Twisted Musings

I wish I could say I had written this, but I am glad it was sent to me. I think the writer makes good points and I am happy that he allowed me to use it.
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In a speech at the University of Alabama last night commemorating the 50th anniversary of the release of “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Eric Holder portrayed the plight of Muslims today as comparable to the injustices blacks endured in the South leading up to the Civil Rights movement. For a man who is married to the sister of Vivian Malone Jones, one of the first black students to be admitted to the University of Alabama, this is just, well . . .unbelievable. Any of us who lived in the South during those years will acknowledge with great regret the injustices that blacks endured –separate water fountains, separate restroom facilities, separate and inferior schools, poll taxes, exclusion from restaurants, parks and other public places, separate seating areas at public events and celebrations, unprosecuted murders and lynchings, all white juries, Ku Klux Klan rallies, etc. I can’t imagine that any rational person could even begin to compare those injustices with what “innocent Muslims” as he portrays them have been subjected to in America since 9/11. In fact, I would contend that the reaction of the vast majority of Americans to Muslims has been rather tolerant and indifferent in light of two wars, 9/11 and other successful and unsuccessful terrorist acts committed by Muslim extremists since 9/11. Yes, a lot of people are upset about building a Mosque where almost 3,000 innocent Americans were murdered in the name of Islam on 9/11/2001. But to compare that objection and a few isolated incidents about Quaran burning around the country to the injustices suffered by blacks during the Jim Crow years is outside the realm of rational thought and is a disservice to the Southern blacks that suffered the pains of those injustices.

Link: http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/general/view.bg?articleid=1283228

With the plan to build a Mosque at ground zero and a cancelled plan for a pastor in Florida to burn Qurans, there has been much talk about tolerance. Our president say’s we are not at war with Islam and we should be accepting of the people who practice the religion. I have no problems with that at all. This is a country that prides itself on having that freedom, which I fully support.
Well since tolerance is the word of the day lets talk about tolerance. In Indonesia, Muslims have been attacking Christians. Islamic hard-liners have repeatedly warned members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church against worshipping on a field housing their now-shuttered church.In recent months, they have thrown shoes and water bottles at the church members, interrupted sermons with chants of “Infidels!” and “Leave Now!” and dumped piles of feces on the land. Local police Chief Imam Sugianto said Asia Sihombing, a worshipper, was on his way to the field when assailants jumped off a motorcycle and stabbed him in the stomach.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/12/assailants-stab-beat-christian-worshippers-outside-indonesias-capital/?test=latestnews

In Gaza Christians have been living in fear as Muslims burn Bibles and Crosses. Father Manuel Musallem, head of Gaza’s Latin church, told the AP that Muslims have ransacked, burned and looted a school and convent that are part of the Gaza Strip’s small Romany Catholic community. He told the AP that crosses were broken, damage was done to a statue of Jesus, and at the Rosary Sister School and nearby convent, prayer books were burned.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/285123/christians_in_gaza_fear_for_their_lives.html?cat=9

In Egypt Muslims burn church and police arrest Christians. ISTANBUL, July 17 (Compass Direct News) – Villagers in Ezbet Basillious, Minya suspect local police in Egypt of corruption and collusion after two Copts were arrested for an arson attack on their own house church on Saturday (July 11).
Egyptian State Security Investigations (SSI) officers later arrested three Muslim suspects in accordance with eyewitness testimony that local police had ignored. The suspects were seen entering the Church of St. Abaskharion Kellini with cans of kerosene and leaving it shortly after, shouting “Allahu Akbar [God is great].”

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/07/egypt-muslims-burn-church-police-arrest-christians.html

These are just a few examples. A simple Google search can find you many more. Now I am not advocating intolerance. If you read my blog you will see I have not for an instance supported these nuts that want to burn Qurans or any other such nonsense. At the same time though, isn’t it appropriate that tolerance flows two directions? There is no way that the group building the Mosque at Ground Zero did not know what they were doing and the feelings this would stir in Americans. It’s time that tolerance is practiced by the Muslim faith as well as non Muslims. This is not a matter of freedom of religion any more than burning Qurans is an exhibition of freedom of speech. Neither should be done.

This past weekend I was running around town doing errands and came across three different youth groups in a fund raising activity. One was a baseball team, the other was a football team and the third was a cheerleader group. I had children in various activities and I fully understand the need to raise funds for equipment and trips. So you may be surprised to know that I didn’t offer to participate in any of the three events, and in fact, wanted to chew out their sponsors. Why you ask? Why would I not want to help out youth trying to raise funds? The answer is simple. All three groups were panhandling!

Yes they all had buckets asking for “contributions” to help with their costs. I’m sorry but I find that extremely despicable as well as teaching these kids that someone else should take care of your problems. If they had been selling candy or offering to take groceries to cars, that would have been different. Maybe washing cars, selling doughnuts, wrapping paper….anything. I would have most likely done at least one of them.

Now at the risk of offending anyone that has participated in one of these events, these parents and sponsors should be ashamed. It is not other folks duty to pay for your kids to be in these organizations. If you can’t afford it and the kids cant have a real fundraiser, then don’t be a part of it. Life is tough and life isn’t always fair. When you get older you don’t always get what you want and you generally have to pay your own way in life.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind a little help getting my mortgage paid off early. Could some of you guys help me out please? My paypal account is………………

Speaking of obnoxious kids, a restaurant in North Carolina has decided to ban screaming kids. My hat goes off to them! No my kids were not always angels, but if one of them acted up, I got up and left with them, though honestly it was extremely rare. To sit there and let your kids scream and cry and not do anything is extremely irritating, and I’m glad to see this place do something about it. More restaurants should join in with this policy. I was at a fast food place recently and a couple had a child with them who for some reason just started screaming and whaling away. These people did nothing until they were through eating and finally left. The management chose not to do anything either. I think more establishments should have the guts to take a stand like this. They would certainly have my business.