Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Jan. 6 hearings deliver new template for digital-era dramatics
Axios | Mike Allen | 06/29/22

The House Jan. 6 hearings have over-delivered on revelations and drama - unspooling as a disciplined, captivating summer series that is a new template for effective congressional hearings in the modern era.

Why it matters: The committee ditched the flabby traditional format and has methodically built a taut, colorful narrative with a prosecutor's precision and a cinematographer's flair.

Here's how the committee did it:

Trump's UNHINGED Plan To Escalate Violence During January 6th Capitol Riots | TYT | 06/29/22 | 10:13

Supreme court expected to rule on climate change and immigration cases - live
TheGuardian | Adam Gabbatt | 06/29/22

Summary | Hello and welcome to the Guardian's live coverage of the day's political news. Here's what we're monitoring today:

The Supreme Court is expected to give decisions today which could have lasting effects on how the US handles the climate crisis. The court has been weighing how much power the Environmental Protection Agency should have to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

Remain in Mexico, the controversial Trump-era policy which sends asylum seekers to Mexico while they wait for their immigration cases to be heard, is also on the table. The Supreme Court is due to decide whether Joe Biden can end the program, which has kept thousands of would-be immigrants in sometimes dangerous conditions across the US border. ... Read more

Key Trump White House aide to testify before Jan. 6 committee
Axios | Jonathan Swan & Alayna Treene | 06/28/22

Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, is expected to testify in person at the Jan. 6 committee's surprise hearing, according to a source with direct knowledge of the plans.

Driving the news: Hutchinson, who was Meadows' most trusted aide, has been a crucial witness for the committee, offering an inside account of the West Wing in the days leading up to, on and in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Given her proximity to the chief of staff and her access to the inner workings of the White House, she had an extraordinary view into the events on Jan. 6, possibly including closed-door conversations and paper trails most staff were unaware of. ... Read more

46 dead after trailer carrying migrants found in San Antonio
Politico | AP | 06/27/22

SAN ANTONIO — Forty-six people were found dead in and near a tractor-trailer and 16 others were taken to hospitals in a presumed migrant smuggling attempt into the United States, officials in San Antonio said.

It’s among the deadliest tragedies to have claimed thousands of lives of people attempting to cross the U.S. border from Mexico in recent decades. Ten migrants died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck that was parked at a Walmart in San Antonio. In 2003, 19 migrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio. ... Read more

NATO to dramatically increase size of high-readiness forces
Axios | Ivana Saric | 06/27/22

NATO will dramatically increase the size of its high-readiness forces to "well over 300,000," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced at a press briefing Monday ahead of this week's NATO summit in Madrid.

Why it matters: The move, one of a number of steps NATO is taking to adapt to a "new security reality," helps constitute "the biggest overhaul of collective defense and deterrence since the Cold War," Stoltenberg said.

The big picture: The NATO Response Force, which is designated for quick reactions to urgent situations, currently numbers roughly 40,000, Reuters reported. ... Read more

Water: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 06/27/22 | 23:46

Sanctions drive Russia to first foreign debt default since 1918
Axios | Dan Primack & Rebecca Falconer | 06/27/22

Russia is set to default on its foreign-currency sovereign debt after bond holders reported the Kremlin missed two payments late Sunday, per the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: This is the foreseeable outcome of sanctions imposed due to the invasion of Ukraine, even though Russia had successfully pushed off the inevitable for months. For now, the default is mostly notable for its symbolism as Russia's first foreign debt default since 1918, reflecting the country's international pariah status and crumbling economy.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Felix Salmon: Bond defaults normally happen because the issuer doesn't want to make the payment. In this case, Russia was clearly willing to do so; it just wasn't able to.

The big picture: Russia hasn't defaulted on international debts since the Bolshevik Revolution, though it defaulted on domestic debt during a financial crash in 1998. ... Read more

Zelenskiy calls on G7 leaders to help end war in Ukraine by winter
TheGuardian | Patrick Wintour | 06/27/22

The Ukrainian president, Voldymyr Zelenskiy, has urged G7 leaders to help end the war in Ukraine by the winter as they planned new economic measures against Russia and vowed to "stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes".

