Purging American Muslims and Republican Moderates, Putting Lipstick on a Swine Flu

Paul Krugman
David Brooks
Dana Milbank
Eugene Robinson
Joe Klein

"Voters across America are in a bad mood, largely because of the still-grim economic situation."  - Paul Krugman

"Independents are herds of cats who find out what they think through a meandering process of discovery."  - David Brooks

"But any GOP officeholder up for reelection has to worry about a possible primary challenge from the right, with tea party fanatics yelling about revolution, Palin posting attacks on social networking sites and Beck shouting treason."   - Eugene Robinson

"In an era when Twitter haiku-messaging rules, diplomacy moves at the speed, and requires the nuanced complexity, of literature." - Joe Klein

I watched the press conference by the Commander at Fort Hood last night, and the information given out there is the gist of all of the news coverage this morning. We won't know any more until the shooter talks to investigators, which may be some time if he recovers enough from being hooked up to a ventilator: "Military officials said they believe Hasan, 39-year-old major trained to treat soldiers under stress, opened fire with a pair of pistols -- one of them semiautomatic -- in the soldier readiness facility just after lunchtime. All around him, unarmed soldiers who had been waiting to see doctors scattered or dropped to the floor. Fort Hood police Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner Mark Todd responded within four minutes of the report of gunfire, said Col. John Rossi, a deputy commander at the post. They arrived just as Hasan was fleeing the building. Hasan fired one of his two guns, hitting Munley in the thigh, said an officer who witnessed the shooting. Then Hasan began to fumble with his gun.


"He's reloading," someone screamed, one witness recalled.


Both Todd and Munley opened fire, downing Hasan, Rossi said. An officer on the scene stripped off his belt and used it as a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from Munley's thigh.


Lt. Gen. Robert Cone told reporters Munley shot the gunman four times. She was in stable condition on Friday. "It was an amazing and an aggressive performance," Cone said."


I went to The Center for Traumatic Stress, where everyone got the picture of Hasan, but they have taken all information about him off of their site. A lot of the American Muslim response echos the same things said after 9/11. If Islam is a religion of peace, why are there so many bloodthirsty Muslims willing to kill on a widespread basis? We will probably see a backlash that will purge Muslim-Americans from professional military and government service. After the purges of gays in the military, it will look less diverse and tolerant.

Granted that Nidal Hasan fits the lone gunman theory, but his premeditated assault, carrying two guns in an area where wearing firearms was restricted, and his being a psychiatrist, calls into question Army policy of who is watching the watchers. The military has a history of ignoring problems and resisting changes in policy. Here in Colorado Springs the establishment at Fort Carson had to be publicly embarrassed and dragged kicking and screaming to address their lack of policy in dealing with the stress absorbed by soldiers serving several consecutive terms in Iraq and Afghanistan. It wasn't until some returning soldiers went on a rampage killing 11 civilians that Carsonites had to look more honestly at PSD. A similar situation of embarrassment forced the Air Force Academy here to acknowledge the aggressive date-rapes that were occurring by male cadets, and glossed over by senior officers.


good-bye to all that...

Another purging is taking place in the Republican Party, where the right wing exremists want to squeeze out anyone with a sane or moderate point of view. GOP chairman Michael Steele, never a great thinker and more interested in sound-bites than continuity, has said: "... you do not want to put yourself in a position where you’re crossing that line on conservative principles, fiscal principles, because we’ll come after you,” 

Michelle Bachman had a rally on the Capitol steps, where several thousand people were bussed in. If you were just curious or a reporter, you would have been hassled by angry and hostile people: "For two-and-a-half hours, I got the Glenn Beck treatment -- accused of, among other things, subverting freedom, working for a communist propaganda outlet, and having a soulless devotion to slander and scandal."


The outcome may be the only people left in the Republican party are white extremists with their token black mouthpiece. Moderates, and especially women have been leaving the party in droves. Leaving those whose idea of sound political campaigning is making shocking signs and screaming intolerantly at anyone who disagrees, will bring total ruin and leave us with one major fish in the pond with several minnows circling around taking an occasional nibble now and then...


lipstick on the swine flu...
Now that the H1N1 flu virus has actually reached worldwide epidemic proportions, we are running out of vaccine. It has reached a remote tribe in the Amazon, as well as jumping species and infecting someone's cat. Here in Colorado 34 people have died from it, and I will see this afternoon if I can get a vaccination, being somewhat elderly myself...  The pork industry has successfully lobbied the media to stop calling it the swine flu, especially after Egypt killed all of their pigs in an attempt to circumvent the virus. Doesn't matter what you call it, it's still floating around, being passed from person to person. We emit a fine cloud of perspiration and spit that can surround us ten feet in circumference. Hippies used to call this your "personal space," and when another person comes in contact and breathes in from this cloud, air-borne viruses get transmitted. Its kind of gross, I know, but now you know how people see your aura, colors refracted like a rainbow in your own personal cloud of spit... happy breathing and traveling!

how bout some late night political jokes:

"Yesterday was election day and the people of New Jersey elected a new governor. That's right. Yeah, and I don't know how he did it, but congratulations to newly elected New Jersey Governor, Hamid Karzai." –Conan O'Brien

"Yesterday, voters in the state of Maine voted no to gay marriage, but yes to medical marijuana. That's right, people in Maine believe marriage should be a sacred institution between a really stoned man and a really stoned woman." –Conan O'Brien

"You're here on a very special night, ladies and gentlemen. The entire balcony here at the Ed Sullivan Theater tonight is filled with defeated Democrats. Yeah, buddy!" –David Letterman

"Big losses for the Democrats in the elections. Here's how bad it was for the Democrats — earlier today, the Democratic Party was begging Rush Limbaugh for pain killers." –David Letterman

"Bad year for Democrats right now. All the Democrats have left is the presidency, both houses of Congress, and all of Hollywood. That's all they have." –David Letterman

"One year ago today, ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama was elected president, one year ago today. One year later, we're still in Iraq. We're still in Afghanistan. But, you know, at least we got rid of Paula Abdul." –David Letterman

"Well, the Democratic Party has a new slogan. 'What happened?'" –Jay Leno

"Not a good night for President Obama. He lost elections in Virginia, New Jersey and not doing too good in Afghanistan either. In fact, political experts are calling this his worst setback since he tried that bowling thing." –Jay Leno

"Well, congratulations to New York city mayor Michael Bloomberg on the purchase of his third term." –Jay Leno

"Bloomberg spent $100 million to get re-elected. Do you realize that is the most money ever spent on a New Yorker that's not playing for the Yankees?" –Jay Leno

"Bloomberg was limited to just two terms, but he changed the law so he could run again and be in power another four years. And today, Arnold Schwarzenegger said — 'You can do that? How do you do that? Why can't I do that here?'" –Jay Leno

"Some pictures of President Obama posted on the internet seem to show the President looking very thin. ... Tthey say he looks too thin, but White House docs say not to worry, Barack Obama's one of those guys who can eat whatever he wants and still not gain weight. Yet another reason for Rush Limbaugh to hate him." –Jay Leno

"Over in Washington, President Obama called and congratulated Republican Bob McDonnell today after he won the governorship in Virginia. Obama then moved Virginia to the bottom of the swine flu vaccine waiting list." –Jimmy Fallon