Full post (with pics) at TexasKaos.com
The man who has shown his compassion (not to mention his IQ) for women by offering to buy their babies from them for $500, showed his tolerance for religious freedom at the Texas Senate…by walking out on the first Muslim prayer ever held in the Texas Senate.
Yes. That’s right. Dan Patrick, the reichtwing radio talk show host whose “baby buying” bill was first reported by TexasKaos’ moiv and has since brought widespread condemnation of Patrick, the Texas GOP and (of course) Texas, walked out on the very first Muslim prayer held in the Senate and then had the audacity to call himself tolerant!
“I think that it’s important that we are tolerant as a people of all faiths, but that doesn’t mean we have to endorse all faiths, and that was my decision,” he said later, “I surely believe that everyone should have the right to speak, but I didn’t want my attendance on the floor to appear that I was endorsing that.”
Patrick was the only Texas Senator to walk out on him.
Ok, let me get this straight. You want to show your tolerance for religious freedom…by turning you back literally on it and walking out it?!? The man, like his buddy Rick Perry, is either a bumbling idiot or a political genius. I’m going with idiot.
What adds to the irony is the fact that the lawmaker who invited the Muslim cleric, Imam Yusuf Kavakci of the Dallas Central Mosque, was a Jewish woman and fellow Republican, Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano.
So go ahead, Dan. Explain to everyone in only your delusional, “baby buying” world how your actions make sense. Explain how a Jewish woman can invite and listen to a Muslim cleric but a fundamentalist Christian cannot. Explain why she has no problem this occured before the holy Jewish celebration of Passover but you and your fellow wingers are incensed a Muslim man spoke at the Senate days before Easter. Exactly when would it be ok for a Muslim man to speak, Dan?
“I’m shocked that the day before the Easter recess that a Muslim is leading the prayer,” Woodfill said.
You can almost hear him emphatically spit out the word “Muslim” can’t you? So what was the reason for Kavakci speaking at this particular time and not another? What was the conspiracy? Wednesday is the Texas Muslims Legislative Day at the Capitol. That’s it. No grand Muslim take over. No Islamo-facist plot. They were just (yaaawn) having their regular meeting. If Jared Woodfill is leading the Harris County GOP, then it is no wonder that Harris County is strongly trending Democratic. Democrats should give that man a microphone and get out the way!
The US Pastor Council of Houston, a group of conservative ministers, also complained about the prayer because of “concern over the oppressive impact of radical Islam worldwide and the pressure to accept cultural and religious diversity.”
I’m not quite sure why they expected a Jewish woman to invite a radical Muslim cleric, but to her credit, and it is a credit to the GOP that Republicans like her still exist, Shapiro vetted Kavakci to make sure he was not a radical – because you know how them Islamo-facists can be.
Shapiro praised Kavakci’s “extensive interfaith experience” and said he represents a “substantial constituency of Texans who deserve to be represented.”
She said she checked out his reputation with the Anti-Defamation League and other groups to “make sure he was not somebody I would be embarrassed by.”
Shapiro said she never leaves the floor when Christian ministers deliver an invocation “in Jesus’ name” and doesn’t consider her presence an endorsement of Christianity.
“I have a great respect for Christianity. I have a great respect for anyone who comes and prays. That’s what this country was based on, its freedom of religion,” she said.
And if the ugliness couldn’t get any worse, Patrick had to say this:
“In many parts of the world, I know that Jews or Christians would not be given that same right, that same freedom,” he said. “The imam that was here today, he was fortunate to be in this great country.”
I don’t know the citizenship of the Imam, but given that he’s lead his Dallas mosque for over 20 years, I think he’s earned the right to have “foreignness” brought into the picture. Is Patrick saying the imam is allowed to live the US as a priviledge? Or that the imam doesn’t love and appreciate this country?
Furthermore, what is Patrick proposing? That the United States should emulate the ugliest actions of the world? That we should out-discriminate everyone else?
