Yes, Geraldo's 'wow' says to me that he didn't and doesn't want to consider the idea because it doesn't follow his side's (liberal) script. I see no horror or outrage from Rivera, and I was surprised to see that he actually didn't dismiss the thought outright.

I found the statement very distasteful and ignorant. The link between the shooter's religion and the shooting certainly has to be looked at and no doubt it will be. But to tarnish every Muslim serving in the military is so wrong. Have we really come to that?

The political correctness angle is interesting to me. I do believe that played a role, especially if the internet postings rumors are true.

Bottom line, it seems like there were enough warning signs for someone higher up to raise the red flag.

Of all the truly outrageous statements made by talking heads on TV, this one doesn't even register. I cannot believe you're even bringing this up. Every night, just on Olbermann's intro, there are far more rank foamings at the mouth. To find sympathy with Hasan is plainly insane. The man is a jihadist, a mass murderer, all in the name of Allah, regardless of where he was born or grew up. In fact, he was probably handled TOO fairly by the U.S. Army.

This isn't about the man who killed 13. It's about judging a whole group of people based on his actions, as this remark might seem to suggest to some. Surely you can see that, can't you? Thanks. Z

Sounds like common sense to me. Ethnic stereotypes are a reflection of statistical reality -- ignore them at your own peril.

So Brian Kilmeade wants to sort out the soilders now based on religious or other beliefs or backgrounds? That is a WOW. He never ceases to amaze though in some of his statements. Rivera had some good points. I don't think anyone could have predicted this. Political correctness might have played a role. It would be hard to say.

Does Timothy McVeigh ring a bell - you know the white, former member of the U.S. Army who was responsible for the Federal building bombing that led to the death of 168 people, many of them children. So, should we judge all white men by McVeigh's actions?

Joe, you do realize that being muslim is not an ethnicity right?

Whatever the investigation finds, at the end of the day the man is a violent criminal. Sometimes I hate that we have to find further classifications for it.

I can't believe Fox News is even still allowed to be shown on Armed Forces television. Fox should be embarrassed by the comments, unless they actually believe that Muslims should be screened before joining the military. What religion does Kilmead think should be checked next? Interesting that questions on religion don't come up when a shooter is a Christian.

Unfortunately, if you research this "peaceful" religion, you will find far too many instances of violence. I'm not so sure I would want to be in a foxhole with any of them. Sometimes political correctness defies common sense.

It is a question that will pass through every soldier's mind. It is no different from how Germans, Italians, and Asians were viewed during WWII. Hopefully, people will rely on intellect rather than fear but it is wrong to suggest that this is not a question that will arise in people's minds. BTW the use of Tim McVeigh is incredibly weak. 1 domestic terrorist versus a seemingly unending line of Muslims who are willing to die for religion. Further, McVeigh's actions were of a POLITICAL nature. This Guy was heard yelling Allah Akbar - or God is Great -thus making this a crime committed in the name of Islam. Get a clue.

The question of whether Muslims should be serving in the (active wartime) military seems to be on a lot of lists today - I heard it discussed on 2 other news stations today. I don't know if Kilmeade slipped or if was it a planned comment.

I think their actions should be judged and not their religion or ethnic background. My grandmother was an illegal Irish immigrant and wasn't allowed to work in this country because she was Irish.

This guy's past bizarre behavior should have been looked into and scrutinized but due to PC, the powers that be didn't want to tread on that. Look at the result. Using a broad brush to paint all because of a few isn't the answer.

Z: Why is it that all you can think about is mis-judging that crowd as "a whole group of people (because of the actions of one)" when NONE of you guys are condemning HASAN himself?? The VERY FIRST THING you think about is yourselves": ("Oh, I hope he wasn't a Muslim!) NOT, how rotted an individual Hasan was or how the Muslim community is so completely devoid of any outrage over what this man did to FELLOW Americans? WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE over the crime itself? From Muslims, & the far left, there never is any!

1. All Military Personnel are screened before they enter the military. All of them, it is part of the process.
2. It makes complete sense that officers should be held to a higher standard, and be investigated more thoroughly.
3. This man chose to join the Army. He was not forced to. By doing so you condone to have your background and current actions looked at for security reasons.
4. If I get a DUI tomorrow, my security clearance is gone. Beat up my wife? Gone. Fall too far into debt? Gone. Muslims that chose to serve in the US Military should expect to be kicked out with zero benefits for speaking or posting Anti-American Jihad propaganda.

