After that happens, I know some will still believe there point still has some merit.

Earlier this year Sgt. John Russell, 44 (Catholic), of Sherman, Texas, is in custody at Camp Liberty in Baghdad where he apparently opened fire at a combat stress clinic Monday, killing five U.S. soldiers.

I thought he was the one saying the magog and magong or something or other
(not up on my bible thumping)

I think I have read shrinks have the highest suicide rate. I think the day to day mental agony they are exposed to rubs off and they cling to sanity themselves at times. I even wonder if most who take classes to be shrinks have had unusual trauma in their lives that made them interested in finding out more about the mind. At least the shrinks I have known have had that as incentive. I think IF he yelled something when he was shooting and out of his mind, it is not so surprising. I think even insane people try to justify their actions to themselves. I too think we are all a varying degrees of off, though most don’t come to the point of explosion with guns all around us and a specific target to aim toward.

Low, “Murderer”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhJAR6UZsCk&feature=related

One more thing before I go
One more thing I’ll ask you Lord
You may need a murderer
Someone to do your dirty work

Don’t act so innocent
I’ve seen you pound your fist into the earth
And I’ve read your books
It seems that you could use another fool
Well I’m cruel
And I look right through

You must have more important things to do
So if you need a murderer
Someone to do your dirty work…

Sam

Apropos of nothing, here is a letter to the editor I had published in a local newspaper:

One of the distinguishing factors of war in the late 20th and early 21st century is the disproportionate number of civilian deaths, relative to deaths of soldiers.

Now, wars are fought in urban settings, with many more civilians killed than soldiers. On this Veterans Day, let us remember not only fallen soldiers, the ones who voluntarily chose to face death — but the real victims of war, the innocent civilians.

* This is not the official US government position on the nature of the wars, but this view is embraced by many of the soldiers and some generals.

What, you mean Bush was lying AGAIN when he repeatedly denied that we were fighting Islam? I mean, this is on the little list of actually right things the WPE did in 8 years. But the military is not going to believe a Commander in Chief whom they worship if he says something inconvenient.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/tampa-police-marine-reservist-attacked-greek-priest-he-mistook-for/1050707

Only the Cabbage could have written a couplet like this one:

Most people select stories that lead toward cooperation and goodness. But over the past few decades a malevolent narrative has emerged.

First, it assumes facts not in evidence; human history might suggest “most” do NOT select such stories, and second, it provides the implication that this “new” malevolent narrative is some kind of historical aberration. Riiight. (Hmm, I wonder, has there ever been another narrative that saw history as a conflict between Christianity and Islam?)

How Brooksian to pretend European history from say, 1100 AD on never happened in order to maintain a premise. Normally one has to read high school essays to get such pathetic and tortured manuvers.

Also typically Brooksian is the acceptance as fact that Hasan actually did shout “Allah akbar” as he opened fire, which, last I checked, was still unsubstantiated rumor. And I don’t know anyone who was asserting that this was definitely a personal breakdown; mostly those resisting the Islamist extremist meme were arguing that, in the absence of actual confirmed facts that it was To Soon To Tell what was the motive. Brooks goes on to belittle the coverage which, rather than rushing to judgement, speculated about all manner of motive.

Then, at last, a Brooksian tour de force – by refusing to instantly accept the story Brooks has chosen, the rest of the press has “absolved Hasan — before the real evidence was in — of his responsibility.” (Uh, what?) I see, withholding judgement in absence of proven facts is equivalent to judging as innocent, when Brooks has already decided what the facts are.

Brooks doesn’t even deserve to raise the issue of good and evil. This piece is so lightweight and dishonest that it hasn’t even met the entry requirements for freshman philosophical discussion, much less deep moral questions. Just like David Brooks.

Darn you, maha, for sucking me into reading another Brooks column.

I should really know better. Cabbage. Claptrap.

* This is not the official US government position on the nature of the wars, but this view is embraced by many of the soldiers and some generals.