Blanks? Sure, we sometimes use hyphens in the case of expletives. Perhaps we could do that: "K---- D-------." Or, perhaps, "Councilman [Unauthorized]." We giggled a bit more than we should have when we came up with "the Councilman Formerly Known as Commissioner Kirby Delauter," which doesn't seem as funny written down in black and white and includes his name, which defeats the point. Maybe we should just put his initials, "KD," with an asterisk to a footnote (KD*), or refer to him as GLAT, the acronym for his campaign: "Govern Like A Taxpayer." We could even make it sound a little hip-hop with a well-placed hyphen: G-Lat. Speaking of, could we get away with "K-Del"? Or we could simply go with the Harry Potter-esque "He Who Shall Not be Named." (Cue the lightning strike and peal of thunder.)
If you have been on the internet lately you may have noticed a meme taken from a recent speech Obama gave in Roanoke, Virginia. Recently, I found out that a well known preacher blocked me on twitter. I always gave him at least a hundred words of context and generally an hour or more (sometimes three hours) of his unedited lectures and sermons. If I, a "Pharisee", a "Sadducee", cannot bring myself to criticize someone out of context, what do you think I think about pulling a sentence or two out of a paragraph and sometimes not even quoting the entire sentence? Unfortunately Jesus never taught people to take people in context.
"You didn't build that!" is half a sentence taken from the following section of Obama's speech. At the most I have only seen the two sentences in bold quoted. There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t -- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. (Applause.)
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.
So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That’s how we funded the GI Bill. That’s how we created the middle class. That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That’s how we invented the Internet. That’s how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for President -- because I still believe in that idea. You’re not on your own, we’re in this together. (Applause.)
So all these issues go back to that first campaign that I talked about, because everything has to do with how do we help middle-class families, working people, strivers, doers -- how do we help them succeed? How do we make sure that their hard work pays off? That’s what I've been thinking about the entire time I've been President.[1]
The problem is that I agree. No man is an island unto themselves. I attend evangelical churches that forecast God's judgment and credit America's success with God's blessing. I credit Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines a great deal for America's success. My parents live in an area that the government cleared of malaria. We have the world's best freight rail system. Also, I am blogging on the internet.
This is one of Obama's common themes. We all need each other. In another speech, he put it this way.
Now, I want to be very clear here. Nobody wants to punish success in America. The Republicans talk about class warfare. That’s -- our goal is to make success available for everybody. What’s great about this country is you’ve got a good idea, you’ve got a service that nobody else has thought of, you know what, go out there, start a business. (Applause.) Make money. I want everybody out there to be rich. That’s great. Anybody in America should be able to make it if they try. (Applause.)
But none of us make it on our own. Somebody -- an outstanding entrepreneur like a Steve Jobs -- somewhere along the line he had a teacher who helped inspire him. (Applause.) All those great Internet businesses wouldn’t have succeeded unless somebody had invested in the government research that helped to create the Internet. We don't succeed on our own. We succeed because this country has, in previous generations, made investments that allow all of us to succeed. (Applause.)
So this is the land of opportunity. But we have to remember -- those of us who have done well, we should all pay our fair share in taxes to contribute to the nation that makes our success possible. (Applause.) That’s not class warfare. That’s not an attack on anybody. That’s just common sense. That’s just fairness.[2]
Let's summarize. Did Obama say "you didn't build that"? Yes, but it clear that he meant, "when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together." Why is that clear? He said it three to four sentences later.
Please provide context.
So no single individual built America on their own. We built it together. We’re one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all -- (applause) -- and with responsibilities to each other as well as to ourselves. And right now, we’ve got to meet those responsibilities in this time of great challenge.[2]
At around thirty minutes there are a few f-words. The first one is the commercial break preview. The second one is the replay of the preview. At about thirty-seven minutes, there is a third f-word when the fake pastor messes up his sermon. The fourth one is at about fifty minutes when "Pastor James" gets upset. The fifth and sixth times are when Derren repeats it. The seventh is at an hour when they replay the first f-word. This is British TV and the f-word does not carry the same weight there as it does in the United States.
Despite the language, I think that it is important to see how things attributed to the power of God can be replicated by magic tricks. While some frauds may have deluded themselves, the trick of growing limbs is the mark of a knowing fraud.
A lie is a purposeful falsehood given without notification.
They interview a con-woman.
People who are conned have a hard time trusting again.
Liars have more neural connections than non-liars.
Depressed people are the most honest people.
Lies, liars, and lie catchers. This hour of Radiolab asks if it's possible for anyone to lead a life without deception.
We consult a cast of characters, from pathological liars to lying snakes to drunken psychiatrists, to try and understand the strange power of lying to yourself and others.
Caner, recalling his youth, preached in a November 2001 sermon at the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, “May I submit to you, until I was 15 years old I was in the Islamic youth jihad. And so until I came to America, until I found Jesus Christ as Lord, I was trained to do that which was done on 11 September. As were thousands of youth.” In the same sermon at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, Caner went on to say “I was raised as a Sunni Muslim . . . I was the son of the muezzin, the one who does the call to prayer at the top of the minaret,” Caner continued by describing himself as being comparable to a “preacher's kid.”
In another post I mentioned that Ergun Caner lied to marines at New River, North Carolina, April 2005. Below is the complete video and a transcript of the 10% of his speech that I questioned. Remember the Marine Colonel said in his introduction, "At the age of fourteen, he [Ergun] moves from Turkey, to New York City, to Toledo, and eventually ends up settling Columbus Ohio." The Marine Colonel was probably just parroting what Ergun had told him, because less than ten minutes later Ergun said, "I knew nothing about America until I came here when I was fourteen years old. Everything I knew about American culture, I learned through American television." This is the last I will say, read and watch for yourself. Make up your own mind.
(6.23)Most of my life I do not hear people say thank you, I get yelled at a lot as you will understand in a moment. But when I am standing in front of you to say thank you, I want you to understand that it comes from a very visceral perspective. When I say thank you, I am not just saying thank you for defending our freedom as a country. I am thankful for that beyond all measure. But when I say thank you there is a component that is a little deeper for me in that I have a people invested in this. When I say thank you for freeing my people, I am not even speaking ethnically. I am Turkish, so my people are invested in this. But I speak literally not figuratively. I have two half-sisters who are learning how to read for the first time in their lives, because of what you have done. I have cousins in Northern Iraq, that number in the hundreds, you know we breed like rabbits, so I have cousins that got to vote for the first time in their lives. I have often said that I have lived under democracy, and socialism, and fascism, Islamic fascism. In fascism, you can vote, but they vote for you. And in socialism, you can vote, but there is only one candidate. And the irony is that in democracy you can vote, but most people don’t. I have the honor of telling you that my people got to vote. So this is very visceral for me. My full name is Ergun Mehmet Caner…Turkish…Sunni…mujahedeen. My father was mujahedeen, my grandfather was mujahedeen. Kurdish, Eastern Turk. I am an American citizen, I am a Christian. And I get to speak in churches most of my life or in debates. I debate Muslims and Baha’i and Buddhists, and Hindis and all types on university campuses. So like I said, I spend most of my time getting yelled at. I am a Dean three days a week. I am travelling four days a week. So I get most of my days people cussing me out and yelling at me and I assume that happens to some of you on occasion. But it is rare that I can actually face the people who have…who have given me so much and say thank you. This is the highest honor that I can imagine. It is also an opportunity for me to tell you…to peel behind the veil a little bit and show you some of the assumptions with which my people operate. A lot of it is based on misconception. A lot of it is based on misperception. Some of it is based on assumption. I knew nothing about America until I came here when I was fourteen years old. Everything I knew about American culture, I learned through American television. Whatever they allowed into the Turkish region so that they could broadcast for free and so for me America was anything I saw on television that came from American television that was allowed by the censors. Andy Griffith was one of them and I fell in love with Andy Griffith. Didn’t understand what they were saying, there was the captions beneath. But I thought all of America was like Mayberry. I moved to Brooklyn, New York. (laughter) Not a lot in common. I watched Dukes of Hazzard. I wanted to marry Daisy Duke. (laughter)(Marine, “Didn’t we all?) Yes sir (laughter) Oorah! (laughter) I wanted to work at the Boar’s Nest. I wanted to fly a car. We drive like that normally by the way, I don’t know if you have ever been to Turkey, but we drive like that most of the time. A yield sign is a sign of your lessening manhood if you actually obey it. So I wanted to be part of that…I wanted to play American sports. I watched Chicago Cubs baseball. Didn’t understand baseball. Watched Chicago Cubs baseball. Assumed that all Americans spoke like Harry Caray. (laughter) Thought the purpose of baseball was to lose, because every time I was watching the cubs play…(laughter) eh yeah. They were getting stomped like a preacher at a topless bar. I wanted to…be American. We line up to come to your country. The last television show that I watched, I am embarrassed to tell you, but for the sake of authenticity I should tell you. I watched every two weeks, for four hours, Georgia Championship Wrestling. That was America to me. And nobody told me it was fake. And…and…I thought that Americans were the toughest people on the planet. Because…this? (laughter) Did some of you just get shocked? Bro, sir, I thought Americans were the toughest people on the planet. You got hit in the head with shoes and boots and got up. And…and… there was the guy named Junkyard Dog, who would hit people in the head with his head. And Ernie the Cat Ladd who spoke of some guy, Ole Anderson, the Egg Suckin Dawg. And…and…Rick Flair…Wuuuhh…you know. That was it for me. That was America for me and then I move here. I guess I should tell you that the other part was I was taught you hated me, but I am getting ahead of the story. Part of my inculcation was moving to America, part of it however was eleven years ago, getting married. My father, I am the oldest of the three sons, so it incumbent on me to get married. And my father said it was my job to marry an American. Twenty-five thousand women every year marry Muslim men. And so my father shared with me some that were myth and some that were superstition. But things that were supposed to help me get married. My father said marry a blonde, because there are very few blonde Muslims. Well he didn’t tell me that there were blonde women by choice and there were blonde women by birth. I would say, you look blonde, but the roots, I do not understand this part. My father also shared that there is a Kurdish legend that if a woman’s second toe is longer than her big toe that she would be a bossy nagging woman. (laughter) Mam, I am sorry to single you out that way. (indiscernible) (laughter) But you can picture me saying, I…Beautiful woman, I love you, how many camels for you? You are beautiful, before we do anything take your shoe off. (13.53) (Quote Word Count: 1082 Words)
Ergun Caner is a college professor who has lied about his testimony and Islam. Though he has always maintained to my knowledge that Islam is a religion, he has constantly stereotyped the faith. Here is what he taught our Marines on base at New River, NC.
"We fought against each other, in 1300 years of history. Since
roughly 632 to 732 we have either fought
a common enemy or we fought each other. In other words you just got in the way. In the 80’s
it was Iran and Iraq. Pretty soon
it will be Pakistan and eastern India.
Lebanon and Syria. We are much
more comfortable fighting each other.
Turkey versus the Kurds, the Kurds versus the Iraqis. The Sunni Triangle versus the Shia in the
south. 80% of Iraq as you know are Shia. Only 20% or less are Sunni. So in the midst of this, you came and gave us the one thing that can unite us other than war. Three times in Islamic history we have been united. Three: once against Charles Martel, the grand-father of Charlemagne, Charlemagne. Second time under Saladin in the Crusades. Third time, February 23rd, 1998, the signing of the fatwa by Osama bin Muhammad bin Laden, Rasul Rahman, al-Zawahiri. Other than that we've fought against each other. We always unite when there is a common enemy, a common 'Iblis,' Devil, 'Shaitan,' Satan. It's you." 16:22 (Quote Word Count: 187 Words)
Now class, what is wrong with this statement? Well first, if Bin Laden's communications skill were that great I want them. Islam, like Christianity, has endless variety. Only 20% of the Muslims speak Arabic. In order to unite Islam the fatwa must be translated into several different languages. This is not all. Like Christianity not all Muslims are literate even if you translated the fatwa into their language, it would have to be read to them.
OK, let us assume Caner's transmission claim is true and everyone knew about the fatwa. All people do not agree with anything. Human nature demands that some people will oppose Bin Laden for religious, national, or monetary reasons. For example the Muslim Brotherhood despises Al Qaeda. They probably opposed the fatwa out of pure spite even they had not sworn off violence. Some of these Muslims that he taught united behind Bin Laden are American Citizens and soldiers. Some of them were killed by Bin Laden on 9/11. I hope you get my point, uniting a billion plus people is like herding cats. When someone proclaims such an uniting they are demonstrating their prejudice.
In summary:
The fatwa was most likely not translated into every language and told to every literate and illiterate Muslim.
Even if one assumes universal transmission, people do not unite, because you ask for them to unite.
PS - He also lied about his family in this video.
Edit 9/6/11 - I said "lied", because this is how I use the word "lie". However I recognize that "lie" unlike "slander" has greater variance in connotations. Slander is generally making a false statement about somebody whether knowingly or unknowlingly. A lie has several components. One, you must know that what you said is false. I find that the sequence of statements in this video make it improbable that Ergun did not know that he was making false statements. Though I will concede that this is not impossible. Strange things do happen. Others would not consider these lies, because they contain some truth. "He says he grew up in Turkey speaking Turkish until 14. Well he is Turkish, so there is some truth to that." Still, the amount of twisting that I have to do to say that Ergun did not "lie" makes the word lose meaning to me. I am teaching my children not to do what Ergun did. My four year old tries to tell me he did not lie. I cannot make excuses for this man and teach my children honesty. However I understand that you may have a different definition for the word "lie". I am writing this, because my main point is that I am trying to prove that the Muslim world did not unite behind Bin Laden in 1998. I can prove this with much greater certainty than proving Ergun lied.
