Dorrie's Picks, 6/19/09

http://thelastcrusade.org/2009/06/04/obama-bombs-american-history-101/
Obama Bombs American History 101
SORRY, BARACK, BUT THERE WERE NO MUSLIMS ON THE MAYFLOWER
Speaking at the University of Cairo, President Barack Hussein Obama said that Americans are indebted to Islam for the great contributions Muslims have made to the history and development of the United States.

Sorry, Barack Hussein, but there were no Muslims among the passengers on the Mayflower or the settlers at Jamestown. Muslims were conspicuously absent from the ranks of George Washington’s Army of the Revolution and played no role in the creation of the American republic - - save for the fact that the new country’s first declaration of war was against the forces of Islam in the form of the Barbary pirates.

This is an excellent article full of lots of history of Muslim activity in the USA. This was a new blog to me; I’ll eventually update the blog w/a whole batch of books and DVDs and blogs or Web sites which I haven’t had time to do yet.

This blog also gives a lot of up-to-date info on the violence in Iran.

http://www.floridasecuritycouncil.org/
VIDEO: FSC Sues The Delray Beach Marriott
Obviously, I’m pleased by this. Striking back against creeping Islamic suppression in a non-violent way is the best way. Let us not get to the point of blood in the streets to get back our freedoms, as is happening in Tehran today.

http://www.pjtv.com/video/Specials/PJTV_SPECIAL_REPORT%3A_Iranian_Election_Chaos__Is_Khamenei_Caving%3F_/2045/
PJTV SPECIAL REPORT: Iranian Election Chaos ... Is Khamenei Caving?

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101400
Keith Ellison's Office Hangs Up On WND
Congressman's Islamic Pilgrimage Paid by Group Tied to Terrorism
. . . earlier this month Ellison's office filed its annual congressional disclosure form, listing travel payments and reimbursements by private entities.

The Powerline blog posted a copy of the form which documents Ellison's trip to Saudi Arabia from November 29 to December 14 Was Paid for by the MAS-Minnesota. . . .

MAS national director Mahdi Bray called the story his group paid for Ellison's pilgrimage a "myth" and "urban legend" that needed to be laid to rest.

"Keith Ellison is a member of Congress who knows that congressmen don't take trips sponsored by nonprofits. That would be a breach of congressional ethics," Bray told FoxNews.com. . . .

Well, yeah, but apparently that didn’t stop him.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20090618/pl_usnw/cair_ny_welcomes_city_council_vote_on_muslim_holidays_in_schools
CAIR-NY Welcomes City Council Vote on Muslim Holidays in Schools
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today joined a coalition of community organizations in welcoming the passage of a resolution by a committee of the city council that calls for adding Muslim holidays to the school calendar.

Resolution 1281, passed overwhelmingly by the New York City Council Education Committee, calls on the "New York City Department of Education to incorporate the Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha as observed school holidays in the school calendar for the city school district of the city of New York" and also asks that the state legislature "pass, and the Governor to sign into law, A.8108/S.5837, an Act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring that Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha be school holidays in the city school district of the city of New York."

You would think, of all the cities in the United States, the citizens of New York City would be brighter than this. The NYCCEC has just allowed all the children in NYC to accept the idea that an Islamic “holy” day is equal in meaning and importance to, say, Christmas or Chanukah.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526972,00.html
Pentagon Exam Calls Protests "Low-Level Terrorism," Angering Activists
A written exam administered by the Pentagon labels "protests" as a form of “low-level terrorism” — enraging civil liberties advocates and activist groups who say it shows blatant disregard of the First Amendment.

The written exam, given as part of Department of Defense employees’ routine training, includes a multiple-choice question that asks: “Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorism?”
— Attacking the Pentagon
— IEDs
— Hate crimes against racial groups
— Protests
The correct answer, according to the exam, is "Protests." . . .

I think I'm even annoyed at the headline. ". . . angering activists." Who's Fox considering to be activists?

http://www.freep.com/article/20090618/NEWS02/90618059/1004/Judge++Group+can+t+roam+with+literature+at+Arab+festival
Judge: Group Can't Walk with Lit[erature] at Mich[igan] Festival
A federal judge has denied an evangelical Christian group's request for permission to hand out literature on sidewalks at an Arab festival in the heart of the Detroit area's Middle Eastern community.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds on Thursday denied Anaheim, Calif.-based Arabic Christian Perspective's request for a temporary restraining order.

The group sued the city of Dearborn after police told them they would need to restrict literature distribution to a designated table & booth section of the 3-day Arab International Festival, which opens Friday.

The city says public safety concerns require the limitation and say other Christian and Muslim groups already have tables or booths at the festival.

Update 6/18/09: A federal judge sided with the city of Dearborn today in a dispute with a Christian group over the distribution of religious literature during an upcoming Arab festival. The decision stems from a lawsuit filed this week by a Christian group that says the city of Dearborn is denying it the right to roam the Arab International Festival to hand out religious literature.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds denied a motion from the Christian group for a temporary restraining order that would have prohibited the city from restricting the group from handing out literature, according to a release from the group’s attorneys.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly Jr. said the city strongly believes in free speech and has at least two other Christian groups who will be at the festival handing out information. O’Reilly said the California group, like other groups, is restricted to one place because of crowd control issues.

Gee, imagine this happening in Dearborn, Michigan, huh? And this is all about “crowd control issues.” Really. How does it help crowd control to keep one group of people from walking around in the crowd?

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_12615737?source=most_emailed
El Paso Gets $5.4M Grant to Improve Planning in Case of Terror Attack, Disaster
A $5.4 million federal grant awarded to the city of El Paso is designed to help law enforcement agencies avoid some of the mistakes made in New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, officials announced Wednesday.

The money is for fiscal year 2009, which will start on Sept. 1, and will be used to improve communication between various law-enforcement agencies in the region; to create a tactical "fusion" center in which intelligence from state, local and federal agencies can be shared and analyzed; and to buy and coordinate standardized breathing equipment to be used by local fire departments.

The city of El Paso will spearhead a regional effort to improve planning and communication in case of a terrorist attack or disaster, Mayor John Cook said. . . .

I don’t suppose I should turn up my nose at $5.4M, but somehow, what with our daily inundation of the words “billions” and “trillions,” this doesn’t sound like much, somehow.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics2/32_see_better_u_s_relationship_with_muslim_world
[ONLY] 32% See Better U.S. Relationship With Muslim World
Fewer than one-third of voters nationwide (32%) believe most Islamic nations want to have a positive and peaceful relationship with the United States.
Just prior to the now disputed Iranian election, 62% of voters said Iran should be required to stop developing its nuclear weapons capabilities before a meeting is allowed between the Iranian president and the president of the United States.

Only 31% think the United States will be the most powerful nation in the world at the end of the 21st century.

My granddaughters might still be around then . . . the oldest of the two could be 94, then. When I think of it that way, it sounds really awful that there's even a chance (and I don't disagree that it's certainly possible) that the U.S. will be just another middling country in a world of . . . what? I can't actually imagine it.