Archive for massachusetts – Page 2

What I will not write about today

nonono

Sometimes I get so frustrated and/or disheartened and/or annoyed by some of the news stories of the day that I can’t bring myself to write about them. Here are a few recent reports that made my blood pressure hit the roof. I am avoiding delving into them at length out of concern for my physical and mental health.

See what I mean? So who’s up for a couple of Margs or a trough of wine?

huge glass of wine drunk

“Enraged” bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly kicked out of MA mosque for outburst re: Martin Luther King mention

boston marathon bomb suspects 3

The L.A. Times is reporting that “enraged” bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was kicked out of the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge about three months ago after he (allegedly) stood up and started (allegedly) shouting at the imam. His (alleged) outburst was directed at Martin Luther King and how his name shouldn’t have been brought up during the service.

The imam had referred to King as someone to emulate according to a worshiper who goes by the name Muhammad.

Via the Los Angeles Times:

“You cannot mention this guy because he’s not a Muslim!” Muhammad recalled Tamerlan shouting, shocking others in attendance.

“He’s crazy to me,” Muhammad said. “He had an anger inside.… I can’t explain what was in his mind.”

Tamerlan was then kicked out of the prayer service for his outburst, Muhammad recalled. “You can’t do that,” Muhammad said of shouting at the imam.

Tamerlan apparently did return, and he had no more outbursts, per Muhammad.

But a trustee of the mosque, Anwar Kazmi, said Tamerlan wasn’t removed, but was talked to later by mosque leaders and calmed down. Kazmi also said it was a one-time occurrence.

The other mosque attendee, who identified himself only as Haithen, described Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as nice, friendly and “really laid back.”

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was different though. “His persona was not really so nice,” this worshiper said.

No, planting bombs and murdering people is “not really so nice,” on that I think we can all agree.

Boston marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev

Stupid Twitter Tricks, Gun Nut Edition

stupid twitter tricks

It’s time for today’s Stupid Twitter Tricks, gun nut edition, brought to you by Think Progress.

Seriously, this is about as stupid and insensitive as you can get. I’d express my outrage, but the replies to these tweets saved me the time and risk of lapsing into an unprintable rant.

Presenting Arkansas State Rep. Nate Bell (R):

tweet boston liberalsLink.

Here are a few of the replies that came his way:

  1. @CopyCurmudgeon @saberback @NateBell4AR let’s all agree to ignore “Ms” Bell and let “her” go polish her barrel while watching teebee.

  2. @janeroper I think @NateBell4AR is joking. Nobody is actually that stupid

  3. @NateBell4AR First things first: Bostonians don’t cower. This isn’t Arkansas.

  4. @NateBell4AR You’re like the gestalt of an overflowing toilet and a bag of dicks.

  5. @NateBell4AR We don’t need machine guns. We have police officers who are putting themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe. You?

  6. Human garbage. MT @NateBell4AR I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15

  7. @danigrrl @NateBell4AR Bacon and beer. Is it too early for beer? Could really use a drink after the past 12 hours. #watertown

  8. @tomecurran Yeah and I still can..what do you know about “AR 15′s”. That they are scary?? Sorry about the spelling mistakes. No editor!

  9. @mama2fluffs @NateBell4AR Hell no. Reprehensible people should be held responsible for their actions, and being a woman is not an insult.

  10. @neocMatt @NateBell4AR Oh my goodness, how I’d love a beer right now. Have to settle with tea. #Watertown

  11. @NateBell4AR So they can shoot a guy loaded with a bomb? That seems like not the best move in the situation.

  12. @JeanTerranova I know, I know. We’re staying strong, though.

  13. @maggieserota It warms my heart that my deeply sarcastic tweet about awful human @NateBell4AR is quickly approaching 400 retweets.

  14. That didn’t take long. “@NateBell4AR:…how many BOS liberals spent the night cowering…wishing they had an AR-15 w/hi-capacity magazine?”

  15. @maggieserota maggie how many Arkansans you think are cowering in their homes wishing they had MA’s schools and obesity rates? @NateBell4AR

  16. @NateBell4AR Boston liberal here. Seriously? You just tweeted this. I can tell you that we never felt this way.

  17. .@NateBell4AR Breathtaking douchebaggery.

  18. @NateBell4AR I’m saddened by pitting people against each other that this tweet generated rather than a rational, educated discussion.

  19. @NateBell4AR Dear Heartless Gun Nut: Please keep making Heartless Gun Nut statements. Thanks, the USA.

Follow the link for more replies. But, hey, he apologized. Not for what he said, but for when he said it. Via Facebook:

I would like to apologize to the people of Boston & Massachusetts for the poor timing of my tweet earlier this morning. As a staunch and unwavering supporter of the individual right to self defense, I expressed my point of view without thinking of its effect on those still in time of crisis. In hindsight, given the ongoing tragedy that is still unfolding, I regret the poor choice of timing. Please know that my thoughts and prayers were with the people of Boston overnight and will continue as they recover from this tragedy.

There now, all better.

And now for the sequel from none other than– wait for it– Herman Cain’s Cain TV account!

tweet cain guns boston This reply will suffice:

Georgia Liberal@Georgia_Liberal:

@CainTV No.

VIDEO: Uncle Of Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects Speaks

boston marathon bomb suspect uncle

Some quotes from the bombing suspects’ uncle Ruslan Tsarni:

“Somebody radicalized them, but it wasn’t my brother.”

“Being losers. Not being able to settle themselves, and thereby just hating everyone who did. … He put a shame on the Tsarnaev family. He put a shame on the entire Chechen ethnicity, because everyone now [associates negatively] with the word Chechen. So, they put that shame on the entire ethnicity. So, that’s what I would say. Turn yourself in and whatever, whatever [unintelligible], put yourself at the discretion of those who are here. That’s what I would say.”

