Pardon me for bringing it up

After all, what difference does it make?

The deputy of slain U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens has told congressional investigators that a team of Special Forces prepared to fly from Tripoli to Benghazi during the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks was forbidden from doing so by U.S. Special Operations Command Africa.

The account from Gregory Hicks is in stark contrast to assertions from the Obama administration, which insisted that nobody was ever told to stand down and that all available resources were utilized. Hicks gave private testimony to congressional investigators last month in advance of his upcoming appearance at a congressional hearing Wednesday.

According to excerpts released Monday, Hicks told investigators that SOCAFRICA commander Lt. Col. Gibson and his team were on their way to board a C-130 from Tripoli for Benghazi prior to an attack on a second U.S. compound "when [Col. Gibson] got a phone call from SOCAFRICA which said, 'you can't go now, you don't have the authority to go now.' And so they missed the flight ... They were told not to board the flight, so they missed it."

No assistance arrived from the U.S. military outside of Libya during the hours that Americans were under attack or trapped inside compounds by hostile forces armed with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and AK-47 rifles.

It all happened a long time ago. No sense in discussing it now. But in case you're interested, there's more at the link. Actually, quite a lot more.

Sorry, shouldn't bring this up

After all, it all happened a long time ago and in the end, what difference does it make? But here you go:

"Everybody in the mission" in Benghazi, Libya, thought the attack on a U.S. consulate there last Sept. 11 was an act of terror "from the get-go," according to excerpts of an interview investigators conducted with the No. 2 official in Libya at the time, obtained by CBS News' "Face the Nation."

"I think everybody in the mission thought it was a terrorist attack from the beginning," Greg Hicks, a 22-year foreign service diplomat who was the highest-ranking U.S. official in Libya after the strike, told investigators under authority of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Hicks, the former U.S. Embassy Tripoli deputy chief of mission, was not in Benghazi at the time of the attack, which killed Chris Stevens - then the U.S. ambassador to Libya - and three other Americans.

When he appears this week before the committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Hicks is expected to offer testimony at odds with what some American officials were saying in public - and on "Face the Nation" - just five days after the attack. Benghazi whistleblowers have rallied attention to discrepancies among the administration's reaction to the attack, which The Weekly Standard suggests was frayed by ever-evolving talking points that sought to remove references to al Qaeda.

On Sept. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice hit the media circuit, appearing on all five Sunday talk shows to dispel the notion that the strike was a premeditated terrorist act and to perpetuate the case that it began "spontaneously" out of protests in Egypt. Rice's spot on "Face the Nation" that day was preceded by the new President of Libya Mohammed al-Magariaf, who said his government had "no doubt that this was preplanned, predetermined."

I know, no one cares about Benghazi. I've been told that repeatedly. Don't mean to bug ya. I'll be quiet now.

Johnson in the race

Jeff Johnson wants to be your next Minnesota governor:

Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson made it official on Sunday: He wants the state’s top job.

At a news conference at a community hall in Hamel, just west of Plymouth, Johnson said he wants to replace Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton in 2014 because the state is heading in the wrong direction. “If we do not correct our course — soon — I am afraid that the greatness of Minnesota is in serious jeopardy,” he said.

Hard to disagree with that. I've met Johnson and was impressed with him. He's quick on his feet and very bright. We'll likely see other candidates announce for the race as the year goes on, but Johnson has to be an early favorite.

Tonight

Come to Dinkytown and join us!

But wait, there's more!

So, where is the Bookhouse, you ask?

The Book House in Dinkytown
429 14th Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Flip Returns

You might have heard of the Timberwolves, who apparently have played basketball against Jason Collins in recent years. They are in the news because they've decided to bring back Flip Saunders:

The Timberwolves fired President of Basketball Operations David Kahn on Thursday and will replace him with former coach Flip Saunders, who added an additional title: part owner.

Saunders told ESPN — for whom he is doing NBA studio commentary this season — that he has signed a multiyear contract to manage the Wolves that includes minority ownership in a team that owner Glen Taylor put on the market last summer, but recently said he now has no intention of selling.

Saunders, who coached the team from 1995 to 2005 before he was fired, will be reintroduced at a Friday morning news conference at Target Center.

Kahn was an interesting case -- a former sportswriter who had managed to find his way into the management of a team. Kahn was fond of point guards and drafted a boatload of them. His success rate was a little dicey, though. While Ricky Rubio has turned out to be a good player, Jonny Flynn is now seen as often as Jonny Quest.

When Saunders was the coach of the Wolves, he generally had the benefit of Kevin Garnett's services, which was a double-edged sword. With Garnett on the team, they were never terrible, but they never were able to find enough complementary players to make it past the other powerhouse teams in the NBA's Western Conference. They got close one year, when the team brought in the mercurial Sam Cassel and Latrell Sprewell, who were talented but less than reliable. Saunders did the best he could under some goofy circumstances, but it's less than clear that he's suited to be a front office executive.

As the team now stands, they have two very good players in their employ in Rubio and Kevin Love. They also have some serviceable players around, like Luke Ridnour and Derrick Williams. But they've never really had a legitimate title contender since the team took the floor in 1989. The biggest challenge that Saunders has is making the team something more than an afterthought in a market where there's a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar.

Outgunned

This shouldn't surprise anyone:

The Minnesota House will not vote on expanding gun background checks to private sales or on any other gun legislation this year, House Speaker Paul Thissen said Wednesday.

Coping with a deeply divided DFL caucus, Thissen told the Star Tribune that despite months of work, legislators and advocates remain too polarized to allow any compromise.

“Neither side has been willing to come to an agreement,” said Thissen, a Minneapolis DFLer. “Because of the intensity on both sides of the issue, even some common-sense solutions can’t be agreed upon right now.”

Or, more to the point, outstate DFLers value their seats more than they value helping out colleagues like this guy:

“I’m very disappointed, very angry,” said Rep. Michael Paymar, the committee chairman who shepherded the gun measures through tough, emotional hearings. The St. Paul DFLer said Thissen had pledged to him that “he wanted to do something about gun violence. He committed to me we would have a vote, we would have a debate on the floor.”

But he respects you in the morning, Rep. Paymar. That's something. And of course the Senate won't go there, either:

Senate leaders have said repeatedly that they would wait to see what the House did before taking their own floor vote. On Wednesday night, Sen. Ron Latz, a St. Louis Park DFLer and main sponsor of the Senate gun bill, still harbored hope that a public outcry could force a House reversal.

“I’m extremely disappointed that the House appears to be opting out of what is clearly a major public safety and public health issue in our state,” Latz said. “I think that inaction ... is more politically dangerous than making common-sense steps forward.”

It's easy for Latz to say that, since as a Metrocrat he's essentially free of political danger. That's not the case in other parts of the state:

“There’s more than 68 votes to kill the bill, any bill, any amendment that would reduce the Second Amendment rights or cloud them,” Rep. David Dill, DFL-Crane Lake, said shortly before Thissen decided to shelve the issue. Dill was part of a bipartisan coalition opposed to expanded checks. Sixty-eight “no” votes is the minimum needed to block a bill in the House.

Crane Lake, if you didn't know, is way up north, between Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters. Dill has represented the area for over a decade and doesn't see any reason to anger his constituents. That's why he's still there.

il miglior fabbro

Had a computer virus issue this morning which stopped me from posting what I'd intended to write. But as it turns out, Brad had it covered:

In the mind of a "progressive" like [Gov. Mark] Dayton, government is the lifeblood of the community. Without overly involved government, a society can't survive. So when the citizenry challenges his assertions that government is the be all and end all of human existence, he becomes incredibly indignant. Why, how dare these peasants impede the master plan of implementing a dependent society.

More at the link, and as always it's worth your time.

Lightning Round -- 043013

Quick thoughts. That's what we have.

• Is it possible to think that the "I'm gay" announcement of Jason Collins is simultaneously (a) useful and (b) not nearly as courageous as people claim it to be? Anyone who follows sports beyond the superficial level knows the history of gay athletes in American sport -- they've been there forever, but they haven't made their sexuality public. I'm old enough to remember Dave Kopay, a running back who had a cup of coffee with the Packers in the early 70s. I also remember baseball's Billy Bean and the NBA's John Amaechi, all of whom came out after their careers were over. The only thing that really matters in sport is whether or not you can perform on the playing surface and that part hasn't changed. As for courage, watching the encomia that have been given to Collins from just about everyone in the sports world, and the fury that was unleashed on Mike Wallace and Chris Broussard for objecting, I'd say courage wasn't really required. The bandwagon is a juggernaut at this point. Be sure to check out the official reaction of the Miami Dolphins to what Wallace tweeted.
• I know we're not supposed to care about Benghazi any more, but I think Darrell Issa is doing good work. If nothing else, he's helping to clarify the difference between a whistleblower and a snitch.
• The Minnesota House knows what's good for you.

