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Crafty_Dog:
The following article helped me realize we need a thread specifically for the doings/shenanigans of our elected representatives

==============================================

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,133428,00.html?ESRC=dod.nl

Air Force Might Cut Pay for Surge
Military.com  |  By Christian Lowe  |  April 25, 2007
The Air Force’s top officer said Wednesday that if nearly $1 billion in personnel funds taken from the service to pay for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan isn’t restored by the end of the summer, Airmen and civilian employees might not get their pay.

Due to a congressional delay in approving a wartime supplemental funding bill this year, the Pentagon pulled about $880 million from the Air Force’s personnel accounts to make up for a shortfall it warned lawmakers would come in mid-April.

Poll: Should Air Force personnel be used to man Army billets in Iraq?
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael “Buzz” Moseley said at a breakfast meeting with reporters today that the money is coming out of the military personnel account earmarked for the last four months of the year.

“Somebody’s going to have to pay us back,” Moseley said. “You have to pay people every day when they come to work.”

“A: it’s the right thing to do, and B: it’s kind of the law,” he added.

Alert: Tell your public officials how you feel about this issue.

The shortfall could delay permanent change of station moves, temporary duty expenses and other pays that “take care of people,” he said.

On April 15, the Army announced it would have to cut training, depot repair, and maintenance of non war-related gear because funding for the surge in Iraq, combat operations in Afghanistan and other Global War on Terrorism costs was running dry.

The Army also requested that about $1.6 billion be diverted from the Air Force and Navy personnel accounts to help put the wartime funding tab in the black.

With Congress locked in a political battle with the Bush administration over withdrawal deadlines and troop rotation schedules, the $100 billion wartime spending bill to pay for operations through the end of the fiscal year has yet to be signed into law.

Though both the Senate and House have submitted the supplemental bill to the floor for a vote this week, President Bush has vowed a veto over withdrawal deadlines inserted into the law.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace has said if the wartime funds aren’t in place by mid-May, even more drastic cuts will have to be made, including reductions in training for forces on their way to Iraq, which will force the Pentagon to extend the deployments of units already there.

“The comptroller now has a check that they’re going to have to give us back to pay for [personnel] as we get closer to the end of the summer,” Moseley explained, putting the screws to Pentagon and administration budgeteers to recoup the loss.

“I don’t want to have any concerns about getting that money back,” he said. “It would be a breach of faith to take mil-pers money out of a service and then fast forward a couple of quarters and then just say ‘eat it.’”

Moseley said he’ll resist providing Airmen to man jobs the Army and Marine Corps can’t fill due to high operational tempo and increased demand, insisting his service is “drawing some red lines” to deny ground commanders’ requests.

About 20,000 Air Force personnel have filled shortfalls in the ground services’ manning – dubbed “in lieu of taskings” – including convoy and base security operations and even detainee handling jobs. As early as 2005, Air Force security personnel began augmenting Army detainee-handling troops at Camp Bucca prison near Baghdad and have continued to man prison jobs in Iraq.

“We don’t guard prisoners, we don’t even have a prison,” Moseley said. “To take out people and train them to be a detainee-guarding entity requires time away from their normal job.”

Some U.S.-based Air Force commands have as many as 25 percent of their personnel deployed to Iraq and are still executing their home station duties. For example, the San Angelo, Texas-based 17th Training Wing has its crash, fire, and rescue teams and security force units deployed “and we’re still operating the wing,” Moseley said.  

Moseley said he’s happy to provide personnel with job skills the Air Force has in abundance, including drivers and information technology specialists. But “I am less supportive of things outside of our competencies,” he said.

“We’ve drawn some red lines on some of the ‘in lieu of’ taskings to get away from the tasking of our folks that is incredibly outside the competencies.”

ccp:
The NYT should investigate this instead of Rupurt Murdoch.   But then it doesn't fit into their agenda:

From Dick Morris whose work in this area is quite eye opening.  Except for appearances on OReilly I am not sure anyone else is listening:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DickMorrisandEileenMcGann/2007/06/20/dems_like_gop_-_like_nepotism

Crafty_Dog:
IPT Featured Article: Islamist Fellow Traveler: Rep Bill Pascrell

Steven Emerson, Executive Director

April 23, 2012

Articles by IPT | IPT in the News | IPT Blog | Profiles | Multimedia | Donate |
Contact Us

Islamist Fellow Traveler: Rep Bill Pascrell
An IPT Series

IPT News
April 23, 2012

http://www.investigativeproject.org/3546/islamist-fellow-traveler-rep-bill-pascrell

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Executive Summary

For more than a decade, Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., has routinely coasted to
re-election over token opposition in the Democrat-dominated 8th Congressional
District. This year is different, and the eight-term congressman -- a close Capitol
Hill ally of Islamist groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
-- is fighting for his political life.

After the New Jersey Legislature eliminated fellow Democratic Rep. Steve Rothman's
neighboring district last year, he decided to run against Pascrell in the new,
heavily Democratic 9th Congressional District. Before redistricting, the two men
(both of them liberals first elected to Congress in 1996) were considered political
allies. With the primary less than two months away, they have been transformed into
bitter opponents.

Rothman supporters are emphasizing his strong support of Israel, contrasting it with
that of Pascrell -- one of 54 House members who joined Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.,
in sending a January 2010 letter to President Obama denouncing Israel and Egypt for
blockading Hamas-ruled Gaza. The letter accused Israel of imposing "de facto
collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip."

Former AIPAC spokesman Josh Block said the differences between Rothman and Pascrell
on Israel couldn't be clearer. Pointing to the letter to Obama, Block told the New
Jersey Jewish Standard in January that Pascrell (whose hometown of Paterson includes
large Arab and Muslim populations) had "actually sided against American support for
Israel's right to defend herself against weapons smuggling and attacks by
terrorists."

Thus far, there are no public-opinion polls measuring whether the perception that
Pascrell is hostile to Israel is damaging him politically. But Orthodox Jewish
leaders in the district have launched a campaign to persuade registered Republicans
to change their registration to Democrat in order to vote for Rothman in the June 5
primary. Earlier this month, a local newspaper reported that since New Year's Day, a
net total of 900 voters registered as Republican or unaffiliated had switched their
registration to Democrat, with less than 200 switching the other way.

As this report details, the Gaza letter is just one of many troubling things in
Pascrell's record. Others include:

*

Collaborating with CAIR. Despite its established roots in the Islamic Association
for Palestine, a Hamas front group, Pascrell speaks with pride about his connections
with CAIR. The organization's website includes a glowing testimonial from Pascrell
in which he "personally commend CAIR for its work on issues including civil
liberties" and calls it "the preeminent organization representing the concerns of
Muslim Americans."

*

*Whitewashing the radical record of Imam Mohammad Qatanani. Qatanani, imam at the
Islamic Center of Passaic County, was targeted for removal from the United States
for failing to disclose his Israeli court conviction for membership in Hamas.
Qatanani has also made comments condemning Christians to eternal hellfire and
advocating support for the children of suicide bombers. Pascrell lobbied against
Qatanani's deportation from the United States and submitted a court affidavit
calling the imam "peace-loving and magnanimous."

*

Refusing to condemn anti-Semitic slurs by his political supporters. In February,
Arab-American activist Aref Assaf, a Pascrell supporter and contributor, suggested
that Jews who support Rothman are putting Israel's interests over those of America.
Pascrell refused to condemn Assaf. Earlier, the congressman refused to condemn one
of his fundraisers, Lebanese-American businessman Sami Merhi, who had likened
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Hitler while speaking at a Pascrell
fundraiser.

*

Disparaging law-enforcement efforts to acquire intelligence on radical groups.
Although he has refused to criticize political allies for anti-Semitic remarks,
Pascrell has not hesitated to attack law enforcement agencies like the New York
Police Department based on incorrect information. He criticized the NYPD for using
"religious profiling" in conducting surveillance at New Jersey mosques and suggested
the NYPD had conducted surveillance without communicating with New Jersey officials
-- despite considerable evidence to the contrary.

*

Ridiculing the existence of a jihadist threat. At a House Homeland Security
Committee hearing on radicalization last year, businessman Melvin Bledsoe testified
about his son's transformation from a normal American teenager into a jihadist.
Pascrell mocked the premise that Islamist terror deserved any special concern,
saying that "some pretty bad people" are Catholics. He belittled Bledsoe's call for
American unity against jihadist recruitment, denying that any divisions exist.

"When you say 'the other side,' I don't know what the hell you're talking about,"
Pascrell said.

Main Story:

Islamists on Capitol Hill have few better allies than Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J. A
former mayor of Paterson, Pascrell, 75, is in his eighth term representing Passaic
County in New Jersey's 8th Congressional District. He is an outspoken critic of
congressional efforts to investigate Muslim radicalization in the United States and
a top ally of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Redistricting has placed Pascrell in the new 9th Congressional District with fellow
Democratic Rep. Steve Rothman, prompting a tough June 5 primary. Like Pascrell,
Rothman (whose old district was dismantled in redistricting) is a liberal Democrat
who entered Congress in 1997.

But the two men have very different records on Israel. Rothman is a strong supporter
of the Jewish state.

Pascrell, by contrast, was one of 62 lawmakers, including them Rep. John Conyers,
D-Mich., Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., and Rep. Loretta Sanchez D-Calif., who signed a
January 2009 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggesting that Israel was
to blame for denying critically needed aid to Palestinian residents of Gaza. CAIR's
New Jersey chapter (CAIR-NJ) issued an "Action Alert" urging supporters to thank
signers of the letter for "their support of human rights" by "address[ing] the
humanitarian crisis in Gaza."

The letter neglected to mention the role played by Gaza's ruling Hamas regime in
creating the humanitarian crisis by provoking war with Israel and exacerbating the
situation through its extensive use of civilian human shields.

Pascrell was one of 54 House members (including Minnesota Democratic Rep. Keith
Ellison), who signed a one-sided letter in 2010 to President Obama accusing Israel
of imposing "de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza
Strip."

The Hill reported that after Pascrell signed the 2010 letter, Rothman (at that time
a political ally) defended his colleague's record on Israel. These days, Rothman and
his supporters are singing a different tune about Pascrell.

Although Pascrell has portrayed himself as pro-Israel, his efforts to do so in the
current campaign have been marred by missteps. He won the endorsement of New Jersey
real-estate mogul David Steiner, who formerly served as president of the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), only to learn that Steiner resigned in
disgrace after exaggerating the organization's power to choose President Clinton's
cabinet.

"I'm not sure why Pascrell proactively calls attention to how little support he has
within the pro-Israel community," one New Jersey Democrat told the Washington Free
Beacon. "First, he bragged about the endorsement of a one-term, 80-plus year-old
congressman (former Democratic Rep. Herb Klein) and now the endorsement of a former
president of AIPAC who embarrassed AIPAC so much when he was president that they
forced him to resign."

Pascrell's bid for Jewish votes has been further undercut by his refusal to denounce
local Arab-American activist Aref Assaf, who responded angrily to reports that
Orthodox Jewish Republicans might change their party registration in order to vote
for Rothman in the Democratic primary.

"As total and blind support for Israel becomes the only reason for choosing Rothman,
voters who do not view the elections in this prism will need to take notice: Loyalty
to a foreign flag is not loyalty to America's," wrote Assaf, president of the
American Arab Forum (AAF) which posted the op-ed on its website.

Rothman supporters demanded that Pascrell disavow Assaf's comments, but he refused.
Assaf subsequently termed complaints about his column "Islamophobia" and "deplorable
blanket racism." He published another op-ed on the primary suggesting Pascrell was
under fire from "Jewish sources" because he is not regarded as "a perfect example of
an Israeli loyalist."

"While some of Rothman's supporters put the flag and the security of another country
above ours, we place America first and unconditionally," Assaf wrote. "While they
put Israel first, we place America second to none."

Asked about Pascrell's refusal to repudiate Assaf's comments, veteran Democratic
Party activist Joshua Block didn't mince words.

"The unwillingness to directly confront and condemn this anti-Semitic invective and
bigotry is despicable," said Block, a former spokesman for the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). "Silence in the face of this kind of hate speech
says it all."

But Passaic County Democratic Party leaders view the matter differently. On March
24, party executive leaders unanimously endorsed Pascrell. He "was the best choice
and had the most experience on the diverse issues that affect Passaic County," said
county Democratic Party Chairman John Currie.

Assaf is not the first political ally Pascrell has refused to condemn for making
anti-Semitic comments. Speaking at a Pascrell fundraiser in 2002, Lebanese-American
businessman Sami Merhi likened then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Adolf
Hitler and said he "can't see the comparison" between the 9/11 hijackers and
Palestinian suicide bombers.

When Merhi ran for a seat as Passaic County freeholder in 2006, senior New Jersey
Democrats like Sen. Robert Menendez repudiated his remarks and said they couldn't
support his candidacy. Pascrell called the comments a "mistake," but refused to
abandon Merhi, a friend who has raised money for the congressman's previous
campaigns.

"He's a well-vetted candidate," Pascrell said of Merhi. "I believe he's a good man,
and he'll represent all the people of Passaic County."

But Pascrell's support wasn't enough to save Merhi. One week after endorsing his
nomination, the Passaic County Democratic screening committee reversed itself,
voting 20-3 to withdraw its support.

"Political lynching of Arab Americans is now an accepted practice," Assaf said.
"Every Arab American is now Sami Merhi."

Assaf accused a Jewish official who supported Merhi's ouster of seeking "to
transform (sic) the conflict between Arabs and Jews from the streets of Jerusalem to
the streets of Passaic County."

Connections with Assaf and CAIR are not just an embarrassing problem for Pascrell.
Gary Schaer, a prominent Democratic state assemblyman whose endorsement prompted 15
local Orthodox synagogues to back Rothman, blasted Assaf last month for impugning
the motives of Jewish voters.

But as recently as December, Assaf and Schaer were on much friendlier terms. They
appeared together at CAIR-New Jersey's annual banquet, where Assaf made a "special
presentation" to Schaer -- giving him the "CAIR-NJ 2011 Public Leadership Award" for
"his dedication to protecting the civil and religious rights of all citizens."

While he has avoided repudiating anti-Semites and conspiracy mongers, Pascrell has
shown less reticence about criticizing the New York Police Department (NYPD) for
using "religious profiling" in surveillance at New Jersey mosques. He suggested the
NYPD had conducted surveillance without communicating with New Jersey officials
despite considerable evidence to the contrary.

Considers CAIR "Preeminent"

Pascrell is a leading congressional ally of CAIR, which has established roots in the
Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), an organization found to be a front group
for Hamas. Prosecutors designated CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in prosecuting
senior officials with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF).
CAIR was designated because of its associations with the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood's
Palestine Committee.

The Palestine Committee was created to provide Hamas with financial and political
support in the United States, prosecutors said. Five senior HLF officials were
convicted of all charges for funneling approximately $12 million to Hamas and
sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years.

The FBI cut off contact with CAIR in 2008 based on evidence in the HLF case, writing
that "until we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR
or its executives and HAMAS, the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison
partner."

But longstanding concerns about CAIR's radical record haven't prevented Pascrell
from forging close ties with the organization.

CAIR's website contains this glowing testimonial from the New Jersey lawmaker:

"With over 30 CAIR Chapters spread throughout the United States and Canada it is
clear that CAIR has become the preeminent organization representing the concerns of
Muslim Americans. I want to personally commend CAIR for its work on issues including
civil liberties and opening dialogue with various communities in America."

Pascrell was one of 23 members of Congress who printed proclamations in the program
at CAIR's 12th annual national banquet in November 2006.

He was one of nine members who printed proclamations at CAIR's 2008 national
banquet. "Since 2003, the Council on American-Islamic Relations' New Jersey Chapter
has encouraged progressive dialogue throughout my district and throughout many New
Jersey communities. The New Jersey Chapter's hard work does not go unrecognized by
this office," Pascrell wrote. "I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations … to
wish you the same success in the future you have had in your past."

Pascrell joined three other members of Congress in publishing proclamations at
CAIR's 2009 national banquet.

In March 2007, Pascrell created a stir after he reserved a conference room in the
U.S. Capitol for a CAIR panel discussion entitled "Global Attitudes on Islam-West
Relations: U.S. Policy Implications." The panel included Steven Kull, director of
the Program on International Policy Attitudes, who analyzed polls on relations
between Muslims and the West, and CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Pascrell spokesman Caley Gray said the forum "opens up an important dialogue about
global public opinion concerning the United States."

"We see it as a simple room request," said Gray. "We did receive a room request and
evaluated it and approved it."

Not everyone on Capitol Hill regarded it as an ordinary request. "It does happen all
the time, but usually it is the United Way or some constituent group or Mothers
Against Drunk Driving, not a group with supposed ties to terrorism -- in the Capitol
no less," a Hill staffer said at the time.

"We know [CAIR] has ties to terrorism," said New York Democratic Sen. Charles
Schumer, a member of the party's Senate leadership. Schumer criticized CAIR for
having "intimate links with Hamas."

In February 2004, CAIR's New Jersey office issued a statement praising Pascrell and
Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., for condemning New York Republican Rep. Peter King's
assertion that most American mosques were controlled by radicals.

Pascrell and Corzine both spoke at the Annual Community Brunch held by the American
Muslim Union (AMU) on Feb. 21, 2004, which was cosponsored by 10 other
organizations, including CAIR-NJ and the Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC).

Magdy Mahmoud, co-founder and president of CAIR's New Jersey chapter, was another
cosponsor of the AMU brunch, Joel Mowbray reported in the Boston Sun the following
month.

Mahmoud served on the executive board of the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA)
from 1993-98 and directed MAYA's chapters committee. During Mahmoud's tenure, the
organization hosted a 1995 event in Toledo where Imam Yusuf al-Qaradawi praised
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

"Our brothers in Hamas, in Palestine, the Islamic resistance, the Islamic Jihad,
after the rest have given up and despaired, the movement of the jihad brings us back
to our faith," Qaradawi declared.

In the same speech, Qaradawi advocated the killing of Jews. He said that "the
balance of power will change, and this is what is told in the Hadith of Ibn Omar and
the Hadith of Abu-Harairah: 'You shall continue to fight the Jews and they will
fight you, until the Muslims will kill them. And the Jew will hide behind the stone
and the tree will say: Oh servant of Allah, Oh Muslim, there is a Jew behind me.
Come and kill him!' The resurrection will not come before this happens. This is a
text from the good omens in which we believe."

Qaradawi vowed that Muslims would conquer Europe and the United States. "Islam will
come back to Europe for the third time, after it was expelled from it twice,"
Qaradawi said. "We will conquer Europe; we will conquer America! Not through sword
but through Da'wa [proselytizing]."

The Dar-ul-Islah Islamic Center also sponsored the brunch. Co-founder Waheed Khalid
has defended Hamas and declined comment when asked whether he believed the Protocols
of the Elders of Zion were forgeries. Asked about Hamas activities by the Bergen
Record in 1998, Khalid replied: "They are trying to get the occupiers out of their
home."

Mohammed El-Mezain, one of the five HLF officials convicted in 2008, co-founded the
Islamic Center for Passaic County in 1989 and served as its first imam. According to
a memorandum written by former FBI Assistant Counterterrorism Director Dale Watson,
Mezain (serving a 15-year prison term for his HLF conviction) claimed in a 1994
speech at the mosque that he raised $1.8 million in the United States for Hamas.

In February 2003, the ICPC reportedly hosted Islamist militant Abdelhaleem Ashqar,
later sentenced to 11 years in prison for criminal contempt and obstruction of
justice after refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating Hamas
support in the United States.

Pascrell described as "pure crap" allegations that any cosponsors of the February
2004 community brunch were radical Islamists or linked to terrorist organizations.
Asked by Mowbray if he believed that he was providing legitimacy to radical
organizations by appearing at the event, Pascrell replied: "I'm not going to deal in
rumors. The rest is crap. I know these men as fine family men."

A Pascrell spokesman later clarified that his boss was not referring to Alaa
al-Sadawi, former imam at El Tawheed Islamic Center in Jersey City (another sponsor
of the event), who was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to five years, three months
in prison for attempting to smuggle $659,000 to Egypt. Sadawi raised money for the
Global Relief Foundation, designated a terrorist financier by the Treasury
Department for its links with al-Qaida. (He later pleaded guilty to lying in order
to obtain U.S. citizenship).

"That guy should be in jail," the spokesman said of Sadawi. "But you can't hold the
members of the mosque responsible for his actions."

Another imam at the Islamic Center of Passaic County, Mohammad Qatanani, was accused
of lying on his U.S. immigration documents when he failed to disclose his confession
to Israeli authorities that he was a member of Hamas, and his Israeli court
conviction for membership in the terror group. A federal immigration judge ruled in
favor of Qatanani in 2008, but the Board of Immigration Appeals overturned part of
the order the following year, holding that Judge Alberto Riefkohl had erred in
downplaying Israeli evidence showing Qatanani's links with Hamas.

Qatanani spoke at a November 1999 IAP conference. Mousa Abu Marzook, a senior Hamas
official, gave the organization $490,000 and is a former IAP board member. Evidence
at the HLF trial showed the IAP played a central role in the Muslim Brotherhood's
Palestine Committee -- in essence Hamas' U.S.-based infrastructure.

In a September 2004 article in the New Jersey Herald-News, Qatanani advocated
supporting the children of suicide bombers. During the HLF trial, he publicly prayed
for the Hamas-linked defendants and delivered a sermon condemning Christians to
eternal hellfire. In another sermon, Qatanani suggested that all of Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza were part of "Greater Syria" and that fighting to
conquer these lands is a divine commandment for Muslims. These sermons were
available in English on the mosque's website.

None of this stopped Pascrell from praising Qatanani and lobbying on his behalf.
When the imam faced deportation, Pascrell submitted a court affidavit calling
Qatanani "peace-loving" and "magnanimous."

"As a religious leader, Imam Qatanani has had an enormously positive impact in my
district," the congressman wrote. "Our community would suffer a serious loss should
he be required to leave."

Hours after federal immigration Judge Alberto J. Riefkohl's 2008 ruling that
Qatanani could remain in the United States, Pascrell joined Gov. Chris Christie and
other officials in paying tribute to the imam. At a breaking of the Ramadan fast in
Paterson that evening, Pascrell gushed about Qatanani.

"You put so much time into bringing peace for all of us," Pascrell told him. "Thank
you imam, for all you've done for America since you've come here."

Others attending the celebration included Passaic County Prosecutor James Avigliano
and Weysan Dun, FBI special agent in charge of the Bureau's Newark office; the
director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security; and various sheriffs and
county prosecutors.

The Board of Immigration Appeals overturned part of the order the following year,
holding that Judge Riefkohl had erred in downplaying Israeli evidence showing
Qatanani's links with Hamas. Qatanani remains in the United States pending the
outcome of deportation proceedings.

A Reliable Ally for Islamists

In 2008, Pascrell defended controversial New York City subway ads promoting Islam
financed by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). The ads featured phrases
like "Head Scarf?" and "Prophet Muhammad?" on one side, with the words "You deserve
to know" and "WhysIam.org" on the other.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., cited the high-profile role in promoting the ad campaign
played by radical Imam Siraj Wahhaj (a former CAIR advisory board member and a
frequent speaker at the group's events) in urging transit officials not to run the
ads.

Wahhaj was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1995 federal trial of Omar Abdel
Rahman (AKA "the Blind Sheik"), who was convicted of conspiring to bomb New York
landmarks and is serving life in prison.

Wahhaj testified in defense of the sheik, who he called a "respected scholar" and
"bold, as a strong preacher of Islam." Abdel Rahman was convicted of charges that
included conspiracy to bomb the New York FBI headquarters and to assassinate
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

Wahhaj has also called for the establishment of an Islamic state in the United
States and urged Muslims to get involved in American politics because "politics are
a weapon to use in the cause of Islam."

After King pointed to Wahhaj's radicalism, Pascrell expressed disappointment that
"any public official" would oppose the subway advertisements. Wahhaj's ad campaign
"is exactly the kind of dialogue we need," one that would "bridge the gaps in our
collective knowledge," Pascrell said.

CAIR's New Jersey chapter sent out a July 31, 2008 action alert urging American
Muslims and "other people of conscience" to thank Pascrell for "standing up to those
who seek to marginalize the American Muslim community."

Pascrell can sound strident when the facts don't completely match his political
narrative. When ABC Television announced plans to broadcast a "docudrama"
criticizing the Clinton administration's handling of the al-Qaida threat, Pascrell
denounced the film at a September 2006 Capitol Hill press conference, suggesting it
was little more than fiction aimed at advancing the Republican Party. He said the

9/11 Commission

found no evidence of "retreat or negligence" by the Clinton administration.

Pascrell neglected to point out that the commission's report was sharply critical of
both the Bush and Clinton administrations' handling of the threat. It found that the
Clinton administration had as many as four chances to capture or kill bin Laden from
December 1998 to July 1999 but failed to act.

At a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on radicalization within the Muslim
community last year, witnesses discussed the dramatic increase in jihadist terror
plots on American soil. Pascrell attacked the premise that radical Islamic terror
deserved any special focus, stating that "some pretty bad people come out of
Catholic churches."

One witness at the hearing was Melvin Bledsoe, whose son, Carlos (AKA Abdulhakim
Mujahid Muhammad) was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for shooting to
death one soldier and wounding another outside a Little Rock, Ark. military
recruiting center in June 2009.

Melvin Bledsoe testified about his family tragedy -- specifically about his son's
transformation from a normal American teen-ager into a jihadist. The elder Bledsoe's
call for Americans to unite against jihadist recruitment efforts drew a sharp rebuke
from Pascrell, who denied any divisions existed. "When you say 'the other side,' I
don't know what the hell you're talking about," Pascrell told Bledsoe. "We are all
in this together."

There is no public polling data to indicate whether Pascrell faces any political
backlash for collaborating with CAIR or treating with contempt a father who lost his
son to Islamic radicalism. But there are indications that Pascrell's pro-Islamist
views could be helping attract more Jews into the Rothman camp in this
Democrat-dominated district.

The website NorthJersey.com reported earlier this month that voter registration data
from six Passaic County towns in the new district show that since New Year's Day
(shortly after Rothman announced he would run against Pascrell) more than 900 voters
previously registered as Republican or unaffiliated switched to the Democratic Party
in those towns, with less than 200 switching from Democrat to Republican.

In an effort to continue this trend, a recent letter paid for by the Rothman
campaign urged Orthodox Jewish Republicans to switch their registration so they
could vote for him in the June primary.

A Pascrell spokesman suggested Rothman's efforts to encourage GOP party-switching
constituted disloyalty to the Democratic Party, terming it "a slap in the face." But
many in the local Jewish community may conclude that Pascrell's own behavior (and in
particular his refusal to repudiate anti-Semitic slurs from prominent supporters
like Aref Assaf) may be spurring Jews to cross party lines to vote against him.

In an op-ed last month, Assaf suggested that opposition to Pascrell from the local
Jewish community threatened to undermine what had been a "cordial and cooperative"
relationship with Paterson's Arabs and Muslims. He hinted that Jewish opposition to
the congressman would be regarded as evidence of anti-Muslim bigotry.

Assaf claimed that Pascrell "is being condemned for failing to be 100 percent on the
side of a foreign country (Israel)" and for "sleeping with a suspect community
(Arab/Muslim) whose vote will most likely determine the outcome of the elections."

"Sadly, politics, money, lobbying and disinformation are about to spoil whatever
semblance of friendship and hope there are," he added. "The turf war has begun, and
while we did not start it, the community of Arabs and Muslims in the district gave
Pascrell victory. Jewish and now some mainstream newspapers have framed the June 5
primary as a litmus test for the survival of Israel."

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bigdog:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/75443.html



Two down. Nine to go.
 
Tuesday’s Pennsylvania showdown between Democratic Reps. Jason Altmire and Mark Critz marks the beginning of a seven-week period of primaries that will feature a handful of the rarest and most exotic political contests: the incumbent vs. incumbent primary death match.

Crafty_Dog:
Sorry for the weirdness of the lines through the words in much of my post from IPT.  I've no idea why that happened.

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