Death by Effexor?

Arkansas Democratic Party chair Bill Gwatney was shot to death in his office earlier this week. The fall of Gwatzilla stunned me. He was a hero to those of us who survived the Mike Huckabee era in Arkansas. Public service makes people vulnerable.

We’ve learned little about the killer. According to press reports, the short list of items found in his home included loads of guns, a post-it note, and a bottle of antidepressants (how Tom Cruise of them to report). Not just any bottle of anti-depressants, every media outlet I’ve observed noted the specific antidepressant, Effexor.

Did we really need to know the specific name of his antidepressant? Is there an epidemic of Effexor-related shootings? If so, look out world, I was on Effexor for years. For the record, I’m on Cymbalta (“’cause depression hurts”) now.

I’ve been concerned for Senator Barak Obama since his campaign began. I hear some evangelicals are calling him “the anti-Christ” on the internet. I thought he was in danger from white supremacists, but the “anti-Christ” label may make him a high value target for Christian extremists as well. How horrible. Perhaps it’s just an effort to rally the Republican base to vote. With McCain heading their ticket, white supremacists and Christian extremists are probably eating a lot of Effexor these days.