May 30, 2022
Afternoon Update:
** Murder Capital of the World. Annabelle Timsit of the Washington Post: "At least 14 mass shootings have taken place across the United States since Tuesday, from California to Arizona to Tennessee. This Memorial Day weekend alone -- spanning Saturday, Sunday and the federal holiday on Monday -- there have been at least 11 mass shootings. These incidents, gleaned from local news reports and police statements, meet the threshold for mass shootings as defined by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research organization. GVA defines a mass shooting as one in which 'four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter.' Several of those shootings occurred at parties, and one at a Memorial Day event." See also commentary in today's thread.
Missouri. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "A Black pregnant woman was shot five times by Kansas City police despite having her hands up, according to a witness. KCTV first reported that Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred on Friday. Highway Patrol said that officers in the Kansas Police Department spotted a vehicle at a Family Dollar that was suspected of being stolen. A witness named Shédanja later told The Kansas City Star The Kansas City Star that she had seen the shooting and recorded a video of the aftermath." According to KCTV, the woman was taken to the hospital & is in stable condition. MB: With video that I can't stand to watch. Maybe this woman was a shoplifter. Maybe she wasn't. I have no idea. But I do know you don't shoot somebody for stealing a couple of cans of Spaghettios.
Alexandra Berzon of the New York Times: "In the days after the 2020 election, [Cleta] Mitchell was among a cadre of Republican lawyers who frantically compiled unsubstantiated accusations, debunked claims and an array of confusing and inconclusive eyewitness reports to build the case that the election was marred by fraud.... Now Ms. Mitchell is prepping for the next election. Working with a well-funded network of organizations on the right, including the Republican National Committee, she is recruiting election conspiracists into an organized cavalry of activists monitoring elections. In seminars around the country, Ms. Mitchell is marshaling volunteers to stake out election offices, file information requests, monitor voting, work at polling places and keep detailed records of their work. She has tapped into a network of grass-root groups that promote misinformation and espouse wild theories about the 2020 election...."
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "It's time for [President]Biden to strongly attack the White-grievance industry. On Saturday -- the day before he departed for Uvalde, Tex. -- President Biden told University of Delaware graduates: 'In the face of such destructive forces, we have to stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer.' He also warned of the 'oldest and darkest forces in America' preaching hate and 'preying on hopelessness and despair.'... 'Forces' are not the problem; one political movement encased within the Republican Party is.... It's not the plague of 'polarization' or 'distrust' ... that has darkened our society. Bluntly put, we are in deep trouble because a major party rationalizes both intense selfishness ... and deprivation of others' rights (to vote, to make intimate decisions about reproduction, to be treated with respect)."
All He's Got Is Spite. Paul Waldman of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump's political project can now be described in a single word: spite. His personal animosities and resentments always played a key role in his political decisions, but what's different today is how little anything else seems to animate him. It's why he went to Wyoming to campaign for Harriet Hageman -- and why Hageman herself was an afterthought. All that matters is that she's primarying [Liz] Cheney, whose criticism of Trump has been unrelenting.... What kind of case can a politician so consumed with spite make to the general electorate?... If and when Trump runs again, his bid will have all the anger and hate of his past two campaigns, but none of the optimism he had in 2016. He has been distilled to his bitter, resentful core."
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Zeke Miller & Elliot Spagat of the AP : "President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of 'do something' as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: 'We will.' At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses -- one for each of those killed -- and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the children's photos as they moved along the row. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims' families are members, and one of the families was in attendance." A Washington Post story is here.
Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The U.S. Justice Department said on Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, at the request of its mayor, Don McLaughlin. 'The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events,' the Justice Department said in a statement." The Guardian's report is here.
Shawn Hubler & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: In Democratic-controlled states like New Jersey, New York and California, governors and legislators are rushing to enact firearms safety laws. "In Republican-controlled statehouses, however, the moves evoked an equal and opposite reaction. A day after Uvalde, rural conservatives in Pennsylvania and Michigan beat back Democratic attempts to force votes on long-blocked gun safety legislation. And in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican officials blamed the school massacre on a gunman with mental health problems, not gun laws. They accused Democrats of politicizing the situation with calls for gun control.... The state actions come as hope for congressional consensus has waned to a flicker, not only on gun violence, but on an array of American social issues..., , including abortion and civil rights.... As they publicly mourned the tragedy in Uvalde, Republican senators showed scant signs that they had budged."
