Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Only 40 of 3,000 Are Reform Mosques
declaration-of-the-muslim-reform-movement-signed-by-aifd-december-4-2015
The “Muslim Pledge for Religious Freedom and Safety from Harm for Former Muslims” – “The Freedom Pledge” – was sent out to Muslim leaders nationwide, on a rolling basis. A list of the recipients is posted and updated regularly, with the date the letter was sent.The first set of letters was received by Muslim leaders on September 25, 2009, with a second set sent October 20, 2009. Over 125 letters were sent to Muslim leaders nationwide in 2009. Click here to view the list of 2009 recipients.Another set of letters was sent on July 4, 2012. This time it was sent to 234 Muslim leaders. Check here to view the list of 2012 recipients
How many leaders responded? Two. To date, only two Muslims have signed the pledge: Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and Dr. Ali Alyami of the Center for Democracy & Human Rights in Saudi Arabia. Prominent Muslim leaders lauded as “moderates” such as Muslim Brotherhood-tied Dalia Mogahed have been criticized for not showing support for the pledge.
MUSLIM REFORM GROUP REACHED OUT TO 3,000 US MOSQUES, GOT ONLY 40 RESPONSES BY STEPHEN M. KIRBY, JIHAD WATCH, FEBRUARY 24, 2017
In December 2015, a small group of Muslims met in Washington, DC to discuss the reform of Islam. With media fanfare, they named themselves the Muslim Reform Movement (MRM), issued a Declaration for Muslim Reform, and became the new face of “Muslim reformers.”There was just one fundamental problem: the MRM never had support from the larger Muslim community.Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, one of the MRM founders, admitted this on January 30, 2017, when he was interviewed in an article in The Federalist about the MRM’s recent one year anniversary: A Muslim Reformer Speaks Out About His Battle Against Islamism And PC. Jasser was asked about how many mosques the MRM had initially approached for support in 2015 and the nature of the responses from those mosques. Jasser’s answer was eye-opening:We spent significant resources on this outreach over a period of ten months. We reached out through snail mail, e-mail, and telephone to over 3,000 mosques and over 500 known public American Muslims. We received only 40-plus rather dismissive responses from our outreach, and sadly less than ten of them were positive. In fact, one mosque in South Carolina left us a vicious voice mail threatening our staff if we contacted them again.So the MRM made over 3,500 contacts within the Muslim community, but received only a little over 40 responses, of which less than ten were positive. So to work with these numbers, let’s say the MRM made 3,500 contacts and received nine positive responses. That means that only .0026 (a touch over one-quarter of one percent) of the Muslim organizations and Muslim individuals the MRM contacted responded in a positive manner. And the MRM had even received a “vicious voicemail” from a mosque as a result of these initial contacts.The irrelevance of the MRM was further revealed when Jasser was asked about the MRM’s accomplishments during the first year of its existence. Jasser stated:Our greatest accomplishment to date is our declaration.The MRM’s declaration is a two page document created at their first meeting, posted on the door of a nearby mosque (and quickly removed), and available on the websites of various Muslim “reform” organizations. As I noted in my first article about the MRM, this declaration is “a document that rejected Muhammad’s Islam in favor of Western, Judeo-Christian values,” and in terms of Islamic doctrine, it is rife with blasphemy.Jasser also admitted that after a year of the MRM’s existence,we are disappointed in the relative silence from most Muslim leaders…Jasser blamed a lack of money for the poor support from the Muslim community:I can guess why we had shortcomings in outreach. If we had more funding, we could study this more scientifically…No one knows truly how that majority of Muslims feels about Islamist ideologies. National security is in desperate need of helping us study that. …We have not been able to effectively reach out to the majority of Muslims because of resources and the absence of effective platforms.So for the sake of “national security,” the MRM needs to study the attitudes of Muslims in order to find out why the MRM has been generally rejected by those Muslims. And in order for the MRM to complete this study, they need money. The money has to, by default, come from non-Muslims.But I would like to save the MRM time and non-Muslims money. Instead of a new study on why the MRM has virtually no Muslim support, I will provide the answer: in terms of Islamic doctrine, the MRM declaration is blasphemous, and the MRM should not be surprised that over 99% of the larger Muslim community does not want to join in with that blasphemy.It is only attention from the non-Muslim world that will enable the Muslim Reform Movement to remain on life-support, visible but irrelevant.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Best Interview Questions
1. What's the biggest change your group has gone through in the last year? Does your group feel like things are getting better in the economy and for your business?
2. If I get the job, how do I earn a "gold star" on my performance review? What are the key accomplishments you'd like to see in this role over the next year?
3. What's your (or my future boss') leadership style?
4. About which competitor are you most worried?
5. How does sales / operations / technology / marketing / finance work around here? (I.e., groups other than the one you're interviewing for.)
6. What type of people are successful here? What type of people are not?
7. What's one thing that's key to this company's success that somebody from outside the company wouldn't know about?
8. How did you get your start in this industry? Why do you stay?
9. What are your group's best and worst working relationships with other groups in the company? What are the pain points you have to deal with day-to-day?
10. What keeps you up at night? What's your biggest worry these days?
11. What's the timeline for making a decision on this position? When should I get back in touch with you?
12. The economy has been getting better, and there's a lot of hiring going on. Why did you decide to prioritize this position instead of the many others you could have hired for?
13. What is your reward system? Is it a star system / team-oriented / equity-based / bonus-based / "attaboy!"-based? Why is that your reward system? What do you guys hope to get out of it, and what actually happens when you put it into practice? What are the positives and the negatives of your reward system? If you could change any one thing, what would it be?
14. What information is shared with the employees (revenues, costs, operating metrics)? Is this an "open book" shop, or do you play it closer to the vest? How is information shared? How do I get access to the information I need to be successful in this job?
15. If we are going to have a very successful year in 2016, what will that look like? What will we have done over the next 14 months to make it successful? How does this position help achieve those goals? (This question helps show your ability to look beyond today's duties to the future more than a year away.)
16. How does the company / my future boss do performance reviews? How do I make the most of the performance review process to ensure that I'm doing the best I can for the company?
17. What is the rhythm to the work around here? Is there a time of year that it's "all hands on deck" and we're pulling all-nighters, or is it pretty consistent throughout the year? How about during the week / month? Is it pretty evenly spread throughout the week / month, or are there crunch days?
18. What type of industry / functional / skills-based experience and background are you looking for in the person who will fill this position? What would the "perfect" candidate look like? How do you assess my experience in comparison? What gaps do you see?
19. What is your (or my future boss') hiring philosophy? Is it "hire the attitude / teach the skills" or are you primarily looking to add people with domain expertise first and foremost?
20. In my career, I've primarily enjoyed working with big / small / growing / independent / private / public / family-run companies. If that's the case, how successful will I be at your firm?
21. Who are the heroes at your company? What characteristics do the people who are most celebrated have in common with each other? Conversely, what are the characteristics that are common to the promising people you hired, but who then flamed out and failed or left? As I'm considering whether or not I'd be successful here, how should I think about the experiences of the heroes and of the flame-outs?
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Monday, February 20, 2017
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Herodotus 7
The people of the Chersonesus say that a portent [teras] happened to one of the guards while he was roasting salted fish [tarīkhoi]: the salted fish [tarīkhoi] on the fire began to jump and writhe just like newly-caught fish. |9.120.2 A crowd gathered in amazement, but when Artayktes saw the portent [teras] he called out to the man roasting the salted fish [tarīkhoi] and said, “Athenian stranger [xenos], have no fear of this portent [teras]; it has not been sent to you. Instead Protesilaos of Elaious indicates [sēmainein] to me that even when salted and dead [tarīkhos] he holds power from the gods to punish one who treats him without justice [a-dikeîn].
