In the Name of Islam
Writes Jeff Jacoby in today's Boston Globe,At least 14 Israelis were murdered -- many burned alive -- and 65 were wounded when a car packed with explosives rammed a passenger bus near Hadera on Monday. Islamic Jihad promptly took credit for the slaughter, and once again that perfect silence you heard was millions of Muslims in America and Europe not crying out in protest against those who commit massacres in the name of Islam.
The night before, Islamic terrorists bombed a Catholic shrine in the Philippine city of Zamboanga, leaving one dead and 12 injured. Three days earlier, two terror attacks in the largely Christian city's shopping district killed seven and wounded more than 160. And from moderate Muslims in the West, the heartfelt expressions of revulsion and sorrow were -- inaudible.
Time and again we have been instructed that Islam is a "religion of peace." Over and over we have been assured that most Muslims are nonviolent and tolerant. And yet when Islamist fanatics commit acts of horrifying atrocity, and do so as Muslims, the peaceable Islamic majority has nothing to say. Why not?
Two suspects held in sniper case
According to The Washington Post, two suspects in the Washington area sniper case were arrested last night after a local resident spotted a van matching police descriptions at a Maryland rest stop.The two suspects, former Army soldier John Allen Muhammed, 41, and Lee Malvo, 17, were arrested without incident as they were caught sleeping in the van. Although the suspects do not appear to be connected to Osam Bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist organization, Mr. Muhammed is a recent Muslim convert who changed his name from John Allen Williams.
Thanks, Allah.
Regulatory Knockout
Canada's National Post published an op-ed by Capitalism Magazine's own Mark Da Cunha on ImClone's Sam Waksal titled, Regulatory Knockout. The byline reads: "Sam Waksal pleaded guilty in the ImClone scandal, but it wasn't insider trading that destroyed shareholder wealth at the company, it was the FDA"Culture Briefs
The October 15, 2002 edition of the Washington Post quoted a Capitalism Magazine article in their "Culture Briefs" section (Excerpts and quotes from the cultural war of words in publications around the nation):BETTER THAN OTHERS
"Did Columbus 'discover' America? Yes -- in every important respect. This does not mean that no human eye had been cast on America before Columbus arrived. It does mean that Columbus brought America to the attention of the civilized world, i.e., to the growing, scientific civilizations of Western Europe. The result, ultimately, was the United States of America.
"Prior to 1492, what is now the United States was sparsely inhabited, unused, and undeveloped. The inhabitants were primarily hunter-gatherers, wandering across the land, living from hand-to-mouth and from day-to-day. There was virtually no change, no growth for thousands of years. With rare exception, life was nasty, brutish, and short: there was no wheel, no written language, no division of labor, little agriculture and scant permanent settlement; but there were endless, bloody wars. Whatever the problems it brought, the vilified Western culture also brought enormous, undreamed-of benefits, without which most of today's Indians would be infinitely poorer or not even alive.
"Some cultures are better than others: a free society is better than slavery; reason is better than brute force as a way to deal with other men; productivity is better than stagnation. In fact, Western civilization stands for man at his best."
--Michael Berliner, writing on "Did Christopher Columbus 'Discover' America?" Thursday in Capitalism Magazine at www.capmag.com
Jimmy’s Appeasement Prize
Today Jimmy Carter has joined the 'illustrious' ranks of terrorists like Arafat by his being awarded the Noble "Peace" prize. According to the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel committee, Gunnar Berge, Mr. Carter's selection "must be interpreted as a criticism of the present U.S. administration." Now this is enough make me nauseous.What wanted to make me throw up was Larry King's second-handed comment praising Carter, which he regurgitated approvingly: "Someone once said about you, President Carter, you're the only man in history to use the American presidency as a steppingstone to greatness." As if an award that recognizes the "achievements" of a terrorist and cold-blooded killer like Arafat is greater than an office held by men like Jefferson, Adams, and Washington. Where is my bucket?
On the bright side, I can imagine what Bill Clinton is saying to himself: "That should be me, and not that grinning buffoon. Arafat should have accepted those terms when I handed Israel to him on a silver platter. It should be me up there. That prize is mine."
The Aristocracy of the Couch Potato
YOUR LIVING ROOM--Many Americans harbor a general feeling of anxiety about the US government--as if something is definitely wrong, yet they can't quite identify how to fix it. But cable channel FX has. The problem, according to FX's president of entertainment Kevin Reilly, is that the nation's abundant resource of lazy, catatonic, couch potatoes (mostly found in the fly-over states and more littered neighborhoods of major cities) hasn't been adequately utilized.But that will all change when FX introduces its new series, "American Candidate" in early 2003. "Hopefully, we'll find some very qualified civil servant who lacks a power base and maybe also a plumber from Detroit who (tells) it like it is," Reilly explained. Riding a (second-handed) high from the success of "American Idol," a reality-based television series that recently adorned an aspiring 20-year old singer with national fame, producers at FX hope to coax the country's television addicts into nominating a presidential candidate for the 2004 election. A panel of "experts" will choose the first 100 show participants, who will deliver drippy speeches, compete in whinny debates, and regurgitate meaningless clichés in response to loaded questions. Winners will then be selected via audience response and telephone/internet voting. All of this fanfare will culminate in a live show from the National Mall in Washington, where the "people's candidate" will be chosen.
There are still some small islands in the Pacific that can be purchased from their governments at a reasonable price.
{Thanks to Justin Wheeler for shooting straight and speaking the truth.}