Randi Rhodes: Propaganda Opportunity

There were opposing rallies over the mosque near ground zero this weekend. Mosque opponents waved signs with the word “Sharia” written in blood. There’s nothing like promoting religious intolerance by accusing others of religious intolerance. Yes, there are some intolerant and potentially violent Muslims in the world. They’re a very tiny minority… and they’re pretty much the Islamic equivalent of a lot of the people protesting the proposed mosque. Islamic radicals around the world are seizing on protests against the proposed Islamic community center as a propaganda opportunity. If you insist that millions of people who are not your enemy are your enemy, it’s inevitable that some of them will become your enemy. Newt Gingrich sent out an email saying “We will never win a war when we are afraid to even name our enemies.” You’re not naming our enemies, Newt—you’re creating them.
The crazy doesn’t stop in Lower Manhattan. Pat Robertson is worried about a proposed Islamic center in rural Tennessee. This proposed Islamic center is on Veals Road off Bradyville Pike southeast of Murfreesboro. Don’t tell me—is that hallowed ground too?
Shrimpers in Mississippi are refusing to trawl in reopened fishing areas of the Gulf of Mexico because of fear of contamination from oil and dispersants. The fishermen know that those dispersants aren’t made for eating. We don’t know exactly what’s in them, but I don’t think it’s tartar sauce. On August 6th, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality reopened all Mississippi waters to commercial and recreational fishing. I’m shocked. You mean Mississippi actually has a Department of Environmental Quality? I guess the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is responsible for putting all oil spills into milk jugs. OK, if you want the fisherman to pull seafood out of those waters, let’s just say that the first catch should go straight to the cafeteria of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. They should at least be honest about this. If any of the seafood from these contaminated areas hits the market, it should be marketed as “oysters a la Corexit.”
Today’s Homework Discuss
In his Weekly Radio Address, President Obama focused on the corporate takeover of our democracy:



Thom's blog
Is there room in Guantanamo for Faux News?
According to a report from Yahoo!News, the second largest shareholder, the parent company of Fox News, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal in News Corp, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to projects by Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is planning to build a Muslim community center and mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan. According to the report the Saudi Prince has directly funded the Imam's projects to the tune of more than $300,000." The Saudi Prince's personal charity, the Kingdom Foundation, donated $305,000 to Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, a project sponsored by two of Rauf's initiatives, the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative, which is building the Manhattan mosque. It seems ironic that Faux News' second-largest shareholder, after Rupert Murdoch, has financial links to the "Ground Zero mosque" while the Faux News Performers talking heads attempt to link the mosque to radical Islamism. Does this mean by Faux News standards, Faux News is a terrorist organization? Is there room in Guantanamo for the Faux News Performer hosts and that companies executives?

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