Nov 3, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, distant relative of 19th century painter Vincent van Gogh, received a belly full of Islamic peace and love yesterday when he was brutally murdered on the streets of Amsterdam. Shot and stabbed in broad daylight at the front door of the city council office, 47 year-old van Gogh managed to flee to the other side of the street, where he was shot and stabbed again, and died.
Van Gogh's assailant, a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch and Moroccan citizenship, has been linked to an organization of Islamic terrorists recruiting youth in the Netherlands. The murder is thought to be in retaliation for van Gogh's recent anti-Islamic film, entitled "Submission," in which a Muslim woman is forced into a violent arranged marriage, raped by a relative, and punished for adultery.
And so, to protest the film's depiction of Islam as a violent, cruel, anti-human religion, angry Muslims shot and stabbed the director. Point made.Nov 3, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Wrotes Robert Tracinski in his daily news letter, TIA Daily:
Even the New York Times recognizes that President Bush was given a mandate by the American people. But what was the nature of the mandate? Bush's own views were made clear in his victory speech: it is a mandate for more tax cuts, for Social Security semi-quasi-privatization, and for finishing the war in Iraq, with only a small reference to religious "values." Cheney agreed, saying that the administration had "reasserted a confident American role in the world."
From a transcript of President Bush's Speech:
"We will continue our economic progress. We'll reform our outdated tax code. We'll strengthen the Social Security for the next generation. We'll make public schools all they can be. And we will uphold our deepest values of family and faith. We'll help the emerging democracies of Iraq and Afghanistan so they can grow in strength and defend their freedom. And then our service men and women will come home with the honor they have earned. With good allies at our side, we will fight this war on terror with every resource of our national power so our children can live in freedom and in peace."
Related Reading: Anti-Bushites for BushNov 3, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
Nov 2, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Who made this statement:
"Although we are in the fourth year after 9/11, Bush is still exercising confusion and misleading you and not telling you the true reason. "
John Kerry, Michael Moore, or Osama Bin Laden? Take the "John Kerry"/"Michael Moore"/"Osama Bin Laden" Quiz.
Nov 2, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Apparently, CNN has yet to figure out that Ralph Nader is irrelevant. On tonight's "America Votes 2004" election coverage program, Wolf Blitzer stands gesticulating in front of large, colorful "Race for the White House" graphics with all the usual media fanfare. And as millions of people watch transfixed, they see not just two names as viable presidential candidates, but three: Bush, Kerry and...Nader. The anti-industrialist candidate is even the subject of much discussion among the pundits and received airtime for an impromptu speech.
According to current Washington Post election results, even Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik is more popular than Ralph Nader. Although his position may change by the time tallying is complete, one thing should be obvious: Nader's name does not belong on the short list of viable candidates, especially at the exclusion of others who are receiving more votes...unless, of course, someone at CNN has an agenda.Nov 2, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
From last week in The Washington Times: Terrorists hope to defeat Bush through Iraq violence. (Via Little Green Footballs)Leaders and supporters of the anti-U.S. insurgency say their attacks in recent weeks have a clear objective: The greater the violence, the greater the chances that President Bush will be defeated on Tuesday and the Americans will go home.
"If the U.S. Army suffered numerous humiliating losses, [Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John] Kerry would emerge as the superman of the American people," said Mohammad Amin Bashar, a leader of the Muslim Scholars Association, a hard-line clerical group that vocally supports the resistance.
Resistance leader Abu Jalal boasted that the mounting violence had already hurt Mr. Bush's chances.
"American elections and Iraq are linked tightly together," he told a Fallujah-based Iraqi reporter. "We've got to work to change the election, and we've done so. With our strikes, we've dragged Bush into the mud."
Today The Wall Street Journal noted What's At Stake: Tomorrow Americans decide whether to continue confronting terror with freedom.It's tempting to think that al Qaeda is a localized problem and, although a concern, not something that can seriously undermine our way of life. After all, if Israel can survive in the face of daily terrorist attacks, why can't this nation as well? That, apparently, is what the Spanish electorate decided earlier this year. And it is one of the arguments of Michael Moore's propaganda film "Fahrenheit 9/11." But the truth is that America does not have such a "luxury." America stands as a symbol to the world that a society based on liberty is indeed possible and, yes, preferable. Because of that, the threat we face goes far beyond the few attacks a collection of thugs could pull off. This is a battle over the future of liberty at home and abroad.
This is something Osama bin Laden fully understands. In a video released Friday afternoon, bin Laden said that Americans would be free from terrorists attacks only once "our security" is assured. But America's very existence is a threat to his own security and the security of all those who perpetuate a culture of hate, oppression and death. [Emphasis added]
From last week in The Washington Times: