THE AMERICAN COWBOY CHRONICLES

The Cattle Industry - The News Is Mixed

2013-05-24T11:02:00.001-07:00

Since people have written me asking about Cattle Ranching, but since I've been exposed to cattle ranching but by no means am I an expert on the subject, I did some research and talked to some friends who are pretty good ranchers.

Yes, they have had their ups and downs - but they have been able to survive in an industry ripe with over-regulation and heartache.

The news coming out of the cattle industry is truly a mixed bag.

In January of 2012, our nation's cowherd was 887,000 head smaller than a year earlier and totaled 39.1 million head. But while Americans continue to spend more for pork and broilers, beef’s share of percapita spending on all meat has increased slightly.
Here are some Cattle Industry facts that we should take note of.

A Family Affair?

Cattle and beef production represent the largest single segment of American agriculture. In
fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says more farms are classified as beef cattle
operations than any other type of farm.

Over 30% of all ag producers are classified as beef cattle operations.

In 2007, the USDA’s Census of Agriculture classified 687,540 farms as beef cattle operations.

There are more than 1 million beef producers in the United States who are responsible for more
than 94 million head of beef cattle. And yes, although cattle ranches are spread across the United State, nearly a third of cattle operations are located in the Plains states.

The U.S. beef industry is made up of more than 1 million businesses, farms and ranches.

In 2007, there were more than 1 million cattle ranchers and farmers in the United States.

The American Veal Association estimates there are 800-900 veal producers in the United States.

A surprise to me is the fact that most farms and ranches in the United States, including cattle ranches, are family owned and operated. Even the largest ranches tend to be family operations.

Fact is that more than 97% of beef cattle ranches and farms are classified as family owned.

As surprising as it might seem, when it comes to beef cattle production, most operations are smaller than you might think. For me, I've been under the impression that most of the beef industry in America is owned by big corporations - by people who live back East who didn't know a cow from a bull.

I was pretty surprised to find out that I was wrong.

According to USDA, the majority of beef cattle operations, almost 80% have less than 50 head of
cattle. What does this mean? Small operations are the majority.

Cattle Income

According to USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), the average annual gross income from livestock on ranches and farms in this country is $41,232.

The average gross cash income from a cattle operation in 2007 was $62,286, the this is considered the lowest income of any type of farm.

Less than one-third of cattle operators claim farming as their primary occupation and only 19% of them consider themselves retired.

However, even thought that's the case, research shows that over 60% say they work more than 1,000 hours a year on their farming operations.

According to USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture, 80% of the primary operators for beef cattle ranches and farms on their farm or ranch.

Demographics

First, what is meant by "demographics"?

Demographics is the term used to describe the statistical data of a population, especially those showing average age, income, education, etc.

According to USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture, the average age of the American farmer is 57
years old. The average age for farmers has been above 50 since the 1974 Census of Agriculture
and has increased in each census since that time.

This means our beef producers are getting older. Younger people are not coming into the cattle industry as fast as they should be.

Cattle operations have long been considered family traditions, handed down from generation to
generation. In a survey conducted by the Iowa Beef Center, 60% of Iowa beef producers are
expected to pass their operation on to their children.

The 2007 Census of Agriculture also found that the average number of years a beef producer has
been on the farm or ranch is 22 years.

In fact, 75 percent of beef cattle ranchers and farmers have been on the farm 10 or more years.

According to ERS, nearly one in five cattle producers is a college graduate, one in four has
attended some college - and 89% are high school graduates.

That stat in itself is impressive since it goes against the national average for most other industries because the national graduation rate was only 75% as noted in data from 2009.

Impact on Society

Beef production impacts the U.S. economy in a bigger way than most know or understand.

Per capital spending on beef in 2009: $261.90 - beef is 47.8% of per capital spending on all meat.

According to USDA, producers of meat animals in 2008 were responsible for more than $66 Billion in added value to the U.S. economy, as measured by their contribution to the national output.

