The End Of The NRA?

Last night Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Tom Hamburger explained NY Attorney General Leticia James' decision to sue the NRA out of existence or, at least, out of New York, where they have been a chartered charity for over a century. James' case revolves around the $64 million top NRA officials drained out of the non-profit to enrich themselves, "a decades-long pattern of fraud to raid the coffers of the powerful gun rights group for personal gain," wrote Leonnig and Hamburger. "In her lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James called for the dissolution of the NRA and the removal of CEO Wayne LaPierre from the leadership post he has held for the past 39 years, saying he and others used the group’s funds to finance a luxury lifestyle. She also asked a New York court to force LaPierre and three key deputies to repay NRA members for the ill-gotten money and inflated salaries that her investigation found they took. James accused the NRA leaders of flouting state and federal laws and signing off on reports and statements they knew were fraudulent, while diverting millions of dollars away from the NRA’s charitable mission to benefit themselves and their allies... Her investigation, which began in February 2019, found a 'a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent,' according to a statement by the attorney general’s office."

I asked Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi if James can actually do this. He was crystal clear: "One of the central jobs of the New York State Attorney General is to oversee the conduct of charities operating within the state. General James is using the tools in the tool kit of her Charities Bureau to perform the oversight she is sworn to do. Bravo General!"

Trump is going crazy because the NRA spent millions on backing him in 2016 and planned to do the same thing between now and November. I suspect that James' suit is going to tie up their funds, at the very least.

Meanwhile, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine announced Thursday that his office filed a separate lawsuit against the NRA Foundation, which is based in Washington. Racine accused the organization of being a puppet of the NRA, despite legal requirements that it independently pursue charitable purposes. Instead, Racine said his office found, the foundation repeatedly lent the NRA money to address its rising deficits.

James said at a news conference Thursday that she is seeking to dissolve the NRA because of the brazenness of the group’s violations of law.

“The corruption was so broad, and because they have basically destroyed all the assets of the NRA,” she said. “Enough was enough... No one is above the law, not even the NRA.”

Her office cited as a precedent its previous action against the Trump Foundation, which led Trump to shut down the charity in 2018 amid allegations he used it for his personal benefit.

The New York lawsuit against the NRA paints a picture of widespread wrongdoing at the influential gun rights group, and a freewheeling atmosphere in which top officials repeatedly took advantage of their positions for their personal benefit.

In one new revelation, the attorney general said her investigation uncovered that LaPierre recently arranged a post-employment contract for himself with the NRA worth $17 million. He never sought board approval for the deal, the suit claims.

The lawsuit also claims LaPierre failed to report large sums of personal income to the IRS. James’s office said it found that the NRA chief funneled personal expenses through an outside public relations firm, allowing him to avoid reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars of personal income.

James said Thursday that she was referring those findings to the IRS. She also said that if her office uncovers criminal activity, it will be referred to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

In response, the NRA said Thursday that it was filing its own federal lawsuit against James, alleging that the attorney general has violated the group’s free speech rights and has been unfairly targeting the gun rights lobby since she began campaigning for the office.

“This was a baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend,” NRA President Carolyn Meadows said in a statement. “You could have set your watch by it: the investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle.”

NRA officials said they believe James’s action was designed to disrupt the group’s momentum at a critical time in the 2020 election campaign. The NRA political action arm is planning to spend tens of millions of dollars this fall to mobilize its members to defeat Democratic candidates who seek gun restrictions, including putative Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, according to a person familiar with fundraising, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal strategy.

“It’s a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda,” Meadows said. “This has been a power grab by a political opportunist-- a desperate move that is part of a rank political vendetta. Our members won’t be intimidated or bullied in their defense of political and constitutional freedom.”

Trump also decried the legal action against the organization, which spent millions on his behalf in 2016, calling it a “terrible thing” as he spoke to reporters Thursday morning at the White House. He said the NRA had been “decimated” by legal expenses and suggested the group should move from New York to Texas.

Experts in tax law said the deep investigation into the NRA’s finances showed the potential for state officials to vigorously enforce nonprofit rules.

“It is a watershed moment in nonprofit regulation,” said Douglas Varley, who advises nonprofit organizations at the law firm of Caplin & Drysdale.

With a decline in IRS funding and enforcement, there has been a widespread belief that “the locus of nonprofit enforcement is shifting from IRS to the states,” Varley said. “Here is the clearest possible evidence of that reality. I think everyone who believes a strong regulator is needed would heartened by this.”

The dual suits filed by the attorneys general in New York and Washington punctuate nearly two years of infighting at the NRA over management of the group’s funds, a civil war that led to the exodus of many veteran members and top officials.

...The group’s bitter internal battle burst into public view in April 2019 at the NRA’s annual convention in Indianapolis, when then-NRA President Oliver North was forced out by LaPierre after pressing for an internal financial review.

The Washington Post and other news organizations subsequently revealed how the NRA directed funds to board members and how LaPierre racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in charges at a Beverly Hills clothing boutique and on foreign travel.

The Post also reported how, after a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., Pierre told close associates he was worried about how easily he could be targeted and needed a more secure place to live and sought to buy a $6 million, 10,000-square-foot French-style country estate in Westlake, Texas.

The suit expands on previous allegations that LaPierre improperly charged the NRA for private jet travel and luxury vacations that had no clear business purpose. The filing claims LaPierre billed the NRA more than $500,000 for private charter flights he and his family took to visit the Bahamas eight times over three years.

