In Praise of a Do-nothing Congress

January 28, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, President, Republicans, Selwyn Duke, Senate, Taxes | No Comments

-By Selwyn Duke

Here’s a question: how can we expect to have small government if we condemn Congress for not growing it?

It’s always a disturbing experience when you’re accosted with a picture of Harry Reid, as I was upon logging on to Drudge last Monday afternoon. But at least his image bore a fitting caption: “MOST FUTILE EVER.” I then clicked the link and found myself at The Washington Times – normally a quite sane organ of the media – and learned the meaning of the caption: the Times was lamenting a do-nothing Congress and presented Reid as its poster boy. Writes the paper, “It’s official: Congress ended its least-productive year in modern history after passing 80 bills – fewer than during any other session since year-end records began being kept in 1947.”

Writes Duke, “It’s official: conservatives are completely confused about what begets big government.”

The paper then expanded on its theme, pointing out that Congress set a record for “legislative futility” according to something called the “futility index.”

I’ll tell you what’s futile: complaining about a loss of freedom while chastising legislators for not spawning enough bills.
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If Republicans Want to Win, They Must Rebrand ‘Capitalism’

January 23, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Economy/Finances, Elections, GOP, Jobs, President, Republicans, Selwyn Duke, Taxes | No Comments

-By Selwyn Duke

One of the simplest rhetorical truths is that the side that defines the vocabulary of a debate wins the debate. Yet, amazingly, we still see experienced conservative politicians with access to advanced polling operations and an array of advisors use the Lexicon of the Left. And this election cycle is no exception.

I could almost cringe when I hear – as I did repeatedly during Monday’s South Carolina GOP debate – Republicans talk about “capitalism.” “I believe in capitalism….” “Barack Obama doesn’t believe in capitalism…..” Capitalism this and capitalism that – look at me with my plump wallet, walking stick and tony top hat. Oh, it’s not that I don’t believe in free enterprise; it’s that we shouldn’t use words that conjure up sentiments akin to the preceding rhyme.

And polls inform that this is precisely what “capitalism” does. For example, Pew Research Center reports, “Slightly more than half (52%) react positively to the word ‘capitalism,’ compared with 37% who say they have a negative reaction.” According with this is a 2009 Rasmussen poll showing that, shockingly, “only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.” And the picture looks even worse with certain demographic groups. Writes Pew, “Fewer than half of young people, women, people with lower incomes and those with less education react positively to ‘capitalism.’”
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The Myth of Bad Republican Candidates

January 17, 2012 | Filed Under Conservatives, Elections, GOP, Republicans, Selwyn Duke | 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

Repeat a big Democrat talking point often enough, and it becomes the truth. There is a certain liberal narrative that has recently filtered down to many independents and even some conservatives: the idea that the current crop of Republican candidates is weak, wanting and worrisome. The lament is, “Hell’s bells, the guy in the White House is out of his depth, but what alternatives does the GOP offer?” The idea, I suppose, is that we might as well just re-elect Barack Obama. At least he has four years of golfing, government-growing and greenback-gobbling experience.

This characterization of the Republican field much reminds me of the gratuitous criticism of the U.S. by the hate-America-first crowd. Okay, you say America is a bad country. Compared to what? Some imaginary Utopia that will never exist? Because in the real world, the U.S. has been besting her competition for a long time.

Many repeat the statist talking point about the GOP contenders’ alleged ineptitude simply because of media spin and the branding iron of repetition. Yet others do, in fact, have unrealistic expectations. They have in mind an ideal, a utopia of a politician; a person who agrees with them on every major issue, possesses eloquence and decent looks, and has never strayed from ideological purity. And when this imaginary figure doesn’t appear, they ask, “Is this the best our political class has to offer?!”
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What Conservatives and the GOP Dare Not Say about Immigration

January 12, 2012 | Filed Under Congress, Conservatives, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Immigration/Immigrants, Republicans, Selwyn Duke | 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

In a recent election piece, pundit Ann Coulter identified illegal migration as one of the two most important issues of our time. She writes that if we fail at halting it, “the country will be changed permanently.” She continues:

Taxes can be raised and lowered. Regulations can be removed (though they rarely are). Attorneys general and Cabinet members can be fired. Laws can be repealed. Even Supreme Court justices eventually die.

