Firestarter

Godiva's Vanilla Hazelnut coffee is superb. I have it every morning and throughout most of the day, black; mixing it with cream or milk or sugar or anything at all, really, would be practically criminal.

Ruth's Chris ruins their steaks by drenching them in butter, even if you ask for them dry. The best steaks I've had have been at the Capital Grille in McLean, VA. Dry aged, superbly cooked, and the sauces are never in excess. Their spicy calamari and their potatoes au gratin are fantastic as well, and they have a great wine list. The Morton's near our flat is comparable, though, so I'll vote for them on the list.

Jörg Haider and 'his' party, the FPÖ, are not German, they are Austrian. Shit. IBM is correct, of course; I messed up. Huh. When did this happen? I vaguely remember reading something about this, but I can't remember where.

Interestingly, this covers quite a few Moslem (of course) countries. Four years ago, the Pakistani Parliament refused to condemn so-called "honor killings," a term which includes such lovely traditional customs as the murder of women who have been raped. In the name of tolerance, such respect for similar traditional customs might well be demanded in a number European countries over the next several decades. So, we agree that Moslem countries are, in general, "downright loony." I'd add "filthy," "disgusting," "barbaric," "vicious," and "ignorant" to that description, but that's just me. Anyway, thanks for making my point.

Look, you're new here, so you probably aren't aware that I'm one of the most consistent critics of Christianity on this board. I'll refer you to this NHB thread for documentation: Christianity &c "As a sociological phenomenon Christianity bears the responsibility for each and every horror committed in its name, from the witch-hunts of the Inquisition to the racks and the iron maidens and the torture-chambers of "Innocent" VIII to the abortion clinic bombings to the snipers and the chanting bullies and the death threats, the collaboration with the Nazis, the slaughter of the Albigensians and Waldenses, the Children's Crusade and the Anglicans murdering the Protestants, and the Protestants murdering the Catholics and the Baptists and the Jesuits, and the Roman Catholics murdering everyone else. It is the personal responsibility of each and every Christian of any denomination or no denomination at all to make absolutely certain that NOTHING of the sort ever happens again. It is dangerously delusional, the absolute height of smug hypocrisy, the most offensive pinnacle of historical revisionism, to pretend for one second that none of these obscene atrocities had anything to do with the Bible or Christianity. No sect which claims Jesus as a saviour is exempt. None. You don't just have the blood of the Lamb on your hands, you have the blood of unnumbered millions." You don't say. Neither am I. Show me one sentence in which I have advocated "converting the Middle East." You're a liar to claim that I do.

You need to account for the fact that some people might disagree. Try this: "They can be all right if you like that sort of thing. But I can understand that some people might hate them. And I respect people who think they're great because it could just be a matter of taste. " Congratulations! You're well on your way to becoming a spineless waste of oxygen without a thought worth expressing in your uncritical, undisciplined, and utterly miserable excuse for a mind!

Perhaps not. Perhaps the fact that I've actually investigated the original text of the Koran, the Hadith, and the Surahs, read the work of scholars like Daniel Pipes and Bernard Lewis, and lived in Pakistan for four years does. I'm not sure where you see me accusing you of being one, although you did accuse me of being some kind of Bible-bashing evangelist (which is laughable; just ask SpiderPoet). I think you're ignorant, and your ignorance leads you to unrealistic conclusions. Yes. Flat-out wrong. Christianity (as taken from the New Testament) does not say that anyone who refuses to believe in Jesus must pay a higher tax, nor does it say that "unbelievers" must be subjugated or killed. Christianity does not say that it is a sin to allow an "infidel" to hold power, social, economic, political, military, or any other kind, over a "believer." Christianity does not demand the murder of "apostates." Christianity does not claim that spreading the political power of the church over the entire world, through force, is a religious duty. Christianity does not claim that agreements and treaties with "unbelievers" are immaterial, null and void, and may be broken without dishonour. Christianity doesn't promise paradise to people who commit suicide to murder others. No even remotely Christian preacher in the United States would say anything of the sort. Not even lunatics like Falwell, Robertson, and Buchanan. You know what does explicitly say every single one of these things? Islam. I'm still not sure what your point was. I agree that drug laws desperately need to be liberalised; I've worked with the FBI and practically everyone in law enforcement is sick to death of wasting their time arresting teenage potheads. I don't want to spend another cent of the taxpayers' money on those obscenely ridiculous "mandatory minimums." But how on earth does that have ANYTHING to do with Islamic terrorism?

Vyce is, of course, correct. Right right right, all that shit UBL spouted about Islam's holy mission to wipe the infidels off the face of the earth was only a blind. He just wants us to liberalise our drug laws. Pardon me, but are you on fucking crack? No, seriously, tell me what the high holy hell drug laws have to do with Islamic terrorism. I'm DYING to know. Oh, and by the way, are you aware that a lot of Scandinavian countries are having Moslem problems of their own? There's a reason parties like Joerg Haider's in Germany and Pim Fortuyn's in the Netherlands have gained support. There was a case of a Norwegian woman a couple of years ago who, after being brutally gang-raped by a bunch of Moslem filth, was told by a professor at the University of Oslo that she needed "accept her share of the blame" and show more "cultural sensitivity" by not dressing "provocatively" because it offends Moslem norms. Remind me again whose country NORWAY is supposed to be? Would you like to address the fact that almost three-fourths of all rapes in that country are committed by Moslems before you start blithering about how tolerance has got them so FUCKING far? Was there anything else?

