im so sorry for your friend. I have grandchildren and cannot imagine that loss. The gun culture and the hostile rhetoric is reeking havoc on individuals, our communities and our institutions. Im reading some books about people who believe and think differently than I to help me understand their orientation and how we might pivot away.
My own opinion is that our society needs more hopeful and positive alternatives, especially for young men. I thought Biden/Harris revamping the Civilian Conservation Corps to the American Climate Corp was brilliant. It is an important step that I hope will give positive, constructive and hopeful paths for young people as they engage to help address our climate crisis.
And absolutely Yes, #VoteBlue. Ill be doing what I can to GOTV.
I was reading something (sorry, can't remember where) about angry, idle young men causing trouble at other times in history too. Thus was the Boy Scouts born. Apparently that was an attempt to give them something productive to do. So the climate corps is a great follow-on, especially considering how much work there is to do to save the planet.
Laura, you probably know that Buddhists cultivate compassion. If you're not familiar with Pema Chodron I highly recommend that you look her up and listen to or read her work on the topic. It's a wonderful philosophy.
Thank you Paula. You are so kind. Yes Im familiar w Pema Chodron. She was my first step into Buddhist practices which I undertake now, that in combination w/ Christian mystic traditions. Sometimes I think Ive "arrived" haha...and then something challenging arises (like yesterday) only to humble me and remind me that Ive more to let go of, more to love, more to discover, more to do...it is a worthy journey as it calls on true self but humbling and illuminating.
Ah, that's excellent. Well, as we know and as both Pema and my yoga teacher would admit, the struggle is always there. All we can do is give it our attention. But it does help to have some tools.
Namaste.
It is obvious to me that the Trump campaign will, and already has, made this a campaign issue. This is an opportunity for the Biden/Harris campaign to define the narrative of this as a campaign issue, which it is.
The issue is Trump's use of political violence as one tactic to overturn our democracy.
Trump has two very smart and very ruthless campaign managers. There are already patriotic photos circulating of Trump with his fist in the air in front of an American Flag, bleeding. He is a martyr.
Biden believes in democracy and understand the ways in which Trump has exhorted violence and threatened to use political violence to intimidate poll workers, will condone and pardon people who beat up police protecting the capitol and threatened to kill his Vice President, has threatened to jail or execute his political opponents.
Biden believes in the rule of law and the independent prosecution of people who commit crimes, including the crime of attempted assassination of an opposing candidate, or anyone who may have assisted that person in committing the crime. Political violence as a tool to win an election is a tool of dictators.
The choice is between one candidate who uses violence to intimidate voters, election workers, and political opponents, versus a candidate who denounces the use of political violence, or the use of the legal system to jail and punish his political opponents.
Biden/Harris are the only ones who can change the narrative away from Biden and on to Trump, now, not one week from now or in a month, and before some stupid Democratic officeholder makes it about how they don't feel sorry for Trump (which someone just said)
I am on the Biden/Harris campaign bus. But I need Biden to make my work easier. Trump will make this about Democrats and Biden. Do not allow that. Change the narrative back to Trump.
Judy, I agree with you. And yes, as Trump was being taken away the fist in the air spoke volumes to me.
Here are some things that came to my mind. Bobby Kennedy was killed on June 6, 1968. The 1968 Democratic convention was in Chicago. Hubert Humphrey was the Democrats’ candidate in 1968. He lost. Richard M. Nixon won. He was urged to resign in his second term rather than be impeached since he did not have the votes in Congress. He left the White House on August 9, 1974. As I understand it, Chicago is the site of this year’s democratic convention. All rather weird coincidences.
The key point you make, Judy, is we better work to shape the narrative. I, for one, can only imagine Trump at the podium next week at the Republican convention.
An earlier post got it right, let’s not be distracted but continue to focus on Trump’s plans, The Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Project and the ever present misinformation and gaslighting that has been the standard response by way too many.
Our Substack writer Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse title resonates at this moment. We must go slowly, calmly and courageously forward. This shooting adds to our challenge but we cannot let it excuse anything untoward. We must march forward with civil discourse.
(Amended re: Richard M. Nixon - 11:05 am Mountain Time.)
The shooting of Robert Kennedy in 1968 altered that campaign, and likely the election. John Wilkes Booth, after shooting Lincoln, shouting "Thus ever to tyrants" in Latin as he jumped yo the stage from the President's box. Some individuals get so incensed by supposed harm to themselves that they harm others, in this case, Trump as a political figure.
I detest Trump, but nobody has the right to shoot him.
Yes! Change the narrative back to Trump.
I appreciate reading your calm, rational response to these events. I was full of energy to write what I've come up with and eager to type it out, and then it hit me that I had much to say and, simultaneously, nothing to say. Perhaps this is wisdom forming from 63 years of a very eventful life. What I mean to impart is I will refrain for now as much is speculation. I find this time calls for me to sit with this for a time and when it settles my words might be better shared.
Great observation, Kathy. I started a couple of comments last night but had to stop myself from saying something awful, but I can't help but having those thoughts rattling around in my head.
We have to put every ounce of effort into winning the election in November, up and down the ballot, so we can continue repairing the fabric of our nation torn by senseless violence, revenge, and selfishness. We must return to caring for each other.
Good choice Kathy. I commend you. When contemplating speaking, ask yourself three quick questions. Does it need saying? Does it need saying now? Does it need saying by me? If any one of the three answers is NO don’t say anything. Not always possible, I know. However, this little tool can help you live a better life. The seismic shift is on now. Roger stone has assured us, he is a seditionist with an army of traitors ready to overthrow the election when his candidate looses again. He will, and they will…try, and fail again.
One of the reasons Dianne Feinstein stayed in the Senate until her death at aged 90 was in hopes of reinstating the federal Assault Weapons ban which she had gotten passed in 1994 as a first term Senator, and which sunset I believe 10 years later. A bill was introduced in 2023 by her and two others which among other provisions raised the age of purchase to 21. The shooter here was I have read 20 so would not have been able to purchase the weapon used to injure Trump and kill or injure others.
So interesting..
Vital information. Spread the word.
Here’s another book to read : “Gunfight” by Ryan Busse, a gun manufacturer executive who saw the craziness of the NRA and dropped out. Whenever there was a mass shooting, gun sales went up ( owners were convinced the government would finally come after their weapons so they bought more). My suggestion: don’t get caught up in the noise. Stay calm. Keep your head down, work on voter registration and getting people to vote. Democracy requires work to make it work. There is no substitute.
Yes. Today, and tomorrow, and onward, I am going to ignore anything that says or implies that "Trump just won the election" just because someone shot at him. Speculative garbage is just that. Today I am going to write more postcards and reflect on my thoughts and fears and what I can actually do for myself and the world. I am going to trust Biden and Harris to lead the way on this new campaign issue and continue contrasting us and them.
It's been about 13 hours since the attempt to silence frump and the coverage is already too much. Dozens of school children gunned down each year and an attempt on this liar, this criminal, generates non-stop MSM coverage? Give me a break. Move on because nothing will change, except perhaps more gun sales and random gun violence. And, of course, Felonious Don will tell us endlessly how tough he is.
Robert, this attack was very frightening. The fact that the outer perimeter was not protected by the police or the Secret Service is alarming. Look, Trump has a big mouth and he’s dangerous but I don’t wish or anyone else to be assassinated. We’ve lived through too many of those. I want to say though, that Trump is like a cat with nine lives. He has managed to upend the rules of law, engaged members of Scotus as if they’re his own personal attorneys, and now has survived an assassination attempt. How does he get to be so damn lucky?
My same thoughts Marlene. The more apt question is how did America become an insane asylum? Seriously. Gun violence is only one of many serious abnormal behaviors that indicate a deep psychosis. Drug addiction; racism; hyper capitalism and a society constantly distracted by consumerism. Women and others targeted as objects for oppression.Reality has exceeded our ability to cope. Yet we must cling to hope. We must dig deep into ourselves to find the courage to be and the inner peace that will strengthen our resolve to act for love and social justice recognizing our limitations but also broadening our scope of understanding.
Yeah, his security really, really blew it. The other unreal thing was the sheer number of people around him who didn't duck down, protect themselves, crawl away. They were standing up, taking pictures! Is that normal behavior?
