On Slander

"Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech is cantankerous." Chuang-Tzu (4th century BC)

Well one of the big stories of this week is that Senator Daschle thinks that Rush is inciting people to kill him. Possibly. If you look at it right. Senator Daschle is known for making reckless statements on occasion, and having them blow up in his face.

Thomas Sowell wrote on this issue in Townhall.com, making an argument that Republicans have had it far harder over the years. He repeats the tired refrain that Liberals demonized Conservatives over social security, welfare, civil rights etc. What he does not comment on is Rush and other Conservative speakers attacks on Democrats for treason, for being soft on communism, for being pro-drug, pro-crime, pro-abortion.

It reminds me, as it must remind many of the old scene where a parent comes in a room to stop children fighting. Both kids are anxious to argue that the other kid started it. The parent rarely cares, but merely wants the fighting to stop. One wonders when America’s ideologues are going to stop fighting over whose fault this rancor is.

I wouldn’t hold my breath.

The Fear

I regularly enjoy the writers at Commondreams.org. They are often articulate and thoughtful. Their writing on the impending war today, however, struck a shrill and paranoid tone.

Doug Thompson wrote of the homeland security bill calling it the American Gestapo. He states, “these fears have forced America to abandon its principles and create a police state.” Admittedly some of the powers granted in the name of Homeland Security are scary, particularly those related to the surveillance of Americans. But calling it a Gestapo and painting it as a force that Bush will use to maintain political power is questionable in the extreme.

Seumas Milne, writing in the Guardian, states that “But there is little sign of any weakening of the wilful western refusal to address seriously the causes of Islamist terrorism.” What are the causes of Islamist terrorism against the United States?

The United States supports Israel. I believe we could put some pressure on Israel to move towards peace. But it is clear that the Islamist Terrorists for the most part are more interested in eliminating Israel all together.

Most of the rest of the arguments I hear coming from Islamist Terrorists have to do with our being in the middle east, or with our (and Western Europe’s) Secular, Christian, and Jewish societies. I hear dozens upon dozens of arguments coming from apologists for terror, but from the terrorists themselves, these are the only arguments. Does Thompson really expect the United States or his own Great Britain to convert to Islam en masse?

America

Cathy I'm lost I said though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America
America Simon And Garfunkel

Sorry this is a bad week for posting. Feeling a little run down. Thought I would comment on a piece by Pierre Tristam on the American Heartland. In it he comments on the mythical America that conservatives believe in. He takes a moment to attack the Great Plain States, or the Red States (truth to tell I’m not sure which area’s he’s talking about), commenting, “Red-blooded conservatism has never seemed so grim, so hungry for hand-outs, so capably deluding.”

I can understand Tristam’s point of view. Certainly Harvard is as American as small town Iowa. San Fancisco is as American as Saint Louis. On the other hand it’s easy enough for the left to swing back. Michael Moore, for example, talks all the time about the good hearted working class America that hates corporate America. I suspect we all want to see a sanitized America, an America with the bits we don’t like cut out, removed. However, cutting out those parts, whether they be in the corporate world, or on the streets, in the middle of the country, or on the coasts, would leave us just a little bit less America.

The Prestige oil tanker has been fallen apart in two

For those who don't know it, there has been an oil tanker disaster off the coast of portugal. According to AP, "Oil has already blackened beaches in northwestern Spain, and cleanup workers said scores of animals were covered in sludge and in need of care. Fishing has been prohibited leaving hundreds out of work. The oil threatened some of the richest fishing grounds in the region."

This story, and the other ones I've read don't talk about who is responsible other than the captain. There are indications that the ship was not checked as often as it should have been. The owner of the ship was Mare Shipping Incorporated, apparently an italian company. And if you want some fun, go to Google and get them to translate their webpage for you. The title comes from their webpage.

One problem with the environmental movement, among many others, is that they have allowed Conservatives and Corperations to portray them as alternatively only interested in animals or as doomsaying prophets. Here's a situation where a company, Mare Shipping, has caused a problem that will hurt hundreds of humans. Fishermen, as referenced above. It will hurt tourism in those areas, and there could be other consequences. Focus on the people, and don't let the captain of the vessel be demonized alone.