Monday, August 29, 2011

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Perry Mafia Punked, "Beclowned" Indeed - Atlas Shrugs

Perry Mafia Punked, "Beclowned" Indeed - Atlas Shrugs

This supposedly tough part of the Perry/Aga Khan curriculum, which you can find in full at this cached link here, is actually not at all the Islamorealistic presentation that Ace and Stein claim it to be. It does contain the material that they quote, but note that in all that, and in all the rest of it, there is absolutely nothing about the Qur'an's or Muhammad's exhortations to violence.

Again, why does that matter? Because if you don't identify the root of the problem correctly, you will continually apply the wrong remedies. The idea that Islam is a Religion of Peace that has been hijacked by a tiny minority of extremists has led the U.S. to all sorts of policy errors, foreign and domestic: pouring billions in Pakistan, supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, treating stateside Islamic supremacist groups with ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood as neutral civil rights organizations, etc. If the exhortations to violence and subjugation of unbelievers under Sharia that are contained in Islamic texts and teachings were acknowledged in the public sphere, Muslim groups in the U.S. could be challenged to show what they're doing to teach against such things, and investigated for sedition where appropriate. Instead, law enforcement and government officials constantly trust individuals and groups that are untrustworthy, because they don't understand the smooth ways in which they're being deceived.

Still, all in all, the material Stein presents on the curriculum is fairly good. But there is a curious thing: the picture one gets of curriculum from Geller and from Stein are wildly divergent. Stein claims that this is because Geller quotes from "brief summaries of lengthy training seminars," while he presented the "entire lesson plan." But that's not actually the case. Go to the cached link of the main page for the curriculum. It says this:

In April 2004, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and UT-Austin finalized a grant proposal that created the partnership that became known as the Muslim Histories and Cultures Program (MHC). Much has happened since the inception of the partnership. Creation and implementation of a model was of prime importance. MHC recruited and directly trained 80 teachers affecting approximately 15,150 students of World History and World Geography in ten key Texas districts during the two sessions conducted in 2005 and 2006. The purpose is two-fold 1) to fulfill Governor Rick Perry's desire to better educate Texas teachers on Muslim topics and 2) to train teachers to use a cultural lens approach to understanding other cultures. Governor Perry was instrumental in getting this program off the ground.

It adds -- and note this well -- that "the curriculum for this project was developed at Harvard University and modified at the University of Texas at Austin." Now this is apparently referring to the curriculum for the training of the 80 teachers in the two sessions conducted in 2005 and 2006. And this material is very, very bad. It contains all the material Geller quoted, including a whitewash of Muslim Spain (debunked here) and the use of texts by the likes of Carl Ernst, John Esposito, and Michael Sells. Carl Ernst is the academic propagandist who actually traveled to Tehran in 2008 to accept an award from Iran's genocidally antisemitic President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. John Esposito is a Saudi-funded pseudo-academic who has cooked data about Islamic moderates. Michael Sells produced an edition of the Qur'an that left out all the violent and hateful bits. And they're by no means the only questionable authorities that this curriculum invokes.

But wait a minute. Remember, "the curriculum for this project was developed at Harvard University and modified at the University of Texas at Austin." But Stein claims to present "the curriculum that resulted from the Perry/Khan partnership," and specifically, "the lesson plan that deals with Islam and the West, past and present." Stein says that "the lesson plan was written by Ronald Wiltse," who is "a retired history teacher in San Antonio." But is Wiltse's lesson plan actually part of the Perry/Aga Khan curriculum at all? Only peripherally -- at best. Look back at the main cached page for the curriculum. It says that "MHC recruited and directly trained 80 teachers affecting approximately 15,150 students of World History and World Geography in ten key Texas districts during the two sessions conducted in 2005 and 2006," and that "the responsibilities of the participants are...to create lessons concerning Islamic topics with a 'cultural lens' approach tied to their grade level to share with other teachers."

The Plot thickens.

Monday, August 15, 2011

The Left Owns the Election Law Industry | FrontPage Magazine

The Left Owns the Election Law Industry | FrontPage Magazine

Like so many other institutions, whether academia or the media, leftists dominate the field of election law, and the consequences are immediate and devastating. Worst of all, hardly anyone has noticed that these scores of leftist election experts enjoy a largely unopposed battlefield.

Leftist foundations, litigators and organizations have established permanent structures designed to alter election outcomes through policy advocacy and strategic litigation. Project Vote, DEMOS, the Asian American Legal Defense Fund (AALDF), the Brennan Center for Justice, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Advancement Project, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), League of Women Voters, Asian Pacific American Legal Center and Common Cause are some of the groups that push election law in a direction hostile to conservatives, and the rule of law. Not surprisingly, money tainted by George Soros also flows downstream through various groups and institutes to the cause....

What lawyers oppose the Advancement Project, ACLU, MALDEF, the Brennan Center, Project Vote, Demos, LULAC and the NAACP when they bring these suits? Often it is government attorneys who rarely litigate such weighty election battles. Sometimes the government lawyers are sympathetic to the plaintiffs.

Millions of leftist dollars pour into election law wars before the lawsuits are brought. After the lawsuits are brought, the leftist groups intervene and swarm like sharks around a flailing victim. Just look at the pleadings and amicus briefs submitted in any major election law dispute. Not surprisingly, the victims often succumb, or accept their fate and die. The Rule of Law often dies along with it.

Leftist election litigators even have their own training academies. One is the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Dozens of lawyers at the most militant groups in the country cut their teeth in the Voting Section at DOJ where I used to work.

Beware of these Liberal Organizations and the Super Packs funded by both Libs and Rino Organizations.

Buddy Roemer for President | BuddyRoemer.com

Buddy Roemer for President | BuddyRoemer.com

Here is a guy running for President that's not well known, but he has identified the problems with government.

Keep an eye on him.

He is Speaking to National Press Club on C-span today.

Will post here when available.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Wisconsin Lesson

The Wisconsin Lesson
Fellow Conservatives:

The union-backed Democrats in Wisconsin failed yesterday to win the three recall elections they needed to retake the state senate. This is a major victory for freedom-loving Americans that should inspire us all to keep fighting for conservative principles.

Here's how David Freddoso at The Washington Examiner described the election results:
"The people" were supposed to be on the side of the unions who protested at the state capitol when Walker's bill passed, limiting the unions' collective bargaining privileges against taxpayers and school districts. But it turns out that "the people" had other ideas. In the end, even a massive infusion of cash and union volunteers was not enough to deliver the three state Senate recall races the unions needed, despite the fact that President Obama carried all six of the seats in question in 2008.

This marks the unions' third huge defeat in Wisconsin this year. The other two were the passage of Walker's bill and the re-election of David Prosser to the state Supreme Court. The grand talk of recalling Walker himself next year seems a bit blustery now, given the great failure of last night.
It's not exactly clear what yesterday's results mean for the 2012 elections. Wisconsin is a swing state and Election Day is still over a year away. President Obama needs a win here to secure his re-election and Democrats will be working hard to elect another Democrat to the open U.S. Senate seat.

If there is a lesson here, it's a lesson for those Republicans who are afraid to fight for conservative principles. Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) has demonstrated that if you lead with the courage of your convictions, you can turn your state around and win elections, too.

Unfortunately, I hear too many Republicans arguing for a "play it safe" strategy that fails to save our country and fails to give voters a reason to vote for them over their opponents.

The recent agreement to raise the debt limit was a perfect example. Conservatives produced the "Cut, Cap, and Balance" plan, a real solution that would have balanced the budget and preserved our AAA bond rating. But too many Republicans were unwilling to fight for it. They gave up on it because it didn't conform to what they thought was possible.

What happened last night in Wisconsin proves anything is possible if we're willing to stand on principle.

As you know, the Senate Conservatives Fund stood on principle last year and helped elect Ron Johnson to the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. Now we're looking for another courageous conservative in Wisconsin to support in the 2012 U.S. Senate race.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I believe the 2012 elections represent a "now or never" turning point for our country. With your help, I know we can take our country back and restore America's greatness.

Respectfully,

Jim DeMint
United States Senator
Chairman, Senate Conservatives Fund

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

What The Debt Deal Means

What The Debt Deal Means
The final agreement, which the President signed into law yesterday:
  • Raises the debt limit by as much as $2.4 trillion;
  • Allows the debt to continue to grow by $7 trillion over the next decade;
  • Creates a new, 12-member "super-committee" with the power to force major tax increases through Congress;
  • Threatens our AAA bond rating; and
  • Never balances the budget
Washington is addicted to spending and it's a bipartisan addiction. The debt deal passed the Senate with 74 votes -- 46 Democrats and 28 Republicans. You can see the full results at SenateConservatives.com.

If you have time, please take a few minutes today to call their offices to thank them for their courage and to urge them to keep fighting. Taking a stand like they did can be isolating at times and it's critical they know patriots like you are standing with them.
  • Pat Toomey (R-PA) -- (202) 224-4254
  • Marco Rubio (R-FL) -- (202) 224-3041
  • Rand Paul (R-KY) -- (202) 224-4343
  • Mike Lee (R-UT) -- (202) 224-5444
  • Ron Johnson (R-WI) -- (202) 224-5323
I am also happy to report that both of the U.S. Senate candidates we have endorsed for 2012 -- Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel (R-OH) and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz (R-TX) -- publicly opposed the debt deal.

Conservatives fought for the right policies throughout this debate and forced the President and the entire Washington establishment to respond to our arguments. Our opponents even felt compelled to parrot our message of less spending.

Our strategy of electing rock-solid leaders to the Senate is working. Now we need to expand it so the policies enacted in Washington actually match the rhetoric coming out of it.

Jim DeMint
United States Senator
I encourage Texas to Support Ted Cruz for US Senate in 2012.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Don't Raise the Debt Limit!

American Congressman and Senator,

In my humble opinion, the vote that Doesn't Raise the Debt Limit is the only vote to slow government when it is obvious it is the only power left to Congress and America. It is the only means remaining between now and 2012. Time to Play the only card you have that can win. Don't just fold em.

This "debt agreement" proposed is nothing more than an authorization to continue spending NOW. Since the Libs can't do what's right and cut spending, let's not just pass the buck and HOPE those in power now, will make the right decision later. If the Regime doesn't have the will to do it now when they don't have the money, it's foolish to think they will do it later when they already have it.

This is the perfect outcome for Libs and Resident Obama. Give me my drugs now, and maybe I'll take treatment later. That is if I want to. Libs are government drug addicts and are not treatable on their own terms.

This is the most unethical, illegal, and ruthless Government America has ever seen, and if it isn't checked it will destroy America and The Constitution in our lifetime.

Time to stand up with the only real vote that counts.

After not raising the Debt Limit, focus on the following:

1. Support the subpoena served on HI to get access to Obama's Birth Certificate.
2. Help determine why Obama's Social Security Number is invalid.
3. Get to the bottom of the Regime walking guns to Mexico.
4. Work to stop the Destroy America Policies that increase and limit viable energy cost.
Eliminate, or investigate, the EPA
Stop Obamacare
Help eliminate uncertainty in taxes, business, investing, and campaigning.

Time to get out of the Congressional Wagon and keep the American Dream alive.

God Bless America