But capitulate on illegal immigration, and the entire country will have the electorate of California. There will be no turning back.

She expands on this later in the piece:
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Upset about Big Brother’s Ban on Incandescent Bulbs? Buy a Heatball!

January 5, 2012 | Filed Under Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Green Energy, Selwyn Duke | No Comments

-By Selwyn Duke

This is just too good.

Many of you know that in a few days the federal ban on conventional incandescent light bulbs will go into effect. And while House Republicans included a provision in a recent spending bill that will block funding for the ban’s enforcement, it’s said that it will have little effect; manufacturers have prepared for the new standards and will no doubt abide by the law. So does this mean we’ll be forced to buy more expensive LED (light emitting diode) or CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs, the latter being those squiggly things said to be loaded with mercury? Not if we follow the lead of German businessman Siegfried Rotthaeuser.

After the European Union banned conventional incandescent bulbs, Rotthaeuser’s entrepreneurial spirit was sparked. He started selling another product: heatballs.

What’s a heatball? According to this Teutonic Knight of Freedom and Light, it is a “small heating device” that compensates for the loss of heat a home experiences when conventional light bulbs are swapped for more energy efficient ones. Here is an image of this novel new product.

Herman Cain and the Experience Factor

November 12, 2011 | Filed Under Elections, GOP, Government, Herman Cain, President, Republicans, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

People use many words today without fully knowing what they mean – or should mean. “Tolerance,” “gender” and “truth” come to mind. But then there is one that rears its head every campaign season: “experience.”

We’ve heard this word a lot lately during discussion of latest GOP frontrunner Herman Cain. Many have warned that while he may be appealing and engaging, he lacks the experience to take the helm of the world’s only superpower. Some of these critics say that Cain’s supporters are making the same mistake Barack Obama’s did in 2008: they’re choosing a greenhorn based only on a cult of personality. But the mistake is on the critics’ part. Because whatever Cain may or may not be, inexperience is not his problem. In fact, I’m going to shock you.

It never was Obama’s.
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The Tax Plan that’s Better than Cain’s, Perry’s or Gingrich’s

November 9, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Constitution, Selwyn Duke, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

Bold tax reform is front and center this campaign season. First Herman Cain made waves and poll headway with his 9-9-9 tax plan, which involves national 9-percent taxes on personal and corporate income and a 9-percent national sales tax. Now Rick Perry has followed suit with a 20-percent flat-tax plan, and Newt Gingrich has gone 5 better, with a 15-percent flat proposal. And these ideas certainly haven’t fallen flat: tax reform is immensely popular among the Republican base.

Yet there has been criticism, too – at least of Cain’s plan, the only one around long enough to be criticized. Many are concerned about giving the feds another vehicle – a sales tax – through which to fleece us. Sure, 9-9-9 sounds good, but what is to stop it from becoming 10-10-10, then 11-11-11 and ending up as 30-30-30? Yet, national sales tax or not, this threat looms with any plan; what is to stop Perry’s 20 percent or Gingrich’s 15 from becoming 40? Remember, the one-percent income tax sounded good, too, in 1913, but consider what it has morphed into.

So, yes, this threat exists with any plan.

That is, except one.
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Will Newt Gingrich Win the Republican Nomination?

November 7, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Conservatives, Elections, GOP, Government, Health, House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, Obamacare, President, Selwyn Duke, Taxes | 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

If slow and steady really does win the race, Newt Gingrich could well end up being the Republican nominee for president.

Thus far, this campaign season has been defined by flash-in-the-pan fortunes. Michele Bachmann was first out of the blocks and won the Iowa straw poll, but this seemed much like a house of straw when Texas governor Rick Perry entered the fray and became her Big Bad Wolf. But then he blew his own house down with a series of disastrous debate performances, allowing the Cain Train to pull into the station. This brings us to where we are now, with Herman Cain holding on to a slim lead over Mitt Romney – with a lot of voters still undecided. And should the bold businessman’s stock crash, where will a plurality of his support go?