Total cash receipts: $62.9 billion (2012 Agricultural Statistics Annual)
Economic impact: $44 billion in farm gate receipts (USDA NASS)

2012 beef exports: $5.51 billion (up 2% from 2011), 1.13 million metric tons (USMEF)

Top export markets: Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Hong Kong

More Beef Industry Statistics

• 2012 Cattle inventory: 89,299,600 (USDA NASS)

The U.S. cattle herd has decreased 1,913,900 head from 2011 to 2012

• Number of herds: 742,000

◦ 29.3 million beef cows

◦ 34.3 million head calf crop (2012)

◦ 90 percent of cow herds have less than 100 cows (avg. 44 head)

• Cost of production: from 1990-2003, feedlot cost of gain was $261/head; in the past four years, feedlot cost of gain is $494/head

• 33.6 million head of cattle harvested under USDA inspection (2011);

• 43.4 billion pounds of beef harvested under USDA inspection.

• Average live weight 1,277 pounds.

• More than 50 percent of the total value of U.S. sales of cattle and calves comes from the top 5 states: (Jan. 1, 2012, USDA Cattle Inventory Report)

1. Texas
2. Nebraska
3. Missouri
4. Oklahoma
5. South Dakota

Strong Demand for Beef

American consumers’ love of great steaks and burgers, their confidence in the safety of U.S. beef and their renewed interest in the nutritional benefits of protein help create strong demand for beef.

• Consumer spending on beef was $76 billion in 2008 and has grown $26.9 billion since 1999.

• Per capita spending for beef in retail and foodservice was about $249 in 2008 — up about $50 from 2001

• In 2008, per capita consumption of beef was 59.9 pounds, compared to 59.2 pounds for chicken.

Today’s Consumer

The demographic make-up of the domestic consumer continues to evolve.

The following trends have been identified: a growing and aging population; the emerging strength of the millennial generation, who are entering their prime household formation years; an increase in small households of one to two members and an increase in ethnic diversity.

Beef in Retail

Beef dominates the retail meat department in volume (pounds) of sales and total dollar amount.

Additionally, the value of beef sales continues to increase. The following statistics represent supermarkets with annual sales of $2 million or more. Data does not include club stores, butcher shops or independent grocery stores with annual sales of less than $2 million.

• Total fresh beef sales at retail were $15.5 Billion in 2008, a 2.2% sales growth from the previous year.

• Beef accounts for more than 52% of dollars spent on meat at retail. In comparison, chicken accounts for 22% of dollars spent on meat at retail.

• In 2008, 4.2 Billion pounds of fresh beef were sold at retail, a 2% volume growth from the previous year.

• In 2008, beef accounted for 39.3% of the pounds of meat purchased at retail.

• The average price per pound of beef in 2008 was $3.69.

• The volume and value of natural/organic beef product purchases have declined in recent months.

For the year ending March 29, 2009, natural/organic beef sales comprised 1.8% of the total beef volume (pounds) and 2.7% of the total beef sales (dollars) in retail.

This represents a 5.6% reduction in total pounds and a 5% reduction in total dollars from the previous year.

Beef in Foodservice

The foodservice sector includes both “restaurants” (limited and full service) and “beyond
restaurants,” such as lodging, business and industry (e.g., private, corporate and employee
dining facilities), colleges and schools.

Of the total dollar amount spent on food and beverages in 2008, approximately 50% went to retail outlets and 50% to foodservice establishments.

In 2008, Americans spent $540 Billion in the foodservice sector.

Importantly, beef remains the No. 1 protein served in restaurants.

• Overall, the foodservice sector purchased 8.18 billion pounds of beef in 2008.

This equated to $26.3 billion in wholesale purchases. Foodservice purchased 7.81 billion pounds of chicken in 2008.

• Ground beef represents the largest share of volume in foodservice at 63% while the steak category represents the largest share of dollars at 42%.

The following statistics measure beef volume in commercial restaurants, which account for about 66% of all consumer spending in foodservice.

• In 2008, 5.4 billion pounds of beef were purchased by commercial restaurant operators.

