Montanans Launch Recall of Senators Who Approved NDAA Military Detention – Updated

Well it is about damned time… When our representatives that took an oath to OBEY and protect the Constitution repeatedly break that oath by voting FOR laws or bills that anyone that understands the simple language in our Constitution, it is our Duty to remove them from office by any ethical and moral means available.

For those not familiar with NDAA see Silent Running and As Government is Activating FEMA Camps Across U.S. below:

Excerpt:

The Senate passed NDAA giving this president — and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.

The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing

The Issue of Federal Official Recall Has Never Reached the Federal Courts

“Montana is one of nine states with provisions that say that the right of recall extends to recalling members of its federal congressional delegation, pursuant to Montana Code 2-16-603, on the grounds of physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offenses.” (SOURCE)

The operative language “violation of oath of office” applies here. We have nine states that can start a snowball of recalls to at least remove and ostracize or better convict these traitors to “we the people” and the nation.

The fact is, “we the people” can go further in the other 49 states by influencing our state U.S. Supreme Courts Grand Juries to subpoena these traitors, in their home states, to determine whether laws have been broken. We just need a few constitutional lawyers to get the ball rolling. No need for petitions or other legal mumbo jumbo. Once a grand jury has determined that laws have been broken, the trials can commence.

Source: Constitution Attacked

UPDATE from the Daily Kos:

This is from a statement from Stewart Rhodes of Oathkeepers regarding Republican Denny Rehberg as a target of recall, who also voted for NDAA.

Here in Montana, while we will go after all three violators of the Bill of Rights, I will place special emphasis and "focus of effort" on Denny Rehberg, since he is so fond of wrapping himself in the flag and claiming to be defending the Constitution while his votes do the exact opposite. In that sense, Rehberg is much like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, two Republicans who, right along with Carl Levin and Joseph Lieberman, are leading a sustained and relentless assault on our Bill of Rights.

Disclaimer: I am now a volunteer press contact for this campaign.

From the press release:

Moving quickly on Christmas Day after the US Senate voted 86 - 14 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA) which allows for the indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial, Montanans have announced the launch of recall campaigns against Senators Max Baucus and Jonathan Tester, who voted for the bill.

Montana is one of nine states with provisions that say that the right of recall extends to recalling members of its federal congressional delegation, pursuant to Montana Code 2-16-603, on the grounds of physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offenses.

Section 2 of Montana Code 2-16-603 reads:

"(2) A public officer holding an elective office may be recalled by the qualified electors entitled to vote for the elective officer's successor."

The website Ballotpedia.org cites eight other states which allow for the recall of elected federal officials: Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wisconsin. New Jersey's federal recall law was struck down when a NJ state judge ruled that "the federal Constitution does not allow states the power to recall U.S. senators," despite the fact the Constitution explicitly allows, by not disallowing ("prohibited" in the Tenth Amendment,) the states the power to recall US senators and congressmen:

"The powers not...prohibited...are reserved to the States...or to the people." - Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The issue of federal official recall has never reached the federal courts.

Montana law requires grounds for recall to be stated which show conformity to the allowed grounds for recall. The draft language of the Montana petitions, "reason for recall" reads:

"The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees all U.S citizens:

"a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed..."

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA 2011) permanently abolishes the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, "for the duration of hostilities" in the War on Terror, which was defined by President George W. Bush as "task which does not end" to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001.

Those who voted Aye on December 15th, 2011, Bill of Rights Day, for NDAA 2011 have attempted to grant powers which cannot be granted, which violate both the spirit and the letter of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

The Montana Recall Act stipulates that officials including US senators can only be recalled for physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of a felony offense. We the undersigned call for a recall election to be held for Senator Max S. Baucus [and Senator Jonathan Tester] and charge that he has violated his oath of office, to protect and defend the United States Constitution."

