State of the Union by Carl Moore
- September 19, 2009
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Speed Bump by Dave Coverly
Stone Soup by Jan EliotAbout State of the Union
State of the Union is the result of a self-professed "fallen liberal’s" journey from radical socialism to conversative cartooning. Combining startling caricatures with a sly sense of humor and a sharp eye for satire, this innovative new strip will be sure to tickle your funnybone while making you think.
© 2009 Creators Syndicate - All Rights Reserved.
Comments (43) Jump to Comments Form
mroberts88 said, 2 months ago
Right, because there is no way muslims can be like Americans.
HUMPHRIES
said,
2 months ago
A real open minded one here.
mroberts88 said, 2 months ago
Humphries, there are religious differences, but thats about it.
johnnydoc5 said, 2 months ago
But the headgear is a bit conspicuous.
jmrocher2001 said, 2 months ago
I think it’s great that GoComics is reaching out to young talent with potential by running strips from high school papers like this. Keep up the good work, GoComics, maybe a few of the others will be worth keeping!
Ronshua
said,
2 months ago
I can empathise with the ladies . I’m also a second class citizen , Husband .
sablebrush5 said, 2 months ago
Do Muslims assimilate into western societies? All other groups have successfully assimilated into the United States and one would assume Muslims can do the same. But can they? What evidence do we see around the world that Muslims are willing to assimilate?
In Europe, there is a genuine concern that Muslim immigrants are not assimilating. They are becoming a ghettoized, separate and unequal religious and cultural people unwilling to adopt the culture of Western Europe.
This is not surprising given the history of Islam. Islam is easily the most aggressive and least tolerant of apostasy of the major religions. Mohammed was a warrior, a general who slaughtered people that opposed him and refused to accept Islam. This aggressiveness at the heart of Islam has never given way in any serious degree to a more tolerant, accepting spirit even up to our time. So we see Muslims all over the world willing to blow themselves up, behead people, slaughter innocent women and children in the name of Islam.
I know it is politically incorrect to say such things, but it is the truth. The enemy of the West is not Islamic fanaticism, but Islam itself. Sure, the vast majority of Muslims are not fanatics. But the Koran is clear - Islam is destined to convert the entire world, if not by persuasion, then by the sword. When the world is totally Islamic, and Sharia law is imposed, only then will world peace be possible. Even the most docile Muslim believes this.
Sharia law is incompatible with Western thinking. There is no way it can be made to live in harmony with Western ideas of tolerance, democracy, the primacy of the individual, women’s rights, gay marriage, etc.
For these, and many other reasons too numerous to go into here, we in the West are fooling ourselves if we believe Muslims can be assimilated into Europe or the U.S. just as Latinos, Filipinos, Germans, Italians etc. and all the other groups have done. Muslims are different in this regard and we need to see that.
But if that is true, what can we do about it? I don’t know. Given our principles of tolerance and acceptance of all peoples, nothing CAN be done about it. We will just have to be aware of these facts, resist Muslim efforts to change our culture and principles, and trust that our way of thinking will prevail… which it will since, frankly, our principles make more sense than backward-looking, 7th century Islamic thinking.
HUMPHRIES
said,
2 months ago
sablebrush, if you’re going to give a history lesson be a “little” more accurate and give both sides.
cabrobst said, 2 months ago
I hope Muslims can be made to see the light and stop living in the dark ages.
But really most Muslims just want to get along and live their lives in peace.
In earlier centuries Roman Catholics were believed to be a threat to the peace and security of England, and briefly they were. But now Catholics are as democratic and forward thinking as the rest of us. Though their leaders still make noises against contraception, women’s rights, and gay marriage nobody cares. I hope that as time passes it will be the same with Muslims.
My Grandmother was an immigrant from Poland and her style of dress, the babushka and all, was out of step with America. Her daughters still wore babushkas to keep the rain off but her granddaughters never have.
If we can insure the freedom of individuals within our borders (America and Europe) I believe in only two generations their descendants will be indistinguishable from the general population.
twright64 said, 2 months ago
HUMPHRIES:
Why don’t YOU give the b”other side”? Your version of it, anyways.
