The work of a madman
The accused Colorado gunman appears in court Monday. AP Photo
The suspect in Friday’s horrific shooting at a Colorado movie theater appeared in court today and didn’t speak a word. Police have said he isn’t speaking while in their custody, either, so it could be some time before we learn whether there was any kind of motivation for the man charged with murdering (as of now) 12 people and wounding dozens more.
My rule of thumb in these cases, absent any evidence, is to begin by assuming they are the work of madmen with thoughts and beliefs unthinkable to the vast, vast majority of us. Until investigators and reporters closer to the situation uncover more about the accused, I would argue that’s a good working basis for all of us.
At Hot Air, Mary Katharine Ham has compiled an excellent series of brief sketches from various news outlets about the 12 who have died so far (there are others with life-threatening wounds), complete with photos. I’m struck that survivors said five of the 12 died protecting others, including two soldiers and a Navy veteran who gave their lives.
***
This post is rather late in the day and pretty brief, and there are reasons for that. Among other things, I have a family funeral to attend tomorrow and two speaking engagements soon afterward for which I need to prepare today. I plan to post something tomorrow morning, but it may be a couple of days before I’m blogging on a regular schedule again. Thanks in advance for your patience, and please try to keep it clean on the comment threads in the meantime.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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261 comments Add your comment
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
5:05 pm
Braves picked up Ryan Dempster. A MUCH improved pitcher from our current crop of crap.
Skip
July 23rd, 2012
5:05 pm
Anyone know what rank he held in the militia ? I wondered if he was officer or enlisted.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 23rd, 2012
5:07 pm
The president got into the act too. He “condemned U.S. gun laws as ‘mistaken’ and urged Washington to review them after a shooter killed 12 people and injured more than 50 others at a U.S. movie theater on Friday,” Reuters reports, quoting his tweet: “Because of the Aurora, Colorado tragedy, the American Congress must review its mistaken legislation on guns. It’s doing damage to us all.”
If one person in that audience, seated in the right location, had been in possession of a Nine with laser sights, a whole lot more people would be uninjured and around to tell their loves that they are fine.
But the theater barred concealed carry.
Well, guess who didn’t have any problems getting their weapons through the door.
That’s right, the criminal.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
5:07 pm
Bruno
AND THIS ONE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdu9apXE2W4
Oblama
July 23rd, 2012
5:09 pm
Get ready for it ’cause this gutless punk is going to plead insanity. Can I be on the jury please?
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
5:09 pm
” “Because of the Aurora, Colorado tragedy, the American Congress must review its mistaken legislation on guns. It’s doing damage to us all.””
Good luck with that one. I hope he campaigns on the anti-gun angle because he’ll instantly lose a few states up for grabs.
SwamiDave
July 23rd, 2012
5:11 pm
Slick Rick
“…and the repeal of the “right to bear arms” is the only solution to our gun crazy problem.”
Based on your suggestion for repeal, are you recommending a Constitutional amendment? If so, then you are free to propose that as a means to achieve your intended ends. However, as the right of private citizens to own firearms is guaranteed under our Constitution within our Bill of Rights, ending it would need to follow the prescribed process of amendment.
-SD
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
5:11 pm
But ..but..but…Bush did it. JamVet said so.
The Hill Poll: Voters blame president most for slow economic recovery
http://thehill.com/polls/239377-the-hill-poll-majority-of-voters-blame-president-for-bad-economy
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
5:12 pm
If strict gun laws are so great why do cities with strict gun laws have more gun related deaths than in cities without them?
BTW, the Colorado gunman is a left winger.
They BOTH suck
July 23rd, 2012
5:17 pm
Enter your comments here
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
5:17 pm
From the lovely JamVet
“It probably was a moronic business decision by the son of the Christian chicken dude.
They already have the agents of intolerance demographic.
All this might do is alienate the other people who might just take their chicken business elsewhere, instead of giving it to bigots and small minded people stuck in the 1950s.”
JamVet must own a large successful business since he gives out business advice over the AJC blogs.
Dusty
July 23rd, 2012
5:21 pm
Well, I am sorry Kyle will be away for a few days, ’specially for a family funeral. But it does sound like his career is going well, what with two speeches coming up soon. Most interesting.
But our sympathies for the terrible tragedy may wear thin before long. Tragedies are so horrible and taxing and no understanding can ever be reached.
I know! BRUNO is going to start school again so we can help him with his homework. What are your subjects, Bruno? Just tell us and we’ll be ready to go!! My pencils are sharpened!
They BOTH suck
July 23rd, 2012
5:21 pm
Logic
Express your unsaid love for JamVet and be done with it.
See if he wants to get a room or something
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
5:22 pm
JamVet must own a large successful business since he gives out business advice over the AJC blogs.
Any particular reason you seem so obsessed with JamVet, Logic??
Slick Rick
July 23rd, 2012
5:25 pm
@ SwamiDave – Your use of wikipedia is mighty impressive. Well done, old chap, well done.
