“The Daly Report” with Kay Daly!
Kay’s Guest tonight is Tim Graham form the Media Research Center
And they will be discussing the Wed CBS Movie on Reagan!
5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern!
Posted on 10/29/2003 5:21:37 AM PST by JesseHousman
WASHINGTON (AFP) - George W. Bush hosted a Ramadan dinner with US Islamic leaders, as the White House was besieged with demands to fire an army general whom made comments some say makes the US-led war on terror out to be a war on Islam.
General William Boykin's comments surfaced two weeks ago, in which he likened the US battle against terror to a battle between Christiandom and the Muslim world, placing the Bush administration in an uncomfortable position.
While the Pentagon (news - web sites) has opened its own investigation, it has also said that it does not expect to ask Boykin to resign. He continued to serve as a undersecretary of defense for intelligence, in charge of tracking down Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) among others.
Bush invited Muslim leaders to an Iftar, the evening feast that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast Muslims observe during the month of Ramadan. He organized the first White House Iftar after bin Laden and al-Qaeda launched the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
"America is a land of many faiths and we honor, and welcome and value the Muslim faith," Bush said in opening remarks before the meal.
At a mid-day press conference earlier Tuesday, Bush said that the controversial Boykin "doesn't reflect my point of view or the view of this administration."
"Our war is not against the Muslim faith."
"Americans think terrorists are evil people who have hijacked a great religion," Bush said, responding to a reporter's question.
Such statements, however, did not quell the Boykin controversy.
"The obvious response to the Boykin case is to say that because he is now under-secretary of defense for intelligence, he should be relieved of his post," The Washington Post said in an editorial Tuesday.
Boykin made his questionable speeches while wearing his military uniform before conservative Christian groups whom Bush will woo as part of his 2004 reelection campaign.
"It is highly likely that Bush himself, a genuinely devout Christian by all accounts, agrees with at least some, perhaps much, of what Boykin said," the Post speculated.
The US president had just returned from a tour of Asia, which included a three-hour stopover in Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population. He also met with several leaders of Muslim countries at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC (news - web sites)) forum.
"Muslims are completely wrong to think that the US is engaged in a war against Islam," New York Times columnist Paul Krugman said.
"But that misperception flourishes in part because the domestic political strategy of the Bush administration -- no longer able to claim the Iraq (news - web sites) war was a triumph, and with little but red ink to show for its economic plans -- looks more and more like a crusade."
What are you talking about when you say "auto club"? I'm convinced it's something supremely stupid, but I just had to ask. You've piqued my curiosity.
Uh where am I bearing false witness against dead people? All I did was point out that heavyd stated tha pot was harmless and he was living proof that pot did no harm. A year and a half later heavyd is dead.
Man...listen I(heavyd) am living proof that heavy,long term pot use can be harmless,I have never had pneumonia,my lungs are crystal clear,I am reasonably lucid,my motor skills are above average,as is hand to eye coordination,I am able to remember characters and events from books I read in school and just last week.
People only notice the mental midgets who screw up on drugs not the users who are nondescript.I suspect that alot of people would suprised to know how many people actually smoke pot.
58 Posted on 08/21/1999 20:32:10 PDT by HEAVYD [ Reply | To 56 | Top | Last LINK
JMO, but any one of us can go at anytime and having such such a hubristic take on life is a trait of Libertarianism. I can be hit by a bus tomorrow(which you auto club, IMO, are probably praying for) but I am not going to ask to ban busses, but I am not going to state that that busses are harmless either, like the pro-potters try to quash any bad word about their wonderweed, marijuana.
He died of a heart attack you stupid insolent bastard, his death had nothing to do with weed. You've been told this several times and have had many opportunities to in the least, shut your pathetic face about it, at most withdraw your assinine comments. You've done neither. Instead you've chosen to be your blockhead idiot self and go on spouting inanities.
This is why you are as you are......pathetic. It's sad that you can't reconcile such a simple factual truth. You make things more difficult than they need to be.
5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern!
He died of a heart attack you stupid insolent bastard, his death had nothing to do with weed. You've been told this several times and have had many opportunities to in the least, shut your pathetic face about it, at most withdraw your assinine comments. You've done neither. Instead you've chosen to be your blockhead idiot self and go on spouting inanities
Uh AAA you treat me as a f***ing idiot. No big deal, it doesn't keep me up at nights, although people dismissing you as an irrational hothead probably does keep you up at nights.
All I was doing was making the point that nothing is certain in life and that hardline Libertarians have a hubristic outlook on life that is selfish and self-centered, IMO.
It's his pet nickname for you.
You know, as in "AAA".
Anyway, I consider being called a f***ing idiot by a coward a badge of honor.
Have a good night, try to get a good nights sleep, and don't let your hot headed irrationality keep you up.
No you weren't Dane, you're lying again. You know damn well that you were attempting to imply that Heavy D's death was somehow related to his use of marijuana. Who exactly do you think you're talking to?
