A Thought on the Middle East Conflict

I have been thinking a lot about the current conflict in the Mid-East lately. I have to admit that I have reservations about Israel chasing the crazies from hisblownwadd into Lebannon, and continuing the pursuit despite the fact that civilians are in the way. At the same time, I admire Israli restraint. Yes, I said restraint.

I said restraint, because the second another terrorist scum attacked my people after I just gave up big chunks of land for peace, there wouln't be a safe place for them to hide.

If Ahmadinnerjacket in Iranistan and Assadd in Syria are pulling the strings, their arab bretheren should rein them in before it gets beyond the point of redemption and the middle east oil supply ends up glowing and of no use to anyone for centuries.

Two Courts Tell Neal and Bob That They Can't Be Husband and Husband.

New York's and Georgia's Supreme Courts told homosexuals today that if they want to have the legal right to marry, then they will have to go through the legislatures to get it. In New York's case, plantiffs were suing to change the law regarding marriage that had been on the books since the early twentieth century. In Georgia, plantiffs were suing to overturn a voter approved initiative banning gay marriage that passed by 76%. It is so refreshing to hear about courts that uphold the law, rather thn make it up out of whole cloth. You listening, Massachusetts?

Reflections on the 4th

Sorry for the light blogging. Life was happening.
We had a nice 4th here. Good food at my in-laws. The kids were reasonably well-behaved. The "show" was as good as ever. Note to self: DO NOT BUY THE 12 INCH MORTARS AGAIN. When we had them two years ago, on malfunctioned and detonated a lot closer to the ground than it was supposed to. This year, two of them barely made it back out of the tube before exploding. That was a little scary. Shrapnel from one of them hit me in the shoulder. Also scary, but no burns and nothing broken. We came home, and while Mrs. Blackiswhite carried in Heir No.2, the yeahoos down the street diliberately turned their mortar over afer droppibg a shell in it. As Mrs. Blackiswhite was in the line of fire, you can imagine that she was not amused. I'm starting to think they should make you pass an IQ test before you can purchase the big stuff. Ha! "I'm afraid I can't sell you any of these fireworks, sir. You see, the test says that you are too stupid to purchase them."

Yeah, right.

Throwing the B(D)S Flag

For those of you (the three or four who come by regularly) who are paying attention, I like to play over at Bareknuckle politics.com. It attracts some articulate, well-reasoned people on both sides, as well as some truely unbelievable knuckleheads. A few of the BDS suffering oxygen-robbers simply refuse to say die, even when their argument is in tatters around their feet. That is why I was disappointed again yesterday when we had a newbie mouthing off again about how our civil liberties are being taken away in the war on terror, and how we will never get them back. Once again, I stepped up and asked for a real-life example of how they had somehow been affected. No generalizations. No theoreticals. A bona fide, concrete example. Once again, I was greeted with deafening silence. Suddenly, the newbie with so much to say is MIA. Honestly, it mkes me so angry I could spit. This is after a running rhetorical conflict the day before with the lefties, liberals, and loons on the discovery of the 500 chemical warheads in Iraq. (Yes, there really were WMDs in Iraq.)
Immediately, the race was on to move the goal posts. "The CIA didn't think it was a significant find." "The weapons were degraded. Honestly, you could pour the contents over your cereal in the morning and suffer no ill effects." "Mustard gas isn't a WMD." "They were old before the first Gulf war."
They have been asking for years now, "Where were the WMDs?" They get proof, and devote signifcant time and energy to finding ways to discount it, or dismiss it. If it doesn't fit in with their preconceived notions, it cannot be true for them. (But they will willingly take the word of the people we are fighting on 'attrocities' committed by US troops. C'mon, 7 Marines and a Navy Corpsman murdered an unarmed civilian? A corpsman? Get real.) Yet on something far more real to all involved, they cannot answer a simple question. This is why we cannot trust the people screaming the loudest on this subject. They simply have let their BDS get the better of them, if they had any judgment and common sense before.