Montana residents William Crain and Stewart Rhodes are spearheading the drive. Mr. Crain is an artist. Mr. Rhodes is an attorney, Yale Law School graduate, and the national president of the organization Oath Keepers, who are military and law enforcement officers, both former and active duty, who vow to uphold their Oath to the US Constitution and to disobey illegal orders which constitute attacks on their fellow citizens. Rhodes said:

"These politicians from both parties betrayed our trust, and violated the oath they took to defend the Constitution. It's not about the left or right, it's about our Bill of Rights. Without the Bill of Rights, there is no America. It is the Crown Jewel of our Constitution, and the high-water mark of Western Civilization."

Rhodes noted that:

"Two time Medal of Honor winner Marine General Smedley Butler once said "There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights." Time to fight. "

Butler famously ended his career as a Marine General by touring the country with his speech and book denouncing war, "War is a Racket."Butler confessed that he had spent most of his life as a "high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers...a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism..."

Eighteen states at present have recall laws, most of which do not apply to federal officials. For these and other states to recall federal officials, state legislatures would have to first pass or amend such laws.

Rising on the House floor to oppose the bill based on the military detention provisions for Americans, Rep. Tom McClintock said before the House vote:

" today, we who have sworn fealty to that Constitution sit to consider a bill that affirms a power contained in no law and that has the full potential to crack the very foundation of American liberty."

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said in opposing the final NDAA:

”This bill also contains misguided provisions that in the name of fighting terrorism essentially authorize the indefinite imprisonment of American citizens without charges.”

And in a New York Times op-ed piece by two retired four-star U.S. Marine generals, Charles Krulak and Joseph Hoar, Krulak and Hoar said that "Due process would be a thing of the past."

Montana would be the first recall drive to be launched as a result of the vote for the NDAA military detentions provisions. A number of Facebook pages appeared after the passage of the bill from locations across the country.

References:

Facebook: "Recall Every Congressman Who Voted for the NDAA"
http://www.facebook.com/...

"Recalling Senators and Congressmen"
http://www.uscitizensassociation.com/...

"How to Recall US Senators and Congressmen"
http://recallthetraitors.blogspot.com/...

Does this article give anyone an idea ?

Related:

Silent Running – Targeting of Americans

Preparing for What is Coming… As Government is Activating “FEMA Camps” Across U.S.

Martial Law Attempt in Louisiana Echoes Ron Paul’s Warning

Throw Them All Out

USDA Closing Roads to Public Lands While Opening Doors for the United Nations

USDA Closing Roads to Public Lands While Opening Doors for the United Nations
08-11-2011 4:37 pm - Marti Oakley

Debbie Coffey PPJ Gazette Investigative Reporter

Where?

COLORADO –  “Montezuma County Sheriff Dennis Spruell is waiting for his conscience to tell him: Should he start handing out tickets this week to U.S. Forest Service agents who are closing backcountry roads? Should he cut locks on gates that shut off access to public lands?

The fact that a county sheriff is considering such actions against the federal government is a good indication that more than a run-of-the-mill dustup over road and trail closures on public lands is erupting in the far southwest corner of the state…

In recent weeks, protesters have marched on the local Forest Service and BLM office located between Cortez and Dolores, calling Forest Service officials “government pukes.”

OREGON – (3/2/11, by Sara Foster, NewsWithViews.com) “Josephine County, Oregon -When Gil Gilbertson was sworn in as Sheriff of Josephine County, a rural county in southwest Oregon, in 2007, he had 30 years of law enforcement experience behind him, both in the United States and with various military missions overseas.

So when citizens of the county began coming to him complaining of “harassment” by U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers (LEO), he said he’d investigate their concerns, figuring he could work things out with the local ranger district. After all, as the county’s chief law enforcement officer he was in the “club” and moreover had gotten along with the “feds” — though he disagreed with their road closing policies and other efforts to keep the public off public lands which cover 68 percent of the rural county.

He contacted the local ranger district for information, but instead of answers he was bluntly told that No, they couldn’t, wouldn’t discuss anything about any complaints with him, but he could file a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)… Gilbertson sent a blistering letter to the District Ranger of the Wild Rivers Ranger District in Caves Junction… ‘As the CLEO [chief law enforcement officer] of this county, elected by the citizens, saddled with the expectation and responsibility to safeguard their rights, I fully intend to uphold the laws against any threat, inappropriate or unlawful actions against them…”.

