Idleman Praise

I'd like to send praise to Sara Idleman for standing against putting retired deputies in Washington County schools. The number of school shootings, I found, for New York State is 2 with 3 injuries and zero deaths since 1990. That was from ballotpedia. Maybe the supervisors have different stats, and 2 in 28 years is too many, though I'm not sure you can assess the odds of an officer stopping either of them. The article mentions unintended consequences. I found instances online of an accidental discharge of a weapon by an SRO and several others who had lost or misplaced weapons. None of these incidents led to injury. There have been cases of officers having sex with students, as well. Not to impugn the character of all officers, but apparently these are things that happen.

On the bright side for the schools, the sheriff is selecting the deputies. That should relieve them of legal liability in the case of "unintended consequences." The NRA and gun manufacturers use a tragedy like Parkland to convince people all schools are in mortal danger and need armed guards. Good job on their part, but a poor one on ours for not resisting their lobbying. Seattle has passed legislation requiring gun owners to safely store their guns. The NRA has brought suit against it. They also prevent, using their congressional lackeys, CDC funding to study gun deaths by keeping the Dickey Amendment in place. I wonder if the supervisors would support trigger locks, gun safes and the renewal of research, as well as armed guards in schools.

Thank you to Mr. Bauberger for his informative letter.

Hiring Advice

If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen! - Trump tweet

And if anyone is looking for a good National Security Adviser, I would strongly suggest you don't retain the services of Michael Flynn. Or H.R. McMaster.

And if anyone is looking for a good Press Secretary, I would strongly suggest you don't retain the services of Sean Spicer. Or Anthony Scaramucci.

And if anyone is looking for a good Secretary of State, I would strongly suggest you don't retain the services of Rex Tillerson.

And if anyone is looking for a good Whatever Omarosa Was, I would strongly suggest you don't retain the services of Omarosa.

And if anyone is looking for a good President, I would strongly suggest you don't retain the services of Donald Trump.

And firing advice from Lindsey Graham:

“You don’t even have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job (as president) in this constitutional republic if this body determines your conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds in your role,” Graham says of Clinton in the nearly 20-year-old clip.

“Because impeachment is not about punishment,” he said. “Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office.”

McRaven Letter

Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.

Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.

Link

If I thought I still had mine I'd offer it up. Probably wouldn't quite the same impact.

Psychopaths Don't Own Pets

A real dog waiting for a real President.

Link

Happy Saturday: Chris Collins Edition

Collins is ending his re-election bid. His district is said to be very red and was out of play for flipping.

It is unclear whether Collins' name can be removed from the November ballot at this point and whether Republican Party officials will be able to nominate another candidate for the seat.

I'd say from reading that that it is clear his name can't be taken off the ballot and replaced. I don't think they even have time to get signatures to run anyone on another line. I believe that date has passed. So, the choices in NY's 27th are the soon to be felon, Chris Collins or Nate McMurray, the luckiest man in politics. 

LTTE in Praise of Reagan

 I'm writing to thank Frank Fronhofer  for alerting me to the letter signed by Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford supporting the banning of assault rifles. Reagan's position was that of Democrats today. He stated, "I do not believe in taking away the right of the citizen for sporting, for hunting and so forth, or for home defense. But I do believe that an AK-47, a machine gun, is not a sporting weapon or needed for defense of a home." No, gunsplaining isn't necessary to tell me an AK-47 isn't a machine gun. If you don't mind the countless lies of Donald Trump, I'm sure you can grant Reagan a little literary license.

Of course, Reagan also treated immigrants humanely, didn't start a trade war with the world because he practiced free trade and he fashioned a cabinet that was competent and not filled with world-class swindlers. His philosophy towards Russia was expressed by "Trust, but verify" not just "Trust." He'd likely be a NeverTrumper and therefore blacklisted in today's GOP. He saw America as a shining city on a hill, not as carnage.  

Other folks deserving shoutouts for recent letters are Carol Simpson, Richard Hayes Phillips and Peggy Wiltberger who all wrote masterful explanations of the "raised taxes 20 times" nonsense. Search for their letters on the website for good nuance. Back to guns. I'm sure Rep. Stefanik will vote to keep assault rifles accessible and whatever else her NRA masters ask for. If that's your major concern then cast your ballot for her. I'm looking at who's going to protect my right, and that of friends, family and fellow citizens, to health insurance. Tedra Cobb is going to do that. I don't need Republican spies to tell me that.