Upcoming Connect the Dots Presentations

In case you are interested, I will be conducting the Connect the Dots (2.0) presentation several times in the upcoming weeks in this region. If you are interested in details, email me at hweatherman@hotmail.com and I will send to you. Following are some of the dates/locations of upcoming presentations (non-exclusive list):

Tuesday, Feb. 22nd (Charlotte, NC)* This is a special showing of a similar presentation by a friend of mine, whom I will be introducing and moderating. Invite only. Contact me for details.
Monday, Feb. 28 (Washington, DC). Invite only event. See me for details.
Saturday, March 5 (Columbia, SC). Invite only event. See me for details.
Monday, March 7 (Charlotte, NC)
Tuesday, March 8 (Stanley County, NC)
Monday, March 21 (Cabarrus County, NC)
Saturday, April 9 (Davidson, NC)
Tuesday, May 17 (Morriston, TN) Invite only. See me for details.

Connect the Dots: Winston-Salem

We connected some dots in Winston-Salem this past week. Good group of physicians gathered at Forsyth Country Club to hear the presentation. Enjoyed being back in Deaconville.

Connect the Dots Presentation Last Week

Last week, I presented a modified version of the Connect the Dots presentation to an influential group of current and/or recently retired CEOs from seven Southern states. Went well and from that meeting have received inquiries into presenting to a group down in Florida. Will post updates as that event shapes up for any of you in the Florida region. Several presentations on tap for Feb. and March. Will be posting info on them soon. Stay tuned. As an interesting side note, the guy in yellow in the photo (next to last row) is Fox News's Juan Williams who sat through the presentation. I thought that was cool.

Upcoming Presentation Schedule

Enjoyed my time in Shelby Thursday night. Gave the 2.0 version of the Connect the Dots presentation. Will be presenting again in this region on Feb. 15 in Winston-Salem and March 21 in Concord. If you are interested in either, email me for more details.

Presentation Scheduled for Jan. 20th in Shelby, NC

I will be giving the 2.0 version of the Connect the Dots presentation this upcoming week (January 20, 2011) at a joint gathering of several GOP and Tea Party related groups in Shelby, NC. The presentation begins at 7:00 pm in the gym of the Bethel Baptist Church in Shelby. Hope you can make it. This an awesome gathering of people whom I've had the pleasure of addressing before last year. Very active and motivated group of concerned citizens. God bless them.

Connect the Dots Presentation in Cherryville

Had a great time in our old stomping grounds of Cherryville early this week. Gave the Connect the Dots presentation to a men's group at a local Presbyterian Church. Upcoming presentations will be held over next few weeks in Asheville and Washington, DC. For those of you in those areas, email me for details. In January, I will be back in Tennessee for an encore presentation to a rather large gathering of Conservatives who are concerned with this issue. Check back here for more information as we get closer.

Rock Hill, South Carolina Connected the Dots

We connected a few dots this week in Rock Hill. Great group. Several elected political and judicial figures attended which is great for the cause.

Poltical Correctness or Just Stupidity?

Many of you have called or emailed asking if we are aware of the following story that broke this week. The story is that the FBI, through the FBI Citizens Academy gave a behind the scenes tour of the National Counterrorism Center to a known Hamas operative. We are aware of it and are checking into it. If this is true it is troubling but not surprising. This is the type of outreach that several federal agencies have been doing for some time now that shows a lack of discernment of the difference between Islamic and Islamist groups. We have found almost universal illiteracy withing the federal bureaucracy, law enforcement and military ranks as to the danger of outreaching to Islamist groups. Without this discernment, we are creating a clear and present danger to our national security. This is exactly why we held a round table last week with non Islamist Muslim groups in DC, to start educating the federal government agencies that those are the groups their Muslim outreach should be targeting, not the Islamist groups. Until they get this point, they will keep making mistakes like this FBI tour made. Will keep you posted as much as I can about what we find out about this situation. If you have not seen the original story I am referencing please check out the link below. Patrick Poole did a good job breaking this story. As a disclaimer, I too am a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy.

http://bigpeace.com/pspoole/2010/09/27/fbi-escorts-known-hamas-operative-through-top-secret-national-counterterrorism-center-as-outreach-to-muslim-community/

al-Qaida in the House?

In case you never saw this, the following article from IPT includes a video clip of Anwar al-Awlaki, the now famous Yemen cleric linked to two of the 9/11 hijackers, the Times Square Bomber, the Fort Hood shooter (Major Hasan), and who knows how many other would be jihadists, leading a prayer service back in 2001. Reminder: al-Awlaki is now considered to be the spokesperson and chief propagandist for al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula and is reportedly on the US hit list of terrorist individuals.

The service was in the basement of the US Capitol Building.

Read the accompanying article too please, as it points out a couple of other notable individuals spotted at the service.

http://www.investigativeproject.org/2077/awlakis-us-sermons-foreshadow-role-as-terrorist

Connect the Dots

Enjoyed presenting Connect the Dots last night in Charlotte to a good group of concerned citizens. Many thanks to my host. Good conversation during and afterward and more opportunities will come from it.

Connect the Dots Presentation Tonight (Sunday, September 26th)

For those of you who have requested to know dates and times for the Connect the Dots presentation, I have another one tonight, Sunday, September 26th in the South Charlotte area. Starts at 7:00 pm. If you are interested email me at hweatherman@hotmail.com and I will happy to send you the details.

Muslim Brotherhood Panel Discussion

For those of you who have attended a Connect the Dots presentation, the following video will resonate well with you. Great linear overview of the nature of the threat posed by the rise of the non-violent Islamist movement in America. Please watch an share with your elected officials at all levels.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2010/September/Stakelbeck-on-Terror---The-Muslim-Brotherhood-in-America/

Speech to Charlotte Christian Moms

Had a wonderful time last night at Providence Country Club with a new group of Charlotte Christian moms (and their husbands). Presented the Connect the Dots presentation and then took questions. We went very long, but I am encouraged by their interest and enthusiasm to do something. Gives me hope.

Shelby Tea Party Presentation Photos

I really enjoyed last night's Connect the Dots presentation to the Shelby Tea Party. Great group. Enthusiastic, curious and motivated group of people. Gives me faith in the future of our country. The Tea Party movement needs to pick up this message and help deliver it to the heart of America. The answer to this problem lies in the hands of the American public, they just need the information and the will to fight back.

Connect The Dots Presentation Schedule

For those of you in the Charlotte area who have expressed an interest in sitting through one of the Connect the Dots: Radicalization 101 Seminars, I have three coming up, one each week for the next three weeks. All are privately hosted events, but are good venues and if you are interested email me and I will get you a seat. For those of you in the Gaston / Cleveland County areas, I will be giving it in Shelby Tuesday of next week. Again, email me if you want details.

Texas Radio Interview Sunday Night

For those of you in my old stomping grounds of Texas, I will on KJCE 1370 Talk Austin this Sunday night during the 7:00 - 8:00 pm time slot (Central Time). I will be on the Laurie Horvath show and will be talking about terrorism related issues. Should be a good time, hope you can listen in.

Presentation Thursday Night

I will be speaking at the next meeting of the Lake Norman Republican Women this Thursday night (September 2nd) at 7:15 pm. The meeting is at the Hilton Gardens (conference room), Exit 33 in Mooresville. Hope you can make it.

Tennessee Speech Photos

Had a great time in Tennessee this weekend, though I got home after midnight last night. Many thanks to the TN Federation of Republican Women for the invite. For those of you in TN, looks like I might be returning in November. I will keep you posted. Republican Women of Lake Norman, I'm headed your way next week (Sept 2nd). Looking forward to it!

Pitt County Republican Party Speech

I enjoyed my time in Pitt County this week. Great reception and feedback. Special thanks to Ginny and Kim and the Greenville Republican Women for coordinating the joint meeting.

Upcoming presentations include: Guilford, Lenoir, Bertie, Buncombe, and Cleveland Counties. More pending. Check back for more info.

Did We Learn Anything From Fort Hood Shootings?

Following is an overview of a situation of which I want each of you to be aware. Taken from the blog, The Jawa Report, it talks about what is going on on the Fort Hood military base one month after the shootings.

I am friends with the individual who broke this story. If the Fort Hood Shootings taught us anything, it is that we must act on the red flags in the ranks, when they surface. Here is another red flag and it is on the same base (Fort Hood) no less. Did we learn anything from the Fort Hood shootings?

The Jawa Report
December 03, 2009
Terror-tied ISNA official teaching troops at Ft Hood about to deploy to Afghanistan, wrote of "preemptive strikes" against Islam's enemies(UPDATED) It gets worse
I was contacted today by an official in the military anti-terrorism community who was extremely upset that a top official for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) was conducting classes at Ft. Hood on Islam to troops about to deploy to Afghanistan. The individual in question, Louay Safi, actively promotes the ideology employed by Ft Hood killer Maj. Nidal Hasan, and has been caught on FBI wiretaps communicating with terrorist leaders operating in the US. Safi has also written a defense of "preemptive strikes" against Islam's enemies, such as that carried out by Maj. Hasan. (Update: It seems that Robert Spencer received the same report about Safi's appearance at Ft Hood today.)
Amazingly, at around 6:00pm this evening, Safi presented a check to the families of those killed less than a month ago in the Ft. Hood massacre.
My source told me: "This is nothing short of blood money. This is criminal and the Ft. Hood base commander should be fired right now."
Who is Louay Safi? He has long been on the radar of federal law enforcement. Back in 2003, Safi was named in a FBI affidavit submitted to the court that approved a search warrant of the now-closed Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences, which trained and approved the initial Muslim military chaplains.
A glimpse of his connections to Islamic terrorists operating inside the US can be seen in a phone conversation recorded by the FBI he had with Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami al-Arian. The Investigative Project describes the call:
In a recorded 1995 telephone call, Al-Arian and Louay Safi discuss President Clinton's new executive order prohibiting financial transactions with terrorist groups including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Safi, an officer with the Islamic Society of North America and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (currently undergoing its own investigation for terrorist financing and ties to the Muslim Brotherhood), wanted to know if this affected Al-Arian.
Al-Arian dismissed the order as empty political posturing:
Al-Arian: By God the Almighty, when he lists names like Abu Nidal and Fathi Shiqaqi and Ahmad Yassin … Does Ahmad Yassin have accounts here? What is this nonsense?
Safi: He just wants to please them.
Al-Arian: Of course.
Safi: Nobody understands these things in America.
Al-Arian: True, people don't understand anything. They don't understand anything.
"Nobody understands these things in America." No truer words spoken.
Safi's extremist ideology was recently mentioned in a report by Rowan Scarborough, "FBI Partners with Jihad Groups":
Safi is a Syrian-born author who advocates Muslim American rights through his directorship of ISNA's Leadership Development Center. He advocates direct talks between Washington and Iran's leaders. He has spoken out against various law enforcement raids on Islamic centers.
In a 2003 publication, "Peace and the Limits of War," Safi wrote, "The war against the apostates [non-believers of Islam] is carried out not to force them to accept Islam, but to enforce the Islamic law and maintain order."
He also wrote, "It is up to the Muslim leadership to assess the situation and weigh the circumstances as well as the capacity of the Muslim community before deciding the appropriate type of jihad. At one stage, Muslims may find that jihad, through persuasion or peaceful resistance, is the best and most effective method to achieve just peace."
Again, this guy is teaching our soldiers on Islam at Ft. Hood as they are set to deploy to Afghanistan. Maj. Hasan was merely following Safi's dictates in consulting with his former imam Anwar al-Aulaqi in assessing the situation and deciding on the appropriate type of jihad. And Hasan could have easily relied on Safi's rulings on Islamic warfare in preparing for his attack. On page 29 of his "Peace and the Limits of War", Safi outlines the Islamic doctrine of a preemptive strike:
The clear-cut case of foreign aggression is a military attack on the Islamic state or its allies. The Muslims, however, are not obliged to wait until the enemies launch their attack, before responding. Rather, the Islamic state can initiate war and carry out a preemptive strike if the Muslim authorities become convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the enemy is mobilizing its forces and is about to carry out an offensive, or if a state of war already exists between the Islamic state and its adversaries."
Can the Islamic justifications behind Maj. Hasan's murderous attack be made more clear? And now Safi goes to the very scene of the crime to check out his ideological handywork at the invitation of military brass. Guys like Louay Safi are the problem, not the solution. Whomever brought him to Ft. Hood should be court martialed and drummed out of the military in shame.
In conclusion, where might have Maj. Hasan arrived at the conclusion that the war on terror was really a war on Islam as he expressed in his now-infamous Power Point presentation? Who knows, but if you want to catch Louay Safi in all his unedited glory, check out his article, "Turning the War on Terror into a War on Islam".
UPDATE: It gets worse. Indianapolis TV station WTHR reported right after the shooting that Safi had just returned from Ft Hood when the massacre happened and issued a condemnation of the killer, who was merely acting on Safi's doctrine of "preemptive strikes":
When shots rang out at Fort Hood last Thursday, Dr. Louay Safi was just wrapping up deployment training on Islam for soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas. Safi is the Director of Communications and Leadership Development at The Islamic Society of North America in Plainfield.
Within hours of the shooting, he was condemning a brother of the Muslim faith, the alleged trigger man Army Major Nidel Malik Hasan.
"This is a betrayal, something that I don't think any religion or any person of honor would really look at other than a betrayal and crime. What he did doesn't represent our faith," Safi told Eyewitness News from the Plainfield Mosque.
Once again, Safi's own book outlines the Islamic doctrine of "preemptive strikes" when any enemy of Islam (aka "America") "is mobilizing its forces and is about to carry out an offensive." Hasan consulted with Anwar al-Aulaqi (aka "Islamic authorities") according to Safi's instruction. Is Louay Safi playing both sides of the fence like his old friend, convicted Al-Qaeda bagman Aburahman Alamoudi, who established the DOD's Islamic chaplaincy program?
WTHR also reported that ISNA started a donation drive to assist the families of the Ft Hood massacre. This is much like Al-Qaeda raising money for the victims of 9/11. Could this possibly get any worse? Dare I ask?