Herodotus 9.120.1–2
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Friday, February 17, 2017
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Georgetown Islamist Professor Endorses Slavery
Georgetown Islamist
A professor at Georgetown University is teaching his students that men do not need consent to have sex with women, and that slavery is justifiable under Islamic teachings.
Brown himself uploaded the lecture to YouTube.
According to Lee, Brown’s lecture was supposed to revolve around slavery in Islam, but the lecturer moved its focus to criticize the United States, United Kingdom and China. Brown described slavery in these non-Muslim societies as brutal, which they were, but lauded the historically inhumane practice in Arab lands and Turkey.
“Indeed, according to Brown, slaves in the Muslim world lived a pretty good life,” wrote Lee. “I thought the Muslim community was done with this dishonest North Korean style of propaganda. Obviously not.”…
The Islamic Studies professor said that in Muslim societies, “slavery wasn’t racialized,” unlike the United States. Lee points out that this is untrue, given that in the Arab world, black people are referred to as “abeed,” the Arab word for “slave.”Brown stated that slaves were “protected by Sharia,” omitting the various atrocities committed by slave-owners. Girls and women were forced into the sex trade and their male counterparts were often castrated.
“In general you don’t find the brutality that you see in American slavery,” said Brown, who described the historically common practice as “investments” and “walking venture properties” for slave-owners….
Historically, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams conducted warfare against vassal states of the Ottoman Empire to end the Barbary slave trade, in which North African pirates conducted constant raids into European coastal towns to capture men and women for slavery.Brown defended slavery, stating, “It’s not immoral for one human to own another human” by comparing it to marriage—a quid pro quo arrangement in which both slave and master benefited from the arrangement.
“I don’t think it’s morally evil to own somebody because we own lots of people all around us and we’re owned by people,” said Brown.
A female attendee asked Brown about the permissibility of sex with slaves, to which the professor stated that “Consent isn’t necessary for lawful sex,” and defined consent as a Western concept that emerged with women’s suffrage and female body autonomy. Brown, he said, believes that marital rape was an invalid concept in Islam.
Had Prof. Brown’s words been spoken by a practicing member of any other religion, they would’ve lost their jobs and shunned out of the academic world.
Monday, February 13, 2017
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Ian Hunter 6-7 February 2017, City Winery, NYC
The Saint/ The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nuthin' But The Truth
Fingers Crossed
Bow Street Runners
The Ballad of Mott
That's When The Trouble Starts, 7th
Once Bitten, Twice Shy, 7th
Just Another Night, 7th
When I'm President, 7th
The Saint, 7th
The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nuthin' But The Truth, 7th
All The Way From Memphis, 7th
All The Way From Memphis, 7th
All American Alien Boy, 7th
Fingers Crossed, 7th
Cleveland Rocks, 7th
Dandy, 7th
Shrunken Heads, 7th
Bow Street Runners, 7th
American Spy, 7th
Michael Picasso, 7th
Michael Picasso, 7th, 2nd version
Michael Picasso, 7th, version 3
Ghosts, 7th
White House, 7th
The Moon Upstairs, 7th
The Moon Upstairs, 7th, version 2
The Original Mixed Up Kid/The Ballad of Mott, 7th
The Original Mixed Up Kid, 7th
The Ballad of Mott, 7th
Sweet Jane, 7th
Life/All The Young Dudes/Goodnight Irene, 7th
Life/All The Young Dudes/Goodnight Irene, 7th, version 2, 7th
Goodnight Irene, 7th
Rant band alumni Andy York, Tommy Mandel, Andy Burton, and Tony Shanahan all got up during the encore.
