The Bookworm Beat 2/4/16 edition — “it’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world” edition and open thread

Woman-writing-300x265It’s been some time since my last round-up so, without further ado:

A primer for those who need to be reminded why Hillary should be incarcerated, not inaugurated. Deroy Murdock has a knack for political parables. Using the example of the “Foggy Bottom Department Store,” he makes it clear just how heinous Hillary’s conduct has been in connection with her egregious national security violations.

And a primer on foreign trade and capitalism. Larry Elder has a truly brilliant piece about the benefits that flow to America from low tariffs and foreign trade — benefits that are very real even when it seems that American jobs are going away. I urge you to read it. (This is a different issue, of course, from the Democrats and Chamber of Commerce types manipulating and violating American law to ship in cheap labor at the expense of American citizens.)

One of the things I like about Ted Cruz is the long list of people who hate him. You can know a man by his friends and by his enemies. Strong conservatives respect Ted Cruz; RINOs (and RINO’s are the majority of “Republicans” in Congress) hate and fear him. That works for me. Spengler, aka David P. Goldman, has more to say about Cruz’s well-earned Iowa victory (it was a brilliant ground game, not cheating) and about Cruz’s rejection of the Washington establishment and embrace of ordinary conservatives — core conservatives — across America.

A handbook for Muslim men in the West. As more and more stories about Muslim men’s conduct towards European women ooze out of Europe, despite the European governments’ efforts to clamp down on those stories, it’s becoming clear that male Muslim immigrants have neither the old-fashioned chauvinist’s chivalry (“You male chauvinist pig! How dare you open the door for me when I can do it myself!”) nor the modern feminist male’s willingness to throw away his man card at the first sign of female wrath. What you have, instead, are men who believe with every fibre of their being that non-Muslim women who aren’t veiled are advertising their wares and are free for the taking. Brian Sacks has written a tongue-in-cheek guidebook to help these immigrants out. It’s very good — pointed and funny.

By the way, the ignorance of “youth” is no excuse for Muslim male conduct. Across Europe, a lot of these incoming refugees who have been classified as “elementary school children” turn out to have been shaving for years — and really, looking at the first photograph in this article, how would you feel if you were the mother of a little girl and discovered that this man, who comes from a culture where pedophilia is normative, is sharing a classroom with your daughter?

With Planned Parenthood, it seems there’s always something shady going on. Greg, at Rhymes With Right, did a little digging and discovered — surprise!! — that there’s something pretty unethical going on with the Houston branch of Planned Parenthood: It turns out that an employee of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas (i.e., a government employee), was not only moonlighting as a Planned Parenthood abortionist, but she was in charge of cutting government checks to pay her part-time employer. Conflict of interesting anybody?

Another one for the “gun’s save lives” category. This time, the story is about a Marine veteran carrying a legal weapon who saved the life of a sheriff’s deputy. These are the stories that the New York Times and others of its ilk routinely ignore. And just to drive the “guns save lives” point home, here’s an article that has the facts.

The Clean Air Act paves the way for a federal takeover of all state economies. You know how video games have those “Easter eggs” — that little combination of buttons and links and plays that reveals a hidden gem? Well, it turns out that, for the radical greenies, there’s been a hidden gem in the Clean Air Act, and they’re now pushing Obama to take it out and play with it. Thanks to the Paris Protocols, the Clean Air Act gives Obama the authority to take over the entire United States economy, from stem to stern, in order to “clear the air.” And this is not a joke or a conservative paranoid fantasy. It is, instead, a fervent plea from Leftist lawyers at Columbia Law School. The worrisome thing is that, with his time in office almost over, Obama might want to give this a try. If the next president is a Republican, this bell can be unrung, but not if it’s a Democrat/Socialist.

Facebook values on guns and terrorism. By the way, while Facebook still allows every two-bit Islamic terrorist to use Facebook to meet up and plan terrorism with like-minded people, it’s going to prevent law-abiding American citizens from conducting legal gun sales (in a country with Second Amendment protection) using Facebook. While Facebook is a private company and can do whatever it pleases, the anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, anti-civilization hypocrisy is pretty stomach churning. The problem is that so many of us — myself included — are vested in Facebook. If there were a conservative version that all of us — every one of my friends and those people I follow — could instantly be transported to, I’d leave Facebook behind. As it is, I’m pretty tightly networked into it.

Giving American foreign policy the “broken windows” treatment. I am not pleased with Bret Stephens’ often unhinged attacks on Ted Cruz. Having said that, I consider Cruz to be Stephens’ monomania — that is, when it comes to Cruz, Stephens’ common sense and intelligence take a temporary break. As to other things, though, Stephens is a smart, informed man who has a lot to offer. That’s the case with this Prager University video about applying the “Broken Windows” theory of crime prevention to American foreign policy. (And that’s Cruz’s stated approach . . . just saying, Bret.)

What’s sauce for the gay goose is not sauce for the straight gander. It seems that San Francisco gays, the ones who got hysterical when working and middle class homeowners in the Castro District objected to a gay takeover, are incredibly upset that straight people are trying to horn in on their neighborhood. All I can say is, when you say “I’m not heterophobic,” you sound just like the person who, back in the 70s, said “some of my best friends are gay.”

Don’t defend the white Oscars. Alfonzo Rachel can’t believe that conservatives are siding with Hollywood’s pooh-bahs to ridicule the notion that the Oscars are racist. Of course, they’re racist — and that’s because the Hollywood pooh-bahs, the ones who scold everyone in America for being insufficiently pro-race, pro-gay, pro-every Leftist talking point, are incredibly racist and wouldn’t dream of handing their precious little white Oscar society over to the black folks. We need to go full Alinsky and make them live up to their standards.

Make ’em laugh, make ’em laugh. Don’t you know everyone one wants to laugh. Starting at about 1986, I disagree with most examples comedic in Vulture’s “The 100 Jokes That Shaped Modern Comedy,” since almost all of the later ones tend towards a vulgar Progressivism or an obsession with race, gender, fecal matter, etc., but it is an impressive compilation, and rekindled many happy memories of brilliant early American comedy moments.

Aesthetic pleasures Every Friday, Robert Avrech, at Seraphic Secret, does a post juxtaposing classic art, modern art, Hollywood photographs, his own photos, and all manner of other images, and every Friday I’m absolutely charmed. For a wonderful writer, he has an incredible visual sensibility. I recommend making his Friday posts a regular stop.