'Enchanted April' Open Thread

Victor Davis Hanson

One writer that I really should pay more attention to is Victor Davis Hanson. He writes clearly and insightfully, and is on point. His latest over at The Corner place his observations on his native California into the perspective of our nation's cultural drift, a drift which the left, through its machinations, has intended, and which the rest of us have unwittingly been taken along for the ride.

"I note this because hundreds of students here illegally are now terrified of being deported to Mexico. I can understand that, given the chaos in Mexico and their own long residency in the United States. But here is what still confuses me: If one were to consider the classes that deal with Mexico at the university, or the visible displays of national chauvinism, then one might conclude that Mexico is a far more attractive and moral place than the United States.

So there is a surreal nature to these protests: something like, “Please do not send me back to the culture I nostalgically praise; please let me stay in the culture that I ignore or deprecate.” I think the DREAM Act protestors might have been far more successful in winning public opinion had they stopped blaming the U.S. for suggesting that they might have to leave at some point, and instead explained why, in fact, they want to stay."

Good stuff. And no, I didn't steal his thunder. You're going to want to read the whole thing here.

'Field of Dreams' Open Thread

  What did you think?

United Nations Continues to Mock Reality

What is the UN up to? What started out as a Western democracy inspired dream of international cooperation, an instrument to enable dialogue between nations and avert war, has continued its slide into irrelevance with the recent election of Iran onto its Commission on the Status of Women. That's right, the nation that has made a national policy of putting women under its boot has been selected with nary a thought.

George Jonas is little troubled over it:

"It's a weird world. Take, for instance, the United Nations celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day by electing Iran to a four-year seat on the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
...

Iran, having abandoned its high-profile quest for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, was now among 10 other nations "elected by acclamation" to the Commission on the Status of Women.

Today, there are 45 seats on this august body, set up in 1947 "to raise the status of women, irrespective of nationality, race, language or religion, to equality with men."

See why Jonas finds these antics more comical than troubling here.

Wisconsin Unions Lose Collective Bargaining, Democrats Not Available To Comment

What happened?!

The people of Wisconsin scored a major victory Wednesday when the state senate moved to eliminate collective bargaining, the union linch pin that had supposedly held up all efforts to address the state's budgetary problems.

The Wisconsin Senate succeeded in voting Wednesday to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers, after Republicans outmaneuvered the chamber's missing Democrats and approved an explosive proposal that has rocked the state and unions nationwide.

All 14 Senate Democrats fled to Illinois nearly three weeks ago, preventing the chamber from having enough members present to consider Gov. Scott Walker's "budget-repair bill" - a proposal introduced to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.

The unions had been attempting to intimidate the Republicans, who had been voted in by the people last fall.

The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measure that spends money. But Republicans on Wednesday took all the spending measures out of Walker's proposal and a special committee of lawmakers from both the Senate and Assembly approved the revised bill a short time later.

The unexpected yet surprisingly simple procedural move ended a stalemate that had threatened to drag on indefinitely.

Nice.

After Republicans cut off debate a little more than three hours after it started, Democrats jumped up to protest. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) brought a megaphone out from under his desk and through it yelled, "Mr. Speaker, I demand to be recognized."

He was ignored.

Is Governor Scott Walker's Faith the Work Of The Devil?

Concerned spiritual consciousness.

So argues Diana Butler Bass of the Huffington Post.

"And this is why Scott Walker’s religion is actually dangerous in the public square. Because it lacks the ability to compromise, it is profoundly anti-democratic."

I mention the curiously argued piece merely to direct you to a nice counter laid out by Dana Loesch.

Not baffled by apples and oranges.

He’s not motivated by religion, he’s motivated by the people’s November 2nd voice. So Bass is saying … that the vote of the people is evil? No, Ms. Bass, standing in opposition to what happened on November 2nd, 2010 is what is profoundly anti-democratic. Bass’s inability to put aside her limiting bias obviously impedes her ability to understand Scripture and relying on politically religious figures instead of God’s Word is the first red flag of false prophecy that people of faith are so often warned of throughout the Bible.

Right on the money.

- 'Roman Holiday' Open Thread

What did you think?

Milwaukee Teachers Wake Up and Smell The Coffee

I do not often find myself writing about the medication Viagra on these pages, but the Milwaukie Wisconsin teachers have now twice raised the issue into the general public discourse. The teachers, who earlier were grumpy over their loss of Viagra benefits, had argued that their penises should remain erect at tax payer expense. We now learn that their position has softened. Apparently the general disdain their antics have earned them has caused a rethinking of their stategy.

The Milwaukee teachers union has dropped a lawsuit seeking to get its taxpayer-funded Viagra back.

The union sued in July 2010 to force the school board to again include the erectile dysfunction drug and similar pills in its health insurance plans.

The union has argued the board's policy of excluding such drugs from the plans discriminates against male employees; the board has countered the 2005 move was meant to save money.

Court records indicate the union, the school board and the state labor commission agreed to dismiss the lawsuit on March 1. A spokesman for the state Justice Department, which is representing the commission, declined comment.

The more he reached for, the less he had.

No wonder.

Isn't this the medical aide that Hugh Hefner has become chained to, condemning him to a life of monotonously repetitive 'sleep arounds', with people from a generation who know little of him...

... and care for him even less?

Of course the Wisconsin educators are welcome to avail themselves of all the Viagra they can. But with costs to the tax payers running at over a million dollars a year, and a state that is now running a three billion dollar deficit, they'll have to be willing to pay for it themselves.


I can be happy with that.

Hiding In Plain Sight

With the occurrence last week of yet another attack upon Americans by an Islamic fundamentalist shouting "Allah Akbar", the question arises will our nation's leadership address the problem of Islamic fundamentalism, or will we continue to hide from the truth.

