If this is what America is, then this is "freedom." Obviously, the Republicans and many of their far right allies have shit for brains. They are either too stupid to realize that our country is by far the leading in one of the dangerous problems.
Gun violence.
We are living in an age where a bunch of idiots can support a man who chokeholds a random stranger on a subway to a bunch of cops brutally beating up a motorist.
If the victims are Black, the perpetrators are white, obviously the far right will distance itself from these folks. They may either defend them in the way of being a "good samaritan" or "vigilante".
A 12-year-old Texas boy has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting a Sonic restaurant employee with a semi-automatic rifle after a fight broke out in the restaurant’s parking lot.
A young father lost his life to senseless gun violence.
According to the Keene (Texas) Police Department, Sonic employee Mathew Davis confronted a man who was urinating in the parking lot of the restaurant at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Davis and the man, identified as Angel Gomez of Fort Worth, began to argue and then began to fight, Keene Police Chief James Kidd said.
As the two were fighting, the 12-year-old who had been sitting in Gomez’s car, allegedly fired six rounds from the rifle, hitting Davis, NBC-DFW reported.
Davis was airlifted to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
After the shooting, Gomez and the boy fled the scene, but Gomez later returned and was arrested. The 12-year-old, who was not identified because of his age, was located in nearby Rio Vista and taken into custody, police said. According to police, officers confiscated several firearms at the Rio Vista scene.
A GoFundMe has been started to help Davis’ family cover funeral costs and support his 10-year-old son.
The suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
According to the far right: White shooters are mentally ill. Black shooters are unrepentant criminals. Gay shooters are active groomers. Muslim shooters are terrorists. Hispanic and Asian shooters are illegal immigrants. Almost all mass shooters are registered Democrats because they have liked one thing common to the left. Of course, they often share disinformation by using the "Sam Hyde" meme as a way to denounce most mass shooters being white. They say a white person should "protect" from protesters and use of firearms are justified. They say if a shooter is active military or a veteran who supports conservative causes, they are considered a "heroes" and use of firearms are justified.
The Republicans usually amplify white victims. Anytime a person of color kills a white victim, it is often wall-to-wall coverage on Fox and they force it into national news. White shooters are given glowing profiles about their perfect lives and how friends noticed something but refused to do something. When it comes to Black shooters, automatic vilification. They don't see mental illness. They see it as gang violence, allegedly fatherless homes, Democratic policies or the need for more firearms. The far right and Republicans exploit gun violence in the Black community for culture wars and racism.
Republicans solutions are more guns, blame others for America's social ills and defect from accepting reality.
The 20 year old man who was with the 12 year old shooter was arrested as well.
Every community in the United States will eventually have a legacy. A legacy of never ending tragedy. Gun violence, extremism, monkeypox and COVID-19 will affect your town, your family and your life. So I don't want to hear that bullshit about how gun reform is taking away your rights to own firearms.
I don't want to hear that protesting against police killing people of color is hate on cops in general. I don't want to hear talk about the coronavirus being a myth.
When you hear folks say "gun rights," what they really mean is that its white privilege. This good guy with a gun nonsense has to end. The cops didn't do nothing when children were shot inside a school. A security guard was shot dead trying to protect shoppers. A cop accidentally shot his own. The good guy who tried to stop a bad guy is outgunned and a part of the rule #3.
Remember #3 means: The "good guy with a gun" better be prepared to die if they want to stop a shooter.
I don't want to hear folks say masks and vaccine mandates impede their freedoms. It prevents a deadly outbreak from spreading. If you want to die from the coronavirus, that's on you. We lost over 1 million people from the coronavirus.
I don't want to hear the shit about guns saving lives. Cause a bullet does not have eyes and it's always likely gonna hit a target. These folks seem to not get it. These incidents are a tragic part of American history. Thoughts and prayers and your heart going out to the victims is not enough. It quite frankly is an insult. I am also tired of scapegoating Black on Black crime, Chicago, Baltimore and Democratic mayors for the nation's obsession to be numb to gun violence. You pretty much enable this nonsense by deflecting.
President Joe Biden is trying to curb gun violence. However, he has no support from Republicans. Most Democrats and America are for gun control measures. However one Democrat and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate refuse to change the filibuster rules and its holding us back.
The National Rifle Association is always pushing against it. They will not relinquish from the narrative that guns are not saving lives. The Republicans aided by a fickle junk food media are openly encouraging anarchy and disruption in a desperate attempt for the Republicans to win back Congress and the White House. These agitators are calling for Biden to curb crime but will not help him. They want more guns on the street. It makes no sense.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or 988, or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the Lifeline’s website or the Crisis Text Line’s website.
The call number to the U.S. Capitol is now going to be used. This is the official phone number, 202-224-3121. Let them know that "thoughts and prayers," "hearts going to" and "good guys with guns" are no longer acceptable and you want legislation to curb gun violence.
GUN VIOLENCE IS THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES.
The Weeknd — has started using his given name on social media accounts, quietly changing his moniker after saying last week that he wanted to "kill The Weeknd" in an interview with W Magazine.
"The album I'm working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd," he said in the interview, adding, "This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I've said everything I can say."
As of Monday, while the singer's social media handles are still under his stage name, his display name appears as Abel Tesfaye on Instagram and Twitter. Tesfaye is still listed as The Weeknd on Facebook.
