What The Blogosphere Can Do

Check out this news at The Center for Vigilant Freedom. Excerpt:

...Esam Omeish of the Muslim American Society will step down from the Virginia Commission on Immigration, to which he was appointed by [Virginia] Governor Tim Kaine....

Read the whole thing.

Ahmadinejad At Columbia

The picture at the right shows a grinning Ahmadinejad and was taken some time ago. But the photo could well have been taken yesterday in New York City after his doings yesterday at Columbia University. In today's Washington Post, Anne Applebaum writes as follows (emphases mine):

...Ahmadinejad's agenda...differs from that of the traditional autocrat. His goal is not merely to hold power in Iran through sheer force, or even through a standard 20th-century personality cult: His goal is to undermine the American and Western democracy rhetoric that poses an ideological threat to the Iranian regime. Last winter, when he invited a host of dubious Holocaust-deniers to discuss the Holocaust in Tehran, he claimed that it was in order to provide shelter for the West's "dissidents" -- that is, for Western thinkers "who cannot express their views freely in Europe about the Holocaust." This week, he declared that his visit to New York would help the American people, who have "suffered in diverse ways and have been deprived of access to accurate information." Thus the speech at Columbia: Here he is, the allegedly undemocratic Ahmadinejad, taking questions from students! At an American university! Look who's the real democrat now!

This sort of game is both irritating and dangerous, particularly when it is being played by a man whose regime locks up academics for the " crime" of organizing academic conferences and regularly arrests the Iranian equivalent of the students who listened to him speak yesterday. Iran is experiencing an unprecedented wave of political executions and death sentences -- more than 300 since January, according to the Boroumand Foundation...

[...]

...[T]he university should have demanded genuine reciprocity. If the president and dean of Columbia truly believed in an open exchange of ideas, they should have presented a debate between Ahmadinejad and an Iranian dissident or human rights activist -- someone from his own culture who could argue with him in his own language -- instead of allowing him to be filmed on a podium with important-looking Americans. Perhaps Columbia could even have insisted on an appropriate exchange: Ahmadinejad speaks in New York; Columbia sends a leading Western atheist -- Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens or, better still, Ayaan Hirsi Ali -- to Qom, the Shiite holy city, to debate the mullahs on their own ground.

I realize that isn't likely. But neither is it likely that this past week's free-speech-vs.-nasty-dictator debate, complete with sputtering New York politicians and puffed-up university professors, achieved much either. On the contrary, it focused attention in the wrong place.

Instead of debating freedom of speech in Iran, here we are once again talking about freedom of speech in America, a subject we know a lot more about. Which is exactly what Ahmadinejad wanted.

Check out the end of his speech, which I found at Little Green Footballs:



Ahmadinejad's final words were "Best of luck to all of you." And just what is this man's definition of "luck"?

As this posting at the Center for Vigilant Freedom states the following about Ahmadinejad's speech:

[H]e seems quite pleased with himself...

Despite Bollinger's antagonistic introduction, Ahmadinejad won the propaganda skirmish and Columbia served the position of pawn yesterday in what amounted to a perversion of the concept of free speech.

More On H.R. 2265: FAQ's

Christine of The Center for Vigilant Freedom has written an important post, about something serious which is afoot in our Congress: H.R. 2265. The bill is being presented as a compassionate attempt to rescue Iraqi refugees. But the bill is much more than that!

Christine's article is brilliant. Make time to read it!

IMPORTANT! H.R. 2265

(All emphases by Always On Watch)

From the Center for Vigilant Freedom, on August 3, 2007:

Grover Norquist’s Wednesday Group, Congressmen Blumenauer and Shays, and Senators Kennedy and Smith are trying to destroy the laws that protect us from terrorists entering the U.S., in the guise of rewriting refugee policy for friendly Iraqi translators. Their efforts are a significant and potentially deadly effort to undercut homeland security efforts.

Actually, there are two bills, one in the House and one in the Senate (H.R. 2265 and S. 1651):

Those bills are some of the most shocking anti-homeland security legislation yet suggested by the Islamist Lobby and their friends in Congress.

[...]

H.R. 2265...[is]...[a] bill that severely damages the rules keeping known terrorists from immigrating to the US.

And Grover Norquist, about whom I wrote some time ago, is pushing hard for this legislation.

