America doesn’t have to be the world police force, but at least we’re paying attention, while countries like China and Russia think it’s ok to let a country’s leaders steal elections, murder and systematically rape its citizens…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/opinion/16friedman.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Islam is taking a huge beating in the press. Huge. From the email that I get from conservatives, it seems that most of them think that your everyday Muslim is a sexist evil person with a bomb laden vest under their robes. My aunt asked me what my Muslim friends would do if they saw Salman Rushdie on the street. The answer, of course, is ‘Nothing’. But she probably believes they would pull out a machete and hack the man to death.
Coming out and saying that you’re considering converting to Islam is difficult when your family is made up almost entirely of dyed-in-the-wool Republicans and conservatives. Yet I am considering doing just that. Right now I am in the research process and I am withholding my judgment about Islam, either negative or positive, until I feel that I know enough about it.
The Mackistani is what he calls a ‘Quranic’ Muslim. What he means by that is that he goes by what is actually in the Quran. For that reason, he does not believe in the degradation and 2nd class citizenhood of women. He does not believe in women being covered from head to toe. He does not believe that the Quran says husbands can beat their wives. He thinks Sharia law is BS and made up ‘by the priesthood’ whom he considers to be evil. Stoning of women who commit adultery, he says, is a contaminant from Judaism and is not endorsed in the Quran anywhere. Jihad is what you do when your state is being attacked, not what you do to people who simply do not believe in Islam. Forced conversions are not endorsed by either God or the Prophet. And the wars on infidels mentioned in the Quran? Those directives were given to Muhammed back when he was trying to establish the first Muslim state and was being attacked without provocation. The Mackistani has told me many times that when Muslims have taken over a state, they did not force anyone to convert, and that forcing people to convert is directly opposed to what God said in the Quran, which was to leave those alone who don’t wish to convert.
So you can see why I have a different view of Islam than many other people. The Muslims I have met are just average, every day people who are just trying to live their lives in peace. Some of the women I have met cover themselves, some do not. It depends on what flavor of Muslim you are. And it’s a personal choice.
So Islam is undergoing this hatchet job in the press and mainstream Muslims are going to suffer if they don’t start doing something about it. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and there is a reason for that. The word Islam means ‘peace’ and the word Muslim means one who submits to God’s will. Anyone in a 12-step program will tell you that peace and serenity is what you get when you stay open to and obey God’s will instead of your own.
The Mackistani has told me many times that the Quran describes a system of life. It describes how to run a Muslim state, what rules to follow, etc. Islam as described in the Quran is good and peaceful. Islam as extremists and what the Mackistani considers to be the ‘evil’ priesthood interpret it is anything but.
These days, it is my person opinion that you can never again have a Medina (the first Islamic state). And why is that? Because of things like Sharia law, things that class women around the same level as farm animals, things that make life so rigid as to be virtually not worth living. When Islam first started, women had as equal of rights as they could have for that era. Women were allowed to own property, consent to marriage or not, equal rights in marriage, you name it. That was far more progressive than Christianity and a whole lot more progressive than Europe. It’s very unfortunate that the states where Islam has flourished the most are the states that are full of unemployed, illiterate men who are from a desert culture where things like FGM, beating of women and children, and things of that nature are culturally ok.
A lot of people like to say that FGM is an Islamic creation. Wrong-o. FGM was around way before Islam was. These misguided people just integrated it into their newfound faith. There’s no way in h*ll that any sane person would sign up for a religion containing that! Many people also think that stoning a woman for infidelity was an Islamic creation. Nope, the Jews were doing that way before Muhammed went to his cave. What about binding a woman’s legs together when she is giving birth to her child born out of wedlock? Uh-uh. Not created by Islam; that is a product of desert culture in Africa. That kind of BS cannot be found ANYWHERE in the Quran. Permission to beat your wife? Not in the Quran my friend. The Quran says to ‘go away from’ her. IE Leave her alone then.
