DK Republic

The “New” Faith and the Pill of Multi-Culturalism

2007-06-19T13:48:00.000-04:00

The epilogue [of Stanislaw Igancy Witkiewicz’s Insatiability], in a few words: the outbreak of the war led to a meeting of the armies of the West with those of the East. In the decisive moment, just before the great battle, the leader of the Western army surrendered to the enemy; and in exchange, though with the greatest of honors, he was beheaded. The Eastern army occupied the country and the new life, that of Murti-Bingism, began.” [pg 5, The Captive Mind]

So writes Polish dissident Czeslaw Milosz in 1951. Milosz was using Witkiewicz’s story of western decadence and decay, to discuss the rise of the communist intellectuals, who abandoned all truth and beauty in art, philosophy, literature or science, in favor of dialectical materialism, which Witkiewicz describes using the metaphor of a drug, the pill of Murti-Bing, which erases all existential dread. And while the old communism has died, the description serves just as valid a purpose, for us to discuss the roles of Multi-culturalism and Islam in West.

Fjordman, in his “A Communism for the 21st Century” says:

We are told to treat cultural and historical identities as fashion accessories, shirts we can wear and change at will. The Multicultural society is “colorful,” an adjective normally attached to furniture or curtains. Cultures are window decorations of little or no consequence, and one might as well have one as the other. In fact, it is good to change it every now and then. Don’t you get tired of that old sofa sometimes? What about exchanging it for the new sharia model? Sure, it’s slightly less comfortable than the old one, but it’s very much in vogue these days and sets you apart from the neighbors, at least until they get one, too.

These issues of culture, of theology, of right and wrong, they are all interchangeable, we are told by the Multi-culturalists. Which is why we aren’t more surprised when we see headlines like, “Perplexing many, Episcopal priest announces she’s a Muslim, too” (H/T Right Truth) It is not that Rev. Ann Holmes Redding is unaware that the two faiths contain tenets which are mutually exclusive. She simply doesn’t care.

It wasn’t about intellect,” she said. “All I know is the calling of my heart to Islam was very much something about my identity and who I am supposed to be.

In other words, Redding is a priest who approaches religion, the way I approach art, which is to mull around the gallery stupidly and than buy a print of something which catches my eye. I don’t know much, but I know what I like. Of course the question is why Redding picked, “the new sharia model?” If all faiths and cultures are equal, why Islam, and not Buddhism, or Sikhism, or (however unlikely) actual Christianity?

She says she felt an inexplicable call to become Muslim, and to surrender to God, the meaning of the word “Islam.” Whether Rev. Redding’s surrender will see a better outcome than the leader of the Western Army remains to be seen, but the impulse to surrender is the same. Because while she is supposedly a Christian, Redding’s actual faith is the New Faith of Multiculturalism, which is really No Faith. And one cannot resist something with nothing. Indeed, whether Rev. Redding realizes it or not, she probably appreciates the great moral certainty which religion (an actual religion and not a mish mash feel-goodisms) creates. And Islam is filled with certainty about its own superiority and eventual triumph. Take a glance at some other converts to Islam from the West. Says one Slovakian Woman:

I tried to live according to my parents' teachings: listen but don't pay attention (thank God, I never subscribed to this point of view but had developed my own principles instead: listen, think and make your own opinion). This enabled a contradictory situation within me that led to a sub-conscientious hunt for the truth on what was the cause, the source. Thank God, my 'investigation' didn't take long. Immediately after reading first publications on Islam, I found it. I decided fast indeed: the faith I really wanted, it's the faith, the belief in one and only God, The Almighty.

An open mind is soon filled. Says another:

Strangely, I never liked the smell of burning candles, nor the general "atmosphere" in an Orthodox Church. In a typical Orthodox Church in my country there are no benches and when there was the time for the sermon, people used to push to be closer to the altar. During the sermon, your legs would hurt so much, until a point when you couldn't concentrate on the sermon anymore… It was at the local Islamic center, in a building with a beautiful minaret, on the seaside! Amazingly enough, since I moved to Qatar (where I now live), I always admired the building; it's simply breathless to me. I thought it was only a mosque, but when later I found out it was actually an Islamic center with a Shari`ah court, I made a promise to myself that if or when I would ever take the Shahadah, it would be in that beautiful building.

Looks like Fjordman got it wrong. Its not just a sharia couch, it’s a whole building. And finally, my favorite, former neo-nazi, Abdul Aziz Myatt:

I marveled at the life of Muhammad and at the spread of Islam — at how those early Muslims, once "rough and ready" nomads, had through only the words, deeds and revelations of the Prophet, created perhaps the most civilized civilization there has ever been.

One wonders which words and deeds of Mohammad and his merry band of “rough and ready nomads” most appeal to Myatt? Perhaps this one:

Then they surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of B. al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still its market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent
for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab and Ka`b b. Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the apostle they asked Ka`b what he thought would be done with them. He replied, 'Will you never understand? Don't you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken
away do not return? By Allah it is death!' This went on until the apostle made an end of them.

At the Collapse of Europe Conference last week, Mark Steyn told the story of a jailed white supremacist (who may have been Myatt, he didn’t say), who converted to Islam, saying. “It turned out he wasn’t that big on the white part, it was the supremacy bit he liked.” Whether the conversion experience comes from a desire to submit [Redding], or the need to dominate [Myatt] in reality both are symptoms of the same societal illness. Eric Hoffer, in “The True Believer,” writes,

“To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence for relief from the
burdens of willing, deciding, and being responsible for inevitable failure.” [118]

For the racist fascist, it was an easy step from “no races or cultures are of value besides mine,” to, “no races or cultures are of value.” and for the multi-culturalist, “all cultures are equal” means also that “all cultures are meaningless.” This multi-culturalism, which is really nihil-culturalism, leaves its subscribers identity-less. Is it a surprise when they reassume an identity,
they select one which offers power and superiority over those who do not have it? Gogol’s madman says in his diary, “Today is a day of great triumph. There is a king of Spain. He has been found at last. That King is me.”[189]

What comfort it must be to encounter a system (spiritual, political, cultural) which says in essence, “whereas your previous identity was worthless, submit, and through that submission you will be a part of something which will have dominion.” The radical Islamist ideology does this, as did Communism and Nazism before it. So it is no surprise that it is the Leaders of the West who have quaffed the poison pill of multi-culturalism. That the nomeklatura of the No Faith is a laundry list of Pseudo-intellectuals, bureaucratic idlers and failed artists, who actually perceive identity as something so fluid and meaningless that it can be lost in the first place? In the asylum there are plenty of Napoleons, but very few Popeyes. I am what I am’s. As the intellectual armies of the East and West engage in a battle of ideas our strongest defenders have been not professors or writers sequestered in ivory towers pondering what the meaning of is, is, but every day people who have not surrendered the full use of their faculties to the metaphysical opiate contained in the pill of Murti-Bing.

Potential Democratic Candidate: "I am an Insurgent"

2007-04-30T19:33:00.000-04:00

Right here in California. In an absolutely centrist and unbiased KPBS piece about a democractic convention here in San Diego.

Richardson: I am asking for your help. I am an insurgent. I am an underdog. And I need your help. And I can win California. I will not have all that money and all those advance people and all of that rock-star status. But I've got a heart.

Could it simply be poor word choice influenced by the constant media usage of the word? Sure... but only if the media depiction is one you associate with "underdogs" who deserve your help. This isn't even a freudian slip, where Richardson said one thing, but meant his mother.

The piece goes on to talk about how any number of young democrats could grow up to be president, like 19 year old Morgan Lucas, who, the article tells us, has been a committed democrat for 7 years. Yes, you read that right... since she was 12 she's been a self subscribed member of a political party. I only know one other political party with membership THAT young, and I think you know which one I'm talking about.

Gone, but Not Forgotten

2007-04-30T19:24:00.000-04:00

I know I said I was going to post more frequently now that i'm settled down on the left coast. Well... I lied. Actually I've recently started blogging against late last week, only not here. You can see some of my latest stuff at http://www.VigilantFreedom.com/910blog, where I have been asked to hold down the blog fort. There are a number of great posters there, most if not all more talented than me, but if been instructed to provide some quantity. (I know that's a joke right? Well we shall see.) The primary focus of stuff there is Islamic Fascism and the spread of sharia, fitting with the CVF's mission. Fortunately its also my favorite topic at this blog. In any case we will likely see a dip in that sort of stuff here at DKRepublic as most of my anti-jihad thoughts go to the VF. But I hope to still provide some personal political reactions here, as well as stupid stories, and irritated media rants. So please stay tuned. I know I've said that before. But this time I mean it!

Where in the World?

2007-04-02T16:28:00.000-04:00

So I've been missing, Absent Without Leave for what, more than a month? The question might have been raised, (unlikely, since no one who doesn't already know me reads this anyway),

Where'd you go?

Well I'm glad you asked. Firstly, I am no longer a news director at a northeast Georgia radio station. As of March 11th, I am unemployed. I left SKY 104.1 WRBN Clayton, in order to go west to the land of fruits and nuts. California. Specificly, San Diego.

Why'd you leave?

Really a number of different factors, which sort of came together into the perfect storm. For one, I was reaching my two year mark as a news director where additional experience as a news director, would only really be suited for continuing as a news director, which isn't really what I thought I wanted to do. With that, came my brother's station in San Diego, which enabled me to move, and pay Rabun County rent prices while looking to find a job.

Well now what?

Right now the plan is to find a job, preferably in Public Affairs or Public Relations. There seem to be a number of firms specializing in that kind of work here in San Diego, and the PRSA-San Diego Website has been a big help so far.

Enough about you. What about TheDKRepublic?

Well, part of the reason that I've been absent is I know longer was in position of an FTP file transfer program, which i need because for some reason blogger doesn't want to work right and publish directly to my website. So I used to do everything manually, via the transfer program. The good thing is that provides me with an offline back up. The bad news is, the only place I had one of those was at work, and after leaving work, I lost access to it. The good news, for you guys anyway, is that I bit the bullet, and paid the 30 bucks for the registration, so I know have the same capability here on my laptop. So that means new posts abound.

Okay. But you aren't gonna turn into some kind of Hippie out there on the Left-Coast right?

Absolutely not. In a way I'm excited about the opportunity to be here. Maybe I can bring you Leftist protest coverage, and other neat things like those real blogs. We'll see. At the very least, I'll move from backseat blogger, to side passenger blogger. So that's a step up.

Making a Stand in Charlotte County,VA

2007-02-21T08:45:00.000-05:00

The Senior blogger extraordinaire of The 910 Group, the Gates of Vienna was at Charlotte Church Courthouse yesterday, alongside members of the 910 group and allies the Christian Action Network, as they held a demonstration to protest the County's refusal to re-name a county approved road named for known terrorist Sheikh Gilani. CAN and 910 have continued to argue that Gilani is a known terrorist leader in Pakistan, and it is totally inappropriate that a US county allow a road, even a private road, to be named after him. Especially when that road leds to a Jamaat ul-Fuqra compound. 910 Group's Ops Manager Christine did Info-war with the local paper's editor, who did a 180 after claiming that he would publish evidence of Giliani's connections to terrorism as identified by the federal government. But despite Christine doing Clue-based Shock and Awe, the editor refused.

Not that it is in any way suprise. Most of your home town journalists aren't any better than the MSM. The first reaction is Spin followed rapidly by: Challenge, Argue, Deny and finally Ignore.

Waiting on the World... To Tell John Mayer to Shut The Hell Up!

2007-02-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, please read this obligatory rant explanation: I work at an adult contemporary format (AC for those in the biz) radio station. This means that, lucky me, I get to listen to John Mayer sing, "Waiting on the World to Change" about once every three hours. Its easily one of the worst songs I've ever heard, even as far as stupid hippy-dippy songs go.
Now I appreciate that as an artist Mr. Mayer draws from the world around him, and I don't have any problem with his drawing on the war, or even the political conflict over it, as part of his inspirations. But I am a political animal, always have been. I can judged you on your talents as a lyricist, or as musician, but once you interject a political message into your art, than you are being judged on the strength and logic of your political message. Needless to say, Mr. Mayer is not exactly of the James Carville school of Political Pugilism. Anyway, on with the Fisking:

me and all my friends we're all misunderstood
they say we stand for nothing and there's no way we ever could
now we see everything that's going wrong with the world and those who lead it we just feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it

(John Mayer is 30 years old. He can run for the US House of Representatives for God's sake. And presumably his misunderstood friends are either fellow musicians, like his buddy Kanye "Passion" West, or fellow graduates of the Berklee College of Music. Let me tell you, having gone to school in Boston myself, that the BCM kids may have been talented at music, but they were absolutely worthless at anything else. Also, notice how in the very first stanza, Mayer introduces the theme of powerlessness. I'll get on that a little more later. Also notice I'm skipping the chorus, which is repeated a gazillion times, because thats what pop music does.)

now if we had the power to bring our neighbors home from war
they would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door

(And he introduces the war theme here. "We", meaning apparently he and his misunderstood musician friends, want to bring their neighbors home, presumably from Iraq, although I guess he could mean Afghanistan too here. Not bothering at the moment to doubt how many of John Mayer's neighbors are serving their county in Iraq, but why is it so important they come home from war? So they don't miss a holiday. And to get them to take down those stupid yellow ribbons. Note Mayer doesn't say, "no more ribbons on OUR door" No, Mayer and and his Misunderstood Musician Friends, don't have yellow ribbons on THEIR doors. And they wish their backward and unprogressive neighbors would take theirs down too. Yes, I know the phrase is most likely selected because door rhymes with war. But that's the best he could do? There are alot of words that rhyme with war. More, Four, Sore, Lure, Core, Corps, Whore, Nor, Bore, Oar, I can keep this up almost all day. Nope. Mayer says, "take your damn ribbon down, I'm sick of looking at it.")

and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information,
oh they can bend it all they want

(Damn that Right-wing conservative media bias, whipping the people into war fever, and blindly supporting BushCo despite all evidence of his war-mongering tyranny. And actually, if it hadn't been for the preceding context I'd agree with this statement in full.)

that's why we're waiting waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
it's not that we don't care,
we just know that the fight ain't fair
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

(Ooh, it's not fair... the BushHitler regime controls the media, and the government and there's nothing me and my poor, voiceless 30 year old musician friends can do about it but get nominated for a grammy and pound my moronic anti-war blather into your ear 6 times a day.)

Mayer goes on to whimper about how when his generation decides things, it'll be different. Good luck there buddy, apparently you've never read Mark Steyn, cause the demographics tell us that at this rate future generations ain't gonna be ruling nothing. But never mind that.

Even if you are anti-war, it's a pretty piss poor protest song. "ooh, we're against the war, and all this stuff you old folks are doing... so we're gonna wait till you die, that'll show you you Neo-Con ChimpyMcBushitler Halliburton Blood for oil bastards!"

Stick to "Your body is a wonderland" High School dance music Mayer. Leave the politics to others.

Sorry I subjected you guys to that, but the damn song was starting to drive me mad, and what is a blog for but to get things off your chest.

Surge Fails: MSM Says...

2007-02-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

I'm listening to the ABC Radio News, at the top of the hour, and in EVERY broadcast they have declared the Surge a failure. "Doesn't seem to be working," was the phrase of choice in the 7 o'clock hour. Wow, what a well sourced and researched statement! What the hell is wrong with these people? It's a military operation meant to last months, that has been underway for several days now, and its being declared an unmitigated failure by the MSM with absolutely NO sourcing at all. Because terrorists were able to detonate a bomb. As if that was expected to suddenly stop. Contrast that with Pajama Media's local Iraqi Blogger (from Iraqi the Model) report, which provides both the bad news, "bombings" and the good news, "people returning to homes, more visible military presence in the streets". Of course the MSM says that folks like ITM are "Biased." Because they want American and Iraqi forces to win? Oh my god, what an atrocious bias. Everyone has bias, it cannot be eliminated. What is important is objectivity, reporting what actually has happened. ITM is more objective then the media reports. We know what he WANTs to happen, but he reports both positive and negative developments in moving towards that goal. by comparison, we KNOW what the MSM wants to happen too, only they only report those things which reinforce their preconcieved desires.

Iran Executes Alleged Bomber...

2007-02-20T06:26:00.000-05:00

I was a little flippant about this story earlier. Well apparently only one week after a bombing which killed 11 Revolutionary Guards in Iran, the Iranians captured, tried, and hung the man they claim responsible. Oh, he was also responsible for a bank robbery, and and the deaths of police and others. Some amazing police work that. Just one week, to investigate, try, and capture a terrorist. Apparently the United States should take some notes. No?
The sad fact is, based on the nature of the Iranian Regime, we will never have any idea whether the man you see here was a hardened Sunni terrorist, or some homeless man they swept off the street. What is incredibly irritating is the reporting of the Associated Press, which takes the word of the Islamic Republic of Iran's thug-ocracy without so much as a blink. Take for instance this quality journalism from the AP:

Iran executed the bomber at the site of his attack that killed
several members of an elite military corps, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Monday.The report said the
government hanged Nasrollah Shanbe Zehi in public in Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province, a day after a revolutionary
court convicted him for last week's bombing that killed 11 members of the Revolutionary Guards.

Not alleged bomber. If this was an individual that American officials had accused of terrorism, it would be "alleged" bomber, long after he was tried and convicted, after a five year circus of law enforcement and judicial wrangling. But the Iranians beat the man to extract a confession (JUST LOOK AT THE GUY'S FACE!) and hang him from a crane on the public square the day after their kangaroo court, and the man's guilt is assumed. Like I said, I don't know if he was the terrorist they said he was or not. It's certainly possible, but I overwhelms me how the MSM will take the word of the enemies of the United States at the drop of a hat, yet ignores facts and figures, and the overwhelming evidence of the obvious in its reporting on US claims. "Sky is Blue", US officials claim.

Apparently, being un-biased means taking the word of your country's enemies as the gospel truth. I'm glad I didn't go to J-School to learn that lesson.

When it Rains...

2007-02-19T08:23:00.000-05:00

At least it wasn't raining this morning, which is good news, because I had to walk to work this morning. My car wouldn't start for some reason, (I haven't gotten a chance to look at why.) ordinarily I would have called our morning show guy John, and had him pick me up on his way to work. But John is in Florida on vacation, and of course I didn't have the number for the guy filling in for him. So I hoofed it. In all fairness, its not really that fair (2 miles), which I managed to walk in just under 30 mintues. In my defense its pretty hilly.

Anyway, when I arrive, poor George, (the guy filling in for John) is sitting in his car, because no one gave him a key to the station. Everyone had just assumed that I would be here, early, as I almost always am. Well not the case today.

I had to give my first newscast of the morning in short spurts, while cutting off my mic to take a deep breath, because i was still winded from the walk. I'm sure I sounded like an ass, but it couldn't be worse than the other possibility, "this is David UHHHHH Shideler, in the OOOOOOH news center...."

Anyway, I'll keep you updated on whats wrong with the car.

for bonus irony I just had the thing looked at.

Update: So far as I can tell, absolutely nothing wrong with the car. In examination, the lights had not been left on, or any other obvious evidence of what it was that had drained the battery. A simple jump from a fellow Radio station employee got her purring like an overweight cat with ashma, which is how she normally sounds. And no problem this morning getting her going. So who knows. One of those mysteries that may never be solved.

Does Iran Believe in Karma...

2007-02-14T07:53:00.000-05:00

Cause it's a bitch, ain't it?

As far as I can tell there was not collateral damage, with the bombing killing only members of the terrorism exporting Revolutionary Guard. Not that I think we had anything to do with this, cause I would doubt it, although international pressure against Iran may have helped embolden whoever was responsible. In all likelihood we wouldn't much like the politics of the group responsible any more than we like Iran's politics. But let's not turn on the moral equivalency machine just yet.

Terrorists killing terrorists? I don't know if you can call it poetic justice, but I wouldn't call it a crying shame.

RIP Charlie Whitlow Norwood

2007-02-14T06:31:00.000-05:00

My last interview with Congressman Norwood took place in our little AM studio, and lasted 35 mintues. Not every congressman has to make time for little radio stations, but Norwood was willing to do so.

I remember the first real contact I had with Norwood, was after Hurricane Katrina. We were making preparations for a radio-thon, to raise money, and I was tasked with getting appeals from various officials at the local,state and federal level. So I approached Congressman Norwood, who was at the time in a wheel-chair, with an oxygen bottle. (he suffered from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.) So when I explained what I wanted, He took a big tug on his oxygen tank, and than launched into an appeal. "Give till it hurts my friends..." I remember that line in particular.

Rest In Peace, US Congressman Charlie Norwood, 1941-2007

The Value of a few screaming Hermits...

2007-02-13T08:42:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think we are involved in a people's crusade. The hermits of the internet (bloggers) have been preaching the dangers of Jihad, and the expansion of Sharia for sometime now, and many of us feel compelled to do... something. But none of us are experience in this bizarre sort of information warfare with which we find ourselves involved. We face a skilled, organized, and well funded opponent.

But we have heard the call, and set off on our course. Meanwhile our aristocracy continues to squabble amongst themselves as to whether any such problem exists at all, or if it does, it is very far away, and not central to their power struggles. Indeed to adopt the cause is to risk the loss of one's power and constituency. Santorum in Pa was outspoken about the need to counter the advance of Jihad's cause. And he was ousted from the Senate. Congressman Virgil Goode came under fire after questioning whether a vow on the Koran, (which states "War is deceit") was the same as a vow on the bible, (where to bear false witness is a grave sin). In Denmark, on the front-lines of the counter-jihad, the ruling powers could not find the stomach to allow the people to even speak out. So to the Ivory tower academics of San Fran.

The People's Crusade was disorganized, disordered, and confused. It warred with itself, was easily distracted, and lead to ignominy and slavery for those who undertook it. It was also vitally necessary. Only after the people set off, with a cause, but without a plan, did the nobility too take to the cause. They were more deliberate, and more organized, although they too suffered from confusion and disorder. Nobles, like Godfrey of Boullion, who gave up lands and rights in their own countries in order to move forward with a cause were the ones who were successful. So too, our politicans and leaders of today, will find themselves a new constituency if they take up the cause of countering Jihad, and the spread of Sharia, rolling back dictatorship and theocracy in favor of liberal government. The goal of we screaming hermits must be to convince those in power that the constituency exists, that we, the people, will reward those who abandon old partisan differences in favor of victory in the preeminent struggle of our time.

San Francisco Values...

2007-02-12T08:35:00.000-05:00

Time for a quiz here at the DK Republic. Should be pretty simple. Multiple choice. Which one of these flags may you NOT burn or abuse as a statement of protest:

If you guessed the flag of murderous terrorist organization Hezbollah, you'd be absolutely right.

The budding fascists at the college GOP club stomped on the Hezbollah and Hamas flags as part of a protest against terrorism. This offended a number of leftists and muslim organizations on Campus, because it, "incites violence." sound familiar?

It's not just Eurabia anymore folks. San Franistan has joined the ranks of the Dhimmi.

Foreigner Policy...

2007-02-12T06:44:00.000-05:00

I'm slow on this story, because I hadn't really made up my mind yet. When Australian Prime Minister John Howard weighed in on Barack Obama's candidacy. I was torn. On the one hand, I like John Howard, and everything he says is absolutely true. Retreat from Iraq is the absolutely wrong strategy, and the enemy knows they can only win by making us pull out. Obviously candidates who endorse pulling out aid the enemy. At the same time however, no country with a freely elected government likes having other governments weigh in on their internal politics. (The dictatorships don't much like it either, but because they are dictatorships, I don't much care what they think.)

I have sympathy for Howard. He's banked much on the Australian-American alliance, and sent troops to Iraq despite high opposition from many in his country. It must be frustrating for him, tied to a policy where the American people's choice of a politican can determine his success or failure. Even so, I think its inappropriate for a representative of a foreign government to weigh in on who we should elect. (of course it happened constantly with Europeans and Bush, course you never saw that in the news, but two wrongs...)

Speaking of people keeping their mouths shut... The Dixie Chicks went 5 for 5 at the Grammys. The Dixie Chicks had felt the icy hand of censorship when BushCo's operatives managed to convince country music fans (usually die-hard liberals and internationalists) to boycott the band for statements made before a british audience.

I've lived outside this country of mine for a long time, most of it during a presidency I was not supportive of in the least. And foreigners love to ask you your opinion of your politicans, especially in China, where the idea of criticising the government is unheard of. All of the expatriates that I knew followed the advice of Winston Churchill:

“When I am abroad, I always make it a rule to never criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home.”

The Role the UN Should Play in the World?

2007-02-09T08:16:00.000-05:00

A whooping .0001% of Americans say that the UN is doing an excellent job with its current role in the crucial "Child-Rape and Corruption" category.

Terrorist Lane Remains

2007-02-08T07:50:00.000-05:00

the Baron at GOV, who lives in the district, is on top of it.

Sheik Giliani, if I am following things correctly, is a terrorist leader, involved in the murder of the journalist Pearl in Pakistan, amongst other items. The road leads to the Red House Compound of the Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a designated terrorist group.

As a local journalist, I would pound this issue relentlessly. Federal firearms charges filed against people there, a real question about whether the little girls at the compound are being schooled in any substantial way, dozens of reason to keep the eye of the media on it.

As an activist, my proposal (which offered on GOV) was this:

D.K. Shideler said:
perhaps some reverse psychology would be in order? how about every time a new road becomes available, we petition to name it "Osama Bin Laden Lane" or "Saddam Hussein Drive", "Mohammad Atta Circle", "West Al-Qaeda Blvd". If they want their taxpayer funded roads named after terrorists, why don't we help them along?

Dining with Dictators, the Media Obsession

2007-02-06T07:03:00.000-05:00

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
- Edmund Burke

"Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty"
-Mahatma Gandhi

Not apparently, if you are Diane Sawyer. (h/t Hot Air)

Click and watch, or read the transcript. Diane sits down with the murdering opthamologist, and the best she can do is ask what's on his IPOD? A man responsible for the assassination of numerous lebanese politicans not to mention vicious repression in his own state. Was Faith Hill playing in the background as you ordered their deaths Assad? That should have been the follow-up question. But not from Diane. She even sits idly by as the fascist takes pot-shots at the value of democracy. "What good is democracy if you are dead," the Baathist dictator asks. He was talking about Iraq, but the question hangs in the air of Beirut and Damascus, and Baghdad. "How many have died trying to bring democracy to Syria?" Sawyer doesn't bother to ask.

These journalists pride themselves on asking the tough questions, but when the opportunity arises to actually ask a tough question, they play patty-cake instead. They squawk and moan about BushCo's repression of the media, but when they sit down with a man whose actually responsible for cracking down on the efforts of people to be free, they fawn like a girl with her first crush.

As Easton Jordan told us about CNN's coverage of Iraq under Hussein, the MSM has no problem with trading the truth for "access." They only dig and churn and demand the truth in societies where there are absolutely no consquences. If you sit across the table from Kim Jong-Il, or Assad, or Ahmadinejad, and you play footsie, you are doing nothing more than serving as a dictator's PR wing. You are nothing more than Goebbels, without even getting to collect a paycheck for the service.

I hope you enjoyed the access Diane. You cooperation with evil has been noted. In the words of someone more eloquent than myself, a reminder for Diane, and the rest of the MSM, that the blood does not come off.

What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,
Making the green one red.

US to Target Iranian Intelligence/IRG in Iraq, Elsewhere

2007-01-26T07:44:00.000-05:00

It's like a late Christmas present. Thank you President Bush.

I still think your SOTU speech was tepid at best, but this is exciting stuff. Of course the lefties will say that we are instigating war with Iran, and this will only create more terrorists, or something. After all there no Iranians in Iraq, As the MSM hurries to inform us.

Meanwhile the Democrats have a Surrender to Iran bill prepared. (H/T Terresa from 910 Group)

Season Open: No Bag Limit

Sectarian Violence (or at least Squabbling)

2007-01-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

No, not in Iraq, in the west. Amongst those of us who agree that there is a battle to be waged against Jihad, which is a small enough number as it is, the question on what is to be done, is leading to an enormous amount of blue-on-blue. Like this duel I got into with another commenter on GOV.

The sides seem to be between those who suggest that Muslims who want to be islamic, and yet still secular, democratic, and peaceful should be used to battle the Islamists, and those who do not.

As you can see from the arguments between myself and the commenter Anonymous, the problem is that the Koran backs the Jihadis. That is, that the violent radicals are the koranicly, letter perfect, correct ones. If you doubt this, you can read Robert Spencer's Truth About Muhammad. I'm reading it now. His scholarship, which seems impeccable, shows that the Jihadis are the accurate practitioners of Islam, and those who we would hope to label moderates, i.e people who wish to practice the age old human desire of being left alone, are the ideological black sheep. Some argue that this, along with the practice of Taqiyya (or jihad under deception), makes any alliance with moderate muslims impossible.

My problem with that is two-fold. One, if we accept that there are no "good muslims" (because anyone acting in a manner tolerable to us would be, by koranic definition an apostate muslim) than those muslims who wish to be islamic, but do not want jihad or sharia, are left swinging. We refuse to ally with them, the Jihadis of course will view them as apostates. Secondly, it makes the threat that much more difficult to deal with. If we insist that all muslims are jihadis, than those who wish to be muslims will be pushed to become jihadis, because both the enemy, and us, say there is no third path.

You will never defeat totalitarianism by accepting their view of the world as reality. If neither option 1, nor option 2 is acceptable to us, we must create an option 3, whether or not it exists at present.

News You aren't Getting From Iraq

2007-01-22T07:57:00.000-05:00

This file was sent to me by a member of the State Department's Iraq GO Team, in my capacity as a News Director for a small town Radio Station. I don't have a responsibility for international news, so I can't put it on the radio, but I can put it here. This is just another example of the news NOT coming out of Iraq.

Progress of the Iraqi Navy

Enjoy.

Danish SIAD Files Charges against Ministry of Justice

2007-01-22T07:42:00.000-05:00

H/T Zonka from 910 Blog The 910 Group has been working on this, sending out letters to the Danish Justice Ministry from around the world. Apparently not only will the Danish government not allow the group to exercise the right to a peaceful protest, but when leftist goons attack them, the police fail to even investigate properly. That's what SIAD is charging. Remember folks, criticising Islamists or their multicultural leftists allies is forbidden. Be a good little Dhimmi, shut up and know your place.

R.I.P Capt. Rhett Schiller

2007-01-18T20:46:00.000-05:00

Captain Rhett W. Schiller, 26, died Thursday, November 16th, 2006, in Balad Ruz, Iraq, of injuries received from small-arms fire during combat operations

I suppose it was only a matter of time before some I knew died in the war.
Rhett was a year older than me in high school. We both went to Shanghai American School. My graduating class had less than a hundred people, and his was the year before and even smaller than mine, so everyone sort of knew everyone. Still, sad to say, I didn't know Rhett as well as I might have wished to. I remember two things about him. One, is not so much a memory as a general sense that Rhett was a good guy. You just got a good feeling talking to him. I don't think he really rubbed anyone the wrong way. My second, and only specific memory of him was that he had this sorta lavender or powder blue tuxedo which he wore to prom one year. (In Shanghai everyone, regardless of class went to prom every year, because otherwise we couldn't afford to rent the ballroom) He wore that tux, and a set of real dark sunglasses which in shanghai we associated with taxi drivers, damn near the whole night. No one else could have pulled it off, but Rhett did.

I remember he was dead set on going to West Point, which is not an easy place to get into, and even harder when you are way overseas.

The article says Rhett was "hard-charging" and a "lead from the front" sorta guy. The articles always say that. But I'm sure its true. I remember in gym glass, we had this insane teacher, and he would send us running around the streets of Shanghai, dodging bicycles laden with ducks, or small tractors or pig trucks or who knows what. Everyone just sort of phoned it in, because besides being potentially lethal everyone thought it was just kind of stupid. Rhett of course set a good pace, and sprinted in to boot. Only other person I know who did that was my brother, and he went to the Naval Academy. So I guess that says something there.

I signed a guest book i found online for Rhett, just to say I thought he was a good guy. I wish I had spent more time getting to know him while our paths crossed in ol' Shanghai.

Rest in Peace Rhett, god bless you.

It Really Is that Bad...

2007-01-17T07:23:00.000-05:00

If you think the Islamist threat is over-stated, I would urge you to examine this 6 part series from the British show Dispatch. (H/T JMJ2 and the 910 Blog) I watched the first three parts, and was utterly amazed, and I've already been converted to the idea of the islamification of Europe. So if you aren't convinced it would be a good idea to check these out and see if your disagreement can withstand the investigative journalism being conducted.

How did things get that bad? Well I have an idea. It became possible after multiculturalist brainwashing, hate speech legislation and just general cowardice were used to put down free speech for any except these preachers of hate. Free Speech for anyone but the Kuffar. We can see that in action even now in Denmark, where the once bold norsemen prevent peaceful Demonstrations because some who disagree with it may break out
into violence. If you click the link you'll see another 910 Blog story, this one about a group in Denmark whose efforts at an anti-islamification demonstration were prevented by the nation's ministry of justice, out of concerns that thugs on the other side might take an exception to the protest and come with violence. I sent the following letter to the Ministry's head official:

Dear Minister Lene Espersen, I was deeply disappointed to learn recently that a permit for a peaceful demonstration was denied SIAD (http://siad.dk/index.php) out of concerns for violent retribution from those opposed to their political message. While I am an American, and not a Dane, and therefore not one of your constituents, I would like to say that I developed a deep sense of appreciation and goodwill for your nation, after its unjust ridicule during the jyllands-posten/Muhammad Cartoon incident. Myself, and many of my fellow Americans took great care to use our buying power to purchase imported Danish goods, after some groups and nations called for an economic boycott of your country. It was a small effort, but one meant in solidarity for your country’s support for freedom of speech and
the press. The right to freedom of expression is a human right, which both your nation and mine take with the utmost seriousness. That it should be disregarded in this case is most shameful. I will admit that my interpretation in this case relies on an available english translation of the events, and should you or your office wish to elaborate on them I would be more than willing to hear your reply.

You will be interested to know that the same group, SIAD, had one of its group meetings attacked by leftist thugs, where several people recieved minor injuries. The thugs were only repulsed by a handful of SIAD members, who risked being struck with thrown bottles to defend their membership, which included a number of elderly. (H/T Zonka, 910 Blog and GOV)

If this sounds familiar, its because it mirrors the street battles conducted by the Nazi and Communist parties in Weimar Germany, as they shut down participation in the political process for any parties not backed by an armed corps of thugs. Or maybe you're recalling what happens in the Palestinian territory everyday.

Of course the whole purpose of the the right to free speech is to say those things which others would seek to prevent from being said, including through violent methods. We understand why speech is restricted when it is used to call fire in a theater, or to threaten another's life, but when freedom of speech is restricted because the lives of those who speak it are threaten, or because the feeling of those to whom the speech refers are hurt, well this is insanity.

Fortunately for us Americans it is just in the European territories. right? Oh no... HRES 288.

Where is the shrieking hystrics of the the ACLU for this tacit endorsement of a religion? And while I realize its simply a non-binding resolution, its only a short step from resolution to binding law. And anyway, in many of these areas of Europe we are telling you about, its not the laws, but the policies of the government, which give rise to problems.

And of course we know why its vital to have congressional resolutions prohibiting insults to the great Abrahamic faith of Islam:

Surging...

2007-01-11T07:50:00.000-05:00

Bush Asks for More Troops, just like everyone knew he would. The question is whether Bush will take the handcuffing ROEs off the troops. He seems to suggest that he will.

"There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have."

There in is the problem. We can have as many troops as we want, but if they aren't allowed to take on the Iranian backed death squads like Sadr's than its not gonna matter. Bush seems to trust that Maliki will kick Sadr to the curb. I'm not so sure. The problem is that the Iraqi politicians will hedge their bets as long as they aren't sure about success. Politics in most of the world comes out of the barrel of a gun. So the goal will be to make Iraqi politicans comfortable that they can count on Iraqi Security Forces for their security, and until they are, they will court militas.

Our country has continued to have unrealistic expectations about how easy, or how long it should take to accomplish the process. That in no way alters the fact that the process is a necessity. Terrorism is fostered by failed states and rogue states, and they must be conforted, defeated, and transformed into functioning states with representive governments, or it will continue.

The Kind of Military Assault Even the Media Can Get Behind... Sorta

2007-01-09T07:26:00.000-05:00

Al-Qaeda linked Terror Camp in Somalia struck by US Gunships
Well good. Fox News is titling it a payback attack since the likely targets were the masterminds of the East Africa Embassy Bombings, and of course for the fact that it took place in Somalia, site of the Black Hawk Down Incident, which of course also had Al-Qaeda links according to Bodansky, amongst others. But the story tells us something else interesting. The only reason we were able to get this hit, was because of Somali government and Ethiopian troops on the ground providing intel. Meanwhile, The ABC Radio news took no short time in linking the desire of Ethiopian troops to withdrawal and replace with UN troops with Iraq. Yes, the ability of a third world country to sustain an occupation is TOTALLY the same thing as the United States of America, the world's only superpower. You know for all the effort from some to distance Iraq from the GWOT, every time the enemy turns out to be Islamist (and when are they not??), the link is made. "Oooh Iraq, Iraq, Sectarian Violence Run Away!" Oh, they also pointed out that Ethiopia is a majority Judeo-Christian country, and ran their sectarian violence meme again. (They actually used the asinine term "sectarian violence" in the 7 am EST news, despite the fact that Christianity and Islam are too utterly different religions, not sects. Morons.)

Still, this aerial gunning of Islamist camps is the kind of military endeavor which even the MSM can get behind, because it makes a nice headline, has no real cost, and, notably, doesn't actually secure any strategic objectives. It does secure the tactical objective of dead terrorists, but that doesn't accomplish all that much. This post, H/T Jihad Watch, highlights the kind of military action which will work to defeat Islamic totalitarianism. The only problem? Its utterly impossible. Not because we couldn't do the large scale, World War II style campaigns and occupation described, but because the public will not accept it. I was watching a show on the history channel, which discussed how the United States lost 5,000 marines in the battle of Bellau Wood, in WWI. 5,000! to capture a tree-line. Yet the battle is considered one of the most hallowed in Marine Corps History, where they earned the nickname Devil Dogs. Terrible casualties, but considered worth it, because they led to victory. The problem in Iraq, is that our casualties will never lead to victory, because the Media WILL NEVER ALLOW IT. Just as its said that you go to war with the forces you have, unfortunately we also have to go to war with the public we have. Which is where the poster I linked too goes astray. We have the military necessary to do the job. We don't have the public necessary to do the job.