Don't miss Scott Ott's latest at Scrappleface:
"Cheney Sends Joe Wilson to Find CIA Leaker"
Perfect brilliance!
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Command Hallucinations
The American public is hearing voices. And like auditory hallucinations experienced by psychiatric patients, these voices whisper continual doom and gloom. They tell the American consumer that prices are too high. That the economy is tanking; that poverty is on the rise; and that everything is bad bad bad.
These voices are persistant and continual. They are unrelenting. They are often frightening. And like the command hallucinations that torment many of my patients, they are completely and totally untrue. You are bad. Life isn't worth living. They are trying to hurt you. Don't try, it's not worth it.
It is very rare for such voices to say anything at all positive. They have a specific goal--and that goal is the distortion of reality.
So why do patients believe them? Especially the one's that are bizarre and so obviously out of touch with any known reality? You know, the ones that say aliens have implanted electrodes in your brain and are monitoring your thoughts and things like that.
It is a triumph of false perceptions over reality. It is testimony to how profoundly and fundamentally people trust their perceptual faculties and let their peceptions rule, even when those perception come in conflict with common sense, truth, or reality.
We, the American people have come to have a similar trust in the voices of the MSM. Over the years, they have almost become an additional perceptual faculty that we rely on--simply because life has become too complicated and overwhelming, that the use of our ordinary senses is insufficient in the modern world.
In other words, we rely on the media in the same way we rely on our own senses to provide us with the information necessary to make decisions and judgements in the real world.
The MSM has become those evil voices inside our head.
Here is the latest information on our economy that I found online at an MSNBC Business site, but which I did not read in the newspaper, or actually hear on the regular MSNBC news. It was probably on reported on the business channels:
WHY ISN'T THIS IMPORTANT NEWS? WHY ISN'T IT SHOUTED FROM THE HOUSETOPS?
Meanwhile, consumer confidence fell sharply.
So, like a patient hearing the command hallucinations we become more and more hopeless and depressed in spite of the reality around us.
We are hearing the voices of the MSM inside our heads and they are tricking us into believing something that isn't true.
The Anchoress points out:
I would wager that the instant the Democrats take over the White House at some future date, the voices will cease to trouble us and we will be cured of our "malaise". Not because anything will have changed, but because the voices will have achieved their purpose.
UPDATE: Bizzyblog has more details about how well the economy is doing.
These voices are persistant and continual. They are unrelenting. They are often frightening. And like the command hallucinations that torment many of my patients, they are completely and totally untrue. You are bad. Life isn't worth living. They are trying to hurt you. Don't try, it's not worth it.
It is very rare for such voices to say anything at all positive. They have a specific goal--and that goal is the distortion of reality.
So why do patients believe them? Especially the one's that are bizarre and so obviously out of touch with any known reality? You know, the ones that say aliens have implanted electrodes in your brain and are monitoring your thoughts and things like that.
It is a triumph of false perceptions over reality. It is testimony to how profoundly and fundamentally people trust their perceptual faculties and let their peceptions rule, even when those perception come in conflict with common sense, truth, or reality.
We, the American people have come to have a similar trust in the voices of the MSM. Over the years, they have almost become an additional perceptual faculty that we rely on--simply because life has become too complicated and overwhelming, that the use of our ordinary senses is insufficient in the modern world.
In other words, we rely on the media in the same way we rely on our own senses to provide us with the information necessary to make decisions and judgements in the real world.
The MSM has become those evil voices inside our head.
Here is the latest information on our economy that I found online at an MSNBC Business site, but which I did not read in the newspaper, or actually hear on the regular MSNBC news. It was probably on reported on the business channels:
Economic activity expanded at an energetic 3.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter, providing vivid evidence of the economy’s stamina even as it coped with the destructive forces of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The latest snapshot of the country’s economic performance, released by the Commerce Department on Friday, even marked an improvement from the solid 3.3 percent pace of growth registered in the second quarter.
Growth in the third quarter was broad-based, reflecting brisk spending by consumers, businesses and government.
WHY ISN'T THIS IMPORTANT NEWS? WHY ISN'T IT SHOUTED FROM THE HOUSETOPS?
Meanwhile, consumer confidence fell sharply.
