More Emerging Bias: Maddow Guest Suggests Lack of Health Funding Motivated Fort Hood Killer

More Emerging Bias: Maddow Guest Suggests Lack of Health Funding Motivated Fort Hood Killer

By Jack Coleman (Bio | Archive)
November 6, 2009 - 21:24 ET

When in doubt, cite the need for more government funding of health care. You won't find an argument on MSNBC.

Among the guests offering their perspectives about the Fort Hood massacre on Rachel Maddow's show last night was Salon.com national correspondent Mark Benjamin, who tried to downplay growing evidence that suspected assailant Nidal Malik Hasan was motivated by a jihadist's hatred of America --

BENJAMIN: There are people that believe that this is a person that was suffering some sort of secondary post-traumatic stress from treating soldiers and there are people that believe he was somehow influenced by Muslim extremism. I think it could be a combination of both. I certainly have met mental health care providers in the military who after sitting all day long and listening to some really disturbing tales, you know, when they're treating these soldiers coming back from Iraq, and in combination with the fact that they're overwhelmed, overworked, don't have the resources to do their jobs, become extremely stressed and frazzled. And there's no reason to not think that this could, this could ultimately lead to that kind of a conclusion.

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How could Benjamin know only hours after the massacre whether Hasan did not have "the resources" for his job as an Army psychiatrist? If Benjamin was in possession of such specifics, he wasn't sharing them with Maddow's audience.

More along the same lines after Maddow spoke of the high rate of suicide in the military ("even outpacing the civilian rate," she pointed out, as if that's surprising) --

BENJAMIN: The other thing that's interesting is that there's this discussion about whether there's some ideological component and, you know, motivation to this person. You know, I'm not sure that's necessarily separate from the kind of treatment this person was doing. I mean, in other words, if you sit, I have literally interviewed hundreds of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11, and in private moments, when they tell you some of the things they were forced to do, and I'm not talking about, you know, intentional My Lai stuff, but, you know, things that happened in the vagaries of war, really, really, awful, awful things, it can affect you, it can turn people against the war, it can make you really think about that stuff. It's extremely difficult to think about, you know, to work on that all day long, imagine this doctor, who, that was his job.

By Benjamin's logic, he is also at risk of going berserk from the stress of interviewing "literally" hundreds of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and hearing of the horrors they experienced.

By the same logic, every blood-splattered doctor and nurse toiling in emergency rooms is one bad day from a rampage, along with every cop, every police reporter, every victim's advocate in court -- the entire country after 9/11, for that matter.

The difference here, as Mark Steyn pointed out today while filling in for Rush Limbaugh, is the apparent absence of trauma when it comes to Hasan, who was reportedly upset over his pending deployment to Iraq but had yet to serve there or in Afghanistan. Perhaps Hasan suffered from a new malady, Steyn suggested --"pre-post traumatic stress disorder."

Based on Benjamin's observations, I can see coming to a different conclusion about the wars we're fighting and the overarching conflict against radical Islam. If I am working as an Army psychiatrist, my patients might, for example, include soldiers who saw Afghan girls scarred from acid thrown in their faces as they walked to school. Who picked up the limbs after the mentally enfeebled were coerced into suicide bombings. Who returned fire at insurgents using children as human shields.

I might well conclude that as a soldier and single man of 39, as with Hasan, the only place for me is where I can serve to destroy the evil behind such malignancy.

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well gee

November 6, 2009 - 21:31 ET by Candance Moore

It's good to see the left isn't exploiting a massacre for political gain or anything...

Disgusting display

November 6, 2009 - 21:44 ET by TexasMom0517

THIRTEEN people are slaughtered and the MSM wants to link it to "healthcare"- disgusting!

When will they trot out that oldie but goodie

November 6, 2009 - 21:50 ET by allanf

.. "it's Bush's fault"?

→ Psychiatrist, heal thyself.

November 6, 2009 - 21:36 ET by Cool Arrow

Yeah, that's it. A shrink can't get help for fear his plan to kill American soldiers might be reported by one of his colleagues.

LYDSEXICS UNTIE!

A shame we can't throw out

November 6, 2009 - 21:56 ET by d1carter

A shame we can't throw out the media with the lib politicians...

Really? No,

November 6, 2009 - 21:37 ET by BKeyser

Really? No, seriously...you're kidding right?

→ Not kidding Keyser

November 6, 2009 - 21:40 ET by Cool Arrow

This is only one level of the depth American Media has sunk.

Some of them are even attributing it to PTSD, when he'd never even been in combat.

LYDSEXICS UNTIE!

Hasan was denied the resources to do his job?

November 6, 2009 - 21:38 ET by SickofLibs

Poor Hasan. They only gave him a futon instead of a proper full size shrink-couch.

If this kind of stupidity

November 6, 2009 - 21:39 ET by FeynmanFan

If this kind of stupidity continues my head is going to explode.

"Reason and persuasion are the only practical instruments against error. To make way for these, free inquiry must be indulged" - Thomas Jefferson

→ I'm with Col. Peters

November 6, 2009 - 21:42 ET by Cool Arrow

"I am ready to puke!" - Col. Ralph Peters

LYDSEXICS UNTIE!

CA... Did you read my

November 6, 2009 - 21:49 ET by bigtimer

CA...

Did you read my post earlier about Peters while it was going on live?

Just curious...I've been gone, but if not, we are on the same wave-length of what I posted...he was great and I stated as such...and then some.

'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart

→ Missed it, bt

November 6, 2009 - 21:53 ET by Cool Arrow

I was just watching Bill O via DVR, and stopped blogging while Peters was speaking truth.

LYDSEXICS UNTIE!

Mark Benjamin is too stoopid for words

November 6, 2009 - 21:45 ET by R D Helm

-Dave

Our elected representatives have failed us.

What??

November 6, 2009 - 21:50 ET by Patrick Michael

I have to state here that I am a disabled veteran who also suffers from PTSD. Well, actually I did not know I did until a Nurse Practioner at a VA hospital was an absolute angel and suggested I get counseling, which has really improved my quality of life. My Psychiatrist (although I suspect him of being a liberal) is actually a pretty great guy who does have to listen to all kinds of things from soldiers going back to WWII and Korea. I could no more imagine him going beserk and killing Veterans than I could imagine Alan Grayson treating me to dinner, or pigs flying outside my window.

And while we are discussing the brutal murders of American soldiers I'd like to give a shout out to all my Veteran friends (sorry, just trying to sound Presidential).

How about this? How about we just forget about all the 'political' aspects of this horrible event and just pray for those families who have lost loved ones. Does that sound like a plan?

Stay Free!!!

Thanks Patrick

November 6, 2009 - 21:59 ET by general company

Hope your getting what you need.

My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful

"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg

Great advice, Patrick Michael

November 6, 2009 - 22:04 ET by Jack Coleman

We'd all do well to follow it

How many times in the last 8 yrs did this

November 6, 2009 - 21:56 ET by general company

Nut case re-enlist? If he didnt want to here bad tales of woe or go to Afghanistan, he could had left several times. There is NO excuse for this pond scum.

My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful

"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg

So let me get this straight

November 6, 2009 - 22:25 ET by Defector01

It is completely verbotten to discuss in anyway how a Muslim officer who was against going to Iraq/Afghanistan, who made numerous statements in support of their jihadi enemies might have decided to engage in terrorism

BUT

It is perfectly normal and logical and acceptable to immediately blame PTSD (even if he didn't go overseas), lack of health care, Bush, the military, 'redneck soldiers who called him names' and everything else for the actions of this one SOB.

And yet we still can't discuss the remote chance that this was a domestic terrorist.

This is B***S***!!!!

I have only ever made one prayer to God, a very short one: O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it - Voltaire

I spent 6 years in the Army...

November 6, 2009 - 22:26 ET by stage9

faced stress all the time, but I can honestly say that a lack of resources was NEVER a source of stress.

I've got a question. Had Hasan ever even been to Iraq or Afghanistan? I thought he was supposed to deploy this week. If he hadn't, then Benjamin's imbecilic comparison is ridiculous as far as stress is concerned.

"If God is dead, somebody is going to have to take his place. It will
be megalomania or erotomania, the drive for power or the drive for
pleasure, the clenched fist or the phallus, Hitler or Hugh Hefner."
— Malcolm Muggeridge

stage9

November 6, 2009 - 22:50 ET by saw the light

He had yet to be deployed, so the answer to your question is contained in your post:

...Benjamin's imbecilic comparison is ridiculous as far as stress is concerned

"I think that when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." Barack Obama to "Joe the Plumber"

Stressed?

November 6, 2009 - 23:22 ET by TN Mom

I remember, back in Feburary, the Obama administration wanted our troops to pay their own (out-of-pocket) insurance for themselves & their families.

Oh, and DHS kept the Death Panels in the booklet for troops.

Obama skipped the Red, White & Blue Hero's Ball on inauguration.

Obama dithers on troops in Afghanistan. Meets with SEIU Andy Stern 22 times; meets ONE HOUR with Gen. McCrystal.

Eric Holder investigation of CIA; putting our troops in harms way.

If Salon's Mark Bejamin wants to pin the killer's motivation on stress, he could at least question if some blame should be on this administration.

Wrong

November 6, 2009 - 23:51 ET by DeclinesToState

This Muslim man was 39 and no wife..... the msm spin should be that this poor victim of a man was simply conflicted, and very upset at the vote in Maine regarding gay marriage.... The religious right is once again at fault.....

Well, since the dead Census worker may not pan out

November 7, 2009 - 00:13 ET by Dim Bulb

I quess Maddow is laying the foundation for a new angle against the right since the census worker dead at the hands of right wing extremists now seems in doubt

Anyone using the term...

November 7, 2009 - 00:16 ET by JPR1

“…you know…” more that once in any given conversation is an Idiot.

National Correspondent for Salon.com or not, he’s an idiot. The person interviewing him is also an Idiot.

You don’t know jack Mr Benjamin; doesn’t matter how many soldiers you’ve interviewed. Sheet, most of them probably have PTSD just for having talked to you.

And, for Gods sake, have someone help you choose your eyewear next time. (See Jenene Garafalo.)

The lack of healthcare is an utterly ridiculous excuse. The real

November 7, 2009 - 00:24 ET by Rush Fan

reason, as everyone who is knowledgeable on the subject of social unrest and violent conflict understands, is Global Warming--(strike that)--Climate Change.

All the leading experts, from Nobel Laureate Al Gore to Senator Barbara Boxer, agree that Climate Change is the root of most violence.

Please join us on November 19 at the Conference on Climate Change, Social Stress and Violent Conflict.

Excerpts from the Research context of this conference:

Climate change is becoming a focal point for security and conflict research and poses a challenge for the world’s policymaking and governance structures. The magnitude and diversity of risks associated with global warming could trigger a sequence of cascading events, involving environmental degradation, economic decline, social unrest and political instability, that could threaten human security and societal stability and lead to violent conflict.[...]

Guiding questions

What are the major causal chains between climate change and violent conflict, and what is the empirical basis for these linkages, revisiting previous assessments of environmental conflict?
Which approaches, methods and theories are helpful for the analysis of the links between climate change, social stress and violent conflict?
Is it adequate to call climate change a threat to national or international security?

Please contact one of the following for reservations to this important conference: Nobel Laureate Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr., Senator Barbara Levy Boxer, MSNBC news anchor, sportscaster, writer, and political commentator Keith Theodore Olbermann, or American currency speculator, stock investor, businessman, philanthropist, and political activist George Soros.

---------------------------------------

“This is not about creating jobs. This is the exact opposite. This is all about rebuilding the Democrat Party into an unbeatable entity. It's about remaking the United States of America without the Constitution as the guiding light.” ~ Rush Limbaugh

About that suicide rate...

November 7, 2009 - 01:05 ET by JWF

More along the same lines after Maddow spoke of the high rate of suicide in the military ("even outpacing the civilian rate," she pointed out, as if that's surprising) --

I am going to need sourcing on that. I doubt the suicide rate is much higher than the general civilian population if it is indeed higher.

Remember a few years ago when the N.Y. Times said the murder rate in the military was higher than the general population rate?

Ann Coulter: So comparing the veterans' rate of murder to only their male counterparts in the general population, we see that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are about 10 times less likely to commit a murder than non-veterans of those wars.

Newsbusters: Anger Spreads Over NYT's Sleazy Story on Killer Veterans

Sincerely,

a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.

Actually MADCOW is wrong

November 7, 2009 - 04:50 ET by Jack Bauer

Actually MADCOW is wrong about suicide rates -- yet again. I did some checking a couple of years back, as this subject is a perennial.

As a matter of FACT, there has been a small RISE in suicide rates in the military to about 17 per 100, 000.

HOWEVER, that rise in the suicide of those in the main military demographic MALES 17-40 merely rises that rate to approximately the SAME as the general population.

Interesting huh?

Obama thinks winning 52.7% of the vote gave him a mandate to turn America into a Euro-trash socialist state.