LibrarianInTraining said, 2 months ago
Maybe it’s just my youth, but I don’t see a whole lot of “blending in” going on anymore. It used to be that way. My grandmother would tell me stories about going to Crandon Park in Miami on a Sunday. Each culture had their little pavillion where they would play their music and eat their food, and wear their clothes and speak their language. If you stood around long enough, eventually someone would invite you to eat and you could learn about their culture and the countries they were from.
But when Monday morning came, they put on their uniforms, and went to work, and spoke English. They were Americans. No one was stopping them from being who they were. They encouraged their children to learn English and make “American” friends because they came here to offer their children more than what their countries had to offer.
Now, I go into Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, and I see Little Havana, Little Haiti, Little Jamaica, Little Poland, Little Italy. What happened to the blending in? It’s like they move here and just stay with their own kind. You go to a store in that neighborhood and your odds of hearing English are virtually nil. Their children only play with other children of their culture because those are the only kids in their schools.
What happened to the melting pot? It’s looking more and more like those divided dinner plates with a segment for each serving.
Why can’t we have the Crandon Park days back?
garfieldfan2222 said, 2 months ago
Thank you, Sagebrush. I couldn’t have said it much better myself! You pointed out the real problem Islam while acknowledging that many Muslims are NOT fanatics. You gave both sides (something Humphries was totally oblivious to.
Humphries is obviously determined to live in his little politically correct liberal box where everyone is basically good and evil doesn’t exist in the world (except, of course, for evil white Americans). He/she fails to realize that, while it is good to try to be tolerant of various viewpoints, there is a difference between tolerance and foolishness. If radical Muslims were few and far between, I would not have the concern with the spread of Islam. But there are a substantial number of Islamo-facist radicals.
Islam, if followed to the letter in the Koran demands that infidels (everyone who doesn’t believe in Islam) be either converted or killed. The spread of Islam has always carried violence along with it. Now, I’m not denying that there have been those who claimed to be Christians like the Crusaders who became fanatics (no, they did not love God; they were serving themselves). If anyone would attempt to deny the truth of Sagebrush’s statements, they should first read the Koran. My grandfather has and that is how I know what Sagebrush says is the truth.
Lewreader
said,
2 months ago
The reason you assimilate, take on American beliefs, speak English, go to citizenship school and all these other rituals of every group that immigrated to the US is because you want your children to have it better than yourselves. Learn English and become educated.
The Irish had it bad, wrong religion, wrong language, and hate by the “original” Americans. We took low paying jobs in mines, railroads and civil service. After a few generations, other minorities are fighting to be in our parades.
American immigration has worked for any nationality that worked for it.. Look at the Asians. For some reason they make it educationally, financially, and socially in one generation.
Immigrants made this nation. If someone wants to blame his position and his fate on language or skin color, I suggest he read some history
GJ_Jehosaphat
said,
2 months ago
Burkas (Burqas) remind me of the old-style “Habits” the Catholic Nuns used to have to wear. Long robes covering street clothes remind me of Church Choirs - from a distance (and without my glasses) men & women looked “uniformly” bland - especially when wearing basic black.
Hopefully the women of Islam, who felt more comfortable hiding (their sexuality) behind the veil will get tired of all these cultural restrictions (in the form of Berkas). They should get out the scissors & cut their way out of those Oppressive Gowns & BE FREE to Express Themselves!
The Internet has made a difference in China since the days of Mao & those bland wardrobes required during the Cultural Revolution. Western wardrobe is now the “norm”.
jack75287 said, 2 months ago
sablebrush5
Good post today. Very well writen. It is not strange that people of the Islamic faith have such a hard time blending in when almost everyone else has. Religion and culture both play a big part. The thing is that when other cultures have moved in they joined the American way of life. They came from over seas and really had no choice. They could not get back home quickly in the age of the coal fired steam ship. Now we have airplanes, my Guard Unit flew from an Air Guard field in Kansas to Kuwait in about twenty hours. Certinly this is a big difference.
Living in Texas I would have to say the next group coming to America with the biggest trouble would be Mexico. They are just accoss the boarder and in this part of the country they often stay close together. There are a lot of reason for this, partly because of illegal immagration and the ability to go home and see family and reconnect is another.
The Islamic communiy here in the U.S is only in their first generation of children for the most part. We will need to see if they change with there grandchildren and great grand children. That will take decades.
The problem is with a few crazy like those clownes in Colorodo and the evil man living in Irving Tx who killed his two daughters because they wanted to date American Boys it is going to be a long road.
jack75287 said, 2 months ago
Lewreader
Good point. Have you ever been to Irland. I have always wanted to go and about twenty years ago missed my chance I here it is now doing great with Europe’s tech boom. Instead of exporting labor they import it now.
LibrarianInTraining said, 2 months ago
By the way, A most Blessed Rosh Hashanah to our Jewish brothers and sisters.
mroberts88 said, 2 months ago
jack, the incoming Mexicans will have no problem assimilating. Eventually there will be so many mexicans that Texas will be little mexico essentially.
GNWachs
said,
2 months ago
Interesting legal case in Michigan. A Muslim woman wanted to testify and still wear her hijab. The presiding judge ruled he needed to see her eyes and expression to gauge honesty. Case went all the way to Michigan Supreme Court. They ruled for the judge and against her.
HUMPHRIES
said,
2 months ago
twilight, read for yourself. The net’s free and so are libraries, you’re going to believe what suits you anyway. Don’t need to waste time with long winded “look at me” BS posting.
Dypak
said,
2 months ago
All of this is nonsense. In Arab nations women are expected to show their faces when necessary. For example, on ID and drivers license photos. But you hear all the time stupid stories of this thing being protested in the United States. We need to learn when to respect someones rights and when to be able to tell them shut up and join the rest of us. OUr courts need to grow some nads and be able to tell people when they’re just being plain stupid. And they need to back up our police and other government officials. We can’t tell a cop to enforce the law and then persecute him when he does.
I grew up just outside Detroit. More people from Arab nations live there than anywhere outside the Middle East. Most just want to be Americans and be left alone. Usually the ones that have a problem have it because someone else did something stupid in the first place. They know that they’re the newcomers and have to learn to fit in. And they’re ready to do it, if we let them.
MrGromit said, 2 months ago
Ninjas are having trouble fitting in?
scottfreitas
said,
2 months ago
Sable, an earlier poster, already pointed out a ton of truths which the guy who drew this cartoon obviously already knows.
In America–especially in our politics–we allow the most foolish, uninsightful people to shape our thinking, our very culture. It is these aforementioned foolish people who demand we call Islam a “religion of peace”, even though classical Western historians referred to Islam as “the religion of the sword’ for many centuries, based on Islam’s unbroken track record of bloodshed, forced conversions, and military conquests. But this was prior to so-called “political correctness”, a fool’s ideology whose basic premises are:
(1) Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?
(2) Do as I say, not as I do, OR ELSE.
Islam is NOT ever going to “blend in” with American culture. It will not, it cannot. And unlike Christianity–which ALSO no longer blends in with American culture, due to American culture becoming increasingly amoral and openly hostile towards Christians in general and The Gospel in particular–Islam cannot quietly keep to itself, and function well among non-believers. Hence we see more and more American schools and businesses kowtowing to Muslim beliefs, even as these same institutions steadily increase their intolerance for everything Christian.
The cartoon is bang-on accurate. Ignore the pewlings and mewlings of both the feminized males and publik-skewl-mentalily women who typically opine here, defending Islam even though they neither practice it nor have studied its precepts or lived under its rules. The muslims smile at them indulgently, knowing there will come a day when they will all be made to kneel down on prayer rugs and face Mecca, like good little boys and girls.
The rest of us, like the cartoonist whose work we are discussing, feel an impending sense of dread, knowing the ceaselessly negative influences Islam has brought to every nation which allowed it to emigrate to its shores…
Skylark
said,
2 months ago
Thank you all for sharing your views. Most enlightening! Seldom this much seriousness! It is appreciated!
scottfreitas…. I hope you are wrong. If what you say comes to pass, it will be a sad day!
