Check this out.
Pardon my French, but the Obama campaign can kiss my lily-white gun-owning ass. Pucker up, Santa Cruz, because your Obamessiah is cracking down on free speech. Then again, it's just the free speech of a bunch of gun-toting racist rednecks, so who really cares?
You lefties are always rarin' to defend whatever neo-Marxist nonsense the International Solidarity Movement or By Any Means Necessary (a Communist Party-backed group, if you haven't been doing your homework) are spewing at their latest pity party for Palestine or terrorists or cop-killers like Mumia Abu-Jamal. When it comes to the free speech of other groups that the Left disagrees with, they are more or less loath to defend it. The Washington Post makes all sorts of ridiculous excuses for Barack Obama's stance against the 2nd Amendment, along with ludicrous accusations that his statements were "taken out of context" or whatever else they want to come up with.
There is something in the link posted above that I find very curious - it's on page 9 of the PDF document under the 12/5/07 entry:
He admits that the collective takes precedence over the individual, so individuals should be punished by having their ownership rights constrained due to the actions of one individual. His stance is that individual ownership is to be restricted by the whims of the community. If you happen to live in a county or state headed by Democratic politicians, you can bid your right to own a "scary black rifle" au revoir simply based upon what the brainwashed masses who guzzle the "peace and tolerance" Kool-Aid want from their leaders.
My personal experience has led me to understand that 99% of everyone who is opposed to firearms or supports firearms restrictions has experienced them on a secondary basis - through someone else they know, or through the media. Overwhelmingly, they are also the same people who bitch and moan about restrictions on "civil liberties" in a time of war, but fail to grasp the concept that governmental monopoly on firepower has always resulted in genocide and tyranny.
Not only does the Obama campaign consider any statements regarding his inability to uphold the very right to defend the other 26 Amendments to be "lies", there are actually people who will jump at the chance to bring charges against anyone criticising Barack Obama: [LINK]
I seriously want to see if anyone who supports the Obama campaign is going to defend this "Ministry of Truth". Pardon my French yet again, but the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys can kiss my lily-white free-speech-loving ass. Like ProtestWarrior's Kfir asked the head of the NYCLU in their 'Liberty Rising' video, "Are you for protecting all forms of free speech, or just the free speech that you agree with?" This statement was made after some NYCLU members found some ProtestWarrior signs outside somewhere and called the police to have them removed, finding them "offensive" and "distasteful", as if the "Fuck Bush" and all the signs equating Israel to the Third Reich are just fine and dandy.
I know John J. Ray is much more scholarly (with his doctorate degrees and all) in his take on this, but fascism is Leftist at the core: collectivism, legislation is passed and policy objectives are put forth "for the benefit of the nation", a cult of personality is formed, the arms of private citizens are registered and then confiscated under the guise of "public safety", the central figure becomes immune to criticism through jackbooted thugs (who really don't have to wear literal jackboots after all) who unflinchingly enforce all of this.
On a related note, I was reading a few more blogs (Fjordman, La Yihad en Eurabia, Gates of Vienna, among others) about how the international "anti-fascist" group Antifa was outright assaulting elderly Jews - calling them "Nazi scum" and all other sorts of epithets - all while police stood by. This took place in Germany, if you can believe that. German "anti-fascists" viciously beating Jews who happened to be protesting the creeping plague of Islamism into Europe. If it weren't so, the Islamic supremacists wouldn't be referring to the Iberian peninsula as "al-Andalus", which is the name given to the realm of the Almoravid dynasty, wherein Jews and Christians lived as dhimmis, and revolts were violently crushed.
Ordinarily, I am not too keen on European ethnic nationalism as it often appears concurrently with the neo-fascist movement that seeks to replace one form of socialist authoritarianism (Islam) with another (neo-fascism), but it is times like these where I will openly ally myself with the basic aims of the European New Right - Europe must remain European. It must not become another launching station for the global Caliphate that so many would like to see the fruition of. The ideological and media war against Islamic supremacism has made for some odd bedfellows, but until more Europeans start to realize that their heritage and very way of life is under real attack by foreign invaders, the ethnic nationalists are the best we have. It might take another bombing, like the ones in London and Madrid, to get more Europeans on the same page. I am thankful that there are people like Geert Wilders, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and the late Pim Fortuyn to resist Islamism while rejecting neo-fascism.
Coming back to Obama's attacks on the 2nd Amendment...
No leftist who believes in individual liberties can ever side with the Democratic party. The vast majority of legislation and policy pushed by the Democratic party is so virulently antithetical to the concept. Leftists are quick to crucify the Denver police even after it was made plain that the Code Pink member egged on the officer, but their stance on the individual rights of others who disagree with them are always conditional, or they even outright oppose them.
It's somewhat of a bitter pill for me to swallow, but a President Obama will only embolden the "progressives" to come down hard on their political enemies. They are the original backstabbers and the architects of moral equivalence.
Showing posts with label america. Show all posts
Showing posts with label america. Show all posts
28.5.08
You'll never learn to argue well if all that you hear are things you agree with.
David Horowitz came to speak at UC Santa Cruz, a school he considers the "worst school in America". His aim was to direct the attention of the unwitting student body to the fact that opinion is being presented as fact in a majority (if not all) of the liberal arts and social "sciences" classes. No criticism of such teaching is offered. The university is now the religion-less version of seminary school, where you are certainly going to Hell if you don't believe all the world's problems are caused by rich people, capitalism, white people, men, Republicans, or the REAL troublemakers in the world - rich white male pro-capitalist Republicans. No ands, ifs, or buts.
Many of the classes center around political activism through creating a victim mentality: "you're black, so it's only natural for you to be oppressed by white people, and that means you need to do something about it because white people hate you", regardless of whether such a thing is actually occurring or not. If you don't believe me, pick up the course catalogue, or audit a class. I have run into the "whites/males/Republicans are to blame for all this country's problems" dogma in more than one of my classes here at UCSC. Criticism of such theories is truly slaughtering sacred cows. The idea that Robert Mugabe's seizure of land from white farmers and redistributing it to black Africans who have no knowledge of farming is the cause of Zimbabwe's (I still prefer to call it Rhodesia) problems of hunger and violence would be considered "racist" - a label leftists love to toss at people and ideas that threaten their comfortable political monoculture.
The university's student body has insulated itself from criticism with that jargon. A white person criticizing a black person's behaviour or policy? Racism, and you're a racist too if you don't agree with that assessment. What's that? Someone's critiquing leftism? Obviously a right-wing bigot, if you ask me.
Speaking of "racism" and other such ad hominem devices, the anti-Horowitz protesters chanted a familiar song:
"Racist, sexist, anti-gay
Right-wing bigots, go away!"
It's cute, really. If you're 12 years old and "Bushisms" still make you laugh.
Who are they calling racist? Don't they realize that their precious affirmative action programs only serve to treat minorities like children who need lower standards instead of expecting them to rise to meet the same standards as everyone else, or that they have no problem calling whites who criticize a black Presidential candidate "bigots" and black conservatives are "Uncle Toms" or "race traitors" because they don't tow the line of victimization at the hands of whites, or that the enslavement of blacks from 150 years ago doesn't necessarily mean that they themselves are disadvantaged?
Sexism. How is Horowitz a sexist? By declaring that the Feminist Studies has no internal mechanism of self-critique, ignoring the works of prominent feminists who have critiqued their own movements? Ohhh, the horror! How dare you tell us that our ways are wrong!
Hint: if you're an 'enlightened progressive', there's no need for self-examination, because your enlightened nature just means that everyone else is wrong. See, if everyone adopts the mindset of the 'enlightened progressive', there would be no argument about things. We could all get along peacefully, without any of those filthy ass-backwards right-wing bigots to ruin our beautiful ideological homogeneity!
They cannot claim he is "anti-gay", either. It's a common slur used against anyone even remotely identified with the right, whether or not they have any stance on homosexuality at all. Horowitz is outspoken among conservatives in his support of gay marriage.
As I've noted earlier, "right-wing bigot" identifies everyone who threatens the monoculture. More importantly, the ending to that verse "go away" demonstrates just how open and tolerant the leftist community is to opposition. They have a monopoly on dissent, and nobody is allowed to challenge it. It is their self-proclaimed sacred right. Just watch some ProtestWarrior vids, showing how the early pro-war demonstration groups were harassed and attacked by "peace" groups, for no other reason other than their presence at the big anti-war rally in 2004. "Go away" is another way of saying "get out" or "we don't want you here", as if to say "as a speaker paid for by public funding, you should not be allowed to speak at a public university because your statements and ideas shock and offend our delicate sensibilities".
