THE AFTERMATH – AT 1:46 P.M. ET:   The press is often too quick to leave a story and "move on" to the next one.  What gets missed, though, is the aftermath of a story, which can include critical information on what actually happened, why it happened, and how to avoid having it happen again.

Ben Bradlee, the late, legendary editor of the Washington Post, said that journalism is history's rough first draft.  The problem is, there is rarely a second draft.

There is new information out on the recent school shooting in Florida, and it is important.  It reveals what many people could see as negligence on the part of school authorities.  How often is this repeated throughout the United States?  From the South Florida Sun Sentinel: 

Two months before the massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School, a retired Secret Service agent warned administrators that the school could be vulnerable to a gunman.

Gates were unlocked. Students did not wear identification badges. A fire alarm could send students streaming into the halls. Active-shooter drills were inadequate, he said.

The retired agent, Steve Wexler, said he made his point by strolling through the school with Post-it notes, attaching them to places his bullets or knife would land if he were an intruder. No one stopped him, he said.

In an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Wexler said he was invited to analyze the school’s security and presented his recommendations to four staff members.

“I said, ‘This stuff is blatantly obvious. You’ve got to fix this,’” Wexler said.

He never heard another word from the district, he said.

COMMENT:  There are simple, available, inexpensive ways to strengthen schools against attacks.  Fact is, we protect jewelry stores better than we protect children.

But the ideologists aren't interested.  They believe that guns, apparently the kind that aim themselves and fire themselves, are the real culprits.  There are legitimate gun issues to discuss, but may we just apply some common sense to our schools and take the necessary defensive steps Agent Wexler recommended?  And there are many more steps that can be taken, from armed security guards to quick lockdown systems. 

Solutions, not ideology.  That is where to begin.

June 9, 2018