Tag Archives: islam

What If Pastor Terry Jones Had Called His Koran Burning ‘Art’?

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

People have asked me my opinion of the Rev. Terry Jones’ threat to burn the Quran this past weekend. Personally I think the best thing to do with this story is to not give this insignificant media-hound with all of fifty parishioners avoice. But it’s way too late for that now. So, of course I find the action in poor taste – I would  never  burn any religion’s sacred parchment. That is just wrong and disrespectful to millions trying to practice their faith and go about their daily lives in peace. But (there’s always a “but” in such testy cases), when I juxtapose this one twisted symbolic gesture against the disregard-and I would argue  contempt -being shown by so-called “moderate” practitioners of Islam who insist on building their mosque almost on top of the ashes of 9/11 victims against the wishes of so many Americans, I can understand the frustration that creates a Jones and his ilk. And the fact is, as Mayor Bloomberg offered up, if there is freedom of speech for the fanatical Muslim goose, it must also be for the crackpot Christian gander. Still, as a matter of common decency I hope this guy tables forever his plans-and there are no copycats. And as a practical matter, I agree with General Petraeus in that the last thing our men and women in the field need is another faux propaganda storm putting them in greater harm’s way… although I do believe that fear of retaliation should not be a reason to quell free speech but rather to fight harder for it. (Easy for me to say as I am not humping a pack in Kandahar I freely admit!) However, something did occur to me this weekend. Jones is going about this all wrong. If he really wants to burn the Islamic holy book, I know a way that he could do it while at the same time have every left wing pundit and mainstream news outlet not decry his act but rather defend and even celebrate it. He should burn it on the steps of the Museum Of Modern Art up here in New York. And instead of calling it a protest, or a statement, he should just call his Quran torching “art.” In the interest of consistency, artistic integrity and fairness, maybe he can even do it in the building, right on the same spot where in 1989 the infamous “Piss Christ” photo was proudly exhibited. You remember that? The piece of “art” that showed a crucifix submerged in urine? As artist Andres Serrano explained his artistic vision in an open letter to the National Endowment for the Arts: The photograph, and the title itself, are ambiguously provocative but certainly not blasphemous. Over the years, I have addressed religion regularly in my art. My Catholic upbringing informs this work which helps me to redefine and personalize my relationship with God. My use of such bodily fluids as blood and urine in this context is parallel to Catholicism’s obsession with “the body and blood of Christ.” It is precisely in the exploration and juxtaposition of the symbols from which Christianity draws it strength. That seemed just fine and dandy to the free speech warriors and beret crowd back in the day. In fact, Serrano’s inspired piece won the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art’s “Awards in the Visual Arts” competition which was partially funded by that same NEA-your tax dollars at work. So then I submit Jones should just take Serrano’s explanation, re-arrange a few words, and present his action to the creative world this way: The act of immolation itself is ambiguously provocative but certainly not blasphemous. Over the years, I have addressed religion regularly in my sermons. My religious upbringing informs this act which helps me to redefine and personalize my relationship with Allah. My use of such symbolic tools as gasoline and match in this context is parallel to Islam’s obsession with pyrotechnics and flaming destruction. It is precisely in the exploration and juxtaposition of the symbols from which Islam draws it strength. There see? All better now. Sounds like we have ourselves next year’s NEA art contest winner too! At least Jones will have transformed himself from a provocateur into an “artist.” Someone all far lefties can gravitate towards. (Hey and as a bonus, maybe Larry David can pee on it to extinguish the flames like he did a picture of Jesus on an episode of  Curb Your Enthusiasm . What a hoot!) Of course, if MOMA declines the new exhibit, Jones could try the Brooklyn Museum which in 1999 exhibited Chris Olifi’s “artwork” that featured the Virgin Mary splattered in elephant dung. Back then the New York Times  rushed to the defense of the display: To be sure, many citizens of conscience find parts of the Brooklyn exhibition repugnant, and it is understandable that many Roman Catholics would find Chris Ofili’s image of the Virgin Mary offensive.”  But, it continued,  “A museum is obliged to challenge the public as well as to placate it, or else the museum becomes a chamber of attractive ghosts, an institution completely disconnected from art in our time. As an artist myself I grudgingly see the  Times’  point here. So then it would appear, given this take on what constitutes “art,” that what we have in the Quran burning is but the latest chapter in the long, chaotic, glorious march of artistic freedom in defiance of out-moded conventions, intellectually stifling religious dogma, and societal mores. Oh my! What’s a committed lefty to do? One can almost hear the whining robotic cries of  “Error…Error…Error….Does not compute!”  from the First Amendment crowd who until now so craftily hid behind the cover of the Constitution so they could insult the faithful while calling their crass provocations “art” with a straight face. But, why the confusion? Gee, I thought these were the guys who love to wax poetic about the joys of free speech, piously affirming to each other over their third latte: “We may not agree with what he says, but will defend to the death his right to say it!” So clearly then, by donning a black turtle-neck and moving the Quran burning venue from the parking lot of an obscure Florida church to the center of the modern art world, the Reverend Jones can count on some powerful liberal allies to shield him from the inevitable “fatwa” which the courageous Ofili and Serrano need never fear from Christians who have long ago learned to take sucker punches to their faith from the intelligentsia in stride. Don’t hold your breath. These guys only have the mettle to push their “craft” in the faces of those who will not slit their throats. It all depends on whose profit is being gored, and, more to the point, the propensity for violence of those offended. Christians, by the very nature of following Christ’s admonition to embrace thine enemy will always be easy prey for assault and insult… be it in the name of Muhammad or modern “art.” I reject Jones because he is showing the very contempt for another religion that repels me when I see it heaped upon my own in the name of self-promotion and the loosest possible definitions of “free speech” or “art.” The liberals will reject him too, but for a much baser reason… their double-standard is rooted in staying out of harm’s way. Period. The rest is just self-righteous smoke. It certainly prompts one to ask in this latest episode, who are the real cowards in this whole ludicrous non-event? Crossposted at Big Hollywood  

