Tom Friedman Continues His Journey To Insanity (The Terrorists Win)

Times columnist and global raconteur Tom Friedman outdoes himself as he tries to put the Boston bombing into perspective:

Bring on the Next Marathon

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

...

We still do not know who set off the Boston Marathon bombs or why. But we do know now, after 9/11, after all the terrorism the world has seen in the last decade, what the right reaction is: wash the sidewalk, wipe away the blood, and let whoever did it know that while they have sickeningly maimed and killed some of our brothers and sisters, they have left no trace on our society or way of life. Terrorists are not strong enough to do that — only we can do that to ourselves — and we must never accommodate them.

So let’s repair the sidewalk immediately, fix the windows, fill the holes and leave no trace — no shrines, no flowers, no statues, no plaques — and return life to normal there as fast as possible. Let’s defy the terrorists, by not allowing them to leave even the smallest scar on our streets, and honor the dead by sanctifying our values, by affirming life and all those things that make us stronger and bring us closer together as a country.

Seriously? The terrorism he is describing (he opens with the example of a Tel Aviv bombing) is politically motivated. Yet as he notes, we don't even know who the bomber was or what the motive might have been - isn't it a bit early to announce that we will win by ignoring the guy?

And if, just for example, the bomber is a lone nutjob desperately in need of better mental health care and reporting, why does ignoring him make any sense at all? Was Tom Friedman exhorting us to ignore the lone psychos in Aurora and Sandy Hook? He was not - Sandy Hook was a clear signal for an assault weapons ban, but killing and maiming with bombs gets a pass?

It is inconceivable to me that Tom Friedman or his editors would ever run a column telling the Sandy Hook parents that it was time to move on or else Adam Lanza wins. So how the Times let pass this exhortation to the newly legless to just get over it is beyond me.

SOMETIMES THE BIG PICTURE IS THERE IS NO PICTURE: We have star shooters like Mark Chapman who gain their infamy by shooting a celebrity. Why can't we have psycho star bombers whose only motive is headlines and notoriety [and a clean getaway]? Why couldn't the Boston bomber simply be Adam Lanza or James Holmes with a bomb instead of a gun?

We all hope that the investigation will turn up some answers but to prejudge this as conventional terror motivated by some sort of political agenda is premature and Friedmanesque.

I HAVE COMPANY: Sen. Claire McCaskill makes a similar point:

Claire McCaskill: If Boston bombings are terrorism, why not Sandy Hook?

...

On the same day the Senate was expected to vote on several gun-control provisions, McCaskill pressed Napolitano to reevaluate when and how the federal government defines a criminal act as terrorism — especially when, in the case of the Boston incident, no suspects or motives are known.

“We are so quick to call Boston terror,” McCaskill said. “Why aren’t we calling the man with the high-capacity assault weapon and the high-capacity magazine, why aren’t we calling him a terrorist?”

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” the secretary replied.

“It just is troubling to me,” said McCaskill, a former county prosecutor. “I think both of them, maybe they had identical motives. Just one chose a military-style weapon with a high-capacity magazine, and the other one chose to make a homemade bomb.”

I would emphasize the "maybe" in "maybe they had identical motives". And the headline is a bit backwards - most folks agree that Sandy Hook is not terrorism not becasue he used a gun but because the nutjob had no political agenda.

So rather than argue that, if Boston is terror when we don't know the motive so therefore Sandy Hook is terror, I would say that we don't consider Sandy Hook to be terror and the Boston bomber may have a similar psychological profile so we shouldn't be quick to label Boston as terrorism.

 

Comments

[narciso]

The Times agenda is clear when you consider the latest navelgazing from Scott Shane, re
the Constitution Project's inquiry into 'Torture', something we can never 'move on' from, even if they lead us to Abbotabad.

[Appalled]

Be a better man or woman than your Senator or Congressman. Read the Gang of Eight Immigration Bill. (Which is far more important than this Near Beer gun background check thingy)

The bill is here.

My blog? Um...Unfortunately, I have to go out and make money today.

[Captain Hate]

Ignoring Flathead means the terrorists lose.

Welcome to the party, Judy: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324600704578405280211043510.html

[NK]

I always appreciate TomM reading the NY Times so I don't have to... TomM's summaries are a reminder of why I don't, and shouldn't, read the thing. The 'substance' of Friedman? Meh. Friedman is merely an exemplar of the mental illness which afflicts the NYT's staff and its readers...ehr... 'cept TomM of course.

PS: when Gunz Control goes DOWN in the Senate today, I'm sure Friedman and those public figure seeking Sandy Hook parents will be consistent with Friedman's advice and urge us all to move on, forget about background loopholes and assault bans and Adam Lanza. Just move on. Sure they will.

[narciso]

That report has Top Man Asa Hutchinson, along with backstabbing weasel Ambassador Jones, what could go wrong?

[NK]

CaptH-- another Lefty mugged by the reality of the insanity of the Modern Left? Cry me a river of tears Judy Babe... you are complicit in the creation of the Kangeroo Court that tried to railroad your son. She's only outraged because the Kangeroo Court tried to nail HER son... I'm sure she was out there calling for the Express Train to run over the Duke LAX players and other cases where THOSE working class or athlete boys were the target. Get over yourself Judy.

[Captain Hate]

You are right about that, NK; life sucks when the policies you helped enact nail your own flesh and blood.

[NK]

I gotta type and read better-- KangA.. Courts

[jimmyk]

Why can't we have psycho star bombers whose only motive is headlines and notoriety?

The act got the headlines, but no notoriety for the perps, and they seem to want to get away with it, so that doesn't really work.

[Danube of Thought]

How about this howler from Ms. Grossman:

...the ivy-covered walls thought to protect an ostensible dedication to enlightenment and intellectual betterment.

How long has it been since a sensible person believed that those walls protected any such thing?

[Old Lurker]

Capn, we truly are at that point in Atlas Shrugged where the cocoon of laws, rules, regs is so pervasive that everyone is in default of any number of them at all times so that one simply awaits for the shoe to stomp on the one who falls from favor.

Some "liberty" huh?

[steve]

The common thread to Friedman's columns is his knee-jerk antipathy to conservatives and what pass these days for 'conservative' values.

Newtown and Aurora? A chance to go after those evil gun-toting conservatives who hate kids.

Boston? Take a position, any position, other than that of stepping up the fight against (presumably) Islamic terrorism.

And, if it turns out that the Boston bomber is someone who can remotely be considered right wing/Tea Party, then Friedman will of course call for us to NOT do what he just advocated, but rather to memorialize the site so that we never forget about the evils of right wing nut jobs.

[fdcol63]

I promise, if Tom Friedman gets killed in a terrorist bombing, I won't let the terrorists win.

I will watch as his remains are cleaned off the streets and move on.

[hit and run]

DoT:
How about this howler from Ms. Grossman

I was drawn to that quote as well. Someone who believes that is someone who would, without any self-awareness at all, ask this...

Who knew that American college students are required to surrender the Bill of Rights at the campus gates?

[James D.]

The thing is, despite that WSJ article, I'd be willing to bet cash money that come November of 2014, the author will vote straight Dem.

And she won't for a moment think about the fact that it's the Dems she's voting for are the ones who put those policies in place that her son ran afoul of...

[NK]

Ok I'll give this a shot-- responding to Friedman's inanities. Wash the blood off the sidewalk and move on? When did that ever work? moreover, who did that in the past decade? Putin didn't, the Mullahs didn't, Iraq's Constitutional Gov't didn't, Israel didn't, the Turks didn't, Blair didn't, Bush didn't, Obummer doesn't (OK the Spanish Socialists surrendered then did). Mass murder and maiming of the innocent is evil and nihilism writ large. Civilization depends on finding the monsters, punishing them, and doing what can be done to stop the next monster.

