Re: Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates

Admin Thu 19 Jan 2012, 10:01 pm

January 19, 2012

Obama administration
and the Muslim
Brotherhood

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Unmasking_enemy_among_us_345

Dear Elaine,

How we wish it weren’t so, but the facts are clear. Numerous articles and columns, including the one by Barry Rubin (below), document how the Obama administration is sidling up to the Muslim Brotherhood.

This is not only affecting our foreign policy vis a vis countries like Egypt. It’s also affecting our domestic national security apparatus, as we’ll show you in an upcoming email. “Troubling” does not adequately define what is happening.

It’s impossible to fully understand the threat radical Islam poses to America without understanding the Muslim Brotherhood. To save you the hours and hours it would take researching the MB, we’ve made it easy for you: “Unmasking the Enemy Among Us: Information Warfare and the Muslim Brotherhood.”

To find out more about this timely and invaluable resource, click here. You can also go to our Donate page, select the Patriot Partner option, and scroll down to “Exposing the Muslim Brotherhood resource package.”

This resource will arm you with the facts and documentation you need to understand why the MB is such a threat and who its front organizations are in the U.S. Not only will you be informed, but you can share this with others who don’t yet understand exactly what we’re up against here!

Obama Supports the Muslim Brotherhood-Muslim Brotherhood Sees Weakness

By Barry Rubin

Not only is the Obama Administration, as I’ve written for the last year, favoring radical Islamist forces–despite the fact that these are anti-Western, pro-terrorism, building dictatorships, and openly antisemitic and anti-Christian–but now even the establishment media is admitting it.

A friend of mine said, “Oh, they are probably saying that the Brotherhood is sounding radical publicly but privately reassuring U.S. officials that they are moderate.”

“No,” I replied. “That’s the old way of doing things when it was important to be, or at least to pretend to be, somewhat balanced. Now they say that the Brotherhood sounds moderate both publicly–ignoring all evidence to the contrary–and privately. Those who disagree are merely Republicans trying to defeat Obama in the election, and so should be ignored. The mass media today in such matters is worse than our worst nightmares of a decade ago.”

And so for the first time in U.S. history an American government, to the applause of the vast majority of the mass media, is backing an anti-American authoritarian movement. Here’s how the New York Times explains it:

“The Obama administration has begun to reverse decades of mistrust and hostility as it seeks to forge closer ties with an organization [the Muslim Brotherhood] once viewed as irreconcilably opposed to United States interests.”

Any serious foreign policy analyst should see three red flags in this paragraph:

First, of course the U.S. government must deal with Egypt’s government but that doesn’t mean it should publicly proclaim that the Brotherhood is a nice group and give what amounts to an unconditional endorsement of it.

Indeed, the Obama Administration and media are using a cheap trick. They confuse the proper, responsible policy of dealing with those in power wihile doi ng something quite beyond that: a self-destructive policy of rushing to insist that sworn enemies of freedom and the United States are really nice guys and there’s no problem with having them in power.

As I’ve written before, it’s possible to elect a dictatorship. The Egyptian people have a right to do so but that doesn’t mean the West should like it.

Doesn’t anyone remember that the Obama Administration has been apologizing for all the bad regimes America supported in the past? Now Obama is using the exact same argument: claiming that we must be nice to them because they are in power. What’s the difference between that and the historic relationship to the Mubarak regime? At least Mubarak supported U.S. interests. These people don’t. They have openly supported murdering Americans, especially in Iraq!

In 1979 an Islamist revolution occurred in Iran. The United States quickly recognized that new regime and tried to be buddies with it. We all know how that worked out.

Second, why should the burden of reversing “decades of mistrust and hostility” be exclusively on the United States. Doesn’t the Brotherhood, which benefits from U.S. engagement, need to do that also or even beforehand? Why is there no conditionality here, no hint that the Obama Administration or New York Times understands how hostile the Brotherhood has been and continues to be? If the U.S. president won’t demand a quid pro quo (something in exchange for his concessions) who is going to look after U.S. interests?

Third, by saying the Brotherhood was “once viewed as irreconcilably opposed to United States interests” the author suggests this is no longer true. We know that the Obama Administration thinks the Brotherhood has changed. Yet there is no evidence in terms of deeds, ideology, or statement made in Arabic that the Brotherhood has done so.

Thus, Obama has given away all U.S. leverage and assets beforehand, just as he did by announcing a year ago, during the revolution’s opening days, that he would be happy to accept a Muslim Brotherhood government.

So the Brotherhood’s moderation is assumed. The science is settled; the debate is over.

“The reversal also reflects the administration’s growing acceptance of the Brotherhood’s repeated assurances that its lawmakers want to build a modern democracy that will respect individual freedoms, free markets and international commitments, including Egypt’s treaty with Israel.”

Wow, yes that’s it. The Obama Administration believes what the Brotherhood says and not what has been said by Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and others including many moderate Egyptians. No one has bothered to look at the actual radical record of Brotherhood lawmakers in the last parliament! Obama has chosen his friends and he’s on the wrong side.

(Continue reading article HERE)

-----------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size]

Admin Tue 17 Jan 2012, 9:55 pm

January 17, 2012

Obama terrorism

advisor distortions

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Unmasking_enemy_among_us

Dear Elaine,

Raymond Ibrahim recently posted an enlightening and troubling column on FrontPageMagazine about one of President Obama’s top counter-terrorism advisors (see below, highlights added).

The Muslim Brotherhood is growing in strength and power across the world, aided and abetted by the Obama administration. This is why late last year we released a first-of-its-kind resource, “Unmasking the Enemy Among Us: Information Warfare and the Muslim Brotherhood.”

To find out more about this important and timely resource, visit our website here. More than ever, you and those you care about need to understand this threat!

Obama Terrorism Advisor’s Book Confuses and Distorts

Posted By Raymond Ibrahim On January 9, 2012

Reading CDR Youssef Aboul-Enein’s book, Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat, published by the Naval Institute Press (2010), one can see why U.S. leadership is far from “ ;understanding the global threat”; why the Obama administration is supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood; and why so many U.S. politicians rose up in condemnation when one obscure pastor threatened to burn a Koran.

According to the jacket cover, Aboul-Enein is “a top adviser at the Joint Intelligence Task Force for Combating Terrorism” and “has advised at the highest levels of the defense department and intelligence community.”

What advice does he give?

He holds that, whereas “militant Islamists” (e.g., al-Qaeda) are the enemy, “non-militant Islamists” (e.g., the Muslim Brotherhood), are not: “It is the Militant Islamists who are our adversary. They represent an immediate threat to the national security of the United States. They must not be confused with Islamists.”

This theme, sometimes expressed in convoluted language—at one point we are urged to appreciate the “nuanced” differences “between Militant Islamists and between Militant Islamists and Islamists”—permeates the book.

Of course, what all Islamists want is a system inherently hostile to the West, culminating in a Sharia-enforcing Caliphate; the only difference is that the nonmilitant Islamists are prudent enough to understand that incremental infiltration and subtle subversion are more effective than outright violence. Simply put, both groups want the same thing, and differ only in methodology.

Whereas most of the book is meant to portray nonviolent Islamists in a nonthreatening light, sometimes Aboul-Enein contradicts himself, for instance by correctly observing that “the United States must be under no illusions that the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood includes limiting the rights of women” and other anti-Western aspects.

How to explain these discrepancies? Is the Brotherhood a problem for the U.S. or not?

The book’s foreword by Admiral James Stavridis clarifies by stating that the book is a “culmination of Commander Aboul-Enein’s essays, lectures, and myriad answers to questions.” In fact, Militant Islamist Ideology reads like a hodgepodge of ideas cobbled together, and the author’s contradictions are likely products of different approaches to different audiences over time.

His position on appeasing the Muslim world—a fixed feature of the current administration’s policies—is clear. Aboul-Enein recommends that, if ever an American soldier desecrates a Koran, U.S. leadership must relieve the soldier of duty, offer “unconditional apologies,” and emulate the words of Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Hammond: “I come before you [Muslims] seeking your forgiveness, in the most humble manner I look in your eyes today, and say please forgive me and my soldiers,” followed by abjectly kissing a new Koran and “ceremoniously” presenting it to Muslims.

Likewise, after rightfully admonishing readers not to rely on skewed or biased accounts of Islam, he presents Islamic apologist extraordinaire Karen Armstrong—whose whitewashed writings on Islam border on fiction—as the best source on the life of Muhammad.

Then there are Aboul-Enein’s flat out wrong assertions and distortions, examples of which this review closes with:

He asserts that “militant Islamists dismiss ijmaa [consensus] and qiyas [analogical reasoning].” In fact, none other than al-Qaeda constantly invokes ijmaa (for instance, the consensus that jihad becomes a personal duty when infidels invade the Islamic world) and justifies suicide attacks precisely through qiyas.
He insists that the Arabic word for “terrorist” is nowhere in the Koran—without bothering to point out that Koran 8:60 commands believers “to terrorize the enemy,” also known as non-Muslim “infidels.”
He writes, “when Muslims are a persecuted minority Jihad becomes a fard kifaya (an optional obligation), in which the imam authorizes annual expeditions into Dar el Harb (the Abode of War), lands considered not under Muslim dominance.” This is wrong on several levels: a fard kifaya is not an “optional obligation”—an oxymoron if ever there was one—but rather a “communal obligation”; moreover, he is describing Offensive Jihad, which is designed to subjugate non-Muslims and is obligatory to wage whenever Muslims are capable—not “when Muslims are a persecuted minority.”

Article printed from FrontPage Magazine: http://frontpagemag.com

[size=9]ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size][/size]

Admin Tue 10 Jan 2012, 3:56 pm

Radical Islam
destroys freedom

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Lowes_petition_350

Dear Elaine,

The recent brouhaha over Lowe’s pulling its advertising on the TV show “All-American Muslim” is just the latest example of how radical Islam threatens, undermines and eventually destroys freedom.

In this case, the threat was to the freedom a company has to make business decisions about when and where it will advertise.

Here are just four recent examples of how radical Islam attacks freedom.

Converts from Islam to Christianity in Great Britain are under assault from Muslim radicals for exercising the freedom to change religions. See the video report here.
The British government bans publication on its government websites of an analysis of the growing strength of radical Islamists in Egypt by Barry Rubin. See the article here.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s several year push for a UN resolution that calls on countries to prohibit speech that “defames” Islam. As we reported last week, our State Department has now gotten on board with this unconstitutional resolution.
The conviction in Austria of ACT! for America chapter leader Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff for “denigrating religion.” Her “illegal” action was to criticize the prophet Muhammad’s act of having sexual relations with his nine year old wife, Aisha.

Of course, we could give you pages and pages of examples, but the pattern should be clear. Wherever radical Islam goes, the death of freedom follows.

-------------------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Thu 05 Jan 2012, 9:08 pm

January 5, 2012

“Could you be a criminal?”

State Department partners with Organization of Islamic Cooperation in what could lead to criminalizing free speech

Dear Elaine,

“That could never happen here.”

When we shine a light on the conviction of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff in Austria for “denigrating religion,” that’s how some people respond.

