I’d heard this already from a couple of other sources, but for some reason, the report from Iraq the Model hit me harder than the previous tellings had:

The suicide attack that was performed on an election center in one of Baghdad’s districts (Baghdad Al-Jadeedah) last Sunday was performed using a kidnapped “Down Syndrome” patient.

Eye witnesses said (and I’m quoting one of my colleagues; a dentist who lives there) “the poor victim was so scared when ordered to walk to the searching point and began to walk back to the terrorists. In response the criminals pressed the button and blew up the poor victim almost half way between their position and the voting center’s entrance”.

I couldn’t believe the news until I met another guy from that neighborhood who knows the family of the victim. The guy was reported missing 5 days prior to elections’ day and the family were distributing posters that specified his descriptions and asking anyone who finds him to contact them.

The more I think about this, the more I want to just sit here and cry. I haven’t been around people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities a whole lot, but possibly more than the average person.

When I think of a someone with Down’s (or, hell, anyone) being sent out like that, obviously terrified — so scared that, in his terror, he turns back to the people who’d kidnapped him…

There’s no excuse for this type of action. No amount of desperation, no amount of hopelessness… nothing excuses this.

When you have a moment, if you’re so inclined, pray for this young man’s family. If you’re not, just take a moment of silence.

I didn’t read his site when it was being updated, but I cannot begin to express exactly how big of a loss it is that Steven Den Beste stopped maintaining his blog, USS Clueless. There are certainly other bloggers (and non-bloggers) whose contributions are also very important. (Those links don’t represent every blog that I consider important — they’re only a couple of exemplary examples.) So, if it seems like I’m linking Den Beste’s blog a lot, it’s because I’m working through some of his archives (You should, too. Start with the Best Of archive, and you should check out his other articles and Essential Library).

I’ve updated my links to include USS Clueless, but since it’s not being updated, I included it in the “Other Sites” category, as well as The Ornery American and Orson Scott Card’s Hatrack River.

Other additions:

• Jay and Deb’s Accidental Verbosity
• Dean Esmay’s Dean’s World
• The Dissident Frogman
• Bill Whittle’s Eject! Eject! Eject!
• SCSIwuzzy’s A Planet Where Apes Evolved From MAN?!?
• Publicola
• Varifrank

I have a few others I want to add, but I’ve forgotten who they were, sadly. I’ll find the scrap paper where I wrote them down, eventually.

If you’ve linked me, and would like a reciprocal link, let me know. It’s rbsizemore at this domain.