Category: Old Dish

No, we don’t know exactly who shot a young Jewish man in the head on the streets of Antwerp. But his prominence in the Jewish community, and the atmosphere now prevalent in Europe, where the Jihadists are deploying terror and intimidation in an echo of Nazi street thugs, makes it likely that this was another Islamist murder. The cravenness of the p.c. authorities continues:

Representatives of the Antwerp police and the Belgian Justice Ministry held a press conference on Thursday to officially address the incident. “They didn’t give away any new information,” Ceitlin said. “They did, however, call Belgian Jewish leaders prior to the meeting and asked them not to participate in it, so as not to turn the press conference into a ‘Jewish happening,'” he said.
The shooting death of Na’eh comes on the same day that a Belgian politician of Moroccan origin who has repeatedly criticized Islamic culture came under police protection after being threatened with “ritual killing.”

I think we get the message.

THE LEFT AND VAN GOGH: Finally, some sort of column in the San Francisco Chronicle.

And Holocaust denial. The invaluable Oliver Kamm is on the case again.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Overstated though the dichotomy is between red and blue America, it does mean that no one who is at all well informed can believe that America is Bush and Bush is America. If the west is divided, the dividing line runs slap-bang through the middle of America.
And, on the other side of the pond, through Europe. We don’t have so many Christian fundamentalists any more… But we do have Islamic fundamentalists, in growing numbers. And, I would say, we have secular fundamentalists: people who believe that to live by the tenets of Islam, or other religions, is incompatible with what it is to be fully human, and want citizens to be educated and the state to legislate accordingly. While I have been in America, the possible consequences have been played out on the streets of prosperous, pacific, tolerant Holland, with the murder of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, and the counter-attack on an Islamic school. If America has its culture wars, its Kulturkampf, so do we. And ours could be bloodier.
So the expressions of European solidarity after the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks (“Nous sommes tous Américains”) should acquire a new meaning and a new context after the November 2 2004 elections. Hands need to be joined across the sea in an old cause: the defence of the Enlightenment. We are all blue Americans now.” – Timothy Garton Ash, in the Guardian today.

NOW, A SHARK’S TALE: A cartoon feature meets the religious right. Money quote:

The film does not come right out and say that we should all accept homosexuality. And, naturally, children should be taught to be accepting of others. But as Plugged In’s Steven Isaac notes, “Had this movie been released 20 years ago, nobody would have been calling attention to this subject.” Two decades ago, accepting differences meant accepting a person who might have a different skin color, or be from a different ethnic background. Such differences are immutable characteristics, however, and not sexual choices. In this respect, Shark Tale comes far too close to taking a bite out of traditional moral and spiritual beliefs.

Yep. They’re talking about a cartoon vegetarian shark.

An account of a recent seminar at the Adam Smith Institute.

OH WELL: There I was, getting all excited about a possible Bush reform that would streamline the tax code, empower ordinary citizens at the expense of lobbyists and bureaucrats, and restore the popular and populist elements of tax-cutting. Now, the cold water seems to be in abundance. According to this Washington Post story,

[T]he administration plans to push major amendments that would shield interest, dividends and capitals gains from taxation, expand tax breaks for business investment and take other steps intended to simplify the system and encourage economic growth… To pay for them, the administration is considering eliminating the deduction of state and local taxes on federal income tax returns and scrapping the business tax deduction for employer-provided health insurance.

Wow. If you wanted to give Paul Krugman another round of ammunition in arguing that the Bushies only care about the investor classes and corporations, this couldn’t be bettered. And making it harder to provide people with health insurance? That’s the ticket.

ONE BUSH: Jeb seems to understand that a state amendment to ban legal protections for gay couples is neither good public policy, nor even faintly necessary. Bush’s radical idea is that you should only amend the constitution if there’s a proven need. Since there’s no legal history of civil marriage being transportable to another state if that state opposes it as a matter of public policy, and since the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act enshrines that principle even more emphatically, and since even Massachusetts hasn’t finally resolved its policy, real conservatives should wait and see. But, of course, the Republican party is no longer controlled for the most part by real conservatives.

“Britain, Whales, Say Cheerio to Fox-Hunting.” – from the Fox News site’s “Latest Headlines”. I had no idea that it was a marine sport.

A lovely tribute to Bill Clinton today. Money quote:

Over the years, Bill Clinton showed himself to be much more than a good politician. His home state elected him governor in the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s, because he was an innovator, a serious student of policy, and a man of great compassion. In the White House, the whole nation witnessed his brilliance and mastery of detail, his persuasive power, and his persistence. The President is not the kind to give up a fight. His staffers were known to say, “If Clinton were the Titanic, the iceberg would sink.” (Laughter.)
During his presidency, Bill Clinton seized important opportunities on issues from welfare to free trade. He was a tireless champion of peace in the Middle East. He used American power in the Balkans to confront aggression and halt ethnic cleansing. And in all his actions and decisions, the American people sensed a deep empathy for the poor and the powerless. Shortly before leaving office, President Clinton said, “Christ admonished us that our lives will be judged by how we do unto the least of our neighbors.” Throughout his career, Bill Clinton has done his best to live up to that standard. And Americans respect him for it.

I wish we saw more of this Bush.

More evidence we are dangerously over-stretched. Tom Friedman adds his appraisal. The administration says the commanders haven’t asked for more. Yeah, right. That’s why we’re dragooning retirees to the front. And why would a commander tell Rummy that he doesn’t have enough troops, when the Bush administration’s habitual response to internal criticism is to fire someone?

THE LEFT AND CONDI: I guess I should say that Condi Rice’s race and gender are not the most important things about her career and abilities. But I’m still amazed at how little credit this president gets for promoting a black woman to such a position, and, more importantly, by his obvious respect and admiration for her. His management style is clearly post-racial, and his comfort with female peers is impressive. You know, Bill Clinton was celebrated for his progressiveness, and ease with African-Americans. But it’s inconceivable that he would have given so much power and authority to a black female peer. Why does Bush get no respect on this score? I guess it reveals that much of the left’s diversity mania is about the upholding of a certain political ideology, rather than ethnic or gender variety itself. Depressing.

The depressed Democrat’s guide to recovery. Animated.

A NEW LOW: Here’s how the journalist, Robert Fisk, begins an article on the brutal murder of Margaret Hassan:

Who killed Margaret Hassan? After the grief, the astonishment, heartbreak, anger and fury over the apparent murder of such a good and saintly woman, that is the question that her friends – and, quite possibly, the Iraqi insurgents – will be asking. This Anglo-Irish lady held an Iraqi passport. She had lived in Iraq for 30 years, she had dedicated her life to the welfare of Iraqis in need. She hated the UN sanctions and opposed the Anglo-American invasion. So who killed Margaret Hassan?

Fisk goes on to imply and then weasels away from implying that the U.S. or Allawi were behind her murder. I really don’t know what else to say.

BACKLASH WATCH: In East Texas, an old homecoming tradition of “TWIRP Day,” where girls dress like boys and vice-versa, will occur no more. One “religious” parent had a cow and launched a campaign to stamp it out. “It is outrageous that a school in a small town in east Texas would encourage their 4-year-olds to be cross-dressers,” Liberty Legal Institute attorney Hiram Sasser said. What a loser.

EXECUTING MINORS: In Iran, it’s justice as usual.

THE MORONIC RIGHT: They now want to see war-journalists killed. For doing their job.

BECOMING PIGS: The Republican attempt to change the rules they once supported in favor of keeping Tom DeLay in his leadership post is a revealing turning point. It’s that Orwellian moment when you realize that ten years after the Republicans pledged to overturn the self-serving corruption and complacency of the majority Democrats, they have become indistinguishable from the people they once targeted.

Yep, more appalling details about the U.N. oil-for-food program. Just don’t expect it to lead the nightly news.

In Germany, you’d never know about it.

“I follow your site regularly. While I don’t agree with you all the time, I do find your posts interesting. Having said that, I do strongly disagree with your November 17, 2004 post regarding the video of the Marine apparently shooting an unarmed and wounded person in Falluja. This conduct by U.S. military personnel cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. As a former Marine, I strongly sympathize with the Marine involved, but killing unarmed people only undermines our cause in Iraq and elsewhere. The Marine involved, like all Marines, is taught the rules of war and is indoctrinated with American and Marine Corps ideals. If the allegations are true, then what he did is a betrayal of both his country and his service and he should be punished to the fullest extent permitted under the UCMJ. We as civilians have the responsibility to ensure that what our military personal do in our name comports with American standards of human rights and decency. We cannot compromise our standards regardless of the circumstances. We, the civilians in charge, must investigate every allegation of wrongdoing and bring those responsible to justice. This has not happened with Abu Ghraib – it must happen here.” More feedback on the Letters Page.