How many of you are aware that on 12/17/15 Congressman Paul Tonko cosponsored House Resolution 569, Condemning violence, bigotry and hateful rhetoric towards Muslims in the United States? The resolution references “victims of anti-Muslim hate crimes and rhetoric…, hateful and anti-Muslim speech, violence and cultural ignorance contributing to extreme reactions against Muslims” but doesn’t mention any other religion! First, if there were justification for singling out one religious group for special protection, he’s got the wrong one: 2014 FBI hate crime statistics show 56.8% (648 victims) of the 1,140 anti-religious hate crimes in the US targeted Jews, and 16.1% (184 victims) targeted Muslims. Yet it seems that every other day the Muslim community complains about their fears but there is never any evidence of this imagined epidemic of anti-Muslim hate? Second, why is only one religion singled out; doesn’t the First Amendment state that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...or abridging the freedom of speech”? What exactly is “hateful rhetoric,”-isn’t it in the ear of the listener and the eye of the beholder? What is cultural ignorance anti-Muslim speech? Is it a drawing of Mohammad, or an editorial cartoon depicting the ISIS flag (Gazette 10/2014), or a Vermont restaurant (8/ 2014) promoting its bacon, or two people talking about the latest Islamic Terrorist attack? Most Americans have long learned, particularly practicing Christians, that objecting to “art,” such as Piss-Christ for example, no matter how objectionable they may find it, is protected free speech, and not only that, their tax money can be forced to fund it. If it offends you to see your flag or bible burned, then too bad for you. Recently a local food truck generated controversy by naming itself The Wandering Dago; some of Italian heritage are offended, others, such as myself, find it innocuous and the price I am more than willing to pay for the right to free speech. How does an “unrepentant liberal” or any member of congress for that matter, sworn to uphold the Constitution, think it’s ok to sponsor H. Res. 569, a first step toward criminalizing speech? Please read the full text at http://www.congress.gov and 2014 hate crime statistics at http://www.fbi.gov.
(1) expresses its condolences for the victims of anti-Muslim hate crimes;
(2) steadfastly confirms its dedication to the rights and dignity of all its citizens of all faiths, beliefs, and cultures;
(3) denounces in the strongest terms the increase of hate speech, intimidation, violence, vandalism, arson, and other hate crimes targeted against mosques, Muslims, or those perceived to be Muslim;
(4) recognizes that the United States Muslim community has made countless positive contributions to United States society;
(5) declares that the civil rights and civil liberties of all United States citizens, including Muslims in the United States, should be protected and preserved;
(6) urges local and Federal law enforcement authorities to work to prevent hate crimes; and to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those perpetrators of hate crimes; and
(7) reaffirms the inalienable right of every citizen to live without fear and intimidation, and to practice their freedom of faith.
I have no problem with this legislation. It recognizes that at the present time, Muslims are being singled out for hate crimes and intimidation. Just like any other group in this position, it is up to the US Congress to take the lead in condemning this behavior... no matter what the religion, race or color.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
I have no problem with this legislation. It recognizes that at the present time, Muslims are being singled out for hate crimes and intimidation. Just like any other group in this position, it is up to the US Congress to take the lead in condemning this behavior... no matter what the religion, race or color.
Yup...because a body of Americans that have presided over decades of drone strikes and invasion of predominatly Arab Muslims are the people that need to take the lead on this.
Everything is 'selective' with this government...........including FREE SPEECH!!!
'You are only free to say what GOV ALMIGHTY tells you what you can say'!!!!
PATHETIC!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Everything is 'selective' with this government...........including FREE SPEECH!!!
'You are only free to say what GOV ALMIGHTY tells you what you can say'!!!!
PATHETIC!!
So... With Bumbler's logic... HE WAS TOLD TO POST THIS POST BY GOVT ALMIGHTY!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
(5) declares that the civil rights and civil liberties of all United States citizens, including Muslims in the United States, should be protected and preserved;
Does this mean that he finally recognizes that ALL citizens ... including the baby's in the womb ... have civil rights and civil liberties that should be protected?
