Tag: Bush

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Presidential Message, Ramadan 2008

Got this from Saad at “Chill Yo, Islam Yo” who put it up this morning. A great blog for any Muslims out there or just in general if someone wants to learn more about Islam. Seems quite similar to the “greeting” sent out last year but I guess that is to be expected. Honestly, I didn’t think there was a message sent out annually but I guess you could at least say that he is trying publicly even when 99.9% of the people will see for what this really is – a publicity stunt and not that he ever cared.

Here is Saad’s post by the way:

Salam,

I don’t really blog about news, but this was quite interesting.

Here is a letter from the President of the United States aka George Bush, to all the Muslims around the World. Taken from the official whitehouse.gov website.

Presidential Message, Ramadan 2008

I send greetings to Muslims observing Ramadan in America and around the globe.

The holy month of Ramadan is a special time of prayer, fasting, and service. For Muslims, these days commemorate the revelation of God’s word to the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) in the form of the Qur’an.

I thank the men and women of the Muslim community for their contributions to America. Your love of family, and gratitude to God have strengthened the moral fabric of our country. Our Nation is stronger and more hopeful because of the generosity, talents, and compassion of our Muslim citizens.

Laura and I send our best wishes. Ramadan Mubarak.

GEORGE W. BUSH

May Allah (SWT) swt guide the people and the leaders of this country, Ameen!

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So What If He Were Muslim?

A great piece by Ellis Cose on Obama and so what if he actually were a Muslim. It is a great point that is rarely brought up in the news these days and associating someone with Islam automatically becomes a negative. Personally I would have liked to see Obama come out from the start to say that even though he isn’t a Muslim, there is nothing wrong with being called one. He separated himself from that faster than Joe Lieberman with the Democratic base which has been a little disappointing. You have also seen him avoid any campaigning in Mosques or with Muslim groups but he has had little problems making campaign stops in Churches or Synagoges.

So yea, everyone knows he is still scared to be associated with the Muslims community and he pretty much knows they are going to vote Democratic this year as opposed to in 2000 when Bush pretty much got the Muslim vote in a landslide. You know why? Because of Al Gore’s running mate’s religion. It wouldn’t surprise me if some study finds the Muslim community (although I don’t know how many of them would publicly admit voting Republican just solely on that reason) 3 out of every 4 voted for Bush/Cheney over Gore/Lieberman. It’s without a touchy subject that no one wants to invoke a race or religion card because just face the facts, those two subjects play a key role in every election. Look at the religion of every President elected since John F. Kennedy and tell me what their religion has been. Is it just by coincidence that 50% of the Presidents of America have been either Episcopalian or Presbyterian, groups that make up a combined 4.5% of the ENTIRE population of the United States of America?

One can certainly say that the following 8 years were brought on themselves given that they knew the history with George H. W. Bush and everyone that was associated within his campaign (Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, etc.)… did we really expect something different from his son?

Now it’s Obama’s way of getting the best of both words – getting an entire community which probably makes up 8-10 million people in the country to vote his way with him having to do little to no campaigning because I think they/we learned from the mistake of 2000.

Here is an excerpt from the article I was referring to:

Of course, even if he were a Muslim, that should be no big deal. In a country that officially separates church and state, a man’s religious beliefs are his own affair. Still, nearly half a century after John F. Kennedy became America’s first (and, thus far, only) Roman Catholic president, we haven’t fully accepted the notion that all religions should have equal access to the Oval Office.

At the start of the political season, when Mitt Romney seemed to have a shot at the Republican nomination, pollsters sought to determine whether his Mormonism might hurt him. Nearly a third of voters, they found, were less likely to support a Mormon. But some 45 percent were wary of Muslim candidates. For Obama, that is a potential problem—particularly in a race that shows ever more signs of being extremely close.

To read the rest of the article, click the source below.

[Source: Newsweek – So What If He Were Muslim?
Wikipedia – List of US Presidents Religious Affiliations
Adherents – Religious Affiliation of U.S. Presidents]

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Poor Emily!

