Reflections on the Tsarnaev manhunt, one week after

On April 18, Americans residing around the city of Boston were alerted by their neighbors that an imminent threat to their safety was in their midst. Throughout the night, they were warned about the danger to their property and their families.

As April 19 dawned, those Bostonians who were willing, along with many others from surrounding communities, armed themselves and took to the streets and fields in defense of their homes, communities, and fellow citizens...

...wait, WHAT?

No More Veronicas - A Proposal for Aurora's Legacy

As all my readers assuredly know, early last Friday (July 20, 2012) a mass-murderer shot up a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and wounding nearly five dozen. This murderer's weapons of choice were an AR-15-type "assault" rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a Glock .40S&W pistol.

The face of this tragedy for me will forever be 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan and her ice cream cone . Veronica's mother was gravely wounded in the attack - there is a bullet lodged in her neck - and will likely suffer some form of permanent paralysis. At last published reports, she hasn't been told yet her daughter is dead.

We've heard that 911 calls poured into dispatch when the shooting started. The first two or three police officers arrived in minutes - after the shooting had stopped. They arrested the suspect with no further incident.

The Denver Post reports today that there were delays in EMS teams reaching the victims. Sure, their system was probably overwhelmed and the firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics who responded I'm sure did their best, but could more lives have been saved or injuries mitigated with quicker response by trained personnel?

Now there's this report; that the alleged gunman basically pre-confessed, but that the notebook he authored may have been sitting in a mailroom since July 12th. There were seven days (since July 19th is the last day prior) that the evil plan could have been cottoned to and perhaps stopped.

Gun control will not stop mass murder. Spending more public money on emergency services will not stop mass murder or even better mitigate the aftermath. We are the first line of defense and response for all emergencies - not just the most violent or tragic.

No more Veronicas. It's up to us - you, me, everyone.

Words fail me

Linked from the Drudge Report, a story of true depravity from Yale University's Daily News.

Abortion as "art" - I'm almost physically sick after reading that story.

Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison.

UPDATE 4/18 @ 1345: There are many reports now that this story is a hoax. Hoax or not, the premise of the whole thing is still disgusting, and a sad, sad comment on our society - and higher academia in particular - that it is/was, sadly, completely believeable.

Liberal Civil Rights Idiocy

This AP story in reaction to the passing of Charlton Heston (found on CNN and elsewhere) includes the following quote from Mr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of an organization called the Los Angeles Urban Policy Round Table:

"We certainly disagree with his position as NRA head and also his firm, firm,
unwavering support of the unlimited right to bear arms," Hutchinson said. But,
he added, "Charlton Heston was a complex individual. He lived a long time, and
certainly, there were many phases. The phases we prefer to remember were
certainly his contributions to Dr. King and civil rights."

Where I believe the idiocy comes into this is the simple, plain fact that the ultimate defense for all of our Creator-endowed and Constitutionally-protected rights is the individual right to defend ourselves against tyrrany and violence by arming ourselves.

I'm sure that Mr. Hutchinson's anti-Second Amendment stance is rooted in urban gun violence. My challenge to Mr. Hutchinson - and those who agree with him - is this:

If your neighborhoods are afflicted with violence, and you believe that law enforcement can't or isn't dealing with the problem, the solution lies in the Second Amendment. Take back your own streets with law-abiding, armed citizens. If you aren't willing to fight for your own rights, protect your own property and families, and defend your neighbors against gangs, drugs, and the violence that follows them by taking up arms, why should you expect anyone else to do it for you?

CNN: "You get a slice of heaven and a pure love in your home"

The supposed - and IMO, BS - link between autism and early childhood vaccinations has been back in the news of late. I was both surprised and pleased to look at this page on CNN's website, as titled above.

Please take the time to watch all five short videos, made by parents of autistic children. To a one, the videos are upbeat, positive, and - despite the challenges and trials presented by this particular disability - how these children are blessings to their parents and families.

