With just two weeks to go before the primary election, Governor Kristi Noem appears confident that neither she nor her purge candidates need her to be on the campaign trail in South Dakota. Our part-time Governor will take another trip to Texas this week to speak at the National Rifle Association annual meeting in Houston:
The meeting will be held in Houston over Memorial Day weekend, from May 27-29 at the George R. Brown Convention center. Political leaders such as Govs. Greg Abbott and Kristi Noem, Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Rep. Dan Crenshaw and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will speak at the Institute for Legislative Action’s Leadership Forum, the NRA told Fox News Digital [Emma Colton, “Cruz, Noem Headline NRA’s First Annual Meeting Since Start of Pandemic: ‘Pro-Freedom Lineup’,” Fox News, 2022.05.03].
The NRA promotes the Snow Queen’s impending appearance by recycling its year-old clip of Noem’s cold dead voice:
Noem practiced the speech she’s working up for the Houston bang-bang crowd by dedicating her Friday propaganda column to declaring South Dakota is a Second Amendment “sanctuary“. But you tell me, moms—what do you need more of right now: bullets or baby formula?
Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears gets to keynote the women’s leadership forum on Friday morning. The NRA is squeezing Noem into its Friday afternoon program among nine confirmed speakers, one of whom is Donald Trump, which means the Secret Service will allow no guns, ammo, holsters, knives, mace, laser pointers, selfie sticks, umbrellas, or other dangerous items in the hall. The Secret Service will also block bags larger than 18″x13″x7″, with exceptions, obviously, for gasbags.
They are having a contest too for the biggest donor to NRA. He/She/It/They will get a shot at prying the blunderbuss from Chuck Heston’s cold, dead fingers.
I really hope it ends like it did in True Blood.
For the Governor, it’s a gig. She’s no headliner, just a bottom of the bill window dressing for the heavy hitters. Yet, she can continue her charade as potential Presidential Candidate for a few more months and dredge up some goodwill in the Party. Her future is limited but “you won’t get hit by lightning unless you stand out in the rain”. Never underestimate the power of ambition.
Mrs. Noem may not be a smoker or a midnight toker but she’s sure got that joker part down pat. She’s more a swifter, snifter grifter.
*swifter, snifter lifter grifter…
Elect a clown, expect a mass murder.
Uvalde Texass, 14 dead 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders, one teacher and the 18 y/o white looking shooter.
Noem is at the top of six worst governors (Daily Kos or Beast, i cant remember) but most surprizingly, TX governor Abbot tops them all as to damage impact he causes his population, and now 16 dead in Uvalde TX ((San Antone bedroom community) elementary school. JFC!
We MUST turn these NRA 2nd amendment bozos around w/stiff federal gun regulation. So far just two weapons (one hand gun) were used. Kristi will speak to it this memorial day weekend in her Houston blood money NRA campaign for her war chest.
we have an obligation to hold her under until she gasps UNCLE!
America’s Party Girl Kristi Noem’s jetting down to Texas the same week as an 18-year-old ammosexual murders 14 Texas children and their teacher. My guess is Party Girl Noem will convince the Trumpanzees that they are the true victims because their rights to run around with military-grade weapons is being questioned again by those commie, abortion-loving, job killing liberals.
The only thing Republican politicians and voters care about is controlling elections and grabbing power. The NRA is only about bankrolling morons who will protect gun manufacturers so they can keep rolling out weapons of all sorts to morons. More guns = More money.
If one of their goons mowed down 200 children in one shoot-up, they won’t blink an eye — as long as it isn’t any of their kids. And if someone gunned down their kids, owning and preening around with military-grade weapons is still much more important. FreeDumb, dude!
Those people are monsters.
If only one of those second graders was a good guy with a gun. This will happen so often it won’t be news anymore. Republican’s will prey upon you. Noems talk should prove interesting.
