Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Fox News: Where you can bash Islam with impunity | Media Matters for America
Fox News: Where you can bash Islam with impunity | Media Matters for America
In the wake of NPR's decision to terminate Juan Williams' contract following controversial remarks he made about Muslims on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Media Matters provides a retrospective of the many anti-Muslim statements made on Fox News or by Fox News personalities.
Juan Williams Fired For Expressing Stereotype Based Fears Of Seeing Muslims On Airplanes
This was a dumb statement. Identifying someone as being Muslim and fearing them because of their dress is unacceptable. I have experienced this prejudice myself, once during Christmas 2002, while in Malaysia. I saw Muslim men and women, walking in Muslim dress, in the hotel lobby. A cell phone rang and the song "Santa Clause Is coming To Town" came out of a Muslim woman's cell phone. I laughed at myself and immediately realized my own stupid prejudice. I was totally comfortable after that. I realized that I had internalized a bigoted attitude towards Muslims which was unacceptable for me. I rejected this impulse towards prejudice and bigotry.
The problem for Juan Williams is that he spoke prejudicially regarding Muslims and Islamic dress. Muslims should not be expected to wear western clothing. This is America. We have a separation of church and state even though the ignorant Christine O'Donnell does not think so. Juan williams was wrong in attacking Muslims for showing their religion with their dress. Is it wrong for a Catholic Nun or a Priest to wear their religious garb? They place their religion out front, on display. Of course not. There is absolutely no evidence that the 9/11 bombers were wearing Islamic dress. Prejudice is prejudice. Juan Williams's statements were outrageous. They were totally unacceptable and he should have been fired from NPR.
John H. Armwood
Opinion: Jewish vote veers right – at times - Tevi Troy - POLITICO.com
Opinion: Jewish vote veers right – at times - Tevi Troy - POLITICO.com
For decades, conservative Jews have been wondering when the traditionally Democratic Jewish voter would make the same migration as other ethnic groups and start voting Republican. At the same time, liberal Jews have been explaining the variety of historical and religious reasons why such a switch would never take place.
While this debate seems never-ending, it’s possible that both sides have been looking at the wrong metrics. The shift in the Jewish vote is already taking place — but at the state, not the national level.
Nationally, Jews are only about 2 percent of the U.S. population, but they are heavily represented in big cities and have disproportionately high voter turnout rates. They are major contributors to both parties, though Democrats get the lion’s share. Some groups within the Jewish community, like Orthodox Jews, have shifted to the GOP – 70 percent supported George W. Bush in 2004. In addition, Jewish neoconservatives have long been vocal Republicans — with voices louder than their numbers suggest. Overall, though, the Jewish vote remains strongly Democratic at the national level. The GOP share in the last two decades fluctuating between Bush’s 25 percent in 2004 and his father’s 11 percent in 1992. (See chart below.)
At the state level, however, Jews can and do vote less Democratic. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie attracted 38 percent of the Jewish vote in 2009, proving that Republicans who can be competitive in the Jewish community gain an edge against Democratic opponents, who then can’t take the Jewish vote for granted.
For this reason, it is worth paying close attention to the Jewish vote in close Senate races in states with significant Jewish populations. In the complicated Pennsylvania race, for example, a Republican-turned-Democrat Jewish senator, Arlen Specter, is involuntarily leaving, and the Jewish vote is likely to help determine his successor.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Appeals Court Keeps Military Gay Policy For Now : NPR
Appeals Court Keeps Military Gay Policy For Now : NPR
A federal appeals court on Wednesday granted a government request to temporarily freeze a judge's order telling the military to stop enforcing its ban on openly gay troops.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instructed the lawyers for the gay rights group that brought the lawsuit challenging the policy to file arguments by Monday. The 1993 "don't ask, don't tell" rule says gays may serve but only if they keep secret their sexual orientation.
Government lawyers sought to suspend U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips's ruling while appeals were pending, arguing that it would pose a major problem for the military. They said it could encourage service members to reveal their sexual orientation before the issue is fully decided.
President Barack Obama says he supports repeal of the policy, but only after careful review and an act of Congress.
A lawyer for the Log Cabin Republicans said the group was disappointed with the appeals court's action.
"We view the decision as nothing more than a minor setback," Dan Woods said. "We didn't come this far to quit now, and we expect that once the Ninth Circuit has received and considered full briefing on the government's application for a stay, it will deny that application."
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