Stewart spot on about VT Massacre coverage

It's pretty ironic that Jon Stewart ponders, "Is there anyone who has a coherent point" to make about the Virginia Tech Massacre, when he's one of the few who actually has anything coherent to say on the tragedy.

As usual, Sean Insanity shines in the face of another tragedy. Evidently, the people who were trying to score political points so soon after Virginia Tech "sicken him." Good call, Sean. Feel free to go ahead and condemn Judas John McCain, who didn't even bother to wait to leave the airport following the tragedy before reinforcing his belief that "we all have the right to bear arms."

All I've heard about in the nearly two weeks since the tragedy is how the Democrats have "avoided the issue." Most talking heads soo sagely opine that it's because "Gore tried to take on the gun lobby in 2000" that he lost the election. I guess I just missed something then, like Bush v. Gore, when the Supreme Court stopped the Florida recounts and handed Bush the presidency.

Repubes constantly complain that Democrats just won't let go of the 2000 election, yet they continuously bring it up, too. Let's face it - the 2000 election is a political travesty that will sit alongside other infamous political scandals in history - Iran-Contra, Watergate, the Clinton Impeachment, the War in Iraq, and on an on.

Anyway, my theory as to why the Democrats avoided the gun issue before the bodies were cold - perhaps they just wanted to show a little decency? That may be wrong, and I'm not completely discounting the fact that there may have been some political calculations involved, but when I turned on the TV or went to media Websites in the days following the tragedy, it wasn't Democrats I saw pathetically preening before the cameras for a few votes from gun owners who vote.

Anyway, well done, Mr. Stewart.

Time Magazine gets one right

I have been a harsh critic of Time Magazine on more than a few occasions, but the mag certainly got the cover right in this week's issue, its first since the Virginia Tech Massacre last week.

Thus far, I've only had time to briefly peruse the issue, but I'll get to it in a day or two. But, from what I've seen and read, so far, so good - there are a number of longer pieces that pay tribute to the victims in a respectful way.

Bravo, Time.

PDN takes the lowest road

Philadelphia's murder rate and gun violence both continue to spiral out of control, yet The Philadelphia Daily News ran this cover this morning (well, by now, yesterday morning) - of Virginia Tech mass murderer Cho Seung-Hui. And people wonder why the death of newspapers has been a trend that has been marching steadily onward for decades.

I should be clear - I'm anything but a prude when it comes to media coverage, and I'm not calling for censorship. But what I am calling for is a bit of decency on the part of our mass media. People are fed up with being spoon fed this garbage, all for a few ratings points or to sell a few newspapers. We are supposed to be a civilized society; it's bad enough these events happen, but when they do, it would be nice if the mass media let the bodies go cold before swooping in for a ratings grab.

For instance, how many newspaper covers did we see with the following picture on the morning of September 12, 2001?

Damn few, if any. Why should this tragedy be any different?

[Quick aside - this world-famous picture, dubbed The Falling Man, was taken by AP photographer Richard Drew just as this man jumped out of one of the burning twin towers on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The man chose a quick, instant death instead of one from smoke and flames.]

NBC and The Philadelphia Daily News chose dollars over decency.

Was the Daily News doing its due diligence, or pandering to sell papers? It's certainly a question worth asking. I think a newspaper cover like this shames the dead people who died at Virginia Tech, and is voyeuristic, exploitative and repulsive.

You be the judge.

NBC misses branding-op for the ages

Evidently, I'm not alone in my outrage toward NBC for airing the videos and pictures from mass murder Cho Seung-Hui. As I blogged earlier today, what I found most revolting was how NBC's logo was all over every picture that was distributed from what NBC anchor Brian Williams described last night as "a multimedia manifesto."

I don't ever watch network evening news, but if I did, NBC would be my last choice. And if I had watched last night, It's not hard to imagine Williams blabbering something like this:

Tonight's big story: an NBC exclusive - mass murder Cho Seung-Hui, as you've never seen him before in all his psychotic glory...

Okay, I'm sure it wasn't quite like that, but who would be surprised if it was? I find NBC crass ratings grab sickening and revolting.

The above image is from a HuffPo entry by contributor Dr. Michael Shaw. His piece reads, in part:

What I'd like to ask NBC is, why the cold feet?

