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The Attack on Lara Logan Was an Expression of Barbarism, Not Islam

By on 2.17.11 @ 2:16PM

Aaron Goldstein obtusely misses the point of my last post. My point is this: Although the mob that savagely attacked Lara Logan may have professed the Muslim faith, their violent and heinous acts were not an expression of Islam. They were an expression of barbarism.

The vast majority of Egyptians, after all, are Muslims. And yet the vast majority of Egyptians did not, and do not, take to the streets to attack, beat and sexually violate women. Moreover, the Egyptian women and soldiers who saved Logan were themselves Muslims.

So it is simply inaccurate to try and indict Muslims and Islam for the attack on, and abuse of, Logan. Indeed, if Logan’s assailants were “Muslims,” then the Nazis were “Christians.”

Nonetheless, Goldstein is determined, it seems, to find fault with the Egyptian people and with Islam. Thus he complains that I offer “no evidence” to show that Egypt’s pro-democracy protesters were, in fact, peaceful.

Of course, I provided a very detailed sequence of events, backed up by two highly reputable New York Times reporters who were on the scene in Tahrir Square. And I easily could have cited a dozen other journalists who also were reporting from Cairo.

This sequence of events, and these firsthand reports from independent and credible journalists, all show that the Egyptian protests were peaceful in nature; and that the violence that did occur was perpetrated by pro-Mubarak thugs who were sent out to harass the protesters and the media.

Yet Goldstein discounts this evidence because… well, we don’t know why, exactly. All we know is that Goldstein seems eager to condemn the Egyptian people because anti-Semitism is commonplace in Egypt. His unstated assumption seems to be that Egyptian anti-Semitism, and not Egypt’s remarkable awakening, is the defining characteristic of Egyptian society.

By this same logic, anti-American bigots on the Left wrongly and falsely portray America as an irredeemably “racist country” because of our history of slavery and Jim Crow.

Now, anti-Semitism, sadly, has plagued much of human history throughout the globe. The question is: how do you combat anti-Semitism (and bigotry writ large)?

Do you combat bigotry and anti-Semitism by subjecting people to a tyrannical dictatorship, such as the Egyptians had under Mubarak? Or do you combat bigotry and anti-Semitism by democratizing Egypt, liberalizing Egyptian society, and allowing the Egyptian people to debate and discuss ideas and governmental policy?

The truth is that under Mubarak, anti-Semitism in Egypt not only flourished, it was, in fact, actively promoted and sponsored by the state. Egyptian television, for instance, regularly aired the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

This, unfortunately, is typically what happens in closed and autocratic societies that don’t have the benefit of outside, Western influences and free and open political debate: They regress based on bad and malicious ideas.

But as I explained over at FrumForum, the great thing about democracy is that “it gives the citizenry the right to discuss and debate issues. It gives them the right to try and change people’s minds. It gives them the opportunity to fix and remedy their mistakes.”

In short, liberal democracy gives people the opportunity to expose and discredit anti-Semitism and other bigotry. So although Egypt and the Middle East may be regressive in key respects now, they need not remain regressive forever and ever. Social progress, in fact, is a hallmark of liberal democracy.

Finally, Goldstein complains that by my logic, “one could argue that Muslims were not involved in the attacks of September 11, 2001.”

This is spurious reasoning. Many of the Nazis were Christians, others were homosexuals. Does this mean that America was at war with Christians and homosexuals during World War II? Or were we at war with the Nazis?

By the same token, we are not at war with Islam or with Muslims. We are war with Islamists and Jihadists who pervert Islam for their own depraved and illicit purposes.

Yes, obviously the 9/11 terrorists professed a Muslim faith. But they were radical Islamists and Jihadists who adhered to the bin Laden interpretation of Islam. Millions of Muslims worldwide reject this interpretation; yet Goldstein seems to accept its supremacy. Why?

In truth, what the Egyptian people have achieved in the past three weeks is nothing short of miraculous. I wish that instead of trying to find fault with Egypt’s nascent democracy movement, Goldstein would step back and see its larger-scale historical significance and the hope that this movement rightly has engendered throughout Egypt and the Middle East.

View all comments (99) |

Conservative Bob| 2.17.11 @ 2:43PM

I will celebrate with you when this actually takes place. There are increasing signs it may be going otherwise, but that is off the current subject.
Your party hat and noise makers are a bit premature. You willingness to exonerate the protesters who attacked the reporter appear a desperate attempt to protect your narrative and your position. Where have you heard of 200 men of any background raping someone in broad daylight in the midst of 10s of thousands of 'peaceful' people? Where in history have you heard of something like this happening before as they perpetrators chant Jew Jew Jew....

Are you so invested in your take on this story that you are intentionally blind?

Alan Brooks| 2.17.11 @ 3:07PM

No, Guardino is right, blaming Islam for the Logan attack is similar to blaming Christianity for abortion clinic bombings by Christian-fanatics.

Patriot| 2.17.11 @ 3:30PM

Bad analogy: Logan's not an abortionist.

Alan Brooks| 2.17.11 @ 3:39PM

Maybe she is-- what do you know about her? she might own stock in an abortion-supply corp. I had thought rightwingers weren't as naive as progressives, but it might be that they are.

Patriot| 2.17.11 @ 4:21PM

Evil and stupid, but I'd never call progressives like you naive.

simon templar| 2.17.11 @ 5:37PM

That's odd because I recall that is exactly what the liberal media did after the clinic bombings.

Grzmlyk| 2.17.11 @ 2:48PM

Well, I have to admit, you had me going - until I came upon this:

"[T]wo highly reputable New York Times reporters . . ."

And then I got the joke and fell out of my chair laughing.

That's a good one!

Now I'd like to hear the one about the "intelligent moron," or the "beautiful ogre," or the "honest criminal."

Perhaps you can regale us with the highly amusing story of the "fiscally conservative Democrat." I never tire of that one.

Such a kidder!

CountryClassKook| 2.17.11 @ 2:57PM

Islam = Barbarism. Pick up the qur'an and actually READ it to see. And please stop with this Pollyanna garbage. Islam, in all flavors, it the greatest threat to the West, liberty, and the Judeo/Christian world (read CIVILIZATION).

Grzmlyk| 2.17.11 @ 3:07PM

I don't know, CountryClassKook.

I disagree as to what the greatest threat to the West, liberty and the Judeo/Christian world is.

Right now, I'd say that, as destructive, malevolent and aggressive as Islam is, it can't hold a candle to liberalism.

After all, Islam may indeed end up pulverizing the West, but it will saunter through the door that liberalism is holding open for it.

Sheila| 2.17.11 @ 3:13PM

Grz, succinct and all too true, as with most of your comments. Of late, I tire of the right liberals at this site and so visit only occasionally (and comment much more rarely).

Sheila| 2.17.11 @ 3:14PM

Oh, and that said, while Guardiano is willfully blind regarding Islam and Muslims, Goldstein is constantly on the Jew=Good, criticism of Jews= antiSemitism bandwagon, and he's tiresome at best.

Todd S| 2.17.11 @ 3:22PM

Are you a Ron Paul supporter Sheila? We know how Ron Paul supporters dislike Israel and see our support for them as the source of all of our foreign policy problems.

Clint| 2.17.11 @ 4:06PM

"Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country."
-Ronald Reagan

Todd S| 2.17.11 @ 5:04PM

That was a very long time ago Clint. Ron Paul is an isolationist of first order and naively believes if we abandon Israel, we will have no issues in the Middle East. Sorry but that is bs, they hate all of western society (the US the most of all) along with the Jews.

Clint| 2.17.11 @ 6:22PM

Ron Paul is as relevant and more actively relevant to American Conservatism today, as Ron Reagan and Israel.

Do your homework:
"Non-interventionism on the part of the United States over the course of its foreign policy, is more of a want to aggressively protect the United States' interests than a want to shun the rest of the world.

"Non-intervention is similar to isolationism, however fundamentally different. While isolationism includes views on immigration and trade, non-interventionism refers exclusively to military alliances and policies."

Todd S| 2.17.11 @ 6:37PM

Do you really believe that Ronald Reagan would have similar views on foreign policy as Ron Paul does today? You have to know that is not even close to being true, Reagan was always a strong supporter of Israel. Need I have to explain the "interventionist" policies of Ronald Reagan? Fine for you to support Ron Paul but don't tell me Reagan would support his foreign policy because that is untrue.

Clint| 2.17.11 @ 6:56PM

Ronald Reagan:
“The United States has thus far sought to play the role of mediator. We have avoided public comment on the key issues. We have always recognized and continue to recognize that only the voluntary agreement of those parties most directly involved in the conflict can provide an enduring solution. But it’s become evident to me that some clearer sense of America’s position on the key issues is necessary to encourage wider support for the peace process. . . . the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks. Further settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel.”

