Comments (259)

Elliottness wrote on December 19, 2006 4:53 PM:

Long Live White Anglosaxon Christian Old-men (WACOs)

Wondering wrote on December 19, 2006 4:56 PM:

I wonder how Goode ended up in this country. Could he have evolved from a native rock? Or is it slightly possible that at some time and some place his antecedents actually emigrated to this country. Too bad we didn't restrict immigration at that time.

Waldo Jaquith wrote on December 19, 2006 4:57 PM:

FYI, it's the "C-Ville Weekly," not the "Charlottevillle Weekly."

Thanks for picking up the story!

JCLunger wrote on December 19, 2006 5:04 PM:

My initial thought was "un-freaking-believable". But upon further reflection, it is sadly very believeable that certain elected officials feel they can makes these types of statements publically. Do you suppose the President will remind this congressman that we are not at war with the Muslim people or with Islam?

Bearpaw wrote on December 19, 2006 5:09 PM:

Clearly things would've been so much simpler if my ancestors hadn't set a bad precedent when they helped the Pilgrims live through the winter. If we'd only known that our resources would've been swamped ...

rad wrote on December 19, 2006 5:15 PM:

Which of the two guys pictured is Goode?

If it's the fat guy, helping out with 'it rhymes with food' seems like a bad idea.

jrw wrote on December 19, 2006 5:18 PM:

The fat guy is Mitchell Wade, always a good person to have in a photograph with you.

Paul wrote on December 19, 2006 5:19 PM:

Waldo Jaquith -- fixed our mistake, thanks.

rad -- we swapped out the picture of Goode with convicted felon Mitchell Wade (who was the slightly heavier one) for one of just Goode to make it less confusing.

Dorman4 wrote on December 19, 2006 5:28 PM:

Mr. Goode wrote that as long as he is representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia the Koran is not going to be on the wall of his Office. Does this mean that when he is no longer in Congress the Koran goes on the wall?

Anonymous wrote on December 19, 2006 5:32 PM:

That letter is just filled with jingoism.

"Values and beliefs traditional to the US?" All of those seem to have gone out the door under the present administration, so why worry now?

"Prevent our resources from being swamped?" Exactly how will having Muslim immigrants come to the United States swamp our resources? What exactly are "our resources?" Will all of ""our resources" be devoted to sending our new citizens to Gitmo?

Every European country seems to have its right-wing race haters (Vlaamse Blok, Front National, National Party, etc). I guess the US is no different. RIP GOP.

Buckethead wrote on December 19, 2006 5:47 PM:

Uh, Keith Ellison was born and raised in Detroit. Is Goode planning on preventing people immigrating to the US from Detroit?

DonS wrote on December 19, 2006 5:49 PM:

Hey! Like many Virginians (thought I'm not in Virgil "I'm not corrupt, really I'm not" Goode's district), this is par for the course. We call 'em "crackers". Like 'ol Virgil, they're proud of their ingnorance.

Allen wrote on December 19, 2006 5:59 PM:

I'm not sure why anyone is surprised by Goode's letter. He's a GOPer and bigotry is what the GOP stands for plain and simple - period.

COMTE wrote on December 19, 2006 6:03 PM:

Clearly, congressman Goode isn't counting on courting the immigrant muslim block in the 2008 cycle. Although, it does beg the question, "ARE there any muslims in the VA-5th with voting privileges? And if so, how do THEY feel about not being represented by their elected representative?"

oppositionradio wrote on December 19, 2006 6:10 PM:

The beauty of this one is what having a congressman like Goode says about the morons that elected him, and what Ellisons' election (with all his flaws) says about the good city of Minneapolis and the tolerant, welcoming, pluralistic people who elected him.

Bruce wrote on December 19, 2006 6:17 PM:

I am shocked that people are shocked.

Of course rural Southern legislators will do this. Do you think that this country looks like Rhode Island as whole? Give me a break. Damn surprised he did not call for the Congressman to be arrested for treason. There will be more such, I expect a whole caucus. Maybe they will try not to seat Ellison.

This is their country, folks. There are more of them than there are of us liberals and libertarians. They built it on xenophobia and hate. That's why they call it fly-over country, because not many of us city folk want to land there.

I wish every liberal would get the hell out of Starbucks for a week and visit rural Oklahoma or Virginia or Alabama. The rednecks they elect there get elected to do this sort of thing.

DM wrote on December 19, 2006 6:37 PM:

The tenth commandment--the one that puts wife and slaves on a par with ox and ass--on the wall befits a Good Old Dominioner. (Or is it Domineer?)

RC wrote on December 19, 2006 7:01 PM:

What the Virgil Goode's do not realize is that Islam is already the fastest growing religion in America. So eventually any legislation passed that narrows the line between church and state will someday certainly be challenged in court to include Islamic values alongside Judeo-Christian values. (School prayer, 10 Commandents displays, etc.) There will either be inclusion for all or for none. As always be careful what you wish for.

Alan wrote on December 19, 2006 7:10 PM:

Goode,Goode.Sounds foreign to me.

joe wrote on December 19, 2006 7:13 PM:

While clearly this guy is a complete tool, Virginia (home of Fightin Jim Webb) is definitly no longer in the same column as Alabama, or flyover country in general

Alan Greener wrote on December 19, 2006 7:19 PM:

How many times do we have to see articles saying that this congressman is going to be sworn in using the Koraan or any other book when no book or religious article is ever used in the proceedings of swearing in a congressman?

Jay Condrick wrote on December 19, 2006 7:44 PM:

Echoing Mr Grenner's remarks above; Please correct this story to reflect the fact that NO BOOK is used in a swearing in ceremony. The right hand is raised. Period. The use of a religous book, comic book or cook book is soley for PR purposes only and is not part of a governmental ( is that a word?) ceremony. Ferrchrissakes. Stop feeding the trolls!

Jay Condrick wrote on December 19, 2006 7:46 PM:

typo: Greener, not Grenner. Sorry.

AX wrote on December 19, 2006 7:57 PM:

No doubt the policies instituted by Mr. Goode's party colleagues in Congress and the White House, in particular the invasion of Iraq, will lead soon, unfortunately, to another big wave of immigration from a Muslim country, namely Iraq, when it finally becomes clear, that it does no good to anybody for the U.S. to stay there and the U.S. withdraws (after the 'Decent Interval'). When the helicopters leave from the roofs of the Green Zone, we certainly have an obligation to those Iraqis who closely allied themselves with the U.S. during the last (already) 4 years.

m wrote on December 19, 2006 8:52 PM:

Another day and another admitted conservative bigot.

Can we just state for the record conservatism and Republican in America are simply other terms for bigot/homophobe/authoritarian/anti-constitution/
theocratic/anti-science cult followers?

I mean they really don't even try to hide it like they used to do...

Now you have McCain openly courting the bigot/theocratic cult vote because he knows you don't get the republic's nomination without courting the extremist freaks who make up the core of conservatism.

Face it, we have one party which acknowledges that it isn't perfect, which it isn't, and one - the Republican - whose foreign policy goal is to get every nation in the world to hate us, break the military and spark conflict the world over...and domestically their goal is to turn the country into an anti-science bankrupt freak show.

mary mckenzie wrote on December 19, 2006 9:16 PM:

Virgil Goode is no good. He is linked to the Abramoff scandal and hopefully will go down with the rest of that ilk.

mlv1055 wrote on December 19, 2006 9:18 PM:

This man is disgusting. He's a fascist, plain and simple. There is nothing remotely "American" about people like this. They stink up our country.

anon wrote on December 19, 2006 9:24 PM:

Does anyone find it ironic that Virgil Goode represents, at least nominally, the home of Thomas Jefferson, author of Virginia's Statute of Religious Freedom?

http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/archives/documents/ih195802.htm

and

http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/42.htm

couser wrote on December 19, 2006 9:31 PM:

Heck of a job, Vergie!

Disgusted wrote on December 19, 2006 9:41 PM:

Understanding the religon of Htred, Self Hatred, Indifference and Inhumanity, Christian right. The liars Cheaters thiefs are at it again. The GOOD Congress man won the Election he was ELECTED by the people in his district andf State. If he wantes to use the KORAN afor his belief I support him in that if anything the Christian should be draen and Quartered for his lies and Misrepresentations but then what can you expect he is WHITE and Christian the Religion of Hatred. I am a White retired COMBAT VET. not like you scared little scum sucking CRACKERS who REFUSE to find the good and can only see the HATE. But, you do belong to the Facist TAcist Nazis Committeet ( formerly the republican national committee)

stocml wrote on December 19, 2006 9:47 PM:

Muslims in Congress. My goodness. What next? Agnositics?

Jedi wrote on December 19, 2006 9:49 PM:

If we fight them here we won't have to fight them over there.

Henderstock wrote on December 19, 2006 9:52 PM:

As I recall, Mr. Goode was one of those redneck Democrats who voted to impeach Clinton, and later joined his true soulmates on the other side of the aisle. Dennis Prager, who has uttered similar views, originally pretended to be "moderate"--whatever that means--though that pretense seems to have fallen away.
It's a shame, because there is much to criticize about islamism, but these aren't the jokers to do it.

Rob Hunt wrote on December 19, 2006 10:00 PM:

Having lived in Virginia for many years, Goode unfortunately speaks for a large portion of the population. There excuse is lack of knowledge, Goode's may be the same, though I suspect he's pandering to right wing fear.

The solution, of course, is to maintain the strict separation of Church and State established in the Constitution. Many want all the OTHER religions separated, but their's included. It makes them more "comfortable" and "safe."

I believe Goode is the name of a well established Richmond political family, though I don't know if this gentleman is related. I would suggest, however, he build a following based on accomplishments rather than fear. It pays in the long run.

Jim Speck wrote on December 19, 2006 10:00 PM:

The whole matter says less about the congressman than it does about the poor fools who elected him. The short-lived slogan of Tennessee's Division of Tourism -- "We're all family here" --should be applied to the congressman's own district. Inbreeding does largely negative things to people who weren't too sharp to begin with.

Elliot Ginsburg wrote on December 19, 2006 10:07 PM:

hooray for intolerance. ugh.

Detroit Sam wrote on December 19, 2006 10:27 PM:

The official swearing in of CONGRESS DOES NOT INVOLVE A BIBLE OR ANY OTHER RELIGIOUS TEXT. Members take the oath while they stand at their desks, in chambers.

