I was too young to be a beatnik and too old to be a hippie. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a hippie. Whatever that is. Someone who plays a guitar and sings folk songs? Does that mean that Richard Dyer-Bennet, standing there on stage wearing white tie and tails, was a hippie?

This can't be blamed on Bush, nor can it be blamed on the "goons." The air marshals, charged with protecting the passengers and the plane made a judgment call based on the evidence they had. They didn't shoot until the man, who claimed he had a bomb, reached into his briefcase.

Under the circumstances and given the nature of the perceived threat, it wasn't exactly practical to give the man a psychiatric evaluation before pulling the trigger.

Addendum on the use of deadly force:   a conscientious law-enforcement officer does not "shoot to kill," they think in terms of shooting to stop the person from doing whatever it is they are doing. The idea of the Lone Ranger never killing anyone who draws on him because he draws faster and shoots the gun out of their hand is pure fiction. No one, no matter how good a shot they are, can be sure of being that accurate. So, in circumstances like those the air marshals were facing (imminent explosion) they shot at what they could be reasonably certain of hitting:   the man's torso.

I'm no fan of George W. Bush, and I can find a lot of things to blame him for, but it's ree-bloody-diculous to try to blame him—or the air marshals—for this.

Don Firth