Or when we warn about sharia law creeping into America. Or 85 sharia courts in Britain. Or “no go zones” in France.

And of course, our State Department would NEVER agree to a UN resolution that has the practical effect of criminalizing free speech, right?

The column below that recently appeared in Forbes (highlights added) is longer than we normally put out, but it is SO IMPORTANT that you be aware of what’s coming our way. Please take a few minutes to read it—because your first amendment rights may soon be in jeopardy.

Of course, that could never happen here.

Could You Be A Criminal? US Supports UN Anti-Free Speech Measure

Abigail R. Esman, Contributor

http://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailesman/2011/12/30/could-you-be-a-criminal-us-supports-un-anti-free-speech-measure/

While you were out scavenging the Wal-Mart super sales or trying on trinkets at T iffany and Cartier, your government has been quietly wrapping up a Christmas gift of its own: adoption of UN resolution 16/18. An initiative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (formerly Organization of Islamic Conferences), the confederacy of 56 Islamic states, Resolution 16/18 seeks to limit speech that is viewed as “discriminatory” or which involves the “defamation of religion” – specifically that which can be viewed as “incitement to imminent violence.”

Whatever that means.

Initially proposed in response to alleged discrimination against Muslims in the aftermath of 9/11 and in an effort to clamp down on anti-Muslim attacks in non-Muslim countries, Resolution 16/18 has been through a number of revisions over the years in order to make it palatable to American representatives concerned about U.S. Constitutional guarantees of free speech. Previous versions of the Resolution, which sought to criminalize blasphemous speech and the “defamation of religion,” were regularly rejected by the American delegation and by the US State Department, which insisted that limitations on speech – even speech deemed to be racist or blasphemous – were at odds with the Constitution. But this latest version, which includes the “incitement to imminent violence” phrase – that is, which criminalizes speech which incites violence against others on the basis of religion, race, or national origin – has succeeded in winning US approval –despite the fact that it (indirectly) places limitations as well on speech considered “blasphemous.”

What’s worse, the measure codifies into the UN agenda support for the very notion democracies now wrestle with, and which threatens to destroy the very fabric of our culture: tolerance of the intolerant, or rather, the question of whether a tolerant society must also tolerate ways of life that are intolerant – that oppress women, say, or advocate violence against homosexuals, or force strangers to marry against their will. It is, in fact, this very concept that the OIC has long pressured Western governments to adopt in other ways, and that those supporting the adoption of Sharia law in the west have emphasized. Yet if we fall into that trap – as it appears we are – we will have lost the very heart of who we are.

The Good, The Bad…

Those who support the new measure rightly laud its recognition of the importance of free debate. and the inclusion of new clauses that call for “speaking out against intolerance, including advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence” and “[foster ing] religious freedom and pluralism by promoting the ability of members of all religious communities to manifest their religion, and to contribute openly and on an equal footing to society.”

What opponents (rightly) find distressing are calls to adopt “measures to criminalize incitement to imminent violence based on religion or belief.”

(Additional clauses that call for countering religious profiling are also questionable, however civil rights organizations may feel about this, given the problems of Islamic terrorism in the real world. But that’s another matter.)

Oddly, Human Rights First, which previously loudly opposed the initiative for its limitation on “blasphemous speech,” is among those who now praise the newer version. In a statement, the organization opined:

Rather than imposing new restrictions on freedom of speech, which it does not, the new consensus resolution opens the door to an action-oriented approach to fighting religious intolerance. That is very consistent with the U.S. policies and practices – combat violence, discrimination and hatred without restricting freedom of speech. Resolution 16/18 urges states to train government officials to address religious tensions, to harmonize actions at local and national level, to raise awareness of negative stereotyping of persons, to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue, to foster religious freedom and to speak out against intolerance (among other recommendations). The only limitation on speech that is in the operative part of the resolution is incitement to “imminent violence”, which is in accordance with US law.

But others are less forgiving, noting, among other things, that the resolution does nothing to prevent the continued use of anti-Jewish materials in the schools of Saudi Arabia (where the Protocols of Zion are treated as fact, thereby absolving Saudis of charges of “racism”) or the ongoing persecution of Jews and Christians in numerous Muslim countries. And yet, ironically,it was exactly those same countries who initiated the motion, as put forth in its initial drafts by the General Assembly, with expressions of concern for “cases motivated by Islamophobia, Judeophobia, and Christanophobia.”

Indeed, as M. Zuhdi Jasser, an observant American Muslim and the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, remarked in an e-mail, “Anyone who believes that Resolution 16’18 is some kind of a breakthrough is sadly being duped by the most obvious Islamist double discourse. The shift from ‘defamation’ to ‘incitement’ does nothing at all to change the basic paradigm where Islamist nations remain in the offen se, continuing to put Western, free nations on the defense.” Rather, said Jasser, “We should be putting Islamist autocracies on the defense and then simply reiterate that our First Amendment principles already protect the rights of all minorities — whether Muslim or otherwise — and that the best standard of free speech is the American one. Beginning to categorize speech as ‘incitement’ is a slippery slope that could open the floodgates for any post-tragedy analysis to indict what would otherwise be free speech absurdly as incitement in some far-fetched cause-effect analysis that would depend on proving that speech causes violence.”

Exactly.

It is, indeed, galling to think that we would enter into negotiations of any kind, with anyone, about the freedom of expression that is so central to our very way of life and the core of the founding of America. Ever.

The background to all of this, unsurprisingly, is an effort on the part of Muslim countries to limit what they consider to be defamatory and blasphemous speech: criticism of Islam, say, or insulting the prophet Mohammed – which, as we’ve learned, can mean anything from drawing a cartoon or making a joke in a comedy sketch to burning a Koran. Such acts – according to some readings of the Koran and, indeed, according to law in some IOC countries – are punishable by death. Hence the riots that met the publication of the so-called “Danish cartoons,” the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the murder of Theo van Gogh, and on and on.

… And The Deceptive

And here’s where Resolution 16/18 gets tricky.

Because who, exactly, arbitrates what is “incitement to imminent violence”? Violence by whom? If drawing a caricature of the Prophet incites violence by Islamic radicals to the tune of riots, arson, and murder, all sanctioned by the IOC itself – then drawing such a caricature (or writing a book like the Satanic Verses) will now constitute a criminal act. And that is exactly what the OIC was aiming for. It is also in direct violation of the principles of Western democracy – and the First Amendment. (Though it is crucial to note that any resolution passed by the General Assembly remains nonbinding, which makes you sort of wonder what the point of all this is, anyway.)

Moreover, since many would claim that the persecution of blasphemers is mandated by their religion, conflicts emerge between guarantees of free expression and the guarantee of freedom of religion and the practice of one’s faith. In othr words: your free speech allows you to insult my prophet: my freedom of religion compels me to kill you for it.

What was that about “incitement to violence”?
Whose violence?

This is how the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation plays “Gotcha.

This is how the American government, however unwittingly, subsumes its own Constitution in deference ot the demands of the Islamic state.

It’s a dangerous game.

True, the Human Rights First position on the issue is significantly more optimistic:

“The U.S. will always enforce its own standards on freedom of expression; these are enshrined in this country’s Constitution. But its legal exceptionalism on freedom of spee ch does not necessarily mean that the U.S. administration needs to be diplomatically isolated when it comes to promoting globally the principles of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, which many in the U.S. perceive to be core and founding American values. On the contrary, since the U.S. joined the U.N. Human Rights Council, the Obama administration has openly expressed its ambition to exert leadership within the U.N. body.

The U.S. demonstrated that leadership by securing the passage of Resolution 16/18 at the Human Rights Council and by moving immediately to show through the Istanbul Process Conference that states have tools at their disposal to combat violence, discrimination and hatred without restricting free speech.”

But note that word: “combat.” That same word appears in Resolution 16/18, which states “Understanding the need to combat denigration and negative religious stereotyping of persons, as well as incitement to religious hatred, by strategizing and harmonizing actions at the local, national, regional and international levels through, inter alia, education and awareness building.” (Emphasis mine.)

“Combat” implies warfare. Is that the language we want here? Is that one of the options under the vague and wide-open term “inter alia”? And are the “tools at their disposal” – education, interfaith dialogue, and debate — really going to “combat” hatred, especially when that hatred is disguised as proper adherence to one’s faith? When racist myths are taught as historical fact to children across a large swath of the globe?

As for that “faith” thing: it strikes me that those of no faith – atheists – are not addressed anywhere in t his resolution. Are they also to be protected from hate crimes? Is atheism among the ideas to be debated and taught in these awareness-raising sessions? If so, why is that not so stated? If not, why not?

Then there is the ongoing whimpering about the “targeting” of Muslims in non-Muslim countries. Actually, that “targeting” is largely mythical, or at the very least, heavily exaggerated. Throughout the world, from France to the Netherlands to Germany to the United States of America, the majority – by a large margin – of those hate crimes and incidents of discrimination perpetrated on the basis of religion target Jews. (another resource available here) And in virtually every case, the “extremism” in question has been Islamic extremism. (Though recent reports of the despicable behavior or ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel puts a new perspective on the matter.)

The Bigger Picture

But here’s the biggest problem: when the exercise of free speech leads to violence far beyond our control. It’s called “terrorism.” And neither the U.N. General Assembly nor the United States of America has the power to stop it. More importantly: by agreeing to curb speech that could lead to “imminent violence,” we in essence accept the blame for any terrorist acts against America (and the West). We agreed not to provoke, after all.

This, of course, is an unacceptable paradigm, and one we cannot allow to stand.

Integral to the greatness of America is the simple fact that no other country in the world places so sacred a value on free speech – indeed, on free expression – as does the United States. Holocaust denial, for instance, is verboten in Germany. Mein Kampf is banned in the Netherlands. France last week criminalized the denial of the Armenian genocide in Turkey (an act that resulted in widespread condemnation by the OIC, whose Secretary General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, had the audacity, days after the ratification of 16/18, to bluster that those who defend cartoons that mock Mohammed as “freedom of thought and expression” have no business limiting the speech of those who deny the Armenian genocide. “This is an indisputable and unacceptable paradox,” he declared). And so on.

Yet in all of this, America has stood strong in its defense of free speech – even blasphemous, hateful, racist, sexist, Pentecostal, homophobic, and ignorant speech. We must continue to do so, no matter what pressures we may face. Because in the end, limiting our rights to self-expression and – above all – the questioning of religious beliefs – will never help to make the world more peaceful – or more free.

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size]

Admin Wed 04 Jan 2012, 5:27 pm

January 3, 2012

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Sabaditsch-Wolff

A Black Day for freedom

of speech

Dear Elaine,

Two weeks ago, an Austrian appellate court upheld the conviction of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff on charges of “denigrating religious beliefs” (see story below).

Ms. Sabaditsch-Wolff is one of ACT! for America’s international chapter leaders.

ACT! for America has contributed to Ms. Sabaditsch-Wolff’s legal defense fund and encourages concerned citizens to do the same. Log on here if you would like to make a contribution to her legal defense fund. We know Elisabeth’s situation—she needs a lot of help if she is to continue fighting this on appeal. She is, indeed, fighting for the rights of all of us.

