The irony of the ‘right to life movement.’ Or, should I say, the lunacy of the ‘right to life movement.’

Commentary

‘Right to life’ + ‘Don’t take my guns away’ = RIGHT-WING HYPOCRISY!

This is not the story I intended to write today; I was going to write about America’s most high profile hypocrite, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas. But Thomas’ indiscretions, his potential crimes, will not be going away soon. There will be plenty of time for stories about this embarrassment, not only to the American justice system, but to America writ large! In the Thomas story I was going to also write about the intransigence of Senator Diane Feinstein, an intransigence that can almost guarantee the elevation of more Thomas-like judges to the federal judiciary. But, apparently, Feinstein, like Thomas, will not be going away soon.

I deferred my Thomas commentary when four news stories crossed my desk over the last few days. One was about the consequences of Florida’s anti-abortion law (a law made considerably worse after Governor DeSantis signed a more restrictive, six-week abortion ban last week); three were about the most recent instances of gun violence. Each of these stories is horrific. The abortion story demonstrates the consequences of badly written laws on families and loved ones – laws that leave doctors cowering when faced with critical medical decisions, putting those decisions into the hands of administrators and lawyers. The three gun violence stories ended in the needless deaths of two individuals; the one that didn’t, and you won’t hear me say this often, might be attributed to “there but for the grace of God.”

The Non-Abortion Death

The abortion story was actually first reported in The Washington Post in February. It follows an Around the Block story I posted on April 11, Florida’s abortion restrictions have disrupted the standard of care for a pregnancy complication two women experienced late last year.

The Post’s headline:

Her baby has a deadly diagnosis. Her Florida doctors refused an abortion.

“Deborah Dorberts is devoting the final days before her baby’s birth to planning the details of the infant’s death. She and her husband will swaddle the newborn in a warm blanket, show their love and weep hello even as they say goodbye. They have decided to have the fragile body cremated and are looking into ways of memorializing their second-born child.”

The story continued, “Florida’s H.B. 5 — Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality — went into effect last July, soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a half-century constitutional right to abortion. (Thank you, Justice Alito and the aforementioned Clarence Thomas.)

“The new law (the law, now superseded by DeSantis’ six week ban) bans abortion after 15 weeks with a couple of exceptions, including one that permits a later termination if “two physicians certify in writing that, in reasonable medical judgment, the fetus has a fatal fetal abnormality” and has not reached viability.

“It is not clear how the Dorberts’ doctors applied the law in this situation. Their baby has a condition long considered lethal that is now the subject of clinical trials to assess a potential treatment.

“On the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, Deborah Dorbets had an appointment with a maternal fetal medicine specialist. A third ultrasound, now at 24 weeks gestation, confirmed earlier findings, Deborah said, and the specialist told them that the condition was incompatible with life. This doctor also gave the diagnosis its common name: Potter syndrome.

“He told them that some parents choose to continue to full term; others terminate the pregnancy through surgery or by inducing preterm labor, she recalled. He said he would begin contacting health-system administrators about the new law, and stepped out of the room to give the couple privacy to mull over their options.

“The Dorberts decided they would like to terminate the pregnancy as soon as they could. She recalls the doctor saying the termination, which would be performed by her obstetrician, might be possible between 28 and 32 weeks.”

The Post continued:

“In December, Deborah says, she texted the coordinator at the maternal fetal medicine office regularly, hoping to schedule an induction by Christmas. The response stunned her: After consulting health-system administrators about the law, the specialist concluded Deborah would have to wait until close to full term, around 37 weeks gestation, she recalled the coordinator telling her.

“The doctor made his determination after having ‘legal/administration look at the new law and the way it’s written,’ the coordinator reiterated to Deborah in a recent text message she shared with The Post. ‘It’s horribly written,’ the text continued.“

In defense of the law, Kelli Stargel, a former Republican state senator and one of the bill’s key sponsors, said the law was written to permit abortions when there is no chance of survival.

“If the baby has a fatal fetal abnormality and cannot survive outside the womb, it can be terminated at any point in the pregnancy,” Stargel said. “It was my intention not to require a woman to maintain a pregnancy when doctors agree the baby is not viable.”

But, she said, if medical professionals and lawyers disagree, that will be decided in the court system.

In this case, medical professionals, fearing lawsuits, loss of license or arrest, demurred. Deborah Dorbets delivered a baby, with no chance of living.

According to Stephanie Fraim, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida:

“The situation this family has been put in is cruel and unnecessary. No mother, father or grandparent should have to experience this.

“Florida politicians are interfering with the most personal, complex decision a family must make during a pregnancy. We should trust this family and their physician to make the best medical decision for them.

“Abortion bans don’t help families, and this situation shows how cruel and dangerous they are. When doctors can’t offer their patients all medically sound treatment options because they’re afraid of being sued, the patients and their families suffer.

“This family needs compassion, not government interference banning critical health care.”

Prior to signing the 6-week ban, DeSantis said, “We’re for pro-life.” Perhaps he should have added, “critical health care and compassion be damned!”

GOP (Grand Old Party)? Not for DeSantis and his cronies. They belong to the HOP – Hypocrites Old Party.

Gun Violence

What happened on the gun violence front this week or so is not, for once, about mass shootings. It’s about America’s run-of-the mill “I’ve got a gun and I’ll use it to shoot anyone when I want” epidemic.

The headline for story #1: White Kansas City man, 84, charged for shooting Black teen who went to wrong house

As reported by Reuters:

“Prosecutors charged an 84-year-old white Kansas City man, Andrew Lester, with two felonies on Monday in the shooting of a Black teenager, Ralph Yarl, who was wounded after walking up to the wrong house when going to pick up his younger twin brothers. Lester fired two shots through a glass door from a .32-caliber revolver, Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said. Yarl, who was struck in the head and an arm, did not cross the threshold, adding it did not appear any words were exchanged in the encounter, according to Thompson.“

What happened?

“On Thursday evening, Ralph was sent to pick up his younger twin brothers at a friend’s house. He mixed up the address and went to Northeast 115 Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace, which is one block away.

“Mr. Lester answered the door, the authorities said, and shot the 16-year-old in the forehead and in the right arm. Afterward, Ralph made his way to another nearby house for help.

“It’s not clear if the teenager had knocked on Mr. Lester’s door or if he rang the doorbell. However, Mr. Thompson, the prosecutor, said that Ralph did not ‘cross the threshold’ into the home and that shots were fired through a glass door from a .32-caliber handgun. There was no indication that ‘any words were exchanged,’ Mr. Thompson said.“

Ralph Yarl survived the shooting. But not before going to three neighboring houses to seek help. Help was rejected by the residents of the first two houses; the resident of the third house assisted by calling authorities, but only after he told the wounded, unarmed teenager to lie on the ground with his hands up. Fortunately, there are Good Samaritans in this neighborhood; another neighbor, James Lynch, hearing the shots, ran outside to get to Yarl where he and another neighbor, who came over with towels to help stem the bleeding, waited with Yarl until paramedics arrived.

It is expected that the shooter will use “Stand Your Ground,” the Right’s go-to “Don’t take my guns away” as his defense.

The headline for story #2: Kansas City shooting leaves 1 dead and 4 injured, including a child.

CNN: A gas station shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday night left one person dead and four people injured, including a child, according to a police department news release. Officers were dispatched just before 9:30 p.m. Friday on a report of the sound of gunshots. They found a man in the parking lot at the gas station, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The man was transported to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries, police said.

The headline for story #3: 20-year-old woman shot dead after pulling into wrong driveway, police say

Washington Post: “A 20-year-old woman was shot dead after she and her friends accidentally pulled into the wrong driveway in Upstate New York while they were looking for their friend’s house. The homeowner, a 65-year-old man, has been charged with murder.

“The incident took place Saturday night in Hebron, a small town northeast of Albany. Kaylin Gillis and three others were driving around the rural area with little to no cell service when they mistakenly drove into the driveway of a residence belonging to Kevin Monahan.

“The friends ‘realized their mistake’ quickly and began to back out of the driveway,‘ Sheriff Jeffrey J. Murphy said. But he said Monahan came out onto his porch and fired two shots — one of which hit Gillis. Police did not immediately say what type of weapon was used.

“‘None of the people inside the car got out or tried to enter Monahan’s house before he shot at them,’ Murphy said. ‘There was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened,’ he added.

“’This is a very sad case of some young adults that were looking for a friend’s house and ended up at this man’s house who decided to come out with a firearm and discharge it,’ Murphy said. He added that Gillis was ‘an innocent young girl’ and that he knew her family personally. ‘She was … taken way too young,’ he said.

“‘There’s clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicle,’ Sheriff Murphy said. ‘There’s no reason for Mr Monahan to feel threatened.‘

“Mr. Monahan was ‘uncooperative with the investigation and refused to exit his residence to speak with police’, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.”

Ms. Gillis and her friends are white. Despite that, I’m willing to bet that when Mr. Monahan does speak, his first words will be “Stand your ground.”

Lunacy. The Cambridge dictionary’s definition is the one that best describes the perpetrators of these crimes: “stupid behavior that will have bad results.” Stupid behavior, indeed. Stupid behavior by cynical politicians enabling dangerous people to behave stupidly! Dangerous people who clearly don’t believe in compassion or the misnamed “right to life” mantra.

Another day, two more mass shootings

Commentary

Is “American Bloodshed” the real definition of “American Exceptionalism?”

I opened my computer this morning, Sunday, April 16, to begin my scan of the many newspapers and news sites I receive. These were at the top of the news:

4 dead, multiple injured in Alabama shooting, state authorities say

By Javaid Maham

April 16, 2023 at 10:09 a.m. EDT

Four people are confirmed dead and several others injured in a mass shooting late Saturday in Dadeville, Tallapoosa County, Alabama, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a statement Sunday morning.

The shooting happened just after 10:30 p.m. Saturday near Broadnax Street, the ALEA said.

The ALEA and the State Bureau of Investigations have launched an investigation at the request of the Dadeville Police Chief.

“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said on Twitter.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

2 Dead and 4 Injured in Shooting at a Kentucky Park, Police Say

The gunfire in a Louisville park came as hundreds of people were outside enjoying a warm spring night. It comes just days after a mass shooting in the same city.

By Eduardo Medina

April 16, 2023

Two people were dead and four others injured after a shooting at a park in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday night, the police said, the latest instance of gun violence just days after five people were fatally shot at a downtown bank in the city.

The shooting at Chickasaw Park occurred around 9 p.m. as hundreds of people gathered to enjoy a warm spring night outside, Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey of the Louisville Police Department said at a news conference on Saturday night.

Police were still looking for a gunman as of Saturday night, and said that they were unsure if there was more than one.

One person was in critical condition, Chief Humphrey said.

Officers were still trying to determine a motive.

The shooting came as the city continued to reel from the attack on Monday at Old National Bank, where a 25-year-old man who worked at the bank fatally shot five colleagues and injured eight others, just one recent episode in a country where gun violence has become numbingly common.

“This has been an unspeakable week of tragedy for our city,” Mayor Craig Greenberg of Louisville said at the news conference. He asked for the public’s help in identifying those who had disturbed a calm night at the park with gunfire.

“Let’s band together, let’s help each other,” Mr. Greenberg pleaded. “Let’s make this the city we want it to be.”

The Post’s article about the Dadeville shooting quoted a Twitter post from Governor Kay Ivey. It did not include one of the first comments to Ivey’s post:

As of this writing, authorities in Dadeville have shed no light on the shooter, the victims or the circumstances except that it was a sweet 16 party. One of the only indications of who might have been at the party came in a separate news report which quoted Annette Allen saying that the attack occurred at her granddaughter’s 16th birthday party. Allen’s grandson, a high school athlete, was killed by the gunfire, while her daughter was wounded and sent to an area hospital. Annette Allen, her daughter and her grandchildren are African American. Those facts might have been the only insights USMC Lady Vet had when she posted her tweet, speculating “gang violence.” (Perhaps a slight detour from gun violence and directly to Alabamian racism is called for. USMC Lady Vet Twitter profile indicates that she’s neither a Republican nor a Democrat but a “FJB.”* At least she was “sad.”)

*”Fuck Joe Biden” – I had to look it up!

But before I leave you with the impression that all Alabamians are like USMC Lady Vet, let me reprint two other replies to Ivey’s post:

The FBI has not set a minimum number of casualties to qualify an event as a mass shooting, but U.S. statute (the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012) defines a “mass killing” as “3 or more killings in a single incident.”

Gun violence is real. Mass shooting are real. Defining them by the number of deaths is not only insensitive, it is unrealistic. Should we not care about a shooting in which “only” one or two people were murdered? Or one in which no one was killed but many were injured? Why don’t we care about every one of these horrors, statistics be damned.

So, I began researching mass shootings. The definitions are all over the place. And then I found this in Wikipedia. Is Wikipedia the authoritative source? Maybe not. But the article puts this uniquely American tragedy into perspective.

In compiling the statistics, Wikipedia uses the following sources:

Stanford University MSA Data Project: three or more persons shot in one incident, excluding the perpetrator(s), at one location, at roughly the same time. Excluded are shootings associated with organized crime, gangs or drug wars.
Mass Shooting Tracker: four or more persons shot in one incident, at one location, at roughly the same time.
Gun Violence Archive/Vox: four or more shot in one incident, excluding the perpetrators, at one location, at roughly the same time.
Mother Jones: three or more shot and killed in one incident at a public place, excluding the perpetrators. This list excludes all shootings the organization considers to be “conventionally motivated” such as all gang violence and armed robberies.
The Washington Post: four or more shot and killed in one incident at a public place, excluding the perpetrators.
ABC News: four or more shot and killed in one incident, excluding the perpetrators, at one location, at roughly the same time.
Congressional Research Service: four or more shot and killed in one incident, excluding the perpetrators, at a public place, excluding gang-related killings and those done with a profit-motive.

The chart accompanying the Wikipedia article includes only incidents considered mass shootings by at least two of the above sources. Many incidents involving organized crime and gang violence are included.

Based on that criteria, 2023 has seen 165 shootings with 238 deaths and 642 injuries. Let’s put that into perspective: 165 shootings; 238 deaths; 880 total casualties – in the 106 days since January 1!

1.6 shootings/day
2.3 deaths/day
8.8 casualties/day

(Here’s a link to the Wikipedia article, “List of Mass Shooting in the UnitedStates in 2023” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2023

This is the fifth story I’ve written about U.S. gun violence since March 28, right after the Nashville school shooting. I’ve wondered if stronger laws can ever be enacted. I’ve lamented Ron DeSantis’ signing of Florida’s permit-less carry bill. I’ve derided Ted Cruz and his “lamebrain” fixes. And, now this – two more shootings on the same night! And, the second in Louisville in a week!! Is there anyone who can do anything listening?

Probably not. Because many of the politicians who, in the words of Tennessee Congressman Burchett, after the Nashville murders said, “We’re not gonna fix it. I don’t see any role that we could do other than mess things up, honestly,” are kowtowing to their masters at the NRA Convention this weekend in Indianapolis. Among the attendees: Donald Trump, Mike Pence, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former United Nations ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (who touted her state’s expanded “stand your ground laws”), New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and, of course, none other than everyone’s favorite, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (via a video message) bragging about taking on “woke financial institutions” and allowing Floridians to concealed carry without government-issued permits.

As I wrote in one of those recent posts, “with all due respect to Congressman Burchett (although I’m not sure I owe him any respect) I think we’ve gotten to the point where we need to ‘mess things up!’ The question is how?”

If we keep electing politicians like the ones mentioned above (and many, many others) there will never be, I fear, a “how.” Yes, voting these pols out is the obvious answer, but an uphill battle given GOP gerrymandering and voter suppression. Having said that, don’t let my “how” stop you from coming up with your own “how.”

Thoughts and comments are encouraged.

Who says our elected officials are doing nothing about gun violence – Ted Cruz is full of (lamebrain) ideas

Commentary

Cruz’s proposals, pandering to the gun lobby, begs the question…what’s going on at Harvard (and Yale, Princeton and Stanford) that they turn out doltish politicians? And why do people continue voting for them?

In the wake of mass shootings at a school in Nashville (seven dead, one injured) quickly followed by another mass shooting at a bank in Louisville (five dead, eight injured) leave it to Texas senator and Princeton undergrad/Harvard Law School graduate, Ted Cruz, to leap into action.

Regarding making schools safer from mass murderers, Cruz, who Donald Trump once dubbed “Lyin’ Ted” – until the sniveling senator began currying Trump’s favor, leading to a new nickname, “Beautiful Ted” – proposed this a week or so ago: Stationing as many armed police officers in schools as there are in banks.

“You know, when you go to the bank, and you deposit money in the bank, there are armed police officers at the bank. Why? Because we want to protect the money we save. Why on earth do we protect a stupid deposit more than our children?” Cruz said on March 30.

“We have an opportunity right now to double the police officers on campus and keep kids safe,” Cruz added.

He reiterated the sentiment in a tweet on March 31.

The senator’s insistence that banks are a paragon of safety and security came just days before a 25-year-old bank employee opened fire on his colleagues in Louisville.

How did that work out Ted? Or perhaps we should call him “Not-Nostradamus Ted.”

According to Insider.com, Cruz has, in the past, made widely panned suggestions on how to stop gun violence.

After the Uvalde school shooting, where a shooter killed 21 people, Cruz floated a bizarre idea for preventing school shootings: Having a “single point of entry” in schools.

“Fire exits should only open out. At that single point of entry, we should have multiple armed police officers or, if need be, military veterans trained to provide security and keep our children safe,” Cruz said in an interview with Fox News.

Cruz was booed at a September festival in Austin after his comments on gun legislation. At the festival, Cruz suggested that violence “is actually the only thing” that helps stop violence — a common, right-wing talking point often trotted out by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Cruz is an NRA-friendly GOP politician. Days after the Uvalde shooting, Cruz refused to cancel his appearance at the organization’s leadership conference in Houston. Justifying his decision, he told CBS News that the NRA “stands up for your rights, stands up for my rights, and stands up for the rights of every American.”

While Cruz might be the poster boy for graduates of elite colleges and universities acting like morons, make no mistake, he’s not alone.

There’s Josh Hawley, the junior senator from Missouri, a graduate of Stanford and Yale Law, raising his fist on January 6 in support of a riotous mob that would shortly endanger his own life and the life of the institution to which he belonged.

Or Tom Cotton, the junior senator from Arkansas with a Harvard College BA and Harvard Law JD. Cotton, a Trump uber-loyalist has denied that waterboarding is a form of torture. He supported an immediate Senate vote on Trump’s nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death a month before a presidential election while refusing to consider Obama’s Supreme Court nomination in March 2016, eight months before the next presidential election rationalizing his stance with these questions: “Why would we cut off the national debate on the next justice? Why would we squelch the voice of the populace? Why would we deny the voters a chance to weigh in on the makeup of the Supreme Court?

Why indeed, Mr. “Veritas?”*

*(Harvard’s motto…”Veritas”=”Truth”)

Then there’s former Nebraska senator Ben Sasse, now the president of the University of Florida.* Sasse earned a Master of Arts, Master of Philosophy, and a PhD in history from Yale University. While in the Senate, Sasse voted against the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation, which passed the Senate 87–12, criticized what he calls “alarmism” over climate change, and proposed repealing the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which would give state legislatures the power to select senators, eliminating the requirement that senators be elected by popular vote (which with Republican voter suppression efforts and gerrymandering would guarantee a GOP majority Senate…like, forever!). To his (minor) credit however, Sasse has been vocally critical of Donald Trump, although he generally voted in line with Trump’s positions, leading some critics to call him, “all talk, no action.”

*(The appointment generated some controversy. There were student protests because of Sasse’s opposition to same-sex marriage. The faculty senate passed a no-confidence resolution criticizing the election process and the faculty union passed a resolution expressing concern. But what would you expect? UF is a state university in a state ruled by one man – Ron DeSantis – Harvard/Yale by the way.)

Speaking of Trump, I couldn’t end this section about the enigma of an elite education without mentioning the disgraced, twice-impeached ex-president and his alma mater, the Ivy League’s Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Trump, who transferred to Wharton at a time when the former admissions executive and Trump family friend, James Nolan, who might have offered some assistance, said that 50+% of transfer students were admitted to the now much more selective school. Trump, who famously accused former President Barack Obama of falsifying his college records and transcripts, claimed to news outlets that he graduated first in his class, despite not even being listed among the graduating class’ top honorees at commencement.

Thank goodness Trump didn’t go to Harvard where he might of had to abide by its motto, Veritas. Or would he have? The University of Pennsylvania also has a motto, Leges sine Moribus vanae – “Laws without morals are empty.” Talk about irony! Another thing young Donald didn’t learn in college.

Florida’s abortion restrictions have disrupted the standard of care for a pregnancy complication two women experienced late last year

Commentary

Anti-abortion laws have consequences. We have anti-abortion laws because elections have consequences.

In my April 4th post, “Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signs permit-less carry bill within hours of it landing on his desk” (https://around-the-block.com/2023/04/04/gov-ron-desantis-quietly-signs-permitless-carry-bill-within-hours-of-it-landing-on-his-desk/), I also wrote about Florida’s proposed 6-week abortion ban that passed the state Senate and will be undoubtedly signed by Governor Ron DeSantis:

The Florida Senate yesterday passed a bill that will ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy–before most people know they’re pregnant. The debate leading up to the vote was interrupted several times by protesters leading Senate President Kathleen Passidomo to clear the gallery. Although two GOP senators voted with Democrats, the bill passed 26-13 (still two-thirds). Ironic, isn’t it, that 67% of Florida’s senators voted for this abortion ban when, according to a poll from Florida Atlantic University, 67% of Floridians want abortion legal in most or all cases.

Today, courtesy of The Washington Post‘s Caroline Kitchener, in a story headlined, “Two friends were denied care after Florida banned abortion. One almost died,” I thought it important to write about the real world implications of Florida’s horrific anti-abortion law. A real world implication that happened right in my backyard – in neighboring Broward County.

Please note, Kitchener’s story is graphic. I will excerpt parts but will include a PDF for anyone who wants to…and you should want to…understand what Florida’s law, and others like it, really mean.

MIRAMAR, Fla. — Anya Cook did not want to push. But sitting on the toilet, legs splayed wide, she knew she didn’t have a choice.

She was about to deliver her baby alone in the bathroom of a hair salon. On this Thursday afternoon in mid-December, about five months before her due date, she knew the baby would not be born alive.

Cook tried to tune out the easy chatter outside, happy women with working wombs catching up with their hairdresser. At 36, she’d already experienced a long line of miscarriages, but none of the pregnancies had been more than five weeks along. Now she had to deliver a nearly 16- week fetus — a daughter she’d planned to call Bunny.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

As soon as the fetus hit the water, blood started flowing between her thighs. Blood splattered on the white toilet seat and across the floor. She panicked, her hands shaking as she picked up her phone to call her husband, Derick.

“Baby,” she said, “I need you to come to the bathroom.”

Over the course of the day, according to medical records, Cook would lose roughly half the blood in her body.

She had intended to deliver the fetus in a hospital, a doctor by her side. When her water broke the night before — at least six weeks ahead of when a fetus could survive on its own — she drove straight to the emergency room, where she said the doctor explained that she was experiencing pre- viability preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes (PPROM), which occurs in less than 1 percent of pregnancies. The condition can cause significant complications, including infection and hemorrhage, that can threaten the health or life of the mother, according to multiple studies.

At the hospital in Coral Springs, Fla., Cook received antibiotics, records show. Then she was sent home to wait.

Cook’s experience reflects a new reality playing out in hospitals in antiabortion states across the country — where because of newly enacted abortion bans, people with potentially life-threatening pregnancy complications are being denied care that was readily available before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

When abortion was legal across the country, doctors in all states would typically offer to induce or perform a surgical procedure to end the pregnancy when faced with a pre- viability PPROM case — which is the standard of care, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and an option that many women choose. Especially before the 20-week mark, a fetus is extremely unlikely to survive without any amniotic fluid.

But in the 18 states where abortion is now banned before fetal viability, many hospitals have been turning away pre- viability PPROM patients as doctors and administrators fear the legal risk that could come with terminating even a pregnancy that could jeopardize the mother’s well-being, according to 12 physicians practicing in antiabortion states…

…About 15 minutes after Anya delivered the fetus, paramedics charged through the hair salon doors with a stretcher, she and her husband, Derick Cook, recalled. Paramedics slipped the fetal remains inside a red biohazard bag and rushed Anya to a nearby hospital.

When Hany Moustafa, the OB/GYN on call that day, started the procedure to clear remaining pregnancy tissue out of Anya’s uterus, she was still bleeding profusely, he said, describing Anya’s condition with her consent. She was “critically ill” and “mechanically ventilated,” according to medical records.

The doctor stepped out into the waiting room to talk to Derick, who had followed his wife to the ER. Moustafa told Derick that his wife could die in the operating room, both men recalled.

“I will do my very best,” the doctor said. “But the rest is up to God.”…

(The night before the Anya delivered the fetus in the bathroom):

…Anya spent an hour in the waiting room of the Broward Health hospital in Coral Springs, amniotic fluid dripping onto the floor, she and Derick recalled. When the doctor finally saw her, he delivered the distressing news, they said: Anya was experiencing PPROM — and because of the state’s abortion law, he could not induce labor. She could not stay at the hospital, either, she said she was told.

Because she was so early in her pregnancy, she recalled the doctor saying, there was no chance her baby would survive.

Cook wanted to scream. There must be some kind of protocol for this situation, she thought — she couldn’t possibly be the first woman in Florida to have this condition since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Was there a supervisor she could talk with? Anyone else who could help?

“You’re not telling me anything,” Anya recalled saying. “So, basically, I have no options.”

The doctor at Broward told her to go home and “return immediately” if her symptoms worsened, according to medical records. A nurse offered some antibiotics to minimize the chance of infection, Anya recalled, then promised to pray for her.

Medical records from the visit, which Cook provided to The Post, show that Cook was “gushing amniotic fluid” when she arrived at the hospital, with no fluid present around the fetus. The records say that the fetus was showing cardiac activity, with a heart rate of 131 beats per minute...

I could go on but by now the point has been made. As Kitchener writes, “doctors and administrators fear the legal risk that could come with terminating even a pregnancy that could jeopardize the mother’s well-being.” These laws are literally torturing women and, despite the movement’s “pro-life” misnomer, putting their lives at risk.

As promised, I’ve attached the entire article, the rest of which talks about the second woman, a friend of Anya Cook, who also suffered from PPROM and who experienced the same lack of care in Florida at almost the same time. The article also goes on to detail excuses from hospital administrators and illogical defense-of-the-law statements from Republican state legislators.

two-pregnant-women-with-pprom-were-denied-care-after-florida-banned-abortion-the-washington-post Download

I will leave you with this: Elections really do have consequences. The current makeup of Supreme Court, the Supreme Court that overturned Roe v Wade is a result of an election. The right-wing judge in Texas who ordered the abortion pill, mifepristone, to be banned after over 20 years of safe usage is a result of the same election. The holier than thou governor of Florida and his lackeys in the overwhelmingly GOP Florida legislature are the results of elections. Gerrymandered Congressional and state legislature districts will make winning future elections an uphill battle. But it’s a battle that can be won – look at Michigan where the three top statewide positions and both houses of the legislature are in the hands of Democrats; look at Pennsylvania where a Democratic governor and a Democratic senator were elected in 2022; and most recently, look at Wisconsin, where last week a progressive Democrat, Janet Protasiewicz, was elected to the state Supreme Court giving liberals their first majority on the state’s highest court in 15 years.

Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Three “swing” states that have “swung” Democratic. The battle can be won!

Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signs permitless carry bill within hours of it landing on his desk

Commentary

Why are these men smiling?

From the Tallahassee Democrat and Palm Beach Post:

Florida tipped the advantage to states with more permissiable gun laws Monday. Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signed a bill that eliminates licensing requirements to carry a concealed firearm in most public places.

The Florida Senate voted 27-13 last week on HB 543 and DeSantis signed it as quickly as he got it in a closed-door gathering with supporters, making Florida the 26th state that does not require a concealed weapons license.

In a nod to DeSantis’ efforts to burnish his conservative credentials ahead of a likely run for the White House, FOX News went online with a story about the signing at 10:20 a.m. – twenty-eight minutes before Florida reporters received a notice from the DeSantis press office that he had even received the bill from the Legislature.

Think about this:

The bill passed the Senate by a margin of 67%-33%;

DeSantis was so enamored of the bill that he signed it as quickly as he got it;

Perhaps not so sure his constituents were quite as thrilled by permitless carry, he signed the bill behind closed doors;

Recognizing that the majority of his constituents were not in favor of this bill but certain that Fox News devouring Floridians would be, he released the news of the signing to Fox before notifying the mainstream media.

As the above photo reveals, a photo released by the “NRA-Institute for Legislative Action” since I’m assuming no real journalists were allowed behind those closed doors, the normally grim-faced DeSantis signed the bill with an uncharacteristic grin surrounded by smiling, may I suggest, smarmy, NRA members.

This law which allows people to carry concealed weapons without a permit or training, overturns a law that required gun owners to obtain a license to carry concealed weapons. In order to obtain that license, gun owners were required to take training courses and pass background checks.

The bill was signed by DeSantis despite a poll by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab that found 77% of Floridians, including 62% of Republicans, do not support allowing people to carry a weapon without a license.

As the newspaper report indicates, the new law makes Florida the 26th state that does not require a concealed weapons license. Let me do the math: that means more than half the states in this great country, this land of the (now really) free have made the cynically named Constitutional Carry Law the law of their lands!

Think about that when you take your next road trip.

But wait, there’s more on the Florida horror movie front.

Guns and abortions. What is it about the Florida electorate that compels them to elect candidates who pass laws that are against their own self interests? In 2004 journalist and historian Thomas Frank wrote a book, “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” The book dealt with this anti-self interest anomaly in the “Sunflower State.” It might be time for a follow-up book about the “Sunshine State”–”What’s the Matter with Florida?”

Michelangelo’s David, Florida and Porn

Commentary

Those of you who don’t live in the F’d’R (Florida ‘democratic’ Republic) might not be aware of the recent news regarding a charter school principal resigning after allowing her students to be exposed to vicious and malicious pornography.

“A Florida principal has resigned after students at a Christian charter school in Tallahassee were shown the statue of the biblical figure David by Michelangelo, prompting at least one parent to complain that the children had been exposed to pornography.

“Hope Carrasquilla resigned on Monday as principal of the Tallahassee Classical school after the campus’s governing board told her to either step down or be fired over parental complaints that came in after sixth-grade students were shown the 16th-century sculpture, one of the Renaissance’s most famous pieces of art.”

(Am I imagining it, but did I just hear Michelangelo scream from the grave, “Mamma mia, stupidi floridiani!”)

To add insult to injury, a Christian college in Michigan is ending its partnership with Tallahassee Classical for its policy of teaching students about Michelangelo’s David statue.

“Hillsdale College is no longer affiliated with Tallahassee Classical School,” which previously held a license to use Hillsdale’s curricular materials, the college said in a statement.

(Not wanting to put too fine a point on the world of Christian education but Hillsdale College has been described as a private conservative Christian liberal arts college. “Conservative liberal arts?” Can evangelicals also be schizophrenic? Just saying!)

But why, you might ask, am I even writing about this? I mean it’s yesterday’s F’d’R news. Shouldn’t I be writing about Herr DeSantis’ latest egregious bill signing as reported below?:

“Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Monday, giving the governor another legislative victory as he prepares a campaign for president.

“The governor signed the bill in a private ceremony in his office. His only immediate public comment was, ‘Constitutional Carry is in the books,’ which he said in a three-paragraph news release.

“The new law will allow anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida to carry one without a permit. It means training and a background check will not be required to carry concealed guns in public. It takes effect July 1.”

Yes, while DeSantis’ “Constitutional Carry” overreach has now put more Floridians and Florida’s children in harm’s way, the “Michelangelo is a pornographer” issue, while not at the same level as loosening gun control laws, has put me in the throws of a dilemma.

Here’s why.

Several years ago Sharon and I, on a trip to New Orleans, visited the NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM. It was a particularly poignant visit for us as both of our fathers served in WWII, and in the same unit…a story I’ll be documenting in my forthcoming collection of short stories called, “Beshert.”

Since that New Orleans visit, I receive promotional emails from the Museum. This week one in particular caught my eye – a new book by Robert M. Edsel called “SAVING ITALY: THE RACE TO RESCUE A NATION’S TREASURES FROM THE NAZIS. (Edsel is also the author of another book, which was adapted into a major motion picture, “THE MONUMENT MEN.”)

Since both our fathers were part of the U.S. forces that liberated Italy, I thought this is a book I need for my library.

Until…I saw the cover.

Yikes! I live in the F’d’R. can I really have a book like this on my bookshelf? Especially because I have a 12-year old great-niece who visits regularly. What if she finds this book and sees that I’m collecting porn? Will I be fined? Will I be arrested? Will I be sent, handcuffed, back to the San Francisco’s “blue” sanctuary? What to do, I thought?

I immediately activated my problem-solving mode and called the Museum. Amazingly, they told me that they’ve already taken care of the F’d’R problem; I wasn’t the first citizen of the F’d’R to contact them.

Their solution, an alternative Florida edition with a revised cover.

While not perfect, since it doesn’t cover all of the David’s offending body parts, Herr DeSantis and his chief of staff, Joe Gerbils, gave it their blessing.

The book, with it’s alternative cover, is now part of my home library. On her next visit, I will be able to use the book to explain to my great-niece the exploits of her great-grandfather (as well as my father) in the liberation of Italy during WWII. I will be able to do so without the threat of retribution from DeSantis’ “FL-GESTAPO.”

I did wonder, however, what will happen when Florida students do their year abroad, perhaps to Florence Italy. I’m not sure if Herr DeSantis (or perhaps in this context, Il Duce) realizes it, but a reproduction of Michelangelo’s (pornographic) statue of David is outside in plain view in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria.

As the thousands of tourists and visitors crowd the Piazza eating their pizza and viewing the David replica, the Florida students will be easy to identify. They’ll be the ones not wearing pandemic masks, but with their eyes covered by blindfolds.

Trump’s indictment is unprecedented; antisemitic tropes are not

Commentary

“Soros-backed,” “Soros-funded,” “Puppet-Master Soros,” might be modern expressions of antisemitism, but they are just new ways of showing how history repeats itself

I didn’t intend to write a column today. But a comment from a reader to yesterday’s post, “Unprecedented: Trump Indicted!” (https://around-the-block.com/2023/03/31/unprecedented-trump-indicted/), required a reply sooner than later.

