NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: The Good News
"Even so, most Americans continue to moan and groan about our situation, and to yearn for the holiday from history we seemed to be enjoying in the 1990s. As Barnett argues, "Time is on our side, as are all the major dynamics that count -- energy, investments, demographics, sheer firepower, enduring ingenuity, strength of our societies, our enduring resilience." With fits and starts, the core is expanding, connectivity is increasing, and the gap is closing."
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:48 PM |

 
DOES TRUTH EVEN MATTER ANY MORE ?
Mona Charen captures some of the gloom and anguish I am feeling this day:

We (and this also includes Israelis, Brits, and a few others) would never dream of targeting civilians for any reason – not even in self-defense. In 2002, the Israelis used ground troops going house to house in Jenin rather than attack from the air — though it cost the lives of 23 of their men – in order to spare civilians.

Our enemies can not imagine not targeting civilians – ours – and when they can be used as human shields/propaganda fodder, theirs.

Our people are beheaded on videotape and the world ignores it. We fail to offer the full panoply of the Bill of Rights to the beheaders and the world groans at the inhumanity of it all.

The United Nations Security Council condemns Israel for defending herself from naked aggression and manages to overlook Chechnya, the Chinese occupation of Tibet, every terrorist attack against Israel, the massacre in Rwanda, the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, Serbian acts in Bosnia, and pretty much the entire continent of Africa, which as Kofi Annan surely knows better than most, is a human rights cesspool. As Jeane Kirkpatrick put it: “What happens in the Security Council more closely resembles a mugging than either a political debate or an effort at problem-solving.”

There are millions of Americans who are not deluded by this madness (and we draw our military recruits from their ranks), and yet you cannot escape the times you live in. Lack of self-confidence is eroding our civilization like dry rot. We are not as far gone as Europe – but the glide path is worrisome.

The question I have is, does reality even matter anymore? Or is the only important thing that you are able to put out your narrative first? Does truth matter? Or do we just admit that language does not have to have any connection with reality; that facts are irrelevant; that reality is whatever you want it to be for as long as you can get away with it? (Then put the correction on page 12 Section C)

These subtle cults of tyranny that are springing up all over the world disguised as "social justice" (in our educational system); as "political correctness" (in our media); victimhood promotion (in our political and cultural institutions) cannot hope to remain viable in a world where human thought is free; therefore, the goal is nothing less than to undermine mankind's perception of reality itself.

If you can convince people that objective reality is an illusion; that A does not equal A; that black is white; and that good is bad; if you can make them accept that everything is subjective and relative; then you can breath new life into doctrines that by all objective measures and standards have led to the death and misery of millions of people. Through the manipulation of language, everything can be distorted, without the messy need to resort to facts, logic, or reason.
We see the results of this manipulation of language and events on a daily basis. Look in the comments of my last post, for example:

What we're witnessing is folk who don't want to see Israel OR Hezbollah commit crimes - especially when dozens (hundreds?) of children are the ones being maimed and killed.

This is nothing but a desire for law and order and outrage when children are killed. This is a normal and healthy phenomena.

I just want to scream when I read BS like that. NO RATIONAL AND COMPASSIONATE PERSON WANTS TO SEE CHILDREN KILLED! The question is, what is killing them? Where is the responsibility? Who is placing them under the rockets? Was it Hezbollah who warned civilians to leave the area where they were fighting? Or was it Hezbollah who prevented them from leaving, even as they used them as shields? Was it Israel who launched attacks from apartment buildings where civilians live? Which ideology promotes death and genocide; and which tries to preserve life?

If an adult thows a child out in front of a speeding car, who is to blame for the death of the child--the adult who flung the child carelessly in front of the car? Or the driver of the car? In this particular case, the driver actually called in advance to say that he would be driving that way in the morning and to make sure that all children were out of the middle of the street. So this makes the Hezbollah adults decide to arrange a children's party in the middle of the effing street? And they are not morally responsible??

If you have a "desire for law and order" then you must ask yourself these kind of questions, Mr. Morally Confused. If it is justice you want, then you must consider the differences between a terrorist group like Hezbollah who clearly state they wish to annihilate the Jews and deliberately and intentionally target civilians; and the Israelis who are fighting against them and try their damndest in this morally asymmetric war. No matter how hard the left tries to fit Israelis or Americans into the role of the repugnant racists, or the vile aggressors, or the child-murdering villains in these little planned-out scenarios ; the real racist-aggressor-death cult is operating right there in front of your eyes.

Just open them up and look if you want to see truth and reality.

What matters to the co-conspirators of evil like that commenter above is not the truth or falsity of their language--only its effectiveness. Lies, distortions, ad hominem attacks; attempts to silence opposing views--all are strategies that are perfectly satisfactory if they achieve the desired effect. Ideas and reason must make way for reification of feelings. They care care care so much for all the innocent life that is being lost. Don't you see?

So why is it then that they only show how much they care when they can blame the Americans or the Israelis?(or, the Republicans, or Bush?) Why is it that the innocent life taken by the terrorists is never worthy of their comments? Or their caring; or their rage? Only innocent life that they figure they can pin on Israel and America?

It's funny how the demands to attend to "root causes" always seem to disappear when the "roots" turn out to be something other than what the left wants them to be--something they definitely don't want to look at.

The memes that are coming out of this latest conflict have been developing and transforming people's perception of reality for several years now. The old-fashioned ideas of good and evil that used to be the foundation of "law and order" don't seem to exist anymore for them. Now the "law" part only applies to one side and not the other. It is no longer "order" that is the objective, but the perception of order--our hands are always tied for morality's--for "the sake of the children!"--but the enemy is free to do as it pleases to the children without the concomitant anger and rage.

There used to be outrage at the manipulation of truth and some degree of repugnance at a moral relativism that equated good and evil. In those good old days, debate could have closure because there was agreement on what was true and what was false. Our underlying shared values were deemed worth fighting for.

But not today.

Today, we are constantly told that our values of life are not any different than the enemy's cult of death. That the children who die are all our fault. Not the fault of a sick ideology that values them only as fighters in a jihad and which worships death.

Over the last few years--since 9/11--we have come to understand the Muslim world very well. Their leaders and the angry people on the street repeatedly tell us clearly and unambiguously what they think and what they intend to do to us. Signs that say "Behead Those Who Disrespect Islam," "To Hell With Free Speech" and "Get Ready for the Real Holocaust" should make their aims obvious even to the most dhimmi-witted.

But that is exactly the problem. For some in the West, the denial and displacement are too deeply entrenched in their frightened little minds. For the Islamic fanatics in the Middle East, the projection and paranoia are a way of life that will not easily revert to any kind of normal humanity when its rage and destructiveness are only countered by an excess of denial and displacement in the West.

Those of us who are not deluded by this madness must continue to fight in whatever way we can against it. While I cannot be on the physical battlefield fighting--and honor those who are-- I will continue to fight on the rhetorical battlefield of this war.

The enemy cynically uses our own virtue against us, and, even as they demand we apply that virtue to them; they hold to no restraint; have no remorse; and no hesitation in using the very tactics they blithely accuse us of. Fifty children die, and we agonize over our culpability--even as their suicide bombers kill a few hundred innocents here; a couple of dozen there.

They use their unmitigated hatred to kill and destroy; and their enablers in the MSM and the left use language as the weapon of choice against the forces of civilization. Both attempt to silence us by calling us the racists, the bigots, the fascists..the murderers. But it is all an illusion of the psychotic spell they have woven with their magic words, whose meanings change depending on the day of the week.

Reality matters. Truth matters. And both will eventually win out.

UPDATE: Perhaps the dark soul of Hezbollah is finally going to be exposed in this latest ploy for internatinal sympathy. They are contemptible, and capable any atrocity to achieve their aims. Remember that fact the next time you read their latest slick and polished propaganda press releases reported by a clueless MSM.

UPDATE II: This from a Lebanese blogger (via Michael Ledeen at The Corner):

The situation in Ain Ebel is unbearable. Thousands of civilians have fled to the village from nearby villages and more than 1000 rockets have hit the village, there is no more food neither clean water and diseases r spreading.

Now here comes the most sickening part:

Hezbollah has been firing rockets from the village since Day 1 hiding behind innocent people’s places and even CHURCHES. No one is allowed to argue with the Hezbollah gunmen who wont hesitate to shoot you and i ve heard about more than one shooting incident including young men from the village and Hezbollah.

Urgent appeals have been done through phone calls from terrified people who wouldnt give out their name fearing Hezbollah might harm or even eliminate them.

This is the true image of our brave Islamic Resistance, putting the civilians and their homes as body shields to the Israeli bombardements.

Let the message spread and let those criminals move out of the village once and for all.

Free Ain Ebel from the terrorists !

Tell me again how morally equivalent the two sides are, and I will spit in your face.



"Cry to those Who Use Babies As Shields"
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 2:17 PM |

 
DENIAL AND DISPLACEMENT
This piece raises a very interesting point from a psychological perspective (read it all):

Here is a man who has been in public life for more than 50 years (he was an assistant to Anthony Eden in the general election of 1955), and yet he compared Israel's attack to the most famous genocide of the 20th century. What possessed him?

I ask the question, not because I am interested in Sir Peter - he is not an important figure in the current debate, though he may differ on this point. I ask, rather, because his remark seems to me a symptom of a wider unreality about the Middle East, one that now dominates. It tinged the recent Commons speech by William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary. It permeates every report by the BBC.

You could criticise Israel's recent attack for many things. Some argue that it is disproportionate, or too indiscriminate. Others think that it is ill-planned militarily. Others hold that it will give more power to extremists in the Arab world, and will hamper a wider peace settlement. These are all reasonable, though not necessarily correct positions to hold. But European discourse on the subject seems to have been overwhelmed by something else - a narrative, told most powerfully by the way television pictures are selected, that makes Israel out as a senseless, imperialist, mass-murdering, racist bully.

What we are witnessing is a psycholgoical defensive maneuver that has become perhaps, the most common response to the worldwide threat of Islamofascism. It is a very specific kind of psychological denial, known as displacement.

It is the same defense that is at the root of Bush Derangement Syndrome. And it is alsothe dynamic behind the current rise of anti-semitism and anti-American sentiment that exists right here in America--even among relatively normal individuals otherwise.

You can think of psychological displacement as a process analogous to how attenuated viruses work when a person is immunized with them to prevent the catastrophic consequences of an otherwise life-threatening virus.

Psychotherapy itself revolves around, and works because of the temporary displacement of the patient's psychopathology onto the therapist--which is called transference. Let's say, that the patient has a conflict with his father. For all intents and purposes, the therapist becomes the psychological brother and the therapeutic relationship plays out the drama in a less threatening, and more manageable setting.

The entire purpose of displacement is to gain control over the conflict. By focusing on something you have some control over, the psyche is much less threatened. You can fire your therapist; you can express your hatred unreservedly and there will not be the consequences if that hatred were directed toward the real object of conflict. You can even pretend, that if it weren't for the therapist, everything in your life would be perfect.

Displacement can be thought of as an slightly more mature type of projection. In projection, the individual remains oblivious to the fact that he owns and is responsible for the emotions that he imagines are in the person or group into which he is projecting. In other words, ownership of the idea and/or affect is banished from the self.

In displacement, the idea or emotion is deflected from one object to another, less threatening one, but the ownership of the negative emotion or idea (e.g. animosity, anger) is retained--and is often raised to a virtue. A common example is the person who is angry at a loved one, but settles for kicking the dog. The anger is evident in the action and is still owned by the person experiencing it.

At its most primitive, anti-semitism is a form of psychological projection (just as all racism is). We see this infantile defense used repeatedly in the Arab/Islamic world. They seem unable to appreciate the irony of their labelling of Islam as a "religion of peace", for example, and dismiss the barbarism done in the name of Islam as misunderstandings or the actions of only a few. In other words, they dismiss their own aggression in toto; asserting that it is the Jews who are always the aggressors; that it is the Jews who are out to destroy them; and that they are the poor, helpless victims of the Jews. By distancing themselves from their own aggression and projecting it onto Israel and the Jews; they have retained their honor as the peace-loving people they claim to be.

It is essential to the success of the defense that they portray themselves as the victims and be seen as the victims in the eyes of the world. Even when their own behavior is responsible for the deaths of innocents, it is rationalized away and ultimately also blamed on the Jews.

Displacement, too, is also an effective method for psychologically avoiding reality. It is a step above projection and is considered simply neurotic. While projection can often appear to be completely uncoupled from reality, displacement has the advantage of allowing someone filled with unpleasant emotions to have an acceptable object onto which to express those emotions. Note that in projection, the individual completely denies that he or she even possesses or is capable of possessing those unacceptable emotions--it is the "other" who possesses them, and wants to inflict them on you.

Historically, the Jews have been the offical scapegoat (object of displacement) for many societies. If only the Jews were gone, then all would be well. The world would be perfect.

We see something similar in much of the rhetoric of the left. If only Bush were gone, everything would be perfect. None of these awful things--like 9/11 would have happened and the U.S. could go back to the idyllic days of the Clintonian utopia.

Likewise, if only the world put a halt once an for all to Israeli aggression, then the Middle East would be at peace.

As one commenter in a recent thread phrased it:

The cure must be a potent septic that can kill the patient (Israel) and the problem is finish.--Nightmare

This is as clear a case of "blaming the victim" as you will ever see. It is far too threatening to blame the real aggressor; and the real source of hatred and genocidal intent-- who is incapable of being rationally dealt with or deterred anyway. This real aggressor repeatedly states its intentions clearly and unambiguously. Yet, for some curious reason, those in the West to whom it is stated refuse to believe them! Their words are dismissed, and the actions that logically derive from their words are minimized or ignored. No rational person can deal with someone who glories in victimhood to a degree hardly paralleled in human history and who screams "god is great" even as he blows you and himself up in a nihilistic frenzy. To say the least, this is fairly frightening and inexplicable behavior for the modern man to psychologically metabolize. Thus, it must be defended against and prevented from being digested and analyzed.

The dynamic of displacement goes a long way to explain the remarkable and sometimes lunatic appeasement of Islamofascists aggression and violence by so many individuals and governments and around the world, even as they trash the US (and particularly Bush) and Israel. Denial and displacement give you the illusion that you are in control of the situation and that the solution is simple.

The only problem is that reality doesn't go away simply because you have found a way to satisfactorily (and temporarily) deflect it; and have managed to hide the unpalatable truth from yourself.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:08 AM |

 
A REMINDER ABOUT THE CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES
I am very grateful to all my readers and for other bloggers for making the Carnival of the Insanities a popular destination every Sunday. It has grown beyond my wildest imaginings. That means that it has actually become a lot of work each week. I now routinely get 30 - 40 submissions in addition to the various links I collect during the week.

This is good! This is great! But it means that sometimes a particular submission doesn't "fit" well into the Carnival for that week. I don't always have a theme, but I try to put similar topics together--or else just free associate as I organize them. That results in some getting left out because I try to keep the Carnival down to a manageable number of links each week.

I am particularly partial to any submissions that:
(1) come in early in the week and not on Saturday night, when I have pretty much orgranized that Sunday's list;
(2) have a funny, ironic, or really crazy aspect to them
(3) are not too obscene
(4) have an amusing twist to them (amusing to me, at least)
(5) are completely unfair and/or unbalanced in some manner

I don't care for submissions that:
(1) are mean-spirited or vile (unless they happen to be my own posts)
(2) aren't at all amusing in any way, shape, or form that I can see
(3) cover a topic that has already been beaten to death in previous Carnival of the Insanities or in the news media in recent weeks.

So, what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is that I appreciate your submissions and will continue to try to use as many as possible each week; but please don't be offended if one of your submissions don't make it into the Carnival.

The deadline is listed as Saturday at 8 PM, but the earlier you send in a post, the better; and it has a better chance to be included for that week.

Thanks again for all the interest, and keep sending those insanities my way!

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- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:03 PM |

 
THIS AND THAT
Several things you should definitely read today:

First, Mark Steyn's Chicago Sun-Times Op-Ed and here's an excerpt:

We live in an age of inversely proportional deterrence: The more militarily powerful a civilized nation is, the less its enemies have to fear the full force of that power ever being unleashed. They know America and other Western powers fight under the most stringent self-imposed etiquette. Overwhelming force is one thing; overwhelming force behaving underwhelmingly as a matter of policy is quite another.

So even the most powerful military in the world is subject to broader cultural constraints. When Kathryn Lopez's e-mailer sneers that "your contribution to this war is limited solely to your ability to exercise the skillset provided by your liberal arts education," he's accidentally put his finger on the great imponderable: whether the skill set provided by the typical American, British and European education these last 30 years is now one of the biggest obstacles to civilizational self-preservation.

Second, Varifrank's post suggesting that things are not necessarily what they appear to be in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict:

But that was 12 days ago, and frankly things certainly appear to have changed. For the first time in my life, Arabs that kill Israelis are not being given the cover of “peace missions” and “cease fire” calls for “dialog” for their actions. Arab terrorists have started a war, and they have for once – gotten exactly that in return. And I have to say as revolting as war is, I find this fact to be downright refreshing. Finally, starting a war has consequences beyond who sits on what side of the negotiation table. Finally starting a war might mean that you will lose! What a concept! (It certainly takes all the fun out of it, doesn’t it? – which is precisely why I think the President is following that idea. Terrorism isn’t any fun if it doesn’t get you what you want, but instead costs you everything you have. The first step towards ending terrorism is to stop making it pay as a strategy for engaging the enemy. )

Oh, and all this noise about "international support for peacekeeping". Uh,huh. Yeah right you betcha. International peacekeeping brigades populated by the ghostly Family Circus Character known as "Not Me".

Third is a revealing series of photos showing clearly how Hezbollah is using civilians as shields.

And, if you haven't already read this bit of military analysis, cleverly disguised as "pulp fiction", you would be advised to do so.

All these pieces should give you a bit more perspective on what might be going on right now in the middle east--perspective you sure won't find in most of the MSM.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:14 PM |

 
CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES
Time for the weekly insanity update, where the insane, the bizarre, the ridiculous, and the completely absurd are highlighted for all to see! This has been a week of rare idiocy (as always!). So, if you want to remain sane, the best thing is to poke some fun at the more egregious absurdities.

Send all entries for next week's carnival to Dr. Sanity by 8 pm ET on Saturday for Sunday's Carnival. Only one post entry weekly per blogger, please. Thanks for all the submissions. I try to use as many as possible! SO MANY INSANITIES! SO LITTLE TIME!!!

1. An "Infidel Doctor of Insanity"? That sounds familiar. But I can help him with a job.... At least I'm not one of those "neo-conservatives and American extremism ("millennial" or end-time Christians and Zionist zealots). " From hysteria to paranoia.

2. Move along, nothing to see here. CNN does it again.

3. Secrets the media will keep! More evidence of the MSM decline.

4. Did the Post ever run an op-ed by Slobodan Milosevic to "broaden" its readers' thinking?

5. Southern X-posure... And desperately narcissistic grandmas. (Feminists all growed up?)

6. Kofi's koffin.You might think that the UN Human Rights body had important issues to focus on. You would be wrong.

7. The Middle East's got talent!

8. A perfect example of the Sociopathic Selflessness that characterizes today's left.

9. There's "psychic ability"; and then there's "psychic disabililty". So why not put it to good use? And more thoughts on the subject.

10. Yeahhhhhh! Four more years....of Howard Dean!

11. Oh no! Bush has set off an epidemic of groping!

12. Not another hunger strike! How's that other one doing, I wonder?

13. It's a strange confluence of not wanting to be noticed and dying for attention. Well, maybe not.

14. Whatever this guy did, don't do it.

15. Straight from mewling and puking to whining and bitching. That's harsh.

16. And he couldn't use his influence to save her career? He really is evil.

17. Don't put words in his pants. It's already pretty crowded in there. I didn't know Clinton was British!

18. She's going to be a presidential bust in so many ways. Case in point. And another. But she is entitled to her cleavage.

19. ACLU urges proportionate response?

20. No fries with that sheikh, please. Watch your language with these guys, or else.

21. I don't think I could speak to the validity of this counseling technique, either. Maybe one of the dogs could?

22. Top 10 ways to destroy the earth. The top 10 ways to end your career!

23. Some things just don't go well together.... Kids don't go well with fanaticism either -- it makes their brains pudding.

24. Knee-jerk opposition to national defense.

25. How to get your war covered on TV: A guide for dummies.


Carnival of the Insanities can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival and at the BlogCarnival.

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- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:06 AM |

 
ISLAMIC SEPTICEMIA
Roger Simon commenting on the shootings yesterday at the Jewish Federation in Seattle:

I have to admit I am beginning to view the whole world as a battlefield, a far cry from my outlook during my more traditionally liberal "give peace a chance" days. So I wince when I see various rightthinking folk putting the squeeze on Israel for a cease fire, because I have no reason to believe that spells anything but disaster. Hezbollah, a collection of vastly better armed and better trained religious psychopaths with the exact same values and attitudes as the Seattle Pakistani, will simply take the opportunity to resupply and attack again. Why wouldn't they? It's what they are sworn to do and what they believe. God told them it's so.

And yet Israel is expected to stand down. After all, they are the superior "developed" nation. The grown-ups. Actually the whole thing is inherently racist on two levels at once. Jews are treated anti-Semitically (differently from other nations) and the Arabs are treated as irresponsible "Wogs", children essentially. These two are incapable of solving their own problems. Only a multi-national force will save the day.

Oh, really?

Andy McCarthy notes:

The Muslim man has obviously not only carefully chosen the target but cased the place. There's a security system, so he waits until someone attached to the Federation enters using her access code, then he pounces, forcing his way through the open door. He brandishes a large caliber, semi-automatic handgun. He announces that he's a Muslim angry at Israel. Then he randomly, wantonly opens fire — shooting six women, one of whom is pregnant, one of whom is killed.

So what happens? The police don't even want to admit that he's Muslim ("You could infer that," the police chief tells the reporters who press this patently relevant question). And the FBI insists it's not terrorism.

Now, it could not conceivably be more clear that it is terrorism.

Jihad Watch has more on the shootings and discusses the spin that is being brought to bear:

So that is what the focus will be upon: mental illness and lewd conduct. And once again the media will ignore the question of why a man who describes himself as a Muslim American angry at Israel would think that murder of innocents was an appropriate outlet for his anger. No one will ever consider whether such behavior is encouraged by the texts and atmospherics of Islam, and if so, what can be done about it.

I think of it this way. Septicemia is a very serious illness caused by the spread of bacteria and their toxins in the bloodstream. It is also sometimes called "blood poisoning". Usually the infection starts in one place and becomes deeply entrenched there. Soon it reaches local blood vessels and the bacteria and toxins of the infection leak into the blood, spreading the infection throughout the entire body. Without potent antibiotics, administered intravenously, the patient will soon be overwhelmed by the infection as it takes over organ after organ.

Just the seeding of one bacteria in an organ far from the main infection is terribly dangerous.

The Middle East is the source of the world's virulent infection, and it is sometimes referred to as "Islam". The islamic bacteria has mutated and is no longer able to be contained by the usual medical-political treatments. The infection entered the bloodstream some time ago, where it has been taken to all parts of the world. The patient is now septic.

Even as that single virulent bacterium of that infection is taken out in Seattle, there is no telling how many others are around, waiting to release their toxins. If not recognized as a symptom of the larger, more pathological infection, then, even if taken out locally (i.e., with topical Bacitracin for example; or the local police) the seeds of the infection continue to spread everywhere, bringing the poison to all parts of the world and threatening the life of the patient.

It is not enough to eliminate a single bacterium of this spreading illness; or to pretend that it is only present in one small site in the body. If you ignore the main infection, there will be other seeds disseminated to your locale, until eventually, every cell in the body is at risk.

