Jesus I feel like an idiot doing that at the driving range
Hahah I used to work on a driving range. I got to be a jedi with my ball pickers it became a game were dudes would aim at me and I would just slap the shots down with one bag picker while picking stuff up.
I am curious though what the new findings from the senate investigating the NRA will do impact wise. It looks more and more as a desperate organization frantically attempting to find money through any means possible to fund the grift machine.
So, not wanting to miss out, it looks like Wayne La Pierre, on behalf of the NRA, saw the news reports on Trump's quid pro quo with Ukraine, and said "Yeah, I want me some of that."
"New: POTUS met with Wayne LaPierre to discuss how the NRA could provide financial support for his defense as he faces impeachment. In return, LaPierre asked the White House to “stop the games” over gun control @maggieNYT@anniekarni scoop"
*link to a NYT article about the meeting*
- Yashar Ali is a reporter for multiple outlets including HuffPo.
So, while it's arguably about gun control, it's more about the NRA apparently deciding all their other problems aren't enough, and wanting to engage in bribery of the President for that lack of gun control, in exchange for money to defend him against his impeachment for engaging in bribery....
I really don't know how to unpack this. My brain is just spiraling.
So, not wanting to miss out, it looks like Wayne La Pierre, on behalf of the NRA, saw the news reports on Trump's quid pro quo with Ukraine, and said "Yeah, I want me some of that."
"New: POTUS met with Wayne LaPierre to discuss how the NRA could provide financial support for his defense as he faces impeachment. In return, LaPierre asked the White House to “stop the games” over gun control @maggieNYT@anniekarni scoop"
*link to a NYT article about the meeting*
- Yashar Ali is a reporter for multiple outlets including HuffPo.
So, while it's arguably about gun control, it's more about the NRA apparently deciding all their other problems aren't enough, and wanting to engage in bribery of the President for that lack of gun control, in exchange for money to defend him against his impeachment for engaging in bribery....
I really don't know how to unpack this. My brain is just spiraling.
Simple - LaPierre needs to prove that he's not a paper tiger. Forcing Trump to dance to his tune would do that.
Trump claims he just offered Democrats whatever they wanted on gun control to end the impeachment process. That failed this is pretty much exactly his MO.
Trump claims he just offered Democrats whatever they wanted on gun control to end the impeachment process. That failed this is pretty much exactly his MO.
Wait, what? He said this publicly?
I know Pelosi stated he tried to negotiate before hand, and she told him tough noogies, but is he on record in an open forum, declaring a blank check on gun control in exchange for putting the genie back in the bottle?
Just trying to figure if this is a "read between the lines" type thing, or if it's a "yeah, he's really that stupid, really has no principles, and is really that bad at negotiating" type thing.
Trump claims he just offered Democrats whatever they wanted on gun control to end the impeachment process. That failed this is pretty much exactly his MO.
Wait, what? He said this publicly?
I know Pelosi stated he tried to negotiate before hand, and she told him tough noogies, but is he on record in an open forum, declaring a blank check on gun control in exchange for putting the genie back in the bottle?
Just trying to figure if this is a "read between the lines" type thing, or if it's a "yeah, he's really that stupid, really has no principles, and is really that bad at negotiating" type thing.
Expecting the former, not ruling out the latter.
Yes Pelosi shared a few minutes prior to Trump tweeting that she rejected his fake offer
Timeline:
Trump calls Pelosi to offer a deal
Pelosi presumably laughs at him and immediately tells her press contacts that Trump pathetically offered this fake deal
Pelosi’s press contacts tweet what Pelosi told them
Trump sends tweet trying to portray Pelosi as a hypocrite because she didn’t take his fake deal on gun control
Pelosi press conference announcing the formation of an inquiry for impeachment
From 2017 to 2018, high-level compensation rose 41 percent, including a 57 percent increase for chief executive Wayne LaPierre, raising his yearly earnings from the organization to $2.15 million...Conversely, the NRA reportedly cut its spending on education and training 22 percent, hunter services 61 percent and field services such as volunteer organizing by 51 percent.