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Ines Sainz Pictures: Today Show Interview VIDEO ‘No Harm, No Foul’

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Ines Sainz appeared on the Today Show this morning to tell her side of sexual harassment allegation that surfaced over the weekend against the New York Jets. She is now claiming 'no harm – no foul'. added by: gmc1

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One Day After Rev. Jones Hits NBC, David Gregory Said No One Should Give Jones a Platform

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Rev. Terry Jones may have announced on Saturday’s Today that he wouldn’t be burning any Korans, but on Sunday Today, NBC Meet the Press host David Gregory was suggesting Jones wasn’t worthy of anyone’s airtime: “I don’t see why this pastor Jones has any sort of forum or any platform that’s worthy of discussion.” Did Gregory lose that debate inside NBC? When asked by anchor Jenna Wolfe about the Koran-burning controversy, Gregory insisted that President Obama’s opposition will have a “big impact,” and yet, when asked if this incident would hurt America abroad, he didn’t think so (after all, Obama has been so effective at that outreach to the Muslim world):  WOLFE: So let’s get right to it. So the president said in that speech in DC yesterday, he said, quote, “We are not and never will be at war with Islam.” Again, a message he’s been trying to convey all week. What kind of impact is that going to have? GREGORY: Well, I think it has a big impact. I think the president at the end of the week was able successfully to wade into this controversy about this Florida pastor, get him to stand down, the Quran will not be burned, and what would have been, you know, a small group of hate-mongers, but nevertheless the fear was it could have much wider international implications. I think it is striking nine years later that our leaders are confronted with anti-Muslim sentiment in the country as a primary legacy of 9/11. Yes, the war on terror is still being fought in a robust way around the world, yet even the president on Friday made the point of saying it cannot dominate America’s foreign policy in the way that it has over the past decade. WOLFE: David, Reverend Terry Jones said yesterday on the show here, he will not burn Qurans not this weekend, not any time in the future, but has the damage already been done, both here and potentially abroad as well? GREGORY: I don’t know that it has. I mean, I think it’s been, you know, a big story here and the issue of anti-Muslim sentiment is one that as Americans we have to confront, that our leadership has to confront , and we are doing that in a very, you know, in a varied set of ways, both here and what’s happening overseas. I think the real concern was the image that could have come from those threats of the actual burning of the holy Quran. That’s something that the administration felt would have actually had a direct impact on our troops fighting in places like Afghanistan. WOLFE: Well, let’s talk about what the White House’s role is here. Terry Jones came here to potentially meet with the imam; as far as we know, there has no meeting that’s been set as of yet. Is it the White House’s responsibility to facilitate a meeting between the two at any point? GREGORY: I can’t see any reason why there should be a meeting between the two. I think one doesn’t have anything to do with the other. I mean, it can be sort of conflated neatly. I don’t see why this pastor Jones has any sort of forum or any platform that’s worthy of discussion. You know, he seems rather ignorant about even what his complaints about Islam are. So I don’t think that’s where the discourse ought to be. If there’s going to be discourse, it would seem to me it would make sense that it happens in New York, as a community that’s dealing with what should go where and how that should move forward. I don’t think the pastor has any role in that, and I certainly don’t think the White House wants to broker anything. Despite this toeing of the liberal line, on the last question from Wolfe, Gregory was not sanguine about Obama’s chances of avoiding a big Republican electoral tide.

