Massacre at Fort Hood—The Enemy Within

We mourn the killing of 12 Warriors and a civilian at Fort Hood, along with wounding 30 others. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, especially, and the entire Fort Hood community. On November 5th, Major Malik Nadal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, went on a shooting spree which ended with his being wounded and captured.

As for motive, we don’t know yet. What has come out is Hasan has made pro-Islamist comments, including praising suicide bombers and being being happy about PFC William Long’s assassination at the North Little Rock, AR, recruiting station. He reportedly made condemned US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, argued with other Soldiers who supported them, and was trying to get out of deploying to Iraq later this month. Contrary to some reports, Hasan has always been a Muslim; he’s not a convert. He is reported to have Allahu Akbar—God is great—before opening fire. There are even reports law enforcement became aware of Hasan 6 months ago as a result of inflammatory Internet posts. With all that stacked up, the Fort Hood massacre is a case of domestic Jihad, pure and simple.

Permit me to digress and point out some of the other aspects that anger me about this. First, Hasan joined the Army for a free medical education. When you do that, you make a commitment to serve X years after becoming a doctor. If you are in the Army, you are going to deploy to Iraq, Afghanistan, or Kosovo, if not all three. Someone who doesn’t want to deploy should never have joined the Army. Since the Global War on Terror overseas contingency operations surpassed 8 years, Hasan knew what he was getting himself into. Second, military officers take a solemn oath of office. The oath is not a collection of mere words; I provide it here for your consideration:

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

As for Hasan’s statements, both to individuals and on the Web, he was failing to support the Constitution and by trying to get out of his deployment, he was failing to defend the Constitution. He clearly did not bear truth faith and allegience. In fact, he demonstrates clear purpose of evasion to me by fraudulently stealing a medical education from the US Army while holding and expressing views clearly contrary to the policy of his government. Don’t get me wrong. He’s entitled to his opinion and he’s entitled to discuss politics and policy, but as an Army officer, his job is to carry out the policy his government tells him to. The Army has 7 values; Hasan failed to live up to any them:

• Loyalty—nope, clearly not this one
• Duty—gee, not this one either
• Respect—afraid not
• Selfless Service—obviously not
• Honor—certainly not yesterday
• Integrity—again, not at all
• Personal Courage—questionable, but I think not

Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama was silent for 2 days after PFC Long’s murder in North Little Rock. The President didn’t wait to make a statement about the attack on America’s military at Fort Hood. Well, not too long, anyway. First, Obama gave a shout out and schmoozed his cronies. He doesn’t get to Fort Hood until 2:28. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up!

I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow (ph) was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It’s good to see you.

By the way, about that Commander-in-Chief thing: how’s that strategy for Afghanistan coming? Two service members were killed in Afghanistan yesterday. Two who failed to return from a resupply mission the previous day were confirmed drowned yesterday. So, November 5th saw the loss of 17 US citizens in “overseas contingency operations”, including the Fort Hood Soldier Readiness Center, which isn’t really overseas last time I checked. How about do your damn job, Mr. President? You took an Oath, too.

TWU Local 234 Thinks SEPTA is Wall Street or Something

Not too long after the last Philadelphia World Series game finished, Transport Workers Union Local 234 went on strike. Picket lines went up at city transit division subway stations and bus terminals about 3 AM on November 3rd. This leaves some suburban Philly bus routes and the commuter rail lines running. The last time the union walked off the job was for 5 days in 2005.

Talks between the TWU local and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) have been going on for some time. Without a contract, the TWU was threatening to strike. They kept their promise to wait until after the Series, however. TWU pickets went up at the 69th Street Terminal the morning of the 4th, essentially shutting down service on the non-striking suburban Victory Division lines.

The union has been working without a contract since spring. While I’m not a pro-union guy, I do support unions having contracts. I also believe in fairness to workers and management, union workplace or not. Since I went to Villanova University my freshman year and truly enjoyed Philly’s mass transit system, I have an interest in SEPTA. I took regular advantage of Philly’s transit system to get to New Jersey where the drinking age was 18 at the time. But that’s another story.

Like issues facing many unions in today’s economy, maybe SEPTA is asking for onerous concessions. Well, no, not really. SEPTA must want reduced pension costs then. No, no they don’t. So, what are the agregious contract terms union members find so burdensome, then? SEPTA is offering a mere 11% in pay increases and increased pension contributions of 11%, with no increase in members’ 1% health insurance premiums during the 4 year contract. On top of that, SEPTA offered a $1,200 signing bonus.

SEPTA’s offer is unacceptable, why? Well, because the union wants 4% pay raises every year along with a 33% increase in pension contributions. Sheesh! These guys make about $52,000 a year!

