I don't even know what to say anymore. The only things that seem newsworthy about what happened in San Bernardino are the circumstances of the murders. The facts on the ground as first reported are as strange as they are garish. At the moment, we are being told that there were as many as three shooters, that they were wearing body armor, that they were carrying "long guns," that they were wearing "tactical gear," and that they got away, leaving a "suspicious package" lying around the Inland Regional Center conference facility where 14 people (at last count) were shot to death. All of this is, of course, subject to change. There may only have been two shooters, but there also may be more people who died. Otherwise, it's just another day in America, another day with another mass shooting, another day in which people decided to exercise their Second Amendment rights in very inconvenient ways. This is now two of these episodes in less than a week. We Americans have been very, very free this holiday season. Apparently, the actual target was not the facility serving the developmentally disabled located in the IRC but, instead, a conference room that was hosting a holiday party for local state and county public-health employees.

"We have no information at this point to indicate that this is terrorist related, in the traditional sense that people may be thinking," said San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan. "Obviously, at a minimum, we have a domestic terrorist-type situation that occurred here. They came prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission."

"The traditional sense" isn't exactly an unbreakable code here.

CNN was completely bloody hopeless after Burguan's unusually frank press conference. Wolf Blitzer kept repeating how we had no idea what the motive of the killers might have been. Chief Burguan seemed to have a pretty good idea. And both CNN and MSNBC seemed fixed on the notion that the caregiver facility was the prime target, so we heard a lot from the people who worked there, despite the fact that Chief Berguan was pretty clear that the holiday party was the target. My man Chuck Todd couldn't fathom why "this place" would be targeted. Short answer: it wasn't. It wasn't even the same building. He followed that up by sharing a moment of silence from Paul Ryan. These people likely didn't put this whole thing together to kill doctors, kids with autism or blind people.

For a long time, and for purposes that are far from noble, we have defined terrorism with the Other. The cable news people—and I include not only my man Chuck Todd but Pete Williams—seemed utterly bumfuzzled about whether or not this was "terrorism." Jesus, what do you people fcking need? This was in many ways worse than Paris because the Paris terrorists were suicidal fanatics. They blew themselves up with suicide belts. Only one of them is still alive, as far as we know. These three people got away clean. If they are terrorists, and I am perfectly comfortable calling them that, they're free to kill more people. There are a lot of people in my business who simply really…do…not…want…to…know.

(For example, sub-Left'Nant Blimp over at The Corner is rather puzzled by what we strange colonials are about with our guns and our killing each other—Nothing about this shooting fits the usual pattern. If, as seems to be confirmed, there were indeed three shooters, that rules out the lone wolf lunatics to which we have become sadly accustomed. And what does that mean? After all, there's no such thing as a trio of coordinated schizophrenics—especially a trio that was "prepared" and "dressed for" an attack. The getaway car, too, was an odd touch. And when was the last time that a shooter actually escaped? That's not ISIS's style, is it? As far as I can see, this has more in common with a mafia or gang hit than anything else. Actually, I'll go with "anything else" there, Spanky.)

Very nearly three years ago—damn near three fcking goddamn years ago!—Adam Lanza shot up the Sandy Hook Elementary School, and we all were supposed to learn something. What we learned is that this country's insane attachment to its firearms is well-nigh unbreakable. Less than a week ago, Robert Dear shot up a Planned Parenthood facility, and we were all supposed to learn something. What we learned is that the people who deal in inflammatory mendacity for their own political advantage are well-nigh unshakable. No matter what "motive" ostensibly was behind what can legitimately be called the "attack" in San Bernardino, there is no question that there is murder in this country's heart now, not buried very deeply at all any more, and that there are people who are more than willing to act on it. This is a ferocious loss of faith in democracy, in the project of creating a viable political commonwealth. It is aided and abetted by a revolting firearms fetish that is exploited by cheap and miserable politicians. I don't care anymore about pointing out who may or may not have blood on their hands. It's knee-deep, and we're all in it.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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