This back-door imposition of sharia law will not end in Austria. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), representing all 56 Muslim countries, has won the support of top officials in our State Department in its efforts to criminalize “defamation” of religion. (It is a violation of sharia law to “defame” Islam, Allah or Mohammed.)

In a move clearly designed to intimidate those who oppose the OIC’s effort, Hillary Clinton’s security personnel detained Andrea Lafferty, president of the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC), at the closing event of a recent conference aimed at promoting this draconian effort. Lafferty was told she had been identified as a “security threat” to the Secretary of State. (See the TVC story here.)

For four years we have been warning America that our freedom of speech is under assault from radical Islam and its politically correct enablers and apologists. As you can see, we don’t cry wolf.

"A Black Day for Austria"

by Soeren Kern
December 26, 2011 at 5:00 am

http://www.hudson-ny.org/2702/sabaditsch-wolff-appeal

An Austrian appellate court has upheld the conviction of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a Viennese housewife and anti-Jihad activist, for "denigrating religious beliefs" after giving a series of seminars about the dangers of radical Islam.

The December 20 ruling shows that while Judaism and Christianity can be disparaged with impunity in postmodern multicultural Austria, speaking the truth about Islam is subject to swift and hefty legal penalties.

Although the case has major implications for freedom of speech in Austria, as well as in Europe as a whole, it has received virtually no press coverage in the American mainstream media.

Sabaditsch-Wolff's Kafkaesque legal problems began in November 2009, when she presented a three-part seminar about Islam to the Freedom Education Institute, a political academy linked to the Austrian Freedom Party.

A glossy socialist weekly magazine, NEWS -- all in capital letters -- planted a journalist in the audience to secretly record the first two lectures. Lawyers for the leftwing publication then handed the transcripts over to the Viennese public prosecutor's office as evidence of hate speech against Islam, according to Section 283 of the Austrian Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB). Formal charges against Sabaditsch-Wolff were filed in September 2010; and her bench trial, presided on by one multicultural judge and no jury, began November 23, 2010.

On the first day of the trial, however, it quickly became clear that the case against Sabaditsch-Wolff was not as air-tight as prosecutors had made it out to be. The judge in the case, Bettina Neubauer, pointed out, for example, that only 30 minutes of the first seminar had actually been recorded.

Neubauer also noted that some of the statements attributed to Sabaditsch-Wolff were offhand comments made during breaks and not a formal part of the seminar. Moreover, only a few people heard these comments, not 30 or more -- the criterion under Austrian law for a statement being "public." In any event, Sabaditsch-Wolff says her comments were not made in a public forum because the seminars were held for a select group of people who had registered beforehand.

More importantly, many of the statements attributed to Sabaditsch-Wolff were actually quotes she made directly from the Koran and other Islamic religious texts. Fearing that the show trial would end in a mistrial, the judge abruptly suspended hearings until January 18, 2011, ostensibly to give him time to review the tape recordings, but also to give the prosecution more time to shore up its case.

On January 18, after realizing that the original charge would not hold up, the judge -- not the prosecutor -- informed Sabaditsch-Wolff that in addition to the initial charge of hate speech, she was now being charged with "denigrating religious symbols of a recognized religious group." Sabaditsch-Wolff's lawyer immediately demanded that the trial be postponed so that the defense could prepare a new strategy.

When the trial resumed on February 15, 2011, Sabaditsch-Wolff was exonerated of the first charge of "incitement" because the court found that here statements were not made in a "provocative" manner.

But Sabaditsch-Wolff was convicted of the second charge against her, namely "denigration of religious beliefs of a legally recognized religion," according to Section 188 of the Austrian Criminal Code.

The judge ruled that Sabaditsch-Wolff committed a crime by stating in her seminars about Islam that the Islamic prophet Mohammed was a pedophile (Sabaditsch-Wolff's actual words were "Mohammed had a thing for little girls.")

The judge rationalized that Mohammed's sexual contact with nine-year-old Aisha could not be considered pedophilia because Mohammed continued his marriage to Aisha until his death. According to this line of thinking, Mohammed had no exclusive desire for underage girls; he was also attracted to older females because Aisha was 18 years old when Mohammed died.

The judge ordered Sabaditsch-Wolff to pay a fine of €480 ($625) or an alternative sentence of 60 days in prison. Moreover, she was required to pay the costs of the trial. Although at first glance the fine may appear trivial -- the fine was reduced to 120 "day rates" of €4 each because Sabaditsch-Wolff is a housewife with no income -- the actual fine would have been far higher if she had had income.

Sabaditsch-Wolff appealed the conviction to the Provincial Appellate Court (Oberlandesgericht Wien) in Vienna, but that appeal was rejected on December 20. The court says she will go to prison if the fine is not paid within the next six months. She says she will take the case to the Strasbourg-based European Court for Human Rights.

After the trial, Sabaditsch-Wolff said her conviction represented "a black day for Austria." The Vienna Federation of Academics (Wiener Akademikerbund) said the ruling represented "politically and sentimentally motivated justice" and marked "the end of freedom of expression in Austria."

Sabaditsch-Wolff is not the only Austrian to run afoul of the country's anti-free speech laws. In January 2009, Susanne Winter, an Austrian politician and Member of Parliament, was convicted for the "crime" of saying that "in today's system" the Mohammed would be considered a "child molester," referring to his marriage to Aisha. Winter was also convicted of "incitement" for saying that Austria faces an "Islamic immigration tsunami." Winters was ordered to pay a fine of €24,000 ($31,000), and received a suspended three-month prison sentence.

-----------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

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Admin Fri 30 Dec 2011, 11:24 pm

December 29, 2011

A LOWE’S UPDATE!!

KEEP IT UP….YOUR VOICE IS BEING HEARD!

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Lowes_petition

Please Sign Our Petition TODAY!

Earlier this month, we rolled out a petition expressing support for Lowe’s business decision to pull its advertisements from the TLC show, “All-American Muslim.”

We are confident that the majority of Americans agree with us that Lowe’s is well within its right to pull an advertisement from any media outlet or production without the need for any explanation whatsoever. There is support for Lowe’s on that principle alone.

However, it’s not surprise that a very vocal minority has been using their mastery of the politically correct media not only to denigrate Lowe’s in order to elevate themselves, but to make an “example” of the company in order to intimidate other corporations and individuals.

But they haven’t been as successful as they had hoped. Lowe’s is continuing to stand its ground. We are sure that the support and encouragement they’ve been receiving from people such as those who have signed our petition is one reason why.

Last week we delivered over 30,000 names to Lowe’s. Have you signed the petition yet? If so, have you forwarded it on to at least 5 other people you know? There is still time to take action!

Here’s an update on a few recent positive actions with regard to the Lowe’s issue:

When several pastors delivered petitions voicing opposition to Lowe’s actions, they were surprised to be invited in to the company’s headquarters to hear Lowe’s side of the story. Afterward, the pastors acknowledged that they initially “responded to misinformation” by those orchestrating the petitions. (It has come to light that the petitions were orchestrated by far left groups and individuals like Think Progress and George Soros.) The meeting between the pastors and Lowe’s went so well, in fact, that they had a joint press conference immediately afterward, where the pastors announced that they “respect their (Lowe’s) business decision.”

See an article from the Charlotte Observer and one from the Mooresville Tribune for more information about this matter.
Instead of listening to groups falsely claiming they represent most American Muslims, like CAIR, Lowe’s has been smart enough to communicate with Muslim-Americans who truly represent their community. This has allowed Lowe’s to successfully differentiate truths from falsehoods and CAIR’s traditional scare tactics have, thus far, been unsuccessful.

That being said, Islamist and left-leaning individuals and groups are continuing to put pressure on the Lowe’s organization. It is CRITICAL that America speak out in support of Lowe’s and thank them for standing their ground on this important issue.

To-date, we have had over 37,000 people sign our Lowe’s petition—but we need thousands more. We need to send a message both to Lowe’s and to the Islamists in our nation that America will continue to defend the freedoms that make her great. Here at ACT! for America, we’ve made it clear to Lowe’s that we will walk beside them every step of the way.

Can we count on you to do the same?

Please sign the petition today and then forward it on to every person you know who values our nation and its democratic freedoms.

[size=21]REMEMBER, YOUR VOICE COUNTS!
IF EACH OF US DOES JUST A LITTLE, TOGETHER WE CAN
ACCOMPLISH A LOT!

-----------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size][/size]

Admin Thu 22 Dec 2011, 5:39 pm

Happy Hanukkah

On behalf of everyone at the ACT! for America family, we extend a warm Happy Hanukkah greeting to our Jewish family, friends and supporters. May the glow of the Hanukkah Menorah keep us ever mindful that goodness does indeed triumph over evil.

Always devoted,

Brigitte Gabriel

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Menorah

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ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Wed 21 Dec 2011, 8:13 am

December 20, 2011

Group protesting Lowe’s with petition

Please sign our petition of SUPPORT today!

According to a Charlotte Observer news report, a coalition of “interfaith” organizations is planning on delivering a petition to Lowe’s protesting its decision to stop advertising on the TV show “All-American Muslim.”

The coalition is claiming to have 200,000 signers on its petition, which we have been unable to verify.

As far as we know, we are the only national organization coming to the defense of Lowe’s with a petition. This week we are delivering the first round of petition signers to the company, and thus far we have over 31,000 signers.

But we can do better than this. We need to do better than this!

Why? Because we believe we represent the “silent majority” in America who agree that Lowe’s has every right to decide when and where to advertise—but aren’t activists and don’t take the time to sign petitions like this. Our petition not only speaks for us, but for them.

So if you haven’t yet added your name to our petition, please do so today! It only takes a minute or two. Lowe’s needs to hear from more of us than 31,000 people!

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Make sure you receive all of your messages from ACT for America. Add actforamerica@donationnet.net to your address book as an approved email sender. If you found this message in your "Bulk" or "Spam" folder, please click the "Not Spam" button to notify your provider that these are emails you want to receive.

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Tue 20 Dec 2011, 1:19 am

A Report from the Hill

Round 4: Joint House/Senate Homeland Security Committee Hearing on Radical Islam’s Terror Threat to U.S. Military Communities

Must-see video of brief exchange between Rep. Dan Lungren and Obama official!!

by Lisa Piraneo, Director of Government Relations

Would you like to get Lisa Piraneo’s live Tweets from Capitol Hill? Click on the following link: @LisaPiraneo

Don’t have a Twitter account yet? Sign up at the link below—it’s free: www.twitter.com

Last Wednesday, I Tweeted live during the 4^th of Chairman Pete King’s hearings on radical Islam in our nation, entitled “Homegrown Terrorism: The Threat to Military Communities Inside the United States.” Last week’s hearing, was slightly different from the previous three, in that it was a JOINT hearing convened by both the House Homeland Security Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

To accompany the hearing, Chairman King released a Congressional Majority Investigative Report, also entitled, “Homegrown Terrorism: The Threat to Military Communities inside the United States.” The report offers numerous details on the dangers faced by our military and their families on U.S. soil, noting,

“The Department of Defense considers the U.S. Homeland the most dangerous place for a G.I. outside of foreign warzones – and the top threat they face here is from violent Islamist extremists. While our troops at overseas bases train their weapons outward to prevent armed enemies from getting “inside the wire,” one way militant Islamists are penetrating our defenses is through enlistment in the U.S. Armed Forces. A significant and growing number of military personnel, such as alleged Fort Hood mass murderer Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, pose a serious danger to their brothers and sisters in arms who wear the same uniform.”

