The Muslim religion seems to be in the news a lot these days. Now, again in New York City, “Muslim parents, students and civic groups are campaigning to add two of their religious holidays to the New York City public school calendar, pinning their hopes on state lawmakers after failing to win over Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the idea,” states Karina Ioffee of Reuters.

Muslims seek to add holidays on NY school calendar

Putting Eid Ul-Fitr, a holiday marking the end of Ramadan, and Eid Ul-Adha, celebrating the end of the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, on the list of official school holidays will help ease suspicion and reduce anti-Muslim sentiment nearly a decade after the September 11 attacks, they say.

This is similar to the Christian tactics, always trying to find a reason to get some special accommodations for their religious beliefs. Students will be missing even more days of real learning. (And as for “easing suspicions” maybe it would work since most kids will be thrilled to be able to have more days off and will be happy with their Muslim friends for getting them another few days off).

Adding more days off to the whole list of days and weeks kids get off school during the year will make it even more difficult for teachers to do their jobs, and will give students less time to learn in.

Bloomberg rejected the proposal, arguing city students cannot afford more days off. Just four in 10 students graduate on time and one in 10 drops out, according to statistics.

“Everybody would like to be recognized but the truth of the matter is we need more school days, not less,” he said.

Christians and Jews already have official holidays from school in NYC and most places around the U.S. How many more religions are going to start demanding school holidays? A possible solution might be to give days off to those students whose families observe a certain religion while the others continue to go to class. The drawback from this option would be the disruption in classroom activity and the possible fraud that would also arise with students claiming to be followers of a particular religion when they really aren’t, just to get days off school. Then more and more holidays are added, that means less time in the classroom and as was pointed out in the article, students are having a hard enough time getting their work completed and graduating with the days they are currently attending.

Some say that students are being made to choose between religion and school, and as far as we atheists are concerned, school and real education is far more important than any imaginary superstitious beliefs.

I’ve made it abundantly clear in the past that of the Big Three of Abraham, Islam is perhaps the most backwards and barbaric of them. True, there was once upon a time when the Muslims had a ‘Golden Age’ of sorts, where the Middle East was an oasis of culture in the Middle Ages, but repetitive repercussions echoed in the headlines and history over the past few centuries have shown that the religion in question is as backwards as its predecessors. Perhaps more so now than ever before. Such is the result of treating religious beliefs with kid gloves.

In Europe, there are varying degrees dealing with Mohammed’s madness:

France is pushing ahead with plans to introduce a law banning women from wearing full-face Islamic veils in all public places.

President Nicolas Sarkozy’s cabinet has approved a bill making it illegal to wear in public clothes designed to hide the face, and the measure is now awaiting a vote in parliament.

Parliament has already passed a non-binding resolution condemning the full Islamic face veil as "an affront to the nation’s values of dignity and equality".

Mr Sarkozy has said veils oppress women and are "not welcome" in France.

A French parliamentary committee earlier recommended a partial ban inside public buildings – such as hospitals and schools – and on public transport.

The State Council – France’s highest administrative body – warned that such a law might be unconstitutional and violate European human rights laws.

However, a ban in public places such as schools, hospitals and law courts could be justified for security reasons, to combat fraud and to meet the needs of some public services, it added.

A ban on Muslim headscarves and other "conspicuous" religious symbols at state schools was introduced in 2004, and received overwhelming political and public support in a country where the separation of state and religion is enshrined in law.

Opinion polls suggest a majority of French people support a full ban.

Now, if we were talking about a law that forbids wearing specific articles such as say a bomber jacket (because it might make the wearer seem dangerous – don’t laugh, I used to have one, and was told as much), or a hat from Beach Blanket Babylon (for something outside of a copyright/trademark infringement), or carrying a parasol of a particular color, well, that would smack of Orwellian overtones, and I’d be on my cyber-stump trumpeting away about the invidious efforts of governments trying to conformitize us (yes, there’s no such word, spare me please, I’m playing). However, when we’re speaking of a religion that has a proven track record of persuading people to strap bombs onto themselves (and other family members!), that ‘martyrs’ people for some reified value that only has value in the eyes of the converted, that slaughters their womenfolk for no better reason than some archaic belief system that’s long since been proven valueless, then out it goes  I say. I’m all for diversity in culture, I’m  a raving xenophile (within reason of course), I enjoy multicultural diversity as much as the next liberal, but a custom that can shield a potential suicide bomber has got to go.

Belgium has smartened up quite a bit:

The lower house of Belgium’s parliament has passed a bill to ban clothing that hides a person’s identity in public places such as parks, buildings and on the street.

The bill still needs approval in the Senate.

Although the legislation does not specifically refer to full-face Islamic veils, it would outlaw the use of garments such as the niqab and the burka.

The bill enjoys cross-party support and is expected to be passed, which would make Belgium the first country in Europe to ban the wearing of such Islamic garments.

Currently, the burka is banned in several districts under old local laws originally designed to stop people masking their faces completely at carnival time.

In Antwerp, for example, police can now reprimand, or even imprison, offenders. They say the regulation is all about public safety.

Spain is dancing around a bit with the concept, and are including other forms of headwear:

Though there are no plans for a national ban in Spain, the city of Barcelona has announced a ban on full Islamic face-veils in some public spaces such as municipal offices, public markets and libraries.

At least two smaller towns in Catalonia, the north-eastern region that includes Barcelona, have also imposed bans.

Barcelona’s city council said the ban there targeted any head-wear that impeded identification, including motorbike helmets and balaclavas, rather than religious belief.

It resisted calls from the conservative Popular Party (PP) to extend the ban to all public spaces, including the street.

Britain is of course somewhat divided on the issue:

There is no ban on Islamic dress in the UK, but schools are allowed to forge their own dress code after a 2007 directive which followed several high-profile court cases.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls said in January 2010 it was "not British" to tell people what to wear in the street after the UK Independence Party called for all face-covering Muslim veils to be banned.

Ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who leads UKIP’s 13 MEPs in Brussels, said the veils were a symbol of an "increasingly divided Britain", that they "oppressed" women, and were a potential security threat.

UKIP is the first British party to call for a total ban, after the anti-immigration British National Party had already called called for the veil to be banned in Britain’s schools.

Surprisingly enough, the Netherlands is less than decisive:

In 2006, the Dutch government considered but abandoned plans to impose a ban on all forms of coverings that obscured the face – from burkas to crash helmets with visors – in public places, saying they disturbed public order and safety. Lawyers said the move would likely be unconstitutional and critics said it would violate civil rights.

The government suggested it would instead seek a ban on face-covering veils in schools and state departments, but no legislation has yet been passed.

Around 5% of the Netherlands’ 16 million residents are Muslims, but only around 300 are thought to wear the burka.

Of course, the battle rages on in Turkey:

For more than 85 years Turks have lived in a secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who rejected headscarves as backward-looking in his campaign to secularise Turkish society.

