Wiretap: Gun violence victims are mostly poor, often black

Real faces

The real faces of gun violence — the shootings you rarely hear about outside the communities in which they happen, where the victims and the shooters are mostly poor and often black. Via The New York Times.

Accepting Trump

You’ve seen the polls, which show Trump gathering support from the great majority of Republicans. Adam Gopnik writes in The New Yorker that this acceptance of Trump is more dangerous than you might imagine. “If Trump came to power,” Gopnik says, “there is a decent chance that the American experiment would be over.”

Big fixes

E.J. Dionne: While the presidential campaign seems to be all about “populism,” it was Barack Obama who just made overtime pay an issue and Elizabeth Warren who laid out a model for what amounts to a bill of rights for those working in the “gig” economy. Via The Washington Post.

Trump era

James Fallows and the Age of Trump: Graham, Madison and Hart weigh in. Yes, that’s Gary Hart, writing in his blog on the fraying of civility and how Trump was “simply clever enough to stand outside, watch the storm gathering, and then give it voice.” Via The Atlantic.

Civil war

A National Review take on the Democratic “civil war.” Maybe Bernie Sanders will run as a third-party candidate.

Early predictions

The early polls that show Trump leading Clinton may not mean much in the presidential race in November, but they say a great deal about the Republicans’ chances of holding the Senate. Via The National Journal.

Immigration backlash

It’s an immigration backlash that’s driving the Brexit fight in which Britain would leave the European Union. The immigrants, for the most part, are not refugees, but come from Eastern Europe. Via The Washington Post.

New empire

Two takes on Facebook: Frank Bruni says the problem is not the unseen puppet masters on Mark Zuckerberg’s payroll. It’s us. Ross Douthat writes that Facebook is not just the king of social media. It’s the new media empire. Via The New York Times.

Photo credit: Bart Everson, Creative Commons, Flickr

The Colorado Independent is a statewide online news source operating in a time when spin is plentiful, but factual, fair and unflinching news in the public interest is all too rare. Our award-winning team of veteran investigative and explanatory reporters and news columnists aims to amplify the voices of Coloradans whose stories are unheard, shine light on the relationships between people, power and policy, and hold public officials to account. We strive to report the news with context, social conscience, and soul, and to give Coloradans the insight they need to promote conversation, understanding and progress in this square, swing state we call home.