monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

I’d like to know how a kid buys a weapon like this.

No one is blaming Trump for the shootings. The reason he, and the GOP, are being criticized is not because they're to blame for the shootings that occur but because, beholden to the NRA as they are, they continue to block any attempts at dealing with the firearms side of the problem.

President Donald Trump quietly signed a bill into law Tuesday rolling back an Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase a gun.

The rule, which was finalized in December, added people receiving Social Security checks for mental illnesses and people deemed unfit to handle their own financial affairs to the national background check database.

Had the rule fully taken effect, the Obama administration predicted it would have added about 75,000 names to that database.

President Barack Obama recommended the now-nullified regulation in a 2013 memo following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which left 20 first graders and six others dead. The measure sought to block some people with severe mental health problems from buying guns.

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Why didn’t Obama do something?

Because he was not issued dictatorial powers.

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Why do you expect Republicans to do more than you expected of Obama?

Because they have a majority in both houses of Congress and control the executive branch of the government. There have been thirty attempted/successful mass shootings since New Year's so, being in control, they could actually address some aspects of the problem. Who else is going to do it?

Cyril Ramaphosa has become South Africa's president a day after embattled leader Jacob Zuma resigned.

He was the only candidate nominated by parliament, which is dominated by his African National Congress. MPs broke into song at the announcement.

In his first presidential speech, Mr Ramaphosa, 65, said he would tackle the corruption which allegedly became widespread under Mr Zuma.

The ANC had told Mr Zuma to step down or face a vote of no-confidence.

Mr Zuma faces numerous corruption allegations but denies any wrongdoing.

One allegation is that he allowed the wealthy Gupta family, who whom he has personal ties, to wield influence over policy, in an example of "state capture".

An arrest warrant has been issued for Ajay Gupta, one of the three most prominent Gupta brothers, officials said on Thursday.

This follows a raid by the Hawks, an elite police unit, on their home on Wednesday. The family has denied corruption allegations.

Agreed, better yet, a rant on Hillary.

President Donald Trump quietly signed a bill into law Tuesday rolling back an Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase a gun.

Izzy: For the most part Walter has remained on topic

Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus has given a remarkable interview published by Vanity Fair that is getting some attention because it confirms once again that the most powerful person in the world is a raging, abusive megalomaniac. We learn that President Trump erupted at his staff over accurate media coverage of his paltry inaugural crowd; that officials competed for the title of most obsequious suck-up to Trump; and that Trump once commanded Priebus to swat a fly.

But buried in the piece is something potentially more important: revelations that shed light on Trump’s state of mind at key moments throughout his efforts to hamstring the investigation into Trump campaign collusion with Russian efforts to sabotage our democracy...

How did we know you'd take that dodge.

You really never disappoint. Regardless of what anyone else might believe about your sincerity, I think you are a liar.

“I think that mental health is your problem here,” Mr. Trump told reporters at a news conference in Japan, the first stop on his 12-day overseas trip. Based on preliminary reports, the gunman in Sutherland Springs, Tex., was a “very deranged individual,” he said. “We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries.”

“But this isn’t a guns situation,” Mr. Trump added. “I mean, we could go into it, but it’s a little bit soon to go into it. But fortunately, somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction, otherwise it would have been — as bad it was — it would have been much worse. But this is a mental health problem at the highest level. It’s a very, very sad event.”

Joan Walsh‏Verified account
@joanwalsh
I want to remind everyone about Virginia 2017: In the 13 races where pro-gun control Democrats squared off against NRA Republicans, Democrats won 12. Top of the ticket -- Northam, Fairfax and Herring -- had F NRA ratings, and all won. It's not hopeless.
8:55 PM - 14 Feb 2018

A Florida white supremacist group says that Nikolas Cruz, who has been charged with murdering 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was a member. The group, known as Republic of Florida, told the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), that Cruz “participated in one or more ROF training exercises in the Tallahassee area, carpooling with other ROF members from south Florida.”

But it appears there were armed guards at the school. Reuters reports that “a law enforcement officer is assigned to every school in the Broward County district.” According to USA Today, “schools in the Broward district typically have one or two school resource officers, typically Broward County Sheriff deputies who are armed and always on campus.”

For Fox News personalities, however, that’s not enough. On the Wednesday edition of his show, Sean Hannity argued that while it appears there was a guard at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, there should’ve been more.

Gun dysfunction is a Republican problem, not a “Washington” problem