You could practically see them scheming it over. If we only had an urban hipster, we could sell it to the kids. 50 Cent? Kenny Clutch? Well, no. Somebody less wounded. If we only had a clean-cut urban hipster, we could sell it to the kids. Then we’d have them by the shorthairs, thought the NRA. Look at how crazy they are about their video games. Imagine millions of them feeling that way about their M-4s. Their Bushmasters, their Berettas. We’d never have to listen to Washington again.

“I don’t want a Glock when they have an AK. I want an AK.”

Come and meet the NRA’s new spokesman. “Urban gun enthusiast” Colion Noir:

A guy telling me to get rid of my guns when I need them the most isn’t my friend…

In this place? Your friend’s no Mr. Noodle. That guy’s some sort of monster. With a foul temper and big eyes, living in a garbage can. Also the government taking your guns is the reason why guns:

. . the same government who at one point hosed us down with water, attacked us with dogs, and wouldn’t allow us to eat at their restaurants and told us we couldn’t own guns when bumbling fools with sheets on their heads were riding around burning crosses on our lawns and murdering us.

Remember when a man couldn’t own a .22 and Rayford’s Chicken Shack was run by the War Department? Me neither. Colion should put down the Uzi and pick up a book.

David Gregory wears makeup and has a spray-on tan, and he was able to get his hands on an illegal magazine. How hard do you think it would be for Pooky, Billy, Nguyen and Jesus to get their hands on one if they wanted to?

‘Twas the the spray-tan that made Capone. Wait — what? Pooky and Jesus? Oh, I see. He can be racial because he’s Noir, very sneaky. This is Wayne LaPierre’s fitful chuck at affirmative action. And once again, there’s no point in having laws when they’re only going to get broken. There oughta be a Law. System.

I wish I had less bullets . . said no one ever who’s been in a gunfight.

Wow, this guy doesn’t say anything that isn’t total bullshit. You know who despises the idea of AK-47s being owned by you, Noir? Soldiers. Generals. People who have been in a shitload of firefights.

“I spent a career carrying typically either an M16 or an M4 Carbine. An M4 Carbine fires a .223 caliber round which is 5.56 mm at about 3000 feet per second. When it hits a human body, the effects are devastating. It’s designed for that,” McChrystal explained. “That’s what our soldiers ought to carry. I personally don’t think there’s any need for that kind of weaponry on the streets and particularly around the schools in America.”

And just who is it that dares to legislate gun-free America? No one. Nice try, pal. Next time: It’s Angelina Jolion, for Remington. With her double jiggling barrels of sexy.

Taste:

Twenty-two children were hurt by a knife-wielding man at a primary school in central China.

Min Yingjun, 36, stabbed an elderly woman before bursting into Chenpeng Village Primary School in the Henan province yesterday.

Seven of the students, aged between six and 12 years old, were taken to hospital, some with severed fingers and ears.

A 20-year-old man wearing combat gear and armed with semiautomatic pistols and a semiautomatic rifle killed 26 people — 20 of them children — in an attack in an elementary school in central Connecticut on Friday. Witnesses and officials described a horrific scene as the gunman, with brutal efficiency, chose his victims in two classrooms while other students dove under desks and hid in closets.

Makes the difference, doesn’t it?

Guitar player you used to see at 3:13 a.m. on Headbangers Ball a quarter century ago:

“Back in my country, my president [barf sign], he’s trying to pass a gun ban, so he’s staging all of these murders, like the ‘Fast And Furious’ thing down at the border, and Aurora, Colorado, all the people that were killed there. And now the, um, beautiful people at the Sikh temple.”

“God. Was talking to J.D. our promoter here tonight, what a great guy. I was saying, you know, I don’t know where I’m going to live if America keeps going the way it’s going because it looks like it’s turning into Nazi America. And he said ‘Move down here to Singapore.’”

