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It's Star Trek weekend at NRO, fellow Trek geeks! And, of course, the commentary has a certain political bent to it.
BTW, don't make too much fun of James Lileks for flubbing the name of the most popular old-school Trek episode ever. :-)
His error, however, is partially redeemed by this line:
[S]ome people only understand a photon torpedo up the dorsal vent port, and we’d best be prepared to deal with them.
Mychal Bell, the second youngest member of the Jena Six and the one who is most in the public eye because of the fact that he was erroneously tried as an adult for his alleged crimes, was released on bail yesterday.
But this post isn’t about him; it’s about you, American parents of children from nine to seventeen.
What I would humbly request is that you, American parents, sit your children down and point them toward the sites which give them knowledge about the turbulent history of race relations in this country. Sit them down and tell them how low black people were regarded up until the years in which America began to take the ideas and ideals of its Founding Fathers seriously.
It doesn’t matter what color, race or ethnic group you are, American parents; it doesn’t matter if your lineage extends back to the Mayflower or if your children are the first generation to have been born here, you need to do this. Because if you don’t, your children will be either victim or perpetrator of the type of actions perpetrated by the Jena Six or by those kids which may have provoked the actions of the Six. Why? Because that's what unguided children do; they look for reasons to divide and conquer.
Stop allowing you children to be ignorant. Teach them well or if you can’t, find someone else who can. Show them what America was and how this country which we love evolved into what it is today.
The education regarding America’s social history used to be the province of the public educators, but it isn’t anymore. You, American parents, have to take up that slack now. Don’t allow history to be forgotten and, as a result, allow America to revert to that other version which found it convenient to ignore its foundation.
Don’t let our country become an even uglier version of the America which used race to make its character judgments. You may think that, one way or the other, allowing your children to remain ignorant of this part of our past makes no difference. However, if you fail in this area, you’re ignoring the chance that your offspring can become purveyors of that old social trend of which Jena is merely a symptom. In your home, in front of your computer and at your local library, you can make a difference in your family. And, from there, your midgets can possibly make even more of a difference at his/her school. And from there…
Just stop handing off the factual and moral education of your children to those institutions and individuals which couldn't care less about optimizing that education. That’s all we—your fellow citizens—ask.
One of Ace of Spades' Polish fans sends a translation of this article from a Polish-language newspaper:
The former president writes to " old-fashioned racialists"Sweet. But Ace says that he can find no American news service which decided to carry this story. Neither can I. (Italy's Agenzia Giornalistica Italia isn't even carrying the story.) I wonder why that is. (Not really.)Rome,Italy - september
In protest against the invitation of the president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia University, former Italian president Francesco Cossiga gave back the title of the doctor Honoris Causa of this University. Senator Cossiga wrote that he was indignant organizing the lecture of the Iranian leader by the chancellor of UC , whose he called "a threatening neonazi and a Islamic terrorist".
The former Italian president reminded in the sharp letter to the rector of the University Columbia that Ahmadinejad expressed the thirst of the destruction of Israel.
"Regardfully for six millions of murdered Jews whose you - old-fashioned racialists, and today also advocates of Islamic terrorists - I, a Catholic, return the title granted to me of Honoris Cause and I burn the toga which you gave to me" - declared Cossiga.
His letter finished with words: "without respect -- Francesco Cossiga".
BTW, any alternate translations are welcome.
Maxine Waters--my representative--is among the 79; not exactly a surprise:
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., founder [and chair] of the Out of Iraq Caucus, has said Democrats should resist basing decisions on military reports. Her side fears a withdrawal plan with no deadline will merely reaffirm the status quo.The foregoing was part of the Left's preemptive strike against the Petraeus/Crocker report.
(Thanks to Hot Air)
Honestly, If I Were Tavis Smiley, I Might Accuse Republicans of Racism Too!Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Smiley, but point taken. Jim Geraghty lists non-racial, practical reasons for the decisions of the Top Four.It's bogus, but can you blame him? He's about as objectionable as a moderator as, say, Chris Matthews, who moderated the first Republican debate of this cycle, at the Reagan Library!
Meanwhile, commenter Richard Cook and I are having a back-and-forth on the subject here.
...to the Renaissance Man.
J.C. Watts, former GOP congressman from Oklahoma and a black American, on the decision of the four front-running GOP candidates to skip Tavis Smiley's All American Presidential Forum, scheduled to be broadcast by PBS this Thursday.
