Forget the banter about Paris Hilton among the panelists on last evening's Fox News Watch. A deadly-serious matter later arose. Conservative columnist Jim Pinkerton flatly alleged that to promote multiculturalism and allay Americans' concerns about immigration, the MSM and the Department of Homeland Security spiked a story about a terrorist dry run by 12 Syrians. View video here.
Pinkerton had discussed the story in a recent Newsday column:
Discussing the matter on Fox News Watch last evening at 6:43 pm EDT, Pinkerton observed:
JIM PINKERTON: The case three years ago where 12 Syrians, as in carrying Syrian passports, got on an airplane, did suspicious things, went to the lavatory, made hand-signal to each other. The passengers at the time reported this as an incident. The cops interviewed them, let them go, they hadn't done anything, at least officially.As Pinkerton had detailed in his column, "DHS officials declared that the Americans were 'hysterical' in their reaction to the Syrians, chalking up the incident to cultural misunderstanding, if not outright racism. But now the story gets worse, from a trust-the-government point of view. The DHS inspector general looked into the incident, completing a report March 30, 2006, confirming the eyewitness accounts of suspicious behavior, raising the distinct possibility that the Syrians' actions aboard the plane were part of a "dry run" for an attack."
PINKERTON: And then the Homeland Security Department buried it for three years until the Washington Times broke the story. That was a big story, and it speaks to the larger issue, which is the media are systematically trying to squelch concerns about domestic terrorism in the name of defending multiculturalism.Interestingly, the generally left-leaning Jane Hall was of a similar mind.
JANE HALL: I think the Washington Times story was very serious and bravo to them for reporting it. And I agree with Rich [Lowry, of the National Review, pinch-hitting for Cal Thomas] that if you think we should be concerned about this, somehow you're a Bush supporter, I mean, as opposed to you want the country to have a decent homeland security operation.Pinkerton feels so strongly about the issue that he closed his Newsday column by asking: "Why does DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff still have his job?"
PINKERTON: To make it more perverse, the Bush supporters, like Michael Chertoff, who is the Homeland Security Secretary, they want to squelch this because they want to keep the immigration bill alive. They want open borders, that's part of their plan. They don't want to make people afraid here at home.
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Read Pinkerton's new artice
June 10, 2007 - 19:45 ET by Squalls BladeRead Pinkerton's new artice about Bush's insane plans on immigration here: http://www.amconmag....
Democracy is not enough. If the culture dies, the country dies. - Pat Buchanan
Thanks Squalls
June 10, 2007 - 20:10 ET by Guy Arthur ThomasI am reading the article and thanks for the link address Squalls.
Shut up and blog! If you claim to be a conservative, please don't disgrace yourself and conservatism by thinking and arguing like a liberal. Go Rudy!
WOW!
June 10, 2007 - 19:47 ET by Guy Arthur ThomasReally...WOW! (and I am not talking about the Hebrew waw consecutive though some consecutive WOWS here are called for).
Neverminding the article, the Department of Homeland Security is ONE boondoggle department and memorial of 43's naivity and mediocrity that I hope so very much, Democrat or Republican, that is dismantled with the next President. What a ridiculous bureaucratic monolith 43 and Congress agreed to create. I won't be holding my breath though to wait for its deconstruction.
Shut up and blog! If you claim to be a conservative, please don't disgrace yourself and conservatism by thinking and arguing like a liberal. Go Rudy!
You raise a good point, GAT.
June 10, 2007 - 20:47 ET by dahliatraversYou raise a good point, GAT. Now that we have watched it operate for several years, there needs to be an evaluation as to the necessity and effectiveness of the Dept of Homeland Security.
Yea it needs evolution alrigh
June 11, 2007 - 10:02 ET by general companyYea it needs evolution alright, starting with the ouster of Michael Chertoff. He has made this department a contradiction in terms
Gee, how...comforting. I feel
June 10, 2007 - 19:50 ET by balboaGee, how...comforting. I feel much safer now.
This particular discussion on
June 10, 2007 - 20:04 ET by Del DolemonteThis particular discussion on Saturday's News Watch actually originated with the panel's discussing whether or not the NY Times was correct in not putting the recent JFK Airport plot.
One guess as to which member of the panel said the NYT did the right thing?
This is not thrilling.I would
June 10, 2007 - 20:38 ET by dahliatraversThis is not thrilling.
I would, however, point out that Homeland Security has not been successful in squelching other alarming incidents.
Chertoff & Co. couldn't secure an outhouse.
June 10, 2007 - 21:21 ET by Dave RPinkerton feels so strongly about the issue that he closed his Newsday column by asking: "Why does DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff still have his job?"
I've been asking this question since Katrina.
I further think it is time to seriously consider the dissolution of the Department of Homeland InSecurity. As a taxpayer, the blatant incompetence of these people can no-longer be justified, GWOT or not.
From what I've seen so far, these clowns couldn't secure an outhouse.
Pinkerton raises a very valid
June 10, 2007 - 21:55 ET by GalvanicPinkerton raises a very valid issue. Bush has been looking for a way to absorb millions of illegal Hispanic aliens since he took office. I stopped trusting the Bush Administration to do the right thing years ago.
And, yes, DHS is turning out to be the bureaucratic hodge-podge many of us feared it would aspire to when the Congress created it. The distinct agencies within DHS are still not working closely with each other; conflicting bureaucratic cultures and rice bowl issues are insurmountable without a strong Secretary. The Congress merely rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic when they established DHS.
