Hoosier Soldier Among Thirteen Executed By Hasan

If you want to read about how Muslims are the victims of Thursday's horrific massacre by Maj. Nidal Hasan and a bunch of psycho babble about Hasan having to deal with too much post traumatic stress disorder among the troops as an Army psychiatrist, you'll get plenty of that in Robert King's story in the story today; however, Vic Ryckaert has a more poignant perspective on the impact of the trategy to the family of a Plymouth, Indiana man who was among the 13 dead and one of the real victims. Ryckaert writes about the death of Sgt. Justin DeCrow:

Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow was an Indiana farmboy who joined the U.S. Army 12 years ago out of love for country and hope for a better life.

DeCrow, 32, Plymouth, lost his life Thursday when a gunman opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 and injuring 30 before he was shot.

On Friday, DeCrow's family was coming to terms with his death, reportedly at the hands of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist due to be deployed to Afghanistan.

"He was on a base," DeCrow's wife, Marikay DeCrow, said in a telephone interview from the couple's home in Evans, Ga., where she had hoped to be reunited after her husband finished his work at Fort Hood. "They should be safe there. They should be safe."

Daniel DeCrow, Rochester, feared for his son's safety as he watched news of the mass shooting at Fort Hood's Soldier Family Readiness Center flash across the TV screen.
"When that building came on TV, the hair on my neck stood up because I knew he was in there or he was nearby," Daniel DeCrow told The Indianapolis Star in a telephone interview . . .

He was working at Fort Hood until paperwork for his medical discharge came through and was looking forward to being reunited with his family, she said.

His wife has a business in Georgia teaching children to ride horses. He had lined up a job as an Army contractor at nearby Fort Gordon.

Marikay DeCrow, who had known her husband since the start of elementary school, said she wanted everyone to know what a loving man he was. The couple have a 13-year-old daughter, Kylah.

"He was well-loved by everyone," she said through sobs. "He was a loving father and husband, and he will be missed by all."

DeCrow's mother is right. Her son should have been safe there. Our military failed her son. Another Hoosier soldier, Lafayette's Cpl. Nathan Hewitt, was lucky to survive the carnage at Ft. Hood. Here's a little on his story:

When Army Cpl. Nathan Hewitt hit the ground after hearing gunshots in a Fort Hood medical center Thursday, the soldier from Lafayette thought he was reacting to a training exercise.

It was only after he saw blood on the floor that he realized the rounds coming from the shooter's handgun weren't beanbags.

"All I heard was him yelling and the gunshots fire," said Hewitt, who is based at Fort Hood. "I saw him after I was trying to move out of the way and get behind something. The only thing I could see was that he was walking around and just shooting."

Moments before, Hewitt had received the vaccinations he needed to deploy to Afghanistan, along with about 300 other unarmed soldiers waiting for routine procedures at the medical center.

The everyday scene was shattered when the suspected shooter, identified as 39-year-old Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, opened fire.

Authorities said 13 people died and 30 were wounded in the a ttack, including Hewitt, a 2000 Jefferson High School graduate.

Hewitt said that after he sought initial cover, he ran toward the medical center's front door, away from the shooter.

He tried to communicate with those around him and lead them to safety -- but Hewitt said he's unsure how many followed. There were about 30 people in the medical center's general waiting area when the shots rang out, he said.

Will Daniels' Medicaid Cuts Include HHC's Nursing Homes?

Gov. Mitch Daniels announced a new round of cuts in state government spending today in the wake of another month of bad revenue numbers for the state. General fund revenues to date this year are $309 million, or 7.4% less, than state budget planners' forecast. Gov. Daniels announced cuts today to reduce state spending by $300-$400 million. Those cuts include:

• State agencies will reduce spending by at least 10 percent from the as-passed budget. The governor had already ordered a 5 percent spending reduction in July.
  The lieutenant governor, auditor, treasurer, secretary of state, and superintendent of public instruction have committed to 10 percent spending reductions in their own office budgets.
• Reimbursements to some Medicaid providers will be reduced.
• State employees will not receive a pay increase in 2010, the same action as 2009. The last time there were back-to-back years with no pay raises was in 2002 and 2003.
  Governor Daniels will not accept his full pay in 2010, the same action he took for 2009 when his salary was due to increase from $95,000 to $107,882.
• State agencies will offer voluntary unpaid leave for the remainder of the current fiscal year.
• State agency capital projects will be deferred. This includes new buildings or structures, infrastructure and system upgrades, and site improvements.
• Some dedicated funds will be transferred to the general fund. Amounts will vary and will not disrupt the long-term viability of the program supported by the dedicated funds.

