On this day in 1776, the Second Continental Congress, assembled in Philadelphia, formally adopts Richard Henry Lee's resolution for independence from Great Britain. The vote is unanimous, with only New York abstaining.
The resolution had originally been presented to Congress on June 7, but it soon became clear that New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South Carolina were as yet unwilling to declare independence, though they would likely be ready to vote in favor of a break with England in due course. Thus, Congress agreed to delay the vote on Lees Resolution until July 1. In the intervening period, Congress appointed a committee to draft a formal declaration of independence. Its members were John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Robert R. Livingston of New York and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson, well-known to be the best writer of the group, was selected to be the primary author of the document, which was presented to Congress for review on June 28, 1776.
On July 1, 1776, debate on the Lee Resolution resumed as planned, with a majority of the delegates favoring the resolution. Congress thought it of the utmost importance that independence be unanimously proclaimed. To ensure this, they delayed the final vote until July 2, when 12 colonial delegations voted in favor of it, with the New York delegates abstaining, unsure of how their constituents would wish them to vote. John Adams wrote that July 2 would be celebrated as the most memorable epoch in the history of America. Instead, the day has been largely forgotten in favor of July 4, when Jeffersons edited Declaration of Independence was adopted.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
FIRST PRAYER IN CONGRESS - 1774
First Prayer in Congress.
—The following is the text of Dr. Duche's first prayer in Congress:
0 Lord, our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings and Lord of lords, Who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers of the earth, and reignest with power supreme and uncontrollable over the kingdoms, empires, and governments, look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection. Desiring to be henceforth only dependent on Thee, to Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause: to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care: give them wisdom in council and valor in the field. Defeat the malicious designs of our adversaries, convince them of the unrighteousness of their cause; and, if they still persist in their sanguinary purpose, oh ! let the voice of Thy unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war in their unnerved hands in the day of battle. Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation, that the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony, and peace may be restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety prevail and flourish among the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and the vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they represent such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world, and crown them with ever-lasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Savior. Amen.
THE AMERICA'S FOUNDERS
This is a selected list of the Founders who testifified about their Christian Faith. There were more than 200 Founders.
Samuel Adams
Father of the American Revolution, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Father of the American Revolution, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
I . . . recommend my Soul to that Almighty Being who gave it, and my body I commit to the dust, relying upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins.Will of Samuel Adams
Charles Carroll
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
On the mercy of my Redeemer I rely for salvation and on His merits; not on the works I have done in obedience to His precepts.From an autographed letter in our possession written by Charles Carroll to Charles W. Wharton, Esq., on September 27, 1825, from Doughoragen, Maryland.
William Cushing
First Associate Justice Appointed by George Washington to the Supreme Court
First Associate Justice Appointed by George Washington to the Supreme Court
Sensible of my mortality, but being of sound mind, after recommending my soul to Almighty God through the merits of my Redeemer and my body to the earth . . .Will of William Cushing
John Dickinson
Signer of the Constitution
Signer of the Constitution
Rendering thanks to my Creator for my existence and station among His works, for my birth in a country enlightened by the Gospel and enjoying freedom, and for all His other kindnesses, to Him I resign myself, humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity.Will of John Dickinson
John Hancock
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
I John Hancock, . . . being advanced in years and being of perfect mind and memory-thanks be given to God-therefore calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing it is appointed for all men once to die [Hebrews 9:27], do make and ordain this my last will and testament…Principally and first of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it: and my body I recommend to the earth . . . nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mercy and power of God. . .Will of John Hancock
Patrick Henry
Governor of Virginia, Patriot
Governor of Virginia, Patriot
This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.Will of Patrick Henry
John Jay
First Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
First Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved son. He has been pleased to bless me with excellent parents, with a virtuous wife, and with worthy children. His protection has companied me through many eventful years, faithfully employed in the service of my country; His providence has not only conducted me to this tranquil situation but also given me abundant reason to be contented and thankful. Blessed be His holy name!Will of John Jay
Daniel St. Thomas Jenifer
Signer of the Constitution
Signer of the Constitution
In the name of God, Amen. I, Daniel of Saint Thomas Jenifer . . . of dispossing mind and memory, commend my soul to my blessed Redeemer. . .Will of Daniel St. Thomas Jenifer
Henry Knox
Revolutionary War General, Secretary of War
Revolutionary War General, Secretary of War
First, I think it proper to express my unshaken opinion of the immortality of my soul or mind; and to dedicate and devote the same to the supreme head of the Universe – to that great and tremendous Jehovah, – Who created the universal frame of nature, worlds, and systems in number infinite . . . To this awfully sublime Being do I resign my spirit with unlimited confidence of His mercy and protection . . .Will of Henry Knox
John Langdon
Signer of the Constitution
Signer of the Constitution
In the name of God, Amen. I, John Langdon, . . . considering the uncertainty of life and that it is appointed unto all men once to die [Hebrews 9:27], do make, ordain and publish this my last will and testament in manner following, that is to say-First: I commend my soul to the infinite mercies of God in Christ Jesus, the beloved Son of the Father, who died and rose again that He might be the Lord of the dead and of the living . . . professing to believe and hope in the joyful Scripture doctrine of a resurrection to eternal life . . .Will of John Langdon
John Morton
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
With an awful reverence to the great Almighty God, Creator of all mankind, I, John Morton . . . being sick and weak in body but of sound mind and memory-thanks be given to Almighty God for the same, for all His mercies and favors-and considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the times thereof, do, for the settling of such temporal estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life . . .Will of John Morton
Robert Treat Paine
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
I desire to bless and praise the name of God most high for appointing me my birth in a land of Gospel Light where the glorious tidings of a Savior and of pardon and salvation through Him have been continually sounding in mine ears.Robert Treat Paine, The Papers of Robert Treat Paine, Stephen Riley and Edward Hanson, editors (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1992), Vol. I, p. 48, March/April, 1749.
[W]hen I consider that this instrument contemplates my departure from this life and all earthly enjoyments and my entrance on another state of existence, I am constrained to express my adoration of the Supreme Being, the Author of my existence, in full belief of his providential goodness and his forgiving mercy revealed to the world through Jesus Christ, through whom I hope for never ending happiness in a future state, acknowledging with grateful remembrance the happiness I have enjoyed in my passage through a long life. . .Will of Robert Treat Paine
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Signer of the Constitution
Signer of the Constitution
To the eternal, immutable, and only true God be all honor and glory, now and forever, Amen!. . .Will of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Rufus PutnamRevolutionary War General, First Surveyor General of the United States
[F]irst, I give my soul to a holy, sovereign God Who gave it in humble hope of a blessed immortality through the atonement and righteousness of Jesus Christ and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. My body I commit to the earth to be buried in a decent Christian manner. I fully believe that this body shall, by the mighty power of God, be raised to life at the last day; 'for this corruptable (sic) must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.' [I Corinthians 15:53]Will of Rufus Putnam
Benjamin Rush
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
My only hope of salvation is in the infinite, transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the cross. Nothing but His blood will wash away my sins. I rely exclusively upon it. Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!Benjamin Rush, The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, George Corner, editor (Princeton: Princeton University Press for the American Philosophical Society, 1948), p. 166, Travels Through Life, An Account of Sundry Incidents & Events in the Life of Benjamin Rush.
Roger Sherman
Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signer of the Constitution
Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signer of the Constitution
I believe that there is one only living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. . . . that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are a revelation from God. . . . that God did send His own Son to become man, die in the room and stead of sinners, and thus to lay a foundation for the offer of pardon and salvation to all mankind so as all may be saved who are willing to accept the Gospel offer.Lewis Henry Boutell, The Life of Roger Sherman (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1896), pp. 272-273.
Richard Stockton
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
I think it proper here not only to subscribe to the entire belief of the great and leading doctrines of the Christian religion, such as the Being of God, the universal defection and depravity of human nature, the divinity of the person and the completeness of the redemption purchased by the blessed Savior, the necessity of the operations of the Divine Spirit, of Divine Faith, accompanied with an habitual virtuous life, and the universality of the divine Providence, but also . . . that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom; that the way of life held up in the Christian system is calculated for the most complete happiness that can be enjoyed in this mortal state; that all occasions of vice and immorality is injurious either immediately or consequentially, even in this life; that as Almighty God hath not been pleased in the Holy Scriptures to prescribe any precise mode in which He is to be publicly worshiped, all contention about it generally arises from want of knowledge or want of virtue.Will of Richard Stockton
Jonathan Trumbull Sr.
Governor of Connecticut, Patriot
Governor of Connecticut, Patriot
Principally and first of all, I bequeath my soul to God the Creator and Giver thereof, and body to the Earth . . . nothing doubting but that I shall receive the same again at the General Resurrection thro the power of Almighty God; believing and hoping for eternal life thro the merits of my dear, exalted Redeemer Jesus Christ.Will of Jonathan Trumbull
John Witherspoon
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
I entreat you in the most earnest manner to believe in Jesus Christ, for there is no salvation in any other [Acts 4:12]. . . . [I]f you are not reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, if you are not clothed with the spotless robe of His righteousness, you must forever perish.John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), Vol. V, pp. 276, 278, The Absolute Necessity of Salvation Through Christ, January 2, 1758.