Last year, a spokesman for LaPierre told The Post his visits to the Bahamas were for NRA business. But the New York attorney general’s investigation found the trips were private vacations.

In four years, LaPierre was reimbursed by the NRA for $1.2 million in expenses that were personal trips, golf fees and gifts, the suit claims.

LaPierre also spent $3.6 million of NRA money for private travel consultants to arrange private jets and executive car service for his and his family’s use over just two years, the suit says. And he set aside several millions each year for private security for him and his family.

LaPierre also enjoyed the largesse of NRA vendors who hoped to keep their organization’s business, the suit said. One vendor gave LaPierre and his wife an all-expense paid trip to Africa for a safari adventure; another frequently loaned LaPierre and his family the use of his 107-foot yacht on his visits to the Caribbean.

Phillips, the former treasurer, is accused in the suit of arranging a NRA deal worth more than $1 million that benefited his girlfriend. The lawsuit also claims that shortly before he retired in 2018, Phillips obtained a contract for himself worth $1.8 million. On paper, Phillips’s contract called for him to provide advice and consulting services for the new treasurer; but the new treasurer said he knew nothing of the contract and never received any services from Phillips, the suit claims.

Powell, LaPierre’s former chief of staff, had his salary increased from $250,000 to $800,000 in just three years as a reward for his loyalty to LaPierre, the suit states, and allegedly pocketed an additional $100,000 he was not entitled to as a housing allowance. In addition, Powell also arranged for his wife and father to earn money through NRA contracts.

The lawsuit accuses Frazer, who was general counsel to the NRA, of failing to make sure the nonprofit was governed properly and followed state and federal laws, and it claims he certified false or misleading annual statements.

James said Frazer failed to comply with the rules on board governance, to make sure the board was aware of and voting on major financial transactions and to follow the NRA’s conflict of interest policy.

A central fraud embedded in NRA finances, James’s suit claims, was a secret agreement to pass questionable expenses through its Oklahoma-based advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen.

Under this agreement, the suit alleges, LaPierre and his inner circle of trusted deputies rerouted millions of dollars in lavish personal expenses for themselves, their families and allies through Ackerman McQueen. The goal was to avoid having the board or other members of the NRA know that the charitable organization was paying so much money for LaPierre’s membership fees at golf clubs, private jets and designer suits, the lawsuit said.

Ackerman McQueen then billed the NRA for these large, unexplained sums, calling them “out-of-pocket” expenses, suggesting they were related to the company’s advertising work for the NRA.

The attorney general’s office said it found that Ackerman McQueen billed the NRA $70 million in just 2017 and 2018 for its public relations work, including “out-of-pocket” expenses.

A very large portion of those hidden expenses were for personal trips and expenses for LaPierre. In a deposition in a separate lawsuit last year, LaPierre acknowledged he did not report any of the NRA-paid expenses as personal income to the IRS and claimed they were business expenses.

In its statement, the attorney general’s office said this practice “did not comply with IRS requirements, and, as a result, all such expenses should have been included by the NRA in taxable personal income for LaPierre.”

The partnership between the NRA and the public relations firm began to crack after James, then a candidate for New York attorney general, announced in summer of 2018 that she planned to launch an investigation of the NRA if she won. LaPierre hired a new law firm, led by Angus McQueen’s estranged son-in-law. That attorney, Bill Brewer, urged that the NRA to audit Ackerman McQueen’s bills in preparation for James’s probe.

At LaPierre’s direction and with Brewer’s help, the NRA ejected its in-house lawyer and sued Ackerman McQueen, accusing them of concealing details of the nearly $40 million the NRA paid the firm each year.

Last spring, North announced in Indianapolis he would not seek a second term as president, warning about exorbitant payments to Brewer’s firm and reports of financial mismanagement.

“There is a clear crisis,” North said in his letter announcing his departure.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) its considered Congress' most brilliant constitutional law expert. This morning he told me that "For many years, the NRA’s non-profit form has been nothing but cheap camouflage for rampant profiteering and straight-up ripoffs of NRA Members. When your political agenda is all about promoting the selfish desires of the few over the Interests of the many, the exploitation quickly comes home to roost."

Kathy Ellis is running for Congress against gun nut Jason Smith in southeast Missouri. She told me she is enthusiastic about James' decision to hold the NRA leadership accountable for their crooked activities. "As I heard the great news that the AG of NY was pursuing charges against the NRA president, board and others for running the 'charity' like it was their own bank," she told me this morning, 'I thought about my dad. He was an NRA member when it was an educational entity and as it became more of an advertiser for the gun manufacturers, he dropped his membership saying, 'Thus is becoming too political and will end up in trouble.' Well, they’re in trouble now. I hope that all the NRA endorsed candidates are 'sweating bullets.'" Marie Newman, who will be part of the class of 2020, seems to agree-- and wanted to make sure the voters in her Illinois district know it:

Virginia Endorsement Alert: Patrick Hope

We've been fans of Virginia Delegate Patrick Hope for a very long time-- introduced to him by progressive friends who are constituents of his in Arlington County, just outside of DC. One of the first times he did a guest post for us, in 2014, he introduced himself this way: "Thank you for this opportunity to write a guest post on Down With Tyranny. I've been a reader for many years-- luckily my voting record always has and always will reflect my strong progressive values, so I’ll be able to avoid being photoshopped into a clown like so many Congressman have been here." He was running for Congress then, a grassroots progressive up against a wealthy establishment conservative. The wealthy establishment conservative won and many people say he's destined for the Biden administration, and we-- like so many-- are hoping Patrick will run for the seat again, this time with years and years of experience as a legislator under his belt-- and a great record.