Even Pennsylvania’s Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) tried to get the two sides to agree. Concerning SEPTA’s offer, he said, “Whose pension has been increased in this day and age?” Even Philadelphia’s Mayor Michael Nutter (D) thinks union demands are unreasonable. When Democratic politicians think the TWU is all ate up, they should take a look in the mirror. Those clowns should be happy they have jobs!

Just one question. Gov. Rendell says the contract with TWU Local 234 will be done with no increase in fares. So, where’s that 11% pay raise and 11% pension increase coming from? Why, it must be from taxes. Voters should wonder what tax increase is coming next. And then they can thank a transit worker.

Blog Surpasses 10,000 Hits

It might not seem like a big deal, but Cynical Synapse surpassed 10,000 hits today. I want to thank my regular readers and encourage occasional passers by to become recurring visitors.

I like comments on my posts. Unlike some TV or radio talk show hosts, I don’t have a problem with opposing views. Nonetheless, I do consider personal attacks on posters and commenters as bad form. I’m also always ready to take suggestions and feedback by email.

Abdullah Withdraws; Obama Needs More Weeks to Decide

Oh, brother! Like Jonah Goldberg said, “This will make things more complicated.” Former Afghan Foreign Minister and opposition presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from the run-off election scheduled for November 7th. His reasons? He didn’t think a free and fair ballot was possible and was concerned about the cost and violence likely to be involved.

After initially planning to proceed with the run-off ballot anyway, Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) declared President Hamid Karzai the winner. Said IEC Chairman Azizullah Ludin:

“We declare that Mr Hamid Karzai, who won the majority of votes in the first round, and is the only candidate in the second round, is the elected president of Afghanistan.”

Implausibly, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “I don’t think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election.” She made the remark in Abu Dabi in response to rumors before Abdullah’s announcement. Um, legitimacy of the election has been Abdullah’s whole issue all along. I think he pulled out to take the wind out of the Taliban’s sails. He served as Foreign Minister in exile during the Taliban regime.

The only other Administration comments on the Afghan turn of events came from presidential advisor David Axelrod. On Sunday’s Face the Nation, he said he expected “the president to make a decision within weeks.” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “within weeks” since the end of September, I could solve the Wall Street meltdown. It’s high time President Obama acted like a man with a plan. He’s supposed to be the frigging Commander-in-Chief. He’s been in office since January. This is not new.

Hang onto something so the spin in this video doesn’t make you dizzy. “Within weeks” comes at about 2:10, followed by Axelrod reiterating why we’re in Afghanistan. The 9/11 attacks have their genesis in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Weeks ago, Sen. Diane Feinstein said the mission is in jeopardy. I agree with her. Give Gen. Stanley McChrystal the 40,000 troops he says he needs. At this point, though, I’d be happy if Obama would shit or get off the pot. At least then the military would know where it stood. To me, this scenario bears an eerie resemblence to my knowing I’d voted for the right guy on 9/11.

Who Should Detroiters Pick for Council?

That’s a good question. Not being a Detroit resident, it’s probably not my place to answer. Despite recent city council candidates poll results, I can say who Detroiters should not elect to council.

• Charles Pugh—The man quit a good paying job to seek a council seat in a city with a $300 million budget deficit. Now his condo’s in foreclosure. Doens’t seem like he’s got the answers, does it?
• Incumbent Alberta Tinsley-Talabi—too little, too late
• Incumbent Kwame Kenyatta—wanted to block the Cobo deal
• Incumbent JoAnn Watson—tax cheat and wanted to block the Cobo deal
• Incumbent Brenda Jones—obstructed police investigation
• Saunteel Jenkins—called Kilpatrick Chief of Staff Christine Beatty after a drunk driver hit her car; went to school with Kilpatrick and Beatty
• James Tate—the former Kilpatrick spokesman denied the City of Detroit was providing a Lincoln Navigator to Carlita Kilpatrick

The moral of the story? Don’t vote for the incumbent just because. Chances are they don’t actually represent you, but rather some other or special interest. In Detroit, this is the difference between moving forward or falling behind.

Kwamegate: Loans, Unknowns, and More Bribes

Appearing in Wayne County Circuit Court, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was ordered to take the stand during a hearing on October 29th. The hearing, set when prosecutors filed a petition alleging Kilpatrick violated terms of his probation, followed his unilateral reduction of restitution payments to $3,000 monthly from the agreed-upon $6,000.

First, Judge David Groner told Kilpatrick’s lawyer, Michael Alan Schwartz, the 5th Ammendment—the right to not self-incriminate—couldn’t be invoked in a civil case. Then the judge asked a number of questions about Kilpatrick’s finances and ability to pay his restitution. Prosecuters, who claim they have documentation showing Kilpatrick and his wife shuffled money between accounts, also got their chance to question the former mayor.

