OPINION:
The government of India announced Thursday that it will give the Kabir Puraskar (a national award that goes to people who take extraordinary actions to protect members of other ethnic and religious groups) to a pair of Muslims who risked death to save others. One was Abdul Gani Abdullabhai Qureishi, who saved the lives of two Hindu families during communal violence on May 1, 2006, after the demolition of a Muslim shrine. As word of the destruction spread, Muslim rioters attacked two Hindu families driving through the area. Mr. Qureishi, riding on a scooter, was pelted by stones when he positioned himself between the mob and the families, but he survived the attack and his quick thinking permitted the Hindus to escape. Later that month, he rescued a man who was about to be hacked to death by another mob.
The second winner of the award was Ghulam Ahmed Bhat. During a 1997 riot in which seven Hindus had already been killed, Mr. Bhat reached the location before police and stood guard throughout the night, saving the rest of the family members.
For acting heroically to protect innocent people from certain death, Mr. Qureishi and Mr. Bhat are the Nobles of the Week.
During this week’s debate on the $700 billion-plus bailout bill, there was no shortage of sky-is-falling hyperbole from proponents. But no lawmaker this week behaved as shamefully as Mr. Reid, who resorted to fabricating stories about the failure of a large health insurer. On Wednesday, the majority leader said the bailout was essential because there is “a major insurance company - one with a name that everyone knows - that’s on the verge of going bankrupt.” On Thursday, shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Prudential Financial Inc. and MetLife.Inc. all plummeted by double-digit percentages in response to Mr. Reid’s assertion.
The problem was that Mr. Reid just made the story up: On Thursday his office released a statement admitting that he was “not personally aware of any particular company being on the verge of bankruptcy.” For telling falsehoods in order to advance his political agenda, Harry Reid is the Knave of the Week.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.