[hit and run]

And anyone who asked that question is certainly someone who only found out about F.I.R.E. as a result of the need to have them help pull her son's butt out of the . . . well, you get the pun.

[Captain Hate]

OL, one of my younger Hatette's friends got jammed up by that type of garbage at Columbia. Even though he beat the charges, that he was accused was still on his record.

Btw, did anybody watch the PBS thing last night on the NYC teens that were falsely convicted of rape in the Central Park incident? That touched on at least one topic which interests me and if anybody other than Ken Burns had produced it, I'd have probably watched it.

[NK]

BTW-- the last few Title IX and Friedman comments have all been great.

[henry]

Someone should tweet Ms. Grossman a link to the latest "Pieces".

[Old Lurker]

I guess a kid today needs to get a signed release before entering a relationship, and then another signed release when it ends.

[Rick Ballard]

NK,

We have to consider whether Friedman may have received a whisper that the Boston perp was an OWSer protege of 'Billy the Butthole' Ayers - you know - the Presidential Advisor. Friedman's job, aside from licking unmentionable parts of his boss and the President, is to set the tenor of the propaganda narrative. Boston just can't be a big deal if the perpetrator was a another twisted lefty nihilist responding to the instigation of commie professors.

[Rick Ballard]

NK,

We have to consider whether Friedman may have received a whisper that the Boston perp was an OWSer protege of 'Billy the Butthole' Ayers - you know - the Presidential Advisor. Friedman's job, aside from licking unmentionable parts of his boss and the President, is to set the tenor of the propaganda narrative. Boston just can't be a big deal if the perpetrator was a another twisted lefty nihilist responding to the instigation of commie professors.

[Captain Hate]

OL, before the Antioch Asylum went tits up, they had something almost as ludicrous as what you described in place.

[Rob Crawford]

The act got the headlines, but no notoriety for the perps, and they seem to want to get away with it, so that doesn't really work.

Or the creep just wanted to create chaos and got what he wanted. Arsonists don't necessarily have a political goal, either.

[NK]

RickB-- who knows? Friedman's inanities are useless. NO... less than useless. If the bomber was an NRA member or NASCAR fan, Friedman will turn on a dime and scream REMEMBER BOSTON, BAN NASCAR, REPEAL THE 2ND AMEND... Blah...Blah...BLAH. I wouldn't read anything into whatever he publishes, seriously.

[Neo]

James Holmes had a labyrinth of bombs around his apartment.

[NK]

Did Unabomber claim responsibilty immediately after each letter bomb?

[Appalled]

CH & NK:

I understand your reaction to the WSJ oped, and disagree with your disdain. The usual thing for a parent in this sort of situation is use the full power of her lawyerness, cuss and scream in private, and not bother to notice that her advocacy may have had a part in bringing this out.

This woman at least seems to understand the harm her ideals have done, and gone to a very public place to publicize an issue that does not get much publicity. Do either of you honestly think she will not pay a cost in terms of clients and street cred and respect among her feminist peers for having done this?

It is very hard to change one's mind in public, and in certain fields, doing so is not the best career move. Be glad you got the column. Be glad it is in a public place. Worry less that a previously unhurt member of the privileged elite is the one delivering it.

[Neo]

You have to wonder what Tom Friedman's take would be if these were the work of "eco-terrorists" frustrated by lack of action on Climate Change (or whatever it's called at the moment).

[NK]

Eco-Terrorists... forgot about those turds. definite possibility. but why no claim to date?

[Tom Maguire]

...but no notoriety for the perps, and they seem to want to get away with it, so that doesn't really work.

Boy, that's obvious after you explain it to me.

I guess the Unabomber might be a better example since he stayed anonymous for years, except that he did have some obscure political motive.

[NK]

Don't know Ms. Grossman from a hole in the wall... maybe she is taking a contrarian stand and risks being shunned by Lefty clients and colleagues. I only know what she writes, and she revels in her Leftist pedigree, and is outraged that the Kangaroo Court on campus she helped create has turned on her like some Frankenstein's monster. So maybe, her outrage is a reflection of an outsized ego, rather than principle. In any event, personally, I think the most mportant thing here is the irony of the Leftist being caught up in a monster of her own creation. Just me.