. . Singapore society is highly regulated through the criminalization of many activities which are considered as fairly harmless in other countries. These include failing to flush toilets after use, littering, jaywalking, the possession of pornography, the sale of chewing gum, and sexual activity; such as oral and anal sex between men.

And if you’re caught with an ounce of cocaine, you get the gallows. Just a heads up for a famous foreigner-drug addict who could end up before a magistrate. Try playing to the judge’s sympathies by flashing him the *Mustaine* eyes:

So the weapons-toting right-wing patriots will be locked and loaded and picking us off like dumb pigeons in that stuck-up neighbor’s yard about once a week from now on. Alright, good to know.

A county constable was one of three people killed Monday near Texas A&M University when a gun nut opened fire from inside a house he was about to be evicted from.

The 35-year-old gunman, Tres Caffall, died after being shot by SWAT officers during a firefight in College Station that involved as many as 30 shots, witnesses and police said.

Everybody knew he was an unemployed pro-life assassin unemployed rockin’ white supremacist unemployed itchy gun loon. Not that that seems to matter to anybody, before or after the event. Apparently this is just what these people do.

“He was crazy as hell,” Richard Weaver, gunman Thomas Caffall’s stepfather, told Houston station KPRC television.

“At one point, we were afraid that he was going to come up here and do something to his mother and me,” Weaver said.

Maybe the NRA, or Fox News, or the people that sell these guys former East Bloc boutique weaponry, could put aside a sliver of the massive profits and donations they’ve stockpiled by kindling nutcases and start a little heads up program for us? Maybe put up an internet site for the neighbors and the otherwise harmless citizens of the quiet places that are now turned into war weapons shooting galleries every few days? College Station could have used a warning of some sort, like the chance to see a picture of Caffall’s face on a “Citizens Capable of Killing More Than a Hundred People Today in Your Home Town” page. Anything at all, really, from you well-armed militia members, and those politically opportunistic supporters and suppliers and wives of the same, to warn us of our impending violent deaths would be greatly appreciated, and perhaps even greatly heroic seeing as it would save hundreds of lives a year at this rate.

But if there’s nothing else, and there won’t be anything else because, in the game of cowardice, it’s who you choose to hang out with and how you behave and that’s a ‘birds of a feather’ story if ever there were one, we’ll have to make do with Facebook. Here were a few of Thomas’ ‘likes’:

Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, JOHN WAYNE, S. E. Cupp, I will NOT vote for Obama in 2012., Michele Bachmann, Anything About Guns, Fox News Video, National Rifle Association, BERETTA USA, Americans for Prosperity, Bill O’Reilly, Edmund Burke, Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin for President 2012, Tea Party Patriots, Repeal It Now.

And then there were Thomas’ real likes. These are the “Inspirational People” he preferred to list at the top of his page. Because when you want everybody to know who you are, and you’re too pathetic and chicken-shit to throw in with the rest of us and accept your station in life, this is how you say you’re the berserking cross between Annie Oakley and Shiva, but with sexual inadequacy for a third eye. Yes, you’re the type of guy who could heroically destroy hundreds and hundreds of soldiers with your fancy guns in a terrifying World War, which is equivalent to shooting and killing a completely unsuspecting policeman on your porch and then . . this:

“(He) looked up at me and asked me to apologize to the officer that was shot,” the 40-year-old medic said.

So hail, hail, the gang’s all here. See the role models of the late great Thomas Caffall:

Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev was a Soviet sniper during World War II, notable particularly for his activities between November 10 and December 17, 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers.

Prior to November 10, he had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin–Nagant rifle. Between October 1942 and January 1943, Zaytsev made 800 verified kills.

And:

Simo Häyhä, nicknamed “White Death” by the Red Army, was a Finnish sniper. Using a modified Mosin–Nagant in the Winter War, he has the highest recorded number of confirmed sniper kills 505 in any major war.

During the Winter War (1939–1940), between Finland and the Soviet Union, he began his duty as a sniper and fought for the Finnish Army against the Red Army in the 6th Company of JR 34 on the Kollaa River. In temperatures between −40 and −20 degrees Celsius, dressed completely in white camouflage, Häyhä was credited with 505 confirmed kills of Soviet soldiers. A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was conducted for the Finnish snipers. Remarkably, all of Häyhä’s kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 days in other words, an average of 5 kills per day at a time of year with very short hours of daylight.

Not to mention:

Carlos Hathcock (May 20, 1942 – February 23, 1999) was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. Hathcock’s record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the Marine Corps. His fame as a sniper and his dedication to long distance shooting led him to become a major developer of the United States Marine Corps Sniper training program. He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather.

Another mass killing:

The shooting at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek about 10:15 a.m. Sunday that left at least seven people dead, including the shooter, and three people injured is being treated as a domestic terrorist incident, Oak Creek [Wisconsin] Police Chief John Edwards said.

Oak Creek police officers who responded to a 911 call about the shooting were helping a victim when the shooter ambushed one of the officers, shooting the officer multiple times.

A second Oak Creek officer returned fire, killing the shooter, Edwards said.

This brings back bad memories. Remember this?

Balbir Singh Sodhi was gunned down on Sept. 15, 2001 in Mesa, Arizona. The turban-wearing Sikh was killed outside his gas station. Sodhi’s killer spent the hours before the murder in a bar, bragging of his intention to “kill the ragheads responsible for September 11.” He has been convicted and sits on death row.

Now today. Raw Story:

More information is coming out about what led the FBI to declare Sunday’s Sikh temple shooting an act of domestic terrorism.

According to the Los Angeles Times, tattoos plus “certain biographical details” were the source of that conclusion. A representative of the Sikh congregation, Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka, told CNN that “members described the attacker as a bald, white man, dressed in a white T-shirt and black pants and with a 9/11 tattoo on one arm.”

There has already been widespread speculation that the shooter may have intent on committing an anti-Islamic hate crime but confused Sikhs with Muslims because of their turbans. Kaleka pointed out that “maybe it’s because the ladies were fortunate enough to dodge it out, but so far most of the people I’ve heard have been shot and killed were all turbaned males.”

Waiting for Pam Geller to tell us this is still Mohammed’s fault.

Pictured (front to back): Wonder Woman, wheel of logic

“Administration officials intentionally put guns into the hands of Mexican drug cartels so that Democrats would have a reason to crack down on dealers who intentionally put guns into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.”

Everybody in South Carolina has a gun, that’s what they say. And now, with the perhaps passage of this new concealed firearm legislation, they can carry it around pretty much anywhere they like. To your corner deli, your kids’ nursery school . .

S.C. bill would loosen gun rules even more
By GINA SMITH - Mar 30, 2111

Legislation weaving its way through the House of Representatives would increase the number of places that legal gun owners can carry their guns to include restaurants, day-care centers and churches.

“It puts criminals on the defense,” said state Rep. Thad Viers, R-Horry, a co-sponsor of the bill and the owner of about 25 firearms and a concealed weapons permit. “Criminals don’t know if you’re carrying or not.”

Yep, and it’s time to change that. Actually, in South Carolina, where everybody owns a couple of handguns, no one ever carries one around. Never. That’s the reason Palmetto state criminals do what they do — they’re sure nobody’s got a Glock in their pocket.

Taking that tragic fact into account, you can understand why the heroic anti-crime bunch would draft such a law. And also oppose an amended version of the bill that might prevent carrying a Colt .45 into all sorts of dangerous places:

Under the amended bill, it would continue to be illegal for gun owners to carry their weapons into courthouses, police stations, schools, prisons, polling sites and any place that posts a sign prohibiting concealed weapons.

You never know when the Chief of Police will get shot at his desk. It’s time to stop discriminating against the hapless shotgun-and-body-armor crowd and time to protect all of South Carolina’s citizens . .

