A coworker, a fellow bail bondsman called me Sunday night. Excitedly he asked  “are you watching the news?” When I replied no, he blurted “ ding dong, Obama’s dead!”  I had a momentary panic, thinking the president had been assassinated, when he quickly corrected himself, saying “ I mean, Osama, Osama BinLaden!” Relieved it wasn’t the president, I was at first overjoyed to learn the man responsible for fomenting a lot of the world’s terrorist activity had been killed.

As it sunk in, though, I felt more disappointed than anything. I suppose I had wanted Bin Laden to have been captured, paraded publicly in shame, humiliated, like despot Saddam Hussein was at the end. I wonder if a bail bond would have been set for him? How high? Can you imagine an attorney arguing for a lower bail? “ Your honor, my client is not a flight risk”

As event are unfolding, there are so many questions, not enough answers. Why cant’ we see proof? Why is the story changing? Why was the burial at sea? ( in accordance with Islamic tradition, blah, blah, blah…. gee , we don’t want to offend anybody, especially anyone related to the man who called for the planes to crash into Americans on 9/11).

I would have loved to see Bin Laden argue a defense in the World Court, trying to justify the  unleashing of terrorism on innocent victims, but I guess that’s not gonna happen now. The world and I will have to wait for the photos and/or video that supposedly is available, when we’re deemed ready by the powers that be. I’m ready!

After Japan was hit with a severe magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami, many of its people experienced a shortage of food and drinking water, but there is no panic or looting going on. In most places gas and water have been turned off along with electricity, yet there is no widespread panic or crime in the streets or shops.  This is in contrast to disasters in other parts of the world that often lead to a period of crime and looting that keep local bail bondsman busy until life returns to normal.

Granted, shops are operating somewhat differently. Customers must wait  outside the shops to purchase things to avoid people hoarding food and water, so that these basic necessities may be distributed evenly among people in need.

There are long lines, but no panic or looting. There are shops with every  window  broken, even the front doors, but nobody enters and nothing has been looted.

Contrast that with the riots and chaos in Port Au Prince after the Haitian Earthquake, or the panic in the streets of New Orleans after Katrina, where
looting and rioting kept the local bail bondsmen busy for a long while after wards.

A bail bondsman would probably starve in Japan, where the people have respect for the law instilled in them. Their collective national identity
places more importance on society as a whole than on individual freedoms.