This past week, while my friend and I were casually glued, like two women with cabin fever during a blizzard, to 'Lifetime Television for Women,' a hideous, heinous, awful crime took place. We had no idea about what had happened until later in the day when we turned to the news.

Imagine the jolt we felt when we finally arrived back in the real world, only to find that some insane madman had murdered several people.

As you realize, this paper is a weekly publication. Therefore, sometimes issues that really tug at my rage-o-meter, don't make it to print a timely fashion. I am aware that, by now, you have been inundated with all information having to do with this detestable deed and are up-to-date with it all.

Moving along, my friend, (I guess I could use her name, Liz), and I sat transfixed, in disbelief, as we took in the horror of it all. We watched and listened as names and brief descriptions of the dead and wounded were imparted.

We were dismayed, to say the least, and were especially sickened when we learned of the murder of a nine-year-old little angel, at the hands of a maniac.

All of the above barely had any time to sink in when it was suddenly and rudely overshadowed by outrageous speculations flying from the lips of an actual law-enforcement officer and by some in the media.

Yes, a loud-mouthed, foolish Arizona sheriff, who should have known better, began to bloviate and point fingers. He laid fault directly at the feet of those on talk radio and stated that political rhetoric had to stop. By saying this, he was indicating that political upheaval might have been behind the attack. This, mind you, happened before anyone knew anything at all about the shooter.

These factors, in his OPINION, led to the rampage. This Arizona law-enforcement agent spewed forth his views and did so without any evidence whatsoever. Isn't that just delightful coming from lawman during an open investigation?

I, in turn, began to shout wildly at the television because I couldn't believe that he would blurt out that kind of conjecture when he had no clue, at all, what this crazed lunatic’s motive was.

Honestly, I must confess that saying “I couldn't believe” isn't really the whole truth and nothing but. See, before I heard him speak, I knew, in my gut, that so called “right-winged groups” would be implicated. This is pretty typical and it really, truly, came as no giant surprise.

It was almost like some of the commentators were frothing-at-the-mouth with gleeful hope that it would turn out to be a Tea Party fan, or some other lover of all things conservative, who had murdered and wounded innocent people. That way, the Tea Party or some talk show person or some political figure could be blamed for this, of course, since that's what we do.

You see, my darling people, it's never the real outlaw who is guilty. Good gravy, what are you thinking? Don't you know that the fault always lies with EVERYONE AND ANYONE, other than the actual culprit, of course, when these horrid things unfold?

Once again, for the 57th time, I feel that I must say that I am NOT a right winger, left winger or any kind of political description that might take flight in the near future. Indeed, I’m one of those utopian dreamers who clings to the rosiness of having a libertarian-type-of-society.

So, I’m not outraged because “one of my own” was implicated as a catalyst. I am livid that the media, and others, jumped to conclusions, once again, with not a shred of proof to back their claims. The conclusion jumpers, most assuredly, did so in order to move the focus from the man with the gun, to his “reasons” for having the weapon in the first place.

Even if this creature had Rush Limbaugh piercing the airwaves on a 24-hour loop, read every book ever put out by Glenn Beck, watched O'Reilly 24-7 and gazed at his wall to wall posters of Sarah Palin, it would still be HIS fault.

The same goes for any kind of liberal blame. I vaguely recall some sort of “happening” at a cable station having to do with Al Gore. It was something about a person being upset with him over this or that. I clearly don't remember it all right now and, frankly, I don't feel like looking it up. However, I never, for even a nanosecond, thought it was Gore's fault for whatever went down.

I didn't even blame J. D. Salinger, (the author of “The Catcher in the Rye”), when John Lennon was murdered. How simply fair of me, huh?

Why don’t people point their collective bony tentacles, in the general direction of the ACTUAL goons who freak out and open fire? It's the least they could do and it might be a better course of action to take, rather than groping in the dark for someone, or some group, to accuse.

The Tea Party, Sarah Palin and others were all implicated as springboards which led to this guy's madness. I can't take it, but it appears to be par for the course.

Joe Blow blasts into a room, starts shooting and all the creeps seep from the woodwork in an effort to pin the rap on something, someone or some ideology.

The only time we are told to hold our opinions until the facts are out, is when a person might have ties with a radical Muslim group. In those cases, media outlets galore bend over backwards to skirt the issue.

Even after it was ascertained that this non-human did not launch into his tirade due to anything having to do with elections, health-care, or the like, some news personalities would not give up on playing that famous “Pin the Responsibly on Palin” party game.

The real reason why this happened was because the man is mentally ill. Perhaps spending a minute or two zeroing in on the plague of mental illness in this country might be a worthwhile undertaking?

Well, I can imagine the feedback I will get from this. I will be “accused” of being a Republican or a Tea Party worshiper or some other ridiculous title. I don't care. I just had to say something as it makes me more than livid and I simply couldn't let it go this time.

Plus, the important thing to remember is that lives were lost. At the very least we could honor the dead and wounded by seeing to it that we gather all of the facts in order to ensure that justice is truly carried out.