Opaque Lucidity

SoCalPundit Lines 'Em Up, Knocks 'Em Down

Kevin over at SoCal Pundit has a very long post concerning the Iraqi ties to 9/11. It seems as if the Dems and their fellow travelers in the MSM are up in arms over the fact that the President mentioned Iraq and 9/11 in the same sentence last night. As one of Hugh Hewitt's callers said earlier, "I suppose FDR didn't talk about World War Two very often."

The fact is that the evidence for an Iraq/terrorism connection is significant. It was, however, all but ignored by the Clinton administration (except when he needed to send in a few cruise missiles to cover up for something or other). This is going to spark a few of you, but I have always maintained that had Bill C. never been President, 9/11 would never have happened.

Why? Because, time and time again, terrorists hit US assests and we did not respond. Embassies in Africa, the USS Cole and the first WTC bombing in 1993 are just three examples. The events of that dark Tuesday were just a natural progression, a ramping up of what Osama Bin Laden has called "the third world war".

You may not have agreed with the invasion of Iraq, but it doesn't take a genius to realize that a quick pullout from that nation would come back to haunt us. We can (and will, I believe) leave Iraq as a fledging democracy and an example to the rest of the Middle East. And for those of you still harping on the WMDs as if that was the only reason we invaded Iraq, go read the 2002 resolution authorizing the invasion.

I may seem to be jumping around a bit, but the Left's announcement of a quagmire in Iraq and the lack of a Bush Administration plan infuriates me. Their hatred of the President is blinding, so much so that it is clouding what little judgement they have.

Today in History June 30, 2005

The Night of the Long Knives, 1934

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

My E-Mail To Rush

I e-mailed this to Rush Limbaugh today, just because he pissed me off:

Dear Mr. Limbaugh,

It has come to my attention that your show is now available in podcast form to those who pay for a subscription to “Rush 24/7”, the paid portion of your website. This is a solid business move on your part. Congratulations.

I stopped listening to your show on a regular basis several years ago because I find you to be arrogant and self-absorbed. I have always thought this about you, but now there are better options on my local radio dial in the form of talk show hosts who actually interview intelligent, thought-provoking people and who actually interact with their callers. You have the following you do simply because you were the first to do what you do; don’t think that you could become successful if you were starting today.

I tuned in your show the other day for the first time in several months because an afternoon baseball game interrupted my normal listening schedule. There you were, talking about your foray into podcasting. I don’t know how many podcasts you’ve listened to (my guess is none), but you made the comment (I’m paraphrasing) that you now had the best podcast going since you were pushing out 400,000 hours of podcasts a week.

You don’t get it.

Podcasting is NOT radio. Most podcasts have a few dozen subscribers at most, and that’s OK. Why? Because podcasting is a niche thing: people put together a ‘cast on a topic they like and other people who like that topic listen in. It’s not like radio, where you have to listen to what the Board at Clear Channel likes. With podcasting, the options are limitless---if someone’s not podcasting something you like now, they soon will be. I guarantee it.

You are an old-time radio guy, so I don’t expect you to understand the concept. But understand this: podcasting and technologies like it are the future of broadcasting. Small, short and on-demand will be considered the norm in a generation. You are late on the scene, so pay attention and learn something. There are people doing podcasts who are every bit as talented as you. It’s not about liberal or conservative or amateur or professional---it’s about people doing what they love and, more often than not, covering the expenses out of their own pockets. But the playing field is level out here.

And you’re not on the varsity team.

Matt Dattilo
Jeffersonville, IN
www.opaquelucidity.com
mattdattilo@yahoo.com

I know he won't read it or respond, but I certainly feel better.

iTunes 4.9---Podcasting Goes Mainstream

Apple released iTunes 4.9 today with built-in support for podcasts. This thing I have been dabbling in for the past six weeks is about to become a household term. And not a moment too soon.

If you have a broadband connection, please do yourself a favor and download iTunes. It's easy to install and use and you'll be subscribed to a handful of podcasts before you know what hit you. I have submitted my podcast for inclusion in their directory; I'll let you know if they include me.

Today in History June 29, 2005

The Globe Theater burns down, 1613

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Live With The President

This is only my second attempt at live blogging, so please be patient. For best results, refresh your browser every minute or so to see if I've added anything. I will be listening to the speech on the radio, so I'll have no comments on visuals. Here we go:

BTW, I'm listening on WHAS 840AM in Louisville, for those of you who are locals.

Don't look for the President to back away from anything. The President is coming to the podium.

It's an active war, and we are not the only people being attacked.
Good...remind us that we are at war and what our enemy is about.

He couldn't have picked a better place than Fort Bragg...it's these men and women who are the tip of the spear of this cause and he's the y are the ones he should speak to in person.

We will defend our freedom. We will take the fight to the enemy. Very simple, very straightforward.

Relate Iraq to 9/11....terrorists all.

He needs to give specifics about how we are spreading democracy in the Middle East...give specifics about the good things in Iraq.

Strong theis: "I will explain the reason why" the sacrifice is worth it. This is a direct attack on MoveOn.org and their ilk. Excellent.

To the terrorists, Iraq IS the center of the War on Terror. He's doing a great job of tying Iraq to WOT...they are one. This is very, very needed. Too many Americans see them as seperate ventures.

The even bomb mosques...good, good point. Paint them as heathens, for that's what they are.

They failed, they failed, they failed...the terrorists are failing in Iraq. Good use of repetition and valid examples.

"On my watch" old naval/military phrase. Tough.

Repeat the plan for the rebuilding of Iraq. This shoots down those who keep crying that "there is no plan". What they mean is "we don't like his plan because it's good for Republicans in the long run".

30 nations have troops in Iraq and other are giving non-military assitance...how often do we hear this?

I would lay easy talking about the Iraqi military; they don't have a very good reputation. Give them another year.

"Complete the mission". He's giving goals and not a timeline. This is an excellent way to answer critics who are calling for a pull-out date.

"A lot more work to do". People appreciate acknowledgement of shortcomings; at least I do.

Haven't combined operations been going on for some time now?

Living with the Iraqis? That has to be a tall order for an American soldier...for a number of reasons. God bless those guys.

I wish he would talk about helping the Iraqis develop a sense of national unity. I believe this is key to a cohesive government and military.

Good, good. Answer the timetable crowd.

Commanders on the ground...he's making it clear that the Generals are fighting the war. This isn't Vietnam, Senator Kennedy. Go have another bourbon.

The Iraqis have no tradition of a free society.

