The Council Has Spoken !
This week's winners are:

Best Council Link:

Spinning the Numbers Alpha Patriot

Best Non-Council Link:

Academic Freedom, Hate Mail and David Horowitz La Shawn Barber's Corner

This week's submissions are all excellent. Check out all the winners at the Watcher's blog "Watcher of Weasels" !

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 2:51 PM |

 
Some New Year's Advice
As you prepare for New Year's Eve tomorrow, Dr. Sanity has some important advice for you. Be very careful about overindulgence and know your limits! Otherwise you might end up like my friend below, who is experiencing the consequences of of excessive indulgence! Don't end up like this poor creature, I beg of you!


P.S. I'll be back posting on Saturday afternoon!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:10 PM |

 
Happy New Year !
I started blogging in July of 2004 because I became frustrated with the mainstream media and began to read dozens of blogs every day. As I read more and more from bloggers in Iraq and elsewhere, I was inspired to try it myself.

I never imagined how much fun it would be or how addictive! I have tried to bring my own special areas of expertise into my blog. There was a lot to learn and early on (and still!) but I discoved that it is very exciting and humbling to have others read and comment on my posts. I am grateful to all the bloggers that have linked to me--large and small. I am grateful for all the comments and email my posts generate

The blogsphere is like a cornucopia of wonderful treats and delights. I was honored (and still am)to have become a member of the Watcher's Council and look forward to continuing my participation there in the new year.

I have put together below a listing of some of my favorite posts of the last six months. It actually serves several uses to do this! One is to have a central place where my favorite pieces are all located, and the other is to introduce to my newer readers some posts I wrote befoe they visited for the first time. I am certainly grateful for all those who take the time to read this blog, whether they agree with me or not--even whether they like me or not! Blogging is a wonderful way to express one's ideas, opinions, thoughts, and emotions. I recommend it to everyone--just be prepared, because in the free market of ideas you will inevitably run into those who won't like yours and have no hesitation in telling you so!

If you have some extra time to read this New Year (e.g., in-between football games) I recommend the following two long pieces: 1) Norman Podhoretz' writes in Commentary Magazine on "World War IV: How it Started, What it Means, and Why We Have to Win"; and 2) this post from Winds of Change, summarizing and analyzing OBL's audiotapes over the last month and what they might mean (hat tip: Papa Ray, from my Comments section).

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL !

Now, here are some of my favorites from my own blog. Cheers!

JULY
35th Anniversary of Apollo 11

AUGUST
Psychiatry 101 : Psychological Defense Mechanisms

SEPTEMBER
Optimism versus Pessimism
The Wonderful World of Denial
Histrionics As A Determinant of National Policy
For Our Children's Children
Defenders of Truth
The Doctor is Somewhat Confused About These Memos...
It's So Unfair
Enabling Behavior For Terrorism
The "Girlie Women" of Today's Feminist Movement
A Lesson in Narcissistic Rage

OCTOBER
The Psychopathology of Terrorism, Part I
Intellectual Moron
President Bush's Optimistic Vision
The Left's Rainbow Hypocrisy
John Kerry's World
A Short Course on How to Be A Victim
Adult Conversations
That Way Lies Madness

NOVEMBER
The Psychology of Bush Hatred
The Psychopathology of Terrorism, Part II
The Pirates of the U.N.
A Nuanced Meaning of Tolerance
The Psychiatric Costs of War
Liberal Groupthink
Arafat Burial Suggestion
Best of Dr. Sanity's Election Posts

DECEMBER
I Wonder...
Come Back When You Grow Up, Girl
Witchunt
Poor Man, History Has Passed Him By
Polish the Boot
Delicious Blasphemy (The Taliban Rag)

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:00 PM |

 
Paranoia and Projection
Johah Goldberg is right about how paranoids think. Paranoia is a more "advanced" form of a psychological defense known as "projection". I have discussed this elsewhere, but it bears repeating since it is so common.

Projection is attributing one's own unacknowledged feelings to others; includes severe prejudice, severe jealousy, hypervigilance to external danger, and "injustice collecting". EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE . Most young children use projection as a defense mechanism, and it is considered normal for a child.

Projection is never a good long-term strategy--nor is it healthy--in an adult; and using such a defense mechanism represents a primitive attempt to shirk the responsibility for one's own feelings, thoughts, and actions. It causes and has caused much human misery, death, destruction and some of the most horrific acts that humans are capable of. When entire countries subscribe to a projected delusion (e.g., the "Jews" are to blame; the "Blacks" are the cause of all of our problems; "Republicans" are evil) it can lead to genocide and other behaviors that are paranoid and psychotically delusional. Full-blown paranoia occurs when one's mind severs the connection with reality entirely. Paranoia is a symptom of mental illness.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:14 AM |

 
Standing on the Sidelines Sneering
If you didn't read John Podhoretz' column yesterday in the NY Post, you should. It's very illuminating:

In other words, support for Bush's Iraq policy is an astounding half again as big in the active military as in the American body politic.
And, in the words of the Army Times report on the poll, "Support for the war is even greater among those who have served longest in the combat zone: Two-thirds of combat vets say the war is worth fighting."
It seems that the people who are actually putting their lives on the line believe in what they are doing — and that those who have spent the most time in harm's way are the most passionate of all.
Job satisfaction in the military, the poll found, is a breathtaking 87 percent, and only a quarter of those polled say they want out.

Podhoretz goes on to say:

But what is not heartening is this sobering fact: We can locate the decline in support for the war effort almost entirely inside the Democratic Party.
By a margin of 80-19, Democrats now say they oppose the decision to go to war. The margin among Republicans is exactly the reverse: 80 percent of GOPers support the war, while 19 percent disapprove.
This is not only a partisan divide. It's a cultural divide. As the year 2004 ends, the rank and file of the Democratic Party has turned decisively and profoundly against the military effort in Iraq. And there is reason to believe it won't be long before they turn on the military as well.
Throughout the year, Democratic politicians have been trying to split the difference with the military — saying they support the troops while opposing the war. But that kind of sophistry won't stand.
The military wants to fight this war. Democrats don't. How long before Democrats decide that our men and women in uniform are just extensions of the president and party they detest — a bunch of warmongering, bloodthirsty and stupid imperialists?
Democratic Party bottom-feeders — like the odd and unpleasant people who inhabit the comments sections on Web sites like dailykos.com and democraticunderground.com — have already long since started spewing their bile at our soldiers, sailors and Marines.

I agree with Podhoretz that this is a cultural divide, but it is also an ideological one. It is reflected not only in the Democrat's unwillingness to do what needs to be done to win the war on terror; but also in their unwillingness to find fault with the UN; unwillingness to acknowledge an ailing and overburdened Social Security System that cannot last forever; and unwillingness, frankly, to move into the 21st century.

The so-called "Progressives" have become regressive and demand that there be no changes to the old ways; no new ideas or perspectives. They yearn for the utopian Clinton years when they felt they could understand the world. But things have become topsy-turvy and all the old formulas and slogans have lost their meaning (if they ever had any) since Fukayama's end of history.

Michael Barone opines on the transformation from forward to backward-looking here. New ideas, new perspectives--hell, even new threats--aren't enough to convince the Democrats and other assorted Leftists that they should move into the new millennium. They prefer to go kicking, screaming, sniping, and whining. Hindrocket at Powerline puts it very well:

This is, of course, the fundamental political debate of our time. It is between those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and try to make the world a better place, and those who offer no alternative but prefer to stand on the sidelines and sneer.




- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:25 AM |

 
A Sense of Entitlement
In psychiatry we use the term "sense of entitlement" to describe the outrageous attitude of some of our more narcissistic clients who believe that the world "owes" them and they want to collect NOW. Patients with this type of attitude always want more. Whatever you do is never good enough for them, and they also generally show no gratitute or express any thanks--even when someone goes out of their way for them. Like the most spoiled of royalty, they merely expect that they should be the center of your world at all times.

This attitude is normally seen in toddlers, who want what they want and they want it now. Every parent has had to deal with this kind of whining. When you see this attitude repeatedly in an adult, then you know you are dealing with psychopathology. Many adults whimper at the slightest inconvenience, delay, or restriction. Why? Because, like toddlers, they are convinced they deserve what they want when they want it. They are "entitled" to it.

That brings me to the latest whining from the United Nations. It is impossible to make this stuff up:

But U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland suggested that the United States and other Western nations were being "stingy" with relief funds, saying there would be more available if taxes were raised.

"It is beyond me why are we so stingy, really," the Norwegian-born U.N. official told reporters. "Christmastime should remind many Western countries at least, [of] how rich we have become."

"There are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy," he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Europe "believe that they are really burdening the taxpayers too much, and the taxpayers want to give less. It's not true. They want to give more."

This unbelievable statement was made after the U.S. made an initial $15 Million dollars available (the most of any country of the world) for immediate aid to the striken area. This does not even include the food and other humanitarian aid that the U.S. is making available, nor does it count the enormous private efforts of U.S. citizens which will be forthcoming and likely be substantial.

In an incredible turnaround, it is the "World" which seems to believe that the U.S. "owes" it a living. There seems to be no end to the sense of entitlement that every country in the world directs towards the U.S.

Like the toddler whose endless demands are interspersed with the "I hate you! I hate you!" when they don't get their way, the many countries of the world seem to think that the U.S. is a neverending source of money and goods that flow effortlessly from some mysterious source. I especially like the comment that "there would be more available if taxes were raised".

If it wasn't clear before, it must be crystal clear to Americans that the U.N. believes the benefits of their work and effort are to be redistributed to the entire world--if the oil-for-food scandal hadn't already awakened them.

American generosity and goodwill takes second place to noone. And I have no doubt that the generous people of this country will be contributing substantially and probably in greater amounts than any other people--all WITHOUT a raise in their taxes. But WE really are not the problem. The problem is the narcissistic sense of entitlement, perfectly exemplified by an official of the United Nations. This sense of entitlement led these same officials to waste billions of dollars (most of it American Taxpayer money) increasing the wealth of one of the world's greatest desposts. Not only are they in no position to make moral judgements on the U.S., but the fact that they continue to do so indicates a degree of psychopathology that is unlikely to change by any rational appeal to their good sense, because they clearly have none.

Why does the U.S. have any need to placate these narcissistic, entitled, whining, incompetent thugs? It is time for the U.S. to do the civilized thing. It is time to get out of this League of Looters.

UPDATE: (via Instapundit) "Stingy, eh?" - my sentiments exactly.
UPDATE II: The Amazon.com site above has now collected over $2Million and growing.
UPDATE III: Jonah Goldberg has some interesting statistics in his column about US support of the UN. Check it out. And this NY Post editorial.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:09 PM |

 
The Santy Name
Today I found out that "Santy" is a virulent computer worm! Well, for the record, I can state that I know nothing about computers, worms, or computer viruses. However, I do know something of the Santy name and can tell you a bit about its origin.

"Santy" is actually a shortened Italian name. My father told the story that when he entered the Marines in WWII, his drill instructor ordered him to shorten it so that it was pronouncable. Hence the original name "Santanastassia" became "Santy". I don't know how true this story is, but some of my relatives spell the name "Santi" and some "Santy". The original Italian was likely "Sant'Anastasia" --or Saint Anastasia.

On the northern slopes of Mt. Vesuvius is a village called St. Anastasia. This is near to Naples where my grandfather was born, and it is likely that at one point our relatives came from that village. In the past, it was common in parts of Europe for the surname to come from the village or town a person was from. My mother's family (Rizzi) came from Bari, Italy, so both sets of grandparents were naturalized American citizens, with my parents being 1st generation American citizens.

St. Anastasia was a very interesting saint (see here) and is associated with Christmas since she was martyred (by beheading) on December 25th sometime in the 4th century in Rome. She is commemorated in the 2nd mass of Christmas, and was once considered an important Italian saint.

My only regret is that my father shortened the name, since I think it is rather a special thing for our family to be named after a saint. As opposed to a computer virus!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:08 PM |

 
Choosing Sides
OBL has come out yet again to try to influence an election--this time in Iraq. He's asking Iraqis to "shun 'Infidel' polls". THIS IS GREAT NEWS! Here is my take on OBL's action:

1. Anyone in Iraq who is predisposed to actually believe Bin Laden (“The constitution imposed by the American occupier (Paul) Bremer is blasphemous ... and anyone who takes part in this election consciously and willingly is an infidel.” ) will not vote, thus eliminating any candidates that might lean in Bin Laden's direction.

