After all, when a guy who has the words “Soldier of Allah” on his business card shouts “Allahu Akbar” as he opens fire on American soldiers with the intent of mass murder, there can be only one explanation: He’s just a poor, misunderstood crazy person, right?

“Retired Col. John Galligan, who has been hired by Hasan’s family to defend him against murder charges, said the Army psychiatrist remains in the intensive care unit of a San Antonio military hospital, where he is in great pain, except for his legs.”

“Galligan said he will seek a psychiatric evaluation of Hasan as he prepares to defend him. He noted the allegations that Hasan opened fire without warning in a Fort Hood waiting room and the comments of former colleagues that he sometimes seemed mentally unstable. “Mental responsibility” will be an issue, he said.”

Former psychiatrist Charles Krauthammer has a more sensible take on this.

“It’s been decades since I practiced psychiatry. Perhaps I missed the epidemic.”

“But, of course, if the shooter is named Nidal Hasan, whom National Public Radio reported had been trying to proselytize doctors and patients, then something must be found. Presto! Secondary post-traumatic stress disorder, a handy invention to allow one to ignore the obvious.”

“And the perfect moral finesse. Medicalizing mass murder not only exonerates. It turns the murderer into a victim, indeed a sympathetic one. After all, secondary PTSD, for those who believe in it (you won’t find it in DSM-IV-TR, psychiatry’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), is known as “compassion fatigue.” The poor man — pushed over the edge by an excess of sensitivity.”

“Have we totally lost our moral bearings? Nidal Hasan (allegedly) cold-bloodedly killed 13 innocent people. In such cases, political correctness is not just an abomination. It’s a danger, clear and present.”

I wonder if there’s any possibility that the prosecutor in this case would call Charles Krauthammer as an expert witness. That would be something to see.

As some news outlets attempt to spin Major Hasan’s murder spree into anything but terrorism, ABC News has now reported that Hasan attempted to contact al Qaeda.

“U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.”

“It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.”

“Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said that he requested the CIA and other intelligence agencies brief the committee on what was known, if anything, about Hasan by the U.S. intelligence community, only to be refused.”

Read the whole thing.

In a related news item, a radical imam named Anwar Awlaqi is praising Hasan as a hero. I don’t want to link to Awlaqi’s website but you can read all about his writings at the Jawa Report.

“Yemeni-American jihad propagandist Anwar has been off line for a bit but manages to surface long enough to lavish praise on murderer Nidal Hasan. NEFA had the statement:”

“Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the US army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.”

Read it all.

So how about it media… Can we call Hasan a terrorist now?

Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in an appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews, points to the overwhelming amount of evidence that Major Hasan’s act of mass murder at Fort Hood had nothing whatsoever to do with radical Islam.  Umm…. OK.

The economy is tanking, unemployment has reached 10.2 percent and General McChrystal continues to wait for an answer on his request for additional troops in Afghanistan, yet the House Democrats convened a special Saturday night session to pass ObamaCare.

All of this is outrageous enough on its own. What’s worse? President Obama used the murder of American soldiers at Fort Hood to rally Democrats to vote for ObamaCare.

“President Obama invoked the Fort Hood shootings in an emotional appeal to Democrats to pass health care reform today, contrasting the sacrifices of soldiers with political positioning.”

“The impassioned pitch to the entire Democratic caucus came hours before the House vote tonight on the signature issue of Obama’s presidency, with Democratic leaders struggling to keep members from conservative districts on board.”

“He was absolutely inspiring. In a very moving way, he reminded us what sacrifice really is,” said New Jersey Rep. Rob Andrews, estimating the persuader-in-chief turned several votes.”

“Sacrifice is not casting a vote that might lose an election for you; it is the sacrifice that someone makes when they wear the uniform of this country and that unfortunately a number of people made this week,” said Andrews.”

Ann Althouse summarizes this perfectly:

“I’m trying to imagine the political environment that Washington Democrats occupy. A President glibly lays out that analogy, and it is received — without any wincing or taint of disgust — as awesome inspiration. These are the minds that will be making decisions for us for quite a while.”

Big hat tip to Dan Riehl.

This is Kimberly Munley, the woman who took down the Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan.

