Rep. Bart Stupak (D.-Mich.) told CNSNews.com that President Barack Obama told him in a telephone conversation that when he said in his Sept. 9 speech to a joint session of Congress that “under our plan no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions” he was not talking about the actual bill drafted in the House but about the president’s own health care plan—which has never been written.
“I don’t know if it is a game of semantics or what,” Stupak said of Obama’s nationally televised declaration to Congress that the health-care plan will not allow federal funding of abortion.
Both the House and Senate versions of the health-care bill permit federal funds to pay for insurance plans that cover abortions.
In his speech to the joint session of Congress, Obama directly rebutted the claim that the plan would fund abortions, calling it a “misunderstanding.” But in his later telephone conversation with Stupak, according to the congressman, Obama said that when he claimed in the speech that the plan would not fund abortions he was not talking about the House plan, he was talking about his own plan.
CNSNews.com read Stupak the verbatim transcript of President Obama’s joint-session-speech statement about abortion funding: “And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up: Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.”
CNSNews.com asked Stupak: “Is that a true or false statement?”
“That is exactly what he said,” said Stupak.
“But is it an accurate statement?” asked CNSNews.com.
“I called him,” said Stupak. “I called the president--had a discussion with the president. And I read exactly what you just said. And he said: ‘What it says is “under my plan”’—meaning the president’s plan. And I said: ‘With all due respect, sir, you do not have a plan. The only plan we have out is the House plan.’ So, I don’t know if it is a game of semantics or what.”
CNSNews.com then asked Stupak if Obama was referring to a plan that existed only ‘theoretically, some different plan than the one you actually drafted in committee?”
“Correct. Correct,” said Stupak. “And when I pointed this out, he said: ‘Go back and work with the people on your committee and get this matter worked out. Work with the speaker. Work with us, would you?’ And I said: Yes, I would. And we have tried. But we haven’t been able to resolve our differences because we do not want public funds going for abortion.”
Stupak serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the panel that has primary responsibility for crafting health-care legislation. The House health-care-reform bill approved by this committee would create health insurance “exchanges” in each state where people using federal subsidies to purchase their insurance could choose the plan they want from among a group of government-approved plans.
On July 30, the committee approved an amendment to the bill sponsored by Rep. Lois Capps (D.-Calif.) that mandates that at least one insurance plan in each exchange must cover abortions.
On Aug. 19, in a radio presentation, President Obama nonetheless said that it was “not true” that the bill would allow government funding of abortion. On Aug. 21, the independent group FactCheck.org analyzed the bill in light of this statement by President Obama and concluded: “Despite what Obama said, the House bill would allow abortions to be covered by a federal plan and by federally subsidized private plans.”
The Senate Finance Committee’s health-care bill had not been completed at the time that President Obama delivered his Sept. 9 speech to Congress. When it was completed, however, it also included a provision like the Capps Amendment. Thus, both House and Senate versions of the health-care bill as they now stand would allow people to use federal dollars to buy health insurance plans that cover abortions.
Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Rep. Stupak Confused by Abortion Double Talk
111 New Bureacracies in House Health Care Rationing Bill
A tabulation of the new federal boards, bureaucracies, commissions, and programs that would be established by the House bill--add up to 111:
1. Retiree Reserve Trust Fund (Section 111(d), p. 61)
2. Grant program for wellness programs to small employers (Section 112, p. 62)
3. Grant program for State health access programs (Section 114, p. 72)
4. Program of administrative simplification (Section 115, p. 76)
5. Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Section 223, p. 111)
6. Health Choices Administration (Section 241, p. 131)
7. Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman (Section 244, p. 138)
8. Health Insurance Exchange (Section 201, p. 155)
9. Program for technical assistance to employees of small businesses buying Exchange coverage (Section 305(h), p. 191)
10. Mechanism for insurance risk pooling to be established by Health Choices Commissioner (Section 306(b), p. 194)
11. Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund (Section 307, p. 195)
12. State-based Health Insurance Exchanges (Section 308, p. 197)
13. Grant program for health insurance cooperatives (Section 310, p. 206)
14. "Public Health Insurance Option" (Section 321, p. 211)
15. Ombudsman for "Public Health Insurance Option" (Section 321(d), p. 213)
16. Account for receipts and disbursements for "Public Health Insurance Option" (Section 322(b), p. 215)
17. Telehealth Advisory Committee (Section 1191 (b), p. 589)
18. Demonstration program providing reimbursement for "culturally and linguistically appropriate services" (Section 1222, p. 617)
19. Demonstration program for shared decision making using patient decision aids (Section 1236, p. 648)
20. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicare (Section 1301, p. 653)
21. Independent patient-centered medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302, p. 672)
22. Community-based medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302(d), p. 681)
23. Independence at home demonstration program (Section 1312, p. 718)
24. Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (Section 1401(a), p. 734)
25. Comparative Effectiveness Research Commission (Section 1401(a), p. 738)
26. Patient ombudsman for comparative effectiveness research (Section 1401(a), p. 753)
27. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1412(b)(1), p. 784)
28. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for nursing facilities (Section 1412 (b)(2), p. 786)
29. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1413(a)(3), p. 796)
30. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 1413(b)(3), p. 804)
31. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 1422, p. 859)
32. Demonstration program for approved teaching health centers with respect to Medicare GME (Section 1502(d), p. 933)
33. Pilot program to develop anti-fraud compliance systems for Medicare providers (Section 1635, p. 978)
34. Special Inspector General for the Health Insurance Exchange (Section 1647, p. 1000)
35. Medical home pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1722, p. 1058)
36. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1730A, p. 1073)
37. Nursing facility supplemental payment program (Section 1745, p. 1106)
38. Demonstration program for Medicaid coverage to stabilize emergency medical conditions in institutions for mental diseases (Section 1787, p. 1149)
39. Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund (Section 1802, p. 1162)
40. "Identifiable office or program" within CMS to "provide for improved coordination between Medicare and Medicaid in the case of dual eligibles" (Section 1905, p. 1191)
41. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 1907, p. 1198)
42. Public Health Investment Fund (Section 2002, p. 1214)
43. Scholarships for service in health professional needs areas (Section 2211, p. 1224)
44. Program for training medical residents in community-based settings (Section 2214, p. 1236)
45. Grant program for training in dentistry programs (Section 2215, p. 1240)
46. Public Health Workforce Corps (Section 2231, p. 1253)
47. Public health workforce scholarship program (Section 2231, p. 1254)
48. Public health workforce loan forgiveness program (Section 2231, p. 1258)
49. Grant program for innovations in interdisciplinary care (Section 2252, p. 1272)
50. Advisory Committee on Health Workforce Evaluation and Assessment (Section 2261, p. 1275)
51. Prevention and Wellness Trust (Section 2301, p. 1286)
52. Clinical Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1295)
53. Community Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1301)
54. Grant program for community prevention and wellness research (Section 2301, p. 1305)
55. Grant program for research and demonstration projects related to wellness incentives (Section 2301, p. 1305)
56. Grant program for community prevention and wellness services (Section 2301, p. 1308)
57. Grant program for public health infrastructure (Section 2301, p. 1313)
58. Center for Quality Improvement (Section 2401, p. 1322)
59. Assistant Secretary for Health Information (Section 2402, p. 1330)
60. Grant program to support the operation of school-based health clinics (Section 2511, p. 1352)
61. Grant program for nurse-managed health centers (Section 2512, p. 1361)
62. Grants for labor-management programs for nursing training (Section 2521, p. 1372)
63. Grant program for interdisciplinary mental and behavioral health training (Section 2522, p. 1382)
64. "No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza" demonstration grant program (Section 2524, p. 1391)
65. Healthy Teen Initiative grant program regarding teen pregnancy (Section 2526, p. 1398)
66. Grant program for interdisciplinary training, education, and services for individuals with autism (Section 2527(a), p. 1402)
67. University centers for excellence in developmental disabilities education (Section 2527(b), p. 1410)
68. Grant program to implement medication therapy management services (Section 2528, p. 1412)
69. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors in underserved communities (Section 2530, p. 1422)
70. Grant program for State alternative medical liability laws (Section 2531, p. 1431)
71. Grant program to develop infant mortality programs (Section 2532, p. 1433)
72. Grant program to prepare secondary school students for careers in health professions (Section 2533, p. 1437)
73. Grant program for community-based collaborative care (Section 2534, p. 1440)
74. Grant program for community-based overweight and obesity prevention (Section 2535, p. 1457)
75. Grant program for reducing the student-to-school nurse ratio in primary and secondary schools (Section 2536, p. 1462)
76. Demonstration project of grants to medical-legal partnerships (Section 2537, p. 1464)
77. Center for Emergency Care under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (Section 2552, p. 1478)
78. Council for Emergency Care (Section 2552, p 1479)
79. Grant program to support demonstration programs that design and implement regionalized emergency care systems (Section 2553, p. 1480)
80. Grant program to assist veterans who wish to become emergency medical technicians upon discharge (Section 2554, p. 1487)
81. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 2562, p. 1494)
82. National Medical Device Registry (Section 2571, p. 1501)
83. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 2581, p. 1597)
84. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 2581, p. 1598)
85. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 2581, p. 1602)
86. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women's Health (Section 2588, p. 1610)
87. National Women's Health Information Center (Section 2588, p. 1611)
88. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women's Health (Section 2588, p. 1614)
89. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women's Health and Gender-Based Research (Section 2588, p. 1617)
90. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women's Health (Section 2588, p. 1618)
91. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health (Section 2588, p. 1621)
92. Personal Care Attendant Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 2589(a)(2), p. 1624)
93. Grant program for national health workforce online training (Section 2591, p. 1629)
94. Grant program to disseminate best practices on implementing health workforce investment programs (Section 2591, p. 1632)
95. Demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (Section 3101, p. 1717)
96. Demonstration program for substance abuse counselor educational curricula (Section 3101, p. 1719)49. Grant program for innovations in interdisciplinary care (Section 2252, p. 1272)
97. Program of Indian community education on mental illness (Section 3101, p. 1722)
98. Intergovernmental Task Force on Indian environmental and nuclear hazards (Section 3101, p. 1754)
99. Office of Indian Men's Health (Section 3101, p. 1765)
100. Indian Health facilities appropriation advisory board (Section 3101, p. 1774)
101. Indian Health facilities needs assessment workgroup (Section 3101, p. 1775)
102. Indian Health Service tribal facilities joint venture demonstration projects (Section 3101, p. 1809)
103. Urban youth treatment center demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1873)
104. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for diabetes prevention (Section 3101, p. 1874)
105. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for health IT adoption (Section 3101, p. 1877)
106. Mental health technician training program (Section 3101, p. 1898)
107. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1909)
108. Program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators (Section 3101, p. 1925)
109. Program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (Section 3101, p. 1927)
110. Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1966)
111. Committee for the Establishment of the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1968)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Meltup
The National Inflation Association is pleased to officially announce that it will soon be releasing a new economic documentary called "Meltup." This will be a sequel to NIA's critically acclaimed "Hyperinflation Nation" and its latest documentary "The Dollar Bubble," which has been viewed over 687,000 times since November 23rd.
The U.S. economy is currently experiencing a "Meltup" and NIA believes this "Meltup" is a prelude to a currency collapse and hyperinflation. Our economy needs to experience a "Meltdown" so that the free market can rebalance it, but by trying to prevent a much needed recession, the Federal Reserve has made a massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar inevitable.
U.S. citizens have not yet felt the pain of the government bailouts, which have deceptively transferred the wealth of the middle class to bankers on Wall Street under the ruse of "too big to fail." Institutions on Wall Street needed to fail in order to have a truly healthy economy. By bailing them out and rapidly expanding the size of government, we have sowed the seeds of a U.S. dollar hyperinflationary death spiral and the end of entitlement programs Americans have become dependent on to live and survive.
