”...“May the Good Lord (i.e. Allah) strengthen your “RightWing,” but may He also strengthen your “LeftWing” since a bird needs that balance in both wings in order to soar very high.”..

~~~~

Fadel, thanks for this prayer, (even though it wasn’t intended for me).

This could very easily be a Native American ‘prayer’ though we don’t call them that. Still, for us, BALANCE is everything.

BTW, if you subscribe to emails from newsmax.com you would receive ones saying “civil war in Mexico”; THIS is presented to us as being “drug” war; Newsmax calls it civil war: but if you don’t get to the article fast enough; or once you read it, it is “suddenly” changed to become something about a movie being made; WHY? glad you asked! See, Mexican citizens have it in THEIR minds that OUR Gov; Clinton (dem)and then Bush (rep) went & bribed THEIR gov; & suddenly the same mega Corps are there; taking over their land & their rights & their Constitution & their Article 25 AWAY from them; THEY FIGHT to STOP what is going on; it will come to the USA & the “ads” and Pres Bush “they think we took their land”; they DID because of the NAU! It’s coming from Canada as well; NOT going as preplanned; ooops! no one is supposed to KNOW that it is NOT the “land” in the USA! (see Absolute ad) how deceived can you get Americans? No wonder other countries shake their heads at us being so stupid; that is beyond what our Gov calls us; and shakes their heads; cuz you STILL haven’t caught on to what is TRULY going on!

***folks: the NAU exists;  the amero is the “new” coin; treatys were signed by Bush in Feb of this year for armies from Canada or Mexico to come into the USA in case of civil unrest; STOP thinking one party OR the other; BOTH are UNITED & it is a MUTUAL DECISION by both parties: always has been & it’s always been for the Corps & wealthy to EXPLOIT, victimize & do the most harm to the people for the pocket books of the few. It is a corrupt & immoral Gov who uses whatever they can to the max to delude the citizens. What are we going to do about ignorant America? is the question,

By RightWing, August 17 at 5:19 am #

“Fadel by your own writings, are you not an apostate? you left one religion for another.”
=================================
Yes, Rightwing, by my own broad definition I am an “apostate” and if I were living in late 15-century Spain, during the Inquisition, I would have been burned on the stake, like the untold number of Muslims and Jews who met that fate. But all praise be to the God of Mercy, I am not living in these medieval times. But remember that persecution by hostile bigoted attitudes, which we have a lot of it in these supposedly civilized times, can be as painful and torturous as the acts of the Inquisition. I call it “thought-terrorism” and “terrorism against free thinking.”   

However, knowing that your question is loaded, and it’s not intended to be a simple academic one, I need to add some explanation. I was explaining the meaning of the term “apostate” as it was traditionally perceived in classical Islamic jurisprudence, at the very theoretical level. However, for a convert out of Islam among those traditional jurist scholars to be put to death for treason, there must be four witnesses testifying that such a person is an apostate and provide further evidence he was involved in activities with the enemies to undermine the basic tenets of Islam. I don’t know of any open case of this nature in classical Islam, simply because at the height of Islamic civilization in the 7-11 centuries the situation was that idol-worshipers, Christians and Jews embraced Islam and not the other way around.

The closest example in modern times where this became an issue was the case of Salman Rushdie, who is known to have married a Zionist, and was seen as trying to defame Islam through his work “The Satanic Verses.” I don’t have time to go into more details on this. But at the time of this controversy I was one among many more progressive Islamic scholars who condemned and disapproved of Khomein’s fatwa against Salman.

When I raised this issue of apostasy in relation to Barack Obama, I was not implying to condemn him or demonstrate his betrayal to Islam. I was rather supporting his choice and saying that the Qur’an, the ultimate constitution of Islam, has given him that choice. But for obvious reasons, you chose to ignore the rest of my post. In fact, while I was trying to explain the theoretical Islamic position on a person like Obama, I implied that I was against those traditional jurists on this issue. Since I am not an expert on Catholicism or any other branches of Christianity of Judaism, I was only using the technical term “apostate” as it applied to Islamic law. I know of traditional “ex-communication” in the Catholic Church, but I think it is now a “frozen” juristic term, which is not actually enforced as is the case with “apostate” in Islam.

Though I know that your question was not raised in good faith, and my gut feeling tells me that you might be the old Issywise posting under a different name, nevertheless, I thank you for raising the question, which gave me the opportunity to further elaborate. To prove that I don’t hold a grudge against you, I am concluding my response with a prayer for you: “May the Good Lord (i.e. Allah) strengthen your “RightWing,” but may He also strengthen your “LeftWing” since a bird needs that balance in both wings in order to soar very high.”

Cann4ing wrote:

“As to Fadel, while I don’t know him personally, from his posts I have seen a consistency in favoring the betterment of all humanity which appears to be enhanced rather than limited by his devotion to the Muslim faith.”
======================
Thank you dear Cann4ing for your enlightened, positive and appropriate assessment of me. You really humbled me with your insightful words and I am eternally thankful for your noble attitude!

It seems to me that RELIGION causes almost all of the problems between nations. Frankly, religion is a personal matter and anyone who makes it otherwise ought to vote for JOHN McWORSE and the other republican hypocrites!

I of II reply to Tony Wicher, August 16 at 8:24 pm #
I could be wrong, but I think Obama’s “faith” is purely political. He just seems too well educated to me to put any real faith in all that religious crap. I can’t imagine it. His real faith is in what real Americans believe, the principles on which this country was founded, like freedom and democracy, reason and science and enlightenment. The religion stuff is just for social purposes.
~~~~~
I don’t think you’re necessarily ‘wrong’ on this Tony, but I think there’s more of a half-way position, between those on the religious end, who base everything on it, and those who (including atheists) still acknowledge that “faith’ in an unproven Higher Power is pretty universal. MackTN posted a very (IMO) take on this, (in reference to Obama) on the other thread with the interview with the mega church folks, that I’ll repost here, just because I believe it explains the kernel of the issue, (or at least jives with my own philosophy).
By mackTN, August 17 at 5:21 pm
•  “…I don’t think McCain is all that religious.  I don’t think Obama is either, to be frank.  I do think that Obama ponders the ethical questions in life very much; he’s clearly a reflective person.”