A zippy thing

Driving in Minnesota is always, ahem, interesting. And there are a lot of habits that are difficult to change:

The zipper merge is aimed at curbing such behaviors as queue jumping, in which drivers move from the slower lane into the faster lane and then back to the slow lane closer to the merge point. It’s also aimed at preventing motorists who are in the faster lane from stopping abruptly and forcing their way into traffic. Some play “self-appointed trooper” and straddle the lanes so others can’t pass by. Motorists who impede traffic can be ticketed, said Lt. Eric Roeske of the State Patrol.

I see all these behaviors several days of the week on my commute, which takes me from my home in the northern suburbs to my office, which is more or less on the border between Burnsville and Savage. Minnesota drivers always merge at the first sign that a lane closure is coming and you will regularly see two lanes worth of traffic jammed into one lane, while the lane that is closed is empty for up to a half-mile before the merge point. It's a fascinating exercise and it's a behavior pattern that you don't see in other areas. You often see a variation on this behavior when you try to merge into traffic from an on-ramp. Cars in the lane where the merge point comes will refuse to move over to the next lane, even if there's no danger of encountering another car. It's passive-aggressive as hell. Personally, I always move over a lane if I can, or I'll slow down to let the merging driver in, but it's a courtesy that is only grudgingly given to me when I enter the highway. You just don't see this sort of thing in Chicago or Milwaukee or Kansas City.

The Star Tribune article notes the benefits of using both lanes, which should be evident but apparently isn't:

If followed properly, the zipper merge reduces backups, maintains uniform speeds in both lanes and creates a sense of fairness, said Sue Groth, director of the Office of Traffic Safety and Technology.

“We know that the majority of people understand that it is legal for them to use both lanes, but that they don’t because they don’t want to be the person that is perceived as barging in,” she said. “That is exactly why we want to educate people about the use of the zipper merge in construction projects when it is congested. We are hoping that by telling them it is OK — and in fact, we want them to do it because it helps reduce backups — they will be more willing to participate.”

But then, the Star Tribune undercuts the message by designating that using common sense only applies on certain stretches of highway:

In the metro area, the zipper merge will be used on Hwy. 169 at the Bloomington Ferry Bridge and between Crosstown and Hwy. 7 and I-694 and Hwy. 55.

It will be used on I-35 and I-35E through Lakeville and Eagan, and on I-494 between Hwy. 100 and Cedar Avenue.

Here's a thought. Can we use it on 35W during the rush hour, too? Or at any place where a bottleneck exists, which is all over the metro? Nah, it wouldn't be Minnesota Nice.

The Social Event of the Season

Maybe it's just me, but I've long considered the White House Correspondents Dinner to be a gigantic middle finger to the rest of the country. It's a masturbatory exercise in which various politicians and the court jesters who purport to be journalists chronicling their great deeds pretend to stage a Friar's Club roast of one another.

Actually, it's not just me. Tom Brokaw, of all people, agrees:

“One of the reasons that I wanted to raise it on ‘Meet the Press’ — and I told [host] David [Gregory] beforehand, ‘I’m going to look for an opportunity to do that,’ is that we were at a point in Washington where the country had just kind of shut down on what was going on within the Beltway,” Brokaw told POLITICO.

“They were making their own decisions in their own states, in their own communities, and the congressional ratings were plummeting,” he added. “The press corps wasn’t doing very well, either. And I thought, ‘This is one of the issues that we have to address. What kind of image do we present to the rest of the country? Are we doing their business, or are we just a group of narcissists who are mostly interested in elevating our own profiles?’ And what comes through the screen on C-SPAN that night is the latter, and not the former.”