Where to begin? There are fanatics in every element of society from religion and politics to exercise and shopping and everything in between. Although fanatics’ extreme viewpoints and philosophy/actions can give a bad name to whatever they are connected with, they are usually a minority and their fanaticism is for the most part overlooked and seen for what it is.

However we now have a religion that is the second largest in the world (Christianity being the largest) that has a large and violent population of followers who have twisted the teachings of Mohammed to include annihilating Western civilization by whatever means it might take. Included in this group of fanatics is the great number of Madrassas (Islamic religious schools) that began appearing during the 10 year war with the Soviets that have devoted their curriculum to indoctrinating their young students against any religion other than their own. That coupled with the complicated twists and turns within the religion itself, with all the various tribes that have been warring with each other for hundreds of years, implies a long instilled inability or desire to live in peace.

Looking back through history, it’s still hard to imagine Hitler wanting to kill all the Jews. It still boggles the mind almost 80 years later. There are books and documentaries and museums devoted to trying to help us understand why, all in existence to help in preventing something so horrendous from ever happening again.

The 9/11 attacks were a shock and heartbreak on a hundred different levels, the worst thing that has happened to this country since the Civil War and then the Great Depression and Oklahoma Dust Bowl, all decimating and forever changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. That our country had to become involved in, dare I say, a third world country that seems forever committed to hate, revenge and war between themselves and now the rest of the world that is not like themselves was to become involved in a battle we cannot win. We are horrified by such mass destruction.

It’s not wise to judge a whole group of people by its fanatics, and in these times of political correctness it’s definitely not wise to vocalize ones prejudices, but I don’t find it surprising that some might question their safety if they find themselves sharing a foxhole with a member of a group whose fanatics think nothing of strapping a bomb to themselves in hopes of killing their “enemies.” We human beings ARE judgmental. We just can’t be publicly judgmental these days.

I wonder what World War II would have been like if there had been political correctness. I’m not sure the desire to please everyone works during war. But that’s just me.

Joe said: "Sounds like common sense to me. Ethnic stereotypes are a reflection of statistical reality -- ignore them at your own peril"

Is it a statistical reality or a chicken/egg scenario? Is someone going to fit a stereotype because of their ethnicity, or because they're expected to fit a ethnic stereotype? Either way if someone doesn't fit they're considered an anomaly, not the norm. So damned if you do, damned if you don't.

There's a study on teen behavior in the news - "Teens are more likely to behave badly if their parents expect them to". I don't see why it doesn't also apply to ethnic stereotypes.

And this isn't helped by comments such as the ones made by Brian Kilmeade. Nothing like taking the actions of ONE man and using it to cast suspicion on thousands of innocents. Why not address the problem that caused him to take action, instead of focusing on his religious beliefs or ethnic heritage? I don't recall such comments being made when soldiers committ murder/suicides on base (and unfortunately there have been quite a few).

Sorry, but if I were in the military today, there would be no way a muslim would be in my foxhole. I'm a Vietnam combat vet. That would be like inviting the Viet Cong to taq along on a patrol. Ain't happening! Good for Kilmeade. Screw all of this political correctness crap. It is what it is. As for Geraldo -- whatever!

Kilmeade says that if he is sitting in a foxhole, he wants assurance that the other person in the foxhole doesn't want to kill him. Pretty controversial stuff in light of the the Fort Hood massacre. He also suggests that the military conduct special briefings to insure that Muslims serving in the military are not radical jihadists. Again, pretty controversial stuff in light of the alleged background of the Fort Hood shooter.

Remember when Arlo Guthrie was excluded from serving in the military for a past littering conviction. I guess having a radical jihadist in a foxhole with you is not nearly as bad as having a litterbug.

I had one more comment about this Fort Hood incident. I can't imagine what Hitler did, he was a fanatic and what he did can never be excused or tolerated, we have to learn from it and never repeat it. On the other hand Hitler claimed belief in God and many of his teachings came from the Christian church. So we need to look at the person who committed the horrible act, we can't, however, hold a whole group of people responsible for one persons act. Hopefully, we will learn from this.

J$P: Fox Haters Week in Review
http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/blog/hyu279407418.html

From PEM: Remember when Arlo Guthrie was excluded from serving in the military for a past littering conviction. I guess having a radical jihadist in a foxhole with you is not nearly as bad as having a litterbug.

