Impromptus

The presence of a gun, &c.

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A police officer stands next to a screen displaying the picture of suspected shooter Robert Card during a press conference following the deadly mass shooting, at City Hall in Lewiston, Maine, October 27, 2023. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
On violence and self-defense; Mike Pence and the GOP; Bill Buckley and neoconservatives; Elon Musk and X; and more

The gun issue is complicated. I know that many deny it — people on either “side.” To them, it’s black and white. But some of us consider it complicated. I would like to point out something fundamental, however: In a society awash in guns, and a society that is violent, you sometimes need a gun to protect yourself. Nothing else will do.

Allow me to cite a portion of a report from the Associated Press, concerning the mass shooting last week in Lewiston, Maine:

Bar manager Joe Walker picked up a butcher knife and tried to stop the gunman, Walker’s father told multiple media outlets.

“And that’s when he shot my son to death,” Leroy Walker told WGME-TV.

Walker said his son was shot twice in the stomach.


More in Mike Pence

“He died as a hero,” he told NBC News.

Joe Walker had a knife; the murderer had a gun. It was not a “fair fight.” I hope it’s not unseemly to say that I wish there had been a gun behind the bar.

Again, I believe the gun issue is complicated — legally, practically, morally, and otherwise. But sometimes there is no substitute for a gun, in self-defense, or the defense of others. And even a gun may not be adequate. But at least it gives you a fighting chance.

Some years ago, I spent a day in Lewiston. I feel I can picture the scenes — the awful, evil scenes. My heart goes out to that community.

• Do you know the name of Adrian Zenz? I believe it ought to be noted in history books. He is a German anthropologist, born in 1974, who has devoted himself to documenting the persecution of the Uyghurs. He does his work meticulously.

Here is something to note:

• David Mastio is a veteran journalist. He spent much of his career with USA Today. I wrote about him — and his battles with wokeness — here. He is a very unusual guy: independent-minded, honest. He marches to the beat of his own drum. Dave has now written a column headed “I Am a Mentally Ill Gun Owner.” This column took real guts to write. I admire David Mastio, a great deal.

• In recent years, the Right has come to resemble the Left: in foreign policy, domestic policy, rhetoric, conduct. This has been a theme of our time. Matthew Continetti wrote on it, pointedly, for the October Commentary: here.

When I was in college, leftist kids routinely called the American government “fascist.” Well, here is Donald Trump — the ex-president and possible future president. The hero of the Republican Party and the conservative movement (as measured by CPAC, Heritage, Turning Point, etc.).

It has been one strange trip, I can tell you — hard to describe to the young.

• Here is Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman:

That is just what many of the leftists around me said in opposition to President Reagan’s foreign policy. You would argue for deterrence or something — the installation of cruise and Pershing missiles in Western Europe — and they’d say, “You’re aiming for World War III!” And you’d say, “No, I’m not! I’m trying to prevent it!”

I also remember a phrase from that era: to “poison the atmosphere of détente.” You’d point out human-rights abuses behind the Iron Curtain, for example — and the Left would accuse you of “poisoning the atmosphere of détente.”

Today, there are similar strains (“Why are you provoking Putin?”).

• Here is a Republican senator:

Putin is responsible for the war in Ukraine. Hamas is responsible for the war in Gaza. Jeane Kirkpatrick had a phrase for the likes of Tuberville: They “blame America first.”

• Above, I mentioned, and linked to, a piece by Matt Continetti. Here is an excerpt: “It’s up to the rest of us to expose the New Right for what it truly is: ugly, pessimistic, base, weak toward America’s enemies, and, like its progressive twin, corrosive of the American tradition of liberty.”

• Mike Pence has dropped out of the presidential race — the race for the GOP nomination. There is a lot to say about Pence. I may say it — or what I have to say — in a piece someday. But I can say this in his favor: He went to Ukraine. He traveled to Ukraine to show solidarity with a people under monstrous assault. That goes a long way with me (and I’m sure it did him no good in his party).

President Biden went to Ukraine, of course. So did Mitch McConnell. And Nancy Pelosi. And Chris Christie. And Lindsey Graham.

I regard this as very important. And the idea of Trump or Ron DeSantis or Kevin McCarthy in Ukraine, to express solidarity — is hard, if not impossible, to imagine.

• From an AP report:

Pence is expected to remain engaged, in part through Advancing American Freedom, the conservative think tank he founded after leaving the vice presidency and that he envisions as an alternative to the Heritage Foundation.

That would be a salutary thrust.

• Speaking of the Heritage Foundation, here is the president of that organization, as it now is:

What a contrast with Bill Buckley. He said of Jeane Kirkpatrick, “She ought to be woven into the flag as the 51st star.” He had esteem for Irving Kristol, Gertrude Himmelfarb, Norman Podhoretz, Midge Decter, Charles Krauthammer, Michael Novak, James Q. Wilson, Charles Murray . . .

In 1995, Irving K. published his Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea. Bill reviewed it for the Weekly Standard — then in its first month — here. (I was among the proofreaders, and a thrill it was.)

Bill has been gone a long time now. The conservative movement is transformed. But the Buckley spirit still abides, in some. I hope it gets stronger, more confident — more widespread.

People at the Heritage Foundation and other Buchananites like to say that they “know what time it is,” whereas the rest of us don’t. I say: It’s always time for good ideas. And they are not necessarily Buchananite, or Orbánite, or worse.

• Is it time for the handsome fella in the headdress there?

• Here is another dose of the frontrunner, Trump:

Tens of millions want this man to be president of the United States — again. And he may well be.

• Elon Musk, the owner of X (né Twitter), has recommended two sources — two X accounts — for information on the Gaza war. As this article in the Washington Post explains, “one posts antisemitism, the other, Russian propaganda.”

Musk has almost 162 million followers on X. Think of the influence he has.

• The Kremlin and the Chinese Communist Party are greatly appreciative of Musk. A year ago, the Chinese ambassador to the United States publicly thanked Musk for his position on Taiwan. And how about this? How about the Russian embassy in Washington?

• Another dose of Musk:

It would be one thing if some scrambled-up kid at Oberlin College posted this — but Elon Musk has 162 million followers.

• Did you see this?

Here is a little confab between Bush and Derek Jeter, beforehand:

• The headline reads, “3 ex-Tigers will be playing in the 2023 World Series (and one will be managing).” A Michigan kid could weep, trust me. (To consult the article — the grisly details — go here.)

• In my neighborhood, ’tis the season:

Another:

One mo’:

A little Central Park, all autumn’d up?

Have a nice week, y’all. Thanks.

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