The cure must be a potent antibiotic that wipes out the main infection even as it kills all the lesser bacteria spreading the illness in the bloodstream.

This is not a disease to mess around with. It kills.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:43 AM |

 
VERY SOON
Hezbollah has not allowed the Red Cross to visit the two Israeli soldiers they kidnapped to ensure they are being treated humanely: (hat tip: LGF)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had not received agreement so far to its request to visit two Israeli soldiers abducted by Hezbollah guerrillas.

"To this day we have not received a positive response," said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, director of operations at the ICRC.

The approach to the Lebanese Shiite group was first when the soldiers were seized during a border attack on July 12, he told reporters.

The Geneva-based humanitarian agency carries out visits to detainees captured in conflicts worldwide, including in Israel, to ensure they are treated humanely.

I'm truly shocked! Doesn't the terrorist group strictly adhere to international law and the Geneva Convention? Aren't they at the forefront of moral integrity and virtuous behavior? Soon, I expect we will see scathing op-ed pieces in the international press and angry marches by the outraged left to denouce this inhumane and uncivilized situation. I think I also heard that Cindy Sheehan plans to camp outside the Beirut Iranian embassy and start a hunger strike for "as long as it takes" until Hezbollah sees the error of its ways. I hear she's bought some property next to the little cave that Nasrallah lives in (or was it Osama? I forget).

Soon, some big, famous Hollywood stars plan to make international appeals that Hezbollah stop using disproportionate civilian shields or UN observers to courageously hide behind as they fight against Israel. The Dixie Chicks will announce a benefit concert to help the captured Israeli soldiers and provide relief for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Israelis who have had to suffer through Hezbollah rockets raining down on their homes.

Very soon.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:47 AM |

 
ALL THE INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE CAKE FOUND IN SOUTHERN IRAQ !
Via The Anchoress comes a story that documents the WMD that have been found in Iraq. Didn't know that, did you? Yes, that is our informative media at work. Alexandra at All Things Beautiful has all the details and links and has this to say:

My friend Antimedia, has been interviewing Gaubatz, with extensive articles published here, here, and here. In this series of must read articles he has been revealing exclusive information about what Gaubatz, found in Iraq, including post-1991 chemical weapons and banned missiles, Iraqis who have been threatened with expulsion from the US and forced return to Iraq (which is almost certain death for them) if they reveal what they know about the WMD sites and two Congressmen who are actively attempting to obstruct any investigation into the WMD sites. Although some of the information is public knowledge, he has been putting it together with information gleaned from his ongoing interviews with Gaubatz as well as confirmation of details from multiple sources.

It is a disgrace that a decorated ex-intelligence officer has to resort to acrobatics for three years to get the Pentagon and the media to listen. I guess it is a good thing that Karl Rove reads the Blogosphere, he may have discovered some intelligence he never knew he had.

You must read the links provided by Alexandra for the whole story, but basically four sites in southern Iraq now have documented chemical and biological weapons found. Why this news is not being trumpeted by both the Bush Administration and the MSM (well, we know why the MSM is not trumpeting it) is very interesting.

Eventually the American public will be given the evidence and perhaps a reason why it has not been exploited.

In the meantime, this is a good time to reprint a post of mine from January 14, 2005 called "WMD and Death By Chocolate Cake".
________________________________________________________

Since Saddam's WMD's are in the news again, I think this is a good time to refer you to Alpha Patriot's excellent roundup from last July of the WMD's that supposedly don't exist in Iraq. Why the press persists in pushing the delusion that no WMD's were found is beyond me. Why President Bush does not trumpet this information is also a mystery, since what is listed at the link are real, verifiable items that were found and are known.

I suspect it is a type of "concrete thinking" (see here) that is to blame for this situation; or possibly an unbelievable lack of imagination. Presumably, the skeptics expected to find nuclear missles conveniently lined up and pointed at the U.S. ; or warehouses of biological weapons with labels and detailed plans of how to distribute the stuff attached to each vial. Or maybe they even expected to find a written, signed confession by Saddam admitting that he had plans to develop and use whatever weapons he could find that would kill large numbers of people. Or maybe, just maybe, no amount of evidence would ever convince some people that Saddam was a threat to the U.S. and the entire world and that he had WMD's.

Time for an analogy. Let's say that people in my neighborhood got together and voted (in the interests of neighborhood health) that I couldn't bake my "Death by Chocolate" cakes anymore (these cakes have been known to be lethally caloric). I reluctantly agree, and say I am complying with this order, but refuse to let anyone check by looking in my pantry.

Finally, tired of being manipulated by me, and concerned that I might go ahead and bake one of those destructively high calorie cake things, my neighbors force their way into the house and find THAT I HAVE NO CAKE SITTING ON THE COUNTER WAITING TO BE EATEN! How foolish they were to doubt my word! How stupid they were to imagine I might be up to my old chocolate baking tendencies!

On the other hand, they discover while carefully going through my pantry that there are 2 boxes of devil's food cake mix; chocolate bars, cake pans, pudding mix, flour and sugar, mixing bowls and a number of other questionable items. They even find a recipe book which includes several variants on the "Death by Chocolate" Cake theme--muffins, breakfast loaf, etc. And, on top of that, they have a video showing me carrying a cake-like item out of the house the day before they barged in to verify my compliance with their silly order. They suspect that I took one of the cakes to work to share with my co-workers. I calmly refuse to tell them anything.

So what is the conclusion? That I had no pre-existing cake, waiting to be eaten? Or, that I had all the ingredients to make that cake at a moment's notice, despite my having said I wouldn't; and that I even made one just before they came to check, but had taken it somewhere else to eat?

I don't know about you, but I think if you conclude that I haven't been making my famous "Death by Chocolate" cake because one isn't sitting out on the counter for you to find, then you are more foolish than even I could possibly have imagined. BWAHAHAHAHA!
_______________________________________________________

For Chocolate Cake lovers, here is the recipe:

Death-By-Chocolate Cake (without WMDs!)

It's very simple to make and my family really likes it. I've been making it for several years now and probably originally got the recipe from some magazine, which one I've long forgotten (otherwise, I'd mention it). I prefer to eat it either unadorned, or with a high quality vanilla ice cream, but if you are a purist, you are free to use chocolate ice cream instead.

1/4 c. oil
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. water
1 chocolate cake mix (get your favorite--I like devil's food chocolate cake)

Mix the above ingredients by hand (do not use electric mixer). Pour into greased 9x11 inch pan. Sprinkle 12 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips on top (I like Hershey's). Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Cool about 5 minutes. Poke holes in cake (it should still be warm) and spread with 1 large jar of Smuckers Hot Fudge Topping. ENJOY
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:10 PM |

 
A LEXICON OF UNTRUTH
Victor Davis Hanson has drawn one up to clarify current events in the Middle East. Check it out.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:32 AM |

 
BARBIE AND KEN IN AN ISLAM WORLD
Reading this article about a young girl who was accused in Iran of "crimes against chastity" and executed, my mind wandered to 1997, when the group called Aqua came out with a catchy little tune called "Barbie Girl" (listen to part of it here ) that lampooned the mindless Barbie bimbos who have no existence or sense of self without a male in their life.

I started to wonder... what if Barbie and Ken were Muslim and lived in Iran; or Saudi Arabia, or Somalia or....?

[- Hi Barbie!
- Hi Ken!
- You shouldn't be talking to me, you know?
- I know, Ken!
- Now you will have to die because you have deliberately aroused me and shamed your family.
- Ha ha ha ha! ]

I'm an Islam girl in an Islam world
Life in hijab, simply so fab!
You can't see my hair, you don't even know I'm there
Try to escape, and I'd be raped

Just a glimpse of skin, drives our men to sin
They're afraid, you see, of my sexuality

I'm an Islam girl in an Islam world
Life in hijab, simply so fab!
You can't see my hair, you don't even know I'm there
Try to escape, and I'd be raped

I'm a veiled ghostly girl in a fantasy world
Made by men who are frightened by my sex.
I'm a drudge, with no grudge, cause my feelings don't count
I can't work, I can't drive, I can't even go out.

You can hide me away
Cause it makes you feel so manly
You can beat me at night
So your honor works out just right

I'm an Islam girl in an Islam world
Life in hijab, simply so fab!
You can't see my hair, you don't even know I'm there
Try to escape, and I'd be raped

Let's be honest, why be modest? ha ha ha, yeah
If I get hit, I provoked it-- oooh, oooh, ooh
Let's be honest, why be modest? ha ha ha, yeah
If you feel shame, I am to blame-- oooh, oooh, oooh

Make me hide, make me pray, do whatever you please
I am worth half a man, that's what Allah decrees
All I do is bring shame, I am always to blame
If a man goes insane with desire

You can hide me away
Cause it makes you feel so manly
You can beat me at night
So your honor works out just right

I'm an Islam girl in an Islam world
Life in hijab, simply so fab!
You can't see my hair, you don't even know I'm there
Try to escape, and I'd be raped

Let's be honest, why be modest? ha ha ha, yeah
Men are leaders, girls are breeders-- oooh, oooh, ooh
Let's be honest, why be modest? ha ha ha, yeah
If you feel shame, I am to blame-- oooh, oooh, oooh

[- Oh, Ken, I'm having so much fun!
- Well, Barbie, you're alone with me and that makes you an evil temptress.
- Oh, please, can I be a suicide bomber?]

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has more, including this cartoon from Cox and Forkum about the Iranian girl:

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:58 AM |

 
SPEAKING OF "DISPROPORTIONATE"

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:05 PM |

 
THE BRILLIANCE OF THE NEW BARBARIANS
With Hezbollah's use of human shields; with their hiding in the midst of populated areas;with their sophisticated use of propaganda ("children are DYING!"); and with their reportedly preventing any civilians--including children-- from escaping areas where they are likely to be hurt; we see the beginning of a new conundrum that the forces of civilization must resolve as they fight the onslaught of these barbarians, whose nihilism and fanatacism knows no bounds.

In a comment on this thread at The Belmont Club, Wretchard notes:

The brilliance of the new barbarism is that you cannot fight it without destroying your own value system into the bargain.

Traditionally the solution has been to consider wartime a discontinuity, when civilization's rules are suspended. It becomes possible, for example, to lay waste to the Monte Cassino Abbey. Berlin was bombed without regard for its buildings, churches or people.

The alternative is to create methods of fighting so discriminating that we can literally shoot between the raindrops. But that creates a different problem, for we will need an intelligence system so comprehensive that it will become intrusive.

Either way, the war cannot be won without cost. And the fundamental fraud foisted on the public is to claim we can have war without horror, conduct an intelligence war without dishonesty and cunning and obtain victory without sacrifice.

Amen.

I am confident that we will not lose our values; and that our overall moral heading can be recovered should we need to temporarily deviate from the course of the moral compass that guides us. Because, in order to combat and defeat this new barbarism, we must confront it and be willing to do whatever it takes to defeat it.

If we appease or ignore it, it will continue to menace everything we hold dear; and sooner or later, it will sink us--no matter how moral we are or how much restraint we demonstrate to their provocations. Morality and restraint will not win this conflict. We must be sure in our own hearts and minds of the endurance of our own values in order to do what is necessary.

Our uncertainty is sinking us already. Value by value. Look how willing much of the West was to compromise our freedom of speech in the Danish cartoons (no matter how "offensive" they might be taken) in order to accommodate the enemy's threats. Soon, we will have compromised away all that matters to us; and our civilization will drown, little by little as it is taken over by the barbarians.

If we continue to appease them, we will drown in their ruthlessness and love of death.

The cost of this war will be more than all the lives lost; it will also be for the humanity and civilization we must temporarily abandon to win. I love to read fantasies as much as anyone, but in the real world, the good and virtuous whose cause is just do not always win.

When we are finally cornered and must allow our own barbarism to surface to combat theirs head to head, then we must be prepared to live with the consequences, including the agonizing guilt that will ensue--or everything we hold dear, everything we aspire to become, will forever perish from this earth.

I've said it before, but this reality is what I hate and despise most about these Islamic fanatics--who do not let reason or life interfere with their jihad; who abide by no treaties, follow no rules, and scorn the very values upon which western civilization is founded. We could have lived with them they did not insist that we must become what they are or die. But they have defined the groundrules (or the non-rules) of this conflict; and eventually, we will have to meet them at their level--or they will win. We should hold tight to the thought that it is they who have set the playing field.

"Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - There is controversy over who said this, but for a discussion of this quote, see Mudville Gazette.

UPDATE: One of the leaders of the new barbarians has this to say today:

In the message broadcast by Al-Jazeera television, Ayman al-Zawahri, second in command to Osama bin Laden, said that al-Qaida now views "all the world as a battlefield open in front of us."

The Egyptian-born physician said that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and Palestinian militants would not be ended with "cease-fires or agreements."

"It is a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq," al-Zawahri said. "We will attack everywhere."

So, what should civilization's response be? Should we pretend we don't hear him? That he doesn't really mean it? Even if you hate the idea of violence and death --and what sane and rational person doesn't?-- isn't it time to get really serious about this threat and stop pussyfooting around pretending it doesn't exist?
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:35 AM |

 
MALIGNANT NARCISSISM - Sociopathic Selfishness and Sociopathic Selflessness
The following is an example of a certain type of person who considers herself caring, loving, and compassionate:

NOBEL peace laureate Betty Williams displayed a flash of her feisty Irish spirit yesterday, lashing out at US President George W.Bush during a speech to hundreds of schoolchildren.
Campaigning on the rights of young people at the Earth Dialogues forum, being held in Brisbane, Ms Williams spoke passionately about the deaths of innocent children during wartime, particularly in the Middle East, and lambasted Mr Bush.

"I have a very hard time with this word 'non-violence', because I don't believe that I am non-violent," said Ms Williams, 64.

"Right now, I would love to kill George Bush." Her young audience at the Brisbane City Hall clapped and cheered.

This precious little story helps me segue into a topic that I have been meaning to discuss for some time, that relates to a form of narcissistic sociopathy (also called "malignant narcissism") that dominates the mind of the collectivist. The typical leftist collectivist, however, considers his or her sociopathy as a form of altruism, or "selflessness".

Thirty years ago when I first studied object relations theory and became familiar with the ideas of Heinz Kohut, Otto Kernberg and others; I remember thinking, "THIS is important!" Over the years, both in my personal and professional life, that initial response has been reinforced repeatedly.

The longer I have thought about it, the more applicable these concepts are in appreciating the psychological elements that underscore all aspects of human endeavor. Understanding the development and optimization of psychological health is tantamount to understanding the essence of human nature; and understanding human nature--both the good and the bad--is essential to be able to develop an integrated view of human existence--i.e., a philosophy of life that advances and enriches not only one's own life, but all of human life.

This seems like a rather grandiose goal (did I mention how grandiose I am? But I will leave it to a future post to discuss those tendencies); but one which I consider extremely important for every individual to undertake.

Several earlier posts on this blog have begun to lay a foundation for integrating human psychology into various aspects of philosophy. Those posts include:

Narcissism & Society Parts I-III
The Narcissistic Dialectic
The Narcissistic Synthesis

As a suggestion, you might want to review those articles prior to reading this one.

In "The Narcissistic Synthesis", I proposed that the optimal synthesis of the two opposing ethical imperatives of the developing self--the Grandiose Self (GS) and the Idealized Object (IO) -- was Individualism, or as it is sometimes called, "Enlightened Self-Interest". The two ethical imperatives that derive from the GS and IO, and which form the dialectic are in the table below in red and blue:


The study of Ethics is concerned with the question of what constitutes ethical ( good) human behavior; as well as unethical (bad) human behavior.

Through Ethics, we are able to develop our values and take action in the real world to pursue those values. The study of Ethics answers such questions as: "Should I only pursue my own happiness?" or "Should I sacrifice myself for the greater good of others?"

These two questions are at the heart of the narcissistic dialectic in the area of Ethics, and they appear to be completely the opposite of each other. But somehow, a healthy individual must find a way to creatively synthesize an effective and life-affirming value system from both sides of that ethical dialectic.

It is not an exaggeration to say that most of human history has been a battle between forces which advocate one or the other of these two absolute ethical imperatives. The self-GS says unequivocally that I should always pursue my own happiness, regardless of its impact on others; while the self-IO demands that I always sacrifice myself for others and/or the "greater good"; or, that an individual's happiness is nothing compared to the happiness of others.

Individuals, as they go through life, often run head-on into this seeming dilemma; and if they do not find a way to resolve it within their psychological self they will forever bounce back and forth between what I have termed "sociopathic selfishness" and "sociopathic selflessness".

It is my contention that the adoption of either of the extreme ethical systems derived from the developing self will inevitably leads to disastrous consequences for both for the individual and for society, and is the cause of most human suffering. Both extremes represent a form of malignant narcissism with which our world is plagued.

The unopposed Grandiose Self gives rise to tyrants big and small; to megalomaniacal dictators and dictator wannabees; to unbelievable corporate greed and plundering; and to the typical criminal sociopath in all his/her glory. The damage that such individuals do in individual relationships, in business, in politics and in all spheres of human behavior, is well documented and appreciated in the world. Most children are abjured repeatedly never, never to be "selfish". To always consider others. Laws are set up to protect people from victimization at the hands of these unrestrained grandiose monsters, unable to see other people as distinct individuals separate from their own self. These "others" exist only as the means to achieving their own desires.

But far more menacing to humanity is the unrestrained IO, which has unlimited potential to cause human misery and death; and whose destructiveness we have seen dominate the 20th century. The countless dead bodies that are the direct result of this form of malignant narcissism are quickly forgotten because they died as some nations, religions, ideologies attempted to implement their IDEAL in the real world.

This second type of evil is more subtle, and it derives from the ethics of the IO side of the self. The IO also does not see other people as distinct individuals with needs and desires of their own, but only as fodder for the expression of an IDEAL; or as pawns for the wishes of a deified GS. People with this narcissistic defect completely reject the needs of the individual and enslave him or her to the service of their IDEAL. Eventually, the enslavement--whether religious or secular--snuffs out human ambition, confidence, energy, self-esteem, and life. These mindlessly malignant "do-gooders" -- like our Nobel Laureate mentioned at the start of this article-- do far more harm than good and their ideologies can lead to genocidal practices and unbelievable atrocities on a grand scale, all in the name of an IDEAL or GOD.

The malignant and sociopathic potential of both the GS and IO are inherent in the human species. They are flip sides of the same human coin, you see. One side cannot exist without the other. Either a way is found to synthesize the two, or an individual will forever flip-flop between them--coldly and viciously tyrannical toward all humans in pursuit of his own desires on the one hand; and on the other, coldly and viciously determined no matter what the cost in human lives and suffereing to implement his IDEAL in all human society.

We are always warned about the individual narcissitic sociopaths; but most people don't appreciate the sociopathic qualities of groups, religions, nations, and ideologies that demand all individuals sacrifice themselves for the good of the latest utopian ideal or some blood-thirsty god.

In our modern world, the Islamic Jihadists have perfected this ethical demand; and the suicide-bomber is the ultimate expression of their ethics. (see the post "Union With An Evil God" and "Narcissistic Rage and Awe" for more on this).

But they are not alone in their disregard and contempt for the individual, who they see as only existing to serve the IDEAL, or to bring about the utopia/paradise/caliphate/[insert fantasy delusion here].

Extremes of both the political left and the political right are also dominated by the malignant narcissism of the GS and the IO.

If we go back to our understanding of healthy narcissistic development, we appreciate that the GS and the IO in adults is a result of the failure of narcissistic synthesis. The developmental process that should lead to a healthy self is broken; or fractured; or poisoned.

This can happen under many and varied circumstances--some of which can be prevented and some of which cannot (but that is for another post). We see it happening to the Palestinian children, taught from birth to hate the other/Jew; taught to die for the IDEAL. We see it in college students who are encouraged by their malignantly narcissistic professors to reject traditional moral values; embrace nihilism, and transform the world according to the professor's utopian fantasy. We see it in the postmodern rhetoric of the socialists who still dream of a universal socialist utopia, no matter how many people they have to kill to make it happen.

We see glimpses of it, in fact, in a Nobel Peace Laureate who is so concerned for the IDEAL of some abstract "suffering children" that she is willing to poison the minds of the very real children right in front of her with her own undiluted ideology--knowing full well those minds aren't capable of mature judgment and analysis. She is so unswervingly sure that the source of all suffering children must be…George Bush. How is she different from the Imams of Islam who preach hate --but in the name of some universal Islamic "good".

She doesn't want to face the truth, you see, that it is one variation or another of HER beliefs; HER ideology; HER behavior that is behind most of the unnecessary suffering of--not only children--but all human beings.

She, and many of the others that have been referred to as "useful idiots", has made herself into a willing agent of the malignant narcissism of the Idealized object. They are actually worse than idiots; they are true co-conspirators with the enemies of life itself.

So, how does the self, torn between these two potentially malignant outcomes resolve the conflicting ethical imperatives and come out whole and fully integrated?

The solution lies not in a compromise between the two extremes, but in a synthesis that creates a new and wholly unexpected perspective for the self. It is a synthesis that rejects the pathology of either extreme and recognizes that the individual self has worth; that the needs and desires of the Individual self are worth pursuing for their own sake; and that because of the affiliative nature of human beings that an individual can value another individual or individuals enough to sacrifice himself for that other person or persons when it is rational and necessary to do so.

One might say that true "selflessness" actually requires a healthy and whole self; and that contrary to common wisdom, when a psychologically mature individual chooses to sacrifice himself for someone or something, it simultaneously reflects a situation of true "selfishness" as well.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:33 PM |

 
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
Kofi Anan says that the Israelis "apparantly deliberately" targeted the UN observers.

Wretchard has a detailed analysis of UNIFIL activities in southern Lebanon in recent days. And in it he notes that the one UN observer injured prior to this most recent bombing was injured by Hezbollah; and that the Israelis evacuated the individual back to Israel for medical treatment (did Kofi praise that action, one wonders?).

And, to put things in context, you might read all of Wretchard's post and consider this piece of information; and just think about which side the UN might be on here.

Finally, John Podhoretz reminds us of a famous line from Shakespeare when considering the Secretary General: "One may smile, and smile, and still be a villain."

Consider all this when deciding what really might be going on.

UPDATE: Rich Lowry:

When I was in Israel three weeks ago we went up to the northern border to look at some Hezbollah bunkers and observation posts (it was quiet then, and everyone assumed it would basically stay quiet). One of the Hezbollah observation posts—where you could see a Hezbollah guy moving around it was so close to the border—was right next to a U.N. post. I'm talking right next to. When I was peering over there with binoculars, at one point I thought the U.N. guy was actually talking to the Hezbollah guy. Hezbollah obviously did this so if things got hot, there would be a chance that Israel would hit the U.N. post by mistake.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:58 AM |

 
CALL THEM UNRELIABLE
Call them UNresponsible - call them UNreliable...



Throw in UNacceptable too...



And,yes they're UNrelevant, too

Well they're not too clever - They just consistently hate the Jew...

Not so UNpredictable - extremely UNbelievable,
Terrorists they're always willing to woo...
Call them UNresponsible - yes they're UNreliable
And it is UNdeniably true - they UNequivocally hate the Jew.



[You can find more UN songs here!]
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:57 PM |

 
A VERY BRIGHT LINE
I am going to be in meetings most of the day, but I will leave you with some reading that should highlight the bright moral line that has been exposed by the recent events in the Middle East.

Dennis Praeger comments on the "decent" vs the "indecent" left:

But we now have a bright line that divides the decent -- albeit usually wrong -- Left from the indecent Left.

