Wannabe Brownshirt Warns of "Nazis"

The Chattanoogan publishes two related letters, yesterday and today. Apparently, they don't get many intelligent letters.

First, Don't Go Back To The Nazi State by Michael McCLain, Mar. 20 (capitalization and ellipses in original):

In the past fews days I have been keeping my eyes on the media more than ever — the gay marriage debate has sparked one town/county in Tennessee to TRY TO BAN gay people from living in their county. While I can understand their apprehension to have a Starbucks, upscale clothing, good music, and nicely decorated homes, what I cannot abide is the total arrogance and ignorance with which these people PUBLICALY [sic] display their own ignorance of gay men and women. Like it's some kind of trophy to be that stupid and intolerant in this day and age.

We are not living in the times of the Quakers — we cannot let the duly elected people of our towns turn the gay communities into the next concentration camp victims! I said it.... that is next on the agenda of some religious communities. First you force them out.... then you round them up... and then what? Deportation or Death Camps?

For when we even THINK of banning a section of people from LIVING in a town, we have stepped back in time to the days when the religious communities ran the local politics. Salem had the witch trials, and we all know how that ended, with the deaths of innocent women, accusations of all kinds to everyone, and a general fear and loathing of anything different from the "norm." A "norm" that is set as a moral standard for everyone else to uphold and live by.

At the town meeting was a 12 YEAR OLD girl who professed her own ignorance, and intolerance to gay people that she didn't even know! Stating that "it isn't Christian" but then professing that she was a Baptist. It's so nice to see that the youth of this small town are being taught hatred instead of reading, math, music, art, sports... in a community that THRIVES and CELEBRATES on its own past mistakes (SCOPES TRIAL), it is no wonder that they would take to the world of politics to support their own hatred by trying to pass some personally religious motivated law.

While this law would be targeted to gay men and women exclusively, it could backfire on themselves in the light that all sex acts performed between a man and woman would have to be defined out as well. Just in case someone wanted to say that certain sexual acts between a man an wife were against nature and God, and then try to have them arrested and prosecuted as well.

The system does work both ways, and if a law had stayed on the books, I wonder now, just how many gay people would be arrested? How would the nation react to that event happening in front of national television audiences. If this was truly a mistake on the commission's part, then they need to in public, apologize to the gay people of the community, or resign immediately for allowing their personal feelings to play the part of their political views. A county commission should have the COUNTY vote on an issue such as this! Not just the will of eight people in a room who didn't even have this issue on their agenda that night!

But, if I was living in that town, I would have filed a civil rights violation law suit against the county commission so fast they would have not had time to think. I would see to it that they were put on public trial for their personal and religious beliefs, and to hold them accountable for the sexual acts that they perform while in the PRIVACY of their own home, with their husband/wife/partner — let's make their personal life public property for all to hear and bear witness to.

If any town in America arrests one person for being gay, then we have become a nation that is no better than the NAZI state that wrongfully imprisoned the Jewish community and subsequently sentenced them to death because of hatred and ignorance! America needs to not repeat the hate crimes of the past by letting the religious views of those elected officials taint the legal system! Separation of church and state must be adhered to in all circumstances! We are a nation built on the rights of Freedom, but to use the law in such a manner is a travesty of what the founding fathers had in mind.

I take this to be delusional projection, a window into that man's mind: had he the power, he would do what he accuses others of wanting to do.

Next, A Declaration Of War On Morally Minded by Kelley McNabb, Mar. 21 (ellipses in original):

Chattanoogans should be greatly alarmed by the 3/20/04 article "Don't Go Back to the Nazi State," in which a thoroughly disgruntled homosexual sympathizer blasts basically Christian heterosexuals for their "ignorance" — an ironic accusation in a piece that clearly shows no regard for the truth.

The author writes, "While I can understand their apprehension to have a Starbucks, upscale clothing, good music, and nicely decorated homes, what I cannot abide is the total arrogance and ignorance with which these people PUBLICALY (sic) display their own ignorance of gay men and women."

Clearly, by dismissing any culture other than his own, the author shows no display of ignorance. He's buying into the homosexual agenda, so of course everyone around him is inferior.