The answer may surprise you. If polling is any indication, it’s not Tea Party caucus chairman Michele Bachmann or staunch states-rights standard bearer Rick Perry.

It’s Newt Gingrich.
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Clinton’s Cackling at Cain Takes the Cake

October 29, 2011 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, Foreign Policy, GOP, Herman Cain, Hillary Clinton, Liberals, President, Republicans, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

Upon watching footage of Hillary Clinton mocking Herman Cain in Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s presence, one could wonder: would she really want to stack her accomplishments up against Cain’s?

I mean real accomplishment – not being the poster girl for nepotism and cultural affirmative action.

But before outlining the distinguished career of the esteemed erstwhile Mizz Rodham, let’s review what was said to Mr. Karzai (another individual, incidentally, who owes his position to an American president). Clinton was addressing Cain’s statement that he probably wouldn’t know the name of the leader of “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan” and that it wasn’t necessary for a president to know the names of “small insignificant states around the world.” Now, admittedly, Cain isn’t doing himself any good with his frequent reckless statements. Yet, unlike some folks, he does understand Economics 101 and authored his own success by actually creating something. And it is this history that Clinton referred to in a laughter-interspersed exchange with Karzai that went like this:
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Political Persecution in Maricopa County

October 19, 2011 | Filed Under Arizona, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

When we think of political persecution, places such as Tiananmen Square may come to mind. Increasingly, however, this tool of tyranny is coming to our shores – and it is not made in China. It is, in the case I’ll discuss today, made in Maricopa County.

Every avid news reader knows about the battles between Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the federal government; Leviathan has targeted him because of his principled stand against illegal immigration. What is not quite as well known, however, is that the sheriff and his supporters – most notably, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas – have long been battling a corrupt local political machine bent on thwarting the rule of law and benefitting itself. Not surprisingly, as in the film Walking Tall, Arpaio’s and Thomas’ attempt to end local corruption has come at a price: the State Bar of Arizona (SBA) has begun prosecuting Thomas and two of his deputies in a move that reeks of political retaliation.

One of these underlings is ex-deputy county attorney Lisa Aubuchon. The other is ex-deputy county attorney Rachel Alexander, whom some readers may recognize as the proprietor of the website Intellectual Conservative. Alexander, despite having played only the smallest of roles in a racketeering case against the Maricopa County Supervisors, now faces suspension of her law license and significant career damage. And outrageously, Alexander’s supervisor, Pete Spaw, has not been charged despite having played a far larger role in the RICO case. This has led many to conclude that Alexander is the victim of selective prosecution.
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‘The Black US Attorney Has Common Cause with the Black Criminal’

October 15, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, DOJ, Eric Holder, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

According to Department of Justice whistleblower J. Christian Adams, AG Eric Holder has a certain something in his wallet. It is a quotation – and he has carried it for decades. It essentially says, to quote Adams, “Blackness is more important than anything, and the black US attorney has common cause with the black criminal.” It’s not surprising that Holder would feel this way about black lawyers and criminals.

Because in his case they’re one and the same.

Holder, the man whose misfeasance led him to drop the infamous Black Panther voter-intimidation case, now may have done what all corrupt men, sooner or later, eventually do. He has tripped up in his efforts to hide his misdeeds.
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‘Why do Women always….?’: Generalizations and the Building Blocks of Reality

October 6, 2011 | Filed Under Selwyn Duke, Society/Culture | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Dukee

Recently I wrote an article about women’s tendency to support statist candidates. As my emails attest, it was met with quite a positive response. Yet, not surprisingly, there was also a very predictable one: complaints about generalizations. For instance, one respondent wrote that she was tired of the “all men are this and all women are that” tripe.