Scarves are banned in civic spaces and official buildings, but the issue is deeply divisive for the country’s predominantly Muslim population, as two-thirds of all Turkish women – including the wives and daughters of the prime minister and president – cover their heads.

In 2008, Turkey’s constitution was amended to ease a strict ban at universities, allowing headscarves that were tied loosely under the chin. Headscarves covering the neck and all-enveloping veils were still banned.

The governing party, with its roots in Islam, said the ban meant many girls were being denied an education. But the secular establishment said easing it would be a first step to allowing Islam into public life.

The picture in this post is of the notorious ‘Burkini’- because of course the sumptuous curves of a female might drive a man wild, cause him to commit all sorts of heinous acts, which under more severe Sharia law, would make the woman culpable, not the man. I don’t even need to Google that, or provide a link. It’s common knowledge for anyone with even the cursory knowledge of this nonsense.

That anyone could treat another human being in such a manner is appalling. That a woman is treated as such brings my good Irish upbringing into a frothy boil. Without women, there’d be no species, no humanity. The mind boggles.

Women have rights. You crazy assholes don’t like it? Move back into caves.

I say nix the niqab.

There’s my nickel’s worth.

Till the next post then.

Most of you are probably aware of the battle going on in New York City over whether a mosque and Muslim community center should be allowed to be built at Ground Zero.

Opponents pack hearing on mosque near ground zero

NEW YORK – Dozens of opponents and some supporters of a mosque planned near ground zero attended a raucous hearing Tuesday about whether the building where the Muslim place of worship would be created warrants designation as a city landmark and should be protected from development.

*snip*

After noting the lower Manhattan building’s history and architectural significance, Lazio said it also warranted landmark designation because on Sept. 11, 2001, it was struck by airplane debris from the terror attacks against the nearby World Trade Center. That connection to the attacks, he said, made it “a place of deep historical significance and a reminder of just what happened on New York’s darkest day.”

As hard as I try to be open-minded on this one, I am having great difficulty with it. For Muslims to even consider putting a mosque and Muslim community center right next door to ground zero is highly insensitive to the people of New York City and to the remaining family members and friends of the 911 victims. I hope that the building can get historical status and they can build their mosque somewhere else. Having a mosque at ground zero will only intensify the memories of the “Allah Akbar!” shouts as planes flew into the Twin Towers, destroying lives, families and our national security in the name of the Muslim god.

Pakistan. The country that was specifically created for the Muslims.  A country pockmarked by religious controversy and riots.

It is no surprise to any of us, that these sort of headlines are commonplace:

Pakistan to monitor Google and Yahoo for ‘blasphemy’

Pakistan will start monitoring seven major websites, including Google and Yahoo, for content it deems offensive to Muslims.

YouTube, Amazon, MSN, Hotmail and Bing will also come under scrutiny, while 17 less well-known sites will be blocked.

Officials will monitor the sites and block links deemed inappropriate.

In May, Pakistan banned access to Facebook after the social network hosted a "blasphemous" competition to draw the prophet Muhammad.

The new action will see Pakistani authorities monitor content published on the seven sites, blocking individual pages if content is judged to be offensive.

Telecoms official Khurram Mehran said links would be blocked without disturbing the main website.

As no doubt you are all aware, Pakistan has the strictest anti-blasphemy laws – you literally cannot  badmouth religion in that country. On pain of death.

And of course, the UN concurs. Because when you grant rights to an idea over the rights of a human being, you are (indirectly) giving free rein to terrorist bullshit. And let’s face it folks: you take young men, tell them they can’t masturbate or can’t have sex until marriage, well, all that energy has to go somewhere, doesn’t it? I know that I would be extremely irritable if that were so, but luckily I live in a country that isn’t as stringent as some of these ass-backwards Sharia countries.

And this garbage isn’t happening in Pakistan alone – Indonesia is also in the grips of this stone-age anachronistic horse manure:

One of Indonesia’s top celebrities has been charged under an anti-pornography law for his alleged role in sex videos which have appeared on the internet.

Pop star Nazril "Ariel" Irham and two other celebrities, TV presenter Luna Maya and soapstar Cut Tari, have denied involvement in the sex tapes.

The scandal has angered many in Muslim-dominated Indonesia.

Some conservative Islamic groups have called for the celebrities to be punished.

Zainuri Lubis, deputy spokesman of the National Police, told the BBC that Ariel had been charged with the making and distribution of the sex tapes under the controversial anti-pornography law.

He is the first high-profile person to be charged under the law, which came into effect in 2008 despite strong opposition from the public and members of government.

The law has been criticised for being too vague and for its harsh penalties.

Ariel’s charge carries with it a maximum sentence of 12 years and a fine of more than $600,000 (£403,000).

The Abrahamic religions sure seems to be obsessed with sexuality. Human sexuality is a driving force – it could well be said that civilization owes a large debt to it, as much of civilization was an effort to impress the opposite sex (to paraphrase Orson Welles and Futurama). It may not be a force to be feared, but it is to be reckoned with. But when a society is in the thrall of an iron age set of rules better left centuries ago, fear is all those people will know.

Islam (AKA Asslam): it’s gotta go.

Till the next post, then.

Bradlee Dean of You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, Inc.

Right now, as you read this, there are elected government officials in the United States who are spreading the word that it is a moral and righteous act to kill homosexuals as instructed in the bible.  These same people warn us of the threat of Islamofascists, of Muslim terrorists, but at the same time, their message states that Muslim nations in the Middle East that execute known homosexuals are more righteous than American Christians.  They believe that President Obama and all Americans who hold liberal views are criminals.  They also claim that the constitutional separation of church and state is a myth, but despite that claim, they are working hard to subvert it and abolish the Constitution as it exists today.  They want their religion — their particular brand of Christianity — enforced by federal law and taught in public schools using tactics that can only be described — and have been by those who’ve seen them — as thought reform and mind control.  They also believe that things like depression and addiction are not actual ailments that plague millions of people but myths created by liberals who want to weaken this country.  One of those government officials is a member of the United States Congress.  Don’t believe me?  Let me tell you a story.

In 2003, Benton High School in Benton, Wisconson, arranged an assembly program for its students in grades 7 – 12 starring a band called Junkyard Prophet, which was to perform music and deliver a message about drug abuse and abstinence.  Bradlee Dean, the group’s founder and drummer, instead used that opportunity, according to the Dubuque Telegraph Herald, to condemn “homosexuality and the teaching of evolution in the schools.”  At a subsequent assembly, Benton Principal Gary Neis apologized to the students for allowing it and told them, “They talked about influencing and brainwashing people.  Be wise to the fact that is what they were doing. They were using the same tactics.”

