monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt dismissed evolution as an unproven theory, lamented that “minority religions” were pushing Christianity out of “the public square” and advocated amending the Constitution to ban abortion, prohibit same-sex marriage and protect the Pledge of Allegiance and the Ten Commandments, according to a newly unearthed series of Oklahoma talk radio shows from 2005.

Pruitt, who at the time was a state senator, also described the Second Amendment as divinely granted and condemned federal judges as a “judicial monarchy” that is “the most grievous threat that we have today."

AUSTIN — The number of women running for Congress here this year is surging, fueled by indignation over the wave of sexual harassment claims against office-holders, anti-Trump sentiment and an abundance of seats left open by the retirements of longtime incumbents.

At least 50 female challengers have filed to run in Texas congressional races in the March 6 primary, raising the prospect that Texas — a state with 36 districts but just three women in its House delegation — will finally see its breakthrough moment for women in 2018.

I was banned for over TWO ENTIRE YEARS!

After a meeting in the Oval Office, the N.R.A.’s top lobbyist said that President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence “support strong due process and don’t want gun control.”

For a Middle East negotiator, President Trump could have chosen a seasoned envoy trusted by all stakeholders and fluent in the region’s nuance. Instead he appointed the heir to an opaque Manhattan real estate empire with deep ties to Israel who boasts that, as a businessman, “I don’t care about the past.”

To lead his initiative on government innovation, Mr. Trump could have named a dynamic authority on technology and entrepreneurship. Instead he chose someone who failed in an expensive effort to bring a New York newspaper into the digital age.

When selecting his closest adviser, Mr. Trump could have chosen from among seasoned and wise strategists. Instead, he picked a political novice with no experience in government.

For all of these crucial roles, Mr. Trump turned to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Though Mr. Trump voices high praise for Mr. Kushner’s talent, the fact that he’s family is qualification enough for a president obsessed with close-lipped loyalty and uninterested in policy unless it benefits himself.

Better gun laws could save thousands of lives, major nonpartisan US study finds

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Passing an assault weapons ban might prevent 170 mass shooting deaths a year in the US, experts who support gun control estimate. Passing a universal background check law could prevent 1,100 gun homicides each year. Raising the age limit for buying firearms could prevent 1,600 homicides and suicides.

These are some of the new estimates in a groundbreaking study of the potential impact of American gun control laws. The nonpartisan analysis, based on a review of existing gun policy research and a survey of the best guesses of both gun-rights and gun-control experts, was conducted by the Rand Corporation, which spent two years and more than $1m on the project.

Defensive use of guns by crime victims is a common occurrence, although the exact number remains disputed (Cook and Ludwig, 1996; Kleck, 2001a). Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million (Kleck, 2001a), in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008 (BJS, 2010).

In a statement provided to the Times, Nunes’ camp didn’t deny leaking the texts to Fox News. Instead, Nunes spokesman Jack Langer attacked the Times for writing about it in the first place.

“The New York Times, a prominent purveyor of leaks, is highlighting anonymous sources leaking information that accuses Republicans of leaking information,” he said. “I’m not sure if this coverage could possibly get more absurd.”

The CDC requested the study to identify research goals after Obama issued his January 2012 executive order. The National Academies's study authors clearly see gun violence as a problem worth examining: “By their sheer magnitude, injuries and deaths involving firearms constitute a pressing public health problem."

The authors suggested focusing on five areas: the characteristics of firearm violence, risk and protective factors, interventions and strategies, gun safety technology and the influence of video games and other media. The document is peppered with examples of how little we know about the causes and consequences of gun violence -- no doubt the result of an 18-year-old CDC research ban.

But gun-rights supporters zeroed on in a few statements to make their case. One related to the defensive use of guns. The New American Magazine article noted that "Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year, in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008."

So it would appear the "good use" of guns outweighs the "bad use." That may be true, except the study says all of those statistics are in dispute -- creating, in the study authors' eyes, a research imperative.

The study (available as a PDF) calls the defensive use of guns by crime victims "a common occurrence, although the exact number remains disputed." While it might be as high as 3 million defensive uses of guns each year, some scholars point to the much lower estimate of 108,000 times a year. "The variation in these numbers remains a controversy in the field," the study notes.

The authors also say gun ownership might be good for defensive uses, but that benefit could be canceled out by the risk of suicide or homicide that comes with gun ownership. The depth of the relationship is unknown "and this is a sufficiently important question that it merits additional, careful exploration."

Another point gun-rights activists make about the National Academies's report is that "the key finding the president was no doubt seeking — that more laws would result in less crime — was missing."

And they're right. The key finding is missing. But that's because we don't know the answer -- one way or the other.

with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year

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Do I really have to explain to you the sarcasm in my use of "riff raff?"

No.

Passing an assault weapons ban might prevent 170 mass shooting deaths a year in the US, experts who support gun control estimate.

It's possible that the more devastating wounds caused by the higher velocity of rifle ammunition is sufficient reason to explain the preoccupation with assault-style weapons.

The AR-15 has come to carry connotations of heroism (a Remington ad said it gives “you the confidence and firepower to get the job done”), political resistance (tighter regulations could let government “subjugate Americans” and make them “live under tyranny,” a National Rifle Association executive said), fun (“killin’ zombies before it was cool,” reads another ad) and mass murder (high-capacity magazines have been used in more than half of mass shootings over four decades, according to several studies).

But you still seem unable to acknowledge the fact that handguns are used to more often than rifles during mass shootings.