The anticipated release of this new documentary is mid to late May. If you would like your friends and family to be the first to see Meltup, please tell them to become a member of NIA for free by subscribing today at http://inflation.us
About us:
The National Inflation Association is an organization that is dedicated to preparing Americans for hyperinflation. The NIA offers free membership at http://www.inflation.us and provides its members with articles about the economy and inflation, news stories, important charts not shown by the mainstream media; YouTube videos featuring Jim Rogers, Marc Faber, Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, and others; and profiles of gold, silver, and agriculture companies that we believe could prosper in an inflationary environment.
CONTACT: Gerard Adams, 1-888-99-NIA US, (1888-996-4287), editor@inflation.us
Marxist History in U.S. High Schools
Griff Jenkins interviewed radical Marxist-La Raza high school history teacher Ron Gochez from Los Angeles who called for a race revolution in the United States. Back in 2007 Gochez called for war against the imperialist-capitalist white race in an angry speech on the UCLA campus:
“We are revolutionary Mexican organization here. We understand that this is not just about Mexico. It’s about a global struggle against imperialism and capitalism… At the forefront of this revolutionary movement is La Raza (the race). We will no longer fall for these lies called borders. We see America as a northern front of a revolutionary movement… Our enemy is capitalism and imperialism.”
In Griff’s interview Gochez admits, “I am against capitalism.”
Friday, May 14, 2010
David Horowitz vs. Anti-Semitic Muslim
David Horowitz from the Freedom Center asking a Muslim student activist at UC San Diego if she supports Hizbullah's aim of eradicating Jewry from the face of the planet.
When the Public Servants Knock on Your Door: Public Servant Questionnaire
Many have reported that because of the mountain of statutory rules/regulations that have been passed over the last years government agency representatives have become increasingly more intrusive and/or abusive.
There is a public servant questionnaire that wise and informed people have been using when representatives from government agencies come knocking on their door or walk up to them in their yard. Handing the government representative this questionnaire and requesting they fill it out before you consider their request/demand (or let them in your house) can halt a difficult encounter before it begins.
This questionnaire requires they provide the information necessary to actually hold them personally accountable for their interactions.
When you hand the agency representative the form, be polite and tell them the form is a safeguard and a reassurance that they are not an imposter. Always be polite as the purpose of the form is to avoid an unpleasant encounter (and an unlawful intrusion) if possible – not create an escalating incident. The information they put on the form can help make a case that their actions are legal – but not lawful under state Constitutions. After all, we are living in a legal duality.
Cf. http://anticorruptionsociety.com/about/public-servant-questionnaire/
PUBLIC SERVANT'S QUESTIONNAIRE
Public Law 93-579 states in part: "The purpose of this Act is to provide certain
safeguards for an individual against invasion of personal privacy by requiring Federal
agencies...to permit and individual to determine what records pertaining to him are
collected, maintained, used, or disseminated by such agencies." The following questions
are based upon that act and are necessary in order that this individual may make a
reasonable determination concerning divulgence of information to this agency.
Fill out the form completely. If any question does not apply, mark the answer with N/A
or Not applicable. Do not leave any question blank.
Public Servant Information
1. Full Legal Name:
__________________________________________________________
2. Residence Address
__________________________________________________________
City __________________________State _______ Zip ____________
Department Information
3. Name of department, bureau, or agency by which public servant is employed:
__________________________________________________________
City __________________________State _______ Zip ____________
Supervisor's name:
__________________________________________________________
4. Mailing address
__________________________________________________________
City __________________________State _______ Zip ____________
Public Servant Duty
5. Will public servant uphold the Constitution of the United States?
__________________________________________________________
6. Did public servant furnish proof of identity?
__________________________________________________________
7. What was the nature of proof?
__________________________________________________________
8. Will public servant furnish a copy of the law or regulation which authorizes this
investigation?
__________________________________________________________
9. Will the public servant read aloud the portion of the law authorizing the questions they will ask?
__________________________________________________________
Nature of Investigation
10. Are the answers to the questions voluntary or mandatory?
__________________________________________________________
11. Are the questions to be asked based upon a specific law/regulation, or are they being
used as a discovery process?
__________________________________________________________
12. What other uses may be made of this information?
__________________________________________________________
13. What other agencies may have access to this information?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
14. What will be the effect upon me if I should choose not to answer any part or all of
these questions?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Basis for Investigation
15. Name of person in government requesting that this investigation be made.
__________________________________________________________
16. Is this investigation 'general' or is it 'special'?
__________________________________________________________
17. Have you consulted, questioned, interviewed, or received information from any third
party relative to this investigation?
__________________________________________________________
18. If so, the identity of such third parties:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Expected Results of Investigation
19. Do you reasonably anticipate either a civil or criminal action to be initiated or
pursued based upon any of the requested information?
__________________________________________________________
Agency Information
20. Is there a file of records, information, or correspondence relating to me being
maintained by this agency? ______________ If yes, which?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
21. Is this agency using any information pertaining to me which was supplied by another
agency or government source?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
22. May I have a copy of that information? ______________ If not, why not?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
If so, how may I obtain a copy of that information?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
23. Will the public servant guarantee that the information in these files will not be used
by any department other than the one by whom he is employed? __________
If not, why not?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Affirmation
If any request for information relating to me is received from any person or agency, you
must advise me in writing before releasing such information. Failure to do so may subject
you to possible civil or criminal action as provided by the act.
I swear (affirm) that the answers I have given to the foregoing questions are complete and
correct in every particular.
Printed name: ___________________________________________________
Signature: ___________________________________________________
Date: ________(month)_________(day)___________________(year)
First Witness Printed Name: ________________________________________
First Witness Signature: ________________________________________
Second Witness Printed Name: ______________________________________
Second Witness Signature: ________________________________________
Authorities for Questions:
1,2,3,4 In order to be sure you know exactly who you are giving the information to. Residence and business addresses are needed in case you need to serve process in a civil or criminal action upon this individual.
5 All public servants have taken a sworn oath to uphold and defend the constitution.
6,7 This is standard procedure by government agents and officers. See Internal Revenue Manual, MT-9900-26, Section 242.133.