• Commercial restaurants include limited service restaurants (LSRs), such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway and Church’s, and full service restaurants (FSR).

FSRs are divided into midscale restaurants such as Denny’s, Golden Corral and Cracker Barrel; casual dining restaurants such as Olive Garden, Applebee’s and Red Lobster; and fine dining restaurants such as Morton’s and Del Frisco’s.

• LSRs accounted for more than 43% of all beef and 41 percent of all chicken served in commercial restaurants in 2008.

• In 2008, beef accounted for 39.3% of the pounds of meat purchased at retail.
• The average price per pound of beef in 2008 was $3.69.

• While non-organic beef has risen, the volume and value of natural/organic beef product purchases have declined in recent months.

For the year ending March 29, 2009, natural/organic beef sales comprised 1.8% of the total beef volume (pounds) and 2.7% of the total beef sales (dollars) in retail. This represents a 5.6% reduction in total pounds and a 5% reduction in total dollars from the previous year.

Beef in the Home

More than eight out of 10 individuals consume fresh beef regularly (an average of 1.7 times per week) in-home.

• Ground beef is the most popular beef item for consumers preparing meals in their home.

• In 2008, ground beef was present at 60% of all in-home beef servings.

• Steak is the second most popular in-home beef item.

Although families represent less than one-third of households, they represent more than half of fresh beef servings.

USDA's Foreign Ag Service released their latest forecast of world meat production in April (2013). They are predicting 2013 global beef production will be up 0.5% from 2012. Though our production is expected to be down 4%, the United States is the world's largest beef producer.

Cattlemen and women play an important role in the economic and social fabric of our country. We are an intricate part of American Agriculture. We feed the world.

Columbia - “The Gem of the Southern Mines”

2013-05-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Some have written to ask about things to do in our area, so since I enjoy going down to small towns the line the California Gold Country, I figure I'd start telling folks about the different sites up in this neck of the woods.

Most of the article below was furnished by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, I figure they wouldn't mind me giving them a little advertising here. I love the little town, and it is well worth taking in.

Known as "The Gem of the Southern Mines," Columbia is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in Tuolumne County, California.

Columbia's main street in the historic district, part of the Columbia State Historic Park, is closed to automobile traffic but is open to horses, carriages, bicycles and pedestrians. And yes, it is a great place to visit.

It was founded as a boomtown in 1850 when gold was discovered in the vicinity during the California Gold Rush.

On March 27, 1850, Dr. Thaddeus Hildreth, with his brother George and a handful of other prospectors, made camp near here. They found gold, and miners streamed in to share the wealth.

Before the month was out, Hildreth’s Diggings as it was known was simply a tent and shanty town housing several thousand miners.

Its original name was soon changed to American Camp and then, because that sounded too temporary, to Columbia.

The first year was almost the last for the new town. Water, indispensable for mining placer gold, was in short supply. The area had no natural streams, only gulches carrying runoff from rain and snow.

So, in June 1851, the Tuolumne County Water Company was formed to bring water into the area.

The Tuolumne County Water Company’s rates were high, so the miners formed the Columbia and Stanislaus River Water Company in 1854 to build a 60 mile aqueduct to supply the mines.

The new system was not fully completed until 1858, when the more easily worked gold deposits had been exhausted and the miners were beginning to move out. Because of this, the Tuolumne County Water Company managed to acquire the new system, which cost over $1 million, for under $150,000.

Hydraulic mining may not have taken place in Columbia. Using monitors, or nozzles, to shoot water at high pressure, where miners blasted loose the gold bearing gravels and washed out the gold would have been difficult there.

It is possible that dams and methods for forced erosion did the work around Columbia proper. The main parking lot and other depressed areas were possibly 30 feet or more below the earth’s surface before the miners arrived.

Meanwhile, Columbia’s tents and shanties were being replaced with more permanent structures.

And yes, some folks like to insist that the Mining towns were just rowdies and lowlives - but facts paint a different picture. No, mining towns were not as depicted in the HBO series Deadwood.

