Watcher's Council Nominations, 5/30/07

Every week, the Watcher's Council members nominate two posts each, one from the Council members and one from outside for consideration by the whole Council. The complete list of this week's Council nominations can be found at the site of our fearless leader, Watcher of Weasels



Council News: Francis at Eternity Road has decided to resign his seat on the Council to engage in other pursuits. We all wish him well in the future.

However...that means that there's a Council seat up for grabs.If you think you measure up, you can apply to the Watcher here for a unique opportunity to be part of a superb group of writers. Nudge nudge, wink wink, enough said...don't snooze on this one.


OK, here's this week's Council lineup:

1. J O S H U A P U N D I T: A cure for `anti-Zionism' Ahhh, that ol' debbil `anti-Zionism'...or, as we used to call it before it took on such a politically correct mask, Jew hatred!

Why is it so pervasive, and is there a cure? I think there is, and I reveal it here. And, by the way, it can also apply to blatant America hatred as well..even (or especially) as demonstrated by some of our fellow citizens.

2. Done With Mirrors; No friend left behind ( update) Callimachus writes about the need for special legislation to permit translators who worked for the US military to immigrate to America, because their lives are in danger.

He also writes about the Clueless Left wanting to disengage from Iraq while making no provisions for this sort of thing.

Callimachus, unfortunately, fails to address two points: First, why would these people need to flee from the wonderful democratic government we've allowed to take power in Iraq? And second, while I can see the necessity and benefit of removing a limited amount of translators and other assets, we all know that a lot of the 25,000 or more visas the Bush Administration wants to give out, almost all of them to Sunnis, will largely go to either the well connected or other questionable elements. And frankly, I don't think the US needs more Muslim immigration right now, considering how poorly the Administration has done on policing our borders and vetting immigrants to America.

3. Soccer Dad: Talking with the bad guys Soccer Dad ably fisks the idea so beloved of the Baker-Hamilton and CFR crowd - negotiating with nations that are in a defacto state of war with us,and with whom there is no hope of meaningful engagement, like Iran and Syria.

What's even worse, as Soccer Dad points out is that by treating nations like this as anything other than thugs and international pariahs, we encourage their repression of freedom loving elements within those countries.

4. The Glittering Eye: Living on $1 a Meal This week, The Glittering Eye's Dave Schuler writes about an interesting experiment some members of Congress are indulging in - living on $21 worth of food stamps for one week.

Dave actually presents a shopping list and some ideas on how it could be done..

5. Right Wing Nut House: REFLECTING ON 230 YEARS OF BLOOD AND SACRIFICE Rick writes a fine screed about Memorial Day, how the world has forgotten the sacrifices America has made to keep it free and about how the Bush Administration has failed to energize the American people behind our war effort.

6. Rhymes With Right - HuffPo Writer Equates Isolated Christian Nutjob To Islamism's Global Terror Network Greg takes apart HuffPo moron Max Blumenthal's equating of Islamic terrorism with `fundamentalist Christians.'

This is actually pretty common on the Left. Some people are simply clueless until the knife is at their throats.

7. The Colossus of Rhodey: "But isn't the real issue ...?" Hube takes on the hypocrisy of the Left on issues like global warming and immigration.

I agree with him, although it's not limited to the Left..just mostly. This is part of the old Marxist technique of the dialectic, something the communists borrowed from the Church's strategy known as `apologetics'(successfully countering objections to Church doctrine in debate). In the world of academia, it is called deconstruction. Essentially, advancing the agenda is what matters for these folks - facts are whatever you have to make up to do so.

8. Mitt the Mormon:Bookworm Room Ms. Bookworm examines presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the issue of his membership in the Church of the Latter Day Saints.

I too like Mitt Romney, though I would caution Ms. Bookworm about relying on PBS for any useful data on Mormonism simply because,in general, they are hostile to all religions except Islam.

I personally don't think that he faces significant backlash because of his faith,which is grounded in decent American values ( Mormonism, after all, was a revelation designed for the American continent). I think any problems he might have has more to do with his lack of accomplishment in government and electability in general as compared with other GOP candidates.

9. Cheat Seeking Missiles: Bush Defies Warming Autocrats At G8 Laer writes on the potential conflict between President Bush and other nations at the G8 summit on global warming... and on the hysteria this has produced.

Great graphic, BTW!

10. Big Lizards:Blog:Entry “Let Their Victims Come” Dafydd Ab Hugh has an interesting piece on immigration reform and refugees, especially from places like Iraq.

Using Hugh Hewitt's column on this as a jumpoff point, Daffydd voices his disagreement with the idea of a blanket moratorium on immigration from Muslim countries with significant terrorist components because (a) Those refugees are our best source of human intel about those countries and (b) there are plenty of jihadis coming from `white' European countries these days,not to mention the homegrown variety.

He's right on both counts...although, given the Bush Administration's abysmal record on border security and its tolerance for the propagation extremist Islam here at home in America, I'd say extreme caution is advised until we get our house in order. And yes, I would be more inclined to be severely restricting on Muslim immigration to the US, as opposed to, say, Christians fleeing Iraq or non-Muslims from the Balkans until that happens.


11.The Education Wonks: Memorial Day: Just Another Day Of Instruction? EdWonk takes exception to the plans of one school district to treat Memorial Day as business as usual.

That's this week's lineup..enjoy