It’s NRA in Denver after Columbine all over again. Here’s how the NRA played that mass shooting so inconveniently carried out just a few miles away and a few days before their 1999 gathering:
Kristi will look for a similar way to warp the narrative for the NRA’s and her own benefit.
The Second Amendment kills kids. Lock up all the guns: no one touches a gun unless the Russians invade.
work.
Raise the age of possession, operation and ownership of all firearms to 21, levy 100% excise taxes on the sales and gifting of the weapons on Senator Diane Feinstein’s list then tag the revenue for Medicaid expansion so parents have the resources to address the devastating effects of Fox News on American youth.
Killer smoked his Grandmother before slaughtering innocent kids. Cue Alex Jones and crisis actor routine again.
Any thoughts and prayers from our stupid, feckless, worthless, and vain twat governor? No? Oops. It’s just me. Bonnie
My apologies for hijacking this thread, Cory.
18 dead kids and three adults. as of last count. Sickening bastards that allow this! I am out of here.
SICK DEMENTED REPUBLICANS VOTE them OUT …
Someone asked ‘what will it take for this cultural murdering to end?’
Republicans have shown time after time that they do not address problems until those problems personally affect them or their families.
Shooting up movie theaters, churches, grocery stores, late night bars and concerts, public high schools, and public elementary schools does not personally affect republicans or their families.
Absent common sense and the political will to change . . . this may only end after there is a new class of victims.
That’s horrific. That’s where this is headed to end it. Thoughts and prayers ain’t cutting it. An assault weapon ban the EXPIRED(S) ain’t cutting it. A back-ground check law that EXPIRES ain’t going to cut it.
Scotland and Australia stopped it cold. No automatic weapons. No semi-automatic weapons. No magazines over 5 rounds. No same-day purchases.
There was an armed security guard at the grocery store in Buffalo. The first responder, a federal agent, was shot in the head. The access to and the guns are the problem.
This was not a lone wolf attack at Ulvade. The 18-year old was aided and abetted by 50 senators, 210 house members, a governor, and the NRA.
Well folks, if you lose your child to a demented gunman, Republicans will pray for you. What else can they do? I doubt if Kristi will fly to Texas, but she will pray.
More guns–more gun violence–more gun deaths
The U.S outlier gun carnage continues–a death toll “gun sanctuary” Gov. Noem fails to acknowledge.
https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/compareyears/329/total_number_of_gun_deaths
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081
Aiding and abetting, notes John. The Second Amendment kills kids.
Mike, you didn’t hijack the thread. Let’s all go to Houston this weekend.
Nineteen dead in our most recent school shooting in Texas.
Guns kill people.
The Republican acquiescence to the NRA is despicable. How can John Thune stand expressionless behind Mitch McConnell as they refuse to consider ANY possible solution to the problem of gun violence that tears through our country. It is amazing that Republicans never offer any ideas to solve problems—except adding more guns. With health care, it was “repeal and replace,” but never a solitary idea for replacement! No solution for gun violence—or even an admission that they would like to do SOMETHING! Oh yes, that then what to do about the “big lie” and the scubsequent riot at the Capitol? Crickets again! Or perhaps it was just a innocent group of tourists who wanted to see how the Congress worked. No concern or indignation. Just a stoic senator from South Dakota supporting an indefensible and dangerous minority leader.
Oh yes, and the NRA darling will show up in Houston at the conclave the week and collect yet another campaign donation and solicit more support for her national political ambitions.
And South Dakotans are considered well-educated, thoughtful people! Don’t judge them by whom they elect.
All South Dakotans stand with the people of Uvalde,” said Governor Kristi Noem. Wtf does that even mean??
Seems to be more thoughtless gibberish because she couldn’t remember the nonsensical ‘thoughts and prayers”.
“And South Dakotans are considered well-educated, thoughtful people!”
By whom, David? By whom?
The Constitution allowed for the enslavement of people. We changed it. The Constitution prevented women from voting. We changed it. The Constitution allows the mass murder of children. It’s time to change it.
Supporting gun ownership has again caused the deaths of children. Where is the “pro-life” outrage and call for action?
Slightly off topic, but for God’s sake let’s just give Texas back to Mexico.
The commercial that should be on across the US is a supercut of the police peeling guns out of the cold, dead hands of mass murders after being taken down after their killing sprees. Let’s see what Charlton Heston’s often repeated rallying cry looks like in the real world.
Child 19 died, along with 3 adults.
Reports of a second deceased teacher raises body count in Uvalde to 23.
Students killed are reported to be all 10-11 y/o 4th graders. No 2nd or 3rd graders as originally reported.
Reported, alleged NRA contributions to senators, no time frame given.
It’s worth noting how easy, cheap, it is to buy a rural senator.
Thune (GQP-Moscow) $638,942
Rounds (R-SD $95,049
The top 17 collected move a million. The top 10 collected multi-millions with laggard Cotton (GQP-AR) coming in 11th with $1.968 million.
Apparently their conscience and judgment is in their bank account.
magat response to gun violence…. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTkzLyDXwAMi1EE?format=jpg&name=360×360
in spades!
Pleased to see Beto O’Rourke confronting, face to face, Abbott and a bunch of old white farts in their mumbo jumbo nonsensical speeches to assembled, grieving Hispanic parents and the press. Beto gave them hell and their reaction was childish and stupid. Hope Beto continues to run for high office as the Democratic Party needs the fire of his conviction. Would welcome him running for President and I’d be fine with him choosing San Francisco Warrior Coach Steve Kerr as his running mate. Kerr probably has more leadership and conviction than all the current Democratic mumblers combined. Enough of Nancy Pelosi’s guile and Chuck Shurmer’s squimishness. It’s time to take on the Republicans and to confront their insanity.
If the US must have a gun culture, the US must do it correctly — as have the Swiss. The Swiss has one of the highest per capita rates of gun ownership. Their last mass shooting was 21 years ago. Their gun murder rate is nil.
The Swiss have rules. They follow and enforce the rules. They vest local law enforcement with decision making authority. (Kind of reads like ‘community policing’.)
Gun ownership and storage in the US is a largely unregulated free-for-all.
https://news.yahoo.com/switzerland-stunningly-high-rate-gun-221301791.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
i.e. kyle rittenhouse, rotting in hell
https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/united-states/kyle-rittenhouse-18-claims-self-defence-in-shooting-protesters-in-2020-kenosha-wisconsin-after-jacob-blake-incident/news-story/775dd553224820f2fff36ac07255cd53
I just read the same article yesterday, John, and thought about it for awhile. I concluded part of America’s shoot-em-up mentality is because many ‘Mericans are profoundly stupider than the Swiss. How can we not be, fed as we are a steady diet of Kardashians, abysmally trashy entertainment, venal and idiotic politicians at every level, mindless capitalism, Faux News, Reptilians, wretched school systems, burned out teachers, and the current crop of parents raised in the same manner?
Freedumb, baby!
Spot on, Bonnie! Thanks.
Making the crime worse at Uvlade, it’s becoming apparent that the cops stood by, even wrestling with and apparently preventing the students parents from entering the school WHILE THE MURDERS CONTINUED. And its on video.
No wonder the death rate by guns is higher for school kids than it is for cops.
https://www.newsweek.com/uvdale-shooting-robb-elementary-mass-shooting-police-latest-waiting-texas-1710264
https://www.insider.com/onlookers-urged-police-to-charge-into-texas-school-2022-5
Rest assured that it can and will occur in South Dakota WHEN there is no change in gun policies.
Wait, wait – let’s ban books, regulate vaginas, ban classroom discussions of race and war, and not protect living 10-year olds and their teachers.
These republicans are hopeless Putin worshiping useful idiots.
Bonnie, you hint at a question that the Right will not ask — much less answer: If the “real” issue is violent video games, heavy metal music, mental illness . . . in other words there is an undercurrent or predisposition of violence unique to our nation, then WHY ARM US? If the people of this nation cannot responsibly handle gun ownership, as evidence well indicates, why continue the deadly policies of armament?
I stumbled across one non-violent solution to ‘Merica’s gun fetsih that may work – a general strike by all educators and administrators.
If all educators refused to go to work until this nation has permanent, real gun control laws – that will get the nation’s attention – even the republican recalcitrant worshipers of the NRA and Putin. A general educators’ strike would grind the US economy to dust this coming school year. There is not enough daycare to cover the need, forcing parents to opt for staying at home verses working at a job site. The general strike must occur from all elementary to university educators – since the pestilence spares no classroom. They have 2-3 months to organize the general strike.
The teachers, David Hogg, and others should consider such means. The republicans would be forced to their knees to get their employees back to pad their precious inflated corporate profit margins.
As an aside, this post exists of regretting Uvalde father of a murdered 10-year old. The father earlier posted support of Kyle Rittenhouse . . .
Reddit moderators removed the 2 FB posts because the 2d photo was of the father wearing a F* Your Feeling t-shirt while hugging his then living 10-year old daughter. The pestilence spares no one.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LeopardsAteMyFace/comments/uxs0ck/guy_made_post_in_the_past_glorifying_kyle/
It’s possible . . . that such a general strike led by educators . . . could topple the ossified octogenarians running the senate, and being the ascendancy of the millennials and Gen Z with running this nation with forward looking policies.
Possibly . . . maybe . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRuS3dxKK9U
“The Parkland cops ran away. The Buffalo cop was killed instantly. The 3 cops at Uvalde were overpowered, then waited 40 minutes to enter the school.
Veteran cops repeated failed–but we’re supposed to expect Lunch Lady Doris and School Nurse Betty to stop a terrorist with an AR-15.”
– Qasim Rashid, Esq.
Indicted and convicted Iran Contra thug Ollie North blamed LBJ and the Great Society for mass shootings and turned around and said his high school class was the last one allowed to pray in school. Liars, everyone.
Beto O’Rourke approached Texass guv A-Butt at a gathering and placed the shooting blame squarely on A-Butt for doing nothing.
https://people.com/crime/texas-school-shooting-husband-of-teacher-killed-dies-thursday/
Leaving four children orphaned.
Three small town policemen armed with pistols entering a narrow school hallway have no chance against an insane teenager armed with an AK-47…no chance..the AK-47 can put over 20 rounds down that hallway in a matter of seconds. The AK-47 requires no marksmanship to be lethal…it is a “point and shoot” weapon. The irony is that the Texas policemen withdrew for an hour waiting for the Federal law enforcement tactical squad (from the Border Patrol!!) to arrive.
Mrs. Noem will tell us that the “founding fathers” guaranteed the just turned 18 and deranged Mr. Ramos the constitutional right to own two AK-47’s and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. She will insist that Mr. Ramos’s right to be lethally armed with weapons designed for combat infantrymen and Marines was exactly what James Madison and Thomas Jefferson had in mind when they crafted the second amendment to insure that the government provided the wherewithal for a “well trained militia.” This nonsense, promoted by Mrs. Noem and the NRA and countless other nut cases, is a slander against the framers of the Constitution.
Now, Mrs. Noem and the rest of the automatic weapons lovers have 19 more children, two more teacher’s blood on theiir hands. It won’t be washed off with words,prayers, or campaign donations.
You and I, Arlo, shall be deeply disappointed that Kristi Lynn will be unable to ride her horsey around at the NRA convention and twirl her six-shooters because Magic, her Palamino gelding, sold for $80,000; also that pesky thang about no weapons there.
If she craves attention, adoration, and tips in her thong, she can always fall back on lap and pole dancing. Dang. Did I type that out loud?
Excuse my all caps. WTF IS THE MATTER WITH ALL THESE NRA A-HOLES AND ATTENDEES THAT THERE’S STILL A CONVENTION THIS YEAR?
Don McLean (of American Pie song fame) has pulled out of NRA convention along with others. I do not know if it is in solidarity with the innocent victims or rush to escape bad publicity.
I expect the righties to blame Critical Race Theory. It can’t be, you know, guns. It’s gotta be something other than their substitute penis.
Blame it on societal decay. Shame on the NRA for not using their clout to denounce the growing abscess spreading from gun culture.
When are the ones prescribing chemical altering meds to one in five kids in our country going to turn down the commissions paid by big pharm and actually put in the time to work with their patients? When are parents going to refrain from face-fcking their phones and look up at their children? When are we going to act like a united community that doesn’t mess around when politicians decide to use our ballot for toilet paper?
Success isn’t making people hate themselves because they aren’t as rich/pretty/wasteful as you.
Success is taking the kids to the sticks to teach them how to live, and actually enjoying those you sit and break bread with at the end of the day.
If we really don’t want the gun manufacturers making huge profits to fund bunk politicians who thumb their nose at voters- shut it down. We have to get buck. Be the scary, backwoods fanatics we need to be to be heard. The scared trump bums will latch onto the biggest and meanest. So we will double in numbers easy. Then, flex that vote muscle like a juiced up body builder, sans fake tan and baby oil though. Trump can have it. Oh, and recruit some bad little number to run in the campaigns. Then vote for them. We can change the trajectory of the face splat we are heading for. Whoa, Nelly.
Arlo, friends, police, like soldiers, are trained to rush to sound of the guns. It’s time to put up or shut up. Wince, and one is in the wrong profession. Fast, ruthless action is the best chance of reducing the number of victims when an active shooter begins. ITS NOT ABOUT THE COPS or SOLDIERS LIFE. The Navy has a motto: ship, sailor, self. That’s the priority of action in dire situations that MUST translate to our streets, schools, grocery stores, and nightclubs.
Every patrol car has at least a semi-auto, if not automatic weapon. Even our duck cops. Seriously. ~ 20 years ago duck cops carried M14s, rate of fire 700-750 rounds per minute, though the magazines were smaller. No one carries wheel guns.
Sometimes in the profession one has to take a bullet. The highest example is President Johnson’s order to soldiers in the 1965 intervention in the Dominican Republic with the order to not fire unless first fired upon. Think about that. DomRep citizens pointed weapons at soldiers – acts that under US civilian law justify a deadly force response, but our soldiers had the discipline to wait. It was an unpopular order. It was a successful order and intervention.
Professionals know that every day they soldier or put on the blue or park cop uniform and depart home. Returning home is an aspiration – it may well fall far short of doing ones duty, of living up to ones oath. Such were the failures at Columbine, Stoneman High, Buffalo, Uvalde, and many others. The dogma of ‘returning home’ turned professional policing into punching the clock and being off-shift for all but the most professional. At the above shootings the evidence indicates that casualties mounted; cowering cops mopped up, and returned home. So maybe we need less militarized equipment for cops since they don’t/can’t/won’t use it (hint: send the militarized equipment to Ukraine where they will use it). And, well, maybe we need fewer cops since they just rarely stop violent crime, are too often more a mop-up, investigation, and excuses crew. There are exceptions like at Uvalde where the FEDERAL border patrol agents that chose action over dithering.
And if cops are scared sh!tless of AR-15s . . . maybe those and other assault weapons similar have NO PLACE in the hands of civilians. In the military NOONE takes those home. In the military those are locked under triple lock with 2-person authorization to access, and under electronic monitoring. Ammunition is stored and locked separately. Most civilians, repubs, and the NRA live in such a fairy tale world.
The US needs weapon control laws as the Swiss have. The US NEEDS police training and qualifications on par with the western European nations (4-year degrees and follow-on internships), and not this hodge-podge of 50+ idiotic ways of doing law enforcement business. There are about 18,000 law enforcement agencies. That is ridiculous. Strip out the tribal agencies for they are sovereign nations. All others ought operate under one set of rules, codes, certification, guidelines. “One Nation . . .” remember. That. Is. Federalism.
Won’t you run for office, Mr. John? I remember (in my unsullied, possibly incorrect, yet cherished childhood memory) my whole non-sport-watching family puffing out our chests while our eyes welled up when Whitney Houston sang the National Anthem for the superbowl years ago. That moment is precious to me because I viscerally felt American pride. You remind me of that beautiful, soft, yet strong, honorable performance. I hope many youngsters have access to be around you.
John…my comment was not to insinuate that the three policemen were afraid of the shooter in Uvalde. In fact, I believe all three were wounded. My point, much the same as yours, was in that environment, they were hopelessly outgunned. It was initially reported that they were armed with pistols.
I haven’t heard anything different from that.
My point was simple. Ban AR-15’s, and increase procedures for weapon buying to attempt to keep these weapons away from crazies. We have done it before in 1934 when the Congress banned the public from owning Thompson sub machine guns. The owning of these weapons was not a Constitutional issue until the change in Supreme Court leadership after Warren Berger. (appointed by Nixon–I believe Rhenquist -appointed by Reagan-began the slide toward allowing these weapons.).
I have a really hard time with cops standing around waiting for bigger guns while the shooter is executing those kids.
My experience has been that more than once we were out manned and out gunned, but never did anyone stop trying
to push to the necessary objective. We swore an oath,they swore an oath and its heart breaking they couldn’t live up to it
given the lives they lost for selfishness.”Good guys with a gun” my ass.
Shameful and full of disrespect that Noem will do photo ops and collects checks at the NRA convention in TX, all to advance her political aspirations. 19 murdered children and 2 adults won’t stop her. The Legislators that allow this kind of behavior should all be ousted. Have no empathy for the Dead……….Vote Red.
1. The cops inaction is inexcusable. All of them. Gone.
2. Noem’s appearance speaks to her priorities. ANYTHING to thrust herself into the national spotlight. Just a reprehensible person.
Arlo, bud, we’re cool.
This Uvalde story gets worse with every retelling. Yet folks, reflect . . . the evil in Uvalde lasted 74 minutes. I’m not making light of the lifetime suffering of the survivors. But, consider for a moment the depth, breadth, of the evil visited on Ukraine for 93 days. Today the former occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue criticized Biden for spending money to help Ukraine. We should be angry we, and the western Europeans, haven’t done more to support Ukraine. We should be livid that the senate (and Thune (GQP-Moscow) and Rounds (GQP-SD) has ensured that US mass murderers have easy access to the best assault weapons.
Sheila Kennedy brings up an interesting point about mental health and gun violence. I also read about this somewhere else, but, can’t remember where it was. If gun violence is related to mental health disorders, are the mentally unstable in other countries just less murderous? (paraphrasing here)
Mrs. Noem is from the government and she’s here to help! After repeatedly voting to deny blue states disaster aid she caved and asked President Biden for federal cash.
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2022/06/10/gov-noem-requests-federal-assistance-after-mid-may-south-dakota-storms/7582739001/
In the “Caring and Compassion” part of tody’s news, North Duhkota Kramer says he is less interested in protecting children’s lives through gun control and more interested in red wave in the fall elections.
https://www.rawstory.com/doesnt-care-about-children-senator-blasted-for-opposing-gun-bill-says-hes-more-interested-in-winning-elections/
Makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, donit?
Speaking of no guns allowed, an Alaska elementary school brekfast program served a dozen youngsters a milky white floor sealant instead of milk. Kids complained right away of the taste and burning sensations. (I bet they did)
https://www.rawstory.com/school-serves-floor-sealant/
What else can we do to kids in schools?