If only Muslims were rioting over the HHS mandate, Obama would apologize
Muslim radicals chose yesterday, September 11, to storm, torch, and loot the American embassies in Egypt and Libya, killing the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three staff members in the process. This is not only a tragedy but an international crisis.
The riots were apparently instigated by a (strange and really bad) film depicting Muhammad as a religious fanatic, rapist, philanderer, pedophile, homosexual, torturer, and “murderous thug.”
Before the attack, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo issued this statement, not condemning but apologizing for the free speech that went on to trigger the attack of its own embassy. One wonders if the apology bolstered the mob. I’m surprised the link is still live. Here’s a screen shot in case it is removed. Click to enlarge…
The Obama administration later disavowed that apology (then why is it still up?), stating, “The statement by Embassy Cairo was not cleared by Washington and does not reflect the views of the United States government.”
But the Embassy doubled down on its “condemnation” of the exercise of free speech, releasing this defiant tweet (which has now been deleted) after it had been mobbed, standing by its statement:
Obviously the sensibilities of at least some in the Obama administration are to think the worst of America first, which is no surprise. The apples don’t fall from from the tree.
Yet that same administration is blind to comparable attacks against Christians via the movie industry in its own country.
All of that was to get to this salient point, by Erick Erickson at RedState.com (who I also give credit to the title of this post):
Oh if only Islamic radicals would riot over the HHS contraception mandate* and gay marriage. If they did, the Administration would fall all over themselves to apologize….
I guess now Barack Obama will abandon calls for gay marriage and Democrats everywhere will stop calling Christians “bigots” for standing up for their religion. After all, it appears now to be American policy to apologize for offending religious sensibilities.
No, only if the religion is anything but Jew or Christian.
*and abortion surcharge
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
That “movie” seems like a skit from “Saturday Night Live”. Who could take that seriously?
Scum like William Donohue of the Catholic League complain about Dogma and other films.
If someone did a film about Jesus being a homosexual and aired it during primetime, you hypocrites would be criticizing that.
If you are going to blame Islam for what a small percentage of radicals do, then blame Christians for what Scott Roeder and Eric Rudolph did, and what thousands of priests did to children.
Yes, delete my post, because you hypocrites choose to deny the truth.
You ok Courtney?
Good grief. Just come on over and spew cause that makes for such rational discussion!!
I won’t delete your comments…yet. I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see what you will say next!!
If someone did a film about Jesus being a homosexual and aired it during primetime, you hypocrites would be criticizing that.
Criticism? Are you saying that “criticism” is the same as what was done in Cairo??
Four innocent Americans were murdered. Have you seen the photos yet of our US Ambassador to Libya Courtney? Have you seen what they did to him?!!
Bill Donahue combats free speech with more free speech, not with bombs.
Anyone can criticize any movie, that’s free speech. Riots and murders are not free speech.
Apologizing for being attacked is what one would expect from a victim of domestic abuse, not one of the largest, most powerful countries in the world. Apologizing for being attacked on the anniversary of such a painful and deadly attack is cowardice at its most loathsome.
Jamie, William Donohue is filth. Go to his website to see how he spins the perversion of one of his own.
Pathetic.
Courtney: Are you one of these folk who are incapable of distinguishing violent extortion of the west via terror from peaceful free speech — whether it’s the person doing the offending or the person expressing their offense? You know, “American Taliban” and all that, where mere words are assigned moral equivalence to murder, and then by some kind of associative/commutative magic, mere speakers are deemed murderers?
Alas, there are no meds for this kind of thinking. In fact, it may be hypothesized that overuse of excellent recreational pharmaceuticals may be a leading cause of such irrational hyperventilation.
We sure get the craziest trolls around here.
I hate to say it, but this outrage should be used in a Romney ad. Begin by showing Obama’s Cairo apology, his many bows to dictators, and come full circle to this apology for free speech that might “offend”. On the 9/11 anniversary, no less!
If Light doesn’t separate itself from Dark, we are all lost and stumbling in the twilight.
The Egypt gaffe yesterday could be construed as fear that something similar might occur there. Heck, something similar — short of killings – is occurring there. The use of ameliorative, pacifying language might well have been seen as an extreme use of language for self-defense.
I’d be entirely sympathetic to that, but the critique remains identical for a different reason that leads to the same conclusion.
