No, Bob and Butch, the editorial writer was not comparing the Amish to Islamic terrorists. No one has ever advocated tolerance of terrorists. Looks like the I.Q. rush began some time before this column appeared, and took a significant portion of your sense of humor with it.
@wally: well, if we eliminate the word terrorists that you object to, we are left with Islam; and when you can show me the examples of the Amish stoning women for adultery, or hanging homosexuals, or murdering individuals who leave Amish society, or fighting wars of conquest, or mutilating thieves, or practicing female genital mutilation, or committing honor killings, I'll grant that the editorial writer had a valid point to make.
Muslims who live among us do none of those things, and this column was clearly about how we respond to people who live among us. It's perfectly fair to argue against the writer's points; not so fair when you refashion his premise to fit your view of the MSM.
@wally: Muslims have, in fact, committed honor killings in the US. It's far more prevalent in the UK, where the percentage of Muslims in the population is higher than in the US. All of the practices I mentioned take place in Muslim parts of the world, and various Muslim leaders have said that they intend for Sharia to become the law of the land in the US when demographics permit it.
Various people say various things all the time. Do you believe that Muslims are capable of establishing sharia here as the law of our land when "demographics permit", Bob? Do you really?
@wally: Already Europe is often derisively called Eurabia, and the capital of UK called Londonistan. Prominent UK leaders, up to and including the Archbishop of Canterbury have discussed allowing aspects of sharia to be made part of UK law.
Don't sneer at demographics, Walt. Not when California's population is now 37% Hispanic, and many of those disinclined to speak English. Once upon a time few or none questioned the inclusion of religious references on US coinage, or Christian prayers at government functions; changing demographics are causing them to fall into disuse and even disrepute. The history of the world is nothing but a compilation of changing demographics.
I didn't sneer at demographics. If I sneered at all, it was at the notion that our form of government is so weak (and yes, I believe it's stronger than any European govt, so you can desist with the horror stories) that the law of the land will be overturned in favor of Sharia. And by the way, your claim that demographics are responsible for the decline of Christian influence in things governmental doesn't compute. The largest and fastest-growing minority is, if anything, more committed to Christianity than yer whites, among whom religiosity has been in decline for years. Do you just make this stuff up?
@wally: "The largest and fastest-growing minority is, if anything, more committed to Christianity than yer whites, among whom religiosity has been in decline for years."
You just proved my point. I wasn't referring to ethnic demographic in my point about US coinage, etc., I was referring to religious demographic, which, as you noted, has shifted significantly in the last 100 years. Thanks.
Really, Bob? Your statement follows hard upon statistics about Hispanics and others who don't speak English, and you expect me to deduce that your statement is about the demographics of white Christians? By the way, and I say this as someone who has regularly dealt with such things in my line of work, demographics really doesn't include religious beliefs, or any beliefs, for that matter. Probably belongs under the heading of psychographics.
A newsroom comprised entirely of leftists/liberals is no more capable of ideological objectivity than an all-white newsroom would be of racial objectivity, or an all-male newsroom of gender objectivity.
Captain Louis Renault
"Round Up the Usual Suspects."
The Drawn Cutlass Philosophy
Be as decent as you can. Don't believe without evidence. Treat things divine with marked respect, and don't have anything to do with them. Do not trust humanity without collateral security, it will play you some scurvy trick. Remember that it hurts no one to be treated as an enemy entitled to respect until he prove himself a friend worthy of affection. Cultivate a taste for distasteful truths. And, finally, most important of all, endeavor to see things as they are, not as they ought to be.
Ambrose Bierce
The Foe
When I am free to walk the streets of Mecca or Medina as the agnostic I am and receive nothing but curious glances, I will believe Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance.
Sign On. You Know You Want To.
A Few Words From Some Founding Fathers
All Men Are Created Equal. (Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father)
But Differ Greatly In the Sequel. (Fisher Ames, Founding Father)
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.
Bob's Addendum To Cooper's Rules
A Gun is not a Toy. Don't Play With It.
Bob's Theory of Hush Puppies
Bob's Theory of Hush Puppies: The best hush puppies are oblong shaped, rather like dog turds. The worst ones are spherical, like balls. The spherical ones are usually made from the recipe on a pre-packaged box of hush puppy mix.
Restaurant Ratings
My restaurant ratings, mostly intended for BBQ restaurants, will be on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. Unlike most reviewers, I don't intend to play games with the rating scale by introducing fractions such as "2 and 1/2" or "4 and 3/4," I've always considered that stupid and a signal that the reviewer is trying to avoid making an honest 1-5 judgment.
Here is the breakdown of the ratings:
1 out of 5: waste of time, crap, unable to finish eating; apathy by staff/ownership
2 out of 5: edible, but no effort to impress; staff/management going through motions; desultory.
3 out of 5: average; reasonably good food, moderate effort by staff/management
4 out of 5: good; tasty, well-prepared food, staff alert, restaurant clean.
5 out of 5: great; excellent food, cooked fresh. Staff attentive and proactive, management responsive to complaints. Restaurant spotless.
On Self-Reliance
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
11 comments:
My head just imploded from the vacuum created my the sudden rush of my I.Q. outward as I read this.
See, I'm stupid now, by, not my. I even quickly proof-read that.
No, Bob and Butch, the editorial writer was not comparing the Amish to Islamic terrorists. No one has ever advocated tolerance of terrorists. Looks like the I.Q. rush began some time before this column appeared, and took a significant portion of your sense of humor with it.
@wally: well, if we eliminate the word terrorists that you object to, we are left with Islam; and when you can show me the examples of the Amish stoning women for adultery, or hanging homosexuals, or murdering individuals who leave Amish society, or fighting wars of conquest, or mutilating thieves, or practicing female genital mutilation, or committing honor killings, I'll grant that the editorial writer had a valid point to make.
Muslims who live among us do none of those things, and this column was clearly about how we respond to people who live among us. It's perfectly fair to argue against the writer's points; not so fair when you refashion his premise to fit your view of the MSM.
@wally: Muslims have, in fact, committed honor killings in the US. It's far more prevalent in the UK, where the percentage of Muslims in the population is higher than in the US. All of the practices I mentioned take place in Muslim parts of the world, and various Muslim leaders have said that they intend for Sharia to become the law of the land in the US when demographics permit it.
Various people say various things all the time. Do you believe that Muslims are capable of establishing sharia here as the law of our land when "demographics permit", Bob? Do you really?
@wally: Already Europe is often derisively called Eurabia, and the capital of UK called Londonistan. Prominent UK leaders, up to and including the Archbishop of Canterbury have discussed allowing aspects of sharia to be made part of UK law.
Don't sneer at demographics, Walt. Not when California's population is now 37% Hispanic, and many of those disinclined to speak English. Once upon a time few or none questioned the inclusion of religious references on US coinage, or Christian prayers at government functions; changing demographics are causing them to fall into disuse and even disrepute. The history of the world is nothing but a compilation of changing demographics.
I didn't sneer at demographics. If I sneered at all, it was at the notion that our form of government is so weak (and yes, I believe it's stronger than any European govt, so you can desist with the horror stories) that the law of the land will be overturned in favor of Sharia. And by the way, your claim that demographics are responsible for the decline of Christian influence in things governmental doesn't compute. The largest and fastest-growing minority is, if anything, more committed to Christianity than yer whites, among whom religiosity has been in decline for years. Do you just make this stuff up?
@wally: "The largest and fastest-growing minority is, if anything, more committed to Christianity than yer whites, among whom religiosity has been in decline for years."
You just proved my point. I wasn't referring to ethnic demographic in my point about US coinage, etc., I was referring to religious demographic, which, as you noted, has shifted significantly in the last 100 years. Thanks.
Really, Bob? Your statement follows hard upon statistics about Hispanics and others who don't speak English, and you expect me to deduce that your statement is about the demographics of white Christians? By the way, and I say this as someone who has regularly dealt with such things in my line of work, demographics really doesn't include religious beliefs, or any beliefs, for that matter. Probably belongs under the heading of psychographics.
All that aside, enjoy your vacation!
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