GERMAN FAILURE AGAIN

Socialism is very German (Marx and Engels were German, not to mention a certain National Socialist -- and Bismarck made Germany the world's first welfare State in the late 19th century) -- unfortunately for Germans

Koerber is one of 145,000 Germans who fled the fatherland last year amid record postwar unemployment, pushing emigration to its highest level since 1954, Federal Statistics Office figures show. Last year was also the first since the late 1960s that emigrants outnumbered Germans returning home from living abroad, the statistics office said. Even more troubling to German officials and business leaders, many were skilled workers like Koerber. The loss of such people, they say, may threaten Germany's economic competitiveness in the future.

"Many highly qualified young people are leaving our country to seek their fortunes elsewhere, while only very few top people have been attracted to Germany in recent years,'' said Ludwig Georg Braun, president of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, which represents more than 3 million companies. ``This development is causing us growing concern."

Unemployment reached 5.2 million, the highest level since World War II, in February 2005. Joblessness has declined since Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats took office last November. Still, the unemployment rate stood at 8.2 percent in June, according to internationally comparable figures published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. By the OECD's reckoning, the jobless rates in neighboring Austria and Switzerland were 4.9 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.

"People say things aren't getting better in Germany, and nothing's going to change any time soon,'' said historian Simone Eick, director of the German Emigration Center in the northern port city of Bremerhaven. Indeed, ``some indicators suggest that this may be the start of mass emigration."

For Koerber, the decision to leave was largely one of taxes. In Germany, where the highest tax bracket starts at 52,152 euros ($66,600), he would have to pay 42 percent of every euro above that level. In addition, the German value-added tax -- a kind of national sales levy -- is 16 percent, which is scheduled to rise three percentage points next year. ``I only get 25 percent deducted from my salary and that includes everything,'' said Koerber of his pay packet in Canada. ``And I'm in the highest tax bracket!'' The goods and services tax in Alberta is 6 percent, cut from 7 percent in July, he said.

Other German expatriates cite what they say is the over- regimentation of the labor force. ``Life in Germany is totally over-regulated,'' said Christian Kaestner, 38, an attorney who moved from Munich to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1997. ``There are hardly any freedoms left, and you keep bumping into regulations and prohibitions.''

Today's emigrants are likely to choose Canada, New Zealand and Australia, or, within Europe, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands. An estimated 2,300 German doctors are working in Switzerland, more than 8 percent of the Swiss total, said the Bern-based FMH Swiss Medical Association. Taking into account gross pay, taxes, insurance and the cost of living, doctors make more money in Switzerland, said Matthias Dettmer, 31, an assistant pathologist in Zurich from the southern German city of Tuebingen. He makes more than double his former colleagues in Germany, who earn what he calls a ``cleaner's pay.''

More here.

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ELSEWHERE



The Communist roots of Islamic terrorism: "Modern terrorism was born within a year, 1967-1968. International socialists (communists) started the fashion all over the world simultaneously, which should make us suspicious about the common roots. National socialists followed suit, turning Marxists of Muslim origin into Islamists of Marxist origin. In May 18th, 1967, Yuri Andropov took over the leadership of the KGB. The Russian security services evolved into a state within the Soviet state, as it became clear when Andropov became the communist party's general secretary after Leonid Brezhnev's death, in 1982. During Andropov's era, which was far longer than that of any other KGB chief, the Soviet secret services supported international terrorism through satellite states and Marxist "liberation fronts". "On becoming chairman of the KGB in 1967, Andropov immediately announced his intention to revive KGB 'special actions' as an essential tool of Soviet policy during the Cold War."

A JUDGE to raise wages?? "The federal receiver in charge of fixing California's prison health care system asked a judge Tuesday to bypass the bureaucracy in Sacramento and grant $24 million in raises to medical workers in order to attract more of them to the state's penal institutions. Saying he was skeptical of the state's excuses for inaction on salary adjustments, receiver Robert Sillen asked U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson to raise pay by up to 64 percent.... Sillen's "motion for a waiver of state law" was his first exercise of muscle since Henderson last winter hired him to bring the prison medical system into compliance with constitutional standards for humane care. A judicial order at the time specified that if the state put up legal or other roadblocks, Sillen should ask Henderson to set them aside. Sillen on Tuesday told Henderson that staffing vacancies -- 44 percent among X-ray technicians, for example, and 42 percent among pharmacists -- are crippling his efforts."

Why Michiganders are moving out: "Liberals dissatisfied with the Bush economy have, through the wonders of federalism, an alternative. They can move to Michigan. The state represents a rough approximation of ideal liberal economic policy. It is heavily unionized, taxed, and regulated in a failed attempt to close its eyes to the dynamic forces of the market and globalization all around it. This stew has helped make Michigan the economic sick man of the Midwest. It is suffering from a one-state recession all its own, mostly because it has failed to foster the most profound economic force in the universe - opportunity. The state has been losing out to more business-friendly environs both overseas and in other states for decades, but has refused to adapt accordingly."

The State: An Anecdote: "Reported in "Harper's Index" (Harper's, October 2006, page 13): Minimum amount of USDA farm subsidies since 2000 that have been paid out to people who do not farm: $1,300,000,000. That's $1.3 billion. One program. And this by an institution -- the state -- that many conservatives trust to build nations abroad and many left-liberals trust to make better decisions for each of us individually than each of us individually will make for ourselves."

Some new cities outsource city hall: ""Newly formed cities are giving the keys to city hall to private companies that say they can run a government better than bureaucrats. Mayors in 'contract cities' say they get better services for less money; more flexibility, because private employees can be hired and fired more easily than workers under civil service rules; and lower debt, because they can own fewer buildings and less equipment."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and EYE ON BRITAIN. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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AMERICAN LEFTISTS AND THE RECENT WAR IN LEBANON

Kofi Annan has recently stated that Israel's "excessive use of force is to be condemned," and in a recent interview taken during the war, Jimmy Carter said, "I think they should declare an immediate cease-fire on both sides, Hezbollah said they would comply, I hope Israel will comply, and then do the long, slow, tedious negotiation that is necessary to stabilize the northern border of Israel completely." And while we're at it, let's try to diplomatically work out a long, slow, tedious negotiation between a full bathtub and a plugged-in toaster.

This military action was apparently also upsetting too many liberals back in America who believe that the only good Jew besides Al Franken, Barbara Streisand and Arthur Sulzberger is the kind that have been used to wash your body with in the shower. Yes, American liberals are just fed up with Israel not staying put when bestial player-hating Muslims push its buttons, and they are absolutely outraged when Israel dares strike back when they are messed with (don't those Jews know their whole "eye for an eye" thing was rendered obsolete by Gandhi?), not to mention the American Jews back home from those scheming neo-cons (code word for "Jews") like Paul Wolfowitz to obstinate Democratic deserters like Joe Lieberman (the only man liberals would call a traitor), who simply believe in the concept of self-defense for both the U.S. and its close Jewish ally. Liberals would sooner defend the "right" of an Arab Muslim to defend himself from the impending threat of a bus filled with women and children by blowing himself up in it than they would Israel protecting itself.

