I truly hate having to write about this awful subject. Most news is bad but this is unspeakable.
Here in the U.S., we’re averaging ten mass shootings a week in 2022, or about three every two days. They are so common that it has become difficult for any single incident to break through the membrane of mass apathy that surrounds such matters for longer than a news cycle or two.
A dozen or so victims in Buffalo, a couple dozen in Milwaukee., a few more in Atlanta and yet more at a church in Orange County. Here and there, anywhere really, the rat-a-tat-tat of automatic gunfire cuts down a few more innocents for no particular reason.
The violence is sometimes motivated by racist hate — that stupid “replacement theory” — and other times it seems just random. Yet the question of meaningful gun reform is no longer even seriously debated in this country. As a matter of public policy, the issue is moot. The Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms, and we as a society are unable to muster a consensus to modify that right in any meaningful way.
In some jurisdictions, automatic clips are restricted; convicted felons aren’t supposed to have access to guns, background checks and other restrictions apply in certain cases. But overall, we all know that anyone can get his or her hands on lethal weapons and we seem powerless to prevent the carnage that inevitably results.
Today it’s somewhere else. Tomorrow it may be around the corner. Today the victim is somebody else, tomorrow it may be you or me.
There is no rational reason for the U.S. population to be armed to the teeth. Unlike Ukraine, no enemy will invade us. We have no good reason to be shooting at one another. We are a people in a crazy war with themselves and nobody really seems to want to end it.
Today’s Headlines (38):
Blinken in Berlin for NATO talks as Finland set to formalize bid (WP)
Sweden announces it should "work toward" an application for NATO membership (CNN)
Battle rages for Ukrainian region of Donbas (Reuters)
Russia is furious that Finland is joining NATO but can’t do much about it (WP)
Russian Soldiers Shot Three Brothers and Threw Them in a Grave. One Survived. (WSJ)
Ukraine war: Russia's invasion not going to plan, Nato says (BBC)
Russian rate of advance 'unlikely to dramatically accelerate' in next 30 days (NHK)
Small wins buoy Ukraine; West says Russians losing momentum (AP)
G7 warns of global hunger crisis unless Russia lifts Ukraine blockade (Financial Times)
It's week 19 of the year and America has already seen 198 mass shootings (NPR)
America’s Gun Plague (Atlantic)
10 people are killed and 3 are wounded in a mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store. (NYT)
Harris says U.S. 'seeing an epidemic of hate' after mass shooting in Buffalo (Reuters)
Buffalo shooting that killed 10 was racially motivated hate crime, officials say (WP)
Official: Buffalo gunman had threatened high school shooting (AP)
At least 21 people were injured in 3 shootings after a Bucks game in Milwaukee (NPR)
With fear and fury, thousands across U.S. rally for abortion rights (WP)
Abortion rights backers rally in anger over post-Roe future (AP)
A landmark study tracks the lasting effect of having an abortion — or being denied one (NPR)
Musk, Twitter and his goal of saving ‘all life on Earth’ (WP)
VIDEO: Rare Dust Storm Blasts Several Plains States with Powerful Winds (NYT)
Parents’ Role When Troubled Adult Children Move Back In (WSJ)
Pollsters prepare for major changes after presidential election misses (Politico)
A Fracture in Idaho’s G.O.P. as the Far Right Seeks Control (NYT)
Election Officials Steel Themselves for Threats as Midterm Season Gears Up (WSJ)
The Colorado River is in crisis and getting worse every day (WP)
New Restrictions Could Cut Carbon Offsets From Major Rainforests (WSJ)
To Survive, Some Afghans Sift Through Deadly Remnants of Old Wars (NYT)
In the Taliban’s Afghanistan, control of women begins at home (WP)
A Ruling Family on the Run as Sri Lanka Plunges Into Economic Ruin (NYT)
Amid global anger, Israel says it will investigate police assault on funeral (WP)
Man To Continue Slowly Drifting Into Middle Of Restaurant Until Host Redirects Him (The Onion)
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