Born and raised in Toronto, Tesfaye began his career in 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube. Two years later, he co-founded the XO record label and released the mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, which gained recognition for his style of contemporary and alternative R&B and the mystique surrounding his identity. In 2012, he signed with Republic Records and rereleased the mixtapes in the compilation album Trilogy. He explored dark wave in his debut studio album Kiss Land (2013), which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. After its release, Tesfaye began contributing to film soundtracks, with his acclaimed single "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance, while also being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Tesfaye earned critical and commercial success with his pop-leaning second album Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), which reached number one in the US, contained the US Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills", and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. His trap-infused third studio album Starboy (2016) saw similar commercial success and included the US number-one single of the same name and "Die For You", and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Tesfaye explored new wave and dream pop with his critically acclaimed fourth studio album After Hours (2020), which featured the chart record-setting single "Blinding Lights" and the US number-one singles "Heartless" and "Save Your Tears". His dance-pop inspired fifth album Dawn FM (2022) included the US top-ten single "Take My Breath" and moderately successfully singles "Sacrifice", "Out of Time", and "Less than Zero".
Among the world's best-selling music artists with over 75 million records sold, Tesfaye holds several streaming and Billboard chart records. He is the first Canadian artist to earn four diamond-certified singles from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as well as the first artist to simultaneously hold the top three spots on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Blinding Lights" became the most-streamed song in Spotify history, and is ranked as the greatest Hot 100 song in Billboard history. Tesfaye was listed by Time as one of the world's most influential people in 2020, and was dubbed the "world's most popular artist" by Guinness World Records in 2023. An advocate for racial equality and food security, he was appointed a World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador in 2021.
Detroit shooting inside a gas station. The cashier locked the victims inside.
Most gun owners purchase their firearms legally. So this argument about criminals getting firearms falls flat. Even those with "mental illness" obtain firearms. The far right can't get it through their shit for brains heads that guns are the leading cause of death in the United States.
Mass shooting in Detroit led to a victim being killed. It was the fault of an angry terrorist and an angry cashier who had the audacity to trap the victims inside an Exxon gas station. The shooter would ended up fleeing. He took off in a family member's car then went to a motel to have sex with a hooker before he was caught.
It happen this week and the Wayne County prosecutors are currently debating on whether they should criminally charge the cashier for reckless endangerment.
The shooter is being charged with murder and attempted murder.
The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
It all began over an argument over credit card decline over a measly $4 worth of groceries.
So the cashier is upset and he decides to push the panic button to lock the shooter and three other men inside. The shooter getting more agitated stated that he will shoot the victims if the cashier don't unlock the doors.
In video footage, you hear the men plead with the cashier to open the door and let them go. One even thought the shooter was bluffing. Turns out he was not bluffing.
The shooting occurred Saturday (May 6) at 3 a.m. in the 12800 block of West McNichols when Samuel Anthony McCray, 27, attempted to make a purchase inside the gas station.
No remorse.
Prosecutors say the clerk, behind protective glass, argued over four dollars worth of items with McCray as he locked the store’s door, trapping the three innocent customers inside with the shooter.
Prosecutors say McCray clarified that he would shoot the three innocent customers if the clerk did not unlock the door.
Security footage showed the three customers begging the clerk to let them out, but the door remained locked before the three victims were shot.
McCray shot three patrons of the store, according to prosecutors. Gregory Karlos Samuel Fortner-Kelly, a 37-year-old Detroit father of three, was killed. His friend, David Langston, 37, and another patron survived their gunshot wounds.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the clerk finally unlocked the door after the three people were shot, and McCray fled. He was found and arrested Sunday.
During McCray's arraignment in 36th District Court on Wednesday morning, prosecutors said the incident was captured on Project Green Light surveillance cameras.
The clerk and McCray argued after he attempted to leave the store, McCray became increasingly angry and the clerk refused multiple pleas from the other customers to unlock the door, prosecutors said.
McCray then allegedly began to argue with Fortner-Kelly. McCray told him he would "put one in the head" before pulling out a gun and shooting him and the other two patrons, prosecutors said.
The gas station owners condemned the shooter. They also said that the actions of the cashier were reckless. They ended up losing their business license because of this.
Greg Fortner-Kelly was killed.
But in a statement, they company thanked the Detroit Metro Police and Michigan State Police for catching the shooter. They also called for gun reform.
"Mr. Gregory Karlos Samuel Fortner-Kelly was an outstanding young man and leader who was a victim of a heinous and senseless crime," the company said in the statement. "SMM Mobil wants to thank the Michigan State Police and Detroit Police Department in cooperation with community organizations like Crime Stoppers for the swift apprehension of the suspect who committed this tragic and senseless act of violence further proving a need for stricter gun control laws and community unity."SMM Mobil is a participant in the Green Light program and has supported all Detroit Police initiatives to insure safer streets in our community. SMM Mobil has spoken with several community activists and has committed to help the families in any way we can in this difficult time of need. We are devastated by this horrific tragedy and will do all we can to assist and aid in the investigation. Our efforts to obtain a Business License in the City of Detroit is an ongoing process that is currently in motion."
According to the far right: White shooters are mentally ill. Black shooters are unrepentant criminals. Gay shooters are active groomers. Muslim shooters are terrorists. Hispanic and Asian shooters are illegal immigrants. Almost all mass shooters are registered Democrats because they have liked one thing common to the left. Of course, they often share disinformation by using the "Sam Hyde" meme as a way to denounce most mass shooters being white. They say a white person should "protect" from protesters and use of firearms are justified. They say if a shooter is active military or a veteran who supports conservative causes, they are considered a "heroes" and use of firearms are justified.