Gov. Daniels doesn't specify which Medicaid providers' reimbursement rates will be reduced, but I would recommend he start by forcing the Health & Hospital Corporation's nursing homes to take a reduction and receive the same reimbursement rate as other nursing homes are receiving. I can assure you that won't happen. The HHC's nursing home scam is costing the federal government dearly and Daniels' targeted cuts won't focus on saving money for the federal government.

UPDATE: Sure enough, Daniels cuts will only extent to private Medicaid contractors according to the Star's Bill Ruthhart. Because HHC pretends it owns nursing homes a private company actually owns and operates, I suppose that means they're in the clear.

Fort Hood Hero Kimberly Munley

Alas, it was a woman, Police Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who bravely came to the rescue of her fellow soldiers and shot terrorist Maj. Nidal Hasan to bring an end to the savage carnage he wrought on his fellow American Army soldiers at Ft. Hood yesterday. Munley took a bullet from Hasan in the process of gunning him down with four shots but is expected to recover fully. President Barack Hussein Obama warned Americans not to jump to conclusions over why this happened. "What we do know is that there are families, friends and an entire nation grieving right now for the valiant men and women who came under attack yesterday," the president said. The Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee's Race and Cultural Relations Leadership Network put out this statement today on yesterday's terrorist attack:

“As Indianapolis residents react to the tragic shootings at Fort Hood, it’s important to understand these were the actions of one troubled individual, and these acts contradict the true teachings of the Islamic faith. Indianapolis’ cultural fabric includes a compassionate, educated Muslim population whose many contributions to this community are abundant, and whose positive impact is undeniable. To blame anyone other than the gunman himself for these shootings, or to direct hate and harassment toward our Muslim neighbors throughout this city, would be an act of ignorance.

“The RCRLN’s vision of Indianapolis is as a mosaic of harmonious communities
co-existing and cooperating to enhance human dignity and equality. This can only occur when we work together to foster good relationships among diverse populations.”

Believe it or not, CNN's Wolf Blitzer is having a conversation with an American Muslim who is blaming intolerance in the American military towards Muslims for the mass killing at Fort Hood yesterday. Yeah, I knew it. It's all our fault. Another interesting development. Hasan purchased what are known as "cop killer" bullets to arm his two handguns he used in yesterday's attack.

Star Propaganda Campaign To Promote New Pacer Subsidy Kicks Into Gear

Now that the Star and their fellow cohorts in the news media successfully shoved down our throats another massive public works project, it's time to move on to the next project: another big tax give-away to support a professional sports franchise. The Star's media campaign on behalf of those poor, ailing Indiana Pacers is self-evident today. Erika Smiths gives us a story about what an economic boon Conseco Fieldhouse has meant for downtown. "You'd never know it today, but 10 years ago, before the neon-trimmed bars, before the valet parking, before the families toting Indiana Pacers memorabilia across Pennsylvania Street, the south end of Downtown was a pretty vacant place," she writes. "Conseco Fieldhouse helped change all that," she adds.

The funny thing about this story is that I read the complete opposite in the IBJ awhile back about how neither Lucas Oil Stadium nor Conseco Fieldhouse had provided the economic boon to their respective areas as some had predicted. Contrary to what Smith says in her story, the area around Conseco Fieldhouse is one of the deadest downtown in the evening when there isn't an event going on at Conseco Fieldhouse, which would be most of the time. Figure this is just the first of many stories the Star will begin to run in an effort to convince you that the billionaire Simons should get another $15 million a year of your money because of the team's important value to the local economy. Of course, don't expect the Star to disclose its own conflict of interest, including a loan it agreed to extend to the CIB to construct Conseco Fieldhouse, which has been deferred for many years, helping to cover up the extent of the CIB's financial woes. You see, the Star chose to fore go repayment of millions of dollars owed to it for its original Circle Centre Mall investment that got diverted to Conseco at a time when it has been laying off employees left and right and cutting their salaries so it could assist in the bailout of the CIB.

Jeff Rabjohns had a front page story on this Indiana Shrine, which you can read by clicking here. Yeah, the public relations firms are making the rounds in the Star newsroom providing ready-made script for reporters all too anxious to please them.

Another Home-Grown Muslim Terrorist Attack On Our Own Soldiers

The U.S. Army recently sent a Muslim (not a convert as earlier reported) from Walter Reed Hospital in D.C. by the name Malik Nadal Hasan to perform work as a psychiatrist at Texas' Fort Hood. Today, Major Hasan shot and killed 12 soldiers preparing to ship off to Iraq and wounded another 30 supposedly because he got a bad evaluation and didn't want to fight in Iraq, or so says his cousin, Nadir Hassan, who also assures us he is not a violent person. Nadir confirms his family's Middle Eastern Arab origins. News media coverage has carefully avoided saying the words, "Muslim terrorist," but let's call it for what it is. According to Major General Robert Scales, this was not a random act by a nutjob. "A deliberate act of execution," he said. Hasan shot his victims at close range. According to a former colleague, retired Col. Terry Lee, Hasan wanted our troops pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan and made his views well known. Lee said he had been known to make statements like "The Muslims have a right to stand up against the aggressors" and "maybe we should have more people strap bombs on themselves and go into Times Square." Muslim terrorist organizations like al Qaeda have urged followers in the past to infiltrate the U.S. military and carry out terrorist acts within it. President Barack Hussein Obama will assure us it's just a random act of violence. Yeah, right. It's not real comforting knowing that our U.S. military would give someone like this responsibility for providing mental health counseling to our soldiers.

UPDATE: Add another to the death count. There are now 13 dead soldiers as a result of this senseless act of terrorism. And while he was gunning down our brave soldiers, he yelled, "Allahu Akbar." Yeah, big surprise.

UPDATE: Now we learn this terrorist played an advisory role on homeland security matters for Barack Hussein Obama's transition team. Very comforting.

Shouldn't Someone Tell Ed DeLaney To Stop Talking?

State Rep. Ed DeLaney just can't seem to stop himself from doing just one more interview with local reporters about the attack on him by a fellow attorney, Augustus "Gus" Mendenhall, who says he simply wanted to scare him because of what he did to destroy his father 26 years ago in a case involving real estate his father owned. I've had many conversations with my fellow attorneys following last weekend's attack and almost everyone is in agreement that the circumstances under which DeLaney agreed to meet Mendenhall showed poor judgment on his part, particularly for someone who has been practicing law for so many years and went through spy school training while serving in the Navy during the 1960s. Mendenhall told reporters on Monday following his arrest on Saturday for the attack that he asked to meet with DeLaney to discuss a real estate investment on behalf of Russian investors who were seeking to launder money for the Russian mafia. DeLaney doesn't admit the Russian mafia connection to the alleged deal, but he clearly admits in an interview with the Star's Mary Beth Schneider that he thought he was meeting someone he had never met before to discuss a Russian investment in real estate:

[L]ast weekend, Augustus Mendenhall sought out DeLaney, who speaks Russian. The lawmaker said Mendenhall -- using a fake name -- asked for his legal help on a potential real estate deal for Russian investors.

On Saturday, DeLaney picked up Mendenhall from a church parking lot and drove a short distance to look at the property, on Catherine Drive near 131st Street in Carmel.

There, DeLaney said, Mendenhall reached into a large zippered bag, ostensibly to get a retainer check DeLaney already had declined. He pulled out a gun, wrapped in a plastic bag.