Members can CHOOSE to have a separate, private ceremony conudcted by the Speaker of the House, to which they invite their friends and family. Photos from these private ceremonies are the ones posted on their websites. Private swearing-in events are CEREMONIAL ONLY, and not official. The Constitution only requires that an oath be taken, not that it be taken using a bible.

Are Virgil Goode's supporters really so stupid to not know that Bibles are not used in the swearing in ceremony? Do these people drop out of school after the second grade?

Greg wrote on December 19, 2006 10:27 PM:

Unfortunately, I am in Goode's district. I looked forward to voting against him, but there was no Democrat running and I ended up voting for an independent candidate I knew nothing about. Don't get me wrong, I'm fairly certain he would have won anyway, but without any major party opposition, there is no way to hold him or others like him accountable. He has free rein to pander to his base and the conversation in this country gets more debased.

The Democrats need a 50-state strategy not just to take advantage of opportunities when they arise, but also to promote a dialog that points out how extreme and bigoted these ideas are.

Brian C.B. wrote on December 19, 2006 10:31 PM:

I deeply apologize for this man. His district was gerrymandered to include a portion of Albemarle County that includes many faculty and researchers at the University of Virginia, and Charlottesville City, a Democratic stronghold that welcomes Americans of every religion and communities of refugees from the Balkans and Tibet, as well as several hundred Bantu. The remainder of the District is in many respects a playground of Ben-Tillman nationalist resentment politics, an collection of aging Southerners who've been caught on the down side of globalization (furnishings, textiles) and increasingly abandoned to poor health care and poor education. Someone has to pay for that betrayal, and to them it's the governments fault, so that agency can't be trusted anymore, and all those Latinos and other brown people must be to blame.

Most of us thought Virgil's relentless xenophobia was a kind of dangerous act--this is the year of Macaca, people--but it turns out he's more deluded than anyone ever dreamed. It's not just border-fence, English-official-language stuff. It's religion, too. Although, make no mistake about it, if a congressperson of Latino ancestry was to use an old family Bible in Spanish, I'm sure Virgil would be every bit as indignant.

He essentially inherited his office from his (Democratic) father of the identical name. He switched parties. No, there is no evidence he can write better English than is contained in that letter. He won the district with 55 percent of the vote.

Daniel Burosh wrote on December 19, 2006 10:33 PM:

An InbredAmericanChristerFuck elected to Congress from the InbredAmericanChristerFuck state of Virginia? Who knew!!!

Brian C.B. wrote on December 19, 2006 10:35 PM:

Greg, Al Weed ran against him. For the second cycle running. He wasn't well-funded, but he was on the ballot and had worked hard to be known in Southside as well as in Albemarle and Nelson. He offered a platform of health care, ethanol research and support for former tobacco farmers, was a former career Special Forces medic, is a farmer and has a son who is a combat surgeon in Baghdad. There was definitely a candidate running against Goode.

Rehan wrote on December 19, 2006 10:35 PM:

I am not sure who is more heroic: the person who cracked this story or people like you, who speak out for a small minority's defense, though you are under no obligation to do so. Thanks for your courage, from a grateful Muslim...

PT wrote on December 19, 2006 10:36 PM:

Guys like congressman Goode is one of the reasons why weare in the shape we are today

diogeron wrote on December 19, 2006 10:42 PM:

Let's first stipulate that Virgil is a moron. Having said that, the fact that anyone can seriously embrace Islam, scares me too, especially if anyone has bothered to read the Koran. Of course, in all fairness, anyone who has read The Bible should be equally freaked out about their adherents as well...go read LEVITICUS if you need any evidence of this claim. Just as Muslims ignore some of the wacko parts of the Koran, so too do most "Christians" seem to pick and choose which parts of the Bible they believe. Fortunately, a lot of American Jews are, in practice, secularist, but they certainly have their fair share of extremist, irrationalist and powerful nutcases.

james risser wrote on December 19, 2006 10:43 PM:

what a horrible excuse for a human being...

well, his phone number is (202)225-4711, and perhaps others will call his office tomorrow and remind him that:

502 verses in 36 Suras of the Koran are about Moses, directly from the Jewish Pentateuch. Two hundred forty-five verses in 25 Suras are about Abraham, from the same source, and 131 more verses in 28 Suras are about Noah, also from the Pentateuch.

perhaps he should take moses top ten down too.

this guy is a sick pathetic little virginia redneck racist...oh, you can tell him that too...

ClockworkOrange wrote on December 19, 2006 10:52 PM:

Um, not every one who lives in the state of Virginia is inbred, my man. Nor Republican.

Mr. Goode still has dealings with MZM (and consequently, "Duke" Cunningham) to answer for (despite returning the money when things got hot). He has lots more to fear than Muslims.

Karma, even.

Ismail wrote on December 19, 2006 11:01 PM:

The reason these bigots are hating a group of people openly is cause the are frustarted. American people have realized who and what muslims are, and they are researching/ finding for themselves rather than listen to these jebronis. These Goode and Virgil of today know very well that their days of " misleading" people are hitory....

John K wrote on December 19, 2006 11:05 PM:

So now we are a nation that have elected officials who think it appropriate to have a religious test as a prerequisite for immingration. I do think that Mr. G has a need to review his oath and the constitution and check for the possibility of a conflict. If he should persist in his pursuit of this nonsense the good people of Virginia should have a recall election. They need to decide if they want a religious test as a prerequisite for immigration.

Larry wrote on December 19, 2006 11:11 PM:

Goode was once a Democrat, but he left the party after (among other things) getting trounced by Chuck Robb in the 1994 Senate primary. It's just as well he's a Republican these days. The sad thing is that out here in rural Virginia there is almost no local news coverage, so I doubt any of his constituents will ever see this story.

Rick C wrote on December 19, 2006 11:15 PM:

I think that this person should be removed from office. How is this bigoted rant any different than Mel Gibson's? Why is there not an outrage against this idiot? This is a perfect example of why there is a separation of church and state; so that religion cannot influence the policies of our government and religious fanatics cannot influence people from positions of authority.

Mickey wrote on December 19, 2006 11:17 PM:

It is not teh Muslims I am worried about it is the Christians

June wrote on December 19, 2006 11:18 PM:

I think it should be remembered that Muslims rule their countries by religion, not by civil law. The religious leaders of Islam set the laws and govern. This is totally against the principles of our country. Muslims treat women as second class and worse, Muslims and Islam require a strict adherence to their religious beliefs. How does this belief work in our country? How will this elected Muslim work in a democracy when everything his religion dictates to him goes against our democratic principles?

John Loehr wrote on December 19, 2006 11:26 PM:

I live in Mr. Goode's district and I am an Arab-American. My mother's parents emigrated from Lebanon to West Virginia in 1905. My father and three of my uncles served in WWII. My mother's first cousins, men I knew as Uncle Phil, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Joe mamd Uncle Louie, also served in the war. My mother's sister, aunt Imogene, was in uniform as a nurse during the war. My uncle Tom played college football at WVu, before going to the war. My first cousin was killed flying his F-86 during the Korean war. I would like Mr. Goode to explain to me, his constituent, a native southerner, and fellow UVA alumnus, how the immigration of my family from the middle east has undermined the values and beliefs of America and swamped our resources.

Cal81 wrote on December 19, 2006 11:31 PM:

Geez, this guy sounds like General Jack D. Ripper from Dr. Strangelove. I almost expected him to say that the Muslims were trying to "drain our precious bodily fluids". Unfortunately, six years of Dubya and his crowd stoking the flames of fear and distrust have led fools like this guy to feel that they have license to say whatever pops into their miniscule brains.

Celebrity Holmes wrote on December 19, 2006 11:42 PM:

Hey, I'm all for Goode's proposed banning of U.S. government officials from swearing in on the Koran... or The Bible, "Dianetics", The PADI Open Water Diver Manual, The Necronomicon, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, etc.

How about they swear in on the United States Constitution and then, if they wish, hold some nice, privately funded religious (or non religious) ceremony of their choice on private property?

RAmen,
C.Holmes

Fred wrote on December 19, 2006 11:49 PM:

Can you imagine if he has said beware of the influx of JEWS, it would be a top story on cnn "news" and everywhere else.

james risser wrote on December 19, 2006 11:52 PM:

fred,

if he had said the same about the jews, he would be looking for a job selling aluminum siding door-to-door, or shoes at a mall in virginia by friday morning...

David wrote on December 19, 2006 11:58 PM:

Goode's comments show one of the problems with Republicans of his stripe. They seem to think they got the stream-lined version of things because of their short and long term memory problems.

Obviously, he attended a swearing-in ceremony where all he did was raise his right hand and swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States. He knows there are no religious tests for the oath of office, because he has been through it numerous times.

But he must think they gave him the special short version so he wouldn't flub it up by forgetting the big words.

Ben wrote on December 20, 2006 12:10 AM:

Goode: "I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs TRADITIONAL to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."

Art VI, U.S. Constitution (1792): "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but NO RELIGIOUS TEST SHALL EVER BE REQUIRED as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

Brian D.G. wrote on December 20, 2006 12:50 AM:

Just to follow up on Brian C.B.'s comment above -- Al Weed, the Democrat who ran against Goode in Virginia's 5th, is a real American hero: a poor boy who spent a career serving his country in the Special Forces and then became a successful farmer and businessman. His positions on the war and on energy policy are eminently sensible. I was proud to vote for him (twice!) and I hope to have the chance to do it again. It's great to see the Goode edifice slipping, even a month and a half too late. Let's spend the next two years supporting the heck out of Al Weed, 'kay?

By the way, for those of you who don't know much 'bout Virgil Goode Jr.: he basically coasted into state and federal office on the name recognition of his father, Virgil Goode Sr., a state legislator who was also Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney for 24 years and has at least one road named after him in the district his son now represents. Sound familiar?

Richard wrote on December 20, 2006 12:52 AM:

All righ, let us be kind to Goode and not tell him that there are 1,283,424,000 Muslims in the world (more or less depending upon how many Muslims America had killed in Iraq and Afghanistan today). It would be too bad if a holy-roller member of Congress like Goode got scared to death. God only knows what Goode would do if he were informed that there are 4,657,000 American Muslims, some of which are in America's armed forces. Any one of these American Muslims could be Goode's personal Cardiologist. Muslims do not have M-u-s-l-i-m tattooed on their forhead. It oft appears as though an American must fail an IQ test in order to get elected to office in the USofA. Vanity is America's greatest sin and voters just do not want to elect anyone with more intelligence than themselves.

