Watcher's Council Nominations, 9/05/07

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, the infamousWatcher of Weasels


Do take the time and check out the non-Council links..they are always rewarding.


Here's this week's Council lineup....and it's a good one:

1. JOSHUAPUNDIT : Natan Sharansky: Where Bush Went Wrong By the president's own admission, Natan Sharansky has been a major influence on him, especially Sharansky's book 'The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror.' .In an interview with the Jerusalem Post that didn't make the news here, Sharansky candidly assessed how the president has done in implementing the vision they both shared, and in many respects he is spot on, especially when he talks about the essential dichotomy in US foreign policy in the Middle East.

I likewise examine and analyze what Natan Sharansky had to say, and discuss where I agree with him and where I differ.

2. Done With Mirrors: Contemptible Callimachus does a superb job of putting Hollywood parasite Brian de Palma in his place for manufacturing enemy propaganda.

It's notable - and will remain as a stain on their reputation for a very long time -that the motion picture industry has, for the most part, put out garbage that glorifies our enemies and has done virtually nothing to put out films that celebrate the heroism of our warriors or shows our enemies in their true light...even when the garbage loses money and cuts down on theater attendence. Contemptible indeed.

3. Soccer Dad: One YearSoccer Dad has a very moving post celebrating the first birthday of the newest member of the team...is there anything more delightful than watching your child develop and grow? יום הולדת שמח (Happy Birthday) and many more.

4. The Glittering Eye : Gripes About Public Discourse This week, The Glittering Eye's Dave Schuler has some major complaints about the state of public discourse nowadays...and I largely agree with him.

5. Bookworm Room: Why I Support Israel Ms. Bookworm examines the two sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict and comes up with clear, common sense reasons on why she supports Israel.If nothing else, the conduct of the `Palestinians' since Oslo ought to clue people in that what many of them need is not self government but a generation or so of intense psychiatric care.

A fine post, and I would only add my two cents ( you knew I would) thusly:

(a)`Palestinian' nationalism only existed after 1967, when Israel took substantial territory after Jordan attacked them (b) since the Arabs rejected the original UN partition, nobody owned any of this territory and it was all up for grabs..certainly the Arabs would never have returned Israel to the Jews if they had conquered it. (c)Any `Palestinian' rights to any of this territory came directly from Israel as a result of the Olso Accords. Since the `Palestinians' did not abide by the terms of the `sale' they are essentially squatting, that agreement is null and void and that real estate should revert back to Israel, just like any other real estate deal where the `buyer' doesn't abide by the conditions of the sale.

The idea of a second Palestinian Arab state (Jordan is the first) is not a solution to ending the Middle East conflict - it's the cause of it, and the major excuse the Arab states have for perpetuating it.

6. Rhymes With Right:Shocking Decision In Douchbag Case Greg takes umbrage at the Avery Doninger case and its effect on First Amendment Rights. I think he's on to something here.

7.Colossus of Rhodey:Proof: The News Journal Is Politically Correct Hube busts his local paper for excluding the race of the assailants who committed attacks against Hispanics, even though the paper knew they were black. Like the recent phony `white power chanting'story that made the wire services and was later proven to be a hoax, I can almost guarantee that the dinosaur media would have run this as a major, nation-wide story and included the race of the perpetrators if there was a White racism angle.

8. Cheat Seeking Missiles: Our Crumbling Civilization: Flat Buns EditionLaer has an interesting piece that reflects the sexualization of our popular culture, and uses a particularly odious Carl's Jr. ad promoting the `flat buns' and a scantily dressed teacher to sell their new patty melt.Talk about making sex less fun and appealing!!

Stuff like this is why my wife and I made a clear decision not to mix TV and very young children in our home and to unplug the idiot box. At least now, they have some defenses built up.And of course, no one in our family would go near a Carl's Jr. or Micky Dees, let alone something like a `patty melt.' The kosher dietary laws have a number of practical benefits as well as spiritual ones.

9. Thoughts On Mother Teresa and Religion Bashing By the MSM by Okie On The LamThis week, Okie takes on the absolute glee the dinosaur media take in bashing religion, using the outing of Mother Teresa's supposed crisis of faith as purportedly revealed in some letters Time magazine got hold of and published.

As far as any `crisis of faith' goes it was undoubtedly temporary, because Mother Teresa continued to live her faith, and to perform good works that badly needed doing, against large odds. And that's what counts, in the end. G-d always resolves the larger questions, in His good time.

Okie, my friend, it's not `religion' the dinosaurs are bashing IMO, but our Judeo-Christian culture.The dinosaur media hardly ever has a bad word to say about Islam, because it's seen as a club to bash that culture...and because, cowards that they mostly are, the dinosaur media is scared witless at the thought of Islamic violence directed towards them. Bashing and ridiculing Christians and Jews is safe.

10. Right Wing Nuthouse: The War To Remember 9/11 Rick has a really good piece this week that deals with the efforts to `wind down' the memory of 9/11. As he quite rightly states, this is largely politically motivated, as Democrats try and sell the fantasy of the 9/10 world. `the good old days' of Mr. Bill and company to the electorate in order to try to win the White House in 2008.

As Rick also notes, the vacation from history these people are attempting to promote is doomed to failure...just as it was the last time, during the Clinton era.

We can start `winding down' our national grief - and more importantly, our anger - when this war is won and the Islamic fascists and their allies that attacked America are defeated and humiliated utterly.

11.The Education Wonks: More Zero-Tolerance Lunacy? EdWonk talks about the absurd case of an eight grader being suspended because he merely drew a picture (and a poor one!) of a handgun in his notebook! Unbelievable. At 14, I'd already been shown the ropes on gun safety and gone to the shooting range a few times with a Browning .22 and an old .38 police special that belonged to one of my dad's friends...

12. Big Lizards: Civilian Deaths in Iraq Are Up, But They're Really Down Daffyd has a piece here that proves the old saying, `figures lie and liars figure.' In this case, he's talking about the dinosaur media's toting up of Iraqi civilian deaths.

That's this week's lineup..enjoy