The Left's anti-Israel positions until now were based, at least in theory, on its opposition to Israeli occupation of Arab land and its belief in the "cycle of violence" between Israel and its enemies. However, this time there is no occupied land involved and the violence is not a cycle with its implied lack of a beginning. There is a clear aggressor -- a terror organization devoted to Islamicizing the Middle East and annihilating Israel -- and no occupation.

That is why the Israeli Left is almost universally in favor of Israel's war against Hezbollah. Amos Oz, probably Israel's best-known novelist and leading spokesman of its Left, a lifetime critic of Israeli policy vis a vis the Palestinians, wrote in the Los Angeles Times:

"Many times in the past, the Israeli peace movement has criticized Israeli military operations. Not this time. . . . This time, Israel is not invading Lebanon. It is defending itself from daily harassment and bombardment of dozens of our towns and villages. . . . There can be no moral equation between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah is targeting Israeli civilians wherever they are, while Israel is targeting mostly Hezbollah."

While Ralph Kinney Bennett has this to say at TCS:

Maybe, as this terrible business in Lebanon unfolds, we'll finally get it:

Guerrillas like to hide behind civilians.

Muslim guerrillas take it a step further: "Civilians" are a weapon to them -- as much a part of the fight as the AK-47 or RPG they carry.

Those who have visited any Hezbollah installation in Lebanon over the years always remark on the fact that there are families, women and children, in and around the place. "Secret" bases are usually hidden in plain site. Houses or apartment buildings become weapons storage or even operations centers. An innocent shed or garage may contain a Toyota or a missile launcher.

Seldom, if ever, has a guerrilla movement been able to so openly and exquisitely weave itself into the fabric of a society as Hezbollah has done in Lebanon.

If the civilians in and around what are in effect operational bases happen to be of Hezbollah's own brand of Islam they automatically become a part of the "sacrificial," suicidal equation. Often without choice or foreknowledge, they die an "honorable" death in the battle against infidels or apostates.

If the civilians happen to be of some other persuasion, Islamic or otherwise, their deaths are not even worth a shrug. However, these mangled bodies and wailing women with arms outstretched do provide an immense propaganda payoff, especially in the Western "crusader" media -- which still places a quaint value on human life.

Is it possible that some on the left are finally going to "get it"? Is it finally going to penetrate their thick skulls that there is a fundamental difference between the Islamofascist terrorists and the people that fight them?

There is indeed a 'bright line' that should be obvious to anyone who looks at the situation, but don't hold your breath that the extreme left will be able to see it. Even in the comment section of this blog; in almost any post that points out the moral differences between the Israelis and Hezbollah/Hamas, there is the leftist who continues to mindlessly apply the old template. You know, the template that maintains that Israel is the "occupier" and "oppressor"; that Israel isn't any different than the Palestinians or Hezbollah and that they target civilians, too. The same template that proclaims that George Bush is as much a terrorist--even worse--than Osama Bin Laden; blah, blah, blah. The moral equivalency template.

Back last August when the Israelis withdrew from Gaza I said:

I am hopeful that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will clarify for the whole world the real motives of the Palestinians. I don't believe that their leaders really want their own Palestinian state--they could have had that long ago. What they want, pure and simple is the destruction of Israel, even if it means continued suffering for their own people.

At least the suffering of these settlers in being evicted from homes they have lived in for decades will make it easier to Israel to defend itself without all the irrational screams of "occupiers!" being hurled their way from the rest of the world.

Ok, maybe that's is too much to hope for. Nevertheless, what the Palestinians do with this gift will be revealing.... [but]I believe they will squander it in order to continue to express their hatred of the Jews. That hatred has been the dominant focus in their culture for some time, and they are not about to give it up for a Palestinian state-- or for Peace.

Perhaps the rest of the world will begin to notice that.

Well, many are finally beginning to notice the bright line. But the minions of the political left are still funbling around in moral darkness.

The best explanation for this is at One Cosmos where Bob discusses the left's broken moral compass:

The philosopher Michael Polanyi pointed out that what distinguishes leftist thought in all its forms is the dangerous combination of a ruthless contempt for traditional moral values with an unbounded moral passion for utopian perfection. (This is all explained very clearly in a nice introduction to Polanyi’s thought, entitled Everyman Revived.)

The first step in this process is a complete skepticism that rejects traditional ideals of moral authority and transcendent moral obligation. This materialistic skepticism is then combined with a boundless, utopian moral fervor to transform mankind. However, being that the moral impulse remains in place, there is no longer any boundary or channel for it. One sees this, for example, in college students (and those permanent college students known as professors) who, in attempting to individuate from parental authority and define their own identities, turn their intense skepticism against existing society, denouncing it as morally shoddy, artificial, hypocritical, and a mere mask for oppression and exploitation. In other words, as the philosopher Voegelin explained it, the religious hope for a better afterlife is “immamentized” into the present, expressing the same faith but in wholly horizontal and materialistic and terms.

What results is a moral hatred of existing society and the resultant alienation of the postmodern leftist intellectual. Having condemned the distinction between good and evil as dishonest, such an individual can at least find pride in the “honesty” of their condemnation. Since ordinary decent behavior can never be safe against suspicion of sheer conformity or downright hypocrisy, only an amoral meaningless act can assure complete authenticity. This is why, to a leftist, the worst thing you can call someone is a hypocrite, whereas authentic depravity is celebrated in art, music, film, and literature. It is why, for example, leftist leaders all over the world were eager to embrace a nihilistic mass murderer such as Yasser Arafat--literally. Yuck.

Yuck, indeed. Bob goes on to further expose the destructive cynicism and boundless moral fervor of the left, both anchored with its primordial envy.

Finally, ShrinkWrapped sees this primordial envy as the place where the left and the Islamists intersect:

They both believe in managing envy by using the tribal template. They are both terrified of a future in which they cannot compete and in which they may lose their privileges. They have differing, and mutually exclusive, ideologies, but they agree on the basic problem and the basic solution, which is why so many on the far left have found a home in alliance with radical Islam.
[...]
Today, it is the Jew and the American both who are the objects of envious hatred. Americans (and Australians, and some Europeans) are all Jews now.

The suicide bomber is the epitome of the tribal system gone into nihilism: If I cannot have what you have, you will not have it either. We will all be equal in death!

It really is a very bright line.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:24 AM |

 
LIKE THE ENERGIZER BUNNY...
...outrage over the Danish cartoons is still going going.... The latest:

The Mosque of Paris has filed suit against a satirical weekly for publishing three cartoons of Islam's prophet - two of which were among those published by a Danish newspaper that triggered violent protests five months ago, judicial officials said Friday.

The suit was filed against Philippe Val, executive editor of Charlie-Hebdo, a satirical magazine known for its caustic humor, and against the Rotatives publishing house for the cartoons, which appeared in a February edition.

The Mosque of Paris considers the publication of the cartoons to be "a deliberate act of aggression aimed at offending people of the Muslim religion in their attachment to their faith," the officials said. They were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and asked not to be named.

I suppose we should be grateful that they filed a lawsuit instead of just going out and killing the editor.

Andrew Stuttaford at The Corner asks: "What, I wonder, will the courts of the land of Voltaire have to say about it?"

As a great admirer of Voltaire, let me paraphrase him and say that while I don't necessarily agree with what the cartoons say, I will defend anyone's right to look at them; print them; laugh at them and be offended by them.



Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices. - Voltaire
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:15 PM |

 
THE VICTIM SCAM
Isn't it interesting that Hezbollah is suddenly willing to talk? After all their huffing and puffing of the last week?

Isn't it interesting that Hamas is ready to talk, after all their posturing and certainty of victory?

What's happening? I suspect that the leadership of both terrorist organization are really confused right now.

Every time they behaved this way before, it led to simultaneously enhancing their eternal victimhood, and that, in turn inevitably led --not to a victory; but it certainly never led to defeat, and it always improved both their status in the world as well as their fortunes.

Doesn't look like that's gonna happen this time. Enough momentum has been generated by the Bush policies in the Middle East to preclude yet another award for victimhood (although, Allah knows that they are sure trying to play that card out on the table, and, of course, they have help from all the usual suspects- and here, here too).

I think they must be in shock. Like the child whose parents finally and firmly said, "No. Not this time. You can't have it." And meant it. Initially, the child cannot believe that they have changed, so he'll try again to get what he wants. It always worked before. Why isn't it working now???

But if the adults are firm and make sure he understands that THEY MEAN WHAT THEY SAY, he will reluctantly-- and usually very sullenly-- cease his bad behavior.


(cartoon by Sandy Huffaker)

Children will learn from this sort of experience and will mature. They will learn to trust what people say; they will learn that their omnipotent fantasies must be reined in by reality; and they (and society) will be the better for it.


The omnipotent fantasies of the Islamic fascists must be reined in by the adults of the world. But these particular children, whose growth stopped back in the 8th century, are capable of wreaking quite a bit of damage. They tend to become suicidal and homicidal when they run into a reality they don't care for, or which thwarts their activities.

They have figured out a fundamental flaw in the supposedly adult west's thinking process. And it is this: The political correctness of western society has deified the state of victimhood to such an extent, that, if the Islamists can discover a way to make the foolish among us believe that they are the poor, helpless victims and not the aggressive, murdering thugs they are; then they will achieve true omnipotence. All will be forgiven, and any atrocity they commit will be acceptable and thus excused. The extremely and suicidally foolish will themselves accept responsibility for the Islamists' atrocities (root causes and all, you know)and their "mea culpas" will echo like the wails of the muezzin call to prayer.

Wait for it. Hezbollah and Hamas will make a last ditch effort to snatch victory from military defeat by exploiting the victimhood scenario. If the forces of civilization do not stand firm; if the west refuses to take off those PC sunglasses so the light can illuminate these type of shenanigans--then the victim scam can still work for Hezbollah and Hamas and their handlers.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:05 AM |

 
LIEBERMAN IN SHAR'IA LAND
The humiliation and oppression of Joe Lieberman by his own party continues:


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:05 PM |

 
CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES ***Special Middle East Edition***
Time for the weekly insanity update, where the insane, the bizarre, the ridiculous, and the completely absurd are highlighted for all to see! This week the Carnival is focusing on all the insanities swirling around the recent events in the Middle East! As might be expected, it has been a week of rare idiocy. So, if you want to remain sane, the best thing is to poke some fun at the more egregious absurdities.

If your submitted post was not relevant to this week's special theme, it will automatically be considered for next week's Carnival.

Send all entries for next week's carnival to Dr. Sanity by 8 pm ET on Saturday for Sunday's Carnival. Only one post entry weekly per blogger, please. Thanks for all the submissions. I try to use as many as possible! SO MANY INSANITIES! SO LITTLE TIME!!!

1. New England as the Middle East? Interesting.

2. The man in the driver's seat? Or is he just a back-seat driver to this guy? Hezbollah's a poppin' ! And an exclusive interview with the real driver!

3. Zapaterror! (scroll down for the pic) . A proud member of the "Prairie Dog Colony of Anti-Semitism"....But there are signs of courage.

4. Grannie get your gun? And don't forget your human shields!

5. What a shocker. All Politically Correct- thinking people know this is not the terrorists' usual modus operandi!

6. Hostilities must cease! But, what the UN keeps forgetting is this...and then there's the fact that the UN is actually an accomplice to the terrorists. Very UNhelpful as always.

7. Israel is just a great big meanie. And all these fantastic guys agree.

8. I.R.O.N.Y....Bakri the Brave!

9. This bozo should just start a group blog along with his pals. Then he could get a message out every day. I know! He could call it "TERRORISTS 'R' US".

10. Eeeexxxxcellent. Hmmmm.

11. "God gave reason to the Muslim; it is the Muslim who has forgotten what he possesses. Almost seems at times that some magician has said to the Muslim 'Be you stone.' " What the Qu'ran does and doesn't say...

12. And this is considered a "positive change " by certain groups?

13. An American professor runs to the aid of Hezbollah and terrorism. Yawn. What else is new? Keeping nutcase professors on your faculty who teach delusional 9/11 theories has an economic impact? That's good to hear! And, what about imaginary professors quoted to support your opinions?

14. Ideological hubris? Or, creating a strategic advantage that can potentially [finally] lead to real peace? I tend toward the latter view myself. Either way, (repeat after me) "IT'S ALL BUSH'S FAULT!" Or, maybe not.

15. With their progressive and compassionate attitudes, it's simply a wonder they don't win more elections.! Here is an example of their new focus. And, they do have an definite advantage for things like this.

16. Looking for a 'Katrina moment' in the Middle East, perhaps? Journalism for dummies dhimmis. And, Hezbollah calls in the reinforcements!

17. Oh, and thanks so much for the Hezbollah view. Even more help for Hezbollah!

18. The left has made war itself a war crime. For some, even imagining that war might be an option is a sin. Imagine ...nothing worth fighting and dying for.

19. Say what? Hoist on their own petard (or fatwa, as the case might be)

21. I have the sense that this is an allegorical tale that has some relevance to current hostilities...but I could be over-analyzing. What do you think is the moral?

Carnival of the Insanities can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival and at the BlogCarnival.

***************************************
If you would like to Join the insanity, and add the Carnival of the Insanities button to your sidebar (clicking on it will always take you to the latest update of the Carnival), click on "Word of Blog" below the button to obtain the html code:



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:50 AM |

 
THE TRUTH THAT EVERYONE KNOWS, BUT DARES NOT SPEAK
As usual, Victor Davis Hanson integrates all the essential facts into his latest op-ed on the situation in the middle east:

What should the United States do? If it really cares about human life and future peace, then we should talk ad nauseam about “restraint” and “proportionality” while privately assuring Israel the leeway to smash both Hamas and Hezbollah — and humiliate Syria and Iran, who may well come off very poorly from their longed-for but bizarre war.

Only then will Israel restore some semblance of deterrence and strengthen nascent democratic movements in both Lebanon and even the West Bank . This is the truth that everyone from London to Cairo knows, but dares not speak. So for now, let us pray that the brave pilots and ground commanders of the IDF can teach these primordial tribesmen a lesson that they will not soon forget — and thus do civilization’s dirty work on the other side of the proverbial Rhine.

In this regard, it is time to stop the silly slurs that American policy in the Middle East is either in shambles or culpable for the present war. In fact, if we keep our cool, the Bush doctrine is working. Both Afghans and Iraqis each day fight and kill Islamist terrorists; neither was doing so before 9/11. Syria and Iran have never been more isolated; neither was isolated when Bill Clinton praised the “democracy” in Tehran or when an American secretary of State sat on the tarmac in Damascus for hours to pay homage to Syria ’s gangsters. Israel is at last being given an opportunity to unload on jihadists; that was impossible during the Arafat fraud that grew out of the Oslo debacle. Europe is waking up to the dangers of radical Islamism; in the past, it bragged of its aid and arms sales to terrorist governments from the West Bank to Baghdad .

Some final observations on Hezbollah and Hamas. There is no longer a Soviet deterrent to bail out a failed Arab offensive. There is no longer empathy for poor Islamist “freedom fighters.” The truth is that it is an open question as to which regime — Iran or Syria — is the greater international pariah. After a recent trip to the Middle East, I noticed that the unfortunate prejudicial stares given to a passenger with an Iranian passport were surpassed only by those accorded another on his way to Damascus .

So after 9/11, the London bombings, the Madrid murders, the French riots, the Beslan atrocities, the killings in India, the Danish cartoon debacle, Theo Van Gogh, and the daily arrests of Islamic terrorists trying to blow up, behead, or shoot innocent people around the globe, the world is sick of the jihadist ilk. And for all the efforts of the BBC, Reuters, Western academics, and the horde of appeasers and apologists that usually bail these terrorist killers out when their rhetoric finally outruns their muscle, this time they can’t.

Go and read it all.

I think that one result of Bush's policies in the middle east that should be clear even to the most knee-jerk critic is that they have brought out into the open what has been a decades-long shadow war. This shadow war between Islam and the west--started back in 1970's with the taking of American hostages in Iran against the backdrop of never-ending attacks on the state of Israel--is now out of the shadows and obvious to everyone. Additionally, Bush's policies in Iraq and Afghanistan have had the effect of bringing to the foreground a long-standing conflict between various sects of Islam ; and pitting the two major powers in the region (Iran and Saudi Arabia) against each other for dominance.

For too long the world has pretended that peace plans, treaties, cease-fires and talk--lots and lots of talk--would bring about a change for the good in the culture of hatred and death that is being nurtured in that part of the world. But none of these things have helped the situation; only enabled the hate; facilitated the deaths; and emboldened those who thrive on the resultant chaos.

The world's insistent denial and smiling pretense that it was dealing with reasonaable people who sought peace and stability and a future for their children can now be seen for the delusion it was. The west's good intentions have only managed to pave the road and make it easier for the Islamofascists to travel down it.

It is unquestionably true that this new landscape is fraught with danger and challenges; and that it has the potential to bring about violence and suffering and death. But what do you think has been going on for the last 50 years or so? There has been continual human suffering and death as a result of the never-ending shadow war; and its toll must also count the poisoned minds of the next generation of children there, who are already marinating in the culturally-sanctioned and religiously-promoted hatred.

Just because the daily mayhem and practiced victimhood that was the hallmark of the old middle east has remained under the radar does not make it acceptable to continue it into perpetuity. And, when it came to making peace plans repeatedly and then having them fall apart and leading to even more protracted violence-- perpetuity was exactly where it all was headed.

And after 9/11 it became obvious that it was not confined to one small part of the world anymore; and that what happened in that small art of the world had enormous repercussions for the entire planet.

What Bush has done is radically changed the playing field and shaken up the players who had come to expect that they would never be held to account. Slowly, surely, and sometimes subtlely, the balance and focus in this war has been shifted; as one after the other, the old players have been held to account.

What we are seeing is the chaos that occurs when a static system is disturbed. But the old equilibrium never stood a chance to bring peace, only constant war and calls for jihad. The old equilibrium permitted the jihadis to operate under the radar and grow strong. And more importantly, the old equilibrium did not offer much of a strategic advantage for the forces of freedom and democracy.

The world is indeed becoming sick of the "jihadist ilk". There is less and less tolerance for their lies, their agenda, and their behavior. Lines have been drawn in the sands of the middle east--on one side is a path that leads to a real peace; to increased freedom and to participation in the civilized world; the other side offers only perpetual war and a one way ticket to martyrdom and death. Undoubtedly, many will choose the latter path as that has been drummed into their heads as the only path. But for the first time, there is another choice available.

Events have been set in motion for good or ill. The times are both interesting and very dangerous. But at least the good has a fighting chance.

Finally.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 9:38 AM |

 
THE MORAL DIFFERENCE
If you are unable to distinguish a moral difference between the two images below, then you have something obscuring your vision. Ideology perhaps? (hat tip: sieself) From the RCP Blog:



UPDATE: In another one of those quirky cosmic wormholes that abound in the thought blogsphere, Gagdad Bob elaborates and expands on exactly the same theme.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:24 PM |

 
PACIFISM--WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
Thomas Sowell today writes about pacifists versus peace, and has this to say::

One of the many failings of our educational system is that it sends out into the world people who cannot tell rhetoric from reality. They have learned no systematic way to analyze ideas, derive their implications and test those implications against hard facts.

"Peace" movements are among those who take advantage of this widespread inability to see beyond rhetoric to realities. Few people even seem interested in the actual track record of so-called "peace" movements -- that is, whether such movements actually produce peace or war.

Take the Middle East. People are calling for a cease-fire in the interests of peace. But there have been more cease-fires in the Middle East than anywhere else. If cease-fires actually promoted peace, the Middle East would be the most peaceful region on the face of the earth instead of the most violent.
[...]
There was a time when it would have been suicidal to threaten, much less attack, a nation with much stronger military power because one of the dangers to the attacker would be the prospect of being annihilated.

"World opinion," the U.N. and "peace movements" have eliminated that deterrent. An aggressor today knows that if his aggression fails, he will still be protected from the full retaliatory power and fury of those he attacked because there will be hand-wringers demanding a cease fire, negotiations and concessions.

That has been a formula for never-ending attacks on Israel in the Middle East. The disastrous track record of that approach extends to other times and places -- but who looks at track records?

Many people have forgotten that one of the most well-known pacifists of all time--Gandhi--proposed that nothing should have been done about the holocaust or the Nazis. How many of his admirers have considered what the consequences would have been if the world had followed Gandhi's lead? How many millions more people would have died? How many today would live under the boot of the Nazi philosophy?

Antiwar protestors always make a point of questioning what war is good for? You have heard them chanting this query at almost every one of their peace marches. The truth is that no sane person wants war, but it may be the only possible response to evil. And in human history, there have been many evils far worse than war.

As Sowell mentions, there has been more attention paid to cease-fires; treaties; and prevention of war in the middle east than anywhere else on earth. The result has been the continued enabling and appeasement of an intolerable evil that thrives on hatred and that has grown strong and sure of its holy mission to kill.

John Bolton our UN Ambassador recently remarked:

I think we could have a cessation of hostilities immediately if Hezbollah would stop terrorizing innocent civilians and give up the kidnapped Israeli soldiers. So that to the extent this crisis continues, the cause is Hezbollah. How you get a ceasefire between one entity, which is a government of a democratically elected state on the one hand, and another entity on the other which is a terrorist gang, no one has yet explained.
[...]
How do you hold a terrorist group accountable? Who runs the terrorist group? Who makes the commitment that a terrorist group will abide by a ceasefire? What does a terrorist group think a ceasefire is? These are - you can use the words “cessation of hostilities” or “truce” or "ceasefire.” Nobody has yet explained how a terrorist group and a democratic state come to a mutual ceasefire.

If the peace movement really were a peace movement, its members would be denouncing the true threats to peace and trying their damndest to disarm and neutralize the likes of Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah etc. etc. Instead, they champion these groups, demand cease-fires with them (never acknowledging that there is no way to hold them to account when they break the ceasefire, as they inevitably do) and say little about their standard operational policies that deliberately target the innocent. But our brave peace activists march in solidarity with these foul groups; and proudly wear the latest "hate couture", thinking it shows how tolerant and compassionate and virtuous they are; not even appreciating that it serves instead to demonstrate the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of their pacifist ideology.

In today's world, where evil knows it can get away with practically any horror; that there will always be a large cadre of dupes who are willing to rationalize, excuse, or minimize any atrocity; the only thing pacifism is good for is to enable and support evil.

War is a always a terrible choice. No reasonable person could believe that it is benign or intrinsically "good" to wage war. Yet, it is sometimes a choice that reasonable people need to make simply because evil exists in the world and it cannot go unchecked--that is, not if you truly care about innocent human life.

Pacifists cannot deal with this simple truth. In reality, they don't care much about human suffering, misery or even death; let alone the legacy of evil in the world. Through a variety of psychological defenses, they have managed to deny, displace, distort, and project real evil away. There cannot be found even a trace of psychological insight among all those angry marchers who violently and adamantly demand peace at any price.

For the carefree members of the antiwar movement, the triumph of evil is unimportant when compared to their own narcissistic need to appear virtuous and good.

Pacifism--what is it good for? It protects the user from having to make difficult moral choices in the real world; from having to deal with real human suffering in the here and now; and most importantly, from recognizing how meaningless their own lives are.

The track record of pacifism is horrendous. Not only do "peace movements" fail to bring peace; but by protecting, appeasing, and minimizing true evil, they ensure that war--when it inevitably comes--costs even more in terms of human suffering and lives.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 9:06 AM |

 
ISLAMIC THINKERS BULLSHIT SOCIETY
I happened to notice this photo at Michelle Malkin whose troubling post about Hezbollah already present in the U.S. everyone should read:

Islamic Thinkers Society?

