EXPLOSIVE: Ft. Hood suspect reportedly shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’. (Via The BlogProf). On NPR I heard — I can’t find the story on their website yet — that he had given a presentation on the Koran at a professional conference where he claimed that unbelievers should be beheaded, burned, etc. to the discomfiture of the attendees.

UPDATE: Here’s the NPR segment. Key bit:

He gave a Grand Rounds presentation. . . You take turns giving a lecture on, you know, the correct treatment of schizophrenia, the right drugs to prescribe for personality disorder, you know, that sort of thing. But instead of giving an academic paper, he gave a lecture on the Koran, and they said it didn’t seem to be just an informational lecture, but it seemed to be his own beliefs. That’s what a lot of people thought.

He talked about how if you’re a nonbeliever the Koran says you should have your head cut off, you should have oil poured down your throat, you should be set on fire. And I said well couldn’t this just be his educating you? And the psychiatrist said yes, but one of the Muslims in the audience, another psychiatrist, raised his hand and was quite disturbed and he said you know, a lot of us don’t believe these things you’re saying, and that there was no place where Hasan couched it as this is what the Koran teaches but you know I don’t believe it. And people actually talked in the hallway afterwards about ‘is he one of these people that’s going to freak out and shoot people someday?’

Kind of reminds me of that old Saturday Night Live skit on “The Shooting of Buckwheat.” You know: “What was he like?” “Nice guy, quiet, kept to himself.” “Are you surprised he shot Buckwheat?” “Oh, no — it’s all he ever talked about.”

MORE: Reader Dan Friedman writes to note that AP has changed the headline in the “Allahu Akhbar” story — the report is still there, now buried in the middle, but the headline now reads “Neighbor: Fort Hood suspect emptied his apartment.” Soft-pedaling?

STILL MORE: Interestingly, the substance of the NPR segment linked above is the same, but now the words are different, and the segment is in a different order. I transcribed the above while listening online earlier; I don’t know if they’ve substituted a different segment, or what.

MORE STILL: I spoke with a very nice woman named Emily at NPR listener services, who told me that these links aren’t stable until the afternoon, when the final West Coast version is laid down and transcribed. So this is a different live interchange than the one I transcribed earlier, explaining why the substance is the same but the wording is different. She said it may change again before 3 pm Eastern. That’s not very blog friendly! But she explained that they roll the story out in different order across the country because of different time zones. Oh, well. There’s actually some additional news in the new version, which is that Walter Reed has been told not to talk to anyone outside the military, even the FBI.

And more from NPR: “A source tells NPR’s Joseph Shapiro that Hasan was put on probation early in his postgraduate work at the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. He was disciplined for proselytizing about his Muslim faith with patients and colleagues, according to the source, who worked with him at the time.” I’ve gotten flak in the past over my praise of NPR, but they do good work, though they’d benefit from more diversity. They’re certainly playing this straighter, and less PC, than a lot of media outlets.

FINALLY: Reader C.J. Burch writes: “You’re right on NPR. I heard them this morning. They’ve been pretty good on this. We shouldn’t spit nails at people because they have a slant. Lord knows, I do. We all do. As long as they get the facts right they’re doing their job. At the end of the day people of good will on the left and the right are going to have to live together. Newsweek and some other places, they’re not doing their job as well. But I’ve already run off at the keyboard about that…”

INTERESTING: More Democrats watch Fox than CNN and MSNBC combined.

NEW YORK FALLOUT: Paterson Empowered By Obama’s Election Woes: Gov. Still Plans To Run Despite President’s Request He Not.

BRUCE BAWER: Fort Hood Massacre: A Day of Courage And Cowardice.

UPDATE: NBC Chicago: “Obama’s Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting.”

STIMULUS! “The unemployment rate rose from 9.8 to 10.2 percent in October, and nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline (-190,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.” (Via NewsAlert). The stimulus package isn’t living up to the promises they made, is it? But health care will be different, I’m sure.

UPDATE: IBD:

One bright note: Temporary employment popped 33,700. Along with August-September revisions, that’s the third straight monthly gain. Temp jobs tend to be a leading indicator for employment overall.

Still, the workweek remained at a record-low 33 hours. Firms typically increase hours for current staff before going out and hiring new workers.

There were 5.6 million Americans who have been out of work for 26 weeks or more — 35% of all the jobless.

The underemployment rate — which includes discouraged workers and part-time staff that would like to work full time — climbed to 17.5%, the highest on records going back to 1994.

That gloomy report could further weigh on President Obama, who came into office promising swift, bold action to avoid double-digit unemployment.

Just possibly.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Those “Double Digit” Words Obama Might Like To Have Back.

MORE: Hope, Change, and 10.2 Percent Employment. “Naturally, according to the ‘experts’ it’s more than expected.”

STILL MORE: ABC News: Year After Obama vs. McCain It’s Obama vs. the Economy. So far the economy seems to be doing about as well as McCain did . . . .

HEH: Introducing: Yosi Needs A Hug, by Gary Eaton.

