Jan 6, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
Iran Van Jahan has a number of good links related to the Bam earthquake. Here are a few:
On Jan. 2, AP reported: Hardliners Criticize U.S. Aid."We hate the arrogance of the Americans and we are sure that they haven't come for humanitarian reasons, but for other things like spying," said Abdullah Irani, a mullah from Qum, the main center for Shiite clerics in Iran.
Two days later, Reuters reports: Iranian People Cheer U.S. Warming After Bam Quake.Ordinary Iranians are cheering a warming of diplomatic ties between Tehran and the United States brought on by the Bam quake, and hope an end is in sight to a quarter century of isolation from a country many openly admire. Even though conservative Tehran newspapers may rail at "earthquake diplomacy" by George W. Bush, many average Iranians on the capital's streets Sunday said they welcomed the American president's overtures that may rebuild severed ties. "I was overjoyed when I first heard America planes were going to fly in to help Bam," said Hassan Tayebi, 51, a retired civil servant, referring to the Dec. 26 earthquake that destroyed the southeastern city. "I really like Americans. They are really kind people and I hope the aid offer leads to better relations." Many Iranians show a more favorable attitude to the United States than their own government does.
Michael Ledeen explains this difference in reaction and what it means to America's self-defense: Aftershocks: The West must read the meter in Bam and Tehran[A]s we are reminded every day by the wonderful dentist in Baghdad who bravely blogs away at www.healingiraq.com, in the words of Jonathan Swift, "It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into." The regime in Tehran is not reasonable, it is fanatical. It has waged war against us for a quarter century and it intends to destroy us. It claims to act in the name of all Islam, and views us as the greatest Satanic force on earth. It will not come to terms with us, because its very essence is hatred of us and of everything we represent. Knowing that the vast majority of its own people hate the regime and loves America, it murders, tortures, and oppresses them. When the mullahs appear to be acting reasonably and tell us they wish to help us fight terrorism, it is a deception, not an expression of their real desires.
Yet many of our leaders, fine men and women all, continue to believe that the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan suffice to let us return to diplomacy as usual, even as the entire Western world ties itself in knots to protect against the next assault from the terror masters. [...]
Look at the many reports on the awful degradation of Iranian society, now leading the region in suicide and teenage prostitution, its standard of living a pitiful shadow of what it was before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, its infrastructure in tatters, its armed forces distrusted by the country's leaders, its students under virtual house arrest, its newspapers and magazines silenced, its talented moviemakers and writers and scientists and artists fleeing to the West whenever they see a crack in the nation's walls. Look at the damning human-rights reports. Read the harsh condemnation of the mullahs' relentless censorship from Reporters sans Frontières," which calls Iran the world's greatest predator of free press. And listen to the cries of the Bam survivors as they ask why this had to happen, why no help arrived until long after the disaster struck, and why the mullahs preferred to see thousands of them die, rather than accept humanitarian assistance from the Jews.
And then ask our leaders what in the world we are waiting for, and why we insist on believing that a regime so demonstrably evil deserves to have good relations with the United States, and why a people so demonstrably on our side, and so demonstrably worthy of freedom, does not deserve our full support.
And Thomas Sowell contrasts the recent earthquake in California to the one in Bam: Two Earthquakes And Their Results Under Two Different Social Systems:The deaths in Iran have been counted in the tens of thousands. In California, the deaths did not reach double digits. Why the difference? In one word, wealth.
Wealth enables homes, buildings and other structures to be built to withstand greater stresses. Wealth permits the creation of modern transportation that can quickly carry people to medical facilities. It enables those facilities to be equipped with more advanced medical apparatus and supplies, and amply staffed with highly trained doctors and support staff.
Those who disdain wealth as crass materialism need to understand that wealth is one of the biggest life-saving factors in the world. As an economist in India has pointed out, "95 percent of deaths from natural hazards occur in poor countries."
Jan 6, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From an Anti-Defamation League press release:
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said it was deeply troubled that MoveOn.org had allowed an outrageous and highly offensive political ad that directly compared President George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler to be posted on its Web site.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director and author of "Never Again: The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism," issued the following statement:
"It is shocking that a mainstream political group like MoveOn.org not only allowed this vile and outrageous comparison of the American President to Adolf Hitler to be entered into its "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest in the first place, but that they even went so far as to make it available to the public on the Internet. Those responsible for this contest at MoveOn.org should have immediately identified this advertisement as one going far beyond legitimate criticism and rejected it out of hand. Instead, they made an irresponsible decision that has given legitimacy to the exploitative manipulation of images in a campaign season.
"MoveOn.org clearly would not have accepted a pornographic ad as legitimate criticism of a candidate. Why did they think that images of Hitler, the Nazi whose evil regime was responsible for the slaughter of millions of people during the Holocaust, was a fitting and credible expression of criticism of President Bush and his policies? Their lack of discretion cheapens the level of political discourse in America, and their comments explaining it were hardly comforting."
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
For more on the MoveOn ad see Socialist Group MoveOn Promotes Ad That Equates Bush with Hitler.Jan 5, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Andrew Sullivan on two of the Lord of the Rings actors:
I saw [Viggo] Mortensen on TV the other night saying that the "Lord of The Rings" was all about bringing people together, eschewing violence, promoting peace, etc etc. ... [John] Rhys-Davies is smarter:
"I'm burying my career so substantially in these interviews that it's painful. But I think that there are some questions that demand honest answers. I think that Tolkien says that some generations will be challenged. And if they do not rise to meet that challenge, they will lose their civilization. That does have a real resonance with me... What is unconscionable is that too many of your fellow journalists do not understand how precarious Western civilization is and what a jewel it is.
How did we get the sort of real democracy, how did we get the level of tolerance that allows me to propound something that may be completely alien to you around this table, and yet you will take it and you will think about it and you'll say no you're wrong because of this and this and this. And I'll listen and I'll say, "Well, actually, maybe I am wrong because of this and this." '
He points at a female reporter and adopts an authoritarian voice, to play a militant-Islam character:
'You should not be in this room. Because your husband or your father is not here to guide you. You could only be here in this room with these strange men for immoral purposes.'
I mean ... the abolition of slavery comes from Western democracy. True Democracy comes from our Greco-Judeo-Christian-Western experience. If we lose these things, then this is a catastrophe for the world."
Jan 5, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses, Dollars & Crosses 2
From the Washington Times:President Bush yesterday called for making his tax cuts permanent for the first time since signing a major tax-cut package in May that was touted as temporary in order to keep the price tag low. Critics saw the move as an attempt at yet another tax cut "costing more than $1 trillion over the next decade" at a time when Democratic presidential candidates are demanding that Mr. Bush repeal even his earlier, temporary cuts.
Cost whom? Blank out.Tax cuts cost the government nothing, because government officials did nothing to produce the wealth that is taxed, to begin with.Taxes cost taxpayers wealth because it is they, and not bureaucrats like Dean, Gephardt, Rangel - and even President Bush -who in their positions as government officials produce no wealth (as least George W. Bush has the decency to allow all taxpayers to keep more of their money).It is taxpayers who had to work for and earn that wealth that is taxed--and the cost of that tax is the physical and mental effort they had to expend to produce that wealth that is involuntarily taken from them. All government has to do to get wealth is to point a machine gun at a disarmed citizen and threaten them with fines and imprisonment.... "Some critics, who opposed tax relief to start with, are still opposing it," [Bush] said. "They argue we should return to the way things were in 2001. What they're really saying is they want to raise taxes.""People are more likely to find work if businesses and their workers can be certain that the lower tax rates of the last years will stay in place," Mr. Bush said. "Today, you don't have that confidence. That's because at the end of next year, the $1,000 child tax credit will shrink to $700. In 2008, capital-gains taxes are scheduled to rise by a third. In 2011, the 'death tax' on estates will reappear just one year after being phased out. That doesn't make any sense," Mr. Bush told the business owners, who interrupted him with numerous standing ovations during the 42-minute speech. "We're going to phase out the death tax — which is a bad tax to begin with — and then let it pop back to life. But that's reality."
But, unlike death, it doesn't have to be.Jan 5, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
According to Matt Drudge the "advocacy" group Moveon.org recently posted a second video (now pulled) on their website that called George W. Bush the Hitler of the 21st century. Writes Drudge in his report:
The 30-second video is the second ad comparing Bush to Hitler to be streamed on moveon.org. The clip is part of a contest to find the best bush-bashing ad. A panel of judges, including actor-director Michael Moore, and Dem campaign strategists Donna Brazile and James Carville, will select the winner.
Perhaps Moveon.org is taking a page from the book written by their modern socialist brethren of the former National Socialist Germany:
Relations between Germany and the United States, frayed over Iraq, took a turn for the worse when German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin compared George W Bush to Adolf Hitler.With her Social Democrats fighting out the tough final days of a campaign for Sunday's election, Daeubler-Gmelin made the remark while talking to metalworkers about US plans for a possible attack on Baghdad. "Bush wants to divert attention from domestic political problems. It's a method that is sometimes favoured. Hitler also did that," she said, according to a report by the Schwaebisches Tagblatt newspaper. ["Bush accused of 'Hitler' move", The Age, September 20, 2003]
A method favored not only by Herta Daeubler-Gmelinbutbut, but by Vanity Fair who seeks to pose the question their readers are apparently dying to know: if Richard Perle and Hitler's propaganda man, Joseph Goebbels, were "separated at birth."
MoveOn responds in a statement by Wes Boyd, Founder of MoveOn.org Voter Fund:
...During December the MoveOn.org Voter Fund invited members of the public to submit ads that purported to tell the truth about the President and his policies. More than 1,500 submissions from ordinary Americans came in and were posted on a web site, bushin30seconds.org, for the public to review.
None of these was our ad, nor did their appearance constitute endorsement or sponsorship by MoveOn.org Voter Fund. They will not appear on TV. We do not support the sentiment expressed in the two Hitler submissions. They were voted down by our members and the public, who reviewed the ads and submitted nearly 3 million critiques in the process of choosing the 15 finalist entries...
Reports Daniel Drezner on the ad that was according to MoveOn.org "voted down by our members and the public":
This was one of MoveOn.org's fifteen finalists for the ad competition. Or was it? If you now go to MoveOn's page of commercial finalists, you will note that the ad in question appears to have been yanked. It should have the url: http://www.bushin30seconds.org/view.html?id=02&size=small But the sequence of ads skips from id=01 to id=03
(For the record, at the time I write this, the ad with a database id=16 is also missing as the 15th finalist has a database id=17.)
In today's Wall Street Journal, Jack Rosen, president of the American Jewish Congress Rosen comments on MoveOn's ad:
...using the memory of that genocide as a political prop. Their comparison diminishes the reality of what happened, and their actions cheapen the memory of a horrific crime. It also does a terrible disservice to this country at a perilous time, when we need to examine the dangers we face with clarity and purpose...President Bush has shown that leadership in Iraq, and our troops have liberated a people who were oppressed by another murderous dictator. MoveOn.org compares this liberation to the Holocaust. It deploys a picture of Hitler to vilify President Bush. Comparing the commander-in-chief of a democratic nation to the murderous tyrant Hitler is not only historically specious, it is morally outrageous. Comparing an American president, any American president, to Hitler is an outrage. The MoveOn.org ad was inexcusable. Political figures such as Al Gore, who have associated themselves with MoveOn.org, have a special responsibility to condemn these ads; donors to the group such as George Soros have the same responsibility. They owe it not just to the memory of the millions who died in the Holocaust. They owe it also as a simple matter of decency.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Soros in November of 2003 stated that "America, under Bush, is a danger to the world ... When I hear Bush say, 'You're either with us or against us,' it reminds me of the Germans ...My experiences under Nazi and Soviet rule have sensitized me." Far from condemning such an ad one could conclude that the premier Moveon.org sponsor--anti-capitalist, billionaire George Soros--advocates its message.
As readers of Capitalism Magazine all know there are many reasons to criticize President Bush. He is an inconsistent, pragmatic, sometimes defender of freedom (case in point is his refusal to stand up for Republic of Taiwan against the Communist dictatorship of China as reported in Allen Forkum's excellent article on George W. Bush's Unprincipled Foreign Policy Against Taiwan). Yet this is not what MoveOn is attacking President Bush for.
What they are attacking Bush for is setting a precedent that a group of free countries -- primarily the United States of America, along with the U.K., and fifty plus other countries -- can dispose of a "sovereign" totalitarian dictatorship that was like Hitler's Germany in fact. Whatever MoveOn is advocating it is not freedom.Jan 5, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From the NY Post:
...Howard Dean acknowledged yesterday that he sold $15,000 in stock in five Vermont banks in 1991 after getting "inside information" from a state banking regulator soon after he became Vermont governor...."It became clear to me that information I might receive in the future as governor could present a possible conflict of interest," Dean said in a statement.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the NYPost reports, Dean held onto to other investments which could present a conflict of interest such as $69,000 of AIG "despite state regulation of insurance" in Vermont.
...Dean didn't specify what the inside information was. A spokesman [for Dean] told the Journal that the regulator's report was "innocuous" but said Dean was shocked to realize he got inside information.
If it is "innocuous" why not reveal it?
...The Associated Press reported bank stocks were declining in Vermont when Dean sold, but a former Vermont banking regulator, Elizabeth Costler told the Journal that bank stocks were actually looking up and "it wasn't to his economic advantage to sell."
Perhaps, but after he sold them, the banks stock prices apparently declined--so his action was profitable in the sense that he was at least avoiding a greater loss. As a parallel, compare Deans actions--and the reaction to them--to the assault on business people such as Sam Waksal, Martha Stewart over their sales of ImClone. Why is it that politicians who hold far more dangerous and lethal power over us than businessmen can "seal their records" so we cannot find out what they were up to? This raises a host of interesting questions: Did any FDA regulators' or their friends profit from the "inside information" they might have received about what the FDA was going to do to Sam Waksal' Imclone? Who will regulate the regulators?Jan 1, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
A positive sign in the Middle East:
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan plans to release new textbooks for the 2004-05 school year that will distinguish between terrorism and armed resistance, a longstanding formula many Arab leaders have used to justify suicide attacks on Israeli civilians. The announcement yesterday comes as two other Arab states, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, are planning changes in their curricula to respond to criticism from America and other Western nations that many schools in the Islamic world spread intolerance and fail to prepare their students for the 21st-century economy.
...Until 2000, most Palestinian schools used Jordanian and Egyptian textbooks.These materials often praised martyrdom and drew maps of Palestine that obliterate Israel. [NY Sun]
Now if only someone would educate Reuters. [Hat Tip: Paul Blair]Jan 1, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses, Dollars & Crosses 2
Mark Steyn on John Kerry:
... All over the planet, men in late middle age are pretending to like stuff just 'cause it's what the likes of Maureen Dowd tell them people want to hear. John Kerry pretends to like gangsta rap. Russia pretends it supports the Kyoto Accord. The European Union pretends Yasser Arafat is committed to peace with Israel. The Security Council pretends its resolutions mean something. Kofi Annan pretends the Oil-for-Fraud program is a humanitarian aid effort for the Iraqi people. The International Atomic Energy Authority pretends the mullahs in Tehran are good-faith negotiators on the matter of Iranian nukes.
It's easy to pander to fashion--whether on pop music, the environment, the Middle East "peace process" or sentimental transnationalism.
From Cox and Forkum:
Jan 1, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Andrew Wolf on the New York City Council:
At first, I was skeptical about their latest initiative, the potty parity law. Yes, our municipal legislative body is greatly concerned about the inequity in the number of men's and women's lavatory stalls. This vast societal problem has led to unfortunate situations in places such as movie theaters where men sail in and glide out in short order, as their wives and girlfriends wait on interminable lines for the chance to accomplish the same task. Many on the council would like to mandate that women get twice as many toilet fixtures as men. When I first heard of this, as soon as I finished laughing hysterically, I began to think that maybe this isn't such a bad idea. Anytime that our City Council spends on trivia is time that isn't spent doing serious damage in other areas.
Jan 1, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
A letter to the editor from a former NYC public school teacher who reports that the inmates are running the asylum:
I can recall a beginning teacher who crafted creative, fine lessons. But, classroom management was difficult for her and she could have used some administrative guidance and support in the handling of her class. One day, a second grader in her class slammed a closet door into her back and then ran away and laughed. She brought him to the principal, and later it was she who received a disciplinary letter! In the principal's office, the child had been interviewed about the teacher's performance and his misbehavior was blamed on the teacher's weak behavior modification program. Flash forward to where students threw a chair out a window that hit a pregnant woman below. Did we not hear the question asked, "Why was the classroom door left open?" ... It's not uncommon for disruptive students to be given the third degree, behind closed doors, about a teacher's behavior. And there's not one scenario within a school for which the teacher cannot and will not be blamed....
When parents are called to school for a conference about an incident such as a fight, the principal and the parents will present a united front and turn the meeting into the teacher's trial. The meeting concludes with the parent "writing the teacher up" and sometimes the students "write teachers up" as well...! Teachers learn to talk in ineffective soft tones rather than be accused of "yelling," which is now considered corporal punishment! They learn to never physically intervene during a fight because they can and will be charged with assault.
Jan 1, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
New Year's Eve in Baghdad was marred by a terrorist attack that murdered five Iraqis. Here in the states, we celebrated yet another safe New Year's Eve.
Regular readers of this blog know that we've been very critical of the War on Terrorism to the extent that states like Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia are not being forced to stop sponsoring terrorism. Regime changes in those countries will do far more to protect us from terrorism than hiring more airport security in this country. But this is not meant to diminish the protective services provided by those here in the states. From the F-16 pilots in the sky to the cops on the ground, our hats are off to all those helping to give us a safe New Year.Dec 31, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From the Daily Telegraph:
The head of the biggest university in Islam yesterday backed France's drive to ban the Muslim headscarf in its schools, despite it being condemned by the Arab world. Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the Grand Mufti of the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo and the foremost authority in Sunni Islam, said France had the right to pass a law banning all "conspicuous" religious symbols in state schools and institutions.
Wearing the headscarf was "a divine obligation for all Muslim women" that no governing Muslim could deny, he said in a joint press conference with Nicolas Sarkozy, France's interior minister. But, he added, that obligation only applied "if the woman lives in a Muslim country". He quoted verses from the Koran stipulating that any Muslim who conforms to the laws of a non-Muslim country need not fear divine punishment. Until yesterday the sheikh had remained silent over the issue, describing it as "an internal French affair".
These people have such contempt for freedom that they support tyranny even when it's directed at them. But that's not really news--they've been supporting Arab tyrants all this time.Dec 31, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From CBS MarketWatch:
Tim Berners-Lee will become a Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire for his work inventing the World Wide Web. Announcement of the honor for the British citizen who lives in the United States was made Wednesday by Buckingham Palace...In 1991, Berners-Lee developed the concept that led to Hypertext Markup Language that is used to create Web pages.
Dec 31, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
Dec 30, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From the UK's Guardian:
The Cuban authorities have launched an inquiry into how the official newspaper of the Communist party ran a front page photograph of Fidel Castro which appeared to have been doctored to make him look like Adolf Hitler. When the edition of Granma hit the streets this month party officials began to retrieve as many copies as they could, an operation which appears to have deterred foreign journalists based on the island from reporting the story.
Or, perhaps they did not report the story because they did not want to get kicked off the island Saddam style. (The UK Guardian wisely did not disclose the name of their "Special correspondent.")
...Close examination of the photograph shows that the image of the Cuban leader has been subtly altered to make him look like the Nazi leader. Underneath banners proclaiming Cuba's opposition to war and terrorism, President Castro is seen in full military uniform, but the world's most famous beard has been replaced by history's most striking moustache, while his grey hair now has the faint hint of a black comb-over. ["Castro as Hitler on Cuban front page sparks hunt for mystery satirist", December 30, 2003]
Recommended Site: www.LibertyforCuba.comDec 30, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
FoxNews reported this weekend: Analysts Question Dean's New Discussion of God.Dean, a member of the congregationist church whose wife and children are Jewish, now says he will talk more about Jesus Christ when he campaigns, but only in the south.
"Christ was someone who sought out people who were disenfranchised, people who were left behind," Dean told the Boston Globe in Christmas Day editions. "He fought against self-righteousness of people who had everything ... He was a person who set an extraordinary example that has lasted 2,000 years, which is pretty inspiring when you think about it."
"He fought against self-righteousness of people who had everything"? One guess as to who candidate Dean really wants to you think about with that class warfare comment.
Today FoxNews reports: Candidates Criticize Dean Attack on DNC."Howard Dean has spent the last year criticizing me and other candidates at every opportunity. Now, as he makes a series of embarrassing gaffes that underscore the fact he is not well-equipped to challenge George Bush, he suddenly wants to change the rules of the game," [Democrat presidential candidate Dick] Gephardt said.
Dec 29, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Regarding the recent Earthquake in Iran:
Iran took time out from dealing with its tens of thousands of earthquake casualties to spew forth more hatred towards Israel - even at the expense of its own dead, wounded, orphans and homeless. "The Islamic Republic of Iran," announced the country's official news agency IRNA, "welcomes all the humanitarian aid being offered by various countries and organizations - except for that from the Zionist entity." [Iranian Leaders to Victims: Better That You Die Than We Accept Israeli Help]
From an Anti-Defamation League press release:
