Sunday, February 16, 2003

Oil, imperialism and "hypocrisy". I strolled back to a girl called Hylie, a finance worker who says she is Iranian by birth. "So do you think this will make any difference?" I ask. "So many people turned up it must mean something," she smiles. "But I don't suppose it will. In the end the governments do what they want." And Tony Blair? "He's a puppet of the Americans. But they're puppets too aren't they? In the White House they're all Jewish. This is all being done for Israel." [Salon.com] This sentiment scares me. If this were 1939, it could be coming from Hitler's mouth. It could be coming from the mouth of an American Ku Klux Klan member in the 1950s (or even today). But instead it is coming from a member of the left-wing anti-war movement. The left has abdicated its moral responsibility for the sake of forming a coalition against war. It has tossed aside its tradition of support for social justice, opposition to all racism, and civil rights for the sake of bringing in 20th century-style Socialists, who see nothing wrong with authoritarian regimes who share their ideology, and Muslim radicals who wish to see the Israeli people pushed into the sea. We live in a time where both the right and the left are forsaking the truth for the sake of their own ideologies. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;   10:57:56 PM

Iraq Mourns Civilian Victims of Gulf War. At the ruins of a bomb shelter struck by American missiles, Iraqi officials Sunday mourned the civilian victims of their last war with the United States and celebrated global anti-war protests aimed at preventing another one. [AP World News] I hate to sound callous, but had Mr. Hussein not decided to invade Kuwait and rape and pillage on his way in and out, those 403 people would be alive today.   10:08:38 PM

Rob Christensen talks about the Republicans' dirty little secret on the News & Observer: But it is not a coincidence that Republicans are committing the gaffes. The Democrats have a biracial coalition and have learned how to speak without offending ethnic groups. Republican gatherings tend to be a sea of white faces. And if someone makes an untoward comment, well, you know old Joe, he's quite a card.   9:07:43 AM

A voice crying in the wilderness. Speaking at a news conference Saturday in Los Angeles, Honda said calls by the Asian-American congressional caucus and Japanese-American groups for Coble to step down from his chairmanship of the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security have been ignored by Republican political leaders. [San Francisco Chronicle] This is evidence that: The Republicans didn't learn anything from the Trent Lott affair and are still more than willing to continue with their dirty little secret. This country still hasn't moved beyond its simplistic black-white understanding of race relations. If Trent Lott had to resign as Senate Majority Leader for his remarks, then certainly Mr. Coble's remarks, which were no less offensive, should be grounds from his removal from the chairmanship of the subcommittee on crime, terrorism, and homeland security. Not only does it send the right message that we will not tolerate racism against ANY group in this country, but it is crucial for protecting the rights of Muslim-Americans and others from further overly zealous attempts to "protect" this country from innocent, law-abiding Americans by taking away their civil rights.   9:01:16 AM