The Nut

Let's get one thing straight right away. They won. They almost always do. What happened in Mumbai could happen almost anywhere. Murderous, suicidal, young male rage with weapons and ammo -- nothing can stop it without an extraordinary measure of foreknowledge or luck. India had neither so carnage and fear metastisized. Ugly, tragic, inevitable. So much blood and loss, so little wisdom or real determination to change things. For one thing, why did no one see this coming? Not this specifically but the likelihood of such a thing? Details are superfluous but evil intent is a known known. To point quivering fingers of blame beyond India's borders is to guarantee it will happen again. To behave like the Bush Administration post 9-11 is to speed up that inevitability. Preventing, heading off, combatting terror isn't about crackdowns or hard vs. soft response. It isn't about other countries or governments. It's about planning, homework, painstaking research, open minds, outside-the-box thinking. I'm positive that none of these things will happen in India or anywhere else. This beast has legs and it's picking up speed.

Good bandwagons

Yeah. This is a good one.


And you know what? We need to be aboard to make sure it steers well and to our advantages, our joint advantages. Bring him on, and more importantly, bring on the agenda that counts. Broad agreement folks, no whining about center-this or centrist-that. Go for good outcomes, however long it takes and let's brace ourselves for a world that maybe peoples' descendants don't have to pay and suffer for, forever. A planet without civilians being constantly bombed as a sick video game becomes a substitute for statesmanship. A globe of striving to resolve conflict and challenge, not exacerbate them. A joint commons that is enhanced not plundered. Not that one fellow - however exceptional - should have that weight on those admittedly broad shoulders. But if it doesn't even begin to work this time, then I'm joining the Maoists. Okay? You listening DC?