Early Bird Chat

The President’s History Making Day

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque in Catonsville, Maryland

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President Barack Obama goes without shoes, out of deference, as he delivers remarks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque

 

“my fellow american”

Thank you so much desertflower for the link to this video over at Extreme Liberal, it’s stunning.

‘the dim-witted freak show’ (updated)

Joe Klein (Time): ….It is excruciating watching the Republican Party presidential candidates who, on a daily basis, pronounce some ignorant racist or irreligious twaddle…today’s example primo is Newt, who really needs to get back on his meds, worrying about his grandchildren:

“I have two grandchildren – Maggie is 11, Robert is 9,” Gingrich said at Cornerstone Church. “I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they’re my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American.”

There is genius in this: no other human had located the secular humanist wing of radical Islam before. And then there is Herman Cain, the former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza who is pretending to run for President, proving that a black man can be as gutter-cheap bigoted as anyone. If elected, he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet or the federal bench because: “There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government.”

…This is my 10th presidential campaign, Lord help me. I have never before seen such a bunch of vile, desperate-to-please, shameless, embarrassing losers coagulated under a single party’s banner. They are the most compelling argument I’ve seen against American exceptionalism. … this is the dim-witted freak show the Republicans want to present in 2012…

Full article here

Here’s a reply from Steve Benen to Klein’s ‘plea’ for Mitch Daniels and Jeb Bush to run (see the link above, Klein mentions them at the end of his article):

“….where I part ways with Klein is his expectation that Daniels and Jeb Bush could somehow put things right. For one thing, when it comes to the major issues of the day, the substantive differences between these two and the Seven Dwarves (Romney, Pawlenty, Huckabee, Barbour, Gingrich, Santorum, and I suppose Bachmann) are quite narrow.

For another, Klein doesn’t explain how a sensible, self-respecting, qualified Republican is going to win primaries without also becoming some ridiculous caricature. Indeed, note that Klein made no mention of Jon Huntsman — who presumably would qualify as a reasonable GOP candidate unwilling to “behave like a public clown” — probably because no one seriously believes the party base will tolerate him.”

a congenitally untrustworthy columnist?

When writers like Steve Benen, Ezra Klein and Steve Kornacki are critical of the President it’s hard not to take notice – they do, after all, have a record of being objective with no suspect agendas.

But then you read someone like The New Republic’s editor-in-chief Martin Peretz and all you can do is laugh. In his latest diatribe, posted today, he describes the President’s approach to the Middle East as “scandalous” and his attitude to Israel as “hostile indifference”.

“What is curious about Obama’s infatuation with Arab societies (and with non-Arab Muslim societies, too) is that he knows just about nothing about them,” Peretz pants.

It’s always interesting to look at the track record of people who spew dishonest hysteria like this. And in Peretz’s case it’s some track record….

Wiki: Over the course of his career, Peretz has drawn criticism from some fellow commentators … for making comments they considered bigoted, particularly towards Arabs and Muslims.

He has written (among other things) that “Arab society is hidebound and backward” and that the Druze are “congenitally untrustworthy”.

The website Peretz Dossier has compiled an encyclopedia of the most ridiculous and inflammatory things Peretz writes about Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis….

On September 4, 2010, Peretz drew media attention and controversy when he posted an editorial which concluded: “But, frankly, Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims…. so, yes, I wonder whether I need honor these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse.”

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof denounced Peretz’s comments, asking: “Is it possible to imagine the same kind of casual slur tossed off about blacks or Jews?”

When criticized, Peretz insisted “Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims” was “a statement of fact, not of value”.

Two weeks later Peretz apologized: “…..I allowed emotion to run way ahead of reason, and feelings to trample arguments.”

The Atlantic’s James Fallows: “Peretz … beloved by many students and respected by some magazine colleagues, but broadly considered in his 70s to be a bigot.”

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So, short of President Obama agreeing to nuke the Palestinians, his approach to the Middle East will, in Peretz’s eyes, always be “scandalous”. How ‘fair and balanced’!

damn you, peter king

Full video here:

Rep. Keith Ellison’s emotional ending at Peter King’s Committee Hearings on Radicalization Among American Muslims.

unity

‘Christians protecting Muslims while they pray during protests in Egypt’

This photo (and the caption) is popping up all over the internet, breathtaking.