Berman Post

CNN Interviews 'Revolutionary Muslims' Who Believe Fort Hood Attack Was Justified

2009-11-08T22:09:00.004-05:00

I am not sure what is more disturbing, the fact that these people believe what they are saying or the fact that they are willing to say it to CNN cameras.

Video embedded below.

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Massacre at Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded
Berman Post: Fort Hood Shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Before Shooting
Berman Post: Kimberly Munley Credited With Stopping The Fort Hood Attack
Berman Post: Hasan Shot The Wounded as They Lay on The Floor
Berman Post: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is Not Contagious
Berman Post: Hasan Shared a Spiritual Adviser With Some of The 9/11 Hijackers
Berman Post: Obama vs Bush - Reaction to Fort Hood Shooting

Bush - 'Miss me Yet?'

2009-11-08T17:52:00.002-05:00

Not an actual quote by Bush, at least not in this context. Still funny though.

Picture embedded below.

Passage in The House The 'High Watermark of Obama Care'?

2009-11-08T16:25:00.002-05:00

Ed Morrissey asks if the Health Care bill has passed in the House is going to be the 'High Watermark of Obama Care'. The implicit thought is that the Health Care Overhaul does not have enough votes in the Senate, and not twice. There is also a serious question if Pelosi could muster enough votes if the Senate decides not to have the abortion carve out, when she barely had enough with it.

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/11/08/is-this-the-high-water-mark-for-obamacare

"The Democrats wheedled, cajoled, begged, and finally abandoned its defense of abortion — truly a watershed moment — in order to get their version of ObamaCare passed … in the House of Representatives, where they enjoy a 75-seat majority. In the end, they could only muster a five-vote win on Nancy Pelosi’s bill out of that strong majority.
...
Now the focus swings to the Senate, where Harry Reid will have to gain supermajorities at least twice to allow the bill to proceed to a final vote. That seems unlikely, although not impossible. The process will slow down considerably from the jam-down Pelosi conducted in the lower chamber, perhaps even to a crawl if Tom Coburn makes good on his threat to have the bill read in its entirety on the Senate floor. That will leave plenty of time for ObamaCare opponents to find all of the taxes, mandates, and government intrusions that will make it even less popular as it sits in the Senate."

Are There Enough Votes to Pass Health Care Overhaul in The Senate

2009-11-08T13:35:00.003-05:00

Now that the Health Care bill has passed in the House, the question turns to if there are enough votes in the Senate. It is hard to guess, but it looks to me like the Democrats will fall a few votes short as the bill stands now. It is going to be close either way, and I would bet there is 'arm twisting' to the point of 'arm breaking' as the Democrats do everything they can to try and get those last few.

Video embedded below.

Obama vs Bush - Reaction to Fort Hood Shooting

2009-11-08T12:47:00.000-05:00

This is a comparison of how Obama and G. W. Bush reacted to the Fort Hood shooting.

Obama held a press conference. While there was not much to object about what he said, there was some objection to the fact that it took him two minutes from the time he started talking to mention the attack. Obama even gave a "shout out" to Joe Medicine Crow who he called a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, but Crow did not win that award. It was Obama that had presented him with the Medal of Freedom, not the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Video embedded below.

Bush on the other hand, chose to meet with the victims secretly without cameras. It should be noted that the Bush's 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch is less than 30 miles from Fort Hood.

There is also an important distinction to be made between the proper respective roll of a former and current president. Obama was right to hold a press conference, and Bush was right to visit with the soldiers secretly. My only qualm was the same as many others, the fact that it took Obama 'to long' to finally talk about the shooting.

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Massacre at Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded
Berman Post: Fort Hood Shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Before Shooting
Berman Post: Kimberly Munley Credited With Stopping The Fort Hood Attack
Berman Post: Hasan Shot The Wounded as They Lay on The Floor
Berman Post: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is Not Contagious
Berman Post: Hasan Shared a Spiritual Adviser With Some of The 9/11 Hijackers

USS New York Commissioning Ceremony

2009-11-08T11:30:00.004-05:00

Here is the complete USS New York Commissioning Ceremony that took place yesterday. My favorite part of these ceremonies starts two minutes into the seventh video (eight videos total) with the setting of the first watch. The order to 'man our ship, and bring her to life' happens just after the six minute mark in the seventh video. The flyover ends my favorite part of these ceremonies. The flyover happens at the beginning of the eighth and final clip. While it is not specified, it looks to me like a couple of Ospreys.