So, like a patient hearing the command hallucinations we become more and more hopeless and depressed in spite of the reality around us.
We are hearing the voices of the MSM inside our heads and they are tricking us into believing something that isn't true.
The Anchoress points out:
Economists had forecast GDP would advance at a 3.6% rate in the July-to-September quarter. The economy has now expanded faster than 3% for 10 straight quarters.
So when was the last time the economy expanded faster than 3% for 10 straight quarters?
It didn’t happen during the 1990s (the longest streak was eight).
It last happened during the 13 quarters from 1Q 1983 through 1Q 1986. Not coincidentally, a president who believed in lowering taxes to stimulate economic growth was in charge the last time it happened.
So despite being at war, despite devastating storms, and despite legislative and regulatory drags on the economy like Sarbanes-Oxley, this has been most consistently growing economy in almost 20 years.
I would wager that the instant the Democrats take over the White House at some future date, the voices will cease to trouble us and we will be cured of our "malaise". Not because anything will have changed, but because the voices will have achieved their purpose.
UPDATE: Bizzyblog has more details about how well the economy is doing.
CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES - Special Halloween 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 has been a week of rare idiocy (as always!). Calling all bloggers! Be sure to send in your entries to the Carnival, which will be posted every Sunday. Entries need to be in by 8 pm on Saturday to make their way into the list that week. Only one post entry per blogger, please. Thanks for all the submissions. SO MANY INSANITIES! SO LITTLE TIME! Here is the Halloween Edition! Be afraid, be very afraid....TRICKS!
1. Halloween Calvalcade of Horrors!
2. Don't click on this link!!! It is far to scary for mortal beings! Monsters from the ID!
3. Hijab chic
4. Cartoons definitely seem like a natural manner in which to depict this religious leader.
5. They don't like to be "insulted", yet insulting others is perfectly acceptable (here or here) You have to admit, they are rather easily "insulted".
6. Just a little touch up to improve ideological acceptability. Here, too.
7. A psychopath speaks; Europe is shocked, shocked! And guess who is strangely silent?
8. I would call it OUR 27 months of hell. Because, you know, they are such private people after all. I thought the findings were pretty sad, too.
9. A child writing poetry sympathetic to the mind of Hitler wins awards , but drawing Jesus on an environmental paper is banned. Go figure that!
TREATS
1. Newton was an incredible person--discovering gravity and...cat doors.
2. Christ was born on Halloween?
3. "The media are treasonous scum." Don't beat around the bush! Tell us how you really feel about them. And even more bias. And they're not very good at science either! Some say they are searching for the glory days of Watergate.
4. Nazi racoons. Really!
5. So would I, Lt. Bishop. So would I.
6. You have to admit, these guys are hilarious. Here's their strategy. But I think it would be a more effective strategy to lock the three of them in a closet.
7. M.C. Escher and Starbucks. (hat tip: OBloodyHell)
8. These guys are legitimately nuts. Talk about enabling of evil. They would probably win the poetry prize in # . And speaking of being completely out of touch with reality....
9. The
SOMEWHERE IN-BETWEEN!
1. What Makes the Muslims Laugh? A tricky subject for a film. Here's a clue.
2. I think Ken needs to get a life.
3. The Peace Moonbeam chronicles.
4. Moral authority is relative apparantly.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HATE
John at Power Line notes that, "...they hate pretty much everyone." He was speaking about today's Islamic terrorist bombing in New Delhi.
Not to mention, the beheading of three Christian school girls in Indonesia.
The planned execution of a 14 year old Egyptian boy (Muslim) in Saudi Arabia.
The suicide bombing in Israel earlier this week that killed four innocents.
The killing of Buddhists in Thailand.
The wacko President of Iran urging his fellow neo-nazis to "wipe Israel off the Map" - in a kind, gentle manner of course (since Islam is the Religion of Peace).
Let's see. Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and fellow Muslims. By this you can all see that John is absolutely correct: Islam is a equal opportunity hate cult!
I can just imagine how they might treat Wiccans.
Not to mention, the beheading of three Christian school girls in Indonesia.
The planned execution of a 14 year old Egyptian boy (Muslim) in Saudi Arabia.