Additionally, legal fees are reported being at $25MM and that the organization has "eliminated costly advertisements". Say what you will, it appears that someone, somewhere in that organization wants to see it survive another few years.
All opinions are my own and in no way reflect that of my employer.
+11
Options
MayabirdPecking at the keyboardRegistered Userregular
Additionally, legal fees are reported being at $25MM and that the organization has "eliminated costly advertisements". Say what you will, it appears that someone, somewhere in that organization wants to see it survive another few years.
Nah, that's just code for their feud with Ackerman McQueen, which was their very expensive advertising agency and partner in grift. I don't think there's a single person in that organization that actually cares about its continued existence except to keep the gravy train rolling, except maybe the parts where they could theoretically get away with murder.
+1
Options
MayabirdPecking at the keyboardRegistered Userregular
Legal fees are now over $54 million compounded by revenue losses, equaling in total $100 million in losses to the NRA over the last couple years. They blamed SARS2 for their recent layoffs but the layoffs seem to be related to these other losses instead; it's not like the crazies are buying less guns right now.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Legal fees are now over $54 million compounded by revenue losses, equaling in total $100 million in losses to the NRA over the last couple years. They blamed SARS2 for their recent layoffs but the layoffs seem to be related to these other losses instead; it's not like the crazies are buying less guns right now.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Who are the crazies buying guns right now?
Because it sure as hell wasn’t everybody that already had guns.
It was non-gun owners. That spiked the sales in March
diablo III - beardsnbeer#1508 Mechwarrior Online - Rusty Bock
Not everywhere regularly report new permits, but my county reported the lowest new permits in two years while having the highest month of sales since 2008, right after Obama was elected. And that was with gun stores being shut down for almost two weeks of the month.
The NRA doesn't get revenue from sales, anyway - the US trend for decades has been more guns per capital but fewer gun OWNERS per capita, and membership doesn't cost more for the guy with 50 guns than the guy with one.
Legal fees are now over $54 million compounded by revenue losses, equaling in total $100 million in losses to the NRA over the last couple years. They blamed SARS2 for their recent layoffs but the layoffs seem to be related to these other losses instead; it's not like the crazies are buying less guns right now.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Who are the crazies buying guns right now?
Because it sure as hell wasn’t everybody that already had guns.
It was non-gun owners. That spiked the sales in March
Legal fees are now over $54 million compounded by revenue losses, equaling in total $100 million in losses to the NRA over the last couple years. They blamed SARS2 for their recent layoffs but the layoffs seem to be related to these other losses instead; it's not like the crazies are buying less guns right now.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Who are the crazies buying guns right now?
Because it sure as hell wasn’t everybody that already had guns.
It was non-gun owners. That spiked the sales in March
Have any citations for that?
You could just have easily asked Maya that
DL and I are gun owners, and yeah nobody is looking to go get gouged when you already own one, because I can only shoot one of them at a time.
If you don't own one, that's a qualitatively different purchase, instead of a quantitatively different one.
Some days Blue wonders why anyone ever bothered making numbers so small; other days she supposes even infinity needs to start somewhere.
0
Options
FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
I thought there were reports that Asian American first time gun buying was up, because racism in this country can be fucking frightening.
+12
Options
I ZimbraWorst song, played on ugliest guitarRegistered Userregular
Legal fees are now over $54 million compounded by revenue losses, equaling in total $100 million in losses to the NRA over the last couple years. They blamed SARS2 for their recent layoffs but the layoffs seem to be related to these other losses instead; it's not like the crazies are buying less guns right now.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Who are the crazies buying guns right now?
Because it sure as hell wasn’t everybody that already had guns.
It was non-gun owners. That spiked the sales in March
Have any citations for that?
You could just have easily asked Maya that
DL and I are gun owners, and yeah nobody is looking to go get gouged when you already own one, because I can only shoot one of them at a time.
If you don't own one, that's a qualitatively different purchase, instead of a quantitatively different one.
Legal fees are now over $54 million compounded by revenue losses, equaling in total $100 million in losses to the NRA over the last couple years. They blamed SARS2 for their recent layoffs but the layoffs seem to be related to these other losses instead; it's not like the crazies are buying less guns right now.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Who are the crazies buying guns right now?