“While the (amended) bill might make it better for people in South Carolina, it’s going to be a lot worse for others, including those visiting us,” said Ed Kelleher, president of GrassRoots South Carolina. “We depend on tourism here, and this has chilling effect on that.”

. . as well as 6.775 billion other poor, defenseless people.

The Tucson Shooting: a Reminder to Arm Yourself
by AWR Hawkins | January 12, 2011 | Pajamas Media

. . we must take responsibility for our own lives — and be prepared to defend those lives with weapons we carry for protection.

. . this is best achieved by lawfully carrying a handgun on our persons: a handgun with which we are familiar, and which we are willing to use to defend our own lives and the lives of other innocents.

So, have you bought a handgun? Are you carrying it right now? Me neither.

GOP’s Gohmert plans to introduce bill to allow firearms on House floor
By Josiah Ryan | 01/12/11 | The Hill

A spokesperson for Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) told The Hill on Wednesday afternoon that the congressman plans to introduce legislation that will allow members of Congress to carry weapons both in the District of Columbia and on the House floor.

. . “Accordingly, we are in the process of drafting a bill that will allow members of Congress to do that.”

. . the House floor? Because Representatives currently cannot open fire on each other? Just stock an armory. Hand out guns to members as they enter the chamber, duh.

After Tucson shooting, several congressmen vow to carry guns more often
By Sandhya Somashekhar | January 12, 2011 | Washington Post

. . A longtime gun owner, [Jason] Chaffetz said that in light of the attempt last weekend on the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), he thinks it might be a good idea to bring his Glock 23 even more often when he heads out into the country.

. . Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) told the Associated Press that he would reapply for his permit to carry a concealed weapon, though he is not sure he will carry his gun to public events. Freshman Rep. Morgan Griffith (R) said in an interview that he was thinking of applying for a permit because his new job as a congressman requires him to be away from his southern Virginia home more often.

When so many of the nation’s leaders react like this, we get the message: violent death is coming. The most powerful members of society are terrified again, and America teems with evil.

The other possibility: lazy politicians fall back on biblical themes of good and evil. They posture as if eternal death may be imminent and confronting it were life’s business. Jesus makes for a good hero. Luke Skywalker, too.

It’s not rewarding to point out that if the killer had gotten some proper mental health services, he’d have had no reason to shoot people. Who in America is considered heroic by denying evil a place in society? Heroes are only born after the body count’s begun. People beg to see fatal dramas played out in their boring lives.

The Romans? Lions? In Italy?

In no particular order.

–What the hell is Jared Loughner’s story? He appears to be a paranoid schizophrenic. Schizophrenia is a disease that first appears in the late teens or early twenties.

Loughner dropped out of high school in nearby Marana after his junior year, according to the school district. He got into the community college through a program aimed at helping high school dropouts transition to community colleges, Pima’s president told CNN.

His dropping out would’ve have been consistent with either becoming increasingly unglued, or — worse — having his first psychotic break. If his family merely tried to tough it out and convalesce him at home, as opposed to getting him long-term psychiatric support and medication, that might explain his later exhibiting the sort of chronic behavior that unnerved or terrified virtually everybody that he came into contact with.

–Why do paranoid schizophrenics kill people? That’s a mystery for the ages. Some combination of vulnerability and agitation. A need to make things right, somehow? Or a need to change things? Or a need to make public their perceived extra-worldly powers? You can see, when someone keeps saying they can control others’ thoughts and feelings, even their religious beliefs, as Jared did, that they feel like supermen. Being ignored or laughed at might be too much to take.

–How did he manage to shoot so many people so quickly? Other than some obvious answers — he used a semi-automatic handgun, a Glock 19, which is easy to conceal and to use — how is it that the numbers of dead and wounded were so high? A key: he purchased a high-capacity magazine for the attack. Using that, he could squeeze off 30 or more shots as fast as he could pull the trigger. That’s how he could hit 20, killing 6, in a matter of a few seconds.

