Best of the Web Today - January 24, 2005
By JAMES TARANTO
So How Come We Have to Work Today?
"Life on Earth Snuffed Out by Global Warming"--headline, the Australian, Jan. 22
Islam and Democracy
With Iraqi elections a week away, "an Internet recording claiming to be from wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi condemned democracy as 'the big American lie' on Sunday and said participants in Iraq's January 30 election are enemies of Islam":
"We have declared a bitter war against democracy and all those who seek to enact it," said the speaker in the 35-minute message.
"Democracy is also based on the right to choose your religion," he said, and that is "against the rule of God." . . .
The speaker attacked the Iraqi interim government as a tool used by the "Americans to promote this lie that is called democracy . . . You have to be careful of the enemy's plots that involve applying democracy in your country and confront these plots, because they only want to do so to . . . give the rejectionists the rule of Iraq. And after fighting the Baathists . . . and the Sunnis, they will spread their insidious beliefs, and Baghdad and all the Sunni areas will become Shiite. Even now, the signs of infidelity and polytheism are on the rise." . . .
"For all these issues, we declared war against, and whoever helps promote this and all those candidates, as well as the voters, are also part of this, and are considered enemies of God," the tape said.
Assuming that this is actually Zarqawi, or anyway that it accurately reflects his thinking, this harangue makes crystal clear what is at stake in Sunday's elections. Far from Iraq being a "distraction" in the war against Islamist terrorists, a successful election will be an enormous victory over them. President Bush's Inaugural Address looks better all the time.
Which brings us to a criticism of that speech that David Gelernter offers in The Weekly Standard this week (ellipsis and emphasis in original):
There was one flat-out unacceptable moment. Evidently the "edifice of character" is "sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount," and . . . "the words of the Koran"? Come off it! Which words? Name one! Is there a single sentence, phrase, idea in the Koran that has made any difference to this nation whatsoever? I'm not knocking the Koran; pluralism is wonderful. The problem is that at this moment, no listener in the whole world could possibly have believed that the president was serious.
Gelernter is no leftist or "realist"; he is in fact an exponent of the same idealistic creed the president espoused in his address. In a fascinating essay in Commentary, Gelernter terms this creed "Americanism" and describes it as a sort of nonsectarian religion, an outgrowth of both Judaism and "the radical Christianity known as Puritanism [which] insisted on choosing life."
But Gelernter's criticism of Bush's nod to the Koran misses the point. It's true enough that Islam has played little or no role in the history of Americanism, but the president meant not to give a history lesson but to shape history.
America finds itself at war with the exponents of a particular form of Islam, a strain that is, as Gelernter puts it, "a religion of death, a religion that rejoices in slaughter." The world has some two billion Muslims, the vast majority of whom are not radicals; and a religious crusade to convert them to Christianity (or Judaism, or atheism) simply is not an option. The only way to defeat the radical Islamists is to establish an accommodation between Islam and democracy--to assimilate the Islamic world into the modern world.
Lee Harris, in an essay adapted from his book "Civilization and Its Enemies" (available from the OpinionJournal bookstore), offers his own definition of Americanism:
The United States is uniquely equipped to act as the new sovereign in the world today, not simply because of its power--but because of its tolerance.
The very multiculturalism that causes concern among many conservatives--far from weakening the United States' position--has made it a historically unprecedented microcosm of the rest of the world.
Its diversity reflects that of the world--and this means that for the first time in world history, a great power is genuinely capable of transcending the limitations to human cooperation imposed by divisions along the lines of race, sect and ethnicity. . . .
The civilization that the United States is now called upon to defend is not America's or even the "West's"--it is the civilization created by all men and women, everywhere on the planet.
We act on behalf of all people who have worked to make the actual community around them less addicted to violence, more open, more tolerant, more trusting. Civilization, in this sense, is Chinese, American, African, European and Muslim.
Saudi Arabia's Arab News has an encouraging report from Mecca, where Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque, delivered a sermon to pilgrims that coincided with our Inauguration Day:
"Islam is the religion of moderation. There is no room for extremism in Islam," he said.
He called on Muslims to "protect non-Muslims in the Kingdom and not to attack them in the country or anywhere. Islam is a religion of peace that abhors attack on innocents." Militants were using misguided interpretations of Islam to justify violence, he added.
"Because Muslims have strayed from moderation, we are now suffering from this dangerous phenomenon of branding people infidels and inciting Muslims to rise against their leaders to cause instability," Al-Sudais said.
"The reason for this is a delinquent and void interpretation of Islam based on ignorance. . . . Faith does not mean killing Muslims or non-Muslims who live among us, it does not mean shedding blood, terrorizing or sending body parts flying."
Al-Sudais warned that extremism would ruin the Muslim nation, adding: "This phenomenon has expanded so much that scholars must confront it with concrete proof from Islam to protect our youth from its stench and rottenness."
