Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Charlie Sykes Sends a Message

...and the message is forceful.

Evidently the weenies at the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee are "offended" by Sykes' reproduction of a parody on his website.

The parody was inspired by the snarky, condescending "Co-Exist" bumper stickers (which are, evidently, weenie-approved.) The parody has gone national, justifiably, and credit should be given to Tom McMahon, a brilliant satirist and blog-writer.

So anyway, the weenies "asked" Charlie to delete the post.

Charlie told them to stuff their request where the sun doesn't shine (in far more elegant, but no less emphatic language.)

Now we can put Charlie into an exclusive league.

Back about 20 years ago, I was painting the porch woodwork while listening to Rush. At that time, Limbaugh was commenting on one of the the ACLU's lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America--IIRC, it was about the Oath's reference to God.

Rush's comment, unforgettable, was "Well, SCREW the ACLU!!" (And that's exactly what he said.)

Although Sykes has had a few defining moments (his co-production of "schoolhouse door" was one), and although he and I disagree over a few things, Charlie's been a leading light of the Conservative movement for years.

He just affirmed that position. And I will be proud to have his 6.

By the way, the Interfaith Council has a very strange bedfellow, according to John McAdams (HT: Tex)

...Zulfiqar Ali Shah... has continued to bask in the spotlight. He now sits in his new digs in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Religious Director of a large Islamic institution and the toast of the media. Today, the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee will be sponsoring a Shah talk, taking place at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

What makes Shah so interesting, aside from his Milwaukee location and the hugs-and-kisses from the Interfaith Conference?

When the Toledo charity KindHearts was shut down this past February, for raising millions of dollars for Hamas, the group’s leaders got off scott free

And yes, Shah was one of the "leaders" of the group.

But that's hardly all.

Shah’s love for his fellow man was not manifest, when, just a few years prior, in June of 2001, he spoke of a wild conspiracy regarding Jews retaking the Saudi city of Medina. He said, “If we are unable to stop the Jews now, their next stop is Yathrib (The Prophet’s city of Medina), where the Jews used to live until their expulsion by Prophet Muhammad. That’s the pinnacle of their motives.”

My, my. Does "anti-Semitic" apply here? Or only to Sykes and McMahon?

5 comments:

capper said...

Anti-Semitic can apply to both anti-Jewish and anti-Arabic sentiments, so yes, Charlie is anti-Semitic.

It is not powerful, it is hypocritical. From someone who was demanding an apology from Miller for sponsoring an event in which he (and you and others)found offensive, to turn around and insult another religion is obscenely two-faced. Not to mention, the Miller thing was a spoof of a painting, while the Sykes affair involves actual religious symbols.

Dad29 said...

Capper, I expect better from you.

Anti-Arab? Charlie can speak for himself--but "anti-Islamist" is the position I take, and I suspect that's Charlie's as well. "Anti-Islamist" happens to co-incide with 'Pro-Humanity.'

Miller's slap in the face to Catholics (and other Christians) was quite specific and was NOT 'parody;' in fact, it was obscenity, corresponding with the perversity of the "artist" and his audience.

The parody bumper sticker's "actual religious symbols"?

Wow.

Think "Piss Christ", Capper...

Difference is in orders of magnitude.

capper said...

I agree that the Piss Christ or Chocolate Jesus was offensive. (Side question: Does James T. Harris get a free pass for using Chocolate Jesus so much?)

But turning the Star of David into a swastika is much worse than a parody of a painting, done by a member of the laity.

And while I believe you're "anti-Islamist" stance to be narrow-minded of you, it is your right to have it. I'll stop there because I don't want to start a holy war, but keep in mind what stereotyping can do.

Charlie also has a right to be anti-Islamist, anti-Arab or whatever catch phrase he wants. And TMJ has a right to post it. But we on the left have a right to point out the hypocrisy, the selective outrage of it all. And the IA, which has Roman Catholic members, has a right to request (not demand) that TMJ and Sykes do the adult thing and take it down. And please note, they did indeed only make a request. If Charlie finds that offensive, that should say something in itself.

Dad29 said...

Yah, Capper, I discriminate. All the time. But only for good reasons--like in the case of Islamists, who are bound by their "religion" to kill and/or subjugate me and my family.

Happens to be a damn good reason to "keep and bear arms," don't you think?

InterFaithCouncil can do whatever they damn please. They warmly welcomed an Islamist/Hizbollah financier to Milwaukee--which tells you they have at least a couple of screws loose. Many Catholics have that problem, and they are entitled to sacrifice themselves.

My responsibility, however, is to protect my family.

As to your willful blindness over the REASON for substituting the swastika for the star of David--I can't help you.

People who have the original sticker are condescending twerps--but that's their right. I never even requested that they remove it from their cars.

Neither did Charlie Sykes.

capper said...

Not all Islamists are militant, just like not all Christians are. The Old Testament has several things that are subject to various nasty execution methods, but are tolerated, if not accepted today.

Likewise, there have been many people that have committed atrocities in the name of the Lord. I think that both you and I could agree that they are distorting the Word and its intentions, but they still do. Yet I do not hold these wackjobs, or pedophilic priests, or any other number of examples of the norm of Christians.

It is wrong to hold some who distort the Koran to their demented thinking as the norm as well.