Originally published on the Inland Anti-Empire blog. Full disclosure: I am the online campaign manager for Dr. Mike Byron, Democrat running to unseat Issa.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n
While perusing recent news articles, I came across this June 1 story from The Californian:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\nElsewhere in Oceanside, as the sun dipped toward the Pacific Ocean, World War II veteran Raymond Gastelum, of Oceanside, and his wife, Maria, quietly chatted in camp chairs beside the grave of their daughter, Leticia.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nAround them, the crowd gathered for the 18th annual candlelight ceremony at Eternal Hills Memorial Park. Children played and people sang patriotic songs as the pianist played.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nGastelum, who saw two years of service in the South Pacific, said he thinks all wars are the same.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\"They shouldn't start, but they do get started,\" he said. \"And they cost a lot of lives.\"\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n A bell tolled during the reading of the names of 74 Marines\r\n from Camp Pendleton, Miramar and Twentynine Palms Marine bases\r\n who have died this year in Iraq. Before the reading, Congressman\r\n Darrell Issa, R-Vista, delivered a message.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n \"They died in the first step of what could be a very long war,\"\r\n said the former Army captain, born of Lebanese immigrants.\r\n \"They are the heroes of a war to liberate more than a billion\r\n people.\"\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nRead that last sentence carefully and note the number.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nThere are not one billion people<\/b> in Iraq. There's about 25 million or\r\nso.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nThere are not one billion people<\/b> in Arab countries.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nThere are not one billion people<\/b> in the entire Middle East.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nThere are<\/em> however approximately one billion people who follow Islam. (Well, slightly higher.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n \r\nConservative Christian Darrell Issa in describing a \"very long war<\/i>\" to liberate \"more than a\r\nbillion people<\/i>\" is speaking of a Crusade Against Islam.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n There's not really anything else he could<\/em> be talking about. He surely doesn't mean, say, that we're going to invade China next. There's no war plan that goes Afghanistan → Iraq → China. Nor is he talking about freeing people who live under brutal regimes -- there's not a group of those that adds up to \"more than a billion\" that would include the invasion of Iraq.<\/p>\r\n\r\n No, he's talking about Afghanistan → Iraq → the rest of the Muslim world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Despite the public lip service of the Bush administration and Bush\r\nRepublicans like Issa that The War Against Terror is not a crusade, behind closed doors and to \"safe\" audiences --\r\nlike military audiences on Memorial Day -- the true agenda comes out. \r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\nThe Bush war is an American crusade against Islam, pure and simple. The American people have been tricked (by our dear leader and his allies) into a religious Christian jihad targetting a belief system that the religious right opposes.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n And even Darrell Issa admits it.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","contact":"kynn@idyllmtn.com","link":"http:\/\/inlandantiempire.org\/","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"Darrell Issa comes out and admits it -- the Iraq war is just the start of a crusade designed to "liberate more than a billion people." Turns out the war on terror really was against Islam after all.","numcomment":15,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2004\/06\/112294.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":112300,"heading":"So?","article":"Mr. Issa is entitled to his opinion. He's not Commander in Chief and otherwise has little to say or do with how (the) war(s) against terrorists will be fought.\r\n\r\nIf you fellow 49th District constituents want more outrageously high taxes and cost of living expenses, plus millions more illegals swarming into your neighborhoods bringing disease, drugs and crime, just keep voting the donkey, or don't vote at all.