May 18, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
From MSNBC:
It's a terrible design. It was designed by an egghead architect who really doesn't have a lot of experience of designing something like this. And it's just a terrible design. [...] I mean, the worst of all, it's a skeletal building. And you know, if you look at it, what is it really? It's a 60-story building with a skeleton on top of it because you've got 40 or 50 stories with nothing in between. And it's a disgusting design that we're going to have to live with for many, many years in New York, and actually in the world, because New York City is so international. And it doesn't represent what we want to have represented.
What I want to see built is the World Trade Centers stronger and maybe a story taller. And that's what everybody wants. [...] We should have the World Trade Center bigger and better. [...] It's really a shame. We have a great opportunity. And, you know the terrorists win. If we build this job the way it is, the terrorists win. If we rebuild the World Trade Center, but a story taller and stronger, then we win.
Recommended Reading:
Rebuilding the WTC: Anything Less Is Suicide by Sherri R. Tracinski
All of Manhattan is sacred ground--not because people died there, but because its bridges and skyscrapers are monuments to human life. They are monuments to the human aspiration to build and to create. This is what was attacked on September 11: our wealth, our success, the global reach of our commerce and culture. The best way to commemorate those achievements is through a new skyscraper, bigger, better, and more beautiful than the ones we have lost.
Reflecting America: World Trade Center Memorial Should Celebrate America's Producers by Diane Durante
The people who worked at the World Trade Center (WTC) were all productive people: they were there to do a job and earn money. They died on September 11 because they symbolized that productivity, not just to millions around the world who aspire to live like Americans, but also to the terrorists who despise all that America stands for.May 18, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
In commenting on a National Review article by Paul Marshall, Robert Spencer reminds us what the Newsweek Koran desecration story is really about (hat tip Tom Pechinski):There is no excusing Newsweek's irresponsibility in publishing an explosive story that was false. [...] The bigger story here, and the gorilla in the living room that no one wants to notice, is that flushing a Qur'an down the toilet should not be grounds to commit murder. Note the total absence of moral judgment in Marshall's piece, except that which he directs toward Newsweek. His argument is this: Newsweek should have known that this story would lead to deaths. Therefore, they shouldn't have printed it. But he says nothing whatsoever about a culture that condones -- celebrates -- wanton murder of innocent people, mayhem, and destruction in response to the alleged and unproven destruction of a book.
And as Robert Tracinski at TIA Daily noted earlier this week:The real story is the West's attempt to appease the Islamic fanatics by accepting their demand that the Koran be treated as an untouchable "holy book" -- leading the absurd climax of Newsweek reporting damage to a *book* in an article about the alleged abuse of *humans*.
May 16, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
CNN reported on May 13 that Uzbek troops clashed with protesters.Clashes between security forces and protesters in eastern Uzbekistan have left several people dead after supporters of people jailed on charges of Islamic extremism stormed a prison and freed inmates, reports say. ...
Later, more confrontations were reported by Galima Bukharbaeva, country director of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in Uzbekistan, and the Russian news agency Interfax when Uzbek forces moved on people demonstrating in a public square. ...
Thousands had been demonstrating in Andijan, calling for the resignation of Uzbek President Islam Karimov and his government, who are allies of the United States. The president's office described them as criminals and extremists. ...
Radical Islamic militants have fought with Uzbek soldiers in the area for several years, but Bukharbaeva said the mostly young protesters, who have spoken over loudspeakers in the city center, denied they are connected to that rebel movement.
"They say they are not Islamic extremists. They are just ordinary people who are tired of unemployment, who are tired of injustice and they just want better living conditions," Bukharbaeva told CNN.
Today, The New York Times reports that Uzbeks Say Troops Shot Recklessly at Civilians.Even as Uzbekistan's government maintained that it had acted cautiously and minimized the use of force in putting down a prison break and demonstration late last week, survivors said Monday that government security forces had fired indiscriminately at unarmed civilians and struck women and children. ...
Details of the crackdown and the violence that has intermittently occurred in its aftermath have been sketchy and contradictory, and movement through the areas where the most intense violence occurred has largely been restricted. Telephone and Internet service have been inconsistent or not operating.
The Uzbek government has blamed those who stormed the prison for the violence, and described the heavy response as necessary. But unverified accounts have said hundreds have been killed in several outbreaks of violence, mostly instigated by government action. ...
