Tradgedy In Boston

[Mola Ram Suda Ram]

The Post article is wrong on multiple points.

Anyway . . .

Bombing on April 15th (tax day), Boston's Patriot Day, in the city that is the namesake of a kooky political party movement . . . I'm thinking domestic, right-wing terrorists.

And yes, Garden Girl, reasonable gun control is still needed!

By far the dumbest thing I have read in a while. Keep it up Mark.

And we already have reasonable gun control.

Sorry I just saw the comments below from the moderator.

[Calm]

Sorry I just saw the comments below from the moderator.

One could remove the remarks instead of just saying one is sorry for them.

[ERayR]

Is anyone else having a problem with what feels to me to be an voyeuristic style of news, they are asking people to recreate the scene in the emergency room, describe how they reacted seeing the dead and injured at the time of the bombing in quite graphic details? I understand getting facts out there, but it is like they are trying to turn it into a 'like you were there' experience to keep people watching when they don't have any new facts to give out.

News people in these situations seem to loose any common sense they may have had and out comes some of the most asinine questions.

[Mark Beesley]

By far the dumbest thing I have read in a while. Keep it up Mark.

And we already have reasonable gun control.

Sorry I just saw the comments below from the moderator.

I forgive you.

My original post was not intended to be political but rather a reasoned, shorthand analysis of why we should not immediately try to point the finger at foreign terrorists. I was not alone in my assessment, dumb as it might have been to some. Read here.

i fully concur with Ellen's conclusion that the only place we can hope for safety and peace today is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As I was engaged in prayer this morning, I was impressed that it was rather useless to pray for peace, but rather we need to pray for the strength to bear the war, violence and unrest that is inevitable . . . and that the Lord was not simply teasing us when He suggested the days might be shortened before the Second Coming.

[BCSpace]

...then I would say it's the result of not finishing the wars. We are now doomed to endless war (usually low level conflict) because we no longer have the guts to do what it takes to finish a war.

Well, let's think about that shall we? In our exuberance to get Bin Laden and his gang of henchmen, the US alone spent between 3.2 and 4 trillion dollars. We used up a very large national surplus and are now at least 1.1 trillion in the hole. Frankly, we don't have the money to wage war on Saudi Arabia. We very nearly attacked them right before we stupidly invaded Iraq. Saudi Arabia would have been the better target, I think.

I completely and utterly disagree with the highlighted parts.

To add insult to injury, the really big money guys are taking their money out of the US and nest egging it abroad. Who do we blame for that? Are these big money guys mad about Unions, and social dole entitlements, or is there some other agenda?

I would be more than happy to tell you specifically who to blame for that and why in another venue as this one is not friendly to actually debate on this particular issue. But suffice it to say that the rich do exactly what any other tax payer would and that is look for ways not to pay taxes and keep their money safe. Even large companies do it such as Apple and McDonald's as we have recently seen. And they keep their money safe until there is a good investment opportunity somewhere. So if you want the money to remain here, then you create an investment/entrepreneurial environment.

My own thought is that the US is in for a very hard jolt now, and only those who are faithful to Heavenly Father will be anchored.

Yes we are. I can imagine it will get much much worse.

[BCSpace]

The older guy Bill Iffrig was ok and did finish the race:

I saw that and it was great. Turns out it was only the blast and not a piece of shrapnel.

[BCSpace]

Are you serious?

Absolutely.

[Tacenda]

Is anyone else having a problem with what feels to me to be an voyeuristic style of news, they are asking people to recreate the scene in the emergency room, describe how they reacted seeing the dead and injured at the time of the bombing in quite graphic details? I understand getting facts out there, but it is like they are trying to turn it into a 'like you were there' experience to keep people watching when they don't have any new facts to give out.

Sensationalism at it's worst.

[Saints Alive]

Is anyone else having a problem with what feels to me to be an voyeuristic style of news, they are asking people to recreate the scene in the emergency room, describe how they reacted seeing the dead and injured at the time of the bombing in quite graphic details? I understand getting facts out there, but it is like they are trying to turn it into a 'like you were there' experience to keep people watching when they don't have any new facts to give out.

I missed that. I did hear one reporter in a news conference keep asking "why did the cops tell every one to remain come before the explosion went off" sad that the conspiracy theorist are already speculating.

[thesometimesaint]

Before we start running around like chicken with their heads cut off by assigning blame for this tragedy. Let's let the professional police, FBI, courts of law, etc., do their job.

1. Find the right person(s).

2. Prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law

3. Prove their case in a courtroom of law.

4. Apply the maximum penalty allowed by law.

[Garden Girl]

Is anyone else having a problem with what feels to me to be an voyeuristic style of news, they are asking people to recreate the scene in the emergency room, describe how they reacted seeing the dead and injured at the time of the bombing in quite graphic details? I understand getting facts out there, but it is like they are trying to turn it into a 'like you were there' experience to keep people watching when they don't have any new facts to give out.

I agree... and this 24/7 news coverage for days is ridiculous, particularly when there are no real facts available and it becomes speculation reporting, and it happens all the time... and I totally agree about the reporters asking people to describe how they felt viewing victims, etc etc.

IMO there should be a first few hours of reporting, even up to a day... and then just brief reports every few hours or as concrete info is available. They wring every drop of sensationalism they can manage... disgusting.

Then there's the news conferences where some official will be standing in front of a bank of microphones and opens things up for questions... then in response repeats "I'm not going to comment on that..." to the questions, and I want to scream... then why are you standing there... get the heck off!!

