The Dish

Several readers have added some names to the post-PC list of current entertainers. Item One:

Don’t forget Ali G.  Although I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s inoffensive, he deconstructs pre-conceived notions about identity as brilliantly as anyone on your list, and in ways that the older generations (as represented on his show, at least) consistently fail to understand.

Agreed. The "Little Britain" series deserves an honorable mention. And then there’s Sarah Silverman, who has pushed the post-PC envelope about as far as it goes. Post-post-PC?  Check out her new movie, "Jesus Is Magic."  But not if you’re squeamish in a left or right sort of way. 

The hyper-links in the Dish now appear in a separate window. You asked for it …

In Oklahoma, a gay cowboy couple brought up three kids on a ranch. They did fine – "I was raised to be independent. I didn’t really care what other people thought," – until one of them died. Now, because there is no legal protection for their relationship, the surviving husband has lost everything. Money quote:

Meadows’ will, which left everything to Beaumont, was fought in court by a cousin of the deceased and was declared invalid by the Oklahoma Court of Appeals in 2003 because it was short one witness signature.

A judge ruled the rancher had to put the property, which was appraised at $100,000, on the market. The animals were sold. Beaumont had to move.

Because Meadows had no biological children or surviving parents, his estate was divided up among his heirs. When the ranch sells, the proceeds are to be divided among dozens of Meadows’ cousins.

And people ask why gay couples want the right to civil marriage. Because they are always one ornery relative away from having their relationships shredded under the law. For some of the most insightful criticism of the movie, check out Misty Irons’ response linked on her website here.

A reader writes:

I am sure Hitchens shares your disillusionment about the failings of the Bush Administration in the War on Terror (I read recently that Hitch is involved in a FISA request with the ACLU to determine if foreign journalists were targeted by the NSA).  Obviously, being an atheist, Hitchens disagrees with the religious right in this country.  I am sure he is very critical of the tactical and moral errors of the Administration (although comparing Bush to Stalin is a bit much).  But as annoying as fundamentalist Christians can be, they are nothing compared to the threat of fundamentalist Islam. No other major society has embraced the dark virtue of jihad and death as a virtue. Christian martyrs willingly go to their deaths rather than deny their faith. Islamic martyrs seek to take out as many "unbelievers" and "apostates" as they can (which is why the thought of the Iranians mullahs getting nukes is beyond disturbing).

At least George Bush gets the big issue–that we have to fight this.  Fighting, even if you are not fighting well, is better than giving in.  The Democrats still don’t get it.  For all of W’s and the Administration’s failings on the war on terror, they are hands down better than Al Gore and Kerry would have been.

History will judge, I guess.

So we have new threats and some kind of offer of a "truce"? I’d like to think it’s a sign of the pressure he’s under. The latest attack on his henchmen seems to have been pretty successful, and one of the real achievements of this administration has been its determination to take out the old al Qaeda leadership. Except Osama, of course.

Thanks for all your emails suggesting small changes to the site. One suggestion we’ve already implemented: there are now 25 separate posts available for reading at one time, rather than a mere ten. We’re working on the rest. Thanks for the input. More is always welcome. This is your site as much as mine – and I regularly get all my best news and opinion tips from readers. Email away.

The people speak.

Was he responsible for all of Western civilization? Alan Wolfe begs to differ.

I was interviewed by truthy icon, Stephen Colbert, Tuesday night. You can see the clip here.

One thing I learned from studying the Third Reich in college: If a genocidal maniac attains power, it’s always worth noting what he has said and taking him at his word. There’s a tendency in the West not to believe the worst about our enemies. Hitler wasn’t really going to kill all the Jews. Mao couldn’t be massacring and starving millions, could he? Stalin meant well, no? Democracies, because we create cultures of reason and toleration, find it hard to get our heads around people who really do believe some crackpot theory. Take a look at this  helpful essay about Islamist views of the Apocalypse. There are obvious parallels with our own religious far right – in fact, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s views are almost a negative image of Tim LaHaye’s. What’s also interesting is how modern a lot of this is. The new Christian dispensationalists who are anticipating the Rapture and the slaughter of all infidels in the End-Time are far more numerous and influential today than in the past. The latest Islamist apocalyptic ravings also have a new component: fanatical anti-Semitism, which has been around in the Muslim past but has never been as central to Islamist ideolog as than today. Money quote:

"Most scenarios start with the Arab-Israel conflict, as the basis for the end-time events, though some start with the Gulf War (1990-91). At some time in the near future a demonic being, called the Dajal (the Muslim Antichrist), will gain control over most of the world, with the exception of certain Muslim countries (the lists of these vary, but are usually the most anti-western ones). This being will be a Jew and will control by means of a world-embracing conspiracy, after the fashion of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In general, apocalyptic believers state that this being, if not physically present in the world today, malevolently influences the course of events preparatory to his eventual revelation. An apocalyptic war is postulated between the Dajal, who will lead the west and Israel, against the Muslims."

Now remember that someone who fervently believes in all of this, someone who has vowed to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, is on the verge of gaining the technology to detonate nukes. We can assume rationality on the part of the Iranian mullahs. But if we do, we are being irrational ourselves. They want the nukes because they expect the apocalypse. It’s time we took their views seriously.