Trump Is Wrong - Hundreds Of NATO Troops Died Supporting The U.S.

From Axios.com  

Our Democracy Is Being Endangered By Political Violence (from Both Sides)

I did not like Charlie Kirk. He was a rabid right-winger who pushed an agenda (racist, misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic) that was dangerous to this country and many of its citizens. But his killing was WRONG! It was a heinous crime, and I hope his killer is found, tried, and given the harshest penalty possible.

The taking of a human life is always wrong (except in self defense or the defense of another). And political killings are especially wrong, because they put our democracy in danger. 

I'm sure many of those who commit political violence think they are accomplishing something. They aren't. In fact, it often pushes people to do the exact opposite of what they wanted. The killing of Kennedy in Dallas resulted in an overwhelming victory for Lyndon Johnson in 1964. And the attempted killing of Trump gave his campaign a boost that allowed him to eke out a victory in 2024.

Political violence is getting out of hand in this country. And it is resulting in violence against those on both the left and the right. And whether that violence is committed by a leftist or a right-winger it is always wrong.

The surge in political violence is caused in large part by an increase in political hate speech. Too many people think their political opponent is their enemy. They aren't. They are simply people who disagree with you politically. 

It is OK to disagree with others politically. That's the basis of democracy. And it's OK to fight hard for the success of your own views. But when you lose (and everyone eventually does in a democracy), you must accept it and prepare to fight again on another day.

But resorting to political violence of any kind must not happen. It is a crime, and it's anti-democratic.

We need to tone down the political hate speech. Democrats are not the enemy of Republicans and Republicans are not the enemy of Democrats - and politicians (and others) should avoid speech that demonizes those that disagree with them. In a strong democracy, people need to be able to disagree without hating.

We also need to do something about the proliferation of guns in this country. There are more guns that people in the United States - and it is far too easy for those who want to do violence to get any kind of gun they want.

We  may not be able to completely eliminate political killings (or mass shootings or murders in general), but respect for each other (even when we disagree) and some sane (and constitutional) gun laws can radically reduce them. We need to do both.

The United States Still Averages More Than One Mass Shooting For Every Day

Another mass shootings is making headlines in the United States. The latest one is in Minnesota, where a lone gunman killed two children (ages 8 and 10) and wounded 14 more children and 3 adults. The victims were in a church having a mass before school started.

It has become obvious that there is no place safe from gun violence in the United States. Mass shootings have occurred in schools, churches, stores, work places, night clubs and bars, concerts, on streets, etc. And there is no state which is safe from them. They can (and do) occur anywhere at any time.

The right will claim (as they usually do) that the shooter had mental problems. That may be true. But all developed nations have citizens with mental problems, and none of them have the amount of mass shootings (and general gun violence that the United States has. Why? Because they have sensible gun laws and restrictions. They don't allow dangerous people to easily buy and possess guns.

Not all mass shootings make headlines in the national media as this latest shooting did. Note in the chart above that, while mass shootings are down slightly this year, the United States still has an average of more than one mass shooting for every day. That is inexcusable!

We know that some sensible gun laws could drastically reduce the number of mass shootings and gun deaths in this country. One example is having a strict background check law. No person should be able to buy a gun (of any kind) or receive one as a gift without first passing a background check. That check should deny a gun to anyone with a criminal record (including domestic abuse), anyone on a terrorist watch list, or anyone with a mental illness that has been deemed to be dangerous.

This would not deny any law-abiding citizen the right to purchase and own a firearm, and it is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans (including gun owners). Sadly, Republican officials won't agree to it. They think guns should have more rights than innocent children and adults. I don't understand why, but they want to protect the right of dangerous people to legally buy any kind of gun they want.

This won't change as long as Republicans have enough clout in government to prevent sensible (and constitutional) gun laws. If you think enough innocent people have been massacred on the alter of gun worship, then think before you vote. Don't vote for any politician (of any party) that doesn't support sensible gun laws.