I asked him to catch us up with what he's been up to in Richmond and, hilariously, he started with the same line: "Thank you for the opportunity to write a Down With Tyranny guest post. I've been a long-time reader and admirer for many years." Maybe that's where he gets all his good ideas!

Progressive Leadership In State Legislatures Can't Be Taken For Granted
-by Del. Patrick Hope 

 Since 2009, I’ve been an unapologetic, progressive leader in the Virginia General Assembly and have a voting record to match, having been rated most progressive legislator among Delegates and Senators by the Virginia Progressive Legislative Alert Network (VAPLAN). When I first arrived in Richmond, I was shocked at what I saw. The Tea Party-led Republicans were as bad as I expected, but the Democratic Party was infiltrated with special interests and lobbyists writing their legislation. That's why I immediately founded the Virginia Progressive Caucus to begin to fight back and reclaim the Democratic Party. I wasn't the first progressive elected to go to Richmond, but many before me were willing to play the game and refused to form a Progressive Caucus so members were not forced to "pick sides." I think this kind of "leadership" is atrocious-- we must stand up and speak out for our values in elected office. That is the kind of leader I am and that is what I will continue to do.

Things have certainly changed in those 10 years when, in 2019, Virginia Democrats swept the House and Senate elections capturing the first progressive majority in history.  The issues that I and my fellow progressive Democrats championed-- expanding health insurance to all Virginians, enacting laws to prevent gun violence, passing criminal justice and prison reforms, protecting a woman’s right to choose, and raising the minimum wage have all been signed into law this year and we are only getting started!

I’m best known in Richmond as an expert in health care policy, where I serve on the House Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee and chair of its Health Subcommittee. I’ve spent more than two decades fighting to expand health care coverage and affordability for every American, and led the fight for expand Medicaid in Virginia, something we finally accomplished in 2019, providing over 400,000 low-income Virginians with access to health care. While I believe that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is our country’s greatest domestic policy achievement since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, I also continue to believe health care is a fundamental human right and no American should be without basic health insurance coverage. Until then, I’m working on a proposal for the 2021 General Assembly session to expand eligibility for Virginia’s Medicaid program even further to 200 percent of federal poverty, potentially providing hundreds of thousands of hard-working Virginians health care coverage unable to afford insurance due to the disastrous Trump Administration's repeated efforts to undermine the ACA.





I’m also very proud of the action we took this session on gun violence prevention. Prior to this session, Virginia had one of the weakest laws in the nation, allowing unencumbered access to guns. But this year, using my seniority and Chairmanship of the powerful House Public Safety Committee, I was able to push through seven common sense gun violence prevention bills that the Governor recently signed into law:

• Universal background checks on all firearm sales;
• Reinstate the law allowing the purchase of only one handgun within a 30-day period;
• Requiring lost or stolen firearms be reported to law enforcement within 48 hours;
• Create an Extreme Risk Protective Order that would allow a court to order the temporary separation of firearms from an individual determined to be danger to self or others;
• Prohibiting the person the subject of a protective order from possessing a firearm;
• Enhancing the penalty for recklessly allowing child access to a loaded firearm;
• Allowing localities to prohibit firearms in County buildings, parks, or recreation centers.

These laws will save lives.

Another issue I have taken on squarely in Richmond is criminal justice and police reform. Virginia's criminal justice system is replete with “tough on crime” examples of racial injustice that only lead to mass incarceration. The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor have cast a national spotlight on police and criminal justice reform and have caused Virginians to re-examine of our criminal justice system and take decisive action. As the Chairman of the House Public Safety Committee and senior member of the House Courts of Justice Committee, I’m leading House efforts to enact comprehensive criminal justice and police reforms. Reinstating parole, abolishing the death penalty, eliminating mandatory minimums, creating civilian oversight review boards, decertifying bad cops, and requiring body worn cameras is just a start. I want a criminal justice system that is fair and equitable and police reform that creates a system that is more transparent and accountable to the people it serves.

I have always believed that criminal justice reform and prison reform are two sides of the same coin. Specifically, I’m building on the work I’ve done to prohibit the use of solitary confinement in Virginia. I first became involved in prison reform when, in 2011, I toured Red Onion, Virginia’s "Supermax" prison. I met one man who had been in solitary for 12 years-- 23 hours a day, 7 days a week of total isolation for 12 years. I took on the department of corrections in the legislature and forced them to make reforms to their system. Just a few years later, we have seen an 80 percent reduction in the use of solitary confinement in prisons in Virginia. But I don’t want to end there. I want a law to only allow the use of solitary in extreme cases.

I also worked to outlaw the shackling of pregnant inmates while they were giving birth. While it may seem obvious that a woman in labor isn’t a flight risk (you can ask any woman who’s ever given birth-- they’re not going anywhere!), I had reports that the department of corrections was requiring nonviolent women to be shackled while giving birth. I put in a bill that even won the support of the right wing to outlaw this practice. While the Tea Party defeated the bill, I worked through the department to install regulations prohibiting the abhorrent practice. This will never happen again in Virginia.

I believe it takes more than just voting the right way to be a progressive leader. To me, being a progressive means standing up for our values, no matter the political implications. Over the years, I have stood up to Big Tobacco, the NRA (see above), the fossil fuel industry, anti-vaxxers, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-choice (see video below)-- and won. I am a champion of progressive values and I know how to get things done.

