CNN town hall

Is anyone watching This? powerful questions and "little marco" is coming up really small.

The students are amazing!!! 

I want to see one of the students tell little Marco to sit down and speak only when spoken to.

my friend, Fred Guttenberg going head to head with weasel Rubio made my heart hurt a tiny bit less tonight. He was brilliant. Anyone that can stand there still now today and not support a ban on assault rifles is disgusting. "Okay, let's start by banning the 200. How about that?" Get 'em, Fred!

Trump and the Governor declined to participate. Really? Gutless.

NRA spokesperson on now

The NRA spokeswoman is a nitwit. Her dogged attempt to place all the blame on law enforcement by way of missing clues/ tips is really offensive. It's one piece of the puzzle and she just can't admit that guns are another. 

The NRA must love the idea of armed guards in all schools. Think of all the additional guns they can sell and permits they can issue. 

I can't believe they asked Dana Loesch to be on. She is one of the most inflammatory spokespersons for the NRA. A vile, vile person.

Well, I mean it's CNN, so of course I believe it.

But still...

truly vile. Standing there arguing with a parent of a victim about whether there were more than muskets at the time of the 2nd amendment was just beyond silly. Okay, Dana, you win, there were two models of semi- automatic weapons back then. Good job making sure you got that critical point across because it really matters. Moron

And honestly, I've never heard a person say "I'm sorry for your loss" with so little emotion. Maybe practice saying that a few times?!?

conandrob240 said:

my friend, Fred Guttenberg going head to head with weasel Rubio made my heart hurt a tiny bit less tonight. He was brilliant. Anyone that can stand there still now today and not support a ban on assault rifles is disgusting. "Okay, let's start by banning the 200. How about that?" Get 'em, Fred!

That's your friend? He was awesome. I saw some things on Twitter posted by his daughter's friends. Lovely, talented girl. 

yes, we went to high school together in Commack. we were pretty close for a while. Great guy.  Always a go- getter and a straight shooter. He's going to be a real asset to this fight. I am in awe at how he's turned his anger and grief to this cause. 

I loved seeing the pics with his kids over the years especially his Jaime. It was so clear how much he adored her- such a special bond they had. And she just seemed like such a happy, loved, awesome kid. They all did. Unbearably heartbreaking. 

He was a HIGHLIGHT of this town hall,  which unnerved me.   Marco Rubio you cheesy NRA-stuffed POS.

Guess I should have watched. Is there somewhere I can see it?

Excerpts:  https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/the-most-powerful-moments-from-the-extraordinary-cnn-townhall-on-the-parkland-school-shooting.html

Maybe the whole thing is @ cnn??

Thanks. I'll check it out later.

I thought that the Sheriff called out Rubio very well, himself!

Not a quote:

You say you represent these people, you don't represent these people if you say we need more guns!

-Ron Carter

agreed. I like the sheriff very much. Dana’s attack on him while completely ignoring the role of the actual guns was ludacris.

Here's an annotated transcript from WaPo that you can read as you watch the video. It's worth watching because of the intensity of the crowd. This is anger and determination like I have never seen before. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/02/22/marco-rubios-intense-emotional-exchange-with-the-father-of-a-parkland-victim-annotated/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.b7b66eaf7749

conandrob240 said:

ludacris.

yep, it’s beyond ludicrous, it’s Ludacris!

I thought it was heartbreaking. Those kids taught a lesson to all the weasely journalists who let politicians answer questions with non answers or evasions - they just kept re-asking their questions. The Florida governor should just give up his political aspirations now.

it was shameful for the president and governor to decline an invitation. At the very least, Rubio was man enough to stand there and take it, (his asinine positions aside).

Shocked a father with a daughter dead less than a week could be so composed.  I would have run to the stage and jumped Rubio.

drummerboy said:

I can't believe they asked Dana Loesch to be on. She is one of the most inflammatory spokespersons for the NRA. A vile, vile person.


Well, I mean it's CNN, so of course I believe it.

But still...

Blame, call names, and just shoot off more of the same old talking points....You say she's inflammatory, a vile person? Really, and how is that so? What happened is she offered strong, solid solutions, that clearly would have minimized, and possibly could have prevented this from ever happening. As the saying goes "The Truth Hurts", so hearing Dana speak, especially without note cards, must have really been painful for you. . . .

Speaking without note cards is the new signifier of intelligence on the right. Their president isn't quite there but he'll still get a participation trophy.

ick. You can actually say positive words about that sorry excuse for a woman? She argued with the mother of a child that lost his life over whether or not there were more than muskets when the 2nd amendment was written. As if there being one available automatic weapon matters one bit. Any possible valid points she made ( and she certainly wasn't wrong about some missteps on the law enforcement side of this), were erased with her pitiful show of "empathy". It was as if she was reading the "sorry for your loss" words off her cue card.

She stands for an organization that refuses to take any accountability for the blood of our children. She's the personification of evil. What possible logic could any human being give for the sale of an automatic weapon to a civilian? It's a weapon of mass destruction and should be banned. Anything less should be off the table. It's really so very simple:

1) 21 or 25 age limit

2) Ban on all assault rifles

3) Stricter background checks and waiting periods

4) No guns to mentally ill

5) Plus, we address law enforcement gaps in not following up on lead properly. 

6)We design some plan to add mental health screenings and support for teens ( and other at risk populations) and 

7) we close any security gaps in schools. 

This isn't rocket science. The only debate should be about the HOW we do some of the elements of 5-7

1) 21 or 25 age limit - OK, but only if you add the same prohibitions for drinking, driving, military service, and especially voting.

2) Ban on all assault rifles - OK, but only if there is a legal way to get back all the other millions of assault rifles all ready out there.

3) Stricter background checks and waiting periods - OK, but only if there is a legal way to register all guns and their owners, and require renewal background checks every five years.

4) No guns to mentally ill - OK, but only if we also legalize the rights to require mental health competency tests to all "politicians", "law enforcement officials", and "educators".

5) Plus, address law enforcement gaps in not following up on leads properly. Yes, see #4

6) We design some plan to add mental health screenings and support for teens (and other at risk populations). Yes, see #4

7) We close any security gaps in schools. Yes, see #4

8) This isn't rocket science. True.

9) The only debate should be about the HOW we do some of the elements of 5-7. True.

It's now known the security guard at the school never entered the building, and more than likely had the time and ability to have stopped Cruz...

ajc said:


It's now known the security guard at the school never entered the building, and more than likely had the time and ability to have stopped Cruz...

I knew the right wingers would seize on this bit of info. But it actually shows the futility and the stupidity of their idea that arming everyone in sight is the solution.  But that solution asks regular folks like you and me to run straight into the firefight against someone with a military grade weapon.  Can we really ask teachers or security guards to do that?  Can we honestly say that we ourselves would run toward the bullets?

the only solution is for fewer people to have weapons.  And I don't see that happening any time soon.  We really should be honest with ourselves as a country.  We don't really care enough to do what needs to be done to stop people from being killed by guns.  And not just these mass shootings.  The convenience store clerk.  The guy who had the bad luck to be involved in a road rage incident.  The abused spouse.  The depressed person who had a flash of a suicidal thought.  We should care about those people.  But we don't.  We care more about being able to buy a firearm today.

ajc,

you and your compatriots are a disease upon our planet.

ajc said:

drummerboy said:

I can't believe they asked Dana Loesch to be on. She is one of the most inflammatory spokespersons for the NRA. A vile, vile person.


Well, I mean it's CNN, so of course I believe it.

But still...

Blame, call names, and just shoot off more of the same old talking points....You say she's inflammatory, a vile person? Really, and how is that so? What happened is she offered strong, solid solutions, that clearly would have minimized, and possibly could have prevented this from ever happening. As the saying goes "The Truth Hurts", so hearing Dana speak, especially without note cards, must have really been painful for you. . . .

people who believe things like this also believe in John Wayne and that cowboy movies are documentaries.

ml1 said:

ajc said:


It's now known the security guard at the school never entered the building, and more than likely had the time and ability to have stopped Cruz...

I knew the right wingers would seize on this bit of info. But it actually shows the futility and the stupidity of their idea that arming everyone in sight is the solution.  But that solution asks regular folks like you and me to run straight into the firefight against someone with a military grade weapon.  Can we really ask teachers or security guards to do that?  Can we honestly say that we ourselves would run toward the bullets?

the only solution is for fewer people to have weapons.  And I don't see that happening any time soon.  We really should be honest with ourselves as a country.  We don't really care enough to do what needs to be done to stop people from being killed by guns.  And not just these mass shootings.  The convenience store clerk.  The guy who had the bad luck to be involved in a road rage incident.  The abused spouse.  The depressed person who had a flash of a suicidal thought.  We should care about those people.  But we don't.  We care more about being able to buy a firearm today.