Tag Archives: Islamophobia

Photos from 2009 Public Advocate stunt show Delgaudio working with his new extremist Library Board appointee

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. We don’t yet know how many words Sterling supervisor Eugene Delgaudio will emit claiming that he didn’t know “much of anything” about Andrew Beacham, his nominee for Loudoun County’s Library Board – but we do know that they will be arranged into falsehoods.

According to Chairman York, who apparently agreed to nominate Beacham “on behalf of” his Sterling colleague (how does he manage to get himself into these predicaments?), “the information provided on Beacham was not very detailed. Beacham’s four-paragraph resume only said he had ‘worked in the field of media production and broadcasting over the last 4 years.'”

In fact, Beacham’s “work” includes publicly defacing the Koran “in support of Florida pastor Terry Jones” and other political theater acts with fringe anti-abortion extremist Randall Terry. He is active with nativist and anti-government groups in Loudoun, and calls himself a “full-time Pro-Life missionary and activist for Christian policies in government” while declaring that “the only good progressive is a dead progressive.”

Beacham did not move to Sterling by coincidence.

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anti-leak SOS PAC demands Benghazi-leaks

An angry, angry Frank Wolf

The newly-formed “Special Operations Speaks” PAC is actively supporting Congressman Frank Wolf’s H.Res. 36, a bill to create a House Select Committee on the Terrorist Attack in Benghazi and essentially produce a wiki-leaks like trove of information about the attack and the response. The SOS PAC includes noteworthy christianist warrior LTG William G. (Jerry) Boykin who made “fiercely anti-Muslim” remarks on NBC Nightly News and the Los Angeles Times, and claimed that George W. Bush was “put by god in the White House,” and that the war on terror is “a spiritual war against a spiritual enemy, and that enemy’s name is Satan.

In their open letter, the SOS PAC demands the release of all manner of classified operational information. Ironically, the SOS mission statement condemns certain leaks (emphasis mine).

“We, as veterans, legatees, and supporters of the Special Operations communities of all the Armed Forces, have noted with dismay and deep alarm the recent stream of highly damaging leaks of information about various aspects of America’s shadow war in the overall War on Terror.”

The story was reported in the Daily Mail Online, where scary Benghazi photos are framed against a storyboard of Hollywood celeb gossip.

VA Republican 10th CD: Transparently, intrinsically immoral

“…the poor inherit the Kingdom of God,

while the wealthy have their reward already”

Chuck Colson, The Faith

Frank Wolf

Translation: “The [favored] have their reward already, and the [disfavored] inherit the Kingdom after they bow down to the [favored].” This bastardization of Gospel describes the political programme of Virginia’s Republican 10th Congressional District, an organization that continues to seek new lows. The 10th is now led by John Whitbeck, also a Reform Commission member who I have observed too closely for far too many hours. He comes across as emotionless, cold, calculating, self-absorbed, ideological, and hermetically-sealed against unwanted information.

This makes him the perfect chairman of an organization guided by the late Chuck Colson’s worldview and the district’s intractable Godfather, Congressman Frank Wolf. Wolf received the first Chuck Colson/Prison Fellowship Ministries “Wilberforce award” in 1992, and the now deceased “redeemed” Nixonian hatchet man and the “Christian” crusading Congressman have been married in purpose ever since.

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Sticks and stones

From the Department of Republican Embarrassment come the following two not-unrelated events:

First, contrary to that annoying buzzing sound coming from the anti-Muslim opportunist crowd, it seems that American Muslims are far and away the most likely among us to unequivocally condemn violence directed at civilians. A Gallup poll released on Tuesday lays out the truth rather starkly.

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Yes, I do realize this is a snarky post.

Dedicated to the defense of civil liberties and human rights

In light of recent comments here and here about the threat of “sharia law,” here’s a corrective from Barton Hinkle. Those who prey on the perpetually outraged are like “the woman in Kansas who recited a special chant to keep the Bengal tigers away. Informed that there were no Bengal tigers, she replied that the chant must be working.”

In fact, this is who is embarrassing Virginia and threatening everyone’s individual liberties. The story, as reported earlier this month: Laura George, formerly a Leesburg attorney, planned to build an interfaith retreat center near her home in the southwest Virginia town of Independence. The Grayson County Planning Commission unanimously approved her project, which included a public library, interfaith education center, and ten cabins. There was a public hearing.

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The new “normal”

Repeat after me: Our Rs are kinder and gentler than this R

I was initially heartened at the near-unanimous condemnation of the pathetic little Pamela Geller-inspired protest we saw last Thursday night outside the LCRC meeting (photos below the fold). As I noted in comments, there was only one LCRC member (or at least a frequent attendee of meetings and events) who affirmatively joined the protest, plus a few others who appeared friendly with the protesters, while most just walked by or chose a different entrance.

As the incident has developed though, I now have to ask: Is it the assault on religious freedom itself to which these seemingly anti-religious bigotry Republicans object, or is their objection only to what they perceive as a misdirected assault on religious freedom?

One LCRC leader, by way of explaining what was wrong with the protest, informed me that target David Ramadan “isn’t even a practicing Muslim.” This may or may not be true – but that’s hardly the point, is it? Continue reading

An assault on religious freedom and decency

If true, this is very sad news for our Republican friends, and even more so for Loudoun County. Several local Republican activists report receiving an email calling for some sort of anti-Muslim demonstration – tonight, at the Government Center in Leesburg – in protest of a campaign event for David Ramadan. Ramadan is a well-known Republican running for the proposed 87th House district. The rhetoric suggests something similar to the protest captured in this video:

Ramadan is being described as a “solid conservative” by an otherwise rather diverse assortment of Loudoun conservative activists. One could only imagine how beyond the pale those behind this “ANTI-SHARIAH TASK FORCE” must be – except that the names Dick Black and his apparent tea party acolyte Joann Chase (also vying for the 87th seat) are mentioned in the email. Continue reading

And now for something completely different

In contrast to the insulting misrepresentations of Rep. Peter King and Rep. Frank Wolf during Thursday’s hearing, Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough recognized the tremendous contributions of the American Muslim community to combatting domestic terrorism. From his remarks at the ADAMS Center on March 6:

Imam Magid is among the many Muslim leaders who have been recognized by the Director of the FBI for their efforts to strengthen cooperation between Muslim communities and law enforcement.

To counter the propaganda videos from the likes of al-Awlaki, Imam Magid even joined with other clerics and scholars to make their own videos, which have gone viral, explaining that Islam preaches peace, not violence. Most Americans never hear about these efforts, and, regrettably, they’re rarely covered by the media. But they’re going on every day—and they’re helping to keep our country safe.

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Irony alert – can I get a witness?

Back in 2005, a new program designed to remove impediments to cooperation between local Arab, Muslim and Sikh communities and law enforcement agencies was presented to the FBI. The Partnership for Prevention and Community Safety (PfP), “developed with considerable input from law enforcement and local communities, quickly gained the support it needed within the agency and was green-lighted for funding.”

But then a powerful member of Congress stepped in and, with one blow, killed the initiative. According to those with knowledge of the program, the congressman acted at the behest of an influential and strident anti-Muslim propagandist. This week, in an ironic twist, that same congressman is slated to speak at a congressional hearing looking into the allegation that American Muslims are insufficiently cooperative with law enforcement.

The “powerful member of Congress” was Frank Wolf. Continue reading