In 2004, Dean and his group, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, Inc., which includes the band Junkyard Prophet, appeared at Roane County High School and did the same thing.  According to local paper the Oak Ridger, “RCHS Principal Jody McLoud apologized for any controversy or heartache the assembly generated.  In addition to homosexuality, race and obesity, the materials reportedly also included such topics as suicide, drugs and premarital sex.”  The whole thing stirred a great deal of local controversy, forcing the school district to emphasize its policy that “forbids religious statements in schools.”  But the damage was done.  According to Laura Dailey, a parent of one of the students, “They encouraged bigotry and hate-mongering toward children that may not share their religious beliefs or who are struggling to find an identity or self-esteem.”

Describing a March 2005 performance of Dean and his group at a school in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, high school junior Amy Deitcher told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “It seemed like total propaganda.  It was like a cult.  They were trying to get kids who can’t think for themselves to think like them.”  Deitcher said boys and girls were separated during the program and girls were “presented with a ‘treasure chest’ theory in which they were told that any sort of physical contact with a man before marriage would result in a woman becoming ‘leftovers’ for her husband.”  Not surprisingly, this performance resulted in the cancellation of a program Dean and company were scheduled to give to an elementary school.  One might think that Dean’s reputation would quickly spread and public school officials would stop scheduling his programs.  But that wasn’t the case.

In November of 2005, YCRBNH was paid $2,500 to perform for three school districts in Collifax, Illinois.  Afterward, an appalled principal gathered students together to apologize to them for allowing the group to appear.

That was five years ago.  They’re still at it. Civil liberties groups point to this activity as a clear constitutional violation.  But it is the responsibility of the school to check out YCRBYCH before booking them to perform.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation said, “We’ve made complaints about them in the past.  And there are similar groups out there that use assembly subterfuges to gain access to a captive audience of school children.  It is hard to believe schools don’t know what they’re getting into; all they have to do is a cursory check of the websites.  School districts often pay exorbitant honoraria as well, so it adds economic injury to constitutional insult.”

She points out that these groups, of which YCRBYCH is only one, use deceptive tactics to get into the schools, and once there, they begin to recruit.  “This is a devious strategy used also by many ‘pizza evangelists,’” Gaylor said, referring to Christian groups that use pizza parties, sports, and contests to win big prizes like cars or motorcycles to get a foot into the door of public schools and gain access to the young minds inside.

Bradlee Dean was asked directly by the Minnesota Independent if religion was a part of the program he puts on in public schools.  “Morality is, which is the fruit of religion.  Our testimony of Christ is spoken of if someone asks us ‘what changed you?’”

But to book these programs, Dean is using extremely deceptive tactics.  Is that moral?  Dean has some interesting ideas about morality, which I’ll get to in a moment.

Although they are blatantly dishonest when dealing with the schools where they want to perform, the group makes no secret of its intentions if asked and does not evade questions about it.  During an April 2009 broadcast on Christian radio station KKMS, one of the group’s members said, “We are doing assemblies here, folks, just so you understand, we do public high school assemblies.  We are speaking to kids in our schools about the Constitution, suicide prevention and our own testimony of how Christ turned our lives around in public schools so we can get the light into kids hands in public schools.”  YCRBYCH obviously rejects the United States Constitution and wants it changed to blend religion with government, so what do you suppose the group is telling students about the Constitution in these programs?

As the ministry grows, Dean only becomes bolder.  He has called depression, alcoholism and drug addiction myths — which is interesting given the fact that Dean himself is a recovering drug addict.  He has called President Obama a “domestic enemy.” And on a May 15, 2010 broadcast on Minneapolis-St. Paul’s AM 1280 The Patriot, Bradlee Dean said the following:

Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America.  This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian god, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws.  They know homosexuality is an abomination.  If America won’t enforce the laws, god will raise up a foreign enemy to do just that.  That is what you are seeing in America. … They (homosexuals) play the victim when they are, in fact, the predator.  On average, they molest 117 people before they’re found out. How many kids have been destroyed, how many adults have been destroyed because of crimes against nature?

First, I want to address the most obvious piece of utter nonsense in Dean’s statement – the idea that gay people “molest 117 people before they’re found out.”  This has absolutely no basis in fact.  Although religious conservative groups regularly twist available facts and research in an effort to say otherwise, there is no scientific basis for the claim that gay or bisexual men molest or abuse children (or anyone else) any more than heterosexual men.

A week later, Dean said that arresting jailing people for being gay – I mean, actually putting them in prison for their sexuality – is “very moral.”  During their May 22, 2010 radio broadcast, Dean and co-leader Jake McMillian lauded the government of the African nation of Malawi for arresting a gay couple who’d gotten engaged.  McMillian said, “They are very conservative.  They sentence people for crimes against nature.”  It’s probably safe to assume that this is an example of the kind of thing YCRBYCH is being paid taxpayer’s dollars to teach in public schools.  Just as significant is where this broadcast originated from – more on that in a moment.

But let’s take a look at Dean’s other claim, which is enough to make any thinking person’s hair clench.  He says “Muslims are calling for the execution of homosexuals in America” and that makes them “more moral than even the American Christians.”  He says, “If Americans won’t enforce the law” – ostensibly the law of god – “god will raise up a foreign enemy to do just that.  That is what you are seeing in America.”  As best I can tell, the “foreign enemy” to which he refers is Muslim terrorists.  So … Muslims are the enemy sent by god, but … they’re more moral than American Christians?

I’m getting a headache.

Bradlee Dean claims to be a Christian.  Christianity is allegedly — and that’s a very important “allegedly” — based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, a character in the New Testament of the bible who told his followers to treat others the way they want to be treated, to love their enemies, to be humble and selfless, and he told them that simply getting angry at someone was no different than killing that person.  But Dean says that Muslims who call for the execution of homosexuals are more moral than Christians in America.  What can we possibly conclude from this except that, according to Dean, American Christians who want to be moral should be executing gay people?

You might be wondering why this is important.  After all, Dean is probably seen by most as a nutjob, right?  A recovering drug addict drummer with a rock band who says addiction is a myth and gays should be murdered is missing a few cans from his 12-pack of Crazy Cola, right?  You might think I’m just satisfying his need for more attention by writing about him and I should just ignore him, right?  He can’t possibly get far with his little dog and pony show when he’s so obviously a wingnut, right?

Not so fast.

You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit ministry that continues to grow and flourish.  Based in Annendale, Minnesota, Bradlee Dean’s Christian ministry includes websites, radio, video, publishing, and appearances in churches, prisons and — yes, even still — public schools.  They are financed, in part, with taxpayer dollars. When they perform in those public schools, they are paid from state funds, which add up to some considerable sums that the government is taking directly out of the pockets of Americans like you and me — $3,000 to $5,000 for a three-hour assembly, according the group’s website. They receive government money in other ways, as well. From the Minnesota Independent:

Some of the members listed as ministers are employed in the ministry’s punk band that brings its Christian message to public schools, possibly in violation of the constitution’s principle of separation of church and state. Of the six ordained members, the documents reveal, five have been given a clergy housing allowance: tax-free payments by the ministry to support rent or mortgage payments. A church operating as a nonprofit must file IRS form 990, which must list any minister housing allowances as part of the employee’s compensation in order for the members to take the allowance as part of their income.

