'Ground Zero Mosque'

Dutch Keynote Speaker At Anti-Mosque Rally: 'America, New York And Sharia Are Incompatible'

Jillian Rayfield | September 11, 2010, 10:33PM

If today's rally against the Park51 Islamic center was an exercise in contradictions about tolerance, then Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders was the perfect pick for keynote speaker. In his remarks Wilders repeatedly lauded America's record of tolerance while asserting that "openness can never be open-ended. A tolerant society is not a suicidal society."

"We must never give a free hand to those who want to subjugate us," Wilder said. "New York is rooted in Dutch tolerance. New York is tolerant, not intolerant. What if New York was intolerant?" Then it "would not be New York, it would be Mecca."

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Park51

Anti-Mosque Rally All About How It's Not About Intolerance

Jillian Rayfield | September 11, 2010, 7:54PM

In downtown Manhattan today, about 1,500 people gathered to protest the planned Park51 Islamic center near Ground Zero. Speakers assured the crowd that it's not that they're intolerant, because this isn't about tolerance, exactly -- but so what if it is, because Islam is intolerant? Or something.

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September 11

Bolton & Breitbart To Address Protesters At Today's Anti-Mosque 'Rally of Remembrance'

Jillian Rayfield | September 11, 2010, 8:51AM

Protesters In New York oppose the Park51 Islamic center.

When the ceremonies conclude in New York City today for the ninth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, some of the commemorators will break off to attend a different kind of rally -- one that brings the Islamophobic fervor of the past few weeks to a head.

Today at 3 p.m. ET, at the proposed site for Park51 on Park Place and West Broadway in downtown Manhattan, people will gather for the "FDI/SIOA 9/11 Rally of Remembrance: Yes to Freedom, No to Ground Zero Mosque," a rally in opposition to the planned Islamic center.

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Michigan Tea Party

Court Approves Grand Jury Probe Of Michigan Tea Party Campaign Filings

Jillian Rayfield | September 9, 2010, 1:41PM

A Tea Party rally in Michigan.

A panel of Michigan Circuit Court judges voted yesterday to authorize a one-man grand jury to investigate election fraud allegations relating to the attempt by the Michigan Tea Party to get on the November ballot.

Tea partiers and Republicans in Michigan believe the Michigan Tea Party is a part of an effort by the Democratic Party to split the conservative vote. Jason Bauer, former political director of the Oakland County Dems, stepped down from his position amid allegations that he may have committed a crime when he notarized and filed papers for 13 Michigan Tea Party candidates.

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American Family Association

Top Social Conservative Bryan Fischer: 'Handle Muslims Just Like We Handle The Neo-Nazis'

Jillian Rayfield | September 9, 2010, 11:44AM

Bryan Fischer

Bryan Fischer, the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the American Family Association, wrote a blog post yesterday that argues that "Germany is giving us a template on how we handle Muslims: just like we handle neo-Nazis," which amounts to German police carrying "out 30 predawn raids against the nation's largest neo-Nazi group two days ago."

Fischer is known for his Islamophobia, previously arguing that the U.S. should have "no more mosques, period," because "every single mosque is a potential terror training center or recruitment center for jihad" and thus "you cannot claim first amendment protections if your religious organization is engaged in subversive activities."

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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart On Koran Burners: 'Who's Funding These Radical Christian Clerics?' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 9, 2010, 9:52AM

Jon Stewart was very troubled last night by Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who is planning to burn copies of the Koran on September 11. "I'm seeing a pattern now of extremism in Christianity that a lot of Americans are finding very troubling," he said.

But Daily Show correspondent John Oliver defended Christians: "That radical hate-spewing extremist does not reflect the views of the vast majority of moderate, peaceful Christians. In fact, this man is fucking crazy. He no more represents Christians than Dr. Laura represents the United Negro College Fund."

But Stewart still had questions: "Where's the money coming from for these extremists? Who's funding these radical Christian clerics?"

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Even The Mosque-Hatingest Of Mosque-Haters Think Koran Burning Is A Bad Idea

Jillian Rayfield | September 8, 2010, 5:14PM

As Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center gets ready to burn copies of the Koran at his Gainesville, Florida church this Saturday (September 11), many national voices are calling for him to change his plans. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and RGA Chairman Haley Barbour have all criticized the planned Koran burning. And Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander of the Afghanistan War, has gone as far as to say that the plan could put American troops in danger.

But as Jones forges full-speed ahead with his incendiary event, some of the nation's most prominent Islamophobic voices have expressed their opposition (though usually with caveats), to Jones' idea....

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First Baptist Church of Dallas

Dallas Pastor Defends Claim That Islam 'Promotes Pedophilia' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 7, 2010, 3:51PM

Prominent Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas gave a sermon a few weeks ago saying, among other things: "The deep, dark, dirty secret of Islam: It is a religion that promotes pedophilia - sex with children. This so-called prophet Muhammad raped a 9-year-old girl - had sex with her."

Now Jeffress has doubled down on his claim in a sermon on Sunday, responding to a column by Steve Blow in The Dallas Morning News that condemned the pastor's remarks. "It is our love for Muslims that demands we speak the truth about Islam," Jeffress said Sunday.

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Chris Simcox

Arizona Court: Ex-Minuteman Chris Simcox Still A Threat To Family

Jillian Rayfield | September 7, 2010, 12:24PM

Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Project, in 2005

An Arizona court has upheld a restraining order against former Minuteman (and Minuteman co-founder) Chris Simcox, granted in April to his wife Alena Simcox and their children, after she alleged that he made several threats against his family and the police.

The court determined last week that the restraining order should continue "in full force," according to The Washington Times.

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Michigan Tea Party

Michigan Supreme Court Rules Michigan Tea Party Won't Be On November Ballot

Jillian Rayfield | September 7, 2010, 9:53AM

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled last week that the Michigan Tea Party will not be on the November ballot, echoing a decision by the state's appellate court, and putting an additional nail in the coffin for the enigmatic Tea Party group that is accused of committing fraud when filing its election ballots.

The Michigan Tea Party is believed by many tea partiers to be a Democratic operation, aimed at splitting the Republican vote in November by putting up phony candidates who aren't really tea partiers at all. State Dems have contended they have nothing to do with the Michigan Tea Party.

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Pyramid Scheme

Georgia Man Wants Tea Partiers To Join His 'Patriotic' Pyramid Scheme

Jillian Rayfield | September 7, 2010, 8:30AM

Is there anything more patriotic than a get-rich-quick scheme? The folks over at TeaPartyBizOpp, a pyramid scheme targeted at the tea party set, don't seem to think so.

Billed as the "first ever patriotic home based business opportunity" and the place "where you get paid to help defend our freedom and stop Liberal Tyranny!!", TeaPartyBizOpp offers like minded liberty-lovers the chance to "make up to $50,000 or more a year helping raise funds to defend our freedom."

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