parkland stoneman douglas

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><div><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/laura-loomer/republican-party-florida-backing-laura-loomer-proud-islamophobe-who-said-shes-favor" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.mediamatters.org/laura-loomer/republican-party-florida-backing-laura-loomer-proud-islamophobe-who-said-shes-favor</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--stories-text paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="fancy-elems-wrapper field field--name-field-stories-text-formatted field--type-text-long field--label-hidden fielditem" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Republican Party of Florida&nbsp;recently expressed its&nbsp;support for right-wing commentator and congressional candidate Laura Loomer, who has described herself as a “proud Islamophobe,” has said that&nbsp;<b>she didn’t “care” about the anti-Muslim mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand</b>, and has stated that she’s in favor of “more” migrant deaths.&nbsp;</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Loomer won the Republican nomination in Florida’s 21st Congressional District on August 18.&nbsp;<b>The district is represented by Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, who is&nbsp;<a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Florida%27s_21st_Congressional_District_election,2020" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">heavily</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/right-wing-commentator-loomer-wins-gop-primary-in-trumps-palm-beach-district/2020/08/18/174d3e20-e1bf-11ea-8181-606e603bb1c4_story.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">favored</a>&nbsp;to win the race in November.</b></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shortly after her victory, the Florida GOP tweeted:&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></p></div></div><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--twitter-tweet paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="field field--name-field-twitter-tweet field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden fielditem" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--stories-text paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="fancy-elems-wrapper field field--name-field-stories-text-formatted field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Florida GOP is supporting someone who has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/19/trump-laura-loomer-primary-gop/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">banned</a>&nbsp;from numerous platforms because of her anti-Muslim hate and has:&nbsp;</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; clear: both; list-style: none; padding: 0px;"><li dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 2.4rem; position: relative;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/laura-loomer-goes-ballistic-in-anti-muslim-twitter-meltdown/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Described</a>&nbsp;herself as a “proud Islamophobe" and called Muslims “savages” who purportedly “ruin everything.” &nbsp;</font></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 2.4rem; position: relative;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><a href="http://archive.is/c1FP9#selection-3697.0-3728.0" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Tweeted</a>&nbsp;in response to July 2017&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/over-2000-migrants-have-died-crossing-the-mediterranean-so-far-this-year/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">news</a>&nbsp;that “over 2,000 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean so far this year”: “Good. [clapping emoji] Here's to 2,000 more.”&nbsp;</font></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 2.4rem; position: relative;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/anti-muslim-provocateur-laura-loomer-a-likely-pick-in-republican-primary-to-represent-trumps-district-in-congress/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Wrote</a>&nbsp;of the 2019 mass murder of 51 people in Christchurch: “Nobody cares about Christchurch. I especially don’t.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 2.4rem; position: relative;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://archive.is/7l0FN" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Said</a>: “How many more people need to die before everyone agrees that Islam is cancer & we should never let another Muslim into the civilized world?”</font></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Loomer has also worked for Alex Jones’ Infowars network.</span>&nbsp;Jones and Infowars have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">pushed</a><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/comprehensive-guide-alex-jones-conspiracy-theorist-and-trump-valuable-asset" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">&nbsp;numerous</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/alex-jones-pushing-conspiracy-theories-about-death-sandy-hook-father-who-was-suing-him" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">conspiracy</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-what-he-said-about-shooting" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">theories</a>&nbsp;about 9/11 and school shootings. The Daily Beast&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/infowars-sends-professional-troll-laura-loomer-to-parkland" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">wrote</a>&nbsp;that after the February 14, 2018, school shooting at<b>&nbsp;</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><b>Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Infowars </b>sent Loomer to Parkland, where she “accused students who spoke out against gun violence of being puppets. ‘It’s obvious these kids are reading a screen or notes someone else wrote for them,’&nbsp;</span>Loomer tweeted of students who spoke out against gun violence.”&nbsp;</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>That’s just a brief summary of Loomer’s horrific background. More on Loomer’s prior remarks and commentaries can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/laura-loomer" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">here</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/laura-loomer/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">here</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-laura-loomer/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">here</a>.&nbsp;</b></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In addition to getting support from the Florida GOP, Loomer has received backing from&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1295932138290917376" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">President Donald Trump</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mattgaetz/status/1295876814926155776" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Rep. Matt Gaetz</a>&nbsp;(R-FL), and Fox News hosts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/jeanine-pirro/fox-news-host-jeanine-pirro-reportedly-endorses-far-right-troll-laura-loomer-congress" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Jeanine Pirro</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3A%40PeteHegseth%20loomer&src=typed_query&f=live" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Pete</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth/status/1292969186323562498" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Hegseth</a>.&nbsp;</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Republican Party of Palm Beach County is also backing Loomer:&nbsp;</font></p></div></div></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div></div></div><div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/the-rights-attack-of-greta-thunberg-is-a-tired-exercise-but-serves-its-purpose/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/the-rights-attack-of-greta-thunberg-is-a-tired-exercise-but-serves-its-purpose/</font></a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>R</b><b>ight-wing media personalities and outlets have aggressively attacked 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg with a worn-out playbook.&nbsp;</b>Dilapidated and decrepit, its pages offer an old formula for bludgeoning young activists who gain popular support by cutting through the rhetoric of right-wing mouthpieces.</font></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">A cascading wave of smears against Thunberg erupted after Thunberg’s speech at the United Nations yesterday, where she&nbsp;<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/greta-thunberg-un-speech-trump-glare" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">upbraided</a>&nbsp;the leaders of the world for failing to act to stem the climate crisis. In her scathing remarks at the United Nations Climate Summit, Thunberg admonished world leaders for failing to take meaningful action on the issue of climate change, despite the science being “crystal clear” for decades.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">“How dare you continue to look away, and come here saying that you are doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight?” Thunberg asked world leaders. She added, “You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Thunberg has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/most-american-teens-are-frightened-by-climate-change-poll-finds-and-about-1-in-4-are-taking-action/2019/09/15/1936da1c-d639-11e9-9610-fb56c5522e1c_story.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">polling</a>&nbsp;to back her up; in the U.S., a majority of teenagers and young adults believe that the earth’s climate is changing in ways that will harm them, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/washington-post-kaiser-family-foundation-climate-change-survey-july-9-aug-5-2019/601ed8ff-a7c6-4839-b57e-3f5eaa8ed09f/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey</a>&nbsp;taken earlier this year. Reports about the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-report-un-climate-report-warns-rising-sea-levels-could-displace-millions/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">latest climate report</a>&nbsp;from the United Nations seem to confirm those fears and warn that tipping points in the earth’s climate have already been passed and that many severe consequences of climate change are no longer avoidable.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Many around the world have looked to Thunberg as a star communicator on the issue of climate change, which has also branded her as a target of right-wing activists and media. The ire directed at the European teenager often contains little refutation of her message, and instead follows an established strategy for smearing young activists working for progressive causes.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">The acts in the play are exhausted. The scenes are as unoriginal as they are disingenuous. Yet, for right-wing leaders, they are nonetheless successful in discrediting youth activists within insular bubbles of reactionary communities online and among aging conservatives.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><b>This ramshackle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/rage-on-the-parkland-teens-exposes-the-rights-ideological-exhaustion/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">cottage industry</a>&nbsp;exists&nbsp;</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/rage-on-the-parkland-teens-exposes-the-rights-ideological-exhaustion/">https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/rage-on-the-parkland-teens-exposes-the-rights-ideological-exhaustion/</a></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><b>at the core of right-wing media, earning buy-in from mainstream conservative thought leaders who seek to discredit progressive activists and movements that gain the support of the American public.</b>&nbsp;As Christian Christensen, professor of journalism at Stockholm University,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/05/20/greta-thunberg-parkland-young-activists-and-right-wing-smear-industry" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">wrote at Common Dreams</a>:</font></p><blockquote style="font-size: small; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; hyphens: none; padding: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0.75em 2em;"><p style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">These attacks have become an industry supposedly rooted in a worldview that worships rights and individual freedoms, but, in actual fact, is rooted in a hatred of activism, principle and dedication. These three elements stand in stark contrast to the values and tactics of those who wish to smear Thunberg and her contemporaries: namely lies, obfuscation and denigration. What scares those who attack Thunberg and the Parkland survivors is not so much the message, but the poise, presence and visibility of young citizens unfazed by their older, jaded, cynical opponents. They are dangerous because they exist and persist.</font></p></blockquote><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Depending on which media personality a right-wing consumer listens to, Thunberg is an exploited child or, perhaps, Adolf Hitler himself. For those who paid attention to the smears aimed at Parkland school shooting survivors, the smears sound nearly identical.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">One approach popular in establishment conservative media is feigned concern for the young people who enter the political arena coupled with a scolding for those who enabled that entry. In 2018,<b>&nbsp;Todd Starnes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/cnn-msnbc-using-florida-teens-as-anti-trump-propaganda-pawns" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">wrote</a>&nbsp;for Fox News that Parkland shooting survivors advocating for changes to gun control laws were “propaganda pawns to peddle a fake news narrative”&nbsp;</b>and wrote that it was “shameful that reporters would take advantage of traumatized young people.” Fox News host Tucker Carlson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-kids-threat-climate-change-politicians" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">delivered</a>&nbsp;the same kind of performative concern during his primetime program last night; Carlson said that powerful people—presumably those seeking action on the climate crisis—are using Thunberg as a “human shield” against criticism.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The same sentiment was expressed by National Review’s Rich Lowry who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/09/greta-thunberg-climate-activist-united-nations/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">put it in plain language</a>: “She is a pawn being used by adults for their own interests.”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/conservative-denise-mcallister-fired-from-the-federalist-after-attacking-gay-journalist" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Disgraced columnist</a>&nbsp;Denise McAllister&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/McAllisterDen/status/1176497513790148608" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">claimed</a>&nbsp;that “lack of maturity is a greater threat to our world than mythical apocalyptic man-made climate change.” Glenn Beck&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/glennbeck/status/1176311338093748224" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">called</a>&nbsp;Thunberg’s parents “monsters.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">There’s a certain irony to such concern-trolling, considering that the right invests&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/who-funds-conservative-campus-group-turning-point-usa-donors-revealed-2620325" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">millions of dollars</a>&nbsp;in the creation and upkeep of youth-targeted organizations like Turning Point USA, that Fox News hosts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Fox-News-interview-Trump-youngest-fan-9-years-old-12384912.php" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">interview</a>&nbsp;children who say they support President Trump, or that the religious right buses in thousands of young people—including high-schoolers and middle-schoolers—to Washington, D.C., every year to fill space at the annual March for Life.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">The right has also attempted to rope Thunberg into its longstanding smear campaign against billionaire philanthropist George Soros; the Associated Press&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apnews.com/afs:Content:7627980004" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">debunked</a>&nbsp;a photo circulated on social media that was altered to depict Thunberg standing with Soros his arm draped around her shoulder. At The Gateway Pundit, Jim Hoft&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.fo/0F5ZI" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">cited</a>&nbsp;only a pro-QAnon social media account to allege that Thunberg was being escorted around events by a Soros-sponsored political operative.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Breitbart’s John Nolte said that Thunberg “needs a spanking or a psychological intervention” and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/NolteNC/status/1176477259332542464" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">called</a>&nbsp;her fans “Gretards.</b>” Nolte has made similar jabs at other youth activists; in 2018, Nolte compared Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg to the cult leader from Stephen King’s “Children of the Corn” and deemed him a “mean-spirited little zealot in over his head.” And just&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/laura-ingraham/laura-ingraham-compares-greta-thunberg-and-youth-climate-activists-stephen-kings" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">last night</a>, Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham, drawing from the same well, likened Thunberg to the children in the King story, members of a murderous cult who kill all the adults in the town.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles attacked Thunberg on Fox News last night, calling her a “mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left.” (Thunberg describes herself as being on the autism spectrum, calling it her “superpower.”) Fox News apologized for Knowles’ comments and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-wont-book-michael-knowles-again-disgraceful-comments-greta-thunberg-1242789" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">told The Hollywood Reporter</a>&nbsp;that it had no plans to invite Knowles back on its network.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Logan Cook, a meme-maker fancied by the Trump administration who attended the “social media summit” hosted at the White House in July,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CarpeDonktum/status/1176258897188966403" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">shared</a>&nbsp;an edited a video of Thunberg’s United Nations speech with an audio track of a speech given by Hitler.&nbsp;</span>Cook’s video is almost identical to&nbsp;<a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/380546-right-wing-comparing-parklands-david-hogg-to-adolf-hitler" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">similarly styled</a>&nbsp;smears broadcast on Infowars in 2018 that depicted Parkland youth activists as Hitler Youth. Right-wing media outlets, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmg4qy/conservatives-are-now-comparing-a-parkland-survivor-to-hitler" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Breitbart and The Daily Wire</a>, latched on to the same smear of Hogg in 2018, fixating on a portion of Hogg’s speech at the 2018 March for Our Lives rally in which Hogg raised his fist in the air.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On Sunday, convicted felon and right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediaite.com/news/dinesh-dsouza-gets-panned-mocked-condemned-for-terrible-tweet-comparing-teen-activist-to-a-nazi/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">compared</a>&nbsp;Thunberg’s speech to Nazi Youth propaganda. Dale Hurd at CBN News&nbsp;<a href="https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2019/september/funerals-for-glaciers-greta-thunberg-and-the-human-need-to-worship" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">belittled</a>&nbsp;Thunberg as a “prophetess of doom.”</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Justifications for the right’s barrel-scraping often attempt to divert attention from its own dirty job. One retort to those angered by the right’s attacks on Thunberg has been to draw a parallel to the way media and left-of-center people treated the teenagers captured on video displaying bigoted behavior toward an Omaha tribe elder who was playing a drum and singing—an episode in January triggered an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/viral-video-showing-covington-catholic-high-school-students-prompts-propaganda-warfare-2/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">all-out propaganda war</a>&nbsp;by the right-wing commentators. But the right’s “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/whataboutism-origin-meaning" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">whataboutism</a>” argument, in this case, works only in a vacuum, as Amanda Marcotte noted.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">...tweet]</font></p><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ref</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/rage-on-the-parkland-teens-exposes-the-rights-ideological-exhaustion/">https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/rage-on-the-parkland-teens-exposes-the-rights-ideological-exhaustion/</a></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">new 519</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">March For Our Lives, the gun violence prevention movement, called for an end to #GenerationLockdown following the latest school shooting.</font></p><div class="p1_19" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Two suspects opened fire at the Denver-area STEM School Highlands Ranch Tuesday.