Having decided to identify yourself as "The Official Network of Deranged Homicidal Sociopaths," why did you stop half-way?

I mean, really. Do you think Mr. Cho would have had any problem if you had first passed these pics to your Photoshop guys, scoring a little more coverage with the logo across your boy's hat, his vest, on his shirt, on his glove?

Read the rest of Shaw's column Here.

Photo from HuffPo; Original image: NBC via nytimes.com

A small but appropriate gesture by VT

VT officials announced today that massacre victims will be awarded their degrees posthumously and that other students might have the option of ending their semester immediately.

I'm glad that academics are taking a backseat in dealing with this tragedy. Clearly, the mental health of all its students should be of primary concern, and VT seems to be taking the appropriate steps.

AP Photo/Chuck Burton

Memo from hell: people will admire me

I hesitate to even post this photo, because it's so chilling, eerie and macabre. The above photo, a screen shot made from a video sent to NBC by Cho Seung-Hui and broadcast yesterday, shows the Virginia Tech gunman at his psychotic and sickening worst. The video was part of a package apparently mailed to NBC on Monday, April 16, between Cho's first and second attacks on the Virginia Tech campus. NBC said yesterday that a time stamp on the package, which contained photos, videos and a manifesto, indicated it was mailed during the two-hour window between the first and second attacks.

I still can't get over the fact that Cho was able to mount a second attack in Norris Hall that killed 30 people, two hours after the first attack. Our TVs are now filled with people from Virginia Tech full of self-congratulatory pap, claiming that they responded in a timely fashion and that everything was "well-organized" and that the university "has a specific plan in place to deal with incidents just like this."

If that's Virginia Tech's plan, they'd best put it in the round filing cabinet and start over. Two of the responders were on Today the morning following the attacks, stopping just short of bragging about how they responded. I realize that the two men, "interviewed" by Meredith Vieira, don't set policy, but Vieira could have at least asked the question, "Why did Cho have two hours to mount a second attack on the campus?"

I realize that Vieira is not really a journalist, but that's the question that everyone in America, most of all the parents and friends of these victims, wants answered, NOW.

In today's New York Times:

Campus authorities were aware 17 months ago of the troubled mental state of the student who shot and killed 32 people at Virginia Tech on Monday, an imbalance graphically on display in vengeful videos and a manifesto he mailed to NBC News in the time between the two sets of shootings.

"You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience," the gunman, Cho Seung-Hui, said in one video mailed shortly before the shooting at a classroom and his suicide. "Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people."

NBC, which received the package on Wednesday and quickly turned it over to the authorities, broadcast video excerpts on "The NBC Nightly News."

The hostility in the videos was foreshadowed in 2005, when Mr. Cho's sullen and aggressive behavior culminated in an unsuccessful effort by the campus police to have him involuntarily committed to a mental institution in December.

For all the interventions by the police and faculty members, Mr. Cho was allowed to remain on campus and live with other students. There is no evidence that the police monitored him and no indication that the authorities or fellow students were aware of any incident that pushed him to his rampage.

Despite Mr. Cho's time in the mental health system, when an English professor was disturbed by his writings last fall and contacted the associate dean of students, the dean told the professor that there was no record of any problems and that nothing could be done, said the instructor, Lisa Norris. [Emphasis Mine]

I certainly hope the victims' families, friends and loved ones get the answers from Virginia Tech they deserve, or at least an explanation as to why Cho fell through the university's cracks, and why so much time elapsed between the first and second attacks.

Incidentally, it's not lost on me that NBC made sure its logo appears on the photos released and the video that was broadcast yesterday. Let's never miss an opportunity to have an exclusive!

This massacre is so stunning and shocking, it's been hard for me to put it out of my mind this week, especially since I teach at a university.

I do applaud Virginia Tech for one thing, and that's shutting down classes for the entire week and for giving students, faculty and staff the resources they need to cope with the tragedy. VT at some point needs to return to the business of being an institution of higher learning, the aftermath of the tragedy was no time to be worried about academics.

I acknowledge that I don't know all of the facts surrounding this tragedy, and as they unfold, maybe VT did many things right, but the bottom line is that a more proactive approach to a double murder on its campus may very well have saved the lives of the 30 students and faculty members who died in the second attack.

Photo from AP via NBC

Will aftermath of VT Massacre bring about a refocus of our priorities?

There's no question that the Virginia Tech Massacre is a national tragedy that will affect hundreds, if not thousands of people for the rest of their lives. It was a senseless, brutal, horrific, profoundly sad chapter in our nation's history. I seek in no way to minimize the pain or suffering of the victims, friends or families.

Having said that, I've heard some commentary in the last few days that really resonated with me. The loss of live in Virginia - 32 lives, as well as the killer, equals the last 10 days in Iraq, as Keith Olbermann sagely pointed out yesterday.

Above, Nancy Smyth, center background, mother of Army Sgt. Adam Kennedy, her husband David Kennedy, right, and her youngest son Colin Kennedy, left, follow Adam Kennedy's casket out of St. Jude Church after a funeral Mass in Norfolk, Mass., yesterday. Kennedy, 25, was killed by an IED in Iraq on Sunday, April 8.

This begs the question - when will the War in Iraq get this type of grieving? I don't know that it will, but I hope it does. It underscores the fact that if you don't have a family member of friend in the Middle East, the war probably has very little impact on you.

I've already commented on the extensive media coverage, and this tragedy deserves all of the coverage it's getting, but I don't see the frenzied coverage of the War in Iraq, and that itself is a tragedy.

For instance, in Iraq, it's estimated that 600,000 people now lost their lives in the war. Above, two dead Iraqi policemen are covered up in a makeshift morgue.

Once more, I'm in no way minimizing what happened at Virginia Tech on Monday, but it's obvious to me after seeing all of the media coverage in Virginia these last few days that we really are getting highly sanitized coverage of the war (like THAT'S news).

There are "Virginia Techs" in Iraq each and every day.

It's my sincere hope that the war ends soon, but I'm not feeling optimistic about it. I'd love to see the Democrats grow a spine and simply stop funding the war. I'll have lots more on this tonight when I get home from work.

Photos from AP

Could VT Massacre have been prevented?

Above is a picture of Seung-Hui Cho, the 23-year old South Korean national who is now the biggest mass murderer in American history. Some very disturbing things are coming to light about Cho's motives, and his behavior prior to Monday's massacre.

An AP story outlines some of the details, which, in hindsight, are shocking, horrifying, and profoundly sad:

A chilling picture emerged Tuesday of Cho Seung-Hui _ a 23-year-old senior majoring in English _ a day after the bloodbath that left 33 people dead, including Cho, who killed himself as police closed in.

News reports said that he may have been taking medication for depression and that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic.

Despite the many warning signs that came to light in the bloody aftermath, police and university officials offered no clues as to exactly what set Cho off on the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," school spokesman Larry Hincker said.

Unfortunately, it gets much worse than that. To wit:

A student who attended Virginia Tech last fall provided obscenity- and violence-laced screenplays that he said Cho wrote as part of a play writing class they both took. One was about a fight between a stepson and his stepfather, and involved throwing of hammers and attacks with a chainsaw. Another was about students fantasizing about stalking and killing a teacher who sexually molested them.

"When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of," former classmate Ian MacFarlane, now an AOL employee, wrote in a blog posted on an AOL Web site. He said he and other students "were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter."

"We always joked we were just waiting for him to do something, waiting to hear about something he did," said another classmate, Stephanie Derry. "But when I got the call it was Cho who had done this, I started crying, bawling."

Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English department, said Cho's writing was so disturbing that he had been referred to the university's counseling service.

"Sometimes, in creative writing, people reveal things and you never know if it's creative or if they're describing things, if they're imagining things or just how real it might be," Rude said. "But we're all alert to not ignore things like this."

She said she did not know when he was referred for counseling, or what the outcome was. Rude refused to release any of his writings or his grades, citing privacy laws. The counseling service refused to comment.

What a tragedy. This aspect of Cho's history reminds me of 9-11, in a way; all of the signs were there, but no one was paying attention. Perhaps now, people will do just that if a similar case comes across the desk of college professors or counselors.

