“I’ve been asking myself who I want to vote for this Tuesday and I can’t decide. Of course I won’t get into personal politics right now, given that CAIR-Chicago is a 501(C)3 and I’m speaking in my capacity as the Government Affairs Coordinator...”

Those were the words of (as shown) the Government Affairs Coordinator for the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) and the administrator of CAIR-Chicago’s The Mobilizer, Sadiya Ahmed. They were written on February 1, 2008, two months before CAIR-Chicago violated its 501(c)(3) tax status by posting to its blog an attack on Presidential candidate, United States Senator John McCain.

Now, CAIR-Chicago has altered its post on Senator McCain, essentially admitting guilt. The question that needs to be asked is will the group be punished for it?

CAIR’s history as a radical Muslim group is widely known. What has been baffling to many, though, is how the U.S. government has allowed the organization to exist for as long as it has. Yet, the key to shutting down the group may very well hinge not on its Islamist ties, but on its flawed operation as an American non-profit tax-exempt institution.

On May 19, 2008, this author wrote a piece for FrontPage, showing how both CAIR National and CAIR-Chicago, a.k.a. CAIR-Illinois, posted material on their respective websites that violated the groups’ statuses as 501(c)(3)s.

According to the IRS, under its ‘Ban on Political Campaign Intervention,’ “For an organization to be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) it cannot “participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements) any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”

Both CAIR National and CAIR-Chicago have websites devoted specifically to politics. CAIR National’s site is titled CAIR 2008 Elections. CAIR-Chicago’s political site (or weblog) is The Mobilizer.

On the op-ed page of the CAIR 2008 Elections site, CAIR National board member Sarwat Husain called into question the “moral conscience” of Presidential candidate John McCain. This, while Ahmed Rehab, writing in his capacity as CAIR National Director of Communications Strategy, stated on the page, “I am not drawn to [Presidential candidate Barack] Obama for any other reason but his political outlook, one that brings me hope that we can move beyond divisiveness and polarization and toward a new unity for the common good... I am [not] offended as a Muslim that Obama would not want to be one [a Muslim]... I am casting a vote for the next president of the United States, not the next imam of my mosque.”

CAIR, being a 501(c)(3), is not allowed to choose one candidate over another, but the aforementioned statements found on CAIR’s website demonstrate that that is exactly what it had done. And CAIR National was not the only culprit.

On May 9, 2008, Shazeen Kareem, one of three contributors to The Mobilizer, posted to the blog a video attacking Presidential candidate John McCain and his association with a well-known pastor. Above the video, Kareem wrote, “Muslims voting for McCain? Not after this!!” Under the video were the words, “I don’t know how to react. I don’t know what to say. I’m just amazed at the ignorance that exists.”

The posting was a blatant violation of the IRS’s ban, as it clearly sought to influence Muslims and others to vote against Senator McCain.

Three weeks later, CAIR-Chicago altered the posting. Now, replacing the declaration that Muslims won’t be voting for Senator McCain are the innocuous words, “McCain’s Statement on Muslims.” As well, the sentence “I’m just amazed at the ignorance that exists” was deleted.

The alteration in the blog post was reminiscent of when CAIR National was caught placing a photograph it had doctored, depicting a woman wearing a hijab (Islamic veil) that had been sloppily painted or ‘Photoshopped’ onto her head, on the homepage of its website. As reported by Jihad Watch in September of 2005, the photo, which was taken at a CAIR-sponsored event in Washington, D.C., was later replaced by the original, which showed the woman not wearing any type of head covering.

However, the doctored image is only a symptom of CAIR’s disingenuousness. CAIR-Chicago’s altering of a blog post attacking a Presidential candidate is an admittance of wrongdoing and possible grounds for the group to lose its tax status as a non-profit organization.

As was mentioned by this author in his previous article about this subject, according to the IRS, “Violating this ban [Ban on Political Campaign Intervention] may result in denial or revocation of the organization’s tax-exempt status...”