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Newsweek’s Alter Distorts Gingrich’s Ground Zero Mosque Opposition

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

You can agree or disagree about former Speak of the House Newt Gingrich’s view on the Ground Zero mosque, but is it fair to vilify him with a false characterization of his views? Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter had a peculiar take on Gingrich’s point of view during a Sept. 13 appearance on Fox Business Network’s “Imus in the Morning.” He expressed his frustrations with the attacks on Islam, as it pertains to public discourse with not only the Ground Zero mosque, but also the idea of people burning Qurans, which has garnered a fair amount of attention from the left-of-center media . “[I]t’s insane,” Alter said. “And what are we supposed to have, a war with a billion people? So, this is out of control. And, it’s kicked off something pretty ugly.” But one of the lynchpins of his frustration were comments from Gingrich , which Alter took some liberties with his interpretation of the former House Speaker’s sentiments. “And when you have people like Newt Gingrich, I think, my big takeaway from this is that he’s just completely destroyed any — the last shred of legitimacy he had to comment about anything. My favorite line by Gingrich is he said, ‘You know, when Saudi Arabia allows us to build churches and synagogues there, then we’ll put mosques in the United States, and until then, other mosques should close, too.” But Gingrich’s statement about the mosque referred specifically to the Ground Zero mosque, not all mosques in the United States. He elaborated, “If the people behind the Cordoba House were serious about religious toleration, they would be imploring the Saudis, as fellow Muslims, to immediately open up Mecca to all and immediately announce their intention to allow non-Muslim houses of worship in the Kingdom.”

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MSNBC’s Wolffe Repeats Debunked Newsweek Claim of Koran Flushed Down Toilet by Guantanamo Interrogators