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/next-thing-i-know-he-pulling-gun-colorado-student-school-n1003226" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Kendrick Castillo</a>, 18, died. He was just days away from graduation. Eight others were injured.</font></p><div class="p2_19" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="alt_ad_block story-page-in-content-graph-2" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="teadsNative" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It was the fourth school shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, the&nbsp;<em style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Denver Post</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/07/colorado-school-shootings-columbine/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">reported</a>.</font></p><div class="p3_19" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://marchforourlives.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">March For Our Lives</a>, which was formed in the wake of the Parkland, Florida mass shooting last year, demanded an end to such violent acts. The group said people must not to “grow numb” to the tragedies and urged political leadership tackle the gun violence epidemic.</font></p><div class="p4_19" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The group made the calls in a Twitter thread that included&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RussellHaythorn/status/1125889708435763200" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">video</a>&nbsp;from local&nbsp;<em style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Denver7 News</em>&nbsp;of young STEM students boarding a bus outside the school....</font></p></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-columbine-became-a-blueprint-for-school-shooters-115115"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://theconversation.com/how-columbine-became-a-blueprint-for-school-shooters-115115</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/nra-official-contacted-sandy-hook-truther-to-discuss-conspiracy-theory-on-parkland-shooting-report/">https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/nra-official-contacted-sandy-hook-truther-to-discuss-conspiracy-theory-on-parkland-shooting-report/</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Wednesday,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/exclusive-nra-sandy-hook-hoaxer-parkland-shooting_n_5c8aa54de4b03e83bdbe59eb" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">HuffPost</a>&nbsp;reported that Mark Richardson, a National Rifle Association official and coordinator, got in touch with a noted Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist to speculate that the Parkland shooting in February 2018 may have been an inside job:</font></p><div class="p1_7" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="content-list-component yr-content-list-text text" data-rapid-cpos="2" data-rapid-subsec="paragraph" data-rapid-parsed="subsec" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="background: rgb(245, 245, 245); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 10px 20px 10px 24px; position: relative; line-height: 1.7; overflow: hidden; border: none !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.7;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>NRA officer Mark Richardson emailed Wolfgang Halbig, a noted harasser of parents of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims, to float a conspiracy theory about the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed last year.</b></font></p><div class="p2_7" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="teadsNative" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.7;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Just like [Sandy Hook], there is so much more to this story,” Richardson said in an email dated Feb. 15, 2018 ― just one day after the Florida shooting. Twenty children and six adults were killed during the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. “[The Parkland shooter] was not alone.” The email was sent from his official NRA email address.</font></p><div class="p3_7" style="font-style: italic; box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div></div></blockquote><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Reached for comment by HuffPost, Richardson doubled down. “Since an individual who was prohibited from the school was aloud [sic] to pass through the front doors with a backpack containing a long gun, it is a legitimate question to ask if he had assistance concerning access to the school,” he wrote. “No one else seems to be interested enough to even ask the question?”</b></font></p><div class="p4_7" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook shooting have persisted for years. Far-right InfoWars host Alex Jones claimed that the whole thing was staged by the government with child actors and no kids were harmed ― which ultimately led to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/sandy-hook-shooting-victims-families-legal-victory-alex-jones-infowars-778032/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against him by parents of the victims.</font></p><div class="p5_7" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">With the Parkland shooting, conspiracy theories have tended to focus more on the student activists like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gq.com/story/the-sliming-of-david-hogg-and-emma-gonzalez" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">David Hogg and Emma González</a>, who have led the March For Our Lives youth campaign to effect reform of our nation’s gun laws. <b>Hogg, in particular, has been the target of vicious smears, including claims that he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/david-hogg-on-campus-rumor-hoax/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">wasn’t actually at the shooting</a>&nbsp;or was backed by Hungarian billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/7xd47e/david-hogg-responds-to-parkland-conspiracy-theories" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">George Soros</a>.</b></font></p><div class="p6_7" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The NRA has long agitated to crush tougher gun control laws in this country. But for its officials to be directly engaged in trutherism about school shootings is a new low.</font></p></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">troll shite</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/hoax-swat-call-sends-police-home-parkland-survivor-david-hogg">https://www.alternet.org/hoax-swat-call-sends-police-home-parkland-survivor-david-hogg</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Parkland survivor David Hogg&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fvideo%2F2018%2F06%2F05%2Ffollowing-months-right-wing-media-attacks-family-parkland-shooting-survivor-david-hogg-targeted%2F220380&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=24&v=1396" style="">was targeted</a>&nbsp;in a dangerous "swatting" incident. If you're not familiar, "swatting" is when a fake call to the police sends armed police officers (a SWAT team usually) to someone's residence. In December, a "swatting" incident related to a feud regarding the Call of Duty game led to an unarmed man who had nothing to do with the feud&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2017%2F12%2F29%2F16830626%2Fcall-of-duty-swatting-prank-kansas-man-dead-police-shooting&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=25&v=1396" style="">being shot dead</a>.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><em>Media Matters</em>&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2018%2F06%2F05%2Fday-parkland-survivor-david-hogg-got-swatted-trolls-shared-his-address-4chan-and-8chan%2F220382&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=26&v=1396" style="">found that</a>&nbsp;the day before this incident the personal information about Hogg's family was posted on internet forums notorious for organizing harassment. A Huffington Post reporter and numerous colleagues were recently&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2018%2F06%2F01%2Fafter-huffpost-profile-anti-muslim-twitter-crusader-4chan-trolls-begin-organizing-database-leftist%2F220355&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=27&v=1396" style="">attacked</a>&nbsp;by members of this forum after the reporter published&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fanti-muslim-twitter-troll-amy-mek-mekelburg_us_5b0d9e40e4b0802d69cf0264%3F7z&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=28&v=1396" style="">a profile</a>&nbsp;of a notorious anti-Muslim crusader. These forums are driving revanchist sentiment, and it is something that&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fvideo%2F2017%2F11%2F03%2Ftucker-carlson-defends-4chans-its-okay-be-white-campaign%2F218454&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=29&v=1396" style="">Tucker Carlson</a>,&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2018%2F05%2F29%2Froseanne-has-been-channeling-4chans-racism-anti-semitism-and-conspiracy-theories-twitter%2F220322&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=30&v=1396" style="">Roseanne Barr</a>,&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2017%2F09%2F20%2Ftrump-keeps-retweeting-accounts-promote-fake-news-conspiracy-theories-and-message-boards-beloved%2F217995&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=31&v=1396" style="">Donald Trump</a>,&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2017%2F07%2F10%2FDonald-Trump-Jr-loves-far-right-Internet-trolls----and-they-love-him-back%2F217191&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=32&v=1396" style="">Donald Trump Jr.</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2017%2F10%2F02%2FHow-4chan-and-a-pro-Trump-outlet-pushed-a-hoax-about-the-Las-Vegas-shooting%2F218103&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=610weekly&n=33&v=1396" style="">others</a>&nbsp;have picked up on. It's important to realize that these forums are not just doing that through rhetoric; they are hubs for harassment campaigns aimed at threatening people they disagree with.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">--</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ref 4 chan</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/06/05/day-parkland-survivor-david-hogg-got-swatted-trolls-shared-his-address-4chan-and-8chan/220382">https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/06/05/day-parkland-survivor-david-hogg-got-swatted-trolls-shared-his-address-4chan-and-8chan/220382</a></font></p></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">texas santa fe</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;already trying to discredit shooting survivors</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 1em;">Santa Fe shooting survivors spoke to the media. They&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fabc13.com%2Fsanta-fe-shooting-survivors-call-for-tougher-gun-laws-%2F3521167%2F&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=527weekly&n=30&v=1391" style="">held</a>&nbsp;a press conference. Cable news simply did not care. 10 people were killed in a mass shooting in a school, and cable news&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2018%2F05%2F25%2F10-people-were-killed-santa-fe-shooting-cable-news-moved-almost-immediately%2F220309&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=527weekly&n=31&v=1391" style="">moved on</a>&nbsp;for the most part after a day. It's not a question of not having the time, either. Cable news had&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2018%2F05%2F22%2Fcable-news-busy-speculating-about-trump-while-santa-fe-shooting-fades-out-news%2F220285&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=527weekly&n=32&v=1391" style="">plenty of time</a>&nbsp;for wild speculation about Trump.