From the monthly archives:

July 2004

RSS Feed

by La Shawn on July 26, 2004

in Technology

Before I begin today’s rant, I want to respond to some commenters about my RSS feed. If you’re browsing in Mozilla, you can see the feed; if you’re using IE, you can’t. There may be some exceptions. For those who can’t link to the feed, try this:

RSS 0.92

Can you see it? I’ll add it to the sidebar later today for non-Mozilla users.

Someone asked about trackbacks. Trackbacks are located within the comment window. I’m trying to figure out how to have separate trackback windows. Until then, they’re all in there together. I’m still tweaking, but the new blog is beginning to look the way I want it.

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Blog Design Credit

by La Shawn on July 23, 2004

in General

Do some of you really think I designed this site? I don’t have that kind of patience. Check out the blogroll. See the different size fonts? Although I thought I fixed that, it’s still acting up. Last night I fiddled with it and gave up. This morning I fiddled with it and gave up. That’s what you have to deal with when you’re trying to get a new blog just right. Next step: Lisa Sabin to the rescue!

I want to introduce you to my blog designer and host, Lisa Sabin of Elegant Webscapes. She also has her own blog, Just A Girl.

I contacted her last month and asked about her services. When I was ready to make my move, I knew she was the one I wanted to help with the daunting task of exporting all my posts from Blogger to WordPress. She came up with the idea for the header, and I chose the warm earth tones and layout. It’s still a work in progress.

Lisa is affordable, efficient, talented and very patient. When you’re ready for a new look or a big move, you should definitely consider Elegant Webscapes. As you can see, she does great work.

About my blogroll, I will finish adding everyone who’s on the old blogroll at Blog*Spot, plus a few others who’ve linked to me. I haven’t forgotten you.

A few commenters offered suggestions about importing my comments. I will contact each of you via e-mail. Thanks.

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Samuel “Sandy” Berger Won’t Go To Jail…

by La Shawn on July 23, 2004

in Lunacy

…where he belongs!

I didn’t want to blog about this, but since everyone else is doing it, I decided to do it, too (yes, if everyone jumped off a cliff, I’d jump off, too). Here’s a synopsis: Sandy, National Security Advisor under Clinton, pilfered classified documents to help the Democrats, Clinton, himself and the Kerry campaign. Minions surrounding Berger will be the ones to get fired. As for “Sandy” himself, watch for a book and a fat advance next year.

Although Sandy stuffed his pants with secret papers, John Kerry, the man who wants to be your president, said it was an “honest mistake.” The sad part is that people who want to believe that nonsense will believe it.

Berger is not going to jail because the old boy network has too much to lose if he does. Republicans and Democrats do this stuff, probably more than we all realize. Berger took the files to withhold information that makes Clinton look bad and used information that makes Kerry look good (to the unfortunate souls voting for him). That’s my assessment.

If Berger goes down for this, he’s taking a lot of people with him. That is why he’s not going to jail.

Warning: I am about to make some bold assertions. The left’s hatred for George Bush runs this deep. Men are willing to end their careers, subject themselves to shame, criminal charges and risk our national security to bring him down. May we all get what we deserve.

I hate this and don’t know what else to say that hasn’t been said. Look at this tripe:

Democrat John Kerry’s presidential campaign accused the Bush White House on Wednesday of disclosing a criminal investigation against former national security adviser Sandy Berger for political gain, while Republican lawmakers announced their own probe of Berger.

So what if the “Bush White House” leaked it? Something criminal transpired. Who cares about the timing? What Berger did could very well have undermined our national security. But so what, right? Republicans leaked Berger’s criminal activity, which now renders the American people incapable of forming a rational judgment about what Berger did.

I’m feeling irrational right now. When I’m this angry, it usually happens. The whole system is corrupt! Berger’s no worse than any political bottom-feeder in Washington.

You know what? Politicians think we’re all stupid sheeple playing follow-the-leader games as they act unscrupulously right under our very noses. You know what else? They might be right.

Berger Bloggers:

Blogs For Bush
Evangelical Outpost
Aaron’s Rantblog
Baldilocks
Discriminations
Michelle Malkin
Backcountry Conservative
Instapundit
Vodka Pundit

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Welcome To My New Place!

by La Shawn on July 22, 2004

in General

Hello! Pardon the mess. As you can see, I have lots of work to do. I was going to make my debut on Monday, but asked myself, “Why?”