–Those high-capacity magazines aren’t illegal? Not any more. They were previously illegal under Clinton’s Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. No new magazines of more than 10 round capacity were allowed to be sold in the U.S. When the law sunseted in 2004, under the Bush administration, the NRA got their wishes. Senator Lautenberg of New Jersey wants to re-enact the ban: I think it’s a good idea. Who the hell really needs to get off 30, or 33, rounds in a matter of seconds? Loughner was disabled after he emptied the first clip and reached for his second. That may have saved lives. If he were forced to use a 10 or 15 round magazine, even more lives could’ve been saved.

–Where the hell are his family? Why didn’t they do something to get this guy some mental health support? They weren’t in court today — who knows if they’ll ever show up? And you probably already know why: how could they do so little to help out their schizophrenic son? If you’re familiar with how schizophrenic family members are perceived, you know that nobody was more keenly aware of Jared’s massive problems with society, his co-hort and reality than his parents and siblings. They knew painfully well that Jared was severely mentally ill, but they apparently did little of consequence about it: his chronically frightening and inappropriate behavior across years bears that out. I’d say his suffering demonstrates a contempt for the well being of a precious family member and for society at large. Stay tuned as the media, while the days mount and the anger rises, find it convenient to hunt down the family members and grill them. Can’t say the family haven’t earned it. Can say that dealing with a severely ill son or brother is brutally difficult, and the Loughners should be treated with some dignity. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Fox go after them pretty directly.

What a horrible tragedy. So many shattered lives, so much pain.

Now that we’ve seen what a mentally ill man with delusions about government victimization can do, wouldn’t it be a good idea to improve the tone of our political rhetoric?

Let’s not claim the President wants to burn us: “President Obama — why don’t you just set us on fire?” Let’s not say the government aims to smash us: “Our government wants to stir the pot so they can use the iron fist and crush people.” Let’s not pretend to kill the Speaker of the House: “You gonna drink your wine? I want you to drink it now. Drink it. By the way, I put poison in your . . “

. . and that’s only a couple months of one guy, Glenn Beck. And when we point out that Sarah Palin has been using “bullet politics” to score cheap points, don’t spit in our stupid faces:

[REBECCA] MANSOUR: I just want to clarify again, and maybe it wasn’t done on the record enough by us when this came out, the graphic, is just, it’s basically — we never, ever, ever intended it to be gunsights. It was simply crosshairs like you see on maps.

[TAMMY] BRUCE: Well, it’s a surveyor’s symbol. It’s a surveyor’s symbol.

MANSOUR: It’s a surveyor’s symbol. I just want to say this, Tammy, if I can. This graphic was done, not even done in house — we had a political graphics professional who did this for us.

I remind Rebecca and Tammy:

And after a tragedy where a congresswoman is targeted and shot through the head, and six others are now dead, don’t tell everyone to shut up:

[LAMAR] ALEXANDER: Well, Candy, I think you’re responsible, by bringing this up, of doing the very thing you’re trying to condemn. You’re making and implying a direct connection between Sarah Palin and what happened. You’re picking out a particular incident. Well, I think the way to get away from it is for you not to be talking about it.

This country has a long history of horrible, brutal political killings. Abraham Lincoln, shot in the head. John F. Kennedy, shot in the head. Robert Kennedy, shot in the head. Martin Luther King jr., shot in the head. How anyone could’ve ignored or forgotten this, I don’t understand.

Well, it’s happened again. Sarah Palin is a reckless fool for having produced and pimped such a shallow political stunt. A classier person would have acknowledged it and apologized by now.

ADD: Glenn Reynolds, exhibit #1A in the trial of discursive disgrace:

The Arizona Tragedy and the Politics of Blood Libel
GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS | Jan 10 2011 | Wall Street Journal

Shortly after November’s electoral defeat for the Democrats, pollster Mark Penn appeared on Chris Matthews’s TV show and remarked that what President Obama needed to reconnect with the American people was another Oklahoma City bombing. To judge from the reaction to Saturday’s tragic shootings in Arizona, many on the left (and in the press) agree, and for a while hoped that Jared Lee Loughner’s killing spree might fill the bill.

