Bits and pieces
My mind is slowly waking from the stupor that gripped it yesterday, and I actually found bunches of fascinating things in today’s reading. I may blog on some of them at greater length today, but I didn’t want to sit on them all day without sharing them with you. So here goes the sharing:
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The Jerusalem Post has a primer on the Muslim Brotherhood (the Obama administration’s newest proposed negotiating partners), which includes this bit of information from the MB’s own “mission statement”:
“The Islamic ummah,” it says, referring to the supranational community of Muslims, “can regain its power and be liberated and assume its rightful position which was intended by Allah, as the most exalted nation among men, as the leaders of humanity.”
Elsewhere, it exhorts Muslims, “Know your status, and believe firmly that you are the masters of the world, even if your enemies desire your degradation.”
In fairness, George Bush had a doctrine that also amounted to spreading his belief system around the world. The difference, of course, was the nature of the belief system. The MB wants to spread subjugation to the brutalities of Islam; George Bush wanted to spread individual freedom.
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There was something fitting about the fact that it was Joe Biden who announced the newest government boondoggle: a high speed railroad. When will the liberals learn that we are geographically bigger than Europe? I mean, I’ve been to Europe a few times and even I — and I’m not the most observant person in the world — have noticed that you can traverse Holland in the time it takes to travel from San Francisco to Monterey. Same for Japan: itty-bitty country. All of Europe is geographically small and densely populated compared to the good old US. of A. My two favorite pieces on this latest bit of socialist insanity come from John Steele Gordon and John Stossel.
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Mr. Bookworm finds it infuriating that I refuse to accept the alarmists when they contend that human activity is leading to imminent climate Armageddon. Perhaps he’d understand me better if he’d read things like this. (And perhaps he’d be less worried about our climate future, too.)
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My readers are so ahead of the curve. Some of them having been telling me for years that Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves are vanishing, with the Saudis pumping water under the sand to float up what little remains. Now the whole world knows what Bookworm Room readers have already known.
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I had a friend who used to introduce herself to men by announcing that she was a virgin. The men, rather than being intrigued, would take off in a blind panic. We used to advise her that, perhaps, just perhaps, she would do better to preserve an air of mystery. Turns out our advice was good — when it comes to romance, it helps to keep ’em guessing.
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I always enjoy stories that remind us that nature is an overwhelming powerful force. Humans can do huge amounts of damage, and they can wipe out entire species (e.g., woolly mammoths and dodos), but nature tends to get her revenge. The current revenge is feral pigs, which are very scary animals indeed.
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Wolf Howling, that incredibly astute observer, is a bit skeptical of the force behind British PM David Cameron’s recent challenge to Islamic extremism. As WH noted in a comment here, Cameron put in all sorts of weasel words about other types of extremism too, so much so that he ended up saying just about nothing at all. (Here are more of WH’s thoughts on Cameron’s speech.) WH is right that these are baby steps, but they are steps all the same. I think that, faced with increasing Islamic hysteria, Europeans are finally waking up and smelling the rot and decay that surrounds multiculturalism which, as WH notes, has nothing to do with respect and everything to do with Marxist anti-Western thinking. The editors at National Review see a growing crack in in Europe’s multi-culti wall, as does Douglas Murray. Sometimes baby steps lead to great strides.
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Jonah Goldberg is in Israel for the first time. Even for people, like Jonah, who are already pro-Israel, it is an amazing experience. And because this is Jonah, he has some interesting observations to make.
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In law, there is a doctrine known as proportionate response. It means, essentially, that if someone grabs a potted plant from your porch and starts to run away, you can’t respond by gunning them down. Likewise, if a purse snatcher grabs your purse and runs away, no gun shots to the back. A flying tackle, yes; intentionally mortal injuries, no. Believe it or not, this little intro relates to honor killings. Phyllis Chesler has been following the trial of Muzzammil Syed Hassan, who was just found guilty of 2nd degree murder for stabbing his wife 40 times and then decapitating her. (The 2nd degree confuses me, but I won’t dwell on it.) What Chesler writes that is so horrible is that Hassan freely testified that this brutal murder was a proportionate response to the psychic injuries his wife inflicted on him when she asked for a divorce after years of abuse. Although Chesler writes about honor killings, her report about Hassan’s mindset can easily be applied to Muslim culture as a whole. It is an honor culture, not a morality culture. If a man perceives himself or his nation has having lost honor, that is tantamount to a mortal blow and a proportionate response involves blood spillage, and lots of it.
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I’ve written before about the hypersexualization of totalitariansim, which I believe is aimed at depersonalizing people’s bodies. This in turn destroys individualism, and makes it easier for the state to assert its dominance over people. It’s no surprise, therefore, that a Swedish school should be asking 13 year olds to write about sexual fantasies and experiences.
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In a battle between funding people with disabilities and fancying up death row, I know where my sympathies lie. As state economies collapse, we’re going to see more and more of these battles — and the activist judges are going to be right in the middle of the fray, a fact I mention here because the death row spending is per a judge’s order.
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Gas prices are skyrocketing and our administration responds by using our money to blow hot air. Can we say bad, bad administration? Can we cheer on anyone who believes that we are blessed with a singularly bad president who should get the boot in November 2012?
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And while I’m on the subject of bad, bad Obama, two posts you must read: (1) Jennifer Rubin on Obama’s singularly incoherent Egypt policy. Regarding that, I’ll note that, in a fluid situation, it’s very useful to be flexible and adaptable. The problem is that Obama doesn’t look flexible and adaptable. He looks befuddled, reactive, and inept. (2) Dan Miller on the Obama administration’s disregard for the rule of law. I haven’t been blogging on this one, but I have been paying attention. While Obama is very fund of empathetic, activist judges, he’s less inclined to pay attention to judges who actually pay attention to the law, and who demand that his administration act when it’s flouted that law. Given that the Constitution is very clear about the balance of powers, the administration’s willful decision to ignore two explicit court orders is deeply disturbing, and creates a constitutional crisis that will require action.
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More later…. And feel free to add your own interesting stuff (which is why I’ll categorize this as an Open Thread).