Assimilation seems to have escaped Islam…
There is an on-going issue now with a girl who is filing discrimination charges against Ababrombie and Fitch (sp)
She was denied employment because of her preference to dress as per her religion. Consensus is running 98% against her. Why would she want to work for that type of store to begin with? Does A & F not reserve the right to hire those who represent their image? Many issues…
Things are not always as we wish them to be. I will tolerate YOU but you must in turn, tolerate ME!
Not an easy task!!
sablebrush5 said, 2 months ago
This thread reflects the ambiguity in our thinking about Islam. On the one hand, as Americans, we hope and trust that Muslims, like all other immigrant groups, will, within a generation or two, accept our culture and values and be good citizens. On the other hand, we see Muslims worldwide doing things that can only be described as barbaric - stoning women to death for adultery, honor killings, beheadings, suicide bombings, killing people for converting to Christianity - and ask ourselves, “is there something about this religion that is so different, so backward (from our point of view) that taking in large numbers of Muslim immigrants might be a mistake?”
As Lewreader said, “American Immigration has worked for any nationality (or group) that worked for it.” But will the values inherent in Islam allow Muslims to genuinely work to assimilate? The answer to that question, I’m guessing, is still unclear. On the other hand, Dypak has had living experience with the Muslims in Detroit that convinces him that they can assimilate. I hope Dypak is right. But I wouldn’t bet on it.
GJ_Jehosaphat
said,
2 months ago
Funny word this “Assimilation” - reminds me of Jean Luc Picard when THE BORG captured him & made look like one of their own “Assimilated Drones” - “Resistance is Futile…You Will Be Assimilated…Resistance Is Futile…”
I know a little bit about Detroit - have relatives still living there. Most folks I personally know who live there are Lebanese & Christian. Good Food Too - that’s the kind of “Assimilation” I’m in Favor of - Food with Interesting Flavors.
I’m having Tabouleh (made with Quinoa instead of Bulger to make it gluten free but still tasty) along with a couple of Tostadas with homemade Salsa (using tomatoes grown in my garden). Variety is more interesting than the same old bland Meat & Potatoes Logic.
Assimilation - ask any “Native American Indian” how they feel about being Assimilated….
As for Women covering up for modesty - that’s Oppression. Have U read about the woman who was to be beaten with by canes for wearing pants in public?
jack75287 said, 2 months ago
Man deep and polite both I love today. Good point about A & F. Unless the girl was in the US for only a few days she had to know what kind of store she was applying to.
Dose anybody know what happen to the girl from Ohio who ran away from home to Florida because she wanted to convert from Islam to Christianity?
mroberts88 said, 2 months ago
Jehosaphat, sounds like your eating well. I heard about that woman who was to be canned. That is one of those things that make you wonder, maybe Islam really is that barbaric.
ChuckTrent64
said,
2 months ago
It takes every culture at least two generations to assimilate. How will the Muslim costumes be much different than what Amish women wear? Is seeing their face all that important?
Ronshua
said,
2 months ago
sablebrush5……… Very well said , I’ve heard none better .
I can’t believe people are inherently evil until taught , corhursed or threatened into it first .
In Islam Women are property . Father’s , Husband’s possessions to do their will on them . Cutting up that Burqas or taking it off could get you killed literally .
” ghettoized “is where the radical control festers .
Having read the “holy” book years ago and knowing I’m the infidel . Has explained smile and attitude time after time . Read it and understand the hopelessness for peace with the adherent to Allah .
DavidDow said, 2 months ago
Well, at least Carl Moore didn’t foist another of those lame “greenness” strips on us. The Saturday strip of that series must have been so inappropriate that someone at the syndicate 86’d it.
