'Terrorism' No Longer Exists for Secretary Napolitano?

A quick trip around Hannity's America...

Watch Your Language!

The language police in the Obama administration have struck again! First they got rid of the term "War on Terror," then they threw "enemy combatants" overboard. Now it's the word "terrorism" itself!

The force behind this change is Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who told the German newspaper Der Spiegel that she's not going to use the word "terrorism" because it perpetuates the politics of fear. Instead, she'll call terrorist murders "man-caused disasters."

According to the secretary, "I did not use the word 'terrorism,' I referred to 'man-caused' disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur."

Madam Secretary, if you can't even call it by its name, how exactly do you plan to protect us against it? Shying away from the word "terrorism" in an effort to be politically correct is cowardly, not courageous.

Injustice Served

Secretary Napolitano might call her a perpetrator of man-caused disasters, but here at "Hannity," we call her a terrorist. Sara Jane Olson, a member of the 1970s radical group the Symbionese Liberation Army — which was linked to the Patty Hearst kidnapping — was released from prison Tuesday.

Olson was convicted in 1999 of attempting to kill two LAPD officers by placing nail and pipe bombs under their cars, and for her involvement in robbing a bank that left a 42-year-old mother of four dead. Olson was mistakenly released a year ago when California corrections officials miscalculated her parole date and was re-arrested five days later. Ms. Olson, who fled to Minnesota and lived there as a fugitive for 25 years before her arrest, was released after serving only half her sentence.

Olson returned to Minnesota Tuesday, despite protests from Minnesota officials who didn't want her back and demanded that she do her parole in California, where her crimes were committed.

What state wouldn't want to call an upstanding citizen like Ms. Olson one of its own?

Playing Defense

Monday, the White House press secretary responded to former Vice President Cheney's criticism of the administration's approach to fighting terrorism. The response wasn't exactly a shining moment for my friend Robert Gibbs, who once again finds himself getting our Liberal Translation treatment:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: For seven plus years the very perpetrators that the vice president says he's concerned about weren't brought to justice.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: That's right. The last administration let terrorists roam free.

GIBBS: The president on the very first week of his administration chose to change that.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: By refusing to call it a "War on Terror" and releasing captured terrorists to any country that will take them.

GIBBS: To take these that had committed terrorist acts.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: Now I'm even starting to confuse myself. Let me regroup.

GIBBS: And to finally bring about the — instituting a process to bring about swift and certain justice.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: Putting terrorists who want to attack America in the same courtroom as purse burglars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Wow, Robert, now I have heard it all from you. To accuse President Bush, who kept this country safe after 9/11, of turning a blind eye to fighting the War on Terror is shameful and irresponsible, and frankly, ridiculous and even beneath you.

Do-Nothing Dems

Tuesday, President Obama made a plea to lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to pass his budget, saying, "The American people sent us here to get things done." But the president's sense of urgency isn't exactly being shared by many of his Democratic friends in the Congress.

Paul West of The Baltimore Sun reports that despite the enormous economic challenges we are now facing, there seems to be a growing sense of malaise in the halls of the legislative branch. Many members are becoming angry that committees are meeting less frequently, legislation isn't being considered on the floor and nominations aren't being confirmed despite critical vacancies at the Treasury Department.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer recently told reporters that he has fielded complaints from many of his colleagues, saying, "Some members have said, 'Well, gee whiz, we're not meeting very often on the floor, and why are we here?'"

I'm sure the Democratic agenda-setters on the Hill are just trying to catch their breath after spending more of your money in a shorter span of time than any other Congress in history.

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