Combs Spouts Off

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Posts Tagged ‘slavery’

African immigrants speak out for Tancredo

Posted by Richard on October 25, 2010

You may have seen my post supporting Tom Tancredo for Governor of Colorado, in which I described him as "sincere, principled, articulate, and funny. Not at all the angry right-wing ogre some people paint him as." And I'm sure you're familiar with the MSM's portrait of him as a racist and xenophobe. So, who to believe? Before deciding, I suggest you consider what African immigrants from the Sudan have to say.

El Marco has an enlightening post, African Immigrant Leaders Support Tancredo, Angry at Obama, that I strongly urge you to read. I can't possibly summarize or excerpt it adequately. It's full of marvelous images and compelling quotes, and you simply have to click the link. But it begins thus:

Colorado gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo is an extraordinary man with no shortage of friends, and detractors. Tancredo has been branded a racist by the political left for being a leading critic of illegal immigration, and yet he earned a standing ovation from the NAACP. Recently I was in New York to photograph the start of the Sudan Freedom Walk, and learned things about Tom Tancredo (and Obama) that few Americans know anything about. I discovered that while many in the Sudanese refugee community feel betrayed by President Obama, they reserve a special place in their hearts for Tom Tancredo.

Read the whole thing. Please. Seriously. And try not to get teary-eyed.

Yes, I realize that the issues of Darfur, slavery, and genocide don't have any direct relevance to how a candidate might govern Colorado. But indirectly, they do. They tell us something important about the kind of person this candidate is.

In any office you can think of, I'd rather have Tom Tancredo than the current occupant of the White House.

HT: Dan Kopelman (via email)

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The example of Napier

Posted by Richard on December 13, 2006

Larry Kudlow posted a great little item from "The Week" in the 12/18 edition of National Review (it’s available at National Review Online to subscribers only). It briefly summarized the story of Colorado’s Saudi slaveholder, mentioned the State Department’s pandering to the Saudis, and contrasted that with a wonderful story of how a proper British imperialist handled a stark cultural conflict (emphasis added):

A Saudi Couple living in Aurora, Colo., were convicted of enslaving their Indonesian nanny, taking her passport, forcing her to live in the basement, and paying her less than two dollars a day. The husband, Hamaidan al-Turki, also made her a sex slave, abusing and raping her. Hamaidan’s wife plea-bargained down to 60 days in jail and $90,000 in restitution, but Hamaidan got 28 years to life. “The state has criminalized these basic Muslim behaviors,” he told the judge. And rightly so. Justice wobbled at the end when, at the urging of the State Department, Colorado’s attorney general John Suthers flew to Riyadh to brief King Abdullah on the matter. Better to have followed the example of Sir Charles Napier, a British general in India, when local Hindus complained of a prohibition on suttee. “You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”

Bravo, Sir Charles! To paraphrase Karl Hess (via Barry Goldwater), certitude in defense of liberty, justice, and civilized customs is no vice, and tolerance of barbarism is no virtue.
 

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Defending our laws against slavery

Posted by Richard on November 24, 2006

Remember Homaidan Al-Turki, the Saudi slaveholder in Colorado who was convicted this past summer? At the time, I mentioned a source that said he had ties to the Saudi royal family, and that’s apparently true. The Al-Turkis seem to be a prominent family, either related or closely connected to the house of Saud, which was quite angry about Al-Turki’s conviction and sentencing. In fact, they apparently demanded an explanation. And, naturally, the State Department did what it could to accommodate our good friends, the Saudis.

The State Department pressured Colorado’s Attorney General, John Suthers, into going to Saudi Arabia, and they paid for the trip. He was summoned before King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan, and members of the Al-Turki family. He had to defend our legal system, our quaint prohibition against treating women as domestic animals and sex slaves, and our "harsh" sentencing.

That’s rich — Saudis accusing us of punishing someone too harshly.

Suthers recently returned from Riyadh, and had enough sense to insist he stood his ground and didn’t pander or grovel:

"I was not there to be apologetic about anything that’s transpired, but I was there to talk about some of the cultural differences. It’s ultimately the cultural differences that lead to the concerns the Saudis have about the case," said Suthers.

According to Suthers he does not think any minds were changed, but says his mission, answering all questions about the case, was accomplished.

My guess is that State Department personnel did the pandering and groveling for him.

Your tax dollars at work, folks. Trying to soothe the ruffled feathers of 7th-century barbarians. I’m appalled.
 

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