I’m moving in and feeling my way around WordPress. I have to complete my blogroll and sidebar, upload a photo and play around with CSS.

Want to know why I didn’t import the comments? Because I can’t! Until I figure out how or someone else does, it looks like they won’t be imported. With all this new technology and blogging software, I can’t believe someone hasn’t figured out how to import comments! I’m willing to pay someone to export them from HaloScan for me. Yeah, I got money to burn.

For now, I’ll leave the old blog up for two more weeks or so (at which time I’ll set up a redirect from the Blog*Spot URL), in case anyone wants to print some of those great comments. I’ll retain my HaloScan account, so the comments will still exist.

Fill up these empty comment boxes please! And update your blogrolls. Substantive posting will resume shortly. I have a word or two to say about the pilfering Samuel “Sandy” Berger.

Thanks for stopping by!

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How Deep Is Your Family Tree?

by La Shawn on July 21, 2004

in General

RootsRoots was compelling and innovative television for its time. There was never anything like it up until 1977 nor anything like it since.

I was too young to understand most of it the first time I watched it, but I remember a couple of fights breaking out in my elementary school during the week it was on TV. Back then there were few channels, so whatever came on the night before, everyone watched it.

As I grew older, I developed an appreciation for it, even after Alex Haley was accused of plagiarizing parts of the book. He paid $650,000 to Harold Courlander, author of The African, to settle a plagiarism lawsuit. Stanley Crouch wrote a scathing column about Haley. Also see Thomas Sowell’s article.

Every time I watch the movie, I’m saddened, not just because of its depiction of slavery or heavy melodrama. I think about “lost” relatives I’ll never know about. And I always cry during one of the last scenes, a series of flashbacks of all the couples getting married, from Haley’s parents in 1920 to the marriage of Kunta “Toby” Kinte and his wife Bell (played by the late great Madge Sinclair) in the late 1700s.

Wishing I knew about my ancestors is probably why I’m fascinated with the history of the British Monarchy, where ancestry can be traced back to at least the 11th century.

I was reminded of Roots yesterday when I saw an article about Islamic ancestry, written by a genealogist named Nathan W. Murphy. It’s no mystery that many of the West Africans captured and sold into slavery (by their Islamic brothers?) were probably Muslims.

Unless families, especially black families, keep very good records, it’s difficult to trace ancestry beyond three or four generations. Time and money required for doing research are limited for most. And there’s that pesky day job, bills and other obligations.

In my case, reliable knowledge of my ancestry goes back no further than my great-grandparents on both sides. Companies like African Ancestry, Inc., use DNA testing to trace genetic ancestry to a particular African country. It’s as close as many of us will get to finding our Kunta Kinte.

I have a question for readers and commenters. How deep is your family tree?

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Chappaquiddick: Ted Kennedy’s Albatross

by La Shawn on July 20, 2004

in Lunacy

Mary Jo KopechneThe death of Mary Jo Kopechne and subsequent cover-up by Ted Kennedy will follow him to his grave. For the time being, it’s following him to the Democratic National Convention, scheduled to open this weekend, the continuation of the 35th “anniversary week” of Chappaquiddick that began last Monday.

Last month, New York Post columnist Eric Fettman wrote about it, as did several bloggers, including Michael Williams, Vodka Pundit and Tim Blair.

Check out this site, dedicated to illuminating the “Kennedy curse” in general and Ted Kennedy’s curse in particular. The most tragic fact to emerge from the investigation into the accident on Chappaquiddick: Kopechne survived for at least two hours in an air pocket.

Another “coincidence”: John Kennedy, Jr.’s plane went down during the weekend of the 30th anniversary of Chappaquiddick.

Ted KennedyAccording to Kennedy, this is what happened on the night of July 18, 1969:

On the weekend of July 18, I was on Martha’s Vineyard Island participating with my nephew, Joe Kennedy — as for thirty years my family has participated — in the annual Edgartown Sailing Regatta. Only reasons of health prevented my wife from accompanying me.

