This Week's Conservative Chronicle

Conservative
C hronicle
THIS WEEK'S COVER TOPIC: Fort Hood, by Chuck Norris
Enemies within — more diligence needed
Last Thursday, Nov. 5, Maj. Nidal Malik AT THE same time, we must not stick our al Qaeda. It’s time our federal government better
Hasan, an army psychiatrist and devout heads in the religious sands and call all these fa- assured the protection of our valiant service mem-
Muslim, fatally shot 13 American citi- tal acts “isolated incidents.” We should not ignore bers, not only in the Middle East but also right TOPIC INDEX
zens (12 service members) and wounded an ad- the systemic nature and embryonic potential of here on American soil.
November 18, 2009
ditional 29 people at the largest U.S. military base, fanaticism inherent within many. And we must
Extremists still are infiltrating our military
Fort Hood, Texas.
not allow our cultural infatuation with passivity ranks, and we must be more diligent about expos-
Afghanistan
and tolerance to restrain us from searching for and ing and stopping them. If Washington worked with Weinstein (31)
Will (30)
FOR SIX months, authorities had been track- stopping such militant rudimentary resistance, es- just one-tenth the passion in corralling the enemies Answer Man
ing the extremist thinking of Hasan. Internet pecially on our military posts.
of the U.S. as it has in ramrodding the Obama-
Seamans (14)
postings like this one go back to May 20, 2009:
Pelosi health care system down our throats and Congress
“Scholars have paralleled (a U.S. soldier’s falling
pocketbooks, we’d reduce military acts of terror-
Williams (13)
on a grenade to save surrounding troops) to sui-
ism down to zero, inside and outside our borders.
Conservatives
cide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their
Chuck
As another Veterans Day passes, we owe our Calabrese (20)
lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy
renewed allegiance and support to our service Karki (21)
soldiers.”
members. And we owe, in particular, the families Diversity
Hasan vehemently opposed the U.S. missions
of those who fell at the Fort Hood massacre our
Norris
Malkin (14)
in the Middle East, arguing with co-workers, senior
continued reassurance that their loved ones did Economy
officers and even patients. He quarreled with Col.
not die in vain. They were real people, mothers, Kudlow (23)
Election 2009
Terry Lee, who testified that Hasan said, “Maybe
Even our president warned Americans not to fathers, sisters, brothers — American patriots who Barone (16)
the Muslims should stand up and fight against the “jump to conclusions” about the motives of Maj. each sacrificed everything in a war we wage even Buchanan (29)
aggressor.” Dr. Val Finnell, a former classmate of Hasan. But to what “conclusions” is he referring? domestically to save our sacred land.
Calabrese (15)
Hasan’s, said that Hasan was “very vocal” about It fascinates me that our president travels the world
Chavez (13)
equating the war on terror with a war on Islam. He blaming America for everything under the sun but
LET US pause again and salute all the victims Coulter (7)
said Hasan even gave a PowerPoint presentation cautions Americans not to “jump to conclusions” and valiant soldiers at Fort Hood, including the Lowry (16)
once justifying Islamic suicide bombing.
about a fanatical Muslim military officer who just heroes who kept the death toll from escalating. Schlafly (17)
A few days before the killing spree at Fort took the lives of 13 patriots and wounding many Let us honor the wounded and, in particular, the Election 2012
Hood, Hasan proved his premeditated intentions others who have honored their oath to defend this fallen, who (like those who fell on 9/11) serve as Blankley (15)
by giving away all his belongings (including his country. Why would the commander in chief even catalysts for our patriotism and vivid reminders Fort Hood
Qurans) to his neighbors, saying he no longer take up his precious media time immediately af- that there are still enemies within.
Bay (25)
Charen (5)
would need them and adding, “I’m ready.”
ter this brutal rampage to encourage tolerance and
Lee (6)
Just hours before the shooting spree, he at- political correctness concerning this psychotic
November 10, 2009
Limbaugh (3)
tended prayer services at a local mosque, where killer? As a veteran of the Air Force and honorary
Lowry (2)
he normally wore street clothes but that morning Marine, I am appalled.
Murchison (4)
wore white Muslim attire.
It’s time our federal government woke up and
Norris (1)
Firsthand witnesses at the Fort Hood murder realized that jihadists are not done planning and __________________________________________
Prager (6)
scene say they heard Hasan yelling “Allahu ak- plotting against the U.S. and that a terrorist is not CHUCK NORRIS
(c) 2009, Creators Syndicate
Saunders (10)
bar” (meaning “God is great”) before he opened only defined by being a card-carrying member of __________________________________________
Thomas (4)
fire.
Health Care
And authorities just revealed that Hasan has
Jacoby (9)
made contact with other al Qaeda operatives. In
Jeffrey (26)
Morris (9)
2001, authorities say, Hasan attended a mosque
Saunders (8)
whose leadership was associated with two of the
Iran
9/11 hijackers. He even apparently stirred up anti-
Charen (27)
American sentiment within other Muslim soldiers
North (28)
at Fort Hood.
Loyalties
Yet despite all of this U.S. adversity in his
Buchanan (11)
background, Hasan was promoted this past May
Media Bias
to the rank of major.
Elder (22)
And the questions that keep coming to my
Thomas (23)
mind are: Have we become so tolerant and politi-
Obama’s Economics
cally correct that we can’t see or confront a rotten
Cain (27)
Political Climate
apple when it’s right in front of our eyes? When
Greenberg (10)
our fear of discrimination enables our enemies,
Harsanyi (18)
can’t we see something is grimly amiss?
Lambro (19)
To those roughly 3,500 Muslims who faith-
Tyrrell (18)
fully serve in the U.S. military, God bless you. We
Politics
appreciate what you do and pray for you along
Shapiro (12)
with all of our dedicated service members. I fully
Random Thoughts
realize Muslim extremists don’t represent main-
Sowell (25)
stream Islam. We must not quarantine all Islamic
TV Sponsors

theology and practice as un-American.
Bozell (24)

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2 November 18, 2009
Conservative Chronicle
FORT HOOD: November 9, 2009
The PTSD evasion: Don’t flinch from the truth
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the trations and problems in the military A classmate of Hasan’s in a master’s Hasan’s contribution to diversity be-
Army psychiatrist who health care system for [returning] program said Hasan told other stu- fore he killed. Hasan’s fellow students
killed 13 of his fellow troops.”
dents he was “a Muslim first and an told the Associated Press that, despite
soldiers in a rampage at Fort Hood, is
The press keeps mistaking Hasan American second.” Hasan titled a his anti-American rants, “a fear of
a most unlikely victim of post-trau-
for Private Ryan, when the closest PowerPoint presentation he gave in appearing discriminatory against a
matic stress disorder (PTSD).
he’d come to combat was counseling an environmental health seminar a Muslim student kept officers from fil-
sessions with soldiers. Another New year ago, “Why the War on Terror Is ing a formal written complaint.”
HE NEVER experienced any York Times piece raised the possibil- a War on Islam.” According to one
combat-related trauma. He had never ity that Hasan might have acquired witness, he said he thought Muslims
OBVIOUSLY, Hasan isn’t a rep-
even been deployed overseas. Yet, PTSD from the very act of treating should “stand up and fight against the resentative American Muslim, nor
he had barely stopped shooting his those patients — “in contact distress, aggressor,” i.e., us.
is his act an indictment of Muslims
victims in cold blood, chasing the of a kind.”
in the military. We can acknowledge
wounded to finish them off, when
The obsession with PTSD serves
BY ALL means investigate this both those things without laboring
the media rushed to their copy of the two purposes. First, it fits the media’s case thoroughly, but don’t flinch from to obscure the nature of his crime in
“Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of favorite narrative of soldiers as vic- the growing evidence that this was an childish evasions.
Mental Disorders.”
tims. Here was poor Hasan, brought act of treason by a Muslim solider
The New York Times headlined low like so many others by the un- who — in the war on terror — took
an analysis piece
bearable burden the other side. The press and the army
on the incident,
of Iraq and Af- brass desperately want it to be any-
“When Soldiers
ghanistan. Never thing other than that, the stress of ...
Snap.” It reported
Rich
mind that PTSD something. Perhaps the indignity of
that in World War
usually
results petty acts of anti-Muslim harassment,
II, military doc-
in sleeplessness, like his car getting keyed.
Lowry
__________________________________________
RICH LOWRY
(c) 2009, King Features Syndicate
tors believed “that
flashbacks
and
“Hasan was a soldier, and we have __________________________________________
more than 90 days
— in the extreme other soldiers who might have the
of continuous combat could turn any — suicide. Hasan is the first victim of same stress and indicators that he
Please check your
soldier into a psychiatric causality.” PTSD known to jump on a table and had,” the commanding general at Fort
With Hasan, the paper stipulated, allegedly yell “Allahu Akbar” while Hood, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, said af-
mailing label
“that point may have come even be-
slaughtering his fellow troops.
ter the massacre. How insulting to his
for any needed changes
fore he experienced the reality of
Two, it elides uncomfortable ques- troops who sacrifice so much fighting
war.”
tions about Hasan’s dual loyalty. He terror.
or
Time magazine blamed the stress-
appears to have been most “stressed”
Then there is Army Chief of Staff
corrections.
ful environment of Fort Hood, where by the tension he felt between his ob- Gen. George Casey: “What happened
frequent deployments meant “the ligations as a devout Muslim — as he at Fort Hood was a tragedy, but I be-
Contact us at:
kindling was hiding in plain sight.” understood them — and his service in lieve it would be an even greater trag-
The Washington Post ran a piece on the American military.
edy if our diversity becomes a casu-
800-888-3039
Walter Reed Army Medical Center,
Put aside his ongoing contact with alty here.” If Casey says that after 13
where Hasan had served, as indica-
radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki, for- people die, imagine what pressures
or e-mail:
tive of “the ongoing tensions, frus-
merly a leader of Hasan’s mosque. there were in the military to honor
conserve@iowaconnect.com
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---

Conservative Chronicle
November 18, 2009 3
FORT HOOD: November 10, 2009
Hostage to suicidal political correctness
Even as more and more realize more appropriate for this type of ques-
oppressive political correct-
tion to come up in the context of whether
ness is damaging our nation we have the troops necessary to perform
and killing our people, we still hold our-
our missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and
selves hostage to it. We can’t criticize elsewhere. Instead, it surfaced in rela-
Obama on his policy agenda without ab-
tion to whether an overly stretched army
surd accusations of racism, and now our might have contributed to causing this
authorities’ first instinct after the mass mass murder.
murder at Fort Hood is to victimize the
Instead of tel ing the questioner it’s
identified shooter — Maj. Nidal Malik far-fetched, if not outright absurd, to
Hasan — rather than to protect our sol-
suggest that a soldier committed mul-
diers.
tiple homicides because he was stressed
from an overstretched army, Gen. Casey
THE military is the last place we dignified the question by responding that
should expect political cor ectness to our army has 70,000 more soldiers than
flourish. We recognize, after al , that our it did five years ago and beaming about
armed forces exist primarily to safeguard the army’s new “comprehensive soldier
our national security, not as a laboratory fitness” program, which helps soldiers
for social experimentation. Or do we?
build resilience and strength to deal with
Forget “don’t ask, don’t tel ” policy adversity.
for now. I’m refer ing to the reaction of
A fol ow-up question was even worse.
the army’s top brass to the Fort Hood “Sir, some other counselors are saying such murders in the future? Besides, the concern about a “potential backlash” to
slaughter in the
this is just the tip of shooter didn’t commit suicide here.
Muslim soldiers. On NBC’s Meet the
news conference
the iceberg. Suicide
Press, he told host David Gregory, “Our
and television inter-
rates are now higher
AGAIN, this kind of thinking isn’t diversity, not only in our army but in our
views fol owing the
David
this year than they limited to the liberal press. Neither Sec- country, is a strength. And as hor ific
shooting.
were last year. How retary McHugh nor Gen. Casey chal- as this tragedy was, if our diversity be-
The first question
concerned are you lenged the questioner’s implication or comes a casualty, I think that’s worse.”
to Army Chief of Limbaugh
about this danger to emphasis; they eagerly described the
I’m not sure I believe Casey is more
Staf Gen. George
recruits?”
army’s “groundbreaking program . . to concerned about the ethnic or religious
Casey (and Army
Notice that the try to understand the dynamics and the composition of our armed forces or over-
Secretary John McHugh) was whether questioner’s concern wasn’t over the forces behind suicides, particularly in blown threats to it than the actual murder
he believed “this was a wake-up cal to danger to soldiers of suicide murderers, the military.”
of its innocent soldiers. I doubt he would
the nation that the army is simply too but of suicide — that is, what danger
Nor was their response merely a de- express similar concerns in private, but I
smal to car y out the tasks that it’s been soldiers are to themselves as a result of fensive reflex to a misguided question. would be more concerned about the state
given.” “You’ve been having suicide military stress.
