President Obama made the case to the ladies of The View that we should "marginalize" the infamous anti-Islam video that supposedly sparked attacks on American embassies across the world by "ignoring it."
"I don't care how offensive this video was, and it was terribly offensive. And we should shun it. But there's never an excuse for violence, never an excuse for attacking embassies, never an excuse for killing innocent people, or assaulting our diplomats. In the age of the Internet, and you know, the way that any knucklehead who says something can post it up and suddenly it travels all around the world, you know, every country has to recognize that, you know, the best way to marginalize that kind of speech is to ignore it."
The clip, though it aired today, was filmed yesterday in New York City. Today, however, the president did not ignore the video.
Instead, President Obama suggested a link between the video and the violence. "[A] crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world. Now, I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity," said Obama.
"It is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well -- for as the city outside these walls makes clear, we are a country that has welcomed people of every race and every faith. We are home to Muslims who worship across our country. We not only respect the freedom of religion, we have laws that protect individuals from being harmed because of how they look or what they believe. We understand why people take offense to this video because millions of our citizens are among them.
"I know there are some who ask why we don’t just ban such a video. And the answer is enshrined in our laws: Our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech."
Politico reports that “the Obama administration is airing ads on Pakistani television condemning the anti-Islamic film ‘The Innocence of Muslims,’ a State Department spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.” (Watch the State Department ad here.) But why just the ridiculous video? Perhaps the Obama administration should buy airtime in Pakistan to condemn everyone who's ever said anything problematic about Islam.
This morning on Fox News Sunday, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, doubled down on the Obama administration's claim that an Internet video is responsible for anti-American mobs across the Middle East:
CHRIS WALLACE: Joining us now our ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice. Ambassador, welcome back to Fox News Sunday.
The attack on the British embassy in Tehran came just days after the Iranian “parliament” voted to expel the British ambassador, and therefore reeks of official complicity. The attack—complete with an invasion of the grounds, looting, and a brief hostage-taking—is an always useful reminder of the nature of the regime in Tehran. These are thugs, whatever their religious titles.
The Associated Press crunches the numbers and finds that Occupy protests have "cost local taxpayers at least $13 million."
During the first two months of the nationwide Occupy protests, the movement that is demanding more out of the wealthiest Americans cost local taxpayers at least $13 million in police overtime and other municipal services, according to a survey by The Associated Press.
If you want to know just how unruly the union protests are at the state capitol in Madison, check out this eye-opening account from a Wisconsin political insider over at a Milwaukee radio station:
Last night one Senator told me they had been told to clear the Capitol because the new groups coming in overnight are filled with with people "who aren't afraid to be arrested" and the Administration could not guarantee the safety of the legislators and their staffs. In our Capitol.
On Thursday, legislators were advised to return to their offices and lock their doors. Mobs roamed the halls, banging on the glass of the doors, pounding on the walls. No one could move in the halls or enter or leave the building. The glass of the Supreme Court's entrance was broken. Legislators were genuinely afraid. Our elected representatives were afraid. In our Capitol.
Facebook
Twitter