2. If I know human nature, those who AREN'T predisposed to believe (or believe in) Bin Laden will be ticked off that this non-Iraqi is trying to interfere in THEIR election, and will be MORE likely to vote.

3. OBL actually endorses the murdering Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq! Any Iraqi with any sense realizes that this scumbag has been murdering Iraqis indiscriminately and basically using the same terror tactics that Saddam used to keep them in line for three decades. Does anyone think they want to go back to those idyllic days? (except, of course, for the moonbats of the world).

4. Once again, OBL shows the world his contempt for the process of freedom and democracy.

Yes, Indeed. It is clear that Osama is desperate. Just as he was when he released the videotape before the US election. He can't actually DO anything, so he must bluster and fatwatise. All he can do is issue videotape messages to the media from his cave.

Tony Blair gets it just right: (from the Weekly Standard, January 3/January10 2005):

Sometimes when I see some of the reporting of what's happening in Iraq in the rest of the world, I just feel that people should understand how precious what has been created here is. And those people from that electoral commission that I described as the heroes fo the new Iraq--every day...a lot of them aren't living in the Green Zone, they've got to trave in from outside. They do not know at any point in time whether they're going to be subject to brutality or intimidation, even death, and yet they carro on doing it. Now what a magnificent example of the human spirit--that's the side we should be on.

Make no mistake about it--this is a battle over whether the human spirit --that yearns for freedom and self-expression in every living soul--will be free at last in Iraq; or enslaved once again--this time by fanatics like Bin Laden and his allies whose only goal is to destroy that spirit.

Which side are you on?

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:15 PM |

 
He's Back !
ALLAH IS BACK !

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:39 PM |

 
What Cannot Be Forseen
Wretchard has a must-read piece today that discusses early warning systems for tsunamis and terrorism:

In an abstract way, the information flows surrounding the Tsunami of December 2004 structurally resembled those preceding the Pearl Harbor and September 11 attacks. The raw data announcing the unfolding threat was there, yet the pattern so evident in hindsight was invisible to those who were not looking for it. But if tsunamis and asteroid strikes are rare events, they are comparatively more common than that still rarer object, the unprecedented event: the something that has never happened before. Threats like that can emerge suddenly out of chaotic systems, like WMD terrorism or new viral plagues. Against such events, specific precautions are impossible because no one can prepare for what cannot be foreseen. The real challenge is not so much to create a new dedicated network of staring systems against known threats but to tie current sensors to systems which are capable of cognition. The most valuable survival asset is situational awareness -- the ability to recognize threats you have never seen before and respond in an evolving manner -- and that capability has not yet come to the world as a whole.

The Belmont Club's analysis and analogy is ever so much more helpful than the sniping that has already begun (and is documented in Wretchard's post) to try to blame the loss of life in this terrible natural disaster on...who else? Here's a few samples from the Sydney Morning Herald quoted by Wretchard:

A pity our army is busy fighting America's immoral war when they should be
providing assistance to the affected areas. - Shane Arnold

These divine winds show that the Gods are displeased with the world's state of affairs. - Tomoyuki Yamashita

An opportunity for western governments to divert some funds to aid
assistance projects rather than their billion dollar war obsessions. - Mother
Nature strikes

This latest tragic disaster should open all our eyes to the fact that the world seems to already have its "hands full" coping with seemingly ongoing natural disasters rather than creating such man made disasters as we have contributed to in Iraq. - wayne gregory

Dont expect a genuinely compassionate response from the U.S. Government, as a "war on earthquakes" will not be as profitable as good ol' terrorism - Nick Loveday

Isn't the Left lovely? They never miss an opportunity to advertise their slogans or show their compassion (except check out which states are less generous here). However, the private citizens of the U.S. donate more money, goods, and disaster relief to the world than any government on earth (here, here).

What is interesting about Wretchard's analysis is that there is something to be learned from this most horrible of natural disasters in which more than 21,000 people died.--not only in preventing future natural disasters, but in general in preventing "what canot be forseen". Read the whole article.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:27 PM |

 
2004 According to Dave Barry
Dave Barry has a review of 2004 in the Washington Post. He's funny as usual.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:53 PM |

 
Weekly Insanity Roundup
So many insanities! So little time! Here is the week's roundup of insanities, inanities, popular delusions, and other assorted ridiculous items. The list is obbviously not exclusive, but I am only human and can only deal with so much. Especially at Christmas! Happy Holidays.

1. Proof that "no Muslim could be a terrorist?" Yeah, right.

2. John L. Kerry? (hat tip: LGF) I wonder what the "L" stands for?

3. Kofi Annan, master of the understatement. Ususally I find it particularly difficult to believe anything he says.

4. Bowling for Palestine. Sheeesh.

5. I'm just shocked by this. Who would have thought? It's probably Bush's fault.

6. Unbelievable. It's clear that someone has stolen the brains of the writers and producers anyway. UPDATE: Oh My God! The infection is spreading! Will these people believe anything?

7. The cat came back.... We thought he was a goner!

8. Losing his grip on power? He lost his grip on reality a long time ago.

9. Popular video game....or insidious Communist propaganda tool??? I report, you decide! (via The Corner)

10. Clearly the Martians are more advanced than we thought! But...carwashes?

11. Alaska??? And they still haven't counted the ones in my garage! (As my old boss at NASA used to say, we'll just keep on trying until we get the "right" answer)

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:35 AM |

 
He Will Blog No More
I have been meaning to post this for a few days. Steven Den Beste (USS Clueless) has apparently decided not to blog anymore. He hasn't been blogging for several months, but all of us hoped he might come back. His reasons are here. And Glenn Reynolds provided a LINK to Den Beste's Best Posts.

I discovered the USS Clueless blog about a year ago when I first started reading blogs. I thought then (and I think now) that Den Beste has a brilliant mind and I always found the material on his site to be thought-provoking.

I am sorry for his illness and I wish him the best in whatever he decides to do in the future.



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:27 AM |

 
Happy Christmas to All !
I'll be taking Christmas Day off blogging (my first day off since I started blogging in July). I'll see you on the 26th! May all your dreams of Peace and Freedom come true this Holiday Season...

And, for your Christmas enjoyment:

Track Santa with NORAD (via Rantingprofs)

Christmas Music

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:17 PM |

 
Nuts to Them !
A great editorial in Investor's Business Daily. I have always thought that the proper analogy between what is going on now in Iraq and Afghanistan is World War II and NOT Vietnam (the only similarity with Vietnam is the continual sniping of the Media and the preposterous framing of every event in the war in the most negative light possible).

On Dec. 22, 1944, almost 60 years ago to the day 22 people died in a mess tent in Mosul, Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe of the 101st Airborne, surrounded in Bastogne, Belgium, by a German offensive that was not expected, responded to a Nazi surrender demand with the famous one word response: "Nuts!"

Things don't always go as planned in war. We certainly found that out in World War II, when our first encounter with the Nazi Wehrmacht, at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, in February 1943, using outdated tanks and tactics, was a disaster.

As Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld put it recently: "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have." We learned from our mistakes at Kasserine, and we went on from there to victory. Yet there were more surprises to come.
One wonders how today's press would have handled getting bogged down and taking heavy casualties on Omaha Beach or plodding through hedge row country. Yet nobody said the D-Day assault on Hitler's Festung Europa was badly planned or mismanaged. Our eyes remained on the prize.

On Dec. 16, 1944, Allied forces were surprised by Hitler's last great offensive, and found themselves in the single biggest engagement in which U.S. troops have ever fought. Yet no one demanded Eisenhower resign because he didn't expect the Battle of the Bulge.
Allied intelligence had reports of a transfer of German troops from the Russian Front to the Western front in the fall of 1944, and there was evidence they were regrouping in the Ardennes. But six months after the invasion of Normandy, the war seemed won. The information was not forwarded up the chain of command. In today's vernacular, nobody had bothered to connect the dots.

The battle would involve three German and three American armies and three British divisions, more than a million men. Americans would suffer 80,000 casualties and 19,000 dead — 500 a day. Yet few demanded to know why our intelligence failed. There were no hearings, no demands foe Eisenhower's scalp.

The Nazis had taken everything into account except the sheer determination of the American GI and a nation that knew victory would be worth the price being paid. Operation Iraqi Freedom should be no different. Patience and courage won the day in the Ardennes. It will again in Iraq.

Like General McAuliffe, I say, "Nuts!" to the terrorists; "Nuts!" to the Mainstream media; and "Nuts!" to all the doom and gloom purveyors on the Left and Right. If you can't see what is at stake here, then you have lost any credibility with me. I am glad you not around when my father fought in WWII.

In the safe retrospect of 50 years, you praise him and his brothers as "the Greatest Generation"; but you haven't the sense to see that OUR generation is engaged in a war whose outcome may determine the course of human events for centuries to come. And our response to this challenge will determine our place in history. Will we live up to our fathers' sacrifices? Or, will we be known as the "Loser Generation" --the ones who abandoned the fight for Liberty and Democracy because it was too hard? Nuts to that.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:14 PM |

 
The Council Has Spoken !
Unbelievable! I won this week! Merry Christmas to Us All!

Here are the Winners for Best Council Link:

#1 Witchhunt Dr. Sanity

#2 Castro: US Equals Nazis The Sundries Shack

(and I highly recommend How To Be a Liberal University Professor, a Case Study by The Resplendent Mango)

Here are the Winners for Best Non-Council Link:

#1 Ratman of the Far Abroad The Diplomad (great analogy)

#2 Ten More Reasons to Hate Rumsfeld Sean Gleeson (very funny!)

And, for an extra special present in your stocking, check out all the winners at Watcher of Weasels for this week!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:25 AM |

 
VDH on Donald Rumsfeld
Victor Davis Hanson weighs in on Donald Rumsfeld (via LGF):

The Washington Post recently warned that doctors are urging interested parties of all types to get their flu shots before the "scarce" vaccine is thrown out. But how is such a surfeit possible when our national media scared us to death just a few months ago with the specter of a national flu epidemic, corporate malfeasance, and Bush laxity? That perfect storm of incompetence and skullduggery purportedly combined to leave us vulnerable to mass viral attack. So how can the Post now characterize something as "scarce" that is soon to be discarded for a want of takers? Was there too much or too little vaccine?
The answer, of course, is the usual media-inspired flight from reason that overwhelms this country at various times — hype playing on our fears and groupthink to create a sudden story when there really is none. And now with the renewed attack on Donald Rumsfeld we are back to more of the flu-shot hysteria that has been so common in this war. Remember the pseudo-crises of the past four years — the quagmire in week three in Afghanistan or the sandstorm bog-down in Iraq?

Let us not forget either all the Orwellian logic: Clinton's past deleterious military slashes that nevertheless explained the present win in Afghanistan, or his former appeasement of bin Laden that now accounts for the successful doctrine of fighting terror. Or recall the harebrained schemes we should have adopted — the uninvited automatic airlifting of an entire division into the high peaks of Islamic, nuclear Pakistan to cut off the tribal fugitives from Tora Bora? Or have we put out of our memories the brilliant trial balloons of a Taliban coalition government and the all Islamic post-Taliban occupation forces?

So it is with the latest feeding-frenzy over Donald Rumsfeld.

VDH is always worth reading, but his military perspective is especially welcome in this discussion. Read the entire essay.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:09 PM |

 
Victims of Life
Mike Adams has a fabulous piece up at Townhall.com. As a University professor, I can really appreciate this:

I am writing to you because a student recently contacted me to question her final grade in my class. First, she wanted me to explain our complex grading system. As you know, this involves adding your three test scores together and dividing by three. Fortunately, I was able to convince her that there had been no computational errors so we could move on to the issue that was really bothering her. She had had a “rough” semester and wanted me to give her some “consideration” for the difficulties she had encountered, which, according to her, adversely affected her performance in my class.

In addition to breaking up with her boyfriend, this concerned student was having difficulty paying her bills and had to work 30 hours a week while taking fifteen credit hours last semester. These difficulties added up, in her opinion, to at least a one letter grade drop in her class performance.

