SelwynDuke.com

Obama Reacts to House Prohibition of Abortion Funding

By Selwyn Duke

In a legislative clash that pitted Democrats against their fellows, the House voted Saturday to pass the Stupak Amendment. Sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), Brad Ellsworth, (D-Ind.) and Joe Pitts, (R-Pa.), the measure prohibits federal money from being used to fund abortion through the Democrats’ 1,990-page healthcare plan.

The amendment passed by the comfortable margin of 240-194, with every Republican and 64 Democrats voting yay. Alex Wayne at CQ.com provides the details, writing:

Read the rest here.

Jihad and America: The Land that Cried Sheep

By Selwyn Duke

People were shocked when Major Nidal Malik Hasan brutally targeted fellow servicemen at Texas’ Fort Hood with pistol fire, murdering 12 and wounding 31.  Yet, there is an aspect of this story that is far more shocking — or, at least, one that would be considered so in a sane society.

We now know that Major Hasan did not hide his true loyalties, often expressing pro-Islamist sentiments.  For example, the Telegraph quotes former Hasan colleague Col. Terry Lee as saying, “[Hasan] was making outlandish comments condemning our foreign policy and claimed Muslims had the right to rise up and attack Americans,” that Hasan admitted to being “happy” upon learning of the Muslim who killed a soldier at an Arkansas military recruitment center and that he once said “maybe people should strap bombs on themselves and go to Time Square.”  Chron.com reports that Hasan had created “Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats” and that “One of the Web postings that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.”

Read the rest here.

Member of Major Hasan's Mosque: "I honestly have no pity for them [the Fort Hood victims]"

By Selwyn Duke

Here is a BBC interview with "Duane," a member of the Fort Hood shooter's mosque. A good example of the jihadist mentality harbored by some within our borders, he says that he won't "condemn" Nidal Malik Hasan because the murderer is a "brother."

In all fairness, the interviewer, Gavin Lee, points out that Duane's was a minority view at the mosque. Still, though, we have to wonder how many jihadist-minded Muslims there are in our nation. And how many others are sympathetic enough to remain silent?

An even better question is: How many leftists who facilitate anti-American movements and encourage the invasion of our nation are there?

Answer: tens of millions.

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. — Marcus Tullius Cicero, 58 B.C.

The Blasphemy Resolution Story: A Clarification

By Selwyn Duke

Recently I wrote a piece titled "Obama Pushing Secular UN Anti-Free Speech Resolution," wherein I reported on Barack Obama's support of a Muslim-inspired United Nations anti-blasphemy resolution. In it I cited a liberal professor named Jonathan Turley, who wrote the following:

While attracting surprisingly little attention, the Obama administration supported the effort of largely Muslim nations in the U.N. Human Rights Council to recognize exceptions to free speech for any "negative racial and religious stereotyping." The exception was made as part of a resolution supporting free speech that passed this month, but it is the exception, not the rule that worries civil libertarians.... It is viewed as a transparent bid to appeal to the "Muslim street" and our Arab allies, with the administration seeking greater coexistence through the curtailment of objectionable speech. Though it has no direct enforcement (and is weaker than earlier versions), it is still viewed as a victory for those who sought to juxtapose and balance the rights of speech and religion.

The Fort Hood Massacre: Is it Really True that All Mainstream Religions are Peaceful?

An apparent Muslim jihadist strikes again — this time at Texas’ Fort Hood.

By Selwyn Duke

We’ve all heard about yesterday’s tragedy at Fort Hood military base in Texas. At 1:30 p.m., army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan went on a rampage, targeting fellow soldiers and others for destruction at the base’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center and the adjacent Howze Theater. Using two semi-automatic handguns, Hasan claimed 12 lives and wounded 31 people before being shot multiple times by local police (it appears the other soldiers weren’t armed). The gunman was then taken into custody and brought to a local hospital. It’s said his life is not in danger. 

While there’s no “official” word on Hasan’s motives, it’s not hard to connect the dots. A man of Jordanian descent and a pious Muslim, the major’s loyalties didn’t seem to lie with the nation he’d sworn to protect. Instead, he had often expressed support for Islamic jihadists, once saying that Muslims needed to “rise up” against the aggressors (presumably the U.S. and the West in general). Expanding on this, Philip Sherwell at the Telegraph reports on the testimonials of retired officer and former colleague of Hasan’s Col. Terry Lee, writing:

Read the rest here.

Catholic Bishops: The Faithful Should Not Support Current Healthcare Reform Bills

By Selwyn Duke

Upset about the inclusion of abortion funding and mandates in the healthcare reform bills currently before Congress, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is blanketing 19,000 parishes across the nation with a bulletin insert instructing the faithful to oppose the bills in their present form.

The USCCB relates the substance of the insert in a news release, writing:

"Health care reform should be about saving lives, not destroying them," the insert states. It urges readers to contact Senate leaders so they support efforts to "incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights" in health reform legislation.

 "If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed," it adds.

Read the rest here.

The School Where Minorities Weren't Punished for Fear of "Racism" Charges

By Selwyn Duke

Recently I wrote about the Tucson Unified School District, where the powers-that-be decided that punishment should be meted out based on racial quotas. And during the last couple of days I posted videos of British citizens being punished for expressing politically incorrect ideas (one couple ran afoul of the "law," to use the term loosely, because they had the temerity to debate religion with a Moslem).  Now there is another story out of the U.K. that's in the same vein.  It concerns a school named Ridgeway, a place in which the administrators were so afraid of being branded "racists" (among the other psychological problems with which they, being thoroughly modern liberals, are no doubt afflicted) that they refused to hold minority students accountable for misbehavior.  What was the result?

Guest Commentary: The Importance of Values and Principles

               Hope comes from the Great State of Tennessee

By Marilyn Barnewall                                        

A copy of Susan Lynn’s email came last Thursday. She is a member of the Tennessee General Assembly and serves on the Commerce Committee. She is Chairman of the Government Operations Committee and also chairs the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Commerce Task Force.

Elderly Woman Persecuted for Expressing Christian Beliefs
This is yet another story about an English Christian being persecuted for voicing her beliefs. In this case the victim is Pauline Howe, who received a visit from the police after writing a letter to local authorities expressing displeasure with a homosexual parade.

Obama Pushing Secular UN Anti-Free Speech Resolution

By Selwyn Duke

Those who would accuse Barack Obama of pandering to — if not sympathy for — Islamists have been handed some powerful new ammunition. In a disturbing move, the Obama administration is joining Muslim nations in supporting a UN resolution restricting criticism of religion, a measure reflective of those nations’ blasphemy laws.

Treating the matter in USA Today, Professor Jonathan Turley writes:

While attracting surprisingly little attention, the Obama administration supported the effort of largely Muslim nations in the U.N. Human Rights Council to recognize exceptions to free speech for any "negative racial and religious stereotyping." The exception was made as part of a resolution supporting free speech that passed this month, but it is the exception, not the rule that worries civil libertarians.... It is viewed as a transparent bid to appeal to the "Muslim street" and our Arab allies, with the administration seeking greater coexistence through the curtailment of objectionable speech. Though it has no direct enforcement (and is weaker than earlier versions), it is still viewed as a victory for those who sought to juxtapose and balance the rights of speech and religion.

Read the rest here.