Cartoon of the Day: Thanks, Pastor Jones
Obama: Koran Burning, No; Flag Burning, Yes
Ben Johnson, Floyd Reports
On Tuesday, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley called Pastor Terry Jones’ plan to hold a “Burn A Koran Day” on the ninth anniversary of 9/11 “unAmerican.” Hillary Clinton called it a “disrespectful, disgraceful act.” And just this morning, Barack Obama said the proposed event was “completely contrary to our values as Americans.” He cited local fire ordinances that might be used against the church if it proceeds and called on Jones to cancel the Mohammedan bonfire.
Although he tried to stop the desecration of Korans, Obama showed no such concern for the American flag. In June 2006, Senator Obama voted against the Hatch Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment that read in full: “The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.” It failed by one vote.
In an official statement explaining his vote, the future president said even debating the issue of flag burning was “a disservice to our country” and agreed that banning flag desecration “would destroy part of freedom itself.”
Video of the Day: Black Panthers Tell Koran Burners, “You Will Be A Target”
If Obama Treated Koran Burning like the Ground Zero Mosque
Ben Johnson, Floyd Reports
Although he would not say a word about Iran’s human rights violations after Mahmoud Ahmadinejiad tortured protesters of the stolen presidential election last summer, Barack Obama brought the full weight of the presidential bully pulpit down against 50 people planning to burn the Koran this Saturday. Obama told George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America this morning the would-be Koran-burners’ “stunt” is “completely contrary to our values of Americans…this country has been built on the notions of religious freedom and religious tolerance.”
That is an interesting about-face on the right of religious people to exercise the First Amendment. Less than a month ago, he declared his support for the Ground Zero Mosque, telling Muslims at an Iftar dinner:
Let me be clear: As a citizen and as president I believe that Muslims have the right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances.
He later said he was only reiterating their constitutional rights and “will not comment on the wisdom” of planting a victory mosque atop the graves of 3,000 jihad victims. But he felt no constraint commenting on the “wisdom” of a tiny Christian church burning the Muslims’ “holy” book. Although he showed enthusiasm for the First Amendment rights of Muslims, he tried to sic the local police on Pastor Jones, stating that he found the Dove World Outreach Center’s rights “frustrating”….