So Brokaw's concern is that the event erodes the credibility of the media. That's not it, actually. They really don't have much credibility and they don't much care what any of us think, a point Allahpundit drives home quite nicely:

There are lots and lots and lots of reasons to distrust and dislike the media, especially if you’re a conservative, but I’d bet not one in 100 people surveyed at random would name the WHCD as one of them. Not five in 100 would even know what the WHCD is. To treat this as some sort of problem is, however inadvertently, to minimize their real sins. No one would care about them spending an evening posing for pictures with the “Duck Dynasty” guys if they didn’t need to be browbeaten into covering the Gosnell trial. Have a ball tonight, water-carriers.

Yep. From time to time a little truth comes out, as in this remark President Obama made last night:

Some of my former advisors have switched over to the dark side. For example, David Axelrod now works for MSNBC, which is a nice change of pace since MSNBC used to work for David Axelrod. (Laughter.)

And then there was this little tribute to a local politician:

I am not giving up. In fact, I’m taking my charm offensive on the road -- a Texas barbeque with Ted Cruz, a Kentucky bluegrass concert with Rand Paul, and a book-burning with Michele Bachmann. (Laughter and applause.)

Bachmann isn't my favorite politician, either, but that's an astonishingly crappy thing to say about someone. Even Jim Graves winced at that one, I would imagine.

Lightning Round - 042613

Same as yesterday -- not much time today, so a few quick thoughts:

• I have no problem with sending Byron Smith to prison, since he essentially executed the two (likely) meth-head teenagers who were in the process of burglarizing his house. But to charge him with Murder One? Really? I don't know how you can premeditate killing people who break into your house. Dude might be psycho, but he's not psychic.
• I'll say this much -- Vikings GM Rick Spielman is aggressive. Giving up half your remaining draft picks to take a 3rd guy in the first round suggests that the Vikings think they are closer to winning big than most anyone else does. Time will tell. I do like all three guys the Vikings took, but I wonder if the price was too high.
• I suspect that Datone Jones will be a nice addition for the Packers. He certainly looks the part and you can't have enough pass rushers, especially when you play in a division with Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler.
• Are we really going to get involved in Syria? By talking about red lines, we almost have to. If you think Iraq was bad and Afghanistan was ill-considered, just try wading into a civil war.

Lightning Round -- 042513

All manner of things going on right now and not much time to discuss all of it. So let's shake down the thunder from the sky.

• Another day, another proposed DFL tax increase, this time from the House. $2.6 billion more, or so they think. Not one Republican voted for this bill. Smart move, Republicans. The last thing you want at this point is for anyone to be able to call this thing "bipartisan."
• Kermit Gosnell's defense team rested its case yesterday without calling a single witness. I certainly can understand why Gosnell wouldn't want to take the stand himself, but you would think that they would at least try to offer someone else to rebut the prosecution's case, which was thoroughgoing and gruesome. I suspect that a plea deal might be in the offing. I'm still having trouble writing about this case, because what this guy did was so monstrous it's difficult to talk about it.
• The amazing NFL marketing machine kicks into gear today when the NFL draft begins. Benster and I didn't get around to our annual mock draft this year, but nothing he'd have come up with would be any more ridiculous than the spectacle itself. Yet I suspect I'll be watching some of it anyway. And if you get a chance to watch the ESPN "30 for 30" documentary on the 1983 draft, titled "From Elway to Marino," you should. It's a fascinating look at how the process looked some 30 years ago. Put it this way -- that world has changed. And I should mention that the entire "30 for 30" series has been brilliant.
• While we continue to suss out the actions of the Tsarnaev brothers, it's worth remembering that there are all manner of bad guys out there who think they can kill because of their ideas.

Tamerlan the Magnificent

The Boston Herald shares something that shouldn't surprise anyone:

Marathon bombings mastermind Tamerlan Tsarnaev was living on taxpayer-funded state welfare benefits even as he was delving deep into the world of radical anti-American Islamism, the Herald has learned.

State officials confirmed last night that Tsarnaev, slain in a raging gun battle with police last Friday, was receiving benefits along with his wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, and their 3-year-old daughter. The state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services said those benefits ended in 2012 when the couple stopped meeting income eligibility limits. Russell Tsarnaev’s attorney has claimed Katherine — who had converted to Islam — was working up to 80 hours a week as a home health aide while Tsarnaev stayed at home.

In addition, both of Tsarnaev’s parents received benefits, and accused brother bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan were recipients through their parents when they were younger, according to the state.