A timetable for democracy. A constitution. Elections. This is a real plan. What will the NY Times say?

The effect on the Middle East. This is crucial to linking the Iraq invasion to the broader war.

Clearly define the immorality of the enemy. People relate to evil, me thinks.

Churchillian commitment is not dead.

The American people ARE behind those in the military. Once again, this isn't Vietnam.

www.americasupportsyou.mil

Honor the dead by completing the mission. Amen.

"..a cause greater than themselves." Remember that; you'll see it again.

Bravo, sir. He's getting better at this.

Live Blogging

I'm going to try to live blog the President's speech tonight at 8PM EST. Stay tuned.

Innovation, Thy Name Is Lawsuit

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hollywood and the music industry can file piracy lawsuits against technology companies caught encouraging customers to steal music and movies over the Internet, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.

And so it begins. When I read this, my first thought was how the courts will define "encouraging". Could the very development of software capable of downloading illegal movies and/or music be seen as encouraging illegal activity? This may seem ridiculous, but this is the basic assertion that the RIAA and MPAA have made in their cases against Napster, Kazaa, et. al. all along: you (meaning the software developers) made the software, so you are responsible for what people do with it.

We have heard for years about the cases wherein people sued gun manufacturers because murderers used their products or ladder manufacturers found themselves in court because some idiot broke his leg painting the house. I guess it stands to reason that software companies would be held responsible when people steal music.

With this in mind, I wonder how long it will take before someone successfully sues Microsoft (or Apple or a Linux distro) out of existence because of the crimes their operating systems have allowed. How many online bank accounts have been compromised by keylogging software which crept in under Windows' lax security? Shouldn't Redmond pay? What about all the hacks developed by black hat dudes running Yellow Dog Linux on a Powerbook? Shouldn't Steve Jobs be made to pay?

I believe we are witnessing a terrible trend in this nation wherein more and more people ride on the cart of innovation and rugged individualism while fewer and fewer people are willing to take the risk of pulling and pushing. I know many, many people who could be running their own businesses. But why take on the potential legal liability?

Thoughts On Blogging/Retirement?

I normally like to cover only one subject per post but, for the sake of time, I’m going to cover two things this morning.

Occasionally, I read through my past posts. As I did so this weekend, I was struck by how bad my writing has become compared to what it was a year ago. There was a time when I would post four or five times a day, almost always about politics or my daily life. Of late, my posting has become pretty formula stuff: put something up in the morning, then in the evening if anything interesting happens.

This has happened for four reasons. First, I am busier at work now than I have ever been. I welcome the extra work because it makes the day fly by. However, it does not lend itself to frequent posting. Second, I have had to seriously curtail my news reading at work. Our internet usage is monitored and mine was, shall we say, a wee bit excessive. Since I work in the IS Department, it is important that I set an example of proper internet usage…or something like that. Third, the Presidential campaign is over and so there is no one dominating new story that I feel like opining about every day. When there is something of import out there, the usual political sites usually do a much better job than I do of dissecting the issue. It feels like cheating to just quote from them day after day.

Finally, there is the history podcast. This has probably done more to curtail my written work than anything else. It is time consuming to read up on the history of the day and then make even a short podcast out of it. If you haven’t listened to the podcast, then you may not know that I’ve now added “theme music” which requires some post-production editing. I love doing it, and there are actually more people subscribed to receive the ‘cast every day than the number of people who read this site every day. And that’s after five weeks.

I’m not going to quit doing the podcast, but I am going to make a concerted effort to write more often and do a better job of it. On top of that, I need your help. I have a goal in mind: I want to have 100 unique visitors to this site every day. So if you know anyone who you think may be interested in my ramblings, please send them over. Thanks.

On to the news of the day…

Today is the Supreme Court’s last day in session before their 3-month break. It is rumored that one of the justices will announce his/her resignation at the end of business today. My guess? Chief Justice Rehnquist. He is 80, is battling cancer, and has missed work due to health concerns. If he’s not the one, he certainly should be.

You have never seen a battle like the one we will witness over President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee. The Dems have done a great job of re-defining what “disqualified” means in a judicial sense. To them, anyone who is even slightly religious or has firm beliefs that don’t line up with theirs is unqualified for the job. To that end, they feel justified in pulling out all stops in order to keep a nominee from an up or down vote. It is tyranny of the minority.

Wait and see. And remember what St. Thomas More said about the forest of law.

Today in History June 27, 2005

President Truman orders US forces to Korea, 1950

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Today in June 26, 2005

The UN Charter is signed, 1945

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

That Didn't Take Long

I hate to say I told you so, but...I really didn't think the ball would start rolling this quickly. With the recent Supreme Court decision expanding eminant domain, Freeport, Texas is seizing property so a PRIVATE marina can be built. All in the name of economic progress. But at what cost to the rights of property owners?

Asshats.

Today in History June 24, 2005

The Soviets begin the Berlin Blockade, 1948

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Where I Stop And You Start

My brother Jerry sends this Fox News story concerning the Supreme Court's expansion of eminent domain laws. In short, the city or town or county in which you live can seize your house (after paying you for it, of course) for use by a private company if that company is contributing taxes and economic growth to the community. Ironically, it was the court's liberal wing that held the majority in the 5-4 decision. What about all those attacks on big business, ladies and gents?

Many states (Kentucky is one of them) only allow eminent domain laws to be applied if the area in question can be considered a "blight"---that is, taking away from the value of surrounding areas because of decaying structures, crime, etc. In writing the majority decision, Justice Stevens did say that states could create protections against the abuse of the law. One would certainly hope so, although, presumably, any of those laws could then be turned over by the Supreme Court.

Our Founding Fathers thought property ownership was so important that, for many years, it was a prerequisite for voting. If you owned property, you had a physical stake in your town and you would, or so it was hoped, take more than a passing interest in the issues of the day. That is no less true today than it was in the 18th century.

Our state governments put taxes on our property to pay for schools and other programs necessary for the common good. But if government is allowed to seize that property in order to sell it to a private firm, then aren't we looking at a form of wealth redistribution? Wasn't the collectivization of farmland the first move of the Bolsheviks in Russia?

My friend Kevin posted on his blog some time ago that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the worst thing that could've happened to the United States. His reasoning was that we knew of the injustices regularly endured by Soviet citizens and it reminded us to protect our nation from the overreach of our own government.

Have we forgotten that lesson so soon?

