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Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Friday declared that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would have murdered the participants of the original 1773 Boston Tea Party and and would have "killed off" half of the Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence.

In a 30-minute floor speech to express his outrage over a report in The Daily Caller that said the Department of Homeland Security was "protecting the free speech rights of pro-Shariah Muslim supremacists," Gohmert noted that President Barack Obama's administration had a number of other problems like the recent news that the IRS had scrutinized the tax-exempt status of tea party and other conservative groups.

"Homeland Security has had reports warning their employees about the dangers of people that may be involved in such heinous activity as being classified as evangelical Christians or as being concerned about the Constitution and that people should be following the Constitution, and concerned about people who may have tea party in their name," he explained.

"You know, thank goodness that the IRS was not around to have helped the Founders when they founded the country or otherwise they would have probably shot the Boston Tea Party participants, they would have killed off over half of the signers of the Declaration of the Independence," Gohmert added.

"And this country would have never had gotten started if this Department of Homeland Security had been around to be helpful -- so called -- to our founders."

In referencing the Declaration of Independence and the Boston Tea Party, Gohmert seems to be suggesting that the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security do not have legitimate authority -- similar to the claims the American colonists made against the British empire prior to the Revolutionary War.

(h/t: Twitter/Scott Keyes)

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Republican lawmakers in Tennessee sprung to action and demanded answers after confusing a mop sink recently installed in the state Capitol for a Muslim foot-washing sink.

Members of the state House and Senate contacted state Senate Clerk Russell Humphrey to ask if the floor-level sink had been installed outside the House chamber men's restroom to accommodate Muslims' ritual of washing their feet before prayer, according to The Associated Press.

"There was concern about why it had been modified," Humphrey said.

Republican state Sen. Bill Ketron confirmed that he had taken this issue up with Humphrey after state Rep. Judd Matheny (R) became troubled that the sink could be for Muslims.

“I just asked the question about what was the intent of that," Ketron explained.

Legislative Administration Director Connie Ridley assured the lawmakers in an email that "the facility administrator for the State Capitol Complex that the floor-level sink installed in the men’s restroom outside the House Chamber is for housekeeping use."

“It is, in layman’s terms, a mop sink," Ridley said.

Ketron told the AP that the explanation "satisfied my curiosity after it was presented to me."

In 2011, hundreds of Muslims showed up at the Capitol to protest after Ketron and Matheny sponsored a bill that would have made following Sharia code a felony.

"Tennessee, like the federal government, has a compelling state interest to protect our citizens from jihad terrorism," Matheny said at the time.

That measure would have criminalized Muslim foot-washing rituals and dietary restrictions.

The bill eventually passed after all references to any specific religion were removed.

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The man who is likely to be Alabama's next chief justice is warning that secular government will lead to Islamic law in the United States.

In an interview with conservative talk show host Steve Deace last week, Roy Moore opined that "a government that is denying God" was also allowing Sharia law to take hold.

The Republican candidate explained that he had no regrets after the Alabama Court of the Judiciary was forced to strip him of the chief justice title in 2003 because he rejected a federal court order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse.

"I firmly believe that only God can heal our land and he is waiting for the American people to wake up to what’s going on around them about a government that is denying God and in doing so is bent on taking away those rights and liberties and freedoms given to us by God, in contradiction to the very organic law from which we are based," Moore explained on Friday. "I never regretted what I did, I did exactly what I knew I was to do and that is to stand firm and not let some federal judge tell me to remove a monument, which he had no right to do anyway."

"What they fear most is my acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God," he continued, adding that the federal judge had "violated not only our Constitution but the case law of the United States Supreme Court which says our religious freedom comes from God, and if it doesn’t come from God people have to realize we will lose it and that is happening in our country today with Sharia law and the allowance of religious practices for other groups but not Christians."

Earlier this year, Moore overwhelmingly won the GOP nomination in a bid to take back the title of chief justice. The Republican Party has pledged to give him its full support.

"The Alabama Republican Party stands firmly behind Judge Roy Moore to serve as the next Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court," Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead said earlier this month. "Judge Moore embodies the conservative values and beliefs of the citizens of our state and the Republican Party in Alabama stands behind him 100 percent."

In recent months, Moore and his Foundation for Moral Law have been fighting to allow the small town Sylvania to use a Bible verse on their welcome signs.

"The Freedom from Religion Foundation has an agenda to remove any acknowledgement of God or religion from the public square and are trying to bully towns like Sylvania with threatening letters that grossly misrepresent the Constitution," Moore told the Times-Journal. “Sylvania refuses to be bullied by the anti-religious sentiment of the FFRF. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution stands for freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, and we look forward to representing Sylvania in this important matter.”

The Anniston Star Editorial Board has argued that a candidate for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court should not "promote his own particular brand of religion and tie it to questionable constitutional interpretations."

"One can — and should — question the propriety of an Alabama chief justice GOP nominee heading a foundation dedicated to a constitutional position on which he might one day have to rule," the editorial board wrote. "Here is a prime example of the sort of controversy on which a chief justice should avoid taking a public stand."

"He has disappointed us again."

(h/t: via Right Wing Watch)

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Keith Olbermann talked to ThinkProgress' Faiz Shakir who helped author a new report from the Center for American Progress -- REPORT: $42 Million From Seven Foundations Helped Fuel The Rise Of Islamophobia In America:

Following a six-month long investigative research project, the Center for American Progress released a 130-page report today which reveals that more than $42 million from seven foundations over the past decade have helped fan the flames of anti-Muslim hate in America. The authors — Wajahat Ali, Eli Clifton, Matt Duss, Lee Fang, Scott Keyes, and myself — worked to expose the Islamophobia network in depth, name the major players, connect the dots, and trace the genesis of anti-Muslim propaganda.

The report, titled “Fear Inc.: The Roots Of the Islamophobia Network In America,” lifts the veil behind the hate, follows the money, and identifies the names of foundations who have given money, how much they have given, and who they have given to [...]

The money has flowed into the hands of five key “experts” and “scholars” who comprise the central nervous system of anti-Muslim propaganda:

FRANK GAFFNEY, Center for Security Policy – “A mosque that is used to promote a seditious program, which is what Sharia is…that is not a protected religious practice, that is in fact sedition.” [Source]

DAVID YERUSHALMI, Society of Americans for National Existence: “Muslim civilization is at war with Judeo-Christian civilization…the Muslim peoples, those committed to Islam as we know it today, are our enemies.” [Source]

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Rachel Maddow hits another one out of the park with the motivations behind those exploiting this trumped-up "ground zero mosque" debacle and this one sentence pretty well sums it up: "It`s time to scare white people for political profit."

RACHEL MADDOW: We begin tonight with what has past becoming the most embarrassing non-Justin Bieber related obsession of the summer of 2010. It is the proposed building of an Islamic community center in downtown New York City.

Now, this story, this talking point maybe, has quickly become a study in political awkwardness for many conservatives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS HOST: The imam from the Ground Zero mosque apparently wants Sharia law in America.

The imam of the proposed Ground Zero mosque won`t even denounce Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Now, let me ask you this, would a moderate imam, a peaceful Muslim, employ another imam who told an Arabic language Web site that, quote, "Only the Jews could have perpetrated the 9/11 attack"?

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

MADDOW: Here`s what I mean about awkwardness with this story on the political right. That host that you just saw there in those clips, this guy here, Glenn Beck, before spending this summer in being against the imam and what Mr. Beck calls the Ground Zero mosque, before this became this summer`s scare story talking point, Mr. Beck himself appeared on TV with that very same imam. Not to envy against him but to join him in promoting a moderate vision of Islam.

Former Bush administration official Karen Hughes is having the same kind of awkwardness with her own record in this story. Ms. Hughes has now written a op-ed arguing that the planned cultural center in downtown New York City should be moved further away from the World Trade Center site, calling the plan to build there, especially contentious because, she says, quote, "it goes to the heart of who is to blame for the attacks of September 11th, 2001."

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Who knew that Oklahoma had liberal judges, much less ones who might want to impose Muslim laws on the good Christian state of Oklahoma. MSNBC's Contessa Brewer asked Oklahoma Rep. Rex Duncan about his ballot measure to make sure that judges in his state do not follow international or Sharia law, because we all know that Oklahoma is just being over-run by Muslims these days. Or maybe not. Digby was kind enough to transcribe this madness and go read the rest of her post for her take on it and as she said, sadly, no, this is not a joke. Man how I wish it was. These wingers all love separation of church and state unless it means imposing their own brand of Christian fundamentalism on the rest of us.

Protecting The Country From Liberal Mullahs:

Duncan:Oklahoman's recognize that America was founded on Judeo Christian principles and we're unapologetically grateful that God has blessed America and blessed our state. State amendment 755, the Save Our State Amendment is a simple effort to insure our courts are not used to undermine those founding principles and turn Oklahoma into something our founding fathers and our great grandparents wouldn't recognize.

Brewer: Do you believe that there's imminent danger of judges using Sharia law when deciding cases?

Duncan: It's not just a danger, it's a reality. Every day, liberals and uh, just ...

Brewer: Ok, and the reality has it happened in your state of Oklahoma that judges have...

Duncan: it has not. This is a pre-emptive strike to make sure that liberal judges don't take the bench in an effort to use their position to undermine those founding principles that are international or Sharia law. the other part of the question is to prohibit all state courts from considering international or Sharia law when considering cases, even cases of first impression.

Brewer: I'm sorry, but Mr Duncan, less than 1% of your state is Muslim. So where would that threat come from?

Duncan: It's a growing threat frankly. This again is a pre-emptive strike. They understand that this is a war for the survival of America, it's a cultural war it's a social war. It's a war for the survival of our country. And other states have looked away and kow towed to political correctness, have lost the chance perhaps to save their state. I believe Oklahoma voters at a margin greater than 90% will approve this state amendment and when we do, other red states and maybe even some lesser blue states will decide their states are worth saving too.

Brewer: Are you worried about other kinds of religious fundamentalism creeping into the decisions judges make when it really should be based on secular law?

Duncan: It ought to be based on federal and state law, and any effort to do anything else --- it's frankly the face of the enemy and we need to call it what it is. Oklahomans are going to do that and they're going to show other states what it looks like to take a leadership role in saving their own future and saving the sanctity of their own court system.

As Digby said "Somebody's got to stop all those liberal judges from imposing ultra-conservative Sharia Law and stoning gays and women who stray from God's path. Oh wait...what are we talking about again?"