Last week’s hearing covered a great deal of ground, which you can find out by downloading my more detailed report HERE. For the remainder of this e-mail, however, I want to focus on one particular exchange that you just HAVE to see to believe.

At one point during the discussion, Congressman Dan Lungren (R-CA/3^rd) asked witness Paul Stockton (Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and America’s Security Affairs, Office of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Department of Defense) if we are at war with violent Islamist extremism.

A simple question, requiring a simple answer…right?

Wrong.

Click HERE to watch this exchange in its entirety. Mr. Stockton’s responses would be downright comedic if they didn’t tragically demonstrate the shocking denial of jihadism at our highest levels of our government.

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Make sure you receive all of your messages from ACT for America. Add [color:3e54=#000]actforamerica@donationnet.net to your address book as an approved email sender. If you found this message in your "Bulk" or "Spam" folder, please click the "Not Spam" button to notify your provider that these are emails you want to receive.

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ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Thu 15 Dec 2011, 8:18 pm

Sign Our Petition supporting Lowe’s right to
end advertising on TLC’s TV show
“All-American Muslim”

Imagine for a moment that the propaganda arm for Hamas in the United States, CAIR, was viciously attacking an American company for its decision to stop running commercials on a television show highlighting a CAIR community organizer.

And imagine that a California State Senator took to the media airwaves to call this American company "bigoted, shameful and un-American." Imagine further that he even suggested he would propose a law to make what the company did illegal.

Rewind.

No longer are we in an America of imagination. This is today’s reality. Lowe’s Home Improvement made a lawful business decision to end its advertising on TLC’s TV show, “All-American Muslim.” The available evidence is that Lowe’s did so because the show’s ratings had tanked so badly it hardly had any viewers. It’s not uncommon for businesses to stop advertising on shows with low ratings.

But CAIR and its radical allies have claimed something more sinister is going on. They have joined voices in a chorus of vicious allegations, name-calling, and outrageous demands—all intended to bully an all-American company, Lowe’s Home Improvement, into submission to their radical agenda.

This is an outrage.

If CAIR and its radical allies succeed in bullying Lowe’s into submission, consider the message this intimidation will send to businesses across America.

We are calling on you to join us TODAY in encouraging Lowe’s to resist this intimidation campaign. Please add your name HERE in SUPPORT of Lowe’s Home Improvement and its right to make decisions regarding when and where it will advertise.

Remember, CAIR is a front organization for the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR is an organization that was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in our country’s largest terrorism financing trial in history. CAIR and its radical allies must not be allowed to impose their agenda on Lowe’s—or any other company in America.

So please exercise your freedom today and sign our petition in support of Lowe’s.

Thank you!

Sign Our Petition supporting Lowe’s right to
end advertising on TLC’s TV show
“All-American Muslim”

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 20111215_Brigitte_at_Lowes

(Brigitte shows her support for Lowe’s. Please add your name to the Lowe’s support petition today.)

Imagine for a moment that the propaganda arm for Hamas in the United States, CAIR, was viciously attacking an American company for its decision to stop running commercials on a television show highlighting a CAIR community organizer.

And imagine that a California State Senator took to the media airwaves to call this American company "bigoted, shameful and un-American." Imagine further that he even suggested he would propose a law to make what the company did illegal.

Rewind.

No longer are we in an America of imagination. This is today’s reality. Lowe’s Home Improvement made a lawful business decision to end its advertising on TLC’s TV show, “All-American Muslim.” The available evidence is that Lowe’s did so because the show’s ratings had tanked so badly it hardly had any viewers. It’s not uncommon for businesses to stop advertising on shows with low ratings.

But CAIR and its radical allies have claimed something more sinister is going on. They have joined voices in a chorus of vicious allegations, name-calling, and outrageous demands—all intended to bully an all-American company, Lowe’s Home Improvement, into submission to their radical agenda.

This is an outrage.

If CAIR and its radical allies succeed in bullying Lowe’s into submission, consider the message this intimidation will send to businesses across America.

We are calling on you to join us TODAY in encouraging Lowe’s to resist this intimidation campaign. Please add your name HERE in SUPPORT of Lowe’s Home Improvement and its right to make decisions regarding when and where it will advertise.

Remember, CAIR is a front organization for the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR is an organization that was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in our country’s largest terrorism financing trial in history. CAIR and its radical allies must not be allowed to impose their agenda on Lowe’s—or any other company in America.

So please exercise your freedom today and sign our petition in support of Lowe’s.

Thank you!

-------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Mon 12 Dec 2011, 9:57 pm

LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT

CAPITOL HILL SUPPORT FOR OPEN FUEL STANDARDS GROWS:
CONGRESSMAN ALLEN WEST ADDS NAME AS COSPONSOR

ACT! for America is doing it again. We are slowly but surely moving the ball down the field on one of our high priority issues—breaking OPEC’s domination of worldwide oil.

November was a banner month on Capitol Hill when it comes to gaining support for this goal and, in doing so, sending a clear message to hostile Islamic regimes across the globe that they will no longer be able to use oil as a weapon.

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 20111212_meeting

As we reported in our last Open Fuel Standard Act Alert, during the first part of the month, Brigitte and Lisa Piraneo, our Director of Government Relations, spent a full day meeting face-to-face with federal legislators and educating them not only on the importance of the OFS legislation, but on why it is so critical that we turn “oil into salt”—salt no longer being the strategic commodity it once was. See a great short video by Set America Free, one of our coalition partners, for further information on this interesting viewpoint.

Over the following days, Lisa met with additional Members of Congress on this issue. She was joined by former National Security Advisor Robert (Bud) McFarlane, Anne Korin of the U.S. Energy Security Council, and Robert Stein, director of the OFS coalition. Once again, these meetings were tremendously productive and it was clear that our elected officials are beginning to see the light.

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Allen_West_94

The continued push up on Capitol Hill—on the one side by Brigitte, Lisa, and the coalition—and on the other through your voices from back home via your letters and e-mails—has resulted in growing support for the Open Fuel Standard Act. The most recent victory? U.S. Congressman—Allen West, who recently added his name to this critical legislation as a cosponsor. Great news, indeed!

Congressman West understands that this legislation is a simple and common sense approach to finally severing our ties with OPEC and to putting a stop to our own financing of Islamic terrorism every time we fill up our gas tanks.

****ACTION ALERT *****

Have your elected officials seen the light yet? See here to check the latest co-sponsor list for H.R. 1687, the House version of the legislation and here for information on S. 1603, the Senate’s version.

Whether they have or not, please take a moment now to send an e-mail to your Members of Congress about the Open Fuel Standard Act. (Our system will even automatically send a “thank you” note, if your Member of Congress is already on the bill). Click HERE to reach our Capwiz site and click on the “Open Fuel Standard Act” alerts to send your message to the Hill.

After our last OFS Legislative Alert, close to 3,000 e-mails by ACT! for America members reached the Hill—in only 2 days! That’s a powerful voice! Let’s DOUBLE that amount today.

Finally, a few important reminders about this issue:

Contrary to what some believe, though Canada does indeed supply a vast amount of America’s oil, purchasing from only our northern neighbor will not destroy what OPEC is doing to the world-wide cost of oil, nor will it decrease the terrorism that is funded through OPEC oil funds.
This is not about supporting ethanol, methanol, or any other alternative transportation fuel source. The beauty of the OFS Act is that it doesn’t support ONE particular transportation fuel—it only opens up the market to competition and finally allows the AMERICAN CONSUMER to choose from a variety of fuels for their cars and trucks.
The OFS legislation will be an American JOBS CREATOR.
There is PROVEN success with Open Fuel Standards: Brazil.
Many in the American automotive industry already make vehicles that can accommodate multiple fuel sources…just not here in America. If they can do it elsewhere, why not HERE to provide fuel CHOICE to the American consumer!
There are NO SUBSIDIES tied to the OFS legislation and there is absolutely NO COST to the Federal Government/taxpayers.
To keep up with the issue of Open Fuel Standards, including the House and Senate legislation, see www.openfuelstandard.org

[size=21]REMEMBER, YOUR VOICE COUNTS!
IF EACH OF US DOES JUST A LITTLE, TOGETHER WE CAN
ACCOMPLISH A LOT!

--------------------------------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size][/size]

Admin Sat 10 Dec 2011, 12:35 pm

December 9, 2011

Increase your car’s fuel efficiency by 40%, cut your fuel costs...and break the back of OPEC!

To really, really understand why we are 110% in support of the proposed Open Fuel Standard Act in Congress, please read the fascinating column below (highlights added).

The author, Robert Zubrin, proves that we can increase fuel efficiency by 40%, thus drastically cutting the cost to fuel our cars—and break the back of the OPEC oil cartel and the petrodollars that support radical Islam.

Talk about your win-win scenario!!

[Editor’s note: When Zubrin mentions biomass, he is referring to everything from leaves, grass, and weeds, to garbage. All of these can be converted to methanol. So our question is, why do we keep paying OPEC to run our cars?? You really must read Zubrin’s column below.]

Methanol Wins An Open Wager
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 12:42 PM PST
By Dr. Robert Zubrin (originally published in the National Review Online here).

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 20111209_chevy_cobalt

2007 Chevy Cobalt

On August 2, I published an open wager on National Review Online. I offered to bet up to ten people $10,000 each that I could take my 2007 Chevy Cobalt, which is not a flex-fuel car, and, running it on 100 percent methanol, get at least 24 miles per gallon on the highway. Since methanol averages less than half the price of gasoline — and can readily be made from coal, natural gas, or any kind of biomass without exception — this would demonstrate superior transportation economy from a non-petroleum fuel that is producible from plentiful American resources.

Unfortunately, no one took the bet. That fact alone says a lot. Of the 7 billion people on this planet, there are about a million or so who know a great deal about cars. Clearly, not one of them was sufficiently doubtful that it could be done to put his money on the line. Although it left me short a nice chunk of easy cash, the refusal of anyone to accept my challenge should have settled the matter. But some people, while refusing to take the bet, still demanded that I conduct the test anyway. I did, and here are the results.

First, I ran the car on 100 percent methanol. This required replacing the fuel-pump seal made of Viton, which is not methanol compatible, with one made of Buna-N, which is. The new part cost 41 cents, retail. In order to take proper advantage of methanol’s very high octane rating (about 109), I advanced the timing appropriately. This dramatically improved the motor efficiency and allowed the ordinarily sedate sedan to perform with a significantly more sporty spirit. As measured on the dyno, horsepower increased 10 percent. With these modifications complete, I took my Cobalt out for a road test. The result: 24.6 miles per gallon.

