SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 10.5.2026
The blogger needs not write any introductory comments. Just open the attached New York Times article and read it.
Another tragic event in Ohio the result of a dispute involving the President. In May 1970 the President was Richard Nixon. In October 2026 the President is Donald Trump.
Mary Ann Vecchio gestures and screams as she kneels by the body of a student lying face down on the campus of Kent State University, Kent, Ohio on May 4, 1970. The day a Vietnam War protest ended with National Guard shootings that left four dead. (AP Photo/John Filo)
Excerpted from The New York Times 10.5.2026
What happened between two dog owners one April afternoon in Ohio will soon be scrutinized by a judge and jury as both men grapple with the consequences.
Before any criminal charges were filed, before any weapons were drawn, before anybody mentioned the president, a dog named Bob wanted to go to the park.
The events that unfolded over 20 minutes — pieced together from interviews, records and body camera footage — would be unusual, but hardly unthinkable in a country where political tensions so often combust. Two men, one Black and liberal, one white and conservative, would disagree about President Trump. Their disagreement would become an argument, then a screaming match and then, because both men had guns in their cars, a crime.
Bob’s owner, David Mattai, had the week off from his job as a forklift mechanic. Mr. Mattai, 55, first tried taking Bob on a hiking trail, but the spaniel refused to walk. So Mr. Mattai drove to his favorite dog park in Bainbridge Township, Ohio.
At a picnic table inside the park that April afternoon was Emmanuel Mathews, 80, and his corgi, Frankie.
Mr. Mathews was retired from a career as a meat distributor, and on the days when his back wasn’t causing him problems he was a regular at the park. He had brought a copy of The Wall Street Journal with headlines that included “Trump Grapples With Fears on War.”
