It's a terrible morning in America, the day after the 2nd-worst school shooting (following only Sandy Hook) in our nation's history. At the time of this writing, 19 children and 2 adults are dead. The most recent reporting I've seen suggests that all of the victims were in a single classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX when an 18-year-old madman armed with a rifle he had just purchased on his 18th birthday entered the school intent on carnage. As a parent, as a human, it's very very difficult to write or think about this.
A potentially useful article for parents of school-aged children: Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers (nasponline.org)
Again, at the time of this writing, here is some of the latest information: Gunman kills 19 children, 2 adults in Uvalde school rampage (dallasnews.com)
As a parent and a human and an American it's also obvious that we should be thinking about what can be done to prevent similar events in the future. The sad fact is that such prevention is exceedingly difficult and not helped by voices (usually on the left) whose policy prescriptions are based on ignorance of almost everything relevant to the conversation. I know that many of my strongest pro-Second Amendment friends are not with me on this but I do support well-tailored "Red Flag Laws". I don't think Colorado's fits that description but it's also interesting to note that it has not been used very much and one person who tried to abuse the system (to strip someone of gun rights without justification) was prosecuted. Anyway, that conversation seems slightly premature when we're still not sure what the final death toll from this massacre will be.
I wish it were difficult to find a guest whose live has been torn apart by the murder of his or her school-aged child. Sadly, there are too many such parents in America. Not all turn into activists...and not all should. But one who has become a public voice on these issues is Ryan Petty whose daughter Alaina was 14 years old when she was murdered in her English class at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL on Valentines Day, 2018. Below is a video of Ryan's testimony to the US Senate
A couple other things today:
For how long will the world turn a blind eye toward the horrors being committed by the brutal government of Communist China? New information and images apparently hacked from Chinese police department computers show the incarceration of perhaps a million ethnic minorities by the regime of Xi Jinping. I fully understand the economic power of China and how dependent much of the world is on that nation as both a producer and consumer of goods. But we should do everything we can to diversify away from economic entanglement with the PRC until their regime is changed and reformed and their gulags are shuttered and razed.
https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/xinjiang-police-files-uyghur-mugshots-detention
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Some very good GOP primary results yesterday, especially as Trump-endorsed candidates got crushed.
In Georgia, incumbent Governor Brian Kemp was polling about 20 points ahead of former Senate loser David Perdue who was pushed into the race by Donald Trump. By the time the votes were counted, Kemp beat the uncharismatic Perdue by more than 50 points. Kemp will face (and beat) Stacey Abrams who recently said that the state she wants to run is "the worst state" in America.
Incumbent Secretary of State Brian Raffensperger also won his race against another Trump-backed "stolen election" candidate, winning by 19% and avoiding a runoff.
These races show that in Georgia at least voters recognize the harm that following Trump's vendetta/obsession regarding his failure to beat Joe Biden in 2020 is a losing strategy. Voters want to look forward, not backward.
Unsurprisingly, Herschel Walker crushed the competition to win the GOP nomination for Senate where he'll take on Raphael Warnock. All else being equal, I'd think Walker would be a significant favorite but he does have some prior "domestic" issues dogging him.
The Democratic primary in TX-28 between Henry Cuellar, the incumbent and almost certainly the most conservative Democrat in the House, and a far-left candidate backed by Elizabeth "Pocahontas" Warren and Bernie Sanders remains too close to call with Cuellar ahead by less than 0.5% with about 95% of the vote counted.
And in Alabama, while former chief of staff to Senator Richard Shelby, Katie Britt, finished more than 15 points ahead of Congressman Mo Brooks who was one of the loudest and most moronic voices screaming "stolen election", she didn't eclipse the 50% mark so the two of them will be in a runoff next month. I think she'll stomp him again. And he deserves it. Mo Brooks role on Jan. 6 and in lead-up to insurrection faces new scrutiny in Eric Swalwell's lawsuit - The Washington Post
All in all, a very good day at the polls if you support sanity and the GOP nominating candidates who can win a general election.