The problem with hate crimes is that it is so politically motivated. Certain groups are protected. Others are not.
In 2001, there were twice as many anti-Jewish incidents as there were anti-Muslim, according to the FBI. In 2002 and pretty much every year since, anti-Jewish incidents have outstripped anti-Muslim incidents by at least 6 to 1.
Logic would suggest that we should be more concerned about antisemitism, but that line would feed the story that America is an troubled nation. To many on the left, finding fault it our country is the name of the game. We support Israel, so pointing out antisemitism would only indicate that America is on the right path. Claiming America hates Muslims jives with the (made up) story that America is the source of problems in the Muslim world.
Hate crime blinders are not just applied to Jews. Asians get ignored as well. Earlier this year, Asian students in Philadelphia had to boycott school in order to get action from the school board. Asians are considered smart and successful. Many of them live the American dream, rising from poverty to wealth. Crimes against them because of their race are ignored.
Hate crimes are not about crime and they are not about crimes against minorities. The hate crime narrative is about perceived victims of the American system. That’ s why successful minorities like Jews and Asians are highlighted and why we hear so much about Islamaphobia and hate crimes against blacks.
Gasoline prices are low. Some see this as a good thing. In a way it is. When we spend less money on gas, we have more money for more important en devours in life.
I see the price of gas as a barometer of the economy. When the world economy is humming, crude oil (and gasoline) prices go up as the supply dries up. We will know the economy is truly rebounding when the news reports that oil production is increased in order to meet demand.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in Economics on August 26th, 2010
Liberals have tried in vain for years to take away our guns. Not to worry. The king will have his way. The Obama EPA is considering banning bullets.
With the fall hunting season fast approaching, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Lisa Jackson, who was responsible for banning bear hunting in New Jersey, is now considering a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) – a leading anti-hunting organization – to ban all traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976, a law in which Congress expressly exempted ammunition.
Forty-eight percent (48%) of U.S. voters now regard President Obama’s political views as extreme. Forty-two percent (42%) place his views in the mainstream, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
And…
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters now believe the Democratic congressional agenda is extreme. A plurality (45%) view the GOP agenda as mainstream.
I guess James Cameron decided it is better to look like a wimp than an idiot
Cameron challenged Andrew Breitbart, Climate Depot’s Marc Morano and filmmaker Ann McElhinney of ‘Not Evil Just Wrong.’ The debate was already in the program for the Aspen American Renewable Energy Day (AREDAY) summit. The website program described the agreed to debate as “AREDAY Climate Change Debate: Reality or Fiction?”
After setting up the public global warming debate, Cameron and his negotiator then changed formats multiple times and initially said it would be open to the media and then said he would only participate if it was private with no recording devices. The skeptics agreed to all the changes. According to AREDAY organizers, activist Joseph Romm of Climate Progress urged Cameron not to go ahead with the debate as well.
Cameron’s cancellation of the agreed to debate did not happen until one debate participant (Morano) was already in mid-air, flying from DC to Aspen on Saturday August 21 to attend the debate.
For years, we have been told that we must be sensitive to the emotional scars of minorities. We can’t use the “N” word even in a non-hateful context. Not even in a quote. It is too painful for African Americans.
We can’t make jokes about gays, women, blacks, Italians, Polish people…anyone…for fear of offending the sensitive.
We have had words changed to be more friendly. Crippled was changed to “handicapped” and the changed to “physically impaired”. “Retarded” was changed to “mentally challenged”. “Visually impaired” is the new “blind”. All these words have been changed as to not offend or hurt feelings.
The same people who are adamant about feelings support the building of a Mosque at Ground Zero in total disregard of how Americans were hurt by 9/11. The argument has been turned against the creators, and in response they have tried a couple of tactics
First, the proponents of the Mosque tried to use the Constitution. They appealed to property rights and religious freedom. Unfortunately, most Americans don’t give a whit about the Constitution. If they did, we wouldn’t have a bloated, overly powerful federal government. Their Constitutional argument failed to sway the public.
That leaves them with their ace in the hole. The one they always play when they have nothing left to say. Hate. Those who oppose the Mosque are accused of hating Muslims. Daisy Kahn is the the wife of the Feisal Abdul Rauf, Ground Zero imam. She says that opposition to the mosque is “like matastazied antisemitism”. Time Magazine asks on the cover, “Is America Islamophobic?” Who cares? More importantly, is America suicidal.
In other words, they are out of arguments. They can’t speak to the issue for fear of undermining “sensitivity”, so they must speak to the oppositions motive.
Philadelphia is taxing bloggers. They call it a “privilege license”. As Investor.com points out:
Bloggers aren’t driving on city streets. They don’t need fire or police service. Nor do they require, as some say a for-profit business does, a bureaucracy of regulators, inspectors or paper pushers who need compensating. They don’t even create trash that has to be collected. They can get by on their own. Read more…
Bloggers are not dependent on government infrastructure. This tax is purely a way of picking out a minority that doesn’t have the votes to protect themselves from the tax man. In the process, they are trampling all over the 1st amendment rights of its citizens.
The government could basically hinder this new form of speech by taxing it. Yes, they are doing it to fill a budget gap now. If this tax is allowed, it’s not a great leap to see how it could be used to control dissent (the highest form of patriotism…according to the Democrats during the Bush years).
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in free speech on August 24th, 2010
The U.S. Senate’s failure to pass a comprehensive climate and energy bill this summer could spell doom for startups founded to help reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. read more…
They wouldn’t have this problem if they produced something the market wanted (real people) instead of something government wants.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in Alternative Energy on August 22nd, 2010
The Eco Smart LED Light is available at Home Depot. It has two LED running on 8.6 watts and giving out as much light as a 40 watt incandescent bulb. Unlike the curly mercury filled bubs, this one is dimable.
Turning on this light for 4 hours per night, it will pay for itself in about 5 years. The good news is the LED bulb will last about 20 years.
LEDs are not ready for the big time…yet. It’s an emerging technology. It won’t be long before we are all using LEDs…so don’t go too crazy with those dumb curly bulbs.
Each year, Beloit College puts out a “mindset list” to remind the old professors just how young the incoming freshman are…and simultaneously…remind everyone else who old we are.
Here are some of my favorites:
The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014
Most students entering college for the first time this fall—the Class of 2014—were born in 1992.
For these students, Benny Hill, Sam Kinison, Sam Walton, Bert Parks and Tony Perkins have always been dead.
4. Al Gore has always been animated.
12. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.
16. Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways.
18. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.
19. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.
30. “Viewer Discretion” has always been an available warning on TV shows.
32. Czechoslovakia has never existed.39. Pizza jockeys from Domino’s have never killed themselves to get your pizza there in under 30 minutes.
50. Toothpaste tubes have always stood up on their caps.
62. Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine.
68. They have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.
71. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing.
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