Letters to the Editor
Fraud Guy
Published Letters: 337
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Quotations for understanding the afraid
[Read the article: Jamie Kirchick's fantasies of the grave Muslim threat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]SusanMc
Thank you for reminding me of some of my favorite quotes, very applicable to the armchair warriors:
The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven a hell, a hell a heaven.
--John Milton. Paradise Lost
I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.
--William Shakespeare, Hamlet
To sum: Living in a nutshell inhabited by their bad dreams, making a heaven a hell.
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Missed again
[Read the article: Selective defenders of free expression]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Shooter, almost exactly my point, but you really have to stop looking in the mirror. You might scare yourself someday when you realize you're looking at yourself.
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The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
[Read the article: Jamie Kirchick's fantasies of the grave Muslim threat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]nunnsense,
If you read "The Closing of the Western Mind", by Charles Freeman, the codification of Christianity into Catholicism, was part of the attempt to salvage the crumbling empire. Gibbon is the one who felt that Christianity caused the fall, but that would be true only in the sense that it became one of the competing power blocs that warred over the remains.
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@ Denning
[Read the article: Jamie Kirchick's fantasies of the grave Muslim threat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Knocked that one out of here. Excellent post.
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Paradoxies
[Read the article: Jamie Kirchick's fantasies of the grave Muslim threat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As Mr. Elliott states, the burden on the liberal thinker is two-fold.
First, they must develop their positions by rational thinking, in the classical liberal tradition.
Second, they must refute the positions of their opponents by rational means.
Thus, liberal orthodoxy is an oxymoron; however, there can be a consensus, and progression, of opinion. Trying to tie Kirchick's position to previous liberal standards (such as Wilson) is anachronistic; as thought progresses, and we not only find out more about the world, but also develop our morality and ethics so that what could have rationally been said before is surpassed by later improvements in thought. Thus, Jefferson, while a liberal thinker, can now be decried for his stances on women and slaves, as well Wilson for his racism (as he segregated the armed forces, which lasted until WWII). Basically, liberals have abandoned previous positions because of the development of their logic.
On the other hand, conservatives only have to toe the party line. They can state that Christian theology should be based on the Old Testament, instead of the teachings of Christ in the New Testament, and since that is the orthodoxy, that is sufficient for them. If it was good enough for Zwengli, then it's good enough for them. Unfortunately, this means that they hold their position on issues no matter how many times it has been refuted, and so it is very tempting to take the shortcut of dismissal. This will allow them to clamor long and hard that you don't take their arguments apart logically, even if they will not do you the same favor and simply try to win via repetitive assertion.
At some point, liberal thinkers should take shortcuts, especially if the question has been asked and answered numerous times. The danger is trimming too much, as when someone has some well thought out positions, while others are dogmatic. It's easy to lump the one in with the other, especially when the overall effect is dogmatic.
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@Paul Dirks
[Read the article: Jamie Kirchick's fantasies of the grave Muslim threat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]May I be flippant and ask where is the handbasket?
I remember well GB's "reading" of the poll of Muslim opinion on Iraq, al-Qaeda, and terrorism--the classic of "if you are not explicitly for my version of reality, then you are doomed" reasoning, which reminded me somehow of a strange version of Elmer Fudd saying "Be vewwy, vewwy quiet; I'm wooking for Iswamofascists."
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In fairness to Shooter
[Read the article: Jamie Kirchick's fantasies of the grave Muslim threat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He has said that we should pull out of Iraq (as well as our other military forces around the world).
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Bored, late, nothing better to do.
[Read the article: Jamie Kirchick's fantasies of the grave Muslim threat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1) Imam Shahin, leader of the North American Imams Federation and spokesman for the infamous flying imams, worked for KindHearts, linked by the US Justice Department to Hamas. He also represented two Muslims who were removed from an America West flight for twice trying to open the cockpit, actions that led the FBI to suspect they were doing 9/11 dry runs.
2) The largest mainstream Muslim organization in the US, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the criminal trial of the Holy Land Foundation, charged (like Shahin's KindHearts) with supporting Hamas.
3) A quarter of Muslims in America, when polled, supported suicide bombing in defence of Islam. Approximately the same number could not or would not state an unfavorable opinion of al Qaeda.
I think that addresses Glenn's article very nicely.
1--"linked to Hamas"?. Suspicion is not proof. Heck, by the six degrees test, you're probably linked to OBL, especially if you have met Bush personally. GB-->GWB-->Bandar "Bush"-->Saudi royal supporters of OBL-->OBL. Heck, Hamas is a political party which has been democratically elected to power among the Palestinians. Remember when we supported democracy and democratic processes?
2--"unindicted co-conspirator" could mean that the prosecutors did not even have enough evidence to reach the probable cause threshold to indict someone. I have been advised by attorneys that that is a very easy hurdle to clear--but the prosecutor did not even go for that (and effectively ran under that hurdle to make that connection).
3--http://letters.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/05/22/polls/permalink/
6122d9b644192560a68ffb3451a60a26.html (remove the return after permalink/)
A more accurate interpretation of the polls than the one you just manufactured (again).
I admit, you address Glenn's article, but from another dimension. Nicely?
Nice
2 b : exacting in requirements or standards
3 : possessing, marked by, or demanding great or excessive precision and delicacy
5 b : well-executed
(from m-w.com)
Nope.
4 Obsolete: TRIVIAL
(also from m-w.com)
Now that's more like it. And I mean both parts.
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Confirmation
[Read the article: Jamie Kirchick's fantasies of the grave Muslim threat]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Missed El Cid's cite:
Judge Fish is still expected to rule at some point on a request by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. On Aug. 16, it filed a request to have its name and hundreds of others purged from the government's unindicted co-conspirator list.
Wow, guilt by asserted association...where have I heard that before?