</p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 1em;"><em>Also</em>: From Ritalin to video games, doors to trench coats, unhealthy diets to "politically correct culture," conservative media&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fblog%2F2018%2F05%2F23%2Fwake-mass-shootings-schools-conservatives-blame-everything-guns%2F220291&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=527weekly&n=33&v=1391" style="">have blamed</a>&nbsp;everything except for guns for schools shootings.</p></span></font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/hugh-hewitt-seriously-proposes-trench-coat-ban-stop-gun-violence-after-texas">https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/hugh-hewitt-seriously-proposes-trench-coat-ban-stop-gun-violence-after-texas</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/media/parkland-students-win-important-journalism-and-activism-award">https://www.alternet.org/media/parkland-students-win-important-journalism-and-activism-award</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">staff writer Brianna Fisher, 15, said she was marching “because my voice should be heard and will represent those who no longer have a voice.” And Zoe Gordon, another 15-year-old sophomore staff writer, added, “I am marching with the&nbsp;</span><em style="">Eagle Eye</em><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;newspaper staff and the rest of the Douglas community for not only my safety, but for the safety of the millions of kids across America.”</span></font></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One would think the passionate empathy and brave actions of these young journalists would be universally praised—or at least not pilloried. But whether or not journalism should be a form of activism remains a controversial question, at least in some mainstream media circles, and the students’ remarks were predictably met with a torrent of commentary from all over the political and journalistic spectrum.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/wtf-msm-journalism-activism/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Conservative websites disapproved</a>, of course; but so did&nbsp;<em>Associated Press</em>&nbsp;reporters like Meg Kinnard, who said: “Journalism is not activism. This should not have gone unchallenged.” Josh Kraushaar of the National Journal agreed. “Journalism isn’t activism; it’s presenting the facts, honestly and objectively,” he said, adding, “It’s this mentality that’s killing trust in our profession.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Matt Pearce of the&nbsp;<em>Los Angeles Times</em>&nbsp;disagreed, tweeting that “Journalism is activism in its most basic form.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></p><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=
nugent, ingraham

<a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/ted-nugent-wont-stop-ridiculing-parklands-teenage-survivors">https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/ted-nugent-wont-stop-ridiculing-parklands-teenage-survivors</a>
</font><div><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/these-6-inescapable-facts-help-explain-republican-partys-current-death-spiral">https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/these-6-inescapable-facts-help-explain-republican-partys-current-death-spiral</a></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">santorum</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">parkland students shd learn cpr</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/right-wing-site-inaccurately-smears-david-hogg-liar-blames-mistake-confusing-video</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">corrected
</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=
</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">march 24 success</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/right-has-launched-vile-new-smear-campaign-against-parkland-survivor-emma-gonzalez">https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/right-has-launched-vile-new-smear-campaign-against-parkland-survivor-emma-gonzalez</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">E</font><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">mma Gonzalez's words have already become iconic, adorning countless placards at this weekend's March for Our Lives rally across the country: “</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxD3o-9H1lY" style="text-decoration-line: none;">We call BS</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">." Now the right is attempting to weaponize the Parkland survivor's newfound fame in the form of a photoshopped image of her tearing up a copy of the U.S. Constitution.</span></font></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The fake image, which first appeared on the website 4chan in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/26/us/emma-gonzalez-photo-doctored-trnd/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“‘politically incorrect’ board,” according to CNN</a>, received a "signal boost" from actor Adam Baldwin on Saturday and has been making the rounds on social media ever since.&nbsp;Gab, the preferred network of the alt-right,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/03/25/a-fake-photo-of-emma-gonzalez-went-viral-on-the-far-right-where-parkland-teens-are-villains/?utm_term=.0cc58850a851" style="text-decoration-line: none;">tweeted out the gif with the caption</a>, “Not gonna happen.” The account later sent out a follow-up tweet:</font></p><div id="TeadsNative" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><twitterwidget class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-0" data-tweet-id="977704557311508483" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; visibility: visible; display: block; transform: rotate(0deg); max-width: 100%; width: 500px; min-width: 220px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><div data-twitter-event-id="0" class="SandboxRoot env-bp-350" style="direction: ltr; background: 0px 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4; white-space: initial; position: relative;"><div class="EmbeddedTweet EmbeddedTweet--edge js-clickToOpenTarget tweet-InformationCircle-widgetParent" data-click-to-open-target="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-iframe-title="Twitter Tweet" data-dt-full="%{hours12}:%{minutes} %{amPm} - %{day} %{month} %{year}" data-dt-explicit-timestamp="5:31 PM - Mar 24, 2018" data-dt-months="Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec" data-dt-am="AM" data-dt-pm="PM" data-dt-now="now" data-dt-s="s" data-dt-m="m" data-dt-h="h" data-dt-second="second" data-dt-seconds="seconds" data-dt-minute="minute" data-dt-minutes="minutes" data-dt-hour="hour" data-dt-hours="hours" data-dt-abbr="%{number}%{symbol}" data-dt-short="%{day} %{month}" data-dt-long="%{day} %{month} %{year}" data-scribe="page:tweet" id="twitter-widget-0" data-twitter-event-id="1" style="overflow: hidden; cursor: pointer; border: 1px solid rgb(225, 232, 237); border-radius: 5px; max-width: 520px; position: relative;" lang="en"><div class="EmbeddedTweet-ancestor" data-scribe="section:conversation" style="padding: 20px 20px 17.6px; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 250);"><blockquote class="Tweet Tweet--compact h-entry reply js-tweetIdInfo" cite="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977647957389459456" data-tweet-id="977647957389459456" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 45px; list-style: none; border: none; position: relative;"><div class="Tweet-header u-cf" style="position: static; padding-left: 0px; white-space: nowrap;"><div class="Tweet-metadata u-floatRight" style="margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: inherit; float: right !important;"><a class="u-linkBlend u-url permalink customisable-highlight" data-scribe="element:mini_timestamp" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977647957389459456" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration: inherit; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">24 Mar</font></a></div><div class="TweetAuthor js-inViewportScribingTarget TweetAuthor--oneLine" data-scribe="component:author" style="margin-top: 0px; line-height: 0; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden !important; text-overflow: ellipsis !important; word-wrap: normal !important;"><a class="TweetAuthor-link Identity u-linkBlend" data-scribe="element:user_link" href="https://twitter.com/getongab" aria-label="Gab: Free Speech Social Network (screen name: getongab)" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration: inherit; outline: 0px; display: flex; width: fit-content; max-width: 100%; flex-wrap: nowrap; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; line-height: 1.2; font-weight: inherit;"><span class="TweetAuthor-avatar Identity-avatar" style="position: absolute; -webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; display: inline-block; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 36px; height: 36px; overflow: hidden; background-color: transparent; border-radius: 4px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><img class="Avatar Avatar--edge" data-scribe="element:avatar" data-src-2x="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/971234352515383302/DpWqJPff_bigger.jpg" alt="" data-src-1x="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/971234352515383302/DpWqJPff_normal.jpg" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/971234352515383302/DpWqJPff_normal.