Because it sure as hell wasn’t everybody that already had guns.
It was non-gun owners. That spiked the sales in March
Have any citations for that?
You could just have easily asked Maya that
DL and I are gun owners, and yeah nobody is looking to go get gouged when you already own one, because I can only shoot one of them at a time.
If you don't own one, that's a qualitatively different purchase, instead of a quantitatively different one.
So that's a 'no' on the citations?
Just multiple news articles citing anecdotes from retailers
Legal fees are now over $54 million compounded by revenue losses, equaling in total $100 million in losses to the NRA over the last couple years. They blamed SARS2 for their recent layoffs but the layoffs seem to be related to these other losses instead; it's not like the crazies are buying less guns right now.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Who are the crazies buying guns right now?
Because it sure as hell wasn’t everybody that already had guns.
It was non-gun owners. That spiked the sales in March
Have any citations for that?
You could just have easily asked Maya that
DL and I are gun owners, and yeah nobody is looking to go get gouged when you already own one, because I can only shoot one of them at a time.
If you don't own one, that's a qualitatively different purchase, instead of a quantitatively different one.
So that's a 'no' on the citations?
Just go check the gun thread from February onwards, plenty of gun owners in there buying more guns during the pandemic.
+11
Options
I ZimbraWorst song, played on ugliest guitarRegistered Userregular
Legal fees are now over $54 million compounded by revenue losses, equaling in total $100 million in losses to the NRA over the last couple years. They blamed SARS2 for their recent layoffs but the layoffs seem to be related to these other losses instead; it's not like the crazies are buying less guns right now.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Who are the crazies buying guns right now?
Because it sure as hell wasn’t everybody that already had guns.
It was non-gun owners. That spiked the sales in March
Have any citations for that?
You could just have easily asked Maya that
DL and I are gun owners, and yeah nobody is looking to go get gouged when you already own one, because I can only shoot one of them at a time.
If you don't own one, that's a qualitatively different purchase, instead of a quantitatively different one.
So that's a 'no' on the citations?
Just multiple news articles citing anecdotes from retailers
Thank you! Doesn't seem definitive either way but I appreciate you bringing sources.
Unrelated but the gun store pictured at the top of the Guardian story is around the corner from my Mom's old place and it's been really weird seeing it repeatedly on the news.
0
Options
SummaryJudgmentGrab the hottest iron you can find, stride in the Tower’s front doorRegistered Userregular
edited April 2020
Ed: On second thought, this has nothing to do with the NRA and is just witch-hunting another thread.
SummaryJudgment on
Some days Blue wonders why anyone ever bothered making numbers so small; other days she supposes even infinity needs to start somewhere.
0
Options
HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed "The People v The NRA." Time for this thread to buzz again.
New York Attorney General Tish James sued the National Rifle Association on Thursday, seeking to dissolve the pro-gun advocacy group over allegations of massive fraud and extensive self-dealing.
At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan, James said that a pattern of law-breaking had “contributed to the loss of more than $64 million.”
“The central figure behind this scheme was none other than [NRA Executive Vice President] Wayne LaPierre,” James said.
The lawsuit names LaPierre as well as three other executives as defendants.
Under New York State non-profit law, James has broad powers to seek to dissolve the organization, if it’s found that fraud, corruption, or waste was so endemic at the organization as to have made it impossible for the group to fulfill its charitable purpose, experts told TPM last year.
The lawsuit that James filed on Thursday seeks to do just that, and argues that those “in control of the NRA have looted or wasted the corporation assets,” and “have operated the NRA solely for their personal benefit.”
Edit:
253. In or about mid-2017, Powell, Phillips, and LaPierre engaged in discussions with
longtime NRA fundraising consultant McKenna about a large-scale project that would encompass
(1) a search for a new NRA CFO in anticipation of Phillips’s retirement in 2018; (2) a search for
a new or refreshed banking relationship for the NRA; and (3) a possible restructuring of the NRA’s
corporate structure and advancement of its affinity insurance program. The name for the project
that encompassed all of this work ultimately became “Project Ben-Hur.”
