This one is named Cyrus Grissom, AKA Cyrus the Virus. He likes to claim that he’s killed more men than cancer John Cusack Con Air
Bullshit! Cyrus The Virus Grissom was a fictional character in a movie. But if you want to look at it literally, then the soulless death merchant Wayne Pepe LaPierre actually did kill more men than cancer. And he did it with the clear consent, approval and collusion of the corrupt members of the NRA’s Master Executive Counsel.
But now that’s over. In a ruling earlier this week a six person New Hork Jury found the NRA guilty of corruption in the running of the organization. It found multiple members of the Master Executive Board guilty of corrupt practices, and found their Lord Voldemort Pepe LaPierre so dirty that he was ordered to repay some $5 million back to the NRA coffers.
Those of you who know me know that this is personal to me. If you’ve read me long enough, then you know that I have covered religiously every angle of this story since it broke. Full Disclosure. I am not a fair and neutral scribe in this story.
I’m old enough to be able to remember when the NRA was an actual advocacy group protecting the 2nd Amendment rights of gun owners against undue regulation. They actually offered gun safety classes to their paid members. Oh, yeah, and another thing, back then the majority of their members were sane.
But then came Pepe LePew and his freebooting band of pirates. There was one small problem with the NRA. The moderate dues paid by their approximately 7 million members didn’t provide the kind of cash cow that would make the NRA a political juggernaut. And so LaPierre and the death eaters of the Master Executive Council made their blood oath, and sold their souls to the Devil.
They started offering corporate sponsorships to the NRA. And who are the only companies who would need a corporate sponsorship to the NRA? DUH! Armament manufacturers and ammunition supply producers. And in a handful of years, they turned the NRA from a 2nd Amendment advocacy group into a full blown organ of the armaments industry, with the cold hard cash to sway the political argument.
And Pepe LaPierre was right there at the head of the line, ready to lead the charge. A talented huckster of the PT Barnum variety, LaPierre had a natural, folksy line of bullsh*t that went over well with the yokels. And as the evidence showed, hye was dipping his fingers in to ensure his lifestyle matched his pompous ego.
But that’s long over now. For several years before the ultimate Ollie North engineered collapse, the NRA had been saddled with scandal. Membership was down. And after repeated mass shootings, especially in schools, theaters, and places of worship, the tide was turning, not only against the NRA, but against the gun manufacturers as well.
In the last several years, multiple armament manufacturers, the primo corporate sponsors of the NRA have had to file for bankruptcy. And that meant no more lavish corporate sponsorships to the NRA. But The Pirates of Destruction had lavish lifestyles to maintain. And so the cons continued.
But now it’s over. Except it’s not. The jury in the New York case was tasked with assigning liability and civil guilt for corrupt practices. And they brought home the verdicts. But that isn’t the end of the story.
Because among other things, when AG James filed the civil suit, one of the things she was asking the judge for was the revocation of the NRA’s status as a tax exempt charitable organization in New York state, where they’re chartered. To my understanding, that was not a matter before the jury to consider. Upon conviction, the judge will deal with in another hearing process.
As will he with the court ordered sanctions against Pepe LePew and the other guilty members of the Master Executive Board. Think back to the Trump Charitable Organization scandal several years ago. The court found that the foundation was nothing more than a slush fund for Trump and his monkey spawn. The court dissolved the charity, and banned Trump and his monkey spawn from h9olding seats on a charitable board for at least five years. I look for similar sanctions against LaPierre and the rest of the miscreants on the board.
Will the judge actually move to revoke the organizations tax exempt status? As much as my heart begs yes, my gut tells me no. The organization is too entrenched in the body politic to just uproot it.
But it will never again be the same, politically omnipotent NRA of the past. I have no doubt that the judge will purge the Master Executive Council of the guilty miscreants, including LaPierre, and ban them for multiple years from serving on non 0rofit boards. And as with the Trump Organization, I fully expect the judge to appoint a monitor to oversee the day to day operations of the NRA to ensure that they keep coloring within the lines.
Which means a radically different NRA. Once the freebooters are expunged, I would imagine that the court would have a say on any replacements. Moreover, the salad days of the NRA are over. The armaments manufacturers are no longer in a position to fund the NRA to monolithically tout their cause as a lobbying powerhouse in congress. The NRA is already a shell of its former self, and with proper court supervision, it will never again become the Voldemort of death, capable of bending the will of weak and craven politicians against the will of the people. I’ll be following up on this as needed.
I thank you for the privilege of your time.
Agree all the way. Abolish this stupid, terrorist extremist organization.
I’m glad this has happened. I was one of those that took the NRA gun safety course when I was 10. My father was a life member of the NRA and required it of all his children, whom he also taught .22 rifle. Also, he had bound several years of The Rifleman magazine (which my grandkids use to sit on at the dinner table ).
I hope that the NRA finds their way back to what they once were….
Janet, wouldn’t it be ironic if the new NRA actually became true promoter of gun safety? They could make a legal case about the 2nd Amendment, oh, something like you have to read both halves of it together, and get it back to a supreme court eventually staffed by people with brains who know how to read. They could write and support gun safety laws in all 50 States and suggest wording for gun safety legislation nationally, and control of sales of ammunition. Just like the Rs did with all their ALEC support. We need more irony (pun intended).
Us old farts remember when it was just what you say you wish it would be. They even sponsored and coached the U.S. Olympic Shooting team once upon a time. Yes, they always lobbied but they weren’t nearly so hard core as they became. There was a subsidiary branch, their Institute for Legislative Affairs (ILA) that did the nuts and bolts lobbying. In the latter 1980s it had grown increasingly militant and La Pierre’s becoming the Big Cheese wound up being the catalyst for making the craziest of the ILA types the real drivers of the NRA thirty years ago. I know for a fact they already had huge financial issues and that a LOT of fancy footwork was going on. There was a battle going on between the traditional NRA types, ILA and their advertising arm “Ack-Mack” as it was called which had a huge suite of offices in the actual NRA headquarters building in downtown DC. From what I learned (from someone I knew and trusted there) it seemed like the time would come when it would all boil over and lawsuits would be filed. Sure enough it eventually happpened. What matters most though is what’s already been talked about with the policy of flooding America with was more guns.
And all of the congress-critters with A+ ratings from the NRA will have to find a new feeding trough.
And what about all that dirty Russian money that Putin laundered through the NRA to fund Repug campaigns? The NRA really should be shut down since it was so easily manipulated and used for evil. For those who are nostalgic for the old days, maybe start a new and untainted organization, if you need one.
The silver lining is if we have to find a gun to overthrow trump’s dictatorship, there are 100 million plus AR15 weapons on the streets. Thanks gop! You’ll have my thoughts and prayers.