I remember one first-year medical student who was in a class of mine on medical interviewing. This student spent the entire year goofing around; making jokes and generally disrupting the class (I will admit he was very funny); but for me the clincher was that he never turned in homework or demonstrated in any way that he had learned anything. He was outraged that I gave him a "C" in the class (which, by the way, is considered a really bad grade in med school because of issues of grade inflation which I won't get into here).

"You have ruined my medical career!" he shouted angrily at me.
"Nonsense," I replied. "Besides, you're lucky I passed you at all since you goofed off most of the year."
"But I though you liked me and the jokes I made!"
Well, yes, I explained to him. I did like his jokes, although I had told him more than once that they were somewhat disruptive of the class. And I liked him for what it was worth. His grade had nothing to do with not liking him. I though he was a funny and interesting person. But he didn't complete the work of the class and his being a funny interesting person didn't compensate in the least for that. Needless to say he was shocked, and ended up filing a complaint against me (nothing ever came of it, since I kept good records). But the point is the incredible sense of entitlement some students have. They expect that without work; without effort; without thought--that they can charm their way in life. Or excuse themselves with the "I'm just a poor victim"line. Just as in Adams' class the girl expected that events in her life should compensate for her poor performance. (I can hear it in her future job, say as a safety inspector at NASA: "Well, but you don't understand! I just got a divorce, so I shouldn't be expected to be able to pick up every mistake in my section of the Shuttle inspection! It's not my fault the bolt came loose on re-entry" etc. etc.)

Unfortunately, both my student and Adam's are probably somewhat correct in their philosophies. Many individuals who use the same techniques as our students, not only get by, but are rewarded for such behavior as adults.

Sigh.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:36 PM |

 
A White Christmas
WhoooHoooo! Woke up this morning to about 5 inches of snow, with more on the way! I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR! I LOVE SNOW! (especially when I'm on vacation!).

When I was little, my mother used to play "White Christmas" with great fanfare on the piano--it was her favorite song and I could listen to her play it over and over again. I suppose that is the origin of my love affair with both winter and Christmas.... Of course, living for 15 years in the hot, humid, miserable climate of Houston, Texas very likely reinforced it. But...enough psychologizing...I'm going out to play in the snow.

Here's a "White Christmas" link you might enjoy (those of you who are stuck in non-wintery environments especially).



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:18 AM |

 
I Wonder...
An anonymous commentor to a recent post asks:

I wonder what would have happened in WWII if the death of every soldier was trumpeted across the headlines as evidence of hopelessness and imminent defeat? I wonder how the American people would have responded? I wonder if bloggers like Kos living then would have said: "FDR Destroys 20,000 more families" after Iwo Jima? I wonder why these people cannot allow themselves to believe that anything is worth dying for? I wonder why freedom is a meaningless concept to them? I wonder why they think that our soldies are all conscripted and forced against their will to be in the military? I wonder when they will get a clue?

Yes. I wonder all these things, too. I wonder why the media are so hellbent on encouraging the terrorists to think that if they continue their bloody murders and attacks that democracy won't happen in Iraq. I wonder why Afghanistan success meant nothing to them? I wonder why they hate America so much?

I wonder all these things and more. Then I remember that I am a psychiatrist and I look at what's happening with my psychiatric hat on. And I don't wonder any more. I begin to see a pattern in all the anti-American behavior and rhetoric; in all the anti-democracy, anti-globalization; anti-Imperialistic; anti-War; anti-Israel; anti-freedom screaming and hysteria. I begin to see the narcissistic, self-serving delusions of people who absolutely refuse to face reality and expect reality to conform to their ideology and not the other way round. I see anger, hatred and fear disguised as intellectual superiority and rationalization. I see people who are fanatic about moderates and moderate about fanatics. Who give a free pass to evil because that way they can blame the usual suspects (you know-capitalism; greed; selfishness; the U.S., Israel; ) and not have to take any responsibility for their own behavior or beliefs.

Let me quote from Jean-Francois Revel, whose book Anti-Americanism was a revelation for me when it first came out, and continues to inspire me as I read it again during my Christmas vacation:

Europe in general and [the]Left in particular absolve themselves of their own moral failings and their grotesque intellectual errors by heaping them onto the monster scapegoat, the United States of America. For stupidity and bloodshed to vanish from Europe, the U.S., contrary to every lesson of real history, must be identified as the singular threat to democracy. Even during the Cold War, although it was the U.S.S.R. that annexed Eastern Europe, made satellites out of several African countries, and invaded Afghanistan, and although it was the People's Republic of China that marched into Tibet, attacked South Korea and subjugated three Indochinese countries, it remained dogma amond Europeans [and all Leftist intellectuals- ed.]--from Sweden to Sicily, from Athens to Paris--that the only power that could be fingered as "imperialistic" was America.

Just as in the Cold War, where the Communists and Socialists (whose policies resulted in the death of millions; and who managed to increase the human misery index to unheard of heights while impoverishing every country where they came into power)--were given a free pass by the Left; these same so-called Leftist "intellectuals"in Europe and in America now give a free pass to the human scum who practice the murder of innocents and behead people while mouthing religious slogans. They rave about "women's rights" trampled by George W. Bush; while simultaneously praising a culture where women are no better than dogs; where they can be murdered for daring to speak out against their oppressors. (If you can stomach it, go here to link to pictures of the latest atrocity meted out to a woman in the enlightened Muslim country of Iran--via Pejmanesque)

During the Cold War, these "intellectuals" made a mental alliance with Communism and Socialism; now they have made it with Terrorism and Islamofascism. They used to cry that it was because of the poverty inflicted by Capitalism that people justifiably turned to Communism; now they cry that it is the poverty in the Middle East --caused, of course, by the West and Capitalism--that leads to the heinous acts of terrorism around the world. Studies that show that Terrorists primarily come from the middle class and that Freedom (under which Capitalism can thrive) squelches terrorism--do not deter the anti-West proclamations . The Left's strategy is the same now as it was during the Cold War: declare everyone supported by the Left as "victims" since it is the easiest way to prevent any criticism of them. Thus, perpetrators of terrorism are simply poor, helpless "victims" of U.S. Imperialism or Capitalism etc. etc.--you get the idea.

History, which has shown repeatedly that Capitalism has been the only system to bring large numbers of people out of poverty, is ignored; and despite all evidence that poverty is only increased or maintained and spread by the totalitarian regimes that adhere to rigid Socialist or Communist philosophy, the people of the Left remain religiously devout to their creed.

I call these people "intellectuals"-with the quotes- for a good reason. They should be called "hysterics" in the classic sense of the word, because their emotions are what control them, not their intellect. They seem incapable of learning from the history of the 20th century, and tragically seem impelled to repeat the same mistakes in the 21st.

I wonder if they are capable of any psychological insight into their own feelings and behavior? Or have they gone beyond in their mind to a place where reason is not able to reach anymore? I wonder....

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:38 PM |

 
A Window into Al-Qaeda
Winds of Change went to a counterterrorism conference in New York last week, and has some interesting insights into Al-Qaeda. Here are just a few juicy tidbits taken at random:

• There's been a solid string of captured couriers with audio casettes or letters from bin Laden to his subordinates and senior lieutenants since roughly August 2002, nearly all of which have been intercepted coming out of the Afghan-Pakistan border region. Recent information recovered from Fallujah has led US intelligence to believe that bin Laden is also in touch with Zarqawi through electronic means, though I have no idea as to exactly how.
• Spain may have given al-Qaeda their first victory, but Garzon, Spain's top anti-terrorism judge, is an apolitical kind of guy [Hispalibertas.com says: political] and hasn't let up on the fight against the organization. This apparently led to a plan by the remnants of the cell that carried out 3/11 to off him and destroy all the information he had on the group by staging a massive bombing of the national courthouse. I hope he has somebody starting his car every morning.
• Everyone at the conference seemed extremely confident that we had thwarted a pre-election terrorist plot of some kind. No clue what, when, or how and Shukrijumah unfortunately remains in circulation.

Read the entire summation, which is loaded with information on Al-Qaeda.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 9:53 AM |

 
Priority Check
Here are two letters from people who have a right to be heard. No comment is needed. Please read them both.

From a Marine's father: (via PowerLine)

If [our son] had been killed, we would have been first informed by a visit - in dress blues - from a condolence team typically consisting of two Marines and one Navy Chaplain. We know many families who've received that knock on the door. No letter is required. No words are required. A simple peek thru the view hole in the door and the sight of dress blue blouses, white covers and white gloves tells you all you ever need to know. A letter of condolence from the SecDef is, honestly, not even worth opening. Families are much more interested in hearing from the men who served with their son and from their families. We share the constant knowledge and fear that it could be our door bell being rung. Sec. Rumsfeld doesn't know our son. He's a Lance Corporal. He directs a machine gun team. He is a vital link in the line that protects our way of life. He doesn't fight for his country, he doesn't fight for the SecDef, he doesn't even fight for his mom and dad. He fights for the guys on either side of him and for his team. He fights to secure his objective of the moment, which he may or may not understand or agree with. Sec Rumsfeld doesn't need to take time from his day to sign a form letter of condolence and he certainly doesn't need to take time to figure out what the LCpl was doing when he was killed or what kind of a man he was. His job is to make sure the LCpl didn't die in vain and that only as few LCpl's as possible will have to die to end this war in a successful manner.

Don't get me wrong, we would appreciate the condolence letter from the SecDef, as well as one from the White House and from our Senator and Representative, from the Mayor and Governor. But none would bring back our son. And they are all form letters, signatures be damned. A letter from his 1stSgt, from the men we know in his unit would be a treasure and a comfort.

I don't know what happens in other branches, or even other units. But in 2/4, I know the 1stSgt's personally contact the surviving family with letters, emails and phone calls of condolence.

By the way, we know families of fallen Marines who've been flown to sites where President Bush was speaking. He met with them privately after his event, never any press coverage, and the families have said that - after being given an agenda for their time with the President and being told that he's on a very tight schedule - Mr. Bush talked to every family member as long as they wanted to talk, never hurried anyone, cried with family, hugged everyone and they all felt like he had nothing else to do for the rest of the day but bring comfort to them. For that, George W. Bush has my eternal respect and gratitude. And there was NEVER one word of publicity surrounding any of these meetings with families. (I have pictures to dissuade doubters.)Bottom line, we support Sec Rumsfeld. The people who are making a big deal about this have their heads up their collective a****. They need to have a serious priority check on what people in positions of responsibility should be doing with their time. They should also chat with some military families if they could figure out how to contact them.

An email from Texas to The Corner:

Clinton has been out office for 4 years, the Twin Towers pulverized 3000 souls and yet even Conservatives can’t let go of the “it’s all about my feelings” ethos of the 90s. Am I appalled that Rumsfeld might use an auto pen to sign letter of condolence to the next of kin? Absolutely not. I want him working full bore 24/7 to re-organize the Army and win the war in Iraq. Let’s be honest here. How important is a form letter from the Secretary of Defense intoning, “On behalf of the President and………..”

You know what the families crave, honest to goodness personal letters from the commanding officer of their loved one’s company and battalion. These are real people who knew the deceased. People who can honestly say, “I was there when John pulled one of his squad members out of the ambush”, or “Mary upheld the highest traditions of the Army”. This is just another weak criticism of a man who has a difficult job. It appears that the only way his opponents can attack him is to nibble him to death.

What do people expect? For Rumsfeld to personally go to Kuwait and bolt armor on Humvees? Do they want him shed tears for the dead? As any veteran will tell you, there’s time enough for tears after the battle is won. Just months ago, some media morons were echoing this choice morsel, “Why doesn’t the President go to Dover and meet the coffins of the dead?” Isn’t this just too ludicrous for words? The President and the Secretary of Defense owe a greater duty to the living than the dead. Even as late as the Vietnam era, the response of the American public was to suck it up and drive on.

Eisenhower would probably agree with the statement that “every life is precious”, but that does not change the military and moral calculus on the beaches of Normandy. Sometimes soldiers die. The duty of the chain of command is to see to it that a soldier’s death is a positive contribution to a just and moral end, not an offering to Odin.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:22 PM |

 
The Satellite of Love, Blogsphere Edition
I was a big fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (better known as MST3K) and have missed it greatly since it went off the air sometime back. Thus, when I read these words from Mary at Exit Zero(formerly what they are saying), I found myself in the midst of an epiphany:

In any case, reading about ‘The The Eye Creatures’ makes me nostalgic for the real cult classic, MST3K. I really miss that show; about the crappy opening credits for 'The the..' and the costumes in which the zippers and black sneakers were clearly visible, Crow, Mike Nelson and Tom Servo agreed – the producers ‘just didn’t care’.