I am so happy to see such a forthright, pro-life message coming out of a mainstream media outlet. While I'm reasonably certain that wasn't CNN's intent, it is nice to see a message other than the victim mentality.

My wife and I are blessed with two healthy children, for which I am ever thankful. I have contemplated what it would mean for us and our family to be parenting a disabled child. I know the challenges would be great; I know our lifestyle would be altered. But I also know that my love for the child would be no different.

There are no children unwanted by God; no matter the means of their conception, the circumstances of their birth, their wholeness of health or lack thereof, or the conditions of their parenting or upbringing, that one truth is unchanged.

And thank you, CNN, for helping to make that point - even if you didn't intend to.

Amazingly enough...

...it looks like our education system has actually produced a 10-year old who both has listened to the anti-drug messages and also hasn't had his common sense stripped away by school either, per this story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"Dog" in the Pound - Updates

Earlier today I posted about Duane "Dog" Chapman, the famous bounty hunter, his son Leland, and "brother" Tim Chapman being arrested in Hawaii by U.S. Marshals on the request of Mexican law enforcement. This article by MSNBC's Rita Cosby brings up an interesting angle: Dog thinks he and the others are part of some quid pro quo conspiracy with the Mexican government.

I'm not a big fan of conspiracy theories, but considering that it's been three years since Dog and his team apprehended Andrew Luster in Mexico, one wonders...

Free the Dog!

As reported by this USA Today article, as well as elsewhere, Federal Marshals in Hawaii have arrested the Champion of Fugitive Retrieval (a.k.a. "bounty hunting") Duane "Dog" Chapman, his "brother" Tim Chapman, and son Leland Chapman on the behalf of Mexican officials who claim that the team's apprehension of Andrew Luster, a convicted rapist, in Mexico amounted to kidnapping. Mexico is asking for the three Chapmans to be extradited. What a crock!

Hey Mexico, if you cared about law and order we wouldn't have to send Americans to apprehend our criminals!

Good job, Nancy Grace

As linked by Matt Drudge, I really don't care what anybody says but Nancy Grace is beyond a vulture - this time, there's blood on her hands.

An American Heroine - Margaret Johnson

This story from CNN illustrates the benefit of being a law-abiding, armed citizen. Memo to those who aren't: practice your 2nd Amendment rights. To quote the movie True Romance, "If there's one thing I've learned this week is that it's better to have a gun and not need it than to need one and not have it."

Glad it isn't my tax dollars paying for this.

Matt Drudge links to this story from the UK (warning: non-work friendly or kid-safe image on the page) about a woman sitting naked with a dead pig for four hours and calling it "art", courtesy of the taxpayers. I think I'll go home tonight, dump all my garbage on the front lawn, sit in the middle of it (sorry, no nudity), call it "performance art" and then see if I can get a grant to fund it.

Way back in the day when I applied to the National Endowment for the Humanities for a grant for my historical research into steel industry technological innovations, I think I got rejected before the ink was dry on my application. Perhaps I'd have had a better chance at approval if my application wanted to research something like "lack of steel industry innovation leading to increased prostitution and adult businesses in steel towns, including pictures thereof". Yeah, that would've been a shoo-in for a grant.

Call me one of those heartless conservatives if you want, but the whackos who want to view junk like this should pay for it directly instead of relying on the state (whichever or wherever) to sponsor their depravity.

I've finally blocked out all the coverage of Natalee Holloway from my mind and then...

...I see this story linked by Matt Drudge about there being a suspect in custody in the JonBenet Ramsey case. "All hands, prepare to repel boarders!", because we're about to be inundated with 24x7 coverage of this. Don't get me wrong, if this suspect is indeed guilty, I'm pleased to see a murderer brought to justice. But why was this a national news story in the first place?

So, if you're of my mind, stay away from the TV news. I might just tune into Fox News at 10:00 tonight however, just to see if Greta van Susteren has already made it to Colorado. The other TV legal vulture, Nancy Grace, won't be far behind...