Grayson video doesn't prove much

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Wednesday July 27, 2016 · 8:25 AM PDT

2016/07/27 · 08:25

I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't live in Florida, I'm not a strong partisan and I have mixed feelings about Grayson.

But I do feel we all have a stake in keeping our facts straight, even if opinions differ.

The video of the interaction doesn't show either party in a good light.

But to characterize it as some sort of shoving match grossly mischaracterizes what was going on. It's hard to even see any contact at all, and I think it is clear that in each participant’s mind they think the other guy was out of line, but from an outside observer’s point of view I just don't see anything scandalous. Grayson was obviously angry and was doing his best to control that anger. I think the “assaulting a member of Congress” accusation doesn't hold up and I doubt Grayson will actually file a complaint. If he foolishly does, I doubt it goes anywhere.

I am no fan of ambush interviews. In more than two decades of newspaper journalism I never saw the need, but I was a reporter before the Internet and viral videos became a ‘thing.’ I think the reporter’s questions were legitimate, but it was inappropriate to physically block Grayson. That said, it's not clear to me that he was trying to do that. The place was crowded and it may have been inadvertent. There is a fine line between being assertive and obnoxious and I'm not persuaded the reporter managed to stay on the right side of it.

Considering the video as a whole, I just don't think the diary that brought it up characterized the interaction fairly or accurately. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting to see based on the description. I’m here because this community respects facts. If I wanted spin I would have remained a Republican.

As to the underlying issue of the domestic violence charges, I have no opinion. These things are notoriously difficult to sort out. Certainly Grayson shouldn't have made an issue of an opponent’s domestic disputes knowing he had his own vulnerabilities in that area. He can't claim his problems are off limits if he brought it up against an opponent. It was foolish and hypocritical. The wise thing for Grayson to do is sit down with the Politico reporter and make his case, address the issue and move on after letting the chips fall.

What is it like to fire an AR-15? A fool reports.

TorturedIllogic

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Wednesday June 15, 2016 · 6:25 PM PDT

2016/06/15 · 18:25

So New York Daily News columnist Gersh Kuntzman just gave gun nuts the perfect ammunition to mock liberals as clueless pansies with this ridiculous article: www.nydailynews.com/…

"The recoil bruised my shoulder, which can happen when you don't know what you are doing. The brass shell casings disoriented me as they flew past my face. The smell of sulfer and destruction made me sick. The explosions — loud like a bomb — gave me a temporary form of PTSD. For at least an hour after firing the gun just a few times, I was anxious and irritable."

Thanks for nothing. That is about the most cringeworthy prose on the subject I have ever seen. It will live on in Internet infamy forever.

PTSD!? Seriously? Nothing like trivializing a serious problem with your self-centered silliness. This guy didn't have an editor?

It was loud? No shit, Dick Tracy. It's a gun. You actually wrote “sulfer and destruction?!” Are we Dante?

He claims to have fired a pistol before, but I don't see how. And, of course, the gun folks are wasting no time showing pictures of little girls who evidently can handle a rifle with more poise than this grown man.

As someone who is constantly debating gun people my heart sank when I saw this. I thought “really, this has to be made up or taken out of context, right? Nobody could really write something this stupid, could they?”

Yes they could, and he did.

I fired pistols, rifles, assault rifles, machine guns and howitzers in the Army without being traumatized. This story is absurd. While our senators make a principled stand against the gun lobby, this fool just hands the gun trolls a nice distraction. Good job.

Constitutional remedy for Michigan crisis?

TorturedIllogic

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Tuesday January 26, 2016 · 2:10 PM PST

2016/01/26 · 14:10

I think everyone here is familiar with the Flint water crisis, but another diarist noted that this is part of a larger issue, the assault on democratic accountabity in Michigan due to aggressive gerrymandering and the emergency manager law, as well as the overturning of popular ballot initiatives by the GOP legislature.

I didn't realize it was so bad until the diarist pointed out that the GOP has consistently lost the popular votes but maintained legislative majorities through multiple elections. Occasional cases of this could be attributed to quirks in the system, but its persistence over multiple election cycles points to a systemic problem.

Are Michigan voters helpless to address this? Perhaps at the state level, they are. But the Constitution GUARANTEES each state a ‘republican form of government.’ It seems clear to me that this is meant to prevent individual states from sinking into petty dictatorships, kingdoms, people's republics, single-party states, oligarchies or whatnot just because some local powers can do it. It seems to me the Michigan situation is approaching those conditions and it would be worthwhile for residents to lauch a constitutional challenge to the Michigan state of affairs.

Am I off base, or is there a case?

Chime to commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation

TorturedIllogic

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Monday June 11, 2012 · 5:47 PM PDT

2012/06/11 · 17:47

It’s chime to celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation!

