Terrorism: Let’s call it by its rightful name

Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, Fort Hood’s top commander has obviously gotten the word from on high. He’s calling for “counseling  and healing,” in the wake of the terrorist attack on the base last week by a Muslim extremist and base psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who fired more than 100 rounds Thursday, killing 14 people including a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Twenty-nine people were wounded in the carnage and 15 soldiers remain hospitalized, with eight in intensive care.

Cone bizarrely announced the military base is launching a comprehensive program to help soldiers and civilians with “whatever difficulties they may be facing,” and went on to say, “we’re going to take a very hard look at ourselves” and consider whether the post needs new security and psychological assessment measures that could have prevented the attack.

Psychological assessments and “hard looks at ourselves?” 

What would have prevented the attack was less political correctness when Hasan engaged in anti-American rants, consorted with other known Muslim extremists and action on the part of authorities after they became aware of numerous emails he sent attempting to contact people associated with Al Qaeda and did nothing.

Although we are now being told the massacre was “not terrorism,” the reality is that Hasan’s attack at Ft. Hood was indeed an act of Islamic terrorism. He justified his actions based on his interpretation of Islam. At the onset of his attack Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar!”  — God is great!

Yet he began getting press sympathy almost immediately as the MSM began discussing his “post-traumatic stress disorder,” although he had never been deployed to a war-zone. The words “Muslim” and “terrorism” are nearly obliterated from coverage. Months ago, Homeland Insecurity Chieftain, Janet Napolitano had no trouble issuing a disreputable report accusing our returning service personnel of presenting potential threats, but excised the word “terrorism” from usage in her capacity as an Obama cabinet member.

The Washington Post, however, links to the power point presentation Hasan used during a presentation to senior Army doctors in June 2007. Instead of the medical topic scheduled, he lectured on Islam, suicide bombers and prophetically discussed threats the military might encounter from Muslims conflicted about fighting wars in Muslim countries.

President Barack Hussein Obama and his wife Michelle are scheduled to attend today’s memorial service. Former President and onetime Texas Gov. George W. Bush and his wife Laura have already been to the base to personally offer condolences.

AZ Town Hall conclusion: “State needs an enema”

The Republic’s new heroine, Sandra Day O’Connor, never the conservative Reagan assumed when he appointed her as the first female on the U.S. Supreme Court, is now poised to save the state with her masterful wizardry.

Pairing her O’Connor House Project (referred to as a “civic group”) with the ASU’s left-leaning Morrison Institute (called a “think tank”), they are radically planning a constitutional convention — the first since statehood — to right what’s wrong with Arizona.  These overreaches were the conclusion of the members of the Arizona Town Hall who have determined that the state’s escalating budget deficits are a solid indication that fundamental changes are needed to set Arizona on the left leaning course with the wide-ranging proposals they have decreed will benefit us.

Among the group’s recommendations:

- The Legislature should pass a temporary sales-tax increase, rather than refer it to the voters.

- Continue to search for other short-term revenue sources, such as increases in income or property taxes, or increased revenue from Indian gaming.

- Broaden the sales tax base while lowering the tax rate.

- Reinstate the state property tax.

- Expand the application of user and impact fees.

- Evaluate tax credits and sunset or eliminate tax exemptions.

- Increase efforts to obtain a larger share of federal funds.

- Increase the cap on the rainy day fund to at least 20% of state general fund expenditures of the prior year and add restrictions on withdrawal tied to measurable reductions in economic activity.

- Increase excise taxes on gasoline for transportation uses.

- Critically evaluate expenditures and tie expenditures to revenues.

-  Consider general obligation bonding, severance taxes, exit taxes, visa taxes, and inheritance taxes.

The entire report can be read here.

The daily quotes an unnamed Town Hall participant as saying, “The state needs an enema,” to cleanse its system and start over.  How many of you willing to grab your ankles for these “doctors?”

Republic’s radical leap links illegal immigration opposition to Nazism

In one incendiary headline, the open border, amnesty fanatics at the Arizona Republic make the most egregious leap. Neo-Nazis rally against illegal immigration in Phoenix is the title of an article on a despicable, fringe hate group. The neo-Nazi group is not local but based out of Detroit and has been demonstrating in other states.

Channel 12, owned by Gannett, the parent company of the Arizona Republic, reported the clash at the Arizona State Capitol was based on opposition to race. The video is alongside the article.

The vile hate-mongers of the National Socialist Party certainly deserve to be viewed with contempt.  But linking them to those who have legitimate concerns about border security and adherence to the law, is a leap of grotesque proportions that could only be made by the Arizona Republic and its cohorts.

Obama morphs into Teddy Roosevelt while waging war with George Bush

In an obvious attempt to divert attention away from the massive political defeats suffered by President Obama on Tuesday, the daily pumps him up as the anti-Bush environmentalist. This morning’s Page One, above-the-fold article, including three large photos — plus the generous jump page coverage — is titled: Obama moves quickly to preserve the West. And if that doesn’t grab you, the line, Policies favoring environment over industry, should.

The puff piece article is a clear indication the left learns little from harsh realities. Although Obama personally and repeatedly urged support of Democrat candidates in Virginia and New Jersey, the voters rejected Chris Deeds in his gubernatorial bid and turned out sitting Gov. Jon Corizine in favor of fiscally conservative Republicans. Yet inexplicably, the newspaper’s coverage is replete with knocks against former President George W. Bush. 

A few examples taken from the article clearly indicates Bush, though no longer a political entity, still makes a fine foe:

 – [steps] President Barack Obama has taken to reverse environmental policies of the Bush administration since taking office in January.

 – For eight years, the Bush administration crafted policies that opened doors wider for multiple uses on public lands. Users such as mining and logging companies won greater access in some areas, and federal agencies were given greater leeway in allowing development.

 – The Bush administration had planned to open up [a park area] to off-road vehicles.

 – In a sharp departure from the Bush administration, the Obama team has halted new uranium-mining.

 – “The environmentalists have been waiting in the wings for eight years,” quoting an assistant professor of political science at ASU, who obviously has a political rather than conservationist axe to grind.

 – “The previous administration was really all about extraction of resources from the land,” they quote reliable liberal Rep. Raul Grijalva.

 – While the Bush administration went after the region’s oil and gas reserves as a way to achieve greater energy independence, the Obama administration is shifting the focus to solar, wind and geothermal power as it looks for ways to boost both the economy and the state of the environment.

It’s the blame game at work.  And when Democrats have no one to blame but themselves, they are not above hauling out a Republican former president to slap around.

AARP shows its true leaning: Left

Word is that the AARP, the liberal seniors’ lobby, is poised to endorse Obama’s nationalized health care takeover bill being promoted by House Democrats.

The group has decided to give its nod to the $1.2 trillion measure. Given that the bill is anathema to America’s aging population, it is an extremely odd partnership. Under the Democrat health care plan, services to seniors will face massive cuts.

The website of the Congressional Republicans exposes the kickbacks inherent in the AARP’s participation in the fed-med scheme.

Last year, the group collected $222 million in royalties from UnitedHealthCare, which provides most of the health insurance marketed under the AARP brand. That figure is almost as much as AARP collected in dues from its members.

Hot Air runs a revealing CBS News video showing that 60,000 people had cancelled their AARP memberships within a single month, angered over the group’s position. The number has no doubt increased since the network report.

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel. brother of Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, has said health care should be rationed for those who are not “participating citizens,”— the old, the infirm, and those suffering from irreversible medical conditions, or have used up their “life-years.”

The American Seniors Association is a conservative alternative to AARP.

Fish wrap interview raises more questions than it answers

In an absurdly blathering, slathering and kowtowing article titled, Why, hello there, neighbor: Sonora’s new governor, Guillermo Padres Elias stops by for a chat, readers of the daily fish wrap are treated to an unrequited love-fest of monumental proportions.

In the opening gambit alone, the daily uses up a good number of their slobber-covered adjectives describing his election by an “ample victory,“ capping a “remarkable nine-year rise.” The reporter oddly decided to omit the word “meteoric.”

The thrust of the photo-filled article is a softball question-and-no-real-answer session, minus any meaningful follow-up from either the newspaper’s adoring editorial board or their cohorts.

We suggest you read it before a meal.

Sheriff Arpaio wins federal court victory against Department of Justice

The following article was in today’s daily, but tucked in with other one-column reports on page 3 of section B, under the easy-to-miss header Around Arizona. It was not available online:

U. S. District Judge G. Murray Snow this week barred the Department of Justice from participating in depositions related to a racial profiling case against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office pointed to Snow’s decision as a victory and sheriff’s officials believe it bolsters their assertion that the Justice Department, which has an  ongoing civil-rights investigation into Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office, is using “back door” methods to gain information.  Sheriff’s officials have accused Justice Department investigators of using Department of Homeland Security employees to gather information for the investigation and attempting to gain entry to a press conference without identifying themselves.

The Justice department does not comment on ongoing investigations.

Placement, it appears, is everything. When issuing the nearly daily scathing assaults on Sheriff Joe Arpaio, they merit Page One, above-the-fold, coverage in the Arizona Republic. When the sheriff wins a court victory, the ever-so playful newspaper takes us on a game of hide and seek.