GG

[thesometimesaint]

I agree... and this 24/7 news coverage for days is ridiculous, particularly when there are no real facts available and it becomes speculation reporting, and it happens all the time... and I totally agree about the reporters asking people to describe how they felt viewing victims, etc etc.

IMO there should be a first few hours of reporting, even up to a day... and then just brief reports every few hours or as concrete info is available. They wring every drop of sensationalism they can manage... disgusting.

Then there's the news conferences where some official will be standing in front of a bank of microphones and opens things up for questions... then in response repeats "I'm not going to comment on that..." to the questions, and I want to scream... then why are you standing there... get the heck off!!

GG

For better or worse the 24 hr news cycle forces otherwise legitimate news organizations into such dribble. It's that or just dead air, and that is expensive.

[Calm]

For better or worse the 24 hr news cycle forces otherwise legitimate news organizations into such dribble. It's that or just dead air, and that is expensive.

I don't buy that. There was plenty of legitimate news that I was aware of when I lived up in Canada and Russia that wasn't being reported on the American news channels and instead they did stupid stories like a bride that wrestle a pig in her wedding dress. And Canada and Russia neglected other news stories...it would be nice for the news agencies to educate people to have a greater interest level rather than just narrowing it with cheap and easy stories.

I can see having a show on those kinds of 'slices of American life' but not in what is allegedly a "headline news" shows. How about showing a major political battle in another country or a major court case in another country? Wars and disasters that don't happen to involve Americans?

There are some aspects of the human side that one does need to hear, like people taking off belts and scarves and anything else and just handing them to the emergency personnel to use as tourniquets and those who lived nearby or had restaurants taking in those who were in shock and just wandering around and giving them food and water for free or wrapping them up in blankets, etc.

There was a commentary on how it hurts children to have to endure hearing the adults around them obsess about the tragedy or if they are repeatedly exposed to the visuals...how it impacts them in such a way to lead to extreme insecurity and fear. I can imagine that it has the same effect on adults, just in not so obvious of ways.

[cursor]

For better or worse the 24 hr news cycle forces otherwise legitimate news organizations into such dribble. It's that or just dead air, and that is expensive.

If we're talkin' basketball, then I'm all in. If we're talkin' drivel ... then I'm outta here.

[Mark Beesley]

For better or worse the 24 hr news cycle forces otherwise legitimate news organizations into such dribble. It's that or just dead air, and that is expensive.

I have discovered a cheap, easy solution to the 24 hour news cycle problem. It's called an on/off switch. Works with remote too!

[thesometimesaint]

If we're talkin' basketball, then I'm all in. If we're talkin' drivel ... then I'm outta here.

It's both. The news just dribbles in, everyone wants to be the first with the latest rumor or speculation, and it is largely drivel.

[thesometimesaint]

I have discovered a cheap, easy solution to the 24 hour news cycle problem. It's called an on/off switch. Works with remote too!

Works for me. Fortunately or unfortunately TV lives and dies by the ratings.

[Stargazer]

Well, let's think about that shall we? In our exuberance to get Bin Laden and his gang of henchmen, the US alone spent between 3.2 and 4 trillion dollars.

Uh, no we didn't. The search for bin Laden was pennies on the dollar, compared to the Iraq thing. The unrelated war in Iraq, however, is cited as having cost us what you quoted.

We used up a very large national surplus and are now at least 1.1 trillion in the hole.

Whatever surplus we had during a couple of years of Clinton's administration was long used up, and it wasn't very large anyway. We've been borrowing money like it were water for a few decades now. The current national debt is on the order of 12 trillion, and only a small portion of it is the result of military expenditures. The national debt already stood at around 6 trillion when we had that small surplus under Clinton. There's a difference between a budgetary surplus and a debt.

Frankly, we don't have the money to wage war on Saudi Arabia. We very nearly attacked them right before we stupidly invaded Iraq.

There was good reason to invade Iraq. It probably wasn't a good enough reason, however, IMHO.

Saudi Arabia would have been the better target, I think.

That's what some have said. However, SA has Mecca and I think invading SA with so many Muslim holy sites in it would be a VERY bad idea. Unless the Saudis did something very stupid like directly attack us. Then we would have little choice.

And, now it seems that Pakistan was knowingly hiding Bin Laden. To add insult to injury, the really big money guys are taking their money out of the US and nest egging it abroad. Who do we blame for that? Are these big money guys mad about Unions, and social dole entitlements, or is there some other agenda? My own thought is that the US is in for a very hard jolt now, and only those who are faithful to Heavenly Father will be anchored.

That may be.

[thesometimesaint]

The four primary drivers of the currant debt are. Two unfunded wars, an unfunded drug benefit, the large tax decreases of the early 2000's, and the bank bailout.

The US proposed and actual European austerity program(s) are based on basic clerical errors.

[Mola Ram Suda Ram]

The four primary drivers of the currant debt are. Two unfunded wars, an unfunded drug benefit, the large tax decreases of the early 2000's, and the bank bailout.

The US proposed and actual European austerity program(s) are based on basic clerical errors.

Right, and among other things..... So the housing bubble that was forced upon us by the dems have nothing to do with it? And none of the reckless spending from Obama has nothing to do with it either. You are so transparent saint.

[Saints Alive]

Right, and among other things..... So the housing bubble that was forced upon us by the dems have nothing to do with it? And none of the reckless spending from Obama has nothing to do with it either. You are so transparent saint.

in all fairness he did mention the bank bailout, which was a direct result of the housing bubble. but hey, what happened to keeping this tread apolitical?