Of course, people only complain about generalizations when they hear one they don’t like and, perhaps, are unable to refute. But you can rest assured that they generalize just like anyone else; in fact, generalizations are woven so seamlessly into our thinking and discourse that we often utter them unthinkingly as a matter of course. Just consider how often people say things such as “Why do men never ask directions?!” or “It drives me crazy when guys flip from one TV channel to another rapid-fire!” But do all men do these things? I always ask directions and hate the habit of using a remote control like a musical keyboard. Nevertheless, I’ll be the first to admit that those generalizations are clearly valid.

The problem with blanket condemnations of generalizations is that they shut down debate. They are, in a way, akin to responding to someone who substantively criticizes Barack Obama or rap artists by accusing him of being a “racist.” It doesn’t address the particulars of the criticism, which may or may not be correct; it avoids them with the implication that, in principle, criticizing a black person is wrong because it reflects prejudice. Likewise, to respond to a group analysis by condemning generalization in principle allows one to avoid having to address it in the particular. Note that while this can be a very conscious ploy, it often isn’t. Sometimes it’s just an emotional reaction to an unpleasant truth and reflects sloppy thinking.
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Morgan Freeman is a Prejudiced Man

October 2, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Democrats/Leftists, Liberals, Race, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

When someone insists on making negative judgments about a group, in the face of numerous facts saying otherwise, what do you call it?

As most already know, actor Morgan Freeman recently made headlines by claiming that Republican opposition to Barack Obama was driven by bigotry. His comments were made Friday in an interview with Piers Morgan. Here is the relevant portion:

Freeman: The Tea Partiers, who are controlling the Republican Party…and Mitch McConnell, their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term. What… underlines that? Screw the country. We’re going to do whatever we do to get this black man…outta’ here.

Morgan: But is that necessarily a racist thing?

Freeman: It is a racist thing!

Morgan: Is it not just Republicans…. Wouldn’t they [inaudible] any Democrat President?

Freeman: No, ‘cause they would’ve gotten rid of Bill Clinton, if they could have.

Morgan: They tried.

Freeman: They tried, but still…. Ah, uh, they’re not gonna’ get rid of Obama, either; I think they’re shootin’ themselves in the head.

What indicates that Freeman used little logical thought when formulating this opinion is that, not only does it ignore all evidence, he also contradicts his own argument. Let’s look at the facts.
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The Security Sex

September 20, 2011 | Filed Under Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

We have all heard about the sex gap in voting patterns. This is the phenomenon whereby, in every election, women are far more likely to support liberal candidates than men are. For instance, in 1996, Bill Clinton captured 54 percent of the women’s vote but only 43 percent of the men’s. And in subsequent elections, the male-female gap has been as follows: in 2000, Al Gore, 42-54; in 2004, John Kerry, 41-51; and in 2008, Barack Obama, 49-56. In fact, even in the watershed election of 2010, during which we heard about the rise of the conservative woman, the fairer sex favored Democrats by 1 point, 49 to 48. The Republican victories were attributable to a sex gap (I don’t use the word “gender”) that was as wide as ever, ranging from 4 to 19 points.

So, clearly, women tend to gravitate toward statist candidates. And there are many reasons for this. One is that, being the more emotion-driven sex, women are more susceptible to liberals’ emotional appeals. Another is that where men are big-picture-oriented, women are detail-oriented. This feminine quality is wonderful when handling young children, whose lives must be micro-managed; the problem is that it also leads to acceptance of a micro-managing government that, ultimately, will treat us all like children. And then you have not just a nanny state (a feminine descriptive, mind you), but what we are quickly descending into: The Harridan State.

Yet there is an even greater reason why women veer left, and it’s the one I’ll focus on today.
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That Presidential Look: The Bad, the Beautiful and Voting-booth Realities

September 20, 2011 | Filed Under Elections, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

While there was more than one reason why John McCain was a long shot to win the 2008 general election, a big one was something almost no one talked seriously about: appearance.

That is to say, when was the last time an old-looking, white-haired, half-bald man won the presidency?

If you think this piece will be satire or fluff, think again. It rather will be very serious commentary about a very silly – but painfully real – phenomenon.

