Firestarter

An interesting article in The Spectator by the inimitable Mark Steyn, who seems set to take up the colours of the late, much-missed Michael Kelly. I don't agree with all of his conclusions, but for the most part he seems to be on target. I don't have answers to all the questions he poses, but I feel that I should. Anyone have any thoughts? For my part, I'll take exception to one claim in particular: namely, that meaningful assimilation and acculturation of Europe-bound Moslems is practically impossible. History contradicts Mr Steyn on this point; the ideas of liberty, justice, truth, democracy, and the universality of individual rights are extremely powerful. Given time, sufficient and sustained exposure, and the inevitable defeat and discrediting of Islam's terrorist-laden culture of murder, blackmail, and domination, even those whose viewpoints are completely intractable under the current circumstances will eventually subscribe to the American way. Or, if not, their children shall, or their children's children. One day before his murder, on April 3, 1968, Dr Martin Luther King put it thus: I think Dr King was right. I think all men want to be free. And that's why I think the death of the evil cultures Islam fosters is inevitable. In this century, as in Dr King's, there is trouble in the land, and confusion all around - but I can see the stars. And they aren't anywhere near the crescent moon or the sword; the stars I see shine brightly on a field of rippling blue, and below and to their right stream broad stripes of red and white. Others have seen them in the past, and in the future, more and more will learn to see them. Because we, as a race, not only want but fundamentally need to see these stars: and the need for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can be denied by neither tyrants nor tyrannical religions. No matter how long a people has suffered, no matter how long dissent has been stifled, and justice denied, the spark of the human spirit remains. All it needs is kindling. I'll let Dr King have the last word.

Nope, it's not a major at GMU. You just take lots of Administration of Justice courses and a professor helps you study for the LSAT.

Click here to read a transcript of the President's address. God bless you, Mr President.

LOL2003!!!

Hilarious. Before we captured Hussein, all the lefties on the board could do was say "OMG WE CAN'T FIND ONE MAN! THE PRESIDENT IS INCOMPETENT LOL~!" Now that we've captured him: "Well he wasn't a threat in the first place, so what if we've captured him? Go after someone who's a threat! This is just propaganda!" Poor little donkeys, poor little donkeys, whatever will you do now? "OMG WE STILL HAVEN'T FOUND UBL THE PRESIDENT IS INCOMPETENT LOL~!"

Watch it, buddy.

I just find it amusing, the way you react with a shrill shrieking hissyfit to any post of mine which even indirectly addresses you. Let's take a quick look at this: I made an offhandedly snide one-line comment about how obvious it should have been to me that you're an evangelical Christian, and you responded with a frantic, terror-struck, practically foaming-at-the-mouth pre-emptive denunciation of my character, my posting habits, and my debating style. Calm down, kiddo. I'm not going to hurt you. See what I mean about being overly defensive and pompous? And what other people mean about you coming off as a pompous, arrogant, holier-than-thou shithead? What makes you think that anyone cares enough about your viewpoint to take the time to discuss "the issue and the stance" with you in private? What's so special about you? What have you done with your life? What have you studied? Where have you been educated? Here's a clue: try defending your arguments with real evidence, flawless logic, and clear and consistent analyses in public before setting yourself up as a private saviour for anyone who seeks the Truth and the Pure Holy Light of Jesus Christ Your Lord and Master and King on High of All That Was, Is, and Shall Be. Honestly, don't you see how ridiculous you look? "I can't be bothered to post in public because I know I'll get torn to shreds, but if you'd like to listen to me spout uninformed nonsense without being challenged by anyone else, feel free to contact me and I might deign to regurgitate the silly crap I've been fed all my life back into your mouth?" Thanks, O noble fisher of men, but I think I'll pass. Jesus may have been happy with James and John, but I believe he would have told you to stay on the ship and finish mending your nets.

I was watching the news this one time and I saw this guy talking about he would fight to make it an amendment that gays cannot be married, despite their marrige not effecting the straight community what so ever... people were pissed when the supreme court said homosexuals having sex isn't a crime. Guess what? Those people are a minority. Mike is still perfectly correct. The majority of straight people don't care what gay people do. The majority of whites don't have any interest in oppressing blacks.

Sure he does, which is why he tried to come back after he was banned to bitch about racism...

My wife's still in school. She's finishing up in psychology and starting pre-law.

If you ever catch me falling that low, shoot me in the head. I beg you. Started with the FBI - BSU and CIRG Moved to the CIA - Combat Training Specialist Seconded first to the DIA and then to the NSA under the Executive Office of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Currently with the USAF - CID

This explains so much. I should've guessed from the beginning.

Thanks for setting me straight. I'll be sure to let the USAF know that my six-figure salary is entirely inappropriate.

Eh. I vaguely remember seeing the post, but I couldn't be bothered to respond to it. Different thread anyway, right? Who was it again, and where? Just curious.

What do you think the word "democracy" means? It isn't a system of government; it's a principle of governance. There's a difference. The United States is a representative democratic republic comprised of a confederation of states. It's perfectly appropriate to refer to her as a democracy, a republic, and a confederacy. Honestly, just what would you be willing to call a "democracy?" If you mean the usual semiliterate garbage about mythical pseudo-Athenian universal suffrage with every citizen having an equal voice on every issue, no such system has ever existed. No such system has ever been proposed. No such system will ever exist. Next post, try a little more substance and a little less boldface. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long.

Triple major in psychology, English literature, and philosophy, double minor in mathematics and physics.

Wahhabis at the Gate - by Stephen Schwartz A brief but encouraging look at the Saudis' (for now) vain attempts to radicalise Albanian Moslems.

That too, but when I was there a couple of years ago it wasn't uncommon for me to be referred to as a "round-eyed barbarian gaijin slut" by people who didn't know I had an interpreter with me. Actually, by the time I left, I could recognise the term myself. The Japanese tend to idolise America to an extent, but they're still bigoted against Westerners as individuals. That's one of the more grotesque Freudian slips I've seen today.

It was a list of issues on which I differ from most Republicans. I'm for the death penalty, so I didn't mention it.

Well, I'm shocked Cancer Marney 1. is against the "War on Drugs" - supports complete legalisation 2. is pro-choice on abortion 3. supports licensing of all firearms and complete ban on automatic/long-range/special-purpose weapons for civilians 4. supports civil unions for homosexuals 5. interprets the First, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution to guarantee a right to privacy 6. believes that we have a duty to promulgate democracy throughout the world (Wilson) 7. believes in a strict separation of church and state, and would support any Congressional resolutions removing "In God We Trust" from the currency and "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance So yes, I can understand why you're shocked.

Republican. Wanna make something of it? Yeah, I'm talking to you, punk.

All I have to say is that I fucking loathe Ivins. "Ah'm Maolly Ahvans!" SHUT UP YOU FUCKING IMBECILE At least she's admitting that she's a liberal now. Back during that Franken/O'Reilly shouting match, she kept interrupting to say she wasn't a liberal or a conservative. She was Maolly Ahvans! STOP IT! STOP IT! NO ONE TALKS LIKE THAT! NOT ONE PERSON IN THE WHOLE DAMN SOUTH ACTUALLY SPEAKS LIKE THAT! SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH YOU SENILE OLD BITCH! Honestly, the only two people who piss me off more just by opening their mouths are George F (mustn't forget the F, in the original Greek, as seen in one of Thucydides's less interesting works, it stands for FUCKING) Will and William F (mustn't forget the F, as a noted son-in-law of the Speaker for the Scottish Parliament in 1939 noted, it stands for FUCKING) Buckley. Fucking pompous, ignorant dipshits whose idea of good writing is convoluted syntax, multiple mixed metaphors, substituting complex words for simple words which make more sense, and throwing in a bunch of obscure references they have to spend two hours researching so 99% of the population won't get them and they can cream their pants while giggling over their supposed erudition. Fucking cretins.

Hey, what happened to Brian? I like Sass, but I liked Brian too.

Lemon juice and spiced salt.

Well, no. As I've said before, Western law is based on game-playing theories of human behaviour: we penalise people for crimes that harm society without passing moral judgements on the criminals themselves. We don't try to change anyone. We punish. We don't "rehabilitate" (more accurately, reprogram) people by force. That is not the purpose of prison. It is, purely and simply, to punish. Anything else would be unethical. It's like the old PSYC101 joke: Q. "How many psychoanalysts does it take to change a light bulb?" A. "Just one, but first the bulb must want to change." Well yes, that's true enough. But it's beneficial to society to have systems to rehabilitate, educate, and monitor the criminals who do want to change. Simple cost-benefit analysis. But at present we carry it to an extreme. We treat people who don't want to be treated. We try to force them to conform to our standards. And we excuse them, and refuse to punish them, if we think they can be reprogrammed on our terms. That's wrong. It has never worked in the past, it doesn't work now, and it won't work in the future. We need to provide training and opportunities to the truly repentant, yes. But first, they - and all other criminals - must be punished.