Thomas Fleming
VI Day
The war’s over! We won! Hurrah for our side–whatever side that happens to be!
Ground Zero Mosque, Grade Zero Argument
The proposal to build a mosque in Manhattan near the site of the Twin Towers has ignited the usual futile debate that marks all political discussion in America. I don’t know which set of arguments is more degrading, the opponents’ cry of insensitivity or the defenders’ claim of religious freedom.
A Plague on Both Their Houses
What can you do to make the worst of a bad situation? The Democrats know how: they have decided (temporarily) to shaft their welfare-consuming constituents–by cutting out Food Stamps–in order to help teachers and other government “workers.” At least the welfare drones do nothing more than lay around thinking about crimes to commit, while public school teachers are paid good money to destroy the minds and morals of American children. What is the predictable GOP response? This plan will cost too much money and reward thriftless states at the expense of the thrifty. The same Republicans would probably do a cost-benefit analysis of the Gulag. And, if I recall, Food Stamps was a brilliant Republican idea. Instead of giving food to the poor–the only idea that makes sense–let us instead give them vouchers so they can learn how to handle their money. And it has actually worked well. Recipients regularly sell their Food Stamps at a discount to get money for alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Republicans always accuse the Democrats of throwing money at problems, but they are scarcely any better. If either side understands the reality of the American underclass, no one is talking. I cannot believe the Democrats will fail to throw more food stamps at their voters in the underclass they have worked so hard to create as a permanent constituency.
Treason in a Good Cause
Am I the only one who is a bit put off by all this conservative support for the Pfc who allegedly leaked classified material to Wikileak? Have anti-war conservatives gone so far down the road that they no longer value honesty and duty or condemn oath-breaking and treason? Oh well, it’s all in a good cause, as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg used to say. Or was it Kim Philby?
The New Racism
Friends of Omar Thornton, the black male who killed eight co-workers and then himself, say he was driven to the point of despair by the racists he worked with. The trucking company for whom he worked has pointed out that he never filed a complaint. Thornton went on his killing spree when he was shown a tape of himself stealing beer from a truck. If he were with us today, Mr. Thornton would undoubtedly point out that white people steal beer, too. Then, why fire a black man for stealing? Because they are racists.
This is a principle of somewhat wider application. Governor David Paterson understands it, and this why he censured President Obama for criticizing Charles Rangel. Such criticisms are not appropriate from someone in “the community,” a word which means in his vocabulary only one thing: the black race. White congressmen are corrupt, too. They why are white congressmen picking on Charlie? It’s because they are racists. We have had stupid and evil white presidents, too. Why pick on Obama? You tell me the answer.
Conservative Credo: Abortion, Conclusion
If the state is to protect life at any cost, doesn’t this imply a financial obligation to preserve the life of any child, no matter how deformed or hopeless, no matter what it takes? That means a considerable outlay of tax money, and in parallel cases, when the state assumes the burden, it also lays down the law. The routine justification for anti-smoking laws and seatbelt regulations is the cost imposed on the public. It does not take too much imagination to foresee the time when couples will have to submit to genetic screening if they wish to receive a permit to conceive. Couples who defied the law would be compelled to abort the illegal (and therefore rightless) child.
Abortion: Fetus Liberation Fronts
It is hard to see that much good has ever come from any of the various declarations of the rights of man. Such a declaration did not save the French from either Robespierre or Napoleon, and the constitution of the defunct USSR practically glows with liberal enthusiasm for human rights. For some strange reason, though, intelligent and well-meaning opponents of abortion have increasingly come to adopt the radical language of rights as their first line of offense, extending the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee on the protection of legal persons to the unborn and comparing the anti-abortion campaign with the abolitionist and civil rights movements.
The Supremes and the NRA
I agree entirely with Aaron Wolf both on the constitutional argument but also on the deeper political question of the centralization of power. The problem is that we are all tempted to use the court when it suits our purpose, and in this case if I lived in Chicago I’d probably be happy with this victory of Washington over the people who live in the country. To see what people think, I am allowing writebacks on this.