Fingers Crossed
Bow Street Runners
The Ballad of Mott
That's When The Trouble Starts, 7th
Once Bitten, Twice Shy, 7th
Just Another Night, 7th
When I'm President, 7th
The Saint, 7th
The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nuthin' But The Truth, 7th
All The Way From Memphis, 7th
All The Way From Memphis, 7th
All American Alien Boy, 7th
Fingers Crossed, 7th
Cleveland Rocks, 7th
Dandy, 7th
Shrunken Heads, 7th
Bow Street Runners, 7th
American Spy, 7th
Michael Picasso, 7th
Michael Picasso, 7th, 2nd version
Michael Picasso, 7th, version 3
Ghosts, 7th
White House, 7th
The Moon Upstairs, 7th
The Moon Upstairs, 7th, version 2
The Original Mixed Up Kid/The Ballad of Mott, 7th
The Original Mixed Up Kid, 7th
The Ballad of Mott, 7th
Sweet Jane, 7th
Life/All The Young Dudes/Goodnight Irene, 7th
Life/All The Young Dudes/Goodnight Irene, 7th, version 2, 7th
Goodnight Irene, 7th
Rant band alumni Andy York, Tommy Mandel, Andy Burton, and Tony Shanahan all got up during the encore.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Monday, February 6, 2017
HIS 105: Planned Bloody Parenthood Tampon
Tampon
During our outreach to Ashland Planned Parenthood in Oregon, many showed deep hatred of God, His gospel, and us. These two clips show where two young ladies hatred turned into violence. I was able to dodge the first ladies grabs at my phone/camera and dodge her attempts to grab my sign and kick at me. Unfortunately the second young lady caught me unaware as I was talking with another young man and she shoved her bloody maxi pad into my mouth. A News Camera man was there filming and told me there would be a news story that night. So far no story. Police were called and an investigation is underway for the assault but I doubt she’ll be found or charged. When it is all said and done though God was glorified through His law and gospel being proclaimed. I pray for the souls of all who hated us there, because [their] hatred is more of God and His truth than of us. Thanks so much for the prayers!
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Odyssey 19
|107 My lady, who among mortals throughout the limitless stretches of earth |108 would dare to quarrel [neikeîn] against you with words? For truly your glory [kleos] reaches the wide firmament of the sky itself |109— like the glory of some faultless king [basileus], who, godlike as he is, |110 and ruling over a population that is multitudinous and vigorous, |111 upholds acts of good dikē [= eu-dikiai], while the dark earth produces |112 wheat and barley, the trees are loaded with fruit, |113 the ewes steadily bring forth lambs, and the sea abounds with fish, |114 by reason of the good directions he gives, and his people are meritorious [aretân] under his rule. (Odyssey 19. 107-114)
“The cult hero as an exponent of justice in Homeric poetry and beyond” and, “A crisis in reading the world of heroes."
The key word is dikē, which means ‘justice’ long-term and ‘judgment’ short-term. "In ancient Greek poetics, a primary metaphor for dikē is a flourishing field or garden or orchard or grove or vineyard or any other such place where vegetation is cultivated." As Prof. Nagy argues," the typical cult hero is an exponent of dikē. And the worshippers of the cult hero can view the presence of his or her corpse in the local earth as the cause of vegetal flourishing or thriving or blooming."
The key word for Hour 13 is krinein, the “middle voice” for which is krinesthai, and the meaning of which is ‘judge, distinguish, make distinctions’. Prof. Nagy gives examples; "krisis, ‘judgment, crisis’ and kritērion, ‘criterion’, for judging, distinguishing, making distinctions."
Saturday, February 4, 2017
HIS: 105 Left Wing Violence Summary
.marcuse.org/herbert/pubs/60spubs/65repressivetolerance
A man beaten with weapons as he lay unconscious on the street. Light poles ripped to the ground as fires raged all around. A woman hit with mace as she spoke to a reporter about the importance of free speech. A black-clad mob of hundreds attacking anyone seen as an enemy. Blood, chaos, obscenities.
And all of it enabled by the so-called mainstream media.
A speech by conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled Wednesday night at the University of California-Berkeley after self-described "anti-fascists," clothed in black masks, attacked attendees, insisting they would not allow him to speak. Though Yiannopoulos was quickly evacuated, it was only the start of the violence.
