The T&P Formula -

May 25, 2022, 8:32 AM

from Gizmodo

There seems to be a formula for how right-wing politicians are now responding to mass shootings on social media that goes something like this: I am [HORRIFIED, HEARTBROKEN, ETC] at the senseless tragedy in [LOCATION] today. We are [LIFTING THEM UP IN PRAYER, PRAYING FOR THEM] and thank the heroic efforts of [POLICE, FIRST RESPONDERS, ETC] on the scene.

That’s it. No promise that laws will be passed to help stop these mass shootings from happening again; no recognition that the U.S. is the only wealthy country in the world where mass shootings happen frequently; no acknowledgement that children in other countries don’t have to participate in active shooter drills. The only thing politicians can muster is “thoughts and prayers” and “thank God for our cops.”

Take a look at some of the tweets from yesterday, with an emphasis in the text from Gizmodo to show just how identical these statements really are.

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky:

Horrified and heartbroken by reports of the disgusting violence directed at innocent schoolkids in Uvalde, Texas. The entire country is praying for the children, families, teachers, and staff and the first responders on the scene.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee:

Horrified and heartbroken to learn of the significant loss of life in the shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Please join me in lifting their loved ones up in prayer. Thank you to the local first responders working on the scene.

Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona:

This is heartbreaking and soul wrenching. Our prayers are with the parents, families, students and staff of Robb Elementary in Uvalde, TX at this unimaginable time. Thankful for the heroic efforts of medical pros, law enforcement and community members who responded so quickly.

Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota:

We’re horrified by the news out of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX today. Mikey and I are heartbroken for the families and loved ones of the victims & grateful for the first responders and law enforcement who worked to save lives.

Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia:

Marty, the girls, and I are heartbroken over news from Uvalde, Tx. For children and innocent adults, including the school teacher, to be taken from this world in such a depraved, violent way, it is incomprehensible. We are lifting up the families of these victims, the first responders on the scene, and the entire community in prayer.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas:

Heidi & I are fervently lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde. We are in close contact with local officials, but the precise details are still unfolding. Thank you to heroic law enforcement & first responders for acting so swiftly.

Cruz’s statement was identical to a statement he made back in October 2021 after another school shooting in Texas:

Heidi and I are lifting up in prayer the Timberview High School community and first responders after today’s shooting.

We are so grateful for the courage and heroism of the first responders, and we are praying for the full recovery of all those injured. pic.twitter.com/KXJ2dk20JE

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) October 6, 2021
The list goes on and on. And they all use the same formula.

But oddly, it wasn’t just Republicans who used a similar mash-up of platitudes on Tuesday. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, used language identical to the Republicans:

We are horrified and heartbroken by the senseless tragedy unfolding at Robb Elementary School in Texas and grateful to the first responders for acting swiftly. No families should ever have to fear violence in their children’s schools.

Perhaps all of these horrified and heartbroken politicians could do something about this national tragedy that just keeps repeating itself. Or maybe they can keep those tweets copied on their smartphones and ready to paste because this horror will no doubt happen again sometime very soon.

flag link

military_tech

thumb_down

thumb_up

a gun control measure is implemented, like the 1990's assault weapons ban, or by the very fact that the gun control measure is not enforced, like in the case of lying on a 4473 form.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/11/lying-buy-gun-fear-not-feds/

Perspective | Lying to buy a gun? Don’t worry about the feds.

A new report shows the Justice Department prosecuted less than 1 percent of the cases involving people who falsified information to buy a firearm.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/21/us/gun-form-liars-atf-invs/index.html

Gun form liars may go on to commit gun crimes, internal ATF research suggests | CNN

People who lie on gun forms are almost never prosecuted. Unreleased ATF research shows that a surprising number of them will go on to commit gun crimes.

It's not just lying on a 4473 form that's a problem, either. People, particularly criminals, who are caught illegally possessing a gun rarely face any consequences of note for it. I've posted about the crackhead son of the guy I bought my house from in the past, he has all sorts of charges for assault, armed robbery, commission of a crime while possessing a weapon, meth trafficking etc. He was picked up a couple of weeks ago in downtown Anderson for pointing a gun at random people sitting in their cars at a red light. He will kill someone one day, and it will have been totally preventable because he should be locked up.

That is the goal, it's been stated by high profile politicians, and even the ones who are more coy about it count on the ignorance of the general public. If you ban Firearm A that is mechanically similar and functionally the same as Firearm B, logically Firearm B will be the next to get banned. Because why wouldn't it? Then it's down the slope we go, onto knives and other innocuous objects like screwdrivers. We've seen it happen elsewhere around the world.

The T&P Formula -

So you think PASSING LAWS is the answer?***

This one has worked pretty well. Did you support it?

There are some reforms that might be relevant. But you'll

right, but this illustrates the problem

Because a lot of those measures have either been tried and

How do you prove that a gun control measure made no

You can either look at the statistics before and after

Re: right, but this illustrates the problem

Re: The T&P Formula -

And here's the main issue....

Re: And here's the main issue....

Re: The T&P Formula -

He knows that. Its Christians he hates, and he just wanted

LOL. What?***

You are not going to repeal the second amendment.

Dang, bro. You assume a lot.***

He got his post idea from the "eff your prayers" tweet.

You mean there are things going on in the world that I don't

So, you leap to him hating Christians? Gotcha.***

Good.***

Re: The T&P Formula -

I'm going to go out on a limb here...

Legalized abortion caused crime rates to plummet.***

Re: The T&P Formula -

TigerBoard POTD