The shooting in Lakeland Florida has left a lot of questions

The shooting in Lakeland Florida has left a lot of questions, but apparently the press is not asking the questions we are.

The murderer, was high on meth. How did he get a job working for a security firm? Do they do any background checks or drug testing?

How did he end up doing security for a church, where he supposedly heard God telling him to go to the house, where a who was supposedly trying to kill herself lived? 

Top that off with she didn't live there. Why did he bring the weapons to murder the people who did live there? Why did he kill the adults? Why did he kill the infant? Why did he shoot the 11 year old? Why did he shoot the dog?

The other question is, how does someone go from serving seven years honorably into committing mass murder?

If you think this has anything to do with PTSD, it doesn't even though he may or may not have it. This is more about meth and being armed while hallucinating than it does anything else. If you know anything about Lakeland FL, you are already aware of the meth problem there. 

"The Polk County Sheriff’s Office had a huge win with the largest meth seizure in county history. According to Sheriff Grady Judd, the mastermind of the operation was running the drug ring from inside prison."

Here are some of the reports about the shooting.

Shooter in Lakeland, Florida kills 4, including infant, shoots 11-year-old girl multiple times, sheriff says

Judd said Riley was a Marine Corps veteran and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spend four years in the Corps before being honorably discharged. He then spent another three years in the reserves.  

He worked at ESS Global Corp., providing executive protection and security. According to his girlfriend of four years, whom he lived with in Brandon, Riley had PTSD and was occasionally depressed but never violent.

The article also reported;

She said he worked security at a church in Orlando a week ago and came home saying he could speak directly to God.

Sheriff identifies 'survivalist' on meth arrested after 4 people shot to death in Lakeland 

Judd said the suspect is a self-described "survivalist" and told deputies he was on meth.

Deputies said Riley also shot and killed the family dog. The dog was named after a Polk County Sheriff's Office K-9.

Judd called Riley "evil," sharing that Riley said, "They begged for their lives and I killed them anyway."

you served for a reason

What Does God Look Like?
PTSD Patrol
By Kathie Costos
September 1, 2021

Today on ptsdpatrol.com I wrote something I would like you to read if you are struggling with the way the war in Afghanistan ended.

Set aside the politics and decisions leaders made. The facts will all come out but you are not responsible for what they decided to do. You are only responsible for what you decided to do, and that was risk your life for the sake of those you served with, for our country, and to help a many Afghan people as possible. The rest is, as they say, "above your pay grade."

I know what it is like to struggle with not being able to save all the ones you wanted to. No, I didn't serve but for almost 4 decades I struggled with not being able to save all veterans that my heart was ripped out and I had to walk away for a while. Then I was reminded that God, with all His power, and Jesus, could not save everyone. The thing is, They did not give up on those they could save. 

Please read the following and then go to the link for the rest so that you will see that you served for a reason.

What color is God? What color eyes does God have? What color is God’s hair? What size is God? When you think about the image of God, what does God look like to you?

God has plans for all of us. Some of us do not follow where our soul leads us and they remain unhappy. Others, always seem to know exactly what they are supposed to do with their lives and they are happy. Right now I am thinking about all those who served in Afghanistan for almost 20 years. They are struggling with the outcome and wondering what all their sacrifice was for if the country returned to Taliban control, just as it was 20 years ago.

The thing is, it is not the same as it was because military men and women gave them a chance to change. Some rejected it. Others had longed for it and did everything they could to make the lives of others better. Afghanistan will never be what it was because of what all of you did for their sake.

Each one of you, risked your life for those you served with and volunteered to join the military knowing all the hardships you’d have to endure along with all the risks to your life. That desire came from your soul and God equipped your soul to be able to do it, as well as putting into place all you need to heal from all of it.
read more here

Trump surrendered to Taliban, but GOP didn't care

"Freedom comes at a cost,’ Marine commandant says after 13 troops killed in Afghanistan" was the headline on Military Times but while the nation grieves for all the lives lost and prays for the wounded, along with all the others in harms way this was something that was forced onto President Biden.

