Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

John Agresto's New Book: "Mugged By Reality: The Liberation of Iraq and the Failure of Good Intentions"

Hugh Hewitt carries on a fascinating (if at times depressing) conversation with John Agresto, who served most recently with part of the Coalition Provisional Authority as the senior advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.  His recent book, Mugged By Reality: The Liberation of Iraq and the Failure of Good Intentions, is a memoir of his time in Iraq.

I wish I had space to do this long interview justice.  I hope you will read it  for yourself.

In the course of the interview, Agresto contrasts the mindset of the West versus Islam.  Consider his observation on the American truism, "the end doesn't justify the means":

JA: We have certain categories here in the West, and I think they’re Judao-Christian categories, and I think they’re philosophic categories from the enlightenment, however you want to find the roots of it, where we say…I think of how casually, Hugh, we say you know, the ends don’t justify the means.

HH: Right.

JA: I’m not sure if everybody in the world believes that. In fact, I know there are millions of people in the world who would say that’s silly. If the means are good, if the ends are good, any means are good. Any means are useful for a good end. And so if killing of children is useful for the success of the Islamic revolution, then it’s willed. We should do it.

Or consider his take on Ayatolla Sistani, whom Agresto describes as an Islamist, even though the American foreign policy establishment wants to see him (against the disappointing evidence right before their eyes) as a moderate:

We Americans live on hope all the time. We are the most Pollyannish people in the whole world. We are so quick to forgive, we forget immediately, and the rest of the world’s not like that, Hugh.  (more)

Jesus' Tomb Found? Filmmaker James Cameron Thinks So

I had not planned on blogging about the alleged "find" of Jesus' tomb because I thought it nonsense, but I see it is getting so much media play (including "Larry King Live" et al) that I had better at least make some mention of it.  Maybe the best way to do that would be to cite responses.  I wish I had time to produce extracts but I don't.  To "No Compromise" blog I am indebted to the following links:  Ben Witherington,  James White, and Brian Maloney (of "Hot Air" fame).

The Anchoress isn't a bit concerned (she titles her post "Laughing at the Jesus Tomb.")  She offers a slate of websites to check out for additional comments including Mac’s Mind, Stand to Reason, Captains Quarters Blog, Texas Rainmaker,  The Dude finding Jesus, and Doug Ross.   

Maybe I should be concerned, but I'm not.  I'm bored.  I've lived too long.  I'm too aware of the way these media blitzes work.  It's all so tedious.  Besides my own skepticism, many of the posts above (see for example the Stand to Reason post) explain the huge, really really huge, improbability of this being the tomb of Jesus.  So I say, rest easy, keep trusting in the Lord.  These attacks on Christian faith, though mounting in intensity, should be expected.   (Cf. the extraordinary hype given the story on NBC's "Today" show)

Actually, from another perspective, maybe this media blitz should be welcomed.  Considering the state of religious knowledge in the United States at present, it may come as a revelation to some that Christian faith is built on the proclamation of Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead.  That may come as a shock to some people.

Relativism on College Campuses is not a Substantive Position by Leftists, It is a Tactic

David French at Phi Beta Cons makes the point well:   

Our colleges are not overrun with either moral or cultural relativism. The problem is the opposite — moral and cultural absolutism that is occasionally so extreme that it would make a Bob Jones theology professor blush.

In a truly morally relativistic environment, there would be great difficulty in getting a straight answer from a professor, diversity dean, or student activist on the morality of same-sex marriage, for example. Or the justice of the Iraq war, or even the worth of Wal-Mart. Instead, does anyone have any doubt what the academic establishment’s answer is to any of the following questions: Was the Iraq war justified? Is consciously race-based affirmative action a proper response to historical injustice? Should achieving “diversity” be a central goal of the academy?

As for cultural relativism, does the academy paint a “warts and all” picture of indigenous cultures? Even the act of equating the Aztecs and Greeks (to take Murray’s example) requires that the academy magnify the flaws of the Greeks and minimize the flaws of the Aztecs, so that the culture that invented democracy is “equated” with a culture organized around human sacrifice on a mass scale. The “western civilization bad, other cultures good” formula of so many lectures and books is anything but relativistic. Simplistic, maybe, but not relativistic.

I routinely receive correspondence from concerned parents who worry about relativism. What they need to understand, however, is that academic relativism is a tactic, not a substantive position. When a student of orthodox faith or a person of traditional belief presents a position, they are often countered with the classic relativistic verbal shrug (i.e. “that may be true for you but not for me”), but when the shoe is on the other foot — when the issue is dear to the heart of the academic — the position could not be more absolute. Insults like “racist” or “sexist” or “homophobe” do not come from relativism, but from absolutism.

(HT: Constitutionally Correct)

"Amazing Grace" movie - A "Must See"

Well, I did it.  I saw the movie "Amazing Grace" today.   Today the movie opened in the United States.   I was privileged to attend the first screening in my city--11:30 AM.   Did the movie meet my expectations?  Yes, it did.  In dramatizing William Wilberforce's long struggle to end the slave trade in the British Empire (finally successful in 1807, after a 20-year struggle), this movie introduces the world to one of the great Christian leaders of all time.  His dedication and perseverance to rid the world of a terrible evil is a story that needs to enter the consciousness of people everywhere.

There are lots of resources available. Here is a sampling:

The "Amazing Grace" Official Movie Website has a study guide and various links, including the Amazing Change website on how to combat modern slavery.   

CBN.com has an excellent series of articles that should be checked.  Click here.  It's hard to overstate the wealth and depth of these links and resources.  One link offers a historical novelist's evaluation of the way John Newton is portrayed in the movie (pretty good on the whole).  As the author of a book on Newton, she debunks popular myths concerning his biography.

Chuck Colson over at Breakpoint has published a series of short articles on Wilberforce as an example for us today. You could begin here and then also check his multiple links. This is terrific stuff.

National Review Online has a symposium with comments on Wilberforce by Sen. Sam Brownback, Sen. Tom Coburn, Charles Colson, Richard Land, Douglas Minson, Mark Rogers, and Mark Souder.

World Magazine reviews the movie here.

A fifteen year old boy, Zach Hunter, has emerged as a modern day teen abolitionist.  Read about him here.

Update: 2/26/07

NRO offers a fine, intelligent review by S.T. Karnick here

Justin Taylor says the following:  "The BBC recently did an on-air documentary about William Wilberforce, replete with dramatizations and interviews. You can listen to it here or read an outline of the program.

You can also read or listen to John Piper's biographical sketch of Wilberforce's life. Piper's book, as well as a downloadable audio version, is also available.

Eric Metaxas is the author of the official biography, Amazing Grace, being tied to the movie. He recently did a print interview with National Review.

Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre has produced a five-hour dramatized audio production available in a five-CD set: Amazing Grace: The Inspirational Stories of William Wilberforce, John Newton, and Olaudah Equiano."

Pete DuPont on Global Warming (Hint: He's not convinced)

Click here for Pete DuPont's important essay on temperature fluctuations.  For essays by others on global warming as religion, click here and here.

Update: 2/24/07  -  Climatologist calls Gore's Oscar-nominated film "science fiction."  Click here.   Among various arguments, this article powerfully disputes Gore's contention of  rising sea levels, especially their magnitude.

Nowhere in the traditionally refereed scientific literature do we find any support for Gore’s hypothesis.

This is an important article.   (HT: Drudge Report)

No Freedom of Speech in Egypt

Update 3/5/07 - Reuters has a follow-up story on the dangers of blogging in Egypt.  Click here.

***

Cliff May reports the following:

Our Moderate Ally in the Middle Eastern [sic]?   

Here’s what prolonged diplomatic engagement and about $2 billion a year in aid can achieve:

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - An Alexandria court convicted an Egyptian blogger on Thursday for insulting both Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and sentenced him to four years in jail over his writings on the Internet.

Abdel Karim Suleiman, a 22-year-old former law student who has been in custody since November, was the first blogger to

Anti-Israel Special Programs on University Campuses Accuse Israel of Apartheid

The propaganda against Israel flourishes on university campuses.  Click here for a report.  It can get pretty nasty.

A Jewish student at CUNY, raised his hand to ask the question, “Do you support terrorism?” The Arab presenters refused to answer. Rister [the student]politely repeated the same question only to find himself set upon by five CUNY security cops who dragged him from his seat and removed him from the room. One officer continued holding him by the neck on the outside escalator and repeatedly banged Rister’s head against the wall as the escalator descended. Then, before they reached the bottom, the guard threw Rister head first down the remaining steps, injuring him severely enough to be taken to the hospital in a neck brace.  There were seven witnesses to the unprovoked attack . . .

Dore Gold, Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Interviewed on Muslim Claim that Jerusalem has No Historical Significance for Jews

The title of this post should be absurd on its face.  Jerusalem of no historical significance to Jews?  Who is kidding whom?  Is this a lie to beat all lies?  And what about the rising prominence of Jerusalem amongst Muslim radicals?

Gold's new book is The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City, discusses Muslim claims and shows in painstaking detail the archaeological and other evidence to establish once and for all the Jewish roots in the land of Israel.   Gold says:

A friend of mine in Britain, who works in the  Gulf states, told me that most of his Arab contacts these days tell him that there never was an ancient Kingdom of  Israel or Kingdom of Judah. 

I felt I must at least begin the effort to negate these trends. So in the beginning of the "Fight for Jerusalem," I dealt with these issues but I also put into the book striking color photos from the Israel Antiquities Authority with some of the greatest archaeological finds of recent years that bolster the veracity of the Biblical narrative and contradict the trend Arafat sought to initiate. How can you deny there was a Kingdom of  Judah when you see in my book royal seals of the Davidic dynasty--like the seal of Hezekiah, King of Judah?

Gold also discusses the striking claim by one Muslim leader that Jerusalem will become the capital of a future global caliphate. Read the whole interview here.

Media Reluctance to Investigate Muslim-Related Crimes

Robert Spencer reviews media coverage of criminal incidents.  He shows the reluctance of the AP and other media to investigate Muslim-related crimes for possible jihadist motivations.  I find this fact remarkable.  Why the timidity to do thorough investigations?  Is the press cowed?  Is there some strange cover-up across the land?  I am reminded once again of Malcolm Muggeridge's "Great Liberal Death Wish" analysis in which we refuse to clearly identify threats and instead side with those who would do us ill. 

What Every American Needs to Know About Jihad

I have copied the following verbatim from FrontPage Magazine,  2/21/07:

* * *

What Every American Needs to Know About Jihad

By FrontPage Magazine
FrontPageMagazine.com | February 21, 2007

Is Islamic jihad just a harmless form of spiritual struggle -- as is often argued by Western apologists for radical Islam? Is Jihadi violence simply a twisted, hijacked version of Islam, rejected by traditional Muslims? The David Horowitz Freedom Center's new Terrorism Awareness Project, which seeks to educate Americans, and especially college students about jihad, confronts questions such as these. It has produced a powerful new flash video, What Every American Needs to Know About Jihad. This video is adapted from a new pamphlet by Robert Spencer, which puts the threat of jihadist ideology into historical perspective. As Spencer makes clear, the religious imperatives of jihad demand the subjugation or killing of infidels and form the poisoned logic of Islamists' expansionist war against America and the West.

To view the flash video, click here.

To read Spencer's essay, click here.

ME:  - For more on the Terrorism Awareness Network, and a summary of current projects (including the seven-minute flash video The Islamic Mein Kampf), click here.

Pro-American Brits Produce A Video Campaign: "A World Without America"

18 Doughty Street today launches a video campaign to combat anti-Americanism in the U.K.  I find this quite fascinating.  Below is the statement and explanation.  If you want to go directly to the video, click here at YouTube.   Please keep reading...     (HT: Michelle Malkin)

New Book: "Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle their Political Journeys"

Note: Updates below

Stanley Kurtz in National Review Online's Corner is excited about Mary Eberstadt's edited anthology, Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys.  Kurtz, himself a contributor, waxes enthusiastic about the other contributors, including Peter Berkowitz, Joseph Bottum, Dinesh D’Souza, David Brooks, Danielle Crittenden, Tod Lindberg, Rich Lowry, Heather MacDonald, P.J. O’Rourke, Sally Satel, and Richard Starr.   Kurtz says the book is hard to put down, both for its enthralling stories and also for the sheer excellence of the writing.

Update 5/29/07 - Stanley Kurt files the following post:

Wilfred McClay has a very thoughtful review of Why I Turned Right in the June issue of Commentary (not available online). According to McClay, the essays by David Brooks, Joseph Bottum, and Peter Berkowitz "should be required reading as a prolegomenon to all future American conservatisms." McClay also says that the Berkowitz essay contains, "the best short description of the work of Leo Strauss I have ever read."

Update 3/6/07 - The Washington Times carries a good review by A.G. Gancarski.   "And better than any other book in recent memory, "Why I Turned Right" spotlights why conservatism is the most essential of all political philosophies."

Update 2/22/07 - Kurtz offers his responses to three of the essays: D'Souza's, Bottum's, and Heather MacDonald's.  Keep reading...
Kurtz says:

Human Rights Watch Watched

Read about "Human Rights Watch" here.  This survey and analysis claims HRW directs a "grossly disproportionate share of its criticism at the United States and Israel."  It is Leftist in orientation.  It has a full-time staff of 190 employees worldwide and a budget of approximately $22 million per year.

Poll: Americans Want to Win in Iraq

Contrary to prevailing assumptions, Americans want to win in Iraq.  Read the Drudge Report story that follows:

****

POLL: AMERICANS 'WANT TO WIN IN IRAQ'
Tue Feb 20 2007 16:21:32 ET

In the wake of the U.S. House of Representatives passing a resolution that amounts to a vote of no confidence in the Bush administration's policies in Iraq, a new national survey by Alexandria, VA-based Public Opinion Strategies (POS) shows the American people may have some different ideas from their elected leaders on this issue.

The survey was conducted nationwide February 5-7 among a bi-partisan, cross-section of 800 registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. The survey was commissioned by The Moriah Group, a Chattanooga-based strategic communications and public affairs firm.

The survey shows Americans want to win in Iraq, and that they understand Iraq is the central point in the war against terrorism and they can support a U.S. strategy aimed at

Baby Born at 22 Weeks!

Note: See update below related to the cover issue of Time magazine

****

Baby born after 21 weeks and 6 days.  Full AP article here.  (HT: Drudge Report) 

MIAMI (AP) - A premature baby that doctors say spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant is to be released from a Florida hospital Tuesday.

Amillia Sonja Taylor was just 9 1/2 inches long and weighed less than 10 ounces when she was born Oct. 24. She was delivered 21 weeks and six days after conception. Full-term births come after 37 to 40 weeks.

"We weren't too optimistic," Dr. William Smalling said Monday. "But she proved us all wrong."

Neonatologists who cared for Amillia say she is the first baby known to survive after a gestation period of fewer than 23 weeks. A database run by the University of Iowa's Department of Pediatrics lists seven babies born at 23 weeks between 1994 and 2003.

Not exactly a blob of tissue it seems.

Update - The February 15, 2007 issue of Time magazine has a cover story titled "The Grassroots Abortion War."   It refers to the crisis pregnancy centers mushrooming across the United States, many of which are equipped with ultrasound technology and therefore able to show expectant mothers their babies.  Time magazine's graph and map show that crisis pregnancy centers now outnumber abortion providers 2,300 to 1,819.  A large number of Crisis Pregnancy Ceners are affiliated with either Care Net or Heartbeat International.

Brit Hume Doesn't Think Much of Rep. John Murtha

Note: See Update at the end

Brit Hume of Fox News had some strong things to say Sunday about  anti-war Democratic Representative John Murtha. 

Look, this man has tremendous cachet among House Democrats, but he is not — this guy is long past the day when he had anything but the foggiest awareness of what the heck is going on in the world.

Click  here for short video and transcript.  

Investor's Business Daily in a hard-hitting editorial elaborates on Murtha's plans as chairman of the House panel that overseas military spending. 

Democratic talk of "redeployment" has encouraged terrorist groups around the world.

Jihad Jaara, a senior member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said before the 2006 vote:

Ariel Sharon's Autobiography "Warrior"

Dean Barrett thinks Ariel Sharon’s autobiography “Warrior” the best military memoirs ever, better than Ulysses S. Grant’s. 

In reading “Warrior," it’s sometimes amazing that a life such as Sharon’s was ever lived. His battle-field heroics were epic over a 35 year span. His personal life had more sudden jolts than even the most maladroit novelist would dare insert. And yet on the pages of “Warrior” it all plays out: A life story that is epic, noble and moving.

The Sharon that has entered the popular imagination is a caricature of the actual man. When he is thought of, he is usually considered the corpulent leader who is unyielding, charmless and ferocious. His actual life, though, provides an endless supply of telling details that contradict that simplistic and partly erroneous narrative.  (more)

Quotes of the Day

"Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots." - Frank A. Clark

***

"The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once."

"Truthiness" and Our Moment in Time

A friend has alerted me to an essay on "truthiness"  by Dick Meyer, the editorial director of CBSNews.com based in Washington.  Truthiness is a new word.  Meyer writes:

Webster's has now sanctioned truthiness with two definitions: "truth that comes from the gut, not books" and "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts of facts known to be true."

Meyer does us the service of noting its philosophic pedigree:

Truthiness actually has a long philosophic pedigree. It is called "emotivism," a term resurrected by a Scottish philosopher who lives and works in America, Alasdair MacIntyre. In 1981 he published one of the most influential works of moral philosophy in the later part

Quick Takes

James Mann has written a new book: The China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression .  I saw Mann interviewed on television yesterday.  Current U.S. policy postulates economic progress will weaken China's authoritarian, Communist government.  There's no sign of that happening.  Are we kidding ourselves?  Mann thinks so.  James Mann is associated with John Hopkins University.  He was previously the Los Angeles Times Beijing bureau chief. 

Here's a summary from another blog post:

James Mann challenges the assumptions that have guided American policy toward China for more than three decades. Americans believe wrongly that with increasing prosperity and with the arrival of McDonald's and Starbucks, China will move inevitably toward political liberalization and democracy. U.S. leaders suggest, with waning conviction, that trade and investment will eventually bring an end to China's one-party system. But Mann argues that this is merely a new version of the old fallacy that the Chinese are becoming like us. In fact, Mann suggests, the newly enriched elites in cities like Beijing and Shanghai could turn out to be not the vanguard for democracy, but the driving force in favor of perpetuating an authoritarian regime.

***

Victor Davis Hanson doesn't have much respect for Newsweek magazine  and in particular its current cover story on President Bush and Iran.  He explains why here.   It strikes me that skepticism (if not cynicism) is becoming an appropriate posture to adopt towards our mainstream media.

Quotes of the Day

Internet browsing turned up this gem:

“Use what talents you possess; The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”
                                                  - William Blake

The MSM Does It Again: Bigoted Anti-Christian Bloggers Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan Get Painted As Victims of the "Vicious" Right

It's amazing how the MSM twists the truth with the result that two bona fide vulgar, crude, anti-Christian bigoted bloggers come off looking like victims of "hateful" narrow-minded Christians.  I am referring to the way the MSM handled the resignations of two bloggers (Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan) from Presidential candidate John Edwards' staff.  The story has been in the news as most of you know.  But are you aware of the MSM's bias in reporting?  Read this article.

Update:  Tim at Random Observations makes some good points concerning rampant narcissism on the Left.  He quotes former Los Angeles NOW president Tammy Bruce who said:

The Left’s organizing relies on selling the line that everyone who disagrees with the leftist status quo is a hater of some sort; those who disagree with leftist policy are not dealt with as serious people who have a different opinion on the issues. That would then require arguments based on reason. Instead, leftist leadership casts their opposition as haters who live every moment planning to eradicate the gay, woman or black. When your base is primarily narcissistic that’s an easy line to sell, remains emotional devoid of reason, and makes people easy to condition and control. Leftist politics, like a vicious circle, rely on the damaged as footsoldiers, while the most damaged, the “Malignant Narcissist,” ... move into positions of power and leadership...   [Tim's emphasis]

Tim's further comments are well worth reading.

The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

Click here.   The site also offers lyrics and guitar chords when you click on the song.   Apparently a lot of people know this is on the internet, but I just found out about it today courtesy of Jonah Goldberg at the Corner.

Dinesh D'Souza's New Book "The Enemy At Home"

Note: Updates appended at the end ...

Amazon.com offers the following synopsis of Dinesh D'Souza's book, The Enemy At Home:

D'Souza once again turns his eye for social criticism to liberals, this time asserting their responsibility for the rise of anti-Americanism abroad and perhaps even the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The cultural Left in the U.S., by pressing for sexual freedom for women and gays through birth control, no-fault divorce, and support for gay marriage, has not only undermined American culture but also provoked the ire of religious conservatives in other nations, most prominently Islamic fundamentalists. Contrary to President Bush's assertions that terrorists and their supporters hate American freedom, D'Souza asserts that what they really hate is our licentious culture. He notes that American conservatives have more in common with Islamic Fundamentalists than with American liberals. He outlines a battle plan for the Right that includes building alliances with traditional Muslims and enlisting them in the war against radical Islam. This is an interesting perspective on the hostilities between the West and the Muslim world, particularly in light of the ongoing declared war against terrorism. Vanessa Bush  Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved    

This is quite intriguing.  Stanley Kurtz over at National Review Online, offers his review and rebuttal.   I look forward to delving further into this debate at a later time.

Update 2/15/06 - There's activity today in National Review Online's Corner blog.  Jonah Goldberg writes:

Well, since we're all chiming in, I suppose I should say something too as I've written a review for The Claremont Review of Books (available soonish). I agree very much with

Daniel Pipes' Talk at UC-Irvine Disturbed by Muslim Students

Daniel Pipes, the important scholar of Middle Eastern matters, had his speech on "The Threat to Israel's Existence" interrupted at University of California - Irvine by what he said appear to be " goons of an Islamist persuasion."   His weblog links to videos of his speech (including the disturbances) plus there are links to several commentaries on the event.    One of the videos includes Pipes' complete address which is a handy way to get up to speed on the current threat to Israel.   (HT: Candace de Russy at Phi Beta Cons)

Quick Takes

If I had more time I would blog about the following articles:

The Supreme Court Opinions of Judge Clarence Thomas

Dennis Prager on "Global Warming Denial = Holocaust Denial?

Mark Tooley on "The Religious Left vs. 'Demonic America'"

Hugh Hewitt's fascinating interview with former Undersecretary of Defense, Douglas Feith, on The CIA, The WMD, and the Information War.  This interview really sets the record straight on a number of hugely important issues.  UPDATED 2/14/07  here.

Michael Crichton on the present disaster of gene patents

Harvard Follies - A Further Descent into Feminist Madness Looms

Heather MacDonald reports :  "America's oldest university selects a dreadful president."

The feminist takeover of Harvard is imminent. The Harvard Crimson reported yesterday that the university is about to name as its new president Drew Gilpin Faust, dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. . . 

Faust runs one of the most powerful incubators of feminist complaint and nonsensical academic theory in the country. You can count on the Radcliffe Institute’s fellows and invited lecturers to proclaim the “constructed” nature of knowledge, gender, and race, and to decry endemic American sexism and racism. Typical guest speakers include left-wing journalists Susan Faludi and Barbara Ehrenreich. . .  

 This triumph of feminist ideology is a tragedy not just for Harvard, but for the American academic world, which will undoubtedly follow Harvard’s lead in elevating feminist politics to premier intellectual standing. (More)

Carol Ionone weighs in blaming former President Summer's backing down and the supine cowardice of science faculty from standing up to the radical and ferocious feminists.

The question arises, why didn't more scientists come to Summers's aid and defense?  The answer is that they are cowards. A friend tells me that they are afraid of losing their funding and even more, that they are really, really frightened of female anger. This reminds me of a professor who told me years ago that he had been through the Warsaw ghetto uprising, but that nothing incited melting fear in his heart like the sight of an angry feminist student approaching his office. What has happened to our society? Have testosterone levels so diminished that men are unable to stand up for what is right because they fear women?

Shelley Lubben, Former Porn Star

I blogged once before about Shelly Lubben, the former porn star.  I see that the 700 Club ran her story again today, this time making  a video of her story available on the internet.  Click here. 

John Q. Wilson's Account of Media War Coverage Then and Now

How does the media cover the military?  An important article by John Q. Wilson, first published November 6, 2006, needs to be read and archived for what it says about the way media coverage of government and the military has changed.   Why are people so negative on President Bush and the war? Consider this paragraph from the article:

When the Center for Media and Public Affairs made a nonpartisan evaluation of network news broadcasts, it found that during the active war against Saddam Hussein, 51% of the reports about the conflict were negative. Six months after the land battle ended, 77% were negative; in the 2004 general election, 89% were negative; by the spring of 2006, 94% were negative. This decline in media support was much faster than during Korea or Vietnam.

. . . But the war coverage does not reflect merely an interest in conflict. People who oppose the entire war on terror run much of the national press, and they go to great lengths to make waging it difficult.

Wilson goes on to document how the reporting of the Iraq war has been conducted and compares and contrasts it with coverage of previous wars.  He includes a fascinating depiction of how, given the current mindset, World War II would have been reported.  This is truly instructive reading.

His concluding paragraph is sobering:

The mainstream media's adversarial stance, both here and abroad, means that whenever a foreign enemy challenges us, he will know that his objective will be to win the battle not on some faraway bit of land but among the people who determine what we read and watch. We won the Second World War in Europe and Japan, but we lost in Vietnam and are in danger of losing in Iraq and Lebanon in the newspapers, magazines and television programs we enjoy.

The current state of affairs illustrates, in my judgment, the "great liberal death wish" that British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge wrote so powerfully about some years ago.  An exposition of that must await another time.

William M. Arkin: "Exhibit A" for the Left's Contempt for the Military

The Monday, Feb. 12, 2007 edition of Investor's Business Daily hits the nail on the head when it concludes an editorial saying,

So don't accept at face value the line about opposing the war but supporting the troops.   The anit-war left despises both.

If you haven't heard of William M. Arkin, he's the NBC News "military analyst" who spoke of "the price we pay for a mercenary---oops, sorry, volunteer--force that is doing the dirty work."    He wrote that "through every Abu Ghraib and Haditha, through every rape and murder, the American public has indulged those in uniform..."