Something that amused me in a manner most hearty was a leaflet that anti-Horowitz organizers passed out to students and guests. I'll see if I can scan it and post it here, because it's really a hoot.
The main thing I noted was the lack of quotes around a statment the activists claim that Horowitz said - something along the lines of Slavery was self-inflicted by Blacks [why is 'Blacks' capitalized? Did they mean the All Blacks?] and that reparations should be stopped. Instead, Blacks should be greatful [sic] for having been brought to America through the slave trade.
They quote no actual sources - just baseless opining and conjecture. Holding an "anti-racist day of action" after accusing someone based on what may be fabricated quotes only further damages the reputation of the academic left.
The flyer then quotes Horowitz, correctly identifying the nationwide Muslim Student Associations as part of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group affiliated with Hamas (with whom Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama are hunky-dory having non-binding talks and agreements). Pointing out this accurate connection is "racist" because Islam is a race (however that works) and associating any part of Islam with terrorism (however accurate and true it may be) is also "racism"/"bigotry"/any of the other overused leftist buzzwords.
The presentation itself was fairly civil once Mr. Horowitz got started. There were some goons banging on the windows from outside, but it was only occasionally that they did this, along with posting signs - "Kill Whitey", "Free Speech =/= Hate Speech" (the left has a nasty habit of labeling all criticism as 'hate speech'), among others. Horowitz looked quite disheveled and I could tell he was definitely not on top of his game. I'm not sure what was causing this, as numerous of his previous speeches have been much more rowdy and chaotic than this one. Maybe it was because he was deep in "enemy territory", I don't know. He verbally stumbled on occasion, and I felt his lack of anecdotal evidence (for instance, speaking with only 4 or 5 students instead of 40 or 50) and lack of ability to put forth a clear, concise and persuasive argument weakened his thesis regarding the consequences of political homogeneity in higher education.
The 'Indoctrinate-U' film by independent filmmaker Evan Coyne was much more persuasive and its "on-the-ground" approach would have made a more significant impact on the audience.
His conduct towards the hooligans outside was derisive - for instance, calling security instead of ignoring them. The left thrives on attention and martyrdom - give them an inch, and they take a mile. Another disruptor attempted to walk down towards the front of the room, holding a large sheet of paper on which was written 'Liberal Bias' with the rest of the sheet blank, as if to suggest Horowitz's claims were baseless by virtue of writing two words on paper and that blank space. If I had been the one speaking, I would have stared him down, asked him politely to explain his arguments in a civil and reasonable fashion. I would have made an example of him to the left, that shouting and theatrics do not take the place of rational discourse, but I suppose common sense is lost on too many these days. I would have told the audience "See how they react when I say things they don't like? That's what happens when you spend so much time in an environment that is only critical of everyone else. You don't learn to debate, but instead priority is placed on shouting, disrupting, and stamping out all views contrary to your own. Welcome to college, where everyone else but you is wrong." Talk about your tax dollars at work.
One girl in particular stood up during the Q&A period at the end, ranting about free speech, as if to suggest shouting matches in a crowded lecture hall where a paid speaker was trying to conduct affairs in a orderly manner was appropriate free speech. Horowitz made the point that allowing everyone in the room to stand up and start shouting just as she did would eliminate actual speech and replace it with a cacophony of unintelligible voices. I wonder if she stands up in class whenever she pleases and shouts out questions and comments when her professors are lecturing. Maybe it's different because it's "ol' racist Mr. Horowitz, who said mean things about our school in a non-mainstream news source". I think that deserves an epic 'BAWWWWW'.
Another question during the Q&A session concerned conservative favoritism at universities, but all the examples everyone came up with (including Mr. Horowitz) were private colleges, such as Pepperdine, Hillsdale, and Brigham Young. Horowitz has no problem with the existence of a private "Marx & Engels School of Revolutionary Thought", however oxymoronic such a thing would be, but when public universities not only favor leftist groups on campus, but also make it more difficult for rightist groups to obtain funding/secure a location for a lecture or meeting/etc., that is not what taxpayers should be funding. If a public institution was heavily subsidizing Christian campus groups, all the while only giving the bare minimum to other religious groups, or only giving them meeting times early in the morning or late at night, the uproar over such a thing happening at the taxpayers' expense would be enormous.
This is called a double standard. Favoritism. Hypocrisy.
