David Weigel, Wrong but Brave Journalist...

     At last, a trained journo chooses to be responsible about a publicity murderer-


"I'm simply not comfortable printing the name of the killer. More than most of his spree-murder peers, he made it very clear that he wanted to be loved and worshiped, saying as much in a self-pitying manifesto and a series of mopey vlogs. Let's forget the guy and leave him for the worms."


     Although we disagree about a lot of things, THANK YOU Mr. Weigel for not printing the killer's name, and adding insult and degradation.  That's the only practical way to deter them.

     Everyone knows the next one is watching, and the way other media outlets  persist in rewarding publicity killers  is so irresponsible that it suggests they want more of them .

     I wish he ran CNN, or at least could convince his employers to stop encouraging these useless losers- because the sidebar to his Slate article is full of killer-building stories.

     One of which is the most next killer encouraging story I have ever seen, from the New York Post-  a cover and skimpy clothing pictures of a woman the trash loser blamed for his acts. Not only is her life wrecked, but copiers will see their power to use our trained, expert journos'  "news"  "judgement" to embarrass and injure the targets of their perverse wrath.

     Beyond shameful, if they had the ability to feel shame.

Farmers Giles, Butch and Thom...

Proof that our government is entirely too straight- that this program isn't named the  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Economic Information and Equality Yokel Outreach.

Mass Murderer Posthumous Endorsements!

So, looking at building a house with TheGirl. She told me about this clever modular design technology, showed me some pictures. Interesting....

Let's check their facebook, shall we?

Look, endorsed by

dead mass murdering terrorists!



I think Speer would have been better, though, what with being a prize winning architect and having at least supervised the construction of modular barracks  housing by slave labourers unskilled labour.

And Stalin, with that White Sea Canal!

The Funniest Sentence in the News Today...

The agency sent its new marijuana inspectors to recreational shops to monitor sales and make sure sellers understood the state's new marijuana-tracking inventory system meant to keep legal pot out of the black market.

Marijuana tracking system. Forsooth.

"Umm, I think I have some pot, somewhere..."

For serious,

"Medical pot users worried they'd be priced out of the market. Colorado's recreational pot inventory came entirely from the drug's supply for medical uses.
"We hope that the focus on recreational doesn't take the focus away from patients who really need this medicine," said Laura Kriho of the patient advocacy group Cannabis Therapy Institute."

 the FIRST DAY begins agitation for special medical weed subsidies.  Already trying to get some market control and distortion based on the power of guilt.

Also, the Colorado State Marijuana Inspectors- are they subject to Colorado's pre employment drug screening?

And if they test negative after they are hired, is that grounds for termination?

Because how could they be inspecting if they aren't around it?

P.S., can't sell these any more- it's Impersonating an Officer!

Again, economic seriousness. Talking about this with two people who know the economics of marijuana- one a user, one a drug squad officer.  The question, how much would it take to make it worth while to drive to Colorado  and buy for a syndicate? I said your expenses would be about $300, and I'd want to make $1000 profit for the trip. Figure 10 friends- more is risky. An ounce of good weed sells here for about $400, so that's what,  $530 an ounce?

The Colorado price, according to the article? $560. Go, free market. Instant pricing.

I suspect there will be a quick drop though, because of competition. Most people buying illegal things have a single source. 24 legal marijuana shops puts an end to that.

I predict a hotel and gasoline boomlet. And an uptick for Colorado UPS and FEDEX revenues too.

Our Illiterate Journalists...

Gell- Mann effect in effect... "Each side has 10 preemptory challenges..." No, it's PEREMPTORY, expert with layers of oversight.

Quick Thinking Norwegian Teens Take Down Killer...

"We knew we were on our own" is often repeated by young heroes talking about their successful resistance to a killer on Norway's Utoya Island, near Oslo, site of the Scandinavian kingdom's worst mass murder ever with 34 people dead.

The island was at the time the venue of a Labour Party youth conference. But the holiday atmosphere turned to horror when a man in Police uniform appeared and began shooting the campers.
"At first he asked some of us to come over to him, when we did he started shooting at us. I saw several of my friends hit, then a bullet hit me and knocked me down." said one injured witness.

According to another teenager on the scene, "As soon as he started shooting, everyone ran for shelter. We had all been through the active shooter resistance class at school, and since we could get away, we did."