A six-page communique from the group of seven industrialised countries - the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy - said it was "committed to helping Ukraine to end Russia's war... to defend itself and to choose its future". It said it would provide materials, training, logistics, intelligence and economic support.

Leaders of the G7 met Zelenskiy via video in a closed-door session as they gathered in Schloss Elmau, deep in the peaceful Bavarian Alps. ... Read more

The era of real-time climate change attribution is here
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 06/24/22

Climate scientists are now able to tell whether climate change fuels temperature extremes in real-time, and even ahead of time, using forecast models, historical data and peer-reviewed scientific research.

Why it matters: Presented in a compelling visual format accessible to the lay public and TV meteorologists alike, a new product known as the "Climate Shift Index," or CSI, was unveiled this week by Climate Central, a nonprofit research and journalism organization. The product signals a shift in thinking about the ties between daily weather and long-term climate change.

Driving the news: Climate scientists have made great strides during the past decade in teasing out the role human-caused global warming plays in worsening or setting off extreme weather events, such as heat waves and extreme rainfall. ... Read more

Lake Mead Drought Update!!! What's Going On?!!! | 06/17/22 | 20:48

Joe: January 6 Hearings About As Compelling As Anything Since Watergate | MSNBC | 06/24/22 | 4:46

Joe: Documentary Filmmaker Becomes A Key January 6 Witness | MSNBC | 06/24/22 | 7:23

What Gen Z really wants
Axios | Jennifer A. Kingson | 06/23/22

They crave work-life balance and mental health support. They dread getting stuck in a dull job. And they fault today's decision-makers for downplaying the issues that move them, like school shootings and racism. Meet Gen Z, as depicted by a new report.

Why it matters: Gen Zers - those born between 1997 and 2012 - will soon be the biggest U.S. voting cohort, and they vote in record numbers.

Plus, they'll make up 27% of the workforce in three years, per the World Economic Forum.

Driving the news: The report, from the Walton Family Foundation and Murmuration (an educational inequality nonprofit founded by Emma Bloomberg), paints a picture of a generation that prizes family and well-being over money-making, isn't afraid to job-hop, and sees civic participation as vital to advancing their values. ... Read more

Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America by Maggie Haberman

Few journalists working today have covered Donald Trump more extensively than Maggie Haberman. And few understand him and his motivations better. Now, demonstrating her majestic command of this story, Haberman reveals in full the depth of her understanding of the 45th president himself, and of what the Trump phenomenon means.

Interviews with hundreds of sources and numerous interviews over the years with Trump himself portray a complicated and often contradictory historical figure. Capable of kindness but relying on casual cruelty as it suits his purposes. Pugnacious. Insecure. Lonely. Vindictive. Menacing. Smarter than his critics contend and colder and more calculating than his allies believe. A man who embedded himself in popular culture, galvanizing support for a run for high office that he began preliminary spadework for 30 years ago, to ultimately become a president who pushed American democracy to the brink.

The through-line of Trump's life and his presidency is the enduring question of what is in it for him or what he needs to say to survive short increments of time in the pursuit of his own interests.

Confidence Man is also, inevitably, about the world thatproduced such a singular character, giving rise to his career and becoming his first stage. It is also about a series of relentlessly transactional relationships. The ones that shaped him most were with girlfriends and wives, with Roy Cohn, with George Steinbrenner, with Mike Tyson and Don King and Roger Stone, with city and state politicians like Robert Morgenthau and Rudy Giuliani, with business partners, with prosecutors, with the media, and with the employees who toiled inside what they commonly called amongst themselves the "Trump Disorganization."

That world informed the one that Trump tried to recreate while in the White House. All of Trump's behavior as President had echoes in what came before. In this revelatory and newsmaking book, Haberman brings together the events of his life into a single mesmerizing work. It is the definitive account of one of the most norms-shattering and consequential eras in American political history.

