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REQUIEM

Below are the two final essays to be posted on Allegiance and Duty Betrayed. The first one is written by a friend -- screen name 'Euro-American Scum' -- who, over the past four years, has been the most faithful essayist here. He has written about everything from his pilgrimage to Normandy in 2004 to take part in the 60th–year commemoration of the invasion, to his memories of his tour in Vietnam. His dedication to America’s founding principles ... and those who have sacrificed to preserve them over the past 200+ years ... is unequaled. Thank you, E-A-S. It has been a privilege to include your writing here, and it is a privilege to call you my friend.

The second essay is my own farewell. And with it I thank all of the many regular visitors, and those who may have only dropped in occasionally, for coming here. I hope you learned something. I hope a seed or two was planted. But, even if not, I thank you for stopping by ... 25 March, 2010

9/24/2007

The Line of Demarcation Between
Free Speech and Traitorous Intent

ahmadinejad hostages.jpg

Maniacal Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to spew ‘alternative views’ to an audience of American ivy league faculty, students, and guests during a speech at Columbia University this afternoon.

One would assume that those ‘alternative views’ will include the fact that the Holocaust never occurred and is simply a Zionist-inspired hoax, the fact that the state of Israel should be annihilated, and the fact that 9/11 occurred because of America’s support of the 'illegitimate' state of Israel and because of America’s affluence and colonial aspirations.

The international terrorist leader ‘graciously’ stated last night on 60 Minutes that he would not press the issue, after being denied an opportunity to lay a wreath at Ground Zero during his visit to New York.

ahmadinejad wreath.jpg

How sad for him. And how surreal it might have been had he been allowed to lay a wreath in remembrance of three thousand-plus innocent American dead while, no doubt simultaneously, a representative handful of American soldiers might have met their brutal, bloody deaths in a remote area of Iraq as a result of an Iranian-supplied IED.

In his ‘gracious’ response to the wreath-laying denial, Ahmadinejad stated, ‘Usually, you go to these sites to pay your respects, and also to perhaps air your views about the root causes of such incidents.’

Translation: Mahmoud believed Ground Zero to be an appropriate site at which to propagandize about the evil that is America, and to justify the tragedy that occurred there. (Who knows? Perhaps in another decade or two he might find it conceivable, even advantageous, to deny the existence of that holocaust as well.)

The nephew of a friend of ours was killed near Fallujah by a (no doubt Iranian supplied) IED back in December of 2005.

I spoke with her yesterday, and she (normally a quiet, mild-mannered, 'live-and-let-live' woman) is outraged and inconsolable. She told me that the fact that Ahmadinejad has been invited to speak at an American ivy league college makes her almost want to renounce her citizenship -- except for the fact that the decision-makers at Columbia don't yet represent mainstream thought in academia (although I'm not so sure that I agree with that assessment).

I suppose 'treason' is a word that is applied far too liberally today, by many on both sides of the political spectrum, but I believe the decision-makers at Columbia have stepped over the delicate line of demarcation between free speech and traitorous intent.

~ joanie

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suppose 'treason' is a word that is applied far too liberally today, by many on both sides of the political spectrum, but I believe the decision-makers at Columbia have stepped over the delicate line of demarcation between free speech and traitorous intent.

Anonymous said...

Well said as always, Joanie. My sincere sympathies to your friend. I can't imagine how the families of our troops are feeling right about now.

Anonymous said...

Mahmoud’s rap sheet is well known; Ahmadinejad was probably involved in the deaths of nearly 300 United States Marines in Beirut, Lebanon. He reportedly was one of the hostage-takers of the American diplomats in Tehran in 1979. His improvised explosive devices have maimed and killed thousands of our fellow Americans and Iraqis, men, women and children.

Remember, we aren’t just war with al-Qaeda in Iraq, we are at war with Mahmoud’s regime. This is a man who was one of the midwives for the birth of radical Islam in 1979 -- he reportedly paraded our hostages at the US Embassy in Tehran. Mahmoud is widely believed to be harboring at least some of Osama Bin Laden’s posse including some of Osama’s own family in Iran (or in Iranian controlled territory) and now this little murderous ferret wanted to take a victory lap around lower Manhattan.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=22497

Anonymous said...

Is this surprising, considering that George Soros is on the Advisory Board at Columbia:

http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/1006

Anonymous said...

Ferdie said...

At Columbia University Ahmadinejad is in, ROTC is out


Townhall.com ^ | September 24, 2007 | Dinesh D'Souza

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DineshDSouza/2007/09/24/ahmadinejad_is_in,_rotc_is_out

President Lee Bollinger of Columbia University is a very open-minded guy, in his own opinion. In inviting the Iranian prime minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia, he issued this statement. "Columbia, as a community dedicated to learning and scholarship, is committed to confronting ideas...Necessarily on occasion this will bring us into contact with beliefs that many, most of even all of us will find offensive and even odious. We trust our community, including our students, to be fully capable of dealing with these occasions, through the powers of dialog and reason."

So why won't Bollinger allow the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) to recruit on the Columbia campus? ROTC was expelled from Columbia in the late sixties. In 2003 a majority of students said they wanted ROTC back, to give students the choice to serve their country in this way. The Columbia faculty opposed the measure, however, and Bollinger sided with them against the students.

9/24/2007
___________________________________

Al said...

Remember, Ferdie,

The left is "for the troops."

They are also for "free speech" (their own--not yours).

The left loses every time it makes the mistake of appearing in the sunlight.

The Wellstone "funeral" is an example. After they exposed their vileness in all its glory there, their candidate (Mondale, who had the stature of being a former presidential candidate) lost to a nobody congressman.

They are too stupid to observe the results.

Hopefully this Columbia U- Ahmadinejad situation will wake up a good number of those who are asleep and enable them to view the treachery and treason of the leftwing.

Meanwhile the lefties, including half-witted Columbia U president Bollinger, willl attempt to keep smirking from their delusional postion of 'superiority' to anyone whose sees their vileness.

Anonymous said...

"And how surreal it might have been had he been allowed to lay a wreath in remembrance of three thousand-plus innocent American dead while, no doubt simultaneously, a representative handful of American soldiers might have met their brutal, bloody deaths in a remote area of Iraq as a result of an Iranian-supplied IED."

Well said.

Anonymous said...

I listened to his rant until I could take no more. How dare this monster lecture us on religion, science, avoiding ignorance, and world peace!

Anonymous said...

What makes me the angriest is the large number of students and faculty in the audience who are applauding his lies and propaganda. They are either terrorist sympathizers themselves or deluded if they believe themselves "educated."

Anonymous said...

Excellent comments as usual, Joanie. I especially like your reference to the "surreal" idea of him honoring our dead at ground zero while our own soldiers at the same time are dying because of his terrorist IED's.

Anonymous said...

I almost died when someone asked him about Iran's policy of shooting and hanging gays, and he said that Iran has no gays (just like Germany was trying to "have no Jews").

Anonymous said...

Ahmadinejad had a relatively friendly audience at Columbia because they share his hatred, of America and Jews especially.

Anonymous said...

I forced myself to listen to him. I predict that, within two years, we will either be on our knees (especially if Hillary is president) or in an all out war with Iran -and other Muslim countries that join them.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad that's over. Now what's this about Britney having OJ’s baby?

Anonymous said...

Alas! Peace in our time!

Anonymous said...

Joanie, National Review Online agrees with your "treason" label, as do I. Read "Aid and Comfort by any Other Name":

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDM5ZmU0ZThlYTJhYmNhMDcxOGQ1ZmU5YTQ0ODRlMzA=

Anonymous said...

Monstrous idiocy
Editorial Monday, September 24th 2007

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/09/24/2007-09-24_monstrous_idiocy.html

The Columbia University dean who is sponsoring today's obscene appearance by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is deeply unworthy of the position he holds. In saying that he would welcome Adolf Hitler to campus, John Coatsworth revealed that he lacks the moral compass, historical perspective and human decency to be the head of the university's School of International and Public Affairs.
Coatsworth's invitation to the Iranian president was a gross abuse of academic freedom that he has been attempting mightily and futilely to defend. But there is no way, at least in civilized society, to defend Coatsworth's expressed openness to granting a forum to a man who was the world's most determined, most efficient mass murderer.

Here is what Coatsworth said in a Saturday interview with Fox News. So shocking were his comments that we quote verbatim to assure the reader that he actually said what he said: "If Hitler were in the United States and wanted a platform from which to speak, he would have plenty of platforms to speak in the United States. If he were willing to engage in a debate and a discussion, to be challenged by Columbia students and faculty, we would certainly run it."

Coatsworth is grievously wrong on so many counts. His belief that Hitler would be invited to speak across the U.S. is an insult to America's character. And his thought of engaging the guiding force of the Third Reich in collegial debate is simply monstrous. In your worst nightmare, you can imagine the topics. For example: Yes or no, are Jews truly subhuman? Even to conceive of such a colloquy is both soul-deadening and a wellspring of fury. Identical thinking - repugnant on its face and grossly insensitive to the Jewish community and to all good people - drives Coatsworth's event with Ahmadinejad.

Coatsworth's efforts to justify his remarks further showed he is absolutely ill-equipped for his post. He told the Daily News yesterday he meant "in 1939, [when Hitler] had not started the war and the Holocaust hadn't begun." Oh. So six years after Dachau, four years after the anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws and a year after Kristallnacht, when Hitler's intentions were known to all, he'd be a fine speaker for Columbia?

The Iranian president denies the Holocaust and has declared that he would like to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. His regime is a leading exporter of terror, provided munitions that are killing U.S. troops in Iraq and is openly trying to go nuclear. He is repressing his own people with radical Islamic law and would similarly repress everyone else if given a chance.

He's his own Hitler - for now without the resources. Despite the established record - right down to Ahmadinejad's "Death to America" rallies over the weekend - Coatsworth is determined to bring the Iranian to Columbia. And Columbia President Lee Bollinger foolishly agreed to legitimize Coatsworth's circus by playing Ahmadinejad's foil. Bollinger will challenge the madman, yes he will.

As if Ahmadinejad will give a hoot to what any of Columbia's academics think - although he'll take full advantage of their forum. As if anyone will learn anything that isn't well-known from the record of Ahmadinejad's actions.

Bollinger believes that he'll be standing up for what is right in confronting Ahmadinejad. He's mistaken. In truth, he squandered the opportunity to stand up for a higher good when he did not reject this perversion of academic freedom - a freedom that, like all others, must be exercised responsibly. Simply put, he should have told Coatsworth to stuff it.

Fortunately, Coatsworth is only the acting dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. Now, given Coatsworth's disqualifying remarks about Hitler, Bollinger needs to find someone who is fit to lead the school.

Anonymous said...

Jewish hero funded hall where thug will speak

Monday, September 24th 2007

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/09/24/2007-09-24_jewish_hero_funded_hall_where_thug_will_-1.html

WHEN IRANIAN DESPOT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes the stage at Columbia University today, it will be in a building funded by a billionaire Marine hero who gave generously to Jewish causes.

Alfred Lerner Hall, the main student center, was named for the late Jewish philanthropist who donated $25 million to the school.

It is an "obscenity" that the Iranian is speaking there, said Rabbi Gerald Skolnik of Forest Hills Jewish Center in Queens, to which Lerner also gave. "To have a Holocaust-denying, nuclear-aspiring hatemonger speaking in a hall that bears his name in the interest of 'free speech,' it's just the wrong person in the wrong place."

Lerner, who died in 2002 at 69, was born in Brooklyn to Russian immigrants. He was a 1955 Columbia graduate and a Marine pilot. He became chairman of MBNA Corp. and owned the Cleveland Browns football team. Lerner donated a fortune to the Cleveland Clinic and created a fund to help families of first responders killed on 9/11. He also gave generously to the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, which assists aging unsung heroes from World War II who helped save Jews during the Holocaust and educates teachers about the genocide.