Jake MacAuley, also known as Jake McMillian, sidekick to ministry leader Bradlee Dean on the group’s radio show and a co-minister, was paid the allowance in the amount of $12,976 in 2008, the only year for which tax documents are available. According to another section of the 990 form, at least four other unnamed members of the ministry received a similar allowance totaling $54,532 in 2008.

YCRBYCH has an annual fund-raiser which is aided by some powerful friends in some high places.

One of the group’s biggest, most passionate and valuable supporters is Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.  Bachmann, a Republican, was elected in 2006 and sits on the Financial Services Committee.  She and her husband Marcus own a mental healthcare practice in Stillwater called Bachmann and Associates, Inc., and, according to her bio on her website, in addition to their five children, “the Bachmanns have opened their home to 23 foster children.”

In that entire bio, not one word is mentioned about Bachmann’s religious beliefs — which, frankly, is as it should be.  But personal religious beliefs are such a significant part of Bachmann’s politics that leaving them out of her bio is as deceptive a tactic as those used by Bradlee Dean, because in the last four years, Bachmann has proven herself a religious zealot who uses her office to advance a theocratic Christian agenda.  And that agenda includes getting Bradlee Dean and You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, Inc. into public schools where it will have access to your children’s minds and can use its thought reform techniques to influence them.  According to Bachmann, this is a good thing — a very good thing.

Bachmann attends the group’s fundraisers and helps them raise money to do what they do.  At a YCRBYCH fundraiser at a Minneapolis hotel in October of 2006, she gave an impassioned prayer to her god on behalf of Bradlee Dean and his group.  It was a long prayer, but if you want to hear the whole thing, you can listen to it here.  Here are a few highlights:

Lord, I thank you for what you have done at this ministry … how you are going to advance them from 260 schools a year, Lord, to 2,600 schools a year. … Lord, we ask thy faith that you would expand this ministry beyond anything the originators of this ministry could begin to think or imagine.  Lord, the day is at hand!  We are in the last days!  The day is at hand, Lord, when your return will0 become nigh.  Pour a double blessing, Lord, a triple blessing on this ministry.

Remember, this is a United States Representative openly praising, through a prayer, a group that calls the execution of gay people “moral,” that deceptively weasels its way into public schools to engage in activities that violate the Constitution and feed outright lies to students.  Is there a chance that Bachmann is not aware of the group’s activities?  Surely she cannot support the idea of violating the Constitution by teaching Christianity in the public school system.

At that same YCRBYCH fundraiser in 2006, Bachmann complained that public schools “are teaching children that there is separation of church and state, and I am here to tell you that is a myth.  That’s not true.  And they (YCRBYCH) explain to children in the public school system what a myth that is.  And that’s what I love about this ministry. … We want kids to come to the truth and that’s why this ministry is so absolutely vital. We need them in every public school classroom across the state to tell young people, ‘You Can Run But You Cannot Hide.’” (The emphasis is mine.)

Bachmann was unable to attend the group’s 2009 fundraiser, called “Appeal to Heaven,” because she was busy saving the country from healthcare reform, but she did send a videotaped message.  “It a tough job that you do, but someone has to do it,” she said in the prerecorded message.  “I thank god that he has given you the strength and the resolve to fight for our timeless values. … We can’t overlook the outright rejection of god in the public school classroom, and the outright scorn of Christianity in our public square.  Moral relativism is exalted and faith in Christ is derided.”

The program included a sermon by Dean in which he called his followers to war:

We are a Christian nation regardless if you like that or not.  The Bible says we are called as ministers of the flame, the fire.  We are called to war.  We are called to fight the good fight of faith.  In other words, what I’m trying to say is, I’m a trouble maker, okay?  It’s time to say, “We are done complaining, and it’s time to start fighting.”  But you say, “I don’t know what what I’m going to look like with a sword in my hand.”  You are going to look great! … We are not a land of liberals.  We hear this all the time.  Why don’t you just call them for what they are?  Criminals.  Why don’t you just call them for what they are?  Socialists.  They are contrary to our Constitution. … We are not a land of homosexuals.  God said “Adam and Eve” not “Adam and Steve.”

He ended by telling the attendees, “You guys, you got just a little bit of the message we give to youth all across the nation.”

And Bradlee Dean has the full support of Representative Michele Bachmann in all of this, in everything he’s saying and doing, in taking his message “to youth all across the nation,” and in being paid tax dollars to do it — even though it violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

This is not too surprising when you consider the fact that Bachmann and Associates, Inc., the “counseling center” owned by Michele and her husband Dr. Marcus Bachmann, has received nearly $30,000 in state funds since 2007.  That’s troubling in light of how Dr. Bachmann himself describes the center and the work it does during a 2008 broadcast on KKMS radio (MP3):  “We are distinctly a Christian counseling agency here in the Twin Cities.  We have 27 Christian counselors, Christ-centered, very strong in our understanding of who the almighty counselor is, and as we rely on god’s word and the almighty counselor, we have the opportunity to change people’s lives.”

Alex Luchenitser, staff attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told the Minnesota Independent, “Unless they are receiving money purely through vouchers, this is clearly unconstitutional.”  The state of Minnesota does not have a voucher system.  Luchenitser continues:  “It’s wrong for the government to buy clinical services that include submission to god or proselytization.  This appears to be a textbook case of taxpayers funds for religious purposes. … It sounds like employees have to be Christian to work in the clinic. That would be religious discrimination.”

Apparently, Michele Bachmann has no problem with the unconstitutional appropriation of tax dollars, so it’s not surprising that she supports it in the case of YCRBYCH.  But Bachmann is not alone in supporting the group.

That same 2009 “Appeal to Heaven” fundraiser for YCRBYCH was attended by Minnesota State Representative and 2010 Minnesota Republica-endorsed gubenatorial candidate Tom Emmer.  However, Emmer did not mention his attendance at the fundraiser in a list of appearances that week that was emailed to supporters.  To its article about Emmer’s appearance at the YCRBYCH fundraiser, the Minnesota Independent added this update:

Emmer’s campaign told the Minnesota Independent, “Rep. Tom Emmer stopped by the event for a social hour before the dinner and program.  The program is headquartered out of Wright County which is Rep. Emmer’s county and has many supporters in Tom’s legislative district.  It was not mentioned in the campaign update because it was not a campaign event.”

While it’s true that the YCRBYCH fundraiser was not a “campaign event,” that only underscores the fact that Emmer was there because he supports the work of Bradlee Dean and the group!  Emmer was there to throw his support behind a group that calls the president and everyone who supports him, along with all Americans who happen to hold liberal views, and all homosexuals criminals.  And that wasn’t the end of Emmer’s support of YCRBYCH.

