Feels Like the Summer of 1998

In the summer of 1998, gun shots rang out in the Capitol.  That day in Washington, it was a very big deal.

This city still revolves around the Capitol.  So today, when word came that there had been shots at the Capitol.  It was again a very big deal -- the kind of moment when people immediately call each other to ask whether they'd seen the CNN Breaking News e-mail.

But I've become hardened since 1998.  I was not moved by the first reports, because I immediately suspected there would be a second one.  It just arrived:

"Capitol Police say the apparent gunshots that sparked a Capitol shutdown were likely caused by workers using tools."

And for this, because of that one ideot's incorrect report, the entire complex was shut down all day.

We are now, in this city, incapable of dealing with anything.  And that is part of why we're all going to die soon.

Happy Memorial Day.