Curses, Foiled Again

I suppose most would think the title refers to the latest failed terrorist attack on New York City, and for that I could not fault them. But it's really a commentary on the ache of the liberal media-ites for which relief always seems just beyond reach. It appears as a hazy mirage, dancing before their eager eyes, and they clutch at it hungrily yet are always left with nothing but wispy tendrils of ether. And the pain lingers on.

In the case of the Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, the benefit of the doubt was not only given to radical Muslims, it was deeply desired. The media went out of its collective way to speculate on every possibility but jihad despite the long-discarded notion that journalism is about facts and not speculation.

The media breathlessly commented on the presence of "a white male" changing his shirt, and Mayor Bloomberg opined on Katie Couric's show that it was probably some nut who acted alone and was "Homegrown maybe a mentally deranged person or someone with a political agenda that doesn't like the health care bill or something. It could be anything." (Translation: probably a right-wing Tea Party guy).

Then the news came out that it was - surprise! - a Pakistan-born Muslim, and the giddy media bubble was instantly burst. Oh, they struggled to maintain the spectre of a "homegrown" man, a "naturalized citizen", they said, but it wasn't long before even that aura dissipated. So invested were they in the hope that it was a right-wing Tea Party guy that the disappointment was palpable, even articulated by some. Contessa Brewer of MSNBC, for example, had this to say:

"I mean the thing is is that and I get frustrated and there was part of me that was hoping this was not going to be anybody with ties to any kind of Islamic country because there are a lot of people who want to use this terrorist intent to justify writing off people who believe in a certain way or come from certain countries or whose skin color is a certain way. I mean they use it as justification for really outdated bigotry.
And so there was part of me was really hoping this would not be the case that here would be somebody who is not the defined. I mean he’s accused he’s arrested you know I don’t want to convict him before it’s time to do so. He’s the guy authorities say is involved. But that being said I mean we know even in recent history you have the Haitari(sic) militia from Michigan who have plans to let’s face it create terror.
That’s what they were planning to do and they were doing so from far different backgrounds then what this guy is coming from. So, the threat is not just coming from people who decide that America is the place to be and you know come here and want to become citizens. Obviously this guy did."

For those who wish to witness the anguish, the video is below:
Right to the bitter end the Contessa clings to the claim that "this guy did" want to become a citizen - which is partly true because he did become a citizen - but it is now clear that his intent was anything but a craving for apple pie. For example, he couldn't pay his mortgage, but he could travel to Pakistan thirteen times in ten years.

For a man about to lose his home to foreclosure, he had cash to lay out for the SUV he planned to detonate in Times Square, as well as the materials for the bomb. Then, after being placed on the "no-fly" list, he still managed to drive for an hour and a half from Connecticut to JFK Airport, and buy a one-way ticket, to Dubai, with more cash. And yet no one thought there was anything untoward about this, and he was boarded on the plane.

Still, liberals continued the charade that he was but one lone, lost soul and that there was no evidence that he did not act alone. They never stopped to consider the uber-secret society of al Qaida operatives in the Middle East and their hypersensitivity to to being discovered. So it makes no sense that some poor, down-on-his-luck schlub "from Connecticut" - no matter his Pakistani heritage - could fly to Pakistan, stand forlornly in the airport with a sign, and subsequently be taken under the wing of deadly terrorists for some classes.

And now, reluctantly, some media outlets are reporting that he did receive training, which is the final blow to lugubrious reporters who watch the dream of blaming some Midwestern militia for the near mayhem evaporate into thin air. Perhaps they will get another chance in the near future to dream again. But for now, the Tea Party people go about painting their clever signs for the next demonstration in between helping their grandchildren with homework.

Apple pie for true Americans is a sweet treat. Pity that so many among us view it as bitter fruit.

Sphere: Related Content