The Left's Culture of Hate

From Dennis Prager, at FrontPage Magazine:

I recently wrote about leftists’ hatred for conservatives as people, not merely for conservative ideas. Demonization of opponents is a fundamental characteristic of the left. It is not merely tactical; they believe people on the right are bad. (Here’s a test: Ask someone on the left if active support of California Proposition 8 — retaining the man-woman definition of marriage — was an act of hate.)

A related defining characteristic of the left is the ascribing of nefarious motives to conservatives. For the left, a dismissal of conservatives’ motives is as important as is dismissal of the conservatives as people. It is close to impossible for almost anyone on the left — and I mean the elite left, not merely left-wing blogs — to say “There are good people on both of sides of this issue.” From Karl Marx to Frank Rich of The New York Times, this has always been the case.

In the left’s worldview, conservative opponents of affirmative action cannot be driven by concern for blacks — opposition is animated by racists; conservative opponents of illegal immigration are animated by racism and xenophobia; opposition to abortion is a function of sexism; President Bush went to war for oil and American imperialism; and conservative supporters of retaining man-woman marriage hate gays.

This is not true of elite conservatives. Leading conservative columnists, leading Republicans, etc., rarely depict liberals as motivated by evil. Conservatives can say “There are good people on both sides of the issue” because we actually believe it.

More at the link.

And I might add that while "liberals" may indeed be good people, I can't say the same about leftists. They simply aren't good, so always make that distinction when speaking about folks who may be Democrat and liberal and folks who may be Democrat and leftist. The latter are enemies, and I mean that will all of my being. And unfortunately, there aren't that many true liberals around on the left any more, so we've got our work cut out for us.

G-Pal, Pay-Pal — No Pals?

I recently sent an old-fashioned check to a fellow blogger who's facing a round of serious underemployment. Folks were hitting his tip jar, to much appreciation. But I asked for a land address so I could write a check. I don't use these financial transaction websites. I don't solicit tips here, for one thing, and I don't need to sign up for another website that I don't trust. (R.S. McCain vouches for Pay-Pal, but I've heard differently — remember Pamela Geller's recent experience.)

In any case, here's an interesting testimonial on G-Pal, which is apparently friendly to gun owners (via Instapundit):

I am irritated that gPal did not notify me in advance of this known issue. If gPal was having problems transferring money, it should have been noted on the website so that people attempting to transfer funds would have been aware of the possible delay and made arrangements if the delay was unacceptable. While I cannot be 100% sure this was the case, it would appear that I only received the notification that funds were delayed because I complained. Then, when I asked for a check, again I was left in the dark that it could be weeks before it was cut due to the volume and only received it when I did because I managed to suffer through horrific, on-hold music and a voice that told me every 10 seconds how important my call was and that the wait time is now greater than it was a minute ago.

At this point and time, I cannot recommend gPal for transactions. I am not implying that they are shady, but I do get the distinct impression that they are not capable of performing the job you expect them to. Again, this is my opinion based on my single transaction with them and is not intended to claim this is what happens to everyone. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Close Encounters of the Man-Eating Kind

My 9 year-old son was digging this viddy:

Cultural Suicide and Choosing to Live Again

From Melissa Clouthier, at Right Wing News:

I hope Americans change their hearts and see the goodness and the possibility again. I hope they live life and abundantly. I hope they renew themselves and choose life over death. The world needs a happy, good, loving America. Leave self-loathing and cultural suicide to the Europeans.

The link there goes to Elizabeth Scalia, "Hating Ourselves to Death."

And take your time.