When people do discuss looks’ impact on presidential fortunes, they usually treat the matter as a joke; we may hear, for instance, how a candidate must have “great hair” to enjoy rarefied commander-in-chief air. But if professional pundits and politics wonks think it’s beneath them to wax anything but comedic on this issue, the joke is on them. After all, this is the age of American Idol.
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When Love Was a Warm Toy Gun

September 17, 2011 | Filed Under Children, Democrats/Leftists, Guns, Liberals, Nanny State, PCism, Regulation, Selwyn Duke, Society/Culture, TV, Western Civilization | 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

In a way, commercials can tell you more about how we’ve changed than history books. The other day I came across the above 1960s TV commercial on YouTube; it’s for a toy set called the “Gung Ho Commando Outfit” by Marx. And it’s a perfect snapshot of the America that, sadly, no longer exists.

Despite this fact, watching it is hilarious. It is unabashedly politically incorrect, featuring a group of young boys running around playing war games, all decked out in the most authentic military gear a 10-year-old could imagine. It’s enough to make any suburban soccer mom’s head explode.
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My Solution: How to Restore Freedom of Association and End Government Tyranny

September 5, 2011 | Filed Under Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Free Speech, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Law, Liberals, Regulation, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

Unfortunately, many Americans have become inured to the trampling of freedom of association. You can work your fingers to the bone starting a business, and the government becomes a partner that contributes nothing but extracts much. It not only shares your profits and regulates you to death, but, more to the point here, dictates whom you must serve and the bases on which you may hire and fire people. And woe betide he who doesn’t bow before Leviathan.

A recent example of this is the Wildflower Inn, a Vermont B&B. After devout Catholic owners Jim and Mary O’Reilly refused to host a “wedding” reception for two lesbians, they were sued by the ACLU. As a result, they have had to expend resources retaining a lawyer for a case that they will no doubt lose and that will likely end with their having to pay monetary damages. Of course, the O’Reilly case is just one of many. In fact, today, Leviathan’s tyranny has reach a point at which you can be put through its meat grinder if you refuse to hire a cross-dresser or a Muslim woman who insists on wearing an eighth-century drape to work.

And tyranny is the word for it. After all, no one would deny that you have a right to include in or exclude from your home whomever you please. So why should you lose that right simply because you decide to erect a few more tables and sell food or to rent rooms to travelers? It’s still your private property, paid for with your money, created by the sweat of your own brow. Oh, yeah, that’s right. At one time a lawyer in a black robe declared such places “public accommodations” – and, as we all know, legal decrees alter reality.
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President Downgrade

August 23, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, President, Selwyn Duke, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

When Barack Obama promised change that would transform America, most never suspected that he would make history by presiding over the nation’s first-ever credit downgrade. But, well, yes – he can.

And he did.

Of course, the blame cannot be laid entirely at Obama’s feet. Since Congress controls the purse strings, it allocates the money (the president does have a veto pen, however). And, if in light of this we can still say that a president “spends,” for two terms Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, spent like a drunken sailor.

Yet the reality is that Obama has spent like three drunken sailors and a tipsy cabin boy. And this isn’t just rhetoric. According to a Weekly Standard piece featured at the very liberal NPR’s website, deficit spending under Obama is three and one half times what it was under Bush, as he has signed budget increases amounting to a whopping one trillion a year more in deficit spending. So the reality is that, in a great measure, the president owns our economic woes.
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The Myth of White Privilege

August 1, 2011 | Filed Under KKK, PCism, Race, Selwyn Duke, Society/Culture, Western Civilization | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

Something must be wrong. My finances are in shambles; mainstream newspapers wonâ€™t publish my pieces; and, no matter how much I try to convince Fox News that they need male eye candy as well, they just wonâ€™t give me a show. Then I gaze into the mirror at my alabaster complexion and say â€œWhatâ€™s wrong with this picture? Iâ€™ll have to address this at the next White Peopleâ€™s Meeting.â€

Of course, it isnâ€™t really true that all we Caucasians get together in a big conference hall somewhere and, rubbing our hands together with devilish glee, conspire as to how weâ€™re gonna get ourselves some â€˜a that there white privilege. Yet you wouldnâ€™t know it listening to egghead academics, media mouths and uncivil-rights agitators.

Put â€œwhite privilegeâ€ into a search engine and no small number of results will be for â€œ.eduâ€ URLs, which means that our mental institutions of higher learning are busy teaching â€œcritical race theoryâ€ and ideas such as â€œWhites are taught not to recognize white privilegeâ€ and that, as this University of Dayton site informs, white persons have a â€œspecial freedom or immunity from some [liabilities or burdens] to which nonâ€“white persons are subjectâ€¦.â€ There is also something called â€œThe White Privilege Conferenceâ€ and a website devoted to it (I actually had to log on to make sure it wasnâ€™t a spoof site, but truth is stranger â€“ and stupider â€“ than fiction). And American Thinker recently wrote about an event called â€œErasing White Privilege,â€ during which whites sat around in a room confessing their collective oppressor sins while â€œpeople of colorâ€ discharged rage, â€œyelling at themâ€ and â€œpreaching.â€ Ainâ€™t Obamaâ€™s post-racial America grand?
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Three-Monkey Authorities Ignoring Another Black-On-White ‘Hate Crime’

July 22, 2011 | Filed Under Crime, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

Like the three monkeys who see, hear and speak no evil, our authorities seem intent on ignoring the true nature of yet another black-on-white racial attack. In the New York City subway this past Sunday, 29-year-old Jason Fordell was attacked by a group of black men who taunted him for being white. Yet NYC police â€œare unsureâ€ if the incident is a bias crime.

The problem started when Fordell transferred to a crowded 4 train at 42nd street, where he encountered four black men who began harassing him. The New York Daily News reports on what transpired next, writing:

“People started saying stupid little comments – cracker this, white boy this, f—-t this,” Fordell said. “I told them the only reason they were saying this is there was four of them and one of me.”

â€¦As the train continued into the Bronx, the confrontation became physical, he said.

“I was in a headlock, punched and kicked on the floor,” Fordell said.

Then a passenger decided to join in – declaring, “Oh, I get a few shots, too,” before kicking and punching Fordell in the head, according to cops.

â€¦”Everyone on the train was egging them on,” said Fordell

Fordell suffered numerous injuries, which included head-bleeding, a badly swollen eye and internal injuries, as evidenced by blood in his urine. The assailants also stole a bag he was carrying that contained $2900-worth of handmade leather accessories, which Fordell sells at an East Village nightclub.
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Media Matters Takes another Shot at Stirring Up Anti-Truth Outrage

July 17, 2011 | Filed Under Journalism, Media, Media Bias, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

It really is a shame when a media watchdog has a twisted nose that mistakes putrescence for floral aroma â€“ and vice versa. In a piece published Monday, self-proclaimed media watcher MediaMatters (MM) criticizes Fox News for running the supposedly â€œmisleading headlineâ€: â€œCambridge, MA set to Pay Gay Employees More Than Straight.â€ MediaMatters takes issue with Fox because the headline doesnâ€™t explain that the reason for the measure is to compensate homosexuals for a tax that married couples donâ€™t have to pay.

Of course, a headline is a hook, designed to draw readers in, not an explanation. But Fox offered no such explanation â€“ at least thatâ€™s what MM leads its readers to believe. The attack dog writes that Fox â€œexcerpted an article from The Daily Mail, which has a similarly misleading headline. However, the Daily Mail article clearly explains that the city is offering gay employees a stipend to offset a federal tax that does not apply to straight employees.â€ The Daily Mail â€œclearly explainsâ€ this, so, obviously, Fox doesnâ€™t.

Except that it does.
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Noam Chomsky Gets Half a Clue

July 11, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Communism, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Foreign Countries, Foreign Policy, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Selwyn Duke, Socialism, Venezuela | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

Of all idiots, none is so useful as he who can masquerade as a genius.

MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky recently denounced Hugo Chavez, accusing the Venezuelan strongman of making an “assault” on his nation’s democracy and of cruelty with respect to a female judge he imprisoned for issuing an unwelcome ruling. The criticism made headlines, as the “renowned scholar” had long given aid and comfort to Ego-and-Mouth Chavez. In fact, when the leader denounced President Bush in an infamous 2006 U.N. address, it was Chomsky’s book Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance that he waved and used as a prop. And Chomsky often praises Venezuela’s socialist revolution, most recently saying, “It’s hard to judge how successful they [the Venezuelan socialists] are, but if they are successful they would be seeds of a better world.”

Well, socialism has only failed every time it’s been tried, but I guess Chomsky’s renowned intellect has finally figured out a way to do the same thing over and over again and achieve different results.
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Politically Correct Washington Supreme Court Overturns Murder Conviction

June 24, 2011 | Filed Under Canada, Civil Rights, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Hate Crimes, Judges, Law, Liberals, Nanny State, PCism, Race, Regulation, Rights, Selwyn Duke, Society/Culture, The Law, Western Civilization | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

In 2007, Kevin L. Monday Jr. was convicted for the murder of Francisco Green and received 64 years in prison. The incident ad been caught on a 3-minute video recording shot by a street performer, and the footage clearly showed Monday coolly and calculatingly firing 11 shots at Green on a crowded Seattle, Washington, street corner. Thus, despite the reluctance of witnesses to testify, it was an open-and-shut case.

But now the Washington Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling, has overturned the conviction and a lower court that upheld it – thus forcing a retrial – claiming that the prosecutor used “racist” arguments. What is the supposed problem? While questioning witnesses, veteran King County deputy prosecutor James Konat cited a no-snitching street code in the black community and made references to the “PO-leese.” Writes Jennifer Sullivan of The Washington Times:
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Dalai Lama: ‘I am a Marxist’

June 19, 2011 | Filed Under Capitalism, Communism, Economy/Finances, Government, Liberals, Religion, Selwyn Duke, Socialism | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

There is no better way to proclaim your lack of spiritual and philosophical depth than by, two decades after the fall of communism, disclosing that you’re Marxist. Yet this is precisely what Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama did during a speech before 150 Chinese students at the University of Minnesota this month. Journalist Tsering Namgyal reports on the story at Religion Dispatches, writing, “‘as far as socio-political beliefs are concerned, I consider myself a Marxist.’ ‘But not a Leninist,’ he [the Lama] clarified.”

Well, that’s a relief. Those Leninists can really kill ya’. Marxists will just murder you.

This isn’t the first time the Lama indicated that his soul is as red as the robes he wears. During a lecture in NYC on May 19, the Tibetan leader credited “capitalism” with bringing new freedoms to China but then said, “Still I am a Marxist”; he then explained that Marxism has “moral ethics, whereas capitalism is only how to make profits.” That’s some deep thinking right there.
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The American Flag Is ‘Offensive’ in Schools Now

May 27, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Children, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Massachusetts, Patriotism, Selwyn Duke | 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

Increasingly, it seems that the American flag is joining toy guns and dodgeball on the banned-from-school list. And the latest story on this front involves The Butterfield Elementary in Orange, Massachusetts, where a teacher told an 11-year-old boy that he may not hang his depiction of Old Glory because it might “offend” another student.

The boy, Frankie Girard, had drawn the picture in art class but then found that his teacher didn’t share his patriotism. Says his father, John, “He was denied hanging the flag up. And he asked if he could just even hang it on his desk, and he was told no. He could take the picture that he drew and take it home and be proud of it there.”

I guess patriotism has joined piety as a “private matter.” (Leftists tend to confuse closets with shelves. Everything that should be in the former, they display; everything that should be on the latter, they hide.)
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Importing Disaster: Demographic Changes Mean Democrat Future

May 7, 2011 | Filed Under Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Immigration/Immigrants, Liberals, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

At a gathering some years ago, I had a political conversation with a man who had recently arrived here from Denmark. He was advocating his home country’s socialist system, which, of course, led to profound disagreement. He was good natured and cordial, however, so the debate ended on a polite note. Yet it also ended on an ironic one: When asked if he wanted to return home, his answer was no.

This is a common phenomenon. We see it, for instance, in liberal northerners who move to the South for the lower taxes and cost of living and greater freedom but then continue to vote for the kind of politicians who made the Northeast a nice place to leave. And while this befuddles many, it’s simply man’s nature. Of course people want that which is good, such as a better lifestyle, but wanting and attaining are two different things. Everyone wants good health, for example, but many nevertheless are too attached to unhealthful foods and practices to relinquish them. Oh, they might move into your healthy body if they could, but they would likely do to it what a government–subsidized project does to a good neighborhood.

Now, there is a reason why I’m talking about how a change in location doesn’t equate to a change in ideology. In the Financial Times recently, Richard McGregor reported on the latest population data, writing:
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No, Beauty is Not in the Eye of the Beholder

April 27, 2011 | Filed Under Art, PCism, Selwyn Duke, Society/Culture, Western Civilization | 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

The American Thinker’s Rick Moran recently wrote a blog piece about how some Catholics in France destroyed two of Andres Serrano’s creations, excreta that some euphemistically refer to as art. Moran opened by saying that his topic would make for lively debate among commenters, and he was right. And it has also provoked a lively response from me.

In his piece, Moran states, “Art, as we learned when growing up, is in the eye of the beholder.” Yes, most of us did learn this growing up — and we learned wrong. That is to say, unless “art” doesn’t really exist.

Now, when the eye/beholder proposition is made, let us be clear on what’s being said. If we accepted that art were simply a physical representation of something — that is, it could be beautiful, ugly, uplifting, degrading or anything at all — the truth would be plain: If it were a physical representation of a thing, it would be art. And it certainly would not be in the eye of the beholder.
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Yes, Violence Can be the Answer

March 28, 2011 | Filed Under PCism, Selwyn Duke, Society/Culture, Western Civilization | 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

It was the body slam heard around the world. When some Australian schoolboys decided to videotape themselves bullying 15-year old Casey Heynes, one of them got more than he bargained for. Casey, who had been pushed around and humiliated for years, responded to a punch in his face and other attempted blows by hoisting his tormentor WWE style and introducing him to the pavement. The result was a video that went viral in a way the bullies had never imagined and for a reason they certainly had never hoped: Casey has become a hero worldwide.

That is, a hero to everyone except the “experts.” Ah, the experts, uncommon people you can rely on for all-too-common senselessness. As The Sydney Morning Herald writes:

Wrestling with Morality: Boys vs. Girls on the Mat

March 8, 2011 | Filed Under Children, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Government, Liberals, Morals/Sex, Selwyn Duke | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

Imagine that you’re a young adolescent boy. Like many your age, you’re shy around girls, perhaps to the point at which even talking to one might make your heart race. You also like sports, so you go out for your school’s wrestling team. Then, lo and behold, you’re at a meet, and something hits you like a load of bricks.

Your opponent is going to be a girl.

You’re going to have to grapple with her. In front of spectators. Touching — and being touched in — intimate places.

You’d have to be touched to think this is okay, but it’s precisely the situation that confronted sophomore wrestler Joel Northrup at the recent Iowa State Championship. His response, as many of you already know, was to default his match against 14-year-old Cassy Herkelman and relinquish the chance to win a coveted wrestling title in deference to his moral convictions.
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Journalist in France Convicted for Anti-Muslim Hate Speech

March 5, 2011 | Filed Under Censorship, EU, Europe, France, Government, Corruption, Islamofascism, Liberals, Media, PCism, Selwyn Duke, Society/Culture, Western Civilization | Comments Off

-By Selwyn Duke

We’ve heard a lot about Geert Wilders, the Dutch parliamentarian whose warnings about Muslim influence in his nation place him in the crosshairs of the powers-that-be. But while the tow-headed modern-day Templar has thus far dodged the hangman on Truth-speech charges, another intrepid defender of Western civilization has not been so lucky. And we haven’t heard much about him.

He is French journalist Eric Zemmour, and he was just convicted this week of “inciting racism.” Writes The New American’s R. Cort Kirkwood:

Zemmour’s “controversial” remarks included his observation that most drug dealers in France were black or Arab, and that employers “have the right” to deny employment to those two groups of people.
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