The Republicans usually amplify white victims. Anytime a person of color kills a white victim, it is often wall-to-wall coverage on Fox and they force it into national news. White shooters are given glowing profiles about their perfect lives and how friends noticed something but refused to do something. When it comes to Black shooters, automatic vilification. They don't see mental illness. They see it as gang violence, allegedly fatherless homes, Democratic policies or the need for more firearms. The far right and Republicans exploit gun violence in the Black community for culture wars and racism.
Republicans solutions are more guns, blame others for America's social ills and defect from accepting reality.
Every community in the United States will eventually have a legacy. A legacy of never ending tragedy. Gun violence, extremism, monkeypox and COVID-19 will affect your town, your family and your life. So I don't want to hear that bullshit about how gun reform is taking away your rights to own firearms.
I don't want to hear that protesting against police killing people of color is hate on cops in general. I don't want to hear talk about the coronavirus being a myth.
When you hear folks say "gun rights," what they really mean is that its white privilege. This good guy with a gun nonsense has to end. The cops didn't do nothing when children were shot inside a school. A security guard was shot dead trying to protect shoppers. A cop accidentally shot his own. The good guy who tried to stop a bad guy is outgunned and a part of the rule #3.
Remember #3 means: The "good guy with a gun" better be prepared to die if they want to stop a shooter.
I don't want to hear folks say masks and vaccine mandates impede their freedoms. It prevents a deadly outbreak from spreading. If you want to die from the coronavirus, that's on you. We lost over 1 million people from the coronavirus.
I don't want to hear the shit about guns saving lives. Cause a bullet does not have eyes and it's always likely gonna hit a target. These folks seem to not get it. These incidents are a tragic part of American history. Thoughts and prayers and your heart going out to the victims is not enough. It quite frankly is an insult. I am also tired of scapegoating Black on Black crime, Chicago, Baltimore and Democratic mayors for the nation's obsession to be numb to gun violence. You pretty much enable this nonsense by deflecting.
President Joe Biden is trying to curb gun violence. However, he has no support from Republicans. Most Democrats and America are for gun control measures. However one Democrat and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate refuse to change the filibuster rules and its holding us back.
The National Rifle Association is always pushing against it. They will not relinquish from the narrative that guns are not saving lives. The Republicans aided by a fickle junk food media are openly encouraging anarchy and disruption in a desperate attempt for the Republicans to win back Congress and the White House. These agitators are calling for Biden to curb crime but will not help him. They want more guns on the street. It makes no sense.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or 988, or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the Lifeline’s website or the Crisis Text Line’s website.
The call number to the U.S. Capitol is now going to be used. This is the official phone number, 202-224-3121. Let them know that "thoughts and prayers," "hearts going to" and "good guys with guns" are no longer acceptable and you want legislation to curb gun violence.
GUN VIOLENCE IS THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES.
U.S. Capitol Police, Fairfax Police and the FBI are investigating the attack on the district office of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) were victims of an attack.
The Virginia lawmaker isn't a bombastic politician like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Cori Bush, Lauren Boebert, George Santos, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Nancy Mace, Rashida Tlaib, Maxine Waters, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Byron Donalds, Jamaal Bowman, Ro Khanna, Ayanna Pressley, James Comer, Kevin McCarthy, Ilhan Omar, Katie Porter and Chip Roy.
Connolly is your average moderate Democrat from the Northern Virginia which holds some of Metro Washington, DC suburbs.
A man with a metal baseball bat walked into the northern Virginia office of Gerry Connolly on Monday, asked for him, then struck two of his workers with the bat, including an intern in her first day on the job, police and the congressman said.
The attack marked the latest in an uptick in violence aimed at lawmakers or those close to them.
Fairfax City Police said officers arrived minutes afterward and detained the man. The two staff members were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
The veteran Democratic congressman, who wasn’t in the office at the time, said in an interview that the suspect was known to police in Fairfax County, adding, “he’s never made threats to us so it was unprovoked, unexpected and inexplicable.”
“I have no reason to believe that his motivation was politically motivated, but it is possible that the sort of toxic political environment we all live in, you know, set him off, and I would just hope all of us would take a little more time to be careful about what we say and how we say it,” he said.
Connolly said the two women attacked — an intern struck in the side and an outreach director hit on the head — were treated and released from a hospital.
The U.S. Capitol Police and Fairfax City Police identified the suspect as Xuan-Kha Tran Pham, 49, of Fairfax. He was being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on charges of malicious wounding and aggravated malicious wounding. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
“At this time, it is not clear what the suspect’s motivation may have been,” Capitol Police said in a statement announcing a joint investigation with Fairfax City Police.
Police said the man is suspected in a separate attack a short time earlier Monday.
Mentally illness drives dangerous results.
Fairfax County Police said a man later identified as Pham approached a woman parked in her car about five miles (eight kilometers) away from Connolly’s office at 10:37 a.m. The man asked the woman if she was white, then hit her windshield with a bat and ran away, according to police. The woman wasn’t injured.
A video recorded on a neighbor’s home camera system showed a man chasing a woman with a bat at the site where police said the earlier incident occurred. The woman can be heard screaming and a man is shown chasing her up a small hill before giving up and turning around. Dan Ashley, the homeowner, said it was “troubling to see this sort of thing happening in the neighborhood.”
Pham’s father, Hy Pham, told The Washington Post his son was schizophrenic and had dealt with mental illness since his late teens.
Hy Pham told the newspaper he had been unsuccessfully trying to arrange mental health care for his son. The father could not immediately be reached by The Associated Press.