Clint| 2.17.11 @ 7:06PM

Dr. Ron Paul:
"I was in Congress in the early 1980s when the U.S. Marines were sent in to Lebanon, and I came to the floor before they went, when they went, and before they were killed, arguing my case against getting involved in that conflict.

Ronald Reagan, when he sent the troops in, said he would never turn tail and run. Then, after the Marines were killed, he had a reassessment of the policy. When he wrote his autobiography a few years later after leaving the presidency, he wrote this:

"Perhaps we didn't appreciate fully enough the depth of the hatred and the complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a jungle. Perhaps the idea of a suicide car bomber committing mass murder to gain instant entry to Paradise was so foreign to our own values and consciousness that it did not create in us the concern for the Marines' safety that it should have. In the weeks immediately after the bombing, I believed the last thing that we should do was turn tail and leave. Yet the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there. If there would be some rethinking of policy before our men die, we would be a lot better off. If that policy had changed towards more of a neutral position and neutrality, those 241 Marines would be alive today."

Occam's Tool| 2.17.11 @ 8:27PM

Please, Clint, let's isolate Israel. It only has about, oh, say, 200 nukes.

You advocate for a stronger Sharia, as does Dr. Paul. You may say you don't, but actions speak louder than words. Dr. Paul is also a huge fan of StormFront, as, no doubt, are you. See below, from The American Thinker, 2007: as I've said before, you are a vicious, despicable supporter of child rapists. You are loathsome scum.

"November 14, 2007
The Ron Paul Campaign and its Neo-Nazi Supporters
By Andrew Walden
When some in a crowd of anti-war activists meeting at Democrat National Committee HQ in June, 2005 suggested Israel was behind the 9-11 attacks, DNC Chair Howard Dean was quick to get behind the microphones and denounce them saying: "such statements are nothing but vile, anti-Semitic rhetoric."

When KKK leader David Duke switched parties to run for Louisiana governor as a Republican in 1991, then-President George H W Bush responded sharply, saying, "When someone asserts the Holocaust never took place, then I don't believe that person ever deserves one iota of public trust. When someone has so recently endorsed Nazism, it is inconceivable that someone can reasonably aspire to a leadership role in a free society."

Ron Paul is different.

Rep Ron Paul (R-TX) is the only Republican candidate to demand immediate withdrawal from Iraq and blame US policy for creating Islamic terrorism. He has risen from obscurity and is beginning to raise millions of dollars in campaign contributions. Paul has no traction in the polls -- 7% of the vote in New Hampshire -- but he at one point had more cash on hand than John McCain. And now he is planning a $1.1 million New Hampshire media blitz just in time for the primary.

Ron Paul set an internet campaigning record raising more than $4 million in small on-line donations in one day, on November 5, 2007. But there are many questions about Paul's apparent unwillingness to reject extremist groups' public participation in his campaign and financial support of his November 5 "patriot money-bomb plot."

On October 26 nationally syndicated radio talk show host Michael Medved posted an "Open Letter to Rep. Ron Paul" on TownHall.com. It reads:

Dear Congressman Paul:

Your Presidential campaign has drawn the enthusiastic support of an imposing collection of Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, Holocaust Deniers, 9/11 "Truthers" and other paranoid and discredited conspiracists.

Do you welcome- or repudiate - the support of such factions?

More specifically, your columns have been featured for several years in the American Free Press -a publication of the nation's leading Holocaust Denier and anti-Semitic agitator, Willis Carto. His book club even recommends works that glorify the Nazi SS, and glowingly describe the "comforts and amenities" provided for inmates of Auschwitz.

Have your columns appeared in the American Free Press with your knowledge and approval?

As a Presidential candidate, will you now disassociate yourself, clearly and publicly, from the poisonous propaganda promoted in such publications?

As a guest on my syndicated radio show, you answered my questions directly and fearlessly.
Will you now answer these pressing questions, and eliminate all associations between your campaign and some of the most loathsome fringe groups in American society?

Along with my listeners (and many of your own supporters), I eagerly await your response.

Respectfully, Michael Medved
Medved has received no official response from the Paul campaign.

There is more. The Texas-based Lone Star Times October 25 publicly requested a response to questions about whether the Paul campaign would repudiate and reject a $500 donation from white supremacist Stormfront.org founder Don Black and end the Stormfront website fundraising for Paul. The Times article lit up the conservative blogosphere for the next week. Paul supporters packed internet comment boards alternately denouncing or excusing the charges. Most politicians are quick to distance themselves from such disreputable donations when they are discovered. Not Paul.

Daniel Siederaski of the Jewish Telegraph Agency tried to get an interview with Paul, calling him repeatedly but not receiving any return calls. Wrote Siederaski November 9: "Ron Paul will take money from Nazis. But he won’t take telephone calls from Jews." [Update] Finally on November 13 the Paul campaign responded. In a short interview JTA quotes Jim Perry, head of Jews for Paul describing his work on the Paul campaign along side a self-described white supremacist which Perry says he has reformed.

Racist ties exposed in the Times article go far beyond a single donation. Just below links to information about the "BOK KKK Ohio State Meeting", and the "BOK KKK Pennsylvania State Meeting", Stormfront.org website announced: "Ron Paul for President" and "Countdown to the 5th of November". The links take readers directly to a Ron Paul fundraising site from which they can click into the official Ron Paul 2008 donation page on the official campaign site. Like many white supremacists, Stormfront has ties to white prison gangs.

Finally on October 30 Paul's campaign came back with a non-response. In a phone interview with the Lone Star Times, Ron Paul national communications director Jesse Benton was non-committal about removing the donations link from Stormfront.org. After a week of internet controversy, the best Benton could come up with is:

"We hadn't thought of these options but I'll bring up these ideas with the campaign director. Blocking the IP address sounds like a simple and practical step that could be taken. I doubt there is anything we can do legally. Tracking donations that came from Stormfront's site sounds more complicated. I'm concerned about setting a precedent for the campaign having to screen and vet everyone who makes a donation. It is important to keep in mind is (sic) that we didn't solicit this support, and we aren't interested in spending al of our time and resources focused on this issue. We want to focus on Dr. Paul's positive agenda for freedom."
Perhaps frustrated by the weasel words, Lone Star Times asked Benton: "Bottom line- Will the Ron Paul campaign be rejecting the $500 contribution made by neo-Nazi Don Black?"

Benton's response:

"At this time, I cannot say that we will be rejecting Mr. Black's contribution, but I will bring the matter to the attention of our campaign director again, and expect some sort of decision to be made in coming days."
On October 11 Stormfront Radio endorsed Ron Paul for President saying:

"Whatever organization you belong to, remember first and foremost that you're a white nationalist, then put aside your differences with one another and work together. Work together to strive to get someone in the Oval Office who agrees with much of what we want for our future. Look at the man, look at the issues, look at our future. Vote for Ron Paul, 2008."
As of November 11--the Ron Paul donation link is still up and active on Stormfront. No IP address has been blocked. Stormfront's would-be stormtroopers are still encouraged to contribute to Paul's campaign.

The white supremacists do more than raise funds. Blogger Adam Holland reports:

"one of Rep. Paul's top internet organizers in Tennessee is a neo-Nazi leader named Will Williams (aka ‘White Will'). Williams was the southern coordinator for William Pierce's National Alliance Party, the largest neo-Nazi party in the U.S."
Pierce is author of the racist "Turner Diaries". When the Lone Star Times exposed the $500 Don Black donation, Williams responded on the national Ron Paul meetup site,

"Must Dr. Paul capitulate to our Jewish masters' demands?"
The mild responses to Williams' MeetUp post make a sharp contrast to the hatred and invective with which Paul supporters respond to Medved or any other writer questioning Paul's refusal to disassociate himself from his racist supporters. Any other campaign would presume Williams' expression of anti-Semitism was a dirty trick by an opposing campaign. Williams would have been hurriedly denounced and booted out of the campaign. Not Ron Paul.

Williams has also organized at least one other discussion, "the Israel factor revisited" on the national Ron Paul MeetUp site. Again the measured tone of the remarks by Ron Paul supporters in the comments section contrasts sharply with the invective Paul supporters rain down upon bloggers who oppose him. Paul's campaign relies heavily on MeetUp sites to organize. Over 61,000 Paul supporters are registered on MeetUp as compared to 3,400 for Barack Obama, 1,000 for Hillary Clinton, 1,800 for Dennis Kucinich and only a couple of dozen members for most other candidates.

