Muslim Americans Are Americans!

The GOP does not seem to think so.

On Thursday, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) took to the floor of the House to rail against the Obama administration’s policies on immigration and combating terrorism. King complained that Obama is against racial profiling, saying “it had better be used” in cases involving, for example, “a young Middle Eastern male.” He added, however, that racial profiling couldn’t be the “exclusive component” of screening people:

KING: He has said to all of his Federal officers from the White House down, ICE, CBP, Border Patrol, all of them, well, he really doesn’t want to see immigration law enforced. And it’s clear, of course, that he doesn’t want to have racial profiling used, and I would agree with him–as an exclusive component. However, if it’s part of the other indicators, it had better be used. Would we say that we can’t use as an indicator when it comes time to enforce the law against international terrorism that a young Middle Eastern male cannot be considered as one of the factors? We’ve kind of said that when people go through the airport. I think it’s wrong. I think it’s foolish. And in fact, Mr. Speaker, I think it’s downright stupid to set aside our common sense for the sake of political correctness.

Watch it:

 

What is ironic about King’s endorsement of using the race of a “young Middle Eastern male” to profile terrorist suspects is the fact that the last major attempted terror attacks in the United States were not commited by men from the Middle East. Faisal Shazad, the chief suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing, is an American citizen originally from the country of Pakistan, which is located in southwest Asia on the Indian subcontinent. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the chief suspect in the Christmas Day bombing attempt, is from Nigeria, which is located on the continent of Africa.

As a counterterrorism strategy, racial profiling is completely ineffective. A study released last year by the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science conducted a mathematical analysis to compare random screenings to racial profiling. It found that racial profiling is “no more effective” than using the random method in detecting terrorists… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

Were it not for a Muslim American, the time square bomber might have gotten away.  Most Muslim Americans are every bit as loyal to our nation than you or I, but Bush and the GOP tried to win support for their war for oil and conquest in Iraq by making it a jihad against Islam.  Followers of the bogus GOP Supply-side Jesus love jihad.  Republicans refuse to abandon their bigotry, because their base is 99.44% pure bigoted hate-mongers.  If racial profiling were an effective way to prevent terrorism, even I might be inclined to support it.  But since it is no more effective than random selection, racial profiling serves only as a smoke screen to justify Republican racism.

Fortunately the majority of Americans are different from that.

A 24-year-old Arab American from Michigan beat out 50 other women to take the 2010 Miss USA title Sunday night, despite nearly stumbling in her evening gown.

Rima Fakih of Dearborn, Mich., won the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip after strutting confidently in an orange and gold bikini, wearing a strapless white gown that resembled a wedding dress and saying health insurance should cover birth control pills.

When asked how she felt about winning the crown, she said, "Ask me after I’ve had a pizza."

Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant, told pageant organizers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths. She moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in New York, where she attended a Catholic school. Her family moved to Michigan in 2003…

Inserted from <ABC>

I congratulate Fakih on her achievement and the judges for not bowing to GOP racism.  I have no doubt that the right wing noise machine will give us a redux of their outrage over Carrie ‘sex tape’ Prejean’s loss.  Since the runner up was Miss Oklahoma, I predict that Inhofe needs an underwear change.

Now, if only I were 35 years younger. 😈