The Internet is apparently abuzz about a rant unleashed by 22-year-old conservative news anchor Tomi Lahren of the independent One American News Network. During the "Final Thoughts" segment of her show, Lahren laid into President Obama, as she said the following:
"President Obama, if you won't say it, I will - radical Islam. This is not workplace violence; this is not a criminal act with motives unknown - this is terrorism. Was he linked to ISIS or al-Qaida or Hamas, or any of the other 15-plus offshoot terrorist groups? Does it matter? I'm sorry, but radical Islam is becoming the rule, not the exception. Yesterday's moderate is today's terrorist. I care that this S.O.B. killed four of our United States Marines. And I care that our commander-in-chief is more concerned with Muslim sensitivity than the honor and sacrifice made by these Marines."
This was of course in reference to the recent tragic shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where 24-year-old Mohammad Abdulazeez, a Muslim, shot and killed four U.S. Marines and one Navy reservist. Lahren then continued with this:
"They, the radical Islamists have brought the fight right here to the red, white, and blue, and it's about time we bring it to them. Full force. Let's show them what the United States of America looks like up close and personal. Show them what a B1 Bomber looks like flying overhead. Show them what they're messing with. Put the fear of God in their desert, because clearly our lack of strategy isn't working."
At this point, Ms. Lahren's rant has been viewed over 1.9 million times. While my post won't be read nearly as many times, I have a few "Final Thoughts" of my own on Ms. Lahren's rant.
The first thought which sprung to mind as I read Tomi Lahren's rant was, "Thank God she's not president, and thank God she's not eligible to become president for another 13 years." My second thought was, "Why in the world has this generated such a buzz? I've been hearing rants like this once a day for the past 14 years." She may be young, attractive, and act like she wants to go to Hollywood and become the female version of Chuck Norris, but her words sound like that of a 22-year-old Fox News anchor: Empty, immature, angry, prejudiced, and short-sighted.
Look, we're all angry about what happened in Chattanooga last week, just like we're still angry about what happened in Charleston, South Carolina last month. But just as it would have been wrong to deduce that all Southern whites in this country are violent racists based off Dylan Roof's act of shooting and killing nine African-Americans at a church in Charleston last month, it's wrong to deduce that radical Muslims in this country are becoming the rule and not the exception, as Ms. Lahren states. There are between 5 and 12 million Muslims in this country. Since the 9/11 attacks, 48 people have been killed by white supremacists and anti-governmental fanatics in this country, compared to 26 whom have been killed by radical Muslims. A recent study was published where police officers from around the country listed what they felt were the three biggest threats of violent extremism in their jurisdiction. While approximately 74% of them said anti-government violence was the biggest threat, 39% said "Al Qaeda-inspired" violence was. In other words, since 9/11, white supremacists have been more of a threat in this country than Muslims.
As for her closing bit, I suppose Ms. Lahren was only 8-years-old when the 9/11 attacks occurred, but even so, where's she been for the past 14 years since the attacks? How well did that bomb-and-kill-them-all mentality work for us after invading Iraq and Afghanistan? The wars were going to be a breeze, remember? What'd that cost us? Over 6,800 U.S. soldiers have died as a result, as well as over 43,000 of our coalition partners. The wars have cost us over $2 trillion, which may wind up being $4-$6 trillion when all is said and done. It's incredibly sad what happened to five of our loyal and courageous service members last week when they were shot and killed by an angry, depressed, drug-addicted man, yet that pales in comparison to the pain, anger, and sadness we should feel about 6,800 of our servicemen and women being killed overseas in wars which weren't necessary, one of which was based on a false pretense. Tomi Lahren can criticize President Obama's "lack of strategy" in the Middle East all she'd like, he's not the one who thoughtlessly sent thousands of our men and women off to die in that region with no end vision in sight, all the while speaking to the country with a "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him and 4,500 U.S. soldiers yet to realize their tragic fate.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/conservative-news-anchor-s-message-to-obama-goes-viral-190856095.html
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/us/tennessee-naval-reserve-shooting/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/etc/faqs.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/us/tally-of-attacks-in-us-challenges-perceptions-of-top-terror-threat.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/14/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314
http://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/military/killed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/study-iraq-afghan-war-costs-to-top-4-trillion/2013/03/28/b82a5dce-97ed-11e2-814b-063623d80a60_story.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/mission-accomplished-bush_n_3194240.html
"President Obama, if you won't say it, I will - radical Islam. This is not workplace violence; this is not a criminal act with motives unknown - this is terrorism. Was he linked to ISIS or al-Qaida or Hamas, or any of the other 15-plus offshoot terrorist groups? Does it matter? I'm sorry, but radical Islam is becoming the rule, not the exception. Yesterday's moderate is today's terrorist. I care that this S.O.B. killed four of our United States Marines. And I care that our commander-in-chief is more concerned with Muslim sensitivity than the honor and sacrifice made by these Marines."