On Chappaquiddick Island, off Martha’s Vineyard, I attended, on Friday evening, July 18, a cook-out, I had encouraged and helped sponsor for devoted group of Kennedy campaign secretaries. When I left the party, around 11:15 P.M., I was accompanied by one of these girls, Miss Mary Jo Kopechne. Mary J was one of the most devoted members of the staff of Senator Robert Kennedy. She worked for him for four years and was broken up over his death. For this reason, and because she was such a gentle, kind, and idealistic person, all of us tried to help her feel that she still had a home with the Kennedy family.

There is not truth, not truth whatever, to the widely circulated suspicions of immoral conduct that have been leveled at my behavior and hers regarding that evening. There has never been a private relationship between us of any kind. I know of nothing in Mary Jo’s conduct on that or nay other occasion — the same is true of the other girls at that party — that would lend any substance to such ugly speculation about their character. Nor was I driving under the influence of liquor.

Little over one mile away, the car that I was driving on the unlit road went of a narrow bridge which had no guard rails and was built on a left angle to the road. The car overturned in a deep pond and immediately filled with water. I remember thinking as the cold water rushed in around my head that I was for certain drowning. Then water entered my lungs and I actual felt the sensation of drowning. But somehow I struggled to the surface alive.

I made immediate and repeated efforts to save Mary Jo be diving into strong and murky current, but succeeded only in increasing my state of utter exhaustion and alarm. My conduct and conversations during the next several hours, to the extent that I can remember them, make no sense to me at all.

Do you believe him? Here’s my amateur opinion: On the night of July 18, 1969, Ted Kennedy had been drinking, as usual, and he and Kopechne set out to engage in illicit behavior in his car. In his tipsy state, he didn’t realize he was driving too fast, as usual (check out his driving record).

After the car went off the bridge and hit the water, a disoriented Kennedy got out, went to the surface and realized Kopechne was still in the submerged car. I truly believe Ted Kennedy went back under to try and save Mary Jo Kopechne, although not as diligently as he should have. The current was strong, and he probably thought she was dead by then anyway. Consequently, he left the scene and made up a cover story.

I have to believe Kennedy tried to save that woman. My mind won’t let me see him leaving her to drown because he didn’t want to get caught cheating on his wife.

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John McWhorter And The NAACP

by La Shawn on July 20, 2004

in Dinosaurs

JWJohn McWhorter writes:

The NAACP is stuck in a mindset that worked 30 years ago but makes little sense today. Mfume and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond boast that the organization is committed to “speaking truth to power,” continuing the tradition that the organization was founded upon in 1909. This was urgent in an America where lynching was commonplace and segregation was legal.

But almost a century later, lifting blacks up is no longer a matter of getting whites off our necks. We are faced, rather, with the mundane tasks of teaching those “left behind” after the civil rights victory how to succeed in a complex society.

To be sure, racism still exists and must be stamped out. But it has been clearly marginalized. And it is a fallacy to say that the only way people can achieve is when there is absolutely no bias whatsoever against them. The burgeoning of the black middle class proves that societal racism doesn’t condemn African-Americans to failure.

To be sure, the NAACP was once a stalwart and necessary institution in America. I grew hearing about the great things they’ve done and stood for. But today’s NAACP is an old institution where bored old men go to have parties and complain about everything from the latest “racist” slight to the catered food on their plates. (Speaking of food, lunch with John McWhorter might be interesting. It could happen;)

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Rights Of Illegal Immigrants

by La Shawn on July 20, 2004

in Illegal Aliens

A commenter challenged some assertions I made in yesterday’s post about illegal aliens in Virginia who believe they have a right to be enrolled in public colleges and receive in-state tuition, although they’re not even citizens of this country.

The commenter wrote:

“[I]llegal aliens’ rights are not coterminus (sic) with citizens’ rights, but they have many protections under the 14th Amendment and the Bill of Rights.”

The commenter is correct. I asserted that illegal aliens have no rights and protections under the Constitution. While I know that illegal aliens have certain due process rights under the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, the point I was making yesterday was that they have no “right” to attend public colleges in the United States. I need to be clear on what rights they do have.

In general, a person who is not a citizen of a country has no “right” to be in that country. Students, workers and visitors are permitted to be in a country depending on their visa status. The Constitution refers to three kinds of people: citizens, persons, and the people. Whether the drafters intended these terms to mean different things is the subject of another post.

