Breaking: Another School Shooting (Guaranteed To Make NRA Heads Explode)

Ken AshfordEducation, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

Well, NOW what’s the solution??? From The Daily Beast: Police in Dalton, Georgia say an adult is in custody after reports of shots fired at a high school. The suspect barricaded themselves inside a classroom, police said, and investigators believe the suspect is a teacher. No students were injured. The incident comes days after President Trump called for arming teachers … Read More

All Politics Is Local

Ken AshfordEducation, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

How is Trump’s “Arm The Teachers” solution playing across the states? Not well for the most part: The State (South Carolina): “SC politician giving guns to teachers in message to ‘deranged psychotic degenerates.’” Greenville News (South Carolina): GOP “Governor candidate Catherine Templeton calls for arming teachers while opening campaign.” News & Observer (North Carolina): “NC education chief says more cops … Read More

Armed Teachers: A Pathological And Ineffective Idea

Ken AshfordEducation, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

School teachers carrying firearms and readied for gun battles in grade school classrooms is a level of social pathology that signals the end of any viable, coherent society. Travel such a path, and the barbarism and fearmongering of the American abattoir can only accelerate. — David Simon (@AoDespair) February 21, 2018 UPDATE:… but it’s lucrative! JUST IN: President Trump suggests … Read More

RIP Billy Graham

Ken AshfordGodstuff, In PassingLeave a Comment

“America’s Preacher” has died at the age of 99. Graham served as a spiritual advisor to roughly a dozen U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama — and he made waves in the early 1950s by forcing churches to racially integrate for his services. He preached to an estimated 200 million people in 185 countries around the world during his life. … Read More

Details Of Another Trump Affair Shows How Trump Attempts To Keep His Transgressions Secret

Ken AshfordSex Scandals, Sex/Morality/Family Values, Stormy Daniels & Karen McDougal Affairs, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

A report out from the New Yorker Friday morning about President Donald Trump’s alleged affair with model Karen McDougal more than a decade ago shows how Trump’s allies paid women who had affairs with him to stay silent. Trump and McDougal began an affair in 2006 after he met her at a party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, where he … Read More

High School Shooting: The Aftermath

Ken AshfordCrime, Gun Control, YoutubeLeave a Comment

I feel like I can go back to the last mass shooting and cut and paste. With 17 dead (so far), the “day after” talk surrounding yesterday’s shooting is all too predictable. We learn about heroes: We learn details: ATF: Cruz bought assault rifle in Feb. 2017 — Justin Miller (@justinjm1) February 15, 2018 And graphic video [WARNING] — And … Read More

Knives Are Out For Chief Of Staff John Kelly, They Say

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Political Scandals, Sex Scandals, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

The media seems to be in a frenzy about the Rob Porter-wife beating scandal, as the White House enters Day 7 of being unable to explain the timeline of events about Porter’s firing, and why he was allowed to stay on as the right-hand man to President Trump even though he couldn’t get a security clearance. To recap….. Rob Porter, … Read More

Speaking Of Sex Scandals…

Ken AshfordCorporate Greed, Godstuff, Republicans, Sex Scandals, Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

While we wait for the doors to blow wide open on the Trump-Daniels sex scandal (IF they blow open, that is), let’s chew on this: Casino mogul and Republican National Committee (RNC) finance chair Steve Wynn is facing accusations of sexual misconduct, including that he forced a woman to have sex with him in 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Wynn, … Read More

Breaking: New Trump Scandal Not Even The Worst Of The Week

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Political Scandals, Sex Scandals, Sex/Morality/Family Values, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

When you realize the president’s lawyer paying hush money to adult film star before election might not be be one of the 5 worst stories of the week for him https://t.co/5MwBsgNZNA — Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) January 12, 2018 Chait is correct. But it is sex and it is easy to understand, so maybe this one will have legs. Stephanie Clifford … Read More

Fallout From Trump’s Racial Slur About Immigrants From “Shithole Countries”

Ken AshfordImmigration and Xenophobia, Race, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

“This is CNN Tonight, I’m Don Lemon. The president of the United States is racist. A lot of us already knew that.” <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/n0y4eJ6N6wQ” frameborder=”0″ allow=”autoplay; encrypted-media” allowfullscreen></iframe> But political reaction? Very little domestically. The White House did not deny the remarks and one anonymous source said it would probably help Trump with his base. Condemnation from the … Read More

Trumpism And Racism: Part Two — Breaking News

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Immigration and Xenophobia, Political Scandals, Race, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Holy Shit. Washington Post headline: Uh…. when have you ever seen that word in a headline? Story: President Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers Thursday in the Oval Office when they floated restoring protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to two people briefed on the meeting. “Why are we … Read More

Trumpism and Race

Ken AshfordImmigration and Xenophobia, Race, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

You need to read Charles Blow: Trumpism is a religion founded on patriarchy and white supremacy. It is the belief that even the least qualified man is a better choice than the most qualified woman and a belief that the most vile, anti-intellectual, scandal-plagued simpleton of a white man is sufficient to follow in the presidential footsteps of the best … Read More

Twitter To Finally Enforce Ban On Hate Speech

Ken AshfordCyberbullying, Rightwing Extremism/Violence, Social Media & NetworkingLeave a Comment

itter began enforcing new policies to combat hate speech and abusive behavior on the platform Monday, leading to the suspension of several accounts associated with white nationalism. As part of its new approach, Twitter says it will now start banning accounts that affiliate with groups “that use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes.” The company says that government entities are … Read More

Newtown: Five Years Later

Ken AshfordCrime, Gun Control, HistoryLeave a Comment

Five years ago today, a gunman went into Sandy Hook elementary school and opened fire. I covered it on this blog, as the day unfolded. And I visited Newtown two weeks after the event — the town was still reeling. In the five years since the Sandy Hook shooting, Congress has enacted strong legislation to prevent the use of AK-47’s … Read More