We don’t want to play.  What we do want is straight, unbiased news reporting — which is likely too much to hope for, but the spirit of optimism lives and breathes.

If you liked Obama’s Cash for Clunkers program, you’re gonna love this

As part of the Obama administration’s “economic stimulus” package, $300 million in rebates for buying energy-efficient products has been set aside as a reward for ditching your old appliances. State governments were required to submit detailed plans to the Obama administration to explain how they would give that taxpayer money away. So unlike the “Cash for Clunkers” program, each state is in charge of its own “Cash for Appliances” plan.

Programs have already been scheduled for California, New York, and Florida. If you think your neighbors should be paying to replace your no longer trendy refrigerator and harvest gold washer with newer appliances, Arizona’s energy department contact information is here.  Michelle Bermudes, the energy coordinator in charge of Arizona’s appliance rebate program, can be reached at (602) 771-1151.

Back in January, the liberal New York Times, a newspaper that endorsed Obama for president, wrote this about the “stimulus” costs estimates:  But anyone who looked closely [at the table of numbers from the Congressional Budget Office] would have seen something strange about the table. It suggested that the bill would cost only $355 billion in all, rather than its actual cost of about $800 billion.

Why? It turns out that the table was analyzing only certain parts of the bill, like new spending on highways, education and energy. It ignored the tax cuts, jobless benefits and Medicaid payments — the very money that will be spent the fastest.

Even the New York Times gets it.

New Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos: A tribute to integrity, diversity and transparency

Last week the daily reported that the eight-member Phoenix City Council and Mayor Phil Gordon, would be conducting closed-door, executive session, interviews to find a replacement for retiring City Manager Frank Fairbanks. And although lip service is paid to the issue of “transparency,” there was none evident in this exclusive selection process.

In light of past disciplinary actions, council members also stressed the importance of ethics.

“We’ve had some lively debates and I want to share with you that integrity is of the utmost importance from here on forward,” said councilwoman Peggy Neely.

That pesky integrity issue might have accounted for the lack of allowable public scrutiny of the process that would put the ultimate winner in charge of 14,000 city employees and a $3.6 billion annual budget.

Yet in an 8-1 vote, the council appointed 22-year Phoenix employee David Cavazos, 49, described in the newspaper report as a “Hispanic, and the first minority to hold the highest non-elected office in the nation’s fifth-largest city.”

In 2006, David Cavazos, then an acting deputy city manager was suspended for a week without pay after an internal investigation found that city workers spent more than $280,000 in taxpayer money on questionable travel expenses.

But not to worry. City leaders warned Cavazos that any future unethical behavior would not be tolerated.

Councilman Michael Nowakowski, also identified by the daily as Hispanic, defended Cavazos as the most qualified candidate for the job, not downplaying the ethnicity angle. “It’s sending a message out there that we are going to be diverse, not only diverse within the Latino community, but we also have a large African-American, Asian, Native American and LGBT community,” said Nowakowski, who nominated Cavazos. “So it’s diversity, and our management should look like the city of Phoenix.”

Councilman Michael Johnson cast the lone dissenting vote, saying he had serious concerns about Cavazos’ suspension for violating city travel policies and setting a tone that allowed his employees to abuse city funds. Cavazos, then an acting deputy city manager, who at the time served as assistant aviation director was forced to repay the city $911 following the investigation into travel abuses at the city.

The four finalists, all Phoenix deputy city managers, were Cavazos, David Krietor, Rick Naimark and Ed Zuercher. Of course, the closed-door interviews allowed for no public comment.

The manager’s annual pay range is $163,592 to $257,670.

Medicare patients beware: Readmissions for same condition is a no-go

Slashing Medicare payments to hospitals that readmit ailing senior citizens — a component of the health care reform bill under consideration in Congress — could have serious consequences for the hospitals, including raising costs on hospitals an estimated $19 billion over 10 years, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA).

Montana Democrat Sen. Max Baucus’ version of the readmissions policy would penalize hospitals 20 percent of their Medicare reimbursement rates if patients are readmitted for the same condition, such as pneumonia or heart failure, within seven days and by 10 percent if readmitted within 15 days.

“Hospital leaders and clinicians who care for patients recognize that some readmissions can be prevented,” the AHA said.

“But there are a number of factors beyond the hospital’s control that affect whether a patient is readmitted, including the natural course of the disease, the limited availability of post-acute and ambulatory health care services, high levels of poverty among some hospitals’ patients, and a lack of community-based social services,” it added.

“If these factors are not accounted for, they will lead to payment penalties, inequities and other serious consequences–intended and unintended–for hospitals, particularly safety-net hospitals,” said the AHA.

The complete report can be read on CNS News