Arizona preacher Michael Salman was sentenced to jail for building what the City of Phoenix claims he has been representing as a church on his home property without securing the proper permits. Salman claims the building is not a church and is simply for private Bible study gatherings.
Salman’s case, which started in 2007, reached its conclusion this week when a Phoenix court ruled that he was guilty of more than five dozen violations in constructing the building and sentenced him to 60 days in jail and three years of probation.
The preacher, whose ministry is called Harvest Christian Fellowship, claims he was exercising his religious liberty by worshiping at home on his private property, and that his gatherings were no different than when people hold Super Bowl or Christmas parties.
“You’re taking a man out of society and sticking him in jail for worshiping at his home,” he told a local news station.
This bothers me, because we are supposed to be a free Republic and not an oppressive monarchy. But yet, when a Christian man wants to put a Church building in on his own property; he is tossed in jail?
My question you, my dear readers is: Since do Governments have the right to oppress those who wish to worship God in their own manner as they choose?
Also too, allow me go be the one to ask this question: if this man were a Jew or a Muslim; would the Government be so quick to jail him? What about if he were black?
Those are answers that I would like to know. We are supposed to be an Constitutional Republic and private property right are supposed to be respected.
Just in case you are not inclined to watch the video, here’s what she said:
“Americans of course responded in very typically American ways to [terrorism], something that many people in the rest of the world had already experienced. We began with a kind of nationalist fervor that was justified as reasonable patriotism.”
“I’d like to point out that we clearly must have been having post-traumatic stress disorder because for about a year after September 11th, there were African-American men walking around the city of New York with N.Y.P.D hats on– that can only be explained as a P.T.S.D. response.”
“The other thing that happens in that moment, I don’t want to miss this, is that a new version of what America typically needs emerge, and that is a racial enemy. Americans in part identify who we are, and who deserves what, through our notions of whiteness and of the racial enemies that are the non-whites.“
“And in this moment, the new racial enemy became not so much Reagan‘s ’welfare queen,’ who was imaginary, but instead this imagined other that is somehow Muslim, or Arab, or Sikh, or something else.”
“We became willing to stomach a kind of horrific racial violence in the name of national security. It is something that we have been willing to stomach as a people over and over again in our history.”
“The Patriot Act was not an act of a Republican president acting alone. The Patriot Act was a bipartisan decision by both parties. It was not bought and paid for by corporations; it was bought and paid for by our fear.”
You see folks, this is why I do not vote for Democrats any longer. I was one of the many who were traumatized by the images of 9/11, which ran continuously; which almost drove me to suicide. For this BITCH to insinuate that I am some how a racist, because I still hold some very deep convictions about 9/11 and those who were responsible for it — is a grievous insult to those who died on that terrible day. This woman should be fucking fired from her job. She just shit on the graves of those who perished that day and just spit in the faces of those who lived through that horrible event.
Unbelievable — just damn unbelievable.
UPDATE: I came back to this posting, because I knew I could do better. I figured some serial complainer would bring up the fact that I even mentioned that this woman was black. Okay, so I removed that — but how is it that this sort of disgusting sort of racism towards whites is even remotely tolerated in public discourse? I mean, if a white man had gotten up and said something similar about blacks or Latinos — or yes, even Jews — this person would be derided as a racist or antisemitic. But, yet, this woman, who happens to be black, can spout this sort of idiotic nonsense and it is just perfectly okay. My friends, something is wrong with this damned Country and I mean in a big way. I predict that 30 years from now, if the socialists continue the way they are going — people will be saying that America actually deserved the 9/11 attacks and that White Christians were the true cause of those attacks. Oh wait, they already do. 😡 I’m sorry, but this one gets me fighting mad. 😡 😡 😡
Back before I ran my old blog, which was called “Political Byline”; I used to run a blog called “The Populist.” Well, that blog was hacked, either by some people, who call themselves Conservatives or by foreign entities. I suspect the former, but I tend to think it was the latter. Either way, by the time all that happened; I had become totally disillusioned with the Democratic Party. To be fair to myself; I never much did care for the Democratic Party establishment, this especially after the idiotic Clinton Administration’s nonsense. especially during his second term. Plus, as a Christian; I had not forgotten about the Waco incident.
Anyhow, one of reasons for this disillusionment was the Democrat Party’s treatment of our Military. It has been tepid at best. Proof of this, can be seen right here: (H/T NewsBusters)
Quoting this tool:
CHRIS HAYES: Thinking today and observing Memorial Day, that’ll be happening tomorrow. Just talked with Lt. Col. Steve Burke [sic, actually Beck], who was a casualty officer with the Marines and had to tell people [inaudible]. Um, I, I, ah, back sorry, um, I think it’s interesting because I think it is very difficult to talk about the war dead and the fallen without invoking valor, without invoking the words “heroes.” Um, and, ah, ah, why do I feel so comfortable [sic] about the word “hero”? I feel comfortable, ah, uncomfortable, about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war. Um, and, I don’t want to obviously desecrate or disrespect memory of anyone that’s fallen, and obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism: hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I’m wrong about that.
I don’t write this to trash Chris Hayes, but to pose a question to the Conservative Democrats that actually read this blog and yes, I happen to know that a few of you that do, in fact, read here. Could you imagine a Democrat President giving a speech like this here?:
Not only can I not see a Democratic Party President giving a speech like this; but I would tend to believe that FDR would be chased out of the Democratic Party as a warmonger today! This is my issue with the modern-day Democratic Party; it is as if they are “Brothers-in-arms” with those who crashed those planes into the trade center buildings in 2001. The Liberal Democrats in this country have the attitude that the United States of America is the “great capitalist Satan” of the world and somehow or another deserved the attacks on 9/11. Who else has this attitude about America? oh yes! It is the Islāmic terrorists!
This is the reason Chris Hayes cannot call our Military dead Heroic men and women. Because it goes against his entire leftist DNA. Because the left hates our Military, hates the values that our Military stands for and quite frankly hates this Country for what it truly is.
That is the Democratic Party of the 21 century and I want zero to do with it, at all. 😡
The really sad thing is; is that Ron Paul and most, if not all, of the Paleo-Conservative right agree with this guy and his furry Progressive friends. Which is why Ron Paul never, ever be President of the United States. Ron Paul and the Paleoconservatives want to take us back to prior to World War 2 and leave the Jews to Hitler and put the WASP’s back in charge. Sorry guys, we lost that battle. We have to come to the 21 century. The quicker the better, I say.
Update:This liberal blogger comes right out and says it. Hey, at least he is honest about it. Although, I tend to suspect that the irony of what he wrote is lost on him. It is because of the deaths of soldiers past; on battlefields domestic and abroad, he is free to even write that sort of tripe. Again, just another perfect example of why I told the Democratic Party to piss off and voted my principles — and no, I do not mean Republican either. Hell, the Republican Party has not been a true, small Government Conservative Party since Reagan left office and the Neoconservatives took power. Even Reagan was not truly a small Government Conservative either. He believed in small Government; when it was convenient.
One reason I think this discussion is so important is because the manipulation of the term “terrorism” this way permits and bolsters (even if unintentionally) an extremely ugly, destructive, and toxic worldview, one which the Editor-in-Chief of Commentary Magazine, John Podhoretz, vividly expressed last night on Twitter when discussing the firing of Keith Olbermann by Current TV:
That’s about as overtly racist a statement from a media figure with a platform as you’ll see (and the it’s-just-a-joke excuse is obviously irrelevant: just imagine analogous “jokes” about how disfavored journalists would be punished at The Jerusalem Post, or Black Entertainment Television, etc.). To Podhoretz, Al Jazeera is filled with Arabs and Muslims, which means: The Terrorists (for many years after 9/11, that was virtually official U.S. governmentpolicy). Podhoretz is the same person who wrote a New York Post column in 2006 lamenting that in the early stages of the Iraq War, “we didn’t kill enough Sunnis in the early going to intimidate them and make them so afraid of us they would go along with anything,” suggesting that the big U.S. mistake in the war was allowing “the survival of Sunni men between the ages of 15 and 35.” Remember, though: it’s those Muslims who are The Terrorists (when influential American “terrorism experts” start talking about the John Podhoretzes of the world as terrorism advocates, and about “Shock and Awe“, the assault on Fallujah and the bombing of Gaza as terrorism, and about Ronald Reagan as a “state sponsor of terrorism” for his funding of El Salvadoran death squads and Nicaraguan contras, and about the parties responsible for the assassination of Iranian civilian scientists as international terrorists, then I’ll start to take the honorific more seriously).
I have no doubt that most respected “terrorism experts” would find Podhoretz’s comment about Al Jazeera repugnant. But the mentality on display here — and it’s quite pervasive (which is why this is one of the few remaining forms of overt bigotry that provokes no real sanction) — finds nourishment in the constant discussion of Terrorism, the Supreme Evil, as: acts of violence by Muslims directed at us (but not violence by our own government or those of its allies directed at Muslims).
The above is exactly why the libertarian crowd hates the Zionist crowd with a passion. This is why I am not a huge fan of John Podhoretz and his ilk. It is because they can make statements like this, without any repercussions. If someone, who is not a Zionist made a similar statement about Israel and Jews; they would be excoriated from one end of the blogosphere to the other. Mr. Glennwald has a very good point and I think everyone on the Jewish Conservative side of the political isle, ought to take a hard look at this and take it very seriously. If the Zionists want respect, they have to learn to respect others. Because not all Arabs out there are terrorists; just like not all blacks are murders, robbers, and so forth —- not all white people are robe and hood carrying Klansman. Some black liberals might think that, but I digress. Furthermore, not all Jews are evil bankers trying to overthrow the Country. See? It goes both ways. Someone needs to tell Podhoretz to keep his damned bigotry towards Arabs to himself.
Also too; anyone who believes that Jews can be insulted like this, and can get away with it —- ought to have a nice long talk — with Rick Sanchez.
I have not really blogged on this much; the kudos goes to this blogger for his fishing out the story on Sandra Fluck’s connections in the progressive movement.
Now the Democrats are crying antisemitism. Where were they when Alan Dershowitz was pointing out to everyone that Media Matters for America was antisemitic? These same democrats are now whining about privacy. The same people who dug up Joe the plumbers private records and exposed them.
Difference is, Joe’s info was private; this info on Fluck was ALL public info. Besides all that, this stupid woman put herself out there as some sort of victim; when in fact she is a professional activist and she got exposed. Boo hoo, crap happens. Take two mydol’s and call me in the morning.
Again, I love it when the left gets exposed like this. The hypocrisy is stunning.
A local school district is apologizing after an apparent incident of racism at a boys high school basketball game this past weekend.
When the final whistle blew Saturday, Alamo Heights celebrated a convincing victory over San Antonio Edison.
Alamo Heights Head Coach Andrew Brewer said he was proud of his team.
“Tremendously proud,” Brewer said. “Tremendously. It’s the best group of kids.”
But it was just after the trophy presentation when the coach was not proud of the chant coming from Alamo Heights fans.
“USA, USA, USA,” they chanted.
San Antonio Independent School District officials took the chant as a racial insult to a school with all minority players from a school with mostly white ones.
SAISD Spokeswoman Leslie Price heard about the incident after it had happened.
“This is very disrespectful to our students,” Price said.
She said the district is glad the coach put a stop to the chant immediately and hopes Alamo Heights addresses it quickly.
“It is surprising and it’s disappointing to hear that anyone would be out there making those kind of remarks,” Price said.
Edison students who attended Saturday’s game were shocked when they heard the chant. Some thought the fans of the victors should have been better behaved.
Ruby Arredondo and Forest Lebaron are seniors at Edison and Julian Castellano is a junior.
“I was very surprised,” Castellano said. “Very appalled.”
“They didn’t really have any class,” Arredondo said.
“It just rubbed us the wrong way,” Lebaron said.
Alamo Heights Superintendent Dr. Kevin Brown also apologized for the chant.
“We just hope that people know that that’s not who we are and we’re not going to let it happen again,” Brown said.
Let me get this straight; white American kids chanting “USA! USA! USA!” because they happen to be Americans and are happy they won basketball game is now racist. Wait Wha? 😯
Here is a novel idea to the minorities who were offended by this; how about you idiots just take your offended asses back to the Countries that you came from? If this Country and it’s people and customs and prosperity offend you that much, then go the hell home and leave we Americans to our culture.
If it were not bad enough that these kids are pegged as racist, they are now FORCED to apologize for something that they are not even remotely guilty of and are now banned from attending any of the school’s games. If I were the parents of any of these kids, I would get me a lawyer and sue the living hell out this Anti-American school district. Furthermore, I would remove my kid from this school district and either enroll him or her in a private school; like a Christian school or I would Home-school the kid!
Again, folks; this is your far-leftist mentality that is rampant in this Country; and in, off all places, TEXAS no less! This is why I have continued to blog, after the end of the Iraq War. Not because I am some sort of a great writer or a wealthy Republican or even a wealthy Conservative; it is because of idiotic nonsense like this right here. It is what Andrew Breitbart was fighting against and it is what we as patriot Americans must take a stand against!
I am Andrew Breitbart….. and this is war. 😡
Update #2: Oh and Tina? Since when is Nationalism a bad thing? Pride in ones Country is not racist; I know you did not say that. But the idea that someone should not be a Nationalist, is absurd. Now, White Nationalist? That is a horse of different color. Those folk are evil, but regular old Nationalists, who love their Country, like me — are usually harmless.
Again, I stand by my statement; you do not like here — get the heck out and go back where you came from. Racism? Nope. It is called REALISM. 😡
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