Alex Pretti was 'brandishing' his gun. Wait, no, he was carrying it but deserved to be shot. Wait, no, we have to wait for an investigation.

The unbelievable, ever evolving excuses from the Trump regime about the tragedy in Minneapolis

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Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. I talk with WGN-AM 720 host John Williams about what’s making news and likely to be grist for the PS mill. The WGN listen-live link is here.

The White House jumps from conclusion to conclusion while continuing to blame Alex Pretti for his own death

Get smart, America

All publicly available video evidence disproves the Trump regime’s narrative that slain protester Alex Pretti of Minneapolis was a “domestic terrorist” who had “attacked” federal Border Patrol agents on Saturday before the agents killed him in a hail of gunfire. He was “brandishing” a handgun, they said, because he was determined to “do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

Then representatives of the Trump regime altered their story.

Pretti, they said on Sunday, was aggressively and violently interfering with agents who were just trying to do their job. Here is a bit of what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked by host Kristen Welker, “Did at any point Mr. Pretti brandish a gun?”

There’s obviously an investigation that’s ongoing. (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem talked about that yesterday, which is what we would expect anytime a tragedy like this occurs. … We don’t know what happened in the minutes leading up to what we just watched. We don’t know what ICE saw, what ICE heard. That’s part of the investigation that’s going to be happening. … These men and women are not protesting. They are not peacefully protesting. They are trying to impede and obstruct ICE, and it makes the job that our men and women have to do virtually impossible to do without interactions like that. …

He was not protesting peacefully. He was interrupting an ICE operation … you cannot look at a ten-second video and judge what happened. You have to look at it from a full, full situation of what’s been happening in Minneapolis for the past several weeks.

Welker followed up:

You’re saying he wasn’t protesting peacefully, and yet the video before shows him holding up a cell phone, directing traffic. The video after shows him being pummeled by law enforcement. … Is that what the administration is asking of the American people, to believe that he was violent when the video, based on what everyone has seen so far, does not show that?

Blanche replied:

Well, first of all, I did not say he was violent. I said he was not protesting peacefully. … He was screaming in the face of ICE. He had a phone up right into ICE’s face. You tell me, is that protesting peacefully?

I will interject here that nothing I’ve seen supports the idea that Pretti was “screaming” at anyone or advancing on federal agents before the officers advanced on him and began beating him. And, yes, in fact, any protest that does not involve the destruction or property, initiating physical contact with law enforcement officials or endangering law enforcement officials with projectiles of any sort is by definition peaceful. That he resisted when the shit was being kicked out of him by government thugs for daring to help a woman to her feet does not make him a non-peaceful protester.

My fellow Boomers will probably remember the catch phrase of fictional, bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in the 1965-70 sitcom “Get Smart,” who, when caught in a lie or gross exaggeration tended to try to change his story with the preface, “Would you believe…?”

Would you believe that Pretti is at fault because he was carrying a concealed gun?

“You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want,” FBI director Kash Patel told Fox News on Sunday. “It’s that simple. You don’t have that right to break the law.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, posted to social media, “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.”

Yeah, no. For better or worse — worse in my opinion — courts have ruled that the Second Amendment gives permit-holders the right to carry a gun in most public settings, including protests. It’s that simple. And unless you are brandishing your gun in a threatening manner, law enforcement is not “legally justified” in shooting you.

Would you believe that the Trump Administration is conducting a thorough review of the killing of Alex Pretti?

Todd Blanche six times promised an “investigation” during his “Meet the Press” interview but unless that investigation is conducted by a interagency team that includes state and local officials, it will not be credible. The Department of Homeland Security lies reflexively, compulsively and flagrantly about ICE and Border Patrol encounters with federal agents, and we’re simply not going to trust them.

Would you believe that the body-cam videos from the agents involved in the shooting will exonerate them?

I suppose it’s possible. Here’s NewsNation on Monday afternoon:

The Department of Homeland Security said multiple agents with U.S. Border Patrol were wearing body cameras during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

A DHS official told NewsNation that the footage from each of the cameras is being reviewed by its investigators.

During the White House press briefing on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump is aware of the body cam footage, but has not committed to releasing that footage to the public.

Ask yourself, though: If these videos vindicated the actions of the agents — showed them as anything less than trigger-happy murderers? — don’t you think we would have seen them by now (written at 9 p.m. Monday)?

When Maxwell Smart messed up, he often deployed another famous catch phrase of his, “Missed it by that much.”

Here, the administration has missed it by a country mile.

Notes and comments from readers — lightly edited — along with my responses

Abolish ICE?

Chris Newman — You advised readers last week not to use the slogan “Abolish ICE.” How about now? Is it ok to say “Abolish ICE” now? Let me know when it’s ok to say!

DancesWithDogs —Verbiage is important. I can hear it now: “The Democrats want to abolish ICE like they wanted to abolish the police! They are in favor of keeping immigrant rapists and drug dealers in your neighborhoods and schools, all while getting handouts from the government.”