Yes, we’ve all been praying for a spree killing. A mass murder, or maybe a politically motivated serial killer — we need something that we can work with to reconnect our president with the American people. Anything with a large body count and witnesses permanently scarred would be nice. I more politically than personally rejoice over all the blood and brain matter spilled.

Good use of “Blood Libel”, incidentally, where Jews were murdered in suspicious retaliation for killing children to make Passover bread. You’d be one of those Jews, right, Glenn? You picked a convenient time to stand in for the wounded Jewish congresswoman. The discourse continues to improve.

ADD 2: Meanwhile, on Sarah Palin’s Facebook page, they’ve got editors working overtime scrubbing any mention of her “hit map” from the comments section. However, a comment that said the death of nine year old Christina Green was “ok” was saved:

“It’s ok. Christina Taylor Green was probably going to end up a left wing bleeding heart liberal anyway. Hey, as ‘they’ say, what would you do if you had the chance to kill Hitler as a kid? Exactly.”

Read the post at Obama London.

Can we agree that Palin’s “bullet politics” are the cheapest political theater? Can we agree that digital gun-toting is a pathetic burlesque? Yes, we can.

All of this comes courtesy the cliche politician whose favorite cliche is about shooting politicians she dislikes:

I imagine this will be campaign fluff that was supposed to be scrubbed months ago. I’m sure Sarah will say that others let her down. Nothing’s ever her fault.

This is horrible news. Let’s hope this isn’t a politically motivated attack:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Shot at Grocery Store Event
At Least 12 People Reportedly Wounded in Shooting at Grocery Store
By DEVIN DWYER and DEAN SCHABNER | Jan. 8, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at point-blank rang today outside a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store where she was holding a campaign event, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Giffords was among as many as 12 people reportedly wounded in the shooting, and according to Congressional sources, several people on the Deomcrat’s staff were among the wounded . .

Federal law enforcement sources said the shooter appears to be in custody, but they are still treating the incident as an active crime scene.

Giffords, a Democrat, was holding a “Congress on Your Corner” event today at a Safeway supermarket in northwest Tucson.

Updates now report she died along with several others. At least three different sources reported that Giffords had died as a result of her wounds but were all incorrect. The bullet entered her temple and exited her forehead. After surgery, she is recovering in intensive care at University of Arizona Hospital. Six other people, unfortunately, have died.

We have no choice but to wonder if there were political motivations. Arizona has become a politically charged state, what with the SB 1070 and the resultant angry right-wing appreciation it’s gotten for going after immigrants. Giffords ran against a Tea Party candidate, Jesse Kelly, who is a gun nut. Jesse was happy to “target” Giffords:

. . Jesse Kelly held a June 12 gun event that was billed as follows on the Pima County Republican website:

Get on Target for Victory in November Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office Shoot a fully automatic M15 with Jesse Kelly

Idiots like Sarah Palin have made hay with wingnuts using exactly this sort of bullet-politics. This graphic is taken directly from Palin’s webpage [via Firedoglake]:

The threats weren’t just bull talk: Giffords’ office got vandalized just after the healthcare reform vote:

Rep. Giffords’ Tucson office vandalized after health care vote
By Rhonda Bodfield Arizona Daily Star | Monday, March 22, 2010

The front door was smashed out at Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ congressional office last night.

At 2:40 a.m., just a few hours after staff left the building after the late-night vote, the alarm system went off, said spokesman C.J. Karamargin. The panel to the front door and the glass panel alongside it were smashed out. The perpetrator likely had to hop the gated fence to get access to the door, since it’s not viewable from the parking lot.

Karamargin said it was unclear if the glass had been shot out with a kind of pellet gun, if it had been kicked or smashed with an object . .