Brian,
Brian,
That no one saw it coming, as
Lester Holt said, and also that one
man could kill  and injure so many
is incredible.  I agree there should
be no rush to judgment, but I will
stay tuned for his motive.. All are
in my prayers.
Phyllis

What were you thinking allowing COL Jack Jacobs (Ret.) end his report with his concern that there "may have been friendly fire." Ending a report with a groundless hypothesis? COL Jacobs is a great man, and a proven intelligence officer, but he may not be familiar with the FN 5.7 pistol with a 20 round magazine. It has little recoil enhancing controlability. He managed to hit Sgt. Munley 3 timesaccording to one report. There were pistol magazines strewn on the floor. If he fired 60 to 80 times into a crowd of people, he could make 43 hits.

What we do not need is pure speculation about "friendly fire." Jack, it may be time for you to switch to FOX. According to your own reports, Sgt. Munley engaged Hasan as he came around the corner of either a building or wall. Very unlikely that she had a crowd-filled background. Shame on you Jack.

Ron Rogers
MAJ
Army Special Forces (Ret.)

Dear Brian,

These past few days the nation has been consumed with such grief following this enormously tragic shooting at Fort Hood in Texas. I feel, perhaps more than usual, that our hearts are with the U.S. Army, and all U.S. Military as they deal with this pain inflicted on their own soil, by one of their own. It's very hard to put into words the feelings we all have after this tragedy. Seeing the faces and hearing the stories of those wounded and fallen makes this grieving process so much harder, as it's always the case. I've been thinking of the significant effect this tragedy must have on you and all of your colleagues who just visited our troops in Afghanistan last week, and of course your colleague Richard Engel who is still with our troops now, taking this news along with the soldiers by his side as he reports. But of course more than anything, my heart and prayers are with all of the soldiers at Fort Hood, all of the wounded and fallen soldiers and their families, and the entire community surrounding Fort Hood.

You have offered the best reporting as we all try to configure why and what happened at Fort Hood Army Base. Thank you always for your honest reporting. I can't trust anyone else to deliver such news, or any news, to me.

And thank you also for this morning's laugh on the Today Show as you and Matt pulled off a genius prank on the fab four. You guys always brighten my day – even if just for a moment.

Best wishes to all of my fellow Nightly News viewers, and a special shout out to Lisa, Laurel, and Lori. (Just realizing, the three Ls...). You all are the greatest.

Goodnight, Brian. I hope you have a good weekend, and take care.
-Cary

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another fine broadcast this evening. A day to remember those who were lost in the shootings at Fort Hood and pray for the injured to recover quickly. The report by Mr.Holt showed what the people who were at the base went through and it simply sounded horrific. Hearing from the fellow soldiers and family members spoke of terrible chaos. One really wonders why this sould have possibly happened.
The report by Mr.Miklasweski concerning the shooter Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan told of a troubled individual. The commanders should have seen some of the warning signs, but were missed. Hearing the reports of Army Major Hasan's religious rants at Walter Reed Hospital and his claims of being harassed are disturbing. His evaluation being sub par may have been overlooked when he was being scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan. The investigation might give more answers as time goes on.
The report by Mr.Potter about the actions of the soldiers on the base to help fellow soldiers who were hurt showed true heroism and dedication to helping and making sure their buddies were okay. Using their shirts as turnicates,driving soldiers to the emergency roomamd even some driving themselve was incredible,yet not surprising because the soldiers are always there for eachother.
Seeing and hearing the faces of those who perished was heartbreaking. They were all so very young with bright futures. It is just heartwrenching and sad.

The analysis by Colonel Jack Jacobs was interesting and showed how military bases are doubling their efforts to notice any warning signs with any individual soldiers.

The piece by Janet Shamlian was very nice and showed how people are coming together to help the families effected by this tragic shooting. Donating blood, raising money and making baskets for care packages are all wonderful things to help the families.
Brings out the best in people.

Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Have a great weekend. Peace to You and to All!

By the way you were very funny on "30 Rock"! Great Job!

Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie,Stephanie,Claudi,Celine,Anna,Lori,Cary and Matt!
Be Well Always!
Stay Extra,Extra Safe and Well Richard!
XOXO

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another fine broadcast this evening. A day to remember those who were lost in the shootings at Fort Hood and pray for the injured to recover quickly. The report by Mr.Holt showed what the people who were at the base went through and it simply sounded horrific. Hearing from the fellow soldiers and family members spoke of terrible chaos. One really wonders why this sould have possibly happened.
The report by Mr.Miklasweski concerning the shooter Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan told of a troubled individual. The commanders should have seen some of the warning signs, but were missed. Hearing the reports of Army Major Hasan's religious rants at Walter Reed Hospital and his claims of being harassed are disturbing. His evaluation being sub par may have been overlooked when he was being scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan. The investigation might give more answers as time goes on.
The report by Mr.Potter about the actions of the soldiers on the base to help fellow soldiers who were hurt showed true heroism and dedication to helping and making sure their buddies were okay. Using their shirts as turnicates,driving soldiers to the emergency roomamd even some driving themselve was incredible,yet not surprising because the soldiers are always there for eachother.
Seeing and hearing the faces of those who perished was heartbreaking. They were all so very young with bright futures. It is just heartwrenching and sad.

