The Wisdom of a Nurse

westen44 · January 07, 2026, 08:23:22 PM

I agree with this nurse. Something I often do and I'm around nurses at least several times a month.

I would like to ask that no one make any political comments about this. Dave wouldn't have wanted it and neither do I. It is possible to discuss reality without sinking into the mire of politics. Personally, I'm just saddened that a young woman has been gunned down like this.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HHX6VjVd-Nk

Basvarken · January 08, 2026, 10:01:15 AM

I don't see how this can not go political...

westen44 · January 08, 2026, 10:26:49 AM

Quote from: Basvarken on January 08, 2026, 10:01:15 AMI don't see how this can not go political...

Then maybe you should just delete it. I don't have the time to post right now because I'm getting ready to go to the dentist. But this is the only news story I've ever seen that made me so sick to my stomach I thought I could vomit. It's rare I have felt so disgusted. If this wasn't happening in my country I wouldn't even be talking about it at all.

doombass · January 09, 2026, 12:46:56 AM

This sadly makes me speechless.

gearHed289 · January 09, 2026, 10:34:33 AM

I've been speechless since 2016.

Pilgrim · January 09, 2026, 10:57:55 AM

A few years as a reserve deputy gives me a firm opinion on this event. It is not in any way favorable to the shooter. That is a factual statement based on visual evidence, not political.

Ken · January 09, 2026, 11:44:13 AM

I'm not hopeful for any justice for the victim or her family.

Pilgrim · January 09, 2026, 11:46:18 AM

Quote from: Ken on January 09, 2026, 11:44:13 AMI'm not hopeful for any justice for the victim or her family.

Neither am I, at least at the federal level; the cards are stacked.

westen44 · January 09, 2026, 11:46:49 AM

Quote from: Pilgrim on January 09, 2026, 10:57:55 AMA few years as a reserve deputy gives me a firm opinion on this event. It is not in any way favorable to the shooter. That is a factual statement based on visual evidence, not political.

You're obviously in Colorado. I don't know if you know this or not, but the murdered woman was from Colorado Springs. Evidently, that was her hometown. She had only been in Minnesota for a short time. I think she has two older children still in Colorado. Renee Good had also spent some time in Kansas City with her youngest child there. I'm basing this on fragmentary info, but I think it's probably correct.

Alanko · January 09, 2026, 12:29:43 PM

Being America, I assume that now a photogenic white woman has been caught up in this something might change.

It seems like they intentionally bolstered the number of ICE "agents" by recruiting unstable incel types who spent too much time at school with their heads held down a toilet bowl. Let's arm these folk and give them Temu-grade faux military apparel immediately! QED.

westen44 · January 09, 2026, 02:39:41 PM

Quote from: Alanko on January 09, 2026, 12:29:43 PMBeing America, I assume that now a photogenic white woman has been caught up in this something might change.

It seems like they intentionally bolstered the number of ICE "agents" by recruiting unstable incel types who spent too much time at school with their heads held down a toilet bowl. Let's arm these folk and give them Temu-grade faux military apparel immediately! QED.

I think the main thing is people are so absolutely horrified by how bloody this was. In the early videos you could see her covered with blood and also see the bloody air bag. They have censored part of this now.

BTW, I just saw a video in which her last words to the agent were "I'm not mad at you, dude." Seconds later she was dead. You could hear somebody say "f***ing bitch" which I assume was from the shooter.

Alanko · January 09, 2026, 03:27:16 PM

I've avoided seeing the footage, despite social media trying to make me watch it repeatedly. The first time I've tried to remain wilfully ignorant of something. I think I saw the Charlie Kirk shooting footage before breakfast the next day, courtesy of some auto-playing video on Twitter.

I read one theory that America sort of lost it after 9/11, just on a slow trajectory. Hamstrung media, paranoia, and now militias roaming the streets picking off undesirables and perceived enemies. Easy to blame Trump, but he appears to have a loose grasp on reality (and a range of maladies that will send him to the grave in the next 12 months). He's the noisy distraction while those who benefit the most from a strictly controlled, poor, paranoid and divided population make the real decisions in the background.

westen44 · January 09, 2026, 03:56:43 PM

Quote from: Alanko on January 09, 2026, 03:27:16 PMI've avoided seeing the footage, despite social media trying to make me watch it repeatedly. The first time I've tried to remain wilfully ignorant of something. I think I saw the Charlie Kirk shooting footage before breakfast the next day, courtesy of some auto-playing video on Twitter.

I read one theory that America sort of lost it after 9/11, just on a slow trajectory. Hamstrung media, paranoia, and now militias roaming the streets picking off undesirables and perceived enemies. Easy to blame Trump, but he appears to have a loose grasp on reality (and a range of maladies that will send him to the grave in the next 12 months). He's the noisy distraction while those who benefit the most from a strictly controlled, poor, paranoid and divided population make the real decisions in the background.

I would recommend not watching any of the videos if possible. That can definitely make you actually nauseated. I was talking to a friend in Holland. She said that she was going to avoid watching. That just hearing people talk about the shooting was already making her feel sick to her stomach.

Ken · January 09, 2026, 05:14:02 PM

Even if there's no legal justice, the shooter's identity has been released. I suspect he won't get a day of peace for the rest of his life.

westen44 · January 09, 2026, 10:39:49 PM

I have a friend from an extreme Northern state who has lived in Scandinavia for over 20 years. He said when he meets anyone now on his road he feels like someone who has just been arrested for being a sexual predator he is so ashamed. He has started going to a new grocery store, hardware store and gas station in a nearby town. If the issue of language comes up, he says he is British, but was raised in Canada. With my Southern accent, trying to pull off his ruse wouldn't work for me. I did once have a farmer from Friesland who asked me if I was Canadian. I'm sure those people rarely meet American tourists. But my friend in Scandinavia said that if you're American, traveling in Europe now won't be the same. In my opinion, we Americans have now become the new barbarians of the world. I also feel shame that we have sunk so low. Also, not to be pessimistic, but I honestly don't see how this can ever be fixed.

It may not can be fixed because the U.S. may have reached its new John Brown moment in history. Brown had led a raid on Harper's Ferry in Virginia to start a slave rebellion. Brown was executed by the state of Virginia. He was looked at as hero and martyr in the North, but had been executed as a traitor by Virginia. One side viewed him as Christlike, the other saw him as a raving lunatic. Each side was looking at the same man and same event in different ways. Nothing was going to change that, either. Both the North and South continued to maintain their own views throughout the Civil War. Maybe George Santayana had a point when he wrote that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But Santayana may have had an even bigger point when he said "only the dead have seen the end of war." As America goes through its turmoil, it might be a good idea to think about things like this. But I think many people aren't thinking about much of anything except how to prove their point and damning anyone who disagrees. That's why Dave never wanted things to end in political discussions here. And he was right.