In Which There Is No 'I' in Dannel

"Should being a terrorism suspect prohibit a person from buying firearms?"  According to Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy--and, for that matter, every marginally sane human being on the planet--the answer is, "Is this seriously even a question?"  But the political climate in this country has devolved to the point where, yes, it apparently is.

These days, people who find themselves on terrorist watch lists can freely and easily walk into a store and purchase all the weapons they want.  Gun rights activists explain that they are simply standing up for due process: People on terrorism watch lists and no-fly lists have not been found guilty of anything and thus should not have their constitutional rights infringed upon.  Furthermore, some people end up on watch lists for no clear reason and have difficulty getting their names expunged.  Fair enough: We should certainly make watch lists more transparent.  But the logic of this situation seems to be that some people are too dangerous to hop on an airplane but not dangerous enough to be prevented from amassing an arsenal of high-powered killing machines.  God bless America.

In Which We Take a Break from Outrage to Ponder Something Important

I had dinner at a restaurant the other day.  When I got up to leave, I decided to use the restroom--I'd had a beer, and it was a long walk to my car.  Don't think about that too much. 

Anyway, I went into the men's room and was immediately thrown off-balance.  The restroom was fairly large--at least 10 feet by 10 feet--and contained both toilet and urinal--but no divider between the two. . .receptacles.  That is, the room was more than large enough to accommodate two people but set up for only one.  Or, I guess, two if they're very close.  I've encountered this kind of set-up before, and I'm never sure if it represents an oversight on the part of the proprietors (they forgot to install some sort of partition) or, alternatively, some sort of strange "perk": Whether you're in the mood to stand or sit, you can relieve yourself in comfort in our unusually large facilities!

OK, we'll get back to gun control and Trump, right away.

In Which We Point Out That 100 Years Is a Long Time

Chuck Williams--the "Williams" of "Williams-Sonoma" died yesterday at his home in San Francisco. He was 100 years old. According to the obituary in today's New York Times, "No cause [of death] was given."

Doesn't "being 100 years old" count?