Videos embedded below.

Health Care Bill Passes in The House

2009-11-07T23:28:00.002-05:00

The vote was 220-215 (218 is just over half) with only one Republican voting yes and 39 Democrats voting no. This is not the end of the debate. A bill must pass in the Senate, then the two must be reconciled, followed by another round of voting. It is a first step in what is shaping up to be an almost exclusively Democrat run overhaul of our health care system.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33748707/ns/politics-health_care_reform

"The final vote was a narrow 220-215. Only one Republican — Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana — voted for the measure; 39 Democrats voted against it."

Hasan Shared a Spiritual Adviser With Some of The 9/11 Hijackers

2009-11-07T22:12:00.002-05:00

Terrorism is looking like the real motive more and more as these new facts come to light and people start connecting the dots.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6521758/Fort-Hood-shooting-Texas-army-killer-linked-to-September-11-terrorists.html (via)

"Major Nidal Malik Hasan worshipped at a mosque led by a radical imam said to be a "spiritual adviser" to three of the hijackers who attacked America on Sept 11, 2001.

Hasan, the sole suspect in the massacre of 13 fellow US soldiers in Texas, attended the controversial Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia, in 2001 at the same time as two of the September 11 terrorists, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. His mother's funeral was held there in May that year.
...
Hasan's eyes "lit up" when he mentioned his deep respect for al-Awlaki's teachings, according to a fellow Muslim officer at the Fort Hood base in Texas, the scene of Thursday's horrific shooting spree.

As investigators look at Hasan's motives and mindset, his attendance at the mosque could be an important piece of the jigsaw. Al-Awlaki moved to Dar al-Hijrah as imam in January, 2001, from the west coast, and three months later the September 11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour began attending his services. A third hijacker attended his services in California.

Hasan was praying at Dar al-Hijrah at about the same time, and the FBI will now want to investigate whether he met the two terrorists."

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Massacre at Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded
Berman Post: Fort Hood Shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Before Shooting
Berman Post: Kimberly Munley Credited With Stopping The Fort Hood Attack
Berman Post: Hasan Shot The Wounded as They Lay on The Floor
Berman Post: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is Not Contagious

White House <-> Fox News Truce Real?

2009-11-07T21:53:00.003-05:00

Is the White House <-> Fox News truce real? Both Hillary Clinton and David Axelrod gave interviews on Fox News, and both pretty substantial at that. This would seem to indicate the truce (see clips below). Then there was word that the White House warned a Democratic strategist never to appear on Fox New 'or else', something that the White House strongly denied. I am going to rule an uneasy truce given the available info, but am sure there will be 'dust ups' in the future.

Videos embedded below.

This sage, starting from the beginning; Anita Dunn 'called out' Fox News. Beck responded by installing a 'Red Phone Hotline', then aired a tape where Dunn said that Mao was one of her favorite philosophers. On the defensive, Dunn countered by saying that she was joking, and then added "Let it be noted that I also quoted Mother Teresa, but no one is accusing me of being a saint!". Not only was I was unconvinced, the New York Times declared Fox News the unequivocated victor. Axelrod and Emanuel joined in to take some of the pressure off of Dunn. A new video of Dunn surfaced where she said "very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control", which Beck used. Gibbs has thrown his support behind the White House position. Olbermann (MSNBC) voiced his approval and had a bit of fun. Obama voiced his support confirming that this is the official White House position. The Obama administration tried to block Fox News from getting an interview and possibly thinking about having them removed from the press pool. The Treasury Department seemed to lie in saying that they did not try to exclude Fox News despite the confirmation of Fox News by CBS. The Treasury Department said that Fox News never asked for an interview. Fox News directly refuted that claim and added that the White House had acknowledged the mistake the Treasury Department made. It became clear just how much of a winner Fox News was with a massive ratings spike. White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett called Fox News bias before backtracking ten seconds later. There was word of a truce. Now, there is some evidence for and against the truce, but the for seems more substantial.

11 New Videos With Kids Used to Praise Obama

2009-11-07T16:14:00.004-05:00

Big Hollywood found 11 new videos of kids being used to praise Obama. They were posted a few days ago, but I wanted to get a chance to watch them or read the transcripts before posting on it. Most of the videos have been removed or restricted by the users, but the transcripts are at the site. Not all of them are 'that bad'. I am not sure which is worse, the notion that there seems to be a constant stream of these types of videos or the fact that people seem to think this is not that big of a deal.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is Not Contagious

2009-11-07T14:51:00.002-05:00

Some people are excusing or explaining Major Nidal Malik Hasan Fort Hood shooting on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Slight problem with that analysis, Hasan did not see combat as he was not deployed and PTSD is not contagious. In the words of a soldier that actually has/had PTSD;

http://www.jrsalzman.com/post/2009/11/07/PTSD.aspx (Strong Language Warning)

"I’m more than a little angry right now. Yes, I’m irate that some shitbag Major (“shitbag” is often used as a technical term in the Army) opened fire on a group of his fellow Soldiers killing 12 and wounding 30. But that’s not even what is under my skin right now. What is bothering me is the general reaction of our media and those stupid enough to think this was not an act of terrorism, but was caused by supposed PTSD caused at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
...
That's what fucking PTSD is like. At no point in time have I ever felt the desire or need to grab a weapon and go shoot someone or something up. At no point in time have I ever grabbed a weapon and broken a law because I felt the need to protect myself. PTSD urges you mitigate the risk of events that happened in your life. But if you've never had anything traumatic happen in your life, you can't fucking have PTSD."

Head to the source to read about his experience.

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Massacre at Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded
Berman Post: Fort Hood Shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Before Shooting
Berman Post: Kimberly Munley Credited With Stopping The Fort Hood Attack
Berman Post: Hasan Shot The Wounded as They Lay on The Floor

Gibbs - 'Can You Imagine if a Few Years Ago People Had Protested Using Pictures of Hitler?!?'

2009-11-07T14:24:00.001-05:00

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs must be suffering from either a bout of amnesia or a bad case of selective memory. He seems to think that no one protested using signs with pictures or references to Hitler before Obama became president. Gibbs asked if people could imagine such a thing happening a few years ago. I do not have to imagine it because I remember it. More 'remembering here.

Video embedded below.

"I will continue to say what I've said before. You hear in this debate, you hear analogies, you hear references to, you see pictures about and depictions of individuals that are truly stunning, and you hear it all the time. People -- imagine five years ago somebody comparing health care reform to 9/11. Imagine just a few years ago had somebody walked around with images of Hitler. Hopefully we can get back to a discussion about the issues that are important in this country that we can do so without being personally disagreeable and set up comparisons to things that were so insidious in our history that anybody in any profession or walk of life would be well advised to compare nothing to those atrocities."

Hasan Shot The Wounded as They Lay on The Floor

2009-11-07T14:03:00.002-05:00

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged perpetrator of the Fort Hood massacre, is described as being calm and methodical. Witnesses report him shooting the wounded as they lay helpless on the floor. Truly disturbing.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/fort-hood-shooter-maj-nidal-malik-hasan-shot/story?id=9018559

"Survivors of the Fort Hood massacre described today how Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly gunned down unarmed soldiers, and then shot them again as they lay wounded on the floor.

Investigators believe more than 100 shots were fired from Hasan's gun in a matter of minutes. He was described as calm and methodical in his attack, pausing only to reload."

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Massacre at Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded
Berman Post: Fort Hood Shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Before Shooting
Berman Post: Kimberly Munley Credited With Stopping The Fort Hood Attack

Twitter Rolls Out 'Retweet Button' And 'Trends Upgrade'

2009-11-06T13:57:00.002-05:00

Twitter is rolling out two new or improved features, the 'Retweet Button' and a 'Trends Upgrade'. The Retweet button seems fairly strait forward. It is just a way to simplify users 'retweeting' content. It will likely be a time saver, but revolutionary or ground breaking it is not.

The trends upgrade is a bit more interesting. It is not entirely clear what they are planning to do, but it seems as if they may be trying to purge span messages from trends. Such a move would be welcomed, but I am not sure how they can effectively stop the spam while ensuring that legitimate messages do not get blocked. Also, they talk about "higher quality results"; though it is not clear what they mean by that either. Are people below a certain follower limit threshold going to be excluded form trends? Are people that have not used the service for a minimum number of days/weeks going to be excluded. With such a high volume there is no way that they can be sorted through manually, so I am curious exactly what method they are going to use. I hope that junk messages and spam will be curtailed, but am concerned that 'innocent' users may be caught in the 'net'.

http://blog.twitter.com/2009/11/retweet-limited-rollout.html

"Retweet is a button that makes forwarding a particularly interesting tweet to all your followers very easy. In turn, we hope interesting, newsworthy, or even just plain funny information will spread quickly through the network making its way efficiently to the people who want or need to know."

http://blog.twitter.com/2009/11/get-to-point-twitter-trends.html

"Trends began as a useful way to find out what’s going on but has grown less interesting due to the noisiness of the conversation.

So, today we're starting to experiment with improvements to trends that will help you find more relevant tweets. Specifically, we're working to show higher quality results for trend queries by returning tweets that are more useful."

Google Commerce Search

2009-11-06T13:22:00.002-05:00

Google is making further inroads into your commerce shopping by targeting online sellers. With the promise of simplicity and better rates of return per visitor, Google is hoping to bring new sites aboard. Given the likely targeting of this time for the approaching holiday season, it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Video embedded below.

Andrew Klavan - "Find God in 60 Days"

2009-11-06T12:51:00.001-05:00

Video embedded below.

Unemployment Now at 10.2 Percent

2009-11-06T12:22:00.002-05:00

The unemployment rate has now entered double digits clocking in at 10.2 percent. To put this in the contexts of the last few months; after rising to %9.5, 'fake' falling to %9.4 (Berman Post: US Unemployment Drops to 9.4 Percent), rising to %9.7, and then rising again to 9.8%, unemployment is now at 10.2%.

To put that number in the context of the pre-stimulus projections;

Picture embedded below.

A proper reading of the chart will tell you that unemployment now is worse then what the Obama administration predicted it would be if the stimulus was never passed.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

"The unemployment rate rose from 9.8 to 10.2 percent in October, and nonfarm
payroll employment continued to decline (-190,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. The largest job losses over the month were in con-
struction, manufacturing, and retail trade."

How Impressive is The Yankees World Series Record...

2009-11-06T11:57:00.002-05:00

At Yankees Win The World Series in the emideate aftermath of the Yankees 27th World Series victory I opined that the Yankees had a fantastic record and the most championship victories of any team in any sport by number or percentage that I can think of, even when compared to other major sports.

Paul Mirengoff throws in some stats. After declaring the Yankees the team of the decade, he explains;

"The team of the decade honor is nothing new for the Yankees. By the measure used above, they were the team of the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1990s. They were also second runners-up behind Oakland and Cincinnati in the 1970s, when they won two championships and appeared in three World Series."

Kimberly Munley Credited With Stopping The Fort Hood Attack

2009-11-06T11:22:00.001-05:00

Police Sergeant Kimberly Munley is being credited with putting a stop to the Fort Hood attack. Directing traffic mere moments before, Munley was a few feet from Major Nidal Malik Hasan when they exchanged fire. She was hit, but incapacitated him. Munley is in stable condition at the hospital.

The current casualty count on the news is 13 dead and 28 wounded; the wounded reportedly in stable condition.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_police_sgt_kimberly_munley_credited_with_ending_fort_hood_gunman_maj_nidal_malik.html#ixzz0W5kobZLj

"The hero cop who ended the bloody rampage at Fort Hood had been directing traffic moments before she confronted the gunman and pumped four bullets into him despite being shot herself.
...
Munley was only a few feet from crazed Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan when she opened fire.

Wounded in the exchange of gunfire, Munley was reported in stable condition at a local hospital."

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Massacre at Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded
Berman Post: Fort Hood Shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Before Shooting

Fort Hood Shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Before Shooting

2009-11-06T10:56:00.002-05:00

Witnesses to the Fort Hood shooting said Major Malik Nadal Hasan (the shooter) shouted "Allahu Akbar!" before he opened fire. If true, it looks like terrorism is becoming a likely motive for the attack.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/69363097.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU1yDEmP:QMDCinchO7DU

"Soldiers who witnessed the rampage reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — an Arabic phrase for "God is great!" — before opening fire, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander. He said officials had not yet confirmed that Hasan made the comment before the shooting spree."

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Massacre at Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded

Michelle Obama to Star on a Reality Show

2009-11-05T22:21:00.002-05:00

Michelle Obama is set to become the first, first lady to appear on a reality show. She will be a guest on the show 'Iron Chef America'. In an apparent 'nod' to her appearance, the many of the ingredients have been chosen from the vegetable garden she planted. The show will be filed at the White House and air next year.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1225393/Michelle-Obama-presidential-wife-appear-reality-TV-show.html

"Michelle Obama is to be the first presidential wife to appear on a reality TV series.

