Eh Tu, Italy? Could Il Duce's Legacy Finally Die?

In addition to the tentative signs of life shown by the Dutch after van Gogh's slaying, there is emerging evidence that Fallaci's homeland may yet recover her will to fight the Islamist onslaught:

One striking thing about Italy these days, compared to 30 years ago, is how many former leftists have awakened to the illusions of the Left, and begun flocking to the center-right. Nearly every one mentioned by name in this article is one such, and the numbers keep growing, almost exponentially, among writers and other intellectuals. Everything leftist is increasingly being questioned — economic orthodoxy often first of all, but now leftist cultural politics, too. Even those not prepared to go all the way to the center-right, at least on all issues, are raising tough questions.

For instance, La Repubblica (Nov.7), which I read on the plane, carries a front-page jump column by Eugenio Scalfari, its founder and publisher, under the title "Why We Cannot Call Ourselves Laicists." After confessing his own secular creed — the creed of the Enlightenment and the great principles of liberty, fraternity, and equality — he writes that this does not end the matter. He notes how the Christian idea of a duty to the most needy and vulnerable has undeniably influenced his creed, and how the Christian idea of giving to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's, is a necessary barrier to totalitarianism both Left and Right. The history of the European secular mind cannot be described simply as laicist, he insists, for it also includes a crucial source of light absorbed from Christian faith.

What I conclude after this visit, more powerfully than ever, is that important new currents so visible in the victory of George W. Bush are also beginning to affect very distant places, and that great spiritual changes are beginning to display their first sprouts: a profoundly new vision of our own secular history, more open to religion than formerly; a new attention to the family and to the traditional morality on which its health depends; and a rethinking of fundamental economic principles concerning taxation, state power, and welfare programs. The notion is also gaining traction that the ideas of the Left belong to the 1950s, if not earlier, while those of Bush and others like him point to a new and more creative future.

Fascism/Nazism and Communism are spiritual siblings. This is self evident to the point of risibility. Time for an examination...

The Best Defense Is ...

... We're so much in their knickers abroad ...

About Us "Evangelical Moralists"

My wife found this and I thought it was worth chewing on before I get back to topic A [UPDATE: Found the original.]:

By Al Ruechel | 11-10-04

Can you believe it? They’ve barely stopped counting the provisional ballots and already pundits are blasting Evangelicals as brain dead, cold hearted, religious zealots who pose the greatest threat to democracy since Adolph Hitler.

I told myself as a TV news anchor I wasn’t going to write much about the election prior to the vote because I wanted to remain objective. You bet, I have strong feelings about the candidates. They both had huge failings, in my humble opinion. Still, my solemn obligation as a journalist is to deliver accurate, fair, balanced information to my viewers void of any political slant. I must be doing something right because I quite regularly get blasted from both sides. Mentally and emotional I prepared myself to remain claim during our election night coverage, whichever candidate pulled the most votes. I was blessed with two expert Democrat and Republican analysts to provide their own unique and informed “spin”… and a co-host to provide all the “color”. To quote the late Johnny Cash, “I walked the line”.

Today I cross that line in this column and switch hats to commentator, not on behalf of a candidate, but on behalf of Evangelicals and their belief in Jesus. There I’ve said the “J’ word. In their most recent columns over the weekend and their appearances on TV those masters of analysis have proven, once again, they “don’t get”.

Andrea Mitchell of NBC news says the victory was about, “guns, God and gays”. I don’t recall any gun initiatives on any ballots. Did you see a space marked “God” on the presidential race? George Bush IS NOT God! And unless my math is bad, which it could be, 39 states DID NOT have gay marriage bans on their ballot.

Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman (Nov. 6, 2004) says Evangelical’s set of values don’t include things like Iraq, equality, or the economy. She concludes one of the main reasons Evangelicals turned out in mass was the amendment banning gay marriage passed in 11 states. Not a bad argument except the 11 states in which the amendments appeared drew nearly the same percentage of voters as the states without the ban. She does have one premise down pat. “The blue candidates will never convert people who believe that homosexuality is a sin, or that the fertilized egg is a human being, or that evolution is a scam taught by secular humanists.”