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; max-height: 100%; border-radius: 50%;" /></font></span><span class="TweetAuthor-decoratedName" style="display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; overflow: hidden;"><span class="TweetAuthor-name Identity-name customisable-highlight" title="Gab: Free Speech Social Network" data-scribe="element:name" style="font-weight: 700; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; padding-right: 4px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Gab: Free Speech Social Network</font></span><span class="TweetAuthor-verifiedBadge" data-scribe="element:verified_badge" style="position: static; -webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; padding-right: 4px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="Icon Icon--verified " aria-label="Verified Account" title="Verified Account" role="img" style="display: inline-block; height: 1.25em; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 1.11111em; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" charset="utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2064%2072%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22none%22%20d%3D%22M0%200h64v72H0z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%231da1f2%22%20d%3D%22M3%2037.315c0%204.125%202.162%207.726%205.363%209.624-.056.467-.09.937-.09%201.42%200%206.103%204.72%2011.045%2010.546%2011.045%201.295%200%202.542-.234%203.687-.686C24.22%2062.4%2027.827%2064.93%2032%2064.93c4.174%200%207.782-2.53%209.49-6.213%201.148.45%202.39.685%203.69.685%205.826%200%2010.546-4.94%2010.546-11.045%200-.483-.037-.953-.093-1.42C58.83%2045.04%2061%2041.44%2061%2037.314c0-4.37-2.42-8.15-5.933-9.946.427-1.203.658-2.5.658-3.865%200-6.104-4.72-11.045-10.545-11.045-1.302%200-2.543.232-3.69.688-1.707-3.685-5.315-6.216-9.49-6.216-4.173%200-7.778%202.53-9.492%206.216-1.146-.455-2.393-.688-3.688-.688-5.827%200-10.545%204.94-10.545%2011.045%200%201.364.23%202.662.656%203.864C5.42%2029.163%203%2032.944%203%2037.314z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFF%22%20d%3D%22M17.87%2039.08l7.015%206.978c.585.582%201.35.873%202.116.873.77%200%201.542-.294%202.127-.883.344-.346%2015.98-15.974%2015.98-15.974%201.172-1.172%201.172-3.07%200-4.243-1.17-1.17-3.07-1.172-4.242%200l-13.87%2013.863-4.892-4.868c-1.174-1.168-3.074-1.164-4.242.01-1.168%201.176-1.163%203.075.01%204.244z%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E" xmlns:data="data"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><span class="u-hiddenVisually" style="position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; width: 1px !important; height: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px) !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">✔</font></span></font></span></span><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><span class="TweetAuthor-screenName Identity-screenName" title="@getongab" data-scribe="element:screen_name" dir="ltr" style="padding-right: 4px; flex-basis: auto;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">@getongab</font></span></font></a></div></div><div class="Tweet-body e-entry-content" data-scribe="component:tweet" style="margin-top: 0px;"><p class="Tweet-text e-entry-title" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none; border: none; white-space: pre-wrap; cursor: text; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr;" lang="en"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Not gonna happen. <a href="https://t.co/4kKBcSqdCl" class="PrettyLink link media customisable" data-pre-embedded="true" dir="ltr" data-scribe="" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px;">pic.twitter.com/4kKBcSqdCl</a></font></font></p></div></blockquote></div><div class="EmbeddedTweet-tweet" style="padding: 20px 20px 11.6px;"><blockquote class="Tweet h-entry js-tweetIdInfo subject expanded" cite="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-tweet-id="977704557311508483" data-scribe="section:subject" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none; border: none;"><div class="Tweet-header u-cf" style="position: relative; padding-left: 45px; white-space: nowrap;"><div class="Tweet-brand u-floatRight" style="float: right !important; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="element:logo" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px;"><span class="FollowButton-bird" style="position: relative; top: 1px; display: inline-block;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="Icon Icon--twitter " aria-label="View on Twitter" title="View on Twitter" role="presentation" style="display: inline-block; height: 1.25em; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 1.25em; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" charset="utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2072%2072%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22none%22%20d%3D%22M0%200h72v72H0z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20class%3D%22icon%22%20fill%3D%22%231da1f2%22%20d%3D%22M68.812%2015.14c-2.348%201.04-4.87%201.744-7.52%202.06%202.704-1.62%204.78-4.186%205.757-7.243-2.53%201.5-5.33%202.592-8.314%203.176C56.35%2010.59%2052.948%209%2049.182%209c-7.23%200-13.092%205.86-13.092%2013.093%200%201.026.118%202.02.338%202.98C25.543%2024.527%2015.9%2019.318%209.44%2011.396c-1.125%201.936-1.77%204.184-1.77%206.58%200%204.543%202.312%208.552%205.824%2010.9-2.146-.07-4.165-.658-5.93-1.64-.002.056-.002.11-.002.163%200%206.345%204.513%2011.638%2010.504%2012.84-1.1.298-2.256.457-3.45.457-.845%200-1.666-.078-2.464-.23%201.667%205.2%206.5%208.985%2012.23%209.09-4.482%203.51-10.13%205.605-16.26%205.605-1.055%200-2.096-.06-3.122-.184%205.794%203.717%2012.676%205.882%2020.067%205.882%2024.083%200%2037.25-19.95%2037.25-37.25%200-.565-.013-1.133-.038-1.693%202.558-1.847%204.778-4.15%206.532-6.774z%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E" xmlns:data="data"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div></span></a></font></div><div class="TweetAuthor js-inViewportScribingTarget" data-scribe="component:author" style="margin-top: 2px; line-height: 0; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden !important; text-overflow: ellipsis !important; word-wrap: normal !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><a class="TweetAuthor-link Identity u-linkBlend" data-scribe="element:user_link" href="https://twitter.com/getongab" aria-label="Gab: Free Speech Social Network (screen name: getongab)" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration: inherit; outline: 0px; display: flex; width: fit-content; max-width: 100%; flex-wrap: wrap; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; line-height: 1.2; font-weight: inherit;"><span class="TweetAuthor-avatar Identity-avatar" style="position: absolute; -webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; display: inline-block; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 36px; height: 36px; overflow: hidden; background-color: transparent; border-radius: 4px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><img class="Avatar Avatar--edge" data-scribe="element:avatar" data-src-2x="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/971234352515383302/DpWqJPff_bigger.jpg" alt="" data-src-1x="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/971234352515383302/DpWqJPff_normal.jpg" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/971234352515383302/DpWqJPff_normal.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; max-height: 100%; border-radius: 50%;" /></font></span><span class="TweetAuthor-decoratedName" style="display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; overflow: hidden;"><span class="TweetAuthor-name Identity-name customisable-highlight" title="Gab: Free Speech Social Network" data-scribe="element:name" style="font-weight: 700; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; padding-right: 4px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Gab: Free Speech Social Network</font></span><span class="TweetAuthor-verifiedBadge" data-scribe="element:verified_badge" style="position: static; -webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; padding-right: 4px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="Icon Icon--verified " aria-label="Verified Account" title="Verified Account" role="img" style="display: inline-block; height: 1.25em; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 1.11111em; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" charset="utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2064%2072%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22none%22%20d%3D%22M0%200h64v72H0z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%231da1f2%22%20d%3D%22M3%2037.315c0%204.125%202.162%207.726%205.363%209.624-.056.467-.09.937-.09%201.42%200%206.103%204.72%2011.045%2010.546%2011.045%201.295%200%202.542-.234%203.687-.686C24.22%2062.4%2027.827%2064.93%2032%2064.93c4.174%200%207.782-2.53%209.49-6.213%201.148.45%202.39.685%203.69.685%205.826%200%2010.546-4.94%2010.546-11.045%200-.483-.037-.953-.093-1.42C58.83%2045.04%2061%2041.44%2061%2037.314c0-4.37-2.42-8.15-5.933-9.946.427-1.203.658-2.5.658-3.865%200-6.104-4.72-11.045-10.545-11.045-1.302%200-2.543.232-3.69.688-1.707-3.685-5.315-6.216-9.49-6.216-4.173%200-7.778%202.53-9.492%206.216-1.146-.455-2.393-.688-3.688-.688-5.827%200-10.545%204.94-10.545%2011.045%200%201.364.23%202.662.656%203.864C5.42%2029.163%203%2032.944%203%2037.314z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFF%22%20d%3D%22M17.87%2039.08l7.015%206.978c.585.582%201.35.873%202.116.873.77%200%201.542-.294%202.127-.883.344-.346%2015.98-15.974%2015.98-15.974%201.172-1.172%201.172-3.07%200-4.243-1.17-1.17-3.07-1.172-4.242%200l-13.87%2013.863-4.892-4.868c-1.174-1.168-3.074-1.164-4.242.01-1.168%201.176-1.163%203.075.01%204.244z%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E" xmlns:data="data"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><span class="u-hiddenVisually" style="position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; width: 1px !important; height: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px) !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">✔</font></span></font></span></span></a></font><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><span class="TweetAuthor-screenName Identity-screenName" title="@getongab" data-scribe="element:screen_name" dir="ltr" style="padding-right: 4px; flex-basis: 100%;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">@getongab</font></span></font></div></div><div class="Tweet-body e-entry-content" data-scribe="component:tweet" style="margin-top: 14px;"><div class="u-hiddenVisually js-inViewportScribingTarget" style="position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; width: 1px !important; height: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px) !important;"><p class="Tweet-text e-entry-title" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none; border: none; white-space: pre-wrap; cursor: text; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr;" lang="en"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This is obviously a parody/satire. You’re all mad because it’s believable, isn’t it? That’s the best type of satire. It’s a comedic reflection of reality.