Then, witnesses say, the killer began to stalk his victims. According to another of the teens, "He just walked along the shore, and when he would find someone hiding he would kill them. We were all behind some rocks a few yards inland from the beach, and he was coming our way. "Hilda" (name changed) was beside me, and she said, "He's killing our friends! It's an island, we can't just wait until he kills everybody!".

According to this witness, "Hilda" suggested that the small group of teens fight back when the killer approached. "We learned in school that these murderers are in a high state of stress and are usually as incompetent at violence as they are at life, so resistance generally stops them. So Hilda suggested that we distract him and then attack from another direction".

"She said that we should gather up stones, and we did. Then she said she would run out from one side of the boulders we were behind, and the rest of us should attack him from the other when he saw her. "Gustav", who is 18, said he should do the running, since he was the 400 meter hurdle champion at his school, and he and "Hilda" argued over it. But she is not very fast and only 14, so we all told her to let him."

"When the man came close, watching along the shoreline, we counted down and "Gustav" took off. The man was startled to see him and pointed his rifle at "Gustav". "Hilda" said "NOW!" and she charged."

"The man shot at "Gustav" who was running in a serpentine pattern. It was about 40 meters from us to the killer, so he got a couple of shots off before "Hilda's" yelling distracted him again. She threw her rocks as she ran, the rest of us did too, and before he could get his gun pointed at us we were on him. Six of us piled on him and it was like Gulliver, we just buried him."

"Gustav" came back and joined in. We held the man down even though he struggled. We took his guns away, and a couple of us who have similar guns at home carried them some distance away and put them on the ground so no one would think they were the murderer. Other people helped the wounded. We waited for the Police and they took the man away."

Police arrived at the island crime scene about an hour and a half after a gunman first opened fire, slowed because they didn’t have quick access to a helicopter and then couldn’t find a boat to make their way to the scene just several hundred yards offshore.

The killer was taken into custody and according to sources treated for multiple fractures and dislocations.


Isn't that better than "Survivors of the shooting spree have described hiding and fleeing into the water to escape the gunman, but a police briefing Saturday detailed for the first time how long the terror lasted — and how long victims waited for help"?

How do you say "United 93, motherf*cker!" in Norwegian?

I am a tremendous advocate for teaching children, because it's true, that

"Five or six seventh-grade kids and a 95-pound art teacher can basically challenge, bring down and immobilize a 200-pound man with a gun."

Just like a bunch of farmers can drive off a King.

Cruelest. Headline. Evar.

Shark attack victim had 'the sweetest heart,' mom says

Next time you read an editorial from the Los Angeles Times telling you for whom to vote, or that some conservative is stupid or mean spirited, remember this headline.

Fight the Gell-Mann effect!

What's In That Snowball, Crispus Attucks?

Thanks to Tam and a chain of wookie suiters, just saw this interesting advertisement:





I find it particularly hilarious that at 2:32, the ZBV is about to drive across the site of - wait for it-



the BOSTON MASSACRE.



I recognise it from July 4 2009, when I stood right there, listening to the Declaration of Independence being read for the 209th consecutive year and crying like a baby.

(Yes, I know it was a bogus street riot inflamed by insurgents and that the soldiers and their officer acted with great restraint. But it's an iconic event in U. S. history none the less under that name.)

Is Bill Haslam Muslim?

So today I was hailed down by some politically active Tennessee Democrats. Because I grew up in Bill Haslam's neighborhood and know him and his family, they asked me the BIG QUESTION:

"Is it true he's a Muslim?"

"I heard the real name is Has-salam". Et cetera.

My responses, some voiced, some not:

1. This is America, and that's not an American question.

2. Article IX, Section 2 of the Tennessee Constitution, trash. I don't speak for him, but I expect he might say that he supports that part of the Constitution, too.

3. What difference would it make, religious bigot from the party of diversity and tolerance for people we already like?

4. I suppose even bigoted voters should know the truth. So no, the Haslams are as racially pure as the driven snow, jackass. If you can't tell by looking at that English face, do five minutes of research. The name comes from hazel trees, dufus.

5. They also profess the Christian faith, and actively attend a congregation thereof. My dam long attended the same Church.

6. You are really stupid. Not as stupid as the lawyer who once tried to get a pathologist to say that Novocaine would produce a positive on a test for Cocaine because they were "Both from the CAINE group, aren't they?" (What, like candy cane? Michael Caine?)

7. Actually more evil than stupid, because you are looking for a tool to appeal to and encourage religious bigotry. There are really good reasons why that's not an American question.

(I'm all pi$$y about gossip today.)