First, I had a good laugh. Then I thought, to be fair, I would go check out their site.

Feel free to go yourself if you want to. I won't link to it simply because I won't take the responsibility of referring anyone to a site whose over-riding and obvious goal is to convert you to the religion of peace--by actually trying to convince you that it is a "religion of peace".

What I found most interesting on the site is the list of "Scholars to Avoid" in one of the sidebars. Wanting to see what kinds of thought they encouraged you to avoid considering, I was somehow not surprised to discover that the scholars they didn't care for (at least the ones I checked out)actually express intellectual ideas that conflict with some aspect of Islam and (gasp!) question some of its precepts!

What an intriguing concept! THINKING ABOUT ISLAM!

Their name (Islamic "THINKERS" Societ) suggests that "thinking" is what they do in their society. But, if that is what you concluded from the name, you would be wrong.

There is not an original idea on the site, whose authors are content to merely quote the Qu'ran to prove how loving and peaceful they are. In fact, they merely repeat the verses of the Qu'ran and other doctrinal sources in Islam--with nary a synapse bothering to fire at all!

Islam does not look very favorably upon anyone who takes it upon themselves to take up thinking on their on recognizance. The holy documents tell all you should know and all you need to know about everything. Pure bliss for some, apparently; but it has little to do with thinking.

The society advocates Shar'ia; and Jihad--and all the usual exciting and fun concepts that are the trademark of the modern day Islamist--whose over-arching goal is to implement a worldwide Islamic Caliphate--one way or another, blah blah blah. This is clearly the reason why Islam is considered such a progressive religion; anchored to 21st century via a time warp from the 8th.

Islamic Thinkers Society? My initial reaction to the name was right on target. Islamic Bullshit Society would be more apt.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:47 PM |

 
COMPUTER PROBLEMS
I've been having computer problems since this morning. Just to let you know... posting will be light until I get it fixed!
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:09 PM |

 
HERE'S HOPING
Isreallycool, who has been liveblogging the war, has this to say on the massive bombing yesterday evening of a Hezbollah target:

The big news overnight is that the IAF dropped 23 tons of bombs on a bunker thought to contain senior Hizbullah leaders. This action was taken after Israel received credible intelligence that Hizbullah leaders - Nasrallah included - were staying in the bunker. Hizbullah were quick to issue a statement that no leaders were in the building, which, they claimed, was not a bunker at all.
[...]
Israel's ambassador to the UN (and fast becoming one of our best - if not the best - spokespeople), Dan Gillerman, told CNN:

"I can assure you that we know exactly what we hit. ... This was no religious site. This was indeed the headquarters of the Hizbullah leadership."

I would be inclined to believe him. The question is whether or not we actually killed the targets. According to IDF officials, there is a chance they may have survived the attack if the bunker was located tens of meters underground. Until now, there has been no word of casualties in the incident - neither from Hezbollah nor Lebanese officials. What will be interesting to see is if Nasrallah appears on Al Manar television today to demonstrate he is alive (as he did a few days ago). If not, there could be a chance he is seriously injured, if not dead. Here's hoping.

Remember Baghdad Bob, the Iraqi minister of information who became a laughingstock early in the Iraq war because of his pathetic attempts to deny any reality that didn't fit into the template of Iraqi military superiority? Hezbollah seems to have an entire army of Baghdad Beirut Bobs--some of them in our own MSM; see this video of a Helen Thomas and Tony Snow interchange, for example-- who uncritically and breathlessly report every inane comment issued by various , assorted Beirut Bobs about Hezbollah capabilities, iminent victories, and civilian casualties (apparently Israel has ONLY hit civilians in this war, completely missing any Hezbollah).

Here's hoping, indeed, that Nasrallah and others--pathetic cowards who glory in the blood of innocents; and who deliberately hide in the middle of a captive civilian population to protect their sorry asses--are dead and/or dying.

At the very least, they should really really be terrified, since they are soon to involuntarily meet their 72 virgins, one way or another.

Check Isreallycool frequently for updates.

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey has more. Still waiting to see the dear leaders of Hezbollah make a TV appearance to say everything is hunky dory.

UPDATE II: Oh darn.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:10 AM |

 
UH-OH ! OPEN MIC CAPTURES UNCENSORED DEMOCRAT REACTION ON ECONOMY !
A stray microphone at a recent Democratic Party meeting picked up a shocking expletive used by an unidentified Democrat congressperson. The use of this nasty potty word indicates that the Dems are extemely frustrated that Bush economic policies have failed miserably to drive the US economy into the toilet-- a scenario devoutly hoped for by this particular political party (MOTTO: "Don't Dare Call Us Unpatriotic!") for the last 6 years. But at least the reaction was completely honest.



And an honest, uncensored respons to true evil (or even what, in the above case,the Democrats consider true evil) is something I have always found extremely psychologically revealing.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:34 PM |

 
COSMIC SYNCHRONIICITY
I ran out of the house this morning early so as to make the first of two speaking engagements in cities in Michigan. Because I was in a hurry, I did not get a chance to read any of my usual blogs; just glanced briefly at the topics for the RCP editorials for the morning; decided I didn't have enough time to read them; and then selected an old post of mine which I rather liked and felt appropriate for the day and posted it.

Lo and behold, I just returned home to find that the random post I selected that "felt right today" just happened to be completely in sync with a brilliant post at One Cosmos("Keep Your Thoughts Out of My Brain, Abdul"); and one at ShrinkWrapped!("Exploring the Mind of the Anti-Semite").

Clearly a case of cosmic synchronicity that we are all discussing aspects of projective identification, a psychological process that is at once essential for healthy human interaction; and yet at the same time so protentially destructive of that same interaction.

Bob's post explores some of the general characteristics of this psychological phenomenon:

“Projective identification” is one of the most important concepts in psychoanalysis. Whereas projection is a defense mechanism through which we unconsciously project something from ourselves into someone else, projective identification goes deeper. It involves first projecting into someone else, and then forcing the other person to actually take on the quality that has been projected into them. While projection is generally considered a neurotic defense mechanism, projective identification is much more primitive and troublesome (although it also has an absolutely vital adaptive function, in that it is how preverbal infants communicate with their parents; indeed, that is the reason for its existence).

It is actually not difficult to tell when one is on the receiving end of projective identification. That is, you suddenly feel is if you are unwillingly being enlisted into someone else's psychodrama, and being forced to play a part. The person acts toward you as if you have the qualities they have projected into you, and may well goad you into responding in ways that confirm to the projector that you actually have those qualities--that they aren't projections at all. If any of my readers are married, you probably don't need any further explanation. (Mrs. G--I didn't say that. That was Petey.)

Psychologists see this process all the time in more primitive "borderline" patients, who may suddenly experience the therapist as, say, an abusive or withholding parent. It also happens to be the primary mechanism of the Islamists. (I might add that this process is transparently present in my perversely devoted trolls, which is why I am leaving the comments up from yesterday. As always, they reveal nothing about me, but speak volumes about the impoverished and/or conflicted interior life of the troll. Note the anger, the projection, the bitterness, the envy, the devaluation, the attempt to “spoil” me for God knows what obsessive reason. I never ask for whom the troll bawls, because sadly, he always bawls for himself.)

ShrinkWrapped's details a specific case of virulent projective identification (sometimes referred to as paranoia) in an individual woman; and applies it to the behavior of some societies:

For too many people living in dysfunctional societies, the Jews represent the ideal objects of fearful hatred. The Jews have traditionally been peaceful and peace loving, and even when they have achieved great power, have generally acted with restraint. They are also quite small in numbers while at the same time often successful and visible. Yet blaming the Jews for one's problems only works in the very short term.

The young woman I described used the Jews as her explanation for her emerging severe psychiatric disturbance. While it helped her preserve some false self-esteem for a time, it also made it impossible for her to accept the help that she so desperately needed. She identified all Doctors as part of the Jewish conspiracy and as a result could not accept their medication. She would even attack those who could help her (as with the policeman who brought her into the hospital for her second admission.) Without her needed medications, she suffered frequent and worsening psychotic episodes; her life deteriorated apace until she was finally left homeless, friendless, and estranged from those who loved her.

Contrast that with the behavior of the Arab legions who so hate Israel and the Jews. Rather than spend their energies trying to build their own societies, they devote their lives to destroying their imagined enemies. One of the great ironies has been that when the Israelis finally gave in to despair and began to build the fence to separate themselves from those who hate them so much, the Palestinians complained that the Israelis were preventing them from earning a living

.

My own contribution to this cosmic trilogy is the post below this one, which analyzes how I use my own feelings to understand others' (or as Bob elegantly describes the process: "[she] monitors the intersubjective space between her and Steve in order to deduce what is going on inside of Steve." ).

Coicidence? Or are we all somehow attuned to the pulsating aura of a certain violent, antisocial psychopathology that positively permeates the air these days?

[Cue Twilight Zone music...]
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:13 PM |

 
FEELINGS, COUNTERTRANSFERENCE & REALITY
***I have several speaking engagements today, so I am reprinting a post from last year. I should be back posting late this afternoon. Have a great day!***
________________________________________________________________________

The puprpose of this post is to explore how valuable feelings are in perceiving the world; particularly when an individual does not let feelings alone dictate his or her behavior, but instead uses emotion, tempered by reason or reason, tempered by emotion as the basis of action.

Of course, you knew that.

But somehow, our culture, once founded on and dedicated to rational thought is slowly evolving into a cult that worships emotion and whim at the expense of reason.

Some years ago I used to moonlight and perform psychiatric evaluations for the prosecutors and public defenders in the county where I lived. Personality disorders have always been an interest of mine, and you can find many examples in the jails and prisons.

One particular case stands out in my mind. I was asked by the public defender to evaluate a young man who was accused of murdering his girlfriend. The man was adamant that he was innocent and his lawyer wanted to believe him, but something didn't seem quite right to him, so he decided to ask me for my psychiatric opinion of his client and evaluate the possibility that there might be a psychiatric defense.

Steve was, to all intents and purposes, a model citizen in many ways. He held a responsible job; had no prior legal problems. He had been going with his girlfriend for about 3 months when her body was found in a wooded area--not too far from the apartment complex where he lived. Naturally, he was the prime suspect in her murder (she was strangled). There was also some physical evidence present that linked him to her death, but he insisted that she had left his apartment earlier that morning to go to work after spending the night with him and he had not seen her after that.

When I met with him, I experienced what we used to call in my medical school a "positive Gorney's sign"--meaning that the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. It is a "gut feeling" that something very strange is going on--something that may not be readily obvious to a casual observer, or on first inspection.

In my career, I have learned to respect such feelings. It almost always means that I need to look more closely at a patient and pay more attention to what they are saying or doing that might be stimulating my instinctive emotional response.

Occasionally, I find no corroborating evidence in their behavior for such feelings, and in those cases I simply file the emotional data away and make a conscious decision not to act on it for the time being. Sometimes I find negative evidence that contradicts my primal emotional response. Both situations are cues to me that I must try to figure out what it was that triggered my emotion, and the first step is to look within myself for an explanation. Does the patient remind me of someone I have ambivalent feelings about? Am I upset at something going on in my life? Am I having a bad day? Because it is important to realize that gut feelings can be communicating false data about others, but correct data about one's self.

A person's visceral response to another individual is usually based on mostly unconscious factors that are in play in the responder's life. To make an assessment of the gut feeling's appropriateness, the contents of the unconscious must be explored and brought to the conscious level and considered. Those unconscious internal conflicts can easily mask the inappropriate aspects of the feelings, making them worthless as a means of understanding the external world.

Taking this kind of action as a method of checking and understanding one's own feelings is a process called "insight" or "self-awareness". Some people do this quite naturally and honestly. Some learn in therapy or when they are in crisis. But if insight is absent then one's feelings have the potential to do great harm --both to one's self and to others.

Some unconscious factors, or psychological defenses, that can make one's feelings untrustworthy are: 1) the person you are responding to has become symbolic of someone else in your life (displacement, fantasy, or perhaps distortion); 2) focusing on one particular aspect of a person, you ignore other, more objective data that are available to you about the person (denial); 3) you place your own unacceptable feelings onto the other person--e.g.,I'm not an angry person, -- he's an angry person! (projection or full-blown paranoia).

The truth is that there are countless ways that unconscious processes within ourselves can distort our responses to others and to reality itself.

Growing up and attaining maturity requires that we take a moment to consider such factors playing a role in our emotions before we act on those emotions. If we come to know ourselves and understand our own weaknesses, vulnerabilities, limitations and secrets; then our emotional responses to people or to the world can be very valuable tools to help interpret the world. But they are only tools, and if not used wisely, they can do more harm than good. Feelings cannot be used in a court of law--for good reason. And they are not ultimate truth in the court of reality, either.

As I have gained experience in psychiatry, more often than not, when I trust such feelings and proceed to analyze what is bothering me about the situation, I discover a wealth of information that would have otherwise remained hidden. Sometimes that "wealth of information" is only about myself; but even in that case, I learn something new --frequently something insightful that I didn't want to know--about myself.

For example, I recently became aware that I was extremely annoyed and inappropriately angry at a 70 year-old woman, who was not getting better in treatment because she refused to acknowledge that she had a severe drinking problem.

My anger at this sad, elderly lady was completely out of proportion to the situation-- after all, I have numerous patients that do exactly the same thing, and their behavior does not typically bring out such intense feelings in me.

"Why doesn't she tell herself the truth?" I thought. Then I realized that this thought was what I used to verbalise with some anguish to my own mother--who died of her alcoholism at age 72; refusing all my entreaties to get help and treatement.

My entire interaction with this elderly patient was all about my own unresolved anger and grief toward my mother's death and not about the patient at all. Once I appreciated that I had to deal with my issues separately and not force my patient into a role she hadn't asked for, I could respond to her for who she really was; and maybe even help her. The reality was that she wasn't my mother, though my mind had made her so.

In psychiatry, we refer to feelings like those that I projected onto my patient as "Countertransference". We are generally aware that our own feelings are not always a reliable tool for interpreting reality. In fact, they may misdirect us or even completely interfere with our attempts to help another person.

What a person feels in a particular situation is also an incontrovertable fact; but it may or may not reveal any real information about the situation--and only reveal information about the person who is experiencing the feeling. To remember that this is the rule, rather than the exception about feelings, all we need do is to observe the chaotic lives of most of our patients, where thinking is almost always subsumed by emotion.

With all those caveats, it is still true that using one's own feelings as a clinical barometer can at times be very helpful. I am aware, for example, that I have a very reliable emotional reaction to those patients with borderline/narcissistic/antisocial personalities. To put it simply, I find mysef feeling amused and entertained by patients with these personality traits.

This is in stark contrast to most of my colleagues, who generally come to feel extremely frustrated and angry at such patients. My emotional response is probably the reason why I don't get "burned out" professionally in dealing with these difficult patients, while many of my colleagues run like hell from them.

So, when I am evaluating a person for the first time, and I find that I am responding in an amused fashion or if I have a feeling that I am being lied to or manipulated--or even if I sense that there is something I can't quite put my finger on-- these emotional data points/reactions can add to the other evidence I collect in order to make specific diagnoses.

In contrast, when dealing with a depresed and passive patient, I frequently find myself responding to their plight with feelings of frustration and often experience a transient fantasy of wanting to shake the person and say, "this is your LIFE! Why are you wasting it?"

Clearly, I try to reign in this response since it is counterproductive and not particularly useful for my patient in their current state of emotional distress. But it can confirm the diagnosis of depression, if I had any doubt about it.

Now, back to Steve.

My reaction to him was very revealing. Besides the sign I mentioned above, I found myself amused at his attempts to manipulate my response to him and began to suspect that there was a serious personality disorder behind the civilized facade that he presented. Although I felt he was trying a little too hard to convince me of his bona fides, I was impressed when he told me he had received a community award for rescuing a woman the year before.

He remained adamant about his innocence. I found that I didn't believe him, despite his obvious passionate protestations of innocence. I began to understand the unease that my attorney friend was having about the case, but after almost 2 hours of talking to Steve, I had no other data except for my gut feeling that he wasn't telling me the truth; and my suspicion that I was dealing with someone with strong psychopathological personality traits at the least and a full-blown antisocial personality at the other extreme.

If my feelings had been the sole data point, I would have determinedly ignored them. To confirm my unease, I would have to search for some objective data to support my unease about Steve.

So I asked for the hundreds of pages of documents that are generated from a criminal investigation. These are the pages and pages of notes from the first policemen on the scene and the interviews of all the people connected with the case. Eventually I read the detective's notes from the first interview with Steve at the beginning of the case, before he became the prime suspect.

Interestingly, Steve apparently knew the detective who had interviewed him in this murder case, from a previous interaction with him almost a year ago. In our interview, I remembered that Steve had mentioned his positive feelings about the detective from their previous encounter, and his optimism that evidence would be found exonerating him.

Even more interestingly, this previous interaction with the detective was in connection to the event Steve briefly mentioned to me about earning a community award.

My gut feeling returned even stronger. THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!, was the message it transmitted to me. I immediately obtained records about the incident of one year ago, and here is the information as I pieced it together.

A year earlier, a woman jogger had been shot by a sniper. This crime had taken place fairly close to the apartment building that Steve had lived in at the time, near a park. Steve reportedly had also been jogging, heard the shot, and saw the woman fall. He immediately ran to her aid, calling 911 and then administering CPR and keeping the woman alive until help came. Sadly, the woman jogger later died of her wound in the hospital. But Steve was honored with a "Good Samaritan" award from the city.

The police detective who interviewed him for that murder case was the same one that took his statement a year later in the murder of his girlfriend.

Do you begin to see where this gut feeling was taking me? This could most certainly be an amazing coincidence, but my gut feeling was telling me it wasn't a coincidence at all. On the contrary, my instinct--my feeling--told me this was no coincidence.

The police had not yet made the connection between the two cases (I have no doubt that they eventually would have, without my help) I called the detective and asked him if he remembered Steve. He did not. When I prompted him about the other case, there was a short silence, then a faint gasp.

That murder had never been solved. The detective assured me he would look into it; and sure enough, a few weeks later, he called me to report that they had found the sniper's gun for the previous crime in a locker at Steve's workplace.

Steve's public defender had to fire me, since --not only could I not help his current case, but I had implicated his client in another murder.

If only Steve had not needed to tell me about his "community award" -- a statement which didn't feel right in the context of our interview; then I probably would never have made the connection. But Steve provided the connection, and my emotional reaction to Steve motivated me to follow through and Steve's civilized cover was blown.

He was eventually convicted of the woman jogger's murder as well as the strangulation of his girlfriend (which was motivated by her telling him she was pregnant). Police were actively looking into several other unsolved murders of young women in that area of the city to see if there could be any connection to Steve.

So, why am I telling this story? Because I believe that feelings are an extremely important resource all people have at their disposal for understanding the world around us. In some situations, the only thing we have we have to help us make decisions are our feelings. This is not the ideal, but sometimes it can suffice.

Humans are both feeling and thinking beings. If we ignore our feelings we have psycholgoically blinded ourselves to important information about the world; and if we ignore our mind and our reason, we have done the same thing. If we do not use both faculties together, we do not see the whole inner and outer world of reality.

The unquestioning reliance on one's feelings as the be-all and end-all of perceiving reality has some MAJOR, MAJOR snags associated with it. It leads to chaotic, dysfunctional relationships, instability, histrionic and impulsive behavior, and a lack of concern for the needs and feelings of other people.

It has been my experience that many people have a sort of primitive, childlike reverence for whatever they feel. That's all they know and all they need to know, seemingly. They never bother to try to understand why they feel the way they do; or even to objectively understand the source feelings. Indeed, it isn't always necessary to do so, but for many, living has become a matter of, " I feel, therefore I am."

Well, I am here to tell you that this is the motto of the Steves of the world--who function exclusively on the basis of their feelings--and who have no room or inclination to bother with anybody else's feelings or needs. Why the Steve's of the world are all wrapped up in themselves and their feelings, and why--despite their verbalizations to the contrary, they are truly incapable of the empathy with other people.

Empathy, or the ability to feel what others are feeling, is actually a healthy form of psychological projection; but (and this is a very important "but") it is projection with high degree of personal insight and sensitivity to one's self as well as to others.

I will let the reader mull over the application of all this to the political topics that are regularly spotlighted in this blog.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:44 AM |

 
ROCKET MEN BOYS
(With apologies to Elton John)

The mullahs sent the missles down pre-war
Zero hour nine a.m.
And Assad's just waking up by then;
Hezbollah hates the Jews so much--much more than life
It makes them froth and foment constant strife,
as they make plans for endless war...

And they think it's gonna be a long long time
Till justice brings them round again to find
They're only bullies playing with their toys
But oh oh oh, they say they're rocket men!
Rocket men--but they're flaccid little rocket boys.

Pyongyang ain't a place to raise your kid
In fact it's just like hell
And there's no food to feed them if you did;
But they got rockets now to make Kim big
And that's his dream, cause he's so small;
He's says he's a rocket man, a rocket man!

And he thinks it's gonna be a long long time
Till justice brings him round again to find
He's just a bully playing with his toys
But oh oh oh, he says he's a rocket man!
A rocket man, but he's just another flaccid rocket boy.

Hamas has special rockets all uncircumscised,
They want their state and eat it too;
You might think their goal was realized
But their biggest dream is "kill the Jew!"
They wanna be rocket men...

And they think it's gonna be a long long time
Till justice brings them round again to find
They're only bullies playing with their toys
But oh oh oh, they say they're rocket men!
Rocket men--but they're flaccid little rocket boys.

And they think it's gonna be a long long time...
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:27 PM |

 
IN OTHER NEWS...
...The Anchoress has a moving story about a very special rug handcrafted by an Afghan man anxious to show his gratitude to President George W. Bush for this country’s efforts to bring democracy to Afghanistan;

...Fausta posts a rant about a clueless Times of London travel story that plays up the Cuban "paradise": "Jesus at A Cuban Tobacco Factory"

...Neo-neocon has some thoughts on a wedding;

...Gagdad Bob brings his cosmic wisdom to the topic of "Islamists, Leftists, and Failure to Launch";

and last, but not least:

Bird Dog at Maggie's Farm has irrefutable visual proof of global warming!
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:14 PM |

 
WATCHER'S COUNCIL SEAT UP FOR GRABS
Due to the shrinking amount of time I have, I have decided to vacate my Watcher's Council seat. I have been a proud member of the Council for over a year and a half, and only leave it because of several projects that I am now trying to give more of my attention (including a book that ShrinkWrapped and I are working on).

It has been a great pleasure to nominate some of the best blogs in the 'sphere for recognition of their writing. I can heartily recommend that it is a great experience and well worth the time spent.

The Watcher has all the details posted if you are interested in applying for the open slot.

Good luck!
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 2:42 PM |

 
STATE SLOGAN EXTRAVAGANZA
And now for something completely different! A friend of mine sent along these unofficial (I think!) state slogans to me and they are very funny! There's something in her to offend everyone, so enjoy.

Alabama
Hell Yes, We Have Electricity.

Alaska
11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!

Arizona
But It's A Dry Heat.

Arkansas
Lituracy Ain't Everythang.

California
By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda.

Colorado
If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother.

Connecticut
Like Massachusetts, only smaller.

Delaware
We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water.

Florida
Ask Us About Our Grandkids . . .
And Our Voting Skills.

Georgia
We Put The Fun In Fundamentalist Extremism.

Hawaii
Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru
(Death To Mainland Scum, Leave Your Money)

Idaho
More Than Just Potatoes...
Well, Okay, We're Not, But The Potatoes Sure Are Good

Illinois
Please, Don't Pronounce the "S"

Indiana
2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free

Iowa
We Do Amazing Things With Corn

Kansas
First Of The Rectangle States

Kentucky
Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names

Louisiana
We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos,
But That's Our Tourism Campaign.