On the white-supremacist Vanguard News Network, Williams links to Paul's "grassroots" fundraising site and organizes other racists to "game You Tube" to advance a specific Ron Paul video to the top of You Tube's rankings. Writes Williams, "Everybody here can do this, except bjb w/his niggerberry." Holland points out, "BJB" stands for "burn Jew burn". BJB's internet signature is, "Nothing says lovin' like a Jew in the oven."

Williams is not Paul's only supremacist supporter. "Former" KKK leader (and convicted fraudster) David Duke's website http://www.whitecivilrights.com/, calls Ron Paul "our king" and cheers while "Ron Paul Hits a Home Run on Jay Leno Show." Duke also includes a "Ron Paul campaign update" and plugs Ron Paul fundraising efforts. These articles are posted right next to articles such as "Ten reasons why the Holocaust is a fraud" and "Germans Still Remember their Historical Greatness"-featuring a map of Hitler's Third Reich at its 1942 military height, just in case anybody doesn't get the point. Apparently "Dr. Paul's positive agenda for freedom" is attractive to those who ape the world's worst tyrants and genocidaires.

There are others. In a You Tube video circulating the internet, Ron Paul is endorsed by Hutton Gibson, a leading Holocaust denier and father of controversial actor and director Mel Gibson.

Ron Paul is supported by Patrick Buchanan, whose website carries videos and articles such as: "Ron Paul epiphany" and "Ron Paul a new hope." Buchanan has a long history of remarks some call anti-Semitic (see link). Ron Unz, editor of Buchanan's American Conservative magazine, is a Paul contributor and may have helped raise money from Silicon Valley sources.

Ron Paul's American Free Press supporters run literally from one end of the country to the other:

A Maine Ron Paul MeetUp activist who once ran for US Senate describes himself as, "a 911 truth researcher & video documentarian, & a writer for The Barnes Review." The Barnes Review is a Holocaust-denier magazine founded by Willis Carto.
A Hawaii Ron Paul MeetUp organizer is pictured here pumping the Paul campaign and selling copies of Willis Carto's American Free Press at a farmers market.
There is more to the Paul campaign than racists. The mis-named 9-11 "truth" movement has also been a big source of Paul support. The Detroit Free Press describes the scene as Republican Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani shared the ferry ride back from a Mackinac Island Michigan Republican caucus September 21.

"According to one eyewitness, Giuliani was beset by dozens of Paul enthusiasts as he was leaving the island, some of whom shouted taunts about 9/11, including: ‘9/11 was an inside job' and ‘Rudy, Rudy, what did you do with the gold?' -- an apparent reference to rumors about $200 million in gold alleged to have disappeared in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Ed Wyszynski, a longtime party activist from Eagle, (MI) said the Paul supporters threatened to throw Giuliani overboard and harassed him as he took shelter in the ferry's pilothouse for the 15-minute journey back to Mackinaw City."
Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton told the Detroit Free Press "Ron Paul does not think that 9/11 was an inside job." But the "truthers" aren't fooled. Paul's committee paid 9-11 conspiracy nut and talk-show host Alex Jones $1300. Jones claims the payment is a partial refund after he over paid August 27 when giving Paul a $2300 contribution. Aaron Dykes of Alex Jones' company Magnolia Management and Alex Jones' Infowars website gave Ron Paul $1600.

Jones has been pumping Paul's campaign on his nationally syndicated radio show for months. Alex Jones got Paul's first radio interview January 17 after announcing his Presidential campaign. LINK: http://prisonplanet.tv/audio/170107paul.mp3. In a lengthy October 5 interview -- apparently Paul's fourth with Jones -- Paul thanks Jones for his support saying: "You and the others have always said run, run, run." Alex Jones' websites are piled with Ron Paul articles and campaign paraphernalia for sale.

Other Paul donations and activists come from leftists and Muslims. Singer and Democrat contributor Barry Manilow is also a Ron Paul contributor and possibly a fundraiser. There are close ties (but no endorsements) between Ron Paul's San Francisco Bay Area campaign and Cindy Sheehan's long-shot Congressional campaign.

An Austin, TX MeetUp site shows Paul supporters also involved in leftist groups such as Howard Dean's "Democracy for America." MeetUp lists other sites popular with members of the Ron Paul national MeetUp group. The number one choice is "9/11 questions" another leading choice is "conspiracy."

MuslimVoterOnPaul.com chimes in writing:

"Brothers and Sisters, please vote for Ron Paul in the Republican Primaries. It's our obligation to come together and try to stand up for not only our best interests, but the best interests of the entire Ummah."
A Ron Paul flyer directed at Muslims reads: "Who is Ron Paul and why does the Jerusalem Post call him crazy?" A "Muslims for Paul" bumper sticker puts the Islamic crescent in Paul's name.

The ugly mishmash of hate groups backing Paul has a Sheehan connection as well. David Duke is a big Cindy Sheehan supporter eagerly proclaiming "Cindy Sheehan is right" after Sheehan said, "My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel." Stormfront.org members joined Sheehan at her protest campout in Crawford, TX and posed with her for photos. Sheehan is also intimately associated with the Lew Rockwell libertarian website which has posted over 200 articles by Ron Paul as well as some "scholarly" 9-11 conspiracy theories.

The white supremacist American Nationalist Union also backed Sheehan's Crawford protests and endorsed David Duke for president of the United States in 1988. Now they are backing Ron Paul-linking to numerous Pro-Paul articles posted on LewRockwell.com.

Medved's questions surprise many, but they shouldn't. Paul's links the anti-Semites and white supremacists continue a trend which has been developing since the 9-11 attacks. Barely six weeks after 9-11, Paul was already busy blaming America. On October 27, 2001 Paul wrote on LewRockwell.com, "Some sincere Americans have suggested that our modern interventionist policy set the stage for the attacks of 9-11". Paul complained: "often the ones who suggest how our policies may have played a role in evoking the attacks are demonized as unpatriotic." He says the US is "bombing Afghanistan" and is upset nobody is interested in his solution:

"It is certainly disappointing that our congressional leaders and administration have not considered using letters of marque and reprisal as an additional tool to root out those who participated in the 9-11 attacks."
Paul is quick to blame the victim when the issue is Islamist violence. But when it comes to ordinary criminal violence, Paul once blamed "95% of black males." During Paul's 1996 Congressional campaign a Houston Chronicle article raised questions about a 1992 Ron Paul newsletter article. Under Ron Paul's name was written: "If you have ever been robbed by a black teenaged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be.' Paul added: "I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city (Washington, D.C.) are semi-criminal or entirely criminal."

Texas Monthly later interviewed Paul. He claims:

"They were never my words, but I had some moral responsibility for them . . . I actually really wanted to try to explain that it doesn't come from me directly, but they campaign aides said that's too confusing. 'It appeared in your letter and your name was on that letter and therefore you have to live with it.'"
Adds Texas Monthly:

"It is a measure of his stubbornness, determination, and ultimately his contrarian nature that, until this surprising volte-face in our interview, he had never shared this secret. It seems, in retrospect, that it would have been far, far easier to have told the truth at the time."
Paul defenders often point to a December 24, 2002 Paul essay, "What really divides us?" Wrote Paul,

"Racism is simply an ugly form of collectivism, the mindset that views humans only as members of groups and never as individuals. Racists believe that all individual who share superficial physical characteristics are alike; as collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups."
What his supporters don't often mention is that Paul deployed this fine rhetoric only in defense of Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS). Lott was pilloried in the press for his flattering words about the segregationist 1948 Presidential run of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond.

Responding to rioting in Los Angeles under the heading "Terrorist Updates", Paul's 1992 article exposes a double standard. Substitute the words "Islamist terrorism" for "riots" and try to imagine Paul using this language:

"The cause of the riots is plain: barbarism. If the barbarians cannot loot sufficiently through legal channels (i.e., the riots being the welfare-state minus the middleman), they resort to illegal ones, to terrorism. Trouble is, few seem willing to do anything to stop them. The cops have been handcuffed. And property owners are not allowed to defend themselves. The mayor of Los Angeles, for example, ordered the Korean storekeepers who defended themselves arrested for "discharging a firearm within city limits." Perhaps the most scandalous aspect of the Los Angeles riots was the response by the mayors, the media, and the Washington politicians. They all came together as one to excuse the violence and to tell white America that it is guilty, although the guilt can be assuaged by handing over more cash. It would be reactionary, racist, and fascist, said the media, to have less welfare or tougher law enforcement. America's number one need is an unlimited white checking account for underclass blacks.

"Rather than helping, all this will ensure that guerrilla violence will escalate. There will be more occasional eruptions such as we saw in Los Angeles, but just as terrifying are the daily muggings, robberies, burglaries, rapes, and killings that make our cities terror zones."
If one forgets the implication that the US treasury is a "white checking account" or the suggestion that all "underclass blacks" are thugs, it seems that Paul believes that appeasing street criminals "will ensure that guerrilla violence will escalate." But when it comes to the Islamist terror, Paul's message, now the theme of his Presidential campaign is: "our policies may have played a role in evoking the attacks."