How about the way that the Saudis treat their women? Nope, Muhammed would not be on board with that. Remember, women can own property per the Quran. Women were running businesses in the first Islamic state. In fact, Muhammed’s first wife owned and ran her own business, successfully. Do you think that she was confined to her house? I think not.
I just feel so sad when I hear about Muslims running fairs and stuff in England and giving floor space to the murderous regime of Sudan, whose president is up for charges of crimes against humanity, genocide, and 2 counts of murder. I feel really sad when I hear about Muslims in public life who think that suicide bombing is ok and refer to it as ‘martyrdom’. I feel sad when I hear the haterade coming out of intelligent Muslims who are complaining about ‘infiltration’ of their religion by homosexuals. Your average Muslim is probably not a fan of gays, but they’re not about to go stoning them either. They’re advocates of letting people live their own lives and their own choices, not forcing their views on others. The whole things just really saddens me.
I will close with one final thought. I am considering converting to Islam. But I don’t ever want to see an Islamic state established in America. I don’t ever want to live in a theocracy. Ever. I plan to start donating to the ACLU. We ought to be thankful to them because separation of church and state is our first-line defense against ever living in a theocracy. Theocracies just make it too easy for the nutcases to start running the nuthouse. No thanks.
Which I can say with confidence, since McCain left his first wife and married his mistress, leaving the two children whom he had been father to for 12 years or so fatherless so that he could marry a much younger, beauty queen bride.
I wish I had the cojones to send this to all my conservative friends who send me Muslim hate mail and Obama hate mail. Man, Rich Whitey sure is running scared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CYNTHIA TUCKER
Obama's views on fatherhood are the real deal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/13/08
Thank you, Jesse Jackson!
It's been a long time since the self-proclaimed black leader did anything useful, but Jackson has now — quite unintentionally — turned a bright spotlight on Barack Obama's traditional views of parenthood. With his crude remarks several days ago, Jackson raised public awareness of an aspect of Obama's beliefs that would have received little news media attention otherwise.
Apparently believing the microphone was off during a break on the set of "Fox & Friends," Jackson whispered to health insurance executive Reed Tuckson, who is black, that Obama was "talking down to black people. I wanna cut his n-ts out."
Since then, the news cycle has been filled not only with Jackson's apology, but also with commentary over what Obama said to provoke Jackson's outrage. Now, many more Americans have been exposed to Obama's completely conventional, common-sense beliefs that fathers should be actively involved in their children's lives and that parents ought to encourage educational excellence.
The presumptive Democratic nominee for president repeated his views on parental obligations, to enthusiastic applause, last week at Powder Springs' McEachern High School.
"I've talked about this before," he said, "and sometimes people don't like hearing it, so I'll repeat it, and I'll keep on repeating it: Men, fathers, you need to be in the life of your child." He urged parents to attend parent-teacher conferences, to help their children with homework and to "turn off the TV."
Obama had been even more pointed in his Father's Day address to the Apostolic Church of God on Chicago's South Side.
"Any fool can have a child — that doesn't make you a father. Too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes. They've abandoned their responsibilities. They're acting like boys instead of men.
"And the foundations of our families have suffered because of it. ... There's a reason why our families are in disrepair, and some of it has to do with a tragic history, but we can't keep on using that as an excuse," he said.
While some no doubt see political calculation in Obama's remarks, he has, in fact, stressed parental responsibility for years. Because he spent his early adulthood as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side, where many children are trapped in impoverished single-parent homes, he is acutely aware of the problems caused by absent fathers.
Obama's childhood, too, was its own testimony. He reminded his audience at the Apostolic Church of God that his father virtually deserted the family when Obama was 2 years old.
"I know the toll it took on me not having a father in the house — the hole in your heart when you don't have a male figure that can guide you. ... So I resolved many years ago that ... if I could do anything in life, I would be a good father to my children," he said.
Jackson's meltdown notwithstanding, Obama's tough love — like Bill Cosby's — is generally well-received by black audiences. Many black Americans have observed the decline of the family with alarm, just as many other Americans have. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the congregation at the Apostolic Church of God met Obama's remarks with "cheers of agreement."
Indeed, there was a time when Jackson would have given a similar sermon. In the 1980s and '90s, he often decried teen pregnancy and urged parents to get to know their children's teachers. But that was before Jackson was forced to acknowledge paternity of a baby girl born of an adulterous affair with a woman on the payroll of Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
After that, he no longer served as a suitable role model for discussions of fatherhood. (To be fair, Jackson has five adult children with his wife, Jacqueline, all of whom seem to be responsible and productive citizens. That includes U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., an Obama ally, who has sharply criticized his father's dumb remarks.)
Last week, at the Powder Springs rally, two black men sat near the back with little girls. As Obama urged black fathers to get involved in their children's lives, each of the men hoisted a little girl into his lap. They clapped enthusiastically as Obama spoke, with no apparent urge to do him bodily harm.
I don’t know about other people, but I am getting really sick of conservative emails. Emails about how we should drill in the Arctic instead of changing our dang habits, how we should stop those Muslims from taking over our country, how we should allow prayer in schools and how we should stop those gays from marrying, how we should stop trying to help those black people, etc etc etc.
Good Lord, where are these people’s consciences? I just don’t understand it.
What about this doozy of a website? http://usawakeup.org/
Apparently the Muslims are going to take over!!!! Wow. Terrorism sure has worked. These people are shaking in their boots. But what are they really afraid of?
It is my opinion that they’re afraid of no longer being the majority…White Christians are the majority in this country. For years we have whined about prayer not being in schools, about the state not espousing religion etc etc. Well it appears that if the winds are changing and Christians may soon become the minority in this country, or Muslims may achieve a 50/50 split, then Christians should be joining the ACLU in record numbers. Separation of Church and State is the thing in this country that can prevent radical, violent Islam from taking over.
Whitey is pretty dang scared of Barack Obama. They’re even going so low as to use his middle name as proof of his inability to be a good president. I guess they’re not allowed to use his color, so they have to find something that’s equally as useful to appeal to ignorant Americans. Instead of talking about his experience, which is far more worrisome weak point, they resort to scaring people.
when i get fired from here, i totally am going to send out an email that says the following:
Dear friends and family,
Please no longer send email to my work address. Please send all personal email to blahblah@blah.com. It took five years, but I have successfully liberated myself from the clutches of ABC Nuts and Bolts Corporation.
You may wonder what my secret to success was? Well I am happy to share it with you!
Show up late every day for work, at least 10 minutes, for about three years. Dress like a bum, even though the dress code is business professional.
Next, screw up left and right.
Waste company time for about half your day.
When you receive your final warning, change your behavior for a while. About a year should do it.
Almost forgot – call in randomly and use excuses like this one that was particularly amusing to my supervisor the day after the time change on Daylight Savings Time. ‘Oops, I’m sorry, forgot to spring forward!!! See you at ten!” Like 10am. Your start time was 0830.
Make sure you are seated next to a passive aggressive extreme rule follower. Pick the right one – the one you want should be a gossip hound and have the ear of the EVP of your department or the CEO of the company. It should be a receptionist who’s been at your company for about, oh, 15 years and makes small talk when the CEO passes by. Sound difficult? It’s not. You just have to work in a Sales Department. CEOs are always stopping by the Sales Department. This part is very important. Your Keeper will help you in your endeavor.
When you start showing up late again, make sure you strut in like a peacock and say hi very loudly and cheerfully in the morning. Like you're so excited to see your keeper. Act like you love them. Give them gifts for Christmas and hearty thanks for _all_they_do. MMuh!!!! In fact, find out where they shop and give them presents from there. Hey, anything worth doing is worth doing right!
At the same time, make sure your Keeper sees you illegally parking a few times. Soon you will hear a lot about a ‘little birdie’ that tells your supervisor many interesting things, which your Supervisor is only too happy to relay to you, the lucky recipient!
That’s about it. If that doesn’t do it, nothing will. Happy trails!
