Watermelon and taking a bullet for democracy

This post dedicated to:

--everyone in the US whose lives are upended by endless gun violence in the US, especially when politicians up to their ears in NRA contributions send only #ThoughtsAndPrayers and not meaningful efforts to cut down the carnage.

--All the Gold Star families whose losses, frequently because of "taking a bullet for democracy," have been dissed by #DonTheCon

--All the disabled veterans who have been mocked by the same former reality TV host in spite of the same reality as people who did not survive.

--An independent journalist in RantWoman's socials who, while covering #GeorgeFloyd protests in MN took a sniper's bullet directly to her left eye and who has a list of 34 other people from around the country with similar stories

--and of course to #DementiaDon the current #GOP candidate for the Presidency.

RantWoman! A shooting video???? WTAF???

GUided: a WY hunting guide on watermelon and who really shot...

Warning: in addition to sterile commentary about the logistics of hitting a target at various distances, there is also demonstration using a watermelon. The basic point relevant to this post: sharpshooters practice. It seems ENTIRELY possible that sharpshooters might practice on the eyes of independent journalists and that details of such practice is, if survivors are lucky, buried in confidential settlements and MAYBE highly classified Congressional briefings.

RantWoman is precisely the sort of nerd who, exactly two weeks out from the assassination attempt  at the campaign rally in western PA, hangs out with very smart groupies chewing over events in the life of the country.

Consensus tonight:

--We have no problem using the term "assassination attempt." The shooter failed to kill the candidate but killed one local hero attending the event and injured two other people. Tonight's conversation also featured mention of Secret service agents hit by shrapnel.

--We are VERY glad the candidate survived, because basic human decency requires that sentiment.

--Whatever hit the candidate, whether a bullet or shrapnel hit hard enough to come with high risk of Traumatic Brain Injury, #TBI. A former critical care nurse spoke of a typical protocol of intensive monitoring and encouragement to rest for a period after any kind of similar event.

Also in the picture:

--A candidate with a history of not paying bills to indoor venues, as well as the optics of crowd size at outdoor events compared to places with a fixed number of seats. File here multiple YouTube reports of people getting bored and befuddled at the candidate's rallies and just leaving early.

--A Secret Service protectee who demanded he be allowed to stand and wave his fist before being hustled away is definitely a deviation from practice with previous assassination attempts. Not being willing to get out of the way of possible fire also put the Secret Service agents at risk.

--A Secret Service protectee who is probably harder than average to protect because of a tendency to ignore security recommendations and thus, dare RantWoman say, has SOME responsibility for his situation.

--Multiple communications and procedural screwups among the various layers of law enforcement involved in security for the rally.

The candidate is apparently complaining all over his socials that the assassination attempt is not getting enough attention. Aside from multiple possible strands of conspiracy theory, RantWoman would say "careful what you ask for."

And for another perspective

Meidas Touch with various news clips

Occupy Democrates on FBI testimony and also hyperventilating about records even this candidate has a right to keep private

From a few days after the shooting

Law&Crime Network: 7 bizarre details of ...shooting

Warning: gunshots and photo of injured candidate

The Behavioral Arts: military body language expert analyzes one woman's movements

Really detailed audio description of a few minutes of reaction from two people in crowd. Analysis based a lot on visual cues. This is a one-hour video of a few seconds of the events before and after the shooting. That alone should generate caution about off the cuff reactions. Interesting comments about social media and validation.