I miss MST3K, but I think the concept of heckling junk entertainment (and turning hours of snark into a decent show) inspired us all.

What are fisking and blogs but an updated version of the Satellite of Love? Trapped with no escape from cheesy news, the worst ever made – we’ve got lemons, we make lemonade.

CNN and the Times make 'Eye Creatures' look like high art. They just don’t care. Too bad it's not just a show. (emphasis mine)

Wow! What an incredible insight! This is exactly what inspired me to begin blogging in the first place. I will treasure the image of bloggers, their outlines stark black against the screen, making ascerbic and witty comments about the cheesy news. Thanks, Mary!

Crow, Mike Nelson and Tom Servo watching a cheesy movie on the satellite of love.


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:03 PM |

 
Come Back When You Grow Up, Girl
Maureen Dowd only made #10 on John Hawkin's "Top 20 Most Annoying Liberals" List, but I think she deserves a much higher ranking. Her columns make me wince with embarassment that someone is so clueless, forced, and cutesy at the same time. Like her most recent one, with its attempt to humiliate Donald Rumsfeld, which only succeeds in demonstrating what a twit its author is. John Henke does a great job of dicing and slicing that column up; but I would like to dedicate the following song (and advice) to MoDo, with thanks to Bobby Vee:

Come back when you grow up, girl
You're still livin' in a September 10 world
Thinkin' ain't easy, writin's twice as tough
So come back, baby, when you grow up

You write real bad like a child now
Your mind hasn't gotten the message somehow
That we're in a war and wars are rough
Come back, baby, when you grow up

Your cutesy talk and your wide-eyed innocence
Has really messed up your mind, yeah-eah-eah
'Cause you can be so bitchy, baby
In every single written line

Come back when you grow up, girl
You're still livin' in a September 10 world
You'll never be a journalist; you can give it up
Come back, baby, when you grow up

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:23 PM |

 
Top 20 Most Annoying Liberals
John Hawkins over at Right Wing News has a detailed list of the "Top Twenty Most Annoying Liberals". I'm glad he thought of it first, because when the Leftys make their list (as they are sure to do), we can all yell, "Copycat!".

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 2:09 PM |

 
USA Today Article
I'm quoted in USA Today on the Space Station food problem. You can go here to check it out if you're interested. You might not realize that in my past life I was a NASA flight surgeon and researcher. Although it's hard to believe, I am at times considered an "expert" in space medicine and psychology. I am also one of the world's experts on "sex in space"--not because I've done it there necessarily, but because I've written a "scholarly" article on the subject. Just another of my many talents!

/modestly bows head

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:30 PM |

 
What's It All About, Algae?
Mark Steyn asks, "What's it all about--algae?" Good stuff. (hat tip: Betsy's Page). Steyn pokes a little fun at the environmental movement and makes some good points while he's at it:

If I see a guy with a "Save the algae" collecting box, I'm happy to chip in five bucks. But, at the same time as the Royal Institute and the eco-left and all the other progressive thinkers are in a mass panic at the thought of the krill having to adjust his way of life, they're positively insouciant about massive changes to our own habitat. You're not entirely cool with gay marriage? Or the U.N. as a world government in embryo? Tough, shrugs the Guardian. Stuff happens, things change, adapt or die.

As they say: Read the whole thing.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:16 AM |

 
Upcoming Iraq Election Information
Those who might like some in-depth detail about the upcoming Iraq elections might find it interesting to go here (hat tip: Charles Paul Freund, who has some interesting thoughts himself about those elections).

And here is Arthur Chrenkoff's latest in the WSJ on the good news from Iraq, with some pre-election polling.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:15 AM |

 
Looking For A Few Good Blogs
Once again, The Watcher's Council is looking for a few good blogs (actually, just one) to become a member of the Council! If you are interested, go to the link and read up on the rules. It's fun. It's easy. And you'll get to read a lot of good material!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:10 AM

 
Person of the Year - 2004
I'm a little late with this, but I just have to post it anyway!

Time Magazine Person of the Year: "For sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively), for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his ten-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years, George W. Bush is TIME's 2004 Person of the Year"



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:10 PM |

 
Weekly Insanity Roundup
Happy Sunday, Folks. It's time for the weekly roundup of the insane, the absurd, the amusing, and the just plain ridiuculous. My list is not exclusive, that's for sure! If you have anything insane to share, feel free to send it to me. Cheers!

1. Isn't this pediatric profiling?

2. Scientific Proof that you can be an historian AND and idiot at the same time! Amazing!

3. What a bunch of CHICKENS! Nyah. Nyah. Nyah.

4. Trick or Treat in Costa Rica.

5. Even Conan Doyle wouldn't have believed this case.

6. Hey! I think I found some Washington State uncounted ballots in my garage!

7. Vilification Legislation? If I lived in Australia, I'd be in jail, I guess.

8. Pagan symbols are OK. Thank God!

9. Et tu, ACLU?

10. Still crazy after all these years. (At least delusional)

11. Daring sea rescue. (hat tip: Betsy's Page)

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:08 AM |

 
Heal Our National Rift !
Dave Barry has the solution!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:33 PM |

 
Witchhunt
Hugh Hewitt documents some of the insanity that is now going on about Celebrex (from Pfizer) and how it is such a "scandal" according to CNN and others. I agree with Hewitt, who comments, "Where's the scandal?"

Exactly.

Pfizer, has concluded from its research that Celebrex in higher doses results in an increase in cardiac problems. Instead of 1 out of hundred people getting these problems, it is actually 3 out of a hundred.

I mention this issue because it happens to be something that really irritates me--the reflex anti-pharmaceutical industry mentality that somehow seems to believe that drug companies want to kill all the people who purchase their products. Doesn't this seem absurd to you? What would be the point? The profit motive is not generally supportive of inducing death to paying customers. I mean, what possible gain would any company get from that?

The ridiculous reporting on issues in medicine in general--you know, the stories that intone that there is a "three-fold increase in deaths" and such--are designed to inspire fear, not information to the public. What exactly IS a "three-fold increase in deaths" anyway? Well, to judge that you have to go to the original study and see how the study was done (something that somehow never makes it into the news story). In Celebrex's case, the death rate went from 1 out of 100 to 3 out of 100. In other studies it might be 10 in 10,000 going to 30 in 10.000. In either case, the odds are that a person taking the drug WON'T die. But there is a slightly increased risk, which means that if millions take the drug, that increased risk will be evident.

Hello??? Newsflash: EVERY SINGLE DRUG ON THE MARKET - EVEN OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS - HAVE SIDE EFFECTS AND POSE RISKS TO ANYONE WHO TAKES THEM. Let's take aspirin, for example. Did you know that it can kill you if you take a modest overdose? That it can lead to disastrous internal bleeding (that can kill you)? I personally know some people who have developed irreversible tinnitus (ringing in the ears) from taking it? Yes, this is ASPIRIN for God's sake! I won't even go into Tylenol (acetophenamine)--but it can destroy your liver and is potentially kill you. So can Ibuprofen. So can any pill you take for any reason.

The Pharmaceutical industry in this country spends billions of dollars to develop drugs for all the things that ail us. They have to jump through the FDA hoops (I wonder if anyone has calculated how many lives are lost while waiting for cutting-edge drugs to make it through the absolutely insane FDA approval process? I would bet it is a THOUSAND times more than the number lost because of "bad drugs"). The drug companies get a bad rap for every single problem, no matter how idiosynchratic the reaction. It is ridiculous to expect that drugs must be 100% safe for 100% of the people who take them. Insisting on such an unrealistic goal is not only foolish, but counterproductive.

Our society is fast becoming completely risk-aversive. Like anything else in life, taking medication means weighing the pros and cons. There are risks to taking the pill and risks if you don't take the pill. In the case of Celebrex, many many people's lives have improved on a day to day basis because they are able to move around and function without pain. Let THEM make the choice as to whether the risk is worth it to them. Only the individual can make the decision whether the risk vs. the benefit is acceptable in their specific case.

Let's stop the witchhunt and give some credit where it is due. The pharmaceutical industry has made medicine in this country LIGHT-YEARS ahead of the rest of the world. Our life-spans have increased and our ability to actually FUNCTION in this increased lifespan has been due in part to their efforts. They are not by any means perfect in all that they do, but I, for one, do not begrudge them any profits they can make on the products they develop and test. All I ask of them is to give me the information about the risks, so that I and my doctor can make an informed decision.

UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds comments, "If a drug company did this it would be a huge scandal. But it's the government, so it's okay!"


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:22 AM |

 
Merry Christmahanakwanzakah
Charles Krauthammer has a terrific column (registration is required, so I am going to quote it from Betsy's Page)

Some Americans get angry at parents who want to ban carols because they tremble that their kids might feel "different" and "uncomfortable" should they, God forbid, hear Christian music sung at their school. I feel pity. What kind of fragile religious identity have they bequeathed their children that it should be threatened by exposure to carols?

I'm struck by the fact that you almost never find Orthodox Jews complaining about a Christmas creche in the public square. That is because their children, steeped in the richness of their own religious tradition, know who they are and are not threatened by Christians celebrating their religion in public. They are enlarged by it.

It is the more deracinated members of religious minorities, brought up largely ignorant of their own traditions, whose religious identity is so tenuous that they feel the need to be constantly on guard against displays of other religions -- and who think the solution to their predicament is to prevent the other guy from displaying his religion, rather than learning a bit about their own.

To insist that the overwhelming majority of this country stifle its religious impulses in public so that minorities can feel "comfortable" not only understandably enrages the majority but commits two sins. The first is profound ungenerosity toward a majority of fellow citizens who have shown such generosity of spirit toward minority religions. The second is the sin of incomprehension -- a failure to appreciate the uniqueness of the communal American religious experience. Unlike, for example, the famously tolerant Ottoman Empire or the generally tolerant Europe of today, the United States does not merely allow minority religions to exist at its sufferance. It celebrates and welcomes and honors them.

America transcended the idea of mere toleration in 1790 in Washington's letter to the Newport synagogue, one of the lesser known glories of the Founding: "It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights." More than two centuries later, it is time that members of religious (and anti-religious) minorities, as full citizens of this miraculous republic, transcend something too: petty defensiveness.

Merry Christmas. To all.

Krauthammer hints at the underlying psychological processes (he is a psychiatrist) of those who would try to stifle others' religious expression. It is the same self-absorbed, narcissistic envy so prevalent in our society that is behind the petty complaints and "feelings of exclusion" that appear to trump constitutional rights of free expression.

If "diversity" REALLY meant anything, then we would be joyfully celebrating ALL holiday traditions and there would be no whining about feelings being hurt by one religion's symbols or another's. Merry Christmahanakwanzakah to you!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:03 PM |

 
The Council Has Spoken !
This week's winners in the Watcher's Council are:

Best Council Link:
Fixing Our Broken Borders at The Education Wonks

Best Non-Council Link:
Juan Cole Is Pond Scum at BuzzMachine

Check out all the winners at the Watcher's site !



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:22 PM |

 
Because They Are Losing
Glenn Reynolds makes an important point in this post:

JON HENKE NOTES A BIN LADEN FLIPFLOP:

One year ago, Al Qaeda believed they should work against the United States,
rather than working to destabilize the Arab regimes. One year ago, Al Qaeda was
focusing outward, rather than inward. One year ago, Al Qaeda believed in
coexistence with the House of Saud.
One year ago, Al Qaeda believed the Caliphate could best be established by detente with the House of Saud, and War against the United States. Today, Al Qaeda seeks detente with the US, and war against the House of Saud.

That's because they're losing.

You may have noticed that Bin Laden and his minions have not been able to touch the homeland U.S. since 9/11. He has had to settle for softer targets. The U.S. has not captured him, but he has been kept on the run and risks capture with every move. He can pretend that the U.S. is his main target, but the truth is that he has been forced by U.S. actions to change both his overall strategy as well as his specific tactics. He must now focus on a growing fissure within Islam itself; and deal with the tide of freedom and democracy that is overtaking the Middle East. From his perspective, this tide has been not only unwelcome, but wholly unexpected in the 3 short years since 9/11. Who could have predicted that his carefully crafted safe haven in Afghanistan under the malicious Taliban would be wiped from the earth to be replaced by a democratically- elected government of the people.

If Bin Laden is as religiously fanatical as he postures, then he must conclude that it is all Allah's will. And he must be wondering if Allah, in his infinite mercy, has decided that Life is better than Death; Freedom better than Enslavement; and that maybe he, Bin Laden himself, has been judged and found superfluous to the future of the world. Inshallah, indeed.



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:02 AM |

 
The Best of VDH
John Hawkins has a list of the "Best Victor Davis Hanson Quotes of 2004". Those of you who read this blog know how much I admire VDH, so I highly recommend it!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:36 PM |

 
Is The U.N. Worth Saving?
It's not just Annan. There's enough corruption in the UN on every level and in every program to prevent it from ever being areal force for good in the world. (Check out here and here, for more comments about this) It seems that the UN has become the cover used by thugs and tyrants all around the world.

Cartoon from Cox and Forkum, of course!

UPDATE: Roger Simon has more on Kofi and the UN and their passive aggressive behavior toward freedom and democracy.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:24 AM |

 
Rocking the Casbah
Belmont Club has a fascinating analysis of the U.S. Middle Eastern strategy that I highly recommend. Here's an excerpt, but go read the whole thing:

The really fascinating aspect of both men's analysis is the idea that freedom and politics are really going to be the agents of destruction for the "ancien regime of tyrant and terrorist", not as a figure of speech but as literal truth. The role of the US military would be strategically indirect and subtle: to ensure that the old regimes cannot contain the forces that would naturally spring up against them.

In this view, victory against terror need not take the form of the 101st Airborne marching into Teheran. It would be enough to merely hold the ring in Iraq to win over the Mullahs. Nations often return to strategies which they are most familiar with. Iran instinctively turned to the Lebanese experience to model its confrontation with America. It was natural that the United States might remember Europe and Korea when at war again. In both cases America won a decisive victory not by marching into Moscow or Pyongyang, but by merely ensuring that Western Europe and South Korea developed separately. In Iraq the old was new again.

John Burns of the New York Times describes the potential of the Iraqi election to rock Damascus, Teheran and even Washington.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:04 PM |

 
In Khomeini's Own Words
With the recent conference in Texas honoring the "visionary" Ayatollah Khomeini, Frontpage Magazine has an article about the man that Jimmy Carter allowed to seize power in Iran in 1979 (hat tip: Jim O):

As Khomeini himself put it: “Islam makes it incumbent on all adult males, provided they are not disabled or incapacitated, to prepare themselves for the conquest of countries so that the writ of Islam is obeyed in every country in the world....But those who study Islamic Holy War will understand why Islam wants to conquer the whole world.”

The goal of this conquest would be to establish the hegemony of Islamic law. As Khomeini put it: “What is the good of us [i.e., the mullahs] asking for the hand of a thief to be severed or an adulteress to be stoned to death when all we can do is recommend such punishments, having no power to implement them?”

Khomeini accordingly delivered notorious rebuke to the Islam-is-a-religion-of-peace crowd: “Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those [who say this] are witless. Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all! Does this mean that Muslims should sit back until they are devoured by [the unbelievers]? Islam says: Kill them, put them to the sword and scatter [their armies].... Islam says: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of the sword! People cannot be made obedient except with the sword! The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for the Holy Warriors! There are hundreds of other [Qur’anic] psalms and Hadiths [sayings of the Prophet] urging Muslims to value war and to fight. Does all this mean that Islam is a religion that prevents men from waging war? I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim.” (emphasis mine)

Folks, it can't be articulated more clearly than this. The Islamofascist terrorists are just trying to make it happen faster. But if anyone still has any questions about what the goals of Islam are for humanity, I recommend that you check out some of the articles here.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 9:43 PM |

 
Blind Spot
Here's an interesting first-person narrative from a professor in academia about his experience with the liberal bias of that institution. From the Chronicle of Higher Education, via Instapundit.

As if to confirm that I was indeed just being paranoid, I sat through 50 minutes of my first faculty meeting on the campus with nary a mention of politics. I must have read the parking lot wrong, I thought. Then, in the final few minutes of the meeting, a senior faculty member arose to make an announcement: A faculty panel would discuss the impact of September 11 on the United States, with the dean of the college offering summary remarks.
There was no hint of a leftward lean -- until, that is, the senior faculty member added, "And just in case the students don't get our message on how to vote in November, we have arranged for a showing of Fahrenheit 9/11 directly after the panel."

Having sat through such political torture myself a number of times, I know just how this new faculty member is feeling. By far the most disconcerting aspect of being a conservative in a liberal enclave that supposedly exists to facilitate learning, is the casual and complete cluelessness about the possibility of other viewpoints. These liberal minds cannot conceive of anyone at their intellectual level disagreeing with their political position. It's breathtaking to observe. Even after the election, when more than 50 % of the country did not vote their way, they are incapable of understanding it and prefer to use concepts like "ignorant masses"; stupid rightwing nuts" etc. etc. They look in the rear mirror of their imported, upscale cars and see the traffic, but somehow never manage to check their blind spot. I suppose that's why they keep getting run over by the truck.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:20 PM |

 
HAH!
Take that, all you Bush-Haters! And from a Canadian, no less.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:13 PM |

 
Islam and Women, Again
It really irks me that I don't hear more from women's groups around the world about the status of women in Islamic culture. (see here, if you're interested) Meanwhile, score another point for Islamic misogyny and the enabling concept of cultural relativism. This is what we have come to expect from a religion and a culture that encourages suicide bombers to believe they will be rewarded with 40 virgins in heaven (all they have to offer women suicide bombers is a socially sanctioned escape from the misery of living under the boot of Islamic society).

And for the female apologists for Islamic culture: when you are free to CHOOSE to wear a burqa or veil, and not FORCED, then you will be free. Until then, you are simply deluding yourself. (Similar psychologically to the German Jews who, hiding their Jewish identity or ties, supported the Third Reich--its called "identification with the aggressor)

I have frequently thought that the one good point about Islamic societies is that they are the perfect example of why the concept of "multiculturalism"(every culture is as good as every other culture) is completely ridiculous. Islamic culture is mired in medieval times and promotes medieval thinking: it is not only primitive, it is barbaric. And nowhere is that more obvious than the manner in which women are treated.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:46 PM |

 
A Very Good Day For Medicine
This is very interesting:

A SIGNIFICANT breakthrough in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease was announced yesterday after scientists discovered 10 smells which can be used to predict if patients will develop the condition. The remarkable results of research have shown that the inability to smell certain odours can determine which patients with minimal or mild cognitive impairment will go on to develop Alzheimer’s. Researchers have now produced a list of the top ten smells which they believe are the best predictors of the disease. These are strawberry, smoke, soap, menthol, clove, pineapple, natural gas, lilac, lemon and leather. (emphasis mine)

The research on Alzheimer's was done at NY State Psychiatric Institute. And, while we're discussing scientific breakthroughs, this article also suggests a major advance in HIV treatment from Rutgers:

Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a trio of drugs they believe can destroy HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to a published report.
The drugs, called DAPYs, mimic the virus by changing shape, which enables them to interfere with the way HIV attacks the immune system.
Tests conducted in conjunction with Johnson and Johnson have shown the drug to be easily absorbed with minimal side effects. It also can be taken in one pill, in contrast to the drug cocktails currently taken by many AIDS patients.

Wow! This has been a very good day for Medicine!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:18 PM |

 
He Knew Jihad
As far back as the early 19th century, an American President wrote about the potential dangers Islam posed to mankind: (link via Betsy's Page)

John Quincy Adams possessed a remarkably clear, uncompromised understanding of the permanent Islamic institutions of jihad war and dhimmitude. Regarding jihad, Adams states in his essay series,

“…he [Muhammad] declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind…The precept of the Koran is, perpetual war against all who deny, that Mahomet is the prophet of God.”

It appears that over time, people tended to forget this essential truth about Islam. Here are several more recent pieces of evidence about this: Outlawing Blasphemy and Ayatollapalooza (both from The Corner) and more on the "moderate" Muslims in Texas celebrating Ayatollah Khomeni, the "Great Islamic Visionary."

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:10 PM |

 
The Cultural Ignorance of the Left
RealClearPolitics points to a very interesting essay by a South Dakota businessman and lawmaker:

True or false: The average resident of New York City, Boston, Washington, Los Angeles or San Francisco knows more about life in France than they do about life in South Dakota.That question came to mind while listening to some of the establishment Democratic media discuss November's election results.

For just a little while, they noticed the rest of the country. I heard one correspondent joke that maybe they should send some foreign correspondents to the Midwest. Urban, blue state opinion is so uniformly liberal, it was hard for them to believe Bush could win. They didn't personally know many Bush supporters. They're seldom exposed to opposing points of view, and they never have to intellectually defend what they believe.

For them, every election like this is a reminder of how strange we red staters must be.One reason is that, despite the homage the urban liberals pay to the idea of diversity, you have to live in rural, red state America to experience intellectual diversity.

We hear both sides of the story. On abortion, the environment, gay marriage, war, and taxes, we hear the liberal side from the national media, and we hear both sides in the local media and radio. Sure, we hear the liberal side twice, but at least we hear the conservative side once.Another reason liberals never hear the other side is that they're such bullies. Intellectual bullies, that is.

Things like this are hard to quantify, but you can detect it in how liberals argue their political positions. Consider hate crimes laws. They criminalize thought. We can all agree that things like assault, murder, and theft should be illegal, but only an intellectual bully is interested in whether you had the correct thoughts about those you were murdering or assaulting.

Read the whole piece. And if you want an example of the smug, intellectual superiority that simple oozes from the people the author is describing, you couldn't do better than to read the comment section of the previous post (The Invisible News). "Mitzell" has the blue-state mentality down pat and there ain't nuthin' gonna part him from his stereotyped view of anyone who has ideas different from his.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:11 PM |

 
The Invisible News
I am sure you all noticed this important story on the front page of your newspaper. WHAT! You didn't?? How can that be?

/sarcasm

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:44 PM |

 
Why Not?
A new Army report out makes a giant leap for womankind:

Internal Army documents advocate changing Pentagon rules on mixed-sex units in a way that critics say will risk placing female soldiers in ground-combat situations. The Nov. 29 briefing to senior Army officers at the Pentagon, presented as part of the service's sweeping transformation of its 10 war-fighting divisions, advocates scrapping the military's ban on collocation — the deployment of mixed-sex noncombat units alongside all-male combat brigades. The briefing contained the phrase: "The way ahead: rewrite/eliminate the Army collocation policy."

Some argue that this paves the way for women to be in combat units. I say, why not? If a woman meets all the physical requirements and wants to be in a combat unit--what's the big deal? The usual responses to this question are the following:

1. War is too uncivilized for women. This agument conjures up the frail, helpless stereotype from century before last. It does a great disservice to men. If it is too uncivilized for women, why isn't it too uncivilized for men? The truth is that "war is hell" for anyone with any common sense, no matter their particular gender. Let the individual male or female decide.

2. But..but..motherhood! What about..fatherhood? Children need both their parents--at different times. This is true. I see no reason why this fact could not be accommodated by the modern military. There is also a wonderful technology called "birth control" that might be applicable here. For both men and women.

3. But they might get pregnant. See above-mentioned technology. They also might get pregnant working in an office. These days, people can decide if they want to get pregnant or not. It's a matter of technology and free will. Yes, mistakes will happen. So what. The Army isn't capable of eliminating irresponsible behavior, though it tries (see Grhaib, Abu for details).

4. But men will get overprotective of women in combat and put their own lives in jeopardy! This might be true for a little while, but I suspect common sense will eventually prevail. And, maybe some of the little women might put their lives in jeopardy protecting some big, strong men. It's called comraderie, and putting yourself at risk for your fellow soldier and its a big part of being in the military.

5. People won't like to hear about female casualties during war. Again, so what? No reasonable person likes to hear about any casualties or deaths. Every individual life is precious, men's included. If we agree that there are some things in life worth fighting for, then women are as entitled to fight for them as men are. If you don't agree, then no part of this discussion has any meaning for you.

The truth is that putting women in combat requires an almost herculean effort to change one's thinking about the world. To finally admit that some women ARE the equal of some men in every way; and in every endeavor-no matter how brutal or primitive. That women equal men in their longing for justice and freedom at any price; in their fierce desire to do their duty; and in their capacity to kill, if necessary to serve their country. And that's just scary to a lot of folks.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:04 PM |

 
Poor Man--History Has Passed Him By
Eric Foner, a leftist historian writing in the Nation:

RARELY HAS A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION produced such widespread despair on the left. By any objective standard, George W. Bush has been among the worst Presidents in American history. One of the main purposes of elections in a democracy is to act as a check on those in power by confronting them with the possibility of being removed from office. If Bush can be re-elected after having alienated virtually the entire world, brought the country into war on false pretenses and mortgaged the nation's future to provide economic benefits to the rich, what incentive will other Presidents have to act more reasonably?

Foner manages to summarize the contempt the Left feels toward anyone outside their elitist cocoon, and simultaneously, with breathtaking arrogance, demonstrates his "intellectual" superiority by asserting that whatever he thinks is the "objective standard" by which all of us should think! Isn't that nice?

This is the sort of drivel that passes for intellectual discussion in his circles, I imagine. Just for fun, let's look at his 'objective standards" that prove GWB is among the worse Presidents in American History.

1. He's "alienated virtually the entire world"
First of all, this assertion has been shown repeatedly to be completely false. The coalition that participated in Iraq was composed of even more countries than participated in the 1st Gulf War (see HERE for the facts). What Foner actually means is that so-called "progressives" like himself, and some countries (such as France and Germany and many of the totalitarian regimes of the Middle East) are not happy with the U.S. decision to oust Saddam Hussein (Security Council Resolution 1441 notwithstanding). I can understand Mr. Foner's anguish. But my response--like it is to every one of my patients who don't want to face reality-- is to grow up. Sometimes you have to do the RIGHT thing, even if it isn't the POPULAR thing. George Bush has done much that is RIGHT, and goodness--he's even popular, too. I mean 51% of the citizens of the US voted for him, didn't they? And here is an article from Damascus that suggests that a majority in Syria of all places, would have voted for him, too! Just because you don't like him, Mr. Foner, doesn't mean the entire world doesn't like him. That's sort of grandiose, don't you think?

2. He "brought the country into war on false pretenses"
Come on. Give me a break. False pretenses? How many articles have shown this to be false? How many times does this ridiculous assertion need to be debunked before reason seeps into the Bush-Haters' brains? GWB looked at the same intelligence that the rest of the world looked at. The same intelligence that every senator and congressman looked at. That John Kerry and John Edwards looked at. That France, Germany, Britain and virtually any country that has an intelligence service looked at. They ALL came to the same conclusion. Saddam's WMD's were thought to be real; AND even Saddam encouraged this widely held belief. Accept it.

3. "Mortgaged the nation's future to provide economic benefits to the rich"
OK. This is the old "class warfare" argument that jerks like this guy has been promulgating from time immemorial. They're all for "fairness" unless you happen to be rich. Then its OK be be unfair. Like the tax system of this country, which penalizes the rich to the extent that the top 5% of wage earners (of $120,000 or over) pay 55% of the income taxes (see here). Geesh. What could be fairer? Practically anything. GWB has given some of that money back, to EVERYONE who paid it. People like John Kerry or THK, or Hollywood celebrities . are free to give the government more of their money if they want to (and, btw, I don't notice that they have put their money where their mouths are), but I for one, was delighted to get some money back from the government.

This historical genius goes on to say:
I suspect that the attacks of September 11 and the sense of being engaged in a worldwide "war on terror" contributed substantially to Bush's victory. Generally speaking, Americans have not changed Presidents in the midst of a war. The Bush campaign consistently and successfully appealed to fear, with continuous warnings of imminent and future attacks. Land of the free? Perhaps. Home of the brave? Not anymore. (emphasis mine)

Yes, yes...I see it now! September 11 was a trivial incident and this "sense" I have that we are engaged in a worldwide war on terror must be a delusion of mine! Part of a vast rightwing conspiracy to keep the population of the U.S. (and probably the world!) fearful and controlled! Now, why didn't I figure that out? Clearly this man represents the best and brightest of his field!

For the record, I happen to think that--with all his flaws--history will be extremely kind to George W. Bush; and may even rank him among the greatest of U.S. Presidents. Now, wouldn't that be a kicker!

My only question is this: what incentive does anyone have to listen to the pseudointellectual rantings of an historian who has let history pass him by?

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:32 PM |

 
Weekly Insanity Roundup
Well, here is the weekly roundup of the insane, the unbelievable, the ridiculous and the pathetic. I don't know about you, but it really helps my mental health to collect these during the week!

1. "I could live forever without that visual." So could I.

2. A penis tree???

3. Is meatball eating the next Olympic sport?

4. He's not in Kansas anymore.

5. This is soooooo 21st century!

6. Emerging from the catacombs, they shall overcome!

7. Right. This is exactly what the Democrats need to get them in touch. (Actually, they should probably hire a psychiatrist. I'm available)

8. Who in the world is suprised that this person doesn't like Christmas? Halloween is more her cup of tea.

9. Cool, Dude!

10. Beating a really really dead horse.

11. I wonder who CAIR thinks IS responsible for terrorism? To find out, click HERE. Is anyone surprised? (Gasp! Maybe I've hurt their feelings! I hope so.)

UPDATE: This insanity just in: There's a right way and a wrong way to insult Islam! (via Betsy's Page)

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:36 AM |

 
Something to Be Proud Of
Hamid Karzai, on his inauguration as President of Afghanistan: (Read the story here)

Whatever we have achieved in Afghanistan--the peace, the election, the reconstruction, the life that the Afghans are living today in peace, the children going to school, the businesses, the fact that Afghanistan is again a respected member of the international community--is from the help that the United States of America gave us. Without that help Afghanistan would be in the hands of terrorists--destroyed, poverty-stricken, and without its children going to school or getting an education. We are very, very grateful, to put it in the simple words that we know, to the people of the United States of America for bringing us this day.

I don't know about you, but I am proud of my country; proud of my President; and proud of all the wonderful men and women of our military services who made this possible. I fervently hope that Iraq may also see the light of Liberty at the end of a long, dark tunnel.

Long Live Liberty!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:13 PM |

 
Watch This Slide Show!
LGF has this fabulous, uplifting link to a slideshow that had me in tears. Go see it!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:12 AM |

 
Depends On What You Mean By "Peace"
PowerLine takes issue with the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner. And for good cause. Wangari Maathai has stated for the record:

Do not be naive. AIDS is not a curse from God to Africans or the black people. It is a tool to control them designed by some evil-minded scientists.
I may not be able to say who developed the virus, but it was meant to wipe out the black race.

Clearly this Nobel Laureate has access to some new definitiion of the word "peace" that I am unfamiliar with (but apparently the Nobel Committee understands). I don't mean to whine, but wasn't there ANYONE else in the entire world who was worthy to receive this prize? Come on...ANYONE???

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:25 PM |

 
Well, Duh
Thomas Sowell has a new column on education in our nation's high schools. Here's an excerpt:

What about the ethics of using steroids? Kids can talk about this at home or on the streets or just about anywhere. What about the ethics of using up precious school time for such chatter when there are serious deficiencies in our children's ability to measure up to international standards in an increasingly competitive international economy? Presiding over classroom chatter is no doubt a lot easier than teaching the Pythagorean theorem or differential calculus. But teachers who indulge themselves like this, at the expense of their students' future, have no business conducting discussions of "ethics" about athletes using steroids -- or any other ethics issue. Jason Giambi may have done some damage to his own career, and to George Steinbrenner's pocketbook, by taking steroids. But that is nothing compared to the damage done to schoolchildren whose time is frittered away talking about it when there is serious work that remains undone.
With all the outcry about the "outsourcing" of American jobs, especially in computer work, there has been relatively little said about the importing of brains from foreign countries to do mentally challenging work here because the brains of our own students have simply not been adequately developed in our schools. For years, most of the Ph.D.s awarded by American universities in mathematics and engineering have gone to foreigners. We have the finest graduate schools in the world -- so fine that our own American students have trouble getting admitted in fields that require highly trained minds.

My daughter is taking a class in middle school on "recycling". This pisses me off to no end. While I am not opposed to recycling and other environmentally-friendly things, I am angered that this "class" takes up time that could be spent in science, history, language arts, or math. They are constantly increasing the amount of time students spend in schools and with classes like recycling wasting student's time, I can understand why. Especially in Ann Arbor there seems to be an inordinate amount of environmentalism is the K-12 curriculum. Again, no argument that it is something that is worth study--in college, maybe. But kindergardeners? Recycling for middle schoolers? My impression is that rather than study this as a science, it is being presented more as propaganda.

Just imagine if history topics or math and science topics were given such special consideration. Say a special class in WWII; or maybe a special class on the Greek mathematicians? Maybe students would know about Auschwitz; or understand some basic economic principles. Maybe they'd even score higher in science and math. Well, Duh.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:27 PM |

 
The Council Has Spoken !
This week's winners in the Watcher's Council vote are:

BEST COUNCIL LINK:

Sex and Disease by King of Fools


BEST NON-COUNCIL LINK:

How Far We've Come Victor Davis Hanson's Private Papers

Be sure to read the two above, but check out all the entries over at the Watcher's site !

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:23 AM |

 
A Simple Question
Why is it "heroic", "principled", worthy of mention by the media, and a sure-fire path to fame if a person:

• Deserts their military obligation and flees to Canada? Or refuses to serve?
• Sues the military?
• Asks "tough" questions of the Secretary of Defense?
• Takes pictures that show our military in a negative light?
• Or is in any way critical of anything and everything the military does; predicting imminent disaster and doom? Or even says the military has "lost" in Iraq?

While at the same time:

Those who serve honorably, bravely, and without complaint are invisible to an indifferent mainstream media; who--believing that opposition to the military is a moral imperative-- make sure you will never encounter the names or hear the everyday heroic stories of the overwhelming majority of our incredible military men and women? Go figure.

UPDATE: This pattern applies, apparently, even if the "tough questions" are completely staged. And, the Watcher links to a story about a soldier who became known for his anti-Bush, anti-Iraq rhetoric--except that it was all a lie. I'm sure that heroic and principled individual will go into politics.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:10 PM |

 
Polish the Boot
The Belmont Club today offers a discussion of Orwellian "psy-ops" in Great Britain concerning the increasing public fears about home invasion, in light of the murder of a well-known individual. For those of you who don't know about this, I refer you here and here. The basic point is that Britains who attempt to protect their homes against burglars and thugs have been the subject of intense legal prosecution to the point that homeowners are as frightened of going to jail for defending themselves as they are for being victimized by crime. As a result, home invasion is at an all-time high in Great Britain, where criminals have been emboldened to commit their crimes even when people are at home.

Now, back to the "psy-ops" being used by the British government. A psychological "expert", Dr. Ian Stephens offers the following advice:

When individuals are confronted by intruders there are some actions they should follow. Direct contact should be avoided whenever possible. If unavoidable, the victim should adopt a state of active passivity. In most cases the best form of defence is always avoidance. If this isn’t possible, act passively, be careful what you say or do and give up valuables without a struggle. This allows the victim to take charge of the situation, without the intruder’s awareness, through subtle and non-confrontational means. People can cooperate but initiate nothing. By doing nothing there is no chance of inadvertently initiating violence by saying something such as "Please don’t hurt me".

Sometimes the perpetrator of a burglary is even more terrified than the victim and in many cases when things go wrong it is the perpetrator of the crime who panics. Although they sometimes go equipped with weapons, in most cases they probably don’t intend to use them but in the heat of the moment, and the fear of either getting caught or attacked themselves, they use them. They don’t expect the person they are trying to hold up to retaliate or react. Mostly the knife is there simply for intimidation rather than intent to use it and they finish up killing somebody by accident rather than design.

As Wretchard correctly points out, this "expert advice" all but says, "It is YOUR fault if something bad happens." Those poor criminals didn't mean to hurt you! If you had only remained passive--instead of FORCING them to hurt or kill you!