The Founders as Christians.
GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH! PATRICK HENRY
Patrick Henry - 03/23/1775
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not [Jer. 5:21], the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss [Matt. 26:48]. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us [2 Chron. 32:8]. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone [Eccl. 9:11]; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace [Jer. 6:14]. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle [Matt. 20:6]? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
Give me liberty or give me death!
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE USA
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitles them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of governments. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved representative Houses repeatedly for opposing with manly firmness his invasion on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us in many cases of the benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to ren-der it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliance, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
MASSACHUSETTS: John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine
RHODE ISLAND: Elbridge Gerry, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
CONNECTICUT: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
NEW YORK: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
NEW JERSEY: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
PENNSYLVANIA: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
DELAWARE: Ceasar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
MARYLAND: Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, William Paca, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
VIRGINIA: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
NORTH CAROLINA: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
SOUTH CAROLINA: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Authur Middleton
GEORGIA: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Saturday, June 18, 2011
MUSLIMS "VALUES" IN AN ARAB "FESTIVA"
This video shows how Muslims in Dearborn Michigan behaved when no-Muslims come to their "festival." As you can see, a mob of Muslims started to being violent, spitting at the cameraman, making insulting signs, and being agressive to visitors. This is the regular Muslim in America, intolerant and anti-America. Muslims in America need to learn how to assimilate into this society. Their "mob" mentality must be rejected and think that they are NOT in the MIddle East, where violence and no respect for the law is normal. These Muslims need to respect America and its laws and be tolerant of others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKINF_aK6OA&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKINF_aK6OA&feature=player_embedded
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Soros and the Middle East Chaos.
A former Jordanian diplomat widely quoted in news media in recent months calming fears about the Muslim Brotherhood is a Mideast specialist for a peace institute funded by philanthropist George Soros.
WND previously reported the International Crisis Group, or ICG, led in part by Soros has long petitioned for the Egyptian government to normalize ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. The ICG includes on its board Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as other personalities who champion dialogue with Hamas, a violent offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Also, WND reported on the numerous ties of Soros initiatives, including the philanthropist's own Open Society Institute, to the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
Read what we'll need to accomplish to restore America to greatness.
Since those revolutions first started in Tunisia in January, news media have widely quoted Marwan Muasher, a former Jordanian foreign minister and deputy prime minister, as a Middle East analyst.
Muasher has roundly championed the revolutions while calling for Arab countries to include Islamist groups in a new democratic system based on an open society.
On ABC's "This Week" earlier this month, Muasher downplayed worries about the Muslim Brotherhood opposition in Syria.
He noted the Syrian Brotherhood was "heavily represented" at a Syrian opposition meeting in Turkey this month that came out with a "very strong message that they want a secular, pluralistic Syria in which religion plays no role. And that was a surprising but welcome message."
Speaking about the broader Mideast revolutions, Muasher stated the Muslim Brotherhood "has been used for a long time a scare tactic. … But in open, pluralistic systems, the Brotherhood will have to compete against many other alternatives, and I think that is the way that all Arab countries should go to."
In an opinion piece in the Guardian of London in January, Muasher called for the inclusion of Islamist parties in representative democracies.
He wrote: "The last lesson is that old arguments rationalizing tight controls on politics to keep Islamists from gaining power are fundamentally undermined. Governments use the fear of Islam to justify closed political systems that clamp down on all forms of discontent."
One month later, Muasher wrote in the Washington Post, "Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan, need to start by building stronger parliaments. This can happen only with changes to electoral laws that make elections more fair and parliaments more representative."
Channeling pan-socialist ideology, in March, Muasher referred to the Mideast revolutions and breakdown in Israeli-Palestinian talks as a "crisis" that should not be wasted.
"This crisis, like so many others, would be a terrible thing to waste," he wrote in a piece with Javier Solana published by Project Syndicate.
Solana, former secretary general of the European Union, is a socialist activist and a leader in Soros' International Crisis Group.
Muasher, meanwhile, is Middle East specialist for the Soros-funded Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
In 1995, Muasher opened Jordan's first embassy in Israel, and from 1997 to 2002, he served in Washington as Jordan's ambassador, negotiating the first free trade agreement between the United States and an Arab nation.
He then returned to Jordan to become foreign minister and later deputy prime minister. He often spoke to news media about creating a more open society in Jordan.
Muasher played a central role in developing the so-called Arab Peace Initiative.
The Arab Initiative, originally proposed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2002 and later adopted by the Arab League, states that Israel would receive "normal relations" with the Arab world in exchange for a full withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem, which includes the Temple Mount.
The West Bank contains important Jewish biblical sites and borders central Israeli population centers, while the Golan Heights looks down on Israeli civilian zones and was twice used by Syria to mount ground invasions into the Jewish state.
The Arab plan also demands the imposition of a non-binding U.N. resolution that calls for so-called Palestinian refugees who wish to move inside Israel to be permitted to do so at the "earliest practicable date."
Palestinians have long demanded the "right of return" for millions of "refugees," a formula Israeli officials across the political spectrum warn is code for Israel's destruction by flooding the Jewish state with millions of Arabs, thereby changing its demographics.
'Normalize' Muslim Brotherhood
Soros' ICG has petitioned for the Algerian government to cease "excessive" military activities against al-Qaida-linked groups and to allow organizations seeking to create an Islamic state to participate in the Algerian government.
The organization also is tied strongly to the Egyptian opposition movement whose protests led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Soros' own Open Society Institute has funded opposition groups across the Middle East and North Africa, including organizations involved in the current chaos.
Following protests that led to the resignations of Mubarak and Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali – both key U.S. allies – Algeria similarly has been engulfed in anti-regime riots.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ruled the country with a tough hand. And he has been an ally of the U.S. in fighting al-Qaida.
Islamist parties serve as Bouteflika's main opposition.
The International Crisis Group, which includes Soros among its eight executive committee members, long has petitioned for the reformation of the Algerian government and for the inclusion of Islamist political parties, two groups that seek to turn Algeria into an Islamic state.
In a July 2004 ICG report obtained by WND, the ICG calls on the Algerian government to curb military action against al-Qaida-affiliated organizations, particularly the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, the GSPC, and an armed Islamic terrorist group known as Houmat Daawa Salafia, or HDS. Like the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the GSPC aims to establish an Islamic state within Algeria.
Soros' ICG names the two Islamic groups in its recommendations to the Algerian government.
"Give top priority to ending the remaining armed movements, mainly the GSPC and HDS, through a political, security, legal and diplomatic strategy," states the ICG report.
"Avoid excessive reliance on military means and do not allow these movements' purported links to al-Qaida to rule out a negotiated end to their campaigns," continued the ICG's recommendation to the Algerian government.
The ICG has issued at least six other reports recommending Algeria transition to a democracy that will allow the participation of the Islamic groups seeking to create a Muslim caliphate.
After Algeria's president, Bouteflika, won more than 80 percent of the vote against Islamic opposition groups in 2004, Robert Malley, an ICG associate, recommended, "Rather than exclude all his opponents from the policy making process, he could empower them."
The ICG's Malley was an adviser to Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. He resigned after it was exposed he had communicated with Hamas. WND reported Malley long had petitioned for dialogue with Hamas.
WND also reported previously the ICG also has petitioned for the Egyptian government to normalize ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The ICG released a report urging the Egyptian regime to allow the Brotherhood to establish an Islamist political party.
In a June 2008 report entitled "Egypt's Muslim Brothers Confrontation or Integration," Soros' ICG urges the Egyptian regime to allow the group to participate in political life.
The report dismisses Egypt's longstanding government crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood as "dangerously short-sighted."
The ICG report called on Mubarak's regime to "pave the way for the regularization of the Muslim Brothers' participation in political life," including by allowing for the "establishment of a political party with religious reference."
The ICG specifically stressed allowing the Brotherhood to serve as an Islamist party several times in its 2008 report.
The ICG and its personalities also long have petitioned for the Muslim Brotherhood to be allowed to join the Egyptian government.
ElBaradei suspended his board membership in the ICG in February after he returned to Egypt to lead the anti-Mubarak protests.
U.S. board members include Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to Jimmy Carter; Samuel Berger, Bill Clinton's national security adviser; and retired U.S. ambassador Thomas Pickering, who made headlines in 2009 after meeting with Hamas leaders and calling for the U.S. to open ties to the Islamist group.
Another ICG member is Malley.
The ICG defines itself as an "independent, non-profit, multinational organization, with 100 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict."
Funding the opposition
Meanwhile, Soros also has other ties to opposition groups in the Middle East.
His Open Society Institute's Middle East and North Africa Initiative has provided numerous grants to a wide range of projects that promote so-called democratic issues across the region, including in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood stands to gain from any future election.
