Alabama Democrats aren't shedding any tears over state Rep. Richard Laird's decision to leave the party this week.

Laird, of Roanoke in east Alabama, announced Monday that he was becoming an independent. On Friday, Democratic leaders rebuked Laird for sending an offensive email to legislators and constituents prior to his party switch.

On Jan. 23, Laird sent an email to a group of recipients that included House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, state Rep. Duwayne Bridges, R-Valley, and state Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison. Also copied on the email was Mellie Parrish of Lineville, a member of the Randolph County Democratic Party Executive Committee.

The message contained a picture of President Obama kissing Democratic U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi on the cheek, with a caption that read "the only time you'll see a Muslim kiss a pig."

Al.com, 9 February 2013

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Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny is breaking ranks with his Russian-speaking base by tossing his weight behind the controversial Sheepshead Bay mosque – a move that community leaders say could wreck his re-election bid because the shrine isn't even in his district.

Brook-Krasny – a Democrat whose area covers Coney Island and Brighton Beach, as well as parts of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, but none of the bay – gave his backing to the rising, four-story structure on Voorhies Avenue between E. 28th and E. 29th streets while speaking at an Arab-American Association of New York candidate forum in Bay Ridge on Oct. 11.

The lawmaker, himself an ex-Soviet Jewish emigre, said he supported the mosque's construction for personal reasons. "As people who came here for religious freedom, how can we deny religious freedom to another group?" Brook-Krasny told the largely Middle Eastern audience at PS 170 on Sixth Avenue between 71st and 72nd streets. "If we start taking freedoms from certain groups, we are no longer the country of the American Dream."

The stance puts him at odds with ex-Soviet Jews, many of whom belong to the Bay Group, which has long-battled the moque's construction in court, warned one Russian media mogul who added that Russian-speaking immigrants can be one-issue voters. "I wouldn't tell any politician who wants Russian votes to take a position that's pro-mosque," said Gregory Davidzon, owner of Davidzon Radio. "People will vote against anyone who openly supports the mosque."

Brook-Krasny said he's already feeling the heat from his constituents. "I have been grilled for my position," said the assemblyman, who added he won't be backing down. "I have three mosques in my district, and they are fine people, hard-working people – it's not fair and it's not right."

Brooklyn Daily, 18 October 2012

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"Ban Islam in Sweden and deport those who persist in believing in the religion", said Pär Norling, group leader of the Sweden Democrats (SD) in Bollnäs, in an interview with national broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT).

The neo-nazi Swedish Resistance Movement (Svenska Motståndsrörelsen) marched in the central Swedish town of Bollnäs earlier this summer, after a controversial rape case had rocked the community. On Saturday they marched again and anti-racist protests were held nearby.

Swedish Democratic Norling said he disapproves of Nazism, but by and large considers it a by-product of immigration. He also agrees with the neo-nazi movement that Islam has no place in Sweden. "That can exist elsewhere but in Sweden it doesn't fit in," he said to Sweden's national television SVT. When asked what ought to be done with those who still want to believe in the religion, despite it being banned, Norling responded: "Then the solution is deportation."

This is the second time in just days that Swedish Democratic politicians have landed themselves in hot water. 

On Friday, the Swedish Democrat Sven-Erik Karlsson commented on the harassment Somalian families have been suffering from teens in the town Forserum, in southern Sweden, saying that all Swedish municipalities ought to have gangs to harass refugees. After the furore that followed, Karlsson resigned his position on Saturday.

The Local, 26 August 2012

See also Inte rasist, men..., 25 August 2012

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