The double standard raises questions. Paul's real motivation for appeasing Islamists may be underlined in quotes from a May 24, 1996 Congress Daily article:

"Stating that lobbying groups who seek special favors and handouts are evil, Paul wrote, ‘By far the most powerful lobby in Washington of the bad sort is the Israeli government' and that the goal of the Zionist movement is to stifle criticism."
"Ron Paul-America's Last Chance", a January, 2007 article by Ted Lang on the anti-Semitic site Rense.com, makes a familiar argument for supporting Paul. Lang claims,

"Dr. Paul's best credentials are those identifying him as a true libertarian, meaning a ‘classical liberal' of the anti-Federalist genre of libertarians that helped found this country, true liberals such as Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams...."
Paul himself writing on antiwar.com says:

"Thomas Jefferson spoke for the founders and all our early presidents when he stated: ‘peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none...' which is, ‘one of the essential principles of our government'. The question is: Whatever happened to this principle and should it be restored?"
Perhaps Paul forgets America's 1801-05 war with the Islamic terrorists known as the Barbary Pirates? Paul's interpretation of American history is false. This writer explained in "The Colonial War against Islam":

"In 1786, Thomas Jefferson, then U.S. ambassador to France, and John Adams, then American Ambassador to Britain, met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the Dey's ambassador to Britain, in an attempt to negotiate a peace treaty based on Congress' vote of funding. To Congress, these two future presidents later reported the reasons for the Muslims' hostility towards America, a nation with which they had no previous contacts.

"‘...that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.'"
Apparently Paul chooses to remember only the parts of American history which benefit his arguments. As part of the War on Terror Paul wants the US to abandon, the US Navy is on duty fighting Islamic pirates off the coast of Somalia, in the Persian Gulf, and Southeast Asia.

In spite of official silence from the Paul Campaign, hordes of Paul supporters lit up the comments section of Michael Medved's open letter on TownHall.com. In a phenomenon familiar to any blogger who posts information negative to Paul, the 500-plus comments include several which indicate that Medved has got Paul's supporters dead to rights:
"Your own Zionism is slipping, Medved! Why should anyone disassociate from 9/11 Truthers?"
"I suggest you take off the tin-foil yamika (sic), your brain is fried."
"You will do anything to smear this good man to try and safeguard US policy in Israel."
"Hey Medved. Tell your AIPAC handlers to be nervous. You are failing miserably."
"It's patently obvious why you don't support Dr. Paul: He's not hand-picked by AIPAC and the Likud Party."
Over at Liberty Post, a self-described "Christian Zionist" identifying himself as ‘David Ben-Ariel' adds this response:

"If discredited and paranoid Michael Medved is so concerned about it, let him actually follow his Judaism to the Jewish Homeland of Israel and take the treacherous ACLU and its liberal ilk, and every other self-hating, defeatist, godless group and loathsome organization with him. What's he got to lose, especially if he fails to believe the Israeli oligarchy is under German-Jesuit control and guilty of murdering Yitzhak Rabin? ... I'm voting for Ron Paul."
Besides the Paul backers whose words seem to provide backing to Medved's case, others complain that it is wrong to question the sources of Paul's support. Writing on the "Daily Paul", Mike Bergmaier complains it is "unfair" for Medved to demand Paul renounce the support of anti-Semites, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis. Really? Why?

Lew Rockwell attempts to respond to Medved's question by echoing leftist themes equating Nazis with mainstream conservatives. Rockwell argues Medved should renounce Cheney and Bush. In a weak effort at verbal judo, Rockwell calls Medved's letter a "neocon libel." Rockwell continues:

"Mr. Medved, will you repudiate belligerent nationalists, drooling torturers, scheming warmongers, redistributing pressure groups, foreign aid thieves... (etc)"
and then without even pausing to catch his breath accuses Medved of practicing "guilt by association."

Perhaps Rockwell hopes weak-minded readers will not notice that associating Medved with "drooling torturers" is itself "guilt by association." No "drooling torturers" have been identified among Medved's financial backers but actual neo-Nazis have been identified by name amongst Paul's. Is this what passes for scholarship at the Ludwig von Mises Institute headed by Rockwell? Judging from many of the comments Paul supporters have flooded the internet with, it apparently is good enough for them.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the Daily Paul, Paul's "fair" supporters are organizing to call radio stations and demand they yank Medved's show, thus demonstrating that censorship is a Libertarian value.

Neither Paul nor his campaign has officially responded to the questions raised by Medved. But then perhaps these types of comments are the official response.

Paul supporters complain endlessly that the "mainstream media" is censoring or ignoring their candidate. They should be careful what they ask for. If Paul wants to be taken seriously, he must stop cowering behind the internet and face these questions. Until then it is only reasonable to presume that Paul is happy to wallow in well-financed obscurity accepting the support of some of the worst enemies of freedom and liberty within American society."

Occam's Tool| 2.17.11 @ 8:32PM

1980 was a long, long time ago. Ronnie would be kicking terrorist rear. Paul smooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooches it! Like Clint!

Occam's Tool| 2.17.11 @ 8:33PM

That's "smooches," as in kiss. With a bit of tongue.

Grzmlyk| 2.17.11 @ 9:44PM

Hey, Occam:

Well done!

My two cents: It is not healthy for people to worship politicians rabidly, to the exclusion of all other considerations.

Clint is such a zealot. He obviously worships Paul and his raison d'etre is to look for opportunities to pounce on a negative word about his god. And he's got a storehouse of clippings ready to cut and paste.

I'm all for getting behind a politician with enthusiasm - but when people become rabid about ANY politician, something is rotten in the state of Denmark. It's a very bad sign, and one that mainstream conservatives should heed.

I wish non-interventionism were the answer. I really do. But for the few years we remain the world's lone superpower (and the days grow short indeed), it is simply not an option. Our critical mass, by itself, is a force on the global stage regardless of how we move. So we had better move intelligently.

My other comment relates back to the original anti-semitism issue with Sheila below.

Just to be clear, I am a supporter of Israel and believe that we must stand by her for a number of reasons - but chiefly because it's the right thing to do.

I do get exasperated when so many elite Jews act against their own ultimate interests by embracing the destructive, nihilistic poison of "progressivism," however.

The near monolithic, boneheaded embrace of Obama and his ilk by the Upper West Side crowd - and thier fellow travelers - tries my patience mightily.

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 10:00PM

I used to think Clint was just a zealot too, until recently when he showed his obvious anti-Semitism. The creep's a bigot.

Grzmlyk| 2.18.11 @ 8:21AM

Not that you'll see this, but just in case -

I am not familiar with Clint. Guess I really have tapered off my participation on this site.

Perhaps history's greatest mystery for me is that, while civilizations may come and go, the one thing we can count on in perpetuity is the demonization of Jews.

Some clown on another thread (maybe it was somewhere on this one - I lose track) actually tried to peddle the historical revisionism that the Muslim world LOVED Jews up until Hitler.

Okie dokie.

I'm guessing that, on those rare occasions when Clint can tear himself away from his Ron Paul shrine, he probably takes in a movie or two at his local theater.

I wonder who he thinks invented Hollywood?

Hint for Clint: It wasn't Aryans.

Grzmlyk| 2.17.11 @ 3:33PM

Yeah, Sheila, I have to say I've cut down my time on this site as well. I scratch my head sometimes. It pains me that conservatism is such a fragile flame, whereas liberalism is an immutable beacon.

That says a lot about how few people are willing to simply embrace the truth.

We constantly have to mount herculean efforts to keep conservatives focused on what used to be pretty self-evident values and goals.

But now, even in the increasingly undisguised face of the lie that is liberalism, even as the phony edifices of its insitutions are crumbling, even as this entire country implodes, so many "conservatives" still go wobbly and succomb to liberalism's siren song of vanity. Screw reality; it's so much easier to spout empty platitudes that make a show of "caring" about demographic abstractions or pursuing "fairness" or celebrating "diversity" or practicing "tolerance."

That's why I have no hope that we have a critical mass of politicans who even want to turn this ship of state around before it breaks apart on the iceberg of leftism.

Too many interest groups are on the gravy train, and they'd rather sink the ship than "pay their fair share," to put it in language they might comprehend.

And the politicians are only too happy to oblige them. The destruction of this country is a small price to pay for reelection!

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 3:38PM

I believe Radical Islamists and Liberals/Marxists have the same goal: The destruction of the USA.