When I first made the bet, many commentators thought that I would aim for high-efficiency performance with high-octane fuel by increasing the compression ratio of the engine (which is how race-car drivers using methanol have done it for the past half-century). However, with modern cars using electronic fuel injection, this is unnecessary. Instead, the necessary changes to the engine can be made simply by adjusting the Engine Control Unit software. Thus, except for switching the fuel-pump seal as noted above, no physical changes to the car were required.

Other critics commented that while I might be able to achieve good fuel economy, the idea was impractical because the emissions would not be acceptable. In response, I had the car tested for emissions with 100 percent methanol (M100), 60 percent methanol (M60), and ordinary gasoline (i.e., E10, which contains about 10 percent ethanol), and for comparison, did mileage tests for these alternatives as well. The results of all these tests are shown in the table below.

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 20111209_comparison_chart

It can be seen that, far from failing to meet emissions standards, the Cobalt running on methanol was extremely clean, beating both the strict Colorado emissions standards and the national EPA averages by an order of magnitude. The complete elimination of carbon-monoxide emissions when using M60 is particularly remarkable — so much so that I initially thought it was an experimental error caused by faulty equipment at the emissions test station. I tested it again at a different station and got the same result.

Returning to the subject of fuel economy, this can be evaluated by dividing the miles per gallon by the pre-tax spot price of the fuels in question in order to obtain the pre-tax miles per dollar shown in the table above. It can be seen that when methanol is used, fuel-economy improvements of 40 percent can be achieved. (The spot price shown in the table is the New York Harbor spot price of gasoline and the non-discounted Methanex spot price, both averaged over the past year.)

These results should not be too surprising. Methanol contains about half the energy content of gasoline, but its high octane allows it to be burned more efficiently, and thus obtain two-thirds of the mileage. The fact that the Cobalt could easily be made to use it should be no shock either: While not a flex-fuel car, the Cobalt uses the same E-37 computer and the same engine as GM’s HHR, which is a flex-fuel car. In fact, all GM cars sold in the U.S. for the past five years use either the E-37 (for small cars) or the equally flex-fuel-capable E-38 (for larger cars), and so all are capable of flex-fuel operation provided they are programmed correctly. The same is true at Ford, whose cars, whether flex-fuel or not, indiscriminately use the same “black oak,” “green oak,” or “silver oak” computers. Without question, the same must be the case for European and Japanese cars as well, since all are sold in Brazil, where flex-fuel capability is mandatory.

There was a time when adding flex-fuel capability to an automobile increased its cost by about $100. This is no longer true. Now almost all new cars already have flex-fuel hardware, and could easily be marketed as flex-fuel vehicles. Yet the automakers have failed to do so. This is an extraordinary disservice to the nation, because it is preventing us from meeting our fuel needs using our own resources. The United States has only about 4 billion tons of oil reserves, but over 270 billion tons of coal, unknowably vast supplies of natural gas, and by far the world’s most powerful agricultural sector — all of which could be used to produce methanol. Yet instead of being able to put these assets effectively to use to meet our transportation needs, we are being forced to buy 5 billion barrels per year of imported oil. At $100 per barrel, this is costing us $500 billion per year, a deduction from our GDP equal to that required to support 5 million jobs, at $100,000 annually per job.

The Open Fuel Standard bill (H.R. 1687) would remedy this situation by requiring automakers to activate the flex-fuel capabilities of their vehicles. This would open the market to fuels producible from plentiful domestic resources not under cartel control, free us from looting by OPEC, create millions of jobs, slash our deficit, reduce the flow of income to the Islamists, and cushion us from counter-effects should forceful action be required to deal with threats such as the Iranian nuclear-bomb program. Introduced by Reps. John Shimkus (R., Ill.) and Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.), its current bipartisan list of sponsors includes liberals such as Jim McDermott (D., Wash.), Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), Steve Israel (D., N.Y.), and Howard Berman (D., Calif.) to conservatives Dan Burton (R., Ind.), Roscoe Bartlett (R., Md.), Tom Cole (R., Okla.), and Allen West (R., Fla.), as well as many in between. It is a bill clearly in the national interest, and should be supported by everyone from left to right.

By eliminating the artificial incompatibility between the vehicles we drive and the fuels we can make ourselves, the Open Fuel Standard bill will unchain the Invisible Hand, creating a true free market in vehicle fuels. Those reluctant to embrace it need to answer the following questions: In whose interest is it that Americans should continue to be denied fuel choice? In whose interest is it that America’s vast natural-gas, coal, and biomass resources remain unusable as a source of liquid vehicle fuel? In whose interest is it that America continue to give hundreds of billions of dollars each year to foreign potentates bent upon our destruction, instead of paying our own people to make fuel out of our own resources? In whose interest is it that a foreign cartel retains unlimited power to raise the cost of our fuel? In whose interest is it that we remain in the power of our enemies? Finally, should their interests be allowed to prevail, or should ours?

The fault, dear reader, is not in our cars, but in ourselves, that we are tributaries. We can set ourselves free, but action is required.

— Dr. Robert Zubrin is president of Pioneer Astronautics, a member of the Steering Committee of Americans for Energy, and author of Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil. His next book, Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudoscientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism, will be published by Encounter Books in February.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Wed 07 Dec 2011, 10:10 am

December 6, 2011

Negative attitudes towards

Islam on the rise in Europe

Get your copy of our new book for youth!

Click here to find out more!

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Book_Threat_of_Radical_Islam_135

Dear Elaine,

A recent study in Europe found that half of Europeans now believe Islam is a religion of intolerance (see story below).

This is revealing, because for decades European countries and Great Britain have bent over backwards to accommodate Muslim immigrants and increasingly unreasonable demands from Islamic leaders and organizations.

Pushback by Europeans has resulted in the Swiss passage of a referendum banning the construction of minarets and the growing strength of Geert Wilders’ political party in the Netherlands.

It appears that, as more and more Europeans have seen the intolerance of radical Islam, they are understandably reacting negatively to that intolerance.

This is what leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron were referring to last year when they said, speaking of Muslim immigration, that “multiculturalism” had failed. Cameron went so far as to say it was time to stop being tolerant of intolerance.

The same trend is happening in America, with polls showing negative attitudes towards Islam on the rise. From the Ground Zero Mosque controversy to the rise of homegrown terrorism, Americans are waking up to the threat of radical Islam.

Groups like CAIR and ISNA will continue to claim this is all about worldwide Islamophobia. They claim that people have negative views of Islam because they aren’t exposed to “genuine” Islam.

But the mounting evidence argues that the more people in the West are exposed to Islam, the less they like what they see. Reformist Muslim Tawfik Hamid is correct—it’s time for the Muslim world to stop pointing fingers of blame at the West and start examining itself.

EU: Half of Europeans say Islam is a religion of intolerance

http://europenews.dk/en/node/50157

The Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation published a study on intolerance and prejudice in Europe. The study "Intolerance, Prejudice and Discrimination" is available in German and English. I bring below the section relating to Muslims.

After statistical testing, three statements were used to produce the anti-Muslim attitudes mean scale (Table 7, items 18 to 20). These cover the general impression that there are too many Muslims in the country, the charge that Muslims make too many demands, and broad-brush criticism of Islam as a religion of intolerance. Four further statements were surveyed in a random half of the sample. These cover a positive attitude that sees Muslims as an enrichment and the idea that there are great cultural differences between the majority society and Muslims, especially concerning attitudes towards women. We also surveyed the idea that Muslims generally support and condone terrorism.

In most of the countries a majority believe Islam to be a religion of intolerance, with agreement just below 50 percent only in Great Britain and the Netherlands. In almost all the countries more than half of respondents said that Muslims make too many demands; Portugal was the only exception with about one third. The statement that there are too many Muslims in the country is affirmed by just over one quarter in Portugal and by about one third in France. In Germany, Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands more than 40 percent of respondents complain that there are too many Muslims in their country, in Hungary about 60 percent.

Interviewees were also asked to respond to four further statements covering perceived cultural differences and supposed affinity of Muslims toward terrorism (Table 7, items 22 to 25). Despite correlating closely with anti-Muslim attitudes these items represent separate constructs and were therefore excluded from the scale measure.

The figures for those who say that Muslim culture is compatible with their own range from 17 percent in Poland and 19 percent in Germany to about half the population in Portugal and France. A majority of more than 70 percent of European respondents find that Muslim attitudes towards women are incompatible with their own values. Overall in the surveyed countries about one third think that Muslims treat Islamist terrorists as heroes, although somewhat fewer believe that terrorism finds moral support in the Muslim community (ranging from under 20 percent in Germany and the Netherlands to nearly 30 percent in Hungary).

The scale created from the first three statements clearly illustrates the extent of anti-Muslim attitudes in the studied countries (Figure 5). It is conspicuous that Europeans are largely united in their rejection of Muslims and Islam. The significantly most widespread anti-Muslim attitudes are found in Germany, Hungary, Italy and Poland, closely followed by France, Great Britain and the Netherlands. The extent of anti-Muslim attitudes is least in Portugal. In absolute terms, however, the eight countries differ little in their levels of prejudice towards Muslims.

---------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size]

Admin Mon 05 Dec 2011, 9:55 pm

December 5, 2011

Genocide Warning for

Christian church burns in Cairo
the Middle East!

Most people aren’t aware that since we toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein, over a half million Christians have been forced to flee Iraq due to persecution by Iraqi Muslims.

Now, the so-called “Arab Spring” is turning into a nightmare for non-Muslims in countries throughout the Middle East. It will likely only get worse. In Egypt’s recent election it has been estimated that Muslim Brotherhood candidates won about 45% of contested seats, and hardcore Islamist Salafist candidates (comparable to Wahhabists in Saudi Arabia), won 20%.

Please see the genocide warning and add your name to the petition below!

CSI Issues Genocide Warning for Religious Minorities in the Middle East

New Petition Calls on President Obama to Help Halt Religious Cleansing

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a Genocide Warning today for endangered religious minorities in the Islamic Middle East, and called on President Barack Obama to make their survival a priority as the United States responds to the "Arab Spring".

CSI simultaneously launched a petition to the President, asking him to respond to the upsurge of violence against religious minorities in the Middle East in his upcoming State of the Union Address.

Christians, Jews, Baha'i, Yezidis, Sabeans, and Ahmadias, numbering collectively over 12 million, are among the endangered minorities.

Writing today to President Obama, Dr. John Eibner, CEO of CSI-USA, stated:

"Conditions for genocide against non-Muslim communities exist in varying degrees throughout the region stretching from Pakistan to Morocco. The crisis of survival for non-Muslim communities is especially acute in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, the Palestinian territories, Iran and Pakistan."

Eibner also reminded President Obama of genocide warnings issued this year by French President Nicholas Sarkozy and former Lebanese President Amine Gemayal.

He furthermore recalled the President's May 19 speech on events in the Middle East, in which he committed to establish universal human rights, including religious freedom, as "a top priority that must be translated into concrete actions, and supported by all of the diplomatic, economic and strategic tools at our disposal."

CSI urged President Obama to present in his State of the Union Address a Middle East policy that includes:

An appeal to the UN Secretary General for the issuance of a Genocide Warning and implementation of preventative measures on the basis of Security Council Resolution 1366 (2001),
The commitment of at least 15% of US funding pledged for the support of democratic transition in the region to be devoted to combating Islamic supremacism, and
A pledge to withhold U.S. funding for institutions that promote religious discrimination.

Eibner concluded his letter to the President stating: "Millions of lives and the future of a religiously pluralistic civilization in the Middle East are at stake."

CSI is an international, Christian human rights organization, campaigning for religious liberty and human dignity, and assisting victims of religious persecution, victimized children and victims of catastrophe.

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Fri 02 Dec 2011, 9:37 pm

Fight the indoctrination of our youth!

by Brigitte Gabriel, President, ACT! for America

“Muhammad also preached that all people were equal…”

Discovering Our Past: Medieval and Modern Times (Glencoe/McGraw Hill,
2006, p. 176)

“The Quran granted women spiritual and social equality with men…”

World History (Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2008, p. 203)

“Shari’a law requires Muslim leaders to extend religious tolerance to Christians and Jews.”

World History: Patterns of Interaction (McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin,
2007, p. 268)

Dear Elaine,

Early next year our “sister” organization, ACT! for America Education, will release a comprehensive report on how public school textbooks are indoctrinating our youth with falsehoods about the history and doctrines of Islam.

Above are just three examples of these falsehoods. Notice the faulty narrative that is being taught to our children—that Islam has historically been tolerant and that its doctrines preach equality.

How faulty is this narrative? Here’s one example: Surah 4:34 in the Qur’an sanctions the right of husbands to beat their wives. So much for “social equality.”

Your children, grandchildren, and your friends’ children and grandchildren, are the targets of this indoctrination.

But you don’t have to sit by, feeling angry, frustrated or helpless to do anything about this.

You can begin fighting for the hearts and minds of our young people TODAY!!

Our new book for youth, “Understanding the Threat of Radical Islam,” will give you the facts to fight back!

It’s a readable book that doesn’t talk down to young people and isn’t too long or weighty.

And it’s available just in time for holiday gift giving.

We’re making this important book available for a contribution of just $26. For just $26 you can put this book into the hands of your teenager, a grandchild, or a friend of your family.

Simply log on here, select the “Contributing Member” option, then select the $26 gift level. It’s safe, simple, and secure.

If you would like multiple copies, we’re offering bulk orders of six copies or more for a contribution of just $20 per copy. After you log on here, select the “Quantity Discount Orders” option, then scroll down to the $20 gift amount.

If you would prefer to make your contribution with a check, just click here to print out an easy-to-use reply form that you can mail in with your check.

This illustrated book covers all the essential topics needed for a young person to gain an understanding of radical Islam . They’ll learn about everything from al Qaeda to Khomeini, from jihad to the Muslim Brotherhood, from sharia law to Wahhabism. The book even contains a timeline and an index.
The holidays are just around the corner, so please act today. This book is a great gift for teenagers—but I’ve been told by adults who have read it that the information is packaged so well they enjoyed reading it too.

Use it as a resource in your home to counter the fiction in school textbooks. Get a copy to donate to your school library, or give one to a teacher you know.

You can fight the indoctrination going on in our schools. You can put the truth into the mind of a young person today by getting a copy of this book.

Thank you for your support of ACT! for America. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Always devoted,

Brigitte Gabriel

-------------------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Thu 01 Dec 2011, 8:09 pm

December 1, 2011

Police investigate a

moderate Muslim

Complaint filed by Muslim woman wearing a hijab

Dear Elaine,

Sharia law begins changing a society well before it actually becomes the law of the land. A good example is the self-imposed censorship exercised by most of the American media when they refused to publish the Danish cartoons satirizing Mohammed. In effect, the media capitulated to sharia’s prohibition of anything perceived by Muslims as defamation of Mohammed.

We urge you to listen to this 6 minute radio interview. This is happening with increasing frequency across America. If the Muslim woman who filed the police complaint discussed in this interview is willing to do that to another Muslim, just think what that means for us non-Muslims!!

And when you’ve finished listening to the interview, if you haven’t yet signed the pledge of support to stop sharia in your state, why wait another minute? Please add your name today!

------------------------------------------------------

ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Mon 28 Nov 2011, 5:52 pm

November 28, 2011

A book on Radical

Islam—for our youth!

by Brigitte Gabriel,
President, ACT! for America

Dear Elaine,

For months, I have been anxiously looking forward to the day I could send you this email.

It’s because I am so excited to be able to announce the completion of a new ACT! for America book for our youth—

“Understanding the Threat of Radical Islam”

Everywhere I go I hear from parents and grandparents who ask me, “is there a good resource about radical Islam available for young people?”

Now there is—and just in time for holiday gift-giving!!

This illustrated book covers all the essential topics needed for a young person to gain an understanding of radical Islam—without being too long or too weighty. They’ll learn about everything from al Qaeda to Khomeini, from jihad to the Muslim Brotherhood, from sharia law to Wahhabism. The book even contains a timeline and an index.

Designed for middle school and early high school ages, this book will provide your teen or grandchild, or a friend of the family, the facts they aren’t getting in school, movies or the media.

We’re making this important book available for a contribution of just $26. For just $26 you can put this book into the hands of your teenager, a grandchild, or the friend of your family.

Simply log on here, select the “Contributing Member” option, then select the $26 gift level. It’s safe, simple, and secure.

If you would like multiple copies, we’re offering bulk orders of six copies or more for a contribution of just $20 per copy. After you log on here, select the “Quantity Discount Orders” option, then scroll down to the $20 gift amount.

If you would prefer to make your contribution with a check, just click here to print out an easy-to-use reply form that you can mail in with your check.

The holidays are just around the corner, so if you’re interested, please act today. This book is a great gift for teenagers—but I’ve been told by adults who have read it that the information is packaged so well they enjoyed reading it as well.

You can change the heart and mind of a young person today by getting a copy of this book. In doing so, you’ll be helping to shape the next generation’s understanding of radical Islam.

Thank you for your support of ACT! for America. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Always devoted,

Brigitte Gabriel

---------------------------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Wed 23 Nov 2011, 11:08 am

November 22, 2011

Law affirms FBI cutting ties to unindicted co-conspirator organizations

With Thanksgiving just two days away, something new to be thankful for!

Dear Elaine,

Kudos to Patrick Poole and Pajamas Media for the article below (highlights added).

While the Obama administration is training Islamists in Egypt and cozying up to leaders of organizations like ISNA (Islamic Society of North America), Congress has passed legislation that includes language prohibiting the FBI from formal outreach to such groups.

We helped get legislation passed in Arizona and Tennessee that prevents courts from applying sharia law. Congress passes the legislation discussed below. Polls show ¾ of Americans oppose sharia law in our court system. It seems that more and more Americans are understanding the threat—except the Obama administration.

Help us prepare our strategy for state legislative action in 2012 by adding your name to the pledge of support to protect your state from sharia law. Over 36,000 people have done so thus far!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

PJM Exclusive: New Law Cuts Ties Between FBI and Terror-Tied Groups

Obama signs bill codifying and expanding existing, but frequently ignored, ban on engaging groups and individuals named unindicted co-conspirators in terror trials.
Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Patrick_poole_20111122

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Patrick_poole_20111122

by
Patrick Poole

When Barack Obama signed the continuing resolution this past weekend averting another potential government shutdown, it’s doubtful that he was aware that tucked into the bill, which funds several federal agencies through the fiscal year and extends the continuing resolution for the rest of the government until December 16, is a provision that may dramatically impact what Islamic groups and leaders the FBI and other law enforcement agencies can continue to work with.

Under Division B, Title II of the bill, under the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Salaries and Expenses section, is the following provision:

Liaison partnerships- The conferees support the FBI’s policy prohibiting any formal non-investigative cooperation with unindicted co-conspirators in terrorism cases. The conferees expect the FBI to insist on full compliance with this policy by FBI field offices and to report to the Committees on Appropriations regarding any violation of the policy.

The most obvious group that this will impact is the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which was named unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case — the largest terrorism-finance trial in American history. During the trial, FBI Dallas Agent Lara Burns testified that CAIR was a front for the terrorist group Hamas.

Following the trial, which resulted in guilty verdicts on all counts and lengthy prison terms for all five Holy Land executives, the FBI was forced to cut ties with CAIR – a decision that CAIR claimed would hurt local communities and that prompted other Muslim groups, like the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), to threaten to stop cooperation with the FBI unless CAIR was reinstated. In a February 2010 letter to members of Congress, Assistant Attorney General Robert Weich forwarded evidence submitted by federal prosecutors in the trial and court testimony concerning CAIR’s ties to the Hamas-controlled Palestine Committee and that committee’s role in supporting Hamas.

Stung by their loss of access to federal law enforcement agencies, some of the Islamic organizations named as unindicted co-conspirators in the case unsuccessfully sued to have their names removed from the list. In a 2009 unsealed decision by federal Judge Jorge Solis, the court found that the government should have submitted the unindicted co-conspirators list under seal, and ordered the list resealed (a hollow victory since the list is readily available), but declined to remove the groups and individuals named.

In fact, in his decision Judge Solis recounted the evidence submitted by the government that justified CAIR’s being named unindicted co-conspirator in the case:

The Government identifies four portions of the record from the first trail that purportedly established that CAIR was a “joint venturer and co-conspirator”: (1) a Government exhibit showing the objective of the Palestine Committee is to support Hamas; (2) a Government exhibit showing CAIR founder Omar Ahmad is part of the Palestine Committee and Mousa Abu Marzook is its head; (3) a Government exhibit listing CAIR as part of the Palestine Committee; and (4) the testimony of Special Agent Lara Burns and accompanying exhibits placing the CAIR founder at the 1993 Philadelphia conference and describing the CAIR founder’s mediation of a dispute between HLF and Ashqar over Hamas fundraising . (Resp. at 12-13.) The Government does not mention any occasion where it used the 801(d)(2)(E) hearsay exception to introduce a statement of CAIR. The four pieces of evidence the government relies on, as discussed below, do create at least a prima facie case as to CAIR’s involvement in a conspiracy to support Hamas. (p. 6-7) (emphasis added)

But it wasn’t just CAIR among the unindicted co-conspirators that Solis focused on, but also the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which bills itself as the largest Muslim umbrella group in the country, and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), which owns the property to more than one-quarter of all mosques in North America. Solis wrote that the government had “produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR, ISNA and NAIT with HLF, the Islamic Association for Palestine (‘IAP’), and with Hamas.” He also wrote: “The Muslim Brotherhood supervised the creation of the ‘Palestine Committee,’ which was put in charge of other organizations, such as HLF, IAP, UASR, and ISNA.” And also: “During the [1993 Philadelphia] conference, Palestine Committee members discussed using ISNA as official cover for their activities.”

What impact this new legislation will have remains to be seen, but it is clearly intended to roll back the Obama administration’s penchant for relying on groups identified by government prosecutors as fronts for designated terrorist organizations as partners for “outreach.”

