April 6-8, 2007
Apr 06 15:05 Pelosi's Disaster Apr 06 15:34 Franken's Puff Piece Apr 07 01:27 Spinning Syria Apr 07 03:34 Fred Thompson Takes the Next Step Apr 07 04:23 Seifert to DFL: Drop the Tax Increases Apr 07 10:30 Pogie's Ultimatum Apr 08 17:21 DFL Dilemma Looming? Apr 08 18:36 The Iraq You Aren't Hearing About Apr 08 23:52 CAIR Does Important Work?
Prior Years: 2006
Pelosi's Disaster
By now, the entire world knows about Ms. Pelosi's un-excellent adventure. That doesn't mean that they've stopped talking about it. The best of the bunch is the Wall Street Journal's article on her adventure:
What was Ms. Pelosi hoping to accomplish, other than embarrassing President Bush? "We were very pleased with reassurances we received from the president that he was ready to resume the peace process," she told reporters after meeting with dictator Bashar Assad. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria."Based on her performance thus far, I'd say that Ms. Pelosi is the worst Speaker in the history of the Republic. It's obvious that she either doesn't know the Constitution or that she's chosen to ignore it. Why else would she try playing the role of Secretary of State? Congress has an oversight responsibility on foreign policy but they don't have the power to set foreign policy. That's what she did when she conveyed "a message from Israel's Ehud Olmert." What's worse is that the Israeli government had to correct the message, saying that they hadn't sent such a message to the Syrian government because they still supported Hamas and Hezbollah.
She purported to convey a message from Israel's Ehud Olmert expressing similar interest in "the peace process," except that the Israeli Prime Minister felt obliged to issue a clarification noting that Ms. Pelosi had got the message wrong. Israel hadn't changed its policy, which is that it will negotiate only when Mr. Assad repudiates his support for terrorism and stops trying to dominate Lebanon. As a shuttle diplomat, Ms. Pelosi needs some practice.
That's damaging enough but it isn't the worst damage she did. The worst is that she told the Syrian and Iranian terrorists that Democrats would have a thoroughly dovish foreign policy should they retake the White House. She did that by borrowing a page from the Democrats' "Can't we all just get along" playbook. Here's the direct quote:
"We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," Ms. Pelosi grandly declared.Not surprisingly, Jimmy Carter supported Ms. Pelosi's trip:
"I was glad that she went," Carter said. "When there is a crisis, the best way to help resolve the crisis is to deal with the people who are instrumental in the problem." The former president said there was "no threat" that Pelosi's trip would damage the U.S. position on Syria.The French had joined President Bush in trying to ostracize Syria for its role in the assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Pelosi's trip opens a gaping hole in their solid wall against Bashar Assad. Now they'll have to rebuild that wall, which they started doing immediately.
"On the issues that we set before the president (of Syria)," she said, "there is no division among us or between our congressional delegation in Congress and the president of the United States."That's one of the most indefensible statements I've ever heard a House Speaker make. It's time that the American people returned her to her previous role as House Minority Leader.
Posted Friday, April 6, 2007 3:07 PM
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Franken's Puff Piece
Time Magazine has written a nice puff piece on Al Franken.Here's a glimpse of it:
Franken walks into a precinct meeting and has already begun his 60-second stump speech when the audience's slightly puzzled expressions prompt him to ask, "Have I interrupted the process?" A beat of silence. "That's O.K.," someone says. Slightly rattled, Franken ends quickly. I'm not sure if he hears it when someone calls, "Yeah, who are you?" Fortunately, someone else answers for him: "That was Al Franken."Suffice it to say that Time didn't ask any probing questions. They didn't try rattling him. They didn't ask why he's made the off-color statements about Rush Limbaugh or Norm Coleman. They certainly didn't ask him about his gay-bashing.
In other words, Nick Coleman could've written this article.
Posted Friday, April 6, 2007 3:34 PM
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Spinning Syria
It's obvious that Nancy Pelosi knows that her Syrian trip is a disaster. The telltale sign is that she's spinning the trip, something she wouldn't be doing if she thought it wasn't a failure.
"Our message was President Bush's message," Pelosi said in a phone interview with The Associated Press from Portugal, where she stopped briefly en route back to the United States.That's a pile of Barbra Streisand and Ms. Pelosi knows it. President Bush's message is a hardline message. Ms. Pelosi's message was a dovish message. That's typical of far left Democrats.
"The funny thing is, I think we may have even had a more powerful impact with our message because of the attention that was called to our trip," the California Democrat said. "It became clear to President Assad that even though we have our differences in the United States, there is no division between the president and the Congress and the Democrats on the message we wanted him to receive."If there isn't a difference between Ms. Pelosi and President Bush, then why did she insist on going after President Bush urged her not to? Frankly, I believe that her statement that President Assad knew that there "is no division between the president and the Congress" in terms of Syria policy is meant purely for American consumption. It also shows a lack of intelligence on her part in the sense that terrorists view significant divisions between politicians as a sign of weakness.
Cheney, in an interview on Rush Limbaugh's radio program, said of Pelosi's comment: "It was a non-statement, nonsensical statement and didn't make any sense at all that she would suggest that those talks could go forward as long as the Syrians conducted themselves as a prime state sponsor of terror."That's another healthy dose of spin from Ms. Pelosi. The only thing she said that I agree with is that her delegation wasn't trying "to cut deals between Syria and Israel." That's only because I believe her delegation was trying to pave the way for a deal between a future Democrat president and Syria. Ms. Pelosi's statement that her delegation was "assessing the ground truth" implies that they haven't already made up their mind on this> That's utter nonsense. She made up their minds long ago.
Pelosi said Friday she had paid no attention to the dustup back in the United States.
She also said the delegation was not trying to cut deals between Syria and Israel but rather "assessing the ground truth" to inform spending decisions made by Congress.
Posted Saturday, April 7, 2007 1:27 AM
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Fred Thompson Takes the Next Step
No, he hasn't declared himself a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination but he's started putting together a campaign staff:
Fred Thompson, the "Law & Order" actor and former senator from Tennessee, has moved beyond pondering a bid for the White House and begun assembling the nucleus of a campaign should he decide to run, according to people involved in the effort. Thompson has not yet decided to seek the Republican presidential nomination. But "he is getting more serious every day," said an adviser familiar with Thompson's plans.When Fred Thompson gets in, I believe that it'll essentially be a two man race between Rudy and Fred Thompson. I think Fred Thompson would essentially vaporize any support that was going to Mitt Romney. I think it would cut into John McCain's support, too. I believe this because Romney couldn't realistically position himself as the only true conservative in the race. Thompson has a higher name recognition and a reputation of being more conservative than Romney. I think that much of McCain's support comes from people who think that Rudy can't win because of his positions on social issues. Until now, I think McCain's supporters thought he and Rudy were the only people capable of defeating Hillary. That obviously wouldn't be the case if Thompson jumped into the race.
Though Thompson has shown well in some polls since he said he was actively considering a presidential bid, the hurdles to such a late start are many. And some people who worked with him in the Senate question his willingness to do the brutal work of a national campaign. But friends and advisers say Thompson has been buoyed by the response so far at a time when many Republicans are openly expressing disappointment with their presidential field.Last winter, King Banaian attended a Michael Medved event in the Twin Cities. One of the things I told King then was that I thought Fred Thompson would make a great candidate because of his command of the issues, his personality and his speaking ability. I told King then that I could picture him carving Hillary up in a debate without raising his voice.
"The outreach to him has been so overwhelming that he is now starting to talk to people to really calibrate what it would take to run a successful campaign," the adviser said. "He's talking to some of the top unaligned strategists and fundraisers. He's said: 'I'm seriously considering it, and I'm happy to hear your thoughts and ideas.'"
I don't think it's fair to judge Thompson with Ronald Reagan even though that's something people have started doing. Here's my take on that. Yes, they both have an acting background, which leads to them both being good communicators. Yes, they both held political office before running for President. I suspect that they have similar positions on most issues, too.
That said, Ronald Reagan's presidency changed the course of history in a pretty dramatic way. Reagan's policies led to the toppling of the Berlin Wall. All his policies were aimed to that end. When he chose to fight guerrilla wars in Central America, the goal was to thwart the Soviet Union's influence there. When he supported the freedom fighters in Afghanistan, the goal was to thwart the Soviet Union's influence in southwest Asia.
Reagan also took over when the economy was in shambles. He turned it into the envy of the world. Some say that we're still riding that Reagan wave. I don't disagree.
Finally, we're reaping the rewards of the Reagan Justice Department. Rudy Giuliani, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito were some of the people who worked in the Reagan Justice Department.
Suffice it to say that a Thompson administration could have a significant and positive impact without having the dramatic impact that the Reagan administration had.
Posted Saturday, April 7, 2007 3:35 AM
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Seifert to DFL: Drop the Tax Increases
According to this article, Marty Seifert has a message for the DFL-dominated legislature: Drop the tax increases & live within your means. Here's the gist of his message according to Dana Yost:
A couple poison pills and an insistence on tax increases are preventing the Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty from reaching compromise on major finance bills, state Rep. Marty Seifert said Thursday in a speech in Marshall. Seifert, R-Marshall, is the House minority leader. He spoke at the Marshall Area YMCA in an event sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. There was an overflow crowd in the "Y" room.If you thought that our legislators wouldn't sustain Gov. Pawlenty's vetoes, this should be proof that they will. This entire week has been devoted to making the GOP legislature's, and the Governor's, case for not raising taxes while holding down spending.
He said he thinks finance bills could be wrapped up by the end of this month, if the DFL majorities in both the House and Senate dropped their tax-increase plans and a couple of other provisions, such as tuition breaks for illegal aliens, from their bills.
Why?
Because Pawlenty has pledged to veto any bill with a tax increase or the poisoned pills, and the DFL should not stubbornly push him bills it knows will be vetoed, Seifert said. Seifert said he thinks the state government should live within its means, and that means funding programs with the projected budget surplus, not through new taxes. And while the House and Senate also have proposed their own budgets, he said the governor's proposal is probably the best compromise on the table.
"The middle ground, really, in my opinion, is the governor's budget," Seifert said.
Similarly, the DFL has tried making their case this week, too. I suspect that their work won't be rewarded like the GOP's work will be. In fact, I'd say that this has been a rough two weeks for the DFL. I suspect that the DFL will start backing down from some, though not all, of their tax increase plans. I base that opinion on the fact that the various Chambers of Commerce have stated their opposition to the property tax increase on commercial property & on the Strib article that quotes businessmen Ed Gorman & Thomas Loome. When we look back, don't be surprised if we look back at Gorman's & Loome's contributions as being a major turning point.
We also shouldn't minimize the damage done by the DFL itself. Cy Thao's quote got things started but my personal favorites are Steve Murphy's quote that "I'm not trying to fool anybody. There's a lot of taxes in this bill" & Sandy Pappas' quote that "We are starving higher education" after they could 'only' increase higher education spending by $296 million.
At the end of the day, I think it'll become obvious that conservatives have the more appealing message. I think it'll be obvious that the DFL's message of more isn't resonating with people. The telltale sign to watch for is them caving on some of their tax increases.
Posted Saturday, April 7, 2007 4:24 AM
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Pogie's Ultimatum
Leave it to Larry Pogemiller to issue an ultimatum based on spin. I've seen lots of things in my life but I've never seen that before. Here's Pogemiller's ultimatum:
Pawlenty will be consulted during negotiations, Pogemiller said, but the governor needs to be willing to compromise after years of refusing to consider any state-level tax increases. "He promised during his re-election run that he's going to govern differently than he did in his first term," Pogemiller said. "I take him at his word."Talk about nonsense. Pogemiller thinks that he can spin Gov. Pawlenty's remarks into meaning that Gov. Pawlenty is willing to accept the DFL avalanche of taxes. Sen. Pogemiller had better learn the definition of compromise first. The House stripped all of Gov. Pawlenty's education recommendations out of their education bill. Like I said here, the real goal of the DFL is to get the GOP to cave into their demands. That won't happen because the DFL's tax increase agenda isn't popular with the voters. It's only popular with DFL activists.
Here's how Marty Seifert fought back against the DFL tax avalanche:
But House Minority Leader Marty Seifert said the Democrats plan to tax high-income earners, the state's "job creators", with the highest tax rate in the nation will harm the state's economy. "You're either going to have fewer jobs, you're going to have higher-priced products or they're going to leave the state," said Seifert, R-Marshall.The DFL budget plan is based alot on smoke & mirrors. Their leaders say that they must create a new tax bracket for the wealthy to give the average Joe some property tax relief. Their problem is that you get a different perspective when you look at it closely:
House Tax Committee Chair Ann Lenczewski says that everyone would benefit from the House DFL plan. The property tax relief isn't guaranteed, though:That isn't all to the DFL's 'Smoke & Mirrors' tax cut. Here's their idea of property tax relief:However, that relief will not come if money is not available to fund it.
- $223 million to increase refunds.
- $133 million to lower school levies.
- $83 million to increase aids paid to local governments.
- $104 million to fill gaps while the property tax system changes.
Thanks to the Strib, we already know how out of control property taxes are:
A cod dinner at Gorman's Restaurant in Lake Elmo costs $9.05, and a bacon cheeseburger $6.60, since prices rose 40 cents in February. The owner, Ed Gorman, said he couldn't think of any other way to pay the restaurant's property tax bill, nearly double last year's. "We work on budgets around here ; it's not like going to the store and buying $1,000 worth of hamburger and selling it for a profit," he said.Sen. Pogemiller would be wise to consider the voter counterrevolution that will happen as a result of the DFL's spending spree. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any signs that Sen. Pogemiller caters to the average voter. Everything I've seen points to Sen. Pogemiller caters to his political allies only.
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The tax increases puzzle Gorman and other Washington County business owners, who find themselves facing, in some cases, dramatic increases in the assessed value of their commercial property. "It was harsh and unexpected [and] wasn't budgeted for," said Thomas Loome of Loome Antiquarian Booksellers, a downtown Stillwater business that he said will close as a result.
It's time that Minnesota's voters were told that the DFL 'leadership' takes care of their allies (think Education Minnesota) first & that the other 99.5 percent of the voters get leftovers.
Originally posted Saturday, April 7, 2007, revised 08-Apr 12:31 AM
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DFL Dilemma Looming?
That's the message I get from the first couple paragraphs in this West Central Trib article. Here's the information that I'm basing my opinion on:
Lawmakers can expect what has been an easy session to change as hard decisions must be made in coming weeks:The answer to the biggest question is no. The state budget shouldn't grow 18.7 percent. In case the DFL didn't notice, we spent our way into a record $4.5 billion deficit. I'd also suggest that the DFL give up on increasing property taxes on commercial property. Doing that will kill the Minnesota economy, possibly even putting it into a recession just on that alone.
- Is a 9.8 percent increase in the state budget, as Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposes, enough? Or should it rise 18.7 percent, as Senate Republicans figure Senate Democrats want?
- Should income taxes rise? If so, how much? If not, how should priorities such as property tax relief be funded?
- Should education receive a major boost in funding? If so, from where would the money come? If not, where could money be found to fill a special education funding gap and to offer more early-childhood programs?
- Should voters be asked to raise the sales tax and dedicate part of it to outdoors, clean water and arts programs?
- Should health care reform wait until next year? Or should it be pushed to the front burner in 2007?
- Should fuel taxes rise to build and fix roads? Or should the state borrow money?
With regards to education funding, I'd tell Education Minnesota to eliminate the layers of wasteful spending first before they get another nickel. Some MnSCU schools charge instate tuition rates for all their students. That's unfair to Minnesota's taxpayers who subsidize the program. Tell Education Minnesota that we're eliminating subsidized education for illegal aliens, too. I don't have the figures in front of me but I'd have to believe that we'd save millions just by eliminating those subsidies. What I know for certain is that it isn't right that people who worked hard & played by the rules struggle to send their children to school & subsidize the educations of those who broke the law.
The big question is whether to raise taxes. Pawlenty thinks he has settled the matter. "If they want to send me bills to test the veto option and the override option, I just respectfully request that they do that soon," the governor said.Sen. Solon, the best option available to him is to simply tell people how much the DFL's property tax relief would cost:
Democrats, who control both chambers, want to raise income taxes so they can lower property taxes. "How's the governor going to veto property tax relief?" Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, DFL-Duluth, asked.
Marquart's proposal would cost $543 million, most of which would come from a new, higher income tax rate on couples earning more than $400,000 a year. The new property tax relief money would spend:In other words, roughly 40 cents of each 'relief' dollar is actual relief. The other 59 cents of each dollar is money sent to school boards & local governments, who can theoretically then use it for their own pet projects. That doesn't sound like much relief to me.
- $223 million to increase refunds.
- $133 million to lower school levies.
- $83 million to increase aids paid to local governments.
- $104 million to fill gaps while the property tax system changes.
Another way to frame it would be to compare how much of this imaginary 'relief' gets to taxpayers vs. how much the gas tax increase costs them. When they hear that, I'd doubt that the average Minnesota voter will think that they like their property tax relief.
An example of the difficulties facing lawmakers and Pawlenty is tax. The Senate voted to raise income taxes on the richest Minnesotans nearly $1 billion. The House is considering a much more modest $433 million tax hike.Politicians hear this: We've got a $2.16 billion surplus. We know that it isn't imaginary. Furthermore, tax increases of any size can't be described as modest. Tax increases of any sort should be labeled for what they are: OUTRAGEOUS!!!
Let's frame this another way. Let's suppose 2 cars are traveling down I-94 & that the speed limit is 70 mph. One car is going 95 mph, the other 80. By comparison, the car traveling 80 is traveling at a more modest rate but I'd doubt that the highway patrolman who writes them both a ticket will say that either vehicle was traveling at an acceptable speed.
At the end of the day, Minnesota would be better off if the DFL-dominated legislature took Gov. Pawlenty's advice:
You don't celebrate getting out of Weight Watchers by going over to the all-you-can-eat buffet. So our message to the Legislature is: 'Push away from the table. Put your fork down.'Thank God that the Wild aren't the only team with a good goalie. Without this GOP goalie, we'd be heading for economic disaster.
Posted Sunday, April 8, 2007 5:21 PM
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The Iraq You Aren't Hearing About
That's the title of John McCain's op-ed in today's Washington Post. Suffice it to say that it lives up to its headline. Here's the opening paragraph of McCain's op-ed:
I just returned from my fifth visit to Iraq since 2003, and my first since Gen. David Petraeus's new strategy has started taking effect. For the first time, our delegation was able to drive, not use helicopters, from the airport to downtown Baghdad. For the first time, we met with Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province who are working with American and Iraqi forces to combat al-Qaeda. For the first time, we visited Iraqi and American forces deployed in a joint security station in Baghdad, an integral part of the new strategy. We held a news conference to discuss what we saw: positive signs, underreported in the United States, that are reason for cautious optimism.There's bound to be alot of outrage over this op-ed because the Agenda Media won't like it that they're being exposed for not telling the whole truth about the improving conditions on the ground after the start of the Petraeus Offensive. It likely won't get criticized by Harry Reid and Damascus Nancy because they don't want to talk about anything positive that's happening in Iraq. In other words, Reid and Pelosi will ignore it altogether.
For truth-seeking Americans, though, they'll soak this information up like a sponge. If the Reputable Right Blogosphere has taught us anything, it's that democracies that are information-starved soak up information from credible sources. Having just returned from a trip to Baghdad, including the Green Zone and Anbar Province, John McCain certainly qualifies as a credible person.
I observed that our delegation "stopped at a local market, where we spent well over an hour, shopping and talking with the local people, getting their views and ideas about different issues of the day." Markets in Baghdad have faced devastating terrorist attacks. A car bombing at Shorja in February, for example, killed 137 people. Today the market still faces occasional sniper attacks, but it is safer than it used to be. One innovation of the new strategy is closing markets to vehicles, thereby precluding car bombs that kill so many and garner so much media attention. Petraeus understandably wanted us to see this development.The sooner the number of car bombings is dramatically reduced, the more positive the coverage will be. The reality is that car bombings contributed the most to the doom and gloom about Iraq. Certainly there were other things happening that contributed to the bad news but car bombings were the biggest contributor. The thing that I like about Petraeus' strategy is that is shows an understanding on his part that winning the 'nightly news' war is as important as winning the gunfights or killing terrorists or jailing insurgents.
I went to Iraq to gain a firsthand view of the progress in this difficult war, not to celebrate any victories. No one has been more critical of sunny progress reports that defied realities in Iraq. In 2003, after my first visit, I argued for more troops to provide the security necessary for political development. I disagreed with statements characterizing the insurgency as a "few dead-enders" or being in its "last throes." I repeatedly criticized the previous search-and-destroy strategy and argued for a counterinsurgency approach: separating the reconcilable population from the irreconcilable and creating enough security to facilitate the political and economic solutions that are the only way to defeat insurgents. This is exactly the course that Petraeus and the brave men and women of the American military are pursuing.What Sen. McCain is saying is that Gen. Petraeus has implemented a new strategy and that that strategy is working thus far. McCain's also saying that he's can be trusted in his appraisal because he's consistently been critical of past strategies.
I strongly recommend that you read the entire op-ed. Unless you're a daily reader of the milbloggers, it's a picture of Iraq you won't see.
Posted Sunday, April 8, 2007 6:37 PM
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CAIR Does Important Work?
According to this official CAIR statement, Gov. Ed Rendell, (D-PA), showed up at CAIR-PA's fundraiser in Philadelphia last night. Before he arrived, freshman Rep. Joe Sestak, (D-PA), told CAIR that they did "important and necessary work in a difficult environment."
CAIR-PA thanked Rep. Sestak for refusing to back out of speaking at the dinner after facing rhetorical attacks from Islamophobic Internet bloggers who objected to his decision to address hundreds of local Muslims.CAIR indeed does do important and necessary work. If not for CAIR, terrorists like Sami al-Arian wouldn't have spokespeople:
SEE: Sensitive Political Test for Sestak (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Sestak told dinner attendees: "CAIR does such important and necessary work in a difficult environment to change such perceptions and wrongs, from racial profiling and civil rights to promoting justice and mutual understanding, at a time when it is challenging to be an American-Muslim."
"We need to claim our values, not betray them, by ensuring there is not a psychology that pulls out of the rich fabric of our American community those who look like 'one of them.' We are better than that," said Sestak.
And yes, Ahmed Bedier has acted as Sami Al-Arian's spokesman. One Google search on the internet of both their names provides over 200 results,mostly news stories containing quotes from Bedier about Al-Arian and his legal troubles. He was even the motivating force in trying to get Al-Arian's trial moved out of Tampa! According to The Tampa Tribune, Bedier "said he was disappointed to learn a jury had been chosen. While most people in Tampa are nice, he said, they have seen years of media coverage portraying Al-Arian in a bad light."If not for CAIR, 'charities' like the Holy Land Foundation wouldn't have been able to raise funds for Hamas in the aftermath of 9/11:
In September of 2001, just following the worst terrorist attack ever suffered in modern history, CAIR placed on its website, under a picture of the World Trade Center in flames, a plea for donations. It read, "Donate to the NY/DC Emergency Relief Fund."What type of organization would play on the emotions of people wanting to contribute to the victims of the biggest terrorist attack in history? Here's the content of the Treasury Department's official statement:
Yet, when people clicked on the link, it did not take them to any NY/DC Emergency Relief Fund. No, it took them straight to the website of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, an Islamic 'charity' that was soon to be shut down by the United States for "raising millions of dollars annually for HAMAS."
ROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRSIf not for CAIR, who'd work with Democrats to "limit the reach of the Patriot Act" and to end racial and religious profiling?
December 4, 2001
PO-837
Statement of Secretary Paul O'Neill on the Blocking of Hamas Financiers' Assets
When the President declared war on terrorist financing in September, we made al Qaida our primary focus of attention, and have since blocked $61 million worldwide in assets of the Taliban and al Qaida. In October, we broadened our pursuit of terrorist assets to include all Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including Hamas. We stated very clearly our intent to pursue the bankers who finance these terrorists. Today, we are advancing on those financiers of terror.
The Hamas terrorist organization has taken the lives of scores of individuals, including American citizens. They have proudly claimed credit for their acts of evil, including the horrific attacks this past Sunday. They raise money in the United States and around the world. Clearly, Hamas is a terrorist organization of global reach.
Today we are shutting down three Hamas-controlled organizations that finance terror. The Holy Land Foundation masquerades as a charity, while its primary purpose is to fund Hamas. This is not a case of one bad actor stealing from the petty cash drawer and giving those stolen monies to terrorists. This organization exists to raise money in the United States to promote terror.
Last year, Holy Land raised $13 million. Government agents today shut down 4 offices of the Holy Land Foundation in the United States. Innocent donors who thought they were helping someone in need deserve protection from these scam artists who prey on their benevolence.
Similarly, the al Aqsa bank and the Beit al Mal bank aren't just banks that unknowingly administer accounts for terrorists. They are direct arms of Hamas, established and used to do Hamas business.
We will continue to name the financiers of terrorism to ensure that Hamas and other terrorist organizations have no ability to finance their acts of evil. We will work with every civilized nation around the globe to ensure there is no safe haven for terrorist money. Just as in a ground war, we will win by taking one hill at a time, advancing tirelessly every day, until terrorists and their money have nowhere to hide.
The point to my sarcasm is to raise questions. Is Rep. Sestak pandering to his audience? Or does he actually think that "CAIR does such important and necessary work"? I can't prove it but I'm betting that he actually believes that. According to this Militant Islam Monitor post, one of Sestak's staffers is a former CAIR-PA communications director by the name of Adeeba Al Zaman. That personnel decision alone makes me question how committed Rep. Sestak is to defeating terrorists.
Here's how CAIR was founded:
In 1994 by Ibrahim Hooper, Nihad Awad, and Omar Ahmad, all of whom had close ties to the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), which was established by senior Hamas operative Mousa Abu Marzook and functioned as Hamas' public relations and recruitment arm in the United States."Isn't it time that we said that cozying up to terrorist-sympathizing groups like CAIR is unacceptable, especially in a post 9/11 world?
Posted Sunday, April 8, 2007 11:55 PM
Comment 1 by Always On Watch at 13-Apr-07 06:31 PM
You might be interested in the first 20 minutes of this:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?show_id=17269
