The Unfeeling Left: A Response to E. L. Doctorow
E. L. Doctorow: The Unfeeling President
E. L. Doctorow did not stand atop the still-smoldering grave of nearly 3,000 Americans and address the nation.
The Left ridiculed President Bush for showing emotion at the site of the World Trade Center. How typical. It was the Left, after all, which defended the genocide of Saddam Hussein; which defended the sadistic misogyny of the Taliban; and which continues to worship the false messiah of the United Nations.
Doctorow, secure in his position as a cultured, sophisticated man of letters, decides that he can read the President's mind. Good for him. Doctorow indulges his own righteous eloquence by shedding crocodile tears for my comrades, but remains silent on the hundreds of thousands of people massacred, raped, and tortured under the fascisms of our generation. And this man sets himself up as a voice of conscience?
Right now, even as you and I sit here comfortably looking at our computer screens, the turbaned mafiosi in Tehran are racing to build a nuclear weapon in order to destroy Israel and threaten thousands of Americans and millions of Arabs. Think what it would mean for them to succeed: they want to make Tel Aviv and Jerusalem look like Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They will not stop for the United Nations - they've already made that abundantly clear. They will only be stopped by force - the kind of pre-emptive war that Doctorow associates with the Neanderthals.
Right now, Iraq and Afghanistan are preparing to hold democratic elections and are taking the first steps - painful steps, to be sure - toward a future of freedom and prosperity. This is happening because of people like President Bush; and it is happening in spite of people like E. L. Doctorow.
Right now, Iranians are rioting against their fascist regime - almost certainly with covert support from the United States. G-d willing, they will succeed in their goal of overthrowing the ayatollahs and establishing a free and democratic state in their homeland. If our Government chooses to help them in this courageous struggle, it will be in part because they know such a policy will enjoy popular support - in part because of citizen efforts like the Iran Regime Change Petition.
Doctorow is partially right - and only partially - about one thing: "The President we get is the country we get." I am confident that, by November, the American people will see the wisdom of electing the brave and compassionate President Bush, and not the duplicitous, cowardly John Kerry.
But contrary to Doctorow, the President does not single-handedly form our national consciousness. Typical of today's Left is the fantasy that America is a dictatorship; this nonsense can be believed only by people who know nothing of real dictatorships - and who care nothing for those who live under them.
This piece of rubbish perfectly illustrates why I have nothing but contempt for the contemporary Left, and precious little respect for most of today's "intellectuals".
2004-10-17
America's Addiction
Addicted to Freedom: A Response to Thomas Friedman.
Thomas Friedman: Addicted to 9/11
Actually, President Bush's supporters include a wide spectrum of people of all ideological persuasions, precisely because President Bush has correctly understood the war on terrorism and on fascism as the central issue of our time.
Many people on both sides of the environmental, social, and economic issues - including those like myself who strongly disagree with the President about many of these things - realize that these political conversations are secondary to the threats facing both America and the free world. In fact, one of the most positive changes I've experienced in the past three years has been the chance to learn about, and better understand, those whose views are different from my own. It's been my observation that many other Americans have had a similar experience. Sad indeed that it took the tragedy of September 11 to bring us to this place; but the fact that it is happening speaks well of both America and its leadership.
A wedge between America and the rest of the world? No. It is a wedge between those who support and defend the sadistic fascism of the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, the Iranian regime, and their ilk; and freedom-loving nations like America, India, Britain, Australia, Israel, and free Iraq. Drive that wedge deep, and drive it with a sledge hammer.
"Bush only seems able to express our anger, not our hopes," Friedman's source claims. But President Bush expressed my own hopes quite eloquently at the Azores summit when he said:
Friedman carefully sidesteps the success of the Iraq campaign, complaining that there "weren't enough troops on the ground" - as if, had the operation been conducted with adequate troops, complaints about American "heavy-handedness" wouldn't have been even louder. In fact, he would prefer that you didn't know about organizations like the Iraq-America Freedom Alliance and people like Alaa of The Mesopotamian and the Fadhil Brothers of the Iraq the Model.
Like many well-informed liberals of good conscience, Friedman is uneasy with Kerry. And with good reason: Iranian freedom activists are uneasy with him too. What Friedman doesn't explain is how America, under any Presidential administration, will "put terrorism back into perspective" without making some difficult, demanding, and sometimes unpopular decisions.
President Bush understands this, and that's why he sees terrorism as more than a "nuisance". And most Americans understand this, too, and that is exactly why - as Mr. Friedman rightly suggests - many of us have indeed adopted a "7/4 mentality" the year round. We are not addicted to September 11. We are addicted to freedom.
See also this analysis from Big Pharaoh:
Big Pharaoh on Thomas Friedman
Thomas Friedman: Addicted to 9/11
Actually, President Bush's supporters include a wide spectrum of people of all ideological persuasions, precisely because President Bush has correctly understood the war on terrorism and on fascism as the central issue of our time.
Many people on both sides of the environmental, social, and economic issues - including those like myself who strongly disagree with the President about many of these things - realize that these political conversations are secondary to the threats facing both America and the free world. In fact, one of the most positive changes I've experienced in the past three years has been the chance to learn about, and better understand, those whose views are different from my own. It's been my observation that many other Americans have had a similar experience. Sad indeed that it took the tragedy of September 11 to bring us to this place; but the fact that it is happening speaks well of both America and its leadership.
A wedge between America and the rest of the world? No. It is a wedge between those who support and defend the sadistic fascism of the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, the Iranian regime, and their ilk; and freedom-loving nations like America, India, Britain, Australia, Israel, and free Iraq. Drive that wedge deep, and drive it with a sledge hammer.
"Bush only seems able to express our anger, not our hopes," Friedman's source claims. But President Bush expressed my own hopes quite eloquently at the Azores summit when he said:
Action to remove the threat from Iraq would also allow the Iraqi people to build a better future for their society. And Iraq's liberation would be the beginning, not the end, of our commitment to its people. We will supply humanitarian relief, bring economic sanctions to a swift close, and work for the long-term recovery of Iraq's economy. We'll make sure that Iraq's natural resources are used for the benefit of their owners, the Iraqi people.
Iraq has the potential to be a great nation. Iraq's people are skilled and educated. We'll push as quickly as possible for an Iraqi interim authority to draw upon the talents of Iraq's people to rebuild their nation. We're committed to the goal of a unified Iraq, with democratic institutions of which members of all ethnic and religious groups are treated with dignity and respect.
Friedman carefully sidesteps the success of the Iraq campaign, complaining that there "weren't enough troops on the ground" - as if, had the operation been conducted with adequate troops, complaints about American "heavy-handedness" wouldn't have been even louder. In fact, he would prefer that you didn't know about organizations like the Iraq-America Freedom Alliance and people like Alaa of The Mesopotamian and the Fadhil Brothers of the Iraq the Model.
Like many well-informed liberals of good conscience, Friedman is uneasy with Kerry. And with good reason: Iranian freedom activists are uneasy with him too. What Friedman doesn't explain is how America, under any Presidential administration, will "put terrorism back into perspective" without making some difficult, demanding, and sometimes unpopular decisions.
President Bush understands this, and that's why he sees terrorism as more than a "nuisance". And most Americans understand this, too, and that is exactly why - as Mr. Friedman rightly suggests - many of us have indeed adopted a "7/4 mentality" the year round. We are not addicted to September 11. We are addicted to freedom.
See also this analysis from Big Pharaoh:
Big Pharaoh on Thomas Friedman
2004-10-15
Best of Dreams Into Lightning
BEST OF DREAMS INTO LIGHTNING: Selected Posts Since April 21, 2004 CE
Celebrating six lunar months with Rosh Hodesh Heshvan (on the Jewish Calendar), this blog is pleased to present another best-of collection.
And wishing a blessed Ramadan to Muslim readers.
WOMEN AND POWER: Gender, politics, and the price of empowerment – responsibility.
Women and Power
But Can She Vote?
Iran in Transition?
Gender and Sexuality
IRAN
Iran Regime Change Petition
And Iran...
THE L WORD: Liberalism in crisis.
Berman: Another Peace Movement
An Infinite Supply of Arab Murderers
The Moral Struggle
ORIGINAL FICTION
The Rose of Paradise
The Death Wish
SPIRITUALITY
The World of Tomorrow
The Kabbalah: complete series
Like a Persian: Madonna and Esther
Vashti and Freedom
I Am a Jew and My Father Was a Jew
WORDS TO LIVE BY
Faith
Celebrating six lunar months with Rosh Hodesh Heshvan (on the Jewish Calendar), this blog is pleased to present another best-of collection.
And wishing a blessed Ramadan to Muslim readers.
WOMEN AND POWER: Gender, politics, and the price of empowerment – responsibility.
Women and Power
But Can She Vote?
Iran in Transition?
Gender and Sexuality
IRAN
Iran Regime Change Petition
And Iran...
THE L WORD: Liberalism in crisis.
Berman: Another Peace Movement
An Infinite Supply of Arab Murderers
The Moral Struggle
ORIGINAL FICTION
The Rose of Paradise
The Death Wish
SPIRITUALITY
The World of Tomorrow
The Kabbalah: complete series
Like a Persian: Madonna and Esther
Vashti and Freedom
I Am a Jew and My Father Was a Jew
WORDS TO LIVE BY
Faith
Where Wings Take Dream
If you'll look QUICKLY at the bottom of my right-hand sidebar, you might still see that the TTLB Ecosystem has promoted me to "Flappy Bird"! Well, I'm just chirping with joy. I zoomed RIGHT PAST the Reptile stage this time around ...
Of course I know this particular evolutionary burst is probably just an artifact of having been rotated to the top of the Blogs For Bush list, so I'm currently linked on a bunch of blogs that don't even know I exist. But still. I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
It feels good to be soaring among the higher realms of the blognoscenti, even if it's just for a little while.
Of course I know this particular evolutionary burst is probably just an artifact of having been rotated to the top of the Blogs For Bush list, so I'm currently linked on a bunch of blogs that don't even know I exist. But still. I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
It feels good to be soaring among the higher realms of the blognoscenti, even if it's just for a little while.
Morning Report: October 15, 2004
Fallujah offensive begins. US forces have no more time to chit-chat with Fallujah negotiator Khaled al-Jumeili and have arrested him, as American warplanes begin airstrikes in the current Fallujah offensive. 'Targets hit included several key planning centers, a weapons storage facility, two safe houses, a meeting site and several illegal checkpoints used by the al-Zarqawi network, the U.S. military said.' (AP via Fox)
2004-10-14
Regime to Execute 13-year-old Incest Victim
Bulletin from Free Iran. Having allegedly become pregnant by her 15-year-old brother, a thirteen-year-old Iranian girl by the name of Zhila (her last name has not been released), currently jailed in the city of Marivan, has been sentenced to death by stoning in the Islamic Republic. The date set for her execution is unknown. No other information is available.
http://web.peykeiran.com/net_iran/irnewsbody.aspx?ID=19209
Free Iran: Incest Victim to Die
http://web.peykeiran.com/net_iran/irnewsbody.aspx?ID=19209
Free Iran: Incest Victim to Die
Iraq Accuses Iranian Embassy of Assassinations
Latest news from Blog Iran:
Read the whole article at the link: Blog Iran: Iraq Accuses Iran Embassy
(Source: AFP via Blog Iran)
Iraq's national intelligence chief Mohammed al-Shahwani has accused Iran's Baghdad embassy of masterminding an assassination campaign that has seen 18 intelligence agents killed since mid-September. Shahwani told AFP a series of raids on three Iranian "safe houses" in Baghdad on September 29 had uncovered a treasure trove of documents linking Iran to plots to kill members of the intelligence service and using the Badr former militia of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq's (SCIRI) as its tool.
SCIRI has vigourously denied the allegations and counter-charged that the intelligence service is full of veterans of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's military who are now renewing their vendetta against former Shiite resistance groups based out of Iran in the 1980s.
Since mid-September, 18 Iraqi intelligence agents have been killed in Iraq, 10 of them by the Badr organisation on orders from Iran and the rest by Al-Qaeda-linked foreign militant Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, Shahwani charged.
"Badr and Zarqawi have assassinated 18 of my men," Shahwani said from his heavily-guarded villa in central Baghdad.
Shahwani confirmed that two of his intelligence agents were beheaded by Zarqawi's Unity and Holy War group, as seen in a video released by the fighters on Wednesday.
The intelligence chief said he suspected Tehran was funding Zarqawi, but lacked conclusive proof.
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's government has escalated its rhetoric against Iran in recent days, accusing the neighbouring Islamic republic of running a campaign of sabotage in Iraq.
But Shahwani's claims of huge caches of documents seized in the September raids are the most explicit charges to date against Iran and the first time an Iraqi party has been publicly named as Tehran's proxy.
Read the whole article at the link: Blog Iran: Iraq Accuses Iran Embassy
(Source: AFP via Blog Iran)
Six Iranian Bloggers Arrested
News item from the BBC:
BBC: Iran blog crackdown
hat tip: Little Green Footballs
Six online journalists and webloggers have been arrested in Iran recently in a crackdown on dissent on the internet.
"People charged for having illegal internet sites... will be put on trial soon," said a judiciary spokesman.
The trials would be "open" and charges included "acting against national security, disturbing the public mind and insulting sanctities".
Web journals flourish in Iran where the youthful, reform-hungry population has gone online for news and entertainment.
The popularity of the internet has grown as hardline judges closed about 100 printed publications since 2000.
Journalists and relatives quoted by Reuters named the six people arrested as Shahram Rafizadeh, Babak Ghafouri-Azar, Rouzbeh Amir-Ebrahimi, Hanif Mazroui, Omid Memarian and Mostafa Derayati.
BBC: Iran blog crackdown
hat tip: Little Green Footballs
Oregon's Amendment 36 Seeks to Bar Gay Marriage
Oregonians will vote on Constitutional Amendment 36 this year, a bill which would write discrimination into the State's constitution. By defining marriage as "between one man and one woman", the amendment would hurt lesbian and gay couples and provide no measurable benefit to any Oregonian.
It is natural that people will disagree about gay marriage; but the social and religious conservatives who do not recognize gay marriage should not abrogate other people's rights to enter into contractual relationships. Amendment 36 is also a violation of the religious liberties of those churches and religious organizations which do recognize the sanctity of a gay couple's bond.
Social conservatives argue that marriage is a sacred rite. To the extent that this is true, then, it is the province of the churches, synagogues, and mosques. But marriage is also a legal contract; and to the extent that it is that, no religious sect or group has the right to deny access to that contract to its fellow citizens.
Oregonians, vote NO ON 36.
NoOn36.com
It is natural that people will disagree about gay marriage; but the social and religious conservatives who do not recognize gay marriage should not abrogate other people's rights to enter into contractual relationships. Amendment 36 is also a violation of the religious liberties of those churches and religious organizations which do recognize the sanctity of a gay couple's bond.
Social conservatives argue that marriage is a sacred rite. To the extent that this is true, then, it is the province of the churches, synagogues, and mosques. But marriage is also a legal contract; and to the extent that it is that, no religious sect or group has the right to deny access to that contract to its fellow citizens.
Oregonians, vote NO ON 36.
NoOn36.com
LCR Responds to Presidential Debate
Log Cabin Republicans singled out Senator John Kerry's tasteless remarks on Mary Cheney for criticism, but also called on both major parties to elevate the level of dialogue on gay issues:
Log Cabin Republicans is the nation's largest organization of Republicans who support fairness, freedom, and equality for gay and lesbian Americans. LCR believes in the ideals of small government, individual rights, and individual responsibility. Visit their homepage at the link: Log Cabin Republicans
Statement by Log Cabin Executive Director Patrick Guerriero
(Washington, DC)—"Senator Kerry could have made his point about gay and lesbian Americans without mentioning the Vice-President's daughter.
However, this shouldn't distract us from the fact that President Bush, Karl Rove and other Republicans have been using gay and lesbian families as a political wedge issue in this campaign.
Log Cabin Republicans have a message for both campaigns. For Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards, you do not need to talk about the Vice President's daughter in order to discuss your positions on gay and lesbian issues. For President Bush and Karl Rove, you have a moral obligation to stop using gay and lesbian families as a political wedge issue. Our country and our party deserve better."
Log Cabin Republicans is the nation's largest organization of Republicans who support fairness, freedom, and equality for gay and lesbian Americans. LCR believes in the ideals of small government, individual rights, and individual responsibility. Visit their homepage at the link: Log Cabin Republicans
Morning Report: October 14, 2004
US forces poised for Sunni Triangle offensive. According to a current bulletin from Debka: 'DEBKAfile's military sources report: Large-scale US and Iraqi forces poised on battle readiness in offensive array around four Sunni Triangle hotbeds: Fallujah, Ramadi, Latafiya and Balad, awaiting order to launch major assaults.' (Debka)
Russia: Iranian nuke plant complete. Iranian nuclear update: 'Russia's top nuclear authority said on Thursday it had finished construction of an atomic power plant in Iran -- a project the United States fears Tehran could use to make nuclear arms.' (Reuters / Blog Iran)
Iraqi government establishes loan fund. Al-Sabah: 'Sheikh Ghazi al- Yawer the Iraqi President chaired a meeting with his deputies Dr. Ibrahim al- Ja'fari and Dr. Rose Nouri Shaweis .During the meeting , the presidency office has issued a decision pertains to establish the population loaning fund at capital worth of 300 billions Iraqi dinar .At a press statement, the presidency office said that the meeting was devoted on discussing the security situation in Iraq further for preparing for the elections scheduled in January 2005....' (Sabah)
Russia: Iranian nuke plant complete. Iranian nuclear update: 'Russia's top nuclear authority said on Thursday it had finished construction of an atomic power plant in Iran -- a project the United States fears Tehran could use to make nuclear arms.' (Reuters / Blog Iran)
Iraqi government establishes loan fund. Al-Sabah: 'Sheikh Ghazi al- Yawer the Iraqi President chaired a meeting with his deputies Dr. Ibrahim al- Ja'fari and Dr. Rose Nouri Shaweis .During the meeting , the presidency office has issued a decision pertains to establish the population loaning fund at capital worth of 300 billions Iraqi dinar .At a press statement, the presidency office said that the meeting was devoted on discussing the security situation in Iraq further for preparing for the elections scheduled in January 2005....' (Sabah)
2004-10-13
The Blogging Will Continue Until Morale Improves
May I safely assume I'm not the only one whose nerves are frayed? Who finds these last few agonizing, nerve-wracking, nail-biting days of razor-close polls, well ... agonizing?
You too? Thank you, I knew I could count on your nod of assent. Then we are agreed: the next 20 days are going to be murder. But we will survive! And if we stay strong and keep up the fight, we will win.
Look, I've been watching the polls, and overall Bush is still ahead of Kerry. I'll feel a lot more comfortable when the margin is wider, but I guess that just means we've got work to do.
Remember this: our position is morally unassailable, and theirs is morally indefensible. The Dems have built up a culture of victimization over a period of years. They don't really believe that they have to actually earn votes. Many are still in denial about the consequences of misguided actions. They have so immersed themselves in their own propaganda that they can no longer distinguish between fantasy and reality. (Case in point: John Kerry. Him and that eighteen-point deer ... but I digress.)
The process that George W. Bush and his supporters have begun is, in the large sense, irreversible. The peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq will never again accept dictatorships. The other peoples of the Middle East will begin making greater demands on their rulers. The United Nations has been exposed for the fraud-riddled syndicate that it is, and the big media are hemorrhaging credibility while pajama-clad citizen journalists build a network of information and dialog.
The followers of the bizarre cult called the "Democratic Party", and of its witless figurehead Kerry, will grow ever more shrill in their desperate attempts to drown out the din of cognitive dissonance. They will continue to alienate the sane and rational people among their number, and eventually the crazies will turn on one another.
Those who still believe in cultural pluralism, individual rights, and the possibility of a better society, will realize that the so-called "liberals" of today are in fact reactionaries, whose only agenda is to perpetuate fascist regimes in order to create a new crop of victims. And they will realize that there is a better way.
More and more, Americans - and especially young Americans - are growing tired of the intolerance that passes for "liberalism" and are looking for something deeper and truer. What they will find in the years to come remains to be discovered. The first step toward that discovery will come on Election Day.
G-d bless America.
You too? Thank you, I knew I could count on your nod of assent. Then we are agreed: the next 20 days are going to be murder. But we will survive! And if we stay strong and keep up the fight, we will win.
Look, I've been watching the polls, and overall Bush is still ahead of Kerry. I'll feel a lot more comfortable when the margin is wider, but I guess that just means we've got work to do.
Remember this: our position is morally unassailable, and theirs is morally indefensible. The Dems have built up a culture of victimization over a period of years. They don't really believe that they have to actually earn votes. Many are still in denial about the consequences of misguided actions. They have so immersed themselves in their own propaganda that they can no longer distinguish between fantasy and reality. (Case in point: John Kerry. Him and that eighteen-point deer ... but I digress.)
The process that George W. Bush and his supporters have begun is, in the large sense, irreversible. The peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq will never again accept dictatorships. The other peoples of the Middle East will begin making greater demands on their rulers. The United Nations has been exposed for the fraud-riddled syndicate that it is, and the big media are hemorrhaging credibility while pajama-clad citizen journalists build a network of information and dialog.
The followers of the bizarre cult called the "Democratic Party", and of its witless figurehead Kerry, will grow ever more shrill in their desperate attempts to drown out the din of cognitive dissonance. They will continue to alienate the sane and rational people among their number, and eventually the crazies will turn on one another.
Those who still believe in cultural pluralism, individual rights, and the possibility of a better society, will realize that the so-called "liberals" of today are in fact reactionaries, whose only agenda is to perpetuate fascist regimes in order to create a new crop of victims. And they will realize that there is a better way.
More and more, Americans - and especially young Americans - are growing tired of the intolerance that passes for "liberalism" and are looking for something deeper and truer. What they will find in the years to come remains to be discovered. The first step toward that discovery will come on Election Day.
G-d bless America.
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