Welcome to The Now

 

 

 

 Respect to Ahmed Al Ahmed:

The world is witnessing a live genocide that couldn't be justified, and now there's a push to demonize the a whole religion in order to muddy the waters:

 

  Interesting that when shootings happen in America, there are factions falling over themselves to warn people from "politicizing" the tragedy.

 

 

  As DD said: a lot of this is coming from conservatives expressing doubt.

 

 I did a quick search, and from the looks of it the only "Kirk" I've mentioned recently was named Cameron . So to act like I have a lot to say about the other person who shared that name would ring hollow. Nevertheless, here's my thoughts: I wouldn't wish what happened on my own worst enemy;  I dare say that he was not a willing or knowing participant, i.e., "in" or any "conspiracy;" If the quotes attributed to him are indeed his, then he was, as they say, "about that life." Should a person known mostly for saying callous things, who had an audience yet still wasn't a mainstream name on the level of Rush Limbaugh, be canonized or mocked, even in this era of genocide and mass shootings? Should someone who dismissed empathy and argued for the acceptance of gun violence (as a means to preserve the 2nd Amendment) who met the most ironic of ends be treated as he treated others, or as we would want ourselves to be treated?  My upbringi...

 

 

CNN introduces us to this "mystery:" Months before police identified Luigi Mangione as the man they suspect gunned down a top health insurance CEO and then seemingly vanished from Midtown Manhattan, another disappearing act worried his friends and family. The 26-year-old scion of a wealthy Baltimore family who was a high school valedictorian and an Ivy League graduate , Mangione had maintained an active social media presence for years, posting smiling photos from his travels, sharing his weightlifting routine and discussing health challenges he faced. He publicly kept track of nearly 300 books he had read or wanted to read, even posting a favorable review of the Unabomber manifesto on a book website. But then, during the summer, Mangione appeared to stop posting online, prompting worried messages from some of his friends. “Nobody has heard from you in months, and apparently your family is looking for you,” one user posted on X in October, tagging an account belonging to Mangi...

 CNN story here . Makes one wonder where this attitude was this past weekend . To elaborate : a White man who witnesses say had a gun in plain view climbing to the roof of a building that was within shooting distance of a presidential candidate was downplayed/ignored until the shooting starts, but two Black homeless people -one with a knife- is enough of a threat to people inside another building to warrant immediate action. 

 As the media does nonstop coverage of the one person who they said they don't like (but ratings always trumps personal feelings), I will say that the two most interesting takes of the shooting this past weekend was from Status Coup's Ron Placone, and Niko House. Niko delved into the more conspiratorial aspects a bit more, while Placone was more straight-forward about how this would impact the election. What's also interesting about this ordeal is: Trump supporters blaming Democrats and Obama (you know the people they used to call "wimps" for wanting stricter gun laws). That people at the rally claimed to have seen the shooter, but were ignored by security. That Trump is using the "Black Power Fist Pose" unironically.  Trump once bragged about taking out foreign leaders.

 Via CNN : High school seniors Emma Ehrens and Grace Fischer will hear their names read out today as they are called to collect their diplomas and start the next chapter of their lives. But they are also steeling themselves to hear 20 other names of former classmates who never got to leave first grade, let alone plan for college and grow into adulthood. Today is the day that the 20 children massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012 would have graduated, perhaps cheered on by the six teachers and administrators also killed in the deadliest K-12 shooting in US history. “It’s just going to be heartbreaking,” Grace told CNN. “I can’t imagine that 20 kids are not graduating with us and that they’re not having the opportunity to walk across the stage.” Emma said she’s trying to prepare herself for a range of emotions – the joy at leaving school, nerves about what’s next and reflecting on what should have been. “Thinking about all the what ifs: what if they were sitting n...

  Via CNN : Nineteen families of the students and teachers killed or injured at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, announced Wednesday they have settled a lawsuit with the city for $2 million and are suing 92 officers with Texas Department of Public Safety, the school district and individual employees. “For two long years, we have languished in pain and without any accountability from the law enforcement agencies and officers who allowed our families to be destroyed that day. This settlement reflects a first good faith effort by the City of Uvalde to begin rebuilding trust in the systems that failed to protect us,” Veronica Luevanos, whose daughter Jailah and nephew Jayce were killed, said in a statement. “But it wasn’t just Uvalde officers who failed us that day. Nearly 100 officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety have yet to face a shred of accountability for cowering in fear while my daughter and nephew bled to death in their classroom.” As part of the settlemen...

  Some things just aren't easy to explain : An armed man gave no warning as he walked toward the front of Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in Pennsylvania on Sunday, raised a gun toward the pastor’s face and pulled the trigger. What happened next may have been divine intervention, Pastor Glenn Germany said. “I’m thankful to God that I’m still here, because he definitely pulled the trigger,” Germany told CNN affiliate WTAE. The gunman “attempted to shoot, but the firearm failed to discharge,” Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement. The incident in North Braddock was captured on the church’s livestreamed video. Immediately after the gunman pulled the trigger, a church member tackled the suspect to the ground. State police identified the suspect as 26-year-old Bernard Junior Polite. It’s not clear why the suspect tried to shoot the pastor. Germany said he had never seen the gunman before Sunday, WTAE reported. “All of a sudden, I just seen a gun pointing right at me,” the pastor to...