Killer on the road

There has been much in the news about the Valentine's day shootings at Northern Illinois University, the latest being that Cole Hall, where the shootings took place, will be demolished. It's a good start. A lot of buildings on the DeKalb campus should be demolished. The campus is a huge eyesore, though it fits perfectly in DeKalb, a profoundly mediocre town located 65 miles west of Chicago. Its main source of renown is that it is where barbed wire was invented. The local high school is nicknamed "The Barbs." It is also where "supermodel" Cindy Crawford was born and grew up, and from whence she has said she couldn't get away from fast enough.

DeKalb is also the home of the DeKalb Genetics Corporation, now a part of the notorious Monsanto chemical and genetic engineering behemoth.

In 1986 I began graduate studies at NIU, and the main feature I noticed as I entered the town was the Romanesque Revival building pictured at the right. The building would have been a beautiful landmark, at the intersection of Fourth Street and Lincoln Highway, except for one thing. It had a big banner hanging on the porch that said "BINGO!" When I saw that, I had a sinking feeling, which continued to sink as I progressed to the NIU campus, a study in ugliness that has to be seen to be believed.

Much speculation is being made about the motivations and state of mind of the killer, Steven P. Kazmierczak, with talk about how he had a history of depression, that he stopped taking his medications, that he was an abuser of his girlfriend, and that he had bouts of wounding himself with a knife as a teenager.

There also have been endless stories about the students who were killed and wounded, about the mourning at the NIU campus, about the lack of safety at schools nationwide, about gun dealers, and about the potential killers among us. Pictures of Kazmierczak with the creepy tattoos he had branded on his arms have also been shown on various news sites.

It's all well and good, but I can't help wondering why there hasn't been such media scrutiny of an easily detected sociopathic killer lurking among us for decades. The long history of the criminality and sadism of one George W. Bush has been known at least since he deserted the Texas Air National Guard. His torture of animals has been known since at least the time he was governor of Texas, and his glee in signing death warrants for condemned prisoners is also well-known.

Bush's criminal activities with his former businesses are also well-known. It is most clearly known by this country's ruling elite and corporate news media, who have no problem whatsoever with his criminality, and have given him cover over the past seven years.

Since Bush has taken office, and I do mean taken, we have had the attacks of September 11, 2001, the invasions and occupations of "Afghanistan" and "Iraq," Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, extraordinary rendition, Halliburton, Blackwater, Anthrax attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the decline of our economy. We have had denial of the change in our climate, and the resulting inaction in dealing with it. As drought, hurricanes, forest fires, tornadoes, storms, and environmentally caused diseases like asthma and cholera are increasing in frequency and severity, the Bush criminal regime has done nothing. With the help, I might add, of both "Democrats" and "Republicans" in the "U.S" Congress.

The criminality and senseless slaughter that has been foisted on the planet by George W. Bush and his cronies are far worse than anything done by Steven P. Kazmierczak. Bush has almost eleven months left in office, so he still has plenty of time for more mayhem. His plans for bombing and/or invading "Iran" so far have been thwarted, but he's not giving up. He may yet get his wish.

Killings far worse than the ones in DeKalb happen every day in "Iraq," thanks to the Bush criminal regime. More people die in Afghanistan on a daily basis than what happened at NIU, and the "Israelis" routinely bomb civilians in the "Palestinian" areas, with the enthusiastic support of the Bush criminal regime.

As least Steven P. Kazmierczak had the decency to destroy himself after his killing spree. The planet should be so lucky that George W. Bush would have the same decency.
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This is the only song I could think of to go with this post.

Here's a good movie to see. It's this year's Academy Award winner for best documentary.