Blog Heap of Links for the day 20 April 2015

[Various local and state folks recall the aftermath]

“I was one of about 20 police and firefighters from Bartlesville that worked the Murrah Building explosion site. I was assigned to work outside the church where relatives of the victims waited for notification that their loved one had been found. On two separate occasions as folks were leaving the church, they came over to us and thanked us for being there. These folks had just been notified their loved ones had been found, yet they took the time to come and thank us. That is a memory I will never forget.…"

…He wasn't a firefighter at the time. Hrivak was a nursing student and fresh out of the Air Force. He had extensive mountaineering and rope rescue experience, which first responders thought would be useful at the site of the bombing. He learned everything on the job during the six weeks he was there, searching for survivors, sifting through debris, and trying to help heal a broken city. And years later, those experiences turned out to be invaluable, when Hrivnak's team got the call to respond to the Oso [Washington] mudslide….

…I am shaking and tears are flowing down my cheeks as I watch the news and listen to the insensitive, pain inflicting comments made by you in regards to the fall of Ramadi.

“The city itself is not symbolic in any way”? Oh, really? Are you willing to meet with me and with the families who have lost a son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, aunt, uncle, grandson, or teammate?

My son Marc Lee was the first Navy SEAL who sacrificed his life in Ramadi Iraq Aug 2, 2006. His blood is still in that soil and forever will be. …

I’ve traveled to Ramadi and visited Camp Marc Lee in 2007. I brought back soil from that city where Marc breathed his last. I interviewed Iraqi General Anwer in 2010 when I returned. I asked him “If you could say one thing to the American people what would you tell them? He paused and with deep emotion said “We will tell our children, our grandchildren, for generations to come we will tell them what Americans have done. There is American blood poured out on our soil.” It seems the Iraqis understand the importance more than you do sir. …

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It” [more]

…An Alabama woman survived both a home invasion by her armed estranged husband, only to be shot by a police officer responding to her mother’s 911 call.…

The Islamic State has released another video that purports to show the massacre of thirty people on the seashore in Libya. The victims, who were beheaded or shot, appear to be Ethiopian Christians.

In other news, Norway’s Labour Party has voted to recognize “Palestine”.

[more]

The Guardian: Two more migrant boats issue distress calls in Mediterranean…
[Headline links]

Yesterday's funnies are still funny today.

Vic drags the news together and sets it alight for your edutainment.

"…On this day in 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 people and injured 21 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. …"