Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Sancho

Sancho's Journal
Sancho's Journal
January 31, 2019

Sink hole? Tunnel? Bank? Florida!

It would be hard to dig a tunnel to the bank in ND in the winter!

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/us/florida-bank-tunnel/index.html

A sinkhole turned out to be an underground tunnel to a Florida bank

P

ublic works employees in Florida stumbled upon something they don't see every day: a small "claustrophobic" tunnel leading to a Chase bank, according to the FBI.

The Pembroke Pines public works employees responded to a report of a possible sinkhole near the bank on Flamingo Road on Tuesday night and discovered the tunnel, which was about 50 yards long, with a power cord inside and a small generator at the foot, the FBI said Wednesday.
"It's approximately 2-foot, maybe 3-foot in diameter. It's very small, it's very claustrophobic," FBI Miami Special Agent Michael D. Leverock told reporters.
The tunnel was near a wooded area south of the bank, which is in a shopping complex across the street from the tunnel's entrance. The tunnel didn't reach the bank, the FBI said, adding that it is investigating the discovery as an attempted bank burglary. No arrests have been made.
January 30, 2019

Accused bank shooter Zephen Xaver fascinated with violence, ex-girlfriend says

https://www.wptv.com/news/state/accused-bank-shooter-zephen-xaver-fascinated-with-violence-ex-girlfriend-says

Zephen Xaver, 21, "for some reason always hated people and wanted everybody to die," Alex Gerlach told WSBT-TV in Indiana, shortly after Wednesday's massacre in Sebring. "He got kicked out of school for having a dream that he killed everybody in his class, and he's been threatening this for so long, and he's been having dreams about it and everything."

--------------------

The Florida bank shooting suspect had expressed a desire to kill years earlier, police documents show

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/25/us/florida-bank-shooting-zephen-xaver/index.html

The man suspected of killing five women at a Florida bank had interactions with police officers in Indiana in recent years after they received concerned calls reporting his desire to kill or harm people, authorities said.

As a 16-year-old student at Bremen High School, Xaver was taken to a behavioral health center in February 2014 after he told a school counselor "he had a dream last night of killing students in a classroom," according to a police report.

Xaver entered US Army basic training in March 2016, but left three months later before he completed training, CNN's Barbara Starr reported.

-------------------------------------------
People Control, Not Gun Control

This is my generic response to gun threads where people are shot and killed by the dumb or criminal possession of guns. For the record, I grew up in the South and on military bases. I was taught about firearms as a child, and I grew up hunting, was a member of the NRA, and I still own guns. In the 70’s, I dropped out of the NRA because they become more radical and less interested in safety and training. Some personal experiences where people I know were involved in shootings caused me to realize that anyone could obtain and posses a gun no matter how illogical it was for them to have a gun. Also, easy access to more powerful guns, guns in the hands of children, and guns that weren’t secured are out of control in our society. As such, here’s what I now think ought to be the requirements to possess a gun. I’m not debating the legal language, I just think it’s the reasonable way to stop the shootings. Notice, none of this restricts the type of guns sold. This is aimed at the people who shoot others, because it’s clear that they should never have had a gun.

