The Violence Worker!

The Fort Hood Massacre

There are a lot of questions about what went down yesterday that will not be answered soon.  I'm sure that some wished that he'd died at the scene, but I think it's best that he survived.  For one, it didn't make him some sort of martyr.  For another, we will get a chance to answer a lot of those questions.  It's easier to get answers from a live person than a dead body. 

Hasan's crime opens up some related questions and concerns.  Obviously, the first question is What did the Army know and when did they know it.  There are some reports (and I'll call them "unverified" for now) that says he was becoming increasingly radical.  Another is if they did know, why didn't they do something about it?

My main concern is the fallout within the military community itself.  This is not the first incident where a Muslim soldier decided to kill his fellow soldiers.  One can imagine that a Muslim soldier in a unit right now would be looked at with a healthy dose of suspicion.  It's human nature.  Indeed, I can imagine he would be sleeping with one eye open.

Obviously, I don't condone someone taking vigilante action against anyone, but human nature being what it is, I believe some of these guys might be in real danger.  This is their reality. 

Profiling people by law enforcement is not always a bad thing.  When you have statistics and specific actions to look at, you need to profile.  You need to get ahead of the game or you will see people getting killed.  Unfortunately, profiling is an inexact science and care must be taken, but we need to start looking at who we have in our armed forces.

I know that not all Muslims are evil or bad.   Most are pretty ordinary folks.  I met some fine Muslim people when I was recently in Qatar.  People I am now proud to call my friends.  However, when you have some bad apples, you need to inspect the barrel and in this case, the specific barrel is the Armed Forces. 

God bless the families of the killed and wounded.  May he comfort those who grieve. As for Hasan, let justice be done.

VW

There's A Difference

I am not a Republican, Democrat or Independent.  I'm a conservative; there's a difference.

Essentially, America has traditionally been a two party system.  For well over a century, those two parties have been the Democrats and Republicans.  That's not to say that there aren't more political parties out there, but rarely does any of them play much of a role in the national scheme.  Sometimes, a third party will win a local contest, but they are generally not real players. 

For the sake of argument then, the two main players on the American political stage are the Democrats and the Republicans.  None of the other minor parties can match them in money or manpower, or the ability to get out the vote.  Given that, when most people talk about politics,they tend to divide up between the two major parties.

I was a Republican several years back.  I joined the Party and contributed money toward their efforts.  That lasted two years.  I never renewed my membership.  The reason I'm not a Republican is all too often, the party wants to be a light version of the Democratic Party.  This recent election was a good example.  The party supported Dede Scozzafava in the NY 23rd race.  Scozzafava is a left-wing radical.  As a Republican, she endorsed the entire Democrat platform.  In that particular election, she was further left than her Democratic opponent. 

The Republican leadership seems to have this idea that as long as we elect someone with an R after their name, it will be OK.  It doesn't work that way.  That is why I am a conservative.  I am not a Republican and never will be until the party comes back to its conservative roots.

The liberal lie is that the Republican Party must become more moderate.  What they really mean is that we need to be more like them.  They want to blur the line.  No, we don't need to become Democrat light.  Why bother if you are going to do that?

A recent poll suggests that Americans are more conservative than liberal.  It's time the Republicans learned that lesson and until they do, they get none of my money.  I will support individual candidates as I see fit, but I will not support a political party hellbent on becoming more like their opponents.

VW

Officer Down

Over this past weekend, a Seattle police officer was assassinated in his car.  His partner, a young trainee fresh out of the academy, was wounded, but was able to return fire.  She'd been on the job for about a month.  The dead officer, Timothy Brenton, was a nine year veteran with a wife and two kids.  The shooting is apparently random in nature and given the location, it's entirely possible.  There is a lot of gang activity in that particular neighborhood.

As I was listening to the local talk radio station (KVI) on my way in to work this morning, the host was talking about some people might be upset that the police might throw more resources into finding the killer than they might if it was your next door neighbor who is an accountant. 

It doesn't upset me.  There are two reasons that they will use more resources than the usual homicide and they make perfect sense.

The first is simply because it was one of their own.  Human nature is at work here.  Cops often have an "us against them" mentality because it is in fact, the cops against the bad guys.  They are in a profession almost as dangerous as a soldier in combat and their daily routine brings them into contact with society's dregs.  They build a camaraderie similar to that of a combat unit.  At times, it has come under justifiable scrutiny.  They will close ranks when a brother (or sister) officer dies or is in trouble.

The second reason is simply that an attack on the police is an attack on the very institution we rely on to keep the bad guys from taking over.  When the police are attacked, it threatens our own security in a different way than if an ordinary civilian is attacked.

I hope they do find this killer or killers and I hope he/they try something stupid.  It'll save us taxpayers a lot of money.

VW

My New Favorite Song

God bless our warriors!

VW

A Quote That's Right On The Money

“As Americans we should not be shocked that Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize without any accomplishments to his name.

We gave him the White House based on the same credentials…”

H/T:  Kicking and Screaming

Where I've Been

I've been down with a nasty virus, but I'm getting better. 

To top it off, yesterday, we had to put down our beloved Princess.  She was an eight-year-old calico with an attitude.  We had her in for her yearly check up a few months ago and everything was normal.  About three weeks ago, we noticed she was rapidly losing weight.  She was always a tiny cat, but we could feel more bone than normal.  We took her in and they diagnosed her with a very aggressive lymphoma.  We were told to take her home and when she stopped doing her normal thing, it would be time.  Yesterday was that day and we took her in to the vet for the last time. 

Also, my sister in Michigan could use your prayers and good thoughts. She and I are very close.  She's a year younger than me.  She has an internal bleed that they cannot find.  She was released from the hospital today and is scheduled to be seen at the U of M in a couple of weeks.  Pray they find the problem.

Thanks,

VW