19 Children Shot to Death in Texas

At least 19 children and 2 teachers were shot to death at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. The victims were in a single 4th grade classroom. The teenaged perpetrator wore body armor but was shot dead by police. The shooter was legally able to buy his assault-style rifle this month, the day after his 18th birthday.

There have been 213 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, 27 school shootings. And it’s only May.

In other Texas news, the National Rifle Association will hold its annual meeting in Houston on Friday. Scheduled speakers include Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R), South Dakota Governor Kristi L. Noem (R), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R, TX-2), and former president Donald J. Trump. At this time, no grieving parents from Uvalde are on the agenda.

More:

“21 killed at Uvalde elementary in Texas’ deadliest school shooting ever,” Sneha Dey, Texas Tribune

“Firearms are now the leading cause of death for U.S. children,” Peter Weber, The Week

“‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens,” The Onion

___________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-z5D

Image (“Old Glory”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here.  Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Maria Butina Elected to Russian Parliament

Maria Butina — ex-convict,  NRA Lifetime Member, unregistered Russian foreign agent, AU grad student, Tai Chi fan, GOP sexy-time associate, and deportee — has been elected to Russia’s national legislature, the Duma. She’s not representing her Siberian hometown, but Kirov, presumably because it’s known as the City of Redheads.

While we do not know if she’s been congratulated by her US pals, who include GOP operative Paul Erickson, Trump campaign aide J.D. Gordon, NRA officials David Keene and Peter Brownell, she did get campaign donations from her American ex-lover, Trump-supporting former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.

More:

“After 15 Months in U.S. Prisons, She Now Sits in Russia’s Parliament,” Valerie Hopkins, New York Times

____________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-y5F

Top image (“Maria ‘Natasha Fatale’ Butina, after Jay Ward and Alex Anderson“) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

NY AG Has NRA in the Crosshairs

New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging years of fraud and corruption by National Rifle Association executives, filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to dissolve the NRA. Attorney General James has jurisdiction since the purportedly nonprofit NRA was chartered in New York State in 1871. The suit outlines decades of self-dealing, questionable contracts to family and friends of NRA leaders, payoffs, luxury executive perks, lavish compensation, and tens of millions in financial misconduct. Since the allegations involve tax fraud, the state is sharing its information with the IRS. Bewhiskered General Ambrose Burnside, first NRA President, is no doubt rolling around in his grave.

The DC Attorney General, claiming that the NRA raided its own NRA Foundation to stem the losses of the NRA proper, filed a second lawsuit against the gun group.

More:

“New York Attorney General Sues N.R.A. and Seeks Its Closure,” Danny Hakim, New York Times

“New York AG sues to dissolve the NRA, alleging widespread fraud,” Betsy Woodruff Swan, Max Cohen, and Michelle Bocanegra, Politico

“Wayne LaPierre allegedly used NRA as a ‘personal piggy bank,’ N.Y. AG says,” Erik Ortiz, NBC News

Trump Jr. Murders Mongolian Sheep, Gets Pardoned

Donald J. Trump Jr. bought an exotic hunting expedition to Mongolia at an NRA charity auction and traveled there last summer with five of his closest friends Secret Service agents. Trump Junior, ever the sportsman, went hunting at night with a laser-sight-equipped rifle and shot an argali sheep.

The argali sheep is a rare endangered species. Mongolia allows a few argali to be shot every year, but hunters need special permits. When he murdered that Mongolian mutton, Donald Trump Jr. did not have a permit. If Hunter Biden had done that, he’d be in Gants Khudag Police Detention Center in Ulaanbaatar. For some reason, Junior got a permit retroactively after he met with Mongolia’s president, His Excellency Khaltmaagiin Battulga.

More:

“Donald Trump Jr. Went to Mongolia, Got Special Treatment From the Government and Killed an Endangered Sheep,” Jake Pearson and Anand Tumurtogoo, Pro Publica

“Donald Trump Jr. Benefits From Nepotism in Foreign Country by Shooting Endangered Animal,” Matt Stieb, New York Magazine

_____________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-u7Q

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

AU Grad Student Lands Government Job

Former American University graduate student Maria Butina, following a post-grad stint in U.S. federal prison and deported back to her native Siberia, may have a new job with the Russian government. The former NRA and GOP sweetheart has been offered a berth at the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russia Federation. Perhaps she will focus on Russians imprisoned abroad for gun crimes.

____________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-u1q

Top image (“Maria ‘Natasha Fatale’ Butina, after Jay Ward and Alex Anderson“) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

GOP-Boosting NRA Member Maria Butina Deported to Siberia

After spending 15 months at Florida’a least-luxurious resort, Trump Doral Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institution, the NRA Lifetime Member, unregistered Russian foreign agent, AU grad student, and GOP sexy-time associate Maria Butina was deported to Russia, landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport en route to her hometown, Siberia’s Barnaul. At this time we cannot confirm the deportation and Siberian exile of Butina’s US pals, who include GOP operative Paul Erickson, Trump campaign aide J.D. Gordon, NRA officials David Keene and Peter Brownell, and Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.

____________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-u0r

Top image (“Maria ‘Natasha Fatale’ Butina, after Jay Ward and Alex Anderson“) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

San Francisco Declares the NRA a Domestic Terrorist Organization

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has passed a resolution declaring the National Rifle Association a “domestic terrorist organization” and urges the city to examine its financial relationships with companies doing business with the group. The Board, the city’s legislative branch of government, passed the resolution unanimously. It reads, in part:

“The National Rifle Association musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence.”

“The National Rifle Association spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence, and … the leadership of National Rifle Association promotes extremist positions, in defiance of the views of a majority of its membership and the public, and undermine the general welfare.”

More:

“San Francisco just passed a resolution calling the NRA a ‘domestic terrorist organization,’” Eli Rosenberg, Washington Post

“San Francisco Board of Supervisors designates NRA domestic terrorist organization,” Christien Kafton, KTVU News

“San Francisco Declares the N.R.A. a ‘Domestic Terrorist Organization,’” Mariel Padilla, New York Times 

Update:

There’s return fire from the NRA:

“NRA sues San Francisco over city declaring it a domestic terrorist organization,” Zack Budryk, The Hill

“NRA sues San Francisco after city labels it a terrorist organization,” Rebecca Falconer, Axios

“NRA is suing after San Francisco labels it a terror group,” Amanda Watts and Christina Maxouris, CNN

________________________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-tQl

Image (“Old Glory”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Deep State Damage: Maria Butina Brings Down Overstock CEO

After babbling about the “Deep State” and “Men In Black” last week, Overstock. com CEO Patrick Byrne admitted to a 3-year affair with jailed Russian agent Maria Butina and resigned. The company’s depressed stock price rose 15 percent in response.

More:

“Patrick Byrne’s Overstock Exit Came After Admission He Romanced Russian,” Jeran Wittenstein, Bloomberg

“Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne resigns after saying he aided in ‘deep state’ Russia investigation,” Abha Bhattarai, Washington Post

“Overstock investors cheer after ‘too controversial’ CEO Patrick Byrne resigns,” Tomi Kilgore, MarketWatch

“Overstock CEO Resigns to Focus on Career as Deep State Intelligence Asset, One Assumes,”
Bryan Menegus, Gizmodo

“Overstock Ex-CEO’s Bonkers Rant to Fox Business: I’m Part of ‘Deep State,’” Justin Baragona, Daily Beast

Update:

“Former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne Claims Maria Butina Offered to Arrange One-on-One for Him With Putin,” Audrey McNamara, Daily Beast

_______________________

Top image (“Maria ‘Natasha Fatale’ Butina, Overstocked, after Jay Ward and Alex Anderson“) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Doctors are taking on the NRA

American Trauma: How the NRA Sparked a Medical Rebellion, an Atlantic video.

“’I see more gunshot wounds as a trauma surgeon here in the United States per week than I did when I was serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan,’ says Dr. Mallory Williams, chief of the Division of Trauma and Critical Care at Howard University Hospital. ‘There’s no question about it.’”

Related:

“I’m a Trauma Surgeon and a Shooting Victim. I Have Every Right to Speak Out on Gun Violence.” Joseph Sakran, The Atlantic

______________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-tnA

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Maria Butina Sentenced to Prison

On  Friday, Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan sentenced admitted Russian spy Maria Butina to 18 months in prison. “I am deeply embarrassed,” said Ms. Butina.

The former American University grad student pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy against the United States, acting as an unregistered agent of the Russian Federation, and seeking to influence U.S. conservative politicians through the National Rifle Association.It’s a salacious spy story of sex, guns, money, and the National Prayer Breakfast, and it’s packed with oligarchs, Republicans, lobbyists, Treasury officials and Kremlin connections, a saga spanning the globe from Siberia to South Dakota. Her older American lover, Paul Erickson, a GOP fundraiser and NRA supporter, is charged with fraud and money laundering in a separate case.

Ms. Butina, deemed a flight risk, has been imprisoned since her indictment in July. We hope she will be able to continue with her Tai Chi in prison.

More:

“Maria Butina, Russian who conspired to infiltrate conservative U.S. political groups, sentenced to 18 months,” Spencer S. Hsu and Rosalind S. Helderman, Washington Post

“Russian Agent Maria Butina Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison: ‘I Destroyed My Own Life,’” Betsy Woodruff, Daily Beast

“Maria Butina is not a Russian spy, but a ‘spotter’: DOJ revives intrigue over gun rights activist,” Kristine Phillips, USA Today

____________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-t6v

Top image (“Maria ‘Natasha Fatale’ Butina, after Jay Ward and Alex Anderson“) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine