Mr. Hannity: "There is no appeasing this enemy." (p. 6)

My response: By its very nature, terrorism is a drastic form of negotiation. It is defined as the threat or use of wanton violence to frighten governments in order to achieve a political goal. Just as a baby kicks and screams in an attempt to force his parents to give him what he wants, terrorists use violence hoping to leverage the US into complying with their demands. However, there are two noteworthy differences between the baby and the grownup terrorist. One is that the terrorists' ultimate objectives are usually just and legitimate. Second, "Islamic" terrorists are prepared to go to great lengths for their cause, even to die for it--precisely because it is just. To summarize, terrorists attempt to achieve a good end through bad means.

During General David Petraeus' reports to Congress, we learned that former Sunni insurgents have begun fighting on our side in Iraq. Sunday, I came across a London Times article that states:

Most leaders and the press view violence against women and children as just "a women's issue" or "a children's issue" - in their minds, a secondary issue. But it's not only that millions of women and children are victims of violence in their homes every year; the fact is that intimate violence provides a basic model for using force to impose one's will on others.

When children either experience or observe violence against their mothers in their homes, they learn that it's ok, even "moral," to use violence to impose one's will on others. This is why throughout history, the most violently despotic and warlike societies have been those where violence, or the threat of violence, is used to maintain domination of parent over child and man over woman.

This is part three.  Part two is here.

Last week the Courtney campaign asked that inappropriate internet campaign attack ads be removed.  Last week, began a sequence of local and national school shootings and bomb threats that leave the nation grieving and searching for answers.

Inside the Washington beltway, America has learned the depths of depravity that Republicans have exercised while praising Jesus, waving the American flag, and systematically dismantling the Constitution, Geneva Conventions, and Habeas Corpus.

And yet, shocking as Representative Foley's cyber-stalking of young boys may be, following the trail of Representative Rob Simmons' supporters into the shadows of violent gaming sites is equally disturbing and disorienting.  As I write this, a CNN news story features a misguided crusader claiming that Harry Potter books are harmful to young people.

What is an act of terror and how does it differ from other terrible violence? A letter to Samina, during this season of reflection and repentence.

Over the last several months, I have been following a number of articles and threads regarding basic civility (or perhaps I should say lack thereof) as regards blogging.  The Mena Trott, Ben Metcalfe dust-up at Les Blogs last December is a prime example.  Ad hominem attacks seem to be de rigueur, these days.  Any and all petty grievances get aired without the slightest thought to consequence, indeed; without any thought at all.  The rhetoric, in general, has recently ratcheted up to alarming proportions.  Threats of actual violence are becoming more common, usually by those ill-equipped to compete with an increasingly informed public.  I have also noted a propensity toward racial and sexual bias.  These posters seem to target the easily identifiable - with women the primary target.  

And you thought internecine religious wars were over:

Muslims Clash Over Oakland Liquor Stores

OAKLAND, Calif. - They weren't your ordinary thugs. Dressed in bow ties and dark suits, nearly a dozen men carrying metal pipes entered a corner store, shattered refrigerator cases and smashed bottles of liquor, wine and beer, terrifying the clerk but stealing nothing.

They just wanted to leave a message: Stop selling alcohol to fellow Muslims.

Somebody needs a "time out".

[Front-paged at ePluribus Media]

By late 2004, PBS had begun reporting on the affects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on soldiers serving in Iraq. Clear figures on Afghanistan/Iraq War PTSD cases are currently unavailable; however, sensible estimates may be arrived at by examining some of the data which presently does exist.

• In July 2004, researchers at Walter Reed Hospital published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting 11-18% of current WoT vets had PTSD.
• In July 2005, the Army surgeon general asserted that a full 30% of US troops surveyed have developed stress-related mental health problems.
• Since 2001, at least 1 million troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Extrapolating from the above information, 110,000 to 180,000 individuals may be at risk for developing PTSD. Additionally, it's been reported that nearly 90 veterans have committed suicide while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or after returning home.

How does this affect the families, communities, and society these soldiers come back to?

Although incidents of violence at the hands of returning soldiers towards family members and strangers alike are increasing stateside, statistics on these homicides or suicides are not tracked (surprise) by the Pentagon nor the massively under-funded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). To rectify this, 3 months ago I began collecting news reports of PTSD-related incidents.

What follows is the third update to the Returning Vet PTSD Incidents List...

[Front-paged at My Left Wing, cross-posted at Daily Kos.]

This photo was taken on March 25, 2003.

Snapped by AP and published in newspapers and magazines world-wide a week following the invasion, Army medic Pfc. Joseph Dwyer carries an injured Iraqi boy to safety.

Caught in the crossfire in a fierce battle near the village of Al Faysaliyah, the lines of hero and victim appear to be well-defined, not blurred.

October 7, 2005.
Dwyer arrested after a 3 hour standoff with police in which he discharged 'volley after volley' of gunfire in his apartment.

Dwyer (who'd joined the military 2 days after the September 11th terrorist attacks) returned home to accolades -- and to dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had an apparently strong safety net of family, friends, and neighbors. He was well-liked and welcomed home as a hero. Yet, he slid into the horror of PTSD washing over 70,000 of our nation's returning veterans.

Pfc. Joseph Dwyer's family wishes to draw attention to the plight of returning vets dealing with PTSD as a result of the war in Iraq. His story, gravely, is one of far too many.

Now why would I say something like that? She's one of the celebs of Air America Radio and a darling of the liberal left. But she has recently come dangerously close to being a full-fledged gay basher, whether intentional or not.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Randi and agree with much of what she has to say. But in the last couple of weeks I have had to endure Ms. Rhodes, (and other "liberals", including members of several liberal blogging communities), mouthing off endlessly about how members of the Bush Administration are evil incarnate because they are allegedly a group of repressed, self-loathing homosexuals.