Two Sides, Same Coin

The Powerline gents highlight two stories today that fit depressingly together like Howard Dean and electric shock treatments.

The first reveals the unplumbed depths of anti-Semitic totalitarianism at the University of Maryland:

Legal experts with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) not long ago awarded a “red” rating to the University of Maryland at College Park. Red is the worst in FIRE’s stoplight-themed index and indicates the school “clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.”...

A recent incident at the Maryland Food Collective [I swear I'm not making that up], a shop in the College Park student union, is a disturbing case in point. A student seeking to pay for groceries was stopped by the clerk. “Your shirt offends me, I won’t ring you up,” the clerk said of the message stamped on the student’s T-shirt, “I Stand for Israel.” After much hand-wringing and political posturing by co-op and school officials, the student got her food after being checked out by a different clerk. Then she apologized to the offended clerk and offered a chocolate cake as proof of the sincerity of her apology for being “offensive.”

She should have told the clerk to go do something anatomically impossible. Or raised hell with the manager and as far up the university food chain as it took to get satisfaction. Or given the offending clerk an "I Stand For Israel" t-shirt of her own. That "collective" was a public establishment, and so far as the story indicates, did not display any signs at its door that said, "Jew-lovers not served here."

It also doesn't say if the MFC peddled prayer rugs on the side. But if a Dutch bishop has his way, the Catholic church will - as well as making an appalling ecumenical concession:

Catholic churches in the Netherlands should use the name Allah for God to ease tensions between Muslims and Christians, says a Dutch bishop.

Tiny Muskens, the bishop of Breda, told the Dutch TV program "Network" Monday night he believes God doesn't mind what He is called, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.

The Almighty is above such "discussion and bickering," he insisted.

"Tiny"? The bishop's name is "Tiny"? Sheesh, no wonder he thinks God doesn't mind being addressed by the name of a demon. I guess that means "Bishop Tiny" won't mind if I unilaterally and arbitrarily change his surname to "Brain" or "Penis" or "ChanceIAmGoingToHeaven". Just doing my part to avoid "discussion and bickering".

Funny, though, I've read the Bible from cover to cover; I have a framed poster hanging on the wall of my den that lists all the Names that God has revealed for Himself; and nowhere do I find that "Allah" is one of them. Will "Bishop Tiny" next suggest that we also refer to the LORD as "Enlightenment" or "Kahless" or "Baal" or "Ashtaroth" or "Molech" or "The Energon Cube" or "Mephistophiles" or "The Prince Of The Power Of The Air"? How about "Lucifer" or "The Great Pumpkin" or "The Cosmic Muffin" or "Golden Calf" or "Golden Statue" or "The Grand Quantum Fluctuation" or just "Q"? Hell, why not go with "Hillary Clinton" since she'll be forcing us to bow down to her in another seventeen months anyway.

If "Allah" had been one of God's names, He'd have said so in His Word. One would think that a Catholic clergyman, even an apostate one, would know God's Word well enough to know that, and value it enough to defend it rather than burning rhetorical incense to false gods without a fight, and arrogantly presuming that the Father will "understand" the blasphemy.

And all for the sake of....what? Not "offending" Muslims. Just as that birkenstock beeyatch in Terrapinland couldn't be bothered to set aside her Jew-hatred sufficiently to do her freaking job.

With the West already this dhimmized, is it any wonder that the Islamists think their conquest of the entire planet is just a matter of time?