1.) Anyone in possession of a gun (whether they own it or not) should have a regularly renewed license. If you want to call it a permit, certificate, or something else that's fine.
2.) To get a license, you should have a background check, and be examined by a professional for emotional and mental stability appropriate for gun possession. It might be appropriate to require that examination to be accompanied by references from family, friends, employers, etc. This check is not to subject you to a mental health diagnosis, just check on your superficial and apparent gun-worthyness.
3.) To get the license, you should be required to take a safety course and pass a test appropriate to the type of gun you want to use.
4.) To get a license, you should be over 21. Under 21, you could only use a gun under direct supervision of a licensed person and after obtaining a learner’s license. Your license might be restricted if you have children or criminals or other unsafe people living in your home. (If you want to argue 18 or 25 or some other age, fine. 21 makes sense to me.)
5.) If you possess a gun, you would have to carry a liability insurance policy specifically for gun ownership - and likely you would have to provide proof of appropriate storage, security, and whatever statistical reasons that emerge that would drive the costs and ability to get insurance.
6.) You could not purchase a gun or ammunition without a license, and purchases would have a waiting period.
7.) If you possess a gun without a license, you go to jail, the gun is impounded, and a judge will have to let you go (just like a DUI).
8.) No one should carry an unsecured gun (except in a locked case, unloaded) when outside of home. Guns should be secure when transporting to a shooting event without demonstrating a special need. Their license should indicate training and special carry circumstances beyond recreational shooting (security guard, etc.). If you are carrying your gun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you lose your gun and license.
9.) If you buy, sell, give away, or inherit a gun, your license information should be recorded.
10.) If you accidentally discharge your gun, commit a crime, get referred by a mental health professional, are served a restraining order, etc., you should lose your license and guns until reinstated by a serious relicensing process.

Most of you know that a license is no big deal. Besides a driver’s license you need a license to fish, operate a boat, or many other activities. I realize these differ by state, but that is not a reason to let anyone without a bit of sense pack a semiautomatic weapon in public, on the roads, and in schools. I think we need to make it much harder for some people to have guns.
January 29, 2019

Mitch McConnell's Ties to Russian Oil Money

https://medium.com/@TheDemCoalition/mitch-mcconnells-ties-to-russian-oil-money-db56f16a4824?fbclid=IwAR3bq-blBbGNzv_5QFwb1dcP8B9D8U2MBJJ9JHhix4dwk5S5ntC-Drx1gpk

The Democratic Coalition’s ongoing investigation just uncovered the following evidence linking GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to Russian oil money, some of which we first revealed in February 2017.

McConnell recently voted to drop sanctions against Russian aluminum company RusAl which is still owned by one of Vladimir Putin’s sanctioned oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska. His action directly benefits one of the GOP leader’s major donors, whose fortune comes from Russian oil.

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC run by Sen. McConnell’s former Chief of Staff, received a total of $3,500,000 ($2,500,000 in 2016 and $1,000,000 in 2017) via Access Industries and a subsidiary. Len Blavatnik is a Russian oligarch with US and UK citizenship who owns Access Industries and donated to Sen. McConnell’s 2016 Senate campaign vehicles.

--------------

Forbes amply documented Blavatnik’s source funds from the Kremlin in 2013 by exhibiting a copy of the wire transfer itself in a story entitled “The Four Horsemen of Russia’s Economic Collapse.” It described his sale of a private Russian oil company to state-controlled Rosneft.


I doubt anyone on DU is surprised. Why is this connection not covered on mainstream media? If Starbucks coffee barons and Super Bowl commercials make prime time headlines, how about a little attention to the McTurtle scandal??

January 20, 2019

Maxine Waters on AM Joy...she makes so much sense to me!

...why wait for a report? MF45 should be impeached now.

January 17, 2019

Can the disapproval split reach the lowest on record for MF45?

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?ex_cid=rrpromo

54.9% disapprove at this time...

It's getting close! Let's see what the committee hearings do to the polls? Airlines and the IRS in a mess?

Is it time to start marching on Senate offices?

January 14, 2019

MF45 is tanking in the polls....

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?ex_cid=rrpromo

54.3% disapprove...
40.6% approve...

and the gap is getting wider by the day.

January 8, 2019

Maybe it's a false hope, but are the polls finally moving on MF45?

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?ex_cid=rrpromo

56.3 to 41.3 now, but the gap is getting wider. Maybe the shutdown, investigations, and his stupid mouth will finally break the approval "wall".



Profile Information

Member since: Tue Aug 17, 2004, 07:11 AM
Number of posts: 9,067
Latest Discussions»Sancho's Journal