Were Bernie Bros really Russian trolls???

I haven't been in this group for many, many months, but I do remember coming here for support during the primaries. Is it possible that the Sanders supporters in DU weren't really as awful as they seemed??

It's about time!!!

Major Republican Donor Won’t Support Candidates Who Don’t Back an Assault Weapons Ban.

After seventeen people were killed in a Parkland, Florida school shooting, Republican donor Al Hoffman Jr. announced that he will not donate to electioneering groups or candidates unless they support an assault weapons ban. Hoffman’s ultimatum goes against the conventional GOP stance of considering any new gun control measures anathema.

Alexander Burns of the New York Times reported that the Florida-based donor, a retired real estate developer and former ambassador to Portugal, sent Republican leaders like Jeb Bush and Florida governor Rick Scott an email that read, in part, “I will not write another check unless they all support a ban on assault weapons. Enough is enough!” Hoffman also made clear that he wouldn’t back Scott, who may run for Senate this year and who said, in the wake of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, “The Second Amendment didn’t kill anybody.”

Hoffman has given millions to Republican causes and candidates, including $25,000 to the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund in 2017 and more than $1 million to the super PAC Right to Rise, which backed Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign. Hoffman also told the Times that he planned to reach out to “every single donor I know in the Republican party” and ask each one to join his boycott.

Does anyone know what would have happened if tip had been processed properly?

As I understand it, the message never got from the tip line to the FBI office. If it had, it would have been passed on to local authorities. And, actually, the local authorities got multiple messages on their own. But what could they have actually done?

I've heard that some locations (states? municipalities?) have passed laws that allow authorities to take away guns for one year from anyone that a single other person has complained about as a possible threat. That seems like a good move to me, but I don't it's a law in Florida.

If you see something, say something. Then what?

To all of those who think a painting should not have to be explained...

... on the one hand, I agree with you. The response to a painting is very individual, and should be.

But we at DU are interested in Barack and Michelle Obama as people. I think it's very interesting and valuable to try to understand why they liked these artists and chose them for their portraits. Here are two DU posts that I found helpful in getting around my initial less than excited response.

Skinner's post of several other portraits by each of the artists.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210219889

The video of the whole ceremony, where you can hear both Obamas' remarks as well as those of each of the artists.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210219992#post1

Aren't the Obama's worth some empathetic energy????

Maybe the artist discovered that Michelle thinks there are really distressing...

... things going on in our country. And that we need to get to work.

When will the White House portraits be done/unveiled?

Have they already been done? Google is no help. Nothing but the National Portrait Gallery paintings.

Watch out if people can get at your outgoing mail.

We live in a condo with a mail room. We can mail stuff be sticking it through a slot and then the mailman can pick it up. Recently we had 5 different checks mis-deposited. They were made out to Capital One (3) and 2 other individual vendors. They were endorsed with my name or hubby's. Both, of course, printed on the check. We know for sure that one of them was deposited via cell phone. It seems clear to us that the software that allows cell phone deposits (or at least some of the software) is scanning for any name on the front of the check to compare to the endorsement.

One bank just gave me back my money and called me to tell me I'd have to re-send a check.

The other bank required that I make a police report and take the number to the local branch then wait for them to work through to get the money from the bank that actually cashed it. I'm still waiting. I found the first 3 checks all at once. Found the other two later. Now have to go through the whole police report again.

If you didn't care for the Michelle portrait and didn't hear her and Amy Sherald speak,

...it's really enlightening to hear them talk about it. Sorry - couldn't figure out how to copy the direct link to the video. It's here in this DU post.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210219992#post1

To those who watched CNN, the color was NOT accurate.

If you saw an incredibly pale Obama against a background of almost mauve leaves, be assured that the color was realistic. CSPAN got it right, as did some of the reproductions here on DU.

I was shocked when it was unveiled on CNN. Glad I switched to CSPAN when idiot talking heads thought they were more important than Wiley's remarks.

Did Amy Sherald speak? I tuned in too late.

I'd love to know what the artist had to say about the Michelle portrait. Certainly Wiley's remarks were very important in that he explained the flora. (Check other posts for that).