11 December—The nice folks at Optimum called to say the phantom spam problem had been corrected. No admission that it was another of their adventitious coding glitches rather than a spam problem. But we’ll see. In all events, don’t forget to check LitchfieldMonitor.com every day even if you don’t get the daily link . . .

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We read that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is charging Luigi Mangione with second-degree murder. Second-degree? I’m not at all well-versed in criminal law, but, simply put, doesn’t second-degree murder mean that even an intentional killing—say, when an angry perp was reacting in the heat of the moment—was unpremeditated?

But doesn’t all the circumstantial evidence imply that Luigi Mangione had planned to murder Brian Thompson specifically? And doesn’t premeditation elevate the murder to first-degree? “Imply” and “circumstantial” may be the operative words that reduced the degree. But what do I know?

Of course, the penalty for premeditated murder is more severe than the one for unpremeditated murder. And, when you think about it, maybe Brian Thompson’s killer, whoever it may be, can get off on insanity grounds. But let’s not worry about that just now.

So, not that it matters in practical terms, was Brian Thompson murdered or assassinated? Murder, of course, is simply unlawful killing. Assassination, on the other hand, is a particular type of murder that involves the killing of a high-profile target, usually with political or ideological motivation.

Was Brian Thompson high profile? Other than being the CEO of the biggest operator in perhaps the most despised industry in the country, he really wasn’t high profile. Most big-time CEOs try not to be. But there must be a vast field of people—including but not limited to aggrieved UnitedHealthcare victims (sorry, insureds)—who’d like to make a political or ideological statement by rubbing him out.

Then again, it may have been a hit: