Nasty Spat in Meaningless GOP HD-6 Race

Run GOP, Run....

...away from Rima Barakat.

She is as bad as she is being portrayed in the media.  She is very anti-Israel, totally out of the mainstream of her party.  Even though she will lose, it is unfortunate that she will use her run for office as a platform to spew her vitriol.

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by: MiddleRoadDem @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:23:02 AM CDT

so, is it a position of the GOP, as a party,

.
that Israel does not occupy Arab lands ?  

I'm a moderate Zionist,
even a supporter of Shurat Ha'Din,
and I have seen that Israel is occupying the land of others.    

I visited Sderot and Erez before the Israelis pulled out.  
I've been to the West Bank.
I've been to She'baa Farms.  

Who's zoomin' who ?

Or do you, as a Dem partisan, want to hurt the GOP by framing them as deniers of the obvious truth ?  

It is NOT "anti-Israel" to acknowledge the injustice perpetrated by that state.  
In fact, Israel's truest supporters acknowledge the problems,
and work toward solutions.  

The most radical ultra-Zionists say that God Almighty gave the Old Testament people of Israel,
who are not exactly the same as the citizens of the current state of Israel,
all the land from the Nile to the Euphrates,
and that they are going to take all that land back from the usurpers who live there now.  

God-fearing Jews,
on the other hand,
trust that God will provide.    

.

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by: Barron X @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:26:30 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

We are all occupiers of some form

Whether we take North America from the Native Americans, take the outback from the Aborigines, colonize Africa or Asia, create an autonomous Israeli state in the Middle East, etc. the history of our world is a history of usurpation and occupation.  The use of religion to justify such action (as you point out about the ultra-Zionists) is as old familiar tactic, which is the greatest single threat to peace and prosperity that we face.

I am sure ultra-Zionists are god fearing, as are Hamas, the Taliban, etc., which I believe is exactly the problem here.

" And there are no Christian terrorists."

The Beej, circa 8/26/2010

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by: Fidel's dirt nap @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 12:00:24 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

anecdotal, but ...

.
the ultra-Zionists I've met are pretty much not very religious.
They regard devout Hashidim as rubes, yokels.
.

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by: Barron X @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 01:51:27 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Planet earth?

Just one point you make is an indication that you clearly don't have a grasp of the Middle East and its history.  Israel occupies not one square inch of Lebanon today.  Shebaa Farms belongs to Syria, according to the UN, and the last time I checked, Syria still denies Israel's right to exist. Syria is such a saintly and poor victimized country that it slaugthered tens of thousands of its own people, crushed the Lebanese people for many years, and sponsors Hezbollah, known terrorists who bring sorrow and suffering to Lebanon.  Lebanon should be a responsible country and kick out Hezbollah, make peace with Israel, and Syria should do the same and they'd get their tiny 22 square km Shebaa Farms back.

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by: MiddleRoadDem @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 12:08:41 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I don't share your grasp of the ME and its history

.
You protest that you are right and I am wrong.  
OK

you are entitled to your opinion.  

But Lebanon and Syria both say She'baa is Lebanese territory.  

.................

Syria has a brutal history.  
Under President Hafez, Hama was reduced to rubble, and every resident that didn't flee, maybe 20,000, were killed,
insurgents as well as children.  

Israel can be brutal, as well.
Sabra and Shatila.  
Sure, the raw numbers are smaller,
but Ariel matched Hafez in the scope of his monstrosity, if not the scale.  

But the big difference is that Israelis poured into the streets to condemn their military.  

.

It's good that you know a very little bit about the history.
But a little knowledge, in the wrong hands, can be dangerous.  
.

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by: Barron X @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 02:10:13 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Well said, Barron.

I fully support Israel's right to exist, and am well aware that right is under constant threat.  At the same time, the notion that we must support Israel no matter what it does, and that to criticize anything Israel equals anti-Semitism or supporting terrorists, is dangerous bunk.  Its no better than the Bushies claiming its unpatriotic to question any action taken by the administration in the name of the "War on Terror."

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by: brio @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 12:31:45 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Wouldn't it be nice.

Israel, like any country, is fallible.  It even, perish the thought, admits it is wrong on occasion.  The Wienograd report was scathing of the Prime Minister during the Israel-Hezbollah War.  The question though is, has any Arab country, ever, in the existence of any of them, ever, admitted wrongdoing or a mistake on anything?  I just wish the "right to criticize" crowd would be more evenhanded in its criticism.

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by: MiddleRoadDem @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 14:52:38 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Israel is nearly a democracy.

.
and the USA taxpayer contributes something like $500 per Israeli citizen, every year,
money that is then used to repress and subjugate a portion of its population,
based on ethnicity.

That gives me the right to criticize.  
I pay for that right.  
In fact, if Israel was properly run,
I should get to vote in her elections,
since I am forced by the US Congress and President to pay taxes to her.  
Me and every other US taxpayer.  

Even Christian Palestinians are denied their dignity.  

...................

If you are trying to advance Israel's interests,
do you really want to compare her to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
where slavery was outlawed in 1962, but still tacitly practiced to this day ?  
Where the King owns pretty much everything ?
Where the law is whatever the oldest living son of Abdul Aziz ibn-Saud says it is ?  

Is that really the standard to measure her against ?  
That degrades her, to compare Israel to despots and dictators.

..................

One more thing:
I criticize in hopes of contributing to improvement.  
I don't have much hope that I can contribute to the Rule of Law or Civil Society in Libya or Syria.  
Dictators don't have to respond to criticism.  
Israel, as a near democracy does.  
.  

