As stunned as I was to hear Virginia Fox stating it was a hoax not a hate crime…just merely a person that was killed during a robbery…sexual orientation had nothing to do with it.  My representative, Wally Herger, is also on the same page.  But in his case, he claims HR 1913 is a bill that will “persecute.”  Yep…he thinks it is really just those dangerous thought police at work.

He voted against HR 1913 saying “it takes a dangerous course to criminalize thought.”  He stated that the bill would provide federal funding that “will lead to the persecution of pastors, bible teachers and others Christians exercising their right to free speech and expressing their religious beliefs.”

He further stated that “all crimes are hate crimes” and that “all crimes should be prosecuted equally, regardless of the motivation.”

He said “hate crimes eliminated through legislation is unjust and fundamentally un-American.” “…HR 1913 “would afford preferential treatment to a special class of people requiring that only some people be treated equally under law.”  (This sentence is just plain baffling…it makes no real sense.)

He further stated that “this violated the constitutional principle of equal justice under the law and goes directly against freedom of speech and religion.”  Then he said, “Under this legislation, religious leaders or members of religious groups could become subject to criminal investigation or prosecutions for expressing their constitutionally protected beliefs.”

And then, “the bill would separate people based on sexual orientation, gender identity and other vague terms.”  He continues, “the bill was written to be vague so as not to have much limitation.”  “It also means federal funding could be used to implement state hate crime laws and undermine First Amendment rights.”

Well…Wally Herger was always a rubber stamp voter for everything Bush.  Now he voted against HR 1913…a very much needed bill…by saying it will cause persecution against Christians and infringe upon First Amendment rights.

We’ve got to continue to expose these idiots!  So, I guess he believes if you voted Yes on 8 in California, they are gonna be gunning for you.

Wingnutia I tell you…

XPosted 2/14/2008 12:00 AM PST on MyDesert.com

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for President has little to say about the rights of the LGBT community or its issues on his campaign website at JohnMcCain.com.

Under the link “Human Dignity & the Sancitity of Life,” McCain lists (1) Overturning Roe V. Wade, (2) Promoting Adoption, (3) Protecting Marriage, (4) Addressing the Moral Concerns of Advanced Technology, (5) Protecting Children from Online Predators, and (6) the Greatest Concern is to Serve the Cause of Human Dignity.  As you might guess from the above headings, McCain and his campaign is pandering to the so-called Religious Right community.

More below the flip…

More specifically, according to About.com: Gay Life, McCain has a spotty record at best on the LGBT issues themselves.

(1)  McCain on Gay Marriage: McCain opposes Marriage Equality, but believes the issue should be left up to the states.  McCain voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, but according to McCain’s campaign website,

“[He] believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation.”

I am guessing that in the case of Marriage Equality, McCain does extend his greatest concern to serve the cause of LGBT dignity or, perhaps, does not include the LGBT community within the context of the Human community.

(2) McCain on Gays and Lesbians in the Military: McCain believes the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has been effective and should be left untouched.  At the 2007 GOP debate at Saint Anselm College on Jun 3, 2007, McCain said,

“We have the best-trained, most professional, best- equipped, most efficient, most wonderful military in the history of this country, and I’m proud of every one of them. There just aren’t enough of them. So I think it would be a terrific mistake to even reopen the issue. The policy is working. And I am convinced that that’s the way we can maintain this greatest military. Let’s not tamper with them.”

How is including LGBT community members in the Armed Forces “tampering” with the military?  McCain fails to explicate his position or clarify his terminology.

Allowing LGBT community members to serve openly in the U.S. military is a matter of Human Dignity, and McCain refuses to accord respect to the LGBT community in a fashion similar to that accorded to the heterosexual community in the military.  McCain also does not address the fact that the U.S. military loses millions of dollars of tax payer money each year in attempts to enforse the DADT policies.

McCain fails to address the fact that many Arabic-English and English-Arabic translators are discharged from the U.S. military each year due to DADT.  Finally, the United States is one of the few Western countries to disallow LGBT members from serving in the its Armed Forces, yet, the military leadership is coming around to a more progressive perspective.

