I Want My Country Back
A man walks through the crowd at the Ground Zero protest and is mistaken as a Muslim. The crowd turns on him and confronts him. The man in the blue hard hat calls him a coward and tries to fight him. The tall man who I think was one of the organizers tried to get between the two men. Later I caught up with the man who’s name is Kenny. He is a Union carpenter who works at Ground Zero. We discussed what a scary moment that was for him. I told him that I hoped it did not ruin his day.
Thanks to Sarah Palin and all the right wing political opportunists who have turned this into the issue of the day, and have given these people cover. The Republican Party, in its death throes has sunk to its lowest common denominator. In order to get warm bodies to the polls, every “ism” in the book is thrown around, and the fear card is played at every xenophobic turn. Apparently now you can toss freedom of religion under the bus while wearing a cloak of patriotism, and you can throw around the “n” word and not be considered a racist.
There are days when I don’t recognize my country, and this is one of them. I was raised about ten miles as the crow flies from where this video was shot, and I was always taught to believe that our diversity was our strength. And in my school, kids of different faiths were friends, and it didn’t matter. You weren’t condemned because of the bad behavior of others in your race, religion, nationality or gender.
I want my country back.
[h/t IrishGirl]
That is not my country. Those are not my people.
Amen mag.
ditto
I’m sorry AKM…
During my short lil life this has happened in varying degrees 3 times- the Red scare of the 50s, the whatever it was in the late 60s and early 70s, and now…
we don’t stay “learned” very long…
4 times… I always block out the horror of the civil rights battles … water hoses turned on law abiding peacefully assembling citizens, 4 lil girls firebombed in a church, Medgar Evers…
I remember it all so well. I watched a video about Evers last night (can’t post the link) on YouTube . Matthew Dow was the reporter and he showed similarities of Obama and Evers. It was eerie because they do seem much alike. I am sickened and truly heartbroken by what Palin stirred up in 2008 and continues to stir up.
just watched the video on youtube…. fyi the reporters name is Harold Dow
Did you visit Gryphen’s site?
Islamic radicals are seizing on protests against a planned Islamic community center near Manhattan’s Ground Zero and anti-Muslim rhetoric elsewhere as a propaganda opportunity and are stepping up anti-U.S. chatter and threats on their websites.
One jihadist site vowed to conduct suicide bombings in Florida to avenge a threatened Koran burning, while others predicted an increase in terrorist recruits as a result of such actions.
Can someone talk some sense into this Pastor Jones guy???……
The most violent threats stem not from the debate over the Islamic center but more fringe issues, such as a declaration by Terry Jones, pastor at the Dove World Outreach Center, a mega-church in Gainesville, Fla., that Sept. 11 be an “International Burn a Koran Day.”
The Dove miscreants will not be allowed to burn the Koran…..by order of the Fire Department down there. Yep. It’s come to this: our Fire Departments are standing up to these miserable scum, not the GOP or the “real American Patriots” in our country.
If I understand it correctly, they definitely can burn the Koran, just not outside. So they can still take videos and post them online to promote their hate
Scary. These crazy people can rile up more hate than anyone. If everyone had joined hands and said build the community center – it will bring us together – this kind of division and animus wouldn’t be fomented. It makes me both angry and sad. Excellent writing once again AKM.
Who was it, McCain or Cheney, wishing for a terrorist attack on Obama’s watch?
I’m no conspiracy theorist, but this scenario is shaping up to be a wingnut’s wet dream.
Stir up anti-Muslim sentiments, which in turn stirs up the terrorists, thus causing a terrorist attack on Obama’s watch.
“So what if American citizens die in the process? Hooray, we made Obama look bad!”
Exactly, ds55.
ds55, you may be right in that. Although, I fear that before that can happen there will be a martyr to our cause, and that it will only serve to show how bloodthirsty the neocons are. They won’t shed a tear.
What also frightens me, some of these nut bags get some evil plan to do something awful and try to pin it on the Muslim community. I am so saddened in this day and age we get people that are so blind, so easily believe blatant lies and misinformation. Have we not grown any. This is what the American Dream has turned into.
I want my country back.
Thanks for posting this. I am very sad about this.
Lemming mentality…crowd mentality…easy to be brave as part of a pack of mad dogs…
these people are so stupid they dont know their heads from their butts.
But then, 20% of US citizens are functionally illiterate.
