rightinside

This video clip surprised the hell out of me. Check it out: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1050#

http://www.ejectejecteject.com

This man must be read. All I can say is wow. I'm ordering his book today.

In fairness to those perceived objectors of the Iraqi constitution, their may be some who are scared to come forward in the face of the reactionary forces that have killed Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds simply because they have partaken in the democratic process. Zarqawi has already claimed democracy is unholy. It futhers the notion that such extremist violence must be marginalized and combated so that those who have opinions do not fear for their lives.

I await the news on how this progresses.

Well it looks like the Sunnis have rejected the proposed constitution outright. 2000 protestors marched in Saddam’s hometown and chanted, “We sacrifice our souls and blood for you, Saddam.” - Which tells me that the minority Sunnis miss being the privileged class that oppressed the majority Shiite and Kurdish populations.

Let’s hope that there’s an olive branch capable of pacifying the Sunni outlook. But calling a constitution that seeks to ensure the freedom and rights of all Iraqis a benefit to Israel doesn’t bode well.

Well here it is: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/24_08_05_constit.pdf

Let's hope the diligent work that has gone into this document, that states the rights of all Iraqis, will gain the support necessary to combat the bloody insurgency. I hope this will start a trend that will see that country rise in freedom and gain prosperity. And perhaps it will be a flood, uncontainable and spilling over to other countries in that region. I don't have much more words to say on this. But let's not forget the leftists who called for the abandonment of this cause, the excusers of terrorists, the ones who fought to delegitimize the process that has seen a people work for self determination. It implemented, this will be a giant step towards peace.

If a liberal can find understanding in the deliberate muder of innocents, then surely they will understand this:
BY JAMES TARANTO
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 3:00 p.m. EDT

A Teachable Moment
A local insurgent attacked a settlement near Crawford, Texas, yesterday, Reuters reports:

Some 800 white wooden crosses, bearing the names of soldiers killed in Iraq like her son, have lined the road near the area where [Cindy] Sheehan has pitched a tent. Witnesses said they saw a truck dragging a pipe and chains drive over some of the crosses on Monday night.

Larry Northern, 46, of nearby Waco, Texas, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief in connection with the incident, Crawford Police Chief Donnie Tidmore said.

Now, we have no truck with mischievous criminals, but at the same time it's important to understand what motivates people to do things like this. After all, one man's vandal is another's freedom-fighter. The Sheehanoids should be asking: Why do they hate us?

Think about it: If outside settlers were occupying your land, demonizing your leaders and slandering your country, wouldn't you have feelings of rage and hopelessness? Again, we're not condoning what Larry Northern allegedly did. Our point is that only by understanding what drove him to this desperate act can we put an end to the cycle of recrimination.


In all seriousness though, I thought this sarcasm remarkably telling of looking for understanding in what is blatantly wrong.

I found this website. I can't say how glad it makes me to hear this coming from Muslims. This is the sort of debate that is needed. It is people such as these that must take back their faith from the deranged fanatics that would love to subjugate the individual in the name of their twisted ideology.

I have stated from the beginning, this is an ideological war. It involves much more than perceived transgressions. Their goal of instilling sharia law under an Islamic state, that would suppress all rights, and subvert the freedom necessary to foster tolerance, must be confronted. Apologies cannot be made for the deliberate murder of innocents. There is no justification in it. Well here is the site.
http://www.freemuslims.org/

An essay on Sharia: http://www.freemuslims.org/document.php?id=41

I think any disaffected liberals will find this article of interest:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/22/INGUNCQHKJ1.DTL

I wonder if there’s anything left. My mind has been abused by my own acts. At once I am swimming in a whirlpool of spinning thoughts; now they enter the fray; now they sink towards that eye – will they ever be found again.

I can’t believe the silly things I have put myself through. One could think I can’t stand to live in this world but that would be untrue. Such acts as taking drugs, to a point of not knowing what is real or not, serve to hinder my progress and work to break down the pillar of my essence. I am a man. In that I am flawed. It’s no excuse to be a man of whim, where what happens does, leaving me prone to the direction of sin. Lately I have wondered if I could find religion. Can God save me and make me happy? Is he the answer to all the bad things I see in this world? In all honesty I cannot answer that at this moment but my inclination is no. Not in a traditionally religious sense anyways.