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
5:28 pm
What are your subjects, Bruno? Just tell us and we’ll be ready to go!! My pencils are sharpened!
I’m probably going to start off with some Differential Geometry or Tensor Calculus. I need to brush up on my Point Set Topology as well. Can I count on you for some tutoring??
Jefferson
July 23rd, 2012
5:29 pm
SD has brown eyes.
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
5:30 pm
Dusty–Some extra brownie points for you if you can figure out what those three course apply to……
Matz
July 23rd, 2012
5:35 pm
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
4:11 pm
BTW, I noticed that Kyle didn’t mention the suspect by name. I have to believe that was intentional, and for good reason. The media pretty much turns folks like him into celebrities. If we communally adopted a policy by which you lose your status as a member of society by committing a crime like that, it might possibly reduce the number of incidences. Banish his name.
*******************
AMEN! I do not want to see this creep’s face or hear his name EVER. And when some ho “reporter” finds is diary or blog ramblings, I don’t want to hear those either. This celebrity treatment only encourages every other unbalanced loser creep who feels invisible to make a name for himself. Put him in a “spider hole” and forget him!
Bob Baldwin
July 23rd, 2012
5:37 pm
Anybody got a solution to this problem?
Or is there no problem sfter all?
Doubt if our Founding Fathers had individuals being armed with “WMDs” when they wrote the 2nd Amendment. If the shooter had been armed with a musket, he might have killed one person.
Shark Punch!
July 23rd, 2012
5:40 pm
Why does the media help make celebrities out of people like this by posting their pictures? I can still picture an online image (though not from the AJC) of the VA Tech shooter pointing his handgun at the viewer. Truly poor taste on that one.
That this was a terrible tragedy should transcend any politics, but lo-and-behold there are enough people from both sides of the spectrum who would attempt to leverage it to support their own personal agenda. Reprehensible.
Dusty
July 23rd, 2012
5:42 pm
So the BRAVES picked up Ryan Dempster? I don’t know much about him. Hope he’s a good pitcher. GO BRAVES! Play another game like you did the other night . From 0 to 9 to a win with 11 to 10! WHAT A GAME!!
With that happy thought, I am off to fix the spaghetti. Where’s that can opener?
Contarded To The Core, Hate for no other reason, except..,
July 23rd, 2012
5:49 pm
@Logic(????)
“Bush never said ‘my daughters could have been on those planes’.”
It’s called (say it with me now)…E-M-P-A-T-H-Y
Of course, this is a totally foreign concept for a person of your character profile. You are obviously one of those who are deluded when it comes to the President. I think the term is O.D.S.
Michael H. Smith
July 23rd, 2012
5:52 pm
Yeah, I got a personal agenda: Let these families grieve their loss and bury their dead in peace without the media and our extemporaneous comments, condolences are sufficient for the moment.
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
5:53 pm
Doubt if our Founding Fathers had individuals being armed with “WMDs” when they wrote the 2nd Amendment. If the shooter had been armed with a musket, he might have killed one person.
Bob–It may not be much consolation to gun-control advocates, but death by firearms have been steadily falling in this country, both in absolute numbers and deaths per 100,000 people.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0764212.html
The majority of deaths by firearm are suicides, with almost all of the other deaths committed by felons and gang members. Accidental death by firearms is around 1100 per year, not a very high number considering there are about 235,000,000 guns in the US.
Dusty
July 23rd, 2012
5:54 pm
BRUNO
I am ready and willing to help you with calculus, tea leaf topography and baseline biobuffets. I’m not interested in invariant transformations.of mathematical persuasions.
I’m sure Platinum won’t mind my presence. I’ll stay on “key” and bring my guitar. (Do you happen to have any strings? )
I smell smoke. Later.!!!..
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
5:57 pm
It’s called (say it with me now)…E-M-P-A-T-H-Y
I attribute it more to N-A-R-C-I-S-S-I-S-M and P-O-L-I-T-I-C-A-L P-A-N-D-E-R-I-N-G.
Does using capital letters like that prove the point any better, Contarded??
jconservative
July 23rd, 2012
6:00 pm
I am frankly surprised by how little of this type crime we have in this country. The al Qaeda’s of the world must be of real low intelligence. This could happen on a scale of X100 everyday if al Qaeda had any ability at all.
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
6:03 pm
I’m sure Platinum won’t mind my presence. I’ll stay on “key” and bring my guitar. (Do you happen to have any strings? )
She’ll be happy to accompany you on piano, Dusty.
Unfortunately, she banned from her performances after I threatened to start “the wave” in order to liven things up a bit…….
Road Scholar
July 23rd, 2012
6:04 pm
Guns are legal under the 2nd amendment. And in keeping with all the talk in the recent past about what our founding fathers thought when writing the Constitution…they approved the ownership of single shot muskets. Now why do the citizenry need assault weapons? Is Bambi armed to the teeth?