They are equally dangerous.

simon templar| 2.17.11 @ 5:51PM

Sheila...I must admit I have not read all of Mr Goldstein columns but I did not get the impression that he believes that Jews nor Israel has never made a mistake. I think you need to cut this guy some slack. I am guessing he very often reacts and defends Israel and is sensitive to anti-semitism because he literally has skin in this game and has lived with this evil all his life. Much of his criticism is most likely born out of a great deal of experience. We all can get on bandwagons at certain points and also belabor a point to death. So, if your point is we need to watch out for that, then point taken.

Occam's Tool| 2.17.11 @ 8:20PM

No, Sheila, the definition of antisemitism is very simply this: someone who advocates for things that will likely reduce survival of, or actively get, more Jews killed. That's why Ron Paul fall under that, Ron much more blantantly than any Congressman outside of Dennis Kucinich.

Bob Miller| 2.17.11 @ 3:03PM

Let's look around and see who in the world is practicing barbarism and why. Is it some accident or coincidence?

Too Many Tims| 2.17.11 @ 3:09PM

Will the facts ever be known? Is there anything like an investigation going on, or are the Egyptian security services simply beating people until they get confessions?

Dixie Pixie| 2.17.11 @ 4:02PM

Greetings Too Many Tims
The last Egyptian government has fallen.
The next is yet to be formed.
There is not a government capable or interested in investigating the Logan Assault.
It is doubtful the next government will try to find the attackers as the case would certainly destabilize an already shaky government.
Besides where can Logan find the necessary four witnesses to the rape and still avoid prosecution as a adulterer under Muslim Law.

The net result will be to sweep this incident under the rug as soon as possible.

Too Many Tims| 2.18.11 @ 9:35AM

Yep.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.17.11 @ 3:17PM

Folks,
I told you that Mr. Guardiano would dig in his heels...and deny what his bloody eyes tell him.

These rapist folks were obviously "Presbyterians"!!!!!!!

Mr. Guardiano, you began this series of blogs, simply mildly wrong. Now you have progressed to outrageously "blinkered".
Countless "presbyterian" women across the muslim world are raped and abused as often as is convenient to their slave-master "husbands", dumbbunny!
The women are routinely sold into marital slavery as pre-pubescent little girls....without the clitoris that God gave them.
You just can't put a band-aid over that.

Now, I am looking for an abject apology from you to reality.
Nevertheless, as I so often have posted here, we just do not have the tools to fix stupidity...or in your case..."cupidity".

Todd S| 2.17.11 @ 3:27PM

Obviously Mr. Guardiano is one of those people who can never admit he is wrong. He writes over at the FrumForum so we can see which part of the conservative movement he is on. It would be nice to believe what he says and that it is a small minority of Muslims "hijacking" a religion of peace but the evidence shows otherwise. What are the fruits of Islam? As long as they worship an evil warlord like Muhammed, there is no hope of there being any good fruit.

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 3:32PM

All Muslims aren't terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim.

Todd S| 2.17.11 @ 3:47PM

Let's not overstate the case, you don't have to be a Muslim to be a terrorist though it helps. Plenty of Marxist terrorist groups (see Bill Ayers) over the years and nationalist groups like the IRA. They are by far the most dangerous though because they are such a large group led by a dangerous ideology.

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 4:24PM

It helps to stay in the present, Todd.

Todd S| 2.17.11 @ 5:09PM

Just not a factual statement Patty, there are still Marxist terrorist groups around the world (see FARC in Columbia) and there are also the eco-terrorist groups as well. Like I said, Muslims are by far the largest and most dangerous.

Antony| 2.17.11 @ 8:38PM

Certain Muslim terrorist may be the biggest threat to America, but there is or more to the world than just America. And there is a lot of things America does to the rest of the world to make them dislike America. It's arrogance, hypocritical and often out of touch. It talks democracy then supports dictators. I like the USA I lived there for many years, but the old joke about news bulletins starting "in the world today" and that the last you hear anything about the rest of the world remains basically true until it does something oversea and then maybe it will be reported.

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 9:41PM

We're Americans, Antony, of course we're biased. What else to you expect?

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 9:35PM

99.9% of terrorists are Muslim. Okay, Mr. Nitpicker?

John| 2.17.11 @ 3:31PM

Around 90% of all women in Egypt are subject to some form of female genital mutilation. So violence against women is a major element of their society. Islam itself does not require that sort of thing, per se, but as practiced in Egypt and many other places it simply is a reality. And Muslims in Europe commit sex crimes against non-Muslims at shocking rates.

These attacks are not an "expression" of Islam exactly, but there is a very strong connection at least.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.17.11 @ 3:38PM

John,
Please change your screen-name. We have another "John" here who is a confirmed pedophile/Muslim.
maybe ...John Christian, or perhaps... John something. OK?
Many of us scroll by "John". We know he is a pedophile/Muslim.

Jehu| 2.17.11 @ 5:37PM

Ugh. Well thanks for the tip; I guess a plain name of that sort is unwise anyway due to commonality.

Uli Kunkel| 2.17.11 @ 3:35PM

Isn't this incident somewhat the result of a news program director sending a "news woman" to a riot and don't get me wrong that doesn't excuse the out-of-control third-world maniacs, they're the ones who deserve to be neutered.

With that said, what is it with news folks wanting to be in close proximity to eminent danger: Hurricanes always attract the Geraldo types who inevitably wind-up wallowing around face-first in the tidal surge, spitting out sea water, then running for the hotel room.

Now sending a "Woman" to the scene of a metaphorical hurricane, Egypt, is maybe an irresponsible thing to do, those folks are unpredictable and remember this, that metaphorical Egyptian hurricane had a penis!!!

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.17.11 @ 3:39PM

Uli,
Sad but very funny.

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 4:26PM

C'mon now, Uli, haven't you ever heard of "I am woman, hear me roar?"
I thought everyone knew feminists were invincible!

Uli Kunkel| 2.17.11 @ 4:44PM

Yeah, right-up to the moment of unconsciousness...

Smirking Weasel| 2.17.11 @ 4:33PM

The Nazi's were pagans.
Islam is a disgusting, ignorant philosophy that has no place in the West; at very best, Muslims in the US, including Cassius Clay and Lew Alcindor are leeches and deserve the opinion of same.
Nevertheless, the real enemies of the West are those like Guardiano, who apologize and even lie to cover their own doubt and self-loathing. OBL is more worthy of simple respect than Guardiano, etc., as he is more successful in accomplishing his goals, vile as they may be by the standards of our civilization, in doing what he believes is best for his people and philosophy.
Our real enemies are most definately within.

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 4:47PM

The Nazis were Occultists, too.