[AliceH]

Posted by: Appalled | April 17, 2013 at 10:44 AM

I agree. The most helpful response to a person who has learned something important is generally not pelting them with abuse for not seeing "the obvious", or for falling short in seeing "the whole picture". Then again, these are blog comments, not actually direct responses, and venting exasperation and frustration is a necessary activity, too. ::shrug::

[NK]

Retired FBI Dep Director opinion is a USA Jihadi, with some AQ online training. I still think it's the most likely explanation. From Bloomberg News:

"Based on the nature of the attack, Murphy said he suspects it may have been carried out by someone inspired by al-Qaeda or radicalized by reading jihadist magazines or websites. The majority of U.S. terror suspects in recent years have been self- radicalized, he said."

[Danube of Thought]

Posts work sometimes from the computer; sometimes they don't. iPad can't post at all, no matter what I do with the URL bar.

[Captain Hate]

Appalled, I welcome that she sees how things really are but the evidence of where those policies would lead was there for her all the time; and for it to take a personal experience to realize that makes me wonder how smart she really is. I'm glad that she took the time to write it and if it changes somebody's mind, then that's obviously positive. If it led to Title IX being revoked, or at least a severe modification on how it's enforced, that would be great but I'm not holding my breath.

[Porchlight]

Kirsten Powers is an example of someone who can change discussion even if she hasn't yet seen the light on a lot of (maybe most) issues. We have to support these folks because it takes a lot of courage to buck the left and they need as much help from our side as they can get.

[Rick Ballard]

I don't see evidence of any understanding on the part of Ms. Grossman beyond the fact her son was gored by her own pet oxen. Where is the "and, therefore, the University Star Courts and the legislation allowing them must be repealed".

The article is for her precious little babies file - nothing more.

[MarkO]

Why do Progressives so hate free speech?

And, freedom generally?

[sbwaters]

AP report on the ricin investigation: " 'The person that is a suspect writes a lot of letters to members,' Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Tuesday as she emerged from a classified briefing."

Now, what is it about the good Senator's comment that ought to set everyone off, officials, journalists, and citizens?

Shouldn't McCaskill be arrested for releasing classified information?

[NK]

I'm with RickB on this. The grossman letter is a gripefest about her darling little Lefty Boy-- she says nothing about her doing anything tangible to adrees the problem of College Kangaroo Courts. I am open minded, if I see any further actions on her part, say at the NYC Assoc of the Bar to adopted a Uniform Code for College Courts to insure due process and fair results for all male students, I'll welcome her contribution to fairness and justice on Campus. Until then....

[AliceH]

-- she says nothing about her doing anything tangible to adrees the problem of College Kangaroo Courts.--

Correct me if I'm wrong, NK, but from where I sit, she's done more than you just by bringing (however circumscribed) attention to this.

[hit and run]

If there was any chance of such, perhaps we could get an enterprising Prof to take the A Ms. Grossman's son had earned in a class and redistribute part of that grade to someone who received a F and give them both C's in the name of reducing classroom inequality.

Maybe we could get a really good eye-opening column out of that, too.

[maryrose]

RB and NK:
Yes I would like her to take what she considers her vast lawyerly skills and change the rules.Otherwise, she is just trying to clear her son's name for obvious reasons. What about a student who doesn't have mummy there to help him out of a similar jam?

[AliceH]

meant to say "done more more than you or I...".

[NK]

Very true... then again my little boy has managed to avoid the Star Chamber at his Jesuit college institution. My other contributions to 'the cause' have indeed been negative. When the Assoc of the Bar in NYC proved to be beyond reform (Reform? It is it a fortress of Leftist thought) I resigned... I have carefully avoided giving any funds to my Lefty Law School Alma Mater and limited college contributions to 'collared' money for the Football team. Small contributions on my part I admit... but they are tangible. I await to hear further from Ms Grossman who was directly afflicted. Cheers.

