Quote of the Day - Steven Kurlander Edition

Given the known consequences, it's time to ban garbage that mocks the God of a billion people and purposefully incites the worst religious passions. It's time the Supreme Court reconsidered whether such fiery speech should indeed be protected.

Steven Kurlander of Hernando Today on the video that did not cause the riots in the Muslim world.  The evidence is quite clear, that it was a pre-planned attack to avenge the killing of #2 of al-Qaeda.  

This is why I can't be a liberal.  It doesn't matter if the video was offensive, what matters is his right to express his view points.  The fact that they reaction to it was violent only gives credence to his view.   

This isn't a Muslim country, this happened in Australia.  It is more than shocking that a woman would give her young child such a sign.  It speaks volumes.  Tolerance only works if it is a two-way street, and from the looks of this this street is anything but two-way.  

The Middle East on Fire - Some Observations

The deadly protests are spreading, and not just in the Muslim world.  They have now reached the shores of The United Kingdom.  Protesters have died in at least 3 countries, but it is still early yet.

We have seen verbal attacks on free speech, that should terrify every American.  Especially when they come for the press that is trying to carry water for the President.  Instead of focusing on the real issues, the press is attacking Governor Romney.  One can make the argument that the embassy in Cairo was trying to create calm by sending the message it did.  Fair enough.  But in President Obama's speech on the matter the next day, it seems the press missed this sentence:

While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others,

The United States does no such thing; Urine Jesus, The Da Vinci Code, The Last Temptation of Christ, and let us not forget the lovely billboards that the rabid atheists display every year at Christmas.  Governor Romney's statement was not only accurate, it needed to be said.  The first, guttural, reaction of the Obama administration was to cower to the demands of lunatics that use any excuse to kill people, and then lecture us on what we should and should not say.

The really sad part is, that many of the people at these protests are useful idiots who can't see for themselves that they are being used by extremists. They gin up these people about how America hates them and is trying to destroy Islam. The vast majority of Americans could have cared less about Islam before 9/11. Many didn't even know who UBL even was, even though he already was involved in the deaths of Americans. The hatred they feel is something that the terrorists have brought upon them and they are too blind to see it.  But I am supposed to curtail my rights to free speech to make them feel better about themselves.  No such luck buddy, not happening.

Free speech does not mean that people can say what they want as long as it doesn't offend anyone else.  It means that people will be offended, because at some point an opinion that you don't agree with will be voiced.

The statements that have come from the leaders in The Middle East contain the same type of asterisk.  The Prime Minister of Egypt:

"We ask the American government to take a firm position toward this film's producers within the framework of international charters that criminalise acts that stir strife on the basis of race, colour or religion."

You can read my response to him here.

The reports are saying that there was advanced warning of these attacks (which only goes to show this has nothing to do with some stupid movie trailer) yet the embassy in Cairo had marines without bullets and Benghazi had virtually no security whatsoever.  Whomever is in charge of the security for the oversees bases at State should be fired for cause.  Immediately.  This was posted online before the attacks even took place, it is hard to deny that there was not some form of advanced warnings of the attacks.

We keep hearing from the media and those on the left that we should be understanding of the feelings of Muslims.  One must then ask the question why then is the killing of bin Laden a cornerstone of the President's re-election campaign?  Doesn't this "hurt" their feelings too?  Details, details....

Before any of the violence broke out we heard reports that President Obama doesn't meet with his security people to get his security briefing more than half the time since he became president.  I am not going to use that to base a false assumption that he isn't reading the briefings.  The chances are he is.  President Bush wasn't given this briefing face to face daily either.  But, where I will object is to the fact that the week leading up to the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks the President couldn't make time to meet face to face with these people at least once?  That I find almost unforgivable.  al Qaeda is very well-known for using symbolism in their attacks.  The probability for at least an attempt of an attack on that date was high.  He should be meeting with the security council face to face during that week.  The idea that you can gauge things the same way when you are talking to someone face to face as you do with the highly impersonal written report is simply stupid.  This should have been a priority.

Today the bodies of those who died were flown back to the U.S.  Both President Obama and Secretary Clinton were on hand to "greet" (a term that I hate) the bodies.  Both of which gave a speech that was directed at both the families in mourning as well as the entire country.  I am glad that he made time in his schedule for this duty.

