From the desk of: H. Smorgasbord, NV

More letters of urgency from my dear friends:

Dear Hot Wind,

A handful of politicians, regardless of party, are making me sicker than usual. They're all standing forward and using the Fort Hood shootings as a photo-op by voicing their opinion on what's happened and how they feel about it in the hopes of letting the voters know how intelligent and caring they are. It's too bad that they can't do this through the efforts and results as elected officials. Obama needed to address this nationally, and did so, but the rest of them have crossed that fucking line once again. On a last note, having someone sing "Amazing Grace" while Obama delivered his eulogy was an especially nice touch.

- Hoodwinked in Nevada

Dear Hoodwinked,

Some people have the gift of summarizing complex situations, using brief sound bites to expose the crocodile behind the tears. I question whether you would have been compelled to write if thirteen service men, women and civilians were murdered and our elected officials remained silent. It is certainly tempting to view every twitch and syllable from Congressional representatives as insincere and self-serving, but a time comes when the difficulty of having the office and wishing to express your sympathy and indignation are not mutually exclusive. I think John McCain, for all his polarizing political gymnastics, is an fine example of the many effective members of Congress who used the press to eulogize these fallen soldiers for the purpose of helping the nation through a period of stunned grief. I'm asking you now, to question whether your skepticism is sincere or if you are simply trying to draw attention to your self.
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Dear P. Giov,
And speaking of the Fort Hood shootings, well, I'll keep this really simple. Some guy shoots 40 some odd people, killing a minority of them. He is confronted by the police who, in order to stop the guy from his shooting rampage, shoot to kill him. The shooter is only wounded and now hospitalized. Now, a lot of tax payer money will be used to save his life so we can judge him in court and then execute him; a definite as he is in Texas. We could have accomplished the same goal for the cost of one bullet if the police would have been trained in the art of "the coux de gras". (...I thought I saw him go for his gun, Sir...)

- the Lynch-Tax Kid

Dear Kid,

Its wonderful that your freedoms were protected these past two-hundred and thirty-three years by brave and brilliant men, women and children so you could live healthy, privileged and long enough to make a mockery of their sacrifice. Though Fort Hood is indeed in Texas, with its own rich frontier history of "field justice", don't expect the people of that great state to rally around some disturbing lawless call to forego twenty-first century judicial codes to save a few taxpayer dollars. Adding insult to mockery, you further suggest that our civilian police officers take an interpretive approach to their vows and lie to the courts when they conclude a particular situation begs their judicial intervention. I for one will continue to see that my taxes are used to keep the United States Judicial System a brick and mortar situation, complete with fabulous paneling and wood benches.