On the Breslin Hostage Situation and its Aftermath:
(Musings of your humble servant at Rerum Novarum)
May those who died in the Breslin school conflict rest in peace with the souls of the faithfully departed. (Particularly those beautiful children so brutally murdered by the Islamofascist bastard scumbags from hell.) Furthermore, may those terrorists who died face the longest and most painful purgatory possible -and those who survived be given a lifetime of pure hell if they are spared at all.
Before commenting further on this subject with the thoughts that permeate my mind at the moment, it seems appropriate to interact with some of a Miami Herald article which can be found HERE. The article will be in black font.
PARIS - World leaders expressed horror over the bloody end to Russia's hostage crisis Friday, saying the attack on schoolchildren showed terrorists have sunk to new lows.
I suppose if this is compared with taking adults hostage and cutting their heads off that yes, a new low has been reached here.
Some experts said Russia's Chechnya conflict is becoming the next crossroads of international terrorism.
"The series of escalating attacks in Russia this month leaves no doubt that the conflict in Chechnya is a matter of international, not merely internal, security," said Celeste Walander, director of CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program in Washington.
I have to concur with the "experts" here because they are right. Russia has seen its own 9/11. Hopefully they will realize now why we are doing what we are doing in the war on terror.
Messages of solidarity and shock flowed worldwide.
"We have been confronted with a deep human tragedy," said Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, speaking on behalf of the European Union. "This shows once again that we have to do everything in our power to confront terrorism."
"I am appalled that a school and its pupils are being used for political ends," UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura said in a statement.
Many others decried the targeting of children as heinous new territory for terrorists.
"This is a new dimension of terrorism," said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
It is nice to see you wake up from your nap Chancellor.
"It is hard to express my revulsion at the inhumanity of terrorists prepared to put children and their families through such suffering," British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Bush called the siege "another grim reminder of the length to which terrorists will go to threaten this civilized world."
"We mourn the innocent lives that have been lost," Bush said. "We stand with the people of Russia; we send them our prayers for this terrible situation."
A Jordanian government spokeswoman, Asma Khader, said that "no cause can be achieved by such criminal means."
Caught in a hostage drama of its own, with two French journalists held in Iraq, France's government called for "everyone to mobilize in the fight against terrorism."
Translation: Now that we are no longer getting kickbacks from Saddam, I guess we have to climb on the anti-terrorist bandwagon too. And the French wonder why they have nothing but the contempt of people like me.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said Israelis, "There is no difference between terror in Beersheba and terror in Beslan. The entire international community must denounce these acts and unite in the war against terror."
BINGO!!! But will the UN and others who are so vehemetly opposed to Israel recognize the parallels involved here, that is the question.
Putin has long tried to paint the Kremlin's conflict with Muslim separatists in Chechnya as part of the global war on terror. Some countries, particularly in Europe, have been critical of Russia's actions in region, where Russian forces have been accused of human rights abuses.
The European Union directed veiled criticism at Russia's handling of the school standoff, saying it regretted the violence and bloodshed.
"It's very difficult to judge from a distance whether the right decision was taken or not," Bot said, apparently referring to Russian forces' decision to storm the school. Russian officials said that happened only after the militants set off explosions and began shooting fleeing hostages.
But of course this could have been resolved by peaceful means I suppose. I suppose some will say that if we just reasoned with these people, they would see that we are nice people and would have left the school peacefully. Do any of you want to defend this thesis in any form whatsoever??? Many of you have been for a while now whether you realize it or not.
At this time, I simply want to ask if certain of you (and you know whom you are) are finally starting to see the light. I want to note part of something I said back in May -and bold a line particularly applicable to this situation:
We are fighting a group of intellectually and emotionally arrested fanatics who have yet to come out of the seventh century. Arab civilization contrary to the ignorant babblings of the media is hardly some fertile ground for philosophy, mathematics, science, and the like. All of their contributions in those areas significant though they were- were a millennia ago. One commentator astutely noted that "since they gave us the zero, they have given civilization zero" and that sums it up about as well as can be done in a syllabus style statement...
