Santa Barbara Beacon

Video: Sarah Palin discussing her 'foreign policy experience'

2008-09-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

From the CBS Evening News interview:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4478156n

Sarah Palin - Lowering the country's IQ every time she opens her mouth.

Labels: john mccain sarah palin republican republicans election inexperience religious extremist vp president

An Independent voter's concerns about Sarah Palin

2008-09-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

Billed by McCain as bearing "a message of reform and public integrity," Sarah Palin is currently under investigation herself. A few weeks ago, a bipartisan panel of Alaska state legislators appointed an independent investigator to look into charges that Palin abused her office. In mid-July she fired the Alaska public safety commissioner, allegedly after he refused to dismiss her former brother-in-law, a state trooper who divorced Palin's sister three years ago and was locked in a custody dispute over their child. In 1996, Palin demanded certain books, at her discretion, should be banned from the Wasilla public library. When Palin was unable to convince the chief librarian, she fired her. From 2003 to June 2005, Palin served as one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.". On July 29, 2008 Ted Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of money laundering.

As Mayor of the town of Wasilla (population 7,000) Palin, who portrays herself as a fiscal conservative, racked up nearly $20 million in long-term debt as mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla "that amounts to $3,000 per resident." The town of Wasilla filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. She argued that the debt was needed to fund improvements. Palin had already increased taxes by 18% leading critics to label her a "borrow and spend Republican."

As Governor of Alaska, Palin cut Alaska's funding for special needs children by 60%. As a Ted Steven supporter, Palin supported the "Bridge to Nowhere". Palin ran for governor on a "build-the-bridge" platform, attacking "spinmeisters" for insulting local residents by using the term "Bridge to Nowhere."In October 2006, she stated that she favored building the bridges "sooner rather than later."

Critics of Sarah Palin are concerned by her anti-American views. From 1978 through 1996, Palin and her husband Todd were members of the secessionist Alaska Independence Party. While attending the Alaska Independence Party convention, Palin said in a televised speech "I'm an Alaskan, not an American. I've got no use for America or her damned institutions". Later in the speech, Palin said "The fires of Hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government."

Palin's credentials are based essentially around her "family values". Despite advocating "abstinence only" sex education, Palin's 15 year old daughter, Bristol Palin is pregnant, leading to claims of hypocrisy. Palin has stated that she believes in no birth control (not even for married couples), abstinence-only sex education and no abortion under any circumstance, including rape, incest or where the mother's life is in danger. Palin supports a constitutional amendment to ban abortion under and has said that she would sign an executive order overturning 'Roe vs. Wade' in her first day in office.

Sarah Palin has been criticized by moderates as a religious extremist who pushed for Creationism to be taught in schools. Palin does not believe in evolution and believes that the Earth is only 5000 years old. During an interview with the Anchorage Daily News two years ago Sarah Palin said:

God made dinosaurs 4,000 years ago as ultimately flawed creatures, lizards of Satan really, so when they died and became petroleum products we, made in his perfect image, could use them in our pickup trucks, snow machines and fishing boats.

In relation to the environment, Palin has a track record of putting Alaskan big oil interests ahead of the environment. Palin does not believe in global warming. Palin has also outraged animal rights activists by supporting the aerial hunting of bears, wolves and eagles. Palin supports slant oil drilling in the Alaskan wilderness and supports mining companies who have depleted the salmon population and increased the toxicity of the rivers and streams.

In terms of foreign policy experience, Palin has none. Palin, who was a sportscaster for a local NBC station in Alaska, does not own a passport and has never left the United States.

Labels: john mccain republican president cindy mccain gop, john mccain sarah palin republican republicans election inexperience religious extremist vp president

"I'm an Alaskan, not an American" Secessionist Sarah Palin member of Alaskan Independence Party

2008-09-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

"I'm an Alaskan, not an American. I've got no use for America or her damned institutions"

Sarah Palin attending the 2000 Alaskan Independence convention

(AP) Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the presumptive 2008 Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States, attended the Alaskan Independence Party's 2000 secessionist convention while she was still mayor of Wasilla.

Lynnette Clark, the party's current chairwoman, also said that Palin attended the party's 1994 convention. Clark and other members confirmed that Palin was actually a member of the party in the mid-1990s.

Palin recorded a message welcoming party members to its 2008 convention as Governor of Alaska.