IT WASN’T JUST IN WASHINGTON: Asheville, NC reader Coral Jeffries emails about an anti-Obamacare rally in her hometown:

I attended the protest at Rep. Heath Shuler’s office at noon today with my 10 year old daughter and 83 year old mother. My daughter took these photos with my cell phone. There were about 100 people in attendance and many brought letters for the congressman. In spite of today’s AARP endorsement, at lease 50% if the crowd looked to be above 65 years of age. The purpose of the gathering was not to hear speeches but a few people spoke of the need for jobs, balancing the budget and preserving our freedom from government intrusions.

One of Rep. Shuler’s employees received our petitions and read a prepared statement saying that he was not in favor of a “robust public option”. There was murmuring about what “robust” meant.

Hmm. Good question.

ILYA SOMIN on health care mandates and federalism.

“SMART DIPLOMACY:” “The bottom line: the Obama team picked the wrong horse, found itself in a diplomatic dead end, found a mechanism to abandon its failed gambit, and now supports elections — the very position that the Honduran interim government and the administration’s critics have been urging from the beginning. Well, in fairness, it is a display of diplomatic genius compared with Obama’s Middle East policy.”

YOUR CONGRESS AT WORK: “It was a decision we made. There was no reasoning behind it.” Now that’s an excuse I can believe!

MICKEY KAUS: Why Are The Health Care Polls Going South? “Another seemingly grim health care poll–49/39 against, compared with 42/40 earlier in the month by the same pollster (Ipsos/McClatchy). The new poll eerily resonates with Rasmussen’s increased margin of 54/42 against.” I kinda doubt the theory that ObamaCare just isn’t big-governmenty enough, but hey, I could be wrong. . . . Nah. Like the song says, I could be wrong, but I’m not.

JOHN ARAVOSIS: Leaked email proves DNC misled gay community. DNC Treasurer Andy Tobias admits DNC intentionally asked Mainers to help Corzine, after DNC denied it. It’s all about priorities. Corzine was a big priority. You guys weren’t.

UPDATE: “Obama Doesn’t Like Gay People.” Well, let’s just say he likes their money more.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON on the Fort Hood Massacre. “While there is sometimes talk of backlash and anti-Muslim hysteria since 9/11, I don’t think the number of Muslims attacked or killed is comparable to the number of non-Muslims killed by Muslims who evoked Islam in some way as a catalyst for their angers. Nor do we see comparable serial Christian, Hindu, or Jewish-inspired attacks either against mosques and Muslims or the policies of the United States government, either by single actors or more active and organized plotters.” Well, we’ve seen a few, haven’t we?

Plus, from Phyllis Chesler: The Jihadist Is Always The Victim.

UPDATE: Reader Ted Mallick writes: “Did you notice that the Fort Hood massacre occurred in a ‘gun free zone?’ Seems to be a pattern here…”

KIMBERLEY STRASSEL: White House Losing Its Race Against Time?

BREAKING THE RULES to pass cap and trade?

UPDATE: Related: Pelosi Breaks Pledge to Put Final Health Care Bill Online for 72 Hours Before Vote.

PATTERICO ON the emerging media narrative on Fort Hood.

TIME: The Rebirth Of The Republican Middle.

And related thoughts from Dan Riehl.

FROM “SMART DIPLOMACY” TO AMATEUR HOUR.

HDTVs for under $499.

REPORTS OF A LYNCHING BY VIOLENT HILLBILLY “TEABAGGERS” MAY HAVE BEEN PREMATURE: AP sources: Suicide eyed in Ky. census worker case.

A HUGE FORT HOOD ROUNDUP from Ed Driscoll.

CAIR says don’t blame Muslims. Well, this report from the Daily Mail raises issues, but let’s stay tuned and see how things shake out once they’ve settled down.

UPDATE: This sounds troubling:

Federal law enforcement officials say the suspected Fort Hood, Texas, shooter had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.

One of the Web postings that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

“To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause,” said the Internet posting. “Scholars have paralled (sic) this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers.”

Maybe CAIR had some idea of this already?

ANOTHER UPDATE: “Deep Roots.” Fabius Maximus is not buying the Muslim angle.

MORE: A.P. says he’s not dead.

STILL MORE: Tim Blair: Information Learned, Concealed.

AND MORE STILL: Fabius Maximus writes that the post above was not about not buying the Muslim angle as I stated. “These were obviously not causes of this event. They were not even causes; they were other events. Showing that we’re having a broader problem. I don’t seen how your interpretation is a valid one.” Sorry. It looked that way to me, given that it responded to the Fort Hood event with a litany of “troop stress” issues without addressing the Islamist angle, which is why I read it that way. But see his later post on “Sudden Jihad Syndrome.”

BUT DON’T WORRY, YOUR HEALTH DATA WILL BE SECURE: Inspector General: 43% of Taxpayers Risk Identity Theft When IRS Makes Copies of Their Tax Returns.

BOINGBOING: Criminalizing Video Games in Venezuela.

THROWING ART UNDER THE BUS?

MY LAW SCHOOL CLASSMATE PAT COOPER is running for mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. He came in second to Larry Langford last time, and I’ll bet a lot of people in Birmingham wish he’d won . . . .