MAGA Loving Candidate Drops Chilling 'RINO Hunting' Video Ad | TYT | 06/21/22 | 6:47

Heat waves shattered records on 2 continents before summer began
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 06/21/22

Two extraordinary heat waves sent temperatures soaring into uncharted territory in Europe and the U.S. prior to the summer solstice, setting new benchmarks for the month of June in several European countries.

Why it matters: The early season extreme heat is a development meteorologists are calling "unsettling" and "unprecedented." These events are a clear warning sign of global warming's growing influence on day-to-day weather.

The big picture: The jet stream, which is a fast-flowing river of air flowing from east to west at high altitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, connects the two continental heat waves via a pattern of atmospheric waves. During the past week, the jet stream across Europe and North America have both been dominated by strong ridges of high pressure, also known as heat domes. ... Read more

Nightly News Full Broadcast - June 20 | 06/20/22 | 21:17

Thousands of flights canceled over U.S. holiday weekend
Axios | Rebecca Falconer | 06/20/22

By the numbers: Some 19,000 flights have been canceled or delayed since Thursday, while over 4,200 U.S. flights were delayed and 900 canceled on Sunday alone as Americans marked Father's Day amid airline staffing shortages and extreme weather that upended schedules, per USA Today.

Where it stands: New York City's LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International airports, along with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport, were among the worst affected on Sunday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.

Between the lines: James Ferrara, co-founder and president of global host travel agency InteleTravel, told USA Today shortages in skilled positions such as pilots is "really what's driving" the problems airlines have faced including this weekend's "travel Armageddon." ... Read more

Rent: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | HBO | 06/20/22 | 22:07

Consumers worldwide feel gloomy about the economy
Axios | Courtenay Brown | 06/17/22

Americans aren't the only ones unhappy with how things are going. Consumer sentiment around the globe hasn't been this bad since 2009, when the world was mired in a historic recession.

Why it matters: Rising prices are pressuring household budgets and pushing down consumer confidence in a slew of nations, a sign that households may tighten their belts and spending will dry up.

"The slump in sentiment [is] being driven by rising inflation; an associated lift in interest rates; and a loss of confidence around the economic outlook, both here and abroad," Bill Evans, an economist at Westpac, an Australian bank that conducts a consumer sentiment survey in the country, said this week.

How it works: For an indication of how the globe's consumers are feeling, look at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's consumer confidence index, which is comprised of household surveys conducted around the world about expected financial situations, ability to save, the general economy, and the labor market. ... Read more

Republicans Go Full Fascist Daydreaming About Unlimited Political Power | TYT | 06/16/22 | 12:52

How Americans will feel the squeeze from higher interest rates
Axios | author | date

Mortgages, car loans and credit card debt are all about to get more expensive.

The big picture: The era of dirt-cheap borrowing is over: The Federal Reserve is trying to slam the brakes on the economy, and the cost to borrow is going up as it rushes to contain inflation.

Higher borrowing costs may push consumers and businesses to hold back on certain purchases. That will cool off demand, and perhaps put a lid on prices that are rising at the fastest rate in over 40 years.

Catch up quick: The Fed said yesterday it would raise interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, the biggest hike since 1994.

With that announcement, the Fed has hiked rates by 150 basis points since March to a range of 1.50 and 1.75%. New projections show interest rates may hit 3.4% by the end of this year. ... Read more

Who's testifying at the third Jan. 6 committee hearing
Axios | Erin Doherty | 06/16/22

The third public Jan. 6 committee hearing will convene Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, and the committee will reveal "new materials that documented that day" and what former Vice President Mike Pence was doing as well as his whereabouts, according to committee aides.

Why it matters: The select committee is planning to zero in on the "relentless efforts" by former President Trump to pressure Pence into rejecting electors of the 2020 election — and the potential legal ramifications of his actions. ... Read more

Trump's raising of $250m for fund that 'did not exist' suggests possible fraud
TheGuardian | Hugo Lowell | 06/15/22

'The big lie was also the big rip-off,' says Democrat Zoe Lofgren after January 6 panel appears to make case for fundraising fraud

The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack appeared to make the case at its second hearing that Donald Trump and his campaign engaged in potential fundraising fraud, raising $250m for a Trump "election defense fund" that did not actually exist.

