West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom has passed away. She and National Guard member Andrew Wolfe were shot in DC on Wednesday. She was 20. Wolfe is 24 and remains in critical condition. Nadine Yousif (BBC NEWS) notes, "Both were shot at close range near Farragut Square in downtown just after 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Police have arrested one suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old from Afghanistan." Yousif also notes:
Ms Beckstrom and Mr Wolfe were among those who were deployed in August, the West Virginia National Guard confirmed to BBC News.
National Guard troops are a reservist force that can be activated to serve as military troops, but have limited power as they cannot enforce the law or make arrests.
The location of the shooting, just blocks from the White House, meant a number of law enforcement officials were quickly on the scene to treat the two victims and apprehend the gunman.
The suspect was shot four times while he was apprehended, law enforcement sources told CBS News.
The suspect is Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He is from Afghanistan. In April of this year, the Chump administration granted him asylum. Ewan Palmer (DAILY BEAST) notes, "FBI Director Kash Patel refused to answer a question about whether the Afghan suspect accused of shooting two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., was granted asylum by the Trump administration." Again, in April of this year, he was given legal asylum. As someone who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan, he was allowed into the country in 2021. His remaining here was based on the outcome of his vetting. In April of this year, the Chump administration completed the vetting and offered him asylum. Ka$h doesn't want to say that. Mainly because it puts the blame on Chump and also because yesterday found Chump immediately trying to blame this on Joe Biden.
In fact, Chump only stopped his latest round of blame others when MEIDASTOUCH NEWS and other outlets began noting it was Chump, not Joe Biden, who granted the suspect asylum.
Julian E. Barnes (NEW YORK TIMES) notes, "Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had requested additional information about the suspect from the C.I.A. after its director, John Ratcliffe, said he had been allowed into the United States due to his prior work with the agency."
Today, Chump got push back to his face when he lied again this time insisting that, under Joe Biden, there was no vetting.
I don't think you can be posting to social media in the early morning hours and still provide the needed supervision to those you've delegated responsiblities too. And when the people appointed to secure our nation -- Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, John Radcliffe (8 months as DNI is not really experience, don't kid), Ka$h Patel, etc -- are not experienced or qualified for the job, you appointing them means you have to supervise them even more.
He is derelict in his duty. He has put the nation at risk with his security picks all by itself. But he does not focus on what he's supposed to. He's delcared some form of war this week on The Lincoln Monument which again begs the question is Miss Donald the presidnet of the United States or the fat and flabby interior designer from Doral, Florida which is infamous for its poor taste?
We're stuck in situations like this because Fat Ass Chump does everything but his job. It is not his job to persecute or question Senator Mark Kelly when Mark Kelly repeats the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Yet he and Hegseth -- instead of doing their jobs -- are attacking Kelly. I've said since he made these crazy nominations that we could have another 9/11 and if we do, America needs to call him out because he has not done his job and he has put our security at risk. We see that now with the DC shooting.
Nicholas Wu, Lisa Kashinsky and Samuel Benson (POLITICO) note:
Donald Trump is going to war with Democrats over the military. It could backfire on him.
The president’s attacks on six Democrats who recorded a video encouraging military members to buck unlawful orders are elevating members of a faction that just delivered big off-year wins for their party. Most hail from swing states or districts, identify as centrists and are leveraging their national security backgrounds to argue that Democrats can retake the patriotic lane.
Trump is also boosting some potential 2028 presidential hopefuls, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, while further undercutting the GOP’s attempts to make New York progressives like Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the face of the Democratic Party.
“Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump are providing Mark Kelly with the kind of visibility that almost no amount of money could buy,” said Barrett Marson, an Arizona-based Republican strategist, referring to the Defense secretary who ordered an investigation of Kelly. “Every 2028 contender wishes they could be attacked like this by the Trump administration.”
Since Trump accused the six of “sedition” and even suggested they could be executed, they’ve racked up millions of views on social media, done the cable news circuit and blasted out fundraising appeals highlighting the attacks.
It’s heightened the stature of even those who have already been the subject of speculation about their 2028 aspirations. Kelly, who was on the short list to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last year, has already visited a raft of early primary and general-election battleground states this year. But only after Trump’s attack was he invited on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this week.
Chump's also to blame because he's the one who ordered the National Guard to DC. Campbell Robertson, Shawn Hubler and Chris Hippensteel (NEW YORK TIMES) report:
The shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., shocked Americans on Wednesday, but not everyone was surprised.
“I knew this would happen,” a member of the California National Guard texted The New York Times as news spread, speaking on condition of anonymity because he did not have authority to comment publicly.
As part of the force sent to Los Angeles this summer to assist in the president’s immigration crackdown, the soldier, who has served in the Guard for six years, said he and his commanders worried that the assignment “increased our risk of us shooting civilians or civilians taking shots at us.”
That concern, which was echoed by at least two other California Guard members, was well known, including in the U.S. capital, where the two members of the West Virginia National Guard were critically wounded around 2:15 p.m. by a lone gunman near the White House, according to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
He needs to stop trying to blame Joe Biden and instead prove to the American people that he can make it through a work day in public without falling asleep, he can stop staying up all night on the computer like some Red Bull drinking teenager and he can provide supervision to the needed imbeciles he has put into jobs that are supposed to make the country secure.
He is a liar. He has dementia. He's a stroke victim waiting to happen. He needs to stop playing around online, stop cooking up schemes -- unethical and corrupt schemes -- to enrich his own pockets and get off his fat ass and get to work.
Rebecca's posted tonight "duke!," it's not showing up on the blog roll but her post from last night is:
-
Comment9 hours ago
-
-
-
Happy Thanksgiving16 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Chump the eternal liar20 hours ago
-
MTG20 hours ago
-
Idiot of the Week Media20 hours ago
-
Ham and Cheese Sandwich in the Kitchen20 hours ago
-
Chumpys looking bad20 hours ago
-
-
Melanie, Leavitt and deportations21 hours ago
-
Mabel Dodge Luhan21 hours ago
-