Because illegal immigration is a crime, illegal aliens have certain rights under the Constitution. And here they are:
—The right to remain silent
—The right not to incriminate himself
—The right to counsel
—The right to court-appointed counsel if he can’t afford counsel — Actually, non-citizens don’t have a per se right to a court-appointed lawyer.
—The right to stop answering questions at any time and ask for counsel
—Knowing and understanding his rights

I stand corrected.

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Conservative University 2004/Lunch With Star

by La Shawn on July 19, 2004

in BC Wisdom, Me, Me, Me, Pictures

meandstarI have to go in reverse order. Star Parker (she’s on the right) and I had lunch on Saturday. Whatever happened before that, I don’t remember. :)

I admired this woman when I was still a liberal, completely amazed by her “welfare queen to entrepreneur” story and confrontational attitude. As a young woman, Star was caught up in welfare dependency and petty theft, found God, got off welfare, started her own business and now runs a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering poor communities.

The Lord’s work in her life is evident through her gentle spirit and determination to incorporate faith in providing solutions to poverty, which include freedom and personal responsibility, and not government welfare. Star offered this speaker/writer wanna-be plenty of advice on how to focus on my plans and develop realistic goals for my career.

A woman like Star is a great mentor for me. She’s a committed follower of Christ and is passionate about her organization and what it has to offer. She recently co-produced a documentary on welfare reform with the BBC in London. Her second book just came out, and she’s already hard at work on her third, Dirty Mirrors.

Star’s schedule is always packed, yet she spent an afternoon with me to answer my questions and just…talk. It was by far the best part of the day. (As an aside, I found an open parking space in Georgetown on a Saturday afternoon in front of the restaurant, just like they do on TV.).

After the presentations and before we went to lunch, Star’s book-signing line moved to the hallway to make room for the next group of panelists. I watched her sign books and thought, “One day, one day.” Everyone wanted a picture with her, and a few people even wanted one with me.

I thought she was headed back to her hotel, so I started packing up to leave, too. She asked where I was going. “Home, I guess,” said the hermit who stays inside writing all the time.

“Let’s go to lunch,” Star suggested. I was going to lunch with Star Parker. Look, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a groupie, and I know Star is just a regular person, but when you’re about to have lunch with an in-demand person you’ve heard on the radio, seen on TV and whose books and columns you’ve read …it was highly unusual.

Rewinding that scene by several minutes, we’re back at the panelists’ table. I was relieved that my speech was over and still couldn’t believe I was on the same panel as Star. She is a natural speaker and very entertaining, rolling off statistics and policy, along with a generous helping of faith and common sense. I was just as excited as the college students.

I gave myself some slack because this was my first speech. I’m not nearly as polished as Star, but I’ll get there. The enthusiasm in the room helped to relieve my nervousness. Even though I could speak on race preferences and civil rights for hours without notes, I did what I don’t like seeing others do: read from a piece of paper. Hindsight is 20/20. Next time no script.

Star spoke first, I spoke second, and Jessica Echard spoke after me. Jessica is a very sharp young lady. She just graduated from college last year (Phi Beta Kappa), and spoke about the recent March For Women’s Lives abortion rally.

Jessica, who works at Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum, is a pro-life Christian who went to the march with a group to silently protest the protest. She passed around pictures taken at the rally. You should have seen the vulgarity, which I won’t shock you with. Jessica said that while she and her group prayed throughout the day, various people mocked them and called them all kinds of names.

She encouraged students to speak up on campus and get involved with countering some of the “feminist” issues. Jessica said that the abortion rally was more about hating George Bush than concern for “women’s lives.” I told her if I’d had my stuff together at age 23, I’d be ruling my own kingdom.

About three hours before all this occurred, I was about to leave my apartment. Georgetown University is approximately 15 minutes away, but I left at 9:00 a.m. for a program that started at 10:00 a.m., where I wouldn’t speak until 11:00 a.m. As I’ve blogged before, I’m very early for everything.

Before I leave the apartment, I’m at my desk looking over the speech. I check my clothes to make sure there are no holes or stains, grab my bag and head toward the door. I say to myself, “I wonder if anything unusual will happen today?”

Update: This post was published on my old blog and was filled with Haloscan comments. I couldn’t figure out how to import them when I moved to WordPress. :(

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Virginia Esta Para Los Amantes!

by La Shawn on July 19, 2004

in Illegal Aliens

Translation: Virginia is for lovers. Constitution lovers. Despite having a Democrat in the governor’s mansion, at least one judge and the Attorney General in that state understand what protections and privileges our Constitution promises and to whom they are given: United States citizens.