From a May 25, 2010 article in the Minnesota Independent:

The Minnesota House campaign of Rep. Tom Emmer donated to the ministry of You Can Run But You Cannot Hide Intl., Inc., according to the press secretary for Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign.  Emmer is one of several Republican leaders involved with the ministry of Bradlee Dean, who leads a hard rock band that brings its message of Jesus Christ into public schools and recently affirmed the practice of Muslim countries executing gays and lesbians.

Emmer’s campaign finance report (PDF) states that Emmer’s campaign donated $250 to YCRBYCH in late 2008.  Emmer’s press secretary, Chris Van Guilder, explains, “Tom’s house campaign committee did donate to the organization, but not Tom personally.”  A good follow-up question, which was not asked, would have been, “What the hell difference does that make?”

Emmer has gotten very chummy with Bradlee Dean and YCRBYCH.  He has been a guest on Dean’s radio show — the same radio show on which Dean stated that the practice of killing gay people was “moral.”  He’s posed for pictures with the leaders of YCRBYCH and spent time at the home of Bradlee Dean.  In fact, it seems Emmer has become a little too cozy with the group.  Remember that $250 donation?  It was $150 over the legal limit.

In May of this year, Emmer’s gubenatorial campaign announced that it had notified the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board of the violation.  But don’t worry, it’s fine, because Emmer’s campaign managed to come up with a clever explanation for the whole thing that makes it okay.  They say it wasn’t a donation but was “used to purchase tickets for volunteers of Tom’s House Campaign to attend a dinner event.”  See?  All better now!

So, is Emmer fully aware of the activities and views of Bradlee Dean and YCRBYCH?  After Emmer stated on the radio that he thought it was the duty of Christians to kill gay people, Emmer’s campaign released this slippery statement:

You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International is a ministry based in Annandale, a few miles north of Tom’s home town Delano.  As a representative of the Wright County area, Tom has met with many, perhaps most of the residents of the area, and has doorknocked across the county.  Tom did meet Bradlee Dean while campaigning, and may have doorknocked his house.  Tom has also appeared on AM1280 and KKMS, including on Bradlee Dean’s radio show.  Tom has appeared on many other radio stations and shows as well.  Tom is not a donor to the You Can Run But You Cannot Hide ministry, and has never appeared as a spokesman at one of their fundraising events.  He did attend a meet-and-greet before a fundraising event held by the ministry to mingle with the hundreds of attendees.  Tom’s position on social issues has been very clear and consistent.  He is a supporter of traditional marriage, and he strongly opposes any kind of violence or unfair discrimination against any group.

He “doorknocked” Dean’s house?  Okay, for the moment, let’s say that Emmer just accidentally showed up at Bradlee Dean’s home.  But he’s also appeared on Dean’s radio show — a show that is very specific in its tone and content, a show that exists primarily as a forum for Dean to spout his hateful bigotry and incitements to violence and murder.  Simply shrugging it off because Emmer “has appeared on many other radio stations and shows” is the equivalent of shouting, “So long, suckers!” and dancing away in tap shoes.  What exactly does “has never appeared as a spokesman at one of their fundraising events” mean?  A spokesman for what?  This is rank evasion, the sleaziest kind of smoke-and-mirrors bullshit.  What he appeared at the fundraiser as is irrelevant — what’s relevant is that he appeared at the fundraiser!  He was there, he attended.  Does Emmer’s campaign assume that everyone who does not work for it is a mental inebriate?  Or does it assume that only of the people in Minnesota whose votes it so desperately wants?

If Emmer “strongly opposes any kind of violence or unfair discrimination against any group,” then why is he so friendly with — and why has he given money to — a man who openly advocates the murder of gay people and calls the sitting president and anyone whose political views don’t agree with his “criminals?”

Has Emmer himself made any statements about YCRBYCH? Oh, yes.  Yes, he has.

“My understanding is that it’s a Christian-based ministry that’s about family, that is about respect for yourself,” he said, as if he’s only vaguely familiar with the group and isn’t quite sure what it stands for.  “I know that they’re a pro-marriage, pro-traditional marriage group.”  That’s the best you can do, Tom?  “These are nice people.”  Ha! “Are we going to agree on everything? No. … I really appreciate their passion, and you know what?  I respect their point of view.  I respect their right to have whatever view.  That’s what makes it a great country.  You don’t have to agree with it.”

The mind boggles.  This is a group that advocates the mass murder of gay people, but Minnesota State Representative and Republican-endorsed candidate for governor Tom Emmer respects their point of view.  What a guy, huh?

But back to Emmer’s visit to Dean’s house.  His campaign claims Emmer “may have doorknocked” Dean’s house.  Dean himself said on his radio show, “Congratulations, Tom Emmer.  By the way, he’s been out to my house and I told him, ‘You’ll to do fine as long as you do what you say you are going to do.’  And we are going to hold his feet to the fire on this.”  Does that sound like a reference to a “doorknock?”  (And does Tom Emmer understand that, given everything else this lunatic has said, he may very well mean that threat literally?)

Am I the only one smelling the foul odor of decaying sea life, here?

But Bachmann and Emmer are just two of the individuals who so strongly support YCRBYCH.  The group has garnered the enthusiastic support of the Republican party in and outside the state of Minnesota.  From the Minnesota Independent:

The ministry has become increasingly cozy with Minnesota Republicans.  During the past few months, (YCRBYCH) has attended two Republican Party of Minnesota events and garnered the support of top Republican officials:  The group participated in Bachmann’s campaign kickoff and fundraiser with Sarah Palin on April 7, where it set up a booth.  (YCRBYCH) also had a booth at the Republican Party of Minnesota State Convention in late April — using space donated by the party, Dean says — where it greeted the party’s endorsed candidate for governor, Rep. Tom Emmer.  Emmer attended the (YCRBYCH) fundraiser in late 2009.  Dean says Minnesota GOP chair Tony Sutton invited the ministry to attend.

During Bradlee Dean’s and Jake McMillian’s radio broadcast (MP3) the day after the convention, McMillian said, “We were at the GOP, the GOP saw what we do and they identified with it.  Even when I was sitting down with Tony Sutton and just going over what we do as a ministry, I said to him, ‘Do you know any other groups that are reaching the demographic we are reaching with the message that we are?’  And, of course, it was blink-blink, ‘No, I don’t, so I want you guys a part of this convention with us.’  And then they invited and they gave us a free table.  Amen.”

