UPDATE: 2:48 PM Oct. 31, 2010.
"Should Muslims be denied the right to run for office because of their religion? No," Phillips wrote, according to the letter, posted by the Minnesota Independent. "The Constitution specifies that no religious test can be used to exclude someone from public office. But when someone adheres to an ideology that says kill people who disagree with you, that is something voters should seriously consider when they vote."
He later added: "I am not going to apologize because I'm bothered by a religion that says kill the infidel, especially when I am the infidel. ... I learned everything I needed to know about tolerance on September 11th."
Quote from article at The Upshot:
Tea party founder defends attack on congressman’s Muslim faith By Rachel Rose Hartman The Upshot via Islamophobia Today October 28, 2010
And :
I'd like to ask a simple question: Why isn't Julian Assange dead? . . . WikiLeaks is easily among the most significant and well-publicized breaches of American national security since the Rosenbergs gave the Soviets the bomb. . . .
So again, I ask: Why wasn't Assange garroted in his hotel room years ago?
Quoting Jonah Goldberg in an article by Glenn Greenwald Salon.com
Christian Whiton, a former Bush State Department official, wasn't as restrained in his Fox News column last week, writing:
Rather, this [the WikiLeaks disclosure] is an act of political warfare against the United States. . . . .Here are some of the things the U.S. could do: . . .Explore opportunities for the president to designate WikiLeaks and its officers as enemy combatants, paving the way for non-judicial actions against them.
Quote from :The Wretched Mind of the American Authoritarian
By Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com Oct. 30,2010
There appears to be an increase in violent rhetoric and a call for violent actions .
From the call to kill Julian Assange the president of wikileaks for leaking a vast amount of military documents
to death threats against a woman who didn't insist on saying the pledge of Allegiance at a meeting after she was targeted by Glenn Beck
to calling for the ouster of Ellison because he's a Muslim because as a Muslim he cannot be trusted and is a threat to America's National Security.
GOP has also called for the imprisoning of doctors and their staff for performing abortions.
They are against abortions in all cases even in cases where the woman is a victim of rape and incest victims.
"Why is Assange still alive?"
The Wretched Mind of the American Authoritarian
By Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com Oct. 30,2010
-- Decadent governments often spawn a decadent citizenry. A 22-year-old Nebraska resident was arrested yesterday for waterboarding his girlfriend as she was tied to a couch, because he wanted to know if she was cheating on him with another man; I wonder where he learned that? There are less dramatic though no less nauseating examples of this dynamic. In The Chicago Tribune today, there is an Op-Ed from Jonah Goldberg -- the supreme, living embodiment of a cowardly war cheerleader -- headlined: "Why is Assange still alive?" It begins this way:I'd like to ask a simple question: Why isn't Julian Assange dead? . . . WikiLeaks is easily among the most significant and well-publicized breaches of American national security since the Rosenbergs gave the Soviets the bomb. . . .
So again, I ask: Why wasn't Assange garroted in his hotel room years ago?
It's a serious question.
He ultimately concludes that "it wouldn't do any good to kill him, given the nature of the Web" -- whatever that means -- and reluctantly acknowledges: "That's fine. And it's the law. I don't expect the U.S. government to kill Assange, but I do expect them to try to stop him." What he wants the Government to do to "stop" Assange is left unsaid -- tough-guy neocons love to beat their chest and demand action without having the courage to specify what they mean -- but his question ("Why isn't Julian Assange dead?") was published in multiple newspapers around the country today.
Christian Whiton, a former Bush State Department official, wasn't as restrained in his Fox News column last week, writing:Rather, this [the WikiLeaks disclosure] is an act of political warfare against the United States. . . . .Here are some of the things the U.S. could do: . . .Explore opportunities for the president to designate WikiLeaks and its officers as enemy combatants, paving the way for non-judicial actions against them.
I emailed Whiton and told him I'd like to do a podcast interview with him for Salon about his WikiLeaks proposal and he replied: "Thank you for the invitation, but I am starting a trip tomorrow and will be on a plane just about all day." I replied that it didn't have to be the next day -- I'd be happy to do it any day that was convenient for him -- and he then stopped answering. As I said, the real objective is for them to beat their chest in public and show everyone how tough they are -- take 'em out, Whiton roared -- but they then scamper away when called upon to be specific about what they mean or to defend it (let alone to participate in the violence they relentlessly urge). Whiton was just echoing his fellow war cheerleader, torture advocate Marc Thiessen, who wrote this in The Washington Post, under the headline "WikiLeaks Must be Stopped"The government has a wide range of options for dealing with him. It can employ not only law enforcement but also intelligence and military assets to bring Assange to justice and put his criminal syndicate out of business.
Woman Receives Death Threats Days After Beck Targets Her On His Show (for not being enthusiastic about saying the Pledge of allegiance), Think Progress, Oct. 29,2010
The League of Women Voters has filed complaints with police in Evanston, IL and the FBI saying that one of their officials has been targeted by death threats relating to a candidatess debate she moderated last week. Kathy Tate-Bradish was a volunteer moderator at the October 21 debate in the state’s 8th District and sparked conservative outrage when she expressed what was perceived as “lukewarm” support for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Just as the debate was about to begin, an audience member asked Tate-Bradish whether the pledge would be recited. When she “explained the pledge was not scheduled to begin the event, almost all in the crowd of more than 300 stood and enthusiastically recited it anyway.” Tate-Bradish recited the pledge as well, but told the crowd afterwards that the Pledge is not typically recited at candidate debates moderated by the League.
Within a few days, Tate-Bradish went from an unknown local League official to a right-wing villain, thanks to Fox News host Glenn Beck, who devoted a significant portion of his October 25 show to attacking her personally:
BECK: We wanted to look at the moderator, Kathy Tate-Bradish, from the League of Women Voters. Oh, she sounds so neutral and everything. I mean, she’s even neutral on the Pledge, apparently — just a typical woman voter trying to get the truth out. No, not so much — not so much.
She is on fire for Obama. She is a big-time Obama supporter. In fact, so much so, she’s part of his Organizing for America arm. Hmm. She’s even hosted campaign event in her home in 2007, part of her post on OFA’s, Organizing for America Web site, “Hope Action Change.”
Woman Receives Death Threats Days After Beck Attacks Her Reluctance To Recite Pledge of Allegiance
Tea party founder defends attack on congressman’s Muslim faith By Rachel Rose Hartman The Upshot via Islamophobia Today October 28, 2010
Judson Phillips, founder of the Tea Party Nation, suggested this weekend that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) be voted out of Congress for being too liberal and too radical--and because, Phillips said, he's a Muslim who supports terrorists.
And Phillips says he's not about to apologize for that last incendiary charge.
The controversy began when Phillips wrote the following message to supporters (it's unedited and contains several mistakes, including the claim that Ellison is the only Muslim in Congress; Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana is also Muslim):
Ellison is one of the most radical members of congress. He has a ZERO rating from the American Conservative Union. He is the only Muslim member of congress. He supports the Counsel for American Islamic Relations, HAMAS and has helped congress send millions of tax dollars to terrorists in Gaza.
Phillips sent a follow-up email to supporters this week reiterating his belief that Muslims deserve voters' scrutiny but also suggesting that the liberal media misinterpreted the intent of his original comments.
"Should Muslims be denied the right to run for office because of their religion? No," Phillips wrote, according to the letter, posted by the Minnesota Independent. "The Constitution specifies that no religious test can be used to exclude someone from public office. But when someone adheres to an ideology that says kill people who disagree with you, that is something voters should seriously consider when they vote."
He later added: "I am not going to apologize because I'm bothered by a religion that says kill the infidel, especially when I am the infidel. ... I learned everything I needed to know about tolerance on September 11th."
Critics accuse the conservative tea party movement of fostering racism, discrimination and intolerance. Tea party members insist that the movement abhors intolerance and bigotry.
Ellison penned a response that the Washington Post published online Wednesday, saying in part: "I issue a call to civility, and urge Americans to reject the divisive rhetoric of Republican Tea Party leaders like Judson Phillips; including calls for my defeat solely because of my religion."
Phillips, a Tennessee lawyer, founded the Tea Party Nation group, which drew flak earlier this year for holding an elaborate convention in Tennessee that featured guest speaker Sarah Palin. Some supporters balked at the high costs of the event and questioned the motives behind Phillips' for-profit organization. The group canceled a Las Vegas convention this month.
Meanwhile the MSM/Media is ignoring the GOP candidate's attacks on Women's Reproductive rights. 78 Republican candidates are against abortion even in cases of rape or incest. They believe a fetus or even a Zygote 's rights trump the rights of a pregnant woman.
The Republicans have also been debating whether women who have miscarriages should be charged with a criminal offense.
Unemployed and poor women being disproportionately affected by the economic crisis.
For instance Domestic Violence is on the rise yet funding for Shelters or Help lines are being cut.
GOP members want to make abortion a crime and also want legislation for charging and imprisoning doctors for performing abortions.
GOP wants to end any government funding for women victims of Domestic Violence since this is just a private matter for the families themselves to deal with.
According to their literal inerrant reading of the Bible the majority of women should be stay at home mothers who are ruled over by their husbands and that a man is permitted to discipline his wife and his children as he sees fit.
Their notion of traditional Marriage and traditional Family Values is that of an authoritarian or tyranny by the husband and father as the head of the family.
They are also against divorce except in cases of adultery.
Essentially they want to roll back any progress women have made in gaining equal rights and respect in the last 100 years or so.
So how different is this attitude towards women's rights that different from that of the Taliban or the government of Saudi Arabia.
Well they are not yet considering use of the Burqa or something like it but they might want to pass legislation dealing with how women should be permitted to dress or limiting some of their activities such as frequenting bars without a male escort.
GOP Hopefuls Threaten Reproductive Rights, Support for Poor Women by: Rose Aguilar, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed Oct. 31, 2010
The national media proudly proclaimed 2010 as the Year of the GOP Woman, but they've largely failed to bring actual women's issues into the conversation.
Take abortion. "The media silence on abortion means we might end up forcing women to bear their rapists' baby and the average American doesn't even know about it," says Loretta Ross, founding member of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.
Raw Story recently reported that at least 78 Republicans on the November ballot oppose abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
According to official numbers from the US Department of Justice, one in three girls is sexually abused before the age of 18; 30-40 percent of victims are abused by a family member.
When Nevada Senate hopeful Sharron Angle was asked by conservative radio talk host Bill Manders about whether she would support banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest, she said, "You know, I'm a Christian and I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations and we need to have a little faith in many things."
When talk show host Alan Stock asked Angle what she would say to a young girl who was got pregnant after being raped by her father, she said, "I think that two wrongs don't make a right."
If Republicans like Angle, Delaware Senate hopeful Christine O'Donnell or Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann have their way, women and girls would be forced to bear their rapists' babies. Anti-choice Republicans rarely go this far, but this new breed clearly feels empowered to take such extreme measures. This issue is getting attention in the alternative media and in recent debates, but the national press has largely failed to expose just how extreme these candidates are on social issues.
"It's shocking," says Amie Newman, managing editor of RH Reality Check, an online publication focusing on reproductive health and rights. "These candidates are espousing extremely frightening positions on women's health. It's important for us to understand that these positions are not just political rhetoric. If these people are elected, they have the power to change women's and girl's lives for the worst."
In her piece "Mainstreaming Extremism," Newman exposes the most extreme anti-choice GOP candidates, including Republican Senate hopeful Pat Toomey from Florida, who supports jailing doctors for performing abortions. When Republican Senate hopeful Marco Rubio from Florida was House Speaker, he passed an anti-choice bill forcing women to pay for an ultrasound prior to an abortion unless they could prove they were raped. Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed the bill.
Defunding Domestic Violence Support
In parts of California's Central Valley, where the unemployment rate is 30 percent, people are losing their homes and homeless shelters are seeing more women and children than ever. "We're trying to figure out how to serve people. We're working weekends and nights."
Demand at domestic violence shelters across the country is also on the rise, according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, but you'd be hard pressed to hear any of the cable or Sunday shows raise the issue. According to the 2009 National Census of Domestic Violence Services, on September 15, 2009, 32,524 domestic violence victims found refuge in emergency shelters or transitional housing provided by local domestic violence programs; 32,979 adults and children received nonresidential assistance and services. Because of budget cuts, more than 9,000 requests, including 5,500 for housing, were turned down...
and so it goes,
GORD.
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