Say Their Names: Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, Deah Shaddy Barakat, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha

Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha testified this week before members of the House Judiciary Committee on hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism.

You may not have heard about it, but his testimony, describing the autopsy reports for his murdered daughters and son-in-law, left some members of the committee covering their mouths and in tears:

"I must be one of a few physicians, if not the only one, who read his own children's murder autopsy reports and details. They are seared into my memory."

The February 10, 2015 murders of 21-year-old Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, her 23-year-old husband Deah Shaddy Barakat, and 19-year-old sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, shocked the Chapel Hill, North Carolina community where they had lived.

The Department of Justice investigated the deaths as a hate crime, but the suspect Craig Hicks, a neighbor, was ultimately charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

"Bullets macerated Yusor's and Razan's brains. Deah took many bullets to his arms and chest before he fell down to the ground. After that, the murderer saw that he was still breathing and shot him again in the mouth. … The last time we saw them in their coffins, Yusor's forehead was bulging and her hazel eyes had turned grey and lifeless. What was once Razan's warm and smiling face filled with life was now a lifeless stone cold and deadly pale."

Dr. Abu-Salha recalled an officer trying to comfort him at the scene of the murder:

"(The) officer whispered: 'They didn't suffer, it was swift, one shot to the back of the head.' His statement did not make it more bearable; nothing did."

Abu-Salha described the six weeks between the marriage of his daughter and son-in-law and their murders as "the happiest days of our lives... followed by one of the most painful days, filled with the greatest heartache we have ever experienced." His daughters were committed to volunteering at a dental clinic for Syrian refugees, and for a program that fed the homeless, among others:

"My wife and I raised them to be Muslim-Americans, proud of their country and their community. As Muslim as apple pie ... I'm sorry, as American as apple pie. That can be Muslim, too."

Then he added that it was their Muslim identity that got his daughters killed. Yusor had complained to her father about their "condescending" neighbor, Hicks, who "told her he hated how she looked and dressed."

"I am afraid for our country. In 2016 the FBI recorded a 67% increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes, and just weeks ago a young man in Indiana was shot in the back of the head by a man shouting anti-Muslim slurs."

During questioning, Abu-Salha recounted some of the hateful online messages he saw after his children's deaths … a tweet that said, "three down, 1.6 billion to go." … another that praised the murderer, "Greg [sic] Hicks should be given the Medal of Honor and released from custody." 

In his testimony, Abu-Salha urged the U.S. government to take similar action to stem hate speech online in the wake of his family’s tragedy and of the Christchurch shooting:

"We miss our children so much. At times the pain is just as sharp now as when they died. I ask you, I truly plead to you, not to let another American family go through this because our government would not act to protect all Americans.”

Our government does not act to protect all Americans; our president speaks hate of Muslims, and Mexicans, calling them terrorists and rapists. But the terrorist who took Yusor, Deah and Razan from their family was white, American, homegrown, and fed by hate from the top.

"Hate violence against members of my community cannot be ignored any longer. For far too long our public officials have turned a blind eye to the extremist violence that is killing our children – that killed my children. In 2012, a white supremacist murdered six and injured four at a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. In 2015, a white nationalist filled with racial hatred entered the predominantly African American Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine individuals. In 2018, a white nationalist burst into the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and shouted anti-Semitic slurs, killing 11 worshippers. How much longer will we allow this to continue?"

As Dr. Abu-Salha said at the end of his testimony:

"Please remember them, Yusor, Deah and Razan. They are my children and they are gone."

And if I have anything to say about it, they will not be forgotten. We cannot continue to live in a country that hates, that listens to hate speech from our so-called president, that allows hate speech to be spread online.

Oh yeah, I’m all for Free Speech, and Hate Speech is Free, but there should be consequences.

And we need to enact Hate Crimes laws because Yusor, Deah and Razan weren’t slaughtered for their cars, their wallets, their jewelry; they were meticulously gunned down in their own homes because they are, were, Muslim.

That is Hate.

CBS News

Domestic Terrorists Blame _____ For Their Crime

Lawyers for Patrick Stein, Curtis Allen, and Gavin Wright, three members of a Kansas militia group who were convicted of an anti-Muslim hate crime, actually argued in court that their clients should be granted leniency because their violence was incited by … you knew it … _____ and his Hate Speech.