I feel like two men at times. There is the optimist in me, ever thinking of man and his great potential, capable of making this world a better place. Then there is man, who has turned his back on objective truth, while grasping at relativism. I can’t fathom the fact that people fail to realize the end result of that path. Will the degradation of our moral fabric be the end of us? When I hear the defeatist notions of self flagellation concerning terrorism, emanating from our elites, I wonder if we have the belief for our own survival. Have the secular, politically correct notions of the West disarmed us by making excuses for the worst atrocities? When did we stop believing in our ideals, and blaming them for the worst things? This is why I want to begin a search for moral clarity.

I have always found it noble to pursue the good of the self, of being self sufficient and not being dependant on others. Because of this it was a natural progression for me to flow to the side of conservatism. Sure, I had to shed some utopian ideals when I learned of the products such ideas had on our recent history but it was an easy move. And I should say, liberalism lost me forever when I saw their response to terrorism.

I find it inspiring to be a conservative. I consider myself a believer in people and their ability to do well for themselves, if only the environment for such things existed. I found it uninspiring to think that people need to becoddled and held up, that a government entity had to exist to fix the perceived disparities of society, instead of providing us with the freedom to do it ourselves. In time I came to realize the limitations of social progress and saw that it could lead to totalitarianism.

So that led me to finding the truth about man and his relationship to society; to finding a way to describe objective morality. I’ve tried with little success. Although I can pinpoint my aversion to relativism, I cannot pinpoint a definition of objective truth. Perhaps a great writer has tackled the issue and I must find him. From there I could take up the cause of explaining it. My limited notions have led me to think, we can only find it through faith - Faith in universal truths about man and his place in this world. I want to elaborate on this. These are some unfinished thoughts I wish to think about. Thoughts that will help me make sense of this world. Now the only problem is getting rid of the later, instead of now, mentality.

I have nothing to say.

I just returned from New York City. All I can say is wow. What a beautiful city. I payed a visit to the 9/11 site, took a moment to soak in the change from then and now. I mourned the loss of those people; I mourned the loss of naiveté that would have the West believe it was bound to perpetual peace. That day marked a significant change for me as well. I always considered myself a fiscal conservative and a social Liberal. I cherished our distinctness and I even participated in the American bashing that runs rampant in this country. I was to learn that I was ignorant.

Many a Canadian identifies themselves as Canadian by disassociating themselves from what is American. The problem is you can’t resolve that notion because we are essentially the same. We may have a few differing social policies, different currencies, different governments but we share one thing: the love of freedom. When I witnessed 9/11, I realized that individuals existed to eradicate what we represent, our values and our way of life. I had to understand what drove them to fanatical distraction.

This quest of understanding was to lead me ever away from the Liberal fold into the arms of conservative pragmatism. Liberals were flocking, trying to point fingers at America arrogance and mid-east poverty. I couldn’t accept this explanation. I also realized that I couldn’t associate with an ideology that expresses solidarity with suicide bombers, by “understanding their plight, or with people who wished to appease Western hating dictators. I became convinced our way of life was just and I was willing to defend that notion. My government was an embarrassment to me; they weren’t decisive in this time of decisiveness. They waded on the sidelines, tried to act both appalled and indifferent, while taking cheap shots at American action. My government couldn’t lead, so I couldn’t follow.

I read the News; I read books; I wanted more and more knowledge and what I concluded is that being conservative is the true voice for peace. I had to resolve my conservatism with my compassion for other people. I had to know that war did solve things despite what you heard from that anti-war ideologue with the, “I hate Bush sign.” I had to know freeing people and attempting democracy was right. I feel those things are true, and conservatives are the proponents for the spread of freedom and democracy as we know it. I also know that security, and national interest play a role in deciding action, and I understand and respect the limits, and extenuations that this involves.

