Why Not Again?

There is a house in Thiruvanmaiyur along the beach road where I usually take my morning constitutional – a big house of indeterminate color, with all kinds of frills, picture windows and Rapunzel towers; one, that stands out and would catch the eye of sidewalk artists and movie audiences – that seems mostly abandoned. The yard is choked with weeds and refuse; neighbors heaving their trash over the wall. It is said to be used occasionally for photo shoots for some of the oodles of movies the highly successful Tamil film industry cranks out on a daily basis.

One time I was out there early morning, watching the fishermen unloading their catches and I noticed a helicopter hovering over that particular place. I didn’t think too much about it at the time; but lately, I’ve been thinking that it could also very well function as India’s version of our witness protection program or as a safe house for Tamil Tiger plotters. Hide in plain sight. Why not make the lie so big, so obvious, that no one will question it?

Mockery is one of the most potent weapons in the human arsenal. It has always been so. Christ on the cross was said to have been mocked. Obviously, Bush was mocked constantly. Since Obama’s election, mockery has been pretty much off the table as the president has shown himself to be far more adept in the art (of mockery) than any of his critics.

Besides, it’s in bad form to mock a black man. One might be accused of racism. Though, this too might be dependent on other factors as we are discovering that black or white may not be the issue at all. Justice Thomas, for instance, might be mocked and no one will say much about it. It’s only Obama that cannot be mocked. What’s the difference? Both men – last time I looked – are black. Here we come to the nub or it: only certain black men can be mocked while others can’t. The modifier that explains all this appears to be ‘conservative’.

Note how liberals strut around, routinely mocking tea parties, Republican lawmakers and presidents, popular talk show hosts and commentators, second amendment supporters, presidential aspirants, religious leaders and their congregations, etc. Make no mistake, these are attacks and they do damage.

You might say that Limbaugh (and some others) mocks the Left. The difference is that Limbaugh gives reasons for his mockery. The Left gives no reasons. Ordinarily, the press would step in to mediate. But, we all know that the media tilts the playing field to favor the Left. Limbaugh’s words and audience are routinely treated as if they do not exist. Instead, people like the girls on ‘The View’ are given star headline treatment.

The day after Osama’s killing, Limbaugh went on air and mocked Obama. There it was! The Left was outraged (if they said anything). What was supposed to be America’s proudest moment since the start of the war on terror, was being mocked unabashedly. Other talk show hosts, known for being critical of the president, refrained from doing so. Not Limbaugh!

Maybe it’s just me, but I too found the whole deal somewhat hollow. For me personally, it did not seem to rise to the status of a significant event. And any attempt to see it as such seemed somehow contrived and cheap, and quite worthy of mockery – an ‘emperor has no clothes’ moment, if you wish. A proper trial would have sat well and settled it. The subtext is, of course, that we can no longer expect a proper trial in this country. Obama has taken that from us as well.

It should have been a moment of quiet restraint and reflection. It needed to be handled with much greater fineness than simply dumping a corpse into the drink. Mike had it right, I think: ‘Defeat snatched out of the jaws of victory’, he wrote. Neither does it impress that al-Qaeda confirmed the kill publicly. I seem to remember AQ websites being largely supportive of Obama winning the election in 2008. They got their wish. Why not again?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

A Short History of Travel

In the beginning is always the word. In Wisconsin and elsewhere, the public debate is between asking “is it fair (who defines ‘fair‘?)?” and “can we afford (who defines ‘afford‘?) it?” For those who claim we can’t afford it, ‘fairness’ is not an issue. For those who hold fairness above all, affordability is a moot point: Two trains passing in the night. There can never be agreement or compromise. These trains cannot be allowed to use the same track. Otherwise… disaster.

But still, it must have started somehow; when we were still united in the effort to find equitable solutions; when the 36 x 48 architectural paper was still in tubes, and we were still in the process of sharpening our pencils.

Back then the issue, as it presented itself, was simply getting from here to there, and back again. At first, the ‘back again’ part presented a problem. There was nothing we could not solve. So, it was decided, we should build two parallel tracks. Now there’s a solution!

Now we find that ‘here’ and ‘there’ are two separate places (as they had been all along); that people going there want this, and people coming here want that; and that the two would never compromise. You see, there is just enough to build one set of tracks. What to do?

Are any of us into derailing trains? Has it already reached the point, as it did during WWII, when the French resistance found it necessary to dig up tracks without telling anybody? Hell, you can go even further back and watch Buster Keaton’s “The General”!