One man was repeatedly hit with weapons after being knocked unconscious. Conservative commentator Gavin McInnes confirmed on Twitter the man was a member of his "Proud Boys," a self-described "pro-Western fraternal organization."
Another woman, Kiara Robles, was attacked by leftists while giving an interview and talking about the need to defend free speech. Though she was wearing a red baseball cap, it not pro-Trump gear, as her hat read "Make Bitcoin Great Again."
Other footage showed punches being thrown and attendees being attacked seemingly at random. Bricks, rocks, fireworks and other projectiles were fired at police. There was also a great deal of property destruction, with a Starbucks store, Bank of America branch and other businesses destroyed.
Berkeley's mayor, Jesse Arreguin, had previously tweeted "hate speech isn't welcome in our community."
Even after the chaos, Arrgeuin continued to complain the speaking engagement had featured a "prominent white nationalist," though Yiannoupoulos has specifically condemned that ideology.Critics said the Berkeley police were all but absent during the riots or even told to stand down, as the school's official webpage said police "exercised restraint and did not respond with force."
The establishment media also did its best to defend the violence.
"Milo Yiannopoulos gets schooled at Berkeley," smirked Newsweek.
CNN also muddied the waters by describing Yiannopoulos as an "Alt Right Speaker," though both Yiannopoulos and so-called alt-right leaders themselves have denied he is part of the movement.
Scott Greer, an expert on campus politics and the author of "No Campus For White Men: The Transformation of Higher Education Into Hateful Indoctrination," noted the irony of Yiannopoulos, a homosexual Jew who has been fiercely attacked online by the far right, now being called a "Nazi."
"Milo is seen as a Nazi simply because he supports Trump and speaks out against mass immigration and Islam," Greer said. "That's all it takes to be a Nazi now. The left is attacking him so fiercely because they know they have allies on campus who will condone violent behavior and Milo presents a perfect opportunity to terrorize young conservatives and Trump supporters."
Since the violent protests against Trump supporters during the inauguration and the widely broadcast assault on Richard Spencer, regarded as the founder of the alt-right movement, many left-wing publications and figures have become increasingly comfortable with defending street violence.
"Anti-fascists will fight Trump's fascism in the streets," boasted The Nation magazine on Jan. 19. The attack on Spencer was widely cheered by celebrities and journalists.
Actor David Harbour screamed about the need to "punch some people in the face" at the recent Screen Actors Guild awards. Even Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is endorsing riotous protests, telling MSNBC earlier this week leftists need to "fight in the streets."
As the left and its mainstream media allies have endorsed violence against "Nazis" and wildly conflated Trump and his supporters with the bloodthirsty perpetrators of World War II, Greer argues it is the establishment media that is to blame for the sudden rise in political violence.
"Absolutely the media deserve the blame for this," he said. "They shriek that Trump is a fascist dictator who must be resisted on a daily basis. Prominent journalists and celebrities openly encourage attacking anyone they deem to be a Nazi. A call for political violence earned a wild standing ovation from Hollywood last weekend. The media gives this kind of violence moral legitimacy."
Political correctness is just the beginning. The situation on college campuses is worse than you could ever imagine – and America's future is at stake. Don't miss the political blockbuster of 2017 – "No Campus For White Men" by Scott Greer
Greer cautioned conservatives not to fall for the trap of frantically denying they are extremists or "racists" in the hope of being spared. To "Antifa," just being Republican or even being white is enough.
"It is increasingly becoming racialized hate," he said. "It doesn't matter your politics, you're still a bigot if you happen to be white. They denounce America as a white supremacist state and increasingly base all their arguments on racial identity. I would not be surprised if some of the people attacked by the Milo rioters tonight were just white non-Milo attendees who were targeted simply because they looked like Trump supporters."
Ironically, the Yiannopoulos speech, which had been sponsored by the Berkeley College Republicans, was to focus on "cultural appropriation," a popular concept on universities which holds whites should not reference the cultural, religious or even culinary habits or symbols of other peoples because to do so is racist.
Yiannopoulos believes such an idea is "identity politics," which he frequently criticizes, though it hasn't stopped him from being called a "Nazi" by far-left protesters or their allies in journalism.
In a statement, the Berkeley College Republicans said "the Free Speech Movement is dead." The group condemned "criminals and thugs" who inflicted a "defeat for civilized society and the free exchange of ideas on college campuses across America."
In an interview with the Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson as the riots raged, Yiannopoulos also said the incident was "self-defeating for the social justice left" because of the open hypocrisy on display.
Yiannopoulos wrote the foreword for Greer’s book, but Greer said conservatives should not expect to get anywhere simply by saying leftists are intolerant. New left icon Herbert Marcuse, in his 1965 essay on "Repressive Tolerance," openly called for a double standard for free speech.
"Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the right and toleration of movements from the left," Marcuse wrote.
Greer said leftists have internalized this kind of ideology. Conservatives, Greer suggested, simply need to accept that leftists will openly defend the double standard and will defend any tactics, no matter how extreme or shocking.
"Accept that the left is inherently intolerant and is immune from that criticism," he advised. "The left will justify any and all actions if it serves what they perceive as the greater good. Hence, riots."
The irony of Berkeley, the birthplace of the "free speech movement," shutting down a conservative speaker has drawn the attention of the president of the United States.
Donald Trump said he would pull all federal funding from Berkeley if the school would not defend students’ right to free speech.
"Hopefully, President Trump works to defund the UC system which allowed this to happen," he said. "I think the right, and the American people, have had enough of taking these outrages."
As Yiannopoulos pointed out in his interview with Carlson, universities often use the threat of left-wing violence as an excuse to limit conservative speech by imposing ruinous "security costs" at the last minute on conservative organizations that want to host a speaker.
Ultimately, Greer said it is the police who are going to have to do a better job of ensuring students' rights and physical safety are protected. Otherwise, he said, conservatives need to understand they are under threat, that the police will not protect them and that they need to respond accordingly.
"For now, we have to demand the police arrest the rioters and charge them to the full extent of the law," Greer said. "Down the road, though, the right might have to create their security force to protect themselves if police are not allowed to do their job by their politically correct superiors."
Political correctness is just the beginning. The situation on college campuses is worse than you could ever imagine – and America’s future is at stake. Don’t miss the political blockbuster of 2017 – "No Campus For White Men" by Scott Greer
A man beaten with weapons as he lay unconscious on the street. Light poles ripped to the ground as fires raged all around. A woman hit with mace as she spoke to a reporter about the importance of free speech. A black-clad mob of hundreds attacking anyone seen as an enemy. Blood, chaos, obscenities.
And all of it enabled by the so-called mainstream media.
A speech by conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled Wednesday night at the University of California-Berkeley after self-described "anti-fascists," clothed in black masks, attacked attendees, insisting they would not allow him to speak. Though Yiannopoulos was quickly evacuated, it was only the start of the violence.
One man was repeatedly hit with weapons after being knocked unconscious. Conservative commentator Gavin McInnes confirmed on Twitter the man was a member of his "Proud Boys," a self-described "pro-Western fraternal organization."
Another woman, Kiara Robles, was attacked by leftists while giving an interview and talking about the need to defend free speech. Though she was wearing a red baseball cap, it not pro-Trump gear, as her hat read "Make Bitcoin Great Again."
Other footage showed punches being thrown and attendees being attacked seemingly at random. Bricks, rocks, fireworks and other projectiles were fired at police. There was also a great deal of property destruction, with a Starbucks store, Bank of America branch and other businesses destroyed.
The violence didn't emerge out of a vacuum.This Starbucks isn't opening tomorrow. It's destroyed. Completely. pic.twitter.com/dvuCKqXXIP— Otis R. Taylor Jr. (@otisrtaylorjr) February 2, 2017
Berkeley's mayor, Jesse Arreguin, had previously tweeted "hate speech isn't welcome in our community."
