On Paul Johnson and the Worthless Human Debris Who Murdered Him:
(Musings of your humble servant at Rerum Novarum)

[WARNING: Any children or those with weak stomachs or sensitive eyes, kindly do not read this post. You have been warned. -ISM]

The beheading of another American ( Paul Johnson RIP) is an occasion to reiterate my previous notes on the beheading of Nick Berg and perhaps to further develop some of those points.

To start with, I need to note that the same essence of the message (and the same sentiments expressed therein) apply here for Paul Johnson and for the Johnson family as I noted there for Nick Berg and the Berg family. Among the views set forth back then on the subject (among other things) were the following:

I suppose we are still going to hear the hollow paens of "involving the UN" in the Iraq situation - the same UN who cannot even run a simple oil for food program without massive corruption. I suppose we are going to still hear the cheap rhetoric of "give peace a chance" and after all, if we simply reason with these people and if we show them we are nice people that they will be nice too and all will be well. No my friends, you do not deal with a rabid disease infested dog that attacks you with kind words or idle threats. You deal with such an animal by shooting it. Likewise, these vile people need to be dealt with.

Of course in some quarters this kind of approach towards these vile specimens has continued. Now inasmuch as extreme liberalism is a mental disorder and not a philosophy in its own right,{1} I can at least understand their idiocy.

For so many of those kinds of people are mentally ill and are to be pitied more than anything. The problem is, not all who take this approach are extreme liberals. There are also some who are generally speaking quite "on the ball" in political and social issues who fall into this trap.{2} Those are the people to which I cannot pity -even when I number them among my friends and/or associates. They are smart enough and they should know better. But I digress.

I already dealt with why what was outlined previously at this weblog does not conflict with the Church's teaching on the death penalty --not to mention why my previously enunciated stance on the war effort was likewise the proper position to be taking. (And further still, why it did not conflict with Church teaching.){3} In the meantime, it is worth noting that the evidence reinforcing my position on the war (as enunciated in February of 2003) has only been increasing over the months and here is another piece for you to mull over. Kindly take a moment and view these pictures:

Pictures of Paul Johnson's Beheading

As I see it, stake burning is too good for the worthless excuses for "people" who would do such a thing to another human being. Even serial murderers do not deserve this kind of death. I am sick and tired of seeing the United States government pussyfoot around on this matter: find these dregs of humanity and wipe them off the face of the earth.

DO NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT REMEDIES FOR THE DISEASE OR PREVENTION MEASURES WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO CONSCIENCES!!! THEY ARE BEYOND BEING REASONED WITH!!! Give them only enough time to commend their souls to whatever their twisted view of "God" is and then destroy them. Then and only then will you have any hope of a long-term peaceful solution.{4}

For that is the only way these kinds of people can be "reasoned with." The only "reasoning" they can do is at the most instinctive survival-level and our message there should be clear: if you kill civilians you will be killed and your remains buried in pig entrails. That will not only take care of them in this life but also in the next.{5}

Once these people are hit where they will hurt -meaning making examples of some of them as noted above- they will be far more likely to stop thinking that they can get away with what they are currently getting away with. And upon achieving that paradigm shift in the actions of these animals (if not their outlooks), then we can focus more on the "transforming society in ways that neutralize or otherwise inhibit the likely formation of such individuals" subject matter.

The above talk is fine in its proper season. However, it is not that season at this time. And Sacred Scripture is clear that there are times and seasons for everything:

All things have their season, and in all their times all things pass under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to destroy and a time to build...A time to rend and a time to sow; a time to keep silent and a time to speak. A time of love and a time of hatred; a time of war and a time of peace. (Ecclesiastes iii,1-3; 7-9).

In other words, the idea that there is never a time for war, a time to kill, or a time for hatred is false. We are at war with sub-animals and we cannot reason with them. They either want us to convert to their perverted notion of "religion" and worship their perverted notion of "God" or they will kill us. This has been explicitly stated by them and they have been demonstrating this intention for some time now -the latest example of which was Paul Johnson (may he rest in peace).

