XPost: alt.radio.talk, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.usa
XPost: talk.politics.guns, fl.news
From: weberm@polaris.net

1) The Most Hated Man in America Today

He is the most hated man in the world today.

Former Deputy Scot Peterson resigned yesterday after video
surveillance showed that he was armed and stationed at Stoneman
Douglas High School while the shooting took place.

Instead of immediately addressing the target and putting an end to
the rampage, Peterson cowered behind a concrete column in a
stairwell.

The sheriff of Broward County suspended Peterson without pay pending
an internal investigation, but the officer beat him to it. Peterson,
knowing his fate, resigned and retired yesterday.

This morning, police officers line Peterson’s home. They are
guarding against anyone who wants to harm Peterson—and that’s a lot
of people. The officers themselves probably don’t even want to
protect this coward.

But before we take up our pitchforks and torches and charge his
door, let’s remember something.
We weren’t there.

As much as we would like to think that we would be brave and execute
a single kill shot to the Stoneman shooter before he could take 17
lives, would that actually play out in real life?

Would we be brave?

Would we have the courage?

We all hope we would, but you don’t really know until you are in
that situation.

I’m not trying to defend Peterson’s gutless inaction. I absolutely
think he should have used his training to save lives that day.

I’m just saying we aren’t him. We don’t know what was going through
his mind.

Peterson could have been a hero, but he made other choices.

Now, he has to live with that guilt for the rest of his life.

So before we call for blood, let’s remember that he already has his
punishment.

2) National Socialism Hits CPAC

“France is no longer free!” Marion Le Pen took the stage at CPAC
yesterday and spent the first several minutes of her speech
destroying the EU. She lamented about lost sovereignty at the hands
of Brussels and advocated the new global slogan: America First…
Britain First – and yes – FRANCE FIRST!

I searched around yesterday – after she left the stage – to see what
people were saying. By and large, no one was saying a thing. The
conservative media and voices were all but silent. That’s probably
because everything she said sounded exactly like what Trump
campaigned on in 2016. Anti-EU and other large trade organizations?
Check! Anti-immigration? Check! Sceptical of Muslim migrants? Double
check!

Now here’s why this is so scary. All the issues I just said, mega
trade alliances, immigration, AND Muslim migrants are ACTUAL
legitimate issues. In fact, a big reason for why Trump won was
because he gave voice to these concerns that, by and large, had been
ignored for decades. If you watched Marion Le Pen yesterday, you saw
something the new American right hasn’t had in… well ever. A young,
female, photogenic firebrand. There she was at CPAC, flashing that
million dollar smile, and giving the crowd EVERYTHING they wanted to
hear. At one point a chant of “VIVA LA FRANCE” rang out over the
conference hall.

Let’s get one thing straight right now. The far-right in Europe has
absolutely NOTHING in common with American conservatism. These
people and groups are ethno-nationalist populists. The only thing
they’re concerned with is using real issues – like trade, the
economy and immigration – and focusing people’s rage. That right
there is how monsters are born. That’s how they gain power, and when
they get that power, they aren’t interested in reducing the size and
scope of government. They expand it through control, a massive
welfare state, and aggression. That right there is National
Socialism.

There is a global effort among the far-right to link themselves to
the success of Donald Trump. Now, I get that they would want to try
and emulate that success and ride our coattails, but we shouldn’t be
helping them do it. The European far-right, which has more in common
with the alt-right than anything else, was actually giving a speech
to American conservatives yesterday. They’re being legitimized and
co-opted into the American right. This is dangerous, and we need to
put a stop to it right now.

3) March for Our Lives

Abraham Lincoln said, “I am a firm believer in the people. If given
the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis.
The great point is to bring them the real facts.”

So, here are the real facts about the #NeverAgain movement and the
upcoming “March for Our Lives” rally, planned for March 24th in
Washington DC. All week, CNN and the rest of the media have
portrayed this movement as “grassroots” and totally teen-driven.
Maybe it was in the very beginning. But it’s not anymore.

Last Sunday, less than a week after the horrible tragedy at Stoneman
Douglas High School, junior Cameron Kasky set up a GoFundMe account
to raise money for the “March for Our Lives.” Kasky is the teenager
who confronted Senator Marco Rubio onstage at CNN’s Monster Truck
Rally event Wednesday night. So far, more than 25,000 people have
donated over $2 million.

What is the money actually for? On the GoFundMe page, Kasky says,
“the funds will be spent on the incredibly difficult and expensive
process that is organizing a march like this. We have people making
more specific plans, but for now, know that this is for the march
and everything left over will be going to the victims’ funds.”

The “March for Our Lives” has received an additional $2 million in
pledges from George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, and
Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Cameron Kasky’s father said that Cameron and his friends are “being
directed by people with knowledge of how to responsibly spend this
money and it’s going to be very transparent.”

Hope it goes a lot better than George Clooney’s September 11th fund.

Kasky’s dad also said that “with Clooney’s help” the teens have
brought in some attorneys, some administrative help, and a public
relations firm whose clients include Meryl Streep, Will Smith,
Charlize Theron, and Woody Allen, among many other celebrities. Why
do you need all that if this is such a grassroots thing, driven by
teenagers? Because these are now 16-year-olds with $4 million at
their disposal.

Already, the “March for Our Lives” rally has a slick website selling
merchandise. Make no mistake, this is a campaign.

The new spokesman for the rally (yes, it already has a “spokesman”)
says, “Any leftover funds will go towards supporting a continuing,
long-term effort by and for young people to end the epidemic of mass
shootings that has turned our classrooms into crime scenes.” In
other words, “March for Our Lives” is essentially a new gun-control

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