Guns and the Defense: The jury in the Kenosha, Wisconsin trial of 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse found him not guilty of any crimes in the killing of two men and wounding of a third during street demonstrations in August of 2020.

  Rittenhouse broke into tears and nearly collapsed on hearing five verdicts of not guilty. Outside the courthouse, supporters cheered.

  He was 17 when he went to the demonstrations armed with an AR-15 assault rifle saying he was there to protect private property and act as a medic, if needed.

  The jury evidently accepted his claim that he had fired his gun only in self-defense even though the two men he killed were not armed. The legal standard is that be believed he was saving himself from death or serious injury.

  Rittenhouse is already the darling of the gun-loving right wing. He’s scheduled for an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday and Fox camera crews were with him during the trial.

  In the bigger picture, although it was not the issue on trial, the case feeds the national debate about gun rights, gun carrying, and actually using them.

  NY Times columnist Farhad Manjoo wrote that, “The gun transformed situations that might have ended in black eyes and broken bones into ones that ended with corpses in the street.” 

Building Back: In what would have been the lead story any other day, the House yesterday passed President Biden’s hugely ambitious $2 trillion “Build Back Better” climate, health, and social policy bill.

  “Under this dome, for centuries, members of Congress have stood exactly where we stand to pass legislation of extraordinary consequence in our nation’s history and for our nation’s future,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, and she the act “will be the pillar of health and financial security in America.”

  The vote came after Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy stalled it by speaking for 8 ½ hours overnight Thursday into yesterday morning. Only one Democrat voted against it and no Republicans voted for it. 

  The bill now goes to the Senate, which is split 50-50 and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin is still holding out on whether he’ll vote “yes.”

Covid Nation: The Army announced yesterday that soldiers who refuse a Covid vaccination without a valid exemption will be denied promotion, bonuses, and the right to re-enlist.

  The order extends to the National Guard, setting up a states rights battle over the vaccine. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt says Guardsmen in his state do not have to get vaccinated. Guard troops are under state authority unless activated by the Pentagon, which says they must follow the same requirements as active-duty troops.

  Meanwhile, the centers for Disease Control has endorsed vaccine boosters for all adults.

  Over in Europe, Austria is going into a nationwide lockdown to thwart a spike in Covid cases. The  government announced a vaccination mandate for all adults. The Austrians are reporting about 15,000 new cases a day compared to just hundreds in March of 2020 when the pandemic took off. 

The Spin Rack: Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to assume presidential duties yesterday for about 80 minutes while Joe Biden was knocked out for a colonoscopy. — Former President Trump is publishing a photo book of his time in office. The book “Our Journey Together” has 300 pictures along with captions purportedly written by Trump himself. — The FBI searched under a bridge in Jersey City, New Jersey for the remains of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, who famously went missing in 1975.  So far there’s no word on whether they found him.

What’s in a Name:  Interior Deb Haaland declared “squaw” to be derogatory and ordered a task force to find replacement names for valleys, lakes, creeks, and other sites on federal lands that include the word.

  The word “squaw” originates from the Algonquin for “woman” but white settlers turned it into a slur. 

  Haaland is the first native American to run Interior. “Racist terms have no place in our vernacular or on our federal lands. Our nation’s lands and waters should be places to celebrate the outdoors and our shared cultural heritage — not to perpetuate the legacies of oppression,” Haaland said in a news release.

  The order affects more than 650 federal place names including multiple Squaw creeks, bays, beaches and even an unfortunately named “Squaw Teat.” 

Taking a Break: The Rooney report is taking the week off unless Donald trump re-ascends to the presidency. We’ll be back on Monday, November 29^th.