THIS ISN'T GERMANE TO ANYTHING BUT: Jim's post on the ineptness of both sniper and policeman, and the sniper's rage at not being taken seriously, reminded me of the funniest Cowboy Bebop episode where Spike and the Cowboy are trying to one-up each other in their pursuit of the Teddy Bomber, who just gets madder and madder as nobody listens to his goofy message. Like I said, this isn't relevant to anything, I'm not saying the various agencies involved are tripping over each other--and if they are it's not in a comic way, more of a pathetic way. But that's a real funny episode if you need a laugh.

And I heart the words of Jim Henley, and am as grimly amused as the next person by what he reports:

Unqualified Offerings knows what you are thinking! Jim, if there's investigative incompetence, the FBI must be involved somehow! You are a terrible cynic, loyal reader. That notion is absolutely...correct:

One law enforcement official said the man believed to be the attacker failed to get through at least three separate times.
A follow-up call went through, but an FBI trainee who answered the phone did not recognize the call for what it was and cut the conversation short, the official said.
"The individual taking the call did not understand the importance of what was happening," the law enforcement official said. "She pretty much blew him off."
One official described the caller as "extremely angry." The caller, he said, used such phrases as "Just shut up and listen," or "Hear me out," or "I am God," or "I'm in charge."

This is moving the sniper's psychology from cold-and-calculating into the area of steady hands 'n' infantile rage. Jerk.