Wake up you self-anointed "activists" with your blind and irrational hatred of George Walker Bush. Your position is not only illogical but further: it is idiotic and plays Russian roulette with this nation's national security. You would compromise the safety of American citizens for the sake of political advantage in an election. For that, I spit on you!!!{6}

For as arduous and annoying as this election season is (and will be), one thing is clear as crystal to this writer: President Bush, despite his many problems is the only major presidential candidate who understands the nature of the enemy that we are facing and what they are capable of.{7} That is information that should be first and foremost in the minds of anyone interested in their survival and the safety of their nation when they step into that voting booth.

For those who claim they will "not be voting", I remind you that half a loaf (Bush) is better than no loaf at all (Kerry) and that Catholic teaching recognizes this principle throughout its social corpus.{8} The most fundamental factor involved in this conflict is our survival. And if this country is not kept safe, then all your rantings for your precious agenda items are in vain because should we lose, the Islamofascists would not care a whit about your precious "causes". It is that simple really.

In closing, if the savage beheading of American civilians by rabid infested subhuman debris is not enough to get self-styled "activists" to wake from their pathetic Vietnam-era pretensions and face reality, I have to wonder what it will take. And if they think people like me will wait around for them to finally "get it", I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell them. That is all for now.

Notes:

{1} Credit for this apt analogy goes to radio talk host and best selling author Michael Savage.

{2} I will not mention names here for the sake of keeping this focused on issues and not personalities. However, those of you to whom the shoe fits...you know who you are!!!

{3} Seethe aforementioned Rerum Novarum post on Nick Berg and his murderers for those details and the other mentioned archive links.

{4} Without strength, there can be no peace: this is what history has shown us in many lurid colours over the millennias.

Mankind has not changed in the sense that bullies will ever actually refrain from picking on those whom they perceive as being weak or unwilling to fight. That is what we are seeing with Al Queda sorts who see America as being weak in will and unwilling to stand up for herself. That perception has to be changed and it needed to be changed yesterday.

{5} As it will screw them out of their seventy-odd virgins in the afterlife: thus making their life a hell on both sides of the eschaton.

{6} I would say more but I think you can imagine what might be said.

{7} I am thinking of making two bumperstickers that would read as follows:

--- "Support Al Queda: Vote for John Kerry for President in 2004"

---"Support Islamofascism: Abstain from Voting in 2004."

Anyone who wants to beat me to the punch on those slogans, by all means feel free to use them without concern for proper crediting. For my concern for the common good overrides everything else in this war. (And what is important is the message, not the one delivering it.)

{8} As my late father used to astutely note about voting, "those who do not vote have no credible grounds for complaint later on." I for one happen to concur with that view.

The following is probably the best non-Catholic commentary on Trent Session VI that I have ever read:

Reversing Babylon: A Calvinist Reading of the Tridentine Doctrine of Merit - Rev. Michael J. Pahls

For those who set the constitutions, declarations, and decrees of Vatican II in the "ambiguous" category while presuming that the canons and decrees of Trent are "perspicuous" or otherwise "crystal clear" in their elucidation of doctrine, this will not be easy reading for you. Of course those of you who are familiar with my work on "traditionalist" related magisterial exegesis --either in essay form or on one of my weblogs-- will not be surprised by this factor at all.

A "Politically Correct" Pledge of Allegience:

This was thrown together rather quickly so it may need some tweaking later on. Nonetheless...

I pledge allegience to the ACLU
of the racist and homophobic nation of America.

And to the Supreme Court who invents the laws
Many nations, possibly under a Supreme Being{1}
Divisible, with multiculturalism and diversity for all.

As for liberty and justice, I pledge belief in them for those who agree with the ACLU and the Supreme Court.

And I pledge belief in liberty and justice also for all those whose existence is not judged to be worthless or inconvenient{2} by others who are judged by the ACLU or the Supreme Court to be of greater worth.

Notes:

{1} Or just the UN.

{2} As in the case of fetal unviable tissue masses and anyone so old that they are judged by the ACLU and the Supreme Court to be *useless* members of society.

"Cohiba Ergo Sum" Dept.
(A Rerum Novarum Double Slam)

Much as in the case of Christopher Blosser, another personage of the blogosphere who does not post enough is The Curmudgeon.{1} The following are his two most recent entries to the Disturber of the Peace BLOG. Just a sampling though, you have to click on the links for the rest...

AL QUEDA'S USEFUL IDIOTS:

At Least One Columnist 'Gets It' About Islamo-Fascism

In his very thoughtful column yesterday at National Review Online, Victor David Hanson addresses a central Western liberal attitude which will inevitably lead to the demise of the West if something isn't done to reverse it.

The West, especially Europe, says Hanson, has been playing into the hands of Al Queda and other militant Islamist threats through self-loathing combined with ignorantly regarding them as mere nutcases and unthinking fanatics who 'don't understand' us. On the contrary, he asserts, they understand us all too well, and perhaps better than we understand ourselves.

Uh oh.

And that is what makes them so dangerous, on some level even more dangerous than the Nazis and the USSR were...For more on this, please click HERE.

Have they been reading Sun Tzu's Ancient Art of War on the importance of understanding one's enemy as well as themselves???{2} This writer for one certainly hopes not.

The essential difference between the USSR and the Nazis and these terrorist sorts is that many of the latter believe they are fighting for God. And that is what makes them (in this writer's view) significantly more dangerous.{3}

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY FOR WHOM?

Political Correctness and the Coming Death of the First Amendment

Dr. James Hitchcock, a professor of history at St. Louis University, notes some scary trends here and in the rest of the West which bode ill for the survival of freedom of conscience and religion -at least for those whose consciences are religious in orientation.

In an his weekly column titled Religious Liberty for Whom? Hitchcock cites some examples of how liberal government officials here and abroad have been increasingly trampling on the rights of Christians and other religious people who refuse to walk in lockstep with whatever guilt-and-envy-driven public policy comes down the pike...For more on this, please click HERE.

I wish I could say I was surprised but alas, I am not.

Notes:

{1} The Curmudgeon is a regular contributor to comments boxes at various message boards. See this thread for some examples. (For the record, this writer sides with The Curmudgeon on the subject he is discussing here contra Mark Shea.)

{2} Thus, here are five factors from which victory can be known: (1) One who knows when he can fight, and when he cannot fight, will be victorious; (2) One who recognizes how to employ both large and small numbers will be victorious; (3) One whose upper and lower ranks have the same desires will be victorious; (4) One who, fully prepared, awaits the unprepared will be victorious; (5) One whose general is capable and not interfered by the ruler will be victorious.

These five factors are the Way (Tao) to know victory.

Thus it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements. One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes be victorious, sometimes meet with defeat. One who does not know the enemy and does not know himself will invariably be defeated in every engagement. [Sun Tzu: Ancient Art of War Chapter III on Planning Offenses (c. 2500 BC)]

{3} The danger comes from the warped notion of "God" that these sorts of people possess.

"JunkYard BLOG" Dept.
(A Rerum Novarum Quadruple Slam)

It has been a long time since a JYB update thread made to this humble weblog. Nonetheless, in light of the recent report of "no connection between Al Queda and Iraq by the Elect Kerry Campaign so-called "9/11 commission" and the play it is getting in the press,{1} it seems time to address these assertions. We at Rerum Novarum defer on that matter to the JYB where the following entries (among others) have been blogged:

THE ABU GHRAIB BAIT AND SWITCH

As I predicted weeks ago, the Abu Ghraib scandal is the one line of attack available to everyone who opposed the Iraq war--the Western left, Democrat demagogues the likes of Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden, the press, and most obviously the terrorists themselves--that has any chance of succeeding. And because it has a chance of succeeding, it is being pursued with untrammeled vigor. I'm sure Biden and Kennedy and their allies can see the top of the hill they're climbing now, unmindful or uncaring that their possession of that hill all but dictates that we lose the war in Iraq and on terrorism itself. That's fine with them, as long as anybody but Bush is in the White House this time next year.