Struggles

I just heard that the strongest and best man I have ever known is not doing well. My aunt called to let me know that they are going to put my paternal grandfather in a nursing home.He recently had a ninety percent blockage of his carotid artery cleared, and I was told that he was acting more like himself than he had in a few years. The family moved he and my grandmother up from Florida, because they really couldn't take care of themselves any longer. I had gotten used to the idea that Grandpa "was back". It was welcome news. For the last four years, it seemed like he had just given up. I remember how angry he was when his father did the same thing in the years before his death. I felt much the same way. Dad's death last year also hit him hard. I don't think there is an appropriate word for the impact. "Grief" is laughingly inadequate. Today, I was told that since the move back to Michigan, he has been vacilating between hysterical and morose. He has been telling people that he wants to die, that the family has been beating him, etc. I have no doubt that he will walk with the Lord, perhaps soon, and I'm am grateful for that, but I will miss him just the same, especially since my Dad can't be for my boys what he was for me.

This morning, I saw something on my drive to work that would set my other grandfather spinning in his grave. Grandpa Ray was a WWII vet. He fought in the Pacific. He had friends at Bataan. He professed to be a Christian, but he NEVER forgave the Japanese. On my drive in to work this morning, I came upon a Toyota Prius with an American flag sticker on one side of the hatch, and a blue star banner sticker on the other side. I could almost hear his voice in my head, and it was far less than charitable.

Ann Coulter Attacks the Left's 'Grief Shield' Strategy

Hillary Clinton is upset with Ann Coulter's new book. No surprise there. Specifically, she is outraged at Coulter's attack on the "Jersey Girls" (9/11 widows) and their political activities and statements. Saying that she'd never seen women enjoying their husband's death's so much was not tactful. However controversial the form of the message, the message itself was spot on. These widows all became very wealthy, due in no small part to the generousity of the American people. Families of other terrorist attacks did not reap such financial benefits. Then, while they had our attention, they lashed out at our president and foreign policy. They made baseless accusations, and outrageous statements. They shilled for Kerry. The left ate it up with a spoon, because their 'grief shield' made them unassailable. They got bolder with Cindy Shehan. Before I go further, I want to be very clear:

I respect the fact that these women have lost loved ones, and no amount of money will ever replace their loss.

However, that does not excuse them from braying outlandish, silly, or untrue things into the nearest open microphone. We watch because it is sad, and we share their grief, NOT because we think that their loss has made them an authority on politics, or policy. Abusing the public pulpit should curtail the 15 minutes of fame, not get you more. They got to continue, because anyone who attcked their message would be branded heartless and insensitive. No longer. If this kind of truth-telling continues, and the practice takes hold, then it soon may not matter which repulsive foreign leader Cindy Shehan chums around with, because no one will be paying attention. Thank you, Ann, for redirecting the attention to the message, not the messenger. Let's do it more often.

It Is A Start

And in today's news, al-Zarqaui managed to get himself in the crosshairs of one of our airstrikes. I'm having trouble seeing the downside in this. The part that made it even better? Iraqis sold him out to us! I take that as a sign that they are serious about running their own country and dealing appropriately with elements that would encourage sectarian violence for the sake of causing trouble. I hope the trend continues.

More Big Thoughts From C.S. Lewis

If you haven't figured it out yet, this site is a branch office of the Department of Unapologetic Christianity. I know, you're thinking "But Blackiswhite, if something sets you off, you can curse a streak that can make a sailor blush." You're right. I can. The product of a childhood in a shop town, and a part that emerges from time to time. "But Blackiswhite, you can conjure mental images that no self-respecting follower of Christ has any business thinking." I'll admit it. In the immortal words of St. Garibaldi [Think Babylon 5, for those of you who don't understand the reference. If that doesn't help, all I can say is watch the series. Yes, it's that good.] "I can dream real dark." If you don't understand what the world is capable of, then you are helpless in the face of its onslaught.

As a clerk in the abovementioned department, I keep trying to better understand Christianity and God. The Bible is a great place to start. There are even versions that explain the actions of the people in it, the customs referred to, and some of the knottier passages. I have also found the writings of C.S. Lewis helpful in expanding my understanding of Christianity. I have not yet read them all. I am on my second tome at this time, The Problem of Pain. I have to work mentally to read him and get the whole thrust of his writings. This means I read him very slowly. Maybe only a chapter a week. I would like to share some of the more pointed passages with any who stop here to read, and since it is my blog, I can.

