Posts with the tag John

Joe the Plumber: A Prime Symbol of Republican Hypocrisy

Eric Wattree — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:10:13 EDT

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Joe the Plumber: A Prime Symbol of Republican Hypocrisy

John McCain accused Barack Obama of being an elitist. He then trotted out “Joe the Plumber” to symbolize that he, unlike Obama, stood in solidarity with the American middle class. That made for great theater, but like John McCain himself, it soon became clear that Joe the Plumber maintained a strained relationship with truth.

ELECTIONS OFFICIALS DENY ILLEGALLY PURGING VOTERS

funkfresh01 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:52:12 EDT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_el_ge/voter_purges

Associated Press

NEW YORK - A newspaper report Thursday said tens of thousands of eligible voters have been removed from rolls or blocked from registering in at least six swing states, but election officials quickly lined up to defend their registration procedures and said they had done nothing wrong.

The New York Times based its findings on reviews of state records and Social Security data, and said it had identified apparent problems in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.

The Times said voters appear to have been purged by mistake and not because of any intentional violations by election officials or coordinated efforts by any party. It says that some states are improperly using Social Security data to verify new voters' registration applications, and that others might have broken rules that govern removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election.

GOP DIRTY TRICKS IN THE SWING STATES

funkfresh01 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:20:05 EDT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/sep/22/uselections2008.republicans
Republican operatives are using an anti-Muslim film and push polling to raise fears of terrorism and smear Barack Obama
Richard Silverstein, Guardian, 9/22/08

We are now entering the closing weeks of what promises to be yet another close and contentious presidential election contest. As each side seeks to maximise its advantages and minimise its weaknesses, the Republican party has chosen the lowest of low roads, engaging in two sleazy political marketing campaigns over the past week.

First, DVDs of an anti-Muslim documentary film are being distributed to 28 million voters in swing states like Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado and Wisconsin. Second, Republican telemarketers have begun push polling aimed at scaring Jewish voters in swing states from voting for Barack Obama…

The mass distribution of Obsession is an obvious Republican scare-tactic, right out of the Rovian playbook. Party operatives believe that scaring Americans into believing there's a jihadist under every bed will play to Republican strengths and Democratic weaknesses on national security. They swiftboated John Kerry in 2004. Now they're jihadising Barack Obama.

ANTI-ISLAM FILM TARGETS "SWING STATE" VOTERS

funkfresh01 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:15:54 EDT

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43940
Ali Gharib, Inter Press Service, 9/19/08

WASHINGTON, Sep 19 (IPS) - Millions of voters in U.S. states crucial to this fall's presidential election received DVD copies of a controversial documentary film as advertising inserts in their morning newspapers over the past week, with more expected to be sent out over the upcoming weekend.

The 2006 film, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West", which has been accused by critics of encouraging Islamophobia, was reportedly delivered, or slated for delivery this weekend, into tens of millions of households in states such as Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri and other "swing states" that don't vote consistently for either party and usually decide elections.

Republicans and their candidate, Sen. John McCain, have made the battling the threat posed by radical Islamists a central platform of their campaign, while presenting their Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, as being weak on the issue. Obama has also fought off persistent "smear" campaigns, particularly among Jewish voters, that he is a closet Muslim.

Thanks

Democrat in Clay City, IN — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:39:50 EDT

First off, thank you, fellow Democrats for all the love you have shown toward me in choosing not to follow party lines. It's rude people like you that make me consider leaving the Democratic party, and going Independant. I beleive John S. McCain can control this country, and that is why I want him to become President. NOT, Barack Hussein Obama.

OBSESSION: A JIHAD-HAPPY DVD DELIVERED TO A NEWSPAPER NEAR YOU

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:51:04 EDT

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel blog, 9/16/08
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2008/09/obsession-a-dvd.html

The movie Obsession: Radical Islam's War With the West, whose trailer is below, was delivered with your Orlando Sentinel newspaper this AM. And, it is my understanding, the DVD was delivered to households receiving other newspapers around the country today as well. True?
Apparently, Parade Magazine isn't conservative enough for some folks. But hey, they paid to package it with our paper, so glad to be of service! Did the check clear?

Anyhoo, didya watch it? Check out the trailer if you have any questions about what it's about, and those who endorse it. Lots of Fox and Limbaugh plugs for it in that trailer. They're in lock step over its virtues. It's two-to-three years old, and the reason it's being shipped out to newspaper readers across America? Scaring the scareable before an election, apparently. Michael Moore's giving away his latest film on the Internet to do the same thing, but Obsession at least helps a paper's bottom line. More power to'em.

HATE MAIL, COURTESY OF YOUR DAILY NEWSPAPER

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:40:29 EDT

Wayne Garcia, Creative Loafing, 9/15/08
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/politicalwhore/2008/09/15/hate-mail-courtesy-of-your-daily-newspaper/

Readers of the St. Petersburg Times on Sunday found a little rancid bonus in their newspapers this weekend: a DVD called Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West, which is a hate film ostensibly about Islamic terror. It’s really a thinly veiled attempt to influence the presidential election by flooding anti-Muslim sentiment ahead of the Obama-McCain balloting in November.

Nothing like infusing the voters’ minds with fresh images of terror, especially little children as jihadists, only 50 days away from the day we decide whether to put a man named Barack Hussein Obama into office

ONE NEWSPAPER REFUSES TO DISTRIBUTE 'ISLAM TERROR' DVD

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:34:58 EDT

Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher, 9/15/08
http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?mid1=676&&ArticleID=25477&&name=n&&currPage=1

As explored here this past weekend, the Clarion Fund has paid dozens of newspapers across the country -- almost solely in "swing" election states -- and The New York Times to distribute the "Islam terror" DVD "Obsession" with their home delivery packages. Among the larger cities where this has taken place: Miami, Philadelphia, Denver and Pittsburgh.

An estimated 28 million copies have been distributed so far, also through the mails and other magazines. An article at the group's site, www.radicalislam.org, all but endorsed John McCain this past week, then was pulled down.

But at least one newspaper turned away the money and refused to distribute it, calling it "divisive."

It's the Greensboro News & Record in North Carolina.. The longtime editor, John Robinson, explained his reasoning in a column yesterday.

'RADICAL ISLAM' VIDEO ANGERS SOUTH FLORIDA MUSLIMS

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:20:48 EDT

A DVD about “radical Islam's war against the west,” included with the Sunday Miami Herald and dozens of other newspapers, has caused a stir among the region's Muslims.
Jaweed Kaleem, Miami Herald, 9/16/08
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/687954.html

A controversial DVD distributed to millions of Americans during the past week through direct mail and newspapers, including The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, has angered many Muslims in South Florida.

Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the Westwas packaged as an advertising insert in 70 newspapers, including The Sun Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. The Clarion Fund, a nonprofit organization that promotes ''national security through education,'' sent the hourlong preview of the documentary to 28 million households, many in election swing states such as Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Readers of The St. Petersburg Times, The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville and The News-Press of Fort Myers also received the DVDs.

The DVD includes montages of terrorist training camps and suicide bombers paired with narration by commentators such as Daniel Pipes, founder of the conservative Middle East Forum think tank. Many of the film's pundits are known for controversial views on Islam. In one part of the DVD, clips of Muslim children being recruited as suicide bombers are interspersed with images of Nazis.

“My cellphone has been ringing off the hook . . . We feel that it's going to incite more hate and bigotry against our community,” said Altaf Ali, Florida chapter director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The DVD does not do enough to differentiate between terrorists and mainstream Muslims, he said.

CONTROVERSIAL DVD ABOUT RADICAL ISLAM INCLUDED IN ORLANDO SENTINEL

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:12:21 EDT

http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?mid1=674&&ArticleID=25475&&name=n&&currPage=1
WFTV, 9/15/08

Just weeks before the election, there are questions about a controversial insert published in The Orlando Sentinel. The insert on radical Islam included a 60-minute DVD.

