On today’s BradCast: Our cowardly President couldn’t even make it to the end of his summer vacation before flip-flopping on promised (if tepid) gun safety reforms following the two mass shooting massacres that killed 32 in El Paso and Dayton just two weeks ago. During that vacation Donald Trump reportedly met with NRA boss Wayne LaPierre who straightened him out, and Republicans in Congress decided to blame “mental illness” and “the left” are actually to blame for mass shootings, not the rightwing white supremacists, domestic terrorists or the military assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines they use to kill –which are nearly as easy to buy in much of the country as milk and eggs at the grocery store. [Audio link to show follows below.]
In just the past week, at least five different potential mass shootings by white American male rightwingers appear to have been prevented, thanks to tips to law enforcement from the public. Among those arrested over the past week and found with huge caches of military hardware, thousands of rounds of ammo, and threats against immigrants, jews, African-Americans, trans people and Planned Parenthood among others (ya know, folks often targeted by “the left”):
- A 26-year old white American rightwing male in Orlando, FL;
- An 18-year old white American rightwing male in Youngstown, OH;
- A 23-year old white American rightwing male in Las Vegas, NV;
- A 22-year old white American rightwing male in Norwalk, CT;
- And a 20-year old white American rightwing male, also in Youngstown, OH.
Again, all of those stories broke within the past week alone. But, other than that, sure, “the left” is to blame for America’s domestic terrorism crisis.
To his credit, Rep. Pete King of New York, on Monday, became the first and, so far only, GOPer in the House to join 200 Democrats in co-sponsoring a bill that would ban assault weapons once and for all. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of course, has vowed to make sure the measure never sees the light of day in the Senate and Trump…well, of course, he is opposed, because it would mean actual reform that flies in the face of their benefactors at the terrorist-enabling NRA.
In other news of Republicans showing the smallest signs of willingness to do the right thing for the nation — but we’ll take it where we can find it — longtime Republican pollster and operative Frank Luntz recently testified in the U.S. Senate that he is now willing to help Democrats fight against the climate crisis, after his home almost burned down in a California wildfire. Luntz is responsible for an infamous 2001 memo to Republicans explaining what language they should use to avoid action on the global warming climate crisis. Now, he says, he has changed and is offering advice to Democrats on language that he says will help convince the American people that urgent action is needed. We discuss his advice and his suggested language.
Finally today, Desi Doyen brings us the latest Green News Report with bad news on Newark’s lead contamination water crisis; bad news on a global methane emissions spike due to U.S. fracking and Trump rollbacks to Obama restrictions; bad news on air pollution; and an aggressive — if potentially perilous — proposal from a Democratic 2020 Presidential candidate on action to solve the climate crisis…
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