The hearing, led by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, also showed that Trump and the campaign raised millions for thefund and then funneled the money to, among other destinations, the Trump business properties as well as Trump’s own Save America political action committee. ... Read more

Tech Monopolies: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 06/13/22 | 26:49

Trump endorsement tracker: Which candidates have won and lost
Axios | Andrew Solender | 06/15/22

Candidates backed by former President Trump mostly prevailed in primaries on Tuesday night in a fresh test of the former president's influence over the GOP.

Why it matters: A string of losses among candidates endorsed by Trump in May has punctured perceptions of his dominance over the GOP for the first time in years, raising questions about the competition he could face in a 2024 Republican presidential primary.

The latest: Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt won the state's Republican Senate primary on Tuesday against former Army veteran Sam Brown, who mounted a late-stage comeback.

Laxalt helped push false claims about election fraud in Nevada after the 2020 election. Trump hosted a 'tele-rally' for Laxalt last week. ... Read more

Extreme weather slams the U.S., from flooding to fires
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 06/14/22

Extreme weather events, likely worsened by climate change, slammed the U.S. on Monday and will continue through this week.

The big picture: A rare June atmospheric river event that made landfall in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend has led to some of the worst flash flooding on record in Yellowstone National Park.

What the stock market is saying about the economy
Axios | Matt Phillips | 06/14/22

Companies whose financial fortunes mirror the ups and downs of the actual economy led the market plunge into bear market territory Monday.

Why it matters: The growing sell-off in so-called cyclical stocks — which until recently have held up reasonably well — suggests that investors are entering a new phase of concern about the economy.

Driving the news: The S&P 500 fell 3.9% Monday, its worst daily drop since May 18, when it slumped 4%. That pushed the benchmark index down 21.8% from its Jan. 3 high, confirming stocks have been mired in a bear market almost all year.

Yes, but: The drop was even uglier for ... ... Read more

Inflation rises 8.6%, the fastest pace in over 40 years
Axios | Courtenay Brown | 06/10/22

A key gauge of inflation accelerated by 8.6% from a year earlier in May, the government said on Friday, a big leap from the previous month as costs for food and gasoline continued to surge.

Why it matters: Hot inflation remains a huge challenge for the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve as they deal with price shocks not seen since the 1980s that are squeezing consumers and souring their view of the economy.

Details: The Consumer Price Index rose 1% last month. Prices rose 0.3% in April, or 8.3% from a year earlier. ... Read more

US inflation hits 40-year high of 8.6% as food, gas and shelter costs rise
TheGuardiane | Dominic Rushe | 06/10/22

Inflation in the US rose unexpectedly last month to a fresh four-decade high of 8.6%, the labor department said on Friday.

The latest consumer price index (CPI) figures showed that the cost of living increased by one percentage point from April and was broad-based, with the indexes for shelter, gasoline and food being the largest contributors.

Gas prices have been soaring across the US, approaching $5 a gallon this week - $1.90 more than a year ago. According to the latest CPI report the energy index rose 3.9% over the month, with the gasoline index rising 4.1%. Other major component indexes also increased. The food index rose 1.2% in May as the food at home index increased 1.4%. ... Read more

WATCH: Rep. Liz Cheney says Trump ignored pleas to stop Jan. 6 violence | Jan. 6 hearings | PBS | 06/09/22 | 33:49

Rocks: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 06/01/22 | 17:22

What to expect from tonight's prime-time Jan. 6 hearing
Axios | Alayna Treene | 06/09/22

The Jan. 6 committee’s prime-time public hearing debut will feature never-before-seen recordings and documentation from closed-door depositions with key Trump officials and members of the former president's family, committee aides tell reporters.

The big picture: Tonight's televised 90-minute hearing, and sessions next week, will show that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol "was a result of a coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election and stop the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden," one committee aide said.