Funny comment PEM, but you've got the lyrics to his song Alice's Restaurant confused with reality.

The Reality: Called before his New York City draft board for a hearing on his fitness for military service, Arlo faced a final question: "Have you ever been arrested?" In the song, his conviction for littering saves Arlo Guthrie from the draft. In reality he was classified 1A, but his lottery number never came up.

As I always say, "If you're not sure, Google before you speak."

Hi Sherry T, I'm not sure Hitler claimed his beliefs that Jews were inferior and should be exterminated came from the Bible. Did he actually claim that?

As I always say, "If you're not sure, Google before you speak." --- Anonymous
__________________
Just like CNN, Anonymous is "fact checking jokes; in this case a joke about a humorous song lyric.

Me: Three men walked into a bar, a priest, a rabbi and a minister....

Anonymous: According to Google, it wasn't a bar. It was a supper club. And the minister was actually just a deacon.

(Anonymous must be a joy to be with.)
______________
My point was fairly obvious--that many people are rejected for military service for a number of reasons, including previous felony and even misdemeanor DUI convictions due to military background checks. Should Muslims be exempted from background checks because of political correctness?
______________

This is from the Washington Post website " "Federal investigators are examining possible links between Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal M. Hasan and an American-born imam who U.S. authorities say has become a supporter and leading promoter of al-Qaeda since leaving a Northern Virginia mosque, officials said. "

Why investigate now and not a week ago when it might have prevented the massacre?

Good morning Aly,

To your question. I think this is a long debated subject. I know in my heart that there is nothing that comes from the Bible that I read that would every justify what Hitler did.

My husband and I had a discussion about this issue yesterday. He believes that Hitler was an atheist. This is what I have to believe also. I cannot even begin to reconcile what happened in the Holocaust with a just God and I know in my heart and from the Bible that God does not condone murder, as evidenced in the 6th commandment. In fact our chuch believes the Jews are the chosen race. I hope that God does not overlook me someday

Historically there is a different argument.
In many of Hitler's speeches he wrote that he was a Christian. One quote is: "Hence today, I believe that I am actually in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord".

Obviously, Hitler was a religious fanatic and twisted the scripture into a reason to take innocent lives. It is like you said Aly in your very well written statement above. There are fanatics everywhere. We just have to be careful that because of a fanatic we don't label everyone because of a particular religious belief or other as all the same. We have to be very careful of this so that this never happens again.

I hope this helps. I hope you will tell me what you think Aly, I respect your opinion.

Aly,

This is an interesting link too. There is still a debate about this whole issue.

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mischedj/ca_hitler.html

I don't think Kilmeade's statement was THAT out of line, especially since others have asked it aloud as well. Look, here's the bottom line...

No one wants to be prejudiced against an entire religion. Basically, we all want to get along, and we'd like to think that everyone serving in our military is doing so for the PROPER reason -- namely, they believe in the United States and all it stands for, and their allegiance is ONLY to the United States.

On the other hand, let's just face reality. Political correctness helped to cause this incident (with too many people ignoring the warning signs for all the wrong reasons) and even now... in the aftermath... people are still trying to be too politically correct by rewriting the history of this nut job and what he did -- and, most important of all, trying to dismiss WHAT HE CLEARLY CAME TO BELIEVE IN.

Or do you think he was firing a gun and killing American soldiers while yelling "Allah Akbar" just by pure accident? If you're such a dolt as to believe that, please contact me because I have a bridge to sell you.

Blaming this guy is NOT an indictment on ALL Muslims. However, calling him for exactly what he was in the end -- a radical Islamic nut -- is perfectly acceptable. Because it's the plain simple truth, which even political correctness cannot wipe away. And -- given this latest incident -- it's a perfectly normal human reaction for a GI in a foxhole to have a gut-check and to wonder IF the guy next to him was secretly a radical believer too, or IF he might possibly sympathize with the very people you're fighting against.

Now, does that mean we shouldn't trust all Muslims? No, of course not. Does that mean every Muslim in the Armed Services is secretly a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off? No, of course not. In the end, Kilmeade -- and now others -- are simply asking the most OBVIOUS question of all, which frankly I think anyone with a functioning brain would ask in the midst of battle or IF you found yourself in a foxhole alongside someone else. Namely, "You're with me, right???"

Yes, the problem is extrapolating to all Muslims in the military based on the actions of one. That's what's wrong with it. Thanks. Z