In May 2022, a person whose name and community of residence matches Xuan-Kha Pham’s sued the Central Intelligence Agency in federal court.
In a hand-written complaint, the plaintiff alleged the CIA had been “wrongfully imprisoning me in a lower perspective” and “brutally torturing me with a degenerating disability consistently since 1988 till the present from the fourth dimension.”
Last year, officers responded to a Fairfax home after a man called dispatch saying he wished to harm others, Fairfax County Police said in a statement. Pham assaulted responding officers and attempted to take a firearm, according to the statement, adding the officers sustained minor injuries.
Pham was taken into custody and charged with assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer. Those charges were eventually dropped.
A person with the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Pham now has an ongoing criminal case, said the charges were dropped because they stemmed from a mental health crisis and that the defendant entered an agreement designed to ensure he received mental health treatment. The person complied with conditions requiring him to seek treatment from his arrest in January through a nine-month period when the charges were dropped in September.
Fairfax City Police spokesperson Sgt. Lisa Gardner said police received a call about the attack at Connolly’s Virginia office at about 10:50 a.m. Monday. Police arrived in about five minutes and located the suspect in the office and detained him, Gardner said. One police officer received a minor injury and was treated.
Connolly, a Democrat currently serving his eighth term in Congress, represents Virginia’s Fairfax County-based 11th District in the Washington suburbs. He said windows were broken at the office during the incident.
Other elected officials from Virginia condemned the violence, among them U.S. Sen. Mark Warner.
Warner retweeted Connolly’s statement, calling the attack an “extraordinarily disturbing development.”
“Intimidation and violence – especially against public servants – has no place in our society,” he said.
Since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, threats to lawmakers and their families have increased sharply. The U.S. Capitol Police investigated around 7,500 cases of potential threats against members of Congress in 2022. The year before, they investigated around 10,000 threats to members, more than twice the number from four years earlier.
In October, a man broke into the San Francisco home of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, demanding to speak with her, before he smashed her husband, Paul, over the head with a hammer.
Rumors of the untimely passing of Jamie Foxx turned out to be just that. The 55 year old entertainer has been out the hospital and seen for the first time since his medical emergency.
Corrine, his eldest daughter confirms that her dad is doing fine. He and Corrine host Beat Shazam! and soon the new Fox game show We Are Family.
On her Instagram story, Corrine shared another account's Instagram post that had incorrectly reported Foxx's loved ones were "preparing for the worst." In an effort to debunk the report, she wrote: "My Dad has been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating. In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday! Thanks for everyone's prayers and support!"
The account deleted their incorrect report and Corrine's story has since disappeared, but Entertainment Tonight obtained screenshots.
Corrine added, "We have an exciting work announcement coming next week too!"
In April, Corrine said in a statement her father had been admitted to the hospital for an undisclosed condition. "Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery," she wrote on Instagram. "We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers."
Earlier this month, Foxx posted his first public statement on Instagram. "Appreciate all the love. Feeling blessed," the 55-year-old wrote.
The star received an outpouring of support in the comments of his post. "Yesssss!!!! Take all the time you need bro!!!!" Keenan Thompson wrote.
"love you, Jamie," Halle Berry commented.
Foxx, whose real name is Eric Marlon Bishop, also has a 13-year-old daughter named Annalise.
Jamie is an actor, singer, comedian, director, game show host and podcaster. He won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles. He also is a Grammy award winning singer. He won three Emmy's Awards.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) still chasing this conspiracy theory about President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden. Instead of working on fixing America's real problems, he is chasing noise. Noise caused by a network of lies.
Fox, Breitbart, The Daily Mail, Newsmax and Twitter are quite obsessed with the life of a private citizen. Hunter Biden is not a government official.
Hunter Biden knows he has problems, he wrote a book about it. He knows that he struggled with drugs and mental health. We're only human.
For the far right, they believe that Twitter, Facebook and the junk food media "censored" the New York Post writer Miranda Devine's story about the laptop. The laptop according to the far right would have saved the former president. Nevermind, his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, tensions since the George Floyd murder and his blatant admission that he sought foreign influence to sway the election.
Washed Up 45, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, Jesse Watters, Steve Bannon, Softball Hannity, Dan Bongino, Tucker Carlson, Republicans and the far-right media are hoping Hunter Biden is the key to getting Biden impeached.
The obsession with the president's son is bonkers. I mean he is a private citizen. He and Ashley Biden are not even involved in the matters of the president, Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States or any member of the White House.
But for the Republicans, it is the biggest scandal in Biden's presidency.
Comer, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) are highly invested in it. Same with the Droopy Dog of politics, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
He along with Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) are joining the conspiracy train.
Republicans have no evidence of wrong doing by President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.
So the noise claims that then vice president Joe Biden had used his influence to fire a Ukrainian official. That said official was looking into Hunter's deals with Burisma, an energy company that he had a brief time with. They are claiming that Hunter and other family members (including children) made millions from foreign investments.
These claims were amplified by the far right and soon members of Congress. It is widely panned for the fact Republicans are devoting their whole session towards this but chose to ignore Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner had obtained millions from foreign investments while working with Washed Up 45.
Comer’s already faced plenty of doubt, including from some within his own party, that he can back up his promises to show Biden’s connection to family business dealings.
No link has publicly emerged, and that didn’t change at Wednesday’s press conference.
Asked if he would ultimately be able to prove his central thesis, Comer sidestepped: “I don’t think anyone in America … would think that it’s just a coincidence that nine Biden family members have received money.”