UTAH – (10/6/10, San Juan Record) “Hunters in San Juan County face a number of roads that have been closed on National Forests. ‘We have been hunting this area since my dad was a kid,’ said one Blanding resident, who asked that his name not be used. ‘It seems like they have closed a thousand roads’.”

MONTANA – ( 8/26/10, Helenair.com) “The Helena National Forest Service has truly been busy this summer. They have had excavators up in the forests removing roads and portions of roads for the sole purpose of making them impossible to navigate. These are not maintained Forest Service roads, yet the excuse they used was to save money in the long run by taking these roads off of their maintenance list. The sole reason for these road closures is to prevent sportsmen from accessing hunting grounds.”

IDAHO – (6/16/11, Capitalpress.com) “A county government in Idaho has filed a legal complaint against the U.S. Forest Service over road closures that allegedly limit residents’ mobility and discourage tourists. Valley County has asked a federal judge to declare the agency’s travel management plan for the Payette National Forest as unlawful due to violations of environmental and administrative law.

“They didn’t do it right,” said Matthew Williams, the county’s attorney. “No appeals, no hearings. They just did it.”

The road closures by the Forest Service have also been happening in California, Nevada and other states.

Former Sheriff Richard Mack, in his book “County Sheriff: America’s Last Hope” summed it up when he said “The founders of America warned us that we would lose more freedoms from gradual encroachments by those in authority than by sudden usurptions from any foreign enemy…The COUNTY SHERIFF is our nation’s LAST LINE OF DEFENSE, for the preservation and return to, fundamental and individual liberty.”

The USDA (a member of the new Rural Council and the IUCN, an organization that promotes U.N.’s Agenda 21) used your tax dollars to send David Ferrell, Director of Law Enforcement and Investigations, to Canada for the 9th Conference of the International Network for Environ­mental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) where “… environmental compliance and en­forcement experts from over 50 coun­tries gathered to identify new actions to promote enforcement cooperation to…support the shift to sustainable devel­opment…”

On INECE’s website, it states: “Agenda 21: An international mandate for building compliance and enforcement capacity as an essential element of environmental management… Agenda 21, Chapter 8, Section 8.21. Each country should develop integrated strategies to maximize compliance with its laws and regulations relating to sustainable development. Does this seem like the Forest Service might “promote enforcement” to make U.S. citizens comply with Agenda 21? It’s important to know what the USDA is “participating” in:

“INECE is striving for a global network which starts first at local levels, networking among key institutions of government, the police, environment agencies, sectoral agencies; second among local groups and with related regional and national groups within nations; third, between governments and NGOs; fourth internationally in bilateral cooperation; fifth regionally among nations among all relevant groups; and finally, sixth, on a global scale among the various groups as needs arise and catalyzing ideas and approaches and cooperation around the globe.

The mandate for environmental compliance and enforcement was introduced as a direct result of the consensus at the International Workshop which gave the participants the confidence to move toward this very important international statement. Language in Agenda 21 empowered UN organizations to more actively support compliance and enforcement institution building activities.”

Regarding any mandate for USDA “enforcements” to close off roads, forests and public lands, remember the Tenth Amendment “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Sheriff Mack sums this up best “…local officials have the right, the power, and the duty to stand against the far reaching incursions by our own Federal Government.” Mack cited a Supreme Court case in which Justice Scalia wrote a ruling for the majority that stated “The Federal Government may not compel the states to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program.”