"And indeed, that President Donald Trump was at the center of that effort." ... Read more

School Police: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 06/06/22 | 26:41

GOP candidate for Michigan governor arrested in connection with Jan. 6 attack
Politico | Kelly Hooper | 06/09/22

Republican candidate for Michigan governor Ryan Kelley was arrested Thursday on misdemeanor charges for participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Kelley, one of five candidates on the Aug. 2 Republican primary ballot, was arrested earlier Thursday in western Michigan. He is being charged on four counts — all misdemeanors — including entering a restricted space and engaging in any act of physical violence against a person or property. ... Read more

Yellen says U.S. faces "unacceptable levels" of inflation
Axios | Ivana Saric | 06/07/22

The U.S. is currently facing "unacceptable levels of inflation," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Yellen made waves last week by admitting that she had been "wrong about the path inflation would take" when she predicted last year that inflation posed a short-term problem to the U.S. economy.

What she's saying: At the hearing, Yellen praised the state of the economic recovery, which she said was marked by strong economic growth and "historically low" unemployment, but acknowledged that difficulties remain.

"We currently face macroeconomic challenges, including unacceptable levels of inflation, as well as the headwinds associated with the disruptions caused by the pandemic's effect on supply chains, and the effects of supply side disturbances to oil and food markets resulting from Russia’s war in Ukraine," she said. ... Read more

Making sense of Yellen's rescue plan kerfuffle
Axios | Neil Irwin | 06/06/22

In a strange series of events over the last few days, Bloomberg reported that a forthcoming book claims that during the early days of the Biden administration, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pushed for a smaller pandemic rescue package, based on inflation fears — but Yellen denied it.

Why it matters: To understand this seemingly obscure dispute is to understand a central fault line between the Biden administration and economists outside the administration who are sympathetic to its goals. ... Read more

"Red flag" laws test evidence that mass shootings are preventable
Axios | Caitlin Owens | 06/06/22

The argument for "red flag" laws is built on researchers and government agencies' finding that most mass shootings are preventable if citizens, health professionals and courts can act on signs of troubling behavior in time.

Why it matters: Although mass shootings only account for a fraction of firearm deaths in the U.S., advocates are pushing for a preventative approach to keeping guns out of the hands of people believed at greatest risk of committing violence. Red flag laws may also be a rare point of bipartisan consensus as the nation grapples with a surge of mass shootings.

State of play: Red flag laws are built around what's known as extreme risk protection orders that allow certain citizens or law enforcement to petition a court to remove gun access from a person believed capable of committing homicide or suicide.

The laws currently exist in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Bipartisan gun reform talks in the Senate include a measure that would incentivize more states to enact such laws, and President Biden called for a national red flag law in a speech last week. ... Read more

March for Our Lives founder urges people abroad to protest at U.S. embassies
Axios | Julia Shapero | 06/06/22

March for Our Lives founder David Hogg is urging people outside of the U.S. to protest gun violence at U.S. embassies.

The big picture: March for Our Lives, a youth-led organization that seeks to end gun violence, is gearing up to hold a march in Washington, D.C., on June 11 in the wake of a series of deadly mass shootings in the U.S.

After a shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that killed 10 and another at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school that left 19 children and two adults dead, the country has continued to be rocked by gun violence.

At least 11 people were killed and 54 were injured in seven separate mass shootings over the weekend. ... Read more

100 days that rocked the globe
Axios | staff | 06/03/22

100 days, thousands dead, millions displaced, billions in destruction, countless lives touched: Russia's war in Ukraine looks less likely to end today than it did when it began on Feb. 24.

The big picture: With the prospect for meaningful peace talks virtually non-existent, the war appears set to continue for weeks or months longer.

100 days on, Russia has largely shifted its focus to the eastern Donbas region after failing to capture the capital Kyiv. Moscow is progressing there, albeit slowly, as the West pumps more weapons into Ukraine. ... Read more

Megadrought causes perilously low water levels at Lake Mead | 06/02/22 | 7:59

The SPAC market's miscalculation
Axios | Dan Primack | 06/03/22

Nineteen companies have canceled SPAC mergers in 2022, including this past week's terminations for Forbes and SeatGeek, representing nearly $18 billion of dumped deal value.