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
6:06 pm
“Any particular reason you seem so obsessed with JamVet, Logic??”
Nope, just don’t like the guy.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
6:08 pm
Dusty
Dempster is good.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
6:08 pm
“Of course, this is a totally foreign concept for a person of your character profile.”
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
So tell me what I’m missing there, sport.
Matz
July 23rd, 2012
6:09 pm
Experts estimate that 1 in 25 people is a sociopath, and hence incapable of experiencing empathy. The capacity simply does not exist in their brain structures, although they can learn to fake it from watching others. From reading what’s written here, it would appear that percentage triples or quadruples on a conservotard blog.
They BOTH suck
July 23rd, 2012
6:13 pm
“Nope, just don’t like the guy.”
Do you post the same tripe and cry over every person you do not like?
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
6:14 pm
” From reading what’s written here, it would appear that percentage triples or quadruples on a conservotard blog.”
Funny how left wingers always call right wingers names and then go off and shoot up movie theaters, universities and army bases.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 23rd, 2012
6:14 pm
“Do you post the same tripe and cry over every person you do not like?”
No, but I do like to mock and ridicule people like you.
They BOTH suck
July 23rd, 2012
6:18 pm
“No, but I do like to mock and ridicule people like you.”
Keep demonstrating your intellect. It amazes even the right leaning folks on this blog. See the earlier post from a right leaning blogger as example A.
Good day
Lord Help Us
July 23rd, 2012
6:20 pm
Movie theater dark and crowded…
tear gas begins to disperse and people start to panic…
gunshots start…panic and confusion escalate…
I do not understand how one can think that, in this scenario, more people with guns…as in, more shooters, more bullets flying…would make for a better result.
Skip
July 23rd, 2012
6:27 pm
Lord, that’s where friendly fire comes from.
Bob Baldwin
July 23rd, 2012
6:27 pm
Bruno July 23rd, 2012
5:53 pm
Bob–It may not be much consolation to gun-control advocates, but death by firearms have been steadily falling in this country, both in absolute numbers and deaths per 100,000 people.
True. We haven’t had any deaths from A or H Bombs since WW2, but I don’t expect that to be a valid justification to let anybody have them. Otherwise, we would not have a problem with Iran, N. Korea, etc. having them.
Matz
July 23rd, 2012
6:33 pm
I don’t think there’s anything more we can do. This country was founded by rebels and thieves. We are the wild, wild west. Our entire culture glorifies it. We elect Presidents based on how closely they can emulate John Wayne’s swagger, or offer a hushed synonym to “make my day” to our most dangerous enemies. Those who say the other guys are trying to or planning to take our guns away are lying. (You didn’t send them money did you? Hahaha!) If they react to this insanity by actually trying to do what the cold dead finger crowd dread, it’ll never work.
This is the world we made, folks. This is the world we live in.
They BOTH suck
July 23rd, 2012
6:34 pm
Woodstock
Time for weak minded individuals like you to address what people post not what you say they posted.
F. Sinkwich
July 23rd, 2012
6:35 pm
RIP, Sally Ride.
Our nation’s first female astronaut.
Plus she was pretty hot.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 23rd, 2012
6:36 pm
I never thought I’d have to clarify but I guess there are some simpletons around.
The second gun would have laid the laser dot on the bridge of the first shooters nose and, well, blowed his brains out. End of massacre. It seems pretty simple to understand. Do you perhaps think the second gun toter would have excitedly helped out the first?
Weird.
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
6:43 pm
This country was founded by rebels and thieves. We are the wild, wild west.
I guess we must have read different history books, Matz. The one I read states that our country was founded by people seeking religious freedom and freedom from oppressive governments. And yes, freedom comes with a price, a price I’m willing to pay.
Lord Help Us
July 23rd, 2012
6:43 pm
‘I never thought I’d have to clarify but I guess there are some simpletons around.’
No need to clarify.
It is quite simple. As evidenced by the shooter in this case, not all gun owners are sane. Imagine that 10 people in that audience are packing…shots, panic and confusion begin. Perhaps one or two accurately assess the situation, but, there is a good chance that in the panic and confusion several inaccurately assess the situation.
One could assess that the person shooting the initial shooter is the ‘bad guy.’ Perhaps, in the dark, and amidst the panic and confusion, multiple gun carriers inaccurately assess the situation.
If it were you, you would probably soil yourself and then shoot yourself…
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
6:47 pm
Wait a minute. I just got word that our country was actually founded by Al Gore.
Bruno
July 23rd, 2012
6:49 pm
Special for Matz:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA51wyl-9IE
For my buds JamVet and TBS also ^^^^^^^^
md
July 23rd, 2012
6:59 pm
“Anyone know what rank he held in the militia ?”
“I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.”
— George Mason, in Debates in Virginia Convention on Ratification of the Constitution