I am so appreciative of this forum for providing an “Off Topic” category. In light of what I am about to post, in the next few paragraphs, I think that everyone will understand why my state and locale of residence, in the U.S., have been removed from my profile on this Forum. I live in a community that has many residents that believe socialists, many Hispanics, many African-Americans and almost all Muslims should be killed, many of whom are immediate neighbors. Were I to post the below statements on most major media platforms, my real name and location would be too easy to identify, which would not only risk my life but that of my wife. It’s not that I have great fear of being shot at. It’s happened twice before: once of the streets of Chicago and only once while serving in Vietnam. However, since I’m approaching the age of 70, I’d prefer dying of natural causes.
I am posting this here, on this forum, with the sincere hope that someone can take what I am about to say and get it disseminated in one or more of the major social media forums. If you choose to share what I am about to write, please don’t use that it came from “OldLeatherneck”. You may refer to my being a former Marine and Vietnam Vet. I’m willing to take some risks, but not be stupid about it. I would request that any quotes be verbatim, although correcting spelling or grammatical errors such as too many/few comas are welcome. You can editorialize before and after anything I wrote. With any good fortune, within the next 12 months my wife and I will be moving to a different state, in the U.S.,or a certain undisclosed country in Europe.
Here Goes:
Late yesterday, 7-14-2016, a French resident of Tunisian descent wreaked havoc upon the city of Nice, France. This horrific incident resulted in more than 80 deaths and multiple life threatening injuries. Certainly, incidents like this must be decried as barbaric and every step should be taken to prevent future incidents like this in every country on earth. Yet, it would be equally reprehensible to blame or punish every practitioner of one of the world’s major religions.
Within hours of the slaughter in Nice, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was on FOX News recommending that every resident of America, who is of Muslim descent should be deported if they believe in Sharia law. Rather than getting into the constitutional issues ,what are some of the hurdles in determining what constitutes a firm belief in Sharia law?
By Newt Gringrich’s new proclamation, the daughters of President Barack Obama must be evaluated for “Religious Purity” because their paternal grandfather was a Muslim born in Kenya, although their mother and father were born in the United States and are practicing Christians. Conversely, there are many professional athletes in the U.S. who have converted to Islam. Since they are of Christian descent, will they be exempt from Newt Gingrich’s “Religious Purity” test. However, their offspring may or may not be subject to the test depending which religions their birth parents practiced at the time of their birth. Of course time of conception may be more important than time of birth. Does the “Gingrich Standard” identify whether to be classified as of Muslim descent requires only one birth parent or two? What about adoptive parents?
Can or will the GOP leadership ever stop pandering to the least educated, informed, intelligent and rational thinking members of their base??