From the Pen of David Horowitz: September 14, 2010

Sep 14 2010 Published by under 2010 Elections

It is possible to be a socialist, and radical in one’s agendas, and yet moderate in the means one regards as practical to achieve them. To change the world, it is first necessary to acquire cultural and political power. And these transitional goals may often be accomplished by indirection and deception even more effectively than by frontal assault. Political stratagems that appear moderate and compromised to radical factions of the left may present an even greater threat from the perspective of the other side. In 1917, Lenin’s political slogan wasn’t “Socialist Dictatorship! Firing Squads and Gulags!” It was “Bread, Land and Peace.” – Hillary Clinton and “The Third Way”: How America’s First Lady of the Left Has Bamboozled Liberals and Conservatives Alike, Jewish World Review – If you have a favorite Horowitz quote you want to highlight for others then please email it to DavidSwindle {@} Gmail.com. Please include: “Horowitz Quote of the Day” in subject line. A link to where the quote is from. (No need to include this if it’s from a book.) Any remarks you’d like published explaining what value you take from it. Your preferred name and a link to your blog or homepage (if you have one.)

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From the Pen of David Horowitz: September 14, 2010

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Up next: Michael Moore, Oliver Stone give back their Oscars, box office receipts

Sep 13 2010 Published by under 2010 Elections, Uncategorized

Naw, just joshin’. But it would be fitting, given what happened this week. It sounded like a fake story from The Onion , but there was no punchline: Dictator Fidel Castro summoned an American reporter to Cuba to break the news that, hey, that whole socialism thing hadn’t really been such a smart idea. Now, I’ve been wishing Castro dead for a long time, not incidentally because a BBQ master of my acquaintance has promised to roast a whole pig to celebrate the occasion. But I’m glad he lived long enough to tell the Atlantic ’s Jeffrey Goldberg what so many paranoid rightwing troglodytes have been saying for decades: Castro, now 84 and semi-retired, made a surprisingly lucid admission about how 52 years of communist dictatorship have ruined his country. “The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore…” Castro’s motives in stating the obvious are still unclear. He may be desperate for attention. Or, having turned his country into an impoverished hellhole, he may want the U.S. trade embargo to end. As Investors.com pointed out, the joke’s on useful American idiots like filmmakers Michael Moore and Oliver Stone . The former devoted an entire documentary, Sicko, to the glories of the Cuban “health” “care” “system,” while Stone’s next movie is a “hagiography about Castro.” Maybe we will finally get a break from hearing Westerners, recently returned from their oh-so “affordable” holiday in the socialist paradise, raving about Havana’s “quaint” atmosphere. (“Quaint” because Cubans are obliged to drive crappy old cars from the 1950s; “affordable” because all those waitresses and bellhops get paid squat.) Then again, I presume Castro supporters the world over have already written off the dictator’s remarks as the rantings of a senile old man. Progressives don’t create much of consequence, but let’s give them credit for being able to concoct ingenious excuses whenever their illusions are shattered.

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Up next: Michael Moore, Oliver Stone give back their Oscars, box office receipts

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Can the Cant: 9-11 Was Always Already Politicized

Sep 13 2010 Published by under 2010 Elections

From the pages of the Washington Times comes an article filled with hand wringing over the GZ Mosque and Qur-B-Que controversies, quoting various people lamenting the politicization of 9-11. 9-11 has always been political, though. Oh, yes, the reasons for the wanton massacre of thousands in the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and on various commercial airliners have mutated depending on the exigencies of the moment. I seem to recall that it was once outrage over the US military presence in Saudi Arabia, the breeding ground of the Wahabbist death cult . Mind you, the whole nation is “sacred,” but we mustn’t insist on moving a mosque from two blocks from Ground Zero. Mecca is so sacred that no non-Muslim must set foot there, and Medina is sacred. Jerusalem is so sacred to Muslims that any relics of prior Jewish settlement ought to be extirpated, in a slow-motion version of the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. Cordoba’s cathedral ought to be opened to Muslim worship, because at one time, in contravention of an agreement with Cordoba’s Christians , Muslims worshipped there before suffering a series of territorial reverses. Bethlehem is largely devoid of Christians, and the few remaining Jews in numerous Muslim territories are leaving due to oppression. So, when I hear this sort of thing , I wonder: New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan spoke out Friday against Saturday’s planned New York protests, saying Sept. 11 “has become a holy day in our community and our nation.” “We must never allow Sept. 11th to become a time for protest and division,” he added. “Instead, this day must remain a time for promoting peace and mutual respect.” Where is the mutuality? At Gettysburg, Lincoln, without benefit of teleprompter, said this: But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

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Pastor Jones Koran Non-Burning Story Tops the Balloon Boy