We are dealing with people who revel in death who do not hesitate to boast about this. We are dealing with people who view innocent children as "infidel subversives" and who have no scruples about killing them. Likewise non-Muslims are viewed. Essentially if they cannot convert you, then you must die. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum circa May 12, 2004]
What have we seen today except exactly what I noted above??? And of those who defend by implication the thesis that I noted earlier, I spoke of them in that post as well:
But I suppose we are still going to hear the hollow paens of "involving the UN"...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. I think stake burning would be appropriate for them. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum circa May 12, 2004]
In a later post, I commented on the approach of those who were noted in the paragraph above with the following words (footnotes excised from the text):
[I]nasmuch as extreme liberalism is a mental disorder and not a philosophy in its own right, 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. 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. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum circa June 18, 2004]
I noted recently that I may start mentioning names if these issues are not dealt with in the public forum. After this incident, it is more a case of when{1} I will do this rather than if. That is all for now.
Note:
{1} See this link for an example of the kinds of propaganda that those of this particular weltanschauung will engage in to promote their viewpoints to the masses.
Friday, September 03, 2004
"Pistols at Fifty Paces" Dept.
During a contentious interview on MSNBC’s ‘Hardball,’ Zell Miller told host Chris Matthews, ‘I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.’
Fresh from addressing the Republican National Convention, Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia appeared as a guest on the cable news program “Hardball” and was questioned by host Chris Matthews about the fairness of his attack on John Kerry.
Matthews was on an outdoor set a few blocks from New York’s Madison Square Garden, the site of Miller’s keynote speech. Matthews asked Miller whether his remarks mischaracterized Kerry’s voting record. Miller said they hadn’t.
Miller also challenged Matthews’ interviewing style, and accused him of “browbeating” a female guest during a recent program. The senator suggested that he was getting similar treatment, and added, “I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.”
Imagine that, a Southern gentleman (Zell Miller) wishing he could challenge Chris Matthews to a duel over the manner whereby Matthews treated Michelle Malkin!!! Shades of chivalry perhaps??? This country needs a lot more Democrats and Republicans like Zell Miller, that is for sure.
During a contentious interview on MSNBC’s ‘Hardball,’ Zell Miller told host Chris Matthews, ‘I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.’
Fresh from addressing the Republican National Convention, Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia appeared as a guest on the cable news program “Hardball” and was questioned by host Chris Matthews about the fairness of his attack on John Kerry.
Matthews was on an outdoor set a few blocks from New York’s Madison Square Garden, the site of Miller’s keynote speech. Matthews asked Miller whether his remarks mischaracterized Kerry’s voting record. Miller said they hadn’t.
Miller also challenged Matthews’ interviewing style, and accused him of “browbeating” a female guest during a recent program. The senator suggested that he was getting similar treatment, and added, “I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.”
Imagine that, a Southern gentleman (Zell Miller) wishing he could challenge Chris Matthews to a duel over the manner whereby Matthews treated Michelle Malkin!!! Shades of chivalry perhaps??? This country needs a lot more Democrats and Republicans like Zell Miller, that is for sure.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
I was going to post that promised thread on the election subject and the USCCB and Catholic Answers booklets but have decided to delay it a day or two to do a bit more tweaking. Besides, the focus should at this time be on Senator Zell Miller of Georgia and his speech last night. Props to our friend Lane Core Jr. for posting on his weblog a link to the text of Senator Miller's speech. Give it a read my friends and I shall return perhaps in a day or so with God's will and your readership.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Islamo-Fascist Update:
I decided to supplement my earlier audio mutterings on Islamo-fascists with some links. However, I ask that you please listen to the aforementioned audio post and also my audio post from late July on the humanization of formal enemies.
Having digested the above audio posts, perhaps it will sufficiently put you in the proper frame of mind to deal with this story from AP:
Russian school standoff continues
Now I know this has happened before but; however, it needs to be ended and ended as soon as possible. Obviously everything reasonable should be done to prevent the loss of innocent life but frankly, once that has been done...well...listen to the audio post to see how I view this. That is all for now.
I decided to supplement my earlier audio mutterings on Islamo-fascists with some links. However, I ask that you please listen to the aforementioned audio post and also my audio post from late July on the humanization of formal enemies.
Having digested the above audio posts, perhaps it will sufficiently put you in the proper frame of mind to deal with this story from AP:
Russian school standoff continues
Now I know this has happened before but; however, it needs to be ended and ended as soon as possible. Obviously everything reasonable should be done to prevent the loss of innocent life but frankly, once that has been done...well...listen to the audio post to see how I view this. That is all for now.
Miscellaneous Links of Interest:
Jason Cardona's observations on modern Catholic-Jewish relations
Chris Burgwald fisks a deluded liberal
Jason Cardona's observations on modern Catholic-Jewish relations
Chris Burgwald fisks a deluded liberal
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
More on Extreme Ideologies:
(Aka "Tales From the Mailbag" Dept.)
My words will be in regular font.
I just saw a MoveOn.Org T.V. ad featuring an ex-Marine who was part of an intelligence team searching from WMD's in Iraq and, of course, finding none, uses that fact to to call Bush a liar.
These people are absurd. I have noted before that the scope of this endeavour was beyond the superficial applications that those who are infected with solipsism at the core of their presuppositions can well deal with. There is a problem with those who have such a "soundbyte mentality." I noted this last year when quoting Amir Taheri whose insights on this matter are worth reiterating anew:
Finding and getting rid of such weapons in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and South Africa took 18 to 30 months, even though those governments all actively cooperated with the U.N. It is fanciful that similar results could be achieved in Iraq in a few weeks.
Not finding the weapons in a fixed timeframe does not mean they never existed. British and Spanish governments have been looking for weapons caches of Basque and Irish terrorist groups for 35 years and have found little. But everyone knows those groups have arms.
On the other hand, the Philippine government still finds weapons caches left by the Japanese over half a century ago.
These are the facts and frankly they are beyond debate for anyone who is honest about these matters. But it is pointless to bring this up with the moveon.org crowd because their entire weltanschauung is one built on solipsism. For that reason, evidences and reasoning that challenges these kinds of people often fails because their frame of reference is so narrow. I explain this more in detail HERE if readers are interested.
The ad even went so far as to end with a "Kerry for President," unlike the Swiftees, who have not come out to endorse Bush.
For reasons noted above, this blatant inconsistency will not phase these kinds of people.
Let us not hold our breaths waiting for Kerry to come out and condemn the ad, lest we die of oxygen depravation. But if consistency means anything to Mr. Flip-flop (which it obviously doesn't or else he wouldn't be called Mr. Flip-flop) he would have to do just that, seeing as how he had a major bowel movement over Bush's refusal to try to suppress the SBVFT ad.
I must at this point reiterate the previously enunciated point for the reason why Kerry is not likely to budge on this issue -tactical disadvantages of doing it aside for a moment. It is also feasible that what is noted above explains why we can see Kerry's flip flops or inconsistencies and he may actually not be able to. Yes, it is possible that he is as disingenuous as the day is long -and I have no doubt that in many respects he is. But there has to be more to it than simply that.
I submit that the core of it lies in solipsism which is to philosophy and politics what a form of immanence known as vital immanence is to theology.{1} Those who find my melding of secular and religious themes in a discussion such as this troubling should consider that perhaps all spheres of inquiry have variations of the same kinds of fallacious forms of argumentation to them. And this is one example of that case which could be noted in brief.
Note:
{1} Vital immanence (which is a particular form of immanence) parallels solipsism in the manner whereby the self knows nothing but its own states and their constituent modifications. It confines all matters to the internal forum if you will and see the external forum only in the manner whereby it is felt or cognitively perceived internally. The subjective nature of this kind of outlook should be obvious on its face; however I have learned through the years that what should be obvious quite often is not.
(Aka "Tales From the Mailbag" Dept.)
My words will be in regular font.
I just saw a MoveOn.Org T.V. ad featuring an ex-Marine who was part of an intelligence team searching from WMD's in Iraq and, of course, finding none, uses that fact to to call Bush a liar.
These people are absurd. I have noted before that the scope of this endeavour was beyond the superficial applications that those who are infected with solipsism at the core of their presuppositions can well deal with. There is a problem with those who have such a "soundbyte mentality." I noted this last year when quoting Amir Taheri whose insights on this matter are worth reiterating anew:
Finding and getting rid of such weapons in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and South Africa took 18 to 30 months, even though those governments all actively cooperated with the U.N. It is fanciful that similar results could be achieved in Iraq in a few weeks.
Not finding the weapons in a fixed timeframe does not mean they never existed. British and Spanish governments have been looking for weapons caches of Basque and Irish terrorist groups for 35 years and have found little. But everyone knows those groups have arms.
On the other hand, the Philippine government still finds weapons caches left by the Japanese over half a century ago.
These are the facts and frankly they are beyond debate for anyone who is honest about these matters. But it is pointless to bring this up with the moveon.org crowd because their entire weltanschauung is one built on solipsism. For that reason, evidences and reasoning that challenges these kinds of people often fails because their frame of reference is so narrow. I explain this more in detail HERE if readers are interested.
