“I look at the world / And I notice it's turning” — The Beatles
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It’ may not be surprising that it took a British publication, the Guardian, to bring up the historical roots of gun violence in the U.S. at the very moment this country — incomprehensibly — may be increasing its unconscionable rate of mass shootings from the historical level, which is already 57 times as many as the other six G7 countries combined.
In case you were wondering about the comparable populations, there are over 100 million more people in those six countries than in the U.S.
The main point of the article is that we have not yet escaped the racist and genocidal impulses that colored this country’s origin. Will we ever? That is a fair question.
Meanwhile, deep within the Guardian piece is a statistic that we’ve probably all heard before but bears repeating: A citizen is twice as likely to be imprisoned in the U.S. as in Russia, a nation with a government we roundly and rightly condemn as authoritarian. Also, in America we imprison seven times as many people per capita as in France.
We know that the only way to reduce gun violence is new legislation. And the only way to reduce the prison population is criminal justice reform. But legislation is apparently politically impossible at present and tolerance for any kind of reform in the U.S. is currently on trial in San Francisco with Tuesday’s upcoming vote to recall progressive D.A. Chesa Boudin. That measure is called Proposition H.
An incisive analysis of the issue titled “What’s Stopping Chesa Boudin?” has been produced by The Intercept.
Early polls indicated Boudin had little chance to avoid being recalled, which is funded by $7 million of right-wing money, but numerous articles in local Bay Area publications (Bay Guardian, 48 Hills and SF Examiner) have added some last-minute drama to this nationally significant race.
The Examiner piece best captures why Boudin appears to be gaining ground at the eleventh hour. He has been able to inspire a large contingent of idealistic volunteers who are going door-to-door and also making thousands of phone calls on his behalf. This old-fashioned approach may overcome the advertising campaign arrayed against him, which is downright hysterical in tone. Tucker Carlson is leading the charge against Boudin and the New York Post editorial board has beseeched its readers to “pray” that San Francisco voters would recall him.
(The last time I checked, prayers in New York do not count as votes here on the opposite coast.)
A late-breaking new poll released by the Boudin camp Friday afternoon reveals that the voters are now evenly split (47 - 47 percent) on Prop H but that turnout appears to be low. So it turns out that the outcome will turn out to depend on the turnout.
Unlike the emerging positive signs in San Francisco, the country as a whole seems frozen and unable to figure out how to regulate assault weapons, identify mass killers, protect vulnerable facilities like schools or decommission what are essentially criminal-production factories called prisons, even though virtually every other country in the world does a better job at all those tasks than we do.
But the world just keeps turning.
TODAY’s LINKS (6/4/22 — 42 stories from 27 sources)
America is steeped in violence. And the roots of that violence go deep (Guardian)
Zelensky: We did the impossible in stopping Russia (BBC)
After 100 days of war, Putin is counting on the world's indifference (CNN)
Russian forces advanced deep into the ruined eastern factory city of Sievierodonetsk, as Russia's assault on its neighbour entered its 100th day. (Reuters)
‘Everything is gone’: Eastern Ukraine residents say Russia is wiping their towns off the map (Politico)
Time favours Ukraine in its grim struggle for national survival (Financial Times)
Beijing chafes at Moscow’s requests for support, Chinese officials say (WP)
Deadly secret: Electronic warfare shapes Russia-Ukraine war (AP)
‘Not if but When’: More Mass Shootings Add to Weary Nation’s Grief (NYT)
President Joe Biden gave his second evening address of his presidency, exhorting Congress to pass gun control legislation after a wave of mass shootings stretching from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Buffalo, New York. The president called on lawmakers to pass a suite of measures, including universal background check legislation, a ban on assault weapons, a national “red flag” law and an increase on the age requirement to buy a gun. [HuffPost]
Everytown launches ads targeting GOP lawmakers to act on gun-safety measures (Politico)
The Pivot to Web3 Is Going to Get People Hurt — “A lot of people are trying to get in on it, and a lot of people are more afraid of not getting in.” (Vice)
There’s plenty on the San Francisco ballot in June, but the defining issue is Prop. H, the effort to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. This is about more than one DA; it’s a national battle over the future of the criminal justice system, and a local battle over control of San Francisco politics. The supporters of the recall are putting out wildly misleading information, sometimes direct lies, and a mostly compliant local news media has gone along. Here’s the truth: Crime has not increased under Boudin’s tenure. (Bay Guardian)
Inside Chesa Boudin’s campaign headquarters — This is not a cozy new cafe; it’s the headquarters of the No on H campaign that’s fighting the recall effort against District Attorney Chesa Boudin. The storefront headquarters in the Castro serves as both nerve center and overarching metaphor for the underdog campaign. (SF Examiner)
Critics say the DA’s Office is run like the Public Defenders Office. That’s not true — I work for Chesa Boudin, and I am a fair and balanced prosecutor. (48 Hills)
Recall Chesa Boudin Campaign Releases First TV Ad, Featuring Paid Campaign Staff (SFist)
The Trial of Chesa Boudin — Can a young progressive prosecutor survive a political backlash in San Francisco? (New Yorker)
What’s Stopping Chesa Boudin? (The Intercept)
New poll shows Boudin recall is a dead heat (48 Hills)
How the Proud Boys Gripped the Miami-Dade Republican Party (NYT)
U.S. employment likely increased at a brisk clip in May, with the jobless rate expected to have dropped to its pre-pandemic low of 3.5%, signs of a tight labor market that could keep the Federal Reserve's foot on the pedal to cool demand. (Reuters)
Turkey’s inflation soars to 73%, a 23-year high, as food and energy costs skyrocket (CNBC)
United Nations Agrees To Turkey's Request To Change Its Name (Huff Post)
Security concerns leave Afghan evacuees stuck in Balkan camp (AP)
Pakistan Taliban call indefinite truce with Islamabad (NHK)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a "super bad feeling" about the economy and wants to cut about 10% of jobs at the electric carmaker, he said in an email to executives. The message came two days after the world's richest man told employees to return to the workplace or leave the company. (Reuters)
Grand jury indicts former Trump adviser Peter Navarro for contempt of Congress (CNN)
Up to 15,000 may join largest ever migrant caravan to walk through Mexico to US (Guardian)
Thousands of kids are getting sick from downing melatonin pills (NPR)
Electricity generation from California’s hydropower dams could be cut in half this summer. (Grist)
Sky high: Carbon dioxide levels in air spike past milestone (AP)
Drought-stricken US warned of looming "dead pool" (BBC)
How humid air, intensified by climate change, is melting Greenland ice (WP)
Driverless taxis are coming to the streets of San Francisco (NPR)
NASA to reveal Hell-like planet that rains lava at night (Chron)
Strange 'unknown structure,' a faint radio glow thousands of light-years wide, found around closest quasar (Space.com)
LeBron James of the Lakers is officially the first active N.B.A. player to make the Forbes list of billionaires. (Forbes)
Texas Passes Mandatory 24-Hour Waiting Period Before Police Can Engage Active Shooters (The Onion)
TODAY’s LYRICS:
“Why My Guitar Gently Weeps”
The Beatles
I look at you all
See the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor
And I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
I look at the world
And I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake
We must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
I look at you all
See the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
(Look) look at you all
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