Critics are concerned that Sarah Palin is a secessionist who backs Alaskan independence and harbors anti-American views.

Labels: inexperience religious extremist vp president, john mccain sarah palin republican republicans election inexperience religious extremist vp president, republicans election john mccain

John McCain's dangerous choice - Getting to know Sarah Palin

2008-08-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

I just don't know about John McCain.

John McCain may be a grumpy old man but what concerns me most is that he has no knowledge or even interest in domestic or foreign affairs. For someone who has voted with Bush 90% of the time, John McCain is hardly a 'maverick', in fact he's more of a sidekick.

The most disturbing thing about John McCain is his lack of judgment. How can he (after spending the entire campaign criticizing Barack Obama's "inexperience") turn around and appoint a complete novice with zero policy experience as his VP? To be blunt, I think the answer is that John McCain is two beers short of a six pack. I can't decide what bothers me more: McCain's physical health (cancer twice) or his declining mental health (solitary confinement, temper tantrums).

At 72, John McCain is completely out of touch with America - he can't remember how many houses he owns, he admits he knows NOTHING about the economy, and he's not sure who we're fighting in Iraq! The only sure thing in John McCain's life is apple sauce farts.

When reporters question McCain on his cozy relationships with Big Oil, or his closeness to Washington lobbyists or his adultery, he always comes back with the retort "I was a POW for five years". He's basically telling the media that because he was a POW so no one should dare to question his pro-Bush policies.

Everything McCain says seems to go back to him being a POW for five years. I think it shows bad character to not set the record straight about his duty. McCain loves the attention he receives by telling his story about turning down early parole but the facts prove that John McCain is taking credit for doing what he was supposed to do, it's called duty. As an officer in the United States military, he was required to turn down early parole, a fact that can be verified in the Vietnam-era military Serviceman's Code. John McCain is manipulating the American people by taking credit for something that was his sworn duty.

And now John "Mr Judgment"McCain has chosen a VP who's had one year of experience as Governor of Alaska and was mayor of a town of 9000 people! Sarah Palin is an anti-choice religious extremist who would be a heartbeat away from the Presidency! Why does John McCain think Sarah Palin is ready to be Commander in Chief? Was it because she played point guard for her high school basketball team? The last thing this country needs is another opinionated yokel who can be easily manipulated, we just had eight years of that.

Choosing Sarah Palin as VP demonstrates John McCain's complete lack of judgment. It's not that John McCain doesn't care - it's that he just doesn't get it. This is a change election and the only change we're going to get from McCain is him changing his Depends. 82% of Americans think this country is on the wrong track, choosing Sarah Palin as VP means the "Straight Talk Express" has just derailed.

Some more interesting reading:

Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.

Huh?

Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:

She was elected Alaska 's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.¹

Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.²

She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. ³

Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.⁴

She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.⁵

She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.⁶

How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.⁷

Here's what Alaskans are saying about their Governor:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.

In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.

1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-6439048-5_RjRZx&t=1

3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-6439048-5_RjRZx&t=2

4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-6439048-5_RjRZx&t=3

5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-6439048-5_RjRZx&t=4

6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-6439048-5_RjRZx&t=5

"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-6439048-5_RjRZx&t=6

"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-6439048-5_RjRZx&t=7

7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-6439048-5_RjRZx&t=8

Labels: john mccain sarah palin republican republicans election inexperience religious extremist vp president

The 'Jena Six' - Why the controversy?

2007-09-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

-Editorial-

Jena Six - Why the controversy?

Let's start with some basic facts. The South is segregated. In the Deep South it's always been that way. Always has, always will. The government, the police, the schools, the media and the controversy surrounding the 'Jena Six' are never going to change the fact that the South is segregated. The media can delude itself all it wants but the reality is that civil rights activists and politicians are never going to change the South.

What went on in Jena is a microcosm of what goes on everyday in this country. The media pretend things like this only happen in Jena, but the reality is that it happens all the time throughout the United States. People from different socio-economic backgrounds and racial identities tend to stick together in groups. The simple fact is that, despite idealism, races segregate themselves. In Maryland, I went to racially diverse schools (50%black/50% black) and this was reality. Despite what idealists want us to believe, the cafeteria was predominantly segregated. White students sat together and separately black students sat together. And despite some crossover, for the most part, lines were drawn by race.

