Thursday, July 21, 2005

Miss Universe, Canada, and statist Paradise

Is this authoritarian Paradise really what some in the US hold up as an ideal?

News.co.au has the story:
CANADIAN Miss Universe Natalie Glebova was forced to take off her official sash...when Toronto authorities invoked a law against sexual stereotyping.

...city employees invoked a regulation against activities which degrade men and women through sexual stereotypes or exploit their bodies to attract attention.

Bowing to the local law, the 23 year old blue-eyed brunette was made to remove her Miss Universe sash...

"According to those conditions, a beauty contest cannot even be held in Toronto", (Miss Universe President Paula) Shugart said.
What ever happened to Valuing Diversity?

I think nothing happened to it, actually. I think the exhortation to Value Diversity was a lie from the word go. They don't value diversity, which would necessarily allow free expression by those they disagree with. They value conformity, and are willing...no, make that delighted, to use the violence of the state to enforce that conformity.

That's a shame, because diversity is a good thing, and it should be valued. These ppl just don't value it in the real world. They hate the real thing. It's too messy. Too tolerant. And if there is anything today's right-minded oppose, it is tolerance.

Thanks to Power Line for the lead.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

More on Kennewick Man

The NYT has some additional details .

J. Edgar Hoover and the Political Corruption of the FBI

Just in case there are any lingering doubts about presidential misuse of the FBI for political purposes, read Lawrence H. Silberman's column in OpinionJournal:
Only a few weeks before the 1964 election, a powerful presidential assistant, Walter Jenkins, was arrested in a men's room in Washington. Evidently, the president [Lyndon Johnson] was concerned that Barry Goldwater would use that against him in the election. Another assistant, Bill Moyers, was tasked to direct Hoover to do an investigation of Goldwater's staff to find similar evidence of homosexual activity. Mr. Moyers' memo to the FBI was in one of the files.
Yes, that Bill Moyers.

Silberman also makes a good suggestion:
I think it would be appropriate to introduce all new recruits to the nature of the secret and confidential files of J. Edgar Hoover. And in that connection this country--and the bureau--would be well served if his name were removed from the bureau's building. It is as if the Defense Department were named for Aaron Burr. Liberals and conservatives should unite to support legislation to accomplish this repudiation of a very sad chapter in American history.
Sounds good to me, even if only a symbol. Why honor the corrupt?

Monday, July 18, 2005

I, Pencil

I just came across a short story from 1958: I, Pencil by Leonard E. Read. It's worth a read, in fact.

Suicide Bombers and motivations

Caryle Murphy reports in the Washington Post that there is evidence that the majority of bombers are just politically averse to American occupation of Muslim countries.

Murphy interviewed researcher Robert A. Pape, who says:
"Suicide terrorism is not so much committed by religious fanatics looking for a quick trip to paradise as it is by a variety of secular and religious individuals who fear that their societies will be unalterably transformed by a religiously motivated occupier."
Hmmm...does this mean that the Islamic countries should expect Dutch, French, and British suicide bombers?

In any case, it is a counterpoint to Nasra Hassan's article on the religiously motivated bombers. Bombers, however, are not the leaders. It would be interesting to have a better handle on their motivations, tho my impression is that the religious and secular motivations are deeply intertwined: they abhor Westerners in Muslim countries and Westernisation in general, hated having American troops in Saudi Arabia, and want to kick us all out , but only as a step in the process of establishing a world-wide Islamist state.

"The Economics of Terrorism"

Different River has his take on The Economics of Terrorism

Thanks to The Club for Growth Blog: Carnival of the Capitalist for the lead.

The Akaka Bill or "Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act"

UPDATE/Query: Five percent of my recent traffic has been to this post, nearly all from someone at the office of the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms. If one of you folks visits again, I'd love to know what you find so interesting. You are welcome to use either the email or comment icon at the bottom of the post. Thanks! TTB 23 August 2005

The Akaka Bill to make so-called Native Hawaiians (who are now US citizens)into foreigners...or perhaps more accurately dual nationals...is getting some more attention from John Fund at OpinionJournal.

It seems to me that the only "native" Hawaiians who should be sorry about the overthrow of the monarchy are the alii. Of course, non-native activists like Haunani-Kay Trask (she was born in California) may be offended for racial reasons, but why cater to the David Dukes of Hawaii? Unless I am a native Englishman, H-KT is at best a kamaaina. She isn't a native.

The US Congress was foolish enuf to apologise for unknowingly helping overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy. Perhaps the French Parliament owes the British an apology for having knowingly helped the Americans (a minority of Americans, remember) to throw off British rule. And perhaps Americans whose families were here prior to 1776 should be allowed to vote in Britain, because, after all, we are Native Britons.

In any case, the people of a country have the right to change their government, and so far as I can tell, the only real argument that the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy wasn't legitimate is a racial one.

Damn the People: They don't know what's good for them.

Frank Furedi, a sociology professor at the University of Kent, has a longish column in Spiked on liberal disaffection for the masses:
...political elites...say that they are worried about the problem of political disengagement, but the last thing they want is a public that is genuinely happy to engage. That is why they will think twice about organising more referendums.
Jane Smiley's classic denunciation of American red state voters, un-remarked by Furedi, is a remarkable example of exactly what he is talking about. It richly deserves to be read now and then.

Thanks to Arts & Letters Daily for the lead.

"Who won the election?"

The Islamists did, of course. Was there ever any question that the winner was their candidate? The Madrid trains were bombed in order to change the outcome of the elections, and they worked.

Barcepundit (English edition) has the story, and links to the Spanish papers (in Spanish, of course). I wonder what Spanish voters think of this. And former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. He screwed up by blaming the bombings on ETA, but the voters...well, they behaved exactly as al Qaeda wanted them to behave.

Thanks to Instapundit.com for the lead.