What Mike said. Why the hell would the President of the United States need to read the news? He and his officials make the news.

OMG how dare anyone generalise about any group! BAN PLZ Funniest shit I've read tonight. If they're criticising Democrats, it's because of a vast right-wing conspiracy. Couldn't possibly be that a Democrat might have done something remarkably stupid. If they're criticising the President, it's just because they're following a trend. They don't really want to do it. Brilliant.

You're an ignorant fool. Do you think someone's attention might be gained by death sentences for "apostates" (defined, among other things, as anyone who renounces Islam for any reason whatsoever) which even family members have a religious duty to execute?

Obviously, the melting pot theory. Diversity is fine in a limited sense, but Americans must be Americans first and foremost. No fucking hyphenation. You're not an African-American or a Moslem-American or a Hindoo-American or an Asian-American or a Martian-American. You're one or the other. You're with us or against us. Choose.

Moslems in Holland are having multiple children. The children of Moslems in Western countries usually are Moslems. This is because of these two facts: 1) Islam makes it extremely hard for an adherent (even if "only" so by birth) to renounce it, and 2) Moslems have a strong tendency to segregate themselves; see Birmingham and Manchester for examples. I hope you're somehow proven right.

You say that as if it's a bad thing. We won't.

That might be relevant if anyone had made that argument in this thread.

I think that the triumph of the United States over the evil of militant Islam will change this. Were there no war on terror, I might agree with you, but I think the repurcussions of our current crusade will affect more than politics and international relations. They will affect, in addition, the very mechanism of assimilation. "I have read a fiery gospel, writ in burnished rows of steel: 'As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal...' As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on."

Sharpton tells Senate to give Justice Janice Brown a fair vote - Washington Times story Fuck me, this is beyond belief. It's the last thing I expected, and if I were a Democrat I'd give my vote to Sharpton on the basis of this issue alone. Kudos, Reverend. Relish the first time in history I'm calling you by your title without significant irony. "The Rev. Al Sharpton implored Senate Democrats yesterday not to filibuster President Bush's nomination of California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the nation's second-highest federal court. Justice Brown, who is black, has come under intense criticism by liberal black groups, such as the NAACP, and by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel plans to vote this morning on her nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. "I don't agree with her politics. I don't agree with some of her background," said Mr. Sharpton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president. "But she should get an up-or-down vote." Mr. Sharpton echoed the concerns of many conservatives - especially black conservatives - that Justice Brown is being opposed because she doesn't conform to the Democratic ideology that many blacks espouse. "We've got to stop this monolith in black America because it impedes the freedom of expression for all of us," Mr. Sharpton said in a television interview conducted by Sinclair Broadcasting yesterday. "I don't think she should be opposed because she doesn't come from some assumed club." Mr. Sharpton compared the filibusters to the same sort of "pocket vetoes" used for so long against blacks."

I saw this earlier today. Yeah, that's the way to kill a story, guys... deny whatever the story is but refuse to say anything about it. That should shut everyone up. Smart, real smart. "It's a bad idea when cousins marry. Bottom of the gene pool, you know. You're just scraping the barrel. We've haven't got enough for any more of you royals there, sorry..." - Eddie Izzard, Dress to Kill

Eh. Science has absolutely nothing to say about God.

How not to handle Iraq: Escape by Voice Vote I think I can speak for all Americans, both those opposed to the President's $87 billion request and those in favour, when I say to the 94 Senators who ducked a recorded vote in a manner remarkable for its utterly shameless cowardice: You should be ashamed. Remember those lines by Yeats? "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity." Huh. We should be so lucky.

Oh, and Wesley Clark has expressed an interest in time travel. Jesus God, I can't wait for 2004. Whoever gets the Democratic nomination, this campaign will be sheer joy to watch.

More columns on Howard Dean and the Confederate flag: Jay Bryant Jonah Goldberg Charles Krauthammer This is the funniest story since we were treated to a discourse on what the definition of "is" is. Governor Dean has a beautiful gift for pissing people off. I mean how often do you manage to offend the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Ku Klux Klan all at once? Years from now, conservatives are still going to be telling and retelling this one with a sort of pure childlike glee. Please, oh please, let Howard Dean get the nomination. I'll be laughing myself silly with every vote. "Classic Democratic marksmanship - he shot himself in the foot three times." - Jonah Goldberg Tyler? Comments? <collapses in an uncontrollable gigglefit>

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.

Howard Dean, metrosexual - Tunku Varadarajan in the WSJ "In dictionaries to come, the following entry - 'petard, hoist with one's own' - should be accompanied by a picture of a disconsolate Howard Dean."

Nice straw man. Did it take you long to build? Of course I never said anything of the sort. I said that the trend towards service jobs was irreversible because of the rapid technologising of our industries and the steady rise in productivity. This is a simple and uncontested fact. No study, survey, or statistic from any source has ever indicated anything to the contrary.