AFP: FLORENCE: Archaeologists on Tuesday unearthed a skeleton in a rare state of preservation in Florence in what they believe may be a crucial step towards unravelling the mystery of the identity of the woman with the most enigmatic smile in the world. Several bodies have been discovered in the hunt to find the mortal remains of Lisa Gherardini, the … Read More
Concealed Carry
I was going to write a post about all the imbeciles out there saying, "if only the moviegoers had guns, this wouldn't have happened", but Tbogg wrote the ultimate post on the subject: This weekend I spent an indecent amount of time on teh internets debating arguing with people men regarding their belief that, if only one person had been packing heat at Batman, … Read More
Blame Game
The rightwing went ballistic this morning because Brian Ross on ABC News cited unconfirmed reports (he pointed out that they were "unconfirmed") that James Holmes, the Aurora Colorado "Dark Knight" gunman, was a member of the Tea Party. It turns out those reports were wrong, and ABC retracted the unconfirmed report. But it was too late. "They're blaming us!" screamed the right … Read More
How Not To Respond To A Tragedy
From Steve Benen: In the wake of tragic gun violence, most politicians realize the decent, responsible thing to do is send sympathies to those affected while leaving politics out of it. Others aren't as sensible. After the Columbine massacre, for example, then-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) blamed science textbooks for the murders: "Our school systems teach the children that they are nothing but … Read More
Sobering Tweet
Last night, 11:37 p.m.: Jessica Redfield sends her last tweet from the movie theater. She was later confirmed dead by a friend on Twitter. UPDATE: More about this particular victim here. And ironically, she was at a shooting that happened at Eaton Mall in Toronto in June 2012, which she blogged about here (her last post) UPDATE #2: Here's Jessica, … Read More
Aurora Shooting
At least 12 people were shot and killed, and 50 injured in a shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater showing The Dark Knight Rises this morning around 1 AM. Witnesses have varying accounts of a man in black and/or body armor releasing tear gas and opening fire in what sounds like more than one theater in a multiplex. A 24 year-old … Read More
Bachmann Too Crazy For GOP?
Is it possible that Michelle Bachmann may have jumped the shark, even with Republicans? Bachmann has been going around muttering about how Hillary Clinton's Dep. Chief of Staff Huma Abedin is probably in league with Muslim extremists. This is a bit much for even John Boehner: I don’t know Huma, but from everything I do know of her, she has a … Read More
Tone Deaf
Ann Romney: We've 'Given All You People Need'. “You know, you should really look at where Mitt has led his life, and where he’s been financially,” the potential first lady said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “He’s a very generous person. We give 10 percent of our income to our church every year. Do you think that is the kind … Read More
Stupidest “You Didn’t Build That” Piling On
It comes from Governor Scott Walker: There are dozens of ways in which this is a peculiar thing to say. I would note that if you have to go back to the BIBLE to find evidence contrary to what Obama said (or actually, didn't say), maybe it's best to shut your mouth. Of course, Noah didn't build the ark. In fact, no … Read More
On “You Didn’t Build That”
Let's get to what Obama actually said, in context: "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build … Read More
Four Pinocchios
Romney's new slam at Obama: "I am ashamed to say that we’re seeing our president hand out money to the businesses of campaign contributors, when he gave money, $500 million in loans to a company called Fisker that makes high end electric cars, and they make the cars now in Finland. That is wrong and it’s got to stop. That … Read More
Getting Ugly
The Romney camp has suffered some severe body blows lately, some of it self-inflicted (e.g., Romney's decision no matter what to never ever ever release his tax returns, which will dog him until he eventually does release them). So what happens now? They'll up the ante: Indeed, facing what the candidate and his aides believe to be a series of surprisingly … Read More
Like A Lead Balloon
Romney spoke in front of the NAACP this morning (I give him props for that), and told them he would repeal Obamacare. How well did that go over? About like you would expect… In truth, Romney knew that saying that would generate boos, which will help him with his (racist) base. That's why he said it.