Mr. Karimov placed blame for the unrest on Islamic extremist groups, a label that he has used to describe political opponents in recent years and that his critics say is used as a pretext for maintaining a repressive state.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Uzbek authorities deny troops killed civilians."Not a single civilian was killed by government forces there," Prosecutor-General Rashid Kadyrov told reporters in the capital Tashkent. "There are absolutely absurd statements that troops opened fire on peaceful demonstrators. A number of news organisations focused on the shooting and used made-up facts on the number of casualties such as the number 500 (of dead)."
He branded the people who took part in the rebellion "terrorists" and said almost all of those killed either had guns in their hands or were nearby. "Only bandits were killed," he said.
Gateway Pundit has been following the story closely and has many links, photos and videos (see here, here, here, here, here, here), including these IWPR reports: No Requiem for the Dead and Andijan Survivors Speak of Ambush. From the latter:"We listened to the statements for a long time. No one wanted to leave the demonstration. There were no police forces to be seen. But at around 4 pm everything changed. Suddenly armoured troop carriers appeared in the central square and started shooting randomly at people.
"There were a lot of children and youngsters near the demonstrators, and many of them were the first to be hit. Panic broke out, people started running in different directions to escape the bullets.
While exactly what has transpired over the last few days in Uzbekistan is murky, it's clear that Karimov has used his ally-status in the war on terror as a justification for his repression. Robert Tracinski at TIA Daily recently pointed to two good editorials. The first from The Daily Telegraph (free registration required): America must ditch the tyrant of Tashkent.Uzbekistan is different. Other post-Soviet dictators could see when the game was up. The autocrats of Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan were unwilling to plunge their countries into full-scale civil war; faced with populations in open revolt, they surrendered. But Islam Karimov, the tyrant of Tashkent, shows no sign of going quietly. ...
Living standards have collapsed since the days of the USSR, while restrictions on travel have been imposed to prevent the population from picking up dangerous ideas. Karimov's men have already massacred dozens of protesters, and are evidently ready to carry on shooting.
The president's implacability is partly explained by the attitude of the US State Department. The Americans sponsored opposition movements in Georgia and Ukraine, and Congress recently voted a $40 million grant for pro-democracy activists in Belarus. But when it comes to Uzbekistan, Washington is shamefully equivocal. The Administration is calling for restraint on both sides, even though there is ample evidence that the security forces have been firing into unarmed crowds.
Uzbekistan sits oddly with the rest of George W. Bush's foreign policy. Elsewhere, his Administration has taken the view that the best way to advance American interests is by spreading freedom. Yet Karimov is indulged in an old-fashioned, Cold War sort of way: "He's a son-of-a-bitch, but he's our son-of-a-bitch".
The second editorial is from The Weekly Standard: Getting Uzbekistan Wrong.The bottom line in Uzbekistan is simple and obvious. The people of the Ferghana Valley have Kyrgyzstan next door, just as Wahhabi-ruled Saudi Arabia has newly liberated Iraq next door, and just as 25 years ago, the Soviet Union had Poland next door. Uzbekistan is the most populous and developed of the former-Soviet Central Asian republics. Of all these states, it has the most in common with Ukraine and Georgia, even more than Kyrgyzstan had. The appeal of radical Islam in Uzbekistan is highly overrated; the resentment of local bazaar merchants against unjust taxation and other abuses in the Ferghana Valley is not. It's time for the Uzbeks to definitively join the democracy movement and leave the Soviet era, with its bloodshed and lies, behind.
And yesterday The New York Times had more about Uzbek President Islam Karimov: Uzbekistan Shaken by Unrest, Violence and Uncertainty.Mr. Karimov, an inaccessible and aloof autocrat, has long been criticized for persecution of opponents, intolerance of freedom of religion and expression, and the use of the police and torture, including the sexual assault and boiling of suspects.
His control had been almost absolute. He was last re-elected in 2000, with 91.7 percent of the vote, an election generally regarded as fixed.
His style has also fueled worries about the government's conduct. The reported violence over the past three days, emerging from a near information vacuum, has been chilling in part because Mr. Karimov has long made clear that in maintaining order, he has a high tolerance for blood.
"I am prepared to rip off the heads of 200 people, to sacrifice their lives, in order to save peace and calm in the republic," he told reporters in 1999, after a bus hijacking ended with a shootout that left nine people dead. "If my child chose such a path, I myself would rip off his head."
