‘Guns don’t kill people’: Republicans blame Democratic rhetoric for Trump assassination attempt. 

Hey Wilson, how many times have you heard Republicans say,“Guns don't kill people, people kill people”? Way too many?

We heard it after Sandy Hook; we heard it after the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas; we heard it after Uvalde, Texas—the list of mass shootings in this country goes on and on and on. There may be limits on the First Amendment, but with the Second Amendment, not so much.

We have some 400 million firearms in the United States—more than one for every man, woman and child. This is a violent country with well over 40,000 gun-related deaths per year—an average of 120 per day.

The United States imported or manufactured 2.8 million AR-15, assault-style rifles in 2020 alone. It is by far the highest-selling firearm and was designed for one purpose—to kill people.

Not surprisingly, Donald Trump was shot by an assault rifle purchased legally. Since 2016, Trump—more than any other major political figure—has contributed to a rising trend in violent rhetoric.

Now, however, Republicans are blaming Democrats for the attempted assassination, as though Dems had called for the violent insurrection of January 6, 2021. No one knows why 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks wanted to kill Trump but one thing is for sure—he wanted to do it with a gun. Call it freedom.

Demonic Portal Opens Over White House
“Satan get thee behind me.” That's just one of the phrases heard echoing around Milwaukee's Republican National Convention, where Democrats aren't political opponents but enemies to be smitten down like the Kraken.

Christian Nationalism has swarmed over the GOP confab, preaching that America's godliness is under siege and Christian soldiers must rise up to take it back. It's a fun-loving bunch who can throw down with the best.

A “demonic portal” has opened above the Biden White House, said Donald Trump's fixer Roger Stone in The Washington Post. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn called former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a demon, the Post reported.

As many MAGA acolytes know after watching a viral Trump video, God sent him to Earth to save it. They—along with the former president, himself—have compared Trump's trials and tribulations to the plight of Jesus of Nazareth. Proof positive: God saved Trump from an assassination attempt last weekend. Earlier, Trump declared election day, Nov. 5, as “Christian Visibility Day.”

But it's not love that the Trump faithful came to Milwaukee to spread, but a call to arms. Matthew 10:34-36: “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Oh yeah, and God bless America.

Hey Gov. Cox, Go Ahead, Eat Your Damn Cake
OK, we know politicians can talk out of both sides of their mouths, but this takes the cake (WARNING—possible neck injuries due to whiplash): At the National Governors Association’s meeting last week, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he would not vote for Donald Trump … but hopes he wins.

Eat your cake and have it, too? Incredible.

Yep, he's the same Gov. Cox who urged us to be kind to transgender Utahns and then signed legislation to keep them out of public restrooms. What is wrong with our politics?

Here's a clue: The Utah Supreme Court just ruled the state Legislature can not mess with citizen initiatives—in this case, one that would create an independent commission to draw voting districts. The initiative passed after Utahns—particularly Salt Lake County residents—grew sick and tired of Republican gerrymandering that sliced up the county like rhubarb pie.

True to form, lawmakers twisted the public's petition into the same old pretzel. Voters sued. And guess who submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the legislature? Spencer “Disagree Better” Cox. Surprise!

The court's unanimous ruling was met with sour grapes from GOP leaders. House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, issued a joint statement, saying in part: “Boohoo. Who's democracy is this, anyway? Boohoo, boohoo.”

Postscript—Well that's gonna do it for another historic week here at Smart Bomb, where our staff keeps track of political rhetoric so you don't have to.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee: “We need government control, not gun control. Otherwise, tribalism advances at the national level.” WTF?

Former White House attorney Ty Cobb: “[I] think it was always Judge Aileen Cannon's objective, frankly, to prevent this [Trump's classified documents case] from going to trial.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson: “When the message goes out constantly that the election of Donald Trump would be a threat to democracy, that the republic would end, I mean it, it heats up the environment.”

Ohio Sen J.D.Vance (just selected as Trump's running mate): “I’m truly skeptical that Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger [on Jan. 6]. I think politics and politics people like to really exaggerate things from time to time.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC): “Corruption, without consequence, infects all it touches. And that is why Congress has a constitutional and moral obligation to hold these [Supreme Court] justices accountable...” she said, introducing a pair of resolutions calling for the impeachment and removal of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Hells bells Wilson, it's kinda like we've collided with a parallel universe where everything is crazy, or maybe someone put LSD in the water supply. You know, they are selling all kinds of new bottled water, said to be magic. Who knows?

What we do know is that you and the band have something apropos for this moment in history. So, hit it, Wilson:

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head
Feed your head
“White Rabbit”—Jefferson Airplane