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0821/fox-shareholder-funded-mosque-imam/
The second largest shareholder in News Corp. — the parent company of Fox News — has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to causes linked to the imam planning to build a Muslim community center and mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan, says a report from Yahoo!News.
We are experiencing the “Rise And Fall Of The Great American Society”.
wynsplc this is neither the rise or the fall of our great nation. During every war and every great economic downturn in society we have the hate and fear mongers come out for their 15 minutes of fame. Our society is still strong and is starting to rebound from the deep recession. We have to have Faith that the silent majority are the ones that are making the decisions for our country. Sarah knows what she is doing you can see it in her financial statements!
This is our country. People have been propagandized for decades to get this level of hate. Our schools have been turned into ignorance producing facilities. The news media conditioned people to hate Muslims, along with the CIA and military-industrial complex, and so did a lot of politicians. The same system worked on the “War on Drugs” which has helped many corporations get rich and has destroyed many lives. Ignorant people are easy to manipulate. To have a strong democracy we have to have a highly educated population. For years we have been lied to and fed false information, now people do not know who or what to believe, there is great fear. Just like sports games, for some reason many people feel they must be totally on one side and totally dislike the other side. The second amendment is not rocket science, yet many can’t understand it. Yes, this is our country and for decades we sat by and let the corporations and special interests create what it is now without speaking up. It is time we all took to the streets and protested in mass.
You’re singing my song, Celia. Not paying taxes isn’t just about keeping money in their pockets. It’s about keeping massive groups of society ignorant while their children go to private schools and private residential treatment facilities.
I agree, that is why I am so glad that artists the caliber of Sheryl Crow are starting to use the power of music to speak out.
And tonight I saw on cable (visiting the bf) that there will be a program (excuse me while I puke) called “Giuliani’s 9/11.” Giuliani is a coward, who was responsible for hundreds of deaths at the WTC (he’d been told that police & fire radios couldn’t communicate, and did nothing), and during the crisis he kept the police and fire command as his personal bodyguard. He’s also a corporatist (yes, I’m being polite and not calling him a fascist) who made our pedestrian-friendly city as automobile-friendly as possible, used locking fencing to keep us huddled together (this measure was supposed to make parades safer; instead it turned protesters into prisoners), and cost our city tens of millions of dollars in settlements and jury awards because he kept violating peoples rights. Now, of course, he wants to be president, and figures if there’s an attack, he’ll present himself as the savior. What makes him think the xtians will forget his appearances in drag year after year, or his pro-choice stance? Another disgusting Rethug.
I live in NYC and I have a huge amount of DISrespect for this low-life.
Something tells me that this is a inside job by the radical repubs to make true a terrorist attack on Obama’s watch. Seriously.
I sincerely hope you are wrong. If you are right, I hope we catch those responsible really fast.
AKM–I second that thought. Where is the country I really want to be a citizen of? This is not it.
what makes me so sad is thinking how happy i was when obama was elected – what happened? the ugly on the right rose like a monster and the media gives them all the time. we are a sick nation. i couldn’t even watch the video. your writing says enough.
I couldn’t watch it either. Way too sad.
I knew it would make a lot of people crazy, but I didn’t realize just how FREE the racists would feel to crawl out of the rotted log and spew. Very sad.
What a bunch of filthy unAmerican pigs. The hate the first amendment and want to eliminate the 14th. If that would require a test for citizenship they would all FAIL
Throw red meat to the hungry pack and they will scream for blood.
Can we now, please, throw some people (starting with you know who and including Reid, Dean and all of the others who just do not get it) in jail for inciting riots and violence against their fellow Americans?
Why can’t those who incited this BS be held accountable?
“Oh, no, we aren’t profiling, we aren’t racist, we didn’t mean it to go this far…” Bullsh*t!!!
How do I step up and say “No more! This needs to STOP”? This is NOT the country that I love. This is NOT what we are supposed to be about. This is WRONG.
You know who will be tweeting about this incident before dawn tomorrow. I’m sure she’ll have some perfectly reasonable explanation for it. Maybe the guy was pallin’ around with terrorists…
“Saw Mosque protest video. What’s up w/ black guy?
BTW,me and Bristol will B @ Glenn Becks rally Sat. Place & anivsry of Dr Marten’s “I had ice cream” speech. Hope 2CU there.
PS…wld some1 pls look after the kids, Thanks, too, also.”
