I was saddened when I learned of the tragic shooting at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute this past Monday. It had all the tragic earmarks in place and has turned out to be the worst single case of gun violence in US history. I add my thoughts to all of those grieving for lost friends and loved ones and pray that God gives them strength in their time of suffering.

And yet somehow, the midst of this shocking, horrific event, something even uglier has started to rear its head. The need by some, to blame the victims of this unspeakable tragedy for what happened. You heard me right, some people are now talking about how this could have been avoided if only the students and faculty at Virginia Tech had stood up to Cho Seung-Hui and pulled a “Let’s roll!” number on him.

I witnessed this conversation no less than twice today, and both times they came from local radio station 101.1 WZTK Talk Radio. The first was during the national broadcast of right-wing goon Neal Boortz who entertained the idea that state run institutions, and schools in general are teaching our kids that the government will “take care of you” in all things, and so there is no need to defend yourself. He said they should have rushed the shooter to take him down. If they had, Boortz and caller agreed, this bloodbath could have been avoided.

I think I feel sick.

The second time was during the Allan Handleman show when his guest, Ted Nugent, advocated that this massacre couldn’t possibly have happened if the campus had not been designated as a “gun-free zone”. Yep, Nugent argued that if only the general student populace was allowed to carry concealed weapons, someone undoubtedly would have shot this kid before he got as far as he did.

Boortz is an ass-hat of the highest order. He consistently chooses inflammatory positions, rails against progressives and rarely lets callers who disagree with him get a word in, so his comments don’t surprise me, they just continue to disgust me. When someone has broken into your classroom, killed your teacher and starts shooting wildly, I know my first instinct is to jump up, and rush the guy, not dive under the nearest desk. Yeah, that’s what I’d do, and I’m sure that’s what Boortz would do as well. Like I said, asshat!

As far as Handelman goes, I like him alot. He’s usually very fair and argues from a position of logic and reason. But not today. Today he was one step behind Nugent and his “let’s arm everyone!” agenda and it really, really bothered me. Shame on you Allan! Just for a moment, let’s pretend that Virgina Tech wasn’t a gun free zone and students could carry concealed handguns on their persons. How many parents do you think would send their kids to that college? Would you feel safer or more scared knowing that there could be a loaded weapon parked in the backpack of the person sitting in front of you? And please don’t tell me “accidental miss-firings never happen”. If the Secret Service has problems like these, what do you think the rate of accidents would be on a college campus?

In both of these cases, these people were railing against the victims of Virginia Tech. There is nothing that turns my stomach more than placing blame where it has NO BUSINESS BEING, especially to push an agenda. Common sense tells us that the students in harm’s way this past Monday did what they did out of survival. Who are we to judge them? Has Boortz, Nugent or Handelman walked a mile in their shoes? Have they crouched terrified on a stairwell while shots ring out all around them? We need to support these people, not second-guess them. They need to know that we approve of what they did and how they conducted themselves, and that we would have done the exact same thing in their place. All of us need to heal, and these men’s words are serving only to inflict further harm. Stop it. Now.

UPDATE – I’m not the only one asking people to stop blaming the victims of this tradegy. Keith Olberman has some pretty strong words for three such individuals on last night’s “World’s Worst” segment. And lest our right-wing friends think otherwise, Think Progress reminds us that even President Bush backed “gun-free” zones in the debates running up to the 2000 election. Why? Because they make sense for schools, plain and simple.

UPDATE II – Local talk radio hosts Brad & Britt have added their voices to those denouncing the comments of Neal Boortz, calling his tirade of blame against the victims “reprehensible” and “disgusting”. Bravo to you guys for standing up to him on this issue, and on your own radio station 101.1 WZTK Talk Radio no less. Well done guys.

I’ve heard a great deal of discussion lately that the so-called “surge” of US troops is quelling violence in Iraq. While violent incidents inside Bagdad do seem to be down, it appears the killing has just moved outside the city as predicted. This is the classic game of wack-a-mole that so many said would happen.

Doubt it?

Here is a small five item snipet from an hour-by-hour account of incidents that occurred in Iraq on Monday, April 9th, 2007. For the complete list go read the full timeline. Things are not getting better despite what some would have you believe, and now the Pentagon says it must extend the tour of duty of 15,000 soldiers (4 brigades) to up to 120 days. Why? So that the surge can continue. Read the entire thing and pay attention to the location of the incidents. Of all of these, only three occurred within Bagdad proper.

• 4:30 a.m. Clashes erupted again in Buhriz, about 35 miles north of Baghdad, between gunmen and al-Qaida in Iraq fighters. Thirty civilians and gunmen were wounded, Diyala provincial police said. Al-Qaida casualties were not known.

• 9 a.m. A roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. patrol in the Al-Nile district, 12 miles north of Hilla. There were no known casualties, police said.

• 9:30 a.m. Police in Hilla south of Baghdad found the bullet-riddled, handcuffed and blindfolded body of an unidentified man, a spokesman for the Babil provincial police said.

• 10 a.m. A roadside bomb targeting an American patrol exploded in Jebala, 40 miles south of Baghdad. A Babil province police spokesman said it was not known if there were any U.S. casualties because American forces sealed the areas.

• 10 a.m. Gunman in a car shot and killed a civilian in Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad, according to Babil provincial police.

• More…

Others have said it, and I’ll say it here again. There is no good military solution in Iraq. Their problems are systemic and only sociological and political changes will solve them. It won’t make a difference if we stay in country 5 years or 50 years. Not one damned bit.

I for one am glad to see Congress finally taking an active role in its Constitutional duty to both enforce checks and balances as well as potential criminal activity. For the past 6 years, the country has turned a blind eye as the GOP in the House and Senate has rubber stamped everything Bush has done, said or asked for.

No longer, and it feels like a breath of fresh air.

Today’s exchange between Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Al Gore and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is a perfect example of why Americans voted for change this past November. The reaction in the room speaks volumes as does Gore’s quiet resolve to state his side of the story despite the seething and loathing that Inhofe has for him. Go watch it.

With the conviction of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby on four of five counts in the Valarie Plame case, attention has naturally turned to the potential pardon of the man by President Bush. Newsweek recently ran a piece saying that Bush may indeed pardon Scooter, but he’ll be flaunting Justice Department rules and regulations to do it:

Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff does not qualify to even be considered for a presidential pardon under Justice Department guidelines.

From the day he took office, Bush seems to have followed those guidelines religiously. He’s taken an exceedingly stingy approach to pardons, granting only 113 in six years, mostly for relatively minor fraud, embezzlement and drug cases dating back more than two decades.

While 113 may seem like a great deal, in the grand scheme of history, its just a drop in the Presidential Pardon Bucket. Bill Clinton, for example, issued 456 pardons during his eight years in office. Ronald Reagan issued almost as many – 406. G.W. Bush’s dad however was mighty stingy with his pardons, he issued a measly 77.

So while Bush seems to be on track to not pardoning Libby, I think their assertion that Bush won’t do it due to Justice Department guidelines is baseless. This president has taken to bending and sometimes even breaking the law when it suited him. The pardon of Scooter Libby is not an act that he’ll have to pay for politically. He is not seeking re-election and his poll numbers are already in the basement. Additionally, no matter what Time Magazine may say, Vice President Cheney still has Bush’s ear and probably his balls in his back pocket, and so I am going to make the prediction that Bush will indeed pardon Libby. Cheney wants the Plame affair to end as soon as possible for obvious reasons, so I think its just a question of when. I’m going to go on record and say that Bush will issue the pardon no later than the end of May. If I had to put money on an actual date, I’d pick Friday, April 27th. The Bush administration loves to make Fridays punching bags for bad news to delay the 24 hours news cycle a bit.

What about you, do you think Scooter will get a pass? If you do, go ahead and pick a date in the comments thread. If and when it happens, we’ll see just who wins. Price Is Right rules apply, so the closest person to pick the actual date without going over wins. And what exactly is the prize? How about plain ol’ bragging rights? Come on down!