Bryan Fischer's old Idaho Values Alliance is silent (as a check of his old URL stomping ground demonstrates).
But Fischer, now a Mississippi-based radio talker, is doing what radio talkers do well. He is demagoguing a tragedy — the Fort Hood shooting massacre — by doing a little bit of old-fashoned religion-bashing. Fischer's prescription: Ban Muslims from the military.
From Fischer's blog on Nov. 6, the day after the Fort Hood shootings: "It's time we all got over the nonsense that all cultures and religions are equally valid or worthy. They most certainly are not. While Christianity is a religion of peace, founded by the Prince of Peace, Islam is a religion of war and violence, founded by a man who routinely chopped the heads off his enemies, had sex with nine-year old girls, and made his wealth plundering merchant caravans.
"And just as Christians are taught to imitate the life of Christ, so Muslims are taught to imitate the Prophet in all things. Yesterday, Nidal Malik Hasan was simply being a good Muslim."
Fischer's first post drew the predicted response. MSNBC talker Keith Olbermann — himself no paragon of objectivity — awarded Fischer a bronze medal in his "worst person in the world" feature. So, last Thursday, Fischer upped the ante with a followup post. Since the Pentagon's own guidelines forbid soldiers from belonging to "supremacist" groups, Fischer reasons, that should apply to Muslims.
Writes Fischer: "If we shouldn't allow neo-Nazi skinheads who believe in Aryan supremacy to serve, neither should we allow Muslims who believe in Islamic supremacy to serve."
Comparing Muslims and neo-Nazis. Why must Fischer be so subtle?
Fischer is reacting to a tragedy — one marked, evidently, by missed warning signs — with classic overreaction. It is the second wrong, and it still doesn't make a right.
But it has turned Fischer into something of a global news source. He was quoted over the weekend in The National, an English-language newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates.
The silver lining: no mention of Fischer's Idaho connection.
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What do Olbermann and MSNBC have in common with Richert .......
and the Statesman? They are irrelevant!
By logging in and leaving a comment, you make your own
statement false. But what is a Republican to do these days? Hypocrisy hot, hypocrisy cold, hypocrisy in the pot, but damn it's getting old.
I object! Protest and assimilation do not share a taxicab!
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Like a midair collision with a tugboat
Idaho Connections
Yeah, thanks KR for putting this on the net so when someone does search for Idaho Wackos, your post with Fisher's name will surface... you could have just let this fly away from your radar. But noooooo. Never one to miss a shot at wacko Right-wingers and gay Republican congressmen.
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Otherwise, it is true, the military should not allow members of extremist groups. That kind of stuff is caught in security clearance background checks. But for the typical grunt there is not any comprehensive background check. Perhaps there should be.
But then what is an "extremist" now-a-days?
Not caught in background
lots of skinheads and members of other extremists have made it into the military. They are encouraged to join and then provide training upon release.
Other extremists
"members of other extremists"
Do you mean environomental extremists?
Animal rights extremists like PETA?
Or just journalist extremists?
*****
Most skinheads are only going to make in as at the gruntlevel.
Otherwise there is also an argument that the military should reflect the population. 50(?) skinheads in a whole Army division? Normal?
Maybe IF some of the "rich white educated boy" would enlist it could dilute the influence of skinheads and other extremists.
*****
If gays can serve, why not racists?
Can "don't ask don't tell" apply to other extreme ideologies?
****
If we want to kill a bunch of ragheads in the mountains of Afganistan, who better to recruit than someone who HATES ragheads. Makes sense from that standpoint. ;-)
****
LA and Gangs.
Skinheads enlisting for the training- let's apply the same motive to urban gangs.
An Army of One
A good article that supports the training topic
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/07/washington/07recruit.html
ahem
FisCher, please. Don't give anyone the idea he and I are related.
Idaho Connections
Oh, I see, pimp2, if we ignore Fischer he will go away and people will never find he came from Idaho. Google him and you will find all you want about him and Idaho. We cannot hide from our immediate past, why try. and Boiseriver you hit it on the nose.
Aw, sheesh, Edith if you want him to go away, we all pass on...
No rocket science, only a bunch of long years.
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Like a midair collision with a tugboat
Olbermann hates America and Fischer is a dope.
Even with all the rhetoric Muslims have been wading into our melting pot. Two of my 12 guys are muslims and they fit in just fine. Where Olbermann missed the point is not to mention that muslims in Socialist Western Europe have not assimilated into their population. This will be a huge problem for Europe in the next decade.
pimp2, your mentality of
pimp2, your mentality of endorsing the use of hate and the tone of your writing is repulsive.
Blackfeet
Endorsing? Blackfeet you need to READ before you accuse.
I wrote in my first post, the military should not allow extremists.
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Don't be so narrow-minded. You remind me of a right-winger- but I know you're not.
My second post is more to the point of 'free speech', don't hate the haters, and what's good for the goose is good for the gander. It's not an endorsement.
But you know what, Blackfeet, if the skinheads want to risk their life to expand the ideas of democracy and FREE SPEECH to other cultures, I support them. I think they are doing much better things than the liberal pukes who don't ever enlist and instead go to liberal arts college to initiate a lifetime of self-righteous rhetoric.
When skinheads do enlist they will some exposure to those people and cultures they claim to oppose. And when ones life depends on another man, regardless of their color, racism tends to fall aside. So maybe its a great way to actually reduce racism.
And that's a WEAKNESS?
You can go fight South Amanastan then. You'll clean the evil Al Microwave FOR SURE!
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Like a midair collision with a tugboat
Tautology
Fischer demonstrates the nonsense in the notion that all cultures and religions are equally valid or worthy pretty much every time he opens his yap.
Religion of Peace?
Bryan Fischer properly ignores the fact that in his religion's foundational Bible over 2,000,000 people are outright slaughtered or tortured to death. And add another 20,000,000 if Noah's flood killed everyone on earth.
Wow, some religion of peace.
Good! They're not afraid to shoot first and crap.
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Like a midair collision with a tugboat