I responded directly to the reader’s comment, “It kills me how Soros sponsored District Attorney keeps coming up!!!!”, replying, “It is horrific. But “what goes around, comes around.” What’s happening now with Soros and the antisemitic tropes, is history repeating itself. I think I might address this issue in another post today. Stay tuned!”.

If you’re reading this, you stayed tuned.

I’m reading a book, “Those Angry Days” by Lynne Olson, which details the battle between the isolationists, whose most famous member and spokesman was Charles Lindbergh, and the interventionists epitomized by President Roosevelt and, in the eyes of many, the “Jewish cabal,” in the lead-up to America’s entry into WWII.

As the The New York Times Book Review noted, “[The book] powerfully [re-creates] the tenebrous* era…Olson captures in spellbinding detail the key figures in the battle between the Roosevelt administration and the isolationist movement.”

*Tenebrous: dark and gloomy. I don’t believe this was a “Word of the Day.

Make no mistake, Olson is very clear that many of those key figures on the isolationist side were antisemites including, although he didn’t think he was, Lindbergh.

I’ve excerpted some passages from “Those Angry Days.” Based on Olson’s extensive research, I hope you’ll agree with me, but not happily, that “’what goes around, comes around.’ What’s happening now with Soros and the antisemitic tropes, is history repeating itself,”

In an infamous speech Lindbergh gave at an America First rally in Des Moines on September 11, 1941, a speech which his wife and confidant, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, begged him not to give, Olson notes;

“The three groups he [Lindbergh] singled out as ‘war agitators’ were the Roosevelt administration, the British, and American Jews (emphasis mine.)”

After reading the speech Olson wrote, “Anne sunk in ‘black gloom,’…worried that his remarks about Jews were ‘segregating them as a group.'” She pointed out to Charles, “Just as Nazis had done in Germany, he was branding Jews as a separate race, whose own agenda was antithetical to the interests of their country”

As Olson sums up Anne’s concerns she writes, “According to Lindbergh’s rhetoric, they were Jews first, Americans second. In short, they were ‘the other.’

In my mind, and for clarity, this is Ted Block, not Lynne Olson, “Jews first, Americans second” kind of reminds me of when Trump told me and other American Jews that Benjamin Netanyahu was “your prime minister.” And based on the recent rise in antisemitism it might be, along with people of color, that Jewish Americans are still among “the other,” horribly demonstrated by the Charlottesville rally when the “good” people on the neo-Nazi side chanted, “We will take our country back” and “You will not replace us”/“Jews will not replace us.”

Olson writes that Lindbergh was naive in his view that he wasn’t antisemitic even though he wrote in his diary, “A few Jews add strength and character to a country, but too many create chaos. And we are getting too many.”

But it wasn’t just Lindbergh. Olson notes that antisemitism ran rampant through the isolationist movement, a movement that, among other things, argued that Jews controlled the dialogue through their ownership of the press.

William L. Langer, a Harvard historian made the point in a 1939 lecture at the U.S. War College: “You have to face the fact that some of our most important American newspapers are Jewish-controlled, and I suppose if I were a Jew, I would feel about Nazi Germany as most Jews feel, and it would be inevitable that the coloring of the news takes on that tinge.”

Langer exemplified his point by singling out the Jewish-owned New York Times, noting that the paper gave “a great deal of prominence” to every little upset that occurs in Germany (editorial note: I have to wonder, given that this lecture was in 1939, if Langer considered 1938’s Kristallnact one of his “little upsets”) while they “soft-peddled the other part of it or put it off with a sneer.” (editorial note: If only I could ask Langer today what were the other, ostensibly “good,” parts.)

And then there was undersecretary of state William Castle.

From “Those Angry Days:” “Antisemitic himself, Castle wrote about frequent gatherings of senior State Department officials in which the maligning of Jews made up a large part of the talk. Describing one dinner party in early 1940, Castle observed, ‘I am afraid that many unpleasant things were said about Jews, so it was as well that the company was small.'”

Or, again from Olson, “General George van Horn Moseley, a former Army deputy chief of staff and one of the country’s most decorated soldiers, [who] advocated mandatory sterilization of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany before they could be admitted to the United States. ‘Only in that way can we properly protect our future,’ Moseley declared.”

Regarding America’s openness to Jewish refugees, Olson writes:

“The U.S. public feared that a new influx of refugees would mean fewer jobs for native-born Americans. Americans also worried that Nazi agents might be planted among the immigrants. [But] unquestionably, antisemitism was also an important factor in fostering the anti-immigrant mood. When a proposal was floated after the 1938 Kristallnact pogrom to take in ten thousand Jewish children from Germany, more that two out of three Americans were against the idea. Britain eventually accepted nine thousand, while the United States took only 240. That meager response stood in stark contrast to Americans’ reaction in 1940 to the idea of providing a haven for British children escaping the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. A Gallup poll estimated five to seven million U.S. families were willing to house young British evacuees for the duration of the war.”

One of the Senate’s leading isolationists was North Dakota Republican senator Gerald Nye.* In recognition of the power of the movies–more than half of Americans saw at least one movie a week in the late 1930s and early 1940s leading the the journal, Christian Century, to note, “We have two education systems in America, the public school system and the movies.”– Nye said that the movie studios were “the most gigantic engines of war propaganda in existence” demanding an immediate Senate investigation of Hollywood and what he saw as its collusion with the Roosevelt administration.” (editorial note: wouldn’t Ron DeSantis and Kevin McCarthy have had a wonderful time in 1940!)

*(Unlike most of today’s issues, the divide between isolationists and interventionists did not necessarily adhere to party lines. The leading Senate isolationist was Senator Burton Wheeler of Montana was a Democrat.)

But Nye wasn’t finished.

Holding the movie studio heads most responsible for “war-mongering,” Nye blamed, according to Olson, “the men who had emigrated from ‘Russia, Hungary, Germany and the Balkan countries and as a result were ‘naturally susceptible’ to ‘racial emotions.’ The senator was clearly referring to Louis B. Meyer, Samuel Goldwyn, the Warner Brothers, and other Jewish film moguls who, according to Nye, ‘came to our land and took citizenship here’ while entertaining violent animosities toward certain causes abroad.’ In the frustration he shared with Wheeler and other isolationists over the media’s negative reaction to their cause, Nye was not only declaring war on Hollywood, he was also raising the specter of antisemitism.”

Is Soros alone? What goes around comes around? History repeating itself? You be the judge.

Unprecedented: Trump Indicted!

Commentary

(with a little ‘News with a Twist’)

Try as they might, Trump supporters refuse to “Keep Calm and Carry On”*

*Actually, they didn’t try very hard

The Trump indictment announcement, and the knee-jerk GOP outrage at it, got me thinking about the words used in describing Trump supporters’ invectives. Why are all these “hair-on-fire” Trump supporters using the same word to describe their scorn. And then it dawned on me.

Some background.

About six months ago I began getting emails from two different unsolicited sources. Each sent a “Word of the Day.” One is called, “Word Genius,” the other, “Word Daily.” Not only do both include an obscure word, because the selected words are so “abstruse” (I don’t remember if “abstruse” has been one of the words), the sites also provide a guide on how to use the word.

