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| A Debate About Who Loves Life More |
| 12.18.03 (11:09 am) [edit] |
It is a silly debate, I admit, but I find I have been sucked into it. It is occurring in the comments section of one of my blogs, and you may not see it there, so I'm copying it here.
_________________________ ____________________
Question's reply to my blog:
I posted pictures of the handiwork of your Israeli warriors that you are so proud of. Done by the bulldozers that you are so proud that the U.S. bought for Israel. Look at your handiwork - ARE YOU PROUD OF THIS?: http://www.tblog.com/template...
Leftwatcher's reply:
And American bulldozers are to blame for this? What, do they have faulty brakes or something?
Hundreds of Israelis were killed this year and last as a result of terrorist acts. And I'm supposed to get teary-eyed about an American Useful Idiot who intentionally dares someone driving a bulldozer to run her over?
These people have to deal with suicide bombers - terrorists that your naive dozer-blocker is defending.
You know, there's a saying: "Live by the sword, die by the sword." What that means is if you stand in the way of a bulldozer, be prepared to be bulldozed.
Question's reply:
The point about the bulldozers is that the U.S. gave Israel the money to buy them. So that contractors can make money. We paid for the bulldozer that crushed the life out of a protestor. It is murder to take a human life. Period. There is no equity here, protest, you get the life crushed out of you. I see that you have no reverence for life. Bush is the perfect president for you. Do you know that it is perverted to revel in the death of another human being? By supporting those actions, blood is on your hands as well. If you are an atheist, perhaps this doesnt worry you. If you purport to believe in God, remember - you will answer to him for your lack of caring or reverence for one of his creations - Rachel Corrie. So if you are on the RIGHT, then you are not espousing respect for Human Life. Nothing right about that.
Leftwatcher's reply:
OK, let me try to explain this to you. Since this latest spat of Palestinian terrorism began, 600 Israelis, mostly civilians, have been killed. This includes women and children targeted specifically by Palestinian terrorists.
In the same period of time, one American "protester", materially trying to aid the Palestinians, was run over, which may have been intentional and may have been an accident. You don't know and I don't know.
Israelis dead: 600
American Protesters dead: 1
Since you don't seem to see the significance here, let me explain it another way.
American Protesters dead:
X
Israelis dead:
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So I ask you; who here doesn't care about life? Is your concern over 1 life lost in what could easily have been an accident SO MUCH MORE PIOUS than my concern for 600 Israelis murdered, intentionally, without a doubt?
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| On the First Day, God Bought Maya |
| 12.18.03 (12:04 am) [edit] |
[image]leftwatcher_434243 325.jpg[/image]
I made an apple. From scratch. Forgive me if I feel a little glorious and superhuman. I mean... have you ever made an apple?
Here's my apple. I made it in Maya 5, which is a fabulous 3D program. A little more work on the top of the stem and this will be indestinguishable from a normal picture.
For those of you who are interested, the apple is a NURBS sphere distorted with the "sculpt paint" tool, then painted with Artisan paint effects. The lighting is all HDRI - there are no real lights in the scene. I can talk more about it if anyone isn't so bored that they've closed their browser already.
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| Terrorism in Iraq isn't - always |
| 12.17.03 (2:52 pm) [edit] |
I'd like to point something out. Our troops are under attack fairly regularly in Iraq these days, and some in the media refer to these as "terrorist" attacks. But that isn't true.
What's going on in Iraq can be described by several vernaculars. It is a "Low-Intensity Conflict", or "Irregular Warfare" or "Geurilla Warfare". It is, however, mostly not terrorism.
The attacks in Iraq, which I obviously have no support for and wish would end, are a form of warfare because they are targeting Coalition soldiers. The method of the attack is very low-tech and sneaky, but these things do not a terrorist attack make.
Terrorism is directed at civilians and civilian targets. Now, when a police station in Iraq is blown up, this can, I think, be called terrorism. But roadside bombs, RPG rocket attacks and ambushes by irregulars in Iraq does not fit the description "terrorist".
I note this because we need to clearly recognize what terrorism is, and we can do this partly by recognizing what it isn't.
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| Is Leftism Un-American? |
| 12.17.03 (2:27 pm) [edit] |
Occassionally, leftists like to bait their opponents by saying "I am as American as you are! I am patriotic too! I believe in America!" Their opponents, meanwhile, frequently suggest (or state) that they don't love America and don't believe in it's core values.
I've been meaning to write a blog about this for some time, but I've been putting it off because I want to do it right. So maybe I'll start off, taking a que from Red Tigress, and ask you: Is leftism un-American? Can you be a leftist and still a patriotic, loyal American? Feel free to comment.
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| A Menorah is a secular symbol? |
| 12.17.03 (1:53 pm) [edit] |
=http://www.local6.com/news/27...Discrimination
I find it funny that leftists just cannot understand that this is discrimination. The ideology that spends all day looking for any tiny slight or misrepresentation can't see that this situation is discriminatory. It boggles my mind - to the point that I often wonder if their ignorance is willful. It's not that they don't think it's discrimination. It's that they know it is, and don't care.
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| The Idiocy Bar Has Been Raised |
| 12.16.03 (5:47 pm) [edit] |
=http://www.dirtybombdetector....The Dirty Bomb Detector
For a mere $139, you TOO can own the ONLY device that detects dirty bombs!
That's right! If a dirty bomb has been detonated, you can know about it before you wade into the radioactive muck! This can potentially save you thousands of dollars in medical bills and dry-cleaning charges!
Editorial note: While I highly recommend this fascinating device, I also have to suggest two other methods for detecting dirty bombs.
1. Listen for an extremely loud "bang" or "boom" (both known by the common acronym "ELB"). This is frequently indicative of an explosion, as is typical of a bomb. While not every explosion is a "dirty bomb", you're probably best off to just stay away. Remember, Extremely Loud Bangs are a red flag! Stay away!
2. In the event of an ELB event, there will be other tell-tale signs. The astute observer will note them. They include fire trucks, police, debris, destroyed buildings, dead people and news reporters. Also, if you turn on a television, radio, computer or even glance around, you will likely notice news stories in all the major outlets, revealing the existence of the dirty bomb.
There. I just saved you $139. You owe me.
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| Iraqi Foreign Minister Flames UN |
| 12.16.03 (2:46 pm) [edit] |
=http://story.news.yahoo.com/n...Iraqi minister tells UN to stop sniping, start helping
The Iraqi foreign minister says "The UN as an organisation failed to help rescue the Iraqi people from a murderous tyranny of 35 years. The UN must not fail the Iraqi people again."
Kofi, ever the peacemaker, especially when the unpeace is directed at him, said this was "no time to pin blame and point fingers" over the past. "I think the UN has done as much as it can for Iraq."
Actually, I agree with him on that last part. I think the UN has done all it can. I just don't think it can do very much.
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| All About Israel |
| 12.12.03 (5:36 pm) [edit] |
[image]leftwatcher_930009 065.jpg[/image]
I chose to write today about Israel because it is a fascinating place, with an interesting history.
My main interest in Israel has always been its military. We are accustomed to thinking of the American military (mine, that is) as the best in the world. And it may be - or maybe not. The Israeli military has a very impressive history of defense of Israel. They've won wars that any credible military historian would tell you were lost causes. This gets them a lot of respect in my book.
Let's start with the Merkava, Israel's Main Battle Tank (MBT). Being an MBT puts the Merkava in the category typified by the American [url=http://www.army-technology.co...]M1A1 Abrahms[/url] , but including also tanks like the Russian [url=http://www.maxwolf.ru/armor/i...]T-72/T-82/T-90[/url] line, British [url=http://www.d-2-128.org/armori...]Challenger II[/url] and German [url=http://www.d-2-128.org/armori...]Leopard 2[/url] .
Side Note: I find it interesting that the Germans still name their tanks after cats. In World War II, many allied soldiers feared the mighty German Tigers and Panthers. One would think they would try to distance themselves from that history. But I digress.
The Merkava is, as far as I know, the only MBT manufactured outside of these old-school tank-producing nations of Europe. The Chinese make an MBT (Based on the Russian tanks), and I think the Japanese too. Other than that, the only country manufacturing tanks is Israel.
The Merkava differs from most MBTs in a few respects. Firstly, Israel's unique position in the world dictates a few things, among them that crew surviveability is paramount. For this reason, the Merkava's engine is in the front. This is practically unheard of. All other modern tanks have rear engines.
They designed it like this so that if a shell penetrated the frontal armor, it would have to go through the engine as well in order to reach the crew. Very clever. One wonders why others don't do this.
Secondly, the Merkava is the only modern MBT that I know of that can carry infantry troops inside (besides the crew).
Modern Merkavas sport a 120mm smoothbore main gun, following the excellent German design (which was itself adopted in the American M1A1 to replace the 105mm rifled gun).
The Israelis designed their own tank for a couple of reasons, I think. One is that they have had trouble with military hardware suppliers. France and the US are finicky, and sometimes cancel shipments based on political events. With the Merkava, they don't have to worry about it.
Also, one must note that Israel, at last measurement, was only about as big as an American back yard. Well, maybe not that small. But the cold reality of warfare in Israel is that they have nowhere to go. They don't have land they can give up in retreat. The only place they have to retreat to is into an Arab country or into the sea.
I'll follow up later with some Israeli military history.
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| Gimli is my Hero! |
| 12.12.03 (12:31 pm) [edit] |
=http://www.worldmag.com/world...Read This!
John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli Son of Gloin (masterfully, as usual) in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is quoted in this story as saying:
--- "I think that Tolkien says that some generations will be challenged and if they do not rise to meet that challenge they will lose their civilization. That does have a real resonance with me.... What is unconscionable is that too many of your fellow journalists do not understand how precarious Western civilization is.... The abolition of slavery comes from Western democracy. True Democracy comes from our Greco-Judeo-Christian-Wes tern experience. If we lose these things, then this is a catastrophe for the world.
"And if it just means replacement of one genetic stock with another genetic stock, I don't think that matters too much. But if it involves the replacement of Western civilization with different cultural values then it's something we really ought to discuss because ... I am for dead white male culture! If Tolkien's got a message, it's that sometimes you've got to stand up and fight for what you believe in." ---
I couldn't have said it better myself. Cheers and kudos to you, Mr. Rhys-Davies for saying something that unfortunately might even be controversial today, but is evident and true. You're my hero.
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| Response to therealspartacus007 |
| 12.10.03 (12:02 pm) [edit] |
I had to put this on the main blog and expound. You might not see it in the comments section. Perish the thought.
Reply to: therealspartacus007
---FOX News is gaining viewers so fast because they cater to the people who hate hearing anything but a Republican spin. ---
I would be tempted to believe you, except that if your theory is correct, then a huge portion of the news consumer market consists of "people who hate hearing anything but a Republican spin".
I'm sure it looks like that to a leftist steeped in a tradition of American left-biased reporting, going back decades. If you believe the reality that you have developed based on years of lies, the truth then looks like a lie.
---Hey, I think all news reporting is inherently bias, but stop for a second and think about it- News is the things that will most likely affect the lives of the viewers. ---
That doesn't address the ongoing, systemic liberal bias at the old networks, which is well documented and demonstrable, for those with enough interest to look. Or even glance. Hell, a sideways peek would do it.
---These schools and jobs the GIs are creating are temporary, and will be gone as soon as Iraq elects another fundamentalist dictator. ---
Saddam wasn't elected, and wasn't fundamentalist either. Aside from the fact that your theory is unsubstantiated and, frankly, wishful conjecture.
---Whether or not Sally gets to go to school is of less importance to world events than whether or not Bob gets beat to death by Marines in the middle of the street. ---
Ah, yes, how provocative. Bob probably had it coming though.
How soon we forget Saddam Hussein... well, how soon YOU forget... willfully, I suspect.
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| Bush Hangs Taiwan Out to Dry |
| 12.10.03 (11:37 am) [edit] |
=http://news.myway.com/top/art...|top|12-10-2003::05:12|re uters.htmlArticle
Taiwan, ever our ally, now says "screw you" to China, ever (or almost ever) our opponent.
Suprisingly, yesterday Bush announced support for China's "One China" policy, which essentially says that Taiwan is a rogue province and both China and Taiwan are one country. Which is, if I may be so blunt, bullshit.
Taiwan is going to go ahead with their referendum in the face of threats from mainland (Communist - sort of) China. This is a pretty gutsy move. Commie China has threatened to invade Taiwan if it openly declares its independence, and has even threatened military action if this referendum continues. Up until now, there at least has been some doubt as to whether the US opposed independence for Taiwan. Now, Bush has removed all opposition to the hostile and aggressive Mainland policy, essentially rubber-stamping Communist China's threats against Democratic Taiwan. This is an outrage and an insult.
Sorry Bush, no more support from me. You blew it. I only hope this colossal mistake does not result in an attack on Taiwan from the newly encouraged Mainland.
I honestly don't know what Bush is thinking, but I am highly pissed off at him now.
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| Why You Believe What You Do |
| 12.09.03 (3:42 pm) [edit] |
As a follow up to my posting about a biased media, here's a story about what's happening in Iraq.
=http://www.tblog.com/redir.ph...://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=IRAQ-REALITY-12-05 -03&cat=IINews From Iraq
The media doesn't have to lie to you outright. It's great advantage is that it gets to choose what is news and what isn't. So if it decides to only report on combat in Iraq, and chooses not to tell the rest of the story, what is the general perception of the population going to be?
The internet, I'm convinced, destroyed the ability of the major leftist media organs to dominate the news, and thus dominate your perception of reality. Now, if you are steadfast, you can find out the truth. And people are. Note that the big 4 TV news organs (CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS) are foundering, losing viewers at a fair clip, while FOX News, arguably the fairest news organization in America, is growing by leaps and bounds.
I don't know if this is the reason why, but I hope so.
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| Islam's Big Problem (take 2) |
| 11.26.03 (4:43 pm) [edit] |
Precious...
Much thought has gone into the question "Why did the Extremist Islamics attack America on September 11?"
The answer that makes the most sense to me is that they thought they could get away with it without suffering any serious consequences. They interpreted previous lackluster responses to terrorism (including cruise missile strikes on training camps and inaction on the Cole bombing) as weakness. Ergo, they could do whatever they wanted, and America, unable to find a government to attack in response, would be non-plussed. Our weakness of will would prevent us from doing anything serious to any part of Islam.
I hope they have been disabused of this notion by now.
I recount this bit of speculation because I would like to warn those members of Islam who choose to ignore the bad behavior of their radical wing. This is a warning to those who decide to sit by silently instead of facing the evil that festers in their midst.
It wasn't weakness that prevented us from venting our full fury on Islam. It was a lack of desperation.
We didn't go full-tilt against the Islamic world because we didn't have to. The situation, although alarming, was not enough to send us into panic mode, because despite the enormous destruction visited upon the Trade Center and the Pentagon, we were not seriously threatened.
The most radical of the Islamic terror organizations would like nothing more than to cause serious damage to America, and by serious I mean of the nuclear or biological variety. But I have to say that I think it is in the best interest of Islam if those terrorists don't ever manage to do that.
America is not weak, and woe be to the terrorist that assumes that it is. In fact, America is ridiculously strong. The reason you don't see this strength put against our enemies is because we have not been driven to desperation. We are pretty good folks here in America, but desperation, the kind that results from a nation losing citizens in batches of 100,000, can make even normally nice people do terrible things. A few [url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/NC/mirv/mir v1_1.html]MIRV[/url] s and what we did in Iraq starts looking like children playing in a sandbox.
For those of you who think that America is too soft to respond forcefully, let me remind you that America is the only nation that has ever used nuclear weapons against anothers' cities - Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We look back on these events now, and we feel guilty about it, but this is because we don't understand the kind of fear and rage that our nation felt at that time. People were not wringing their hands about it in 1945. It took decades before we calmed down enough for that kind of introspection.
Likewise, we firebombed several cities in Japan and Germany. Dresden was essentially erased as a city overnight. Up to 100,000 people were killed when several waves of US and British bombers, over 1,200 in all, bombed the city with incendiaries over the course of two days. Again, we look back on it now and wonder how Americans and the British could have been so callous and cruel. I can tell you how: Hatred.
Hatred exists on a lot of levels, and it's not hard to dredge it up if you want to. One good way to engender a great deal of it is to kill a few hundred thousand Americans in an attack with WMD's. America is pretty calm right now, but the loss of 3000 people and two big buildings led us to invade two different nations in search of justice. Our hatred has barely been stirred so far.
In Israel, the Palestinians have made it a fairly regular affair to blow up Israelis, including targeting schools full of children. This is hatred. In Africa, the Hutus and the Tutsis committed massive genocide, with somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million people killed due simply to their ethnicity. This is also hatred.
Now imagine what America could do if it decided it hated someone as badly as the Hutus hate the Tutsis.
This is not a threat. It's a warning to those who think things are never going to be that bad. People are not used to thinking in terms of the erasure of Islam, but I believe we would have little choice if it came down to American cities disappearing in atomic fireballs. What would we do with such rage and hatred as would result?
And how would the world see America if that happened? A lot of people spend a lot of time worrying about how we look to the rest of the world. Well, I can tell you, this is just a guess, but I think the rest of the world would be terrified. And maybe we need a little more of that anyway.
Hatred is a fantastic defocuser. Before 9/11, and even now, two years later, we are a very focused society. We spend a lot of time worrying about things like the draining of Mono Lake, the size of the Ross Ice Shelf, and how much senior citizens are paying for bottles of pills. This is the result of a society that has nothing better to worry about. We begin focusing on things to a very minute level of detail.
Even when we talk about terrorism, we are reminded to be very careful of the people we despise. We don't hate Islam. We hate the Radical Terror Structure of the Wahabi Sect of Islam. But hatred takes away that focus. It defocuses the mind. Then, we start hating things like "Arabs" and "Muslims". It's a very frightening and dangerous affair.
I remember shortly after 9/11, someone on some TV or radio show posited the question "What are we going to do, go to war with the whole of Islam?" The fact that the question was even breached after a comparatively minor episode should act as a stern warning. If it came down to that, and we had to destroy Islam in order to survive as a civilization, would we do it? Can people be driven to that level of destruction by fear and hatred? They certainly can.
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| Islam's Big Problem |
| 11.26.03 (3:59 pm) [edit] |
Or...
"How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
On screen...
Oh, wait, that's Steven Den Beste's thing. Hmm... ok, wait.
Phasers on stun...
No.
Precious...
Yeah, that's it!
OK, starting over again. Ahem.
Precious...
Wait, let me start a new thread.
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| Nuclear Earth, Chapter 2: Islam |
| 11.26.03 (3:04 pm) [edit] |
A while ago I said:
"But pray, my friend, pray that the Islamic nations never manage to nuke America, because remember: America can turn the entire Arab world into a glass-top parking lot at will, and if we were nuked, we probably would."
I recently came across an interesting blog (via U.S.S. Clueless) that goes into a lot more detail about this possibility than I did. [url=http://belmontclub.blogspot.c...]View it here[/url] . It's a fascinating read - even given the exponential math involved, which I have no talent for.
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| An Open Letter to Spam Companies |
| 11.26.03 (1:43 pm) [edit] |
Please take note of the following:
1) I do not need Phentermine, Viagra, Claritin or Vicodin sent to me.
2) I do not need any drugs, devices or techniques that result in a larger penis.
3) I don't want to buy "the hottest toy of the season!".
4) I have no interest in a "healthy discovery", a "Success on Ebay", "Bruce Almighty FREE!" or refinancing my house.
5) I'm not going to buy any of the "NEW Domain names" that are "Available NOW!"
6) I would like, but do not believe that you will deliver, "Photos of hot singles in your area!".
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| The Death of Free Speech, Part 2 |
| 11.24.03 (12:29 pm) [edit] |
=http://www.foxnews.com/story/...,2933,103889,00.htmlFox News: Tongue-Tied
This is a great regular feature on Fox News, detailing the various assaults on free speech by the left in America.
A few highlights:
---Harvard Right to Life was accused of "causing emotional harm" with a poster entitled "Women Deserve Better." The poster featured a young rape victim expressing regret for having chosen abortion.---
See? That's another ones of those catch-phrases you can use if you ever want to stifle free speech and free thought. Just say it causes "emotional harm". Then you can silence whoever you want. Doesn't all free speech cause "emotional harm" to those who don't want to hear it?
I am reminded of a quote, who said it I don't know: "The First Amendment was designed to protect offensive speech because no one ever tries to ban the other kind".
---UT student Sukhmani Singh Khalsa complained in an editorial that the students’ Issues Committee, which brings speakers to campus, was devoid of ideological diversity. "I don't think that a lot of parents would be happy if they knew they were paying this group $90,000 to have their country slandered and their values dragged through the mud," he wrote.
Following the appearance of the article, Justin Rubenstein, a member of the Issues Committee, told fellow members of the panel in an e-mail that if they "see one of those ragheads, shoot him right in the [expletive] face." ---
See, that's tolerance folks. It has been obvious to me for years that tolerance only applies to leftists, and only to leftist ideology. No conservative thought should be tolerated.
I ask you again: Is there anything left of free speech in America?
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| Big Money Rushes to Support Democrats |
| 11.11.03 (3:59 pm) [edit] |
[url=http://story.news.yahoo.com/n...]http://story.news.yahoo.com/n...[/url]
Once again, the monied interests, the fat cats, the idle rich, the capitalist money suckers are rushing to pour money into the coffers of Democratic candidates, in an effort to buy the election.
I'm just trying to sound like a Democrat here actually, complaining about money from rich donors corrupting the politicial process. They've been accusing Republicans of this sort of thing for years, when in fact, the idea that rich people support Republicans overwhelmingly is total crap, and has been for as long as I've been paying attention.
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| Buying books |
| 10.22.03 (12:27 pm) [edit] |
There is an ad in a magazine I get for Ollie North's new fiction book "The Jericho Sanction". Two observations:
1. The title sounds like a name I would make up to make fun of a crappy book. "New from Hard Edge Press: The Jericho Sanction!"
2. I have a new rule: Never buy a book that is advertised with a picture of the author.
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| The Politically Correct Story of Jesus |
| 10.14.03 (5:01 pm) [edit] |
Well, I'm pretty disappointed today.
According to NewsMax, Mel Gibson has given in to demands that he edit his film to be less "anti-Jewish." As far as I can tell, the story originally followed the biblical account of Jesus' crucifixion very accurately. Now, we are faced with a product polished by the eternally-victimized left. They've shaved off any rough edges to make sure nobody gets any wrong ideas. The truth, for example.
I was looking forward to seeing this. Now I don't think I will. I wanted to see what happened when one person had the courage to stand up to the incessant bleating of the left. Until I read this recent NewsMax article, I was really optimistic that this might be one time in my lifetime that someone would create a work of art that was not sullied by fear of offending sensibilities, or tarnished by the pressure of the special interests. I wanted to see a pure work, one man's vision and interpretation, undiluted by the pathetic scratchings of lesser men.
I wonder when they'll get around to touching up the bible itself. It is so controversial, you know? And Jews are put in a bad light in some places. They would probably like to take the story of the money changers at the temple right out. Then the bible will be safe for us to read. And while they're at it, perhaps it would be best if Mary wasn't a virgin. And if Jesus was married, with kids. No, wait, maybe it would be more palateable if Jesus were in a "domestic partnership".
Do you find these suggestions offensive? You should. But no less offensive than the idea that we should edit the story of Jesus' crucifixion so that modern race baiters and revisionists can exact their toll on the truth once again.
Mel, I liked you before, and I still like you now. But I'm disappointed that you gave in on this. If no one ever stands up to the race mongers and the Special Interest Hystericals, it will never end. Someone has to stand up to them. I was hoping it would be you, but alas, apparently it isn't.
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| The treachery of a liberal media |
| 09.28.03 (8:19 pm) [edit] |
I want you to think about something.
What do you believe?
Well, for all of us it's a little different (for some of us it's a lot different...). Now, why do you believe it? Is it because of your own experiences? To a large extent, yes. But many of your beliefs do not derive from experience, but instead from what you are taught and the information that you get. You may have never been to the Washington Monument, but you probably know what it looks like and where it is.
Now the question is, "Where do you get your information?"
This is the core problem with a news media complex that is decidedly biased, in whatever direction. What people know, and therefore what they believe, is based on what they learn from the news media.
Where else do people get their information? Well, for the formative years (very important years when it comes to establishing what we believe), they get the vast majority of their information from school. And we have a bias problem there, too, extending well into the college years (where it gets even worse).
But the bias problem in the media is worse, because we the news media's [i]sine qua non[/i] is to report truthfully and completely. The news organizations make it a point of pride to be "fair" and "honest". At least that's what they say.
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| Free Speech is for the rest of us |
| 09.25.03 (10:47 am) [edit] |
[url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/...,2933,98263,00.html]Fox News[/url]
College officials shut down an "Affirmative Action Bake Sale", intended to protest affirmative action policies by selling cookies at different prices to people of different races.
It's a pretty bold and clever idea, I think. But of course the opponents of conservatism were having none of it, and promptly suppressed the protest.
I find it interesting how easy it is to silence people today. All it took was a complaint to the college functionaries, and before the sale had reached its first hour, it was muzzled.
For all you budding despots out there, here's a quick primer on how to silence someone:
[i]This was not an issue about free speech," Tim Moore, director of the SMU student center, said in a story for Thursday's edition of The Dallas Morning News. "It was really an issue where we had a hostile environment being created."[/i]
Just like that. It's not "free speech", because a "hostile environment" had been created. That's all it takes, folks.
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| Iran nukes II |
| 09.23.03 (11:33 am) [edit] |
In response to my previous post about Iran, WinstonSmith wrote this:
[i]Bush failed again ... as he fails again and again and again.
Arrogance and raw power may work with Tony Soprano and thugs... but we need a wise leader with some brains and ability to negotiate. Even Daddy Bush 43, got our allies to pay for the $61 Billion Gulf War.[/i]
See? That's what I'm on about. What does Bush have to do with this? Why is it suddenly Bush's responsibility to stop the Iranian arms program? This is a UN failure, absolutely.
If you REALLY want to absolve the UN of blame in this, and lay it on George, you would have to afford him the opportunity to do something about it, would you not? He certainly can't be held accountable if he has no power to change it. And if that is the case, I'm sure you would be the first to scream about civilian casualties if we invaded Iran.
Oh well. It's all for naught. The UN is exposed for the lame, leftist gaggle of third-world dictators that it has always been.
But pray, my friend, pray that the Islamic nations never manage to nuke America, because remember: America can turn the entire Arab world into a glass-top parking lot at will, and if we were nuked, we probably would.
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| UN diplomacy fails - again |
| 09.22.03 (4:59 pm) [edit] |
[url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/...,2933,97990,00.html]Iranian Nuke Official: Tehran Will Scale Back Cooperation With U.N. Watchdog Agency[/url]
Once again, the UN passes laws, reams of paper fly around the globe, and then... nothing.
God forbid actual military action should be required. I wonder who they would ask to perform this invasion? Venezuala? Finland? Luxembourg? Even Germany or France?
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| Free Speech erodes a little more |
| 09.18.03 (5:12 pm) [edit] |
[url=http://www.nydailynews.com/fr...]http://www.nydailynews.com/fr...[/url]
Regarding Mel Gibson's "The Passion":
[i]Several protesters holding signs that said "The Passion" was a "Lethal Weapon to Jews," worried that audiences would believe that Jews were to blame for the Crucifixion, and that misconceptions would lead to violence.[/i]
Once upon a time, people could speak freely. Then this speech was restricted because if people believed some of the things you said, people could get hurt.
Now, some would silence you just because people might misinterpret what you say.
Is there really anything left of the free speech ideal?
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