The suicide bombing in Israel earlier this week that killed four innocents.
The killing of Buddhists in Thailand.
The wacko President of Iran urging his fellow neo-nazis to "wipe Israel off the Map" - in a kind, gentle manner of course (since Islam is the Religion of Peace).
Let's see. Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and fellow Muslims. By this you can all see that John is absolutely correct: Islam is a equal opportunity hate cult!
I can just imagine how they might treat Wiccans.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN WEEKEND !
Now for something completely different! It's Trick or Treat!
Oh, and check out Don Surber's Halloween Party!
Oh, and check out Don Surber's Halloween Party!
October, 1944
"Grim Milestone Approaches in Unending War" - over at Transterrestrial Musings. Check it out. Here's an excerpt:
Very apt analogy, I would say. If left to the Democratic Party of today, there is no doubt in my mind that we all would be speaking German or Japanese.
This mark is being reached amid growing doubts among the American public about the seemingly endless European and Pacific conflicts, hastily and, some say, thoughtlessly launched in December 1941 to avenge the attack on Pearl Harbor by radical Japanese Shintoists.
Here in the nation's capital, many urged the U.S. Senate to observe a moment of silence in honor of the fallen 250,000.
"We owe them a deep debt of gratitude for their courage, for their valor, for their strength, for their commitment to our country," said a prominent Democrat leader.
Critics of the war also acknowledged the sacrifice, even as they questioned the policies of those who lead it.
Very apt analogy, I would say. If left to the Democratic Party of today, there is no doubt in my mind that we all would be speaking German or Japanese.
Friday, October 28, 2005
BFD
Photo Update to the Left: Special Counsel Fitzgerald taking questions from reporters in the aftermath of the Libby indictment.So, Plame was not outed as Wilson claimed. There was no flauting of national security. There was no treason. And, of course, there was no conspiracy to punish him for opposing the Iraq War. Just the usual lying under oath (e.g., like Clinton--so no BFD according to the Left and the MSM-- remember Cisneros and others??). Ok, now can we get onto more important items? Like this and this, for example?
Too bad Wilson didn't make his famous statements (which have been documented as lies) before a Grand Jury. He only made them in the MSM, who doesn't much care about lying as long as it hurts the right people.
UPDATE: Let me be more precise. Read the indictment here. This is a case of a man (Libby) who behaved very very stupidly and made some very very stupid lies under oath to a Grand Jury. That's it. The book is being thrown at him, as is approrpriate in cases like this. When my daughter lies to me, I throw the book at her, too. However, it is not proof that there is pervasive corruption in my family as some idiots might suggest [I am talking about John Kerry's remarks about the indictment, which I can't find a link to right now].
UPDATE II: Cliff May at The Corner:
The accusation – from Wilson and his allies – was that there was a conspiracy at the highest levels of this administration to expose Valerie Plame, to reveal that she was an undercover agent. And the accusation was that this was done as a way to punish punish Joe Wilson and to send a chill to all others who might criticize the Bush White House. That does not appear to be the case. Fitzgerald is alleging no such conspiracy. And he even added: “We’re not saying that Libby knowingly outted a covert agent.” So did anybody? Or not? Does it really not matter? I’m asking .
UPDATE III: I concur with SC&A's take on Senator Kerry's comments, about how he is completely disgusted at
FULL DISCLOSURE: I really despise John Kerry. If there is more of a hypocrite and opportunist in US government today (and boy, that's saying a LOT when you consider both sides of the political aisle), I'll eat my stethoscope.
ON THE COUCH
Dr. Sanity is ON THE COUCH with Sigmund, Carl & Alfred (No, not that way, you evil-minded person!). He asked me some tough questions and it took me a while to get my thoughts together.
Go check it out. Or not.
Go check it out. Or not.
Supreme Court Quota Games
Isn't it time to stop thinking of postions on the court as a gender or race-specific? That somehow there is a "woman" seat or an "Hispanic" or "Black" seat? I find it rather appalling that the nomination to highest court in the land should be expected to meet this kind of racist or sexist criteria. How would you feel if it a "White" or "Male" seat on the court were discussed as an entitlement?
