44 years after Ohio National Guardsmen fired into a crowd of unarmed Kent State students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four, wounding nine and galvanizing anti-war protests nationwide; four years after newly uncovered evidence refuted the longtime government claim the Guard's actions were prompted by a sniper but no command-to-fire; and two years after the Justice Department declined to reopen the case citing “insurmountable legal barriers" - a claim critics called "beyond ludicrous" - the Kent State Truth Tribunal will attend next week's UN Human Rights Committee session to seek justice for the victims of Kent State. They argue Kent State remains "a glaring example of government impunity....when lawful protest was pushed into the realm of massacre" - a chilling escalation, they say, increasingly likely today.

"Allison stood for peace and died for peace. May no other protestor in the U.S. ever have to pay the price she paid for her peaceful political dissent." - Laurel Krause, sister of 19-year-old Allison Krause, killed "by U.S. bullets" while protesting U.S. miltary violence.

Today, as a bill heads to the Senate to strip senior military commanders of their long-abused authority in sexual crimes cases, the Army said it was suspending Lt. Col. Joseph “Jay” Morse, who supervises sexual assault prosecution, for allegedly groping a female Army lawyer in a hotel room during - wait for it - a sexual assault legal conference. This, after February's news the Army disqualified 588 sexual assault counselors and others in “positions of trust” - 10 times the initial number cited - for sexual crimes, alcohol abuse et al. Today's bill is expected to fail thanks to those arguing "you can't mess with the chain of command." Which is currently doing such a bang-up job.

"We will continue working to better ensure we select the very best people for these posts." - Army spokesman

Update: Bill failed. Sigh.

Oh Lord, save us. In what they proudly dub "outreach to rednecks" and "affinity evangelism," Kentucky Baptists are holding statewide "Second Amendment Celebrations" where churches offer a free steak dinner and the chance to win one of 25 guns to "unchurched" young men willing to accept "God who made the great outdoors (and) his son, Jesus Christ," who preached peace, empathy, forgiveness and loving your neighbor but was reportedly also really into guns. Up to 1,000 people are expected at the next "faith and firearms" event Thursday in Paducah, just down the road from a school shooting that killed three kids and wounded five, probably because they didn't have enough guns because, really, are there ever enough? We are doomed.