He goes on,

•  “But people heard what they wanted to hear.  Regarding presidential candidates, I don’t care whether they are Christians, and I certainly wouldn’t want a president to lead from that point of view.  I care more about their ethical framework as it relates to the constitution and the ideals of democracy…”

I think this puts him on the same page as many of us, (and Ernest has clearly explained it as well) and I suspect(and certainly HOPE) that includes Barack. I personally don’t think that Obama is all that ‘religious’ either, but the *point* is that neither ethics or morality are dependant on *any* religious doctrine, and that’s the part the religios have so thoroughly jacked-up, and inflicted on the rest of society. In short, one need not sustain a belief in any God or prophet of, to know the difference between right and wrong, and to consider the consequences of any action, based on their effects on HUMANITY. So that remains my very huge grievance with the religios who have done their best to connect morality and ethics to a religious doctrine, devoid of any pragmatism or common sense reasoning, and then use it to sanction their own despicable behaviors.

Part II

But, back to my own assessment of just how ‘religious’ Obama may be. Again, I believe that the incorporation of ‘faith’ or any particular doctrine by any person, has much (if not everything) to do with where one is born, and under what circumstances such a thing in incorporated into ones life, and at what period. Obama’s mother was not religious, and if memory serves me, neither was his father. Besides, his father wasn’t around.

My own ‘experience’ with religion is somewhat the same as Fadel’s, but took a different track. My father was a Catholic as well, because HIS mother (my grandma) was pretty fanatical on the subject. My OWN mother had some experience with church growing up, (AME) in the Midwest, but it was limited, and not maintained once she relocated to California at age 15. So, she didn’t practice any religion. Marrying my Catholic father required an ‘oath’ to raise all children of the union as Catholics. (even though since she was a non-Catholic, they weren’t ‘allowed’ to have the ceremony performed ‘inside’ the alter, (or whatever that space is called beyond the railing) but rather OUTSIDE it.) So you see why I later rejected all of this nonsense, because for ME *personally* that’s what it is.

Despite the fact that they were actually married less than 5 years, with both remarrying immediately, and remaining married to the same second spouses since, I was still ‘raised’ in the Catholic tradition, and attended Catholic schools for K-12. My mother and my stepfather made sure I attended Mass/Church, even though neither one of them were Catholic. (They also didn’t attend Mass with us, other than the occasional holiday like Christmas and Easter). They made sure that I didn’t eat meat on Fridays, (another insult, since the rest of them did, and we were all sitting at the same dinner table). Now of course in hindsight, I realize it would have been far better for ALL of us to eat less meat, and more fish and poultry. Still, my point is that my mother felt she was not only honoring her original promise/oath, but more specifically respecting the values of my grandmother, who was this very staunch Catholic. (I always wondered why my grandma wasn’t a nun to begin with..guess I’m glad she wasn’t – most of the time at least)

And, I mostly took it in stride. With the exception of a slight rebellion shortly after my self- emancipation at age 18, I pretty much went along with the superficial program. NOT because I hadn’t figured out years before, that most of this stuff was a bunch of hypocritical hooey, but just because it didn’t have to be something that I personally bought into. And, I didn’t. Still, whenever I visited with my grandma; frequently and well into my adulthood, I always attended Mass with her, just because of what it meant, TO HER. I’ve never regretted that, and I feel the same way about any other person or group, or any other religious faith, when they practice their faith with the good of humanity in mind. If they ‘believe’ than I respect that.

But, as we well know, there are several jillion out there, who use this ‘faith’ thing as an excuse to do whatever the hell they want, to anybody they choose, and just chalk it all up to their being ‘saved’ and ‘forgiven’ (as John McCain explained his understanding of Jesus Christ in the mega-church interview). In other words, since he ‘believes’ in Jesus Christ, that provides him with this blanket pardon/forgiveness for anything he has done, or will do. Just like GW when he claims to ‘answer to a higher power’.