The three men reportedly planned to bomb an apartment building in Kansas that housed a mosque and a large population of Muslim Somali refugees shortly before the 2016 election but were arrested before they could carry out the attack.

And so now their lawyers are asking for leniency using _____’s own words:

“The court cannot ignore the circumstances of one of the most rhetorically mold-breaking, violent, awful, hateful and contentious presidential elections in modern history, driven in large measure by the rhetorical China shop bull who is now our president.”

The lawyers argued that _____’s “rough-and-tumble verbal pummeling” in the 2016 presidential campaign “heightened the rhetorical stakes for people of all political persuasions.” And they cited recent polls showing a surge in anti-Muslim violence since _____’s election as an excuse for why these anti-Muslim asshats don’t deserve a life sentence.

Huh; so the lawyers for a trio of terrorists are arguing that they should be granted leniency in sentencing because the so-called president is an anti-Muslim ass.

I don’t know; I mean, I’ve heard those same words come out of that man’s mouth and yet not once have I opted to kill a Muslim or bomb a mosque, so maybe it wasn’t _____’s words that made you a terrorist maybe it is because they are terrorists who became emboldened by a terrorist in the White House to plan this attack. I mean, if we wanna blame _____ for all the hate in the world, then why aren’t we all haters?

Oh, because many of us don’t hate, and when we hear him speak his Hate Speech, we disgusted and revolted and speak out against it; we don’t follow along like idiotic little sheep.

Best thing to do would be to lock Patrick Stein, Curtis Allen, and Gavin Wright for life, then lose the key, and then each and every one of us who is sickened by this, work our asses off to stop it, and stop _____, and stop every single person who supports him.

By voting; by speaking up; by standing with our Muslim brothers and sisters because, and it's worth repeating, Muslims aren't terrorists ... terrorists are terrorists..

ShareBlueMedia

America Under Siege: An American President Fans The Fires Of Hate And Fear

Well, President _____ is continuing his Hate Tour, and this time has followed through on plans for a Muslim Ban that, in his words, isn’t about Muslims ... except it is.

This is what he’s done:

He has banned entry to the US for people born in seven majority Muslim countries—Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen—including those who already hold legal green cards and visas, for 90 days.

He has not banned entry into the US for people from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or Turkey, even though Saudi Arabia was home to 15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists; in addition, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey all countries where Donald _____ has business dealings. Coincidence? I think not.

He has suspended the Syrian refugee plan indefinitely.

He has suspended the entire refugee plan for 120 days

He has banned entry to the US for dual-nationality passport holders, meaning citizens of the above countries who also hold, for example, a British passport, are also banned for 90 days.

He has not banned Christian refugees from any of these countries, so no matter what you hear it is a Muslim ban.

He has capped refugee total to 50,000 

Trump came up with his Muslim ban following the Orlando nightclub shooting, even though that attack was not committed not by refugees or migrants, but by a United States citizen who was born in New York. He came up with his ban even though, out of all the fatal terror attacks carried out on US soil since 9/11, none ... NONE ... have been committed by immigrants from the seven majority Muslim countries targeted by the ban.

Naturally, _____ and his band of white supremacists, lead by anti-Semite Steve Bannon, who may, or may not be, the actual President of the United States, have tried to paint this ban as the same kinds of actions taken by President Barack Obama in 2011 and President Jimmy Carter back in 1979; they are not and here’s how:

In 2011 Obama paused approvals of refugee applications from Iraq for a period of six months after two Iraqi al-Qaeda terrorists were discovered living as refugees in Kentucky.

He did not base his decision on religion; his order selected Iraqi nationals based on geography and a specific event, not religion, and it was done in response to a specific event. His decision allowed FBI agents enough time to gather fingerprints from captured roadside bombs, which they used to toughen their refugee screening process.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter placed sanctions on Iran after they held 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. The sanctions included a block on all future visas issued to Iranian citizens.

But, unlike ____, what he didn’t do was base it on religion; it was a block targeting Iranian nationals, not Muslims. Carter's sanctions were the culmination of a long-running escalation of tensions between the US and Iran.