Munley ran towards the sound of shots, drew her weapon and fired on the shooter, critically wounding him. She was wounded herself in the process but has survived and is in stable condition.

The New York Daily News wrote of Munley today:

“The hero cop who ended the bloody rampage at Fort Hood by pumping four bullets into the crazed gunman even though she was wounded is known for her toughness, friends say.”

“Before relocating to Texas, civilian police Sgt. Kimberly Munley spent about five years as a cop in North Carolina where she forged a reputation as a no-nonsense officer.”

“Munley’s toughness and grace under pressure were on display Thursday when she and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire, said Army Lt. Gen. Bob Cone.”

“Munley, who had been trained in active-response tactics, rushed into the building and confronted the shooter as he was turning a corner, Cone said.”

“It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer,” Cone said.”

“Munley could not be reached Friday. In a posting on her Twitter page, she wrote: “I live a good life….a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone’s life.”

Kimberly Munley’s heroic actions saved lives. She is a true American hero.

Yesterday as the horrific events unfolded at Fort Hood, President Obama was informed and news organizations reported that the president was going to make a statement. Americans tuned in and heard this:

Obama delayed his remarks on Fort Hood for over two minutes for thank yous, smiles and a “shout-out” to a member of the audience before addressing the murder of twelve American soldiers on American soil.

This was picked up by the blogosphere almost immediately and many bloggers noted that news organizations started editing the clip, cutting off the introduction. Today, this shocking blunder has been picked up by other news media.

Robert George at NBC in Chicago writes:

“President Obama didn’t wait long after Tuesday’s devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.”

“…instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a “shout-out” to “Dr. Joe Medicine Crow — that Congressional Medal of Honor winner.”  Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?”

“Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter.”

“Did the president’s team not realize what sort of image they were presenting to the country at this moment? The disconnect between what Americans at home knew had been going on — and the initial words coming out of their president’s mouth was jolting, if not disturbing.”

“All the president’s men (and women) fell down on the job Thursday.  And Democrats across the country have real reason to panic.”

I disagree with the last point. I think we all have reason to panic.

More on this can be found at Memeorandum.

The gunman was an American Army major named Nidal Malik Hasan, a recent Muslim convert who was scheduled to deploy to the middle east. Hasan was shot and killed by security at the scene.

From the Wall Street Journal:

“A U.S. Army major opened fire Thursday on fellow troops at the giant Fort Hood Army base in central Texas, killing 12 people and wounding at least 31 in one of the worst incidents of soldier-on-soldier violence in U.S. military history. The officer, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was later shot and killed by security personnel on the sprawling facility. Two others soldiers were in custody, base officials said. The severity of some of the injuries suggests the death toll could climb.”

“The alleged shooter, Maj. Hasan, was a psychiatrist who had been recently promoted to major and transferred to Fort Hood from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Maj. Hasan’s professional specialties included post-traumatic stress disorder, combat stress and other emotional issues common to the troops implicated in earlier incidents of military fratricide. He was slated to deploy to Iraq in coming weeks, according to military officials.”

UPDATE 9:30 pm – It has just been revealed that the shooter Nidal Hasan is not dead, only wounded.

Thoughts and prayers to the families & friends of the victims.

I first became familiar with Patterico.com last year when the site published a long and stunning exposé of bias within the pages of the Los Angeles Times over the course of 2008, leading up to the presidential election.

It’s long but if you’ve never read it, you should.

Yesterday, Patterico broke a story that is worthy of an award for investigative journalism.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas had an ObamaCare town hall meeting recently with a featured guest named Roxana Mayer who was presented as a medical doctor. She spoke to the crowd and offered testimony favoring ObamaCare.

Patterico, doing a better job than the entire staff of the Houston Chronicle, discovered that this woman is NOT a doctor and furthermore was a Texas Delegate for Barack Obama!

UPDATE: Not to be outdone, Ed Morrissey and Allahpundit at Hot Air have discovered that as recently as March 2008, “Dr.” Roxana Mayer was also a leader of Obama’s political group Organizing for America.

Thank you Patterico and Hot Air.

You guys are doing the job the media used to do.

After the AARP reps leave, the seniors continue the meeting without them!