Subscriptions (digital) to keep me up to date

I subscribe to several medical information services because for years I was a veterinary medicine librarian and sort of got hooked on the genre. (I was also a librarian for Russian and Soviet studies, Latin American studies, and Agriculture in earlier jobs.) However, I've seen quite a change in the last 20 years. I also get the printed version of JAMA. It's really disappointing to see science going the way of intersectionality.

I subscribe to research from START (The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism) which "prides itself on the diversity of research conducted across the Consortium to bring a holistic understanding to the study of terrorism, counterterrorism and community resilience. START researchers based throughout the United States and around the world bring varying perspectives, experiences, and academic disciplines to their analysis." It doesn't live up to its advertising of mission statement.

I subscribe to beSpacific "Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002" And so liberal I sometimes scream at the screen when I see what she's covering. Librarianship, gotta love it. It's mostly political bias, but at least you know what you're up against.

People have limited memories, or they mislearned history

I actually subscribe to a terrorist watch website called START. Do you know when the most terrorism threats were and from whom? 1970. Not Muslims.  Not Tea Party. But radical leftists protesting the Vietnam War. The chart is just dramatic. Those people who were doing the threatening, burning buildings, marching, posturing and even killing (while lengthening the war giving aid to the enemy), then went on to become college professors and government advisers or politicians, and one, Bill Ayers, became a professor of education at the University of Illinois, Chicago.  He and his wife, also a domestic terrorist, lived in Obama's neighborhood, and supported his candidacy.

Yet what is the drivel I'm hearing on TV about the Arizona shooting which had zip to do with politics and everything to do with a crazy, deranged young man?  "We need to tone down the rhetoric."  Yes, Ms. Giffords had been receiving threats--many from the far left who believed she wasn't a very good Pelosi/Obama follower.  I'm appalled at the misinformed media attacks on Palin and the Tea Party.  Never in the history of this country has there been a quieter more peaceful grass roots movement than the Tea Party.  What has infuriated the left is that this sort of peaceful, legal ballot box revolution was successful.  Ms. Palin is fiesty and outspoken, and she's nobody's patsy.  But to blame her, even indirectly, for the actions of one deranged person, is absurd.

It's time for the main stream media to tone down its speculations, innuendo, and hyperventilating, and go to the START webpage and take a look at the terrorism chart.

The media hasn't learned from Lee Harvey Oswald the killer of President Kennedy, Seung-Hui Cho, the Va Tech shooter, Amy Bishop, the angry professor and Steven Kazmierczak, the grad student. None of these people were right wing nut cakes, but at least three were deeply mentally disturbed, and one was a Communist.

Use of the word Terror

I subscribe to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) reports. GTD is a project of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror (START) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, START, based at the University of Maryland, College Park. You may think our AG and newspapers don't use the word "terror," "terrorism" or "terrorist" much any more in describing those who would bring down the United States (although I think it's still an acceptable word in referring to Tea Party 70-year olds like Murray who marched on Washington carrying a sign, and groups of 9 or 10 Michigan militia). However, in the recent story I received about the Moscow subway bombing, I counted those words 30 times. So we know they still can use it when writing about other countries.

Speaking of that militia story, last week when I was on blogging break, I noticed that the Wall Street Journal devoted a full page to them on Wednesday. However, that same day within 7 miles of the White House, a drive-by shooter(s) killed or wounded 6 men and 3 women. I didn't see the words brown or black rage in that story (race baiters describing tea parties refer to "white rage" to describe people carrying signs, orderly assembly, and cleaning up after themselves).

A career with a future--terrorism studies

There was Russian Language and Area Studies, Black Studies, Women's Studies, and now, a Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Studies

"The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, tasked by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate with using state-of-the-art theories, methods, and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve understanding of the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. START, based at the University of Maryland, College Park, aims to provide timely guidance on how to disrupt terrorist networks, reduce the incidence of terrorism, and enhance the resilience of U.S. society in the face of the terrorist threat."

Isn't it odd that when an American born Muslim, member of the military with an elite education shoots up a military base and kills and wounds many Americans, the administration doesn't get too worked up about it. But when a foreign Muslim doesn't bring down a plane and doesn't kill anyone, the administration eventually goes into high gear. Perhaps it's because both these guys had the same mentor in Yemen, so their age, ethnicity, nationality and careers weren't the defining similarity. I wonder if this certificate program teaches profiling? Nah.

Terrorist Attacks on Religious Figures, Religious Institutions, and Military Targets

News from START, Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, based at the University of Maryland.

"As four suspects face possible conviction for plotting to bomb a New York City synagogue and Jewish community center and shoot down military aircraft, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) releases information on attacks on religious figures and institutions and military targets in the United States. The data were taken from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), which includes information on over 80,000 attacks between 1970 and 2007.

There have been 25 terrorist attacks against religious figures or institutions in the United States, four of which were unsuccessful attempts. These 25 attacks resulted in a total of eight fatalities. Nine of the 25 attacks involved explosives or bombs.

Nine of these attacks involved Jewish targets, including synagogues in Dallas, Nashville, New York, and Sacramento.

Worldwide, there have been 1615 attacks on religious figures and institutions, with largest concentration in South America, Middle East, and South Asia.

There have been 38 terrorist attacks against military targets in the United States, eight of which were unsuccessful attempts. Attacks against military targets were frequently aimed at recruiting centers. The GTD contains no records of attacks against military aircraft in the United States.

The United States has experienced over 1350 terrorist attacks since 1970, peaking in the mid 1970s with 120 attacks per year. Since 1977 there have been fewer than 50 attacks per year. More than half of these have involved bombs or explosives, and the most common type of target has been private businesses."

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror (START) is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, tasked by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate with using state-of-the-art theories, methods, and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve understanding of the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. START, based at the University of Maryland, College Park, aims to provide timely guidance on how to disrupt terrorist networks, reduce the incidence of terrorism, and enhance the resilience of U.S. society in the face of the terrorist threat.

Let's all thank the people in our government who continue to protect us against terrorist attacks, and continue to challenge, advise, and/or vote out of office, those who won't.