You absolutely must read the article at the Center for Vigilant Freedom. Yes, I know that the article is lengthy. Fortify yourself with a cup of coffee or a brandy. Read it! Also read related articles at Refugee Resettlement Watch, especially THIS ONE. Contact your Representative and your Senators. Take action.

John Does Still Under Threat Of Law Suit

Via this posting at Little Green Footballs:

I’m informed by a reliable source that the Associated Press report we linked earlier today, that said CAIR and the flying imams had dropped their suits against anonymous passengers who reported the imams’ suspicious behavior, is not correct. Apparently the Associated Press got this wrong.

Repeat: CAIR has not dropped the “John Doe” lawsuits. They are still named.

Meanwhile, CAIR is trying to intimidate Young Americans for Freedom, where Robert Spencer is scheduled to speak today. According to this posting at The Center for Vigilant Freedom:

...[A]t no point does CAIR do what a responsible organization involved in an argument of political ideas would do, which is offer to take the stage with Spencer and debate his interpretation of Islamic theology....

Instead, CAIR rattles their sabres of legal jihad and makes demands. See this copy of the letter which the CAIR lawyer sent to Young Americans for Freedom.

How about this? We DEMAND that CAIR open their financial records--the real ones.

Madrassa Madness

Check THIS out!



Excerpt from the above link:

Yes, those t-shirts for young girls say “Intifada NYC.” These were sold at the Arab Fair in Prospect Park on July 8.

Is this the kind of “middle eastern cultural enrichment” that Dhabah Almontaser, principal for Khalil Gibran International Academy, will bring to her students and teachers?...

[...]

If these t-shirts were designed, approved, manufactured, received, stored, brought to the Arab Fair and sold by an organization associated with the Yemeni American Association, and she [school principal Dhabah Almontaser] knew nothing of the matter (or did not disavow it if she did), then she is negligent in the extreme and should be fired, and Chancellor Klein should shut down the KGIA project.

No third choice exists.

You must read the entire article: "KGIA principal Almontaser linked directly to “Intifada NYC” t-shirts"!

Visit the site Stop the Madrassah: Protecting Our Public Schools from Islamist Curricula for additional information in other articles.

Victory for John Does!

See recent postings at the The Center for Vigilant Freedom. Excerpt from a recent posting, quoting Frank Gaffney:

Thanks to the leadership of Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, the chairman and ranking minority member, respectively, of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and especially that of Rep. Pete King, Sen. Collins’ counterpart on the House Homeland Security Committee, legislation along the lines of that adopted by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives last May at Rep. King’s initiative will shortly become law.

The language will provide protection against the sorts of harassment lawsuits filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) after several unidentified individuals reported six Muslim imams engaged in suspicious – and frightening – behavior prior to boarding a USAir flight in November 2006. CAIR has been identified as a front organization for the Muslim Brotherhood and is an un-indicted co-conspirator in an alleged terrorism-financing plot.

Refugee Resettlement

From Refugee Resettlement Watch, a site which states as follows on its "About" page:

A few months ago it came to our attention in Washington County MD that a non-profit group (Virginia Council of Churches) had been bringing refugees into the city of Hagerstown (county seat) for a couple of years. Some problems arose and citizens started to take an interest. One of the most startling things we found out about this very quiet effort is that these non-profit groups bring to the US about 25,000 Muslim refugees from the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, etc, almost completely funded by the US Government through grants and contracts with these non-government agencies. Of the 168 refugees brought to our county since 2004, 125 are Muslim. Although we all have sympathy for persecuted and suffering people there are real questions to be answered about the wisdom of this policy. It turns out that there are hotbeds of this controversy throughout the US. We have identified some of those. We set up this online community organizing center [HERE]. If you have information or questions from your communities about Refugee Resettlement please get in touch with Ann Corcoran at refugeeresettlementwatch@vigilantfreedom.com

From this page at Refugee Resettlement Watch, emphases mine:

Public benefits available to refugees and successful asylees include: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) formerly known as AFDC

Medicaid

Food Stamps

Public Housing

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Social Security Disability Insurance

Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) (direct services only)

Child Care and Development Fund

Independent Living Program

Job Opportunities for Low Income Individuals (JOLI)

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Post secondary Education Loans and Grants

Refugee Assistance Programs

Title IV Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Payments (if parents are “qualified immigrants”)

Title XX Social Services Block Grant Funds

Prior to 1980, refugee sponsoring agencies were totally responsible for all refugee needs, including housing, medical care and employment. Today they have virtually no responsibilities. A newly arriving refugee aged 65 can immediately retire on SSI/Medicaid never having worked a day in the U.S.

