Two from the e-mailbag:

In response to the disgusting obituary whitewashing the crimes of alleged double child-killer Stephen Byrne, my old friend Doug Thornton ripped off a note to Seattle Times bleeding heart columnist Nicole Brodeur, who expressed sympathy for Byrne:

Ms. Brodeur,

I read your column today, “You Never Know” and I was struck by the irony of using an absolute–never–to explain away a make-believe world where absolutes are not possible.

Can we agree the girls are innocent? Can we agree that their father was responsible–even with his “terrible burden” of depression?

Maybe their family has resigned themselves to the fact that no amount of anger or sadness will bring anyone back to life. Maybe they really do just want to focus on the “good” of this man’s life. But why do it publicly? What is to be gained from spinning this to the public?

It is clear that we cannot understand what was going on in this man’s mind, any more than we could tell you what a serial killer or suicidal terrorist is thinking before committing their crimes. Why would we care that–up until the point where he murders–he was a loving father? That is simply erased and does not matter. His love was a relic at that point; something that once existed. His family can choose to celebrate that, but I am offended that they would expect us to understand or care about that historical aspect of his life. It ceased when he pulled the trigger.

I’m brought to tears as I imagine the event. Especially for the child who was murdered last. What was she thinking? Was she terrified? Was she trusting? Did she know what had happened to her sister? Was she mistakenly loving her daddy until the final fatal moment?

His crime was selfish, a complete betrayal of love. The honorable things in his life are for naught. If the family wants to forgive a dead man for taking innocent lives then that’s a rationalization they can perform in private. I have no capacity for it. There is no remedy for this tragedy except the passing of time.

By ignoring the demons created by this heinous act, I’m guessing this family will be haunted and torn apart for many years to come. This obituary is so much protesting against the reality of this man’s actions. They don’t understand so they refuse to admit his guilt. That refusal will burden this family for a long long time.

So, while I might “never know” what this murderer was thinking, I will always know that taking an innocent life in a situation like this is wrong and not an act of love. Of that, I am certain.

And this from the many great letters in response to my column on the Open Borders Lobby:

I am an expat Brit, WWII veteran, in a firefight with the Japanese before my 18th birthday. Here is what I went through in 1947 to get an immigration visa.

My first visit to the US Consulate in London lasted about 30 minutes, answering questions about my background. When asked how I would support myself in the US I told the Consulate staffer I was a journeyman carpenter. He asked me for documentation which I could not provide so I was obliged to return with my Union Book and articles of completion of a six year apprenticeship.

When I returned I had a set of miniature battle ribbons on the lapel of my jacket. The same staffer then required proof of my right to wear those battle ribbons. I came back a third time with my honourable discharge papers and my Army paybook that showed my entire career from enlistment to final discharge after using up all accrued leave time. I also had to provide an affadavit from my US sponsor…

I was obliged to carry at all times an alien registration card until I became a citizen. After spending 49 months in the British Army I was obliged to register for the draft and when the Korean Conflict broke out I was drafted but a disability from my battlefield experiences kept me out of the army. And these immigrants today, legal and otherwise, think they have a difficult time.

I fought with an Allied Army and still had to prove myself before I got a visa…

Puts things in bracing perspective, doesn’t it?