By troublesum, August 16 at 4:46 pm #
Meanwhile, Obama is doing a good job of swiftboating himself.  Knowing what republicans did to Kerry with the windsurfing ad four years ago, why did Obama go surfing in Hawaii?

~~~~~~~

Well, just a thought here, but…Could it be because FAMILIES TAKE VACATIONS, and because oftentimes, they visit the places where they were BORN AND RAISED, to visit with family members, and sometimes to have engage in FAMILY reunions, and stuff like that?
Are you AWARE that Obama has a sibling still living in Hawaii, and that his daughters have cousins there?
Oh yeah, yeah…I know. He just shouldn’t have ‘gone surfing’ right? Never mind that’s what people DO in Hawaii. Never mind that he was on a family outing.

It’s people like you troublesum…

God help us all. (no hypocrisy intended)

RightWing:  As an atheist, I could care less whether Fadel was born a Catholic and chose to become a Muslim, or whether Obama was the product of mixed parentage who chose one religion (Christianity) over another (Muslim). I don’t even care whether TW is right in his assessment that Obama’s “faith” is feigned because religious hypocrisy prevents an atheist from becoming president. The word “Apostate” is a religious term that should have no bearing on whom we elect to be the chief executive officer of our secular state.  The First Amendment not only guarantees freedom “of” religion but freedom “from” religion and the constitution bars the application of any religious test for office.

What does matter to me is where people side in the global class war—whether they side with the forces devoted to the economic exploitation of life and the planet’s resources; whether they place a higher value on the greed of a privileged few over the needs of the many and the very sustainability of life on Earth; whether they favor preservation of constitutional liberties and the rule of law, or seek to appoint yet another Federalist Society jurist to the Supreme Court, which would produce a permanent majority who subscribe to the radically subversive “Unitary Executive” theory that would destroy checks and balances and extend to an American president unchecked, dictatorial that exceed those of the British monarch at the time of the American Revolution.

While I am not satisfied that Senator Obama goes as far as he should in aligning himself with the victims of the hard-right’s war on the working class, I am certain that he is far better on all of these issues than John McCain, who is on the wrong side.

As to Fadel, while I don’t know him personally, from his posts I have seen a consistency in favoring the betterment of all humanity which appears to be enhanced rather than limited by his devotion to the Muslim faith.

Fadel by your own writings, are you not an apostate? you left one religion for another. “I am not a Muslim by birth, but rather by choice. I was born in Spain and was taken by my Catholic mother to Catholic churches as a boy” “The word “apostate” means one who denounces the religion he/she was born in and reverts to disbelieve or believe in any other organized religion. Though traditionally those who apostate are considered the worst type of people, equivalent in modern times to treason to one’s nation or country, and according to some jurists they should be put to death, nevertheless, the Qur’an, as the ultimate source of Islamic Law, allows this freedom by stating, “There is no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an 2:256)This is one of the most important Qur’anic statements that were instrumental in my embracing Islam. The Qur’an, in my educated view, was the the first document in human history to advocate freedom of expression and believe.”

By cyrena, August 16 at 3:23 pm

I could be wrong, but I think Obama’s “faith” is purely political. He just seems too well educated to me to put any real faith in all that religious crap. I can’t imagine it. His real faith is in what real Americans believe, the principles on which this country was founded, like freedom and democracy, reason and science and enlightenment. The religion stuff is just for social purposes.

Well, for me, Cyrena, I would like to see an atheist become president.  The First Amendment purports to guarantee not only freedom “of” religion but freedom “from” religion.  That guarantee will never fully be realized until “faith” is treated as irrelevant to becoming a nation’s chief executive officer.

Meanwhile, Obama is doing a good job of swiftboating himself.  Knowing what republicans did to Kerry with the windsurfing ad four years ago, why did Obama go surfing in Hawaii?

Ah yes Fadel..

I know and understand completely, about the upcoming challenges of preparing for the hopeful intent embodied in the educational process. So, we will miss this free education. (for those of us who can appreciate it, and that would include those of us who know very well how valuable and EXPENSIVE it is!) 

For me, the rest of the year will be a ‘situation induced’ sabbatical, but one which I hope to make good use of, since I remain passionately committed to my work and studies.

Regarding my earlier two part post, it was actually drafted as 3 parts, but for whatever the reasons, the 2nd part didn’t make it ‘live’, though I attempted twice. No matter. I also recognize that you are clearly aware of the ignorance of most Americans regarding the *real* character and substance of the *true* Islam. My hope was to point to the very slippery slope involved with Obama, as a candidate to lead and administer to these same Americans, in attempting to explain how it is perfectly acceptable for a Muslim to do the same. (lead and administer to the American people).

In short, Obama is not qualified to provide the history, culture, and tenets of Islam, to the American people. And, it’s just as well, because that isn’t part of the job (as president) in what is supposed to be a secular society, as determined by the Constitution in the framework of a the clause that maintains a Separation of Church and State. He’s far MORE qualified (as a professor of Constitutional law and a civil rights attorney) to do that, and leave the other part to you and the rest of the academics entrusted with the education of ‘we the people’.

That said, logic might suggest that the ideal president would be an agnostic, with no *personal* claims to or investment in *any* religious ideology. That way, the most important perspective is maintained: ..the one my own father provided so many years ago when he told me this, “You don’t have to agree with or personally subscribe to ANY opinion or doctrine another person, or accept it as your own. You just have to respect those opinions for what they mean to the people who hold them.” Needless to say, that has to be refined to include the opinions and doctrines that form collective consequences. But at the base, it’s quite satisfactory (and ideal actually) to *respect* the faith and religious practices of others, for what it MEANS TO THEM, and it doesn’t require necessarily incorporating those values oneself.

That said, an agnostic or atheist would NEVER be elected president of the US, because the American people (for the most part) simply don’t have that mentality. I think Bernie Sanders is the only current political representative that has made his atheism known, and he’s definitely one of my own favorites, and probably well admired by other humanists such as myself, who are committed to ‘doing good’ even without God.

Ok, ok…so that was a ‘plug’ for us humanists. Still, Obama (even as a Christian) was appropriate enough in his response to the question, when he explained that he *respects* Muslims and the faith they practice, because that is certainly the ideal perspective.

cann4ing - how right you are and how pitiful it is that the media whose sole reason for existing is to perform the job of speaking truth to power, not to simply transmit lies to the powerless, have lost the right to claim any good reason for their existence.

Reading them or listening to them have become complete wastes of time as they’ve slowly but surely made themselves useless.

From media matters, another example of how Republican lies have staying power:

“For the past 16 years, news organizations have been repeating an obvious falsehood about the 1992 Democratic convention. According to countless news reports—in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Associated Press, ABC, NPR, Time, Newsweek, CNN, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and on and on and on—then-Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey was denied a speaking role at the convention because he opposed abortion rights.

“That’s false. And it’s obviously false.