Liberals also like to shroud their anti-Semitism with the claim that it is not Jews they are against, but the Israelis because of their alleged "belligerence" - a term that was used against Israel in a statement made by the organizers of the Locarno International Film Festival, who dropped the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a festival sponsor this year. Belligerence? Are they talking about when Ariel Sharon went against the will of his Likud Party and withdrew from Gaza, which only preceded daily firings of rockets into Jewish communities? Or the belligerence demonstrated by Ehud Olmert's plan to evacuate the Jews from 95 percent of Judea and Samaria - all land they won fair and square after the war of 1967 - which the Arabs felt so grateful for that they kidnapped two Israelis and provoked what was the doormat of the world and then wasn't for a few weeks?

Why can't we just let the Jews finish the fight? A lot more bloodshed lies in the way of securing peace - which is an absolute imperative. Let's get it over with. If Israel can take out Saddam Hussein's Osirak nuclear facility as they did in 1981, they could also do the same with Iran - a rogue nation led by the new Hitler of the Middle East which they are already indirectly dealing with by attempting to wipe out from Lebanon the Iran-sponsored Hezbollah terrorist group.

More here

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ELSEWHERE

New dawn for Sweden? "A centre-Right alliance led by Moderate Party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt won power in Sweden today, ending 12 years of Social Democrat rule. The Moderates had promised to lower taxes and trim the welfare state. Social Democrat Prime Minister Goran Persson, one of Europe's longest-serving leaders, has conceded defeat after 10 years in office. He will quit as party leader. According to almost complete results from Sweden's Election Commission, the four-party opposition bloc had won 48 per cent of votes to 46.2 per cent for Mr Persson and his allies. Taking the stage with his arms raised, a jubilant Reinfeldt told supporters, "We campaigned as the New Moderates. We won as the New Moderates, and together with our alliance partners we will rule Sweden as the New Moderates".



When will the nonsense about Islam stop? "The hardline Muslims who took to burning churches this weekend in the wake of Pope Benedict's remarks supposedly linking Islam to violence seem to have proved his point. In keeping with the ludicrous over-reaction to a Danish newspaper's decision last year to publish cartoons featuring the prophet Mohammed, churches around the world have been firebombed and death threats issued." [Pope protest in Srinagar above is a picture worth 1,000 words]

No dialogue with Islam possible: "The irony of this row is that it is the opposite of what the Pope was trying to achieve. Benedict ended his speech by hoping for a new dialogue between the sciences, religions and cultures "which is so urgently needed today". It looks, from this miserable episode, as if you can only have a conversation that deals - however remotely - with Islam on Muslim terms. Not much of a dialogue, then."

The Anchoress has a very detailed coverage of the controversy over the Pope's speech.

Australia's Islamic neighbour: "Indonesia is in the middle of an explosive debate about whether conservative Islamic morality will become enforceable law in that nation of 230 million. It is a debate that threatens to unravel the secular foundation of the republic itself. Amid street protests, the DPR, Indonesia's newly democratic legislature, is debating a reactionary Anti-Pornography Bill that is really an attempt to introduce hardline interpretations of sharia (Islamic law) by stealth. The bill would criminalise much sexuality, force women to cover up almost completely, largely exclude them from public space and tightly censor the arts and media.

The maker of the "Path to 9/11" TV series reports: "I am neither an activist, politician or partisan, nor an ideologue of any stripe. What I am is a writer who takes his job very seriously, as do most of my colleagues: Also, one who recently took on the most distressing and important story it will ever fall to me to tell. I considered it a privilege when asked to write the script for "The Path to 9/11." I felt duty-bound from the outset to focus on a single goal--to represent our recent pre-9/11 history as the evidence revealed it to be. The American people deserve to know that history: They have paid for it in blood. Like all Americans, I wish it were not so. I wish there were no terrorists. I wish there had been no 9/11. I wish we could squabble among ourselves in assured security. But wishes avail nothing. My Iranian parents fled tyranny and oppression. I know and appreciate deeply the sanctuary America has offered.... Clearly, those enraged that a film would criticize the Clinton administration's antiterrorism policies--though critical of its successor as well--were willing to embrace only one scenario: The writer was a conservative hatchetman."

IL: Veto of "living wage" law stands: "The so-called 'living-wage' ordinance that would have required mega-retailers here to pay their workers higher wages was successfully turned back Wednesday as supporters on the City Council could not muster enough votes to override Mayor Richard Daley's veto. Daley, who vetoed the ordinance this week saying it would cost the city jobs and hurt people who need those jobs the most, was able to convince enough aldermen who voted in favor of the ordinance in July to change their votes. The vote was 31-18 in favor of overriding the veto -- three short of the necessary votes to do so."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and EYE ON BRITAIN. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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"Progressives" aren't progressive

A follow-on from my post of 15th.:

It's usually the people on the Left who joyfully choose to be called "progressive"-there are several left of center and far Left publications that contain "progressive" in their title, for example. In this instance, however, the designation fails to fit altogether. That is because instead of moving forward, getting away from past practices, in short, instead of making progress, those on the Left are actually regressive, even reactionary, in their politics. I give you one major example.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the fathers of the modern Left, proposed, in their Communist Manifesto, as their first order of business the abolition of private property. They and thousands of intellectuals who followed in their ideological lead over the last century and a half have believed, often sincerely, that this made them all progressives. But that is just not so.

In the era prior to the rise of modern capitalism there was virtually no acknowledgement of the right to private property for all but some at the top. It is government-by way of the monarch such as the king or czar or pharaoh-who was deemed to own everything. So when ordinary folks like you and me occupied and worked some plot of land, for example, the government had to grant this privilege. We had no right to private property, only a grant of privilege and we all had to pay taxes for it to boot. (Remember that Robin Hood didn't steal from the rich but from those who took taxes from us all, seeing how unjust this was!)

Clearly, then, the rejection of private property rights was part and parcel of much of pre-capitalist political economy, where it was government that deemed itself authorized to grant people rights. The idea that the individual has a natural-pre-political, pre-legal-right to private property was a radical, actually progressive notion which unseated government from its high and mighty position, robbed it of its phony sovereignty.

Contemporary Leftist "progressives," then, want to return to something very old fashioned and misguided, namely, the idea that government is supreme and we are all its subjects. (Sadly, the U. S. Supreme Court has given them support in this recently, via its July 2005 ruling in Kelo v. City of New London, Ct.) There is absolutely nothing progressive about what the Left wants and please realize that the term is applied either because of rank ignorance or as a simple ruse. The Left is, in fact, reactionary and regressive.

More here

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BRITISH BLOGGING

Judging from my emails, most readers of my blogs are American or Australian. Since I blog from Australia about mostly American issues, that is not at all surprising. I am a little disappointed however that I have so few British readers. I in fact give quite a wide coverage to British news and views on my blogs but the coverage is scattered across several blogs so it may not be obvious to British readers that I am, among other things, a "British blogger". In case it helps me to communicate more with British readers, therefore, I have decided to round up all the "British" posts from my various blogs every day and put them up all together on a single, separate blog. Once I have prepared something for posting, it takes me only seconds to put it up elsewhere so the new blog will not be any appreciable burden on my time. The new blog is now up and running and is called "Eye on Britain". I would be obliged if anybody who knows Brits would direct their attention to it.

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ELSEWHERE

I had rather a good weekend just past. I have put up a brief memoir of it here.

Victory for the American taxpayers: "Pardon me. I must crow. The public just won a big one. And it was in spite of little or no coverage in the mainstream press, not to mention underhanded trickery in the U.S. Senate. This major milestone was the passage in the U.S. Senate of a bill to increase budget accountability and transparency by establishing a public database to track federal grants and contracts. The Senate passed S.2590 on September 7, 2006 and the House passed HR 5060 on June 21, 2006. Both votes were unanimous."

The grand tax illusion: "Let us put ourselves into the position of those complaining. Wages should rise -- a noble goal. How, exactly, are we to achieve this? By what mechanism are we going to reshuffle the current distribution of income so that more flows into the moth-eaten wallets of the hardworking US citizens? Simple: Abolish the Corporate Income Tax .... For, you see, corporations don't actually pay taxes. Only people pay taxes. This is an idea called "tax incidence". It means that people we think aren't being taxed are in fact coughing up the dough demanded by a specific impost... as a working paper from the Congressional Budget Office tells us: "domestic labor bears slightly more than 70 percent of the burden of the corporate income tax."

Religious leaders bash the global market: "Religious activists are more outspoken than ever about the problem of global poverty. So why do they so often and so energetically attack multinational corporations -- the very organizations that are helping developing nations create jobs and grow through broader trade relations? To a certain way of thinking in religious circles, large global corporations are often perceived to make excessive profits, exploit the poor, damage the environment and exercise undue influence on governments -- especially struggling democratic nations in the developing world. In many ways, these companies are visible and easy targets for the anti-globalization crowd."

Strange new idea in SF: Enforce the law: "San Francisco police will begin enforcing the city's long-ignored curfew for young teenagers, send authorities to truants' homes and flood high-crime neighborhoods with officers on overtime as part of a $3.7 million package of measures that Mayor Gavin Newsom hopes will turn back a surge of violence in the city. The package emerged from meetings among mayoral aides, judges, probation officials, prosecutors and police that Newsom convened as the city's homicide rate spiked in recent weeks. Sixty-six people have been slain in San Francisco this year; at that pace, the year's total would about equal last year's 10-year high of 96 homicides. The plan would make greater use of laws already on the books and provide more money for existing strategies, disappointing some critics of Newsom who had called for a sweeping attack on crime that would include new social programs."

Voting shouldn't require a heroic act of patience: "Of all the issues that decide federal elections, the length of lines at polling stations shouldn't be one of them. Yet, as egregious as that would be, they may. And as implausible as that would be, nobody seems to care. After two straight close presidential elections, the 2006 midterms and the 2008 election are likely to be nail-biters, too. This means that the integrity of the election process matters more than ever. Is there cause for concern? Yes. Consider the 2000 presidential election. George W. Bush won the presidency by a margin of just 537 votes in Florida. Assume (optimistically) that all the voters were properly registered and marked their preferred candidate, and that no voting machines malfunctioned. Even then, if only 538 Floridians who came to the precincts did not vote due to the widely reported long lines, the election outcome would be in doubt."

Remember Reno!: "The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an established sect. Many FLDS families in the Utah and Arizona communities have lived there since well before the two states were formed. ... FLDS polygamists are peaceful people, engaged in what appear to be consensual living arrangements. Yet the federal government has described Jeffs, who was unarmed and did not resist arrest, as extremely dangerous. In May, the polygamist was placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, alongside Bin Laden. As the polygamists become part of the media's demonology, we'd do well to remember another crusading prosecutor, Attorney General Janet Reno."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and EYE ON BRITAIN. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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Bush policies are here to stay

From an Australian commentator:

One of the greatest mistakes the opponents of George W. Bush in the US, and of John Howard in Australia, perennially make is to consider the respective leaders as aberrations and to think, therefore, that they represent odd cul-de-sacs of history. Closely allied to this is the rooted faith that once the dark leader, winner of dark victories through dark satanic methods, passes from the scene, the nation will return to normal. However, Bush and Howard represent the absolute mainstream of their nations in domestic as well as foreign policy.

Surely, you say, the neo-conservative excesses of Bush's foreign policy are sui generis. Consider this classic Bush formulation: "If a nation shows that it knows how to act with decency ... then it need fear no interference from the US ... but brutal wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilised society, may finally require intervention by some civilised nation ... the US cannot ignore this duty."

That's about as crisp a version of the neo-con idea as you could get. But actually I'm kidding when I say it is a Bush formulation. The words come to us from more than a century ago, from Theodore Roosevelt. Yet in his book Diplomacy, Henry Kissinger sets up TR as the ultimate foreign policy realist, the opposite pole to Woodrow Wilson and his liberal internationalism. The most astute analysts of US foreign policy see much more continuity than radical change in Bush, especially when the magnitude of the 9/11 terror attacks of five years ago is added. It would have been inconceivable, and utterly inconsistent with US history, for Washington not to have responded with great vigour to the 9/11 attacks.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that I think whatever happens in the November mid-term congressional elections, and then in the presidential election of 2008, it is most likely the broad elements of Bush's foreign policy will stay. There may well be a repudiation of the Bush personality in either or both of these elections. However, there almost certainly won't be a fundamental change of course. By the time Bush ends his presidency in 2008 (technically in January 2009), he will have influenced directly four national elections. He won the presidency in 2000 and was re-elected with an increased majority in 2004. He also oversaw very large Republican gains in the mid-term congressional elections in 2002. In this year's congressional elections, it is most likely the Democrats will make gains. All of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate and 36 governorships will be up for grabs. Local issues will influence many of these contests, but it is fair to see them in some measure as a referendum on Bush and in particular on the conduct of the war in Iraq.

The campaign in Iraq is not going well and is not especially popular. But the politics of this are extremely complex. I am drawn to the argument by Harvard Law School professor William Stuntz that the US public attitude is not so much get out now but, rather, win or get out. In other words, Americans will continue to support the Iraq operation provided the Bush administration can tell a convincing story about the value of what the US is doing there....

However, it is in some senses easier to predict that the next presidential election will not produce drastic change in US policy. This analysis proceeds from two factors: the politicians likely to be involved and the structural forces at work in the world. On the Republican side, the frontrunner is Arizona senator John McCain. He is critical of the Bush administration on issues such as the treatment of detainees, but he would put more troops into Iraq to make sure the victory is won. He is also if anything more hawkish than Bush on Iran. He says, for example, that the only thing worse than the US bombing Iran's nuclear facilities would be a nuclear-armed Iran. The other highly prominent Republican is former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. He came to prominence entirely as a result of the 9/11 terror attacks and would run hard on national security, as would any of the other Republican contenders.

On the Democratic side the leading candidate is Hillary Clinton. She has a ton of money and would be an extremely formidable candidate. Since entering the Senate she has assiduously established her national security credentials. She serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She backed the war in Iraq. She sponsored legislation to ban the burning of the US flag. She strongly backed Israel in its recent conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Former vice-president Al Gore has become famous for his environmental campaigns but in office he was the most hawkish member of the Clinton administration. John Kerry, the loser last time, tried to run as the military candidate. All these Democrats understand that they cannot win an election unless some southern conservative states believe they can manage national security.

This will dovetail with the structural factors at work in the world. Any US president will continue the war on terror vigorously. And any US president will have to deal with the situation in Iraq as it exists and will not want to create a strategic disaster by immediate, total disengagement.

Here's a final thought. The body language of the Bush administration regarding Iran looks to me as though it is not planning to let Iran progress to nuclear weapons. A US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities by Bush before the end of his administration strikes me as at least an even money bet. And that, of course, would transform and polarise the politics of the US once again. If you don't like the US now - or if you do - you'll probably feel the same way in two or three years.

More here

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Brookes News Update

The economic lesson the US economy can teach Japan : The lesson for Japan is to follow the American example of allowing markets greater flexibility in eliminating malinvestments. The alternative leads to economic stagnation
The Australian economy, recession and monetary policy: The surge in manufacturing is entirely due to the Reserve's reckless monetary expansion. Even if this monetary injection is sufficient to avert an imminent recession it will only be delaying the inevitable
The Australian economy and the export-growth myth: Although it's indisputable that a falling dollar will tend to encourage export growth, it's simply fallacious to think this will generate economic growth"
The media vs. the war on terror: While President Bush and Prime Ministers Blair and Howard wage war on Islamic terrorism the ABC, CBS and NBC try to subvert the war by falsely accusing the Administration's terror-fighting tactics as being dangerous, abusive and illegal. But don't dare question these lefty journos' patriotism
Beneath the veil of 'media objectivity' and Republicans: The Fourth Estate hates Republicans, particularly the likes of Senator Rick Santorum who actually behaves like a Republican in the vast majority of cases
The more times change, the more things stay the same: In 1929, the Arabs rampaged through Hebron, on a killing spree that managed to almost wipe out the Jewish population. Now, their grandchildren and great grandchildren have attempted a similar act with their recent massacre in Hebron
The World Trade Center: The movie Spielberg should have made: I just returned from seeing 'The World Trade Center'. In my opinion this is the film Spielberg should have made. Instead of mocking the murders of Israeli athletes at Munich. Evidently Spielberg's spin on history doesn't bother with truth

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC and AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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A STUPID KRAUT

Prof. Dr. Gert Weisskirchen is a stupid Kraut and I want to tell you why. For a start, Kraut is the German word for cabbage and -- perhaps due to their liking for Sauerkraut (sour cabbage) -- it has become a contemptuous term for Germans generally. It was a term much used in two world wars during which Germans killed a lot of people.

In this month's British report on antisemitism, Prof Weisskirchen describes the causes of antisemitism as follows:

"Nationalistic or right-wing populist movements are trying to gain a foothold to varying degrees in all European States. Apart from bringing chauvinistic longings up to date, the common elements in their rationale are the emphasis on authoritarian thinking, the stirring up of resentment towards established parties and the mobilization of right-wing extremist attitudes in the form of xenophobia or even open racism and antisemitism.

A wealth of studies, beginning with the sociological writings of Theodor W. Adorno more than 60 years ago, demonstrate that xenophobia and modern versions of ethnic and racist sentiments with antisemitic prejudices are the most significant features of right-wing extremism and populism. Although they sometimes do without the key trappings of classic Fascism and Nazism, they still make use of its arsenal of discriminatory and denigrating contemptuous prejudices. In accordance with the classic scapegoat mechanism, foreigners are held responsible for whatever social problems exist, such as unemployment and failing social systems, and are disparaged as social parasites who dispute the right of the native population to the country's wealth. As a group they are ostracized as "disruptive factors" who need to be removed. Behind the "new" forms of antisemitism the old core still remains. If preventive measures are not taken to combat antisemitism at its source it will turn into a "social disease" that infests society, gradually eating it up from within and finally destroying it.

So "nationalistic or right-wing populist movements" are the prime source of antisemitism. There is absolutely no mention of Islam or Leftist "antizionism", which are by far the main forms of antisemitism today. Could the fact that the professor is also a socialist member of the German parliament have something to do with that? In his other writings he does occasionally mention Islam and European antizionism but he never mentions that antizionism is mainly Leftist nor does he discuss causes of any form of antisemitism other than "rightist" antisemitism. Apparently the causes of Leftist and Islamic antisemitism either do not exist or must not be examined.

And the amusing thing is that the alleged origins of rightist antisemitism that he mentions derive from one of the most discredited pieces of work in the whole of the social sciences -- the claims about psychological "authoritarianism" by Marxist theoretician Theodor Wiesengrund (aka Adorno). If Prof. Weisskirchen were a chemist, he would still be talking about "phlogiston".

Below are some of the books (not to mention hundreds of academic journal articles -- e.g here) that demolish in various ways the Adorno psychological theories that Prof. Weisskirchen believes in.

Altemeyer, R. (1981). Right-wing authoritarianism. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press.

Christie, R. & Jahoda, M. (1954) Studies in the scope and method of "The authoritarian personality". Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press.

McKinney, D.W. (1973) The authoritarian personality studies. The Hague: Mouton.

Kirscht, J.P. & Dillehay, R.C. (1967) "Dimensions of authoritarianism: A review of research and theory. Lexington: Univ. Kentucky Press

The Altemeyer book is particularly interesting. Altemeyer rather likes the Adorno theory but he devotes the first half of his book to a comprehensive literature review (up to about 1973) of all the vast body of research on the theory -- and finds that none of all that evidence actually supports the theory!

How stupid do you have to be still to accept such a theory?

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The scribble above is the new logo of the British Conservative party. How pathetic can you get? Background here. That the British Tories are now "green" seems to be the only message in it.

Change coming in Sweden? "Astonishing as it seems, it is just possible that on Sunday Swedes will throw out the centre-left Social Democrats who have governed them for all but nine of the past 74 years... But whether the centre-right alliance wins on Sunday or not, there are plenty of signs that the dream has darkened. It is costing too much, and immigration is straining the unspoken contract under which Swedes were happy to pay the Government for what they were confident they would later receive. The young challenger who threatens to topple G”ran Persson from his ten-year premiership is Fredrik Reinfeldt, who has been compared with David Cameron for his success in stitching together a coalition from the demoralised and fractured opposition on the Right. At 41, he would be Sweden's youngest prime minister. But he has been less coy than Cameron about campaigning for lower taxes, as well as for cutting unemployment benefits and demanding results from schools and healthcare. He may have struck a chord. Swedes are fed up with their high tax rates - and loathe the property tax of about 1 per cent of the value of a typical house.

Rare wisdom from a centre-Left government: "The [British] Government has pledged to use legislation to block the imposition of heavy-handed Wall Street-style regulation on the City if the London Stock Exchange is taken over by a foreign buyer. Users of the London market welcomed the promise, by Ed Balls, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, that the Financial Services Authority would be given the statutory right to veto rule changes proposed by recognised exchanges, including the LSE, if these were "disproportionate" in their impact on London. Mr Balls said in Hong Kong: "The Government's interest in this area is specific and clear: to safeguard the light touch and proportionate regulatory regime that has made London a magnet for international business." By contrast, the imposition on Wall Street of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act in response to accounting scandals such as Enron is seen as making it more difficult for New York to attract new issues. Nasdaq, the New York market, has 25.3 per cent of the LSE"

Unilateral moral disarmament: "As I write, it is one week after the Atrocity. And while we prepare for war, we ask ourselves, again and again, two questions: Why? Why would anyone be motivated to commit such a horror? How? How could the most powerful nation on earth let it happen? The answer in both cases is philosophical."

Geniuses get fewer hangovers: "High IQ scores may do more than separate geniuses from those of lesser intelligence, they could also be an indication of how much clever people are likely to suffer from hangovers. New research by Scottish scientists suggests that smart people are less likely to repeatedly experience the excruciating headache, nausea, dry mouth and sensitivity to light and sound that can follow a heavy night out. "The main finding of this study was that higher IQ scores at 11 years of age were associated with a reduced risk of alcohol induced hangovers in middle age," said Dr David Batty of the University of Edinburgh. In a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Dr Batty and his colleagues looked at IQ test scores of 11-year-olds taken in Aberdeen in 1962 and sent questionnaires to them between 2000-2003 asking about their drinking habits. Responses from more than 7000 showed a higher IQ score was associated with a lower prevalence of hangovers."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC and AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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"Progressives" HATE progress

From my earliest curiosities concerning politics, I had an overriding concern that I believed everyone shared: What is the social, political, and economic system that is consistent with human flourishing, justice, and morality? After a long intellectual struggle, the answer has become quite focused: Society tends to thrive under freedom -- economic, cultural and political freedom.

When I see countries that are slowly leaving inhumane despotism behind and embracing freedom, how can I but rejoice? In China, Indonesia, India and Latin America, where there was poverty, dictatorship and death, there is now rising prosperity, hope and life.

Strangely, the political left does not share this joy. They bad-mouth and disparage it. Reading over course curricula, journals, magazines and blogs, one finds a return to the same points again and again: The environment is being abused. There are too many cars. The population is rising too fast. The distribution of wealth is unequal. Traditions are being lost.

Some concerns have legitimacy, but others are absurd, such as about population. Why regret that more people are living longer through better medical care and nutrition? Why regret the loss of the coercive regime that mandated only one child per family? Why regret the presence of the greatest economic resource of all: namely, people? Mao Zedong slaughtered millions. "Capitalist" China is allowing millions to live....

The perverse consequence is that liberals and socialists regret prosperity and strain gnats to find flaws in social progress.

More here

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Iraq in bed with Iran! "Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki-who spent years in Iran during his exile from the Saddam Hussein regime-made his first official visit to Iran Tuesday, September 12, 2006 -five years and a day after the cataclysmic jihad terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. Mr. al-Maliki was greeted warmly by Iranian President Ahmadinejad. The meeting reflected growing economic ties between Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and the Shi'ite theocracy of neighboring Iran. Last month Baghdad finalized deals for Tehran to provide it with gasoline, kerosene and cooking fuel amid a shortage in Iraq. Immediately prior to al-Maliki's visit, a separate Iraqi delegation discussed additional petroleum deals, including possible Iranian investment in Iraq's fuel sector. Accompanied by mutual expressions of "brotherhood", the two Shi'ite leaders-al-Maliki and Ahmadinejad-pledged continued cooperation."

The Pope gets it: "The Pope has hit out at Islam and its concept of holy war during one of the last public appearances of his six-day visit to his Bavarian homeland. The thinly veiled attack by Benedict XVI on extremist Islam's justification for suicide bombings and other forms of terrorism came in a complex theological lecture to staff and students at the University of Regensburg, where the former Joseph Ratzinger taught theology in the 1970s. Using the words "jihad" and "holy war" in his lecture, the Pope quoted criticisms of the Prophet Mohammed by a 14th-century Byzantine Christian emperor, Manuel II Paleologos, in a contemporary debate with a learned Persian. "The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the Pope said. "He said, I quote: 'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."'

Australia says: "Speak English" "All new Australian citizens would have to pass English tests under a plan to be announced soon by the Howard Government within weeks. Thousands of migrants are refusing to take part in taxpayer-funded English courses each year and those applying for citizenship only need to show they understand the questions they are asked for citizenship to be granted. A decision on mandatory English tests for citizenship is to be announced soon by Andrew Robb, parliamentary secretary for immigration and multicultural affairs. "If these people want to reside here and take citizenship, they should have a functional grasp of English, that is why I have been canvassing the idea of a compulsory citizenship test with an English test component," Mr Robb told the Herald Sun. All new non-English speaking migrants would also be encouraged to have English lessons to help them integrate into Australian society. "We already have a compulsory test for skilled migrants"



Gas falls nearly 11 cents a gallon in a week: "The average U.S. retail price of gasoline fell by almost 11 cents last week to $2.62 a gallon -- the lowest it has been in more than five months. The federal Energy Information Administration said Monday that U.S. motorists paid $2.618 a gallon on average for regular grade last week, a decrease of 10.9 cents from the previous week."

AZ: Judge won't block voter ID law: "A federal judge on Monday refused to block a law that requires Arizona voters to present identification before casting a ballot. U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver's order came a day before Tuesday's primary, the first statewide election for which voters will be required to show identification. The law has already been used in some municipal elections. The 2004 law requires that voters at polling places produce government-issued picture ID or two pieces of other non-photo identification specified by the law. It also requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Parts of the law were aimed chiefly at illegal immigrants."

5 lessons from the first 5 years of war -- from Newt Gingrich: "Five years after 9/11, the thing we have most to be grateful for is the fact that we have not suffered another terrorist attack. This is largely because of the courage and determination of one man, President George W. Bush. Faced with the deliberate and horrific attacks on 9/11, President Bush instinctively understood that this was a war. He demonstrated his courage by taking that war to al Qaeda to protect the American people. That decision was the decisive break with the terrorism-as-a-criminal-act strategy and in direct contrast to the terrorism-as-a-nuisance mindset held by many."

Jihad? Purloined pig meat spoils fundraiser: "A thief with a taste for pork put a damper on a fundraiser for scholarships by making off with nearly 350 pounds of porkburgers and hog dogs, police said. Cromwell Town Marshal Rich Snyder said the 300 pounds of porkburgers and 48 pounds of hot dogs were taken either late Saturday or early Sunday from the Cromwell Community Center's walk-in freezer in the town about 35 miles northwest of Fort Wayne. The theft was discovered Sunday morning when members of the Cromwell-Kimmell Lions Club went to pick up the meat. The group had planned to sell porkburgers and hot dogs Sunday at the Stone's Trace festival to raise money for scholarships for West Noble High School students. Snyder said an investigation is under way into the burglary."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC and AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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"YE HAVE THE POOR ALWAYS WITH YOU" (Mt. 26:11)

Some of the people the Democrats want the taxpayer to look after below:

For a lot of people, winning the lottery is the American dream. But for many lottery winners, the reality is more like a nightmare. "Winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be," says Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice (1985, 1986), to the tune of $5.4 million. Today the money is all gone and Adams lives in a trailer....

William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security. "I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare," says Post.... Post even spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt. Post admitted he was both careless and foolish, trying to please his family. He eventually declared bankruptcy. Now he lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps.

Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million in the Virginia lottery in 1993. Now she's deeply in debt to a company that lent her money using the winnings as collateral. She borrowed $197,746.15, which she agreed to pay back with her yearly checks from the Virginia lottery through 2006. When the rules changed allowing her to collect her winnings in a lump sum, she cashed in the remaining amount. But she stopped making payments on the loan.

Ken Proxmire was a machinist when he won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. He moved to California and went into the car business with his brothers. Within five years, he had filed for bankruptcy. "He was just a poor boy who got lucky and wanted to take care of everybody," explains Ken's son Rick. "It was a hell of a good ride for three or four years, but now he lives more simply. There's no more talk of owning a helicopter or riding in limos. We're just everyday folk. Dad's now back to work as a machinist," says his son.

Willie Hurt of Lansing, Mich., won $3.1 million in 1989. Two years later he was broke and charged with murder. His lawyer says Hurt spent his fortune on a divorce and crack cocaine.

Charles Riddle of Belleville, Mich., won $1 million in 1975. Afterward, he got divorced, faced several lawsuits and was indicted for selling cocaine.

Missourian Janite Lee won $18 million in 1993. Lee was generous to a variety of causes, giving to politics, education and the community. But according to published reports, eight years after winning, Lee had filed for bankruptcy with only $700 left in two bank accounts and no cash on hand.

More here

Most poverty is behavioral, not financial

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There is a wonderful story here about the hunger for Christianity in Iran -- despite the risks from the Mullahs. Excerpt: "Though Iranians are tired of the government's religion, there is still great interest in spiritual things. This hunger is prevalent especially with the children of the 1979 revolution ignited by Ayatollah Khomeini's regime (over 50% of the total 70 million population) and who are seeking for answers beyond Islam. The good news is this: There is a tremendous openness and interest in Jesus Christ! The Christians in Iran, both from the over-ground and under-ground church, are keen evangelists and are more than ready to share Christ with the people despite the risks involved. Before any evangelistic effort, they will first pray and fast, sometimes for days, asking God to supernaturally guide them to people who are open. They then find that the Lord leads them in miraculous ways."

Listen to this colossal bit of feminist rubbish: "Many studies show a strong link in developed economies between low national birth rates and measures of gender inequality". The high birthrate in Muslim countiries and Africa goes with great female equality???

Who Is "Big Oil?": "When liberals and populist conservatives attack "Big Oil" for manipulating world markets, they're generally levying charges against capitalism and unfettered free markets. But who exactly is "Big Oil?" Believe it or not, "Big Oil" is actually "Big Socialism." The Economist recently looked at the largest oil companies in the world, and found that the thirteen largest oil companies in the world are all state-owned, where all profits go to national governments. These thirteen companies control 90 percent of the world's oil. Exxon Mobil, the largest publicly listed company in the world, comes in a measly fourteenth, and controls only a tiny share of the world' oil reserves."

Roman virtues: "You may think that a little African village in the bush has no government. In fact, it is all government, all the time. It is a collective that dominates the lives of its members and permits no competing institutions. In a sub-Saharan community, the individual appears to count for nothing. The family, the village, and the tribe are all. There is no privacy and little room for private life. Also, there are no aqueducts, and no roads or bridges built to last forever. There is no plumbing, and there are no Plinies. I believe that the primitive motivations of family and tribe are the roots of tyranny. This is a truth to which Rousseau was blind. His free and noble savage never existed. ... How fitting, I saw, that Rousseau's ideas should have become part of the architecture of socialist thought. But Rome transcended the family and the tribe. Rome did not respect all rights, but it protected many rights, including rights of property, at least in Pliny's time. Rome two thousand years ago was more like America today than is today's West Africa."

Lifestyles of the superrich and not so famous: "When I lecture to teenagers and twentysomethings here in the United States, I often ask members of the audience to 'raise your hand if you're wealthy.' Except for the young woman years ago who announced that her father owned a string of 7-11s, no one ever raises a hand. 'Oh but you are wealthy!' I insist. 'Each of us is among the wealthiest people ever to breathe.' My listeners think me mad. 'I'm middle-class, not rich' surely is what most of think to themselves. And they're right about being middle-class -- but they don't realize that to be middle-class in America today means to be superrich by historical standards."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC and AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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Democrat delusions

"On `This Week' recently, former co-host (and daughter of a former Democratic congressman) Cokie Roberts stunned host George Stephanopoulos when she said before the Connecticut primary that it would be a "disaster for the Democratic Party" if Lamont defeated Lieberman. "Pushing the party to the left," Roberts said, "is pushing the party to the position from which it traditionally loses."

The American people may not be happy with events in Iraq. But they do know, especially after events in Lebanon and the foiled British bomb plot, that we're in a war in which failure is not an option and for which repeating `Bush lied' is not a strategy. Americans will not put in power a party that accepts the proposition that global warming is a greater threat than terrorism, that thinks Wal-Mart is a plague on the poor and that wants to repeal the job-creating, economy-boosting and deficit-cutting Bush tax cuts. They will not put in power a party that thinks death is a taxable event and that success should be punished. They will not pass the reins to a party that denies us access to energy reserves offshore and in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and which thinks energy independence means building windmills and hugging caribou...

The Democrats think this year will be their 1994. As voters read the morning papers on their way to vote in November, and decide who should navigate these unsettled waters, the Democrats may well wake up the next day to find the Republicans still in power and Lieberman getting a congratulatory phone call from President Bush."

More here

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Islamic sleeping around: "For over a decade, the phenomenon of marriage without commitment, called misyar marriage, has been spreading throughout the Sunni Muslim world, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries. In such marriages, the woman relinquishes some of the rights that Islam grants her, such as the right to a home and to financial support from her husband, and, if he has other wives, the right to an equal part of his time and attention. In most cases, these marriages are secret, without the knowledge of the man's other wives - even though a marriage contract is drawn up in the presence of witnesses, and although consent is commonly obtained from the woman's guardian, and the marriage is registered and documented at the courthouse.... In a fatwa issued on April 10, 2006, the institute permitted marriages in which "the woman relinquishes a home, financial support, and her part [in joint life] with her husband, or part of it, and consents to the man's coming to her home whenever he wants, day or night." The fatwa also permitted marriages known as "friend" marriages, in which "the girl remains at her family's home and she and the man meet any time they want, either at her home or anywhere else, as they have no [joint] home and livelihood." ... Those opposed to misyar marriage - including the vast majority of women - claim that it exploits the difficult social situation of unmarried women in Arab society, and is designed primarily to sate men's lust, with no concern whatsoever for women's needs and the needs of children born of these marriages."

To filter the people: "I favor immigration. America is defined not by ethnicity but by a set of political ideas, and if others will embrace those ideas, I welcome them. I have helped people immigrate here, and they have made good Americans. I married an immigrant. But I also realize that the very culture that embraces immigrants has certain historical roots and depends on a critical mass of support, much of which has to do with the ability to live a good life here. In today's world of global TV and cheap and easy transport, to throw the doors of America wide open, as they were a century ago, would invite a swamping of American values."

Signs of our disease "It occurred to me that just in my lifetime, not only has technology accelerated, but so has the loss of our freedoms. When I was a young girl in school, we studied about the feudal system. We were told how awful it was, how the serfs had to yield up to 25% of what they grew or created to the lord and his knights. This of course was given for protection against raiders and space within the castle walls if that became necessary. Today, we - as a `free' people - give more than 50% of our earnings up to those who govern us!"

What's (not) the matter with the middle class?: "Note: Stephen Rose, Lawrence Mishel and others are debating the economic politics of the middle class this week. Here is Rose's opening salvo. For more than a decade, the Democratic Party -- the self-proclaimed party of the middle class -- has consistently lost the middle class at election time. ... What's the matter with the middle class? Democrats like to pin their defeats on national security and culture issues alone, but the progressive economic message is also to blame. What progressives generally say about the economy is unrelentingly pessimistic -- stagnant wages, rising costs, overwhelming burdens of debt. It's a message that doesn't resonate with the middle class -- not only because it's overly negative (by itself political poison), but because it's simply flat out wrong."

Busybody politicians, get off our backs: "Sometimes I think the type of people who run for office are the most dangerous people. Most of us want to run our own lives, or help people by offering them charity, or selling them things. The people who want to run other people's lives are ... different. In pursuit of their vision of the perfect world, they justify even absurd restrictions on our freedom. For example: In Belton, Mo., it is illegal to throw a snowball. In New Jersey and Oregon, it is illegal to pump your own gas. In Kern County, Calif., it is illegal to play bingo while drunk. In Illinois, it is against the law to hunt bullfrogs with a ?rearm. In Massachusetts, it's illegal to deface a milk carton. In Fairfax, Va., the use of pogo sticks is outlawed on city buses. In Palm Harbor, Fla., it is illegal to have an artificial lawn."

What's discrimination?: "Discrimination is simply the act of choice. When we choose Bordeaux wine, we discriminate against Burgundy wine. When I married Mrs. Williams, I discriminated against other women. Even though I occasionally think about equal opportunity, Mrs. Williams demands continued discrimination. You say, 'Williams, such discrimination doesn't harm anyone.' You're wrong. Discriminating in favor of Bordeaux wine reduces the value of resources held in Burgundy production. Discriminating in favor of Mrs. Williams harmed other women by reducing their opportunity set, assuming I'm a man other women would marry. Our lives are spent discriminating for or against one thing or another. In other words, choice requires discrimination. When we modify the term with race, sex, height, weight or age, we merely specify the choice criteria."

Stiglitz is wrong on government: "Joseph Stiglitz shared the Nobel Prize in 2001 partly on the basis of an important paper of his (with Greenwald): 'Externalities in Economies with Imperfect Information and Incomplete Markets.' In that paper he says: 'There exist government interventions (e.g., taxes and subsidies) that can make everyone better off.' Stiglitz is a prolific, outspoken, and outstanding spokesman for the pro-government school."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC and AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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Democrats for Worker Exploitation

"A group that raises money for Democratic Congressional candidates uses a canvassing company that pays some workers submimium wage, in apparent violation of Wisconsin state law, to talk about the need to raise the federal minimum wage, Isthmus newspaper has learned. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), based in Washington, D.C., has hired Grassroots Campaigns, a Boston-based for-profit company with operations in 18 U.S. cities, to conduct canvassing on its behalf. The DCCC's "New Direction for American" agenda, which provides the talkiing points canvassers are taught to use to solicit contributions, includes a call to "Raise the minimum wage....

These practices likely violate state law. Rose Lynch, spokesperson for the state Department of Workforce Development, says there are no special rules for canvassing firms and "even individuals paid on a commission basis must receive at least minimum wage...

How does the DCCC feel about having workers making less than minimum wage soliciting contributions to help it force the evil Republicans to raise the minimum wage? Burton said he'd look into this, then failed to call back.

Twice last week, former Grassroots Campaigns workers staged protests in front of its Madison office, 222 N. Hamilton St., holding up a huge banner. Says Kristan, "We will continue to demonstrate until Grassroots Campaigns pays all of its employees minimum wage."

More here

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Presbyterian rebellion in Sacramento: "Delegates from local Presbyterian churches decided Saturday not to accept gays -- or anyone who fails to comply with rules laid out in the denomination's constitution -- as church leaders. The decision, made by nearly 200 delegates from many of the 44 Presbyterian churches in the district, sent a clear message of protest to the denomination's national leadership. In June, a rule was passed at a national conference that gave individual districts the flexibility to ordain gay clergy. The decision Saturday lays the groundwork for a possible legal battle in the denomination's courts."

British Conservative leader attacks anti-Americanism: "David Cameron will criticise, in a speech today, a soundbite approach to foreign policy that sees only lightness and darkness in the world. In remarks that are certain to be seen as an attack on the conduct of foreign policy by the Bush Administration, supported by Tony Blair, the Tory leader will say that humility and patience have been absent from the making of foreign policy in recent years. In a reference to elements of the US Administration, Mr Cameron, speaking on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, will say pointedly that he is a liberal conservative, not a neoconservative. In his most substantial address on security policy, Mr Cameron will make a fierce attack on anti-Americanism, which he will say is an "intellectual and moral surrender". Sources close to the Tory leader said that his words did not mark any weakening in his support for the Iraq war, but they are nevertheless controversial after recent efforts to build bridges with the Republicans".

PETA? "Saudi Arabia's religious police, normally tasked with chiding women to cover themselves and ensuring men attend mosque prayers, are turning to a new target: cats and dogs. The police have issued a decree banning the sale of the pets, seen as a sign of Western influence. The prohibition on dogs may be less of a surprise because conservative Muslims despise dogs as unclean. But the cat ban befuddled many, since Islamic tradition holds that the Prophet Muhammad loved cats... The decree -- which applies to the Red Sea port city of Jidda and the holy city of Mecca -- bans the sale of cats and dogs because "some youths have been buying them and parading them in public," according to a memo from the Municipal Affairs Ministry to Jidda's city government."

The Khatami tour: "The Bush administration repeatedly warned that Iran would face serious consequences if it defied international demands to shut down its nuclear weapons program. So what did it do when Tehran blew off the Security Council's Aug. 31 deadline to stop enriching uranium? It promptly issued a visa authorizing one of Iran's leading theocrats, former president Mohammad Khatami, to embark on a propaganda tour of the United States. It is the first such visa issued to an Iranian president since 1979, when Islamist radicals loyal to the Ayatollah Khomeini seized the US embassy in Tehran and held American diplomats hostage for nearly 15 months. That'll show 'em".

Army shuns system to combat RPGs: "Sixteen months ago, commanders in Iraq began asking the Pentagon for a new system to counter RPGs and other anti-tank weapons. Last year, a special Pentagon unit thought it found a solution in Israel -- a high-tech system that shoots RPGs out of the sky. But in a five-month exclusive investigation, NBC News has learned from Pentagon sources that that help for U.S. troops is now in serious jeopardy."

Tennessee plans ID checks of jailed immigrants: "Thousands of illegal immigrants who are arrested in Davidson County for other crimes would be deported each year, under a proposal being pushed by local law enforcement officials. By installing a federal immigration computer system in the Metro Jail and placing an immigration officer in the lockup full time, local authorities would be able to quickly identify criminal suspects who are in the country illegally and keep them from being released. The proposal is contained in an Aug. 15 letter from Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and comes on the heels of several high-profile crimes in which illegal immigrants are accused. Several of the illegal immigrants had been arrested repeatedly -- and not deported -- before committing more serious crimes."

Permission to speak freely: "As of Friday, when the 60-day blackout period for 'electioneering communications' by nonprofit interest groups begins, political speech will enjoy less protection than dirty movies. While a sexually explicit film is protected by the First Amendment if it has some socially redeeming value, an 'electioneering communication' is forbidden even if it deals with important and timely public policy issues. ... It seems Americans now need permission to speak out on political issues and petition the government. I'd suggest a constitutional amendment protecting those rights, but I thought we already had one."

Shades of Waco?: "As to Jeffs, the mindless media has always been enthralled by child-abuse crusaders. Janet Reno, one of the most murderous DAs, established her career by launching the day care child sex abuse witch hunt that gripped the nation in the 1980s. She used fabricated accusations elicited from children (who never lie, right?) with the aid of highly suggestive techniques, to imprison her victims absent corroborative evidence. These cases served as a professional stepping stone for Reno, who went on to commit even greater crimes. Here are the Jeffs arrest warrant and affidavit. He is charged with being an accomplice to rape, no less. Such an accusation conjures visions of Jeffs holding the victim down while another commits the act. Jeffs, however, is charged, based on hearsay, with encouraging a girl, then under 18, to submit to intercourse with her husband, who was a little older."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC and AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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In memoriam for all those who died on this day in 2001 at the hands of Islamic haters

It is their common hatred of ordinary people doing well for themselves that draws the Left to Muslims -- who otherwise epitomize all that the Left say they disapprove of.

SPECIAL PROSECUTOR PATRICK FITZGERALD: OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE

Excerpt from an article by lawyer Raymond S. Kraft

On July 14, 2003, Robert Novak published a column in the Washington Post in which he identified retired Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife as Valerie Plame, who worked for the CIA. Her husband immediately charged that somebody in the White House, whether Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, George Bush, or one of their aides acting on orders, had "outed" his wife in conspiratorial retaliation for Wilson's charges in the New York Times that Bush lied when he cited intelligence that Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Niger. Wilson, with brazen disingenuity, took monumental umbrage at the idea that Bush, Cheney, Rove, or all of them, were trying to "discredit" him in response to his overtly partisan, political attempt to discredit President Bush. Wilson's claim that President Bush lied proved, in the end, to be a lie, and it is Wilson's own reputation that now lies on the ignominious dunghill of history.

These events led to the now infamous investigation of the alleged "outing" of the allegedly "undercover" Valerie Plame by Somebody in the Bush White House by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. I will not detail the subsequent convolution of events. They are too well known to need repeating. The Wickepedia article on Valerie Plame runs to eleven pages, with many footnotes, references, and citations.

Three years later, on September 7, 2006, Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage publicly, finally, acknowledged that he was Novak's source for the disclosure that Joe Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, worked for the CIA. The Associated Press report by Matt Apuzzo (September 8) states that "Armitage's admission suggests that the leak did not originate at the White House . . . " ...

Armitage reports, too, most notably, that (as the AP story reads): "Fitzgerald, he said, had requested that he not talk about his role in the case, a restriction that was lifted only Tuesday." In his interview on ABC News Armitage said that his disclosure was inadvertent, merely careless or negligent, an unfortunate bit of gossip, and it apparently did not violate the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, which requires specific intent. But it did hobble the Presidency for three years.

On July 11, 2006, Bob Novak reported that "For nearly the entire time of his investigation, Fitzgerald knew - independent of me - the identity of the sources I used in my column of July 14, 2003 . . That Fitzgerald did not indict any of these sources may indicate his conclusion that none of them violated the Intelligence Identities Act." In other words, from very early in this long investigation, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald knew that Richard Armitage was the source of Novak's information, and that the White House was not, and that the Intelligence Identities Protection Act had not by violated. Not by anyone. And Fitzgerald concealed this knowledge, his knowledge that the prime suspects were innocent, and told Armitage not to talk about it....

If, promptly upon learning, a year or two ago, that Richard Armitage was the source of the leak, Patrick Fitzgerald had disclosed that the "case had been solved, the leak has been found, and no crime has been committed," he would no longer have had any reason to continue his investigation, interviewing the President, parading Cheney, Rove, Libby, and other witnesses before the Grand Jury, or himself before the phalanx of cameras on Capitol Hill. He would have had to find other work... In my opinion, it is time to prosecute the Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald for obstruction of justice.

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ELSEWHERE

There is an unsigned feature article in Britain's Sunday Times that revives the breastbeating about "racism" in the much misrepresented "Tuskegee" study of syphilis in American blacks that began in the 1930s. The author is aware of the debunking given to the misrepresentations by Shweder but ignores most of the points Shweder made. The article seems to be a promo for a forthcoming book called Medical Apartheid by historian Harriet Washington, to be published in the US early next year. So what is new in the new book? Apparently, all that has been discovered is that the medical researchers of the 1930s had "racist" beliefs. Since just about everyone in the 1930s had racist beliefs by the standards of today, that is not much of a discovery. For details about the horrific "treatments" available for syphilis in the 1930s, see here.

A Leftist here has a big list of historical events that show how hostile to the Left the Islamists are. He concludes: "It does not need slogans to understand that the Islamist programme, ideology and record are diametrically opposed to the left - that is, the left that has existed on the principles founded on and descended from classical socialism, the Enlightenment, the values of the revolutions of 1798 and 1848, and generations of experience."

A REALLY bent poll: "The owner of DataUSA Inc., a company that conducted political polls for the campaigns of President Bush, Sen. Joe Lieberman and other candidates, pleaded guilty to fraud for making up survey and poll results. Tracy Costin pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Costin, 46, faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced Nov. 30.... According to a federal indictment, Costin told employees to alter poll data, and managers at the company told employees to "talk to cats and dogs" when instructing them to fabricate the surveys. FBI Special Agent Jeff Rovelli said 50 percent of information compiled by DataUSA and transmitted to Bush's campaign was falsified, the Connecticut Post reported Thursday."

Professor Stiglitz and the minimum wage: "Nothing gets me more upset than when someone brings up an argument supporting minimum wage legislation. It's not that I can't counter the argument; it's just that it takes some time to do. So, once and for all, I'm going to target the main motivation for minimum wage advocates in academia: politics. Minimum wage is one of the only subjects nearly all economists agree upon. Quite simply, to believe in the merit of minimum wage laws is to misconstrue the fundamental claims of economics."

MO: Democrats squelch democracy: "The backers of two ballot proposals limiting government spending and eminent domain gave up their legal fight Tuesday to get the constitutional amendments on the Nov. 7 ballot. Both initiative petitions had been rejected in May by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, who concluded they were not properly organized under state law. Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan upheld that decision in July. Courts also struck down the financial estimates attached to both initiative petitions."

For more postings, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC and AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. (Mirror sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

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"All the worth which the human being possesses, all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State." -- 19th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel is the most influential philosopher of the Left -- inspiring Karl Marx, the American "Progressives" of the early 20th century and university socialists to this day.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch)

Comments? Email me here (Hotmail address). If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Pages are here or here or here.

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