Choosing this bigoted strip is hardly an improvement. Firstly, why does it presume that Muslims are immigrants? There have been Muslims in America for hundreds of years. Secondly, where did anyone get the notion that all immigrants “want to blend in”? Since the first large waves of immigrants in the latter 19th century, immigrants have lived among their own kind, keeping up lost of local practices. There were Chinese immigrants during the California Gold Rush. They still wore their hair & dressed like Chinese. They didn’t try to dress like Anglo-American prospectors who had traveled from the East coast & the Midwest.
Sable, Garfield, & Scott, you do realize that practically everything you wrote about Muslims was said for centuries by European & American so-called “Christians” about Jews? Mohammed was a warrior, defending his people against attacks by others set upon wiping Islam off the face of the earth. What would you have had him do? Islam is no less tolerant than the other two Abrahamic religions, and so-called Christians have accused Jews of wanting to take over the world. Please rid yourself of these bigoted ideas. Bigotry has harmed the world a million times more than has Islam.
By the way, I write this as an atheist. I have no especial respect for any religion, and I find the veiling of women puerile & misogynistic, but Christianity & Judaism are also puerile & misogynistic toward women. Islam is younger than the other two religions. Compare contemporary Islam to European Christianity of the early 15th century, and Islam looks very good in comparison.
Cabrob., claims that Roman Catholics are democratic & forward thinking: hardly. Their notions about women, homosexuals, sexuality, are barely a step forward from the Middle Ages. Cabrob. is correct that many Catholics ignore the church’s teachings about some of these matters. Nonetheless, we have seen the American Roman Catholic church winnow itself of many open-minded members until it increasingly resembles a branch of The 700 Club. The Church had many strong steps forward in the 1950s, 1960s, & 1970s, and then Pope John Paul II began the church’s 25-year regression. It will be at least another 25 years before the R.C. Church begins progressing again.
L.I.T., the immigrants of fifty years ago were no more likely to speak English than are today’s. People heard more English spoken in Miami then, because Miami was a much smaller city with a much smaller Hispanic population. Then, Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista, and the U.S., which had supported Batista, welcomed Cubans with open arms. Except for the dreadful climate and the general tackiness of the Florida peninsula, you are fortunate to live in Miami, which has become such a fascinatingly cosmopolitan city. Think of the opportunities to learn of other people & to learn other languages. All big cities, by the way, have their “Little Havana”s, &c.
Part of the problem, by the way, is thinking of the U.S. as a melting pot. It’s the wrong metaphor. Think of the U.S. as a tapestry, a quilt: made up of threads of every hue, each one distinct if you look closely enough.
Lew., all immigrants do learn English & become educated. You find much more respect for education among immigrants than you do among native-born Americans. I am glad to read your paean to immigration. I tire of people complaining about our “letting in too many foreigners”. We need to stop harping on “the illegals”, which is simply code for a hatred of foreigners, and welcome the immigrants that make America a great nation.
anatheist2009 said, 2 months ago
DavidDow:
Illegal alien is still illegal no matter how you would like to think of it.
And lets face it, the only reason they are tolerated is because the people of this country need a “lower life form” around so they can feel superior to someone, and that someone won’t do anything about it for fear of being deported.
If this was not the case, then congress would have increased the number of work visas a long time ago. Personally, you can say what you want and it means little because you do nothing. But then maybe deep inside you also need “a lower life form” and don’t want someone upsetting that apple cart for you.
DavidDow said, 2 months ago
In reply to remarks from Friday:
Yes, Ronshua, we established that Michael Connolly doesn’t know about which he writes, and, thus, you may ignore him & sleep easy, just as you may ignore the man who claims that the earth is flat & we’re all about to fall off.
L.I.T., thanks for asking, but I enjoy what I do, and I don’t need a vacation—though I could use a couple of days off. I tutor. I teach a lot of test preparation, so this is a busy time of the year. I don’t work that many hours per day or per week (though it IS teaching, which uses much more energy than do most other jobs), but I haven’t had a full day to myself since the beginning of August. I’m not complaining, though. My work will slow down by the end of October.