</font></font></p><div class="Tweet-metadata dateline" style="margin-top: 3.2px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><a class="u-linkBlend u-url customisable-highlight long-permalink" data-datetime="2018-03-25T00:31:45+0000" data-scribe="element:full_timestamp" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration: inherit; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">5:31 PM - Mar 24, 2018</font></a></font></div><ul class="Tweet-actions Tweet-action--newsActions" data-scribe="component:actions" role="menu" aria-label="Tweet actions" style="margin: 8.4px 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none; border: none; display: flex; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden;"><li class="Tweet-action Tweet-action--newsAction" style="display: inline-block;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /></font><div class="Icon Icon--heartEdge TweetAction-icon" role="img" data-scribe="element:heart" style="display: inline-block; height: 1.25em; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 1.25em; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" charset="utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2224%22%20height%3D%2224%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2024%2024%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23657786%22%20d%3D%22M12%2021.638h-.014C9.403%2021.59%201.95%2014.856%201.95%208.478c0-3.064%202.525-5.754%205.403-5.754%202.29%200%203.83%201.58%204.646%202.73.813-1.148%202.353-2.73%204.644-2.73%202.88%200%205.404%202.69%205.404%205.755%200%206.375-7.454%2013.11-10.037%2013.156H12zM7.354%204.225c-2.08%200-3.903%201.988-3.903%204.255%200%205.74%207.035%2011.596%208.55%2011.658%201.52-.062%208.55-5.917%208.55-11.658%200-2.267-1.822-4.255-3.902-4.255-2.528%200-3.94%202.936-3.952%202.965-.23.562-1.156.562-1.387%200-.015-.03-1.426-2.965-3.955-2.965z%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E" flex-shrink="flex-shrink" xmlns:data="data"><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></a><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /></a><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /></a><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><span class="TweetAction-stat" data-scribe="element:heart_count" style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: text-bottom; margin-left: 3px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; min-width: 0px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">961</font></span></a></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li><li class="Tweet-action Tweet-action--newsAction" style="display: inline-block; margin-left: 7px; overflow: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /></font></font></font><div class="Icon Icon--replyEdge TweetAction-icon" role="img" data-scribe="element:conversation_icon" style="display: inline-block; height: 1.25em; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 1.25em; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" charset="utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2024%2024%22%3E%3Cpath%20class%3D%22icon%22%20fill%3D%22%23657786%22%20d%3D%22M14.046%202.242l-4.148-.01h-.002c-4.374%200-7.8%203.427-7.8%207.802%200%204.098%203.186%207.206%207.465%207.37v3.828c0%20.108.045.286.12.403.143.225.385.347.633.347.138%200%20.277-.038.402-.118.264-.168%206.473-4.14%208.088-5.506%201.902-1.61%203.04-3.97%203.043-6.312v-.017c-.006-4.368-3.43-7.788-7.8-7.79zm3.787%2012.972c-1.134.96-4.862%203.405-6.772%204.643V16.67c0-.414-.334-.75-.75-.75h-.395c-3.66%200-6.318-2.476-6.318-5.886%200-3.534%202.768-6.302%206.3-6.302l4.147.01h.002c3.532%200%206.3%202.766%206.302%206.296-.003%201.91-.942%203.844-2.514%205.176z%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E" transform="transform" scalex="scaleX" flex-shrink="flex-shrink" xmlns:data="data"><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></a><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></a><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></a><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" /></a><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Tweet-action--replyEdge TweetAction TweetAction--replyEdge" title="View the conversation on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/getongab/status/977704557311508483" data-scribe="component:news" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><span class="TweetAction-stat" data-scribe="element:conversation_text" style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: text-bottom; margin-left: 3px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; min-width: 0px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">298 people are talking about this</font></span></a></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li></ul></div></div></blockquote></div><div class="tweet-InformationCircle--bottom tweet-InformationCircle" data-scribe="element:notice" style="position: absolute; right: 0px; bottom: 3px; margin: 10px 18px 8px;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/20175256" class="Icon Icon--informationCircleWhite js-inViewportScribingTarget" title="Twitter Ads info and privacy" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: inline-block; height: 18px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 18px; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" charset="utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2072%2072%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate(8%208)%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23657786%22%20fill-opacity%3D%22.8%22%20d%3D%22M28%203.11C14.278%203.11%203.11%2014.276%203.11%2028c0%2013.723%2011.166%2024.887%2024.89%2024.887S52.89%2041.723%2052.89%2028C52.89%2014.274%2041.724%203.11%2028%203.11z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFF%22%20d%3D%22M28%2044.593c-1.718%200-3.11-1.393-3.11-3.112V30.076c0-1.718%201.392-3.11%203.11-3.11s3.11%201.392%203.11%203.11V41.48c0%201.72-1.392%203.113-3.11%203.113z%22%2F%3E%3Ccircle%20fill%3D%22%23FFF%22%20cx%3D%2228%22%20cy%3D%2218.148%22%20r%3D%224.667%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFF%22%20d%3D%22M28%2056C12.56%2056%200%2043.44%200%2028S12.56%200%2028%200s28%2012.56%2028%2028-12.56%2028-28%2028zm0-49.778C15.99%206.222%206.222%2015.992%206.222%2028S15.992%2049.778%2028%2049.778c12.01%200%2021.778-9.77%2021.778-21.778S40.008%206.222%2028%206.222z%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E" xmlns:data="data"><span class="u-hiddenVisually" style="position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; width: 1px !important; height: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px) !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Twitter Ads info and privacy</font></span></a></font></font></font></font></div></div><div class="resize-sensor" style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; z-index: -1; visibility: hidden;"><div class="resize-sensor-expand" style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; z-index: -1; visibility: hidden;"><div style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; transition: 0s; width: 510px; height: 289px;"><div class="resize-sensor-shrink" style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; z-index: -1; visibility: hidden;"><div style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; transition: 0s; width: 1000px; height: 557.531px;"><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This is hardly the first attack on the Parkland shooting survivors, or even Gonzalez herself. Over the weekend, right-wing commenters disaparaged the activist for sporting a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/26/us/emma-gonzalez-photo-doctored-trnd/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Cuban flag patch</a>&nbsp;on her jacket during her rally speech. Prior to that, pundits and even a handful of politicians accused David Hogg of being a so-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/21/us/david-hogg-conspiracy-theories-response/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">crisis actor</a>.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“The attacks being lobbied against Emma follow the all-too-familiar patterns: she’s an opinionated woman, she’s Latinx, she is queer," notes Teen Vogue's Phillip Picardi. "Some say those are strikes already against her when confronting the establishment.”&nbsp;</font></font></font></p><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></font></font></div><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></font></font></div><div><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Students across the country&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apnews.com%2F00f790b17b2542319cc1fa519259b86b%2FUS-students-stage-school-walkouts-to-protest-gun-violence&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=318weeklya&n=20">staged</a>&nbsp;walkouts to demand action on gun violence. Right-wing media&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fresearch%2F2018%2F03%2F15%2Fconservative-media-say-students-protesting-gun-violence-can-t-think-themselves%2F219656&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=318weeklya&n=21">were furious</a>.</font></font></font></p><ul style=""><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tucker Carlson&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fvideo%2F2018%2F03%2F14%2Ftucker-carlson-compares-students-protesting-gun-violence-maos-red-guards%2F219643&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=318weeklya&n=22">compared</a>&nbsp;the students to Mao's Red Guards.</font></font></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Carlson&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fvideo%2F2018%2F03%2F14%2Ftucker-carlson-teachers-cant-have-sex-students-so-they-should-not-talk-about-guns-them-either%2F219645&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=318weeklya&n=23">also said</a>&nbsp;that teachers can't have sex with students, so they should not talk about guns with them either.</font></font></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ben Shapiro&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fvideo%2F2018%2F03%2F14%2Fben-shapiro-media-using-kids-protesting-gun-violence-political-human-shields%2F219642&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=318weeklya&n=24">said that</a>&nbsp;"They are activating these kids, and putting them out on the front lines, and putting them in photo ops, so that they can essentially use them as political human shields."</font></font></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After boasting about his racial purity, Sean Hannity&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediamatters.org%2Fvideo%2F2018%2F03%2F14%2Fafter-boasting-about-his-racial-purity-sean-hannity-maligns-students-participating-gun-control%2F219636&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=318weeklya&n=25">maligned</a>&nbsp;the students, saying the entire thing was just an effort to get teenagers to vote for Democrats in the fall.</font></font></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senior Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter retweeted an account criticizing the female protesters’ appearances and called them “future beta bait.”</font></font></font></li><li style=""><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Rifle Association national spokesperson Dana Loesch told&nbsp;<em style="">Fox & Friends</em>&nbsp;hosts that the protests were the result of some in the “political class ... trying to exploit this six ways to Sunday.”</font></font></font></li></ul><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Expect more of this next week when the kids and their families lead the&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://mediamatters.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmarchforourlives.com%2F&e=2fd18ded548fce9ef66e074aaf01da3d5df1923b&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=318weeklya&n=26">March For Our Lives</a>&nbsp;in Washington, DC.</font></font></font></p></div><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></font></font></div><div><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></font></font></div><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/george-lieutenant-governor-casey-cagle-threatens-delta-over-nra"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/george-lieutenant-governor-casey-cagle-threatens-delta-over-nra</font></a></font></font></div><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></font></font></div><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" size="4" face="Times New Roman">Conservatives are growing increasingly furious over companies like Delta Air Lines distancing themselves from the National Rifle Association. On Monday, one particular Republican official vowed to "kill" any legislation that would benefit Delta as far as tax breaks are concerned.