Anthony wrote on December 20, 2006 12:55 AM:

It's not unlikely that one or more of his ancestors was complaining about "immigrant Jews" and their threat to our way of life 80-100 years ago.

Brian D.G. wrote on December 20, 2006 1:21 AM:

"It oft appears as though an American must fail an IQ test in order to get elected to office in the USofA. Vanity is America's greatest sin and voters just do not want to elect anyone with more intelligence than themselves."

Actually, I've talked to Virgil Goode. He is certainly not stupid. Cynical and wrong, but not stupid. He knows that his district, on the whole, will reward him for this letter. Charlottesville's growing, but not _that_ fast.

Noremac wrote on December 20, 2006 1:34 AM:

We all herd this kind of stuff in one way shape or form since fear tatics became the primary "energizer" of the GOP base, but, on a happier note, back to Keith Ellison being ellected. I was once told "atheists are as elect able as muslims"...needless to say, this young, aspiring politicians future is looking pretty bright

B. J. wrote on December 20, 2006 1:47 AM:

Has anybody noticed that right-wing Christians, right-wing Muslims, and right-wing Jews all are bring the world to edge of the Apocalypse?

While the right-wing religious kooks are hating and killing each other, the Godless Chinese and Hindu Indians are getting their act together.

Wouldn't it be great if we could ship all the right-wing religious fanatics to one country so they can pray and kill each other all day long?

I bet you the Republicans wouldn't last a day in that group, because they are cowards, and only send others to die for their hate and their wars.

FUBush wrote on December 20, 2006 2:34 AM:

Rep. Goo de is a bi got, which is typical of many GO Peeers, those who are not 'straight' gay. (By the way, in Goo de's title, I presume the 'Rep.' is short for 'Reprehensible')

And is 'Wade' pronounced 'Wide?'.

But you gotta admit, Goo de is a true and faithful follower and representative of his religious and republican parties (Both of whose 'Parties' would better be described as 'Gay Orgies', based on all recent 'Revelations', Halleluah!. And A-Men! ( Make that All-Men, or 'A-Gay-Man' and Associates.

BruntLIVE wrote on December 20, 2006 3:43 AM:

Why isn't this posted on DRUDGEREPORT?

BruntLIVE wrote on December 20, 2006 3:45 AM:

TRADITIONAL VALUES MEANS WHITE PEOPLE VALUES....WHATEVER THOSE ARE (THEY DON'T EXIST, JUST SOMETHING TO SAY TO SEEM SUPERIOR)

Ronald E. Fuller wrote on December 20, 2006 3:55 AM:

Kids should never be raised in Virgina. It's a hotbed of hate. Lieberman should get off his TV kick and take on kids watching real life in Virgina 24 hours a day.

Jim Carlile wrote on December 20, 2006 4:28 AM:

It's always Republicans, isn't it?

But you have to admit, he's a wonderful writer. I love run-on sentences.

Ron Brynaert wrote on December 20, 2006 5:29 AM:

Hard to believe Goode used to be a Democrat.

Same clown a few months back:

"Increasing the minimum wage in America will be a magnet for illegal aliens to come to this country. We do not need a strong magnet to lure
illegals here."

Fred Free wrote on December 20, 2006 5:41 AM:

I ran across a bumper sticker / non-denominational "thought", of sorts, if you will.

A bit of grace, under fire.

It stated simply:

"Dear God, please protect me from your followers."

Cvillian wrote on December 20, 2006 7:02 AM:

I am one of Virgil's constituents. The man is and always has been an embarrassment, but he plays extremely well in the rural/southern part of this gerrymandered district. The best a Dem has been able to do is grab about 40% of the vote, as Virgil's base is solid as a rock. He's definitely "unless he gets caught with a dead girl or a live boy" kind of safe - his involvement with MZM and Duke Cunningham didn't even make a dent (of course, his lame-ass opponent didn't even make this an issue of the campaign). Even with a 20% lead in the polls and with absolutely no reason to do so, Virgil was running negative ads. I expect him to use this type of hate successfully for as long as he wants to, or at least until a Dem legislature is able to fix the district. His base loves this kind of crap.

psyopswatcher wrote on December 20, 2006 7:17 AM:

Oh good for Ellison. He was elected Fair and Square, he now represents ALL in his district and I believe he can handle it without all the fancy do-dahs on the 'I Love Me' wall. When his wife shows up in a burqa, then I say worry. Yet I'd like to hear his 'call to prayer' in the Capitol, eh? That might set some church bells ringing.

These fools didn't know going to war is more than cultures colliding? It's about POPULATIONS MERGING also. Look at France and Germany and the Brits and tell me this is inescapable? How about Japan and Vietnam? Too late now, fools. The war brides will soon be on the way.

You go to war and that's what you get--win OR lose. There will always be a people who want that bigger slice of pie and that's exactly what YOU OFFERED them when you used the virtuous morals of your country in order to liberate them from what? The very same horrors inflicted on them today.

Fools and idiots.

I would suggest someone sending Goode a copy of American History X so he can see how his clansmen deal with the 'threat' he so envisions and perceives. Has that movie ever failed to get anyone thinking?

Time to let the children do the thinking perhaps.

Jim wrote on December 20, 2006 7:30 AM:

I really am amazed at the naive reactions to what he said. Has anyone looked at Europe lately? The Muslim system of beliefs is directly opposed to what we have had in America for 200 years. In parts of France and England Muslim law is being used even when it contradicts civil laws. He might have been more delicate in his verbiage but one really needs to consider closely immigration laws for people with a set of beliefs so different than our own and who are reproducing at a rate three times as fast as most of us here.

Hipnosis wrote on December 20, 2006 7:52 AM:

I don't agree with this guy's politics, but the US needs to wake up. The European Union and England are dealing with the repercussions of promoting a multi cultural society right now. The United States have never adopted such a policy, but the way Islam is spreading the face of the western world will look much different in 50 years. Islam is not a religion folks, it's a political movement.. a dangerous one. The Muslim extremists are the only ones following the words of the Koran and Mohammed the way they were written. If only 10% of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims are extremists, there is a big problem brewing. Get a cap on your immigration now, or your country will not survive an Islamic birthrate that is 4 times higher than that of western countries.

Rocky wrote on December 20, 2006 8:07 AM:

This man has no faith. He pretends but he has none. Lets see "they hate us for our Freedoms." So lets get rid of that stupid idea of Freedom and keep all the non-anglo's out of the country. What an idiot.

Rocky wrote on December 20, 2006 8:16 AM:

Beside you are not sworn in using a bible. You swear to up hold the Constitution. Further more, according to the Saudi's it was the Bush administration that created the fast track program for "wealthy" middle eastern students to come here. Again I stick with my state of this guy is an "IDIOT".

mfx wrote on December 20, 2006 8:39 AM:

how does this win the hearts & minds of Muslims? how about fostering good will among moderate Muslims?

Brian C.B. wrote on December 20, 2006 9:33 AM:

"In parts of France and England Muslim law is being used even when it contradicts civil laws."

I can't really speak for England, but in no part of France is there any law but that written by the National Assembly. And, that applies equally to all French citizens, without regard to religion. And, it has not formally or informally recognized any religious ordinance is 1906. It is viciously, unthinkingly secular. (Thank you, Third Republic.) The state can't even agree to build a new mosque and has appointed only one Muslim prefect, whos religion it was forbidden to mention in the Assembly when his appointment was considerred. Perhaps you should be less trusting of certain websites.

Blue Green wrote on December 20, 2006 9:40 AM:

Obviously, you pea-brains have not had a chance to read the history of Islam, the Koran or the Hadith. Duh??? Wake up!!! Here is a quick insight to their hidden agenda:

Koran's call to Jihad

“The Koran is our constitution,
Mohammed is our prophet, Jihad is our
path and dying as martyrs for the sake
of Allah is our biggest wish.

The mission statement of the Islamofacists is to make Islam the de facto and de jure Only Recognized Religion and Law, by hook, crook or sword. It is called Sharia.

First, they sit back quietly and have 10 kids, then when their numbers are 50% or more of the population, they get a case of Sudden Jihad Syndrome. They can't stand freedom anymore, so they make up an excuse to kill many Christians and Jews and maybe their suicidal selves. Talk about population explosion.

This has already happened in Europe and the US. Next on the agenda, spontaneious protests with large numbers of people with table cloths on their heads mobbing the streets, yelling "down with this" or "death to so-and so."

Then this is followed up by intimidation, coercion, and vandalism as in the city of Paris, France with rioting, looting, burning of cars and murder. They will kill your children too, just like in Gaza recently, if they don't like you. They killed one man's three kids, one of them had 10 bullets to the head, wouldn't one have done the job. Talk about over kill.

Like a killer bee, they take offence at anyone who is not Moslem in their area of town as if these ragamuffins bought and paid for it, as they do in the UK, to a MP no less.

Then they take your remarks out of context and go out and kill nuns and priests and shoot up non-Roman Catholic, Christian churches over the Popes latest historical remarks. God the Pope loved that. Why shoot up Russian Orthodox and other real Christian churches, go to a Roman Catholic church and blow it up or set it on fire for the remarks of a Catholic Pope. Sorry boss, we got the wrong church??? So much for the logical and rational man having a historical conversation without causing a war. What happened to freedom of speech, tolerance and diversity?

Jihad is not just an inner struggle to become holy, it is a violent, military take over by a religous and political extremists. It eradicates free speech, women's rights, and makes rape a of any woman a public policy.

If a woman is raped, she must have 4 male witnesses verify the accusation as womens voice only equal half a voice or person. In fact the Koran says women are half as smart as men. Duh??? Does that mean Moslem men are twice as smart??? Does that mean we need to subjugate all women by forced conjugation?

Absent the 4 male witnesses, she is then accused of being an adultress and stoned to death after some torture for good measure. Now it is nearly impossible to coreograph 4 male witnesses, so this is tantamount to a de facto rape policy for all women by sex-starved Moslem men, who just need 10 more kids to start a war. It is real hard to have a war, when you don't have enough starving, illiterate kids to use for IEDs.

