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October 31, 2005

Victor Davis Hanson Slices Like An F'n' Hammer

We're still not very serious about fighting this war:

Our elite commitment to multiculturalism also hamstrings us from taking the needed security steps. For 30 years, our schools have pounded home the creed that all cultures are of equal merit—or, more accurately perhaps, that no culture is worse than the West’s. Millions of Americans consequently aren’t sure whether radical Islam is just another legitimate alternative to the dominant Western narrative. Typical of this mind-set, UCLA English professor Saree Makdisi, excusing the London subway terrorism, wrote in the Los Angeles Times that deliberately butchering commuters is no worse than accidentally killing civilians while targeting terrorists in a war zone. “American and British media have devoted hours to wondering what would drive a seemingly normal young Muslim to destroy himself and others,” Makdisi said. “No one has paused to ask what would cause a seemingly normal young Christian or Jew to strap himself into a warplane and drop bombs on a village, knowing full well his bombs will inevitably kill civilians (and, of course, soldiers).”
It is a tremendous historical irony that America’s liberal Left, embracing moral equivalence in this fashion, has all but refused to denounce the illiberal ideology of our enemies—an ideology that supports polygamy, gender apartheid, religious intolerance, hatred of homosexuals, and patriarchy. Sometimes, the terrorists even win outright praise: perhaps the most popular filmmaker of election year 2004 was Michael Moore, who celebrated the suicide bombers and terrorists of Iraq as “minutemen” akin to our own Founding Fathers.

If we are not sure as a nation that Islamists really are foes of Western values but instead see them as another persecuted group with legitimate gripes against us (occupied Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay, colonialism, the Crusades), then it becomes increasingly hard to identify, let alone fight, the practitioners of Islamic fanaticism at home. Even the military bureaucracy seems to be having trouble naming the enemy: witness the rebranding by some Pentagon officials of “the war on terrorism” into the “global war against violent extremism.” While the original nomenclature was unsatisfactory—wars aren’t fought against a tactic but rather against those using it—the new name is even less helpful. Our fight against jihadists is different from our struggle with recalcitrant Serbian nationalists or Kim Jong-il’s crackpot extremism. We are at war with radical Islam, Islamic fascism, Islamism—the “radical Islamic polemic,” in the words of Sarkozy. We should never lose sight of this fact. President Bush’s October speech describing our struggle against Islamic terror—a first for the administration—is an encouraging, if belated, sign.

posted by Ace at 01:38 PM

Comments

Meh. Allah got it right way back in July:

Isn't it a fact that Victor Davis Hanson has basically been re-writing the same column for three years now?

Phrase the question this way: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that VDH's next column will explain how the west will always prevail because of our open markets, freedom of expression, emphasis on science and technology, and robust military tradition?"

This is just more of the same. Not that VDH's points aren't valid, but jeez, get a new routine.

Posted by: Megan on October 31, 2005 01:50 PM

Come now, Megan, don't be so harsh. You wouldn't criticize a math professor for always ranting about how 2 + 2 = 4, would you?

VDH may be saying the same things over and over again, but at least he says *the right things*, and says them well. I cut him slack for the repetition (not to mention his excellent books).

That, and Ace told me to stick up for him when you punch him. He's either a gentleman who won't stand up to girls, or a drunken coward afraid of fightin' vagina.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

Posted by: Dave at Garfield Ridge on October 31, 2005 01:56 PM

The Islamist seduction also includes disturbed souls here in the U.S. who belong to no formal terrorist group but who emulate jihadists after exposure to their ideas.

And while these terrorists are in jail, receiving care paid for by law abiding, tax paying American citizens, they are recruiting more terrorists from within.

To hell with deportation. The same with putting them in prison where they can recruit and spread their poison. Conviction should result either in the death penalty or an attitude adjustment by semi-daily electro-shock therapy.

Posted by: compos mentis on October 31, 2005 01:59 PM

Well we could just turn it into a contest? (Yes, I'm sure it's been done before). What to name the war against the bugs?

Bug stomp?
La Cucaracha?
International conspiracy to do the right thing?

As far as liberals and the gwot? Ignore them. In a pinch .... be nice to them (I know, easier said than done. Thinking of them as 'challenged' can mnake it easier though).

