The American Spectator

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p> SHOOTING FOR THE STARS br> Re: James Bowman's The Fame Factor : /p>

Mr. Bowman hits the nail on the head. For confirmation look no further than today's (Sunday) front page of the Omaha World-Herald is a nice synopsis, complete with handy time-line of a *&^%*^$%(&*^ loser's life. Mentally ill? More like crazy like a fox. He sure had the media pegged. The media has given him exactly what he and his friends wanted. I enjoyed the quotes from his friends. Did the New York Times report that one of his friends got arrested for threatening to kill another acquaintance who told the local news that Hawkins was a pot-head and a jerk? Did they report that Hawkins, who had a history of violence, showed the gun the night before to one of the adults he was living with and nobody thought it could be a problem? Surely they did an analysis of the $265,000 Nebraska spent trying to turn him around.

What I have yet to see is any analysis of the piss-poor job the cops have been doing here. Omaha had 31 murders this year before last week. That's twice the number from 2006. Our esteemed Democrat mayor has no plan to deal with this. The week prior to the shootings, a hand grenade was found in the mall parking lot yet the cops saw no cause to beef up patrols. There were no cops within miles of the place at the time of the shooting. I guess the idea that someone could have been casing the place for an assault never crossed their minds. They must have thought that somebody's kid accidentally kicked it from the floor of the family minivan when getting out. It's an amazing coincidence if the two aren't related. President Bush was here earlier that day. Think maybe somebody would like to make some headlines?

p>Before people start sticking up for the cops and making excuses about how a determined deranged killer wouldn't have been stopped by a cop, just stop. A coward like Hawkins would have turned around and left if he'd seen a cop. Why do you think he came in the store first without the gun? To make sure there wasn't anyone there who could shoot back at him. I would be a little more charitable if this weren't such a bloody year for Omaha before this event. The cops should have been a lot more vigilant. Our mayor and police chief were both out of town on the day of the shootings. What perfect symbolism. br> -- Andrew Macfadyen, M.D. br> Omaha, Nebraska /p> p> I'd like to ask Mr. Bowman what is new about the New York Times

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