If You Are Going To Rant About Your Expertise,

don't foul up in the actual rant itself.

Tam noticed the pathetic arrogance about nothing, but not the most delicious work of trained expert award winning journalist (tm) Ruben Navarrette:

"Kutcher was talking about anyone who subscribes to the belief that their views and opinions are just as valuable as the views and opinions of media professionals who have the benefit of editors, producers, fact checkers and years of experience. Put another way, this tribe believes that the views and opinions of columnists, radio talk show hosts, television commentators and other pundits are no more valuable than what you pick up from Twitter, Facebook or the scores of faceless individuals who blog feverishly. "

might have been more effective if it hadn't followed

"...Kutcher– whose has more than 5 million followers..."


Here's the screenshot, for after Mr. Integrity hides his mistake.



UPDATE:

Ruben Navarrette integrity check! As of 6-18-11AM EDT,

31 still unnoticed by all those layers and layers of expertise,

106 down the memory hole.

Now 75 wrong and 156 right- clearly the article was sent out wrong and about half the experts caught the mistake. Gell-Mann effect: if they get spelling wrong, what unobvious errors are there?

"Trained newspaper journalists- we foul up less than half the time!"

Silly Negro, Don't You Understand How It Works...

Yesterday, the lead Yahoo news article headline was was about how "insiders" had won all the primaries, by rebranding themselves as "outsiders"- followed by a discussion of one D who should have had a walkover, but barely won by using the "underdog" idea. The rest of the article was about Tea Party candidates and Palin endorsees winning.

But I remembered South Carolina.

I fumed at this racist, tell-you-what-to-think article
when I read it months ago:

The candidate, a 32-year-old unemployed black Army veteran named Alvin Greene, walked into the state Democratic Party headquarters in March with a personal check for $10,400. He said he wanted to become South Carolina’s U.S. senator.

Needless to say, Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler was a bit surprised...

“It’s sad to see an unemployed veteran be so naïve as to believe that using his savings to file for office is the best use of his money,” Fowler says.

He spent less than $5000 on his campaign, no media appearances, no debates. And HA, HA, HA.

You would think his victory would be the banner national headline.

Of course, the article is very negative, as you'd expect. An unapproved Negro? How dare he, and so naive!

I would bet money that his positions are NOT traditional national Democratic, too.

I will be laughing all day.

World Collapse Explained...

This is some funny truth in this three minute youtube. (Link fixed now, duh.)

Especially the last ten seconds.

Then, of course, you want to cry.

And there is this one, and this. I'm choking with laughter.

Clarke and Dawe.

They were on the whole oil spill problem years ago.



Thanks, Samizdata!

"Bomb Scare"? "Attempt"?

NO!!! It was a COMPLETED BOMBING.

He MADE THE BOMB.

He PLACED IT AT HIS CHOSEN TARGET.

He SET IT OFF.

He GOT AWAY UNSOUGHT.

The criminal did EVERYTHING HE WANTED TO DO.

If he had bought his ticket a month earlier for the date of the bombing, or paid with a credit card, he'd have been in Dubai.

This bombing was a complete success. NO ACTION OF THE BOMBER WAS PREVENTED.

Sure, if the bomb had been constructed differently, lots of people would have died. This is not a stupid criminal. This is an educated, competent man, he could easily have made a better bomb. He could have easily escaped.

We ASSUME he meant it to go off. Why isn't it just practice?

Hint- today's lessons:

"Wah, Sharif! The Infidels are so eager to show their fear of the True Faith, and to turn our Jihad to domestic political advantage, that they hunt an innocent man, one of their own!

"And their Zionist pig Mayor accuses his own political enemies, without any evidence at all! They are so ripe for civil war, they will do anything to blame their own people, the ones who are our enemies, for doing what we actually do!

And when our Shaheed Brother brings himself to their notice, they apologise to US.

But we have "learned" some things. When we plant the real bombs, make the escape arrangements early, and use credit cards.

Don't buy cars that have been in dealer inventory recently. Use fake names when buying them. Get tinted windows, and put an old blanket over the bomb. Stupid brown people that we are, we could never figure those out!

And plant the real bomb where there will be lots of white infidels around, and security cameras.

Contessa Brewer will wet herself when we shoot up the Harlem schoolyard wearing Klan robes!

Allah is great!"

"Healthcare Will Save Money" Lie...

As far as I know, every time, every where, under every circumstance, health care costs of any group have grossly exceeded all estimates or projections.

ALWAYS.