“We believe that the president has been involved in this from the very beginning. Obviously, we’re going to continue to look,” he added, characterizing Wednesday’s update as the “beginning stages” of his investigation.
It seems like a damn nothing burger and of course, the Republicans are going to latch on this as the 2024 election picks up.
Far right agitator Mark Levin is the No. 1 talk radio host. He fears the automotive industry will put him and many others out of business.
The AM dial may soon come to an end in newer model vehicles. The AM dial is most consistent with conservative talk radio, a staple of Republican politics.
Eight automakers — Ford, VW, BMW, Mazda, Volvo, Tesla, Polestar and Rivian — told Markey that they have already removed AM from their electric models. Several other companies — including Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Jaguar Land Rover — said they have no plans to eliminate AM.
The breakup is entirely one-sided, a move by major automakers to eliminate AM radios from new vehicles despite protests from station owners, listeners, first-responders and politicians from both major parties.
Automakers, such as BMW, Volkswagen, Mazda and Tesla, are removing AM radios from new electric vehicles because electric engines can interfere with the sound of AM stations. And Ford, one of the nation’s top-three auto sellers, is taking a bigger step, eliminating AM from all of its vehicles, electric or gas-operated.
Some station owners and advertisers contend that losing access to the car dashboard will indeed be a death blow to many of the nation’s 4,185 AM stations — the possible demise of a core element of the nation’s delivery system for news, political talk (especially on the right), coverage of weather emergencies and foreign language programming.
Several big automakers, including Toyota and Honda, say they have no plans to eliminate AM radio, and General Motors, the nation’s top-selling carmaker, has not announced its intentions.
Lincoln Ware, a staple of Cincinnati Black talk radio.
As Ford did, BMW eliminated AM from electric models in part because “technological innovation has afforded consumers many additional options to receive the same or similar information,” Adam McNeill, the company’s U.S. vice president of engineering, said in a letter to Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA.).
But many AM stations don’t offer alternative ways to listen to their shows. Even those that do say their audience, much of which is older, tends not to be adept at the technologies that let drivers stream anything they choose from their smartphones into their car’s audio system. And despite the growing popularity of podcasts and streaming audio, a large majority of in-car listening remains old-fashioned broadcast radio, according to industry studies.
The removal of AM radio from cars — where about half of AM listening takes place — has sparked bipartisan protests. Some Democrats are fighting to save stations that often are the only live source of local information during extreme weather, as well as outlets that target immigrant audiences. Some Republicans, meanwhile, claim the elimination of AM radio is aimed at diminishing the reach of conservative talk radio, an AM mainstay from Sean "Softball" Hannity to Glenn Beck to dozens of acolytes of the late Rush Limbaugh. Eight of the country’s 10 most popular radio talk shows are conservative.
“The automobile is essential to liberty,” right-wing talk show host Mark Levin told his listeners last month. “It’s freedom. So the control of the automobile is about the control of your freedom. They finally figured out how to attack conservative talk radio.”
For the automakers, eliminating AM is a simple matter of numbers and progress. The AM audience keeps getting smaller and older, and the growth of alternative forms of in-car audio has been explosive. AM radio’s programming and audience started to change when FM radio was introduced as standard equipment in cars in the mid-1960s. The trends away from music and toward spoken-word formats accelerated in the past two decades.
Of the $11 billion in advertising revenue that radio pulled in last year, about $2 billion came into AM stations, according to BIA Advisory Services, which conducts research for broadcasters. And some of the country’s most lucrative radio stations are still on AM, mostly all-news or news and talk stations in big cities such as New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
About 40 percent of AM stations have news, talk or sports formats, 11 percent are oriented to specific ethnic groups and 11 percent are religious, according to BIA. About a third of AM outlets play music, mostly oldies, Spanish or other less popular genres, said Nicole Ovadia, vice president for forecasting and analysis at BIA.
Auburn University, the University of Cincinnati, Texas Tech, University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and every institution of his past work should remove Tommy Tuberville's name from their campuses. He does not represent the diverse culture of these institutions.
He made it perfectly clear this week when he endorsed his white nationalist views.
The former football coach turned U.S. Senator from Alabama is a Republican who denies the 2020 U.S. presidential election, supports the release of the Jan. 6 rioters, intentionally mispronounce Vice President Kamala Harris' name and using blatant coded language to appeal to Republicans.
Tuberville is facing backlash for remarks he made about white nationalists in the armed forces in an interview about his blocking of military nominees. He said that while Democrats may consider such people to be racists, “I call them Americans.”
Tuberville said Thursday that his comments had been misinterpreted. His office said he had been expressing skepticism at the idea that white nationalists were in the armed services.
The first-term senator from Alabama made his initial remarks in an interview last week with WBHM, an NPR affiliate. He suggested that the Biden administration’s efforts to expand diversity in the military were weakening the force and hampering recruitment, though the Army has said that the real problem is that many young people do not see enlistment as safe or a good career path.
“We are losing in the military so fast. Our readiness in terms of recruitment,” Tuberville said, according to the station’s transcript of the May 4 interview. “And why? I’ll tell you why. Because the Democrats are attacking our military, saying we need to get out the white extremists, the white nationalists, people that don’t believe in our agenda.”
When asked if he believed white nationalists should be allowed in the U.S. military, Tuberville responded, “Well, they call them that. I call them Americans.”
Responding to criticism of his comments, Tuberville said Thursday at the U.S. Capitol that he had been trying to refute the notion that all supporters of Washed Up 45 are white nationalists.