When President Bush cited the Koran in his speech, he wasn't engaging in ahistorical, feel-good multiculturalism. He was delivering a message to civilized Muslims everywhere: You need not forsake your religion to live in freedom. If instead we were to assume, as Zarqawi does, that democracy and liberty are the exclusive province of Jews, Christians and other "infidels," we would thereby condemn the Muslim world to unending tyranny--and ourselves to unending terror.
Oh, the Inanity!
Yesterday's Washington Post carried an utterly absurd story by the delightfully named reporter Jackie Spinner of a 32-year-old Iraqi man called Imaad, who turned against the U.S. after American soldiers raided his house. We're not even going to attempt to comment on it, because we couldn't possibly outdo Tim Blair. Click on his name and read his fisking of the story. You'll be glad you did.
Reuters vs. Christians
Recently New Zealand's National Business Review published an article on the Reuters "news" service (not available online), in which we made an appearance:
Not every observer gives the operation such a clean bill of journalistic health. Even commentators who might be expected to applaud Reuters, such as the Wall Street Journal's online opinion editor, James Taranto, routinely poke fun at the service, mocking its "even-handed" reporting of many terrorist incidents.
Middle Eastern reporting, concedes Mr [Simon] Walker [Reuters' global director of communication], continues to be a "very sensitive area."
And yes, one of the issues "we get a lot of flack about from the Journal in particular" is the editorial tendency not to use the word "terrorist" without the obligatory rabbit's ears [scare quotes], or better still replace it altogether with value-free nouns like gunman or bomber.
Not that Reuters intends changing its stylebook.
"We'll continue to stick to that rule assiduously. Fundamentally it's about wanting to avoid emotion in language. We wish to be reporting facts, avoiding emotional language designed to label. So we won't put those labels in ourselves.
Now, check out the first two paragraphs of a Saturday Reuters dispatch titled "Survey Finds Church-Going Americans Less Tolerant":
Church-going Americans have grown increasingly intolerant in the past four years of politicians making compromises on such hot issues as abortion and gay rights, according to a survey released on Saturday.
At the same time, those polled said they were growing bolder about pushing their beliefs on others--even at the risk of offending someone.
The Washington Times published an edited version of the story:
Churchgoing Americans grew less patient in the past four years with politicians making compromises on such issues as abortion and homosexual rights, according to a survey released yesterday.
At the same time, those polled said they were growing bolder about sharing their beliefs with others--even at the risk of offending someone.
Which version would you say employs more "emotional" language?
'I Didn't Get His Point'
The other day, on PBS's "The Journal Editorial Report," our colleague Dorothy Rabinowitz observed that Republicans must be hoping to see more of Angry Left heartthrob Sen. Barbara Boxer "carrying on in the way she [did] last week during Condoleezza Rice's confirmation." If CNN had any viewers, these Republicans would have gotten their wish yesterday, when Boxer put on an embarrassing show on Wolf Blitzer's "Late Edition."
As the Washington Times notes, Boxer whined that Rice was mean to her:
"She turned and attacked me," the California Democrat told CNN's "Late Edition" in describing the confrontation during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
"I gave Dr. Rice many opportunities to address specific issues. Instead, she said I was impugning her integrity," Mrs. Boxer said.
Oh, those mean old Republicans, asking not to be called liars! Sounds as though Boxer is too much of a lightweight to be in the ring. In the same interview, responding to President Bush's Inaugural Address, Boxer put forward a foreign-policy vision that amounts to "don't worry, be happy":
I have to say, I didn't get his point. For him to say that the survival of our liberty depends on anyone else, I just don't buy that. This is the greatest country in the world.
We have a constitution. We have a free people. We have a very vibrant political system, and it doesn't always turn out the way I want, but the fact is, for him to imply that our freedom depends on what happens elsewhere, I just don't buy it. This country has made it through all kinds of challenges, and we have never once lost our freedom. . . .
The fact is there was very little about what the policy implications of all these grandiose words meant. And you had to have Daddy Bush, President Bush's dad, who I really like very much, getting out there, saying, don't worry, be happy, we're not going to really change this.
I found it a very odd speech, in the sense that I was baffled as to what he's talking about.
Boxer's pinched isolationism is a long way from the Democratic idealism of Wilson, FDR, Truman and JFK. Granted, skepticism of foreign intervention has a long history in America, but Boxer's blithe assertion that the lack of liberty elsewhere doesn't endanger liberty here is quite a stunning display of obliviousness in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Homelessness Rediscovery Watch
"If George W. Bush becomes president, the armies of the homeless, hundreds of thousands strong, will once again be used to illustrate the opposition's arguments about welfare, the economy, and taxation."--Mark Helprin, Oct. 31, 2000
"Mr. Bush [in his Inaugural Address] never spoke about, say, the freedom of knowing that the rent will be paid, that the refrigerator will be full, that car payments or a round-trip subway ride won't be a burden. Health insurance got merely a glancing reference. Maybe the president plans to discuss those matters in another speech. If so, he could do some research in New York, where, even as the city rebounds and makes inroads into homelessness, some people are left behind."--Joyce Purnick, New York Times, Jan. 24, 2005
What Would We Do Without Sen. Walter 'Skip' Campbell?
" 'We [Florida Democrats] have a great opportunity in 2006,' said Sen. Walter 'Skip' Campbell, D-Fort Lauderdale, a multimillionaire trial lawyer poised to announce his candidacy for attorney general. 'But if we don't nominate candidates who can win, we are not going to win.' "--Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 24
La Malaise
The Scotsman reports from Paris on an outbreak of ennui:
The French are a nation of depressed pessimists, wracked with self-doubt and unable to see a positive future.
This gloomy portrait of the current state of Gallic morale--or rather the lack of it--was made public yesterday in a damning report by France's prefects, the country's top administrators.
"The French no longer believe in anything," the report said. "That is the reason that the situation is relatively calm, for they believe that it is not even worthwhile expressing their opinions or trying to be heard any more."
The country's 100 prefects went on to use the words "lifelessness," "resignation," "anxiety" and "pessimism" to describe the attitudes they believe prevail in France today.
And some people said it was a cheap shot when we called John Kerry* French-looking!
* The haughty, French-looking Massachusetts Democrat, who by the way served in Vietnam.
What Would We Do Without Canadians?
"UN Could Slide Into Irrelevance, Canadian Warns"--headline, Globe and Mail (Toronto), Jan. 24
Defending Father Breen
Our item Friday on two Americans who are objecting to Iraqi election-related activities in their neighborhoods brought some two dozen e-mails defending one of them, the Rev. Joseph Breen of Nashville. Here's one, from Susan Oliver, that pretty well captures the sentiment:
I take offense of your criticism of Father Breen. Nashville had originally set up two registration sites for Iraqi nationals. The one site you referred to is next to Father Breen's church and grade school. There are also other churches, auto dealerships, and other places of business in this heavy traveled intersection of Nashville. After review, the registration sites were combined and moved down the street a couple of miles to the Fairgounds.
Father Breen, one of 10 people on the community committee to express his concerns, has long been a leader in Nashville for immigrant education. His church and school welcomes the many Hispanics who live in his neighborhood. After the unthinkable happened on U.S. soil on 9/11, is Father Breen a chicken or cautious?
Suggestion: Come visit Nashville and see for yourself the Iraqi registration and voting process. Come meet Father Breen and see his community. You will be impressed. Did you know that Nashville has the largest population of Kurds living outside of Iraq and is known as Little Kurdistan? I'm excited that Iraqis living here have the opportunity to vote in their national election for the first time in their lives. I'm proud that Nashville has been chosen as one of the five voting sites in the U.S.
We appreciate the invitation. We won't be able to make it this weekend, but will keep it in mind.
Shut Up, They Explained
"Penn State professors are signing a petition to voice their disagreement with the McGraw-Hill textbook company after alterations were made to health books distributed in Texas high schools," reports the Daily Collegian, a student newspaper:
The health textbooks receiving criticism define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Some members of the Penn State community are offended by the influential textbook company's decision to get involved in current social debates.
McGraw-Hill should have known better. Only left-wing professors are permitted to get involved in current social debates. Everyone else is kindly requested to shut up.
Terrorist Chutzpah Watch
"A former radical serving 75 years in prison for the deadly 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored truck has asked to be released from prison," reports New York's WINS-AM. "She claims she was not given proper legal representation."
And why was this terrorist, Judith Clark, denied proper legal representation? "Clark argues that the judge at her 1983 state trial violated the constitution when he granted Clark's request to serve as her own lawyer."
Delayed Roe Effect
One objection we often hear to our hypothesis of the Roe effect--that abortion makes the populace more conservative, because liberal women are more apt to abort their pregnancies than conservative ones--is that many women who have abortions when young go on to have children later. A report from the BBC shows why this phenomenon doesn't necessarily run counter to the Roe effect and indeed in some ways is part of it:
A 66-year-old Romanian woman thought to have become the world's oldest mother has revealed that she had two abortions in her early 20s. . . .
"In those days I would never have thought of a termination as murder as I do now," she told the Sunday Telegraph. . . .
"In that time I had two pregnancy terminations--it was the normal thing back then and the accepted form of contraception. If there is anything I regret then it is those terminations, not having a baby now.
"Religion was not a big part of many people's lives and I had never had any religious education, I believed the party line that a foetus is only considered a life when it is older than three months."