Questioning brought out two significant revelations. First, four prominent Detroit businessmen gave Kilpatrick $240,000, allegedly a personal loan. Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos is the front man for the group, and also employs Kilpatrick at subsidiary Covisint. The others are racing and truck rental magnate Roger Penske, chemical tycoon James Nicholson, and Dan Gilbert, founder of Rock Financial. On top of this, Ambassador Bridge owner Marty Maroun gave $50,0000 to Carlita Kilpatrick and the kids, apparently whyile Kwame was in jail.

When I first heard Karmanos was giving Kilpatrick a job in Texas, I wondered why. The answer is simple: the Detroit businessmen bribed Kwame to step down because they knew he wouldn’t do it on his own. Rightly or wrongly, the businessmen did what they thought best for the city and region. They provided a means for supporting Kilpatrick’s family.

The other revelation was Kilpatrick doesn’t know much about his finances. He knows his base salary at Covisint is $10,000 per month, but not how much he makes with commissions. He doesn’t know the lease cost of his million-dollar mansion; he assumes Carlita pays the rent. How would that be, since he says Carlita doesn’t have a job now? But, he doesn’t know if she had a job while he was in jail.

News also broke Chicago businessman John Orecchio bribed Kilpatrick with a $10,000 donation to the Kilpatrick Civic Fund. In return, Kilpatrick intervened with the Detroit Pension Board, obtaining board approval for a $20 million deal with AA Capital Partners, Orecchio’s company. Fortunately, the board didn’t make the investment. Of course, Kilpatrick attorney Jim Thomas said Wednesday his client “flatly and unequivocally” denies any wrongdoing. On a side note, Orecchio also gave money to then councilwoman Sharon McPhail to keep her from opposing a strip club deal he was working. McPhail was also a trustee of the police and fire pension funds. Here’s a surprise: Kilpatrick and McPhail both deny Orecchio’s allegations.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Kwamegate on November 17th, if not before. Kilpatrick is due back in court then, perhaps with more answers.

Obama, Just Make a Decision on Afghanistan

As a young 2nd Lieutenant, I was fortunate to have a peer who didn’t always think things through. His bull-in-a-china-shop method always overshaddowed any faux pas I might make. One day, as we sat on a bus waiting to return to the armory, he got inpatient. Going up to the battalion commander, he asked why someone couldn’t make a f***in’ decision. I knew something was up when I saw the battalion staff officers move away from the battalion commander, scattering in what seemed like four different directions.

My peer wanted to get moving in a constructive direction, although his strategy wasn’t exactly correct. The Taliban are resurgent in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. That’s been quite obvious over the last 6 months. The question is, do they really have that much support? Yes, they get engaged in firefights, but improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are the preferred weapon. Afghanistan is a poor country with an ineffective central government. Thus, the Taliban can coerce the local populace for support or they can pay locals to emplant IEDs.

President Obama’s pick as top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, called for more troops to avoid mission failure at the end of August. His strategy is to protect the people, to separate them from Taliban pay or threats. He’s following the same basic concept used with the so-called surge in Iraq. McChrystal’s an experienced special forces operator and no stranger to Afghanistan.

While Afghanistan and Iraq are very different places, the similarities with the warfight are eerie. Then Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Eric Shinseki said more troops were needed in Iraq and was marginalized for his views by the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. That was in 2003 and it’s taken until 2009 for us to even imagine a winding down in Iraq. In the meantime, Afghanistan has been the forgotten war even though it should have been our primary focus. It’s been fought on the cheap and now some think it’s a lost cause, much like it seemed Iraq was a couple years ago.

Earlier this week, President Obama told a crowd at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, “I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm’s way.” Obama promised to back the military “to the hilt”. If Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) gets it, why doesn’t the President? He’s had ten months now to consider his strategy. Why has he just started having meetings on it? And how long is this going to take? It’s been two months since Gen. McChrystal forwarded his assessment.

I side with Gen. McChrystal. He’s on the ground and knows what needs to be done. Moreover, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan fostered the terrorism that led to 9-11. The fates of Afghanistan and nuclear-armed Pakistan are tied together by the Taliban insurgency. Thus, the stakes are high. At this point, it all boils down to one question for Obama: can’t someone make a f***in’ decision?

Kwamegate Charges Still Surfacing

Detroit’s former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, cost the city millions and made national—maybe international—news at the height of the scandal over his text messages. Ultimately, that led to Kilpatrick’s plea bargain and subsequent removal from office.

Lawyer Mike Stefani, who got an $8.4 million settlement in the 2007 police whistle-blower lawsuit, faces perjury charges before Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission. Stefani admitted he leaked Kwami’s text messages to the Detroit Free Press for “safekeeping”. Four other lawyers are facing professional charges—and possible loss of their legal licenses—following the whistle-blower case.