Within weeks of the discovery of gold in the vicinity of Columbia, thousands of miners arrived and the population climbed to 6,000.

Subsequently, streets were laid out, and in 1851, the local community brass band, a popular institution, greeted the arrival of the first "white woman" in town.

Columbia had five cemeteries, including a Boot Hill, where burials were made without markers.by the end of 1852 more than 150 stores, shops, saloons, and other enterprises were going strong.

By 1852, there were 8 hotels, 4 banks, 17 general stores, 2 firehouses, 2 bookstores, 1 newspaper, 3 churches, three Sunday Schools, a Masonic Lodge, and even a branch of the Sons of Temperance to accompany the over 40 drinking/gambling establishments.

The Columbia one-room school house was built in 1860, renovated in 1872, and finally closed in 1937. It was purchased by the state of California for $1 in 1947, and incorporated into the historic district park.

Wood had been the main construction material used in these buildings. In 1854, fire, the scourge of many mining towns, destroyed everything in Columbia’s central business district except the one brick building.

Columbia's first fire destroyed 6 city blocks. The town was rebuilt using brick with iron construction materials.

It's true. When the town was rebuilt, locally produced red brick was used for thirty buildings. Iron doors and window shutters, and bricks laid on the buildings’ roofs were additional fire protection.

In July of 1855 the New England Water Company provided piped water for fire fighting and domestic use.

Seven cisterns, each with a capacity of about fourteen thousand gallons, were built under the streets. Some still store water for fire fighting. The early pipes were still being used in the 1950s when the state installed a new water system.

In 1857, another fire burned down nearly everything else left standing from 1854. The second fire destroyed all the wood frame structures in the 13-block business district, as well as several of the brick buildings.

Rebuilding began immediately, and the citizens decided to form a volunteer fire department.

In 1859 the fire department acquired the Papeete, a small, fancifully decorated fire engine. Its arrival in Columbia was the occasion for much fanfare and celebration. A year later the Monumental, a larger hand pumper, was added.

By 1860, the gold mined in Columbia was diminishing rapidly when the easily mined placer gold was gone, the town began to decline. . The only land left to mine was in the city itself.

Yes, miners dug under buildings and tore down houses to get at the gold beneath the city.

Copper deposits were discovered in the area, with the nearby town of Copperopolis experiencing a boom. The bricks from the destroyed buildings in Columbia were sold for new construction in Copperopolis .

In the 1870s and ’80s many of the vacated buildings were torn down and their sites mined, and Columbia’s population dropped from a peak of perhaps six thousand to about five hundred.

The town continued to survive, but not prosper for many years. During the 1920′s, folks came up with the idea to include Columbia in the new and growing California State Park System.

A very serious but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to make Columbia a State Park occurred in 1934. By this time the town was quite run down. Many of the structures had become public nuisances and were falling down.

But let's get one thing straight, if you're looking for a Ghost Town, Columbia never became a Ghost Town.

The California Legislature passed a bill in 1945 appropriating $50,000 to be matched by public subscription for the acquisition of lands and buildings in the old business section of Columbia. Thus, was Columbia State Historic Park born.

Columbia was only one of hundreds of settlements that sprang up during the exciting years when the cry of “Gold!” brought Argonauts from all over the world to seek their fortunes in California.

Located in the heart of the Mother Lode, a mile wide network of gold bearing quartz that extends 120 miles along the western edge of the Sierra Nevada, from Mariposa northward to Georgetown.

Columbia yielded $87 million in gold at 1860′s prices of $21 an ounce.

And yes, between 1850 and the early 1900s, $150 million in gold was removed from the surrounding hills.

Compare that to today's $1,400 an ounce, and just imagine how much gold that really was.

Unlike many of these settlements, which have long since succumbed to fire, vandalism, and the elements, Columbia has never been completely deserted.

Through the years it has retained much the same appearance as when miners thronged its streets.

So, recognizing an opportunity to preserve a typical Gold Rush town as an example of one of the most colorful eras in American history, the State Legislature in 1945 created Columbia State Historic Park.

The site was proclaimed a state historic park in 1946, and the restored buildings are operated as an inhabited, working "open-air museum."

Individuals in period costumes run a handmade candy store, a Daguerreotype studio, and stagecoach rides, among other stores and restaurants.

The Columbia Museum, formerly the Cavalier Museum, is located in the Knapp building.

Volunteers with the Friends of Columbia State Historic Park host many special living history programs at the park each year.

During Gold Rush Days, held the second Saturday of each month, park docents in period clothing lead programs in the park, and there are special exhibits and hands-on activities. Free tours of the town are offered on weekends year-round and daily in the summer.

Located in the heart of the California Mother Lode, Columbia State Historic Park is a living gold rush town featuring the largest single collection of existing gold rush-era structures in the state.

Visiting Columbia is like traveling back in time to the sights, smells, and sounds of a nineteenth century mining town - merchants dressed in 1850′s attire, a whiff of coal smoke from the blacksmith shop, and the rumble of a stagecoach pulling into town.

Spend the day enjoying fun activities for the whole family. Pan for gold, explore exhibits, ride the stagecoach, discover unique shops, and learn about the rich history of the California gold rush on a guided town tour.

Be sure to enjoy a cold bottle of locally made Sarsaparilla to get a taste of the Old West and then head over to the portrait studio and dress up for an old-time photo.

Visit a working blacksmith shop where you can watch iron being skillfully forged into finished goods through fire, water, and shaping on an anvil. You can also buy a personalized horseshoe souvenir.

A point of interest in the area is the Columbia Community College, a two-year, community college, and the annual Columbia Fire Muster which is often the earliest of California's summer musters.

Today Columbia’s streets are lined with a variety of shops and boutiques with many specializing in nineteenth century goods. Restaurants, ice cream parlors, candy stores, saloons, and a tea house stand ready to quench your thirst, satisfy a sweet tooth, and fill your appetite.

Columbia is also easy on the budget with free admission, free parking, and free guided tours of the town by docents. Believe it or not, you can even bowl for free in an antique bowling alley next to the museum!

If you want to save a few bucks, pack a lunch and sit out at one of the many picnic tables and barbecue grills around the park.

With so much to see and do in the area, why not plan an overnight stay for a relaxing and unhurried visit?

Conveniently located off of Highway 49, Columbia is an easy and scenic drive that neighbors other historic towns in the Sierra Nevada foothills including Sonora, Jamestown, and Angels Camp making it a popular destination for day-trippers and weekenders alike.

Take in California Big Trees and the other California Gold Rush towns that are all within driving distance.

Of course, several affordable lodging options are available in town including hotels, cottages, cabins, and campgrounds for RV’s and tents.

So OK, here's a bit of trivia about Columbia, although Columbia today has only a population of 2,297 residents - at its height it was California's second-largest city. It was even briefly considered as a site for the state capitol of California.

And yes, believe it or not, the town of Columbia has been used a shooting location for many Western films and television scenes.

This includes scenes being shot for classic Western movie High Noon where scenes were filmed in 1952 in and around the Wilson House, on Main Street and in front of Engine House #2

Friends, you can't go wrong with a visit to "The Gem of the Southern Mines."

If like me, you enjoy Old West history, relaxation and easy going fun, you should consider exploring the rich history of that great little California Gold Rush town of Columbia.

Come on out and do some gold panning, have a Sarsaparilla while you take in the blacksmith working his magic over the old forges, and really see how things were done in a simpler time.

Muslim Terrorist Getting Military Salary?

2013-05-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

Fort Hood's Muslim Terrorist has been paid $278,000 Salary since 2009 Terrorist Attack

So what's wrong with this picture?the Muslim terrorist who was an

The military can't take away the salary of Nidal Hasan, the Army Major turned Muslim Terrorist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood attack, until he has been convicted.

Because of that rule, Army Major Nidal Hasan, a soldier who renounced his oath to this nation and instead waged Islamic Jihad against unarmed people, and in the process killed 13 people and wounded 32 others during his terrorist attack at Fort Hood, has reportedly been paid more than $278,000 in salary since the 2009 attack.