[matt]

Unfortunately many of the college kangaroo courts are designed along the Soviet system where the accused is convicted prior to being tried. The court rubber stamps the accusation and on the the Lubyanka basement.

This is the construct that now exists and is considered normal by our "elite". They then litigate to legislate and so the chains are drawn ever tighter.

The notion of a democratic republic is vaqnishing quickly.Pity when it entangles one of the elites.

As to Friedman, one more sheet for the bottom of the birdcage. "Never forget" morphed into "never happpened". What a douche.

[matt]

on to the Lubyanka basement....

[Tom Maguire]

I should add that I have re-written the "Why can't we have psycho star bombers whose only motive is headlines and notoriety?" bit for a better alignment of what I was thinking with what I was writing.

I don't think notoriety and anonymity are exclusive - the bomber knows the chaos he created - so I wanted to clear that up.

[NK]

Hey TomM-- while your here, what exactly did you mean by the VaTech 'stood alone' post. I'm still to dense to understand what you meant.

[NK]

Ig/RobC-- what is the Cruz-Grassley Bill? It will apparently be propsed after Obummer/Reid fail in the Senate today.

[matt]

Why am I suspicious as hell of the ricin letters sent immediately after the bombing? Something smells.

Something smells as well when the Boston PD has a 'training exercise" and neglects to find two bombs lying out in the open.

Anyone who has ever been "sniffed" knows how thorough the handlers are in guiding their dogs to cover the area not one or twice, but sometimes 3 times before moving on to the next square in the grid.

The type of explosive that seems to have been used would almost certainly have been detectable.

Some of the reports have stated that the design could be found on Al Q'aeda web sites. Things don't seem to be adding up.

[AliceH]

-- ricin letters-- Was there more than one?

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--Ig/RobC-- what is the Cruz-Grassley Bill? It will apparently be propsed after Obummer/Reid fail in the Senate today.

Posted by: NK | April 17, 2013 at 11:49 AM--

Don't know. Been busy.

[Rob Crawford]

matt, the bombs were likely placed AFTER the sweep. That's half the point of small, portable devices.

[AliceH]

Never mind. I see in my efforts to avoid factless speculation on the one hand, I managed to miss actual factual updates on the other.

[henry]

Alice, a second letter (or two?) was just disclosed. First reported as sent to another Senator (unnamed) then as sent to Obama. Very suspicious.

[Porchlight]

Just breaking now, AliceH - more ricin letters sent to Capitol Hill and the WH (supposedly).

[Clarice]

Thomas Lipscomb
ISN'T ABOUT TIME FOR ONE SINGLE NEWS SOURCE TO ASK THE MOST OBVIOUS QUESTION IN THIS INVESTIGATION.....?

HOW DID ALL THOSE "SECURITY" PERSONNEL ALLOW NOT ONE BUT TWO BACK PACKS?DUFFEL BAGS TO BE LYING UNACCOMPANIED, ON THE SIDEWALK, WITHIN 100 YARDS OF THE FINISH LINE?

The perps used the back walls of buildings to focus the blast with a rebound shock wave and had the bombs on the ground to maximize lateral damage of their metal shrapnel, which can still maim at those speeds if it bounces off the sidewalk and street. And they did so like real pros.

SOMEONE SHOULD BE RAISING HOLY HELL ABOUT THIS AND STOPPING THE WEE WEEING OVER OUR "WONDERFUL FIRST RESPONDERS"

TOTAL INCOMPETENCE!!!! GET MAD AND GET FOCUSED. TIME TO FIRE SOME PEOPLE.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Shelby & iBama were today's recipients of ricin care packages.

Also, Hart building partially evacuated for suspicious package.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

This Grossman gal seems to condemn the kangaroo courts in general not just in relation to her wittle boy.

Perhaps someday she will see that they are the natural outgrowth of the ideology she still supports, not a deviation from it.