(CONTINUE READING FULL ARTICLE HERE)

-------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Mon 21 Nov 2011, 5:51 pm

November 21, 2011

The terror trial in Boston

Dear Elaine,

Our friend at Americans for Peace and Tolerance, Charles Jacobs, recently wrote an excellent column we bring to you below (highlights added).

Terror - and civil society - on trial in Boston

By Charles Jacobs

Tarek Mehanna, a young Muslim student, son of an Egyptian immigrant, was arrested two years ago at his home in Sudbury; accused by the FBI of plotting a Mumbai like machine gun massacre of New England shoppers in Attleboro's Emerald Square Mall - and for giving material support to Al Qaeda in Iraq. His trial began on Oct. 24.

Prosecution documents tell of Mehanna's attempt to seek terrorist training in Yemen and Pakistan. They describe the pleasure he and his friends took in watching videos of Americans being beheaded and of American soldiers killed and mutilated in Iraq. Watching a scene of an American soldier whose chest was ripped open and whose innards then set ablaze with gasoline, Mehanna called it "a Texas barbeque." When asked by a fellow extremist if the soldiers should not have received some sort of trial, Mehanna said no, "BBQ sauce is the way to go." Mehanna and his friends talked online about how his own translations of Al-Qaeda recruitment literature into English made him part of "the media wing of Al Qaeda." In these same conversations, monitored by the FBI, he has said that he "looks to Osama Bin Laden as his real father" and "loves him," and that he wasn't sorry for the victims of 9/11; he was just sorry "for the buildings."

An upper middle class fellow with an advantaged background hates his neighbors and his country? Aren't we told that poverty produces radicals?

Despite all this, the very people who have been telling us for years that they are true moderates have developed a Free Tarek Mehanna (FTM) Committee, which describes Mehanna in a petition as "a person with strong ethical values" who is "intelligent, charismatic, influential and trusted by many in the local Islamic community." A role model.

The group has been aggressively politicizing the judicial proceedings against Mehanna. Its spokesmen accuse the FBI of a national effort to harm the entire American Muslim community. FTM has targeted individual prosecutors and harassed the US Attorney's office with repeated phone calls and sit-ins. It labels anyone who dares to raise concerns about radical Islam as bigots and Islamophobes.

On Sept. 24, the leadership of the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Roxbury organized an event there that featured pleas for support by Mehanna's brother and by the families of three convicted terrorists from Georgia, North Carolina and New York (Ehsanul Sadequee, Ziyad Yaghi and Syed Fahad Hashmi, respectively). Speakers claimed their communities were "suffering under the war on terror," which they called a US government plot against Muslims.

Whether Tarek Mehanna violated the law is an issue that should be left up to the courts - without mob pressures.

But what everyone in Boston should be concerned with is that Boston's Muslim leadership, under the guise of protecting free speech, is celebrating a man who sees himself as a hateful enemy of our society and was prepared - says the FBI - to kill his fellow New Englanders.

One of the leaders of FTM is Imam Abdullah Faaruuq, president of the umbrella organization of all the mosques in New England (Islamic Council of N.E.) and the Muslim chaplain at Northeastern University. Imam Faaruuq caused a stir when, in response to Mehanna's arrest, he encouraged Boston Muslims to "pick up the gun and the sword, don't be afraid to go out there and do your job." Faaruuq, by the way, is a man who has been embraced by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. While my organization has made both Patrick and the Northeastern administration aware of Faaruuq's activities, both have refused to repudiate him. There's a money angle as well: Northeastern student activity fees paid for a Support Mehanna event on campus in April. Last year, Faaruuq gave the Patrick administration $50,000 for "Muslim sensitivity training" for police.

In supporting an anti-American Islamist radical, Boston's Muslim leadership is promoting a sort of tribalism, which sees all Muslims as "our brothers and sisters" who must be defended regardless of their actions. Rather than shunning indecent behavior found among fringe people in their own groups, as all decent Americans have learned to do, they are teaching their children to embrace people who want to kill their neighbors. This can only encourage future acts of hatred and terror.

Truly moderate Muslim leaders would want a fair trial for Tarek Mehanna, but would strongly condemn his hateful beliefs and might even undertake to investigate how these awful thoughts and radical ideology penetrated their community. We can only hope such voices emerge.

It's disheartening to watch privileged children of Muslim immigrants who have benefited so generously from America turn toward hatred while their communal leaders exploit America's tolerance to promote and lionize an indecent young man who is also an accused terrorist. In my view, the most disturbing facet of this story is the utter failure of Massachusetts media and political leadership to honestly deal with the growing radicalization of young Muslims.

I hope that Massachusetts' civic and political leadership will summon the courage to ensure that justice is served and Mehanna's trial proceeds without political interference or mob pressure.

----------------------------

ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size]

Admin Sun 20 Nov 2011, 12:18 am

November 18, 2011

CAIR now attempting to
control law enforcement
training programs

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 ALAC_image_314

Click on the image above to
add your name to this
important petition!

Dear Elaine,

CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) has, either through its national organization or its chapter affiliates, repeatedly tried to intimidate federal and local elected officials who have the courage to stand up to radical Islam.

The latest from CAIR is its effort to dictate who the FBI uses as trainers in its counterterrorism programs. (See the CAIR release below).

Apparently, it's not sufficient that the Obama administration has stripped all references to jihad and radical Islam from its national security strategy regarding terrorism.

CAIR won't be happy until every government entity in America knuckles under to its sharia-driven agenda aimed at silencing any critique of radical Islam and any connection between radical Islam and Islamic terrorism.

CAIR has also made it clear it will aggressively fight our efforts to pass "American Laws in American Courts," legislation that will prohibit courts from applying sharia law. Will we win? Or will CAIR win?

We need to hear from you, that you are in support of this effort. Please sign the pledge to protect your state from sharia law today! Nearly 35,000 people have signed thus far. Thank you! But surely out of our 175,000 members there are more than 35,000 people who support this effort! Check out how your state is doing here

CAIR Files Multi-State Records Requests on Anti-Muslim Law Enforcement Trainings

Group seeks information about state-level trainings that may have used taxpayer dollars to fund anti-Muslim trainers.

http://ca.cair.com/losangeles/news/anti-muslim_trainings

(Nov 15, 2011 - LOS ANGELES, CA)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today that 15 of its chapters nationwide have filed 87 separate public records requests about possible Islamophobic training of local, state and national law enforcement personnel.

CAIR is seeking information about state-level trainings that may have used federal taxpayer dollars to fund anti-Muslim trainers, a phenomenon highlighted in recent research and media reports.

Attorney General: FBI Hurt Terror Fight with 'Violent Muslim' Training

In a statement, CAIR said:

"CAIR's public records requests seek to ensure that law enforcement agencies are using qualified trainers who present objective and unbiased information to help protect Americans from violent extremists of all types. We firmly believe that good training leads to good investigations, while biased training leads to biased investigations. We are particularly concerned with ensuring that taxpayer dollars are not wasted on training that is agenda-driven, inaccurate or Islamophobic."

Both Attorney General Holder and FBI Director Mueller have acknowledged that the Department of Justice and the FBI are reviewing their training materials to remove inaccurate and biased information. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which provides most of the Federal funding for state and local training, recently issued a set of recommendations for countering violent extremism training.

-----------------------------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Fri 18 Nov 2011, 6:19 pm

November 17, 2011

The ALAC petition:
How’s your state doing?

Dear Elaine,

Thus far, approximately 33,000 people have added their names to the pledge of support to protect their state from sharia law. A good start, but we've got a ways to go.

This petition is going to help guide us as we decide in which states to actively push for passage of the "American Laws for American Courts" (ALAC) legislation next year. We need to hear from you!

To add your name to this important document, please click here. It takes about two minutes. Just two minutes! Just two minutes to help us in our effort to protect your state from sharia law.

States like Colorado have gotten off to a great start. While Colorado's population is only about 13% as much as California's, the number of people signing from Colorado is 20% of the number of those who have signed from California.

Visit here to see how your state is doing.

If you've already added your name, thank you! Please let others know about this effort.

If you haven't yet added your name, help your state by signing here and forwarding this email to others.

"American Laws for American Courts" is legislation that prohibits state courts from applying foreign law, which includes sharia law, if doing so would infringe on the constitutional rights of any party to the case. In other words, the Constitution trumps any foreign law.

Thus far we've gotten ALAC passed in Tennessee and Arizona.

Help us get this important legislation passed in more states next year by adding your name to the "pledge of support." Thank you!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sure you receive all of your messages from ACT for America. Add actforamerica@donationnet.net to your address book as an approved email sender. If you found this message in your "Bulk" or "Spam" folder, please click the "Not Spam" button to notify your provider that these are emails you want to receive.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Tue 15 Nov 2011, 6:55 pm

November 14, 2011

If you haven’t yet done so, please add your name to the pledge of support to protect your state from sharia law. Log on here.

U.S. Senator returns

contribution from former

CAIR official

Dear Elaine,

File this one under “don’t believe for a moment that our efforts aren’t making a difference.”

For over three years ACT! for America has been shouting from the rooftops about who CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) really is and what their real agenda is. ACT! for America chapter leaders in Florida have exposed people like Ahmed Bedier, the founder of the Tampa chapter of CAIR.

The short article below provides just one example of how these efforts are paying off. When a Democratic U.S. Senator returns a contribution from a former CAIR official like Bedier, that tells us we’re making progress.

Nelson rejects contribution from former CAIR official

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/nelson-returns-contribution-from-former-cair-official/

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Bill_Nelson_20111114

Posted Nov 8, 2011 by William March
Updated Nov 8, 2011 at 06:18 PM

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who’s running for re-election, has rejected a contribution from a man associated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim group that has been accused in the past of links to radical organizations.

The donor, Ahmed Bedier, is the former Tampa director of the organization, which says it rejects terrorism and violence and denies any charges of having links to or supporting terrorist organizations.

According to a campaign spokesman, Bedier attended a Nelson fundraiser held last month by Manal Fakhoury, a prominent Ocala pharmacist, at her home.

“Fakhoury sent out the invitation and decided whom to invite,” according to a statement from the campaign. Attendees included “a city council member, a local law enforcement official and a number of area business and civic leaders.”

“Sen. Nelson does not know Mr. Bedier, who made a relatively small contribution of $500.”

The campaign returned Bedier’s check because it “learned of some highly controversial statements Bedier made about Israel” which disagree with Nelson’s views, the statement said.

CAIR publicizes and opposes incidents of hostility or discrimination against American Muslims, and says it is an organization devoted to furthering religious tolerance, diversity and civil rights.

However, federal investigators have said the organization at one time had ties to an organization created to support Hamas, which the federal government considers a terrorist group.

------------------------------------------------------------.

ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size]

Admin Fri 11 Nov 2011, 7:53 pm

November 10, 2011

Once again, Rep. Allen West hits the nail on the head

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 Allen_West_3

Rep. West was the keynote speaker at this year’s sold-out ACT! for America National Conference and Legislative Briefing. Next year’s conference will be held June 13 – 15 (three nights, two full days) in Washington, DC. Save the date and make your discounted hotel reservation today by calling 800 – THE – OMNI (800-843-6664) or going online here.