Casey volunteered similar boasts about of our officer corps if he did than if he
rates that are off the charts,” the reporter
What are these people smoking? the army’s “huge” mental fitness ef orts didn’t.
went on. “Your soldiers are under great How lopsided has our thinking become in his interview with CNN’s John Rob-
Does anyone real y think we’re going
stress from multiple deployments.”
that we view this murder through the erts.
to discriminate against or expel Mus-
Our military manpower is a legiti-
prism of the shooter’s stress and victim-
Casey — in this interview and others, lims from the service as a result of these
mate concern, but I think it would be hood rather than focus on how to prevent on ABC and NBC — also expressed his murders? On the other hand, doesn’t the
safety of innocent soldiers and our na-
tional defense demand that we get to the
bot om of why such an obviously radical
Islamist was not purged from our ranks
and whether inflated diversity concerns
handcuf ed us and, at least indirectly, led
to these murders?
You’ve surely already heard about the
shooter’s radicalism, his ties to al Qaeda,
his statement that infidels should have
their throats cut and boiling oil poured
down their throats, his profession as a
“Muslim first and American second,”
his anti-American rants, his harassment
of fel ow doctors about religion and our
government’s paralytic inaction despite
awareness of all these things and more.
WE’RE heading the way of Europe
in not only our adoption of socialism and
smothering of liberty but also our suicid-
al abandonment of national security. We
will survive as a nation only if we radi-
cally reverse these trends.
__________________________________________
DAVID LIMBAUGH
(c) 2009, Creators Syndicate
__________________________________________

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4 November 18, 2009
Conservative Chronicle
FORT HOOD: November 9, 2009
Conclusions? Jihadists in the military
By now, the script should be But who wants to jeopardize a career by of “civil liberties,” offices recommended trained to appear nonthreatening, until
disturbingly familiar. Whether raising such questions and becoming by the 9/11 Commission to focus on the threat becomes obvious and it is too
in the Middle East, or increas- the target of “civil rights groups” and “outreach” to the Muslim community. In late to do anything about it, are infiltrat-
ingly in America, a fanatical Muslim political y cor ect dupes? Intimidating this, they follow efforts by the Bush ad- ing our government and society at every
blows up or goes on a shooting spree, Americans into si-
ministration, which level.
kil ing many. This is quickly fol owed lence when they
dispatched Karen
by “condemnations” from “Muslim know bet er is also a
Hughes to tell Mus-
IT IS ir elevant that some have put the
civil rights groups,” like the Council on very effective strat-
Cal
lim women in Saudi number of radicalized Muslims world-
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). egy when fighting
Arabia that Ameri- wide at 10 percent. Even if that figure is
We are then warned by the president and a war.
can women are so accurate, one hundred mil ion jihadists
Thomas
some newspaper editorials not to jump
free they can drive can cause a lot of damage, as they plot
to conclusions, or to stereotype. Yasser
SOUND minds
their own cars. The the destruction of Western democracies.
Arafat wrote this script, which he used not brainwashed by
Saudi women were Other wars have been won with far few-
with great success throughout his bloody our own “re-educators” should have seen not impressed.
er soldiers and far fewer dupes.
career as a terrorist.
this coming. Though born in America to
It’s one thing to be suckered by oth-
Suddenly, the issue of gays in the mil- Jordanian immigrant parents, Hasan de- ers. It’s quite another to sucker yourself.
itary doesn’t seem as important as jihad- scribed himself as a “Palestinian.” He
How much longer will we tolerate
ists in the military.
got into trouble by attempting to pros- fighting this war as if it were a minor
elytize some of his patients.
crime wave? Our enemies are fighting __________________________________________
IF YOU were an enemy of America,
Most top federal agencies, including to win and they are fighting everywhere, CAL THOMAS
not only would you fight overseas and the Pentagon and DHS, now have offices including within our borders. People (c) 2009, Tribune Media Services
develop nuclear weapons (Iran), you
__________________________________________
would also engage in an even more ef- FORT HOOD: November 6, 2009
fective strategy by striking at America’s
underbel y. This is our most vulnerable
region because we now tolerate virtual y
everything, indulge in political correct- The massacre and what’s to come
ness and subscribe to a bogus belief that
if radical Islamists can see we mean them
no harm, they will mean us no harm.
worked and lived with him were at ease, victims, as on 9/11, as with the London
The federal government at al levels
It makes no sense to see Army Maj.
Nidal Malik Hasan, as represented he mowed down five and then escaped. bus bombings and the commuter rail
has hired and promoted Muslims to in-
in at least one family account, as Whether, in so doing, he shouted, “Allahu bombings in Spain. And the Fort Hood
fluential positions. It requires “sensitiv- the victim of “harassment” by fellow sol- Akbar,” I haven’t read. It would have fit.
massacre?
ity training” for federal employees, in- diers (and therefore a candidate for “un-
Scoundrels who shoot their comrades
That we can’t know yet. A careful so-
cluding those who work at the FBI and derstanding?”) He’s an officer. Soldiers aren’t unknown in military annals. It hap- ciety, nevertheless, mindful both of hu-
the Department of Homeland Security don’t harass officers.
pens in every war — even the “good” man lives and human freedoms, has to
(DHS). Last week, the House Judiciary
ones. It horrifies out of proportion to other brace itself for the possibility that in the
Committee, dominated by liberal Dem-
IT MAKES no sense to suggest he’d deeds, in that civilization teaches respect war on terror a new domestic front could
ocrats, defied the White House and re- been traumatized by narratives he had for friends and friendship. Just here, fa- be opening.
moved from the USA Patriot Act a tool heard concerning the awfulness of com- natics, such as Muslim murderers, have
Responsible Muslims, to their un-
for tracking non-U.S. citizens in anti- bat in Iraq and therefore resisted the idea made famous uprisings in denial of civi- doubted credit, have denounced the Fort
ter orism investigations. As our enemies of deployment there. He’s an army psy-
Hood massacre. That hardly means other
grow stronger and more emboldened, chiatrist, not a rifleman. Since when, any-
Muslims do not rub their hands in satis-
they see us becoming weaker and less way — read “The Iliad” for confirmation
faction as they await future opportunities
committed.