There Is No Place In The U.S. To Be Safe From Gun Violence

In the last couple of days, there have been two more mass shootings making the national news. In a Reno (Nevada) casino resort, a gunman killed three people and wounded three others. And in downtown New York City, a gunman killed four people (including an armed policeman) and critically wounded another.

While these are the first mass shootings to make the national news in a while, they are not an anomaly. So far this year, there has been 253 mass shootings in this country - more than one for every day. Sadly, mass shootings (a shooting in which at least four people are shot) are a common thing in this country.

It used to be that if you avoided certain high crime areas and didn't engage in high risk behaviors, then you were pretty safe in the United States. That is not the case anymore. The shootings can happen anywhere - retail stores, office building, workplaces, nightclubs, schools, churches, concerts, and any other places where people congregate. There is no place that can now be considered safe from gun violence anymore - not in large cities or small ones, not in blue states or red ones, and not in any region of the country. Innocent people are being gunned down all over the country.

It doesn't have to be that way. Other developed countries don't have anywhere near the level of gun violence that happens in the United States. That's because those countries have reasonable gun laws that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. 

It's different in the United States, where there are more guns that people. And our lax laws allow anyone (criminal, terrorist, or dangerously mentally ill) to legally buy any kind of gun they want - including assault weapons which can kill or wound many people in a short period of time. This is because Republican officials block any kind of reasonable laws that could make it harder for dangerous people to get a gun.

That's not likely to change anytime soon. Republicans control our national government, and they've made it clear they prefer to protect the rights of gun manufacturers and criminals over saving the lives of innocent citizens.

The gun violence carnage will continue until they are voted out of office. 

Republicans Are Willing To Let Americans Die To Give Tax Cuts To The Rich

 

Health care is considered a right in every developed nation in the world - except one. Those nations guarantee their citizens will get adequate and appropriate health care whenever they need it. The one developed nation (which also happens to be the richest nation of all) that doesn't guarantee it citizens can get needed health care is the United States.

Why? Because the Republicans in our government don't believe health care is a right. They consider it a product to be purchased by those who can afford it (like a car or washing machine or television). And there are a lot of people in the United States that can't afford it.

Even after the Affordable Care Act (and an enhanced Medicaid program) allowed millions of Americans to get health care, everyone was not covered. Thanks to Republican states refusing the enhanced Medicaid, about 26 million people remain without any kind of health insurance - meaning they have no access to regular preventative care to keep them healthy. Thousands of them die every year because of the lack of that preventative care.

Now the Republicans are making the situation even worse. The reconciliation bill they are passing will mean another 17 million people will lose their health insurance, bringing the total of uninsured Americans to about 43 million. That's about 12.65% of the U.S. population that will be without health insurance.

A survey by Yale University estimates it will result in an additional 51,000 unnecessary death each year.

Why did the Republicans do this? First, as a partial payment to account for more tax giveaways to the rich (who don't need it). Second,  because they don't care what happens to the poor and working classes of this country. They are perfectly willing to trade lives for tax cuts.

They should be ashamed of themselves, but they don't seem to have any sense of shame.

Abbott's Border Action Has Doubled Immigrant Deaths In The El Paso Sector

The following is just a tiny part of an excellent article in The Texas Tribune:

Historically, Border Patrol’s El Paso sector — which includes all 180 miles of New Mexico’s border with Mexico and 84 miles of El Paso and Hudspeth counties in West Texas — has had among the fewest migrant deaths across the southern border.

That changed in late December 2022, according to an investigation by The Texas Tribune and Source New Mexico, when the city of El Paso joined forces with Gov. Greg Abbott to participate in his signature border mission, called Operation Lone Star.

By 2024, the El Paso sector had become the deadliest place for migrants to cross along the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

From January 2023 to August 2024, 299 human remains were reported in the El Paso sector, the most of any sector along the southern border, according to the most recent data available from federal government data. That’s more than double the number of cases reported during the 20 months prior, when 122 remains were recorded before El Paso had adopted Operation Lone Star.

Since El Paso joined Texas’ border mission in 2022, migrant remains discovered in the El Paso sector have increased every year, even as they have declined in every other part of the border. . . .

Though many factors determine where and when someone crosses an international border — including federal immigration policies, organized crime and natural disasters — experts and advocates say any policy that pushes migrants into the desert will likely cost lives.

Immigrant rights groups and researchers say more migrants are taking deadlier routes to enter the country since Texas launched Operation Lone Star in 2021 — flooding the border with state troopers, National Guard and miles of razor wire — as the federal government’s ever-changing immigration policies have delayed or blocked migrants who want to claim asylum in the U.S.

“Any state lawmaker or local leader should be aware that these policies come at a human cost,” said Aimée Santillán, a policy analyst at the Hope Border Institute, an immigrant rights advocacy group in El Paso. “So anyone that decides to approach this type of enforcement is making a decision that they can live with these deaths.”

Musk Says No One Dies Because Of USAID Cuts - HE IS LYING!

 

The above items are from The New York Times.

The Epidemic Of Mass Shootings Continued In 2024

There were 501 mass shootings in the United States in 2024 (a shooting in which at least four people were shot - not counting the shooter). That's slightly less than in 2023, but it's not a reason to celebrate. There were still about one and a half mass shooting for every day on average.

This doesn't happen in any other developed nation. None of them even come close to the carnage allowed to happen in the United States. The sad part is that it doesn't have to be that way. A few reasonable gun laws could prevent most of those shootings - and it could be done without violating the Constitution's Second Amendment. 

Unfortunately, even though most Americans want those laws, it won't happen. It won't happen this year or the next because the government is controlled by Republicans. And Republicans have decided that it's more important to protect the right of criminals and other dangerous people to buy a gun than it is to save the innocent lives of Americans.

Expect 2025 to be a bloody one - with a ridiculous and unnecessary number of mass shootings (and gun deaths.

NOTE - the numbers in the chart above are from the Gun Violence Archive.

U.S. Still Averaging Over One Mass Shooting Every Day

 

There is another mass shooting making the national news. This time it's in a private christian school. A 15-year-old girl killed a teacher and a fellow student and injured several others before killing herself

I'm sure the congressional Republicans will send another truck load of thoughts and prayers, but that won't help those shot and it won't prevent other school shootings or mass shootings in the future. But they will do nothing to help prevent the deaths of innocent children and adults.

If we just look at the mass shootings (where at least four people have been shot), it might look like these shootings don't happen very often. But that is not true. Mass shootings did decline slightly this year, but they still average about 1.34 for every day of the year (according to the Gun Violence Archive). In any other developed country that would be unacceptable - but not in the United States.

U.S. politicians (mainly Republicans) have decided that its more important for criminals and other dangerous people to have access to the gun of their choice than to save innocent lives.

Meanwhile, a majority of the public would like to see stricter gun laws, and an overwhelming majority want to see the loopholes in the background check law closed - so criminals, terrorist sympathizers, abusers, and the dangerous portion of the mentally ill cannot buy or receive a gun.

Republicans claim they are protecting the right of Americans to own a gun. But no one is trying to deny any law-abiding citizen from purchasing or possessing a gun. We just want to make it harder for dangerous people to get one.

Republicans will also try to claim this teenage girl had mental problems. That doesn't really matter. The one thing she had in common with all other mass shooters is access to a gun. How and where was she able to get a gun?

It doesn't have to be this way. We shouldn't be leading the developed world in both mass shootings and gun deaths. But until voters get serious about preventing the shootings and deaths (instead of just offering "thoughts and prayers", it will keep happening at epidemic levels.

Politicians who want to protect the right of dangerous people to get a gun should be voted out of office.

Texas (And Georgia) Won't Investigate Deaths Due To Their Abortion Ban

The following is part of an article by Susan Rinkunas at MSNBC.com:

Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision two and a half years ago, state abortion bans have restricted pregnant women’s access to emergency medical care. And as the predictable harms — up to and including death — come to light, some states are acting as if they want to hide them from the public.