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Appearing as a guest on Friday’s Countdown show, MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe – formerly of Newsweek – referred to the debunked story that was retracted by Newsweek in May 2005 which had incorrectly claimed that American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a Koran down a toilet to intimidate Muslim prisoners. But Wolffe did not inform viewers that the story was untrue as he accused conservatives of a double standard for criticizing Newsweek’s inaccurate Koran desecration story from 2005 while not being aggressive enough in condemning Pastor Terry Jones’s declaration that he would burn the Koran on September 11. Wolffe: I’m struck all the time with this story about the experience of those of us who worked in Newsweek – not the least of whom is Mike Isikoff now at NBC News who wrote a story about the abuse of the Koran in Guantanamo Bay , and there were riots and people died and the overwhelming torrent of abuse from conservative, the echo chamber, more than elected officials I think, certainly from conservative media, was that Newsweek had lied and people died. That’s what they said. Newsweek’s erroneous story inspired riots and a significant number of deaths in 2005 before it was retracted by the magazine, although, as previously documented by the MRC, Newsweek buried its retraction. Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Friday, September 10, Countdown show on MSNBC: KEITH OLBERMANN: The Republicans, on the other hand, are sounding like almost nothing. We reported Tuesday on the deafening silence of the leaders who previously told us, “Listen to General Petraeus,” and this time they had nothing to say, and obviously some have broken their silence since, but even then most have been tentative or brief or even offensive at the analysis that, or the analogy I made to Captain Chowdhury, equating the book burning to building buildings. Do you have a perception of what Republicans are trying to do or not do about this issue? RICHARD WOLFFE: Republicans are in a strange situation now, as well. The politics is weird for them. Remember that, for all the confidence about taking about Congress, there’s a certain amount of fear in the Republican party. They’re worried about the challenge from the right from the Tea Party, which in the first incident has been directed at fellow Republicans, not at Democrats. But, you know, if you’re going to equate something with Koran burning, you know, I’m struck all the time with this story about the experience of those of us who worked in Newsweek – not the least of whom is Mike Isikoff now at NBC News who wrote a story about the abuse of the Koran in Guantanamo Bay, and there were riots and people died and the overwhelming torrent of abuse from conservative, the echo chamber, more than elected officials I think, certainly from conservative media, was that Newsweek had lied and people died. That’s what they said. And I don’t hear similar things now about someone who’s abusing, threatening to abuse the Koran and the kinds of impact that the generals, the commander in chief is saying is going to happen. So if you’re going to equate things, let’s treat apples with apples.

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Dan Rather Smacks Down Entire Matthews Panel Over Media Hyping Koran Burning

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Dan Rather this weekend smacked down the entire panel of the syndicated “Chris Matthews Show” over the press hyping Pastor Terry Jones’s threats to burn Korans on the ninth anniversary of 9/11. “Media in general bear some responsibility here by running so hard with this story so early and putting such comments as you just said not only on the air, but high on the air, giving it play,” Rather said. When everyone on the set – including Matthews, Katty Kay of the BBC, Andrea Mitchell of NBC, and David Ignatius of the Washington Post – disagreed with him, Rather pushed back, “We do have a responsibility, however you want to describe us, as gatekeepers.” He continued, “We could do a better job of putting it in perspective, putting it into context” (video follows with transcript and commentary):  DAN RATHER, HDNET: That’s a very important point. And let’s not forget here that the press, and it–media in general bear some responsibility here by running so hard with this story so early and putting such comments as you just said not only on the air, but high on the air, giving it play. We have a lot to answer for on this, as well, and I think we’ve all learned something out of this. You know, the message that–if we consider–if we allow it–the air to get out that we think all Muslims are enemies, then we’re going to have them all as enemies. We have to be very careful about that, and particularly this happening in the roll up to 9/11 when we should be in remembrance, in reverence and in resolve, to get caught up in this small thing, we’ve all got a lot to answer for. After some largely irrelevant discussion, Mitchell chose to disagree with Rather’s view:  ANDREA MITCHELL (NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent): I was going to say that in this current atmosphere, the viral nature of this, the blogosphere, there’s almost no way to contain this kind of conflagration, even if it is one minor… CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: If the big networks… Ms. MITCHELL: …ridiculous…(unintelligible). MATTHEWS: …even if the big networks conspired together, which they don’t do, and you got together a meeting of four or five top people in the news organizations… Mr. RATHER: (Unintelligible) MATTHEWS: …that wouldn’t keep the kid with the cell phone from going down… KATTY KAY (BBC Washington Correspondent): They are hearing it out in Afghanistan. Ms. MITCHELL: We have to also remember… Ms. KAY: They are hearing it in Afghanistan and responding. Ms. MITCHELL: …the way it is perceived because overseas, there is no sense that well, there’s freedom of press, there’s a First Amendment, the president of the United States can’t order this man off the stage. MATTHEWS: What did you make of Maliki saying to the president of the United States, `You have to put out this fire’? Doesn’t he get it? Ms. MITCHELL: No. If he got it, we would have a government in Iraq six, seven months later. MATTHEWS: David, don’t they get the fact that the president of the United States, despite all the talk in this country about socialist dictatorship and all this, there’s an awful lot of freedom in this country. DAVID IGNATIUS (Columnist The Washington Post): That’s precisely what they don’t get. I mean, if President Mubarak was angry about somebody saying something… Ms. MITCHELL: Yeah. Mr. IGNATIUS: …that person would be in prison… Ms. KAY: Right. Mr. IGNATIUS: …the next–the next hour. Ms. KAY: And President Mubarak would never come out and say something. Mr. IGNATIUS: So, you know, people–I think that’s what–because around the world, if a president is unhappy about something, it stops. MATTHEWS: OK. Mr. IGNATIUS: And I think they had to show that that was the case here. You know, the point that–to the point that Dan was making, our ability to act as a gatekeeper, you know, in the big media networks, newspapers… Ms. MITCHELL: It’s over, right? Mr. IGNATIUS: …it’s over. Ms. MITCHELL: Right. Mr. IGNATIUS: I mean, this is a viral world. MITCHELL: Right. Mr. IGNATIUS: This got around not because the, you know, the big press churned it, but because it went out on the Internet. Ms. KAY: This, Chris, it does… Mr. RATHER: I agree with that, David, however, we do have a responsibility, however you want to describe us, as gatekeepers. We could do a better job of putting it in perspective, putting it into context. MATTHEWS: Yeah. Mr. RATHER: Raising questions of OK, there’s a lot of talk of what’s patriotism and what is not patriotism. Is this an anti-patriotic act? That can be a role that we can perform better. I quite agree, once it goes viral, nobody can even conspire to say let’s keep this thing down. Ms. KAY: And in a sense… MATTHEWS: First question to you… Mr. RATHER: But we can put it in context and perspective. Context and perspective indeed. For instance, how about reporting the rarity  of hate crimes against Muslims in this country. In the midst of this media campaign to summarily accuse Americans of being Islamophobic, how many so-called journalists referred to FBI statistics dispelling this notion? And how about making it clear that not only was Jones a fringe religious player in Florida, likely the overwhelming majority of Americans didn’t support what he was doing and wanted him not  to carry out his deplorable, attention-getting stunt? This certainly would have added some context and perspective if media would have done so with every report on this subject. Unfortunately, as Rather pointed out despite the protests from everyone else on the set, this wasn’t what happened last week. Not by a long shot.