This country was built on equality and tolerance, by hard-working men who did not have the Daddy’s name to give them everything, by beautiful Italian grandmothers who displayed the true spirit of America which the audacity and the language of liars like Newt Gingrich and Patrick has obscured recently.
It is a shame that Patrick will represent Texas. Just when we convinced the world that not all Texans are an embarrassment, we have this genius to make us look like backward, self-promoting nutcases.
In closing, I want you to re-read the statement by the US Pastor Council of Houston:
The US Pastor Council of Houston, a group of conservative ministers, also complained about the prayer because of “concern over the oppressive impact of radical Islam worldwide and the pressure to accept cultural and religious diversity.”
“The pressure to accept cultural and religious diversity.” They talk about “accepting cultural and religious diversity” like it’s a bad thing!
And that is the fundamental problem and divide between these conservatives like Patrick and Cheney and George Bush who control the Republican Party. They fundamentally think differences of opinions and views are wrong. Either you are a loyal “Bushie” or you are a traitor.
Dan Patrick’s own action against the muslim cleric precisely indicates the problem with the conservatives like him who control the GOP. Patrick literally felt that for him to listen to the prayer was the same thing as endorsing and agreeing with the muslim cleric.
They equate listening with agreeing and weakness. It is no wonder then that they can’t listen and they can’t accept different viewpoints. To them it is a sign of weakness.
I couldn’t agree more. It is a very weak man who can’t listen to other viewpoints. And with this repugnant action, Dan Parick signaled he may be the weakest man in Texas (at least when George Bush is not in Crawford).
um, how do i change my name from TK to krazypuppy?
Create a new Krazypuppy account. I’ll see what I can do.
is that a serious request? I can change it for you.
I’m just waiting for the day when separation of church and state means separation of church and state! In other words, why they hell are they praying on the senate floor in the first place?
either you bring all prayers in or none of them.
i honestly don’t have a problem with people praying together – as long as different faiths are represented so as to not give one group more weight.
a shame that something so beautiful as spirituality has become so perverted.
Just to clarify, I am not anti-prayer, I am anti-prayer at government functions. Religion has no place in government. But, I agree that if people feel compelled to pray, then it should be open to all prayers. They claim to do this, but remember the brouhaha when a wiccan priestess tried to lead a government sponsored prayer? I believe it was met with even more derision than the Imam received, and if memory serves, she never was allowed.
To walk out is so disrespectful, it boggles the mind. Even though I am opposed to government sponsored prayer, I have never walked out on one.
It’s traditional and non-compulsory, and very inclusive, as representatives of many religious faiths are invited to pray and no one is required to participate.
Personally I don’t see a problem so long as those traditions are continued and they don’t start doing something like requiring that all prayers be given by Southern Baptists (which would pretty clearly voilate the establishment clause).
This is Texas. That “Constitution” guff just does not apply here.
This answer is easy. It’s precisely because Dan is a right wing Christian, the American version of a fascist, that he walked out. For fascist true believers like Dan, tolerance is a code word for intolerance. Just as liberty is a code word for submission. The really scary thing is that there are millions of Dans in America.
Our Constitution is in mortal danger, because those of us who practice tolerance and who are advocates for free speech defend the right of assholes like Dan to spew their fascistic crap. However, tolerance will be the first casualty of the victory of these fascists. They have already taken over the Republican Party, they have and continue to infect local government and school boards. How does a society which embraces the liberal virtue of tolerance and respect for others defend itself against those who would use that very tolerance against it? Just ask any German who lived in the Weimer Republic in the 1920’s and 30’s. They either didn’t or couldn’t defend themselves. Will we?
I see Hedges book “American Fascism” advertised on the side of the blog page. This is required reading for any intelligent American.
Do they even listen to themselves when they spout such idiotic and completely illogical bullshit…a Muslim prayer….gasp before Easter no less….jesus save me…does he have any idea do you suppose that Islam basically believes in much of the old/new testament…with some modifications and interpretations. Muslims believe Jesus was raised into heaven also(although not crucified)and will return for starters…hard to know what this idiot thinks Muslims believe but no doubt what he thinks they believe and what they believe are two different things altogether.