"I think the best that comes out of stupid decisions like this," said former Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts, is "that African-Americans might say, 'Was it because of my skin color?' Now, maybe it wasn't, but African-Americans do say, 'It crossed my mind.'" [SNIP]The invitations were extended in March, but the front-runners have claimed scheduling conflicts. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who's weighing getting into the race, called that excuse "baloney" and called the no-shows "fundamentally wrong." On "Good Morning America" today, Gingrich said GOP candidates are making a mistake because "African-Americans have been hurt more by the failures of government" than any other group.
Watts pointed out that some of the candidates with more liberal histories on issues such as guns and abortion have reached out to conservative groups that don't share their views.
See Rudy Giuliani and the NRA.
"You kind of scratch your head thinking why are they making decisions like that?" Watts said. He speculated the candidates don't have any African-American staffers who "could say to them, 'You're making a huge mistake strategically by not at least reaching out and talking to this demographic.'"The last emphasized thought had occurred to me also the first time I talked about this subject. The second thought, however, was that, if these candidates were to attend this particular debate, the only reason to do so would be to stress what all Americans of any party have in common, rather than stressing the seemingly competing interests which are used to divide us into factions. It isn't necessary for the staffer to be a black American in order to clue his/her employer in on the benefits of at least trying to get such ideas across. If they are unwilling to put or incapable of putting forth such an effort, then why should any of us, regardless of color, vote for them?
Captain Ed is thinking more strategically than the Top Four are:
We have scolded the African-American community for its lock-step support for Democrats. However, as the avoidance of this debate demonstrates, Republicans haven't exactly beaten down doors in an attempt to engage these voters, either. [SNIP]
I don't think that the refusal to attend the PBS debate has to do with inherent racism, but rather a sense that no short-term benefit will arise from engaging blacks during the Republican primaries. It's an unfortunate calculation. We have messages of empowerment through free enterprise and market-based solutions for education that could resonate, if only our leadership would engage African-American voters early and often. It may not help elect a Republican president in 2008, but it could generate enough interest to replace J.C. Watts as our only black Congressman within ten years of his retirement.I emailed my previous post on the subject ("Just Showing Up is Half the Battle") to the Top Four. I'll let you know whether or not I've received a response.
AND ANOTHER THING: The four second-tier candidates who will be at the Forum--Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, Mike Huckabee and even Ron Paul--aren't exacty Leftwing ideologues. One might argue that they have nothing to lose by doing so, but, exactly what would the Top Four have to lose by being there?
UPDATE: Sam Brownback will attend also. MORE: Oh yeah, and Alan Keyes. Can't wait to find out what he has to say about the topic.
UPDATE: You know, when I read a comment section like this one--on topic--at Huffington Post, I don't wonder why some Republicans give up and I do wonder why I bother.
Black Republicans = Jews for Hitler.....
What a joke....Uncle Tom's for Bush
Black republiCON=Uncle Tom
There should be no such thing as a black republiCON.
Anybody who clams to be one has ulterior motives and should be considered a suspect.
RepubliCON is the party of racism who fights AGAINST civil rights.
The few people of color they do have in the Gopers party are hardly worth the powder to blow them to hell.
Black Republicans? definition: self-deluding uppity morons, i.e., Supreme Court pervert-Justice Clarence Uncle Tom. You deserve the spit in your faces.
Black republicans see the republican KKK hat and believe it is the big tent they've heard so much about. How saddd.Then there's this mind-boggling ignorance of history:
reBushlican supporting African-Americans should not forget history. If it was left up to the Greedy Obnoxious People (GOP), Negro's would still be riding in the back of the bus.And, blessedly this island of sanity:
WHy is it that huffsters cheered the democratics all refusing to attend the debate cosponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus? But now you are attacking republicans for not attending a debate sponsored by a historically black college?I need a shower; I fell as though I've been visiting Stormfront's site.
In spite of Columbia President Lee Bollinger’s excellent preamble to Monday’s Columbia speech/Q&A by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it seems that Islamist Propaganda was the victor yesterday. From the Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA):
Despite entire US media objections, negative propagation and hue and cry in recent days over IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's scheduled address at Colombia University, he gave his lecture and answered students questions here on Monday afternoon.As mentioned before, Ahmadinejad used the proposed visit to Ground Zero to front as the confused, offended head-of state and the resulting outcry against the visit allowed him to appropriate the moral high ground against the “incomprehensibly rude” Americans. What he could not have counted on was Columbia’s invitation. This gave his government’s press the opportunity to whitewash the nature of the visit and to further elevate the “(Islamist) street cred” of the Holocaust Denier and Supplier of Weapons which kill and maim our troops in Iraq.On second day of his entry in New York, and amid standing ovation of the audience that had attended the hall where the Iranian President was to give his lecture as of early hours of the day, Ahmadinejad said that Iran is not going to attack any country in the world.
Before President Ahamadinejad's address, Colombia University Chancellor in a brief address told the audience that they would have the chance to hear Iran's stands as the Iranian President would put them forth.
He said that the Iranians are a peace loving nation, they hate war, and all types of aggression. [SNIP]
The audience on repeated occasion [sic] applauded Ahmadinejad when he touched on international crises.
Nice going, Columbia.
(Thanks to Protein Wisdom)
In Ramadi, Michael Totten interviews Lieutenant Colonel Mike Silverman of the 3rd ID, who is greatly admired by his men:
Junior officers and enlisted men nicknamed him “the forty pound brainer,” and admire him for his guts as well as his head. “He went out and spent 12 hours a day in his hot tank,” during the battle of Ramadi one soldier said. “He risked getting blown up just like everyone else.” “I had served with him before,” said another. “When he told me he needed me in Ramadi, that was all I needed to hear. I mean, I didn’t have any choice because the Army gave me my orders, but that didn’t matter once I knew Colonel Silverman was out here.” “I’d do anything for that man,” said a third, “and I don’t like officers.”Here's an illuminating exchange:
“Do you ever meet anyone you suspect was an insurgent?” I said.Read the rest.“Yes,” he said. “I think some of the guys in the 2nd PSF battalion were insurgents, mostly nationalists who got tired of Al Qaeda. Some were Baathists or belonged to the 1920s Brigade. Al Qaeda started killing them off so they switched sides. One PSF guy in particular knows a little too much about taking IEDs apart. He knows exactly how to dismantle these things, as if he built them himself. I asked him how he knows so much and he said he used to be a TV repair man.” He laughed and shrugged. “But, hey, he’s on our side now. We call him the TV Repair Man and don’t worry too much about it.”
“Did the average Iraqi here switch sides or were most of them always against Al Qaeda?” I said.
“The average Iraqi post-Fallujah was not very happy with us being here,” he said. “If the insurgency only attacked Americans, the people of Ramadi would not have been very upset. But Al Qaeda infiltrated and took over the insurgency. They massively overplayed their hand. They cut off citizens’ heads with kitchen knives. The locals slowly learned that the propaganda about us were lies, and that Al Qaeda was their real enemy. They figured out by having dinner and tea with us that we really are, honest to God, here to help them.”
UPDATE: Columbia President Lee Bollinger is actually laying into Ahmadinejad pretty effectively--"Frankly, I doubt you have the intellectual courage, Mr. President, to answer any of these questions."
UPDATE: I'm not sure whether it's the annoying voice of the translator or the speech itself, but Ahmadinejad's response sound like so much gibberish.
UPDATE: An Islamist singing the praises of science. Now I've seen everything. You know of course, he's talking about the theft of science, not the scientific method.
UPDATE: Now we come down to it...Israel...the Holocaust "from different perspectives," meaning the perspectives of those who contend that it never happened...
"Why should the Palestinians suffer for the Holocaust?"
UPDATE: "Why can't we have nukes? Why won't you give us the means to get them? Why won't you give us spare parts?" If you are so smart, make them yourselves.
UPDATE: Q: "Do you seek the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state?" Asked twice. Ahmadinejad provides a flurry of words, but no definitive answer.
UPDATE: Q: "Will you stop aiding terrorists?" A: "The Iranian nation is a victim of terrorism."
UPDATE: Q: "Why do we need more research into the Holocaust?" A: "We must allow research to investigate everything." The president isn't happy.
UPDATE: "Nothing is absolute." Facts are, Mr. Academic Iranian President.
UPDATE: Question on persecution/execution of women and homosexuals; Ahmadinejad totally distorts the nature of the question by casting it as a comparison of countries with capital punishment; but the interlocutor brings him back in focus.
Ahmadinejad: "We don't have homosexuals in our country," greeted by laughter and a few boos.
UPDATE: "What did you hope to accomplish by speaking here and what did you want to accomplish by visiting Ground Zero?" Turns out that A wanted to visit GZ during his last visit. "I just wanted to show me respect." Remember what I said about that.
UPDATE: "Root causes of 9/11"--sounds like a Truther.
UPDATE: Q: Nukes; A: "If you have them, why can we? But, we really don't want them."
UPDATE: Iran has "solutions based on humane values": "We want to talk!"
UPDATE: "Come to Iran, faculty and students of Columbia!"
UPDATE: A. thanks Columbia.
Applause and a few boos.
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