— has combat been other than awful?
William
to gun down soldiers and civilians en-
No amount of evidence — from Koran
It makes sense to ponder deeply — I
gaged in shoring up civilization. Murder-
verses urging the kil ing of “infidels,” to did not say “conclude,” I said ponder
ers of any and all religions hate civiliza-
cries of “God is great,” reportedly shout- deeply — the possibility that in Maj. Murchison
tion as a living reproach to ... themselves
ed by the al eged Fort Hood shooter, Nidal the army had, unwittingly, in its
and their notions.
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan — wil cure our bosom a treasonable viper; a supporter
The war on terror isn’t over or even
self-deception. Sun Tzu famously wrote of Islamic jihad against the West and the lization itself. The mass murderer doesn’t much abated, for all the domestic recoil
that al war is deception. But it takes two United States; a soldier who, in violation ponder the personal qualities of those he from waterboarding and Guantanamo
to deceive and the United States is be- of military oath and citizenship, opened intends to annihilate — babies, teenagers, and “unconstitutional” assaults on civil
having like a willing partner.
fire on soldiers as he cried, “Allahu Ak- mothers, fathers, whoever happens to be liberties.
People claiming to know Hasan told bar.” “Allahu Akbar” is the familiar cry there. He throws his hands in the air. “Al-
interviewers he made frequent state- of Islamic terrorists all over the world as lahu Akbar.” Boom!
DOWN the highway a piece from my
ments against the wars and the U.S. pres- they pounce on the unwitting.
own city, Dallas, the fighting appears to
ence in Islamic countries. Rep. Michael
We shall see about all this in due
THE mass slaughter of innocents is go on. May I be mistaken in this! That
McCaul, Texas Republican, told report- course. We’d better prepare meantime to un-American (save in decisive instances would be wonderful. The guy snapped —
ers after he was briefed on the shootings learn some things we’d rather not learn, such as Hiroshima). We basically don’t what a relief it would prove to many if
that Hasan “took a lot of advanced train- such as that a swath of international Islam get it. Surely it can’t be on account of this were the case. We could go back to
ing in shooting.” Why would a psychia- — indeterminate in size but nonetheless hatred. We explore alternative possibili- rooting for more apologies by President
trist need advanced training in shooting vicious — wishes all Americans dead; ties. The poor guy suffered from lack of Obama for national arrogance. And yet
unless he believed in murder as therapy? and that allegiance to Islam can override love. Others were mean to him. He was that privilege may not be available. We
Shouldn’t that, coupled with his state- any considerations of loyalty to, or appre- mentally confused. He snapped — yes, need to brace ourselves.
ments about “the aggressor” and other ciation for, the United States.
maybe that was it. He snapped, as with
actions — including his preference for
A day or two before the Fort Hood various school and post office massacres.
Muslim clothing — have alerted some- bloodbath, an Afghan policeman made
None of which speaks to the terrify- __________________________________________
one in authority that he might be a time a kindred declaration of hatred for the ing possibility that particular killers par- WILLIAM MURCHISON
bomb waiting to go of ? Yes, absolutely. West. When the British soldiers who had ticularly hate and scorn and despise the (c) 2009, Creators Syndicate
__________________________________________

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Conservative Chronicle
November 18, 2009 5
FORT HOOD: November 10, 2009
Backlash hogwash after Fort Hood incident
“U.S. Homeland Security officials libel has had an effect, though. It
are working with groups around the has succeeded in intimidating many
United States to head off any possible Americans about the proper bounds
anti-Muslim backlash following the of discussion. Gen. Casey reinforces
shootings at Fort Hood in Texas.”
this timidity when he frets that “our
diversity” may be a casualty of the at-
THE Department of Homeland Se- tack at Fort Hood. He and the Obama
curity is in good company in its con-
administration are obscuring the real
fusion. Gen. George Casey, the army’s challenge Americans face.
top general, also worried that “this
Our challenge is not to transcend
increased speculation could cause a the demons of vengeance clawing
backlash against some of our Muslim at our souls. Our challenge is to deal
soldiers. And I’ve asked our army lead-
intelligently with a threat that arises
ers to be on the lookout for that.” And from religious convictions. Non-big-
President Obama cautioned against oted observers can see that while the
“jumping to conclusions.”
vast majority of the world’s Muslims
The backlash
are not extremists,
trope is trotted out
a significant minor-
after every episode
ity are. And it mat-
of terrorist vio-
ters what people
lence. But it is as
Mona
believe.
false as it is dan-
We don’t like to bar, a Muslim convert, rolled a grenade in Los Angeles, 10 airliners landing in
gerous. This image
pass judgment on into the tent of his fellow soldiers in the U.S. (the liquid bomb plot), JFK
Charen
of a nation on a hair
others’ religious the 101st Airborne Division on the eve airport, the Brooklyn Bridge and the
trigger for violence
convictions. That’s of the invasion of Iraq. In June, Abdul- Prudential Building in Newark, N.J.,
against Muslims is a calumny. Even fine. But when a religious belief spurs hakim Muhammad, another convert, among others.
in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, violence and mass murder, it becomes killed one army recruiter and wounded
So shall we arrest all the Muslims
though millions were inflamed by grief political, and it becomes a proper con- another in Little Rock. Naveed Haq in America? That’s the caricature that
and outrage, there was no broad-based cern of the military and security ser- shot six women at the Seattle Jewish is encouraged by the “backlash” ped-
“backlash” against Muslim Ameri-
vices.
