Free Republic

Hot on the heels of my column yesterday, "Islam in America's Public Schools: Education or Indoctrination?," which included mention of the Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) in Fairfax, Virginia, comes news that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has released its findings from a review of the school's textbooks and found that they promote hatred, intolerance, and violence. As reported by the Associated Press: -The authors of a 12th-grade text on Koranic interpretation state that apostates (those who convert from Islam), adulterers and people who murder Muslims can be permissibly killed. -The authors of a 12th-grade text on monotheism write...

Throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, young Muslim women are being targeted for violence. Lest it be thought hate crimes are to blame, it is, in fact, their own relatives who are the perpetrators. So-called honor killings, whereby a Muslim male family member, typically the father, murders his daughter in order to defend the family's honor, is a growing problem.

The issue of illegal immigration, while long roiling beneath the surface of American politics, is now boiling over. The eruption began with the introduction of House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner's (R-Wis.) bill HR 4437 to the Senate following its passage by the House last December. The first attempt at real immigration reform since 1986, this commonsense legislation would have made being an illegal immigrant a felony, authorized additional fencing at the border and required all employers to use an electronic verification system to ensure that workers are legal residents. Yet the Senate supported the bill only after watering it...

Cinnamon Stillwell has arrived. Congratulations! Her first death threat. Allah be praised. My fellow 911 neocon, noted columnist (in the fringiest of the rabid left wing wards - San Fran) and that which I admire most in an individual - truth teller, is fighting the great fight and putting herself in harm's way because of it. Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 03:23:26 -0500 (EST)Subject: Horrifying Death Hello Ms Cinnamon, How dare you write against Supreme Being Allah_The One Absolute Truth Beyond Spacetime??? We, soldiers of Allah will rape you feminists and then disbowel you and cut your boobs. Then post...

When the story broke that the Bush administration had approved a British-owned company's sale of U.S. port operations to one headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, all hell broke loose. The company at hand, Dubai Ports World, is owned by the United Arab Emirates, so not only would we be handing over operations of our ports to yet another foreign company, but also to a foreign government. The fact that the deal was approved without the legally authorized 45-day investigation normally required when acquisition by a foreign government and security concerns are involved, certainly doesn't help. Then there was President...

Last week was an eventful one for San Francisco politicians on Fox News. On Tuesday night, Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval was a guest on the Fox News program "Hannity and Colmes." Broadcasting live from San Francisco, Sean Hannity interviewed Sandoval about the ongoing controversy surrounding the USS Iowa. As reported in this column last August, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-8 against docking the WWII-era Iowa as a floating museum at the Port of San Francisco. The decision was made despite the potential financial benefits to the city and the efforts of veterans groups, a Congressional delegation and Senator Dianne Feinstein...

After suffering a stroke last year, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains in a coma. Where once the world followed Sharon’s every political move, medical details now dominate the news. Few believe that Sharon will recover, but no effort has been spared to try and keep him alive. Yet some would argue that prolonging life in such a manner is cruel. That in fact, ending life in such circumstances would be the more compassionate alternative. Such is the argument put forth by proponents of euthanasia and ironically, it is in Israel that they have had their most recent success. Late...

A worldwide battle for free speech is taking place, with Denmark at the center of the storm. It all began last September when a Danish author writing a book on Islam was unable to find artists willing to submit illustrations because of the Islamic stricture against visual representations of Muhammad. To try and call attention to the issue, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten put out a call for cartoonists to submit depictions of Muhammad. Twelve cartoons were submitted and eventually printed in the newspaper. The cartoons themselves were a mixed bunch. Some merely depicted Muhammad as a man, which is by...

California’s upcoming GOP primary just got interesting. Former U.S. Rep. and decorated veteran Paul "Pete" McCloskey recently announced that he will challenge Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Tracy) in June. Often described as a "maverick Republican" (code word for liberal) by the mainstream media (MSM), McCloskey is being lauded as a "moderate" who will restore the conservative principles of small government to a scandal-plagued Washington. To drive the point home, Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay’s names are invoked frequently in articles on the subject. McCloskey ran against President Richard Nixon in 1972 as an antiwar candidate and testified in congress along with...

San Francisco officials often decry the city's shrinking business community. Yet there's little acknowledgment that the very policies local government tends to push have the effect of undermining business. The latest anti-business proposal to hit the table was put forward by Supervisor Tom Ammiano last November. The proposed ordinance would affect non-union businesses and nonprofit organizations that have at least 20 employees and don't provide medical insurance. Businesses would have to put approximately $345 a month per employee into a fund to be used for health care costs. Employees need work only 80 hours a month. The $345 is based on...

California voters went to the polls last week and made their will known. Every one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's propositions aimed at fixing the state's broken system was defeated. Propositions 74 (teacher tenure), 75 (public employee union dues), 76 (state spending) and 77 (redistricting) went down in flames. In other words, Californians voted for the status quo. Voters may have opted for the current state of affairs because they saw the propositions as doing more harm than good. Unfortunately, there are no alternatives on the table. Despite much caterwauling about the special election in the months before, the Democrats have...

To the extent that one can tune out of politics in this age of 24-hour media, such has been my state for the past week or so. Relatives visiting from abroad gave me an excuse to take a little vacation myself and be a tourist in my own backyard. Although I now live in the East Bay, it was to my old stomping grounds in San Francisco that I went to play tour guide. Showing off San Francisco's surrounding natural beauty and cultural offerings is something I usually enjoy. And, indeed, I did, with one glaring exception. Of course, what...

THE MAKING OF A 9/11 REPUBLICAN Many of you were impressed with THE MAKING OF A 9/11 REPUBLICAN. It chronicled the transformation of writer Cinnamon Stillwell, who came from liberal Marin County and had her world changed forever on 9-11. Cinnamon will be my guest tomorrow on Rightalk Radio at 2pm Eastern. It will be a compelling hour of radio. The left is intolerant, not our side. RIGHTALK RADIO

Peace Is a Mental Construct By Cinnamon Stillwell Friday, October 18, 2002 With the Bay Area awash in anti-war rallies, it seemed a good time to address that so illusive of concepts and the stated goal of the pacifists: peace. The problem is, peace doesn’t really exist. In fact, it’s never prevailed throughout the history of humankind. When it has briefly made an appearance, it’s because societies have had to fight off aggressors to achieve it. The truth is, peace is nothing more than a mental construct, adopted by the delusional left to justify its relentless anti-Americanism. Perhaps the peaceniks...

Rob Morse and Observing 9-11 By Cinnamon Stillwell Friday, September 13, 2002 Rob Morse's ill-conceived column, “Top 10 better things to do today," 9/11/02, was in very bad taste, to say the least. Morse suggested that rather than watching the television coverage on 9/11 or attending commemorations, people should instead indulge themselves. As the rest of the nation mourned, Morse instructed his readers to “Make love,” “Go to the movies,” “Trade in your SUV,” or if all else fails, “Have a drink.” Apparently, he (and countless others, according to the letters page) expected our television media to commemorate that tragic...