Sad, Tragic, Unfortunately Not Surprising

The top story in the national news today comes from my own back yard. The sad story of the Lefkow family and their deaths hits, as all such stories should, at a viceral and emotional level because we are wired to react that way.

Read the full details here in the Chicago Tribune (remember, this story is still developing).

The thing that worries me the most is that is seems dangerous people are not insulated from the rest of society when they are in prison. Just this week, it was revealed by NBC News that three of the conspirators in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center were able to communicate their praise and admiration for OBL from jail without any trouble. If this was possible, who is to say that Matthew Hale could not communicate with the outside and his sick followers, passing on new marching orders from behind a prison wall?

These sorts of people are smart and dangerous. They realize these security problems and exploit them to the hilt. Hale inspired hate, murder and destruction...how could he be different now?

This is all speculation on my part, of course. It could be a random act of violence, so terrible and common in Chicago and other metro areas. It could be any number of factors seeing that judges often gain quite a group of enemies.

I cannot help making the connection. It is in these moments that the enemies of civilization show themselves to be cunning, devious and truly agents of evil in our time. Hopefully, from tragedy can come new hope for the world. We must believe this; it is the only step between hope and utter despair.