The Muslims are coming....

Good to see Glenn Greenwald posting this morning. He has a letter that Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) sent to his constituents that has to be read to be believed. I've come to expect this sort of hateful rhetoric from the wingnutia of Rightopia, but something is very wrong with our country when an elected representative to the US Congress publicly spews this sort of vile description of not only his fellow Congressman, but by definition includes millions of American citizens. You really have to read the whole thing to get the full impact, but it's short by Glenn's standards, and here's a couple of choice quotes to tempt you to click over.

The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.

So what is he saying here? That the voters who elected Keith Ellison aren't American citizens? Or that they're lesser citizens? Or that they shouldn't be allowed to call themselves Americans because they don't read the Bible? It gets worse.

I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.

I got news for Mr. Goode (and that's a misnomer if there ever was one). The values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America are of inclusiveness. Of welcoming and accepting our fellow Americans into the great melting pot of our society, that used to be called civil before cretins like Mr. Goode got their grubby hooks into it and starting shredding the meaning of being a good American. Good Americans judge their fellow citizens on the basis of their actions, not their ethnicity or their choice of holy books.

Oddly, the best rebuttal I've seen against this evil intolerant mindset currently poisoning our country comes from that darling of the right wing herself, Baldilocks, who reminds Mr. Goode that when he paints all Muslims with that broad brush, he's tarring her too. Who knew she was raised as a Muslim? I didn't, but it's telling that she didn't grow up wanting to wage jihad on her fellow Americans and neither did most of the Muslims who were born here or who immigrated later.

Via memeorandum which is chock full of hot stories this morning. Check it out.