If you want to help re-elect a proven progressive champion in Virginia, please visit my website at www.hopeforvirginia.org where you can learned more about me and my campaign. I appreciate this opportunity to share with you my vision, and I hope you’ll continue to stand with me. Howie included the Blue America state legislative candidate thermometer on the right and you can contribute to my campaign by clicking on it.

Why Hasn't Pelosi Pulled The Funding Bill For The Department Of Homeland Security?

Why hasn't the House Democratic Leadership pulled the bill for funding for Department of Homeland Security off the floor. It's supposed to be voted on next week? Are Pelosi and Hoyer actually contemplating funding an agency that is helping Trump deploy his private militia/secret police on our streets? Many people are wondering.

ACRE, the Action Center on Race and the Economy, is a campaign hub for organizations working at the intersection of racial justice and corporate accountability. They provide research and strategic support for organizations working on campaigns to win structural change by directly taking on the corporations that are responsible for pillaging communities of color, devastating working-class communities, and harming our environment. Maurice BP-Weeks, Co-Executive Director, was very clear about ACRE's reaction to Pelosi moving forward with the funding bill: "As Trump unleashes an all-out attack on our cities with his brutal, militarized, and out-of-control secret police, Democrats shouldn’t be appropriating another single penny for his out control and reckless fascist regime. Bringing any bill to the House floor to fund a DHS that is deploying a cold, calculated, and secret police force is not only unconstitutional, but also deeply immoral. Democrats ought to be pulling every lever they have in their power right now to defund and abolish Trump’s secret police not to pour more money into it. Unfortunately, their track record is lacking to say the least. Democratic leadership in the past supported some of the same heavily militarized DHS practices that disappeared, surveilled and terrorized the Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities around the country for decades, and refused to take action when undocumented people were detained in countless raids. We’re at another make or break moment for Democratic leadership. If despite all the calls to defund and abolish the police nationwide the House chooses to further fund Trump’s secret force, they will cement a leadership failure of epic proportions. The time for rhetoric and nuance is over."




PPP did a series of surveys for MoveOn, released this week, that show voters in Arizona, Maine, and North Carolina prepared to vote against Trump and his Senate enablers at least in part because of the way Trump is using military force against civilian protesters in Portland. "Majorities of voters in all three states," reported MoveOn, "oppose Trump’s militarized used of federal agents without identification, witnessed in Portland and pledged to expand into NYC, Baltimore, Detroit, Philly, and Chicago. And voters want Congress to act to rein Trump in on this front-- again, majorities in all states, and particularly strongly in North Carolina, where 61% of voters support the no-brainer policies included in Sen. Merkley’s Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act (eg: must wear ID on uniform, no unmarked vans for detentions, etc.). This Resolution has 42 cosponsors in the Senate-- Tillis, McSally, and Collins are all absent... This is more evidence of the broader story we’ve all seen: Republicans in the Senate have been choosing Trump over their constituents and their country. Our poll also shows that this decision might cost Republicans their jobs and control of the Senate. In all three races, the Republican incumbents are trailing their Democratic challengers. 

• In Maine, Gideon leads Collins 47-42 (in the first poll since Gideon clinched the nomination).
• In North Carolina, Cal’s up on Thom 48-40.
• And in Arizona, Kelly leads McSally 51-42. 

If you follow Marianne Williamson on Twitter you have probably noticed that she is more than outraged by the Trump unconstitutional incursions in Portland and his threats to do the same thing in Albuquerque and Chicago. A few days ago she used a longer form to write that Trump has announced that his goon squad is "going to go into American cities with high crime rates and fill them up with militarized agents who will fix all that. How, exactly? Well, no one is sure, because violent criminals don’t wear signs that say, 'Me! I’m the bad guy! Come get me!' Our esteemed crime-busters from DHS will presumably do what they’ve done in Portland: pretty much take anyone around and grab them into unmarked vans, in one of those 'proactive arrests' meant to make people aware that they should not and will not do anything criminal… such as… standing around in public after 10pm. The situation would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous. My biggest fear-- I’m sure everyone’s biggest fear if they think about it-- is that someone’s going to get killed in all this. And then, my fellow Americans, expect all hell to break loose. The giant of the American spirit has been slow to awaken to the deeper problems in our midst, but it’s awakened now. And she’s pissed."

I don’t think the president’s goons from the Department of Homeland Security (I always thought that name was creepy), untrained though they apparently are, are being told to shoot lethal weapons at protestors. But that’s not the point. Situations like this are volatile and they shouldn’t even be happening. Only in a dictatorship do squads of secret police invade cities, presumably to establish “law and order” but doing nothing but spreading chaos and fury.

When running for president, at my CNN Town Hall I said we needed to be aware of the risk of encroaching fascism. No wonder the political status quo didn’t think those the words of a serious candidate, huh? But what an insane system calls crazy might not be, and what it calls sane might be what is bound to drive all of us crazy. Such is the state of America today.

Am I hopeful? Yes, because hope is a moral imperative. Am I cynical? No, because to me that’s an excuse for not helping. In truth, I think that in the long run we’re going to be more than okay; I think we’re going to be magnificent. I think we’re going to have Lincoln’s proverbial “new birth of freedom.” But not immediately, not easily, and not without pain. Not in the short term, and perhaps not even in the middle term. There’s no reason to expect things will not get ugly very, very soon. The president is sending his troops to cities whose citizens simply will not have it.

Nor should they. This has gone too far. There are times when you have to draw a line, and now is such a time. A dangerous man is trying to destroy our democracy and we must not let him. America does not belong to him; it belongs to us. And millions of us are buckling up.

