Friday, December 11, 2015

Clowns To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right


What the hell is wrong with the Republican party?  The Republicans are supposed to be the life affirming party, the party who opposes the killing of the unborn, the defenders of the weak and powerless, the party of morality.  The Democrats are supposed to be the party of narcissists, caring about no one but themselves and their own pleasure. 

And yet the leading Republican contender for President is a fascist who denounces and demonizes entire groups of people.  The Republicans – not the Democrats - are the ones who oppose helping the war refugees from Syria and other Muslim countries.  The Republicans cower in fear, afraid that some bad guy might slip in with the suffering mass of humanity pouring out of these countries.

It doesn’t matter that babies, small children and women are a large portion of the millions of people who have fled torture and murder in Syria. It doesn’t matter that many of the 220,000 dead in Syria are innocent civilians. It doesn't matter that the enemy creating the nightmare in Syria - ISIS - came into being as a result of our invasion into Iraq. It doesn't matter that there is not one documented case of a terrorist being among the refugees. There might be a couple of bad guys among them, so they just have to deal with the mess we helped to create without any assistance from us. We can't put ourselves at risk!

Syrian Refugees
Source
Republicans can't be bothered with statistics like the following form World Vision:

Syria crisis: Fast facts

  • 13.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance.
  • 4.3 million Syrians are refugees, and 6.6 million are displaced within Syria; half are children.
  • Most Syrian refugees remain in the Middle East, in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt; slightly more than 10 percent of the refugees have traveled to Europe.
  • Children affected by the Syrian conflict are at risk of becoming ill, malnourished, abused, or exploited. Millions have been forced to quit school.
This chart from the Belfer Center at Harvard University has no effect on the Republicans cowering in the corner:


I heard someone say recently that conservatives are driven by fear, and that is why they tend to love tradition, because it gives them something tangible to hang on to. How sad and utterly true that is. It is fear that drives Republicans and conservatives of all types, including Catholic traditionalists. Look at the traditional blogs. They are all about someone or something or a group of people who are out to destroy everything they hold near and dear. Everyone who doesn't believe as they do is the enemy. They insist on Group Think, and if you refuse to walk in lockstep with them, you will be castigated and rejected.

I saw this fear boldly demonstrated in a recent article from "RenewAmerica". The article, entitled, "A no-go-zone for Muslims in America?", was written by Cliff Kincaid, an ultra-right conservative, as is everyone else connected with RenewAmerica. The article actually defends Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslims into the country.

Kincaid starts out by criticizing the "liberal media", and specifically in this case, CNN:
Covering a topic with no end in sight, as they usually do, CNN has been highlighting negative comments about Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslims coming to America until the nature of the Muslim terrorist threat can be analyzed and addressed. The terms include "unhinged," "offensive," "unconstitutional," and "reprehensible.
And there is something positive about banning an entire religion from the United States, a country founded on religious freedom? Apparently Cliff Kincaid thinks so, as he writes:
The term "unhinged" more appropriately applies to Trump's critics.
Kincaid goes on to write:
The American people are scared, but not of Trump. They are scared of terrorists. Trump seems to be the only political figure with anything approaching a solid proposal to keep potential killers out of the United States.
I don't know how a follower of Jesus Christ could ever agree with Donald Trump.  There are millions of suffering human beings in Syria in desperate need of help, and all we can think about is keeping "potential killers" out of the United States.  The fact that no known terrorists have ever been found among the refugees means nothing to Kincaid.  What does he bring up to justify his statement?
America has just witnessed two Muslim killers in San Bernardino carrying out a massacre, and all that the media can do is unite in anger against a candidate who proposes a ban on Muslim immigration until the two major political parties running Washington, D.C., can figure out what to do.
On of those "Muslim killers" was American born, and the other, his wife, was here on a valid VISA.  How do we ban someone who is born in this country, and then ban his wife?  Thank God for the media "uniting in anger" against this blatant discrimination and hate.

Source

Kincaid actually feels that the Trump proposal - to ban an entire religion - is "cautious"!!
If anything, Trump's proposal is cautious. He is giving Democrats and Republicans a chance to solve the problem before more massacres take place. This is supposed to be alarming?
You better believe it's alarming!  If the powers that be decide one religion is dangerous, what is to keep them from deciding that another religion or another group is dangerous?  Maybe they will decide that anyone who does not agree with same sex marriage or abortion is a danger to the country.  After all, a "pro life" person just killed three people in Colorado.  Who knows how far this can be taken.  Hitler started with the Jews, and he ended up putting priests, nuns, homosexuals, handicapped - and anyone else he didn't like - into the camps.  Hate is insatiable.

Source
Kincaid then went after his fellow conservatives for not aligning themselves with the hatred spewed by Trump:
Demonstrating the staying power of the liberal media and their ability to cause a panic – in this case generating fear of Trump – the new House Speaker, Paul Ryan (R-WI), was quick to declare at a news conference that while he normally stays out of the GOP's presidential nominating process, he just had to say he was disgusted with Trump's proposal.
 . . .
President George W. Bush treated Islam as a "religion of peace." There may have been a diplomatic rationale for such a statement coming shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the U.S. wanted leads from the Muslim community about terrorists in their midst, but more than 14 years later, with the Middle East in flames and American blood being spilled in the cities of Paris and San Bernardino, such terminology cannot be justified. It is a denial of reality.
Kincaid is clearly pushing the idea that all Muslims are wicked and evil, with the main purpose in life to "kill the infidels."  He furthers this sentiment with the following:
The media saw for themselves the Koran in the killers' apartment. What was that for? Since we know the killers were devout Muslims, it is logical to conclude that they read the Muslim Holy Book and understood its message. This is the conclusion our media are desperately eager to ignore. They don't want to face facts.
Ordinary Americans can read the Koran for themselves, and many have. They understand that, in contrast to the "love your enemies" message of Jesus Christ, Muhammad spread violence and terror, just as some Muslims are doing today. America is their main target.
I think Kincaid slipped here a bit.  He said "some Muslims" are spreading violence and terror.  Yet, his solution is to ban all of them, because you just can't be sure.  It doesn't matter that Muslims are being tortured and murdered.  It doesn't matter that much of the violence we see in the Mideast today is the result of our invasion into Iraq.  Muslims are bad guys, and they must be banned!

How does he explain the fact that there are actually conservatives who do not agree with him?
This, then, helps explain the pathetic Republican response to Trump. They don't want to admit he has a point because to do so means that George W. Bush had it wrong. To put it charitably, Bush, a Christian, was duped. Obama, by contrast, seems to be a true believer in the power of Islam. After all, he told the U.N. that the future didn't belong to those who "slander the prophet."
This Kincaid guy really has it figured out.  If you can't see how evil Muslims are, you have either been "duped" like George Bush was, or you are just as evil as the Muslims, as Obama is.

Kincaid then presents a completely false argument, blaming the San Bernardino attacks on President Obama:
Obama's approach, which opened the door to last week's attack that resulted in 14 dead and 21 wounded, is mildly criticized by the media as being "out-of-touch" with the terrorism problem. Trump, on the other hand, is called every name in the book, including "fascist," and is being compared to Hitler, simply because he proposes banning those with a presumed commitment to jihad. How do you identify these Muslims? Our security people can't identify all of them. But surely the picture of the killers entering the U.S. in 2014, along with evidence of their foreign travel and connections, is enough to raise questions.
Just what is it about this picture
that tells us these people are terrorists?
Trust me, I am no fan of President Obama. I disagree with him on almost every issue. But there is no way he can be blamed for the San Bernardino attacks. As stated, Syed Rizwan Farook was an American born citizen, and his wife was here on a valid VISA. There is nothing in "Obama's approach" that had anything to do with these killings.

Look at the words Kincaid uses: "Trump, on the other hand, is called every name in the book, including "fascist," and is being compared to Hitler, simply because he proposes banning those with a presumed commitment to jihad." No, this is not what Trump is proposing. Trump is telling us that every Muslim is presumed guilty of being a jihadist until proven innocent, and since we can't prove them all innocent, we must ban them all from this country. And that is most definitely fascism in action.

They're all Jihadists
Source
I have now completely washed my hands of the Republican party and conservatives in general.  At the same time, I cannot be a part of the Democrats or liberals because of their support for a basically anti-God, anti-life platform.  

"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right."  

Never have I felt more like an exile in this world.  The only place I feel at home is with the Blessed Sacrament. 

I guess that's not so bad.