Mr. Karimov also has strengthened his relationship with the United States, as the interests of two nations have increasingly intertwined.
Hardened elements of his opposition, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, collaborated with Al Qaeda and trained in camps in Afghanistan. After the attacks in the United States in 2001, the Karimov government presented itself as a Bush administration partner in counterterrorism efforts, and the Pentagon opened a base in southern Uzbekistan. ...
Nonetheless, signs of strain in the relationship have emerged since 2003, as uprisings have toppled corrupt post-Soviet governments in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, isolating the Uzbek president.
Mr. Karimov, speaking at a news conference on Saturday as journalists reported seeing blood-stained streets and full morgues, made an oblique but unmistakable reference to American interference.
"Attempts by some countries to plant democracy in Central Asia can be used by a third force," he said, according to RIA Novosti. He added, "This force is radical Islam."
Finally, Glenn Reynolds has more information and commentary.
UPDATE I -- May 18: Gateway Pundit has the latest: Death Toll Climbs in Andijan Massacre.
UPDATE II: From The New York Times: Under Pressure, Uzbek President Raises Death Toll From Clashes.Uzbekistan acknowledged Tuesday that its crackdown last week on an antigovernment demonstration and a prison break had been far more violent than it previously described, saying 169 people had been killed, including 32 government troops. ...
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Bush administration had raised its concerns about the crackdown on dissidents with the Uzbek government.
"Nobody is asking any government to deal with terrorists," she said Tuesday evening at a news conference in Washington. "That's not the issue. The issue, though, is that it is a society that needs openness, it needs to reform, and again, I think if you look at the record, we have raised that with the government of Karimov for quite some time." ...
Mr. Karimov has said the violence and public actions were planned by Islamic extremists and coordinated from outside Uzbekistan, a characterization that survivors have said is an argument of convenience to justify the crackdown.
The two sides ultimately clashed on Friday, witnesses said, when troops moved on the central square in Andijon to disperse the crowds, and a battle began. There were then reports that Uzbek refugees had been shot at as they moved northward to the border with Kyrgyzstan on Saturday.
Hundreds of Uzbeks fleeing the violence have sought shelter in Kyrgyzstan. A United Nations official said 490 refugees had registered for asylum so far. ...
"There is not one world leader who would shoot at an unarmed populace," he said. "I consider this a tragedy for Uzbekistan. Our people have died."
He said that he felt pain no less than that of parents who had lost children, but that he was also very proud that stability was returning to Andijon. "In Andijon today there is full order," he said.
UPDATE III -- May 19: From The New York Times: Tales of Uzbek Violence Suggest Larger Tragedy.One by one the women gave their tally. Chased by gunfire, Mokhidilla Muladzhanova left behind three children, ages 15, 8 and 6. Noila Jumabayeva left behind two, ages 2 and 1. Rano Redzhapova left behind five, including 12-year-old twins.
Perhaps the most agonizing bit of ill fortune befell Zulkhumar Muminova and Nasibullo, her 3-year-old boy. He almost made it.
Ms. Muminova said she and the child survived hours of violence last Friday when the government of Uzbekistan used gunfire to disperse a prison break and antigovernment rally in the city of Andijon. And she said she managed to keep together with the boy and her four other children during an all-night trek toward the Kyrgyz border.
But just short of safety, she and several witnesses said, the Uzbek authorities fired on them anew. "All the people ran in different directions," she said. "And I lost him, my son. I have not seen him again."
May 15, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
From Reuters (Via YahooNews): Newsweek says erred in Koran desecration report.Newsweek magazine on Sunday said it erred in a May 9 report that said U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, and apologized to the victims of deadly Muslim protests sparked by the article. ... [Editor Mark] Whitaker said the magazine inaccurately reported that U.S. military investigators had confirmed that personnel at the detention facility in Cuba had flushed the Koran down the toilet. The report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan to Indonesia to Gaza.
Link via Glenn Reynolds who comments:Two points: (1) If they had wrongly reported the race of a criminal and produced a lynching, they'd feel much worse -- which is why they generally don't report such things, a degree of sensitivity they don't extend to reporting on, you know, minor topics like wars; and (2) If a blogger had made a similar mistake, with similar consequences, we'd be hearing about Big Media's superior fact-checking and layers of editors. People died, and U.S. military and diplomatic efforts were damaged, because -- let's be clear here -- Newsweek was too anxious to get out a story that would make the Bush Administration and the military look bad.
Meanwhile, Reuters also reports (via YahooNews): Afghan clerics threaten Muslim holy war over Koran (Hat tip Little Green Footballs)A group of Afghan Muslim clerics threatened on Sunday to call for a holy war against the United States in three days unless it hands over military interrogators reported to have desecrated the Koran. ... The clerics in the northeastern province of Badakhshan said they wanted President Bush to handle the matter honestly "and hand the culprits over to an Islamic country for punishment." "If that does not happen within three days, we will launch a jihad against America," said a statement issued by about 300 clerics, referring to Muslim holy war, after meeting in the main mosque in the provincial capital, Faizabad.
From CNN: Newsweek backs off Quran desecration story. (Hat tip Memeorandum)Newsweek magazine backed away Sunday from a report that U.S. interrogators desecrated copies of the Quran while questioning prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay naval base -- an account blamed for sparking violent riots in Afghanistan. ... [Newsweek reporter Michael] Isikoff found two other references to Qurans being tossed into toilets or latrines, the magazine reported. U.S. military officials said such claims are standard terrorist tactics. "If you read the al Qaeda training manual, they are trained to make allegations against the infidels," Army Col. Brad Blackner told Newsweek.
Many bloggers are commenting on the Newsweek story, and Michelle Malkin has lots of relevant links.
UPDATE II -- May 16: The Newsweek debacle is everywhere. Here are a few samples (bloggers' links below typically contain more links to other relevant information and commentary):
The Washington Post: Newsweek Apologizes: The item was principally reported by Michael Isikoff, Newsweek's veteran investigative reporter. "Obviously we all feel horrible about what flowed from this, but it's important to remember there was absolutely no lapse in journalistic standards here," he said. "We relied on sources we had every reason to trust and gave the Pentagon ample opportunity to comment. . . . We're going to continue to investigate what remains a very murky situation."
The New York Times: Newsweek Apologizes for Report of Koran Insult: "We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst," Mark Whitaker, Newsweek's editor, wrote in the issue of the magazine that goes on sale at newsstands today. ... But Whitaker said in an interview later: "We're not retracting anything. We don't know what the ultimate facts are."
Charles Johnson: Daily Kos Takes the Jihadi Line (featuring a link to the Al Qaeda training manual referenced above): "Those Kooky Kos Kidz are convinced that the "rightwing machine" is unjustly smearing Newsweek magazine, and they come out strongly in favor of taking the word of released jihadis whenever they complain of mistreatment."
UPDATE III: CNN's top story online (5pm CST): Newsweek retracts Quran story.Newsweek magazine issued a retraction Monday of a May 9 report on the alleged desecration of the Quran at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The White House earlier in the day expressed puzzlement over why Newsweek did not fully retract the story in its current issue, released Sunday.
UPDATE IV: The Political Teen managed to catch sight of our "Flushed" cartoon in a montage for MSNBC's "Coast to Coast" program -- click here and scroll down.
UPDATE V -- May 17: From FoxNews: Newsweek: Mistakes Made in 'Good Faith'.One day after retracting a story that said U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran (search), a top Newsweek editor acknowledged the magazine made "serious mistakes" but suggested to FOX News that no one would be fired over the incident.
Also from FoxNews: Questions Remain After Newsweek Admission.State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said American embassies in the Middle East would be tasked with spreading word of Newsweek's admission in an effort to convince Muslims that the report was wrong. Still, "the electrons are out there," Boucher said. Some officials worried that the Newsweek article, even after the news agency's retraction, would nonetheless continue to fuel the view in the Middle East that the United States has little to no regard for Muslims and Arabs.
May 10, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
This cartoon first appeared a year ago on May 11, 2004, when the video of Nick Berg's murder was released and much of the media were, and remained in, full Abu Ghraib mode.
This Associated Press report (via ABCNews) appears to be the only major news marking the anniversary of when Islamic terrorists in Iraq began targeting American civilians for video taped beheadings (following that of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan): Family of Beheaded American Seeks Solace.Michael Berg [Nick's father] holds President Bush chiefly responsible for his son's death, blaming what he sees as Bush's abuse of power.
Sara Berg [Nick's sister] neither holds Bush responsible nor considers Nick's death a result of the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Instead, she considers it the premeditated work of terrorists.
"Somebody who gets killed in war, that is not murder, legally. That is a killing," she said. "By calling (Nick's death) an act of war, it gives a certain legitimacy to it that I don't choose to give."
Meanwhile, a year later, we're getting stories like this one from The New York Times: 'Great Crime' at Abu Ghraib Enrages and Inspires an Artist.
May 8, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
From Canada Free Press:
I asked some routine questions at first: Did they have a letter of licence? Had they rolled a camera before they got permission? Had they talked to the big broadcasters? Did they have a "pitch" and a budget?
Then I found out what their documentary was about. The story was incredible: it documented scientists—from Canada—speaking out against the $10-billion scam known as the Kyoto Protocol. Yes, the very same Kyoto Accord that our government has committed Canada and Canadians to support.
I understood instinctively that getting two scientists to agree at what time the sun is coming up tomorrow is—at best—difficult. But here were tens of thousands, from around the world, all agreeing on one issue: that there is no scientific evidence of man-made global warming.
The numbers of scientists staggered me—17,100 basic and applied American scientists, two thirds with advanced degrees, are against the Kyoto Agreement. The Heidelberg Appeal—which states that there is no scientific evidence for man-made global warming, has been signed by over 4,000 scientists from around the world since the petition's inception. I strongly questioned these high numbers, since I've had benefit of the Canadian government's public relations machine on this issue. Dr. Leahey has since sent documentation to back his figures up.
All those scientists were in total agreement: the Kyoto Protocol was complete fiction. [Hat Tip: LGF]
From the Friends of Science site:
OTTAWA, April 13 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, researchers at the University of Calgary, in cooperation with the Friends of Science Society, released a video entitled: Climate Catastrophe Cancelled: What you're not being told about the science of climate change.
At a news conference held in Ottawa, some of North America's foremost climate experts provided evidence demonstrating that the science underlying the Kyoto Protocol is seriously flawed; a problem that continues to be ignored by the Canadian government. Scientists called on the Canadian government to delay implementation of the Kyoto Protocol until a thorough, public review of the current state of climate science has been conducted by climate experts. Such an analysis has never been organized in Canada despite repeated requests from independent, non-governmental climate scientists.Carleton University Professor Tim Patterson (Paleoclimatologist) explains the crucial importance of properly evaluating the merit of Canada's climate change plans: "It is no exaggeration to say that in the eight years since the Kyoto Protocol was introduced there has been a revolution in climate science. If, back in the mid-nineties, we knew what we know today about climate, Kyoto would not exist because we would have concluded it was not necessary."
Contrary to claims that the science of climate change has been settled, the causes of the past century's modest warming is highly contested in the climate science community. The climate experts presenting in the video demonstrate that science is quickly diverging away from the hypothesis that the human release of greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide, is having a significant impact on global climate. "There is absolutely no convincing scientific evidence that human-produced greenhouse gases are driving global climate change", stated climatologist, Dr. Tim Ball. He added that the Canadian government's plan to designate carbon dioxide as a "toxic" under CEPA is irresponsible and without scientific merit. "Carbon dioxide is a staff of life, plain and simple. It makes up less than 4% of greenhouse gases and it is not a toxic."
IPCC assertions about the unprecedented nature of the past century's warming, or the widespread beliefs that we are experiencing an increase in extreme weather, accelerated sea level rise and unusual warming in polar regions are also shown in the video to be wholly without merit.
The idea for the video was initiated by the Friends of Science Society, a registered not-for-profit group of geologists, environmental scientists and concerned citizens, "in an effort to make the science of climate change available and understandable to the general public", stated Dr. Doug Leahey, President of Friends of Science Society. Commenting on his decision to get involved with the video project, University of Calgary's Professor Barry Cooper stated, "Universities are in the education business. In a democracy like Canada, education and informed discussion of public policy are tightly linked. The public, media and government would benefit by hearing from all sides on this important issue in order to make as informed a decision as is possible."
The video, Climate Catastrophe Cancelled: What You're Not Being Told About the Science of Climate Change, is available online here: http://www.friendsofscience.org/index.php?ide=3
Apr 22, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
"I regard the deportation of Elián as a slap in the face of the Founding Fathers and their principles. It is totalitarianism vs. freedom that has to be considered and that is why this is an American issue, not just a Cuban one. This country was founded on the basis of each individual's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." -- Leonard Peikoff
See https://www.capmag.com/cuba/
Apr 22, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
Environmentalism is Bad Medicine for Humans by Alex Epstein
On Earth Day, environmentalists should celebrate the latest consequence of their ideas: skyrocketing gasoline prices.
On Earth Day Remember: If Environmentalists Succeed, They Will Make Human Life Impossible by Michael Berliner
The fundamental goal of environmentalists is not clean air and clean water; rather it is the demolition of technological/industrial civilization. Their goal is not the advancement of human health, human happiness, and human life; rather it is a subhuman world where "nature" is worshipped like the totem of some primitive religion.
This "Earth Day" Celebrate the Industrial Revolution by Robert W. Tracinski
Let us have a day when all of us take a moment to acknowledge the enormous contribution made to human life by the inventors and businessmen of the Industrial Revolution.
This Earth Day Celebrate Vladimir Lenin's Birthday! by Alexander Marriott
Think of the parallels between Lenin and environmentalists.Apr 10, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
Talks held this month:
The Philosophical Basis for A Woman's Right To Abortion by Dr. Andrew Bernstein (April 20)
This talk is a defense -- on philosophical grounds -- of the right to abortion. To validate this right requires a rational theory of rights, one grounded in fact, not faith or feeling. In establishing the basis of this right, Dr. Bernstein also demonstrates that anti-abortionists have no rational basis for using the phrase "right to life." Dr. Bernstein presents the scientific arguments used by anti-abortionists, then demonstrates the errors in those arguments: failure to recognize the biological nature of the fetus; equivocation on key terms; and obliteration of the distinction between actual and potential. Dr. Bernstein grounds his view of rights in an ethics of rational egoism and contrasts it with the theory of self-sacrifice espoused by anti-abortionists. Both political conservatives and liberals deny the principle of individual rights and the egoist ethics on which rights depend. Only Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism validates both rights and egoism, thereby providing the only valid philosophical basis of a woman's right to abortion. One hour lecture followed by one hour Q and A.
Wed, April 20, 2005 6:30-8:30 PM
THH-101 (Taper Hall of Humanities), 3501 Trousdale Pkwy
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
America at War: The Moral Imperative to Self-Defense by Dr. Andrew Bernstein (April 21, 2005)
Two major points are presented in this talk. One: Neither guns, bombs nor tanks constitute a nation's most powerful weapon. Rather, moral rectitude--the courage to proudly defend the property, freedom and lives of its citizens--does. The United States has abdicated this weapon in fifty years of appeasement in the Middle East. Just as President Thomas Jefferson and the fledgling republic--inspired by the battle cry of "Millions for defense, but not a penny for tribute"--had the courage to stand up to the notorious Barbary Pirates in 1801, so President George W. Bush must have the moral courage to wipe out America's current fanatical and deadly enemies. Two: This is not fundamentally a political but a philosophical struggle. Islamic Civilization--essentially a religious culture--loathes and seeks to destroy Western Civilization, which is essentially secular. Their religious fanaticism is the fundamental reason they hate the United States and the West, and is the reason that rational negotiation with them is impossible. This is a life-and-death struggle between contradictory philosophical systems. One hour lecture followed by one hour Q and A.
Thurs, April 21, 2005 5:30-7:30 PM, SGM-123 (Seely G. Mudd), 3620 McClintock,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Apr 8, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
The ARI website has an brilliant lecture by Professor John Lewis on "The Failure of the Homeland Defense: The Lessons From History." The description for the free lecture (registration required) is as follows:
With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, America has accepted a permanent, institutionalized state of siege on its own soil. But is this the correct strategy? In this lecture Dr. John Lewis examines several examples from history—including Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome—in which great nations, facing attack, have acted defensively rather than with bold offense. The results are clear: such a policy is suicidal. Rather than bracing against further attacks at home or spreading "democracy" abroad, America should destroy her enemies.
But this strategic lesson needs a moral foundation. The moral requirement of victory is self-interested action, not appeals to the needs of others. Wars cannot be fought altruistically. Once the civilian government has set clear goals, the military must be allowed to win. History illustrates the deep connection between intellectual clarity, moral certainty and the offensive strategy needed to defeat a ruthless enemy. Only Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism provides the moral basis for a successful military response to the threats we face today.
For articles available online by Dr. Lewis, click here.Apr 7, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
IRVINE, CA--"Balancing phonics and whole language reading instruction is like balancing food and poison," says Dr. Onkar Ghate, a senior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute.
In a recent episode of a tragedy that is playing out across the nation, an elementary school in Rockford, Illinois, was ordered to discard direct instruction in phonics--despite the method's overwhelming success. At Lewis Lemon elementary school, thanks to phonics, ordinary third graders scored near the top in statewide readings tests, their results bested only by students at a school for the gifted. But the incoming school superintendent ordered that phonics instruction be replaced by "balanced literacy"--which mixes phonics with "whole-language" instruction. In issuing his order, the superintendent is following the still-dominant voices in our schools of education. Because "reading is such a complex and multifaceted activity," says Dr. Catherine Snow, professor of education at Harvard, "no single method is the answer."
"This is not a technical dispute about the best way to teach reading," explains Dr. Ghate. "The advocates of phonics view the very purpose of education as developing the child's mind. Accordingly, they systematically teach a child the facts and principles that will enable him to decode written language. The advocates of ‘whole language' view the purpose of education as developing the child's feelings. Accordingly, they denounce phonics as imposing ‘an uptight, must-be-right model of literacy' that stifles the child's self-expression. Instead, they say we should begin with what supposedly interests a child—whole words and stories—and allow him to substitute other words, to guess and to otherwise follow his fancy as he ‘reads.'
"We would consider it child abuse to add contaminated food to a child's diet for the sake of ‘balance,'" concludes Dr. Ghate. "We should also consider it child abuse when educators contaminate proper reading instruction by ‘balancing' it with ‘whole language.'"Apr 6, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
This year's tax season presents double punishment for today's taxpayer: high taxes and higher health care costs.
The twin threats, according to Americans for Free Choice in Medicine (AFCM), are related -- and a tax provision offers a partial remedy, just in time for April 15."Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) help consumers avoid both higher taxes and higher health care expenditures," suggests Richard E. Ralston, executive director of Americans for Free Choice in Medicine (AFCM). "The best way to keep both taxes and the cost of health care down is to keep control of your own health care."Ralston explains that HSAs, used with low premium, high-deductible health insurance policies, put health care squarely within affordable reach of most Americans. Banks, insurance companies, and mutual fund firms now offer HSAs, which became law in 2004. HSAs have been heralded by most personal finance analysts as better than the Roth IRA. Ralston adds another item to the tax policy wish list: an exemption for every individual¹s health insurance premiums.For now, Ralston advised taxpayers: "Look into tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and liberate your health insurance premiums from taxes." Ralston's health care commentary has been published in the Houston Chronicle, Orange County Register and the Washington Times.Americans for Free Choice in Medicine, (AFCM), was founded in 1993. AFCM educates the public about the principles of socialized medicine and free market ideas, such as HSAs and tax reform, and publishes a consumer's guide on its Web site (http://www.afcm.org). AFCM is the nation's only educational organization based on individual rights, personal responsibility, and free market ideas in medicine.Apr 2, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
From the archives:
Reason vs. Faith: In His Recent Encyclical, the Pope Claims to Be a Supporter of Reason, but Is Actually Its Arch-enemy by Peter Schwartz
As demonstrated throughout his encyclical, the pope wants to enshrine faith, but at the same time does not want to renounce the modern world of science and its consequences. The result; his attempt to have the church reign over everything, i.e. the 'evangelization of culture.'
Apr 1, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
Congress should be investigating our failed foreign policy--not wasting time investigating private steroid use in sports, says Dr. Andrew Bernstein, senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute.
Threats against our very lives continue to mount--in Iran, North Korea and elsewhere--and our government does worse than nothing. Where is the investigation of our suicidal foreign policy--present and past, Republican and Democratic? The ensuing report would make our government's intelligence failures seem insignificant by comparison.
But instead, Congress investigates a private matter in which no one's rights are being violated. Said Bernstein: "Adult citizens of a free country--so long as they do not initiate force or fraud against others--have the right to ingest whatever substance they choose.
"Further, Major League Baseball and the National Football League are private organizations with the right to determine the rules under which they will associate with others. They alone have the right to determine whether they will ban players who take certain performance-enhancing substances, or ignore the practice.