Pecos| 2.17.11 @ 4:50PM

A Few of the news stories that may be found at:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
Man Shoots Sister over Facebook Pictures...
.
(UK) Groping Taxi Driver May be Deported...
.
'Jew, Jew' Shouted During Tahir Square Sexual Assault...
.
Murdered Christian a 'Soft Target'...
.
New Pakistani Film Lionizes Fundamentalist Killers...
.
Married 7/7 Bomber Tried to 'Bed' Girlfriend the Night Before...
.
Iran Kills Protester, Then Hijacks Funeral from Family...
.
Appeal Fails for UK Muslims Who Shouted Abuse at Soldiers...
.
Wife Severs Husband's Penis for Taking Second Wife...
.
Qat Timeouts Bite into Protests
.
[July] Fatwa Prohibits Adolescent Girls Riding Bikes...
.
Bedouins Hold Africans Hostage in Torture Camps...
.
Muslim-Americans Nabbed in Plot to Bankroll Taliban...
.
Jailed Indian Youths Convert to Islam to Escape Torture...
.
Talented Guitarist Embraces Islam, Preaches Against Music...
.
Web Programmer Faces Execution on Porn Charges....
.
Singer Banned in Malaysia for 'Insulting Islam'...
.
Italy Struggles with Tsunami of Tunisian 'Immigrants'...
.
Jordan Clerics Demand Nightclub Closures...
.
Maid Held for Allegedly Plotting to Cast Spell on Family...
.
Iranian Politicians Openly Call for Murder of Opponents...
.
Salafis Stage Anti-Semetic Rally in Front of Synagogue...
.
Italy 'Sex' Scandal Woman Raped by Uncles, Burned by Father...
.
London Council Battles Islamic 'Gay-Free' Zones...
.
Preacher Arrested for Assaulting Children at Mosque...
.
Rights Group 'Condemns' Anti-Buddhist Violence in Thailand...
.
Jordan: Killer of Israeli School-Girls a 'Hero'...
.
Pakistani Assassin Gets Valentines Day Love...
.
7/7 Ringleader Tried to Convert Schoolboy to Islam...
.
Syria Jails 19-Year-Old Female Blogger...
.
(Bangladesh) 503 Women Publicly Flogged by Fatwa Edict...
.
Children Punched and Kicked at Mosque School...
.
'If You Want to Live Under Sharia, Then Go Back to the Hellhole!'...
.
UK Man Kills 'Convert' Wife & Two Children...
.
80 Hauled Before Sharia Court for Celebrating Valentines Day...
.
Millions of Egyptian Poor Live in Cemeteries...
.
Terror Cleric'All I Ever Wanted Was to Defend Islam'...
.
Teenage Boy's Hand Hacked Off over Affair...
.
British Woman's Jaw Broken in Unprovoked Attack...
.
Boats of Muslim Refugees Arriving 'Non-stop' in Italy...
.
(UK) Students at Mosque Taught to Hate Hindus, Unbelievers...
.
Murdered Sisters May Have Been Involved in Christian Group...
.
'Death to Gays, Adulterers & Apostates' Cleric to Speak in UK
.
Official 'Love Jihad' Posters Surface in India...
.
Turkey's Islamist Party Flexes Muscle Over Military...
.
28 Shia Pilgrims Massacred by Sunni Suicide Bomber...
.
'Islamic Army of Iraq' Mass Grave Discovered: 153 Bodies...
.
Genies Suspected in Girl's Disappearance...
.
Lovers Commit Suicide After Muslim Family Beats Up Hindu...
.
Middle-Aged Muslim 'Makes it Right' by Marrying the Girl...
.
Ontario Public Schools Feature Mini-Mosques...
.
Saudi Cops Gear Up for 'Love-Free' Valentines Day...
.
Former Pakistan PM Dodges Arrest Warrant for Bhutto Murder
.
Islamists Back Down on Valen-tines Day 'Haram Call'...
.
4-Year-Old Girl Among Five Christians Hacked to Death...
.
Sarkozy Latest to Admit Failure of Multiculturalism...
.
Indonesian Cops Ban Interfaith Gathering...
.
Gang Rape in Glasgow: Women Urged Not to Go Out on Their Own
.
US Spy Chief: Muslim Brother-hood is 'Largely Secular'...
.
'Every Muslim Should be a Ter-rorist' Cleric Runs 'Peace TV'...
.
Malaysian Islamists Launch War on Valentines Day...
.
Man Who Filmed Mob Lynchings in 'Grave Danger'...
.
Jihad du Jour: Boy in School Uniform Takes Out 31...
.
UPS Sued for Requiring Shave...
.
Hamas Arrests Bloggers over Facebook Posting...
.
Tariq Ramadan Prays that Allah will Give Strength to Terrorists...
.
UK Cops Arrest Man for Publish-ing Video to the Internet...
.
North Carolina Convert Pleads Guilty to Terror Charges...
.
British Schoolkids Taught to Chop off Hands...
.
Buddhists Shot and Burned...
.
Boy Shot to Death Trying to Escape Forced Prayers...
.
Young Boy has Hand Cut Off for Theft...
.
(US) 19-Year-Old Threatens Columbine-Style Shooting...
.
Spanish Official Resigns After Telling Muslims to Get Jobs...
.
Richard Dawkins: Islam 'One of the Great Evils'...
.
1995 Muslim Brotherhood Text Exposes Supremacist Goals...
.
UK Mosque Threatens to Sue PM
.
Cleric Urged Would-Be Bomber to 'Sell Soul to Allah'...
.
Muslimah: Penis Size Matters...
.
Indonesia Requires Picture of Pig on All Pork Products...
.
Pakiststani Bombers Insist: Killing Shias Brings Peace...
.
Turkey Slammed for Institutional Discrimination against Minorities
.
Protestors Successfully Shout Down Israeli Diplomat...
.
al-Qaeda Urges Egyptian Protesters to Wage Jihad...
.
'They Tied Her Legs and Started Lashing Her Continuously'...
.
Canadian Teen Beaten to Death by Five Muslims...
.
Texas Schools Make Arabic Classes Mandatory...
.
Man Burns Wife with Acid in Front of Children...
.
Indonesian Hardliners Set Fire to Churches, Beat Priest...
.
Teenage Girls Killed for Reading the Bible...
.
Libya Tortures Brothers for Promoting Berber Culture...
.
Same-Sex Wedding Raid May Have Netted Cops 200 Gays...
.
Anti-Semitic Theme Underlies Egyptian Protests...
.
Christian Youth Tortured to Death by Muslim Landlord...
.
Oxford Students Secretly Served Halal Meat...
.
Fighter of Muslim Stereotypes Guilty of Beheading Wife...
.
Christian Sudanese Vote 99% to Secede from Muslim Rule...
.
Scholar Blames Arab Uprisings on Lack of Sharia...
.
Eight Pakistani 'Preachers' Arrested in Africa...
.
Aid Worker Tortured, Faces Execution for Being Christian...
.
Murder of Ahmadiyahs by 'Allah Akbar' Mob Coincides with 'Interfaith Week'...
.
Family Speaks of Grief over Daughter Beaten to Death...
.
Taliban Fundamentalists Kill 1,165 Worshippers over 10 Years...
.
Iran Bans TV Channels from Showing Foreign Food...
.
Florida Man Stabbed by Drunk for Being Muslim...
.
Turkey 'Incarcerates' Children with Guilty Mothers...
.
FBI, Army Blamed for Missing 'Open Jihadist' Ft. Hood Shooter
.
(UK) Muslim MP Brands Cameron a 'Far-Right Propagandist'...
.
Iran Hanging One Person Every 12 Hours...
.
CAIR Hopes Dashed as 'Anti-Muslim' Mosque Bomber Turns Out to be Anti-Shiite Sunni...
.
Ethiopian Christians Forcibly Converted to Islam...
.
Muslim Neighbors Assisted in Massacre of Coptic Families...
.
Egyptian Govt. Negotiates with Brotherhood to End Protests...
.
Cricket Match Fixing Pakistanis Dodge Justice...
.
Bahrain Arrests Over 100 Gays...
.
Girl Electrocuted by Family for Refusing Arranged Marriage...
.
New Ground Zero Mosque Imam Quits Three Weeks into Job...
.
California Man Gets 10 Years for Kidnapping and Torture...
.
Canada's First Hijab-Wearing Prison Guard Flunks Out...
.
British Muslims Send Problem Kids to al-Qaeda Schools...
.
Kuwait May Pardon Prisoners Who Memorize the Quran...
.
UN Paid Cash to Somali Terrorists
.
Lecturer Refuses Female Hand-shakes at Amsterdam College...

Derek Leaberry| 2.17.11 @ 5:10PM

I guess all the Muslim rapes in Europe are only about barbarism and not Islam. At least according to Mr. Guardiano. But Islam teaches Muslim males to treat non-Muslim women with disdain. Thus the barbarism. So it can be supposed that something in Islam acts as a catalyst towards the barbaric treatment of women by Islamic males.

matthew s harrison| 2.17.11 @ 5:15PM

Sorry John-but you are way off base. That attack is exactly what islam stands for-mistreatment, subjugation, and torture/rape of women. That is islam in a nutshell. I don't know what you read, listen to, or watch to get your news-but one doesn't have to look to far to see that the "moderate" muslims look the other way when this happens-and never speak out about it.
This is what islam stands for-and it is what is coming to our once free country-Shariah law will be the law of the land if the left have a say-and the funniest thing about it will be the total surprise they exhibit when their women and children(girls and boys) are raped by islamists.
Sorry-but your PC attitude towards islam is just as dangerous as the lefts' pandering to islamists!

Dixie Pixie| 2.17.11 @ 5:18PM

The funny thing was I was in the historical section of the local library last weekend .
What caught my eye was a book on the Great Barbarians.
The listed where Huns,Vikings, Mongols and Muslims.

Was the Logan Assault an barbaric attack?
That is another great moment in the "History Of Duh..."

The whole point of the Muslim Brotherhood movement is to take Egypt and then the entire planet back to 7th century Islamic Barbarism.
The allure of the Wahhabi Philosophy is the freedom to Assault, Loot, Pillage, and RAPE the Infidel.
Why is it surprising that a CBS reporter blundered into a barbaric situation then?
It was obviously Allah's Will that Logan be raped.

What is funny is Guardiano's intellectual gyrations to try to prove it was Mubarak supporters that did the dirty deed.
Unless the actual people can be caught and convicted it will always be unknown who assaulted Lara Logan.

PS....You know the argument is lost when the Nazis are invoked.
While it is true there were Catholics and Lutherans in the Nazi Party, the evolution of Nazi Philosophy was to supplant Christianity with Paganism based on pre-Roman Germanic religious beliefs.
Therefore Guardiano's comparison by association is as absurd as it is desperate.