See, these bans, or sanctions, are not at all the same; _____ targeted multitudes of people who share the same faith from seven different countries, though not those with whom he does business; Obama and Carter did not.

Don’t perpetuate the _____ lie.

And while speaking out about President _____ and his nationalist, white supremacist, agenda, keep in mind those in Congress who said nothing, and did nothing, because saying and doing nothing is the same as agreeing with what _____ is doing.

Out of the 292 Republicans in Congress, as of Monday afternoon, just thirty-five have publicly expressed some kind of opposition to _____’s refugee ban, and fifty-three have goose-stepped along with Hair Furor. But what about the 204 who have said nothing.

While almost ... almost ... every Democrat in Congress publicly opposed the order, the list of Republicans who opposed or critiqued the order is very short ... just 35 Republicans in Congress oppose, or are critical of, _____’s immigration order.

And they are:

—from Arizona: Sen. Jeff Flake; Sen. John McCain

—from California: Rep. Jeff Denham

—from Colorado: Rep. Scott Tipton; Rep. Mike Coffman

—from Florida: Rep. Carlos Curbelo; Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

—from Illinois: Rep. Adam Kinzinger

—from Indiana: Rep. Susan W. Brooks

—from Kansas: Rep. Kevin Yoder; Sen. Jerry Moran

—from Maine: Sen. Susan M. Collins

—from Michigan: Rep. Justin Amash

—from Minnesota: Rep. Erik Paulsen

—from Nebraska: Sen. Ben Sasse

—from Nevada: Sen. Dean Heller

—from New Jersey: Rep. Leonard Lance; Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen

—from New York: Rep. John J. Faso; Rep. Elise Stefanik; Rep. John Katko

—from Ohio: Rep. David P. Joyce; Rep. Steve Stivers; Sen. Rob Portman

—from Oklahoma: Sen. James Lankford

—from Pennsylvania: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick; Rep. Charles Dent

—from South Carolina: Sen. Lindsey Graham

—from Tennessee: Sen. Lamar Alexander; Sen. Bob Corker

—from Texas: Rep. Will Hurd; Rep. Pete Sessions

—from Utah: Rep. Jason Chaffetz; Sen. Orrin Hatch

—from Virginia: Rep. Barbara Comstock

And so that means that 204 Republicans in Congress have said nothing or stayed neutral

—from Alabama: Rep. Martha Roby; Rep. Mike Rogers; Rep. Mo Brooks; Rep. Gary J. Palmer; Sen. Jeff Sessions; Sen. Richard C. Shelby

—from Alaska: Sen. Lisa Murkowski; Sen. Dan Sullivan; Rep. Don Young

—from Arizona: Rep. Martha McSally; Rep. Paul Gosar; Rep. Andy Biggs; Rep. David Schweikert; Rep. Trent Franks

—from Arkansas: Rep. J. French Hill; Rep. Steve Womack; Rep. Bruce Westerman; Sen. John Boozman

—from California: Rep. Doug LaMalfa; Rep. Tom McClintock; Rep. Paul Cook; Rep. David Valadao; Rep. Kevin McCarthy; Rep. Stephen Knight; Rep. Edward R. Royce; Rep. Ken Calvert; Rep. Mimi Walters; Rep. Dana Rohrabacher; Rep. Darrell E. Issa; Rep. Duncan D. Hunter; Rep. Ken Buck

—from Colorado: Sen. Cory Gardner

—from Florida: Rep. Ted Yoho; Rep. John Rutherford; Rep. Ron DeSantis; Rep. Bill Posey; Rep. Daniel Webster; Rep. Gus Bilirakis; Rep. Thomas Rooney; Rep. Brian Mast; Rep. Francis Rooney; Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart; Sen. Marco Rubio

—from Georgia: Rep. Buddy Carter; Rep. Drew Ferguson; Rep. Tom Price; Rep. Rob Woodall; Rep. Austin Scott; Rep. Doug Collins; Rep. Jody B. Hice; Rep. Barry Loudermilk; Rep. Rick W. Allen; Rep. Tom Graves;  Sen. Johnny Isakson; Sen. David Perdue

—from Idaho: Rep. Raul Labrador; Rep. Michael Simpson; Sen. Mike Crapo; Sen. James Risch

—from Illinois: Rep. Peter Roskam; Rep. Mike Bost; Rep. Rodney Davis; Rep. Randy Hultgren; Rep. Darin LaHood

—from Indiana: Rep. Jim Banks; Rep. Todd Rokita; Rep. Luke Messer; Rep. Larry Bucshon; Rep. Trey Hollingsworth; Sen. Todd Young

—from Iowa: Rep. Rod Blum; Rep. David Young; Rep. Steve King; Sen. Joni Ernst; Sen. Chuck Grassley

—from Kansas: Rep. Roger Marshall; Rep. Lynn Jenkins; Sen. Pat Roberts

—from Kentucky: Rep. James Comer; Rep. Brett Guthrie; Rep. Thomas Massie; Rep. Harold Rogers; Rep. Andy Barr; Sen. Mitch McConnell; Sen. Rand Paul

—from Louisiana: Rep. Clay Higgins; Rep. Garret Graves; Sen. Bill Cassidy; Sen. John Kennedy

—from Maine: Rep. Bruce Poliquin

—from Maryland: Rep. Andy Harris

—from  Michigan: Rep. Jack Bergman; Rep. Bill Huizenga; Rep. John R. Moolenaar; Rep. Fred Upton; Rep. Tim Walberg; Rep. Mike Bishop; Rep. Paul Mitchell

—from Minnesota: Rep. Jason Lewis; Rep. Tom Emmer

—from Mississippi: Rep. Trent Kelly; Rep. Gregg Harper; Rep. Steven M. Palazzo; Sen. Thad Cochran; Sen. Roger F. Wicker

—from  Missouri: Rep. Ann Wagner; Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer; Rep. Vicky Hartzler; Rep. Sam Graves; Rep. Billy Long; Rep. Jason Smith

—from Montana: Rep. Ryan Zinke

—from Nebraska: Rep. Jeff Fortenberry; Rep. Don Bacon; Rep. Adrian Smith; Sen. Deb Fischer

—from Nevada: Rep. Mark Amodei

—from New Jersey: Rep. Thomas MacArthur; Rep. Christopher H. Smith

—from New Mexico: Rep. Stevan Pearce

—from New York: Rep. Dan Donovan; Rep. Chris Collins

—from  North Carolina: Rep. George Holding; Rep. Walter Jones; Rep. Virginia Foxx; Rep. Mark Walker; Rep. Robert Pittenger; Rep. Patrick McHenry; Rep. Mark Meadows; Sen. Richard Burr; Sen. Thom Tillis

—from Dakota: Rep. Kevin Cramer; Sen. John Hoeven

—from  Ohio: Rep. Steve Chabot; Rep. Jim Jordan; Rep. Robert Latta; Rep. Bob Gibbs; Rep. Michael Turner; Rep. Patrick Tiberi

—from Oklahoma: Rep. Jim Bridenstine; Rep. Markwayne Mullin; Rep. Frank Lucas; Rep. Tom Cole; Rep. Steve Russell; Sen. James Inhofe;

—from Oregon: Rep. Greg Walden

—from  Pennsylvania: Rep. Mike Kelly; Rep. Glenn Thompson; Rep. Patrick Meehan; Rep. Bill Shuster; Rep. Tom Marino; Rep. Lloyd Smucker

—from South Carolina: Rep. Mark Sanford; Rep. Joe Wilson; Rep. Trey Gowdy; Rep. Mick Mulvaney; Rep. Tom Rice; Sen. Tim Scott

—from South Dakota: Sen. Mike Rounds; Sen. John Thune

—from  Tennessee: Rep. David Roe; Rep. John Duncan Jr; Rep. Chuck Fleischmann; Rep. Scott DesJarlais; Rep. David Kustoff

—from Texas: Rep. Louie Gohmert; Rep. Ted Poe; Rep. Sam Johnson; Rep. Jeb Hensarling; Rep. John Culberson; Rep. Kevin Brady; Rep. Mike Conaway; Rep. Kay Granger; Rep. Mac Thornberry; Rep. Randy Weber; Rep. Jodey Arrington; Rep. Lamar Smith; Rep. Pete Olson; Rep. Kenny Marchant; Rep. Blake Farenthold; Rep. John Carter; Sen. John Cornyn; Sen. Ted Cruz

