This is one of the more horrific stories I’ve seen in a while. Not because of the level of carnage — there’s much, much worse. But because of the mix of fear, bad luck, rapid resorts to violence and what I can’t help but think is a generous dollop of gonzo press hype about crime and how you need to rapidly resort to your gun. Unlike some other recent stories, you can’t reduce this to the gun issue or the race issue. But they’re both there. Read More
There are so many groups and gangs in the Senate. But this seems encouraging. Coburn (R), Manchin (D), Kirk (R), Schumer (D) working on an expanded background check proposal.
Speaking for myself, getting a real, universal background check system seems like something that could really pass and would have a concrete effect. I’m all for limitations on magazine size and bans on assault weapons. But they don’t seem particularly likely to pass and the real effect strikes me as limited. Really making it harder to buy a gun without a background check seems like something that will make a real difference.
The FBI Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach office of a doctor with close personal and political ties to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Dr. Salomon Melgen was a key figure in the story the Daily Caller ran last November containing allegations that Menendez had consorted with prostitutes in the Dominican Republic (and allegedly stiffed them for payment). “The investigation is believed to be focusing on Melgen’s finances and the allegations about Menendez’s trips and contact with prostitutes,” the Herald reports.
Remember that guns & freedom commune they’re building out in Idaho? Jon Stewart is wondering whether ‘medieval castle chic’ is really the right look for ‘the Citadel’.
When I first raised the alarm a couple weeks ago about ‘nuclear gerrymandering’ (the GOP effort to rig the electoral college, state by state), I noted that it was actually a really bad thing for states themselves, as opposed to the national Republican party. And, as Benjy Sarlin reports today, the plan now seems to be coming apart even before it really got off the ground. We’re discussing the latest news in this thread at TPMPrime. Join us.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun control is about to begin. Witness include the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre, Gabby Giffords, and her husband Mark Kelly. Watch the hearing live.
The new senator from Massachusetts is William “Mo” Cowan.
Powerful testimony from Gabby Giffords a few minutes ago before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Watch.
This morning’s headlines are unexpectedly brought to you by the Commerce Department, and at a glance they bring bad news. According to an advanced estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP actually decreased at a 0.1 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2012, after having increased 3.1 percent in the previous quarter.
That’s not where you’d normally see your first indication of a new recession, but it’s an alarming number nonetheless. On closer inspection, though, the report is actually filled with good news. Read More