Noone does that, do they? You know why? Because that would clearly be racist and sexist. Yet somehow it has become politically correct to actively and enthusiastically promote racism and sexism when any other group is discussed.
It is time to stop. Read Heather MacDonald's article linked above.
Mr. President, just pick the absolute best and most competent person for the job. That is the ideal I fought for when I was a member of the Women's Movement many years ago. The modern women's movement, like the modern civil rights movement has lost all reason and sense. All either do now is to encourage victimhood and entitlement in their respective constituencies. They also actively try to smear any woman or black who doesn't buy into their identity politcal agenda.
Let us stop playing these insane political quota games and put an end to all institutionalized racism and sexism in this country once and for all.
Noone does that, do they? You know why? Because that would clearly be racist and sexist. Yet somehow it has become politically correct to actively and enthusiastically promote racism and sexism when any other group is discussed.
It is time to stop. Read Heather MacDonald's article linked above.
Mr. President, just pick the absolute best and most competent person for the job. That is the ideal I fought for when I was a member of the Women's Movement many years ago. The modern women's movement, like the modern civil rights movement has lost all reason and sense. All either do now is to encourage victimhood and entitlement in their respective constituencies. They also actively try to smear any woman or black who doesn't buy into their identity politcal agenda.
Let us stop playing these insane political quota games and put an end to all institutionalized racism and sexism in this country once and for all.
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
Syria and the Hariri Conspiracy Right Wing Nut House
Second Place
Don’t Secret Cabals Have To Be... Well... Secret? The Sundries Shack
BEST NON-COUNCIL POSTS:
First Place
Race and the Unconscious ShrinkWrapped
Second Place
Separation The Unrepentant Individual
Be sure to check out all the winners at the Watcher's site. It will make for good weekend reading!
Thursday, October 27, 2005
BERSERK
Here is an example of political correctness gone completely, totally and unbelievably berserk.
Soon, everyone in the world will be so afraid of possibly "offending" someone (by their very existence, perhaps?) that they will lock themselves in their houses and never come out. Either that, or people will be muted at birth as a preventive measure.
Blogging, of course, will be banned. But then, so will all speech. Except, of course, it will always be OK to offend Jews and Christians.
(hat tip: SC&A)
Soon, everyone in the world will be so afraid of possibly "offending" someone (by their very existence, perhaps?) that they will lock themselves in their houses and never come out. Either that, or people will be muted at birth as a preventive measure.
Blogging, of course, will be banned. But then, so will all speech. Except, of course, it will always be OK to offend Jews and Christians.
(hat tip: SC&A)
Unparalleled Corruption
This international scandal goes on and on. Claudia Rosett reports:
Read it all. It is a tale of unparalleled corruption and greed on a scale unheard of in history. All under the leadership of Kofi Annan.
Several emailers have asked me to reprise my song parody about the U.N. I am glad to do so (particularly since I have nothing to say about the Miers nomination withdrawal).
From the "PIRATES OF THE UN":
I AM THE VERY MODEL OF A SECRETARY GENERAL
(Sung to the tune of "I am the very model of a modern major general")
SECRETARY GENERAL ANNAN:
I am the very model of a Secretary-General,
I specialize in matters both nefarious and criminal,
I know the heads of every state, preferring those inimical
to all the freedom-loving institutions democratical;
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters philosophical,
And implementing Marxist theories surely is most practical;
About Oil-for-Food, I'll stonewall anything that's new,
And keep on hiding facts about the way we scammed the lot of you!
ALL:
And keep on hiding facts about the way we scammed the lot of you!
And keep on hiding facts about the way we scammed the lot of you!
And keep on hiding facts about the way we scammed the lot of you!
SECRETARY GENERAL:
I'm very good at making statements quite ridiculous;
Pretending that the money from Saddam was quite miraculous;
In short, in matters both nefarious and criminal,
I am the very model of a Secretary General.
ALL:
In short, in matters both nefarious and criminal,
He is the very model of a Secretary General!
SECRETARY GENERAL:
In fact, when I know what is meant by "integrity" and "honesty",
When I can mumble all my lies with obvious sincerity,
And keep the free world all locked up in its myopathy,
And when I know precisely what they mean by my "psychopathy";
When progress has been made treating antisocial personality,
When I know more of leadership than Kerry knows reality--
In short, when I've a smattering of elemental management,
This Secretary General will say much more than "no comment".
ALL:
This Secretary General will say much more than "no comment"!
This Secretary General will say much more than "no comment"!
This Secretary General will say much more than "no comment"!
SECRETARY GENERAL:
Though my knowledge of dictatorships is sly and somewhat dastardly,
I think I will support them with great joy in this new century;
And still, in matters both nefarious and criminal,
I am the very model of a Secretary General!
ALL:
But still, in matters both nefarious and criminal,
He is the very model of Secretary General!
The IHC story suggests that the U.N.'s failures of governance are not confined to such special projects as the Oil for Food program. If anything, Oil for Food looks more and more like a large outcropping of U.N. business as usual. And as with Oil for Food, which ran from December 1996 until the fall of Saddam in 2003, the timeline of IHC business with the U.N. starts in December 1996. That was the month before Kofi Annan took over as secretary-general, and it is on his watch that the IHC-U.N. tale has unfolded.
Headquartered on the sixth floor of a modest midtown Manhattan high-rise, with additional offices in Milan, IHC was, until this June, one of many companies approved by the U.N. as a registered vendor to its procurement division--which handles U.N. contracting for everything from office supplies to rations for peacekeeping troops. IHC signed some deals directly with the U.N., and on others served as a go-between for third-party contractors--despite the U.N.'s officially stated preference for avoiding middlemen.
Since the U.N. handles its contracts with secrecy, the full extent of IHC's involvement in U.N. business is hard to know. But from documents seen by this writer, the amounts around 1999 involved millions of dollars; a few years later they involved scores of millions; and in the past year or two--counting IHC business partnerships--the totals reached hundreds of millions.
IHC's CEO Ezio Testa, has denied any wrong-doing. But IHC's history includes hiring the son of a U.N. official who later (and unrelated to the hiring) pled guilty to corruption in federal court. In addition, a star U.N. diplomat served as chairman of the IHC board of directors while also holding a post as personal representative of the U.N. secretary-general. On top of that, IHC appears to have had access to valuable inside information on U.N. contract bids, which in at least one documented case it shared with a company involved in the bid.
Last year, information was bubbling around in unofficial quarters that something was amiss in the U.N. procurement department. Together with Fox News executive editor George Russell, I began looking into it. A name that came to our attention was Alexander Yakovlev, a Russian staffer in the procurement department. Imagine our surprise when Mr. Yakovlev was depicted in a Feb. 3 interim report from Paul Volcker's Oil for Food probe as a defender of integrity in the U.N. procurement department, where he'd handled Oil for Food inspection contracts.
Read it all. It is a tale of unparalleled corruption and greed on a scale unheard of in history. All under the leadership of Kofi Annan.
Several emailers have asked me to reprise my song parody about the U.N. I am glad to do so (particularly since I have nothing to say about the Miers nomination withdrawal).
From the "PIRATES OF THE UN":
I AM THE VERY MODEL OF A SECRETARY GENERAL
(Sung to the tune of "I am the very model of a modern major general")
SECRETARY GENERAL ANNAN:
I am the very model of a Secretary-General,
I specialize in matters both nefarious and criminal,
I know the heads of every state, preferring those inimical
to all the freedom-loving institutions democratical;
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters philosophical,
And implementing Marxist theories surely is most practical;
About Oil-for-Food, I'll stonewall anything that's new,
And keep on hiding facts about the way we scammed the lot of you!
ALL:
And keep on hiding facts about the way we scammed the lot of you!
And keep on hiding facts about the way we scammed the lot of you!
And keep on hiding facts about the way we scammed the lot of you!
SECRETARY GENERAL:
I'm very good at making statements quite ridiculous;
Pretending that the money from Saddam was quite miraculous;
In short, in matters both nefarious and criminal,
I am the very model of a Secretary General.
ALL:
In short, in matters both nefarious and criminal,
He is the very model of a Secretary General!
