Dean Barnett over at the Hugh Hewitt site asks some Congressmen what should be an easy question. After all, what else should they be studying up about these days? (Thanks to all who sent this in.)
THAT’S THE GOOD NEWS. There’s also some bad news. As was the case with three previous conference call attendees, I asked Boehner the question. To refresh your memory, I had asked three other congress-people the following:What books have you read about Islamic terrorism against America and the West?None of the three were able to name a single book. Boehner followed suit, saying that he had read books on the subject but that he couldn’t give me any names.
That can't be a surprise..how else can it be that the danger remains unrecognized after 5 years?
Congress is ILLITERATE when it comes to Salafi and Khomeinist reality.
Ignorant and Illiterate
"Boehner followed suit, saying that he had read books on the subject but that he couldn’t give me any names."
Boehner is probably lying. That's a school boy's answer is I ever heard one. He could have just as easily said, "The dog ate my homework."
PC minions say Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Even the word terrorism is a misleading and total PC. Terrorism is a tactic. Similar to Blitzkrieg in WWII. We did not declare war on blitzkrieg in WWII. We declared war on Nazi ideology.
I wonder if any politician has read the qur'an? Maybe then they'll stop spouting off about the ROP and tolerance. We can not and will not win until our political elite educate themselves.
It would be great to corner a politician and grill them for 5 minutes about islamic theology and its contravention of Constitution and Rights.
Perhaps a good start would be to request a meeting with an assistant to your MP or Congressman or woman and rake them over the coals about Islam and their ignorance.
Everyone email your own representatives today and your governor and ask them the very same question:
"What books have you read about Islamic terrorism against America and the West?"
It's funny but I was just thinking about this very same idea two days ago, but my idea was to start asking this question while at a Senate hearing. For example, I'd love to see some of our military chiefs put this question to a panel full of Senators on CSPAN. I guarantee it would catch 75% of Congress flat-footed.
The electorate should force every legislator ---whether Congressional, state house, or city council --- to pass an Islam Competency Test in order to be sworn in.
The newly elected "leaders" would be issued a reading list and administered a 250 question test. The list would evolve as each year passed, and would comprise the Koran, Sunnah, Islamic history, Sharia codes, current day Islam, and modern acts of Moslem Jihad activism (aka "terrorism").
If the representative flunks the test, a special election is called. Should the district fail to elect a representative who can pass the test, the district goes unrepresented during that term. If the district elects somebody who has a basic competency in Islam half way through the term, it could be represented for half a term.
Let's count our blessings here. At least none of them said they read a book by Karen Armstrong. Considering how clueless they are about most things I'd consider this as a positive.
He's no longer in Congress, but Newt Gingrich has been reading Robert's books on Islam...
If he decides to go for a comeback and run for President (rumor, rumor), he will get serious consideration from me.
Re: atheling's comment about Newt Gingrich.
I heard Newt's address to GOPAC several days ago, replayed on the radio. He articulated a clear understanding of the importance of Iraq and stated that it is only a small part of what the world is facing and will be facing for a generation. Although I am pro-life and I don't believe Newt is and he has had some issues with his personal life I don't agree with, after hearing his speech, I would have to say that he certainly understands what the West is up against. I would have to seriously consider him as a top candidate in the 2008 presidential race.
eve_anne_gelical:
You've articulated my position on Newt exactly. I don't agree with some things about him, and I don't approve of his personal life, however if he's the only one who truly understands the nature of our situation, and can guide this nation's survival, then he's got my vote. (Unless someone better comes along).
yep I get the feeling these people wouldnt read the books even if they had them, probably sit at him watching liberal media coverage.
I could say I am shocked, but that would be dishonest. I can only hope a few objective analysts/experts get to brief these clowns occasionally. I guess they don't have time for reading since they are just swamped with all of the work they are doing in congress.
Yes, that was a sarcastic last sentence.
They probably think they're well-informed and don't need books about Islam because they get all the information they need from the major newspapers.
I'm not too confident our leaders should know more about iSlam, They'd fall in love with the control it has over people...
That does not surprise me in the least. Probably these same congressmen haven't read the Constitution either.
Conservative radio and television talk shows should ask their guests from the political, academic, and journalistic worlds:
What do you personally read about Islam?
The question should not lead them towards books, or newspapers, or blogs; rather it would allow them to state precisely what they've read.
The host and the listeners/viewers will get to know the guest's knowledge with that tack.
Then again, some conservative radio and television talk show hosts haven't done their homework either.
Any of them who clings to the notion that Islam has been hijacked/perverted by a few extremists isn't doing us any favors.
Hannity is a prime example of that.
I'm sick of hearing about the "hijacked"religion of peace......papa smirk seems to want to lead that charge....all of our so called "represenatives"are nothing but power hungary idiots.....sorry for insulting the idiots...
hungry....
I have probably said this a hundred times:
"But if you can't define the enemy than you cannot defeat him"
Are politicians are failing us because they fail to make this absolutely necessary effort.
I encountered my congressman stumping on the sidewalk I was walking down a couple weeks ago. I undertook to confront him on the subject of Jihad. It was difficult, there’s so much to convey, so much background he wouldn’t reference. He started talking about how he’d read some book or other (probably the one book he’s read related to this since 9/11 – well, at least it’s one) about how the problem is the Wahabi and their radical deviant highjacked version of Islam, and we need strong relations with the moderates.
