Arizona Shooting

I have tweeted, read and listened to the echo chamber since word came out early Saturday of the tragedy in Tucson. It was no time before Paul Krugman hit the keys, blaming right wingers and Tea Party members for the vitriol and toxic atmosphere. Paul, stick to economics. At least there is no right or wrong with economics, just guesses and opinions, plus... no one cares what you think about economics.

What I want to see is how much money it costs to prosecute the shooter and how long it will take to make the case against him. The feds have already appointed a lawyer, Judy Clarke (she is a spitting image of Paul McCartney) who has defended the Unabomber, Zacharias Moussaoui (the 20th 9/11 hijacker), serial bomber Eric Rudolph, Susan Smith (the 'mom' who drowned her kids by driving her car into a lake), Saddam Hussein and Benito Mussolini. Well, I made the last two up, but it could have happened if they had been in the US...

In about 12 seconds this nutbag detoured our national discourse, killed at least 6 people and wounded many more. He stopped shooting when his pistol jammed. I assume that he would have offed himself in the end like most of these heroic cowards tend to do. It is unfortunate that he did not have the opportunity.

Now we must endure months, leading into years of introspection, debate and testimony about why he did it. DOES ANYONE REALLY FRIGGIN' CARE WHY HE DID IT? He did it. Period. End of story. Large number of witnesses, physical evidence and all of that. A trial should just be a formality. Why does this piece of human debris even get a hearing? He shot these people in cold blood and that is it. Even the wingnut sheriff of Pima County got something right when he said that this guy was deranged for doing it. I guess he is making Loughner guilty until proven innocent.

Wanting to know why he did it really is the sickest kind of voyeurism there is. The journalists and the mental health professionals and the lawyers and the rest of the media will play with him the way a cat plays with a mouse before it gets tired and finally kills it.

Due process is due process, but give the scumbag a speedy trial, and if a jury of his peers (now THAT is in insult to peers) decides on the death penalty, then get 'er done and over with. It will save all of us taxpayers a huge sum of money as a by-product.


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