I blogged this in the open thread but seems Norquist has even more ususual connections:
The missing link to "Jeff Gannon"'s entry into the White House might just have been discovered here. The original thread might be scrubbed soon by Jim Robinson's "super miracle-cleaning Perl-script," so BOOKMARK THIS SITE: LibertyThink.com.]
To: Sabertooth
In the interests of full disclosure, can you briefly describe the Free Republic Network's connections to Grover Norquist?
Allow me to answer that. Grover Norquist is one of several people who informally advises FRN on a number of issues. By 'informally' I mean that none of these people has any authority over anything we do; they just give us ideas or advice when we ask for it.
As you may know, Norquist's office is host every Wednesday to a meeting that is attended by representives from practically every conservative organization on the planet. The White House, Senator Frist's office, and Speaker Hastert's office also send representatives, and they tell us about the legislative agenda or other policy topics. Conservative candidates from around the country come there to introduce themselves. Virtually any group that has something going on can get a minute or two on the agenda, and I have done so numerous times to promote things the FRN was doing, such as the "Rally for America" events we did back in March. This is also how I was able to arrange for Angelwood to attend a speech given by President Bush. It is how we met Jeff Gannon of Talon News, who now hosts a program on Radio FR. In short, Grover Norquist has been of enormous help to us in connecting us with other people and organizations that share our goals.
He can do that because he is widely respected in the conservative community in Washington. I wish that I could take a webcam into the Wednesday meeting with me so that I could flash it around and show our fellow Freepers just how seriously people in Washington are taking Mr. Gaffney's crusade. You are making this out to be some kind of big deal, when in fact it's just one Nut On A Mission who has managed to convince a few people that he has something. What he has is a list of scary-sounding Arab names and a gift for placing them in the same sentence with the words "Grover Norquist" and shouting Booga Booga!
If I ever see any guys in sheets with AK-47's in his office, I'll let you know. So far all I've seen in there is a veritable Who's Who of conservative politics.
283 posted on 12/11/2003 9:24:48 AM PST by Nick Danger (With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine.)
So, Norquist (whose sexual orientation is listed as 'questionable')and Gannon were connected in some way and Norquist also had connections with none other than Free Republic.
I then found out that Norquist has recently been married after many years of being single AND his new bride is Samah Alrayye of the Islamic Institute and a Palestianian muslim. Now that is interesting but it gets even more interesting.
Check this out: Islamic Institute
Islamic Institute
ORGANIZATION</font>
Founded by Republican activist Grover Norquist.
Official Website:
I did a search on Norquist and his wedding and found this:
No official officiation
"Some eyebrows were raised last weekend when The Washington Post reported that Rabbi Daniel Lapin had presided over the wedding of conservative activist Grover Norquist and Samah Alrayyes -- since neither of the newlyweds is Jewish.
But a spokesperson for Toward Tradition, the conservative political group Lapin leads, said the Orthodox rabbi merely introduced the couple at a celebration of the nuptials. Norquist and his bride were officially married by a justice of peace prior to the party."
And it gets even more odd:
Friends In High Places
"Sami Al-Arian isn't the only prominent Muslim leader who posed for
chummy pictures with President Bush. Many conservative Republicans are
uneasy at the way GOP power broker Grover Norquist curries support from
the Muslim community."
"The rumpled, balding figure was spotted darting into the offices of Republican power broker Grover Norquist last July... Sami
Al-Arian emerged more than two hours later... Al-Arian was visiting the Islamic Institute, a Muslim outreach group cofounded by Norquist and housed within his office suite."
<font face="Arial,Helvetica" size="-1">"In June 2001, Al-Arian was among members of the American Muslim Council invited to the White House complex for abriefing by Bush political adviser Karl Rove. The next month, the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom - a civil liberties group headed by Al-Arian - gave Norquist an award for
his work to abolish the use of secret intelligence evidence in
terrorism cases, a position Bush had adopted in the 2000 campaign."</font>
<font face="Arial,Helvetica" size="-1">Link
And just who is Sami al-Arian?