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November 30, 2006
Thursday depression, with a little Wiggle room
-- Check out Selwyn Duke's article over at the revamped American Thinker, on the insidious progress of the notion that "hate speech" isn't protected by the 1st Amendment. Duke starts by quoting a judge in a 1958 case who "warned that 'if the court does not stop talking about the separation of church and state, people are going to start thinking it is part of the Constitution.'" As he points out, the notion of "hate speech" is following much the same path.
-- Victor Davis Hanson on this war thing we're involved with: "...we are on dangerous ground. History gives evidence of no civilization that survived long as purely secular and without a god, that put its trust in reason alone, and believed human nature was subject to radical improvement given enough capital and learning invested in the endeavor. The failure of our elites to amplify their traditions they received, and to believe them to be not merely different but far better than the alternatives, is also a symptom of crisis in all societies of the past..." (h/t: Gadsden Flag).
-- On a lighter (and brighter) note, the Wiggles (it's a children's show) will carry on, despite the abrupt departure of Yellow Wiggle. (I haven't the slightest idea whether this show even airs in the U.S., but all the doom and gloom, civilizational upheaval, etc., suggested this story was worth mentioning.)
Posted by bill at 09:41 AM | Comments (1)
November 28, 2006
Borat: Homewrecker
UPDATE: Gadsden Flag corrects my Borat-ese. "Borat doesn't say "Nah sa'much" but (phonetically) "Yak se mash," from the Polish "Jak si masz," or "How are you." My Polish friends and relatives say it all the time. I'm not sure why a "Kazakh" would say it.
Posted by bill at 02:38 PM | Comments (0)
iPod versus Zune: It's on
Oh, it's on. Microsoft is set to release Zune, and if for junkies it will be fascinating to see whether (and how) Zune becomes competitive. "What makes the Zune different from the iPod is that it comes pre-loaded with a variety of songs, music videos, short films and images, according to Microsoft's PressPass Web site. It also comes equipped with the wireless capabilities for Zuneto-Zune sharing of music, pictures and home recordings."
It's black versus white. Bill Gates versus Bill Yates. And, maybe most fundamentally, it's PC versus Mac (all over again)("PC, you are a wizard with numbers and you dress like a gentleman."; "Mac, I guess you are a little better at creative stuff, even though it's juvenile and a waste of time").
Posted by bill at 09:40 AM | Comments (0)
November 27, 2006
Merry Chrismas, ACLU
A friendly reminder: Now that it's Christmas Holiday Pagan non-demoninational snowflake season, it's about time to send Christmas cards to the ACLU. Here's their address:
ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Posted by bill at 09:35 AM | Comments (1)
November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving
The Editorial Department, staff, etc. at Citizen Journal will be hosting its first Thanksgiving today. As I am also (as part of my semi-real job) in a run-up to a December 4th trial in a town I've never heard of 40 miles from a city I never wanted to go to, there's been something of a lapse in posting here of late.
In the meantime, here's a great piece in which George Will reminds us why we have the day off, and why this uniquely American holiday matters:
This year, when one of the Transportation Security Administration's 43,000 airport security screeners (perhaps two times more numerous than were Native Americans in 1620 in what is now eastern Massachusetts) confiscated a traveler's too-large tube of toothpaste, the traveler perhaps thought: Life is hard. So it is timely for Hodgson to remind us of the admiration that is due "as a tiny band of men and women, determined to follow what they believe to be the ordinances of their God, entrust themselves to the wild freezing ocean; confront disease, starvation, ferocious enemies and justified fear.''
Thanksgiving, Hodgson notes, is an echo of the breaking of bread at the heart of Christian worship, and of a Jewish Seder. It also is a continuation, in today's abundance, of harvest festivals around the world, which began millennia ago, when abundance was so rare as to seem miraculous. [Godfrey] Hodgson thinks Thanksgiving expresses "the deepest of all American national feelings'' -- gratitude. It is the inclusive gratitude "of a nation of immigrants who have lived for the most part in peace and plenty under the rule of law as established with the consent of the governed.''
From all of us here at CJ -- by which I mean, of course, me -- Happy Thanksgiving. No go watch that godawful parade. For the children.
Posted by bill at 09:25 AM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2006
Textbook liberalism: Chapter 1 - Do as they say
Yet another page is written in the liberal playbook in the "Do as we say, not as we do" chapter. Jackson, Miss., Mayor Frank Melton was convicted of carrying a gun into a church and a park, and pled no contest to carrying one on a university campus. Melton reportedly excused his criminal acts by stating, "I'm not another citizen. I am the mayor of Jackson."
Hypocrite Melton is a member of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" coalition, which works to get guns "off the street." Getting guns "off the street" is a euphemism for passing gun control laws that don't bother to distinguish between legitimate possession and criminal misuse of firearms. That's because Bloomberg and his elitist ilk don't think it is ever legitimate for a mere citizen to use a firearm for protection. So, they blur the distinction and lump all guns in non-government hands as being "on the street," and thus a public menace.
As mayor, Bloomberg enjoys the 24-hour protection of a heavily-armed NYPD detail. When he is returned to private life, being a billionaire will permit him to enjoy private 24-hour armed protection by bodyguards licensed by an NYPD that doles out handgun licenses to the rich, famous, and politically connected, but not to the bodega owner or cabbie who can't afford armored limousines and private security details.
Posted by GadsdenFlag at 09:03 PM | Comments (1)
November 17, 2006
Shilling for the enemy
This may be somewhat old news, but worth noting.
Al Jazeera's English language broadcasts began Wednesday. Thought U.S. outlets have rightfully steered clear, former CBS and ABC journalist David Marash didn't. In fact, he a co-anchor of AJ's nightly news program.
Where to begin? Can't say I am surprised a network-trained journalist sees AJ as a good fit. Now Marash can move from the (sometimes) subtle anti-American innuendo used by his bosses at CBS and ABC to outward, explicit anti-Americanism. In network news, that's called "career growth."
I hope to post more later.
Posted by bill at 08:05 AM | Comments (2)
November 16, 2006
Indonesian voodoo imitates South Park
A voodoo practitioner in Indonesia, Ki Gendeng Pamungkas, reportedly "slit the throat of a goat, a small snake and stabbed a black crow in the chest, stirred their blood with spice and broccoli before drank the "potion" and smeared some on his face," all in protest, it seems, of President Bush's visit to the country.
This sounds a lot like some fraternity parties I went to in college.
Anyway. The goal? In a word: chaos. The idea is, "the jinx would sent spirits to posses Secret Service personnel guarding Bush and left them in a trance, leading them into falsely thinking the President was under attack, thus eventually causing [hearty 'bwah ha ha ha'] chaos."
This may sound familiar to South Park fans. (No word from General Disarray.)
(Via Lucianne, where commenter "meanwesttexan" has the a funny response: "I wonder what his DU screen name is?")
Posted by bill at 03:03 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2006
They support the troops
The school board in San Francisco, the city that gave us Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has killed city schools' participation in Junior ROTC. Don't question their patriotism, though. They're just giving peace a chance: "We need to teach a curriculum of peace" said a former teacher; "We don't want the military ruining our civilian institutions. In a healthy democracy...you contain the military. You must contain the military," says Sandra Schwartz of the American Friends Service Committee, described as "an organization actively opposing JROTC nationwide. JROTC is "basically a branding program, or a recruiting program for the military."
God save us from these wack-nuts.
Posted by bill at 10:02 AM | Comments (4)
November 14, 2006
OJ Simpson: Your Tuesday Barf
Reuters reports he's ready to talk hypotheticals:
Fox said Tuesday it will air a two-part interview with O.J. Simpson at month's end in which he describes the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend that he says he didn't commit...The interview will be conducted by editor and book publisher Judith Regan. On November 30, her Regan Books is publishing a book Simpson wrote with the working title "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened...Fox said Simpson's book "hypothetically describes" how he would have committed the murders."
Not to be un-Christian, but: of all the lightning bolts, stray bullets, runaway pickup trucks, structural failures, wasting disease, natural disasters, jihadists, homicidal midgets, food poisoning, etc. that befall good, decent people in this world every day, it is a damn, damn dirty shame OJ's escaped all of them. Worst of all, I think he's actually convinced himself he's "innocent," whatever he's been convinced that means.
Posted by bill at 09:40 PM | Comments (1)
Fair and balanced: Another tree falls in forest
Senator Feingold's decision not to make an irrelevant White House run was, I thought, among the most inconsequential announcements since, e.g., my own announcements not to: (a) become play quarterback for Penn State; (3) play centerfield for the NY Yankees; and (3) fly to Jupiter on a rubber raft.
Not to be outdone, George Pataki has decided his nothingness will indeed make the putative "run." Like many of us, correspondent Tom L. wonders why. "Furious George endears himself to the GOP base," he says, with this:
'Pataki said if last week's elections in which Republicans lost control of the House and Senate prove anything, it's that 'the idea of winning a political election by dividing people and polarizing is wrong.'"
"How can one be part of the so-called 'national dialog' if no one on either side wants to listen to you," Tom asks.
Good question, Tom. Very. good. question.
Posted by bill at 02:46 PM | Comments (1)
MSM Values priority: RNC minority tokenism trumps Bush cronyism
When does the MSM abandon the "Bush cronyism" line? When they'd rather say Republicans are cynically "wooing" the Hispanic vote. The Miami Herald says the appointment of Mel Martinez "signals an increased effort by the party to woo Hispanic voters, who voted for President Bush in record numbers in 2004 but were significantly less enthusiastic about GOP candidates last week," also quoting a Florida Republican as saying "Martinez is Catholic and Hispanic -- two categories where Republicans saw erosion in the midterm elections."
The Herald story isn't too remarkable in that it "reports" a Republican move like every other MSM story reports things Republicans do: as cynical, poll-conscious strategerie. Bush's amnesty plan? Rovian effort to woo Hispanic votes. Bill Clinton does it, and he's being "compassionate." Black Republican running for Senate? RNC senses "opportunity" to make progress with black vote. Democrats run a wheelchair-bound vet? It's the principle.
Which is all fine and dandy. We expect it. But the Wash Times story indicates Martinez' nomination actually was pushed by Karl Rove. That's a story worth reporting (anyone who's read Michelle Malkin et al. on Julie Myers, or Harriet Miers knows conservatives don't give Bush a free pass on his cronyism, either). Ordinarily, MSM would feast on a Rove-ian plot, and here perhaps it warrants mention. I guess it's just more fun to expose Republicans' political motives.
Posted by bill at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2006
Hey, wait a second. That's not what moderates voted for
A new poll indicates that, among other thing, a lot of people didn't vote last Tuesday. Less than a week after 100 million people did vote and elected a Democratic Congress, 78% of Americans are "somewhat or very concerned that it would seek too hasty a withdrawal of troops from Iraq"; 69% are "concerned that the new Congress would keep the administration "from doing what is necessary to combat terrorism"; and 2/3 are "concerned [the Democratic Congress] would spend too much time investigating the administration and Republican scandals," the Democrats seem prepared to meet voters' low expectations.
Those concerns already seem well-founded, if we're to judge by what Dems have done in the past few days. Nancy Pelosi endorses turncoat John Murtha. And Dems are pushing to begin an Iraq withdaw "within months."
Newt G. emails: "[Pelosi's endorsement of Murtha] Pelosi, despite all her talk of moving to the center and reaching out to conservatives, will govern from the left. It is a direct assault on the moderate wing of the Democratic Party and a deliberate break with the second-ranking Democrat in the House, Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.). The next test for whether Pelosi will govern from the left or the center will be if she appoints Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), the impeached former federal judge, to chair the Intelligence Committee. No national security supporter will be comfortable with Hastings' having oversight of the nation's secrets, but the pressure on Pelosi to appease the Black Caucus is immense. Stay tuned."
Posted by bill at 01:40 PM | Comments (2)
November 12, 2006
Tree falls in forest
Tom L adds: "The only such withdrawal I can think of that would
cause the same level of shock and awe across the nation would be if
George Pataki shuts down his Presidential campaign juggernaut."
Posted by bill at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2006
Veterans Day
Take a moment and read Michelle Malkin's Veterans Day post, and the others she links to. Some great tributes.
Posted by bill at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2006
About Tuesday
Forgive conservatives if we do not find too much comfort in the fact that Democrats won on Tuesday by keeping Nancy Pelosi chained in the basement and taking "moderate" social positions (even at that, not entirely). The fact remains that, especially in the House, the inmates are very much in charge of the left's asylum. And the President may not do enough to stand in the way of Nancy Pelosi's henchmen, if his pre-emptive cave-in on the minimum wage is any indication.
My father, who occasionally writes for this site, seems confident the Dems will implode. For starters, he says, Nancy Pelosi will not be able to reel in John Conyers for much more than 6 months, if that.
I hope this is the case. It's astonishing to me that 100 million people voted, because of Iraq, for a party that still has no plan for Iraq. And that all those moderate Dems may have ushered in two years of hard-left wingnuttery by Congressional leadership. Let's be clear: Social Security reform, if it wasn't dead, is now dead; Amnesty for illegals is on the horizon; Stem-cell research will soon be taxpayer funded; your taxes will be increased; and the US will be issuing apologies and sending flowers to the U.N. once John Bolton is officially rejected - and U.N. reform is effectively dead; and new judicial appointments won't resemble John Roberts.
Posted by bill at 08:45 AM | Comments (1)
November 08, 2006
Worstly timed most bestest vacation
Apologies for not posting the Gone Fishin' sign while the wife and I took a trip to the sanitorim a mini-vacation for the last few days, in sunny Key Largo Florida. It a was lovely few days, minus Tuesday night watching election returns in the hotel bar. Terrible timing for a politics website to take a vacation, I realize. Next time I'll at least leave the porch light on.
Now that Dems are in control of the legislative agenda conservatives will be assuming something of an opposition posture, which should be entertaining in its own right. And I'm hoping to add some co-bloggers soon, mainly to prevent the kind of radio silence seen here since Friday.
Anyway. "We ask that you please bear with us."
Posted by bill at 10:25 PM | Comments (1)
November 03, 2006
Reuters reports mentions good economic news in story congratulating itself for helping make sure voters didn't know about good economic news
Reuters congratulates itself Dems on Reuters' Dems' successful strategy to make Iraq the only issue that has mattered this fall. "The war has dominated the news," says the WH budget director, seemingly with exasperation, "so when the economy gets better, as it has in the last six months and you have good numbers to show, we can't get that through."
Wonder why that might be the case.
Anyway, the story goes on to point out things Reuters never reports, like: "Nearly 4 million jobs have been created in the past two years, the unemployment rate is at a 5-year-low, the Dow Jones industrial average is near a record high and wages are finally growing faster than inflation." And stuff like that.
Posted by bill at 01:40 PM | Comments (3)
November 02, 2006
More on the most elucidating "distraction" ever
The developing Kerry foot-in-mouth saga continues with the revelation that the Massachusetts Frankenstein's comments about the stupid serving in Iraq mirror his comments from 1972 about a volunteer army that would be "dominated by the underprivileged, be less accountable and be more prone to 'the perpetuation of war crimes.'"
For weeks Big Media was warning that redoubtable White House political guru Karl Rove was planning an October surprise that could turn elections to the GOP. It seems Rove is so incredibly clever that he could reach invisibly across the aisle and get Kerry to do his dirty work for him. If not, maybe the husband of the Pickle Queen should be "stuck in Iraq" with those of like intelligence.
Posted by GadsdenFlag at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2006
"Obsession": Must-see DIY Video
Gasden Flag emails a Fox News story about a "frightening" new documentary called "Obsession." The story describes the film: "the free world is still unprepared to face the unwavering commitment of those who have pledged their lives to our destruction. The film states that we suffer not so much from complacency, but from the naive disbelief that we remain targets of thousands, perhaps millions of radical Muslims around the world....The film contradicts those who say that Muslim extremism is prompted by our actions in the Middle East, pointing out that anti-Western propaganda, school curricula and other indoctrination of Islamic youth has been going on for quite some time. Like Nazi Germany, with whom radical Islamists had a deep affinity before and during World War II, the first step of indoctrination is to dehumanize Jews and Christians by comparing them with pigs and dogs. What we too easily dismiss as infantile stereotypes, particularly regarding the Jews and their supposed domination of America, can sink in if repeated often enough...."
Read the whole thing; video segments available via Fox: Part I is here; Part II here. Haven't had a chance to watch as yet but certainly seems worth a look.
Posted by bill at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
The most elucidating "distraction" ever
John Kerry, nominee for the Unintentional October Surprise of 2006 and for Biggest Douche in the Universe, told Don Imus this morning that he's heading back to Washington, apparently because Democrats don't want to be seen with him in public. "I'm coming back to Washington today so that I'm not a distraction, because I don't want to be a distraction to these campaigns." He's cancelled at least two appearances today, but fortunately his large-toothed mug with be on CNN.
"Distraction" is a clever spin, aye? Kerry's comments -- unguarded as they were -- are a problem for Democrats people they crystalize some of the darker suspicions swing voters hold about Democrats: that they are elitist dickheads who don't care a whit about US military heroes except as needed to win votes. Kerry is a distraction from Dems' lies, I suppose. Depends on one's perspective.
Posted by bill at 09:04 AM | Comments (0)