Last week, ProPublica reported on Porsha Ngumezi, the third known Texas woman to have died under that state’s abortion ban. In June 2023, Ngumezi lost so much blood from miscarrying at 11 weeks that she needed two transfusions. The hospital delayed providing a procedure called dilation and curettage to clear the uterus, with doctors instead giving her a drug to stop the bleeding. She died of hemorrhaging three hours later. More than a dozen doctors who reviewed a summary of her case told ProPublica that Ngumezi’s death could have been averted with a D&C.

The very next day, The Washington Post reported that Texas’ Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) wouldn’t examine any pregnancy-related deaths from 2022 and 2023, citing a backlog of cases on top of the two-year delay that is typical of such committees. That means Texas won’t investigate any deaths from the past two years that are potentially linked to abortion bans, like Ngumezi’s. . . .

Maternal mortality committees review women’s deaths not to publicize individual cases but to make recommendations to prevent future harm. This refusal to review pregnancy-related deaths from the first post-Dobbs years means we may never have a full picture of the harm caused by an abortion ban in the second-most-populous state — one that has a long-standing crisis of women dying from pregnancy. An analysis published in September by the Gender Equity Policy Institute found that, from 2019 to 2022, the rate of maternal deaths in Texas increased by 56%, compared with 11% nationwide. But rather than investigate, the state is essentially admitting that the bodies are piling up faster than the state can address them. Its solution is not to dedicate more time and effort — like, perhaps, increasing the size of the 23-member committee — but to simply brush these women’s lives under the rug and skip ahead to 2024.

Texas isn’t the only state engaging in this sordid interference. ProPublica has found at least five women who’ve died under abortion bans: three in Texas and two in Georgia. After the outlet reported that Georgia’s MMRC had determined the two deaths were preventable, state officials responded by firing all of its 32 members. The commissioner of Georgia’s Public Health Department wrote in a letter to members that because the department wasn’t able to figure out who shared confidential information with ProPublica, it was dismissing the whole committee and would seek applications for replacements. This ruthless move will undoubtedly delay the work of the committee, but it seems leaks to the media are more important than urgent investigations of these women’s deaths. . . .

Unfortunately, things could get worse before they get better. Lawmakers in Texas and other states are threatening to copy a Louisiana controlled substances law that makes it harder to dispense medications used to treat postpartum hemorrhaging because the drugs are also used for abortions. The law targets the medication the hospital gave to Ngumezi instead of a D&C, and experts warn it could kill even more women in childbirth. 

Americans Vote To Do Nothing About Gun Violence In The U.S.

So far in 2024, there have been 14,575 gun deaths and 455 mass shootings (about 1.44 every day) in the United States. The carnage is continuing, and the voters in this election don't seem to care.

They elected Republicans to control both houses of Congress and put Trump back in the White House. Those are the very people that have blocked all attempts to establish rational gun laws (including closing the loopholes in the background check law.

This means the epidemic of gun violence will continue unabated for at least another four years. And thousands of Americans will lose their lives unnecessarily.

Deaths From Pregnancy / Childbirth Have Surged In Texas

 The following is part of an article in The Texas Tribune:

The rate of Texas women who died because of pregnancy or childbirth rose sharply in 2020 and 2021 to the highest since the state started tracking maternal deaths in 2013. Even excluding deaths related to COVID-19, the numbers were worse than usual, reversing two years of progress in driving the maternal mortality rate downwards.

The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee released its report this month analyzing pregnancy-related deaths within one year of childbirth. The committee, which works on a several year delay, closely analyzed cases from 2020.

The maternal mortality rate in 2020 was 27.7 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 17.2 in 2019. With COVID-related deaths excluded, the rate was 24.2.

But the report shows, once again, that maternal mortality does not impact every community equally. Black women are about 2.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth than white women. Both Black and Hispanic women saw a sharp increase in pregnancy-related mortality between 2019 and 2020 — for Hispanic women the rate increased nearly 9 points to 22.2, and for Black women more than 11 points to 39. But white women actually saw an improvement, with the mortality rate dropping nearly 3 points to 16.1.

In 80% of these cases, the committee determined there was at least some chance of saving the patient’s life – a decline from 90% from the previous report. A quarter of women died due to infections, the most common cause of death, followed by cardiovascular conditions, obstetric hemorrhage, embolisms and mental health conditions.

Biden Is Right To Stop Shipping Massive Bombs To Israel

President Biden has been asking Netanyahu to avoid attacking Rafah in Gaza. But Netanyahu has ignored him, and is currently starting the attack there. 

In retaliation, President Biden has stopped the shipment to Israel of massive 2,000 pound bombs (and also 500 pound bombs). 

A 2,000 pound bomb is not a precision weapon. It destroys whole city blocks. In a densely populated area like Gaza, it guarantees "collateral damage" (the killing of innocent civilians). And that is exactly what has happened. Nearly 35,000 Palestinians have been killed (14,000 of them children) and over 78,000 have been injured - most of them by the indiscriminate use of 2,000 and 500 pound bombs.

Republicans are whining about Biden's cessation of the bomb shipments. They claim Biden is refusing to help defend Israel in its time of need. That is not true. Biden is continuing to ship defensive weapons (such as those used to destroy incoming missiles). 

But a 2,000 pound bomb is not a defensive weapon. It is an offensive weapon used to destroy structures and create a large number of casualties. 

The U.S. cannot keep Netanyahu from attacking Rafah, but it can (and must) not supply the weapons guaranteed to case massive civilian casualties.

Israel has the right to seek and destroy Hamas terrorists, but the use of 2,000 pound bombs in a densely populated area is not the best way to do that. This massive killing of civilians is likely to create more terrorists than it kills.

President Biden was right to stop shipping these bombs to Israel, and he should continue the ban until a ceasefire is reached.

The Epidemic Of Gun Violence Continued In 2023 U.S.

The United States did not set records in the number of mass shootings or gun deaths in 2023. But it's nothing to be celebrated, because they came very close to both records -- 655 mass shootings (record 689) and 42,892 gun deaths (record 45,158). It's safe to say the pathetic gun bill passed by Congress early in the year did nothing to stem the tide of gun violence.

Congress (especially the Republicans) have shown they will do nothing to stop (or slow) the epidemic of gun violence. It will be up to the country's voters to stop it. Until voters make it a point to vote against those who refuse to pass reasonable (and constitutional) gun legislation, nothing will happen. 

25 Notable People We Lost In 2023

 

Photos are from the list compiled by The Washington Post.

52% Of Voters Now Live In A Household With A Gun

The chart above reflects the results of the new NBC News Poll -- done between November 10th and 14th of a nationwide sample of 1,000 registered voters, with a 3.1 point margin of error.

It shows that a record 52% of registered voters now live in a household where someone owns a gun. That's 10 points higher than in 2013 (42%), and 6 points higher than 2016 (46%). Evidently, more people now believe they are safer with a gun in the house.

They are wrong. A family member is far more likely to be killed (or injured) by a gun in those households than in a household with no gun. This is simply not the way to a safer society.

I am not one of those who believes the Second Amendment doesn't actually give Americans the right to own a gun. It clearly does. But like other constitutional rights, it is not absolute. The Supreme Court has ruled that there are limits to the right (such as the kind of weapon that can be owned and the loss of the right by dangerous people such as felons).

But I cannot believe that the route to a safer society is more gun ownership. The real route to a safer society is to control who is able to legally buy a gun. Most people know this. Over 80% of adults (including most gun owners) would like to see a stricter background check law on gun purchases (or gifts).

A strict background check law would not impinge of the right of law-abiding citizens to buy or receive a gun, because they could easily pass the check. Failure to pass such a law doesn't protect the rights of law-abiding citizens (as Republicans claim). It just allows dangerous people (like felons) to legally buy a gun.

This must be changed, but it will only happen when politicians opposing a background check law (mainly Republicans) are voted out of office.

U.S. Is Averaging Over 57 Mass Shootings A Month

 

Another mass shooting is making national headlines. This time a right-winger in Maine killed 18 people and wounded over a dozen more. But that is just one of many mass shootings happening in this country. Most of them just don't make the national news.

As I write this, the United States has had 573 mass shooting this year - an average of 57.3 mass shooting each month. And there are still two months to go in the year.

No other developed nation has anywhere near this massive number of mass shootings, or deaths by guns (35,607 so far this year). 

Republicans in Congress are blocking any kind of solution to this problem. They claim to be protecting the Second Amendment right to possess a firearm. But that claim is specious. They want you to believe the right to own a gun is absolute, but no right in our constitution is absolute -- not even the right to vote or the right to free speech (and the GOP supports restriction on both of those).

The Maine shooter has some psychological problems in his past. Republicans will use that to claim the massive number of mass shootings and gun deaths is due to mental illness. That is a lame excuse at best. Other nations also have mentally ill people, and the number of mentally ill in the United States is no larger than in those countries. They just don't make it easy for the mentally ill to by or possess firearms.

Republicans also claim the shootings are due to the diminishing number of religious people in the country. But most European countries are less religious than the United States, and they don't have the problem with shootings.

Republicans have also tried to claim the shootings are due to the proliferation of violent video games -- another lame excuse. Other nations have the same video games without having the problems with mass shootings or gun deaths.

The truth is the United States has too many guns floating around in the country (significantly more guns than people in the country), and it is too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to buy and possess any kind of firearm they want (including weapons of war designed to kill as many people as possible in a short period of time).

It doesn't have to be this way. There are reasonable and constitutional solutions to the problem. While it may not be possible to completely eliminate mass shootings and gun deaths, they could be drastically reduced with some sensible gun laws.

The following measures would save many lives without violating the Second Amendment:

1. Close the holes in the national background check law. The current weak law allows too many people to avoid having to get a background check when purchasing a weapon. This failure just benefits criminals, since law-abiding citizens could easily pass a background check. And the measure is supported by over 80% of the population (including a significant majority of gun owners).

2. Ban assault weapons. These are the choice of most mass shooters. Other weapons of war are banned (machine guns, tanks, etc.), and so should assault-style rifles. Other weapons are better for hunting and self-defense. There was a ban on them for a few years, and the mass shootings were reduced. A new ban could accomplish the same.

3. Ban ammunition magazines holding more than 10 cartridges. The more a mass shooter has to reload, the better chance a person has of stopping him.

4. Red Flag Laws. This would allow the police to take guns away from people whose pose a credible threat to others.

These sensible and constitutional measures would save many thousands of American lives. Sadly though, none of them will happen as long as there are enough Republicans in government to veto them. These Republican politicians have sold their soul to the gun industry, and they would rather protect corporate profits than save American lives.

If you want to stop the carnage, then remember this when you go to the polls to vote.

Does The U.S. Love Guns More Than Lives?

 

The following is a letter to The New York Times by author Stephen King:

There is no solution to the gun problem, and little more to write, because Americans are addicted to firearms.

Representative Jared Golden, from Maine’s Second Congressional District, has reversed course and says he will now support outlawing military-style semiautomatic rifles like the one used in the killing of 18 people in Lewiston this week. But neither the House nor the Senate is likely to pass such a law, and if Congress actually did, the Supreme Court, as it now exists, would almost certainly rule it unconstitutional.

Every mass shooting is a gut-punch; with every one, unimaginative people say, “I never thought it could happen here,” but such things can and will happen anywhere and everywhere in this locked-and-loaded country. The guns are available and the targets are soft.

When rapid-fire guns are difficult to get, things improve, but I see no such improvement in the future. Americans love guns, and appear willing to pay the price in blood.

Is It Moral To Kill Gaza Children To Protect Israeli Children?

 The following is an op-ed in The New York Times by Nicholas Kristof:

The crisis in the Middle East is a knotty test of our humanity, asking how to respond to a grotesque provocation for which there is no good remedy. And in this test, we in the West are not doing well.