Maine
We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster

Maryland
If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It

Massachusetts
Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's
And Our Senators Are More Corrupt!

Michigan
First Line Of Defense - From The Canadians
(Dr. Sanity Note- I also like: "Road Work Ahead")

Minnesota
10,000 Lakes...And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes

Mississippi
Come And Feel Better About Your Own State

Missouri
Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars At Work

Montana
Land Of The Big Sky, The Unabomber, Right-wing Crazies,
and Honest Elections!

Nebraska
Ask About Our State Motto Contest

Nevada
Hookers and Poker!

New Hampshire
Go Away And Leave Us Alone

New Jersey
You Want A ##$%##! Motto?
I Got Yer ##$%##! Motto Right here!

New Mexico
Lizards Make Excellent Pets

New York
You Have The Right To Remain Silent,
You Have The Right To An Attorney...
And No Right To Self Defense!

North Carolina
Tobacco Is A Vegetable

North Dakota
We Really Are One Of The 50 States!

Ohio
At Least We're Not Michigan

Oklahoma
Like The Play, But With No Singing

Oregon
Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner

Pennsylvania
Cook With Coal

Rhode Island
We're Not REALLY An Island

South Carolina
Remember The Civil War?
Well, We Didn't Actually Surrender Yet

South Dakota
Closer Than North Dakota

Tennessee
Home of the Al Gore Invention Museum.

Texas
Se Habla Ingles

Utah
Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus

Vermont
Too liberal for the Kennedys

Virginia
Who Says Government Stiffs And Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?

Washington
Our Governor can out-fraud your Governor!

West Virginia
One Big Happy Family...Really!

Wisconsin
Come Cut Cheese!
(Dr. Sanity Note- I also like: "Eat Cheese or Die!")

Wyoming
Where Men Are Men... And The Sheep Are Very Nervous.

The District of Columbia
The Work-Free Drug Place
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:21 AM |

 
LOOKING INTO THE FACE OF REALITY
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressed his nation today and said "enough!" :

"There are moments in the life of a nation, when it is compelled to look directly into the face of reality and say: no more!"

Atlas Shrugs has photos of a rally of tens of thousands in NYC who are standing with Israel. There are moments in life when each and every one of us is compelled to look directly into the face of reality and say: no more!

And there are some (one of whom is discussed in the latest post at the Belmont Club) who will never willingly look at reality.

That's Robert Fisk logic and you take it for what it is: a declaration of hostility towards everything in the West. He's not neutral, just on the other side.

It's not his fault that the West can never draw the appropriate conclusions. Faced with categorical declarations that they will be exterminated, converted, enslaved and beheaded the most sophisticated thinkers in the West look for nuance. They don't really believe those threats, however explicit, however open. Even when huge skyscrapers come tumbling down it's understood in terms of installation art. Someone is sending a message. What could it be?

A message? What could it be? What could it be? Nevermind, looking at reality is a no-win situation for some; just another opportunity to take a jab at Bush; or denouce his evil policies that... what? Provoked Hezbollah and Hamas? Made them hate the Jews? Make Ahmadinejad want to wipe Israel off the map?

Most of the lefty blogsphere are just missing in action (or inaction as the case may be).

These "sophisticated thinkers" who think progressively and wear "reality-based community" t-shirts and scoff at the threat to western civilization; and sneer at the efforts of good people to do something about it, can't be bothered to actually face reality.

It would be far too scary.

It would be way too frightening to face the devastating insight of their own betrayal of reality and the good; all for the sake of a few shiny ideological shekels that trick them into feeling smug and safe and oh so intellectually and morally superior.

I feel sorry for them. I really do. Because reality always--always--has the last laugh.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:09 PM |

 
THE EVOLULTIONARY DEAD-END OF ISLAM
The Corner has a summary of Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in his own words. And they are not pretty. Here's a sample:

- The Danish cartoons were a consequence of not murdering Salman Rushdie:

"If any Muslim had carried out the fatwa of Imam Khomeini against the apostate Salman Rushdie, those despicable people would not have dared to insult the Prophet Muhammad - not in Denmark, not in Norway, and not in France.

"What is this solidarity campaign all about? We are supposed to summon the ambassador, and that's it? We are supposed to boycott Danish goods, and that's it? No. I call upon the Muslim jurisprudents, the Muslim religious scholars, the leaders of the Islamic movements, the leaders of the Islamic countries, and all the Muslims to take a decisive stand. If we tolerate this now, only God knows what they will do later - just like the tolerance practiced with Salman Rushdie, and the carrying out of the fatwa."

- Why they will win against the "Zionist Entity":

"Another weakness is that both as individuals and as a collective, they are described by Allah as 'the people who guard their lives most.' Their strong adherence to this world, with all its vanities and pleasures, constitutes a weakness.

"In contrast, our people and our nation's willingness to sacrifice their blood, souls, children, fathers, and families for the sake of the nation's honor, life, and happiness has always been one of our nation's strengths."

Hezbollah is nothing but yet another Islamic death cult, dedicated to death and darkness for all of humanity. Along with Hamas, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban, they represent the evolutionary dead-end of Islam; and the ultimate culmination of just about every anti-human, anti-freedom, anti-life ideology that in their perversity, human beings could possibly imagine.

At American Thinker --there is a history of the fanatical Jew-hatred encouraged in Muslims, which goes back to the very foundation of Islam --and long before the state of Israel ever came into existence.

With Oriana Fallaci, I stand with Israel. I stand with the Jews. And against the mindless hatred and death worship of Islam.


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:01 AM |

 
FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICALLY HARD OF HEARING, AND BLIND OF SIGHT
Israel has sent ground forces into southern Lebanon it is now being reported this morning. The violence is not, despite wishful thinking, winding down; nor is it likely to when dealing with the likes of Hizbollah and Hamas. For once, I hope the international community lets these terrorists thugs suffer the consequences of their behavior. Of course, that international community is too far gone in its enabling behavior to do anything sensible.

If you haven't read it already (or even if you have), now would be a good time to read Norman Podhoretz' piece titled, "World War IV: How It Started, What It Means, and Why We Have to Win" from the September, 2004 issue of Commentary.

Reading this would be especially helpful for the psychologically hard of hearing and blind of sight; who, if they are observing what is going on right now in the middle east, and have not lost their moral compass, might finally be coming to realize something that has been evident for years (and perfectly obvious since 9/11):



UPDATE: As the rest of the world slams Israel, President Bush is "refreshingly undiplomatic."

Also, this analysis of Israel's latest move from OP FOR is worth reading:

I think that in the coming days, we will see a sizable Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanon, a campaign designed to exploit the favorable conditions that Israel has created for itself. I have the feeling that once that invasion comes, Hezbollah's ability to launch rocket attacks into Israel proper will be severly reduced, if not eliminated.

Wretchard writes that "the terrible ifs accumulate":

If Sheehan is right, then the Global War on Terror would have failed. A focused attack on extremism will have been supplanted by an uncontrolled clash between peoples, religions and cultures. But we are not there yet. There's still a chance, and the rulers of the Middle East are hoping that this thing can be pulled back from the brink and the fires focused on Hezbollah, then possibly on a narrow coterie in Teheran. But if that way forward fails, a large part of the blame will historically fall on those who forced the West to fight the war against terrorists with politically correct half-measures. Who created the dinky rules which made it impossible to excise abominations like Hezbollah and Hamas. Or even to question them. And perhaps made it even necessary to fund them. Their good intentions or fecklessness have made the terrible alternative that stares us in the face likely. Let us only hope that they have not made it inevitable.

If you have not read Wretchard's The Three Conjectures, you definitely should do that, too.

Depressing morning, isn't it?
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:30 AM |

 
THE NEW "MARQUIS OF HAMDEN" RULES EXPLAINED



And then there is the Israeli variation:


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 2:11 PM |

 
CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES
Time for the weekly insanity update, where the insane, the bizarre, the ridiculous, and the completely absurd are highlighted for all to see! This has been a week of rare idiocy (as always!). So, if you want to remain sane, the best thing is to poke some fun at the more egregious absurdities.

Send all entries for next week's carnival to Dr. Sanity by 8 pm ET on Saturday for Sunday's Carnival. Only one post entry weekly per blogger, please. Thanks for all the submissions. I try to use as many as possible! SO MANY INSANITIES! SO LITTLE TIME!!!

1. The left has always suspected this is true! But I bet they've never thought about this scenario.

2. The Geneva Conventions only apply against Israel, and the United States, never to their benefit. You can look it up.

3. So, when will he be heading to Israel, do you think?

4. Bye, Bye Ms. American Spy. Probably waaayyyy too much exposure--for people who want to be left alone.

5. 75 Questions to ask a Progressive.

6. Are women more aggressive at "that" time of the month?

7. Some would say he just loves children. Which reminds me: One on One with Deb Frisch.

8. The Ultimate NY Times. Are the media the enemy? Sure seems like it sometimes.

9. CBS should disdain identification with him, don't you think? Old school? Or, old fools?

10. TotaliCAREianism?

11. Corporate wordplay: Lay and Lie; Skilling and Shilling.

12. THIS is how moonbats fast! And this depicts their terrible suffering.

13. Coming soon to a Holy War near you! Suicide servers. They explode at peak traffic time.

14. Happiness 101. It should be mandatory in the madrassas perhaps?

15. The virgins waiting for the jihadis in paradise. Serves them right.

16. Welcome to the international community! Are we having fun yet?

17. OK, this is old, but unbelievably amusing. People (albeit incredibly ignorant people) actually think like this.

18. Bend it like Beckham--or Butt-Head it like Zidane? Meanwhile, guess who is suspected of killing Castro? It is but to laugh as the intellectuals get into the discussion...

19. Looney leftist librarians and people devoid of human decency.

20. They are not "about to implode" -- They've already imploded.

21. Oh the humanity irony !

22. A peek at the Irish National Yoga Team.

23. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about the angel Metatron, whose name sounds like one of the villains confronted by the Power Rangers.


Carnival of the Insanities can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival and at the BlogCarnival.

***************************************
If you would like to Join the insanity, and add the Carnival of the Insanities button to your sidebar (clicking on it will always take you to the latest update of the Carnival), click on "Word of Blog" below the button to obtain the html code:




- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:39 AM |

 
CASTRO--Within The Dustbin of History?
Rumors of Castro's death are are persisting.

We're going on day four of the latest fidel castro is dead rumors. Here are a couple more uncorroborated reports and speculations:
- Hugo Chavez supposedly took an "urgent flight" to Cuba yesterday afternoon along with other high ranking Cuban officials. Details or news accounts of same unavailable.
- Granma once again published articles profiling Raul Castro, heir apparent to the dictator throne.
- WHPC reports that there is much action in Cuba at the moment, with reports from Granma stating that workers are "waging a fierce battle" in attempts to have construction and other related project complete for a huge July 26 island wide celebration. WHPC also speculates that said projects and celebration and construction may be some kind of secret preparations for an elaborate state funeral for the bearded dictator.

I understand that this is all possibly wishful thinking. But it would be nice if it were true. And despite the daily propaganda of Hugo's regime (which only makes me take the rumor more seriously), the despot can't live forever. I have already offered a prayer for him. Here is another poem that is appropriate for the occasion:

TO A MARXIST DYING OLD

That time in the sixties you made your point
And celebrated with a joint;
Protesters stood cheering by,
And everyone of them was high.

To-day, you dwell within that past,
Desperate that your theories last,
But sadly, they have been debunked,
And Marx himself has been depunked.

Smart man, to slip into a haze
Where always is the dialectic praised,
And all your dreams might come to be
Untouched by life's reality.

Eyes that glittered with fanatic passion
Cannot forever be in fashion,
And slogans chanted from those marches
Have given way to Golden Arches

Once you weren't just antiwar
You understood what you were for,
But then the shit, it hit the fan--
The cause had died before the man

And after all the echoes faded,
The deaths and miseries paraded,
The consequences of your cause
Its inhumane and fatal flaws

You choose to close your eyes instead,
It's not your fault they all are dead!
You'll find another cult as good--
Potentially in victimhood.

And when you finally face your death,
So close to breathing your last breath;
Consider all the pain and strife
Your ideals caused in real life.

And as your heroes die one by one;
As all your revolutions come undone;
Their final resting place, you see,
Lies inside the dustbin of history.

- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:30 PM |

 
THE ANSWER IS NO
I think we finally have the answer to the strategic question of our times. Is Islam compatible with freedom and democracy? and the corrolary: Can the roots of terrorism be cut off by instituting democratic reform in the Middle East?

President Bush has believed that it is worth it to answer that question with a "Yes!" and all his actions have been based on that fact. This is why he has been very circumspect in what he says about Islam and how he characterizes the war on terror. Once a "tipping point" is reached where most reasonable people can no longer believe that a moderate, reasonable Islam is possible, then the unpalatable consequences of a "No" answer become all too obvious.

As recent events in the middle east between Israel and Hisbollah and Hamas, Syria and Iran unfold; as we witness the desperate suicide bombers and mindless hate that daily disrupts any kind of a normal life for Iraqis in Baghdad; as we witness the rise of the fanatical and murdering Taliban in Afghanistan--the only conclusion that reasonable people can come to is that the answer is no.

Islam is not only incompatible with these concepts, but modern day Islamists are determined that a medieval Islam should remain completely antithetical to such concepts. The Mullahs and Imans; the fanatics and barbarians; the petty despots and tyrannical kings of Islam around the world-- are all united in their evil vision for all of mankind--and no olive branch; no amount of appeasement; and no appeal to reason and good will is capable of bringing them into the fold of humankind.

Andy McCarthy wrote just yesterday:

We've been told for some time now — against common sense and the weight of our own national experience — that the way to defeat international jihadism is to spread democracy.

So now the Lebanese democracy can't control Hezbollah (which has been freely elected and controls about a fifth of its legislature), while the Palestinian Authority IS Hamas (the Palestinian people having democratically put them in power).

How much do we figure that Israel is hoping democracy breaks out in Egypt, with the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad waiting in the wings? All it needs right about now is yet another democratic neighbor.

Democracy has many enduring benefits, but it doesn't stop terrorists from operating — and in many ways, it makes life easier for them. When are we going to stop talking about it as a national security cure-all?

We have to kill al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas and the rest. This is harder work than the administration's rhetoric is preparing the nation for. We are not going to democratize these savages into submission.

America has just celebrated its 230th birthday--and yet, we are continuing to find homegrown terrorists on our own soil. Some of these pathetic people have had the benefits of freedom and choice for their entire lives--but the poison of Islam is strong, and they are determined--along with their Islamic brothers--to destroy any free country that stands in the way of their vision.

They hate America because, when freedom reigns, their sad beliefs will never be more than in the minority. When people are free to choose, and not killed for apostasy for not choosing Islam, they will be unable to force their beliefs on others. Because, make no mistake about it, Islam is the 21st century's totalitarianism. Just as socialism and communism were the 20th century's.

After two world wars, humanity had pretty much rid itself of the bane of socialism and its more immature sibling communism. Only to see it rise up again, hanging on the coattails of Islam.

I wrote in an earlier piece:

Leaders like the Mullahs and Ahmadinejad in Iran and Hamas in Gaza are acting in ways that will facilitate a confrontation. They foolishly believe that the West will back down--if not because of a belief in the superiority of Islam; then from doubts about the superiority of Western values and from a reluctance to act decisively and ruthlessly.

The psychopathic elements in Islam believe this is our fundamental weakness; but they are wrong. This is actually our fundamental strength. President Bush has bet that Islam can be changed if it is infused with some democratic opportunities and freed from some of the political and religious tyranny that has dominated the Middle East. If such a democratizing process had been started--and carried through-- a decade or two earlier, well who knows how much the situation might have changed by now?

And, contrary to the infantile imaginings of the antiwar and so-called "peace" movements, [who have all the fervor of true marxists awaiting their worker's paradise], Bush's strategy actually represents the Best. Possible. Hope. For. Peace.

It is a strategy that faces the grim reality of Islamic contradictions and historical brutality; yet has enough optimism and goodwill in it to be genuinely worth the price we are paying. If it works, millions of deaths might be prevented. And if the peace crowd really cares about peace, then they would do well to reconsider their own antics.

Because, if the left succeeds in its determination to undermine American policy as it is now formulated; or if the extremists succeed in eliminating any voices for moderation and tolerance; then there will be only one strategic option open.

I hope I am wrong about all this, because many lives lie in the balance. But I think that the recent actions of Hamas and Hisbollah; the fact that Iran will not accept even a sweetheart deal offered to it by the US and EU to abandon their nuclear ambitions; and the fact that both Iran and Syria are actively undermining Iraqi freedom; that all these things represent a irreversible tipping point.

Even the dhimmist bulb in the EU; the most deliberately and consciously delusional member of the international peace crowd cannot fail to see the lack of good will; the perverse determination to provoke war; and the genocidal glint in the eyes of Islam's brightest stars.

The answer to that all-important question upon which the fate of the world hangs is... NO.

UPDATE: TigerHawk has more analysis of exactly some of these points:

Average Abdul will, however, risk his life for an idea, just as al Qaeda's jihadis or Hezbollah's soldiers do. Once, that idea was pan-Arabism, or Communism. Today, both are discredited. "Moderate Islam," whatever that means in a dusty town in Syria, Jordan or Egypt, obviously does not have the fire to motivate Abdul to risk his life to fight the Islamists. The only idea with the juice to do the job is popular sovereignty. Democracy. This is the heart of the realist case for the Bush administration's "democratization strategy."

The jihadis understand this, and fight against democracy in the Arab world with everything they've got.

In fighting against democracy in the Arab world, the jihadis polarize Arabs. While many decry this polarization as "instability," by its nature polarization creates more enemies of the jihad. Some of these new enemies of jihad will be disgusted with al Qaeda's mass casualty attacks, or blame Hezbollah for the war that follows. Others will be inspired by their last, best chance at representative government. Either way, enemies of the jihad pick up a weapon, walk a post and -- most importantly -- drop a dime on their enemy, even if they hate Israelis and don't much like Americans. Wherever a reasonably representative government emerges, Average Abdul will start to turn in the jihadis in the back of the mosque, now for his own reasons.

Of course, the clown regimes will also try to subvert the democracy movement, which is ultimately as great a threat to their longevity as al Qaeda or Hezbollah. That is why they are at least tacitly supporting the resistance in Iraq and fighting political reforms in their own countries tooth and nail, hammer and tongs.

Read the entire post. He is not as pessimistic as I am and makes a good case that introducing the idea of democracy and freedom into that region may be most useful in facilitating a "destruction from within"--much as was done to communism and socialism.

(Note: Linked to the open trackback at StopTheACLU)
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 9:52 AM |

 
THE COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN !
This week's winners in the Watcher's Council are now posted at the Watcher of Weasels . Every week the Council nominates posts from the blogs of the Council members, and posts from around the blogsphere. The Council then votes to select the "Best" of all these posts.

BEST NON- COUNCIL POSTS:

First Place

Singing Out of the Flock. Iraq the Model

Second Place

Cry Havoc, and Let Slip the Puppies of War Asia Times Online

BEST COUNCIL POSTS:

First Place

Bleeding Iraq Right Wing Nut House

Second Place (A two-way tie)

Rant Control Done With Mirrors

Be sure to check out all the winners at the Watcher's site. Great weekend reading.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:19 AM |

 
THIS YEAR I DIDN'T FREAK OUT!
I'm going to be travelling the rest of the day up to northern Michigan. The Boo has been at camp for the last several weeks (See! This year I didn't freak out!) and we're going to be picking her up tomorrow.

I'm taking my laptop just to keep up with all the interesting things that are happening in the world right now. More posting later perhaps!
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:31 PM |

 
WHAT IRAN IS COUNTING ON
Here is a good summary of some of the issues regarding Israel, Iran and the escalating situation in the middle east. I touched on some of these points in earlier posts (here and here). The author, Robert Tracinski, suggests that Iran has forcibly brought the war to the U.S. by aggressively using its proxies (Hamas and Hizbollah) to draw the US out. Why? Because Bush has been content to let the diplomatic process play itself out; and if allowed to do so, then it would place Bush in a stronger position for military action.

It is no coincidence--as others have pointed out--that Iran has taken action on the eve of its nuclear deadline. The war it has initiated is designed to 1)deflect attention away from its nuclear program (not quite ready yet, are we?); and to force the U.S.'s hand in the region--i.e., forcing us to act before they think we were quite ready to act.

In all this, Iran is counting on the appeasement of both the UN and the EU ;and they haven't been disappointed, have they?

But in all this maneuvering, Iran betrays its fundamental ignorance of the psychology of both Israel and the U.S.

Iran has revealed its hand, challenging the US and its allies and openly demonstrating its desire to dominate the Middle East through force and terror. While we have been trying to delay the war with Iran, it has brought the war to us, in a manner so obvious that even the mainstream media cannot evade it.

In doing so, they have made their threat to America and its interests more obvious and more urgent--providing a stronger case for war than their nuclear program could provide. There can be no question here about whether Iran really has aggressive designs in the Middle East, whether it really seeks the weapons to attack the US and its allies, and how long it might take for such a threat to materialize. The threat is here and Iran's newest war on the West has already begun.

Iran is risking everything on this new strategy, and the only hope they have of success is the expectation that, as they bring the war closer and closer to America, we won't fight back.

But that means that we have an easy way to blow their strategy to smithereens.

All we have to do is to start fighting back.

Iran has seriously miscalculated if they think that while Bush is president, we won't.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:11 AM |

 
TWO BIG STUPID NOTHINGS ?
When Robert Novak came out this week and broke his silence on the famous column that "outed" Mrs. Joe Wilson, the whole Plame affair should have been renamed "Fizzlegate". It should have been clear--even to the most utterly clueless on the left--that "Fitzmas" was not going to come. Not to refine too much on it, but entire Plame Affair had simply turned out to be a "big stupid nothing." Nada, zilch, zero. Except, of course, for the millions raked in by the couple, capitalizing on their notoriety. (OK, maybe they're not "stupid")

Well, now the two big, stupid nothings at the center of the affair have made their next move; a move designed to keep them as the center of attention. These narcissists etraordinaire seem to be incapable of doing anything that is not completely self-serving and attention-seeking and deliberately malicious.

Their latest action qualifies them, however, as "Narcissists of the Year", which is quite a coup, considering all the Hollywood elite who vie for the honor daily.

Take a few minutes to read through their complaint (if you care, which I don't blame you if you don't). Analysis here.

Is it a coincidence that the lovely couple met with the Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill yesterday? Probably helping Democrats to chart their "new direction" backwards into the 20th century.

UPDATE: You too can make the Wilsons even richer and help keep them in the spotlight!
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:09 AM |

 
JUST A THEORY, BUT A VERY GOOD ONE
In my last post I suggested that with the current crisis developing in the middle east, it was time to see if President Bush really meant what he said back in 2001.

I happen to think that he did mean it; and that despite the wishful thinking we have been reading about in the press-- that he has abandoned "cowboy diplomacy" and given in to the "realists" at the State Department--George Bush is pretty much the same man he has always been.

In other words, I agree completely with this assessment:

Let's imagine, and this is purely hypothetical, that President Bush has already decided that he will not leave office in January 2009 without a satisfactory resolution of the Iranian nuclear problem. Let's imagine that he has already determined that if he cannot obtain Iran's agreement to dismantle its nuclear weapons program voluntarily and verifiably, then he will order some form of military action to destroy as much of that program as possible before he leaves. Let's imagine that he has resolved not to end his two terms in office the way Bill Clinton ended his, by leaving every major international crisis -- from Iraq to Iran to North Korea to al-Qaeda -- for his successor.

Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that Bush had made such a decision. What would he be doing right now? The answer is that he might be doing exactly what he is doing.

-He might be letting the ridiculous and increasingly irrelevant UN continue to make a mockery of itself and its inability to stand for anything, let alone peace;

-He might be allowing the futile international diplomacy of the EU play itself out and come to naught;

-He might be demonstrating ad nauseum to the hysterics on the political left that he is--first and foremost--committed to trying diplomacy to solve the problems created by fanatics and thugs who see diplomacy as a sign of weakness.

-He might be genuinely and sincerely invested in doing all he can to make diplomacy work despite all the setbacks dealty by the ill will of those being negotiated with;

-He might be doing all of the above, knowing full well that diplomacy will very likely not work with Iran; diplomacy with not work with Hizbollah; diplomacy will not work with Hamas and the Palestinians; and diplomacy will not work with North Korea.

My reading of President Bush's character coincides with Kagan's:

The likely failure of diplomacy would not deter Bush from pursuing it, however. If and when it failed, he would be able to choose the military course, and no fair person could accuse him of not having tried to bring the world along to do what had to be done. At least he would know in his own mind that he had sincerely given diplomacy a chance. And when he ordered the strike on Iran, he would know that, whatever else could be said about him, he would not go down in history as the man who let the mullahs have the bomb.

It's just a theory.

But having observed Bush closely now for several years, it's a very good one.

In a much earlier post, I said of Bush:

Bush does not pretending to be intellectually superior and can easily make fun of himself. Nor does it seem to matter much to him that everyone doesn't totally adore him. He tackles hard problems head on (which most politicians lack the courage to do) and perseveres in trying to fix them. He indeed "muddles along", misspeaks, and even screws up from time to time; but he presses on and actually gets things done.

This is what I have always liked best about Bush; and why I think he is an excellent President in many ways.

I think he has a plan; and that we will see it play out before the end of his term.

UPDATE: I want to point you to an important post at SC&A that evaluates the EU and the UN's belief that the Israeli response to the Palestinian and Lebanese aggression is ‘disproportianate’. He suggests a dose of reality. "The Israelis have been remarkably restrained. The Palestinians and Hizbollah wanted to play. Now, they will have to pay."

Sadly, neither the UN or the EU are big on reality. (The Belmont Club has some recent developments on that front)

UPDATE II: Neither are the lunatic lefties at Kos--but you knew that.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:24 PM |

 
THE MULLAHS' TERRIBLE VISION
Israel is at war, and Michael Ledeen has some sobering reflections about that reality and the regimes that are behind it:

Iran has been at war with us all along, because that’s what the world’s leading terror state does. The scariest thing about this moment is that the Iranians have convinced themselves that they are winning, and we are powerless to reverse the tide. As I reported here several months ago, Khamenei told his top people late last year that the Americans and Israelis are both politically paralyzed. Neither can take decisive action against Iran, neither can sustain prolonged conflict and significant casualties. Meanwhile, the Supreme Leader said, the terrorists are all working for Iran, and we will expand the terror war.

Don’t think for a moment that they worry about victims in Gaza or Lebanon. They are delighted to see Israel fighting on two fronts, because they will use the pictures from the battlefield to consolidate their hold over the fascist forces in the region. After a few days of fighting, I would not be surprised to see some new kind of terrorist attack against Israel, or against an American facility in the region. An escalation to chemical weapons, for example, or even the fulfillment of the longstanding Iranian promise to launch something nuclear at Israel. They meant it when they said it, don’t you know?

The only way we are going to win this war is to bring down those regimes in Tehran and Damascus, and they are not going to fall as a result of fighting between their terrorist proxies in Gaza and Lebanon on the one hand, and Israel on the other. Only the United States can accomplish it.

The time is rapidly approaching when we see if George Bush's fine rhetoric about bringing terrorists to justice, and freedom to all people has been halted at the borders of Iraq. We have flushed the real enemies of civilization out in the last 5 years since 9/11; and perhaps, we managed to flush them out before they were entirely ready--forced their hand so to speak--by our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is just possible that we have a slight, but definite advantage over the mullahs and the patient game of chess they have been playing.

Because now, it should be crystal clear to anyone who has been paying attention, who the puppet-masters of terror have been all along.

They have been planning for this scenario ever since Jimmy Carter failed to stand up to them when they brashly held Americans hostage without consequences some years back. Ahmadinejad, one of the ringleaders of that action, apparently was satisfied that he understood the cut of America's jib from that experience; and that in the decades since his first terrorist action, the physical impotence of Carter has spread into the body politic of America, resulting in the complete moral paralysis exhibited by a majority of Democrats and the MSM today.

In other words, Iran is confident that even George Bush will not dare stand against their plans for Middle Eastern Armageddon.

I think that Ahmadinejad is wrong about this. The part of America that has lost the courage to stand for what is right; and who have been in psychological denial since 9/11, are not in power today--and I fervently hope they won't be for years to come. Nevertheless, that already-defeated portion of American has been working hard to poison and disable the rest with their toxic manipulations and constant whispers of doom and gloom worthy of Grima Wormtongue himself.

As far as Iran's nuclear intents regarding Israel, Ledeen has this to say: "They meant it when they said it, don't you know?"

The question is, did President Bush mean what he said? Are we physically and morally capable of standing up to evil and doing what needs to be done?

Ledeen's piece ends with:

You cannot escape the mullahs. You must either defeat them or submit to their terrible vision. There is no other way.

We have a terrible choice before us. Terrible, because no matter what option we take American blood will be spilled. But if we meekly submit to the terrible vision of the depraved religious fanatics of Islam; if we do what Jimmy Carter did in the 70's; and what most Democrats and those on the left desire we should do now; then the cost--in lives and in liberty-- will be incalculable for generations of Americans to come.

UPDATE: Pajamas has ongoing updates on the situation in the Middle East.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:34 AM |

 
A BIG STUPID NOTHING
This about sums up the entire Plame affair as far as I'm concerned:

Fizzlegate

Okay so the government official who leaked Plame's CIA status to Novak is known to Fitzgerald. He hasn't been charged. If Novak's version is to be believed, and I don't see why it shouldn't be, the initial leak wasn't some nefarious assault on Wilson, but an "inadvertant" mistake. So what, exactly, was the big deal? The CIA itself confirmed Plame's employment status. Where are the apologies? The whole thing was a big stupid nothing. I'm not saying by the way, the matter shouldn't have been investigated. Merely that the investigation revealed that the initial suspicions were unfounded.

For a more detailed summary of recent revelations from Bob Novak, see
Novak Finally Spills His Guts On Plame at Wizbang.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:28 PM |

 
MOONBAT MOCHA MOUSSE MIRAGE CAKE
In honor of the poor, deprived, fasting moonbats who have to subsist on coffee with vanilla ice cream in it , I present the latest in a series of recipes. Dr Sanity's trilogy of political desserts began with WMD and Death-By-Chocolate Cake; continued with Axis of Evil Fruitcake ; and concluded with Just Desserts.

The recipe for MOONBAT MOCHA MOUSSE MIRAGE CAKE continues in the same tradition. I am hoping that in future moonbat "fasts" this will be a staple for survival.

CAKE
2 ozs. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 stick (4 ozs.) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 to 2 Tablespoons cocoa
2 Tablespoons flavoring of your choice (I like Chambord, pure vanilla extract, or dark rum)
1 1/2 cups (6 ozs.) coarsely chopped pecan pieces
1 1/4 cups (10 1/4 ozs.) sugar, divided
3/4 cup (3 ozs.) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup egg whites (7 or 8 large egg whites)

MOCHA MOUSSE
3/4 cup whipping (heavy) cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup coffee liqueur or prepared coffee
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
2 teaspoons vanilla
Chocolate Whipped Cream Topping
1 cup whipping (heavy) cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Place an oven rack at the upper middle position and preheat the oven to 350°. Generously grease and lightly spread the cocoa around the bottom and sides of three 8- or 9-inch round pans with shortening (do not use cooking spray); lightly flour.
-- Over very low heat, melt together both chocolates and the butter, stirring occasionally.Remove chocolate mixture from heat and whisk in flavoring. Set aside to cool.
-- In a food processor, pulse together the pecans and approximately half the sugar until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add flour and salt and pulse again. Set aside.
-- In a large, grease-free metal bowl, beat the egg whites on highest speed until they are roughly tripled in volume -- 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, beating at highest speed until whites hold soft peaks and are slightly glossy.
-- Fold into the whites the pecan flour mixture until well-blended, and then fold in the chocolate mixture until no streaks remain. The batter will be very thick and will deflate somewhat; that's OK.
-- Pour about 1 3/4 cups batter into each pan. (If baking only 2 pans at one time, refrigerate remaining batter until ready to use.) and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake on the upper middle oven rack at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tested inserted in the cake's center comes out clean.
-- Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the inside edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely (cake will sink somewhat as it cools).

2. Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, mix 1/4 cup of the whipping cream, the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup liqueur. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture simmers; remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips with wire whisk until chips are melted. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Pour into large bowl; cool about 10 minutes or until room temperature. In chilled medium bowl, beat remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream on high speed just until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

3. In another chilled medium bowl, beat all topping ingredients on high speed until soft peaks form.

4. Fill cake layers with mousse. Spread topping over side and top of cake. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

**NOTE: One cake should meet the nutritional needs of a 1-2 fasting moonbats daily. It will also serve 8 normal people. Calories - too numerous to mention.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:12 AM |

 
A PRAYER FOR CASTRO***Scroll for Updates!***
Rumors are circulating that Fidel Castro is dead. Let's hope they are true. And if they are, let me be the first to offer a prayer for his black soul.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord your soul to keep;
And if He keeps it very well,
It's sure to find its way to hell.

I pray you'll get what you deserve;
I pray you'll get what I desire;
Do you think you'll keep your nerve,
As you approach eternal fire?

And if you don't, it's no surprise--
A tyrant never lives his lies.
May all the souls that you oppressed,
Make sure you lack eternal rest.

As I close my eyes tonight,
To contemplate eternal night;
I'd pray for you, I really would,
If only I could see some good.

May God have mercy on your soul;
And may all who suffered at your hand
Be waiting there to greet you
When you reach the Promised Land

May they show you justice,
Of the type that you have shown;
And with your caring and compassion,
May you reap exactly what you've sown.

Now I face the setting sun,
And dry-eyed, lay me down to sleep;
I know that when you're dead and gone
Freedom will cheer-- and Hugo will weep.

*NOTE: Originally this was a prayer offered up for Zarqawi; but it is adapted today for dear Fidel because, when you've seen one murderous thug, you've seen them all.

UPDATE: Fausta says, "Not yet!"--but she's sure that the happy day will come.

UPDATE II: Check this out from the Jawa Report -- and keep your fingers crossed. If Hugo's Venezuela announced it, then retracted it...something is certainly going on.

UPDATE III: Hugo doth protest too much? This is getting to be fun!

UPDATE IV: Babalu Blog has the exclusive video of who killed Castro!
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 3:48 PM |

 
THE "RENNAISANCE" IN ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
***WARNING***As you read this, remember that these are the people entrusted by major universities to teach your children.

Our first example is discussed in Ann Althouse's blog: UW 9/11 denialist appears on Hannity and Colmes:

When Hannity takes over, Barrett interrupts him in the middle of his first question. When Hannity insists on finishing the question, Barrett smugly goes "Yeah, yeah, finish up." On Hannity's show! As if he thinks the only people who are watching are folks who think Hannity's a jackass. Hannity asks him if he really believes 9/11 and other terrorists attacks were "an inside job." Barrett, inspiring no confidence that he will allow students to debate with him, says sharply, "I don't believe, I do know that 9/11 was an inside job." Barrett then tries to lay out the details of the theory. The word "thermate" comes out of his mouth. (It's supposed to be "thermite," but why be precise?)

Hannity breaks in to say, "All right, so you believe that the buildings came down in a controlled demolition." Again, Barrett excludes the possibility of alternate theories: "Well, I don't believe it. I've looked at the evidence, and the evidence is overwhelming." Hannity's response is perfect: "All right, the evidence is overwhelming to you because you're a conspiracy nut." Hannity tries to set up his next question: "But putting that all aside..." That's perhaps the funniest line of the night, but it's stepped all over by Barrett, who motormouths conspiracy theory. Hannity goes ahead and asks his question with Barrett yammering over him. Hannity finally just lets the man babble. Then, he mutters, "Okay, I wish I had the 'Twilight Zone' music."

He doesn't believe it. He's looked at all the evidence and it is "overwhelming". It certainly must be to a lecturer on Islam. He was probably looking at this kind of "overwhelming" evidence which is extremely persuasive to anyone who is relatively paranoid and delusional to begin with and who happens to have not an iota of scientific knowledge. Chances are he couldn't be bothered to look at this article.

Barrett, a University of Wisconsin lecturer who teaches a course on Islam, is not alone in his academic wackiness. He has loads of fellow wackademics that will eagerly reinforce his insanity (and these are only the "Top 10").

Can you imagine what his course on Islam will be like (only one week of it will be devoted to the 9/11 conspiracy, we are assured)?

Next we move on to Deborah Frisch, a cognitive psychologist who taught psychology at the University of Arizona; and the person who threatend Jeff Goldstein's child; presumably apologized but didn't see the big deal in her behavior; claims that she herself is the real victim and is apparently relishing all the attention. Can a Michael Moore movie be far behind?

She even gets a boost in attention by a sympathetic article in Inside Higher Ed! (Which Goldstein responds to here)

Can you imagine having a borderline personality wannabe teach a course on psychology? To your kids?

These two examples are just the tip of an iceberg that threatens to sink our academic institutions and set them back a thousand years or more (appropriately to the time of Mohammed).

And don't forget Ward Churchill, whose faked credentials and faux academic credits immediately got him the respected position of chairman in a university department.

You will notice in the link to the Top 10 academics who believe 9/11 was an inside job that several of the prominent academic are referred to as...philosophers?

This, I submit, is no coincidence. Ask yourself what philosophical theory is now dominant in intellectual circles and when you come up with the answer, you will have identified the subtle poison that is destroying intellectual thought and deliberately undermining truth, reason, and reality. The answer is postmodernism:

By most accounts we have entered a new intellectual age. We are postmodern now. Leading intellectuals tell us that modernism has died, and that a revolutionary era is upon us--an era liberated from the oppressive strictures of the past, but at the same time disquieted by its expectations for the future....
[...]
Having deconstructed reason, truth, and the idea of the correspondence of thought to reality, and then set them aside--"reason," wries Fouccault, "is the ultimate language of madness"--there is nothing to guide or constrain our thought and feelings. So we can do or say whatever we feel like. Deconstruction, Stanley Fish confesses happily, "relieves me of the obligation to be right...and demnads only that I be interesting."

With the advocates of postmodernism teaching psychology, philosophy (including the philosophy of science), political science (oh how they love political science!); literary and legal criticism; feminism; and slowly being absorbed into other academic fields, is it any wonder that wackedemia is in the acendence?

These are people who hate reason because it has brought about the dominance of Western Civilization. Almost all of the believers in the philosophy du jour are active socialists and communists; or formerly active socialists and communists; the latter group disappointed in the failures of their ideology in the last century, and on the lookout for continued ways to undermine capitalism and its success in reality. (See here, here, and here for previous posts on this topic.

What we are seeing in our colleges and universities is no more than the postmodern philosophical word made flesh and dwelling in what used to be our institutions of higher learning. We might as well begin to call them Institutes of Higher Feeling.

It seems to that exceptionally histrionic, paranoid and delusional people-- like many of today's academics-- used to dwell in a different kind of institution that has largely fallen out of favor in the mental health field; but perhaps our well-known colleges and universities are at the forefront of a rennaisance / revival in this area?
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 2:45 PM |

 
YOU GO GIRLS
Equal opportunity for women in Islam. You go girls.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:50 AM |

 
PSYCHIATRIC MUSINGS ON THE CUCKOO OF NOKO


I understand that Cindy Sheehan is free, too; though her main man is Hugo Chavez at the moment. Nevertheless, Kim can be confident that he is "her kind of guy."

But is it is possible Kim's simply got a bad case of...penis envy ???




Personally, I think humor is the best way to cope with the Cuckoo of NoKo:


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:48 AM |

 
THINK AGAIN
"You think that all-out war with Islamic Fundamentalism is optional? Think again."

If you think you can't bear to watch the video, Rusty Shackleford has screen pictures. Just looking at the pictures made me sick.

There are no words to describe the hatred and barbarity of the enemy we fight. They are a plague of Hannibal Lechters let loose on humanity.

Don't dare mention the Geneva Convention to me ever again.

UPDATE: In fact, this is the solution that makes a lot of sense and solves all the problem of enemy combatants who don't subscribe to internationally accepted codes of conduct in war (to which we are held to account, of course).
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 9:01 PM |

 
YOU'VE GOT TO BE CAREFULLY TAUGHT
If you have the stomach for it, go and read this "beautiful story" told on Egyptian TV about the wonder of child martyrdom. It begins:

"Let's listen to a very beautiful story to learn about the courage of a child, and how, when a child is brought up in a good home, and receives proper education in faith, he loves martyrdom, which becomes like an instinct for him. He can never give it up."

Another religious leader on the same program, tells a tale about Mohammed and a Jew, then asks what the children have learned from it.

A young child replies, "I learned that the Jews are the people of treachery and betrayal..."; and the Sheik, overjoyed that his message has come across so clearly, responds, "That is the most beautiful thing I have heard - that the Jews are the people of treachery, betrayal, and vileness."

These religious hatemongers brought to mind something that Gagdad Bob at One Cosmos wrote the other day. He was talking mostly about the left and child-rearing, but his words are certainly applicable to the discussion today:

It has always surprised me that more historians and anthropologists don’t look at child-rearing practices to try to understand the basis of cultural health, pathology and change, and why some cultures are so much sicker than others. But hardly any do, mainly because of the dominance of the politically correct view that no culture is better or worse than any other--except for Western culture, which is the worst. And yet, how could it not be? If you have a culture that systematically abuses children in the most grotesque way--say, the Palestinians--why should anyone be surprised that they are arguably the most comprehensively depraved people on earth?
[...]
Harrison cites a couple of scholars who have attempted to quantify the link between child-rearing practices and cultural progress, in particular, progress toward democracy, economic prosperity, and social justice. As I noted in my own book, the further back in history you go, the more evidence there is of abominable child-rearing practices--what we would now call outright abuse. Perhaps this is why, as Harrison notes, “Early humans were neither democratic nor egalitarian during the first 80-90 millennia of human existence.” Instead, we see ceaseless war, violence, oppression of women and children, and frankly crazy cultural beliefs and practices. The romantic idea that humans were ever peaceful “noble savages” has been thoroughly debunked by anyone who cares to actually look at the evidence.

For anyone who cares to actually look at the evidence, the romantic idea that Islam is a "religion of peace" has also been thoroughly debunked. The heirs of Mohammed have had ceaseless war, violence, oppression of women and children and frankly crazy cultural beliefs and practices since the religion's inception; and all of it has been culturally designed to keep practitioners from noticing their own religion and culture's inadequacies, irrationality, and barbarism.

But what do the medieval child-rearing practices of Islam--as evidenced by the two TV programs for children--show us about the culture?

What a good parent does is hard to remember; and what a bad parent does is hard to forget. When we are confronted with repeated behavior that shocks us, dsmays us and even repulses us, we can be sure that something has gone wrong somewhere.

Without ignoring the role of biology, it is clear that family obviously plays an extremely important role in the development of personality, especially in providing values and role-models. There is an entire dissertation or two in the dysfunctional family of Middle Eastern Muslims, where women are hidden and prevented from being able to be whole persons.
What impact does such a system--even in its mildest incarnation--have on the developement of BOTH girls and boys? Under the Taliban, which arguably was the most malignant iteration of Islam's dysfunction (unless we now count the evolving Somali incarnation), women were actively oppressed and beaten for any attempt to express themselves.

Even today in the halls of "modern" Islam, there are actual "debates" about whether women can drive cars or go out into public alone. The double standards of modesty and behavior encouraged by the current practice of Islam are destructive to the normal development of personality in both males and females.

Is there anyone who believes that such medieval attitudes towards women don't have a profoundly negative impact on the personalities of both the men and women who develop in such environments? Males are encouraged to be psychopaths; females to be their willing victims and enablers; as well as breeders for the jihad. When you see large groups of men willingly blowing themselves up to kill innocents, you know there is some sort of psychopathy at work. When the only way to express "gender liberation" is for a woman to imitate the homicidal / suicidal rages of the males--you know there is a problem.

Consider also, how a child could grow up in any sense normal-- knowing that their mother and father think of them only as fodder for jihad and that he has no worth to them otherwise.

Along with parenting issues, cultural factors in child-rearing play an extremely important role in personality formation and can, under certain circumstances, "stack the cards" against normal develoment even if all other factors, including biology, are benign. Michael Stone, the author of Abnormalities of Personality: Within and Beyond the Realm of Treatment comments:

Children born into authoritarian, tyrannical regimes are systematically programmed (by teachers or political authorities) to develop habits of thought and behavior at variance with parental and ommon human values. Such programming deforms the personility in any of a number of ways: one will become rigid, or mindlessly obedient, or cruel, or rebellious, or dour and bitter, etc.

We see in research studies of people from fringe or outcast social groups (such as gangs), that the members of such groups often behave respectfully and honestly toward others within their own group, but treat outsiders as if they were not human, without any sense of wrongdoing.

The ringleaders of such groups are often the the true psychopaths, and these leaders have a seemingly unlimited supply of morally weak or immature individuals (many of them very young)--who embrace antisocial behavior under group pressure.
We also know that in time of war, or social ferment, many formerly respectable, or at least "contained" non-aggressive persons (young men, especially) turn to thuggery--their morality extending only so far as expediency and conformity to the mob or gangster group of which they have become a part. Some will remain antisocial even after the crisis/riot/war passes; the majority revert to outward respectability.

Having already a predisposition because of parenting issues, the culture of Islam "stacks the deck" further by first encouraging the subjugation of women by men and giving it a religious blessing. This is nothing new in the history of the world, and it certainly occurred throughout the history of Christianity too. But the idea that women are inferior to men has been challenged for a thousand years, and as women have taken their equal place with men in the countries promoting women's rights, there has been an incredible improvement in those countries' economic and political standings. The culturally sanctioned misogyny of Islam results in a dysfunctional family unit that has tremendous impact on both male and female personality development.

The Koran says (Sureh 4, Verse 35) that men have authority over women (not just the wife but sisters, daughters, and all females). If they disobey, "first admonish them, then refuse to sleep with them, and then beat them". In Islamic countries, women are second-class citizens. They are counted as one-half a witness in a legal proceeding; and they can inherit only one-half as much as a man. Their sexuality is considered so inflammatory, they must be hidden under clothing that prevents anyone from seeing them. In Saudi Arabia, sons may be sent to foreign universities but daughters are not even allowed to drive.

Why are women's rights issues--or rather, the lack of them-- of importance in developing antisocial psychopathology? In the case of Islam, the religion itself has set the stage for an ongoing potentially abusive situation in the family; in heterosexual relationships; and in the culture.

The subservient role of women in the religion and their status as lesser beings breeds sadism in the male, simply because it is so easy (and sanctioned) to take out your frustrations or impotence on the "inferior" half of the population. This practice is not dissimilar to why people will take out their anger and negative emotions on pets or children. Being allowed to do so teaches an important psychological lesson that all budding psychopaths learn: "I am more important and powerful because I can hurt or kill this weak person". It is often a matter of honor to have absolute control over the identified weak person; and a matter of shame if they disobey you (see here). A male's status as a man can only be maintained by having power over the women.