8,9,10 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (e) (3) (A)
11 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (d) (5), (e) (1)
12,13 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (e) (3) (B), (e) (3) (C)
14 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (e) (3) (D)
15 Public Law 93-579 (b) (1)
16 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (e) (3) (A)
17,18 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (e) (2)
19 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (d) (5)
20,21 Public Law 93-579 (b) (1)
22 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (d) (1)
23 Title 5 USC 552a, paragraph (e) (10)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Rule of Law Superfluous in Regime: Allegation of White House Bribe Ignored
1. Title 18, U.S.C. Section 211 says, “Whoever solicits or receives, either as a political contribution or for personal emolument, any money or thing of value, in consideration of the promise of support or use of influence in obtaining for any person any appointive office or place under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year or both.”
2. Title 18, U.S.C. Section 595, which says, “Whoever, being a person employed in any administrative position by the United States … uses his official authority for the purposes of interfering with, or affecting the nomination of, or the election of any candidate for office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representative…shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”
3. Finally, Issa referred to Title 18 U.S.C. Section 600, which says, “Whoever directly or indirectly promises any employment position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit provided for or made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress, or any special consideration in obtaining any such benefit, to any person as consideration, in favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office … shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”
Update on American "Power" Bill to be Noted
Texas Taxpayers Fund Racist Machete Film
Robert Rodriguez’ racist film ‘Machete‘ was made, in part, with help from tax incentives and location access provided by the Texas Film Commission. A spokesperson from the organization confirmed that Rodriguez indeed applied for the program and that all of his Troublemaker Studios films have been part of it.
Holder Defends Islam
May 13, 2010 — In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on 5/13/2010, US Attorney General avoids the term "radical Islam."
Holder hasn't read Arizona law he criticized
Holder hasn't read Arizona law he criticized. Isn't it prejudice if you judge someone before knowing the facts?
This is a video excerpt from 13 May on C-SPAN's coverage of Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) questioning Attorney General Eric Holder about his knowledge of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 (commonly known as the Arizona Immigration Law).
Based on the media coverage of the protests, the Obama administration has indicated it may file a federal lawsuit against Arizona to block the law. On Thursday, Congressman Ted Poe (R-Texas) of the House Judiciary Committee questioned U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder about the administration's plans regarding the controversial law.
Poe: "The law is supported by 70 percent of the people in Arizona, 60 percent of all Americans, and 50 percent of all Hispanics, according to the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll done just this week. And I understand that you may file a lawsuit against the law. It seems to me the administration ought to be enforcing border security and immigration laws and not challenge them, and that the administration is on the wrong side of the American people. Have you read the Arizona law?"
Holder: "I have not had a chance...I've glanced at it, I have not read it...."
Poe: "It's ten pages. It's a lot shorter than the healthcare bill, which was 2,000 pages long. I'll give you my copy of it if you'd like to have a copy. Even though you haven't read the law, do you have an opinion as to whether it's constitutional?"
Holder: "I've not been briefed yet. We, as I've said, have had under way a review of the law. I have not been briefed by the people who are responsible for that review."
Poe: "When do you think you will have an opinion as to whether the law is constitutional?"
Holder: "I've used this term a lot, but I think this is accurate: relatively soon. I think that we have to...there has been much discussion about this...."
Poe: "It's hard for me to understand how you would have concerns about something being unconstitutional if you haven't even read the law. It seems like you wouldn't make a judgment about whether it violates civil rights statutes...if you haven't read the law. So can you help me out there a little bit, how you can make a judgment call on that but you haven't read the law and determined whether it's constitutional or not?"
Holder: "What I've said is that I've not made up my mind. I've only made the comments that I've made on the basis of things that I've been able to glean by reading newspaper accounts...television...talking to people who are on the review team looking at the law. But I've not reached any conclusions yet...I've just expressed concerns on the basis of what I've heard about the law."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/AP/Search/US/Default.aspx?id=1012992
Islamist Mufti and Hitler
In April, 1937, Hadj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, visited Hitler because he wanted to know how open the Germans were to support Muslims against the Jews; the video is in French.
OBAMA FLASHBACK: A SUPREME COURT NOMINEE WITH NO JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRES EXTREME SCRUTINY
On Harriet Meiers' nomination: statement by Odumbo.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Militia Leader Beats Federal Case, Says It Was All Talk
Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3KdUYsdkBA&feature=player_embedded
Monday, May 10, 2010
Pelosi to Bishops: Use Pulpit to Promote Immigration Reform
Pelosi to Bishops: Use Pulpit to Promote Immigration Reform
Rep. Paul Ryan sends a warning
Rep. Paul Ryan sends a warning:
“I am enormously concerned. First of all, Greek contagion can spread to some of these other countries like you said. What this basically is… It is so ironic coming from the cradle of Western Civilization. What we are seeing is the failure of European socialism and social welfare states. What is basically happening here is this sovereign debt crisis could come over and spread to us. We’ve got to make sure we put in the right kind of fiscal controls, the right kind of balancing to prevent this from happening. Because what’s happening is the markets are questioning the viablility of sovereign debt. The markets are questioning whether or not governments are going to be able to live up to all the promises and debt that they have racked up… Sooner or later you run out of spending other people’s money with welfare states.”
Socialist Kagan to the Supreme Court
As solicitor general, Kagan serves as the nation’s top lawyer arguing cases before the high court. Yet Kagan is highly unusual in one way – she has never been a judge.
As a result, there is very little documentation about her ideas and beliefs. There is, however, her earlier writing. Kagan spent her senior year conducting research for her thesis on the history of the socialist movement, which was titled “To the Final Conflict: Socialism in New York City, 1900–1933.” Her thesis has been criticized by her opponents for revealing sympathies with the Socialist Party and became a source of controversy when she was a potential nominee for Associate Justice David Souter’s seat on the Supreme Court last spring — a position which instead went to Sonia Sotomayor ’76 — and when she was nominated for her current position of solicitor general in January 2009.
She called the story of the socialist movement’s demise “a sad but also a chastening one for those who, more than half a century after socialism’s decline, still wish to change America ... In unity lies their only hope.”
