American Morning
Avlon: Partisan politics ought to end at the water’s edge
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is the author of "Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics" and writes a weekly column for The Daily Beast. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/07/wingnuts.malloy.quist.art.jpg caption="On the left, radio host Mike Malloy and on the right, Minnesota congressional candidate Allen Quist."]
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
In the wake of the thwarted Christmas bombing we’re seeing an unwelcome return to hyper-partisans treating terror threats as a political football.
But wingnuts have their unique take on this ugly game and this week we’ve got two outer-limits analysis from the far-right and far-left.
On the right, conservative Minnesota congressional candidate Allen Quist announced that terrorism wasn’t in fact the biggest challenge facing freedom-loving Americans today. No, to him, the biggest challenge to freedom is coming from Democrats like President Obama and Nancy Pelosi, who are “destroying our country.” Here’s the full quote from a campaign stop.
“Our country is being destroyed. I mean, this is – every generation has had to fight the fight for freedom. This is our fight. And this is our time. This is it. Terrorism, yes – but that's not the big battle. The big battle is in D.C., with the radicals. They aren't liberals, they're radicals. Obama, Pelosi, Walz – they're not liberals, they're radicals. They are destroying our country.”
Quist is no political newcomer and this is no slip of the tongue. He’s served in the statehouse and been the GOP convention’s nominee for governor in the 1990s – and now he’s challenging incumbent Democratic congressmen Tim Walz for his seat. We should take Quist at his word: even while Americans are reminded of the non-optional war we are in against radical Islamic terrorism, he genuinely believes that Democrats in general and the president of the United States in particular represent a more clear and present danger to our freedom than terrorists.
Rise in childhood vaccinations
When it comes to childhood vaccines controversy and confusion have been a big part of the equation for many parents. Now a study by the Centers for Disease Control reveals from 2000 to 2008 the number of kids vaccinated against illnesses like measles, mumps and polio has increased.
Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joined us on Thursday's American Morning to discuss the findings.
NBA suspends Arenas 'indefinitely' over gun incident
The NBA commissioner is coming down hard on Wizards star Gilbert Arenas. The league suspended him indefinitely without pay for bringing guns into the locker room.
It willl cost Arenas $147,000 for each game he misses. He's also under investigation and could face charges.
Is that enough to get the players' attention? We discussed the matter on Thursday's American Morning with "In Session" host and sports attorney Ryan Smith.
Study: Threat of Muslim-American terrorism in U.S. exaggerated
(CNN) - The terrorist threat posed by radicalized Muslim- Americans has been exaggerated, according to a study released Wednesday by researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A small number of Muslim-Americans have undergone radicalization since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the study found. It compiled a list of 139 individuals it categorized as "Muslim-American terrorism offenders" who had become radicalized in the U.S. in that time - a rate of 17 per year.
That level is "small compared to other violent crime in America, but not insignificant," according to the study, titled "Anti-Terror Lessons of Muslim-Americans."
To be included on the list, an offender had to have been wanted, arrested, convicted or killed in connection with terrorism-related activities since 9/11 - and have lived in the United States, regardless of immigration status, for more than a year prior to arrest.
Of the 139 offenders, fewer than a third successfully executed a violent plan, according to a Duke University statement on the study, and most of those were overseas. Read the full story »
Editor's Note: Below is a list of six well-known offenders excerpted from the Duke study.
Name: John Walker Lindh
Year of arrest or attack: 2001
Official charges: Providing aid to the Taliban, carrying explosives
Status of case: Pled guilty
Nature of offense: Joined and fought with the Taliban.
Location of criminal activity: Abroad
Target of plot/location of violence: Abroad
Engaged in violent act/joined fighting force: Yes
Age at time of arrest/attack: 20
Age at arrival in US: US-born
Citizenship status: Citizen
Convert to Islam: Yes
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Amb. Negroponte: Christmas Day attack part of larger plot?
Today the president will give the public an idea of how suspected terrorist Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab slipped past post-9/11 airline security and nearly pulled off an attack on a Christmas Day Northwest Airlines flight.
The White House plans to release an unclassified report on what went wrong and reveal new steps intended to thwart terrorist attacks in the future.
On Thursday's American Morning we discussed what the report may show with the former director of national intelligence, Ambassador John Negroponte.
Arctic blast moves south, much of nation below freezing
(CNN) - A snowstorm backed by bone-chilling cold began to push into the Deep South on Thursday, re-enforcing record-low temperatures well into Florida.
A days-long cold spell eased some on Wednesday, but for much of the nation, even lower temperatures are on the way through the weekend. Record-breaking lows are forecast for two-thirds of the country, for most areas east of the Rockies.
The arctic blast that began over the weekend has been blamed for at least seven deaths across the nation.
CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano said some areas in the South will have slightly warmer temperatures on Thursday before it cools off even more. He traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to find out just how cold it really is.
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