What makes all this worse is, none of it had to happen. The truth is, Trump surrendered to the Taliban and brought all of on our troops.

Afghan conflict: US and Taliban sign deal to end 18-year war
BBC

What's in the agreement?
Within the first 135 days of the deal the US will reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 8,600, with allies also drawing down their forces proportionately.
The move would allow US President Donald Trump to show that he has brought troops home ahead of the US presidential election in November.
The deal also provides for a prisoner swap. Some 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 Afghan security force prisoners would be exchanged by 10 March, when talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government are due to start.
The US will also lift sanctions against the Taliban and work with the UN to lift its separate sanctions against the group.
In Kabul, activist Zahra Husseini said she feared the deal could worsen the situation for women in Afghanistan.
"I don't trust the Taliban, and remember how they suppressed women when they were ruling," the 28-year-old told AFP.
"Today is a dark day, and as I was watching the deal being signed, I had this bad feeling that it would result in their return to power rather than in peace."
read it here

Trump left the Afghan government out of the discussion and that sent a clear message to the Afghan forces our troops trained and our taxes funded for almost 20 years, that they could not depend on anyone. Later, after Trump was no longer going to be held accountable, he bragged about the deal and stated clearly it could not be undone.

We do not know all the negotiations the Biden administration was doing to further extend the deadline Trump had originally arranged. We do not know everything his advisors were telling him about security threats or why so many Americans and Afghans did not head the warnings.

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Thursday strongly defended his decision to pull U.S. military forces out of Afghanistan, saying the Afghan people must decide their own future, rather than sacrificing another generation of Americans in an unwinnable war.

Speaking in the White House East Room, Biden said the Afghan military has the ability to repel the Taliban, whose major advances in recent weeks have raised fears the country will slide into civil war.

Biden set a target date of Aug. 31 for the final withdrawal of U.S. forces, minus about 650 troops to provide security for the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

The article went on to say this.

Biden's order in April to pull out U.S. forces by Sept. 11 after 20 years of conflict has coincided with major gains by the Islamist militant Taliban movement against overwhelmed Afghan forces after peace talks sputtered.

Now it seems as if far too many in Congress, who allowed Trump to do whatever he wanted without any congressional restraints, are avoiding how their own actions became part of this deadly outcome.

So, Trump surrendered to the Taliban, but the GOP didn't care until they could blame Biden for the outcome that could not be undone. Much the same way he surrendered to COVID-19 and they didn't care. This explains why they are trying to take away the American people's right to vote and refuse to stand up protecting it instead of taking it apart.

Trump's own words: Admits he arranged what happened in Afghanistan

I am still on hiatus working on the new book but this couldn't wait. Too many veterans are, understandably upset, over what has been happening in Afghanistan.

If you really want to know why pulling troops out of Afghanistan and all that came with it, look no further than Donald Trump. In this video clip, he took credit for it, along with repeatedly saying "21 years" instead of the actual "20 years" he also said that his plans could not be undone. So dear readers, it appears that he arranged this outcome after making it harder for people who helped our troops, get the clearance to leave there. With all of his failures, this apparently was a success.


I saw this on the Rachel Maddow Show last night and fully repulsed by what he did.

Trump Tries To Have It Both Ways, Bashing Biden For Afghanistan Deal He Locked In

UPDATE
Add in the fact he is responsible for the leader of the Taliban being released from prison.

Politifact verified it.

In 2010, Baradar was captured by the United States and was imprisoned in Pakistan until 2018. During that time, however, officials inside and outside Afghanistan considered him one of the few Taliban leaders who they might be able to negotiate with.

In 2018, as negotiations to end the Afghanistan war were taking shape, the Trump administration urged Pakistan to release Baradar. He would become the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, Qatar, from which he would participate in the negotiations.

update from Wounded Times

I am currently on hiatus because I am working on my 4th book. Last week I got on a roll and now added over 20,000 words to it! I will update when I can.