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by: Barron X @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 02:24:34 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Waaah Waaaah

You clearly have never been to the Middle East or studied it.  Israel, with all her problems, is a shining light in a sea of darkness, a poodle surrounded by wolves.  If she snaps back, she gets blamed.  How odd.  Israeli Arabs don't have the same status as Israeli Jews, but they absolutely love living in Israel versus in the Palestinian territories because of all the social benefits and a far less corrupt and far less violent society.  They also fare light years better than Palestinians living in other countries.  Compare her with Jordan where King Hussein crushed & killed a number of Palestinians in the 70's because they wanted to overthrow him (how's that for Palestinian gratitude, someone takes you in and then you try and kick them out).  The Arab countries despise the Palestinians in their camps and don't want to upgrade the living conditions in order to make their lives miserable so some day they'll "go home".

So, who is a better friend to the Palestinians?  I'd say it is the Israelis, not the Arabs.

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by: MiddleRoadDem @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 11:38:18 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Isreali Arabs have the same rights as Isreali Jews under the constitution

Palestinians have no rights in the occupied territories, though they have been occupied for 40 years.  Most of the population has known nothing other than Isreali Occupation or Fatah corruption.

When you compare Israel to her non democratic neighbors you demean her.

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by: Danny the Red (hair) @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 12:41:51 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

picturing the debate going something like this

Walter Sobchak: Fucking Germans. Nothing changes. Fucking Nazis.

Donny: They were Nazis, Dude?

Walter Sobchak: Oh, come on Donny, they were threatening castration! Are we gonna split hairs here?  

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by: Steve Balboni @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:34:05 AM CDT

is this for insiders only ?

.
I totally don't get it.
.

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by: Barron X @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:08:34 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Me neither

I don't get it either.

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by: MiddleRoadDem @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:19:18 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

The Big Lebowski

it was a Lebowski reference

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by: Steve Balboni @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:33:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

They're Nihlists Donny, they don't believe in anything !

" And there are no Christian terrorists."

The Beej, circa 8/26/2010

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by: Fidel's dirt nap @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:45:10 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Shut the f&%^ up, Fidel!

You're out of your element!

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

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by: Laughing Boy @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 19:13:04 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

That rug really tied the room together

and...

Has the whole world gone crazy??!!!

"The fact that we Dems can't rebuild the house does not mean you bring back the [Republicans] who burned it down." - DavidThi808

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by: Aristotle @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 20:22:25 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

LOL !

The dude abides...

" And there are no Christian terrorists."

The Beej, circa 8/26/2010

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by: Fidel's dirt nap @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 10:40:21 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I was imaging Sharf playing the role of Walter

If you haven't seen the movie I highly recommend it.  

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by: Steve Balboni @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:35:47 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

thanks for clarifying

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by: Barron X @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:44:11 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

let the crap flow...

   So now Dick Wadhams has Larry, Curly and Moe (aka Doug Bruce, Ali Hasan, and Rima Barakat) as players in his grand strategy to retake the state House.
  No wonder he doesn't expect any progress in retaking the House until 2012!

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by: One Queer Dude @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:03:28 AM CDT

shameless plug

I've been following this for a couple of weeks now. My latest post is here, http://steampoweredopinions.bl...

Long story short, Sharf makes serious allegations and provides almost no actual evidence for these allegations. He also seems to imply that he doesn't believe that American citizens who are also of the Muslim faith should be involved in the American political process.

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by: Steve Balboni @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:34:55 AM CDT

I personally benefitted from Ali Hasan's generosity.

.
I got an MBA through the Hasan School of Business.
I think it was very good preparation for doing business globally.

Seema has done a lot for the GOP.  

I'm glad they are part of Colorado politics.
.  

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by: Barron X @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:51:30 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

correction. Malik, not Ali

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by: Barron X @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 14:29:30 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Did you go for free ?

That's like me thanking the late Bill Daniels for charging me 36 grand for mine.

" And there are no Christian terrorists."

The Beej, circa 8/26/2010

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by: Fidel's dirt nap @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 17:35:43 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

It's a state school - reasonably priced

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by: Barron X @ Sat Apr 05, 2008 at 03:49:47 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

What I didn't read

in the News that I saw on politickerco.com - Coffman not only took money from her but had her on his finance team.

It's hard to believe Mike would put someone on his team and doesn't know her basic background.  Or.... did he in fact do that?  Had to be one of the two.

And what does that say about this Coffman?  You'd think he would make the right decision once in a while, out of pure chance if nothing else.

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by: Scissorhands @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 16:20:45 PM CDT

If G.W. Bush can be wrong 100% of the time...

And what does that say about this Coffman?  You'd think he would make the right decision once in a while, out of pure chance if nothing else.

Tom Tancredo Interview

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by: DavidThi808 @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 16:41:59 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sounds like you hold a grudge

Only someone who knows nothing about campaigning would make that comment. Is this Curt Cerny and are you still mad that you got fired?

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by: fathawk @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 09:59:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Boy,

that "Big Tent" that the Republican Party trys to portray themself as being is looking more and more like a pup-tent.

"Caucasian, conservative, native-born, straight (or at least if you are gay, you must be willing to hide it and be self-loathing), Christians (of a certain type) only need apply"---is it possible to cobble together a governing coalition with that narrow of a group of the population?    

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

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by: Arvadonian @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 17:39:37 PM CDT

Sorry, but...

She's in the wrong party if she wants an audience for her "occupier" garbage.

I could care less about color, sexuality, religion, etc.  

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

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by: Laughing Boy @ Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 19:47:29 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Then...

debate her on that issue.  Why bring up her religion or last name?

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

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by: Arvadonian @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 09:19:45 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I didn't.

Obviously it wasn't an issue for Coffman before he was alerted to things she had said.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

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by: Laughing Boy @ Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 11:59:30 AM CDT

[ Parent ]