Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Watcher's Council Nominations, 6/17/08


Every week, the Watcher's Council members nominate two posts each, one of their own and one from outside the group 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 infamous Watcher of Weasels

Do take the time to check out the non-Council links available at the Watcher's site as well - they're always worthwhile.


So here's this week's Council lineup...enjoy!

A Rose By Any Other Name -- Tiptoeing Around Jihad Joshuapundit - As Steve Emerson revealed, both the Department of Homeland Security and the State department are urging officials to avoid words like "jihad," "mujahedeen" , "Islamist' or any reference to Islam or Muslims in relationship to terrorism,as well as other verbal acrobatics designed to promote the 'hearts and minds'factor among Muslims, avoid the idea that the West is in conflict with the Muslim world, and to eliminate the glamor and religious aura surrounding Islamic fascism.

I see this as not only counterproductive and wrongheaded, but dangerous for a number of reasons....

What the Free World Would Do Well To Emulate The Colossus of Rhodey - What Hube thinks the free world should emulate is our First Amendment protection. As he points out, using quotations from a book by the puerile ex-NYT columnist Anthony Lewis some on the Left would like to relax the current Supreme Court guidelines,which draw the line at speech that is meant to incite imminent violations of law (Dennis V. United States, Schenk V. United States) and extend it to cover speech that incites violations of law that need not meet the current 'clear and present danger' test...with activist Leftist judges, of course, deciding who's crossed the line.


My Mother-in-Law The Democrat The Razor - Ernest K Doe had a few things to say about his mother-in-law...so does The Razor! If it's any consolation Scott, my mother, a life-long Democrat activist is voting for Obama too,and no amount of fact I could provide her with is going to change that.

Just Once Done With Mirrors - Callimachus honors Father's Day by musing about the kind of article celebrating the holiday he'd like to see in the dinosaur media.

The Cult of Global Warming Hillbilly White Trash - Lemuel takes on the warmies with a vengeance..money quote: "..the left will not give up the myth of human-caused global warming until they find another hobgoblin with which to terrorize the population into surrendering their wealth and freedom."

Metaphorically Shooting Soccer Dad - This week,Soccer Dad has fun taking Obama's 'they bring a knife we'll bring a gun' gaffe to its ultimate absurdity.

Say It Loud, Say It Proud: I Am a Racist! *UPDATED* Bookworm Room - Ms. Bookworm likewise focuses on a major theme of the Obama campaign...that if you aren't voting for the Chosen One, you must be racist. A fine piece I linked to earlier in the week that kinda reminds me of a Jeff Foxworthy routine!

The End of Guilt? The Glittering Eye - OK, I admit to being sincerely flattered...this week, Dave focuses his laser beam intellect on my piece last week, The Chicken or the Egg?, which examined why Islam clings to brutal practices like honor killings and why it will be difficult if not impossible for it to change. Dave expanded that to muse on the differences between a 'shame' culture like Islam and what he calls 'guilt' cultures of the West, which he feels was a driving force behind creating liberal democracy...and wonders whether liberal democracy can survive in what he calls a post-Christian world.

R. Kelly: I Believe He's a Platinum Predator Rhymes With Right - This week Greg looks at the acquittal of singer R.Kelly on charges of child pornography..and doesn't buy the verdict in the least.

Admitting Defeat in the Rhetoric War Cheat Seeking Missiles - Laer also noticed, as I did,the farcical nature of the current occupant of the White House's mea culpa in the London Times this week.I agree with him that rhetoric, properly used can be a vital tool,and President Bush's almost pathological inability to communicate policy to his fellow Americans in an accessible form was unfortunate.

However,I'd say his tendency to spout off bellicose rhetoric and what appeared to be definitive statements of policy and then not follow through on them was an even bigger disappointment.

Judicial Activism Run Amok Wolf Howling - GW does a typically excellent job of exposing Boumediene v. Bush, the recent 5-4 Supreme Court decision that gave enemy combatants the Constitutional right of habeus corpus to challenge their detentions in federal courts, reversing its own clear precedents ( as well as common sense)in the process.

I agree entirely with Justice Scalia's evisceration of this gross stupidity - Americans will die because of it.

The New College Major: "Fat Studies" The Education Wonks - Edwonk looks at the latest exercise in liberal arts specialty studies. Ummm, it's a huge field.

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