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/27/589047224/georgias-lt-gov-threatens-to-kill-tax-break-for-delta-airlines-amid-nra-spat" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Georgia's lieutenant governor Casey Cagle threatened Delta</a>&nbsp;by saying he would nix a tax break for the airline company for its position on the NRA. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, such a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aviationpros.com/news/12398107/delta-ceo-defends-georgia-jet-fuel-tax-cut-proposal" style="text-decoration-line: none;">fuel tax exemption could save Delta at least $40 million</a>.</font></font></font></div><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shortly after the horrific school shooting that hit Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine's Day, Delta said that it was "reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel program." The company declared this decision on Twitter on Saturday and added that it would request the association to "<a href="https://news.delta.com/update-delta-ends-nra-discount-annual-meeting" style="text-decoration-line: none;">remove our information from their website</a>." In the wake of the&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/5158678/what-to-know-about-the-active-shooter-situation-at-florida-high-school/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">shooting that claimed the lives of 17 people</a>, the&nbsp;<em>Los Angeles Times</em>&nbsp;reported that Delta had received significant pressure from gun control activists who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-delta-nra-20180226-story.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">demanded the company reconsider</a>&nbsp;its discount contract with NRA members.</font></font></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://twitter.com/CaseyCagle/status/968199605803454465" style="text-decoration-line: none;">On Monday, Cagle tweeted</a>&nbsp;that he “will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA. Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back." In a previous tweet, Cagle called for more&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CaseyCagle/status/967560442305548289" style="text-decoration-line: none;">focus on mental health programs</a>&nbsp;in the country as opposed to ending discount programs with NRA members. "I'm a lifelong member of the NRA and a strong supporter of the law-abiding citizens' Second Amendment rights,” the Georgian legislator said.</font></font></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Like all Americans, I'm horrified by the mass shootings we've witnessed,” the conservative lawmaker went on. “If corporate America wants to make a positive difference on gun violence, it should donate a portion of its profits to mental health treatments and school safety initiatives. They should put their money where their mouth is instead of engaging in viewpoint discrimination against conservatives and law-abiding gun owners." Ironically enough, Cagle failed to realize that Delta was indeed putting its money where its mouth was by striking out its discount program with NRA members.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Delta isn’t alone in cutting corporate cords with the NRA. The company is joined by other massive business entities like MetLife, Symantec, United Airlines, Allied, and others in stepping away from affiliate and discount programs with the NRA.&nbsp;<a href="https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/25/news/companies/companies-abandoning-nra-list/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">A list created by CNN Money</a>&nbsp;actually shows how, at this moment, at least 15 companies have disassociated themselves with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nra-power-lobbying-statistics-gun-control-2017-10" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America’s most potent gun lobby</a>.</font></font></font></p><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></font></font></div><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></font></font></div></div><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></font></font><div><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/white-nationalists-lied-to-reporters-right-wing-media-dogpiled-the-press/">http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/white-nationalists-lied-to-reporters-right-wing-media-dogpiled-the-press/</a></font></font></font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-family: Helvetica-Light, " helvetica="Helvetica" light="Light" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" line-height="line-height" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Multiple media outlets reported yesterday that the 19-year-old man who killed 17 people at a Florida high school this week was connected to a white nationalist organization in the region after a representative from the group told multiple outlets that the shooter was a member.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-family: Helvetica-Light, " helvetica="Helvetica" light="Light" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" line-height="line-height" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After the shooting, posts began circulating on the digital cesspool that is 4Chan’s “politically incorrect” forum board that claimed the man convicted of committing the mass murder in Parkland, Florida, had ties with the white nationalist group Republic of Florida. When the nonprofit Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called the Republic of Florida to confirm that the posts were accurate, a group representative named&nbsp;<a href="https://www.adl.org/blog/florida-white-supremacist-group-admits-ties-to-alleged-parkland-school-shooter-nikolas-cruz" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Jacob Jereb told ADL</a>&nbsp;that the posts were true and that the shooter was “brought up” by another member. Jereb would go on to confirm the same claim to many other outlets, including the&nbsp;<a href="http://time.com/5160819/parkland-shooter-nikolas-cruz-was-a-member-of-white-supremacist-group/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Associated Press</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/nikolas-cruz-trained-with-florida-white-supremacist-group-leader-says?ref=home" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">The Daily Beast</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-family: Helvetica-Light, " helvetica="Helvetica" light="Light" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" line-height="line-height" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hours later, as white nationalist leaders such as neo-Nazi writer Andrew Anglin attempted to run damage control for their movement, Jereb&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JackSmithIV/status/964265931764588545" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">pulled back</a>&nbsp;his statements, claiming that he had not slept in two days and asking why people blamed him for reports in the “lying Jew media.” Later that day, local authorities told reporters they were&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/02/15/florida-school-shooting-suspect-nikolas-cruz-member-white-nationalist-militia-tallahassee-leader-say/341751002/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">unaware of ties</a>&nbsp;between the shooter and the white nationalist group.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-family: Helvetica-Light, " helvetica="Helvetica" light="Light" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" line-height="line-height" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/activism/depressing-reason-florida-house-wouldnt-even-debate-assault-rifle-ban"><font size="4" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">https://www.alternet.org/activism/depressing-reason-florida-house-wouldnt-even-debate-assault-rifle-ban</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">you’ve seen the pictures. A handful of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students watched in dismay as the Florida House blocked debate on a bill to ban assault rifles, less than a week after 17 people were gunned down at their school.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I’m calling on every student/teacher/parent 2 exercise 1st Amendment Right & engage in sit-ins, protest, walkouts & legal demonstrations. NOW IS THE TIME,”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kionnemcghee/status/966346799345754113" style="text-decoration-line: none;">state Democratic Rep. Kionne McGhee</a>&nbsp;tweeted Wednesday, when his procedural move that would have allowed the Florida House to debate the bill was shut down.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While pollsters and political observers across the country are saying the political response to the nation’s latest mass shooting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnzogby/2018/02/20/this-time-gun-control-wins/#7103e5e4467e" style="text-decoration-line: none;">will be different</a>&nbsp;because young people are speaking up, organizing and calling for gun controls in unprecedented manners—including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/they-needed-to-see-it-fla-lawmakers-emotional-tour-of-shooting-site-sparks-bipartisan-talks-on-gun-limits/2018/02/21/a930a37c-16c9-11e8-8b08-027a6ccb38eb_story.html?utm_term=.426503340bc5&wpisrc=nl_evening&wpmm=1" style="text-decoration-line: none;">mass demonstrations</a>&nbsp;in Tallahassee Wednesday—there is a hard truth behind the Florida House’s cold-hearted, high-profile snub.&nbsp;</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“To the young people getting woke to the politics of gun control, here’s the reality: The old farts who are elected to office don’t give a damn because you don’t vote,”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ElectProject/status/966161379060314112" style="text-decoration-line: none;">tweeted Michael McDonald</a>, a University of Florida demographer and nationally known voter turnout expert. “Average midterm turnout rates for ages 18-29 is a pathetic 20 percent. If you want to change the world start by voting.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And this generational apathy has only gotten worse, not better, over time.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Further context: the Census Bureau reports ages 18-29 turnout rate was 30 percent in 1974, the first midterm election 18-20 yr olds could vote (except in 4 states) and followed the close of the Vietnam War,”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ElectProject/status/966161379060314112" style="text-decoration-line: none;">McDonald tweeted</a>. “Was the highest midterm turnout rate for ages 18-29 from 1974 to 2014.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">McDonald isn’t trying to be the grim reaper at a moment of great trauma for students who experienced a mass shooting. There’s a rising tide of support nationwide elevating the teenagers' call for reasonable gun controls, which is seen in celebrity donations for their marches and other protests.