Hits and Misses
Last summer, Andrew Goudy, president of Washington’s NAACP chapter, came forward with the idea of creating a citizens review board for the city’s police department in the wake of nationwide protests about police brutality. Seven Washington residents are needed to serve on the board, and, all told, 14 applications were received before an April 8 deadline, twice the number needed. The residents who end up serving on the proposed board will be there alongside Goudy, police Chief Robert Wilson, Scott Putnam, Washington’s mayor, and the Fraternal Order of Police union president. Citizens on the board would serve a four-year, unpaid term. The creation of this board should be welcome if it effectively allows city residents to air grievances and have a say in how Washington’s police force carry out their duties.
Last weekend, the Observer-Reporter and the Herald-Standard ran a story about how gun sales started heading skyward when the pandemic started one year ago, and have remained high amid the upheaval of the last 12 months. Many buyers are apparently driven by a belief that they need the weapons to protect themselves or their families. But Josh Fleitman of CeaseFirePa, an advocacy organization seeking to reduce gun violence, said a gun in the home is more likely to injure the gun owner or their families than an intruder. His claim is backed up by research. A study published in 2019 by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that for each 10% jump in gun ownership within a home, the odds of someone being killed by one of the guns in that household goes up by 13%. According to Aaron Kivisto, an associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Indianapolis who led the study, “Gun owners should weigh the perceived benefits and risks, and engage in safe storage and other practices to reduce the risk of a domestic incident becoming fatal.”
There are exceptions, but most political memoirs are pretty pedestrian, full of after-the-fact justifications and legacy burnishing. But kudos should go to former U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner for writing a memoir that, according to reviews, is unusually blunt and entertaining. The Ohio Republican goes after members of his party in “On the House,” denouncing former President Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Boehner also praises current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her skill at holding her party together, wishing that he had been as successful with his caucus, and says that Barack Obama could come off as being “lecturing and haughty.” He also pours cold water on the whole idea that there is some sort of “deep state” of bureaucrats, intelligence and military officials within the federal government seeking to thwart the will of elected officials, frankly calling it “horses–t” and “delusional.” People who still buy into this misbegotten notion would do well to read Boehner’s book.
Joyce Ellis was a driving force behind East Washington’s LeMoyne Community Center, and when she died in December, there was some reason to wonder how it would go forward when she was not at the helm. Supporters of the center should be heartened, though, that several renovation projects have been happening at the center, including a newly completed gymnasium and bleachers, as well as some work on the roof and in the restrooms. There are also plans for modified summer camps, and the revival of a Black arts festival is being considered. It’s heartening to see that the work by the center is continuing even in Ellis’ absence.