jeffreymark

WHAT SHALL WE MAKE OF FORT HOOD?

Our hearts go out to the victims at Fort Hood. No one can truly empathize with tragedy's pain until they too have unwantedly faced it themselves. 

Immediately following this tragedy the pundits waxed eloquent with their analysis of the shooter. Major Nidal Malik Hasan is a muslim. Witnesses heard him cry out Allahu Akbar (God is great) before opening fire.Liberal society may exonerate him on the basis of some post war traumatic syndrome. All this violence against his heritage caused him to snap, we may read. 

Hasan was  walking time bomb not doubt. But, this time bomb may have intentionally sought a sort of mini jihad. The Dallas Morning News explains:

his record wasn't sterling. At Walter Reed, he received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. And while he was an intern, Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.

At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades. 

More fodder for racial and religious profiling?  Some may ardently believe such in their hearts, yet they dare not say it because in our liberal society jihadist play the victim. Phyllis Chesler explains that this bothers her a bit:

Jihadic literature raves about Muslims being attacked (not by other Muslims which is often the case) but by Jews, Americans, Zionists, Crusaders, infidels. Terrorist leaders talk about Muslim Holy lands being “occupied” by the invader. They therefore fly two planes into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon because Muslims are fed up with taking all that abuse lying down. (And that’s before America invaded Afghanistan and Iraq).

Read more Chelser here.

TYRANTS RULE NOBEL

Should we care what European tyrants think of America? The same leftist mentality that impelled the Nobel committee to give out their worthless award to our leftist president rules much of the world. Yet, these same cowards beat down the American political doors whenever threatened or in need of cash in order to save their rotten infantile butts. Even our own tyrannical liberals appear shocked at yesterday's bizarre news. The folks at Newsweek's Gaggle offer a synopsis of reactions:

While liberal pundits won’t necessarily be lining up behind all of Limbaugh’s views, there is equal parts astonishment in the left blogosphere as there is in the right. Daily Beast blogger Peter Beinart calls it “Obama’s Nobel Farce”: “Perhaps next they’ll start giving Oscars not to the people who have made the best movies of last year, but to the people who have the best chance of making the best movies next year.” He says he likes Obama as much as the next liberal blogger, but by giving the award to Obama, the Nobel Committee is just proving that they’ve fallen in love with celebrity and that giving Obama the prize as an 'atta boy' they are only feeding the gap that conservatives are working to widen—“between Obamamania as global hype and Obama’s actual accomplishments.” The basic line: Obama won the prize not for being himself as much as for not being George W. Politics Daily Melinda Hennenberger points out, “It's not exactly like giving an Academy Award to a Vince Vaughn movie, but "surprising'' doesn't begin to cover it. No word yet on whether Glenn Beck's head has exploded.” Ezra Kleinadded a tweet: "Obama also awarded Nobel Prize in chemistry. 'He's just got great chemistry,' says Nobel Committee." Ana Marie Cox wrote: "Apparently Nobel prizes now being awarded to anyone who is not George Bush." 

FEDERAL AUTHORITIES ARREST POTENTIAL BOMBER IN DALLAS

This bit of news hits close to my home:

Federal authorities arrested a 19-year-old Jordanian citizen whom they said placed an inactive car bomb today at Fountain Place, a 60-story skyscraper in downtown Dallas.

Hosam Maher Husein Smadi has repeatedly voiced his intent to serve Usama Bin Laden and al-Qa’ida and commit “violent Jihad,” authorities said in a prepared statement.

“Today’s arrest of Hosam Maher Husein Smadi underscores the FBI’s unwavering commitment to bring to justice persons who attempt to bring harm to citizens of this country and significant danger to this community,” special FBI agent in charge Robert E. Casey, Jr. said in the statement. “Smadi made a decision to act to commit a significant conspicuous act of violence under his banner of ‘self Jihad.’”

Authorities said that Smadi was under continuous FBI surveillance. Federal agents posed as members of an al-Qa’ida sleeper cell. Smadi, who was in the U.S. illegally, allegedly told them that he came to the country specifically to commit “Jihad for the sake of God.”

According to authorities, Smadi identified potential Dallas targets in June and allegedly scoped out Fountain Place in July. Authorities said that Smadi lived and worked in Italy, Texas, about 45 miles south of Dallas.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES FROM ABOVE

Spectacular pictures of California wildfires from a flying water tanker. (via W$J)

CRONKITE FROM A DISTANCE

CBS news icon and fellow Texan Walter Cronkite died today. My father worked for the NBC affiliate in Lubbock, Texas so naturally we listened to Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, who came on opposite Cronkite. But, I do indeed remember listening to Cronkite narrate a compelling historical program entitled The Twentieth Century. That deep, rich, deliberate tone fluidly emanating from my television screen each Sunday night, held a profound mystery. Its magnetism pulled me into an unknown world that existed long ago and far away; a world at war; a world full of hate; a world given hope by a portly old man who chewed cigars and spoke with an eerie foreign accent. Cronkite's dark voice scared me, yet emphatically beckoned me to a weekly addiction whose ghost I shall never quite shake.   

And who among us baby-boomers, old enough to recall that fateful day in November of 1963, can forget this disturbing moment when even a WWII hardened reporter cracked a bit.

Some credit Cronkite for almost single handedly reversing public opinion concerning the Vietnam War. His dark assessment of the Tet Offensive convinced weaker minds that we could not overpower this jungle savvy enemy who kept hitting our troops like a malignancy determined to infect our psyche. Nevertheless, Walter Cronkite's nightly presence provided us with a calm assurance, soothing spirit, and a familiar friendly face. For that reason alone he shall be missed.  

LET THE SPECULATION BEGIN

Human wisdom declares those rising stars like Sarah Palin who abruptly resign a position of responsibility must have done something wrong. Let the mindless, gossiping speculation begin. Truth is we simply do not know why she quit. Often the guilty deny their baneful plight and seem convinced they may ride the storm out against impossible odds. The thought of Palin resigning amidst brewing dark ethical clouds is a bit aberrant, but not overly so. Read her statement here. 

IT'S MONDAY BUT TAX DAY IS A COMIN'

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DALLAS MORNING NEWS ONCE UPON A TIME

Those of us who read a legion of media material clearly see the unconfessed and overwhelming liberal bias of most news organizations. Mark Roberts, a Texas transplant from California, recently noticed an inscription carved out on the wall of the Dallas Morning News back in 1949. It reads:

BUILD THE NEWS UPON
THE ROCK OF TRUTH
AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
CONDUCT IT ALWAYS
UPON THE LINES OF
FAIRNESS AND INTEGRITY
ACKNOWLEDGE THE RIGHT
OF PEOPLE TO GET
FROM THE NEWSPAPER
BOTH SIDES OF EVERY
IMPORTANT QUESTION

Oh it was long ago and far away. Newspapers don't pay much attention to this all important responsibility anymore. But, it goes along with the times when my self interests mean more than the truth. 

OH WHAT TANGLED WEBS...

The Associated Press posts a litany of the latest corrupt behavior emerging from the self congratulatory virtuous Dems. 'Nuff said:

_The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is the subject of a House ethics investigation. It's partly focused on his fundraising practices for a college center in his name, his ownership financing of a resort property in the Dominican Republic and his financial disclosure reports.
_Federal agents raided two Pennsylvania defense contractors that were provided millions of dollars in federal funding by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
_Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on federal charges, including allegations he schemed to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder.
_Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader from South Dakota, abandoned his bid to become health and human services secretary and the administration's point man on reforming health care; and Nancy Killefer stepped down from a newly created position charged with eliminating inefficient government programs.
Both Daschle and Killefer had tax problems, and Daschle also faced potential conflicts of interest related to working with health care interests.
_Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was confirmed after revealing he had tax troubles.
_Obama's initial choice for commerce secretary, Bill Richardson, stepped aside due to a grand jury investigation into a state contract awarded to his political donors.
_While the Senate voted overwhelmingly to confirm William Lynn as deputy defense secretary, Obama had to waive his ethics regulations to place the former defense lobbyist in charge of day-to-day operations at the Pentagon.

FANTASY ISLAND STAR RICARDO MONTALBAN DEAD AT 88

Big Hollywood reports:

 

The clip is from the otherwise forgettable Esther Williams musical, Fiesta (1947). According to IMDB you’re watching Montalban’s American film debut. He was 26 at the time and would work steady for another sixty years. That gorgeous creature he’s dancing with is Cyd Charisse. We lost her in June.
Throughout his career Montalban moved easily between film and television, always making a memorable impression, most especially as one of history’s all-time great screen villains — James T. Kirk’s nemesis Khan, in the second Star Trek film. 
Personally, I was always impressed with Montalban in John Ford’s Cheyenne Autumn (1964). Not his performance, but his presence. Unfortunately, there was no performance to give. Ford uncharacteristically presents his American Indian characters as one-dimensional. Noble’s great, but boring when that’s all there is. Montalban registers with a personality and charm even a listless script couldn’t snuff. He also had a wonderful closing moment in John Wayne’s The Train Robbers (1973) and showed a real flair for comedy in The Naked Gun (1988). That’s just four examples of his range and talent.
Ricardo Montalban could say he danced with a goddess and nearly brought down Captain Kirk. 
Not a bad career. Not bad at all.