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A Word from Japa: The Blame Game

The Blame Game

by Japa

There have been some conflicts here about how to look at motives and the reasons behind the bombing in Boston. And I cringe when I read them, because so often the people going back and forth are missing what the other person is saying. And I think part of the problem is that we are sometimes afraid of being like the Right with their bigoted rushes to judgment.

When the bombings first occurred, there were a lot of people on our side of the political divide who were hoping the bombers weren’t Muslim. There were a lot on the other side that was hoping they weren’t white. Turns out they were both.

The reality is that their color may well have had nothing to do with their actions. Likewise, if they were of a darker hue, that skin color would have nothing to do with their actions. Actions like these are, for the most part, driven by one of three things: political ideology, religion or mental disorder. And it is not uncommon for it to be a combination of two or all three of these things.

So what does that mean as we go through the process with these two individuals or, in fact, examine any instances of terrorism be they bombings, shootings or whatever? And yes, I include Newtown and Aurora, and the bombing of abortion clinics or the assassination of a doctor that does abortions all to be acts of terrorism. And just as importantly, what doesn’t it mean?

TOD Toon Time

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Rise and Shine

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The week ahead:

Saturday and Sunday: The President has no public events scheduled

Monday: The President will host the third White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country

Tuesday: The President will honor the 2013 National Teacher of the Year and finalists at the White House. Later, he will welcome to the White House the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani

Wednesday: The President and the First Lady will travel to Dallas to attend an event for the DNC. They will remain overnight in Dallas

Thursday: The President and the First Lady will attend the dedication ceremony of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Later in the day, they will return to Washington, DC, and later in the evening, the President will attend the Planned Parenthood Gala

Friday: The President will host His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House

Saturday: The President and the First Lady will attend the White House Correspondents Dinner

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Ruslan Tsarni -the suspects’ uncle- is the definition of a great American. If his sentiments about USA don’t make you tear up, get checked

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) April 19, 2013

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The Czech Republic is trending because idiots are confusing it with Chechnya. If you’re not sure whether to laugh or cry, cry.

— Chris Jones (@MySecondEmpire) April 19, 2013

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Honest, not The Onion: Czech Republic DC Embassy has to issue statement clarifying Czech Rep is not, um, Chechnya: twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/…

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) April 19, 2013

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