After she ended her presidential run, Marianne endorsed several progressive candidates for Congress this cycle. I asked a few of them if they're as disturbed by Trump's display of aggressive authoritarianism as she is. You can probably imagine that Shahid Buttar, running for the San Francisco seat occupied by Pelosi, is incensed. He told me that "the democracy of which we are rightfully proud is fragile. It has sustained brutal damage at the hands of Republicans-- and Democrats-- who have openly embraced authoritarian policies for generations. Mass incarceration, domestic surveillance, indefinite detention, executive secrecy, and militarized police are all facets of a problem far worse than the sum of its parts: fascism. The generations that preceded us fell asleep at the switch, but the sordid abuses of an aspiring tyrant have awakened in America a memory of our civic commitments. Today, from Portland to Washington, we are taking action reclaim our sovereignty, resist the unconstitutional orders of a criminal president, and hold the corporate opposition accountable for having funded authoritarian agencies for decades without meaningful oversight. I’m disgusted by our so-called leaders, and horrified by their mounting violations of our rights. At the same time, the growing movement to defend democracy makes me immensely proud of We the People of the United States."

West Virginia progressive Cathy Kunkel notes that even in the most Trump-friendly state, Trump has been turning toxic. "Congressman Alex Mooney has spent the last four years," she told me, "defining himself by his support for President Trump. And here in West Virginia-- as around the country-- voters are not impressed by Trump's handling of the pandemic. Running on Trump's coattails is not the strategy it was 4 years ago."

Eva Putzova, a former Flagstaff, Arizona City Council member, lived in Slovakia at one time and this authoritarian outburst from the dying-- but very dangerous-- embers of Trumpism is not her first brush with fascis, something she tweeted about yesterday. This morning she told me that "Trump's Homeland Security forces are no different than KGB, STASI, and my home country's ŠTB. What we see in the U.S. cities today is what we fought against in 1989 in former Czechoslovakia. I'm extremely worried about Trump's abuse of power and the long-term effects it can have on our democracy, especially when we consider how the public health crisis limits people's appetite to protest that power."

History professor and Riverside County congressional candidate Liam O'Mara noted that his district, the 42nd "has been changing along with the rest of Riverside, but went for Trump from a combination of progressive apathy and Trump's own populist rhetoric. But while he claims to stand for the common man, all he cares to do is line his own pockets and funnel taxpayer cash to the oligarchy. And that's totally Ken Calvert's jam. For 28 years now, #CrookedKenCalvert has been serving his corporate owners in the defense and real estate industries, and actively making life harder for people in the 42nd. He likes to brag that he's helped with freeway congestion, but what he's actually done is helped developers throw up bedroom communities for commuters, thus creating that traffic, and then funneled jobs to contractors to deal with the same traffic... and never mind all the pollution. People are starting to get wise to Calvert's lies, and his full-throated support for reopening schools is just to help Trump's own play for reëlection. Crooked Ken doesn't care if kids die or get permanent lung damage, or if they bring the infection home to vulnerable family members. He cares only about serving Trump and the oligarchy. And people are talking about it. Is DC a swamp of corruption? Oh yeah. And we could have started draining it four years ago by electing Bernie Sanders. Instead we elected a swamp-monster like Trump, who brought in dozens of lobbyists to top jobs. Naturally, the long-term corrupt like Calvert drifted into his orbit, and now we have to knock them both out in November."

David Kim, is a progressive Democrat running for Congress in Los Angeles, promising a more activist and grassroots approach to governance than the incumbent, Jimmy Gomez. "As an immigration attorney who defends people fleeing dangerous governments," said Kim this morning, "I am incredibly saddened and disturbed by Trump's escalating displays of authoritarianism. I am equally disgusted that Congress has taken no proactive measures to address the current situation, such as pulling the bill for funding DHS off the floor. If our leaders allow Trump to oppress and silence the people with his fascist goon squad, then they, along with Trump, will be sent home in November by a mass of voters fed up with our morally bankrupt system. The American people cannot, must not, and will not let this country devolve into an authoritarian dystopia."

This week Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced a bill in the House to restrict the ability of the U.S. Marshals Service to deputize other federal employees to perform the functions of a Deputy U.S. Marshal. The bill would also prohibit the Attorney General from designating Drug Enforcement Administration officers to enforce federal laws outside of their Title 21 authority. The bill allows for an exception when the federal support is requested by the state governor. The bill is in response to what the Trump goon squad has been doing in Portland, a city represented by Blumenauer. Lieu noted that "What happened in Washington, DC and Portland is outrageous... We cannot allow this Administration or any future one to abuse its authorities against Americans practicing their First Amendment right to protest. In light of reports that the Trump Administration may use authoritarian tactics in additional cities around the country, we are working at breakneck speed to reign in this unfettered and troubling use of force."

Blumenauer sees right through what Trump has been up to, "From the dramatic influx of unnecessary federal agents, to the egregious use of violent tactics, it’s clear that the Trump Administration’s goal in Portland is to inflame tensions for political gain, rather than to keep our city safe. No community should face such a siege from the very people sworn to protect them. In order to ensure the rights of all Americans, it’s clear that we must fundamentally change the way federal officials can be deployed and used."

Building A Future With Fewer Guns

-by Igor Volsky

Federal legislative change takes a long time, but a hundred Americans are dying from gun violence every single day. That’s why in 2016 I founded Guns Down America, an organization dedicated to activating influential voices outside of the legislative arena to help build safer communities with fewer guns. Borrowing a page from the successful marriage equality movement, GDA is engaging corporations to weaken the gun industry and its lobby, create cultural change around the gun issue, and build surprising political coalitions that can actually pave the way for the bold reforms we need to truly save lives.