Well yes, when you’re in shock, and they were. Probably still are.
I can understand shock. But taking pictures? Especially as this was immediately afterwards. Do Americans have so little survival sense? Then again, there are people who think bears are cute and cuddly. Or climb over a barricade to take pictures of a lion.
Instead of *or* it should’ve read as *for*.
Luck, fortuitous, fate, happenstance, right place/wrong time, chance, etc., all point to the idea that we make some things happen and, therefore, have some measure of control while other things happen to us that are outside our power to control and therefore we have no responsibility for. These are things we think we didn’t make happen.
This is a very popular worldview, or, more deeply, a generally unexamined, unquestioned paradigm that touches on the deep questions of who we are and the nature of power. To question such deep assumptions or generally agreed-upon beliefs is to court criticism.
To just perhaps begin to open up a possibility of discussion, consider this.
For a very long time, many people have considered the idea of dualism. Dualism is the idea that life and the world itself exist or come into being in such a way as to always have opposites. These opposites express an underlying reality, something very fundamental about the nature of the universe.
These opposites express themselves in very everyday ways we give little or no thought to like up/down, left/right, light/dark, yes/no, in/out, male/female, etc.
This notion of opposites is expressed in the terms yin/yang which goes well beyond simple opposites to include the idea that there is a bit of the opposite in each side and that going far enough into one eventually becomes the other.
Now, in yin/yang style, let’s return to the beginning.
Marlene raises the notion of luck. Here’s my challenging, maybe initially shocking, question. What if luck had nothing to do with it? Even way more challenging, what if there isn’t anything called luck?!?
Hey, it’s the weekend. Relax. Don’t worry. Cause every single thing gonna be alright. ;)
Ok, back to our precious and perhaps ferocious hold on the concept of luck.
How can luck, power, and yin/yang be related, and how does this relate to Lucky Don?
I assert that we Westerners have a longstanding one-sided view of power. We only recognize or validate yang power and fail to consider yin power. Here’s what I mean while translating male/female for yang/yin.
Yang or male/masculine power or energy is outward going. It’s the power of moving out from where you are. It’s the release of energy. It’s aggressive energy. It’s pushing. It’s making things happen. It’s being intentional, purposeful, and focused. It’s dividing and exclusionary. It’s scattering outwards. It’s throwing, hitting, climbing. It’s external and externalizing. Sounds masculine/male, like boys and men, yes?
In our dualistic universe, the opposite is also always required and present, even if not noticed, recognized, or acknowledged. So, what is Yin or female power or energy in this model? Well, what are the opposites of the above male/masculine powers or energies?
Inward going, gathering energy, quiet energy, soft energy, moving closer, stillness, cooperativeness, knitting together, internalizing, harmonizing, etc. Feminine, womanly sounding, yes?
Yes, I know this may all land as incredibly, ridiculously, so typically stereotyped as to be instantly dismissed. Just stay with me just a bit further.
In engineering, there are only two fundamental forces: compressional forces that push things inwards, making them more dense and compact. The opposite is tensional forces that pull things apart, making them less dense. Inward-moving feminine/compressional energy. Outward-going tensional forces pulling things apart masculine energy.
Think of this: Explosions release energy—energy going outwards, pulling apart forces. Burning gas pushes the car forward, and the explosion of gunpowder pushes a bullet forward. The release of chemical energy in our cells drives all the large movements of our bodies. Masculine, outward-going energy.
Now we come to the point, f i n a l ly (if you’ve been reading with masculine energy and demand to get to the point). Feminine energy manifests as the power of attraction. Compressional forces in engineering terms. And what, dear reader, are these forces that attract in life as we live it moment by moment?
From an engineer’s viewpoint, there are two major ones. The attractive powers of magnetism and gravity. No biggie, right? Just the basis of elections, oops, I meant electricity and all modern technology and the force of gravity that forms and holds the planets, stars, and galaxies together. No big thing that feminine power. Merely that which makes life possible.
How does all this relate to Lucky Don, you ask? Good question.