Why it matters: CEOs, boards, SPAC sponsors and private market investors all made a fundamental miscalculation in the benefits of going public via SPAC.

For years, we heard that SPACs could be preferable to IPOs because they were faster and had more price certainty.

The reality, though, is that SPAC mergers usually are more reliant on the investors who bought into the SPAC than they are on those that come in via the PIPE. Particularly given the SPAC's stock plus warrant structure. And those earlier buyers are often transient hedge funds that are prone to redeem when markets move south (as they have this year). ... Read more

Police say Tulsa shooting suspect targeted doctor he blamed for back pain
Axios | TuAnh Dam | 06/02/22

A gunman opened fire inside a Tulsa, Oklahoma, medical building with a handgun and a rifle, killing at least four people, including a doctor who had recently performed his back surgery, before apparently taking his own life on Wednesday, law enforcement officials said.

The latest: Authorities said during a press conference Thursday that the suspect specifically targeted Dr. Preston Phillip and noted he had repeatedly called the hospital complaining of pain.

"We also have a letter on the suspect, which made it clear that he came in with the intent to kill Dr. Phillips and anyone who got in his way," said Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin, per the Associated Press. "He blamed Dr. Phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery."

Details: Tulsa Police Capt. Richard Meulenberg told reporters Wednesday evening that as many as 10 people had been wounded in the shooting at St. Francis Hospital's Natalie Medical Building that happened just before 5 p.m., but none had life-threatening injuries. ... Read more

The Uvalde shooting details that officials have retracted
Axios | Jacob Knutson | 06/02/22

Texas authorities have relayed then later retracted multiple key details about the school shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 kids and two teachers and injured at least 17 people last week.

Why it matters: State authorities' disordered account of the shooting comes as they and local police face criticism and questioning on why it took so long for officers to confront and stop the gunman.

The shooter locked himself inside two connected fourth-grade classrooms with teachers and students at Robb Elementary School.

The big picture: New details about mass shootings typically emerge as investigators synthesize evidence they've gathered and release vetted information. ... Read more

Elizabeth Warren tries to smack SPACs
Axios | Dan Primack | 06/01/22

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday said she'll soon introduce a bill to regulate SPACs, and also released a 26-page presentation on how SPACs "tilt the playing field and enrich Wall Street insiders."

Why it matters: Warren's bill, the text of which hasn't yet been released, would codify the SEC's recently proposed rules and then go several steps further.

For example, it would require additional disclosures, extend the SPAC sponsor's lockup period and increase liabilities for both sponsors and underwriters.

Warren's much-hyped Stop Wall Street Looting Act, which sought to crack down on private equity, went nowhere. Same goes for her sweeping antitrust proposals, whereas a tech-specific antitrust effort led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) might actually reach the floor this summer. ... Read more

The NRA: The Unauthorized History by Frank Smyth

For the first time, the definitive account of America's most powerful, most secretive, and most controversial nonprofit, and how far it has strayed from its origins.

The National Rifle Association is unique in American life. Few other civic organizations are as old or as large. None is as controversial. It is largely due to the NRA that the US gun policy differs so extremely - some would say so tragically - from that of every other developed nation. But, as Frank Smyth shows, the NRA has evolved from an organization concerned above all with marksmanship - and which supported most government efforts around gun control for a hundred years - to one that resists all attempts to restrict guns in any way. At the same time, the organization has also buried its own remarkable history.

Here is that story, from the NRA's surprising roots in post-Civil War New York City to the defining event that changed its culture forever - the so called "Cincinnati Revolt" of 1977 - to the present day, where President Donald Trump is the most ardent champion in the White House the NRA has ever had. For anyone who has looked at access to guns in our society and asked "Why?", this is an unmatched account of how we got here, and who got us here.