This week, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-NY, held a high profile hearing examining the extent of American Muslim radicalization in the wake of four dozen homegrown terror plots since 9/11. 

Witnesses included relatives of young people who have been indoctrinated into terrorism and who are pledging their allegiance to the Koran instead of to the U.S. Constitution. The witnesses’ testimony supported concerns that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged people not to cooperate with the police and FBI in regard to terrorist activity. The hearing also revealed that radical indoctrination efforts are increasingly adept at using internet and social media and are aggressively targeting America’s youth.

Congressman Michael McCaul, R-TX, contended that, “the preamble talks about providing for a common defense,” and that we need to confront the fact that, “a threat to America lies in our own Country.” The congressman asserted that it is irresponsible “to ignore the threat of radical Islam extremism in the name of political correctness,” adding that, “we have to know our enemy, and it’s radical Islam in my opinion.”   The hearing was the first in a series which is likely to continue with the next hearing focusing on radicalization in the U.S. prison system. 

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) warned about the radicalization of young Muslims that is taking place in his Northern Virginia district. Rep. Wolf recounted six examples, including:

• Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, the 1999 valedictorian of the Islamic Saudi Academy, now serving a life sentence for plotting the assassination of President George W. Bush.
• The arrest in Pakistan of five Muslim American teenagers from Fairfax County, Virginia, who attempted to join jihadist groups.
• Zachary Chesser, a graduate of Oakton High School, who was arrested last year for trying to join a Somali-based jihadi group.

A witness, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, asserted that the liberty message is the only proper counter to the jihad narrative and contended that it is, in fact, appropriate to discuss the issue publicly since, “if we’re going to fix the cancer we’ve got to be able to talk about it as cancer,” and that we need to “inoculate Muslims with the idea of liberty.”  He also asserted that allowing this systematic radicalization is surrendering the Constitution to the jihadists.

We must realize that Islam is much more than a religion, it is a total way of life which is governed by Sharia Law. Sharia Law is almost totally incompatible with the letter and principles of the U.S. Constitution. For more information, read Islamic Sharia Law vs US Constitution and Sharia Law in the U.S.

America was founded on the principles of equality and freedom, and we have invested our resources and blood over and over again to defend those principles. Free-market capitalism has enabled America to become a leader in technological innovation. These ideas are rejected in Sharia Law. America must not allow Sharia Law to come into force here as it has in Europe.

President Teddy Roosevelt said, “The one absolutely certain way to bringing this nation ruin, or preventing all possibility of it continuing as a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a nation of squabbling nationalities.”

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“What parents wouldn’t be angry at protesters praising the death of their child and then insulting the way they raised their child? How could such a disgusting group be allowed to spew such hateful vitriol toward a grieving parent and a deceased child? Yet that is exactly what the Supreme Court upheld as constitutional in an 8-1 ruling against Albert Snyder, parent of a deceased U.S. Marine, in favor of Westboro Baptist Church. This may seem like a travesty, yet sadly, this was the only decision the court could make.” Read more on The 1789 Project Blog here.

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“It is an important question for everyone, but especially for those of us who use the internet for more than just checking email. The question has been thrust to the forefront of internet debate by the recent FCC decision to start regulating the internet with its “net neutrality” principle. Now Congress is in the process of holding a vote of disapproval of the FCC regulations. …the legislation required for the FCC to pass these sweeping regulations is suspect at best. So with no real legislative or constitutional authority, maybe, just maybe, the FCC should not own the internet.” Read more on The 1789 Project Blog here.

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“When presidents of government-funded broadcasting are making more than the president of the United States, it’s time to get the government out of public broadcasting. While executives at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) are raking in massive salaries, the organizations are participating in an aggressive lobbying effort to prevent Congress from saving hundreds of millions of dollars each year by cutting their subsidies.” Read more from Sen. Jim DeMint here.

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Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

On the floor of the U.S. House, the congressman attempted to make the case for a Constitutional amendment to secure a right to “iPods, laptops and the Internet.”  It was during Jackson’s confusing reference to President Roosevelt’s concern for the rights of the unemployed:

We, the people of America, should say to Rep. Jackson, let’s not promote an entitlement mentality that shackles taxpayers to politically-motivated dependency on government. Read more and watch the video here.

Soaring energy prices are attracting political attention in the wake of the Dept. of Energy predicting that Americans will pay $700 more in gasoline costs this year than last year.  House Speaker John Boehner announced an American Energy Initiative Facebook Page as part of the Pledge to America, with the goals of producing more American energy, lowering gas prices and helping to end uncertainty so that small businesses can begin to hire again.

The full House is scheduled to vote on another short term (three-week) temporary funding bill to keep the government running since the current funding expires on March 18th.  The House bill is expected to cut an additional $6 billion ($2 billion a week) from the current discretionary spending levels. Meanwhile, we continue to borrow 40 cents on every dollar.  Policymakers need to get past the politics and act quickly and aggressively to get spending under control.

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We hope this sampling from the newsfeed, blog, and opinion pages of The 1789 Project website inspires you to continue fighting for the Constitutional Revival.

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David LaRock

President

The 1789 Project