So he let the wife work 80 hours a week and he stayed at home plotting revenge against his benefactors? I think he'd figured out America quite well. And let's be honest here -- do-it-yourself jihad is time-consuming and expensive, so state subsidies really help. It's tough to find the time to build pressure cooker bombs if you're stuck behind a desk. I'm not sure if you can buy ball bearings in bulk with an EBT card, but I'm sure the Herald will let us know.

Snark aside, there are some useful updates in the linked article, including this equally unsurprising synopsis of Tsarnaev's reading habits:

Relatives and news reports have indicated that Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s descent into extremist Islam began around 2008 or 2009, when the ethnic Chechen met a convert identified only as “Misha,” began to become more devout, and sought out jihadist and conspiracy theorist websites, and the rabidly anti-Semitic propaganda tract, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”

In 2009, he was quoted in a photo essay as saying, “I don’t have a single American friend, I don’t understand them,” adding that he believed Americans had lost their “values.”

His uncle Ruslan Tsarnaev said it was around that time his nephew gave up drinking and was devoting himself to “God’s business,” while Tamerlan’s mother, now wearing a hijab — an Islamic headscarf — began relating conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to her cosmetology clients that she said her son had told her.

God's business often involves blowing 8-year old boys to bits. And while I can't speak for anyone else, if having values means reading anti-Semitic tracts, I'd rather be an antinomian.

A Better Minnesota Update

Here they come:

Senate DFLers are breaking from the governor’s tax plan and pushing for an income-tax increase that would reach down into what many consider middle class.

The comprehensive $1.8 billion tax overhaul plan released Tuesday would tap married filers’ taxable income above $140,000 a year. The DFL-controlled Senate also is seeking a dramatic increase in tobacco taxes and the first sales tax on clothing. To offset the sales-tax expansion, the Senate would lower the overall sales-tax rate to 6 percent from 6.875 percent.

The Star Tribune provides a handy synopsis of all the changes:

• Top income-tax rates, to 9.4 percent from 7.85 for net income above $140,000 (married) or $80,000 (single).

• Tobacco taxes to 94 cents per pack.

• Overall sales-tax rate to 6 percent from 6.875.

• Sales tax on clothing for the first time.

• Sports memorabilia, including jerseys, would be taxed 13 percent at wholesale level.

 

If this plan goes through, I'd imagine you'd see a whole lot of new Vikings gear on sale in Hudson. It has long been a competitive advantage for clothing retailers that Minnesota didn't charge sales tax on clothing. If it begins to do so now, even at an effective rate of 6%, it would be more than Wisconsin's rate of 5%.

 

This Better Minnesota is gettin' expensive.

The Sky is Falling? No, That's Snow

So I thought about celebrating Earth Day yesterday, but I couldn't see much of the earth since it was covered in snow. As I write we are finishing up our third major winter storm of the month, which would be unremarkable except that, well, it's almost May.

So what does that have to do with Earth Day? Well, the invaluable Walter Russell Mead reminds us of some of the predictions that were offered when Earth Day was first observed in 1970:

By 1995, “…somewhere between 75 and 85 percent of all the species of living animals will be extinct.” Sen. Gaylord Nelson, quoting Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, Look magazine, April 1970.

“It is already too late to avoid mass starvation,” Earth Day organizer Denis Hayes, The Living Wilderness, Spring 1970.

“By the year 2000…the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America and Australia, will be in famine,” Peter Gunter, North Texas State University, The Living Wilderness, Spring 1970.

Must have missed all that. Still, given the way the endless Minnesota winter has progressed, this prediction seems pretty close to prescient:

The world will be “…eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age,” Kenneth Watt, speaking at Swarthmore University, April 19, 1970 [...]

The plows just came through and deposited a few more inches of ice age on my driveway, so I'm buying what this Watt fellow is selling.

Forecasting the weather even five days in the future is an awfully tricky business, so to a certain extent you need to give the Nostradami of 1970 a little slack. At the same time, it's also a good idea to give our current crop of Cassandras a little skepticism as well.