Soros' Open Society also funded the main opposition voice in Tunisia, Radio Kalima, which championed the riots there that led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In September, Soros' group was looking to expand its operations in Egypt by hiring a new project manager for its Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which is run in partnership with the Open Society Justice Initiative. The group is seeking to develop a national network of legal empowerment actors for referral of public-interest law cases. Such organizations in the past have helped represent Muslim Brotherhood leaders seeking election or more authority in the country.
Soros himself in February made public statements in support of the protests in Egypt, which the Mubarak government has warned will result in the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country.
In a Washington Post editorial entitled "Why Obama Has to Get Egypt Right," Soros recognized that if free elections were held in Egypt, "the Brotherhood is bound to emerge as a major political force, though it is far from assured of a majority."
He stated the U.S. has "much to gain by moving out in front and siding with the public demand for dignity and democracy" in Egypt.
He claimed the "Muslim Brotherhood's cooperation with Mohamed ElBaradei … is a hopeful sign that it intends to play a constructive role in a democratic political system."
Soros did not mention his ties to ElBaradei.
Soros did, however, single out Israel as "the main stumbling block" in paving the way toward transition in the Middle East.
"In reality, Israel has as much to gain from the spread of democracy in the Middle East as the United States has. But Israel is unlikely to recognize its own best interests because the change is too sudden and carries too many risks," he wrote.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=311053
WND previously reported the International Crisis Group, or ICG, led in part by Soros has long petitioned for the Egyptian government to normalize ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. The ICG includes on its board Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as other personalities who champion dialogue with Hamas, a violent offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Also, WND reported on the numerous ties of Soros initiatives, including the philanthropist's own Open Society Institute, to the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
Read what we'll need to accomplish to restore America to greatness.
Since those revolutions first started in Tunisia in January, news media have widely quoted Marwan Muasher, a former Jordanian foreign minister and deputy prime minister, as a Middle East analyst.
Muasher has roundly championed the revolutions while calling for Arab countries to include Islamist groups in a new democratic system based on an open society.
On ABC's "This Week" earlier this month, Muasher downplayed worries about the Muslim Brotherhood opposition in Syria.
He noted the Syrian Brotherhood was "heavily represented" at a Syrian opposition meeting in Turkey this month that came out with a "very strong message that they want a secular, pluralistic Syria in which religion plays no role. And that was a surprising but welcome message."
Speaking about the broader Mideast revolutions, Muasher stated the Muslim Brotherhood "has been used for a long time a scare tactic. … But in open, pluralistic systems, the Brotherhood will have to compete against many other alternatives, and I think that is the way that all Arab countries should go to."
In an opinion piece in the Guardian of London in January, Muasher called for the inclusion of Islamist parties in representative democracies.
He wrote: "The last lesson is that old arguments rationalizing tight controls on politics to keep Islamists from gaining power are fundamentally undermined. Governments use the fear of Islam to justify closed political systems that clamp down on all forms of discontent."
One month later, Muasher wrote in the Washington Post, "Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan, need to start by building stronger parliaments. This can happen only with changes to electoral laws that make elections more fair and parliaments more representative."
Channeling pan-socialist ideology, in March, Muasher referred to the Mideast revolutions and breakdown in Israeli-Palestinian talks as a "crisis" that should not be wasted.
"This crisis, like so many others, would be a terrible thing to waste," he wrote in a piece with Javier Solana published by Project Syndicate.
Solana, former secretary general of the European Union, is a socialist activist and a leader in Soros' International Crisis Group.
Muasher, meanwhile, is Middle East specialist for the Soros-funded Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
In 1995, Muasher opened Jordan's first embassy in Israel, and from 1997 to 2002, he served in Washington as Jordan's ambassador, negotiating the first free trade agreement between the United States and an Arab nation.
He then returned to Jordan to become foreign minister and later deputy prime minister. He often spoke to news media about creating a more open society in Jordan.
Muasher played a central role in developing the so-called Arab Peace Initiative.
The Arab Initiative, originally proposed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2002 and later adopted by the Arab League, states that Israel would receive "normal relations" with the Arab world in exchange for a full withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem, which includes the Temple Mount.
The West Bank contains important Jewish biblical sites and borders central Israeli population centers, while the Golan Heights looks down on Israeli civilian zones and was twice used by Syria to mount ground invasions into the Jewish state.
The Arab plan also demands the imposition of a non-binding U.N. resolution that calls for so-called Palestinian refugees who wish to move inside Israel to be permitted to do so at the "earliest practicable date."
Palestinians have long demanded the "right of return" for millions of "refugees," a formula Israeli officials across the political spectrum warn is code for Israel's destruction by flooding the Jewish state with millions of Arabs, thereby changing its demographics.
'Normalize' Muslim Brotherhood
Soros' ICG has petitioned for the Algerian government to cease "excessive" military activities against al-Qaida-linked groups and to allow organizations seeking to create an Islamic state to participate in the Algerian government.
The organization also is tied strongly to the Egyptian opposition movement whose protests led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Soros' own Open Society Institute has funded opposition groups across the Middle East and North Africa, including organizations involved in the current chaos.
Following protests that led to the resignations of Mubarak and Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali – both key U.S. allies – Algeria similarly has been engulfed in anti-regime riots.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ruled the country with a tough hand. And he has been an ally of the U.S. in fighting al-Qaida.
Islamist parties serve as Bouteflika's main opposition.
The International Crisis Group, which includes Soros among its eight executive committee members, long has petitioned for the reformation of the Algerian government and for the inclusion of Islamist political parties, two groups that seek to turn Algeria into an Islamic state.
In a July 2004 ICG report obtained by WND, the ICG calls on the Algerian government to curb military action against al-Qaida-affiliated organizations, particularly the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, the GSPC, and an armed Islamic terrorist group known as Houmat Daawa Salafia, or HDS. Like the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the GSPC aims to establish an Islamic state within Algeria.
Soros' ICG names the two Islamic groups in its recommendations to the Algerian government.
"Give top priority to ending the remaining armed movements, mainly the GSPC and HDS, through a political, security, legal and diplomatic strategy," states the ICG report.
"Avoid excessive reliance on military means and do not allow these movements' purported links to al-Qaida to rule out a negotiated end to their campaigns," continued the ICG's recommendation to the Algerian government.
The ICG has issued at least six other reports recommending Algeria transition to a democracy that will allow the participation of the Islamic groups seeking to create a Muslim caliphate.
After Algeria's president, Bouteflika, won more than 80 percent of the vote against Islamic opposition groups in 2004, Robert Malley, an ICG associate, recommended, "Rather than exclude all his opponents from the policy making process, he could empower them."
The ICG's Malley was an adviser to Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. He resigned after it was exposed he had communicated with Hamas. WND reported Malley long had petitioned for dialogue with Hamas.
WND also reported previously the ICG also has petitioned for the Egyptian government to normalize ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The ICG released a report urging the Egyptian regime to allow the Brotherhood to establish an Islamist political party.
In a June 2008 report entitled "Egypt's Muslim Brothers Confrontation or Integration," Soros' ICG urges the Egyptian regime to allow the group to participate in political life.
The report dismisses Egypt's longstanding government crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood as "dangerously short-sighted."
The ICG report called on Mubarak's regime to "pave the way for the regularization of the Muslim Brothers' participation in political life," including by allowing for the "establishment of a political party with religious reference."
The ICG specifically stressed allowing the Brotherhood to serve as an Islamist party several times in its 2008 report.
The ICG and its personalities also long have petitioned for the Muslim Brotherhood to be allowed to join the Egyptian government.
ElBaradei suspended his board membership in the ICG in February after he returned to Egypt to lead the anti-Mubarak protests.
U.S. board members include Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to Jimmy Carter; Samuel Berger, Bill Clinton's national security adviser; and retired U.S. ambassador Thomas Pickering, who made headlines in 2009 after meeting with Hamas leaders and calling for the U.S. to open ties to the Islamist group.
Another ICG member is Malley.
The ICG defines itself as an "independent, non-profit, multinational organization, with 100 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict."
Funding the opposition
Meanwhile, Soros also has other ties to opposition groups in the Middle East.
His Open Society Institute's Middle East and North Africa Initiative has provided numerous grants to a wide range of projects that promote so-called democratic issues across the region, including in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood stands to gain from any future election.
Soros' Open Society also funded the main opposition voice in Tunisia, Radio Kalima, which championed the riots there that led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In September, Soros' group was looking to expand its operations in Egypt by hiring a new project manager for its Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which is run in partnership with the Open Society Justice Initiative. The group is seeking to develop a national network of legal empowerment actors for referral of public-interest law cases. Such organizations in the past have helped represent Muslim Brotherhood leaders seeking election or more authority in the country.
Soros himself in February made public statements in support of the protests in Egypt, which the Mubarak government has warned will result in the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country.
In a Washington Post editorial entitled "Why Obama Has to Get Egypt Right," Soros recognized that if free elections were held in Egypt, "the Brotherhood is bound to emerge as a major political force, though it is far from assured of a majority."