[Janet]

This is no good - NY Daily News Doctors Front Page Photo Of Boston Terror Attack…

They can pixel if they feel it is necessary, but this is fraud.

[Dave (in MA)]

Shelby & iBama were today's recipients of ricin care packages.

Also, Hart building partially evacuated for suspicious package.

http://news.yahoo.com/secret-suspicious-letter-mailed-obama-152216889--politics.html

Was it a white powder? He probably got nostalgic for his college days.

[NK]

Janet thanks-- I'll read that link tonight.

If Grassley-Cruz is a good idea to improve Fed background checks and keep guns away from people suffering mental illness which makes them a danger to themselves and others, while protecting vets and other gun owners who have 'routine' treatment, then Gun Rights suporters have played the politics beautifully. we'll see.

[Cecil Turner]

We all hope that the investigation will turn up some answers but to prejudge this as conventional terror motivated by some sort of political agenda is premature and Friedmanesque.

Moreover, the main reinforcement the terrorist seeks is media coverage. So if Friedman really wants to help, he and his ilk could tone down the response. As if.

[matt]

Sweep & secure is the normal procedure, Rob. Once the area is swept security is supposed to step in and ensure that the area remains secure. It is a process.

Not that someone didn't know or just got lucky, but after all of the security issues at sporting events and other mass gatherings over the past 40 years, security's job is to be alert to suspicious packages and activities.

Ther third or fourth question from the lead investigator should have been "how did we let this happen?". Sooner or later the numbnuts in the press may ask this.

[AliceH]

Thanks, henry and Porchlight.

Also, Feliz Cumpleanos to Mama Narciso.

[NK]

Clarice-- you're right of course that the BPD people did NOT spot the backpacks being left unattended. How long were they there? an hour, minutes, less than a minute. That duration will determine how inept--if at all-- the BPD was. But, it's unfair at this point to point fingers at BPD. I haven't been to Boston marathon, but I've been near the finish at many NYC and a few DC USMC Marathons 4 hours in, it's a mass of people. very difficult to secure. This bomber had a plan to maim and kill. The bomber gets all of the blame IMO.

[bgates]

Who knew that American college students are required to surrender the Bill of Rights at the campus gates?

Evan Coyne Maloney, for one.

[Marlene]

These letters are probably being found at the processing facilities.I assume Capitol Hill mail is still being irradiated? The daughter was a Capitol Hill staffer during the post 9/11 anthrax scare.She handled correspondence and said after the mail was irradiated,it would be "crispy."
I certainly hope the ricin letters are being found at the point of processing.The media should explain this a bit better. *snort*

[matt]

That's why undercover officers are used, NK. A highly visible uniformed presence plus a salting of undercovers prevents your general criminal, pickpocket, etc as well as any but the most dedicated terrorists, it has been found.

[Clarice]

The picture I saw of the suspected first bomb shows it right on the curb before the first runner got there.

[Clarice]

Actually slightly behind the curb on the sidewalk next to a big green metal trash can or mail depository.

[Rob Crawford]

Sweep & secure is the normal procedure, Rob. Once the area is swept security is supposed to step in and ensure that the area remains secure. It is a process.

And no process is perfect.

How odd would it be, near the finish line of a sporting event, on a day when everyone in the city is off work, for someone to be carrying a pack or duffel?

How long would it take to set them down?

How long would it take to trigger them?

Again, if there was a decision that let this happen, then heads should roll. But most likely it's just a matter of "we have to be lucky every time; they only have to get lucky once".

[AliceH]

About that ricin:

Testing is apparently still underway. The letter tested positive for ricin in a field test, but the FBI released a statement Wednesday saying tests have shown "inconsistent results" and the substance is being further analyzed.

So, you know, more speculations and opportunity to apply the 48-hour rule.

[Rob Crawford]

I certainly hope the ricin letters are being found at the point of processing.The media should explain this a bit better. *snort*

Anthrax is a living organism; radiation kills it. Ricin is a toxin; I'm not sure if radiation would deactivate/denature it.

