In other news, the European Union says Russia now has up to 150,000 troops positioned along Ukraine's border and within occupied Crimea. No one seems to know why exactly.
Meanwhile, Representative Steve Stivers (R-OH) says he's quitting Congress next month to join the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. He's the 6th House Republican to call it quits.
Finally, the Biden White House has ordered immigration authorities to stop using dehumanizing terms to refer to immigrants under their jurisdiction.
Among the changes: “Alien” will become “noncitizen or migrant,” “illegal” will become “undocumented,” and “assimilation” will change to “integration.”
“As the nation’s premier law enforcement agency, we set a tone and example for our country and partners across the world,” Troy Miller, CBP’s top official, said in his memo. “We enforce our nation’s laws while also maintaining the dignity of every individual with whom we interact. The words we use matter and will serve to further confer that dignity to those in our custody.”
There was a mass shooting in the news when I woke up yesterday morning. There was another mass shooting in the afternoon. There was also a mass drive-by shooting in the news just before I went to sleep last night. And when I woke up today, I saw there was actually another mass shooting yesterday that I missed entirely.
It's not a comforting thought, but I think recent shootings are just the beginning of what could happen this summer as more coronavirus restrictions are lifted. A whole lot of people are going to emerge with a lot of pent up feelings, trauma, and guns. Our society does a very poor job of handling trauma but a great job of putting a gun in people's hands.