Quick Roundup 91

Ugh!

I was under the weather big time yesterday, so didn't make my usual Sunday post or attend to comments until this morning. It was either dehydration or something I ate for brunch.

In any case: I'm back, baby!

The Newest "Crunchy Conservative"

The merger between the environmentalists and the religious right just got a big boost. Pope Benedict XVI has recently declared that damage to "the environment" endangers "the poor".

The world "is exposed to a series of risks created by choices and lifestyles that can degrade it," the leader of the Roman Catholic Church said in his Sunday sermon given at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

"Damage to the environment makes the life of the poor on Earth particularly unbearable," the pope said, calling on all Christians to take care of the earth and not deplete its resources, sharing them in solidarity.

The pontiff's call came a few days before Christian associations celebrate in Italy on September 1 a "day for the safeguarding of Creation".

No word yet on whether the Pope plans to excommunicate God if Ernesto ploughs through that largest American "wetland", the Everglades, as is apparently planned.

An Oldie but a Goodie

Through a blog I recently stumbled upon and look forward to becoming more familiar with, The Kalamazoo Objectivist, I learned of a really good article (minus an error concerning the origin of individual rights) about what the Islamic call to murder Americans really means.

You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So I just thought I would write to let them know what an American is, so they would know when they found one.

An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them choose.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each man and woman to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. The best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes.

Americans welcome the best, but they also welcome the least. The national symbol of America welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed.

These in fact are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers in the morning of September 11, earning a better life for their families. [I've been told that the people in the Towers were from at least 30, and maybe many more, other countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.]

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

So look around you. You may find more Americans in your land than you thought were there. One day they will rise up and overthrow the old, ignorant, tired tyrants that trouble too many lands. Then those lands, too, will join the community of free and prosperous nations.

And America will welcome them. [bold added]

The tenet that non-Moslems must convert, submit, or die is what makes this evil religion into a suicide cult.

A note on attribution: In an effort to learn more about the "Australian dentist" who is commonly credited with this excellent piece, I learned instead that Peter Ferrara, an associate law professor at George Mason University, wrote the piece, which was originally published in National Review in 2001, and then gave permission to reproduce it provided his name and affiliation were attached.

"Converted" at Gunpoint

As if we need any more proof that Islam is at war with the best within us -- our considered, rational judgement -- Fox News reporter Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig were "converted" to Islam at gunpoint during their imprisonment by devout Moslems near Israel.

Since leaving the faith is punishable by death, it is clear that Moslems -- whose silence on this act I take as sanction -- really don't give a damn about whether someone understands the tenets of their faith. They care only about being able to tell people what to do.

Along those lines, Glenn Reynolds also brings up the following good point on what episodes like this mean regarding journalism from Moslem lands:

Plus this: "I’m glad these guys are safe and free. I wish them well. But I hope there will be some attention paid by Fox and other media to the way in which kidnappings and similar threats coerce and intimidate journalists, and may influence their coverage."

You can't hire Moslems as stringers and you can't trust Moslems not to force regular journalists to lie.

Would someone please tell me why our news organizations "report" from Moslem territory at all?

Nancy Pelosi Stumps for Republicans

If the Republicans still have a grain of sense left, they will make sure this gem by Nancy Pelosi appears in various campaign spots this November: "Anybody who's ever dealt with me knows not to mess with me." (second page)

Iran to United States: "Kick me!"

Iran's president:

"No one can deprive a nation of its rights based on its capabilities," Ahmadinejad said in his speech to inaugurate the heavy water project.

Not that I agree with Ahmadinejad that just because Iran can start up a reactor in order to create fissile material that it has the right to. But he does apparently agree with me that the United States has the right to use its ability to flatten large swaths of his territory.

I say we should take him at his word.

Good Site Name

Reader Adrian Hester is right: "Kermitage" is a great name for a site about The Muppets!

-- CAV