John Rich for Governor

What do you even say to news like this?

If it happens, it’s going to be a treat to watch.

Lone Wolves

I know I’ve been remiss in talking about Pvt. Long’s killer and I know it seems weird, especially in the wake of my running around “We’re all going to die!” after Tiller was killed.

But here’s the truth of the matter.  It’s easy for me to talk about things that feel like they have a direct affect on me.  And the anti-abortion extremists, with their endgame of the subjugation of women, feels pretty damn personal.

I have brothers, as you know. And grew up in neighborhoods and houses full of boys. I’ve got people who are cops. I’ve got people who are in the military. And it is very hard for me to speak of the possibility of bad things happening to them.  The idea that a young soldier is targeted in his own country just because he’s a soldier is very hard for me to talk about.

But the thing is, too, I feel like Kevin, that Pvt. Long’s murder is not that different than Dr. Tiller’s murder or the murder of Mr. Johns.

Yes, the fact that it was committed by a Muslim extremist rather than a racial extremist or an abortion extremist does seem to make it different on the surface.  But look at their underlying beliefs–that the government is their enemy and illegitimate, that their god calls for a theocratic state, that the situation is so bad that they must take dire actions, that they must find their foes in places their victims consider safe (and often sacred).

Sara Robinson has a list of all the “the Jews are going to ruin us. The government is not ours!  Minorities are our enemies.” killings since Obama took office.  She doesn’t put Pvt. Long’s murder on the list, but it’s not hard for me to see how he kind of easily fits in.  If you just swapped out “white supremacist” for “Muslim extremist,” she could be talking about folks like him.

In fact, I think it’s important to see that all of these extremists are of a kind.  The outer wrapping is different, but the inner drives are the same and as long as they think that violence will achieve their ends and that the rest of us are just dupes and pawns of the government, we are all in danger from them.

Breaking News

My parents arrive today and I have cleaned my tub.  The rest of the house is in total chaos, but the tub is clean.

I take my victories where I can get them.