Palestine

http://www.factsandlogic.org/outstanding_hoffer.html

This Jewish-American "thinker" has a point about the refugee issue, but not an especially strong point. His examples of refugees who did not become problems are examples of refugees who had no religious stake in their homeland, only an economic stake. By contrast, the Palestinians, and all Muslims, deem certain sites in Palestine holy. Forcible removal from habitation in a holy land incites holy war. Times past, the Christian nations also fought for control of Palestine because of its religious significance. Religion is the difference. It is the reason the Jews chose Palestine to establish a new nation and it is the principal reason for continued Palestinian resistance to the state of Israel. And religion is not rational, has only the most tainted relationship to logic and reason. Therefore, this holy war for Palestine persists without benefit to either party as the imaginary tribal deities of these madmen, Yahweh and Allah, smile malignantly from above, and their puppets enact the ancient tribal morality play of "an eye for an eye." To no end and without end.

These are two religions with essentially the same moral code: old Mohammed, the thief, stole this, amongst so much else, from the Torah, stupefied and corrupted it, then jammed it into his "divine dictations", Al Quran. The clear fundamental difference is in the relative advancement of their civilisations, which corresponds with their tolerance for cruelty and brutality--the Muslims have a higher tolerance level mainly because their civilisation is still organized along pre-industrial lines, creating both material and mental poverty. But, Israel is no innocent in this game, merely less brutal than its enemies--it owes its inception to a spasm of war and terror against both the British colonial authorities and the native Palestinians.

For the rest, this article is not visionary but idiotic: typical Jewish self-pity and self-aggrandizement, adorned with lies and deceptions. Apparently, the "chosen people" want to be permitted their own "necessary evils" without reproach from others, while passing contemptuous moral judgment upon these same others: a patent double standard.

I'm inclined to believe that any intelligent Jew would be embarassed by this crude propaganda, possibly the worst I've ever read on the Israel issue.

Bono's Appreciations

This guy can  write. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5940035/the_immortals__the_greatest_artists_of_all_time_3_elvis_presley

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/7

Educational Mishaps

This is so absurd as to be comical: http://isteve.blogspot.com/2009/08/inanity-of-teacher-training.html

A New Known Unknown

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/science/18dna.html?ref=science
I should think the committed conspiracy theorists ought to find this development most exciting. And, if they can reincarnate DNA, how hard could fingerprints be?

Teacher's Unions

This book review is about as clear and concise as it gets on this issue: http://www.vdare.com/pb/worm_review_19.htm

The double monopoly system inflicted upon all Americans is particularly unfortunate for the primary clientele of the Democratic party (the poor). Yet, ironically, that is the very party defending the status quo with religious fervor. The middle classes also find themselves largely at the mercy of this tyranny--but, predominantly middle class public schools perform much better than those the poor typically find themselves shipped off to. The result is a trap of mediocrity for the middle and a trap of idiocracy for the poor.

End the monopolies that make our education system a trap for the majority of children. This is not difficult in concept or in execution. It simply requires the will to facilitate upward mobility by encouraging and supporting merit. In other words, outlaw teacher's unions and permit families to choose their preferred schools (whether they be public, private, parochial, home, or otherwise). A voucher valued at a level comparable to public school spending ought to be offered for those not attending public school. Also, it would be needful to impose reasonable regulations on all schools to safeguard the children and taxpayer's money.

A Democrat Contra the Democrats

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/camille_paglia/2009/08/12/town_halls

This is a better critique (and certainly a livelier one) than I can remember seeing from a Republican.

An Old Problem

http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=14165460 The arm of the law seems to sweep a bit wide here. Largely, I agree with their prescription--except that I would leave the information on the internet (esp for serious offenders), though the trade-off is that some will respond by going underground. Also, more of the serious cases ought to be given swimming lessons, sharks being the preferred instructors.

Check out the story in the first few paragraphs: http://www.economist.com/printedition/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14164614 Further on it notes that in 13 states public urination puts you on the sex offender registry--do you know a male who shouldn't be on such a registry? Who the hell writes these laws?

Racial Politics

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/nyregion/11settle.html?hp This is really a warped line of reasoning: because minorities cannot afford to move to Westchester county, the federal government forces the county to pay for affordable housing that must be marketed primarily to minorities. Essentially, the local taxpayers are forced to give handouts to minorities because segregation by wealth has resulted in segregation by race. Once again group rights trump individual rights, federal power overwhelms local government, and welfare cases get priority over taxpayers. At the end of the day what the socialist regressives now running the government really want is pure equality of result: equal numbers of blacks, whites, asians, hispanics; equal income for all paid out through a federal clearing house for GDP; equal educational results (which means allocating the most resources to the worst performers); equal housing with perfectly proportioned racial mixing; equal health outcomes (not equal health care); equal rights among nations (ie, U.S. = Liberia). In other words they want the Soviet Union, but neutered. The problem is that all this affirmative action and social engineering has swung the pendulum from the modes of injustice prevalent in the Jim Crow era to new modes of injustice: rather than simply shedding the snake skin altogether, before quite slipping their tail out these socialists return to it again headfirst slithering into the nasty rotting thing--a sick, stupid, back-tracing snake self-hindered and crippled by its own device and trick of perception. I call them socialist regressives because their instinct to increase equality at all costs is fundamental to the socialist ethic. The regressive aspect is found in the consequences of this instinct run amok: it acts as a leveler, devaluing the importance of the individual and the achievement of excellence in every field; also, their perpetual search for new invidious distinctions and perceived inequalities between groups (not individuals, about whom they do not care) engenders greater divisions among them and increased consciousness of group identity--the result of which is destructive envy and resentment rather than the creative powers and positive incentives that would result from an emphasis upon individual competition.

The Left and Reality: Another Missed Connection

Apparently 10-20% of blacks and 2-3% of higher IQ races are exempt from execution by virtue of extreme stupidity. So, according to the socialist regressives, IQ tests only count when they benefit minorities. Otherwise, they are clearly baseless pseudo-science and racist to boot. http://www.isteve.com/2002_IQ_Supreme_Court_Death_Penalty.htm

The Fifth Column

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/books/review/Ajami-t.html?pagewanted=all
This sounds like a useful book, and timely. Some good lines from Ajami's review: "In its original habitat, there could be an honest reckoning with Islam. Men and women could wrestle with the limits it places on them; they would weigh, in that timeless manner, the balance between fidelity to the faith and the yearning for freedom. But it isn’t easy in Amsterdam or Stockholm. There, the faith is identity, and the faith is complete and sharpened like a weapon."

Europeans Muslims have a separate identity and want a separate identity. Like any proud, yet beleaguered culture, they want to play the master. And their need for mastery steels the will, and the steel scythe of it harvests for their spirits growing contempt for the wavering realms of Christendom. Mastery waits only upon their achievement of full consciousness of their victims' will to submit.