Check out www.faithfreedom.org from a former Moslem to see how brutal and unjust they really are. Anyone who stands up for them has not read the facts of the case. In fact, they are Islamic sympathizers, which is akin to Nazi collaborators.

You bunch of politically correct idiots need to go and check out your facts first. Why not just praise So-damn Insane (Sadam Hussein)?

If dying as a martyr for Allah is their greatest wish, grant them that wish today. Line them up...
we can put you right beside them.

BGG338 Out.

Eyeball Kid wrote on December 20, 2006 9:41 AM:

Goode is a good Republican who is savvy at playing the race and religion cards while his masters steal from the Treasury and give crumbs to their lackeys, Goode being one of them, for political campaigning. It's a game of back-scratching, simple and cheap.

Donna Saggia wrote on December 20, 2006 9:46 AM:

Since Keith Ellison was born in this country, I doubt that Goode's anti-immigrant rant applies. More important, this is just another example of a cracker opportunist politician using hatred and fear to push through his anti-democratic agenda. If his constituents believe him and go along, they're as ignorant as he is.

LesserFool wrote on December 20, 2006 9:50 AM:

> "[I]f American citizens don't wake up and adopt
> the Virgil Goode position on immigration there
> will likely be many more Muslims elected to
> office and demanding the use of the Koran,"

Well, considering the fidelity and integrity of politicians that swear on the Christian holy book, I'd be willing to take a gamble on the Muslim holy book. It certainly can't be worse.

Actually, I'd prefer that the entire pretense be scrapped as it makes no difference what holy book is sworn upon; or to which God the politician pays lip service to. It matters not.

The prison population consists of demographics not unlike the general population. Religion or irreligion matters not except to demagogues who exploit religion to herd the masses.

miguel wrote on December 20, 2006 10:03 AM:

I believe anyone should be able to use any device to rest their hand on when taking the oath. A true/real patriot would use the US Constitution as the book to which one rest their hand, because only the US Constitution embraces all religions by protecting them all and mandating none.

wmforr wrote on December 20, 2006 10:09 AM:

I looked all through the letter and couldn't find the part railing about all the Jewish immigrants. "Soon we will be swamped... they will take over the country... They will destroy our Christian values... pork will be outlawed..." Was this just an oversight on the Congressman's part?

minnesotamark wrote on December 20, 2006 10:14 AM:

Holy cow. This Goode chap is an out and out bigot.

Pam wrote on December 20, 2006 10:15 AM:

Frankly, I don't think we use the Bible at all.
I mean, I am an athiest. SO for me to swear on the
Bible means absolutely nothing. We should just
get rid of that part of the oath taking altogether.

Mark Grimes wrote on December 20, 2006 10:23 AM:

I went to the Huffington Post this morning to get my daily reality check and was actually completely blown away by this story. Is it no wonder that the republican lost in November. This type of religious bigotry should not be tolerated and this Congressman (Goode) should be asked to at the very least apologize to the new congressman from MN. Republicans in general don't want anything to do with anyone else that is different or has an original thought with this congressman leading by example. I am an independent who is so glad I voted for change this election cycle. I hope the democrats take the ball and do rid us these very people that put our lives in danger with their rhetoric.

Richard wrote on December 20, 2006 10:24 AM:

When he reflects on his statements he will realize that he doesn't really want to work on some kinda of immigration scheme, instead he wants to work on mind control of the American people.

As only one other person pointed out...the congressman was born in Michigan and he converted to Islam.

There are many more being born Muslim in the U.S. and many many more Americans converting to Islam including white people. So how does he plan to stop this influx of immigration of white American converts to Islam?

Which border does he want to build a fence on? Which country does he want to reduce a limit of immigration on?

LesserFool wrote on December 20, 2006 10:24 AM:

> Values and beliefs traditional to the US?" All
> of those seem to have gone out the door under
> the present administration, so why worry now?

The same "values and beliefs" [of the segregated, racist south] that advocated preservation of slavery, segregation, limited property and voting rights; and that never saw a war it did not like ... and that continues to turn the other way as atrocities of Darfur and the like occur around the world ... unless it is happening to Christians or WASP-like peoples. These are the Christian values Goode and his constituents stand for. Well, that's a fine and dandy belief system they got there. Give me some of the Old Time Religion!

Rove wrote on December 20, 2006 10:31 AM:

How did this moron survive the November disinfecting? Oh right...Virginia...got it.

Richard wrote on December 20, 2006 10:31 AM:

Furthermore, the oath on a book is all a photo op. The actual oath is taken in congress along with everyone else with their right hand in the air, swearing to protect the constitution of the United States of America,

NOT a Bible, Quran, Toran, Bhagavad Gita, Confucius teachings...or anything else.

As soon as politicians realize that they are being hired by us to do a job and are public servants hired to uphold a document...they will stop acting like royals and do their job. Politics should be part of a persons' life, not the whole thing. We need teachers, lawyers, doctors, engineers etc...to take time out and be politicians for a few terms and then return to their oringinal jobs.

This is all a planned media stunt. There is no official swearing in ceremony with a book of any kind. So why does it even matter. The only swearing in ceremony is in congress on the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA... M

MOST CONGRESS people have forgotten about the constitution

e wrote on December 20, 2006 10:43 AM:

Blue Green, you might want to cut back on your morning caffeine.

Old Atlantic wrote on December 20, 2006 10:48 AM:

bin Laden's Fatwa: Kill Americans

"We -- with God's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it."

bin Laden Fatwa 1998

They believe the Koran commands "every Muslim to kill the Americans, civilians and military".

"On that basis, and in compliance with God's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims: The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it"

And in August 1998, embassies, Cole 2000, WTC 2001 and Pentagon 2001, etc. they did it according to this Fatwa. 9-11 was done by legal immigrants who came after the WTC 1993 attack.

Puma wrote on December 20, 2006 10:53 AM:

June,
What you're thinking of is Sharia, which is a body of law supposedly based on Islamic principles. This has nothing to do with the Koran at all... different "Islamic" countries have different bodies of Sharia. There's no monolithic Islamic law or "rule... by religion", any more than there's a monolithic "Western" body of laws. I'm sure that I'm going to get corrected by someone, but that's ok.
In any case, the Muslim in question isn't beholden to any "religious law" any more than any Christian is beholden to the Pope (or whoever their religious leader is.
June said:
think it should be remembered that Muslims rule their countries by religion, not by civil law. The religious leaders of Islam set the laws and govern. This is totally against the principles of our country. Muslims treat women as second class and worse, Muslims and Islam require a strict adherence to their religious beliefs. How does this belief work in our country? How will this elected Muslim work in a democracy when everything his religion dictates to him goes against our democratic principles?

nikto wrote on December 20, 2006 10:56 AM:

GOODE is EVIL.

This is an obvious FACT, not an opinion.

Unless you're a moral relativist, that is.

GitMan wrote on December 20, 2006 11:00 AM:

It's over for the GOP in this country.

There are not enough KKK-style haters to sustain them, or to win important elections anymore.

The GOP is done like dinner.

They can have their racist 30% minority.

Just don't trip on those white sheets, boys!

Old Atlantic wrote on December 20, 2006 11:03 AM:

THE INTERNATIONAL
LESBIAN AND GAY ASSOCIATION

"1. Sources

The primary source for Islamic Law is the Koran. The second element is known as the Sunna, these being the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and his oldest disciples not explicitly found in the Koran. The third element of Shari'a Law is known as the Ijma. These are rules developed on the basis of debate and subsequent consensus among religious scholars and the Moslem community as a whole. When these three main sources fail to provide adequate guidance, they are supplemented by a system in which the jurist can draw parallels with the first three sources (the Qiyas). Finally, there are several other methods for developing judgements, each of which allows increased use of discretion by the jurist. These latter sources allow for the development of Shari'a Law in more liberal jurisdictions, but are rejected in more conservative jurisdictions."

"In the Hadith, homosexual behaviour is condemned harshly: "whenever a male mount another male, the throne of God trembles"......... if you see two people who act like the people of Lot, then kill the active and the passive"."

"Legal Sanctions
The punishment that the Islamic jurists generally prescribe for adultery, and therefore also for homosexual behaviour, is stoning to death for married people, and 100 lashes for unmarried people..."

"
Gays flee Iraq as Shia death squads find a new target" Jennifer Copestake Guardian August 6, 2006.

J wrote on December 20, 2006 11:04 AM:

Thomas Jefferson must be rolling around in their graves, having this clown represent part of his home state in Congress.

si wrote on December 20, 2006 11:05 AM:

Isn't Goode one of Mark Foley chums?

Old Atlantic wrote on December 20, 2006 11:15 AM:

http://www.omdurman.org/sharia.html

"
Saudi Religious Police burn schoolgirls to death for being improperly dressed
Saudi police 'stopped' fire rescue
Saudi Arabia's religious police stopped schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress, according to Saudi newspapers."

"TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian man cut off his seven- year-old daughter's head after suspecting she had been raped by her uncle, the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper said on Sunday.
..."The motive behind the killing was to defend my honor, fame, and dignity," the paper quoted the father as saying. (Source)"

"Judicial Rape in Iran and the Sudan
Women, Islam & Equality describes Iran's version of the "Muslim" religion:

According to a "religious" decree, virgin women prisoners must as a rule be raped before their execution, "lest they go to Paradise.""

charles donnelly wrote on December 20, 2006 11:17 AM:

In iieu of an email address I guess I'll have to write a letter with some history references and maybe there will be someone in his office to read it to him.
As for his bible, the U.S. leads the developed world in percentage of believers and churchgoers. It also leads in murders and other violent felonies.

Old Atlantic wrote on December 20, 2006 11:22 AM:

" It (US) also leads in murders and other violent felonies."

Search

murder site:Vdare.com

crime immigration site:Vdare.com

crime immigration site:Amren.com

Borjas black site:Vdare.com

"The employment rate of black men in the United States fell precipitously from 89.6 percent in 1960 to 76.1 percent in 2000… The decline in labor market participation among black men was accompanied by a rapid increase in the number of black men in correctional institutions. As recently as 1980, only 0.8 percent of black men … were incarcerated. By 2000, 9.6 percent of black men … were incarcerated."

