"We are being held hostage by 50 senators in Washington who refuse to even put it to a vote, despite what we the American people want." — Steve Kerr, coach, Golden State Warriors
***
Sometimes it takes an unexpected voice to change the debate. Then again, to label Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s voice as “unexpected” is inappropriate since he has been speaking out on social issues for years.
The place and time was unexpected but propitious. With the international press corps assembled for his pre-game remarks, Kerr refused to discuss basketball at all in Dallas on Tuesday to focus instead on the unspeakable tragedy unfolding in the little town of Uvalde a few hundred miles to the south.
Nineteen fourth-graders had just been shot dead, along with two adults.
Kerr chose the moment to put his team’s highly-anticipated NBA playoff game in perspective — after all it was only a game.
But the bloodshed at Robb Elementary School was not a game. Nineteen innocents will never play basketball or any kind of game ever again; their lives have been snuffed out thanks to this country’s unacceptably weak gun ownership laws.
Kerr placed the blame directly where it belongs — on the 50 gutless U.S. senators blocking meaningful gun reform legislation. And by seizing the moment to do that he demonstrated what true leadership all about — in sports, in business, in politics, in life.
Just one of those senators needs to have a change of heart and develop a conscience. Kerr knows that — and also that that reality is far more important than whether he wins or loses any basketball game.
That’s leadership. Maybe if we are lucky when he ends his coaching career, Kerr will run for public office.
And, just as an aside, now you know what makes Kerr one of the most successful head coaches in the history of professional sports.
***
On the subject of progressive leadership, in San Francisco, there is new evidence that the police department tried to sabotage District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s attempt to break up an organized crime car-theft ring during the controversial run-up to his recall election June 7th.
Two stories detail the scandal:
SF DA Boudin says police refused to help in boba shop bust, so he was forced to rent U-Haul (Yahoo)
SFPD refused to help stop San Francisco Quickly car burglary ring, report alleges (SFGate)
***
Today’s Top News Stories:
Donald Trump endorsed 27 candidates across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and the Texas runoffs. His win-loss record took a hit Tuesday. (Politico)
Kemp, Raffensperger win in blow to Trump and his false election claims (WP)
Brian Kemp trounces Trump-backed David Perdue in a Republican primary battle for Georgia governor. (NYT)
Takeaways: Trump’s big defeat; election denial backfiring (AP)
America’s gun violence crisis. Gun violence surged to a decadeslong high during the pandemic. Gun homicides jumped 35 percent between 2019 and 2020 and were involved in 80 percent of the nation’s homicides, the highest rate since 1994 (Politico)
At least 19 children, 2 adults killed after shooter opens fire at Texas elementary school (CBS)
Official: Texas gunman bought two assault rifles on 18th birthday (CNN)
'I'm tired of the moments of silence,' says Warriors coach Steve Kerr as he makes powerful plea against gun violence (CNN)
America’s Hands Are Full of Blood (Atlantic)
Will Congress act on guns after Sandy Hook, Buffalo, Uvalde? (AP)
President Joe Biden said he is “sick and tired” of lawmakers’ inaction on gun control after the mass shooting in Texas. "Why are we willing to live with this carnage?" Biden asked. Former President Barack Obama argued that “our country is paralyzed — not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might prevent these tragedies.” [HuffPost]
More than 311,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine (WP)
Why Gun Control in America Is So Hard (Atlantic)
Russia’s ships are blockading Ukraine. Its navy now effectively controls traffic in the northern part of the Black Sea, making it unsafe for commercial shipping, the U.S. said. (WP)
Bodies of dead Russian soldiers abandoned near Kyiv (BBC)
UN: Nearly 4,000 civilians killed in Ukraine, over 6.6 million have fled (NHK)
Russia wants ‘to destroy everything’ in Donbas region, Zelensky warns (WP)
Russian forces launched offensives on towns in eastern Ukraine with constant mortar bombardment destroying several houses and killing civilians, Ukrainian officials said, as Russia focuses its attack on the industrial Donbas region. Russia is ready to provide a humanitarian corridor for vessels carrying food to leave Ukraine, in return for the lifting of some sanctions, the Interfax news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying. (Reuters)
U.S. Speeds Up Reshaping of Taiwan’s Defenses to Deter China (NYT)
Xinjiang Police Files: Inside a Chinese internment camp (BBC)
New poll: 54% of Americans disapprove of Supreme Court following Roe draft opinion leak (CNN)
Biden's public approval rating fell this week to 36%, the lowest level of his presidency, as Americans suffered from rising inflation, according to a poll. (Reuters)
SF DA Boudin says police refused to help in boba shop bust, so he was forced to rent U-Haul (Yahoo)
SFPD refused to help stop San Francisco Quickly car burglary ring, report alleges (SFGate)
Trailer Released For Documentary On Progressive San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin As He Fights Recall Vote (Deadline)
Taliban ordered female newscasters to cover up. Men joined in protest. (WP)
1.1 million Afghan children could face severe malnutrition (AP)
Remote learning apps are collecting data on millions of kids. Nearly 90% of 164 common educational tools shared that information — including keystroke data, location, contacts and more — with ad companies, a new study found. (WP)
Kelp Is Weirdly Great at Sucking Carbon Out of the Sky (Atlantic)
Concerned NRA Official Rushes Out To Purchase Congressman Following Mass Shooting (The Onion)
TODAY’s LYRICS:
“Hurt”
Nine Inch Nails, Johnny Cash
Written by Michael Trent Reznor
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I'm still right here
What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
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