PS2....After a adroit use of an Ouija board and consulting the local squirrels I have found out:::
.......Drum Roll Please........

It Was The Coptic Christians who were trying Shame and Dishonor on the Innocent Muslims.

Tim the Enchanter| 2.17.11 @ 5:44PM

Barbarians/Muslims? Seems like this is one of those "distinction without a difference" things.

Ron Bruce| 2.17.11 @ 5:53PM

For the love of God quit while you are behind...You blissfully gloss over your whole "peaceful protest" position that is based upon spin from MSM clowns at the NY Times. Then you launch into a long winded sermon on all those poor misunderstood "nice' muslims, in a sad attempt to deflect attention from the fact that your initial conclusions are based on slanted hearsay. Your so-called "detailed" sequence of events is typical wishful thinking from the same type of NY Times bozos that called it wrong on Castro, Hi Chi Minh and Ayatollah Khomeini.

simon templar| 2.17.11 @ 6:03PM

John G: May I suggest you actaully pick up a Koran and actually read it to determine EXACTLY what Islam is and what the Mohammed preached...and then we can settle this issue once and for all. Otherwise..please keep your trap shut. This level of ignorance is actually very dangerous. I am all for varying opinions and of course you have every right to express yours but this article is so full of errors it leaves my head shaking too. You are an intelligent man. I challenge you. Get a copy and like Jefferson read it, then come back and rewrite this article.

Ron Bruce| 2.17.11 @ 6:09PM

You know the easy way to tell someone is losing the argument? You guessed it! "Nazis" If you are backed into somehow referencing the Nazis that's it, game over, no parade for you...

Bob K.| 2.17.11 @ 6:21PM

Mr. G.,
Keep copies of these blogs and the responses to them. They will come in handy when you apply for a job with the New York Times.

All American American| 2.17.11 @ 7:50PM

Tomorrow's Guardiano headline:

"Coptic Christians--with the help of American Tea Partiers--Raped Logan in Attempt to Shame Islam: Saintly Heroic Muslims Rescue CBS Reporter"

MA| 2.17.11 @ 7:56PM

Headline: The Attack on Lara Logan Was an Expression of Islamic Style Barbarism

Mr. Guardiano: the attack on Logan and the rampant sexual harassment and assault that has plagued women in Egypt for years is part of the legacy and mindset of the Islamic faith. If you read the Koran, it clearly devalues the worth of women.

The media, both conservative and liberal, constantly gets it backwards: it is the moderate Muslims who have "corrupted" their faith by glossing over many of the repulsive passages in the Koran. The Muslims committed to jihad warfare are the ones who stay true to the seventh century version of Islam.

Please stop the political correctness claptrap!

Antony| 2.17.11 @ 8:25PM

What I find disturbing over this whole story is how the media has treated it. it's gone from a sexual assault to using more aggressive adjectives like brutal and rape. There has been a continual attempt to turn it into a anti-Muslim issue. Women are sexually assaulted in our country does that make it a Christian issue?. There is no suggestion she was raped, in fact it has been reported that she arrived back at her hotel fully clothed looking at bit roughed up. Why am I not going to be surprised when and if the real story behind this comes out and it turns out to be basically false. And it will basically be an insult to every women has has genuinely been assaulted. I suspect CBS didn't report it initially because they don't believed it happened or at least not the way it's being depicted. We have one persons statement as to what happen (and even thats a bit thin) so it seems what we don't know we make up (the media included)

With God all things r possible| 2.17.11 @ 8:34PM

'JEW JEW JEW JEW JEW JEW JEW'
RAPE RAPE RAPE RAPE RAPE RAPE

Open your ears and eyes. Why do you discount so quickly what the rapists were chanting?

Antony| 2.17.11 @ 8:43PM

Do you know they said this? where you there? Don't believe everything you read is actually said or true. And at no point has Lara said she was raped!

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 9:50PM

I thank God every day that I was born in a Christian nation. At least I am treated like a human being here.
It's wrong to apologize for the barbaric way Muslim men treat their women .

Carmen Gindi| 2.18.11 @ 11:06AM

Right, Antony. In fact, one news report actually states, "Lara Logan was not raped".

http://www.allvoices.com/contr.....not-raped.

Besides, how does Lara or her camera crew or anyone know exactly what these men were chanting? The word for "Jew" in Arabic sounds nothing like the word "Jew" in English. What exactly did the American crew hear from these thugs?

Todd S| 2.18.11 @ 1:50PM

You really are quite idiotic. They may be limited in their English but they certainly know how to say Jew in English. No one knows exactly what happened to Lara Logan as CBS has tried to keep it secret but we know she was certainly sexually assualted in a most brutal manner. And for stupid Antony, Lara has not said anything about it but that doesn't prove anything one way or the other.

Patriot| 2.18.11 @ 4:04PM

It's disgusting how low some people will go to defend evil. Creepy, too.

Carmen Gindi| 2.19.11 @ 11:03PM

First of all, let's stay away from personal attacks, Todd.

Secondly, even if these pigs knew how to say "Jew" in English, why would they suddenly start using a second language? For Egyptians "Jew" in English is more difficult to pronounce than the Arabic word for "Jew". Egyptians are the only Arabic-speakers who turn every soft 'g' into a hard 'g': "Jew", if they said it, would come out "Goo". The Arabic word for a Jewess is Yehudia. They'd find that much simpler to say, and would be certain that everyone around understood them.

Besides, why would a mob, whipped into a frenzy, suddenly revert to a second language when calling out names? People articulate their thoughts (however vile) in their first language, particularly when they are emotional, particularly when they are trying to whip each other up.

I'm appalled by what happened to Ms. Logan. I don't doubt for a second that she was attacked by scum. My heart goes out to her. I wish her a quick recovery. I hope her attackers are found and punished. However, I believe some of the details of her ordeal were added after-the-fact.

One of these was exactly what they were calling out (if anything) during the attack. The other is how many men were in the mob. It may have seemed like 200 men, but I doubt it.

With God all things r possible| 2.17.11 @ 8:32PM

"Jew Jew Jew Jew Jew Jew Jew Jew Jew Jew"
Rape Rape Rape Rape Rape Rape Rape Rape

Now where did those Muslim rapists get all that hatred against Jews? Where did they get the idea that infidel women areonly sex objects that deserve to be raped? At their local Coptic church? I don't think so.

They got it from a Muslim culture that blames Jews for all the evil in the world and considers them worthy only of death, revenue and sexual slavery. They got it from a Muslim culture that blames women for the lack of self-control of men.

Wake up. Stop Clappering and start seeing.

Antony| 2.17.11 @ 8:56PM

Just like Muslims there are plenty of Christians who are equally fundamentalist. Those who think the world is only 6000 years old, the world was made in only 8 days. Evolution doesn't exist. Because it is written in the bible it must be true forgetting that it was written nearly 2000 years ago by men then repeated changed and rewritten by people throughout the centuries. Particularly in 1400's when about half of it was removed. It's been used as an excuse to torture and go to war over and it still happens today. I'm not saying that Barbarism in the name of Islam doesn't happen in fact to the contrary just pointing out so call Christians can be just as bad.

Bob K.| 2.17.11 @ 9:19PM

Get back on subject.

This isn't about what Christians did, have done or will do; it is about what happened in Muslim run Egypt in the aftermath of what has been described as a demonstration (but was actually a riot about food prices) to establish "democracy." Which is what our press wants us to believe and naively believes will happen.

Mr G. wants to encourage this "historical" movement to "democracy" but has no idea in what direction to steer it and in which direction history actually will take it. And neither do any of us here either.

Our self serving press is interested in publicity, especially when one of it's own is involved. If this happened to your daughter or wife it would never have made the news!

Patty| 2.17.11 @ 9:55PM

You are a fool. Christian women aren't forced to wear burkas, and are not subjected to honor killings. Please stop it.

Did you pull a muscle trying to make that silly stretch?

simon templar| 2.18.11 @ 12:17AM

Absolutely absurd and sophmoric comparison....

Larsen E Whipsnade| 3.3.11 @ 10:43PM

Antony, are you saying that we can ignore Islamic barbarism because some Christians are clueless? What's the connection?

mt| 2.17.11 @ 11:08PM

maybe this is another reason to not have women in combat?

Patty| 2.18.11 @ 1:50AM

Women are not physically capable of carrying a 100 lb. backpack on maneuvers and are at a distinct disadvantage engaging in close combat with the enemy.
They're just going to get the men killed. Liberalism is a mental illness and should be treated as such.