This is exactly why I choose not to waste my time with you Dane, and others just slap you around. Almost every conversation accomplishes nothing of value and in fact usually devolves into crass idiocy.
You haven't even learned the basics such as tell the truth and don't speak ill of or bear false witness against the dead. In other words, you sow discord when there need be none. You really shouldn't do this.
God bless.
Spoken as a Salon Bolsheviki. Why don't you yourself start decapitating these children, instead of calling for other people to do what you want seen done?
Not really. The fasting happens only during daylight hours.
Or is it only pot smokers have heart attacks?
And what does that have to do with the WH have a dinner for Ramadan anyway???
Ramadan is a special month of the year for over one billion Muslims throughout the world. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual lives. There are as many meanings of Ramadan as there are Muslims.
The third "pillar" or religious obligation of Islam, fasting has many special benefits. Among these, the most important is that it is a means of learning self-control. Due to the lack of preoccupation with the satisfaction of bodily appetites during the daylight hours of fasting, a measure of ascendancy is given to one's spiritual nature, which becomes a means of coming closer to God. Ramadan is also a time of intensive worship, reading of the Qur'an, giving charity, purifying one's behavior, and doing good deeds.
As a secondary goal, fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning to thankfulness and appreciation for all of God's bounties. Fasting is also beneficial to the health and provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits or overindulgence.
While voluntary fasting is recommended for Muslims, during Ramadan fasting becomes obligatory. Sick people, travelers, and women in certain conditions are exempted from the fast but must make it up as they are able. Perhaps fasting in Ramadan is the most widely practiced of all the Muslim forms of worship.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. The much-anticipated start of the month is based on a combination of physical sightings of the moon and astronomical calculations. The practice varies from place to place, some places relying heavily on sighting reports and others totally on calculations. In the United States, most communities follow the decision of the Islamic Society of North America, which accepts bonafide sightings of the new moon anywhere in the United States as the start of the new month. The end of the month, marked by the celebration of 'Eid-ul-Fitr, is similarly determined.
The daily period of fasting starts at the breaking of dawn and ends at the setting of the sun. In between -- that is, during the daylight hours -- Muslims totally abstain from food, drink, smoking, and marital sex. The usual practice is to have a pre-fast meal (suhoor) before dawn and a post-fast meal (iftar) after sunset.
The Islamic lunar calendar, being 11 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, migrates throughout the seasons. Thus, since Ramadan begins on January 20 or 21 this year, next year it will begin on January 9 or 10. The entire cycle takes around 35 years. In this way, the length of the day, and thus the fasting period, varies in length from place to place over the years. Every Muslim, no matter where he or she lives, will see an average Ramadan day of the approximately 13.5 hours.
The last ten days of Ramadan are a time of special spiritual power as everyone tries to come closer to God through devotions and good deeds. The night on which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet, known as the Night of Power (Lailat ul-Qadr), is generally taken to be the 27th night of the month. The Qur'an states that this night is better than a thousand months. Therefore many Muslims spend the entire night in prayer.
During the month, Muslims try to read as much of the Qur'an as they can. Most try to read the whole book at least once. Some spend part of their day listening to the recitation of the Qur'an in a mosque.
Since Ramadan is a special time, Muslims in many parts of the world prepare certain favorite foods during this month.
It is a common practice for Muslims to break their fast at sunset with dates (iftar), following the custom of Prophet Muhammad. This is followed by the sunset prayer, which is followed by dinner. Since Ramadan emphasizes community aspects and since everyone eats dinner at the same time, Muslims often invite one another to share in the Ramadan evening meal.
Some Muslims find that they eat less for dinner during Ramadan than at other times due to stomach contraction. However, as a rule, most Muslims experience little fatigue during the day since the body becomes used to the altered routine during the first week of Ramadan.
"After Muhammad's death the leaders of the Muslim community consensually chose Abu Bakr, the Prophet's father-in-law and one of his earliest followers, to succeed him. At that time some persons favored Ali, Muhammad's cousin and the husband of his daughter Fatima, but Ali and his supporters (the Shiat Ali, or Party of Ali) eventually recognized the community's choice. The next two caliphs (successors)--Umar, who succeeded in A.D.634, and Uthman, who took power in A.D.644--enjoyed the recognition of the entire community. When Ali finally succeeded to the caliphate in A.D.656, Muawiyah, governor of Syria, rebelled in the name of his murdered kinsman Uthman. After the ensuing civil war, Ali moved his capital to Iraq, where he was murdered shortly there after.""Ali's death ended the last of the so-called four orthodox caliphates and the period in which the entire community of Islam recognized a single caliph. Muawiyah proclaimed himself caliph from Damascus. The Shiat Ali refused to recognize him or his line, the Umayyad caliphs, and withdrew in the first great schism to establish the dissident sect, known as the Shias, supporting the claims of Ali's line to the caliphate based on descent from the Prophet. The larger faction, the Sunnis, adhered to the position that the caliph must be elected, and over the centuries they have represented themselves as the orthodox branch." -- Source
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