From Steve Sailer

http://www.vdare.com/sailer/060924_crime.htm

egghead wrote on December 20, 2006 11:32 AM:

"As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, The Koran is not going to be on the wall of my office,"

And as long as the Honorable Virgil Goode holds to values important to true Americans he will continue to get my vote.

The destructive freedom most of you exhibit in your hateful, disrespectful words are a sad reflection of a segment of our society that embarasses the noble people of our country.

Thank God you are the minority. You're just a LOUD minority.

Brian C.B. wrote on December 20, 2006 12:19 PM:

"Thank God you are the minority. You're just a LOUD minority"

If we were in the minority, the Senate and House would not have changed hands. If we were in the minority, the vote you cast for George F. Allen might not have been squandered on a loser. You're t he minority, now. The Old Dominion shakes off your values in favor of "values important to true Americans" a little bit more every day. Values like freedom of speech and freedom of religion, of respect for a man's public character and conduct, and not judging him on which deity he worships or what language his father spoke or what color his skin is. The only reason Goode still has a job is the district carved for him to keep him in it.

Southside is one of the few regions in Virginia that's actually losing population. If it weren't for Charlottesville, Albemarle, and Nelson counties, Virgil would officially represent fewer Virginians every day. As he does, unofficially, to judge by his comments.

Jim wrote on December 20, 2006 12:26 PM:

It is hard to believe that Goode was first elected to political office as a supporter of the late Virginia Lieutenant Governor Henry Howell. Howell fought hard and effectively in a tough environment to end racial segregation in Virginia; to make the state's tax system at least a little progressive; and, in Henry's own memorable words, "to keep the Big Boys honest" (thereby scaring the bejesus out of said Big Boys but still only losing the 1973 gubernatorial election by a couple tenths of a percent).

I think a 1968 story about Virgil Goode, Sr. (Big Virgil) perfectly explains Little Virgil's evolution (though he'd probably label it "intelligent self-design") and, indeed, his entire political strategy (sure as hell can't be called a philosophy).

Big Virgil, at the time, was the elected prosecuter in the county in which he lived and was the de facto political boss of the area.

At a county fair before the presidential election, a loyal Democrat saw a voter go up to Big Virgil and ask if he had any Humphrey posters.

Big Virgil replied, "Oh yes, I've got plenty of them in the car. I'll go get you one and be right back."

Not an hour after this transpired, the same loyal Democrat saw another voter talking with Big Virgil and asking for a George Wallace for President poster.

Once again, Goode replied, "Oh yes, I've got plenty of them in the car. I'll go get you one and be right back."

Sure enough, the second person soon was walking away with a Wallace poster.

The witness confronted Big Virgil and suggested that, as a Democratic elected official, perhaps he shouldn't be stocking the campaign paraphenalia of George Wallace.

In addition, the loyal Dem. ventured that Big Virgil might not be leaving an entirely honest impression with the supporters of whichever candidate he didn't end up voting for.

Big Virgil's reply, "Well, you have to give the people what they want."

Left unsaid was that the the preeminent goal is always one's own reelction; and, that George Wallace would heavily carry that region of Virginia come November.

Having watched Little Virgil rather closely for many years I am confident that little sentence explains almost every political decision he makes.

His votes to impeach Bill Clinton were predicated neither on constitutional theory nor even genuine moral outrage at Clinton's conduct. He simply concluded that the Clinton hater's (a minority even in that district) would never forgive him if he voted "no" while those opposed to impeachment would soon forget or forgive as they moved on with their lives.

His switch to the Republican Party came only after Republicans took control of the Virginia legislature that would be re-drawing the lines of his Congressional District.

Now, there is this repugnant letter, dripping with thinly veiled venality, in which a Member of the United States Congress writes proudly about bullying a student visiting his office.

Leadership and the philosophy of the drafter of the Declaration of Independence (who'd be a Goode constituent were he still living) be damned, just give the people what they want.

Bob wrote on December 20, 2006 12:30 PM:

I have seen this story only here. How is that the media isn't all over this story. This ought to be a part of the national debate and concern over the direction this country is taking. And it IS taking a new direction.

"Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
--Abraham Lincoln

E smith wrote on December 20, 2006 12:31 PM:

does eurabia mean anything to anybody. how about amerarabia. immigration is fine. assimilation is even finer. color means nothing to me but American values mean alot. no offense to anybody reading this, but i want an American America not a arab America, or a Jewish America, or a white America, or a black America, or a mexican America. be an American or split. some celebrities have threatened this but none have followed thru with it.

Fuentes wrote on December 20, 2006 12:38 PM:

Is there such a thing as "American" values?

E smith wrote on December 20, 2006 12:40 PM:

i believe so! i am sorry you do not

Octopus G wrote on December 20, 2006 12:49 PM:

John Loehr: Please -- please -- put your comment in a letter and send it to Rep. Goode and his local VA paper.

John wrote on December 20, 2006 12:53 PM:

Not all Muslims are terrorists, but unforturnately all current terrorists seem to be muslims.

Jacqueline wrote on December 20, 2006 1:00 PM:

At first, I was angry reading about Rep. Goode's uneducated and discriminatory response. But I realize now that he's not worth my anger. I pity him.

B wrote on December 20, 2006 1:18 PM:

When I get elected and get sworn in I'll have my hand on "Everybody Poops!"

joe wrote on December 20, 2006 1:24 PM:

so why doesn't he have a koran on this wall? what was the explanation? he's just a bigot.

the bible is just as bad as the koran....luckily christians don't beleive in it the wall moslems believe in the koran.

thank god for the scientific revolution and the enlightment.

mike wrote on December 20, 2006 1:30 PM:

This is a reason for recall. This letter here is proof that this man will not uphold the Constitution ot The United States of America.
Take your racist hate elswhere and leave our country you PIG.
Mike
White AMERICAN male.

Daniel wrote on December 20, 2006 1:31 PM:

What's the problem with not having passages from the Quran on a politician's wall in the US? While living in the Middle East, I don't recall even once seeing Biblical passages in the offices of public officials or in public institutions (and yes, I can read Arabic).

In fact, what I do recall from life in the Islamic world is that non-Muslims were legally discriminated against, legally categorized as second class citizens, legally prohibited from visiting certain cities, and legally considered inferior in terms of court proceedings, to name but a few of Islam's legal and derogatory treatment of non-Muslims.

If the Islamic community wants equal treatment by non-Muslims, then the Islamic community will have to legalize and institutionalize equal treatment for non-Muslims within the Islamic world. Of course, Islam prohibits equal treatment for infidels and therefore it will NEVER happen. Hence the battle between Islam and the rest of the world will continue on forever…

Jesse Crumb wrote on December 20, 2006 1:36 PM:

Hmmmmm?
It's strange how we seem to Tolerate the confronational behavior of the so-called "conservatives"...or "Christians" even though they have NO concept of Foregiveness..Love..empathy...the Hallmarks of Jesus..as in "let he who is without sin ".
I am SO sick of these people getting away with turning ANY debate into a personal attack...in the media..everywhere...I think it's time we begin a campaign to call them what they are..
In this regard we must find a "term" or "title" that fits..that can catch on..that adequately describes the Pattern..
I hereby throw down a gauntlet...
How about "Stubborn Stupids" (the S.S.?)
Or maybe ..as they seem to love labels..how about "ChristoFascists"
Or one I've heard before, but I still like.."Repugnicans"
I would like to paraphrase a statement that just..chrystalized..for me...their very NATURE.
'..To understand Stupid people well...you must first understand that, their minds are not PHYSICALLY crippled...it's just that they have CHOSEN to be STUPID..because that offers ITS OWN KIND OF POWER. To win a great many small contests of will, they need only to ignore ALL EVIDENCE. Bright people will BREAK DOWN trying to argue with them...'
Sounds right.
Speaking of Evidence..
Some interesting Data...regarding the so-called "Red States" Their very Nature, once recorded, becomes FACT.."Proof" or Evidence of the ACTUAL Wisdom and Behaviours of these people. A recent book compiled ALL the state and national data regarding Social, Financial, Cultural patterns..what do you know..Red States are the LEADERS..the TOP 10 in the following categories..
HIGHEST INCARCERATION
HIGHEST FEMALE INCARCERATION
HIGHEST NUMBER OF EXECUTIONS
HIGHEST RATE OF DEATH BY FIREARMS
HIGHEST RATES OF SUICIDE
HIGHEST GROSSING GAMING MARKETS (although
New Jersey is #2)
HIGHEST POVERTY RATE
HIGHEST DIVORCE RATES ("family values")
HIGHEST ILLEGITIMACY RATES
HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF OBESITY
Oh yeah..the Highest rate of College Graduates? of the top 10 are EIGHT are BLUE..
The FACT is, they don't have the "Right" to attack us..while THEY live in Denial.
We must seperate Religion from State..before its too late...

Mike Cotter wrote on December 20, 2006 1:42 PM:

Let's try Windows' "Replace" feature here:

Thank you for your recent communication. When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Torah in any way. The Jewish Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Jews elected to office and demanding the use of the Torah. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Israel to come to this country. I fear that in the next century we will have many more Jews in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.

The Ten Commandments and “In God We Trust” are on the wall in my office. A Jewish student came by the office and asked why I did not have anything on my wall about the Torah. My response was clear, “As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, The Torah is not going to be on the wall of my office.” Thank you again for your email and thoughts.

Steve H wrote on December 20, 2006 1:48 PM:

According to an article quoted by Atrios, the US is set to accept 500 refugees from Iraq next year. (http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_12_10_atrios_archive.html#116584891661696712)

Of course we've created hundreds of thousands of potential Iraqee refugees, including some who are Christians, so we should and will, I hope, eventually accept many more refugees than that, many who are Muslim.

I can only hope that Congress would accept that we have a responsibilty to these people whose country we invaded. I truly believe, until I see a poll that states otherwise, that the American people would empathise with the refugees and be willing to accept them into our country.

james risser wrote on December 20, 2006 1:57 PM:

as i mentioned last night, the irony in his having moses' ten commandments on his wall while demeaning the koran, is that 502 verses in 36 Suras of the Koran are about Moses, directly from the Jewish Pentateuch.

the koran and the jewish bible share several significant characters: Two hundred forty-five verses in 25 Suras are about Abraham, from the same source, and 131 more verses in 28 Suras are about Noah, also from the Pentateuch.

i called his office this morning and reminded his staff of this fact and suggested that in light of moses being in the koran, he might want to take moses ten commandments of his wall...

peace.

