Countdown

Take a Lesson From "Old Europe"

Volume VII, No. 6
Posted on Tuesday February 14, 2006

The Peroxide’s Gone to Her Brain

Both liberal and conservative blogs are abuzz with reports from this weekend’s CPAC convention—the annual conservative political gathering that draws a reported 5,000 activists to Washington. Overshadowing appearances by Vice President Dick Cheney, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), and Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman was professional bigot Ann Coulter. Coulter told the assembled crowd: “I think our motto should be post-9-11, ‘raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences.’” Frist and Mehlman both spoke after Coulter but didn’t take the opportunity to repudiate her remarks. Coulter is the human equivalent of a train wreck—but it’s long past time to look away. Shame on those who continue to offer a platform for her smug racism and empty rhetoric.

Daniel Pipes: Is He Still Around?

And speaking of professional bigots, Daniel Pipes has weighed in on the continuing controversy over the Danish cartoons as a defender of “free speech.” “Will the West stand up for its customs and morals, including freedom of speech,” he wonders, “or will Muslims impose their way of life on the West?” This is rich. The founder of “Campus Watch,” designed to suppress academic freedom, is lecturing on freedom of speech. Campus Watch, a project founded by Pipes’ Middle East Forum, encourages students to report professors who make specious claims such as…gasp…”The Palestinians, despite their dispossession and dispersion, exercise today probably one of the few functioning democracies in the Third World.” The group’s goal is to “alert university stakeholders (administrators, alumni, trustees, regents, parents of students, state/provincial and federal legislators) to the problems in Middle East studies…We challenge these stakeholders to take back their universities, and not passively to accept the mistakes, extremism, intolerance, apologetics, and abuse when these occur.” What a champion of freedom.

Take a Lesson From “Old Europe”

While US lawmakers used the Palestinian elections as an opportunity to grandstand, the European Parliament passed a resolution that was both thoughtful and constructive. Articles in the adopted text include: “Points out that the results of the elections, which have provoked a profound change and radicalisation of the political arena in Palestine, are primarily an expression of the Palestinian people’s desire for thorough reform, and also are a consequence of their difficult living conditions under occupation and strongly reflect criticism and grievances against the past administration; Considers that, in order to prevent further radicalisation, the international community should focus on the many unsolved issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; Reaffirms that its commitment to remain the biggest aid donor to the Palestinian Authority and to continue assisting Palestinian economic development and Palestine’s democratic process will be dependent on the new government’s clarification on denouncing violence and recognising Israel; reaffirms also its determination to work for peace and to cooperate with any government which is ready to work by peaceful means; Reaffirms that the dispute over East Jerusalem is part of the conflict as a whole and remains an issue for negotiations, especially as between the two sides; calls for a stop to the discriminatory treatment of Palestinian residents and for the re-opening of Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem.”

Politicians Have a Sense of Humor Too…

As the keynote speaker at the Washington Press Club Foundation dinner, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) had the opportunity to poke fun at some of his colleagues. Among the jabs from the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee: “Senators Bill Frist (R-TN), Sam Brownback (R-KS) and John McCain (R-AZ) are talking about the presidency. Frist says, ‘I had a dream last night, and the Lord said to me, ‘Sen. Frist, you are going to be the Republican nominee for the presidency.’ Brownback says, ‘I had a dream last night, and the Lord told me that I would be the Republican nominee, and I would win the election.’ John McCain says, ‘That’s interesting, because I had a dream last night, and I don’t remember speaking to either of you.’”