TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

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  • Follow-Up Monday

    Follow-Up Monday

    Now, following up on the reaction to the Klebold interview…

    Columbine parents outraged:
    As expected, more parents of Columbine victims are outraged over the comments by Dylan Klebold’s parents.

    From Don Fleming, whose daughter Kelly was killed…

    “The Klebolds are totally disgusting,” Fleming said Sunday. “They’re saying ‘We really regret missing the warning signs, but we did nothing wrong.’ That’s a contradiction.”

    “They don’t think they’re responsible for anyone,” he said.

    “For as highly educated as they are, they thought this couldn’t happen to their son. They’re elitists. They thought this was something white trash would carry out.”

    From Phyllis and Al Velasquez, whose son Kyle was killed…

    “I vented to Al as I read the whole thing,” Phyllis Velasquez said. “I can’t say a whole lot nice about the Klebolds, and it’s not just the (New York Times) article. It’s the depositions. The Klebolds are clueless.”

    The Velasquezes also took exception to Susan Klebold’s comment about a “toxic culture” at Columbine that included jock worship and the tolerance of bullying.

    “I’m tired of that excuse,” Phyllis Velasquez said.

    She pointed out that her son had learning disabilities, was overweight and was bullied, but didn’t kill his classmates in retaliation.

    And lastly, which I think sums it all up concisely from Don Fleming again…

    “To face this bravely and honorably, they would go out and talk about what was wrong with their son. They won’t do that. They’re cowards.”

    Like parents like son. Cowards.

  • No Apologies

    No Apologies

    A few weeks ago, a columnist named David Brooks for the New York Times wrote this column which is basically just him agreeing with this column by Dave Cullen.

    Mr. Brooks then started receiving E-mails from Tom Klebold, Dylan Klebold’s father, which led to this piece in Saturday’s New York Times.

    In it, the Klebolds refuse to apologize for what happened. Susan Klebold even goes as far to say, “I haven’t done anything for which I need forgiveness.” They also describe the day of the shootings as “a natural disaster” and the Klebold’s discuss the day as a suicide and not as a day when 13 random people were killed. Two quotes from the NY Times article jumped out at me…

    They believe that what they call the “toxic culture” of the school — the worship of jocks and the tolerance of bullying — is the primary force that set Dylan off. But they confess that in the main, they have no explanation.

    Yet, they didn’t kill any jocks, and I have yet to hear of the names of any jocks who allegedly bullied them. And then there was this…

    “I’m a quantitative person,” said Tom, a former geophysicist. “We’re not qualified to sort this out.” They long for some authoritative study that will provide an answer. “People need to understand,” Tom said, “this could have happened to them.”

    So it sounds like to me that they’re willing to let other people raise their child. People like Eric Harris. The impression I get is that the Klebolds are very self-absorbed. They must be to have missed obvious warning signs, which they regrettably admit…

    “He was hopeless. We didn’t realize it until after the end,” Tom said. Susan added: “I think he suffered horribly before he died. For not seeing that, I will never forgive myself.”

    Suffered horribly? At least he knew that he was going to die that day. 13 other people weren’t afforded such a luxury.

    As expected, parents of the true victims are not happy…

    “I’m horrified,” Dawn Anna, whose daughter Lauren Townsend was killed at Columbine, told The Associated Press. “I wanted an apology. I wanted a contribution to help us understand why it happened, so that it would never happen again. I didn’t hear it.”

    Brian Rohrbough, father of victim Daniel Rohrbough, said he was outraged that the Klebolds likened the day of the shootings to a natural disaster in the interview with Brooks.

    The best quote to sum this all up also comes from Brian Rohrbough who said…

    “This was murder,” he said. “In my opinion, what went on in their home led to Columbine.”

    Now if only the Klebold’s would pull their heads out of the sand and realize that.

  • Movable Type meets the Resistable Price

    Movable Type meets the Resistable Price

    In case you haven’t heard, Movable Type has released version 3.0. The problem is, there are some catches.