If it was a sincere, unforced remark, then it’s idiotic because it apologizes for free speech. What possible reason could there be for saying something that stupid and against American values of liberty, which we’re putatively seeking to support in Egypt and elsewhere? I infer just one possibility: Islamist nut jobs are to be feared and we must pacify them at the expense of our own classical liberal values.
If it was a fearful amelioration, then it’s obviously because Islamist nut jobs are to be feared and in the interest of self-preservation, the embassy deemed it valuable to pacify them at the rhetorical expense, if not substantively intended, of our own classical liberal values.
So even a sympathetic reading boils down to everyone knowing what everyone knows — nut jobs will be nut jobs. This is why not even Yale, in the name of academic freedom, would publish cartoons it nevertheless published reams of commentary on. In the liberal arts, it’s the equivalent of a scientist offering no data for peer review — just a “trust me.”
Jill, I think it would be extremely useful to translate the BORNALIVETRUTH site, or a synopsis thereof, into Arabic. It might serve to reduce his political funding sources.
Jill,
What an awesome job on this post! Thanks for addressing this controversial issue…
“Begin by showing Obama’s Cairo apology, his many bows to dictators, and come full circle to this apology for free speech that might “offend.”
But Obama killed Osama?! Good thing too – that he wasn’t captured alive, so we wouldn’t have to witness that apology from our President: “We abhor your actions, though I understand that we can be kind of infidel-y at times.”
Sheer genius. What better way to argue that Muhammed was not a murderous thug than by being murderous thugs in his name?!
Pharmer,
I doubt that would help, since supporting legalized abortion here in the states only kills us “infidels”.
Oh did Bill Donohue say we should go burn down movie theaters that were showing the film “Dogma”? I must have missed that.
Courtney sounds like she’s ready to blow herself up and take out a bus load of Israelis in the process. Don’t do it, Courtney!
This is a different Courtney, not our pro-life Courtney BTW.
“This is a different Courtney, not our pro-life Courtney BTW.”
The pro-life one spells her name Courtnay, unless you are referring to someone I am not aware of.
Oh nope. I just don’t know how to spell, and never pay attention to spelling. And I don’t know how to spell.
Wow. Courtney completely disrespects the memory of the innocents who were brutually killed by comparing their murderers to someone who *gasp!* writes blog posts she disagrees with.
Thanks for the clarification, Bobby. I think spelling for you is what typing is for me. :)
the ‘memo’ may have emanated from the Untied States Embassy in Cairo, but I doubt that it was written by an american, at least not an american who’s first language is English.
The phrase ‘hurt the religious feelings of others’ is unusual, even odd.
Maybe the Egyptian janitor or housekeeper wrote it.
Courtney- If you have any bubble wrap laying around, popping those little things is very therapeutic. That, and realizing that the same problem with generalizability, and the lack of clear condemnation of parts of a group to/by the rest of the group, that you are accusing us of, and that those particular Muslims are guilty of, is what you are doing. Oh, and valuing life might help you feel better too. God loves you, no matter how much you don’t understand and what you say about Him.
Hey. cc, we found you a new friend!! See, Jill’s blog has someone for everyone!
But other commenters, I need your help. I know that bromance is what happens when two dudes find each other (like Hal and Ex-G, Raj and Howard, Tom and Jerry), but what is it called when it’s two ladies? Shemance? Shemance doesn’t have the same ring.
But I can define hypocrite for y’all: That’s someone who thinks it’s wrong for clergy to abuse 13 year old males, but when older/adult laypersons take their 13 year old “girlfriends” to Planned Parenthood to destroy their children, they call it “reproductive choice.” Hypocrisy: it’s not just for breakfast any more.
Ninek, I would think “womance”. Google says “hoemance”. Oh the humanity.
(Courtney)
Oh gosh, a BDS sufferer, still.
In a thread where Bush hasn’t even been mentioned, is not even remotely topical, and wouldn’t really enter anyone’s mind, Courtney sees the failure of everyone here to interject gratuitous denunciations of him, as a sign of major hypocrisy.
Apparently if one wishes to converse about heinous acts of one sort or another, it is de rigueur to issue certain prolegomena to the effect that Bush was a terrible bastard. Having dispensed with this obligation, conversation may proceed.
The sin of omitting this shibboleth of BDS is to be branded a hypocrite.
Can I have a volunteer to manage the therapeutic regimen for our hapless friend?
If it’s based on a false perception of the world, it might be called a faux-mance.
If we are focusing on the female quality, I might think of it as a woman-ce.
Oh, you beat me to it, John Lewandowski!