This week, I'll start with this exerpt from the chapter "Divine Goodness".

"But creatures are not thus separate from their Creator, nor can He misunderstand them. The place for which He designs them in His scheme of things is the place they are made for. When they reach it, their nature is fullfilled and their happiness attained: a broken bone in the universe is set, the anguish is over. When we want to be something other than what God wants us to be, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy. Those Devine demands which sound to our natural ears most like those of a lover, in fact marshall us where we should want to go if we knew what we wanted."

The thrust of this as I understand it is that God knows each of us as a Creator. As this is the case, He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, and our purpose in the larger scheme of things. If we follow the rules He set forth, we can come to know Him, and as we change to meet Him on the terms He intended, and find our purpose, we will then find happiness.

It seems to me that this can be applied to our society. So many reject the 'moral' component of our law, which is rooted in Judeo-Christian belief, on the opinion that God doesn't understand them, which runs contrary to the thought of a Creator. Just look at the gay rights movement. This is a group not satisfied to be let alone. No. They always want more. It isn't enough that in most parts of the country, people were satisified to leave people to their own devices about what went on behind their bedroom doors. I think most reasonable people would agree that if homosexuals wanted to keep their sexual orientation private, to the extent that such a thing is possible, the rest of us were willing to let them keep things that way. But this group, festering in its unhappiness, had to 'come out of the closet'. Remember "We're here, we're queer, get used to it."? Still not satisfied. Society now had to confer an official status on their relationships. Civil Unions burst onto the scene.

As a Christian, I find the practice abborhant. If you are a Christian, then you accept the Bible and its teachings. Leviticus is clear: Homosexuality is against the word of God. A church willing to act as if it was never written cannot keep communion with God and Christ. There is no way to explain it away. I hear you grumbling, "So you don't you put them to death, as Leviticus requires? Easy. The same reason I do not stone prostitutes and adulterers. Because Christ put an end to it.

As a lawyer, I can understand that two people who have committed to each other should have some of the same rights as men and women who have committed to each other in the sacrement of marriage. However, I am also aware that careful planning and the execution of the correct legal documents ahead of time can address all or nearly all of these purported 'needs' without requiring the sanction of a society that does not follow or approve of the practice. [And for those of you seeking proof, look no further than Defense of Marriage Laws, and Initiatives around the country.] Yet this still wasn't enough. They demanded the RIGHT to marry. Now, this is an interesting turn of events. Black Law Dictionary defines marriage as between a man and a woman. It has been understood as such for centuries. In my business, that is called "precedent", and it will win trials in normal circumstances. Not so here. For over a decade, the pink swastika brigade, driven by a need for acceptance, forced if not willingly given, has portrayed anyone believing that that their lifestyle is wrong and is a sin as intolerant and bigoted, and was willing to practice intolerance in any degree to oppose opinions contrary to their own. The powers that shaped opinion by contolling what we see and hear were only too willing to play along. In confusion, there is opportunity. By brandishing their tolerance for all to see, and bludgeoning all who believed such practices to be wrong, they succeeded in planting the germ in the collective mind of society. The result was that when a legal challenge to the traditional definition of marriage got to a court, the court was willing to find in favor of a constitutional right to marry based on a lifestyle preference rather than circumstances beyond the control of the participants, ignoring that vital component in the federal cases it cited to justify their 'tolerant' and 'enlightened' decision. The short-sightedness of this court will take us further down this road, and the behaviors that we as a society will be forced to condone are at least for the present, shocking and inconceivable. But remember, twenty years ago, the same thing would have been said for the current set of circumstances. This too was addressed by Mr. Lewis, in the subsequent chapter, "Human Wickedness."

He discussed how the original power of Christianity was the fact that it brought good news to man, at a time when there was a belief in Divine anger, and the consequences of it. There was a way to get right with God. He then noted that:

"But all this has changed. Christianity now has to preach the diagnosis-in itself very bad news-before it can win a hearing for the cure."

He pinpointed two sources for this change in perception. The first is a century's worth of focus on "kindness" as the sole virtue that a member of society should cultivate. The failing of this particular focus is that cultivating kindness for kindness' sake alone require no effort on the part of the person. Because this is so, all can believe themselves possessed of the virtue without ever understanding the practice or the reason for it.

The second he called "the effect of Psychoanlysis on the public mind, and, in particular, the doctrine of repressions and inhibitions."

The best explanation, and the one that is evident in society today?

"Whatever these doctrines really mean, the impression they have actually left on most people is that the sense of Shame is a dangerous and mischevious thing. We have laoboured to ovecome that sense of shrinking, that desire to conceal, which Nature herself or the tradition of almost all mankind has attached to cowardice, unchastity, falsehold, and envy. We are told to 'get things out into the open', not for the sake of self-humiliation, but on the grounds that these 'things' are very natural and we need not be ashamed of them."

I wonder if he knew how prophetic his words would be. Babies out of wedlock. Gay marriage. Infidelity. Teenage pregnancy. Teenage drinking. Persistant drug use. Pornagraphy on prime time television. Daytime television talk shows.

His answer?

"A recovery of the old sense of sin is essential to Christianity."

You mull it over and get back to me.

Connecticut Coaches Have To Have Sportsmanship Mandated

This story about Connecticut coaches who are no longer allowed to let their teams ride roughshod over their competitors. I don't know which is worse; the fact that there is obviously such a disparity in ability among teams that play each other, or the fact that some coaches need to be threatened with suspension to make them not be complete and utter assholes. Why is it that someone who is charged with not just teaching the fundamentals of the game, and directing how it is played, but also in the correct spirit of the competition to begin with, needs to be told that running the score past the point of any recovery is simply overkill?

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/5639036

More Flushing of Taxpayer Dollars

I came across this story earlier this week. I can say that it sufficiently rankled me. I am in awe at the ways people can come up with ways to flush our tax dollars down the toilet. It is prison. If he wants to be a she, I'm sure (s)he can find people who will gladly use him in that fashion. We're concerned that he might try to commit suicide if he doesn't get the sex change? Uhh, prison? I don't know of anyone who wants to be there. There are probably inmate who do consider suicide. After all, it is PRISON! If he wants to be she, I'm not going to say "More power to him." I will say that he has the opportunity to make that choice, as a free citizen. As a prisoner, he doesn't have a choice, and he shouldn't. Prison is a place to put people who couldn't make good choices on their own. It isn't a place where you can go to change your outward appearance on the taxpayer's nickel. There are two common sense ways to handle this. The first is to sit down with the guy, and explain very calmly that as long as he is in the state's custody, he will not get a sex-change, but if he chooses wisely, he might get to be another inmate's woman while he is in there. The second is to explain nothing, toss him in with the general population, and let him figure it out on his own. I do think a prisoner should have the right to be kept safe while enjoying the state's hospitality, including the right not to be raped or knifed by other inmates. I do think that this does not occur in many prisons, largely due to overcrowding and understaffing. But I also think that a prisoner has to bear some of their responsibility for their own safety. A suicide watch is a tremendous waste of time and resources.

The story is here:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/3916614.html

And Speaking of Priorities

I was also taken aback by the news story about the child-molesting short person who now has ten years of probation as a sentence, rather than ten years of grabbing his ankles in a prison cell. When did the safety of convicted criminals, who commit the crimes that nearly all other criminals despise, become a greater priority than sentencing in accordance with the law??? I must have missed the day in school when we talked about the safety of convicts being a greater priority the prevention of further offenses by the criminal by putting them behind bars. If his safety truly is a priority, couldn't we still balance that concern appropriately with the concern for the safety of his victims? Probation means "be careful and don't be caught." I guess the bright spot is that this is taking place in Nebraska. The guy is probably less safe on the street than in the pokey. Children are almost always the one topic where even the most law-abiding among us favor prevention of harm or further harm over the rights of someone who would deliberately hurt them or steal their innocence. The story is here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,197103,00.html

Misha also delivered his three-step approach to the issue over at the Rott. I think he has a point, but professional obligations prevent me from echoing the criticism here.

What are you waiting for? Go on, read it already.

With Priorities Like These...

Read on MSN today about scientists who have had some success in rabbits with artificial penises. How would you like to write that research grant proposal? I have to admit, it got my attention, in that weird "I-can't-turn-away-from-the-train-wreck-in-front-of-me" way. The implication is that if they can develop a procedure that works, they may also be able to develop similar methods for other organs. New hearts for cardiac patients, new pancreas for diabetes patents, etc. Sure, it is an intriguing possibility, but who decided that penises were a priority? Why is success with rabbits progress? Because it is another thing to keep you distracted from the things that matter, like say illegal immigration, a treacherous media, the threat of muliculturalism, and so on. Guess that makes me gulity for perpetuating interest in the story. So be it.

http://health.msn.com/centers/mensexualhealth/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100136192&GT1=8165

Another Advance to Take Us Backward

I read a story in the Globe and Mail today about the potential for a real-life invisibility cloak. It certainly seems to be an interesting concept. And somehow the idea just seems to make sense. My problem with it is that if it becomes reality, then there is a tool for yet more things to not be as they appear to be. I often think that as a culture, we are becoming incredibly de-sensitized to everyday deception, which is why you'll really dislike my bigger criticism: Such a thing is lazy.
There is an art to concealment. Stealth requires skill. This type of technology takes those things out of the equation. Most people don't know that there was an entire unit in the European theatre in WWII that was dedicated to camoflage and deception. I didn't know until I recently read a book about them. I lament that such things are now reduced to technology, because people will stop thinking about the kind of understnding that goes into cultivating such skills. Once people stop thinking about enough things, then they just stop thinking. It is the kind of development that makes be recall C.M. Korbluth's book, The Marching Morons. If you haven't read it, the nutshell is this: Several centuries in the future, scientific advances have progressed to the point where society still works, despite the fact that its smarter people have slowed their birth rates down to a trickle, in large part because they are the ones always on the run and propping society up. Why is this necessary? Because the less-intelligent haven't stopped their breeding in higher numbers. Social policies compounded the problem, by offering perverse incentives to these same people to breed. Before you say "conservative propaganda", I will tell you that it was written in the 1950's, and I have found it to be strangely prophetic. A person from a more self-reliant era, through no fault of his own is discovered in a state of suspended animation. When briefed on life in his new century, he asked why the smart people didn't just go away. He was told that they did, and the wholesale death and suffering in a world that couldn't take care of itself was too much to bear. They came back, and spent years cleaning up the mess. The man from the past then came up with the idea to promote travel to the colonies on Mars. There were no colonies on Mars. The "morons" boarded rockets that went into space. They just didn't go anywhere after that. The leader who executed the plan committed suicide, and the humanity got a second chance to be all it could be. Not a happy ending, but neither is to one our leaders are taking us to. Maybe I'm just reading something into it, or MAYBE I'm on to something.

Read the story yourself: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060525.wcloak0525/BNStory/Science/home

The Church of ME: Just Say No.