“Here’s all you need to know in order to know with absolute certainty that Casey’s views on abortion were not the reason he was not given a speaking role: that very same Democratic convention featured speeches by at least eight people who shared Casey’s anti-choice position, including Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley Jr., Sens. John Breaux and Howell Heflin, and five governors.”

It’s like the lie that Saddam kicked the UN inspectors out, when, in truth, the Clinton administration had told them to leave.  But the lie goes unchallenged; is continually repeated by the corporate media.  The lie becomes reality.  “Oceania is at war with Eurasia.  Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia.”  George Orwell, “1984”

You are right. The GOONs are back. OsiSpeaks.com

You’re right, Felicity.  Republicans think it a birth right for them to nominate for the POTUS the dumbest MF they can find.

I think I’ve finally figured it out.  Obama’s problem is that not only is he an unknown quantity, he has a ‘silver tongue,’ - at least according to youraveragejoe - besides which he seems to exhibit a discomforting pride in being well-informed and even a tad bit reasonable.

We Americans prefer a president who constantly mispronounces words, coins undecipherable words, heartily employs non-sequiters to make his singular salient point, prides himself in knowing very little about anything, smirks a lot, and generally prefers to be admired for being an ignorant war-monger.

All Obama has to do is emulate the endearing qualities of George and he’ll be elected by a land-slide.

Continuing from my last post, the problem, Joe, is to be found in a remark by Mark Twain who said a lie can make it half way around the world before the truth can put its pants on. 

If you want to waste your hard earned cash buying a tome of smears, you are free to do so, though if you have some interest in understanding how the right-wing smear machine operates, you might want to first read David Brock’s “Blinded by the Right.”

Brock is a former insider of what he describes as “the movement,” “a well-financed, tightly run political machine intensely devoted to enacting a rigid ideological orthodoxy in the political realm” with roots in McCarthy’s anti-communist witch hunts, exploitation of racial fears and cultural divisions under Nixon and the installation of its own—Reagan—through the fusion of its secular anti-communist wing with a burgeoning fundamentalist win.  It is a movement whose ideology iss manufactured and controlled by a small group of powerful foundations like the John M. Olin Foundation (petrochemicals), Adolph Coors foundation, Smith-Richardson Foundation, The Scaife Family Trust

As a “movement writer,”  Brock’s job in the 90s was to smear the Clintons.  “In no way did we consider ourselves as independent actors…Our publications functioned as adjuncts to the conservative movement; we were coconspirators in the anti-Clinton jihad.” 

Turning to the baseless content of the Corsi book.

From an August 15 post to Commentary magazine’s Contentions blog by Peter Wehner, titled “The Obama Smears”:

“As for the book: it seems to be riddled with factual errors-some relatively minor (like asserting that Obama does not mention the birth of his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, in Dreams from My Father; Obama does mention her), and some significant (suggesting that Obama favors withdrawing troops from Afghanistan; he wants to do the opposite). But more problematic, I think, is Corsi’s claim that Obama has “extensive connections to Islam” and his suggestion that Obama is a recent drug user. Those claims are, from everything I can tell, unsubstantiated. (When challenged to produce the evidence, Corsi counters with the “prove you’re not beating your wife” defense.)

“For example, Obama, who in his book admitted using drugs in his youth, says he hasn’t used any since he was 20 years old. Corsi, in an interview, said Obama’s words can’t be trusted because “self-reporting, by people who have used drugs, as to when they stopped is inherently unreliable.”

Comments like the one posted by youraveragejoe reflect the reason why the right-wing smear machine has enjoyed such success.  (For those interested in a detailed, point-by-point exposure of the lies contained in “The Obama Nation” link to

http://www.mediamatters.org

First, Joe, you need to understand that the mere fact that someone puts smears into a book does not make the smears credible.  Consider the source:

From the August 13 edition of MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann:
RACHEL MADDOW: You may remember Corsi for his sober allegations that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian, that John Kerry is both a Jew and a Communist, and his allegations that Muslims actually worship Satan. You may remember Jerome Corsi for his recent book attacking the liberal myth that oil is a finite resource, since he, Jerome Corsi, has learned how to make new oil. You may remember Corsi for his scholarly rebuke of George W. Bush’s secret plan to merge the United States into Mexico.

From an August 15 Washington Post column by Eugene Robinson:

The “author,” and I use the term loosely, whose vicious lies damaged John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign has crawled back out from under his rock to spew vicious lies about Barack Obama. Right-wing radio talk-show hosts are dutifully transmitting this concocted venom. This presidential campaign has officially gotten ugly.
The “author” I’m talking about is a man named Jerome Corsi. In a book published last year, “The Late Great USA: The Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada,” Corsi claimed that George W. Bush was at the heart of a secret conspiracy to subsume the United States into a post-national, one-worldish North American Union. Corsi’s writings on far-right blogs have been even more paranoid and delusional. He has written that pedophilia, for which he used a more graphic term, “is OK with the Pope as long as it isn’t reported by the liberal press.”

(When he appeared on television to debate Media Matters, Corsi said we had to excuse his slander of the Pope because he had apologized for it and, after all, he grew up a Catholic).

youraveragejoe:
The article, and many comments in this forum have convinced me to read the Corsi’s book!  As most of you haven’t, I suspect, or Unfit For Command for that matter. ...

If you were not given the book as part of your job, I suggest you skip spending real money to buy it.  The Net is awash with similar material in which Obama is supposed to be a Muslim, a Communist, a Black Power advocate, probably a classical pig-romancer—anything you want.  After all, anyone can write anything; Obama isn’t going to sue them.  And it’s free.

However, unless the material is unusually imaginative, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to read it.  It’s the same-old same-old.  Just make up your own.  “John McCain is a
Manchurian Candidate, brainwashed and hypnotized by the Vietnamese Communists….”  Oh, wait, that’s the other guy.  “Barack Obama is charter member of a masjid connected to al-Qa’ida….”

The article, and many comments in this forum have convinced me to read the Corsi’s book!  As most of you haven’t, I suspect, or Unfit For Command for that matter.

I will also read books, or articles written in response, as I did this one.  So what are they, please?  Help me.  I’m talking about writings that deal with substantive issues, not picking at whether B.O. was actually at a particular sermon, or attacks on the author, etc., because those things are beside the point.

I don’t really care whether B.O. is Muslim or not.  What is of interest is whether he is honestly representing himself on many points.  That’s his problem—he’s a relatively unknown quantity with a silver tongue.

I say the same about McCain.  Maybe he didn’t tell us that he failed the Escape & Evasion course at the academy!  Getting caught, and enduring what he did does not mean we owe him our vote.

John Kerry didn’t lose the 2004 election because he was Swift-boated.  He lost, on this issue, because his own documented, photographed and videotaped actions and words did not square with assertions of his exemplary service, and patriotism. 

“John Kerry, reporting for duty” was not enough.  Nor is Obama’s talk of Change.

By Big B, August 15 at 4:55 pm #

Thanks Allan for the LBJ “pig fucker” story. I had not read that in years (Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, I believe).
————————& #8212;———————R 12;———————
Same here, Allan - thanks for the laugh. There was no bigger pig fucker than LBJ, and he never had to deny it. 
