"Notes and Quotes"

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. - Elbert Hubbard

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Message to Muslims

Message to Muslims

By Matt Schwartz

11/19/09



American leaders need to reevaluate the manner in which they address the Muslim community in the wake of the recent Jihadi terrorist attack at Fort Hood. It is both foolish and ineffective to rely on unqualified assumptions about the people in this community. Our message to them must be absolutely clear, but it is impossible to achieve that clarity with a uniform message when there is such a stark dichotomy plaguing that community. It is high time we openly acknowledge the real distinctions at play and resolutely commit ourselves to dual positions. Accordingly, our president should make the following address:


“Tonight I want to address the Muslim community, especially those Muslims living within the United States of America. Let me begin by expressing our deep regrets that your community is experiencing such a fractious division. And inasmuch as this division is defined by hatred, violence and oppression, we can no longer communicate with you uniformly. Instead, we must now identify your three perceptible sub-communities and address each of you separately.


And so I now address the first group, whom I will refer to as “American Muslims”. You are the Muslims who live in our country, peaceably. You appreciate the freedom you have here and you are willing to fight for it. You do not seek to impose Shari’a law on anyone, and instead you are stridently committed to preserving the United States Constitution and all of the protections it guarantees for our citizens. You see the obvious connection between this venerable document and the quality of life our people enjoy. You love and value your life, and the lives of others. You cherish everyone’s rights to speak freely, to worship as they please and to reap the benefits of their labor. And you don’t just “tolerate” your Christian and Jewish neighbors – you like them. You like and admire their personal attributes -- their intelligence, their integrity, their compassion, their wisdom, their humor, their ingenuity and their perseverance. And they admire and respect those same attributes in you. The idea that someone should be treated with less respect or consideration because they do not share your religious beliefs is anathema to you. In fact, it deeply offends you, because you are an American -- like the rest of us. You are part of our national family. Here is our message to you: We want you to continue living here with us and we want you to continue contributing to our society with all that you have to offer. And we will support and protect you without hesitation like any other member of our family. Peace be upon you, Shalom and may you bear the blessings of Jesus Christ.


My friends, make no mistake; The war we are fighting is a religious one, but you are unmistakably on our side. For you see, in this war, the proponents of religious freedom are defending themselves against dark forces of religious totalitarianism. Surely you know that you are in the largest group of victims murdered by our common enemies. I speak of Muslims like yourselves who reject the evil tyranny of Wahabism and Selafism. As such, you are regarded as apostates by our enemies, and their hatred for you far exceeds that of other infidels like Jews and Christians. You must also know that it is not enough for you to declare your allegiance in this war. You need to be on the front line. You must never miss an opportunity to condemn the despicable acts of our common enemies. You must never miss an opportunity to explain how they have corrupted the teachings of the Holy Koran. You must constantly defy our enemies by serving as a beacon of hope to Muslims everywhere.


Demonstrate everyday in public gatherings, in newspapers, on television, radio and the internet -- that Muslims can and should live with everyone else in peace, freedom, prosperity and harmony. Fight anti-Semitism wherever it erupts. Stand up for your fellow Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and atheist Americans in international forums. Go to the movies with them. Play baseball with them. Light fireworks with them on the Fourth of July. Do all things American with them and relish your cultural connections and genuine friendships with them.


We know it must pain you to observe the exponentially increasing number of atrocities committed in the name of Islam. We are all consequently wondering what the future of your religion will be. Will it stand for horror and oppression? Or will it stand for peace and freedom? Do not cede Islam to bloodthirsty maniacs. If you believe Islam is a just and righteous path that benefits humanity -- Fight for it! The future of your religion is in your hands. The rest of us will certainly defeat those that pervert the teachings of Islam as you understand them to be, but only you can truly save them...


And now, I address the second group whom I will refer to as our enemies. You are the Selafists and Wahabists who seek to form a global caliphate by which Islam and Shari’a law reign supreme. You seek the destruction of our country. You seek to persecute and murder anyone who does not submit to your interpretation of Islam. You oppress women and homosexuals. You are inclined to endorse honor killings and involuntary clitorectomies. You would sacrifice the lives of your own children to further your decidedly tyrannical objectives. You are pure, concentrated evil. Here is our message to you: It’s on, and whether you’re in Kabul or Detroit, we’re coming for you. You monsters started a war against us and we’re going to end it. For those of you who live within our borders, we’re about to make life very difficult for you. And don’t think that our First amendment will protect you. It will not, because we no longer deem your so-called religion a “religion.” It has now transmogrified into a terroristic and subversive political movement, and we will promote open and notorious discrimination against any manifestations of it. So, when we hear you merely mention that Shari’a law should prevail in this country, or that Muslims should take up arms against this country, or that “infidels” should be persecuted or harmed in any way – we are going to hurt and punish you. And should you dare take any affirmative steps towards your tyrannical objectives, we will ensure that one of three things will happen: You will either be ejected from this country, you will be incarcerated or you will simply be eliminated.