And you know why that is Ellen? Too many blue candidates treated the reds as if they were ideological idiots. There are plenty of scientists and doctors and learned men and women who have come to their faith conclusions after years of inquiry. The blues goofed when they chose Hollywood as the epicenter of American morality. The reds do see fine lines of distinction in the so-called cultural war hot buttons of abortion and stem cell research. What they are asking is more time to digest the implications of those acts in the light of the “Bible”, that vexed document you believe was scribbled down by drug crazed, starving Jewish rebels. By the way, Ms. Goodman, did you happen to read the article in last months “Scientific American” that reported on the use of fat as stem cell generators. Yep! Fat cells, the kind that wrap around many Americans like a second belt, may be able to produce the same kind of cells scientists thought only came from human embryos.

UPDATE: [ ... ]

Finally, there are the likes of Paul Begalla and James Carvel and Terry McCullough. Talk about denial. They give Carl Rove and Jerry Falwell all the credit for this Evangelical onslaught. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And if those pundits don’t listen they are doomed to witness the same onslaught in 2008.

As an Evangelical let me spell it out based on hundreds of conversations I have had with other E’s.

E’s voted for Bush because he is an honest, sincere, sinner who speaks their language. Many aren’t happy with some of his economic policies but they believe he is acting in the nation’s best interest.

E’s voted for Bush because he took a strong position in support of the sanctity of marriage and not against gays and lesbians in general. Nuance is the key. Contrary to the elitist view, many Evangelicals do wrestle with the issue of equal protection for gays. The do believe being gay or lesbian is a choice and a sin but are often torn on how to respond to it. Most try to respond in love by providing counseling and support for those with aids. Of course, we do have our own black sheep of the family!

E’s are against abortion but appreciate President Bush’s statement when he said that this country needs a change of heart before it will be possible to change Roe V Wade. That’s something God will have to do, not a sitting President or the courts.

E’s voted for Bush because after much prayer they saw him as the only alternative. Mr. Blue often quoted the Bible saying, ”faith without works is dead” but then didn’t back it up with any works or display of his faith that Evangelicals could see.

E’s pay no homage to the new God of Tolerance. There are Ten Commandments, not suggestions. I know that comes as a shock and a great disappointment to the “Enlightened ones”. E’s do believe in love and acceptance and that all men are born with certain inalienable rights but not at the expense of surrendering their God-established values.

E’s were ticked, big time at Michael Moore! Mr. Large did more to energize the right than a thousand prime-time commercials. You could hear the E’s dropping away from the blue bandwagon the microsecond he suggested that Hollywood represented the true American values.

E’s were afraid if Mr. Blue won he would appoint activist judges that would make it more difficult to express love and commitment to God in public or in the pledge.

E’s believe the war in Iraq is as much a spiritual battle as it is a political fight.

E’s would and have voted for Blue candidates who treated them fairly and support some, not necessarily all, of their views, as long as they aren’t anti-God!

E’s listened to the voice of God in their own lives. For the benefit of the atheists in the audience it works like this. You pray for His guidance. You read the word to make sure you aren’t acting in the flesh and it all agrees. You listen and seek counsel from other believers. You act in accordance with all of the above, attempting to leave as much physical emotion out of the picture. Does that sound like an ill-informed, Dark Age practice to you!

Bottom line, Evangelicals are people of faith and surprisingly, not all Christian. They are a group of people who believe that morality is not some loosely defined, changing with the wind, ambiguous concept that can be ignored. They believe if you get the morality right the economy, education, helping children, health care, social security and the war will all follow suit. Combined with the traditional conservative elements, the independents and discontented Democrats they made their voice heard. This time around, the silent majority was anything but silent!

Tin Pacifists Somehow Won't Do

The shot across the bow on a surprising Nazi-themed weekend:

Despotic governments can stand ‘moral force’ till the cows come home; what they fear is physical force. But though not much interested in the ‘theory’ of pacifism, I am interested in the psychological processes by which pacifists who have started out with an alleged horror of violence end up with a marked tendency to be fascinated by the success and power of Nazism. Even pacifists who wouldn’t own to any such fascination are beginning to claim that a Nazi victory is desirable in itself.

Who wrote this? Does it sound more than a bit familiar with just a bit of sprucing for modernity?

And don't forget the current Jaw Dropper...

Middle East Madness, Part 38256

Stalling, lies, stalling, lies...

The NYeT said the A-word -- I didn't. In fact, I never believe a comma they print. For instance, they point out in the same article that the Koran says "Don't throw yourself into death." UmmmHmmm...

Scowcroft pines for the fjords of Oslo...

And how could this possibly be topped:

First Gray Davis, Now This
"Arafat to Be Recalled for Leading Palestinians to Accept Principle of Coexistence With Israel: Annan"--headline, ElectronicIntifada.net, Nov. 11

UPDATE: What's to worry about? Greenland is safe...

Dhimmitude? Or just plain dim?

Sounds In The Forest

If an insurgent craven brutal barbarous killer wets his pants in the desert and no one is around to snap a picture, does it make a puddle?

I may live in Colorado but I'm doing *my* part to salvage it from the red cellar. Surrounded by blues is an awful place to be...

Projection 202: On The Stupidity Of Thomas Aquinas And C.S. Lewis

Analphilosopher -- did I mention that he's a philosopher and an athiest? -- vivisects the liberal shiboleth that the religious are stupid. Thomas Aquinas leaps to his mind.

So let's think a bit more. Who might be the actual stupid folk?

And I won't comment on manners. Any six-year-old could make a spot-on judgement on that one.

Ummm, C.S. Lewis?

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

"We laugh at honor, and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."

"If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."

"The egg that came from nothing is not more logical than the chicken that always was."

War Never Solved Anything

... except slavery, Nazism and Communism.

And now David Warren points out this quote from Richard Perle: "It has a better track-record than social work."

My heart-felt thanks to our brave troops on this Veteran's Day.

Finally, A True American Litmus Test

READ. THIS. NOW.

If your throat doesn't have a catch in it right now then I'll write you a check for $100 if you promise to move out of the country. Offer good to the first 10 takers.

The catch: If you aren't gone by a year from today your name will be reverbrating around the blogosphere as the corrupt, craven asshole you truly are.

The good news: For takers I will work mightily to find you additional funding from others. For how could it not be in my best interest?

You see, I am a man of my word. And I'm not sure what you are.

But it isn't good.

Only the French. Mais oui.

Welcome to the religion of mosques full of bombs peace the mentally ill submission.

Hitch On Militant Secularism

And guess who isn't on board?:

George Bush may subjectively be a Christian, but he—and the U.S. armed forces—have objectively done more for secularism than the whole of the American agnostic community combined and doubled. The demolition of the Taliban, the huge damage inflicted on the al-Qaida network, and the confrontation with theocratic saboteurs in Iraq represent huge advances for the non-fundamentalist forces in many countries. The "antiwar" faction even recognizes this achievement, if only indirectly, by complaining about the way in which it has infuriated the Islamic religious extremists around the world. But does it accept the apparent corollary—that we should have been pursuing a policy to which the fanatics had no objection?

Secularism is not just a smug attitude. It is a possible way of democratic and pluralistic life that only became thinkable after several wars and revolutions had ruthlessly smashed the hold of the clergy on the state. We are now in the middle of another such war and revolution, and the liberals have gone AWOL.

Once Again

reality is indistinguishable from Scrappleface: Arafat May Soon Sign Death Certificate. Brother.

UPDATE: You stunned him!

Projection 201: Relativized To The Point Of Suicide

Ledeen weighs in on the Dutch tragedy of submission:

The Dutch — like every other European society I know — were unwilling to recognize that they had potentially lethal enemies within, and that it was necessary to impose the rules of civil behavior on everyone within their domain. The rules of political correctness made it impossible even to criticize the jihadists, never mind compel them to observe the rules of civil society. Just look at what happened the next day: An artist in Rotterdam improvised a wall fresco that consisted of an angel and the words "Thou Shalt Not Kill." The local imam protested, and local authorities removed the fresco.

That's what happens when a culture is relativized to the point of suicide. As Daniel Patrick Moynihan once remarked of an American politician, "he can longer distinguish between our friends and our enemies, and so he has ended by adopting our enemies' view of the world." This has now befallen Europe, which cannot distinguish between free societies — their natural friends — like the United States and Israel, and has ended by embracing enemies such as the radical Islamist regimes and elevating Yasser Arafat to near beatific stature.

The process by which the Europeans arrived at this grave impasse has been going on ever since the late 19th century, when the intelligentsia revolted against "bourgeois society" and its values, and sought for deeper meaning in acts of nihilistic violence, in fascism and communism, and in vast wars that engulfed the rest of the world. The Europeans might have confronted their spiritual crisis after the Second World War (some brave souls, like Albert Camus, tried), but the Cold War tamped it down. With a huge enemy on their borders, the Europeans finessed the issue, opted for a soulless materialism (that has given them a nanny state and a birth rate that promises to extinguish them in relatively short order), and pretended that the core of Western civilization was irrelevant to their lives.

When the Cold War ended, the crisis was still there, but they projected it onto us. The United States "needed an enemy," they scoffed, because otherwise we could not define our mission. But they were the ones who had lost their enemy, and thus had to face their own terrible contradictions and moral failures. Now they deride us because of our presumed archaic faith. They even equate American religion with the fundamentalism that now menaces them inside their model cities and threatens their enormously self-satisfied secular utopia.

Wow. He had been winding up on that one for a while I think. RTWT.

Europe. Will they break 100 million this time around? Surely they're disappointed that the Cold War didn't sate their immoral blood lust...

Islam Means Peace?

Mais non W. It means S-U-B-M-I-S-S-I-O-N.

Did you forget that Rushdie is still in hiding?

(Click anywhere on the full page image. Not suitable for children.)

Welcome Carnival Readers!

My recent post "What Manchurian Candidate?" is now up on the latest Carnival of the Vanities! Check it out at "Let's Try Freedom". (There's something about the name of that blog I like -- now what could it be???)

If you like my Manchurian analysis you might enjoy this, this, this or this.

UPDATE: Here's what pushed me over the edge to get more serious about the blog: "A Sinful Soapbox: The Local Root Cause". And here are the links (101, 102, 103, 104) to my recent series on PROJECTION. Bone up, the 200 series classes are about to begin...

And I always devote the right side of the blog to making your jaw drop ======>>>

Cheers,
Bob

"We are not their permanent enemies; that foe is within their breast." Wretchard again.

What the U.S. And Squalid Africa Have In Common

That would be a lack of local terrorism:

Abadie, whose work was published in the Kennedy School's Faculty Research Working Paper Series, included both acts of international and domestic terrorism in his analysis.

Though after the 9/11 attacks most of the work in this area has focused on international terrorism, Abadie said terrorism originating within the country where the attacks occur actually makes up the bulk of terrorist acts each year. According to statistics from the MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base for 2003, which Abadie cites in his analysis, there were 1,536 reports of domestic terrorism worldwide, compared with just 240 incidents of international terrorism.

Before analyzing the data, Abadie believed it was a reasonable assumption that terrorism has its roots in poverty, especially since studies have linked civil war to economic factors. However, once the data was corrected for the influence of other factors studied, Abadie said he found no significant relationship between a nation's wealth and the level of terrorism it experiences.

"In the past, we heard people refer to the strong link between terrorism and poverty, but in fact when you look at the data, it's not there. This is true not only for events of international terrorism, as previous studies have shown, but perhaps more surprisingly also for the overall level of terrorism, both of domestic and of foreign origin," Abadie said.

Instead, Abadie detected a peculiar relationship between the levels of political freedom a nation affords and the severity of terrorism. Though terrorism declined among nations with high levels of political freedom, it was the intermediate nations that seemed most vulnerable.

Like those with much political freedom, nations at the other extreme - with tightly controlled autocratic governments - also experienced low levels of terrorism.

Though his study didn't explore the reasons behind the trends he researched, Abadie said it could be that autocratic nations' tight control and repressive practices keep terrorist activities in check, while nations making the transition to more open, democratic governments - such as currently taking place in Iraq and Russia - may be politically unstable, which makes them more vulnerable.

"When you go from an autocratic regime and make the transition to democracy, you may expect a temporary increase in terrorism," Abadie said.

The U.S. has already made the transition to democracy and everyone realizes they are too fat and happy to consider terror as anything more than a nutso idea. Most African countries are the poster children for squalid poverty -- so why aren't they the world champions of terror?

You just read the answer. RTWT.

Bits Of (Im)Morality

The terrorism gap. Of course, the terrorists are immoral...

Whoops -- isn't prostitution supposed to be immoral? And that's some red-neck gay old Sheriff ain't she Mabel?

Is trust a moral issue? Nahhhhh...

It Ends

Like this:

But for those of you who think your grief and disappointment justify your pious nastiness and blame-shifting for your own failures: Do keep in mind that it is precisely such self-indulgence and arrogance that costs you elections.

But Goldberg's so good in this one that's almost an anticlimax! Whee-haw. And you'll keel over laughing at the Krugman joke...

What Manchurian Candidate?

SPECIAL UPDATE FOR CARNIVAL VIEWERS: See here for other posts to read if you like this one:

Why all the Manchurian Candidate references from yours truly? That isn't quite right you say. Kerry isn't an assassin -- he's a presidential candidate, no?

Well here's my markup of the Amazon review so you'll understand that reality is once more stranger than fiction:

Amazon.com

Richard Condon's 1959 Cold Vietnam War thriller remains just as chilling today. It's the story of Sgt. Raymond Shaw Lt. John F. Kerry, an ex-prisoner of war ex-CIA ferry boat flskipper (and winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor three undeserved Purple Hearts) who, brainwashed with the rest of his unit by a Chinese Viet Cong terrorist psychological expert during his captivity in North Korea visits to Paris, has come home programmed to kill secretly overthrow the U.S. government. His primary target is a U.S. presidential nominee president. Made into a controversial 1962 movie with Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra, and Angela Lansbury 2004 presidential campaign flacked by the MSM.

Now that we have that cleared up, feast yourself on this (Hat tip Charles):

But as early as Aug. 5, when the Swifties were just getting traction, Edwards wanted to push back, hard. McCain had just told the Associated Press that the Swift Boat ads were "dishonest and dishonorable... the same kind of deal that was pulled on me." Edwards wanted to begin a speech, "I join with Senator McCain in calling on the president to condemn this dishonest and dishonorable ad." But Kerry headquarters said no. Stephanie Cutter, the boss of the Kerry communications shop, explained that the campaign didn't need to give the Swift Boat vets any more attention than they were already getting.

Edwards played along, but his aides were indignant. They warned the veep candidate that the story was already out of control and about to get worse. Historian Douglas Brinkley, author of a wartime biography of Kerry, cautioned that Kerry's diary included mention of a meeting with some North Vietnamese terrorists in Paris. Edwards was flabbergasted. "Let me get this straight," the senator said. "He met with terrorists? Oh, that's good."

I'm shocked, just shocked that he didn't release his diaries or sign the Form 180 to release his military records.

Shocked, I tell ya.

Did I forget to mention that there's actual evidence that the Viet Cong had relations with -- if not control of -- the People's Committee for Peace and Justice (PCPJ) headed by Al Hubbard.

Did I mention that Al Hubbard was also the executive director of the Vietnam Veteran's Against the War (VVAW) and recruited Kerry into the organization? And that they constantly appeared together to talk to the MSM and obviously worked closely together.

The original Manchurian Candidate didn't even come close to the magnitude of the assassin's bullet we just missed...

Around And Around

Clinton our (nuclear) saviour.

Why no "Sister Souljah" moment targeting the excreble Mikey? Ummm. Perhaps because the idea would never occur to the Manchurian Candidate?

On Van Gogh and Somalia:

I too have heard the argument that the resumption of Gulf War hostilities in Iraq have led to increased terrorism around the world. However, there is a large body of evidence suggesting the US retreat from militant Islamic forces in Somalia provided a tremendous morale boost to Al-Qaida and other terrorist organization.

In a 1998 interview, Osama Bin Laden states that his victory in Somalia boosted his confidence and led him to label the US soldier a "paper tiger".

Oh what does Osama know? He's just a mouthpiece for Mikey anyway...

And the Manchurian Candidate should have been a bit less hypocritical about outsourcing now that QandO should mention it ;)

And around hell on earth. (Warning, not for weak stomachs. Of course Palestinian children are raised on this so what's your problem anyway? You're a Nazi Bush supporter aren't you?)

Projection 104: Murder Is Normal

Just in from the Netherlands TV via LGF:

Third man: This man (the imam) has given his personal response. He’s not expressing everyone’s point of view. I say, if he (Mohamed B., the murderer) wouldn’t have done it, I could have done it, or somebody else would have done it. Because, that man (Van Gogh) went too far. He had all the possibilities.

Interviewer: You mean, it’s self-evident that it has happenend?

Third man: It’s very self-evident. He had his freedom of speech, but he has never tried to start a discussion or debate. He called Muslims goat f-ckers. He received all attention to express that Muslims...

Interviewer: So the murder was in fact a just act?

Third man: That’s my opinion. Not everybody’s opinion, but that’s my opinion. It is just.

Interviewer: But you do agree this doesn’t fit the way we think in the Netherlands?

Third man: It’s not about the way we think. I’m married myself to a Dutch woman. I have five children who have been raised here in the Netherlands. If you try to insult their mother, then this reaction is very normal.

Interviewer: But don’t you think that murder can’t ever be considered normal?

Third man: Murder is normal. Why wouldn’t murder be normal? What happens in Iraq? What do the Americans do to the Iraqis? Did the Iraqis ask for that? That’s murder as well, and everone has accepted that. Everyone thinks that’s ‘deadly normal’.

Yes, quite normal old chap. Where would you get any other idea? Like perhaps freeing people from being terrorized by brutal barbarians such as yourself. But there's no projection to be found here, is there?

Next up, the 200 level courses begin...

Just flip around -- no matter the channel, it's all Rove all the time...

The Loathin' Of The Church Of The Left

Eviscerated Steyn-style:

That's fine. But what happens if the European elite should decide a whole lot of other stuff is beyond the pale, too, some of it that B J Kelly is quite partial to? In affirming the traditional definition of marriage in 11 state referenda, from darkest Mississippi to progressive enlightened Kerry-supporting Oregon, the American people were not expressing their "gay-loathin' ", so much as declining to go the Kelly route and have their betters tell them what they can think. They're not going to have marriage redefined by four Massachusetts judges and a couple of activist mayors. That doesn't make them Bush theo-zombies marching in lockstep to the gay lynching, just freeborn citizens asserting their right to dissent from today's established church - the stifling coercive theology of political correctness enforced by a secular episcopate.

As Americans were voting on marriage and marijuana and other matters, the Rotterdam police were destroying a mural by Chris Ripke that he'd created to express his disgust at the murder of Theo van Gogh by Islamist crazies. Ripke's painting showed an angel and the words "Thou Shalt Not Kill". Unfortunately, his workshop is next to a mosque, and the imam complained that the mural was "racist", so the cops arrived, destroyed it, arrested the television journalists filming it and wiped their tape. Maybe that would ring a bell with Oliver James's mum.

'Scuse me now so's I can go spit out my chewin' teebacur...

(Hat Tip LGF)

Did I mention that I'm on that top line? And that it may even be in the black on of these days...

The slippery slope to somatic cell nuclear transfer...