McCain on Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA): McCain voted against ENDA and prohibiting job discrimination based upon sexual orientation.

McCain on Federal Hate Crimes Legislation: While in the Senate, McCain voted against extending the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation and opposed the so-called Matthew Shepard bill on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

McCain on HIV/AIDS: McCain’s stance on HIV/AIDS is ambiguous at best. When asked in the New York Times political blog McCain Stumbles on H.I.V. Prevention about the use of contraceptives or counseling to help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS, McCain said,

“You’ve stumped me. I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was.”

“You’ve stumped me?”  “I’m not informed enough on it?”  “I have to find out what my position was?”  The United States, California and the Coachella Valley have been ravaged by HIV/AIDS, and McCain is either uninformed or incompetent on the issue.

How can a World Leader be unaware of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the Nation?  Oh, I forgot, the Republican Party has a long history of neglect on the people affected by and infected with HIV/AIDS from former President Ronald Reagan who refused to utter the words “HIV” or “AIDS” throughout most of his Presidency, to President George H.W. Bush and so-called President George W. Bush who attempted to either reduce funding for HIV/AIDS, attempted to pit the HIV/AIDS community against other chronic illness communities, or attempted to gut HIV/AIDS programs in this country.

McCain is more of the same.  Ignorant, ill-informed, AIDS-phobic, and incompetent on the issue.

Last night, UCI Chancellor Michael Drake met with Jewish students to discuss the recent unrest on campus. Here’s what The OC Register has to say about it:

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake told several hundred concerned Jewish community members Wednesday night to join in on discussions and work together against what he calls isolated incidents of anti-Jewish speech by outsiders on campus.

Drake answered questions during a 90-minute town hall meeting at Shir Ha-Ma’alot in Irvine addressing concerns about what the Jewish community calls ongoing anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity on UCI’s campus.

“We promote dialogue, understanding, growth and tolerance at UCI,” Drake said. “I’d like to enlist all of you in working with me to make Jewish life on campus as strong as possible.”

So what’s happening on campus? Is there an anti-Jewish problem on campus? Is there an anti-Muslim problem on campus? Why is UCI becoming such a hotbed of controversy? Follow me after the flip for more…

So what exactly is happening at UCI? Jewish groups on campus have been complaining about anti-Semitic incidents for quite some times now. Pajamas Media likes to call what’s happening an “intifada” against Jews on campus. The Jewish Journal asks if UCI is a hotbed of anti-Semitic harassment. So is there an anti-Semitic problem at UCI?

But wait, is this all that’s happening? After all, the very same Muslim Student Union that is being accused of being behind all this harassment is itself claiming harassment. In fact, police are still investigating the charge that an FBI agent threatened a Muslim student who was just taking down a protest wall on campus. And most recently, the folks at Red County/OC Blog accused the Muslim Student Union of “preaching terror on campus”, even though The Daily Pilot found no anti-Semitism and no incitement to “terrorism” at the previous speech in the week-long series on the Israeli-Palestinean crisis. If anything, it seemed like it was the commenters on the OC Blog story preaching hate.

So what’s the problem? Why do both sides feel so victimized? Perhaps there are incidents of radical extremists targeting Jews on campus. Perhaps there are right-wing extremists who seek to stir trouble with the Muslims on campus. Perhaps the controversy at UCI is getting way out of control. What can be done to quell the controversy? What can be done to reconcile the differences between the Jewish groups and the Muslim groups on campus? Why is the conflict at UCI almost reaching Israeli-Palestinean levels of intensity?

Hopefully, UCI Chancellor Drake and the administration can come up with a solution here. Something has to be done to address this bubbling cauldron. Something has to be done to stop this from bubbling past the boiling point.

When will American Jews wake up to the absolute wickedness of the Islamic religion. Every single follower of Islam: man, woman, and child, is taught nothing but such anti-semitism from the second they are born. The death cult of Mohammed is the biggest threat to American Jewry.

It would be a great service if Amir Abdul-Malik Ali would tell us how to recognize a Zionist Jew when wrapped from head to foot like a Muslim terrorist. If someone looking like that emerged out of the restroom on an airplane, it would be comforting to know that it is only some Jewish guy trying to make Muslims look bad. Then I can go back to reading my magazine.

These are just a couple of the many hate-filled comments that can be found on the recent Red County/OC Blog, which have now been “reprinted” at The Liberal OC. Now these folks were accusing the Muslim Student Union at UCI of inciting hatred by inviting a Muslim cleric to speak about the Israeli-Palestinean conflict. However, look at this video and try to find any “hate speech”. Maybe they’re just looking in the wrong direction.

But look at this. The Orange County Human Relations Commission reported in its 2006 annual report on hate crimes that attacks targeting Arab/Middle-Eastern/Muslim Americans have DOUBLED in the past year. And worse yet, the OC Human Relations Commission suggests that this may be due to the Iraq War.

Wait! Hold on here! Is this why we fight? Follow me after the flip for more…

Now on this Memorial Day today, we remember our fallen soldiers. We honor their fight to preserve our freedom. We honor their commitment to this land of liberty and justice for all.

So why must House Minority Leader John Boehner defile the US House of Representatives with such a bizarre and downright psychotic cry?

“After 3,000 of our fellow citizens died at the hands of these terrorists, when are we going to stand up and take them on? When are we going to defeat `em?” demanded Boehner. “Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you, if we don’t do it now, and if we don’t have the courage to defeat this enemy, we will long, long regret it. So thank you for the commitment to get the job done today.”

But wait, I thought we were fighting in Iraq for freedom. Didn’t Bush even say that as he admitted that there was no connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda before the war? OK, so we know that this isn’t why we’re in Iraq, either. Whatever reason Bush gives as to why we’re in Iraq, we can count on it being wrong. That’s why Bush should have never started this war in the first place.

But anyways, back to the point of the matter. Are we really fighting to “take on” the Muslims? Are we fighting to just kill them all? Are we fighting to conquer the Muslim World for the sake of the Christian faith? I don’t think that’s why our soldiers want to serve this nation. I think they want to serve because they believe in the innately American value of freedom of religion. I think they want to serve to defend our Constitution.

Why can’t John Boehner and the OC Blog critters just pay attention to Chris Prevatt at The Liberal OC?

There are radicals on all sides of all issues in this world. It is wrong, simply wrong, to paint people of a particular faith, or people of a particular race as terrorists and promoters of hate. The actions of a few, do not speak as the actions of all.

Mr. Boehner, Shawn Steel, Barry, coach, Debbie, and El Liberdator, just because a person is Muslim; just because a person is Arab; just because a person does not look or believe as you do; does not mean that he, or she, or their countrymen and women, are terrorists who must be destroyed.

Mr. Boehner, you are preaching hate on the floor of the United States Congress. I am ashamed that you have a position of power in our country. The rest of you are just simply a disgrace.

So is this why we fight? Are we fighting to defend America from those evil terrorists who want to turn us all into tree-hugging homosexual peaceniks? Check out this story from the AP Wire:

The Alabama Department of Homeland Security has taken down a Web site it operated that included gay rights and anti-war organizations in a list of groups that could include terrorists.

The Web site identified different types of terrorists, and included a list of groups it believed could spawn terrorists. The list also included environmentalists, animal rights advocates and abortion opponents. […]

Howard Bayliss, chairman of the gay and lesbian advocacy group Equality Alabama, said he doesn’t understand why gay rights advocates would be on the list.

“Our group has only had peaceful demonstrations. I’m deeply concerned we’ve been profiled in this discriminatory matter,” Bayliss said.

The site included the groups under a description of what it called “single-issue” terrorists. That group includes people who feel they are trying to create a better world, the Web site said. It said that in some communities, law enforcement officers consider certain single issue groups to be a threat.

Is this why we fight? Are we fighting so that our government can define our freedom of speech as “terrorism”? When did environmental advocacy and speaking up for equal rights for all suddenly become acts of terror? When “single-issue” advocacy become “single-issue” terrorism?