As well as heading up the Republican Party of Minnesota, Tony Sutton strongly supports controversial legislation SB1070, a copycat of the Arizona law that has received international criticism for its racial profiling.  From Twin Cities Indymedia:

In a series of protests at the Uptown restaurant, SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Local 26 members and organizers rallied to call attention to a critical contradiction — Baja Sol is a fast food restaurant that sells Mexican food and employs Latino and Latina workers, yet owner Tony Sutton openly supports politically extreme anti-Mexican legislation.  As Local 26 highlights, this blatant hypocrisy means that enthusiasm for one popular facet of Mexican American culture is financing the politics of Mexican-American exclusion and criminalization.  Baja Sol did not respond to a request for comment on these allegations.

Americans were stunned by Arizona’s punitive and highly controversial legislation, SB 1070, which requires law enforcement to institute racial profiling. Gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer publically praised the Minnesota copycat bill calling it “a wonderful first step.”

“A wonderful first step,” Tom?  What’s the next step, executing them the way your “nice” pal Bradlee Dean thinks “moral” people should execute homosexuals?  No wonder you guys get along so well!  This is turning out to be quite a group.  When I’m done writing this, I think I’m going to need to take a long shower and scrub very hard.

So, to recap, Bradlee Dean and YCRBYCH have the full support of Republican Representative Michelle Bachman, Minnesota State Representative and Republican-endorsed candidate for governor Tom Emmer, and the entire Republican Party of Minnesota all the way up to the guy at the top, Tony Sutton.  But there’s another prominent group that lends its support to Dean and his crew:  The Heritage Foundation.

According to The Heritage Foundation’s website, “The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution — a think tank — whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.”

Traditional American values like killing queers, maybe? Or traditional American values like arresting and jailing those who have political views that differ from yours?  I only ask because the Heritage Foundation has a relationship with Bradlee Dean and YCRBYCH.  Remember that radio broadcast in which Dean and McMillian praised the government of Malawi for arresting that gay couple?  That broadcast — which you can hear at this link (MP3) — originated from the Heritage Foundation.  Dean and McMillian were at the Heritage Foundation while they were saying that jailing people for their sexuality was “very moral.”

Remember, the Heritage Foundation’s “mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies.”  It was a primary architect of the Reagan Doctrine during the final years of the Cold War.  Since then, the foundation has been very active in shaping both foreign and domestic policy and was behind Newt Gingrich’s 1994 “Contract with America.”  In 2009, it ranked fifth on the list of the most influential think tanks in America in Foreign Policy magazine.  And it hosts Bradlee Dean and Jake McMillian as they describe as “very moral” the arrest and imprisonment of people for their sexuality.  Wrap your head around that.  There’s nothing on the Heritage Foundation’s website about imprisoning gay people, but apparently it has no problem with the idea.

An interesting side note about Michele Bachmann.  In October of 2008, she appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews and said the following about Barack Obama:

If we look at the collection of friends that Barack Obama has had in his life, it calls into question what Barack Obama’s true beliefs and values and thoughts are.  His attitudes, values, and beliefs with Jeremiah Wright on his view of the United States … is negative; Bill Ayers, his negative view of the United States.  We have seen one friend after another call into question his judgment — but also, what it is that Barack Obama really believes?

Interesting reasoning, Michele. Does that apply only to Barack Obama? Only to liberals? Or does it apply to you and your friends? In the same broadcast, she expressed concern about “anti-American” Americans, especially in Congress.  She said:

I would say, what I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look — I wish they would.  I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?  I think the people would love to see an expose like that.

Obviously, Bachmann has a very specific idea of what is “anti-American” — like liberals (“criminals” according to the man she so actively supports and prays for, Bradlee Dean) and gay people (predatory molesters, according to Dean, whose group she helps fund).  But how American is it to deceptively subvert the Constitution of the United States?  Bachmann does this in two ways — that we know of.  She blatantly lies when she says there is no separation of church and state and then supports and helps fund a group that has to lie to get into public schools and violate the Constitution, which maintains a separation of church and state.  She and her husband own a business that they openly admit is a Christian counseling center — it even has clergy on the staff! — but they collect state funds, which also violates the Constitution.

On the other hand, the only crimes committed by the people Bachmann calls “un-American” are that they disagree with her politically, most likely religiously, and some of them are gay.  Does this add up?  Which part of this equation is truly un-American?

Maybe a “penetrating expose” would be a good idea.  Maybe a hard investigation into this is just what we need.  But who should be investigated?  Why don’t we start with Bradlee Dean?

We’ve seen again and again that conservative Christians who beat the anti-gay drum usually have some underlying problems.  Remember Senator Larry Craig?  He was rigidly anti-gay, worked hard to legislate against gay rights — and he got caught looking for blowjobs in an airport men’s room.  Remember Reverend Ted Haggard?  He oversaw a megachurch in Colorado and was a bigshot Republican, a personal friend of George W. Bush, and he was virulently anti-gay — and then we found out he’d been snorting meth off the back of the male prostitute he was boning and was trying to cover up a gay relationship with someone in his church.  More recently, Dr. George Rekers, one of the country’s leading homophobes, a man who believed homosexuality could be “cured,” practiced horrifying methods of ungaying people, fought the rights of gays to adopt children, and probably did more damage to gay people than any other individual in America, was caught taking a barely legal male prostitute he’d found on Rentboy.com to Europe with him and get naked and nasty for 10 days.  There seems to be a lot of Freudian projection going on among these guys — the act of projecting one’s own failings, traits and hang-ups on others.

So … what is Bradlee Dean up to?  He seems to be awfully hung up on homosexuality — and on the idea that gay people are predators who “molest 117 people before they’re found out.”  Who is he screwing?  And how old are they?  And then there’s his bad habit of lying to suck up taxpayer dollars for activities that violate the Constitution.  On top of all that, he’s sounding like he’s eager to see some blood spilled.  How about investigating him?

Is it just my imagination, or is there enough reason here to investigate Michele Bachmann?  She’s lending strong support to Bradlee’s group and its unconstitutional, hateful and violence-inciting activities.  She and her husband are also engaged in some unconstitutional activity themselves with Bachmann and Associates, Inc., using state funding to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the guise of psychological counseling.  Why doesn’t somebody investigate her? How about investigating Bachmann and Associates, Inc.?

How about investigating Tom Emmer, Tony Sutton, the Republican Party of Minnesota and the Heritage Foundation for having such a cozy relationship with the deceptive, hateful, Constitution-violating, murder-inciting, un-American group You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, Inc.?

Most of this information has come from the hard work of reporter Andy Birkey at the Minnesota Independent.  It seems he’s the only person reporting on this.  Where is the “liberal media” we hear so much about?  You know, the media that hates America and the military and Jesus and motherhood and only covers stories that make the country look bad and only praises depravity and immorality and the “gay agenda?”  It seems to me this story is right up the “liberal media’s” alley!  But there’s no coverage at all.  That might have something to do with the fact that the “liberal media” exists only in the minds of those who tell and believe that lie. If it weren’t a lie, the “liberal media” would be all over this story like lint on velvet.

Obviously, we can’t depend on the media to address this problem.  But somebody needs to.  Bradlee Dean and You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, Inc., with the considerable, formidable help of people like Representative Michele Bachmann, Minnesota State Representative Tom Emmer, the Republican Party of Minnesota and its chairman Tony Sutton, and the Heritage Foundation, will only continue to spread this message of hate, targeting young, impressionable minds.  The goal of all of these people is, as I’ve stated before, to abolish the United States Constitution, to implement a Christian theocracy, and then either arrest or kill everyone they don’t like.  Given all the information above, I really don’t think I’m being an alarmist.  These people are obviously determined to do this — they are doing it, and they are using our public schools and taxpayer money to do it.  Worse, they are getting away with it.  It’s not being reported or addressed, and it’s not being given any significant resistance — because so few people know about it!  That leaves it up to us.  You and me.

The first thing you have to do, as Howard Beale said in the 1976 movie Network, is get mad. You’ve gotta get mad as hell.  And if what you’ve read here doesn’t make you mad … well, then maybe there’s no hope.  But if, as I hope, it does anger you, then start talking about it.  Tell your friends.  Send people to this blog by posting and emailing links.  Send this blog to local like-minded radio talk show hosts and urge them to discuss this unseen, unspoken, and pretty scary threat.

Go to Michele Bachmann’s website or her Facebook page, go to Tom Emmer’s site or his Tom Emmer for Governor site or his Facebook page, go to the Minnesota GOP contact page for Tony Sutton’s contact info and email all of these people.  Let them know that you know — and that you don’t like it.  Tell them that unless they unambiguously denounce Bradlee Dean and You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, Inc., for it’s murder-condoning hatred, you will assume that their views are directly in line with Dean’s and his group’s.  If you don’t want to write letters, then just send them a link to this blog and a note telling them that you agree with it.  Then write to your own representatives.  Let them know about this and tell them how you feel about it.  Demand that someone look into it, that it be stopped.

These people are serious.  America is a secular nation, no matter how loudly or often the Bradlee Deans and Michele Bachmanns say otherwise. It has a secular government that recognizes and enforces no religion but welcomes people of all religions or no religion.  But these people are not happy with the freedom to believe and worship as they please.  They want to make America a Christian nation in the same way that Iran is a Muslim nation that enforces the laws of the Muslim religion.  They want to tear up the Constitution and replace it with a Christian theocracy that will enforce the laws of the Christian faith — and severely punish those who break them.  They are working hard toward this goal, and they’ve got a lot of money and people and other resources at their disposal.  If you want to stop them, then you’re going to have to speak up!

They will hide behind their bible and their Jesus.  They will deny saying and doing the things they’ve said and done because they lie with astonishing ease — for them, the “truth” is whatever they need it to be at any given time.  And then they will continue to say and do those things.  They are either true believers of their religion or they are using it the way a con artist uses his charms — either way, it doesn’t matter, because their goal remains the same.

Edmund Burke wrote, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”  Bad people are combining and they are adding to their numbers and their war chests.

Don’t fall.

We all recall that nonsense back in 2005, when Muslims protested the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. Protest? Madness, more like. It illustrated the issues of religion (and one specifically that keeps hollering that it’s a ‘religion of peace’), the dark dank fingers of imaginary friendships with invisible people stirring up and brings out the worst of the reptilian hindbrain.

And now, we have more issues – apparently the accomodationists are out in force, weeping politically correct crocodile tears over the hurt feelings of ignorant millions.

Yesterday a number of cartoonists and activists around the world partook in "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day." The campaign encouraged people to submit caricatures of the Muslim prophet Muhammad to Facebook and the Internet at large (which resulted in Pakistan temporarily banning Facebook). It was billed as a free speech statement against recent threats toward cartoonists and entertainers for portraying the religious figure. Some commentators, however, found it tasteless and needlessly offensive toward Muslims, many of whom consider drawing Mohammad to be blasphemous.

Political Cartoonists Are Split, reports Michael Cavna at The Washington Post:

"Shock for shock’s sake." "Choreographed punditry." And "wrong, childish and needlessly provocative." That’s what some critics think of Thursday’s Facebook-ignited campaign titled "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day." But those aren’t Islamic extremists speaking. Those are the words of pro-free-speech political cartoonists…

As far as I care, pouting and hurt feelings are for children.

But petition signee Mark Fiore, whose clients include SFGate.com, says his political animation Thursday will incorporate Muhammad. And noted Islamic critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whose book "Nomad: From Islam to America" was published this week, says the protest "is a positive campaign" that can "promote self-reflection among Muslims."

And yes, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been the target of death threats. So has prominent critic Salman Rushdie. And no, these aren’t isolated examples – people are genuinely afraid to leave this barbaric anachronism.

The Case For Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

Why This Is an Important Campaign  According to Mark Goldblatt at Reason:

Our tip-toeing around Islamic sensibilities is nothing more than plain, old-fashioned cowardice. MSNBC stooge Lawrence O’Donnell, for example, repeatedly slandered Mormonism during the 2008 presidential campaign as a sidebar to his creepily obsessive verbal jihad against then-candidate Mitt Romney. But when asked by radio host Hugh Hewitt whether he would insult Muhammad the way he’d insulted Joseph Smith, O’Donnell replied with rare candor: “Oh, well, I’m afraid of what the… that’s where I’m really afraid. I would like to criticize Islam much more than I do publicly, but I’m afraid for my life if I do. … I’m not going to say a word about them." That’s the problem in a nutshell. But it’s not just O’Donnell’s problem. It’s our problem. America’s problem. The West’s problem. We lack the moral courage to walk the walk.

Cartoonist Split Proves Benefit  National Review’s Veronique de Rugy reflects on the cartoonist who regrets proposing the idea at all. "Isn’t the existence of the cartoonist’s fear even more reason to come up with ideas like hers?" De Rugy praises "courage and commitment to free speech."

We’re Fighting For Free Speech  Reason’s Matt Welch recalls the Dutch cartoon controversy. "It is unconscionable that–under murderous duress!–those in the free speechin’ business would suddenly cede the authority to depict a really existing historical figure to a loud minority’s religious preferences. … by reprinting one of the cartoons, we would be demonstrating solidarity not with the sentiments contained within it, but with the foundational notion that people ought to be able to publish stuff like that (and worse), period, let alone without fear of having their heads lopped off." He later writes, "in a free society, every day is Everybody Draw Mohammed Day."

• And of course, the PC apologists blather their usual nonsense:

The Case Against Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

It’s Needlessly Insensitive, counters Wonkette’s Ken Layne: "To equate the bizarre/violent behavior of a handful of fanatics with the cultural-religious traditions and harmless taboos of a billion of the world’s people, well that’s about as dumb as T.P.ing your neighborhood Sunday School because you don’t like Fred Phelps." He accuses proponents of "childishly prodding angry, impoverished people into rage and violence so you can snicker from the safety of your computer."