States, cities, companies, armies, nations, all of them. Throughout the whole history of human endeavor.

It's like night follows day.

I defy the sellers of this slavery to point to a single example of a group health care cost projection that has not been waaaaay too low.

But we will be different!

They are just lying to us now.

Gay Soldier Transition Program...

So. LabRat's great post on gay soldiers got me thinking. The military services, like every other big government program. never make a big change without announcements and creating transition teams...



"Today the President ordered the armed services to immediately cease any and all special regulatory or UCMJ recognition of homosexuality. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I appear before you today to discuss the implementation of this policy.

First, he which hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart; his passport shall be made, and crowns for convoy put into his purse. We would not die in that man's company that fears his fellowship to die with us.

Any service member who wants to quit because of this change may apply within the next thirty days. He will be released as soon as service convenience permits it. He will receive a special hardship discharge that notes "unable to serve alongside gay Americans" as the reason for his separation.

But we know that the few remaining service members who do not run from this change will wonder how to face it.

I can best discuss implementation of the change within the services by quoting- it is a day for quotes, isn't it?- Fred Reed on the two greatest practical problems.

"Soldiers don't want a sergeant who they know is gay as an Easter bonnet, who has the power to make life miserable, leering at them if the towel drops."

That one is easy. Our policies remain exactly the same about unfit or criminal commanders as they were last week. Oppression by superiors of those under their command will never be tolerated. There is plenty of room in the E-1 ranks, Leavenworth, and Portsmouth for those who misuse their authority.

"Men do not like being eyed by other men in the barracks and showers."

We accept that this problem exists, and that it is one for which many soldiers are unprepared. The eye-up terror will force some from our ranks.

For those who dare to confront it, help will be available.

We recognise the value of experience. For example, we try to use previously wounded veterans to help transition wounded soldiers from hospital bed to their futures.

the President has authorised the direct commission of a new Lieutenant- General.
This officer has a great deal of experience with this specific problem, and already has effective policies in place for dealing with it. Our newest General will command a special unit tasked to help soldiers face this new challenge. This unit will be recruited from those who have already successfully faced, and triumphed over, the truly destructive experience of unwanted sexual advance. Many of the new members of this command are already familiar to soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. We hope that familiarity, like the previous service of volunteer veteran counselors at VA hospitals, will make it easier for our service members to manage this, their newest challenge.

I'd like you to meet the United States Army's newest General Officer.



And here is a list of potential recruits with the sort of qualifications and experience to handle this program.

Another Bloodless Victory For Islam!!!

"Yah, Ahmad! This is truly brilliant! Did Staghounds give you the idea, when he wrote back in 2006, "Next year, look for a terrorist plot involving exploding underwear. Then we'll have to fly naked."?

If only the Infidels never wake up, and realise that we do not really care about their stupid airplanes!

So many victories! First, of course, the panic. Then another panic the next day, over our "legitimate businessman" with a "health problem". Did you see those suitcases on the runway?

Then, I admit, you were right about the pre planning! To have Hassan call the Americans and pretend to be our operative's father. You knew the Godless Satans would talk about it. Now no one will call to warn, knowing the Americans will reveal their treason to God to the world!

Then, to have two Guantanamo releases blamed for planning the operation! The Enemy was already tearing at himself over the Brothers in Cuba, now it will be even better!

I expect you are right about the best part of your strategy, too. That the Frances Oldham Kelsey principle will mean that no matter how many martyrs we report, each one will receive their full attention!

All for the price of a ticket and some underwear!

Allah is truly great!

Hand me that prepaid cell phone and New York telephone book. Let's see... Mrs. Emanuel Goldfarb. Things are going to start happening to her now! Hello, Terror Warning Line? First, I want you to know that I am recording this call..."

Umaru Abdul Mutallab is a Genuine Hero...

We are always crying about "where are the non criminal Moslems".

We finally find one- Umaru Abdul Mutallab put his actual life on the line to save Western strangers from murder.

And what do we do?

1. Ignore his warning, and

2. Make sure that every Moslem on earth knows he did it.

Thank you, Mr. Mutallab. Your reward is having to look over your shoulder forever. Your children win the same prize!

And anyone who is thinking of telling the Americans something?

Remember that what you did and who you are will make every front page and television screen on the planet.

I remember how crazy SOME segments of the chattering classes went over the "outing" of Valerie Plame.

Whoever the "source" is who told about Mr. Mutallab is a traitor to the United States, an enemy of humanity, and an active supporter of Al Quaeda. He or she ought to hang.

The news outlets who provide this information to our enemies and Mr. Mutallab's future killers are equally allies and helpers of the murderers.

And if Mr. Mutallab or his family want to hide out at my house, they are welcome.

(Yes, I'm listing his name. In hopes that maybe someone will pick up on the idea of shutting the @#$%^&* up next time.)

Our Commanders Can't Recognise Defeat...

Look, Generals and Commander in Chief, you need to retake Defeat 101.

Major Loser has, all by himself, inflicted a significant defeat on the Great Satan generally and its Army particularly.

First, he destroyed a platoon (officer heavy) all by himself. Roughly ten million dollars in direct pension and medical treatment and pension costs.

Next, once we put thousands of metal detectors at military hospitals, millions of dollars in security theatre equipment and hundreds of thousands of hour of security theater wasted time.

24/7/365, FOREVER. Figure what, two thouand full time dedicated kabuki security? Times three shifts?

He's cost the U. S. military establishment what, a brigade? Two brigades?

Granted, our level of self damaging overreaction will be grossly out of proportion to what this traitor actually did. But the overreaction is predictable.

Good work, General Cone. Enjoy your promotion and pension, General Fredendall got them too.

Another win for our enemies, courtesy of our own lack of seriousness.

Hero With Pistol Saves The Day In D.C.!

"A cowardly loser armed with a rifle walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in downtown Washington today and opened fire on a security guard. He was immediately shot and seriously wounded by two guards armed with pistols.

The wounded security guard and the failure were both taken to George Washington University Hospital with serious injuries. A third person sustained minor injuries in the incident.

A law enforcement source said that "We have no intention, now or ever, of naming the zero who did this, or disseminating his ugly picture, stupid motives, or infantile thoughts. Look, in simple words for the reporters and their editors, THEY DO IT FOR THE FAME. This chickensh*t won't get publicity from us. "

Law enforcement agencies arrived, as usual for a reactive force, after the danger at the crime scene had ended.

"We did go to the place where this character lived alone, though. What a dump. Lots of porn, mostly big beefy men. And some really gross animals and men stuff. I didn't know you could get a goat to do that." The source did not have any details on the locations, but did say that damp and mildewed walls were involved, as were women's clothing items in the failure's size.

He said the museum has been "completely secured and evacuated. Not much reason for it, but we had to do something."

A spokesman for the museum, Andy Hollinger, said in a statement:

"He thought this place was full of school children. When someone stood up to him, he folded like a cheap suit. I think he might have begged for mercy, like so many Nazis did after they were caught. What a wuss."

"It's really an object lesson for us all in what this museum is about. If only these six million had had the means, and the mindset that the means would have helped them have, to resist their attackers. Then this would be a playground or an art gallery. Liviu Librescu casts a long shadow."

Police initially identified the attacker's weapon as a shotgun, but D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier later said it appeared to be a rifle. The coward, a previously convicted, incarcerated, and sodomized felon, was prohibited by several federal felony laws from obtaining, possessing, transporting, and using a gun of any kind.

"Not that he wasn't sodomized just in prison. He liked it way before that. Gross. But I've seen him, no woman would touch him. Plus there's that smell. Did I say gross?"

The gutless would-be murderer of helpless victims "came into the entrance and immediately opened fire, striking one security guard," D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said. "There was gunfire returned; the gunman was hit. It started badly, but ended almost as well as it could. Maybe he'll die, painfully, and save us a trial."

Fenty said the wounded security guard is in grave condition. The guard's name is not being released, he said. "He's a hero. But his family just wants your prayers right now."

Fenty continued, "On a policy note, I've decided that I can't figure out why this is a good thing at the Museum, yet it would be bad if it happened at Dick Heller's house. I'm suggesting to the D. C. City Council that we relax these stupid laws that make every citizen's house a helpless victim zone. That might help eliminate the ongoing holocaust in this city."


(Here's the template.)


Though that won't be the headline, or the article.

The headline will actually be,

"HOURS AND HOURS OF EXPOSITION OF EVERY ASPECT OF THE LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY OF (YOUR NAME HERE IF YOU SHOOT UP A MUSEUM)!!!!11!!! THIS COULD BE YOU ON THIS TELEVISION, PREVIOUSLY OBSCURE NUTJOB IN CELLAR!!!!! ON THE FRONT PAGE!!!! RIGHT BESIDE HEATHER GRAHAM ON HUFFPO!!!! EVERYONE WILL HEAR YOU!!! EVERYONE WILL KNOW!!!!!

Seriously, Journo experts, follow the guidelines.



If only it were a crime:

for a convicted felon to possess a rifle;

take it to D. C;

transport it on the streets;

take it into the the Holocaust Museum; and

shoot someone who

is a Federal Officer in the performance of his duty. Two of them, actually.

Oops, all six are already serious Federal crimes.

Looks like the only solution is to make it harder for people in Nebraska and Wyoming to buy a pistol!

You're fired, Rosa Brooks...

Dear Ms. Brooks;

I have read with interest some of your back columns. They compel me to withdraw the offer of appointment I made to you.

Not because you seem to express contrary beliefs to suit your purpose. It might be risky to have someone on staff who can assert both


Bush remarked that "if you're interested in avoiding World War III . . . you ought to be interested in preventing [Iran] from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." ...This is lunacy in action.

AND

the war in Iraq is a dangerous distraction from other pressing threats to U.S. security, such as nuclear proliferation and the rise of militant Islam worldwide.

But you are an opinion columnist, and any stick was good enough to hit President Bush.

But we can stand that. You have, your entire professional life, been a critic. You have, with the benefit of hindsight, told responsible people where they erred and how they ought to do things in the future. When you have been wrong, you have maybe caused the LA Times to lose a few subscribers.

What bothers me is the column of April 9. I may or may not agree with the ideas you mention about journalism. But I am very concerned about other comments- particularly

"Some might say I have a "new job," but because I'll be escaping a dying industry -- and your tax dollars will shortly be paying my salary -- I prefer to think of it as my personal government bailout."

and

"Of course, I'm not taking a government job only because I feel lucky to parachute out before some cost-cutter eliminates every last column. At this moment in history, I can't imagine anything more rewarding than being part of the new team that's shaping U.S. policy."

First, because I fear you will have serious problems committing to courses of conduct that go against your previously expressed opinions. It has become obvious to me since I came to DOD that there are things in the world of which I was ignorant. I have had to modify more than a few views I had which were based on that ignorance. I would hate for you to find yourself in a position where you had to, for example, make decisions about dealing with terror suspects in light of your columns. I would hope that you would be able to disregard your own advice in a proper case- but it would be difficult.

Secondly, what we do at the Department of Defense is really outside your experience.

We don't just say "you shouldn't have", and make suggestions. We actually do things.

I wonder what you would have said in December 2001 about an adviser to the undersecretary of defense for policy if she had written in, say, June that Al Quaeda was “an obscure group of extremist thugs, well financed and intermittently lethal but relatively limited in their global and regional political pull.” But I don't have to wonder very hard, do I?

As an adviser to the undersecretary of defense for policy, “Rosa Brooks” goes on recommendations of real policies, before the results happen. I used to mock that "I'm the decider" comment too- but it's not so funny now. No more working in a vacuum, no more costless mistakes. Everyone gets to be a critic now but you.

And most importantly, the comments I quoted reveal a basic confusion about what the things we do are.

Quoting an old boss of mine, I told you that here’s only one rule here- don’t f#*k up.

Because this is the Department of Defense. Our tool kit is destruction- explosives, fire, steel, and radioactive material.

Which means that every mistake, even the smallest, makes corpses, cripples, widows, and orphans.

Old corpses, baby cripples, innocent widows and orphans. You would probably know some of them before you end or shatter their lives. You would definitely attend some of their funerals.

That’s right, suffering YOU MADE will now exist. People will kill, on your recommendation. It’s not like losing a little market share.

Even when you are right, people will kill and die and suffer. But you'll never know if you WERE right, even when you are. There just isn't any way to know.

This isn't a job. It's not about rewarding you. And it certainly is not a bailout of any kind.

You see, here at DOD we have people who actually DO parachute. Over at the Air Force, "bailout" isn't such a giggle. And those Rangers and SEALs don't hit the ripcord to avoid poverty- they jump OUT of the safe place, and INTO danger. Real danger, not the tragedy of having to wait another year to be able to buy a new car.

When we last met, I told you that your words were mine now, and to not put me in the position of defending an opinion I don't even have.

I have to account for what you say, Ms. Brooks. And the next time I go to Walter Reed, I don't think I can honestly tell those people that you understand how serious real life is.

When I offered you this appointment, I said "Welcome to the sheepdog kennel, Ms. Brooks".

On reflection, I don't believe you belong here.

Good luck in your future efforts elsewhere.