253. In or about mid-2017, Powell, Phillips, and LaPierre engaged in discussions with
longtime NRA fundraising consultant McKenna about a large-scale project that would encompass
(1) a search for a new NRA CFO in anticipation of Phillips’s retirement in 2018; (2) a search for
a new or refreshed banking relationship for the NRA; and (3) a possible restructuring of the NRA’s
corporate structure and advancement of its affinity insurance program. The name for the project
that encompassed all of this work ultimately became “Project Ben-Hur.”
Project Ben-Hur? REALLY!?
I wasn't expecting this kind of absurdity to be involved with this but here we are.
Between 2013 and 2017, the NRA paid McKenna anywhere from approximately $800,000 to $1.8 million per year. In or about June 2017, the NRA and McKenna entered into an amended agreement that lowered the monthly consulting fee paid to McKenna from $40,000 to $20,000 per month.
256. The fees paid under that written agreement, however, represented a small fraction of what the NRA was paying McKenna.
257. Upon information and belief, most of the services that McKenna performed for the NRA (and the fees that it charged) were based on oral agreements entered into by LaPierre, Phillips, and Powell. For example, no written contract regarding Project Ben-Hur was ever executed—instead, Powell and Phillips entered into an oral contract to pay McKenna between $160,000 and $250,000 per month in 2018, in violation of the NRA’s contract approval and conflict of interest policies. This monthly fee did not include an additional, approximately $375,000 in legal fees and $200,000 in food, travel, and other out of pocket expenses that McKenna requested reimbursement for from the NRA in 2018.
258. In 2018, Powell also approved a verbal contract with LookingGlass, a cybersecurity firm that McKenna recommended to him—and in which McKenna is an investor. That verbal contract violated the NRA’s contract approval requirements and was for services that were later found to be overpriced. The contract ultimately cost the NRA approximately $500,000 before it could be terminated.
260. As the Project Ben-Hur discussions described above in Part Five, Section I(C)(iii) progressed, on or about December 15, 2017, McKenna hired Powell’s wife as an independent contractor, through a newly formed company called SPECTRE, to assist with the project. Although Powell’s wife worked on McKenna client accounts apart from the NRA, her monthly consulting fee of $30,000 was passed through in its entirety to the NRA with a $5,000 markup for McKenna beginning in or about January 2018 through approximately December 2018.
From what I can tell, they basically entered into a written agreement that makes it look like the monthly consulting free was getting lowered when it was really getting jacked up through an oral agreement that violates the NRA's rules.
Also, SPECTRE. They really called the company SPECTRE.
Edit:
267. On June 8, 2017, after having been terminated a week earlier, a former NRA employee, through counsel, lodged a sex discrimination complaint against Powell with the NRA Human Resources Director. The NRA Human Resources Director forwarded the complaint to the General Counsel’s Office for investigation.
268. The complainant, a former NRA employee, alleged that Powell disparaged her in front of her colleagues by stating that she sounded like Powell’s wife when she asked a question during a meeting. The complainant also alleged that Powell had frozen her out of the NRA by outsourcing her job duties to vendors after she raised concerns about Ackerman’s fees during a meeting with its CEO. According to the complainant, Powell directed her to meet him at a bar the following day, where he berated her, accused her of being “emotional,” and told her that Ackerman could spend as much money as it wanted, even if the charges were “made up.”
269. In or about June 2018, the NRA settled the potential sexual discrimination claim made against the NRA for Powell’s conduct for $89,000.
270. Powell was also accused by at least one Ackerman employee of sexual harassmentin or about October 2018. That Ackerman employee raised her accusation with LaPierre, which resulted in Powell being removed as the NRA’s designated point of contact for Ackerman but otherwise, upon information and belief, did not result in any investigation or disciplinary action regarding Powell’s behavior.
HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
Fox News cut into the press conference as it was ongoing to offer a defense on behalf of the NRA while the NRA itself has not yet responded. Video below, but the quote is in the tweet providing it:
Fox cuts away from presser: "The NRA has not responded so far to these allegations, but the NRA has said in the past these types of investigations are political/aimed at going after the 2nd amendment"
Weird to preemptively throw out a NRA defense when they themselves haven't!
Fox News cut into the press conference as it was ongoing to offer a defense on behalf of the NRA while the NRA itself has not yet responded. Video below, but the quote is in the tweet providing it:
Fox cuts away from presser: "The NRA has not responded so far to these allegations, but the NRA has said in the past these types of investigations are political/aimed at going after the 2nd amendment"
Weird to preemptively throw out a NRA defense when they themselves haven't!
Watching that clip it didn’t strike me as odd. Just how any news broadcast would recap and segue away from a press conference they weren’t going to show the completion of. If it weren’t Fox News, or any other station they we weren’t inherently distrustful of (for good reason), it wouldn’t have been noteworthy.
While I agree this needs done, I wish it wasn’t during an election year to further energize the “they’re coming for our guns” crowd.
LostNinja on
0
Options
FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
Just to be clear, Charlton Heston starred in Ben-Hur.
Fox News cut into the press conference as it was ongoing to offer a defense on behalf of the NRA while the NRA itself has not yet responded. Video below, but the quote is in the tweet providing it:
Fox cuts away from presser: "The NRA has not responded so far to these allegations, but the NRA has said in the past these types of investigations are political/aimed at going after the 2nd amendment"
Weird to preemptively throw out a NRA defense when they themselves haven't!
Watching that clip it didn’t strike me as odd. Just how any news broadcast would recap and segue away from a press conference they weren’t going to show the completion of. If it weren’t Fox News, or any other station they we weren’t inherently distrustful of (for good reason), it wouldn’t have been noteworthy.
While I agree this needs done, I wish it wasn’t during an election year to further energize the “they’re coming for our guns” crowd.
I think that the Second Amendment crowd is as activated as they can get at this point. Furthermore, their numbers are lessening as well, and removing the NRA - the group most involved in bringing people into the fold - will accelerate that.
If anything second amendment people should be mad at the NRA, they made this about themselves and used money to enrich themselves instead of fighting for the second amendment.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
If anything second amendment people should be mad at the NRA, they made this about themselves and used money to enrich themselves instead of fighting for the second amendment.
The growth of the second amendment foundation, gun owners of america, and even the socialist rifle association largely says that they are. Though the last would be mad at being called “second amendment people”.
Those Cato types should really read through the indictment before blowing the mouths off like that. There's a lot there which is both individual and institutional fraud & malfeasance and it looks like a good case.
All opinions are my own and in no way reflect that of my employer.
I don't see any evidence this is a case where the NRA is being singled out despite similarly sized and influential left wing groups not being investigated and being allowed to do the same thing.
If you think they were targeted for investigation for political reason, that is a very good reason to not do absurdly illegal and corrupt things that caused whistleblower complaints from people within the organization.
Posts
Hahah I used to work on a driving range. I got to be a jedi with my ball pickers it became a game were dudes would aim at me and I would just slap the shots down with one bag picker while picking stuff up.
I am curious though what the new findings from the senate investigating the NRA will do impact wise. It looks more and more as a desperate organization frantically attempting to find money through any means possible to fund the grift machine.
"New: POTUS met with Wayne LaPierre to discuss how the NRA could provide financial support for his defense as he faces impeachment. In return, LaPierre asked the White House to “stop the games” over gun control @maggieNYT @anniekarni scoop"
*link to a NYT article about the meeting*
- Yashar Ali is a reporter for multiple outlets including HuffPo.
So, while it's arguably about gun control, it's more about the NRA apparently deciding all their other problems aren't enough, and wanting to engage in bribery of the President for that lack of gun control, in exchange for money to defend him against his impeachment for engaging in bribery....
I really don't know how to unpack this. My brain is just spiraling.
Simple - LaPierre needs to prove that he's not a paper tiger. Forcing Trump to dance to his tune would do that.
Wait, what? He said this publicly?