Amen. Where is all this hatred coming from? I long for the day where we can remember that we are all Americans and the premise upon this country was built was religous freedom. I am a Christian and I apparently attend Sarah’s (former) church. Although I have been attending for 6 yrs with 5 of those yrs as a volunteer in the Church nursery and have never seen one glimpse of her or her family. But never mind. My pastor is adament about avoiding politics to the point of losing membership. His overriding theme is that Christ is the center. Period.
This ridiculous uproar is stoaked by people looking to make a buck and/or political points. Not helpful at all.
And all those protesters will tell you that they are Christians.
Christians and Patriots, of which they are neither.
Indoctrination of the clueless, the uneducated, the frustrated & the afraid. They need a messiah or a cause with a scapegoat. The far theocratic right acting in lockstep with corporate schemes of dominance is only to happy to provide. ( Palin, racism, bigotry, FEAR of FEAR, etc.) The loser will be the middle class & the American spirit that has thus far held out against crude attempts to diminish both. It’s time that those with sense — common sense, a sense of decency, brains — step out & make themselves heard. If not, I hesitate to think about how Hitler came to power but I have to notice the similarities. GEEEEZ And those who holler the most about America, the Constitution & the founders are those who defile the meaning of all three.
I totally agree. I do not recognize this as exemplifying American values. It has come to the point that when I see the flag, I now think of this kind of behavior and intolerance. It makes me ill.
This is all too sad..we get a black man in the white house (who is also half white) and the world plunges into the biggest bottomless pit of fear ever.
THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
And as it says: when the screaming Tea Party Crazies quit screaming and look around, who will speak for them?
How many more do they get rid of before they are happy and think they have cleansed the planet…who will be left?
We will remain steadfast in our ability to stand. MLK and Ghandi are our models for how to stand AND remain steadfast within our own families, communities, churches civic societies, schools, etc. We will because we must. Courage counts.
Lord have mercy on us all.
Dick Cavett weighs in on the NYT opinon page:
“I remain amazed and really, sincerely, want to understand this. What can it be that is faulty in so many people’s thought processes, their ethics, their education, their experience of life, their understanding of their country, their what-have-you that blinds them to the fact that you can’t simultaneously maintain that you have nothing against members of any religion but are willing to penalize members of this one? Can you help me with this?
Set aside for the moment that we are handing such a lethal propaganda grenade to our detractors around the world.
You can’t eat this particular cake and have it, too. The true calamity, of course, is that behavior of this kind allows the enemy to win.”
I don’t live in NYC so I really have no say. However, I still maintain that the most beautiful memorial to what happened on 9/11 would be to build a multi-cultural community center right smack in the middle of “ground zero” and let the light of freedom and tolerance shine for the entire world to see (with a pool for Momma Bubbles to swim in of course). I would rather that we heal our wounds than pick at the scabs until we bleed and cause scars. But that’s just me….
LoveMD……that sentiment is mine also (how did you know that?)
i am beginning to have doubts about all this nonsense. i know the people have been manipulated. we all know and have known for many months that the Saudi prince Al Talibani and Murdock and Bush and co were doing the ‘dirty’ together. i don’t like any of this. i mistrust everyone; corporate broadcast/cable news, talk shows newspapers, christians, hindus, jews, buddhists, animists, witches,warlocks…the whole lot of them….. now that being said. is it so hard to build a lovely heated pool for Bubbles to bask in? some wonderful restaurants serving tasty, delicious nosh so when mudpups come visiting they can bask with me and eat choclit cake? YES!!!…i say build a better mousetrap directly on ‘the site’ and the heck with 51 Park Place….trust me. it is cheesy little nothing street anyway.
also..i just wanted to say that there was a counter protest in favor the community center but of course the media wasn’t interested. i am so mistrustful of that confrontation with the purported ‘muslim’. it was staged and badly…at first the news reported that he and his son both muslims flew from California to protest against the “mosque.”..now it seems he is a carpenter from the ‘site’ who just happened to be wandering through this crowd of jacked up white people. i say it’s all moose snot…. that was a brother from right here in Manhattan. i caught his accent when he said “mutha feckin”….also he was wearing a white silk cap that my brothers wear to protect their beautiful wavy hair from dirt and dust of the city. next he was wearing the red,white and blue Puerto Rican flag necklace that many brothers wear whether they are from the island or not….next he allowed these white men to surround him and no blood flowed. not reasonable.phony from first frame till the last.
You know…what you say really makes sense. I am a brown sistah and there is no way I would have walked through that crowd with that hat on and I don’t know any person of color in my neighborhood who would have done that either.
Also…if that white man was not a prop (the one who came to the aid of the black guy), that crowd would have called him every n lovin’ word in the book and beat the crap out of him. Then the older man came to the black guy’s aide…that whole thing was fake from beginning to end. I’ve seen those kind of confrontations and IMHO, that would not have ended so nicely had it not been staged.
The whole thing was staged. I wonder how much money they paid the black and white actors in that bunch of crap. If that was real, that black guy would have been getting out of there as quickly as he could, cause those white people could have surrounded him and stomped him to death. But he still kept wondering around in that hostile crowd. My thought is that they (don’t know who) told him that he would not get hurt and that they would pay him AFTER ENOUGH VIDEOS WERE TAKEN. He was staying around because he had not been paid yet.
Exactly what someone wanted to prove, I don’t know. Perhaps tolerance on the part of the white crowd and that one white man (with the blue hard hat) did not get the memo, because moments after the confrontation the crowd began chanting very quickly about ‘no mosque here’. Look at the video again……
o.m.g.
jesus weeps
Wow! This explained a LOT! I remember one of The Amazing Race episodes (can’t remember which season) where the racers had to do a challenge with the Sufi Worshipers swirling around. I can better appreciate now WHY New Yorkers were so happy to have this Community Center built by the Sufi Islam Muslims:
Fareed Zakaria: The Ground Zero Community Center’s Imam Follows A Liberal Form Of Islam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyxVl_ATkIU
“Have you heard of Sufi Islam? Well, Al Qaeda sure has.
It is the mystical brand of Islam that embraces a more liberal interpretation of the Koran. Sufism embraces music and song. It is an interpretation that Al Qaeda views as its mortal enemy.
It is also the sect of Islam embraced by the Imam of the Islamic center near Ground Zero. Watch as Fareed takes a look at what lies behind Sufism…and why Al Qaeda’s hatred of it should inform us about where Imam Rauf stands on the Islamic spectrum.”
Great post, AKM…..and eerily coincidental. I never talk to my right-wing relatives about politics in order to keep the family peace, but I got a forwarded email with a video of “Muslims’ plans to impose Shariah law on Americans” from one of my relatives today. That did it for me. Following is my email back to him:
“If reasonable conservatives cannot even recognize that there’s a concerted political effort to stir up fears about anyone who’s not a white American in this country, then there’s little hope for civil debate.
Think about the “news” topics dominating these days: scary illegal immigrants; scary “anchor babies;” scary Muslims; scary New Black Panthers; repealing the 14th Amendment, racism against white people; “PO is a Muslim because he carries the seeds of being a Muslim from his father (per Franklin Graham a few days ago)……..the fear-mongering is out of control!! .
I’m not saying that there aren’t issues we should be concerned about and address, but most of these issues were present when George Bush was President for eight years — but the fear-mongers were quiet because a Black Democrat was not president. If you recall, the white militias and specifically, Tim McVeigh, were responsible for the most deadly domestic terrorist attack in this country in 1995 during the LAST Democratic presidency. The militias and white supremacy groups which had died back after that tragedy have exploded again with Obama’s term. Sorry, but we should be a lot more concerned about these whacko domestic terrorists right here in our backyards than the possibility of a nefarious plan for Shariah Law taking over our courts in the future.
The terrible thing about the Muslim hysteria is that it plays right into Al-Qaeda’s narrative about our country being in a Holy war with Islam. Great recruiting tool for Al-Qaeda. America’s fear and hate of Muslims is being broadcast throughout the world which not only directly endangers our troops who are fighting in countries which have Muslim populations, but it weakens our general military objectives over there. These are NOT patriotic, American, or conservative values and behavior! ”
Wonder if he’ll ever talk to me again….
As an Alaskan who lived in a very rural area who owns and relies on fire arms.
I find that the NRA and other like minded groups along with arms and munitions manufactures and even retail markers are a big part of the problem. They help feed the fear with propaganda, misinformation in mass marketing format, with paid for mouth pieces under the guise of “News Personality”. And it is all a for profit game, sell some fear sell some guns and ammo. Do these groups speak up or call out people who think it is OK to just bring along there semi automatic rifle to a parade where families gather, no, no they do not. Maybe if they can get the masses riled up they can provoke some group of irrational blind followers to do something that is just enough to get a war started then they can really make some money.
I was wondering if NRA has any stock in arms or ammunition companies, or how much they receive in donations from same. Look at what happened to the sales and price of ammo when President Obama was first elected and the “he’s going to take away our guns” hysteria started. There was a lot of money to be made by spreading that around, and I’m guessing they were among the benefactors.
Excellent response Lee, well said! If he doesn’t talk to you again, I’m sorry, but there comes a point where one needs to draw a line across the sand as to how much compromise you are able to provide to keep peace in the family. I think your head in in the correct place. We need some peace in this nation too.
Standing ovation!!
Thanks for sending out the rebuttal. There are a lot of people out there who need to hear what you said, especially the last paragraph.
Wonder if he’ll ever talk to me again……. he may not ever talk to you again but i will. it took a lot for you to stand up to that man. and what a lovely way you expressed yourself…wow Lee.
Lee – I agree with you, re: “These are NOT patriotic, American, or conservative values and behavior! ”
I also believe that the Republican party has no real leadership, they have allowed the radical right to control their message…fear,fear,fear! (hate,hate,hate!)
I feel that their policies are what helped get us in the economic mess and not to mention an unjust war of which our country is “officially” leaving, combatively, anyway!?!?
That is why we or I should say the majority voted for Barack Obama. I think that he has gotten alot accomplished so far, especially with the fact of where our country was when he took over the reins. Although there are some things I wish that he could try to accomplish more rapidly or progressively, I believe that he is the best that we have and will probably vote for him if he runs for a second term. (unless someone better comes along!)
Anyway – I wish (will kinda) that the Republican party could find someone to lift up and help neutralize they’re negative messaging that they spew. Not that I would back them but I feel that it is healthy for our country to have a political balance to show the world how “positive” opposing idealogies can work.
Here’s to hoping that we all can continue to talk reasonably even if we don’t agree!
(rose-colored?)
That is your country and those are your people. If you are American, that’s America at her finest, her greatest, her most real.
Hear me out. It’s a cliche to say that “Freedom isn’t free,” but it’s still true. This is that price. That we have to hear this sort of thing is what we have to deal with. It’s wrong and it’s ugly but it’s one of those fight-fire-with-fire things.
I do wonder, AKM, what sort of environment you were raised in. I know New York is one of the great melting pots, but it’s not one I’ve experienced. I’m from Durham, North Carolina. You might remember the Duke LaCrosse rape case a few years ago that brought out the massive racial divides in our community that were and are still very, very real. Yeah, that was my home. Decades ago gays didn’t see nearly the rights they see today, nor women, nor minorities, nor people who expressed any sympathy with Communism, right? I’d be careful with the rose-tinted glasses.
I’m thinking the understanding of what is good and right comes from many sources… rose-tinted glasses amongst them…
The strides forward are always in danger of being lost when folks get wound up in fear …
And this struck meas terribly important:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/nyregion/23protest.html
“Mr. Rose, 27, carried a handwritten sign in favor of the mosque — “Religious tolerance is what makes America great,” it read — and his presence caused a stir. An argument broke out, punctuated by angry fingers pointed in the student’s face.
One man, his cheeks red, leaned in and hissed that if the police were not present, Mr. Rose would be in danger.
Before any threats could be carried out, the police intervened, dragged Mr. Rose away from the crowd and insisted that he return to the separate area, one block away, where supporters of the project had been asked to stand.
Minutes later, as Mr. Rose was still shaking off the encounter, he turned to find the red-cheeked man back at his side. The man had followed the student up the street, and the two now stared at each other for a tense moment.
Then the man stuck out a hand and, in a terse voice, said, “I’m sorry.”
“You have a right,” he told Mr. Rose. (He would not give his name.) “I am sorry for what I said to you. I disagree with you completely, but you have a right.” ”
————————————————————————-
I’m not giving up or losing hope…
Want cynical election strategy planners to be called on the carpet !… making this mosque a big deal to advance an ideaology which excludes too many Americans from too many things is horsepunky.
I hear you DK….. the past can seem better than it really was. i remember seeing Klansman in the streets of Queens where i grew up. i remember Jim Crow as it was practiced in good old New York City Past. white people owned those famed and fabulous jazz clubs where if you where darker than a brown paper bag you.were not admitted unless you were powerful and or wealthy.
i am glad that AKM wasn’t touched by all of that. her innocence allowed soul and spirit to fly free and to become an admired voice when we need it. my people also tried to protect me from it all but of course that was impossible. what i truly miss though are those wonderful bakeries we used to have and the small grocery stores that had barrels of pickles in them and people who knew how to make sandwiches and ice cream trucks with pop sickles and 5 and 10′s where you could get the little things a person needs like M&M’s that were constantly turned under lights bulbs so they were always fresh and the choclit inside was warm. i suppose though, that when we look back we miss the people who were part of our lives and we have to wonder where did all the promise go? were we always like this? yeah pretty much…but now we have instant pictures; moving and still. we will make it. we are a very young country and if we survive these crises…..well.
Disgraceful. I’m ashamed for this country today and for my fellow Christians who have allowed themselves to be intimidated and cowed by baseless fears instead of walking by FAITH and standing up to injustice.
How anyone can view incidents like this and ever vote Republican again is beyond me. Here’s an interesting summary of the oh-so-enchanting Republican alternatives:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/The-Republican-divide-K-Street-vs-Tea-Partiers-101286384.html
“The current GOP fault line is not exactly conservatives vs. moderates or new guard vs. old guard. For 2010, the rivalry is the Tea Party wing against the K Street wing. To tell which kind of Republican a candidate is, see how the Democrats attack him: If
he’s branded a shill for Wall Street, he’s from the K Street wing. If he’s labeled an extremist outside the mainstream, he’s a Tea Partier.
More tellingly, study their campaign contributions. K Street Republicans’ coffers are filled by the political action committees of defense contractors, drug companies, lobbying firms, and Wall Street banks. A Tea Party Republican is funded by the Club for Growth or the Senate Conservatives Fund, which is run by the Republican leadership’s least-favorite colleague, Jim DeMint.”
Corporate swine or racist goons – wotta choice, eh? [and spare me the whine about "well Democrats are no better." Yes, they are.]
I disagree with painting all Republicans with the same brush. It is as wrong as when they paint all Democrats with the same brush, and I know Republicans who understand that religious freedom and freedom of speech apply to all of us, or none of us.
If we are serious about working together to get things done (and we have reached a point where we need everyone on board working together if we ever hope to extricate ourselves from this mess) we must stop calling each other names and expend every ounce of our effort on finding solutions to the issues.
From today’s Dispatches from the Culture Wars:
“Yes, opposition to the mosque is not exclusively to the right wing. And yes, Harry Reid is being as disingenuous here as many Republicans are. But Reid is only being spineless, not craven. He’s reacting to a controversy that would not exist if not for the deliberate and calculated demagoguery of the right wing.
But Wilkinson is also right to put the ultimate blame on the people who are buying this crock of stupidity. If such demagoguery didn’t work, it wouldn’t be used. And it is long past time when we could give the Republican leadership any benefit of any doubt. This is not a cynical ploy to regain power for the end of some positive agenda, this is the agenda itself — emotional manipulation for the end of gaining power itself.”
Decent Republicans have been betrayed by their party. Being a Republican isn’t a life style choice – it’s a matter of who you vote for.
There are many ways to destroy an enemy. One is to create so much internal fear and hate, that they destroy themselves. It appears that Sarah Palin with her radical right media militia, not to mention the TeaBaggers and lamestream GOP, are doing everything they can to assist foreign-based terrorists in fracturing America’s greatest strength…the inherent fairness and diversity of her people.
Indeed, well said. It is what makes her ignorant rantings so dangerous, and I believe she’s just a marionette being manipulated by many strings.
I wonder what history books people read. America massacred the Indians, enslaved Africans, stole Mexico’s land, did not allow women the right to vote, waged more than 20 wars, over controling other countries resources.
When we pretend that the top 5% who run the world are on our side and like us, we keep losing jobs, our standard of living, and civil liberties.
I have little concern about people who show up at a silly rally. It is the behind closed door deal making and K Street pay to play corrupting with our highest ranking public officials that is and will destroy America.
I have little concern about people who show up at a silly rally. It is the behind closed door deal making and K Street pay to play corrupting with our highest ranking public officials that is and will destroy America…….
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yes. absolutley Wolf and AKDisasta below is also correct. some folks don’t spend time with their own thoughts and when they do all that they can express is hatred and ignorance.
the good thing about the rally is that “Mother” saw them and rained all over their outrage,ignorance and stupidity and….. wait for it….aneuploidic behavior. (another mudpup used a word yesterday that i had never heard or used before….so i couldn’t help but show my new word off)
The zeealot Tea-baggers “War on Knowledge” continues unabated.
“Ignorance is diss” is a more apt description of (sub)humans of this ilk. Some of these types just live to hate and take pride in their gross stupidity.
” We’re taking action against evil people. Because this great nation of many religions understands, our war is not against Islam, or against faith practiced by the Muslim people. Our war is a war against evil. This is clearly a case of good versus evil, and make no mistake about it — good will prevail. ” — President George W. Bush
” All Americans must recognize that the face of terror is not the true faith — face of Islam. Islam is a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. It’s a faith that has made brothers and sisters of every race. It’s a faith based upon love, not hate. ” — President George W. Bush, Afghanistan Embassy, Washington, D.C. September 10, 2002
Search Keywords: President George W. Bush islam quotes
or: http://muslimrepublicans.net/Article.asp?ID=164
I wish there were a joke, or a bad dream…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082202895.html?hpid=topnews
Our best response is to Vote…..and to Become/Remain active.
Lord knows the democrats need inner courage, but at least their presence will keep the steamrolling at bay while we work to heal our neighborhoods.
There are those days…. this is one of them…. in which I sit back and seriously wonder: Could the predicted AntiChrist come in female form? Could Palin be the AntiChrist? It’s things like this that get me going… and I worry about tomorrow, all of our tomorrows, when Palin can be seen as a national “figure” in our country….
Well try not to sit back to long Lower48! Chin-up, I saw a program this am on HLN called Showbiz Tonight which actually was a replay- originally aired on August 20th that had a panel grading transformations of some of “Hollywood’s” most ‘famous’ women. Of which ((you-know-who-was-so screechy about thinking she is a celebrity, as mentioned by one of Homer’s finest,Kathleen Sullivan)) was included along with Miley Cyrus and Angelina Jolie. Anyway one of them gave her a …”D”…. Almost a failure…Hahaha maybe in Hollywood they see right through her also!! too!!!
Part of transcript below along with website…http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1008/20/sbt.01.html
ANDERSON: I`ve got to move to former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin to Sarah the reality star. You know, she famously quit her office as governor of Alaska, published a bestselling autobiography, signed on for her own reality show. Jess, how do you grade this transformation?
WEINER: All right. I can`t believe I`m going to say this, but I`m going to give her a D.
ANDERSON: What?
RAY: I`m going to give her a D.
WEINER: I know –
RAY: Yay!
ANDERSON: It`s almost a failure.
WEINER: It is almost a failure. I know what Tanika is going to say, but mine is going be for “delirious,” OK? I think she came on the scene like an A. If you were going to grade her entry into our pop culture lexicon, she came in like an A, but has slowly gone downhill.
And I think the fact that she quit her job to go and make more dough, she is obvious. She`s transparent. I mean -
RAY: Oh, harsh.
WEINER: Yes, I know. I`m harsh.
“Delirious”..gotta love it!! Hope you have a better tomorrow..today Lower48! Beezer
Why not it doesn’t say it has to be a male wrapped in the flag and carrying a bible does it now??????
Well, you really can’t blame that crowd for the mistaken identity. The guy wasn’t white and was wearing some kind of unfamiliar headgear. Until all Muslims are forced to sew big yellow crescents on all all of their clothes this might happen again. Of course, that may not be the final solution these “patriots” are really seeking.
Or, in a word…sickening!
You have your country back.
This country was founded on religious hatred and prejudice. For the entire 160 years of the colonial period, Protestants hated, tortured, jailed, and murdered: Woman, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Quakers, and Baptists.
When Thomas Jefferson pinned the words “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal……” he knew full well that the Baptists jailed by the Anglicans in his own home county were still in jail for being Baptists. The “all men are created equal” was just a premise Jefferson used to screw with our heads, he knew full well a Protestant, a Catholic, a Muslim, a Jew, or a Mormon would never consider each other equals. In fact he knew that Puritans hated other Protestants – Mary Dyer is a good read if you are into American Christian Morality induced S&M.
The first Amendment when, it was ratified, only applied to Congress and not the State Governments. At the time of its ratification all but Virginia and Rode Island had laws limiting religious freedom.
James Madison wanted the First Amendment to be applicable to the State Governments but wiser men then he knew that every religion and every denomination of religion was founded on prejudice and that the religious are incapable of living to a higher moral standard, so the First Amendment was originally applicable only to Congress.
The biggest joke yet is that this country was founded on Judeo – Christian ethics. It is a little hard for a Jew to contribute anything ethical in a colonial system where it is illegal to be a Jew. As for Christian ethics, another line of BS, as the colonies, with the exception of Maryland, were all Protestant. Having a Catholic colony was not acceptable so eventually the Anglicans threw the Catholics out of Maryland’s Government and limited the rights of Catholics within the State of Maryland.
So welcome back to the America of our Forefathers, aint it just grand to find your roots.
Troy Bakel
“This country was founded _despite_ religious hatred and prejudice.”
There. Fxd.
“This country _exists_ to promote religious hatred and prejudice”
There Fxd and up to date
The first plans for this community center were drawn up in December of 2009 and reviewed by the local community board in May of 2010. For more than 7 months there were no angry protests, no violent threats, no disgusting signs.
There is no doubt in my mind that the hate, anger and fear of the ‘others’ has been deliberately and purposefully stirred up by the right wing for the sole purpose of regaining political power. They have used the anger towards immigrants, the false allegations that President Obama is secretly a Muslim, and the fear of having a black man in the White House to stir up the malice that had long been buried. To inflame what should be just one more NY construction project to create an atmosphere of pure, undisguised loathing merely for political gain is simply despicable. They have created a monster and it is rapidly growing out of control, feeding upon itself and providing our REAL enemies with precisely the ammunition they need to justify their terrorist deeds.
It has reached such a dangerous, fever pitch that now is the time that Republicans need to stand up together and quell the fury. They need to put a cork back in the bottle and remind their followers of the words of George Bush after 9/11. He needs to publicly stand up and remind the citizens of this country that millions of Muslims who live in the United States ARE citizens themselves and deserve the same rights and privileges of any other citizen, including the right to worship as they see fit. They need to be reminded that we were attacked by radical terrorists who perverted their religion to validate their evil actions.
Unfortunately, this will not happen until it is too late and some act of extreme violence has taken place. Then, innocent people will suffer and perhaps die, and our true enemies will celebrate, knowing they have accomplished their goal of ripping our nation apart. People without conscience will take advantage of the violence to promote their own selfish agenda, uncaring that they are ultimately responsible for the anguish they have caused.
I was born near the end of the civil rights movement so I don’t remember the violence that took place during that time, and I can’t compare the level of anger to what we are seeing today. I sincerely hope that the history of that movement shows us we can eventually overcome this division and emerge a stronger and more compassionate people.
However, I truly fear for what we may have to go through before that happens.
Am I sad or do I fear a global war of them .vs them with us in the middle?
I have tried many, many times to post here today. Funny, I always start the same way. First, I am 58. I was born and raised in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. My people came through the Gap with Daniel Boone. Enough of that. All back story. If you know some history, maybe that is all you need.
My parents had me in 1952. We lived in a mid-sized town. Daddy was an attorney, and my mother taught kindergarten. When I was little, my father became Judge. So, that meant our phone rang a lot. Sometimes, one of the deputies would knock on the door and a child would be part of our family for an hour or two. Sometimes longer. Sometimes the phone would ring, and Daddy would leave. He’d come back with a child wrapped in a blanket, and Mother would hold that baby while Daddy would call the appropriate agency. Didn’t matter what color the child happened to be. It was a child.
When I was a teen, some idiot (and I know his name because he was caught) blew up my mother’s car because Daddy would not bow down to uber-idiots during a difficult time in my hometown. Think late 1960′s.
I was priviledged to walk with Dr. King, with my parents by my side.
I am now entering middle age (get over it), and Himself and I have three grown children. But, the unease I first felt when I was old enough to understand what was happening to this country in the early 1960′s just because of the color of a person’s skin is still here today.
My father died in 1996. My mother, the backbone of the whole fam damily, is living a lovely life of some kind of dementia. She is cool with it, although I am not.
She said today that she just doesn’t understand. Did we not go through this before? And, by the way, did anyone ever find the front headlight of her car that was blown up?
I have to tell you, I am tired. Tired of the lies and the hatred. Tired of the ignorance and oppression. Tired of it all.
I came of age during a time when we thought we could make it all better. Our grandgirlies have the same goals. As nice as that seems at first thought, it really sucks.
After viewing this the first time I thought, was the man with the headgear on going there to join the rally??? Then, after the “welcoming” he received he decided that it wasn’t the place for him?
It was so like watching all the kids in the 3rd grade getting together and taunting someone they didn’t like. Then, the “tough guy” presents himself, pumped up by the crowd noise, seeing that the person is not “one of them” he is ready for action (as long as his friends stay between him and the person he wants to fight).
The real terrorists love our intolerance, makes us more like them…