Sep 13 2010 Published by under 2010 Elections

In breaking news Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Lakeland FL , has unaccountably become trapped inside an enormous helium balloon headed for New York City. There is mounting concern for the pastor’s safety, as the surrounding airspace has become dangerously congested with chase planes from the media, including one from MSNBC that actually appears to be firing on it. The news of this mishap was initially reported earlier today by a “close relative” of Jones, whose initial garbled report became intelligible when another unidentified voice (heard on the tape) counseled holding the handkerchief a little further away from the mouthpiece. Why Reverend Jones would’ve chosen this particular mode of transport for yet another meeting with the New York Mosque planners is unknown. One intriguing theory is he thought it would be less threatening if he presented his demands in a high-pitched voice reminiscent of the Lollipop League. Another is that he loaded up the gondola with a metric ton of Koran’s and was planning a  Hindenburg moment if the talks went sour. These and other scenarios have captured the imagination of pundits, panelists and commentators everywhere, creating a spontaneous outpouring of solemn, credulous nodding not seen since the polar ice cap in its entirety melted away early last July. Across the airwaves regular programming exposing racist Islamophobes has been preempted by special programming exposing racist Islamophobes in balloons, with special emphasis on Sarah Palin. Updates as they occur. Much has already been written about the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta that unfolded before our eyes last week involving the good Reverend,  his well-publicized intention to burn Koran’s on September 11, and the apoplectic reactions of not only the usual suspects – by whom I mean the more excitable elements of the Islamic community whose name appears to be legion (or more often than not Mohammed) – but also our political , military , media and cultural elites (not the least of whom is the ever sage Angelina Jolie ). Having watched the media swarm around Reverend Jones, not unlike five-year-olds around the ball at a soccer game—and breathlessly pursue his every deke and head fake (“Will he burn them/won’t he –  Is there a deal/isn’t there? Will he meet with the ‘Imans’ [sic]/won’t he? Will he ever get sixty people to attend that church/not a chance?”), the only question that remains is whether the man is a tactical Brainiac with a parenthetical genius for self-promotion, or the aforementioned elites are even more  gullible and ideologically myopic than any of us dared believe. Since any exposure to the good Reverend pretty much takes the first possibility off the table, we are left with the latter scenario by process of elimination. I say this because in relative terms this particular trap was about as subtle as a very large fish hook with “IOU a worm” attached. Any serious group of villains should have recognized that responding to this tiny and utterly inconsequential church in a manner that validated the position of the Islamic extremists they pretend to abhor would expose massive inconsistencies in their own position on the Ground Zero Mosque, their cravenness in the face of Islamic intimidation and shakedowns, and the utter bankruptcy of the whole notion of “the moderate Islam community.” But bite on it they did, repeatedly and enthusiastically, because, as living proof that the term “knee-jerk liberal” is more insightful than we imagine, they simply couldn’t help themselves. Reverend Jones didn’t need to burn a single book–presuming he ever intended to in the first place—his mission was effectively accomplished as soon as the media picked up on his Facebook page and ran with the story . The resulting patter chorus of outrage, comparable to anything out of the Mikado, exposed the elites in all their disproportionate, hypocritical glory. The story here is not the violent reaction of the Islamic community, moderate or otherwise. We pretty much already knew about that. Sharia is not a system  replete with slaps on the wrist, unless “slap” in Arabic is synonymous with “hack.”  Anyone still unaware of the default Islamic response to any slight—real or imagined—would do well to revisit the stories of Salman Rushdie, Theo van Gogh, or any of the hundreds of victims of the reprisals in the aftermath of the infamous Dutch cartoon. Or alternatively, Google “Islamic riot” and pore over the million or so results. The real story is the willingness of our elites–out of some combination of Stockholm Syndrome, self-loathing and a thinly-veiled contempt for Western civilization–to act as apologists and human shields for what amounts to a violent and repressive theocracy in waiting . As the Reverend Jones incident amply demonstrated, pretty much any story will do. So to the media, one question remains. Inasmuch as Jones–that inbred, gap-toothed hayseed you are so fond of depicting him as—just played you like a Hammond organ, what exactly does that make you?

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Pastor Jones Koran Non-Burning Story Tops the Balloon Boy

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Would You Buy a Used Mosque From This Man?

Sep 12 2010 Published by under 2010 Elections

A new serpent has appeared in the nest of vipers that is making its home in the crater of the toppled Twin Towers, among the remains of the 9/11 dead. This particular model citizen goes by the name of Imam (of course) Muhammad Musri. The cast of hucksters and political minded holymen around the 9/11 Victory Mosque already included among others: Michael Bloomberg — Huckster-in-Chief of New York City, whose company is very profitably expanding its operations in the Persian Gulf. An enthusiastic promoter of the construction of the mosque (I wonder why) far more enthusiastic than he is for the reconstruction of the fallen towers themselves. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf — Yet another man-of-god mountebank, primarily notable for his sympathy for al Qaeda. “ We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than al-Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non Muslims .” He has been singled out as an overseas representative for the US by our would-be global overlords in Washington DC, no doubt for his deep insight into the American soul and his passionate concern for the American people, who broadly deplore pretty much everything he is doing. Reverend Terry Jones of Gainesville — A political, theological and publicity genius who decided to burn a stack of Korans on September 11th. Associated indirectly with the affair of the Victory Mosque, by the widespread sactimonious blah about first amendment freedom of religion, freedom of speech, etc. … Apparently, Imam Muhammad Musri was inspired to interject himself in order to prevent Reverend Jones’ impending act of heresy. No doubt you are holding your breath waiting to hear my opinion of burning the Koran. I think Ann Coulter almost nailed it , but not quite. The reason not to burn Qurans is that it’s unkind — not to jihadists, but to Muslims who mean us no harm. The same goes for building a mosque at ground zero — in both cases, it’s not a question of anyone’s “rights,” it’s just a nasty thing to do. I may be the only person on the right who doesn’t deplore Reverend Jones’ gesture. But then, I’ve known bra burnings and flag burnings, and have watched America, the founders, the flag, the Bible, God, Christ, Moses and Mary variously mocked and damned all my life. I’m just not that moved by burning a Koran. To normal decent American Muslims I say “ welcome to my life. ” And to the people that are going to riot in the streets about it, I say … hmmmm, actually I can’t say that on a family website. Objectively, the Koran is simply an object that Jones bought in a store. It’s his property. So far as I’m concerned he can burn it, wear it as a hat, or pour milk and sugar on it and eat it for breakfast. I couldn’t possibly care less. Regarding the mosque however, I think that Coulter, champagne and roses be upon her, understates the case and is off the point a bit. It’s worse than a nasty thing to do, it’s also a propaganda goody for America’s enemies.

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Hot Post:The 15 Most Obvious Lies in President Obama’s Ohio Speech and 1 Damning Freudian Slip

Sep 12 2010 Published by under 2010 Elections

This popular post was first published on September 8 here . The naked lies were too numerous to count in President Obama’s speech in Ohio today. But let’s try and respond to a couple. 15. “We also hoped for a chance to get beyond some of the political divides between Democrats and Republicans…” One cannot “get beyond” the political divides of this country when the objective is to “fundamentally transform” the United States. Obama’s talk of bi-partisanship has been clearly demonstrated to just be a campaign technique to woo moderates. He could have ruled from the Center — the model was there in Bill Clinton’s second term. Instead he chose to push a leftist agenda, thus further exacerbating the divide. 14. “Because we are proud to be Democrats, we are prouder to be Americans.” Says the Post-American President who rejects the concept of American exceptionalism and bows to foreign kings. 13. “I ran for President because for much of the last decade a very specific governing philosophy had reigned about about how American should work.” He expects us to believe that anything President Bush did in any way inspired him to run for President? 12. “Folks were forced to put more debt on their credit cards and to borrow against homes that many couldn’t afford to buy in the first place.” Forced ? As in Discover Card and American Express put a gun to their customers head and demanded they load themselves up with debt? Monster House came by and threatened to devour people if they didn’t sign the mortgage? 11. “I ran for president because I believed that this kind of economy was unsustainable for the middle class and the future of our nation.” Obama is not interested in sustainability. The debt levels we already have and that he is further burdening us with make a mockery of his claims for interest in sustainability. 10. “I ran because I had a different idea about how America was built. It was an idea rooted in my own family’s story.” Built? Obama does not have a different idea about how America was built. The historical facts are quite clear. He has a different idea about the America that he wants to build — and build by destroying what already exists.

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Hot Post:The 15 Most Obvious Lies in President Obama’s Ohio Speech and 1 Damning Freudian Slip

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5 Ways the Internet Is Warping Your Brain and Transforming Your Life — And What You Can Do About It

Sep 12 2010 Published by under 2010 Elections

Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age by Douglas Rushkoff Some authors are right there just when you need them. When I first encountered media theorist Douglas Rushkoff and his work I was in the wake of a religious crisis. My adolescence had been dominated by years of an intense evangelical Christianity which eventually fell apart. In college I sought to piece together some kind of spiritual understanding beyond the poles of fundamentalist belief and the militant Harris/Hitchens/Dawkins atheism that was fashionable at the time. Enter Rushkoff’s nonfiction book  Nothing Sacred: The Truth About Judaism and his comic book series Testament . Both were useful guides for how to consider spiritual texts. It’s not that the Bible necessarily happened as written so much as it’s always happening. The myths contain deep spiritual truths that are continually applicable to our lives. During my college years I had the pleasure of meeting Rushkoff when he came to give a talk at my alma mater Ball State. At the time I made it my business to defend him when he was brutally attacked by an up-and-coming conservative streetfighter, my classmate and then-ideological rival Amanda Carpenter . She tried to make the case that Rushkoff was some kind of anti-American , Ward Churchill type and that Ball State bringing him to campus was another example of indoctrination . Yeah, a bit off the mark there. Oh well, we all do and say stupid things in college — I certainly did. Rushkoff and I stayed in touch after that, with me checking in every six months or so. After graduating I embarked on a two-and-a-half year expedition into the jungles of corporate America. (Also known as “getting a real job, trying to jumpstart a writing career,  and doing everything possible to avoid ending up in the parents’ basement.”) Near the tail end of it Rushkoff published a book which more or less explained perfectly everything I had been experiencing. Life, Inc.: How the World Became A Corporation and How To Take It Back documented how corporations emerged and why they behaved in the often mysterious ways they did. Why, oh, why did it have to come out in the spring of 2009 instead of the fall of 2006? (See my review for FrontPage here , the last article I wrote as a freelance contributor before making the jump to an editor in August of ’09.) And here Rushkoff is again, now delivering a book on a silver platter that might as well be written for me personally. Managing  NewsReal Blog and trying to build it into the “powerhouse blog” that David Horowitz has charged me with creating means I swim in the digital sea 7-10 hours a day (it varies depending on how effective my wife April is at peeling me off.) So as he previously provided penetrating explanations of my two former full-time obsessions (religion and corporatism) now he offers a roadmap for this blogosphere, twitterverse, facebookistan, youtubian chaos. This is familiar territory for Rushkoff. In the ’90s he first made his name as something of an internet evangelist , preaching the virtues of online life. Now he’s starting to have some Second Thoughts , more attuned to the pitfalls that have emerged since the web’s toddler days. Almost two decades have started to show some problem areas. Refreshingly, as with his previous books, Rushkoff’s solutions are practical. As I’ve argued before, Rushkoff isn’t a leftist — he a counterculturalist. And his books are about providing analyses which the individual can then use to enhance their own lives and communities. Not to give away all of Rushkoff’s candy, I’m going to focus on five of his ten commands and discuss them as they would relate to the news and politico junkies who read NRB as well as the political issues we care about most.

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5 Ways the Internet Is Warping Your Brain and Transforming Your Life — And What You Can Do About It

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What Constitutional Right to Build the Ground Zero Mosque?

Sep 11 2010 Published by under 2010 Elections

The countless articles and commentaries about the proposed Mosque near Ground Zero never fail to include the proviso “no one disputes their constitutional right to build it……….”. From the always odious Keith Olbermann to the always entertaining Ann Coulter it is de rigueur to make this point when discussing the proposed Mosque. Why we need to constantly reference this point is beyond me. Our original constitutional right to dispose of our property at will is derived from the Fifth Amendments Takings Clause. But as all property owners in America are aware, our rights to do what we want with our property has long been superseded by local zoning boards, the EPA, local historical committees, farm usage regulations, and countless other restrictive powers of Local, State and Federal Government. Plus the Supreme Court ruling in Kelo versus the City of New London expanded the concept of eminent domain to include taking property from one group of private citizens to give to another group of private citizens. While I deplore this development almost universally, it is not the case that, de facto, there is a constitutional right to build the Mosque near ground zero. It is merely the case that the Bloomberg Administration’s Zoning Commission decided to approve it. If you doubt this, I suggest you try to convert where you now live into a Church. I am not in the real estate business. But I own a house and an apartment. At various other times I have either owned or considered buying properties. In not one of my personal situations was I not interfered with by some entity of government to prevent me from doing something I wanted to do on any property I owned or wanted to own. It is useful to point out a few items to prove just how limited our property rights truly are. My point is to show that indeed, the Mosque Builders were granted explicit permission to build, but they have no “right” to build. My examples are all trivial (except perhaps one), which is precisely my point. I wanted to build my current driveway 10 feet to the right of where it is now on my 5 acre lot. My then “neighbor” objected as I apparently violated some “100 foot rule”. When I built my house I wanted slightly higher ceilings. I was prevented because I would have violated a height rule. I have 80 foot trees surrounding my house and have by far the smallest property in my “neighborhood”. I bought a sofa for my apartment in NYC. It is just a sofa, but apparently on the slightly large size. It could not fit into the very small elevator of the apartment building. There are enormous windows in the building and the “super” suggested we could easily have it lifted it through the 3rd floor window of the vacant apartment across the hall from ours. We were prevented by the city because our’s is a “landmark” block (off 3rd Ave!) and we might have “risked” some damage.

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