A little fishy?

 

Does Officer V.G. need to train more at the gun range?

Also...

Gun violence at the White House Correspondents Dinner

We are beyond absurd.

I'm not going to talk about it.  Let this suffice:

Halo slippage

 

It's Sunday

 

Political violence on the uptick?

A man who authorities said scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion where he set a fire had planned to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a hammer if he found him.

  AP

I don't know. Could the jokes Trump, his family, and his minions made about Paul Pelosi have had any impact on this madman?

The fire left significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests to evacuate the building early Sunday.

[...]

[Police] identified the man in custody as [Cody] Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg.

[...]

Calls to people believed to be relatives went unanswered or unreturned Sunday. One recent listed residence in Harrisburg was condemned in 2022. One recent listed residence in Harrisburg was condemned in 2022.

[...]

Balmer has faced criminal charges over the past decade including simple assault, theft and forgery, according to online criminal court records.

The man obviously had not had a good life.

Authorities said the suspect hopped over a nearly 7-foot-high (2.1-meter-high) iron security fence surrounding the property, eluded officers who became aware of the breach and forcibly entered the residence before setting it on fire. He used beer bottles filled with gasoline to make the Molotov cocktails.

He walked for an hour, carried Molotov cocktails and scaled a 7' fence with them? ("Hop" wasn't the right word there.) Good lord.

Balmer appeared to have carefully planned the attack. He was inside the residence for about a minute before he escaped, Bivens said.

Bivens said Balmer was later arrested in the area.

Prosecutors say video footage shows the suspect "surveilling the residence" before he scaled a fence and approached the piano room on the south side of the governor's home. The suspect could be seen smashing in a window with a hammer and throwing a Molotov cocktail into the room, immediately sparking flames, according to an arrest affidavit.

Wearing a snap-on jacket, black boots and carrying a bag, the suspect then smashed in a nearby window and entered the mansion, the affidavit says. Once inside, he threw two additional Molotov cocktails in a dining area before fleeing the residence, scaling the fence and running away, records say.

  phillyburbs.com

Three Molotov cocktails!  That must have been tricky getting them over the fence.

Balmer himself approached a trooper outside Pennsylvania State Police headquarters and said he wished to turn himself in for the attack at the governor's mansion.

[...]

Balmer described himself as a certified master mechanic offering convenient mobile service and roadside service by appointment, on Facebook; he posted a 2019 photo of his certificate from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

At least several earlier posts on the page appear to mock former President Joe Biden including a 2021 meme that says "Joe Biden owes me 2 grand," and "RIP Joe Biden... Whoops that's in may, #Notmypresidenteither."

[...]

Among his 2022 posts are memes that read, “Hey Friend I know the world is scary right now, but it's gonna get way worse;" "And knowing is half the battle. The other half is extreme violence."

As always, initial reports are somewhat conflicting.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Balmer's ex-paramour called police to turn him in after he asked her to. According to the affidavit, he met with state police at their headquarters on Elmerton Avenue, where he admitted to being responsible.

  WGAL

Nothing important in the conflicting reports there. Reports so far say they don't have a motive. MAGA, violent, lives in Pennsylvania. I'm guessing that's motive enough.

Pennsylvania may have a violence virus.

In Pennsylvania, a man who resides in the same town where a would-be assassin fired gunshots at Trump was charged with making threats on YouTube to murder the president and other officials. Shawn Monper, 32, was charged with four counts of influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official after he posted comments under several YouTube videos threatening to kill or injure Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the Justice Department said Friday.

  USA Today

According to a complaint, on April 8, the FBI received a tip that a YouTube account named “Mr Satan” had posted several threats on the app between January 15 and April 5. Monper allegedly bought a gun shortly after Trump’s inauguration and in February, made comments about buying multiple guns since the start of his term.

In March, Monper stated, “Eventually I’m going to do a mass shooting” and added that he’s been “buying 1 gun a month since the election, body armor, and ammo,” according to the DOJ.

[...]

“Nah, we just need to start killing people, Trump, Elon, all the heads of agencies Trump appointed, and anyone who stands in the way. Remember, we are the majority, MAGA is a minority of the country, and by the time it’s time to make the move, they will be weakened, many will be crushed by these policies, and they will want revenge too. American Revolution 2.0”

[...]

“If I see an armed ICE agent, I will consider it a domestic terrorist, and an active shooter and open fire on them.”

  WKBN

Why do so many of these nutjobs post their intentions on the internet? Perhaps the answer is in the question.

And then there's this maniac...

A Wisconsin teen killed his parents to "obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary" to assassinate President Donald Trump, authorities allege in a recently released federal affidavit.

The FBI affidavit sheds new light on the case against Nikita Casap, 17, accused of killing his mother, Tatiana, 35, and stepfather Donald Mayer, 51, whose bodies were found in the family's Waukesha home Feb. 28.

[...]

Authorities believe the couple was fatally shot more than two weeks before the gruesome discovery.

[...]

The newly released federal affadavit says there is probable cause to believe that crimes committed also include a presidential assassination attempt, conspiracy and use of weapons of mass destruction.

[...]

The sheriff's office obtained a search warrant for Casap's phone and found information related to "The Order of Nine Angels," an extremist neo-Nazi group. They also found text messages in Russian and a three-page document discussing assassination, bomb-making and terrorist attacks.

Casap had told a classmate he planned to kill his parents, according to the affidavit. Casap also told the classmate he was in contact with someone in Russia who was part of a plot to kill Trump and overthrow the U.S. government.

  USA Today

What would be the point of that? Trump is doing it himself.

A three-page document the affidavit says was found on the phone, apparently written by Casap.

[...]

The document accused Jewish people of promoting white genocide and degeneracy.

"Jewish occupied governments must fall," the document said, adding that the white race "cannot survive unless America collapses." It also contained images of Adolf Hitler with the text "Hail Hitler Hail the white race hail victory."

Trump has a big hand in this Hitler worship shit. Kind of ironic it would boomerang on him.

He was in touch with other parties about his plan to kill the President and overthrow the government of the United States. And he paid for, at least in part, a drone and explosives to be used as a weapon of mass destruction to commit an attack.

Okay, but I think we should leave "weapon of mass destruction" to war weaponry. Explosives, in general, are not that, and using the term for instances such as this dampens the shock and menace it should engender. But that's just me.

America is toxic.

He finally got a large crowd

Perhaps because the rally was held where he was shot at, and it included Elon Musk.

Since the Secret Service said they can't provide more protection at outdoor events than they are already providing, perhaps he had Musk there to chip in with private protection.

Also, what the hell is happening with his makeup these days?

He had a crowd.

Did he speak before or after Musk?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 10/07/2024:

And Elon is there!  And he doesn't want to know! It would be wasting his time! Christ, the ignorance of this man is incredible.

UPDATE 10/07/2024:

There's a hell of a lot of room between 20 and 100, Ainsley.

Assassination attempt charges filed

Federal prosecutors have charged the man who was spotted with a gun outside one of Donald Trump's golf courses with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate.

[...]

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump nominee who dismissed the criminal classified documents case against him this year.

  NBC

Think she'll drag her feet on this one?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 10/29/2024:

UPDATE 09/23/2025:

Unreal

Super weird.

Jesus.  

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Keep the base agitated

Enraged would be best.

1) HE is the one who is spewing all the lies and condoning hatred and "retribution";
2) Neither man behind the "flying bullets" was an immigrant. They were both home-grown white guys.

The world is laughing at HIM.  He knows it and needs to punish.  If he can just keep the lunatics fringed, his loss in November will make it easier to manipulate them into further violence.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 07:40 am:

Yes, nine years of his and his allies hateful, race-laced, nasty rhetoric has incited a coup on the capitol, untold death threats to anyone deemed "an enemy", bomb threats and more.  Let's ask Paul Pelosi about whether the rhetoric is going too far.

Seems to me GOP rhetoric is anti-immigrant, race-based, incitement, while Democratic rhetoric is calling them out on their rhetoric.  

And good luck getting Donald Trump to "cool tensions".  His entire playbook is how to keep tensions hot.

UPDATE 08:37 am:

At a moment when so many people on the right are smearing any impolite Trump critic as complicit in the assassination attempt, revisiting Trump’s long history of flirtation with verbal violence is in order—if only to keep the record straight.

So, bearing in mind that nothing Trump has said or done excuses or mitigates the horrific acts of his would-be assassin, here’s a list of instances of Trump normalizing, endorsing, promoting, or winking at political and other violence.

  The Bulwark

Continue reading.

It's Sunday

Trump must truly be under God's protection. (Trump and Rasputin, hard to kill.)

The FBI on Sunday said it is investigating a second assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Authorities at a Sunday press conference said a Secret Service agent opened fire on a man with a gun near Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Fla. [...] [...]

According to Bradshaw, an AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro were found in bushes where the suspect had been spotted.

Shots were fired by a Secret Service agent after the agent spotted the weapon, Bradshaw said.

  The Hill

What? Did the guy drop his gun as he fled?

State prosecutors were working to secure a warrant and a motion for a pretrial detention for the potential suspect in custody, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said during the briefing.

[...]

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said he spoke with Trump following the reported gunshots. 

“He [Trump] is one of the strongest people I’ve ever known,” Graham wrote on X. “He’s in good spirits and he is more resolved than ever to save our country.”

Almost Godlike, you might say.

So now people will quit talking about Trump's horrible debate performance and pass around speculation about the latest attempt.

Handy.

UPDATE 09/16/2024:

Beyond his pro-Ukraine activism and a neighbor’s testimony the would-be shooter as “a little cuckoo,” the why behind his apparent plot remains for now something of an unknown—a mystery compounded by politically chameleonic and often unhinged statements the gunman has made on social media over the years.

[...]