22 comments:

  1. Absolutely excellent post, CiB.

    Recently, I challenged a long time friend who posted a series of racist, pro-violent, simplistic memes on Facebook. When I asked that she spend an hour in silence before the Blessed Sacrament to reconsider one particular meme - which was a outright lie - her response was that the First Amendment gives her the right to express her opinions. Nothing about rights coming with moral responsibilities - and no mention of the Blessed Sacrament, even though she regards herself as being (in her words) "A good and faithful Catholic who disagrees with Pope Francis view that Muslims are our brothers and sisters." Well, they don't believe in Jesus, so how can they be our brothers and sisters? Jesus wept!

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    1. I wonder how many Catholics think about the fact that one of the most important of all Marian apparitions was in a place called Fatima - named after the daughter of Muhammed. Fatima is still a Muslim name to this day. In fact, Muslims have a very great love for our Lady.

      Certainly there are radicals among the Muslims - ISIS practices a corrupt version of Islam. As i have written here, I live among a community of many thousands of Muslims, and have for many years, and never once have I been persecuted or harassed by them in any way.

      To demonize an entire group of people for what a few do is the antithesis of being a Christian. Donald Trump promotes hate and division, and I am ashamed of all those Americans who cheer him on. If he is at all representative of the Republican party - which he seems to be - I cannot support them any more than I can support Democrats who promote abortion and same sex marriage.

      Yes, indeed - Jesus wept.

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    2. "In fact, Muslims have a very great love for our Lady" Please, get a life!

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    3. From Wikipedia

      "Mary the mother of Jesus (Isa), is considered one of the most righteous women in the Islamic religion. She is mentioned more in the Quran[2] than in the entire New Testament and is also the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran.[3] According to the Quran, Jesus was born miraculously by the will of God without a father. His mother is regarded as a chaste and virtuous woman and is said to have been a virgin. The Quran states clearly that Jesus was the result of a virgin birth, but that neither Mary nor her son were divine. In the Quran, no other woman is given more attention than Mary and the Quran states that Mary was chosen above all women:

      Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee – chosen thee above the women of all nations.

      — Quran, sura 3 (Al Imran), ayah 42

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_in_Islam

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  2. "But there is no way he can be blamed for the San Bernardino attacks. As stated, Syed Rizwan Farook was an American born citizen, and his wife was here on a valid VISA."
    Really? Do you live under a rock?
    It was the Obama Administration that prevented the review of social media postings because of civil rights concerns (the wife had openly pledged support to ISIS on facebook). The Obama Administration called off the investigation on Farook as well because it was viewed as "Muslim profiling." Only a clown would equate the promotion and protection of abortion with common sense calls to properly vet immigrants (btw, Farook's wife was vetted by 5 gov't agencies). Likewise, FBI Director Comey stated we do NOT have the capability to properly vet Syrian refugees.

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  4. Another apologist for Muslims.....
    Read your history, Brooklyn Catholic. You can start with the Battle of Tours.
    And don't worry about the Republicans- you may actually cheer them a bit after they passed a budget with a devastating spending increase generally, and specifically funded Obama's plan to import Muslims by the thousands. That was after they voted down Rand Paul's bill to slow down immigration from 33 dangerous countries. Trump may be the only one talking common sense, and the Republicans and everyone else hate him for it.
    You can go on with being more Christian than thou to the point of foolishness. There is a big difference between protecting yourself from people who present a danger and hating them. Stop it with the 'hate' crap. Trump does not 'hate' Muslims. He recognizes the very real danger they pose to us, and to many others all over the world. Why would you invite them into your house?
    Muslims do not assimilate, do not want to assimilate. 68% here are on some form of gov't assistance. The majority of the so-called 'refugees' are male of military age, and are dressed in Tommy Hilfiger sportswear and western sneakers. I guess they left the women & children back home to deal with ISIS. Why is no Muslim country taking them in? Why are the oil rich Arab countries so silent- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Barain, Qatar? Oh- wait. Saudi Arabia did step up to offer to build mosques in Germany for the new 'refugees'.
    Wake up Man!

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    1. I thank you for proving the point of my post and at the same, I can only shake my head in great sadness at the prejudice, bigotry, hated and ignorance displayed in your comment.

      As I pointed out in my post, facts make no difference to those who choose to hate. This is what leads to war and destruction. We saw this displayed in all its ugly and demonic glory in the 20th century, and we seem headed for worse in the 21st century. God help us all.

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    2. Can you be explicit in where there is hate in my post?
      This the same accusation you made of Trump. Because he doesn't agree with the party line you call him names.
      These are all the usual ad-hominem attacks: hate, bigotry, prejudice thrown around indiscriminately to avoid arguing from facts & reason. And keep your patronizing pity. It's insulting.
      So who exactly "chooses to hate"?

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    3. Well, well, well....no commentary or deep thoughts from CiB on the New Year's Day Rape-fest from Cologne to Helsinki? Just move on, nothing to see here, huh? Don't let reality get in the way of your platitudes!

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    4. Of course this was a terrible thing. But do you condemn whole groups of people for what a few do? As far as I know, there was only one actual rape reported, the rest was sexual harassment aimed at distracting the women and then stealing from them.
      This is not to diminish the seriousness of these crimes, but you really ought to get your facts straight.

      There are millions of Muslim men in Europe. How many were involved in these sexual assaults and one rape?

      There was a horrific story right here in Brooklyn this weekend in which a woman was gang raped by five men in a park.

      http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/teen-gang-raped-fiends-brooklyn-playground-article-1.2491087

      This group consisted of five young black men. Do we throw all black men out of this country because of what a few do?

      There are white men who rape, who murder, who abuse their wives and children. Should we throw all white men out of the county?

      What about the Mafia, which consists mainly of Italian Americans? Do we throw all Italian men out of the country for what a few do?

      Your reasoning is racist and bigoted.

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    6. The point is that they were all refugees.....who wouldn't have raped ("what's a little rape or harassment, eh?") or robbed anyone if Merkel didn't blindly open the door. What about the 1400 child rapes in England by Muslims? You can call me all the names you like - I've lived in their "culture" - have you? You're the typical compassionate phony - it doesn't matter if other people are hurt as long as you can feel good about yourself.
      Here's your policy in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKu6Y7FtgF4

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    7. And how many children have been raped and abused by Catholic priests? Do we condemn all priests for what some have done? Obviously you do. I guess we should not have any more priests. Have you seen the latest priest scandal involving the brother of Pope Benedict? The pope and his brother are very close. I guess we better condemn Pope Benedict as well. I repeat - your comments are racist and bigoted.

      http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/08/lawyer-231-boys-german-choir-school-abuse-victims-regensburger-domspatzen

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    8. And yes, I live among a very large Muslim community. What does that have to do with anything ?

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    9. I am talking about living in an Islamic country, where Christians are very much second class citizens - not in the States where you still benefit from the protections offered by this Republic.
      The subtlety lost on you is that there is a difference between appropriately dealing with criminal citizens of the United States and letting in those who are poorly vetted and from a culture /religion hostile to basic human rights. We have no obligation to put our culture and lives at risk for the latter. How many San Bernardino shootings and Boston Marathon bombings are you willing to accept?

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    10. And that is not the discussion here. My post is talking about helping the millions of war refugees who are fleeing torture and murder by ISIS. And there is also the fact that ISIS would never have come into existence if we had not invaded a sovereign country and destroyed that country. The people fleeing the horror that we created are not the ones we have to fear.

      I assume you are a Christian as I am. Our Founder, Jesus Christ, told us that whatsoever you do to the least you do to Him. He will not accept the excuse that we cannot help those in desperate need because we are too afraid for our own lives. If you insist on that, read Matthew 25 to learn your fate.

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  5. Catholic in Brooklyn, do you think it's high time that faithful Catholics in America focus more on evangelization than on politics?

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  6. Ask Father Jacques Hamel....oh, wait.

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  7. You know, when I was a hardcore traditionalist, it was the fact that those around me condemned Muslims and immigrants that woke me up. And Pope Francis, the supposed enemy of all that it holy, was among the few with a Christlike love for neighbour, whereas these people supposedly with true sacraments, intense prayer life and traditional devotions stood opposed to Jesus and the gospel.

    If we are going to talk about Muslims and their evil culture I double dare you to study the history of colonialism and Western imperialism. These "Christians" followed the anti-gospel, so I guess the West is full of white "savages" who need to be civilized by Jesus Christ.

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