St. Mary's in Charlestown, MA circa 1887
Can you tell I recently made a visit to Charlestown?
My Great Great Grandparents were married in the original St. Mary's, a humble church that burned.
This is the church that replaced it. They were some of the original members of this congregation.
It was the first Roman Catholic church built in Boston after the Cathedral downtown.
What no politician wants to admit about gun control. [Click] “Assault weapons bans and background checks aren’t enough to get American gun violence down to acceptable levels.”
ReplyDeleteTexas Republicans have been avoiding the topic of gun control in the wake of the El Paso shooting on Saturday that left 20 people dead, instead blaming mental health and lack of school prayer. [Click] Cute.
The Death Rattle of White Supremacy [Click]
Part of a president’s job is to be a unifying figure in times of national crisis. This president could be past the point where he can take on that role. [Click]
Walter Shapiro: Trump promised to end 'American carnage'. He has woefully failed. [Click] “Yet even after this sad-eyed weekend, there are reasons for hope. Tipping points exist in political life, even in a gun-saturated land like America. As the late economist Herbert Stein memorably declared, ‘If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.’”
Trump’s America unravels in one bloody nightmare weekend. Now it’s time to clean house | Will Bunch [Click] Mentions mass shootings in Philadelphia and Brooklyn that didn’t make the national news. Figures we ought to do something. Says Trump ought to be impeached, but admits the Gopers won’t do it. What the hell am I supposed to do? Hold up a sign in front of the empty local office of our alleged Congressional Representative[David Nunes]? Not vote Republican; been doing that. Turn in my firearms to the police? Can’t do that. Resort to violence myself? Not hardly. Donate nickels and dimes to noble causes? Toward the end there is a link to an explanation of the term stochastic terrorism [Click]
ReplyDeleteTrump Deletes Tweets Referring to Migrant ‘Invasion’ [Click] Could the dope (or more likely one of his myrmidons) be beginning to fear what he has loosed?
McConnell Fractures His Shoulder [Click] Think it might be a sign from God?
Mexico vows to take legal action against U.S. after deadly El Paso shooting [Click] I hope they do—but don’t know what the legal actions might be.
According to the Mexican Foreign Minister’s Twitter feed the measures are to be announced at 4:30 PM today. [Click] It is currently 6:50 PM Mexico City time.
From El Diario: Mexico will seek extradition of the perpetrator of the El Paso massacre on terrorism charges, and will also lay charges against the seller of the gun. I wouldn't bet on extradition, since the US continues to shelter the bomber of the Cuban airliner that was carrying the national football team, who was not only charged but convicted. (I think I recall that there was suspicion he escaped from prison with the aid of the CIA.) Hmmmmmm.... that was a long time ago and I had better check.
DeleteCorrection: fencing team. Convicted, fled to US; Luis Posada Carriles. Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 [Click]
I think I didn't mention that while shopping the other day, I saw among the back to school supplies bullet-resistant children's backpacks.
ReplyDelete😢
DeleteSan Diego Tribune: Had enough? Here’s how to fight the madness of mass shootings. [Click] Doesn’t sound all that effective. But our sheriff hands out concealed weapons permits like candy at Halowe’en, and I would certainly support an opponent who does not. Not likely to win hereabouts, and I would be reluctant to be a publicly identified opponent of concealed handguns. We have a problem with killer cops around here, too— who never fail to follow proper procedures according to our oh-so-Christian Chief of Police.
ReplyDeleteNYT: How Gun Control Groups Leveled the Playing Field Amid Mass Shootings [Click] “The gun lobby has structural advantages and a Senate aligned with its stance. But activists have increased financing and grass-roots energy as they pursue their cause." Damned slow going, though. New Zealand could take quick action because it used a method not available to us--"orders in council," which allows the Premier and Cabinet to bypass (at least temporarily, sometimes altogether) the Parliament. The writers of the US Constitution thought that could enable tyranny. But it sure can come in handy.
ReplyDeleteThe US has "executive orders," although their scope is more limited. The Republicans complained bitterly about Obama's use of executive orders and Trump has tried to go even further.
DeleteAndrew Janz is running for Mayor of Fresno. I once before asked him if he had any plans for reducing the number of unarmed civilians shot dead by members of the Fresno Police Department, and received a non-responsive e-mail. I decided to ask again. I will look into when the Sheriff's term in office is up.
ReplyDeleteNext election for Sheriff is 2022. She won 100% of the vote in 2018, which I take to mean that she ran unopposed.
DeleteWhite Nationalism’s Deep American Roots [Click] “A long-overdue excavation of the book that Hitler called his “bible,” and the man who wrote it.”
ReplyDeleteWhen and where I was young, Italians and Portuguese were definitely not considered "white."
From across the pond:
ReplyDeleteMatthew d’Ancona: A no-deal Brexit even after a no-confidence vote: how could it happen? [Click]
Whatever they say about Brexit, sterling’s nosedive tells us the truth [Click]
Thank you for every post, Alan.
ReplyDeleteI have been putting my energies into (1) grandchildren; (2) helping a nephew sort through his angst about the shootings; (3) marathoning on the grand baby quilt.
The main portion of the work (the center picture in cloth) is DONE!!! Big push Monday to get the border sewn on. And we get to take the kitties for their vet checkup and rabies shots tomorrow during evening rush hour.
More when I can.