The acceptance of large-scale bombing of Gaza and of a ground invasion likely to begin soon suggests that Palestinian children are lesser victims, devalued by their association with Hamas and its history of terrorism. Consider that more than 1,500 children in Gaza have been killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, and around one-third of Gaza homes have been destroyed or damaged in just two weeks — and this is merely the softening-up before what is expected to be a much bloodier ground invasion.

I’ve flown into beautiful, sun-washed Tel Aviv, where the graffiti reads “Destroy Hamas.” Israelis have been shattered by the Hamas terrorism and kidnappings, an attack that felt existential and explains the determination to dismantle Hamas, whatever the cost. The anxiety in Tel Aviv is palpable, peaceful though it seems, while Gaza is an inner ring of hell and probably on a path to something much worse.

The United States speaks a good deal about principles, but I fear that President Biden has embedded a hierarchy of human life in official American policy. He expressed outrage at the massacres of Jews by Hamas, as he should have, but he has struggled to be equally clear about valuing Gazan lives. And it’s not always evident whether he is standing four-square with Israel as a country or with its failed prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime obstacle to peace.

What are we to make of the Biden administration’s call for an additional $14 billion in assistance for Israel and simultaneous call for humanitarian aid for Gazans? Defensive weapons for Israel’s Iron Dome system would make sense, but in practice, is the idea that we will help pay for humanitarians to mop up the blood caused in part by our weapons?

What are we to tell Dr. Iyad Abu Karsh, a Gaza physician who lost his wife and son in a bombing and then had to treat his injured 2-year-old daughter? He didn’t even have time to care for his niece or sister, for he had to deal with the bodies of his loved ones.

“I have no time to talk now,” he told a Times colleague, his voice trembling over the phone. “I want to go bury them.”

In his speech on Thursday, Biden called for America to stand firmly behind Ukraine and Israel, two nations attacked by forces aiming to destroy them. Fair enough. But suppose Ukraine responded to Russian war crimes by laying siege to a Russian city, bombing it into dust and cutting off water and electricity while killing thousands and obliging doctors to operate on patients without anesthetic.

I doubt we Americans would shrug and say: Well, Putin started it. Too bad about those Russian children, but they should have chosen somewhere else to be born.

Here in Israel, because the Hamas attacks were so brutal and fit into a history of pogroms and Holocaust, they led to a resolve to wipe out Hamas even if this means a large human toll. “Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist,” declared Giora Eiland, a former head of the Israeli National Security Council. “There is no other option for ensuring the security of the State of Israel.”

I think that view reflects a practical and moral miscalculation. While I would love to see the end of Hamas, it’s not feasible to eliminate radicalism in Gaza, and a ground invasion is more likely to feed extremism than to squelch it — at an unbearable cost in civilian lives.

I particularly want to challenge the suggestion, more implicit than explicit, that Gazan lives matter less because many Palestinians sympathize with Hamas. People do not lose their right to life because they have odious views, and in any case, almost half of Gazans are children. Those kids in Gaza, infants included, are among the more than two million people enduring a siege and collective punishment.

Israel has suffered a horrifying terrorist attack and deserves the world’s sympathy and support, but it should not get a blank check to slaughter civilians or to deprive them of food, water and medicine. Bravo to Biden for trying to negotiate some humanitarian access to Gaza, but the challenge will be not just getting aid into Gaza but also distributing it to where it’s needed.

A prolonged ground invasion seems to me a particularly risky course, likely to kill large numbers of Israeli soldiers, hostages and especially Gazan civilians. We are better than that, and Israel is better than that. Leveling cities is what the Syrian government did in Aleppo or Russia did in Grozny; it should not be an American-backed undertaking by Israel in Gaza.

The best answer to this test is to try even in the face of provocation to cling to our values. That means that despite our biases, we try to uphold all lives as having equal value. If your ethics see some children as invaluable and others as disposable, that’s not moral clarity but moral myopia. We must not kill Gazan children in order to protect Israeli children.