Believe it or not, Department of Defense officials confirmed to NBCDFW.com that imprisoned Army Maj. Nidal Hasan’s salary cannot be suspended unless he is proven guilty in the Nov. 5, 2009, terrorist attack in Texas, citing the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Jury selection in his trial is scheduled to begin May 30.

If Hasan, 42, had been a civilian Defense Department employee, Army officials could have suspended his pay after just seven days - but since he was in the Army that's not the case.

If though he yelled out "Allauh Akbar" and conducted himself as a Muslim Terrorist and subsequently an enemy combatant when he killed the unarmed and the innocent, why has the Army kept paying him?

And yes, this has been going on since 2009!

Now, a military judge has refused to another delay in Hasan’s trial. His attorneys keep seeking to postpone the court-martial, but now it will be held on September 1st.

Hasan’s attorneys claimed military jurors may be influenced by national media coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings that compared the two Muslim terrorists - Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev - to Hasan.

Of course Hasan's attorneys don't want military jurors to be influenced by Muslim attacks around the globe which Hasan used as an example when he planned his attack.

His pattern of behavior is that of a Muslim terrorist, a Jihadis, a enemy combatant, not just some criminal violating the UCMJ.

Nidal Hasan is no different than Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

So why hasn't he been tried years during the almost 4 years ago since he conducted his attack? That's a great question, why indeed? Could it be politics?

Nidal Hasan faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

But honestly, that doesn't make sense.

Premeditated murder is the crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being, also known as murder, after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension.

While Nidal Hasan did rationally consider killing people, it was a lot than than that.

Nidal Hasan rationally put together a terrorist plot to knowingly kill as many unarmed people as he could, through surprise and involving deliberate use of extreme violence, in the hope of attaining his religious aim of adhering to the murderous doctrine of Islam.

On April 15, 2013, two Muslim terrorists detonated two pressure cooker bombs in the City of Boston during the Boston Marathon.

The Fort Hood Terrorist Attack took place on November 5, 2009 at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas. In the course of the attack, a single terrorist killed 13 people and wounded another 32 people.

It is the worst terrorist attack to take place on American soil since 9/11/2001.

Several individuals, including Senator Joe Lieberman, Army General McCaffrey, and others have called the event a terrorist attack.

Senator Joe Lieberman called the shooting "the most destructive terrorist attack on America since September 11, 2001."

Michael Scheuer, the retired former head of the Bin Laden Issue Station, and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey also described it as a terrorist attack.

The White House and Pentagon have refused to characterize Hasan's attack as terrorism, instead terming it mere "workplace violence."

It seems they were more worried about offending our enemies than looking the problem squarely in the eye and seeing it for what it is.

An example of this was the statement that came out of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano who stated "we object to - and do not believe - that anti-Muslim sentiment should emanate from this ... This was an individual who does not, obviously, represent the Muslim faith."

Yes, there's nothing like a head of a government agency who is completely out of touch. Well, maybe there is? How about the President being out of touch?

As the U.S. military and law enforcement were scrambling to save lives after the Nidal Hasan terrorist attack at Ft. Hood, Texas, President Obama, fully aware of what had taken place opened his remarks at the Tribal Nations Conference for America’s 564 federally recognized Native American tribes with a three-minute "shout out" to an audience member while stressing desire to pass ObamaCare.

"I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It’s good to see you," he said.

Then after a few laughs and pitching his ObamaCare package, the President finally acknowledged the tragedy by saying, "I planned to make some broader remarks. But as some of you might have heard there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas."

The next day, Obama opened his remarks at a brief press conference in the White House Rose Garden in which he warned the American public against "jumping to conclusions" over the motives of the shooter.

Obama said. "This morning I met with FBI Director Mueller and the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what caused one individual to turn his gun on fellow servicemen and women. We don't know all of the answers yet, and I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all of the facts."

Obama was criticized by some for being "insensitive", as he addressed the shooting only three minutes into his prepared speech, and then for not giving it enough importance even the next day.