Federation office in 2006.
dlers. Obviously not. But what we
cans. There were a handful of crimes
Worldwide, Muslims believing
must do is to discriminate — that is,
including the murder of a Sikh who themselves to be advancing the faith
FEDERAL agents have thwarted to make distinctions based on what
may have been mistaken for a Muslim, have committed more than 14,000 acts planned terror attacks on Fort Dix, kind of Islam Muslims embrace. We
a few broken windows, some insults of violence just since 9/11. You know N.J., folded up a terror ring in Lack- have created a climate in which mem-
and some hurt feelings. But the over-
the litany: Madrid, London, Bali, Je- awanna, N.Y., and uncovered plots bers of the military were afraid to
whelming majority of Americans did rusalem, Mumbai, Amman. The list against the nation’s financial centers, raise questions about the bald and bla-
not seek out scapegoats, nor engage in is long and bloody — and it includes the World Bank, the Sears Tower, the tant Islamist comments Major Nidal
vigilantism.
many innocent Muslims.
New York subway system, the Los Hasan expressed over many years. He
The repeated invocation of this
Many hit home. In 2003, Hasan Ak- Angeles airport, the Israeli Consulate was overhead saying, “maybe people
should strap bombs on themselves and
go to Times Square.” He was caught
proselytizing his patients. He argued
frequently to colleagues that the U.S.
was engaged in a “war against Islam.”
Yet no one raised a red flag. Might
be interpreted as anti-Muslim bigotry.
And so the military took no action
against a man who loudly advertised
his extremist sympathies. Thirteen
Americans paid for that with their
lives.
If any good were to come out of the
Fort Hood massacre, it would be a new
clarity about what we are fighting. Is-
lamism is the enemy. Moderate Mus-
lims are allies in the cause. We should
no more shrink from confronting and
battling Islamism than we would from
any of the “isms” we destroyed in the
20th century.
MUDDLED thinking and mis-
placed delicacy have proved deadly.
__________________________________________
MONA CHAREN
(c) 2009, Creators Syndicate
__________________________________________

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6 November 18, 2009
Conservative Chronicle
FORT HOOD: November 10, 2009
Intimidated Americans claim ignorance of motive
One reads and hears with in- Press that he and other classmates participated in a 2007-2008 master’s Americans dead and America Muslim.
creasing disbelief and anger participating in a 2007-2008 master’s program at a military college said they,
It does the majority of Muslims
that we don’t know the mo- program with Hasan at the Uniformed too, had complained to superiors about no favor to deny the existence of the
tive or motives of Nidal Malik Hasan, Services University had complained Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s anti-Ameri- minority. And Muslim Americans do
the army major who fired over 100 about his comments, including that the can views, which included his giving a themselves no favor by denying it.
shots at his fellow American soldiers war on terror was
presentation that Unfortunately, Muslims are theoreti-
in order to murder and maim as many “a war against Is-
justified suicide cally represented by groups like CAIR
as possible. Hasan ended up allegedly lam.”
bombing and tell- whose values are correctly seen by
murdering 13 people, but government
Another class-
ing classmates most Americans as suspect.
Dennis
and army spokesmen and the main- mate told the AP
that Islamic law
stream media claim they just can’t that he complained
trumped the U.S.
AMERICANS are worried by the
figure out why he did this. They are, to five officers and
Constitution.
fact that there are Muslim Americans
Prager
however, certain that it was not an act two civilian facul-
And
ABC whose beliefs compel them to murder
of terrorism.
ty members at the
News now reports non-Muslim Americans. But what is
university. He also
that Hasan had at- even more worrisome is that American
SUNDAY’S New York Times “Week wrote to Pentagon officials that fear in tempted to contact al Qaeda.
Muslim groups (and their supporters
in Review” article about Nidal Hasan the military of being seen as politically
It is a given that the vast majority on the left) deny this.
was titled “When Soldiers Snap.” The incorrect prevented an “intellectually of American Muslims are loyal Ameri-
gist of the article was that Maj. Hasan honest discussion of Islamic ideology” cans. But that’s not the only given.
had snapped — even though he had in the ranks.
It is equally a given that a certain __________________________________________
never been in combat. He snapped in
percentage of Muslims in and outside DENNIS PRAGER
advance. Just two sentences in the arti-
OTHER CLASSMATES who of the military are Islamists who want (c) 2009, Creators Syndicate
__________________________________________
cle were devoted to the possibility that
his motives were in any way relatable FORT HOOD: November 8, 2009
to his Muslim faith.
As Chris Matthews put it, “it’s un-
clear if religion was a factor in this
shooting.” To Matthews, not only was Shooter is a lone wolf terrorist
it unclear if Hasan’s Islamic faith was
“the” factor, it was unclear if it was
even “a” factor.
had warriors receive turn out to be re- a popular Afghan garb — to work on
Likewise, on NPR, Tom Gjelten of-
tired, shotgun-toting American nuns in occasion was an in-your-face statement
habits.
to others that he was a Muslim. This
I pLast June I wrote a column
about how lone wolf terrorists
fered the novel explanation that Hasan,
are almost impossible to stop.
who has never been in combat, may
redicted that “other lone wolves will
Hasan is the most recent in a long simple act of defiance was a clue that
have suffered from “pre-traumatic emerge in the coming years.” Sadly, my line of lone wolf ter orists to at ack the this guy was more Muslim than Ameri-
stress disorder” because he anticipated prediction came true, and much sooner United States military. Two of the 13 can soldier.
having traumatic distress. “Was he an than I had hoped. My prediction still kil ed at Fort Hood were Navy captains.
The military justice system is swiFort
example,” Gjelten seriously asked, “of stands.
The last event was the kil ing of two By the time he recovers from his four
these soldiers who are literally freaked
young soldiers outside a recruiting sta- gunshot wounds, inflicted by a female
out by what they are likely to face
ARMY MAJ. Nidal Malik Hasan, tion in Lit le Rock, Arkansas by a black Department of Defense police officer
when they are deployed?”
the Fort Hood shooter who kil ed 13 Muslim convert this past June.
who saved an untold number of lives,
And on Fox News, Geraldo Rivera, and wounded 30 others, perfectly fits
the investigation and Article 32 hear-
said, “I don’t know what motivates the profile of a lone wolf ter orist. He
ing, the military’s version of a grand
him ... as far as I know ... he’s a so- wanted a discharge from the army after
jury, wil conclude. Hasan’s general
Gregory D.
ciopath; he’s a criminal. He could have receiving poor efficiency reports. He
courts-martial wil undoubtedly lead to
had a toothache and gone off because did not want to deploy to Afghanistan.
his conviction, unless his at orneys can
of that.”
He claimed he was “harassed” because
convince the court that he is insane.
Lee
The deaths and maiming at Fort he was a Muslim. And he voiced opin-
If not, they’l portray him to the jury
Hood are heartbreaking and angering. ions that Muslims should not be in the
as a victim of the army and its mean sol-
But ultimately far more injurious to military because the U.S. war on ter or
The srmy is defenseless against such diers who harass poor defenseless Mus-
America than the act of evil that caused was actually a war on Islam.
attacks so long as it allows openly de- lims and send them to faraway places
those deaths and injuries is the mas-
Hasan decided to go on a lone wolf vout Muslims within its ranks. To avoid and force them to fight other Muslims.
sive self-deception American society jihad suicide mission and obviously criticisms of being a racist organization, They’l say he has Pre-Post Traumatic
engages in out of fear of being called thought he would not survive the event. the army will allow Muslims to contin- Stress Disorder from counseling many
bigoted, racist or “Islamaphobic.”
Through his actions, it’s apparent he ue to serve, as they should. However, returning combat veterans, which is
Any American who is not prepared made up his mind to die in good stand- there must be a way the army can pro- more nonsense. It will be quite a spec-
to lie to himself has reason to believe ing with Islam rather than deploy to tect itself from soldier-extremists who tacle to behold.
that Hasan’s religious views were Afghanistan where he would oppose decide to become jihad warriors.
prominent, if not exclusive, factors for fel ow Muslims. That inner conflict,
FORTUNATELY, the military jus-
why he slaughtered fellow American coupled with his crumbling profession-
HASAN, born in Virginia, received tice system has a death penalty; and if
soldiers. The motives appear as clear al and personal life, most probably gave his taxpayer-funded medical training convicted, Hasan is the perfect example
as any could be.
him suicidal thoughts. He reasoned that from the army. His claims of harass- why it exists. I hope members of the
Chuck Medley, Fort Hood’s director killing himself was unacceptable be- ment for being a Muslim are ridiculous. 1st Cavalry Division, stationed at Fort
of Emergency Services, told Reuters cause his religion forbids it; but dying in Soldiers don’t harass majors, especial y Hood, wil be members of his firing
that Hasan yelled “Allahu Akbar” — defense of Islam would achieve his goal medical doctors and psychiatrists. Any squad — to send Maj. Hasan straight to
the Arabic incantation of “Allah is the of committing suicide, and he would re- criticisms he received were probably Hell, as he well deserves.
greatest” yelled by Islamic terrorists ceive a higher place in heaven.
a result of his poor work performance
before they slaughter people — just
Surely, the thought of 72-virgins and lack of focus. Despite being “110 __________________________________________
before the shooting,
waiting for him must have crossed his percent American,” according to his GREGORY D. LEE
Dr. Val Finnell told the Associated sick mind. I hope the 72 virgins that ji- relatives, wearing a salwar kameez — (c) 2009, North Star Writers Group
__________________________________________

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Conservative Chronicle
November 18, 2009 7
ELECTION 2009: November 4, 2009
Election 2009: Change I can believe in!
— MSNBC, Aug. 31, 2009, Keith fices for the first time in 12 years, win-
Just two days before the election, why Obama made John McHugh, the
Olbermann on Robert F. McDonnel , ning the races for lieutenant governor Obama was at a rally in New Jersey as- moderate Republican congressman rep-
Republican candidate for governor of and attorney general, as well as assem- suring voters that Corzine was “one of resenting the 23rd district, his Secretary
Virginia:
bly seats, garbage inspector, dog catcher the best partners I have in the White of the Army earlier this year. The Demo-
“In (McDonnel ’s master’s thesis), he and anything else Virginians could vote House. We work together. ... Jon Cor- crats thought McHugh’s seat would be
described women having jobs as detri-
for.
zine helped get this done.”
easy pickings.
mental to the family, cal ed legalized
To paraphrase a pompous blowhard:
Except the problem is that voting for
Only in the last week has everyone
use of contraception il ogical, pushed Goodbye, Mr. Democrat
Obama a year ago was a fashion state- acted as if a Democratic victory in the
to make divorce more difficult, and in-
And that’s not the
ment, much like it 23rd district would be a shocking sur-
sisted government should favor mar ied most exciting news
was once a fad to prise — an upset victory caused by puri-
couples over, quote, ‘cohabitators, ho-
from election night!
buy Beanie Babies, tanical Republicans staging inquisitions
mosexuals or fornicators.’ Wow. When Astoundingly, Jon
Ann
pet rocks and Cab- against “mainstream” Republican can-
did he write this? 1875? No, 1989. Wow, Corzine, the incum-
bage Patch Kids. didates like Dede Scozzafava, the des-
1989.
bent governor of
But instead of end- ignated “Republican” candidate in the
Coulter
heavily Democratic
ing up with a ridicu- special election.
“GOODBYE, Mr. McDonnell.”
New Jersey — a
lous dust-col ector
This is preposterous — there was ab-
— MSNBC, Sept. 22, 2009, Rachel state that Barack
at the bottom of solutely nothing Republican about Scoz-
Maddow also on McDonnell:
Obama won by 16 points just a year ago your closet, the Obama fad leaves you zafava. As a supporter of partial-birth
“And here’s where the conservative — lost by five points.
with higher taxes, a reduced retirement abortion, card-check union schemes
movement and the Republican establish-
At 49 percent for Republican Chris fund, no job and a one-year wait for an and massive government spending pro-
ment smash into each other like bumper Christie versus 44 percent for Corzine, MRI.
grams, she was less Republican than
cars without bumpers. Here’s where Re-
the election wasn’t even close enough
John McCain.
publican electoral chances stop being to be stolen by ACORN. (Although
THAT IS why Corzine’s defeat
Even Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos
separate from the wild-eyed excesses of Corzine did extremely well among un- sounded the death knel for national called Scozzafava the most liberal can-
the conservative movement.
deraged Salvadoran prostitutes living in health care.
didate in the race — which may explain
“Part of watching Republicans try to government housing.)