History repeats. In the beginning there is always the word. From then on it can get confusing. One has to be nimble; one has to be quick to keep up. Our side is learning, but we are still way behind the curve. While we were busy lazing about - distracted - the Left was studying hard; working. Nobody thought, it’d ever get this far: the blurring of boundaries, identities (everyone the same, interchangeable); the blurring of truth; the blurring of meaning, of thought; two objects spinning independently in space: Farrakhan’s mother wheel (ship) and its anchor - tracking further and further apart.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

How We Came To Be A Day Late And A Dollar Short

The following is taken from a transcript of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s address last Friday to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic revolution as reported by AFP:

"We will soon see a new Middle East materializing without America and the Zionist regime and there will be no room for world arrogance in it."

Addressing the people of Egypt directly, he said, "They (the United States) have adopted a friendly face and saying 'we are friends of people of North Africa and Arab countries', but be watchful and united. You will be victorious.

“(The) Iranian nation is your friend and it is your right to freely choose your path. (The) Iranian nation backs this right of yours.

“(The United States is an) accomplice to the oppression by the Zionist regime.

"Come and take away the Zionist regime which is the source of all crimes... take it away and liberate the region. Free the region and give it to the people and take this regime, which is the child of Satan, out."

This is the second time Ahmadinejad has made such statements since the Egyptian protests began. The first time he proclaimed that every government in the region that has aligned itself in any way with the United States will fall.

This got me to thinking (again) that these people are serious. Their hatred for Israel is the cause they are willing to die for. Israel knows this. It has been in its interest to promote the notion that the destruction of Israel will not be the end of it; that Islamic appetites will also aim to devour Europe and even America.

Nobody has been listening. And I myself predict that once Israel has been destroyed, the West will remain quite safe for a time. Islamic hatred of the West is solely focused on the West’s recognition and support of Israel.

Today Mubarak resigned. The Muslim Brotherhood will assume power. The rest of the Middle East will fall into Islamic extremists’ hands. Ultimately, Israel will be attacked. This time, the Islamists will win.

At this point, the West will mobilize to defend itself. (It has always been in its power to do so. All it would ever have required is tapping its heels together.) There will ensue a great purge of everything Islam. At the same time, the Left - which has aligned itself with Islamic extremism - will be sent packing. The world will return to some semblance of normalcy; now, of course, burdened by the stain of momentous, insufferable guilt.

Already today, the leaders of Europe have come out with a statement proclaiming that multiculturalism is not working. It can only get worse from here.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Fighting Back

Brad Manning has already become a hero - a martyr - for the anti-war Left. This group has separated itself from the “official” Left that is now in charge of Washington. It is yet another indication that the center (of the Left) cannot hold.

Today, Switzerland celebrates its National Day. The date (August 1st) was inspired by the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291. What is notable and widely acknowledged as being the essence of the Swiss nation is that is has been able to maintain its strict neutrality during times of global dispute. This is not to say that the individuals of this small, landlocked Alpine country do not have opinions about global issues and tensions. Neither are they reluctant to express their preference. During WWII, for instance, Hitler threatened to invade and occupy Switzerland as well. It had become a relatively tranquil center in which spies of all stripes could house their networks. Also, situated as it is at the crossroads of Europe, the Swiss made it clear that they were prepared to blow up their bridges, tunnels and passes should any foreign army set foot within its sovereign territory. In the end, the country was spared from the physical ravages of war.

As a child, I often crossed the border between Germany and Switzerland by train. Even I could clearly see the difference. By the 1950’s, Germany was not bad, if somewhat ragged at the edges. Switzerland, however, was pristine, almost as if every blade of grass had been carefully manicured.

Today, it is we the people who are blowing up our bridges, tunnels and mountain passes. It is we who are keeping Barack Hussein Obama from achieving his communist Utopia. We are denying him economic success by sitting on our hands and dragging our feet. We are not working, innovating, expanding. While he blames the system for its failures to create jobs, it is we who are singularly responsible for this. We are not victims. We are fighting this political interloper in the only way we can, by taking a passive-aggressive stance. It is far too soon for anyone to take over our country. We will send him and his cronies packing by denying them the considerable weight of our support. We can turn this thing around. And, when we do, we will continue as we have in the past and make this into a nation we can be proud of.

I attended the ceremonies yesterday in New York’s Central Park. There was wine and music and an abundance of good cheer. The flags of every Swiss canton were proudly displayed. There was raclette, potatoes, bratwurst and beer. The performing seals, however, stole the show.