Today In History June 23, 2005

Klaus Fuchs is released from prison, 1959

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Durbin, Oprah And Apologies

Senator Durbin has apologized---if you want to call what he said an apology. Here’s the salient sentences:

"Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line. To them I extend my heartfelt apologies."

Durbin’s speech on the floor of the Senate contained not one word about how wrong his statement actually was, just that he was sorry that some people thought he went over the line. It’s the political equivalent of saying that you’re sorry you got caught. If not for the uproar in the blogosphere and on talk radio, it’s doubtful that the Senator would’ve even addressed the comments again.

Of course, the MSM is calling Durbin’s words an apology, which is their way of saying that anyone who pursues the issue further will be seen as some sort of whacked-out zealot. We are supposed to carry on, ignoring the fact that a United States Senator compared members of the American military to Soviet gulag guards and Nazi concentration camp officials.

And he choked up a little while he spoke. Isn’t that cute? The “Oprahtization” of our society has even begun to have an effect on political debate. If you apologize and cry while doing so, we’re all supposed to back off and leave you alone. You are standing on the border of victimhood; you did wrong, but the bad men won’t quit saying evil things about you. It’s sickening, but it works: by Sunday, the Dems on the Hill will be talking about right-wing attacks on members of their party. Wait and see.

I, for one, agree with those who are calling for the detainment facilities to be closed and for the detainees to be kept at the homes of those in the House and Senate who are calling for closure. Weren’t they the same people who were calling the strategists in the Bush Administration chicken hawks because they called for war but had never fought in one? Well, let’s be fair: if you haven’t guarded a prisoner who hates the sight of you, then you have no room to speak against those who do that job (for very little money) every day.

Today in History June 22, 2005

Germany invades the Soviet Union, 1941

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Killed By The Right

I love my wife and my family, but I'm going to write my obituary before I die. I doubt this guy did (from Captain's Quarters):

An avid atheist, he studied the bible and religion with more fervor than most Christians. He had strong political opinions and followed Amy Goodman's radio broadcast "Democracy Now." Alas the stolen election of 2000 and living with right-winged Americans finally brought him to his early demise. Stress from living in this unjust country brought about several heart attacks rendering him disabled. Cory, a great man, so very talented, compassionate and intelligent, dedicated to the arts and humanities and the environment, will be greatly missed by his wife, family, and friends.

It's almost slapstick.

59 And Still Serving

This guy is the real thing, big brass ones and all:

Lt. Col. Joe Repya makes us proud to be Americans from Minnesota. He is a retired Army Reserve Officer who re-upped for active duty at age 58. He is now 59 and serving in Iraq.

Please take a moment and read the entire Powerline article.

Saddam, We Hardly Knew Ya

Five soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein have given an interview concerning their impressions of the former dictator. He invited the men to visit one of his palaces after he regains power; he dispensed “fatherly” advice on women; he misses Ronald Reagan (he’s not alone there). It is the reinvention of the Butcher of Baghdad as a kind, gentle and misunderstood old man.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE! This man is a sociopath. He killed his way to the top and, once there, ordered a purge of his enemies that would’ve made Uncle Joe Stalin proud. He is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. He started a war with Iran, invaded Kuwait and launched Scud missiles against Israel. While comparing treatment of prisoners at Gitmo to the genocidal actions of Pol Pot is out of place, the comparison is apt when speaking of Saddam Hussein.

But mark my words: when his trial begins, the focus (at least in the press) will be on how the United States helped him during the Iran/Iraq war. We will once again see the picture of Donald Rumsfeld shaking Hussein’s hand. Lists of armaments and other war hardware provided by the US to Iraq will show up on the front page of the NY Times. Somehow, this will all be connected to the Bush Administration.

Should the US have helped Iraq? In hindsight, no. Iran was seen as the larger enemy at the time, but it is doubtful that it would’ve become a regional power. And despite our assistance in a devastating war, Iran still managed to sponsor acts of terrorism across the globe. The Iran/Iraq war left Saddam Hussein in a powerful political position and with the fourth largest army in the world. He rolled into Kuwait less than two years later.

Those who are addicted to easy clichés (every leftist in the United States and Europe) will say things like, “the US put Hussein in power”. Hussein put himself in power and committed atrocities without any help. Arguing about where the gunpowder for the guns came from is not only pointless, but moves the argument away from where it should be focused: on the Butcher.

Father's Day Plus One

I didn't get to my Father's Day post yesterday, mainly because the day was filled with Father's Day stuff (and some side work which took up most of the afternoon). But the holiday wouldn't be complete if I didn't talk about my dad. I have written most of this here before, but I never tire of telling the story.

Dad was born in 1933, the worst year of the Great Depression. He is the fifth of eight children. They were poor, but so were many Americans in the days when the middle class as we know it today didn't really exist. As dad told me once, "The rationing that came during World War Two didn't really affect us; we couldn't afford most of that stuff anyway." My grandfather was a troubled man; not abusive, but distant. If dad and his siblings were children today, CPS would probably be making frequent visits to the house.

My grandfather bought land on the Indiana side of the Ohio River soon after World War Two. Located on the acreage was a restaraunt, some docks and years of back-breaking work for my grandfather, father and two of my uncles. But war came to a little peninsula in Asia, and the United States needed my dad. He joined the Navy in January, 1952.

The Navy did not draft my father; he joined voluntarily. The Army was hot on his trail and he knew it was only a matter of time until the draft board called his name. His older brother Jimmy had been in the Navy during World War Two and therein learned a trade that became a career. The truncated pipeline that was Navy training during the Korean War made sure that dad was on a destroyer off the coast of North Korea by May, 1952.

The bravery dad displayed during a fire aboard the USS Parks was rewarded with an early promotion to Petty Officer Third Class. He would become a First Class by the time his four years was up, something that was rare then and is unheard of in today's Navy. He left the active service in 1956, but remained in the reserves until 1963.

It wasn't long until he met my mother. The two were married in October, 1958 and between 1959 and 1971 produced five children. I become an computer geek; a registered nurse,a mechanical engineer, an analyst for the federal government and a paralegal/stay-at-home mom make up the rest of the pack. Dad often worked two jobs to insure that we all received a Catholic education. It is the greatest gift they could have ever given.

I am embarrassed now by the number of times I fought with my dad over the years. I always found him to be inflexible on things that, to me, weren't worth fighting over. I realize now that he simply wanted all of us to have a better life than he did and he didn't want us to copy his mistakes. Unfortunately, I didn't always listen to his advice and, in many ways, I've fumbled down the same road.