To be fair, President Obama is in tough spot.  The campaign is 53 days (and counting) away.  He is behind Romney in the money race.  While the "polls" are showing Obama ahead in many of the swing states, anyone that knows how to read the internals of a poll, knows that isn't really accurate.  The media driven polls are slanted (a post to come to show you what I mean) to show that Obama is ahead.  The problem is no polling agency has better polling then a major campaign.  The fact that OFA is now spending resources in Wisconsin is very telling indeed.  I do believe that they are fully aware that they are in trouble.  Their polling may not show him losing the campaign, but it shows that he is going to have to work far harder for it then he did in 08.  But none of this is going to make the optics any less shocking.  The first tweet from the OFA campaign today was this:

The election is in 53 days Pitch in $10 now

This was sent hours AFTER the news broke that the German embassy in The Sudan had been breached, an Islamic flag raised, and set on fire.  This comes on the heals of him spending the evening in Las Vegas, an announcement of a very expensive per plate fundraiser in Hollywood, and Jay-Z and Beyonce.  The thing is this, had he cancelled his appearance at least the Vegas fundraiser he would be in far better shape.  They could have sent Joe or some other Obama lackey to fill in.   The media and the left would have eaten up as proof of how hard he was working to for the American (gag) people.  Instead he goes, while there he tells a bunch of campaign volunteers that they are just like the embassy workers.  Really?  Did one of them just get murdered too?  The optics are horrible, and like it or not optics matter.

I can't imagine all the above is helping in his effort to get re-elected.  But, we will have to wait and see.  53 days to go.

Quote of the Day - Governor Tim Pawlenty Edition

"When you have a situation that is unfolding rapidly, a lot of times people fall back to first instinct, and in that first instinct, which is more reflex than strategic thought sometimes, you get to see what they think is most important," 

Governor Tim Pawlenty on the brouhaha that has erupted over the first statement given by Governor Romney after the news broke that two of our embassies were attacked yesterday.  

Apparently the very first statement was given before the crowd had actually scaled the walls of the embassy.  The media seems to think that it was done as a way to try to save their lives and restore calm.  I happen to disagree.   A tweet was sent out after the compound had been breached:

"This morning's condemnation still stands. As does our condemnation of unjustified breach of the Embassy."

Hillary Clinton's first statement (read below) talks about offending people and religious tolerance before it speaks to the acts of violence.  Any way you cut it, the first and gut reaction by the Obama administration was to apologize for some video that very few people in the United States knew anything about, uploaded by a man who is regularly mocked by Christian conservatives.  

Liberal Logic - Mayor Emanuel Edition

Rahm Emanuel, Chicago's mayor, has put his liberal logic on full display for all the world to see.  You see, the mayor decided to weigh in on the Chik Fil A non-controversy by announcing Chik Fil A doesn't share "Chicago Values".  Really?  It wasn't all that long ago that the mayor admitted that some in his city have the wrong values.  


Now this same man has decided that the city needs the help of The Nation of Islam to patrol the streets to help cut down on the unending violence in the city now being dubbed "MurderTown".  


So this idiot liberal would like to keep Chik Fil A from expanding in the City of Chicago, which of course violates our laws, because they believe in traditional marriage.  This belief, held by millions around the country, is simply that marriage is between one woman and one man.  It in no way wants to see discrimination against homosexuals.  Gay people can do what ever they want to do with that one exception.  That is it.  We don't call for violence against people, we don't call for the death of anyone.  We are simply stating that the institution of marriage is something that is held sacred and by redefining marriage we are being asked to accept beliefs that violate our religious views and conscience.  


Islam, however, is a very different story:

The Sunan Abu Dawud, named after its editor, is another reliable collection of hadith. Ibn Abbas reports the following about early Islam and Muhammad’s punishment of homosexuals: . . . "If you find anyone doing as Lot’s people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done" (vol. 3, p. 145, no. 4447).

 The next one from the same collection says that an unmarried man who commits sodomy should be stoned to death: "Ibn Abbas said: if a man who is not married is seized committing sodomy, he will be stoned to death" (vol. 3, p. 1245, no. 4448).

Thus, these two passages in Sunan Abu Dawud go further than merely rejecting and banishing homosexuals or sexual sinners, as we saw in Bukhari’s collection. Rather, Ibn Abbas says that Muhammad and the early Muslim community commanded their execution.

 The hadith editor Timidhi repeats Ibn Abbas’ narration: "Ikrima reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas that God’s messenger [Muhammad] said: ‘If you find anyone doing as Lot’s people did, kill the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.’" (Recorded in Mishkat al-Masabih, trans. James Robson, vol. 2, p. 763, Prescribed Punishments).