And now, finally, I address the Muslims who may not understand exactly where they stand between these other two groups. Here is our message to you: You people need to make a choice, and to help you make that choice, I want to underscore the ultimate fact at issue: To the extent that you believe as an article of your faith that Shari’a Law should be imposed on everyone -- whether by force or even by democratic means -- you cannot be a good Muslim and a good American. It is impossible. You must understand that the imposition of Shari’a Law is a subversion of the United States Constitution -- our defining document, the safeguard of our liberty and the indispensable key to our national success. Prevailing Shari’a Law and the United States Constitution are mutually exclusive interests. If you are convicted in the idea that Shari’a Law should control this country, you are not welcome here. If, on the other hand, Shari’a Law is but a guiding principle in the way you seek to live your own life within the existing legal frameworks of this country, we do welcome you . You may live joyously among the Free and the Brave, or you may join the ranks of our doomed enemies. The choice is yours and we will act accordingly. May you choose wisely.”



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"Notes and Quotes" Archive

  • **“Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence.” – Justice Tom C. Clark (1899-1977) US Attorney General, 1945-1949
  • **"If the Constitution no longer matters, then the federal government no longer exists. The same document that restricts the federal government is also the document that created them and gives them their authority. Either it is in effect, or it is not." Gary Henderson
  • **"The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in the time of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality." Dante
  • **“When anyone gets something for nothing, someone else gets nothing for something.” -Anonymous
  • ** "My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane" Author unknown
  • ** “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” — Peter F. Drucker
  • ** “If getting employer benefits without paying union dues is BAD, why is getting government benefits without paying taxes GOOD?”
  • ** “It's not that ‘the rich’ aren't paying their ‘fair share,’ it's that America isn't. A majority of the electorate has voted itself a size of government it's not willing to pay for.” - Mark Steyn
  • ** "One of the penalties of not participating in politics is that you will be governed by your inferiors." ~ Plato
  • **"Fathom the hypocrisy of a Government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured...but not everyone must prove they are a citizen."
  • **If it matters, measure it: How do you know how much you’ve slipped or improved in an area unless you measure it? How do you take something “to the next level” if you don’t know what level you’re already at? How do you set concrete goals without a sense of where you are and where you want to go? If the success of your venture depends on it, you need to find a way to measure it.
  • **The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. - Mark Twain
  • **Political correctness is an approved form of censorship.  Based on emotional appeals at the expense of reason, political correctness mandates that inconvenient truths or facts be swept under the carpet.  Or else. Free speech, guaranteed to all Americans under the First Amendment, is on its way to becoming moot.  The political, media, and intellectual elites who control the terms of national debate and the rules of civil society have succeeded in censoring opposing views, limiting debate, and demonizing dissent.  Perception is on its way to becoming our new reality. Nancy Morgan
  • **Ronald Reagan once defined an economist as somebody who sees something working in real life and wondering if it will work in theory.
  • **"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but they don't have to prove they are citizens." ~ Ben Stein
  • **“America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.”--Dinesh D'Souza
  • **No politician has any business talking about tax increases until ObamaCare is repealed. It’s the most comprehensively failed legislation of the modern era. Like a taxi that runs on plutonium, it’s costing us a fortune, and making us sick, even while it’s sitting there and doing nothing. Sold with fanciful promises and fraudulent cost estimates, it’s another expensive scheme to buy votes with taxpayer money, ending with a planned crisis the government will be only too happy to step in and “solve” by seizing even more of our wealth and liberty. Its passage stymied serious attempts at real improvements to our health-care system, including tort reform and allowing the interstate sale of insurance plans to increase competition. As with so many other delusional Big Government programs, the opportunity cost of passing ObamaCare, and passing up on reasonable plans that enhance individual liberty, rivals its staggering price tag. We’ll come trillions closer to a balanced budget by shredding it. -- Dr. Zero
  • **'If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel' -- Benjamin Netanyahu
  • ** This is almost unbelievable. Barack Obama is more concerned about Jews building homes in Jerusalem than about Iran building a nuclear weapon. --Ben Stein
  • ** I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts. --Ronald Reagan
  • ** "As an American I am not so shocked that Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize without any accomplishments to his name, but that America gave him the White House based on the same credentials." - - Newt Gingrich
  • ** An ideal Federal government in our country wouldn't take much from you, do much for you, or get in your way . --John Hawkins
  • ** The banking crisis wasn't caused by a lack of regulation. It was caused by regulation that pushed banks to make bad loans. --John Hawkins
  • ** An ideal Federal government in our country wouldn't take much from you, do much for you, or get in your way . --John Hawkins
  • **Not too long ago, two friends of mine were talking to a Cuban refugee, a businessman who had escaped from Castro, and in the midst of his story one of my friends turned to the other and said, "We don't know how lucky we are." And the Cuban stopped and said, "How lucky you are? I had someplace to escape to." And in that sentence he told us the entire story. If we lose freedom here, there's no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.--Ronald Reagan
  • ** A final word on Tea Party numbers.  The Obama Inauguration left in its wake 100 tons of trash on the Mall that required herculean efforts by the District and the Park Service to clean up.  And it devastated the grass surfaces of the Mall that necessitated budgeting millions of dollars to repair.  Saturday’s Teapartyers left behind a west lawn and Mall that could be used for the U.S.Open.   The sparse trash that was left was neatly stashed in and closely around the too few receptacles provided.  And police reported zero arrests.-- William Campenni
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  • ** What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. --Edward Langley
  • ** To be born a U.S. citizen is, as Cecil Rhodes once said of England, to win first prize in the lottery of life.
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  • ** Although racism certainly exists in this country, it has become blessedly rare and marginalized. Some of the best evidence you can find for that is Barack Obama's election as President. Only in a country as colorblind as America could a black man easily win the Presidency when 75% of the votes were cast by white Americans. --John Hawkins
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  • **There is a certain irony in an administration denouncing ordinary Americans who get together to express what they believe and to confront authority, when that administration is led by a man who began his career as a community organizer, whose job, as I understand it, is to take ordinary Americans, get them together to express what they believe, and express demands against the authorities. So it's unbelievably hypocritical. And, of course, as we just heard, this only happens when you have a conservative protest. It is called a mob. If it's a liberal protest, it is called grassroots expressing themselves. -- Charles Krauthammer
  • **Government does not solve problems... it subsidizes them! --Ronald Reagan
  • **When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President -- I'm beginning to believe it.’ - Clarence Darrow
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  • ** Medicare is a huge, single-payer, government-run program. It ought to provide the perfect environment for experimentation. If more-efficient government management can slash health-care costs by addressing all these problems, why not start with Medicare? Let's see what "better management" looks like applied to Medicare before we roll it out to the rest of the country. -- Virginia Postrel
  • ** You can lead a man to Congress, but you can’t make him think. -- Milton Berle
  • **We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are. --The Talmud
  • **You can lead a man to Congress, but you can’t make him think. -- Milton Berle
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  • **I'd like to quote from an e-mail I recently received from a reader named J. Pyle. In response to a piece I had written ridiculing the state of higher education, he wrote: "I remember when 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies' meant trying to figure out what's wrong with those people. In fact, if your child is majoring in something that ends in 'Studies,' you better not turn their bedroom into a den, because that one is coming home after college." --Bert Prelutsky
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  • **"Even if the majority agrees on an idiotic idea, it is still an idiotic idea." Sam Levenson
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  • **President Obama wants greater transparency from businesses, banks, the government — everyone except the union movement. This clearly benefits the union leaders, who will become less accountable to their members. But it’s hardly the change Obama promised to bring to Washington. — James Sherk
  • **Being politically correct is, unfortunately, not the same thing as being correct politically.-- Bert Prelutsky
  • **If increased government spending with borrowed or newly created money is a "stimulus," then the Weimar Republic should have been stimulated to unprecedented prosperity, instead of runaway inflation and widespread economic desperation that ultimately brought Adolf Hitler to power. -- Thomas Sowell
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  • ** Torturing prisoners should never be our policy, both because it's immoral and because it's usually ineffective. But it's madness to declare that there can never be exceptions. Forget the argument about the "ticking bomb" and the terrorist who might have information that could save numerous lives. Let's make it personal. Whether you're left, right or in between, ask yourself this yes-or-no question: If torturing a known terrorist would save the life of the person you love most in the world, would you approve it? If your answer is "no," you're not a moral paragon. You're an abomination. And please make your position clear to your husband or wife, mother or father, son or daughter. Just tell 'em, "Sorry, honey, but I'd rather see you dead than mistreat a terrorist. It's a moral issue with me. --Ralph Peters
  • **The man who loves other countries as much as his own stands on a level with the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife. -- Teddy Roosevelt
  • **The prudent capitalist will never adventure his capital... if there exists a state of uncertainty as to whether the Government will repeal tomorrow what it has enacted today. -- William Henry Harrison
  • **The price of a postage stamp has gone up to 44 cents. The government says they had to raise the price because fewer people are using the mail these days. That's government thinking for you — "Hey nobody's buying our products . . . let's raise the price!" --Jay Leno
  • **If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand. -- Milton Friedman
  • **Since torture doesn’t work but waterboarding did work on KSM, doesn’t that prove that waterboarding isn’t torture?
  • **"The world is controlled by those who show up." --George Allen
  • **John Maynard Keynes, responded to a challenge about his changing views, saying, “When the facts change, I change my opinion. What do you do, sir?”