After 4 months the Volags [voluntary non-government agencies] do not even have to know where the refugees are located. Therefore they have no legal requirements to make sure the refugees are o.k. and are assimilating. One very interesting statistic I noted was that a few refugees actually return to their country of origin which brings up the question of how persecuted were they in the first place. In Washington Co. an Iraqi family left the area soon after arrival telling people the conditions were deplorable.

One area of change suggested by those advocating reform of refugee resettlement is to require Volags to identify sponsoring churches and organizations for each family and to be responsible for the family for a year before accessing welfare programs. Although not a legal contract requirement, VCC did not identify enough sponsors for refugees in Washington Co. and therefore many refugees were not adequately supported causing some of the political friction. Recently VCC stated that existing refugee families could sponsor new families which would not be a desirable solution.

The National Governor’s Assn. was critical of the program in its Policy Position on Refugee Resettlement on March 5, 2007. They are concerned about the lack of consultation by the Volags in placement of refugees and they are concerned about the cost of refugee resettlement (a Federal responsibility) being passed down to state and local governments. * This report is available.

It is often difficult to get accurate information from Volags about the numbers of refugees resettled in a community. VCC has stated publicly that they have resettled over 200 refugees in Washington Co. from Africa and Russia. In fact, the State Department places the number at 168 from 13 different countries. Of the 168, 125 are Muslim. Nationally about 50% of refugees brought to the US are Muslim. There are no Muslim Volags, most are various Christian faiths and one Jewish organization. * List of the major Volags is available.

Employment statistics vary from location to location, but in ORR’s 2004 Report to Congress only 16% of refugees find a job in the first 3 months and at 12 months only 62% nationally have a job. The average hourly wage in a 5 year population sample was $8.90. *This report is available.

The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for determining whether refugees pose any danger to the safety and security of the US, but this authority can be waived by the US State Department. For example, on May 5, 2006 Sec. of State Rice gave approval for the Burmese (Karen) people of the Tham Hin Camp in Thailand to enter the US even though some may be members of (or have given support to) the Karen National Liberation Army, considered a terrorist group by the US govt. Burmese (Karen) comprise the next group of refugees VCC would like to resettle in Washington Co. *Waiver is available.

Some states have another layer of bureaucracy, a kind of go-between office, that helps to facilitate Refugee Resettlement between the Volags and the Federal government. In Maryland, it is the Maryland Office for New Americans (MONA). Although listed as part of Maryland’s Department of Human Services it is funded primarily by grants from the Federal Government.

The cost of translation for such things as medical care, emergency response etc. is according to federal law the responsibility of the local government agency. In Washington Co., VCC says they are working with seven languages at the present time.

I have found no location where a Volag does any formal written reporting about their plans in advance of bringing refugees to a community, or any report to local governments during the program.

Other cities are having problems with Refugee Resettlement. Manchester, NH shut the program down completely after they had to build a wing on to the high school exclusively for English as a Second language students and had a problem with many refugee children having lead poisoning. Lewiston, ME tried to stop the influx of Somali Bantu but failed. Eastern Tennessee is having problems. Cayce, SC is the only town I have found so far that stopped Refugee Resettlement in advance.

Read more, especially the bulleted items at the top of the page for the above-cited information.

So, what's going on in your neighborhood?

[Home page for Refugee Resettlement Watch]

What Is GWB Thinking Of?

Today, President Bush is scheduled to speak at the Washington D.C. Islamic Center, which has ties to Wahhabism. Here, at Vigilant Freedom/910 Blog, in "Sir, Have You No Shame?" is what Baron Bodissey of Gates of Vienna had to say about what our President is doing today (emphases mine):

President Bush has been seduced by the dark side of the Force.

That’s the only explanation I can think of.

He will speak tomorrow at the Washington Islamic Center, the most prominent Saudi-funded mosque in Washington DC. Not to mince words, it’s a Wahhabist mosque.

The speech is at 11:30 AM, so time is short.

Dymphna [also of Gates of Vienna] posted on this topic earlier this afternoon, in an open letter to the President. [Read it!]

