Archive for July, 2006
Berlin: Defacing the Holocaust Memorial
Monday, July 31st, 2006More of these things will happen folks. You watch. The mask and charade will drop as Israel asserts itself. Not only is anti-semitism politically expedient because it salves the European Muslim population, the ancient deep well of Jew-hatred still houses plenty of nasty water. In addition, people sick of feeling guilty about WWII and sick of their lack of national pride, let go of the former and asserted the latter during this last World Cup.
Nationalism is back in Europe. It is not the same kind of thing that Americans view as patriotism. U.S. patriotism does not translate into fevered displays of craziness. Others have talked about it before, but because the U.S. is big and has regions and states, there are internal rivalries that mean far more to us than any other national rivalry. Showtown verses Motown. East and West. North and South. Blue State-Red State. Different. Diluted. Everyone is American. Yet everyone has their own identity. E Plurabis Unim. It’s the “many” that dilutes the “crazy”. It is different in Europe.
That’s not to say that America doesn’t have her own problems. The biggest: denial. The Seattle attacks once again, reinforce the notion that there are those among us who don’t love us. It’s hard to imagine, I know. America is such a big teddy bear (or murderous monster depending on your political views) that it couldn’t possibly have terrorists getting groomed and ready to go here.
Because America has been relatively safe, or saved in the nick of time by an alert government, since 9/11, some believe no threat exists. And yet all the evidence shows that view to be patently absurd. The press, either purposefully trying to rob the administration of any glory or because they just don’t deem the news important or through some social betterment view, hardly report the terrorists in our midst (not to be confused with the gorillas in the mist). I think that they inadvertantly help the future fight: terrorists love press. They use the press to deliver their terror, to propagandize the public and to invoke more fear. But the press finds it politically incorrect to impugn someone for their crazy beliefs and actions and so they don’t cover the actions at all. It’s uncomfortable to pass judgement against clearly reprehensible behavior ‘cuz there is no right and wrong–just feelings. (Okay there is right and wrong, but these terrorist “aberations” conflict with pure progressive dogma so it gets less play.)
Because the press doesn’t cover the terrorism, the affect is diminished. The press does this with teenage suicide because of the known pattern of copy-cats that happen after almost every incident. So, to save kids and families, the press doesn’t cover these horrible deaths. Now, I don’t think the press’ motivation is nearly as pure when it comes to terrorism, but the effect may be the same. Reduced copy cat craziness.
Well, this was a rambling post: from European nationalism to American stick-your-head-in-the-sandism. Both Europe and America have problems. I think where they part is on the solutions.
To understand Europe more, go to RightWingNews and read this interview with Claire Berlinski.
Drudge: Damning Photos of Hezbollah
Monday, July 31st, 2006Go to this link. The guy manning the canon looks like the guy you see at Starbucks. I kid you not. How depraved can you be? Put on a uniform, stop hiding behind the Burqas and babies and be men, you scum.
The images, obtained exclusively by the Sunday Herald Sun, show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons.
Dressed in civilian clothing so they can quickly disappear, the militants carrying automatic assault rifles and ride in on trucks mounted with cannon.
And people criticize Israel? You have got to be kidding me. The world will be a better place without these guys.
Can you imagine the difficulty in tracking these nuts? And then they just move back, seamlessly, into society. And everyone is afraid/proud of them (because almost all Muslims secretly want Israel wiped off the map). Who would speak out against such sophisticated, dangerous and menacing neighbors? Right.
Parental Protectiveness Breeds Big Babies
Sunday, July 30th, 2006But what can be done? I’ve wrote, just this week, about the psychos in my Woodlands, Texas neighborhood. So society has changed.
Tigerhawk talks about his overprotectiveness and wonders about the kind of kids he is raising. His parents think he is nuts. Maybe. I don’t know. My parents took risks I wouldn’t even imagine now. I don’t let my kids walk to school, that’s a mile away, by themselves. Even though I did in Kindergarten. And my parents let me do that after a little girl my exact age was abducted from her front yard around the block. Insane.
People are older when they become parents. We know more. We obsess. We make ourselves tired. I’m not sure anything can change this societal trend.
I don’t want my kids to grow up to be fearful ninnies. I also don’t want them to end up harmed or worse. Finding the balance is a challenge.
Population & College Stats
Sunday, July 30th, 2006Via Instapundit: sending your kids to schools where the young people population is shifting can make for good deals. Guess what? Kids like sunshine and good economies and are moving to Southern schools. Texas schools are booming and will grow at this rate. And why not? Great education, sunshine and general optimism. Oh yeah: and the economy is good so kids can get a job once they spend their parents fortune on school.
It’s For the Children
Sunday, July 30th, 2006In Southern Lebanon 34 children died by an Israeli bombing. It’s war. They are civilians. Hezbollah uses civilians, children, as shields. Get mad at Israel if you want, but Hezbollah and Hamas have had no problem killing children over the years. An apt quote:
“One must understand the Hezbollah is using their own civilian population as human shields,” said Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir. “The Israeli defense forces dropped leaflets and warned the civilian population to leave the place because the Hezbollah turned it into a war zone.”
Hezbollah doesn’t care. Israel must press on….thousands of dead would dilute the numbers of children, no doubt. Wipe out Hezbollah. If that means wasting whole cities……
War is hell. It’s too bad Hezbollah started one.
More Seminar….In the Meantime, Talk Amongst Yourselves
Sunday, July 30th, 2006Go here and read lots of good stuff. And thank you Right Wing News for linking here. Sorry I’m not around to blog lots of insightful, genius thoughts. But you might not get that even if I’m here.
Go over to Post Secret and cry your Sunday tears. I do.
Little Green Footballs has stuff about the Seattle killing. The murderer used a 13 year old girl to gain entry into the building. Unfrickinbelievable. Actually, not really. Shouldn’t we be surprised at these levels of depravity? But, strangely, we’re not.
At StrategyPage, if you spend some time there, you’ll up your world knowledge I.Q. by at least 10 points. Makes you smarter to win arguments.
Deciding that with all the recent news and your recent philosophical changes regarding shooting people who threaten you, ArmedLiberal has some advice for you. Via Instapundit, who, by the way, should be your stop on the Internet right after me.
Again thanks for the link and thanks for the reading RightWing Newsers. Sorry I am not blogging more here. Ciao!
"Enough"
Sunday, July 30th, 2006Betsy Newmark covers Juan Williams treatise on Black American culture. Whew. Go read it.
Blogging Around People Who Think Blogging Is Stupid
Saturday, July 29th, 2006I have relatives in town. They don’t get it.
Why this addiction to writing meaningless stuff when you could be participating in meaninful conversations about…… I’m tempted. Oh, I am so tempted. So tempted to tell you all the conversations that are sucking the I.Q. points right out of my addled brain.
But I will resist the urge to tell everyone that we talked about how to get raspberry vomit stains out of the Ralph Lauren comforter, the beautiful new sheets, the pearly white duvet cover and all the pillows on my guest bed ‘cuz my nephew left as a present when he couldn’t sleep on the kid bed made for him. Oh no, he had to sleep with Mama, because it was too dark, and the room was soooo scary. And besides, when Prince Puke-a-lot hurls, it’s got to be on something with 400 thread count or it ain’t good enough!
That’s right. Why blog? It couldn’t possibly be because my optimistic, irrepressible (there you go Ann Althouse) spirit hopes, nay, prays that somewhere, someone has a normal family. Somewhere really smart, totally lucid, socially mannered, well-behaved, delightfully incisive, and sane people spend time with their smart, lucid, mannered, incisive, sane relatives. I’m not saying that my family isn’t smart, lucid, mannered, incisive and sane.
I’m just hoping that other people are as lucky as me.
More On Nutrition: Modern Myths
Saturday, July 29th, 2006A lot of what passes for science is just “conventional wisdom” repeated over and over until it is accepted as fact. That especially holds true in the nutrition field.
The science/dogma seems to fall into two categories–extremes, really: the food Police who believe that anything less than organic, macrobiotic, vegetarian, vegan pureness passing ones lips is heresy (food is the sacrament, worshipping mother earth, the religion) and then the other extreme for whom the notion of “garbage in, garbage out” is a silly notion chortled about over three bacon double cheeseburgers and a case of beer. The first group believes that perfect eating creates a perfect “temple” and will extend life indefinitely. The second group believes that “when their ticket is up, it’s up” and live nutritionally fatalistic lives.
When my husband and I go to nutrition seminars, we are surrounded with Nutrition Nazis intent on expunging “bad food” from patient’s diets. These morally superior, and I find, generally insufferable people have put off more people on living a healthier life than saved people from certain health disaster. And, they are generally wrong.
So what are some of the classic health myths?
- Fat is bad. No, it’s not. Bad fat is bad. Unbalanced fat is bad. All these skinny women trying to get pregnant (for a very public example Courtney Cox) but either can’t or repeatedly miscarry, often do not eat enough fat, and the fat they eat isn’t good fat. Fat is necessary to keep the endocrine system humming. If you have zip sex drive, most likely, you’re lacking precursors to good hormones. If you can’t get pregnant and are not HPV positive, most likely you need fat help. Butter, olive oil, fish oils, and, animal fat, all have the stuff needed for hormone creation. So eat them–in moderations.
- Tums is a good source of calcium. Uh, no it’s not. Neither is most calcium you buy–calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is what you scrape out of sea shells and off the sides of mountains. It is rock and it does not digest well. I know, shockingly obvious. Calcium Lactate and Calcium Citrate Malate, on the other hand are exceedingly absorbable. Remember this rule: it is not what you eat, it’s what you absorb.
- Perfect nutrition equals health. Ha! If only! You can eat great, but if the stomach environment is off-kilter, you won’t absorb any nutrition. In fact, that is how stomach stapling and gastric bands work–they don’t allow absorbtion. The upside with the surgery, you lose weight. The downside, you can die because you’re so malnourished. Now without the surgery, a messed up stomach can cause you to gain weight–you are eating a lot but absorbing no nutrients. The body registers you as starving and asks for more food. You eat more non-nutritive junk and you’re always hungry and eventually you get fat.
For more detailed information, if you live in The Woodlands area, the other Dr. Clouthier has nutrition seminars. Go over to his blog. He talks about health topics quite a bit.