A list of those complicit, in one way or another, with Kwamegate:

• Christine Beatty, Kilpatrick’s Chief of Staff
• John E. Johnson, Detroit Corporation Counsel
• Valerie Colbert-Osamuede, Assistant City Attorney
• Wilson Copeland, city-paid attorney in the whistle-blower lawsuit
• Samuel McCargo, city-paid attorney in the whistle-blower lawsuit
• Sheryl Robinson Wood, federally-appointed Detroit Police Monitor

And there’s still more to be revealed in the Tamara Green murder case and lawsuit. In the meantime, Kilpatrick’s shenanigans have inspired musicals, been in Fox’s “Lie to Me”, and now the film “Scandal in the City”.

Flight 188 Raises National Security Concerns

Apparently we haven’t learned anything since 9-11. On October 21st, Northwest flight 188 became NORDO (no radio communications) at 5:56 PM Mountain Daylight Time. The flight remained out of radio contact for 1 hour and 20 minutes. At 8:14 PM Central Daylight Time, the crew of NW Flight 188 contacted Mineapolis Center to request permission to turn around and come back. The plane was 150 miles past its destination.

I’m not a math whiz, but we’re 8 years and a month since the terrorist attacks of September 11th. So how is it that an airliner can be out of radio contact of more than an hour without fighters up in the sky? There are Air National Guard bases all across the country. Two bases were alerted, but no planes launched. And I have to take my shoes off at airport security why? I can’t bring my own bottled water why? It’s ok for an airliner with excess fuel to go missing for 1-1/2 hours, but rule followers like me have to jump through hoops to get a seat on that plane.

Lots of people are looking at pilot qualifications and pay. While that’s not a bad thing, I don’t think that’s the key point here. We’re not talking about a regional airline (where pay generally sucks and experience is lower).

We’re talking about a major airline where the flight crew failed to perform. More importantly, we’re talking about an airliner with plenty of fuel that was out of radio contact and deviated from its flight plan. Why weren’t fighter jets in the air? Radio contact was not re-established until 15 minutes after they passed their destination! No one knew what was taking place on that aircraft but fighter-jets never left the ground.

Flight 188’s Captain Richard Cole said, “It was not a serious event, from a safety issue.” Are you serious? The plane did not follow the flight plan filed for it. The flight crew was not aware of what was going on. NW 188 was not in radio contact with anyone for more than an hour.

How can this happen in the post-9/11 era? Seems to me we’re not really safer. It’s just the rule followers have to jump through more hoops to do the normal stuff. I guess the Government doesn’t realize real criminals and terrorists don’t follow the rules.

Racist Tax Cheat Wants Bailout for Detroit

I don’t see any tornado damage on the house justifying JoAnn Watson’s property tax bill of $68 for the last 10 years. That’s what the Detroit City Councilwoman has been paying while her neighbors paid $5-6,000. Seems to me a councilmember should be quite aware of what tax rates are, especially with Detroit’s budget shortfalls. For someone who huffs and puffs about tax evaders, Watson was only going to pay the last 3 years, which is all the city can charge her. Media attention and her desire for reelection to council are the only reasons she paid her back taxes in full. Probably no interest, though.

Although she says she wants a diverse Detroit, Watson’s racist attitudes have oozed out a few times. Just last year, when trying to get former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to resign, Watson said, “Nobody wants a white woman in Lansing to decide the fate of a black man in Detroit.” Watson called for boycotting the suburbs during the time the Detroit Zoo was teetering on the brink of extinction. In fact, her racism pre-dates her tenure on the city council. At the time she was Director of the Detroit Branch—the largest&mdash of the NAACP, Watson refused to help stop the spread of black supremecist literature at Ferris State. I guess it’s just part of that whole “Black people can’t be racist” thing.

Does incumbant council candidate JoAnn Watson have a vision for Detroit? Why yes, she does and she took a whole year developing it. She calls it the Detroit Marshall Plan. She’s calling for rapid transit, renewable energy, re-population, routing housing to families in need from government resources, and providing jobs for heads of households. Since Detroit deserves its share of the Stimulus, she plans to pay for this with a $1 billion Federal handout. Watson also wants a multi-year moratorium on foreclosures in Detroit. Concerning Detroit’s $300 million budget deficit, Watson would’d cut from the top of city departments, including all deputy directors, not from the workers at the bottom.

While the ideas in Watson’s Marshall Plan may make sense, her concept of implementing it is just pie in the sky. No where in her Detroit Free Press council candidate online chat does she propose solutions for Detroit’s systemic problems and inefficiencies. In short, Watson is clueless to how dysfunctional Detroit government is. And she wants to remain part of the problem. Hey, JoAnn. How’s that billion-dollar bailout working for you?

I couldn’t say it any better than this guy. He gets it. Detroiters, vote out all the incumbent city council members except Ken Cockerel Jr. and Kwame Kenyatta. The others all have issues. This is probably the most important election in the city’s 308 years.