What doesn't really make se
June 11, 2007 - 00:03 ET by ckc1227What doesn't really make sense in this alleged quest for Hispanic votes by Republicans is that Hispanics tend to vote Democrat. Why would you want to give your opponents more votes, as I have no doubt that will be the ultimate outcome? It doesn't really make sense. Maybe there's more to it than just votes. Whatever it is, it doesn't smell good.
:(
misterbill put up the analysis ckc1227
June 11, 2007 - 09:23 ET by SportPoliticsmisterbill put up the analysis ckc1227, which was a piece by a US gov/Mexico gov intermediary bureaucrat who saw nearly 80 members of congress in person individually, and found that all but 5 supported mass illegal immigrants so that they could weaken the controls on their power exerted by traditional Americans.( every demcorat supported it)
It's clear that between the massive million Mexican flag marches, coupled with the racism card, that it is easier for them all to take a happy view that "strong families and faith and a work ethic" will work out for the elites even on the republican side, with the added power given by the latino political system of corrupt officials looked toward for the goodies and corruption ignored in favor of that.
They have huge egos and everyone must love them and even their colleagues must repsect them and their individual dynasties of power and corruption can go on even less checked and thwarted. 30 million raging hispanics is too scarey for them, so a loving embrace with the less checked corruption at every level additional bonus is far too enticing.
What nice and kind people they are to give the American dream to everyone, and what great leadership they've shown in managing the nation when they make it possible. In no way is the USA too far gone to handle this, that would be admitting they made mistakes prior and were unfit for governing and managing America.
It will prove that republicans aren't racists, then they can all move out of their former shell and claim one for all and all for one love of the new musketeered masses. Just think how much tumbler will be pleased. Just like the corruption of New Orleans, the "Big Easy" - where chocolate city declarations gets one re-elected after disastrous management, National corruption will be looked past and the newly acquired fawning masses will trade sloppy crap goodies that don't work for the power structure doing whatever it wants, whenever it wants, just like they do in latin america. Corrupt Federalies of the USA like those that jailed the border guards in favor of the drug dealer ( and who knows how much money is seething through official hands there).
Can the godlike egotistical above the law in congress politician ever pass up that kind of opportunity ?
More worshippers, this time very happy to overlook the gigantic collusion and cavorting between monied interests and congressional power, a turnstyle that supports hundreds of thousands of government paid workers - and gives the upper echelon and their families and friends easy opportunity for million dollar jobs the minute they get voted into or from their perch.
Remember, The worst is all hitting back in the lower states, and the bigshots are in DC.
3 of the 5 who were against it out of the 80, were border statesmen - where the ego-fantasy dream had already crumbled and the pain had become unbearable.
The Minutemen hear from on high in DC > " YOU SHALL NOT GUARD THE BORDERS !!!! " < that alone is beyond common sense.
Duncan Hunter built the fence south of San Diego, and made the 854 new miles bill, but he has a kind of homely look, "name recognition" problems, and golly he's too tough for the soft underbelly of PC America, even for the republicans, who shudder at the highest elite places of their power when someone is so rude as to say it like it is, since the PC backlash crew can CRUSH any republican for it - or so they think.
Pres. Bush speaks his PC I'm not a bigot freakshow America speak > " If someone discriminated against my Muslim SS agent, I'm going to be very angry..."
They just CAN'T do it bubba - they cannot bring themselves to do it - but someone like Duncan Hunter on the southern california border in a "far right republican area" ( actually just normal republican doctrine and beliefs - middle America standards, the very basics of the real USA - or former USA ) - can at least actually say "fence" and "build it" - and GET AWAY WITH IT while it gets done... the horror that it is... to all the others...
Duncan Hunter " We reduced gang and drugs and crime 90% when we built the San Diego fence "...
But fences don't work... saith the cacklers and idiots and morons and orwellspeakers....
Following-up on S-P's comment
June 11, 2007 - 13:06 ET by GalvanicFollowing-up on S-P's comments, the Reps have been studying demographics of the electorate for a while, and discovered that the fastest growing minority in the US is Hispanic-Americans, who've recently surpassed black Americans in terms of percentage of the citizenry. They realized that the black community was politically welded to the DP, and thus would be too hard to entice away in signficant numbers. The high birth rate among Hispanics make them the minority to woo over.
Their study of the Hispanic community identified some common values between it and the GOP, such as family ties, anti-crime, and religiosity. So, they started to cultivate them. The model was a governor named George W. Bush, who attracted a surprisingly high number of Hispanic votes in his re-election to the governorship. Part of Bush's appeal was his basic knowledge and practice of the Spanish language.
It's been hoped that by making the GOP the party of Hispanic Americans, it could hold power. The alternative --- conceding Hispanic support to the Dems --- is disasterous.
For that reason, Bush and many high Reps have turned a blind eye toward illegal immigration, and even dream of one day granting them all citizenship and welcoming them to the GOP.
Some folks in the goverment p
June 11, 2007 - 10:44 ET by well99Some folks in the goverment putting politics ahead of the safety of people in this country.Nothing new there.Maybe one day folks will wake up and do something about it.
Things that make you go hmmmmm?!
June 11, 2007 - 13:00 ET by c5thenHow many other incidents have we NOT heard about?
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic
Scary but good question.
June 11, 2007 - 13:56 ET by well99Scary but good question.