The latest round of the Abu Ghraib abuse-a-thon has to do with the Justice Department memos written up presumably for the Attorney General and President's consideration in the wake of 9-11. Gleeful Democrat Senators have adopted a slashing [technique] of demanding the Attorney General's testimony before their committees, then mocking each of his answers to all of their questions. They are also, in the process, pulling a bait and switch.

They are holding up Justice memos that suggest, correctly, that al Qaeda terrorists are not subject to treatment under the Geneva Conventions because in their techniques, their tactics and their mode of dress have taken themselves outside Geneva's strictures and therefore its protections. Those memos are then being used to suggest that they created policy that became the abuse in Abu Ghraib...For more on this posting, please go HERE.

If you read nothing else in this post, read everything Bryan wrote word for word on the Abu Ghraib subject -as he is as on target as he possibly can be.{2} Moving on we find this interesting piece on the war and who is winning it:

WHO'S WINNING THE WAR IN IRAQ?

To listen to our press, not only are we losing the war, but because of Abu Ghraib we deserve to lose. To listen to terrorist Abu al Zarqawi, though, we're handily winning the war in Iraq:

Al Qaida's most dangerous operative, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, has personally warned terror kingpin Osama bin Laden that his troops are under intensifying pressure from U.S. forces in Iraq and prospects for a terrorist victory look bleak.

A purported letter from Zarqawi to bin Laden, posted to Islamic web sites Monday night, complains that al Qaida fighters in Iraq are being "squeezed" by U.S.-led coalition forces, the Associated Press said...For more on this posting, please go HERE.

Bryan's noting of how this dispatch -whether it is authentic or a forgery- is a win-win for us is worth reflecting upon.

And with the question of WMD's in mind, the following post is of interest:

Another interesting story on the discovery of some of Saddam's weapons cache in junkyards other than this blog. That this information is coming from Blix-free UNMOVIC is startling. UNMOVIC is mad at the US, yet is essentially making our case for war for us. And the Bush administration isn't seizing the moment for some bizarre reason. I just don't get that at all.

So let's get this straight--Saddam Hussein ran one of the most odious regimes on earth. He loved terrorists--kept several of them as pets in Baghdad. Yeah, he put one of them to sleep right before the war, but probably only to keep him from falling into our hands and ratting him out.

Czech intelligence insists to this very day that 9-11 hijacker Mohammed Atta met an Iraqi intel agent in Prague in 2001 a few months before the attacks. The press has fabricated stories that try to knock down the Praque connection, but the Czechs still insist it's true. And there's a whole book on the subject of Saddam and al Qaeda. Yet the 9-11 Whitewash Commission's final report insists that Saddam and al Qaeda didn't tango. Sorry, not buying it.

When that Commission gets testimony from one of the most relevant players in the intel/law enforcement scene--Jamie Gorelick--it will regain about 10% of its lost credibility. Until that time, I will consider that Commission to have been full of sound and fury, but signifying not a thing.

Its final report is worse than useless as a national security document--it is counterproductive. And not just because it states a case it can't prove (the lack of an Iraq-al Qaeda connection), but because the Commission went out of its way to keep a tainted member of its little unity cult on board when she clearly had a conflict of interest...For more on this posting, please go HERE.

Scratch my previous statement, this one is essential reading too. Bryan goes into an interesting theory on Saudia Arabia being among the next targets of Al Queda and notes similarities between this election and 1992. Both are worth a read.

Finally, Bryan's post on "fighting the lie" is short and sweet so it will be posted here in its entirety. Those who are interested in the truth would be wise to do as he outlines:

FIGHT THE LIE

I don't normally include action items in posts, but in this case I'm going to. Here's the thing--the persistent lie that Bush lied about Iraq's WMDs in order to get the American people to support the war has reached the status of Established Truth. It is, however, a lie. And there is a simple and effective way to counter it.

So, in order to counter it, I'm going to ask you to do two things, neither of which will take up much time. The first assignment is to bring up a Google search window and type in three words: Clinton Iraq 1998. Once you run that search, you will find a treasure trove of quotes from the ancien regime regarding Iraq and the reasons Saddam should be pushed off a cliff.