Zorn — Chris Newman’s comment came in after the execution-style slaying of Alex Pretti on Saturday on the streets of Minneapolis, and I share the widespread outrage and fear. The agency is clearly out of control under the Trump regime, but I continue to hold that the sentiment “ICE must be abolished. Not reformed, not retrained, abolished” as articulated in a new campaign commercial for Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Juliana Stratton is politically perilous.

ICE was created in 2002 as part of the reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001. It absorbed some of the functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Customs Service and has been conducting criminal investigations and attempting to enforce immigration laws ever since — not exactly under the radar but also not nearly the source of general fear and consternation it is today.

There seems to be broad consensus that our borders should be secure and that undocumented residents who commit violent crimes or serious felonies should be deported. And the country needs an agency tasked with doing that.

At the same time, there also seems to be broad consensus that federal agents attempting to enforce immigration laws should follow the Constitution and surgically apprehend the “worst of the worst,” and not needlessly sow panic. It’s false that the Trump regime has a mandate to round up brown-skinned people or those with foreign accents while pepper spraying those who are protesting the wholesale expulsion of undocumented residents who have been living here peacefully for many years and contributing to society.

Urban border enforcement operations should be paused and leadership, policies and practices should be vthoroughly overhauled. All agents should be unmasked and required to have active body-worn cameras when interacting with the public. That footage should be released as quickly as possible after controversial incidents. This, I believe, is what Democratic politicians such as Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Senate hopeful Raja Krishnamoorthi mean when they say “Abolish Trump’s ICE.”

The White House is taking things in the wrong direction: “Trump moved to cut funding for ICE body cameras, pared back oversight.”

President Donald Trump’s administration opposed efforts to expand the use of body cameras by immigration officers and sharply cut oversight staffing as it surged officers into Minneapolis and other cities, leading to a series of violent clashes. …

Cameras worn by officers long have been central to police reform efforts … The Trump administration, however, moved last year to slow-walk a pilot program to give ICE officers body cameras, urging Congress in June to cut the funding by 75% and bucking a nationwide trend of cameras for law enforcement.

Officials last year also placed on paid leave nearly all staffers working for three internal watchdogs conducting oversight of immigration agencies, undermining their capacity to investigate abuses.

My question for those who are insisting we should simply “abolish ICE” is what they would propose instead when it comes to enforcing immigration laws.

Iceland/Greenland

Rick Weiland — Yeah, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt’s response to the observation that President Donald Trump repeatedly confused Iceland and Greenland in his speech to the World Economic Forum was “an aggressive and utterly pointless lie”. But NewsNation correspondent Libbey Dean’s social media post highlighting those errors was pointless and aggressive as well.

Zorn — I disagree. Dean’s tweet was in line with reporting that has been questioning Trump’s mental acuity. It reminded us that the right-wing media went bonkers at Biden’s every verbal slip. And it served as a test of how far the White House is willing to go to gaslight the public with blatant, brazen, easily proven lies.

Overlooked octogenarians

Steven K. — A few giants from the music world joining the octogenarian club this year who were omitted from the list: Donovan, John Paul Jones, David Gilmour, Patti Smith.

Zorn — Thank you! I have added them to my list, and welcome any additional suggestions.

How could heaven be ‘crowded’?

Jon Lederhouse — In reference to your item discussing the “Make Heaven Crowded” series of rallies headlined by Erika Kirk, the 1500 miles-per-side cube you referenced regarding the size of heaven is actually the measurement not of heaven but of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. New Jerusalem is just part of the new heaven and new earth that God prepares for his people (Rev. 21:1-2).

So how big is heaven itself? Not really much information is given in the Bible, but my favorite illustration is from C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series final book, “The Last Battle.”

“Of course, Daughter of Eve,” said the Faun. “The further up and the further in you go, the bigger everything gets. The inside is larger than the outside.”...world within world, Narnia within Narnia...” “Yes,” said Mr. Tumnus, “like an onion: except that as you continue to go in and in, each circle is larger than the last.”

Zorn — By this description, heaven could never be considered “crowded.” I do have a follow-up question, though: What do you or other believers suppose happens in heaven? Do departed souls interact with one another? I had a long online dialogue (gift link) on this very point nine years ago with Bryan O’Neal, then a vice-president and dean at Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute, in which I posed the question, “What is it like, hour by hour, to be a soul in heaven? When an old person dies, is his or her body restored to its adult prime? When a baby or young person dies, do they age into their prime?”

O’Neal’s answers did not satisfy me, but perhaps one of my readers will have an enlightening take.

Advice on aging

Last week I wrote about a note I’d found going through my late father’s papers that said, in the deteriorated handwriting of a nonegenarian, “No one taught me how to grow old.” Some readers weighed in:

Chuck Swangren (age 79)

I recommend being active, and especially being in groups to help with aging. Calmly allow the medical pros to help you move forward, patching you up along the way, and then thank your lucky stars every time you return to action.

Mary Ann McGinley (age 87)

Remaining active is the key. My husband and I attend formal exercise classes three times a week, read a lot, go shopping, go to church, stay in touch with nearby friends, visit museums, attend concerts at Northwestern, and rent a community garden.