The good news: Next time Corzine is why she was the choice of George So-
return to power is watching ... the con-
The biggest winner election night in a major car accident after speeding on ros’ Working Families Party and why
Shooter is a lone wolf terrorist
servative movement eat the Republican was pol ster Scot Rasmussen, who — the New Jersey Turnpike, he’l be able to she promptly endorsed the Democrat
Party, eat their electoral chances over once again — produced the most accu- see a doctor right away.
after withdrawing from the race last
and over and over again.”
rate poll results. New York Times pol :
The media wil try to rescue health weekend.
On election night, conservatives-eat-
Corzine 40, Christie 37; Quinnipiac pol : care by talking about nothing but the
Conservative opposition to Scozza-
ing-Republicans resulted in an 18-point Corzine 43, Christie 38; Rasmussen pol : 23rd district of New York, where the fava hardly suggests that they plan to
landslide for McDonnel , who beat his Christie 46, Corzine 43.
Democrat won Tuesday night. Congrat- impose litmus tests on every Republican
Democratic opponent 59 percent to 41
The biggest loser was President ulations, Democrats — you won a con- candidate in the 2010 elections.
percent — winning two-thirds of all in-
Obama, who campaigned tirelessly for gressional seat in New York! Next up: A
Speaking of litmus tests, on MSNBC
dependent voters and ending the Demo-
Corzine, even giving up golf on several Catholic elected pope!
recently, liberal blogger Jane Hamsher
crats’ eight-year reign in the Virginia occasions and skipping a quarter-mil-
Far from an upset, the Democrats’ said of the possibility that a blue dog
governor’s office.
lion-dol ar “date night” with Michel e to winning the 23rd district was a long-term Democrat would oppose national health
Republicans swept all statewide of-
stump for the Democrat.
plan of the Obama White House. That’s care: “I dare Blanche Lincoln — I dare
Blanche Lincoln to join a filibuster.
She’l draw primary opponents so fast it
would make your head spin.”
While I’m sure an out-of-touch liber-
al blogger from Hol ywood knows more
about Arkansas than an elected senator
from that state, Hamsher’s threat sounds
more like an intra-party civil war than
conservatives opposing a George Soros-
supported Republican candidate in a
New York congressional race.
Not only do conservatives not pick
insane fights — such as staging a 2006
primary fight against a recent vice presi-
dential candidate because he supported
the war in Iraq — but conservatives are
more popular than Republicans.
BY CONTRAST, liberals are less
popular than Democrats. When conser-
vatives take control of the Republican
Party, Republicans win. When liberals
take control of the Democratic Party,
Democrats end up out of power for eight
to 12 years.
__________________________________________
ANN COULTER
(c) 2009, Ann Coulter
__________________________________________

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8 November 18, 2009
Conservative Chronicle
HEALTH CARE: November 5, 2009
D.C.’s ‘failure to launch’ health care policy
The Senate Health, Education, care wards for years after they’ve been
Labor and Pensions Commit-
emancipated.
tee health care bil includes a
Forget the old system that al owed
provision that would al ow parents to adult children to remain on their par-
keep their children as dependents on ents’ policies until age 19, or up to age
their health care policies until age 26. 23 if they were in col ege, and hence
Not to be outdone, House Speaker Nan-
financial y dependent. The Washington
cy Pelosi announced last month that, as measures would apply to adults up to
Congressional Quarterly reported, the age 26 or 27, whether they live at home
House bill “will allow young people to or not — as long as they are not mar ied
stay on their parents’ policies until age or parents. (And how long do you think
27.”
it wil take for politicians to eliminate
those exclusions?)
DO I hear age 28? Why not 30?
To my surprise, the insurance in-
As long as Washington is giving away dustry believes that, if enacted, the
private health care coverage, why not failure-to-launch provisions “wil have
eliminate the age cap entirely?
a minimal impact,” according to Robert
The House plan enjoys the support Zirkelbach, press secretary for Ameri-
of a new group, “the Young Invinci-
ca’s Health Insurance Plans.
bles,” an organization, Pelosi explained
In part, the industry accepts this new
“formed to get young adults behind the definition of “dependent” because states
campaign for health
have been passing ting young adults on their parents’ poli- to the ranks of the insured. “It actual y
insurance reform.”
laws extending the cies mean more premiums for insurers saves costs in a way,” he added — a
Eureka. Pelosi
wonder years. Ac- to cover a group that has pret y low point that has been made by elected
has found the way
cording to Zirkel- claims.
failure-to-launch boosters.
Debra J.
to get young adults
bach, Delaware and
It’s true that one in three young
behind health care
Oklahoma draw the
BESIDES, a law that would make American adults lacks health care cov-
reform — have
line at age 18, but insurers cover healthy young adults is erage — and Washington should try to
Saunders
mom and dad (or
it’s 22 for North far less onerous than other congressio- pass laws to cor ect the situation. But
their employers)
Dakota; 24 in Indi- nal provisions, such as the requirement don’t tel me it’s practical y free. As
pay for it. Of course
ana, South Dakota that health care providers cover cancer Geoffrey Sandler testified for the Amer-
young adults are jumping on the band-
and Tennessee; 25 in 13 states and age patients at no extra cost. Ditto restric- ican Academy of Actuaries last year,
wagon.
30 in four states, including New Jersey. tions on what they can charge older “Although young people age 19 to 25
A few years ago, Matthew McCon-
Also, states have different criteria deal- Americans.
generally have lower claims costs than
aughey starred in the movie Failure to ing with residency. The toothpaste is
Joshua B. Gordon of the fiscal other age groups, increasing coverage
Launch about a thirtysomething adult out of the tube; at least a federal mea- watchdog group the Concord Coalition, to this group will increase claims.”
who did not want to fly the familial sure would provide uniform standards.
sees “very minimal federal budget im-
And don’t act as if there is some-
coop. Now the Beltway wants to enable
As health care expert Steve Zucker- plications” — as there are advantages thing noble about failure-to-launch
adults to live as their parents’ health man of the Urban Institute noted, put- to adding “young and healthy people” provisions — when they do nothing for
young adults who have no parents or
whose parents don’t have health insur-
ance.