Kagan said in her thesis acknowledgements that her brother’s “involvement in radical causes led me to explore the history of American radicalism in the hope of clarifying my own political ideas.”
Ben Domenech suggested a few weeks ago on a CBS blog that Kagan would be the first openly gay justice if confirmed, sparking backlash from liberals and a White House denial, its first public defense of a potential candidate during the current nomination process. CBS pulled the post and Domenech apologized, but he explained on his own website that he understood that Kagan was known to be gay in certain circles.
An old friend of Obama, she wrote: Confirmation Messes, Old and New a review of a book about the judicial confirmation process, cf. Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Kagan-and-Obama-Go-Way-Back-93267019.html#ixzz0nYMxWJSH.
Liberals Accused of 'whitewash' of plagiarism scandal involving two Harvard law profs.
“Granted that one city is not a nation, the experience of New York may yet suggest a new solution to this critical problem.” The solution may still be to have sympathy for socialism which is an intriguing statement.
Then, on p. 130, Kagan states: “The story is a sad but also a chastening one for those who, more than half a century after socialism’s decline, still wish to change America….”
“Radicals have often succumbed to the devastating bane of sectarianism; it is easier, after all to fight one’s fellows than it is to battle an entrenched and powerful foe. Yet if history of Local New York shows anything, it is that American radicals cannot afford to become their own worst enemies. In unity lies their only hope.”
Kagan wants hope, unity, and to change America to socialism.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Racist Regime Tearing Country Apart: Tensions High in CA
MORGAN HILL (KRON) — Racial tensions are high on the campus of Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill a day after five students were sent home for wearing clothing with American flags to school on Cinco de Mayo.
Several dozen Latino students walked out of class Thursday. Shouting “We Want Respect”, the students marched to a nearby park where they held a rally.
Along the way, KRON 4′s Rob Fladeboe witnessed a dispute with a group of students waving an American flag out the window of a pickup truck. One of the marchers grabbed the flag and hurled it to the ground. What followed was an angry confrontation in which both groups of students shouted obscentities at each other.
No one was arrested and there are no reports of injuries.
Thursday’s activities follow word from the Morgan Hill Unified School District that the students who were sent home on Cinco De Mayo will not be disciplined.
“The Morgan Hill Unified School District does not prohibit nor do we discourage wearing patriotic clothing,” Dr. Wesley Smith said in a written statement. “The incident on May 5 at Live Oak High School is extremely unfortunate. While campus safety is our primary concern and administrators made decisions yesterday in an attempt to ensure campus safety, students should not, and will not, be disciplined for wearing patriotic clothing. This matter is under investigation and appropriate action will be taken.”
The five students went home Wednesday after they were told to remove the clothing or turn it inside out. School officials reportedly told them the shirts, pants, and bandanas showing the American flag could be offensive to Hispanic students and prompt campus fights.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
‘EX-PLO TERRORIST’ TURNED ISRAELI SYMPATHIZER: OBAMA IS CULTURALLY A MUSLIM
Walid_Shoebat claims to be a former PLO operative.
Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag
The kids were reprimanded by the Vice Principal for wearing patriotic garb on Cinco de Mayo, a minor holiday hardly celebrated in Mexico.
"The district does not concur with the Live Oak High School administration's interpretation of either board or district policy related to these actions," said Dr. Jay Totter of the district stated.
The brouhaha began after Arizona passed a recent immigration bill. Despite the controversy that erupted, Section II of the new law, partially authored by Kris Kobach, constitutional law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, stated that a law enforcement officer “may not consider race, color, or national origin” in making any stops or determining any aliens’ immigration status. The Arizona bill mirrors existing federal statute. Every non-citizen in the United States has been required to carry citizen documentation since Congress passed the Alien Registration Act in 1940.
Immigration policy can be restrictive, some require people to:
Have the means to sustain themselves economically;
Not be burdens on society;
Be of economic and social benefit to society;
Be of good character and have no criminal records; and
Contribute to the general well being of the nation.
Authorities have a record of each foreign visitor;
Foreign visitors do not violate their visa status;
Foreign visitors are banned from interfering in the country’s internal politics;
Foreign visitors who enter under false pretenses are imprisoned or deported;
Foreign visitors violating the terms of their entry are imprisoned or deported;
Those who aid in illegal immigration will be sent to prison.
Welcomes only foreigners who will be useful to society:
Foreigners are admitted into the country “according to their possibilities of contributing to national progress.” (Article 32)
Immigration officials must ‘ensure’ that ‘immigrants will be useful elements for the country and that they have the necessary funds for their sustenance’ and for their dependents. (Article 34)
Foreigners may be barred from the country if their presence upsets ‘the equilibrium of the national demographics,’ when foreigners are deemed detrimental to ‘economic or national interests,’ when they do not behave like good citizens in their own country, when they have broken [national] laws, and when ‘they are not found to be physically or mentally healthy.’ (Article 37)
The Secretary of Governance may ‘suspend or prohibit the admission of foreigners when he determines it to be in the national interest.’ (Article 38)
Authorities must keep track of every single person in the country:
Federal, local and municipal police must cooperate with federal immigration authorities upon request, i.e., to assist in the arrests of illegal immigrants. (Article 73)
A National Population Registry keeps track of ‘every single individual who comprises the population of the country,’ and verifies each individual’s identity. (Articles 85 and 86)
A national Catalog of Foreigners tracks foreign tourists and immigrants (Article 87), and assigns each individual with a unique tracking number (Article 91).
Foreigners with fake papers, or who enter the country under false pretenses, may be imprisoned:
Foreigners with fake immigration papers may be fined or imprisoned. (Article 116)
Foreigners who sign government documents ‘with a signature that is false or different from that which he normally uses’ are subject to fine and imprisonment. (Article 116)
Foreigners who fail to obey the rules will be fined, deported, and/or imprisoned as felons:
Foreigners who fail to obey a deportation order are to be punished. (Article 117)
Foreigners who are deported from the country and attempt to re-enter the country without authorization can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. (Article 118)
Foreigners who violate the terms of their visa may be sentenced to up to six years in prison (Articles 119, 120 and 121). Foreigners who misrepresent the terms of their visa while in the country – such as working with out a permit – can also be imprisoned.
