"A small band of fanatics..."

As patriotic and well meaning as George Bush may be, he has disappointed me in several areas, the most dangerous of which for our nation is his assumption about the nature of Islam.

The latter shortcoming is illustrated in this excerpt from his farewell address...

"The battles waged by our troops are part of a broader struggle between two dramatically different systems. Under one, [a] small band of fanatics demands total obedience to an oppressive ideology, condemns women to subservience, and marks unbelievers for murder. The other system is based on the conviction that freedom is the universal gift of Almighty God and that liberty and justice light the path to peace."

A "small band of fanatics" indeed. Has Mr. Bush ignored the near-violent and pointedly anti-Semitic protests in many American cities sponsored and attended by thousands of Islamists over the last couple of weeks? Has he ignored the violent and pro-genocide demonstrations in many nations of the world sponsored and attended by the same "small band?" I'm not talking about U2 or Kiss here.

Has Mr. Bush ignored the over 100 reported atrocities per month committed by Islamists in the name of Islamic jihad worldwide? View these here.

Mr. Bush must certainly realize that the federal government is not spending the highest national defense appropriation since the end of WWII, close to a trillion dollars, plus or minus a few billion to defend ourselves against a "small band of fanatics." C'mon, George. Why do you continue to sugar-coat our pickle in your rhetoric?

And the purpose of our $$$$$$ efforts in Iraq is to create a democracy? I recently read an apt description of democracy in Muslim dominated nations: One vote - One time.

The heart of Islam is the Koran. The heart of the Koran is world domination through spiritual, physical, and violent means. Muslims who are not terrorists themselves are either ignorant of the historical teachings of their religion, are knowledgeable but don't care for that part of it, or are supporters either in spirit, financially, politically, or logistically. What percent of the 1.2 billion Muslims might constitute the "small band of fanatics"? 10% (120,000,000); only 5% (60,000,000?) What part of the 95% are active supporters of the "small band" in one form or another? The US Muslim population is estimated at between 4 and 7 million. How many of these seek Sharia law in this nation? How many support the imposition of Islam here? How many will resort to deceit, infiltration, threat, or terror?

In any scenario, Bush is either the poor communicator the media claims (true), he is ignorant of the nature of Islam and is getting bad advice (most likely), or is purposely toning down his rhetoric for some obscure strategic purpose (possible).

None of these excuses are helpful to our nations' understanding of the nature of Islam and its impact on national security and our quality of life and national survival.

Chilling

It's bad enough that Islamists assassinated Benazir Bhutto, the ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan yesterday. What is chilling is the preference of the average Pakistani on the street for a political leader...

46% for Osama Bin Laden, the acknowledged mastermind of 9/11 and the "destroy the west" mantra.

38% for current Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf

9% for US President George Bush (this is hardly a surprise since his polls are not much higher in the US.)

What does this tell us about the direction of Pakistan and their nukes? Additional background is provided here.

Couple this with the second most popular baby's name in Great Britain: "Muhammad", the forebear of "the religion of peace." (Where is my little "puking" emoticon when I need it?)

Bush is consistent on border insecurity.

This is the situation. A bunch of Kurdish folk in the northern portions of Iraq have it in their heads that the southern part of Turkey belongs to them. So they begin infiltrating southern Turkey and act somewhat like the Sunni and Shia do...they blow up things and people inside Turkey (after all, they are all Muslim).

Silly Turkey. They get the idea in their heads that they need to put a stop to the terrorist violence from the Kurds. The only reasonable way they see of defending their southern border is to eliminate the offending Kurds at their source: inside Iraq. So Turkey announces their plan to defend their border.

True to form, "defend no border Bush" comes trotting out and cries out "No, wait! Don't defend your border! Give us some time. We'll work things out!" Bush has taken seven years in this country to work out our border problems - I hope Turkey realizes where that has gotten us. Can you imagine 12 million Kurds in southern Turkey?

What hypocisy. What a double standard. We can invade Iraq from upteen thousand miles away and it is self defense. Turkey proposes to take some troops 2 miles into Iraq to defend themselves from ongoing murder and mayhem, and it's called interference.

This irony was enough to cause me to write to the Turkey Embassy in Washington DC and cheering them on to do whatever it takes to defend their border from terrorists. I wish we would do the same in our nation!

I was torn whether to title this blog The "Leave No Terrorist Behind" Policy or "The Only Good Border is an Open Border."

Bush Ignorance and Islamic Deception

Following are two examples of propaganda about Islam: The first is misconception out of ignorance; the second is misdirection out of a desire to deceive. Both are dangerous.

First, the misconception – quoting what President Bush believes about Islam (the entire referenced article is here):

"Well, first of all, I believe in an Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace. And I believe people who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives aren't religious people, whether they be a Christian who does that – we had a person blow up our – blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City who professed to be a Christian, but that's not a Christian act to kill innocent people.
"And I just simply don't subscribe to the idea that murdering innocent men, women and children – particularly Muslim men, women and children in the Middle East – is an act of somebody who is a religious person.

Among the several serious problems I have with President Bush are these: First, his statement above reveals his ignorance of Islam, calling it “a religion of peace”. The facts speak otherwise, which he chooses to ignore. He embraces the deception (takiyya) as illustrated in the second example, following. For some inexplicable reason, he chooses to ignore these facts:

1) The hundreds of terrorist acts conducted monthly around the world by people calling themselves Muslim (see previous post).
2) Islamic doctrine of violence against the infidel (non-Muslims) based squarely on the content of the Koran. The so-called Islamic radicals (Islamists) properly interpret, teach and promote what the Koran teaches and what has historically been practiced.
3) The relative silence, the lack of outrage of so-called “moderate” Muslims against the teachings of their violent, hateful, intolerant brethren.

Bush is a useful idiot in regard to Islam. With regard to Christianity, he is willing to slander his professed faith by comparing one violent act of a so-called Christian with the continuing, almost countless, violent acts of Muslims around the world. This kind of ignorant spouting by our President should not be tolerated – he is a danger to our nation.

Mr. President is apparently ignorant of the basic doctrinal differences between Christianity and Islam. He is superimposing his peaceful, loving, tolerant Christian understanding of religion on a religion whose pure doctrine promotes violence, hate, and intolerance. Oh how I wish he would read Robert Spencer’s book, “Religion of Peace: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t.” or Gregory Davis’ book “Religion of Peace?: Islam's War Against the World.”

Ok. Enough about our President. Now for our second example: Misdirection. This one is from a blog new to me called Muslims Against Sharia. “L.A.” from that blog site posted the following response to my previous post. He first highlighted this quote from another person who has observed a problem with Islam…

"Gradually--painfully gradually--people are beginning to see that Islam is the enemy. Period."

This is L.A.’s response…

The above quote is one of the milder examples of how many Westerners view Islam these days. This quote is a part of the comment to the article titled "Why We Cannot Rely on Moderate Muslims." posted on the Gates of Vienna blog. The article talks about radical Muslims in the West claiming to be moderates. It also brings up very interesting points. "[T]he government and media are avid to find moderate Muslims -- and as their desperation has increased, their standards have lowered.", "The situation is complicated by many factors, including, taqiyya and kitman", and "How can we ever trust assurances from self-proclaimed moderate Muslims when deception of non-Muslims is so widespread, and lying to infidels is an accepted and established way of hiding Islamic goals? The answer, with all its difficult implications, is: We can't."

But that's where the Gates of Vienna is wrong. The main problem is that the term 'Moderate Muslim' is poorly defined. There is a clear distinction between a 'Moderate Muslim' and an 'Islamist' and the distinction is in the ultimate goal. An Islamist believes in Islamic Supremacy. Islamist terrorists and their supporters want to achieve it by waging Jihad. Non-violent Islamists want to achieve it by peaceful and democratic means. The means are different, but the goals are the same: Islamic World Domination. Moderate Muslims do not believe in Islamic Supremacy. For someone not very familiar with the subject, the distinction may be subtle. But in reality, it is the most important, because everything that Democracies hold dear is based on this distinction. This is the Koran vs. the Constitution, Islamic State vs. Secular State, and ultimately, Dhimmitude (Subjugation to Islam) vs. Freedom. I cannot stress enough how important this distinction is!

Now, comes an uneasy task of weeding out false moderates. Hopefully, with a clear definition of a 'Moderate Muslim' that task could be a lot easier. Coming back to the title of this post. Muslim community as a whole is not the enemy. Part of it is. A large part. But not all of it. The next time you ask yourself a question "How can we ever trust assurances from self-proclaimed moderate Muslims?" don't trust their assurances; look at their record. No matter how well false-moderate Muslims such as CAIR or MPAC polished their facades, they have a record. Whether it is their support of terrorism or advocating Islamic supremacy, any Islamist group or figure who's been around long enough, at one time or another has shown its/his/her true face. Just because some government official or some talking head declares someone to be a moderate Muslim, it doesn't make it so. There are several counter-terrorism and Islam experts who keep track of Islamists. Most of these experts happen to be non-Muslim, but there is also a list of moderate Muslims who could be used as trusted sources for these inquiries. The list of those prominent Muslims is posted at the upper right corner of our blog. So now, my non-Muslim friends, when you have the tools to identify REAL moderate Muslims, you can no longer use your ignorance as an excuse to declare that Islam is the enemy. [bold added for emphasis.]

L.A.

As much as I would like to believe L.A. and what he represents, I can’t help but suspect the above statement may be a perfect example of misdirection, an application of the Islamic “Taqiyya” which is the Islamic practice of deceitfully concealing their faith or beliefs during periods of persecution.

The question remains, my Muslim friends, do we really have the tools to identify REAL moderate Muslims?

A question that non-ignorant, but alarmed Islamic scholars would pose: How can the REAL moderate Muslims remain Muslim when Islamic doctrine supports the Jihadists, the Islamists, both today and throughout most of Islamic history? Are REAL moderate Muslims equivalent to so-called “nominal Christians” who may attend church and call themselves "Christian" but really couldn’t care less about what their relgion teaches? Are REAL moderate Muslims "nominal" Muslims?

Until I get a believable answer to this Islamic doctrine question, my “crap detector” will continue to sound the alarm.

I do have to admit, their blog site is worth a look. There is some interesting, even humorous stuff on there.

Barack Inciting the Corrupt and Incompetent?

Why is the Federal Government in general, or George Bush in particular, being blamed by Barack Obama for the results of irresponsibility and corruption in New Orleans?

In the article, "Obama Warns of 'Quiet Riot' Among Blacks", is Barack just grasping at straws to further his political agenda? Yes. While he's grasping, he is pouring gasoline on that straw by dismissing the concept of personal responsibility by the complainers of New Orleans. It is true that New Orleans, almost two years after Katrina, is still in bad shape. It is equally true that there are many thousands of irresponsible, corrupt, ignorant people in New Orleans (and in many other places) who want to continue to be irresponsible, who want to continue to request handouts from others, and who want to continue blaming others for their own lack of motivation to do what needs to be done.

Barack finds this a great opportunity to blame others as well, and play to the ignorant and lazy among us to foment discontent. He would make a great al Qaeda spokesman: Promise violence and mayhem unless "the man", the evil voters in this country, dole out federal tax dollars to help fix the results of their failed behavior.

I much prefer a presidential candidate who recognizes the limitations of federal government and recognizes and promotes the concept of building up an attitude of self sufficiency, self-control, and personal initiative. Bill Cosby is a great example of calling an end to an attitude of helplessness. Why can't Barack do that? That's what makes him a liberal. To do otherwise is not in him.

National Priorities - We've Got It Backwards...

OK...I think I've had enough. I finally realize that Bush and much of Congress have our national priorities backwards.

Priority One: We need to learn how to protect our own borders (seaports, coastline, airports, Canadian and Mexican border) before we can even pretend to do Priority Two: Protect Iraq borders.

Our borders are simple and straightforward to defend compared to Iraqi borders. The distinction? - US citizens or non-US citizens. Clear cut. Process those who want to come in according to our existing laws. Enforce the process.

Iraq on the other hand is 1,000 times more complex. They have porous borders with Iran, Syria, Suadi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and Kuwait. They have borders within and between neighborhoods of 100 cities between Sunni and Shia. They have roaming bands of thugs and outlaws who don't have a concept of civilized human life – each of whom has no border. They have an antithetical variety of extreme religious beliefs amidst a culture antithetical to ours. And we think we’re going to control those borders? Wow! Talk about unrealistic. Critics of enforcement of our immigration laws say it is impossible to track or round up illegals in this country? And we're trying to do WHAT in Iraq?

I have a wonderful and logical idea...I don't know why I, or someone, hadn’t thought of this months ago.

If there is any legislative funding rider concerning our continuing and increasingly wasteful war in Iraq, it should be this:

Pull back our troops to outside the borders of Iraq. Reposition three quarters of our troops along our own borders (including seaports and coastlines). First priority: Demonstrate to the American people that we are capable of and have an indisputably strong will to enforce our own borders. Demonstrate that we are serious in dealing with illegal alien lawbreakers in our own country first. Use our border patrol agents to establish an accurate census of illegal aliens who are here and implement an effective tracking system. Immediately deport whatever percent of these illegal aliens who have broken laws in addition to our immigration laws. Give the balance of the illegal aliens a “reasonable time” to make arrangements to leave and seek citizenship through existing, appropriate means. Enforce employer violations of our immigration laws.

Once we have demonstrated our effectiveness at these tasks, then we might have more credibility in pursuing the Second priority, a border enforcement effort in a place like Iraq...if there are any Iraqis left.

But, for reasons that elude me, our leaders will demonstrate they are NOT serious about defending our own borders, and will continue to demonstrate our own lack of will, and thus lack of competence, elsewhere.

Know Your Enemy - The President Doesn't

After reading a portion of the transcript of a recent White House speech given by our President, I couldn't resist writing him to tell him what I thought. Click the title for the context.

Here it is...

Dear Mr. President:

I have read the following transcript of a talk you recently gave:

"Islam is a religion that brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people around the world. It has transcended racial and ethnic divisions. It has given birth to a rich culture of learning and literature and science... ...Ramadan is the holiest month in the Muslim calendar. For Muslims in America and around the world, Ramadan is a special time of prayer and fasting, contemplation of God's greatness, and charity and service to those in need. And for people of all faiths, it is a good time to reflect on the values we hold in common, including love of family, gratitude to God, the importance of community, and a commitment to tolerance and religious freedom."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061016-6.html Link to White House press release of transcript of Iftaar dinner at the White House

Mr. President, with all due respect, you must be kidding. Your words are contributing to the confusion of a nation.

If what you said is true, then...

• Why is Islam known for such extreme violence?
• Why does Islamic violence increase during Ramadan, their "holiest month"?
• Why are Islamic women denied their human rights?
• Why is Islam known to be the most intolerant religion on the planet?
• Why does a central point of Islamic theology require forced conversions?
• Why are the majority of teachers of Islam teaching conquest and Sharia law?
• Why is this nation spending billions of dollars defending against the Islamo-fascist threat?

The better question is, why are you pandering to such a religion? Are you hoping your kind, but erroneous words will change their theology?

The concept of "Moderate Islam" is a hopeful, but self-deluding myth. Your statements reflect a head-in-the-sand understanding of today's Islam. Or at best, reflect the state of Islam 50 years ago. Islam is going through a reformation - a return to their theological roots. These roots are vested in violence and conquest. The Muslims who may be "moderate" based on our Christian world view are in a reformist-Islam intimidated minority. Few speak out against their violent mainstream counterparts.

We will experience success when we know our enemy. You do not speak as if you know our enemy. God help us.

The Immigration Speech - Why I Believe the President Has Lost His Credibility

...the little he has left.

• This is the first time he has clearly, publicly articulated "amnesty": making a way for the illegals to become legal with little disruption to their flagrant disrespectful methods of being here.
• This will encourage still additional thronging hoards yearning to be anarchists storming our borders and violating our laws.
• He demonstrated he acknowledges there has been a problem; we all know it has built up over the past 6, 10, 20 years.
• The first six years he could have done something about it but didn't. Why? He doesn't believe in doing anything about it. And he still doesn't.
• We know his heart is not in doing this; it is in producing cheap labor "for the jobs Americans won't do." I don't believe that, either.
• Therefore his actions are disingenuous, with no real intention of following through with a long term program.
• He, like many others, portrays this issue in black/white terms: amnesty or mass deportation. Sure, amnesty is kinder and gentler than deportation and we're really not able to deport 12 million people (especially since we don't really want to). How much of a freakin red herring is THAT! We couldn't (didn't want to) keep them out. We don't even know who they are to kick them out (if we wanted to).
• He ignored the "middle ground: Attrition. Attrition is achieved by not rewarding the illegals with free education and health care and tax-free jobs. Many will trickle away. You wouldn't believe how much of our resources and taxpayer dollars are spent on these free services, plus the law enforcement problem from their law-breaking predisposition.

And yes, we do need private sector cooperation. It's the private sector that is hiring them and encouraging them to be here. Businesses need to be a part of the solution by exercising some responsibility for becoming a major part of the problem. A "tamper-proof" card system is part of the solution to assure businesses can rely on knowing who they hire. But I'm just waiting for the ACLU or equivalent complaining about the dehumanizing, discriminating aspects of having a card. They conveniently forget that we needed social security cards to get a job, but most of us didn't consider forging them.

Too little, too late, and too transparent (translated "disingenuous"). This is not the kind of transparancy in government we need.

TO: President & Congress; RE: Illegal immigration

As a citizen of the United States, and as the grandson of LEGAL immigrants, I appeal to you to respect our nation’s borders, heritage, culture, and laws by doing the following with all due haste:

• Deport all illegal aliens (proactively enforce existing legislation or pass additional legislation, if necessary)
• Prosecute any individual, institution, or business that harbors illegal aliens
• Pass legislation that makes English the official language of this nation
• Secure our borders by whatever means that will be effective whether via fences, walls, technology, or personnel, military or otherwise
• Ignore the corporate greed that drives this nations lust for cheap labor over the rule of law and security of our borders.
• Devote the fiscal resources necessary to accomplish these things.

I consider the current, abhorant immigration policies of this nation a personal affront to the integrity, diligence, and patriotism of my ancestors. It makes a mockery of our laws and threatens our nation's survival.

I voted republican in the past two elections. I will not hesitate to vote for whichever individuals will aggressively pursue this agenda and I will join forces and expend resources to encourage others to do the same.