Probing the Ground Zero Money Trail

An awesome clip:

Another 'Moderate' Ground Zero Mosque Supporter Can't Bring Himself to Call Hamas a Terrorist Organization

I don't know, but my guess is that Victory Mosque supporters aren't thinking too carefully about their viewpoints. Scroll forward to about 3:20 minutes at the clip. That's Imam Dawoud Kringle debating Andrew McCarthy on Fox Business Channel. Imam Kringle twists and turns when David Asman asks him if "Hamas is a terrorist organization?" All folks have to do is check the Hamas Charter to understand the goals of these fanatics. The tide is turning against the leftist-Islamist alliance. Imam Rauf and Daisy Khan have been exposed and their backers debunked and repudiated. Most of all the despicable JournoList national media has once again disgraced itself. We no longer have even a shred of an objective press today in the United States. Where one finds decent, fact-based reporting, free of bias, that's something to hold up to kudos and emulation. But we have to keep up with the fight. The tide is turning.

Tea Party Group Hit With Death Threats

At U.S. News:

One of Washington's principal supporters of the Tea Party movement, former GOP Majority Leader Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, has been receiving death threats and profanity-laced phone calls as it gets involved in the fall elections. The number and intensity have reached such heights that the organization is leaving its downtown location near the FBI and moving to a high-security building near the U.S. Capitol.

"FreedomWorks and Dick Armey receive dozens of threatening and harassing calls and E-mails each day. Many imply violence and use of weapons," spokesman Adam Brandon tells Whispers. "As we get closer to the election we expect the harassment to increase."

He says that FreedomWorks will hire additional security, meaning less money for its election-eve, get-out-the-vote, or GOTV, campaign. "Unfortunately, we may have to use resources for security guards that we would rather use for GOTV," he said.

And will more of the MFM report this? I mean, seriously, everybody's freakin' out, and perhaps, just maybe, the damned press will actually start reporting some of the extremism on the Democratic-left. (More freakage at Politico, "Democrats privately fear House prospects worsening," via Memeorandum.)

Murkowski Says She's Not Giving Up

The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that toppled incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski is "optimistic the count of absentee votes will turn it around" (the website's timestamp says 5:42 PM).

But the Alaska elections division is reporting a basically 51 to 49 percent vote favoring Palin-backed insurgent Joe Miller, with 100 percent of precincts reporting. There's 7,600 absentee ballots outstanding, and the state will continue to accept ballots "within 10 days" nationally and "within 15 days" internationally. With over 138 thousand ballots cast, Murkowski could have a chance. She would need to take the absentees by 60 percent or so, but with state electorate split so closely in the election day polling, that's probably not likely. There's more on this here and here, but Murkowski's done. No wonder she's talking about a third party bid. (And good luck with that --- besides the fact that Alaska's a "sore loser state" requiring third party candidates to file papers before the major party primaries, the main alternative would be to run as a secessionist party candidate, obviously not a mainstream option.)

Added: Checking Allahpundit's post, it turns out Murkowski might have a chance to run as a Libertarian, although that would require the current Libertarian candidate to step-aside for her.

Charles Johnson Blames Right-Wing 'Bigotry' and 'Hatred' for Leftist Non-Profit Employee's Attack on New York Muslim Cabdriver

Reliapundit's always telling me to ignore him, but I couldn't resist this one.

I tweeted this at about 9:00AM. I'm linking there to the New York Post's report, "Driver claims his throat was slashed after telling passenger he was Muslim."

And right on cue, Charles Johnson posted this (safe link) about 10:15AM:

In two more (safe link) posts, King Charles attacks both Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer (with the same old stupid guilt-by-association smears).

Obsessed much, Lizard Man? And jumpy, sheesh.

Turns out the "bigotry" of the attacker doesn't fit the radical left's "Islamophobic" narrative. The alleged attacker, Michael Enright, is an associate of a pro-Cordoba Mosque non-profit outfit, according to Ben Smith, "Alleged Anti-Muslim Attacker Works at Pro-Park51 Group":

The alleged assailant, Michael Enright, is — according to his Facebook profile and the website of the left-leaning media organization Intersections International — a student at the School of Visual Arts and a volunteer for Intersections, which recently produced a statement of support for the Park51 project and is funded by the mainstream, liberal Collegiate Church of New York.

Intersections did not respond to two messages, and the group does not appear to be picking up the phone. Enright did not respond to a message through his Facebook account.