In the same hadith collection, the Mishkhat al-Masabih, a compendium that brings together other hadith collections, are found the punishments of being burned to death and having heavy objects thrown on the guilty homosexuals:

The Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan also have such a good record when it comes to your faith, Mr. Mayor:

"[T]he Jews don't like Farrakhan, so they call me Hitler. Well, that's a good name. Hitler was a very great man. He wasn't a great man for me as a black person, but he was a great German. Now, I'm not proud of Hitler's evils against Jewish people, but that's a matter of record. He raised Germany up from nothing. Well, in a sense you could say there's a similarity in that we are raising our people up from nothing."
— Louis Farrakhan, radio interview, March 11, 1984

"Jews have been conclusively linked to the greatest criminal endeavor ever undertaken against an entire race of people … the black African Holocaust. … The effects of this unspeakable tragedy are still being felt among the peoples of the world at this very hour."

— The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews (NOI book), 1991

"Who are the slumlords in the Black community? The so-called Jews. … Who is it sucking our blood in the Black community? A white imposter Arab and a white imposter Jew."

 — Speech by NOI national official Khalid Muhammad, Nov. 29, 1993

"These false Jews promote the filth of Hollywood that is seeding the American people and the people of the world and bringing you down in moral strength. … It's the wicked Jews, the false Jews, that are promoting lesbianism, homosexuality. It's the wicked Jews, false Jews, that make it a crime for you to preach the word of God, then they call you homophobic!"

 — Louis Farrakhan, Saviours' Day speech, Feb. 26, 2006


So these are Chicago Values.  Good to know. With values like these, it is no wonder the murder rate is so high.  

Holder's DOJ in Action - Government Suing School System for time off for Haj Attendees

Safoorah Khan, a Muslim teacher, is getting help from the DOJ to sue her former employer; The Berkley School. What did they do? The denied her request for a three-week leave of absence to attend the Haj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In their infinite wisdom the DOJ has decided that has violated the civil rights act of 1964.

The Haj is a religious duty of all Muslims that can make it. It is four days of rituals that are performed in different locations around the cities of Mecca and Medina. Muslims from all over the world show up for this event to pray, throw stones, perform some rituals that include walking around a structure 7 times and perform an animal sacrifice. After these rituals are performed they then partake in Eid al-Adha, a three-day festival to mark performing the rituals.


She made the request for the leave shortly after becoming employed by the school system. She requested the leave in both 2007 and 2008. The school system declined her request on both occasions. Shortly after the second time she was denied she quit her job and filed a complaint with the EEOC. While I understand that The Haj is a religious practice, I still don't see how this is a violation of the civil rights act. In order for it to be violations of her civil rights the school board would have to regularly be giving other people leave in order to perform their religious practices and refusing hers on the basis of that religion.


Now, why exactly is she asking for three weeks off when the Haj is only four days? I understand that you need a few days for travelling to Saudi Arabia, but that is only a day each way. I believe that you need to arrive for the Haj a couple of days in advance. So, she needs one day to fly there, lets say two days to gather for the trip to Medina, four days to complete the Haj, another day to return to Riyadh and then fly home.


The Haj is a tenet of the Islamic faith, but that tenet only says that people who are able need to attend. The Haj also is done by the Islamic calendar that is different from what the west is used to as it is based on phases of the moon. Every year the Haj is earlier in the year than the previous year by about 25 days. At some point it will be done while school is out of session.


These types of things just make me crazy. This woman's civil rights were not violated. After three months of employment she requested a leave of three weeks. It is not a stretch to assume that most employers would deny this request regardless of the person's faith. If the request would be denied to a Christian or a person of another faith then how exactly is this a civil rights issue? Most other faiths don't require this type of ritual that would require a three-week leave from work, so they are not requesting leave. This woman isn't looking for equal protection under the law, she is looking for special treatment. Sadly, our Justice Department is just too happy to oblige. If the lawsuit is successful, she will get her job back as well as back pay, even though she voluntarily left her position.

Cross posted at PotLuck

A Look into the Views of the Muslim World

An interesting new poll has been released regarding the views of the Muslim world.  It is a mixed bag from a western point of view. 

In some countries the people who consider themselves reformers are a much larger margin than the fundmentalists. 

What becomes confusing, if not downright scary are the below numbers:

•At least three-quarters of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan say they would favor making each of the following the law in their countries: stoning people who commit adultery, whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery and the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion. Majorities of Muslims in Jordan and Nigeria also favor these harsh punishments.

It is hard to reconcile that Pakistani's in larger numbers think they are moderates/reformers yet still want stoning and whipping.  The numbers in Egypt are a little easier to see due to the larger numbers of fundementalists. 

Some very good news is that al Qaeda is losing ground:

Only in Nigeria is there a majority that favors bin Laden.  But, Hamas and Hezbollah are more popular in other areas of the Muslim world.


And finally, the role of Islam in government:

To see the entire poll go here

Hey Liberals - Is Pam Geller Really a Paranoid Bigot?

This is will scare some and maybe open the eyes of some others.  I am sure this is not what Christiane Amanpour was expecting.  While there were Muslims not agreeing with him, the question becomes how do know which outnumbers the other? 

Remaining True to Our Constitution and To Myself

One of the things that I promised myself when I started this blog was that I would be true to my own voice.  I have watched, read and listened to all the talk about the Mosque and Cultural Center that will be built just blocks away from Ground Zero. Most of the right is against and most of the left is for.  Many of the arguments that I have heard against it don't hold true to our values as Americans. 

I have seen pictures of the protests with signs saying that when we can build a church in Mecca they can build a mosque at ground zero.  What exactly is that saying?  To me people are saying that because the Saudis are intolerant that is ok for us to be intolerant as well.  That is, at best, twisted logic.  Our constitution guarantees the freedom of religion.  There is no way around that. 

I remember right after 9/11 many around the country said that by changing who we are is giving the terrorists exactly what they wanted.  Where did that thought process go?  Isn't this the same thing?  Is it that we really want to change our beliefs to stave off a "Muslim invasion"? 

Today I was reading about Mayor Bloomberg's comments and watched the video on Another Black Conservative.  He actually made a very articulate argument against the mosque being built. I applaud his thoughtfulness in his post. 

I also came across another at Verum Serum that I really agree with.  The mosque is insensitive, the Imam is troubling, the location that they chose borders on the perverse, yet it is perfectly legal.  While I understand the misgivings that many have, we must remain true to our constitution and to our values.  If we allow the terrorists to take that away from us out of fear, than we may as well wave the white flag and declare them the winners.  I realize that this is not going to be a popular belief among conservatives, but adherence to our constitution must always come first.  So go ahead and let me have it, but think for just a second about what I am trying to say first.  Our freedoms must come first. 

What if He Were?

On the 4th of July thousands of people across the country interrupted their celebrations and plans and set out to protest the out-of-control spending. One such gathering took place in the nation’s capital. With the Capitol building looming in the background thousands did such crazy things as pledge allegiance to flag, sang the national anthem, and read from the declaration of independence. CNN estimated that 2,000 people attended, but at the protest the park police said the number was closer to 5,000. People drove several hours to attend this protest, and then spent the day enjoying the many activities and one of the nation’s best fireworks displays.

One of the nicest things about this particular group of tea parties is that the mainstream media could not blame Fox News. These were organic, grown out of frustration of an out-of-control spending spree by our federal government. These protests are organized on a very local level and paid for mainly out of donations and people lending their own equipment and time. The protests are growing in numbers and they are becoming more diverse. They are also happening in cities that come as a surprise; such as Seattle. A heavily liberal city if there ever was one, they even have a statue of Lenin in one of the suburbs.

This morning I was looking at some pictures taken by the wife of one of the speakers. I enjoy looking at the ingenuity of the signs and the t-shirts that people wear. “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent” Thomas Jefferson. Yeah, I cling to my guns and God too, Tiny minds pass unread bills, No tax $$$ for criminals (an ACORN reference), Atlas has Shrugged, Martin Luther King was a Republican, and Read the Bill next time. Then there was one that read Impeach Owebama and the camel he road in on. This is what I feel we need to take issue with.

This is an overt reference to the President’s faith, a claim that he is really a Muslim. The question I have what if he were? Would it matter? I really don’t care. My problem with the President is his policies and his views of the world. I will admit that I have taken issue with the church he attended in Chicago. I don’t understand how the Obama’s can look anyone in the eye with a straight face and say they didn’t know that Rev. Wright is a racist.

I used to work part-time at Macy’s after my illness to pay off my debt. During that time I got to know people of the Muslim faith. Many of the people who worked at this particular store were immigrants; mainly from Africa and the Middle East. A majority of them were Muslims. Some of which were very devout. They believed in family, doing the right thing and taking personal responsibility. These are all values that as a conservative I hold near and dear to my heart and try to live by. If you look around the conservative blogosphere lately, you will hear much about the treatment of Sarah Palin. How conservative women feel that we are somehow dismissed by icon’s of the women’s movement because of our views. Isn’t this the same type of behavior? We as a nation need to find a way to look past someone’s faith, color, or gender and judge based on issues and character. The whole content of character thing talked about by Dr. King.

The tea party movement is an important one. People are standing up and voicing opposition to politics as usual, government intrusion into our lives, over-regulation, and unsustainable debt. We are fighting an uphill battle with a government that is becoming more powerful and less likely to listen to us “little folk”. The constitution is being ignored by both parties and we feel powerless to stop it. By injecting racism into the mix we are only hurting the cause.

Are we saying that a Muslim cannot be a good citizen of the US? Can they not serve this country as loyally as someone from a Judeo-Christian background? Because I don’t believe for one second that to be the case. Yes there are elements within Islam that are at war with us, but it certainly is not all of Islam. Extremism exists in all faiths and all walks of life. Two recent high profile murders were committed by men who considered themselves “good Christians”. I can guarantee you the families of those victims will disagree with that. Painting with a broad brush is always a dangerous thing. It reeks of close-mindedness and shows ignorance.

We need to be aware of the dangers of extremism that exists in the world and we need to fight against it at all times. We also need to be aware that good people come from all faiths and all different walks of life. By bringing these types of signs to the tea parties, we are just playing into the hands of Janeane Garafolo and Keith Oberman. We open ourselves up to the charges of racism and risk putting the entire movement in jeopardy.

Let's Party

President Obama is packing his bags for trip to the Middle East. A major speech on American and Middle East relations will take place in Cairo. More accurately, the relations between the US and Islamic nations. As we know the President’s father was a Muslim and he spent time in Indonesia during his childhood. In the eyes of Islam, he is a Muslim. If your father is Muslim you are automatically one. The fact that he became a Christian as an adult is of no consequence. In the eyes of Shariah law he is actually marked for death. Converting to another faith is punishable by death. President Obama believes that he is the person that will be able to bring our two different worlds to a better understanding of one another.

I am sure the moderates in the Middle East could care less about his faith. The problem is the moderate voices in that region get drowned out almost entirely. Indeed, damage control is needed for the U.S. in the Muslim world. We are not very well viewed in that part of the world. We are looked at as aggressors, propping up dictators, greedy and the list goes on. All of these views have been going on for decades if not longer. It seems that we can’t win for losing in that region of the world.

A portion of the speech is expected to be on peace between Israel and Palestine. Personally, I doubt that will happen in my lifetime. Until Hamas and Hezbollah are willing to recognize Israel, peace will never exist, and they certainly don’t seem willing to do that at this time. Especially if we continue to train the Palestinian military in Jordan, we are just giving them additional incentive to hold off on peace to see if they can beat down the Israelis. It is indeed a laudable goal, but a pipe dream for now. The message is going to be that we are not at war with Islam. But we need to keep in mind that parts of Islam are at war with us.

A weekend party at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad certainly will not help the President. It was a costume party with a gay theme. The party goers were encouraged to come in drag or dressed as your favorite gay icon. Secretary Clinton has made it her mission to spread the word that the US views gay rights as a human rights issue. Which in this country, it is an acceptable part of life. We may have issues, but nothing compared to what goes on in the Middle East. Homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment, flogging, or death. It is not at all acceptable in the Muslim world. The gay population in this part of the world stays very much in the closet.

This party did not go unnoticed on some Anti-American websites. A post from Sheikh Abu Abdur-Rahman Atiatullah released a statement calling Americans: “criminal, homosexual, shameless, dissolute people, worshippers of lusts and Satan.” Some websites that are, at minimum, friendly towards terrorists made mention of this party accompanied by words of Muhammad, talking about the death penalty for homosexuals.

Having a party for people living in a war zone is a great thing. The people in Iraq are working in very trying circumstances and are under constant stress. Blowing off some steam is a very healthy thing. But we are in a foreign country that has a totally different set of mores and values than we do. The Islamic world is much more conservative than we are. It is imperative that we understand that we need to respect those values. It doesn’t matter if we agree with them or not.

In less than one week we throw a party in an Islamic nation that offends the sensibilities of the culture, then we give a major speech in which we say how we embrace other cultures and how we want to enjoy good relations. These two things are diametrically opposed to one another. One of the things that is mentioned in the 9/11 commission report was our failure of imagination. How much imagination does it take to realize that we look like we are talking out of both sides of our collective mouth?