This so-called "prank" which involved a noose hanging from a tree was undoubtedly a racially provocative act. The kids who put the noose on the tree should be charged with a hate crime. The hanging of a noose from a tree is just as provocative as burning a cross in a black family's yard.

But all this outrage and controversy regarding the 'Jena Six' seems misguided. Our society is governed by the rule of law and in a civilized society you don't take the law into your own hands. Six black guys almost beat a white student to death was and now they're complaining about their rights? Why shouldn't they be charged with second degree attempted murder? The 'Jena Six' are simply a band of vigilantes operating outside the law. They are just as guilty of a hate crime as those who placed the noose in the tree. It is ironic that there is such a controversy over the trials of the Jena Six when they themselves are responsible for committing an act akin to lynch mob vigilantism.

No one is above the rule of law. If the District Attorney has acted improperly, the Federal government will intervene. But the fact remains that if you commit a hate crime, no matter what the cause, you should be given a fair trial and if found guilty, punished.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six

Labels: david bowie, district attorney reed walters, hate crime, jena 6, jena six, mos def, noose, white tree

Republican Senator Larry Craig sought gay sex in an airport men's room

2007-08-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

Larry - That's not a microphone!

Looks like Republican Senator Larry Craig is going with the Ted Haggard defense "I'm not gay, I just put penises in my mouth". Funny how these arrests keep happening to conservative Republicans. So much for practicing what you preach. Craig railed against gays, gay rights, gay marriage, and gays in the military but apparently he's okay with gays in his bathroom stall.

Now reports are surfacing that Senator Craig frequently had his nine-hole probed in the men's room at Union Station. Craig insisted today "I am not gay" but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, Senator Craig would probably put it up his ass.

Evangelical leader Rev. Ted Haggard preached against the depravity of homosexuality only to be outed by a male prostitute who, on numerous occasions, had received fellatio from the good Reverend.

Don't be surprised if Senator Craig follows the 'Mark Foley Plan' by claiming he was just 'acting out'. Next up for Craig is a trip to Switzerland for a stay at the famed Koch-Schmoker Clinic to be cured of his homosexual tendencies.

Getting caught playing 'hide the salami' with another man is certainly embarrassing. He has embarrassed his country, his state and the US Senate. Craig has a lot of egg on his face, but if you see him in an airport bathroom, it's probably not egg.

-ARTICLE-

AUGUST 28 - Here's the Minnesota police report memorializing the June 11 arrest of U.S. Senator Larry Craig in an airport bathroom. The Idaho Republican was nabbed in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after he apparently sought some same-stall action from a plainclothes cop.

In a District Court complaint, Craig was charged with peeping and disorderly conduct. He pleaded guilty earlier this month to the misdemeanor disorderly conduct count and was fined $1000 and sentenced to ten days in the Hennepin County lockup (though the jail time was stayed as long as the politician keeps clean for a year).

According to the Airport Police Department report, Craig, 62, appeared versed in the subtle signs of seeking a stall assignation, from under-the-divider hand motions to some furtive footsie. For his part, Craig denies engaging in lewd conduct and contends that Karsnia misconstrued his actions.

As for his expeditious plea, Craig now regrets admitting guilt, a realization that directly coincides with Roll Call's unearthing of the details of his bathroom bust. In a press conference today, Craig claimed he "did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport," contradicting the plea agreement he signed earlier this month.

Sen. Larry Craig insisted today "I am not gay" and lashed out at the Idaho Statesman for a "witchhunt" that led him to plead guilty to a disorderly conduct charge — a plea he hoped would make the charge go away.

Craig said his state of mind was troubled then because of an Idaho Statesman investigation into rumors circulated by a blogger and published by many other papers in the state. The paper printed nothing until news of Craig's arrest became public Monday.

Labels: senator larry craig us senate gay sex bathroom airport minneapolis st paul bathroom stall i'm not gay but my boyfriend is

Zaca Fire still raging Mushroom cloud towers over Santa Barbara

2007-08-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

Just my luck that I've move to Santa Barbara, buy a house in upper Mission Canyon and face the fourth biggest forest fire in California history (180,000 acres) and the driest summer for 100 years. Not to mention that Santa Barbara County had less rainfall this year than Death Valley. A perfect firestorm of conditions.

A mushroom cloud of smoke towers over the 4,000 foot Santa Ynez mountains and reaches up to 20,000 feet in the sky. Those nights of star gazing are a thing of the past.