Our culture, like most, recognizes, validates, acknowledges, appreciates, accepts, is proud of, and generally wants displays of masculine power. And usually more and bigger is better. We are a culture heavily focused on, to the point of being dominated by, male/masculine energy.
We also like young children who go through a phase where things have to be kept separate (the development of our male side energies, which is important to do AND ALSO NEEDS TO BE INTEGRATED with our feminine energies) like foods on a plate or demanding others to “stay out of my room” or “don’t touch me” kind of demands.
So, if the unacknowledged feminine energy side is the power of attraction, how does that show up in real life? How are we using our generally unrecognized, unappreciated feminine power?
Ever pick up the phone and the person you were about to call was on the line because they just called you and you picked up before it rang and you were kinda in shock and disoriented, wondering what just happened? Or think of someone or thing and it suddenly somehow just shows up? Notice how your mind might be dismissing this idea by saying, yea, but that’s just a coincidence and not something I actually did.
There are scads of examples like this and loads of books and articles and this writing is already way long and femininely meandering.
So, good reader, hopefully (femininely) this may give you a moment pause (also an expression of feminine power) to reconsider giving away your feminine power and control to fate, luck, or chance and begin to reclaim or simply own the other half we all share with our recognition of masculine AND feminine expressions of power.
Lucky Don, hmmm, maybe, maybe not. Is there really anything called luck?
So Bern, you’ve really made the case that men are possess a different brain than women and that’s for damn sure! If men would step aside and let women run things, we would not have wars, children would not be dying of gun violence, women’s rights would be restored, people of a different color than white, would be free of any labels, and peace would exist.
Thank you for reading that long post. I didn't get across what I meant and that is my failure to communicate.
The physiological differences between men and women and what behaviors these differences give rise to is a VERY interesting conversation. I actually have a background in this conversation having practiced a bodywork method called Hellerwork, which is an offshoot of Rolfing.
There is a book by Torkum Saradarayan and it's called "Women, Torch of the Future." This is the close of that very wonderful book that he wrote about the role of women in the world. He closes with this.
"Compassion is more elevated and deeper than love, for compassion is inclusive and has no separative elements in it. Compassion is all unifying. To have compassion is to have a love that is not limited to your physical or emotional sentiments nor by partial intentions or conditions. It is limitless. It is love for the sake of the life of every atom, of every cell, of every life form. It is all-inclusive love, not only of humanity, but of everything that exists.
Compassion is the love that really harmonizes. If you consider love at the present stage of human understanding, it is only partial in our minds. You say I love my country, but actually you are telling me that there are other countries that you do not love. This is not compassion. Compassion is love for all.
In India, many spiritual groups worship the mother, the world mother. The world mother is the principle of compassion. The heart of the woman can respond to the needs of all life forms if it is kept free from separativeness and crystallizations. The heart of the woman even senses the pulse of the life forms of vegetable, animal, human, and superhuman forms.
Because of her compassion, she achieves great heights of understanding life. Through compassion, she initiates herself into the greatest states of awareness.
Conscious woman.
This is what is needed in our social, economic, and political worlds. The new age woman will teach, through all the avenues of human endeavor, one great subject, the value of life. She is going to find out how to change this distorted world into a family of nations in which human life is not wasted. She will make sure that right conditions prevail to ensure that the coming generations will be able to create a new culture, a new civilization, based on the principles of purity, beauty, and love. Women of the world hold our destiny in their hands. Let their strength increase year after year.
As I end this writing, I am remembering a beloved friend of mine. It was during the Great War, and he was dying of burns all over his body. Is it possible, he whispered to me, to see my mother? Your mother has been told, and we are waiting for her. I want to live until my mother comes, the boy said.
The boy's mother came after traveling for two days. Her son was still alive, but in great pain and suffering. His mother was a very beautiful woman. In dignity and solemnity, she entered the room and went over to her son. She put his head on her heart and said, "I am here." "I know," he said, and he passed away.
Through my tears, I was watching her. It seemed that she was hugging all the children of the world. In my suffering for both of them, I went over to her and put my hand on her shoulder and said, "Do not let us die anymore." She looked at me with big, tearful eyes and said, "We must not fail in the future."
This was a promise for me, and I wanted in my own way to remind her of her great promise for coming generations.”
So yes, we need to restore the role of women in our world community.
The energetic differences between masculine and feminine energy and the point of feminine energy showing up as the power of attraction are more what I was going for than the physical differences giving rise to different behaviors and the misunderstandings that arise from that.
More about Torkum Saradarayan’s book “Women Torch of the Future”
is here: https://arhaticalchemy.com/product/woman-torch-of-the-future-2nd-edition/ It’s out of print so more difficult to find.
A wonderful book that discusses your point about the differences between men and women from a physiological view can be found in
“Male and Female Realities: Understanding the Opposite Sex”by Joe Tanenbaum . It’s a great read and can be found on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Male-Female-Realities-Understanding-Opposite/dp/0945339100
Trump experienced the violence he has continually advocated for others. Karma is a bitch. Sadly, it probably won't change the Trump Maga Party or it's supporters.
"Trump experienced the violence he has continually advocated for others. Karma..." my initial thoughts, too. I don't want him assassinated - only beaten at the ballot box, tried and convicted, and jailed. Silenced.
Register more Democrats to shut up Trump.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
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I was sorry to know of this incident.
In my opinion, violence starts with words. Words matter. On both sides of the red and blue divide, there has been a lot of language among people expressing a wish for the physical demise of one candidate or the other. It's also become common to say things like, "Can't we just take him out?" -- an allusion to assassination.
In my own interactions with my Republican opponent, the Communications Director for my Republican opponent is fond of saying things like, "Elise will crush you", or "We will destroy you", or "Stefanik will clean your clock" (an expression meaning a punch to the face). This is not OK. I have called them out on it in the press. Sadly, once this language comes from the candidate's inner circle, it is echoed by the supporters.
The Bronx Supreme Court, in 2005, held that ‘‘electoral contests are not a street brawl, where anything goes. Rather, the principle is reaffirmed that any candidate, whether incumbent or challenger, whether backed by the Party apparatus or insurgent, must proceed fairly and abide by the rules.’’ Mosley and Figueroa v. Rosario, 3 Misc.3d 1123(A) (Sup. Ct. Bronx Co. 2005).
Thank you,
Paula Collins
Democratic Candidate for Congress, NY-21
Paula, thank you for your comment and courage….
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I donated. Good luck!
Sadly, once this language comes from the candidate's inner circle, it is echoed by the supporters.
⬆️
Or, in the case of Trump, the candidate HIMSELF.
I agree with most of the comments about guns in the United States. Paul Auster wrote a wonderful book concerning guns in Bloodbath Nation. I encourage everyone to read this well written book. I am saddened to see this happen at this time in our political struggle and just hope it focuses on the need to have some real rules about having and acquiring guns. It also highlights the lack of security or the tough job of doing a complete security check and how a rifle was able to be in an area this close to anyone giving a public speech and especially one protected by so many security people shows how dangerous guns can be. We hope for the full recovery of Trump and would hope it wakes him up to the problems his angry and hateful rhetoric insights violence from all sides of political life.
I expect that the attempt on trump’s life with an assault rifle will cause just as much enlightenment on the subject of gun control as his infection with SARS-CoV2 did about the Covid pandemic.
Correct. If the murder of innocent 1st & 2nd graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School didn't persuade us to do something, nothing will.
Yet we have to keep trying, do we not. It was not that long ago that we had a ban on assault weapons. If we want to change the political will change the politicians to people who have the mind to think, the humanity to feel, and the courage to act.
Sadly I feel you are correct in your expectation.
Sadly I agree especially from a person that talked about drinking chlorine to combat COVID. I suspect this will lead to more need for guns as protection.
Whatever direction this election was going to take us is now lost to the insanity that will soon follow. The crazies will be crawling out of their holes as this is exactly what motivates them. Facts will have little value or influence in the short term, only wild eyes speculation and accusations, it’s already started in some quarters. Thankfully President Biden is working very hard to keep the country informed and calm but unless we can restore compassion and civility to our society this situation will quickly spiral out of control. Please everyone, no matter your beliefs about this senseless act, stay calm, don’t overreact and say think you shouldn’t. Relax, stay safe and let the “FACTS” speak for themselves.