Al wrote on December 20, 2006 1:58 PM:

What would it take to get this "statement and letter" out to the mainstream media? Surely some one as bigoted as this "US Representative" (thank god he's only one of 435) should be forced to face a broader public.

Daniel wrote on December 20, 2006 2:09 PM:

For all of you who are allegedly so appalled at the idea of wanting to reduce the presence of Islam within the United States (or specifically, those who profess to believe in it), I wonder how many of you have actually read the Quran and the supporting Sunnah/Hadeeth stories of the life and sayings of Muhammad? Clearly NONE of you have read it since if you had, you’d be attacking its use in politics as much as you attack the Bible.

While I personally believe that the separation of religion and government should be absolute and that there should be no Bibles to swear upon or religious passages to be hung on any government official’s wall, this does not detract from the fact that the Quran is a completely different book from the Bible with an entirely different set of values contained therein. If you think the Bible is oppressive and violent, you should really take a look at the Quran and the Sunnah/Hadeeth which will take your dislike for organized religion to a whole new level.

That left-wing Westerners (among whom I count myself) should argue against the influence of Christianity on the American political system is admirable. That these same left-wing Westerners should so blindly defend or even advocate for an increased influence of Islam on the American socio-political system – wherein Islam strictly unifies religion and government unlike Christianity – is absolutely illogical, naïve and asinine. In fact, the defense of Islam by us left-wingers goes against EVERYTHING we stand for as Islam itself seeks to destroy the secular values we and our predecessors have fought so dearly for the last several centuries to establish and enshrine.

If you are going to lambaste Christians for promoting the rise of Christianity in our government then you MUST also do the same against Islam which is far more violent, far more discriminatory, and far more theocratic than anything the Bible and especially the New Testament ever cooked up. Do not be deceived by Islam simply because of your disdain for Christians. Contrary to popular belief, more often than not… your enemy’s enemy is your enemy as well.

Hutch wrote on December 20, 2006 2:18 PM:

Take God and Allah and anything religious the hell out of our government!

Daniel wrote on December 20, 2006 2:27 PM:

James,

If you had ever read the Quran, you would know that these references to the Jewish Pentateuch are not direct quotes but rather rehashed and often misinterpreted and misreported paraphrases allegedly by Allah. Interestingly, the Ten Commandments are NOT to be found in the Quran. What you do find in the Quran, however, are several expropriations of Judaic and Christian stories recast in an Islamic light, i.e. that – surprise surprise – Moses and Jesus were actually Muslims and that they foretold the coming of Muhammad. How convenient.

Humorously, Muhammad couldn’t even get Jesus’ name right when he was composing the Quran and referred to him as “Issa” instead of by his Hebrew/Aramaic name “Yeshua” or even his Arabic name “Yessu”. As such, while Muhammad attempted to swipe portions out of the Jewish Pentateuch and the Christian New Testament, most of what he retold in the Quran was horrifically simplified and embarrassingly erroneous.

Moreover, the argument is often made that the New Testament should not be considered credible because Jesus’ life was documented no sooner than 50 to 120 years after the life of Jesus. Yet oddly, credibility is instantly given to Muhammad and his fabrication the Quran which penned about Jesus FIVE HUNDRED years his life – and in the case of the stories of the Jews – some ONE THOUSAND to FIFTEEN HUNDRED years after the fact.

If the Bible is to be thrown out due to its 100 year discrepancy in documentation, then clearly the Quran must be laughed out of town.

At the end of the day, left-wingers should fight to keep ALL religious influences out of government INCLUDING Islam.

Brian D. G. wrote on December 20, 2006 2:27 PM:

Having lived in Goode's district for nearly ten years, I feel I must step in to defend my adopted home state from the slanders that have erupted here. Virginia certainly isn't perfect, but it's a remarkably friendly and, for the most part, civil place. Keep in mind that the people of Virginia have elected two excellent democratic governors in a row and, just recently, deposed the execrable George Allen. Goode and his friends are, slowly but surely, on their way out.

n wrote on December 20, 2006 2:43 PM:

This is just a little offtopic, but I would like to point out that all my friends who came here illegally are either Christians or at least come from a Catholic/Christian cultural background ... And if the laws weren't so idiotic already, they would have rather come here legally.

Brian C.B. wrote on December 20, 2006 2:45 PM:

"If the Islamic community wants equal treatment by non-Muslims, then the Islamic community will have to legalize and institutionalize equal treatment for non-Muslims within the Islamic world."

Daniel, you realize this discussion hinges, first, on whether an American Congressman can pose with a religious book of his own faith in a re-enactment of his swearing-in, don't you? This is the United States of America. The Islamic community here gets equal treatment to non-Muslim communities, whether it likes it, because it's what that community is due before the law. Period. We are not living in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. Keith Ellison has said nothing to make me think that he wants to establish laws similar to law in those countries. On the other hand, I would say that there's been plenty said by Republicans, generally, to make me think that they'd be happy to throw out secularism in favor of some kind of pre-Enlightenment Christian theocracy. Virgil Goode is saying it: all Keith has to do to please him is to convert, preferably to some non-Spanish-speaking form of Christianity, I'd add.

I remember Washington's letter to the Newport synagogue in which he proclaimed that the United States had begun to speak ill of "tolerance," because, truly, how is it that another man's religion is something that inconveniences me in any way, therefore how does it demand that I "tolerate" it? All that is expected of us is good citizenship. Admit Muslims under that basis, expect Muslim converts to avail themselves of the mechanisms of our Constitution should they wish to alter it, and I'll take my chances. There seems to be this theme these days that transparency and the Constitution and reason are things that weaken this nation. Sorry, I can't go along.

n wrote on December 20, 2006 2:45 PM:

I mean, no offense to Muslim immigrants (legal or illegal), nor to US-born Muslims. We have freedom of religion here, right?! But my point was that with demographics you can find a lot of inaccuracy in that politician's letter.

Atlantajan wrote on December 20, 2006 2:46 PM:

From the Foremen CD Folk Heroes:

Little Pedro and Juanita
Arrived this morning in Reseda
On a special overnight delivery
They bubbled and they burbled and they flashed their brown eyes at us
We said check their little heartbeats and their immigration status
And if you should find they're here illegally . . .

Send 'em back
Send 'em back
Give 'em one good whack and half an hour to pack
Hand their cousins to the fuzz 'n stick 'em on a southbound bus
Restrict immigration, give the country back to us

Little Helga and her father
Came across the rolling water
On a stormy day in 1923
And he labored as a carpenter so she could be a doctor
Now they convalesce together in the window where he rocked her
And they're burdens on the state economy . . .

Send 'em back
Send 'em back
Give 'em one Big Mac and serum Ipecac
On a steamer back to Bremerhaven instantaneous
Restrict immigration, give the country back to us

Send the Fins back to Finland
And the Russians further inland
Sent the Poles back to Poland
And the penguins to the Pole
Any man with a tan
Should go back to Tanzania
And Aegeans to Aegea
And Koreans back to Seoul

Well, Columbus found this nation
Had a native population
Who'd been living here since many years B.C.
Descended from a people who were noble, brave and daring
Who'd migrated 'cross the Bering eating bits of frozen herring
And spread out across this continent from sea ... to sea ... so peaceful and so free ...

Send 'em back
Send 'em back
Put 'em on a trek Columbo couldn't track
Let 'em count the steps to China on a friggin' abacus
Restrict immigration
And give this mighty nation
Back to us ... squirrels

n wrote on December 20, 2006 2:51 PM:

Atlantajan that is hilarious. are you sure squirrels didn't come from canada?! jk

james risser wrote on December 20, 2006 2:55 PM:

daniel,

i think most people would agree with you that the inclusion of religion in government is not a good thing, and does go against what we on the left 'proper'. and, i think that many would say there ought to be nothing 'religious' on his wall.

however, you have to admit that the right is actively doing all they can to suggest that religion--their sick interpretation of the christian bible--is a keystone to ours. i do think that the left sees this as an extension of the rights' underlying intolerance and bigotry. you are correct to suggest the christian bible is less violent than the jewish bible and the koran. however, the latter two are more similar than you imply.

but, to bigotry. this virginian's offensive remarks about the upcoming influx of refugees coming to america is further evidence of his bigotry. every american war produces refugees that end up coming here. this war has already produced 1.6 million of them. it will be worse because there will be the remnants of bush's ethnic cleansing of the sunnis.

bush war 1 in kuwait, for example, resulted in the ethnic cleansing of 600,000 palestinians that for the most part were forced to leave their kuwait and wind their way through iraq to setle homelessly in jordan.

this george bush, as his father before him, has caused a humanitarian crisis that will go on for decades. his war-crimes, his crimes against humanity, his ehtnic cleansing may even go beyond his fathers! we need to something about it...where are these people going to go? does america, as an occupier, not have some sort of responsibility for the refugees it created?

to have congressmen like this virginian lack empathy for the impending flood of refugees is callous and wrong. this country has never had a religious test for entry into it, and to create one out of ignoranct fear of islam is wrong and goes counter to what the left, at least, considers the 'right' thing to do.

so, i don't think people are suggesting we, as a nation, embrace the koran with the enthusiasm that the right embraces its bible. but, neither do i think we ought to allow the right's intolerance and bigotry for islam distort our own view of how we should treat people as people...

Egghead wrote on December 20, 2006 3:19 PM:

"Take your racist hate elswhere and leave our country you PIG."

Indeed, with comment like this, I'm not sure who is scarrier.

CDog wrote on December 20, 2006 3:28 PM:

I agree with the senator. The Muslim MO is to immigrate into a country, and then try to change that country to reflect their values. It is not to adapt their lives to the way the new country works. Islam and Democracy simply do not work together, and over time if something isn’t done, there there will be a Muslim majority in this nation, and there they will do whatever they can to institute Sharia law. Read some articles about Islam and see how peaceful and coexistant it is. http://www.islam-watch.org/

CDog

Anonymous wrote on December 20, 2006 3:34 PM:

What a turd.

