And suddenly, Omar Mateen is something more than an Islamic terrorist wannabe who killed 49 people in a gay dance club because of his outrage over Western sexual mores. From the Washington Post:
"Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent," Ty Smith said.
The Associated Press has this video:
***
On Monday, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, executive director of the Georgia chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, was speaking to Rose Scott of "Closer Look" on WABE (90.1FM), making what has now become the routine statements of condolences and condemnations. But Mitchell also made this point:
"But because Islam is in many ways foreign to the American people, it's harder for the American people to make that distinction between a radical, unbalanced irreligious Muslim doing something crazy and normal mainstream Islam.
***
Details of Donald Trump's Wednesday rally are coming together: Noon at the Fox Theatre, doors open at 9 a.m. Attendees are limited to two tickets each, per the event website. The venue holds fewer than 4,700 people, which is less than half the capacity of the site of Trump's last Georgia rally at the World Congress Center.
But here are some rules, apparently aimed at keeping professional photographers at bay:
No posters, banners, or signs may be brought into the event. There is no dress code. No professional cameras with a detachable lens are permitted. No tripods, monopods, selfie sticks, or GoPros. ID is not required for entry. For further questions, please email events@donaldtrump.com
The last presidential contender to hold a campaign event at the Fox was Bernie Sanders back in November. Check out our photos from that event here.
***
Is it time to bring back the congressional Committee on Un-American Activities in the wake of the Orlando terrorist attack, which was carried out by a self-radicalized American citizen?
Kind of, said Georgian and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in a recent Fox News appearance, per The Huffington Post:
"We originally created the House Un-American Activities Committee to go after Nazis. We passed several laws in 1938 and 1939 to go after Nazis and we made it illegal to help the Nazis. We're going to presently have to go take the similar steps here," Gingrich said, according to the online news publication
***
On Monday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump went into birther mode, suggesting in a "Fox & Friends" interview that there may be a sinister motive in President Barack Obama's approach to fighting terrorism. Said Trump:
"There are many people that think maybe he doesn't want to get it. He doesn't want to see what's happening."
Later on Fox News, Bill O’Reilly asked Trump to elaborate. Replied the candidate:
"He's a competitive person. Why doesn't he have more competitive zeal to knock them out, Bill? Look at what's going on? Look at what's happening? This Orlando attack was just absolutely horrendous and yet he still doesn't use the word of radical Islamic terror."
All of which could explain this abrupt Tweet from a usually sedate U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta:
***
In a Sunday post, we noted that Bernie Sanders' reluctance to end his quest for the White House fit into a growing reluctance among defeated political candidates to concede to their victors. We received two thoughtful responses.
First, from former state lawmaker Ed Lindsey, a Republican from Atlanta:
The first came in 2000 when I lost a State Senate race to Rusty Paul. That call led to a breakfast and a friendship and in 2004 to Rusty calling me to talk me into running for the State House.
The second came two years ago and may be more important down the road for the lesson taught. It became apparent fairly quickly that primary 2014 was not going to be my night. I was tired and I asked my campaign manager for the cell numbers for Barry Loudermilk and Bob Barr. He asked if I wanted to wait until the morning and I thought about it for a second, but I then looked around at my team of mostly college students – which included my twins – and recognized that it was important that not only that I do it but for them to see me do it. I made the calls with them watching.
And another:
However, on Election Night when it was clear that there would be no runoff, I looked at our team and confirmed that calling was the right thing to do. I got the silent nod, and I went off to a quiet spot to end our campaign with dignity. I then called the other unsuccessful candidate to share a brief moment of commiseration. I'm proud of both the way we ran our campaign and the way we concluded it. I hope the call makes a comeback--and next time, I'm on the receiving end!
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