The First Lady will make a guest appearance on 'Iron Chef America' which features British cook Nigella Lawson as a judge.

The episode of the popular series, which pits well-known chefs against each others, has been filmed at the White House and will be aired in the New Year.

Many of the ingredients for the meals prepared in the show were chosen from the recently planted White House vegetable garden."

Massacre at Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded

2009-11-05T21:57:00.002-05:00

A shooting today at Fort Hood left 12 dead and 31 wounded. The sole gunman, Major Malik Nadal Hasan, is in custody. The motivation for the attack is still unclear, but given what is coming to light, terrorism is a serious possibility.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,572305,00.html

"A military doctor who reportedly feared an impending war deployment is in custody as the sole suspect in a shooting rampage at the Army's Fort Hood that left 12 dead and 31 wounded, an Army official said Thursday night.

The news that the suspect, Major Malik Nadal Hasan, was alive and in stable condition"

Forklift Driver Destroys $150,000 Worth of Alcohol

2009-11-05T11:53:00.002-05:00

Talk about your bad day at work...

Video embedded below.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Carrie Prejean Sex Tape?

2009-11-05T10:46:00.002-05:00

TMZ is reporting that Carrie Prejean has a sex tape. They say that the sex tape was used to settle the dispute/suit between Prejean and the Miss California USA officials. I would think this could be considered some sort of extortion; though it would depend on how it was done. I am not really sure that they have such a tape, or at least have not had it for as long as they claim ("months ago"). Why would they sit on it for as long as they have, only to use it now? What are the odds if it is real, that it will not be leaked eventually by people who's goal seems to be destroying her life?

http://www.tmz.com/2009/11/04/carrie-prejean-sex-tape-settlement-miss-california-usa-pagneat

"Carrie Prejean demanded more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant officials -- that is, until the lawyer for the Pageant showed Carrie an XXX home video of her handiwork.
...
We're told it took about 15 seconds for Carrie to jettison her demand and essentially walk away with nothing. As we first reported, the Pageant is paying around $100,000 to her lawyers and publicist -- a fraction of her bills. She pockets nothing in the settlement."

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Perez Hilton Calls Miss California (Carrie Prejean) a "Dumb B*tch", Was Thinking The thinking of the "C-Word"
Berman Post: Is The New Miss USA Pro-Gay Marriage?
Berman Post: Crowder Attacks Perez Hilton Over His Comments About Miss California
Berman Post: Miss California (Carrie Prejean) Happy to be Championing a Cause
Berman Post: Miss California (Carrie Prejean) Used in a Traditional Marriage ad
Berman Post: Savage Attacks Continue Against Carrie Prejean (Miss California)
Berman Post: Perez Hilton, The Latest Copyright Thug?
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Attacked With 'Racy' Photo
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Attacked Through Her Parents
Berman Post: New Topless Photos of Carrie Prejean (Miss California)
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Keeps The Miss California Crown
Berman Post: Olbermann attacks Carrie Prejean (Miss California), Again
Berman Post: Miss California Carrie Prejean to Guest Host Fox & Friends
Berman Post: Miss California Carrie Prejean's Mom Had a Lesbian Affair?
Berman Post: Miss California Carrie Prejean Co-Hosts 'FOX & Friends'
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Fired, Loses The Miss California Crown
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean - 'Pageant Wanted Me to Pose Semi-Nude For Playboy'
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Sues Miss California USA Officials
Berman Post: K2 Productions Sues Carrie Prejean for $5,200 of Breast Implant Costs

Specified Gmail Offline Downloading

2009-11-05T09:41:00.002-05:00

Working offline with Gmail just became a little simpler. You have had the option to download your messages, but it was fairly scatter shot. With this new feature you can specify what you want to download for use while you will not be able to get online. While email generally does not take up much memory, it can under some circumstances. Now you do not have to worry about downloading everything to make sure you have those few emails.

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/choose-which-messages-get-downloaded.html

"From now on, once you enable Offline Gmail from the Labs tab under Settings, you can choose which messages get downloaded. On the Offline tab under Settings, you'll see your current settings and be able to set how much mail you want to download from each of your labels. I chose to download everything in my Inbox and important labels, as well as recent messages from the last month from other labels."