Oh, The Humanity...

These were the tragic headlines Monday as reported by CNN:

PARIS, France (CNN) -- The jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that disappeared overnight as it entered an area of strong turbulence probably crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, the CEO of Air France said Monday. Brazilian and French ships and planes were looking for any sign of the missing plane, authorities said. The chances of finding any survivors were "very low," French President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted Monday.

What follows as the article continues, is far more disturbing than the disaster itself...

The airline company identified the nationalities of the victims as two Americans, an Argentinean, an Austrian, a Belgian, 58 Brazilians, five British, a Canadian, nine Chinese, a Croatian, a Dane, a Dutch, an Estonian, a Filipino, 61 French, a Gambian, 26 Germans, four Hungarians, three Irish, one Icelandic, nine Italians, five Lebanese, two Moroccans, three Norwegians, two Polish, one Romanian, one Russian, three Slovakian, two Spanish, one Swedish, six Swiss and one Turk. An official list of victims by name was not available late Monday.

As I sat listening to the nightly news, the same phrases were used over and over until my bloody ears were ringing..."Among the victims were two Americans...." Hello...news dudes...did anybody notice that in this crash there were 228 PEOPLE that perished?! Does it really make it so much worse because there were a couple of Americans on board...is it not quite real unless there are Americans involved?!

Hey, life lost is life lost and no matter what nationality these passengers were... there are families left grieving their loved ones...Wondering how this could happen and planning funerals that are way too soon... Wishing they could see them just one more time, just one more hug or kiss or even to hear them say "I love you" one last time. Has society lost it's ever loving mind? Sadly this is not a recent observation...I've heard it time and again for as long as I can remember, every time such a tragedy occurs... Among the dead were Americans....

Tonight, I keep in my heart those that perished before their time and the devastated family members they left behind, may the love of the goddess heal your anguish and lessen your pain.....

In A Heartbeat...She was Gone

What follows is a local news story not too very far from my backyard....just a matter of minutes by car. How sad the world seems to be getting when children can no longer live the carefree, innocent life that all children have the right to. They should not worry that they might never see their families again simply because they were walking home...parents should never be seen grieving their loss on national or local television...This should be the best years of their little lives but yet our children are being taken... one by one... day by day and it seems that no child is truly safe. Today... I implore you to hug your children, hold them close and let them know how much they mean to you... teach them of "Stranger Danger" Have them check in often...know their friends...become aquainted with their friend's parents... don't turn your back on them, not even for a minute because they can disappear like a mist in only a heartbeat. The world is not like it was in my youth, a loss we should all be grieving for.

Transient sex offender admits beating Hazel Dell girl after attempted rape

02:07 PM PST on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
By kgw.com Staff

HAZEL DELL, Wash. -- A transient sex offender admitted to police that he violently beat a 13-year-old Hazel Dell girl after attempting to rape her and then moved her body afterwards to "an area where she would be found," according to a court document.
Detectives on Monday arrested Darin E. Sanford, 30, for the murder of Alycia D. Nipp, who was found beaten in a Hazel Dell field. Sanford was arrested on probable cause and charged with aggravated murder in the first degree, based on the confession he provided Clark County investigators.
Some of Nipp’s family members attended Sanford’s first court appearance Tuesday morning.
“They had to look at him and they had to see this monster that did this," Alycia’s aunt, Amber Hager said. “I want to see him sentenced to death, honestly. I think, he took a life and for that he deserves to give a life, his life.”

Post Script~ This very same man was the subject of a news story almost exactly a year ago...he was under arrest at the time for failure to register as a sex offender.