In May of [2020] he expressed apparent support for the George Floyd protests in Minnesota, accompanied by other posts in which he seemingly attempted to reach out to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, whom he described as “very smart and educated” and whose country he wanted to “prosper and succeed,” as well as offering a free accommodation in Hawaii to beleaguered pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong later that August.

[...]

[B]y January 2024 he was calling on Republicans Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy to team up against Trump, creating a “winning ticket now that we can all get behind.”

[...]

TIME Magazine reports that Routh confessed to have voted for Trump in 2016 before later coming to view it as “a terrible mistake”—one for which Iran should feel “free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment.”

[...]

Sources with knowledge of the ongoing investigation into the gunman’s presence at the West Palm Beach Golf Course have told CNN that he will undergo “a mental health assessment” before any criminal proceedings are launched.

[...]

Trump is reported to be safe and well following Routh’s arrest on Sunday afternoon, later complaining about his spoiled time on the course and using the recent threat in a renewed funding drive for his campaign.

  Daily Beast

Trump uses EVERYthing for fundraising. Whether it goes to his campaign coffers or his pocket is questionable.

UPDATE 09/23/2025:

Finally, a shred of news about the Trump assassination attempt

In a call with journalists on Wednesday, a senior FBI official shared that the gunman searched online for events of both the former president and Joe Biden and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a “target of opportunity.” Crooks, who shot at Trump from a nearby roof before being killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper, did extensive research for an attack before the shooting and had looked at any number of events or targets, including the current and former president.

  Guardian

We were told that on the day it happened. What's weird is there have been no journalists doggedly researching this story.

Crooks conducted dozens of searches related to both Trump and the president, according to the FBI.

His search history, however, revealed that he may have spent years thinking about committing violence.

Crooks began researching explosive devices as far back as 2019 and continued to do so into 2024.

[...]

“When … the Trump rally was announced, early in July, he became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity,” Rojek said.

The new details were disclosed as FBI officials, in the latest in a series of briefings about the investigation, revealed that they had yet to uncover a motive for attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, despite conducting nearly 1,000 interviews.

[...]

The 20-year-old Pennsylvania-resident had demonstrated a marked interest in politics, making a small political donation to an organization called Progressive Turnout Project that supports Democrats before he could even vote, and registering Republican shortly after his 18th birthday, but little has been uncovered about his beliefs or even his partisan leanings at the time of the shooting.

Weird.

I guess it's now official: They'll believe anything

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

I hope Chris Wray has a good protection detail

"With respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," Wray said in response to a question from Chairman Jim Jordan asking whether the FBI has accounted for all bullets fired by the shooter. "It's conceivable, although as I sit here right now, I don't know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else. But I believe we've accounted for all the shots in the cartridges."

  ABC

In other words, it wasn't a bullet that hit Trump's ear.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Whatever

He's telling the shark vs electricity story again.

What will they put on their ears now?  And did the ones who came to the rally with the 3x5 patches take them off when they saw him?

Does this mean he understands he can't win with just his base?

Oh, FFS

He drones on and on, reading his story from the teleprompters, adding some little remarks from time to time.  So, sure, "it's too painful to tell."  If he doesn't tell it a second time (and I'll be very surprised if he doesn't tell it at every rally), it's because he knows he probably can't keep the "facts" straight.

Watch here if you want.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Where has this guy been hiding?

Just minutes after Biden finished remarks on the attempt on Trump’s life the day prior, Trump posted “UNITE AMERICA!” to his Truth Social account.

  The Hill

However...

In the same post, the former president said it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”

  The Hill

Insensitive, at best. Maybe the family of the man who was killed and those of the other injured people have something they'd like to say to God.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 05:59 pm:

Hawkers know when and where to strike...

Maybe Donald - or Melania - will come up with a nicer edition.

And from five years ago...

How about now?  Still feel the same?

It's Sunday

This is Trump's new badge of glory

In other words, Abbott knows about things that don't work.

There's a non-zero chance it was an inside job.  Either way, it's going to work to his favor.

[The shooter] was registered to vote as a Republican, according to a listing in Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age, and a Bethel Park address that law enforcement was searching Saturday night and is linked to Crooks in public records.

[...]

Federal Election Commission records show that a donor listed as Thomas Crooks with the same address gave $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021.

  CNN

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 06:54 am:

These pictures won't get as much MAGA play...

America has lost the thread

So now that he's been shot at (if indeed that's what happened), we can't tell the truth about what an evil bastard he is?

And who didn't know this was coming...

Another Georgia loon in  Congress.

Here's his next rally posters and grifting emails:

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 08:15 pm:  Apparently the rally wasn't going so well anyway.

Making people wait.  He's been doing that lately.

UPDATE 07/14/2024:

[The shooter] was registered to vote as a Republican, according to a listing in Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age, and a Bethel Park address that law enforcement was searching Saturday night and is linked to Crooks in public records.

[...]

Federal Election Commission records show that a donor listed as Thomas Crooks with the same address gave $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021.

  CNN

Interestingly, there were police snipers on a building roof.

UPDATE 06:06 pm: