Las Vegas tragedy: Shock, resignation, a call for unity and instant politicization

I was on Fox Business for half an hour yesterday morning, before and after President Trump spoke about the horrifying massacre in Las Vegas.

This was the deadliest mass shooting in American history, but the aftermath, I told Stuart Varney, felt uncomfortably like the new normal. Our collective shock was mixed with a sense of resignation. The journalists, local officials, the public all know the drill. The only thing that seems to vary is the death toll.

What can really be said, at this point, about stopping the carnage? We can, and have, stepped up our efforts against terrorism. But what about these lone wolf attacks carried out by deranged individuals?
I don’t understand how the shooter got 10 rifles into the Mandalay Bay Resort. Do hotels now need metal detectors? But it’s impossible to protect every public space.
After the president spoke, I said that his remarks were eloquent. He called the shooting an act of pure evil, said the FBI is investigating, but also talked about unity and love and praying for the victims. He didn’t deviate into politics. “And though we feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that defines us today-- and always will, forever.”
For a leader who often wanders off message, Trump said what needed to be said—and not more.
I also said that with Hillary Clinton and other Democrats issuing messages about gun control, it was too bad they couldn’t wait one day as the country absorbs the grief of a mass murder in which the death toll wasn’t even final.
This was said out of sadness, but I got savaged online by people who think this is exactly when we should be debating gun control, hours after a brutal massacre.
Sensible gun control, I made clear, is a legitimate issue. All I said was that out of sensitivity toward the mourning families and a stunned country, waiting until the next morning before scoring political points seemed like a decent interval.
I have been consistent over the years in saying both the left and right should not instantaneously politicize these tragedies. Whether it’s Columbine or Virginia Tech or Aurora or Sandy Hook or Tucson or Washington Navy Yard or San Bernardino or Orlando or a Charleston church--or a Virginia baseball field where Steve Scalise nearly died but managed to return to Congress last week--there’s a knee-jerk tendency to blame the actions and rhetoric of the other ideological side.
I said the left shouldn’t be blamed just because the man who wounded Scalise and others hated Republicans. I said Sarah Palin shouldn’t be blamed because of a political map for the gunman who wounded Gabby Giffords and killed six others. Some of these mass killers are just crazy, deranged losers.
If Trump had used his speech to say we should loosen gun laws so more people can protect themselves, he would have been vilified for politicizing the tragedy.
By all means, let’s have the debate. The reality is that a Republican Congress is not going to approve stricter gun-control measures. Barack Obama couldn’t get a bill through even after the horror in Newtown.
In a CNN poll last year after the Orlando nightclub shooting, 92 percent said they favored expanded background checks, 87 percent supported a ban for felons or people with mental health problems, and 85 percent would ban people on federal watch lists from buying guns. But the power of the NRA changes the equation on Capitol Hill.
Asking politicians to briefly hold off before resuming the partisan warfare shouldn’t be controversial. But apparently it is.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz. 

Kathy Griffin Cartoons Like Hillary she just want go away :-)

Pres. Trump Praises Work of FEMA, Military in Puerto Rico

OAN Newsroom
President Trump commends the work of FEMA and the military in Puerto Rico and takes aim at those not recognizing the efforts.
In a series of tweets Sunday, the president said people are now starting to recognize the amazing work of both groups.
He said all buildings on the hurricane stricken island have been inspected for safety.
The president also tweeted only “fake news” media outlets and “politically motivated” people are not acknowledging the government’s work on the island.
He then thanked the governor of Puerto Rico and those working with first responders.

Steve Scalise's prayer after being shot: 'God, please don't let my daughter have to walk up the aisle alone'

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise thought of his daughter while he was bleeding out on a baseball field in Alexandria, Va. in June and prayed he'd be able to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

"At that point, I just went into prayer. And it, it gave me a calmness. It was a weird calmness, while I'm hearing the gunfire. You know the first thing that came to mind?" Scalise said in an interview on "60 Minutes."

"I prayed, ‘God, please don't let my daughter have to walk up the aisle alone.' That was the first thing that came to mind."
Scalise said he wasn't originally sure how badly he was injured because his body quickly went into shock.
"I knew I was shot. Didn't know how bad it was. You know, in a weird way, your body kind of goes numb. You know, as bad as the wounds were-- and obviously, I know now how severe it was," he said. "At the time, I guess my body had been shutting down a lot of the real pain, and I was just thinking about, what was going on at the moment."

Kathy Griffin to Colin Kaepernick: 'Proud of you' for your activism

Has anyone forgotten this crap?

Former NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick (left) has a new fan as comedian Kathy Griffin (right) tweeted support for his activism on Sunday. (Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports, Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

Comedian Kathy Griffin, who's started to push back against the controversy over her photo showing a fake bloodied head of President Trump, said Sunday she was "proud of" another outspoken figure: the ex-quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

“Your activism has come at a price but you haven’t backed down...not even once. Thank you for leading the way,” Griffin tweeted. Now an unsigned quarterback, Kaepernick regularly took a knee during the national anthem last season. The then-49er said he was calling attention to police brutality and racial injustice.

Dozens of NFL players Sunday took a knee during the national anthem as others raised their fists before the games of Week 4, a day after President Donald Trump tweeted that it that it was “very important” for players to stand. Still, the number of kneeling players was down from last weekend.
More than 200 players kneeled or sat during the national anthem last Sunday after Trump lashed out at NFL players for not standing during the anthem in a speech in Alabama and a series of tweets.
Griffin faced backlash this summer after a photo of her posing with a bloodied Trump mask as decapitated head leaked on TMZ. CNN fired her from co-hosting its New Year’s Eve show. She said at the time, according to Fox News, the Trump family systematically “mobilized their armies” against her.
She took back her apology — and recently challenged Trump saying, “I will openly accuse the President of the United States of human rights violations.”

Texas Teens Thrown Off High School Football Team After Kneeling for Anthem

Two Texas teens were thrown off their high school football team after they knelt in protest for the national anthem.
Their coach, military veteran Ronnie Ray Mitchem, warned the boys of the consequences when they told him their plan to protest.
"There is a proper time to do something in a proper way," Mitchem told ABC's KTRK.
"I want this put on here," Mitchem told the interviewer. "I have nothing against those young men. I love them."
In the aftermath, Cedric Ingram-Lewis and Larry McCullough from Victory & Praise Christian Academy in Crosby, Texas said they were happy about the publicity their protest got.
Mitchem has stopped watching NFL games due to the players' protests of the national anthem, meant to raise awareness for what they see as systemic racism in America.
"As a veteran I have a strong view of what I feel is disrespectful."

I’m not watching NFL Games Today or maybe forever

Puerto Rico Political Cartoons

Trump delays Air Force One to call officer injured in motorcade crash

A police officer involved in an accident lies on the ground as President Trump's motorcade travels past him in Indianapolis, Sept. 27, 2017.  (Reuters)

President Donald Trump delayed Air Force One’s departure from Indianapolis on Wednesday until after he was able to talk with a motorcycle officer who crashed in the motorcade to the airport.

Initial reports said Trump called the officer during the flight back to Washington, but the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police tweeted Thursday that the president delayed the flight.

“#BREAKING: Thank you @Potus for delaying wheels up to speak with injured Officer Turner. #ThankYou,” the tweet read.

Robert Turner, a police officer from Indianapolis, broke an ankle in the fall on Interstate 70. A photographer captured the officer on the ground with his uniform ripped.
Police released a cellphone video of Turner in the hospital taking the call from the president. He was wearing a neck brace, but laughed and appeared to be in good spirits.
The White House initially said Trump called during the flight back to Washington to check on the officer's condition and thank him for his service.
Trump was in the city to push his “middle class miracle,” and sell his plan to overhaul the nation’s tax code and revive his legislative agenda.
"This is a revolutionary change and the biggest winners will be the everyday American workers as jobs start pouring into our country, as companies start competing for American labor, and as wages start going up at levels that you haven't seen in many years," Trump told supporters at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Will Trump be re-elected? | Fox News

Jonathan Adelman

With the November 2020 Presidential election over three years away, it may seem strange to be discussing the prospects for President Trump to be re-elected.

Yet, even at this early stage, some things are clear if he is around and runs again. His biggest problems are his inability, despite majorities in the House and Senate, to pass any major legislation. He has not built the famous wall, torpedoed ObamaCare or done tax reform. He has repeatedly battled senior members of the Republican Party (Mitch McConnell and John McCain), tweeted frequently at three in the morning and even spoken about consequences for those who fail to salute the American flag at NFL games.

Yet, he has also done several things that led to a rise in his public approval rating to 43 percent.  His appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, continuing growth of 3 percent in the American economy, record highs for the stock market and low unemployment have aided his image. His response to the hurricanes in Mexico, Florida and Texas and his offer to work with the Democrats after his meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer as also improved his image.  A recent poll showed him ahead of Hillary Clinton by six points, 36 percent to 30 percent
President Trump has already started campaigning for 2018 congressional elections and the 2020 presidential and congressional elections. He has visited so many red states so many times (like Mississippi, Alabama, Iowa, Indiana and West Virginia) that Real Clear Politics calls him the President of the Red States.
The issues of ObamaCare could be bad or it could be good for Donald Trump. If ObamaCare straightens out and maintains its 60 percent+ popularity next year, then the Republicans will look hopeless. If it has serious problems then it could have a neutral or even positive impact on the Republicans who tried to fix it. Similarly, the tough line on North Korea could look good for the president if he backed off or could turn into a disaster in several ways.
President Trump has a reasonable chance of being reelected.  Historically, 70 percent, or twelve of seventeen 20th century incumbent presidents seeking a second term have won re-election. Fully six of seven Democratic presidents and six of ten Republican presidents have been re-elected.
The likely Democratic candidate, as reflected in the 21 people most frequently mentioned as possible nominees, have their own problems. Overwhelmingly the great majority are either lawyers (12) or billionaire business entrepreneurs (5), people whose wealth and working places are far removed from those of the average American. This is reinforced in the fact that almost half of them (9 of 21) graduated from Ivy League schools, which account for only 1 ercent of college or professional graduates. The early leaders are white and wealthy which puts them far away from the large middle and working-class elements and the powerful Democratic base in the African American, Latino and Asian American identity groups.
They are overwhelmingly male (17 of 21 people) and the early favorites for the nomination will be disproportionately elderly in 2020--California Governor Jerry Brown (82), former Vice President Joe Biden (78), Senator Bernie Sanders (78), former Senator Hillary Clinton (73) and longshots such as Bob Iger (69), Howie Schultz (67) and Oprah Winfrey (66).
Also, they are overwhelmingly from the West or East Coast, areas that any Democratic candidate is likely to carry. Only a handful come from the middle of the country’s red states and working class/middle class elements that Trump carried so well in 2016.
Many of them have moved well to the left which calls into question their ability to carry the more moderate electoral elements in society. It may work and it might not.
Right now, the outcome of the 2020 elections for Donald Trump could well go either way, being re-elected or being drubbed at the polls. Only time will turn what happens but the very early indications are that either is possible.
Jonathan Adelman is a professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.  Adelman has written several books on Russia and was Condoleezza Rice's doctoral adviser.