Posted by: Elmo on October 31, 2005 02:00 PM

Isn't it a fact that Victor Davis Hanson has basically been re-writing the same column for three years now?

Staying on message ain't a sin.

Posted by: JFH on October 31, 2005 02:05 PM

If VDH repeats himself (and he does), it's because his numbingly obvious points need to be repeated. A newspaper columnist in 1945 who said, "People, we're fighting the Germans and Japanese!" would have sounded kind of dumb. Then again, FDR didn't spend four years skirting the issue.

Posted by: utron on October 31, 2005 03:08 PM

Yeah, considering other media outlets lack of focus/patriotism etc. Its good to see someone beat the drum, especially when they're so eloquent doing it.

Posted by: Iblis on October 31, 2005 03:30 PM

Isn't it a fact that Victor Davis Hanson has basically been re-writing the same column for three years now?

Someone really needs to pay attention more.

Posted by: on October 31, 2005 04:28 PM

"an ideology that supports polygamy, gender apartheid, religious intolerance, hatred of homosexuals, and patriarchy..."

Is he talking about Islamists? He sounds like the left talking about us rednecks.

Posted by: Scot on October 31, 2005 04:37 PM

“No one has paused to ask what would cause a seemingly normal young Christian or Jew to strap himself into a warplane and drop bombs on a village, knowing full well his bombs will inevitably kill civilians (and, of course, soldiers).”

Why asky why? A Jewish or Christian person would bomb civilians under only one condition - if he or she were a liberal leftist. The liberal left support the terrorists and every nasty regime they can find because they are afraid. They are afraid of going hungry and afraid of being sick and afraid of heat and afraid of cold and afraid of every damn thing, but they are most afraid of terrorists. Their solution is to capitulate, in the obvious and completely vain hope that if they take it up the ass they will be spared.

Lord God spare us those who hide their sniveling cowardice behind so-called 'principles.'

Posted by: BrendaK on October 31, 2005 05:23 PM

That's because it's a very, very stupid question.

Why am I not surprised that it's coming from a UCLA English professor?

Posted by: model_1066 on November 1, 2005 02:06 AM

I read this article a while back, it explains why these leftists look at these third world terrorists with such admiration:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=4954

Its by a lefty who explains the whole idea behind immizeration and how the third world is the newest source of revolutionaries to the communist mind (since America has failed to produce immizerated workers. Instead, we have soccer moms and NASCAR dads).

Posted by: joeindc44 on November 1, 2005 10:19 AM

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This was her actual complaint. The mushed-up tomato looked like blood so it's a death threat and these violent attacks on me must stop. What is dis bitch, CNN?

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Funniest thing I've read about the Virginia mess. Back when they were hustling the referendum through the assembly both Senators, Warner and Kaine, advised them to go slow and play by the rules. Louise Lucas said she respected them but didn't need advice from the "cuck chair" in the corner. The gerrymandering was overturned and Louise is heading for the big house. Edward G. Robinson voice "where's your cuck now?"
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I posted his post on twitter and it's gotten 25K views so far. Thanks, Smell the Glove

Chris
@chriswithans

"Ahhhhh ahh I put my career on the line for Louise Lucas and Jay Jones thinking they'd vault me into presidential contention and we ended up costing Democrats 20 House seats and unleashing a Reverse Dobbs ahhhhh ahhh"

Forgotten 80s Mystery Click That Sums Up the Democrat Communist Party Today
Something is wrong as I hold you near
Somebody else holds your heart, yeah
You turn to me with your icy tears
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TJM wonders about world building in stories, mostly The Hunger Games

"It's f**king f**ked."
-- reportedly a genuine comment offered by a "senior Labour source"
Correction: I wrote that Labour is losing 88% (now 87%) of the seats it is "defending." I think that's wrong. The right way to say it is the seats they are contesting -- that is, they don't necessarily already hold these seats, but they have put up a candidate to run for the seat. It's still very bad but not as bad as losing 87% of the seats they already held.

Basil the Great
@BasilTheGreat

🚨ED MILIBAND [a Minister in Starmer's government] SAYS KEIR STARMER WILL RESIGN AS PRIME MINISTER

He has reportedly reassured Labour MP's that Starmer will be resigning following the disastrous results tonight

It's over

"The end of the two party system in the UK" as first the Fake Conservatives and now Labour chooses political suicide rather than simply STOPPING THE INVASION
Incidentally, the only reason this didn't already happen in the US is because of the Very Bad Orange Man (who is right on 85% of all policy calls and extremely, existentially right on 15% of them)

No political party that is NOT also a doomsday religious cult would EVER choose a cataclysmic loss -- and possible extinction as a party -- to support a toxically unpopular favoritism of NON-CITIZEN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS over actual citizen voters.

Only a cult does this.

Now they've lost 84%.

Annunziata Rees-Mogg
@zatzi
If this continues Labour loses 2,148 seats tonight.

That is much worse than the worst case predictions I’ve seen.

Cataclysmic

Update: They've now lost 88% of the seats they're defending. As I mentioned earlier, I think I heard that London will not bail them out, as many of those Labour seats will probably flip to "Muslim Independent" or Green. Detroit's 5am vote will not save them.

Yup, Labour is losing 80% of its seats...

The British Patriot
@TheBritLad

🚨 BREAKING: Labour have lost 80% of all seats contested as of 2:25 AM.<
br> If this continues, Keir Starmer will be out of office next week.

Reform has surged and projected to pick up between 1700-2100 seats.

Wow, up to 1700-2100 seats. It's not incredible that this is happening. It's incredible that the Davos crowd is so absolutely determined to privilege Muslim "migrants" over the actual native population who elects them, no matter how loudly the natives scream that they want to be prioritized, that they will gladly self-extinguish as a party rather than simply representing the interests of their own voters. Astonishing.
Remember, when they call other people "cultists" -- they are the ones so imprisoned in their social reinforcement and discipline bubbles that they will choose political death rather than dare upset the Karen Enforcement Officers of their cult.
Update: Now they've lost 83% of the seats they were defending.

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges

Reform are basically wiping Labour out in the North. It's not a defeat. It's not even a rout. Labour are simply ceasing to exist.

Nick Lowles
@lowles_nick

Tonight’s results are calamitous for Labour. Not just for Keir Starmer's leadership, but for the very future of the party

STARMERGEDDON: In early returns, Reform gains 135 seats, Labour loses 90, the Fake Conservatives lose 36 (and I didn't even know they could fall any further), the Lib Dems lose 4, and the Greens gain 6. Note that the only other party gaining seats is the Greens and they're only gaining a handful of seats.
Update: Reform now up 145, Labour down 98.
Labour projected to lose Wales -- where they've ruled for 27 years.
Fulton County Georgia just discovered 400 boxes of ballots for Labour
Update: REF +156, LAB -107, CON -45
Brutal: In four out of five council seats where Labour is defending, they've lost. 80%.
I'm sure it's not this simple, but Reform is straight taking Labour's and the "Conservatives'" seats. They've lost almost exactly what Reform gained. If understand this right (and warning, I probably don't), all of London's council seats are up for election, and Labour might lose hugely there, as their old voters abandon them for Reform, Muslim Indenpendents, and the Greens.
REF +190, LAB -134, CON -56.

Updates on the Labour collapse in council elections -- which wags are calling #Starmergeddon -- from Beege Welborne. There are about 5000 seats up for grabs, Labour is expected to lose 1,800, Reform will probably gain 1,580, up from... zero. So this would be more than that.
People claim that while Labour has adopted the Sharia Agenda to appeal to the million Muslims it allowed to migrate to the country, those voters are ditching Labour to vote for the Muslim Independent Party or the Greens. Delicious. This shadenfreude is going straight to my thighs.
Oh, and if Starmer loses about as badly as expected, Labour will toss him out of a window Braveheart style and replace him. He will announce he is resigning to spend more time with his Gay Ukrainian Male Prostitutes.

Media bias and senationalism are as old as, well, the media:

That was written by Denny O'Neill and illustrated by, get this, Frank Miller. Editor to the Stars Jim Shooter was in charge at the time.
I always thought the gag was original to the comic book, but in fact the "Threat or Menace" headline was a satirical joke about media bias and sensationalism for a long while. The Harvard Lampoon used it in a parody of Life magazine: "Flying Saucers: Threat or Menace?"

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[Hat Tip: TC] [CBD]