FDR Was Trump on Steroids, Liberal icon targeted Germans, Italians, and Japanese in wartime.

by Jeffery Lord, American Spectator, 12,8,2015 - So Donald Trump saying that there should be a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” makes him some sort of crazy, dangerous guy?

If liberals — and even, astonishingly — some Republicans believe this? Wow. What in the world to then make of President Franklin D. Roosevelt? FDR, if one takes in the current wisdom, was Trump on steroids.

For those who read history, and alas, perhaps lots of people who should do not, there was FDR in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor and the entrance of the U.S. into war with Germany, Italy, and Japan doing the following things that would make Donald Trump look like a nerdy weakling.

Germany, Italy and the Japanese were the Muslims of the day in December, 1941. And FDR responded as follows, first with the Germans in presidential proclamation 2526 that was titled as being targeted to …this is a direct quote — “Aliens: Germans.” And what of those “Alien” Germans? FDR demanded that

… all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being of the age of fourteen years and upward, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies. The President is authorized in any such event, by his proclamation thereof, or other public act, to direct the conduct to be observed, on the part of the United States, toward the aliens who become so liable; the manner and degree of the restraint to which they shall be subject and in what cases, and upon what security their residence shall be permitted, and to provide for the removal of those who, not being permitted to reside within the United States, refuse or neglect to depart therefrom; and to establish any other regulations which are found necessary in the premises and for the public safety. (link)

My Comment: 

FDR is no role model for those who support liberty

I think the author's point is worth sharing but it does not persuade me that Donald Trump is right in wanting to stop entry into this country of everyone of the Islamic faith. I want those who idealize FDR to be aware of this however, but not to make the point that what Trump is proposing must be OK because it is the same thing FDR did, but to show what evil was perpetrated by that liberal hero FDR.  FDR went much further than Trump has proposed, however.

By executive order, unchallenged by Congress, FDR ordered the internment of between 110,000 to 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who lived on the West Coast. They were moved to camps in the interior of the country. Sixty-two percent of them were American citizens. They were not convicted of any crimes; they were relocated simply because they were Japanese.  Instead of using FDR to again justify bigotry, maybe FDR's image needs to get the Nathan Bedford Forrest treatment and buildings named after him  need to have their name changed, and street names need to be renamed, and the FDR statues need to topple. FDR is not an example to emulate. He is an example of the evil we should avoid.

By being forcible relocated, Japanese Americans lost their freedom and of course their jobs and then of course lost their businesses and their homes and their belongings. Thanks to the census bureau the government knew where all of these people of Japanese ancestry were.  If I were a Muslim American, I would probably lie to the census bureau and claim to be a Christian when completing the census. I think it is morally OK to lie to the government.

It was not until 1980 that the government examined our World War II policy of putting Japanese-Americans in concentration camps. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Civil Liberties Act, which apologized for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government and authorized a payment of $20,000 to each individual camp survivor. The legislation admitted that government actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership."

I am not for doing nothing about the threat of radical Islam. I am for temporarily restricting Syrian immigration. Those against a restriction on Syrian immigration claim that all of these Syrian refugees are well vetted but that is obviously bogus. There is no way to vet them if you can not do a background check or access records. They are checked against a list of known terrorist and interviewed. In addition to the possibility that radical Islamist are mixed in with the refugees, there is a danger that some of those who arrive to our shores will be radicalized once they are here.

I am also for closely monitoring the Muslim community and look for incidents of terrorist planning or attempts to radicalize American Muslims.  I do not want the government doing illegal break-ins or wire taps, but I hope FBI agents are infiltrating mosque across America. We should level the same scrutiny toward the Muslim American community as we did the pro-Nazi American Bund and American First organizations during the World War II era, or the pro-Communist and Communist and New Left movements during the Cold War, or as we did in the effort to bring down the Ku Klux Klan during the civil rights era. I would hope we have paid informants and agents as members of every mosque congregation in America. And I hope we are reading every Facebook post and website that might possibly have connection to radical Islam. So, I am not for naively assuming that radical Islam is not a threat. I am not for doing nothing.

On the other hand however, we do not want to let bigotry and war hysteria lead us to again violate our basic values and ignore the constitution.  We must resist the call to consider every person of the Muslim faith as the enemy.  We must resist the call to do things like close all mosque in America. We must resist those impulses that would lead us to treat Muslim Americans the same way we did Japanese Americans in World War II.

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(more) Alexander, Corker, Haslam, Ron Ramsey, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Marco Rubio reject Trump's call to ban Muslims

TN Sen. Beavers agrees with Trump's Muslim ban

"For him to suggest banning all Muslims, I don't have a problem with that," said Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet. (link)

TN GOP Chair Ryan Haynes says Trumps Call to ban Muslims "outlandish"

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Ryan Haynes blasted his party's presidential frontrunner. Haynes, who recently vacated a seat in the state legislature to take over the state party, said Trump's comments have no place in the Republican party or American politics.

"Demanding that our borders be secure or raising legitimate questions about our screening process is one thing, but a wholesale ban on a religious basis is just wrong. This isn't a conservative proposal; it’s an outlandish idea that goes against American exceptionalism," Haynes said. (link)

Alexander rejects Trump's call to ban Muslims

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is rejecting Donald Trump’s call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States.

“The idea of a religious test is not consistent with my idea of what it means to be an American, and is not consistent with the principle of the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the Maryville Republican said in a statement. (link)

Corker says Trump comment counter to the values and principles of our great nation

Corker, a Chattanooga Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that while he has made “a conscious effort” to stay out of the 2016 presidential race, “these recent comments are completely counter to the values and principles of our great nation.” (link)

Haslam sounds off on Trump comments on Muslims

Gov. Bill Haslam sounded off on controversial anti-Muslim comments by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying they run counter to “core” American values, after a Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation event in Cool Springs on Tuesday morning.

"America was founded from the very beginning based on religious freedom and a lot of people came to our shores because they wanted freedom to practice religion the way they wanted to," Haslam said. (link)

Ron Ramsey says I would not favor a religious test

Ron Ramsey Facebook post, Dec, 8, 2015- If the last few months have taught us anything, it is that America needs to get serious about border security -- and quickly. While I would not favor an explicitly religious test, I do think it is time to place a moratorium on immigration from a long list of countries with ties to terrorism.

The United States has been the most welcoming nation in history by a large margin. But a nation without secure borders is no nation at all. We are at war with radical Islam and everyone outside of the Obama administration knows it.

It is time to seriously rethink our visa, refugee resettlement and immigration policies. It is time to press the pause button.

Republican Presidential Candidates

Jeb Bush condemned Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the United States saying calling bed Trump as "unhinged."
New Jersey governor Chris Christie said Trump's comments reflected "a ridiculous position and one that won't even be productive." ....
Ohio governor John Kasich, one of the more vocal critics of Trump, was also quick to reject his proposal. "This is just more of the outrageous divisiveness that characterizes his every breath and another reason why he is entirely unsuited to lead the United States," Kasich said.
Florida senator Marco Rubio .."I disagree with Donald Trump's latest proposal. His habit of making offensive and outlandish statements will not bring Americans together," Rubio wrote. "The next President better be somebody who can unite our country to face the great challenges of the 21st Century." (link)

  Donald Trump: Ban all Muslim travel to U.S.

(CNN)Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump called Monday for barring all Muslims from entering the United States.

"Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," a campaign press release said.

Trump, who has previously called for surveillance against mosques and said he was open to establishing a database for all Muslims living in the U.S., made his latest controversial call in a news release. His message comes in the wake of a deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, by suspected ISIS sympathizers and the day after President Barack Obama asked the country not to "turn against one another" out of fear. (link)

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A gay guy walks into a Muslim-owned bakery to order a wedding cake......

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Is Governor Haslam turning Tennessee into Saudi Arabia?

You better get fitted for your burqa, because Governor Bill Haslam is rapidly imposing Sharia Law in Tennessee. That is, if you believe the wacko-nut-jobs. The piece I am posting below came from a small blog called Bradley County News. It would be little noticed except it is being reposted on sites like the Tennessee Eagle Forum Facebook page and Tennessee Federation of Republican Women Facebook page. National sites such as Creeping Sharia, post equally bizarre stuff. I am not sure how many people believe this stuff, but there are some.

One of the lead posters of right wing fringe paranoia conspiracy theory stuff in Tennessee is Rosine Ghawji, co-chair of the Memphis Tea Party but there are several others. Other fringe stuff concerns Agenda 21, Common Core, and FEMA concentration camps. I don't know how many Republicans buy into the nutty stuff; I hope not many. Certainly some of the issues the nut fringe promotes can be legitimately criticized. One may have legitimate concerns with Common Core or Agenda 21, but to see them as all part of a diabolical plot all interconnected is the thinking of a nut-job.

I don't want to attack other Republicans. I would rather focus on defeating Democrats but Republicans must call out the nut jobs and marginalize them from time to time. We can not let the loudest voices dominate the conversation. We should not let the fringe represent the movement or the party.

I am not sure I should repost this because by calling attention to it is to promote it. On the other hand, I want those who may not know how the nut-jobs are attacking our governor and how they are spreading irrational fear to see an example of what is being spread.

Governor Bill Haslams deliberate attempt to make Tennessee Sharia compliant- The Timeline 

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has made it clear by his repeated actions that he will pursue a policy that promotes the interest of Islamist and their radical ideology as long as he is governor.

The attempted takeover of our great state by the left, the progressive or the communist was expected. What was not expected was the underhanded approach by Governor Bill Haslam to dismantle our sovereignty one step at a time, methodically, making our state Sharia compliant with his policies.

Republican In Name Only Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has done all within his power to provide the venue for our demise.

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Glendale Babtist Ch. Muslim interfaith event to be countered by Bill Warner of Political Islam.

From Tennessee Freedom Coalition:

Rod -

On Thursday evening at Glendale Baptist Church, the Nashville-based interfaith group Family of Abraham is hosting a discussion entitled "Human Rights, Civil Liberties, and Religious Freedom." The event begins at 7pm, is located at 1202 Glendale Lane, and is free of charge.

Blanche Cook, a Federal Prosecutor with the US Attorney General's office will be speaking, followed by a panel discussion that includes local muslim activist Remziya Suleyman of the American Center for Outreach and Hedy Weinberg of the ACLU of Tennessee.

This group has held interfaith events throughout the city of Nashville, each with considerable positive coverage by the Tennessean. Bill Warner, of PoliticalIslam.com has long been speaking out about the dangers of radical Islam. He plans to attend the meeting on Thursday evening and silently hand out a flier to those in attendance.  The content of the flier is included below. First, a message from Andy Miller, Chairman of the TFC.

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking at an event in Dallas that Frank Gaffney Jr. set up with about 45-50 prominent business leaders about educating and working with State Legislators on issues regarding the Political Nature of Islam. At that event was a Pastor named Rafael Cruz... Yes, Senator Ted Cruz' Father. After the event he and I talked for close to an hour and a half and he told me that one of if not the most irresponsible and dangerous groups leading folks astray regarding Islam's Agenda were America's Clergy. He specifically brought up the "Family of Abraham" Interfaith Events and made it clear to me that when a Pastor or Preacher knows so little about another religion's tenets or its clearly stated agenda and professes that "We pray to the same God" or that "Allah and God" are one in the same that they are not only leading their flock dangerously astray but are actually delivering them into the hands of Evil.

I see Pastor Cruz as completely right and correct. I stand with him and will speak the same. Anyone that can so blindly and recklessly mislead so many is in some respects more dangerous than the Evil Ideology that they pretend to understand.

Strong Words? You bet. Read the Koran!  Understand how it Works!  But also the Sira and Hadiths... Read the "Reliance of the Traveller"!  Know how abrogation works within the Koran. Understand what it is to be a Kafir and know that you are one.

But stop pretending that a Supremacist Ideology that sees us all as dirty, filthy subhumans that they can effectively do whatever they choose, including rob, rape and murder, has any interest in "Being a part of your Family". Because he is compelled by "Allah" to either convert you or end your life. Sound like your God?  Not mine, either.

*****

A voice for the Voiceless

Our Demands:

• We demand a voice for the Kafir political class, particularly in matter of government. This includes education and law enforcement.
• We demand a voice for the martyrs of jihad.
• We demand a voice for those who suffer under political Sharia— apostates, women, artists, gays, free thinkers.
• We demand that those who claim leadership and speak about Islam know the Islamic political doctrine found in the Koran and the Sunna.

A Challenge:
We will debate any person or team

Resolved: there is good in Islam for the Kafir.
We hold that the resolution is false and will debate anyone who affirms the resolution.

Denying Human Rights

The doctrine of political Islam and the Sharia deny basic human rights as found the UN Declaration of 1947. Under the Sharia humans are not equal.

• There are different political/legal classes in Islam based on gender and religion. 
• There is no freedom of consciousness, since apostates from Islam may be murdered.
• There is no freedom of religion, since the Sharia dictates all public behavior, including religious behavior.
• There is no freedom of speech due to blasphemy laws that greatly restrict what can be said.
• Artists, writers and intellectuals are not free to do anything that offends Islam.
• Political speech is forbidden that offends Islam.

We have seen events like this for the last 11 years in Nashville and they all have several things in common. There is only one voice allowed, that of religious Islam and its apologists. Islam is presented in the form of the Muslim experience. Since the Muslims are good, then by implication—Islam is good.

Voiceless:
There is never a voice from those who are persecuted under the jihad laws of the Sharia. Every year thousands of Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus and others are murdered because they are non- Muslims, called Kafirs.
Voiceless:
There is never a voice from a non- Muslim (Kafir) who has knowledge about Islam, Sharia and the history of Islam. Those who hold views of any view other than—Islam is wonderful —are condemned as immoral and bigots and, as such, are not heard.
Voiceless:
There is no voice for the victims of Sharia laws—abused women, apostates, persecuted artists, gays and writers.

Voiceless:
There are two manifestations of Islam—religious and political. The voice of political Islam is censored. We only hear about religious Islam.

Voiceless:

Questions from the floor are not allowed. Real discourse is forbidden.

Federal Government

But we do have new voice tonight— the Federal government. This is the second time in two weeks that the DOJ (Department of Justice) has appeared in a Tennessee forum about Islam that does not allow a voice of the victims, reason and knowledge to be heard.

Why is DOJ inserting itself into what it sees as a religious matter?

Will there be DOJ forums centered on Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and Jews where Kafir voices can be heard?

To the Christians:

Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and other religions are persecuted by jihad. But, Christians are more persecuted than anyone else. Last year over 100,000 Christians died at the hands of Muslims and there have been 60 million Christians killed by jihad in the last 1400 years.

When will these martyrs be given a voice in your church?

Family of Abraham

The early Koran speaks well of both Jews and Christians. But those verses are abrogated by these later verses:

5:51 Oh, believers, do not take the Jews or Christians as friends. They are but one another's friends. If any one of you take them for his friends, he surely is one of them. Allah will not guide the evildoers.

This is the final and ruling verse about Christians and Jews:

9:29 Make war on those who have received the Scriptures [Jews and Christians] but do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day. They do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The Christians and Jews do not follow the religion of truth until they submit and pay the poll tax [jizya], and they are humiliated.

Contact: info@tnfreedomcoalition.org

My Comment: I will be unable to attend, as I have prior obligation (drinking beer at Liberty on the Rocks). If anyone attends, please give me a report of what happens. Rodwilliams47@yahoo.com

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Video of Muslim sponsored event in Manchestor with commentary

This happened in Manchester and it ain't Bonnoroo

Below is a video of the the AMAC sponsored event in Manchester Tuesday night.



This video was produced by Bill Hobbs. I appreciate him recording it and making it available on Youtube.  Not being able to attend myself, this is the next best thing to being there. To read Bill Hobbs thoughts on event, follow this link.


There are a lot of rude people in the audience, yelling out comments as the speakers speak. Bill Hobbs says maybe only 5 to 10% of the people were jerks and I will take his word for it.  It doesn't take many people to dominate a crowd and create a bad impression. Starting at about at 40 in the video when U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, William C. Killian is speaking the crowd gets real rowdy and shouts him down. It is real bad at about 54 in the video.

At 20:20 - 34:35 in the video, a portion of the documentary “Welcome to
Shelbyville” is show, about the Muslim experience in Shelbyville Tn and the impact on the community and the community response.

Below are media reports on the event:

Forum on civil rights sparks protest rally for free speech - WKRN TV: http://www.wkrn.com/story/22503524/fo...


Protesters pack Muslim-sponsored meeting on social media 'hate speech' crackdown - Twitchy.com: http://www.twitchy.com/2013/06/04/pro...


Muslim group's TN forum with feds disrupted by heckling - Tennessean:  http://www.tennessean.com/article/201...

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American Thinker: The Not-So-Veiled Threat to Non-Muslims in Tennessee

From the Blog American Thinker:

The Not-So-Veiled Threat to Non-Muslims in Tennessee

by Janet Levy, June 7, 2013 - The attempted snow job by the American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) of Tennessee which sponsored the joint Department of Justice/FBI event, "Public Disclosure in a Diverse Society," Tuesday night in Manchester, Tennessee, did not work with the 2,000 attendees. Claims that American Muslims are loyal citizens, partners in counterterrorism investigations, part of radicalization prevention efforts, and an integral part of American society for centuries fell flat, especially coming from the host organization that was formed only two years ago in response to anti-shariah legislation in the Volunteer State. 

A well-informed crowd responded with calls of "taqiyyah"....(read more)

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Jihad in America: The Grand Deception is nearly here.

From:

THE  TENNESSEE  FREEDOM  COALITION
*** Update  from  the  TFC ***

Rod -

Consider this your Call to Action. We need to spread the word about this event, and we need to do it quickly.

Jihad in America: The Grand Deception is nearly here. If you have not already registered for this event, DO IT NOW. Tickets are running out, and  they will be unavailable after Friday, May 10th. That means you have three days, but don't wait that long. Register now.

Now for the Call to Action.
Send this email to two of your friends.

Pick people who have a genuine love of country, but have been on the fence about getting personally involved. Now is the time to bring them into the action. We must begin by educating others, and this a perfect starting point. We MUST bring the truth about Islam, and the threat that Islam holds for the American way of life, into the conversation with many voices.

Islam is an extremely dangerous ideology. There is no denying this. But we must to do more to explain the truth about Islam. We need to be prepared with facts. This premiere will be a great step in learning the necessary information.

Please read the flier below for all of the information you will need about the film premiere. This is very important. We look forward to seeing you there.

****

The Board of Directors
Tennessee Freedom Coalition
 

Disclaimer: From time to time A Disgruntled Republican may post announcements of interest to the conservative, libertarian, or greater community. Such announcements are posted as a public service to spread awareness and do not necessarily constitute an endorsement.

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Distinguished Speaker Program: The Changing Middle East – Nov 13

Understanding Muslim Societies:
Political Authority in a Changing Middle East

Dr. Richard Bulliet, Professor of History, Columbia University

Tuesday, November 13, 2012, Program: 6:30 p.m.
Frist Lecture Hall, 4th Floor, Inman Bldg, Belmont University, Nashville (For more information follow this link)

Unless I get a better offer, such as dinner with my momma who is in town, then I plan on attending this event.  We are fortunate in Nashville to have several universities bringing lecturers and scholars to speak on important topics. Like this event, these public programs are usually free.  There have been various events in town exploring the nature of Islam and the threat of radical Islam.  I have attended several, however I have often felt those events offered a simplistic view of a complex problem.  Often the speaker is a self-taught expert. They tend to present Islam as monolithic and do not offer a balanced view on how to confront a complex foreign policy challenge.  This is a chance to hear from a scholar and deepen ones knowledge of this topic. Rod

 

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Muslims required to adopt a peaceful approach toward blasphemy

In light of the recent wave of violence against Americans and Europeans across the Muslim world, many in America and the West are tempted to paint all Muslims with the same brush.  It is easy to jump to the conclusion that all Muslim think the punishment for blasphemy of the prophet Mohamed should be death.

We should keep in mind that those engaged in violence are a very small minority of those engaging in protest and those engaging in protest are a very small minority of the population of their country.

Renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan has written an article in which  he cites verses from the Koran and argues that Prophet Muhammad and his followers are required to adopt a peaceful approach toward cases of blasphemy.

The following are excepts:

"The Koran Mentions... Words Of Abuse Used By Prophets' Contemporaries But Nowhere Does The Koran Prescribe The Punishment Of Lashes, Or Death, Or Any Such Deterrent Punishment"

"This clearly shows that 'abuse of the Prophet' is not a subject of punishment, but is rather a subject of dawah [preaching]. That is, one who is guilty of abusing the Prophet should not have corporal punishment meted out to him: he should rather be given sound arguments in order that his mind may be addressed. In other words, peaceful persuasion should be used to reform the person concerned, rather than attempting to kill him."


"Another important aspect of this matter is that at no point in the Koran is it stated that anyone who uses abusive language about the Prophet should be stopped from doing so, and in case he continues to do so he should be awarded severe punishment. On the contrary, the Koran commands the believer not to use abusive language directed against opponents:  'But do not revile those [beings] whom they invoke instead of God, lest they, in their hostility, revile God and out of ignorance.' (6:108)"

I hope that sane voices like this are being heard in the Muslim world and I hope that in the west we are aware that there are reasonable and sane Muslims.  If one gets their news from the anti-Muslim activist in America, one would not know that reasonable and sane Muslims exist.  For a link about the article go here or to read the article in full go here.

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The trailer for "Innocence of Muslims"

Here it is. This the trailer of a movie which may or may not exist that has set off rioting across the Muslim world.
 
This is unbelievably bad. The acting in wooden and amateurish. The dialogue is dubbed into the film. It is a collection of disjointed scenes and makes not sense.

To read more about the film and who made it and how actors did not even know what they were making, follow this link.

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I'm sorry, so sorry, please accept my apology....

This is the statement issued by the embassy in Egypt in response to the deadly attacks on the American embassies in  Egypt and Libya:   “The Embassy of the  United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims—as we condemn  efforts to offend believers of all religions.”

What an outrage! The message should have been something along the lines of,  "Stop the attacks or we will but a boot up your ass, it's the American way. We will light up your world like the 4th of July." 

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Obama is aleep at the wheel and in over his head.

Media and Obama out to lunch — Romney had it right
By Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, 09/13/2012

....So what exactly was the problem? As far as we can see, Romney, the Near East desk and Clinton were in sync. Ah, but where was the president? He apparently had gone to bed and so the day passed without comment from him.(link)

My Comment

We all now know the story of the attack on our embassies in Egypt and Libya, the death of Americans, the apology from our embassy in Cairo, an entire day without an adequate response from Washington, Romney's denunciation of Washington' inaction and the delayed denunciation of the attack from Secretary of State Clinton and the President.

When we needed strong leadership and some sabre rattling, what we got was an apology that some low- budget movie had offended the sensibilities of Muslims.  If someone makes a movie critical or even blasphemous of another religion, that is not an official American position.  We can not apologize for the actions of another. We owe no one an apology.  Muslims need to learn that in the rest of the world where people have various degrees of freedom of expression, that offensive things are often said or done. Get over it! We will not let your offense be justifications for attacks on America.

What is clear from this incident is that the President is not up to the job. He is "out to lunch" or "asleep at the wheel."  This is not new, people just did not know it.

This week I watched the Charlie Rose show and he interviewed author Bob Woodward. Woodward is not some right-winger out to get the President. You remember Woodward?  He was the journalist who in the 70's brought down Nixon with the Watergate expo. He is a journalist with the liberal Washington Post.

Woodward was the only guest and Woodward and Rose spoke at length. Woodward was discussing his new book,"The Price of Politics." In the interview, Woodward exposes the Presidents' lack of leadership, his disinterest in working with Congress, his unwillingness to do the heavy lifting to get things accomplished, his lack of diplomacy, and his unwillingness to compromise. The President is presented as arrogant and inept and a poor negotiator.

Woodward reveals how the White House has no organization of any consequence, never has a plan B for any issue, and how Obama fails to nurture alliances in Congress.  Woodward tells how Reagan and a Democratic Congress led by Speaker Tip O'Neill solved difficult problems by working through ideological difference to find solutions. He compares Obama to Clinton, the Bushes and Reagan and other Presidents and Obama comes off very badly.

I have never liked Obama's politics but for a while thought he was personally likable.  That did not last long however. During the early days of his administration, during the financial crisis, I watched a televised meeting of the President and handful of Congressional leaders. All of the members of Congress, addressed the President as "Mr. President" and he addressed members of Congress by their first name, and he spoke in a manner as if he was talking down to them. He lectured.  I remember Representative Marsha Blackburn was one of the people at the table. He called her "Marsha."  The protocol should be that if Obama is "Mr. President," then Marsha is "Representative Blackburn."  That was when I knew I did not like Obama's policies or Obama the person. He is simply arrogant and thinks he should not have to deal with lesser human beings.

Having watched the Charlie Rose show and since read several reviews and excepts from the book, I don't feel compelled to purchase the book and read it, I have been exposed to enough of it to get the point.  If you are flipping channels and come across Woodward being interviewed, stop and watch. After watching Woodward talk about Obama, you will realize what peril our nation is in, how in over his head our president really is, and why it is so important that he not be reelected.

To read more about the Woodward book on Obama follow these links: here, here, and here.

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Not only Bill Haslam is accused of promoting Islamo-Fascism

Governor Bill Haslam is not the only Republican governor the anti-Sharia contingent of the "conservative" movement is accusing of embracing Islamo-Fascist.  Look what they are saying about New Jersey Governor Chis Christie: Christie’s Embrace of Islamo-Fascists.

Chris Christie is fighting back:

 Christie complained about a “gaze of intolerance that’s going around our country that is disturbing,” and referred dismissively to concerns that he has gotten too close to Islamic supremacists: “These are the kind of red herrings that people put up who are bigots, who want to judge people based upon their religious beliefs, want to judge people with a broad brush.”

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Not from the Qur'an but from the Bible

In his article in the Tennessean yesterday (Muslims look on Shariah in many ways), Mr. Alexander starts his essay with this:

On the wedding night, the groom suspects that his young bride is not the virgin he presumed her to be. He brings his case before the judges, and the girl’s parents are asked to prove her innocence. The parents fail; the young girl is given over to the mob and she is stoned to death. The community is satisfied that justice is done; the parents live with a stain on the family’s reputation; the groom begins anew his search for an unblemished bride.

He then ask if we really believe something like this could happen in Tennessee because Muslims build a Mosque in Murfressboro and because the Haslam administration hires a Muslim. Then, however, he reveals that the law code calling for the execution of the bride comes, not from the Qur'an but from the Bible, Deuteronomy 22:13-21.

I bet most of the anti-Sharia activist were fooled.

Every time I post something suggesting that not all Muslim are terrorist or that the First Amendment also applies to followers of the Muslim faith or that there really are some secular Muslims, people send me numerous verses from the Qur'an and suggest I read the Qur'an.

I have never read the Qur'an. I have attended seminar where it was quoted and I have read in it, but I have never read the whole book. I have read parts of it and skimmed it but it was too boring to read it all. So, I don't know the Qur'an very well. However, I am pretty familiar with the Bible. I have read or had read to me the Bible from cover to cover twice and have read the Bible at random for many many years.

I am often surprised at how little most people know about the Bible. They may have been attending church their whole life and still not know much Bible. There are some passages in the Bible that are almost never read from the pulpit.

One of the things I noticed about the verses people send me from the Qur'an is that a lot of them sound very familiar to Bible verses.

I thought it might be fun to see if people can pick from a collection of verses those that are from the Qur'an and which are from the Bible. If this was a game show we could call it, "Know Your Bible; Know Your Qur'an."

Some of the verses are a give-away, because they use the term "Allah" or have other obvious clues but many of them are hard to determine. Take the following quiz and see how many you can get correct. The Answers are at the end.

Know your Bible; Know your Qur'an

Charging interest/usury

(A) Those who charge usury are in the same position as those controlled by the devil's influence. This is because they claim that usury is the same as commerce. However, God permits commerce, and prohibits usury. Thus, whoever heeds this commandment from his Lord, and refrains from usury, he may keep his past earnings, and his judgment rests with God. As for those who persist in usury, they incur Hell, wherein they abide forever.

(B) If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.

Murder, rape, and pillage

(C) So they sent twelve thousand warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. "This is what you are to do," they said. "Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin." Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the little remnant of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the four hundred women of Jabesh-gilead who were spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them. The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had left this gap in the tribes of Israel. So the Israelite leaders asked, "How can we find wives for the few who remain, since all the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead? There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel will not be lost forever. But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God's curse."
Then they thought of the annual festival of the LORD held in Shiloh, between Lebonah and Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, "Go and hide in the vineyards. When the women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to be your wife! And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, 'Please be understanding. Let them have your daughters, for we didn't find enough wives for them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not give your daughters in marriage to them.'"

So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. They kidnapped the women who took part in the celebration and carried them off to the land of their own inheritance. Then they rebuilt their towns and lived in them. So the assembly of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.

(D) As you approach a town to attack it, first offer its people terms for peace. If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor. But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town. When the LORD your God hands it over to you, kill every man in the town. But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the spoils of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.

Rape

(E) If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her.

(F) And forbidden to you are wedded wives of other people except those who have fallen in your hands as prisoners of war . . .

Parents

(G) If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

(H) Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: My Lord! Bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.

(I) Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee,

Kill your enemies

(J) But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

(K) Remember Thy Lord inspired the angels with the message: "I am with you: give firmness to the believers, I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger tips of them."

Stone to death

(L) If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." 21 Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death."

(M) "If any man takes a wife, and goes in on her, and detests her, and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, 'I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin..."
"But if ... evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones..."

Homosexuality

(N) If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

(O) Lot said to his people, "You commit such an abomination; no one
in the world has done it before! "You practice sex with the men,
instead of the women. Indeed, you are a transgressing people."

(P) "Do you have sex with the males, of all the people? "You forsake
the wives that your Lord has created for you! Indeed, you are
transgressing people."

Women and modesty

(Q) Do not be soft in your speech in a way that may excite men to feel an eager desire for you or lust after you, lest in whose heart is malice and is devoid of soundness and rectitude should be excited to feel a desire for you or lust after you.
Do not show or display fineries or ornaments or beauties of your form or countenance that may excite a man’s lust

(R) In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.

Women to be submissive to men

(S) Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve.  And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Sex Slaves

(T) When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.

Genocide

(U) "Go up, my warriors, against the land of Merathaim and against the people of Pekod. Yes, march against Babylon, the land of rebels, a land that I will judge! Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them, as I have commanded you," says the LORD. "Let the battle cry be heard in the land, a shout of great destruction".

(V) When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are all more powerful than you. When the LORD your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them, and don't let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters. They will lead your young people away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will destroy you.

Alcohol

(W) “You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die,

(X) Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

(Y) "O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper."

Love

(Z) And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in peace and tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): Verily in that are signs for those who reflect"

(AA) However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Acts of compassion

(BB) "And what will explain to you what the steep path is? It is the freeing of a slave from bondage; or the giving of food in a day of famine to an orphan relative, or to a needy in distress. Then will he be of those who believe, enjoin fortitude and encourage kindness and compassion."
`
Bible: B, C, D, E, G, I, J, L, M, N, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, AA,
Qur'an: A, F, H, K, O, P, Q, Y, Z, BB
How many did you get right?

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Muslims look on Shariah in many ways

Muslims look on Shariah in many ways

The Tennessean, ‎by Bill Andrews

On the wedding night, the groom suspects that his young bride is not the virgin he presumed her to be. He brings his case before the judges, and ......

You worry that something like this could happen in Tennessee ...... You really believe that Shariah law can be imposed on us by a minority of less than 1 percent of our state’s population? Get real.

It is doubtful that a Vanderbilt-educated American woman born in Michigan would interpret the Quran in the same way as an illiterate tribesman in Waziristan.

My Comment

Please read the above article. I find this much more believable and rational than the stuff I hear coming from the anti-Muslim "experts."  The author says that just as in Christianity there is a wide diversity of interpretation of the religion, there is also diversity in Islam.  There are even secular Muslims.  Not all Muslims are jihadist in waiting. 

One of the things I find preposterous about the anti-Muslim movement is the believe that with Muslims representing only 6/10th of a percent of the U. S. population and with us having a constitution which guarantees certain rights and procedures that we are in danger of falling under Sharia Law. As Mr. Alexander says, "get real."

For those who are not conservative political activist, you may not know of the extent of the anti-Muslim movement.  It is huge. There are websites, organizations, speaking tours, seminars, books and movies devoted to "educating" people about the dangers of Islam. I have attended several of these presentations. There is never any balance to the presentations.  The anti-Muslim "scholars" are usually people who are self-taught in the subject.  Some are educated people, but their education is in other fields.  People who attend these anti-Muslim programs are never presented with any real scholarship. One would never know that not all Muslim are not committed fanatics waiting to cut your throat if one gained their knowledge of Islam from attending one of these seminars.

I am glad to see opinions like this expressed. People need exposure to a broader range of opinion rather than that that is coming from the anti-Shariah movement. 

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Minutemen continue the attack on King George Loyalist

Maury County Republicans join the rebellion.
GOP resolution aimed at Sharia Law | Columbia Daily HeraldThe Maury County resolution states that Ali is a “Sharia Finance specialist,” which could require her to promote political Sharia law. “Governor Haslam has ...
www.columbiadailyherald.com/.../gop-resolution-aimed-sharia...

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Gail Kerr on the "hate-filled" GOP fringe

Gail Kerr in today's Tennessean exposes the right wing fringe that has gained influence in the Republican Party. Since access to the Tennessean on-line is now restricted to subscribers, (or at lease I think access is now restricted) you may not be able to see the article.

Below is an excerpt from the article Hate-filled GOP fringe bullies its own:

... a small segment of the nuttiest members of the GOP, controlled by the tea party and the National Rifle Association, is hellbent on revenge against GOP leaders who don’t share its narrow agenda. It is an agenda based on hate.

They hate gays. They hate Muslims. They hate the United Nations. They hate anyone who reasonably believes business owners’ property rights trump free-wheeling gun rights. And, apparently, they hate the idea of Tennessee growing jobs. Because if you saw this sort of bigotry spewing out of a state, why would you want to locate your new plant there?

She reports how Bill Haslam has become a target of this fringe and that ten county Republican Parties have passed resolutions condemning Haslam for the hiring of a Muslim women to an important post in his administration.

I agree with much of Gail's concern. I agree with her when she says this fringe is the "nuttiest members of the GOP."  We have some real loonies in the Party and some of them have gained positions of influence. There are primarily three different issue that motivate this fringe: Agenda 21, Islam and Sharia law,  and gun rights. The three issues have created three different fringe factions but there is some overlap.

The Agenda 21 people can range from those who have a mild concern to real kooks. Agenda 21 is a 20 year old UN study that encourages sustainability. Those who are fearful of Agenda 21 believe it is a plan to take away private property rights, take away our cars and drastically change the American way of life. The more extreme of the anti-Agenda 21 people believe it is a plot to kill 96% of the world’s population by poisoning them with aspartame and fluoride. Anti-Agenda 21 people see elements of the plot in everything from mass transit to planning and zoning, to reintroduction of Wolves into the wild, to traffic roundabouts to bikeways, greenways, traffic calming and wide shady sidewalks. The John Birch Society is the group behind the anti-Agenda 21 campaign. The John Birch Society was denounced by William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater in the early 70’s and was pretty much driven from the Party and had almost disappeared but with the advent of the tea party movement has made a comeback.

The people in the anti-Muslim or anti-Sharia movement believe the Quaran and Sunna must be taken literally and they believe that all Muslims are called upon to lie and deceive and make war on all non-Muslims. They do not consider Islam a religion but consider it a political ideology and many believe the First Amendment should not apply to Muslims. They do not believe that one can be a Muslim and be a loyal American. They think all Muslims are potential terrorist and Mosques are terrorist training centers. Looking at what is happening in Europe and the threat of radical Islam throughout the world, I understand their concern and think we should be vigilant. However, not all of Islam is monolithic, immigrant Muslim will assimilate and moderate and of course Muslims are covered under the First Amendment.

The gun rights people are mad because the guns is parking lots bill did not pass. Obviously the second Amendment is a protection against government and not a protection against your employer. The Second Amendment does not mandate that you be allowed to carry your gun onto the property of another without that person's permission, but that is the position the gun rights activist take. How one can adopt such a distorted view of a basic constitutional right, I do not understand.

I think all of these factions have the potential to be dangerous and I think they are all wrong. I agree they are “bullying” in their tactics, especially the gun nuts who are seeking to make an example out of Debra Maggart. Political activism and expressing a political opinion or petitioning the government is not in itself "bullying"however.

I do not agree with Kerr and I do not think the people who make up these faction are “hate-filled.” They are misguided and their logic is faulty but in general they are good people. I fear some of the anti-Sharia hysteria could attract the haters who may decide to commit vigilante justice upon perceived terrorist-in-waiting, but the people I know in the anti-Sharia movement are not themselves bad people.

Gail Kerr in her article also mentions an anti-gay element to this fringe movement. I have not seen that. Many conservatives look upon homosexuality at a deviancy and most support traditional marriage, but I do not hear anyone spending a lot of time or energy or placing much focus on the issue of homosexuality.

Kerr also implies this fringe movement to be racist when she says that they hate anyone who looks differently and when she quotes someone who says, “Forty years ago, these same people would be as upset if the governor hired a black person.” I can tell you with certainty, this fringe movement is not racist. I think we are over racism in America. A local leader of the anti-Sharia movement is a well-know local radio personality who happens to be African-American. The tea party and the Republican Party are well integrated and I see no vestige of racism in either. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, former presidential candidate Herman Cain. and Florida Representative Allen West are prominent African Americans deeply admired by many who consider themselves part of the tea party. It is simply wrong and maybe even evidence of being "hate-filled" to call the tea party or this fringe we are speaking about "racist."

I also know Kerr to be wrong when she says this fringe is "controlled by the tea party."  The tea party is not a party or an organization. There is no membership or structure to the tea party. There are numerous tea party organizations, but no "Tea Party."  The tea party can't control anything. You can't join and you can't be kicked out. People self identify as part of the tea party. It is a movement, not an entity. 

While I am concerned about the radical fringe that has gained prominence in the Republican Party, one thing to keep in mind is that it is a fringe. The tea party brought a lot of new people into the Party, most motivated by opposition to Obamacare, run away deficit spending and an expanding role of government. Most members who think of themselves as part of the tea party never became full time activist. They attended a few rallies, expressed their displeasure and waited for the next opportunity to vote. They may have given money to a candidate or went door to door for a candidate, but most never became part of this fringe I have described.

Also to keep this in perspective, the Occupy movement was much nuttier than the nuttiest of the tea party. All kinds of kooks tied themselves to the Occupy movement including Nazis, Communist, anarchist and every permutation of leftist wacko nut job and conspiracy theorist. The Democrats were blessed in that the Occupy movement did not hang around long enough to gain prominence in the Democratic Party. It was a flash in the pan that disappeared.

Another factor to consider in order to keep this in perspective is that a small group who believe anything could take over either one of the major parties at the county level. In some counties, people have to be begged to take the available seats on the County Executive Committee. In some counties, a voting bloc of a dozen could take over the Party. Because a certain County party passes a resolution does not mean that, that resolution is reflective of the way Republicans think in that county.

Despite being embarrassed by the Kerr article and despite thinking she got much of it wrong, I am not disappointed to see her article published. I have been wondering how much longer what has been happening in the Republican Party could just be ignored. The grownups and sane people need to retake the Party. Good Republicans need to run for position in the county Parties. The bullies need to be stood up to, as is happening when Republican leaders rally around Debra Maggart. The John Birch Society led conspiracy theorist need to be stood up do as they were when Governor Haslam refused to sign that silly resolution concerning Agenda 21.

I hope the fringe has seen their best day and are now in retreat. I hope the John Birch Society, with their tin foil hats firmly in place, will go back to meeting in secret. I think the Republican Party will be Ok. I think sanity will prevail. At least, I hope so.

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