I'm not too worried about my own property, to be honest I feel worse about the fire destroying the California Condor Sanctuary on Sisquoc River. The condors are almost extinct, in fact there are only 300 California condors left in the world and most of them are heading to Mexico. A real shame because I enjoy birding and love seeing the 12 foot wing spanned condors swoop over the mountains. Our bald eagle population aren't fairing much better. The Dick Smith Wilderness now appears doomed. Especially with the prospect of more back country back burning on the horizon.

No self-respecting Barbareno reads the Santa Barbara News-Press, a point proven by their online Zaca Fire coverage that is only available to paid subscribers. Its a yellow rag anyway. I wouldn't be surprised to see publisher Wendy McCaw fiddling on State Street while Santa Barbara burns. Not too hard to envision, they're both tyrants.

Once again, the small budget of the Santa Barbara Independent has outgunned the NP. The Independent's coverage of the fire has been concise and accurate. There's a real push in our community to get local hiker/photographer/reporter Ray Ford a Pulitzer or at the very least a local hero award.

Thank you Ray for your outstanding committment to our community and thank you to our brave firefighters who are out there every day without complaint. We are proud of you all.

Labels: zaca fire santa barbara independent ray ford pulitzer mission canyon montecito santa ynez camino cielo back country back burning firefighters

Dick Cheney is right - Why the Iraq invasion was a mistake

2007-08-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Labels: dick cheney george w bush iraq iran war occupation car bomb baghdad how many americans will this administration slaughter

Sopranos Season Finale = WTF?

2007-06-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

What a waste of time that was. I've been watching 'The Sopranos' since the beginning and there have been some classic episodes over the years but the finale was garbage. I feel robbed.

It a shame because this season could have been so much better. Imagine Tony getting whacked by Silvio. Imagine AJ whacking Silvio and becoming boss of North Jersey. Imagine Meadow doing drugs and descending into the world of porn. It ain't wholesome but damn it would've been intense. Far more intense than watching the Sopranos sit down and have dinner and then the screen goes black...

Bird shits on President Bush

2007-05-24T21:11:00.000-07:00

Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was laughed at

2007-04-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Va. Tech Shooter Was Laughed At

By MATT APUZZO
Associated Press Writer

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Long before he boiled over, Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was picked on, pushed around and laughed at because of his shyness and the strange way he talked when he was a schoolboy in suburban Washington, former classmates say.

Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior who graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., with Cho in 2003, recalled that the South Korean immigrant almost never opened his mouth and would ignore attempts to strike up a conversation.

"As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, `Go back to China"

Once, in English class, the teacher had the students read aloud, and when it was Cho's turn, he just looked down in silence, Davids recalled. Finally, after the teacher threatened him with an F for participation, Cho started to read in a strange, deep voice that sounded ``like he had something in his mouth,'' Davids said. ``As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, `Go back to China,''' Davids said.

Cho shot 32 people to death and committed suicide Monday in the deadliest one-man shooting rampage in modern U.S. history. The high school classmates' accounts add to the psychological portrait that is beginning to take shape, and could shed light on the video rant Cho mailed to NBC in the middle of his rampage at Virginia Tech.

aka "Ishmael Ax"

2007-04-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - With a backlash developing against the media for airing sickening pictures from Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui, Fox News Channel said Thursday it would stop and other networks said they would severely limit their use. NBC News was the recipient Wednesday of Cho's package of rambling, hate-filled video and written messages, with several pictures of him posing with a gun. Contents began airing on "Nightly News," and its rivals quickly used them, too.

Family members of victims canceled plans to appear on NBC's "Today" show Thursday because they "were very upset" with the network for showing the pictures, "Today" host Meredith Vieira said.

NBC and its MSNBC cable outlet will "severely limit" use of these pictures going forward, "Today" host Matt Lauer said, a restriction echoed by ABC News. At both CBS News and CNN, producers will need explicit approval from their bosses to use them going forward.
Fox News announced on the air late Thursday morning that it would no longer air Cho's material, saying "sometimes you change your mind."

NBC News said it had no indication why Cho chose it for his message. A Postal Service time stamp shows it was mailed at 9:01 a.m. Monday, during the two hours between his first shooting at a Virginia Tech dorm and his massacre at a classroom building.

---

The killer: Who was he?