TO LEARN MORE:  Many excellent articles on Agenda 21 by Cassandra Anderson at www.morphcity.com, and also by Marti Oakley (PPJ Gazette), including http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/just-another-brick-in-the-wall-un-agenda-21-in-us-law/#more-16780 “The Quiet Coup”: http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/the-quiet-coup-the-implementation-of-agenda-21/#more-17145

SOURCES:
http://www.fs.fed.us/global/wsnew/welcome.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/global/wsnew/newsletter/july2011_wsnew.pdf http://www.fs.fed.us/international/
http://www.fs.fed.us/global/latest_news.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/global/links/links.htm
http://www.inece.org/
http://www.inece.org/history.html
http://www.newswithviews.com/NWV-News/news260.htm
http://www.sjrnews.com/view/full_story/9783521/article-Concern-grows-over-Forest-Service-road-closures?instance=home_news_1st_right
http://helenair.com/news/opinion/readers_alley/article_070e3206-b0da-11df-90e6-001cc4c002e0.html
http://www.capitalpress.com/content/mp-county-roads-lawsuit-061011
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/usda-closing-roads-to-public-lands-while-opening-doors-for-the-united-nations/

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Exxon Pipeline Release in Yellowstone

Headline News

07/02/11 - 10:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time (U.S. and Canada) Statement by ExxonMobil Pipeline Company Regarding Crude Oil Release into Yellowstone River in Montana

Dang it… It’s not even fun to be right anymore!

July 02, 2011 01:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Statement by ExxonMobil Pipeline Company Regarding Crude Oil Release into Yellowstone River in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ExxonMobil Pipeline Company issued the following statement concerning a crude release into the Yellowstone River in Montana:

“Early on the morning of July 2, we discovered an undetermined amount of crude oil was released into the Yellowstone River from an ExxonMobil Pipeline Company (EMPCo) pipeline. EMPCo deeply regrets this release and is working hard with local emergency authorities to mitigate the impacts of this release on the surrounding communities and to the environment.

The release originated from a 12” crude pipeline operated by EMPCo that runs from Silver Tip, MT to Billings, MT. The pipeline has been shutdown and the segment where the release occurred has been isolated. All appropriate state and federal authorities have been alerted.

At this early stage, we have no information on the cause of the incident, and we are working to determine the amount of oil released. ExxonMobil has activated its North American Regional Response Team to assist in the clean up efforts. A claims number 1-888-382-0043 has also been established to assist individuals who might have been impacted by this event.

We recognize the seriousness of this incident and are working hard to address it. Our principal focus is on protecting the safety and health of the public and our employees. We will, of course, also begin a thorough investigation of the cause of this unfortunate event. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.”

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is the largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. For more information, visit www.exxonmobil.com.

Contacts

Downstream Media Relations
703-846-4467

Source: Market Wire

Funny… Last week when we were talking about it, it was a conspiracy theory.

Ruptured pipeline sends oil coursing down the Yellowstone River

Story/ article here with video

Here is another link with pictures of Yellowstone oil spill
short version for twitter:  bit.ly/lvh81a

Cincinnati - appears to be related to the flooding ??

Interesting Laurel Montana is known for it's July 4 fireworks. I heard on the news over the weekend that some communities are NOT having fireworks because of the dry hot weather calling it "Patriotic" not to have fireworks.  Then next year or in the future there will be a precedent for skipping fireworks.

Exxon oil spill in Mont. river prompts evacuations

An ExxonMobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River near Billings in south-central Montana ruptured and dumped an unknown amount of oil into the waterway, prompting temporary evacuations along the river Saturday morning.

Full story: WXIX-TV Cincinnati

An ExxonMobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River near Billings in south-central Montana ruptured and dumped an unknown amount of oil into the waterway, prompting temporary evacuations along the river Saturday morning

h/t to Jean Stoner and Tim Algier

Moving to Montana Soon…?

Creeping Sharia,,, Moving to Montana Soon?

by SHEIKYERMAMI on APRIL 30, 2011

You might not meet a dental floss tycoon, but a bunch of far left loons who are eagerly peddling sharia.

One could get the idea that Montana is one of the states that is somehow targeted by the soldiers of Allah. But not to worry, go back to sleep, kafir. Negative thoughts are ‘counterproductive’. This is all  about  ”removing misunderstandings and hatred”, nothing to do with stoning of women, chopping off limbs on opposite sides or killing  homosexuals. Nothing but ‘myths’ concocted by greasy Islamophobes to give Islam a bad name. Right?

Check this out:

State Dept imports devout Muslim to teach Montana kids Arabic, Islam (Creeping Sharia)

Taxation for Islamization in Montana. Where else in the U.S. are imported, devout Muslims indoctrinating our kids under the guise of Arabic language skills? via Missoula teacher seeks to dispel Muslim myths | NewsOK.com.

Mother Jones: Anti-Sharia Bill Sponsors Are Kind of Clueless

Well, yes. They are indeed ‘kind of clueless’, but that can be changed. Clueless is not hopeless, like the retarded cult-(ure) of Islam.

But  don’t you fret, Montana: all misunderstandings and myths about Islam will be removed, shortly:

University of Montana to Teach Islamic Law Next Semester…

By Erin Cole

Earlier this semester, Jeff Renz, a law professor at The University of Montana, appeared on a conservative radio show to discuss the myths and realities of Islamic law. Accompanying him to Missoula’s KVGO studio were UM professor Mehrdad Kia and Robert Seidenschwarz, president of theWorld Affairs Council of Montana. (WTF is the “World Affairs Council of Montana.?”

According to Renz, the talk stirred up a fair amount of debate.

Nothing but myths:

“It was an interesting conversation,” he said. “A lot of the myths were repeated and we talked about those as well as a lot of the accuracies that are negative.”

The appearance was a launching pad for Renz, who plans to expand the conversation this fall semester by teaching an Islamic law class at UM.

This development adds UM to the growing number of American universities offering classes on Islamic law, ranging from the University of Minnesota to Yale. Islamic law, also known as Shariah law, guides the daily behavior and actions of Muslims while influencing the legal code of Islamic countries.

The three-credit class, ANTY 491, will meet three times a week and is open to UM undergraduate, graduate and law students. Renz said the course will examine the development of Islam along with the four principles of Islamic jurisprudence and will address the challenges of applying Sharia law in the 21st century.

Renz said Shariah law is not monolithic and that legal codes vary from one Muslim country to another and are often intertwined with tribal law.

“The most important thing they’ll learn is that what people perceive to be Islamic law is really local and national law rationalized, and falsely rationalized, by reference to the Quran,” he said.

Renz said that Shariah law’s core values are dignity, equality and justice, principles that were overshadowed in the midst of Islamic imperialism and European colonialism. Today, Renz said that Shariah law is in “enormous ferment” with regards to women’s and human rights and that he wants to explore both the negative and positive aspects.

Renz developed an interest in the subject due to his travels throughout Central Asia. After years spent studying books and journals on the topic, last fall he attended a week-long Islamic law and human rights conference in Salzburg, Austria. The conference solidified past talks with UM’s Central and Southwest Asian Studies Center about creating the class.

“Somewhere along the way we said we had to do it,” Renz said. “Once the decision was made to do it, things moved fast.”

Seidenschwarz, who participated with Renz on the radio show, said he’s glad UM would offer the course.

“I would greatly encourage anyone to take this class,” he said. “There’s so much misunderstanding and misinformation about what it is and there’s no uniformity in the Islamic world on interpretation.”

He said that many fears revolve around the question of whether Shariah law will either supplement or subordinate the current U.S. legal system.

Despite experiencing “not a peep” of backlash, Renz contends that there might be some disapproval of the class, and he does expect there will be controversy in the classroom.

erin.cole@umontana.edu

Related:

• Alaska seeks to bar foreign law from courts « Creeping Sharia
• UK: Muslim students challenge interest on tuition fees – Jihad Watch
• “This case will proceed under Ecclesiastical Islamic Law” – Topix
• Radical Muslim activity in the U.S. – Jihad Watch

North Carolina considering bill to ban Sharia

It is good to see that there are a growing number of such bills all over the country. They will always be challenged by claims that they infringe upon Muslims’ religious liberties. But they wouldn’t exist at all, of course, were it not for the political and authoritarian aspects of Sharia. Backers of such bills need to familiarize themselves with those aspects and be ready to answer those challenges. “Bill would ban courts from using ‘foreign law,’” by Michael Biesecker for the News & Observer, April 29

 

Think This Won’t Affect You???:   

Pennsylvania court accommodates Islamic sharia law

“Dhimmitude” on Page 107 of ObamaCare Bill – What Does It Mean?