Julia Shapero of Axios: "Attorney General Merrick Garland warned about threats to democracy in the U.S. and abroad in a commencement speech at Harvard University on Sunday.... Garland, who is a Harvard alumnus, pointed to efforts to undermine the right to vote, violence against particular groups of people, the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the Russian invasion of Ukraine abroad as the 'many ways in which democracy is under threat.'"
Trump's Revenge Tour Makes a Stop in Wyoming. Dave Weigel & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is ... rallying aggressively behind [Liz Cheney's] primary challenger Harriet Hageman, who he is wagering can topple his most outspoken Republican critic in Congress. He hit the trail over the weekend in a very different Wyoming from years past, one where thousands cheered him as he railed against Cheney and looped together what he called the 'failed foreign policy of the Clintons, Bushes, the Obamas and the Bidens.'... The Aug. 16 primary in Wyoming is shaping up as the next big test of Trump's effort to unseat Republican elected officials who have been critical of him and who fought his falsehood-ridden attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election." ~~~
~~~ Joanna Walters of the Guardian: "As the House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol by extremist supporters of Donald Trump prepares to start public hearings next week, the former president >called the insurrection on January 6, 2021, a hoax. Trump spoke at a rally in Wyoming on Saturday night in support of the Republican primary challenger in the midterm elections to congresswoman Liz Cheney. Cheney sits on the committee and has been vilified by Trump since she voted in favor of his historic second impeachment over the insurrection. Addressing the sub-capacity crowd at a rally in Casper for Republican candidate Harriet Hageman, Trump slammed Cheney, saying: 'As one of the nation's leading proponents of the insurrection hoax, Liz Cheney has pushed a grotesquely false, fabricated, hysterical partisan narrative.'
Vikram Dodd of the Guardian: "British authorities are pursuing the return of Kevin Spacey from the US to face sexual assault charges. An official familiar with the process told the Guardian the UK would seek the actor's formal extradition unless he decided to come back voluntarily. The international criminality directorate, a special Home Office unit, will act on behalf of police and prosecutors. Experts in extradition say US police may soon be sent to find Spacey, 62, and detain him on behalf of British authorities."
Beyond the Beltway
California. Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in Napa County, Calif., on Saturday night, according to the county's website. Bail for Mr. Pelosi, 82, was set at $5,000. County records show he was released from custody on Sunday morning. The charge he faces is a misdemeanor. Ms. Pelosi, a Democrat, has not addressed the arrest publicly. On Sunday, she delivered a commencement address at Brown University. News of her husband's arrest was reported by TMZ. A spokesman for Ms. Pelosi, Drew Hammill, said she was not with her husband during the incident."
New York. Amy Harris of the New York Times: "Ten people were injured at the Barclays Center [in Brooklyn] early Sunday morning when a loud noise heard on the street outside incited panic, sending throngs of people running as they tried to escape what they thought was a gunman."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "... European leaders will be gathering in Brussels for a two-day summit focused on the war in Ukraine.On the agenda of the European Council meeting is a package of sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo.... President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to address the European leaders by video link on Tuesday. On Sunday, Mr. Zelensky sought to build morale among his fighters by making a rare journey outside Kyiv to visit the country's northeast, near Kharkiv, which is still under shelling.... He was visiting eastern Ukraine as his military announced a counteroffensive in Kherson, a key city in the south that had been of the first to fall to Russia when the war began in February.... [Ukrainian officials] said the maneuver would require the delivery of Western artillery systems that had been promised by the United States and other allies. Those weapons are now showing up at frontline positions in the war's eastern theater.... Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said that sophisticated Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles had arrived. He said the missiles came courtesy of Denmark and would be used to try to break Russia's Black Sea blockade and to protect the port city of Odesa." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "Russian troops' assault on Severodonetsk, one of the last Ukrainian-held cities in the country's eastern Luhansk region, continued Sunday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 90 percent of the city's buildings and all of its 'critical infrastructure' had been destroyed.... A Russian ship was seen in new satellite images picking up grain in annexed Crimea and unloading it in Syria last week, with Ukrainian officials alleging that Moscow is stealing one of the country's main exports. In the hard-hit Donetsk region, 115 miners are stuck underground because of power outages, a provincial leader said Sunday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have separate telephone conversations Monday with the Ukrainian and Russian presidents 'to encourage the parties to operate channels of dialogue and diplomacy,' he said." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Do you think it would be a good idea -- or perhaps idiotic -- for the U.S. & E.U. to start signaling to Russia that the West will never support Russia's annexation of any part of Ukraine, so Putin should get over it? ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Monday are here.