—from Utah: Rep. Rob Bishop; Rep. Chris Stewart; Rep. Mia Love

—from Virginia: Rep. Robert Wittman; Rep. Tom Garrett; Rep. Dave Brat; Rep. H. Morgan Griffith

—from Washington: Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler; Rep. Dan Newhouse; Rep. David Reichert

—from West Virginia: Rep. David McKinley; Rep. Alexander Mooney; Rep. Evan Jenkins; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito

—from Wisconsin: Rep. Glenn Grothman; Rep. Sean Duffy; Rep. Mike Gallagher; Sen. Ron Johnson

—from Wyoming: Sen. John Barrasso; Rep. Liz Cheney; Sen. Michael B. Enzi

And the Democrats in Congress who have said nothing are:

—from Arizona: Rep. Tom O'Halleran

—from Florida: Rep. Al Lawson; Rep. Charlie Crist

—from Georgia: Rep. Sanford Bishop; Rep. David Scott

—from Illinois: Rep. Bobby Rush

—from Minnesota: Rep. Collin Peterson

—from Texas: Rep. Al Green; Rep. Vicente Gonzalez; Rep. Filemon Vela

But here are the Democrats in Congress who have released statements against the order:

—from Alabama: Rep. Terri Sewell

—from Arizona: Rep. Raul M. Grijalva; Rep. Ruben Gallego; Rep. Kyrsten Sinema

—from California: Rep. Jared Huffman; Rep. John Garamendi; Rep. Mike Thompson; Rep. Doris Matsui; Rep. Ami Bera; Rep. Jerry McNerney; Rep. Mark DeSaulnier; Rep. Nancy Pelosi; Rep. Barbara Lee; Rep. Jackie Speier; Rep. Eric Swalwell; Rep. Jim Costa; Rep. Ro Khanna; Rep. Anna G. Eshoo; Rep. Zoe Lofgren; Rep. Jimmy Panetta; Rep. Salud Carbajal; Rep. Julia Brownley; Rep. Judy Chu; Rep. Adam Schiff; Rep. Tony Cardenas; Rep. Brad Sherman; Rep. Pete Aguilar; Rep. Grace Napolitano; Rep. Ted Lieu; Rep. Norma Torres; Rep. Raul Ruiz; Rep. Karen Bass; Rep. Linda Sanchez; Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard; Rep. Mark Takano; Rep. Maxine Waters; Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan; Rep. J. Luis Correa; Rep. Alan Lowenthal;  Rep. Juan Vargas; Rep. Scott Peters; Rep. Susan Davis; Sen. Dianne Feinstein; Sen. Kamala D. Harris

—from Colorado: Rep. Diana DeGette; Rep. Jared Polis; Rep. Ed Perlmutter; Sen. Michael Bennet

—from Connecticut: Rep. John Larson; Rep. Joe Courtney; Rep. Rosa DeLauro; Rep. Jim Himes; Rep. Elizabeth Esty; Sen. Richard Blumenthal; Sen. Christopher Murphy

—from Delaware: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester; Sen. Thomas R. Carper; Sen. Chris Coons

—from Florida: Rep. Stephanie N. Murphy; Rep. Darren Soto; Rep. Val Butler Demings; Rep. Kathy Castor; Rep. Alcee Hastings; Rep. Lois Frankel; Rep. Ted Deutch; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Rep. Frederica Wilson; Sen. Bill Nelson

—from Georgia: Rep. Hank Johnson; Rep. John Lewis

—from Hawaii: Rep. Colleen Hanabusa; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; Sen. Mazie Hirono; Sen. Brian Schatz

—from Illinois: Rep. Robin L. Kelly; Rep. Daniel Lipinski; Rep. Luis Gutierrez; Rep. Mike Quigley; Rep. Danny Davis; Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi; Rep. Jan Schakowsky; Rep. Brad Schneider; Rep. Bill Foster; Rep. Cheri Bustos; Sen. Tammy Duckworth; Sen. Richard Durbin

—from Indiana: Rep. Peter Visclosky; Rep. Andre Carson; Sen. Joe Donnelly

—from Iowa: Rep. David Loebsack

—from Kentucky: Rep. John Yarmuth

—from Louisiana: Rep. Cedric L. Richmond

—from Maine: Rep. Chellie Pingree; Sen. Angus King

—from Maryland: Rep. C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger; Rep. John P. Sarbanes; Rep. Anthony Brown; Rep. Steny Hoyer; Rep. John Delaney; Rep. Elijah Cummings; Rep. Jamie Raskin; Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin; Sen. Chris Van Hollen

—from Massachusetts: Rep. Richard Neal; Rep. James McGovern; Rep. Niki Tsongas; Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy; Rep. Katherine Clark; Rep. Seth Moulton; Rep. Michael Capuano; Rep. Stephen Lynch; Rep. William Keating; Sen. Edward Markey; Sen. Elizabeth Warren

—from Michigan: Rep. Daniel Kildee; Rep. Sander Levin; Rep. Debbie Dingell; Rep. John Conyers; Rep. Brenda Lawrence; Sen. Gary C. Peters; Sen. Debbie Stabenow

—from Minnesota: Rep. Timothy Walz; Rep. Betty McCollum; Rep. Keith Ellison; Rep. Rick Nolan; Sen. Al Franken; Sen. Amy Klobuchar

—from Mississippi: Rep. Bennie G. Thompson

—from Missouri: Rep. Lacy Clay; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver; Sen. Claire McCaskill

—from Montana: Sen. Jon Tester

—from Nevada: Rep. Jacky Rosen; Rep. Ruben Kihuen; Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto

—from New Hampshire: Rep. Carol Shea-Porter; Rep. Ann Kuster; Sen. Maggie Hassan; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

—from New Jersey: Rep. Donald Norcross; Rep. Josh Gottheimer; Rep. Frank Pallone; Rep. Albio Sires; Rep. Bill Pascrell; Rep. Donald Payne; Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman; Sen. Cory Booker; Sen. Robert Menendez

—from New Mexico: Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham; Rep. Ben Ray Lujan; Sen. Martin Heinrich; Sen. Tom Udall

—from New York: Rep. Thomas Suozzi; Rep. Kathleen Rice; Rep. Gregory Meeks; Rep. Grace Meng; Rep. Nydia Velazquez; Rep. Hakeem Jeffries; Rep. Yvette Clarke; Rep. Jerrold Nadler; Rep. Carolyn Maloney; Rep. Adriano Espaillat; Rep. Joseph Crowley; Rep. Jose Serrano; Rep. Eliot Engel; Rep. Nita Lowey; Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney; Rep. Paul Tonko; Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter; Rep. Brian Higgins; Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand; Sen. Charles Schumer

—from North Carolina: Rep. G. K. Butterfield; Rep. David E. Price; Rep. Alma S. Adams

—from North Dakota: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp

—from Ohio: Rep. Joyce Beatty; Rep. Marcy Kaptur; Rep. Marcia Fudge; Rep. Tim Ryan; Sen. Sherrod Brown

—from Oregon: Rep. Suzanne Bonamici; Rep. Earl Blumenauer; Rep. Peter A. DeFazio; Rep. Kurt Schrader; Sen. Jeff Merkley; Sen. Ron Wyden

—from Pennsylvania: Rep. Bob Brady; Rep. Dwight Evans; Rep. Brendan Boyle; Rep. Michael Doyle; Rep. Matt Cartwright; Sen. Bob Casey

—from Rhode Island: Rep. David Cicilline; Rep. James Langevin; Sen. Jack Reed; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

—from South Carolina: Rep. James Clyburn

—from Tennessee: Rep. Jim Cooper; Rep. Steve Cohen

—from Texas: Rep. Beto O'Rourke; Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee; Rep. Joaquin Castro; Rep. Henry Cuellar; Rep. Gene Green; Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson; Rep. Marc Veasey; Rep. Lloyd Doggett

—from Vermont: Sen. Patrick Leahy; Sen. Bernie Sanders; Rep. Peter Welch

—from Virginia: Rep. Bobby Scott; Rep. A. Donald McEachin; Rep. Don Beyer; Rep. Gerald Connolly; Sen. Tim Kaine; Sen. Mark Warner