I'm also not sure if ricin is an inhalation hazard, though I wouldn't want to risk it. I know it's a blood agent and you don't want to swallow it.

[jimmyk]

"I guess the Unabomber might be a better example since he stayed anonymous for years, except that he did have some obscure political motive."

Unfortunately the implication might be that whoever did this intends it to be the first of a series, to continue until he is caught.

[rse]

I knew that FIRE had been calling attention to this position of the Dept of Ed OCR. My guess is Ms Grossman had no use for FIRE until recently when she needed them.

My experience with OCR is they are putting out numerous unconstitutional positions that ONLY a lawyer and one up to speed in that area would recognize to be unsupported by case law and likely inconsistent with the US Constitution. It is happening too often not to be deliberate. The ones I have called attention to have gotten walked back but Arne remains on a roll.

Not surprising since there was a mention in a report I downloaded yesterday that CPS has a database just full of both quantitative and qualitative data on every CPS student. That means chockful of affective data which in turn tells much about the household beliefs. Especially in elem kids. So good to know a comparable database is being created under his watch on students nationwide.

These guys truly are playing for keeps which is exactly what I worked on all morning. My little brain feels fried at this point.

And it's too early for happy hour.

[CaliCon]

(C'mon, Friedman, this is too easy ...)

We still do not know much about Adam Lanza. But we do know now, after Anders Behring Breivik, after all the mass shootings the world has seen in the last decade, what the right reaction is: wash the classroom floors, wipe away the blood, and let Lanza know that while he has sickeningly maimed and killed some of our children, has has left no trace on our society or way of life. Mass murderers are not strong enough to do that — only we can do that to ourselves — and we must never accommodate them.

So let’s repair Sandy Hook Elementary immediately, fix the windows, fill the holes and leave no trace — no shrines, no flowers, no statues, no plaques — and return life to normal there as fast as possible. Let’s defy school shooters, by not allowing them to leave even the smallest scar on our schools, and honor the dead by sanctifying our values, by affirming life and all those things that make us stronger and bring us closer together as a country.

[Neo]

I think this just about sums it all up …

“It’s sad you have to hope it’s a completely random thing, because I think our political system can’t handle it if it’s someone with a political agenda,” said a longtime Obama adviser.

[NK]

Securing big events with masses of people. Very tough job, below is a link to a Reuters story about the NYPD CTU that Rudy G started and Bloomie has improved upon. The NYPD has massive capabilities, training, technology, even international INTEL. the link doesn't even go into the spooky 'eye in the sky' vehicle the NYPD parks near big events to monitor-- that thing has anti blast anti bio/chem/nuke protection for the cops inside- hey what about the rest of us!: http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2011/09/08/inside-the-nypds-counter-terrorism-unit/

[NK]

a suspect? http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/us/boston-blasts/index.html

[Rick Ballard]

"My guess is Ms Grossman had no use for FIRE until recently when she needed them."

RSE,

Her apologia for Sweet Little Sonny Boy contained one sentence referring to FIRE. Oddly enough, Ms Grossman made no reference to having signed up for volunteer FIRE brigade work.

IMO - she's whining in the pig pen about having to root for husks among hogs but she has no intention of walking out through the open gate now that Sonny Boy is off the hook. She has far too large an investment in the Prog Unicorn Utopia to abandon all idiocy at this point.

[daddy]

Way behind and just catching the latest on Mrgyn's Show.

She says the FBI say a suspect has been identified.---Tied in with the second bomb site.

A reporter said that they have determined the exact instant the 2nd bomb went off from videos etc, and that now they are going thru all the cellphone transmissions that happened right around that time, and deleting all the ones that happened just after or too early, and that leaves them with the cellphone calls that happened exactly at that instant. Those would be the ones that could have been the trigger, so they are carefully going thru those.

That almost sounds like a CSI scene on TV, but it makes sense, and explains to me how they are proceeding on their investigation.