This was of course in reference to the recent tragic shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where 24-year-old Mohammad Abdulazeez, a Muslim, shot and killed four U.S. Marines and one Navy reservist. Lahren then continued with this:
"They, the radical Islamists have brought the fight right here to the red, white, and blue, and it's about time we bring it to them. Full force. Let's show them what the United States of America looks like up close and personal. Show them what a B1 Bomber looks like flying overhead. Show them what they're messing with. Put the fear of God in their desert, because clearly our lack of strategy isn't working."
At this point, Ms. Lahren's rant has been viewed over 1.9 million times. While my post won't be read nearly as many times, I have a few "Final Thoughts" of my own on Ms. Lahren's rant.
The first thought which sprung to mind as I read Tomi Lahren's rant was, "Thank God she's not president, and thank God she's not eligible to become president for another 13 years." My second thought was, "Why in the world has this generated such a buzz? I've been hearing rants like this once a day for the past 14 years." She may be young, attractive, and act like she wants to go to Hollywood and become the female version of Chuck Norris, but her words sound like that of a 22-year-old Fox News anchor: Empty, immature, angry, prejudiced, and short-sighted.
Look, we're all angry about what happened in Chattanooga last week, just like we're still angry about what happened in Charleston, South Carolina last month. But just as it would have been wrong to deduce that all Southern whites in this country are violent racists based off Dylan Roof's act of shooting and killing nine African-Americans at a church in Charleston last month, it's wrong to deduce that radical Muslims in this country are becoming the rule and not the exception, as Ms. Lahren states. There are between 5 and 12 million Muslims in this country. Since the 9/11 attacks, 48 people have been killed by white supremacists and anti-governmental fanatics in this country, compared to 26 whom have been killed by radical Muslims. A recent study was published where police officers from around the country listed what they felt were the three biggest threats of violent extremism in their jurisdiction. While approximately 74% of them said anti-government violence was the biggest threat, 39% said "Al Qaeda-inspired" violence was. In other words, since 9/11, white supremacists have been more of a threat in this country than Muslims.
As for her closing bit, I suppose Ms. Lahren was only 8-years-old when the 9/11 attacks occurred, but even so, where's she been for the past 14 years since the attacks? How well did that bomb-and-kill-them-all mentality work for us after invading Iraq and Afghanistan? The wars were going to be a breeze, remember? What'd that cost us? Over 6,800 U.S. soldiers have died as a result, as well as over 43,000 of our coalition partners. The wars have cost us over $2 trillion, which may wind up being $4-$6 trillion when all is said and done. It's incredibly sad what happened to five of our loyal and courageous service members last week when they were shot and killed by an angry, depressed, drug-addicted man, yet that pales in comparison to the pain, anger, and sadness we should feel about 6,800 of our servicemen and women being killed overseas in wars which weren't necessary, one of which was based on a false pretense. Tomi Lahren can criticize President Obama's "lack of strategy" in the Middle East all she'd like, he's not the one who thoughtlessly sent thousands of our men and women off to die in that region with no end vision in sight, all the while speaking to the country with a "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him and 4,500 U.S. soldiers yet to realize their tragic fate.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/conservative-news-anchor-s-message-to-obama-goes-viral-190856095.html
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/us/tennessee-naval-reserve-shooting/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/etc/faqs.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/us/tally-of-attacks-in-us-challenges-perceptions-of-top-terror-threat.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/14/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314
http://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/military/killed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/study-iraq-afghan-war-costs-to-top-4-trillion/2013/03/28/b82a5dce-97ed-11e2-814b-063623d80a60_story.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/mission-accomplished-bush_n_3194240.html
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