—from  Washington: Rep. Suzan DelBene; Rep. Rick Larsen; Rep. Derek Kilmer; Rep. Pramila Jayapal; Rep. Adam Smith; Rep. Denny Heck; Sen. Maria Cantwell; Sen. Patty Murray

—from West Virginia: Sen. Joe Manchin

—from Wisconsin: Rep. Mark Pocan; Rep. Ron Kind; Rep. Gwen Moore; Sen. Tammy Baldwin

If you can, take a minute to email, Facebook, or Tweet those in Congress who support discrimination, those who stand by and do nothing—which, I think, just might be worse—and then take another minute to notify your representatives in Congress who have taken a stand against discrimination of any kind, especially this discrimination based on fear and fear of a particular religion.

Resist.

On a side note ... this past week French-Canadian Alexandre Bissonnette killed six and wounded eight at a Quebec mosque.

This man is a white man—though both the White House and FoxNews called him a Moroccan man because, you know, brown-skin, from over there—and this murderer is a _____ fan; he has the same views on immigration as our current president, so are we surprised that mere days after _____ banned all Muslims—and, again, let’s be clear, it’s a Muslim ban—that a white supremacist murdered a group of Muslims while they were at prayer?

I don’t think so. The blood of those killed in Quebec is on the hands of President _____ and his white nationalist cohorts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released this statement in the wake of the attack:

“We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge.

On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of all those who have died, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured.

While authorities are still investigating and details continue to be confirmed, it is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.

Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.

Tonight, we grieve with the people of Ste-Foy and all Canadians.”

We grieve in America, too, because it’s the rhetoric of our FakePresident that might have had something to do with this crime.

Vox

Mirror UK

In The Age of _____, Speaking Arabic Gets You Kicked Off A Delta Flight

And, since, for now, we are in The Age of _____, let’s talk blatant hate and blatant fear and blatant stupidity ...

Adam Saleh, a YouTube vlogger whose prank videos have made him an internet star, is accusing Delta Air Lines of kicking him off flight because he spoke Arabic to his mom on the phone before takeoff. 

“I speak to my mom on the phone every flight. She only speaks Arabic.”—Adam Saleh

According to Saleh, a woman in the seat in front of him turned around and told him he should speak English. He told her he can speak whatever language he likes, and then her husband stood up and began screaming at him.

And from there the hate swarmed as about twenty other passengers said they were uncomfortable with Saleh and his “foreign” tongue. Saleh was then approached by the captain—whom Saleh said “seemed ashamed and embarrassed”—and asked Saleh to leave the plane because of passengers complaints.  

In a statement, Delta said: 

“Maintaining a safe, comfortable and orderly onboard environment is paramount for every flight and requires the cooperation of all of our customers in conjunction with adherence to directions from our crew members. This is a Delta policy and is required by U.S. regulations as well as others governing aviation worldwide.

Two customers were removed from Delta flight 1 departing London-Heathrow today after a disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20 customers expressing their discomfort.

We have spoken with the customers who were removed; they were rebooked on another flight. Plans are in place to immediately speak with our crew and other passengers when the flight lands this afternoon. We will provide an update once we have more information.”

Okay, how do I put this delicately: fuck you, Delta. Why not remove the twenty bigots from the plane? Why not remove the people who started the disturbance by listening in on Saleh’s private conversation? Again, fuck you, Delta.

Saleh posted a video of his removal and posted it to YouTube; in that video, some passengers can be seen telling the Delta employees that they did not want Saleh removed, while others are seen waving and saying “bye” as he walks away.

Again, the disturbance was caused by that nosy woman and her loudmouthed husband; they should have been removed from the flight at once.

Some of the passengers on the flight spoke to CBS News after the plane landed at JFK, like Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson:

“It was clear that this guy knew what he was doing, because as he was leaving the plane he would stop, he would kind of make eye-contact with people. He would say ‘Delta, Delta is kicking me off the plane.’ He wasn’t alone; he was travelling with somebody else.”

Of course he knew, you idiot; he was being walked off the plane. And, what does it matter if he was travelling with someone else. This all started because he spoke Arabic and a handful of bigots got their feelings hurt.