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Chris Matthews Panel Sees Name ‘Barack Hussein Obama’ as ‘Net Plus’ in U.S. Relations w/ Muslim World

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

On Sunday’s syndicated Chris Matthews Show, after host Matthews asked if electing a President whose middle name was “Hussein” had “opened a door to better relations with the Arab and Islamic world. Or has it opened a door to more xenophobic American negativity?” the panel mostly agreed that Obama’s election was more of a “net plus” for America’s relations with the Muslim world. The Washington Post’s David Ignatius had a dissenting view that “President Obama raised expectations that there would be a different kind of America. That in itself could be dangerous.” After former CBS News anchor Dan Rather contended that “I think it’s opened the door to both, but, on balance, and in the main, it’s still a net plus in terms of the country’s reputation,” the BBC’s Katty Kay agreed and implicated President Bush in damaging America’s relations with the Middle East. Kay: “I agree that it’s a net plus, particularly when you compare it with what came before and the invasion of Iraq and how much of a problem that was for America’s relations with the Middle East.” NBC’s Andrea Mitchell concurred: “: I agree because after the invasion of Iraq and with this President and his multicultural background, it is a net plus.” Washington Post columnist David Ignatius had a more negative take: There’s no question as I travel the Arab world that President Obama raised expectations that there would be a different kind of America. That in itself could be dangerous. When expectations go up, the possibility of disappointment, of chronic disappointment – “but you told us that this would be different and it isn’t” – I think that’s a real danger for us going forward. I think Obama and his advisors understand that. That’s why they’re pushing so hard on the Israeli-Palestinian issue now. The discussion was framed around the liberal premise that President Bush had not only harmed relations with the Muslim world by being too aggressive in the war on terrorism, but that those negative relations outweighed such positive accomplishments as overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Sunday, September 12 syndicated Chris Matthews Show: CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let’s get back to the question of our country. We, as a country, elected Barack Hussein Obama. We knew his name was Hussein. We knew of his background from his parentage going way back. The Arab world liked that. The Islamic world said, “Hey, this country’s interesting.” Overall, has the election of Barack Obama opened a door to better relations with the Arab and Islamic world. Or has it opened a door to more xenophobic American negativity? DAN RATHER: I think it’s opened the door to both, but, on balance, and in the main, it’s still a net plus in terms of the country’s reputation. MATTHEWS: Okay. Katty, you agree with that? KATTY KAY, BBC: I agree that it’s a net plus, particularly when you compare it with what came before and the invasion of Iraq and how much of a problem that was for America’s relations with the Middle East. ANDREA MITCHELL, NBC NEWS : I agree because after the invasion of Iraq and with this President and his multicultural background, it is a net plus. DAVID IGNATIUS, WASHINGTON POST: There’s no question as I travel the Arab world that President Obama raised expectations that there would be a different kind of America. That in itself could be dangerous. When expectations go up, the possibility of disappointment, of chronic disappointment – “but you told us that this would be different and it isn’t” – I think that’s a real danger for us going forward. I think Obama and his advisors understand that. That’s why they’re pushing so hard on the Israeli-Palestinian issue now. MATTHEWS: I think a grown-up response and childish response are always going to be different. Grown-ups are going to say, “Well, it’s an interesting country. They elect a guy named Barack Hussein Obama.” … (INAUDIBLE) country. IGNATIUS: Don’t look for grown-up responses in America or anywhere else.