“Democrats portray all Trump people as white nationalists. That’s what I was saying ...” Tuberville said. “There’s a lot of good people that are Trump supporters that for some reason my Democratic colleagues want to portray as white nationalists. That’s not true.”
The comments came as Tuberville continued to hold up Senate approval of a slew of military appointments over his opposition to Pentagon abortion policies. Those policies provide travel funds and support for troops and dependents who seek abortions but are based in states where they are now illegal.
The White House National Security Council said it was “abhorrent that Senator Tuberville would argue that white nationalists should be allowed to serve in the military, while he also threatens our national security by holding all pending DOD military and civilian nominations. Extremist behavior has no place in our military. None.”
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor that Tuberville’s words were “gravely damaging” and that senators “are called to a higher standard of conduct.”
“Does Sen. Tuberville honestly believe that our military is stronger with white nationalists in its ranks?” Schumer said. “I cannot believe this needs to be said, but white nationalism has no place in our armed forces and no place in any corner of American society, period. Full stop. End of story.”
Tuberville, who has endorsed Washed Up 45 in his 2024 White House bid, has faced criticism for previous comments related to race. At a Nevada rally featuring the former president, he asserted in October that Democrats support reparations for the descendants of enslaved people because “they think the people that do the crime are owed that."
Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that the move to hold up all the nominations is what will actually degrade America’s armed forces.
He said that the nominations of about 650 senior officers, for jobs that generally put them in command of large, complex organizations across the military, “is unsettling for the institution” and over time will significantly degrade readiness, capability and morale.
The far right were upset over the pandemic restrictions and wanted it to end. Well, it appears that Title 42 is ending. It was a health emergency imposed by Washed Up 45 during the coronavirus pandemic. It kept asylum seekers out of the country. It ended on Thursday and those leaving countries of violence are seeking asylum,
The Republicans are saying the migrants are threatening the "way of life."
The far right and those liars on Fox are stroking up the "migrant caravans" again.
Stories from Fox claiming that migrants are ordering DoorDash is an example of the fearmongering and racism that exists on that network.
Last time I've checked, DoorDash is available in many countries including Mexico.
Anyway, people seeking refuge in the United States are being vilified by Republicans, some Democrats and the junk food media. Texas Republican governor Greg Abbott once again sent three charter buses to Washington, DC to drop off migrants near Vice President Kamala Harris' home at the Naval Observatory.
His latest stunt is prime example of how white extremists are reacting to a browner America.
Republicans have no solutions to solving the immigration issue. All they got is basically reactionary responses to problems that are being solved. They seized drugs and detained migrants with criminal history. They treat it like it is a bad thing.
They are claiming the U.S.-Mexican border isn't safe.
Okay, traveling across the Rio Grande River, walking into the deserts of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, swimming in shark and jellyfish waters of the Pacific Ocean, facing the threats of wolves, coyotes, rattlesnakes, scorpions, bears, alligators and crocodiles, the heat, the cold and possible gang violence.... not safe.
The U.S. Border Patrol is understaffed. No one wants to work for less than $45,000 and work a job that requires 24/7 work especially on holidays. Overtime could impact bodies and mental health. They are not robots and they have to sleep, eat and maintain a life.
The Congress can't pass a budget that staffs the border. They refuse to pass immigration reform which streamlines migrants for temporary asylum and eventually an opportunity to become U.S. citizens.
The National Border Patrol Council, a union organization that supported Washed Up 45 in 2016 and 2020 were pissed that Title 42 expired. The union boss is blaming President Joe Biden for the invasion.
“This is by far the worst sustained disaster that any BP agent, active or retired, has ever seen at our border,” the service’s official union tweeted just before Title 42 ended at midnight.
“And one man is responsible for every single bit of it, with the worst still to come,” the NBPC wrote alongside a photo of a smiling Biden.
“The Biden Administration is absolutely corrupt to its core,” the union alleged.
Again fearmongering with words like invasion.
This type of stuff led to a man intentionally running over migrants in Brownsville.
The type of stuff that led a man commit a mass shooting in an El Paso Walmart in 2019.
The type of stuff that led to a man who shot innocent shoppers at an outlet mall in Allen.
In general, illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America come to the U.S. as they flee from insecurity and violence in their own country (i.e. forced recruitment in gangs). or in search for better economic opportunities. However, it sometimes also occurs due to political oppression.
From Asia, they come for economic reasons but some come involuntarily as sex slaves or indentured servants.
From Sub-Saharan Africa, the majority come for economic activities.
From Eastern Europe, they primarily come for economic activities and to rejoin family already in the United States. Like other regions, there are also some who come involuntarily as part of the sex industry.
The disease of White supremacy exists in the U.S., Canada, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, Russia, France, Greece, Germany, Italy and Belgium. They are being radicalized by far right noise on many media platforms. It's dangerous to everyone.
People of color, migrants, those in the LGBTQ community and women are under attack.
The Republicans are feeding off extremism and relish in stroking violence.
Cue the outrage from the extremes. White conservatives do not value life. For them, every Black criminal should be in the iron college or dead if they commit a crime. They are often upset that the white "do good" person is charged with a crime.
They are going batshit crazy over the fact that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is currently seeking an indictment of a man who ended up killing another man on the New York City Subway.
The suspect claimed that he was defending himself. His attorney tried to place the blame on the victim by stating his past encounters with police. The suspect never knew the victim. Witnesses even told the suspect that was going to kill him.
Fox and the far right are trying to justify the actions of the suspect by saying he is a Marine. No one seems to know if the suspect had any criminal history prior to the encounter. No one seems to care if the Marine had mental issues or a violent history.