SECRETARY GENERAL:
In fact, when I know what is meant by "integrity" and "honesty",
When I can mumble all my lies with obvious sincerity,
And keep the free world all locked up in its myopathy,
And when I know precisely what they mean by my "psychopathy";
When progress has been made treating antisocial personality,
When I know more of leadership than Kerry knows reality--
In short, when I've a smattering of elemental management,
This Secretary General will say much more than "no comment".
ALL:
This Secretary General will say much more than "no comment"!
This Secretary General will say much more than "no comment"!
This Secretary General will say much more than "no comment"!
SECRETARY GENERAL:
Though my knowledge of dictatorships is sly and somewhat dastardly,
I think I will support them with great joy in this new century;
And still, in matters both nefarious and criminal,
I am the very model of a Secretary General!
ALL:
But still, in matters both nefarious and criminal,
He is the very model of Secretary General!
Religion of Pieces
Stefania at Free Thoughts has photos of the recent suicide bombing in Israel. ****WARNING**** Very Graphic****WARNING****
More to the point than a conference like this:
...attended by suicide bomber wannabees, homicidal maniacs and future hitlerian imitations. What is needed is a conference on "The World Without Islam".
UPDATE: SC&A have two posts (here and here ) about The World Without Zionism confernece. Check out his investigation.
More to the point than a conference like this:
...attended by suicide bomber wannabees, homicidal maniacs and future hitlerian imitations. What is needed is a conference on "The World Without Islam".
UPDATE: SC&A have two posts (here and here ) about The World Without Zionism confernece. Check out his investigation.
2000 Valiant Men and Women
What do St. Dymphna, Staff Sgt. George T. Alexander Jr., and Fabrizio Quattrocchi have in common? Well Dymphna (not the saint) over at the Gates of Vienna tells us in a brilliant essay about the 2000 valiant American military men and women who have died in the Iraq war.
"How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say?" - Kirk to Saavik in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
"How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say?" - Kirk to Saavik in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
NEO-HITLER RISING
In case anyone was wondering why Iran is so busily pursuing the development of nuclear weapons, the President of Iran has set the record straight:
And, meanwhile, the Palestinians continue to to be the poster children for the religion of peace.
I'm sure there will be all sorts of apologists with rationalizations and explanations about the supposed "victimhood" of the Palestinians and the grave "crimes" that Israel has committed against the Muslim world. But for anyone who isn't blind, deaf, and completely and totally irrational; we have heard from the horse's mouth the hatred and fanatical zeal that will--without any hesitation whatsoever--send a few nuclear warheads toward the Jewish nation as soon as they are capable of doing it. If you have any doubts about this, then you are likely one of the pathetic apologists mentioned above.
And the way that the nations of world twiddle their thumbs as this is happening; and allow themselves to be manipulated by this sick religion makes it clear that they don't particularly care and intend to let it happen.
Just as they let Hitler happen. Only this time, the Islamic version of the final solution has some real technology to play around with.
Iran's hard-line president called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and said a new wave of Palestinian attacks will destroy the Jewish state, state-run media reported Wednesday.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also denounced attempts to recognize Israel or normalize relations with it.
"There is no doubt that the new wave (of attacks) in Palestine will wipe off this stigma (Israel) from the face of the Islamic world," Ahmadinejad told students Wednesday during a Tehran conference called "The World without Zionism."
"Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury, (while) any (Islamic leader) who recognizes the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world," Ahmadinejad said.
And, meanwhile, the Palestinians continue to to be the poster children for the religion of peace.
I'm sure there will be all sorts of apologists with rationalizations and explanations about the supposed "victimhood" of the Palestinians and the grave "crimes" that Israel has committed against the Muslim world. But for anyone who isn't blind, deaf, and completely and totally irrational; we have heard from the horse's mouth the hatred and fanatical zeal that will--without any hesitation whatsoever--send a few nuclear warheads toward the Jewish nation as soon as they are capable of doing it. If you have any doubts about this, then you are likely one of the pathetic apologists mentioned above.
And the way that the nations of world twiddle their thumbs as this is happening; and allow themselves to be manipulated by this sick religion makes it clear that they don't particularly care and intend to let it happen.
Just as they let Hitler happen. Only this time, the Islamic version of the final solution has some real technology to play around with.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Pseudologia Fantastica
The Times of London reports that the "US Senate 'finds Iraq oil cash in Galloway's wife's bank account". The Belmont Club discusses Mr. Galloway's lying in some detail.
But if I may be so bold to suggest, poor George Galloway is just another tragic victim of pseudologia fantastica.
The sufferers of this sad condition are often smooth-talking narcissists, and so self-centered they construct a detailed reality of their own and are almost able to convince others of its truth. In many instances, the lying gets more significant as the liar obtains more power.
George Galloway and fellow sufferer Joe Wilson should start a support group! They might also invite the grand mythomaniac, Saddam Hussein, to participate for the time he has remaining on earth--particularly since he appears to be the inspirational force behind both of them.
But if I may be so bold to suggest, poor George Galloway is just another tragic victim of pseudologia fantastica.
The sufferers of this sad condition are often smooth-talking narcissists, and so self-centered they construct a detailed reality of their own and are almost able to convince others of its truth. In many instances, the lying gets more significant as the liar obtains more power.
George Galloway and fellow sufferer Joe Wilson should start a support group! They might also invite the grand mythomaniac, Saddam Hussein, to participate for the time he has remaining on earth--particularly since he appears to be the inspirational force behind both of them.
The Witch's Ball!
A Halloween Cotillion! And you are invited. Girl on the Right is hosting the fun and you should go on over and check it out! Lot's of good reading linked to--all of them by talented, creative and smart ladies. Of course, I have a link in there somewhere, too!
Hypocrisy Left and Right
I am not someone who believe hypocrisy is confined to one side of the political spectrum or the other. It is clear that it exists on both. In an interview with Kathryn Lopez of NRO's The Corner, Peter Schweitzer who has written a new book makes an intersting distinction between liberal vs. conservative hypocrisy that I had not thought about:
It is definitely an interesting point. Can anyone think of a counter example on either side--e.g. one where the liberal is hypocritical and only hurts his/her family or one where a conservative is hypocritical and it improves his/her lives?
BUY THE BOOK:
Schweitzer's book is Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy
Yes, we are all hypocrites and I talk about that in the book. But liberal hypocrisy and conservative hypocrisy are quite different on two accounts. First, you hear about conservative hypocrisy all the time. A pro-family congressman caught in an extramarital affair, a minister caught in the same. This stuff is exposed by the media all the time. The leaders of the liberal-Left get a complete pass on their hypocrisy. Second, and this is even more important, the consequences of liberal hypocrisy are different than for the conservative variety. When conservatives abandon their principles and become hypocrites, they end up hurting themselves and their families. Conservative principles are like guard rails on a winding road. They are irritating but fundamentally good for you. Liberal hypocrisy is the opposite. When the liberal-left abandon their principles and become hypocrites, they actually improve their lives. Their kids end up in better schools, they have more money, and their families are more content. They're ideas are truly that bad.
It is definitely an interesting point. Can anyone think of a counter example on either side--e.g. one where the liberal is hypocritical and only hurts his/her family or one where a conservative is hypocritical and it improves his/her lives?
BUY THE BOOK:
Schweitzer's book is Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy
Questioning the CIA
This may be the most important item to come out of the entire Plame affair:
As the IBD article points out, this is the same CIA that abjectly failed at least two presidents and the entire American public. If there is a rotten core in at the center of this outfit then we must excise it, precisely because the work that they should be doing is so absolutely critical to the safety of our country.
I know all about CYA government politics and the lengths the "career" people in government positions of trust will go to in order to protect their positions and undermine the very job their agency is asked to do. I saw this kind of behavior at NASA--particularly after the Challenger accident. I witnessed, in disbelief, as the innocent were punished and the guilty promoted. That strategy, is the essence intellectual and moral rot that exists in many of our government agencies.
For the most part, organizations like the CIA and NASA (and many others, I'm sure)have layers of managers and bureaucrats that have over their careers finely honed their skill at taking credit for anything good and blaming someone else in the food chain for anything bad that happens. The many capable, honest, and hard-working grunts are considered disposable assets manipulated by the bureaucrats for the purpose of accumulating their own power in the system. These bureaucrats create the groupthink culture and live happily in their own little echo chambers--refusing any new ideas or thinking if it disturbs the soundwaves in the chamber. Anything that reflects well on them is good and anything that threatens their power is aggressively attacked.
I have no doubt that what I saw at NASA was a mere bagatelle compared to the capability for mischief that would be possible by one narcissist who had an agenda at the CIA.
Presidents come and go. But the personnel in the CIA --especially the bureaucrats--stay in place for an entire career. They have a lot of entrenched reasons to maintain the status quo.
The CIA badly needs to clean house, but how to do it when civil service makes it next to impossible to alter the culture?
UPDATE: Michael Barone has something interesting to say about all this:
While the Bush administration hunkers down on indictment watch, Congress should take a look at political — and possibly illegal — activity by agenda-driven intelligence operatives.
Whatever fate befalls White House adviser Karl Rove, Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Lewis Libby and any other administration official caught up in the prosecution over the leaked name of a CIA officer, there's a back story to this case that should not be ignored.
It's about the CIA itself.
This is a story that most of the media will be trying hard not to cover. They share former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's stated desire to see Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald "frog-march" Rove out of the White House in handcuffs.
So Congress should leave the media no choice. Hold hearings. Put the CIA on the spot and blow the lid off any politically motivated funny business. Bring some transparency to what has become a very murky issue.
We believe that someone needs to answer the questions raised recently by Joseph F. DiGenova, a former federal prosecutor and independent counsel:
Was there a covert operation against the president?
If so, who was behind it?
These aren't the musings of the tinfoil-hat brigade. A sober-minded case can be made that at least some people in the CIA may have acted inappropriately to discredit the administration as a way of salvaging their own reputations after the intelligence debacles of 9-11 and Iraqi WMD.
As the IBD article points out, this is the same CIA that abjectly failed at least two presidents and the entire American public. If there is a rotten core in at the center of this outfit then we must excise it, precisely because the work that they should be doing is so absolutely critical to the safety of our country.
I know all about CYA government politics and the lengths the "career" people in government positions of trust will go to in order to protect their positions and undermine the very job their agency is asked to do. I saw this kind of behavior at NASA--particularly after the Challenger accident. I witnessed, in disbelief, as the innocent were punished and the guilty promoted. That strategy, is the essence intellectual and moral rot that exists in many of our government agencies.
For the most part, organizations like the CIA and NASA (and many others, I'm sure)have layers of managers and bureaucrats that have over their careers finely honed their skill at taking credit for anything good and blaming someone else in the food chain for anything bad that happens. The many capable, honest, and hard-working grunts are considered disposable assets manipulated by the bureaucrats for the purpose of accumulating their own power in the system. These bureaucrats create the groupthink culture and live happily in their own little echo chambers--refusing any new ideas or thinking if it disturbs the soundwaves in the chamber. Anything that reflects well on them is good and anything that threatens their power is aggressively attacked.
I have no doubt that what I saw at NASA was a mere bagatelle compared to the capability for mischief that would be possible by one narcissist who had an agenda at the CIA.
Presidents come and go. But the personnel in the CIA --especially the bureaucrats--stay in place for an entire career. They have a lot of entrenched reasons to maintain the status quo.
The CIA badly needs to clean house, but how to do it when civil service makes it next to impossible to alter the culture?
UPDATE: Michael Barone has something interesting to say about all this:
Well, I think that whoever those people were, what they were involved in here was trying to discredit what they took to be the president's policy. I mean, there seems to be a thinking in some parts of the foreign policy establishment that an elected president, and the subordinates that he chooses as persuant to law, are not entitled to follow a policy that the career people at the CIA think is a bad policy. I had the sort of thought American government works the other way. That is to say civil servants, government employees, follow the policy of the elected officials. But this case, clearly there were people at the CIA that were trying to discredit Bush's policy of military action in Iraq. And clearly, Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson were part of that. And in addition, we also know that Joseph Wilson told numerous lies about this situation. He characterized his report, which was not a written report to the CIA, as disclosing no evidence that there was attempts by Iraq to buy uranium in Niger. But the CIA people that took a look at what he reported, or heard what he reported, concluded that he actually found some evidence that Iraq had made an attempt to obtain uranium in Niger.[emphasis mine)
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