I Am Pamela
Supporters of the Islamic State posted an ominous warning last night vowing to kill Pamela Geller.
"Our aim was the [swine] Pamela Geller and to show her that we don't care what land she hides in or what sky shields her; we will send all our Lions to achieve her slaughter. . . . everyone who houses her events, gives her a platform to spill her filth are legitimate targets," the threat reads.
Many on the left, who are quick to defend flag burning as a form of "free speech," have condemned Geller for her free speech. Sadly, some on the right, even in conservative media, have criticized her. They are wrong.
No American who chooses to exercise their First Amendment right should be blamed for violence that is done by someone else who is intolerant. Extortion is a crime. We do not give in to mob violence or terrorism.
Censoring ourselves because we fear Islamic violence is a slippery slope. In countries like France and England, Jews have been told that they can go anywhere they want. But they have been strongly discouraged from wearing anything that identifies them as Jews because it might enrage Muslims. By this flawed logic if Jews are attacked it must be their fault. No! The only person responsible is the assailant.
By the way, how did the Coptic Christians who were beheaded by ISIS offend Muslims? What did the Boston Marathon runners do that offended the Tsarnaev brothers? How about the Israeli worshippers hacked to death at a synagogue in Jerusalem?
What happened to the courage of all those marching in the streets of Paris after the Charlie Hebdo attacks? Remember the chant, "Je suis Charlie"? (I am Charlie!) Perhaps we need a new campaign: "I am Pamela!"
The War Within
There were more threats in last night's message from ISIS. Consider this excerpt:
"We have 71 trained soldiers in 15 different states ready at our word to attack any target we desire. . . . 23 have signed up for missions like Sunday . . . Of the 15 states, 5 we will name -- Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Michigan. . . . The next six months will be interesting."
A headline on the front page of today's Washington Post tries to reassure us that there are "No Signs Islamic State Led Texas Plot." Other reports clearly indicate that the Texas gunmen were in contact with ISIS fighters in Syria.
To paraphrase Hillary Clinton, what difference does it make whether they are card-carrying members of ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah or Islamic Jihad? Whatever group they belong to, they are all motivated to kill by the same thing: Radical Islam. And they are here.
"Unpardonable Crime"
The Reverend Al Sharpton, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Barack Obama have all condemned the murder of Police Officer Brian Moore. Sharpton went so far as to call it an "unpardonable crime." I suppose we should be thankful for his new concern for police officers.
But in case you have forgotten, there are numerous quotes from these three men that have contributed to a cop-hating atmosphere in America. Remember Obama's remarks about the Cambridge police officers who "acted stupidly"?
All three offered encouragement to the radical Occupy Wall Street movement when it was battling police in multiple cities across the country. Now their tone has changed. New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin thinks he knows why: "Maybe they concluded that dead cops were bad for business." (Political business.)
Goodwin also imagined this scenario: Suppose the shooter, Demetrius Blackwell, had missed Officer Moore and tried to run. What if the officers had returned fire and a bullet entered Blackwell's back? There would be renewed outrage about another black man shot in the back by police. Al Sharpton would be leading marches as protestors chanted, "What do we want? Dead cops!"
#NeverOutGunned
Kudos to Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer! Sgt. Meyer is launching an online counter-protest of the "Eric Sheppard challenge."
In case you missed this controversy, Eric Sheppard is the radical who organized a protest at a Georgia university last month in which an American flag was desecrated. According to Sheppard, the American flag represents white supremacism.
A female Air Force veteran attempted to rescue the flag. Instead, she was arrested and banned from the campus. But days later, Sheppard was on the run, fleeing an arrest warrant after he brought a gun onto campus and threatened students.
Unbelievably, some misguided individuals have taken up Sheppard's cause. They are posting videos of themselves stomping on the flag.
Sgt. Meyer is asking everyone who loves this country to fight back by posting patriotic pictures -- whatever reminds them of what is good about America -- with the hashtag #NeverOutGunned. Let's win this social media war!