April 8, 2004 by s.z.

Has the World Gone Mad??? Isn't today Thursday?  If so, then why is the new adventure of America's Worst Mother ® up at NRO?  Is Meghan trying to throw off the PTA Capable Mothers, or is she just messing with those of us who like to end our week by wading through the Fever Swamp and killing some of the mosquitos? I will wait to read TBOGG's sure-to-be hilarious translation of the new piece before wading through it myself, but I can tell you that Meghan follows up last week's exciting trip to the pediatrician with a visit to the dentist.  Not that many wacky hijinx ensue.  Travel is derided.  The kids don't say anything very cute.  The hyper Bologna is still destroying everything in his path.  Midge is still a junkie (she has the munchies).  Mr. Meghan is still MIA.  Terrorists don't get the family.  So, not all that exciting of an ep -- maybe because it's just not the same on Thursday. And I still want to know why it's being published on Thursday? (Today IS Thursday, right? I will be embarrassed if I lost another day.) 9:15:18 AM

Are Some People Morons? From James Taranto's Opinion Journal: Are Muslims Adults?Canada's National Post reports that a Jewish school in Montreal has been firebombed in what police are calling a "hate crime": The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that a "warning" note left outside the school says the attack was intended as retaliation for Israel's assassination last month of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of the Hamas terrorist group. [snip] This reminds us of former Enron adviser Paul Krugman. Back in October, as we noted, Krugman penned a column in which he blamed the Bush administration--specifically, "its war in Iraq and its unconditional support for Ariel Sharon"--for "the rising tide of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism among Muslims." He was referring to Muslims in Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, but you could apply this logic just as well to those in Canada and elsewhere. Applying Krugmanic logic, Sharon, who ordered the killing of the terrorist Yassin, is responsible for the Montreal firebombi So, to use Tarantoic logic, when Krugman blamed rising levels of anti-Americanism on Bush administration policies and actions, he was actually claiming that Bush is personally responsible for killing and then burning the bodies of those four Blackwater employees. Somehow, though, this way of thinking never seems to work in reverse. The Baltimore Sun reports on a kerfuffle under way in Annapolis, Maryland's capital, where a Republican state lawmaker, Donald Dwyer, "apparently used his state-provided computer to distribute the treatise titled 'Is Islam Really Peaceful?' Purportedly written by his eighth-grade nephew, it cites Islamic scripture to make a case that the religion is not peaceful." Reactions were predictable. The local spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations called it "very, very alarming" that Dwyer would "send this hate out." A Democratic state senator complained to Dwyer that his message "perpetuates hateful stereotypes at a time when building bridges is necessary." We haven't seen the message Dwyer sent, so we have no opinion about it. But in any case, mere words are far less offensive than a firebomb. How come when someone expresses an anti-Muslim opinion, liberals who delight in "understanding" our foes never blame it on Muslim terrorists for provoking it by killing innocent people? Well, okay -- I'll be the first: Donald H. Dwyer Jr. used his work computer to distribute a piece titled "Is Islam Really Peaceful?" to all 187 of his legislative colleagues.  The essay, which Dwyer says was written by his eighth-grade nephew, claims that the Koran orders Muslims to kill those who won't "comply" with Islam. While everybody agrees that using a goverment owned-and-operated computer to spam your colleagues with unfair, untrue, and prejudicial memos about somebody else's religion is not a good thing to do (not as bad as fire-bombing a school, of course, but still bad), I think part of the blame for Dwyer's anti-Islamic sentiments can be attributed to the fact that Muslim terrorists have killed innocent people.  I can certainly understand and share Mr. Dwyers feelings of anger against terrorism.  But explanations of why somebody may feel the way they feel are not excuses for why they acted the way they did.  Even Muslims who hate America shouldn't kill innocent people.  Even ticked-off Palestinians shouldn't firebomb Canadian schools.  And even peeved legislaters shouldn't use goverment computers to send hateful (and stupid) essays about religion to everybody they can think of.  But just as we try to understand what motivates our enemies so we can deal with them more effectively, we should try to understand Dwyer, so we can neutralize his chances for re-election.   (Understanding someone not being the same as exonerating them, as everyone knows.) Of course, not all Muslims are terrorists, anymore than all fundamentalist Christians are idiots like Dwyer.  