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October 19, 2008
I'm glad someone finally said it.
"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
"I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life."
I completely agree with Powell. He said it so well and ever since I read about his endorsement, I have been hoping that his words will influence people. I simply cannot understand how some people are completely incapable of putting themselves in others' shoes. What if Christianity was as misunderstood? Have we learned nothing from the history of those who have been persecuted and misunderstood?
ReplyDeleteWonderfully stated, perfectly put, and so true.
ReplyDeleteI hope that people will take what Powell said into account come election time.
k2
Thank you for posting this - missed Meet the Press this morning for the first time in forever.
ReplyDeleteJust what the ignorant Americans need to hear/read. Thanks for providing the transcript so I could participate. =D
ReplyDeleteI'm sad to see General Powell knocking down strawmen and politicizing dead solders.
ReplyDeleteOTH it's a good thing General Powell fell into line, otherwise he'd be on the receiving end of the Obama Hate Machine, as is Joe the Plumber or any prole who questions The One.
Obama's supporters in the law enforcement community have threatened to arrest his critics. He has threaten to pull the broadcast licenses of any tv or radio station who airs authors critical of The One. He's going to bring back the fairness doctrine to crush talk radio, and I fully expect we bloggers will have to register with the government, and will shut down if we step out of line.
It is not possible to support both Obama and free speech. Pick one.
It is not possible to support both Obama and free speech. Pick one.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, look at me, supporting Obama and giving you a platform for your... interesting perspective.
AT THE SAME TIME...
It's not losing their right to say stupid, bigoted crap that the wingnuts are afraid of. They're just worried that people will stop being afraid to call them on it.
ReplyDeleteI actually shouted for joy and applauded when Powell said that. (I THINK my roommate and his girfriend have since recovered from being startled....)
ReplyDeleteA question for Jim Howard:
"Obama's supporters in the law enforcement community have threatened to arrest his critics. He has threaten to pull the broadcast licenses of any tv or radio station who airs authors critical of The One."
...I'd love to see your sources for these interesting theories, Jim. ...And for the record, "so-and-so told me" is not a source.
Thank you for posting that. He is so right! I had two good friends walk out of towers on 9/11. One is a beautiful Egyptian girl, Catholic. Two days after the attack her parents house in CA had racial slurs on it. I guess because they 'look' like bad guys. ugh
ReplyDeletelove your blog!!
I think they are saying he's a Muslim because somehow in this country it's more acceptable than saying he's black. What they'd really like to do is throw out the "N-word" and get it over with. Instead, they call him a Muslim because you can say that out loud and no one says anything about it.
ReplyDeleteSo much for America being a melting pot.
I'm in CA, and as much as I care about the presidential election, I'm also dealing with this Prop 8 nonsense.
ReplyDeleteMuch like Powell was saying about Muslims, since when did America stand for allowing the opinions of the majority rule the rights of the minority?
This election, and the HORRIBLE things people are saying about other human beings, has really saddened me about the state of this county.
Text of letter from Obama threatening broadcast station licenses for running ads he didn't like.
ReplyDeleteYou probably don't like the NRA, but I personally don't think Presidential candidates should make these kinds of threats to any broadcast station. If Bush did this the left would explode. Obama has sent similar letters a number of times. Like so many things, free speech is for him, not you or me.
KMOV TV story on the 'Barrak Obama Truth Squad'. Obama supporting police, sheriffs, and prosecutors to suppress speech not approved of by Obama:
http://www.kmov.com/video/index.html?nvid=285793&shu=1
This is just the first google hit I got. This 'truth squad' is real and well documented. Obama has since retreated from the more overt threats his law enforcement supporters made. I just don't like the ring of law enforcement 'Truth Squads' injecting themselves into political debate. Again, if Bush did this the left would calling for impeachment. YMMV.
If Obama becomes President his popularity will sag and he will make unpopular decisions widely viewed as unsound.
I had the religion fight with my believe every ugly rumor, love our guns and our McCain in-laws. After I pointed out in vain that no, he is not Muslim ("But he was sworn in the with the Koran!"), I added 'And so what if he is? Does that make him a terrorist by default?' Not in my eyes, but "you know, someone prophesized the world ending at the hands of a Muslim in 2010, and..."
ReplyDeleteGOD, people are ignorant. I don't care who you vote for. I really don't. Just have a little sense. Just a liiiiittle bit.
Jim, we're friends and this is a dangerous time of the election year for friends of differing political stripes, so I am simply going to say that I read that letter ENTIRELY differently than you do and leave it at that.
ReplyDeleteexactly!
ReplyDeleteAnd you know what? those people who stalk and skill abortion providing doctors??? Christians AND terrorists!!!!
Wow - I guess you can twist anything into something it is not. The letter to which Jim Howard refers does not say anything he says it does, to me. I don't think for a second that Bush would be skewered/impeached for a similar letter -- not at all!
ReplyDelete@jim...I swear I'm not trying to be nasty, I know that you can't read tones over the internet, but I am genuinely curious how you see that Obama is "threatening" the station? I don't get that from this letter at all. If someone was telling everyone things about yourself that you felt were untrue, wouldn't you ask them to stop?
