New Additions to the Blogroll

Quenta Nârwenion, whose author is having a really big night tonight. And Mystique et Politique, whose author's plans for the night are unknown to me.

Dylan's blog is now called Tenebrae et Lux. For a day or two, anyway. If he changes the name again, I may simply resort to calling it Flux Eternal. ;)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 12/17/02 10:46:43 PM
Categorized as Other.

PBS Craps on American Taxpayers

Well, that's how I would feel about it.

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet

Daniel Pipes writes today about a PBS propaganda documentary on Islam, to be premiered tomorrow night:

.... What Muhammad did for women, viewers learn, was "amazing" - his condemning female infanticide, giving legal rights to wives, permitting divorce and protecting their inheritance rights. But no commentator is so impolite as to note that however admirable this was in the 7th century, Muslim women today suffer widely from genital mutilation, forced marriages, purdah, illiteracy, sexual apartheid, polygamy and honor killings.

The film treats religious beliefs - such as Muhammad's "Night Journey," when the Quran says he went to heaven and entered the divine presence - as historical fact. It presents Muslim wars as only defensive and reluctant, which is simply false. All this smacks of a film shown by missionaries....

PBS has betrayed its viewers by presenting an airbrushed and uncritical documentary of a topic that has both world historical and contemporary significance. Its patronizing film might be fine for an Islamic Sunday school class, but not for a national audience....

("Sunday school"?)

Of course, I'm taking Pipes' word for all this. For now. I'll try to watch tomorrow and see if his account is accurate. If anybody else watches, feel free to let me know what you think.

(Thanks Rod.)

P.S. For possible future reference, here is the e-mail feedback form at the PBS website.

[Follow-up: Yes, PBS Crapped on American Taxpayers.]

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 12/17/02 09:40:14 PM
Categorized as Media.

The Emily Agrees With Me, Too!

No, not Emily Dickinson; the other The Emily.

Re: Trent Lott is a Twit: But, what's all this fuss?

So she says today (emphasis added):

The moral outrage over Lott’s stupidity cracks me up. Why? ’Cause everybody knows perfectly well that all Lott meant to do was make nice to a very old GOP Stalwart on the occasion of his 100th birthday (see Tom Daschle’s statement). But, the Democratic Party’s favorite pastime is race baiting, and conservatives have been itching for ages to rid themselves of the highly ineffective Majority Leader. So, for both teams, Lott’s gaffe was a dream come true. All that blustering on both sides of the aisle is just a cover for the serious partying going on behind closed doors. And if you believe otherwise, I’m still trying to get rid of that bridge I mentioned earlier.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 12/17/02 09:34:12 PM
Categorized as Political.

"Keepin' It Real"

At Right-Thinking from the Left Coast.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott appeared in an interview on the BET network this evening....

(Thanks to a fellow member of St. Blog's for the heads up.)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 12/17/02 12:52:49 PM
Categorized as Political.

Kareem Ali Mfume Dies

United International Press Agency

Mombasa, Kenya, December 17, 2012

Kareem Ali Mfume, 71, died today in downtown Mombasa. The former United States senator, whose birth name was Trent Lott, sat down in the middle of a busy intersection, doused himself with gasoline, and set himself afire with a cigarette lighter.

His self-immolation is taken as having been a last attempt at apologizing for off-hand remarks at the centenary birthday, Dec. 5, 2002, of US Senator Strom Thurmond, who turned 110 this month.

Continuing his attempts to ameliorate African-American sentiments towards him, Mfume changed his name from Trent Lott, Dec. 5, 2005. Immediately afterwards, he began to undergo surgical and medical procedures to gradually darken his skin color to, as he said, "finally solidify my solidarity with my African-American brothers, sisters, and transexuals." When this was completed to his satisfaction, he moved to Mombasa, Dec. 5, 2008, to exemplify his complete rejection of the segregationist views of his earliest years.

His final words are said to have been, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" There is some discrepancy among witnesses whether this remark was uttered seven times or 243 times.

After viewing videotape of Mfume's death, US Senator Maxine Waters (C-California) and US Governor Cynthia McKinney (C-Georgia) held a joint satellite news conference.

Sen. Waters noted that "Mfume raised and stretched out his arms as he ran around in circles several times before collapsing on the ground and writhing in agony until expiring."

Gov. McKinney continued, "Prancing around like that, his arms stretched out and all, he looked just like a burning cross. Unbelievable! He couldn't resist insulting our people one last time."

Both officials agreed it was very unfortunate that Mfume had spoiled his final opportunity to get the African-American establishment to forgive him. "The pain we received from this last affront can never be ended," explained Waters.

Thurmond, who made an unprecedented comeback to the Senate in the election of 2008, lamented Mfume's passing: "He shouldn't have done something like that. I would have been more than happy to give him a job on my staff. As long as my new wife would have approved, of course."

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 12/17/02 10:02:29 AM
Categorized as Most Notable & Political.