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
(5) declares that the civil rights and civil liberties of all United States citizens, including Muslims in the United States, should be protected and preserved;
Does this mean that he finally recognizes that ALL citizens ... including the baby's in the womb ... have civil rights and civil liberties that should be protected?
LMAO... By definition... If it's a zygote it isn't a "BABY". SO... Should we give welfare benefits retroactively to a "BABY" in the womb? Should they be counted as a Tax deduction, even though they won't actually be a PERSON until they are born sometime in the next 9 months? How about a tax deduction for a woman who is about an hour pregnant???? Should she be penalized for her dependant "PERSON" just because it's the size of a pin head???
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
SO... Should we give welfare benefits retroactively to a "BABY" in the womb?
TANF has been available for the unborn for quite some time.
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a pregnant woman of any age qualifies because the unborn counts as the child living with her.
We are advised NOT to judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works.
It is a shame that so few recognize the danger of protecting one group over another, especially when the claims of Islamophobia are not only false, but designed to squelch open discussion of the Sharia Ideology which Islam wishes to impose on us infidels and kaffirs. It isn't clear to viewer that #5, the rights of all...including Muslims is thrown in just to make it look like others count? If that was the intent, why just not list other groups. And how did we get to abortion? How about the FBI stats which prove Muslims are NOT the persecuted group they claim to be?
Muslims in America appear to have a bull's-eye on their backs.
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Hate crimes targeting Muslims, their mosques and businesses, have tripled this year and the bulk of the attacks have occurred in recent weeks, according to a tally by California State University San Bernardino college professor Brian Levin.
There have been 38 anti-Muslim attacks in the U.S. since the deadly Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, Levin found.
And 18 of those happened in the wake of the Dec. 2 slaughter in San Bernardino, according to Levin, whose office is just nine miles from the government building where a radicalized Muslim couple murdered 14 people and wounded 22 more before they were killed by law enforcement.
All that is good for ISIS, Levin told NBC News.
"Among ISIS' most prominent goals is painting the west as being incompatible with the Muslim faith and hostile toward Muslims who live there and reject the caliphate," said Levin, who was a New York City police officer before he became an academic.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
It is a shame that so few recognize the danger of protecting one group over another, especially when the claims of Islamophobia are not only false, but designed to squelch open discussion
If you're upset with the condemnation for the false claim of islamaphobia,, then you should certainly be upset with congress issuing a condemnation of the false claims of anti Semitism.
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H. RES. 707
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
September 18, 2014 RESOLUTION
Whereas there is clear evidence of increasing incidents and expressions of anti-Semitism throughout the world;
Whereas on April 30, 2014, the United States Department of State released the International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 and noted that, Throughout Europe, the historical stain of anti-Semitism continued to be a fact of life on Internet fora, in soccer stadiums, and through Nazi-like salutes, leading many individuals who are Jewish to conceal their religious identity.;
Whereas anti-Semitic acts committed and recorded in 2014 around the world, including countries in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and North America, include incidents of murder at Jewish sites, violent attacks and death threats against Jews, as well as gun violence, arson, graffiti, anti-Semitic cartoons, and other property desecration at Jewish cemeteries, places of worship, and communal activity;
Whereas a survey by the Anti-Defamation League of attitudes towards Jews in more than 100 countries around the world, released in May 2014 found that over a quarter of the people surveyed (26 percent), and nearly three quarters of those surveyed in the Middle East (74 percent) hold anti-Semitic views, a stunning indicator of the stubborn resilience of anti-Semitic beliefs, even in countries where few Jews reside;
Whereas the Anti-Defamation League survey also found that a majority of people surveyed overall have either not heard of the Holocaust or do not believe it happened as has been documented by factual accounts and recorded by history;
Whereas President Barack Obama said in his remarks at the USC Shoah Foundation Dinner on May 7, 2014, … if the memories of the Shoah survivors teach us anything, it is that silence is evil’s greatest co-conspirator. And it’s up to us—each of us, every one of us—to forcefully condemn any denial of the Holocaust. It’s up to us to combat not only anti-Semitism, but racism and bigotry and intolerance in all their forms, here and around the world. It’s up to us to speak out against rhetoric that threatens the existence of a Jewish homeland and to sustain America’s unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security;