Over 300,000 copies of "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against The West" went out to Orlando residents as an insert in Sunday's Sentinel. Twenty-eight million copies will go out in swing states nationwide by the end of the week.

The Clarion Fund paid millions of dollars to get the DVD out. It's a non-profit organization that claims to focus on national security. Eyewitness News asked the New York-based group and they would not say exactly how many millions they receive or who their donors are.

PRO-MCCAIN GROUP DUMPING 28 MILLION TERROR SCARE DVDS IN SWING STATES

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:35:23 EDT

Erik Ose, Huffington Post, 9/12/08

(UPDATE 9/13 - 70 newspapers in swing states have been paid to distribute Obsession this weekend and next, which means not all of the DVDs have been delivered yet. Check the list at the end of this post to see if your newspaper is one of them, and let them know how you feel about their participation in this shameless propaganda campaign.)

This week, 28 million copies of a right-wing, terror propaganda DVD are being mailed and bundled in newspaper deliveries to voters in swing states. The 60-minute DVDs, titled Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, are landing on doorsteps in a campaign coinciding with the 7th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Funding is coming from a New York-based group called the Clarion Fund, a shadowy outfit whose financial backers are unclear.

ANTI-MUSLIM FILM PRODUCED BY PRO-ISRAEL PARTISAN BOOSTS MCCAIN

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:30:59 EDT

Richard Silverstein, Israel eNews, 9/15/08

You do the hanky-panky and you smear the other guy
That’s what it’s all about.

Yes, the right-wing pro-Israel crowd is up to its usual shenanigans I’m afraid…and going about it in their typically sly, surreptitious way. Greg Mitchell reports that the Clarion Fund, founded by Israeli-Canadian Raphael Shore, is distributing 28-million copies of the anti-Muslim propaganda film, Obsession, to voters in election swing states.

MUSLIMS RAP DVD AD IN OBSERVER

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:25:53 EDT

Tim Funk and Peter St. Onge, Charlotte Observer, 9/13/08

A decision by The Charlotte Observer and other newspapers to distribute as paid advertising a DVD about Islamic fundamentalism brought objections Friday from Muslims, who condemned the documentary as “hate speech.”

The DVD called “Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West” was inserted in about 200,000 copies of today's Observer.

More than 70 other U.S. newspapers, including two other McClatchy newspapers, The (Raleigh) News & Observer and Miami Herald, also are including the DVD in their deliveries.

CONTROVERSIAL FILM ON ISLAM DELIVERED NATIONWIDE

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:20:11 EDT

Yonat Shimron, News & Observer, 9/13/08

Bundled in home-delivered editions of The News & Observer today is a paid insert featuring a controversial DVD on Islam that has stirred anger nationwide.

The documentary, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," features scenes of Muslim children being encouraged to become suicide bombers, interspersed with those of Nazi rallies. The two-year-old film was produced by Raphael Shore, a Canadian who lives in Israel, and was directed by Wayne Kopping of South Africa.

NEWSPAPERS DELIVER MILLIONS OF 'TERROR' DVDS TO SUBSCRIBERS -- IN 'SWING STATES'

funkfresh01 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:13:54 EDT

Greg Mitchell and Joe Strupp, Editor & Publisher, 9/13/08

The arrival of tens of millions of DVDs of a controversial film on doorsteps around the nation -- but almost exclusively in election "swing states" -- via newspaper home delivery continues this weekend, with explanatory articles and subscriber feedback appearing on some of the papers' Web sites.

The DVDs of the 60-minute film, made in 2005, and titled "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," arrived Saturday with, among other papers, the Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer in Raleigh, with delivery with the Miami Herald and other papers set for Sunday.

Other Florida papers to distribute it on Sunday included the major dailies in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Fort Myers and Orlando.

Despite some protests from Muslim and liberal activists, the newspapers -- all hard hit by drops in ad revenue in recent months -- have explained that the DVD does not violate their usual standards; see our exchange with The New York Times below. A spokesperson there said the Times last Sunday inserted 145,000 DVDs in its papers delivered in the following markets: Denver, Miami/Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, Detroit, Kansas City, St Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee/Madison. Note: These are all in swing states.

McCain's V.P. Choice

funkfresh01 — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:12:16 EDT

After months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.

Huh?

Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:

She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience. (1)

Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest. (2)

She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. (3)

Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools. (4)

She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change. (5)

Reports of Mosque Surveillance Concerns Muslims

funkfresh01 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:55:45 EDT

http://religion.info/english/articles/article_385.shtml

Source: Religioscope
Author: Richard Cimino

While there have been allegations in the past of government investigation of mosques on issues relating to terrorism, the recent report, first featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, is said to be the first confirmation that surveillance is taking place.

An article in the Los Angeles Times (May 29) reports that information about the alleged spying surfaced in a case about classified files concerning terrorism that were stolen from a secure office used by military and civilian law enforcement officials at Camp Pendleton. Some of these classified records referred to the surveillance of Muslim communities in Southern California, specifically, the Islamic Center of San Diego. The records alleged that the mosque had been monitored as part of a federal surveillance program targeting Muslim groups, according to the Union-Tribune article.

The FBI's Plan to ‘Profile’ Muslims

funkfresh01 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:28:30 EDT

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/07/10/muslim_profiling/index.html

Source: Salon
Author: Juan Cole

The U.S. Justice Department is considering a change in the grounds on which the FBI can investigate citizens and legal residents of the United States. Till now, DOJ guidelines have required the FBI to have some evidence of wrongdoing before it opens an investigation. The impending new rules, which would be implemented later this summer, allow bureau agents to establish a terrorist profile or pattern of behavior and attributes and, on the basis of that profile, start investigating an individual or group. Agents would be permitted to ask "open-ended questions" concerning the activities of Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans. A person's travel and occupation, as well as race or ethnicity, could be grounds for opening a national security investigation.

The rumored changes have provoked protests from Muslim American and Arab-American groups. The Council on American Islamic Relations, among the more effective lobbies for Muslim Americans' civil liberties, immediately denounced the plan, as did James Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute. Said Zogby, "There are millions of Americans who, under the reported new parameters, could become subject to arbitrary and subjective ethnic and religious profiling." Zogby, who noted that the Bush administration's history with profiling is not reassuring, warned that all Americans would suffer from a weakening of civil liberties.

Racist Anti-Obama Pin Sold at GOP Convention

funkfresh01 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:39:26 EDT

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/06/stick-a-pin-in-it.html

Posted 6/18/2008 4:11:00 PM

Source: Dallas Morning News
Author: Christy Hoppe

While a number of speakers -- such as Railroad Commission chairman Michael Williams and Mike Huckabee -- have praised the advance of Barack Obama and what it means towards a colorblind society, at least one vendor hasn't gotten the message.

At the Republican state convention, a booth hosted by Republicanmarket was selling a pin Saturday that says: If Obama is President will we still call it the White House.

There were other pins that weren't necessarily conveying the positive, inclusive, united front that has been portrayed during the convention. One said, "Press 1 for English. Press 2 for Deportation" and another, "I will hold my nose when I vote for McCain"

New York Muslim’s Struggle for Justice in America

funkfresh01 — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:30:37 EDT

http://atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/4016/32/ Source: Atlantic Free Press Author: Stephen Lendman Yassin Aref is a 37 year old Albany, New York resident and one of many Muslim victims of police state justice in post-9/11 America. They've been hunted down, rounded up, held in detention, kept in isolation, denied bail, restricted in their right to counsel, tried on secret evidence and trumped-up charges, then incarcerated as political prisoners or deported to where they face possible arrest and torture. Because of his faith and ethnicity, Aref was victimized by US "justice" in a post-9/11 climate of fear. He's an Iraqi Kurd who emigrated to the US as a UN refugee in 1999 with his wife and three young children. He's now in federal prison but committed no crime. He's also the author of a poignant memoir/autobiography titled "Son of Mountains: My Life as a Kurd and a Terror Suspect." He wrote it in custody at Troy, New York's Rensselaer County Jail after his wrongful conviction in October 2006.