Looks as if they forgot one

Last Thursday, in the Huffington Post, Paul Helmke (or whoever actually writes "Paul's" material) listed more than two and a half dozen high-profile shootings that have taken place in the U.S. over the last five or so years (listed from most recent to oldest--the list, edited for brevity, is at the bottom of this blog post).

Note that when I say "edited for brevity," I meant only that I abridged the summaries of many of the atrocities--I did not omit any that the Brady Bunch had included.

I mention that because of a rather prominent gap in Helmke's list of high-profile shootings--the murders in Crandon, WI, this October, of six teenagers--by a mentally unhinged law enforcement officer.

I've noticed the Bradys' willingness to overlook that mass-killing before. They list shootings in which the body count was lower (including one in which none of the victims died), and the victims not so young, and they list shootings that are much less recent--but they don't want to talk about these six victims of "gun violence."

As the Bradys did before, they are again expressing "outrage"--this time over the Westroads Mall killings in Omaha, NE.

The horror of the deaths of those six young, innocent victims, though, is apparently not enough to "outrage" the Brady Bunch. I wouldn't want to say that the Brady Campaign places a lower value on the lives of those young people, but . . .

Perhaps that is unworthy on my part. Perhaps it is unfair of me to imply that the Brady Campaign ranks some murders committed with guns as less heinous than others. Perhaps I should acknowledge that the Brady Campaign needs allies, and needs to be able to claim law enforcement among those allies (such support from law enforcement, by the way, is not as widespread as the Brady Campaign would have us believe, as illustrated by the pro-gun rights Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and by the first letter to the editor here). Perhaps they believe that they simply cannot afford to be "outraged" about an atrocity committed by an armed law enforcement officer.

That being the case, I hope the families and friends of the six murdered teenagers in Crandon are not too upset with the Brady Campaign. It is, after all, nothing personal with the Brady Bunch--just politics.

* Omaha, Nebraska. December 2007. Nine are shot to death and five others . . .

* Moscow, Idaho. May 2007. A 36 year-old janitor belonging to the Aryan Nations shoots 200 rounds . . .

* Blacksburg, Virginia. April 2007. In the worst mass shooting in American history . . .

* Salt Lake City, Utah. February 2007. A teen opens fire inside the Trolley Square Mall, killing five, before being shot and killed by police.

* Chicago, Illinois. December 2006. A disgruntled client of attorney Michael McKenna forces his way into a busy downtown office building . . .

* Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. October 2006. A truck driver walks into a one-room Amish schoolhouse . . .

* Lakeland, Florida. September 2006. While attempting to flee after a traffic stop, a man shoots and kills one police officer, wounds another . . .

* Bailey, Colorado. September 2006. A lone gunman holds six female students hostage at a high school . . .

* Hillsborough, North Carolina. August 2006. After shooting his father to death, a student opens fire at his high school, injuring two students . . .

* Essex, Vermont. August 2006. A gunman shoots five people, killing two of them, in a rampage through two houses and an elementary school, before wounding himself.

* Seattle, Washington. July 2006. A man forces his way into the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by putting a gun . . .

* St. Louis, Missouri. April 2006. A man first kills the mother of his child, then goes to his workplace and shoots three others to death . . .

* Seattle, Washington. March 2006. Kyle Huff walks into a party and kills six people in the Capitol Hill neighborhood before killing himself . . .

* Bellefontaine, Ohio. May 2005. Scott Moody kills his grandparents, his mother, his two friends . . .

* Red Lake Indian Reservation, Minnesota. March 2005. Former high school student kills ten and injures seven in a shooting rampage . . .

* Brookfield, Wisconsin. March 2005. A madman fires 22 rounds during a church service. Seven are killed . . .

* Tyler, Texas. February 2005. A gunman – wearing a bulletproof vest and a military flak jacket – shoots over 50 rounds with an AK-47 . . .

* Columbus, Ohio. December 2004. Man walks onstage and shoots and kills four concertgoers before being killed in shootout with police.

* Birchwood, Wisconsin. November 2004. A hunter opens fire with an SKS assault rifle, killing six other hunters . . .

* Kansas City, Kansas. July 2004. Six people die and two others are wounded when a gunman opens fire at a ConAgra plant and then shoots himself.

* Birmingham, Alabama. June 2004. Three police officers are shot to death as they attempt to carry out an arrest warrant.

* Randallstown, Maryland. May 2004. Four teenagers are injured, one critically, by a drive-by shooter as they leave a charity basketball game at their high school.

* Cold Spring, Minnesota. September 2003. A 15-year-old student opens fire at Rocori High School, killing two students.

* Chicago, Illinois. August 2003. A fired worker shoots and kills six of his former co-workers with a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol . . .

* Andover, Ohio. August 2003. An angry employee, denied vacation because of a paperwork mix-up, shoots and kills a co-worker . . .

* San Antonio, Texas. July 2003. A man walks into the real estate office where he had worked and opens fire. He fatally shoots two co-workers . . .

* Meridian, Mississippi. July 2003. A retired Lockheed Martin employee enters the plant where he had worked and opens fire . . .

* New Orleans, Louisiana. April 2003. Four boys aged 15-19 open fire in a high school gym with an AK-47 killing one student and injuring three others.

* Huntsville, Alabama. February 2003. Four people are killed and another injured when a gunman opens fire at a temporary employment agency . . .

* Edinburg, Texas. January 2003. Four men armed with assault weapons shoot six people to death in their homes.

* Fall 2002. John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo randomly selected victims in sniper-style shootings . . .

UPDATE: Look who stopped by!
(click to enlarge)

Don't be shy, folks--stick around and chat--we could have some "Reasoned Discourse" (after all, I still allow comments).