All we know is that the victim was mentally ill, had run ins with the law, homeless and a Michael Jackson impersonator. All the ingredients of making the Black victim the subject not the white suspect.
Daniel Penny turned himself in to New York City police on Friday to face criminal charges in connection with the chokehold death of Jordan Neely aboard a subway train.
Penny was seen walking in to the New York City Police Department's 5th Precinct in Chinatown shortly after 8 a.m. ET. He did not address the media outside, though his lawyer, Tom Kenniff, spoke briefly to reporters.
"Turned himself in here voluntarily and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his dignity of service to this grateful nation," Kenniff said. "The case will now go to court we expect an arraignment this afternoon. The process will unfold from there."
Penny's surrender came one day after the Manhattan District Attorney's Office confirmed that he would be arrested on a charge of second-degree manslaughter.
Neely died following a chokehold on May 1. Video showed Penny, a U.S. Marine veteran, putting Neely in a chokehold following outbursts from Neely on an F train.
Attorneys for Penny said in a statement Thursday night that they are confident that "once all the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic incident are brought to bear, Mr. Penny will be fully absolved of any wrongdoing."
"When Mr. Penny, a decorated Marine veteran, stepped in to protect himself and his fellow New Yorkers, his well-being was not assured. He risked his own life and safety, for the good of his fellow passengers," said the statement from the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff. "The unfortunate result was the unintended and unforeseen death of Mr. Neely."
Neely was homeless at the time of his death. Some witnesses reportedly told police that Neely was yelling and harassing passengers on the train, authorities said.
Police sources told ABC News that Penny was not specifically being threatened by Neely when he intervened and that Neely had not become violent and had not been threatening anyone in particular.
In an earlier statement, Penny's attorneys offered "condolences to those close to Mr. Neely" and claimed "Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel," and that the Marine veteran and others "acted to protect themselves."
"Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness," said the statement from the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff. "When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death."
In footage of the incident, Penny can be seen holding Neely in a chokehold for nearly 3 minutes, as another man held down Neely's body.
The Neely family attorneys criticized Penny's response.
"The truth is, he knew nothing about Jordan's history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan's neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing," the Neely family attorneys said in a statement.
"Daniel Penny's press release is not an apology nor an expression of regret. It is a character assassination, and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan's life," the statement from attorneys Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards continued.
Neely's death following the chokehold has been ruled a homicide by the city's medical examiner's office.
Penny, 24, was questioned by detectives and released, according to police. He told police he was not trying to kill Neely.
According to police sources, Neely had a documented mental health history. Neely had been previously arrested for several incidents on the subway, though it's unclear how many, if any, led to convictions.
The Manhattan DA's office spent the weekend and much of this week interviewing and going over the accounts of witnesses who were on the train, as well as reviewing multiple videos of the incident. Prosecutors also consulted with the medical examiner's office and detectives, and reviewed statements Penny made to detectives on the night of the incident.
The district attorney's office decided to move forward with charges without first going to a grand jury.
A grand jury will still hear evidence in the case, which will occur in the week following his arraignment.
The maximum penalty for second-degree manslaughter is 15 years. The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Wall Street Journal reporting that the controversial billionaire Elon Musk is stepping down as CEO of Twitter. He will appoint a possible mistress as the new head of the struggling social media platform. Linda Yaccarino, head of advertising at NBCUniversal is the replacement.
Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has long insisted he is not the company’s permanent CEO. The Tesla billionaire said in a tweet Thursday that his role will transition to being Twitter’s executive chairman and chief technology officer.
In mid-November, just a few weeks after buying the social media platform for $44 billion, he told a Delaware court that he does not want to be the CEO of any company.
While testifying, Musk said “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”
More than a month later, he tweeted in December: “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job.” The pledge came after millions of Twitter users asked him to step down in a Twitter poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by.
In February, he told a conference he anticipated finding a CEO for San Francisco-based Twitter “probably toward the end of this year.”
Analysts who follow Twitter’s business welcomed the news even without knowing who the replacement will be. Twitter’s advertising business has taken a hit under Musk’s mercurial rule, though the billionaire told BBC last month that the company is now “roughly” breaking even.
Linda Yaccarino with Miley Cyrus.
“A new CEO is the only way forward for Twitter,” said Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg. “The single biggest problem with Twitter’s ad business was Elon Musk. As he steps back, Twitter can begin to unravel Musk’s personal brand from the company’s corporate image and attempt to regain trust among advertisers. The success of those efforts will depend on who takes over, but it’s difficult to imagine that the new CEO could be more controversial or damaging to Twitter’s ad business than Musk has been.”
Shares of Tesla rose about 2% Thursday after Musk made the announcement. Shareholders of the electric car company have been concerned about how much of his attention is being spent on Twitter.
Last November, he was questioned in court about how he splits his time among Tesla and his other companies, including SpaceX and Twitter. Musk had to testify in the trial in Delaware’s Court of Chancery over a shareholder’s challenge to his potentially $55 billion compensation plan as CEO of the electric car company.
Musk said he never intended to be CEO of Tesla, and that he didn’t want to be chief executive of any other companies either, preferring to see himself as an engineer. Musk also said at the time that he expected an organizational restructuring of Twitter to be completed in the next week or so. It’s been nearly six months since he said that.
Musk’s tenure at Twitter’s helm has been chaotic, and he’s made various promises and proclamations he’s backtracked or never followed up on. He began his first day firing the company’s top executives, followed by roughly 80% of its staff. He’s upended the platform’s verification system and has scaled back content moderation and safeguards against the spread of misinformation.