The analysis by Colonel Jack Jacobs was interesting and showed how military bases are doubling their efforts to notice any warning signs with any individual soldiers.

The piece by Janet Shamlian was very nice and showed how people are coming together to help the families effected by this tragic shooting. Donating blood, raising money and making baskets for care packages are all wonderful things to help the families.
Brings out the best in people.

Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Have a great weekend. Peace to You and to All!

By the way you were very funny on "30 Rock"! Great Job!

Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie,Stephanie,Claudi,Celine,Anna,Lori,Cary and Matt!
Be Well Always!
Stay Extra,Extra Safe and Well Richard!
XOXO

It was mentioned tonight just a couple of minutes ago that it was "like a battlefield". A slaughter would be a more accurate discription. In a battle both sides have a way to defend themselves. Poor choice of words.

Brian, when is a reporter going to ask the Army officials how Hasan lived after being shot 4 times? He had a flack vest on and his kevlar helmet. How did he get a flack vest. How did he have access to the vest? Those are not issued until they deploy

@ Dewey Quong -- re: your question about the H1N1 vaccine.

If memory serves -- and I haven't checked this, I am relying on memory -- we had another flu vaccine manufacturer in the U.S. but it either went out of business or stopped making vaccine a few years ago because it was not making any money  -- not enough people were getting flu shots. There simply wasn't enough demand to support a second maker. I remember when I heard it was closing I thought that potentially the closure might bring unfortunate consequences. Too bad I was right! I feel the same way about the closing of hospitals and/or the reduction in hospital beds all over the place. If we have an epidemic or a disaster, we won't have enough beds to meet the demand. And that is showing up now too, particularly with care of pediatric H1N1 patients. We seem to be incapable of thinking and investing long term in this country.

Hope that answered your question to some degree.

Take care all-

1) During Sunday's Nightly News story about the congressional race in upstate New York's 23rd district, we were shown some footage of former Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava, who had withdrawn from the race.  Because the footage was not recent, the producers appropriately labeled it as "file" footage.  On Tuesday's Nightly News, the exact same footage of Scozzafava was shown, but there was no "file" label attached to it.  Why?

2) On Thursday's Nightly News story about the House health care bill, Kelly O'Donnell informed us that the bill would, "...create government-backed insurance called a public option."  But the accompanying on-screen graphic read, "Create Government 'Public Opinion'."  Is anyone paying attention?

3) On Tuesday's story about the H1N1 virus (which Nightly News is still calling Swine Flu), a calendar page from this past August showed Aug. 30 and 31 falling on a Friday and Saturday, respectively.  In fact, those days fell on a Sunday and Monday.

4) On Tuesday's broadcast, Tom Costello reported on harmful BPA levels in plastic bottles and canned food liners.  Costello told us that the chemical was present in "brand name foods from vegetable soup to tuna fish, green beans to corn and chili."  But the accompanying graphic showed only generic cans labeled "chili", "vegetable soup", "green beans" and "tuna".  Where are the name brands?  Meanwhile, ABC's World News reported the same story on the same night.  The ABC story showed canned goods from Del Monte, Progresso, Campbell's, Hormel, Hunt's, Bush's and Chef Boyardee.  Clearly, Nightly News refrained from showing brand names as a favor to the many food companies that advertise on NBC shows.  Just this past week, Nightly News ran commercials for Bush's Beans (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday), Progresso canned soups (Monday, Thursday and Friday), and Swanson chicken broth (Monday, Thursday and Friday).  This is yet another appalling example of how the Nightly News producers adjust the content of news stories to please the sponsors.

The Republicsns are very upset about the Health Care Bill. They were in office for 8 years with a Republican Congress and I never heard a word from them about Health Care. Now that President Obama has a plan they have spent all of their time trying to bring down Preident Obama. Shame on the Republicans.

I of course agree that the hearts and minds of all Americans reach out to Fort Hood at this time. I do hope, also, that the time has now arrived that we stop "stepping on egg shells" when we are dealing with criminals Muslim or not. The whack job that blew up the building in Oklahoma was at one time a Christian BUT that was not what he was about as a criminal. Christ taught peace and love. The bomber was tried and sentenced under our law. That needs to the case with this Army Major who has disgraced himself. We as Americans need to step up and follow the rule of law. Put aside the fear of terrorists as we put aside the fear of everyday criminals. Yes people commit crimes in the name of different issues but OUR Nation is about law. Bad people will try to hide behind any excuse. Quality Christians, Jews and Muslims are not following doctrine in killing.

Few reported this but it clearly shows how little our Law Makers know about the United States. Yes millions of Americans vote for Law Makers that don't know anything. The following is a resent example:

House Minority Leader John Boehner was fired up and ready to go at the Tea Party rally today.
He even held up his pocket copy of the Constitution, pledging to "stand here with our Founding Fathers, who wrote in the pre-amble: 'We hold these truths to be self evident ..."
Oops.
That would be the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence that he's reading.

Now as the Nation and Americans, children watched this we have few that really knew this was a big mistake. Look for kids to follow Rep. Boehner's education and teaches will have headaches.

I really have seen this ignorance for 8 years but no one really bothered to look or speak out. Now the World got to see just how really dumb the US Law Makers are.

It's time for our soldiers to come home. If President Obama would announce he was opening the DRAFT the Wars would need two seconds after that announcement. Law Makers and Americans will never allow their love ones to go to Afghanistan or Iraq. Remember how Bush and Cheney dodged Military Service as did most of those Law Makers who are currently supporting the continued occupation of Afghanistan/Iraq. Many soldiers and their families are suffering but that's not reported because their to many cases.

Have a great weekend

Hi Brian,

I've been watching the interviews of the families who live at Ft. Hood. I can't imagine the horror that took place at the scene and throughout the base. I've also watched interview of Muslims who live in this country and condemn the actions of extremism, such as in the case of Nadal Hasan. That's like trying to see all Christians in one light, as in Jim Jones. I don't think that most Christians would have considered him to be a true Christian. And I hope that people, military and civilians don't take these acts out on Muslims who are Americans and are serving in our wars, saving their fellow American soldiers' lives.

Brian, I want to point out that November is American Indian heritage month. And condsidering that Veteran's Day is on Wed., I want to also point out that American Indians have served in every war, even the Civil war, in one capacity or another. Here's a link to the Navajo code talkers. There are only a few surviving and it's time that someone created a segment for them.

http://www.navajocodetalkers.org/

I want to add this once more. I have personal views like everyone else, and I don't speak for anyone but myself. I don't neccessarily represent the viewpoints of my white family or my Indian family. I don't speak for any group. Having said that...I read that you receieved a purple tie from a couple of you viewers. Damn, all this talk I've been doing, and someone's beat me to it. Well don't you worry, I'm sure Santa's going to very pleased with you this yr.

Hope you had a great weekend, and I'll see you tonight(Mon.) or whenever this get's posted, if indeed it does.

Brian -

It is hard for me, the widow of a USAF airman to understand the continuation of a presence in Afghanistan.  

We are not the world's peacekeepers - in one of his first and finest speechs - The Cairo Speech - Obama made that plain, and yet, we continue to send our young men and women into someone else's war.  Those that are there are afraid for their safety and those preparing to go have the same issues.

George Bush et al. certainly left us a lot of their problems to clean up, didn't they?

Joan

Mr. Williams makes a special point of saying that the members of our military are "all-volunteer". Ever stop to consider WHY all these folks volunteer? I'm sure many do so out of a genuine desire to serve their country, but many others do so because their economic options outside of the military are severely limited. If we're going to be a nation perpetually at war in order to further our empire, let's bring back the draft, so that there will be more equity in the sharing of consequences for military actions. Maybe Brian's son would have to serve, and perhaps that would give Mr. Williams some pause in his praise for the heroic, infallible leaders who are all-wise in deciding military matters.

That's right, Norm. I noticed the Bush's baked beans commercial on the Sun. night broadcast without even reading your post beforehand. That commercial is sooo lame. I noticed they've changed the voice of "Duke", the dog. They should mix it up, saying that Duke has gone to be with Grandpa, and have a poodle take his place with a british accent, perhaps Duke's second gay cousin.

I would love to know how you get all of this information. Do you play back segments of the nightly news? How long do you keep segments? Were you or are you into statistics, accounting, math, science, etc.? Whatever it is, keep it up. I like to keep up with other things going on with Brian--his haircuts(I can tell when he's gotten one), his ties(damn those broad striped ones), and that little grin at the end of the broadcast.

Brian, when are you going to change the photo in the upper left hand corner of this blog?

Norm, check out this website. I think NBC came up with it:
http://www.dukesdoghouse.com/

Tonight was the final straw. Brian beats stories to death like cable news. We have moved to Charlie.

Hi Brian.  As you know from previous posts I am a loyal republican viewer of your show.  I am concerned over your teams Fort Hood coverage as I believe you neglected to mention former President GW Bush's visit to the base.  If I missed it, my apologies.  I did not know GWB visited the base until I saw this article.  

http://hillbuzz.org/2009/11/10/thank-you-former-president-george-w-bush-and-former-first-lady-laura-bush/

I feel his visit to the base was important to mention.

Thanks for listening.

Ryan Dohrn
South Carolina

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