Some reflections on why life moves on so quickly and why we did not stand DC Strong in the wake of the massacre in Southeast Washington.

The mass shooting America barely noticedFor most of the day on Monday, Major League Baseball thought it might hold a game a few blocks from the site of the shooting. I’d like to believe that dignity and reason and compassion prevailed in the late afternoon, when the game was postponed, but my gut tells me it was just logistics.

via Washingtonpost

Not all mass shootings are equal in the eyes of the media or the publicThis was a day after Britney Spears appeared on “Good Morning America” to announce her new Las Vegas show. “Only on GMA!,” the promo bragged. No one announced a telethon for the victims of the Washington shootings or broke out ribbons of any color.

via Washingtonpost

“[T]he struggle waged in Muslim majority societies against extremism is one of the most important—and overlooked—human rights struggles in the world.”

According to the Combating Terrorism Center in West Point, between 2006 and 2008, 98 percent of al-Qaeda’s victims were Muslim.

‘Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here:Whenever a terrorist attack happens in the West, one of the standard responses in some media circles is to denounce Muslims for not doing enough to speak out against extremism. In “Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here,” University of California at Davis law professor and human rights activist Karima Bennoune shows that in fact, thousands of Muslims fight extremist violence every day.

via Washingtonpost

It’s up to the DC City Council now to see if it can override the mayor’s veto.

Mayor Gray vetoes ‘living wage’ bill aimed at Wal-Mart, setting up decisive council voteGray (D) announced his veto in a letter to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson delivered Thursday morning. The bill would require retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more and operating District stores of at least 75,000 square feet to pay their employees a “living wage” – no less than $12.50 an hour in combined wages and benefits.

via Washingtonpost