Well, actually, it’s not a handful of fanatics. Riots occur  over stupid reasons. This happens quite frequently, in fact. Obviously Layne is using selective perception.

• Offending For No Reason Ann Althouse sighs, "I have endless contempt for the threats/warnings against various cartoonists who draw Muhammad. … But depictions of Muhammad offend millions of Muslims who are no part of the violent threats. In pushing back some people, you also hurt a lot of people who aren’t doing anything (other than protecting their own interests by declining to pressure the extremists who are hurting the reputation of their religion)."
• Jury’s in: Ann’s a moron.By ‘declining to pressure extremists’, that’s also called ‘enabling’ in rehab code.
  • Conservative blogger Erick Erickson adds, "On drawing Mohammed, I’d be offended if ppl had a day to mock my Lord, so why reciprocate? ‘Course I w/n go killing ppl who mocked Jesus."

‘Nuff said.

Why It Unreasonably Offends  Christian Science Monitor’s Husna Haq explains, "I am Muslim and I am American. I love my Prophet Mohammed, and I love my First Amendment right to free speech." However:

To depict him in a bear suit or with a pig snout – as he has been in two recent cartoons – is free speech, yes, but it is intensely offensive. It betrays a willful determination to refuse to see the world through Muslims eyes – to understand how innately the Prophet is loved by his followers and how profoundly flippant disrespect for him wounds us.

Well, killing people in Muhammed’s name (PB&J be upon him) counts as a helluva lot more than some hurt feelings.

Imagine Martin Luther King Jr. portrayed as a monkey and you begin to understand the depth of Muslims’ revulsion to such images.

Since there’s nobody up there, it hardly matters. What’s important, is what’s going on in the here and now.

In Islam, as in Judaism, iconography is prohibited out of fear that creating images of sacred figures could lead to dependence on, and even worship of, icons rather than God. The Prophet lifted his people from the worship of many gods to love for the one God. To depict him is to violate a fundamental tenet of Islam as a joke.

And I say there is no disrespect – because there is no Allah, no Jehovah, no Vishnu, no Krishna. Brahma is a bull and Jehovah a joke. It is time for people to realize that time spent on their knees murmuring is wasted time: there is no one up there listening. That all these ‘holy texts’ are curios only, no longer cautionary tales nor tenets to live by in this world of today.

If you listen closely, you can almost hear the metaphorical timbers shaking in the house that illusion built.

Till the next post, then.

After much consideration about the upcoming “Draw Muhammad Day” tomorrow, I have decided to join others like Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta, Vjack from Atheist Revolution, NoGodBlog and many others and post an invitation for those of you who wish to participate.

This action is not merely to rile up and piss off peace-loving Muslims. This is to stand up to those who are attempting to create a global theocracy and do not respect freedom of speech and expression except when it comes to their violent and oftentimes lethal public protests against any criticism of their religion and beliefs.

As for the risk of violent response? Here is a quote from NoGodBlog:

If it makes Muslims uncomfortable, maybe they should consider why they pray to a god that can’t even stomach being drawn, let alone being criticized. Maybe they should consider how barbaric it is that everyone taking part in Draw Muhammad Day is endangering lives, and risking terrorism. Maybe they should consider, just for a moment, that their religion is indeed primitive.

Definitely not a religion of peace if their response is going to be one of death threats and violence.

If we respect their beliefs and shut up like they want everyone in the world to do, then we are giving in. We may as well just shut down our websites, go back in the atheist closet and just let them have their way. And it won’t stop with just curtailing our freedom of speech. They will want to take more, and more of our freedoms away till Sharia Law rules the planet. We would not tolerate this from the Christians or any other religion. But because fundamentalist Islam threatens us with violent acts, many are too afraid to criticize them at all anymore. Like in the video of Vilks’university lecture being shut down in Sweden. If we keep giving in what will happen to our world?

There are many who truly intend to make this whole world a theocracy, and those who wish to make friends with those who would not lift a finger to stop it are merely helping the fundamentalists’ cause. As we saw on South Park, and heard from my warm-and-fuzzy friends, it appears some wish us to roll over and let them win. So we can’t mention Muhammad or show a drawing without fear — does anyone really think it ends there?

Of course it won’t. Like with the fundamentalist Christians, they want it all their way.

Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who sparked controversy by drawing Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog, was physically attacked on Tuesday while giving a lecture at the university of Uppsala, north of the Stockholm.

“The man was sat in the first row and suddenly he rushed at me. He punched me in the head and I lost my glasses,” said Vilks, adding that at the very most he was “a little bruised”.

The Muslims who showed up to protest knew ahead of time what the lecture was going to be about. Why attend if you know that what is going to be shown will offend you? Because, they don’t want anyone insulting their imaginary friend. Nevermind that Vilks spent time making fun of other religions. That does not matter to the protesters, because they believe that Islam is the only “true beliefs” and if no one else protests so violently, well…that just proves to them that Christianity, Buddhism, and all other religions are untrue but Mohammad and Islam are true and according to extremist Muslims, the right to free speech does not apply to Islam.

I was a bit frustrated to see Swedish non-Muslims just sit there there doing nothing at all during the whole ordeal. No one stood up in defense of free speech. It’s like our friend Pat Condell says, people are afraid to stand up to Muslims because of the risk of violent retaliation. The actions against Vilks shows that the fear is not unjustified. Because of the violent threats by Muslim extremists (which are carried out all too often), groups and organizations choose to just back down and let them have their way.

For Mr. Vilks, who has booby-trapped his own house and says he sleeps with an ax beside his bed, the right to unfettered speech – regardless of whether it offends Muslims – is a point of principle. “This must be carried through. You cannot allow it to be stopped,” he told the Associated Press, saying he wouldn’t hesitate to give the address again.

But the university apparently disagrees. Officials said they would “not likely” invite Vilks again because of the incident. In some quarters, the university’s reponse is adding to concerns that violence and threats from some members of the Muslim community are effectively muzzling free speech.

Last month, Comedy Central edited a “South Park” episode showing Mohammed in a bear suit in response to veiled threats by a New York-based Muslim group.

Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art pulled a collection of art of Mohammed to avoid offending Muslims, who believe that the depiction of any of the prophets is a form of idolatry.

And Brandeis University professor Jytte Klausen says that Yale University Press prohibited her from using several 2005 Danish newspaper caricatures depicting Mohammed with a bomb on his head in her book “The Cartoons That Shook the World.”

“When it comes to depicting the Prophet, this has nothing to do with social issues or integration,” says Professor Klausen. “This is about a political movement by sectarian groups where [depicting Mohammed] has now become a primary trigger for political contention. The university pretty much told [Vilks] to shut up and go talk somewhere else, and I find that reaction very dangerous and problematic. It means that the extremists have achieved what they wanted.”

Here is the video of what happened after the attack on Vilks: