Jan 24, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
PARIS--Several French leaders got their panties in a twist yesterday over U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's implication that France, well...doesn't really matter--except where pastries are concerned.
At a news conference Wednesday, Rumsfeld expressed indifference to French and German criticism of America's stance on Iraq. "Germany has been a problem and France has been a problem...but if you look at vast numbers of other countries in Europe, they're not with France and Germany on this. They're with the United States," he said. He then proceeded to refer to the two vocal, but irrelevant, nations as "old Europe."
French Finance Minister Francis Mer described himself as "profoundly vexed" by Rumsfeld's discovery of France's uselessness as a country. "I wanted to remind everyone that this ‘old Europe' has resilience and is capable of bouncing back," he added. "And it will show it, in time." Traditionally, Europe's time for bouncing back has been right after American troops save it from the clutches of an imperialist dictator.
France's Ecology Minister was so mad that she almost said something offensive herself. "If you knew what I feel like telling him, to Mr. Rumsfeld..." she warned, lacking the courage to complete her sentence.
In the event of a war, it is unclear whether the U.S. will be able to surrender effectively without guidance from the French.
Jan 23, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Jeremy Rabkin, a professor from Cornell University, argued that America has the right to decide if it should go into Iraq, and that the U.N. has done a miserable job of ensuring world peace.As evidence, he noted that as many people have died in wars throughout the world in the years since the U.N.'s creation as died in World War II. [New York Sun, 1/22/03]
Jan 23, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
NEW YORK--A federal judge ruled yesterday that eating yourself into obesity is your own damn fault, much to the dismay of some rather large and irresponsible kids in New York who were hoping to leech off the fat of productive companies.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet rejected the class action lawsuit (filed last November as reported on Capitalism Magazine) that blamed McDonald's, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Wendy's for the poor choices of several unhealthy individuals. "If consumers know (or reasonably should know)," the judge wrote, "the potential ill health effects of eating at McDonald's, they cannot blame McDonald's if they, nonetheless, choose to satiate their appetite with a surfeit of super-sized McDonald's products."
Hear, hear!
Ultimately, kids, shirking personal responsibility will bite you in the ass...and some asses will be wider than others.
Jan 22, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
"Yes, we want to be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. But what makes up character?" [Hillary Clinton] said, quoting from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. "If we don't take race as part of our character, then we are kidding ourselves." [New York Sun, 1/21/03]
"We are kidding ourselves" means: "I don't have a rational basis for this belief, so I want to win agreement by intimidation."
What is her belief? What does it mean to "take race as part of our character?"
A person's character is his disposition to behave in a certain way. Character is not in the situation you face, but in what you choose to do about it. To accept race as part of a person's character is to say he is helpless to control his behavior in the face of the demands of his race, that he is unable to make certain choices if his race dictates them, that he is helpless to conform his own individual judgment to facts if his race demands otherwise. This idea is the essence of racism--that our race determines our character.
Hillary Clinton has no shame: she quotes Martin Luther King in defense of her racism! Where is the outrage?
Jan 22, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Lately, warnings about Uncle Sam turning into "Big Brother" are so frequent that they have almost become tiresome. If something is not done to stop the insidious government, we are told, we will all soon be living in 1984. Blah, blah, blah.
Well, guess what, citizens of America? It's too late--at least as far as your medical records are concerned.
Uncle Sam can, without a warrant, probable cause, or any other legal action, simply look-up when you're menstruating, what medication you're taking, what foods disagree with you, and any other "secrets" you might have trusted with a doctor at one time or another. Tack on the government's new "Total Information Awareness" program headed by John Poindexter (yes--that Poindexter), and a whole database of medical (and other) information about you will be accessible to DMV-caliber bureaucrats (are there really any other caliber?) at the touch of a button.
Constitution? Where? What Constitution?
[Thanks to Dan for the link to the Fox News article on this. Keep your ammo dry.]
Jan 22, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
"Yes, we want to be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. But what makes up character?" [Hillary Clinton] said, quoting from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. "If we don't take race as part of our character, then we are kidding ourselves." [New York Sun, 1/21/03]
"We are kidding ourselves" means: "I don't have a rational basis for this belief, so I want to win agreement by intimidation."
What is her belief? What does it mean to "take race as part of our character?"
A person's character is his disposition to behave in a certain way. Character is not in the situation you face, but in what you choose to do about it. To accept race as part of a person's character is to say he is helpless to control his behavior in the face of the demands of his race, that he is unable to make certain choices if his race dictates them, that he is helpless to conform his own individual judgment to facts if his race demands otherwise. This idea is the essence of racism--that our race determines our character.
Hillary Clinton has no shame: she quotes Martin Luther King in defense of her racism! Where is the outrage?