As he enters his 73rd year, my dad has become a gentle grandfather. He loves to tell stories (often the same ones he's been telling for years) and he never fails to ask me how work is going--this is, I believe, the way he gauges my level of contentment. He is still incredibly healthy and I hope he sees the years his father did (my grandfather lived to be 95).

Dad doesn't read my blog, and it's a good thing---he would be embarrassed by this post. I have never done a good job of telling him how much I love him, and I know the day will come when I'll wish I'd done better. When I think of how little he was given in terms of wealth and opportunity and what he became despite it, I am left in awe. I wish everyone could have a dad like mine; the world would be a better place.

Talking Softly On Sovereignty

Porter Goss, head of the CIA, sat down for an interview with TIME magazine. One of the questions, concerning Bin Laden, left me a little perplexed:

We are making very good progress on it. But when you go to the very difficult question of dealing with sanctuaries in sovereign states, you're dealing with a problem of our sense of international obligation, fair play. We have to find a way to work in a conventional world in unconventional ways that are acceptable to the international community.

Could he be talking about China? China borders Afghanistan, after all. And one would assume that we can go anywhere in Pakistan we wish. Hmmm...

Bill Clinton? Affair? NO WAY!!!

Drudge is all worked up over Billy's supposedly continuing escapades. My God, man, it's Bill Clinton! It's like "Melrose Place" with only one male character.

He needs to have his own reality show. I'm not joking.

Steyn Over The Back Wall---Again

Mark Steyn expresses his thoughts about Senator Durbin:

Just for the record, some 15 million to 30 million Soviets died in the gulag; some 6 million Jews died in the Nazi camps; some 2 million Cambodians -- one third of the population -- died in the killing fields. Nobody's died in Gitmo, not even from having Christina Aguilera played to them excessively loudly. The comparison is deranged, and deeply insulting not just to the U.S. military but to the millions of relatives of those dead Russians, Jews and Cambodians, who, unlike Durbin, know what real atrocities are. Had Durbin said, "Why, these atrocities are so terrible you would almost believe it was an account of the activities of my distinguished colleague Robert C. Byrd's fellow Klansmen," that would have been a little closer to the ballpark but still way out.

The entire article is worth a read. Then again, anything Steyn writes is worth a read.

Today in History June 20, 2005

The US and the Soviet Union agree to establish a "hot line", 1963

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Today in History June 19, 2005

The Emporer of Mexico is Executed, 1867

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Today in History June 18, 2005

The War of 1812 Begins

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

American Abuse

This post has been building itself in my mind for a while, but I wasn’t sure whether or not it would ever see the light of day. But the recent news concerning allegations of torture at Guantanamo makes me furious, not because of the accusations themselves but because of what the reaction to the accusations says about the ignorance of many, many people in our country.

We Americans like our wars to be sanitized. This is why books and movies about World War Two and the Civil War are so popular: they weren’t televised and the men who fought those wars grew up in a time when war stayed on the battlefield and psychological trauma was dealt with in private. The non-fighting public created fantasies around these conflicts, fantasies in which good always triumphed over evil and the good guys never stooped to the level of the bad guys. The innocence of the young American male followed him to the battlefield, where he kept his eyes and heart fixed on God, duty and country.

Of course, this is utter bullshit. Some horrible things have been done in the name of our freedom during the past two centuries. The noble combat played out by Civil War re-enactors was nothing of the kind. Confederate soldiers were buried alive during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia. Union soldiers were treated (and fed) like animals in the POW camp at Andersonville. General Sherman’s march to the sea in 1864 brought destruction on a massive scale to the civilian population of the South. Nobility, indeed.

The Second World War was no different. Fighting and defeating a fanatical enemy in the Pacific meant using every weapon and tactic available at the time. On at least one occasion, a Japanese troop ship was sunk by a US submarine and the survivors were machine-gunned in the water. Why? Because there was a possibility they would make it to shore and fight again. Japanese cities were bombed using napalm because civilian homes were made of wood and would, therefore, serve as fuel for enormous fires that would do more damage than regular bombs ever could. Why? Because many Japanese industries were decentralized and some were located in and around homes. The United States twice used the most destructive weapon ever designed by human beings on large cities in Japan. Why? Because an invasion of the Japanese home islands would’ve meant the deaths of millions of civilians and Allied soldiers. It was, to look at it in the coldest terms, the most cost-effective way to win the war.

The freedoms we enjoy as Americans are guaranteed by, to paraphrase George Orwell, rough men ready to do violence on our behalf. The old adage that freedom is not free is as true now as ever; those who disagree are naïve at best. But there is a large group of people in this country who cry about treatment of combatants who would kill Americans on sight (treatment that can hardly be considered torture), but who demand the freedom to do as they will. They make no connection between our liberty and our foreign policy. Liberals such as Dick Durbin, Ted Kennedy and Michael Moore play on this ignorance, claiming that this nation is becoming a police state because some inmate is made to listen to pop music all night. Their rants are nothing more than an attempt to make political gain with little concern for their nation.

As I’ve said before, all wars are crimes. But to think that rough treatment is something new is to be ignorant of this nation’s history. You can argue the morality of it all day, but it does not change the fact that the hard work of fighting a war sometimes requires measures that are, to the average American, cruel and unusual. As Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) said in ‘Apocalypse Now’: “They taught young men to drop fire from the sky but wouldn’t let them write ‘Fuck’ on the sides of their planes because it was obscene.”

The Fifth Column Speaks

From Hugh Hewitt's blog:

"The absurd rhetoric discussed in that piece got upped past the point of sanity by Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin on Wednesday night when he declared that the FBI reports on Gitmo detail actions that, if the reader did not know that American soldiers were involved, would suggest the actions of "Nazis, the Soviets in their gulags," and Pol Pot. (Radioblogger has the actual Durbin audio and transcripts of extensive discussions I had on Durbin's comparison of the American military to the most bloodthirsty regimes of the last century with Mark Steyn as well as with law professors Erwin Chemerinsky and John Eastman.)

Durbin, like Newsweek before him, has handed our enemies a great propaganda victory, one that will echo through the years in madrassas and caves and whispered conversations among would-be killers of Americans. ("Even their highest officials admit they run camps like the Nazis and Pol Pot!" Hit audio.)"

Sentar Durbin: I know it's tough for you, but act like you've got some shred of decency and common sense.