\r\n\r\n\r\n","author":"49th District wake the fk up","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-12 08:23:23","modified":"2004-06-12 08:23:23","fileurl":""},{"id":112313,"heading":"49thu Shut The Fuck Up","article":"All you conservative anti-immigrant, anti-muslim, shitheads are entitled to your pathetic opinions. we\r\ntax payers just don't have to support it. \r\nfuck darrell "arnold's my bitch" issa and all the \r\nright wing ilk that promote racism and hate...\r\nyou're all gonna burn with reagan for your \r\nsins, beeyatches!!!!\r\n\r\n","author":"neo-cons fuck reagans rotting corpse","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-12 15:15:10","modified":"2004-06-12 15:15:10","fileurl":""},{"id":112322,"heading":"stfu whiner","article":"Shut the fuck up, faggot. I'M the taxpayer and you're right, I DON'T have to put up with invading illegals and sandnogs and their deathcult excuse of a religion. \r\n\r\nAs for "stopping hate," you can stop being an anti-white, anti-American, guilty white liberal marxist shit-for-brains at any time.\r\n\r\nAnd STFU about President Reagan. You're not fit to carry one of his turds in your mouth, fucking whiny green neo-fascist.\r\n","author":"49 posse","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-12 20:07:33","modified":"2004-06-12 20:07:33","fileurl":""},{"id":112329,"heading":"I'm anti-Muslim","article":"I think anyone with any semblance of humanity would be. Only a savage could take this horrible cult seriously (as we have seen).","author":"Barney","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-12 21:19:08","modified":"2004-06-12 21:19:08","fileurl":""},{"id":112333,"heading":"yes, of course you are, fresca\/ Barney","article":"You're a psychopath. ","author":"Sheepdog","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-12 21:41:10","modified":"2004-06-12 21:41:10","fileurl":""},{"id":112339,"heading":"All religions are screwed up Barney","article":"They're all brain dead but Islam is more brain dead.","author":"BA","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-12 23:02:45","modified":"2004-06-12 23:02:45","fileurl":""},{"id":112343,"heading":"fresca","article":""You're a psychopath. "\r\n\r\nVery intelligent rebuttal.\r\n\r\n","author":"Sheepdog\/KPC","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-13 00:30:23","modified":"2004-06-13 00:30:23","fileurl":""},{"id":112345,"heading":"just an observation","article":"I really don't know\/care how you became so sick or evil, but seek help. ","author":"Sheepdog","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-13 01:30:20","modified":"2004-06-13 01:30:20","fileurl":""},{"id":112465,"heading":"fresca","article":"I've tried to get help many times, but nobody can help me. When I had an MRI scan done on my brain, all it found was a lump of shit.","author":"Believe me, Sheepdog","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-14 16:30:18","modified":"2004-06-14 16:30:18","fileurl":""},{"id":112503,"heading":"fresca","article":"In case you're too stupid to notice, that's not really a post by me.\r\n\r\nI've been away from IMC for a while, because I'm busy with my new job. I'm a circus freak with Ringling Brothers, and I eat shit for money. If Reagan were still alive, I'd offer to carry his turd in my mouth, and be happy to do it. Reagan was a great man.","author":"That's not me","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-14 19:13:57","modified":"2004-06-14 19:13:57","fileurl":""},{"id":112583,"heading":"Sheepdog","article":"Sheepdog I have noticed that you never say anything intelligent. Was it the drugs or were you just born stupid?","author":"sheepdog","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-14 23:17:29","modified":"2004-06-14 23:17:29","fileurl":""},{"id":112828,"heading":"fresca","article":"Well, I was born stupid.","author":"me?","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-17 22:46:39","modified":"2004-06-17 22:46:39","fileurl":""},{"id":112843,"heading":"fresca","article":"Nice to see I command such attention when I'm away at work and baseball.\r\n\r\nBut let's face it, my minions are not very clever.","author":"AH. To command such attention.","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-18 02:25:49","modified":"2004-06-18 02:25:49","fileurl":""},{"id":112871,"heading":"OneEyedMan","article":"shitpile: "But let's face it, my minions are not very clever."\r\n\r\n...they're just immitating you....","author":"KPC","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-18 15:30:35","modified":"2004-06-18 15:30:35","fileurl":""},{"id":112953,"heading":"fresca","article":"KPC...my most loyal fan. \r\n\r\nHow's it going?","author":"Hello to my biggest fan","parent_id":112294,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-06-20 01:11:44","modified":"2004-06-20 01:11:44","fileurl":""}]}