A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
Bloody headlines have dominated the first days of October.
Nine died at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, OR, murdered by a deranged student who committed suicide after being wounded by local police detectives. He’d been kicked out of the Army for being off kilter, had a history of mental issues, yet was able to acquire 14 firearms; and able to acquire them legally, says the local sheriff, who himself has some loose screws. Were these deaths, or at least some of them, preventable? Probably, if firearms were much more difficult to obtain. Will this mass murder cause our nation to come to its senses on firearms? No.
Nineteen nurses, doctors, and patients died when U.S. aircraft bombed and/or shot up a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters reportedly were using the hospital for cover, so someone called in an airstrike, which probably was conducted by an AC-130 gunship. An investigation has started. The person responsible for approving the air strike could be in very hot water. Bombing a hospital is a war crime. Were these deaths preventable? Yes. Will this be the last time our nation makes so deadly a mistake in Afghanistan? We hope so, but we know that as long as we’re there, it’s likely to happen again. Bring our men and women home. Let the locals cut each other’s throats.