GDA runs two primary programs to build a future with fewer guns.

Our advocacy and campaigns program develops corporate-focused campaigns, including the successful efforts that pushed Walmart to walk away from gun sales, convinced two large insurers to stop underwriting a discriminatory insurance product offered by the NRA, and is driving major banks, Hollywood studios, retailers, and restaurants to lean into gun reform.

Our rapid response program builds powerful coalitions that drive a “fewer guns, safer communities” message in the media at critical junctures.

GUNS DOWN AMERICA SUCCEEDS IN PUSHING FEDEX TO END DISCOUNTS FOR NRA MEMBERS.

In December of 2016, Guns Down America unveiled its first corporate campaign, urging FedEx to stop offering discounts to NRA members. The effort, which we launched in partnership with Color of Change and other organizations, argued that the NRA’s opposition to sensible gun safety reforms led to increases in gun violence across the country and undermined FedEx’s stated commitment to serving, investing, and building economic power for communities of color.

Between the beginning of 2017 and the late fall of 2018, over half a million people signed our petition, hundreds participated in protests in front of FedEx storefronts all around the country, and called and emailed the shipping giant and its CEO directly, threatening to switch to a different shipper if FedEx continued to help the NRA recruit new members.

As a result, the company announced it would be ending its relationship with the gun lobby in October 2018.

GUNS DOWN AMERICA SUCCEEDS IN PUSHING TWO LARGE INSURERS TO STOP OFFERING THE NRA’S #MURDERINSURANCE.

In October of 2017, Guns Down America, in partnership with Color of Change and Sybrina Fulton (the mother of Trayvon Martin), launched a multi-faceted campaign urging two of the nation’s largest insurers, Chubb and Lockton Affinity, to stop underwriting the NRA’s Carry Guard insurance policies. The policies, which were sold through advertisements showing white people killing black and brown intruders, were designed to provide protection and peace of mind to individuals who “stood their ground” by shooting first and asking questions second. The insurance plans covered the cost of removing blood stains from carpets, offered killers replacement weapons and covered certain legal expenses.

Our campaign argued that such plans would only expand unjust Stand Your Ground laws, which disproportionately impact communities of color, and thus undermine the values and brand identity of Chubb and Lockton. The campaign included a moving video featuring Fulton, a large petition drive, social media activation and advocacy and a fly-over over one of the insurer’s corporate headquarters. Within months, both companies announced that they would not continue underwriting the NRA’s Carry Guard insurance plans. As a result of this effort, Chubb and Lockton Affinity faced multi-million dollar fines from Washington State and New York for violating state insurance regulations, sending a clear message about the dangers of working with the irresponsible and corrupt gun lobby.

GUNS DOWN AMERICA SUCCEEDS IN PUSHING WALMART TO LEAN INTO GUN REFORM

In the moments following the 2019 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, GDA began publicly calling on the mega-store to become a more active participant in building safer American communities with fewer guns. We argued, publicly and privately, that Walmart’s corporate would be tarnished if, after a mass shooting on its premises, it did not act to prioritize the safety of its customers and employees by re-examining its own gun sales and using its leverage in Washington to fight for stricter gun laws.

Our calls elicited a strong public response and the coalition hosted multiple rallies at Walmarts all across the country, pushed thousands of Americans to hand-deliver “manager’s letters” with the coalition’s ask to local Walmarts, generated $5 million worth of earned media in major national outlets like MSNBC, USA Today and the Washington Post, and broadcast our message to more than 40 local news stations across the country. We also opened a direct channel of communication with Walmart leadership.

On Tuesday, Sep. 3, 2019 on the one-month anniversary of the shooting, Walmart announced they were ending handgun sales in Alaska (the only place it still sold such firearms), significantly limiting ammunition sales, and lobbying Congress on gun reform.



Following our successful effort in pushing Walmart to step away from gun sales, GDA assembled a coalition of over 20 partner organizations and, in December of 2019, launched Business Must Act-- a first-of-its-kind report card that grades the nation’s 29 largest retailers based on how much they’ve done to keep their customers and employees safe from gun violence.

GDA unveiled the campaign with a CNN exclusive. The campaign is now actively engaging with the leadership of several retailers and has raised the grade for one of the stores.

For instance, in May of 2020, after an incident in North Carolina saw armed white nationalist extremists walk into a Subway and intimidate pedestrians, Guns Down America, and several partners, stood up a campaign calling on Subway to ban open carry at their restaurants. The campaign launched a petition that garnered over 50,000 combined signatures and pushed over 3,000 GDA members to individually email top officials at Subway, asking them to ban open carry in their stores. These efforts led Subway to change its policy nationwide in July of 2020.

In light of the murder of George Floyd and the ongoing protests against police brutality and systemic racism, GDA is focusing its Business Must Act campaign efforts on pushing large corporations to invest in Black and Brown communities by, among other things, supporting community-based gun violence intervention programs. GDA has published a document tracking how major corporations have responded to the Black Lives Matter movement, highlighting companies that have failed to put their money where their mouths are on the issue.

GDA is currently working with on-the-ground service organizations in Chicago and Milwaukee on a campaign that will push household brands that are headquartered in those cities to make long-term investments in the communities they serve.

GDA IS PUSHING BANKS TO STOP DOING BUSINESS WITH THE IRRESPONSIBLE GUN INDUSTRY.