Today In History June 16, 2005

The Miranda Decision, 1966

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Quality Blues

I own a 3G 20GB iPod. It is one of my favorite tech toys of all time; I am rarely without it. It only lacks two features I need: an AM/FM tuner and a built-in microphone. A quick scan of MP3 players online showed me that I could forget about finding an AM tuner (I suppose hip, happening people don’t need AM---I am not one of them), but FM tuners and mics can be found in a few of the flash memory-based players on the market. While I don’t need another device which plays MP3s, I wanted to have something small for doing “sound-seeing” podcasts should the need arise. The Creative MuVo TX fit the bill.

The MuVo arrived Monday. I liked it immediately. It doesn’t have the smooth, rounded edges and effortless design of the iPod, but it’s only a little bit larger than the 256MB thumb drive I carry on my key chain. The LCD interface and the controls are a bit clunky, but functional. I threw a AAA battery in the little compartment and turned on the FM tuner.

Strike One. While every review I read mentioned how nice the MuVo’s FM tuner is, it had trouble picking up stations in our house. It would scan everything on the FM dial, but every one of the 15 presets was compromised at best. It DID work much better outside the house (though not as well as a car’s FM tuner, as one reviewer claimed), but I had really been hoping for a radio I could listen to at work.

Strike Two. Since the MuVo is essentially a flash drive, it made sense that Windows should see it as a hard drive when I plugged it into one of my computer’s USB 2.0 ports. Initially, it did. I moved a few songs to the drive with no trouble; the transfer rate was impressive. However, when I tried to move an entire folder of music, the process produced an error after only three songs were copied. I tried to move the songs individually, but got the same result. By this point, Windows had stopped recognizing the drive. Thinking that this problem may be unique to my PC, I tried the same thing at work. No joy. This means that I will have to install the Creative software that came with the player, something I am loathe to do.

Strike Three. Even if all else fails, I reasoned, at least I have a mic to use for podcasting when I’m not home. Uh-huh. The test recording I did was so faint as to be nearly inaudible. My voice sounded as if it was coming through a bucket of gravel. If I put this audio up on the web, people would think I was trapped in a submarine, yelling through a sound-powered phone.

I realize what part of my problem is: the iPod has spoiled me. It doesn’t have all the features I want, but the features it does have are executed flawlessly. It connects to iTunes like a hand in a glove and transfers audio seamlessly. The sound quality is superb, even with the stock headphones.

If Apple can make such a killer product, is it too much to ask other manufacturers to make something at least passable? Apple did it, so I know it’s not impossible. Is the buying public so gullible as to accept crap? Based on the public’s acceptance of early versions of Windows (I do think XP is a good OS), I guess so.

...And It's About Time

G.W. lays down some serious smack on the Dems:

President Bush last night ripped the Democratic Party as do-nothing obstructionists bent on derailing his reform agenda, saying that on issue after issue, Democratic leaders in Congress 'stand for nothing except obstruction, and this is not leadership.'

Overdue? You bet.

Today in History June 15, 2005

The Oregon Treaty is signed, 1846

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

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Beat It

I was living in Dallas when the verdict in the OJ Simpson murder trial came down. Like many Americans, the case intrigued me. Before that trial, I never realized that something which seemed so obvious could take so many turns once sworn testimony began. I believe OJ killed his wife and Mr. Goldman and I was sorely disappointed that he was found not guilty. But our justice system is designed so that a guilty man will be set free before an innocent man is wrongly convicted. Juries in criminal cases must be convinced nearly to a certainty before they can find a guilty verdict. Although it seems that justice can be bought, I think our system works pretty well.

I thought of the OJ verdict yesterday as I learned that Michael Jackson was found not guilty on all ten counts brought against him. The legal talking heads were aghast; to them, it had been an open and shut case. As I listened to callers on various programs last night, I realized that most people had him convicted and in prison long before the jury was seated. I also realized that many, many people have no idea how our justice system works.

When a person is accused of a crime, the accusation is precise. Even serial killers who have admitted to hundreds of murders can only be charged based on the evidence at hand. Thus, the accusations against Jackson were very narrow and specific. Once on the stand and under oath, the jury didn’t quite believe the mother and the “victim”. And even though the other evidence may be damning, likeability counts for a lot in a courtroom.

Callers to the few radio programs I listened to last night seemed to be saying that he should have been found guilty because a) he’s a weirdo and b) golly, we just know he did it. Thank God our justice system doesn’t work that way. Jackson is a weirdo’s weirdo, but there’s nothing illegal about that in itself. And if he is a child molester, then he will eventually be caught red-handed---he won’t be able to help himself. Personally, I wouldn’t want a child of mine within 10,000 square miles of the guy.

The saddest thing to come of this, in my opinion, is that Jackson’s credibility is shot. Even though he is a free man, he will always be treated by most of the public as if he committed the crime. Regardless of how you feel about him, that punishment is just not fair.

Al Franken, Arrogant Ass

No shock here. He can't act, either.

Asshat.

Survey Reminder

If you haven't had the chance to post a comment on my survey post (see "Survey One" below on June 12), please do so. You can post anonymously if you'd like---I won't tell ;-)

I'm going to try to post a reminder every day.

Concessions For Nothing

Captain’s Quarters mentions a call from Amnesty International for the arrest of George W. Bush and any other administration official responsible for (fill in blank) the next time they leave the United States. Besides the fact that no sane nation would ever imagine arresting the President of the United States, this kind of assertion lacks any sense of proportion. Has there been a call for the arrest of Kim Jong Il? What about anyone involved with the genocide in Sudan?

Far from being a neutral body, Amnesty International has become a mouthpiece of the “Blame America First” cabal found so often in Europe and at the UN. A visit to their website on any given day will show “atrocities” by the United States on the same page as stories of Chinese political prisoners. While you can certainly argue that the US has made some very bad calls in the name of defending freedom and democracy around the globe, it’s folly to associate our actions with the actions of Communist thugs and third-world despots whose only goal is more power.

Groups such as Amnesty International come from a vague moral place where all violence is wrong. This is the simpleton’s view of the world. History shows us that peace paid for with accommodation of tyranny has never yielded a peaceful result. When France and England backed away from a confrontation with Hitler in 1938, the British press echoed the Prime Minister’s claim that he had secured “peace for our time”. It was nothing of the sort. It merely gave more time for Hitler to prepare for war at a place and a time of his choosing. Because Europe slept, millions of people died.

So when Amnesty International compares Gitmo to the Soviet gulag system, they group themselves with those who define peace as merely as absence of violence. The sad truth of our world is that there are people who, for whatever reason, want to kill Americans. If we have to hold terrorists for years and question them daily, so be it. If we need to hunt down people and kill them, so be it.

As Laura Ingraham said, “They experienced hours of rough questioning? I certainly hope so!”

Wimp-Free Zone?

Democratic leaders yesterday announced that they will continue to back Howard Dean as chairman of the DNC. According to them, they 'don't want a wimp.' Ummm, OK. This one thing I will grant: Dean is no wimp. He is, however, unbalanced and appears, at least to those of us who aren't Democrats, to be an enormous liability to the "Party of the People".

Being loud and obnoxious does not make one tough, believeable and/or a good fundraiser. To that needed middle-ground, Dean embodies everything we've ever heard about The Loony Left---no ideas, just witty (and not so witty) run-on sentences. People pay attention to him for the same reason they sit at Turn 3 at Indy: if you sit there long enough, you'll get to see the big crash.

Dean would do wonders for his party and his own future if he would only drop the hate-speech and actually come up with a platform. Calling the President's Social Security plan a "risky scheme" is not a plan, but a defensive move. Come up with a sensible doable plan and take it to the American people. Most of us don't care who comes up with the good ideas. We just want them to work.

But Dean isn't made of that kind of stuff. He's just off-balance enough to think that his is the kind of attitude that wins elections. It may win Blue states, but they don't carry the nation anymore, do they?

Today In History June 13, 2005

Alexander the Great dies, 323 B.C.

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Today In History June 12, 2005

Anne Frank is given a diary, 1942

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How To Not Be Poor

I'm home from work early today and listening to Walter Williams. He just listed four items that will keep you from being poor:

1. Graduate from high school.
2. Work at a job, even if it's minimum wage.
3. Don't have children until you're married; stay married.
4. Don't get involved in any criminal behavior.

According to Williams, only six percent of Americans who live below the poverty line meet all the above requirements. That means that 94% of them violated one of the above four rules.

Has anyone seen these numbers anywhere?

Today In History June 10, 2005

Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment, 1752

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Metrosexual, Be Gone!

Laura Ingraham is talking about a Drudge link concerning the rise of the metrosexual. Evidently, men are now fighting with woman over spa appointments so they can be waxed, pedicured, manicured, hot-rocked and exfoliated. Are we in danger of losing our manhood?

Let me state, for the sake of clarity, that I have had a handful of manicures in my life. Because of them, I quit biting my fingernails, something that had been a lifelong habit (and drove my wife crazy). But I have never had a pedicure or had anything waxed, tweezed or plucked. When my hair began to thin, I shaved it off. I think I dress fairly well (thanks to my live-in fashion consultant), but it’s not something I worry about. If you don’t like me because of way I look or dress, then you’re not worthy of my attention in the first place.

I believe this move toward metrosexuality is just a natural consequence of our society’s growing denial of true manhood. When I speak of true manhood, I don’t mean the phony, cowardly manhood that so many men use to excuse their behavior. You know the type: angry all the time, brooding, non-talkative. These men are just little punks in adults’ bodies. When I speak of manhood, I mean a decisive, confidant man who takes care of his family and does not shrink from responsibility. He is kind but firm, considerate but not a push-over. They are a rare breed and feminists have nearly brought them to extinction.

I may be wrong, but I believe that most woman like a man who is not afraid to be a man. Yes, that means he needs fashion advice and only owns three pairs of shoes. He doesn’t know what a dust ruffle is nor does he care who made the coffee table. He likes his hobbies and they don’t include shopping for clothes and accessories. He is the American male. Love him for what he is.

Dean Still Screams

Howard Dean is, once again, making it clear to everyone what a liability he can be. The same ungoverned mouth that sank the former Governor’s Presidential campaign is now alienating just about everyone the Democrats need to avoid becoming a permanent minority party. But those who are predicting Dean’s quick demise as the head of the DNC are very, very wrong. The simple truth is that Dean is not just speaking for himself, but for the core of the modern Democratic Party.

I know many, many people who don’t consider themselves Democrats, but primarily vote for Democratic candidates. They are well-meaning people, but many of them fail to realize that the party of Truman and Kennedy is dead. It has been replaced with a party run by a cabal of hate-mongers. If you don’t believe me, check out Arianna Huffington’s blog or Daily Kos, where supposition is regularly passed off as fact and hatred of George W. Bush and Christianity has become a sport.

Dean’s assertion that the Republican Party is made up entirely of white Christians is becoming more untrue every day and he knows it; thus the attempt to make the party look like the kooky fringe. Hispanics and Asians voted for President Bush at rates over forty percent; 12% of African-Americans did, a record-high number. The expansion of the middle-class is doing great damage to the Democratic strategy of pitting the working class against the rich. What is left? Dividing the nation between fundamentalist conservatives and everyone else. The problem is that true fundamentalists are few in number; in order to get traction, Dean needs to make everyone who is conservative and/or Christian into a survivalist, racist weirdo. Thus his comments.

Once again, I ask my Democratic friends: is this your party?

Today In History June 8, 2005

Israel attacks the USS Liberty, 1967

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Safe And Sound

You’ve probably heard the radio ads where you live: the background is filled with the sounds of children playing and birds singing. The soothing female voice is telling you about a new neighborhood development in which “things are like they used to be”; that is, crime- and trouble-free. Of course, the homes start at $500K (the ad doesn’t tell you that, but the website certainly will.).

I’m seeing a disturbing trend in advertising that equates affluence with moral goodness and “living right”. The lesson seems to be that if you can move into the right neighborhood and drive the right car (see my post about OnStar), your kids will be safe and no undesirable elements will move into the neighborhood. Presumably, this is the key to guilt-free living.

This is bullshit and anyone who pays attention to the news knows it. Wealthy neighborhoods have many of the same problems as poor neighborhoods, but you don’t hear about it as often. Are there more arrests in poorer neighborhoods? You bet. But there are also more police patrols, drug stings and, in larger cities, air surveillance flights. While some neighborhoods are certainly safer than others, an expensive house in a prominent area is no guarantee of a trouble-free environment.

I believe this mistaken notion is born of the liberal belief that all crime is a product of poverty. The theory is that if underprivileged people made more money, they wouldn’t be forced to turn to drug-dealing, robbery and prostitution to pay the bills. And since liberals view the economy as a zero-sum gain, then rich people are the ones making it impossible for the poor to move ahead.

The connection between poverty and crime is tenuous at best. During the Great Depression, unemployment was at an all-time high. Yet, the per capita rate for serious crimes was lower than it is today. The real causes of crime are actually fostered by many of the programs liberals invented to “cure” poverty. Single parent families, encouraged by generations of welfare and other Great Society programs, create young men and women with no sense of community and commitment. Our public education system, once a place where discipline could be instilled if it were not instilled at home, has, in many cases, become a politically-correct discipline-free zone.

Safety and security have nothing to do with where one lives and everything to do with how you and your neighbors live.

Your Next OS

Steve "The Steve" Jobs announced yesterday that Apple is going to begin using Intel processors and, presumably, chipsets.

(insert cricket noise here)

To those of us who admire Apple, their products (even if we're too poor to buy them ;-), and their corporate philosophy, this is big, even huge news. For those of you not technically-inclined, please allow me to explain.

Unless you are reading this on a Mac, your computer is using either an Intel or Intel-compatible processor (commonly referred to as an x86 processor). Until now, Apple Macs have used the PowerPC processor---a completely different type of chip that didn't speak the same "language" as Intel chips. Now, the Mac OS (known as OS X) will run on Intel chips. In theory, that means your current computer could be turned into a Mean Mac Machine.

But only in theory. Apple is saying that their operating system will still be "locked" so that it will only run on Apple hardware. You'll be able to run Windows on a Mac, but not run OS X on a Dell, for example. But now, there is nothing to stop some enterprising geek from bypassing that lock (I give it three months unless it's actually locked in the kernal).

What's more, I think this may be the beginning of a transition for Apple from a hardware company who sells software to a true software company. My friend Hash told me years ago that Apple would not be profitable without hardware sales. But what if they were able to take a big chunk of Windows desktop sales? I don't know that answer; please throw out your thoughts.

No matter what, I'm excited by this. Call me a geek.

Reefer Madness?

By now, you have undoubtedly heard that the Supreme Court yesterday struck down state laws regarding medicinal marijuana use. It is now illegal in the United States to dispense the herb for any reason.

If you step away from our cultural problem with drugs, you will begin to see how ridiculous this ruling is. One the one hand, you have people who see medicinal use as a stepping stone to outright legalization. While I haven’t read the Court’s majority decision, I can surmise that this is the reason they ruled against state laws allowing prescription. On the other hand, you have people who believe marijuana is a “gateway” drug that leads to hard substances, addiction, crime, etc. In the middle are the people dealing with chronic, painful conditions.

I reject the gateway argument completely. I have known people my entire adult life who smoke pot regularly. Most of them have never tried harder drugs and never would. If marijuana is a gateway drug, then aren’t cigarettes and alcohol? After all, I would be willing to bet that most people who smoke pot have at least tried cigarettes and drink the occasional beer. Even if you’ve never touched an illegal substance, you have to admit that it’s a long, long throw from marijuana to cocaine and heroin.

People who work in the medical profession argue that there are more efficient ways of dealing with chronic pain than prescribing marijuana. That may be true, but every painkiller has both side effects and the possibility of addiction. This makes me wonder: do doctors dislike marijuana because it can be produced without the consent of pharmaceutical companies? I’m not implying collusion, only the possibility of entrenchment in a comfort zone.

I have many friends and family members who have suffered through end-of-life issues with loved ones. Most agree that there should be no legal barrier to “extreme” forms of pain management for those who are in their final days. Would allowing the medicinal use of marijuana lead to abuse of the system? Of course. But how many thousands of people abuse prescription painkillers that are much more harmful?

To paraphrase Art Bell, it’s time for this nation to stop being stupid about marijuana.

Today in History June 6, 2005

The Normandy Invasion, 1944

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

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Dean's Army Of One

Howard Dean is, once again, telling everyone how much he hates Republicans. This time, he asserted that many of “us” (I say this because I almost always vote for Republicans) have never worked a day in our lives.

This is loony stuff and could be easily dismissed if Dean were not the head of the Democratic National Committee. The fact that he is the head of the DNC and is resorting to this type of hate speech tells me two things: the Dems are worried about losing at least part of their base and they have no new ideas.

The funniest part of Dean’s comment is how untrue it is. He is playing the class warfare card, trying to call up the fantasy of the wealthy corporate chieftain who spends his days on the golf course while the little people slave away in dim sweatshops. This may play well among welfare recipients and the entitlement set, but most Americans work for small and mid-sized companies run by men and women who actually slave away with their employees.

Ironically, the money that drove the 2004 campaign of John Kerry was contributed by exactly the kind of people Dean is talking about: the Hollywood elite and multi-billionaires like George Soros. I’m trying to imagine Barbara Streisand breaking a sweat and, well, the image just isn’t there. Your results may vary.

Already, some mainstream Democrats are trying to distance themselves from Dean. They understand that elections are won and lost in the middle of the road, not in the fever swamp of adolescent name-calling and class warfare. What the Democrats lack, and what will keep them out of the majority in 2006 and beyond, are coherent ideas. Take the debate over Social Security as an example: when President Bush announced that he was going to push for SS reform, what was the liberal response? “There is no crisis”. This despite the fact that every non-partisan group in the nation said otherwise. If there is no crisis, then how credible will any competing Democratic idea be?

And, for the record, the answer to every problem is not “impeach Bush”.

Write that down.

Life Lessons

This makes me want to yell at someone.

OJT

I just read yet another Associated Press story concerning an American-Iraqi operation near Baghdad. These stories all have one recurring theme: the Iraqi Army is essentially useless (meaning, one would assume, that the US is going to have to keep a military presence in Iraq forever) and is just going through the motions.

I'm not in Iraq and I have only known a handful of Iraqis in my life. However, I do know that George Washington's Continental Army lost a third of its strength every year in the spring and fall because men would go home to plant or harvest crops. In 1941, the same year this nation entered World War Two, the US Army still had mounted calvary regiments and very few tanks---that's right, men on horses with swords and rifles.

My point is that it is going to take a long while for the Iraqi Army to become an effective fighting force. The embedded reporters are comparing the Iraqis to the American military, which is the finest fighting organization in the history of man. They will NEVER meet that standard.

To me, this seems like another MSM attempt to make it seem as if the terrorists in Iraq are only fighting because Americans are there. The Iraqi people would be getting along just fine if we weren't there. It's like saying "Look! They have no fighting spirit! Leave them alone and everything'll be fine!"

Until some dictator shows up.