Mrs Iliescu said she "discovered religion" after her marriage and is now Romanian Orthodox.
If she had had those children back then, they might well have picked up her pro-choice views. They would be around 40 now, probably with children of their own. Instead, she is preparing to raise a daughter who will be influenced by mom's pro-life views.
Your Fetus Too Big
"The Kansas woman accused of strangling a pregnant acquaintance and cutting the 8-month-old fetus from her womb pleaded not guilty Thursday, and is to stand trial the week of March 14, federal prosecutors said," CNN reports. But the network's account of the crime is confusing, to say the least:
Prosecutors say Montgomery strangled 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett on December 16 in Skidmore, Missouri, then cut the near-term fetus from the mother's womb and kidnapped the baby.
All well and good, but what did she do with the fetus after she cut it from the mother's womb?
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports from Boulder, Colo., that "a Catholic church plans to bury the ashes of as many as 1,000 aborted fetuses Sunday, raising a storm of protest from those who accuse it of exploiting the pain and grief of women for political purposes":
The Sacred Heart of Mary Church obtained the ashes from a mortuary that had a contract to cremate remains from the Boulder Abortion Clinic. But the clinic said it didn't know the ashes were being given to the church.
"They have taken it upon themselves to make a macabre ritual out of this, inflicting pain on everyone," said clinic director Dr. Warren Hern. "I have women calling me who are very upset over this. These fanatics simply cannot leave other people alone with their most intimate sorrow." . . .
"It's sad the church would take it upon itself to violate the doctor-patient relationship," said Kate Horle, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. "These women went to the doctor in confidence and made a difficult, personal decision. And now it's been dragged all over the media."
"Antiabortion zealots, Catholic or otherwise, have shown that they will stop at nothing to inflict guilt and to compound the grief, sadness and sense of loss that these women experience," he said.
Hey, c'mon, Kate, what's the big deal? After all, they're only fetuses! As for women experiencing "grief, sadness and sense of loss" after an abortion, well, that's not what we hear. To quote from the Web site of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains:
Serious emotional problems following abortion are uncommon. Most women report a sense of relief, although some may experience temporary depression. Serious psychological disturbances after abortion occur less frequently than after childbirth.
So if the Catholics want to have their silly little fetal funeral, why whine about it? Let the baby have his bottle!
Tanks for the Memories
"Russia is to sell thousands of Second World War tanks, machineguns and cannons in an attempt to raise funds and remind the world of its pivotal role in defeating Hitler."--Daily Telegraph (London), Jan. 21
Not Too Brite--CLXXX
"An Italian pensioner committed suicide after his wife fell into a coma, but just hours after he killed himself the woman woke up," Reuters reports from Rome.
Oddly Enough!
(For an explanation of the "Not Too Brite" series, click here.)
wwwd w/o drs?
"2 many txt msgs bad 4 yr health, doctors say"--headline, Reuters, Jan. 24
What Would We Do Without Studies?
"Senior Gamblers Risking Finances, Study Finds"--headline, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 19
Who Needs Experts?
"Experts Reluctant to Endorse Health Benefits of Alcohol"--headline, Knight Ridder Tribune, Jan. 24
Unfortunately, It Also May Ward Off Drunkenness
"Drinking non-alcoholic beer may ward off cancer, research on lab mice shows."--BBC Web site, Jan. 19
Of Course She Did. Sex and Drugs Don't Grow on Trees!
"Police: Mom Charged for Sex, Drug Parties"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 21
Be Vewy Vewy Quiet
"A high school principal said guidelines for a living skills class will be changed after a 16-year-old student skinned and cooked a Guinea pig and a rabbit during class," the Associated Press reports from Thompson, Ohio:
The 16-year-old told [principal Beto] Gage he killed the animals at home before bringing them to school Wednesday. Gage said his living skills teacher, Diana Stevens, lets students prepare a meal of their choice on that day.
The student had asked Stevens if he could catch and cook a wild rabbit and she approved, provided he gut the carcass before class, Gage said.
Of course, if you want something really good, you can't beat a good old Louisiana Back Bay Bayou Bunny Bordelais à la Antoine--and we don't mean Antoine of Flatbush!
Stupid Blue States
People who vote Republican are stupid, the stereotype has it. As London's left-wing Daily Mirror tabloid asked in a front-page headline in November, "How could 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?" (Actually, according to David Leip's Election Atlas, the number of Bush voters is now 62,041,268.)
In an effort to counter this stereotype, we're looking for examples of blue-state stupidity, and our first one comes from an Associated Press weather story: "Baltimore transportation crews are set to lay down blue salt--letting residents know their streets have been plowed."
John Kerry outpolled Bush 82.7% to 17.1%--a margin of 65.6%--in Balitmore, a city whose residents need saline assistance to figure out their streets have been plowed. |