What's even worse, Cho had recent history of disturbing and violent behavior:

Cho _ who arrived in the United States as boy from South Korea in 1992 and was raised in suburban Washington, D.C., where his parents worked at a dry cleaners _ left a note that was found after the bloodbath.

A law enforcement official who read Cho's note described it Tuesday as a typed, eight-page rant against rich kids and religion. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

"You caused me to do this," the official quoted the note as saying.

Cho indicated in his letter that the end was near and that there was a deed to be done, the official said. He also expressed disappointment in his own religion, and made several references to Christianity, the official said.

The official said the letter was either found in Cho's dorm room or in his backpack. The backpack was found in the hallway of the classroom building where the shootings happened, and contained several rounds of ammunition, the official said.

Col. Steve Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said authorities were going through a considerable number of writings.

Citing unidentified sources, the Chicago Tribune reported Cho had recently set a fire in a dorm room and had stalked some women.

The sad part about Cho's story and the massacre he caused is that we may never get all of the answers as to why he did this.

Above, a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Buglers plays echo taps from across the drill field last night during a candle light vigil to remember the 33 people killed on Monday. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Josh Meltzer)

Above, last night, thousands gathered for a candlelight vigil on Virginia Tech's campus. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Kyle Green)

Blood-soaked pandering makes me sick

I wonder if I'm the only one sickened and disgusted by all of the pandering by the news networks and politicians from both parties in light of yesterday's Virginia Tech Massacre?

Most mornings, my day begins with NBC's Today Show. This morning, there were Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, on the campus of Virginia Tech, doing pointless and ridiculous interviews. We flipped around the channels, and all of the other morning shows, including Good Morning America and CBS This Morning, were broadcasting from the campus as well.

It amazes me that the networks rush to the scene of a major news story (as they should), yet conduct the dullest of dull interviews while replaying the same footage over and over and over again. It's getting to the point where I no longer watch any television news. I get my news mostly from the Internet, and not always from media outlets in this country. Most of our news coverage (sans Fox News, with its always-reliable right-wing talking points) is the same, and I can only take watching the same thing over and over for so long before I go crazy and change the channel. When I do, I'm not missing anything.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, left, and President Bush sign a memorial on the drill field at Virginia Tech University after attending a convocation ceremony where they both spoke to grieving students, parents, and staff. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Josh Meltzer)

Of course, President Bush, who never misses an opportunity for a cheap photo-op, rushed to Blacksburg for a memorial at Virginia Tech's campus. I wouldn't be nearly so critical if he had reacted in a similar fashion to events with much less attractive photo-op possibilities, most notably Hurricane Katrina. Above, an overflow crowd watches as President Bush speaks on a screen in VT's football stadium. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Bush's speech was eloquent and unremarkable. Above, an overhead shot of the overflow crowd watching President Bush on the scoreboard screen of Lane Stadium. Bush spoke at Cassell Coliseum, behind the screen to the left, during a convocation to honor the victims of a shooting rampage at the school. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Matt Gentry) Quite frankly, the only thing I found amazing about Bush's speech after reading it was the fact that he didn't mention Democrats not sending him a clean bill to "adequately fund the troops" for the War in Iraq.

He sure found time on Monday to do just that, delivering his "give me my money" boilerplate for the fourth time in nine days, demanding that Democrats send him the bill he wants, or he'll veto it. (Above, Bush speaks in the East Room of the White House with soldiers' families.) I'd say "we get it - you're going to veto the bill!" but then I'd be as redundant as he is by criss-crossing the country, whining about not getting his rubber stamp war supplemental bills that he grew accustomed to under a Republican-controlled Congress. My only guess here is that Bush is feeling the heat about war funding, so he's intensifying the PR effort because Repubes may be wavering on supporting the funding. We'll see.

Anyway, two other quick notables surrounding the Virginia Tech Massacre. I found it quite amazing that politicians, mostly on the Republican side, were so quick to come out and defend the Second Amendment, saying in so many words that guns aren't the problem. I don't have time right now, but I will be blogging about this quite a bit tomorrow.

However, for now, I'll say this - McCain, Bush and the rest who felt the need to discuss friggin' gun laws less than 24 hours after 32 people were executed on a college campus smacks of political pandering of the worst kind. (To be fair, the press deserves its fair share of the blame too for even asking these questions in the first place.)