Now, it is up to you the reader to see that the IRS does its job to investigate this matter fully. If you are as troubled about CAIR’s and CAIR-Chicago’s infractions as this author is, you can contact the IRS with your respectful comments and concerns.

No group should be above the law or beyond reproach, when it comes to the American taxpayers’ money. That should especially be the case for a group with a past such as CAIR has.

If you want to understand the negative impact of feminism on women (and men) and, by extension, the destructive effects of liberal teachers, Democratic politics and liberal news media on African-Americans, here is Katie Couric last week on the CBS Evening News:

A new study on teens and sexual harassment should give every parent pause.

Most teenage girls report they've been sexually harassed. ... In a study that appeared in the journal Child Development, 90 percent of teen girls say they've been harassed at least once.

Millions of American parents and their daughters were told on one of the most widely watched evening news reports that nine out of every 10 American girls aged 12 to 18 are sexually harassed.

Suspicious that the feminist and liberal I-am-a-victim ideology was at play here far more than some real plague of sexual harassment, I decided to look into the report cited by Ms. Couric.

I therefore went to a leading feminist magazine's website, Ms. Magazine (msmagazine.com), and found this summary of the report:

A study released this month reports that 90 percent of girls between the ages of 12 and 18 reported experiencing sexual harassment. The study found that girls who had a better understanding of feminism from the media, their parents, or teachers were more likely to recognize sexual harassment.

Campbell Leaper, professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and one of the authors of the study, said in a press release, 'Sexism remains pervasive in the lives of adolescent girls. Most girls have experienced all three types of sexism -- sexual harassment, sexist comments about their academic abilities, and sexist comments about their athletic abilities.'

Science Daily reports that the study found Latina and Asian American girls reported less sexual harassment than the other girls who participated in the study. … The most commonly reported forms of sexual harassment were unwanted romantic attention, demeaning gender-related comments, teasing based on their appearance, and unwanted physical contact.

This confirmed my suspicions.

First, "The study found that girls who had a better understanding of feminism … were more likely to recognize sexual harassment."

There is no question that this is true. Girls subjected to feminist indoctrination are undoubtedly more likely to interpret innocuous behavior as sexual harassment. Almost the entire liberal-left Weltanschauung is predicated on portraying every group in America except white, male, heterosexual Christians as oppressed. Women are oppressed by men. Blacks and Hispanics are oppressed by whites. Gays are oppressed by straights. Non-Christians are oppressed by Christians.

Of course, the fact is that American women have more opportunity and more equality than just about any women in the world today and certainly in history. Moreover, if either sex is "oppressed" today, it is far more likely to be males. If women were incarcerated, let alone murdered, as disproportionately as men are; if only 40 percent of those getting a bachelor's degree were female; if girls dropped out of high school at the rate males do, there would be a national outcry. It is men who are, in fact, suffering. But for feminists, academics and CBS News, it is women who are still oppressed. And that is what they are taught in high school and college by feminist-oriented teachers.

Second, "sexual harassment" is so all-inclusive as to be largely meaningless: "sexist comments about their academic abilities, sexist comments about their athletic abilities … unwanted romantic attention, demeaning gender-related comments, teasing based on their appearance, and unwanted physical contact."

If a girl’s bra is snapped in elementary or high school; if a girl is told she should learn to throw a ball "like a guy does"; if a boy pursues a girl and fails in his pursuit -- these are all instances of sexism and sexual harassment.

What this thinking leads to is girls and women seeing themselves as victims, and almost as often to the emasculation of boys. (And then women looking to marry a man wonder where all the masculine men are).

And third, "Latina and Asian American girls reported less sexual harassment than the other girls who participated in the study." One wonders whether this is one reason increasing numbers of American men seek Latina and Asian American women for marriage. Women who have been less influenced by feminism probably appreciate men more.

To an ever greater extent, schools and the news media do the same thing to African-Americans -- tell them over and over that they are oppressed. And the effects have been even more corrosive. Just think of the wildly enthusiastic receptions the NAACP gave to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the black members of Trinity United Church of Christ gave to Father Michael Pfleger when he spoke of America being "the greatest sin against God" because it is so racist. The number of blacks who perceive of their lives as oppressed by whites can only lead to estrangement from the greater American society, not to mention anger toward and resentment of it.

Those are two of the lasting legacies of the modern-day left. You heard them again last week on the CBS Evening News.

LONDON – The British intelligence service MI5 has redrawn its electronic map of Britain's "hot spots" terrorist targets – to include provincial university towns, colleges and picturesque villages close to high-security installations. Among these are the Government Communications Center in the rolling hills of the Cotswolds and Porton Down, the top-secret Chemical/Biological Defense Establishment, alongside the traditional English countryside of small towns, villages and farms, according to a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The Security Service fears such peaceful locations could serve as cover for target recognition by al-Qaida associated groups.

Already MI5 confirmed it has more than 2,000 suspects under surveillance. But they mostly are in London and other major cities. Now the fear is that terrorists have moved out into the countryside, posing as tourists or students to look for suitable targets.

"While it would be virtually impossible for them to penetrate high security establishments like GCHQ or Porton Down, to carry out a terrorist outrage in their vicinity would still cause havoc," an MI5 source said.

The warning follows the attempted attack on a shopping center restaurant in Exeter and the discovery in Bristol of a bomb factory in the city's suburbs.

Both cities have a large university population whose students include a substantial number of Muslims and members of Islamic societies.

"Our concern is that those societies are promoting al-Qaida. Until recently the country areas have been near empty when we assessed hot spots. Now we have set up counter-terrorism units across not only the West Country, but also in Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester. All have campuses which now need to be more closely watched," the source said.

The new hot spots have increased the number to more than 100 areas of the country.

The West Country – where the Ministry of Defense has a number of high-security establishments – had until now only been considered "a low risk."

But the attempt by Nicky Reilly, a 22-year-old mentally disturbed Muslim convert, to blow himself up in an Exeter restaurant has stunned counter-intelligence officers.

Another convert, Andrew Ibrahim, a 19-year-old former drug addict, was discovered in an MI5-led raid to have turned his home into a bomb-making factory in a Bristol suburb.

MI5 have now begun a hunt through provincial university files to check on the backgrounds of students who have contacts with Islamic organizations.

Both the State and Justice Departments told Cybercast News Service this week that they have no information about whether Mexican authorities have arrested, prosecuted or convicted anyone for the murders of 128 Americans that the State Department reports took place in Mexico between Jan. 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007.

On April 14, the State Department issued an alert, which remains current, warning travelers that the "equivalent to military small-unit combat" was taking place across the southern U.S. border in Mexico.

"Dozens of U.S. citizens were kidnapped and/or murdered in Tijuana in 2007," says the alert. "In some cases, assailants have worn full or partial police or military uniforms and have used vehicles that resemble police vehicles." (See the travel alert

At a May 20 State Department press briefing (see transcript), Cybercast News Service asked State Department Spokesman Sean McCormick how many Americans had in fact been murdered or kidnapped in the border region of Mexico in 2007. The department responded by posting a statement on its Web site and providing a link to its report of "non-natural deaths of Americans" around the world between Jan. 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2007. (See statement)

The report, which the State Department said "is based solely on cases reported by American citizens to our posts abroad," listed the deaths by country and where in a particular country the deaths happened. It also gave a cause of death. But it did not list the names, ages, or occupations of the victims, or any information about whether the government of the country where the "non-natural death" of an American had taken place had taken legal action pursuant to that death.

The report indicated that 667 Americans had been killed in Mexico by non-natural causes during the three years covered. A Cybercast News Service analysis of the report determined that 128 of these deaths were listed as either "homicides" (126) or "executions" (2) and that a majority of these murders (68) had taken place in Mexican cities immediately on the U.S.-Mexico border. Another 12 Americans, the report indicated, were murdered in other locations in Mexican states bordering the U.S. (See report)

At a May 27 State Department press briefing (see transcript), Cybercast News Service asked State Department Spokesman Sean McCormick what information the State Department has about "arrests, prosecutions and/or convictions" in the cases of the 128 Americans murdered in Mexico and what the department is "doing to ensure that justice is served for these Americans."

"Right, it's a significant number," McCormick responded. "And certainly, we do follow up on these cases. I'll see if we have statistics on the results of any cases that were brought as a result of charges against individuals who committed crimes against American citizens." But State Department Spokesperson Nicole Thompson later told Cybercast News Service that the department does not track that kind of information.

"Generally, crime and punishment are issues that fall to the U.S. Department of Justice," Thompson said. "As far as I know right now, I can't provide you with a list of what's been prosecuted and what hasn't, but as I said before, that is something that falls to the Department of Justice, not the Department of State."

Justice Department Spokesperson Laura Sweeney, however, told Cybercast News Service that the Department of Justice has no information on murder cases abroad, either.

"That is information that we don't have," said Sweeney, adding that the Mexican government would have jurisdiction over murders of American citizens in that country.

Both Thompson and Sweeney said Mexico's attorney general might be able to provide information about the status of cases involving the murder of American citizens in Mexico. However, Cybercast News Service was unable contact that office.

In addition to the State Department's travel alert for Mexico, the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs maintains a Web page providing information for Americans considering travel to Mexico. "Low apprehension and conviction rates of criminals contribute to the high crime rate," the page warns. "U.S. citizen victims of crime in Mexico are encouraged to report the incident to the nearest police headquarters and to the nearest U.S. consular office."

The same page warns that Americans have been victimized by Mexican law enforcement officials.

"In some instances, Americans have become victims of harassment, mistreatment and extortion by Mexican law enforcement and other officials," it says. "Mexican authorities have cooperated in investigating such cases, but one must have the officer's name, badge number, and patrol car number to pursue a complaint effectively. Please note this information if you ever have a problem with police or other officials. In addition, tourists should be wary of persons representing themselves as police officers or other officials."

Much of the Religious Left has abandoned its old infatuation with Marxism, having long since moved on to radical environmentalism or performing apologetics for radical Islam. But quaintly, some relics still hang on to the old causes, chief of which is the 50 year love affair with Fidel Castro and his Cuban despotism.

During May 15-20, the Religious Left hosted an interfaith symposium in Cuba called "Spirituality of Resistance, Liberation and Transformation" (http://warc.jalb.de/)." Tragically, the event originally was to have convened in Lebanon. But the "continuing illegal occupation of Palestine by the forces of empire" in the Middle East cut short that possibility, the organizers fretted. Is not Lebanon's strife owing to the Iranian "empire's interference through its Hezbollah surrogates? Of course, the Religious Left is not concerned about that kind of "empire."

Instead, in Cuba's intoxicatingly supportive atmosphere, the Religious Left chatted about how to resist the true evil "empire," i.e. America, and that empire's supportive "destructive spiritualities" on the Religious Right. The event, hosted by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, the Geneva-based World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the London-based Council for World Mission, apparently thought Cuba, as "liberated" territory, was the best vantage point from which to organize against the "empire."

"The (Cuban) people's suffering is acute because of the United States-imposed blockade and the general forces of empire," explained the communiqué of the religious liberationists. "By 'empire' we mean the complex and dynamic international regime of power anchored by the United States, with its military power, neoliberal globalization, racist and patriarchal ideologies and policies of environmental degradation."

Hopefully Fidel was still sufficiently coherent in his hospital bed to read what must have been glowing Cuban media reports about all the solidarity that the WCC et al were offering his sagging regime. "In spite of these forces of empire and Cubans' relentless suffering, isolation and impoverization, we have been inspired by the ways Cubans persevere in struggle, embodying joy and resistance, dignity and self-esteem," gushed the church bureaucrats from Geneva and elsewhere.