I think I’ll move to Virginia.

Finally a judge is willing to buck political correctness and do his job. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III dismissed a lawsuit filed by illegal immigrants — “illegal” being the operative word — who believe they have a constitutional right to be enrolled in colleges in Virginia. And receive in-state tuition.

Judge Ellis dismissed the suit because the plaintiffs, illegal aliens, lack standing to challenge the law. They cannot allege constitutional violations because as non-citizens, they have no such rights. Radical concept, isn’t it? From the Washington Times:

Judge Ellis said colleges are within their rights to deny admission to illegal aliens. The judge said denying such “incentives” as college admission for illegal immigration should help to curb it.

Mr. Kilgore [Virginia Attorney General] yesterday applauded Judge Ellis’ decision, saying it “upholds the ability of Virginia colleges and universities to deny admission to applicants who are unlawfully present in this country under federal law.”

“I continue to believe that it is not too much to ask that people obey the laws of our society before they take advantage of what society has to offer,” he said.

Yes! I’m sure Judge Ellis and Mr. Kilgore are considered racists in some circles, but I get the feeling it doesn’t keep them up at night. These men are not holding such high offices to win friends. Their job is to properly interpret and execute the laws of Virginia and the United States, a lesson they should teach President Bush.

With the proliferation of groups like the Mexican American (?) Legal Defense and Education Fund, get ready for more of the same. MexicoAs more illegal immigrants stream into the country through our porous borders, we’ll see more inane lawsuits like this one.

American citizenship, once prized, is now cheapened by those who expect, even demand, to enjoy the rights and privileges reserved only for Americans. See this article for more information.

If you want to keep up with non-enforcement of our immigration laws, read Michelle Malkin regularly. She’s a one woman crusade, exposing law breakers and lax immigration officials. I read story after story about local cops calling the INS — or whatever they’re called these days — to report illegal aliens, and the officials don’t show up. For more information about immigration reform, visit the Center for Immigration Studies and Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Did you know that in some places, cops are not even allowed to ask immigrants their status? And did you know Virginia now has a gang problem now? Virginia! Black gangs are no longer dominating the headlines, thanks to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (where I used to work, I’m proud to say) cracking down on these heartless thugs. But Hispanic gang violence is on the rise.

Politicians are all talk, as usual. They’re always coming up with some new taxpayer-supported program or another. The simplest and cheapest way to curb Hispanic gang violence is to deport crooks here illegally in the first place. That took two seconds and didn’t cost you a dime.

People, this is why we need Republicans in office (although some Republicans in Virginia side with Democrats on illegal immigration). They understand that government is supposed to protect citizens from this sort of thing. But liberals want to coddle criminals and enable law breakers.

To bring the image into sharper focus, try to form a mental picture of what this country would be like right now had Al Gore been in the White House on September 11, 2001.

Chilling thought.

Update: Speaking of gangs, this post by S-Train, a former gang member, is a must-read.

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Signing Off For The Weekend

by La Shawn on July 16, 2004

in General

microphoneI’m signing off early to continue preparing for the Conservative University 2004 conference tomorrow at Georgetown University. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m less nervous today than I was last week. Last Friday’s rant post must have released a lot of nervous tension. Besides, I’m as prepared as I’m going to be.

This is the first of what I hope to be many speaking engagements, so look for me in a town near you!

I’ll tell you all about it on Monday. I thank you for your support.

Rest easy, everybody.

Abortion Factory Teaches “Life Management”

by La Shawn on July 16, 2004

in Child Killing

Non-profit child-killing organization Planned Parenthood is teaching “life management” skills to children whose mothers decided to let them live (catch the irony?). Columnist Rod Thomson writes:

Planned Parenthood is teaching public school students about human sexuality and pregnancy prevention in a mandatory class on basic life skills….

Here’s the deal. The schools have a class called life management skills that teaches students nutrition, decision-making, first aid and things related to human sexuality, including pregnancy and birth prevention.

Now in an ideal world, such a class would be superfluous because parents would be teaching that at home and schools could be teaching the basics such as reading, writing, math and history.

