Nobel Prize-winner blasts politicians who voted against climate change bill, but why?

By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN, TORONTO SUN 7-5-9

When the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed, by seven votes, the Waxman-Markey climate-change bill -- named for two Democratic Congressmen -- the cream of the American media punditariat weighed in with their opinions.

When it comes to that cream, none is any thicker than New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, recent winner of the Nobel Prize in economics.

His take on the narrow 219 to 212 vote ... uh ... victory, was to smear the 212 legislators who voted against -- save for a handful who wanted a tougher law.

Krugman charged most of the naysayers had committed -- wait for it -- "a form of treason -- treason against the planet," adding they represented "the irresponsibility and immorality of climate- change denial."

Reading Krugman's rant, it hit me -- folks like him have become the Joe McCarthys of modern American liberalism.

Actually, Krugman sounded a lot like the infamous Sen. McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities in their glory days of "exposing" dirty commies plotting to destroy the U.S. in the 1950s.

Only now, in his June 29 Times column, Krugman was denouncing dirty "deniers" (apparently, almost everyone who disagrees with him) for plotting to destroy the planet.

In the real world, outside Krugman's brain, the 212 legislators who voted against the bill -- 168 Republicans and 44 Democrats -- were more bipartisan than the 219 in favour -- 211 Democrats and eight Republicans.

Plus, many in this latter group had their arms twisted by President Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership so many times to support the legislation, they could have been mistaken for pretzels at the end.

Krugman's accusation the naysayers committed "treason" employed a common rhetorical trick of climate McCarthyism -- breathlessly citing the latest scientific research and claiming it basically tells us we're all gonna die unless we do what Al Gore says.

That is, as opposed to what Al Gore does, since his high-energy consumption lifestyle could choke a cow -- or explode one -- releasing copious amounts of methane, a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Good thing Gore buys "carbon offsets" to cancel out his emissions -- like a fat man paying a thin one to go on a diet, arguing it will make him lose weight.

Krugman spent so much time denouncing commies (oops, deniers) he didn't discuss what's in the legislation he thinks will save the planet. So let's.

TWO THINGS TO START

Supporters of cap-and-trade argue to create an effective carbon market in greenhouse gas emissions -- the main purpose of this bill -- you have to start with two things.

First, you have to make it apply to as many industrial emitters as possible.

Second, government has to auction off the "carbon credits" to industry -- each one a permit entitling the bearer to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or its equivalent.

Then, in theory, the government puts this money into income tax cuts or other initiatives to help consumers cope with higher energy prices.

Obama originally wanted a broad-based carbon market with 100% auctioning. Krugman also argued it was better to auction permits.

But what came out of the House is a cap-and-trade stock market in which the government will give up to 85% of the carbon credits (i.e. the stock) to industry for free -- corporations that no doubt help finance the campaigns of many of Krugman's 219 ... uh ... saints, who voted for the bill. (Wait until it gets to the Senate -- otherwise known as pork heaven.)

Carbon credit giveaways not only undermine cap-and-trade's effectiveness, they help ensure the biggest costs will be borne by American consumers -- and Canadian consumers once we follow America's lead.

Giving away permits effectively exempts entire sectors of the economy from cap-and-trade for years to come.

These are the same blunders the European Union made when it set up its cap-and-trade system in 2005. (Incredibly, Europe also issued more permits than emissions, when the point is to issue less.)

For these reasons, Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme not only failed to lower emissions until the recession hit (an entirely different issue) but resulted in huge, windfall profits for energy companies.

'FUEL POVERTY'

At the same time, cap-and-trade in combination with other so-called "green" initiatives (cap-and-trade is only the start) consigned millions of people into "fuel poverty" -- when high energy costs erode living standards.

Finally, the bill's supporters haven't explained how they're going to address the fraud and corruption that even environmentalists complain infects the global market in carbon credits and offsets.

Perhaps Krugman will address this some day -- when he isn't exposing commies ... I mean deniers.

LORRIE.GOLDSTEIN@SUNMEDIA.CA

by David Harsanyi TownHall.com 7-5-9

After being asked when the public should begin judging the success of the nearly $800 billion stimulus plan, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs answered, "I think we should begin to judge it now."

Let's take his advice.

The administration warned that if we failed to support a stimulus package, unemployment would hit a dire 9 percent by 2010. With the stimulus, unemployment, it claimed, would stay in the 8 percent range.

This week, the Labor Department announced that the jobless rate jumped to 9.5 percent, higher than it's been anytime since August 1983.

It's not as if the administration was close. As The New York Times notes: "The difference between the situation that the Obama advisers predicted and the one that has come to pass is about 2.5 million jobs. It's as if every worker in the city of Los Angeles received an unexpected layoff notice."

Don't get too dejected, though. We still have an economic plan with a heaping dose of hope. Surely, you'll feel better when the president begins doling out his two-pronged faith-based explanation -- and if we're lucky, he'll do it at a "town hall" meeting with approximately 100 of his closest friends.

First, you always should assume things could have been worse.

This leap of faith involves buying the "save-and-created-jobs" myth the president likes to peddle. And if you're lucky enough to be working on some state-run boondoggle awash in freshly printed money, smile. As for the rest of America, we once again learn that government spending rarely spurs wider economic prosperity.

But let's, for argument's sake, make believe that the stimulus plan has saved or created 150,000 jobs.

By the end of June, $53 billion in stimulus funding had been spent on weatherizing projects, bridges for rodents and checks for 10,000 formerly living Americans. (This administration doesn't only create jobs; it creates life.) That puts the cost of each job saved at about $354,000, or exactly the sort of efficiency you expect from D.C.

The "things-could-have-been-worse" argument is nothing new, and neither is the second line of defense: Blame capitalism.

So let's also pretend, for the moment, that an era of widespread deregulation spurred a global recession. What exactly has Obama done to mitigate it?

Instead of exerting his extraordinary political capital to bolster American business, the president was busy targeting the investor class; instead of easing the burden on the middle class, Obama radically increased spending and debt; instead of encouraging market innovation, Washington has bolstered the status quo by bailing out antiquated, poorly run industries and crowding out small businesses.

Obama now urges Americans to be patient on the stimulus package. Yet at the same time, the president exhibits a decisive lack of patience as he sprints forward with generational tax increases, in both cap and trade policy and a trillion-dollar-plus health care "reform."

Not surprisingly, many polls illustrate an increasing skepticism regarding the stimulus package and a growing distrust of Washington's unparalleled meddling in the economy. According to a June Rasmussen poll, a plurality of Americans now want government stimulus spending to be canceled.

