A Targeted Tragedy in Colorado - The Monday AM Quickie 11/21/22

By Jack Crosbie — Nov 21, 2022

Lots of news to catch up on from the weekend, some of it grim. However, the World Cup is here! Let's check – oh, wait, no, that's grim too. Mostly. We'll get to it (and I promise it won't be all doom). News after the jump – we've got a good Thanksgiving-week sponsor below. - Jack

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THE BIG NEWS

Mass Shooter Kills 5 At Colorado Gay Club Before Patrons Took Him Down

Another week, another tragedy brought about by America's rampant gun violence. On Saturday night, a gunman entered the Q Club, a popular LGBTQ bar in Colorado Springs, and opened fire, killing five people and injuring 25 more before he was stopped by a bystander.

The shooting, on the eve of Trans Rememberance Day, which memorializes transgender victims of violence, is being investigated as a hate crime. The suspect was detained at the scene – though not through the heroic actions of police officers responding to the massacre. Instead, one of the club's patrons managed to grab a handgun from the suspect and hit him with it, according to Colorado Mayor John Suthers.

The perpetrator was armed with long rifle, perhaps an AR-15. Authorities identified him as Anderson Lee Aldrich, a 22-year-old who was previously arrested for calling in a bomb threat. There are still a lot of details outstanding, so keep an eye out this week: there's some unconfirmed information about the shooter's relationship to certain far-right figures and it's still unclear how he obtained the weapons used.

Police aren't officially stating a motive for the killings, but we all know this kind of thing – a direct attack on a gathering place for a marginalized group – doesn't happen at random. People with guns looking to kill don't stroll into a mosque or a gay club or an abortion clinic at random – why bother if mass violence is the only motive. There's something more there, and we know who's responsible for it: the resurgent far-right and all the people in government and media who enable them.

MORE STORIES TO WATCH

Donald Trump is Back on Twitter With All His Friends

Well, he did it. He being Elon Musk, and it being giving Donald Trump his Twitter accoutn back. However, as of the time I'm writing this (Sunday night) Trump still hasn't tweeted, leading Musk to post an increasingly desperate and weird series of memes on his page. I won't link to them, I'm sure you've seen them, but yeesh. What a freak (Musk, that is, but also Trump. It takes a lot to make Trump look like the normal one in a two-way relationship though.) The bigger news to me is everyone else that Musk is letting back on: Kanye is back on (he immediately tweeted "Shalom," a clear troll attempt given his rampant antisemitism), as is Project Veritas, as is the Babylon Bee... you get the picture. The only line thus far appears to be Alex Jones, who Musk seems to have a personal dislike for given his personal experiences with losing a child. At least there's some line! Who knows if Musk will hold to that, though.

The World Cup Kicks Off, and Karma Comes For Qatar

This isn't typically a sports newsletter, but seeing as the World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world I feel like it bears mentioning. By now you probably have the gist of the main controversy: Qatar, an incredibly wealthy and incredibly corrupt Gulf petrostate, took advantage of the massively corrupt powers that be at international soccer's governing body, FIFA, and managed to bribe, coerce, and cajole their way into hosting the tournament. To prepare, the embarked on a decade-long campaign of brutal labor practices that in the eyes of many human rights watchers basically amounted to slavery. The horror stories of the conditions workers were forced into in order to build the country's state-of-the-art stadiums – which will almost certainly be shuttered right after the tournament ends – are myriad and unbelievable. And outside of the brutal worksites, the country did everything else verboten in sports: paid fans, tried to astroturf themselves a competitive team out of nowhere, and even, shock of all horrors, banned alcohol in the stadiums. And then they got absolutely drubbed 2-0 by Ecuador in a game that could easily have been 4-0 at least to open the tournament. Karma, baby! Qatar's team sucking is a small consolation when compared to the massive amounts of anguish and evil the country participated in to make it to this point, but you know what, we'll take it.

QUICKEST QUICKIES

A White House Wedding Biden's granddaughter Naomi married Peter Neal in an "intimate" ceremony that you will be happy to know you did not pay for – the Biden family did. That's nice of them. via WaPo.
Penguin Random House / Simon Schuster Deal On the Rocks The biggest merger in publishing might be about to fall apart. via NYT.
Hospitals Warn of a Triple-Threat Winter RSV (a type of cold), coronaviruses, and the flu are wreaking havoc on many health systems. via WaPo.
Vegas Hosts GOP Hopefuls A real murders' row here: Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, Mike Pompeo all showed up at the Republican Jewish Coalition meeting. via NYT.

SOME NUMBER

$3 billion

Amount that cryptocurrency ponzi scheme FTX says it owes to creditors. Who woulda thunk it!

ON THE SHOW TODAY

11/21: Sam and Emma host writer Raina Lipsitz to discuss her recent book The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics.

DON'T MISS MR CLIPS

Trump is already coming out swinging.

Elon Musk Lit Twitter On Fire And Corporate America Is Getting Burned

Sure, everything is incredibly stupid. But at least some corporations are also having a bad time.

PARTING WORDS

“It’s like living a nightmare all over again. Processing isn’t easier the second time. It might be worse."

– Tiara Kelley, a person who hosts a weekly drag show at Club Q, who lost several friends in the Pulse shooting while living in Orlando before moving to Denver.

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CozyEarth: Go to this link here and enter the special promo code MAJORITY at checkout to SAVE thirty-five percent now.House GOP Renominates Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Party Leader The California Republican kept his power position by a vote of 188-31, though a final vote for House Speaker won't come until the new Congress convenes in January. via the Associated Press.

Control of House Comes Down to California Races Of the 14 uncalled House races, 10 as of yesterday were in California. via Politico.

Democrat Katie Hobbs Defeats MAGA Loon Kari Lake for Arizona Governor Lake, who has cast doubt on the results, relied on Trump advisers including former Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell. via the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar Confirms GOP Tried to Recruit Him The conservative Democrat says a GOP lawmaker and "a couple folks on K Street" (consultants or lobbyists) tried to persuade him to beef up the likely GOP majority next year. via the Post.