Patrick Poole (& Ohio Rightwingers): Idiots or Racists?

In the good 'ole days of the 60's and 70's, Conservatives/Republicans were content to target African Americans with racist politics. However, sensing an opportunity to target more minorities in the wake of the attacks of 9/11, some conservative republicans have launched crusades against all practicing the Islamic faith (or in some cases merely being of middle eastern descent). Make no mistake, the Islamic Fundamentalist misinterpreting their holy work as a sermon of destruction must be dealt with, but Islam in itself is not the threat. The issue, like in any culture, is dealing with the extremists who choose to misinterpret their scripture as license to kill.

The hatred the rightwing holds for Arabs, and those practicing any form of the Islamic faith, always amazes me. I still have immensely emotional reactions to the events that occurred on September 11th, but I've never lumped the entire middle east into my rage against those that committed the atrocities against our country. However, in my opinion, some folks - like those at FrontPage Magazine - hear the word the Islam and immediately revert into fight or flight mode. Most recently, Patrick Poole - aided by the likes of RAB and Columbuser - lashed out at Abukar Arman and insinuated he was a terrorist (or aiding and abetting terrorists). Today in a comprehensive article, the Dispatch refuted all such claims:

For the past few weeks, Arman -- who served on the county's Criminal Justice Planning Board -- was under scrutiny by federal and local law enforcement.

"We did a background check and found no criminal or terrorist connections," said county Administrator Don L. Brown. "Mr. Arman is not a person of interest."

The problem here is that organizations like Poole's Frontpage Magazine (aided by Republican blogs) initiate and serve as echo chambers for these sorts of islamic witch hunts. A second problem is that County Commissioners like Paula Brooks takes them seriously:

Poole notes the county Web site says that the criminal justice board oversees homeland security. County officials said that is an error: The board oversees justice grants and court programs, and handles no sensitive information.

Two commissioners, Marilyn Brown and Mary Jo Kilroy, didn't respond to Poole. The third, Paula Brooks, sent an e-mail to Brown on July 12.

"Don, I expect this to be investigated expeditiously," Brooks wrote. "If true, these allegations are definitely grounds for removal."

Note to Paula Brooks and all other Democratic incumbents. DON'T RESPOND OFFICIALLY TO FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE. While you're at it, it's probably a bad idea to respond officially to any other blog or publication that has a history of setting attacking (which is why I don't put info requests into most GOPers, I don't expect them to be answered). Next time you do something this half-witted, expect to have liberals down your throats too - it's moronic.

Folks like Columbuser and Poole just don't know how to say "I'm sorry." They get the whiff of Islam and they go stark raving mad. As evidence from Columbuser's response today:

Democrats and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners are pumping the fact that a criminal background check on Abukar Arman “found no criminal or terrorist connections,” according to Franklin County Administrator Don L. Brown. This is somewhat besides the point, since Arman was not accused of any criminal activity, but rather of “praise for [US] designated terrorist organizations and individuals.” The accusations were made by Hilliard resident Patrick Poole, both on his blog and in the online FrontPage Magazine.

Here’s the Dispatch’s article on the “clearing” of Arman and here’s Patrick Poole’s response. Patrick is a bit kinder to the Dispatch than I would be. The article ignores the fact that the Democratic/county response is completely off-point.

Point blank, the county response was appropriate. They noted there was no terrorist connection. Anyone that tells you otherwise is letting their own bias get in the way of the facts. Also, these folks should be admonished for trying to tie terrorism to Democrats, even after the individual in question is cleared. Columbuser makes a nice try of this with his headline "Franklin County Democratys 'clear' HAMAS supporter," and RAB previously tried to use the issue against Mayor Coleman. The issue for these folks is that they think Abukar inappropriately praised Islamic organizations they don't approve of. I don't have too much to weigh in on that issue, however, I would note that the investigation found that Abukar broke no law. However:

Arman counters that even U.S. government officials now are talking with the Islamic Courts Union, which, despite its harsh fundamentalist rule, did stop lawlessness for a time in Somalia. He says that his writings simply point out that Al-Qaradawi is viewed by many Muslims as a moderate.

Also, Frontpage magazine, RAB, Columbuser, and others owe Abukar Arman an apology for discrediting his reputation. However, I won't be holding my breath too long on that one.