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Michael Moore Touts Ground Zero Mosque, Suggests McDonald’s Worse Than Terrorists

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Some think of September 11 as a date for solemn remembrance. Others see it as another occasion for idiocy. Take Michael Moore’s 9/11 message : I am opposed to the building of the “mosque” two blocks from Ground Zero. I want it built on Ground Zero. He says it’s because Islam was “stolen” from the real Muslims at the Twin Towers, and it should be given back on the same spot. But he’s not finished: There is a McDonald’s two blocks from Ground Zero. Trust me, McDonald’s has killed far more people than the terrorists. And the terrorists remind Moore of the Catholics on the Supreme Court: Let’s face it, all religions have their whackos. Catholics have O’Reilly, Gingrich, Hannity and Clarence Thomas (in fact all five conservatives who dominate the Supreme Court are Catholic). Protestants have Pat Robertson and too many to list here. The Mormons have Glenn Beck. Jews have Crazy Eddie. But we don’t judge whole religions on just the actions of their whackos. Unless they’re Methodists. Moore actually finished by suggesting the wisest thing to do on 9/11 is donate to the Ground Zero Mosque. He’s offering to match the first $10,000: Friends, we all have a responsibility NOW to make sure that Muslim community center gets built. Once again, 70% of the country (the same number that initially supported the Iraq War) is on the wrong side and want the “mosque” moved. Enormous pressure has been put on the Imam to stop his project. We have to turn this thing around. Are we going to let the bullies and thugs win another one? Aren’t you fed up by now? When would be a good time to take our country back from the haters? I say right now. Let’s each of us make a statement by donating to the building of this community center! It’s a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization and you can donate a dollar or ten dollars (or more) right now through a secure pay pal account by clicking here . I will personally match the first $10,000 raised (forward your PayPal receipt to webguy@michaelmoore.com ). If each one of you reading this blog/email donated just a couple of dollars, that would give the center over $6 million, more than what Donald Trump has offered to buy the Imam out. C’mon everyone, let’s pitch in and help those who are being debased for simply wanting to do something good. We could all make a huge statement of love on this solemn day. Sometimes, Moore sounds way too close to the satirical Moore character in An American Carol.