Through a process that Anna Freud documents called "Identification with the Aggressor" these dynamics also breed the same sadistic tendency in women, though they have many fewer options in acting it out (female suicide bombers; and mothers who cheer the deaths of their sons and daughters in Allah's cause etc.)

The second factor in Islamic culture that "stacks the deck", encouraging abnormal personality development is the perpetual war against the infidel inherent in externalization of the concept of " jihad".

Those who see "jihad" as an inner struggle will not generally evolve into psychopaths, because internalizing the process has a greater chance of fostering insight and self-awareness, rather than brutality. But even these "moderate" practitioners of Islam do not stand up and loudly contradict the psychopathic elements in their religion; rather, they invite these elements to come "teach" at their mosques and abdicate leadership roles to them.

Those who do not have the innate biological or parental resources to prevent it become the disposable fodder that can then act out the psychopaths' scripts for them. Such individuals become the stooges--the suicide/homicide bombers--who mindlessly carry out their leaders' orders without every once considering that if holiness and sainthood are guaranteed by becoming a human bomb for Allah , then why is it that their leaders are not jumping with joy to grab the opportunity for themselves?

Islam has become toxic, infusing the entire Middle East with a culture inimical to not just the 50% who are female; but equally to the half who are male and consider themselves "superior". Children are raised in a misogynist family and cultural environment and the young boys are thus encouraged to hatred and violence. This has been going on for decades among the Palestinians in particular; but everywhere the jihad mindset has spread it cancerous message.

The child-rearing practices of a toxic Islam have achieved a pinnacle in the suicide bomber/murderer; and the religious indoctrination of children into the cult of jihad and hate. Those who willingly follow this cult of death meet many of the psychiatric criteria for an antisocial personality including: (1) A glib, superficial charm (especially the leaders) (2) A grandiose sense of self-worth; (3) Pathological lying; (4) Manipulative behavior; (5) Lack of remorse or guilt for their behavior; (6) Lack of the usual behavioral controls; (7) Deviant sexual behavior and attitudes (this has repeatedly been reported on in the Arab and Islamic culture and would not be surprising considering the distortion and denigration of females in the society); (8) Jealousy and envy; (9) A sense of entitlement; and (10) A failure to accept responsibility for one's own actions.

A combination of cultural and social factors in Islam encourages the development of the many of traits inherent in the psychopathic or antisocial personality. The predominance of this personality pattern fosters and feeds on phenomenon of terrorism and provides the cultural underpinnings that support its continuation.

Psychopathic behavior exists within all cultures. What is different about Islam is that the content of its creed has given personal and societal sanction to such behavior when it is directed toward "inferiors" within the culture and anyone outside the culture. Within this religious framework, murder, torture, intimidation and brutality can be used --not only with impunity--but with guarantees of holiness and rewards in the afterlife. Not only are the adherents safe from censure, they are actually lauded and celebrated as heroes of Islam.

Psychopaths cannot function openly or for long where there is freedom, equality, and the rule of law. That is why terrorists are so desperate to prevent the establisment of democracies and prefer Islamic law which encourages and supports their psychopathy. Individual thought and creativity; reason and justice; and the pursuit of happiness--all are completely incompatible with the psychopath's agenda.

As we see in the TV programs in Egypt and throughout the Middle East, there is an ongoing abuse of children, both psychological and physical, of monstrous proportions. To become a ruthless, cold, semi-human serial murderer, you have to be carefully taught and nurtured.

Tiptoeing around this issue so as not to offend or make judgements about the sickness of Islamic culture is nothing more than enabling hate and true evil.

You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear.
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
and people whose skin is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught
before it's too late
before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught.
--From the musical, South Pacific

RELATED POSTS:
Shame, The Arab Psyche and Islam

Where Have All The Mothers Gone?

UPDATE: A related cartoon from Cox and Forkum:


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 9:50 AM |

 
CAIR: Just Another Pissant Apologist For Islamic Terror
Consider these recent news stories:

-The new Islamic regime in Somalia, which has forbidden people from watching television or movies in line with their strict interpretation of Islam, killed two people--a businessman and a teenage girl-- for watching a banned World Cup soccer game;

-They have declared that anyone shirking daily prayers will be executed;

- They broke up a wedding celebration because a band was playing and women and men were socializing together (gasp) and both are considered "unIslamic"[As far as I know, noone was killed yet, but there must be a death sentence in there somewhere];

and, CAIR has now come out with this statement, which they made because they were upset at an editorial that dared to criticize:

What has happened in Somalia, for the majority of Somalis inside and those who are abroad, is a positive change. I truly suggest that we should not prejudge this change, or any change for that matter, based on the religious affiliation of those in power.

It seems to me that there is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to Muslims, Islam, Arabs and Palestinian issues. A view of the big picture seems to be missing.

The assertion in the editorial, "President Bush is right to be concerned about these developments. Regions of strict Muslim control and haters of Western culture tend to breed terrorists," is overly simplistic. The line they hate us and our way of life has really become old. This is a ridiculous and simplistic response to a complex problem of major magnitude.

It is hardly "simplistic" to oppose totalitarianism, whether it's anti-human agenda masquerades as "religion of peace" or a "worker's paradise". What has really become "old" is the reflex apologism and casual glossing over of evil routinely committed in the name of Islam.

The only logical conclusion one can draw from the behavior of CAIR as it champions Islamic hatred and sees death and enslavement as a "positive" change, is that CAIR completely approves of Islamic terrorism; promotes the victimhood of murderers; and thinks that the West's behavior is what should be condemned.

In other words, they're just another pissant apologist for evil--along with Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, and many others. They should be given honorary membership in ANSWER.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:25 AM |

 
THEY ARE SOOOOOO 20TH CENTURY
Roger Simon catches the Democrats in a classic "D'oh" moment, and observes:

This is the kind of political thinking that is so primitive it's hard to honor it with the word "thinking" at all. In her blindness, Firedoglike also employs language like "fucking" and so forth to make her points. Of course, this kind of argumentation convinces no one. It only speaks to the choir. And that seems to be intentional. The choir is the audience. The justification for that is that it "revs up the base." Well, maybe. But at the same time it alienates almost everybody else. And the unconscious/conscious intention may be just that. An apocalyptic impulse lurks very close to the surface here. The ship may be going down, but we're going down with it - and we're right!

And, yes, make no mistake about it, the ship is very close to going down. You need go no further than this morning's top story - N.Y. tunnel plot uncovered - to realize what a deep hole the Democratic Party has dug for itself. At the end of CNN's coverage, we find New York State Senator Schumer plaintively opining: "You have to take every one of these plots seriously." Well, yeah, duh. You certainly do. The problem is - Schumer and his fellow Democrats (except for Lieberman and a handful of others) have shown a fundamental lack of seriousness on the issue.

A "fundamental lack of seriousness" might well be the nicest, kindest understatemnt of all time. Roger could have said that Schumer and his fellow Democrats have...
...shown a serious political opportunism on the issue
...participted in incredible partisan rhetoric on the issue
...demonstrated for all to see their seriously flawed personal integrity on the issue
...enabled and abetted terrorists everywhere on the issue
...pandered to the most extreme and fanatical left on this issue
...bordered on treason and sedition on this issue
...openly sided with the enemy on this issue
...demeaned and scapegoated American soldiers on this issue
...increased the risks to the American people on this issue

But Roger is much nicer than I am. Personally, I am hoping that the hole the Democrats have dug for themselves will be completely filled in with their own dirt--with all of them in it, of course--when the November elections come around.

The only way I would EVER vote for a Democrat in ANY election anymore is if they finally moved into the realities of the 21st century; and completely jettisoned most of the extremists--including the increasingly lunatic left blogsphere, whose hysteria has made the hole much, much deeper and dirtier--and whose ideological and political agenda positively reeks of socialist utopian fantasies and communist purges.

As my daughter would say, "they are soooooo 20th century."
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:31 PM |

 
CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES
Time for the weekly insanity update, where the insane, the bizarre, the ridiculous, and the completely absurd are highlighted for all to see! This has been a week of rare idiocy (as always!). So, if you want to remain sane, the best thing is to poke some fun at the more egregious absurdities.

Send all entries for next week's carnival to Dr. Sanity by 8 pm ET on Saturday for Sunday's Carnival. Only one post entry weekly per blogger, please. Thanks for all the submissions. I try to use as many as possible! SO MANY INSANITIES! SO LITTLE TIME!!!

1. Good Grief. After all that, it takes considerable cognitive dissonance and denial to then see yourself as a victim. Not particularly nice traits in her profession --to say the least.

2. Source of world's problems identified. Finally, someone has the courage to speak Truth to Strawberries.

3. It's news to pretty much everyone...

4. The head of the Anglican church is... a disembodied head. Who knew?

5. Death for watching soccer; death for shirking prayers; death death death. They should change their motto from RoP to RoD. Anyway, Who's laughing? Seriously, they're funny like Al Franken is. Oh, and here's more humor from the Religion of "peace".

6. Their true colors are revealed except for those who are perpetually colorblind.

7. Anybody up for debating a draft resolution calling for a UN withdrawal from this planet?

8. Meanwhile Kim Jung Il will face the wrath of Amazing Frog and Dormouse Boy ; but probably not much wrath from the UN. Too bad we can't send this nice little bunny rabbit to Kim as a token of our esteem!

9. A Skinner Box--North Korean style! (hat tip: SC&A); Not thinking outside the box...

10. It would all be ruled illegal today. *sigh*

11. Ouch! More judicial nonsense. Somehow, military and national security priorities always come last...

12. Delusional or mean? Why choose--they can be both!

13. He's just a "JFK Conservative" to some!

14. The Green Cross ?

15. Moral: minimize distractions while driving.

16. Adventures in the English language. And some words are cutting off relations with others!

17. Expiating original sin.

18. Loose mandibles sink ships. Intergalactic wisdom. This was just to be expected, I guess. I didn't realize the Times was around in 1776. They weren't? Good thing.

19. Errr...fun with defibrillators ? And if they break, duct tape fixes anything!

20. An inconvenient review.

21. CIA analysts working at the same level as Zarqawi's wife. And that's giving them too much credit, I think.

22. It all comes down to left versus right, doesn't it?

23. Fox contributors all.


Carnival of the Insanities can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival and at the BlogCarnival.

***************************************
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- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:21 AM |

 
ANOTHER MEME BITES THE DUST
Oh dear, another Democratic talking point bites the dust:

An unexpectedly steep rise in tax revenues from corporations and the wealthy is driving down the projected budget deficit this year, even though spending has climbed sharply because of the war in Iraq and the cost of hurricane relief.

Graphic: Mixed Signals On Tuesday, White House officials are expected to announce that the tax receipts will be about $250 billion above last year's levels and that the deficit will be about $100 billion less than what they projected six months ago. The rising tide in tax payments has been building for months, but the increased scale is surprising even seasoned budget analysts and making it easier for both the administration and Congress to finesse the big run-up in spending over the past year.

Tax revenues are climbing twice as fast as the administration predicted in February, so fast that the budget deficit could actually decline this year.

The main reason is a big spike in corporate tax receipts, which have nearly tripled since 2003, as well as what appears to be a big rise in individual taxes on stock market profits and executive bonuses.

So, let's review:

NO WMD - BUSH LIED, PEOPLE DIED

SADDAM HAD NO TIES TO TERROR

THE BUSH ECONOMY IS TANKING

TAX CUTS PREFERENTIALLY HELP THE RICH

BUSH IS BANKRUPTING THE COUNTRY

Of course, facts don't seem to halt either the Democrat's or the MSM's continual attacks on this administration. They apparently know deep in their heart who is the real enemy of civilization.

My only regret is that I will probably not be around when history makes short shrift of these prevaricating, opportunistic, terrorist-enabling and completely clueless champions of the oppressed.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 4:26 PM |

 
TOTALITARIANS, LEFT AND RIGHT
Victor Davis Hanson blames both the right and the left for the uncontested rise of Islamofascism over the last two or more decades. The right began giving Islam a pass because they saw the wahhabists as a counter to communism and somehow imagined that the culture fostered "strong family values" (I suppose they were partly correct, since that religion seems to encourage strong psychopathic family values). But since the fall of communism, the political left has taken up the baton of appeasement:

But with the fall of Communism, and the subsequent revelation that Islamists did not worry about the unfortunate direction of contemporary Western culture so much as they wished to destroy it, culpability then mostly fell to the Left.

Multiculturalism (no culture is worse than the West’s) and its twin of cultural relativism (those with power have no right or ability to judge others) gave a wide pass to radical Islam and its 7th-century primitivism. Apparently most Leftists thought the dearth of women in the clubhouse at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National was far worse than the Arab world’s honor killings, burqas, and coerced female circumcision.

Indeed, a radical Leftist always faces a dilemma when a fellow anti-American sounds fascistic. The usual course, as we have seen since September 11, is either to keep silent about such embarrassing kindred spirits, or to weasel out by suggesting our own hegemonic tendencies pushed a once reasonable “Other” in lamentable directions.

The result? Killers and terrorists have been able to operate openly in European capitals. Here in North America, in the 58 months after the Twin Towers fell, numerous cadres of terrorists still continue to be rounded up — without a peep of condemnation from mainstream Muslim groups, who have instead crafted an ingenious cult of victimization, predicated on sympathy from the Left. Ask yourself: In the fifth year since September 11, is it more likely that Islamic associations in Canada or the United States will condemn global Islamic extremism or complain about purported Islamophobia and the sins of “Zionism”?

I wrote in "A Pure and Perfect Poison" about this new alliance that has developed between the left and Islamofascism; and how the precepts of postmodernism have dovetailed nicely into the appeasement and enabling we see today from that side of the political spectrum:

[In the late 20th century, communism was exposed to the world for the lie and deception it was]... But, in the decades since that exposure, communism--indeed, all totalitarianistic systems including Islamofascism--have recruited a potent new ally in their attempts to control the minds of men.

These cults of tyranny cannot hope to remain viable in a world where human thought is free; therefore, the goal is nothing less than to undermine mankind's perception of reality itself.

If you can convince people that objective reality is an illusion; that A does not equal A; that black is white; and that good is bad; if you can make them accept that everything is subjective and relative; then you can breath new life into doctrines that by all objective measures and standards have led to the death and misery of millions of people. Through the manipulation of language, everything can be distorted, without the messy need to resort to facts, logic, or reason.

We see the results of this new alliance in the postmodern rhetoric and behavior that assaults us on a daily basis.

What matters is not truth or falsity--only the effectiveness of the language used. Lies, distortions, ad hominem attacks; attempts to silence opposing views--all are strategies that are perfectly satisfactory if they achieve the desired effect. Ideas and reason must make way for reification of feelings; and freedom is replaced by thought control.

The postmodern assault as it is used by the new totalitarians of the 21st century is a four-pronged attack to undermine
- Objective reality
- Reason and the rational debate of ideas
- Individual freedom and freedom of thought and speech
- Progress and capitalism

The strategies used are:
- The distortion of language and meaning to undermine the individual's perception of reality;
- The use of direct or threatened physical violence to suppress speech and individual freedom;
- Politically "correct" thought control and cultural relativism to undermine reason and rational debate;
- The promotion of environmental hysteria to undermine progress, industrialization and capitalism

These activities represent the most serious assault on reality, reason, and individual freedom since the twin beasts of communism and socialism rose up early in the 20th century. And, though seriously wounded, they are rising again in a new and more virulent form.
[...]
Radical Islamic ideology is itself an unexpected combination of several toxic memes that have merged in the last 30 years. One thread of this meme is Islam itself--a purportedly "peaceful" religion that is actually historically based on military conquest and coercion of belief through jihad-- entwined with the remnants of the totalitarian ideologies of the last century.

This is why there is an alliance between the totalitarians of the left-- who are the remaining outposts of communism and socialism that thrive in academic and "intellectual" circles in the West; and the Islamic fanatics of the world. Whether this alliance is a conscious or unconscious one (i.e., whether the specific component of the left actively and deliberately supports Islamic terrorism versus enabling and appeasing it) depends on the level of insight and personal depravity achieved by the true believer of today's left.

There are far too many women who see nothing wrong with Islam's suppression and infantilization of women and life under the burqa; but who scream in outrage if a scientific study suggests that there are real physiological differences between men and women. There are far too many Jews who overlook the pervasive anti-semitism of the groups they march in solidarity with. Much of this is a self-hatred that manifests itself in the suicidal and homicidal impulses that logically flow from the perverted postmodern view of the world; and part of it is the descent into emotionalism and hysteria that is encouraged by the rhetoric.

Because, even as freedom began to light up areas of the world that had laid in the dark for generations, a new evil was coalescing that combined the virulence of communism and socialism with the toxicity of a medieval, inflexible, intolerant, and oppressive religion.

This union of totalitarian thought from both left and right was itself an unexpected combination of memes; but when you add to that lethal mix the rhetorical and political strategies of postmodernism, the result is a pure and perfect poison that threatens to destroy all human values; all human decency and all human civilization.

Thus, the new totalitarians of the right--the Islamofascists--and the old totalitarians of the left have combined forces to destroy western civilization (specifically, America) as the first step in establishing their respective global utopias.

There is much to ponder in Hanson's piece, which goes on to discuss other subtexts of the war on terror-- including oil; the mainstreaming of extremists like Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan; and the short-sighted Democrats, who cannot allow Bush to succeed in what they are determined will be a "futile" war. Read it all.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:47 AM |

 
THE COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN !
This week's winners in the Watcher's Council are now posted at the Watcher of Weasels . Every week the Council nominates posts from the blogs of the Council members, and posts from around the blogsphere. The Council then votes to select the "Best" of all these posts.

BEST COUNCIL POSTS:

First Place

The Wild, Wild West(ern Europe) Gates of Vienna

Second Place (a 5-way tie!! - I don't think that's happened before!)

Escaping the Legal and Moral Quagmire of Guantanamo Right Wing Nut House

Jew-hater Bush?!?? Joshuapundit

Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor New World Man

Among the Dead Cities Done With Mirrors

Why Haven’t We Captured Osama Bin Laden? The Glittering Eye

BEST NON-COUNCIL POSTS:

First Place

Declaration of Independence: A Fisking Outside the Beltway

Second Place (A two-way tie)

Sometimes Even the Good Ones Lose Their Way The Shape of Days

Be sure to check out all the winners at the Watcher's site. Great weekend reading.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:09 AM |

 
A DAY OFF FROM ALL THE INSANITY
Generally I am a pretty upbeat and optimistic person, but this morning I am in a very very foul mood (hormones cannot be ruled out entirely...). And, as I read most of the news stories and blogs that foul mood only intensified and became more focused.

Then, I happened to glance outside the window in my den and noticed that it was an incredibly lovely day, bright and clear and sunny. Not too warm; not too cool. I watched my cat, Pumpkin, chasing a squirrel; then abruptly cease her pursuit; and begin to roll around in the grass in complete ecstasy.

It made me laugh.

I'm going to take a day off from all the insanity and just enjoy myself. I think I'll do a little gardening and then maybe I'll go shopping for something I don't need; and then I think I'll sit out on the patio and read some completely frivolous book about heroes and villains....ahhhhhhh. I'm starting to feel better just thinking about it.

A person's got to keep a sense of perspective in this crazy world--especially if they don't want to get sucked up into the wierd.

I'm going to (metaphorically speaking...for the most part anyway!) roll around in the nice soft grass for a while. Enjoy the day.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:11 PM |

 
DR. SANITY'S THEORY OF LEARNED ECONOMIC HELPLESSNESS
Larry Kudlow takes on the "doom and gloom" talk of an economic slowdown (it's all we ever hear reported by the MSM):

Just take a look at today's factory orders report for May. It shows that order backlogs are surging at a 13 percent rate. This is yet another indicator of the business boom.

Moreover, the ADP jobs report hints at a much stronger than expected jobs gain in Friday's report--368,000 new jobs in June, compared to street consensus of only 160,000. (This is the largest monthly increase in employment since the ADP index was created five years ago.)

Yet, the demand-siders continue their doom and gloom. They've predicted four or five growth pauses in the last three years, as the economy shrugged off their pessimism and roared ahead. They have been wrong over and over again. And all signs suggest they will continue to be wrong.

Low tax rates work. Just look at the economy.

But apparently actually looking at the economy is the last thing they want to do. Then they might have to admit there is a Bush Boom, and that is simply not possible in their worldview.

I have written before about the command hallucinations coming from the left--insisting that the economy is tanking and we are all doomed. This is all a part of what I call "learned economic helplessness":

Seligman's theory states very simply that when a person is placed in a situation where there is no way to avoid inflicted pain, it leads to a profound fatalism and resignation to one's situation; and thus presumably to depression and hopelessness. Even when there may be a possiblity of improving the situation; the belief remains intact that there is nothing one can do to stop the pain.

The Santy variant of the theory is purely hypothetical, but is based on empirical observation, and goes like this: When a person is bombarded with unrelenting news reports and news analyses that insist that conditions are bad bad bad; and that people (somewhere) are suffering --even when such assertions are completely untrue-- and that as long as certain people are running the country and remain in power, it is hopeless to imagine that things could change and get better.

In other words, "Dr. Sanity's Theory of Learned Economic Hopelessness" works like a mindless political lesson drilled into the mind over and over again--e.g., Republicans hate the poor; Bush hates Blacks; Capitalism oppresses everyone etc. etc.--until facts, reality and truth are completely irrelevant.

The best treatment for this disorder? Stop the Pain! Stop Listening to the auditory hallucinations of the MSM and the left. They will just make you crazy.

UPDATE: Bizzyblog has a lot more information on the current economic situation.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 1:53 PM |

 
EVEN MORE BIZARRE THAN YOU THINK
Apparently, North Korea is even more bizarre than we think. According to StrategyPage here are some other incredible antics of the Dear Leader's regime:

Forget the Missiles, This is Even More Bizarre
July 5, 2006: While everyone's attention was focused on North Korean missiles, the real story is the North Korean economy. It continues to fall apart, and more North Koreans are unhappy about that. Worse yet, more North Koreans are finding out how badly they have been screwed by their leaders. Meanwhile, North Korean officials engage in even more bizarre behavior. For example, food and fuel supplies sent to North Korea have been halted, not to force North Korea to stop missile tests or participate in peace talks, but to return the Chinese trains the aid was carried in on. In the last few weeks, the North Koreans have just kept the trains, sending the Chinese crews back across the border. North Korea just ignores Chinese demands that the trains be returned, and insists that the trains are part of the aid program. It's no secret that North Korean railroad stock is falling apart, after decades of poor maintenance and not much new equipment. Stealing Chinese trains is a typical loony-tune North Korean solution to the problem. If the North Koreans appear to make no sense, that's because they don't. Put simply, when their unworkable economic policies don't work, the North Koreans just conjure up new, and equally unworkable, plans.

Fausta notes that Cindy's dear leader cheered the North Koreans on their missle launches. Not only that, but Hugo is rushing to make a deal with his North Korean counterpart. Cindy must be so proud.

However, the StrategyPage article reminded me of the peculiar kind of psychotic delusionas that separate North Korea from reality:

In the spring of 1845, Karl Marx wrote, ". . . the human essence is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of social relations." Marx's idea was that a change in the "ensemble of social relations" can change "the human essence."

In June 2004 the communist North Korean government issued a statement to its starving citizens recommending the consumption of pine needles. Pyongyang maintained that pine needle tea could effectively prevent and treat cancer, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, cerebral hemorrhage, and even turn grey hair to black.

Tragically, human nature isn't at all as advertised, and neither is pine needle tea. According to the U.S. State Department, at least one million North Koreans have died of famine since 1995.