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But he raises a salient point. Florida may be a purple state demographically—<a href="https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/immigration/reports/2015/12/11/127154/key-facts-about-florida-voting-demographics/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">evenly split</a>&nbsp;between Republicans and Democrats. But the GOP has dominated its statewide politics for most of this decade, and the legislature has a record of blocking gun controls, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.slate.com/articles/business/metropolis/2017/01/campaign_to_defend_local_solutions_is_a_necessary_movement_to_protect_progressive.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">pre-empting</a>&nbsp;gun laws that remain in municipal law books.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In other words, Florida Republicans know they can ignore young people's demands, or patronize them, because when they look past the latest wave of outrage and protests, the historic pattern is this slice of the electorate largely doesn’t turn out and vote—<a href="https://www.electproject.org/home/voter-turnout/demographics" style="text-decoration-line: none;">especially during non-presidential years</a>&nbsp;like 2018.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thus, the Florida House overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to block debate on a bill to ban the category of weapon used in the latest massacre. But as the&nbsp;<em>South Florida Sun Sentinel</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-gun-rules-20180220-story.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">noted</a>, its legislative leaders are looking at more watered-down proposals, such as possibly "raising age restrictions for gun purchases" and "temporarily taking away someone's guns if they are deemed a threat.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maybe this latest mass shooting will be different and will galvanize a new wave of political advocacy. But that usually is a longer game and involves voting every time there's an election.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That hasn't been the pattern for young people. Indeed,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.electproject.org/home/voter-turnout/demographics" style="text-decoration-line: none;">demographic voter turnout analyses</a>&nbsp;from the U.S. Election Project, which McDonald oversees, notes that twice as many people under age 30 vote in presidential years as in midterms. In presidential elections, 40 percent of eligible voters under age 30 typically cast ballots. In midterm years like 2018, it’s under 20 percent.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That doesn’t mean younger people don’t care about politics and aren’t voting. It’s just that their numbers are poor in midterm years and creeping up slowly in the presidential years. For example, in 2016 the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/31/millennials-and-gen-xers-outvoted-boomers-and-older-generations-in-2016-election/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Pew Research Center found</a>&nbsp;the electorate’s age was skewing toward younger generations, as opposed to what's been historically larger numbers by seniors and the elderly.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></p><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/nra-national-spokeswoman-dana-loesch-lied-right-parkland-victims-face">https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/nra-national-spokeswoman-dana-loesch-lied-right-parkland-victims-face</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gonzalez, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, had a simple question for National Rifle Association (NRA) national spokesperson Dana Loesch during CNN’s gun violence town hall: “Do you believe that it should be harder to obtain the semi-automatic ... weapons and the modifications for these weapons to make them fully automatic, like bump stocks?”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Instead of providing the NRA’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/10/06/nra-breaks-silence-enlisting-fox-news-its-attempt-deceive-america/218154" style="text-decoration-line: none;">well established</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/21/trump-pushes-for-tighter-gun-rules-backed-by-nra-after-florida-shooting.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">positions</a>&nbsp;on these questions, Loesch gave a series of dishonest explanations that sought to hide the NRA’s fringe absolutism against gun regulation.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After some niceties, Loesch purported to answer Gonzalez's question by saying, “I don't believe that this insane monster should have ever been able to obtain a firearm, ever. I do not think that he should have gotten his hands on any kind of weapon. That's number one.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to Loesch, “This individual was nuts and I, nor the millions of people that I represent as a part of this organization, that I'm here speaking for, none of us support people who are crazy, who are a danger to themselves, who are a danger to others, getting their hands on a firearm.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Loesch was lying.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The NRA opposes adding prohibiting categories to the gun background check system that could have included the Stoneman Douglas gunman. As the NRA’s website&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nraila.org/get-the-facts/background-checks-nics/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">states</a>, “NRA opposes expanding firearm background check systems, because background checks don’t stop criminals from getting firearms.” It also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/02/16/586615981/gun-violence-protective-orders-see-renewed-interest-after-florida-shooting" style="text-decoration-line: none;">opposes</a>&nbsp;a policy called a “<a href="https://www.courts.ca.gov/33961.htm" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Gun Violence Restraining Order</a>” or a “<a href="https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/red-flag-laws-draw-more-bipartisan-support-after-parkland.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Red Flag</a>” law that has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-shooting-law-analysis/gun-restraining-order-might-have-thwarted-florida-shooting-experts-idUSKCN1FZ30X" style="text-decoration-line: none;">widely cited as a policy&nbsp;</a>that could have stopped the gunman from having access to firearms. These laws allow family members and law enforcement to petition courts to temporarily remove people’s access to firearms who are a danger to themselves or others.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Loesch’s dishonesty didn’t stop with that claim. Moments later, while talking about the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), Loesch said, “It is not federal law for states to report convictions to the NICS system. It's not federally mandated.” Loesch also argued that the states can convict a person, they "can adjudicate the mentally unfit," but "if a state does not report it to the National Crime Information Center, when you run that form, this individual -- this madman passed a background check." (NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre also used&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/vvw3pHiWUfQ?t=19m55s" style="text-decoration-line: none;">this talking point</a>&nbsp;in his February 22 speech at CPAC.)</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What Loesch failed to mention is that states can’t be required to report disqualifying records because of the outcome of a 1997&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2016/01/08/new-nra-lie-we-were-responsible-for-creating-th/207861" style="text-decoration-line: none;">NRA-backed</a>&nbsp;lawsuit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1996/95-1478" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><em>Printz v. United States</em></a><em>.</em></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The lawsuit was the NRA’s attempt to invalidate&nbsp;<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=oq39ykAGVYQC&pg=PT77&lpg=PT77&dq=nra+the+whole+statute+must+be+voided&source=bl&ots=469buxBPBb&sig=2jEf1_7_KHB4LNTe-cBGl-sRL7Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ7rLUu5rKAhVGVT4KHSIGAU4Q6AEIKDAC#v=onepage&q=nra%20the%20whole%20statute%20must%20be%20voided&f=false" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the entire</a>&nbsp;national background check system in court before it could be implemented. While the system eventually went into effect, the outcome of&nbsp;<em>Printz</em>&nbsp;damaged its effectiveness, as the Supreme Court&nbsp;ruled in a 5-4 decision in favor of the NRA’s argument that requiring states to perform background checks for a federal system violated the 10th Amendment.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ruling also had implications on whether states can be required to submit disqualifying records into the background check system. As the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence&nbsp;<a href="https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/background-checks/nics-reporting-procedures/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">explains</a>, “Federal law cannot require states to make information identifying people ineligible to possess firearms available to the federal or state agencies that perform background checks” because “case law suggests that a federal statute requiring states to disclose records to the FBI would violate the Tenth Amendment” due to the&nbsp;<em>Printz</em>&nbsp;ruling.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So far, none of Loesch’s answers were actually about semi-automatic weapons or bump stocks. Gonzalez then interceded to say, “I think I'm gonna interrupt you real quick and remind you that the question is actually, do you believe it should be harder to obtain these semi-automatic weapons and modifications to make them fully automatic, such as bump stocks?”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Loesch didn’t mention semi-automatic weapons, but offered some muddled comments about bump stocks and said, “So, that answers your question.” (The organization has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/10/06/nra-breaks-silence-enlisting-fox-news-its-attempt-deceive-america/218154" style="text-decoration-line: none;">a deceitful position</a>&nbsp;on the issue that decreases the chances they will be eventually banned.)</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The NRA had a responsibility to offer straightforward, honest statements about gun policy at CNN’s gun violence town hall, but instead what Loesch offered were lies and sp</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></p></div><div><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></p></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">===</font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></twitterwidget></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>