GDA launched the Is Your Bank Loaded? campaign in April of 2019 with the goal of pushing the nation’s largest public-facing consumer banks to stop doing business with the firearm and ammunition industry (until that industry can be fundamentally reformed) and developing a system for flagging large suspicious gun purchases using bank credit and debit cards.

The campaign has successfully pushed several banks, including JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, to publicly distance themselves from firearm manufacturers and the NRA and we have begun the process of developing a series of recommendations the financial industry can take to report suspicious large gun purchases to authorities.

GDA IS BATTLING THE CORONAVIRUS GUN VIOLENCE SURGE.

In early March of 2020, as our leaders began responding to the coronavirus crisis, GDA grew concerned by press reports of Americans panic-buying firearms and ammunition in large numbers. We feared that these significant spikes in gun sales would result in corresponding increases in firearm suicides, domestic violence incidents, unintentional shootings and began driving a multi-organizational effort to: 1) educate the public about the dangers of firearm stockpiling, 2) push Congress to address these dangers, and 3) pressure retailers to re-open their stores with new policies that require their customers to leave their guns at home.

Given the rise of armed militias and the prevalence of armed protesters across the country, GDA is also standing up a body of work that will focus on repealing permissive open carry laws in key states and tightening state regulations that allow individuals to bring firearms into the polling booth and intimidate voters on Election Day.





UPDATE From Howie: Florida

After Igor sent his guest post, I contacted some of the best progressive candidates running for office in Florida this year. Why Florida? Remember the NRA massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. That was in 2018. Has anything changed? Please take a look at these perspectives and, if you like what you read, consider chipping in to the campaigns of these candidates by clicking on the 2020 Florida thermometer below.

Adam Christensen is running for Congress in north central Florida and he told me that "A little over 2 years ago my life and millions of others' were changed forever when we turned on our TVs and learned about the shooting in Parkland. Watching kids our age and just a few years younger stand up and say 'if adults won’t fix this then we will' kicked off a wave of activism and determination that has forever changed American politics. Right now millions of young people believe that they have to get involved and speak out because they 'have no other choice' and 'no one else is coming to save us.' There has been a huge shift in Florida to the understanding that any organization or company that actively allows and justifies death and destruction must be fought against. The NRA has stolen millions of dollars and thousands of lives from people across America. It’s time they be shown for what they are, Frauds."

  Joshua Hicks is also running for a Republican-held seat-- this one in the state legislature from Nassau and part of Duval counties. His opponent is the personification of why Florida's gun laws are still killing people. Hicks is also a supporter of Guns Down America. "Organizations like Guns Down America," he told me, "are successfully pushing for change from outside the political system. American companies are now increasingly taking their own actions on gun safety and using their clout to influence lawmakers. That fundamental shift is creating an environment where progress is happening on the state level, even in Florida, which NRA supporters have long deemed the 'Gunshine State.' After the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the Republican-controlled legislature passed legislation that raised the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun from 18 to 21, that strengthened background checks and red flag laws, and that banned bump stocks. It was by no means a perfect bill, but it was a step in the right direction and it passed with widespread bipartisan support. State Representative Cord Byrd is the self proclaimed 'Florida Gun Lawyer' from Florida's 11th District who was one of the few Republicans who voted against the bill. I'm running against him for State House, District 11 to represent the people's interests-- not the NRA's-- and to protect our children and community from senseless gun violence. I believe defeating politicians like Byrd, who is bought by the NRA, is how we create change from inside the political system. There is still much work to be done when it comes to keeping our communities safe and strengthening gun laws in Florida."

Also up in Duval, Angela Nixon is the progressive running for the state legislature in Jacksonville. Moms Demand Action is backing her as a Gun Sense Champion candidate. She told me she's honored and takes that title very seriously, especially having lost her "favorite cousin Breon to gun violence by way of the school to prison pipeline. It’s very important for the Florida legislature to get serious about gun safety in our state. After the Parkland shooting policy was passed that allowed teachers to be deputized. Fortunately for us, the majority of the school districts opted out of what could have been an epic disaster. However, with the state slowly moving to preempt local governments on pretty much everything, it’s important we elect new leadership that believes and supports home rule and promotes common sense gun laws."

Bob Lynch is running for the legislature way in the southern part of the state-- also against an entrenched conservative. "Everyone has their jokes about Florida Man, but thank god he isn’t in an Open Carry State," he laughed with a sense of irony. "The NRA money moving around this state is a disgrace, but we have them on their heels. We made some progress following the Parkland massacre because it became politically untenable for Rick Scott’s Senate run so the GOP threw us a few bones. There is still a lot of work to do. It still remains easier to get a weapon of war in the state of Florida than it is to get a Covid-19 test. Voting for Democrats at the state level will ensure that competent empathetic human beings write our gun laws instead of the lunatic fringe of gun lobbyists. It is worth noting that as the debate on how to safely reopen our schools unfolds, the GOP has put more thought into how to arm our teachers rather than keep them safe from a medical standpoint."

