Mr. Hannity: "There is no appeasing this enemy." (p. 6)

My response: By its very nature, terrorism is a drastic form of negotiation. It is defined as the threat or use of wanton violence to frighten governments in order to achieve a political goal. Just as a baby kicks and screams in an attempt to force his parents to give him what he wants, terrorists use violence hoping to leverage the US into complying with their demands. However, there are two noteworthy differences between the baby and the grownup terrorist. One is that the terrorists' ultimate objectives are usually just and legitimate. Second, "Islamic" terrorists are prepared to go to great lengths for their cause, even to die for it--precisely because it is just. To summarize, terrorists attempt to achieve a good end through bad means.

During General David Petraeus' reports to Congress, we learned that former Sunni insurgents have begun fighting on our side in Iraq. Sunday, I came across a London Times article that states:

Most leaders and the press view violence against women and children as just "a women's issue" or "a children's issue" - in their minds, a secondary issue. But it's not only that millions of women and children are victims of violence in their homes every year; the fact is that intimate violence provides a basic model for using force to impose one's will on others.

When children either experience or observe violence against their mothers in their homes, they learn that it's ok, even "moral," to use violence to impose one's will on others. This is why throughout history, the most violently despotic and warlike societies have been those where violence, or the threat of violence, is used to maintain domination of parent over child and man over woman.

This is part three.  Part two is here.

Last week the Courtney campaign asked that inappropriate internet campaign attack ads be removed.  Last week, began a sequence of local and national school shootings and bomb threats that leave the nation grieving and searching for answers.

Inside the Washington beltway, America has learned the depths of depravity that Republicans have exercised while praising Jesus, waving the American flag, and systematically dismantling the Constitution, Geneva Conventions, and Habeas Corpus.

And yet, shocking as Representative Foley's cyber-stalking of young boys may be, following the trail of Representative Rob Simmons' supporters into the shadows of violent gaming sites is equally disturbing and disorienting.  As I write this, a CNN news story features a misguided crusader claiming that Harry Potter books are harmful to young people.

What is an act of terror and how does it differ from other terrible violence? A letter to Samina, during this season of reflection and repentence.