Putting the Cart Before the Horse

Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning
--Not Waving but Drowning, Stevie Smith

In politics, nothing happens by accident.
If it happens, you can bet it was planned that w
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In another free pass from the press to the administration the New York Times reports, ''Despite multiple investigations and hand-wringing by the Pentagon, the full truth has not emerged about the death of Cpl. Pat Tillman, the football star turned infantryman who was accidentally gunned down by other Americans in Afghanistan ("Corporal Tillman Haunts the Pentagon''.)

There has been no proof that this death was accidental. This is not a foregone conclusion, as there are several ways to interpret the facts. Among these, it could be a deliberate murder (homicide), or it could be accidental (fratricide).

Since the investigations are so flawed and contradictory, there is no way to say this was accidental.

A Ranger rule is ''don't ever lie to another Ranger or an officer.'' After recent congressional testimony, it seems that in this incident that inviolable rule was violated, top down.