This rising unease did not stop White House counselor David Axelrod from recently declaring that a second stimulus might be needed.

Needed to do what, one wonders? "Save and create" another 150,000 imaginary jobs?

One day, we will emerge from recession; we always do. And on that day, Obama almost certainly will take credit.

But one wonders: When will the glorious "new era of responsibility" ever actually kick in?

After all, as of right now, judging solely from the administration's very own promises and timeline, we are left with nothing to show for an irresponsible spending binge.

By Pamela Geller WorldNetDaily.com 7-4-9

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska announced yesterday that she is resigning and will not seek a second term as governor. Many conservatives are characterizing this as an abdication of responsibility and a failure of will. Quin Hillyer wrote in the American Spectator that "Sarah Palin's resignation is an appalling dereliction of duty and a highly cynical move to set herself up for a presidential run for which she is manifestly unqualified."

I vehemently disagree. She did not quit. From what I saw of her speech before Fox inexplicably cut it off (after seven days of wall-to-wall Michael Jackson coverage), this is not a woman who is retiring or "cutting and running," as Hillyer put it. She is getting into the fight to save America. Palin committed herself to fighting "for our state and our country, and campaign(ing) for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops and energy independence." Obama's treasonous presidency has made this struggle necessary. Palin, like all patriotic Americans, is shocked by what is happening. Obama is destroying this country. She knows it. We all know it. We need a leader.

Palin is that leader. On Friday she assumed the mantle. She delivered a campaign speech. She spoke on the eve of Independence Day about the sacrifices great Americans have made, and what our Founding Fathers fought and died for. Without naming Obama, she went after his disastrous policies, saying that "living beyond our means today is irresponsible for tomorrow," and noting that as governor she had "vetoed debt-ridden stimulus dollars." She believes in and wants to fight for free enterprise, small government and national security.

Get the definitive biography of Sarah Palin – "the hockey mom who turned the political establishment upside down"

And is she really "manifestly unqualified" to be president? I am unmoved by assertions that Palin needs more foreign policy experience or more experience of any kind. She has the key ingredient to great leadership: common sense. I am not concerned that she won't get up to speed on the nitty gritty details of national and international issues. Her thinking is sound. She has common sense, a moral compass and a very definite understanding of good and evil.

And best of all, she is not a product of the limp-wristed, spineless GOP of the Age of Obama. There is a struggle in the Republican Party for the heart and soul of our future: the RINOs (McCain, Romney, etc.) versus true individualists and conservatives like Palin. She is outside the box. She has grit. She has guts. That is why she so frightens the RINOs, leftopaths and freedom haters. The Democrats despise Palin because she best embodies everything they are not. She is principled, true, hard working, smart and honorable. She embodies all that is good and fine and decent – you couldn't have written a more charismatic, honorable character in a Victor Hugo novel.

Because of this, the left and the RINOs like Hillyer, out of their hatred of the good for being good, will do anything and say anything to destroy this woman. She has already been mercilessly attacked. Those on the right who have suffered the slings and arrows of the vile left smear machine know that the more they throw, the greater you are. The more vile, disgusting and outrageous the smear, the more envious and afraid you know the destroyers are.

And in Palin's case they have stopped at nothing. An army of political operatives filed 15 spurious ethics charges against her, draining the public resources. She and her staff spent huge amounts of time and incurred over half a million in legal fees fighting charges that were ultimately dismissed. And the same shills who laud Obama for dropping a cool $100,000 on dinner and a show with Meesh in New York City are aghast that Sarah spent $150,000 of donated bucks on her wardrobe for the presidential campaign. Now the Democrats and their propaganda machine, the dinosaur media, will continue to attempt to destroy and marginalize this wonder woman.

New media better pick up the slack – and make the point that this move will allow Palin to spend more time in the lower 48 states, where we urgently need her voice, without the left accusing her of neglecting her duties as governor.

Her country needs her desperately. She is answering our call. The 2012 campaign began today!

Sarah Palin martyred for the cause of conservatism

By Lloyd MarcusCanadaFreePress.com 7-4-9

While watching Sarah Palin’s resignation speech, I thought, “Who is this amazing woman? What planet did she come from? Will there ever be anyone like her?” Once again, I was blown away by her power, grace, character and courage.

The world is mourning the loss of a one of a kind pop icon. I mourn the loss of a one of a kind conservative leader martyred for the cause of conservatism. Though impossible for the pop icon, I pray Palin will be resurrected for 2012.

The martyr of Palin has angered, energized, and elevated my commitment to fight for the cause of conservatism. The left was relentless in their quest to destroy Palin and her family with frivolous lawsuits, cruel jokes, lies, and character assassination. The level of hatred for this great woman is unparalleled. I vow, by the grace of God, to fight these EVIL people with all that is in me.

“All that is needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing” — Edmund Burke.

Ms. Palin, I salute and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for proven principles which are best for ALL Americans. May God continue to richly bless you and your family. Please don’t go too far away. America needs you more than ever.

“America’s Palestinians” are on the march, chanting “Ahora es la tiempo por audacia”!

Thousands of Latinos are gathering this Independence Day to celebrate the Farce of July.

This annual all-day concert and street fair is held on Cesar Chavez Avenue in East Los Angeles - - the heart of the barrio.

The event is sponsored by the Aztlan Underground to uphold the claim that the Southwest portion of the United States had been stolen from Mexicans and Mexican Americans by Yankee colonialists under the leadership of U.S. President James K. Polk.

Members of the Aztlan Movement and La Raza (of which Supreme Council nominee Sotomayor is a national director) seek to annex California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and southern Colorado into a new nation: Republica del Norte, “the Republic of the North.”

Last year’s event poster

Sounds like a far-fetched idea save for the fact that the 56% of Mexicans and Mexican Americans, according to a Zogby poll, favor the reconquista.

The creation of a “Hispanic Homeland,” Charles Truxillo, professor, University of New Mexico, maintains, is “an inevitability” that should be brought into being “by any means necessary.”

But the “reconquista” won’t end with territorial occupation and secession. The final plan for the La Raza movement includes the ethnic cleansing of Americans of European, African, and Asian descent out of “Aztlan.”

Miguel Perez, a La Raza spokesman at Cal State-Northridge, says, “The ultimate ideology is the liberation of Aztlan. Communism would be closest [to it]. Once Aztlan is established, ethnic cleansing would commence: Non-Chicanos would have to be expelled — opposition groups would be quashed because you have to keep power.”