Jesse Crumb wrote on December 20, 2006 3:43 PM:

Oh man...the "Squirrel Song" is ..just..brilliant..wow! I am going ot look for that CD TODAY..it's as good as Bob Dylans '..John Birch Blues...'
Also..I recently read on Wikipedia that Raccoons are NOT indiginous to Europe..that in fact they were introduced to Europe by Herman Goering in the late 30's to "..enhance the Flora and Fauna of the Reich.."
As the Coons have spread accross Europe, and even to the Island of Britain...and become the little rascals they are in America as well..the "Invasion" is being called..."THE FURRY LITTLE BLITZKRIEG"..
The Raccoons in my back yeard actually toss a little rock between their hands while staring at our back door...and wating for Dog Food...as in.."give us some food or we'll break your windows..."
Yet I tolerate them...and welcome them...and they are fee to practice what ever religion they want...be they Muslim, Buddhist, Christian..maybe they Like Good Ol Ganesha..remover of Obstacles to the eating of Dog Food...as a result I bask in the warm glow of Self Approval at my good natured acceptance of my Furry Neighbors..
Maybe I should run for Congress...

Moses wrote on December 20, 2006 3:44 PM:

Daniel wrote:
"If you had ever read the Quran, you would know that these references to the Jewish Pentateuch are not direct quotes but rather rehashed and often misinterpreted and misreported paraphrases allegedly by Allah....Humorously, Muhammad couldn’t even get Jesus’ name right when he was composing the Quran and referred to him as “Issa” ...Yet oddly, credibility is instantly given to Muhammad and his fabrication the Quran which penned about Jesus FIVE HUNDRED years his life..."

I think the joke is on you regarding the name of Issa. Historians have shown Jesus most like the Buddhist Bodhi-Satva. In the East, specifically China, he was referred to as "Issa." The fact that this became the name for Jesus in Arabic is not surprising since Jesus orginates from the Bodhi-Satva. What next, making fun of the Arabs for "mispronouncing" Mary has Mariam? In this case, you should not that not even your own name is correctly pronounced in English (the Hebrew Danyaal).

The other point I disagree with you about: when the Koran was written down. If you have any familiarity with the religion, you will know that it is an oral tradition, not a written one. Furthermore, the word order is highly specified such that thousands of "memorizers - huffaz" exist.

Chris Taylor wrote on December 20, 2006 4:54 PM:

When I read this, I was incensed at the congressman. Then I read some of the responses here and it became clear to me why our country is becoming cruder by the day. Rather than cite Goode's intolerance, people have instead chosen to demonstrate the same hatefulness and intolerance towards ALL southerners ("rednecks"), Republicans/"Right-wingers", Christians, Jews, whites, and Americans. As racist, ignorant, uneducated... Never mind that many in these categories are just as outraged as Goode. The cycle of hatred and bigotry just spirals out of control when well-intentioned people respond to stereotyping with stereotyping of their own. Hate begets hate, and the vicious cycle continues.

If we want compassion and understanding, first we must demonstrate it ourselves. Sharply criticizing Goode is perfectly fine; sterotyping groups of people based on his behavior is hateful and hypocritical.

Anonymous wrote on December 20, 2006 5:06 PM:

"Islam and Democracy simply do not work together, and over time if something isn’t done, there there will be a Muslim majority in this nation..."

Well, there's Turkey. And, Malaysia, which could be better, I'll admit, with its government. But, Indonesia's problems with the Suharto tyranny weren't related to religion. And, there's India, with 80 million Muslims and much of the strife is laid at the feet of the Hindus. But, that country is doing fairly well, democracy-wise.

In any case, I think the best thing we can do to combat the (wildly far-fetched) prospect of a Muslim majority in the United States: open our borders to Christians. I understand that Latin America is just full o' them. Suggest that idea to Virgil.

Brian C.B. wrote on December 20, 2006 5:07 PM:

"Islam and Democracy simply do not work together, and over time if something isn’t done, there there will be a Muslim majority in this nation..."

Well, there's Turkey. And, Malaysia, which could be better, I'll admit, with its government. But, Indonesia's problems with the Suharto tyranny weren't related to religion. And, there's India, with 80 million Muslims and much of the strife is laid at the feet of the Hindus. But, that country is doing fairly well, democracy-wise.

In any case, I think the best thing we can do to combat the (wildly far-fetched) prospect of a Muslim majority in the United States: open our borders to Christians. I understand that Latin America is just full o' them. Suggest that idea to Virgil.

james risser wrote on December 20, 2006 5:17 PM:

daniel,

i do not make personal attacks at you and what you have and have not read. you know nothing about me. i never stated that the ten commandments were in the koran, i said that moses and several other significant characters from the jewish bible are included in the koran. i continue to find it ironic that this virginian has the words of moses on his wall while characterizing the koran as he has.

you can argue that the koran is a 'fabrication' if you wish, but, you leave yourself open to the counter-argument that the jewish bible is a fabrication and, assuming you are correct about the koran, it is then a fabrication of a fabrication.

since, as far as i know, god is not divinely speaking through you, and that you are not a prophet, your words of criticism seem rather empty.

they seem especially irrelevant when the issues seem to be the handling of the islamic refugees created by george bush's crimes against humanity in iraq, and, this single congressman who irrationally fears the presence of refugees from this disaster in his district. he wants to have some sort of religious test for immigrants, and that is not consistent with the constitution.

S. Sam Smoot wrote on December 20, 2006 6:21 PM:

I’m unapologetic about living in Goode’s district and even in the rural south thereof, as I have actively worked to see him out of office. To butress C.B.s and Brian D.G.s comments-I’ve known Al Weed since before he ran against the Goodster in 2004 and Al is exactly the caliber of man that should be sent to congress from any state or district. I’m not so sure that he lost because of any great love of Virgil, but rather for 5Virginia’s overwhelming political inertia. Many a time I’ve heard that “Goode has done a lot for this district” when the exact opposite is true: Southside Virginia has languished with Goode and the MZM debacle stands to cost the city of Martinsville dearly (Virgil was to stupid to make any personal fortune as did the Dukester).

Thank you, Jim, for your excellent post. I did not know that Virgil was a protégé of Henry Howell, who I have long considered the last Liberal to hold public office in Virginia. Interesting, too, that you should invoke George Wallace who started his political life as a progressive and, with every lost election, became more conservative, more racist, and sounded more redneck.

Goode is a political opportunist of the same water. He was, indeed, elected Democrat and caucused with the Republicans when they gained control. He was one of two democratic congressmen who voted for impeachment after which he became independent and, inevitably, Republican. He talks like a dumb hayseed-his accent, by all accounts, affected only as necessary.

Who will rid us of this impertinent dumbass?

Daniel wrote on December 20, 2006 6:21 PM:

James and Moses,

As you might have overlooked in my posts, I have stated clearly that religion and government should be separated absolutely.

The problem of this story is twofold: 1) that Goode has the Ten Commandments on his wall, and 2) questioning why elements of the Quran were not on the representative’s wall with the veiled implication that they could or even should be.

Religion MUST be kept out of government.

That said, it is not unreasonable to analyze the long term consequences of the growth of a philosophy/religion which strictly demands the unification of religion and government and the subordination of all those who refuse to submit to Islam. The same should hold true for analyses of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Animism, Atheism, Socialism, Communism, or whatever other ideologies that affect our lives and the state. Society SHOULD discuss and debate the negative attributes of the religions and philosophies affecting our lives, and not sweep the topic under the carpet and hope it all just goes away. Nor is such a discussion “racist” or “bigoted”.

If Goode believes that there are too many Muslims or too much Islam in America, that is his right. It is also your right to disagree. As you know, there are plenty of politicians around the world who believe there are too many Americans and too much America abroad, and they are free to craft their domestic policies to counterbalance such foreign influence.

America is no exception.

As for the issue of Palestinian refugees, it is a red herring. Having lived in the heart of the Islamic and Arab world myself, I can tell you that Arabs do not care about Palestinians whatsoever aside from feeling obligated to vocalize half-baked and half-forced opinions to the contrary whenever the topic comes up. Certainly the Arab world should never have attacked Israel in the first place upon its creation, which ultimately led to the creation of Palestinian refugees. More importantly, once this refugee situation arose, surrounding Arab cultures and states should have done everything it could have to provide a new home and citizenship for these Palestinians, the way that the United States has very generously done. Instead, what did the Arab Muslims do? They locked the Palestinians up in horrific refugee camps for DECADES and have forced them to live in the most atrocious squalor only to use them as pawns in the greater game against Israel. The Islamic world’s treatment toward Palestinian refugees is one of the greatest crimes against humanity over the past 60 years and Muslims should chastised perpetually because of this.

Sadly, what is the first response you hear from an Egyptian or a Saudi or an Emirati when one suggests that Palestinian refugees should be accepted with open arms by their fellow Arab brothers and given full rights and citizenship as Egyptians, Saudis or Emiratis in order to eliminate the refugee problem and prove that Arabs/Muslims *actually* care?

“No way! We don’t want those violent, dysfunctional people in OUR countries!”

And so it goes.

Finally, James, if you truly cared about refugees, which you don’t, you’d have at least mentioned a word or two about the TWO MILLION BLACK AFRICAN refugees displaced in Darfur since 2002 who have been systematically raped, pillaged, and plundered by Arab militias and the 200,000 black Africans who have been subsequently MURDERED by said Arabs during the same period of time. Oddly, you are silent when the killing is done with Arab hands.

Alas, you don’t care about refugees and feigning that you do is a farce.

Daniel

PS: I’m more than happy to discuss the suggestion that the Jewish Pentateuch is a fabrication and that the Quran is simply a fabrication built upon a fabrication. Sounds pretty accurate to me.

Jim Handel wrote on December 20, 2006 6:38 PM:

what a piece of shit.

Derrald wrote on December 20, 2006 6:52 PM:

As soon as I've caught the first few notes on what Goode has said, this fourth-grade-of-a-flunkie shoun't be in office. So to question for you (as well as the others): Imaging this graduate of the "Molesters Academy" EVER operate a Black Muslim bakery (yet, homophobes themselves too)? If that ever happens, his business will be torched in flames as many of my ancestors suffered more than over a hundered years ago.

Words from a gay black male who's not religious.