“It’s a way to get people to have cov-
erage, but without the federal govern-
ment picking up the tab,” noted Zucker-
man. But that does not mean there is no
cost — only that employers or employ-
ees will have to pay the added cost.
This is where a proposal by the
Senate Finance Commit ee, chaired
by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., to sell
low-premium, high-deductible “young
invincibles” policies to young adults
comes in handy. As Time Magazine re-
ported, such policies “do not constitute
ful coverage.” But if crafted cor ectly,
Zuckerman told me, “the young-invin-
cibles plans could be a good option.”
AND NOT just for the sons and
daughters of the middle class. It makes
no sense, but the so-called caring mem-
bers of Congress want to avoid the path
that paves strong incentives for young-
invincibles to take charge of their health
care. Instead, they’re pushing the “fail-
ure to launch” model.
__________________________________________
DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
(c) 2009, Creators Syndicate
__________________________________________

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Conservative Chronicle
November 18, 2009 9
HEALTH CARE: November 4, 2009
Best option: Less government, more choice
“My guiding principle is and always ing hospitals and doctors, reimbursing insists now. As a U.S. Senate candidate no competitive national market for health
has been that consumers do better when them at below-market rates. “Just like in 2003, he sang a different tune: “I hap- insurance; there are 50 state markets in-
there is choice and competition.” So said Medicaid and Medicare,” which also pen to be a proponent of a single-payer stead, most of which are dominated by
President Obama in his address to Con- underpay medical providers, the public universal health care program. ... But as a handful of insurers. This, says Michael
gress on health care, making an argument option would force hospitals and doctors all of you know, we may not get there Cannon of the Cato Institute, is the “orig-
for a government-run “public option” to to charge private insurers more. Those immediately.” Has he changed his mind? inal sin” of health insurance regulation.
sell health insurance that many Demo- insurers, in turn, would be compelled to Or only his talking points?
crats have echoed.
raise their premiums, eventually losing
More competition among health in-
WHEN IT comes to almost any other
millions of custom-
surers is a consum- product or service, Americans would
IN 34 states, Obama noted, three- ers to the govern-
mation devoutly to find a ban on interstate commerce and
fourths of the insurance market is con- ment plan.
be wished. But there competition intolerable: Imagine being
trolled by five or fewer companies.
Obama and other
are far better ways told that you could buy a car or a com-
Jeff
“Without competition, the price of insur- Democrats insist
to get there than a puter only if it was manufactured in your
ance goes up and the quality goes down.” that any public op-
public option.
state. Consumers in the market for a
But add a public option “administered tion would have to
Here are three:
mortgage are free to do business with an
Jacoby
by the government just like Medicaid be self-supporting,
— Tear down the out-of-state lender; those in the market
or Medicare,” he said, and competition properly balancing
barriers to buying for health insurance should be equally
would revive.
its premiums and risk and not expect- health insurance across state lines. Under free to do business with an out-of-state
No, it wouldn’t.
ing the government to cover its losses. federal law, states are permitted to regu- insurer.
A government-run health insurer Sound familiar? The same assurances late “the business of insurance” as they
— Repeal mandatory benefits that
would radically tilt the health-insurance were made about Fannie Mae and Fred- see fit, and most of them have seen fit make health insurance needlessly expen-
playing field. It would amount to a new die Mac.
to allow the sale only of insurance poli- sive. Compounding the lack of interstate
entitlement program, able to undercut
“I have no interest in putting insurance cies licensed by their own state insurance competition is the way states drive up
the price of private insurance by squeez- companies out of business,” the president commissions. As a consequence, there is the cost of health insurance by making
certain types of coverage compulsory.
HEALTH CARE: November 7, 2009
Consumers and insurers should be free to
work out for themselves just how com-
prehensive or limited a policy should be.
But state mandates prevent such flexibil-
Obamacare endorsements: The bribe ity by requiring insurance companies to
sell a fixed array of benefits that many
customers may not want. Individuals
Medicare leaves off. But President continue to bar lower-cost Canadian seeking plain-vanilla health insurance —
Bush-43 passed the Medicare Advan- drugs from coming into the U.S. All it a policy that will cover them, say, in case
As the suicidal Democratic
congressmen proceed to
rubber-stamp the Obama tage program, which offered a subsi- had to do was to put its formidable ad- of major surgery or catastrophic illness
health care reform despite the drub- dized, lower-cost alternative to Medi- vertising budget at the disposal of the — may find themselves forced to pay
bing their party took in the ‘09 elec- gap. Under Medicare Advantage, the administration.
for a policy that also covers acupuncture,
tions, the president trotted out the en- elderly get all the extra coverage they
— Insurance companies got access in vitro fertilization, alcoholism therapy
dorsements of the AMA and the AARP need plus coordinated, well-managed to 40 million new potential customers. and a dozen additional treatments.
to stimulate support. But these — and care, usually by the same physician. But when the Senate Finance Com-
When compulsion takes the place of
the other endorsements — his package So more than 10 million seniors went mittee lowered the fine that would be competition, the result is invariably less
has received are all bought and paid with Medicare Advantage, cutting into imposed on those who don’t buy insur- choice at higher cost.
for. Here are the deals:
AARP Medi-gap revenues.
ance from $3,500 to $1,500, the insur-
— De-link health insurance from em-
ance companies jumped ship and now ployment. Nothing distorts America’s
— The American Medical Associa-
oppose the bill, albeit for the worst of health insurance market like the misbe-
tion (AMA) was facing a 21 percent
motives.
gotten tax preference for employer-spon-
cut in physicians reimbursements un-
The only industry that refused to sored health insurance. Until that pref-
der the current law. Obama promised
Dick
knuckle under was the medical-de- erence is removed, tens of millions of
to kill the cut if they backed his bill.
vice makers. They stood for principle Americans will continue to rely on their
The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring
and wouldn’t go along with Obama’s employers’ health plan instead of buying
Morris
annual five percent to six percent re-
blackmail. So the Senate Finance health insurance for themselves, the way
ductions in doctor reimbursements for
Committee retaliated by imposing a they buy every other type of insurance.
treating Medicare patients. Bravely,
tax on medical devices such as auto- Fix the tax code, and no longer could
each year Congress has rolled the cuts