I don’t get it. As I’m sitting here on Memorial Day, I’m remembering those Revolutionary soldiers who fought for independence from the British Empire. I’m remembering those Civil War soldiers who fought to end slavery. I’m remembering those World War II soldiers who fought the Nazi occupation of Europe and the Japanese occupation of East Asia. Didn’t they all fight for freedom? Didn’t they fight for liberty and justice for all?

I don’t think our brave soldiers are fighting so that a few hateful individuals can strike fear in the hearts of American Muslims. I don’t think they are fighting so that gay rights activists and environmentalists can be classified as “terrorists”. And no, I don’t think that they are fighting so that George W. Bush and his good friends can evade the fact that they made a grave mistake.

This shouldn’t be why we fight.

“There was a confrontation, if you will,” said UCI Police Chief Paul Henisey, who is investigating the incident to determine if any crime was committed. The students “demanded to know why this person was following them, then the person left,” he said.

The incident that the UCI Police Chief is referring to is quite a nasty one. Today’s OC Register is reporting that police are now investigating this incident in which a Muslim student is claiming that an FBI agent threatened him. If this is true, then it wouldn’t be the first time when federal agents clashed with Muslim students on campus. However, this has already developed into another major headache for Orange County’s Muslim community.

Follow me after the flip to see what happened Monday night that caused this new furor…

So what happened Monday night? A UCI economics student claims that he was just taking down a protest wall when a surprise visitor appeared. At the Irvine campus, protesters with the Muslim Student Union erect a wall every day that symbolizes the “apartheid wall” that the Israeli government is trying to erect. However due to university policy on large displays, the Muslim Student Union agrees to take it down ever night. And when the economics student was taking down the wall, something strange happened.

From The Register:

UCI economics student Yasser Ahmed said he was driving a borrowed truck up onto the Ring Road near the library loading dock Monday night, on intending to haul away the wall, when he noticed a silver Ford Taurus with blackened windows following him.

Ahmed said he stopped the truck in view of other campus observers and stood in front of the Taurus, trying to look through the blackened windshield and asking the driver to identify himself. When he would not speak, Ahmed said he tried to take a photo of the car’s license plate with his camera phone.

“He could have just rolled down his window and said, ‘I’m an FBI agent,’ and that would have been the end of it,” Ahmed said. “There was nothing improper going on.”

Instead, according to Ahmed, the driver revved his engine threateningly and began pushing him backward with the car’s front bumper. Ahmed said he then began calling for help, and dozens of other students ran over to assist.

“I was frightened,” Ahmed said. “I felt I could have been killed or seriously injured if I hadn’t jumped out of the way.”

If this is true, then we need to be afraid. VERY AFRAID. Afraid of our own government.

So is this what really happened? Campus police confirmed that the mysterious man was an FBI agent. But why would an FBI agent be at UCI in the middle of the night?

The next morning, Ahmed said, he went to the campus police station and was told by the police chief that the man in the car was an FBI agent.

Ahmed, who lives with his family in Orange County, laughed at the idea the FBI could be investigating him.

Sociology student [Marya] Bangee said UCI’s Muslim Student Union opposes violence and its members are not terrorists.

“All we do is speak out against injustice,” Bangee said, though she said she believes the FBI has been spying on students.

“We have nothing to hide,” Bangee said. “If something illegal ever happened, it might make sense. But nothing ever has. It’s complete xenophobia.”

Of course, this wouldn’t be the first incident when Muslim Americans were harassed for simply being who they were. And this wouldn’t be the first time that the FBI was involved in suspicious activities monitoring the American Muslim community. However, it should ALWAYS trouble us when we hear that our government is unfairly targeting and harassing a community simply because of who they are. If these individuals are not involved in any crimes, then the FBI shouldn’t be snooping into their lives… And they definitely shouldn’t be harassing any one.

So why were FBI agents on the UCI campus Monday night? And why were they driving around the Muslim Student Union’s protest wall? And if the FBI agent in question truly did attempt to ram down the economics student with his car, why did he feel that he had license to do so? I thought that these agents were supposed to enforce the law. When our government suddenly begin breaking its own laws?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.