Hypocrisy

Just a question: why is it that many in the Muslim world get upset when a copy of the Koran is abused (an act which, if true, should be punished) but Muslims continue to regularly bomb mosques? Aren't copies of the Koran kept there? Am I missing something?

I guess it depends on who is being disrespectful. If you're helping to kill infidels, it doesn't matter how many Korans you destroy. Allah must be proud.

Today in History June 4, 2005

The Battle of Midway, 1942

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

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Yet More Shameless Self-Promotion

I have to share this bit of news with all of you, even if it is very self-serving. About 10 days ago I sent a promo of my "Today in History" podcast to Adam Curry, who picks and runs promos during his 'Daily Source Code' podcast. You know Adam; he was a VJ on MTV for years. He's a true geek and has a passion for this new medium. His podcast is one of the most listened to shows out there.

So anywho, Adam played my promo on his show today. I've now noticed that my subscriber base has doubled---in about six hours.

If I'm gonna talk, I'd like to think that somebody's listenin' ;-)

Thanks, Adam.

Today In History June 3, 2005

Prelude to the Battle of Midway, 1942

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

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Byrd In The Oven

Captain's Quarters is reporting on a poll showing Sen. Robert "pretty, pretty, pretty" Byrd (D-WVa.) bringing in numbers within the margin of error against a candidate who has not even announced her intention to run. Could Byrd's 147 years of Senate service be over? (He's actually been there---no joke---five decades).

West Virginia went Republican in both the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections. Common belief is that Byrd has kept his seat for so long because of his somewhat unique ability to bring zillions of federal dollars back to the hills of his home state. If he's unseated in 2006, it will be a serious morale blow to the Democrats.

We could only be so lucky.

Things Remembered

My oldest brother and his family are in town this week. I drove over to my parent’s house to see them last night (and take home some very good dinner leftovers). When my brothers, my father and I are together, the discussions always turn to politics and/or history. There’s not much about my father’s childhood that I don’t know, but I learned something new and kind of surprising last night: my dad had dinner several times with Italian POWs during World War Two.

A little history lesson is probably in order here (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?). Italy was an Axis power during World War Two; that is, they were on the side of the Germans and the Japanese. When the Allies invaded Sicily and then Italy in 1943, the Italian government of Benito Mussolini collapsed. He was imprisoned by the new pro-Allied government, but was later rescued by German paratroopers and was installed as the leader of northern Italy, the area still under Axis control.

In the meantime, the legitimate Italian government was no longer an Axis power. The United States had captured thousands of Italian soldiers in North Africa, Sicily and southern Italy and transported them to prisoner-of-war camps at places like Fort Knox, which isn’t too far from Louisville. These men were no longer considered enemy combatants, but they couldn’t be returned to Italy since the war was still being fought there. So the military reached a sort of compromise: the Italians would remain in their POW camps, but local residents were allowed to take four of them home at a time for short periods of time.

At that time, Louisville was home to thousands of first- and second-generation Italian immigrants. Many of these families welcomed their former countrymen into their homes for dinner, took them to church and to the movies. Some even found love---one of my classmates in high school was the son of a former Italian POW. The Italians were issued Army fatigues with no rank insignia, so they didn’t stand out too much. What I didn’t know until last night was that my great-grandmother used to “check out” four POWs with some regularity and bring them to my grandfather’s house for dinner.

My father and his siblings did not speak Italian, but my great-grandmother was fluent. She would translate for the young soldiers. Dad doesn’t remember much about their conversations, but he does remember that one of them became infatuated with one of my aunts (who was 14 at the time). Needless to say, my grandmother put a stop to that immediately.

It seems strange today to imagine someone bringing strangers from another country home for a meal. But this nation knew truly hard times in the first four decades of the twentieth century and feeding strangers was nothing new to most people. Still, it is warming to think of American families who reached out to men far from home who, just months before, had been considered enemies. The men were probably homesick, lonely and worried about what the future would bring.

I wonder if any of those men remember the friends they made in Louisville.

Shop Talk, Part 2

'Matt's Today in History' will return on Friday. Thanks to all of you who have subscribed.

Shop Talk

Sorry about the lack of posts lately; I've had several 12 hour work days in a row (if you count the fact that it takes me nearly an hour to get home if I leave the office after 5pm) and my heart simply hasn't been into blogging lately.

I shall endeavour to do better.

Inside Madness

Today in 1941, the Nazi government in Germany banned the printing of all Catholic publications. We often hear about Jewish persecution at the hands of the Nazis, but we rarely hear of their actions against other religious groups. Catholics and Lutherans represented the bulk of the German population (including most of the men serving in the German military), so they were not singled out for extermination as the Jews were. One has to wonder what would've happened had their numbers been smaller.

I mention this to highlight the point that the Nazi movement was not just anti-semitic (although that became of their core tenants), but anti-religion in general. The SS, filled with enthusiastic Nazis, even invented their own holidays in lieu of Christian celebrations. SS troops were encouraged to disown any religious training from their childhood. Much like Lenin and Stalin, Hitler viewed religion as an opiate for the masses. If there had to been an opiate, it would be one of his choosing.

But my study of Germany and the Nazi Party has demonstrated to me that there was something else in Hitler's desire to suppress Christianity and Judaism. Even if you are not religious, you must admit that most of our laws and standards of civility are based on the Bible, the Torah and centuries of religious tradition. That is not to say that horrible things haven't been committed in the name of religion, but these events are abberations instead of canon (except in the case of Muslims, but we'll leave that for another day).

It is my belief that the suppression of religion in the Third Reich was an attempt to re-write the moral code. Had Nazi Germany won the Second World War in Europe, it's not beyond the realm of possibility to say that there would have been persecutions of other minority groups. To carry out these acts, the Reich would've needed a generation of men and women who saw genocide as a national right, not an abhorrent crime against humanity.

History is full of examples of societies who abandoned religious tolerance in the name of national progress. The Soviet Union is the greatest example of that. Would generations of Gulag guards have been able to do their jobs if they were devout Jews or Christians? Some would've, but not all, and dissention would've grown in the ranks. The Communists had to make a new god---the god of the state.

I don't consider myself especially religious, but what I see going on in this country and in Western Europe scares me. Devout religious people have become the butt of jokes on late-night shows and government on all levels has done a great job of removing any hint of religion from public life. That's not to say we should be bombarded with religion in every aspect of our life, but our Founders called for freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM.

I fear that we will raise a generation of Americans who see religious faith as something only shared by a small minority who deserve to be marginalized. With no absolute moral guidance to influence their decision, there is no telling of what they will be capable.