I saw some coverage of that church shooting in Tenessee today. The local sherrif held a news conference this morning, where he stunned the reporters by saying that the shooter left a manifesto attributing the attack to hatred for liberals. He picked that church - a Unitarian church - for its known liberal views. In the Q&A section, the sherrif also alluded to some problems with religion in general, a loss of food stamps, and an inability of get a job.

Just about every major news organization has given this a headline like, "Killer Targeted Church For Liberal Views" ...except one, which gave this tragedy the far more mundane headline, "Shooting suspect angy over job search." I find that odd, especially since even FOX News could get this one right.

This afternoon I was sitting on a couch at my friend Steve's coffeeshop. Steve and I go way back, all the way to college. I was even his boss for a bit.. Steve was a bit of a knucklehead back in those days - hotheaded, intemperate, the type who would mouth off to his professors and then wonder why he'd flunked a class. Now he owns the lovely coffeeshop I hang out in most days - the coffee is good and strong, the couches are comfy, and the place is open 24/7. I saw Steve the other day in fact. He's older and fatter, and happier than I've ever known him. He has a beard. He bought me a coffee (no small task) so I guess he's over that whole 'you're fired" thingy I did to him once. But I digress.

I'm sitting on an elderly green couch, near a large window. An old man in sunglasses is sitting at a table nearby. He's a one-finger keypecker - someone who looks as if his son-in-law set up the computer for him, and now he's maybe getting online and figuring out this whole chat room thing. He's got on a polo golf shirt, and has slicked back hair that does not hide his bald spot. He perhaps worked in car sales before he retired, or maybe industrial plumbing. Some job where he could kick back and smoke a cigar at the end of the day, and keep a bottle of scotch in the drawer, and take a few too many business trips.

The staff plays whatever music they like here. The sound often pauses as the barristas negotiate the next CD every 45 minutes or so. In a pause between Radiohead and Radiohead, the man pecked a button. All of us have heard that silence that falls across crowded rooms like a wave, when all conversations and tinkling glasses stop just. Once I heard an explanation of why we do that, but I can't remember now. This was one of those moments and this was one of those moments when a sound emerges a little too loudly into the open space.

"...And possibly bend you over.
Look back and watch me
Smack that, all on the floor,
Smack that, give me some more,
Smack that, 'till you get sore.."

A few attractive 20-somethings had a Kaylee-esqe "Ooh, Grandpa!" moment before he managed to turn the sound off. Then he turned it on again inadvertently. His face is still a bit red around the edges, but not as red as you might think.