Thursday, January 22, 2009
DERAILED
BREAKING: Bureaucrats SHOCKED that irresponsible spending for completely unnecessary boondoggle turns into huge waste of money.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Dutch Treat
Dutch politican and filmmaker Geert Wilders might be something of a hypocrite when it comes to his interest in protecting civil liberties. However, the Netherlands' decision to prosecute Wilders for discrimination and inciting racial hatred for his criticism of Islam is an appalling blow to freedom of speech and of conscience. Wilders' short film, Fitna, shines a harsh but revealing light on radical Islam's not-so-secret agenda to destroy the freedoms of the west and establish a world wide Islamic caliphate. The three-judge panel from Amsterdam's appeals court, which gave the green light for Wilders' prosecution, doesn't accuse the film of being inaccurate (it consists mostly of news footage and quotes from the Koran) but of being insulting.
Apparently in Holland, a country frequently hailed for its "tolerance," hurting someone's feelings is taking traditional notions of free speech too far.
There's no word yet on whether any charges are pending against the guy in Wilders' film who incites an angry crowd to kill all the Jews, Christians and Hindus.
Slightly off topic, I highly recommend Infidel, a fascinating book by former Dutch Parliamentarian Ayan Hirsi Ali.
Apparently in Holland, a country frequently hailed for its "tolerance," hurting someone's feelings is taking traditional notions of free speech too far.
There's no word yet on whether any charges are pending against the guy in Wilders' film who incites an angry crowd to kill all the Jews, Christians and Hindus.
Slightly off topic, I highly recommend Infidel, a fascinating book by former Dutch Parliamentarian Ayan Hirsi Ali.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL
The Washington Mall was transformed into the set of a Riefenstahlian propaganda vehicle today as the cult of personality hailed the coming of the Savior of Hope and the Wizard of Change. The media and the crowd joined together in praise of President Obama's vague yet grandiose promises to transform the economy, heal the sick and save our shores from the encroaching seas.
Meanwhile, the markets tanked, Hugo Chavez silenced some more dissidents and the Iranians burned Obama's picture in effigy.
Sometimes it seems that the more things Change, the more they stay the same.
In other news, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made a bold fashion statement by declaring that they will wear their white jerseys to the Superbowl.
Meanwhile, the markets tanked, Hugo Chavez silenced some more dissidents and the Iranians burned Obama's picture in effigy.
Sometimes it seems that the more things Change, the more they stay the same.
In other news, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made a bold fashion statement by declaring that they will wear their white jerseys to the Superbowl.
Monday, January 19, 2009
AND SO IT BEGINS . . .
I've had my first blog entry planned in my head for a few days now. Today is January 19, 2009, Martin Luther King, Jr., day, and the day before the United States of America will inaugurate the first man of African descent as its President. I was going to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recognize the historic importance of the day and opine, in flowery and poetic language, on the wisdom of our forefathers, the greatness of representative government and the opportunities provided by the bounteous and fruited plain.
Once I sat down to write, however, I realized that it was all platitudinous drivel. Don’t get me wrong: I unapologetically love my country and I truly believe that I am the beneficiary of the greatest social and political legacy in the history of the world. The fact that a black man has been elected to the Presidency only half a century after the nation began to wake up to the injustices of Jim Crow is a testament to that great legacy. While I cannot celebrate the installation of Barack Obama as commander-in-chief, I am happy to celebrate the ideals that allowed him to take a seat in our highest office. In deference to the historic moment, I really don’t want to criticize Mr. Obama today. I wanted my first entry to be a celebration of the ideal that our individual merit and character means more than origins or social class.
Ironically, on the day that we’re supposed to remember the injustices of inequality, I read this article in the Los Angeles Times. Apparently now that Barack Obama will be President, we can abandon such classics of American literature as Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. Never mind that the “N word” is digitized on just about every ipod in America. According to one John Foley, pedagogue extraordinaire, literature that uses racist language must be scrubbed from the syllabus.
"The time has arrived to update the literature we use in high school classrooms," Foley wrote in a guest column this month for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "Barack Obama is president-elect of the United States, and novels that use the 'N-word' repeatedly need to go."
Forget context. Mr. Foley gripes that it’s just too difficult to explain to high school students that Jim teaches Huck some valuable lessons about friendship and loyalty. So he concludes that we no longer need to study the artistic legacy of the times and attitudes that made Mr. Obama’s election so remarkable.
Our literature teaches us who we are and where we’ve been. Huck’s crude and colorful language makes a point about our common humanity that Mr. Foley’s pedantic political correctness could never convey. What greater illustration do we have of the perversion of justice than the trial of Tom Robinson and the futile but noble fight of Atticus Finch to do what is right? Sacrificing our literary heritage at the altar of political correctness in honor of Barack Obama would indeed be a blow to the ideals that we are supposedly celebrating.
Once I sat down to write, however, I realized that it was all platitudinous drivel. Don’t get me wrong: I unapologetically love my country and I truly believe that I am the beneficiary of the greatest social and political legacy in the history of the world. The fact that a black man has been elected to the Presidency only half a century after the nation began to wake up to the injustices of Jim Crow is a testament to that great legacy. While I cannot celebrate the installation of Barack Obama as commander-in-chief, I am happy to celebrate the ideals that allowed him to take a seat in our highest office. In deference to the historic moment, I really don’t want to criticize Mr. Obama today. I wanted my first entry to be a celebration of the ideal that our individual merit and character means more than origins or social class.
Ironically, on the day that we’re supposed to remember the injustices of inequality, I read this article in the Los Angeles Times. Apparently now that Barack Obama will be President, we can abandon such classics of American literature as Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. Never mind that the “N word” is digitized on just about every ipod in America. According to one John Foley, pedagogue extraordinaire, literature that uses racist language must be scrubbed from the syllabus.
"The time has arrived to update the literature we use in high school classrooms," Foley wrote in a guest column this month for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "Barack Obama is president-elect of the United States, and novels that use the 'N-word' repeatedly need to go."
Forget context. Mr. Foley gripes that it’s just too difficult to explain to high school students that Jim teaches Huck some valuable lessons about friendship and loyalty. So he concludes that we no longer need to study the artistic legacy of the times and attitudes that made Mr. Obama’s election so remarkable.
Our literature teaches us who we are and where we’ve been. Huck’s crude and colorful language makes a point about our common humanity that Mr. Foley’s pedantic political correctness could never convey. What greater illustration do we have of the perversion of justice than the trial of Tom Robinson and the futile but noble fight of Atticus Finch to do what is right? Sacrificing our literary heritage at the altar of political correctness in honor of Barack Obama would indeed be a blow to the ideals that we are supposedly celebrating.
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