And so, our new Supreme Court appointee and self-professed advocate of La Raza approves of the reformation of the United States, the creation of a separate Chicano country, and widespread ethnic cleansing. Other La Raza supporters who have appeared at Aztlan gatherings include George W. Bush, John (Juan) McCain, and Barack barrio-loving Obama.

The plans of La Raza and the Aztlan Movement may not raise conservative eyebrows, let alone Christian opposition to Sotomayor’s ascendancy to the Supreme Court, save for the fact that La Raza and other Latino activist groups have expressed widespread anti-Jewish sentiments and support for radical Islam.

This finding is supported by articles in “The Voice of Aztlan” with such lurid titles as “That XXXXX Little Country Israel,” “Pat Tillman Got What Was coming to Him,” and “Osama bin Laden: the ‘Pancho Villa’ of Islam.”

If you cannot attend, the Farce of July, it’s high time for you to encounter the Aztlan Underground and to savor the lyrics of their smash hit - “Decolonize:”

AUG’s on the scene with a vengeance
No man or law can end this
Power, in a true sense of the word
Now it’s time that my people be heard
Some feel this oppression no longer exists
Well here’s something they missed
Self D means self determination
To put a stop to colonization
We begin with a historical analysis
To illustrate a Mexican paralysis
See Mexico’s been occupied since 1848
Which left the mexicano at a constant 2nd rate
Now learn the word called colonization
Stranger in your own land under exploitation
This is the state of the indigena today

Under the oppression of the settlers way [x2]

WE DIDN’T CROSS THE BORDERS, THE BORDERS CROSSED US! [x3]
YET THE SETTLER NATION LIVES IN DISGUST!

The American dream only for some
Play the role and forget where you came from
Now check it, this is their reality
And just because its wasp holds no validity
WASP-White Anglo Saxon Protestant
The frame of mind that keeps our oppression constant
You try to be white and its very respectable
But be Xicano and its highly unacceptable
Then we’re termed hispanic as if we were from Spain
Trying to insert us in the American game
And we’re called wetbacks like we’ve never been here
When our existence on this continent is thousands of years
This is the state of the indigena today

Under the oppression of the settlers way [x2]

WE DIDN’T CROSS THE BORDERS, THE BORDERS CROSSED US [x3]
YET THE SETTLER NATION LIVES IN DISGUST repeat

To the earth, to the air, to the fire, and to the water....
The eagle and condor have met
We must realize
Our connection to this land
Till a Hopi and a Mexica can really understand
That invaders divided indigenous people
Under english, french, or spanish it make us all feeble
Unable to recognize each other
From Xicano to Lakota all sisters and brothers
In the spirit of Pontiac, all the red keepers of the earth mother
From the top of Alaska to the tip of South America
Abya Yala, Anahuak, Turtle Island
506 years of indigenous resistance
The prophecies are coming true
The redemption of the red people has come!
The 6th sun now arises
The 7th fire has arrived
Cihuatl is reclaiming
We have returned to Aztlan We have returned to Aztlan!!!!

WE DIDN’T CROSS THE BORDERS, THE BORDERS CROSSED US [x3]
YET THE SETTLER NATION LIVES IN DISGUST!!
GET THE XXXX OUT, GET THE XXXX OUT, GET THE XXXX , XXXX, XXXX OUT
GET THE XXXX OUT
WASICHU EATER OF THE FAT WASTER OF EARTH MOTHER
AND PEOPLE
COLONIZER OF AZTLAN AND THE WORLD
GET THE XXXX OUT!!!!

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Dr. Paul L. Williams Most recent columns

Paul L. Williams, Ph.D., is the author of such best-selling books as The Day of Islam, The Al Qaeda Connection, Osama’s Revenge: The Next 9/11, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Crusades and The Vatican Exposed. An award-winning journalist, he is a frequent guest on such national news networks as ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC, and NPR. Williams operates from his blog thelastcrusade.org

Patrice Lewis WorldNetDaily.com 7-4-9

Ah, the glorious Fourth of July. The best possible time for a national day of mourning.

I mean, really ... what better day could you choose to lament the loss of what this nation once was? We led the world in nearly everything: independence, liberty, freedom, industry, wealth. We rose beyond the stain of slavery and Jim Crow laws. We embraced all nationalities of legal immigrants with remarkable smoothness and out of many, became one.

But no more.

Now we are fragmenting. We are reversing the motto of our country and out of one, becoming many.

Some feel this persistent destruction of America is intentional. Whether or not you concur, the one thing you must agree is that the Nancy Pelosis and the Harry Reids of our government loath and despite everything Thomas Jefferson and John Adams ever stood for. That's because our Founding Fathers "remov[ed] the shackles from the people and plac[ed] them on the government," to quote Joseph Farah. Government hates that. In the past 70 years or so, it's been dismantling those shackles with increasing speed and placing them back on the citizens.

Award-winning historian Rod Gragg brings to life the drama of 1776 like no other: Get his "Declaration of Independence: A Museum in a Book"

Walter Williams wisely noted, "Why did the founders of our nation give us the Bill of Rights? The answer is easy. They knew Congress could not be trusted with our God-given rights." He points out that specific rights – freedom of speech and press, the right to own firearms, our rights to property, the right to a fair trial – could and would be usurped by a greedy and power-hungry government unless specifically told not to. "The Bill of Rights should serve as a constant reminder of the deep distrust our founders had of government ... they rightfully saw government as the enemy of the people. ..." And sure enough, the fears of the Founding Fathers are coming to pass with sickening speed. "Americans have developed a level of naive trust for Congress, the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court that would have astonished the founders, a trust that will lead to our undoing as a great nation."

Part of our collective problem is the two extremes of how people think our country should be run.

On the right extreme are those (like me) who think our Founding Fathers were pretty smart guys, and we should keep our government within the constraints they so brilliantly laid out.

On the left extreme are those who think the Founding Fathers were a quaint bunch of pansies in funny wigs whose writing no longer applies to us, and that the Constitution and Bill of Rights are "living documents" that should be modified whenever they wish.

And never the twain shall meet.

It's becoming illegal to do the things that once brought this country to greatness. Industry is handicapped by extraordinarily detailed regulations and, soon, cap-and-trade. Big businesses are now "too big to fail" and thus must be taken over by the government with the laughable idea that it can do a better job running them. Your food, your water, your home, your transportation, your education, your money, your children, your health care, and other private and individual concerns are now dictated to a startling degree by the government. Our economy is being ruled, taxed, policied, czared and regulated to death ... much of it without input from the citizens.

The government seeks to destroy freedom of speech by the "Fairness" Doctrine. It seeks to keeps its citizens horribly ignorant through public education. It seeks to destroy the Second Amendment by regulating the types of guns you can buy and increasing taxes on ammunition. It seeks to limit our abilities to gather peacefully in tea parties. Those who question the government are belittled, ridiculed, probed, audited and sometimes jailed.

Is this what Jefferson and Adams predicted? You betcha. That's why they wrote those pesky restrictions into those annoying documents. Darn those men. If only our modern-day government could deny those historical papers ever existed.

Few are willing to see the eerie parallels between King George III and our current federal government because no one reads the Declaration of Independence anymore. There was a time when every schoolchild had that document memorized (remember your Laura Ingalls Wilder books?). Because the citizens knew their non-revisionist history – and knew it well – they could avoid repeating it. Now our government-run schools keep kids steeped in ignorance, preferring to focus on gay rights and imaginary environmental catastrophes to distract us from the government's goal of utter takeover. And hey, presto, it's working. We're becoming the land of the shackled and the home of the oppressed.

When the government – not just the present administration, but most past administrations as well – willfully ignore and happily trod upon the restrictions placed on them by the founding documents, I can only conclude it's purposeful. It's about power and riches, not freedom and liberty.

And that's why I think the Fourth of July is the best time for a Day of Mourning.

What will happen in the end? Will we split into two (or more) countries? Will we become the Progressive States of America and the Traditional States of America? I don't know. Someone far greater than I once said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." It seems the division among us is deeper and wider than any time since prior to the Civil War.

So on this glorious Fourth, I will attend a tea party, I will join my neighbors for a barbecue, I will watch some fireworks ... and I will wonder what the future will bring.

It's no longer Independence Day. It's Dependence Day.

And I don't like it.

Tea Party protesters stirred up over government spending

A hearse with a sign on the window reading "born free but taxed to death" drives past protesters lined up in front of the Federal Courthouse on Broward Blvd. This was one of many Republican-led protests against taxes, modeled after the Boston Tea Party (in spirit, anyway; there are no ships of tea to unload) demonstration against taxes keyed to the holiday.

Georgia East SunSentinel.com 7-4-9

FORT LAUDERDALE - In a sea of red, white and blue, hundreds of anti-tax demonstrators took to the streets in Fort Lauderdale to speak out against government spending and President Obama's policies.

Hoisting a sign with the message "My grandchildren do not deserve fiscal lunacy,'' Frank Sullivan of Tamarac stood in the crowd, hoping to make his point.

Sullivan, a retired police officer, said the president is spending too much too fast to serve a liberal agenda. "You don't appease the bully,'' said Sullivan, referring to liberals.

Dubbed a Tea Party, the protest was one of many held around the country Saturday. They drew on the symbolism of the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to protest what they considered an unfair tax.

Organizers estimated that the last such protest in Fort Lauderdale, held in April, drew about 5,000 people.

Initially Saturday's demonstration in Fort Lauderdale was going to be held in a park, but lack of permits shifted the rally to Broward Boulevard, in front of the federal courthouse.

Under a blazing sun, the crowd chanted, "USA.'' Some wore T-shirts with messages like "Obama: How you like him now?'' and "Send Barry back to Kenya.''

Republican Allen West, who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein last year, gave a speech promising to help win seats in 2010 and 2012 and put the country back on a more conservative course.

"For Fourth of July it's really remarkable that people would stand out in the heat to express their distrust of our government,'' said radio host Joyce Kaufman on WFTL, AM 850.

Kaufman said people are stirred up because Obama is handling the country's finances all wrong.

"You have to give tax relief to people and grant corporations the money they need to put people back to work,'' she said.

In April, an aide to the Obama administration responded to the criticisms coming out of tea parties, saying they were unfounded since the president is cutting taxes for most Americans, according to The Associated Press.

Javier Alvarez, of North Miami Beach, nabbed one of few spots in the shade Saturday and held a copy of the Declaration of Independence so people passing could see it.

He is against mandating health care reform and the cap-and-trade plan in Congress to deal with climate control.

"The Declaration of Independence used to mean something,'' he said. "But our freedom is being squashed.''

Georgia East can be reached at geast@ SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4629.

CNN 7-4-9

Story Highlights

TEA Party -- short for Taxed Enough Already -- activists protest government spending

People carry signs saying "I'll keep the freedom, you keep the change"

Rally follows national effort that drew thousands to TEA Party events on April

Instead of celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with barbecues and sparklers, about 2,000 small-government advocates, toting signs and chanting slogans, rallied outside the U.S. Capitol Saturday.

TEA Party activists hope their message reaches lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Activists said the TEA Party Day -- an acronym for "Taxed Enough Already" -- was in response to what they called runaway government spending.

They are taking to task the Obama administration's stimulus program and health care initiative, and say Congress is not giving constituents enough information about where their tax money is spent.

People at the rally expressed outrage at the $787 billion economic stimulus plan passed earlier this year, saying the bill racked up a huge national debt that will be passed onto their grandchildren. They said President Obama's push for health-care overhaul is "socialism," and believe it would negatively affect the quality of care.

"They are wasting all of our money," said Sean Albert of Richmond, Virginia. "They're not running our government like we would run our own checkbooks. When I'm out of money, I stop spending the money."

The rally followed a national effort that drew thousands of activists to TEA Party events across the country on April 15, when income taxes are due.

Organizers said similar July 4 rallies were planned for nearly 1,500 cities.

In Washington, people held signs saying "End the Fed," "No Socialism," and "I'll keep the freedom, you keep the change," in reference to Obama's campaign buzzword.

Organizer Lisa Miller said it was appropriate for the rally to be held on Independence Day.

"We are regular citizens speaking for our rights and it's part of taking personal responsibility for your own life," Miller said.

The activists hoped their message would reach lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

"Nobody is listening to us -- we call, we fax, we e-mail, nobody cares," said Dora Lynn Derue. "Today we're going to make them listen."

by Doug Giles TownHall.com 7-5-9

If you’re a twisted adult who gets pleasure from having sex with 5-year-old boys (like Duke University’s Frank Lombard), or you like to shop for dates at the Metro Zoo, or enjoy smearing your body with feces and/or dabbin’ a little urine on your earlobes as you prep for sexy time with the corpse you dressed up like Bette Davis in your basement, then more than likely you are thanking Dionysus and your unclean demon that Liberals are running DC.

Yep, with the Liberals in the house your deviant behavior—along with over 500 additional unmentionables—could potentially be legitimized and federally protected against anyone who says you’re a crazy bastard who should undergo chemical castration and have your frontal lobe scraped for your aberrant bents.

In the Ted Kennedy spawned wording of S.909, The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, it appears that the public verbalization that one thinks an individual is a bubble off level if engaging in the anomalous and illegal aspects of the bumping of uglies could, in the not too distant future, get the verbalizer in a legal pickle of mammoth portions. If S.909 gets through, the goobers who like to do odd and often criminal stuff with the gibbering monkey in their pants will be insulated from legitimate insults and criticisms, no matter how true the critique because that’s “hate,” which could, as we’re being told, lead to a crime.

As stated, this bill does not just protect Brad and Chad from the supposed “hate speech” of a Rev. John MacArthur, Jr. exposition of Romans 1:18-32. Oh, no. It also pretty much defends all “sexual orientation(s),” “gender,” and “gender identity” flakiness as federally-protected classes—up to 547 types of sexually-twisted behaviors, in all—including: • Incest – sex with one’s offspring (a crime, of course)

• Necrophilia – sexual relations with a corpse, also a crime

• Pedophilia – sex with an underage child, another crime

• Zoophilia – bestiality, a crime in numerous states

• Voyeurism – a criminal offense in most states

• Frotteurism – rubbing against an unknown person’s body in public

• Coprophilia – sexual arousal from feces

• Urophilia – sexual arousal from urine

Yes, in the politically correct climate of Obamaland, they don’t want us to—cough—“freak” when Chester passes by sportin’ a pink tutu, unlaced black hiking boots, milk jugs duct-taped to his head, and his left hand spot-welded to his crotch, Wacko Jacko style. I’m sorry. I meant Saint Michael Jackson style.

If S.909 gets the green light, any public denunciation of a perv boy’s penchants, particularly if it stems from Christians quoting God on the topic, will be verboten verbiage if said legislation blows through with senatorial support.

This means that just as the governments of Norway, Sweden and Canada have criminalized certain parts of the Bible, the Amerikan Liberals too want to duct tape the few American pastors who read particular parts of the Verbum Dei which state that checking Jedediah’s oil is a sin, and so is having sex with children and goats. Because, you see, a caring pastor’s denunciation of such sexually-warped actions could be linked to some loser’s criminal misbehavior against those that practice such things and could make the goodly parson, because he called a spade a spade, complicit in the hate crime. What nonsense.

For more info and to let your senator know you think this bill, which will eradicate common sense, our religious liberties, and the Christians’ freedom of speech, is BS log on to http://www.capwiz.com/gopusa/issues/bills/?bill=13297951 to do something about it.

By NWV News writer Jim Kouri NewsWithViews.com 7-5-9

Will 'legal jihad' silence online critics of Islam?

Court wades into brewing battle over rights of Internet journalists

By Drew Zahn WorldNetDaily.com 7-4-9

When Internet journalist Joe Kaufman wrote an article exposing terrorist connections in two American Muslim groups, he was sued by a swarm of Islamic organizations, none of which he had mentioned in his online article.

The technique is called by some "legal jihad" or "Islamist lawfare," and the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Kaufman in the lawsuit, claims Muslim advocates are using the strategy to bully online journalists into silence.

"The lawsuit against Kaufman was funded by the Muslim Legal Fund for America. The head of that organization, Khalil Meek, admitted on a Muslim radio show that lawsuits were being filed against Kaufman and others to set an example," claims a Thomas More statement on the case. "Indeed, for the last several years, Muslim groups in the U.S. have engaged in the tactic of filing meritless lawsuits to silence any public discussion of Islamic terrorist threats."

The organizations suing Kaufman also sought to legally deny him certain legal protections granted to traditional journalists, claiming that as an Internet writer, his right to seek a quick and inexpensive dismissal of the case didn't apply.

The case set up a battle, not only between Islamic advocates and those that would question their political connections, but also between organizations that fly low under the mass media's radar, enjoying little public scrutiny, and the burgeoning field of Internet journalism that often investigates places the mainstream media ignores.

In an unanimous decision from a three-judge panel of the Texas Second Court of Appeals, however, not only did the court rule that the Muslim organizations had no basis for claiming defamation – since Kaufman didn't name or point to them in his article – but the judges also declared that online journalists do merit the same status and legal protections that their more traditional media peers enjoy.

Though the case against Kaufman is therefore dismissed for now, the Law Center reports the seven Muslim organizations have filed an appeal, continuing their quest for, according to court documents, "injunctive relief related to Kaufman's existing and future Internet publications."

As WND reported, Kaufman's troubles began when he wrote an article for the online FrontPage Magazine in 2007, criticizing two Islamic groups for hosting a "Muslim Family Day" at Six Flags over Texas, a Dallas-area amusement park. The Islamic Circle of North America and the Islamic Association of North Texas, Kaufman revealed, had funneled money to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and al-Qaida.

"While using images of cartoon characters and sponsoring events at amusement parks may seem innocuous, the danger that the Islamic Circle of North America poses to the United States, Canada and others is clear," Kaufman wrote. "As a faction of the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization looks to impose Islam on Western society, and as a donor to a terrorist organization, the group is a willing participant in the act of violence."

And while neither the ICNA nor the IANT claimed libel, seven other Muslim organizations – the Islamic Society of Arlington, Texas, Islamic Center of Irving, DFW Islamic Educational Center, Inc., Dar Elsalam Islamic Center, Al Hedayah Islamic Center, Islamic Association of Tarrant County and Muslim American Society of Dallas – cried foul, bringing the defamation suit against Kaufman.

Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, "This frivolous lawsuit is an example of the legal jihad being waged by radical Islamic organizations throughout our nation. These lawsuits are aimed at stifling the free speech rights of Americans who dare to expose their agenda. They intentionally file lawsuits to intimidate reporters who seek to expose their agenda. By making it costly to defend against their lawsuits, they hope journalists will refrain from writing about the threat to our nation."

The opinion of the court, written by Justice Terrie Livingston, overturned a lower court's denial of Kaufmann's motion to dismiss the libel claim before a time-consuming and expensive trial.

Listing seven different reasons for the court's decision, Justice Livingston wrote, "We conclude that an Internet author's status as a member of the electronic media should be adjudged by the same principles that courts should use to determine the author's status under more traditional media."

The court did not, however, uphold that all Internet writers – such as bloggers – should be afforded the protections traditional journalists enjoy.

Kaufman, the court noted, has written for a variety of national publications since 1995, has appeared on several television news networks and in writing for FrontPage Magazine, was writing for a separate online news source with the freedom to accept or reject his article.

