Eek, A Muslim! Once Again, Wingnuts Miss The Empathy Point
By Susie Madrak Wednesday Jun 03, 2009 4:32pmOh, the Beltway bobbleheads and wingnuts have their panties in a twist again over Obama's claiming the U.S. is "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." (We rank around 35th out of 150 countries.) Okay, it's an exaggeration but not a fabrication. It's meant to show we have something in common. Empathy, remember?) Andrew Sullivan gets the difference:
I take the point, but I also see the deeper point Obama was making. America is not alien to Islam; many Muslims live here as proud and productive Americans. Saying that helps chip away at stereotypes about America that hurt us and empower Islamists.
That doesn't stop Michael Goldfarb at the Weekly Standard from falling into a faux panic at Obama's use of the word "shukran" and pursuing yet another wingnut conspiracy theory:
Obama has said before that he speaks "barely passable Spanish" and "a smattering of Swahili," as well as some Bahasa from his youth in Indonesia. But Obama has at other times denied speaking a foreign language, saying in July of last year, "I don't speak a foreign language. It's embarrassing!" And even today, Michelle Obama is delivering the commencement address at Washington Math, Science, Technology Public Charter School, where Mark Knoller reports that she implored graduates to learn a language, and that both she and the president "regret they never learned another language."
It seems there is some legitimate confusion on just what languages Obama speaks, and as far as Arabic, the only real hint has came from Nick Kristof, who heard Obama recite the Muslim call to prayer in Arabic and with a "first-rate accent" back in 2007. With even the White House now smearing Obama as a Muslim, one wonders if the president hasn't been concealing some greater fluency with the language of the Koran.
For Pete's sake! Most politicians know how to say "Erin go bragh" and wear shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day, and yet we don't believe they're all Irish. I know how to pray in Latin - but I don't know how to speak it. And even I know how to say "Sukran" - I picked it up in some movie. I also know how to count to ten and can also say, "You are such a pig!" in Polish, but I don't know how to speak it.
Oh, and Michael? You do know what a putz is, right?
How desperate are these people, to be grasping at such very thin straws?
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At one point in time the white protestant males had their panties in a bunch over Catholics and the congress is still full of white protestant males and the supreme court is still full of white protestant males and they still try to keep the women from gaining any power. Greed gentlemen...greed.
We've now got 5 Catholics on the SCOTUS. When Sotomayor is confirmed, it will make 6. And there will only be one white Protestant male left .... Stevens
Remember when we weren't sure we could vote for JFK because he was a Catholic? America is a melting pot. I live in a community that is very ethnically rich and economically poor. I watch immigrants learn to speak English. Hmong, Arabic, Latino, Somali, Chinese...it's a beautiful thing. They, along with the artists, have made a dying part of Minneapolis alive and thriving. You go into one restaurant and the leg of lamb is on the rotisserie and you go into another and have Thai food and right next door authentic Mexican. Oh and then you get a pizza from the Afghani place...
Life is wonderful.
I live in east London and my son happens to be half white Scots and half black American. His best friends are a boy who appears to be of North African or Turkish persuasion and a Bulgarian little boy. The one little girl he can put up with is a beautiful Bangladeshi child. His birthday party looked like the United Nations. There was white, black, African, Chinese, you name it, they were there.
I really don't understand the fear of diversity. My kids get to grow up among so many people that they don't even notice the differences, other than so-and-so is "a little bit brown, but not really brown" and "you have to talk China to so-and-so's mum because she is Chinese."
I take your point on the food. Man, I can get a taste of the world on my main street.
I doubt the hard-core Islamic consider our own Islamic people to be authentic, but rather collaboraters
To build their own power they have to claim to have the most "real" Islamists, and part of their method may be to make the "collaboraters" feel isolated in their own country like the US
Kind of like how the religious right in the US have decided that everyone else is anti-religion. 'Cause, you know, if you don't believe like they do, obviously you're not really religious, and certainly not a Christian!
Oh, and Michael? You do know what a putz is, right?
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A Christmas creche?
The nicer one is "fool" but both seem to fit.
Oh please! You don’t know the half of it. I lived in D.C.. It can get a lot worse in regards to Repug "logic" and mouth-breathers in general. I have tales of tragic ambition lost. I have sagas resplendent with the littered bones of the best intentions scattered like so much disingenuous dross cast into the darkness of the soul, the heart of darkness whence all hope is lost of any victory ‘gainst the reefs of degradation, forever abandoned in a colony of squalor and disgrace. And that’s just the first two years of Boosh's first term....
Butt, I digress….
Things could be a lot worse. The earliest people of Scotland arrived stoned, some nine thousand years ago, after the last lancination, once the land had enough ice and the climate had swerved. They were nads who hunted, fisted and gathered from their groats, bad livers, head rests and Portland, and their lice persisted for a least four millennia before the establishment of scented farting. Caroline Wick ham-Jones dismisses the evidence that exists for his taint, and spewed together with viral and pseudo-morphologies evident to look at such things as: the contempt for already established ass-hats of Scotland, the prigs, of the eely staplers, and just what was the methodology the cow people used for the scoured livers, and what stains have survived, combined with a stoical and comical hissy-fits, while tasting as she dives into distilleries and questionable men, maltmen and lawn blowers of renowned national dinks. Thank you.
Take my advice: Drink heavily and take the red pill!
You're killing me. Can't stop laughing.
And completely unexpected...thanks for the belly laugh.
Just to be clear,Kristof's original article said Obama recited "the opening lines of the call to prayer". Not the WHOLE prayer that's a huge difference. So bottom line Goldfarb lied.
Why is it that right wing Republicans abhor all things "foreign" unless it has to do with outsourcing of American jobs or their nannies?
Yuh suppost ta saunter in an showt,"Yer either with us or agin us, towlhead!"
Then yuh puke awn the sukkers lap!
and obama bin laden lives in the canyon behind my back yard. its a republican fright show.
Just enough to tell these xenophobes what to do with themselves.
lose their gigs for being morons as long as they are "outsopken" and "uncompromising" and "controversial."
It's been said that wingnut-welfare recipients, like weathermen, pay no price for being wrong. This is inaccurate not only because no one notices when the weatherman is right, but because while the weatherman's job security may make him complacent, he doesn't purposely make his predictions more and more outlandishly wrong.
From the WhiteHouse Channel on YouTube:
Muslim Americans Serving in the U.S. Government
but the comments below are mostly what you'd expect to find on FOX...
I'd ask how our citizens got to be so uneducated...but I know it was a group effort.
ya know I didnt even check out the comments !
hmmm ..
In the post within the post above, the word "smearing" is a link to a really godawful site called Ace of Spades HQ. Check out comment number 14 there. Number 27 is suspect, too. There are probably more like those, but I couldn't wade through any more of that shit.
Pretty awful stuff...and considering what happened this weekend in Kansas...I hope the FBI is watching and has a plan of action.
For the next eight years there is going to be nothing this president does that won't have these idiots wailing and gnashing their teeth and rending their clothing in public.
Their skivvies were tied in a Gordian knot last election day and there is no way anybody is ever going to untie it.
I've been around a lot of fricking years and I swear to whatever people like me swear to that I have never see a bigger bunch of whining, crying babies anywhere and frankly I'm getting just a tad bit tired of it.
Change their fricking diapers, give them a damned pacifier and if they don't stop screaming and caterwauling, just send them off to some place where the rest of us won't have to listen to this 24/7 howling thing they've got going on. And send their damned enablers with them.
When they are the only audience the mainstream media has, then just maybe the mainstream media will get an inkling of what it did to itself by selling out for the quick buck.
Whatever the case, nobody really needs any of them.
I wish they would all just form a state somewhere and be unhappy with each other. It wouldn't take them long to find enough differences within for them to go at each other.
Maybe if we ever colonize the moon. : )
Don't you DARE let those people on the moon! The moon is for intelligent, tolerant, kind people only! Creeps like that will have accidents at the airlock.
I'm Jewish, but you can be damn sure if I spent my childhood in the world's largest Muslim country, and I heard the call to prayers four times a day, every day I was there, I'd be able to recite it forwards, backwards, and in my sleep!
It makes me sad to think we breath the same air as these idiots that make up nearly half our once great nation.
forgot the prayer....but i could recite the call when i was there
they do it friggin 5x a day
Reagan Wannabe http://jed-lewison.dailykos.com/
A dimmer version of a dim bulb.
"Oh, and Michael? You do know what a putz is, right?
How desperate are these people, to be grasping at such very thin straws?"
the reichwingnuttia are always grasping for straws
when they should be hiding the fire hoses they suck
on that are stuck up their collective asses.
than it really is, and enough to make Obama a secret Muslim, then I must secretly be an award winning Italian chef because I like to call out "Mangia! Mangia!" when I'm bringing my dog Andy his food.
I must also be a talented motivational speaker because he sure gets excited whenever I do so! ;)
Some of these idiot wingnuts give me a headache. Wake me when they stop the stupid!
You're going to be taking a long nap.
There seems to be a lot of stupid to go around.
*
And probably members of the IRA, another semi-approved terrorist organization (at least part of it is).
he is the first president in history to be a radical left wing black christian and a secret muslim
rejoice
I just wish they would make up their fucking minds. Is he an Islamofascist, a fascist fascist, a socialist, a communist, a marxist or a nazi? I can't keep up. Oh yeah and Glenny Beck calls him a "transnationalist". What the fuck is that?
But despite their best efforts the economy is slowly crawling back from the brink and that drives them crazy. Hannity screams on the radio every day that he took HIS money out of the stock market (sort of secretly encouraging his minions to do the same, a) like they have a stock portfolio and b) a blatant attempt to sabotage the economy) and the uptick in the economy is only temporary.
When the economy continues to improve it won't be because of anything Obama did. You can "bank" on that.
somebody cue up Bush dancing with the prince holding hands and a sabre
Oh dear sweet spreadable Jeebus on a Ritz. I can say "hello" in about 2 dozen languages, but would never claim to be able to speak anything other than English with any kind of fluency (or even competency).
Michael: cecepo fvmpe, eka holvnwa. That is "Your ass stinks, shithead, " in Muskogee.
... Jeebus on a Ritz?
Keebler is better; they're not owned by an evil tobacco company. And they're made by elves.
Them elves don't look like good red-blooded Amerkuns to me. Pointy ears, pointy shoes, always prancin' around in the kitchen? Oh, God help us! I think they're homasexshuls!
From a Yahoo search:
Keebler Elves - Community of elfin creatures living in a hollow tree on a variety of TV spots produced for the United Biscuit Company. Their chief spokesman is Ernie the Elf, who sports white hair and wears a business outfit that includes a red hat, white shirt with yellow tie, green jacket, red vest, and yellow pants with red socks.
Other elves seen include a pudgy Fryer Tuck, who touted the goodness of "Munch 'ems," two teenage elves, Zoot and J.J., and Zoot's best friend, who pushed pizza taste of "Pizzarias," plus:
- Ma Keebler, Ernie's mother
- Elmer Keebler, a baker-in-training
- Buckets, who splashes fudge on cookies
- Fast Eddie, the cookie and cracker wrapper (try to say "cracker wrapper" five times rapidly)
- Sam, the peanut butter maker
- Roger, the cookie jeweler
- Doc, the doctor and cookie maker
- Zack, the fudge shop foreman
- Flo, the Tree Accountant
- Leonardo, the artist
- and Professor Edison, Larry, and Art.
They definitely need some female elves in their crew...
I think there are more than 150 nations in the world.
Wikipedia puts the number at 203 sovereign nations in the world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries
About.com Geography puts it at 195:
http://geography.about.com/cs/countries/a/num...
Either way, if you're number 35, that puts you well within the top 18% in the world.
uh...that most definitely qualifies as "among the largest Muslim countries in the world"...IF, as Obama said, you were taking the number of Muslims in the USA. And, IF we considered America to be a Muslim nation.
But, of course, Obama already said America does NOT consider itself to be a Muslim nation...or a Jewish nation...or a Christian nation...or any other kind of Theocracy in a highly-publicized earlier speech.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/06/obam...
depends on how you look at it. By total number of persons claiming the religion or percent of the population.
If you go by the total number of persons claiming the religion were probably near the top in all of them, considering we are the 3rd most populated country in the world.
If you go by percent of the population were in the bottom tenth or so regarding muslims. According to wiki its about .8%, islamicweb puts it at a bit under 4%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
http://www.islamicweb.com/begin/population.htm
People getting upset because a president of the United States might know more than they previously suspected. You'd think they'd find it pleasantly surprising.
Not the wingnuts. They are zealous in their embrace of ignorance.
...you ain't exactly the bluntest tool in the kit. Lead by example. Get learnin' another language! You can practice those verb conjugations while you're digging in the garden.
That's a very good idea, Red -- let's go to whitehouse.gov/comments and suggest that she get some of those little neighborhood kids that she's always bringing in to help with the garden to teach her and the rest of the group words and phrases in whatever languages they speak.
One simply needs to look at all the facts... and after setting aside all the mitigating factors... deduce with absolute impartiality, the common denominator... or the disease a.k.a. denominator in this case, will dwell amongst humanity indefinitely!
The common denominator for most all of humanities problems... stem from religion and spirituality.[Though I would say spirituality is primarily a mitigating factor due too it's broad interpretation and oxymoronic paralleling too the definition of religion. Thus, making it moot, though nonetheless considered!]
And whom better too make that judgement call, then myself... A "By definition", [factually godless and impartial atheist!] ;) I believe... The overwhelming cause(s), of our undeniable affliction of infraction(s) too humanity, throughout history... has been manifested by a small number of predominant religious sects...[hiding amongst and or shielded by it's particular religion's parental protection and purpose.] The purpose for which... any and all healthy individuals are capable of admitting and or understanding, if they so honestly choose... too accept this fact.
I would best describe the aforementioned opinion(s) as conforming with the theocratic notion of the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham** and his well-known and respected principle... known as [Occam's razor, also Ockham's razor].
**He is considered — along with Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and the Islamic scholar Averroes — to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the fourteenth century.
In ending, this comment is neither intended too spotlight any particular individual nor faith... as a matter of fact, I've composed said comment respecting all entities contained herewith. Well... upon further review, It's possible I could have insulted some atheist(s) with the description of myself in the third (3) paragraph... though that was not my intent. And after all... they're my peeps! Whoops :-0... :-) Thanks for your time... for it is humanities most precious commodity, through which all else proves possible.
PS. Within the next 24 hours, I'll be compiling a few current real word examples to explain how and or why I've come too the conclusion(s) that I have. I believe some may equate them to be "not unlike" what you may consider "parables" or simple stories, too supplement this opinion or theory of mine.
I will contend... When the earth was born, it did not possess religion
I was ready to "to explain how and or why I've come too the conclusion(s) that I have" but...
I've decided to bite my tongue and "withhold my pictures" with graphical content ;)... do too the fact that I believe we all live in theoretical "Glass House(s) and I would say your dishonest, if you denied such.(Some, simply have more broken windows) So in an attempt to move forward. I'll regress. ;)
What I would have attempted to explain today... was eclipsed by the eloquent words contained in the speech recited by President Obama in Cairo.
So for effective and efficient reasons... I shall simply point you here, if you're so inclined and or curious.
→ → →[ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/04/obam... ]
And if you can... or should I say, think you can? As hard as it can be, try to look at things, from at least two (2) angles, before you act... "Windows can be costly to replace" :-)
Well, gotta get some sleep now... I'm bringing my Daughter to a Broadway play tonight. Maybe you've heard of it, it's named [Chicago]? Only we're not going too Broadway to see it. :-)
It was my diplomatic peace offering to her, for the fact, I'm taking my Son to the Bosox game on Saturday. I hope the Sox put TX in it's place... metaphorically speaking, because right now in their division... they're in first place. :-0 Can you guess what part of the country I live in?
PS. No offense too ysb and the other fine Texans... you to ricky, it's only Baseball and after all, for gods sake, this is America! Whoops ;)
I was, "Born right the first time"!
...that I had a laugh about was his saying, "...as well as some Bahasa from his youth in Indonesia." The correct thing to have said would be "...as well as some Bahasa Indonesia..." as "Bahasa" simply means "language." Hey, we all speak some language now, don't we, Michael?
There was a time, after four years in college choir when I could recite a huge amount of "poetry" in Church Latin. I even knew what most of it meant in English.
No, I am not fluent in Church Latin.
I can say "bathroom", "beer", "please" and "thank you" in Spanish. Ergo I am a member of a Mexican drug cartel. Easy.
Explain to them that "EMPATHY" is why Richard Cheney, George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Condisleeza, Bybee, Gonzo, Mukasey, and all the rest of the sleeze bags are out flaunting their WAR CRIMES all over the airwaves 24/7 instead of cooling their heels in solitary behind the bars of a prison cell.
Because Democrats EMPATHIZE with them and WANT SO BADLY to BELIEVE they were simply misled, misunderstood, really had the "good of the country" in mind, mistaken, rather than the sadistic, low life, torturing, murderous, money grubbing MONSTERS they REALLY ARE.
Johnson stated, back in the 1600's, that the Scots were still practicing cannibalism, a nasty trait that survived in some of their backwoods descendants as late as (I'm an eyewitness) 1963.
I'm not a wingnut, I'm a woman, and Obama's sycophancy to a nation where a full 80% of the women have endured genital mutilation, all but the aristocracy without anesthetic, appalls me. Egypt, per national women's publications, has the highest percentage of mutilation of the "civilized" Islamic nations. Obama has two daughters, and declined to address the subject.
Our commander-in-chief is a yellow-bellied, lily-livered chickens** coward unfit for military or human rights service. He has proved it, by this one action.
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