At Time magazine, the same fool who was whooping up and down with joy on Tuesday that no US soldiers died in Iraq in March (I thought Time's official position was that there were no US troops in Iraq) is now attempting to bore us all with his ignorance on Wednesday's Fort Hood shooting.
". . . but apparently another grudge held by an angry Fort Hood soldier who elected to take matters into his own hands, with his own gun."
But apparently?
Translation: "I'm typing but I don't know anything so let me 'advance' the story via gas baggery as opposed to real journalism."
Real journalism, Mark, is asking questions.
The main question the press needs to be asking is: How did it happen again?
Accepting at face value Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's nonsense?
Hagel says, "When we have these kinds of tragedies on our bases, something’s not working. We will continue to address the issue. Anytime you lose your people to these kinds of tragedies, it’s an issue, it’s a problem."
No, you haven't addressed anything.
If you had, it wouldn't be a mad scramble.
Why Ivan Lopez (the shooter who killed three others and then took his own life) did what he did?
No one may ever know.
But the question that needs to be asked right now is what the hell is going on with the Defense Dept?
This is the second attack at Fort Hood.
Now I don't live in a terror red alert fear.
But is there a chance that there could be a terrorist attack on a US military base in the US in the next 40 years?
Yes.
In fact, the chances went up with yesterday's shooting.
Why the hell does the Defense Department not have secure plans in place?
In 2009, it was not just a tragedy, it was shocking.
In 2014, the tragedy remains. The shock, however, becomes that DoD has nothing in place in the years since to prevent and manage an attack.
Heads should be rolling. The same military base got attacked again?
Was nothing learned?
I don't want to hear 'these things happen.' It's funny but the same people who try to use a school shooting as political football to scream for restrictions on guns, are the same ones who will say, "These things happen."
No, these things don't happen.
This is a military base.
In its original inception, military bases aren't holding structures for troops to be sent overseas, they're there to provide security should the country be attacked.
What security is provided when they can't even protect themselves?
The administration has failed.
Questions need to be asked and people need to realize this second attack on Fort Hood exposes all US military bases to attacks -- and maybe, some day, by foreigners.
If Ivan Lopez had attacked a nuclear power plant and had the same results, we'd be asking questions about security, about standard operating procedures and so much more.
The administration has failed.
In part, that's to be expected when Barack, in year six of his presidency, is on his third Secretary of Defense.
Why did Lopez have a gun on him -- especially when he was seeking treatment? Why were there no Standard Operating Procedures for those on the base who were struggling and seeking help?
The takeaway is that the US can't even protect their own military bases -- on domestic soil!
That's the issue people need to be discussing.
Ivan Lopez is dead. His motives will be guessed at.
But this is the second attack on Fort Hood and yet again people are dead. How the hell did this happen? Not "What was Ivan Lopez thinking!"
How the hell did this happen?
Why are there not procedures in place?
3 people are dead and they shouldn't be. The previous Fort Hood shooting was obviously ignored and responded to poorly.
Those living and working on US military bases in the US should have every expectation that they'll be safe.
This issue needs to be addressed.
Why Lopez did what he did will always be a guess.
But how he was able to goes straight to the safety of those on bases and, yes, the safety of the United States.
Questions need to be asked, serious questions.
If the US government is unable to guarantee security on US military bases on US soil, that's an issue that needs Congressional oversight.
This is the second time at Fort Hood during Barack Obama's presidency. He is commander in chief.
Not of the people. We don't live in a military junta.
He is commander in chief of the US military.
And somebody is failing them. If it's not Barack, then he should be demanding to know who it is.
And Congress should be calling for hearings on this issue.
This isn't minor, this actually goes to US security. It needs to be taken seriously.
There is now, in the world, a perception that the United States can't protect their own military bases. Ignoring that perception doesn't make it go away. Addressing it publicly can put it to rest.
The following community sites -- Susan's On the Edge, Ms. magazine's blog, Pacifica Evening News, Antiwar.com and Jake Tapper -- updated:
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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