He stated the U.S. has "much to gain by moving out in front and siding with the public demand for dignity and democracy" in Egypt.
He claimed the "Muslim Brotherhood's cooperation with Mohamed ElBaradei … is a hopeful sign that it intends to play a constructive role in a democratic political system."
Soros did not mention his ties to ElBaradei.
Soros did, however, single out Israel as "the main stumbling block" in paving the way toward transition in the Middle East.
"In reality, Israel has as much to gain from the spread of democracy in the Middle East as the United States has. But Israel is unlikely to recognize its own best interests because the change is too sudden and carries too many risks," he wrote.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=311053
Monday, June 13, 2011
Top 7 Marxist Communist Policies Being Implemented.
Throughout history Communist leaders have seized power by promoting themselves as populists, and often completely hiding their own ideology. Indeed in a poll taken after Communist Hugo Chavez' first election victory in Venezuela, only 3% of the electors believed Chavez to be a Socialist, let alone a Communist. Currently 32% of Americans believe Obama to be a Socialist.
The initial stages of Communization of a country invariably begin with seven basic steps:
Seizing Control Over The Free Flow Of The Nation's Money
Obama has stated that he wants to convert the stock the US government now owns in the nation's banks from preferred stock, which is the case currently, to common stock. This modification in type of stock may seem irrelevant at first glance, but under further analysis it is the single greatest communist policy the US government has ever adopted: It means that the federal government will control all of the currently publicly traded major banks and financial institutions in the nation which are currently in the hands of individual shareholders. Not only will the current shareholders' rights be trampled, but the control of the nation's flow of money is the first keystone of communism.
Stripping Capitalists Of Their Assets
According to US bankruptcy code, secured creditors such as the ones who have outstanding debt against Chrysler and GM, have to be paid before unsecured creditors. That is the law. Obama has ignored this law, and seized the vast majority (89% in GM's case) of all "asset value" of the automakers and taken direct control or given it away for free to the unions. Karl Marx's theses were all based on the workers owning the means of production, and thus communism takes hold in America.
Changing The Structures Of Government To Suit
Obama has given the GOP until October to approve his health care plan which many experts have shown, would be as socialized as Cuba's. If the Republican Party does not meet his demands, the Democratic Party will simply change the very rules of the United States Senate to pass their legislation through simple majority, instead of the 60% which has been required by the Senate through history. Changing legislation to suit the leader is another common tactic of communist leaders from Chavez to Castro.
Taking Advantage Of A Crisis To Impose Communism
Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel published a book entitled The Plan which would require (yes, require) young Americans regardless of their political stripe to serve in a direct copy of Hugo Chavez' red-beret local militias. The Plan also promotes massive taxpayer funded programs as universally free university tuition and health care as well as a tax reform to ensure that the middle and upper classes are crushed by the enormous new government expenditures. Obama has already admitted such a "soak anyone making over $250,000/year" punitive tax policy. Emanuel is famous for his quote "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste…(it’s) an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before," which is the prototypical process whereby communists seize power, witness Lenin, Mao, Castro, Tito, et al.
Controlling Higher Education
Obama has already launched legislation to remove private lenders from student loans which would now all be provided by the federal government directly, so that it could choose in a totalitarian manner who receives the loans and who doesn't. Many educational institutions are up in arms over this legislation as it essentially shifts admissions policy from the colleges and universities to the federal government. Control of higher education as in Obama's Pell Grant entitlement is an universal characteristic of communism to ensure that the young are properly ideologically indoctrinated.
Punishing Residential Property Owners
Obama's enormous mortgage bailout legislation is little more than a full blown entitlement program. The plan forces the 92 percent of responsible home owners to heavily subsidize the irresponsible "ARM-ATM" mortgage holders who didn't read their ARM mortgages and used their home equity like ATMs. These taxes would be so overwhelming that many of the "responsible" majority of mortgage holders could lose their homes. The punishment leading to the elimination of property owners in favor of the state is a fundamental tenet of Marxism, as Karl wrote "the middle-class owner of property: This person must indeed, be swept out of the way, and made impossible."
Demolishing The Economy To Replace It With State Control
Obama has:
Policies virtually identical to these were implemented by:
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in 1917 Russia
Josip Broz Tito in 1945 Yugoslavia
Mao Zedong (Tse-tung) in 1949 China
Fidel Castro in 1959 Cuba
Hugo Chavez in 1999 Venezuela
and now they are being implemented by
Barack Hussein Obama in 2009 United States of America.
That is why Bloomberg.com has called Obama a "Manchurian Candidate" set to destroy the US economy once elected.
CLICK BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://hubpages.com/hub/Top-7-Marxist-Communist-Policies-Being-Implemented-By-Obama-Today
The initial stages of Communization of a country invariably begin with seven basic steps:
Seizing Control Over The Free Flow Of The Nation's Money
Obama has stated that he wants to convert the stock the US government now owns in the nation's banks from preferred stock, which is the case currently, to common stock. This modification in type of stock may seem irrelevant at first glance, but under further analysis it is the single greatest communist policy the US government has ever adopted: It means that the federal government will control all of the currently publicly traded major banks and financial institutions in the nation which are currently in the hands of individual shareholders. Not only will the current shareholders' rights be trampled, but the control of the nation's flow of money is the first keystone of communism.
Stripping Capitalists Of Their Assets
According to US bankruptcy code, secured creditors such as the ones who have outstanding debt against Chrysler and GM, have to be paid before unsecured creditors. That is the law. Obama has ignored this law, and seized the vast majority (89% in GM's case) of all "asset value" of the automakers and taken direct control or given it away for free to the unions. Karl Marx's theses were all based on the workers owning the means of production, and thus communism takes hold in America.
Changing The Structures Of Government To Suit
Obama has given the GOP until October to approve his health care plan which many experts have shown, would be as socialized as Cuba's. If the Republican Party does not meet his demands, the Democratic Party will simply change the very rules of the United States Senate to pass their legislation through simple majority, instead of the 60% which has been required by the Senate through history. Changing legislation to suit the leader is another common tactic of communist leaders from Chavez to Castro.
Taking Advantage Of A Crisis To Impose Communism
Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel published a book entitled The Plan which would require (yes, require) young Americans regardless of their political stripe to serve in a direct copy of Hugo Chavez' red-beret local militias. The Plan also promotes massive taxpayer funded programs as universally free university tuition and health care as well as a tax reform to ensure that the middle and upper classes are crushed by the enormous new government expenditures. Obama has already admitted such a "soak anyone making over $250,000/year" punitive tax policy. Emanuel is famous for his quote "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste…(it’s) an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before," which is the prototypical process whereby communists seize power, witness Lenin, Mao, Castro, Tito, et al.
Controlling Higher Education
Obama has already launched legislation to remove private lenders from student loans which would now all be provided by the federal government directly, so that it could choose in a totalitarian manner who receives the loans and who doesn't. Many educational institutions are up in arms over this legislation as it essentially shifts admissions policy from the colleges and universities to the federal government. Control of higher education as in Obama's Pell Grant entitlement is an universal characteristic of communism to ensure that the young are properly ideologically indoctrinated.
Punishing Residential Property Owners
Obama's enormous mortgage bailout legislation is little more than a full blown entitlement program. The plan forces the 92 percent of responsible home owners to heavily subsidize the irresponsible "ARM-ATM" mortgage holders who didn't read their ARM mortgages and used their home equity like ATMs. These taxes would be so overwhelming that many of the "responsible" majority of mortgage holders could lose their homes. The punishment leading to the elimination of property owners in favor of the state is a fundamental tenet of Marxism, as Karl wrote "the middle-class owner of property: This person must indeed, be swept out of the way, and made impossible."
Demolishing The Economy To Replace It With State Control
Obama has:
- Handicapped American multinationals by denying them tax deferral, placing them at an enormous competitive disadvantage against corporations based anywhere else.
- Launched entitlement programs which punish innovation and dry up funds for entrepreneurial start ups.
- Stopped the Treasury from implementing any real recovery plans, discouraging private capital flow into the financial sector.
- Stated "we have to spread the wealth around, we have to redistribute the wealth of this country through taxation," which is a paraphrasing of Marx's "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need."
- Declared a "War On Business" as shown by his legislation that pharmaceutical corporations pay high rebate fees to Medicaid and promoting the importation of foreign drugs which could include low potency or outright counterfeit drugs into the nation. The financial outlook for US pharmaceutical companies has been decimated.
- Placed nearly two thirds of a trillion dollars into a health reform reserve fund, which is the tip of the iceberg in the expectations of the cost of fully socialized medicine in America. USA Today has stated that every household in the United States would be on the hook for over half a million dollars.
Policies virtually identical to these were implemented by:
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in 1917 Russia
Josip Broz Tito in 1945 Yugoslavia
Mao Zedong (Tse-tung) in 1949 China
Fidel Castro in 1959 Cuba
Hugo Chavez in 1999 Venezuela
and now they are being implemented by
Barack Hussein Obama in 2009 United States of America.
