unveiling the bias

i had wanted to stay away from the fort hood shootings because it's a loaded subject (every pun intended) - no matter what side you take. but, i'm feeling like the coverage becomes more and more biased as the days wear on because there's no new news to report. could it be that this was really just a case of a man with ptsd who was facing deployment into a war zone and just snapped? it's seems like the most rationale explanation, but not one that's getting much coverage. instead, the print, online and television media, and some elected officials, are determined to unearth the terrorism angle - truth be damned. cases in point -

showing hasan in his prayer clothes laughing just hours before the shooting. the simple story is that he was coming from morning prayers and was interacting with a man he had interacted with on a daily basis for some time. news flash - even people who are down, depressed, pensive and dare i say considering suicide or homocide find moments of levity. i just wonder if this video would have gone viral if he hadn't been wearing his prayer clothes?

focusing on the fact that he had attended the same mosque attended by some of the 9/11 hijackers. the reality is that there's only one documented account of hasan attending the virginia mosque visited by two of the alleged bombers - neither of the visits being at the same time. it was for his mother's funeral. the truth is that hasan worshiped at a mosque in silver spring, md. but, that doesn't link him to some nefarious plot, does it?

a congressman troubled that the intelligence community has yet to confirm his connections to the terrorism community. could it be that there's nothing to find because he really was just a man who acted alone after spending extended periods of time listening to his peers describe the horrors of war?

i just worry we're going down the "oh shit! they've purchased aluminum tubes!!" or "he's a fat, strange man with a unnatural interest in helping the victims of the olympic park bombing" path that will only stop when even more lives are destroyed.

washington (?) redskins

i decided to watch the redskins game tonight since the washington post suggested this morning that no one else would. they were showing all of these amazing shots of the monuments at the beginning of the broadcast. it was quite idyllic ... and oh so totally false. although, after seeing these pictures of landover, md (where the skins actually play), i can see why espn decided to use the scenes that they did.

another nobel prize for obama?

this morning on "wait wait don't tell me" they asked the panelists what would be the headline that would replace all of the focus on the balloon boy hoax. one of the panelists offered the following -

president obama will captivate the media when he blows up a balloon for malia and subsequently wins the nobel prize for physics

you can't pray away the gay

click here to see scenes from last weeks absolutely brilliant episode of "grey's anatomy."

(the person who posts these edits won't let me embed :( )

better late than never

looks like committing a crime against an individual because of her or his gender identity or sexual orientation will finally be a federal offense. too late for nana boo, but just in time for the rest of us.

second new favorite picture

and they wonder why there's tension

yesterday i was getting lunch at my normal spot - the korean owned and operated deli across the street from my office. the owner and her daughter were cracking up behind the counter. i gave them the "what the fuck is going on" look and the daughter immediately responded - "not you. laughing at the black people." didn't leave much room for interpretation did she?