Tag Archives: aurora
Here’s what’s wrong with America: AR-15s in a JC Penney
A Guy Walks Into JC Penny With An Assault Rifle Strapped To His Back: “This is 22-year-old Joseph Kelley. The gun is an unloaded AR-15. “I felt no negative vibes from anyone,” Kelley told the Salt Lake Tribune, after these photos snapped by fellow JC Penny shopper Cindy Yorgason went viral. “I think it went rather surprisingly well.” Kelley added that he carries guns to protect people from “criminals, cartels, drug lords” and “evil men.” He was also carrying a loaded Glock 19c.”
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Sometimes it’s just a matter of melanin. Let’s just imagine for a minute that Joseph Kelley had middle-eastern features — or that he was a black man: might his fellow SLC Penneys’ shoppers given off some ‘negative vibes’? Might Kelley have been greeted at the door by the police?
Or, for the fun of it, let’s imagine Joseph Kelley wearing the AR-15 in any other large city that isn’t the completely homogenized HQ of the Church of Latter-day Saints: would it have gone ‘surprisingly well’? And would he have made it home WITH the firearm still attached to his person? Does anyone really want a 22-year-old “protecting” them from his idea of imaginary villains?
Most importantly: as we’ve witnessed all too often, the most dangerous people in America have been young white men with guns. You have to wonder why his fellow shoppers weren’t more alarmed.
James Holmes is charged: “This is not a whodunit. The only possible defense is insanity.”
A moment of Christian Bale
via: ihatepeacocks
♥♥♥ this man
Christian Bale & Sibi visiting the memorial site of the Aurora, CO mass murder victims – Source: baledaily
Inside the mind of a rightwing nutjob: James Taranto
John Cole posted the following and, rightly, tells James Taranto to go fuck himself:
“James Taranto, the WSJ rightwing nutjob whose job is the Best of the Web feature, which invariably means reposting whatever Glenn Reynolds or the halfwits at NRO write every day:
“He is, of course, referring to the reports that a number of men used their bodies to shield their loved ones during the Aurora massacre. Most of us thought of this as a noble and amazing sacrifice… You know who got to make the decision whether their lives were worth it, Taranto? The three heroes who ate bullets saving their loved ones, not some fat scumbag neocon filth sitting comfortably with a glass of bourbon while wanking on twitter from the comfort of a wingback chair in Manhattan.”
What John Cole said. And when Cole tells Taranto to go fuck himself, I think we can all understand that’s probably an accurate description of Taranto’s entire relationship history. The Wall Street Journal must be very proud to have this guy on board.
A gun in every cold, dead hand
Michael Tomasky calls bullshit on the idea that after the Aurora theater shooting, we’ll work to make sure it “never happens again.” In our current reality, Wayne LaPierre’s National Rifle Association owns the GOP, body and soul, and controls the Democrats through fear. The NRA has successfully marketed itself as the national symbol of ‘Merican Freedom™ and as the only logical answer to all modern fear and anxiety. He says,
“… I can understand why it makes people feel better in some way to say it. But really. Nonsense. We have no collective will in this country to make sure such a day never happens again. In fact, if anything, we are headed for a day when 20 percent of the people in a movie theater are armed themselves, and we have a good old shoot ’em up that would’ve made John Ford’s head spin but will make the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre’s heart soar like an eagle.
“[...] The net effect is that we have laws no one wants—not cops, not the military, not even most gun owners themselves—except the NRA. Earlier this year, the Indiana state house passed—with NRA backing—a bill spelling out when citizens could kill police officers. Some prominent military leaders wanted military personnel to be able to discuss gun safety with troops as a way of trying to stem military suicides, many of which are committed with personally owned guns. The NRA was having none of it. Finally, as to gun owners, I will never forget the late 2009 poll—conducted by Frank Luntz, no less—that found that 69 percent of NRA members back closing the gun show loophole. That poll produced a series of fascinating findings that showed NRA members to be pretty reasonable people in private on the telephone. But alas, in the political arena, in Wayne they trust, I guess.”
Personally I’m not anti-gun. I am against the gunshow loophole. I’m against how easy it is to buy semi-automatic rifles and high capacity mags because Bush let those bans expire. I’m against how easy it is for straw purchasers along the border to load up on semi-autos and high capacity mags for Mexican cartels (Hello! Fast and Furious).
You know who’s not against any of those things? The NRA. Their bottom line is profit for gun manufacturers and dealers — that’s who they lobby for. Doesn’t matter who buys their products, only that their products are bought. If terrible crimes are committed with their product, great. They’re happy to generate more fear so more of their products are purchased. Follow the money.
If you’ve never watched Bowling for Columbine, maybe you should.
