A WMD Attack On The United States?

Confederate Yankee reminds us that there has already been one (and only one) WMD attack on our country. It was in 1993: the first attempt to bring down the World Trade Towers. The person who put cyanide in the bomb that was a dud fled to Iraq, where he was protected by Saddam Hussein until our 2003 attack, which resulted in the deaths of Saddam's evil sons and the imprisonment and trial of Saddam.

Let's All Go For A Big Gulp!

According to Hugh Hewitt, 7/11 has announced that they will no longer buy Venezuelan oil!

John 3:16 (The Version According to My Five-Year-Old)

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have an interesting life." The author of this new version is on the left in the above picture.

Shot In The Head?

The shooting victim was sixteen, and has a twin brother. A hospital spokesperson believes she was shot in the head. The family is requesting that no further information be released about the girl.

What was the four o'clock deadline about? The hostage-taker broke off negotiations at 3:30, giving officers a four o'clock deadline. Was he threatening to kill someone?. Jeffco SWAT was there at the second floor classroom, and ultimately took the man into custody.

I have to take one of our foster babies to a visit with her mom, and will not be able to post again for at least two and one-half hours. Try going to KHOW radio on-line.

"Dad, I Love You!"

One of the two final hostages sent a text message to her father, who was outside the building 75 yards away while his daughter was being held captive. The message was "Dad, I Love You!" This information is from another student's father, who was standing next to the father.

The gunman is dead, and his identity has not yet been disclosed.

Sheriff: "Our Important Goal Was To Get The Kids Out of There!"

The girl was shot once, and the Sheriff believes the perp shot the girl, but he does not want to say for sure until an investigation is completed.

Update from the Sheriff

The Sheriff of Park County said that they were making progress, and hostages were released one at a time. The gunman then gave law enforcement a 4 p.m. deadline, so officers decided to intervene. The sheriff still does not know the gunman's identity, and the parents of the girl who was shot have not been contacted. The Sheriff does know the girl and her family, because he has worked in that sparsely populated rural area 36 years. He did say that he has some "intell" that he is choosing not to reveal at this time. He said the gunman broke off the negotiations. He was shielding himself with one of the hostages. They had him contained in a clssroom. He refused to talk directly with the officers, making the female hostages act as go-betweens. All of the hostages were female. The Sheriff does not know why the gunman went to that particular classroom. this started at 11:20 this morning.

"Something Threatening Occurred"

Officers exploded a device to divert the man's attention. Dan Caplis of KHOW radio speculated that something threatening occurred, because four hostages had previously been released, but officers still decided to take aggressive action to try to rescue the girls.

Gunman is Reported Dead

The gunman is dead, according to KUSA.

Girl Will Be Flown to Saint Anthony's Central Hospital in Denver

One person heard from a friend who was listening to the SWAT radio. The friend told him that the perpetrator shot the girl, and that the law enforcement officers shot the perp.

Update: A Person Has Been Taken Out Of The School On A Stretcher

Television station KUSA is reporting that one girl has been shot, and that the hostage situation has ended. The gunman has been captured. One girl in critical condition, and the other girl not injured.

Update: Flight For Life Helicopter Is Firing Up Its Engines

A stretcher was carried into the school, and the helicopter has fired up its engines.

Update

The man is saying that he has a bomb in his backpack. The bomb squad and SWAT team is on the scene. There is no confirmation by law enforcement of the earlier report that it may be a custody dispute.

Update: The Man's Identity is Not Known to Law Enforcement

Law enforcement has no information about the man! They have not established "reliable" communication with him. The school is Platte Canyon High School. It is just outside the mountain town of Bailey, Colorado. It is on Highway 285. My wife and children are due to come back home on that highway later today from a trip to Durango in southwest Colorado. I stayed home with the babies, because they had scheduled visits with their biological parents.

There is no report that anyone has been shot. There were originally six hostages, and now there are two. Law enforcement is interviewing the four hostages who have been released. No reported injuries. Police spokeswoman says "We'd like to know what he wants." Many of the first responders were also first responders at Columbine.

In Progress: A School Shooting and Hostages Taken

There is a school shooting and hostage situation going on at a school in the mountains just west of the Denver metro area. A thirty-five-year-old man came into the high school armed with a gun and perhaps a bomb. He took five or six hostages, and reportedly released all but two high school girls. The man apparently made some demands of a teacher. When those demands were refused, he fired a shot or some shots. The two girls may be related to the man, and it may be a custody dispute situation.

The Importance Of a Good Infancy

Seeing former President Clinton losing it with Chris Wallace Sunday reminds me of the importance of infancy.

Presently we are caring for two foster children. One will be one-year-old on October 4, and the other will be one-year-old on October 29. Both are girls. The latter has been with us since March 3, and is strongly bonded to all members of our family. She starts each day with excited anticipation, knowing that there will be much to explore and lots of fun all day long. She did not come to us that way. She came into foster care because her biological father beat up her biological mother, who had a history of meth abuse. There are two older sisters who have mostly grown up in foster care. She was easily frightened by any loud noise. She often looked stressed. Now she seems to have undergone a complete rewiring, with the frontal part of the brain predominating over the brain stem of raw emotion. She knows she can trust us. She knows we love her.

That has not yet happened for our other foster daughter. We first got her when her mother broke her leg in February. We had her only a few days in February, because Human Services found a relative who said she could care for her. In June that relative said she could no longer care for her, and she came back to live with us. The mother still has a criminal case pending on the broken leg. She is also ready to give birth to her second child. The Human Services people want to see how she does with the new baby before deciding to return our foster daughter to the mom.

Unlike our other foster daughter who has been with us almost seven months, the second one wakes up each morning expecting the worst. Her favorite thing to do is to yell loudly, expressing displeasure much like former President Clinton did with Chris Wallace. She yells if we have to leave the room to answer a phone. She yells if we set her down to fold laundry. She yells if breakfast, lunch, or dinner is finished. She is grossly overweight. We believe the mom and the relative constantly gave her food to mollify her discontent. The mom always urges me to give her a bottle on the ride back to our home after a visit, so I no longer even bring a bottle. Mom and the relatives told us she would never crawl, because nobody in their family had ever crawled. After much perseverance on the part of some very good physical and occupational therapists, ignoring her deafening screams, she now crawls. Mostly she prefers not to move around much, preferring instead to yell at those of us who do. However, when I endeavor to change her poopy diaper, she kicks and squirms and tries to crawl away, laughing with great pleasure at the inconvenience she is causing me. We shall continue to greet her each morning with enthusiam and happy faces, hoping to get that rewiring started.

Boycott Citgo! (And Maybe Peanuts, Too, While We Are At It)

There is something we all can do to let Hugo Chavez know we listened to his speech at the United Nations. We can drive right past our usual 7/11 stop, and leave the Citgo gas pumps alone. Very alone. Citgo uses Venezuelan oil to make its gasoline. Although I am certain he will still find a way get his oil on the market, at least this will teach 7/11 and Chavez that we are listening, and that we know that real power is with the average person, which is the basis of our freedom and liberty. The people of Venezuela do not know freedom and liberty, despite what Jimmy Carter implied when he hurriedly certified the Chavez election. Maybe peanuts should be on the boycott list, too?

Ratting on Oneself

Today our two-year-old came up to me and said "Nene said fucking! See, she said it again!" Nene is the nickname some have given our two-year-old. The best reply I could give her was to say, "If people hear you say that word, they will think you do not have any parents." Then, when I thought about it, I realized that people may think she does have parents, and that might be where she heard the word, instead of from her three teenage siblings.

Two of the Best Writers in the Blogosphere Raise Questions About Some Bishops of the Catholic Church

Two of the blogosphere's most dedicated and inspiring Catholics are raising questions about the roles being played by some Bishops of the Catholic Church. Boinkie has some pointed things to say about the Bishops of New Zealand, while the Anchoress wonders about the Bishops in the United States.

What Issues Are Most Important?

One of the most interesting political questions in the next year or so will be whom the Republicans choose as their candidate for President in 2008. Rudy Giuliani has appeal because he is a fiscal conservative and is very tough on fighting crime and terror. Can the libertarian and social conservative wings of the party rally around this man? It seems to me that he appeals more to the former.

What compromises will each of these two major factions be willing to make in order to keep the party in the majority? Maybe the Democrats will nominate someone who will unify the Republicans, kind of like Bill Clinton did in 2000.

The war against the Islamofascists seems to be a unifying factor for the two major factions in the Republican party. However, the expansion of government under Republican rule has really angered the libertarians, and the recent approval of the "morning after" pill has infuriated the social conservatives, who also are not happy about the growth of illegal immigration.

What issues are most important to you? Which ones are you willing to compromise on? To me, far and away the most important issue is our security. If we are defeated by the fascists, we will not have any of those other things we hold dear. If the Democrats achieve victory in the House and Senate in 2006, will they undercut the President's efforts to upgrade the security of our country? Senator Lieberman's defeat in the Connecticut Democrat primary would seem to be an indication that the answer to that question would be in the affirmative.

Home Schooling Gems

I must remember to post these gems as they occur.

Teacher to kindergartener son: Do you know what an author is? "Yes! You sit down at the computer and type in the words on your blog!"

Two-year-old: "Daddy, I've got a bloody nose on my knee!"

Today we have three extra kids here from another homeschooling family, making a grand total of eleven children. I am sure the neighbors will appreciate the extra joyful noise! The two children missing from the picture are our precious ten and eleven month-old foster babies. One has been with us since March and the other since June (her second time in our home: in February her mother broke the baby's leg, and she was with us for just a few days before being placed with a relative. That did not work out).

Stop Apologizing! You Will Never Please the Professional Victims and Their Cohorts in the Old Media!

Just as in Virginia with Senator Allen, Colorado Democrats and their allies in the Denver Post are working over Bob Beauprez in his campaign to become Colorado's governor. Beauprez's gaffe was that he said the abortion rate among black Americans is as high as 70%. According to David Harsanyi, the Guttmacher Institute puts the figure at 43% for 2002. Is any so-called leader of Colorado blacks saying anything about this appalling statistic? No, the "leaders" quoted by the Post are only talking about Beauprez hurting their feelings.

The Post writers, with Harsanyi being the exception, are also constantly referring to a gaffe made by Beauprez's running mate, a former child protection worker and County Commisioner in Grand Junction. She compared gay marriage with bestiality, as the journalists remind us every day. The Denver Post will endorse the Democrat. That is as sure a bet as anyone could ever make. So Mr. Beauprez and his running mate can ignore the daily attacks, stop apologizing, and provide some moral leadership by actually taking clear stands on issues the voters are concerned about!

Update: Ben DeGrow has more information about the role of the Denver Post in helping the Democrats.

Are Christians Allowed to Defend Themselves?

We attend church regularly. There are many things we like about it. It is a racially integrated congregation. There is a loving spirit, and much praise is given to God. The music is superb.

But I am frustrated. Here we are in a world in which Islamofascists want to kill everyone who does not submit to their fascist ideology, and for five years now, not a word about it from the pulpit. We are told to be compassionate, to turn the other cheek. And let them incinerate our children? No thanks!

2008 Will Shake Up Both Political Parties

Michael Barone notes that 2008 will be the first time in eighty years that a sitting president or vice president will not be running for president. More importantly, the front runners of both parties have lots of strong opposition within their respective parties. Right now the front runners are Giuliani and McCain for the Republicans and Bill Clinton's wife for the Democrats. One reason these three have risen to the top is that they have all demonstrated that they can handle crises and endure difficult times. Read the whole thing here.

I would add that the crises Giuliani and McCain handled were not of their own making. The crises Mrs. Clinton faced were the result of her own choices.

Should Airport Screeners Focus on Finding Terrorists or Potential Weapons?

Snarky Bastards highlights a recent column from the New York Post by Llana Freeman. It is full of good ideas about how to improve airport screening. Instead of just screening things, isn't it about time we screen individuals? According to Apollo in the comments section, a rollout is already planned to do just that.