Jacqueline Willemsen:

“I was sitting towards the front of the plane and just heard a lot of commotion actually. When he came up to the front he was just screaming that it was an injustice and that he was being kicked off for speaking loudly in Arabic. To be really honest it seemed like more of a scene than anything that actually happened.”

Um, Jacqueline, you moronic tool, something did happen. How else do you explain him being kicked off the plane? 

Chris Ashford:

“I think the guy was giving a bit of a prayer, just before take-off, which is not unusual. Somebody heard him speaking in Arabic and I think reported him ... whether Delta performed or acted in the manner they were supposed to, I’m assuming, for protocol, yes. There definitely seemed to be a bit of a misunderstanding.” 

Does Delta have a list of acceptable languages to be used on a plane? if not, then, again, Delta, fuck you, because, despite skepticism about Saleh’s account, Delta employees have been accused of discriminating against Muslims in recent years. 

In August, an Ohio Muslim couple said they were removed from a return flight from Europe after an airline employee allegedly singled them out because, ALLEGEDLY, the woman wearing a headscarf and talking on the phone, and with the husband sweating.

Delta issued them a full refund of their airfare.

Look, was there a kerfuffle between Saleh and some passengers? It seems very likely, but was Saleh loud and shouting profanities? Maybe. But then remove all of those involved, not you Saleh and his friend. Was Saleh being the prankster on the flight? Maybe; but he didn't start the brouhaha.

Remove the woman and her husband who started the mess; remove every person who joined in. I wouldn’t feel unsafe hearing a person speaking Arabic on a flight but I’d be scared shitless of the people, who verbally assaulted the person speaking Arabic.

They are the problem, but, in the Age of _____, they are acting like the victims.

CBS News

Hate Mail Sent To Ten Mosques In Donald _____'s Name ... And He Says Nothing

I almost, kinda, sorta, don’t wanna lay the blame for this at the feet of President-elect _____, but when he starts off his campaign with talk of deporting 11 million people back to Mexico, and then raises that with mocking women and the disabled, and then plays his _____ by suggesting we “register” all the Muslim folks in America—while making sure no more of “them” get in here with “us”—then maybe I’m being foolish.

Maybe he is to blame for this ... at least 10 Islamic centers in five different states have received letters that seem to be written by the same person; these letters call Muslims the “children of Satan” and say that Donald ____ is the “new sheriff in town” who will “cleanse America and make it shine again” by eradicating the country’s Muslim population:

“He’s going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews.”

These letters of hate, and terror, homegrown, mind you, were sent to the Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose, the Islamic Center of Southern California in Los Angeles, the Long Beach Islamic Center, the Islamic Center of Northridge, the Islamic Center of Claremont, the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno, the Islamic Center of Savannah in Georgia, the Islamic Center of Cleveland, Ohio, Islamic Society of Greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Masjid Miami Gardens in Miami.

The FBI said earlier this month that hate crimes against Muslims in this country spiked last year to their highest level since 9/11; wasn’t that right around the time _____ started his hate speech about Muslim Americans ... deportations, registries, calling for “a total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the United States. 

That’s not a coincidence. It’s also no coincidence that last March, appearing on Anderson Cooper’s 360, Donald _____ said that Islam is defined by “tremendous hatred”:

“I think Islam hates us. It’s very hard to define. It’s very hard to separate. Because you don’t know who’s who.”

When the hate speech and the fear starts at, sadly, what will be the top, it doesn’t take long at all to trickle down; you have these terrorists, and I’m talking about the ones who sent those letters, who suddenly feel emboldened because the future president says what they think.

And then the future president says nothing; as he has said next to nothing about the more than 100 anti-Muslim incidents that have occurred since the election. In addition, the Southern Poverty Law Center [SPLC], a hate-watch group, has tallied more than 800 incidents of harassment within the 10 days after the election, many of which have been made in _____’s name.

Where is Donald _____’s condemnation of these letters and these incidents? I mean, in his first interview after the election, he asked those who were protesting to please stop, but he’s not uttered a word about these incidents of hate speech and harassment toward Muslims. When he says nothing, it’s like he’s condoning the messages of hate, so, yeah, when it comes to blame, it starts at the top.

And there is nothing but silence there.

Washington Post