| Greta Van Susteren, APP Baron? You of course remember Greta from her long tenures on CNN and Fox News and her brief one on MSNBC, right? Now, she's about to release an "APP" that she wants you to install on your phone. It's called Sorry: You will get to 'accept or reject' apologies from a friend (kept private between you and your friend) or 'accept or reject' apologies of public figures which we ALL get to see and vote to accept or reject. We all get to see what others think about accept or reject of public apologies when we see the numbers roll in on those very public apologies. Eg, imagine if you and everyone else got to vote 'accept or reject' when Kathy Griffin apologized? Was it enough? or not? And how would she know if her apology was accepted without the vote counter? It's easy to criticize what seemingly silly things really rich people do with their money, but perhaps Greta is on to something, since social media is built on human conflict. Washington, D.C., Government to Pay for Parking Lot for Rich Foodies. It's always enjoyable to watch one of America's most liberal city councils disappoint its most liberal denizens. Recently, the council voted to spend $36 million on 600 parking spots outside of Union Market, a privately owned foodie food court. Here's Chad Hughes, a contributor to the website GreaterGreaterWashington, criticizing the decision: It's a $36 million subsidy for congestion and pollution. How do progressives defend that vote? There's already way too much car infrastructure in this area. It's honestly embarrassing that we can't get this right. All this talk about Vision Zero and Paris and we still subsidize parking near transit. Urban Progressives in 2017: Subsidize parking, not affordable housing and transit! Of course this is a waste of money. Progressive transportation advocates are right, but for the wrong reason: Not because of it being a garage, but because it's so obviously a subsidy for a very specific private business. (Which roads supposedly are, too, according to anti-car advocates.) Should you wake up at 4 a.m. to be more productive? Probably not, but these folks seem to think it's a good idea. Senate Democrats Resurrect the Assault Weapons Ban. NBC News is reporting that Dianne Feinstein and 22 other Senate Democrats are going to propose a new ban on so-called "assault rifles." The original Federal Assault Weapons Ban passed in 1994 expired in 2004. There have been failed attempts to restore it, most recently by Senator Feinstein in 2013. Here's what Feinstein's proposing: Bans any assault weapon that accepts a detachable ammunition magazine and has one or more military characteristics including a pistol grip, a forward grip, a barrel shroud, a threaded barrel or a folding or telescoping stock. Bans magazines and other ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, which allow shooters to quickly fire many rounds without needing to reload. Owners may keep existing magazines. Current owners of such firearms or components, Feinstein says, will be grandfathered, provided they are owned lawfully. It appears grandfathered owners could sell, gift, or trade their grandfathered weapon, but doing so would require a background check on the new owner. One exception would be magazines that store more than 10 rounds, which the bill would outlaw the transfer of. The legislation would supposedly require that all such firearms be stored in "secure gun storage" or be locked with a safety device, such as a trigger lock. And the legislation would ban "bump stocks" used by the Las Vegas shooter. Republicans have already signalled interest in banning "bump stocks" in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre. That is perhaps the only room for agreement between the Senate's pro-Second Amendment right and the Senate's liberals. But since the NRA has pushed back against such efforts, this likely means even that is not going to happen. Basically, such legislation is a marker, as it was in 2013 when Feinstein last pushed it. Her press release on the bill says as much: We’re introducing an updated Assault Weapons Ban for one reason: so that after every mass shooting with a military-style assault weapon, the American people will know that a tool to reduce these massacres is sitting in the Senate, ready for debate and a vote. Just don't expect a debate or a vote anytime soon. Why Johnstown, Pa., Loves Trump. Politico Magazine has a longform story talking with folks in sleepy Johnstown, Pennsylvania. on Year No. 1 of Trump. All too often, stories like these are basically explainers for costal liberals as to how to think of people / feel sorry for people in the Rust Belt and understand why they don't share the same worldview. This is certainly one of those sorts of articles, but it is also depressingly a whole lot more. There's a lot to unpack in the piece. The opioid crisis there is ... bad. While some jobs are coming back, they're having trouble filling them: “We just don’t have the workforce,” said Liston, the city manager. “If they are employable, and have a skill set, basically they already moved out of the area.” Read the whole thing. —Jim Swift, Deputy Online Editor Please feel free to send us comments, thoughts and links to dailystandard@weeklystandard.com. -30- | 