Thursday, November 19, 2009

The Far Right

* A frightening event is unfolding on Sawmill Road at the Borders Bookstore in Dublin----- people have already formed a line to see Sarah Palin. Palin will sign books tomorrow at 6pm, but campers and others have claimed their place in line as of this afternoon. Even though Palin doesn't seem to be able to tell the difference between Iraq and Iran, she still has her followers (see Huffington Post).


* The Columbus radio scene is just awful. We lost liberal talk radio a year ago. Now all we have left is sports, right wingers, religious programming, and the same music in the same rotation, day after day.
Today, I hit the scan button and I could not believe my ears.

Some right winger named Bryan Fisher, said that the Constitution of the U.S. clearly does not prevent the country from barring Muslims from joining our armed forces. The more Fisher talked, the more I remembered that Rachel Maddow had mentioned an article from Mother Jones Magazine. Fisher was so full of hate and intolerance, and yet he represented a Christian group called American Family Association. He also went after Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Fisher then called Graham a "traitor."

Mother Jones:

The American Family Association, a conservative Christian group, has published an article on its website calling for Muslims to be barred from military service. Bryan Fischer, AFA's Director of Issues Analysis, argues that the Fort Hood shootings are a signal that "It it is time to stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military":

[T]he more devout a Muslim is, the more of a threat he is to national security. Devout Muslims, who accept the teachings of the Prophet as divinely inspired,
believe it is their duty to kill infidels....

.
..If you're looking for a more reasonable view, here's
Gen. George Casey, the Army's chief of staff, who definitely knows more about the Army than this clown:

"Our diversity... is a strength. As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."