LET'S MEET THE WACKOS WHO GATHERED IN TIMES SQUARE YESTERDAY TO PROTEST THE IRAN DEAL

So I guess we're expected to take this seriously:

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Times Square Wednesday evening in protest over the recent landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

As CBS2’s Jessica Schneider reported, some 10 thousand are rallying in solidarity with signs and voices raised against the nuclear deal....

Former New York Governor, and Presidential contender, George Pataki joined the chorus of voices urging lawmakers to block the deal.

The Stop Iran Rally Coalition — which claims to be a bi-partisan group -- is also calling out Sen. Charles Schumer, saying he “has the votes as presumptive leader to override this deal….If this deal is not stopped, New York voters will know whom to blame.”

I didn't attend the rally, so it's possible that some of these people were no-shows, but here was the announced speakers' list:



Let's learn more about a few of those people.

* David Brog. He's the executive director of Christians United for Israel -- a group whose founder and national chairman is Pastor John Hagee. That would be this guy:

Just who is Hagee? Well, here in abbreviated form, are some of his characteristically outlandish opinions:

On Hurricane Katrina: “All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that… I believe that Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.”

... On Muslims: Asked whether he believes that Muslims have a mandate to kill Christians and Jews, Hagee replied, “Well, the Quran teaches that. Yes, it teaches that very clearly.”

On women: “Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist.”

(He's also said that the Catholic Church is the "Great Whore" mentioned in the Book of Revelation and has asserted that God is sending Islamic terrorists to the U.S. because the U.S. supports a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine. Oh, and he's asserted that the Holocaust was God's will, as part of a plan to encourage Jews to return to Israel. Somehow, all of this has made him a favorite of right-wing supporters of Israel; one fan is Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer.)

* Steven Emerson. That would be this guy:

What has this Emerson been up to? He said that Birmingham was a totally Muslim city. On Fox News.

Hang on -- are you sure that’s what he meant? What was the actual quote? He said: “In Britain, it’s not just no-go zones, there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in.”

Is that true? I just remember it being really hard to find parking. No, it’s not true. Muslims comprise about 22 per cent of Birmingham’s population.

I guess a guy’s entitled to make one enormous mistake on a scaremongering and frequently inaccurate TV news channel. He also said that in “parts of London, there are actual religious police that actually beat and actually wound seriously anyone who doesn’t dress according to religious Muslim attire.”

... He did acknowledge his error quickly.

... His words subsequently became the subject of much Twitter mockery under the hashtag #foxnewsfacts

* Clare Lopez. Last year, Lopez accused President Obama of treason:

A former CIA officer bluntly told WND, America has switched sides in the war on terror under President Obama....

She said the global war on terror had been an effort to “stay free of Shariah,” or repressive Islamic law, until the Obama administration began siding with such jihadist groups as the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates.

Why the switch?

Lopez explained, when the so-called Arab Spring appeared in late 2010, “It was time to bring down the secular Muslim rulers who did not enforce Islamic law. And America helped.”

And why would Obama want to do that?

As she told WND earlier this month, Lopez believed the Muslim Brotherhood has thoroughly infiltrated the Obama administration and other branches of the federal government.

Wait, there's more:

She also came to the conclusion Obama had essentially the same goals in the Mideast as the late Osama bin Laden: “to remove American power and influence, including military forces, from Islamic lands.”

Why would Obama order the killing of bin Laden?

Because the president “couldn’t delay any longer,” once the opportunity was presented, Lopez told WND.

There were “no more excuses” available to avoid it and he “thought it might look good,” she mused.

Admiral James Lyons. Same deal with Obama and the Muslim Brotherhood:

Retired four-star U.S. Navy Adm. James A. "Ace" Lyons controversially claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood terrorism front group has managed to infiltrate every U.S. security agency under President Barack Obama's guidance.

With the Obama regime's support, the radical anti-freedom organization has been given the freedom to penetrate an increasing number of U.S. agencies, the former commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet said at the National Press Club in January....

"There's no question we have got a hell of a job ahead of us with the Muslim Brotherhood penetration in every one of our national security agencies, including all our intelligence agencies," Lyons told the audience, describing CIA head John Brennan as a "Muslim convert."

* Paul Vallely. That's this guy:

In 2010, Vallely was one of three retired general officers who expressed support for US Army Lieutenant Colonel Terrance Lee Lakin in his refusal to deploy to Afghanistan based on Lakin's claim that President Barack Obama had no legitimacy as commander in chief. In an interview, Vallely stated "I think many in the military -- and many out of the military -- question the natural-birth status of Barack Obama."

More:

Vallely said he was concerned over the Certification of Live Birth that was released online instead of the long form certificate showing the doctor’s name and hospital “His unwillingness to do it also concerns me. I think Lt. Col. Lakin has a valid point it’s a concern and I’m not sure it has been addressed properly. … He refuses to produce a birth certificate that states the witnessing of the birth, the date and who is the doctor. We don’t know why he won’t come out with that.”

* Allen West. Where to begin? There's just too much in his case -- though I am reliably informed (by Breitbart) that he gave the "best speech of the night" at the rally.

We have to listen to these clowns? Chuck Schumer has to listen to these clowns? Really?

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UPDATE: I'm reminded in comments that I left out Frank Gaffney:

... Gaffney ... has long advanced a litany of Islamophobic tropes. In a 2009 column for the Washington Times, he argued that Obama was once a Muslim, and “may actually still be.” In 2011, he floated the idea that the manifesto of Anders Breivik, who carried out terrorist attacks in Norway that year, was a “false flag operation” intended to “suppress criticism” of Sharia. And in mid-2012, he stoked controversy over the Muslim Brotherhood, arguing falsely that the group had “infiltrated” the American government.

Gaffney once suggested that the Obama administration’s new missile defense logo was evidence that the president had “submitted” to Islamic law. (He also said the same of David Petraeus and Grover Norquist).

Apologies for the omission!