Colombia. Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times: "Two anti-establishment candidates, Gustavo Petro, a leftist, and Rodolfo Hernández, a right-wing populist, captured the top two spots in Colombia's presidential election on Sunday, delivering a stunning blow to the country's dominant conservative political class. The two men will compete in a runoff election on June 19 that is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in the country's history. At stake is the country's economic model, its democratic integrity and the livelihoods of millions of people pushed into poverty during the pandemic. The Petro-Hernández face-off, said Daniel García-Peña, a Colombian political scientist, pits 'change against change.'"
U.K. Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post: "In a sea of bright red military uniforms..., Prince William, on horseback, inspected the Irish Guards, an Irish infantry regiment that is part of the British Army. While the display of pomp and pageantry unfolding in London on Saturday was extensive, it was just a 90-minute rehearsal. The rehearsal ... was staged just a few days before Thursday's ceremony, known as Trooping the Colour. It's held annually to mark the queen's official birthday, which is in June, but this year it also kick-starts a string of events celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne. The 96-year-old monarch usually takes the salute at the ceremony, but it remains unclear how involved the queen will be this year.... If the queen passes these ceremonial duties to another royal family member Thursday, it will be the first time in her reign she has done so, the Sunday Times reported."
New York Times: "Rescue workers recovered 21 bodies on Monday after a daylong effort to reach the site of a plane crash in the rocky heights of the Himalayas, according to officials in Nepal. The Canadian-made De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, operated by Tara Air and carrying 19 passengers and three crew members, took off on Sunday morning from the central Nepali city of Pokhara and was headed for Jomsom, a tourist destination popular with trekkers.... 'We recovered 21 dead bodies,' said Netra Prasad Sharma, the chief administrator of Mustang District, where the crash occurred. 'One is still missing.'"
New York Times: "Hurricane Agatha, the first named storm this year in the eastern Pacific, intensified rapidly on Sunday, packing winds of up to 110 miles per hour and heavy rains that threaten to unleash potentially fatal floods and mudslides when it makes landfall in Mexico on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said. Agatha, which was upgraded from a tropical storm on Sunday, had sustained winds that exceeded the threshold for a Category 2 hurricane. Forecasters said it was expected to become a 'major hurricane' -- with maximum sustained winds of 111 m.p.h. or greater -- before it reaches the coast of southern Mexico on Monday afternoon or evening. The Mexican state of Oaxaca could get as much as 16 inches of rain, with isolated amounts of 20 inches, the center said on Sunday night."
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Reader Comments (12)
On Memorial Day, a lawyer remembers his home town...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/29/uvalde-shooting-warning-signs-racism-poverty-guns/
WHAT AMERICA NEEDS IS A LIBERALISM THAT BUILDS:
Ezra Klein gives us on this Memorial Day a thought provoking look into transforming the government:
Our "Government isn't intrinsically inefficient. It has been made inefficient and not just by the right."
I found this read to be most profound––had to read it twice to fully grasp its messages. Worth your time to take a stab at it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/29/opinion/biden-liberalism-infrastructure-building.html
And on this Memorial Day let us remember that more Americans have been killed by guns since 1968 than all U.S. wars combined.
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/more-americans-killed-guns-1968-all-u-s-wars-combined-n807156
Fatty on Liz Cheney:
Grotesque, false, fabricated, hysterical, partisan…
Oh, Fatso, are we projecting again? How very Trumpy of you.
Marie,
Re: the West possibly allowing Russia to grab land that is not theirs.