“Any claim that this has something to do with Islam is a fraud.”

“He put a shame on our family. He put a shame on the entire Chechnyan ethnicity because now everyone blames Chechnyans.”

“Those who suffered, we sharing with them in their grief. I’m ready just to meet with them. I’m ready just to bend in front of them, to kneel in front of them, seeking that forgiveness. In the name of the family.”

PBSNewsHour:

The marathon bombing suspects’ uncle, Ruslan Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Md., told the AP that they are from a Russian region near Chechnya and that they lived together near Boston and had been in the United States for about 10 years.

Speaking outside his home, Tsarni told Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — who remained at large and considered “extremely dangerous” — that he brought shame to the family.

Dzhokhar, if you are alive, turn yourself in and ask for forgiveness,” he said.

PhotOH! If you see these suspects, call 1-800 CALL-FBI. “Do not act on your own.” VIDEO ADDED.

VIDEO ADDED:

PBSNewsHour:

At a press briefing today, FBI special agent Richard DesLauriers released photos and video of two suspects in the April 15 Boston Marathon Bombings. The video and images were captured by security cameras near the scene of the blasts. DesLauriers stressed that the FBI requests that the public use only the images released today to help ascertain the identities of the subjects, and that no one should approach the suspects if they are identified.

If you see these guys, “do not act on your own,” said the FBI. Call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

(Laffy Note: I’m getting tweets from people who think the FBI warning, “do not act on your own” was amusing. Are they forgetting about all the gun owners out there?)

The FBI website has crashed.

Here they are, Suspect A and Suspect B who are considered “armed and dangerous”:

boston marathon bomb suspects

FBI on MSNBC:

“Identifying the suspects is our highest priority.”

“They were seen communicating with each other… Second guy with his backpack, carrying something about the size of the explosive device.”

On MSNBC, an expert is saying that the backpack appears as if it could very well have contained the bomb, just from what he sees in the video compilation they’re airing:

“If these are the bombers, you’re looking at bombers at work.”

More details as they come in.

UPDATE via FBI.gov:

boston marathon bomb suspect 2boston marathon bomb suspect 1boston marathon bomb suspects 2boston marathon bomb suspect 2 again

boston marathon bomb suspect 2 profileboston marathon bomb suspect 2 closer

More photos at the link.

VIDEO: Hey GOP Rep. Peter King, if Boston police officers are heroes, then stop cutting public sector jobs!

my hero smaller

The entire segment can be found here.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY):

The Boston police department is an outstanding police department, the FBI, homeland security, ATF, they're all working on this, the president is leading it, No, this is not a time for Democrat or Republican politics. I think the president is putting in place, putting in motion the counter-terrorism and anti-terrorism units we have in our country that have been developed over the last 11 1/2 years and they're going to do an outstanding job. I have no doubt of that whatsoever.

1. "Democrat" is not an adjective. "Democratic" is.

2. If the Boston Police Department did such a great job, then why does the GOP want to keep cutting budgets that would provide for more "outstanding police departments"? Oh, that's right. They're "union thugs." And King is a hypocrite.

3. ATF? ATF? They're "working on this"? Anyone seen the director?

tweet kristof atf block

4. Wait. Did he actually admit that President Obama *gasp!* leads?

5. This is no time for politics, says King. Oh really? Then what's up with this? Rep. Peter King (R-NY) implied what now? “Pressure cooker bombs described in Al Qaeda magazine.” Nothing prejudiced or premature about that at all. Appealing to your base, are you? Some-body is looking for more do-na-tions! Have dark skin or a "funny" name? You're guilty. Next!

Oh, and if you really don't want to play politics, rehire all those police officers you and your party fired.

VIDEO: Rep. Peter King (R-NY) implies what now? “Pressure cooker bombs described in Al Qaeda magazine.”

pressure cooker

Although Andrea Mitchell didn't stop Rep. Peter King (R-NY) in his tracks and suggest that he was implying that this was an Al Qaeda attack, when in fact, it could be a (white) domestic terrorist who set up the explosives in Boston, she did follow up with, "We don't know who it is." Points for that, Andrea.

Here is King admitting his own ignorance while emphasizing that pressure cooker bomb instructions were found in an Al Qaeda magazine, so obviously this was the work of those icky evil Muslims:

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King:

My understanding is that those pressure cooker type bombs were described in "Inspire" magazine several years ago, the magazine of Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula. That's the extent of what I know about pressure cooker bombs. That's the one where they were telling Americans to how to make bombs against their own country and the magazine did call for a attacks on iconic athletic events.

Mitchell:

I've checked with the official sources I have; we don't know what it is, who, whether a single suspect or a group, foreign or domestic, intelligence communities now, going back over any information to see whether any incoming in the last weeks or months, even had any hints of this. and tasking bureaus around the world.

If "that's the extent of what he knows about pressure cooker bombs," then maybe he should stop pointing fingers before he learns more about what actually happened and who is responsible.

Indulge me here, because I'm repeating what I wrote in Sen. Dianne Feinstein: Saudi national ‘not a suspect’ in Boston bombings:

As Nicole Sandler and I discussed on her radio show today, there has been way too much speculation about the tragedy– some of it irrational, much of it erroneous, some of it thoughtful. What has been appalling is the default position of those who automatically blame any attack on anyone who they conclude is a "Muslim terrorist." Never mind the white American terrorists who killed and/or threatened abortion providers or the Timothy McVeighs in this country.

Here is the entire segment:

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