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Welcome to the fourth Friday of May!

My husband came down sick again this week with very similar symptoms to the illness we thought was food poisoning a week before… and now we think that the problem is that the peanut butter/cracker snack packs he often snacks on at work might be among the products in the every-widening salmonella recall that started with Jif Peanut Butter. I hope that’s what it is. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, it’s time for the Friday Five in which I bring you: two stories about a horrible thing we could prevent, two stories about outrageous failures to do their jobs, the top five stories of the week, five positive stories of interest to queers and our allies, five stories about that problem we refuse to solve, and five stories about seditious traitors. Plus some notable obituaries.

This Week in When Will We Stop This:

The 21 lives lost in Texas school shooting – Relatives and friends pay tribute to 19 children and two teachers killed in deadliest US school shooting in a decade

3 high-school graduations across the U.S. end with gunfire in less than 24 hours – At least one person was killed and seven others injured in three separate shootings after high school graduation ceremonies in Louisiana, Michigan and Tennessee

This Week in Outrageous Failures:

New Videos Show Police Did Absolutely Nothing to Stop the Uvalde Shooter

Buffalo mass shooting: Dispatcher who answered 911 call is set to be fired, an official said – A Buffalo supermarket worker dialed 911 during the massacre and was asked, ‘Why are you whispering?’ Now, the dispatcher is set to be fired, an official said

Stories of the Week:

I’m a middle-aged Black father. I want to ask White teen males this question

Jif peanut butter recall: Other companies’ products contaminated by a bad batch

‘Sharkcano’: NASA captures eruption of submarine volcano, home to 2 shark species

UN denounces ‘racist’ and ‘homophobic’ coverage of monkeypox

Opinion: Americans are facing a herculean but righteous task in fighting hate

Stories of Interest to Queers and Our Allies:

A community’s Pride parade seemed unlikely to happen. Then teenagers stepped up

Black Gay Candidates Make History With Primary Wins in Texas

Coming out as gay gave high school swimmer courage to be outspoken about queer rights – Ethan Crawford was nervous about coming out as gay, but ‘all of the guys on my swim team were accepting and supportive, which was shocking.’

This Seattle-based softball team was created for trans and non-binary players – The Puget Sound Pronouns are built in the image of their founder, who makes plays on the diamond, and wants to do the same in the community

GOP governor would veto bill that forces schools to out LGBTQ students – The state’s attorney general has warned that the proposed legislation would run counter to the state’s nondiscrimination law

This Week in Problems That Happen in No Other Nation:

Elementary School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas: 19 Children and Two Adults Killed – This is a disgrace

How could mass shootings be prevented? Research shows certain policies may help

Men With Guns Are Holding Our Democracy Hostage

Beto O’Rourke Was Right – More people should tell their governors that they’re useless to their face

The Police Timeline of the Texas School Shooting Has a Lot of Holes

This Week in Haters, Deplorables, and Seditious Traitors:

Pro-Trump ‘electors’ in Wisconsin hit with first-of-its-kind lawsuit

Lauren Boebert’s American Dream – The Colorado congresswoman has built her reputation as a certain kind of working-class hero. Her employees tell a different story

Capitol rioter who sprayed police with fire extinguisher sentenced to three years – Matthew Ryan Miller from Maryland draped himself in a far right-affiliated flag and used a barricade as a ladder to scale walls

GOP Ideologues Keep Flopping In Their Efforts To Take Over School Boards

Trump Wanted Pence To Be Hanged While Jan 6 Insurrection Was Unfolding – Donald Trump was reportedly upset that Mike Pence was whisked to safety and seemed to be supportive of the insurrectionists literally hanging Mike Pence

In Memoriam:

Depeche Mode’s Andrew Fletcher dies aged 60

Ray Liotta Dies: ‘Goodfellas’ Star & ‘Field Of Dreams’ Actor Was 67

Yes Drummer and ‘Certified Rock Star’ Alan White Dead at 72 After Brief Illness

Lee Lawson, best known as Bea Reardon on Guiding Light, dies at 80

Kenneth Welsh Dead: ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Day After Tomorrow’ Actor Was 80

Rosemary Radford Ruether, a founding mother of feminist theology, dies at age 85

Colin Cantwell, designer of ‘Star Wars’ Death Star, dies aged 90

Robb Elementary School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas (2022)