This is an idea floated by self-proclaimed genius and actual war criminal Henry Kissinger. Ol’ Hank sez “Russia is big power. Little countries must do what big countries want. I have spoken!” Kissinger is mired in the past, when the great powers could divvy up the planet according to their own needs and desires, like with the Treaty of Versailles after WWI. It would take a much longer posting to even outline all the misery caused by that disastrous power grab in the name of Great States Do Whatever the Hell They Want.
Besides, for all its bluster and murderous intentions, Russia is no longer a great state. Putin just thinks it is, or should be. He’s still dangerous, but I have a built-in antipathy to doing anything suggested by sneaky rat bastard, international war criminal Henry Kissinger.
Plus, why reward the bully? At this point, the West is connected in ways both Putin and his puppet Trump always hoped would never come about.
Ukraine is in trouble, yes. But who thought Ukraine would cause this much havoc to the great Russian Army in so short a time? Even by conservative estimates, Mother Russia has lost more soldiers in a few months in Ukraine than in ten years in Afghanistan.
Fuck Putin. And fuck Kissinger too.
@Akhilleus: There has been no one in the history of humankind who had less self-awareness than Donald Trump. He does not recognize in himself a single annoying tic, a shortcoming, a character fault. Yet he sees those same flaws again and again in the "losers" he doesn't like.
The third mass murder in two weeks (Buffalo, Uvalde, and at a Taiwanese church in CA where six people were shot).
Time for action!
Something must be done!
And the Senate?
Goes on vacation. For 10 days. Please tell me why they need a 10 day vacation? Too much hard work? The only thing Senate Traitors do is tweet lies and bullshit.
This isn’t the only reason nothing gets done, but in the wake of all those children being murdered because of the actions and inactions of R pols, the optics of “Kids killed! Let’s hit the beach!” are pretty fucking horrible. But in fairness, I suppose, nothing would get done if they stayed.
“Despair” doesn’t come close.
Actually those are just the most high profile mass shootings. "According to the Gun Violence Archive, an independent organization that collects data from over 7,500 sources, eight people have been killed and another 45 injured in the five days following the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde."
I believe the Robb Elementary shooting was the 213th of the year. More than one a day. But cocktail hour calls to help the members of Congress forget their worries, and obligations.
RAS,
Good point. It’s important to remember that, despite the high profile of school shootings, such horrible death scenes account for only a small percentage of gun violence and death, something like 1 or 2 percent, or so I’ve read.
By far—a third—the greatest number of gun deaths are attributed to suicide. I’ve had two close friends, guys I’ve known since high school, who went out this way (today is the birthday of one of them; he would have been 68). And I know what the gun knobbers say “Well, it’s not the guns, those people would have found some other way”. No. I really don’t think so. Not these guys. Guns make it all fast and easy. You don’t have time to think it through, to see if that really is the only way out.
Even if there are others considering suicide who might find another way (and they do), removing guns from the equation might prevent thousands of deaths.
Then there are the other modes of gun violence and those not killed but permanently scarred and disabled.
School shootings make headlines. But they are quickly forgotten. The vast majority of victims of Republican perfidy, greed, and cowardice never make the papers, but the scars from those Republican sponsored guns never heal.
That also puts the lie, not they ever tell the truth, to the claim that they care about gettting people help for their mental health. The only time Republicans pretend to care about mental health is in the aftermath of something horrific like Uvalde, but then they move along afterwards doing nothing. The "pro-life" party once again does nothing to help those living stay living. Especially when one of the answers to cutting down on suicides would involve temporarily confiscating or restricting access to guns.
Some perspective.
Deaths from firearms (45,000) surpassed those from motor vehicle accidents (43,000) in 2021 (and motor vehicle accidents jumped o10% over the previous year).
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/us-traffic-deaths-hit-16-year-high-in-2021-dot-says.html
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
Then there are house fire deaths, which hover between 3 and 4 thousand/year.
https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/house-fire-statistics/
All those traffic police cruising the roads and all those fire departments and personnel supported by local taxes, but for the greatest scourge of all?
Nada. Nada. Nada.
@Ak, one interesting coincidence is that former ambassador (fired by you know who) Marie Yovanovitch essentially grew up in the same town where Hank currently lives.
She must be back home for the holiday because she's scheduled to appear on a forum about Ukraine at our local high school this Wednesday evening. I plan to attend as an audience member.