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New Hampshire’s Sturm Ruger, the NRA, and an Executed Journalist

To the Editor: Palestinian authorities have concluded that Shireen Abu Akleh, killed in May in Palestine, was murdered with a bullet from a Ruger gun. Palestinian Attorney General Al-Khatib said tests showed that the bullet that killed Abu Akleh was a 5.56 mm round fired from a Ruger semiautomatic rifle, which is used by the Israeli military. This rifle is produced by Sturm Ruger whose headquarters are in Fairfield, Connecticut but it has a factory in Newport, N.H. It is possible that the weapon that took the life of this reporter was manufactured in New Hampshire. Abu Akleh was a prominent Arab journalist, known all …

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A Guide to Listings of Mass Shootings in the United States

Rather than writing about the 28 mass shootings which have occurred in the U.S. since we last published, on May 20th, we thought it might be useful to create a guide to online resources keeping track of these events. We’ll begin with Wikipedia’s “Mass Shootings in the United States” page, which will be six years old on June 16th. It has been revised approximately 2,000 times since then, for reasons which should be obvious. This page provides a helpful overview of the topic, including discussions of definition and data sources—both matters of surprising complexity. Its section on demographics is deftly written; a sentence on gender …

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Wed, May 25

2020—A white Minneapolis cop murders George Perry Floyd, Jr. 2007—As U. Mass. hands an honorary degree to Andrew Card, George W.[MD] Bush’s ex-Chief of Staff, students and faculty howl and boo. 1988—Evicted from his crypt, Peter Lawford’s ashes are scattered at sea; the National Enquirer covers the cost of the boat—none of his children will. 1986—“Hands Across America” ends hunger and homelessness. Well done! 1981—Kennebunkport native Dan Goodwin, 25, scales Chicago’s Sears Tower while dressed as Spiderman. 1979—Sitting in “Old Sparky,” waiting for the juice, John Spenkelink says, “Capital punishment: them without the capital get the punishment.” 1953—At the Nevada Test Site, the U.S. fires …

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Tues, May 24

2005—“See,” mansplains G.W.[MD] Bush, “in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” 2000—Linda Tripp beats a wiretap rap; if you’re a Right Winger, ignorance of the law is an excuse. 1989—Being killed by Texas state employees, Stephen McCoy has a violent drug reaction. A male witness faints, knocking over another witness. 1978—Pistol-packin’ Barbara Ann Oswald skyjacks Allen Barklage’s helicopter to spring airliner skyjacker Garrett B. Trapnell from the Marion, Ill. pen. Bold Barklage grabs Oswald’s gun, though, and shoots her dead. 1971—After a ski …

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Mon, May 23

2012—A mentally-unstable PNSY employee sets a fire that destroys the billion-dollar U.S.S. Miami. 1976—The Washington Post reports that Rep. Wayne L. Hays’ (D-Ohio) mistress, on his payroll at $14,000 a year, admits she “can’t type…can’t file, [and] can’t even answer the phone.” 1971—President Nixon meets with the milk cartel. For a $2 million campaign contribution, he OKs a $100 million increase in the cost of milk. 1969—Drunk, homesick U.S.A.F. Sgt. Paul Meyer steals a C-130 from Mildenhall, UK and heads for Langley, Va. He crashes into the English Channel—possibly shot down. 1950—The UAW and GM sign the Treaty of Detroit. Workers get better benefits but …

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