Sean| 2.19.11 @ 8:28AM

It is similar to why they don't want female police officers. (Western) Men have an innate sense of chivalry, and will often overreact to make up for a threat to a female colleague. Or, women simply can't handle the physical load required of certain professions, like fighting a perp or terrorist.

Rich Rostrom| 2.17.11 @ 11:46PM

Mr. Guardiano: Logan's attackers were Moslems. Were they "acting as Moslems"? Not strictly, no. Does the Koran authorize such acts? No. But they were expressing the misogynistic, sexually repressed attitudes endemic in Middle Eastern Moslem cultures, which the Koran promotes and most certainly fails to challenge.

When they screamed, "Jew, Jew, Jew" at their victim, they expressed the demented anti-semitism endemic in Middle Eastern Moslem cultures, which is frequently justified from the Koran and the Hadiths.

They identified her as a non-Moslem, and they attacked her as a perceived "enemy of Islam".

How far do you want to bend over backwards on this?

Roy| 2.17.11 @ 11:48PM

Islam = Barbarism.

For proof, look at Sharia Law, and Shaqiya.

No Muslim slave| 2.18.11 @ 12:06AM

Oh bullcrap. Only fools would believe this rubbish. Islam teaches that women are inferior and that Muslim men can rape non-Muslim or uncovered Muslim women AT WILL.

Stop coddling this disgusting and vile cult founded by a child rapist.

Mazi| 2.18.11 @ 1:07AM

As a Muslim, I applaud you for revealing my true faith. Everyday, I wake up, drink a cup of joe, and smile knowing that I chose my religion solely on the fact that I may oppress women and the "infidels". I only want to inflict pain and suffering on the world, and ensure that people of other faiths feel better about their own beliefs, especially those who have never read the Quran and yet claim ultimate knowledge about Islam. More specifically, those who troll websites like religionofpeace.org in order to make up for the insecurities they have about their own beliefs.

Patty| 2.18.11 @ 1:53AM

Maybe you don't feel this way, Mazi, but many Muslim males do. Please don't try to deny it because you will look ridiculous.

zman| 2.18.11 @ 2:58AM

Mazi, but everyday do you morn the death, the lives, of human beings claimed in the name of "Allah"? That's pretty much what they yelled every time I encountered a "Mujaheed", you know, "Allahu Akbar!" before they got shot in the face, or before they detonated a road side bomb killing or maiming one of my kids (Marines/Soldiers/Sailors/AMERICANS), or some MOSLEM Iraqi. Do you feel the remorse that a Christian feels when some nut blows up an abortion clinic in the name of Jesus? Do you feel remorse when a Shia murders a Sunni? Where is your PEACE? UNDERSTANDING? LOVE FOR YOUR FELLOW MAN? This was Commanded by GOD, The Alpha and Omega, before MOHAMMED (Pox Be Upon Him) was ever mentioned. LOVE and PEACE are the clear messages in The Bible. What is the clear message of the Koran? Your own books say The Armageddon will come, Jew, Christian, and "Infidel" against The Moslem (Believer). I wish you luck, against the "Pigs and Apes". After all, "ALLAHU AKBAR!” maybe you should have a CROSSAINT with that morning coffee and truly think about what your "Brothers" and spreading across the world. Share YOUR thoughts, feelings, emotions, and location on September 11, 2001. How did you feel as an AMERICAN (if you are one) when the USS COLE was bombed in Yemen?

Avi| 2.18.11 @ 12:14AM

persuasive

zman| 2.18.11 @ 2:21AM

Your opening statement says it all. Their violent and heinous acts are spelled out in, and fully condonded by The Koran. And further supported by The Hadiths. As Logan is an INFIDEL, and a Woman. Quit making excuses for The Enemy, it's like saying The Rape of Nanking or the actions of The Japanese Military Forces in Hong Kong were acceptable because, after all, that was just a few Japanese people right? Until you folks start living in Isalamic Countries, until you gain a true understanding of Isalm, until you realize that Islam is a CULT no different than that of Jim Jones that has progressed, prospered, and existed way to long on this planet, than keep your opinions to yourselves. READ A KORAN, READ THE HADITHS and understand this is taken LITERALLY by it's blind ass followers. That's why the "Religion of Peace" exisits nowhere on this planet IN PEACE. They are at war with Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddists, other MOSLEMS....so where is The Peace? Get an education Liberals, if it were up to you all at the time, we'd all be speaking German or Japanese right now.

zman| 2.18.11 @ 3:15AM

John, are you seriously saying that Nazis were Christian??? SERIOUSLY? You REALLY need to check your facts and history dude. Nazi's ABOLISHED religion in "The Reich", as much as they could possibly get away with without alienating Bavaria and other Roman Catholic States. That's why Hitler started "The Reich's Church" (and made membership mandatory for Party Members), you know, expelling all the Catholic Priests and what not. National Socialism had NOTHING to do with religion guy! Hitler was God, and he had to walk a fine line to keep the German People under his control. You really need to check your facts (as most liberals don't because they only retell what they hear, or think to be true) before you make OUTRAGES CLAIMS like this!

Dale Cord| 2.18.11 @ 10:08AM

N.B. We encourage readers to share and discuss their thoughtful and relevant comments about this Spectator article. Comments are routinely monitored and will be deleted if profane, bigoted, or grossly impolite to our Muslim brotherhood. Please be respectful. (And don't feed the American people with any truth!) Thank you.

Larry F. | 2.18.11 @ 10:50AM

The attack on Logan was the result of an excess of testosterone unleashed in a sexually repressed social environment. We mock the sexual repression of the Muslim world, and that's fine. But because it is unjust doesn't mean we should have no respect for its potential for sexual violence. In our culture male sexually is constantly put down, not only by women, but by men as well. Men are expected to respond passively to half naked women, or simply women in tight jeans and tops. That is what our culture expects. In their culture it is the women who carry the burden of not exciting men, rather than men who are supposed to ignore it. Right or wrong, that's the way it is. For those men groping Lara Logan it was probably one of the most exciting sexual experiences of their lives. It's not a question of right or wrong, it is reality. Women in the West who don't respect male sexually and get away with it need to realize it don't work in the Muslim world. Right or wrong they need to cover up or risk attack.

Julie| 2.18.11 @ 4:07PM

Christian men are morally superior to Muslim men. You should be commended.

rick| 2.18.11 @ 3:28PM

islam IS barbarism.. is it any wonder they were calling her a jew while they raped her.

William Edwards| 2.19.11 @ 4:15AM

Turn it around. What would the muslim world be saying, if 200 white men, surrounded one of their women (last seen in her full burka) and sustained her to brutal rape? There would be calls for Jihad - and rightly so. Even more so, if the white men involved were calling themselves christians. There would be no muslim editor seeking to separate the profession of faith from the action. So why the naivety of this report ? Have we turned into cowards?

Sean| 2.19.11 @ 8:22AM

The author is ignorant of Islam, and dangerously so. Mohammad himself, in the Koran itself, tells his warriors (I mean, disciples) that the rape of non-believers is allowed and part of their booty for being his jihadis (I mean, followers). You "enlightened" folk really ought to pick up this holy book to make sure of what it says. Because you sound like dolts otherwise.

ab| 2.19.11 @ 2:30PM

A reasonable and nuanced post. Too bad that many of the commenters an incapable of objective and reasonable thought. No wonder the country is going down the toilet if the commenters are a true reflection of the average US citizen. Very sad.

Patriot| 2.20.11 @ 12:20AM

On the contrary, weak willy; the good American men who've commented here are the only reason our country still has a chance in hell of survival. I'm acutely aware that these steady, stalwart men are the only protection American women like me have from the barbarism of sharia law. Thanks, but no thanks; I love the freedom of my life here with American men. I love REAL American men.

You, on the other hand, are beneath contempt, a typical liberal toilet dweller.

Will again| 2.19.11 @ 3:32PM

Reminds me of a chillingly good line from a 90s pop group:

"If you tolerate this, then your children will be next"

megapotamus| 2.21.11 @ 9:47AM

Actually the Nazis were neo-pagans and if you don't know that friend, you don't know much.

Tim Blincoe| 3.1.11 @ 5:54PM

Man can you do that crazy limbo dance when the mood strikes. There has never been a tea party member filmed or truthfully quoted saying anything other than stop spending so much money and washington sucks. I am summarizing.But theres a ton of stuff you can read from all the secret codes you recognize in their illuminati style coded messages. But thousands of egyptians screaming anti Isreal anti western anti women bs for 3 weeks leaves you warm and fuzzy. The reporting on this from the british and al J was shockingly honest and doesnt fit your narrative at all but you obviously didnt see a rape you saw 100 guys who needed a date and got a little too pushy trying to deliver flowers. Gumby would be proud .

More Blog Posts by John R. Guardiano

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