ReplyDeleteI wish, and maybe this is an impossible wish, that the campaign process could be based on issues. I wish the presidential candidates spoke about the issues they were passionate about. I wish they didn't talk about what the other candidate wasn't doing right or what he was doing wrong. I especially wish that if one WAS going to focus less on issues and more on "that one", that he could get his facts straight...that he wouldn't use lies and fear tactics and a general plan to fool the vulnerable nation into hateful and bigoted thinking. It is too bad, really, that "to win at all costs" (even to the point of using dishonest, racist, hateful speech to get there) is so okay for so many people this term.
ReplyDelete"So what if he is?" EXACTLY. I'm also glad someone finally said it, and I'm amazed that it was Colin Powell. (We're all watching here in Britain...the BBC is even getting a few complaints because of the incredible amount of coverage the US election is getting. But dammit, our politicians are just so BORING.)
ReplyDeleteJim:
ReplyDeleteI read the whole letter, and I saw the campaign used the word "request". "Requesting" is a far cry from "threatening."
A "threat" would imply consequences if the radio station did not comply. I did not see any such consequences stated within that letter.
Please explain to me why this constitutes a "threat."
The politician who may be appointing the next FCC commissioners tells you that airing opposing viewpoints may "be probative of an underlying abdication of licensee responsibility". If I owned a station license I'd take that as a threat. Like I said, YMMV.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course if the cops and DA's start threatening to 'take action', then that sounds pretty threatening to me. Again, YMMV.
That word "responsibility" is important. When people howl about their restricted free speech, I think it's always important to examine whether the freedom they are looking for is the freedom to lie. Having been the subject of a lot of nasty attacks in the past, my sympathy has limits.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way when I hear "America is the Greatest Country on Earth".
ReplyDeleteDoes that make me un-patriotic? I don't think so.
The politician who may be appointing the next FCC commissioners tells you that airing opposing viewpoints may "be probative of an underlying abdication of licensee responsibility". If I owned a station license I'd take that as a threat.
ReplyDeleteshoot, if I owned a station license and someone told me I was airing something slanderous, I wouldn't take it as a threat, I'd be saying, "wow, thanks for letting me know so I can stop doing that and can avoid even more trouble."
But, YMMV, like you said...
Pretty much sums up with why my gut vote is for Obama. Its not so much an ant-McCain, its anti Republican. I am neither Democrat or Republican, but I think its time for change. Obama can do just that
ReplyDeleteAmen! I have actually put my own grandfather's e-mails on auto-delete because I'm so sick of the false and hateful filth he has been spewing about Obama ever since this campaign started.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, wanted to let you know I've given your blog an award. See here for the details:
http://www.confoozled.com/archives/someone_loves_my_blog.php
"OTH it's a good thing General Powell fell into line, otherwise he'd be on the receiving end of the Obama Hate Machine, as is Joe the Plumber or any prole who questions The One."
ReplyDeletei'm calling bullshit and grasping at straws. plus there is wine involved. i'm going to say grasping again. and bullshit. no wine this time. Y'all are making shit up now. Powell. come on.....seriously.
Wow. After reading the comments in response to this post, I feel the overwhelming urge to laugh. Can you say "Cult of Personality"?
ReplyDeleteKudos to you, Jim, for being the only person willing to speak out with an individual thought. Does every single other person who commented have literally the EXACT SAME BELIEFS? Seriously people, how about some dialogue? Are you aware of the fact that Obama and Biden differ vastly in many of their core political principles although they are running on the same ticket? So you all watched Meet the Press and heard
General Powell? Does anybody have their OWN perspective that doesn't completely parrot what they heard? I'm reading things like "ignorant" and "stupid, bigoted crap", and yet these are the same comments making accusations about "hate speech". How about dialing back on the assumptions and hypocrisy?
Of course there are people out there on the fringe of both sides of the political spectrum, extremists who give a bad name to those in both parties. I appreciate the perspective that General Powell is offering, but I'm going to give another one: General Powell is not a guy who spends most of his time with the "everyday citizen" voters in America and I'm thinking that most of what he knows about them and their beliefs in this election comes from second hand information. Nobody that I know personally who is voting for John McCain is doing so because they think that Barack Obama is a Muslim or a terrorist. And if you happen to know somebody who does believe that, it doesn't mean that your friend's opinion is majority. The people that I know that are voting for McCain are doing so because they disagree with Obama's politics, plain and simple. And I'm honestly awed by the arrogant, presumptive belief by most liberals I personally know that there just has to be an ulterior motive if somebody doesn't want to jump on the Obama train. I believe that for the vast majority of people voting for John McCain, there most certainly doesn't need to be an ulterior motive, they simply don't agree with Obama's politics. It comes down to the issues, what a candidate truly believes in, what a candidate signs their name to.
this is in response to the commenter above: i think what frustrates many so called liberals is that mccain has run a campaign that appears to be much less about the issues than it is about "cults of personality and slander."
ReplyDelete4:21-
ReplyDeleteI feel that you missed the point of my post. It had very little to do with John McCain or his campaign. It was a comment expressing an alternate viewpoint that General Powell's comment was assumptive regarding the most likely reason that people would choose not to vote for Obama. I theorized that the most likely reason would amount to fundamental political differences. I'll be happy to clarify if you'd like.
Forgive me if I'm asking an obvious question here, but why would a liberal be frustrated by John McCain focusing on cults of personality and slander rather than the issues? A liberal would never consider voting a Republican ticket anyway, so what difference does it make? Negative campaigns are status quo for both parties because they win elections, and to claim otherwise appears politically naive. It's all part of the game.