Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Lou Dobbs Sets Guest Straight

on so many things related to the massacre at Fort Hood on his program, Lou Dobbs Tonight. the guest's name, Errol Lewis of the New York Daily News and CNN contributor.

Read the exchange highlighted below. Keep in mind, the transcript is incomplete! Dobbs noted he had a source for what he was saying. The transcript doesn't reflect that in its entirety.

Granted, Dobbs has no way of knowing what the transcript will contain or leave out, but it wouldn't be shocking if such transcripts missing key points Dobbs makes have been a pattern at CNN.

Catch the video and hope it's complete and audible...

Nov. 11, 2009

http://loudobbs.tv.cnn.com/

And Dobbs announced he'd be leaving CNN

Transcript clip

Obama's War Plans; Fort Hood Investigation; Legalize Pot?; Gun Culture; Honoring Veterans

Aired November 11, 2009 - 19:00 ET

DOBBS: Joining me now, Deroy Murdock, he is a syndicated columnist with Scripps Howard News Service. Great to have you with us. And Errol Louis, columnist, "New York Daily News" CNN contributor, and Hank Sheinkopf, Democratic strategist, CNN contributor. Great to see you.

HANK SHEINKOPF, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Great to see you.

DOBBS: Let's turn to the Ft. Hood murders. There's great agitation in some quarters of the national media as to whether or not this is terrorism. And the fact that the media's done something of a disservice to fallen soldiers. What's your reaction?

SHEINKOPF: One lunatic with a weapon, who had an opportunity, and it's a great tragedy and my heart goes out to the great fighting men and women who lost their lives. That's it.

ERROL LOUIS, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Yeah, you know, I talked to some veterans, and they say that, you know, it's generally known that if somebody is under that much stress, if they want to take themself out of combat if they're afraid to go to a theater of operations, they shoot off a toe, they pick a fight. This is an outlier. This is an atrocity and to see the mayor of Chicago and others try to sneak in other kind of political agendas or to medicalize this whole thing that this is part of stress or suicides and so forth, it's a real disservice, and it prevents us from getting at the facts and we have to deep in mind that this is a guy, who if he survives, will be put on trial, a military court-martial. It ends up being kind of a waste of time. I think we will get to the truth of it when it goes to court.

DOBBS: So people shouldn't think bit, talk about it, ask about it, speculate about it.

LOUIS: I think the speculation is just plain harmful. I mean a group that says all Muslims should be kicked out of the military. I think that's just crazy.

DOBBS: Who said that? LOUIS: The American Family Association I believe.

SHEINKOPF: Charming people.

DOBBS: I don't know who they are.

SHEINKOPF: Lovers of humanity. They want to bring us together.

DOBBS: But who are they is what I'm asking?

DEROY MURDOCK, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: I think we have to have our eyes open. I think he was under stress and may have had mental problems, but beyond that he was in contact with a pro-al Qaeda imam from overseas, he said he was a Muslim first and an American second. He showed a slide that says we love death more than you love life. So, there's another dimension to this, and I think if we close our eyes to this we may be looking away from the person that decides to do this again. This has to be part of the discussion.

DOBBS: I have to ask you, when did we start the stuff we don't speculate, we don't discuss, we don't think, we don't examine, we don't apply our intellects? I just heard the president of the United States say this about Ft. Hood. Mother of god, what kind of country are we? This is not a court of law! This is a nation of in -- of energetic, intelligent people, 300 million of us and we're supposed to suspend our brains? What's going on here, Hank?

SHEINKOPF: Well, I don't think we ought to suspend our brains. But, you know, the discussion of whether this guy was nuts is not a discussion. The fact that he has to go to trial should he survive his wounds, that's for sure. The fact that we have a lot of dead people, that's also for sure. We just witnessed the execution of another mass murder, just yesterday, Mr. Muhammad who is going to whatever destination who is determined to him. We talked about that a good, deal, too, is this an act of a crazy person or gun control? It's about a little bit of everything. But this is the act of a crazy person, no question about it. Whether he was in touch with this imam or that one, the danger is we segregate a person by religion or skin color to protect our --

MURDOCK: There is another danger who there were other soldiers who heard him say things of a jihadist nature and they didn't come forward because they were afraid they would be reprimanded or ostracized --

LOUIS: Wait a minute --

MURDOCK: 13 people that are dead that might be alive.

LOUIS: This is the kind of speculation that doesn't make sense. You are saying there are people, you know who they are and you know why they didn't speak up, you conducted your own investigation?

MURDOCK: We have a number of soldiers who said they did not speak out because they were afraid of being reprimanded.

LOUIS: Because they thought they'd be reprimanded?

DOBBS: You've asked for testimony. I'm going to offer you testimony. Okay? Let me offer you testimony. I spoke with a doctor, in a classroom, with Major Hasan, who said straightforwardly that he and other members of that class were horrified at some of his statements and they complained to the administration, and they did so at some risk because it is quite well known, according to the doctor, that they will have a one equal opportunity complaint can destroy a career. And that that stigma hangs over you. Brian Todd tonight on this very broadcast reported on that issue. Errol, I mean, this is not a matter of rank speculation. It is a report of the -- of the paranoia and political correctness within the United States Army.

LOUIS: Deroy just said people lost their lives because people were too hesitant to call out what they saw in front of them --

DOBBS: We can talk directly to him. He's right here.

LOUIS: And I -- what I -- first of all, I don't think there's any basis to draw that conclusion, but secondly, when you hear things like he shouted Allah Akbar before the massacre began some witnesses said that. One general said there is speculation. It is not clear what happened. It is simply not clear what happened. You can take as Mayor Daley did on his own political agenda, you can take your political agenda and grab a couple of facts that seem to match it and you're off --

DOBBS: What is your --

MURDOCK: We're told if you see something, say something. Don't keep it to themselves. There are people keeping to it themselves because they are afraid if do, an equal opportunity office will come to them. If you someone makes these statements I think it's appropriate to come forward and say keep an eye on this guy or else, and now we see what else was.

DOBBS: Isn't there a condescending, patronizing view that people are such ignoramuses and fools that they can't make a distinction between a radical, Islamic terrorist and an American citizens who practices the Muslim faith? I mean, what kind -- isn't there some political correctness that would keep us from being offended by such an insult, by our leaders, by the power structure?
SHEINKOPF: That's true.

DOBBS: I would hope.

SHEINKOPF: Well, Lou, you're on to something. It's called staying on message. We watch politicians do it, therefore the population is supposed to do it. I think the military ought to be held to a different standard in this matter. I think the stakes are higher and army ought to be --

DOBBS: What do you mean staying on message?

SHEINKOPF: The message is that everybody shouldn't be complaining about it and everything the administration is saying should be wonderful and it's fine and okay. That's the message and you are supposed to stay on that message and people are not doing it. When you deviate from that message, there must we something wrong with you and you're experiencing that. That's kind of what you're alluding to, I think.

DOBBS: I'm saying to you that one of the great characteristics of the great American, the American people, is our historic ability to be straightforward, plainspoken, say what we mean and mean what we say.

SHEINKOPF: We're losing it.

DOBBS: And we're losing it.

SHEINKOPF: Uh-huh.

DOBBS: Not by accident. Thank you, all, for being here. I appreciate it. Good to have you with us. Errol, we'll talk later.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0911/11/ldt.01.html


Transcript

November 11, 2009, 7:24 pm
Dobbs Explains Decision to Leave CNN
By BRIAN STELTER

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/dobbs-explains-decision-to-leave-cnn/

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