Nov 14, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum: 
From The Washington Post's Charles Krauthammer: 'Moral Values' Myth.In 1994, when the Gingrich revolution swept Republicans into power, ending 40 years of Democratic hegemony in the House, the mainstream press needed to account for this inversion of the Perfect Order of Things. A myth was born. Explained the USA Today headline: "ANGRY WHITE MEN: Their votes turn the tide for GOP."
Overnight, the revolution of the Angry White Male became conventional wisdom. In the 10 years before the 1994 election there were 56 mentions of angry white men in the media, according to LexisNexis. In the next seven months there were more than 1,400.
At the time, I looked into this story line -- and found not a scintilla of evidence to support the claim. Nonetheless, it was a necessary invention, a way for the liberal elite to delegitimize a conservative victory. And, even better, a way to assuage their moral vanity: You never lose because your ideas are sclerotic or your positions retrograde, but because your opponent appealed to the baser instincts of mankind.
Plus ca change ... Ten years and another stunning Democratic defeat later, and liberals are at it again. The Angry White Male has been transmuted into the Bigoted Christian Redneck.
Nov 12, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Writes Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe [Hat Tip: H. Hacker]:
YASSER ARAFAT died at age 75, lying in bed surrounded by familiar faces. He left this world peacefully, unlike the thousands of victims he sent to early graves.
In a better world, the PLO chief would have met his end on a gallows, hanged for mass murder much as the Nazi chiefs were hanged at Nuremberg. In a better world, the French president would not have paid a visit to the bedside of such a monster. In a better world, George Bush would not have said, on hearing the first reports that Arafat had died, "God bless his soul."
God bless his soul? What a grotesque idea! Bless the soul of the man who brought modern terrorism to the world? Who sent his agents to slaughter athletes at the Olympics, blow airliners out of the sky, bomb schools and pizzerias, machine-gun passengers in airline terminals? Who lied, cheated, and stole without compunction? Who inculcated the vilest culture of Jew-hatred since the Third Reich? Human beings might stoop to bless a creature so evil -- as indeed Arafat was blessed, with money, deference, even a Nobel Prize -- but God, I am quite sure, will damn him for eternity.
Arafat always inspired flights of nonsense from Western journalists, and his last two weeks were no exception. [November 11, 2004]
For more on Arafat:
America's Accommodation of Evil by Adam Mossoff
It is time the US sees Arafat for what he is.
Arafat's Despotism: Innocent Palestinians are Better Under Israeli Rule by Yaron Brook
Remember the mayor of a Palestinian village, Zuhir Hamdan, who publicly stated that his villagers preferred to live, not under Arafat, but Israel?
We Are Either With Israel, Or We Are With the Terrorists by Robert W. Tracinski
Arafat and his Palestinian Authority were the world's foremost example of terrorism as a successful war strategy.
Yassar Arafat's Suicide Factory by Daniel Pipes
Convincing healthy individuals to blow themselves up is obviously not easy, but requires ideas and institutions. The process begins with the Palestinian Authority (PA) inculcating two things into its population, starting with the children: a hatred of Jews and a love of death.
Killing Arafat by Alexander Marriott
Yasser Arafat, the Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, has been a fomenter of terrorism virtually his entire "professional" career. Killing Arafat as opposed to exiling him, where he can still communicate with terrorists on the ground, is preferable.
Casus Belli by David Harsanyi
Worldwide, leaders have announced that their support for the proposed American-led ouster of Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein hinges on President Bush making a compelling case for action. "That guy's evil" doesn't cut it with many of these heads of state, most of whom regard terrorists like Yassir Arafat as freedom fighters. Hussein's frenzied hostility towards America, uninhibited support of terrorism (illustrated by generous $25,00 gifts to Palestinian suicide bombers' families), the murder of thousands of his own citizens and his insistent efforts of adding weapons of mass destruction doesn't seem to be adequate evidence either.
Expel Arafat Now by James Phillips
For many years now, Arafat has paid lip service to peace negotiations in English, while calling in Arabic for a jihad, or holy war, to liberate Jerusalem.
How Arafat Killed The "Peace Process" by James Phillips
Arafat's history of broken promises has convinced Israelis that Arafat is an untrustworthy negotiating partner who reverts to the "war process" when he doesn't get what he demands in the "peace process."
U.N. Call for Palestinian State Spells Suicide for Palestinians by Yaron Brook
Arafat's "Palestinian self-determination" really means more of Arafat's despotism--it means granting legitimacy to a state that is utterly hostile to its own citizens.
Israel's Deal with the Devil by Emmanuel Forgolou
After the recent outbreak of violence, world opinion once again scrambles to implicate Israel, while Palestinians led by Yasser Arafat get bolder in their demands. Having abandoned its moral stand of strong defense and having made its deal with the devil, can Israel hope for either peace or security?
Jenin: The Big Lie by Ariel Cohen
Why Arafat invented the Jenin "massacre."
Nov 11, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Who: Dr. Andrew Bernstein, philosophy professor, senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute and author of the forthcoming book The Capitalist Manifesto.
What: A talk explaining why capitalism is the only cure for oppression and poverty, followed by audience Q & A. The public and media are invited. Admission is free.
Where: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 17900 Jamboree Blvd., Irvine, CA
When: Thursday, November 11, 2004--Doors open at 7 PM
IRVINE, CA--The opponents of global capitalism overlook the key points in the debate. The capitalistic nations of Europe, North America and Asia are by far the wealthiest societies of history--with per capita incomes in the range of at least $20,000--$30,000 annually. But capitalism is not merely the system of prosperity; fundamentally, it is the system of individual rights and freedom.
Capitalistic nations protect their citizens' freedom of speech, of the press and of intellectual expression. Similarly, their citizens possess economic freedom, including the right to own property, to start their own businesses and to seek profit. By stark contrast, the pre-capitalist systems of history, and the non-capitalist systems of the present, are politically oppressive and economically destitute; their citizens have no rights and, consequently, little or no wealth.
What deeper principles make possible the freedom and wealth enjoyed under capitalism--and lacking in its political antipodes? How has capitalism already greatly enhanced the lives of millions of human beings in formerly impoverished Third World countries? What can the men of the free world do to further promote the spread of capitalism into the repressed nations of the globe? These are the questions addressed in this talk.Nov 11, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Debate at USC: Capitalism: Is There a Moral Alternative?
Friday, November 12, 2004
Debate between Dr. Andrew Bernstein and Dr. Peter Robertson
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, SGM-123 (Seeley G. Mudd), 6:30
Nov 7, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
You can listen to the "The Morality of War" by Dr. Yaron Brook (recorded on September 9, 2004) online for free at the website of The Ayn Rand Institute (you will have to register at no cost).
In this lecture, Dr. Brook passionately explains why America's war is being sabotaged. He blames the moral code of altruism--embodied in the "just-war" theory--that drives Washington's battle plans. It is this code of warfare that explains why victory is within our reach, but consciously forfeited.Nov 5, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Since being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, some small part of Yasir Arafat must have known how ridiculous it was for the world to extol such a notorious thug for his "contributions" to peace. And now, 48 years after founding the terrorist group Al Fatah and decades after organizing the execution of American and Belgian diplomats, the Achilles Lauro hijacking, the Munich Olympics massacre, and countless other bombings and murders, the infamous PLO leader is finally trying to set things right the only way he can: by dying.
Although not yet technically dead, sources say that Arafat has slipped into a vegetative state requiring ventilation machines to remain alive. His greatest contribution to peace is expected to follow shortly, when his heart weakens beyond repair and his lifeless flesh begins to rot away.
