ELSEWHERE

Jimmy Carter the "projectionist" : "He ends on the biggest whopper of the evening: "Elsewhere, North Korea's nuclear menace, a threat far more real and immediate than any posed by Saddam Hussein, has been allowed to advance unheeded." Does anyone remember who brokered the 1994 deal in which the Clinton administration agreed to provided food and oil to North Korea, in exchange for its promise not to develop nuclear weapons-a promise the North Koreans promptly broke, allowing them to threaten us with a nuclear bomb today? That's right: it was Jimmy Carter. This is the same psychological projection Carter employed in 1979. Back then, he suffered a crisis of confidence that left him paralyzed before the fateful challenges of the day-yet he projected his malaise onto the America people."

Leftist "projection": A quote from the 1976 book, "The Russians," by former New York Times Moscow correspondent Hedrick Smith. Smith interviewed Valentin Turchin, a dissident scientist and close friend of Andrei Sakharov. Turchin said, "Homo Sovieticus is like the prostitute who believes that all women are whores because she is. Soviet man believes that the whole world is divided into parties and that every man is a member of one party or another, and there is no real honesty. No one stands for the truth. And if anyone says he is above Party and is trying to speak the truth alone, he is lying. People can travel to the West and hear Western radio broadcasts and it makes no difference, as long as there is this pervasive cynicism that it is just the other side speaking."

Sowell on ignoring the obvious: "A record-breaking new class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart claims the retail chain discriminates against women, for which of course vast millions of dollars are demanded. The New York Times aptly summarized the case: 'about 65 percent of the company's hourly paid workers are women, but only 33 percent of its managers are.' The grand fallacy of our times is [that] various groups would be equally represented in institutions and occupations if it were not for discrimination. This preconception has undermined, if not destroyed, the crucial centuries-old legal principle that the burden of proof is on the accuser. ... In many ... situations, women have avoided jobs that demand such long hours of work, or so much travel, that it would caring for their children virtually impossible. The biggest difference in income is between married women and everyone else. Women who never married have long held their own economically."

Morgan Spurlock brought his 'Super Size Me' sideshow to Capitol Hill yesterday. Sharing the stage was the animal rights-supported Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a controversial group which, despite its name, has very few medical doctor members. It does, however, have close ties to radical groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA), and militants from Animal Liberation Front and Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty. So what's missing from Mr. Spurlock's sideshow? Facts."

Cultural anti-Americanism: "Riots, vandalism, raucous protests -- we're all familiar with hard-edged displays of anti-Americanism abroad these days. But this pernicious envy also takes other forms. Not all of them involve demonstrators screaming slogans or throwing stones, nor do they all take place in the street. This 'soft' anti-Americanism rarely makes the headlines. Let's take a look at one such case. An alliance of about 60 governments called the International Network on Cultural Policy will meet in Shanghai, China, in October to denounce freer trade in cultural products, such as films, books, and television programs."

Good step in the U.K.: "New powers to tackle animal rights extremists by clamping down on protests outside people's homes and providing further protection for companies against harassment are to be announced later this week by David Blunkett, the home secretary. He is expected to introduce a specific criminal offence of protesting outside someone's home in an intimidating way and to make it an arrestable offence to return to someone's home after being found guilty of aggressive behaviour." Animal-rights terrorists should be targeted as heavily as any other terrorists.

A brief article here on George Washington as a slave-owner. Australia has managed quite well without ANY "founding fathers" so has been spared such embarrassments.

Although I admire America as the most moral and most generous country the world has ever known, there are a few ways in which I do feel sorry for Americans. One is that they will never understand "Royal fever"! More here. Subjects of traditional monarchies (and I am one) don't need "founding fathers". They have continuity and tradition instead. What Americans took two bloody civil wars to arrive at (independence and central government dominance) Australia arrived at without shedding a drop of blood. Australia started out as a military dictatorship and two of my own ancestors came to this country chained up as cargo in the holds of sailing ships but Australia arrived at roughly where America is simply by patience, moderation and civility -- things which characterize Australians to this day. Not being founded by communistic religious fanatics was clearly a considerable advantage for us. More here.

For more postings, see GREENIE WATCH and POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH. Mirror sites here and here

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Puzzle: Leftists always say that human nature is fundamentally good and that people can be trusted. So why do they say that whilst at the same time wanting to regulate everybody to death and take as many decisions and choices out of the hands of the individual as they possibly can? Easy: They say that about human nature because, if it is true, then THEY are good at heart and can be trusted -- and, given their destructive deeds, they need all the propaganda help they can get in that regard.

The conflict between conservatives and Leftists is not usually a conflict between realists and idealists. Mostly it is a conflict between realists and people who will say anything to win applause

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