Thursday, June 12, 2008

Just because I think this is funny



Look at the guy's shoes... what could cause his toes to curl like that???





This just in



Actually, no. But I would think it an accuarate potrayol of the radical Muslims reactions to our.... yes our.... Supreme Court ruling today.




Muslim School problems

From MSNBC

McLEAN, Va. - Textbooks at a private Islamic school in northern Virginia teach students that it is permissible for Muslims to kill adulterers and converts from Islam, according to a federal investigation released Wednesday.

Other passages in the school's textbooks state that "the Jews conspired against Islam and its people" and that Muslims are permitted to take the lives and property of those deemed "polytheists."


Now you would think that such a thing would make any American's blood boil. Sorry dear chums, according to 13% of us in a poll:

Should an Islamic school be allowed to lease county property while using textbooks that teach intolerance?


proclaim their dumbness:

Yes. One way to teach tolerance is to show tolerance.


I am sorry folks, I just can't find any tolerance in my heart for killing people and taking their property. We have police departments called "Robbery Homicide" to take care of such.

And of course MSNB can always be counted on frame the question the wrong way. Note the "teach intolerance." Again. Murder and robbery is not intolerance.

And what does the education officals of Maclean county think? Do you actually have to read this to know??

The county conducted its own study of the textbooks last year at the request of Supervisor Gerald Hyland, whose district encompasses the academy.

Hyland and the county never released results of what they had found, but Hyland said in approving the lease that he is comfortable with the school's teachings, though he did so with a qualification.

"I would be less than frank if I didn't tell you that the curriculum does contain references to the Quran, which, if taken out of context and read literally, would cause come concern," Hyland said at the meeting at which the lease was extended.


Oh really, Mr. Hyland?? I mean, you think? Murder and robbery being taught is a cause for concern?

Heaven forbid!!!




Link to poll.



Supremes behead war effort

And it is the usual list that does it.?

WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts.

The justices, in a 5-4 ruling, handed the Bush administration its third setback at the high court since 2004 over its treatment of prisoners who are being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, Stephen Breyer, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Dissenting were Chief Justice John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.


This is the only reason you need to vote for McCain.



Libertarian Paternalism

Over at "City Journal" there is a review of Choosing Wisely - Can “libertarian paternalism” make the world a better place? by Laura Vanderkam. The concept is that people smarter than the average bear.....will nudge and guide the average bear....

(If we have)choice architects consciously try to do this, Thaler and Sunstein argue, we will wind up with better public and private policies.


The list the authors provide is an impressive list of stupid things that people do. Not signing up to company 401K's being one example. The implication here is that all we need is for "choice architects" to nudge us in the right direction.

The problem I have with this is not that it might work, but that it meets all the criteria of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

The use of seat belts was introduced as a safety measure that would be voluntary. It has since become mandatory with some cities running full scale enforcement efforts.

We started of with the government telling us that smoking was bad for us, on every pack.... and now we have states in which you can not smoke in a public place..

Neither of the above are bad in themselves. People should wear their seat belts and smoking is bad for you. But the clear path in front of all of us is that at some point the government will tell you to lose weight or be put in a mandatory program. As medical resources become scarce, why not tell those with an unhealthy life style they are on their own?

On the more draconian front those now being fined and imprisoned in Europe are suffering from laws that didn't just pop up. Someone made the argument that not offending some person or group was more important than freedom of speech, and what started as being societal pressure for politically correct speech has now become codified law.

That this results in a stagnant society seems to not have entered into the heads of the masters. Perhaps they need to study the Islamic culture, with its strict sanctions against religious insult, and note how it went into the tank about 1200 years ago and still hasn't emerged.

As for me, put me down for letting people do what they want. If their actions lead to their early demise then I call that gene pool improvement. If they insult someone then let the "someone" insult them back. Who knows. Among all the shouting at each other both sides might learn something.