Many have criticized Obama for refusing to acknowledge the attack for what it was - Islamic Terrorism and not merely workplace violence akin to domestic violence.

The phrase "Allahu Akbar" is commonly used as a "war cry" by Jihadis. Jihad entails the act of killing the innocent and non-Muslims. It is used by Jihadis.

So imagine the scene, Nidal Hasan, acting as a Muslim terrorist screams, "Allahu Akbar!" Then starts shooting anyone he sees!

Does that sound like mere workplace violence to you? Does Hasan sound like some disgruntled employee? Was the whole attack as merely workplace violence because Hasan had a beef with his supervisor or co-workers?

No it doesn't. He is a Muslim Jihadis!

Days after the shooting, reports in the media revealed that a Joint Terrorism Task Force had been aware of e-mail communications between Hasan and the Yemen-based cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who had been monitored by the NSA as a security threat, and that Hasan's colleagues had been aware of his increasing radicalization for several years.

When President Obama went before cameras at the White House oafter the deadly bombings in Boston, he was smart enough to call the attack an “act of terrorism.”

Obama’s decision to use that designation - which he scrupulously avoided in his first public response on a few days before - attests to his extreme sensitivity of calling an Islamic attack terrorism.

Deploring what he called a "heinous and cowardly act," Obama said that “the American people refuse to be terrorized."

Moving quickly to put Obama on the record, the White House appeared intent not to repeat the messy chain of events after the assault on the diplomatic mission last year in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

In that case, critics accused the White House of initially playing down the terrorism links for political reasons during a hard-fought presidential campaign.

Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, echoed a sentiment voiced by many of her colleagues when she said, “I was puzzled yesterday that the president did not describe it as a terrorist attack right off the bat since it was so evidently a terror attack.”

The White House appeared to have learned from episodes like the failed plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines jetliner on Dec. 25, 2009, when the president was heavily criticized for saying nothing publicly for three days about the event.

A month before that plot, Obama was faulted for his initially subdued response to the terrorist attack at Fort Hood, Tex., in which Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 active and retired soldiers - all unarmed and innocent.

Let's understand something here, Hasan expressed admiration for the teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki, the imam at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia between 2000 and 2002.

Awlaki had been the subject of several FBI investigations, and had helped hijackers al-Hazmi and Hanjour settle, and provided spiritual guidance to them when they met him at the San Diego mosque, and after they drove to the east coast.

Hasan wrote nearly 20 emails to him between December 2008 and June 2009. In one, Hasan wrote: "I can't wait to join you" in the afterlife.

Hasan asked al-Awlaki when jihad is appropriate, and whether it is permissible if innocents are killed in a suicide attack.

So since when is the silly concept of Jihad a part of workplace violence? It is a part of Islamic Terrorism. Muslim such as the two Muslim terrorist who killed and maimed all of those people in Boston followed the teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki - the same jerkweed that Nidal Hisan followed.

So where's the difference between Hasan and those two who set of bombs in their Muslim terrorist attack in Boston? All three were schooled by the same radical Muslim nutcase. All three did this in an attempt to kill as many innocent as possible all in the name of Jihad.

The victims of the Fort Hood Terrorist Attack have been denied Purple Hearts and are suing the military because they claim the "workplace violence" designation gives them diminished access to medical care and financial benefits normally available to those whose wounds are designated as "combat related."

A group of soldiers and families have sought to have the defense secretary designate the shooting a "terrorist attack;" this would provide them with benefits equal to injuries in combat.

Nidal Hasan shed his uniform and oath to this nation when he took up the mantle of Muslim Jihadis. At that moment, he was not an Army Officer, a Major, he became an enemy combatant.

And yes, as an enemy combatant, the Army should not be paying him a salary of any sort.

But than again, don't ask the Army or the White House why Hasan is getting paid his full military salary while those he tried to kill don't get anything in the way of assistance - political correctness and pressure forbids the military from doing anything wise or noble these days.

Story by Tom Correa