Bantering with Twitter followers late last year, Musk expressed pessimism about the prospects for a new CEO, saying that person “must like pain a lot” to run a company that “has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy.”
“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor,” Musk tweeted at the time.
Kevin McCarthy threatens punishment for Rashida Tlaib if she criticizes Israel.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is a Palestinian American lawmaker who is a Sunni Muslim.
She, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) are practicing Muslims. They are vilified by the far right Republicans and some Democrats over their opposition towards funding Israeli interests.
She represents Michigan's 12th Congressional District which covers Detroit and most of Wayne County and part of McComb County. She is part of The Squad. She is an ineffective lawmaker. However, she isn't insufferable like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) or Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
The propaganda wars.
Israel is a neo fascist country. They are masquerading as a legitimate democracy when its prime minister and his far right coalition are trying to eliminate the federal courts, outlaw integration, outlaw non white Jews, non white immigrants, make it a religious theocracy and eliminate the other. They are trying to destroy democracy and wipe out the Palestinians who live in Gaza Strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights.
The U.S. funds its defense operations and they use it in a brutal almost criminal assault on those living in Palestine. The Palestinians have no military equipment or the technology. Whenever Israel strikes, they hit residential and urban centers. They claim they are killing "militants" and those who were injured are used as shields. Israel claims the world hates them and they must defend themselves.
At its founding, the Israeli Zionists brutally forced out Palestinians and demolished their homes, schools and businesses. This continues as we speak. The U.S. and many Western nations look the other way.
Whenever the United Nations intervenes with investigations into war crimes, immoral dehumanization and violations of sovereignty, the U.S., United Kingdom and France block the notions.
Israeli propaganda has Americans believing criticism of its actions is anti-semitic.
Tlaib has descendants who lived in the West Bank. She honors their memory. She wanted to host a Nakba. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) denied it. Under the influence of AIPAC, the ADL and far right Jewish organizations, McCarthy has stated that honoring Nakba is equal to promoting terrorism.
Islamophobia folks.
According to the Republicans and some Democrats, supporting Palestine, supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, criticizing AIPAC and the Israeli government, you're promoting hate against the Jews and are anti-semitic.
Israel forced Palestinian people from their homes.
Several states can pull government contracts and allow employers to fire you if you dare criticize Israel.
As explained, al-Nakba, or “the catastrophe,” as many Arabs refer to the period surrounding the birth of Israel, saying it’s “wrong for members of Congress to traffic in antisemitic tropes about Israel.”
As Israel was created in 1948, a war broke out between the Israelis and Arabs, and some 700,000 Palestinians either fled or were expelled from their homes in what became the State of Israel. Many Arabs, especially Palestinians, commemorate the displacement every year as Nakba Day.
McCarthy intervened late Tuesday to reserve the Capitol Visitor Center space where Tlaib – the first Palestinian-American US congresswoman – was going to host a Wednesday event, according to a spokesperson for McCarthy.
Tlaib responded in a statement, saying, “Speaker McCarthy wants to rewrite history and erase the existence and truth of the Palestinian people, but he has failed to do so. This event is planned to bring awareness about the Nakba and create space for Palestinian Americans who experienced the Nakba firsthand to tell their stories of trauma and survival.”
“We fully plan on moving forward with this event and we will continue to ensure that Palestinian voices are heard. We will not be silenced,” Tlaib said in the statement.
McCarthy is an Islamophobe. He promotes white nationalist propaganda.
The event was ultimately held at the Dirksen Senate building, just not on the House side as originally planned, and due to the last-minute location change, staff said they couldn’t secure permits to allow filming.
Dozens of people attended with several standing around the edges of the room and spilling outside the door.
Speakers included Dr. Abed Musa in conversation with his daughter, Jumana Musa.
“It’s ironic we’ve been displaced at our Nakba event,” Jumana Musa said. “They thought they could bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.” One woman was seen wiping tears from her eyes, as Abed Musa spoke.
Tlaib’s event was called “Nakba 75 & the Palestinian People, an educational community event featuring special guest, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.”
According to the invitation, “May 15th marks 75 years since the beginning of the Nakba, which means ‘catastrophe.’ Seventy-five years ago, Zionist militias and the new Israeli military violently expelled approximately three-quarters of all Palestinians from their homes and homeland in what became the state of Israel.”
“To uplift the experiences of Palestinians who underwent the Nakba, and educate Members of Congress and their staff about this history and the ongoing Nakba to which Israel continues to subject Palestinians, we’ve partnered together to host this congressional and community educational event, to be followed immediately afterward by dinner,” the invite says.
McCarthy would instead lead a bipartisan briefing celebrating the 75th anniversary of the US-Israel relationship instead, his office said.
“It’s wrong for members of Congress to traffic in antisemitic tropes about Israel,” McCarthy said in a statement to CNN from his office. “As long as I’m speaker, we are going to support Israel’s right to self-determination and self-defense, unequivocally and in a bipartisan fashion.”
The event was organized by a number of groups, including Institute for Middle East Understanding, Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, Project48, Democracy for the Arab World Now, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, American Friends Service Committee, Virginia Coalition for Human Rights, Emgage Action and Jewish Voice for Peace Action.
Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, praised McCarthy’s decision to cancel the event, saying it was “inappropriate.”
“I think Congresswoman Tlaib has freedom of speech, First Amendment, but the speech is very anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian, and I think very inappropriate on the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel being formed,” he said outside a Republican conference meeting.