Marx's theory of human nature, like Kim Jong Il's theory of pine needle tea, is a biological fantasy, and we have the corpses to prove it.

Kim Jong Il's theories of what belongs to him and how much attention he should be getting from the world, are also the kind of fantasies indulged in by individuals who are onvinced they are the center of the universe.

Kim, Chavez, and don't forget Ahmadinejad -- three thugs (stooges?) vying for Mr. Big in the world. And all of them are more than willing to create a lot of corpses to make their fantasies come true.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:03 AM |

 
GREENER ACRES
Check out the left's "ultimate moral authority" as she provides further evidence of why the left hates America (especially if they can't be in control!) She's going to move on (hopefully) to greener acres:

Venezuela is the place for me!
Livin' with Hugo's where I want to be.
Lifelong marxists who are filled with hate--
Keep America, just give me a socialist state!

Caracas is where I'd rather stay.
Until BusHitler dies or goes away
I can't stand his evil fascist views
Give me a country where Hugo controls the news!

Dear Hugo would take care of me
I appreciate his tyranny
The whole world just gives us a pass;
And mean old Bush just will not kiss my ass.

...The oil!
...Tinfoil.
...Bush hate!
...It's great!

I just seem to be a useful idiot,
But, don't forget, I'm really a patriot.

Wish I could stay,
Good bye, USA.
I really must fly...
Hugo Chavez is my guy!

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has much more, including helpful information about one-way tickets.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:52 PM |

 
WHY THE LEFT HATES AMERICA
Betsy exposes the contempt the left feels for America and its Founding Fathers. Quoting from a column by Mark Kurlansky:

SOMEONE HAS TO SAY IT or we are never going to get out of this rut: I am sick and tired of the founding fathers and all their intents.

The real American question of our times is how our country in a little over 200 years sank from the great hope to the most backward democracy in the West. The U.S. offers the worst healthcare program, one of the worst public school systems and the worst benefits for workers. The margin between rich and poor has been growing precipitously while it has been decreasing in Europe. Among the great democracies, we use military might less cautiously, show less respect for international law and are the stumbling block in international environmental cooperation. Few informed people look to the United States anymore for progressive ideas.

We ought to do something. Instead, we keep worrying about the vision of a bunch of sexist, slave-owning 18th century white men in wigs and breeches. Even in the 18th century, the founding fathers were not the most enlightened thinkers available. They were the ones whose ideas prevailed.

Read her discussion of Kurlansky's tripe. It illuminates the underlying hatred that today's multiculti, politically correct left have for everything America stands for.

Ask yourself why. Then read the quoted paragraph again. The "progressive" political agenda of the left is crystal clear. In one short paragraph, Kurlansky summarizes all the reasons why the left has come to hate America:

- It doesn't yet have socialized medicine (which is just working so well in other countries--that's why they look to America for development of new drugs and technologies in health care)

- The US public K-12 education system--already mostly destroyed by the incorporation of "progressive" ideas like multiculturalism and all things politically correct-- clearly is still not successful in indoctrinating young people into "correct" thinking (some are growing up to be...gasp..Republicans or...worse: freethinkers). Something needs to be done about that. )

- The poor oppressed workers of this country are exploited by evil capitalists

- The rich are exploiting the poor (i.e., the ususal Marxist BS)

- Our military force is not used "cautiously" (i.e., never to defend our national interests)

- we do not bow to international law

- We are destoying the enviroment and preventing the rest of the world from their gallant efforts to fix it

- We don't have any progressive ideas anymore.

Doesn't this all sound familiar? It should. These are the same tired, "progressive" slogans of socialism that the left has been using for the last 50+ years.

The left hates America because America continues to be successful -- unlike most of the rest of the world.

They hate America because, despite their religious belief that it would all come tumbling down (remember Marx's predictions?)--it hasn't and its economy still leads the rest of the world.

They hate America because everyone who lives here is getting richer, and the "poor vs. rich" meme doesn't play as well as it does in the the 3rd world.

They hate America because we believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

They hate America because we are not only the foremost beacon of freedom in the world, but are also the origin of most of the technological and innovative advances that improve the rest of the world.

They hate America because we have not yet succumbed to their ideology and their far-from progressive ideas.

And to destroy America, it is first necessary to destroy our history; to deconstruct the Founding Fathers and insist that they were evil and racist and sexist and probably homophobic too. It is necessary to make us guilty for creating all the problems in the world; and it is necessary to pretend that the rest of the world is so much better (or at least Europe, I guess).

Oh yes. And that is their new, improved definition of patriotism.

UPDATE: Lest you think I exaggerate about the degree of hatred the lunatic left (and it is becomeing increasingly redundant to add the adjective) has for this country, check out Cindy Sheehan, the "ultimate moral authority" of the left as she tells Norah O’Donnell she would rather live under Hugo Chavez than George W. Bush. The obvious question: so why doesn't she?
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:31 AM |

 
OH THE SACRIFICE !
This is what the anti-war crowd considers a sacrifice:

The hunger strike will see at least four activists, Sheehan, veteran comedian and peace campaigner Dick Gregory, former army colonel Ann Wright and environmental campaigner Diane Wilson launch serious, long-term fasts.

"I don't know how long I can fast, but I am making this open-ended," said Wilson.

Other supporters, including Penn, Sarandon, novelist Alice Walker and actor Danny Glover will join a 'rolling" fast, a relay in which 2,700 activists pledge to refuse food for at least 24 hours, and then hand over to a comrade.

This is different from a "rolling" diet how? The phrase "hungry for attention" just leaps to mind.

Excuse me while I go and laugh myself silly at these childish antics......

These yahoos don't know the meaning of the word "sacrifice".

But this individual is an inspiration to us all on the 230th birthday of our nation. Read his story.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:27 PM |

 
THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY




I rather liked this piece at TCS by Ralph Kinney Bennett:

Then we'll eat and laugh, shielding ourselves from the heat of the fire with our free hand while holding our hot dog roasting sticks in the other. When the darkness finally begins to gather we'll throw another log on the fire, toast marshmallows and sit back to watch the fireworks rising in the sky over Conneaut Lake Park, just a half mile across the water.

It is unlikely there will be any discussions of the meaning of liberty or reflections on the Declaration of Independence and the men who signed it. No history lessons or patriotic readings. We'll just relax and joke and maybe sing a little, and after the fireworks we'll look at the stars as we herd sleepy grandchildren back to our cottages or drive home to tumble into bed to the sound of the last few firecrackers and bottle rockets.

That's the whole point of it, you know. The whole point. To be so free, so much a part of something unique and strong and wonderful, so safe inside that wonderful thing called the United States, that you really don't even have to think about it.

In the smell of that cook fire, in the giggles and shouts as the fireworks lace the night sky, in the warmth of old friendships, in all the unshadowed freedom of the moment, lies the essence of what we celebrate.

It seems too simple and almost irreverent somehow, this unspoken yet grateful intuition about liberty and independence. But it's really the sublime culmination of all the dreams and sacrifices of our forefathers -- this happy gathering for no other purpose than to enjoy the blessing of being Americans.

Not a day has gone by since I was in my teens (and that's a long time ago) that I have not been thankful for being born an American. Many take it for granted, and the liberty that goes along with it, but I am fortunate to have had grandparents who understood what it was not to be free; and who endured much to come to this country and avail themselves of the freedom and opportunity it offers.

May you all have a "happy gathering" today, and may the blessings of liberty always be yours!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA !
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:47 AM |

 
THE INSANITY OF THE CHICKEN DOVES
Tomorrow will be the 230th birthday of the United States of America. To a large extent, we owe our very lives and our liberty to a group of men and women over the last two centuries who have placed duty, honor, and love of country before other considerations; and who have been willing to fight the battles necessary to preserve the freedom of America.

In today's world--where many are in complete denial about the threat this country faces; and haven't a clue as to how freedom is preserved or defended to begin with-- we are frequently witness to a mindless anti-military insanity that characterizes one side of the political spectrum in this country. They protest violently about military recruitment on university campuses. They scream and chant about being for peace--these unwitting (and witting) agents of the enemy--and seem oblivious to the fact that their behavior only causes more death; and just happens to empower those who glory in mindless violence.

The enemy's agenda is also being waged at the K-12 level, as well as at the university level. Most recently by the indoctrinated parents and teachers, recruits in the army of the left--who have the honor and privilege of living in a free country, protected by courage of individuals who place personal honor and duty to their country before their very lives--yet, those wage this battle against the very idea of a military force, can't be bothered to understand the price of Freedom; nor are they capablie of appreciating the consequences of their knee-jerk pacifism.

Let us call them CHICKEN DOVES, because they prefer to die rather than fight for freedom; and they insist that we all should die along with them.

This philosophy illustrated in this article:

Parents and teachers are complaining that the latest issue of a popular magazine for preteens amounts to little more than an early recruitment pitch for the Army.

Cobblestone magazine, which is put out by Carus Publishing in Peterborough, is aimed at children ages 9-14 and is distributed nationwide to schools and libraries. Its latest issue features a cover photo of a soldier in Iraq clutching a machine gun and articles on what it's like to go through boot camp, a rundown of the Army's "awesome arsenal" and a detailed description of Army career opportunities.

Most controversial has been a set of classroom guides that accompany the magazine, which suggest teachers invite a soldier, Army recruiter or veteran to speak to their classes and ask students whether they might want to join the Army someday.

Oh, the HORROR! Children being exposed to an honorable profession that embraces duty, honor and country. Oh the SHAME! To ask men of valor and conscience to come and speak about their job defending the country.

In case you wonder what kind of a perverse fantasy world such people live in--it is one where they are so aghast at their own rageful and violent nature that they refuse to acknowledge they even possess such feelings. This enables them to wrap themselves in moral virtue and project those unacceptable impulses onto convenient targets so that they can remain morally pure and untainted. They see themselves as the anti-war movement, but they are truly the repositories of an unconscious cesspool of violence and hatred that breaks through quite regularly in their speech and behavior.

Who in their right mind doesn't prefer peace to war? How do these people imagine that peace is achieved, when there is one side in a conflict whose goal is to ultimately subdue the planet to their fanatical beliefs?

Our faithless chicken doves might easily demonstrate moral uprightness by bringing their insane talking points to the agents of the Taliban or to Al-Qaeda; both of whom regularly recruit children for their suicidal and homicidal ventures. The chicken doves of the left might actually show some real courage and real integrity (and I would honor them for that, even if I thought they were still stupid); because, if they truly believe what they claim they do, they would become "human shields" for the Iraqis and Israelis who are the object of the enemy's murderous hatred on a daily basis.

But you will notice that there is nary an anti-war "human shield" valiantly standing up to the enemy, is there? And do you know why?

Because these hypocritical chicken dove individuals know full well that they would be killed without hesitation or mercy; and their headless bodies thrown in the gutter by the barbarians they enably and support. It is sooooo psychologically convenient to pretend that the real evil is the US military; or Israel--anyone but those who must be stopped for all our sakes.

It is also so convenient to pretend that they protest the very idea of war "for the sake of the children." But Thomas Paine, in writing about the American Revolution captured the essence of the chicken dove philosophy:

I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are held by the Tories: a noted one, who kept a tavern at Amboy, was standing at his door, with as pretty a child in his hand, about eight or nine years old, as I ever saw, and after speaking his mind as freely as he thought was prudent, finished with this unfatherly expression, "Well! give me peace in my day." Not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and a generous parent should have said, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;" and this single reflection, well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty.

But the basic chicken dove is psychologically naiive. He or she desires peace at any cost (except if they have to do anything) merely to cover up their own sense of moral inadequacy; to be able to remain blissfully in denial and delusion, so that they don't have to look in the mirror at their own souls, shrunken and dessicated by an ideology that was almost--but not quite--wiped out by the turn of the century.

They are infected with the moral delusions of grandeur of yet another outbreak of socialist/utopian ideals. It is an epidemic, and the left is the carrier. It turns the brains of true believers to useless mush, mindlessly repeating the same meaningless slogans that led to such widespread death, enslavement and misery in the 20th century.

But here is information about the magazine issue that is being protested from the Cobblestone website . See what you think:

When we think of the U.S. Army, we often associate it with the most recent war. However, the Army has a rich history that reaches far beyond current politics. As the Army has grown from being a part-time, loosely organized force in the Revolutionary Era to one of the best-trained militaries in the world, it has also contributed to peacetime culture and made possible huge advances in technology. In this issue we explore the work of the Army Corps of Engineers; the role of the Army National Guard in responding to domestic natural disasters, and Army training programs for doctors, teachers, and technicians. We'll also explore more traditional topics such as boot camp, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and what it means to be a career Army officer. A timeline of major wars in which the Army has played a role and a glossary of common military terms are also included.

I think it is a sad day for the United States and its brave military forces when a magazine for children is criticized because they dare to present those who choose to defend our liberty in a positive light; a light so shiningly bright that those who wander around with their eyes permanently shut are morally offended at what they are incapably of seeing.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 5:10 PM |

 
THE INTERNET ADVANTAGE
The Real Ugly American links to a terrific interview with an Iraqi general at TF Bogg's site. Boggs is a 24-year-old sergeant in the Army Reserves, voluntarily on his second deployment to Iraq. Here is a brief excerpt, but read the whole interview:

Have you liked working with the American soldiers?

General Ali: Yes, yes, yes. They believe me and I believe them. All the soldiers that have worked here know General Ali. I invite them to my house to eat with me and to train with me. I know they came to help the Iraqi people. That is why I work with them, that is why I tell my people the truth about the coalition. Before they might have disliked the US army because they did not have the real picture of the soldiers. I told the people though how the US army fought for us and also how they did projects for us. They fixed the schools, made roads, and made many things for the people of Iraq. The people see how we caught the terrorists, how we made it safe, they see that is more comfortable then under Saddam’s regime.

Meanwhile, in an important post, Wretchard writes:

Terrorism is extortion in the service of politics. Attacks on civilian targets are whole-page advertisements taken out to flog these wares on a reluctant public. The military power of terrorists is negligable. Despite the fantasies of those who imagine Iraq to be Vietnam, with divisions of NVA sending tanks down the road to Saigon; with legions of laborers dragging artillery pieces across the mountains to pound surrounded French garrisons into submission -- it is not that. Rather, it is a development of the techniques pioneered in the Algerian conflict against the French. It is the political and media power of terror which is important, not their military strength. And in a takeoff from Omar's riff on Maliki's email anecdote, I would venture to say that terror would have won against the US and the West already despite the vast power of America were it not for the Internet, which has ironically made it possible for neutralize the propaganda power of terror. The Internet makes it possible to show terror up for the murder that it is. To strip it of supposed justification. To remind people of what is never mentioned in the papers: that Osama like all men goes and takes a shit.

The aptness of Wretchard's observation is clearly shown by the first link to the Iraqi general's interview. The exclusive interview with a bigwig in the Iraqi military working with the Americans in Iraq would once have been something that the various outlets of the MSM (back in the days when they actually supported America and the wars America fought) would have competed to obtain and then print. Instead, the interview--which shows the American military in a positive light--could never premier in say, the NY Times or the LA Times. Both papers are far too busy undermining America in both the Iraq war and the larger war on terror (of course, they congratulate themselves and call what they are doing "speaking truth to power"). They are far too busy printing the daily death toll to put any of it into perspective for their readers.

As Wretchard notes, it is "the political and media power of terror which is important, not their military strength." And our own media has been well and truly duped by their not-so-secret admiration for the terrorists, who speak their own version of "truth to power"--the ever-popular "Do what I say, or I'll kill you".

Early on in this conflict, the terrorists successfully and rather easily converted the MSM to their cause; primarily because the ideologies that motivate the two are so compatible; and it is only through the freedom of the internet that at least a portion of the American public can begin to see the terrorists for the murderous thugs they are; and understand that America--as always, no matter what her flaws may be--remains on the side of truth, justice, and freedom.

The press in this country have always been free; but lately, their freedom has become like that of a drunk driver--so intoxicated by his own power and moral righteousness; and so convinced of his own invulnerabilty; so grandiose and lacking of insight and judgment; that he is unable to appreciate the suicidal and homicidal danger he now represents.

If not for the internet and for all the independent sources of news; if not for milbloggers like Tim Boggs who report directly from the frontlines without the guile or deceit; if not for the dissemination of the truth to counter the continuous propaganda of the enemy, printed and trumpeted daily in our own news media--the terrorists would have already achieved a final victory.

Because of the internet advantage, things are not going exactly as Zarqawi, Osama, Keller--and so many others on the left--anticipated or desired.

Their fantasies of turning Iraq and the GWOT into another Vietnam are failing.

Thank you, Sgt. Boggs. Happy 4th of July to you! And to REAL FREEDOM !
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 11:35 AM |

 
THE GREAT AMERICAN CHICKEN HAWKS
GO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE CHICKENHAWK !

Some critics of the Iraq war like to use the 'chickenhawk' argument in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of those who support the war, but did not themselves serve in the military.

This rhetoric ignores many things, the history of this country being chief among them.

So, in the spirit of the Fourth of July weekend, The New Editor lists ten prominent Founding Fathers who were 'chickenhawks,' and asks, "Who's your favorite 'chicken hawk'?

Go see some of the great Americans who have served their country in ways other than by serving in the military.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:13 AM |

 
THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT AS THEY KILL US
I've received a few emails asking me my opinion on the recent Supreme Court decision. Mark Steyn says it best this morning:


"The U.S. Supreme Court has now blown a hole in the animating principle behind the Geneva Conventions by choosing to elevate an enemy that disdains the laws of war in order to facilitate the bombing of civilian targets and the beheading of individuals. The argument made by Justice John Paul Stevens is an Alice-In-Jihadland ruling that stands the Conventions on their head in order to give words the precise opposite of their plain meaning and intent. The same kind of inspired jurisprudence conjuring trick that detected in the emanations of the penumbra how the Framers of the U..S Constitution cannily anticipated a need for partial-birth abortion and gay marriage has now effectively found a right to jihad -- or, if you're a female suicide bomber about to board an Israeli bus, a woman's right to Jews.
[...]
And, of course, al-Qaida never need to sign the Conventions now, do they? As the ultimate beneficiaries of the progressive mindset, they get all the benefits with none of the obligations. We're bound, they're not. If you're captured with the severed head of a U.S. soldier in your knapsack, you're covered by Geneva -- and, as your victim learned a mile back up the road, it's too late for him to call his lawyer.

In the broader scheme, Justice Stevens and co, in torturing the language to explain why the international jihad is not "international," have paradoxically conferred quasi-sovereignty on al-Qaida and its affiliates. The obvious question then is: doesn't that also apply to every other "non-state actor" out there?"
The left is downright giddy about the decision. But I don't think it is going to have the effect they are hoping for. In fact, it may have all sorts of unintended consequences and may be more of a rhetorical victory for the left than anything substantive in the long run.

UPDATE: And, speaking of the "ultimate benefits of a progressive mindset", PowerLine has this to say to the Times Two: Who died and left you President?
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:27 PM |

 
CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES
Time for the weekly insanity update, where the insane, the bizarre, the ridiculous, and the completely absurd are highlighted for all to see! This has been a week of rare idiocy (as always!). So, if you want to remain sane, the best thing is to poke some fun at the more egregious absurdities.

Send all entries for next week's carnival to Dr. Sanity by 8 pm ET on Saturday for Sunday's Carnival. Only one post entry weekly per blogger, please. Thanks for all the submissions. I try to use as many as possible! SO MANY INSANITIES! SO LITTLE TIME!!!

1. First Amendment martyrs? They expose secrets, destroy national security operations and put Americans at risk during a war--and THEY are the poor helpless victims? Yeah right. Meanwhile, Erich Licthblau remains on a roll. And Keller speaks (sort of ).

2. Occasionally (not often) they regret the error. But its on page C-26.

3. Just the usual sort of insanity we've all come to expect from the U.N. They really have convinced themselves that these guys are morally superior? Oh the victimhood!

4. Here are some cool facts about John Bolton's mustache. Personally, I think he would make an excellent Secretary General when the current one leaves later this year.

5. We expect it from the U.N., but FIFA ???? Soccer killing fields.

6. Hitchen's blows it? Nice errr... job.

7. Just your standard "mom and pop" type business.

8. Supermensch? Or, a not so super, man?

9. How did Bob Dole's luggage get on Rush's plane? There's a "simple" explanation.

10. The real problem seems to be Islamophilia. Look around for a moment and see what is being done in Islam's name. Meanwhile the UN (them again!) say we should give the barbarians "a chance". Nice.

11. Why Osama et al hate the Shia. These guys have very long memories.

12. An interesting statement--except that most of them never left the 60's to begin with!

13. Hip hop whiners.

14. An environmentalist's worse nightmare---"Earth to Gore" ? This is definitely someone's worse nightmare! (And it doesn't do much for the environment, either)

15. A reporter expresses his opinions..and not just in his reporting.

16. Groupthink IS freedom -- freedom from having to think, anyway. Here is a socially acceptable form of discrimination and stereotyping for the left...and yet they believe that they are actually the "compassionate" ones and everyone else is "hate-filled". Sigh.

17. Short attention span. Typical for a dictator.

18. All you ever wanted to know about the Amish "raw milk" cartel.

19. Paranoia to the max. What is the matter with the brains of these people?

20. Guess what? Now you can donate your virginity to science!

21. Everyone wants to be a legislator these days, I guess. There may well be some interesting unintended consequences from this decision....

22. Either the Census Bureau can't add; or maybe the results are from a poll?

23. Geek vs Nerd. I didn't know there was a difference! Learn something new every day.

24. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. Both things can be true.

25. They don't hate us...they hate Canada.

24. Fab flab not bad for dad. Life is unfair and women are oppressed!!!

25. Passive food aggression.

26. Dubai Does Dallas.

27. I sing the student body electric!

Carnival of the Insanities can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival and at the BlogCarnival.

***************************************
If you would like to Join the insanity, and add the Carnival of the Insanities button to your sidebar (clicking on it will always take you to the latest update of the Carnival), click on "Word of Blog" below the button to obtain the html code:




- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:28 AM |

 
TAKING A HOLIDAY--OPEN THREAD WHOOOOHOOO
I'm going to take the rest today and most of tomorrow off blogging. I have an inordinate number of things to do around the house and yard (which I've been neglecting). The Carnival of the Insanities will be posted as usual in the morning, but I won't be back to regular blogging until Sunday night or Monday morning.


I know! THIS WILL BE AN OPEN COMMENT THREAD! Hey! If the big blogs can do it, why can't I??

Feel free to comment on the all the usual insanity swirling around out there in the political swamps. There is so much craziness and serious disconnects from reality to choose from, I'm sure you'll think of something! Meanwhile, let's have a little fireworks in the comments (but speak nicely to each other, please)!
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 2:55 PM |

 
THE COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN !
This week's winners in the Watcher's Council are now posted at the Watcher of Weasels . Every week the Council nominates posts from the blogs of the Council members, and posts from around the blogsphere. The Council then votes to select the "Best" of all these posts.

BEST COUNCIL POSTS:

First Place

The Dance of Escalation and Reaction ShrinkWrapped

Second Place

How Do You Solve a Problem Like... Korea? The Glittering Eye

BEST NON-COUNCIL POSTS:

First Place

Townhall.com' target=_blank>It's an Islamic Jihad, Stupid Townhall.com

Second Place (A two-way tie)

Peter, Paul, and Ingrate Florida Cracker

Why We Shouldn't Prosecute the Reporters and Editors of the L.A. Times and New York Times -- Just Yet Patterico's Pontifications

Be sure to check out all the winners at the Watcher's site. Great weekend reading.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:31 AM |