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NYT’s Blow Offers Fabulous Opinion on 9/11, Mosques and Koran Burning

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

New York Times columnist Charles Blow wrote a short piece on the ninth anniversary of 9/11 that should be must-reading for all Americans on both sides of the aisle. In fact, I’m sure liberal Times devotees will be just as shocked by ” A Lesson From 9/11 ” as conservatives that take the three minutes necessary to get through it. After sharing his experience as a New Yorker who was in Manhattan that awful day, Blow marvelously tied it all together with what Americans have fought and died for since our forefathers were colonists: My attitude that day was the same as most Americans: the terrorists must not be allowed to win. America would not be cowed. We would rise, our greatness would shine, and our ideas of freedom would remain a beacon to the world. That is why the debate these past few weeks over Islam in America – from the proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan to talk of the burning of Korans – has been so hard to watch. Too much of the debate seems to be centered around the sensitivities of terrorists a world away who have hijacked the passions of a faith, who would see us destroyed and who want to attract more damaged souls to their cause. I understand, in theory, the idea of not stirring the hornet’s nest while our troops are still in harm’s way. But I chafe at the idea that great American debates, in all their ugliness and splendor, should be tempered for terrorists and their attempts to recruit. Blow then shared results of a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finding the number of people feeling America is currently safer from terrorism than before 9/11 is at a new low. He continued: But we simply cannot allow this new wave of fear to make us into something that we’re not. We are a country of freedoms, a country where religious freedom and freedom of speech hold equal standing, a country in which the construction of a building and the destruction of a book are rights extended to all, even if opposed by most. Free expressions are not always pleasant, but they must ever be protected, with no regard to the proclivities of the enemy. This is America, and the moment we forget that, they start to win. Indeed. Our media today, and much of the cowering Left, operate under the premise that we have to alter our behavior to win the approval of our enemies or else expect violent repercussions. Although Blow didn’t use the word, it’s akin to wartime appeasement. As most Europeans found out during World War II, it doesn’t work. The more modern term that pertains to appeasing radical Islam is dhimmitude, a process by which Western nations enact changes to their culture and their very way of life so as not to create unrest in their growing Muslim populations. This is already happening in Holland, France, Germany, and Great Britain to name a few. With this in mind, what we as a nation have to decide is whether we’re going to follow Europe’s lead and start remaking ourselves out of fear that our enemies will somehow retaliate or enjoy new recruits if we don’t. As Blow surprisingly noted, if we do this, we lose. After England’s Neville Chamberlain made a fool out of himself at Munich, stronger leaders named Churchill and Roosevelt opted to not make the same mistake he did. 72 years later, the United States is once again faced with the option of either following today’s Neville Chamberlains or taking a stronger, less-cowardly, more American approach with our enemies. Of course, some of the recent furor concerning a little-known Pastor in Gainesville, Florida, was stoked by comments made by David Petraeus. Although most Americans have great respect for the General, it is possible he over-reacted to Terry Jones’s Koran burning threat, and may have unnecessarily inflamed the situation with his warning. That, too, is up for debate, or at least should be unless we fear that also will stoke our enemies’ ire. But if a diehard liberal like Blow can see that we shouldn’t be afraid of debates on sensitive subjects, maybe the rest of the cowering media can pull out their pacifiers, take off their diapers, and stop acting like freedom of speech is only a good thing if nobody is offended by it. As Europe learned in 1939, if you give your enemies an inch, they’ll take a mile. If we give up this right to make radical Islamists happy, what’ll be next?

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NYT’s Blow Offers Fabulous Opinion on 9/11, Mosques and Koran Burning

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Schultz Guest Suspects Palin-Gingrich ‘Fingerprints All Over’ Koran Burning

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Fire doesn’t melt steel–and a Florida pastor apparently isn’t capable of burning a Koran without a plot by Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich behind him . . . On The Ed Show this evening, guest Karen Hunter, responding to a leading question from host Schultz, went deep conspiracy theory, saying she “wouldn’t be surprised at all” if the “fingerprints” of Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich were “all over” Pastor Terry Jones’ plan to fire up some Korans. Really.  Can’t you just see it? “Terry?  Sarah and Newt again.  Did the FedEx arrive with the dozen Korans and the pint of Zippo lighter fluid? Good.” Fortunately, Heidi Harris was there to restore some sanity, pointing out that Palin and Newt had come out against the Koran burning and describing Jones as a “totally separate entity.” Note: Hunter suffers under the double burden of being a Pulitzer Prize winner and a Hunter College professor.

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Schultz Guest Suspects Palin-Gingrich ‘Fingerprints All Over’ Koran Burning

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