They say they now have an image of "a suspect" related to dropping the suspected package at the 2nd bombing location.

[Captain Hate]

Robin, are we past the point of no return on education? That Ayers and his ilk have insinuated themselves into the fabric of the whole thing, I don't see any way to effectively get them out.

[Old Lurker]

We sure do sleep better knowing Boehner has our back, right?

Per Fox: "House Speaker John Boehner is being pressed by the conservative wing of the Republican Party not to allow a vote on major pieces of legislation -- from gun control to immigration -- without majority Republican support, after recent signals that he could be open to building a coalition with Democrats. Tea Party favorite and second-term Rep. Tim Huelskamp is among the most recent to express concern, saying Tuesday that Boehner “assured us” that he´d seek a majority Republican coalition before proceeding on controversial bills. “Why do we have the majority if we don’t do what the majority wants?”

[James D.]

I made the mistake of reading the Politico article Neo quoted (and a few of the comments; enough to make my stomach turn). I especially love this bit of idiocy in the middle of the piece:

Americans have been exposed to a decade of war in two countries, thwarted terror attacks and a numbing succession of bloody tragedy, most recently the Newton, Conn., school massacre, and are more inured to events previous generations would have found unimaginable.

Really? Unimaginable? Because there have never been mass shootings or bombings in this country before 9/11?

I guess the writer forgot (or never learned about) the various wars we were involved in in the 20th century, or the attempted (or successful) assassinations of Presidents and major national figures, or the terrorism of Bill Ayers and friends, or the spate of PLO hijackings in the 70's, or, you know, the fear from the 50's straight through to the late 80's that there'd be an all-out nuclear war with the Soviets and THE WHOLE BLOODY WORLD WOULD END.

No, previous generations could scarcely imagine what we've seen in the last ten years, as far as attacks and tragedies.

Do any of these so-called journalists actualy know or understand ANYTHING at all?

[fdcol63]

" ... I don't see any way to effectively get them out ..."

I do. But only one that is timely enough to save the country.

Eliminate them from the system as you would cockroaches and other parasites, before they kill the host.

[The Other Jim]

Get very used to this attitude.

Terrorism under Bush was a sign that we needed to change everything about our nation.

Terrorism under Obama is a sign that we need to get back to exactly what we were doing as soon as possible.

No distractions, please! If you have to mention this unpleasantness at all, do so in a wider context of too much violence and weaponry amongst the citizenry. If only we could do something about that.

[daddy]

From Megyn's Show,

Passing on the latest word from multiple sources that "Arrest is imminent." Related to a video ID of a guy dropping off a suspected package at the 2nd bomb location.

We shall see.

[NK]

JamesD-- the 'journalists' believe there is nothing to know.. no facts, no history,,, there is only the narrative. That's all they want to 'know'-- the narrative.

[Rob Crawford]

Really? Unimaginable? Because there have never been mass shootings or bombings in this country before 9/11?

Gettysburg. Two days -- over 40,000 dead and wounded. More than the sum of the "decade of war".

What a pity we no longer teach history.

[NK]

"There is no history... only the narrative.'
Columbia School of Journalism

[Captain Hate]

Do any of these so-called journalists actualy know or understand ANYTHING at all?

They'd be roundly ridiculed by a citizenry that understood history rather than hot steaming emotional Rigoberta Menchu piles.

[daddy]

Megyn cautions "We are getting this info from the Associated Press."

FBI Presser scheduled now for 5 PM East Coast time tonight.

Megyn reading the latest: "Suspect is about to be arrested and will be taken to a Federal Courthouse."

[PDinDetroit]

A Warning to All Gun Bloggers and Forums – Boston Marathon Explosions - Please be aware that there are what we call “Bloomberg shills” lurking in the comments of gun blogs and forums at present.

LUN.

[Captain Hate]

Antietam: 22,717 dead in one day.

[Sue]

I am sitting here praying this nut they arrest has no affiliation to anything.