You may have heard about the Columbus Police Officer who posted some videos of herself (and her sister) on the internet making some pretty outlandish anti-Semitic claims. Just in case you haven’t, here is one of the many videos.
Of course, they aren’t limiting their comments to Jews. They have videos on Ebonics (and racial stereotypes!), Miami Cubans, and the US border. They even have a website – they call themselves The Patriot Dames. (And they appear to support Ron Paul!)
Mayor Coleman has requested a formal investigation. You can see the text after the jump. [click to continue…]
This Abukar Arman mess just won’t go away. It seems the Ohio right-wing blogosphere is obsessed with this man, and unwilling to take his writings at face value. Just yesterday, BizzyBlog had this to say:
Abukar Arman has expressed support in his writings for known terrorists, terrorist organizations, and groups that wish to impose Sharia law on their populations.
Arman’s “crime”, apparently, is believing that working to de-radicalize radical Islamic groups that are in charge is a good thing. Arman is hardly alone. Former top official in Barak’s Israeli Government Daniel Levy wrote a few days ago…
My apparent “crime” is to support engagement with Hamas as part of a strategy for enhancing a ceasefire, security in the region, and ultimately, to advance a peace process that can actually deliver the goods. In being “dangerous” — presumably to Israel and perhaps also Anglo-Jewry — I find myself in not bad company. Former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, ex-Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, previous West Bank Divisions Commander and Civil Administration head General Ilan Paz, Gaza Brigades Commander Colonel Shaul Arieli and ex-deputy National Security adviser Yisraela Oron are just a few of the “dangerous” types who support this approach.
In fact, the UK House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs had this to say (emphasis added):
We conclude that the decision not to speak to Hamas in 2007 following the Mecca agreement has been counterproductive…We conclude that the decision to boycott Hamas despite the Mecca agreement and the continued suspension of aid to the national unity Government meant that this Government was highly likely to collapse. We further conclude that whilst the international community was not the root cause of the intra-Palestinian violence, it failed to take the necessary steps to reduce the risk of such violence occurring.
Given the failure of the boycott to deliver results, we recommend that the Government should urgently consider ways of engaging politically with moderate elements within Hamas as a way of encouraging it to meet the three Quartet principles. We conclude that any attempts to pursue a ‘West Bank first’ policy would risk further jeopardising the peace process. We recommend that the Government urge President Abbas to come to a negotiated settlement with Hamas with a view to re-establishing a national unity Government across the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
So there you have it. The UK House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs has “expressed support in [their] writings for known terrorists, terrorist organizations, and groups that wish to impose Sharia law on their populations.” Presumably “extra-constitutionally”, whatever that means.
I have to agree with Jerid – there seems to be little explanation for this right-wing hysteria other than racism and anti-Muslim fervor. Just as the majority of devout Christians are not Christofascists, the majority of devout Muslims are not Islamofascists. Just because a devout Muslim has opinions different than yours, that doesn’t put him the the “fascist” camp. Just because someone is willing to admit that a flawed group like the ICU is better than the alternatives that doesn’t mean they think the ICU is the end-all-be-all.
You guys need to let it go. You sound like the crowd in the Monty Python “She’s a witch” skit. It’d be funny, if it didn’t involve real people.
Was there a White House plot to illegally suppress votes in 2004? Is there a similar plan for the upcoming elections? This week NOW examines documents and evidence that points to a Republican Party plan designed to keep Democrats from voting, allegedly by targeting people based on their race and ethnicity with key battleground states like Ohio and Florida of particular interest. “It was a partisan, discriminatory attempt to challenge voters of color,” Eddie Hailes, a senior attorney for The Advancement Project, a civil rights group, told NOW.
Was the White House involved? David Iglesias, one of the fired U.S. Attorneys, thinks so: “It’s reprehensible. It’s unethical, it’s unlawful. It may very well be criminal.” Iglesias told NOW he was repeatedly urged by his superiors at the Justice Department to investigate allegations of false voter registrations. After his investigations came up short, Iglesias said Republican officials got angry and complained to White House aide Karl Rove. Soon after Iglesias lost his job. As a result of allegations by Iglesias and others, Congress is investigating whether the White House acted unlawfully.
While Attorney General Alberto Gonzales refused to answer many questions about the controversy as he testified before the Senate this week, Iglesias told NOW he believes the White House is keeping documents from Congress to protect the Bush Administration. “That’s why there has been such a circling of the wagons around Karl Rove and Harriet Miers and Sarah Taylor. I believe there to be incriminating, possibly criminally incriminating evidence contained in those e-mails and other memoranda,” he said.
Just months after beginning his inventory of underused state properties, Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray joined Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council members to cross a significant site off the list and help bring nearly $200,000 dollars into state coffers.
A 12.9-acre parcel on the west side of Columbus, identified through Cordray’s inventory, will be used by the City of Columbus for a new $8 million Division of Police heliport. The sale was authorized in the state’s budget bill and Columbus City Council approved the $194,955 on July 9, 2007.
Good for the city, good for the state, and good for the community. I particularly liked this quote from Cordray:
More than 500 people have to date directly contacted the treasury to provide information on possible uses of properties for their community, or to find information about specific parcels. “Together we’ve recognized a need and we are working to make a difference,” Cordray added. “We’re leveling partisan and bureaucratic boundaries in direct response to community needs. Based on the level of interest from individual property owners, local officials, and businesses, the potential for this initiative is widespread and substantive.”
It’s called competent, responsive, responsible government. It’s every liberal’s goal for government. Full text of the release after the jump (It’s going to be a LEED-certified project!). [click to continue…]
Jerid pointed out yesterday that Todd’s press conference on Wednesday was a little ahead of the curve:
Anyways, the real meat here is that Todd scheduled this press conference before the grant announcements he cites was released to the public. Kinda strange right? Like Todd has a man on the inside or something.
Apparently, scuttlebutt is that the info may have come from Tiberi’s office, which would be illegal. I’m sorry I didn’t notice this first, but I’ve been a little too busy this week to be paying as much attention as I should. Now that I’ve got something to look for, I’ll see if I can be quicker on the draw.
First win for Cordray’s state property database
by Brian on July 26, 2007 · Comments
In the ol’ mailbag yesterday:
Good for the city, good for the state, and good for the community. I particularly liked this quote from Cordray:
It’s called competent, responsive, responsible government. It’s every liberal’s goal for government. Full text of the release after the jump (It’s going to be a LEED-certified project!). [click to continue…]
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