After Stoking Absurd Fears Of ?Sharia Law,? Paladino Refuses To Say If He Would Appoint A Muslim Judge
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on October 6th, 2010 4:39 am by HL
Our guest blogger is Charlie Eisenhood, a student at New York University and the Editor-in-Chief of the New York City-based blog NYU Local.
This morning, New York GOP Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino spoke and answered questions from political journalists at a breakfast forum hosted by Crain’s New York Business. Paladino locked up the Republican primary largely by stoking anti-Muslim hate. He spent much of his campaign loudly attacking the Park51 community center planned for lower Manhattan as a “monument to those who attacked America.”
After winning the nomination, Paladino reiterated his opposition to the Muslim community center and absurdly said he feared that it would bring “sharia law to America.” ThinkProgress asked Paladino this morning if he would consider appointing Muslim judges if elected to office. Paladino stopped for a moment, then said, “oh please,” as he ignored the question and walked away:
TP: Mr. Paladino, I’m a student journalist. If you’re elected governor would you appoint Muslim judges?
PALADINO: Oh, please.
TP: Mr. Paladino, why won’t you answer my question? Mr. Paladino, are you concerned with sharia law?
Watch it:
While Paladino has made a name for himself confronting reporters and speaking his mind on controversial topics, he refusal to answer a simple question may speak volumes about his about treatment of the Muslim American community. Paladino has said that he would regulate the construction of community centers based on religion. Would he also select judges based on how they worship God?
Levi Strauss & Co., the California-based apparel giant that invented blue jeans over a century ago, has come out in strong opposition to Proposition 23, a ballot initiative that would suspend the state’s landmark global warming law, calling it “backward thinking.” In a blog post by Senior Vice President Amy Leonard, the company describes how the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) has spurred “the clean technology industry and clean energy businesses.” Backed by out-of-state oil companies and the Chamber of Commerce, Tea Party groups are trying to suspend the law, which Leonard says has given California businesses “critical tools” for “energy and climate innovation“:
Proposition 23 would eliminate critical tools recently put in place to promote energy efficiency. It would discourage energy and climate innovation by making it more expensive for businesses to invest in necessary research and development. It would turn back the clock by removing incentives intended to move us ahead.
Levi Strauss is joined by other California-based global companies in opposing Proposition 23, including Clif Bar, The North Face, the Gap, and eBay, the company once run by Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman — who stands in opposition to AB 32.