Whereas in 2004, Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act, which established an Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, headed by a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism;
Whereas the United States Government has consistently supported efforts to address the rise in anti-Semitism through its bilateral relationships and through engagement in international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organization of American States (OAS);
Whereas in recent decades there has been a clear and troubling pattern of increased violence against Jewish persons and their property, purportedly in connection with increased opposition to policies enacted by the Government of Israel;
Whereas during Israel’s 2014 Operation Protective Edge aiming to stem the rocket fire and terrorist infiltrations by Hamas, Jews and Jewish institutions and property were attacked in Europe and elsewhere, including attempts to invade a synagogue in Paris, fire-bombings of synagogues in France and Germany, assaults on Jewish individuals, and swastikas spray-painted in a heavily Jewish area of London and also in Rome’s historic Jewish quarter;
Whereas anti-Semitic imagery and comparisons of Jews and Israel to Nazis have been on display at demonstrations against Israel’s actions in Gaza throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, including—
(1)placards comparing Israeli leaders to Nazis, accusing Israel of carrying out a Holocaust against Palestinians, and equating the Jewish Star of David with the Nazi swastika, and (2)demonstrations that have included chants of Death to Jews, Death to Israel, or expressions of support for suicide terrorism against Israeli or Jewish civilians; Whereas the Governments in France, Germany, and Italy, the three countries where the majority of incidents have occurred, have strongly condemned anti-Semitism as unacceptable in European society and have all made clear statements that such attacks on their Jewish communities are intolerable, and they have matched those words with strong law enforcement;
Whereas some civil society leaders have set strong examples, including the condemnation by the Union of Mosques of France, on behalf of their 500 mosques, called the attacks morally unjust and unacceptable, and stated, nothing can justify any act that could harm our Jewish compatriots, their institutions or their places of worship;
Whereas the largest newspaper in circulation in Germany, Bild, featured statements against anti-Semitism from politicians, business leaders, civic leaders, media personalities and celebrities with Never Again Jew Hatred on the front page; and
Whereas Congress has played an essential role in illustrating and counteracting the resurgence of anti-Semitism worldwide: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives— (1)unequivocally condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval or frustration over political events in the Middle East or elsewhere; (2)decries and condemns the comparison of Israel to Nazis as an insult to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and an affront to those who survived and their children and grandchildren, the righteous gentiles who saved Jewish lives at peril to their own lives and to those who bravely fought to defeat the Nazis; (3)applauds those foreign leaders who have condemned anti-Semitic acts and calls on those who have yet to take firm action against anti-Semitism in their countries, to do so; (4)reaffirms its support for the mandate of the United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism as part of the broader policy priority of fostering international religious freedom; (5)supports expanded Holocaust educational programs that increase awareness, counter prejudice, and enhance efforts to teach the universal lessons of the Holocaust; and (6)urges the Secretary of State to— (A)maintain combating anti-Semitism as a United States foreign policy priority; (B)ensure that the instruments of United States public diplomacy, including the United States Representative to the Organization of Islamic Conference, are utilized to effectively combat anti-Semitism; (C)ensure high-level United States participation in the 2014 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) high level event marking the 10th anniversary of the 2004 OSCE Berlin Declaration against anti-Semitism; (D)urge governments to ensure that adequate laws are in place to punish anti-Semitic violence against persons and property; (E)continue robust United States reporting on anti-Semitism by the Department of State and the Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism; (F)provide necessary training and instruction for personnel posted in United States embassies and missions to analyze and report on anti-Semitic violence against persons and property as well as the response of governments to those incidents; (G)ensure that United States Government efforts to train law enforcement personnel and prosecutors abroad incorporate tools to address anti-Semitic violence against persons and property; and (H)strongly support the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s specialized efforts to monitor and address anti-Semitism, including through support for its law enforcement and civil society training programs.
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