"Congress should kick the habit of grandstanding for votes and let individuals and private organizations, including professional sports leagues, exercise their freedom. Congress should get back to its long-neglected but only proper function: to protect the individual rights of every American citizen against foreign or domestic threat. Private drug use is not a threat to America." Mar 27, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
I keep reading and hearing that religious conservatives refer to the culture of "death" when they cite the recent defeat of Terri Schiavo's family in trying to keep her alive on life support, despite her husband's and, quite possibly, her own wishes.
It seems to me that exactly the opposite is true. It's cultural and religious conservatives who have focused on this unfortunate exception, this borderline case of "life," to actually make the case for life. How bizarre. You don't champion life by looking at a case like Terri Schiavo. You champion life by upholding the values that make life possible: reasoning, thinking, responsible self-action, joyfully celebrating existence, being productive and much more.
Poor Terri Schiavo. I say "poor" because she can no longer exhibit the qualities that make life possible and worthwhile. This is not some subjective or arbitrary value judgment. This isn't an optional question. This is how it is. If you want to fight for Terri Schiavo's political right to be kept biologically alive indefinitely, then do so. But don't make this a battle about life. Any remote remnant of life, rationally defined, ended a long time ago for Terri Schiavo, and it's not coming back.
How odd, strange and sad that our religiously conservative President and Congress don't want to fight for what life really is, and instead would prefer to obsessively focus on this sad case. This is the real story of our times. The Culture of Death is being promoted by those who shriek the loudest that they're defending it.Mar 21, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
Capitalism Magazine writer, Glenn Woiceshyn, has launched an education resources website called powerfulminds.org. Powerful Minds was founded to "develop high quality K-12 curriculum materials for students, teachers, and homeschoolers."Mar 21, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
Terri Schiavo has a right to life; we all do. But does the right to life include the right to live as an inhuman vegetable? Does it include the right to submit one's husband to the status of permanent caretaker, endless emotional pain and mile-high medical bills? Speaking of medical bills, do conservative Republicans who want people like Terri Schiavo kept alive also want the government -- meaning you and I -- to foot those bills? Republicans favor expanding the welfare state (e.g. Medicare) just as Democrats do; aren't they submitting this welfare state to even more economy-busting medical expenses than we already have in the name of -- what? Keeping the hopelessly ill and barely alive breathing another few days or weeks?
The dangerous, ugly side of this whole issue is that it's not being treated as a borderline case, or as the unfortunate exception that it is. Instead, religious conservatives are trying to use it as an example of how any kind of life is life, no matter how partial, or tenuous or barely hanging on that life might be. They know that if they can impose force on the living to keep alive the barely living, they can likewise impose force on the living to bring into existence unwanted potential lives. Their view of life is not rational; it's religious. When they say that this country is founded not on reason but on faith, they mean it.Mar 20, 2005 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
On the second anniversary of the Iraq invasion, Iraqi blogger Husayn Uthman writes:So you ask me, Husayn, was it worth it. What have you gotten? What has Iraq acheived? These are questions I get a lot.
To may outsiders, like those who protested last year, who will protest today. This was a fools errand, it brought nothing but death and destruction. I am sheltered in Iraq, but I know how the world feels, how people have come to either love or hate Bush, as though heis the emobdiement of this war. As though this war is part of Bush, they forget the over twenty million Iraqis, they forget the Middle Easterners, they forget the average person on the street, the average man with the average dream.
Ask him if it was worth it. Ask him what is different. Ask him if he would go through it again, go ahead ask him, ask me, many of you have.
Now I answer you, I answer you on behalf of myself, and my countrymen. I dont care what your news tells you, what your television and newspapers say, this is how we feel. Despite all that has happened. Despite all the hurt, the pain, blood, sweat and tears. These two years have given us hope we never had.
Media coverage of the "anti-war" protests (including photos): CNN: Thousands of protesters mark Iraq war anniversary and FoxNews: Protests Erupt on 2nd Anniversary of Iraq War.The protests were nowhere near as big as those held in February 2003, just before the war, when millions marched in cities around the world to urge President Bush and his allies not to attack Iraq.
The photos of protesters in this Little Green Footballs post reminded us of some previous cartoons (here and here). Other blogger coverage (some overlap): Rayra (Hollywood), Trumpet Sounds (London), IDF Israel (Montreal), Banagor (San Fransisco), Darleen's Place (San Diego), Citizen Smash (San Diego), Martin Lindeskog (Gothenburg), and Dean's World, Erin.net (San Francisco), and KelliPundit (Providence).