The problem with the classes is that many parents do teach these things, and what the schools teach — and the presence of Planned Parenthood people teaching — does not line up with what parents teach.

When I was in grade school back in the late 1970s, we had weekly Bible study classes. Somebody complained about “separation of church and state”, and the classes were phased out. But an organization that not only advocates infanticide, but considers it’s morally acceptable is allowed to come into schools and teach kids, on the taxpayer’s tab, how to have sex.

What do libertarians say about government schools again?

Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Compulsory education laws spawn prison-like schools with many of the problems associated with prisons….We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended…We further support immediate reduction of tax support for schools, and removal of the burden of school taxes from those not responsible for the education of children.

Does anyone have their number?

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Packing Heat In VA/Defenseless In DC

by La Shawn on July 16, 2004

in General

Part of this post was adapted from a column I wrote last year.

Citizens are walking around Virginia with unconcealed weapons. Apparently, this is how it happened. After the changes in the law, the murder rate in Virginia decreased dramatically. One is allowed to carry unconcealed weapons in VA, but you must apply for a permit to carry concealed.

For the record, in 2003, the homicide rate in Virginia, where guns are legal, was 5.52 per 100,000. The homicide rate in D.C., where guns are illegal, was 45.8 in 2002. The District’s gun laws do nothing to deter crime and everything to keep the homicide rate the highest in the nation.

In 1976, the visionaries on the D.C. Council passed a law prohibiting the sale of new guns. The laws also prohibit anyone from bringing a handgun into the District or transporting one through the city unless you’re a cop or federal officer.

This scheme was conjured up as a way to prevent criminals from getting guns. Since enactment of the law 28 years ago, the murder rate in the District has risen 134 percent.

According to the U.S. Constitution, Americans have an individual right, not a collective one, to keep and to bear arms. That right is a personal one and subject only to reasonable regulation. The District’s gun laws are an unreasonable and outright violation of the Second Amendment (annotated).

Reminiscent of the days of human bondage in America, black, law-abiding citizens are once again denied their constitutional right to bear arms. Can an argument be made that D.C. gun laws also violate the Thirteenth “Badges of Slavery” Amendment?

At one time or another in America’s history, blacks have been stripped of the freedom of movement, association and expression. Before the Civil War, they were prohibited from owning firearms for fear of slave rebellions, and because they were not citizens under the law. After the abolition of slavery in 1863, whites continued to make black ownership of firearms difficult by charging excessively high taxes.

The Black Codes, laws set up after the Civil War, continued to restrict the rights of newly freed slaves to own firearms, own or rent farmland, vote, sit on juries, testify against white men, sue and enter into contracts. As de facto slavery, the purpose of the Codes was to maintain the white hierarchy. Some things never die. What dies are the rights of people to protect themselves.

A study by John Lott, a Yale University professor, found that concealed carry laws deter violent crimes. Lott’s study also found that when states pass concealed handgun laws, the percentage of black crime victims decreases. Numerous other studies show that blacks are victims of violent crime at a disproportionate rate and the perpetrators are disproportionately black.

While the criminals in the District are violating their neighbors, potential victims would be outlaws if they tried to defend themselves. When people are allowed to defend themselves with guns, crime drops. To buy the liberal myth that guns cause crime is to be stripped of what might be the only chance for protection.

The D.C. Council bought the myth back in 1976 by failing to comprehend that criminals are criminals; they commit crimes. Council members apparently thought that, although laws against murder don’t deter criminals from committing murder, laws against possessing guns might deter them from possessing guns.

No gun law anywhere will ever prevent a thug from being a thug. Criminals are resourceful. They benefit the most from gun laws: fewer armed victims. The District’s gangbangers know that law-abiding citizens — prime targets — probably won’t be carrying guns. This is what happens when liberals run a city. The lunatics have free rein over the asylum.

SafeStreetsDC.com
“Defenseless in D.C.”
John Lott on international gun control
Virginia Citizens Defense League
GunCite.com (gun control – pro/con)

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Rod Paige’s Message To Kweisi Mfume And Julian Bond

by La Shawn on July 15, 2004

in BC Wisdom, Dinosaurs

paige“You do not own, and you are not the arbiters of, African-American authenticity,” writes Education Secretary Rod Paige in response to the NAACP’s latest attacks on black conservatives. From the Associated Press:

Paige took aim at two NAACP leaders, chairman Julian Bond and president Kweisi Mfume, for what he called “hateful and untruthful rhetoric about Republicans and President Bush.” At the convention, NAACP officials have described some black organizations as mouthpieces of white conservatives and have said Bush’s education law disproportionately hurts minorities….

“The civil-rights movement has historically been multicultural, and many of its founders, including those who established the NAACP, were in fact white,” Paige said. “I long for the day when our nation’s education policy will not be grist for the partisan mill — when we can work together, black and white, rich and poor, for the sake of our children.”

I like it. I wish more high-profile conservatives would say something publicly against the NAACP and people like Mfume and Bond.

Paige is known for being outspoken. In February of this year, he referred to the National Education Association as a terrorist organization using scare tactics to sway opinion against President Bush’s No Child Left Behind law. I was deeply disappointed when he apologized, but he got this in:

[T]he NEA’s high-priced Washington lobbyists have made no secret that they will fight against bringing real, rock-solid improvements in the way we educate all our children regardless of skin color, accent or where they live.

This country will never be colorblind, unfortunately. Our brains use shortcuts to process information. Negative stereotypes are inevitable, but I believe we all have enough intelligence to at least make the effort to judge others based on character and not skin color.

I don’t want to go through life being known as a “black conservative”, but if I have to, I’m glad “black conservatives” such as Rod Paige are willing to tell the world that the NAACP and their kind do not represent all black Americans.

Update (7/18/04): Rod Paige’s OpinionJournal article.

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Appeasing The Insane/Dying For Freedom

by La Shawn on July 15, 2004

in War - Islamofascism

What’s worth fighting and dying for these days? Liberty? Country? Family? If I were held hostage by neck chopping lunatics, I’d like to believe I’d be heroic enough to urge President Bush to keep fighting in Iraq. I’d do so not because I hate Iraq; I hate tyranny and evil.

Seeing it in my mind, I am brave and strong enough to plead with him not to give in to my murderers and continue to fight for the cause of freedom. And if the fanatics asked me to deny Christ and live, death would be my choice. Of course, I wouldn’t expect the United States to surrender to anyone for any reason.

But imagine if someone you love is being held hostage by maniacs. We have all the proof we need that these “rebels” will cut off heads for sport, with the cameras rolling. Would you demand that we pull out of Iraq to save your loved one? For one American soldier, would you demand we pull out of Iraq?

While the rules of the game don’t change when our emotions are involved, our perceptions do. That’s why I understand the anguish hostage Angelo de la Cruz’s family must be feeling. But I cannot comprehend why Filipinos would prostrate themselves before a bunch of thugs, especially for one man. It’s astonishing. For one, they gave in to Islamic terrorists. Michelle Malkin has a few choice words for her parents’ former countrymen:

The island nation has gone and pulled a Spain (and a France and a Germany). Philippine president Gloria Macagapal-Arroyo has crumbled like a fried lumpia wrapper under pressure from radical Muslim terrorists.

The Battling Bastards of Bataan have given way to the Mollycoddling Milksops of Manila. And ultimately, we — not just Filipinos, but all Americans and our allies battling Islamofascism — will pay a grisly price for this disgraceful capitulation.

(Japan invades the Philippines)

Skye Garcia, writing for the Manila Times:

We have become a nation of cowards and slaves. Instead of resorting to Islam’s law of equal retribution we cringe and crawl like spineless creatures begging mercy from the Iraqi militants, who demand that we reverse our foreign policy to save driver Angelo de la Cruz’s life from an unjustified beheading.

Most of us would say we’d rather die free than live in chains (Right?).

henryAmerican rebel Patrick Henry considered British encroachment on the colonies unjust and was willing to die for it. In 1775 he uttered these immortal words: “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

In 1831, slave Nat Turner rebelled and killed whites to break out of chains. Doomed from the start, he was eventually caught and hanged, as were other slaves who attempted to rebel and flee slavery’s misery.

Some people argue that the American Revolution was an unjust war (see Principles of the Just War). But what American in 2004 gives serious thought to the idea that the United States is illegitimate? And slaves were breaking laws on the books by attempting to escape, but how many of us would argue that the laws were just?

Do you believe the war in Iraq is just? What are you willing to die for?

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