Posted on 07/25/2005 3:22:39 PM PDT by Alex Marko
It is probably not a good idea in terms of job security to publicly call your boss a horse's ass. So have some sympathy for Will Adams, spokesman for Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo. He was asked by reporters to explain the asinine thing the congressman said last week. Adams told them Tancredo is just a "free thinker." By which standard Michael Jackson is just a tad eccentric. Or haven't you heard? Tancredo thinks maybe the United States should bomb Mecca. You know Mecca. City in Saudi Arabia. Birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. Holiest shrine of Islam, a religion practiced by one of every six people on Earth. That's the place a U.S. congressman thinks maybe we should lob some ordnance at.
Tancredo made this contribution to the national dialogue last week during a talk show on WFLA, a TV station in Orlando, Fla. Host Pat Campbell had asked how we should respond if U.S. cities are ever struck by terrorists using nuclear devices. "Well," said Tancredo, "what if you said something like, if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites."
"You're talking about bombing Mecca," said Campbell.
"Yeah," said Tancredo.
Predictably, Tancredo's suggestion has been a little controversial. That is, if you can call statements of condemnation stretching from Moscow to the State Department to Ankara, Turkey, "a little controversial."
Tancredo has refused to apologize, but he did issue a written "clarification," which said in part, "I do not advocate this. Much more thought would need to be given to the potential ramifications of such a horrific response."
Actually, you don't need to give any thought to the ramifications of such an action, because they should be self-evident to anyone smarter than the average hamster. We would become an international pariah. Muslims would hate us with renewed fervor, and Osama bin Laden would thank us for writing his recruitment material.
In other words, the same situation we have now, except worse. Much, much, much worse.
And I wonder: Am I the only who feels that lately - lately being defined as since Sept. 11, 2001 - the nation seems overrun by yahoos?
Granted, the presence of yahoos in daily life is not a new torment. They have always been among us, the simplemindedness of their thinking exceeded only by the volume at which they express it. Think Cliff Clavin, the cogs of his brain lubricated by beer, holding forth from his stool at the end of the bar. Of course, the only thing you had to do to avoid Cliff was to stay out of Cheers.
But the 9/11 attacks have unleashed yahooism on an unprecedented scale. Cliff is no longer confined to his bar stool. Under the name Mona Charen, he once wrote a newspaper column advocating the expulsion of Muslims from America. Under the name Rush Limbaugh, he has a radio talk show on which he compared the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib to a fraternity prank. Under the name Ann Coulter, he calls for the racial profiling of travelers from the Middle East. And under the name Tom Tancredo, he is apparently a member of Congress.
What he doesn't get - what yahoos usually don't get - is that things that seem to make sense while you're hoisting a few rarely hold up in the sober light of day.
Tancredo has cast his refusal to apologize as a blow against political correctness. Which is silly. One can be plain-spoken without being reckless, blunt without being stupid, straight-forward without sounding like a fool.
Assuming, that is, you have something worthwhile to say. Tancredo evidently does not. Somebody tell him his beer is getting warm.
1.3 billion would then meet Allah. Why would we lose? Not enough bullets? BS. We'd eliminate Islam in a week if we had the desire to.
At some point, we're going to have to prove that we are more ruthless, more blood thirsty, and less concerned about the lives of our enemies than they are about us. Then we will have won this war.
As soon as we dump this PC, touchy-feeley pussy crap. Until then, it will be war as usual.
i am not a troll, but I dont see the west being able to take on and defeat all 1.3 billion muslims...
which countries will join us? Canada? France? Sweden?
I see the Chinese in 2050 defeating Islam utterly, but not the west
Hey Publius - should we add that one to the Quisling list?
Tancredo hasn't said anything that is not very common here on FR. So if you think he's a crazy wingnut, then I guess you think that most FReepers are too?
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I've said these same things here on FR and have heard them Many times too. The problem is many Freepers are not thinking seriously enough and say these remarks off handedly, as a smart ass remark.
Well boys and girls, cookies and milk time is over!
Quisling was a genius, compared to this clown.
China won't even exist by 2010.
Chinese certainly will
Howdy 26LC.
This is unfair -- he only said this was a possible response to a nuclear attack. What he said was still unwise, but the article wrongly suggests that he advocates doing this at any time.
I'll bet less than 500 million of them.
well which do you think is more likely in response to a nuking of american cities?
the US Govt nuking Mecca
or
American citizens murdering Muslims all accross the USA?
How about BOTH.
You're either a troll or an idiot.
Why would wee need any help at all?
Even if Canada, Sweden and France joined the sandmaggots!
It's not like we need or want to invade them.
""I'll bet less than 500 million of them.""
so what exactly are you predicting?
China wont exist by 2010 and 1 in every 2 chinese citizen is going to disappear?
so you think western civ has the will to go to war with 1.3 billion muslims? and not only that but to win?
It turns out, surprisingly, that bombing Mecca is more than an offhand remark, but rather an idea that can end this conflict once and for all. Terrorism is motivated by Islam. Destroy Mecca, prove Islam wrong - if Allah can't protect Mecca, who's to say that he's really got those 72 virgins waiting?
Is this the ghost of Minny Pearl!!
There are over a million Chinese have sex during any given hour of the day, they will be here!! Even with abortions!
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