This is just the sort of thing that makes liberals like Evan Thomas “cringe”, because it “Inflames” the right wing, but what can you do? Pretend it isn’t happening?
Praying for the recovery of Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan
Description:Together we pray for the recovery of Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan, MD. May Allah see fit to return this loyal son of Islam back to perfect health. Sallalahu Alayhi Wa Sallam.
Admin: Khadeeja Nuur (Washington, DC)
Hasan, the sole suspect in the massacre of 13 fellow US soldiers in Texas, attended the controversial Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia, in 2001 at the same time as two of the September 11 terrorists, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. His mother’s funeral was held there in May that year.
The preacher at the time was Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Yemeni scholar who was banned from addressing a meeting in London by video link in August because he is accused of supporting attacks on British troops and backing terrorist organisations.
Hasan’s eyes “lit up” when he mentioned his deep respect for al-Awlaki’s teachings, according to a fellow Muslim officer at the Fort Hood base in Texas, the scene of Thursday’s horrific shooting spree.
Allahpundit says:
There’s no question now that we need congressional hearings into how the army missed the warning signs on Hasan, especially given the suspicions as to why they might have looked the other way.
I cringe that he’s a Muslim. I mean, because it inflames all the fears. I think he’s probably just a nut case. But with that label attached to him, it will get the right wing going and it just — I mean these things are tragic, but that makes it much worse.
Shame on us for thinking this tragedy had anything to do with Islam.
Quietly, and without fanfare, the former President and First Lady visited with wounded soldiers and their families near the site “of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States”.
The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood’s military leaders and hospital staff for the “amazing care they are providing.”
Meanwhile, Dan Riehl, has the Commander and Chief’s schedule for this weekend:
11:25AM THE PRESIDENT addresses the House Democratic Caucus – Cannon House Office Building
2:30PM THE PRESIDENT makes a statement to the press on Health Care – Rose Garden
2:45PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart The White House en route Camp David – South Lawn
Wolff has a fantastic post on America’s fighting men:
The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired,
tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society
as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his
country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his
own car than wash his father’s, but he has never collected unemployment
either.
He’s a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student,
pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and
has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to
be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and
roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is
working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.. He has trouble
spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him,
but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less
time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun
or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
When Marine Sgt. John Eubanks first went to Iraq, he was an infantryman and a weapons specialist. In the middle of his second tour in 2005, he suffered back injuries and a traumatic brain injury when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. Since then, Sgt. Eubanks has undergone numerous medical procedures, but perhaps none has been as therapeutic as his recent return to Iraq as a visitor. During his recovery, Sgt. Eubanks wrote about what such a journey would be like for him and other wounded warriors.
In October, when Sgt. Eubanks and six other wounded soldiers returned to Iraq as part of Operation Proper Exit, those written wishes became reality.
It’s a variation on the “Sound of Freedom” dispute, which is what happens when people move in next to military air bases. In this case, it’s the sound of two centuries of American freedom, twice a day. Next thing you know, some Barbary pirates pop up on the horizon, they can’t get enough of it. Hang on a sec … we do have Barbary pirates on the horizon. I guess this means we’re officially in the post post-9/11 era. Post-Barbary pirate era, whatever.
The rail of Constitution, by the way, is where the first United States Marine was killed in action. Lt. William Bush, Aug. 19, 1812, musket shot in the face while preparing to board HMS Guerriere in the action that earned Constitution the nickname “Old Ironsides.”
Two centuries later, United States Marines are still engaged, still taking fire, this time alongside our British cousins.
MaryAnn calls out the Army with a funny photo! It’s all in good fun 🙂 MaryAnn is one of the Army’s biggest supporters. We’re lucky to have her on our side!
Michelle Malkin is liveblogging what she is characterizing, “the government health care takeover ram down”. GOP Rep. Virginia Fox just called it: “this exercise of tyranny by the majority.”
If you are away from a t.v., you can tune in and listen to it live on CSPAN.
Speaker Pelosi’s Gov’t Takeover of Health Care
2,032 pages, $1.3 trillion (and counting)
GOP’s Common-Sense Health Care Plan
219 pages, $61 billion
Does It Lower Premiums?
NO.Individuals and families would pay higher premiums under the government-run health care plan created by Speaker Pelosi’s bill, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO.)
YES. Families’ premiums under the GOP plan would be nearly $5,000 lower than under Speaker Pelosi’s bill, according to CBO estimates.
Does It Protect Jobs?
NO. Speaker Pelosi’s bill requires employers to either provide “government-approved” coverage or pay a steep tax. According to a methodology developed by White House economists, these mandates – coupled with tax increases in the bill – would destroy as many as 5.5 million American jobs over the next decade.
YES.The GOP plan protects jobs by lowering premiums for small business owners and their employees by as much as 10%, according to CBO.
Is It Fiscally Responsible?
NO. Speaker Pelosi’s $1.3 trillion (and counting) bill fails to account for a number of hidden costs, including a $210 billion Medicare “doc fix.” CBO estimates Speaker Pelosi’s bill will increase federal spending on health care by $598 billion over ten years, as well as increase federal spending on health care in the following decade.
YES.The GOP plan would cut the deficit by $68 billion over the next 10 years, according to CBO estimates. The GOP plan is the only one that consistently reduces federal spending on health care over the next two decades.
Does It Protect Families and Small Businesses From Massive Tax Hikes?
NO. Speaker Pelosi’s bill imposes $752.6 billion in tax increases on working families, large employers, and small business owners.
YES. The GOP plan protects family budgets.
Does It Protect Medicare?
NO.CBO estimates Speaker Pelosi’s bill would cut Medicare by more than $500 billion over the next 10 years.
YES.The GOP plan protects Medicare.
Does It Provide Sustainable Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions?
NO. Speaker Pelosi’s bill imposes an unworkable, one-size-fits-all fix through Washington mandates that will inevitably raise the cost of insurance.
YES. The GOP plan establishes Universal Access Programsto help guarantee access to affordable coverage, including for individuals with pre-existing conditions.
Does It Prevent Taxpayer-Funded Coverage of Illegal Immigrants?
NO. Speaker Pelosi’s bill would actually cover 2.5 million MORE illegal immigrants than House Democrats’ original proposal, according to CBO estimates.
YES. The GOP plan explicitly prevents illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer subsidies.
Does It Prevent Taxpayer-Funded Abortions?
NO. Under Speaker Pelosi’s bill, the government-run health care plan is authorized to cover elective abortions by way of a “monthly abortion premium.”
YES. The GOP plan codifies the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions.
Does It Protect The Doctor-Patient Relationship and Prevent Rationed Care?
NO. Speaker Pelosi’s bill creates 118offices, bureaus, commissions, programs, and bureaucracies charged with such obligations as “establishing waiting lists” and determining “categories of covered treatments.”
YES. The GOP plan strengthens the doctor-patient relationship and prevents rationed care by making care more affordable and accessible.
Does It Tackle Junk Lawsuits?
NO. Speaker Pelosi’s bill fails to meaningfully address the need to put an end to junk lawsuits that contribute to higher health care costs.
YES. The GOP plan implements reforms that will protect doctors from a feeding frenzy of trial lawyers.
Does It Protect State Budgets?
NO. Speaker Pelosi’s plan includes an expansion of Medicaid that will cost cash-strapped states $34 billion over the next ten years.
YES. The GOP plan rewards states for implementing innovative solutions to make health care more accessible and affordable.
See also RedState: CBO: New House Health Bill Spending Estimate, $3 Trillion over 10 Years
The totals below, I am told by the Heritage Foundation, do NOT include the $250 billion extra spending on Medicare to buy off the American Medical Association for their support of the U.S. House bill.
The Democratic House Leadership has completely lost touch with fiscal reality.
You’ve all seen this by now, Obama went before the media with some prepared remarks after attending a Tribal Conference on November 5th. Everyone understandably expected him to start off by saying some appropriate words about the Fort Hood Massacre that had just occurred, as that was the much more pressing issue at the moment. Instead he bantered light-heartedly for two minutes about the conference:
Eventually he made some obligatory remarks about the Fort Hood tragedy, (13 dead, and 30 wounded), but if compared to his reactions to other shootings, this year, his response seemed understated. The Media Research Center’s Dan Gainor noticed:
In the Tiller case, the president was “shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning.” In the case of the museum attack, Obama was “shocked and saddened by today’s shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.”
But when it came to the horrendous Ft. Hood shootings, the term “shocked” was nowhere to be found. Instead, the initial response was shoehorned into comments he made opening the White House Tribal Nations Conference. First there were a couple applause lines to Native Americans and Obama’s “shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner,” who appears not to have won the medal. (Joe Medicine Crow won the Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor.)
Then the president addressed the shooting. While he called the incident “horrible” and a “tragedy” and urged “prayers,” the response seemed understated compared to the other incidents. Then, in true Obama fashion, he did manage to make the shootings at least in part about him. “I want all of you to know that as commander in chief, that there’s no greater honor but also no greater responsibility for me than to make sure that the extraordinary men and women in uniform are properly cared for and that their safety and security when they are at home is provided for us.”
Two minutes and 39 seconds later he was done and without even taking a breath back to talking about the Native American event. Nowhere in his speech or his remarks the next day did he even acknowledge that the attacker was a Muslim. In his statement after the museum attack, he correctly criticized “anti-Semitism and prejudice” but made no mention of religion in the latest incident.
After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.
But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a “shout-out” to “Dr. Joe Medicine Crow — that Congressional Medal of Honor winner.” Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?
Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That’s the least that should occur.
People are comparing this to President Bush’s ” Pet Goat” moment after the 9/11 attacks, and while I’ve never fully understood Bush’s momentary paralysis at that time, I do know that it was not due to insensitivity. If anything, it was an over abundance of sensitivity to the children in the room, whom he didn’t want to frighten.
I also suspect that President Bush knows the difference between theCongressional Medal of Honor, and The Medal of Freedom, which is what Obama actually awarded Joe Medicine Crow back in August.
Ah, the dangers of giving shout outs without a teleprompter. Crow is not a Medal of Honor recipient. As noted by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society:
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Generally presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Crow’s name is not included on the Society’s Medal of Honor recipient list. He was, however, awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in August.
Where-o-where was TOTUS?
MORE:
Doug Ross calls this lapse a “faux pas”. There have beena bunch of faux pas by this President. I’m starting to wonder if maybe he needs to appoint a Protocol Czar.
Nice Deb 