You’ve probably heard about Christy Sheats, 42, the Texas mother who recently killed her 17- and 22-year-old daughters in front of their father, citing as her motivation a desire to punish him (she committed the murders on his birthday). The … Continue reading →
It’s a terrible and repetitive story, this time occurring in the predominantly Muslim country of Bangladesh: Islamic terrorists, perhaps allied with ISIS, attack a restaurant. In this case they took the patrons hostage (after possibly killing some in the initial … Continue reading →
I’ve learned over the years that if you want the most thorough coverage of terrorist attacks—even ones in this country but especially attacks that occur abroad—go to the British papers. The Daily Mail has a lot of details (some of … Continue reading →
Four measures—two by Democrats, two by Republicans—went down to defeat: The measures Monday each went down in succession on largely party line votes. The 60-vote threshold required for passage prevented even Republicans, who control the chamber, from pushing through their … Continue reading →
Omar Mateen was adorned with red flags, absolutely festooned with them. We already know that law enforcement was warned about Mateen, investigated him, and decided there was nothing they could do because he had not acted on his beliefs. But … Continue reading →
We don’t know the motive, but whatever it is—and whether the perp is from the political right or left and/or is mentally ill—this is ominous news. See also this. [ADDENDUM: Much more here.]
Continue reading →We already know that the FBI had investigated Orlando shooter Omar Mateen twice, and that although he had made very suspicious remarks to his colleagues at work, nothing raised enough red flags to cause the authorities to take him off … Continue reading →
Some days when I go to my computer to see the news I feel a strong sense of dread and weariness. Today’s one of those days. The Orlando massacre has had the highly predictable result of exposing the fault lines … Continue reading →
It’s heartbreaking to look at the photos of all these young people murdered by terrorist Omar Mateen. As I was doing so, however, I couldn’t help but notice that the vast majority of the victims seemed to be Latino, a … Continue reading →
Last night’s vicious attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando has resulted in the highest death toll ever in a US mass murder, and the largest death toll in a terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11. Those are not … Continue reading →
When I first read this I thought it ludicrous that the authors pretty much dismiss the Ferguson effect as being a major cause of the recent crime rise in many major cities—because it seems so obviously part of it. But … Continue reading →
I’ve long known the basics of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. You probably do, too. But except for the history buffs among you, some of the details may have escaped you, as they had escaped me. Right … Continue reading →