I know Pelosi stated he tried to negotiate before hand, and she told him tough noogies, but is he on record in an open forum, declaring a blank check on gun control in exchange for putting the genie back in the bottle?
Just trying to figure if this is a "read between the lines" type thing, or if it's a "yeah, he's really that stupid, really has no principles, and is really that bad at negotiating" type thing.
Expecting the former, not ruling out the latter.
Yes Pelosi shared a few minutes prior to Trump tweeting that she rejected his fake offer
Timeline:
Trump calls Pelosi to offer a deal
Pelosi presumably laughs at him and immediately tells her press contacts that Trump pathetically offered this fake deal
Pelosi’s press contacts tweet what Pelosi told them
Trump sends tweet trying to portray Pelosi as a hypocrite because she didn’t take his fake deal on gun control
Pelosi press conference announcing the formation of an inquiry for impeachment
If there was any doubt that ever since Russia got involved with backing the NRA, it's been all grift, all the time.
Tax filings show that exec pay has increased as spending on educational programs have decreased.
Additionally, legal fees are reported being at $25MM and that the organization has "eliminated costly advertisements". Say what you will, it appears that someone, somewhere in that organization wants to see it survive another few years.
Nah, that's just code for their feud with Ackerman McQueen, which was their very expensive advertising agency and partner in grift. I don't think there's a single person in that organization that actually cares about its continued existence except to keep the gravy train rolling, except maybe the parts where they could theoretically get away with murder.
I figured it was worth necro-ing the thread for this update.
Who are the crazies buying guns right now?
Because it sure as hell wasn’t everybody that already had guns.
It was non-gun owners. That spiked the sales in March
The NRA doesn't get revenue from sales, anyway - the US trend for decades has been more guns per capital but fewer gun OWNERS per capita, and membership doesn't cost more for the guy with 50 guns than the guy with one.
Have any citations for that?
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
You could just have easily asked Maya that
DL and I are gun owners, and yeah nobody is looking to go get gouged when you already own one, because I can only shoot one of them at a time.
If you don't own one, that's a qualitatively different purchase, instead of a quantitatively different one.
So that's a 'no' on the citations?
Just multiple news articles citing anecdotes from retailers
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/01/us-gun-purchases-coronavirus-record
There really isn’t a metric of “new gun buyer” to report.
Edit: here is another one
https://q13fox.com/2020/03/25/local-gun-sales-see-massive-increase-amid-covid-19-outbreak/
Just go check the gun thread from February onwards, plenty of gun owners in there buying more guns during the pandemic.
Thank you! Doesn't seem definitive either way but I appreciate you bringing sources.
Unrelated but the gun store pictured at the top of the Guardian story is around the corner from my Mom's old place and it's been really weird seeing it repeatedly on the news.
Edit: Project Ben-Hur? REALLY!?
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
From what I can tell, they basically entered into a written agreement that makes it look like the monthly consulting free was getting lowered when it was really getting jacked up through an oral agreement that violates the NRA's rules.
Also, SPECTRE. They really called the company SPECTRE.
Edit:
Watching that clip it didn’t strike me as odd. Just how any news broadcast would recap and segue away from a press conference they weren’t going to show the completion of. If it weren’t Fox News, or any other station they we weren’t inherently distrustful of (for good reason), it wouldn’t have been noteworthy.
While I agree this needs done, I wish it wasn’t during an election year to further energize the “they’re coming for our guns” crowd.
I think that the Second Amendment crowd is as activated as they can get at this point. Furthermore, their numbers are lessening as well, and removing the NRA - the group most involved in bringing people into the fold - will accelerate that.
pleasepaypreacher.net
The growth of the second amendment foundation, gun owners of america, and even the socialist rifle association largely says that they are. Though the last would be mad at being called “second amendment people”.
You know, if you are so worried about gun advocacy, perhaps you should have booted grifters like LaPierre.
Those Cato types should really read through the indictment before blowing the mouths off like that. There's a lot there which is both individual and institutional fraud & malfeasance and it looks like a good case.
If you think they were targeted for investigation for political reason, that is a very good reason to not do absurdly illegal and corrupt things that caused whistleblower complaints from people within the organization.