A Tee Ball competitor (Emily) gets called out to meet the president but runs away – this was part of a charity tee ball competition that I believe is held at the White House annually.

Maybe kids do know better after all… I don’t think I would have been this bright to run away at such a young age myself.

Poor Emily indeed.

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Shame On You, Barak Obama!

So it pained me yesterday after seeing Barack Obama voted Yea in passing the FISA Bill (here’s the voting breakdown) after voting twice just moments earlier in favor of amendments that strip or curtail immunity against telecommunication companies who helped the government illegally wiretap customers. (FYI: John McCain who has flipped-flopped about a million times on this issue was one of the three Senators who did not vote on the matter because obviously he doesn’t think it’s important enough).

It might have been a calculated political move by his campaign to once again switch on a position rather than stand firmly on an issue I still think he believes on. Maybe this was to stop Republican attacks saying he is soft on terrorism or some other security issue to keep our country safe but did he really have to choose this bill to support? He has taken hits on everything from religion to race to his wife, so why buckle here?

Obama needs to go back to being the candidate of change and listen to the millions of voice of regular people who brought him up to this point and stop running his campaign like the usual insiders of Washington we see where they try to play damage control on every little issue regardless of what it says about where they stand on critical issues.

I let Obama slide when he chose to go back on his word regarding the Campaign Finance laws. I chose to forgive him when he constantly says “I am not a Muslim” but refuses to stand next to or campaign with Muslims or even acknowledge that it is not a crime even if he was a Muslim. Yea that one hurts a little more than the others but when he starts supporting legislation that rip the Constitution to shreds – one that virtually gives the lame duck President, who is on his way out with about 7 months left, that is really disappointing.

What happened to the candidate who wanted to bring about change, who stood up for the average American when he first started running for office? It has turned more into defensive campaigning instead of being aggressive and attacking McBush and his cronies. He is the quickest to denounce his own (cue Gen. Wesley Clark), yet is very afraid to say anything about anyone other than McBush. He needs to remember the people who brought him here and stop turning into the politican everyone turns into in Washington that is power hungry and will get it, no matter what the sacrifice maybe – be it their position on critical legislation or turning their back on their own supporters.

Little by little, the Democrats have given President Bush everything he has wanted and it certainly shows with Congress’ rating in single digits and with the President just ahead of them. Although I see the Democrats picking up more seats in the House and maybe a couple more in the Senate, you would hope that a Democratic Presidency might turn back all these expansive powers that this administration has given themselves and maybe, just maybe he will hold some people accountable. Obama needs to stop giving into what he thinks the conservatives or Republicans want to hear from him because if you cave in on one issue, they will certainly find another issue to attack on – whether it is legitimate or not.

He needs to keep his beliefs at the forefront, the reason why he ran for Office. He said he didn’t run for power, to be part of the inner circle in Washington, to cozy up with lobbyists or bow down to special interest groups – he ran because he wanted to bring out fundamental change and day after day, the rest of his supporters are seeing that fundamental change dwindle away to nothing more than an average politican. He still has a lead across the board and he can still pull away Reagan style or he can certainly fall apart like some of the past Democratic candidates we have seen but giving into issues if the Republicans call you out on it is no way to go.

Stand up once again for the issues you believe in. Give us the reasons to keep supporting Change We Can Believe In and not just blindly follow a candidate because the alternative is quite worse. A Democratic candidate ran on a platform like that four years ago and the entire country saw what happened. Not only will you lose the Presidency at a time when the stakes couldn’t be any higher but you let an opportunity slip away to bring about some fundamental change by implementing your ideas and those of your supporters.

Don’t fail me now, Barack Obama. I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of people if not millions out there who are baffled by your support for FISA but you still have plenty of time to get back on the right track and stop dropping the ball in attempts to score a few political points but undermine your entire campaign and throw away the chance at the Presidency.

Don’t fail me now, Barack Obama.