The ad even went so far as to end with a "Kerry for President," unlike the Swiftees, who have not come out to endorse Bush.
For reasons noted above, this blatant inconsistency will not phase these kinds of people.
Let us not hold our breaths waiting for Kerry to come out and condemn the ad, lest we die of oxygen depravation. But if consistency means anything to Mr. Flip-flop (which it obviously doesn't or else he wouldn't be called Mr. Flip-flop) he would have to do just that, seeing as how he had a major bowel movement over Bush's refusal to try to suppress the SBVFT ad.
I must at this point reiterate the previously enunciated point for the reason why Kerry is not likely to budge on this issue -tactical disadvantages of doing it aside for a moment. It is also feasible that what is noted above explains why we can see Kerry's flip flops or inconsistencies and he may actually not be able to. Yes, it is possible that he is as disingenuous as the day is long -and I have no doubt that in many respects he is. But there has to be more to it than simply that.
I submit that the core of it lies in solipsism which is to philosophy and politics what a form of immanence known as vital immanence is to theology.{1} Those who find my melding of secular and religious themes in a discussion such as this troubling should consider that perhaps all spheres of inquiry have variations of the same kinds of fallacious forms of argumentation to them. And this is one example of that case which could be noted in brief.
Note:
{1} Vital immanence (which is a particular form of immanence) parallels solipsism in the manner whereby the self knows nothing but its own states and their constituent modifications. It confines all matters to the internal forum if you will and see the external forum only in the manner whereby it is felt or cognitively perceived internally. The subjective nature of this kind of outlook should be obvious on its face; however I have learned through the years that what should be obvious quite often is not.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Notification of an Upcoming Weblog Post on Voting Issues:
In light of the recent distribution of a voting guide by Catholic Answers and the USCCB's disapproval of it- I will be posting a thread on this subject that was written yesterday either on Tuesday or Wednesday. (It needs some tweaking before it can be put on the weblog.) The intention of that thread is to deal with the issues both from a religious context as well as from the context of the fundamental rights of man in society -and the limitations that all "rights" which are claimed must be subject to. But this will be explained in detail in that thread when it is posted to Rerum Novarum.
In light of the recent distribution of a voting guide by Catholic Answers and the USCCB's disapproval of it- I will be posting a thread on this subject that was written yesterday either on Tuesday or Wednesday. (It needs some tweaking before it can be put on the weblog.) The intention of that thread is to deal with the issues both from a religious context as well as from the context of the fundamental rights of man in society -and the limitations that all "rights" which are claimed must be subject to. But this will be explained in detail in that thread when it is posted to Rerum Novarum.
Musings on the Liturgy:
Apolonio Latar III has posted a rough draft of musings on the subject of liturgy to his weblog. It is well worth reading for those who are interested in the subject. The thread can be found HERE. I detect in his balanced approach between east and west a tinge of ressourcement methodology -but do not tell him I said that ;-)
Apolonio Latar III has posted a rough draft of musings on the subject of liturgy to his weblog. It is well worth reading for those who are interested in the subject. The thread can be found HERE. I detect in his balanced approach between east and west a tinge of ressourcement methodology -but do not tell him I said that ;-)
An Urgent Appeal For Preserving Life:
Here is the text I received this morning via email.
Hello, everyone!
I've been speaking to an unmarried woman in her mid-30s, in her fourth month with a Downs Syndrome Baby. She has an aborton scheduled.
She has relented, and given us a few days to see if there is a family out there who wants to adopt her special-needs baby. Her family is totally against the abortion, and wants her to adopt the baby out.
Mom was very insistent on going ahead with the abortion, so this respite of a few days buys us time.
Do you know of anyone right now ready to adopt a special-needs baby?
It is probably better if they have gotten their home study or are in the process. We need to have this woman speak to people who can take action now and convince her that her baby is wanted. If you don't know of any families, pls keep us all in prayer. I thank God we've been given this time to help her.
Thank you all.
Anyone who can help with providing a home for this baby, please contact Geri or Barbara.
Here is the text I received this morning via email.
Hello, everyone!
I've been speaking to an unmarried woman in her mid-30s, in her fourth month with a Downs Syndrome Baby. She has an aborton scheduled.
She has relented, and given us a few days to see if there is a family out there who wants to adopt her special-needs baby. Her family is totally against the abortion, and wants her to adopt the baby out.
Mom was very insistent on going ahead with the abortion, so this respite of a few days buys us time.
Do you know of anyone right now ready to adopt a special-needs baby?
It is probably better if they have gotten their home study or are in the process. We need to have this woman speak to people who can take action now and convince her that her baby is wanted. If you don't know of any families, pls keep us all in prayer. I thank God we've been given this time to help her.
Thank you all.
Anyone who can help with providing a home for this baby, please contact Geri or Barbara.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
The Weekly Standard concurs with the position of your humble servant on the role of alternative media in the Swift Vets story. (See the Standard's article The-Not-So-Swift Mainstream Media for details.) I found the link a few minutes ago when perusing Kevin Miller's postings from yesterday to the Heart, Mind, and Strength weblog.
A Terri Shiavo Update:
(Plus Notations on Long and Short Term Approaches to Dealing With the Problems of Judicial Activism)
Things are not looking good for Terri Schiavo right now. In another example of judicial tyranny, it seems that a couple of judges are going to play the role of God here in deciding if she will live or die. I have gone over before on not a few occasions either directly or in other cases in an more indirect manner.
Those arguments at their foundation have a consistent line of argumentation to them that can be applied in a diversity of situations. And without making arguments of a purely arbitrary or subjective nature, I challenge anyone to try and confute those arguments on objective grounds. Having noted that though, it needs to be pointed out that such approaches are by their very nature long-term oriented viz. these issues. The purpose of this post is to recall the long-term approach and to highlight as well what must be done in the short-term; having done the former, let us now focus on the latter.
In the short term, Terri will not personally be helped by those arguments right now, instead what is needed most is prayer: prayer that we are not dealing with judicial "termites"{1} and instead are dealing with judicial "whores."{2} Because at the very least, the latter can be bought for some price -whatever that price may be. At the moment, the best weapon is something that my friend Lane Core Jr. has been reiterating at his weblog for the past week or so: prayer. Please remember in your prayers Terri Schiavo and pray that she does not become yet another life sacrificed on the altar of the idol of utility.
Notes:
{1} I call those who invent law in blatant violation of life, faculties, or production (aka "the three fundamental rights of man") "judicial termites" because they destroy those rights which precede all man made laws from within. By contrast, those whose defense of or assault of those rights depends on whose special interests are able to essentially "buy them" are what I call "judicial whores."
I have noted before that on the US Supreme Court, we have three "constructionists" (aka "Constitutionalists"), three "whores", and three "termites." Well, it should go without saying that the US Supreme Court is not the only court to have the various kinds of judges as noted above.
{2} We already know we are not dealing with judicial "constructionists" in this case.
(Plus Notations on Long and Short Term Approaches to Dealing With the Problems of Judicial Activism)
Things are not looking good for Terri Schiavo right now. In another example of judicial tyranny, it seems that a couple of judges are going to play the role of God here in deciding if she will live or die. I have gone over before on not a few occasions either directly or in other cases in an more indirect manner.
Those arguments at their foundation have a consistent line of argumentation to them that can be applied in a diversity of situations. And without making arguments of a purely arbitrary or subjective nature, I challenge anyone to try and confute those arguments on objective grounds. Having noted that though, it needs to be pointed out that such approaches are by their very nature long-term oriented viz. these issues. The purpose of this post is to recall the long-term approach and to highlight as well what must be done in the short-term; having done the former, let us now focus on the latter.
In the short term, Terri will not personally be helped by those arguments right now, instead what is needed most is prayer: prayer that we are not dealing with judicial "termites"{1} and instead are dealing with judicial "whores."{2} Because at the very least, the latter can be bought for some price -whatever that price may be. At the moment, the best weapon is something that my friend Lane Core Jr. has been reiterating at his weblog for the past week or so: prayer. Please remember in your prayers Terri Schiavo and pray that she does not become yet another life sacrificed on the altar of the idol of utility.
Notes:
{1} I call those who invent law in blatant violation of life, faculties, or production (aka "the three fundamental rights of man") "judicial termites" because they destroy those rights which precede all man made laws from within. By contrast, those whose defense of or assault of those rights depends on whose special interests are able to essentially "buy them" are what I call "judicial whores."
I have noted before that on the US Supreme Court, we have three "constructionists" (aka "Constitutionalists"), three "whores", and three "termites." Well, it should go without saying that the US Supreme Court is not the only court to have the various kinds of judges as noted above.
{2} We already know we are not dealing with judicial "constructionists" in this case.
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