"I thought that I was in a lot of trouble, and I didn't know why," DeLaney said. "He asked me if I was right with God, and I said, 'That's between me and him or her.' "

As DeLaney talked, he said, "the whole time" he fully expected to die . . .

The gun was aimed at his head, and then his attacker appeared to pull the trigger.

DeLaney saw later that it had jammed, but at that moment, all he knew was that his attacker was having trouble grappling with the gun through the plastic bag.

"I said goodbye or whatever to my Lord. I whispered goodbye to my wife. I was afraid I was dead. I said, 'OK, you're dead. If you've got any chance of coming back . . . you'd better go for the gun.' So I went for the gun."

That, DeLaney said, started "a series of encounters -- grapplings, hittings, sluggings, pushings, shovings -- at the end of which I'd be under control again because the gun would be pointed at me."

Then, DeLaney's second piece of luck struck. A friend who lives nearby, Kathy Palmer, was driving by with her husband, John, and stopped to talk.

DeLaney, still in the driver's seat of his car with his assailant keeping the gun out of the couple's view, tried to let his friend know something was wrong.

"I gave her the bird" and prayed: "I hope to God they figure it out."

She did, calling police as she drove away.

So DeLaney agrees to meet a guy on a Saturday that he has never met before in a parking lot in another county to discuss a potential real estate deal. The guy comes prepared to offer a retainer fee to DeLaney. When DeLaney arrives at the parking lot, he finds a guy wearing a strange red wig, gloves and coat and carrying a large bag. He permits the obviously disguised guy (hey, it was Halloween Day) to get into his car and drives him to a remote area to look at the real estate that a nearby resident claims was owned by Browning Investments. DeLaney decides he doesn't want to accept a retainer fee from him, and the guy reaches into his bag and pulls out a gun. What can I say? At least he wasn't meeting the guy for elicit sex in a remote wooded area?

Obviously, Ed DeLaney is the victim here and not Gus Mendenhall. Some victims, however, are not equally sympathetic ones. The facts surrounding the seizure of Mendenhall's father's property 26 years ago was government overreaching at its worst. It is unclear to me the extent of DeLaney's role in that old case, if any. It was, after all, primarily the actions of former Marion Co. Prosecutor Steve Goldsmith that led to the long drawn out court battle that left his father broken. Yet, most attorneys agree with me that it's just rather strange to agree to meet someone as DeLaney did under these circumstances. That's why some of his fellow attorneys think DeLaney would be better off to save his talking for Mendenhall's trial. What do you think?

For what it's worth, I think DeLaney is one of the sharpest members of our Marion County legislative delegation, even though he is a Democrat. Did anyone else notice that each TV reporter who interviewed DeLaney this week claimed "an exclusive interview?" How many interviews must someone give to different reporters before none of them can claim an exclusive? Anyone want to guess how long it is before NBC's "Law and Order" runs an episode based on the facts of this case?

I Guess Perry Township School Officials Should Have Broken State Law Too

An Indianapolis Star editorial bemoans the defeat of major school construction projects for the Perry Township Schools in Tuesday's referendum election. "Unfortunately for Perry Township Schools officials, they could not directly campaign under state law because their referendum dealt with construction," the editorial reads. Adding, "That prohibition ought to be lifted for the sake of voter education. At the same time, gaining voter trust was bound to be a tall order in a district wracked by years of high-level bickering and bungling."

Uh, that same state law applied to the Health and Hospital Corporation officials, who blatantly violated it on a daily basis throughout the last several months, aided and abetted by members of the local news media, including the Star. After urging the repeal of the law HHC officials broke but Perry Township school officials followed, the editorial states says "nothing improves the odds like a history of openness and credibility." The Star conveniently forgets that Perry Township had to follow the referendum law for major construction projects, which meant the wording of its referendum by law had to tell voters it meant a tax increase. HHC officials used their lobbyists to sneak a special law into the state budget that allowed them to place a referendum ballot question without making any pertinent disclosure the voters actually needed to make an informed decision. And the Star calls that open and credible? Give me a break.