Vanity: Solutions Sought for the Sniper Shootings

The sniper shootings in the extended Washington, D.C. metropolitan area have law enforcement flummoxed--no suspect; no motive; no positive ID of a get-away vehicle; no effective profile.

12 victims: nine dead and three survivors, plus one complete miss and one inconclusive wounding in Hillandale, Md.

Police are reduced to enacting massive roadblocks and instructing the citizenry to zig-zag through their daily lives.

Rumors abound of lawful gun owners in Maryland receiving phone calls and visits from LEOs about the firearms they purportedly own and their whereabouts at certain days and times.

Motorists are reportedly being searched without warrants as they sit in hours-long back-ups after suspected sniper shootings.

The sniper shootings continue as people go about their lives in places they normally feel secure.

Millions of people living and traveling in the area are filled with trepidation at the thought of stopping to fill their gas tanks or running out for a loaf of bread--let alone sending their kids to school or out to play.

Even so, other murders and crimes occur in the area as before, including the firebombing of a Baltimore family's home by drug dealers that took the lives of a mother (who was fighting back at the dealers) and four of her children as well as critically burning her husband.

The hundreds of commonplace murders in this area are cause for caution, not alarm. Yet, though these murders vastly outnumber the sniper shootings, the random nature of the sniper shootings has caused chaos and become a national obsession.

In fact, the sniper shootings have led to a nationwide parlor game of whodunnit and why.

What I'm asking for on this thread is a serious examination of the sniper shootings and lawful proposals for solving and/or preventing further sniper shootings. I'd rather not hear about what the cops are supposedly doing wrong. I'm looking for FReepers to offer positive, pro-active measures to stop and catch whomever is doing the sniper shootings and the reasons why.

PRAYER AND FASTING HAS TO BE RANKED AS THE MOST EFFECTIVE, IMHO.

SOME HAVE SAID that God is rather annoyed with the U.S. church for even believers trusting more in our military and government than in God. It's shockingly amazing that even a brain damaged drunk lizard would do so after BILLDO AND SHRILLERY but given our addictions to the tangible I suppose it's not THAT surprising.

Other than as a Sunday parrot-speak, to really wrap our minds around the notion that the spiritual realm is THE MOST REAL set of dimensions compared to our tangible 3 dimensions--is still a sad stretch for even many of the best of us.

Ephesians 6
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(Whole Chapter: Ephesians 6 In context: Ephesians 6:11-13) KJV AT BIBLE GATEWAY

THANKS for your kind post.

The first thing to do is to have a blackout on news - especially television coverage - about the on-going investigations into these these killings. Why let the terrorist (and "terrorist" is exactly what an urban sniper is, regardless of his motivation, nationality, enthnicity or religious beliefs) know what the police are finding, thinking or doing? This blackout should be explained to the public. It is only common sense. The people's right to know (the media's favorite mantra) must be tempered by the greater right of the people to survive. Let us hope that there is some blackout already.

Secondly, the television media in the United States must become more responsible, or its licenses should be yanked. They must stop turning their coverage into entertainments to titilate viewership through sensationalism, commentary and speculation. These television morons are whipping up public fear and playing upon it for ... ratings. No more speculations or interviewing shoppers about their 'fears'.

Thirdly, a decision by the federal government must be made - and fast - regarding how to categorize and deal with these sniper killings. The government obviously does not wish to have egg on its face. If it declares the sniping to be the work of a terrorist organization, and it later turns out that the gunman is a domestic nut, it will have egg on its face. But on the other hand, a prime time public announcement to the effect that the United States, if it learns these sniping were acts of a terrorist organization, would punish severely that organization and all nations that harbored such organization, whereever located, would set the stage for a quick retaliation upon discovery that the sniping killings are being carried out by a terroist organization.

And such American retaliation must be unilateral, swift and devastating.

The terrible truth is that the "fat" is now very much in the fire and has been so since 9/11. We are being given a terrible demonstration as to the results of urban terrorist activities conducted inside our country: We have had anthrax killings - a Senate building was contaminated with anthrax - continual 'warnings' that our school children are likely targets - the government now warns Senators that they may be targeted by snipers when they play golf. Does anything get our attention sufficent to provoke our action? When do we say: "Enough!"

The result of the terrorism that we have already experienced is FEAR and UNCERTAINTY - this terrorism is an enormous insult to our way of life. Don't kid yourself: Even if the sniper is domestic, he is still a terrorist, and the terrorist organizations world wide are observing the results and learning. Multiply these terrorist activities and you shut down the country, not just the economy.

A country that will not do the necessary to defend itself is not long a country. It is one thing to cooperate with other nations, it is another thing to be unable to act because such cooperation is not forthcoming. It is long past time that the terrorists were given a real demonstration - a nuclear demonstration - of what consequences can arise to "their" people if they continue to reek havoc our "our" people.

When the Romans finally got sick of the "snipings" from Carthage, it destroyed the City of Carthage and salted its farmlands. Result: No more Hannibals. That is how terrorist are defeated. The terror they unleash upon themselves destroys them.

Do we have the will to do this? Do we have the will to survive? Or is it our fate to be destroyed by a thousand cuts from within - to be disemboweled while our nuclear submarines stand idle in the water and our air wings sit empty on the tarmac? Warnings will not bring back the 1950's or make the terrorists go away. We are now in the eleventh hour and time, my fellow countrymen, is almost up.

A little more, just to get it rolling again :)

middle aged, and recently unemployed - now he is asking for money. His killing is not paying the bills, his problems are not getting solved. He has lost his security and no one cares, so he is making people suffer as he has done.

Shut off notices coming, newly divorced, behind on child support and has nothing to lose. Now he wants out, the killing is getting old and he knows that he will soon be caught - and is scared. He hasn't the guts to face victims, unless in a rage mode, and while he could steal money he has chosen not to (bank robbery, muggings, etc), most likely because he does not like to face those he wants to steal from.

He wants to leave the area but knows a car with plates from those areas may garner suspicion in places like Kansas and he wants to avoid attention to himself. He is boxed in mentally, over thinking himself, and ready for something to change. His paranoia is getting to him now, and that to him is as bad as the other problems in his life. Prison will solve his problems - no more bills, no more running. But he wants to have it all go away and looks for money to solve his problems.

His rage will lead him soon to trip up, before it was calm and cool with a little thrill, now he is living up to the image, and the pressure he puts on himself is too much. It may well be he will cause an accident, which will lead to his discovery.

He is well dressed and groomed, brown hair and eyes, and when found will be wearing khakis, dress shirt, clean shaven, and slip on style dress shoes with very little wear on the soles.

His gun will be an older one, but the scope new and something he bought himself - at a gun show. He will be known by the few people who know him as calm, cool, and nice guy.

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