The NRA is already trying to juice gun sales by creating fear around a new Biden administration. “Stay vigilant and engaged” sounds a lot like “shoot people who disagree with you” to their supporters - too many of whom have been radicalized by the gun lobby’s extremist agenda.

This NRA owns much of blame for the armed white supremacists trying to undermine American democracy: “The gun-rights movement cleared the path for insurrection. It blew a hole in the rule of law—and Donald Trump’s would-be soldiers clamored through it.” https://t.co/nKH1eyLRUO
Many members of the mob that rioted inside the Capitol lead or belong to so-called “gun-rights groups,” and were motivated by the warnings of tyranny issued by the @NRA. https://t.co/uhQjhJ38Vp
Guns are an integral part of anti-government and white supremacist violence. In 2017, a joint report from the FBI and DHS said “firearms likely will continue to pose the greatest threat of lethal violence by [extremists] due to their availability and ease of use.”
Here’s an example. In October 2018, Donald Trump claimed a “caravan” of migrants was heading to the US from Mexico. NRATV, then the propaganda arm of the NRA, claimed Jewish billionaire George Soros was conspiring with Venezuela to send migrants here to influence the election.
Eight days later, a white supremacist who claimed the government was trying to take Americans’ guns entered the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue and opened fire and killed 11 worshippers. He told an officer, “They’re committing genocide to my people. I just want to kill Jews.”
So what are the solutions? First of all, prohibit open carry. There is no place in a healthy democracy for armed intimidation. Especially in and around statehouses, courthouses and municipal buildings. Over 40 states allow open carry and in 2/3 it’s almost completely unregulated.
Pass extreme risk laws, aka red flag laws, which give family and police a way to intervene before warning signs of violence escalate into tragedies. The law allows them to petition a court for a temporary restraining order to remove guns from someone who is at-risk.
In the fall of 2019, the FBI filed an extreme risk protection order in Washington State against a member of a neo-Nazi group, after the man had started preparing for “an impending race war.” After the order was granted, police seized five military-style rifles and three pistols.
Close the Charleston loophole, which allows gun sales to proceed by default after three business days—even without a completed background check. That’s how the white supremacists who killed nine Black worshipers at an AME church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2017 got his gun.
In at least 54% of the mass shootings between 2009 and 2017, the perpetrator also shot an intimate partner or family member. We must close “boyfriend loophole” in federal law that allows stalkers and dating partners convicted of domestic abuse to have easy access to guns.
Only 22 states and DC require a background check on unlicensed gun sales. That means in 28 states, people with dangerous histories can circumvent the background check system simply by purchasing a gun online or at a gun show. We must close this federal loophole.
White supremacy and anti-government conspiracy theories are fomenting violence across the US. Lax gun laws give domestic terrorists access to some of the deadliest and most effective tools to carry out violence, which is why strengthening our gun laws is more urgent than ever.

More from Government

Let me take a stab at this after years of reporting on Marine One, HMX-1, Continuity of Government, etc. None of this is definitive, but it could help explain what folks are seeing:

1.) HMX-1, which flies the VH-3D and VH-60N 'White Top' helicopters used to move... 1/X


the President and VP around, those helos being called Marine One or Two when either is onboard, need to train. The urban landing zones, including WH and VP Residence, are not simple to get in and out of. So, crews need some currency training. They are not just tasked with... 2/X

moving POTUS and VP to get them around the region and to Andrews AFB for long-haul flights, they are essential to Continuity of Government operations. This means that if a threat were to emerge, they need to be ready to snatch POTUS and VP in minutes. This is partially... 3/X

why they have a full forward operating location at Naval Support Activity Anacostia, just 3 miles from the WH. As such, practice is important and considering the state of things, it is critical now more than in any recent memory. 4/X

2.) Considering what happened last week, including mobs of Trump supporters screaming in unison to hang the VP for doing what the constitution states, absolutely despicable in every way, security has been tightened just as it has been all over. Using the helicopters instead.. 5/X
Which metric is a better predictor of the severity of the fall surge in US states?

1) Margin of Democrat victory in Nov 2020 election
or
2) % infected through Sep 1, 2020

Can you guess which plot is which?


The left plot is based on the % infected through Sep 1, 2020. You can see that there is very little correlation with the % infected since Sep 1.

However, there is a *strong* correlation when using the margin of Biden's victory (right).

Infections % from
https://t.co/WcXlfxv3Ah.


This is the strongest single variable I've seen in being able to explain the severity of this most recent wave in each state.

Not past infections / existing immunity, population density, racial makeup, latitude / weather / humidity, etc.

But political lean.

One can argue that states that lean Democrat are more likely to implement restrictions/mandates.

This is valid, so we test this by using the Government Stringency Index made by @UniofOxford.

We also see a correlation, but it's weaker (R^2=0.36 vs 0.50).

https://t.co/BxBBKwW6ta


To avoid look-ahead bias/confounding variables, here is the same analysis but using 2016 margin of victory as the predictor. Similar results.

This basically says that 2016 election results is a better predictor of the severity of the fall wave than intervention levels in 2020!

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I think a plausible explanation is that whatever Corbyn says or does, his critics will denounce - no matter how much hypocrisy it necessitates.


Corbyn opposes the exploitation of foreign sweatshop-workers - Labour MPs complain he's like Nigel

He speaks up in defence of migrants - Labour MPs whinge that he's not listening to the public's very real concerns about immigration:

He's wrong to prioritise Labour Party members over the public:

He's wrong to prioritise the public over Labour Party