he won't be invaded by force...that's a big fantasy of his--to be boarded and has his ship turned out.

As long as white America suffers, I'm good. Exterminate them all. Call it the caliphate or whatever you want. You're getting yours. Be it Christian or Muslim, makes no which never mind to me.

PS this is Salon, blame it on the Jews, that always flies.

Now you don't really mean that, do you?

Did you have a bad day at work?

Try not to be so upset. Things will be better tomorrow.

We need to get serious about risks. Letting someone talk you into overestimating them can be as deadly or more so than underestimating them.

15,000-20,000 fatalities in alcohol related every year

15,000-20,000 homicides in US each and every year

248,000 rapes and sexual assaults US in 2001 (estimate)

Total US deaths in War on Terror over 15 years - (maybe)~10,000

Clearly then, Islamic terror does far more damage and represents a far greater threat to civil society than the violence we Americans visit upon each other every year.

Strangely, as countless Americans were murdered by other Americans over the last two decades, I heard very few calls to suspend constitutional rights and implement "enhanced" interrogation techniques to deal with this situation. Nor have I heard of many drunk drivers being rendered to Syria or elsewhere for torture.

So yes, let's do think about risk and how to prioritize the very real dangers that confront and threaten American lives everyday.

Indeed, considering that the threat of terror - while real - pales in comparison with the domestic law enforcement, environmental, health threats, its hard to understand how so much of our time and resources have been almost exclusively devoted to the former.

Then again, maybe its just fine when we Americans butcher each other. But when those funny looking brown foreigners start to take pot shots, well then the billions get spent and the crusades begin.

Let's take terrorism seriously, but let's make sure we well understand its scope in the context of other threats to American individuals and society.

means knowing EXACTLY which train you're gonna ride years before going to the station...

Well, the good news is....it is the most liberal of states that will suffer first.

Really? How would you know that? You're not giving away a tidbit on some dastardly plot here, are ya neocon?


What was that poem "When they came for..."?

It probably needs updating:

You came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then you came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then you came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

When you came for the Muslims,
I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Muslim.

Then you came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.


How about those Democrat traitors who are interfering with Bush's defense of the country? Think they ought to be targeted as well? Or would you prefer to keep that a secret for now?


Let's face it, Bushite. You want carte blanche to brutalize Mooslims into submission, so much the better to make good on Bush's armed robbery in Iraq. Having set the precedent you can then pick other groups who might be in your way.

Radical right-wingers aren't Big Tent people, after all. In fact, it's really a wonder you can sleep at night with all those commies, Democrats, Mooslims, gays, trade unionists, civil rights activists, Feminazis, and other assorted terrifying horrors under your bed.

The idea of a imminent Islamic takeover of the U.S. is standard fare for the Republican base – the 27% that fit so nicely into John Roger’s theory of Crazification. But the GOP needs to appeal to the crazies who believe this and it’s worth exploring just who is doing the best job of that.

It’s also worth noting Joe Conason’s recent Salon article that points out how the current crop of leading GOP candidates (in terms of how they talk about Islam and the Muslim faith) are much worse than Bush. So who is the worst one?

My money is on Roger Simon’s favorite candidate Giuliani, who appeals to the “Batshit crazy, Head-trauma crazy” 27% the best. Let’s listen to him:

“They (Democrats) will wave the white flag on Iraq. We will cut back on the Patriot Act, electronic surveillance, interrogation and we will be back to our pre-Sept. 11 attitude of defense rather than offense”

“The Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us.”

[the terrorists] “hate us and not because of anything bad we have done; it has nothing to do with Israel and Palestine. They hate us for the freedoms we have and the freedoms we want to share with the world.”

So far, Rudy has been playing the “fear card” better than the others. He’s done it so well that many on the religious right are willing to overlook behavior that would that would engender vilification in anyone else.

Yes, we should be afraid - not of an Islamist takeover of our country, but of those who play that “crazification card” with the most alacrity. Fear them.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2007/08/10/gop_islam/print.html
http://moderate.wordpress.com/2007/04/28/giuliani-plays-the-islamic-terror-card/

http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html

In my view, the Netherlands and other countries need to be more stringent in expecting all immigrants, including Muslims, to assimilate to Enlightenment political values.

Mona

Let me guess. You're a "libertarian", right?

This is an actual fear that they have -- not a theoretical fear but one that is pressing, urgent, at the forefront of their worldview.

I don't think so.

I think it's an issue for other reasons, like providing a "justification" for brutalizing Mooslim Iraqis into submission - so much the better to make good on Bush's armed robbery.

No doubt there are millions of right-wingers who have been brainwashed into believing that a few thousand Mooslims have some massive conspiracy going on to convert the US into a fundamentalist Islamic state, despite the sheer outlandishness of the idea.

But do not believe that the perpetrators of outlandish ideas like this really believe it. They're not stupid enough. And they are bright enough to see a political tool when they see one. In this case a hammer.