So Madonna is so desperate for attention that she now crucifies herself on stage. How appropriate. I feel the same way when I listen to her "music". I think we have had to listen to her political "thought", her "criticisms" of Christianity, and her New Age babble long enough. The problem is that she, like so many other modern-day "personalities", thinks that every utterance should be taken as a serious thought. Afterall, she is famous. Therefore she must know what she is talking about, even though her ignorance comes shining through in only seconds of listening to her inane and vacuous remarks. Like so many other celebrities, she simply cannot conceive of the notion that anything of any importance exists outside of her aura. It puts a whole new spin on "cult of personality". I like to call it the church of ME.
Fame has given these people a soapbox, and the unmitigated arrogance to mistake themselves as authorities on issues such as politics, religion, political *spit* correctness, global warming, state-sponsored torture, global warming, etc.
I can almost hear the bleeding-hearts saying "But they have the right to an opinion!"
Yes. They. Do.
BUT...
Having the spotlight and the microphone wherever you go does not mean that you should step right up and start second-guessing the people who have the knowledge, the expertise, and the duty to do the things you see fit to criticize. The problem with the acolytes of the church of ME is not that they do not act as if discretion is the better part of valor and simply choose to keep their traps shut; it is that they actually believe that their opinion is fact, and that they must share it with the world.
The media gladly plays along, feeding this arrogance by actively recruiting comments from the self-appointed experts. And the result is that we as a nation are not consumed with an honest dialogue about the threats to our nation and institutions. We do not hold our leaders accountable when they look us in the eye and tell us that we cannot possibly know what is good for us. We have to accept homosexual marriage, even if it means totally malignant the spirit of prior rulings on marriage rights to achieve the letter of the law that they desire. We have to accept the fact that our government will do nothing to secure the southern border, and citizenship means so little that we will give it away to those who would flout our laws in coming here. We must allow the leader of a foreign nation that encourages illegal immigration to come to our country and lecture us about our policy, and lobby for a result that would never be tolerated in his own country. We must stand mute when the historically predominant religion in this land is actively chased out of every sector of public life and discourse, but the "religion of pus" is slowly and surely incorporated into our society, taught in public schools, and celebrated in the White House. But hey, it is ok. That spiritual figure onto herself, Madonna is demonstrating creativity and bravado by emulating the sacrifice of one she could never be worthy of. Isn't she courageous because she is challenging Christianity. Wow. What bravery. Attack a religion that does not represent a threat to you. Why don't you kick a Buddhist while you're at it? You want to be brave, lady? Dare to challenge the religion of pus. Draw unflattering charactures of its "prophet". Publicly challenge its support of terrorists. Then we'll talk about your bravery. Until then, I think your fifteen minutes were up an hour ago. Go home. Concentrate on raising your child. Resist dhimmitude.

More Fun From the Advance Guard of Evil

I was reading today over at the Rott that the Caliphate Advance Insurection and Reconaissance unit, more commonly known as C.A.I.R. , has attacked Little Green Footballs for (gasp!) saying things about Islam that are negative. Now, keep in mind that this group of America-Haters frequently teams with the ACLU in attacks on American institutions. These happy-go-lucky rock-worshippers are the same group that nearly drove an L.A. radio host off the air a few months ago for making "insensitive" remarks about muslims. Now keep in mind that this attack was substantiated by some VERY CHERRY-PICKED remarks from a poster responding to a story on the death of an American teenager as the result of a suicide bomber in Israel, and the extraordinarily insensitive remars make by a muslim official concerning that murder. CAIR conveniently sidestepped THOSE remarks. As peace-loving muslims, they couldn't be bother to break the unwritten code preventing them from denouncing the provocative and "radical" muslims.

I have had enough. It is time to hold our leaders and the media down and give them a truth enema. Islam is not a religion of peace. Just ask them what the faith demands for those who do not accept Islam. Ask them about their "duty" to decieve and lie to non-muslims. If they are serious about their faith, then they are all "Radical" muslims, but some of them haven't gone on their rampage yet. I can think of no other explaination for the deafening silence that follows in the wake of a horrible deed performed by a muslim "extremist", or the low-key denounciation and hand-wringing that some muslims will perform for a camera.

The talk of a "clash of civilizations" sounds vaugely inspiring, but misses the mark, like any other modern characterization of a problem facing society. You can not have a clash of civilizations when there is only one civilization. Demanding blood for every perceived slight, and chopping people's heads off while chanting is not civilization. If we are really interested in accuracy, we could call it the Suicide of Civilization in the Face of Barbarity. We seem so preoccupied with not offending anyone that we are effectively turning a blind eye to what is going on right in front of us. The Constitution is not a suicide pact. If you would use it to dramatically change the face of law and society, then you are an enemy of this nation and should be treated as such. Period.

Sparse Post

I've been a little irritated this week. A law interpreted so that a citizen has to prove that he is innocent, rather than the cop prove he is guilty, the Senators getting tossed by Buffalo, the high school graduation prayer ruling in Kentucky, the "confused Saudi students" boarding the high school bus in Tampa, Ray "the race pimp" Nagin getting re-elected in NOLA. Watching the forces of stupid on the march has left me feeling like I'm trapped in one of those hot summer evenings when I don't even want the light on, because I can feel the heat from that.

Not Today

I spent all day trying a case that should have been dismissed. Aside from the joy of hearing a law enforcement oficer say that it was up to my client to prove that he was covered under the exception to the rule, i.e. my client had to prove his innocence rather than the other way around, I can say that I am not happy with the day. Five hours of the court's time (on my nickel too, since I am a resident of the county. And I get to go back tomorrow, to hear if the jury has reached a decision. Yeah.

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

From C.S. Lewis' "The Problem of Pain"

"He can close his spiritual eyes against the Numinous, if he is prepared to part company with half the great poets and prophets of his race, with his own childhood, with the richness and depth of uninhibited experience. He can regard the moral law as an illusion, and so cut himself off from the common ground of humanity. He can refuse to identify the Numinus with the righteous, and remain a barbarian, worshipping sexuality, or the dead, or the lifeforce, or the future. But the cost is heavy."

Indeed it is. No anchor for law. Perverse rulings in courts. The twin plagues of multiculturalism and political correctness, set upon society to rob a nation of its sense of identity and to muzzle reason and truth, respectively. And now, the infected within who cowtow to the acolytes of Islam, and willingly ask forgiveness for every perceived slight to the religion of the murderering, theiving pedophile. To these seventh-century anachronisms who demand blood for percieved slights, and treat non-believers ask chattel, or as obstacles. Truth is anathema. And still the West gives in, deluded into the belief that it is the arrogant society, which must make amends to the aggressor. It is the work of the devil, or of man, unguided by divine inspiration, which is almost as bad. Think about that on this wonderful sunday. Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Now put on that Bhurka, and get back inside, already.

Off Day

I was at a CLE all day long in Seattle today. No time spent on other things. Could discuss Seattle Public Schools' revised definition of racism. Are you aware that it can only be practiced by white people? Go to the Rott. They've already covered it in more detail than I could.

New Memes for the Left. Please.

Please, please, someone get the left something new to spew about. The "Bush lied us into war" and "Civil liberties are in danger" memes are too tiresome. Really. The first sidesteps an ugly conclusion rooted in the assumption that their frenzied cry is actually true: that their leaders weren't smart enough to pick up on the alleged deception. I think a few of the people who repeat this nonesense day after day are praying that we don't point that out to them. After all, these are the same leaders who want the American people to believe that they have some brilliant plan to conduct the war or and orderly exit from the war, that is both distinctive and superior to what W is executing at the moment. Just don't ask them what it might be. They haven't figured it out yet. That only leaves them with the answer "Well, uhhh, we aren't poopie-head Republicans."
As for the "Civil Libererties/ Bush is shredding the Constitution" thing, they can't point to a single example that has affected one of them personally. Trust me on this, I have asked them. Many times. Several times a week, the lefties at BKP will trot this one out and toss it back and forth. Ask them for an example of how it has affected them personally, and they all clam up like I'm Dad asking the kids who crashed the car. When you take the time to explain that the government only cares if they are doing things they shouldn't, like talking with suspected or known terrorists, and they cry foul. By cry foul, I mean squeal like stuck pigs. They are so self-centered that they actually believe that they are the focus of an investigation, and that these intercepts are causing them great harm. I've tried to explain that the government doesn't have time to investigate the delusional and the stupid. We are at war after all, and resources can get streched. No matter.
The problem is that no matter how discredited these memes become, we still hear them. Day after day after day after day after day...you get the idea. For a while it was funny. Kind of like a march of the morons (C.M. Kornbluth would probably be horrified to know that he was right.) Now, its more like Dawn of the Dead, only without the flesh eating. The Memes, like zombies, chase after anyone with a functioning brain, i.e. conservatives. Only now, they are decayed and disgusting, their talking points and slogans sticking out everywhere, like bits of flesh peeling away from the rotted core. For the love of God, would someone go to DNC headquarters and suggest something else, anything else, to talk about? Please. At a minimum, tell them that a lie doesn't get transmuted to truth on the billionth telling.