Therefore, I call upon liberals everywhere to refrain from using their tax-payer provided computers and computer networks to send untrue and bigoted spam about fundamentalist Christians to all members of the Maryland State legislature -- even if said liberals have been provoked by Dwyer's actions.  Happy now, James? But I'll give him the final word (of course, you may respond to him if you wish): To the Krugmans of the world, Americans and Jews are responsible for their own actions as well as the reactions of Muslims, who in turn are responsible for nothing. This sort of "liberalism" condescends to Muslims rather than treating them as fully human.  Oh, and here are a few interesting passages from the Baltimore Sun story which Taranto didn't mention: Among other things, [the email] states that "the Koran gives clear warrant for killing those who will not comply with Islam; therefore Muslims must kill those who will not allow Islam." . . .Dwyer told colleagues he was distributing the "clarification" at the request of his nephew, Alex Dwyer, a student at Rockbridge Academy, a Christian school in Millersville. "I was very proud of the work he had done, and I wasn't trying to fire anybody up," Dwyer said.  . . .Dwyer, an outspoken supporter of fundamentalist Christian causes, said he didn't expect his e-mail "to rub anybody the wrong way." "I've gotten other people who have thanked me for it and admired the writing skills of an eighth-grader," Dwyer said. . . .Mowlana of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said he plans to forward the e-mail to the organization's national database of some 100,000 subscribers. "Mr. Dwyer ... he's a new guy who wants to be famous," Mowlana said. "Well, with this, he has shot himself in the foot." You know, Alex's "clarification" of Islam smells like plagiarism to me.  Young Alex is not going to thank uncle Don when his essay gets wider exposure, and is identified as being copied (to a greater or lesser extent) from one or more of the many anti-Islamic internet sites out there.  And most of those sites aren't all that accurate; remember how Ann Coulter revealed herself to be a lazy and credulous cretin -- AGAIN -- after she took Jerry Falwell's word for what the Koran said.  A quick Google search reveals that many, many venues provide lists of out-of-context and possibly mistranslated verses (or just cherry-picked, isolated inflamatory phrases or words) from the Koran to make the point that Islam isn't peaceful.  And most cite Surah 4:91, which they render as: If the unbelievers do not offer you peace, kill them wherever you find them.  Against such you are given clear warrant. A site that offers various English Quran Translations shows that only one (the older, Pickthal version) uses the phrase "clear warrant" -- and it says nothing about "unbelievers."  Because this verse isn't about killing unbelievers -- all translations show that it's about being given permission to fight back against those who keep waging war on the followers of Islam, despite previous peace treaties.  Anyway, here's the full verse: [4:91] Pickthal:Ye will find others who desire that they should have security from you, and security from their own folk. So often as they are returned to hostility they are plunged therein. If they keep not aloof from you nor offer you peace nor hold their hands, then take them and kill them wherever ye find them. Against such We have given you clear warrant. So, it's obvious that young Alex didn't actually read the Koran and come up with a fair and honest assessment of its teachings, he just copied a list of verses (or parts of verses) prepared and analyzed by somebody else.  Hopefully, the admirable "writing skills" were his own, though. I also liked this concluding quote from the Sun piece: Dwyer appeared puzzled by the negative reaction. "I certainly didn't expect to stir up a hornet's nest," he said. Poor Don.  He just never seems to get it.  Here's a bit about him from War Liberal: What kind of fans does Roy Moore have? Well, take Donald Dwyer, the Maryland legislator who invited St. Roy to speak to the state's lawmakers.  He has: Criticized the mayor of Annapolis (in writing!) for coming out against the Iraq war, then refused to apologize when it was pointed out that she'd never taken any stance on the war; Called Democratic legislators "un-American" for calling for a study on if illegal immigrants should be allowed driver's licenses; Has a signed poster of Moore in his office; And more. And Don was so engergized by Moore's spech that he and Maryland state Sen. Alexander Mooney (R.) joined Moore “in endorsing a bill in Congress that would limit federal courts’ ability to overturn state laws dealing with religious expression.”  What a maroon!  But at least he didn't firebomb any Canadian schools (that we know of).  And we're glad, because unlike Mr. Taranto, WE don't approve of firebombing schools. 4:59:56 AM

