Cynthia Tucker discusses serial killers and race.

As the newscaster read the suspect's name, "John Allen Williams, aka John Allen Muhammad," skeins of dread knotted in my gut, pushing back the relief that had welled up with first news of the sniper's arrest. I waited for the inevitable mug shot to pop up on my television screen.

I stared, trying through sheer willpower to alter the suspect's racial identity. But it was no use. A man whose mother gave him the name "John Allen Williams" and who later changed it to "John Allen Muhammad" could only be black.

Since that Thursday in October, many African-Americans have struggled to make sense of this grim note in black history: If convicted, Muhammad and his alleged accomplice, John Lee Malvo, will become America's most notorious black serial killers, forever changing the conventional wisdom that serial murder is a white man's sickness.

It was not an accomplishment for which black America clamored.

I do not think of the sniper as a serial killer, however. Three of the key characteristics of a serial killer are motive, choice of victim and time between killings. The sniper does not fit the serial killer profile on any of those three.

On motive, the sniper killed because he blamed the United States for his failures in life. He killed to punish the U. S. and it's citizens. He even tried to extort money to quit. A true serial killer has one of 7 general motives. They range from being told to kill, getting pleasure from killing, or feeling a surge in power during the kill. The sniper's motive does not fit in with the 7 general motives.

The sniper chose random victims, and did not fixate on any special group.  A serial killer usually fixates on a certain victim profile. For example, Jack the Ripper targeted on female prostitutes. The sniper does not fit in this category either.

The sniper killed many people quickly, in different locations. This would normally be characteristic of a spree killer. A serial killer kills people over a relatively long period of time, with a cooling off period that usually is weeks or months. Years may even pass between killings. He fails in this description also.

The sniper is not a serial killer. He may be a spree killer, or more likely terrorist. I think the white man's stranglehold on the serial killer profile is safe.

      your note []

AJC takes appropriate stand on yesterday's "kissing" story.

Overkill, as Men at Work would say.

      your note []

Nice editorial about judicial nominations.

In a speech that appears to have been timed for the upcoming elections, President Bush attacked the Senate this week for having a "lousy record" of confirming his judicial nominees. The facts do not bear this out. The Democratic-controlled Senate confirmed 80 judges in its first 15 months in power - more than the Republican-led Senate confirmed in its final 30 months in control, from 1999 through the summer of 2001.

Also noted is the administrations knack for choosing people with terrible records on civil rights who tend to favor big business over judicial precedent. Then their is the abortion thing.

      your note []

Are we being just a little to politically correct?

A University of Tennessee fraternity has been suspended because of an incident last week in which white members painted their faces to look like the black pop group The Jackson Five.

If their had been maliciousness or intent to disparage I could see the problem. But can no white people now ever dress up as an African-American? I use to love Gladys Knight and the Pips, and watched their television show every week. Am I now not allowed to dress up as a Pip for Halloween, or a party? I can do the "backup singers dance." Can I dress up as Gladys? Uhh,... wait. Forget I said that.

Is it now wrong for a group of black guys to impersonate the Osmonds? Okay, like that would ever happen, but is it wrong?

I had even forgotten that Michael Jackson was ever black.

      your note []

T. Bogg is truly upset at what the Bush economic policies have reduced the American People to.

Upon opening the door I found two oddly dressed children standing on the porch with open bags and expectant looks on their faces. Needless to say, it immediately occurred to me that they were going door-to-door begging for food. I thought to myself, has the economy collapsed this much? Is this what we have come to? When I asked them if they were hungry, they glanced at each other with quizzical looks that I took to mean "duh...of course we're hungry". Thinking that they looked like they could use a hot meal, I asked if they would like to come in and have, maybe a grilled-cheese sandwich. At this point they nervously glanced toward the street and I saw what I assumed to be their parents standing on the sidewalk with anxious smiles looking toward us. How incredibly sad! These people had been reduced to taking their children out on a cold October night to beg for food!

Tom Bogg is one of the funniest bloggers out there. Why his blog is at the top of my blogrole. Go read his stuff. And give the poor children some food.

      your note []

Per due campaign uses debate blunder in ad criticizing Governor Barnes.

The Perdue ad shows Barnes saying in the debate: "Out of 20,000 children, you're going to have children die every day." Immediately after the debate, Barnes said he had misspoken. "No child dying in state custody is acceptable," he said.

Actually, children die every day. It would be natural for some of those to be in state custody.

To run an ad saying that our Governor finds children being hurt or dying through state mismanagement okay, is ludicrous. Barnes, a Democrat, has worked to improve the child welfare system. Through Barnes, more money is being funneled into the system, and more caseworkers hired. For Republicans like Perdue, who have historically gutted any child welfare system, to proclaim themselves as saviors is outrageous.

The really sad part is that many voter on the bubble may actually believe the ad. And most right wing hacks will try to use it as a club.

A bunch of tightly wound school administrators don't seem to understand Halloween.

The idea is to be distracting. And not letting Elvis go to class? I could understand if we were talking about Jerry Lee Lewis.

Probably better than her and her mother having to live in a shelter.

It is nice to see that her and her mother will not have to put up with the step-father's shit anymore. Sad to see that this will probably cause some emotional harm to her.

      your note []

Good call by Media Whores Online.