I have two points to make as a psychiatrist. The first is that Dr. Stephen's advice is woefully shortsighted. He does not follow through. I would agree with him that acting passively--or, rather PRETENDING to act passively is a good idea. One should ALWAYS do what one has to in order to stay alive, and if acting passively is what is needed, then so be it. But that is where he and I part company. Passivity is a good strategy when there is nothing yet you are able to do to change a situation. But--and this is a BIG but--you should be ACTIVELY looking for an opportunity to 1) escape from the situation; or 2) take control of the situation. Neither of these may be viable options in a particular situation, but that does not mean you have to embrace the VICTIM role by default. It is morally and ethically sensible to lie, cheat and behave in a dishonest manner if you have to in order to survive. It is ethically and morally imperative that you protect yourself in whatever way you can from those whose intent is to harm you or your loved ones. Dr. Stephens' advice only works for a society of rabbits living in wolf country, who know they will get eaten anyway.

The second point is that--from a psychological perspective--a society that protects the criminal and prosecutes the innocent for self-defense against criminals is acting out of "identification with the aggressor". The government identifies with the criminal and is intent on protecting the criminal, because the government's own actions towards its citizens is morally equivalent to the actions of thieves and criminals. The officials of this society know that if you were allowed to protect yourself from those who would harm you, you might decide to act against the benevolent socialist government itself! Socialism IS the ultimate form of "home invasion", after all. It teaches that someone else is entitled to your work and effort; your property and life. In such a system, criminals naturally become the ruling class. On some subconscious level, the government knows this, and --just as the authorities did in Orwell's 1984--they will punish you for acting in your own interest and against the criminal interests of the State.

Wretchard quotes Orwell: If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -- forever." Then adds his own pithy comment: "He forgot to add one thing: you will polish the boot." Read his entire analysis at the link above!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:05 AM |

 
Delicious Blasphemy
I have always admired Tom Lehrer. Because I was raised as a Roman Catholic, one of my favorite songs of his has always been "The Vatican Rag". It always seemed so deliciously blasphemous and since all our elders disapproved it, we students embraced the lyrics with enthusiasm. What great fun it was to mock the ponderous and sober tenets of religion--especially the Catholic religion. What could the Pope do to us? The worse imaginable fate was excommunication, (even we couldn't imagine burning in Hell for something so light-hearted). Even Pontiffs must have had a sense of humor, though, and nothing happened to us. Lightening didn't come down and strike us dead (a good thing!), and in my heart I always imagined the Pope would smile at the clever lyrics. After all, God gave us Free Will and we must choose to believe--or not to believe. And if we believe, does that automatically mean there is nothing funny or joyful in the world?

OK. Here’s the question of the day. Can Islam tolerate being mocked like Catholicism? Surely the Taliban at least rate a Rag of their own (sorry, Tom!):

The Taliban Rag

First you open the Koran,
Listen to the crazed Imam,
Chant his mindless words from hell,
So you can kill the infidel!

Wear that hijab on your head!
Soon you’ll wish that you were dead!
Everybody go to war,
Allah, allahu akbar,
Doin' the Taliban Rag.

Women, get into that burkha,
You can’t learn and you can’t work-a,
'Cause the guy called ayatollah will
Issue fatwas that are meant to kill.
Do not dance or love your body,
Soon you'll be a true jihadi;
A-one and two and then a three-a,
Time to implement Shar’ia!

So go open that Koran,
Listen to that crazed Imam.
Learn his mindless words from hell,
So you can kill the infidel!

He is not a Dalai Llama,
When in caves do like Osama;
All praise be to Allah,
Shout aloud Inshallah!
Gettin' ecstatic an' sorta dramatic an
'Doin' the Taliban Rag!

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 9:57 AM |

 
Time To Support The Rebellion
"The more you tighten your grip, Mullahs, the more bloggers will slip through your fingers."

I think it is time to support the Rebellion.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:50 PM |

 
Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
Lest we forget....

Recessional
by Rudyard Kipling, 1879

God of our fathers, known of old—
Lord of our far-flung battle line—
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies—
The Captains and the Kings depart—
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away—
On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard—
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Amen.


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:13 PM |

 
This Is A Religion?
From a MEMRI transcript: (hat tip: Jim O)

The following are excerpts from a Friday sermon at Qom, Iran by Ayatollah 'Ali Meshkini, head of the Assembly of Experts:

Ayatollah 'Ali Meshkini: I recommend that the pilgrims [to Mecca and Al-Medina] pray there, that they be persistent in their prayer. Prayer is a very good way of worshiping God. They should not forget to pray. But for every prayer there should also be a curse. Your prayers should also include curses. Pray for the good and curse the evil. Say: "My Lord, end the lives of three people shortly – Bush, Sharon, and Blair. End their lives and the lives of their followers. Ask the Lord

Crowd: Death to America.

Ayatollah 'Ali Meshkini: Ask the Lord to end their lives and to remove their evil from us, the Muslims.I expect that the honorable pilgrims will not return from Mecca until the evil is removed from the Muslims. Ask the Lord for this. Say to the Lord: "My lord, they are not fighting against Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They are fighting against Islam."
Some of the world's renowned personalities wrote something marvelous about Bush. They wrote that Bush should be tried as a war criminal. They have written well, and that's the way it should be.
Allah Akbar
Allah Akbar
Allah Akbar
Khamenei is the leader
Death to those who oppose the rule of the jurisprudence.
Death to America
Death to Israel
Death to the hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq]

Ayatollah 'Ali Meshkini: As an Iranian cleric I consider our statesmen and leaders to be part of the regime and I respect them. I demand that they promote, with all their might, the activation of the nuclear [fuel] cycle, the enrichment of uranium and development of Iran's nuclear capabilities. They must choose a logical path and not fear any power or threat.

Crowd:Allah Akbar
Allah Akbar
Allah Akbar
Khamenei is the leader
Death to those who oppose the rule of the jurisprudence.
Death to America
Death to Israel
Death to the hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq]

This is a religion? It sounds more like a death/murder cult, and reminds me of the Kali worshippers in the Indiana Jones movie, Temple of Doom. We have the psychotic and obsessed leader; the blood lust and chants for death; hypnosis and enslavement; conformity and psychopathology. "Peace" is not the object of this so-called religion; nor is the worship of any loving or benevolent God. Theirs is a God of death, destruction, slavery, and oppression. With such a "religion" there is no need for a concept of "hell". Life would suffice.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:43 AM |

 
A Visit To Hell
Read this description of a visit to North Korea. P.J. O'Rourke described places like this in his book Holidays in Hell some years ago.

A Hyundai executive half-jokingly says that his company's excursions are called "Don't Do It! Tours." Cellphones, laptops, telephoto lenses, and powerful binoculars are strictly verboten. Visitors must wear photo ID tags at all times. Photos are forbidden inside the DMZ and in the North. You are not to point at a North Korean, and, in the unlikely event you talk with a resident, you are to avoid any political statements.
Two years ago a South Korean woman reportedly asked a North Korean why President Kim Jong Il was the only fat man in the country, and was detained for several days as a result.

Just another totalitarian paradise, of the Communist variety.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:53 PM |

 
Freedom is Spreading
This article by Arthur Chrenkoff in the Wall Street Journal is jam-packed with good news from Iraq. It seems that the Iraqis are eager for elections. Here's an excerpt:

It takes a lot to get a man of God annoyed, and Louis Sako, the Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, is a very frustrated man these days. "It is not all death and destruction," says the archbishop. "Much is positive in Iraq today. . . . Universities are operating, schools are open, people go out onto the streets normally. . . . Where there's a kidnapping or a homicide the news gets out immediately, and this causes fear among the people. . . . Those who commit such violence are resisting against Iraqis who want to build their country."

It's not just the terrorists who, according to His Eminence, are creating problems for Iraq: Elections in January "will be a starting point for a new Iraq," he says. Yet "Western newspapers and broadcasters are simply peddling propaganda and misinformation. . . . Iraqis are happy to be having elections and are looking forward to them because they will be useful for national unity. . . . Perhaps not everything will go exactly to plan, but, with time, things will improve. Finally Iraqis will be given the chance to choose. Why is there so much noise and debate coming out from the West when before, under Saddam, there were no free elections, but no one said a thing?" (emphasis mine).

Why are the major news sources still emphasizing the negative? Not a day goes by that I don't read that someone, somewhere is recommending the elections should be postponed. This does not appear to be what the Iraqis want. Read Chrenkoff's entire article to learn about the 156 political parties that have been formed! Charles Krauthammer has an excellent op-ed piece that came out last week exactly on this topic:

In 1864, 11 of the 36 United States did not participate in the presidential election. Was Lincoln's election therefore illegitimate? In 1868, three years after the security situation had, shall we say, stabilized, three states (not insignificant ones: Texas, Virginia and Mississippi) did not participate in the election. Was Grant's election illegitimate?
There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps 3 of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. If Iraq's Sunni Arabs -- barely 20 percent of the population -- decide they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, ending with 30 years of Saddam's atrocious tyranny, then tough luck. They forfeit their chance to shape and participate in the new Iraq.

Exactly. Democracy is the future, and those who want to be part of the future of Iraq will vote in January. Those who are the enemies of the future won't. The media--by only focusing on the violence and the attempts to stop the future from unfolding--are missing a terrific story about the power of Freedom. They missed it in Afghanistan (heard anything about what's going on there lately??) and they are missing it in Iraq. People, this is a miraculous process. What happened in Afghanistan was unbelievable! Not perfect--but incredible all the same. Noone ever said it was going to be easy, BUT IT IS HAPPENING.

In spite of the propaganda and misinformation. In spite of the death, violence and intimidation. Freedom is spreading in the Middle East. Five years ago, who would have thought such a thing was possible?

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:02 PM |

 
Weekly Insanity Roundup
Well, another week has gone by and the insanities just keep rolling along. Here are just a few samples of the totally insane, ridiculous and unbelievable:

1. John Leo takes us Over the Top.

2. Government-sanctioned psychopathy. Isn't that nice?

3. Just plain DUmb.

4. An Unbelievable Obituary.

5. Guess who is totally OPPOSED to corruption? Who'd a thunk it?

6. Oliver is definitely stoned.

7. If Clinton becomes UN Secretary General maybe he can pardon this guy again?

8. The Palestinians really need another murderer as President, don't they?

9. Yes! There is JUSTICE in the world!

10. The mouse that didn't even roar and hardly squeeked.

11. Finally, how could a psychiatrist not mention these poor, traumatized PESTs? (Whoops...am I mocking them?? Well, yes actually)

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:56 AM |

 
Astronaut Appetites Force NASA to Draft Evacuation Plan!
Here's an interesting article (hat tip: Jim O) about how unusually high appetites on the part of the current space station crew have caused food supplies to dwindle and provoked NASA to plan for an emergency evacuation if new food supplies planned in a Russian Progress launch are unable to reach the crew by Christmas day! Of course, NASA says this is only a precaution...but one has to wonder why and how such a critical food shortage was allowed to develop in the first place? And, why is this particular crew so hungry? Are they bored? Are they overworked? Are they gaining or losing mass up there in space? What exactly is this crew accomplishing, and does anybody care?

Inquiring minds want to know.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:14 PM |

 
The Violin and The Guitar
In my Weekly Insanity Roundup of last week, I Linked #14 ("The HORROR ") to a story about a poor Palestinian who was asked to take his violin out of its case and play it at a checkpoint to show it did not contain explosives. Human Rights activists were outraged and horrified at this obvious violation of the man's rights and demeaning of his dignity. I thought the entire thing was blown out of proportion. Silly me. The outrage has spread and there have been op-ed pieces and protests and conflicting reports and all the usual hoopla associated with the outraged sensitivities of Liberals all over the globe.

To give some perspective to this madness, I would like to point you to this article in the Israel Insider (hat tip: PowerLine):

The story of the soldier and the violinist has been blown way out of proportion to its significance. I too would like it removed from the media burner. But not before another musical instrument gets its deserved mention. I'm referring to a guitar. One that also grabbed a few headlines on 9th August, 2001.