DORM MATES AT TECH RECALL GUNMAN: 'HE DIDN'T REALLY TALK TO ANYBODY'

BLACKSBURG -- An orange paper fish stuck outside the door to Room 2121 of Harper Hall bears the names "Joe" and "Seung-Ho," a bright, promising note to a new school year.
It went up in August when Joseph E. Aust and Cho Seung-Hui moved in. Cho barely said a word after that. On Monday, he took his guns and -- still silent, witnesses say -- killed 32 students and faculty.

His roommate, appearing tired and overwhelmed yesterday, has no idea why.
"I didn't really know him at all," Aust said. "I tried to make conversation with him in August or so, and he would just give one-word answers and not try to carry on a conversation."
Aust didn't learn Cho was an English major -- one whose creative writing features talk of rape and pedophilia and angry desires to kill -- until yesterday.

Aust, 19, of Maryland, is a sophomore and an electrical engineering major. He said Cho, 23 and a senior, "was always really, really quiet. . . . He didn't really talk to anybody."
"I would notice a lot of times, like, I would come in the room and he'd be just kind of like sitting at his desk, just staring at nothing. It seemed a little odd, but I would pass it . . . off like he was just weird," said Aust.

A native of South Korea, Cho lived with his parents in Centreville and was a 2003 graduate of Westfield High School in Fairfax County.

At Tech, Aust and Cho lived in one of three, two-person rooms that, along with a small bathroom, make up each suite at the dorm. The suite looks lived-in but fairly clean. There are plastic bottles of hand soap on the sink and a can of spray disinfectant below.
News of what Cho did shocked and surprised many who came into contact with him during the past year.

Like Aust, they have no explanation for what happened Monday morning.
"I didn't really see him," Aust said. "I was sleeping at the time. I could hear him get up, and I looked at my clock and noticed what time he was waking up'cause he makes a lot of noise, usually." "It was like, 5:30 or 6." Aust said he went back to sleep.

He said Cho seemed to go through his normal morning routine: went to the bathroom, dressed and took his medicine. Aust said Cho had prescription medication, but he did not know what it was. Cho also wore contacts and used eyedrops.

Aust said that Cho did not keep normal student hours. He went to bed relatively early, about 9 p.m., and arose around 7 a.m. However, Aust said that in the past couple of weeks, "he'd been getting up earlier and earlier -- about like, 5:30, 6."

Neither Aust nor Grewal ever saw Cho with a friend of either sex. "I never saw him with anybody. . . . He seemed like a guy who didn't have a lot of friends," Grewal said. "He didn't speak to any of us, his roommates."

He did listen to all kinds of music, including rock, rap and classical. Aust and Grewal said Cho frequently worked out with weights at a campus gymnasium.

Neither knew what reason he would have to be at either building where the shootings took place. And they never saw him with firearms or ammunition.
Grewal returned to his room and was asleep during the shootings. "I just woke up about 9:30 when I heard the sirens."

Cho's recent writings were unsettling, some who read them say.

One play, called "Richard McBeef" features violence and profanity, with a teenager protagonist chanting "Must kill. Must kill," referring to his stepfather. In the play, the teen attempts to suffocate the stepfather.

A fellow student in his playwriting class, Susan Derry, told The Collegiate Times his plays "were really morbid and grotesque."

She said Cho never spoke in class and would only shrug if asked to talk about his work.
Ed Falco, who teaches the playwriting class, said he couldn't talk about Cho or his work. He said the university's lawyers asked staff not to talk about Cho as long as the investigation continues.
Those living with Cho at Harper Hall, however, were not aware of those restrictions.
Grewal said he and Aust were surprised when they learned Cho was the killer.

"I actually didn't believe it," he said. "I would have gone as far as telling the cops that he did not seem capable of anything like this," he said. "He was a pretty small kid. . . . I just thought he was a quiet guy." Last August, "I said, 'Hi,' to him twice. He never replied, he just shied away," Grewal said.

Cho Seung Hui was a fan of violent video games.

Several Korean youths who knew Cho Seung Hui from his high school days said he was a fan of violent video games, particularly Battlefield 2 and Counterstrike, both hugely popular online games, in which players join military groups and try to shoot each other using all types of guns. The name "Ishmael Ax" was found scrawled in red ink on the killer's arm, apparently a reference to his Xbox Live gamer tag "Ishmael Ax".