Under the law, illegal immigration is a felony. The General Law on Population says,
A penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine of three hundred to five thousand pesos will be imposed on the foreigner who enters the country illegally. (Article 123)
Foreigners with legal immigration problems may be deported from the country instead of being imprisoned. (Article 125)
Foreigners who ‘attempt against national sovereignty or security’ will be deported. (Article 126)
Those who help illegal aliens enter the country are themselves considered criminals under the law.
A person who marries a foreigner with the sole objective of helping the foreigner live in the country is subject to up to five years in prison. (Article 127)
Shipping and airline companies that bring undocumented foreigners into the country will be fined. (Article 132)”
These are the provisions not from the Arizona law but are current Mexican law.
Excerpts courtesy of J. Michael Waller, V.P. Information Operations at the Center for Security Policy.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Michelle: Queen of the "Birthers"
During a December 2007 speech in Tampa Florida, Michelle stated, “What it reminded me of was our trip to Africa, two years ago, and the level of excitement that we felt in that country – the hope that people saw just in the sheer presence of somebody like Barack Obama – a Kenyan, a black man, a man of great statesmanship who they believe could change the fate of the world.” The remarks occur around the 2:05 mark.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Obama's Muslim Summit
Orwellian Big Brother Tax Collection Commercial Airs in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvanian government is telling citizens there that they “know who you are”. The video shows a satellite image zooming in on and individual’s home while a computerized voice informs him that they know who he is and that he owes $4,212 in back taxes. The voice then proceeds to tell him that they can make it easy for him if he pays quickly. The ad then closes with a threatening message: “FIND US BEFORE WE FIND YOU”.
What is more disturbing than the ad itself is that governments are now finding it suitable to announce to us that we are living in an Orwellian police state and that we are all being monitored. “Pay up, or we will find you. We know where you live. We are watching you.”
UN Walkout as Ahmadinejad claims "Israel is a racist government"
As Iranian Pres. Mahmood Ahmadinejad prepared to address a UN conference on nuclear non-proliferation, members of Green Movement protested outside.
Bitta Mustofi of the group Where Is My Vote? wants to hold the international community accountable for not addressing the human rights violations in Iran, while focusing only on the threat of nuclear weapons development.
She argues that additional sanctions or military action would only hurt the average Iranian, not the regime.
UN Walkout as Ahmadinejad claims "Israel is a racist government"
Western diplomats have walked out of a speech by the Iranian president at a UN anti-racism conference after he described Israel as a "racist government". Israel was described by former President Jimmy Carter as an apartheid state.
Ahmadinejad, said Jewish migrants from Europe and the United States had been sent to the Middle East after World War II "in order to establish a racist government in the occupied Palestine".
He continued "And in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine."
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Reason.tv: How Did GM Pay Back Its TARP Loans So Fast? Well, It Didn’t…
General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre has bragged in TV commercials and newspaper columns that GM has paid back its bailout “in full and ahead of schedule.”
As with the Pontiac Aztek, an ugly exterior masks an ever darker problem: Whitacre is being fanciful to the point of deceit. GM received $50 billion in TARP funds (never mind that TARP was only supposed to cover financial institutions). About $7 billion of that came in the form of a straight-up, low-interest loan. And about $13 billion came in the form of an escrow account.
So how has GM, which lost $38 billion in 2007 even as it sold 9.4 million cars, paid back its debt? It took money from the escrow account to pay back the $6.7 billion loan.
Do you remember when you were a kid and your parents gave you $20 to buy them a Christmas present? You bought them something worth $3 and pocketed the rest? That’s what GM has just done.
Oh, and do you remember when you hit your parents up for college? GM has applied for a $10 billion, low-interest loan from the government to modernize its plants so its cars will meet new federal mileage standards.
If you think all this constitutes paying back their debt in full and ahead of schedule, you might want to check out the new line of GM cars. And hope that the company’s safety engineers are better at math than their CEO.
Approximately 1.35 minutes. Written and produced by Dan Hayes, Meredith Bragg, and Nick Gillespie.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Sidestepping Russia's gas monopoly
The Nabucco pipeline looks more likely. The Economist's latest videographic looks at how Central Asia may yet supply Europe directly, without the Kremlin's blessing .
Friday, April 30, 2010
Background
The U.S.S. Cole
Diane McDaniels lost her son James in the terrorist bombing of the U.S.S Cole in October 2000. 17 American sailors died in that terrorist attack. Ms. McDaniels refused an invitation to the White House to meet with Obama.
Obama requested that the charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, being held in Guantánamo as the primary attacker against the U.S.S. Cole, be dropped. Judge Susan J. Crawford followed Obama's wishes.
Obama requested that the charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, being held in Guantánamo, be dropped. Judge Susan J. Crawford followed Obama's wishes.
The former Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Cole was interviewed about his feelings when the primary attacker of the ship was released. Retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold, "expressed disappointment" when he first learned of the decision to drop the charges and remained skeptical, faulting Obama for not consulting the families ahead of time.
The New York Times documented "Evidence of Financial Links Between Saudi Royal Family and Al Qaeda."
The 9/11 Families were surprised to discover that Obama directed the U.S. government to support the Saudis against Americans. The Justice Department is supporting the Saudi royal family's bid to be removed from a 9/11 lawsuit.
The families of victims have accused the royal family of financially backing terror groups that carried out the 2001 attack.
Their complaint alleges that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi High Commission for Relief to Bosnia and Herzegovina (SHC), and four Saudi Princes (acting in both official and personal capacities) made donations to charitable organizations with the knowledge that those organizations were diverting funds to al Qaeda, and that a fifth Saudi prince knowingly provided banking and financial services to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
A lawsuit, Federal Insurance Co. v. Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, was initiated in 2003 by a consortium of insurance companies seeking to recover more than $300 billion for losses incurred by the 9/11 attacks.
The Saudi princes cited in the claims were:
* Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, president of SHC, who was warned in 2000 of his organization's ties to al Qaeda;
* Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the designated successor to King Abdullah, who received warnings as early as 1994 that some Muslim charitable groups were fronts for al Qaeda;
* Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who as Saudi Minister of the Interior monitors and controls the charities operating in Saudi Arabia;
* Prince Turki al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who was the director of the Kingdom's Department of General Intelligence ("DGI") until August 2001; and
* Prince Mohamed al Faisal al Saud, who unlike the other princes named is not a government official but a bank manager alleged to have knowingly provided material sponsorship to international terrorism.
"I find this reprehensible," Kristen Breitweiser, a leader of the Sept. 11 families, told The New York Times.
In addition, a recent list of funds accumulated for Muslim majority countries:
Billions Funded to America's Enemies, May 17, 2009
International press reports detail how billions of dollars are funding America's enemies.
• West Bank and Gaza: $665 million in bilateral economic, humanitarian, and security assistance for the West Bank and Gaza
• Jordan: $250 million, $250 million above the request, including $100 million for economic and $150 million for security assistance
• Egypt: $360 million, $310 million above the request, including $50 million for economic assistance, $50 million for border security, and $260 million for security assistance
• Lebanon: $74 million
• Refugee Assistance: $343 million, $50 million above the request, including humanitarian assistance for Gaza. Funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency programs in the West Bank and Gaza is limited to $119 million (Note: Gaza = Hamas)
• Disaster Assistance: $200 million to avert famines and provide life-saving assistance during natural disasters and for internally displaced people around the world, including Somalia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, the Middle East and South Asia
• Peacekeeping: $837 million for United Nations peacekeeping operations, including an expanded mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a new mission in Chad and the Central African Republic
• Africa: $151 million, $18 million above the request, for economic and security assistance for Kenya, Somalia, Southern Sudan, and Zimbabwe
Other recipients might be viewed as allies, humanitarian, or required military aid
• Pakistan: $1.9 billion, $591 million above the request
• $3.6 billion, matching the request, to expand and improve capabilities of the Afghan security forces
• $400 million, as requested, to build the counterinsurgency capabilities of the Pakistani security forces
• Afghanistan: $1.52 billion, $86 million above the request
• Iraq: $968 million, $336 million above the request
• Oversight: $20 million, $13 million above the request, to expand oversight capacity of the State Department, USAID, and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan to review programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq
• Israel: $555 million of the $2.8 billion 2010 request for security assistance, $555 million above the supplemental request. (Note: that means Obama’s original request did not include any money for Israel in 2009)
• International Food Assistance: $500 million, $200 million above the request, for PL 480 international food assistance to alleviate suffering during the global economic crisis
• HIV/AIDS: $100 million, $100 million above the request, for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to address a funding shortfall for grants in key countries such as Haiti, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Afghanistan. (Note: That means Obama’s original request didn’t include any money for AIDs)
• Mexico: $470 million, $404 million above the request, to address growing violence along the United States-Mexico border by supporting the Government of Mexico’s war against organized crime and drug-trafficking
• Georgia: $242 million to fulfill the United States commitment to the people of Georgia
• Global Financial Crisis: $300 million, $148 million below the request, to address the global financial crisis in developing countries
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation: $55 million, $34.5 million below the request, for the National Nuclear Security Administration to safeguard nuclear material in Russia and other sites world-wide
• Department of Justice: $17 million, matching the request, for counter-terrorism activities and to provide training and assistance for the Iraqi criminal justice system
Taxpayers Pay for Vaccinations during Islam's Required Pilgrimmage to Mecca
The full statement about promoting the Islamic holiday.
Michelle and I would like to send our best wishes to all those performing Hajj this year, and to Muslims in America and around the world who are celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world’s major religions.
During Hajj, the world’s largest and most diverse gathering, three million Muslims from all walks of life – including thousands of American Muslims – will stand in prayer on Mount Arafat. The following day, Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha and distribute food to the less fortunate to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son out of obedience to God.
This year, I am pleased that the Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with the Saudi Health Ministry to prevent and limit the spread of H1N1 during Hajj. Cooperating on combating H1N1 is one of the ways we are implementing my administration's commitment to partnership in areas of mutual interest.
On behalf of the American people, we would like to extend our greetings during this Hajj season – Eid Mubarak.
Islam in Textbooks
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education publishes and disseminates teachings that Muslims are to hate and treat as "enemies" other religious believers, including other, non-Wahhabi Muslims. Those were our findings in a 2006 study of Saudi government textbooks. And despite the media outcry that followed, our most recent investigation shows that Saudi textbooks, now available on the Saudi Ministry of Education website, have not been cleaned up. The same violent and intolerant lessons remain.
These textbooks assert that it is permissible for a Muslim to kill an "apostate," an "adulterer," those practicing "major polytheism," and homosexuals. They promote global jihad as an "effort to wage war against the unbelievers," including for the purpose of "calling [infidels] to the faith." They continue to teach that "the hour [of judgment] will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them," that Shiite practices amount to "polytheism" (see above), that the Christian Crusades never ended, and that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are historical fact.
In these lessons, the Saudi government discounts or ignores passages in the Qur'an and in the accounts of the life of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad that support tolerance.
After the 9/11 attacks at the hands of largely Saudi terrorists, the King convened a panel of Saudi professionals who concluded that the religious textbooks "legitimiz[e] the violent repression of the 'other' and even his physical elimination because of his views on disputed issues...." Now noxious Saudi texts are being spread to Muslim communities on every continent.
Saudi Arabia has long sought to be the leading Islamic power and the protector of the faith, a claim asserted in the Saudi Basic Law. With its vast oil wealth and the religious legitimacy derived from its custodianship of the two Islamic holy shrines and control of the pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia's long-term ambitions are now within reach. Even as its official doctrine and school books remain rooted in Wahhabism, the blend of the harsh desert traditions and severe Islamic interpretations of its past, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself to be the authoritative voice of world Islam, with the King as a type of Islamic pope.