Even after the chaos, Arrgeuin continued to complain the speaking engagement had featured a "prominent white nationalist," though Yiannoupoulos has specifically condemned that ideology.Critics said the Berkeley police were all but absent during the riots or even told to stand down, as the school's official webpage said police "exercised restraint and did not respond with force."
The establishment media also did its best to defend the violence.
"Milo Yiannopoulos gets schooled at Berkeley," smirked Newsweek.
CNN also muddied the waters by describing Yiannopoulos as an "Alt Right Speaker," though both Yiannopoulos and so-called alt-right leaders themselves have denied he is part of the movement.
Scott Greer, an expert on campus politics and the author of "No Campus For White Men: The Transformation of Higher Education Into Hateful Indoctrination," noted the irony of Yiannopoulos, a homosexual Jew who has been fiercely attacked online by the far right, now being called a "Nazi."
"Milo is seen as a Nazi simply because he supports Trump and speaks out against mass immigration and Islam," Greer said. "That's all it takes to be a Nazi now. The left is attacking him so fiercely because they know they have allies on campus who will condone violent behavior and Milo presents a perfect opportunity to terrorize young conservatives and Trump supporters."
Since the violent protests against Trump supporters during the inauguration and the widely broadcast assault on Richard Spencer, regarded as the founder of the alt-right movement, many left-wing publications and figures have become increasingly comfortable with defending street violence.
"Anti-fascists will fight Trump's fascism in the streets," boasted The Nation magazine on Jan. 19. The attack on Spencer was widely cheered by celebrities and journalists.
Actor David Harbour screamed about the need to "punch some people in the face" at the recent Screen Actors Guild awards. Even Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is endorsing riotous protests, telling MSNBC earlier this week leftists need to "fight in the streets."
As the left and its mainstream media allies have endorsed violence against "Nazis" and wildly conflated Trump and his supporters with the bloodthirsty perpetrators of World War II, Greer argues it is the establishment media that is to blame for the sudden rise in political violence.
"Absolutely the media deserve the blame for this," he said. "They shriek that Trump is a fascist dictator who must be resisted on a daily basis. Prominent journalists and celebrities openly encourage attacking anyone they deem to be a Nazi. A call for political violence earned a wild standing ovation from Hollywood last weekend. The media gives this kind of violence moral legitimacy."
Political correctness is just the beginning. The situation on college campuses is worse than you could ever imagine – and America's future is at stake. Don't miss the political blockbuster of 2017 – "No Campus For White Men" by Scott Greer
Greer cautioned conservatives not to fall for the trap of frantically denying they are extremists or "racists" in the hope of being spared. To "Antifa," just being Republican or even being white is enough.
"It is increasingly becoming racialized hate," he said. "It doesn't matter your politics, you're still a bigot if you happen to be white. They denounce America as a white supremacist state and increasingly base all their arguments on racial identity. I would not be surprised if some of the people attacked by the Milo rioters tonight were just white non-Milo attendees who were targeted simply because they looked like Trump supporters."
Ironically, the Yiannopoulos speech, which had been sponsored by the Berkeley College Republicans, was to focus on "cultural appropriation," a popular concept on universities which holds whites should not reference the cultural, religious or even culinary habits or symbols of other peoples because to do so is racist.
Yiannopoulos believes such an idea is "identity politics," which he frequently criticizes, though it hasn't stopped him from being called a "Nazi" by far-left protesters or their allies in journalism.
In a statement, the Berkeley College Republicans said "the Free Speech Movement is dead." The group condemned "criminals and thugs" who inflicted a "defeat for civilized society and the free exchange of ideas on college campuses across America."
In an interview with the Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson as the riots raged, Yiannopoulos also said the incident was "self-defeating for the social justice left" because of the open hypocrisy on display.
Yiannopoulos wrote the foreword for Greer’s book, but Greer said conservatives should not expect to get anywhere simply by saying leftists are intolerant. New left icon Herbert Marcuse, in his 1965 essay on "Repressive Tolerance," openly called for a double standard for free speech.
"Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the right and toleration of movements from the left," Marcuse wrote.
Greer said leftists have internalized this kind of ideology. Conservatives, Greer suggested, simply need to accept that leftists will openly defend the double standard and will defend any tactics, no matter how extreme or shocking.
"Accept that the left is inherently intolerant and is immune from that criticism," he advised. "The left will justify any and all actions if it serves what they perceive as the greater good. Hence, riots."
The irony of Berkeley, the birthplace of the "free speech movement," shutting down a conservative speaker has drawn the attention of the president of the United States.
Donald Trump said he would pull all federal funding from Berkeley if the school would not defend students’ right to free speech.
Greer said pulling university funding is a good start.If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017
"Hopefully, President Trump works to defund the UC system which allowed this to happen," he said. "I think the right, and the American people, have had enough of taking these outrages."
As Yiannopoulos pointed out in his interview with Carlson, universities often use the threat of left-wing violence as an excuse to limit conservative speech by imposing ruinous "security costs" at the last minute on conservative organizations that want to host a speaker.
Ultimately, Greer said it is the police who are going to have to do a better job of ensuring students' rights and physical safety are protected. Otherwise, he said, conservatives need to understand they are under threat, that the police will not protect them and that they need to respond accordingly.
"For now, we have to demand the police arrest the rioters and charge them to the full extent of the law," Greer said. "Down the road, though, the right might have to create their security force to protect themselves if police are not allowed to do their job by their politically correct superiors."
Political correctness is just the beginning. The situation on college campuses is worse than you could ever imagine – and America’s future is at stake. Don’t miss the political blockbuster of 2017 – "No Campus For White Men" by Scott Greer
Friday, February 3, 2017
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Neil Gorsuch
President Donald Trump has nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch, a federal appellate judge on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, as the next Supreme Court Justice. Judge Gorsuch is 49, a graduate of Columbia University, Harvard University (J.D.), and Oxford University (D.Phil.), where he studied Natural Law, and a former Supreme Court law clerk.
Gorsuch wrote a book titled, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. One quoted portion of the book states: "Human life is fundamentally and inherently valuable" and that" the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong."
He sided with the state of Utah's defunding of Planned Parenthood, and he supported the religious liberty arguments against forced abortion mandates under ObamaCare in Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor.
Gorsuch wrote two pieces relevant to the proper role of judges. The first is an opinion for National Review in 2005 on the subject of Judicial Activism. He stated:
Gorsuch wrote a book titled, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. One quoted portion of the book states: "Human life is fundamentally and inherently valuable" and that" the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong."
He sided with the state of Utah's defunding of Planned Parenthood, and he supported the religious liberty arguments against forced abortion mandates under ObamaCare in Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor.
Gorsuch wrote two pieces relevant to the proper role of judges. The first is an opinion for National Review in 2005 on the subject of Judicial Activism. He stated:
"This overweening addiction to the courtroom as the place to debate social policy is bad for the country and bad for the judiciary. In the legislative arena, especially when the country is closely divided, compromises tend to be the rule the day. But when judges rule this or that policy unconstitutional, there's little room for compromise: One side must win, the other must lose."
A few weeks after Justice Scalia's passing in 2016, Judge Gorsuch gave a lecture that details his judicial interpretation philosophy and honors Justice Scalia. This excellent article is something similar to what Professor Robert George and Justice Scalia would write:
"Respectfully, it seems to me an assiduous focus on text, structure, and history is essential to the proper exercise of the judicial function. That, yes, judges should be in the business of declaring what the law is using the traditional tools of interpretation, rather than pronouncing the law as they might wish it to be in light of their own political views, always with an eye on the outcome, and engaged perhaps in some Benthamite calculation of pleasures and pains along the way. Though the critics are loud and the temptations to join them may be many, mark me down too as a believer that the traditional account of the judicial role Justice Scalia defended will endure."
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