The common denominator we notice in our sedentary or “foggy” contemporaries is their lack of involvement in life. They spend their days at home on their computers, watching TV and despairing over the news, with little actual interaction with the world around them.

• Get out of the house. Be as mobile as possible even if it means using your walker to stand on the porch or in the hall of your retirement community

• Interact with another human every day: nod, wave, smile, say thank you

• Have a daily exercise program - even a chair sitting routine

• Read and work puzzles: Sudoku, Crosswords, Connections, Wordle, etc.

• Don’t obsess over the news. It will change tomorrow

• Be as independent as possible, and then ask for help

• Appreciate, but don’t overburden, your family and friends

Janet (no age given)

The main focus must be on fellowship. Join the Elks Club or work at a charity. Join a church (even if you are not religious - find one that just enjoys seeing your face, and go to their social functions.) Above all, deal with the sadness of wrinkled skin, loss of friends, inability to climb stairs, doctors who tell you to be sure not to fall (as if we planned to), kids who aren’t able to be there for you as much as you would like, and more. But then celebrate that you are still here - to see another day, to see the kids (if fleetingly) and to read another book, take a walk and so much more. Cry when you have to, and seek relief from pain.

And finally this from a column by Evanston Roundtable columnist Les Jacobson, who recently turned 80:

Tolstoy said getting old was the most unexpected thing that can happen to a person, and I agree. Of course, everyone hopes to live to a healthy old age. But few people have any idea what that entails until they get there: the things you have to give up, the decline in energy, the loss of beloved friends and family, the increasing frailty, the unavoidable fade out. …

Stay close with friends and family; tell people whom you love that you do; keep busy and exercise daily (walk, bike, work out) and help those in need. Don’t take things too seriously; most aren’t.

Northwestern University’s Mesulam Institute for Cognitive Neurology & Alzheimer’s Disease studies what they call “SuperAgers,” those 80 and over who have maintained mental acuity as good or better than people decades younger. Molly Mather, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, tells me that what characterizes such people is staying active and “doing something meaningful in their lives. They have lots of engagement and positive connections to other people.” They try to keep learning and growing, she said, and have a willingness to challenge themselves.

Unpopular opinions?

“Athletes should give ‘all the glory to God’ in private” is the headline over a recent letter to the Sun-Times from Wes Dickson of Orland Park:

(When) athletes publicly “give all the glory to God” after a victory, it diminishes the accomplishment. After all, if you and your team had supernatural assistance from the invisible, then your team’s efforts are virtually meaningless, and your opponent was doomed before kickoff.

Here’s my suggestion: If you choose to pray for metaphysical help before the game, do it in private. If you win, keep your spiritual gratitude to yourself. It has no place in a sports arena. Give credit where it’s due. Thank your family for all their sacrifices, your coaches for believing in you, and your fans for supporting you during all those losing campaigns, and leave it at that.

I’m no religious scholar, but giving God credit for your successes or your good luck or any positive development in your life does strike me as theologically problematic. In sports, it suggests you believe that God favored your team over the other team, which is hardly the expression of humility that I’m sure most speakers intend. I suspect that most members of the clergy would second the idea that God does not pick sides in games, and might even be a little miffed at the suggestion that he does.

And then there’s the inconsistency: Are they praising God after a stinging defeat? Blaming God?

The newspaper ran several letters in opposition to Dickson’s view (scroll down):

Rene Reyes, Las Vegas: As an affirmed atheist, I read the letter about athletes praying and praising their God in public. I disagree with the writer. God does exist. For those who believe. … Be proud of living in a free society where diverse opinions can be shared, agreed with, disagreed with and debated. Being an atheist does not prevent me from respecting others’ beliefs.

William Fristoe, Chatham — If a Christian athlete wants to share his joy by praising God, he is well within his rights to do so. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name O Most High.” Psalm 92:1.

Michael L. Carlson, St. Anthony, Idaho — Just because one gives thanks or praise to God does not mean they believe God has imbued them with supernatural powers enabling them to be victorious. It is simply manifesting humility and gratitude. Perhaps we need more of this attitude, not less.

Your view:

363 votes

Last week’s result

407 votes

I was surprised at this result given the vehemence with which my Facebook friends piled on me for praising the headline.

NewsWheel

Inspired by the WordWheel puzzle in the Monday-Friday Chicago Tribune and other papers, this puzzle asks you to identify the missing letter that will make a word or words — possibly proper nouns; reading either clockwise or counterclockwise — related to a story in the news or other current event. The solution at the bottom of the newsletter includes a link to related news story.

The week’s best visual jokes

Here are some funny visual images I've come across recently on social media. Enjoy, then evaluate:

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Eric Zorn is a former opinion columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Find a longer bio and contact information here. This issue exceeds in size the maximum length for a standard email. To read the entire issue in your browser, click on the headline link above. Paid subscribers receive each Picayune Plus in their email inbox each Tuesday, are part of our civil and productive commenting community and enjoy the sublime satisfaction of supporting this enterprise.

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Answer to the NewsWheel puzzle:

LISA COOK