As a former educator/administrator who was deeply involved in campus security concerns for many years, I say the administration/campus security at VT could not possibly have reacted in a more incompetent fashion. They had a obvious murder(s) with no perpetrator in custody, and did not lock the campus down, did not use the most expedient methods to warn people on campus, and did not call in additional agencies to provide adequate protection.

"Stay in your room ..... report any unusual activity ..... ?????"

Jesus H. Christ !!!

I tried to promise myself that one post was enough and I wouldn't come back to this, but after reading all the letters, can't help myself. I was a trained and certified school safety and security assessor for over ten years. This job entailed going to campuses (of all sizes) and evaluating their physical plants for safety and emergency plans for security. In all my training on emergency planning, rule #1 that was drummed into me over and over, was that you always hope for the best in an emergency situation, but you plan (and react)for the absolute-worst-case-totally-spiralling-out-of-control scenario. Overreaction is ALWAYS preferable to an inadequate response! With a well thought out plan, adequate staff/student awareness and training, and good communications, any situation can be controlled and damage minimized. These are basic priniciples that have guided school security for years.

I have studied just about all the information currently available about this tragedy and here are my observations: 1. I'm sure VT had a plan in place to deal with a situation like this, but it does not seem that it was properly implemented. I don't care what anyone says, a campus of any size CAN be locked down quickly and relatively efficiently with proper planning.(Look at the number of responders who arrived within minutes when an emergency was finally broadcast) 2. I have serious questions about the level of information and training given to VT staff and students regarding emergency plans. 3. I have serious questions about the campus communications network. Did they really rely so much on e-mails? Does this place not have a simple PA system? Classroom phone system? Bell/klaxon warning system? 4. Why did the staff/students have to resort to barricading the doors to try to save themselves? Did the doors not have locks? Anything that would have even slowed the perpetrator down would have given authorities more time to react and saved lives.

I don't claim to know everything and have all the answers, but I think the system at VT did not do enough and ultimately failed those it was responsible for.

Thanks for today's article, Glenn. It was eye-opening, to say the least. In Update III, you link to SANE's website, and say you don't even know where to begin to comment about this. Let me make a suggestion: not just NeoCon, but NeoNAZI! Compare some of the pseudo-intellectual National Socialist literature from the 1920's onward (Hitler, Rosenberg, Goebbels, etc.)to SANE's articles. Sometimes it almost seems word for word. I almost expected to find negative references to Freemasons and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Hmmm ... I wonder if this study's methodology might be applied to certain of our current political leaders (of all persuasions) to determine if they are indeed cognizant, functioning entities. They certainly don't react as if they are. But then again, they would do much less damage if they really were in a permanent vegetative state ... right ???

Alex was far too nice to this simpleton. All Goldberg has proved is that any moron can come up with a vacuous thesis and base a total-waste-of-time book on it. Revisionist history? I have three degrees in history and I don't think it's either revisionist or history. It's just stupid.

I agree that Americans do have great faith in our military, and justifiably so. I also agree that our military is one of our most representative institutions. So why do we allow the subversion and corruption of such an indispensible establishment by sending it out to perform perverted tasks that it was never trained or equipped to do (like "nation-building")??? American militarism doesn't originate with our military, which understands that it's first and highest calling is to protect America, but with politicians and civilians who think that our young men are at their beck and call to fulfill their twisted visions of American superiority. We need to prove we're great through our humanity and by example, and not at gunpoint. If anyone thinks that's an exaggeration, think again. I was proud to serve in Vietnam, but I remember how the country was torn and how our military was degraded by that misguided fiasco. Forty years ago is far too short a time to have forgotten those lessons.

A good article. Funny, informative, and a great break from the usual election year crap. All you negative anal-retentives who wrote in need to "loosen up" a little! Relax your sphincters and let the sunshine in! Sometimes little things mean a lot!

When I consider the real threats to my freedoms (intellectual,religious, and otherwise), I don't feel at all intimidated by atheism, new or old. Religious fundamentalism, however, presents a very real challenge. It is much more organized, focused, and has made the political connections to impose itself on millions of people, whether they like it or not or even realize it.