But this appears to be the same man: Police described Enright as a resident of Brewster, 21 years old, and an employee of an "Internet media company who had recently spent time with a combat unit in Afghanistan filming military exercises until this past May."

His Facebook picture, above, appears to show him in Afghanistan. The page describes him as a cinematographer and photographer for Intersections.

Smith links to a Little Green Footballs update, where Charles conveniently ignores (safe link) his earlier allegations against "Fox News" and "right-wing websites," and instead offers some lame dodge about how "there's no reason to believe" Enright was involved with the Cordoba Initiative.

The non-profit, Intersections, has released a public statement.

And according to a 5:24PM EST update at New York Times:

Mr. Enright is a volunteer with Intersections International, a nonprofit that works to promote cross-cultural understanding and has spoken out in favor of the proposed Islamic cultural center near ground zero. Mr. Enright, who shuffled into court with a collared t-shirt, cargo shorts and shackles around his ankles, has also worked with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, Mr. Martin said.

It's now 3:00PM on the West Coast, and I don't see an update or correction at Little Green Footballs.

I know most conservatives have long written off Charles Johnson as a disturbed crank. For me, well, C.J.'s pomposity's both fascinating and funny --- frustrating too, since the MFM gives him an unbelieveable amount of coverage and credibility. And of course, while I'd never hold my breath, Charles' ignorant and unhinged rant on the cabbie attack deserves a retraction at the least. The guy's a tool.

*******

Special Note: I thank God the cabbie, Ahmed H. Sharif, a Bangladeshi immigrant, is going to be okay.

ADDED: Glenn Reynolds links with an Instalanche!

The Sky is Burning! Alaska too!

Tweeted it this morning.

Ground Zero Mosque Supporter Curses Out Holocaust Survivor: 'Obviously He Didn't Learn His Lesson'

At JWF:

Obviously a Michael Bloomberg and Barack Obama supporter. Classy guy. He calls the old man an unpatriotic, treasonous piece of garbage. A shame how the lamestream media ignored this.

Challenger Joe Miller Beats Lisa Murkowski in Alaska*

Tuesday was a Super Tuesday for primary elections across the country, and while establishment candidates have shown staying power, indications suggest some earthquake potential come November.

* Check Alaska's results especially. See Robert Stacy McCain's prediction, "PRIMARY ELECTION NIGHT HQ SHOCKER! Challenger Miller Upsets Murkowski in Alaska GOP Senate Primary." (And the consensus wait-and-see approach is at ABC News, "Another Incumbency Upset? Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski Trailing Behind Tea Party Favorite.") Ed Morrissey has more, "Upset in Alaska?" And LAT notes, "with 97.9% of the precincts reporting, Miller led by fewer than 2,000 votes, 51% to Murkowski's 49%. Several thousand absentee ballots remained to be counted."

Boehner Urges Obama To Fire Economic Team

Video Hat Tip: Noisy Room:

And at New York Times:

CLEVELAND — Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, called on President Obama on Tuesday to fire his top economic advisers as Mr. Boehner tried to make the economic case for restoring Republicans to the majority in Congress in the November elections.

In a speech at the City Club of Cleveland, Mr. Boehner, who is in line to be House speaker in the event of a Republican takeover, unveiled a five-point plan that he said would provide an effective economic alternative to the Democrats’ course.

He singled out Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Lawrence H. Summers, the head of the National Economic Council, as responsible for failing to turn the economy around, saying the president should replace them with officials who have “real-world experience.”

“We do not have the luxury of waiting months for the president to pick scapegoats for his failing stimulus policies,” Mr. Boehner told a friendly audience here in his home state.

Mr. Boehner’s speech was part of an emerging effort to raise his public profile and establish him as a credible political leader on such issues as the economy. Mr. Boehner, a 20-year Congressional veteran, would be the most likely choice for speaker if Republicans gained the net 39 seats needed to catapult them into the House majority in November.

NewsBusted: Time Poll: 1/4 of Americans Think Obama's a Muslim

Via Theo Spark:

Terrorist Attack Assignment for High School Teens in Australia Causes Uproar

And that's on top of New York's pro-Islam/anti-Christian testing curriculum.

Warped minds thinks alike, worldwide no less...

At DBKP:

From Perth Now:

STUDENTS at a West Australian high school have been asked to plan a terrorist attack that would kill as many innocent people as possible as part of an assignment.

The society and environment teacher at the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School asked Year 10 students to pretend they were a terrorist planning a chemical or biological attack on “an unsuspecting Australian community”, it was reported this morning.

“Your goal is to kill the MOST innocent civilians in order to get your message across,” the assignment said.

The students had to explain their choice of victims and decide the best time and place for their attack.

Fifteen-year-old student Sarah Gilbert said she was horrified to get the assignment because if that sort of thing was found in your house you’d be arrested.

“But there is a difference between being a terrorist and learning about terrorism – it’s two completely different things,” she said.

After the story broke, survivors of the 2002 Bali bombing which killed 88 Australians and the victim’s families were appalled to hear about the terrorist attack assignment. So far, the Australian press hasn’t reported the identity of the teacher.

You Gotta Slow Down (Slow Down) ... Sweet Talking Woman...

Takin' a break from anti-jihad blogging. Overnight. Enjoy ELO:

Where did you go

I was searching (searching) on a one-way street
I was hoping (hoping)
for a chance to meet
I was waiting for the operator
on the line
(She's gone so long)
What can I do?
(Where could she be?)
no no no
don't know what I'm gonna do
I gotta get back to you.

CHORUS
You gotta slow down (slow down)
sweet talking woman (slow down)
You got me running (run run)
You got me searching
Hold on (hold on)
sweet talking lover (hold on)
It's so sad
if that's the way it's over

I was (walking) many days go by
I was thinking (thinking) about the lonely nights
Communication breakdown all around
(She's gone so long) What can I do?
(Where could she be now?) no no no don't know what I'm gonna do
I gotta get back to you.

REPEAT CHORUS

I've been living (living) on a dead-end street
I've been asking (asking)
everybody I meet
Insufficient data coming through
(She's gone so long) What can I do?
(Where could she be?) no no no don't know what I'm gonna do
I gotta get back to you.

REPEAT CHORUS

Journalistic Malpractice: Time Magazine, 'Does America Have a Muslim Problem?'

I've not published anything about the Ground Zero Mosque controversy, simply because I'm still trying to think about it in a detached and objective manner. As a strong proponent of religious liberty, I can see the reasonableness of the pro-Mosque position. But as someone who will never forget what happened on September 11, 2001 -- the consequence of Islamic terrorists putting their beliefs into practice -- I fully understand the objections raised against the Mosque. However, when a magazine like Time attempts to paint one side of the debate as consisting of nothing more than bigots moved by an irrational fear, I see Rhetorical McCarthyism. It is a shameful and undemocractic way to conduct a discussion in a Constitutional republic, since its purpose is to end the discussion rather than to advance it, to shut people up rather than to treat them with equal respect and dignity. It is the plagiarized cultural cliff notes of the intellectually lazy. — Francis J. Beckwith, Return to Rome, "My Rhetorical McCarthyism Beats Your Islamophobia."

If I was contemplating teaching a seminar on ideological bias in the contemporary press, Time Magazine's recent cover story on the Ground Zero mosque controversy would be hard to beat. And keeping with dead tree media ethics, the full article's available only in print. Perhaps the editors were hoping to avoid a savage thrashing at the hands of bloggers. I started reading the essay at my son's orthodontist's, then finished it at Barnes and Noble on the way home (no way would I fork over cash for such a pathetic hatchet job, sheesh). There's absolutely no mention of or engagement with any of the arguments Mega Mosque opponents have offered. And at one point the piece argues that Imam Rauf and Daisy Khan are leaders of the U.S. Muslim community's "interfaith outreach." The only problem, of course, is that throughout the controversy the developers have shunned any dialogue with "interfaith" critics of the project. And then there's this passage, available at the homepage:

You don't have to be prejudiced against Islam to believe, as many Americans do, that the area around Ground Zero is a sacred place. But sadly, in an election season, such sentiments have been stoked into a political issue. As the debate has grown more heated, Park51, as the proposed Muslim cultural center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero is called, has become a litmus test for everything from private-property rights to religious tolerance. But it is plain that many of Park51's opponents are motivated by deep-seated Islamophobia

That's blanket condemnation. And it's too bad. I'd be perfectly happy to condemn outright hatred and bigotry toward Muslims (and I have at American Power). But folks are barking up the wrong tree with Pamela Geller. Mostly, she's just doing a fabulous job at calling these people out. Leftists don't like it, and they're lashing out the only way they know how: with allegations of RAAAACISM! From the Imam's excoriation of the United States to Little Miss Daisy's Islamic anti-Semitism, the Cordoba developers are offering up a whole lotta fodder for opponents. And as you have the press so completely in the tank --- and so oblivious to the manifestly non-bridge-building aims of the initiative --- it's no surprise that conservatives are even more outraged at the shameless indignity of building a jihadi worship center on sacred ground.

Americans are not prejudiced against Muslims. It's more likely that the families of the fallen and their grassroots supporters are now subject to a broad-based pattern of harassment and discrimination, from the White House all the way down to the communists on the streets screaming anti-Semitic epithets at the "Jewish Zionist" state.

Daisy Khan and Islamic Anti-Semitism

From Pamela, "Islamic Antisemitism 101: The Daisy Khan Con":

How dare Daisy Khan evoke the holocaust and the mass genocide of the Jews to smear those brave Americans who dare to stand up against Islamic supremacism and the tower of triumph under proposal for Ground Zero?

What has Daisy Khan done to expunge the Koran, hadiths and sira of the virulent antisemitism and calls for Jewish genocide enshrined in Islamic teachings? What has Daisy Khan done to denounce and rebuke the pivotal role the leader of the Muslim world and Hitler's ally (the Mufti haj al Husseini) had in the holocaust and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Jewish women and children? Her husband, Imam Rauf of the Cordoba Imitative, pals around with the notorious Jew hater and America hater, Sheik Qaradawi. Is that the kind of mutual respect and mutual understanding we can expect to see fostered at the Ground Zero mosque and "islamic Cultural Center?" Will Qaradawi be asked to speak?

Who among my readers will gift Daisy the Con all of the complete works of the world's leading scholar on Islamic antisemitism, Bat Ye'or.

Also, Robert Spencer, "Wow: Daisy Khan says opposition to Ground Zero mosque 'like metastasized antisemitism'."

I wrote on this previously: "Daisy Khan: Moving Islamic Center ‘Not’ On the Table for Now."

The Myth of an Anti-Muslim Backlash

From Jonah Goldberg:

Here's a thought: The 70% of Americans who oppose what amounts to an Islamic Niketown two blocks from ground zero are the real victims of a climate of hate, and anti-Muslim backlash is mostly a myth.

Let's start with some data.

According to the FBI, hate crimes against Muslims increased by a staggering 1,600% in 2001. That sounds serious! But wait, the increase is a math mirage. There were 28 anti-Islamic incidents in 2000. That number climbed to 481 the year a bunch of Muslim terrorists murdered 3,000 Americans in the name of Islam on Sept. 11.

Now, that was a hate crime.

Regardless, 2001 was the zenith or, looked at through the prism of our national shame, the nadir of the much-discussed anti-Muslim backlash in the United States. The following year, the number of anti-Islamic hate-crime incidents (overwhelmingly, nonviolent vandalism and nasty words) dropped to 155. In 2003, there were 149 such incidents. And the number has hovered around the mid-100s or lower ever since.

Sure, even one hate crime is too many. But does that sound like a anti-Muslim backlash to you?

Let's put this in even sharper focus. America is, outside of Israel ,probably the most receptive and tolerant country in the world to Jews. And yet, in every year since 9/11, more Jews have been hate-crime victims than Muslims. A lot more.

In 2001, there were twice as many anti-Jewish incidents as there were anti-Muslim, again according to the FBI. In 2002 and pretty much every year since, anti-Jewish incidents have outstripped anti-Muslim ones by at least 6 to 1. Why aren't we talking about the anti-Jewish climate in America?

Because there isn't one. And there isn't an anti-Muslim climate either. Yes, there's a lot of heated rhetoric on the Internet. Absolutely, some Americans don't like Muslims. But if you watch TV or movies or read, say, the op-ed page of the New York Times — never mind left-wing blogs — you'll hear much more open bigotry toward evangelical Christians (in blogspeak, the "Taliban wing of the Republican Party") than you will toward Muslims.

No doubt some American Muslims — particularly young Muslim men with ties to the Middle East and South Asia — have been scrutinized at airports more than elderly women of Norwegian extraction, but does that really amount to Islamophobia, given the dangers and complexities of the war on terror?

More at the link.

'There is No Moderate Islam in the Mainstream of Muslim Life'

Andrew McCarthy cuts to the heart of the matter (via Cold Fury and Memeorandum):

The sad fact, the fact no one wants to deal with but which the Ground Zero mosque debate has forced to the fore, is that Qaradawi is a moderate. So is Feisal Rauf, who endorses the Qaradawi position — the mainstream Islamic position — that sharia is a nonnegotiable requirement. Rauf wins the coveted “moderate” designation because he strains, at least when speaking for Western consumption, to paper over the incompatibility between sharia societies and Western societies.

Qaradawi and Rauf are “moderates” because we’ve abandoned reason. Our opinion elites are happy to paper over the gulf between “reformist” Islam and the “reformist” approval of mass-murder attacks. That’s why it matters not a whit to them that Imam Rauf refuses to renounce Hamas: If you’re going to give a pass to Qaradawi, the guy who actively promotes Hamas terrorists, how can you complain about a guy who merely refuses to condemn the terrorists?

When we are rational, we have confidence in our own frame of reference. We judge what is moderate based on a detached, commonsense understanding of what “moderate” means. We’re not rigging the outcome; we just want to know where we stand.

If we were in that objective frame of mind, we would easily see that a freedom culture requires separation of the spiritual from the secular. We would also see that sharia — with dictates that contradict liberty and equality while sanctioning cruel punishments and holy war — is not moderate. Consequently, no one who advocates sharia can be a moderate, no matter how well-meaning he may be, no matter how heartfelt may be his conviction that this is God’s will, and no matter how much higher on the food chain he may be than Osama bin Laden.

Instead, abandoning reason, we have deep-sixed our own frame of reference and substituted mainstream Islam’s. If that backward compass is to be our guide, then sure, Qaradawi and Rauf are moderates. But know this: When you capitulate to the authority and influence of Qaradawi and Rauf, you kill meaningful Islamic reform.

There is no moderate Islam in the mainstream of Muslim life, not in the doctrinal sense. There are millions of moderate Muslims who crave reform. Yet the fact that they seek real reform, rather than what Georgetown is content to call reform, means they are trying to invent something that does not currently exist.

Real reform can also be found in some Muslim sects. The Ahmadi, for example, hold some unorthodox views and reject violent jihad. Witness what happens: They are brutally persecuted by Muslims in Pakistan, as well as in Indonesia and other purported hubs of moderation.

Meanwhile, individual Muslim reformers are branded apostates, meaning not only that they are discredited, but that their lives are threatened as well. The signal to other Muslims is clear: Follow the reformers and experience the same fury. As Qaradawi put it in the 2005 interview, public apostates are “the gravest danger” to Islamic society; therefore, Muslims must snuff them out, lest their reforms “spread like wildfire in a field of thorns.”

Today, “moderate Islam” is an illusion. There is hardly a spark, much less a wildfire. Making moderation real will take more than wishing upon a star. It calls for a gut check, a willingness to face down not just al-Qaeda but the Qaradawis and their sharia campaign. It means saying: Not here.