Looking Out for You What with all the new colorful characters we've met lately, we haven't checked in on old friend Bill O'Reilly for a while.  So, here's Monday's Talking Points Memo: Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly.  Thank you for watching us tonight.  More dishonest media, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo." Okay, time for a pre-quiz.  What example of "dishonest media" is Bill going to address today? A.  USA Today's star reporter Jack Kelley, an evangelical Catholic who made up stuff and plagiarized other reporters? B.  Jimmy Breslin, accused of fabricating an interview with the leader of the Traditional Values Coalition.     C.  Fired plagiarist Mike Barnicle's return to daily print journalism. D.  The elite media's plugging of Air America, which features Bill's archenemy, "character assassin" Al Franken; and somebody's belittling of Bill's radio show. Okay, pencils down.  Back to Bill: All this week, I've been watching with alternating amusement and annoyance as the media pushed this ridiculous liberal radio network.  Never in the history of the American press has one tiny enterprise gotten so much free publicity. The reason, of course, is that the elites want liberal bomb throwers to embarrass and defame people with whom they disagree. It's like hiring hit men and women. You know, as opposed to what the unelites want people like Rush Limbaugh and Bill himself to do. Now "The Factor" on TV and radio is the most successful broadcast concept in the past decade in this country.  And guess how many articles "The New York Times" has done on us?  Zero.  Nada. Man, that is SO UNFAIR.  Imagine anybody finding "The Factor" non-newsworthy.  You should sue them, Bill! CNN and MSNBC have also jumped on the lib bandwagon, allowing character assassinations to attack Fox News and others without challenge.  Not nice, not responsible, but it's not all on the left.  Right wing bomber G. Gordon Liddy (search) joined the party of deceit and said this on CNN: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAUL BEGALA, HOST, "CROSSFIRE":  He is so successful on cable television.  He hasn't done very well on radio. G. GORDON LIDDY, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST:  No, he hasn't. Matt Drudge  exposed all of his radio ratings, which are in the toilet.  I don't know why he doesn't do radio well, but he really doesn't do radio well at all.  Wow, that was shocking, SHOCKING!  Bill, you should challenge Liddy to a Clint Eastwood-style show down!  Of course, Liddy is scary/crazy, so you might want to make out a will first, but I'm pretty sure he'd agree to meet you mano a mano, just like you want.  Oh, but that's not how Bill actually works.  It sounds like he whined to his bosses again, and they had the publicists issue a statement saying that Liddy was wrong about Bill's radio show, which "has become one of the most successful talk shows in the country." But, hey, here is the Drudge Report Liddy was talking about, and it does indicate that Bill's ratings can't hold a candle to Rush's.  I can't find where Westwood One has released any across-the-board Arbitron ratings (only ratings for selected demographics in selected cities), so I think that it's safe to say that Drudge's facts are correct (although undoubtedly presented selectively, just like Westwood One's).  While the Radio Factor ratings probably aren't "in the toilet," Bill's radio program just isn't as popular as Rush Limbaugh's or even Sean Hannity's.  But Bill, popularity isn't the same thing as worth.  Of course, you have little of that either, which is maybe why you are so thin-skinned. Anyway, so the NY Times never does stories on Bill, and Liddy disparaged Bill's radio ratings.  Why should we, the folks, care about any of this?  But the more important issue for you, folks who want truthful information, is that you can't get it from the media anymore. Liddy pedaled his falsehoods to MSNBC's Deborah Norville, who seems to have little frame of reference and sat there mute, and to CNN's Paul Begala, a propagandist who has no interest in seeking the truth and never has. And these are the kinds of people who now broadcast nationally. It's hard to believe. "Talking Points" once again will tell you that press standards are declining rapidly all over the country, as the truth is no longer the gold standard.  This makes informed decision making almost impossible.  Very bad for you and very bad for the country.  And that's "The Memo."    Well, okay then.  If Deborah Norville and Paul Begala failed to grill Liddy on his "O'Reilly's ratings are in the toilet" meme, then I am never going to watch them again!  Or for the first time!  And if people like Norville and Begala can let Liddy lie about O'Reilly's ratings, then we do indeed have a crisis on our hands, and should probably have Ashcroft's DOJ drop all those terrorism and porn investigations and focus on the bigger issue of "the dishonest media who won't invite Bill O'Reilly to their birthday parties." 3:10:28 AM