This congressman gave me about 5 minutes of his time. I tried to enlighten him. I told him that I’d been reading much on the subject since 9/11, including koran and sunnah. And after his comment about how we need to encourage the “moderates” against the Wahabis, I said that No, the unknown truth (unknown by the West) is that “the ‘moderates’ are the real deviants,” islamically speaking. To this statement, he said, “That’s very disturbing” like he meant it and had been really listening.
But I think it’s one drop and it will take hundreds more to effect a shift in his perspective. He needs to hear this and see the evidence over and over to get to “aha!”
Also, after a minute or so I was losing my cool, heart rate accellerating, and I realized that this has been building up for a long time – I am desperate to reach these people. This rep and his colleagues don’t get the existential consequences of the current “jihad revival.”
Forgive me for stating the obvious here, but our cultural elite, both in the political and media classes, have no time to reflect on anything. It's a slipstream of meetings, glad-handing sessions and public relations fluff. In most cases, someone else has scripted what they are saying, and their information comes in the form of executive briefs. We need to get to the handlers of these people as well.
keep voting them out until we have a congress that 'gets it'
This does not surprise me one bit, when you consider that these representatives of the people don't read a proposed legislation from start to finish before voting on said proposition.
They just are told how to vote and how "good" it is for the American People. But when the adverse ramifications are implemented, they all run for cover and state quite profusely that they will come to the aid of the populace to change the legislation.
Knowledge is Power. And the more we know about Mohammad (pig blood upon him) and his followers the more ammunition we have to defeat them.
To really stick it to them, I think that people should fly the English National Flag that is associated with the crusades , along with the American Flag.
One Shot , One Kill.
Whatever his faults, Newt Gingrich is one of the most brillant minds of this century with respect to Geo-Politics.
And the PC types have no understanding of Geo-Politics and the real reason behind Iraq.
Everyone claims internal strife for the violence in Iraq, but that strife is being fueled and financed by Iran.
It is not only ignorance in the halls of Congress, it is that CAIR, ISLA, and similar groups are guiding these folks with draft legislation designed to constrain free speech about Islam and set the stage for implementation of Sharia, little by little, place by place. They are following the success path charted by Islamists in Britain (Melanie Phillips - Londonistan). You can bet that CAIR has all 535 M.C.'s in their propaganda sites and that they are getting lots of pro-Islam literature, orchestrated phone calls, faxes, and emails sapping them with taqiyya about the great religion of peace and their constant whining for more, more, more.
Sperry's book on Infiltration of the government is an excellent if brief source on the level of ignorance pervading Congress, starting with Pelosi and Clinton on the Demo side and Finley, Rohrabacher, and Issa on the Republican side, and former rep Tom Campbell, who tied up with Bonior and Conyers to co-sponsor the Secret Evidence Repeal Act.
We now have our first Muslim member of Congress, who will in the course of events probably have access to state secrets. Sperry describes the American Muslim Alliance headed by Agha Saeed, who has mapped out 521,000 elective office in the United States that he regards as targets for Muslim office holders. Wonder who is financing this guy?
In the Administration, Islamophile Grover Norquist is a frequent guest of the White House and has been highly instrumental in placing Muslims in positions of power throughout the government. What kind of contracts does Grover have with the Middle East?
We have Ramadan dinners for the Religion of Peace in the White House and the State Department, and Arab advocates such as Spencer Abraham who was in the Bush cabinet, and then we have the disappointing Condi Rice, who has got it all backward, and is turning the State Department into an Islamic Advocacy Center combination Israeli Hate Center.
And we have the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security tied up with Muslim-centric laws thanks to their sympathizers in Congress, and thanks to high level decisions within these departments not to bring ACLU and CAIR to trial for sedition and/or treason, or violation of criminal statutes, for fear of being labeled Islamophobic, or stepping on the toes of the almighty Saudi king.
And last week we just learned that up to now the Military Academy has not yet opened any books on Islamic military tactics.
And who knows what we have at the CIA/FBI? Muslim infiltraters? Lack of Arabic translators? CAIR classes on being nice to Muslims? Washington is getting closer to being Washingtonstan day by day.
Not least we have the sick American media and press that spend most of their time chasing Hollywood "marriages" or taking the side of terrorists feeding this rubbish to the gallant crew we have in Congress. They simply "have to" read the Washington Post or the NY Times to get the views of these seditionists and traitors factored into their daily world view.
The Islamists have done their propaganda war on our people in government and media with a flair that would have made Nazi Propaganda Chief Joseph Goebbels scream with envy. Of course they have been able to attack into the moral no-backbone vacuum in Washington left by secularism, multiculturalism, and relativism. They have been even more successful in Britain. But it is only a matter of time before the British model will be in full sail here, unless we can somehow turn this ship around.
Books on Islamic Jihad for these folks? I doubt there is any room on their shelves with all the CAIR stuff they already have. But it could not hurt. When it comes to Sun Tsu's admonition to know your enemy, our government is approaching a kakistocracy - government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens. Books do contain knowledge, but you have to open them.