Since 1979, the year when Islamic terrorists laid siege to Mecca and threatened Saudi rule, and when a Shi'a regime seized control of Iran, Saudi Arabia has poured enormous sums into foreign evangelism, funding mosques, schools, libraries, and academic centers in the United States and many other countries. Some analysts estimate that over the past quarter century, Saudi Arabia has expended over $75 billion for spreading Wahhabism, roughly three times more a year than what the Soviet Union spent annually in exporting its ruling ideology during the height of the Cold War. The Congressional Research Service states that Wahhabism is now "arguably the most pervasive revivalist movement in the Islamic world." According to Lawrence Wright in his book Looming Tower, the Saudis, constituting one per cent of the world's Muslims, support through the Wahhabis "90 per cent of the expenses of the entire faith, overriding other traditions of Islam."
The Saudi ideological export is having an effect. Saudi Wahhabi extremism threatens to become a mainstream or even the dominant expression of Islam among the world's 1.3 billion Muslims. Wahhabi thought and customs are taking root in Muslim communities from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, to Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, Pakistan, India and elsewhere. As Abdurrahman Wahid, the former President of Indonesia and ex-director of the world's largest Muslim organization lamented, it is making "inroads" even in his famously tolerant part of the world.
The beginning of the school year marks the deadline for Saudi Arabia to demonstrate it has removed intolerant teachings from all Saudi textbooks. This Saudi commitment resulted from extensive bilateral negotiations with the U.S., concluded and hailed by the United States State Department in July 2006. Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the State Department has annually designated Saudi Arabia as one of the world's most intolerant states but it has forestalled imposing the sanctions specified in the Act. It resists Congressional and other appeals even to translate for review the textbooks used at Islamic Saudi Academy, a Washington metropolitan area academy run by the Saudi Embassy.
It is time to hold Riyadh to its promises to reform its educational materials. Western security depends on it.
Source: http://www.campus-watch.org/article/i...
And, in the U.S., similar textbooks preaching hate are used.
Islamic Extremism Whitewashed in American Textbooks
An excellent survey of the problem in describing Islam in American textbooks was written by Gilbert T. Sewall, Director of the American Textbook Council, a former history instructor at Phillips Academy, and an education editor at Newsweek. Sewall states his major conclusions:
History textbooks should stress that:
The Islamic conquest of the Mediterranean defined the Middle Ages and Europe. Arabic conquests and expansion occurred in the seventh and eighth centuries. The Turks who conquered the Balkans and Asia Minor, the Mongols in Central Asia, and the Delhi Sultanate in South Asia were Islamic expansionists who were not Arabic, and their conquests occurred centuries after the Arabs took control of what today is called the Middle East.
Containment of Islam was European policy from Tours to Vienna. Landmark encounters occurred between Europe and Islam from the early Middle Ages to modern times: Battle of Tours (732), First Crusade (1095), fall of Constantinople (1453), and Battle of Vienna (1683). In each case textbooks should explain how and why the West was threatened. Likewise, textbooks should explain that the so-called age of discovery and the voyages of Columbus to the New World in fact were a European search for maritime trade routes to Asia designed to circumvent Muslim territories.
Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 began the push of "the West" into Islamic lands, for strategic and, later, economic reasons. In the nineteenth century European imperial powers took sovereign control of Islamic territories and introduced laws, political values, and educational systems into colonies with varying responses. From the 1920s economic imperialism prevailed. The presence of oil in Islamic lands has uniquely affected geopolitics and global transportation ever since. Additionally, the influence of Western entertainment carries an aspect of cultural imperialism.
When textbooks cover Islam as a geopolitical and cultural force in the world today, they should explain:
Islam is aggressive in a postcolonial world. The Arabic union against Israel since 1948 and the creation of Pakistan after World War II provide vivid historical illustrations. In today's world Islam has several power centers: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and Indonesia. The idea of Islamic unity is constrained by the vicious division and power struggles of Sunni and Shia sects, as contemporary Iraq makes clear. Muslims include the Taliban of Afghanistan and the bankers of Abu Dhabi.
Yet Islam sees a world split into dar al-harb and dar al-islam. Dar al-harb (territory of war or chaos) is its term for the regions where Islam does not dominate, where divine will is not observed, and therefore where continuing strife is the norm. By contrast, dar al-islam (territory of peace) is Islam's term for those territories where Islam does dominate, where submission to God is observed, and where peace and tranquility reign. This ideation constitutes-to what extent, experts disagree-a rivalry of alternative worldviews, metaphysical ideas, and conceptions of evil. But these ideas, if acted upon by the Islamic revivalists who are rapidly growing in number, might constitute a clear and present danger to global security, particularly in the West. Al Qaeda is the orchestrated global effort to re-establish Islam's historical and mythic supremacy worldwide through jihad. The international community has immense collective self-interest and incentive to avoid nuclear terrorism as a holy struggle.
Islam's ability to embrace modernity and secular society remains an open question. Many leaders in Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan - and many more than in the recent past - are ambivalent about or reacting to twentieth-century secularism. Almost a century ago the eminent medieval historian Ferdinand Lot concluded that Islam's legal and political outlook made a modus vivendi with the West unlikely. Specialists today point out that Islam has no real institutional or theological mechanism to facilitate religious liberty. It has no element that allows the individual or society to explore, criticize or deny doctrine without fear of punishment or reprisal. At its extremes, it raises the prospect of thought control.
Sewall also lists reliable resources:
Cf. Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's "Terrorists, Despots and Democracy: What Our Children Need to Know" (2003);
Watson Institute for International Studies', "Responding to Terrorism: Challenges for Democracy" (2003).
"Fighting for the Soul of Islam" (April 18, 2007), U.S. News and World Report.
Columbia History of the World.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Rashad Hussain
Megyn Kelly continues her coverage of the controversy surrounding Rashad Hussain, the U.S. Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the contemporary equivalent to the historic Caliphate.
Current U.S. Envoy to the OIC, Rashad Hussain, recorded stating his support for imprisoned Sami al-Aryan since it was a "politically motivated persecution" at a Muslim Students Association Conference.
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