Another Shooting at Fort Hood

History has a tendency to repeat itself, but this is only five years after Hassan went on his rampage. The new shooter has been identified as Ivan Lopez, age 34, a soldier. Take that with a grain of salt, it seems awfully early for identification even if the shooter is dead. Four dead and fourteen wounded as of the latest report.

It is stunning that security hasn’t been improved or that it simply doesn’t work. I imagine the victims were unarmed (soldiers aren’t allowed to carry arms on base, ironically) so they made for easy targets. Mass shooters don’t like to go up against anyone who can put up a fight and ultimately are cowards.

Doesn’t sound like terrorism like Hassan, but something personal.

My prayers and heart go out to the families and victims involved.

Headlines: Shootings and Armstrong Is a Doper

Early reports of three to four dead near the Empire State Building in New York City with the gunman dead. Like I have written before, I expect to see a lot more of this as society slowly comes apart at the seams. Too many economic and social pressures are causing marginally stable people to crack.

Meanwhile, Anders Breivik gets twenty one years for killing seventy seven people in Norway. He is eligible for early release in a mere decade. Way to protect your public, Norway!

The other big story is that Lance Armstrong quit defending himself and has been found guilty of doping. All seven Tour de France titles have been stripped from him. It puzzles me that people did not believe he was doping when that sport is completely dishonest. Frankly, all sports are populated by cheaters and dopers now and are not worth following. Certainly, the athletes should not be made heroes at this point, but the masses are desperate for secular gods.

Yes, Idiots Mistake Sikhs for Muslims

Something that irked me about commenters on some right wing blogs (not owners or official posters) has been the immediate rejection of the idea that the temple shooter in Wisconsin might have confused the Sikhs with Muslims. While I despise the use of the word “reactionary,” this seems to fit the situation. It is not an illogical motive for the murders and certainly not out of the realm of speculation.

Depending on whether the neo-Nazi left any letters behind, we will possibly find out what his real motivation. It probably was pure racism, rather than against a specific religion, but I have found white supremacist types to be ignorant middle grade morons so getting two very different beliefs confused would be easy. Time may tell.

Actually, many educated people have no clue who the Sikhs are for that matter. About the only portrayal in mass media I can remember would have been Bend It Like Beckham ten years ago. With the growth in immigrants from India in the past twenty years or so, people would be wise to get a little more familiar with the various cultures and religion from that large nation.

My father just returned from a two week stay with my sister and on the way down on Amtrak he had a conversation with a Sikh gentleman. The topic of being mistaken for being a Muslim came up and the man said that he had experienced that kind of hostility. He also said the people responsible for that reaction were idiots. The conversation took place well before the shootings.

14 Dead and 50 Wounded at The Dark Knight Rises Premiere

Having trouble sleeping thanks to a mouse running around (since dispatched), I got online to find out that a midnight showing in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, Colorado was attacked by a gunman wearing body armor and a gas mask. Just watched an interview here with a survivor who had friends in the specific theater and it sounds like the shooter used an AR-15 and at least one tear gas grenade. Also, the killer waited in the parking lot for the police to arrive and is in custody.

Speculation is rampant, but there is no given reason for the shooting yet. It could be terrorism, but it probably is a nutcase again. Since the theme of the movie is terrorism, it no surprise that people are thinking that. One thing is for sure, he wanted to be caught and get attention.

Hearsay is that a baby was shot and children are among the victims, including a little girl seen with bullet holes in her back.

It is horrific and sure to generate a lot of political blame all over the place, but I wish people would just leave that alone until we get the motives of the shooter.

Another local talked on camera that the theater was not considered one of the safest in the area and usually had three police officers in the lobby. With so many people dressing in costumes for the movie, how would anyone tell the threat was real at first?

It is the typical confusion and it will be awhile before a true picture emerges.

The irony of the movie being about a society disintegrating into violence and terrorism is profound, not to mention depressing. My fear is that we will see a lot more of this kind of thing once the economy collapses completely.

My prayers go out to the victims, their families, and their friends.

UPDATE

Things are still murky, but at least the death toll has been reduced to twelve. The baby has been verified as being three months old and being treated at a hospital and so is a six year old girl.

People commenting online are angering me greatly from both the left and the right. It may be my lack of sleep, but I wish I could slap them silly. Attempts to make it a racial or religious issue irks me no end. The area is mixed and so was the audience.

Name of suspect is James Holmes, 24, with only a traffic ticket for a record in Aurora.

UPDATE

The baby was uninjured, the parents were concerned and wanted the child checked out. Tear gas is confirmed and that was smart of them to do.

Supposedly the gunman entered the theater by kicking down an exit door by the screen during an on screen gun fight.

Mitt Romney is being dinged by idiots for saying 15 killed, for awhile the live coverage said that an additional person had died at a hospital raising it to that number. I know that because I was watching it and that tells me Mr. Romney was too. Non issue folks.

Likewise, the proximity of a large Muslim community to Aurora has nothing to do with what happened. It is like people want this to be worse than it already is so they can grind axes. Sigh.

UPDATE

Imagine surviving a crazed gunman on the rampage only to be killed by another six weeks later. This may turn out to be one of the most tragic stories out of the shootings. It is made even more poignant by her last tweet waiting for the movie to start.

Meanwhile, the media has decided to try to pin the killings on Rush Limbaugh and the Tea Party movement both. And they wonder why they only have a 26% approval rating with the American public.

Then there is one of Howard Stern's pranksters calling in and posing as cop with a local TV station. What slime.

After those last two items, I do not feel very motivated to keep up with the news.