The shooting in Uvalde, Texas, continues to dominate headlines -- largely because it is simply so shocking, and partly because the media and the Democrats want to push gun control and need an issue to distract from the Biden administration's many failures.
My friend, Jon Voight, has posted videos calling for some kind of certification before individuals can purchase and own guns. I'm not opposed to that, in principle, though it's not clear it would have stopped the killer in this case. We've also been through the summer of riots in 2020, largely backed by the Democratic Party, and the experience has probably ended any prospect of gun control for the near future.
There are two other alternatives: hardening the targets, i.e. hiring guards or installing metal detectors at schools nationwide; and/or using Big Data to monitor individuals who may be risks to their communities. Democrats will reject the former; both parties will probably reject the latter. So there is little hope for progress, at least at the legislative level, in dealing with this problem.
My own prediction is that school districts will take up the issue of guards on their own. The fact that there was so much controversy about the presence, or not, of a school resource officer at the start of the shooting has highlighted the issue.
Moreover, this may be one of those issues, like plan hijacking, that Americans take into their own hands. Since 9/11, passengers have rushed anyone who is a threat on a flight. After the chilling videos emerged of parents gathering outside the school in Uvalde, only to be held back by police, who waited for an hour before rushing the killer, I don't think you'll ever see Americans wait outside a school during a lockdown ever again. People will risk their lives.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...