    First of all, they’re now charging some steep prices. There is a free version, but it only allows one author on 3 weblogs. This sucks for some of the group blogs I read that are on MT. There’s now no way to upgrade from 2.XX to 3.0 and have multiple authors without having to pay. And there are no available versions of 2.XX left to download.

    I understand that Six Apart is a business, and they are entitled to make as much money as they want, but I think they are in the process of disillusioning what used to be a very loyal fan base.

    I used MT for two years and was very happy with it. However, I got tired of waiting for 3.0 and as my entries grew in number, it took forever to do a rebuild of my site any time I did some kind of modification to it.

    So not too long ago, I made the jump to WordPress. For once, my timing is impeccable. It’s free open-source software which could even be used for commercial use.

    No limit to users. It does not support multiple blogs, but I now believe it’s better that if you’re running multiple blogs to have them be independent of each other. Importing my MT entries took no time and was a snap. WP comes with a built-in MT entry importer.

    The documentation for WP isn’t as extensive as MT’s used to be, but you can usually find what information you need from the user forums. Be warned, though, just because you were a wiz at MT does not make you a WP expert. They are written in two entirely different codes. But as I said, you can usually find what you’re looking for in the user forum.

    MT used to be the standard. I thank them for the years of service, but the ship is sinking, and this rat jumped off a long time ago.

  • More on Nick Berg

    More on Nick Berg

    To my fellow bloggers and web surfers. Instead of providing links and searching for the Nick Berg video, why not send your condolences to his family instead.

    Company shuts down Web site showing beheading:

    At least they’ve shut down the source. It’s just too bad that clones are popping up all over.

  • U.S. Citizen Beheaded

    U.S. Citizen Beheaded

    Video Seems to Show Beheading of American:

    An Islamic militant extremist website has posted a video showing an American being decapitated in retaliation for the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq…

    After reading a statement, the men were seen pulling the man to his side and cutting off his head with a large knife. They then held the head out before the camera.

    To all you mutants that are already creaming your jeans looking for this video, I only have one thing to say to you. Fuck you.

    You are below the reaches of depravity. You should have your breathing rights revoked. That man had a name and it was Nick Berg. He had a family. Think about that the next time you go looking for that video, you sick freaks. I doubt that you will. You make me sick.

    My condolences go out to the Berg family.

  • 5/09/04: From the Mail Sack

    5/09/04: From the Mail Sack

    It’s Sunday, so you know what that means. It’s time to bring on the love from my adoring public. Only two this week. One is pretty much a repeat, and the second is just oh so good.

    First, the repeat from my entry about the Columbine Death Photos…

    you guys need to shut the fuck up. You know NOTHING about eric or dylan. Eric was a close friend of mine. Rest In Peace Brothers.

    -Mik

    Comment by Mik — Sunday May 9, 2004 @ 1:24 pm

    Again I say if Harris and Klebold had as many friends in life as people who claim to have known them, then they would have been the most popular guys in Colorado.

    How pathetic is your life that you have to make up stories about being the friend of a psychopath and a coward? The e-mail address the poster left was zyklon_brotherhood@xxxxxx.com. For those of you that may not know, Zyklon gas was the gas the Nazis used to exterminate the Jews. So now you know the mentality of these Harris and Klebold supporters. Racists and Anti-Semites.

    Now for the coup de grâce. This one came in through my mail form and is from one of my trolls by the name of Joey. He’s banned from leaving comments on the site, so he’s resorted to sending me mail. I’ll warn you the language is a little strong.

    Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by

    joey on Wednesday, May 5, 2004 at 00:47:21

    body: whats up cunt! fuck you and your whole organization!fuck you and everything you stand for,fuck you and your dead cunt grandmother,fuck you and your outlook on life,fuck you and your whole website fuckhead.fuck you ,you cunt.

    IF I EVER FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE TRENCH I WILL “GUT YOU LIKE FUCKING SWINE AND USE YOUR INTESTINES TO MAKE MY SAUSAUGE”I WILL “TEARE OFF YOUR SKIN LIKE WRAPING PAPER AND DECK THE HALLS WITH YOUR ORGANES” fuck you!

    Typical Harris and Klebold tactic. Sending cowardly threats through anonymous channels. Guess what, Joey, you’re not so anonymous. You see, every time you post a comment or send me an e-mail, it records your IP address.

    If I thought you were an actual threat, I’d have the authorities knocking on your door right now. Then how would you explain that to mommy and daddy? Then you might get kicked out of the basement. But more likely in your case, you’d be grounded, and your parents would take your bicycle and clubhouse away.

  • 5/2/04: From the Mail Sack

    5/2/04: From the Mail Sack

    It’s Sunday, so let’s bring on the love.

    From my entry about the Columbine death photos…

    You all except for NBK reb and reb the natural born killer need to stop bitching about Eric and Dylan… Christ you didn’t even know them. In truth Eric and Dylan were really cool (well at least Eric was i could care less about Dylan) sure Dylan had problems and Eric may have been a little too into bombs but all around they were really cool guys… I love REB and he will be in my heart forever and always… I LOVE YOU REB!!

    Comment by REB’S girl – Friday Apr 23, 2004 @ 9:01 pm

    I wish I had a dollar for every person who told me they were a friend of Harris’. If he actually had that many friends, he would have been the most popular guy in school. How devoid of meaning is your life that you have to pretend to have known a killer scumbag? Quit being delusional and go get a life.

    This was received through my mail form…

    Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by

    shady (juicyfruit26@aol.com) on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 at 17:59:43

    body: yo, i really like ur website u just need more pictures of dylan and harris that be cool then………

    No. No, it wouldn’t yo. It’s funny that you talk like someone that Harris and Klebold would have hated, seeing as how your heroes were racists pricks. Chew on that.

    And lastly …

    klebold 2

    u r the biggest dick on this planet with nothing better to verbally brutalise anyone with a different perspective keep sucking up that dog cum u faggot .. i weep with joy 4 the day u, ur slut wife and everyone u know is dead

    28 April 2004 – your town,lol

    Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the typical Harris and Klebold worshiping mutant. Lower than average intelligence. Unable to write complete sentences without resorting to vulgarities and threats. It’s good to see that your parents are doing such a stellar job of raising you. I say doing because no matter how old you are, I’m sure you’re still living in mom’s basement. Oh well. Somebody has to cook my fries.

  • Mepham: The Final Chapter

    Mepham: The Final Chapter

    Fourth player to get probation in hazing scandal:

    The fourth and final suspect in the Mepham hazing/sexual assault trial was sentenced on was sentenced on Wednesday, and again another one escapes with a cushy sentence.

    The mystery suspect only has to do 50 hours of community service, write a letter of apology to the victims, and compose an essay describing how the case has affected him and others. Why didn’t the judge just make him write “I will not shove pine cones in other people’s asses” on the blackboard a hundred times?

    I seriously do not understand what Judge Robert J. Conway was thinking. He closed of proceeding to the public, instituted gag orders for all those involved, tried none of the four as adults, and gave mostly light sentences to the offenders. It seems like he thought that this was just a case of boys being boys. That would be true if they were trying out for the football team in ATTICA!!!!!!!!!!!

  • 4/25/04: From The Mail Sack

    4/25/04: From The Mail Sack

    Well, it seems the mutants have picked up the pace. From, as usual, the Eric Harris Journal entry…

    People =shit: what Eric and Dylan was 100% justifiable! They were picked on and belittled,ridiculed and made to feel minuscule.

    They needed a excuse to kill and they found it at the place they hated most their school.The people they killed were not inocent what animale is.They wanted to kill and the people who hurt them was a good place to start.

    If you dont agree with me you are wrong fucked and overrated you ignorrant worthless waste of skin.

    your time will come.

    Comment by joey — Wednesday Apr 21, 2004 @ 12:39 am

    Joey is my newest troll. There is no real proof that they were picked on, and so what if they were. Again, no reason to kill 13 random people. The people they killed didn’t really even know them. Your heroes are cowards, which makes you a coward as well.