That is why Bloomberg.com has called Obama a "Manchurian Candidate" set to destroy the US economy once elected.
CLICK BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://hubpages.com/hub/Top-7-Marxist-Communist-Policies-Being-Implemented-By-Obama-Today
Saturday, June 11, 2011
DEMOLISHING 9-11 Demolition Theories
The events of 9/11 are widely recognised to be a defining factor in the early unfolding of world history in the 21st century. From this single audacious attack on the US, conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq flow directly, along with terrorist attacks on Madrid, Bali, and London. Arguably the July 2006 war in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, waged between Israel on the one side, and Hamas and Hezbollah on the other, is also shaped by the aftermath of 9/11. Domestic and foreign policies of most of the world’s nations have changed as a direct consequence of the attack.
Hence it is of great interest to many different groupings to ascertain the truth of the 9/11 attacks. Broadly speaking there exists the official line, generated by various US Government sponsored investigations, and the counter-orthodoxy, comprising a range of views. On the official side there are three key reports:
1. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
2. NIST (National Institute of Science and Technology)
3. 9/11 Commission
Broadly speaking these reports agree that a group of 19 Muslim men, armed only with box-cutters (penknives), hijacked 4 domestic flights, three of which hit their intended targets, and one of which crashed in a field after passengers fought back. AA flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre (WTC); UA flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the WTC; and flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. The official theory holds that planes which hit the Twin Towers caused structural damage on impact, stripped away insulation from steel columns and severed water sprinklers; caused fires to rage; and eventually they collapsed causing widespread destruction to many other WTC buildings, and, later in the day, the complete collapse of building WTC 7.
CLICK BELOW TO READ COMPLETE REPORT
http://www.jnani.org/mrking/writings/911/king911.htm
On Debunking 9/11 Debunking
In this paper, we examine the claims of Dr. David Ray Griffin regarding the NIST investigation into the World Trade Center disasters, and find those claims to be unfounded. All 18 major claims are discussed and rigorously dismissed, and a further analysis of the text reveals an overwhelming density of factual and logical errors. This paper refutes Dr. Griffin’s major claims, supporting with evidence that the aircraft impacts were expected to significantly damage the structures, that the resulting fires were of both sufficient temperature and duration to cause structural collapse, that a progressive collapse resulting in total destruction of the Towers was the likely result, and that the “controlled demolition” hypothesis is speculative and unsupported by any evidence. We also discuss the anticipated NIST report on World Trade Center Seven. The author highlights the fundamental sources of errors present in Dr. Griffin’s research and
provides a template to evaluate future claims using resources available in open literature.
CLICK BELOW FOR A COMPLETE ANALYSIS.
http://www.jod911.com/drg_nist_review_2_1.pdf
provides a template to evaluate future claims using resources available in open literature.
CLICK BELOW FOR A COMPLETE ANALYSIS.
http://www.jod911.com/drg_nist_review_2_1.pdf
Thursday, June 9, 2011
The High cost of Homosexuality
The chief of a watchdog organization working to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS has launched a campaign to demand a government investigation of – and action over – the homosexual behavior that has been linked to more than 25 million deaths over the last 30 years, likening the problem to smoking, which was blamed for 100 million deaths in the 20th century.
Although statistics on the diseases linked to homosexual activity notoriously are hard to obtain, a report from the International Journal of Epidemiology estimated from a review of the "gay" population of Vancouver, B.C., that HIV/AIDS costs homosexuals up to 20 years of their lives on average.
And the U.S. government is spending, according to a Congressional Research Services report to Congress, in the range of $20 billion a year for treatment and research, with a small fraction for prevention that, analysts explain, includes testing but largely doesn't address the behavior itself.
That's even though when another threat to lives and livelihood – cigarettes – were suspected of imposing such a cost, Washington mandated exhaustive studies, imposed draconian advertising limits, demanded warning labels and imposed outright bans in many circumstances. It said the behavior, smoking, could be changed.
"It's a public health question," Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, told WND. "We've got to get beyond the gay politics and get back to the behaviors. We know there are high risks."
Get Sexual Sabotage - (Autographed)(Hardcover) with The Kinsey Corruption FREE!!
He recent publicly demanded a federal government review of the problem and action regarding it. He issued the call to action at a recent Reclaim Oklahoma conference and he later explained the idea to WND.
"We need to pull this information together," he said. "We would, if it were from any other behavior, where one in five men who practice come down with this awful disease called AIDS."
On his website, LaBarbera explained that homosexual behavior is like the behavior of smoking, which the U.S. government investigated and addressed directly by requiring warnings and other limits.
"Men who have had sex with men since 1977 have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population and 800 times higher than first-time blood donors," LaBarbera wrote, citing a federal report that touched on the issue.
Although statistics on the diseases linked to homosexual activity notoriously are hard to obtain, a report from the International Journal of Epidemiology estimated from a review of the "gay" population of Vancouver, B.C., that HIV/AIDS costs homosexuals up to 20 years of their lives on average.
And the U.S. government is spending, according to a Congressional Research Services report to Congress, in the range of $20 billion a year for treatment and research, with a small fraction for prevention that, analysts explain, includes testing but largely doesn't address the behavior itself.
That's even though when another threat to lives and livelihood – cigarettes – were suspected of imposing such a cost, Washington mandated exhaustive studies, imposed draconian advertising limits, demanded warning labels and imposed outright bans in many circumstances. It said the behavior, smoking, could be changed.
"It's a public health question," Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, told WND. "We've got to get beyond the gay politics and get back to the behaviors. We know there are high risks."
Get Sexual Sabotage - (Autographed)(Hardcover) with The Kinsey Corruption FREE!!
He recent publicly demanded a federal government review of the problem and action regarding it. He issued the call to action at a recent Reclaim Oklahoma conference and he later explained the idea to WND.
"We need to pull this information together," he said. "We would, if it were from any other behavior, where one in five men who practice come down with this awful disease called AIDS."
On his website, LaBarbera explained that homosexual behavior is like the behavior of smoking, which the U.S. government investigated and addressed directly by requiring warnings and other limits.
"Men who have had sex with men since 1977 have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population and 800 times higher than first-time blood donors," LaBarbera wrote, citing a federal report that touched on the issue.
When it comes to combating cigarettes, the government not only restricts, taxes and bans smoking, it also funds and encourages anti-smoking messages and advertisements," LaBarbera said. "Given the immense health risks of male homosexual sex, shouldn't the federal government do a comprehensive study on the matter, tax sodomitic establishments like bathhouses, and educate the public and especially young people about the dangers of 'gay' sex?"
That smoking costs dearly isn't disputed. According to Health.com, researchers at the University of Bristol in England determined that for each cigarette, a smoker loses approximately 11 minutes of lifetime.
"That means that 10 cigarettes a day for 10 years takes more than nine months off your life."
The report also reveals tobacco "was responsible for the deaths of 100 million people in the 20th century."
Additionally, a Washington Post report said on average, smokers lose about 10 years of lifetime. "The pioneering epidemiologist Richard Doll, who's now 91, and his colleagues found that almost half of all persistent cigarette smokers were killed by their habit, and a quarter died before age 70," the report said.
But it also found that "kicking the cigarette habit had equally dramatic effects … someone who stops smoking by age 30 has the same average life expectancy as a nonsmoker, and someone who stops at 50 will lose four, rather than 10, years of life."
There's evidence that homosexuality's link to HIV and AIDS also is costly.
"In the U.S., recent research has identified HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death among men aged 25-44 in the states of New York, New Jersey, California, Florida and Massachusetts, and 64 out of 170 cities having reported at least 25 AIDS-related deaths," said the Journal of Epidemiology. "Similarly, in Europe and Canada HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death in middle-aged men in several urban centers. Deaths attributable to HIV have led to an enormous burden on adult and childhood mortality in developing areas of the globe, such as sub-Saharan Africa."
According to the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, men who have sex with men account for more than half of the many thousands of new HIV infections in the U.S. each year, and the rate for infection for that "MSM" population is "more than 44 times that of other men and more than 40 times that of women."
WSYR Television in New York said on this year's 30th anniversary of the identification of HIV and AIDs, more than 60 million people have been diagnosed with HIV and 25 million of those are dead, "as there is no cure."
USA Today described the origins:
That smoking costs dearly isn't disputed. According to Health.com, researchers at the University of Bristol in England determined that for each cigarette, a smoker loses approximately 11 minutes of lifetime.
"That means that 10 cigarettes a day for 10 years takes more than nine months off your life."
The report also reveals tobacco "was responsible for the deaths of 100 million people in the 20th century."
Additionally, a Washington Post report said on average, smokers lose about 10 years of lifetime. "The pioneering epidemiologist Richard Doll, who's now 91, and his colleagues found that almost half of all persistent cigarette smokers were killed by their habit, and a quarter died before age 70," the report said.
But it also found that "kicking the cigarette habit had equally dramatic effects … someone who stops smoking by age 30 has the same average life expectancy as a nonsmoker, and someone who stops at 50 will lose four, rather than 10, years of life."
There's evidence that homosexuality's link to HIV and AIDS also is costly.
"In the U.S., recent research has identified HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death among men aged 25-44 in the states of New York, New Jersey, California, Florida and Massachusetts, and 64 out of 170 cities having reported at least 25 AIDS-related deaths," said the Journal of Epidemiology. "Similarly, in Europe and Canada HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death in middle-aged men in several urban centers. Deaths attributable to HIV have led to an enormous burden on adult and childhood mortality in developing areas of the globe, such as sub-Saharan Africa."
According to the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, men who have sex with men account for more than half of the many thousands of new HIV infections in the U.S. each year, and the rate for infection for that "MSM" population is "more than 44 times that of other men and more than 40 times that of women."
WSYR Television in New York said on this year's 30th anniversary of the identification of HIV and AIDs, more than 60 million people have been diagnosed with HIV and 25 million of those are dead, "as there is no cure."
USA Today described the origins:
"Few people took note when, on June 5, 1981, doctors reported that a strange and deadly new disease had turned up in five gay men in Los Angeles. Doctors, too, were perplexed by the illness, which turned its victims into prey for exotic microbes. All five suffered from Pneumocystis carinii, a fungus that feasts on the lungs; candida, another fungus that nests in the mouth and throat; and cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common cause of infection in transplanted organs.Normally, the immune system thwarts these microbes, which survive only in transplant patients, cancer patients and others whose defenses are down. But these men seemed to have as little resistance to hungry microbes as the stump of a fallen tree. In effect, they were decaying before their doctors' eyes."
Money already is being thrown at the problem, according to the research of the Fair Foundation.
Its research reveals that National Institutes of Health allocates $225,656 for research and related work for each HIV/AIDS death, but only $13,803 for diabetes research for each death from that. That was followed by $11,595 for prostate cancer research for each each from that.
CLICK BELOW TO READ COMPLETE REPORT
Money already is being thrown at the problem, according to the research of the Fair Foundation.
Its research reveals that National Institutes of Health allocates $225,656 for research and related work for each HIV/AIDS death, but only $13,803 for diabetes research for each death from that. That was followed by $11,595 for prostate cancer research for each each from that.
CLICK BELOW TO READ COMPLETE REPORT
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=300089
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
SHARIA AND VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN MOSQUES
How great is the danger of extremist violence in the name of Islam in the United States? Recent congressional hearings into this question by Rep. Peter King (Republican of New York), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, have generated a firestorm of controversy among his colleagues, the press, and the general public. Though similar hearings have taken place at least fourteen times since 2001,[1] King was labeled a latter-day Joe McCarthy and the hearings called an assault on civil liberties and a contemporary witch-hunt. Yet the larger dilemmas outlined by both the congressman and some of his witnesses remain: To what extent are American Muslims, native-born as well as naturalized, being radicalized by Islamists? And what steps can those who are sworn to the protection of American citizenry take that will uncover and disrupt the plots of those willing to take up arms against others for the sake of jihad?
One study by Quintan Wiktorowicz, assistant professor of international studies at Rhodes College and now on the staff of the National Security Council,[3] noted that modern jihadists legitimize their violent activities by relying on the same textual works as their nonviolent Salafist counterparts. However, the approach taken to these texts by the violent jihadist may be distinguished from that of the nonviolent Salafist insofar as the jihadist uses the principles advanced by both classical and modern Islamic scholars and ideologues and adapts them to modern situations in a way that provides a broader sanction for the permissible use of violence.[4]
Further, in 2007, Paul Gill concluded that terrorist organizations seek societal support by creating a "culture of martyrdom" and that one theme common to suicide bombers was the support they received from a community that esteemed the concept of martyrdom. Thus, a complex dynamic is at work between a terrorist organization, society, and individuals with the interplay between these three dimensions enabling radicalization and terrorist attacks.[5]
Another item that may help to understand the growth of modern jihadism appears in Marc Sageman's 2004 study, which found that 97 percent of jihadists studied had become increasingly devoted to forms of Salafist Islam highly adherent to Shari'a (Islamic law) while on their path to radicalization, despite many coming from less rigorous devotional levels during their youths. This increase in devotion to Salafist Islam was measured by outwardly observable behaviors such as wearing traditional Arabic, Pakistani, or Afghan clothing or growing a beard.[6]
When viewed together, a picture emerges that may give researchers, as well as law enforcement officials, a way to monitor or potentially to predict where violent jihad may take root. Potential recruits who are swept up in this movement may find their inspiration and encouragement in a place with ready access to classic and modern literature that is positive toward jihad and violence, where highly Shari'a-adherent behavior is practiced, and where a society exists that in some form promotes a culture of martyrdom or at least engages in activities that are supportive of violent jihad. The mosque can be such a place.
That the mosque is a societal apparatus that might serve as a support mechanism for violent jihad may seem self-evident, but for it to be a useful means for measuring radicalization requires empirical evidence. A 2007 study by the New York city police department noted that, in the context of the mosque, high levels of Shari'a adherence, termed "Salafi ideology" by the authors of the report, may relate to support for violent jihad. Specifically, it found that highly Shari'a-adherent mosques have played a prominent role in radicalization.[7] Another study found a relationship between frequency of mosque attendance and a predilection for supporting suicide attacks but discovered no empirical evidence linking support for suicide bombings to some measure of religious devotion (defined and measured by frequency of prayer).[8]
However, the study suffers from a major methodological flaw, namely, reliance on self- reporting of prayer frequency. Muslims would be under social and psychological pressure to report greater prayer frequency because their status as good or pious believers is linked to whether they fulfill the religious obligation to pray five times a day.[9] This piety is not dependent on regular mosque attendance as Muslims are permitted to pray outside of a mosque environment whenever necessary.[10] Hence, the pressure to over-report exists for self-reporting of prayer frequency but is not present in self-reporting of frequency of mosque attendance, which is a measure of both coalitional or group commitment and religious devotion.
Thus, there is a need for the study and corroboration of a relationship between high levels of Shari'a adherence as a form of religious devotion and coalitional commitment, Islamic literature that shows violence in a positive light, and institutional support for violent jihad. By way of filling this lacuna, the authors of this article undertook a survey specifically designed to determine empirically whether a correlation exists between observable measures of religious devotion linked to Shari'a adherence in American mosques and the presence of violence-positive materials at those mosques. The survey also sought to ascertain whether a correlation exists between the presence of violence-positive materials at a mosque and the promotion of jihadism by the mosque's leadership through recommending the study of these materials or other manifest behaviors.
Surveyors were asked to observe and record selected behaviors deemed to be Shari'a-adherent. These behaviors were selected precisely because they constitute observable and measurable practices of an orthodox form of Islam as opposed to internalized, non-observable articles of faith. Such visible modes of conduct are considered by traditionalists to have been either exhibited or commanded by Muhammad as recorded in the Sunna and later discussed and preserved in canonical Shari'a literature. The selected behaviors are among the most broadly accepted by legal practitioners of Islam and are not those practiced only by a rigid subgroup within Islam—Salafists, for example.
Among the behaviors observed at the mosques and scored as Shari'a-adherent were: (a) women wearing the hijab (head covering) or niqab (full-length shift covering the entire female form except for the eyes); (b) gender segregation during mosque prayers; and (c) enforcement of straight prayer lines. Behaviors that were not scored as Shari'a-adherent included: (a) women wearing just a modern hijab, a scarf-like covering that does not cover all of the hair, or no covering; (b) men and women praying together in the same room; and (c) no enforcement by the imam, lay leader, or worshipers of straight prayer lines.
The normative importance of a woman's hair covering is evidenced by two central texts, discussed at length below, Reliance of the Traveller and Fiqh as-Sunna (Law of the Sunna), both of which express agreement on the obligation of a woman to wear the hijab:
The moderate-rated literature was authored by respected Shari'a religious and/or legal authorities; while expressing positive attitudes toward violence, it was predominantly concerned with the more mundane aspects of religious worship and ritual. The severe material, by contrast, largely consists of relatively recent texts written by ideologues, rather than Shari'a scholars, such as Abul Ala Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb. These, as well as materials published and disseminated by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, are primarily, if not exclusively, aimed at using Islam to advance a violent political agenda.
Mawdudi (1903-79), for one, believed that it was legitimate to wage violent jihad against "infidel colonizers" in order to gain independence and spread Islam. His Jihad in Islam, found in many of the mosques surveyed, instructed followers to employ force in pursuit of a Shari'a-based order:
The same cannot be said for some classical works that are also supportive of violence in the name of Islam. Works by several respected jurists and scholars from the four major Sunni schools of jurisprudence, dating from the eighth to fourteenth centuries, are all in agreement that violent jihad against non-Muslims is a religious obligation.[19] Such behavior is normative, legally-sanctioned violence not confined to modern writers with a political axe to grind. Nor does its presence in classical Muslim works make it a relic of some medieval past. While Umdat as-Salik (Reliance of the Traveler) may have been compiled in the fourteenth century, al-Azhar University, perhaps the preeminent center of Sunni learning in the world, stated in its 1991 certification of the English translation that the book "conforms to the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni community."[20] While addressing a host of theological matters and detailed instructions as to how Muslims should order their daily routine to demonstrate piety and commitment to Islam, this certified, authoritative text spends eleven pages expounding on the applicability of jihad as violence directed against non-Muslims, stating for example:
Nonetheless, such texts do express positive views toward the use of violence against "the other," as expressed in the following:
CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR A COMPLETE REPORT:
http://www.meforum.org/2931/american-mosques
Root Causes and Enabling Mechanisms
While scholarly inquiry into the root causes and factors supportive of terrorism has accelerated since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, there are few empirical studies that attempt to measure the relationship between specific variables and support for terrorism. To date, almost all of the professional and academic work in this field has been anecdotal surveys or case studies tracing backward through the personal profiles of terrorists and the socioeconomic and political environments from which they came.[2]One study by Quintan Wiktorowicz, assistant professor of international studies at Rhodes College and now on the staff of the National Security Council,[3] noted that modern jihadists legitimize their violent activities by relying on the same textual works as their nonviolent Salafist counterparts. However, the approach taken to these texts by the violent jihadist may be distinguished from that of the nonviolent Salafist insofar as the jihadist uses the principles advanced by both classical and modern Islamic scholars and ideologues and adapts them to modern situations in a way that provides a broader sanction for the permissible use of violence.[4]
Further, in 2007, Paul Gill concluded that terrorist organizations seek societal support by creating a "culture of martyrdom" and that one theme common to suicide bombers was the support they received from a community that esteemed the concept of martyrdom. Thus, a complex dynamic is at work between a terrorist organization, society, and individuals with the interplay between these three dimensions enabling radicalization and terrorist attacks.[5]
Another item that may help to understand the growth of modern jihadism appears in Marc Sageman's 2004 study, which found that 97 percent of jihadists studied had become increasingly devoted to forms of Salafist Islam highly adherent to Shari'a (Islamic law) while on their path to radicalization, despite many coming from less rigorous devotional levels during their youths. This increase in devotion to Salafist Islam was measured by outwardly observable behaviors such as wearing traditional Arabic, Pakistani, or Afghan clothing or growing a beard.[6]
When viewed together, a picture emerges that may give researchers, as well as law enforcement officials, a way to monitor or potentially to predict where violent jihad may take root. Potential recruits who are swept up in this movement may find their inspiration and encouragement in a place with ready access to classic and modern literature that is positive toward jihad and violence, where highly Shari'a-adherent behavior is practiced, and where a society exists that in some form promotes a culture of martyrdom or at least engages in activities that are supportive of violent jihad. The mosque can be such a place.
That the mosque is a societal apparatus that might serve as a support mechanism for violent jihad may seem self-evident, but for it to be a useful means for measuring radicalization requires empirical evidence. A 2007 study by the New York city police department noted that, in the context of the mosque, high levels of Shari'a adherence, termed "Salafi ideology" by the authors of the report, may relate to support for violent jihad. Specifically, it found that highly Shari'a-adherent mosques have played a prominent role in radicalization.[7] Another study found a relationship between frequency of mosque attendance and a predilection for supporting suicide attacks but discovered no empirical evidence linking support for suicide bombings to some measure of religious devotion (defined and measured by frequency of prayer).[8]
However, the study suffers from a major methodological flaw, namely, reliance on self- reporting of prayer frequency. Muslims would be under social and psychological pressure to report greater prayer frequency because their status as good or pious believers is linked to whether they fulfill the religious obligation to pray five times a day.[9] This piety is not dependent on regular mosque attendance as Muslims are permitted to pray outside of a mosque environment whenever necessary.[10] Hence, the pressure to over-report exists for self-reporting of prayer frequency but is not present in self-reporting of frequency of mosque attendance, which is a measure of both coalitional or group commitment and religious devotion.
Thus, there is a need for the study and corroboration of a relationship between high levels of Shari'a adherence as a form of religious devotion and coalitional commitment, Islamic literature that shows violence in a positive light, and institutional support for violent jihad. By way of filling this lacuna, the authors of this article undertook a survey specifically designed to determine empirically whether a correlation exists between observable measures of religious devotion linked to Shari'a adherence in American mosques and the presence of violence-positive materials at those mosques. The survey also sought to ascertain whether a correlation exists between the presence of violence-positive materials at a mosque and the promotion of jihadism by the mosque's leadership through recommending the study of these materials or other manifest behaviors.
Identifying Shari'a-Adherent Behaviors
Shari'a is the Islamic system of law based primarily on two sources held by Muslims to be respectively direct revelation from God and divinely inspired: the Qur'an and the Sunna (sayings, actions, and traditions of Muhammad). There are other jurisprudential sources for Shari'a derived from the legal rulings of Islamic scholars. These scholars, in turn, may be adherents of differing schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Notwithstanding those differences, the divergence at the level of actual law is, given the fullness of the corpus juris, confined to relatively few marginal issues. Thus, there is general unity and agreement across the Sunni-Shiite divide and across the various Sunni madh'habs (jurisprudential schools) on core normative behaviors.[11]Surveyors were asked to observe and record selected behaviors deemed to be Shari'a-adherent. These behaviors were selected precisely because they constitute observable and measurable practices of an orthodox form of Islam as opposed to internalized, non-observable articles of faith. Such visible modes of conduct are considered by traditionalists to have been either exhibited or commanded by Muhammad as recorded in the Sunna and later discussed and preserved in canonical Shari'a literature. The selected behaviors are among the most broadly accepted by legal practitioners of Islam and are not those practiced only by a rigid subgroup within Islam—Salafists, for example.
Among the behaviors observed at the mosques and scored as Shari'a-adherent were: (a) women wearing the hijab (head covering) or niqab (full-length shift covering the entire female form except for the eyes); (b) gender segregation during mosque prayers; and (c) enforcement of straight prayer lines. Behaviors that were not scored as Shari'a-adherent included: (a) women wearing just a modern hijab, a scarf-like covering that does not cover all of the hair, or no covering; (b) men and women praying together in the same room; and (c) no enforcement by the imam, lay leader, or worshipers of straight prayer lines.
The normative importance of a woman's hair covering is evidenced by two central texts, discussed at length below, Reliance of the Traveller and Fiqh as-Sunna (Law of the Sunna), both of which express agreement on the obligation of a woman to wear the hijab:
There is no such dispute over what constitutes a woman's aurah [private parts/nakedness]. It is stated that her entire body is aurah and must be covered, except her hands and face … God does not accept the prayer of an adult woman unless she is wearing a head covering (khimar, hijab).[12]In a similar fashion, Shari'a requires that the genders be separated during prayers. While both Reliance of the Traveller and Fiqh as-Sunna express a preference that women should pray at home rather than the mosque,[14] they agree that if women do pray in the mosque, they should pray in lines separate from the men.[15] Additionally, authoritative Shari'a literature agrees that the men's prayer lines should be straight, that men should be close together within those lines, and that the imam should enforce prayer line alignment.[16]
The nakedness of a woman (even if a young girl) consists of the whole body except the face and hands. The nakedness of a woman is that which invalidates the prayer if exposed. … It is recommended for a woman to wear a covering over her head (khimar), a full length shift, and a heavy slip under it that does not cling to the body.[13]
Sanctioned Violence
The mosques surveyed contained a variety of texts, ranging from contemporary printed pamphlets and handouts to classic texts of the Islamic canon. From the perspective of promoting violent jihad, the literature types were ranked in the survey from severe to moderate to nonexistent. The texts selected were all written to serve as normative and instructive tracts and are not scriptural. This is important because a believer is free to understand scripture literally, figuratively, or merely poetically when it does not have a normative or legal gloss provided by Islamic jurisprudence.The moderate-rated literature was authored by respected Shari'a religious and/or legal authorities; while expressing positive attitudes toward violence, it was predominantly concerned with the more mundane aspects of religious worship and ritual. The severe material, by contrast, largely consists of relatively recent texts written by ideologues, rather than Shari'a scholars, such as Abul Ala Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb. These, as well as materials published and disseminated by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, are primarily, if not exclusively, aimed at using Islam to advance a violent political agenda.
Mawdudi (1903-79), for one, believed that it was legitimate to wage violent jihad against "infidel colonizers" in order to gain independence and spread Islam. His Jihad in Islam, found in many of the mosques surveyed, instructed followers to employ force in pursuit of a Shari'a-based order:
These [Muslim] men who propagate religion are not mere preachers or missionaries, but the functionaries of God [so that they may be witnesses for the people], and it is their duty to wipe out oppression, mischief, strife, immorality, high handedness, and unlawful exploitation from the world by force of arms.[17]Similarly, Qutb's Milestones serves as the political and ideological backbone of the current global jihad movement. Qutb, for example, sanctions violence against those who stand in the way of Islam's expansion:
If someone does this [prevents others from accepting Islam], then it is the duty of Islam to fight him until either he is killed or until he declares his submission.[18]These materials differ from other severe- and moderate-rated materials because they are not Islamic legal texts per se but rather are polemical works seeking to advance a politicized Islam through violence, if necessary. Nor are these authors recognized Shari'a scholars.
The same cannot be said for some classical works that are also supportive of violence in the name of Islam. Works by several respected jurists and scholars from the four major Sunni schools of jurisprudence, dating from the eighth to fourteenth centuries, are all in agreement that violent jihad against non-Muslims is a religious obligation.[19] Such behavior is normative, legally-sanctioned violence not confined to modern writers with a political axe to grind. Nor does its presence in classical Muslim works make it a relic of some medieval past. While Umdat as-Salik (Reliance of the Traveler) may have been compiled in the fourteenth century, al-Azhar University, perhaps the preeminent center of Sunni learning in the world, stated in its 1991 certification of the English translation that the book "conforms to the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni community."[20] While addressing a host of theological matters and detailed instructions as to how Muslims should order their daily routine to demonstrate piety and commitment to Islam, this certified, authoritative text spends eleven pages expounding on the applicability of jihad as violence directed against non-Muslims, stating for example:
The caliph … makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians … provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax.[21]The Fiqh as-Sunna and Tafsir Ibn Kathir are examples of works that were rated "moderate" for purposes of this survey. The former, which focuses primarily on the internal Muslim community, the family, and the individual believer and not on violent jihad, was especially moderate in its endorsement of violence. Relatively speaking, the Fiqh as-Sunna expresses a more restrained view of violent jihad, in that it does not explicitly call for a holy war against the West even though it understands the Western influence on Islamic governments as a force that is destructive to Islam itself.[23]
The caliph fights all other peoples until they become Muslim … because they are not a people with a book, nor honored as such, and are not permitted to settle with paying the poll tax.[22]
Nonetheless, such texts do express positive views toward the use of violence against "the other," as expressed in the following:
Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said, "The ties of Islam and the principles of the religion are three, and whoever leaves one of them becomes an unbeliever, and his blood becomes lawful: testifying that there is no god except God, the obligatory prayers, and the fast of Ramadan." … Another narration states, "If anyone leaves one of [the three principles], by God he becomes an unbeliever, and no voluntary deeds or recompense will be accepted from him, and his blood and wealth become lawful." This is a clear indication that such a person is to be killed.[24]Similarly in Tafsir Ibn Kathir:
Perform jihad against the disbelievers with the sword, and be harsh with the hypocrites with words, and this is the jihad performed against them.[25]The survey's findings, explored in depth below, were that 51 percent of mosques had texts that either advocated the use of violence in the pursuit of a Shari'a-based political order or advocated violent jihad as a duty that should be of paramount importance to a Muslim; 30 percent had only texts that were moderately supportive of violence like the Tafsir Ibn Kathir and Fiqh as-Sunna; 19 percent had no violent texts at all.
Survey Findings
A representative sample of one hundred mosques throughout the United States was surveyed. Table 1 presents the distribution of mosques by state. One quarter of the mosques had 10 or fewer worshipers; 50 percent had up to 28 worshipers; 75 percent had up to 70; the largest mosque had an estimated 1,700 worshipers.CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR A COMPLETE REPORT:
http://www.meforum.org/2931/american-mosques
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
PALESTINIAN PROPAGANDA: JESUS WAS THE FIRST PALESTINIAN
As part of its ongoing attempt to invent a Palestinian history, the Palestinian Authority tries to hitch a ride into the past with Jesus. Whereas the historical Jesus was a Jew living in Judea/Israel, the PA turns him into a “Palestinian”: “We must not forget that Messiah [Jesus] is a Palestinian, the son of Mary the Palestinian.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 18, 2005] This is not only a distortion of Jesus’ personal history, but also an anachronism. The Romans changed the name of Judea/Israel to “Palestine” 136 years after the birth of Jesus, to punish the Jewish nation after their unsuccessful rebellion.
In another anomaly, Jesus is turned into a Shahid – a holy Martyr of Islam. Whereas Islamic teachings do view Jesus' gospel as part of the Islamic prophetic tradition, nowhere does Islam refer to him as a Shahid.
This cartoon demonstrates the misappropriation of the crucifixion as a Palestinian symbol. The word on the cross: “Palestine.” [“Intifada”, supplement to Al Hayat Al Jadida , Dec. 11, 2000]
Stop the Socialization of America
Stop Socialism in America
Senator Jim DeMint is standing in the gap and drafting a blueprint to restore and protect the economic and social freedoms our founders fought for.
Some say the United States – the world’s great bastion of freedom – is sliding towards socialism. Others characterize the slide as fascistic.
One thing is certain: high-profile bailouts and a stimulus bill have toppled the walls between government and private sectors. Federal control now extends in various ways to education, healthcare, financial markets, real estate, businesses and even religion.
Out-of-control spending is increasing America’s debt to unsustainable levels. All signs point to an impending national bankruptcy and a drain on the political strength our framers fought for and our people worked so hard to achieve.
But there is hope. According to Senator Jim DeMint, we can stop America’s slide into socialism. In his book, “Saving Freedom,” DeMint has laid out a complete action plan to reclaim America’s freedom based on legislation that would reduce the nation’s debt. His plan also emphasizes reversing America’s cultural decline by restoring a strong spirit of faith, family and freedom.
The Voice magazine sat down with Sen. DeMint to discuss his strategies for saving freedom.
click below to see complete report.
http://www.thevoicemagazine.com/culture/politics/senator-jim-demint-saving-freedom-and-stop-socialism-in-america.html
Senator Jim DeMint is standing in the gap and drafting a blueprint to restore and protect the economic and social freedoms our founders fought for.
Some say the United States – the world’s great bastion of freedom – is sliding towards socialism. Others characterize the slide as fascistic.
One thing is certain: high-profile bailouts and a stimulus bill have toppled the walls between government and private sectors. Federal control now extends in various ways to education, healthcare, financial markets, real estate, businesses and even religion.
Out-of-control spending is increasing America’s debt to unsustainable levels. All signs point to an impending national bankruptcy and a drain on the political strength our framers fought for and our people worked so hard to achieve.
But there is hope. According to Senator Jim DeMint, we can stop America’s slide into socialism. In his book, “Saving Freedom,” DeMint has laid out a complete action plan to reclaim America’s freedom based on legislation that would reduce the nation’s debt. His plan also emphasizes reversing America’s cultural decline by restoring a strong spirit of faith, family and freedom.
The Voice magazine sat down with Sen. DeMint to discuss his strategies for saving freedom.
click below to see complete report.
http://www.thevoicemagazine.com/culture/politics/senator-jim-demint-saving-freedom-and-stop-socialism-in-america.html
JEWISH HISTORY RE-WRITTEN
Rewriting the history of the Land of Israel in order to deny Israel's right to exist is central to Palestinian Authority (PA) policy. Long before it started the Terror War in 2000, the PA was fighting a history war – erasing Jewish history and replacing it with a fabricated Palestinian history. This rewriting has two central goals:
The goal of this historical revision as a political strategy was first expressed publicly at a conference of Palestinian historians in 1998, when rewriting history was linked to the political goal of denying Israel's right to exist:
Citing numerous examples, this section will document that these and other historical revisions are an integral part of Palestinian policy and are used to create political ideology.
Click the link below to see complete report:
http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=487
1- Erase the Jewish nation's 3,000 year history in the Land of Israel;
2- Invent ancient Palestinian, Muslim and Arab histories in the land.
2- Invent ancient Palestinian, Muslim and Arab histories in the land.
The goal of this historical revision as a political strategy was first expressed publicly at a conference of Palestinian historians in 1998, when rewriting history was linked to the political goal of denying Israel's right to exist:
"Dr. Yussuf Alzamili [Chairman History Department, Khan Yunis Educational College] called on all universities and colleges to write the history of Palestine and to guard it, and not to enable the [foreign] implants and enemies to distort it or to legitimize the existence of Jews on this land... [History lecturer Abu Amar] clarified that there is no connection between the ancient generation of Jews and the new generation." [Al-Ayyam, Dec. 4, 1998].
Erasing Jewish history in the land of Israel is followed by the PA’s invention of ancient and modern histories that support its political ideology and claim to the land of Israel. The Holocaust and other aspects of Jewish history are alternately denied, downplayed or distorted. Another distortion is to hide from Palestinians that Jesus was a Jew who lived in the Land of Judea/Israel. PA leaders repeatedly define Jesus as a Palestinian who preached Islam, thus denying not only Jewish history, but also the history and legitimacy of Christianity.Citing numerous examples, this section will document that these and other historical revisions are an integral part of Palestinian policy and are used to create political ideology.
Click the link below to see complete report:
http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=487
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