Dear Elaine,

With Veterans Day tomorrow, we considered it most appropriate to bring you a recent column by the highly decorated retired Army Lt. Colonel, and now U.S. Rep. Allen West. In his op-ed that appeared in Roll Call (highlights added), U.S. Rep. West explains, cogently and concisely, what we must do to win today’s battle against what he terms “Islamic totalitarianism.”

West: U.S. Must Understand 21st-Century Combat

By Rep. Allen West

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_52/allen_west_united_states_must_understand_21st_century_combat-209937-1.html

Today’s paradigm of battle and combat operations is completely different from what I experienced in 1982 when I was commissioned as a young lieutenant in the U.S. Army. At that time, the battlefield was much simpler.

In broad strokes, there was the Soviet Union on one side and the United States on the other. We were familiar with their tactics and equipment, and they with ours. Both sides wore uniforms, and every now and then we would stage war games on border control missions.

That paradigm has completely disappeared, leaving in its place an asymmetrical battlefield with non-uniformed, non-state belligerents using unconventional weapons and tactics. If the United States is going to be successful in protecting its citizens and interests, it must quickly understand and adapt to this new battlefield and be prepared for success and victory.

While America may lack an appropriate strategic level perspective, we will never lose at the tactical level on the ground because the United States has the best soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen the world has ever known. But without the correct strategic and operational goals and objectives, we will find ourselves on the proverbial hamster wheel. No matter how much effort we exert on the wheel, we will not make forward progress.

To begin with, we must correctly identify our enemy. It is frankly naive to say we are at war with “terror” because a nation cannot be at war with a tactic. Imagine, if during World War II, the United States went to war against the “blitzkrieg” or the “kamikaze.”

Further, we cannot narrowly define the enemy as simply al-Qaida or the Taliban. It is just as ridiculous to say we declared war against the 12th German Panzer Division or the 55th Japanese Infantry Regiment in World War II or the 7th Guards Tank Division during the Cold War.

Before the rise of al-Qaida, the terrorist group which had inflicted the most damage on the United States was Hezbollah. Now Hezbollah has become a very capable military force, albeit one without state or uniform — so capable in fact, it has armed missiles within striking distance of every city in Israel.

The Obama administration has failed to identify Hezbollah as an enemy. On this 21st century battlefield we are not fighting against a single organization, leader or nation. We are fighting against the ideology of Islamic totalitarianism, manifested at a tactical level as terrorism, which knows no country and recognizes no borders.

Until we, as a nation, are able to correctly and openly identify our enemy, we will continue to put our men and women on the ground in harm’s way without a clear mission for success. Once we have identified the enemy, we must ensure we have clearly identified the specific strategic level objectives to effectively fight. I believe there are four:

1. Deny the enemy sanctuary. The number one asset our military has is strategic mobility. When that is curtailed by a focus on nation-building or occupation-style warfare, we eliminate our primary advantage, and worse, our military forces become targets. Because this enemy has no respect for borders or boundaries, we must be willing to take the fight directly to him.

2. Cut off the enemy’s flow of men, material and resources. We have to interdict the enemy’s flow of resources in order to prevent the ability to fund, supply and replenish his ranks.

3. Win the information war. Unfortunately, the enemy is far more adept at exploiting the power of the Internet, broadcast media and dissemination of powerful imagery. In addition, I fear our media now sees itself as an ideological political wing. If we cannot fully use our own national informational power as an asset, we will lose the strategic battle, if not our country.

4. Cordon off the enemy and reduce his sphere of influence. We must shrink the enemy’s territory, but we are not being effective. We are allowing, if not welcoming, the enemy into the United States. What happened with Maj. Nidal Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood shooter, should not have happened in this country. We must not turn a blind eye to a very bold enemy who is telling us exactly what he wants to do and is willing to bring the battle to our doorstep.

We must recognize that Afghanistan and Iraq are not distinct wars, but combat theaters of operation. It is up to our elected leaders and our senior military officials to identify and agree on the correct strategic goals and objectives in order to be successful on these battlefields and others. When we have a proper national security strategy, we will have a focused national military strategy, preparing the defense-industrial base to develop the right weapons systems for victory.

We must be mindful of the wise words compiled by Sun Tzu in “The Art of War” more than 25 centuries ago, “to know your enemy and to know yourself and to know the environment and countless amounts of battles, you will always be victorious.” If we do not understand this simple maxim, we face dark days ahead.

For the sake of our nation, and of all nations who seek freedom for their citizens, we must clearly identify the 21st century battlefield and ensure we are victorious on it.

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a retired Army lieutenant colonel, serves on the Armed Services Committee.

ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Fri 11 Nov 2011, 7:16 pm

Honoring Our Veterans

by Brigitte Gabriel, President,
ACT! for America

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 20111111_flag

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 20111111_flag

Dear Elaine,

Words tremble on my lips and emotions swell in my heart in my attempt to humbly thank you for all the things you do to protect America and the world. Words cannot express my depth of gratitude for your service, your sacrifice, for all you leave behind to go forth into the world and protect America’s interests around the globe.

With deep gratitude I thank you on behalf of millions of Americans for the sacrifices you have made to keep America safe and free. We truly appreciate these sacrifices.

A special thank-you is in order to your families, to the parents who raised you and made you be the man or woman you are today. I thank your wives, husbands, and your loved ones who stand by you and support you with their love and dedication.

And for those who gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice, may their legacy be honored for generations to come, may the tears shed over their coffins fertilize the fields of patriotism in our nation to raise a new generation built on strength and honor, able and willing to follow in their footsteps when duty calls to defend America. May their blood not have been shed in vain. May we prove worthy of their sacrifice.

You are our brave ones, our heroes, and our national treasures. You are the pride of our nation, our strength and our foundation. Thanks to you, millions have been freed around the world. Thanks to you, those who criticize our country, burn our precious flag, and speak ill of you, are able to do so because their freedom is built upon your blood and your sacrifice.

I salute you one and all. May God bless you and bless America, land of the free and home of the brave, and the dream that became my address.

Always devoted,

Brigitte Gabriel

----------------------------------------------------------

ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

Admin Thu 03 Nov 2011, 5:20 pm

LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT

BRIGITTE GABRIEL CAPTIVATES CAPITOL HILL:
EDUCATES ABOUT OPEC’S CHOKEHOLD ON OIL AND
TERROR FINANCING

Dear Elaine,

Last week, ACT! for America President, Brigitte Gabriel, and Director of Government Relations, Lisa Piraneo, were up on Capitol Hill for various meetings and events designed to educate our federal legislators about the connection between OPEC’s price fixing of world oil prices and how that threatens our national security.

In addition to a full day’s worth of meetings with Members of Congress from both sides of the political aisle, Brigitte participated in an important roundtable discussion about this issue for Hill staff, as well as a press conference with Congressmen John Shimkus (R-IL), and Eliot Engel (D-NY), sponsors of H.R. 1687, the Open Fuel Standard Act.

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 20111103_img1

Act For America News & Alerts please read regular updates - Page 17 20111103_img2

NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace and President Ronald Reagan’s National Security Advisor, Robert McFarlane, joined Brigitte and Lisa during their day on the Hill. In each of the meetings, Brigitte’s passionate words about the connection between OPEC’s manipulation of the world’s oil market pricing—and its ties to terror financing—captivated the Members of Congress and their staff.

In particular, Brigitte and coalition members spoke with Members of Congress about support for the Open Fuel Standard (OFS) Act (H.R. 1687 in the House and S. 1603 in the Senate) as a common-sense first step in breaking OPEC’s chokehold on oil prices.

Immediate progress has come out of these meetings. Already, one Member of Congress who was a part of the OFS meetings last week—Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN/5^th) has “seen the light” and signed on to the legislation as a cosponsor. He joins the growing group of Congressional cosponsors this vital legislation has already attracted.

Contrary to what some believe, Canada does not supply the largest share of America’s imported oil. OPEC does. Even if we could purchase largely from our own domestic supplies and our northern neighbor, it will not destroy OPEC’s monopoly on the world-wide price of oil, nor will it decrease the terrorism that is funded through OPEC oil funds.

Why? Oil is fungible. Fungibility is the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are capable of mutual substitution, such as crude oil, wheat, precious metals or currencies. For example, if someone lends another person a $10 bill, it does not matter if they are given back the same $10 bill or a different one since currency is fungible. If someone lends another person their car, however, they would not expect to be given back a different car, even of the same make and model, as cars are not fungible.

As long as OPEC controls enough of the worldwide oil market (and they certainly do), when they want the price to rise, they simply cut back slightly on their supply. Only a 2-3% drop in supply will typically create a dramatic rise in price.

Therefore, even if the U.S. and Canadian markets are able to generate a 10 to 15% increase in the overall supply of world oil, OPEC would simply cut back their portion of the supply accordingly for a net zero result in order to maintain the level of current pricing.

The fact is domestic oil suppliers have shown little stomach for increasing supply. Why? They like the prices OPEC’s strategy generates! This is why Governor Palin had to file suit in Alaska just to get movement on additional drilling and production. U.S. oil companies have a tendency for sitting on inventory, especially if it is likely that future pricing will be higher.

The only factor that will fundamentally reduce the price of oil is the wholesale introduction of other competing transportation fuels. This alone will finally force OPEC to its knees—and deliver a massive blow to worldwide Islamic terrorism.

To be clear, this is not about supporting ethanol, methanol, or any other specific alternative transportation fuel source. The beauty of the OFS Act is that it doesn’t support ONE particular transportation fuel—it only opens up the market to competition and finally allows the AMERICAN CONSUMER to choose from a variety of fuels for their cars and trucks. Additionally, there are no subsidies tied to the OFS legislation and there is absolutely NO COST to the Federal Government/taxpayers. New cars would cost approximately $100 more for the alcohol fuel capability, but the resulting projected fuel cost savings would be approximately $1,000 per year per car!

***ACTION ITEM***

Please do your part today to break OPEC’s chokehold on the price of oil—and their funding of terrorism. Contact your Members of Congress through our Capwiz site and ask that they cosponsor this important legislation. We’ve made it easy to do by pre-writing the correspondence. Click HERE to reach our Capwiz site and click on the two Open Fuel Standard Act alerts (one for Representatives and one for Senators) to send your message to the Hill today.

For more information on the issue of Open Fuel Standards, including Brigitte’s recent day on the Hill to discuss this issue, please see www.openfuelstandard.org

With your support, in as little as seven years we can make our nation and our world safer for our children and our grandchildren by taking the teeth out of OPEC and providing Americans a CHOICE when they fuel their vehicles. Brazil has already reached this point. We can be next. But Congress won’t act unless they hear from you.

REMEMBER, YOUR VOICE COUNTS!
IF EACH OF US DOES JUST A LITTLE, TOGETHER WE CAN
ACCOMPLISH A LOT!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

[size=7]The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

[/size]

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