A few words on the London terrorist attack

We, as self-proclaimed civilized people, must do more to prevent, contain, and punish crime. Those bug-eyed Islamic extremists who bombed the city of London today are not "terrorists". That term only serves to romanticize their crimes. They are criminals. Similarly, leaders who drag their people into war and lie to them about their reasons for doing so are criminals. So are people who self-righteously claim their religion and their spiritual leader as the one true, using this righteousness to enslave, kill, or simply put down, those who do not agree.

I don't think any of the aforementioned are above "common" criminals in any way, shape, or form, and it astounds me they continue to walk free. An unknown criminal, having robbed a bank, not having ordered the murder of thousands of Americans, is hunted down and tried and jailed with intense scrutiny and bloodlust. Martha Stewart went to jail, but Tom DeLay is still in political power. Saddam Hussein is disgraced, eating Doritos in a jail cell, while GWB continues to mime leadership for a country in which he's committed twice the crimes of Hussein in his.

9/11 was more complicated than a criminal act on the part of Al-Quaeda. Still, Al-Quaeda is alive and well, bombing away at Western devils. And you can count on them being around for some time, as our own homegrown religious extremists build their case for Christian Fascism on the foundation of the evil Muslim enemy.

Can we stop them? Yes. They are criminals--we know how to catch, prosecute, and jail criminals. The trick is seeing them for what they really are, and not what publicity seeks to manipulate you into seeing.

My heart aches for the victims of the London bombing attack and their families. It still aches for everyone affected by 9/11. And I continue to rage against criminals everywhere.