A Conservative View (Misc. Musings VI)

1. The Swiss vote on minarets. The people of Switzerland recently voted to ban any new minarets (not mosques) in their country. It was felt that the minarets were tied to radical islam and/or reflected islamic tolerance. Of course, there was much hand-wringing throughout the liberal EU, condemning the Swiss action. But the most "interesting" quote was from one Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. He referred to the ban as an "example of growing anti-Islamic incitement in Europe by the extremist, anti-immigrant, xenophobic, racist, scare-mongering ultra-right politicians, who reign over common sense, wisdom and universal values." (From the Verizon News online, 11/30/09.)

This is a beautiful piece of propaganda. Look at how much they cover in one sentence. Are there any more demonizing terms they left out about this politically incorrect ban of minarets? And never mind that the measure passed with 58% approval. And look at how they appeal to "universal values." It is truly a work of art as far as propaganda goes (a topic I have commented on extensively). So here are a few questions I would ask Mr. Ihsanoglu:
1. Hundreds of mosques have been built throughout the Western world in
maybe the last 10 to 20 years. How many churches have the muslim
countries of the world allowed to be built in the same time frame? How
many synagogues?
2. Any Christian missionaries allowed in muslim countries? In how many
muslim countries is it illegal to try to convert a muslim? In how many
muslim countries is it illegal to even enter with a copy of the Old or New
Testament? In how many muslim countries is the punishment death for
a muslim converting to another religion?
3. Why do Muslim countries seem to lose large numbers of their Christian
populations after Islamists take over? Think Iraq, Lebanon, the
"Palestinian" territories.
4. So what about those "universal values?" Not only does this all work one
way, in favor of the muslims, but (as I said many times before) the
liberal, guilt-ridden, politically-correct West falls for it every time!

So just when I despair of no liberals getting any of this, along comes Thomas Friedman, liberal author and columnist for the NYTimes. In his 11/29/09 column, he discusses what he calls "The Narrative." He defines The Narrative as a "cocktail of half-truths, propaganda and outright lies about America that have taken hold in the Arab-Muslim world since 9/11...that America has declared war on Islam, as part of a grand "American-Crusader-Zionist conspiracy" to keep Muslims down." Pretty good coming from a liberal - even though this "Narrative" actually started well before 9/11 and applies to the entire Western world, not just the U.S.

He points out, as if it will matter to the muslim world, that America has helped free muslims in Bosnia, Darfur, Kuwait, Somalia, Lebanon, Kurdistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iraq and Afghanistan. He points out that most muslims being killed in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Indonesia are killed by OTHER MUSLIMS! He points out that "for every Abu Ghraib, (not such a scandal to this writer) our soldiers and diplomats perpetrated a million acts of kindness aimed at giving Arabs and Muslims a better chance to succeed with modernity and to elect their own leaders." (And although he does not say so, George Bush would actually get some of the credit for that - OMG!)

And then Mr. Friedman puts them to the test. If major Hasan is not an example of true Islam, then "you need to tell us what ... is and show us how its positive interpretations are being promoted in your schools and mosques." And why will millions of muslims protest cartoons but not suicide (homicide) bombers blowing up real people? WHY INDEED?

2. Climategate - Scandal at the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia. (Or how Liberals learned to hate the truth and love their ideologies.) Some hackers (not to be condoned, but who are not the real criminals here; and why wasn't this data made public in the first place) obtained thousands of emails to and from scientists at East Anglia, a clearinghouse for climate data. Phil Jones, director of CRU was rather reluctant to release data based on FOI (freedom of information) requests. From Mr. Jones: "When the FOI requests began here, the FOI person said we had to abide by the requests. It took a couple of half-hour sessions - one at a screen, to convince them otherwise." (Quote from Investors Business Daily, 12/01/09.) Mr. Jones to a professor Mann at Penn State: "If they ever hear there's a Freedom of Information Act in the U.K., I think I'll delete the file rather than send to anyone." (Quote from the same IBD article.)

You see, it would be totally unacceptable to let people know about the global COOLING of the last decade. But, as noted here on a frequent basis, liberals do not let FACTS determine their REALITY. So one Andrew Revkin of the NYTimes reported on 11/21/09 that "the evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument." (Quote from the 12/02/09 IBD.) The IBD article goes on to quote The Washington Post of 11/25/09: "None of it seriously undercuts the scientific consensus on climate change." Really? Fraudulently reporting higher temperatures when they were declining has no effect on anyone's opinion? So I guess we just reach the conclusion first, then conduct the "studies." "Off with her head" said the Queen, of Alice. Alice: "What about the trial?" The Queen: "We'll have the trial afterwards!" So welcome to the Alice in Wonderland of the liberal mentality!

But a Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post, in an article on 11/27/09, explains what "global warming/climate change" really means to the liberal/statist: "Most Americans are convinced that climate change is real - a necessary prerequisite for the kinds of huge economic and behavioral adjustments we would have to make." (Quote from the 12/02/09 IBD.) That one sentence pretty much says it all; the liberal mentality is all about CONTROL! So the world economy can lay out trillions of dollars (coming from YOU - the TAXPAYER) to further their agenda of having the government dictate every aspect of our lives. This is truly no different than Obamacare, allowing the government to raise our taxes and "redistribute" the wealth and otherwise control our behavior. Nor is it different from the left's desire to bring back the "fairness doctrine" or bring "net neutrality" to the internet. This is all about government control over you! And while liberals were all in a tizzy over "W" authorizing wiretapping of foreign terrorists who communicated with Americans, they are more than willing to give up so much more at the altar of Big Government.