    Again, from the same entry…

    ok SHUT UP i knew Eric i met him in an airport until about year ago i didnt put two and two together when i foudn out it snapped and i have been trying to get closure ever sinse. HE WAS THE BEST he was a totally sweet guy i cant say the same for Dylan only because i never got the chance to know him, i am only 14 Eric was 7 years older than me. but he talked with me anyway i met him 6 years ago and have missed him ever since. HE WAS TRUELY A TEREFFIC HUMAN BEING. AND I WILL ALWAYS HAVE A PLACE FOR HIM IN MY HEART. Eric you did what u did for your own reasons, i wish i coulda had more time wiht you but i guess thats the way things go. Mr. Harris and Mrs. Harris and Kevin who can forget Kevin i love you all so much. i think about him every day too so know that your not alone. you are both excelent parents and u never did anything wrong wiht raising him. ERIC I WILL SEE YOU IN HEAVEN BECAUSE GOD EVEN THOUGH U DIDNT BELIEVE IN HIM THAT MUCH DID FORGIVE YOU SO I WILL SEE YA UP THERE GREAT BUDDY IM SURE WIHT DYLAN AND MIKE AS WELL. NOT SOON BUT I WILL BE WIHT YOU AGAIN SOONER THAN WE BOTH THINK. for those of u stuck up bitches who wont look at both views of the story know this. Eric Harris would take days offa work to stay home when his dog was sick because h would get ceisures, does that seem like a killer to you? i dont htink so well ERIC i will pray for you every night god bless love always your friend and confedant ~Hannah~

    Comment by ~Hannah~ — Thursday Apr 22, 2004 @ 1:31 am

    Well, at least my trolls are good for something. They pointed out that through the numbers, it’s impossible that she met Eric Harris. Anyway, Hannah, you are a sick bitch. God does not forgive those who do not repent. Those two little cowardly pieces of shit are burning in hell as we speak. Keep that in your thoughts and seek help.

    And again…

    i idalize then two boys–they have created the greatest school massacre in the century–they will never be forgotten–and yes, this is afucked up world–but smile and realize that there are fucked up people in it to!– if i had a chance i would go back–4/19/99–and i will tell VoDKa and Reb to check the bomb–they might not be on that hill to be remembered–but trust me–in me and my brothers eyes–they are the greatest two people that have ever walked this planet (except charles manson of course)..and being picked on and bullied was not the cause of this massacre–it was PLEASURE–pure fun–very enjoyable..and yet i wonder how eric was left handed and shot himself–*cough cough* KibbZ i wonder how that is possible?–im me– adustofdesire

    Comment by Das Hat Ein Vorlerons Schwester — Thursday Apr 22, 2004 @ 9:59 pm

    Oh, and you’re a Manson worshiper. That just figures. If those two rat bastards are the two greatest people who ever lived in your eyes, then just do the world a favor and join your heroes.

    And yet again…

    You all except for NBK reb and reb the natural born killer need to stop bitching about Eric and Dylan… Christ you didn’t even know them. In truth Eric and Dylan were really cool (well at least Eric was i could care less about Dylan) sure Dylan had problems and Eric may have been a little too into bombs but all around they were really cool guys… I love REB and he will be in my heart forever and always… I LOVE YOU REB!!

    Comment by REB’S girl — Friday Apr 23, 2004 @ 9:01 pm

    I love all these people who claim they met these two little shits. If everyone who claims to have met them actually met them, they would have been the most popular guys in Colorado at the time. Again I Say if you love them so much, do us all a favor and go join them.

  • A Sad Day of Death

    A Sad Day of Death

    Columbine tragedy spawns card game:

    Tip of the old hat to Darcie for bringing this one to my attention. This is just un-fucking-believable. Some assclown from Texas has decided to try and make money by making a card game based on the Columbine massacre. Check out his reasoning behind it…

    But Andy Richey insisted Wednesday he’s not trying to get rich.

    Instead, Richey said he wants to use the money from sales of “Columbine, the Massacre” to go out of the United States and buy a kidney for someone who needs a transplant.

    “It’s just to balance out my karma,” Richey said by telephone from Arlington, Texas, where he lives.

    Balance out your karma? You have to got be fucking kidding me. You’re just begging to have your ass run over by the karma train 13 times. There are other ways to raise money if it actually is for a foreign transplant patient. This is nothing more than blood money. I hope you rot in hell.