‘Islamo-Fascism Week' Leads to Campus Outrage

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Hate Speech?

A week before a series of meetings at George Washington University about the dangers of radical Islam — called "Islamo-Fascism Week" — posters ostensibly promoting the events — with messages of hate against Muslims —have stirred outrage on campus.

They appeared Monday. The headline reads — "Hate Muslims? So do we." It says the "typical Muslim" has features such as "lasers from eyes," "venom from mouth," a "suicide vest," a "hidden AK-47" and a "peg-leg for smuggling children and heroin."

It then says, "to find out more, come to Islamo-Fascism Week" — which is being promoted by the conservative group, Young America's Foundation.

But a student newspaper called The Hatchet is reporting that it received an e-mail Tuesday night from seven students claiming to be behind the posters. And they are in fact against the meetings.

The self-described Students for Conservativo-Fascism Awareness say their motives have been misinterpreted, claiming — "the hyperbolic nature of the flier was aimed at exposing Islamophobic racism."

Burning Issue

The Supreme Court has held that the burning of the American flag is a constitutionally-protected form of free speech.

But authorities in San Antonio apparently do not think that should apply to the Mexican flag. Media reports say 46-year-old former police chief and military veteran David Bohmfalk was arrested after burning a Mexican flag outside the Alamo. He was charged with burning without a permit — even though no agency there gives permits to burn a flag — and illegally burning rubbish.

Bohmfalk's attorney says while his client was being held for something that is not illegal — he was harassed, had his life threatened, and was spat upon — all things that are illegal.

Report Card

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the failure to end the Iraq war is hurting congressional Democrats — and lawmakers have to take bolder action.

The San Francisco Chronicle says Pelosi told reporters Tuesday that her party's accomplishments have been overshadowed and — "the war has eclipsed everything." She added — "I don't disagree with the public evaluation that we have not done well in ending this war." And she admitted Democrats may have been overly confident in their abilities to persuade Republican lawmakers to oppose the war.

Movie Protest

And a follow-up on a story we had a month ago about a truck driver in England who took that nation's education department to court over a requirement that Al Gore's global warming movie "An Inconvenient Truth" be shown to students.

A judge today ruled the film is "one-sided" and must be accompanied by balancing information. The judge cited nine scientific errors in the movie. Among them — claims that snows on Mount Kilimanjaro are melting from global warming — the judge says that cannot be proven. A suggestion that Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming — for which the judge says there is insufficient evidence. And an allegation that polar bears had drowned due to disappearing Arctic ice — when in fact the cause apparently was a violent storm.

— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.