Originally published at: A Shattering Weekend Of Political Violence And Casting Blame For It
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. This Isn’t That Complicated The initial shock and horror of Saturday’s shooting quickly gave way to MAGA attempts to flip the script and blame Democrats for stoking a toxic political environment and inciting violence against…
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I was shot from a gun by a madman
Clipped part of the ear of a gun fan
As I whizzed by his ear
I said “Now can you hear?”
Those who say there should be an assault-gun ban
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Still no joy on the direct access.
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The media would vastly prefer that we not investigate or track the vast right wing conspiracy and articles such as this are in part an attempt to embarrass us out of doing so.
Not that we don’t have our own conspiracy theorists untethered to reality. My point is that there are enough conspiracies amongst the billionaire class to keep us busy without that.
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Sigh. Who’s that coming through the back door? Why, it’s just li’l ol’ me.
I’m not going to say anything about the major events of the weekend.
But I would like to encourage everyone with Hulu (both of you?) or anywhere you can access it to watch the documentary on Dr. Ruth, “Ask Dr. Ruth.” This was a woman who was orphaned by the Holocaust – sent to Switzerland in 1938 while her parents stayed behind and were eventually killed – was trained as a sniper by the Haganah, studied at the Sorbonne, met her (third!) husband while on a ski lift on a vacation she could barely afford, and became a star in her 50s. All the while she remained the most empathetic, thoughtful, joyful person in the room. I got a lift just watching her.
She will be missed.
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I guess we didnt send trump our best SS agents, or maybe the ones he liked arent the best.
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Since TFG is vainer than a Mother at a beauty pageant for 5 year olds, how is he going to show up at the convention? Display his “battle wounds”? Covering it up? Full plastic surgery to show his “full, beautiful head” in all its glory?
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Who Me? Says the GOP!
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Oh he is going to hype it up, he was just talking about the “wounds” he had, and now he has a real one to showoff.
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Excerpts:
Two sources familiar with the federal agency’s operations told NBC News that the Secret Service had been aware of the risks posed by building next to the Butler Farm Show, the venue where the rally took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. “Someone should have been on the roof or securing the building so no one could get on the roof,” a former senior Secret Service agent told the network.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency had worked with local law enforcement in providing security for the event, including positioning sniper teams on rooftops to spot and eliminate threats. No officer had been stationed on the roof of the building from which the gunman—20-year-old Thomas Crooks—eventually opened fire, wounding Trump as well as three rally attendees, including one fatally. Secret Service snipers killed Crooks soon after the attack began.
The building from which he’d fired—owned by a glass research company—was outside the rally’s security perimeter but was nevertheless about 150 yards from the stage where the former president was standing, putting it within range of the type of rifle Crooks was carrying.
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I think it actually points to a bad assumption on everyone’s part. We’ve used the term stochastic violence, and suicide shooters for a long time. What we and apparently the GOP and SS ignore is that stoking stochastic violence is not the same as actually initiating a directed attack. Sure it’s more likely to target the intended victims, but it is a random process. One that has a non-zero chance of drawing fire to oneself.
I’m not sure we’ll find a clear path from Tom Crooks political beliefs (if he actually had any) to the shooting. We can see a clear path from the violent political rhetoric to political violence though. I understand the impulse to blame your opponents for this act of violence, but perhaps the Christian Nationalist party could refer to some document that gave advice on being judgmental, I don’t know Mathew 7*?
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
*. I know, I know it’s not the KGV so it’s “not really the Bible.” But I suspect very few of these bright sparks actually know what a mote is.
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“nobody has done more to worsen the climate of political violence in this country than [Trump]”
For years.
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In response to @northsidenick
My favorite songwriter playing her song Bullet seems appropriate this morning…
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Wounds sustained in “The Battle of Butler” as he stood up to lead MAGA as bullets flew by! He will drone on for hours about how his leadership in the battle and his combat wounds!
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hen ‘lost’ his toupee during the melee… his bald spot was shining.
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The Secret Service does have a lot to answer for! I read last night that a few people saw the shooter climb up to the roof and move across, and they saw that he had a gun. They were frantically trying to tell police about it. And then shots rang out.
Also, Heather Cox Richardson mentioned this after the shooting, and although it is probably not a big deal, it’s kind of surprising.
Trump said he had been “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” So far, no doctors have briefed the public.
And amid claims that republicans are now unified, many have questioned that since it was apparently a Republican who shot him. 
I guess Trump isn’t universally loved after all. More holes in the MAGA armor, which is beginning to look like Swiss cheese.
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Cannon has dismissed the charges in the documents case. Sigh. Here we go.
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'Shoes. Shoes. where are my shoes?:
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This is great news isnt it? Cant they appeal this and hopefully get a new judge?
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Why is MSNBC saying Cannon has dismissed the documents case?
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