I never go to Whole Foods. It's ridiculously expensive, there isn't much organic stuff that I actually use that I can't get similarly at Trader Joe's, and the closest one that isn't populated by the insufferable spa wives of Wall Street bankers is eight miles away. Doesn't burning gas to get groceries with a crunchy granola reputation seem like missing the point? And apparently they don't treat their employees all that well. Besides, I have Fairway Market that's a five-minute drive -- a mega-market that's like the Katz's Deli of supermarkets -- great products, purveyed by an epically surly staff. You want organically-grown okra? Fairway has it. It also has the Great Wall of Hummus, the Isle of olive oil, where the perpetually hungry nosh on bread scraps dipped in aged extra virgin olive oil pressed from organically grown trees on an ancient hilltop in Tuscany, and the Monolith of Fresh Pasta. Sweet potato and arugula ravioli? They've got it. 25 kinds of olives in barrels? Yup. Noodle kugel by the pound? No problem. And yes, an entire organic produce department. Going to Fairway for the first time is kind of like Robin Williams in the coffee aisle in Moscow on the Hudson:
But I digress. This post is about Whole Foods, and why now there's another reason for us proud liberals to shun them:
Under pressure from right-wing bloggers who blindly associate Ramadan and Muslims with terrorism and burqas, Whole Foods has sent an email to its stores across the United States in which it specifically tells stores not to promote Ramadan this year.
Just last week, Whole Foods began its promotion of Saffron Road's line of halal products throughout the holiday, which ends on August 29, via writer Yvonne Maffei's blog, My Halal Kitchen. That promotion was waylaid by what seems like a very small amount of criticism, according to an internal email that the Houston Press obtained recently.
"It is probably best that we don't specifically call out or 'promote' Ramadan," reads a portion of that email. "We should not highlight Ramadan in signage in our stores as that could be considered 'Celebrating or promoting' Ramadan."
This is a significant departure from years past, when Whole Foods has promoted its halal items during Ramadan with small signs that displayed a crescent moon, the symbol of Islam. It's also a striking difference from the way that the famously tolerant grocery chain promotes other holidays, including signage and in-store promotions for Passover, Easter and Christmas.>
"We recently introduced a line of frozen products in Grocery that are Halal certified (meet Muslim dietary laws) called Saffron Road," continues the email. "With the introduction of this line company wide, and the beginning of Ramadan last week, we posted a product giveaway on the Whole Story blog (on July 31) to generate awareness and interest in the products. Some people have misinterpreted the blog post to mean we are celebrating or promoting Ramadan in our stores. The misinterpretation has generated some negative feedback from a small segment of vocal and angry consumers and bloggers."
Whole Foods has never had a problem promoting other holidays in the past.This language represents a very different side of Whole Foods than the one it showed to the media when it released this statement on its halal products and Ramadan:
We're always looking for ways to expand our product mix and provide a wide variety of high-quality natural and organic foods for our diverse customer base. We celebrate the many food choices we offer our shoppers throughout the year that satisfy a variety of lifestyles and dietary preferences. Many of our shoppers requested that we carry more halal offerings to meet their needs and we listened. We recently launched frozen entrees from Saffron Road and we are highlighting these new products that are not just halal certified, but that also meet our high quality standards. Just like the other ethnic and special diet foods we carry, we're excited to also offer halal products with this line of quality frozen entrees.
Saffron Road's halal items are still for sale in Whole Foods. Yet partners at the stores are directed to tell customers: "Whole Foods Market is not promoting Ramadan, but rather featuring the great halal offerings our shoppers can find in our stores during this special time."
Because God forbid you should promote a holiday that's important to over two million people in this country. After all, you might get a couple of ignorant hatemongers upset.
Except for the concept of the get, which is alien to most people, the observance of Jewish law usually goes unnoticed by most people. Even in Tenafly, the markings of the eruv are simply more crap on a telephone for most people. You do not see conservative legislators crying out for a ban on the practice of Jewish law.
And yet, if you are Muslim in this country, and you practice sharia law (which was intended only for Muslims anyway), you are fair game for the scoring of cheap political points:
Sharia law is quickly becoming a hot-button topic on the campaign trial, as conservatives debate the role of Islam in the United States and the conservative movement. The exact mechanics of how sharia, or Islamic jurisprudence, is threatening the United States are unclear, but some conservatives point to cases in New Jersey and Florida that they say underscores the need for a blanket ban on using foreign law in the United States.
The issue resonates with many GOP primary voters and legislators in the early primary state of South Carolina is considering a ban on sharia law that might force some more 2012 contenders engage on the issue. We've rounded up how the various 2012 candidates have positioned themselves on the issue so far.
You can read what this parade of morons thinks here.
Do any of these people even know what's IN sharia law? Because what they're talking about could by extension be applied to any kind of religious practice -- including the keeping of a kosher home.
About fifteen years ago I worked with someone who was a Catholic Latino. He once asked me, "We have the Ten Commandments. What laws do you Jews have?" He was absolutely serious.
How do you answer a question like that?
The only way you can to that level of ignorance: "We eat Christian babies on Shabbos, what do you think we have?"
A proposed Tennessee law would make following the Islamic code known as Shariah law a felony, punishable by 15 years in jail.
State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and state Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, introduced the same bill in the Senate and House last week. It calls Shariah law a danger to homeland security and gives the attorney general authority to investigate complaints and decide who's practicing it.
It exempts peaceful practice of Islam but labels any adherence to Shariah law — which includes religious practices such as feet washing and prayers — as treasonous. It claims Shariah adherents want to replace the Constitution with their religious law.
A dozen other states are considering anti-Shariah bills, and there's a federal lawsuit in Oklahoma over one.
Alissa Torres is a woman who lost her husband Eddie, who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, in the 9/11 attacks. Notice I don't call her "a 9/11 widow." I do that because Torres is so much more than just a label that's all too often used as a political prop. She's also, in addition to many other things we don't even know about, an eloquent advocate for what this country is supposed to mean:
Whether it was an evenhanded article (like Newsweek's piece in which two mothers of firefighters shared their conflicting opinions) or any of the frustrating one-sided reports I've cringed over, it was hard to deny a whiff of Jerry Springer about this: All of us, in so much pain, duking it out in the public sphere. I felt saddened, confused. It used to be so meaningful to hear a victim's voice. To listen to someone speak out. Nine years later, as I watched this spectacle unfold, 9/11 victim pitted against 9/11 victim, I had to wonder: Was it still?
Right after my husband died, grief constricted my throat; I couldn't speak. Everyone, everywhere, talked about what happened: The news told me who killed my husband, what recovery efforts were occurring, where I could get resources. Meanwhile, I was mute. I remember in those early days how much it meant to hear Rita Lasar, who lost her brother Abe Zelmanowitz in the attack (and who eventually helped found 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows), a lone voice on TV explaining why it was wrong to invade Afghanistan.
Eventually, I found my voice in a series of articles I wrote for Salon and, later, in a book. I was lucky; I had a platform that allowed me to be more than a color quote in someone's reported story. As a Peaceful Tomorrows member, I lobbied in Washington on the U.S. Patriot Act, immigration and Guantánamo Bay, and though I always felt embarrassed saying it, my status as a 9/11 family member opened doors: I spoke to high-level legislative aides, I met with actual representatives.
There is therapy in speaking up, in feeling that you are not simply small and helpless in these giant matters. Each issue presents a chance for small triumph inside an abyss of loss. Maybe we can get this even if we can never get what we really want. Because what we really want is still to have our loved ones back.
But here is what's been lost in this Park51 controversy: We are not experts, we are victims. We deserve to speak up, we need to speak up to acknowledge the pain and suffering, but we were never meant to be leaders in a national debate. Because the only thing we really know intimately is grief. The only thing we really know is what it feels like to lose a loved one in 9/11.
As we approach the ninth anniversary of the event that ripped open our lives, those 5,000+ people on Arnie Korotkin's listserv are more divided than ever. And I can't shake the feeling that the media has duped us. In trying to create a controversy where there is none, in raking over wounds that -- nine years later -- still hurt. As we continue to grieve on Sept. 11, many 9/11 organizers have called for a "cease-fire" in the controversy to respect all our dead. But even that isn't something we can agree on; some families will use the day to continue to protest.
But for or against Park51, who among us wants to see images of the towers about to be hit by a plane splayed on New York City buses, as right-wing blogger Pamela Geller's anti-"ground zero mosque" ad features? None of us needs craven gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio, standing in front of a picture of the smoldering towers, saying that he speaks on behalf of the victims of 9/11.
Since 9/11 many American Christians have been asking why Muslims who oppose Islamist radicalism don't do more to counter it. Today I suspect more than a few Muslims are looking at Christians in America wondering why Christians don't try to dissuade the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida, led by Pastor Terry Jones, from hosting Burn a Quran Day.
What is the responsibility of religious believers in a given faith to engage fanatics advocating ideologies of hate while claiming to act in the name of this faith?
Quran burning does not equate with murdering thousands in terrorism. However, these are similar in being ideological expressions of hatred which identify themselves with Abrahamic faiths better known for their emphasis on God's mercy toward all humans.
Both are independent movements evoking the name of far larger, broader religions. The Dove World Outreach Center is an independent church. Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda is an independent movement. Just as millions of Christians peacefully attend churches with no affiliation with the Dove World Outreach Center, millions of peaceful Muslims have no affiliation with al-Qaeda and associated movements.
Among Muslims there are emerging efforts beyond press releases to engage Islamist fanatics and Muslims, especially young Muslims, at risk of radicalization. Examples include the Quilliam Foundation, a Muslim counter-radicalization think-tank in the U.K., and the video Believers Beware: Injustice Cannot Defeat Injustice, released this summer by the Muslim Public Affairs Council based in Washington, DC, featuring Muslim leaders speaking Muslim-to-Muslim against religious fanaticism.
[snip]
There is a mess brewing inside Christendom. Some American Christians might be thinking, "Terry Jones and his church - ahem, his "church" - have nothing to do with me because I am Catholic/Methodist/fill-in-the-blank." And yet the only thing a flood victim in Pakistan, likely Muslim, is probably going to hear about this story is, 'American Christians put their energy and resources into Quran burning, not into helping us in our hour of dire need.'
Moreover, if American Christians don't try to reach out to Terry Jones, then who will? Press releases will not be enough.
Word.
I don't know about you, but I haven't heard a peep out of any mainstream Christian denomination about "Burn a Quran Day." I guess that means they condone it. Sauce, goose, etc.
Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb.
Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, is being ruled as arson.
Special Agent Andy Anderson of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told CBS News that the fire destroyed one piece of construction equipment and damaged three others. Gas was poured over the equipment to start the fire, Anderson said.
[snip]
Opponents of a new Islamic center say they believe the mosque will be more than a place of prayer; they are afraid the 15-acre site that was once farmland will be turned into a terrorist training ground for Muslim militants bent on overthrowing the U.S. government.
"They are not a religion. They are a political, militaristic group," Bob Shelton, a 76-year-old retiree who lives in the area, told The Associated Press.
Shelton was among several hundred demonstrators who recently wore "Vote for Jesus" T-shirts and carried signs that said "No Sharia law for USA!," referring to the Islamic code of law.
Others took their opposition further, spray painting a sign announcing the "Future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro" and tearing it up.
Earlier this summer opponents criticized the planned mosque at hearings held by the Rutherford County Commission, as supporters held prayer vigils.
At one such prayer vigil, WTVF reported opponents speaking out against construction.
"No mosque in Murfreesboro. I don't want it. I don't want them here," Evy Summers said to WTVF. "Go start their own country overseas somewhere. This is a Christian country. It was based on Christianity."
These people see no irony in their fear of shari'a law while calling this a Christian nation. And in case you're inclined to think this kind of thing is justified, substitute the word "synagogue" for mosque, and then tell me that this is in no way, shape, or form similar to Germany circa 1935.
There has been no spectacular attack. Even when the "underwear bomber" episode took place by someone who WAS a radical Muslim, we didn't see this kind of response. So why do we see it now?
Why? Because it's an election year. Because Republicans sense that many Americans have a deep mistrust of Islam that lies right under the surface, and they can exploit it for political gain by reminding them of the mysterious guy in the White House with the funny name. The problem is that when you whip people into a frenzy of fear, it's hard to control what happens. Of course, the Republicans are sitting there, popcorn in hand, waiting for it to all blow up, certain that when it does, it won't be in THEIR faces.
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.
"By Allah, the wars are heated and you Americans are the ones who…enflamed it," says one such posting. "By Allah you will be the first to taste its flames."
[snip]
A U.S. official on Sunday said the administration was taking the upswing in anti-U.S. chatter seriously. "Terrorists like al-Qaeda and its violent allies are motivated already to try to attack the United States, but when it comes to propaganda, extremists are pure opportunists. They'll use whatever they can," the official said.
Many opponents of the planned Muslim community center say they have no bias against Muslims but that putting the building so close to Ground Zero shows an insensitivity toward the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Controversy over the community center, which will contain a mosque and other facilities, has helped fan anti-Muslim rhetoric in the U.S. far from Lower Manhattan in recent weeks.
Jarret Brachman, director of Cronus Global, a security consulting firm, and author of the book Global Jihadism, said al Qaeda and other groups have long used imagery from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to recruit new members. But the U.S. position has been that those wars are not against Islam and that the U.S. has Muslim allies in the fight.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric in the U.S is different, since jihadists can use Americans' words to make the case that the U.S. is indeed at war with Islam. The violent postings are not just on al Qaeda-linked websites but on prominent, mainstream Muslim chat forums, Mr. Brachman said.
[snark]I can't imagine what would give the Islamic world that the U.S. is anti-Islam:
The History Eraser: "Hallowed Ground," is a collection of photos of places that are the same distance from Ground Zero. A big h/t to my friend Paul Hecht who posted this on his fb along with a note that at the place where Jesus carried the cross you can buy a Coca Cola and a T-shirt....so, really, what were we protecting the site from?
Besides that I think that this is a totally racist, over-hyped, right-wing media issue, I think that we all need to look at the quick downward slide of our culture as we cling to the ghosts of the dead, far outnumbered by those who have given their lives for what?...to avenge them? To make us safer? If we wanted to make ourselves safer, we would look at all organized religions and organizations in the world and understand that to assign the characteristics of a fringe element to millions of people might be a bit off the mark. On top of that, it wont work in any real way what with our laws and constitution. So lets work with what we can do, and try to get our own shit in order before we go all knee jerk on something that is probably the safest example of Muslim practice in the world right now. What we need to worry about is not the mosque/community center right in the middle of everything, but the secret group meeting in a basement somewhere. The rest of this is like the negative commenter here, who rails on about how terrible the Muslim religion is, but then laments that the neighborhood has devolved into what amounts to a tourist trap. All neighborhoods change over time and to assume that lower Manhattan wouldn't in light of what happened and the draw of tourists to the spot, is a little off, In my opinion.
We will never be safe without intelligence in all senses of the word. Inform yourself, read all scriptures that influence large numbers of people, and support the intelligence gathering portions of our government.
It may feel good in the moment to be a cowboy, but as our cowboy-in-chief showed us in graphic detail, it doesn't pay in the end.
Wake up! It's morning!
RIP Coco...you cant get there from here...working on it.
We have come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We've come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that, more than 250 years later, would greet millions of immigrants in the harbor, and we come here to state as strongly as ever - this is the freest City in the world. That's what makes New York special and different and strong.
Our doors are open to everyone - everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it is sustained by immigrants - by people from more than a hundred different countries speaking more than two hundred different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here, or you came yesterday, you are a New Yorker.
We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That's life and it's part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance. It was exactly that spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11.
On that day, 3,000 people were killed because some murderous fanatics didn't want us to enjoy the freedom to profess our own faiths, to speak our own minds, to follow our own dreams and to live our own lives.
[snip]
This morning, the City's Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously voted not to extend landmark status to the building on Park Place where the mosque and community center are planned. The decision was based solely on the fact that there was little architectural significance to the building. But with or without landmark designation, there is nothing in the law that would prevent the owners from opening a mosque within the existing building. The simple fact is this building is private property, and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship.
The government has no right whatsoever to deny that right - and if it were tried, the courts would almost certainly strike it down as a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question - should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another.
The World Trade Center Site will forever hold a special place in our City, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves - and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans - if we said 'no' to a mosque in Lower Manhattan.
Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11 and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values - and play into our enemies' hands - if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists - and we should not stand for that.
For that reason, I believe that this is an important test of the separation of church and state as we may see in our lifetime - as important a test - and it is critically important that we get it right.
On September 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked 'What God do you pray to?' 'What beliefs do you hold?'
The attack was an act of war - and our first responders defended not only our City but also our country and our Constitution. We do not honor their lives by denying the very Constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights - and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked.
Of course, it is fair to ask the organizers of the mosque to show some special sensitivity to the situation - and in fact, their plan envisions reaching beyond their walls and building an interfaith community. By doing so, it is my hope that the mosque will help to bring our City even closer together and help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 were in any way consistent with Islam. Muslims are as much a part of our City and our country as the people of any faith and they are as welcome to worship in Lower Manhattan as any other group. In fact, they have been worshiping at the site for the better part of a year, as is their right.
The local community board in Lower Manhattan voted overwhelming to support the proposal and if it moves forward, I expect the community center and mosque will add to the life and vitality of the neighborhood and the entire City.
Bloomberg is exactly right, and as a Jewish man and New Yorker, he is also qualified to let his reptilian brain speak for both himself and his policies. He chooses not to, because he, like many of us, including many New Yorkers, chooses to NOT allow the reptilian part of his brain control his reactions, and more importantly, to control policy.
Right after the 9/11 attacks, there were very few American who didn't support the invasion of Afghanistan. I did. When someone attacks your country, just as when someone attacks YOU, you fight back. (Democrats in Washington seem not to have learned this.) Where George Bush started to lose Americans was when he for some reason allowed Osama Bin Laden to escape at Tora Bora, largely abandoned Afghanistan, and instead chose to focus on a relatively secular Middle Eastern nation that had nothing to do with the attacks and did nothing to us. Had Bush succeeded with the stated mission in Afghanistan, EVERYONE would have rallied around him -- even me. However, the definition of "success" over the years has become ever more muddied. What is "winning"? Is it an equal civilian body count? We've long since passed that.
Today the majority lacks enthusiasm for the Afghanistan effort. No doubt there are those who would continue to support it if the president were a white male with an Anglo-Saxon-sounding name, and those for whom the idea of "success" would be turning the entire Islamic Middle East into a sheet of glass. But for the most part, it's because it's no longer clear what we are trying to do. The hatred and the immediacy of the need for revenge has, as it should, ameliorated with the passage of time -- except when it can still be used as a cudgel for cheap political gain.
Especially in an election year, to have a controversy like this brewing that largely succeeds in once again appealing to the reptilian, emotional brain is something that we really don't need. I wish that for that reason alone, the Cordoba Initiative had chosen another site. But at the same time, I would also argue that scoring cheap political points off of the corpses of the thousands of souls who died nearly nine years ago spits on their graves and shows a far greater lack of respect for this country's principles than any building that contains a mosque can possibly do.
The mission of the Cordoba Initiative is to promote understanding, to build a bridge between the Muslim community and the larger population of those who are not Muslim. That kind of bridge is designed to ameliorate the "us vs. them" mentality that drives young men to kill thousands of others in the name of a deity. This is not a bad thing. Who among us hasn't had a pang of fear when sitting in an airport and seeing a family in Islamic dress? Who among us hasn't thought, "I hope they aren't on my flight." I know I have. I don't like that I have, but I have.
An argument could be made that the moderate Islamic community hasn't "done enough" to denounce the actions of the extremists who claim to practice the Muslim religion. To that I would say that I don't think there is any amount of denouncing that would ever be enough for those who regard that pang of fear as a mark of their patriotism, rather than as the visceral response that it is. Funny, too, that no one has ever claimed that Christians aren't doing enough to denounce the actions of Timothy McVeigh or Eric Rudolph. People seem able to recognize that the actions of an American Christian extremist with an American name do not represent all Christians. And yet, we seem unable to accept that not every practitioner of Islam regards mass murder as a virtue. To those who would say that Islam is a religion of converting the nonbeliever by the sword, I would tell them to take a look at the history of Christianity.
I still wish that this controversy didn't exist. I'd like to believe that if this community center were being built north of Chambers Street, there wouldn't be a problem. But this is an election year, and there is a huge American population that is terrified about its future. And just in case undocumented immigrants aren't providing a big enough target for Americans' displaced rage, in order to fully keep that rage away from the corporations that plan to continue stuffing their pockets until we are all on the street and begging for jobs for a nickel an hour, this controversy has unfortunately provided the wingnuts with an even bigger target.
In protest of what it calls a religion "of the devil," a nondenominational church in Gainesville, Florida, plans to host an "International Burn a Quran Day" on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The Dove World Outreach Center says it is hosting the event to remember 9/11 victims and take a stand against Islam. With promotions on its website and Facebook page, it invites Christians to burn the Muslim holy book at the church from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
"We believe that Islam is of the devil, that it's causing billions of people to go to hell, it is a deceptive religion, it is a violent religion and that is proven many, many times," Pastor Terry Jones told CNN's Rick Sanchez earlier this week.
Jones wrote a book titled "Islam is of the Devil," and the church sells coffee mugs and shirts featuring the phrase.
Muslims and many other Christians -- including some evangelicals -- are fighting the initiative.
The church launched a YouTube channel to disseminate its messages.
"I mean ask yourself, have you ever really seen a really happy Muslim? As they're on the way to Mecca? As they gather together in the mosque on the floor? Does it look like a real religion of joy?" Jones asks in one of his YouTube posts.
"No, to me it looks like a religion of the devil."
Religion of JOY? This fuckwit is calling his flavor of Christianity a "religion of JOY"? His is a religion which says that if you don't believe EXACTLY AS HE DOES, a man in the sky is going to cast you into a fiery pit for all eternity. Now perhaps Pastor Terry Jones, who presumably is not THIS Terry Jones:
...gets his rocks off by imagining heathen burning in a fiery pit. With this kind of wackadoo, you never know. But I'll tell you this much -- Christians like this are ALMOST enough to make me put on a hijab myself.
Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, currently running third in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary race, says he's not sure if Constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion apply to the followers of the world's second-largest faith, Islam.
At a recent event in Hamilton County, Ramsey was asked by a man in the audience about the "threat that's invading our country from the Muslims." Ramsey proclaimed his support for the Constitution and the whole "Congress shall make no law" thing when it comes to religion. But he also said that Islam, arguably, is less a faith than it is a "cult."
"Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, cult whatever you want to call it," Ramsey said. "Now certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time this is something we are going to have to face."
The question, Ramsey mused, was related to the simmering topic of a new Muslim community center scheduled to be built in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Ramsey, like many conservatives weighing in on the debate, mistakenly confused the center with a mosque -- which Murfreesboro already has -- and then proceeded to foment fears that Sharia saw would be practiced by Muslims there.
"Now, you know, I'm all about freedom of religion. I value the First Amendment as much as I value the Second Amendment as much as I value the Tenth Amendment and on and on and on," he said. "But you cross the line when they try to start bringing Sharia Law here to the state of Tennessee -- to the United States. We live under our Constitution and they live under our Constitution."
The community center (and Republican Congressional candidate Lou Ann Zelenik's merciless attacks on it) has become a hot topic in Tennessee, and it's likely that the man in the audience was referring to the community center when he asked his question. But it's also worth noting the question the man actually asked when considering Ramsey's answer.
"We've got a threat that's invading our country from the Muslims," the man said. "What's your stand?"
Today, Ramsey gave me an answer to that question that channeled Sarah Palin's Twitter feed.
"My concern is that far too much of Islam has come to resemble a violent political philosophy more than peace-loving religion," he said in an email. "It's time for American Muslims who love this country to publicly renounce violent jihadism and to drum those who seek to do America harm out of their faith community."
Isn't it funny how wingnuts always project onto others what they themselves do? And frankly, anyone who misreads the Constitution to this degree has no business being in government.
Thanks to the Teajad that the Paliban wing of the Texas Board of Education has declared against history, truth, and anything that isn't evangelical Christianity, Texas schoolchildren will now be trained to be good little soldiers for Jeebus. Because according to them, facts have a decided liberal bias. (If Stephen Colbert didn't exist, we would have to invent him for occasions like this.)
Yesterday, before voting, high-profile Board member Cynthia Dunbar did the invocation:
“Whether we look to the first charter of Virginia, or the charter of New England…the same objective is present — a Christian land governed by Christian principles.”
“I like to believe we are living today in the spirit of the Christian religion. I like also to believe that as long as we do so, no great harm can come to our country.”
"Likes to believe"? Texas schoolchildren are going to be taught revisionist history because this nutball "likes to believe" narcissistic sociopathic delusions?
The first charter of Virginia, a document written by King James I to the Virginia company, DID assign land rights for the purpose of spreading Christianity. However, it dates back to 1606 and last I looked, King James I (yes, THAT King James I, son of Mary, Queen of Scots and great-nephew of Henry VIII) was not recognized as one of the Founding Fathers of this country (though perhaps in the new Christian curriculum of Texas, he will be). By Dunbar's logic, the Virginia Charter, not the Constitution, is one of the founding documents of this country and so I suppose that a fifth of any gold, silver, or copper found in Virginia should be shipped back to Queen Elizabeth and that she be declared the rightful head of state. It also explicitly states that Virginia is part of the realm of England, but Dunbar and her Christofascist Zombies conveniently forget that part.
As for the charter of New England, this one dates from 1620 -- also prior to the Revolution and the founding of the United States. This is another dictate from our friend James I -- a long rant that includes:
And also for that We have been further given certainly to knowe, that within these late Yeares there hath by God's Visitation reigned a wonderfull Plague, together with many horrible Slaugthers, and Murthers, committed amoungst the Sauages and brutish People there, heertofore inhabiting, in a Manner to the utter Destruction, Deuastacion, and Depopulacion of that whole Territorye, so that there is not left for many Leagues together in a Manner, any that doe claime or challenge any Kind of Interests therein, nor any other Superiour Lord or Souveraigne to make Claime "hereunto, whereby We in our Judgment are persuaded and satisfied that the appointed Time is come in which Almighty God in his great Goodness and Bountie towards Us and our People, hath thought fitt and determined, that those large and goodly Territoryes, deserted as it were by their naturall Inhabitants, should be possessed and enjoyed by such of our Subjects and People as heertofore have and hereafter shall by his Mercie and Favour, and by his Powerfull Arme, be directed and conducted thither. In Contemplacion and serious Consideracion whereof, Wee have thougt it fitt according to our Kingly Duty, soe much as in Us lyeth, to second and followe God's sacred Will, rendering reverend Thanks to his Divine Majestie for his gracious favour in laying open and revealing the same unto us, before any other Christian Prince or State, by which Meanes without Offence, and as We trust to his Glory, Wee may with Boldness goe on to the settling of soe hopefull a Work, which tendeth to the reducing and Conversion of such Sauages as remaine wandering in Desolacion and Distress, to Civil Societie and Christian Religion, to the Inlargement of our own Dominions, and the Aduancement of the Fortunes of such of our good Subjects as shall willingly intresse themselves in the said Imployment, to whom We cannot but give singular Commendations for their soe worthy Intention and Enterprize
So yes, we can say that King Jimmy did intend for Virginia and New England to be dens of proseletyzer/warriors. What makes this hilarious, for anyone who has even passed by Masterpiece Theatre over the years, is that Dunbar's adoption of King James I as a Founding Father, supplanting the hemp-smokers and libertines who actual DID set forth the documents that most of us who are actually SANE regard as the founding documents of this country, means that the laws of this land descend from a guy whose great-grand-uncle established himself as head of the Church in England so he could get rid of a wife and marry a younger, presumably more fertile chickie, then cut that one's head off when she failed to produce a son, had the one who DID give him a son die in childbirth, got rid of another one who was at least smart enough to go quietly, and cut off the head of another one. All of which I guess puts Henry VIII, whose sister Margaret married James IV of Scotland and produced James V, who in turn married Marie de Guise and produced Mary, Queen of Scots, mother of James VI of Scotland, who became heir to the throne of England when Elizabeth I died childless, as a fitting spiritual and behavioral ancestor to the Christopath psychotics who run the Republican Party today (see also: Sanford, Mark; Gingrich, Newt; Souder, Mark, etc.) as well as the Texas Board of Education.
You know, I've had a cold all week. I'm two weeks into a new job that's only tangentially like my old job, I have a mountainous learning curve, and I've been firing on only two cylinders all week. Add a drive every morning on New Jersey's lovely traffic-choked highways, and I'm about ready for a weekend. Tonight I got my IRA statement AND my SRA account statement from my last job, and as I wrote earlier, I'll be working until they put my dead corpse into an oven and turn it into ashes.
When the one thing that makes you grin is when people win the double-or-nothing video bonus question on Cash Cab, you know things are at a sorry pass indeed.
I shouldn't complain. I do have a job, which is something akin to a miracle these days. I work with nice, helpful people, I have a supervisor who doesn't seem to automatically assume I'm an idiot or a chronic fuckup, and I'm sure once I get the hang of things I'll be fine. It's just harder being new when you get older. So all things considered, my life is relatively good at the moment. So I really shouldn't get upset when I hear from Brad Friedman that in an upstate New York county, absentee ballots are featuring an option to vote for "Barack Osama", I just want to put my head in the oven.
You think I'm joking?
Here you go:
And here's the source.
I'm starting to feel like Margaret Tyzack as Claudius' mother Antonia in I, Claudius, when she explains her decision to kill herself by saying, "I was born into a world of people and now I live in a pack of mad dogs." No, I'm not suicidal, but living in the same country with lunatics like McCain/Palin supporters makes me think that before it's all over, the living will envy the dead. I mean, look at the kind of morons with whom we have to share this country:
...and what he has to say does not promote any agenda that I want to be a part of. I can guarantee that if the M$M were covering this that McCain would be out on his ass, because this is representative of the worst fringe, hate-speak there is. Thanks to Brave New Films, we have the piece below about the incredible Pastor Rod Parsley who has been and continues to be an important part of McCain's belief system. Even if this were a way to approach a belief system, there is no human way that we could somehow "defeat Islam," or bring an end to one of the largest religious groups in the world. Rather, shouldn't we think like intelligent people and perhaps try to sort out who is a radical and who is a normal person? I suppose that if we did that we might have to look at Christian radicals like, um, the Pastor Parsley himself! How could McCain ever be president with people like this around him. Why doesn't he renounce these crazies? This is what we need to start talking about right away!
Today Frank Rich covers the mind bending Reverend John Hagee and his ongoing endorsement of John McCain. The fact that this man can even find followers is a testament to the level of desperation out there in the search for meaning in the wasteland of American life. How low does one have to go to find oneself adhering to a life plan set forth by the likes of this twisted man preaching hate from a television screen, and getting rich doing it?
Watching this video makes one wonder how its possible that Presidential contender John McCain could not only welcome his endorsement but continue to welcome it, with little notice of whatever inflammatory statements he has made along the way. Jon Stewart weighed in on McCain...and if you really couldn't make this stuff up, why does it take only our Jon Stewart to deliver it thusly?:
Today Chris Matthews chuckled with his panel about the other pastor in the M$M's religious endorsement wars being the crazy uncle in the attic who pops out to say odd things. The panelists discussed Obama's every action and reaction to the mistake that was the handling of the Jeremiah Wright debacle and unbelievably, thats it.... Its all just a little hard to watch, and honestly, Ive been turning it off lately; all of it. This primary is basically over. If its not for some reason, then I don't know what thats going to mean, because the truth is that this country has a huge emotional problem, and it may take some sort of huge disaster to get us back to some semblance of what were were supposed to be about.
Meanwhile, over at the Old Grey Lady, Frank Rich managed to lay out something that is so urgent and damaging to our country as to make Obama's passive pew/fence sitting during Wright's inflammatory,(if largely correct content-wise,) sermons, seem mild. The truth of McCain and Hagee is that McCain pursued the twisted fuck for his endorsement and that, even in light of having the possibility of standing on a stage next to the next possible President, Hagee consistently repeats his insane claims. And no matter how it has been approached on the kid-gloves-Sunday-shows, McCain refuses to acknowledge how insane the guy really is. Included in the morass of ideas by Hagee , are such gems as his belief that Hurricane Katrina was sent by God because of homosexuality in New Orleans, that a war in Iran should be started immediately as a "Holy War," and that the Catholic church is "The Great Whore," that is drinking Jewish blood. This is only part of the venom that this man spews regularly, and McCain is still happy to have his endorsement.
McCain claims that he does not accept "anti-anything" statements by Hagee, and dismisses any implication that there is a problem with Hagee's outrageous statements. Its unclear if McCain even is aware of what Hagee is saying, but he clearly seems to think that he can disassociate himself from some things that Hagee says and embrace the fact that the guy is religious at all. There has been incredibly little media coverage of McCain and his relationship to Hagee, but for some reason the media has seen fit to cover Obama and Wright ad nauseum, until watching political programming has become nearly impossible. As Rich notes:
I wonder if Mr. McCain would have given the same answer had Mr. Stephanopoulos confronted him with the graphic video of the pastor in full “Great Whore” glory. But Mr. McCain didn’t have to fear so rude a transgression. Mr. Hagee’s videos have never had the same circulation on television as Mr. Wright’s. A sonorous white preacher spouting venom just doesn’t have the telegenic zing of a theatrical black man.
And I would go further than that, in that what gets wall to wall coverage is transparently aimed at shaping the dialog in this country, and in fact to shape the race itself. Rich's point is that black transgressions get more air time and press than similar white transgressions. In support of this he notes Falwell and Robertson and their wacky take on the reasons for 9-11, and the Giuliani priest, among others. But is this merely a matter of racist coverage rather than pure favoritism towards a party, a candidate, or the status quo? Could it be just this simple, or maybe should we try to look at the fact that the outlets are all owned by large corporations that stand to benefit from the preservation of the status quo, represented by a Clinton or a McCain Presidency.
The press certainly loves McCain, and regularly accepts barbecue from him, which could be considered to be a bit of a conflict. There is a dearth of real reporting going on anymore, and the specter of Tim Russert or Matthews hosting another McCain lovefest is sickening. When does Rich call his colleagues in reporting on their behavior? Why is this as simple as a racial issue?
Obama sat for years in church and, if you believe his claims, he didn't much pay close attention to what was being said. That is not what anyone would call unusual in churchgoing Americans, though I would expect more of Obama, considering that he is a pretty deep and spiritual guy with a long term plan. John McCain was tickled to have Hagee endorse him over Huckabee, and continued to seek him out and welcome his endorsement even as the incredible sound bytes came out. ...and Obama is the one deserving of scrutiny? Perhaps that is racial, but there is also a programming angle to it that I see as having a much stronger influence on this thing than any white fear of the coming race war.
So, as much as I was happy to see Frank Rich cover this story, I wish he had gone deeper with it. Perhaps one can speculate about the racial thing easier than one can about actual entities making decisions. But this thing being driven by race would indicate that there are ratings being considered, just like when a blond girl goes missing in the Caribbean, and so doesn't that also indicate a decision by management? The question is, who is willing to take responsibility for what is going on? In the long run its easier to blame the ratings, the shareholders, and ultimately capitalism, than to own up to being part of the problem.
So, why is Obama still being questioned about Jeremiah Wright? Oh, its because crazy black preachers are much more Jerry Springer Show than white ones....right? In other words, its our fault.
Last night, after miles of DC monuments, I found myself in a small television studio at Atlantic video on Massachusetts Avenue NW, invited to view the taping of a show/event that reaches to the very heart of what’s wrong in this country.Presented by First Freedom First, an organization dedicated to the separation of church and state, this pre-taped event will be simulcast tonight at theaters across America.Log on here to find one near you and pick up some free tickets.
The show is hosted by actor Peter Coyote, along with Welton Gaddy, Air America Radio Host and President of the Interfaith Alliance, and Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United.Their combined specialties run the gamut from theology to law, spirituality to broadcasting, and back again.The event presents facts, fallacies, and heart crushing stories that exemplify the huge amount of work that this country will have to do in the wake of eight years of fundamentalist rule. Featured guests are Comedian and AAR host, Marc Maron, Musical group the Bacon Brothers, actors Dan Luria, Wendie Mallick, and Catherine Dent, one man show, Roy Zimmerman, singer/songwriter Catie Curtis, and living legend, dear to my own heart, Jack Klugman.
The tide of a particular brand of Christianity that has swept our nation is a troubling one, in that there is this my-way-or-the-highway mentality about it; a framing of this story as one in which the good are raptured up to heaven and the bad are damned. Even our foundational institutions that are supposed to be, by law immune to this blurred line have succumbed slowly and insidiously thought the years. Schools and the military have moved in a direction that is not only against what this country stands for, but damaging to our strength as a guiding force and to our diplomatic standing in the world.This movement has become a forced migration towards a purely Christian country with the rest being systematically viewed as a dark side, damned to hell, and it has gained strength mainly due to an administration that boldly defies the law, and logic in how to maintain an inclusive society.
Welton Gaddy describes the concept of spirituality or religion as one made up of the journey of understanding, and acknowledging the many ways that the spirit, or some part of it, might make itself known; a search for what each of our personal truths may be made up of, that should not be lessened by any one person’s journey.He embraces a God who encourages that journey, believing that faith is a growing organism, and the inclusion of all forms of spirituality and religion is imperative to the survival of our species.We cannot begin to aspire to attain any goal of understanding on any path, religious or otherwise, without the acceptance of the many differences that make up the human spirit.It is only through this kind of love and acceptance and educational foundation that we fulfill what might be human possibility.
First freedom first is a charitable organization concerned with empowering people to ask questions of their religious leadership, communities, and government, because each of us shapes our own culture and one person really can evoke change.The journey of spirituality is an interactive one, and unfortunately what has happened through our educational system has served to stilt the ongoing dialogue that faith and education should be.
Our places of worship and our society are so steeped in the information age that we have abdicated our responsibility to get up off the couch and ask the questions that shape this conversation.When an issue of importance arises the best answer is usually to ask a question; what does that mean to you? But a culture of proselytizing has taken hold, and the urgency of the concept of “saving” the masses seems to have trumped the law as well as common sense…and in so doing, has served to silence whole portions of our society. The threat of being considered un-American or anti-religion or just not politically correct has been a huge and powerful weapon that has been used against us more and more in the past years. We need to find our courage once again to be the brave Americans who have fought at just about every critical juncture in history for what is right; not what is convenient.
First freedom first encourages everyone to sign on to their webpage, learn about the issues, watch the videos of some of your favorite stars talking about their own concerns, sign the petition, and take a copy of the set of questions to ask your family, your community members, and most importantly, the politicians who shape the agenda regarding so many issues that are run solely from the point of view of religious dogma. These are also critical questions to ask yourself from time to time, when you get swept up in the nonsense that masquerades as real life.
The stories told during this show will break your heart, give you hope, and make you laugh. Questions will be asked, singers will sing, a minister will preach a differing view of the scriptures, and the minister of the funny, Marc Maron will remind us all of the common bond of humanity, that goes past religious or partisan lines and cuts directly to the empathetic thinking spirit of a fellow traveler on the road to wherever this leads. The big shame is that we can’t have a regular dose of this voice on the radio, as we did for what were brilliant years of not just politics, but a life in some sort of motion. This is what we need to hear; interactive moving dialogue that moves us forward rather than pushing us down where I hear that the right wing hate-jocks are repeating the same old thing, as if it becomes truer as you wish it to be.
Facing an end is not anything that we can project ourselves into, or fathom the depth of.I sometimes think that Mother Nature makes the vision dull and softens the edges on the concept of nothingness to make it a little easier for us to parse that divide.For those who embrace a heaven with loved ones and pets; a place of beauty and comfort, and for those who feel that the circle of life leads to rebirth or maybe just nothingness, we must always remember to respect each individual ‘s needs and wants and beliefs in order to be the free country that the framers envisioned. We have the right to the pursuit of happiness, but forcing our beliefs on someone else is not anyone’s right, much less the right of the state. It is, in fact, denying them their rights.
Voyagers across oceans gave their lives to escape a society that lacked the freedom of religion and the ability to strive for happiness.America was founded by people who wanted that freedom so badly that they bravely risked their lives and died in order to be free of that oppression. Somehow over many years, sometimes cyclically, but seemingly moving towards the right,we have forgotten what we are , how we came to be here, and somehow it has become okay to close the doors and turn this into an exclusive club feeding on itself in its intolerance.
After the show, an audience member came up to Marc and I overheard him asking “So, Marc, how would you classify yourself?” To which Maron replied, “Well, I guess I’m just a stand up.”The man then said “Well, I'm a humanist.”And as I walked away I heard Marc sorting it out, like, “oh, you meant…”... I didn't stay for the end of the sentence, because I know the answer and that answer is as individual as each of us…and it is as apt to believe in rock and roll as the humanistic way we treat each otheras it is to be a Jew or Christian or to worship at the knee of Don Rickles…and, what about God’s Comedian….? There is no saving or teaching or helping without basic understanding, and it’s sad that so many of us speak totally different languages but really intending somewhat the same outcome.
I hope that First Freedom First will be making the show available on DVD or even better, general television.( update: this video will be released on the internets shortly.) There should be some way that many more people can see this wonderful show.It was long, probably too long and in need of an intermission, but it was engaging and important and the kind of programming that would go a long way towards helping Americans try to sort out the morass of dogma that has become the stock in trade of every walk of life in America today.
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' ". --Dr. Isaac Asimov, proving to us that nothing has changed.
