Hannity concocts smear that Obama at fault for Ft. Hood shooting
Sean Hannity speculated that "there is a chance our government knew all about" alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan "and did nothing because nobody wanted to be called an Islamophobe," and asked, "What does it say about Barack Obama and our government?" But there is no evidence that Obama was aware of the emails between Hasan and an imam with alleged ties to Al Qaeda; moreover, Hannity did not address what the incident says about President Bush, who was in office when the authorities reportedly first intercepted the emails.
Hannity: "there is a chance our government knew all about Hasan," "What does it say about Barack Obama?" From the November 9 edition of Fox News' Hannity:
HANNITY: This Fort Hood situation is really beginning to disturb me and should disturb everybody. And that is that there is a chance our government knew all about this guy Hasan and did nothing because nobody wanted to be called an Islamophobe. We're not talking about Islam, we're talking about radical Islam. You know, this guy going in there, god is great, etc., etc., and all the things he's saying. But everybody hat worked with him, Bob, knew ahead of time, our government apparently knew and did nothing. Now, this is a terrorist act, if in fact this was motivated in such a way. What does it say about Barack Obama and our government?
Hasan communications with imam with alleged ties to Al Qaeda reportedly intercepted in "late 2008" Reports: Army and FBI aware of emails during Bush administration. Several news outlets, including the Chicago Tribune and Associated Press, have reported that the FBI and Army became aware of emails between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki in late 2008, during the Bush administration. These reports contain no evidence that Obama (or Bush) were made aware of the emails. From a November 9 Chicago Tribune article:
The FBI and the Army looked into contacts between the Army psychiatrist accused of last week's deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood and a Yemen-based militant Islamist prayer leader but concluded that he didn't pose a terrorist threat, senior law enforcement and military officials said Monday.
The disclosure that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan had ongoing communications with an imam who had ties to Sept. 11 hijackers was sure to raise the question of whether U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies had information that, if properly shared and investigated, might have helped to prevent the attack.
[...]
Several U.S. officials said U.S. intelligence agencies first intercepted communications between Hasan and Awlaki starting in late 2008 as a result of another investigation, and that the information was given to one U.S.-based multi-agency Joint Terrorism Task Force and then to another one based at the Washington Field Office because of Hasan's assignment at the Walter Reed medical center.
The Washington task force, which included FBI agents and Army criminal investigative personnel, launched a probe and determined that Hasan was contacting the radical cleric -- who has ties to other Al Qaeda-affiliated individuals -- "within the context of the doctor's position and what he was doing at the time, conducting research on the issues of Muslims in the military and the effects of war in Muslim countries.''
The official said Hasan had ''reached out to Awlaki several times before he got a response,'' and that there was little in the correspondence to raise serious red flags.
From a November 9 AP article:
FBI Director Robert Mueller has ordered an internal inquiry to see whether the bureau mishandled worrisome information gathered about Hasan beginning in December 2008 and continuing into early this year
Based on all the investigations since the attack, including a review of that 2008 information, the investigators said they have no evidence that Hasan had help or outside orders in the shootings.
Murdoch's denial belied by Fox News' repeated comparisons of Obama to Stalin
In an interview with Australia's Sky News, News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch falsely claimed that Fox News hosts had not "likened" President Obama to Josef Stalin. In fact, Fox News hosts and contributors have repeatedly drawn comparisons between Stalin and members of the Obama administration, including Obama himself, and have also compared Stalin's policies to Obama's policies.
Murdoch claims none of his "people" have "likened" Obama to Stalin Murdoch claims "not one of our people" at Fox has "likened [Obama] to Stalin." As the website The Business Insider noted, Murdoch was recently interviewed by David Speers, political editor for Sky News, which -- like Fox News -- Murdoch owns. During the interview, Speers stated, "Glenn Beck, who you mentioned, has called Barack Obama a racist, and he helped organize a protest against him. Others on Fox have likened him to Stalin. Is that defensible?" Murdoch responded, "No, no, not Stalin, I don't think. I don't know who they -- not one of our people."
But Fox News has repeatedly compared Obama and his administration to Stalin
Beck claims to deny comparing Obama and Stalin but sees "echoes of the past that frighten me." While interviewing Florida State University history professor Robert Gellately, author of the book Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler, Beck stated that he was "not comparing what's currently going on in our administration or in Washington" to those three dictators, but nevertheless said, "I see echoes of the past that frighten me":
BECK: [F]or the last couple of weeks, I keep seeing these scenes and I'm like, gosh, I've seen these scenes before, and I couldn't remember where it was. This morning, I'm in a meeting and I remember and I said to the staff, "Lenin, Stalin and Hitler." I am not comparing -- and I doubt you are, too -- I'm not comparing what's currently going on in our administration or in Washington on either side with these guys, but I see echoes of the past that frighten me. [3/26/09, retrieved from the Nexis database]
Beck airs images of Obama and Stalin and asks, "Is this where we're headed?" On his Fox News program, Beck aired video of Obama interspersed with historical footage that included images of Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Vladimir Lenin and asked, "Is this where we're headed?" [Glenn Beck, 4/2/09]
Napolitano claims Geithner's "power grab" is "unconstitutional": "This is Josef Stalin without the bloodshed." During a discussion of a request by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for new powers to intervene in the financial industry, Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said, "I'm absolutely calling it a power grab. It's blatantly unconstitutional." Napolitano further stated, "If the government can do this, this is central planning, Soviet-style. This is Josef Stalin without the bloodshed." [Happening Now, 3/25/09]
Peters compares possible torture prosecutions to "show trials" of Stalin, Mao, Castro, Chavez. While discussing reports that Obama officials were considering prosecuting Bush administration officials who had written memos enabling the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, Fox News strategic analyst and New York Post columnist Ralph Peters stated that the "extreme left has always loved show trials. Stalin set the pace in the '30s. Mao did it. The left's beloved Fidel Castro used it. Hugo Chavez is trying to use show trials right now." [Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4/23/09]
Napolitano compares bank rescues to "Mussolini's Italy" and "Stalin's Soviet Union." Guest-hosting a panel on Beck's Fox News program about infusions of government money into troubled banks, Napolitano asked, "What happened in Mussolini's Italy, what happened in Stalin's Soviet Union when the government came in and said, 'Those private companies that you run? You can still own them. You can still pay the bills. But we'll tell you where to invest your money and what bills to pay.' " [Glenn Beck, 11/4/09]
Beck frequently compares Obama to Hitler Beck: "This is what Hitler did with the SS." Discussing Obama's call for a "civilian national security force" -- which was a reference to expanding the foreign service, AmeriCorps, and the Peace Corps -- Beck said on the August 27 edition of his Fox News program: "I'm finding this -- this is the hardest part to connect to. Because this is -- I mean, look, you know, David [Bellavia, former Army staff sergeant], what you just said is, you said, 'I'm not comparing' -- but you are. I mean, this is what Hitler did with the SS. He had his own people. He had the brownshirts and then the SS. This is what Saddam Hussein -- so -- but you are comparing that. And I -- I mean, I think America would have a really hard time getting their arms around that."
Beck: "I read [Mein Kampf]" and "the Germans ... were an awful lot like we are now." After asking, "Did the Germans know?" Beck stated that "the scariest book I ever bought was Mein Kampf." He continued, "I went and I bought it and I read it, 'cause I wanted to answer that question. The answer was -- yes, they knew. I think the Germans, however, were an awful lot like we are now, we're kind of living in a denial like -- no, that can't really be happening. No, that really -- you don't want to believe some things but you have to. You have to actually think about them."
Beck claims "I'm not saying that Barack Obama is a fascist," then compares auto maker rescues to "the early days of Adolf Hitler." During the April 1 edition of his Fox News show, Beck stated, "I'm not saying the Democrats are fascists." He subsequently said of efforts to extend rescue loans to auto companies, "if I'm not mistaken, in the early days of Adolf Hitler, they were -- they were very happy to line up for help there as well."
I may have to read Jonah Goldberg's book, so I know where the Becks, Hernandezes and Detries of the world get this crap from. Of course, I also refuse to put money in pockets of people like this, so that means checking it out of the library or buying it used.
I saw a bunch of Glen Beck books in Wal-Mart the other day, and if I knew I'd get away with it, I think I'd do to those books what you did in Barnes and Noble, Alison. No way they'd be getting my money, Beck, Ann Coultier, Rush Limbaugh, and whoever else wants to act like a jackass!
As for the Hernandezes and Detries of the world, Gary, I do not want to even think about how much money they pour into these books! I haven't had much experience with Charles (?) Detrie, but I have had more than I can stomach from Hernandez and his clowns, and the Albaneses, to name a few. And what about that damn fool on "I have more foreign..." that had at one point a picture of some cow?
I don't remember the Mad Cow guy. I don't spend a lot of time on "I have more foreign policy..." I hang out mostly on 1,000 Strong..., Repubs Suck, Conservatives Suck & RLS.
I enjoy arguing with these guys and can do so without getting angry - up to a point. But Charles Detrie isa very angry man. Not only is he very angry, but he has some college education and fancies himself to be an intellectual. As Alison points out, he seems to be enamored with the whole Jonah Goldberg idea of liberal fascism. Like Hernandez, he has an alternate take on history. But every time I talked to him, the argument would degenerate into semantics or, even worse, epistemology. Absolutely horrible to argue with.
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