I miss Satipera, too, GJ. He was smart & provided a different perspective. L.I.T.’s testimonial of him on Friday showed how important it is to have a diversity of voices. It’s a shame that the intolerant & narrow-minded among us kicked him out. This is a systemic problem on these forums: the least tolerant too often get their way & silence other voices. Those of us who are more tolerant refuse to play that game, so the intolerant become louder & louder.
mroberts88 said, 2 months ago
David, I think we should send all the illegal immigrants back to wherever they came from. I am however, not against immigration.
DavidDow said, 2 months ago
Atheist, your remark reads like an excerpt of a longer discussion. If you would like to amplify, then please do.
DavidDow said, 2 months ago
Then, Mrob., why do you want to send the “illegal immigrants” back?
Kees
said,
2 months ago
Hm,
“Resistance is Futile…You Will Be Assimilated…Resistance Is Futile…”
That indeed were my first thoughts as well.
We in holland have a great multicultural breed, but we also havee huge problems. Indeed the islamic people have problems in learning the native language, but then again, dutch is a hard language to learn.
Thats what you would think if you hear them. But the Belgium moslims, coming from the same country speak belgium (dutch) fluidity, including all the slang.
I think that part of all the problems is that we are too tolerant. “oh just suppose we might possibly step by accident on somebodies toe”
this brings me back to the opening line:
“Resistance is Futile…You Will Be Assimilated…Resistance Is Futile…”
But who is assimilated?
GJ_Jehosaphat
said,
2 months ago
Kees Re: “But who is assimilated?” Good Question. Reminds me of the quest of “Who Am I” which meditators ponder while sitting on one’s Zafu…
“Resistance is Futile… You Will Be Assimilated… Resistance is Futile…” is a line out of Star Trek TNG. Most folks probably know the story line and the outcome.
It reminds me of the stories I’ve read (or movies I’ve seen like Braveheart) about how Religion has been spread over the Centuries. We know those stories too.
What does one do while sitting on a Zafu pondering “Who Am I” - Looking for “Truth” in the quiet of the “Mind”.
Some say the Truth is: God (YHVH (Yahweh) Allah, Jehovah, etc) or in the words of Jesus, Mohammed, etc. Whoever “They” Believe in is the “One True God” and then let the Fighting Begin to see who’s “God” is the Mightier Powerful, Fearful, Destroyer of “Evil”, ETC…. Wonder why “We” can’t get along & live in Peace?
Then there’s Politics - mix that with Religion & the story is the same. Centuries of hate & mistrust brings us to the “Story” that continues today.
My hope for the future is more like what’s found on Star Trek, TNG - a world where there is no poverty, wars, living in harmony with nature…
Also John Lennon’s Song: “Imagine” - A world where’s no religion too…
Would that give us a world where Assimilation is No Longer Necessary? Universal Translators would solve the Language Barrier - we’ve got the Technology. Loosen up Dress Codes - Uniforms indeed make the world less exciting (blandness).
Kees - I think what you may have been implying with your question regarding “who is assimilated” may have been referring to “Us verses Them”. In that case - if “we” leave “them” alone to enjoy life however they please… perhaps that will lead to a more peaceful existence. Probably won’t work in today’s world - too much $$$$ to be made on War & Religion to give “Peace A Chance”.
Ronshua
said,
2 months ago
DavidDow– Thanks DavidDow , you and your team .
For your complete ? Zip !
I’m stepping away from the cliff , putting my back to the wind and zipping up . Self inflected Golden showers are not my thing . I’ll see you or someone very much like you at the gate of one of FEMA’S many internment compounds .
May יהוה bless you and yours .
DavidDow said, 2 months ago
Ronshua, you seem to be taking writing lessons from Jack. Your remark makes no sense, but I saw “Thanks DavidDow”, so I will say you’re welcome.
mroberts88 said, 2 months ago
David, maybe the fact that they broke the law, hence the “illegal” has something to do with it.
DavidDow said, 2 months ago
What law did the “illegal immigrants” break, Mrob. They come here, get jobs, & work hard. What is the problem?
mroberts88 said, 2 months ago
There is a process people are supposed to go through to get citizenship. They didnt do that.