Not to worry Mr. Schmidt, I don’t think any of Ilana’s readers would confuse a person, part of the “Underground Railroad” as being anything but a person who knows the risk and acts carefully in accordance with that risk. We understand the difference found in foolish people moving into dangerous situations, ignoring warnings and then having to be rescued by someone else, lots of time at the risk of the rescuer’s life. Your friend has my respect and appreciation for what she does.

I suppose we can be grateful that no rescuer was killed. There are people who think they can go mountaineering with nothing but trainers or sandals on their feet. I don’t even want to know how many valiant mountain rescue men have died attempting to save those irresponsible idiots. But at least they don’t have a political agenda. That makes it worse in my book.

[Excellent example. And who did they rely on to rescue them, or attempt to?]

–Taraghay, father of Tamerlane

I’m reminded of an incident many years ago, in which a young American Fulbright scholar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Biehl), the daughter of liberals, was beaten to death in Africa. I think the tagline read something like, “Those who killed her were the ones she sought to embrace.” I guess things like this continue to happen because so many Americans believe that the world is just like Disneyland, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

And you proceed to stomp about “exposing” the ills of the world.

We are talking about the North Korea that has concentration camps with gas chambers, yes? The one which is arguably the most perfected tyranny in human history?

Colleague of mine is on that border, helping smuggle people out of the hell-state and get them to a place where their lives have half a chance of meaning something.