More Bad Language

clipped from www.windsofchange.net It is fairly late in the game, but one hopes that there is still time to grasp the reality of American life for those of different racial and national backgrounds and to embrace the country’s professed ideals of freedom, equality, and justice. If that's what 'the country’s intellectual leaders' really think, we're well and truly f**ked. What's worse is that it reads almost word for word like a slam that I laid out against just that kind of thinking. I did a post on patriotism back in 2002 (yes, I obsess over the issue) and in it I said: I know two really bad parents. One is a couple that simply refuses to control their children; they love them totally, and so, they explain, they love everything they do. Unsurprisingly, they are raising two little monsters. The other is a single mother who explains that everything bad in her life is the fault of her child, and that everything he does is wrong. Unsurprisingly, her child is depressed, withdrawn and equally badly damaged.

Drink Soaked Trotskyite Observations

clipped from instapundit.com So a warning to Muslims who choose to criticize their religion or even extremist segments of it. Don’t expect to get away with the sort of thing white liberals get away with saying about Catholicism or the Church of England, because they won’t like you causing trouble. Don’t expect solidarity or support, you will be seen as the authors of your own misfortune. Most of all, don’t expect the snidely liberals to watch your backs. They are so very tired of you.

Midget Hitler Update

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com World Politics Review has the first interview in English with “Witness D,” who claims that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a member of a hit team that murdered three Iranian Kurds in Vienna in 1989: Ahmadinejad and a Murder in Vienna: An Interview with ‘Witness D’. Profil: Just a couple of more questions. The commando unit in Vienna consisted of how many people? D: There was a team of negotiators and a hit squad. Ahmadinejad was the link between the Iranian Embassy in Vienna and the hit squad. It was also his job to supply the weapons. He brought them from the Embassy to the house where the murders took place.

The Big Dampening

clipped from www.powerlineblog.com Harry Reid may believe that we've lost the Iraq war, but the people we're fighting don't seem to have noticed. NEFA has a translation of an public communique by the Iraqi Jihad Union, a Sunni insurgent group that as recently as a couple of months ago was allied with al Qaeda in Iraq in Diyala province. But no longer. The communique says: Several individuals from the ISI [al Qaeda's "Islamic State of Iraq"] are responsible for killing commanders and fighters from our brigades in the Diyala province....They have killed them and mutilated their bodies. To make things worse, they dug up their bodies from the graves, further mutilated them, beheaded them, and showed them off from their vehicles while driving through the towns. [The ISI] even killed our men's wives and children. It is getting harder and harder for al Qaeda to obscure the fact that its ranks consist largely of homicidal psychopaths This tends to dampen popular support.

FDR Again

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com One thing is for certain. If today's New York Times had been reporting during the time of PO Box 1142, it would not have stayed a secret for six decades. It would have been on its front pages in six months.

Cultural Anthropomorphism

clipped from pajamasmedia.com One of Nazi Germany’s most notorious excesses was the Lebensborn, a program that deliberately bred blond, blue eyed, ‘perfect’ Aryan babies. In Middle East today, there is a similar kind of project, designed to produce the ‘perfect Muslim’ — another kind of Superman. Educational programs, media and religious institutions are all engaged in teaching young Muslims that by virtue of their existence, they are superior. We widely acknowledge the power of mere 30-second television commercials change behavior, yet seem to think regimes that extensively use media, schools and religious instruction to teach racism, hate and bigotry to a population from an early age will have no effect. Culture can affect behavior. Parisian Muslims answered the call and thousands of lives were saved. Can we expect a similar kind of behavior today from the Parisian youths who kidnapped and murdered Ilan Halimi because he was a Jew?

Condi's Not Looking So Good Right Now...

clipped from abcnews.go.com The September Israeli airstrike on a suspected nuclear site in Syria had been in the works for months, ABC News has learned, and was delayed only at the strong urging of the United States. In early July the Israelis presented the United States with satellite imagery that they said showed a nuclear facility in Syria. They had additional evidence that they said showed that some of the technology was supplied by North Korea. One U.S. official told ABC's Martha Raddatz the material was "jaw dropping" because it raised questions as to why U.S. intelligence had not previously picked up on the facility. Officials said that the facility had likely been there for months if not years. Some in the administration supported the Israeli action, but others, notably Sect. of State Condoleeza Rice did not. One senior official said the U.S. convinced the Israelis to "confront Syria before attacking."

Jimmah v Jeremiah

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com Translation: "We are being subjected to atrocities but they don't meet the legal standard for genocide. The reason we are using sign language and cryptic notes to communicate this point is not only to avoid being overheard by your minders but also to prevent being 'unhelpful' to the solution that is going to be cooked up by the ever-wise United Nations." For some reason I think Jeremiah Denton would understand the dumb show perfectly. Navy Cross Citation "The Navy Cross is presented to Jeremiah A. Denton, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism while serving as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam from February 1966 to February 1973. Forced to attend a press conference for propaganda with a Japanese correspondent, Denton blinked the word "T-O-R-T-U-R-E" in Morse Code at the television camera which was immediately understood by United States Naval Intelligence.

RTWT.

You've Noticed, Right?

clipped from www.opinionjournal.com That to me gets to the heart of the problem and the heart of The Trance. Mrs. Clinton is so far ahead so early on for the same reason Mr. Bush was so far ahead so early on in 2000, and after only six years as governor, with no previous offices behind him. It is the nature of modern politics. A political family gains allies--retainers, supporters, hangers-on, admirers, associates, in-house Machiavellis. The bigger the government, the more ways allies can be awarded, which binds them more closely. Your destiny is theirs. Members of the court recruit others. The most important part is the money lines. Power is expensive. Is this good for our democracy, this air of inevitability? Or is it something we want to break out of, like a trance? It would be understandable if they were families of a most extraordinary natural distinction and self-sacrifice. But these are not the Adamses of Massachusetts we're talking about. You've noticed, right?

But Wait!

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com Ahmadinejad celebrated Al-Quds Day today by calling Israel's existence an "insult to human dignity". Backed by chants of "Death To America!", the Iranian president and recent guest of Columbia University challenged Europe to give land to the Jews and to oppose Israel and the United States: Millions of Iranians attended nationwide rallies Friday in support of the Palestinians, while the country's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel's continued existence was an "insult to human dignity." "The creation, continued existence and unlimited (Western) support for this regime is an insult to human dignity," Ahmadinejad said. "The occupation of Palestine is not limited to one land. The Zionist issue is now a global issue." ... The Iranian president once again said Palestinians should not pay any price because Europeans committed crimes against Jews in World War II. He said they could give a part of their own land in Europe or Alaska so that the Jews can establish their country.

I thought the Holocaust didn't happen?

It's Terrorism!

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com Oh, no! Hamas has to deal with terrorism! What a completely unexpected turn of events! The same government that shoots crude missiles at Israeli elementary schools now has to deal with IEDs. They're shocked, shocked! to find terrorists in their midst! The fighting goes both ways, in any case. The two groups have targeted each other for violence ever since Ismail Haniyeh grabbed power in Gaza. Hamas uses Fatah as an excuse for its own failings, and Fatah attacks Hamas to grab power back. Given that the street soldiers for Fatah mainly belong to the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade, the conflict mainly represents a turf war between two terrorist groups. The Israelis and the rest of the world need to maintain Gaza's isolation. Hamas has created a terrorist protostate in Gaza, and Hamas has to live with the consequences. When Gazans get tired of Hamas and Fatah, they will have to get rid of them. Until the terrorism ends, not one American dollar should go to Gaza.

The Target

clipped from www.powerlineblog.com Some have called it the CIA's greatest covert operation of all time. It involved deep penetration of a hostile regime by planting a network of agents at key crossroads of power, where they could steal secrets and steer policy by planting disinformation, cooking intelligence, provocation, and outright lies. It involved sophisticated political sabotage operations, aimed at making regime leaders doubt their own judgment and question the support of their subordinates. It involved the financing, training, and equipping of effective opposition forces, who could challenge the regime openly and through covert operations. Most patriotic Americans probably hope that the CIA today has such an operation to overthrow the mullahs in Tehran, or North Korean dictator Kim John Il. But the target of this vast, sophisticated CIA operation was none of them. It was America's 43rd President, George W. Bush.

It's Not Just Mahmoud Who Loves Ya Baby...

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com In the religious apartheid kingdom of Saudi Arabia, engaging in the kinds of acts we see in zombie’s latest photo essay will get you beaten nearly to death in public. TWO men in Saudi Arabia have been sentenced to 7000 lashes each after being convicted of sodomy and have received their first round of punishment in public, a newspaper said today.

Did I Mention That This Video Doesn't Exist?

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com Here’s a 1992 Al Gore speech rescued from the memory hole, in which he blasts George H. W. Bush for ignoring Saddam Hussein’s connections to terrorism and his quest for weapons of mass destruction. Undeniable proof that the current Democrat position is a cynical political stance, a grab for power and nothing more, with no concern whatsoever for the security of their own nation.

The Not So Wayback Machine

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com Mr. DOGGETT. Senator, your comments about this document are one of the reasons that our process of government is falling apart. First of all, Senator, I have a copy of the statement that this person met—it is called a transcript of proceedings. But, Senator, if you read this, it is as telephone conversation that she has with some staff members pro and against Mr. Thomas, and she is not under oath. I did not do any of the things that she alleged. In fact, the first time any of these issues were raised was the day before I was supposed to come here, 8 1/2 years later. I knew when I put my information into the ring, that I was saying I am open season. For anybody to believe that, on the first day of work, for a woman working in the xerox room, who is 19 years old, a 33-year-old black man would walk up to a 19-year-old white girl and kiss her on the mouth as the first thing that they did, whoever believes that really needs psychiatric care.

Blue On Blue Worth Watching

clipped from hotair.com Blue on blue usually leaves no one to root for, but not here. Matthews’s book sounds like a standard self-help tome with political metaphors as the hook — “the first impression is the most important,” “smile more often,” etc. Stewart uses it as a jumping-off point for his benignly demagogic populist shtick about authenticity, which is precious in its faux naivete, in the fact that it’s coming from someone who’s in the entertainment industry, of all things, and especially insofar as Stewart himself is quick to disclaim his own authenticity when he’s taken seriously and challenged on his views. It’s no secret that Matthews is one of our favorite whipping boys but tell me you don’t feel a tiny bit sorry for him when Stewart calls him a fascist at the end.

Be sure to click through -- it's worth it...

The Man Who Knew The Value Of Nothing

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com Wretchard asks concerning Jimmy Carter, "How can one become an officer in the Navy, a governor of Georgia and a President of the United States without knowing when you are being taken for a ride?" Jimmy Carter destroyed the US Nuclear industry because the biggest concern he had was the fear of nuclear proliferation. He later forced Bill Clinton to sign an unverifiable treaty with North Korea that was the key to their ability both to stay in power and to build their bomb. Jimmy Carter turned Iran from the strongest US ally in the Arab world into a charter member of the terrorist Axis of Evil. He withdrew his support of the Shah of Iran because the Shah had about 400 political prisoners. The Ayatollah Khomeini (whom Carter called "a good and holy man") murdered 20,000 pro-Western Iranians in his first year in power. They invented the word "stagflation" to describe the results of Carter's economic policies.

Speaking Of Hitler ... And Sargeant Schultz

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com Despite the implacability of Ahmadinejad's remarks, there will be those will persist in attempting "dialogue" and bending over backward in the belief that American goodwill towards "the Iranian people" has simply been misunderstood or misrepresented by the Bush-Hitler administration. In each case their overtures will receive exactly the same rebuff; and in each case they will draw exactly the same lesson from their rejection: that they must try harder and bend over further the next time around. Talleyrand said of the Bourbons as they were making a hash of their Restoration, squandering their rare historical second chance, "they have learnt nothing and forgotten nothing." But to those whose repeatedly hope that a regime which declares itself hostile is really their friend one should turn to Sergeant Schultz: "I see nothing, nothing, nothing."

Where Things Are So Bad...

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com In other news from Dubai, real estate companies are using images of Adolf Hitler to sell houses: Harry’s Place: ‘Conqueror - The world is yours’.

... that Mr. Hell is a poster boy.

(I'm sorry about the bad language but it's entirely appropriate here unfortunately.)

Deja Vu All Over Again

clipped from www.wymaninstitute.org "Academic relationships have no political implications," President Butler claimed. Many Columbia students and faculty members disagreed, Prof Norwood notes. Students held a "Mock Heidelberg Festival" on campus, complete with a bonfire and mock book burning. That was followed by a student rally in front of Butler's mansion. Butler was furious that a leader of the rally, Robert Burke, "delivered a speech in which he referred to the President [Butler] disrespectfully." As punishment, Burke was expelled from Columbia. He was never readmitted, even though he had excellent grades and had been elected president of his class, and even though Columbia’s own attorney later acknowledged that “the evidence that Burke himself used bad language is slight.” Eventually, in the late 1930s, Butler would change his position and speak out against the Nazis. Unfortunately, it was too late to undo the damage he already had done by helping to legitimize the Hitler regime.

You're Shocked, I'm Not

clipped from www.longwarjournal.org The US military has long maintained that al Qaeda in Iraq is led by foreign al Qaeda. Over the past year, senior al Qaeda operatives such as Omar Farouq, one of Osama bin Laden's lieutenants and al Qaeda's operations chief in Southeast Asia, and Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, one of bin Laden's senior deputies who was "personally chosen by bin Laden to monitor al Qaeda operations in Iraq," have been captured inside Iraq. Al Qaeda in Iraq's leader, Abu Ayyub al Masri, is an Egyptian selected by al Qaeda Central. In a press conference today, Major General Kevin Bergner, the spokesman for Multinational Forces Iraq, provided further evidence of al Qaeda in Iraq's foreign influence. Bergner highlighted the killing "Muthanna," al Qaeda's the emir of the Iraq/Syrian border. "During this operation, we also captured multiple documents and electronic files that provided insight into al Qaeda’s foreign terrorist operations, not only in Iraq but throughout the region," Bergner said.

No, It's Not A Repub Rant

clipped from www.huffingtonpost.com But that wouldn't have been any more comforting. Whoopi was on her ass, too, about how she and her fellow Dems had failed to stop President Bush's war effort or at least elevate the level of discourse and control the debate on, uh, anything. Pelosi was a nervous wreck by then, desperately trying to tape together an impression of some sort of goal Congress had reached, and offered nothing that had actually made its way into law. Watching those uncomfortable minutes tick by, I couldn't help thinking, "Man, if this lady can't hold her own at a table full of gossiping hens who care more about the future of Britney's babies then that of their country, no wonder impeachment is off the goddamn table!" Barbara Walters mercifully ended the proceedings, tidily wrapping up the interview with something like "Well, Democrat or Republican, it's not important. What matters is that you're the first woman speaker of the House, and that means a lot!" Um, no it doesn't, sorry.

But since it's not, be prepared for bad language if you click through...

That's An Easy Question...

clipped from fredfile.fred08.com Congressional Democrats are trying to divert attention from insulting our military leader in Iraq and pandering to the loony left by attacking Rush Limbaugh. He is one of the strongest supporters of our troops, yet Democrats claim he is not being strong enough. I wonder who General Petraeus and his troops think is most supportive?

...unless you're a ... OK, I'll skip the bad language again.

Sold

clipped from blogs.dailymail.com In 2006, PMA Group lobbyists gave $1,333,074 to three Democratic congressmen and walked away with $100 million worth of contracts for PMA clients. That’s a return of $75 for every $1 invested in just 6 months. In 2008, look for mo’ money and mo’ Democratic congressmen to cash in. The 3 Democratic rent-to-own congressmen are John Murtha, Jim Moran and Peter Visclosky. On Monday Paul Singer of Roll Call said Jesus Reyes set up a political action committee on behalf of his brother, Democratic Congressman Silvestre Reyes, who heads the House Intelligence Committee. Singer reported the Reyes PAC “raised $50,000 this spring almost entirely from staff and clients of powerhouse lobbying shop PMA Group, and within weeks, those same donors reaped millions of dollars in earmarks from Reyes and other Members of Congress closely affiliated with PMA. ”

Hojattieh Update

clipped from www.americanthinker.com Or, to put it in his typical threat language, he has said, "If you would like to have good relations with the Iranian nation in the future... bow down before the greatness of the Iranian nation and surrender. If you don't accept [to do this], the Iranian nation will... force you to surrender and bow down."  The Columbia University talk now also falls into place. In A'jad's deeply indoctrinated mind, the students laughing at his absurd claim that there are no homosexuals in Iran simply confirmed how steeped they are in sexual sin. Columbia was Soddom and Gomorrah in this world view, and God destroyed those cities after their inhabitants refused to repent from homosexual activities. In his eyes he gave them their last chance. Khomeini himself set the conditions for total war: "I say let this land (Iran) burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world."  That is the description of an all-out nuclear war.

Not Dead Yet?

clipped from www.powerlineblog.com [T]he long-accepted rule for interpreting legal texts is to construe them to have the original public meaning that they had when they were enacted into law. This is the way we interpret statutes, contracts, wills and even old Supreme Court opinions. No leftist ever says of Roe v. Wade: Let’s let President Bush’s lower court judges construe that opinion in light of the “evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.” Leftists and indeed all non-originalists would be utterly outraged if this were to happen. In fact, much of the complaining by the left about the Supreme Court’s decision last spring to uphold the federal partial birth abortion statute was that it was not a faithful effort to apply the Court’s abortion precedents as they had previously been understood. Many on the left claimed this was a profound threat to the rule of law.

A Question Worth Asking ...

clipped from www.opinionjournal.com But this former Refco clerk says business at that stage was so brisk that Refco deals were done mainly in big blocks--far bigger than Hillary's individual recorded orders. Only later would the brokers code transactions by customer and decide which trade--meaning what profit or loss--to parcel out to whom. "When Hillary came forward and said she was doing her own trades, I knew immediately that she wasn't telling the truth," says this former clerk. Maybe only Messrs. Blair and Bone and Mrs. Clinton herself can say for sure whether she was just a hapless beneficiary of a generous and rule-breaking broker, hand-picked by a clever friend whose company later got some business help from the Clinton administration; or whether she took a payoff and lied about it. Given that Mrs. Clinton is now running for a job of public trust in the Senate--a place where one might want to keep bribe-takers to a minimum--it seems a question still worth asking.

... before the next Hsu-icide.

Seeing (But Not Hearing) Double

clipped from nationaljournal.com In the matter of the Holocaust-denying, terrorism-sponsoring, nuke-seeking, wipe-Israel-off-the-map-threatening, we-got-no-gays-in-Iran-spouting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his September 24 showcase speech at Columbia University: It would be easier to stomach the free-speech grandstanding of Lee Bollinger, Columbia's president and Ahmadinejad's histrionically hostile host, and others of Bollinger's ilk if they were a bit less selective in their devotion to the First Amendment. When a student group recently canceled an event featuring an anti-illegal-immigration speaker for fear of a hecklers' veto by leftist students, for example, Bollinger had nothing to say.

Maybe It's OK I Didn't Get The Hybrid?

clipped from www.caranddriver.com Driving a hybrid vehicle costs more in terms of overall energy consumed than comparable non-hybrid vehicles, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc. The Bandon, Oregon, auto research firm says in a news release that it spent two years collecting data on the energy necessary to plan, build, sell, drive and dispose of a vehicle from initial concept to scrappage. This includes such minutia as plant to dealer fuel costs, employee driving distances, electricity usage per pound of material used in each vehicle and literally hundreds of other variables. To put the data into understandable terms for consumers, it was translated into a "dollars per lifetime mile" figure. That is, the Energy Cost per mile driven. For example, the Honda Accord Hybrid has an Energy Cost per Mile of $3.29 while the conventional Honda Accord is $2.18. Put simply, over the "Dust to Dust" lifetime of the Accord Hybrid, it will require about 50 percent more energy than the non-hybrid version, CNW claims.

"Journalism" Today

clipped from www.powerlineblog.com The Washington Post published the interview without noting that the story was a total fabrication. The "rockets" that Fatah transferred to the IDF were just a pile of metal pipes which had apparently been used as toys by local children. The IDF had already noted that the rockets weren't real when The Washington Post conducted its interview with Abbas. Unlike Abu Toameh and The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Post and its veteran reporter Lally Weymouth saw no reason to mention that Abbas's anti-terror credentials were based on nothing but lies manufactured by his own propaganda arms. Glick reports that this was only the first of two such Fatah hoaxes last week. Glick writes: "The issue here is Fatah and what the hoax tells us about the organization on which the Olmert government and the Bush administration are basing all their plans for a future peace between the Palestinians and the State of Israel."

Name That Oil For Food Party

clipped from blogs.dailymail.com Oscar Wyatt Jr. pleaded guilty to charges that he was in cahoots with Saddam Hussein in that cynically named UN program called “Oil for Food.” Wyatt of Houston is a billionaire who helped fund the Democratic Party in Texas. The liberal Center for Responsive Politics listed the donations. His latest donation was $2,300 on June 1 to Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller. Even under indictment, Wyatt wrote the checks and the politicians cashed them.

He Received Different Guidance Than He Requested

clipped from www.worldtribune.com Shortly before he died, Al Tunisi wrote a letter that warned of a threat to Al Qaida operations in Karkh. The lettter, found by the U.S. military, sought guidance from Al Qaida leaders amid coalition operations that hampered Al Tunisi's network. "We are so desperate for your help," the letter read. "This was a dangerous terrorist who is no longer a part of Al Qaida in Iraq," U.S. Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief of staff of the Multinational Corps Iraq, said. "His death deals a significant blow to their operation. Abu Osama Al Tunisi was one of the most senior leaders within Al Qaida in Iraq."

Blue In The Face

clipped from www.classicalvalues.com I mean, we can argue till we're blue in the face about whether a guy who has sex with a guy is gay, or bi, or just doing his thing for reasons known only to him. But if he's blue in the face from dangling at the end of an Iranian rope, isn't that the larger issue here? Isn't the point that there's no sexual freedom in Iran? The reaction of the Queer Studies Departments seems to be intellectual handwringing. (Like asking "Why do they hang us?")

Consigned To Their Fate

clipped from www.windsofchange.net On a daily basis, at a great many international and scholarly conferences all over the world, we can hear learned debates about human rights and emotional proclamations in their defense. So how is it possible that the international community remains incapable of responding effectively to dissuade Burma's military rulers from escalating the force that they have begun to unleash in Rangoon and its Buddhist temples? For dozens of years, the international community has been arguing over how it should reform the United Nations so that it can better secure civic and human dignity in the face of conflicts such as those now taking place in Burma or Darfur, Sudan. It is not the innocent victims of repression who are losing their dignity, but rather the international community, whose failure to act means watching helplessly as the victims are consigned to their fate.

The Fine Line

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com The authors hypothesize that latent inhibition may be positive when combined with high intelligence and good working memory - the capacity to think about many things at once - but negative otherwise. Peterson states: "If you are open to new information, new ideas, you better be able to intelligently and carefully edit and choose. If you have 50 ideas, only two or three are likely to be good. You have to be able to discriminate or you'll get swamped." "Scientists have wondered for a long time why madness and creativity seem linked," says Carson. "It appears likely that low levels of latent inhibition and exceptional flexibility in thought might predispose to mental illness under some conditions and to creative accomplishment under others." For example, during the early stages of diseases such as schizophrenia, which are often accompanied by feelings of deep insight, mystical knowledge and religious experience, chemical changes take place in which latent inhibition disappears.

The Big Con

clipped from instapundit.com This is basically the narrative of The Big Con: we used to have this terrific economy with low inequality and a growing government share of national income, with everyone except a few rich malcontents happy, then this giant Republican conspiracy to make us all hate taxes came along and lured us off the Yellow Brick Road and onto the Road to Perdition. This seems an odd belief to hold in a nation that was basically founded in a tax revolt. A modestly comprehensive perusal of pre-1970 literature reveals that Americans seem to have hated taxes all along. And why wouldn't they? Taxes don't need any special conspiracy to make you hate them, at least if you are among the majority of people who would rather have more money in your pocket than less. . . . But perhaps even more importantly, it's not clear that 1980-2007 are the anomalies in American public sentiment about taxes. On the contrary, I think I can make a better case that 1945-1970 was the oddity.

Those Gay Western Imperialists?

clipped from volokh.com Prof. BULLIET: Yeah. An open gay culture. He says that isn't what you have in the Arab world or in the Middle East. You have a long history of same sex relations that takes a variety of forms. Is not defined as gay or not gay. And Massad would say that the whole notion that gay culture is the same the world wide is an imposition of Western cultural imperialism. But people haven't read Massad's book yet, and so they aren't quite aware that that sort of gay denial of that type actually is academically respectable. Certainly, Ahmadinejad has not read that book.

Have You Fallen For The Head Fake?

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com It’s now believed that several leaders of the Muslim establishment in America last decade conspired to infiltrate the U.S. political system, change Middle East policy and gradually Islamize America. At the same time, they hatched a plot to fund overseas terrorists. “I swear by Allah that war is deception,” said Shukri Abu-Baker, now on trial in the federal terror-funding case. “We are fighting our enemy with a kind heart. . . . Deceive, camouflage, pretend that you’re leaving while you’re walking that way. Deceive your enemy.” Another participant at the Hamas summit was the founder of the Council on American Islamic-Relations, or CAIR Adding to Abu-Baker’s point, Omar Ahmad compared the deception needed to fool the infidels with the head fake in basketball. “He makes a player believe that he is doing this while he does something else,” Ahmad said. “I agree with you. . . . Politics is a completion of war.”

Actually, Not A Surprise To Me...

clipped from instapundit.com "It may come as a surprise to Columbia faculty and students to learn that a current professor at Columbia has argued that there are no homosexuals in the entire Arab world, except for a few who have been brainwashed into believing they have a homosexual identity by an aggressive Western homosexual missionizing movement he calls 'Gay International.'