Year of the Rabbit

 I know almost nothing about the Buddhist zodiac but I'm pretty sure this is the only country where Lunar New Year involves older Asian men shooting up their communities.   It happened again in Half Moon Bay, which sounds like a place from a children's book, with seven dead and the 67-year-old shooter in custody, as they say.  "It was the afternoon, when kids were out of school.  For children to witness this is unspeakable," said San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus.  I don't know.  With active-shooter drills in the schools, children were probably less surprised than the adults who worked at the Concord Farms plant nursery.  State Senator Scott Wiener tweeted, "34 mass shootings in 23 days isn't normal."  Are you new here, Senator?

"Mass shooting" is defined as an event with at least four victims (Gun Violence Archive) and so does not include yesterday's high school shooting where only two people were killed by a member of a rival gang.  This occurred in America's heartland, Des Moines, Iowa, I feel compelled to add for some reason.  The newsies have hardly had time to acknowledge the twelve people shot Sunday in the Dior Bar and Lounge in Baton Rouge (all still alive at this writing).  

Everyone knows there's no chance of putting a dent in the mayhem (Biden calls for assault weapon ban, NRA calls for more gun ownership, we've been to this dance before).  At this hour the Senate Judiciary Committee is busy investigating why Ticketmaster made such a mess of Taylor Swift's last tour.  Surely the Commerce committee should be unraveling this shocking scandal.  Maybe Science, since the CEO is blaming bots for grabbing all the tickets.   I thought they preferred Lady Gaga.

Under the heading "Outrages You Can Still Do Something About (Just)" I give you this from Daily Kos:  Nobody can write in cursive anymore.  Nobody under fifty, at least.  When there is no keyboard within reach, people now laboriously and reluctantly block-print everything.  Why not just grab some clay and punch in cuneiform?  The technology drives us inexorably backward.  In honor of National Handwriting Day mt41w -- really? -- urges us to take up real writing, which "trains your brain," improves reading skills, spelling and grammar, and even helps the dyslexic.  No question, the English-speaking world can use all that and more.  How do people learn to sign their names?  Are the primary schools doing anything at all?  I get that there's no reason to learn all the stuff we had to memorize -- a few clicks on a phone will tell you anything from state capitals to kings of England -- but engaging with printed matter, even learning the occasional poem by heart...I feel like I'm a hundred.  Maybe if people didn't wait until graduate school to learn to think, our politics would not be so fucked up.

Speaking of the fucked up...

Fox meteorologist Steve Klotz was beaten on the subway when he tried to protect an old man from three teenage muggers.  The three were grabbed by the NYPD, who let them go and told Klotz he must now file charges.  This somehow became an editorial attack on George Soros by the Murdoch Post because he contributes to the campaigns of non-vengeful DAs.  It seems like the problem is with the cops and not DA Alvin Bragg, but the Aussie Pornographer was never hampered by facts before. 

Of course this case has its fantasy corollary in the world of the other George, Santos.  Congressman Munchausen is now telling people he was robbed and nearly assassinated "in the middle of Fifth Avenue."  They stole his shoes!  And his watch, a gift from Nelson Mandela!  He probably should have chosen another street.  This will remind people of Trump's claim that he could shoot a Brazilian drag performer "in the middle of Fifth Avenue" and no one would care.  If George plans to challenge the Father of Lies, he'll have to step up his game.

Classified documents found at the Indiana home of Mike Pence?  His new place, not the one he lived in when he was vice president?  Were the cereal bowls wrapped in them?  I'm starting to think they stamp everything TOP SECRET just for giggles.