The court concluded, "We believe that these facts and circumstances, establishing Kaufman's journalistic background and his notoriety outside of the parameters of the article and graphic at issue and FrontPage Magazine's broad readership and its existence as a news/commentary medium that is independent from Kaufman's articles, are sufficient to qualify Kaufman as a member of the electronic or print media and to qualify FrontPage Magazine as an electronic or print medium."

Furthermore, the court ruled, that the Muslim organizations' contention that an Internet author could "never" qualify as a member of the media "would make as little sense as an inverse rule that a print author (such as someone distributing their own photocopied musings) would always qualify as such."

Islam investigator ejected from D.C. Muslim conference

Illegally detained: 'CAIR and ISNA essentially tried to get me killed'

WorldNetDaily.com 7-5-9

WASHINGTON – With a high-profile Christian keynote speaker, Rick Warren, the Islamic Society of North America billed its July 4 national convention here as a major outreach to non-Muslims, but it chose to eject by force an American investigating Islamist radicalism in the U.S.

Dave Gaubatz, a former Air Force special agent who has traveled the country investigating radical Islamist mosques and attempts at imposing Shariah law in the U.S., was forcibly removed from the conference after paying the $100 attendance fee.

Gaubatz made news last November by slapping officials of the Council of American Islamic Relations with subpoenas at the group's national conference.

"It was apparent I was 'flagged,'" he told WND. "Eight or nine ISNA and other men surrounded me. They refused to tell me who they were or why they wanted me to leave. One then said CAIR wants you out. They began crowding me. I was professional and told them to step away from me, tell me who they are, and why was I being illegally detained. I told them this could have been avoided if ISNA would have emailed me a cancellation. I told them I want my $100 back. Meanwhile I was asking them some tough questions they could not answer."

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After ISNA officials let Gaubatz out of the Washington Convention Center, he was quickly surrounded by Washington police.

"I was on the street and noticed at least three D.C. patrol cars," he said. "I took pictures. Then I started walking toward my parked car. One patrol car was following me slowly. I stopped, took a few pictures of him. Then walked to my car. I got in my car. Three patrol cars surrounded me and surrounded my vehicle. I was told to get out. I asked what was the problem. Finally one officer showed me pictures CAIR had given them and told them I was a threat. There were four pictures – three were with me in Iraq with my M-16 and 9mm, and in two I was holding AK-47s in Iraq. CAIR had photocopied the picture of me helping a sick Iraqi child from the picture. Then CAIR had cropped my head shot onto a Nazi uniform, which was obvious."

The police said members of CAIR had given them the pictures, saying he was a threat.

"I told them about the pictures, my background in Iraq, and who I was," Gaubatz said. "They knew nothing of this. CAIR and ISNA had essentially tried to get me killed. The officer reminded me they just had the Holocaust Museum shooting. CAIR intentionally misled the officers to make them believe I was just someone who carries guns. CAIR failed to tell them these were pictures from Iraq when I was serving my country."

Last fall, when CAIR held its 14th Annual Banquet at the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel to raise funds and honor its supporters, Gaubatz led an effort to serve several top officials of the Muslim lobby group with summonses and complaints for various civil and criminal offenses.

Gaubatz also managed to capture the events on video, which was shared with WND. He personally served CAIR Director Nihad Awad at the banquet while Democratic North Carolina state Sen. Larry Shaw, a CAIR national board member, was addressing the festivities.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Morris Days, the "resident attorney" and "manager for civil rights" at the now defunct CAIR MD/VA chapter in Herndon, Va., was in fact not an attorney and that he failed to provide legal services for clients who came to CAIR for assistance and who had paid for CAIR legal services.

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While attorney David Yerushalmi represents the four plaintiffs in this particular lawsuit, two of whom are African-American Muslims, the complaint alleges that, according to CAIR internal documents, there were hundreds of victims of fraud scheme by CAIR and Days.

According to the complaint, CAIR failed to conduct a background check on Days prior to hiring him and when the group discovered the fraud, it set about a cover-up.

The suit charges CAIR officials purposefully concealed the truth about Days from their clients, law enforcement, the Virginia and D.C. state bar associations and the media. When CAIR got irate calls from clients about Days' failure to provide competent legal services, CAIR is charged with fraudulently deceiving clients about Days' relationship to CAIR, concealing the fact that CAIR had fired him for criminal fraud.

"The evidence has long suggested that CAIR is a criminal organization set up by the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas to further its aims of stealth Jihad in the U.S.," Yerushalmi said referring to the fact that CAIR has been named by the federal government as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror financing trial. "But our investigation and this complaint makes clear that CAIR's criminal activities know no bounds."

Yerushalmi alleges CAIR has engaged in a massive cover-up of a criminal fraud in which hundreds of CAIR clients have been victimized.

"The fact that CAIR has victimized Muslims and non-Muslims alike demonstrates that CAIR is only looking out for CAIR and its ongoing effort to bilk donors out of millions of dollars of charitable donations thinking they are supporting a legitimate organization," he said.

The complaint also alleges that in addition to covering up the Days fraud scheme, CAIR officials in D.C. forced angry clients who were demanding a return of their legal fees to sign a release that bought the client-victims' silence by prohibiting them from informing law enforcement or the media about the CAIR-Days fraud. According to the agreement, if the "settling" clients said anything to anyone about the fraud scheme, CAIR would be able to sue them for $25,000.

The four plaintiffs contacted their attorney David Yerushalmi only after they had spoken to Gaubatz, a private researcher who had been investigating CAIR for its connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and its ties to global jihad.

The complaint identifies CAIR as a racketeering enterprise under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which is a criminal racketeering statute that allows victims to sue the defendants in civil court. In addition to damages, the plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief under this and other statutes to shut down CAIR and to prevent the individual defendants from engaging in public interest legal work in the future.

The named defendants are: the Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network Inc. (dba CAIR); Nihad Awad aka Nihad Hammad, who serves as executive director of CAIR National; Parvez Ahmed, who was the chairman of the board of CAIR National during the relevant time period; Tahra Goraya, who was the national director of CAIR but who has since resigned; Khadijah Athman, who is the manager of the "civil rights" division of CAIR; and Nadhira al-Khalili, Esq., who is in-house legal counsel for CAIR. All were handed subpoenas that evening.

According to the complaint, CAIR's in-house Washington, D.C.-based attorney Khalili was directly involved in taking the legal files out of the CAIR Virginia office and concealing them in the D.C. office.

Also named as defendants are Ibrahim Hooper and Amina Rubin, CAIR's director of communications and coordinator of communications, respectively. According to the complaint, these two were directly responsible for issuing fraudulent press releases about the Days fraud scheme, thus aiding and abetting the CAIR cover-up.

CAIR officials were not available for comment.

Also addressing the dinner was Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the nation's first Muslim member of Congress. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, reportedly turned down an invitation to address the banquet.

As WND previously reported, CAIR allegedly defrauded a number of Muslims recently seeking help with citizenship delays, and then threatened to sue them if they complained to the media, according to a security watchdog group which has obtained internal CAIR documents.

The former legal director of CAIR's Maryland/Virginia chapter shook down Muslim hardship cases for thousands of dollars without providing promised services, officials with the Mapping Sharia Project charge.

CAIR, a nonprofit group, promoted the services of the employee, Morris L. "Jamil" Days, whom it publicly described as a civil-rights attorney, even after discovering Days was unlicensed and was fraudulently representing CAIR's clients.

CAIR's board allegedly covered up the scandal by paying defrauded Muslim families partial restitution payments while insisting they sign agreements releasing CAIR from legal liability, officials said.

Earlier this year, the board also fired Days and closed the chapter's offices in Herndon, Va. The chapter director, Khalid Iqbal, is no longer with CAIR.

CAIR refused to respond to the allegations, which came to light only after American Muslims provided evidence to the Mapping Sharia Project.

"I really don't know anything about this," CAIR spokesman Ahmed Rehab said. He referred questions to CAIR communications director Ibrahim Hooper, who declined comment.

Earlier this year, CAIR launched a $250,000 fundraising campaign that included a promotional on its website touting its mission to help Muslims, particularly those confronting citizenship problems.

"Everyday, CAIR works hard to defend the rights of American Muslims who encounter a delay in gaining citizenship," the group said.

In fact, CAIR has "victimized" poor Muslim immigrants, says Gaubatz.

"CAIR continues to put Muslim Americans at risk through the pretense that they represent them in any way," Gaubatz said. "CAIR is receiving support from big foreign donors, not because of their effectiveness in discrimination cases, but because of their false image in the media."

Gaubatz says CAIR, which last year was named an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal terror-financing case involving Hamas, controls some $7 million in real estate assets in Washington through a limited liability holding company that includes silent Middle Eastern investors.

He says his group has filed a formal complaint against CAIR concerning the alleged fraud with the District of Columbia.

WND has previously reported on CAIR's extensive ties to terrorism and extremism. Although CAIR is a nonprofit organization, it does not disclose complete directories of its staff or advisory boards, and even refuses to make its federal tax filings readily available to the public. But a review of federal criminal court documents, past IRS 990 tax records and Federal Election Commission records detailing donor occupations, reveals that Washington-based CAIR has been associated with a disturbing number of convicted terrorists or felons in terrorism probes, as well as suspected terrorists and active targets of terrorism investigations.

"Their offices have been a turnstile for terrorists and their supporters," said one FBI veteran familiar with recent and ongoing cases involving CAIR officials.

WND has reported that at least 14 CAIR officials have been caught up in terror investigations.

Congressional leaders say they are warning lawmakers and other Washington officials to disassociate from the group due to its growing terror ties.

"Groups like CAIR have a proven record of senior officials being indicted and either imprisoned or deported from the United States," said U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., co-founder of the House Anti-Terrorism/Jihad Caucus.

CAIR itself recently was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an alleged scheme to funnel $12 million to the terrorist group Hamas. In the Holy Land Foundation case, federal prosecutors also listed CAIR as a member of the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement that gave rise to Hamas, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. The government will retry the Holy Land case, which ended in a hung jury.

"There was a lot of evidence presented at the recent Holy Land Foundation trial which exposed CAIR and others as front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States," Myrick said.

Still, CAIR is lobbying House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and other sympathetic members of Congress to pressure the Justice Department to expunge its name from the case, arguing the negative publicity has hurt membership and fundraising.

The federal judge during the trial refused a written request by the group to strike its name from the list of co-conspirators. The petition is still pending before the court.

CAIR, which runs 33 offices and chapters nationwide, also recently helped defeat an anti-terror plan by Los Angeles police to map the local Muslim community for extremist neighborhoods.

Critics counter that CAIR has no legitimate voice to make such complaints, because the group is itself an extremist organization that has employed or appointed to its boards of directors and advisers an inordinate number of radical co-conspirators, suspected and convicted terrorists, and other criminals.

Indeed, the list is long and growing, and includes:

• Muthanna al-Hanooti: The CAIR director's home was raided last year by FBI agents in connection with an active terrorism investigation. Agents also searched the offices of his advocacy group, Focus on Advocacy and Advancement of International Relations, which al-Hanooti operates out of Dearborn, Mich., and Washington, D.C.

FAAIR claims to be a consulting firm raising awareness of Sunni grievances in Iraq, but investigators suspect it's a front supporting the Sunni-led insurgency.

Al-Hanooti, who emigrated to the U.S. from Iraq, formerly helped run a suspected Hamas terror front called LIFE for Relief and Development. Its Michigan offices also were raided last September. In 2004, LIFE's Baghdad office was raided by U.S. troops, who seized files and computers.

Al-Hanooti is related to Shiek Mohammed al-Hanooti, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He currently leads prayers at a Washington-area mosque that aided some of the 9/11 hijackers.

The FBI alleges al-Hanooti, an ethnic-Palestinian who also emigrated from Iraq, raised money for Hamas. In fact, "Al-Hanooti collected over $6 million for support of Hamas," according to a 2001 FBI report, and was present with CAIR and Holy Land officials at a secret Hamas fundraising summit held last decade at a Philadelphia hotel.

Prosecutors recently added his name to the list of unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land case.

Al-Hanooti denies supporting Hamas, although he's praised Palestinian suicide bombers as "martyrs" who are "alive in the eyes of Allah."

Earlier this year, his younger brother, Hamid al-Hanooti, was found dead in Iraq after reportedly being held by local security forces as a suspected terrorist.

• Laura Jaghlit: A civil-rights coordinator for CAIR, her Washington-area home was raided by federal agents after 9/11 as part of an investigation into terrorist financing, money laundering and tax fraud. Her husband Mohammed Jaghlit, a key leader in the Saudi-backed SAAR network, is a target of the still-active probe.

Last decade, Jaghlit sent two letters accompanying donations – one for $10,000, the other for $5,000 – from the SAAR Foundation to Sami al-Arian, now a convicted terrorist. In each letter, according to a federal affidavit, "Jaghlit instructed al-Arian not to disclose the contribution publicly or to the media."

Investigators suspect the funds were intended for Palestinian terrorists via a U.S. front called WISE, which at the time employed an official who personally delivered a satellite phone battery to Osama bin Laden. The same official also worked for Jaghlit's group.

In addition, Jaghlit donated a total of $37,200 to the Holy Land Foundation, which prosecutors say is a Hamas front. Jaghlit subsequently was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the ongoing case.

• Abdurahman Alamoudi: Another CAIR director, he is serving 23 years in federal prison for plotting terrorism. Alamoudi, who was caught on tape complaining bin Laden hadn't killed enough Americans in the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, was one of al-Qaida's top fund-raisers in America, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
• Nihad Awad: For the first time, wiretap evidence from the Holy Land case puts CAIR's executive director at a Philadelphia meeting of Hamas leaders and activists that was secretly recorded by the FBI. Participants allegedly hatched a plot to disguise payments to Hamas terrorists as charitable giving.

During the meeting, according to FBI transcripts, Awad was recorded discussing the propaganda effort. He mentions Ghassan Dahduli, whom he worked with at the time at the Islamic Association for Palestine, another Hamas front. Both were IAP officers. Dahduli's name also was listed in the address book of bin Laden's personal secretary, Wadi al-Hage, who is serving a life sentence in prison for his role in the U.S. embassy bombings. Dahduli, an ethnic-Palestinian like Awad, was deported to Jordan after 9/11 for refusing to cooperate in the terror investigation.

Awad's and Dahduli's phone numbers are listed in a Muslim Brotherhood document seized by federal investigators revealing "important phone numbers" for the "Palestine Section" of the Brotherhood in America. The court exhibit shows Hamas fugitive Mousa Abu Marzook listed on the same page with Awad.

• Omar Ahmad: U.S. prosecutors also named CAIR's founder and chairman emeritus as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land case. Ahmad too was placed at the Philly meeting, FBI special agent Lara Burns testified at the trial. Prosecutors also designated him as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's "Palestine Committee" in America. Ahmad, like his CAIR partner Awad, is ethnic-Palestinian.

(Though both Ahmad and Awad were senior leaders of IAP, the Hamas front, neither of their biographical sketches posted on CAIR's website mentions their IAP past.)

• Nabil Sadoun: A current CAIR board member, Sadoun has served on the board of the United Association for Studies and Research, which investigators believe to be a key Hamas front in America. In fact, Sadoun co-founded UASR with Hamas leader Marzook. The Justice Department added UASR to the list of unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land case.
• Mohamed Nimer: CAIR's current research director also served as a board director for UASR, the strategic arm for Hamas in the U.S.

(Tellingly, CAIR neglects to mention Nimer's and Sadoun's roles in UASR in their bios.)

• Rafeeq Jaber: A founding director of CAIR, Jaber was the long-time president of the Islamic Association for Palestine. In 2002, a federal judge found that "the Islamic Association for Palestine has acted in support of Hamas." In his capacity as IAP chief, Jaber praised Hezbollah attacks on Israel. He also served on the board of a radical mosque in the Chicago area

• Rabith Hadid: The CAIR fund-raiser was a founder of the Global Relief Foundation, which after 9/11 was blacklisted by Treasury for financing al-Qaida and other terror groups. Its assets were frozen in December 2001. Hadid was arrested on terror-related charges and deported to Lebanon in 2003.

·

· Siraj Wahhaj: A member of CAIR's board of advisers, Wahhaj was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The radical Brooklyn imam was close to convicted terrorist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, and defended him during his trial.

· He was also a featured speaker at the dinner.

• Randall "Ismail" Royer: The former CAIR communications specialist and civil-rights coordinator is serving 20 years in prison in connection with the Virginia Jihad Network, which he led while employed by CAIR at its Washington headquarters. The group trained to kill U.S. soldiers overseas, cased the FBI headquarters, and cheered the space shuttle Columbia tragedy. Al-Qaida operative Ahmed Abu Ali, convicted of plotting to assassinate President Bush, was among those who trained with Royer's Northern Virginia cell

• Bassam Khafagi: Another CAIR official, Khafagi was arrested in 2003 while serving as CAIR's director of community affairs. He pleaded guilty to charges of bank and visa fraud stemming from a federal counterterror probe of his leadership role in the Islamic Assembly of North America, which has supported al-Qaida and advocated suicide attacks on America. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison and deported to his native Egypt.
• Ghassan Elashi: One of CAIR's founding directors, he was convicted in 2004 of illegally shipping high-tech goods to terror state Syria, and is serving 80 months in prison. He's also charged with providing material support to Hamas in the Holy Land Foundation trial. He was chairman of the charity, which provided seed capital to CAIR. Elashi is related to Hamas leader Marzook

• Hamza Yusuf: The FBI investigated the CAIR board member after 9/11, because just two days before the attacks, he made an ominous prediction to a Muslim audience. "This country is facing a terrible fate and the reason for that is because this country stands condemned," Yusuf warned. "It stands condemned like Europe stood condemned because of what it did. And lest people forget, Europe suffered two world wars after conquering the Muslim lands."

CAIR, which receives financial backing from Saudi and Emirati royalty, denies charges that it has a secret agenda to Islamize America. But a Muslim Brotherhood document declassified in the Holy Land case reveals that CAIR's parent was among Muslim organizations enlisted in a secret plot to destroy the American system from within and eventually take over the country.

Written early last decade in Arabic, the manifesto lays bare the subversive role of CAIR's forerunner, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and other Muslim groups in America to carry out a "grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by the hands of the believers, so that it is eliminated and Allah's religion is made victorious over all other religions."

CAIR's founder Ahmad, while claiming to be a moderate and patriotic American, last decade told a group of Muslims in Northern California that they are in America to help assert Islam's rule over the country.

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant," a local reporter quoted him as saying, adding, "The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."

Ahmad insists he was misquoted. However, an FBI wiretap transcript quotes Ahmad agreeing with terrorist suspects gathered last decade at the secret Philly meeting to "camouflage" their true intentions.

He compared it to the head fake in basketball. "This is like one who plays basketball: He makes a player believe that he is doing this, while he does something else," Ahmad said. "I agree with you. Like they say, politics is a completion of war."

What's more, Hooper, CAIR's communications director, also has expressed his wish to overturn the U.S. system of government in favor of an "Islamic" state.

"I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future," Hooper said in a 1993 interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "But I'm not going to do anything violent to promote that. I'm going to do it through education."

Though conceding he made the remark, Hooper argues that he's never advocated violence. He says he and Muslims like him should work instead through the media and use "education" to help turn America into an Islamic state.