Highlighting the issue was the Frankfurt airport attack in which an airport employee drove himself to the airport, located a bus of unarmed US military personal and started shooting. The result was four US Servicemen being gunned down, two shot dead at the scene while the other two were seriously injured. The attack came to an end when the assailant's gun jammed and he ran off to hide in the terminal. He was caught there and dragged down by one of the air-force personnel and two German security officers. A few weeks earlier here in the states a college student from Saudi Arabia "studying" chemical engineering was arrested after buying a large quantity of explosive chemicals online. It was part of his plan to hide bomb materials inside dolls and baby carriages to be used to blow up dams, nuclear power plants and the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.

It is difficult, the administration says, to determine if these individuals are terrorists.

This must be some tough club to get into. If what went on above doesn't cut it, one wonders what a guy has to do to qualify. Our failure to recognize a pattern and put a name on underscores our timidity and inability to defend ourselves and our way of life.

Muslim Americans are not part of the terrorism problem facing the U.S. - they are part of the solution, a top White House official said Sunday at a Washington-area mosque.

So said Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, who was looking to poke his finger in the eye of Republican congressman King before King could begin his committee hearings on the issue.

McDonough said that instead of condemning whole communities, the U.S. needs to protect them from intimidation.

Yes, that is a big problem isn't it? We keep hearing about the terrible backlash against Muslims in the US, but it is a conceptual backlash in the minds of the liberal media more than one involving the actual actions of US citizens.

The administration has tried to strike a balance on the thorny issue, working to go after homegrown Islamic extremists without appearing to be at war with the Muslim world. There has been an effort to build stronger relationships with Muslims - internationally and in the United States.

Sheesh.

During his remarks Sunday, McDonough called the mosque a "typically American place" and said it reminded him of his Catholic parish where he grew up in Minnesota.

His Catholic parish?! It does not remind me of my Catholic parish.

"Being religious is never un-American. Being religious is quintessentially American," he said.

Yes, religion per se is not a problem, but a religion that preaches to kill the infidel is. It is an idea that is quintessentially un-American, and not being able to voice that fact is a mark of weakness and insufficient moral courage.

He commended the mosque's members for taking "an unequivocal stand against terrorism."

"You've sent a message that those who perpetrate such horrific attacks do not represent you or your faith, and that they will not succeed in pitting believers of different faiths against one another," McDonough said.

Right. Outspoken critics of their fellow Muslims? Have yet to hear it. Michele Malkin wrote a summary piece back in November that reviewing the number of times some guy named Mohamed came to the conclusion it was time to start killing people he didn't even know. She titled it "Just another Bomb Plotting Jihadist Yelling 'Allahu Akbar'".

Nice. Meanwhile:

The White House is close to finalizing a strategy for countering violent extremism.

Close to? We are stilling searching for a strategy?

He also promised further efforts to dispel "misperceptions about our fellow Americans who are Muslim."

This doesn't look very promising.

Michael Moore Throws His Weight Behind Wisconsin Government Unions

Leave it to a liberal blow hard and serial dissembler to step all over the people of Wisconsin and spew his worthless bile on their duly elected officers.

The crowd roared in approval as Moore implored demonstrators to keep up their struggle against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, comparing their fight to Egypt's revolt.

Michael Moore draws the comparison to the Muslim Brotherhood, who are well known to have made the city of Cairo unsafe for anyone, let alone Western dressed women, and he believes he has offered them a compliment.

He also thanked the 14 state Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to block a vote on the bill, saying they'll go down in history books.

As what, the beginning phase of the collapse of our representative government?

Moore said the wealthy have overreached, first taking the working class' money and then taking their souls by shutting them up at the bargaining table.

These people are embarrassing. Wisconsin is projected to hit a $3.6 billion deficit by mid-2013. That's billion, with a "B".

"We've been here for the last 16 days we'll continue to be here until worker's rights are removed as the target in this budget repair bill by our governor," he said.

Wisconsin government employees are some of the best paid in the nation, with health benefits and retirement benefits for which they make no financial contribution.

Activists began a sit-in at the Capitol on Feb. 15, and although a judge ended protestors' overnight stays late last week, several hundred were back in the rotunda Saturday chanting "Who's house? Our house!" and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker's got to go!"

That sounds like something Michael Moore would come up with.

Renee Peplinski, a fifth-grade teacher in Wisconsin Rapids, said she doesn't mind making financial concessions to help the state even though it would hurt her family. She's more concerned about losing her collective bargaining rights. Without union protections, teachers would be at the mercy of administrators who could decide to fire them for any perceived slight, she said."

He's going to fire you anyway Renee, and it will not be for any slight. It will be because the state simply has no way to afford you and that honken Cadillac of a pension plan you've been driving around in.

Mark Steyn Ponders The Vagaries

Mark Steyn returns to comment on the ongoing lack of honesty from this administration regarding Islamofascism:

"Men and women “in uniform” (which it’s not clear these airmen were even wearing) understand they may be called upon to make “extraordinary sacrifices” in battle. They do not expect to be “lost” on the shuttle bus at the hands of a civilian employee at a passenger air terminal in an allied nation. But then I don’t suppose their comrades expected to be “lost” at the hands of an army major at Fort Hood, to cite the last “tragic event” that “took place” — which seems to be the president’s preferred euphemism for a guy opening fire while screaming “Allahu akbar!” But relax, this fellow in Frankfurt was most likely a “lone wolf” (as Sen. Chuck Schumer described the Times Square bomber) or an “isolated extremist” (as the president described the Christmas Day Pantybomber). There are so many of these “lone wolves” and “isolated extremists” you may occasionally wonder whether they’ve all gotten together and joined Local 473 of the Amalgamated Union of Lone Wolves and Isolated Extremists"

Good stuff. Read the whole thing here.