Today is Tuesday, July 5, 2022. The country is in a perpetual Groundhog’s Day with the murderous spate of mass shootings that occur time and time again. The latest atrocity, as I mentioned yesterday in my attenuated blog, happened in one of America’s safest communities, Highland Park, Illinois, where one demented man, devoid of compassion for his fellow man, shot at random seven innocent people – for no apparent reason. Today the man responsible for this senseless violence was charged with seven – one more person has since died after the shooting – counts of murder for opening fire at an Independence Day parade here from a rooftop. An online article appeared in the Associated Press by Michael Tarm, Kathleen Foody, and Stephen Groves entitled “Parade shooting suspect bought 5 weapons despite threats.” The suspect, whose name should not be mentioned here, bought five weapons, including two high-powered rifles, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said.

A spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a rifle “similar to an AR-15” to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 300,000 on the Lake Michigan shore.

The gun used in the assault was purchased in Illinois within the last year, Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli indicated. Police now have admitted that they went to the suspect’s home in September 2019 after a family member called to say he was threatening “to kill everyone” there. Covelli said that police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger, and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time. Wouldn’t you think that this 19-year-old (at the time) would have aroused suspicion as to his mental state after having so many weapons in his home?

In April 2019, police also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said. Again, don’t you think this visit to the suspect’s home would have raised somewhat of a red flag?

One resident of Highland Park where the massacre occurred, Ron Tuazon, put it succinctly as to the frequency of these appalling incidents. He said, “It’s commonplace now. We don’t blink any more. Until laws change, it’s going to be more of the same.”

An interesting fact about the suspect is that his father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran for mayor in 2019. To evade capture after the shooting, the suspect dressed as a woman and blended into the fleeing crowd, then drove to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, then returned to Illinois, where he was picked up by a police officer who pulled him over in his car north of the shooting scene after authorities released his photo and warned that he was likely armed and highly dangerous.

As for the victims, nine people, ranging in age 14 to 70, remained hospitalized today, hospital officials indicated.

Since the start of the year, the country has seen 15 shootings where four or more people were killed, including the one on July 4, according to The Associated Press/USA Today/Northeastern University mass killing database. Scores of smaller-scale shootings in nearby Chicago also left eight people dead and 60 wounded over the holiday weekend.

How do we always come up short with gun violence here? We know what needs to be done, but we lack the will to do it! This latest scene of horror now brings home the chilling reality that no one can be sure they are safe, anywhere, in this country – whether it be at a parade site, a church, a synagogue, a classroom, a movie theater, a medical center, a grocery store, subway train, an outdoor concert, etc. Did I miss any place here?

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker commented on the insanity of the latest scene of carnage: “It is devastating that a celebration of America was ripped apart by our uniquely American plague. A day dedicated to freedom has put into stark relief the one freedom we, as a nation, refuse to uphold: The freedom of our fellow citizens to live without the daily fear of gun violence.”

So last night’s foray into the July 4th fireworks spectacle on Long Island City had me worried a bit – I will now admit to it – since so many people were expected to attend. Maybe that is the reason why Elliot and I stood back and watched the proceedings from afar. Our view was obstructed by the buildings, but I certainly felt safer, even though anyone with a gun might have begun firing no matter where we sat and observed the show.

Did you hear that the grinding wheels of justice are moving a little faster today when an Atlanta-area special grand jury investigating former president Dumpf’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia has subpoenaed a handful of key Dumpf allies, including his dye-smeared bulldog of a disbarred lawyer Rudy Giuliani and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, according to court filings.

The subpoenas also cover a number of the Dumpf campaign’s other former legal advisers, including John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell, and Kenneth Chesebro. This new development is covered in an online CNN article by Sara Murray and Jason Morris entitled “Rudy Giuliani, Lindsey Graham, and John Eastman subpoenaed by Fulton County DA in election probe.”

This investigation is being spearheaded by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and she has indicated that she will go after anyone who is suspected of election interference during the 2020 presidential race. This latest raft of summonses marks a new phase, as the grand jury seeks testimony from witnesses who were members of Dumpf’s inner circle of liars, thieves, and felons.

The special grand jury wants to hear from the despicable senator from South Carolina because of two calls he allegedly made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff in the wake of the 2020 election. According to court filings, Graham “questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.” Do I smell a whiff of corruption here in the Senator’s call? Will this coward come forward even? I seriously doubt it.

The filing also states that Graham brought up allegations of widespread voter fraud, which have been widely debunked. Of course, Graham’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Maybe he’s scared shitless!

The formerly disbarred lawyer is sought for his appearance before Georgia state lawmakers in December in which he provided testimony regarding nonexistent voter fraud. Even after those allegations were investigated and disproven, Giuliani “made additional statements, both to the public and in subsequent legislative hearings, claiming widespread voter fraud in Georgia during the November 2020 election.” This mantra was repeated by the disgraced New York mayor over and over; don’t you think he should be forced to offer testimony to this grand jury? I sure do.

Another supposed lawyer, Jenna Ellis, is also sought for her relentless peddling of debunked election fraud claims, according to court filings. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment; what else would you expect?

Cleta Mitchell is of interest to the grand jury because she was on the now infamous call where Trump pressed Raffensperger to “find” the nearly 12,000 votes necessary for Dumpf to win in the Peach State. Mitchell also parroted claims of voter fraud on the call, the court filing noted. Of course, she did not respond to a request for comment.

The last person subpoenaed, Kenneth Chesebro, allegedly coordinated with Georgia Republican Party and Dumpf campaign officials to help prepare the slate of fake electors, another focus of this inquiry. According to court documents, Chesebro provided a Microsoft word template for Georgia Republicans to use in a December 2020 meeting where they cast their bogus Electoral College votes. Of course, this other potential convict did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If you are outraged over the situation in this country, raise your hand now! Also remember that not one stinking repugnican has voted for the outright ban on assault weapons, the kind of high-powered firearm used by most of these mass murderers, and they never will! They are bought by the rotten NRA and cannot declare their independence from them. But we can declare our independence from these repugnicans by refusing to vote for them. So let’s do it when we can.

Stay safe and be well.