The line is open. Have some cheese dip. To finish up;
* SINCE JASON RAPERT WON'T SHARE IT, WE WILL: Received this note today from an Arkansas lawyer:
Hello Mr. Brantley,My name is Nader Afsordeh and I would like to share something with you. This past weekend I saw the now infamous Rapert video wherein he essentially insulted every type of minority in the state of Arkansas. In response to that I wrote him a letter on his Facebook page, which the last time I saw before he removed it, had nearly 650 likes, from conservatives, liberals, Christians, and Muslims.
He has since removed the letter AND he has blocked me from his page! That's just crazy! Is this how he's supposed to change the hearts and minds of the people??? Blocking polite political discourse? You can read the letter and if you find something offensive in it, please let me know.
Read the letter at his Facebook page. He writes that his parents fled Middle Eastern fundamentalism to settle in America in the 1970s. He observes that Rapert seems to say that being Muslim is anti-American and by his words invites others to disdain and mistrust those who speak, look or pray differently. Asfordeh writes:
... I am very aware of how religious fundamentalism can and will hijack legitimate government and take them down a similar totalitarian path. Your statement to your crowd that "we're not going to allow minorities to run roughshod over what you people believe in" makes me wonder exactly what you are talking about.
And, THAT, is a reasonable observation. If Jason Rapert did not mean to insult anyone, he has so far only hastened to defend his remarks, not explain or ameliorate.
* SEAL SNIPER KILLED AT GUN RANGE A sad story in Texas, where a Navy SEAL sniper was slain, along with a friend, at a shooting range. The developing story indicates the former SEAL, Chris Kyle, was mentoring a Marine veteran by taking him to the range.
"Apparently Mr. Kyle works with people that are suffering from some issues that have been in the military and this shooter is possibly one of those people, that he had taken out to the range to mentor, to visit with, to help him, you know, that's all I can tell you," Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant."Kind of have an idea that maybe that's why they were at the range, for some type of therapy that Mr. Kyle assists people with, and I don't know if it's called shooting therapy," Bryant said. "I don't have any idea but that's what little bit of information that we can gather so far."
The shooter is believed to have used a semi-automatic handgun.