Toby wrote on December 20, 2006 6:53 PM:

At least there are no Freethinkers in Congress. That would entail thinking!

james risser wrote on December 20, 2006 6:59 PM:

daniel,

i refuse to get into personal attacks with those i i am having a conversation with, and i wish you would do likewise. what i have done or not done for the refugees of war is really none of your business and you know nothing about it. your personal attacks are quite boring.

if you could focus on the thread, we are not discussing the problem of refugees, generally, but those created by the iraqi occupation--those are the ones the representative is talking about.

as for the 600,000 palestinians in kuwait, created in the first bush war by the father. i mention them only as being similarly situated to the 1.6 million iraqi refugees created by the son. in 1991, the father created a refugee crisis by assisting kuwait in the ethnic cleansing of their country. these refugees were forced from their homes and sent off to jordan via iraq without their possessions and without even being able to sell their homes first.

similarly, the son's refugees--the ethnically cleansed sunnis fleeing from the shiite death squads being supported by the malaki government, and the bush administration--are now scattered throughout the region.

america has a certain responsibility towards these refugees in iraq created by their occupation. but, as with the father, the son looks away and lets it occur.

this goode then realizes that, 'hey, we are creating a humanitarian crisis in iraq and some of these people might end up in virginia! i better get out my bible and stand behind it and fight back the islamic beasts at the door!'

but, you see, there has never been a religious test for citizenship or for immigrants; if this virginia gentleman is suggesting one ought to exist, that is quite troubling.

Anonymous wrote on December 20, 2006 7:29 PM:

James,

My statements are not intended as personal attacks, nor are they. They simply say what you yourself imply. If I am misinterpreting your implications, then please correct those misinterpretations. On the first issue: have you read the Quran? I have not answered this for you but your responses imply that you have not. Perhaps you could clarify this by answering: have you read the Quran? Not that I particularly care either way, just that you seem to make statements about Islam which are not congruent with the voice or style of the Quran and Hadeeth/Sunnah. If you have read the Quran, I will apologize in advance for suggesting that you have not.

On the second issue, your commitment to the issue of refugees, I don’t know those details either, however, I find your exclusive mention of Palestinians to be extremely limiting in terms of the greater issue of refugees around the world, and rather detrimental to boot. If we are going to talk about issue of refugees, then I suggest that we not only talk about refugees resulting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or about Palestinians booted out of Kuwait during Gulf War I (which Saddam Hussein instigated, as you might recall), or of Iraqis who have been displaced by the American-instigated war and the subsequent displacement by intra-Islamic warfare. Contrary to your exclusive mentioning of Palestinians, Arabs are not the only refugees in the world, and in fact, Arabs have created and continue to create much of the refugee problem. Let us simultaneously discuss the contributions to the refugee problem worldwide not just by Americans or Jewish-Israelis, but also by ALL other parties involved including Arabs and Muslims.

When you harp exclusively for Palestinians, it appears that the rest of the world’s refugee problem does not exist and this is the source of my assertion that you don’t actually care. Of course, I may very well be wrong. I would happily be proven so.

As for my statement on the atrocious and inexcusable Arab handling of the Palestinian refugee problem, it stands. Non-Palestinian Arab-Muslims have been the single most significant cause of the incessant suffering of Palestinians for six decades. Arab-Muslims could have single handedly eliminated the Palestinian refugee problem with their TRILLIONS of dollars of oil revenue over the past 60 years, yet Arabs-Muslims have instead decided to condemn Palestinians to a life of suffering while many in the oil-rich Arab world drown in their oil gluttony. It’s disgusting, it’s repugnant and it must be restated until the Arab world accepts its responsibility for relocating and accepting their Palestinian brothers and sisters as equals.

Daniel

PS: And what does any of this have to do with Representative Goode? Absolutely nuthin, which brings me to my original point: that the Quran should - under no circumstances - have any role or place in the American government or our legal system. (Or any other religion or religious document for that matter.)

Robert wrote on December 20, 2006 7:37 PM:

"I think it should be remembered that Muslims rule their countries by religion, not by civil law."
-June

June, author of the statement quoted above. Have you ever heard of Turkey? A Muslim country to the very core, yet ruled under a civil code of law for the last century? Even the Islamic party's majority in its legislature hasn't changed that.

In fact, might you have heard of Iraq BEFORE the U.S. "regime change". It was under civil/military law, not religious authority.

Perhaps you meant to say "Muslims in countries ruled under religion and not civil law -- rule their countries under religion and not civil law". But that statement would sound just as pointless as your meaning.

Happy Monkey wrote on December 20, 2006 7:42 PM:

I am laughing at Old Atlantic... I could post just as much stuff from the Bible that makes Christians look like Christianofascists!

I say if we don't stop the influx of neocon fear mongers like Goode, then our country will go to hell in a handbasket!

Jenny wrote on December 20, 2006 8:11 PM:

......As for the alleged Muslim student asking him about the lack of the Koran next to the Ten Commandments....to which he so heroically responded...what BULL! He just pulled that right out of his ass, because today's Neocons can't feel like men unless they can sock it to some Muslim...even if they have to make it up. They're disgusting lying assholes, everyone of'em!

Old Atlantic wrote on December 20, 2006 8:18 PM:

"I am laughing at Old Atlantic... I could post just as much stuff from the Bible that makes Christians look like Christianofascists!" from Happy Monkey. These are things happening now and being said now.

They are a continuation of the same things from the past. There is no break point for Islam.

"Have you ever heard of Turkey? A Muslim country to the very core, yet ruled under a civil code of law for the last century?" from Robert.

See URL attached to this post for source and link to NY Times from 1914.

The last century goes back to include 1914.

The Young "secular" Turks were in power in Turkey by 1914. They continued the same genocide of Christians that was going on in the 1890's. They killed over 1 million Christians.

"From January 13, 1915 New York Times:

“Talaat Bey, the Minister of the Interior, has stated to the Councillor of the Greek Patriarchate that in Turkey henceforth there will be room only for Turks. While he was profuse in assurance to the Greek Minister regarding the cessation of anti- Greek persecutions, no real amelioration of the situation is perceptible.”"

http://www.omdurman.org/sharia.html is about things happening now.

9-11 happened in 2001. Did you laugh on that day at those who said to stop Muslim immigration? All 19 hijackers were immigrants from after the WTC 1993 attack. No immigration, no 3000 killed.

What purpose does immigration serve? Men's median wages are below what they were in 1973? You are programmed to want your own destruction. You are frustrated when someone tells the truth, that is why so many react to Virgil Goode.

Jenny wrote on December 20, 2006 8:27 PM:

I've vacationed in Turkey, and if you're trying to portray that country as anything less than a secular democracy with the most wonderful people you could ever hope to meet, then there's no doubt in my mind, you're a Zionist. Zionists I'm sure are having a ball with all this Muslim bashing, and would hate to see it stopped. So they keep it going...and going...and going..and going.......

Daniel wrote on December 20, 2006 8:35 PM:

Moses,

You are incorrect. I am not making fun of anyone’s mispronunciation of anything. Being multi-lingual myself, I mispronounce things all the time. Moreover, having lived all around the world, I found that most people mispronounced my name more often than not. Moreover, I do not care about name mispronunciations whatsoever. One cannot foreign language speakers to pronounce foreign words according to phonetic rules which are foreign to them.

In the case of Muhammad getting Jesus’ name wrong, this is not about a mispronunciation but rather it is was absolute fabrication, both of his name and his character.

‘Isaa in Arabic is spelled ain-yaa-seen-alif maksoorah. [‘ysaa]

This has nothing of relevance in common with the Hebrew/Aramaic Yesu’ spelled yod-seen-vav-ayin [YSV’], nor with the Christian Arabic name for Jesus Yessu’ yaa-seen-waw-ain [YSW’] which is virtually identical phonetically to the Hebrew/Aramaic, or even the Greek name for Jesus: Iesous. (-s being a grammatic ending, and absence of “ayin/ain” which Greed does not have).

In this case, suggesting that ‘Isaa is just a mispronunciation of Yessu’ is like suggesting that “Lemar” is just a mispronunciation of “Michael” because both include M, A and L, albeit in a totally different order.

But even if we did stretch our imaginations to believe that ‘Isaa is just a mispronunciation of Yeshu’/Yesu’, which it is not, then the following two questions would have to be asked and conclusively answered:

1. If Muhammad were the spokesman for the Omniscient Allah, why then did he Jesus’ name wrong? Being a god, you’d think Allah might know what he was talking about and could figure out how to spell or pronounce. Sure, you can make the argument that Allah’s message regarding Jesus was originally conveyed orally and that the pronunciation of Jesus’ name might have changed over time, however, the time between oral dissemination and physical documentation onto bones, palm fronds and animal skins was at most a matter of years. Far too short for the pronunciation of named figures in the Quran to be changed so drastically. Hell, I’ve been saying my and my family’s names for some 30 odd years, and my pronunciation hasn’t changed a bit. It is virtually impossible that Allah revealed his message and then somehow within the course of a couple years the pronunciation of Jesus’ name was totally mangled beyond recognition. If this is the case, it begs: which is incorrect? Allah or the Quran? As the Quran is viewed as the direct word of Allah, if the Quran is incorrect, then so too is the word of Allah.

2. If it is a simple matter of just mispronunciation, why then did the Quran get so many details of the life of Jesus – including his birth, his life, his character, and his death – so utterly wrong? Again, if the Bible is going to be viewed as untrustworthy because of its documentation of events that happened some 70 to 120 years beforehand, then clearly the Quran must be thrown out the window for attempting to document events conveyed orally to Muhammad that happened well over 600 years prior. Yes, Arabs in Pagan Arabia may have gotten Jesus’ name wrong during the course of 600 years, but that the all-perfect Muhammad continued this inaccuracy reveals his and his own Allah’s imperfection.

Instead of defending the Quran, I suggest left-wingers and all those who chose to live free from the oppressive yolk of organized religion critique and disempower Islam and its texts the same exact way that the Bible has been critiqued for centuries. Contrary to popular fears, the Bible has approximately a 0% chance of supplanting the American constitution or any other Western government’s constitution for that matter. The Quran, however, ALREADY is the founding document of virtually all self-proclaimed Islamic states and its influence on the foundations of Islamic communities continues to grow and entrench itself year by year.

Islam and the Quran must now be confronted if any of us plans to live in a world of freedom, liberty, secularism and self-determination for the individual.

Daniel

greenpagan wrote on December 20, 2006 9:27 PM:

Fock you all! Leave the borders wide open. What we need are more Muslims, Mexicans , Mariolotrists & Secular Progr