Here are my observations and opinions on selected items in the news.

THE SHOOTING at the Capital Gazette office in Annapolis, Maryland represents still another instance of the police, and in this case, the newspaper, being aware of the shooter’s “fringe comments” on Twitter. It’s reminiscent of previous shootings where the FBI and local law enforcement officials with knowledge of and individual were unable to prevent the event.

Years ago, the Gazette staff were shown a photo of the man and warned that if they saw him to call 911. Unfortunately, on Friday, there was no time to call 911.

NO ASSAULT WEAPON – You will recall how the media presented misinformation on weapons used, without knowledge of the differences between automatic and semi-automatic action.

The Gazette shooter used a pump-action shotgun to kill five employees and wound a number of others, and again the media gets it wrong. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell retweeted colleague Pete Williams’ tweet @PeteWilliamsNBC commenting “on the weapon used in the newsroom shooting: a shotgun is like a backwards funnel, you don’t have to aim to hurt a lot of people.”

That sent knowledgeable gun experts to tweet responsible information on the gun.

THE RUSH TO BLAME TRUMP for the Gazette shooting was expected as a response to his references to “fake news” by the heavily biased media. CNN’s Jim Acosta, a Trump antagonist, recently said, “my concern is that a journalist is going to be hurt one of these days,” suggesting that some of Trump’s supporters are unstable. He conveniently ignores the fact that it was a Bernie Sanders supporter who assaulted Republican legislators practicing baseball a year ago.

“Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.” – President Trump

REUTERS EDITOR, Rob Cox revealed his anti-Trump bias with his tweet, “This is what happens when Donald Trump calls journalists the enemy of the people. Blood is on your hands, Mr. President. Save your thoughts and prayers for your empty soul.” The tweet was deleted following a rather hollow apology.

Steve Adler, editor-in-chief of the international news provider, called Cox’s tweet, “inconsistent with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles requiring journalists to maintain freedom of bias. We do not condone his behavior and will take appropriate action.”

DID YOU KNOW that a Springfield, Massachusetts reporter, Conor Berry, resigned after tweeting that the Gazette shooter had dropped his Make American Great Again cap on the newsroom floor before opening fire?  He made it up.

HIS APOLOGY: “Folks, my 21-year career as a ‘journalist,’ a fancy term that makes my skin crawl, frankly, came to a screeching halt yesterday with one stupid, regrettable tweet. Can’t take it back; wish I could. My sincere apologies to all good, hardworking reporters and to POTUS supporters.”

CONTRIBUTING TO THE HATE, Michael Moore donned his “activist” cap during appearances on Bill Maher’s show and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” just long enough to put on his “self-proclaimed documentary producer” cap to promote his up-coming film assault against the president. Sharing how he despaired each day at the news, Moore said, “The only way that we’re going to stop this is eventually we’re all going to have to put our bodies on the line. You’re going to have to be willing to do this.” What exactly does that mean, Mr. Moore?

WASHINGTON POST columnist/activist Jennifer Rubin has joined the effort to stop the Senate from securing the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court prior to the midterms. Knowing that every Republican vote will be key, Rubin has suggested the boycotting of L. L. Bean outfitters in Maine and Alaskan Cruise providers to persuade moderates Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski to oppose Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s effort.

ALLAHPUNDIT asks, “Will McCain Resign To Give McConnell An Extra Vote On Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee?” With McCain out, he says, Senate Republicans have zero margin for error on the nomination. He mentions that “The Flake” and Bob Corker could sink the nominee if McConnell is unable to get vulnerable Democrats to vote with the GOP, which is unlikely.

THE USUAL RED HERRING – Roe v Wade – has again surfaced from the Beltway Swamp as the left begins its all-out fight to block the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court. When the Senate Judiciary Committee begins to question the nominee this fall, you can count on Democrats, and perhaps a few Republicans, to ask the nominee if the president inquired if they would consider overturning Roe v Wade. Of course, they will be able to deny that, because the president will not provide a litmus test.

The 25 individuals on the president’s list of potential nominees fill the primary requirement of interpreting the Constitution as it was understood by the Framers. That list, I understand, has been paired down to five candidates, and the president will reveal his selection by July 9, 2018.

A NOT SO SUBTLE REMINDER TO NORTH KOREA? I wonder, was the Air Force announcement that it has awarded $900 million to two companies for new bunker buster bombs designed to remind Kim Jung Un that we are serious about stopping his nuclear sites should he renege on his pledge to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Ditto the release of the satellite photo showing a building effort on North Korean sites this week. We can see what you’re doing Kim.

BILL CLINTON APPOINTEE Judge William Alsup provided a bit of judicial sanity this week to stop a number of cities who were demanding billions of dollars from oil companies to remedy future environmental damage caused by fossil fuels.

The judge ridiculed the notion that fossil fuels are a public nuisance and even suggested that they have been a boon for humanity, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

“Our industrial revolution and the development of our modern world has literally been fueled by oil and coal,” said Judge Alsup, “Without those fuels, virtually all of our monumental progress would have been impossible.”

Well stated, Judge.

THE ATLANTA FED has released its GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth for the second quarter to be 4.5 percent. The official advance GDP estimate will be revealed on July 27, 2018.

     May God bless the United States of America.