What Caught My Eye Today

Virginia Tech - In high school, Cho Seung-Hui almost never opened his mouth. When he finally did, his classmates laughed, pointed at him and said: "Go back to China." As such details of the Virginia Tech shooter's life come out, and experts pore over his sick and twisted writings and his videotaped rant, it is becoming increasingly clear that Cho was almost a textbook case of a school shooter: a painfully awkward, picked-on young man who lashed out with methodical fury at a world he believed was out to get him. When criminologists and psychologists look at mass murders, Cho fits the themes they see repeatedly: a friendless figure, someone who has been bullied, someone who blames others and is bent on revenge, a careful planner, a male. And someone who sent up warning signs with his strange behavior long in advance.

Yet somehow he still managed to pull this off. To me, that speaks volumes about the state about our mental health system...or lack thereof.

Attorney General - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales struggled Thursday to convince skeptical senators he did nothing improper in firing eight federal prosecutors, losing ground as a second senator from his own party joined the calls for his resignation. Republican as well as Democratic lawmakers challenged the embattled attorney general during an often-bitter five-hour hearing before the Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers confronted Gonzales with documents and sworn testimony they said showed he was more involved in the dismissals than he contended. Even with the White House offering fresh support, it was a long day for the attorney general. Seventy-one times he fell back on faulty memory, saying he could not recall or remember conversations or events surrounding the firings. On the bright side, we appear to have finally found something that appears to have bi-partisan support in Congess--the desire for Gonzales to resign.

Iraq - Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on an unannounced trip to Iraq, delivered a sharp message to the country's political leaders Thursday: The U.S. military's commitment to the war is not open-ended. Gates, traveling to Iraq for the third time in four months, took a decidedly stronger tone this time, reflecting U.S. frustration and the political tumult in Washington, where President Bush and Congress are deadlocked over whether to set an end date for the war. He said that the Washington debate has been helpful in letting the Iraqis know that American patience with the war is ebbing. That's certainly an interested way to put it. One wonders, if he cleared his comments with the White House first or just spoke his mind? If so, at least we have one guy associated with the Administration who has some grasp on reality.

American Idol - Finally...Sanjaya gets the boot. Thank God.

Baseball - Two superstars are having pretty good stars to the season.

Alex Rodriguez - Having homered for the third straight game, Rodriguez increased his major league-leading totals to 10 homers and 26 RBIs. Yet somehow, I'm guessing Yankees fans will find something to critize about A-Rod

Barry Bonds - Watch out, Mr. Selig. Bonds hit his fourth of the season bringing him to 738, just 18 shy of breaking Hank Aaron's reord.