Ben Shaprio at CPAC

He comes off as a little nervous, which I don't understand as he speaks in public all the time, but still, Ben Shapiro hits a home run at CPAC.  Yeah, he does throw some red meat to the crowd, but his takedown of Political Correctness is virtuoso.

However, there is some lecture to the crowd as well.  His points that we must ALWAYS tell the truth, and that virtue matters need to be heard, and more importantly, lived.

I admit to a raging man-crush on Mr. Shapiro.  This speech is prime example of why:

Jake Trapper Asks Hard Questions of Sheriff Scott Isreal

Just last week Broward (rhymes with coward) County Sheriff Scott Isreal was a darling of he left as he lectured the NRA at the "town hall" and blamed them for the massacre at his local school.  Unfortunately, CNN found out too late that Isreal's deputies were at the scene of the shooting, guns drawn and cowering, while kids were getting slaughtered and were bleeding out in the school.

We don't know all the details yet, but one thing the Blue Wall can't tolerate is cowardace, and in between on-the-record accounts which should come and video which is everywhere, the whole truth will come forth.  In the meantime, Trapper takes apart Isreal.

Isreal's reaction is quite telling.  His lip licking and eye movements are classic behavior for one that is deceiving.  As a cop, that's exactly what he's looking for when grilling a suspect.

Isreal needs to resign.  The failure of his office - from following up on calls about the killer up to and including failure to literally save lives - should have him leaving in disgrace.

Recap of CNN Town Hall

Lots of thoughts on last night's "Town Hall":

• What a shit show.  The lack of decorum, respect, and a display of those drunken with their time in the spotlight turned this into a version of the Wellstone Memorial.  I understand the trauma these folks faced.  But opening a vein to that trauma is not a "Town Hall."  It is an emotional rant.  Call it what it is.
• Along those lines, that's the last one of these we'll see.  The smugness, mugging to the camera, and canned questions were too much.  There certainly will be rallies, but you'll never see someone with a different point of view on stage there to discuss.  Rubio and the NRA were merely there to shut up and take their punishment.  Period.
• Marco Rubio was a punching bag, and the example that will be pointed to when republicans turn down future invites to "discussions" like these.  He was the Christian that was served to the lions to satisfy the crowd's lust for someone to pay.  Despite making a couple of good points, nobody was there to listen to him.  They wanted blood.  They got it.  
• That being said, Dana Loesch of the NRA came across as very grounded, versed, level-headed, and sympathetic.  If this was a prize fight, folks there wanted (and truly expected) a first round knock out.  In reality, not many gloves landed.  She still loses on decision due to the emotion of the night, but she made it all 15 rounds and was not bloodied.
• Loesch's argument that law enforcement had dropped the ball was spot on, although nobody wanted to hear it.  And there, gentle reader, is your sign.  Nobody wants to "fix" the situation if the fix doesn't involve banning guns.  
• Sherriff Scott Isreal came prepared to turn any accountability of law enforcement back to "too many guns on the streets."  He played to the crowd, told them what they wanted to hear, and accepted zero responsibility for the failure of his office to keep kids from being killed.  As a law enforcement official, he's truly a disgusting individual.

What happens from here?  Like the Wellstone memorial, it sure feels like the hand is being overplayed.  The kids are being told by their betters in the liberal stratosphere about how great they are and how they're going to change the world.  Money and adulation are rushing in, and that usually brings out the worst in people.  We're seeing that.  

While this screed can play extremely well to those drunk on the liberal Kool-Aid, I feel it's time is not going to last too long with middle America.  Sympathetic figures will look less so.  "With us or against us," demands require that folks choose an immediate side on a very nuanced issue, and such demands aren't typically received well.  Real solutions that would have done something but don't ban guns will continue to be rejected because they don't deliver upon the Final Solution.

But CNN will continue to drive this; scripting questions and events.  Big money will continue to flow.  Kids will continue to gain in celebrity, driven by their political hatred and refusal of comprimise.  

In essence, expect the shit show to continue.

Kill the NRA Billboard - Anti-Gun's Next Step

Surely emboldened by the 24/7 anti-gun coverage on CNN, someone in Kentucky scaled a billboard and crafted this message of unity.  Immediately the NRA picked up on it and communicated out to its members that "they're coming for us."

The winds of hatred have whipped up to hurricane force.  People are likely going to be attacked and killed.  If some congressmen can shot up merely because of the (R) after their name, how could one doubt that some unhinged lefty will fell compelled to take it upon himself to act on this?

In the meantime, the rhetoric of appeal of the 2nd Amendment, "blood on their hands," "if you're not for us you're against us," is having the opposite effect, per usual.

Are gun sales up or down the past couple of days?

How about ammunition sales?

NRA memberships?

Exactly.

We're now at the point where one side believes that the right to protect our selves and our families is a core of our existence, and that right is close to being taken away.  The other side believes people that own guns are as guilty of murder as the evil individuals the pulled the trigger.  

There is no middle ground.  There certainly could be, but emotions and rhetoric have caused that ship to sail.  All that is left is hate and mistrust.

And, in all likelihood, a whole lot of violence.

Who is Behind The March for Our Lives?

Yesterday, the victems of the latest school shooting did the rounds on the Sunday morning talk shows.  They were well scripted, angry, and announcing a march on Washington to protest gun ownership.

I don't begrudge them their opionion.  Had I personally witnessed my friends being slaughtered, I would expect a lot of people would be hearing from me.  What worries me, though, is how quickly this all came about.

The shooting happened late Wednesday afternoon.  In less than three days, a URL was negotiated and purchased (marchforourlives.com surely was not just sitting there), a website, social media sites, talk show interviews, and a march on Washington were all planned and launched.  Even merchadise was made available for sale.  Three days.  High school kids, fresh of a tramatic event.  Three days.

Likewise, their media appearances were EXTREMELY well scripted.  Perhaps they're all naturally gifted at being in front of a camera and handling questions from the media.  Or, perhaps, there was some practice.

Again, I don't begrudge these kids.  However, I do want to know who they're working with, and where exactly the money and coaching is coming from.  It sure looks like things are being fast tracked by someone.

Saturday Song Share: Soul Coughing - Super Bon Bon

Move aside
and let the man go through

Another School Shooting

Yesterday we experienced yet another horrific school shooting.  Our hearts ache, and we search for solutions and meanings.  Unfortunately, there are few of either.

The knee-jerk reaction is to simply ban guns; as if those hundreds of millions in circulation would just up and disappear, and as if the evil that truly causes these events would just shrug its shoulders and not seek another method of meeting out mayhem and death.  

A sober and unemotional view of the situation knows that a ban is folly.  It'd be nice if it were that easy.  It's not.

So what then?  Certainly, this case will teach us something as the shooter was taken alive.  I can't ever remember a shooting where that was the case, and the perp will be studied endlessly to see what we can glean.  

More than that, the stories are being told about the shooter are that people EXPECTED him to do something like this.  What do we do with information like that?

We can't talk civilly to each other anymore (don't believe me - just watch the gun arguments by the talking heads this week).  We don't go to church anymore.  Our fathers aren't involved in raising their kids anymore.  We attribute the absolute worst to people that oppose us; easily dropping terms like Nazi and racist to fan our hate.

We don't care about each other anymore.  We look for slights and when we perceive them we lash out in hatred.  Most times it's done via a social media screed.

But sometimes it's done with an AR-15 in a school.

Happy Ash Wednesday

Some Van the Man to get us started on our journey.