Saturday, September 08, 2007
The HAT People: Convert, Fight Or Die
Those who call for us to leave Iraq suffer from memory lose. Quick quiz; where were you when the 911 attacks were being planned?
We all can remember where we were when the planes slammed into our buildings but can you remember where you were when the terrorists were planning their terrorism? A brief history lesson. Bill Clinton was president and he was engaged in trying to have a dialogue with radical Islam. That’s right, the public stance of the United States of America was trying to talk with those behind terrorism. Can you say Yasser Arafat? I knew you could. We were not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan and not in a military posture. But the terrorists were planning to kill us.
The “Get Us Out Of Iraq” people are mostly well-meaning. They are no doubt like me and suffer every time the casualties are announced. However, they are also naive in believing that if we just leave these people alone, they will leave us alone. It will not happen. There is a new Islam in the world. It grows with every passing day as the world shrinks and cultures interact. These new Muslims demand that the world convert to Islam or die.
Like it or not, we are in a battle for our very lives. You can hide your head in the sand but the enemy will not go away. You can deny that the enemy is our enemy or swear that the enemy does not mean what they say when they scream for our destruction but that will not change reality. The reality is that they want us dead. How do you negotiate from that starting point?
We all can remember where we were when the planes slammed into our buildings but can you remember where you were when the terrorists were planning their terrorism? A brief history lesson. Bill Clinton was president and he was engaged in trying to have a dialogue with radical Islam. That’s right, the public stance of the United States of America was trying to talk with those behind terrorism. Can you say Yasser Arafat? I knew you could. We were not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan and not in a military posture. But the terrorists were planning to kill us.
The “Get Us Out Of Iraq” people are mostly well-meaning. They are no doubt like me and suffer every time the casualties are announced. However, they are also naive in believing that if we just leave these people alone, they will leave us alone. It will not happen. There is a new Islam in the world. It grows with every passing day as the world shrinks and cultures interact. These new Muslims demand that the world convert to Islam or die.
Like it or not, we are in a battle for our very lives. You can hide your head in the sand but the enemy will not go away. You can deny that the enemy is our enemy or swear that the enemy does not mean what they say when they scream for our destruction but that will not change reality. The reality is that they want us dead. How do you negotiate from that starting point?
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The HAT People: Brunehillary vs. The Press
I made the prediction in the days following the election of Bill Clinton, months before he was even sworn in, that his presidency would produce more and greater scandals than Richard Nixon. People scoffed. And why not. Who would have thought the nation after Watergate would put up with the type of corruption Nixon and his administration demonstrated. Also, the Nixon era produced a new kind of reporter, the investigative journalist. These were people who doggedly went after corruption in politics. No longer would politicians be allowed to hide behind the curtain of their private lives verses their public lives.
But along the way to the Clinton presidency something happened to change the dynamic. The liberals who occupy the majority (some 90% plus) in the newsrooms discovered their like-minded politicians were far worse in the realm of ethics than Nixon could ever have been accused. The revelation created a significant problem for true-believers in the press, i.e. liberal journalists. To expose corrupt liberal politicians would damage the credibility of the leftist movement. To show the hypocrisy of Democrat politicians might persuade voters to go elsewhere for their leaders.
So what is the answer? See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
But the old journalism is dying. And as it lies on its deathbed the question becomes; what will happen this election cycle when the ancient MSM cannot control (or manage as they like to believe) the news? For the sake of the country and our children’s future, we can only hope that the American voters will have the information through the new media and that they will make informed decisions once they are in the voting booth. If not, we will have four to eight more years of scandal far worse than Bubba’s. I predict that now.
But along the way to the Clinton presidency something happened to change the dynamic. The liberals who occupy the majority (some 90% plus) in the newsrooms discovered their like-minded politicians were far worse in the realm of ethics than Nixon could ever have been accused. The revelation created a significant problem for true-believers in the press, i.e. liberal journalists. To expose corrupt liberal politicians would damage the credibility of the leftist movement. To show the hypocrisy of Democrat politicians might persuade voters to go elsewhere for their leaders.
So what is the answer? See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
But the old journalism is dying. And as it lies on its deathbed the question becomes; what will happen this election cycle when the ancient MSM cannot control (or manage as they like to believe) the news? For the sake of the country and our children’s future, we can only hope that the American voters will have the information through the new media and that they will make informed decisions once they are in the voting booth. If not, we will have four to eight more years of scandal far worse than Bubba’s. I predict that now.