The editorial goes on to quote Rep. Charlie Rangel who said

"If a young fellow has an option of having a decent career, or joinging the Army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq."   

The  editorial will remind you of similar statements made by John Kerry, and even more inflammatory statements uttered by Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. John Murtha.  I am tempted to post the entire editorial, but maybe citing it will stimulate some to click  through and read it.  Warning:  you may well be angered and nauseated by the disdain with which the Left views American troops.

The U.S. Military Exhibits Genuine Virtue

Michael Ledeen confirms what I have long felt:  "True Virtue is Military Virtue."  I'm impressed with the military culture displayed by the armed forces of the United States.  Read Ledeen's current article and see if you don't agree.

Why Are Muslim Groups Against Ending the Genocide in Sudan?

Read Steve Emerson's discussion here.   For previous posts on Sudan and Darfur, click here and here.

Dennis Prager: Liberals' Tragic Flaw - The Failure to Think Through Long-range Consequences

Dennis Prager's current column hits a home run.  Prager examines what he calls liberalism's tragic flaw - ""Not thinking through the long-range consequences of their positions."

In his article Prager analyzes liberal policies related to the following questions:

Will higher taxes help the economy?

Is continued illegal immigration good for America or for Mexico?

Is bilingual education good for immigrant children?

Does affirmative action help black students?

What would the Kyoto Protocols do to the American and world economies?

Would withdrawal from Iraq increase or decrease human suffering?

Does nationalized health insurance work?

His analysis is brilliant.  It's astonishing how much penetrating thought Prager packs into such a short article.   This article should serve as an exceedingly useful primer for debated subjects of our day.

Ignorance of Islam Will Be Our Downfall

If the West succumbs to the current Islamic worldwide expansion of tyranny, it will have only itself to blame.  The West's media and the West's academic institutions, have both proven intransigently hostile to a serious study of political Islam. 

Bill Warner, the director of the Center for the Study of Political Islam (CSPI) granted an exceptionally important interview to Jamie Glazov of Frontpagemag.com.   (This is a "must-read" article for anyone interested in understanding contemporary Islam.)

On the matter of the West's failure to teach about Islam and the West's inexcusable ignorance, Warner says:

First, let’s see how ignorant we are about the history of political Islam. How many Christians can tell you how Turkey or Egypt became Islamic? What happened to the Seven Churches of Asia mentioned in Paul’s letters?

Is Jimmy Carter the Worst Ex-President We've Ever Had?

Joshua Muravchek, answering in the affirmative, offers a major assesment in the February, 2007 Commentary Magazine. 

Everything You Wanted to Know about NOW

Want to know more about the National Organization for Women?  Want to examine its politics?  Discover the Networks.org ("A Guide to the Political Left") has the essential information you need to know.   Click here.

Conservatives Need to Reinvent Themselves

So says Joseph Farah in a stimulating article.   Consider these two paragraphs:

.  .  .  Conservatism is also hopelessly inadequate as an agenda because of its near total reliance on "politics" as the battle ground. The real battle for the hearts and minds of the people doesn't take place in election cycles. It takes place every day when they watch television, when they read their newspapers, when they go to church, when they go the movies, when they send their children to school, when they listen to music, when they go to college.

Those are all battlegrounds where core values are shaped. Those cultural institutions are almost totally out of the control of conservatives. They will not be won back because of any election victories. At the same time, election victories become tougher and tougher for conservatives because of the power their adversaries have over the culture.   (See here for more)

Dialog on Iraq: Max Boot and Victor Davis Hanson

One of the finest introductions to the current situation in Iraq can be found in the dialog below.  I am indebted to Hugh Hewitt for pointing his readers to it.  He points his readers to Contentions, the blog of Commentary Magazine. 

Boot I

Hanson I

Boot II

Hanson II

Boot III

Hanson III

Boot IV

Hanson IV