Until 16 years ago, Cuba's communist rulers were themselves an outpost of the Soviet empire, happily performing as surrogates for their masters in Moscow in Africa, Central America and elsewhere where the cause of revolution was ripening. Since that empire's collapse, the isolated Cuban regime has fossilized while its once revolutionary allies quickly chose "neoliberal globalization" over the static theories of Marx and Lenin.

Wonderfully oblivious, the Religious Left confab pretended that the last 20 years of history never happened, and instead focused on the threats posed by the only modern "empire" that ever distressed it: the United States. "We affirm that the problems of empire, amid which justice movements struggle, are not only political problems but spiritual challenges," the communiqué decreed. "Empire spawns its own destructive spiritualities, such as the 'religious right,' and thus it seeks always to co-opt the powers of religion for imperial aims."

Apparently trying to conclude on an upbeat note, the convo of theologians and pastor-activists from the around the world celebrated that "new spiritualities are coming forth to oppose imperial spiritualities." How these "new spiritualities" substantively differ from the old Liberation Theology of 30 and 40 years ago, which conflated the Gospel with Marxist revolution, was not explained by the Religious Left enthusiasts.

"All organized religions have a special challenge of resisting the tactics of division, such as forms of denominationalism and fundamentalism, which often fuel ethnic, racial, nationalist and regional strife, and so strengthen the powers of empire," the WCC et al fretted in Cuba. They were obliquely referring to the reality that Pentecostalism and conservative Roman Catholicism are sweeping the Global South, including Cuba, much to the consternation of the Religious Left, which struggles to find support outside declining Western seminaries or left-wing church bureaucracies.

The WCC et al incorporated some token Hindus and Muslims in their Cuban get together, to showcase the cause's supposedly universal appeal. "Justice movements require a new solidarity among religious groups and all peoples of conscience (secular and religious) and thus we affirm and honour the full multiplicity of spiritualities that enliven such movements," the communiqué enthused. There was a strong focus on "indigenous" peoples," who of course are among the "empire's" chief victims.

An official with the hosting World Alliance of Reformed Churches sagely observed: "Connecting with the struggle, resilience and vision of the Cuban people and the spiritualities of aboriginal peoples and various faith traditions brings fresh impetus in our struggle for justice." Meeting in Cuba was probably a catharsis for many Western ecclesiastics and seminary professors, so otherwise oppressed. Such freedom to speak their minds without fear!

"We are in Cuba, a country that approaches the celebration of 50 years of its revolution," was how the Western prelates opened their communiqué. "Cubans describe the present period as a 'Kairotic' passage, a time of crisis and opportunity." For the Religious Left over the last 40 years, "Kairos" moments are historic tipping points when the revolution appears to be on the cusp of consummation. So there is hope that true Marxism will prevail yet in Cuba! But there are struggles ahead. The religious communiqué bemoaned that Cuba's "earlier revolutionary successes in agrarian reform have been set back by the empire's brutal blockade." But gloriously, the undefeated Cuban proletariat is still pressing forward.

Of course, the Religious Left communiqué denounced the American "empire's worldwide 'war on terror,'" which has "created a virulent form of Islamophobia that compounds other related racisms." The WCC et al insisted that "emergent spiritualities must stand with our Muslim sisters and brothers and work with them for a more just world for all peoples."

The Religious Left communiqué urged "positive values that can energize and focus revolutionary change" and invited leaders of the arts around the world to join in "strengthening the spiritualities that can resist regimes of injustice." Naturally, such oppressive regimes do not include Fidel Castro's communist dictatorship. The targeted regimes that the Religious Left has in mind are the ones that were actually elected by their populations. Apparently such democratic governments are merely tools of "colonization, racism and patriarchy," and puppets of the "empire."

That remnants of the Religious Left are still spouting such anachronisms in even in the year 2008 should not be altogether surprising. That they should do so in Fidel Castro's Cuba, which has become the ossified Disneyworld for unreconstructed Marxists, is perfectly appropriate.