House can stand diversity

Philadelphia Inquirer: Rep. Virgil Goode Jr., R-Va., stooped to a new level in bigotry by ranting about the nation's first elected Muslim congressman, who wants to use the Quran for his ceremonial swearing-in next month.
In a letter to colleagues, Goode referred obnoxiously to "the Muslim representative from Minnesota," Democratic Rep.-elect Keith Ellison.
A Minnesota lawyer, Ellison converted to Islam as a college student.
Goode warned of more Muslims being elected to Congress unless lawmakers get tough on immigration.
"I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America," he wrote.
Adding fuel to the fire
Conservative radio talk-show host Dennis Prager, a presidential appointee to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum board, entered the fray, saying Ellison should give up his post if he would not take his oath on a Bible. But after the museum board passed a resolution chastising Prager, he said he had misspoken.
President Bush, who in pushing immigration reform has spoken so eloquently about America as a melting pot of cultures and religions, has been urged to admonish Prager and Goode. He should comment, but has so far declined.
Congress, confronting a global war rooted in religious conflict, certainly has room for its first Muslim representative. What there is no room for is the blatant bias fostered by Congressman Goode.