I'll give Bush more of a pass here than McCain, because naturally Bush, as president, is going to issue public comments about the incident and reporters queried him about it. But even Bush could have said, "Now is the time to grieve and mourn - I'll be more than happy to deal with your questions on that in the coming days." Just like McCain should have. But, Judas John never misses an opportunity to pander to the far right (in this case, the we-should-all-have-machine-guns extremists) by saying at an airport yesterday that he fully supports the Second Amendment. Again, you can't defer on those questions for a few days?

The NRA's silence was deafening today. What a surprise. Anyone expecting anything other than the usual boilerplate to come out of this radical group has got another thing coming. Earlier today, this statement appeared on the NRA's Website:

The National Rifle Association joins the entire country in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech University and everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.

We will not have further comment until all the facts are known.

Andrew Arulanandam
Director of Public Affairs
National Rifle Association

(Read: We need time to spin this as a Second Amendment issue.) The NRA's reaction following the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999 was to fight any attempt by the Clinton administration or Congress to modify gun laws and to make it more difficult for criminals to get assault weapons.

Bush hasn't done squat to curb gun violence during his entire administration. In fact, the Bush White House and the NRA have been engaged in a passionate, six-year love affair. Think I'm using hyperbole? Take a look at this video, from 2000. It's footage of Kayne Robinson delivering a speech while he was a vice president of the NRA and the chairman of the Iowa Republican Party.



To be clear, I'm NOT in favor of national gun registration and never will be, nor do I think that the government should ever, EVER take away our right to bear arms. But, clearly the existing laws are either not being enforced or they don't work, because young people and violent criminals can get just about any gun, any time they want to. That needs to change, or we'll continue to have more massacres like those at Columbine and Virginia Tech.

And that's the greatest tragedy of all.

I hope President Bush and NRA President Sandra Froman sleep tight tonight.

Gonzo gets a stay

The Senate Judiciary Committee has wisely postponed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony, which was originally scheduled to begin today, until Thursday. Gonzo is now scheduled to begin giving testimony on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.

It was the obvious and smart thing to do, in light of yesterday's Virginia Tech Massacre. From what I've been reading, Gonzales needs all of the practice he can get. Word out of Washington a little over a week ago had him doing so bad in his rehearsals that an appearance on "a Sunday morning talk show" had to be cancelled.

I'm quite annoyed that the attorney general of the United States is taking up weeks at a time to "rehearse" for his appearance on Capitol Hill. Seriously, if you are planning on telling the truth, do you need weeks of preparation? I think not.

According to Newsweek's Michael Isikoff, Gonzo hasn't just be preparing, he's been cramming:

At a recent "prep" for a prospective Sunday talk-show interview, Gonzales’s performance was so poor that top aides scrapped any live appearances. During the March 23 session in the A.G.'s conference room, Gonzales was grilled by a team of top aides and advisers — including former Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie and former White House lawyer Tim Flanigan — about what he knew about the plan to fire seven U.S. attorneys last fall. But Gonzales kept contradicting himself and "getting his time line confused," said one participant who asked not to be identified talking about a private meeting. His advisers finally got "exasperated" with him, the source added. "He's not ready," Tasia Scolinos, Gonzales's public-affairs chief, told the A.G.'s top aides after the session was over, said the source.

Gonzo's testimony on the Hill is going to be huge. It's not a reach to conclude that his testimony will probably determine whether this investigation goes any higher up the ladder, and whether he keeps his job.

My predictions: barring a miracle by Gonzo, he's gone, and this investigation is going to go deeper and deeper. Whatever happens, I do hope that it doesn't turn into a Ken Starr-style witch hunt. I just want the truth to come out, whatever it is.

Gonzo is already probably fatally wounded as attorney general - I don't see how his Congressional testimony is going to clear up and make everyone forget his many examples of wild inconsistency.

Ed Gillespie is a name that some may remember - he was chairman of the Republican National Committee for a few years, and he also was an aggressive member of Bush's 2000 election team. He coached Bush's lawyers who appeared before the Supreme Court to argue Bush's side in Bush v. Gore, the disastrous decision that gave us the wonderful president that we've had to weather these past 6+ years. I'd argue that Bush v. Gore is one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in American history.