Cleric:  Jihad Coming to Heart of America

 

Anti-Terry Jones Riot in Dearborn, MI; MSM Bias on Display (Update: Instalink!)

[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here.  Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]

Update: Instalink! Thanks. Also via Gateway Pundit, we get this video of the scene.

Video: Dearborn Michigan  Protest Gets Out of Hand

It doesn’t show you what Jones is saying or doing, though.

—————————–

So yesterday Terry Jones held his protest, but at City Hall.  And well… let’s read how the New York Times covers it:

Michigan: Koran-Burning Pastor Draws a Boisterous Crowd

Tensions flared Friday as Terry Jones, the Florida pastor whose burning of a Koran sparked violence in Afghanistan, demonstrated Friday on the steps of City Hall in Dearborn, home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the nation. In rambling remarks over three hours, he mostly spoke against what he called “extremist Muslim influences” in the United States. Dearborn police made three arrests for misdemeanors. The department estimated the crowd at 700 people. Mr. Jones’s comments were often drowned out by the horns of passing cars and the boos and chants of protesters, some of whom carried signs saying, “Terrorist Go Home” and “Leave Us Alone.”

You got that?  They were boisterous.  And only three arrested.  Move along, nothing to see here…

Except it wasn’t really that.  It was a riot of about fifty people.  Of course the local papers, such as the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press couldn’t very well ignore it.  So in their news pages they editorialize that all of this is his fault.

So this is how the Detroit News covers it:

Florida pastor’s rally ends after brief fracas

Quran-burning Pastor Terry Jones had his say in Dearborn. Few appeared to hear him.

Thunderous boos from a crowd of about 700 protesters drowned out much of his speech Friday afternoon at Dearborn City Hall. The 90-minute event momentarily erupted into chaos when Jones and several dozen of his supporters approached a metal barricade around City Hall and engaged his opponents.

A crowd of at least 50 people surged across Michigan Avenue, breaking a barricade, throwing water bottles and shoes. Riot police restored order within minutes and took at least two people into custody.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly Jr. said Jones is partly to blame. “Even though we said, ‘Please don’t go to the barricades,’ he just ignored it,” O’Reilly said. “My assessment is this is a man without character.”

Funny, I feel the same way about you, Mayor.

Jones said he approached the barricade to recite the Pledge of Allegiance with opponents, but witnesses said the pastor appeared to egg them on, opening his palms in a provocative manner.

Opening palms is provocative?  Opening palms is a peaceful gesture.  This is what this site says on the subject of hands and body language:

There are 2 basic rules you have to remember when looking at hand gestures: Open palms (when you can see the palms of someone’s hands) suggests openness, honesty, and a liking, whilst closed palms(when you can see the back of someone’s hands) suggests that they may be hiding something, are closed to your ideas, or are feeling like they are in authority.

And it’s something I have heard over and over again.  It is believed that by opening your palm, the cave man parts of our brains recognize that this means you are disarmed and that creates greater ease.  It is downright bizarre to tell us that opening your palms is an aggressive gesture.

And of course Mayor O’Reilly  continues to be a tool:

“This is not man of great depth,” O’Reilly said. “We saw the extent of his knowledge today. If he comes back and gets coverage by the media, then shame on the media.”

Hey, Mayor O, maybe the media won’t cover it if (1) city hall stops trampling on his speech rights, (2) everyone stops pretending he is responsible when radical Muslims react violently and (3) when radical Muslims stop reacting violently.  Seriously, what do you think would have happened to him if the police weren’t there?

And here’s the Detroit Free Press’ coverage of it.

Tempers flare at Pastor Terry Jones’ Dearborn rally

Don’t you love these headlines?  “Tempers flare”?  “Fracas”?  They never mention who precisely was being violent, and they don’t correctly label the violence.  Shouldn’t the headline be more like this:“Radical Muslims Riot at Terry Jones Protest”?  I mean feel free to argue that should be tweaked a little, but isn’t that closer to the mark?

And here’s what they say about it:

Jones repeatedly provoked the crowd and insulted them. At one point, he ignored police requests by ambling down to the front of police barricades while taunting his opponents.

Angered, some of those protesters stormed past their police barricades and marched across Michigan Avenue as they hurled bottles and shoes at Jones’ supporters across from them. One woman spit in Jones’ direction.

Notice, of course the contrast.  When a Tea Partier was falsely accused of spitting at a black congressman, this was taken as proof that the entire Tea Party were bigots.  But when these people spit and riot, it’s Jones that is tarred.

The young crowd then pushed down a security fence that separated them from Jones’ supporters and surged forward, their faces tight with anger. For a moment, it appeared a major clash was about to break out.

But Arab-American leaders and police pushed back the angry group as dozens of police officers in full riot gear marched out in single file to separate the two sides. At least two were arrested. Dearborn Mayor John O’Reilly Jr. said afterward that Jones was responsible for creating the disturbance by ignoring city requests not to approach the barricade.

“He refused to comply,” O’Reilly said. “He was asked, ‘Please don’t come to the barricade.’ He just ignored us. … His goal was to start trouble. … That shows his character.”

Yeah, just like those evil black people who sat at lunch counters to protest segregation.  Didn’t they know that by just sitting where they were not supposed to they were provoking violence?

And of course I am being facetious.  Yes, those civil rights protesters did know.  It was a sign of their courage that they knew and they went anyway.  And yes, they did intend to provoke violence, to show the world that just sitting at a lunch counter could get those hateful, ignorant idiots to attack them.  Yes, it was provocative, but only because the segregationists were easily provoked—unreasonably easily provoked.  And we all understand that in that context.  And none of us blame those civil rights protesters for the violence that did break out in those sorts of things.

But why don’t we apply those principles to acts like this?

Oh, right because they don’t like his point of view.  And I will be first to admit that if this is true…

Jones launched an attack on Obama, questioning the president’s speech in Cairo, Egypt, in which he said Islam was part of the American story.

“Islam has never been part of the American story,” Jones said.

…that Jones is a bigot.  I am reluctant to believe it because the media has been so shameful during this entire episode, but if he said it, that is a bigoted thing to say.  But the fact remains that they are just words.  And it doesn’t justify a riot.  And it certainly doesn’t exactly prove him wrong when he says that Islam is a violent religion.  Indeed, seriously, someone with moderate PR skills really needs to talk to these protesters…

The crowd grew as they spoke, with more Muslims appearing as the rally took place. Some waved shoes, an Arab symbol of disrespect. Others held up Qurans. American, Palestinian and Lebanese flags also were waved. More than 600 counter-protesters appeared to assemble.

Um, guys, if you want Americans to get on your side, don’t protest a man claiming that you are not part of the American story by waiving flags for Palestine and Lebanon.  Consider that a free tip.

And of course they remind us of the injustice last week:

Jones’ rally at City Hall came a week after he failed to get permission to protest at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, the largest mosque in metro Detroit.

On April 22, a jury said Jones was likely to breach the peace if he carried out a rally there. Jones and Sapp were briefly jailed and then released after posting a $1 bond each. They were banned from the mosque and adjacent property for three years.

Well in fact, Jones did not once breach the peace.  The protesters did.  So they will be lifting that order any minute now, right?  No, of course not.  And it is a travesty that it remains in place.

All this city has done is make this man, who apparently is an anti-Muslim bigot, into a free speech martyr and put a state endorsement on the idea that Muslims can’t be expected to control themselves.  Would it be too much to ask the media to treat these guys as badly as Tea Partiers, or conversely, to treat Tea Partiers as good as rioting radical Muslims?

Hat Tip: The American Thinker, who has more (American!) thoughts.

[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]

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Obama’s HC Town Halls – What Really Goes On and What They Cost

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power – Cross Posted: Daily Thought Pad

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