"I certainly have met

November 7, 2009 - 01:14 ET by Teamcheeser

"I certainly have met mental health care providers in the military who... don't have the resources to do their jobs..."

NOTE TO MILITARY:

Buy more couches and steno pads. And pocket watches for hypnosis.

Idiot.

I'm retired military, I

November 7, 2009 - 03:03 ET by George S Patton

I'm retired military, I also work on a large military base and visit it's hospital regularly, no one is over worked. This is just another mindless moron babbling.

Hasan had NO moral backbone.

November 7, 2009 - 04:31 ET by ekslib

He did not need to shoot dozens of people to publicize his points.

He could have called Maddow and told her that he refuses to go overseas.

She would have made him her poster child.

Tingles actually said

November 7, 2009 - 08:49 ET by SickofLibs

Tingles actually said yesterday that it was bad policy that military personnel aren't allowed to refuse deployment to someplace they don't want to go.

He apparently thinks deployment should be like booking a vacation destination on Orbitz.

Tingles is an idiot. If

November 7, 2009 - 10:48 ET by BD

Tingles is an idiot. If service members were allowed to refuse to go places:

you would find the Pentagon depopulated as no one really wants to go to a staff job there.
SAC bases in North Dakota would be empty.
the UN peace keeping mission to the Egypt/Israeli conflict would have one soldier standing there with a crate of MRE's hoping someone might come give him a lift home.
Fort Sill in Oklahoma would only have native born Oklahomans at it.
Yuma Proving ground wold be emptier than it is now.
FORGET THE NTC IN CALIFORNIA.

What would this lead us to?

In order to maintian an army under these conditions Hollywood Hills would be an impact area for high explosives.
Manhatten would be an urban live fire exercise area.
Malibu would be open for naval gunfire training.
THe Ceonnecticut suburbs would be the equivalent of Fort Hood.

Perhaps liberals would finally meet a soldier then?

Madness

November 7, 2009 - 06:29 ET by Truestar

This is just madness. I've never witnessed anything like this. This man, a doctor, murdered 13 innocent people---mostly his fellow soldiers serving our country. And I presume his education and military status was supported and financed by the taxpayers of this country. So, no matter what personal or religious conflicts the doctor may have had, it is senseless to dismiss the fact that he is quite simply a mass murderer of the worst order.

And I have to wonder---Was anyone worrying about Tim McVeigh's PTSD? McVeigh actually served overseas. This crackpot, Hasan, was upset about having to go overseas, and these idiots like Benjamin are all worried about Hasan's state of mind. What the hell is it with supposedly rational people who seem to blindly defend the indefensible? Because he's a Muslim??? WHO CARES! He's a cold blooded murdering lunatic.

What about all the military medics, doctors, psychiatrists, and soldiers from top to bottom---including conscientious objectors, who have managed not to murder their fellow soldiers in spite of their opposition to a war? I presume most of them would loudly condemn the likes of Maj. Hasan. So why can't people like Benjamin manage to do the same????

Second hand PTSD

November 7, 2009 - 10:58 ET by Reefdiver

By the reckoning of the lame stream media’s suppositions Hasan was impacted listening to the tales of returning vets, I'm sure their tales were harrowing. If this trend is true then we should gird ourselves for the coming murderous rampages of trial judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys that have for years if not decades been buried in some of the vilest acts ever committed by one person on another. We should probably be on the look out for the habitual HBO viewer as well.

You too can get second hand PTSD.

November 7, 2009 - 12:05 ET by JWF

All of us can. And we can all slowly go insane. This is the day and age of handheld camera's and youtube. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have been putting war pron out there on teh intertubes for 8 years.

Get out there, watch it and slowly slowly go insane. Oh just face it, we are all doomed.

Sincerely,

a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.

Help. I too am suffering

November 7, 2009 - 11:08 ET by Jack Bauer

Help. I too am suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Though I have never been in the military, I was in the Boy Scouts as a kid. But it all really kicked in when I watched the DVD of Saving Private Ryan. Very traumatic.

Then I started watching TV a lot. Especially news reports about Iraq. This has sent me over the edge and I feel an uncontrolable urge to murder Keith Olbermann.

But that's normal, right?

Obama thinks winning 52.7% of the vote gave him a mandate to turn America into a Euro-trash socialist state.

this is unbelievable!!

November 7, 2009 - 18:05 ET by Patriot II

People this freaking stupid should not be walking the streets, they belong in a guarded home somewhere ....where they can bang their empty heads against the padded walls all day long!!! imo