The inner madness of America
“Every country has, along with its core civilities and traditions, some kind of inner madness, a belief so irrational that even death and destruction cannot alter it. In Europe not long ago it was the belief that “honor” of the nation was so important that any insult to it had to be avenged by millions of lives. In America, it has been, for so long now, the belief that guns designed to kill people indifferently and in great numbers can be widely available and not have it end with people being killed, indifferently and in great numbers. The argument has gotten dully repetitive: How does one argue with someone convinced that the routine massacre of our children is the price we must pay for our freedom to have guns, or rather to have guns that make us feel free?” — Adam Gopnik : The New Yorker
via: silas216
Video: first court appearance for James Holmes
The Denver Post: The man accused of committing one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history sat quietly beside his defense attorney in court this morning, his hair dyed a reddish orange, his face changing from blank stare to wide-eyed and dazed.
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He’s scheduled back in court next Monday on 7/30/12.
Update: msnbc: “The Colorado prosecutor says it will likely be a year before James Holmes would stand trial.”
James Holmes will face his first court appearance this morning
The Denver Post: “James Eagan Holmes, the 24-year-old suspect in the Aurora movie theater massacre, is scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. [MT] before an Arapahoe County judge. The purpose of the hearing, known as an advisement, is to tell Holmes about the murder charges on which he is currently being held. A formal filing of charges by the district attorney’s office will come later. Prosecutors could add to or change his charges in between. Advisement hearings are typically short — perhaps only a few minutes — and may not even require the suspect to speak. Nonetheless, the hearing will allow the public its first look at Holmes since the early Friday shootings and may provide new insight into how lawyers on both sides intend to approach his case.”
CSMonitor: “As the suspected gunman in the Colorado theater massacre heads to his first court appearance, authorities have disclosed that he is refusing to cooperate and that it could take months to learn what prompted the horrific attack on midnight moviegoers at a Batman film premiere. [...] Holmes has been assigned a public defender and Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said that the 24-year-old former doctoral student has “lawyered up” since his arrest early Friday, following the shooting at an Aurora theater that left 12 dead and 58 wounded, some critically.”He’s not talking to us,” the chief said.”
Chicago Tribune: “Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers will decide whether to seek the death penalty for Holmes. She has prosecuted two of the three inmates on Colorado’s death row. Chambers may not announce her plan at the hearing.”
Twelve souls
Source guardian:
- Matt McQuinn was shot dead after he dived in front of his girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, and her older brother to shield them from the gunfire Photograph: AP
- Micayla Medek lived in the Denver suburb of Westminster, Colorado, and attended Aurora Community College Photograph: AP
- Veronica Moser-Sullivan, six, the youngest of the victims. Her mother, Ashley Moser, remains hospitalised with gunshot wounds to her neck and abdomen Photograph: -
- Alex Sullivan was at The Dark Knight Rises premiere celebrating his 27th birthday and his first wedding anniversary Photograph: AP
- Alexander C Teves, 24, of Phoenix, earned a master’s degree in counselling psychology from the University of Denver in June Photograph: -
- Rebecca Ann Wingo had started a job several months ago as a customer relations representative at a mobile medical imaging company Photograph: Facebook
See our full tribute to the victims of the Aurora shooting in our gallery here.
- Jonathan Blunk had high hopes for the future, with plans to re-enlist in the Navy and the goal of becoming a Navy Seal. The 26-year-old served three tours in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea between 2004 and 2009 Photograph: AP
- Alexander J Boik, known as AJ, recently graduated from high school and was to start classes at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Photograph: AP
- Jesse Childress was an US air force cyber-systems operator based at Buckley air force base in Aurora Photograph: AP
- Gordon Cowden had gone to the midnight movie premiere with his two teenage children. At 51, he was the oldest of the victims killed in the shooting Photograph: AP
- Jessica Ghawi was pursuing a career in sports journalism. She had previously survived a shooting at a Toronto mall Photograph: AP
- John Larimer, 27, was a US navy sailor based at Buckley air force base, where he was a cryptologic technician Photograph: AP
See our full tribute to the victims of the Aurora shooting in our gallery here.
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producermatthew: ”Speaking at a memorial on Sunday, President Obama demonstrates with his right hand how a 21-year-old woman saved the life of her 19-year-old friend by applying pressure to a gunshot wound during the Aurora, Colorado mass shooting. [KMGH]“
Alex Jones and “the Aurora Theater Shooting Was A Staged Event” conspiracy
Like anyone else, I love a good conspiracy theory. Here’s one that isn’t: below is a video clip of Alex “Crazy for a Profit” Jones arguing that the Aurora Theater Shooting was a “staged event.” By the way, I would be shocked if Alex Jones was not on the NRA’s payroll (see images below).
In his spectacular midway-barker style, Jones “connects the dots” for us between James Holmes and the theater shooting to the upcoming UN Arms Treaty Conference, Fast and Furious, the Uni-bomber, Jared Loughner, Columbine, MK ULTRA, the “Globalist Command Center (the alternate US capital) in Denver / Colorado Springs, President Obama and the Democrats and, naturally, the opening of the actual Batman movie itself.
Of course, he calls this “analyzing” the event.
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In Alex Jones’ “analysis”, the real victim here is James Holmes — your typical “patsy” who was drugged up and duped to take the fall. This is MK ULTRA stuff, people! Just like Jared Loughner in Arizona, Jones says.