From that point on I was a defender for the war in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I entered debates sites armed with the intent to challenge those that would spout ignorance, and hate against America. If I encountered contradicting individuals that seemed to use thought to back up their position, I gave them the respect I would give any friend - A respectful discourse. I knew I wasn’t always right, but I felt my side was right. If I found myself stumped I read opposing arguments to make sure I wasn’t a rhetoric machine, spewing forced fed ideolines meant to incite emotion.

In all, these two past years have opened my eyes. I have more respect and thankfulness than ever when I look at my life. I’ve read about different regimes, present and past and I conclude that we are damn lucky. Although distant, 9/11 affected my life. An old conservative friend always used to tell me, “Steve, I’m telling you, you’re a conservative, you just don’t know it yet.” Well, it looks like he was right.

I wonder if I'm a product of all the rightist war calling rhetoric. You see, when I think about war and its effectiveness or necessity, I do believe that bringing democracy or securing our democracy is a worth while effort. Of course we, I say we even though I'm Canadian, can't just take out any dictator, or any regime because they are a little undemocratic. But, I do believe that the free world has a moral obligation to ensure the rights of individuals as human beings. Atrocities are not acceptable; I utter that with no hypocrisy. But I'm also not naive enough to think a sovereign nation will just risk war without a discernable interests being prevalent.

This is why the UN is a failed organization. A council governed by states that will act according to personal objectives is bound to cause conflicts of interest and blatant obstruction towards policy that may contravene the agenda of a sovereign nation. Take the war against Yugoslavia. Had NATO approached the UN, there would've have been a good chance China or Russia may have used veto power. Why? China especially, would be concerned about international coalitions meddling with sovereign nations due to human right abuses. China's record is dismal so they may think if them, why not us. In fact so many nations in the UN would have a vested interest in striking down such a cause it almost unthinkable to even expect rational debate.

But anyways. Coalitions have always been arranged in the interests of the parties involved. It was in France, Germany, and Russia's interests to abstain from the coalition of the willing. This was in part due to appeasing attitudes but much more due to the fact that all involved had an interest to counter balance American influence. It seems the world may not be ready for such a cozy slumber party. If the very system is incapable of objective decision making due to sovereign interests, why would a nation subject its sovereign interests to the dictates of a council which will always take their own sovereign issue at heart? It's a paradox. It makes no sense. Many an anti-war lover will use this cause to morally undress those opposed to this system but it is clearly flawed. That doesn’t answer the question of how we may hope to gain a consensus on how to deal with the unfree world. I’m definitely not going to submit any suppositions at this time. The question is huge: how will the world meet new dangers, nuclear proliferation (which it seems is inevitable), terrorism or regional wars. The ideal appeals because it’s not real. My pragmatism is backed by longing for a unified front against atrocity. How to obtain such a thing? - No fucking idea.

I vote conservative only because I can't stand most liberals. If I were politically aligned with any party at the moment it would be Britain's Labor Party. They are fiscally conservative, while still holding social values. I don't want to pay taxes just like the any other self respecting earner, but I do support limited programs to help ease citizens out of trouble. I believe that every individual is responsible for his/her circumstance. For instance, it would be hard for me to blame society or my parents for my situation, since I've been a working adult for seven years. I hate people who pass the buck. There are so many studies and professionals who tell us why we suck that we all think it's everyone else’s fault. I think if you suck, then you really suck. Don't like it - fix it.

Sometimes I believe in God, most often I don't but I never follow man made religion. I don't mind gay people. I don't mind abortion. I support war when needed and I believe democracy is the essential right of every human being. Liberal policies on war amount to this: Bush isn't doing the right thing. When asked what the right thing is, you get things like - internationalism, unilateralism is wrong, the UN, the world community, war solves nothing - kind of thing. It's tough for a pro-war individual to back his stance because most anti-war appeasers usually take the high road, believing their thoughts to be the only moral ideology available in affairs. That is all. I'm bored with this now. I'm hear to participate in the communities. This will most likely be my only entry. Out.