Picture from TMW

Another unspeakable student massacre

It seems like every 5-10 years, Americans have to bear witness to another senseless, public mass murder. Unfortunately, I remember all too many of these, from the McDonald's mass murder in 1984 to Columbine High School to countless other, smaller but no less significant executions and murders, it makes me wonder if the senseless violence and madness will ever end in our society.

Today's Virginia Tech Massacre will live on in infamy, much like the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. The loss of life right now is at a ghastly 33 people.

Above (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Matt Gentry), Blacksburg police officers run from Norris Hall on Virginia Tech's campus. The shootings in Norris Hall, an engineering building, occurred two hours after a shooting at a student dorm.

S.W.A.T. members prepare to storm one of the VT buildings. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Eric Brady)

Officers assemble outside Norris Hall on Virginia Tech's campus, preparing to take the building by storm. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Eric Brady)

S.W.A.T. team members head to Norris Hall on Virginia Tech's campus. The shooting is being called the deadliest killing killing spree in U.S. history, said government officials earlier today. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Officers take up positions on Clay Street on Virginia Tech's campus. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Alan Kim)

An injured student is carried out of Norris Hall by officers following the shooting. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Alan Kim)

Another person is carried out of Norris Hall. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Alan Kim)

Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital emergency workers unload a Virginia Tech shooting victim in downtown Roanoke, Va. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Jared Soares)

An unidentified man is restrained during a manhunt on the Virginia Tech campus. One of the murderers is dead, but it's unclear whether he worked alone. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Alan Kim)

The investigation will no doubt reveal some very disturbing things - not only about the killer(s), but about the school's response as well.

VT President Charles Steeger meets with the press following the massacre. Reportedly, the first incident took place two hours before the second incident, and the university's first response to students, faculty and staff was via e-mail. Yes, e-mail. If these reports are accurate, it would not surprise me at all if Steeger is looking for a job a few months from now.

As students grieve, there will be lots of questions about the safety of our institutions of higher learning, just like there was following the Columbine tragedy. And that's not be a bad thing. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

As the campus and the victims' families and friends take time to ask, "Why?" and mourn the massive loss of life, I hope this brings about renewed and much-needed debate on violence and guns in our society. (AP Photo Evan Vucci)

I also hope this tragedy brings about much needed change in security on college campuses across the country. I've taught at two universities, and security at both were slapdash at best.

It also won't take long to see the political consequences of this tragedy, either. Of course, the presidential candidates will weigh in on the tragedy in the coming days, and a few already have.

Waiting for me in my inbox when I got home tonight was a message from John and Elizabeth Edwards. It read:

We are simply heartbroken by the deaths and injuries suffered at Virginia Tech. We know what an unspeakable, life-changing moment this is for these families and how, in this moment, it is hard to feel anything but overwhelming grief, much less the love and support around you. But the love and support is there. We pray that these families, these students, and the entire Virginia Tech community know that they are being embraced by a nation. There is a Methodist hymn that gave us solace in such a moment as this, and we repeat its final verse here, in hopes it will help these families, as it helped us:

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing, in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Our dearest wish is that this day could start again, with the promise of these young people alive. Knowing that cannot be, our prayer is for God’s grace and whatever measure of peace can be reached on this terrible day.

John and Elizabeth Edwards

Okay, I thought that was a nice thing, as much as a political message at times like these can be. Say what you will about the Edwardses, but they sure know about loss; the couple loss their son Wade a little over 10 years ago, and with Elizabeth's condition, they will tragically know loss again.

One other presidential candidate weighed in immediately after the tragedy - John McCain met with reporters at the Laredo International Airport in Laredo, Texas. McCain said the massacre at Virginia Tech doesn't change his views on the Second Amendment, "except to make sure that these kinds of weapons don't fall into the hands of bad people." (AP Photo/Laredo Morning Times, Andy Ellis)

Phew! Thank God McCain reaffirmed our right to bear arms at a time like this. I know that was my first thought when I heard about the tragedy.

Could McCain possibly be any more tone deaf? At best, it's a comment that could have at least waited a day.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and friends.