Seattle Shooting: Compassion and a Homeless Man

by Nomad

On Wednesday of this week, Seattle was the scene of another inexplicable random act of violence. A mentally-disturbed man armed   with two .45-caliber handguns,   walked into a corner coffee house and started shooting the patrons, leaving five people dead.

After stealing the hat from one of the victims, the attacker marched away and killed another person, and stole her car. Later turning the gun on himself, the man, Ian Stawicki, ended the murderous drama in the usual way. 

(This particular incident was somewhat marginalized by the horrific cannibalistic attack on a homeless man in Florida.)

It seems like these incidents have become so common these days, the coverage hardly makes any lasting impression on the public conscience. It's amazing how quickly society moves on.

Anyway, I found a story  related to this shooting that caught my attention. I thought I would share it. 

Police credit homeless felon for helping at tragic shooting

I agree that the article is a moving story, but I am not sure the reason why. Could it be because so many people think that homeless people have no feelings? 

Isn't it ironic that people could think that the homeless would lack a sense of empathy and compassion for a stranger in need?

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Related articles

• Compassion (thehomelessguy.blogspot.com)
• How government makes homelessness worse (wnd.com)
• Seattle gunman kills five people in shooting spree (theprovince.com)

The Angry Right Wing Voter: Have We Gone Too Far? 2/2

by Nomad

In the previous post, we examined the problem of rage, hate and anger that seems to have become an integral part of American politics these days. The questions I want to look at in this post deals with the sources for this anger. Apart from the general state of the economy, where does all this bitterness come from? Who is inciting this overreaction? How exactly do politicians benefit from the angry mob? 

Well Springs of Anger

One of the problems with having a two-party system is the strong possibility of polarization; when the middle ground dissolves and the only voices you hear are the most strident and angry. 
This puts the mainstream media- which has long surrendered its impartiality to its commercial demands- in something of a quandary. A sensible discussion is next to impossible.

Present the unadulterated truth, and one side is insulted and claims bias. The next best thing is to try to give equal time to both sides. But in the past, this too has made neither side particularly happy. 

The Angry Right Wing Voter: Have We Gone Too Far? 1/2

by Nomad

Just look around. It’s easy to see that America is seething. From the Tea Party to the Occupy movement, voters are infuriated with the direction of the country. In itself, that’s not news. With the economy the way it is, that's hardly a surprise. 

And Americans tend to take a personal interest in politics- despite the fact that only 54% of the population voted in the last presidential election. (And that's a high figure from previous elections too!) 

Of course, politics in the US has never been known for its calm reflection and careful thoughtful approach. However, what seems to happening with each election cycle is becoming a matter of concern. No matter what the outcome, growing numbers of Americans are automatically rejecting the results. This in turn pushes the anger to the next level. 

Friday Sanity Break: In A Capella

After dealing with Nazis and saluting bishops, I felt it was time for us leave the oft-discouraging world of politics, to clear our heads with some refreshing music. 
Here are three very different versions of the song, "Somebody that I used to know" by Gotye Here is Matthias Harris from London. 

I don't suppose he will touring any time soon. 
Let's go highbrow with The Netherlands Radio Choir, arranged by Jetse Bremer,  Very classy.

The last rendition is from Staten Island's PS 22. If you've never heard of this school then I invite you to spend some time at YouTube listening to any of the many songs they've put online. Their love for music is both infectious and inspiring.

You can find a few other interesting covers of this song but I will leave it there. By this time, after those three you may never get the song out of your head.  :) 

Have a great weekend.

The Church, Fascism and the Remarks of Bishop Daniel Jenky

by Nomad

In the Footsteps of Hitler 

Sometimes you hear statements by supposed authorities that sound so unbelievable you really have to wonder about their grasp on reality.

Take this recent remark by Bishop Daniel Jenky, who currently serves as Bishop of Peoria, Illinois.

As reported by ThinkProgress last month:

As part of a lengthy historical lecture on past attacks on the Catholic church, Jenky claimed that President Obama is following in the footsteps of Adolf Hitler:

The Church will survive the entrenched corruption and sheer incompetence of our Illinois state government, and even the calculated disdain of the President of the United States, his appointed bureaucrats in HHS, and of the current majority of the federal Senate. . . .

Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care.  In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.

On the Bishop's remarks, Think Progress article concludes :

The very suggestion that Obama or his actions even vaguely resemble those of the Third Reich is deeply offensive and calls into question whether Bishop Jenky possesses the most basic understanding of the history of Nazi Germany.