Talk:Keith Ellison, Dennis Prager, and the Oath on the Quran

Where did Prager get information?
- Can anyone provide a link where Ellision has said he would be sworn in on the Koran prior to Prager writing his column? 24.82.91.241 07:01, 6 December 2006 (UTC) SuluG 23:00, 5 December 2006 (PST)

I found a link to a Nov. 19 story by MaClatchy papers that mentions this and is pre-Prager's Nov. 28 column. I placed it in the intro to the article.--Wowaconia 09:01, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Encyclopaedic tone
This article is good and detailed but it wouldn't get in any encyclopaedia. It's more like the sort of reportage one sees in current affairs magazines - not quite detached enough. Also, I'm not sure about the title. Fys. &#147;Ta fys aym&#148;. 09:56, 6 December 2006 (UTC)


 * I think the lead paragraph is a big problem. The first sentence isn't a proper sentence at all, for one thing, and there's an irritating assumption that everyone will know the article is referring to the U.S. I've specified United States Congress (it's not the only Congress in the world!) but I agree with you; this is more like a newspaper article or an essay than an encyclopedia one. The title is pretty terrible, too: is there an "accepted" way of referring to this event? If so, use it. Loganberry (Talk) 12:30, 6 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Congressional oath controversy, 2006? Fys. &#147;Ta fys aym&#148;. 21:31, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Please expand your critique if possible. The wiki-standards linked to the Tone header placed in this article include the following quote at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Guide_to_writing_better_articles#News_style
 * “News style - Some Wikipedians advocate using a news style. News style is the prose style of short, front-page newspaper stories and the news bulletins that air on radio and television. It encompasses not only vocabulary and sentence structure, but the order in which stories present information, their tone and the readers or interests to which they cater. Encyclopedia articles do not have to follow news style, but a familiarity with the conventions may be a great help in planning the style and layout of an article.”

If as you say "this is more like a newspaper article" isn't that what the standards are promoting as good wiki-page writing?--Wowaconia 15:19, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Noted conservatives respond?
It seems fairly POV to devote an entire section to "Noted Conservatives Respond", especially in the absence of a similar section with "Noted Progressives Respond". I'm not suggesting the latter be added, but I think a section with the response from public figures of various political leanings, rather than the current focus on conservatives, would help the article appear more neutral. As it stands, it comes off somewhat like the project of someone who restricts him or herself strictly to right-wing information sources. Which is an individual's prerogative, certainly, but isn't very conducive to NPOV. -- John Callender 21:39, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I haven't found any individuals on the Democratic side that the media has asked about this outside of Ellison and his staff. Most stories are talking about how Prager's comments are being attacked by his fellow conservatives, the only famous personality that I could find giving him support was Savage. Most of the groups siding against Prager are considered liberal and so far I could only find the one Conservative group (the AFA) that sided with him. I changed the title of the segment as per your points above. If you find any notable groups or individuals responding to this please add them or let me know and I'll add them.--Wowaconia 01:22, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

There was a response by Ellison's previous opponent Tammy Lee from the Minnesota Independence party, but I thought she was unknown outside of Minnesota's Fifth District (and probably little known by most within it). If people feel otherwise I could post her quote in support of Ellison using the Quran.--Wowaconia 01:31, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Went ahead and added section on Minnesotans that included Tammy Lee. Al Franken is set to air his show for Air America in the Minneapolis area on Friday Dec. 8, with one of his guests being the author of "Our Skeptical Founding Fathers" one would think this topic would be apropos. If there is any report of them mentioning it I'll put it on. Currently they have nothing on this topic at their website, and Democracy Now has nothing either. I'll pull up that Paula Zahn interview again and see if I overlooked a commentator with a more liberal prospective, I think there's a Hannity and Colmes debate on the same, I'll look for that too.--Wowaconia 03:03, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I added the comments of Daisy Khan and Malik Zulu Shabazz who were both on interviews opposite Prager. They got cut off quite a lot, but I collected what they were able to say..--Wowaconia 03:53, 7 December 2006 (UTC)