The sesquicentennial of the Civil War is marked by a lot of commemoration of battles fought and soldiers lost and, as Lincoln said at Gettysburg, it’s altogether proper and fitting that we do this. But there’s also reason to commemorate other aspects of the Civil War, and this week in Norwich, Conn. , both the war and its consequences are being remembered in a three-day celebration called “Let Freedom Ring,” marking the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

While some may debate whether slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there’s no doubt that its result was the end of slavery. As is well-known, the Emancipation Proclamation did not directly free many slaves. President Lincoln drafted the measure as a war power of the presidency, believing he didn’t have the constitutional authority to abolish slavery. That final abolition would come with the Thirteenth Amendment.

Many have wondered why the Emancipation Proclamtion isn't playing a larger role in the country's commemoration of the Civil War, but in at least one community, Norwich, Conn., the 150th anniversary is being noted in a big way.

TorturedIllogic

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Wednesday April 06, 2011 · 2:46 PM PDT

2011/04/06 · 14:46

Remember the "Notch Babies?"

A key component of Rep. Ryan's proposal calls for a radical change in the way Medicare works. For everybody over 55 the system will remain unchanged, while for those under 55 the current defined benefit program will be replaced with a block grant voucher-based system.

Besides the iniquity of such a change, history suggests that it's politically unworkable. Any proposal that creates a radical reduction in benefits based on an arbitrary cut-off will face a buzz-saw of opposition.

One only has to recall the so-called "notch babies" to see how this would play out -- and the notch babies weren't even right!

TorturedIllogic

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Sunday October 31, 2010 · 2:35 PM PDT

2010/10/31 · 14:35

Today I saw a politician doing what politicians do.
Asking for a vote.
In this case it was a local state senator, asking for votes by planting a lawn sign alongside a road on a pleasant, brisk Halloween afternoon.
It's not quite as dramatic as having the president of the United States at a big rally the day before, elsewhere here in Connecticut -- but it was of the same ilk.
I've known a few politicians over the years, in offices large and small, local and national. And while I didn't like all of them or agree with them, I had some respect for most of them. They did something.

TorturedIllogic

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Tuesday September 07, 2010 · 3:41 PM PDT

2010/09/07 · 15:41

Riffing off President Obama's comments, let's explore how your automobile demonstrates a liberal bias.

TorturedIllogic

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Saturday August 21, 2010 · 9:03 PM PDT

2010/08/21 · 21:03

Intolerance sometimes wins -- at least in the short term -- but how will things look once time has passed?

Today I stopped by the Prudence Crandall museum in Brooklyn, Conn., and I couldn't help but wonder how the controversy over the so-called Ground Zero mosque will look down the road. Will you be proud of the stand YOU took?

TorturedIllogic

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Tuesday July 20, 2010 · 7:20 PM PDT

2010/07/20 · 19:20

We all understand that the treacherous shoals of politics can make it hard to navigate without getting a few dents in the hull that may test our watertight integrity, but sometimes you have to say Damn the Torpedoes! because it's simply the right thing to do.

TorturedIllogic

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Monday May 31, 2010 · 3:35 PM PDT

2010/05/31 · 15:35

While the Israeli Defense forces clearly outclass their immediate neighbors in miltary strength by an order of magnitude or more, their ability to cope with Turkey in an armed confrontation is far less certain.

Poll

272 votes Show Results

How do you think this confrontation between Isreal and Turkey will play out?

272 votes Vote Now!

How do you think this confrontation between Isreal and Turkey will play out?

Nothing will happen outside of protests, posturing and sternly worded letters

115 votes

Turkey will break the Gaza blockade with a naval escort and Israel will back down

79 votes

Turkey will try to break the blockade and Israel will successfully block them without fighting

10 votes

Turkey and Israel will fight a nasty little war and Israel will win

6 votes

Turkey and Israel will fight a nasty little war and Turkey will win

20 votes

There will be a smoking, irradiate crater someplace before it's over

20 votes

None of the above

22 votes

Mothers Day and a Star of Gold

TorturedIllogic

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Sunday May 09, 2010 · 6:57 PM PDT

2010/05/09 · 18:57

All mothers make sacrifices, but a few are called upon to make a most awful sacrifice.

TorturedIllogic

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday April 06, 2010 · 9:50 PM PDT

2010/04/06 · 21:50

Gov. McConnell's proclamation ignore's Virginia's real Civil War heroes.

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Grayson video doesn't prove much

What is it like to fire an AR-15? A fool reports.

Constitutional remedy for Michigan crisis?

Chime to commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation

Ryan's Dream and the notch babies

In defense of politicians

Cars have a well-known liberal bias

Prudence Crandall, the Ground Zero Mosque and taking the long view

Do the right thing, Mr. President

Israel biting off more than it can chew?

Mothers Day and a Star of Gold

Governor, how about honoring Virginia's real Civil War heroes?