Incoherence as Policy

Image via Wikipedia

Disgusted yet?

Related source » Measuring Force
Our policy in Libya is incoherent. But we shouldn’t be surprised.
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“The most charitable explanation for President Obama’s incoherent policy in Libya — if incoherence can be called a policy — is that he suffers from the longstanding blind spot of the Left when it comes to the use of force. A less charitable and more likely explanation is that Obama is treating the war in Libya as he treats all sorts of other things, as actions designed above all to serve his own political interests and ideological visions. Whether it does even that depends on what the situation is like in Libya when the 2012 elections roll around. […] President Obama started alienating our staunchest allies, Britain and Israel, from his earliest days in office, while cozying up to adversaries such as Russia and China, not to mention the Palestinians, who cheered when they saw the televised collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11. He has bypassed the Constitution by appointing power-wielding “czars” who don’t have to be confirmed by the Senate like cabinet members must be, and now he has bypassed Congress by taking military actions based on authorization by the United Nations and the Arab League. Those who expected his election to mark a new “post-racial” era may be the most disappointed. He has appointed people with a track record of promoting race resentment and bias, like Attorney General Eric Holder and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Disappointing? No. Disgusting? Yes. The only disappointment is with voters who voted their hopes and ignored his realities.”
— THOMAS SOWELL, MARCH 29, 2011 (nationalreview.com)

---

A narcissist has but one friend. Obama is a narcissist. Obama is not your friend.

What part of "narcissist" don't you understand?

How can anyone remain not disgusted by this guy?

People, this is not brain surgery: Barack Obama — very bad man.

Post 1,595 Incoherence as Policy

Related articles

• Neither Holier nor Guiltier Than Thou (hl98.blogspot.com)
• You can't fix stupid (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Rejoice ye scum of the Earth! (hl98.blogspot.com)

Nutroots in a Nutshell

Nuclear-Weapon Test "Bravo"
Awesome Image via Wikipedia

Related source » Libya vs. Iraq - Some Thoughts
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“The point of this is simply to repeat the ancient observation that little can be understood about the true nature of things by examining their similarities; only by understanding their differences do we really get to know them. […] You may agree or disagree with “The Bush Doctrine” and the threats posed by the Iraqi regime, but your representatives in Washington voted for it overwhelmingly and that is what Democracy in a Republic looks like. Deal with it. As for UN 1973, you may agree or disagree with it, but your representatives in Washington have no say in it whatsoever. That is what Global Totalitarianism looks like. Deal with it.”
— Ronny Reich, March 27, 2011 (ibdst.blogspot.com)

“I don't care. Obama is awesome!”

---

Fer shur, Obama is awesome. Literally, inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear.

A thermonuclear weapon is awesome, too, inspiring great apprehension. And so was Joseph Stalin, inspiring great fear. Shock and awe, dude.

Be careful what you wish for.

Post 1,594 Nutroots in a Nutshell

Related articles

• Art and the School of Motorcycle Blending (hl98.blogspot.com)
• You can't fix stupid (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Chicago Sends In the Clown (hl98.blogspot.com)

Shredding the Constitution — This Time It's Different

I'm so pleased with myself.

Image via Wikipedia

Related source » President Obama’s Ten Libyan Paradoxes
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“7) Oh, So that Was What Iraq Was About. Libya is now an exegesis of the Iraq War. By now we knew that the Bush-Cheney ‘shredding’ of the Constitution (e.g., tribunals, wiretaps, intercepts, renditions, preventative detention, predator drones, and Guantanamo Bay) was simply a liberal talking point. Why do we know that? Because Obama has either embraced or expanded all of those anti-terrorism protocols, and even hired the very lawyers and deans to legitimize them who used to sue the government to stop them. But Libya was the capstone of the entire liberal reset. When the MSNBC talking heads now support bombing an oil-producing Muslim Arab country that does not threaten our national security—without congressional approval, and with fewer allies than went with us to Afghanistan and Iraq—then we realize the entire Iraq hysteria was simply partisan politics, not about principles. That’s why we won’t see Rendition II at the movies, a return of Cindy Sheehan to network news, or Michael Moore in the VIP seats at the 2012 Democratic convention.”
— March 27, 2011 by Victor Davis Hanson (pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson)

---

What a blessing it is to be leftist. You can have your smugness and eat sh it, too.

Image via Theo

Where has all the outrage gone?
Long time passing
Where has all the outrage gone?
Long time ago
Where has all the outrage gone?
Leftists voted for the One
When will they ever learn?
Why won't they ever learn?

And where the hell has Seeger gone, now that you need him everyone?

 Pete Seeger (Image via Wikipedia) 

If I had a hummer
I'd love it in the morning
I'd love it in the evening
All over this land
I be shreddin' Constitution
I'd stammer out a warning
I be havin' some love with my brothers and my sisters [as long as you keep it in the family]
All over this land.

Yeah, he be gone with his brothers and his sisters to some commune in Californicatia. With Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan in tow, he be wishin' and hopin' and dopin' that the good ol' days of free love, free beer, and free Bushitler-outrage was once more available to the righteous indignantaries.

Fer shur. Wouldn't it be nice ...

Post 1,593 Shredding the Constitution — This Time It's Different

Related articles

• You can't fix stupid (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Disgusting Behavior at Columbia (hl98.blogspot.com)

The Distillation of Hard Work

“There are no shortcuts to expertise. The only known exceptions were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Rain Man, and Barry Bonds.”
— TheBigHenry's Expertise Rule

Cover of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Related source » Why Smart Drugs Don't Work Like NZT
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“What are smart drugs? Pills that are supposed to enhance a person's cognitive abilities in some way. Anything from Ritalin to Amphetamines to Provigil might qualify, as well as a wide range of lesser known "nootropics." […] All of these drugs -- past, present, and future generation -- are relative sledge-hammers compared to the intricate workings of the human brain. But the real reason smart drugs won't work like "NZT" (from the movie "Limitless") is because none of them can make the necessary changes in both function and structure, to turn mediocrity into brilliance. To do that it is necessary to tweak gene expression at multiple levels. NZT is an idea whose time has come. But ideas can only take you so far. Converting this idea into a dynamic reality will take more than a little thought.”
— Al Fin, 27 MARCH 2011 (alfin2100.blogspot.com)

Typical. D'you wanna be smart? We got a pill for dat! D'you wanna hit 73 homers in the bigs? We got an app for dat! Hey, it worked for Bonds.

The road to expertise is paved with blood, sweat and tears, mofo. You can quote me. There are very few exceptions, AKA genius, savant and god-given talent. But the typical fast-buck mentality is, "Find the edge that will enable my natural superiority to flow flawlessly from every pore of my specialness. I'll try anything." Except hard work.

In the progressive nirvana of the American-Idol mindset, there are only winners. Everyone, without exception, is above average. Everybody gets a trophy. All you have to do is show up. Work? That is so yesterday, dude.

Liberal morons.

Post 1,592 The Distillation of Hard Work

Related articles

• Art and the School of Motorcycle Blending (hl98.blogspot.com)
• It's about being smart, stupid! (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Getting Real (hl98.blogspot.com)
• You can't fix stupid (hl98.blogspot.com)

Premises, premises

Image via Wikipedia

Related source » Worry Over Islam Like Hitler’s Hatred of Jews?
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“As an introduction there was a so-called “incentive lecture” by Prof. Wolfgang Benz, the chief anti-Semitism researcher of Germany, on the topic “Islam as Boogey Man — Myth or Reality?” He started off likening fear of the Muslim Brotherhood to fear of a Jewish world conspiracy, as written in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Then he drew a comparison that left us speechless. He compared the attention that critics of Islam give to the high number of Muslim inmates in Berlin prisons (about 70% according to Benz) to Adolf Hitler’s ranting over the high percentage of Jewish Berlin pediatricians in the 1930s (89% according to Benz). Both “attentions” he put on the same level of condemnation.” — Til Biermann and Clemens Heni, March 26, 2011 (pajamasmedia.com)

A common species of reductio ad absurdum is proof by contradiction (also called indirect proof) where a premise is proved true by proving that it is impossible for it to be false. It is understood that the method of proof must be based on logical inference, stemming from axiomatic truth. There's the rub.

If the logic evolves from axiomatic falsehood, however, reductio ad absurdum becomes the norm rather than the exception. This is why it is becoming impossible to settle most controversies today by civil discourse. This is why we live in a world gone mad.

Take The Obama (if you dare). If, as He is wont to do, He begins a remark with His signature, "Make no mistake", duck instantly, unless you enjoy eating shit. In The Obama lexicon "Make no mistake" means "I am about to hurl a crap sandwich in your direction". He is the quintessential pathological liar, which is to say an inveterate leftist.

The Obama Lexicon

When He says:	He really means:
make no mistake	I am about to hurl a crap sandwich in your direction
hope and change	hopey-dopey
trust me	run for your life
transparent	opaque
not one single dime	a couple of terabucks, give or take
shit	Shinola
Shinola	shit
some of my best friends are Jews	Helen Thomas and her ilk
up; black; give; in; etc.	down; white; take; out; anti-etc. (respectively)

In a topsy-turvy, hopey-dopey world such as ours, you are well advised to go back to basics, namely, the smell test. If it smells like bullshit, it's probably Obama-speak.

Post 1,591 Premises, premises

Related articles

• Worry Over Islam Like Hitler's Hatred of Jews? (pajamasmedia.com)
• German woman devoted to removing Nazi graffiti (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• "Obama Delivers to the Muslim Brotherhood the Prize" and related posts (astuteblogger.blogspot.com)

This Week's Best of Rule 5

 

 

Elizabeth Taylor (June 19, 1958)
Image via AP Photo/Las Vegas Bureau 

Debbie Reynolds (June 19, 1958)
 Image via AP Photo/Las Vegas Bureau 

Post 1,590 This Week's Best of Rule 5

Related articles

• This Week's Best of Rule 5, March 20, 2011 (hl98.blogspot.com)
• This Week's Best of Rule 5, March 6, 2011 (hl98.blogspot.com)
• This Week's Best of Rule 5, February 27, 2011 (hl98.blogspot.com)

Neither Holier nor Guiltier Than Thou

Image via Wikipedia

Related source » Israel's Indivisible Legitimacy
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“The international community’s response to the Palestinian atrocity in Itamar is pointed to as proof that Israel must surrender. Instead of considering what the savage murder of an Israeli family tells us about the nature of Palestinian society, the world media have turned the massacre of the Fogel family into a story about “settlements.” […] With American [self-loathing] Jews taking a lead role in delegitimizing Israel; with the international media ignoring the massacre of the Fogel family and attacking Israel for its response to the event they didn’t cover; and with the US government united with the nations of the world in condemning the government’s decision to allow Israelis who are Jewish to build on land they own, the despair of a growing chorus of Israelis is understandable. […] It is time to make the Palestinians pay a price for their depravity and to put their international supporters on the defensive. […] Two days after the massacre in Itamar, the PA dedicated a public square in El-Bireh to terror commander Dalal Mughrabi. Mughrabi commanded the 1978 bus attack on the coastal highway in which 37 Israelis – including 12 children – were murdered. […] Were the government to go after international aid to the PA, not only would it begin a debate in the US and perhaps Europe about the nature of Fatah specifically and Palestinian society generally, it would force the Palestinians’ myriad supporters to justify their support for a society that is defined by its goal of annihilating Israel. […] And whether defying our foes is hard or easy, it is our only chance at survival.”
— Caroline Glick, 2011/03/18 (townhall.com)

It is fine to take the high road (so long as survival permits it). It also makes sense to justify punitive defensive-action in the court of public opinion. Up to a point. I think it is counter productive, however, to justify actions that are prima facie justified.

I think it is not in Israel's best interest to box itself into a propaganda war framed entirely by its enemies. That is generally a losing proposition, especially when world opinion is so outrageously stacked against Israel. Nothing Israel says in response to its enemies' slander will sway the vast majority of the world's hatred of Jews. It only serves to legitimize, in the minds of the Jew haters, the slanderous propaganda.

Israel should, in my opinion, continue to be proactive in pursuing their national objectives, which they have every right to pursue as a sovereign nation, without gratuitous public justification. It should do the same in taking defensive punitive measures. Only in the case of preemptive strikes, when there may be a legitimate basis for an explanation, can one be offered, but only if it truly serves the national interests.

That, by the way, is how most sovereign nations conduct their affairs. Israel can not afford to be more generous than the world's major powers, nor do they have such an obligation.

Post 1,589 Neither Holier nor Guiltier Than Thou

Related articles

• Rejoice ye scum of the Earth! (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Update on Fogel Family Massacre: Palestinians Call for New Violent Uprising Against Israel (theospark.net)
• Israel Hogtied...............by Dan Friedman (theospark.net)

This Week's Best of Rule 5

 

 

“Sky Eyes II” by Katya Steinberg
Image via Русское фотосообщество №1 

 “Untitled” by Sveta Drozdyuk
   Image via Русское фотосообщество №1

Post 1,588 This Week's Best of Rule 5

Related articles

• This Week's Best of Rule 5, March 6, 2011 (hl98.blogspot.com)
• This Week's Best of Rule 5, February 27, 2011 (hl98.blogspot.com)
• This Week's Best of Rule 5, February 20, 2011 (hl98.blogspot.com)

People ask TheBigHenry

“TheBigHenry, what's up with the nuclear disaster in Japan?”

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Like you, I have heard about and read about the nuclear disaster that Japan is dealing with, in the wake of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that triggered a tsunami on March 11, 2011. No doubt, the combined-calamity rises to the level of "perfect storm" proportions for this island nation. As bad as it is, however, I suspect that it is not as bad as the alarmist media would have you believe.

Nevertheless, the situation is dire in this geographically small, albeit densely populated nation. And my heart goes out to the many thousands of people directly impacted, who are struggling mightily to put a lid on the situation, so to speak.

I have been reluctant to prognosticate openly about the situation, thereby adding to the overbearing din from the mass media, which is largely fanning the flames of speculation based on minimal trustworthy information from the scene of the calamity. My guess is that the first responders are working at a feverish pace in this time-critical (but NOT nuclear critical) situation, and feeding the media's insatiable appetite for updates is not a priority.

Having said that, however, I admit to forming highly speculative opinions, which I am willing to share with people who have asked me what I think. I ask that you, in turn, keep in mind that I am not privy to any information about what is actually ongoing, which is not available to anyone else with access to the internet.

My sense is that this calamity (not counting the direct damage due to the earthquake/tsunami) is (or will turn out to be) worse than the Three Mile Island event, but not as bad a Chernobyl. Chernobyl had to be worse because there was no containment vessel around the melted reactor core. On the other hand, the current nuclear incident occurs in the midst of a higher-density population than Three Mile Island.

This calamity is ongoing and subject to worsening conditions. The full accounting may take years to assess. There will ultimately be many major lessons to be learned from the horrible experience. The cost in lives lost and/or broken emotionally, economically, sociologically, and politically will be great. Unfortunately, most of the damage will be borne by the little people, as usual.

The Obama will not even miss a single tee time. And by all accounts to date, He is on track to be reelected in 2012. This is presumably the only lesson in the world that simply will not be learned.

Post 1,587 People ask TheBigHenry

Related articles

• "Comparing Nuclear Events at Fukushima, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island-Fullermoney" and related posts (proactiveinvestors.co.uk)

[Marching-Orders Madness]

"I'm hitting the greens; c u l8r, sucka ..."

Related source » Your Bracket Awaits, Mr. President

 (Image via Iowahawk)  Hopey-Dopey Bracket [click to enlarge]

— Iowahawk, 2011-03-17 (iowahawk.typepad.com)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy? True enough. But such proverbs are meant as guidelines, not maxims. Our Jack-in-Chief, however, knows not nuance. His daily load of delegating marching orders terminates with an early tee time.

Nucular, schmucular. Yo, grade-school bullies are people too, bro. They need your lunch-money. Let's redistribute some of that wealth. Hey, Holder! Let's get that program going ...

Tee time!

 Horse of a Different Color    (Image via Theo)

Post 1,586 [Marching-Orders Madness]

Related articles

• Don't go away mad; just go away! (hl98.blogspot.com)
• The Mother of All Unintended Consequences (hl98.blogspot.com)
• The Hierarchical Emergence of Evil, Good and Greatness (hl98.blogspot.com)

You can't fix stupid

Image via Wikipedia

Related source » No way Obama wins in 2012
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“The combination of high oil and gasoline prices, rising food costs, higher health insurance premiums and the likelihood of future inflation has jarred consumer confidence, creating a major crisis for the Obama administration. […] As the Rev[!] Jeremiah Wright said — outrageously and wrongly — about 9/11, “the chickens are coming home to roost.” The policies of this administration — the disastrous overspending, the irresponsible borrowing, the social experimentation — all are magnifying and amplifying the impact of the recession. Relief is not going to come anytime soon. Instead, the true legacy of the Obama years is likely to be stagflation and an entire decade wiped out by his policies, budget and programs. Long after he is gone in 2013, we will still be repairing the damage of his terrible decisions.”
— By Dick Morris - 03/15/11 (thehill.com)

Seems like a reasonable analysis. One would think. If one was sane …

The kicker, of course, is the rampant insanity among the leftist electorate, which includes the majority of self-loathing Juice. In addition, there are 94% of black voters clinging to their bro, like the left's impression of everyone else "clinging to their guns and religion".

It's like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer — it feels so good when you stop.

You just can't fix stupid.

Post 1,585 You can't fix stupid

Related articles

• President Stupid - Barack Obama unrelenting blunders and lies (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
• It's about being smart, stupid! (hl98.blogspot.com)
• I have read my alter ego ... (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Occam's Razor to the Chase (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Chicago Sends In the Clown (hl98.blogspot.com)

The Arrogant Congressional Duodenum

Image via Wikipedia

Dodd-Frank or Friedman-Smith? Like, duh!

Related source » More Equity, Less Government: Rethinking Bank Regulation
What would Milton Friedman and Adam Smith have thought of the Dodd-Frank Act?
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.] [h/t Newmark's Door]

“Supporters of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act obviously believe expanded regulatory powers offer the best solution to reform, but they should consider that almost all previous major banking legislation has helped to create conditions that inevitably lead to the next banking crisis. A more market-based solution would be to simply regulate higher mandated equity standards in the range of 15 to 30 percent of total assets. In the tradition of Smith and Friedman, this approach would be a much more effective regulatory approach to curbing risk-taking, reducing systemic risk, and preventing a future banking crisis than 2,000 pages of Dodd-Frank.”
— By Mark J. Perry and Robert Dell, February 24, 2011 (american.com)

Another day; another no-brainer ignored by that dynamic duo of Congressional meddlers/peddlers of that which is unnecessary, unwarranted, and unwise. I am, of course, referring to the execrable duo, affectionately known as "The Crook and The Banking Queen", [thankfully, former] Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn) and [unfortunately, still] Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass), respectively (but not respectfully).

Preying on the ignorance of craven entitlementalian masses (leftist liberals), this pissed duodenum could always be counted on to generate monstrous legislation that nobody read and to the everlasting detriment of everyone's well-being. This is why we give these morons the big bucks and the cushy jobs?

What a country ...

Post 1,584 The Arrogant Congressional Duodenum

Rejoice ye scum of the Earth!

Gaza residents handed out candy and sweets …

depraved indifference: willful negligence toward human life attaining to the level of malice [From Wikipedia]

depraved difference: rejoicing in the savagery perpetrated by others [From TheBigHenry]

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Related source » Straining The “Many Faiths” Narrative
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“You see, slashing the throats of sleeping babies has Big Juice, Major Mojo, for some “faiths”. Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) hailed the act as “heroic”. For a “faith” that adopts the tactic of murdering sleeping families in the dead of night on the Sabbath, I suppose that’s about as “heroic”, about as courageous, as it gets. […] ”
— Secular Apostate, March 13th, 2011 (secularapostate.net)

Have you had your stomach-churning fix of revulsion today? No? Look no further than that cesspool of human detritus known as Gaza.

Is there, finally, no limit to human depravity? I suppose not. The human obsession with setting records in ever more bizarre categories surely does not exclude the age-old favorite category — depraved celebration of man's inhumanity to his fellow.

Note that I am contemplating the absence of limits on depravity, as opposed to savagery. The latter evil has been recorded in such great detail through the ages that its limits are only defined by imagination and technology. Depravity, however, seems to be unconstrained because it is within reach by all individuals who are willing to dispense with morality.

The murderous Arab scum have perfected that mindset. Their leftist enablers and supporters appear eager to follow suit.

May God and the IDF show minimal mercy to the whole fetid lot.

Post 1,583 Rejoice ye scum of the Earth!

Related articles

• Sometimes You Must Battle for Peace (hl98.blogspot.com)
• The Mother of All Unintended Consequences (hl98.blogspot.com)
• "Some of my best friends are Semites" (hl98.blogspot.com)

On Dereliction and Cold-Running Blood

O'Nero: The Fiddler-in-Chief

Image via Wikipedia

Related source » If This Doesn’t Make Your Blood Run Cold, Nothing Will
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“ABC News reports the following:

[North Korea] is believed to be nearing completion of an electromagnetic pulse [EMP] bomb that, if exploded 25 miles above ground would cause irreversible damage to electrical and electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, radio and radar, experts say.

[…] The only – only – effective defense against rogue EMP attack is missile defense. It is simply not possible to “harden” the civilian infrastructure against EMP. […] I have no doubt that the North Koreans would be delighted to fast-track [WH Science Adviser] Holdren’s “de-development” goals. If your blood runs cold thinking about an EMP scenario, rest assured that your thermostat and central heating won’t work either.”
— Secular Apostate, March 10th, 2011 (secularapostate.net)

As The Obama fiddles with trivia, such as beer summits and other earth-shaking molehills, the Middle East, Far East, and other geopolitical swaths of Earth are boiling over. Among the hot-spots that is getting currently less attention than it deserves, by the media and our Fiddler-in-Chief, is North Korea. As my friend, the Apostate, points out, the busy little devils are throwing caution and hunger to the wind while they craftily engineer what would constitute a doomsday weapon — an electromagnetic pulse bomb.

Friends, neighbors, countrymen lend me your beers and read my lips: dereliction of duty by one who is entrusted with the powers to protect the free world from irreversible denouement into the dark ages [which are preferred by Islamofascists] will trigger a fate worse than death. It is worse than death because it will be a torturous death-spiral, during which most ordinary people will wish they had cyanide capsules for themselves and their loved ones.

If you plan on handing The Obama a second term during which our death-loving enemies can avail themselves of their fondest hopes, then you better stock-up on cyanide capsules, too. Those capsules are the only insurance against enduring a doomsday scenario.

Post 1,582 On Dereliction and Cold-Running Blood

Related articles

• Word of the Week #1- derelictions (wymer7megan.wordpress.com)
• North Korea may posess EMP Bomb (yourdaddy.net)
• The Multicultural-Relativism of Our Discontent (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Sometimes You Must Battle for Peace (hl98.blogspot.com)
• There comes a time in every person's life ... (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Deckchairs at the Bottleneck (hl98.blogspot.com)

It's about being smart, stupid!

Image via Wikipedia

“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” — Winston Churchill

Related source » A mass expression of outrage against injustice
Historian Bernard Lewis diagnoses the fundamental cause of the region-wide explosion of protest, and dismisses Western notions of a quick fix.
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“And so to the Israel question. Israel, like everybody else, was taken completely by surprise. How should Israel be responding to these protests?

Watch carefully, keep silent, make the necessary preparations. And reach out. Reach out. This is a real possibility nowadays. There are increasing numbers of people in the Arab world who look with, I would even say, with wonderment at what they see in Israel, at the functioning of a free and open society. I read an article quite recently by a Palestinian Arab whom I will not endanger by naming, in which he said that “as things stand in the world at the present time, the best hope that an Arab has for his future is as a second class citizen of a Jewish state.” A rather extraordinary statement coming from an Arab spokesman. But if you think about it, he’s not far wrong. The alternative, being in an Arab state, is very much worse. They certainly do better as second class citizens of the Jewish state. There’s a growing realization of that. People would speak much more openly about that if it were safe to do so, which it obviously isn’t. There are two things which I think are helpful towards a better understanding between the Arabs and Israel. One of them is the well-known one, of the perception of a greater danger, which I mentioned before. Sadat turned to Israel because he saw that Egypt was becoming a Russian colony. The same thing has happened again on a number of occasions. Now they see Israel as a barrier against the Iranian threat. The other one, which is less easy to define but in the long run is probably more important, is [regarding Israel] as a model of democratic government. A model of a free and open society with rights for women – an increasingly important point, especially in the perception of women. In both of these respects I think that there are some hopeful signs for the future.” [emphasis added]
— By DAVID HOROVITZ, 02/25/2011 (jpost.com)

Yes, of course, Winston Churchill was, and historian Bernard Lewis continues to be, smart. But how smart do you have to be to see what is plainly before you?

The Arab "street" is hell-bent on attaining seventh-century squalor; the squalor they currently inhabit is apparently not squalid enough for them. But there in the midst of this sea of ignorance and squalor shines the, arguably, foremost forward-looking state of modernity, the State of Israel. No other state embraces the potential bounty of 21^st-century innovation and individual liberty as does Israel.

What's not to like? Apparently, human stupidity and envy will always find something to whine about. Against monumental odds and in a relatively brief period of 63 years, this "little nation that could" turned a small patch of desert-sans-oil into an oasis from the squalor surrounding it, all the while fighting half a dozen major wars and defending against relentless terrorist attacks by the Arab Jew-haters.

And what about the worldly leftist intelligentsia? These ignoramuses see through their diseased eyes what their bigotry impels them to see, namely the deliberate inversion of reality. Black is white; up is down; light is darkness; and Jews are, were, and will always be "the problem in need of a final solution".

Post 1,581 It's about being smart, stupid!

Related articles

• Arab Turmoil & The Indespensible Nation.........by Dan Friedman (theospark.net)
• The Mother of All Unintended Consequences (hl98.blogspot.com)

The "Michael Jordan" of My Youth

Edwin "Duke" Snider

1952 Topps #37 Card
Image via ebay

Related source » Dodgers' Hall of Fame OF Snider passes away
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“Los Angeles native and long-time Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider passed away at the age of 84. […] His best season during the run was 1955, when Brooklyn finally overcame the Yankees to win the Fall Classic -- its last while playing in [Brooklyn] New York. Snider hit .309 with 42 homers, 136 RBI and scored 126 runs, eventually finishing second in NL MVP voting to teammate Roy Campanella.”
—BY SPORTS NETWORK, 02.27.11 (miamiherald.com) 

Before an American boy's first infatuation with a girl there is his love affair with his sports hero. Culminating in my thirteenth year the demigod of my universe was "The Duke of Flatbush".

In those days I was the odd-man-out, so to speak. My friends on Long Island were either Yankees fans or Giants fans. But my mood was totally governed by the (mis)fortunes of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and especially by how well The Duke did at the plate. In the field, he could always be counted on to snag gracefully every fly ball hit to center, occasionally digging a would-be homer out of the first row of seats behind the fence.

On the rare occasion that I could watch a ball-game broadcast from Ebbets Field, on our 13" black-and-white TV, I could instantly determine by the ball's trajectory leaving Duke's bat whether it would clear the tall right-field fence. When it sailed over that fence into the dark night, my day was made.

Thanks for those glorious memories, Duke.

R.I.P.

Post 1,580 The "Michael Jordan" of My Youth

Related articles

• Like a New Birth of Freedom (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Duke Snider was a mensch (laobserved.com)

This Week's Best of Rule 5

From the Other McCain: Five Rules for Getting a Million Hits on Your Blog

Anna Rawson     Image via maggiesnotebook.com	Rachel Hunter            Image via maggiesnotebook.com

Post 1,579 This Week's Best of Rule 5

Related articles

• This Week's Best of Rule 5, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 (hl98.blogspot.com)
• This Week's Best of Rule 5, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2011 (hl98.blogspot.com)

Something Rotten in Denmark

Image via Wikipedia

It's the value-system, stupid!

Related source » Treating Israel like Dirt
Turning the tables on Israel’s accusers.
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“In a critical passage from The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James associates evil with the concept of “dirt.” […] There is a great and deflationary, though duly unacknowledged, irony at work in this overarching semiotic. Europe is corrupt to the very core, in particular as it seeks to avoid self-recognition by discharging its sins upon its victim, that is, treating Israel like dirt. Unaware of its contorted project of self-acquittal, it has transformed Israel into itself. It gazes at Israel and sees its own savage and decadent past projected outward, in this way relieving itself of accountability and the knowledge which incriminates. […]  Islam, too, is complicit, since as an Abrahamic religion which owes its formation in large measure to the Hebrew scripture and the people it later conquered by violence and slaughter, it must preserve its sense of purity by suppressing the inadmissible. Thus, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Islam’s most popular preacher, recently speechified in Cairo’s Tahrir Square: “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler [who] managed to put them in their place”. […] Qaradawi is only articulating a sentiment pervasive throughout the Islamic world and its various branch-plants, like Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam. For Farrakhan, Israel and the Jews are “Satan” incarnate, the Prince of Evil or his minions sowing havoc in the world. They do not belong; they must be “uncovered.” […] Europe, on the other hand, represents a fully modern cultural system that is morally out of place, hiding from itself, desperately striving to deflect responsibility for what James called “evil” by locating it elsewhere, an act of ethical foulness and a sordid perversion of communal conscience. Europe not only resents the Jews for what it did to them and for serving as a reminder of its own depravity, like a demon it is determined to exorcize, it must also pacify its restive Muslim populations while ensuring the favor of Muslim oil producing nations. Hitting on Israel is just the ticket. […] The fact is that Israel’s cadastral address is also its ordered and ritually authentic locus between the river and the sea. To use James’ terms, it will not “be sloughed off and negated, and the very memory of it, if possible, wiped out and forgotten.” The “evil” lies elsewhere. The “dirt” on Israel is shoveled from the European and Islamic rubbish heap. For despite the calumny and dishonesty to which it is regularly subjected, Israel is the one place where Jews are truly not out of place.”
— March 5, 2011 - by David Solway (pajamasmedia.com)

The European and Islamist world is beyond the pale in its hatred of Jews. Its hatred is a perversion of the very concept of a value-system. Indeed, not only is their value-system beyond perversion, it is based on the antithesis of value. It is a system of hate.

The Banner of "Humanity's Last Best Hope", once proudly held aloft by the United States, is now largely borne by Hatikvah (Hebrew: lit. "The Hope"), the national anthem of Israel. This enlightened nation, re-born from the ashes of the Holocaust and by the efforts of scapegoats, underdogs, outcasts, survivors, and pioneers, shines a spotlight on the blighted world, the world of Hitler, Mussolini and I'madinnerjacket, which reviles every form of excellence. Israel is the nation of Annie Oakley singing "Anything you can do I can do better".

Europeans, Islamists, and Leftists the world over, however, no longer have a sense of value. Their values have metastasized into self-consuming hatred, marinated in bile for millennia. May they rot in Denmark and in Hell.

Post 1,578 Something Rotten in Denmark

Related articles

• Will The Urge to Destroy The Jews Undermine The West Again?................by Dan Friedman (theospark.net)
• "Farrakhan Blames the Jews" and related posts (blogsforvictory.com)
• Wake Up and Smell the Mendacity (hl98.blogspot.com)
• "Some of my best friends are Semites" (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Sometimes You Must Battle for Peace (hl98.blogspot.com)
• There comes a time in every person's life ... (hl98.blogspot.com)

Charlie Sheen Unleashed

"On the Internet, nobody knows you're Charlie Sheen"

Peter Steiner's Famous Cartoon
(Image via Wikipedia)

Steiner's Cartoon with modified caption
(Image via Theo Spark)

"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a Liberal"

Image via Theo Spark

"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a douchbag"

Post 1,577 Charlie Sheen Unleashed

Related articles

• Poll: Do You Agree With Charlie Sheen's Goddess About Polyamory? (thegloss.com)
• Charlie Sheen (motorwayoflife.wordpress.com)
• Winning, a new cologne from Charlie Sheen (adweek.blogs.com)

"Some of my best friends are Semites"

Euphemism in the Time of Jew-Hatred

Helen Thomas and friend (Image via Wikipedia)

Semites (plural): Any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs.

Related source » Democracy or Jew-Hatred? The Libyan Edition
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“In any case, photos taken at “solidarity” rallies regularly feature portraits of Gaddafi defaced with Stars of David. Nonetheless, when the Los Angeles Times’ “Babylon and Beyond” blog published a photo essay titled “Libya: Kadafi caricatures, parodies abound,” no Stars of David were to be seen. It is perhaps not coincidental that the post in fact contains only three photos and only two that are actually from Libya.”
— February 28, 2011 - by John Rosenthal (pajamasmedia.com)

You will never hear anyone seriously say, "Some of my best friends are Semites", in defense against an accusation of anti-Semitism. You might, however, occasionally hear the cynical variant, "Some of my best friends are Arabs", as if the accusation of anti-Semitism could possibly mean anything other than Jew-hatred specifically. It can't. Anti-Semitism is merely a mealy-mouthed rendering for the accursed hatred directed at Jews for millennia.

The proper denunciation of Jew-hatred is "Jew-hatred!", whether hurled at a crowd of Arabs rioting and burning Israeli flags in their recurring murderous fits of rage, or addressed to that old hag Helen Thomas at some formal cocktail party for doddering bigots.

The shame-stream media likes to pussyfoot around uncomfortable subjects. So they choose their euphemisms with care: "suicide" bombing for "homicide" bombing; "unacceptable" for "outrageous"; and that sniveling "anti-Semitism" for that most vile expression of man's inhumanity to man — "Jew-hatred".

Post 1,576 "Some of my best friends are Semites"

Related articles

• Ignorance, Wealth-Creation, Envy, Taxes, and Jew-Hatred (hl98.blogspot.com)
• The Making of an Acid Test (hl98.blogspot.com)
• Disgusting Behavior at Columbia (hl98.blogspot.com)