Then again, did you expect any less from people who are quick to label critics of Barack Obama as "racists" yet do not consider people like Ward Connerly, Condoleezza Rice, or Thomas Sowell to be "real blacks" because they don't subscribe to the typical agenda of the black community?
After the question period had ended, most of us applauded for Horowitz (it's nice to know there are at least a few UCSC students who can be civil towards people they oppose), after which he just about bolted from the room. I made my way down the stairs to see if I could have a word with him, but he was long gone before I even got to the front of the room.
It was a fairly productive night, and the leftists who are roosted comfortably in the rafters of academia consistently fulfill my expectations of them.
Many of the classes center around political activism through creating a victim mentality: "you're black, so it's only natural for you to be oppressed by white people, and that means you need to do something about it because white people hate you", regardless of whether such a thing is actually occurring or not. If you don't believe me, pick up the course catalogue, or audit a class. I have run into the "whites/males/Republicans are to blame for all this country's problems" dogma in more than one of my classes here at UCSC. Criticism of such theories is truly slaughtering sacred cows. The idea that Robert Mugabe's seizure of land from white farmers and redistributing it to black Africans who have no knowledge of farming is the cause of Zimbabwe's (I still prefer to call it Rhodesia) problems of hunger and violence would be considered "racist" - a label leftists love to toss at people and ideas that threaten their comfortable political monoculture.
The university's student body has insulated itself from criticism with that jargon. A white person criticizing a black person's behaviour or policy? Racism, and you're a racist too if you don't agree with that assessment. What's that? Someone's critiquing leftism? Obviously a right-wing bigot, if you ask me.
Speaking of "racism" and other such ad hominem devices, the anti-Horowitz protesters chanted a familiar song:
"Racist, sexist, anti-gay
Right-wing bigots, go away!"
It's cute, really. If you're 12 years old and "Bushisms" still make you laugh.
Who are they calling racist? Don't they realize that their precious affirmative action programs only serve to treat minorities like children who need lower standards instead of expecting them to rise to meet the same standards as everyone else, or that they have no problem calling whites who criticize a black Presidential candidate "bigots" and black conservatives are "Uncle Toms" or "race traitors" because they don't tow the line of victimization at the hands of whites, or that the enslavement of blacks from 150 years ago doesn't necessarily mean that they themselves are disadvantaged?
Sexism. How is Horowitz a sexist? By declaring that the Feminist Studies has no internal mechanism of self-critique, ignoring the works of prominent feminists who have critiqued their own movements? Ohhh, the horror! How dare you tell us that our ways are wrong!
Hint: if you're an 'enlightened progressive', there's no need for self-examination, because your enlightened nature just means that everyone else is wrong. See, if everyone adopts the mindset of the 'enlightened progressive', there would be no argument about things. We could all get along peacefully, without any of those filthy ass-backwards right-wing bigots to ruin our beautiful ideological homogeneity!
They cannot claim he is "anti-gay", either. It's a common slur used against anyone even remotely identified with the right, whether or not they have any stance on homosexuality at all. Horowitz is outspoken among conservatives in his support of gay marriage.
As I've noted earlier, "right-wing bigot" identifies everyone who threatens the monoculture. More importantly, the ending to that verse "go away" demonstrates just how open and tolerant the leftist community is to opposition. They have a monopoly on dissent, and nobody is allowed to challenge it. It is their self-proclaimed sacred right. Just watch some ProtestWarrior vids, showing how the early pro-war demonstration groups were harassed and attacked by "peace" groups, for no other reason other than their presence at the big anti-war rally in 2004. "Go away" is another way of saying "get out" or "we don't want you here", as if to say "as a speaker paid for by public funding, you should not be allowed to speak at a public university because your statements and ideas shock and offend our delicate sensibilities".
Something that amused me in a manner most hearty was a leaflet that anti-Horowitz organizers passed out to students and guests. I'll see if I can scan it and post it here, because it's really a hoot.
The main thing I noted was the lack of quotes around a statment the activists claim that Horowitz said - something along the lines of Slavery was self-inflicted by Blacks [why is 'Blacks' capitalized? Did they mean the All Blacks?] and that reparations should be stopped. Instead, Blacks should be greatful [sic] for having been brought to America through the slave trade.
They quote no actual sources - just baseless opining and conjecture. Holding an "anti-racist day of action" after accusing someone based on what may be fabricated quotes only further damages the reputation of the academic left.
The flyer then quotes Horowitz, correctly identifying the nationwide Muslim Student Associations as part of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group affiliated with Hamas (with whom Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama are hunky-dory having non-binding talks and agreements). Pointing out this accurate connection is "racist" because Islam is a race (however that works) and associating any part of Islam with terrorism (however accurate and true it may be) is also "racism"/"bigotry"/any of the other overused leftist buzzwords.
The presentation itself was fairly civil once Mr. Horowitz got started. There were some goons banging on the windows from outside, but it was only occasionally that they did this, along with posting signs - "Kill Whitey", "Free Speech =/= Hate Speech" (the left has a nasty habit of labeling all criticism as 'hate speech'), among others. Horowitz looked quite disheveled and I could tell he was definitely not on top of his game. I'm not sure what was causing this, as numerous of his previous speeches have been much more rowdy and chaotic than this one. Maybe it was because he was deep in "enemy territory", I don't know. He verbally stumbled on occasion, and I felt his lack of anecdotal evidence (for instance, speaking with only 4 or 5 students instead of 40 or 50) and lack of ability to put forth a clear, concise and persuasive argument weakened his thesis regarding the consequences of political homogeneity in higher education.
The 'Indoctrinate-U' film by independent filmmaker Evan Coyne was much more persuasive and its "on-the-ground" approach would have made a more significant impact on the audience.
His conduct towards the hooligans outside was derisive - for instance, calling security instead of ignoring them. The left thrives on attention and martyrdom - give them an inch, and they take a mile. Another disruptor attempted to walk down towards the front of the room, holding a large sheet of paper on which was written 'Liberal Bias' with the rest of the sheet blank, as if to suggest Horowitz's claims were baseless by virtue of writing two words on paper and that blank space. If I had been the one speaking, I would have stared him down, asked him politely to explain his arguments in a civil and reasonable fashion. I would have made an example of him to the left, that shouting and theatrics do not take the place of rational discourse, but I suppose common sense is lost on too many these days. I would have told the audience "See how they react when I say things they don't like? That's what happens when you spend so much time in an environment that is only critical of everyone else. You don't learn to debate, but instead priority is placed on shouting, disrupting, and stamping out all views contrary to your own. Welcome to college, where everyone else but you is wrong." Talk about your tax dollars at work.
One girl in particular stood up during the Q&A period at the end, ranting about free speech, as if to suggest shouting matches in a crowded lecture hall where a paid speaker was trying to conduct affairs in a orderly manner was appropriate free speech. Horowitz made the point that allowing everyone in the room to stand up and start shouting just as she did would eliminate actual speech and replace it with a cacophony of unintelligible voices. I wonder if she stands up in class whenever she pleases and shouts out questions and comments when her professors are lecturing. Maybe it's different because it's "ol' racist Mr. Horowitz, who said mean things about our school in a non-mainstream news source". I think that deserves an epic 'BAWWWWW'.
Another question during the Q&A session concerned conservative favoritism at universities, but all the examples everyone came up with (including Mr. Horowitz) were private colleges, such as Pepperdine, Hillsdale, and Brigham Young. Horowitz has no problem with the existence of a private "Marx & Engels School of Revolutionary Thought", however oxymoronic such a thing would be, but when public universities not only favor leftist groups on campus, but also make it more difficult for rightist groups to obtain funding/secure a location for a lecture or meeting/etc., that is not what taxpayers should be funding. If a public institution was heavily subsidizing Christian campus groups, all the while only giving the bare minimum to other religious groups, or only giving them meeting times early in the morning or late at night, the uproar over such a thing happening at the taxpayers' expense would be enormous.
This is called a double standard. Favoritism. Hypocrisy.
Then again, did you expect any less from people who are quick to label critics of Barack Obama as "racists" yet do not consider people like Ward Connerly, Condoleezza Rice, or Thomas Sowell to be "real blacks" because they don't subscribe to the typical agenda of the black community?
After the question period had ended, most of us applauded for Horowitz (it's nice to know there are at least a few UCSC students who can be civil towards people they oppose), after which he just about bolted from the room. I made my way down the stairs to see if I could have a word with him, but he was long gone before I even got to the front of the room.
It was a fairly productive night, and the leftists who are roosted comfortably in the rafters of academia consistently fulfill my expectations of them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)