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is running for Congress against one of the House's most corrupt members-- private prison bribe-taker Alcee Hastings, a useless waste of a Florida seat. This morning, she reminded me that "South Florida bore witness to one of the most horrific school shootings in recent memory. Fourteen high school students and three educators were murdered with over a dozen injuries. This tragedy sparked a nationwide debate about gun violence and saw different proposed solutions from both Republicans and Democrats. Lawmakers in Florida voted against statewide background checks and some legislators even suggested that teachers be provided guns to better 'protect' students against school shootings. Arming teachers will only serve to increase fear and violence in schools. Increased physical security measures such as metal detectors and increased law enforcement presence have not been proven to increase public safety, but instead make schools less welcoming for students, particularly students of color. If elected I will support universal background checks for all firearm purchases and I will champion legislation that requires those who purchase a firearm to attend a mandatory safety training course. I will not accept any campaign contributions from the gun industry and I denounce large corporations that fund this harmful industry. We must enact swift measures that prioritize the safety of the American people, not the interests of the gun lobby."

Have You Ever Been To Canada? It's A Nice Country

COVID-palooza by Chip Proser

Yesterday I referenced Señor Trumpanzee farting out, during his daily barrage of misinformation and manipulative lies, that "Our death totals, our numbers, per million people, are really very, very strong. We’re very proud of the job we’ve done." As I pointed out the U.S. death totals per million are anything but "really very, very strong." They're really very, very mediocre and lag badly behind many other countries, including the most American-like of countries, Canada.

Yesterday, U.S. deaths came in at 197 per million. Canada's was a far more reasonable 90 per million. Yesterday, Canada reported 54,784 total cases and 3,387 deaths. Our neighbors to the north have 1,452 cases per million. That isn't great but the states that have been most steepening the curve are in worse shape than Canada's 1,452 cases per million:

• South Dakota- 2,921 per million
• Indiana- 2,807 per million
• Georgia- 2,656 per million
• Mississippi- 2,413 per million
• Nebraska- 2,248 per million
• Tennessee- 1,788 per million
• Florida- 1,686 per million
• Utah- 1,585 per million
• North Dakota- 1,472 per million

These are also states with Trumpist governors opening up too rapidly and too early and likely to cause big jumps in reinfection rates, not just in their own states, but subsequently everywhere. And big reinfection rates always mean that a month later there are jumps in the death rates too. Congratulations, Kristi Noem, Brian Kemp and Ron DeSantis... you're killing off your state's citizens. And-- no coincidence-- these are also states that would rather take advise from the NRA than from public health experts.

While Trump was encouraging the right-wing vigilante terrorists bringing assault weapons to rallies protesting social distancing rules, Trudeau announced that his government is banning 1,500 types of military grade assault weapons.

Starting today, licensed gun owners will no longer be allowed to sell, transport, import or use these sorts of weapons in this country.

"As of today, the market for assault weapons in Canada is closed," Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said. "Enough is enough. Banning these firearms will save Canadian lives."

Trudeau said there will be a two-year amnesty period to allow people who already own these firearms to comply with the ban. Trudeau promised to pass legislation in the coming months to provide "fair compensation" to people who own these firearms.

..."These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time," Trudeau said. "There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada."

Trump, on the other hand... back to describing terrorists as "very good people."

Rev. John Pavlovitz devoted his blog yesterday to discussing The White Privilege to Terrorize, something many people thought of when they saw Trump encouraging them (again). "As a white man watching the Michigan protests of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders," he wrote, all I could think was: 

• Black people don’t get to do this.
• Muslims don’t get to do this.
• Latinos don’t get to do this.
• People who don’t look like this don’t get to do this.

Pavlovitz noted that non-whites "don’t get to swarm American capitol buildings in tactical gear with high-powered weapons, screaming in close proximity to police officers. They don’t get to dress up like Call of Duty cosplayers and attempt to physically intimidate politicians into bending to their wills. They don’t get to get to stop traffic in city streets decked out like they work at the Death Star and brazenly wield semi-automatic rifles. They don’t get to terrorize decent people and walk away. Only white people get to do this. This violence is a singular privilege afforded to caucasian men in America."

12 year old black boys playing with a toy gun in a park are shot down by the police who are then exonerated.

Black people don’t get to to wear menacing masks or flash handguns on courthouse steps or accost strangers looking like dollar store stormtroopers, in an attempt to frighten people.

They frighten jittery white people by simply existing in their blackness.
They frighten them by lingering in coffee shops.
They frighten them by eating lunch in their cars.
They frighten them by standing in front of their own homes.

...It’s no coincidence that in the middle of the fight to oppose stay-at-home protections by Blue governors choosing humanity over commerce, Trump tweeted out seeming non sequitur invocations to LIBERATE several cities and warned of second amendment encroachment. Though on their surface the subjects seemed unrelated to stopping the spread of the virus, these tweets were clear dog whistles for his snarling white base to suit up, strap on weapons, and provide the free muscle in his reckless push to reopen American in the throes of a pandemic, knowing they’d never be held accountable.

This is MAGA America in its dawning renaissance of outward racism, showing us what is at stake as we approach another election. We aren’t just choosing a president or party to steward us through the coming years, we’re making a statement on what we will and will not tolerate as a people.

What we witnessed in Michigan was an act of terrorism, by the very definition of the word. We have seen many such acts this week, and if November allows this malevolence another four years, they will seem tame. The self-appointed soldiers in the army of the lord will grow more brazen and become more violent in their holy war to make America whiter-- so decent white people need to resist them in the streets, on social media, and at the polls.

I fully suspect people of color will oppose this presidency in large numbers, because they see the disparity.

What I hope and pray, is that more white people, especially those who claim to be Christian, will also stand to reject the supremacy and racism that yields such willful homegrown terrorism; that we will use the unearned currency of our privilege to declare this violence un-American and inhuman and unacceptable.

White terrorists can no longer have a friend in the White House-- not if we really want to make America great.

Write your own caption without mentioning man-boobs