On that morning, Izzadin Al-Masri, the newly-religious son of a well-to-do Palestinian restaurateur, passed through a machsom -- a checkpoint -- on the edge of West Jerusalem. Accompanied by a Palestinian women dressed as an Israeli to allay suspicions, he strode into the center of the city. A guitar case was slung over his shoulder. At 1:45 pm, he reached the intersection of King George and Jaffa streets. The restaurant was packed with mothers and children. This was lunch time, and the country's schools were closed for summer vacation. Al-Masri entered easily -- there was no security guard. Seconds later, he activated the explosives in his guitar and murdered fifteen Israelis in cold blood. My daughter Malki, 15, was one of them.

Has Machsom Watch forgotten that terror attack? Did Haaretz as well? And what about the apologetic IDF spokesperson? Or does the meddlesome Machsom Watch have them all shivering in their pants? The person who truly ought to make them shiver is Abdullah Barghouti. On Tuesday, this senior Hamas operative was sentenced to 67 life terms in prison for his responsibility in terror attacks that resulted in the deaths, by murder, of 66 Israelis. Barghouti lived in his native Kuwait until five years ago when he moved to Ramallah.

An engineer, he built the bomb that murdered the Sbarro fifteen as well as the victims of two other lethal attacks in Jerusalem and another in Rishon Letzion. I watched him on television confessing that, yes, he did fill a guitar with explosives. "In a guitar? Why in a guitar?" a shocked TV interviewer asked. "This is war," the stone-faced Barghouti answered.

It seems to me that far too many people have forgotten that basic truth. This is war. We are under attack. Machsom Watch volunteers have a problem acknowledging that. It is a dangerous problem.

I just don't get it, I guess. Why the bleeding hearts react with outrage, horror and condemnation over events like the Palestinian violinist; but are strangely silent about videotaped beheadings, suicide bombers, and children utilized as living bombs by terrorist masters? On the heirarchy of evil, where does telling a man at a checkpoint (a checkpoint whose purpose is to prevent suicide bombers from entering Israel) to take out a violin and play it; and where do savage killings, terrorizing, and mutilation of innocents rank? I have no doubt that in some minds the Israeli guard's actions in this case prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Israelis are a bunch of "terrorists"--just as Abu Grhaib "proved" that the U.S. was basically the source of evil in the world. But in making such assertions, all a person proves is that he or she is morally incapable of making a a distinction between inconvenience and murder (in the Israeli guard's case); and between the independent actions of a few which violated military policy versus a stated policy to attack and kill as many innocents as possible (in the Abu Grhaib case).

Remember what the confessed murderer Bhargouti says above (the same Bhargouti who now is running for Palestinian president from his jail cell- where is the outrage about that, I wonder?): "This is war." And we damn well better not forget it.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:57 PM |

 
Oh Christmas Tree !
Today we're going to go out to one of the local tree farms and cut down our Christmas tree. Since I am a Christmas fanatic all year long, I really look forward to this day! The Boo will have several friends over to decorate it with the hundreds (my husband says thousands) of ornaments I have collected over the years. The place we go to is really cool. We get in a horse-drawn (sometimes tractor-drawn) wagon and ride out to the different fields and get dropped off to wander in the trees. We take our time and will pick one perfect tree out and use the saw to cut it down. Eventually the wagon will come by again to pick us up. There is hot chocolate waiting at the end. Temperature is in the 20's at the moment. We had snow a few days ago, but it mostly melted (darn!).

Fresh cut trees like this will last a long time if you water them. We have no problem keeping them fresh, with minimal needle loss for at least a month or more. Think of it this way--the trees you buy at the store were cut down somewhere up north (possibly Michigan or Washington state) about 6 weeks ago. When you buy them, they are often already dried out, and even with watering might only last 2 weeks before they drop most of their needles. The fresh- cut ones smell heavenly compared to the pre-cut.

I'd like the snow to build up to a foot or so by Christmas. IMHO, any snow up until about January 15 is a good thing. After about that time, I'm ready for warmer weather! Most people think I'm nuts, but I really love Winter about the best of the four seasons along with Fall.

Be back blogging later tonight! Meanwhile, check out Victor Davis Hanson's latest on "How Far We've Come." It is brilliant, as only VDH can be.



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:46 AM |

 
Intellectual Harassment
Jeff Jacoby today discusses the incredible liberal bias present on our University Campuses, where ideological diversity is mostly nonexistent. This is a problem that is not new, but was first documented by William F. Buckley back in 1951 when he wrote about his experiences at Yale. Jacoby notes:

So, for example, at Cornell, of the 172 faculty members whose party affiliation was recorded, 166 were liberal (Democrats or Greens) and six were conservative (Republicans or Libertarians). At Stanford the liberal-conservative ratio was 151-17. At San Diego State it was 80-11. At SUNY Binghamton, 35-1. At UCLA, 141-9. At the University of Colorado-Boulder, 116-5. Reflecting on these gross disparities, The American Enterprise's editor, Karl Zinsmeister, remarked: "Today's colleges and universities . . . do not, when it comes to political and cultural ideas, look like America."

When it comes to real diversity--diversity of thought--America's colleges and universities are uniformly bullshit-colored. Students who do not toe the liberal intellectual line are punished, excluded, and generally harassed. Newspapers that have articles or advertisements that go against current political thought disappear from campus. Dissent is crushed and humiliated. Censorship and discrimination are rampant. Saddam Hussein or Yasser Arafat would have been emotionally very comfortable as the Dean or Provost at many university campuses.

I have been on many academic faculties over the years--UCLA, University of Wisconsin, University of Texas, and University of Michigan. I can speak personally about the conformity of thought that is expected of faculty in the political arena. The term "liberal cocoon" is nowhere more applicable than on the university campus, where most faculty cannot even imagine that anyone could possibly have political views different from theirs. It is truly revolting to think of sending young minds to learn from the people at these places.

When I was a student, we were in the midst of Vietnam protests on the University campuses. My own university--UC Riverside--was small, but vocal in their protesting. I remember having some reservations about the Vietnam war, but I chose not to participate in the closing down of the campus. During one particular protest in the winter of 1970, I attempted to get to my Greek Literature class and was stopped by a mob of angry students and faculty. When I refused to participate in "solidarity", I was picked up by about a dozen students an summarily thrown into the closest fountain, with my books, notes and papers. While they laughed and cheered, I removed myself from the fountain, disheveled and wet, and-with as much dignity as I could muster- gathered my belongings and walked away. "Try going to class now!" someone jeered. Well I did go to class; and sat shivering and dripping while the only teacher I knew who was still teaching that day somberly discussed Achilles' hubris in the Iliad with me and one other student. He never asked me any questions about what had happened, but I think he knew. When I left, the Professor gravely thanked me for coming to his class.

I was less humiliated than furious by my fellow students' behavior; and I starkly remember the complete and total intolerance with which my dissenting views were greeted. I thought then, as I think now, that THEIR free speech and my tolerance of it ended when they assaulted me and tried to "drown" my free speech. I was perfectly content to let them do their thing, but they had no intention of supporting my freedom to go to class. This was my introduction to true intolerance. And now this type of intellectual harassment is the norm on many campuses.

I also think frequently about that Professor of Greek Literature, more than 30 years later. I think of him as exemplifying the absolute best of academia. Because he believed in ideas and the free expression of ideas--and isn't that the highest ideal of academia? Teaching class that day showed that he cared about the content of my mind and wanted to encourage me to think. His simple act of treating me with dignity and being in class for anyone who wanted to learn had a profound influence on me.

Now I am a professor and regularly teach students. When asked my opinion of current political matters I give it without apology, despite the many shocked expressions that I have had to contend with ("You support Bush?? How could you possibly?). I then try to remind students that they are here to learn to think, not to conform; and not to keep their thinking "inside the box". Some students appreciate my honesty and to their credit will ask me the reasons why I think the way I do. I can see them considering that there are people who think like me in the world. Hopefull it is an eye-opening experience for them. Of course, some students just see me as an aberration or someone just like their parents. Most of the time I try to keep politics out of the learning equation entirely.

Academic freedom is not only meant to protect professors; it is also supposed to ensure students' right to learn without being molested. When instructors use their classrooms to indoctrinate and propagandize, they cheat those students and betray the academic mission they are entrusted with. That should be intolerable to honest men and women of every stripe -- liberals and conservatives alike.
"If this were a survey of students reporting widespread sexual harassment," says ACTA's president, Anne Neal, "there would be an uproar." That is because universities take sexual harassment seriously. Intellectual harassment, on the other hand -- like the one-party conformity it flows from -- they ignore. Until that changes, the scandal of the campuses will only grow worse.

Let me be clear. I am talking about freedom of thought and speech and there is nowhere those concepts should be more sacred than on a university or college campus. I am NOT talking about the Dixie Chicks or Susan Sarandon'sor Hollywood actors' rights to free speech. Of course they have a right to free speech, but if they can't take the consequences of losing money because people like me don't like what they say at concerts or in movies and won't pay to see them, then they should keep their mouths shut. Free speech means you can talk, but I don' t have to pay to listen. Yet, these same people who whine about how people don't like what they're saying, would fully approve of the situation on campus--where ONLY their views are tolerated and promulgated.

If Academia wants to really be the learning environment they proclaim themelves to be, dedicated to the free and open discussion of ideas --even politically incorrect ideas--then they must not tolerate the crushing of dissent by faculty with political agendas. They must crush "political correctness" and tolerate viewpoints different from the majority with open minds. That is what intellectual freedom is all about. And if your feelings are hurt by my free speech--frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:43 PM |

 
The Council Has Spoken!
This week's winners in the Watcher's Council are as follows:

Best of Council Links:

1. John Kennedy, a Man for Our Time. The Sundries Shack

2. The Psychology of Bush Hatred by Dr. Sanity and
Religious Right = Wrong? by King of Fools

Tied for 2nd Place!

Best of Non-Council Links:

1. A Failed Revolution. by Iraq the Model (this is an absolute MUST READ by anyone who cares about Freedom)

2. Seeing the UN Plain: Corruption as a Way of Life by The Diplomad and
The IRS Chain Gang by Brain Terminal

Another tie for 2nd Place!

See ALL the great winners at the Watcher's blog.



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:42 AM |

 
Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter

An Iranian man, prepares his daughter, who is a member of a suicide commandos unit, by covering her face in the same style of Palestinian and Lebanese militants, during a ceremony where the first suicide commandos unit was inaugurated at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery just outside Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004. (hat tip: LGF)

I am literally speechless at this most recent example of the psychopathology that is fostered by the religion of Islam. I simply cannot convey to you the depths of my revulsion. I have written elsewhere about some of the parental and cultural issues involved in this sort of sick behavior, but for now I'll just let Iron Maiden speak for me:

Iron Maiden - Bring Your Daughter... ...To The Slaughter

honey its getting close to midnight
and all the myths are in town
true love and lipstick on your linen
bite the pillow make no sound
if there's some living to be done
before your life becomes your tomb
you'd better know that i'm the one
so unchain your back door invite me around

honey its getting close to daybreak
the sun is creeping in the sky
no patent remedies for heartache
just empty words and humble pie

so get down on your knees honey
assume an attitude
you just pray that i'll be waiting
cos you know i'm coming soon

so pick up your foolish pride,
no going backno where, no way, no place to hide

bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
let her go, let her go, let her go


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:34 PM |

 
Freedom Roundup
Over at Dean's World, the Carnival of the Liberated is up with a round-up of Iraqi bloggers. And while we're rounding-up Freedom, check out the Ukrainian bloggers over at The Politburo Diktat.

The Watcher has a round-up of Round-ups!


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:59 PM |

 
Christmas Classics You'll Want To Miss
Glenn Reynolds links to the 10 Least Successful Holiday Specials of All Time. Pretty funny. I especially enjoyed The Lost Star Trek Christmas Episode: "A Most Illogical Holiday" (1968) , where Kirk and Spock save Christmas.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:50 PM |

 
IRAN UPDATE
The enthusiasm for terrorism, death and jihad isn't as great as the bad guys had hoped.

Except in Iran.

Where the Mullahs appear to be determined to pick up Saddam's legacy of UN Manipulation.
Like Saddam, The Supreme Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution is not afraid of threats.
Because a small, vocal minority set the agenda for 70 million people by stifling freedom of speech.

Meanwhile, bloggers get arrested. In summary, the situation is not good.


Cartoon from Cox and Forkum

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 2:19 PM |