April 30, 2007
Apr 30 04:07 It Was Inevitable Apr 30 04:40 Murtha Advocates Using Impeachment as Leverage Apr 30 15:54 Not That They're Assuming Anything
Prior Years: 2006
It Was Inevitable
Once Katherine Kersten started writing about MAS, CAIR and other Muslim 'civil rights organization', it was predictable that someone would write that Kathy was an 'Islamophobe'. That eventuality happened in Friday's Strib in this op-ed by Ahmed Tharwat. Here's a sample of Mr. Tharwat's propaganda:
From the "flying imams" fiasco at the airport, to the cabdrivers facing off with the Metropolitan Airports Commission about transporting alcohol, to the current flurry of articles about plumbing adjustments to accommodate foot-washing at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Kersten's interest strikes me as paranoia, or even out-and-out phobia.Allow me to utterly destroy Mr. Tharwat's complaint against my friend. First, Kathy's writing about the defiant cabbies pointed out how the Muslim American Society (MAS), a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood, was part of a much bigger agenda:
Omar Jamal, director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, thinks he knows why the society is promoting a "no-alcohol-carry" agenda with no basis in Somali culture. "MAS is an Arab group; we Somalis are African, not Arabs," he said. "MAS wants to polarize the world, create two camps. I think they are trying to hijack the Somali community for their Middle East agenda. They look for issues they can capitalize on, like religion, to rally the community around. The majority of Somalis oppose this, but they are vulnerable because of their social and economic situation."attempting to stir up trouble by claiming that the Qu'ran forbade Muslims from transporting alcohol.Based on that information, it's pretty difficult to say that Kathy's writing was based on paranoia or "Islamic-phobia." It sounds more like Kathy exposed MAS's political agenda.
As for the "plumbing adjustments to accommodate foot-washing at Minneapolis Community and Technical College", perhaps Kathy wouldn't be so concerned if not for the Muslim Brotherhood's goal of a worldwide Muslim caliphate. The plan to build the caliphate is summed up in a set of documents known as "The Project", which is their 100 year plan to make Sharia law the law of the United States. Here's a portion of Patrick Poole's article:
What makes The Project so different from the standard "Death of America! Death to Israel!" and "Establish the global caliphate!" Islamist rhetoric is that it represents a flexible, multi-phased, long-term approach to the "cultural invasion" of the West. Calling for the utilization of various tactics, ranging from immigration, infiltration, surveillance, propaganda, protest, deception, political legitimacy and terrorism, The Project has served for more than two decades as the Muslim Brotherhood "master plan". As can be seen in a number of examples throughout Europe, including the political recognition of parallel Islamist government organizations in Sweden, the recent "cartoon" jihad in Denmark, the Parisian car-burning intifada last November, and the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London, the plan outlined in The Project has been overwhelmingly successful.Once people know that a terrorist organization has a 100 year plan to build a Muslim caliphate one piece at a time, it isn't unreasonable to think that installing wash basins isn't the goal. Rather, it's quite reasonable to think that it's just part of The Project.
As for Mr. Tharwat's worries about Kathy's "phobia", I wouldn't think that fits. According to Dictionary.com, the definition of phobia is "a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it." Since Kathy's reporting isn't based on fear, it isn't credible to call her reporting phobic. I'd add that Kathy's reporting isn't irrational since it's fact-based and rational. Furthermore, I'd doubt that anyone would buy into the notion that reporting on a terrorist group's attempts to stir up trouble is phobic. I'd bet that most people would call that rational.
Whatever her motive, Kersten is consistent in her attempts to agitate the reader about Muslims living in the United States and their perceived "threat" to Western civilization. Her zealous coverage of issues of the Muslim community is both puzzling and frightening.Mr. Tharwat is partially right in the sense that radical Islamists should be frightened by Kathy Kersten's reporting. They prefer implementing things in the Project without scrutiny. As for Mr. Tharwat's accusation of Ms. Kersten's "attempts to agitate the reader about Muslims", I'd characterize her writing as her attempt to educate Americans about Muslim extremists.
Kersten seems intent on stirring up negative public opinion on relatively minor topics in her apparent crusade to save American culture from the Muslims.If she were involved in a crusade against Muslims, which she isn't, she wouldn't have interviewed Somali Muslim taxi drivers to get their side of the story, would she?
One last thing: The first time I heard the term Islamophobia, I contacted the American Psychologists Association to see if they recognize such a phobia. They said that they didn't. In fact, the young lady with whom I talked said it sounded more like a slang term than anything else.
Posted Monday, April 30, 2007 4:16 AM
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Murtha Advocates Using Impeachment as Leverage
Think of how breathtaking that headline is. That's a stunning statement but that's what happened when Bob Schieffer interviewed Murtha for Face The Nation:
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) said Sunday that Democrats in Congress could consider impeachment as a way to pressure President Bush on his handling of the war in Iraq.As I pointed out last week, John Murtha ignored the Constitution's guarantees of due process and the right to a fair trial when he 'tried and convicted' the Haditha Marines before he had any firsthand knowledge of what happened. Now Murtha is willing to throw the Constitution aside to put political pressure on President Bush over a policy dispute. That doesn't pass constitutional muster because it doesn't rise to the level of high crimes or misdemeanors.
" What I'm saying, there's four ways to influence a president. And one of them's impeachment, " Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
It's apparent that Murtha doesn't think he's bound by the Constitution. It's equally apparent that he thinks it's ok to do whatever he wants because his goals are right. That's the epitome of arrogance. It's also the picture of injustice. Frankly, if Mr. Murtha attempts to impeach President Bush, he should be evicted from the House of Representatives for willfully violating the Constitution.
Many is the time that I've heard the phrase that "this is a nation of laws, not men." Unfortunately, Mr. Murtha doesn't believe that anymore. He thinks that laws don't apply to him. It's time that we let Rep. Murtha that his ignoring the Constitution isn't acceptable. It's time we told him that he'd better change his ways or we'll have him fired next November.
Posted Monday, April 30, 2007 4:40 AM
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Not That They're Assuming Anything
Follow this link if you want to read an utterly biased article about Iraq. Here's an example of their bias:
On the surface, there's not much suspense about what happens next in the battle between President Bush and Democratic lawmakers over the war in Iraq. Bush says he will veto the $124-billion war spending bill passed by both houses of Congress last week that requires him to begin withdrawing troops this year; when he does, Democrats say, they will protest and then send him the money without binding conditions.Why does the LA Times think that the September debate will happen under "conditions likely to be more difficult for Bush"? Why are they assuming that the trends we're now seeing won't continue? Why is it a forgone conclusion that our military can't defeat the jihadists?
That noisy script, however, is just a prelude to a debate, under conditions likely to be more difficult for Bush, that could turn into a decisive moment for the course of the war.
Most importantly, why is the LA Times ignoring stories like this one in the NY Times? Let's take a look at the NY Times article.
Anbar Province, long the lawless heartland of the tenacious Sunni Arab resistance, is undergoing a surprising transformation. Violence is ebbing in many areas, shops and schools are reopening, police forces are growing and the insurgency appears to be in retreat.This article leads me to this question: If the American and Iraqi troops continue in tamping down the AQI, why will the September vote happen under conditions hostile to President Bush? Is it because that's the predetermined storyline that the LA Times 'reporters' are expected to follow?
"Many people are challenging the insurgents," said the governor of Anbar, Maamoon S. Rahid, though he quickly added, "We know we haven't eliminated the threat 100 percent."
Before you dismiss that last question as utter snarkiness, I'll remind you that Harry Reid's been denying that they've changed strategies. I'd further say that the LA Times, the Washington Post and the NY Times haven't called him on his denial. Look at what the NY Times also reports:
Many Sunni tribal leaders , once openly hostile to the American presence, have formed a united front with American and Iraqi government forces against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. With the tribal leaders' encouragement, thousands of local residents have joined the police force. About 10,000 police officers are now in Anbar, up from several thousand a year ago. During the same period, the police force here in Ramadi , the provincial capital, has grown from fewer than 200 to about 4,500 , American military officials say.Think of the implications behind these paragraphs. Sunni tribal leaders are turning on AQM terrorists. Police forces are growing steadily. The NY Times' article even says that there's a new "security plan" in place. Now that it's in the NY Times, how much longer will Reid, Pelosi and Murtha deny the successes? Here's another hint at Mr. McManus' antiwar bias:
At the same time, American and Iraqi forces have been conducting sweeps of insurgent strongholds , particularly in and around Ramadi, leaving behind a network of police stations and military garrisons, a strategy that is also being used in Baghdad, Iraq's capital, as part of its new security plan.
By September, the troop buildup will have been underway for more than six months. Unless there is dramatic improvement in Iraq, public support for the war will probably have eroded further. And by September, skittish Republicans will be four months closer to starting their reelection campaigns.Again, Mr. McManus is assuming that things won't improve. Based on the information that I've already laid out, that's a risky assumption at minimum. Personally, I'd say that it's a foolish assumption but that's another matter.
Furthermore, the public likely wouldn't be souring on this war if the media wasn't cheering for America's defeat. As for those "skittish Republicans", I don't think that they'll materialize because they know that they'll be face primary challenges if they adopt a defeatist position, thanks in no small part to the Victory Caucus movement.
Democrats have to hope that things deteriorate because signs of victory being possible would doom the candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It would also expose the foolishness of defeatists like Ms. Pelosi and Rep. Murtha.
Originally posted Monday, April 30, 2007, revised 01-May 1:47 AM
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