The police did what they thought was the right thing to do. I'm sure they are having a hard time not beating themselves up about what they "if only" could have done already. We don't need the media speculating on whether or not they could have had a stroke of divine inspiration and foretold that a mass shooting would take place.

Unless and until the media and the blogosphere would like to be the people charged with informing the students what to do next, would like to be the people running toward the gunshots instead of away, would like to be the people desparately trying to end the unfolding tragedy instead of standing there jawing about it, would like to be the ones thinking bloodsweep, JVD, airway, get a backboard, would like to be the ones in the CISD the next day, would like to be the ones saying "I wish we could have...", unless you would like to do those things, butt out.

The students are going to feel this way. After any disaster or tragedy, victims express feelings that they think more could have been done. That's natural. What is ghoulish is for the distant electronic bystanders who know next to nothing about it to pile on.

...is that it is unpredictable when facing the future, but has a clear logical history when facing the past.

I dropped out of school on my first try. Before I did so, I was "flagged" by professors, withdrew somewhat, and probably said disturbing things. Had anyone gone into my background like the vast droves of media hounds, and pulled out random facts, they would have seen that I was "smart" had been good at math, but was studying something else, because I wanted to express myself, but wasn't particularly good at it. I had few friends, since everybody else was into the college spirit, and I was on my way out.

I never did anything like what Cho Seung-Hui did, or ever contemplated it. And you wouldn't have thought I would either. There wasn't a lot wrong with me, only that I had flunked out at fitting in. I did perfectly well later on at another school, where I had no trouble, had lots of friends, and so on. Had he not done what he did, Cho would still be slipping along on the edge of the VA Tech community. But there are lots of people on the edge of any given college community. Nobody notices them, people don't try to understand them, professors typically flunk them. Other students think they're weird, but don't really think about them too often.

My point, is that before something like this happens, someone like Cho is not seen the same way they are seen afterward. Now, it may be obvious that he had signs of something profoundly wrong. Before, he didn't. At least it didn't add up to what it was. Is keeping to yourself, not fitting in, having no friends, being smart, and writing dark things a "gateway" to mass murder any more than psychprof's example about drugs? Somehow I think not. You don't always see bad things coming.

Derbyshire and Limbaugh have seen too many action movies, played too many violent video games, and spent too much time fantasizing about their manliness.

Oh, wait. That was Cho's profile.

It can be done, if you can ban the Communist Party, you can ban the NRA. Better yet, put it on a list of terrorist organizations. That way, if anyone has ever contributed to it, they can be thrown in jail. If, in addition, they are non-citizens, they can be deported. Even asylees need not be given so much as a place to live.

As for the folks at the top of the NRA? Life without parole. The foot soldiers? You are what you sign. Jail and a plea bargain. Confiscate their weapons, confiscate their ammunition, confiscate their houses, cars, and the rest of their toys. Many drug pushers have trafficked in less lethal cargo.

The NRA serves no useful purpose, and keeps lethal firearms in the hands of people who wreak havoc and terror. It is a terrorist organization. Ban it, and forget about amending the Constitution.

Don't try to tell me you are a law abiding member of the NRA. There is no such thing. I don't care how many gun safety classes you taught, how careful you are, or how many days a week you go to church, you have advocated the dissemination of killing machines. There are many penitentiaries you can go to to become penitent. We don't want recidivism, so we let you out when the last damn gun is off the streets. Fair enough?

Sorry. I was only trying to keep the hanger from being used for something else. Again. In one lifetime.

More people worry about losing their right to a gun than their right to an abortion. What a weird place.

I know, I know, confounding this, self-selected that. Then why don't you have an opinion on the latter?

Great idea. Let's start with Andrea Yates. Killed 5 children because of a predicted psychotic break due to post-partum depression. Sanctity of life? How many sacred lives would have been saved with one D&X?

...although they will do that too. They were put on the court to uphold signing statements and the unitary executive. Alito invented the current invocation of the signing statement. These guys are into power. Once in a while they throw a bone to constituencies like the Christians to keep them coming to the polls.