Bloggers: we need to blog on this, and have our readers light up the phones at the White House tonight and tomorrow.

Readers: see the contact info at the bottom of this post. The important phone numbers are 202-456-1414 (voice) and 202-456-2461 (fax).

The Administration claims to want to shut down terrorist groups. The groups represented at the President’s speech include CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, etc., which are known cover groups and fronts for the architects and funding sources of the Muslim Brotherhood and related Islamic terror groups. The President must state his firm commitment to shutting down these terror groups.

The President must make the point that Islam as it is practiced by many of these groups is not a religion, but a political ideology which seeks to dominate the rest of us by force.

The groups invited to and/or sponsoring this event must disavow Hamas, Hizbullah, etc. specifically and by name and not just utter generalized mealy-mouthed condemnations of “all kinds of terrorism”. Those who will not join in such a denunciation are de facto apologists and supporters of the jihad groups.

The leaders of these groups have not addressed the criminal and immoral attacks on civilians by Islamic suicide bombers and terrorists. This must change. They must publicly and clearly denounce these attacks as unacceptable and un-Islamic.

Any effort to implement the above changes is routinely denounced as “racism” and “Islamophobia”. The President must make clear that opposing political Islam is not any of these things; it is an honorable, patriotic, and morally justified enterprise in defense of human liberty.

These groups must be compelled to acknowledge that extremist and violent Islam is a real, widespread, and serious problem, and not just a figment of the “infidel” imagination. They must be seen publicly to join in the movement to denounce and resist it.

The Islamic groups which encourage their followers not to cooperate with the police, the FBI, and other law-enforcement agencies are not just being unhelpful, they are breaking the law.

The groups involved in this event have routinely denounced the “Zionist lobby”. It should be stated explicitly that this is an unacceptable attack on the pluralism of American society.

The focus on Israel as the putative cause of all Islamic violence must stop.

We call on President Bush to state publicly and forcefully that the Muslim Brotherhood, which is behind many of these “charities” and lobbying groups, is a dangerous, violent, and subversive entity which threatens the security of the United States and the entire Western world. It must be delegitimized and put beyond the pale of acceptable social action.

Contact info:

George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington D.C. 20500

voice: 202-456-1414
fax: 202-456-2461
e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov

Get on it, folks! Let the President know that his dhimmitude is unacceptable.

Stand With Israel Rally: June 10

From this source:

Come to Washington DC on June 10, and join us in a rally to support Israel's right to peace, security and defensible borders!

Israel's opponents are on the move: On June 10, 2007, to mark the 40th anniversary of Israel's 1967 war of survival, the extremist groups "United for Peace and Justice" and "Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation" will hold what even the liberal magazine Tikkun called a rally for the "dissolution of the State of Israel." The "United for Peace and Justice" coalition includes such radical organizations as the Socialist Party USA, the Young Communists League, Communist Party USA, and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Israel's supporters depend on you: We will gather on the North side of Constitution Avenue, just west of the Capitol Reflecting Pool. We are organizing this literally one week before the event, with almost no resources or time. This Counter-Rally truly is the product of a few citizens who are deeply outraged that Israel's opponents might have demonstrated in our nation's capitol without any patriotic opposing voices who will tell truth to counter these lies.
We must stand up to lies and distortions.

We will not have a microphone or a speakers' platform, but we CAN show our support with our signs, flags, patriotic songs and our own strong voices as individual citizens exercising our right to assemble. We are bringing signs and flags for you to hold, sponsored by Stand with Us. Feel free to make your own sign, but please use the messages listed below.

Date: Sunday, June 10

Place: Begin assembling on the North side of Constitution Avenue, apart from the opponents' demonstration, at 1:00 PM. Our exact location may change. Please check here before the rally, and look for our American and Israeli flags on June 10.

Time:
The Counter-Rally: The Stand with Israel Counter-Rally begins at 2:00 PM and lasts until 4:00 PM
The March: The March from the Capitol to the Ellipse begins at 4:00 PM. We plan to march with our signs and flags parallel to, but apart from, the main demonstration.

What to bring: Bring food, water, a hat, and sunscreen

Transportation: Don't drive--there is limited public parking on Capitol Hill. Take the metro to either Union Station on the red line or Capitol South on the orange/blue lines.

More at this web site.

Email contact: standwithisrael@vigilantfreedom.com