The League of David

Good Question

Protest Warriors ask a good question.

WW III Continues...on college campuses

These images are taken from a recent campus talk by Michelle Malkin.

with "the usual assortment of Berkeley Marxists, Maoists, and Communists "

It used to be that when a commentator or a public intellectual came on to campus, students would gather to listen and/or debate. Now they gather to intimidate and slander.

Life Imitates Tolkien II

It’s a geek-time, so bear with me:

I was trolling around the Internet last week when I came across this post at Powerline.

The rest, of course, is history. I was a silent bystander, skipping from LGF to Powerline, to Drudge to Hugh Hewitt and others, watching an amazing story unfold. I wasn’t the only one.

The blogosphere has received just praise for exposing a terrible fraud, one that could have had a destabilizing effect on the US presidential election.

I’ve read through quite a few comment threads at these and other blogs. One thread theme that caught my eye is the idea that Memogate is not only a victory against the mainstream media, but also a victory in the war on terrorism (or,World War IV).

I’m not so sure. Last week the blogosphere –the new media that blossomed after 9/11 – engaged in its first campaign against the mainstream media, but it wasn’t a battle in World War IV. It was the last battle of World War III, the Cold War.

The Cold War pitted Western (American) capitalism against Eastern (Russian) communism. Proxy wars were fought. Ideas engaged. There were times when it looked like the West would lose. Reagan came, engaged the Soviets, and by the early 1990s it was clear that America had won.

It's 2004, communism is dead. Marxism is discredited. However, there are American institutions that still cling to Marxist ideals. There are people who believe that Marxism adds value to insight, and they are struggling to maintain their credibility and relevance in some of our most respected institutions (academia and journalism), even if it’s only to influence a presidential election (or show off a triumphal sneer).

These people are still fighting the Cold War, and Memogate is going to be its last battle. The academics and journalist are showing a stubborn indifference to reality that comes across as arrogance and cynicism. The rest of us have moved on; they have not and will not. They talk about having their "voices heard." They still yammer on about "The People!" They raise their fists, and believe they will “make a difference," regardless of how hate-filled and incoherent their protests turn out.

That’s why CBS insists the memos are real, even as the real story continues to unfold. To say "we're wrong" is in some way admitting defeat.

Memogate is another example of Life Imitating Tolkien.

In the “Scouring of the Shire” Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin return home to find it has been ravaged by a group of ruffians and ne’er-do-wells. Emboldened by their newfound fighting and leadership abilities they do battle with the lowlife scumbags and chase them out of Shire. It’s the end of the war, right? No. They discover that Saruman – the now-discredited and impotent wizard has been living in Bad End and directing the “marring” of the Shire as a sort of revenge on the hobbits.

A confrontation ensues. A dagger is pulled. Arrows fly. End of story:

And the very last end of the War, I hope,’ said Merry.

“I hope so,” said Frodo, and sighed, "The very last stroke. But to think that it should fall here, at the very door of Bag End! Among all my hopes and fears at least I never expected that."

"'I shan't call it the end, till we've cleared up the mess,' said Sam gloomily. 'And that'll take a lot of time and work.' "

What we’re seeing now is the decades-long effects of the Cold War. It may be dead in Poland or Hungary, but it's still being fought here in the U.S -- by Americans against Americans -- on the internet.

A Parliament of Rooks

Question: What do you call a group of swans?

A flock?

No. A ballet.

Here's a few more:

A trembling of finches

A flamboyance of flamingos

A bazaar of guillemots

A siege of herons

A charm of hummingbirds

A concentration of kingfishers

A deceit of lapwings

An exaltation of larks

An ostentation of peacocks

A bouquet of pheasants

A congregation of plovers

A conspiracy of ravens

A wisp of snipe

A murmuration of starlings

UPDATE:

Here's another list.

What is a terrorist? A Quick Guide

Since many Philistines in the mainstream media seem confused about the definition of the word terrorist. Here's a quick visual guide. 

Activist            /          Terrorist

Activist          /          Terrorist

Activist          /          Terrorist

Activist          /          Terrorist

Activist           /          Terrorist

Here are some key characteristics that will help a confused Philistine distinguish between the two:

An activist will carry a stupid homemade poster.  A terrorists will carry explosives around their waist.

An activist will do it "for the children."  A terrorist will kill the children.

An activist will unfurl a banner.  A terrorist will wield an AK-47 and a holy book.

Activists strum guitars.  Terrorists string up explosives.

Beat me to the Punch

Philistines in the American media do have something in common with their lesser counterparts in the rest of the world. They categorically refused to call the Islamic vampires and demons of Beslan -- who tore children apart, raped teenage girls (and videotaped it), and shot children in the back; they even blew each other up -- terrorist.

Every other word is being used to describe these horrible people, than the word that needs to be used: terrorist.

Well, Daniel Pipes has beat me to the punch.

The press, however, generally shies away from the word terrorist , preferring euphemisms. Take the assault that led to the deaths of some 400 people, many of them children, in Beslan, Russia, on September 3. Journalists have delved deep into their thesauruses, finding at least twenty euphemisms for terrorists:

Assailants - National Public Radio
Attackers – the Economist
Bombers – the Guardian
Captors – the Associated Press
Commandos – Agence France-Presse refers to the terrorists both as "membres du commando" and "commando."
Criminals - the Times (London)
Extremists – United Press International
Fighters – the Washington Post
Group – the Australian
Guerrillas: in a New York Post editorial
Gunmen – Reuters
Hostage-takers - the Los Angeles Times
Insurgents – in a New York Times headline
Kidnappers – the Observer (London)
Militants – the Chicago Tribune
Perpetrators – the New York Times
Radicals – the BBC
Rebels – in a Sydney Morning Herald headline
Separatists – the Christian Science Monitor

And my favorite:
Activists – the Pakistan Times .

This is an activist. This is a terrorist:

Update: Charlotte Allen at the Inkwell provides an excellent summary of the Philistine, er, mainstream media's euphemism tick.

Constipated? Try Beethoven.

In the 19th century music, serious music, was the highest form of art. It was the art all other arts aspired to.

That's why Beethoven is as important to the cultural history of the 19th century as Napolean was to its geopolitical history. Composers, painters, poets and novelists lived and worked in all seriousness. Their works were greeted with all the excitement and public scrutiny that greets some movies or TV shows today.

What am I getting at?

I read this super bizarre article in the Philistine, er, Washington Post the other day:

Radio Stations Ask Jews for Jesus to Alter Controversial Commercial

A radio commercial for the evangelical group Jews for Jesus has been dropped by classical music station WGMS, while the general manager of all-news WTOP and modern-rock Z104 said he would continue to air the ad only if it is altered. All three stations said they received numerous letters and complaints from Jewish listeners.

First thing I thought: This is news? You have a presidential candidate who may be investigated by his former employer, the US Navy. Not one word about that, but the Post is up on this whole Jews for Jesus controversy. They're gettin' to the bottom of this one!

Then there's this from the general manager of WGMS:

Joel Oxley, general manager of WGMS, dropped the commercial after a week, saying the station's "mission is not to offend." He added, "When people come to us, they want to be soothed and they want to hear the great classical music. It was not the case when they heard the advertising."

People listen to classical music to sooth themselves. Oh, I didn't konw that. I thought they listened to the music because they fucking liked it.

You know, I can just imagine Rachmaninoff composing his 2d p.c. or Brahms his Requiem with the express knowledge that their works of art would one day be used as sedatives.

On some level I don't blame Mr. Oxley for seeing the medicinal in classical music. He's a businessman, and he has made WGMS the most profitable commercial classical music station in the country. I give him credit for his success.

But!

There's something to be said about the banality of turning to the intellectual and emotional blood, sweat and tears of some of the most important people who have ever lived into just another therapy for DC's "stressed out" Philistines.

Canaries

I did it.

After several months of guilt pickin' (over spending the money) I went out and bought a satellite radio.

The moment of truth came yesterday while I was working out. At 3:30 PM, in the heart of a major metropolitan area, at the cusp of the afternoon rush hour, and for a subsequent forty-five minute workout, I heard nothing. I was scanning every receivable station, approx. 20 (even the Christian and Hip Hop stations), for forty-five minutes and heard about 10 songs total. There was nothing.

Well, not nothing. There were commercials, many many many commercials. There were songs, occassionaly, but nothing I knew or cared for. One of the "women's" stations played an Alanis Morrisette song, which consisted of the over-privileged singer screetching something angry. One of the hip-hop stations had some sort of song about "shakin' tail feathers." National Philistine, er, Peoples, er, Public Radio had some very concerned sounding white woman talking about something.

None of this is new. DC radio has sounded like this for quite some time, but what stunned me, what really stunned me, was that for forty five minutes, I heard nothing I wanted to listen to. There is 1 commercial classical music station (more on that for another post). There is one "classic" rock station; one "oldies" station. There is one country music station. There is one "cutting edge" station. And one contemporary "rock" station. There are at least two "women's" stations, and at least two preachin' stations.

The only oddballs is WAMU (where I first learned about the Canaries of the 30s and 40s) and WCSP. One is college station and the other is C-Span radio. There's no real quality or variety, because there's no competition. It's a content wasteland.

You say: "Get an mp3 player, Urgo." "Get an iPod." I know. I know, but I don't want to store a radio station-sized collection of music just to listen to a variety of it. I'd like a DJ to give me some variety. I want someone else to make up the playlist.

DC commercial radio is bad, folks. It's really quite awful.

I have my fingers crossed that Sirius Radio has something better to offer. It won't be difficult. The commercial broadcast radio in DC is so bad that the bar for personal satisfaction is quite low.

Never Trust A Committee

Where there are Philistines there are committees.

Columnist Michelle Malkin wrote a book called In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror. Sounds contoversial. I don't have any opinion on the issue of racial profiling, and I won't pretend to be interested. I assume, however, that she has every right to her opinion. If it is supported by facts, and well argued, then "professional" historians should take it seriously.

But some historians -- academics for the most part -- are Philistines.

And what did the historians do? Write articles refuting her arguments? Organize a convention of historians to research and debate all sides of the issue?

No.

They form a committee. In this case the Historians' Committee for Fairness.

I don't know what this "committee" is supposed to do to Ms. Malkin. Are they going to go medieval on her? Are they going to do a UN on her? In the real world of work, committees are formed inside preexisting organizations to accomplish a finite task: hire an executive, investigate a problem, issue a finding. whatever. But a committee out of the blue stinks of hippie musk.

It's as if the only way these tired old lefties can respond to a controversial idea is to go Maoist on it.