Poke around in the stories you will find, and you will find yourself illuminated on the subject of Iraq's WMD programs like never before. You will read Madeline Albright arguing that the United States should attack Iraq, and you will read Sandy Berger and William Cohen--Clinton administration figures all--agreeing with her.

You will read a tantalizing quote from Berger arguing that pre-emption is a proper doctrine in a world in which stateless terrorism has become the number one national security threat.

I want you to remember that search string--Clinton Iraq 1998. For good measure, you can add Ohio State to it and you'll zero in on an episode you've probably forgotten.

In February of 1998, the Clinton administration tried and failed to take America to war in Iraq. The hard left denounced them at the time for running a racist war. The hard left always plays the race card, even when the action of ousting Saddam results in freeing millions of people with brown skin.

You will need this information in the coming months. Whenever you run across someone who maintains that Bush lied, give them the search string. If you can, sit down with them and run the search with them and make sure they read at least one or two of the stories it finds. You will impress your family and amaze your friends, and you just might change a mind or two.

Fight the lie!

Notes:

{1} And even by some who are good friends of this humble weblog.

{2} It is also worth noting thatt this JYB post was highly recommended by one of Our favourite columnists in the media: Michelle Malkin.

Apparently she has a weblog now which will soon be in the recommended list of predominantly political weblogs at this humble weblog. At least that is this writer's prediction on the matter...

It would be remiss on the part of this humble weblog not to note that Against the Grain has many good threads as of late. Here are a few that We found of particular interest:

---To start with, there is a story on Cardinal Ratzinger who apparently wants to slap around genteely meet with US bishops to discuss the issue of distributing communion to politicians.We lead off with a Ratzinger story to remind you folks that Against the Grain is your best source for Ratzinger information this side of Zenit.

---There is also a good piece on the conversion of Canon Edward Norman. This guy apparently is an ecclesial historian and the chancellor of York Minster. In three words: heap big fish.

And of course the following one:

---In light of the many would-be "philosophers" that permeate cyberspace, Christopher notes a milestone anniversary of one of the most gifted philosophers in recent centuries.

As one of the favourite stops of this weblog writer, the more frequent blogging by Against the Grain of course pleases Us greatly. The above examples are just a few offerings and are by no means the only ones worth reviewing while you are there.

The Haloscan software at the Lidless Eye weblog and the Rerum Novarum Comments blog{1} has been upgraded. This was done to do away with that absurd 1000 character limit...yes my friends, I basically snapped and decided to fix that problem once and for all.

What that means essentially is this: I paid Haloscan to jazz up my Haloscan account -which should include removing character limits to responses. Worry not, there will be no monetary blegging on my part: only the request that people handle this new freedom of sorts responsibly and make their interactions with others on the threads interesting.

Oh, and if you could say some prayers for the repose of the soul of my father, that would be greatly appreciated.

Note:

{1} For those who are interested, I will be discussing a side of my philosophical weltanschauung in the comments box at the Rerum Novarum Comments weblog that thus far has not been directly dealt with at Rerum Novarum or my other weblogs.

The following is a poem written by a good friend of mine. I post it here because it has become very difficult to talk with them in recent months and as a way of letting them know that I am thinking of them at the present time. I hope I have posted it with the right couplet divisions -if not I will allow the author of the work to correct me on the matter.

Jesus Christ I might as well be dead

If I can't see how dangerous it must feel to be

Training human cogs for the machine

Without some shell-shocked lunatic like me

Bombarding their still soft shores

With sticks and stones that were lying around

In the pile of unspeakable feelings I'd found

And I turned back the stone

Turned over the stone

Of my own disappointment

Back home

Monitum on Recent Weblog Activity and Upcoming Subjects for Discussion:

The Lidless Eye Inquisition weblog has been active in recent days with posts from both myself as well as Apolonio Latar. I plan to add the third installment to the thread I was working on either today or tomorrow. (It is done but needs to be formatted properly.)

In the meantime, some poetry from a friend and discussion of a late mentor of mine are on the burner for the upcoming posts. I may also interact with some of the stupid gripes that unthinking liberal loons have about President Reagan in the coming weeks as well.