They found up what I knew must have existed. A Senator who was booed at a previous memorial service. A Senator who was also a Democrat being booed at a previous memorial service. All the rights wingers approved of the booing in that case. Rush, Boortz, Drudge and all were applauding the booers on their forums. Now that it was a Republican being booed at the Wellstone memorial, they complain. The hypocrisy of the Republican party just absolutely amazes me.

Other articles on the memorial are also on the site. Mail the link to your friends.

      your note []

Iraq was targeted long before 9/11.

Jay Bookman pens an interesting editorial about when and why the Bush administration targeted Iraq. He quotes a letter sent to Clinton in 1998.

Four years ago, on Jan. 26, 1998, a group of conservatives sent a strongly worded letter to President Clinton, insisting even back then that U.S. foreign policy "should aim above all at the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power." It also states that "American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the U.N. Security Council."

What makes the letter so interesting is the identity of those who signed it, and the jobs they now hold. Among them were:

Paul Wolfowitz, today the deputy secretary of defense; Richard Armitage, now deputy secretary of state; Paula Dobriansky, now undersecretary of state for global affairs; Peter Rodman, today the assistant secretary of defense; Richard Perle, current chairman of the Defense Policy Board; Elliott Abrams, now on the president's National Security Council; Zalmay Khalilzad, now the president's special envoy to Afghanistan; and John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.

Oh, and Rumsfeld, too.

Go on and read it.

I am beginning to think that rappers have the life expectancy of a green private in Vietnam.

He was shot in the head / Now Jam Master's dead / He didn't have a gun / Nor did he run

Okay, no rapper would use "nor."

I do remember when DMC was big, and I certainly remember when they released the video with Aerosmith, who should have been shot after their last cd.

A tragic ending to an artist who did encourage peace between gangs in Los Angeles.

And once again, GO HOME EARLY!

This is the worst day for afternoon rush hour in Atlanta. WIth Halloween and the recent change in time, it is a night mare!

      your note []

Kiss on girlfriend's forehead earns student suspension.

Not only did he have to serve a suspension, but as a football player he had to miss the homecoming game. He must not be a good football player. When I was in high school a football player had to kill somebody to get held out of a game.

I wonder if it is okay to give your mom a kiss if she droped you off at school? How about your grandmother? Your cousin? Your cousin if you are dating? Any of the above if they slip you the tounge?

      your note []

Road rage on 400 during morning rush hour.

Drivers on crowded Georgia 400 this morning watched in horror as the driver of one car punched out the window of another.

I don't think they watched in horror. I think some pointed with wide-open eyes and laughed. Some probably secretly wished they could do the same. Others probably gave the guy punching out the window a big thumbs up!

The AJC version.

Tomorrow is the scariest night of the year!

No, not just Halloween. We are talking the Halloween traffic jam! This is the worst traffic jam every year in Atlanta. It is legendary. When I commuted to Cumming, Georgia every night, a 90 minute drive on good days, I would leave work at lunch. Now that I live 7 miles from work, I leave at 3:30 pm at the latest.

      your note []

Back from paradise!

Puerto Rico was fantastic. It is a beautiful island. A great vacation getaway. I will post some stories soon about our trip. Photos will be posted as soon as I can afford to get them developed. For today, I will make some quick comments.

Puerto Rico is an island paradise. I can say this about almost every area that has not been "trashed" by the locals. I understand there is severe poverty and an astronomical unemployment rate, but to watch locals finish off beer and then just toss the bottles on an already filthy beach was startling. The more locals that frequented any area, the more filthy it was.

We went to a secluded beach, Sun Bay, on the island of Vieques, and it was reminiscent of watching Fantasy Island. We were the only people on the beach, except for a quick visit by a model in a bathing suit with a photographer and a few helpers. All we could do was sit there and gaze. At a similar beach on Puerto Rico itself where there were hundreds of locals, it was completely trashed. Give a hoot, don't pollute.

I worked as a courier in Atlanta, Georgia for years when I returned to college. I can drive in rush hour traffic without fear. I can be very aggressive when I need to be. I can block somebody from bullying their way into my lane better than most NASCAR drivers. I am good.

In Puerto Rico, I was scared. And amazed. Those people are nuts! If a line of cars is making a left hand turn with a green arrow in Atlanta and the light turns red, usually two or three cars try to rush through. In Puerto Rico they do not stop. Ever. They will keep turning left until there are no more cars, or you physically block them. Making left hand turns from the right lane may be legal there. Or at least it seems to be legal. Driving up the shoulder or the median is an art form, and a popular one. In effect any two lane road is actually a four lane road. Stop signs are only suggestions. In some intersections stop signs appear to be starting lines. Cars stop at the signs and then they all go at once. Whoever gets through first wins!

Puerto Ricans park anywhere they want. There are 1.5 million cars on an island 110 by 30 miles. All roads have parked cars packed on both sides. There are so many, it is sensory overload after a while. Old San Juan was one big parking lot. Hard to describe.

I could go on about the driving, and may well later in a story. All-in-all I liked the island and will go back some day. For now it is good to be home, be near my dogs, have large cups of coffee, and have an internet connection. I have a lot of reading to catch up on.

One more thing, the nicest people there are northern transplants. We met many, and got many free rides around the island of Vieques, where we did not have a car for one afternoon. They would stop as we sat waiting for taxis, pick us up, and drive us around telling us about themselves and their Puerto Rican life. Wonderful people!

      your note []