Leftist journalist calls for government to shut down Fox News
“I am genuinely scared” of Fox, wrote Guardian columnist Daniel Davies, because it “shows you that a genuinely shameless and unethical media organisation *cannot* be controlled by any form of peer pressure or self-regulation, and nor can it be successfully cold-shouldered or ostracised. In order to have even a semblance of control, you need a tough legal framework.”
This is genuinely fascinating.
Think about what he is saying here for a moment. He is calling for government control over the press.
Wow.... just wow....
When I read statements like his, and this is not the first time I've seen such sentiments, I'm always reminded of something that Joseph Goebbels said:
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
When someone has the truth on their side, they do not fear those who disagree with them. They respond to challenges and criticism with the truth. (And few are in a better position to make their voices heard than journalists.) Only someone who is committed to lies is fearful of disagreement. It is this sort of person who seeks to silence their opposition, not with the truth, but with brute force.
Everything you need know about this man and people like him can be summed up by his own words. He fears an open marketplace of ideas because he knows that his own beliefs will be rejected. He doesn't want to know and follow the truth. He wants control. He became a journalist in order to control what other people think, and he is now upset that his ability to do this is draining away.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Victor Davis Hanson does it again
I’ve long said that civilization trumps natural selection. I’d like to now add that persistent affluence reverses it.
These people are as they are precisely because they have not had to deal with reality. They are victims of our nation’s economic and material success. They receive all of the benefits that affluence bestows, without ever having to manifest any of the virtues that made that affluence possible in the first place.
Our nation is DOOMED because our culture has decayed from within. Character is destiny, and the character of a nation is its culture.
It won’t matter who gets elected this fall, or in 2012, because both the voters and the candidates will be cut from a fraying and substandard cloth that grows thinner each day.
If you’ve ever wondered how great civilizations decline and perish, take a look around. You’ve got a front row seat.
Friday, July 16, 2010
The truth about the NAACP
"I've looked into the heart of the NAACP and I know that at its core, the NAACP is founded on a platform of hatred towards people who write with their left hand.
I officially call upon the NAACP and all people of good will to repudiate the handist element and activities within the NAACP.
It's time for the NAACP to be responsible members of this democracy and make sure they don't tolerate bigots or bigotry among their members."
Sound silly and a little out of touch with reality?
Well no more so than the NAACP joining the chorus of leftards accusing the Tea Party of racism.
Think about the word racism for a minute. With the way that it is tossed about and the quickness with which the left uses it as a gratuitous accusation, does it really mean anything anymore?
Think for a moment about the definition of the term. Now look at all of the people and groups and situations where someone is being accused of it. Does that definition in any way fit the way the term is actually used in practice?
Racism, at least according to the uncorrupted definition of that word, is a social ill that is at an all time low. Show me someone who hates other human beings because of their ethnic background and I'll show you an ex-con with an 8th grade education and a room temperature IQ living in a trailer park. Decent human beings don't look for someone to dump on so that they can feel better about themselves. Decent human beings see people as individuals and judge them accordingly, not as members of some tribal group to be judged en masse. When leftists harp on and on about racism without any grounds for that accusation, I do have to believe that it is a case of psychological projection. So much of what they scream about is precisely what they do, to the point that their own accusations can be used as a pretty good indicator for what their own crimes are.
The Tea Party that I'm a part of is comprised of decent human beings. To accuse us of something as sordid and ignorant as racism pathetically absurd. Even more absurd than my accusing the NAACP of hating people who are left-handed.
Why would they do this? Because we represent ideas and principles that they do not agree with but cannot refute nor publicly deny. So instead they resort to ad-hominem attacks against us, which is the last refuge of the intellectually bankrupt. It would be truly fascinating to hear what they say about us in private amongst themselves.
I officially call upon the NAACP and all people of good will to repudiate the handist element and activities within the NAACP.
It's time for the NAACP to be responsible members of this democracy and make sure they don't tolerate bigots or bigotry among their members."
Sound silly and a little out of touch with reality?
Well no more so than the NAACP joining the chorus of leftards accusing the Tea Party of racism.
Think about the word racism for a minute. With the way that it is tossed about and the quickness with which the left uses it as a gratuitous accusation, does it really mean anything anymore?
Think for a moment about the definition of the term. Now look at all of the people and groups and situations where someone is being accused of it. Does that definition in any way fit the way the term is actually used in practice?
Racism, at least according to the uncorrupted definition of that word, is a social ill that is at an all time low. Show me someone who hates other human beings because of their ethnic background and I'll show you an ex-con with an 8th grade education and a room temperature IQ living in a trailer park. Decent human beings don't look for someone to dump on so that they can feel better about themselves. Decent human beings see people as individuals and judge them accordingly, not as members of some tribal group to be judged en masse. When leftists harp on and on about racism without any grounds for that accusation, I do have to believe that it is a case of psychological projection. So much of what they scream about is precisely what they do, to the point that their own accusations can be used as a pretty good indicator for what their own crimes are.
The Tea Party that I'm a part of is comprised of decent human beings. To accuse us of something as sordid and ignorant as racism pathetically absurd. Even more absurd than my accusing the NAACP of hating people who are left-handed.
Why would they do this? Because we represent ideas and principles that they do not agree with but cannot refute nor publicly deny. So instead they resort to ad-hominem attacks against us, which is the last refuge of the intellectually bankrupt. It would be truly fascinating to hear what they say about us in private amongst themselves.
Competition in education as a solution to the iron cage of school bureaucracies
This was originally posted to a forum on Amazon.com of all places:
Teacher's comment questioning the qualifications of homeschoolers
Public schoolteachers believe that we should be FORCED to purchase their services. They believe that they should have a monopoly on the education of the young, one backed up by the force of law. This sense of entitlement is truly breathtaking. Contrast this with professionals whose paycheck is contingent on the quality of their services.
When the state has a monopoly on the means of production we call it communism. Our public schools are a case study for why communism doesn't work. Communism doesn't just have economic effects, it destroys the virtue of the people who are subjected to it. Public schools are such a horror precisely because of this.
The only real solution is to take the government out of the business of delivering education. Public he roads are maintained by private firms under contract with the state. The same should be done with education. Only instead of some government bureaucrat deciding which school gets the money, the parents of each individual child should decide. Make schools compete for students and for the state funding that each student represents.
Effective teachers who care about their students welcome this idea. They have nothing to fear from increased competition. In fact they have everything to gain from it as this would make their own competence an asset rather than a liability. Political intrigue, which public schools are notorious for, is the pastime of those whose position isn't based on on performance. Tie continued employment and promotion to objective standards of achievement instead of political wrangling and that intrigue will evaporate.
Bad teachers naturally don't like this idea. They want to nurse from the teat of the public treasury, secure in the knowledge that they can never be dislodged, no matter how useless or even destructive they are. They are what is known as a parasite, and should be treated as such.
Remember this the next time someone tries to feed you the standard sob story about how teachers are so underpaid and under-appreciated. More money is not what they need. Accountability that only the free market can create is what they need.
Teacher's comment questioning the qualifications of homeschoolers
Public schoolteachers believe that we should be FORCED to purchase their services. They believe that they should have a monopoly on the education of the young, one backed up by the force of law. This sense of entitlement is truly breathtaking. Contrast this with professionals whose paycheck is contingent on the quality of their services.
When the state has a monopoly on the means of production we call it communism. Our public schools are a case study for why communism doesn't work. Communism doesn't just have economic effects, it destroys the virtue of the people who are subjected to it. Public schools are such a horror precisely because of this.
The only real solution is to take the government out of the business of delivering education. Public he roads are maintained by private firms under contract with the state. The same should be done with education. Only instead of some government bureaucrat deciding which school gets the money, the parents of each individual child should decide. Make schools compete for students and for the state funding that each student represents.
Effective teachers who care about their students welcome this idea. They have nothing to fear from increased competition. In fact they have everything to gain from it as this would make their own competence an asset rather than a liability. Political intrigue, which public schools are notorious for, is the pastime of those whose position isn't based on on performance. Tie continued employment and promotion to objective standards of achievement instead of political wrangling and that intrigue will evaporate.
Bad teachers naturally don't like this idea. They want to nurse from the teat of the public treasury, secure in the knowledge that they can never be dislodged, no matter how useless or even destructive they are. They are what is known as a parasite, and should be treated as such.
Remember this the next time someone tries to feed you the standard sob story about how teachers are so underpaid and under-appreciated. More money is not what they need. Accountability that only the free market can create is what they need.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Oakland circles the bowl
Suffer these crimes in Oakland? Don't call the cops.
Here is a partial list of the crimes that the Oakland police department will no longer trouble itself with:
It looks to me like child molesters and firebugs have found themselves their very own Sanctuary City.
Given the efforts by the usual suspects in California to deprive citizens of their 2nd amendment rights, I suspect that crimes like burglary will increase dramatically.
Here is a partial list of the crimes that the Oakland police department will no longer trouble itself with:
- burglary
- theft
- embezzlement
- grand theft
- grand theft:dog
- identity theft
- false information to peace officer
- required to register as sex or arson offender
- dump waste or offensive matter
- discard appliance with lock
- loud music
- possess forged notes
- pass fictitious check
- obtain money by false voucher
- fraudulent use of access cards
- stolen license plate
- embezzlement by an employee (over $ 400)
- extortion
- attempted extortion
- false personification of other
- injure telephone/ power line
- interfere with power line
- unauthorized cable tv connection
- vandalism
It looks to me like child molesters and firebugs have found themselves their very own Sanctuary City.
Given the efforts by the usual suspects in California to deprive citizens of their 2nd amendment rights, I suspect that crimes like burglary will increase dramatically.
Friday, July 9, 2010
They just don't get it.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/08/ann-coulter-vs-bill-kristol-beginnings-of-a-conservative-schis/
The left loves to latch on to disagreements among conservatives and pretend that civil war is on the horizon.
Ha!
But that isn't the reason I'm posting about this article. I'm doing so because it keeps talking about something it calls "the war in Afghanistan."
Once again the left just doesn't get it.
The war in Afghanistan is not the war in Afghanistan.
The war is global because our enemies are global. A religious ideology of hatred knows no national boundaries.
There is no way to "win in Afghanistan" in any meaningful sense because Afghanistan is merely one of many battlefields.
Places like the UK, Holland, and Michigan are where the real battles will be fought, and it won't be with bullets and bombs, but with babies. Demographics is destiny.
Naturally we should deprive our enemies of Afghanistan as a base of operations and a source of cannon fodder and suicide bombers, but we should not confuse our ability to do this with some sort of cosmic "victory."
Victory will come when our enemies are dead.
The left loves to latch on to disagreements among conservatives and pretend that civil war is on the horizon.
Ha!
But that isn't the reason I'm posting about this article. I'm doing so because it keeps talking about something it calls "the war in Afghanistan."
Once again the left just doesn't get it.
The war in Afghanistan is not the war in Afghanistan.
The war is global because our enemies are global. A religious ideology of hatred knows no national boundaries.
There is no way to "win in Afghanistan" in any meaningful sense because Afghanistan is merely one of many battlefields.
Places like the UK, Holland, and Michigan are where the real battles will be fought, and it won't be with bullets and bombs, but with babies. Demographics is destiny.
Naturally we should deprive our enemies of Afghanistan as a base of operations and a source of cannon fodder and suicide bombers, but we should not confuse our ability to do this with some sort of cosmic "victory."
Victory will come when our enemies are dead.
Murrow to Goebbels to the dustbin
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/08/beyond-the-killing-fields-why-journalism-is-in-a-state-of-ch/
He doesn't get it I'm afraid.
The craft of "credible, serious journalism is in a state of chaos" because journalists are no longer credible.
Money is not a the heart of the issue. Honesty is.
Journalism, once based on the ideals and ethic of Murrow, now follows a different school: that of Goebbels.
The media does one of two things. It seeks to distract the public with "news" stories about celebrity gossip. When it does cover real news, every word is an attempt at manipulation. Stories that cannot be spin doctored are ignored.
This isn't a matter of bias, but of simple honesty.
Like all propagandists, the media lies even when it tells the truth.
Naturally, the public is increasingly looking for news and analysis from other sources.
In Nazi Germany, people simply stopped reading newspapers because all of them contained the very same propaganda.
In America, people are disregarding "liberal" papers and magazines for the very same reason.
He doesn't get it I'm afraid.
The craft of "credible, serious journalism is in a state of chaos" because journalists are no longer credible.
Money is not a the heart of the issue. Honesty is.
Journalism, once based on the ideals and ethic of Murrow, now follows a different school: that of Goebbels.
The media does one of two things. It seeks to distract the public with "news" stories about celebrity gossip. When it does cover real news, every word is an attempt at manipulation. Stories that cannot be spin doctored are ignored.
This isn't a matter of bias, but of simple honesty.
Like all propagandists, the media lies even when it tells the truth.
Naturally, the public is increasingly looking for news and analysis from other sources.
In Nazi Germany, people simply stopped reading newspapers because all of them contained the very same propaganda.
In America, people are disregarding "liberal" papers and magazines for the very same reason.
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