————————& #8212;———————R 12;———————— —
It’s time Barry learns a valuable political lesson, you don’t have to fuck the pig, but you do need to get down and dirty with it sometimes.
————————& #8212;———————R 12;———————— —
I get the feeling that our Barry is going to do whatever it takes. He’s no stiff, repressed, upper-class gentleman like Kerry, or Gore. Just watch after the convention. This is going to be like the thrilla in Manilla.

It isn’t just the content of the book which presents “fiction.”  The right-wing echo chamber greases the skids of publication of these scandalous lies, then seeks to bolster a non-existing “credibility” by purchasing the book in bulk so that it will appear on the NY Times “best seller” list.

Among the many scurrilous attacks is Corsi’s repetition of the false claim that Obama is a Muslim, but then the mere fact that being Muslim should have any impact on the voting public is itself troubling, for it is reflective of how thoroughly Arabs & Muslims have been dehumanized by American culture.

In “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People,” Jack Shaheen, a Professor Emeritus of Mass Communications at Southern Illinois University, unveiled the results of his personal study of how Arabs were depicted in more than one thousand movies dating back to the first silent films of the 1880s.  The disparaging caricature of Arabs in films, especially since it took on more sinister connotations in the aftermath of the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s is starkly similar to the racist stereotypes about Jews produced by the Nazis—a racist objectification of the other as economic and physical threat.

The threat of Arabs—all Arabs—as terrorists finds its ultimate embodiment in Rules of Engagement, a film which was written by former Secretary of the Navy and now U.S. Senator James Webb (D.VA); a film Shaheen describes as “the most racist.”  “The action takes places in Yemen….There are violent demonstrations at the American embassy, and the Marines, led by Samuel L. Jackson…open fire on the crowd and kill scores of Yemeni, including women and children.  And in the investigation that follows, Tommy Lee Jones, the lawyer who represents the Samuel L. Jackson character, goes to Yemen to investigate….He follows” a one-legged little girl to a hospital ward where he discovers a videotape which when translated states that it is the duty of every Muslim to kill Americans.  “We discover,” Shaheen laments, “that the Yemeni civilians aren’t so innocent after all.  It turns out they fired on the Marines first.  And in a moment that will live in Hollywood infamy, we suddenly learn that the little girl we’ve been sympathizing with, the very girl whose humanity and innocence may have broken down our stereotypes, well, she’s no better than those other Yemeni terrorists.  As a result, when Samuel L. Jackson delivers the key line—[“Waste the mother f**kers”]—we’re now on his side.  Why does it matter?  Because in the end, the massacre of even women and children has been justified….It’s a slaughter, but it’s a righteous slaughter.”

By Big B, August 15 at 6:05 am #

Imagine John Kerry walking across the stage at the first debate in 2004, punching w in face and standing over him shouting “How dare you question my patriotism, you draft dodging son-of-a-bitch!”
Do you think he would have won a landslide?
Damn right he would have!
————————& #8212;———————R 12;———————— -
Wouldn’t it have been great? But Kerry’s courage on the battlefield was not matched by his courage as a politician.

I would like to see Obama do something like that too, at the right moment.

By cyrena, August 15 at 6:28 pm #

Thank you cyrena for saving me the time and trouble responding to those rabid dogs you addressed in two posts. Actually, the more they show up with their knee-jerk and bigoted reactions, the more I realize that I have disturbed their delusional comfort zones. And that,in fact, makes me feel good!

And thank you again for your lengthy post in which you try to explain to me the ignorance of the average joe, of which I am actually aware and have been trying to educate for over thirty years now.

I envy you for the time and energy you have for all these lengthy elaborations of yours. For the next few weeks, however, I will have less time for this free education, since I have to prepare for my three college courses for which about 75 students are paying an average of four thousand dollars to get real education. It’s my hope in this new generation of fellow educated young Americans that I hold great hope for a better future enlightenment and positive change!

By BlackOps, August 15 at 4:20 pm

Gee BlackOps, the better question might be..who are YOU this “hour”. Just keep slapping that lithium away, eh? What fly got up your ass? Did Blackwater fire you? Well, you can just hang out with the rest of the homeless. Next time, you’ll do what Erik Prince tells you to do….no matter *what* it is. 

It’s so revealing when such a big power “blackops” type has to show how tough he is. Kind of like the Israelis fighting back those pebbles the kids throw at their bulldozers, by bulldozing right over them, and firing tons of ammunition at the same time.

So you’ll just ‘fix’ Fadel and me, by threatening, and name calling and big time ‘bring it on’ stuff…ON THE INTERNET, with a FAKE name. What a pathetic joke.

Ooooo, I’m just shaking in my boots BlackOps.

And exactly WHO might these ‘lot of people’ be BlackOps?

”..a lot of people have been posting about your changeling writings, why is that? your a phony.”

Maybe you and your other identities? Wanna tell us who these ‘lot of other people’ are?

I’m waiting breathlessly.

folks: the NAU was started by CLINTON, because Bush sr could not get it thru; it started when he went down and “gasp” surprise BRIBED the Mexican Pres; suddenly the USA Corps working hard with Gov to rob, steal, deceive, etc; the USA citizens: started flooding their country with far cheaper corn than they could produce (see this SAME scenario in country after country including here in USA in Florida with sugar for the Everglades) if you THINK it has anything to do with Conservation you must also believe in the tooth fairy; Bush SIGNED a treaty in case of “civil unrest” with both Mexico & Canado (see all the problems there since same scenario); cuz our politicians take all bribes; they want to take it globaly;

Reply to Fadel @ By Fadel Abdallah, August 15 at 9:00 am

Fadel, I posed the earlier rhetorical question to averagejoe not because I expect an answer, (he won’t, and that’s fine), but just to give you (and hopefully others) an idea of what I think you may be missing here, though I know not at all intentionally. That is…is the abundant ignorance of the average American in terms of Islam and Muslims.

You certainly are aware of the Islamophobia that was very intentionally created by the events of 9/11. That was intended to play into the ignorance of the average American, who knows little or nothing about the faith. In fact, Americans know little or nothing about ANYTHING that isn’t tagged Made in USA, and comes in red, white and blue, or has a cross attached, or is packed like a hog dog that comes with a beer attached.

By and large, US American’s do *not* know any other languages, and they generally don’t bother to learn, because as far as their concerned, that’s the only language that counts. In fact, I was taught that all during my basic education. We were told that English was the “Universal” language and that if there was any need for a second language, French would be the ‘next’ Universal language down in the hierarchy, (why French? I don’t know, maybe just ‘cause they were the ‘next’ to colonize us after the British) and then Spanish. (why Spanish was in 3rd place I’m not sure, seeing as how the Spanish conquered us as well, and we’re attached to Mexico, having stolen tons of that place as well).

In that same vein, (as the languages) Americans know little to nothing about the history, culture, traditions, religions, etc, etc, of ANY other place or people, and they DON’T generally care to find out! That’s the standard imperially majestic mentality. We’re the best, and anywhere we go, the rest of the world will understand that as well as we do. How could they not?

That said, (and please keep in mind that I’m *not* suggesting this is every single American, because of course that is not the case. I’m talking average/majority here) the Islam that –you- know, with a heritage rooted in Arabia, is not the same Islam that most Americans *think* they know. In fact, what far too many Americans think they understand about Muslims and Islam, are filtered through the Black Muslims and the “Nation of Islam” which we “should” all know, represent a clear distinction between the Islam practiced for thousands of years in other parts of the globe where it originated.
Consider the various differences in the structure of the faith as viewed/practiced by Shia and Sunni. Consider the extreme views of the Wahhabists. Now if Americans don’t have a clue to the differences there, (including a moron who wants to be the next president) than they aren’t going to understand the differences between a so-called Nation of Islam, established by self-identified Black Muslims, in the US. And of course there is a difference.

So, on top of the manufactured Islamaphobia of the past several years, add that the less-than-positive characteristics that have been ascribed to the NOI and the Black Muslims of the US. (fairly or not) and the lemmings are totally in the dark. Because, while it would clearly be unfair to say that every Black Muslim in the US who has an affiliation to the NOI is *not* in line with the basic belief system of Islam, the organization has still developed a reputation as radical and even racist (anti-Sematic) over the years of it’s existence.

Part 3 of 3 reply to Fadel

In Obama’s case, (again from memory combined with my own conclusions) I don’t think he actually ‘chose’ *any* faith, until he met his wife. If memory serves, the church he eventually joined was her family church, before it was his/theirs.

I also emphatically reject the suggestions by averagejoe and others, that he was ‘offended’ at being identified as a Muslim because he thought there was anything inherently ‘wrong’ in the faith of Islam. If he was ‘offended’ at all, it was because of an incorrect identity being defined ‘for’ him, and most probably formed from a racist bias. So when people say that his being a Muslim or not has no bearing on why they won’t vote for him, what they are really suggesting is that they won’t vote for him because he’s BLACK, and they don’t care what *religion* he is. For them, his greatest crime is being black, and Obama compounds ‘the crime’ by being an intelligent and independent thinker, and one who willing (and able) to pragmatically consider the whole, and the consequences of how they ‘parts’ are affect the whole. In other words, to serve most of the people, most of the time, and to have the long term in mind. 

Now that we’ve worked all of THAT out, I have a “prediction”. Since Obama has done all of this suffering and paving the way for us, I think in 8 years, it will be a given that the President will finally be a Native American female, with a majority female staff, so we can finally get some stuff done around here. I expect President Obama to get most of the hard clean-up/grunt work done and out of the way, so that she’ll have a nice tidy work area.

He’ll have his hands full.

Thanks Allan for the LBJ “pig fucker” story. I had not read that in years (Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, I believe).
But it does bring up an interesting observation about this years campaign. Barry and his boys always seem to be sucking hind titty in the media. McSame’s operatives have the upper hand, always making the accusations instead of having to answer them. When you have an electorate made up primarily of the “new dumb” this punch first, punch often strategy works.
I would like to wake tommorrow morning to hear Barry talking about marital infidelity, or the Keating five. It’s time Barry learns a valuable political lesson, you don’t have to fuck the pig, but you do need to get down and dirty with it sometimes.

youraveragejoe, August 15 at 9:17 am #
Interesting quals., F. A. 
How would you explain B.O’s taking offense at the “accusations” that he is Muslim? (He did) Although I won’t vote for him, that wouldn’t be the reason, either way.

*******
I’ve already explained this a few dozen times average joe, (sure you aren’t joesixpack from maine?)
First of all, how do YOU define it as an ‘accusation’? That terminology seems to have come from somewhere other than Obama.

Would you also like to CITE, *specifically* how, when, and where this was that he became ‘offended’?

You can’t.

As for him saying that ‘being a Muslim’ is OK, he hasn’t said that in those exact words, but for anyone who would care to bother to check into the exact text of what he HAS said on a number of occasions, (like every time he’s been questioned on it) you can refer back to the last so-called ‘debate’ between he an Hillary, where everyone was going on and on about the stupid flag pin. That would be the same one where Hillary demanded that he ‘formally RENOUNCE” Louis Farrakhan, in the specific language that she demanded.

Back to the response that he has given over and over again..”I’m not a Muslim. I respect Muslims, and I respect the Islamic faith, but I happen to be a Christian.”

Let’s change this up just a moment here, for the ideologically impaired. (like average joe here).
Let’s assume for the moment averagejoe, that you’re a garden variety White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, and that you’re a pillar of your community. (aren’t ALL WASPS?) But for some reason, a bunch of people have decided to ‘identify’ you as a Buddhist, or a Zoroastrian, or maybe a Mormon, or hell, even a Black Muslim and a member of the Nation of Islam.
And let’s say that you decided to run for prez, like the 43 other WASP’s before you, and various segments of the US population picked-up on the ‘rumor’ that you were a Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Mormon, or Black Muslim. ( for the Black Muslim ID, set aside that you might ‘appear’ to be white…maybe one of your parents IS white, and the other one is a fair skinned black person, and you came out looking white, and you’ve been able to successfully ‘hide’ that genetic association so far). OR…just to make it even MORE interesting, let’s say that for all the worshipping you do, and all of the appearances you make at the community Protestant Church, some people actually think you’re an ATHIEST. (Horrors!)

With that scenario in mind, let me ask you..(assuming that there is any sincerity to your religious convictions as a Protestant) WOULD IT BEGIN TO ANNOY YOU, TO BE IDENTIFIED AS ANY OR ALL OF THESE OTHER THINGS?

Thought “Independent” was a media construct to create an exciting election and boost their advertising sales!  Guess not.  Nice comments.

Isn’t it interesting, though that the media in general is looked at with disdain by both sides!  By Conservatives because the media is demonstrably Liberal-leaning on any measure—% positive articles, campaign contributions, etc..  And by Liberals because the media is the Administrations lap dog.

Ahh, the interplay of ideas.

”...The Obama campaign faces a classic dilemma. If smear attacks are left unanswered, voters can get the impression that the lies are true. But there’s no way to respond without giving the falsehoods wider circulation.”

This reminds me of the statement about campaigning that is attributed to LBJ, “All you have to do is get your opponent to DENY he is a pig fucker and the damage is done.”

The Republican Party used to do a better job of controlling the “fruitcake” wing of their party, and their extremist assertions. Unfortunately, they were driven out of the GOP, starting with Nixon and Reagan, and now we are left with Republican’s candidates who believe in “intelligent design” and “Armegeddon”. They types of politicians who would have us start WWIII over Georgia. Corsi is the latest of these nutcakes who got away with smearing a Vietnam war hero and is now trying to take down Obama. Watching him on television on Larry King was painful even though he was shown up to ridicule by King and the Media Matters spokesperson. It is time to boycott Simon and Schuster for starters and also to complain to the television and print media about this author and his invective.

Books don’t get written or published unless there are potential buyers to make the enterprise profitable.  Apparently there are and they are we.

Then there are the media.  At one time if a journalist had more than two people at his funeral he would be considered as having been a failure at his profession.  (Note the attendance at Russert’s funeral.)

Now the media, rather than speaking truth to the lie, merely transmits the lie to the powerless.

All of which make the Corsis of this world almost impossible to combat.

Fadel Abdallah,

“Finally, I have a little advise to give to Obama: You should state that though you’re not a Muslim for all the obvious reasons, there should be ideally nothing wrong for a proud Muslim to run for high posts, since, aside from the rituals, what is good for Muslims is good for America and any other nation on Earth!”

~~~

Thanks for your words of wisdom. You make a valuable point. Being Muslim is OK. Perhaps someday we may have a president who actually is a Muslim, but we will have grown up enough to not care. Just like we don’t really care what Bush is. In fact beyond the wildly diverse tag of “Christian” we have no idea what, if any organized religion he belonged to pre-drunken politician. So, it will be hard for some to respond with other than a, “so what” when others say Obama has Islamic ties.

But because “he who lives and loves a lie”, [It is written, that’s how Jesus defined the “anti-Christ”] will want to read “bad” into any “Muslim” handle, we need to be informed.

I think not only Obama, but all of us need to take your advise to heart.

Thanks again.

Interesting quals., F. A. 

How would you explain B.O’s taking offense at the “accusations” that he is Muslim? (He did)  Although I won’t vote for him, that wouldn’t be the reason, either way.

To me it goes along with his implicit assumption (and statements about “typical white people”, etc.) that the Right is a bunch of bigots.  He trips himself up there by being terribly inconsistent.

The repubs are ALWAYS wallowing in mud. They’re very comfortable there. So naturally the deeper the mud hole, the more so-called conservatives are going to jump in.

On the other hand, dems try to avoid the mud. But sometimes, if you’re going to try and rescue the fools who got trapped in the muck, you’re going to have to get your feet dirty. Particularly when those fools don’t realize they’re getting sucked to the bottom, until they’re gasping their last breath.

Kerry’s mistake is he underestimated the ignorance of the American voter. That’s actually a compliment to his quality of character.

But it also demonstrates there’s a certain quality of character seen, in a person aggressively attacking his attacker. When the person being attacked doesn’t decisively challenge the attacker, the uninformed don’t see that as noble. They see that as guilt. And it doesn’t help any that we have a mainstreammedia that has replaced the words “responsible journalism” with main stream media. Duh ... what is the definition of media?

We’ll see a lot of hoopla about this book being on the best-sellers list. What we wont see is that the book has been pre-ordered and pre-sold in volume. A hundred here, a hundred there, then distributed free to any sucker, or group of suckers waiting to read, and distribute it. After the GOP or RNC or other equally muddy types have saturated their market, the book will drop off the best sellers list as quick as you can say republicans are liars.

The internet is crawling with creepy things that love to lie and gossip, and while few of them actually read, or even understand much of anything, the salient “talking points,” in other words the most destructive lies, will be posted to them with lightning speed. And like good little fascists, they’ll pass them on even faster ...

So the thing to remember is be prepared! When all those folks you know who rarely pay attention, start getting emails from “trusted” friends and bloggers telling them the “truth” according to Jerome Corsi, be ready.

When they come at you with questions, give them the answers they need. The trick is to help them realize they are being informed by fools, without making them feel like fools. And the only way you can do that is to be armed with the truth. Which [gag] means, we have to familiarize ourselves with the book enough to identify the lies, and have the truth at hand. But for gosh sakes DON’T buy the damn thing to do it!

A favorite defense good little fascists use is the “source” defense. Corsi’s book has a plethora of sources referenced in the back. But checking the references, one will find most of the sources the “author” uses to back up his “facts” are actually his own quotes from previous writings, and they were probably lies too.

I remember back when the photo alleging, Obama didn’t pledge allegiance to the flag, started getting sent to me with the question, is this true? All I needed to do was ask the sender to look at the picture again. There for all to see was the break in the walkway demonstrating a cut and paste. Then a follow up by asking the simple question, is Obama really three feet taller than Hillary? People are smart enough to realize they are being had if you simply point out the errors they aren’t seeing, without actually pointing out their inability to see the errors. When they make the discovery themselves, they feel good about themselves, and they’ll pass their discovery on.

Sometimes the obvious is so obvious we wont let ourselves see it, because we don’t want to believe people can so comfortably get down and dirty. Which brings me back to my original comment:

The repubs are ALWAYS wallowing in mud. They’re VERY comfortable there.

I think I am the most qualified person to explode the myth or the big lie that Obama is a “radical Muslim” or at least has “extensive connections to Islam.”

Let me first explain my qualifications!

1. I am the only overtly Muslim who posts regularly on Truthdig; and who defends Islam with passion when it comes under attack by bigots and people struck by the disease of Islam-phobia. An Arabic proverbs says: “The people of Mecca are more knowledgeable (than others) about its mountain trails.” 

2. I post under my real name, not only because I have nothing to hide or fear, but also because I am a believer that courage in defending one’s truth (even if it’s subjective and relative), who believes that courage, justice and freedom are the most sublime of all human virtues. One of my best-appreciated adages is, “Live with freedom and dignity or die cowardly.” I am a true believer in freedom of thought, belief and expression; even more than those who constantly brag about these values (like Issy-the-Unwise).,yet they hide behind fake names, because, deep in their hearts, they do not trust the system that they go out of their way to defend and brag about with cheap words. 

3. I am not a Muslim by birth, but rather by choice. I was born in Spain and was taken by my Catholic mother to Catholic churches as a boy, yet when I moved to my father’s old country, Palestine, and as I grew up and got education in a secular environment, I chose Islam as a way of life and as a system of belief.

4. My field of training at the undergraduate and graduate levels is in Arabic-Islamic studies and civilization. I have taught these subjects at several universities and have published scholarly and educational materials (books, scholarly articles, essays, etc.) and lectured on this subject.

Based on my knowledge and personal experience, as highlighted above, I can assure you that Obama is not considered a Muslim by the average real Muslim. In fact, even if he was born Muslim, because his Muslim father, he’s considered according to Islamic Law an “apostate.” The word “apostate” means one who denounces the religion he/she was born in and reverts to disbelieve or believe in any other organized religion. Though traditionally those who apostate are considered the worst type of people, equivalent in modern times to treason to one’s nation or country, and according to some jurists they should be put to death, nevertheless, the Qur’an, as the ultimate source of Islamic Law, allows this freedom by stating, “There is no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an 2:256)This is one of the most important Qur’anic statements that were instrumental in my embracing Islam. The Qur’an, in my educated view, was the the first document in human history to advocate freedom of expression and believe.

Those Muslims who might support Obama’s candidacy will be doing so based on considerations related to social, economic or strictly personal worldly considerations that has nothing to do with Islamic theology, but rather defying it.

I hope with this short essay I managed to both disquiet the fears of those with herd-mentality, who might be brainwashed by all the false propaganda and smear tactics of the fear-mongering camp.

Finally, I have a little advise to give to Obama: You should state that though you’re not a Muslim for all the obvious reasons, there should be ideally nothing wrong for a proud Muslim to run for high posts, since, aside from the rituals, what is good for Muslims is good for America and any other nation on Earth!

When I took the oath of American citizenship, thirty years ago, I was not asked about my religion, and this is one of the greatest values America still has, despite all the degradations that has befallen it at the hands of corporate-political-military-industrial complex of the last few decades.

How about expended your energy refuting the “facts” of the book.  Trying to dismiss it with ad hominem attacks shows an un-principled position.

Trying to re-write history by repeating the partisan mantra that “we won’t be swift-boated again” will doom B.O. to the same fate as that guy that was married to what’s-her-name who’s family product I don’t buy any more.

Don’t kid yourselves folks, politics has always been dirty. Since Ceasar was stabbed in the back, politics has been a dirty business. For chissake our own nation was founded by wealthy landowners and businessmen who didn’t want to pay taxes. Then they set up a system that benefits themselves, and short of another revolution, would be nearly impossible to change.
Short of a second american revolution, the institutional change needed to clean up our politics will be impossible. Without radical change, the halls of our governments, federal, state, and local, will continue to be populated by the big business connected, lazy ex-attorneys, and failed businessmen.
Politics has never been a poor mans game. The downtrodden and working class only play a part in radical change (revolution). After the shooting stops, the poor and working classes always go back to the well and choose the same wealthy and connected people to lead them. Why? Because we obviously still believe in that oldest of human characteristics, that god finds most of us unworthy of leadership, and that only his hand picked man (medicine man, hunter, obeyman, alpha male, whatever) posess the ability to lead. Until we evolve, this is who we are, and this is the system we’re stuck with.
Nearly 80% of Americans believe in angels. over 60% think that the Earth was created by an invisible man in the sky.
These facts, and more are why we need led.
Please everyone, evolve and prove me wrong.

This man is also a 9/11 denier, seems to have issues with the accuracy of the holocaust, and this weekend will be appearing on a radio program with white nationalists, holocaust deniers, and neo nazis.  What really astounds me, is that not only does he have a new york times best seller, but also appears on fox news, where they give him air time. 

This is sad how far the neocons have sunk to try to bring down obama.