"Genuine Concern"

I grew up in the 1950s. I remember Joe McCarthy, and his infamous hearings. I remember the era of the "blacklist", when people couldn't get jobs because of possible political beliefs. Hollywood writers were denied work once their names were smeared with unfounded charges. America, during those years, was a nation just coming out of a great world conflict against a terrible tyrant. Our security was of uppermost importance to the average American; communism "Scared the Hell out of us!" Korea was a hot-bed, and the thought of an infection of communist ideas was a real fear in 1950s America. This was a real threat; FBI files show they found countless actual subversives in our nation. There was then, and there are now people in this country that hate America. We have threats from the "right" with groups like the "White Aryan Nation", and the "Ku Klux Klan", also the "New Black Panther Party" from the far left,along with the "Young Communist Party". These are Americans who don't like our present way of life, and are willing to resort to almost any action to change it. As someone who has some knowledge of domestic intelligence, I can say with confidence that our intelligence community is watching those folks with their "eyes peeled".

Representative Peter King (Rep-N.Y.) is involved with hearings examining Muslim extremism in America today. Since 9-11, America is very interested in the radical Muslim movement and Jihad in America. This is a legitimate concern for all Americans, even those peaceful Muslims. We have seen a number of threats and actions by some "home grown" terrorists in the last couple of years. We had the "underwear bomber" and the "Times Square bomber", whose attempts were thwarted. We've seen Army Major Nadal Hasan, who succeeded in murdering and wounding several of our soldiers at Fort Hood. Regardless of the denial of some, Major Hasan was perpetrating Jihad in America. Representative King has been criticized by Al Sharpton over his hearing on Muslim extremism. Mr. King has been clear that this is not a "witch hunt"; it is a valid investigation into the infiltration of extremist ideals into the American Muslim community. Nobody is advocating "interment camps" for anybody. If this were an investigation into a white supremacy group, I'll bet Mr. Sharpton would not be so verbose in his opposition. All Klansman believe they are acting as "Christians" in their racist rantings and criminal acts; radical Muslims also believe they are acting as good Muslims in their hate-filled attacks on innocent people, not only in America, but throughout the world.

Mr. Sharpton needs to realize that fanatics come in all races and creeds; and the investigation of these radicals is a valuable pursuit for all Americans. If, by this investigation, one radical Muslim cell is eliminated, then it has been a success. If one American life is saved by this investigation, it has been a success. Mr. Sharpton is so consumed with being a political adversary, he is forgetting about what is really important; THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!