Today’s words will show you what I mean.

Word Genius: Opsigamy – “Marriage at an old age” Usage: “Opsigamy might be on the rise as older people are starting to use dating apps to find new partners later in life.”

Word Daily: Spizzerinctum – “Determination, ardor, or zeal” Usage: “Gather up your spizzerinctum, and ask her to the dance.”

(Just think, if these sites existed back in the days of Groucho Marx’s “You Bet Your Life,” no one would ever have said the secret word and won $100! – but I digress)

(Sorry, one more digression below. I guess I just can’t help myself.)

When you read these comments by GOP politicians (and two of Trump’s sons), see if you can determine what word or words of the day might have been posted in those Republican “Words of the Day” sites. (Actually, since most people who know me know I hate games, I’ve bolded the word and it’s derivatives to get it over with.)

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott: “[Bragg] has failed to uphold the law for violent criminals, yet weaponized the law against political enemies.”

House Majority Leader Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise: “The sham New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents. Outrageous.”

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz: “The Democrat Party’s hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds. The ‘substance’ of this political persecution is utter garbage. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.”

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy: “American people will not tolerate this injustice. Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election. As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump.”

Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican Party: “When our justice system is weaponized as a political tool, it endangers all of us. This is a blatant abuse of power from a DA focused on political vengeance instead of keeping people safe.”

Florida GOP Senator Rick Scott: “First, our media was overrun by the left, then our government was weaponized by the Democrats, and now our legal system has been completely upended by a Soros-funded district attorney who is targeting a political opponent while letting violent criminals run rampant across NYC.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis: “The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.

Rep. George Santos (R-NY)*: “I am deeply disturbed by the reports of the indictment. Weaponizing the justice system to target a political rival is a clear danger to our country and democracy. DA Alvin Bragg should focus on prosecuting crime in NYC, not executing political witch hunts.”

(*George Santos, really!?!?!?)

And finally, the irrepressible Trump brothers:

Donald Trump Jr.: “This isn’t just the radical left weaponizing the government to target their political enemies, this is them weaponizing the government to interfere in the 2024 election to stop Trump. The only solution is to shove it down their throats and put him back in the White House!!!

Eric Trump: “This is third world prosecutorial misconduct. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year”

(Eric wanted to use “weaponizing” but since his big brother used it twice, in a rare moment of restraint, he decided to take a pass)

Now if I get two “Words of the Day” everyday, is it possible that there is a GOP/Right-wing-nutcase/Trumpster/MAGA version of “Word Genius” or “Word Daily?”

Intrigued, I had to determine if indeed there is a “GOP Word of the Day.” After an intensive search I did stumble upon one: “GOP Talking Point Daily,” which included this, just the other day:

Weaponize – “To use as a means to gain a powerful advantage.” Usage: “When your political opponents do something you don’t like, just say they’re weaponizing.”

Apparently, some Trump backers must have missed “weaponize,” but many did use what must have been another, earlier “GOP Word of the Day:”

Soros-backed/funded – “An antisemitic dog-whistle.” Usage: “Our legal system has been completely upended by a Soros-funded district attorney.”

I couldn’t finish this story without showing the inimitable Lindsey Graham, once one of Trump’s most vocal critics but now his most loyal toady, not only giving his full-throated support to the poor, put-upon Donald Trump, but also making a plea for all “conservatives” to go to donaldjtrump.com to give the man some money to “fight.”

(Graham appeared before a live Fox audience. As unbelievable as it seems, this was a Hannity audience after all, he was audibly heckled by an audience member who yelled, “It is a wonderful day.”)

And remember, all these screeds, this hyperbolic language, these claims of prosecutional mis-conduct? They’ve all been said, tweeted or written BEFORE ANYONE HAS EVEN SEEN THE INDICTMENT!

Finally, not one to miss yet another grifting opportunity, immediately after the indictment was made public, Trump and his campaign sent out an email promising to send an “I Stand With Trump” t-shirt to supporters who contribute more than $47 before midnight Thursday. I’m guessing Trump’s Rikers-incarcerated former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, must have smuggled a message to Trump that $47 was the magic number to avoid indictment. Oops!

Try as I can, I can’t make this stuff up!

In the aftermath of Nashville, are there any fixes?

Commentary

Will better, stronger laws help? Can they be passed?

Today is Thursday, March 30, 2023. It is three days after the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, TN. It is one day after my Around the Block post which I sub-headed, Who will be next? When will be next? Where will be next? One thing is certain: GOP Congressional inaction and 2nd Amendment lunacy guarantee there will be a next! https://around-the-block.com/2023/03/28/assailant-kills-six-at-nashville-school-in-latest-us-mass-shooting/

To say I continue to be troubled by the events in Nashville three days ago would be an understatement. (I feel I can say, with reasonably good authority, anyone not still troubled by the mass shooting does not read, or agree, with my words.)

Since my post I’ve been following the news coverage. I’ve watched the mass demonstrations in Nashville protesting lax, and getting laxer, gun laws in Tennessee. I’ve listened to, and been disgusted by inane GOP pontification about the 2nd Amendment, hardening schools and gun reform inaction.

Regarding current gun laws, I thought this statement from the chief of the Nashville police department sets the tone for where we are right now regarding laws:

“We determined that Audrey [the shooter] bought seven firearms from five different local gun stores here legally; they were legally purchased. Three of those weapons were used yesterday during this horrific tragedy. She was under care, doctor’s care, for an emotional disorder; her parents felt that she should not own weapons. They were under the impression that when she sold the one weapon she did not own anymore. As it turned out she had been hiding several weapons within the house.”

Perhaps a little unpacking of this statement is necessary:

She bought seven firearms from five different gun stores
[All seven] were legally purchased
She was under doctor’s care for an emotional disorder

I don’t know what more I need to do to demonstrate how far we are from meaningful gun control laws.

But if we are to go further, listen to statements on the day of the massacre from two Tennessee elected officials.

First, Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN), the poster boy for family gun fun. He’s the Congressman who represents the district in which the shooting occurred and who, as I reported yesterday, infamously sent out a Christmas Facebook post picturing him and his AR-15 loving family.

After Ogles’ “thoughts and prayers” bluster, he said this when asked about the photo:

“Why would I regret a photograph with my family exercising my rights to bear arms?”

Kind of puts his “thoughts and prayers” drivel into perspective, don’t you think?

And then there’s another Tennessee Republican Congressman, Tim Burchett, who said,

“There’s nothing the 535 elected officials in the House and Senate can do to reduce gun violence and gun deaths. We’re not gonna fix it. I don’t see any role that we could do other than mess things up, honestly.”

Betcha Congressman Burchett never bought into Barack Obama’s dream of “Hope and Change!”

Of course, while Mr. Burchett is lamenting the fact that the U.S. Congress can’t do anything but “mess things up,” I wonder if he’s been paying attention to what the legislators and the Governor in his own state are doing; they make “messing up” too mild a term.

Consider this reporting from the UK paper, The Independent, the day after the shooting:

In the weeks before six people, including three nine-year-old children, were fatally shot inside a Nashville school, Tennessee lawmakers considered several pieces of legislation to loosen restrictions on firearms.

The proposals were introduced two years after Republican Governor Bill Lee signed a bill into law that makes it easier for people to openly carry handguns in the state without a permit. Tennessee is one of 25 states with a permit-less concealed carry law, a measure that has been rapidly adopted by lawmakers across the US as part of what right-wing activists have called a “constitutional carry” movement in recognition of the Second Amendment.

The same year Tennessee’s legislation was signed into law, lawmakers approved similar measures in Arizona, Iowa, Montana, Texas and Utah. In 2022, lawmakers passed similar bills in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana and Ohio. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida is expected to sign a similar measure into law this year after its passage in a GOP-controlled legislature.

Tennessee’s law allows most people 21 and older to carry handguns openly or concealed without a permit. It also extends those exceptions to US military service members from age 18.

When the measure passed the state’s House in 2021, GOP Majority Leader William Lamberth told lawmakers that it was “not the end of the journey” for legislative efforts that make it easier for people to carry firearms in the state.

Indeed, GOP state lawmakers introduced legislation that would allow all residents from age 18 to carry handguns without permits. Other proposals would allow residents to openly carry any firearm, including shotguns and AR-style rifles, without a permit, and would recognize similar permits issued in other states.

Another bill would allow teachers and school staff to carry a firearm on campus, while another would allow any adult who is legally allowed to carry a firearm in the state to do so on park or school properties, including college campuses and elementary schools.

I don’t think you can mess things up anymore than these people are.

But what about where the laws are strong? Good question; unfortunate answer:

California, which in an analysis by the World Population Review, was ranked as having the strictest gun laws in the nation with an “A” grade, was tied with Florida (C-, ranked #23, but about to become worse) for the most mass shootings to date in 2023, with 12. These two “losers” were followed by Texas (F), and Tennessee (D-, although on the path to a solid “F”) with 10, Illinois (A-) , Louisiana (F) and North Carolina (D) with seven and Pennsylvania (C+) with six. In all, there have been a total of 126 mass shootings in 28 states so far in 2023.

Can better, stronger laws work? Clearly, no law will end all gun violence. But if stronger laws, including outlawing all “weapons of war” were passed, they could help reduce the deaths and devastation. Can better laws, stronger laws, be enacted? Not easily, given the current political climate. And even if they could be passed in some states, freedom of movement between good states and bad states would undermine good state laws. Not to mention that our current Supreme Court would rule those stronger laws an unconstitutional affront to the 2nd Amendment and our “God-given” right to bear arms in that “well-regulated militia” we’re all apparently members of.

Having said that, and with all due respect to Congressman Burchett (although I’m not sure I owe him any respect) I think we’ve gotten to the point where we need to “mess things up!” The question is how?

Thoughts?

Assailant kills six at Nashville school in latest US mass shooting

Commentary

Who will be next? When will be next? Where will be next? One thing is certain: GOP Congressional inaction and 2nd Amendment lunacy guarantee there will be a next!

Another day in America, another American school shooting. This time in Nashville at a private Christian elementary school.

From the New York Times reporting:

NASHVILLE — A 28-year-old from Nashville fatally shot three children and three adults on Monday at a private Christian elementary school, officials said, leaving behind writings and detailed maps of the school and its security protocols.

In the latest episode of gun violence that has devastated American families and communities, the assailant opened fire just after 10 a.m. inside the Covenant School, in the affluent Green Hills neighborhood, where children in preschool through sixth grade had just begun their final full week of classes before Easter break.

The shooter, who the police identified as Audrey E. Hale, had entered the building by firing through a side door, armed with two assault-style weapons and a handgun, according to John Drake, the chief of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, and went to the second floor, firing shots before being killed by the police. Chief Drake said that the assailant was “at one point a student” at the school.

Surveillance video released by the police on Monday night showed the shooter drive up to the school in what the police described as a Honda Fit. In the clip, two sets of glass doors shatter from bullets before the assailant ducks into the building through the broken glass.

Wearing camouflage pants, a black vest and a backward red baseball cap, the assailant walks through rooms and hallways with a weapon drawn. At one point, the shooter can be seen walking in and out of the church office and down a hallway past the children’s ministry, as the lights of what appear to be a fire alarm flash.

This surveillance video, released by Nashville police, shows an attacker whom the police identified as Audrey E. Hale driving up to the Covenant School in Nashville, and then shooting out the entrance doors to get into the building.

The police received a report of the shooting at 10:13 a.m. and heard gunshots on the second floor when they arrived at the school, a police spokesman, Don Aaron, said. Officers went there, saw the assailant shooting, and two of the officers opened fire, killing the assailant at 10:27 a.m. in a “lobby-type area” on the second floor, Mr. Aaron said. The school does not have a police officer guarding it, he said.

Nashville PD responded to, and took out the assailant, 14 minutes after receiving reports of the shooting. How many more victims might there have been if the response had been similar to law enforcement response in other mass shootings, like Uvalde?

Nashville PD was heroic; Uvalde, inept. But, think about this…or rather should I say..why do we have to think about this? Why do we have to compare one horrific mass shooting to another horrific mass shooting. How many more children must we lose? How many more educators and school staff? How many more parents will never put their children to bed again? When will it end? How will we stop the killings?

I haven’t searched the news for the usual right-wing tropes defending the “rights” of people like this murderer to carry weapons of war. I haven’t heard gun-rights supporters quoting the 2nd Amendment while lamenting that the rational people of this country, rational people like most of my readers, want to “take their guns away.” I haven’t heard NRA spokespeople drone on about “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” without ever wondering whether their moronic defense shouldn’t really be amended to, “guns don’t kill people, PEOPLE WITH GUNS kill people!”

Don’t be foolish, my horrified, rational friends, if you believe that Congress will do anything about this. Not when US Representative Andrew Ogles of Tennessee, who represents the Nashville district where the school is located, said, in a knee-jerk response, “My family and I are devastated by the tragedy that took place at The Covenant School in Nashville this morning. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those lost. As a father of three, I am utterly heartbroken by this senseless act of violence. I am closely monitoring the situation and working with local officials.”

But, when the same Congressman Andrew Ogles sent this Facebook Christmas photo in 2021:

The other day in a post in which I (mostly) took a break from the news to talk about the emotional power of musical theater, I included a heartfelt story of my experience at a performance of Carousel in 1964 and the impact of the show’s finale featuring the song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” https://around-the-block.com/2023/03/24/taking-a-break-from-trump-desantis-and-the-maga-crowd/

As I was reading, and writing, about this latest mass shooting, I thought about that song, that finale, again. I even found my 78 rpm original cast recording album of Carousel and that finale. Breaking out a record player that can actually play old 78’s, I listened one more time, pops and scratches and all. Maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s the “Lo-Fi,” but listening to that old recording intensified the song’s emotional impact. I know it’s not much solace to the families and loved ones in Nashville or in the 131* other mass shootings in the U.S. this year, but all I can do is leave you, and them, with is this:

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on, through the wind
Walk on, through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone

*2023 US Mass Shootings to Date

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