What really happened in that movie theater? Well, some “black-op” masked operator came into the theater and did the shooting (JUST LIKE COLUMBINE!). Then James Holmes was drugged with “amnesiacs” (since he wasn’t killed immediately, LIKE WITH COLUMBINE) so he would then take the blame. BOOM. Get it? Where’s your God now, sheeple?
I guess Holmes must have been covertly drugged with “PCP and LSD” practically 24/7 over the past few months while he ordered and received the almost 100 shipments that contained his 6,000 rounds of ammo, body armor, and explosive materials. It all makes sense now. No wonder he wasn’t doing well at school.
And by the way, what’s this upcoming evil librul commie event where they’re comin’ fer our guns?
NRA Kicks Off UN Arms Treaty Conference With Fearmongering: …Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also said that treaty is “opportunity to promote the same high standards for the entire international community that the United States and other responsible arms exporters already have in place to ensure that weaponry is transferred for legitimate purposes.” A senior policy advisor to the humanitarian organization Oxfam America has also pushed back against claims that the treaty has the nefarious purpose of interfering with domestic law: “No government is discussing a treaty that would ever impact the right to bear arms, nor require regulation of domestic sales of arms,” said Scott Stedjan, a senior policy adviser at the relief group Oxfam America. “This is totally about international transfer of arms so that they don’t go to human rights abusers.”
Those words from their mouths are code for globalist takeover. They are so totally compiling our names in their secret computer database for firearm confiscation AND for the mass roundup of the real ‘Mericans into FEMA camps. Don’t be fooled, people: buy gold, more guns, and survival seeds now.
Related:
What ever happened to Matt Drudge? Drudge Promotes Story From Conspiracy Website (Alex Jones’ INFOWARS.com) Claiming Obama Plans To Murder Conservative Journalists (7/6/2012)
From the Tumblr: the NRA’s “everyone should be armed” fantasy
divineirony: The Gun Justice Fantasy
The idea that several people shooting in a dark, crowded, tear gassed theater is better than one, because everyone who can get a gun is obviously an expert marksman with crisis intervention training and nerves of steal.
“If only people would have had guns to fire back!”- Fuck off with this argument. It’s a complete fantasy.
Agreed — the ‘everyone should carry a gun’ argument is completely stupid. For the reasons you say and also because just like Ta-Nehisi Coates is arguing in that post by azspot this morning, James Holmes was wearing body armor. Are we all supposed to wear body armor now too?
I wouldn’t trust 98% of the people around me to be able to identify the correct target, let alone hit it in a dark theater, with people screaming and running, alarms blaring, and their blood pressure skyrocketing. There’s good reason for use of force / tactical training.
And has there ever been one situation in modern history where an ‘armed’ citizen (who wasn’t former or current LE) saved the day? Ever?
One last thought: you want to be ‘that guy’ who starts shooting back in a crowd? Good luck with all the lawsuits!
A gun in every cold, dead hand. The NRA is a lobby for firearm manufacturers and gun dealers. Money. That’s what it’s always all about.
It’s an American thing
“… in the day and a half since the Aurora massacre another 100 or so people have been shot to death in America. The land of the free. The home of the brave.” – Andrew Cohen, on gun violence in America. (via: thepoliticalnotebook)
The personal stockpile of James Holmes: exactly like the Founding Fathers intended
Reuters: “The gunman was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a Glock .40-caliber handgun… Police found an additional Glock .40-caliber handgun in his car…. Holmes had purchased the weapons legally at three area gun stores in the last 60 days and bought 6,000 rounds of ammunition online, including a 100-round drum magazine for an assault rifle.”
CBS News: “Investigators also tell CBS News they have …interviewed a UPS driver who says Holmes had 90 packages delivered to his workplace on the University of Colorado medical campus. And sources say over the past several months, Holmes spent about $15,000 as he was putting together his deadly arsenal — guns, chemicals, explosives, and ammunition. [...] Holmes did most his shopping on Internet sites. And he was clearly in a hurry. A receipt from TacticalGear.com shows on July 2 — two-and-a-half weeks before the shootings — Holmes purchased a bulletproof vest and other equipment. He paid extra to have it shipped by 2nd-day air.”
divineirony: Reloading could put a damper on your shooting spree. Today’s guns can fire hundreds of rounds per minute.
“National tragedies are political. They’re too important not to be.”
“Politics itself is not the problem, but there are reasons we react with revulsion to the thought of “politicizing” tragedies. What repells us is the rush to collective blame, the lightning impulse to assign responsibility to one’s political adversaries. There is nothing like an actual monstrous act to demonstrate the silliness of our tendency to reduce one another to caricature. [...] To look at the the frightened eyes of the survivors in Aurora, and see only our own intrinsic goodness, and our political enemies’ implacable evil, is the most impenetrable vanity. It’s not politics, it’s just tribalism. And it’s grotesque. But we shouldn’t mistake this kind of pettiness for politics itself, which is far too important an arena to cede to those who are incapable of seeing a tragedy and wondering, above all, what it says about themselves. We should be talking about why this happened, and what, if anything, can be done to prevent it from happening again.” — Adam Serwer, Mother Jones