The Boston Rag

I've been posting small things on the blog over the weekend because there's more to say about what happened in Boston last week than I can express adequately. You can pull on the threads a lot of ways and, frankly, I'm not certain which thread deserves the biggest tug. A few thoughts:

• A lot of people are confused about the potential Chechen angle, which makes sense since the struggle between the Chechens and the Russians isn't particularly germane to life in the United States today. Then again, the internal struggles in Somalia aren't particularly germane, either, nor were the causes of the Irish Republican Army. While that is the case, it's never stopped people who come here from looking back to the old country and trying to remain involved in the events that drove them away. And I think that's often especially true for people who are really a generation removed from the struggle itself. From what I can tell, the Tsarnaev brothers were children when they came to America and the older brother didn't have much luck sussing out American culture and his place in a society that is as open and kaleidoscopic as our culture is.
• I have recommended Eric Hoffer's book The True Believer on multiple occasions and I think it again is a source of significant insight into what the Tsarnaev brothers were thinking. The quote that I posted yesterday is on point, to wit: "Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life." It's become apparent that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was something of a loser. He tried boxing, but that didn't really work out. He tried other ventures and those didn't work out. He wasn't hesitant to knock his female companions around. He didn't fit, which made him susceptible to the call of a holy cause. Radical Islam of the sort that al-Qaeda espouses is operationally quite similar to any number of holy causes that have plagued us. After all, what is a higher calling than fighting evil? So if you kill a few 8-year old boys, that's just collateral damage.
• I hate that Gov. Deval Patrick shut down Boston on Friday, but I've since read that shutting things down is how things often operate in Boston, especially when a bad snowstorm hits. That does explain what Patrick was thinking. Still, I'd be highly concerned that a local protocol becomes the norm elsewhere when the next terrorist strikes. Yep, I'm looking at you, Mark Dayton, the man who shut down his Senate office in 2004 when everyone else kept their heads.
• If you'd ever wondered where the billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars that were spent on homeland security went to, we got a glimpse of it this week. Government at all levels has acquired a lot of firepower and equipment and much of it was on display in the streets of Boston last week. Does that comfort you, or trouble you? Think hard about your answer.

Quote of the day

Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. -- Eric Hoffer

True believers.

Or not

The Ice of Boston

Hey, the ice of Boston is muddy
And reflects no light
Like day for night
And I slip on it every time

Those are lyrics from a song called "The Ice of Boston" by a band called Dismemberment Plan. It's a song I like a lot, an amusing tale of a loser's New Year's Eve celebration in which he pours champagne over himself, talks to his mother and excoriates Gladys Knight and the Pips, roughly in that order.

If that seems like a nonsensical sequence of events, it's not a hell of a lot less sensical than what actually happened in Boston yesterday. We saw a single terrorist bring a metropolitan area with millions of people to a standstill. Does that trouble you? It should.

What should trouble you more is having people like this on the loose:

Miranda, Shmiranda

We'll learn a lot more about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, I'm sure. What we've learned about Lindsey Graham is that he seems to view the Bill of Rights as optional. Tsarnaev is an American citizen. He's quite likely a mass murderer, too. I would very much like to see him tried and convicted. But we have laws not only to proscribe behavior from individuals, but also from government. And while it pains me to say it, Lindsey Graham is a greater threat to the American way of life than Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

We'll get to the shutdown of the city anon.

News Judgment

You know what the problem is with Fox News? As an organization, it can't get its mind right, apparently:

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” have openly campaigned for legislative reforms after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., in December, which left 26 people dead.
      

On Thursday, Mr. Scarborough, a registered Republican who promotes his conservative credentials as well as an independent streak, assailed the lawmakers who voted against the background check legislation. Citing the failed Senate vote as evidence, Mr. Scarborough said, “This party is moving toward extinction.”

      

That would come as news to Fox fans, who have heard comparatively little about the subject. While most of “Joe” was dedicated to guns on Thursday, Fox’s morning show, “Fox & Friends,” didn’t mention the word once. It focused instead on news about a Texas fertilizer plant explosion.

How dare anyone think about anything other than guns? News events in Texas aren't nearly as important as news events within driving distance of New York City, of course. But fear not, moral instruction was on the way:

Competitors were quick to pounce. Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, noted that ABC, CBS and NBC had broadcast special reports because they deemed the president’s remarks that important. He called Fox’s decision to skip it “a disgrace.”

Remember, you really aren't supposed to disagree with the narrative. Ever.