The phrase "moral standard" is being thrown around mercilessly by advocates of the homosexual agenda. Their favorite claim is that morality shouldn't be forced — which only leaves immorality to rule society. The piece goes on to attack a 12-year-old girl for her religious beliefs — claiming that her Christianity makes her a vehicle of hatred, and that she should be taught other things, referring to academics. The girl knows that her God is the creator of all things she could ever learn in school... the creator of even the homosexuals that denounce Him. Who is this man to declare that children not be exposed to religion? To tell our elected officials not to do their job of carrying out the will of the people and cower to the demands of a select few? (This "few" meaning homosexuals — who have mean incomes of over 60% higher than the average American.) To use his own words, his claims are "a travesty of what the founding fathers had in mind."

Most alarming of all is the statement "I would see to it that they were put on public trial for their personal and religious beliefs..." referring to those who oppose homosexuality. In the United States of America, this is a declaration of war. The day Americans are put on trial for their religious beliefs will truly be the end of a brilliant era; the death warrant for democracy. The society this man is calling for will be more evil than Communism, for the people will be chained forever to an agenda that crosses the line between life and death.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sun. 03/21/04 09:10:44 PM
Categorized as Social/Cultural.

Blogosphere Stuff

I know I'm probably the last blogger to mention it, but Mark has moved.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sun. 03/21/04 07:43:37 PM
Categorized as Other.

Former Vietnam POW and Senator Slams John Kerry

Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode CCXXXI

That would be Jeremiah Denton in the Mobile Register, Mar. 7.

Knowing that I served in the U.S. Senate with John Kerry and that, like him, I am a veteran of the Vietnam War, many people have asked me what I think of him, particularly now that he's the ap parent presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

When Kerry joined me in the Senate, I already knew about his record of defamatory remarks and behavior criticizing U.S. policy in Vietnam and the conduct of our military personnel there. I had learned in North Vietnamese prisons how much harm such statements caused.

To me, his remarks and behavior amounted to giving aid and comfort to our Vietnamese and Soviet enemies. So I was not surprised when his subsequent overall voting pattern in the Senate was consistently detrimental to our national security.

Considering his demonstrated popularity during the Democratic primaries, I earnestly hope the American people will soberly consider Kerry's qualifications for the pres idency in light of his position and record on both our cultural war at home and on national security issues.

To put it bluntly, John Kerry exemplifies the very reasons that I switched to the Repub lican Party. Like the majority in his political party, he has proven by his words and actions that his list of priorities — his ideas on what most needs to be done to improve this country — are almost opposite to my own.

Here are two issue areas that I consider top priorities: the war over the soul of America, and national security.

Top priority should be placed on an effort to recover our most fundamental founding belief that our national objectives, policies and laws should reflect obedience to the will of Almighty God. Our Declaration of Independence, our national Constitution and each of the states' constitutions stress that basic American national principle.

For about 200 years, the entire country, both parties and all branches of government understood that principle and tried to follow it, if imperfectly.

For some 50 years, our nation's opinion-makers, our courts and, gradually, our politicians have been abandoning our historical effort to be "one nation under God" in favor of becoming "one nation without God," with glaringly unfavorable results.

I believe our political leaders, educational system, parents and opinion-makers must all return to teaching the truth most emphasized by our Founding Fathers.

George Washington called religious belief indispensable to the prosperity of our democracy. William Penn said, "Men must choose to be governed by God or condemn themselves to be ruled by tyrants." And when asked what caused the Civil War, President Lincoln said, "We have forgotten God."

In these days we have not only forgotten God, we are by our new standards of government and culture rejecting him as the acknowledged creator and as the endower of our rights.

As a result, we are suffering cultural decay and human unhappiness. The decline of the institution of the family is the most obvious result.

Perhaps the current movie, "The Passion of the Christ," will help many to come to realize the cost of the redemption of our sins, and the destructiveness of sin.

Let's remember that over 95 percent of Americans during our founding days were Christians, and though our Founding Fathers stipulated that no one was to be compelled to believe in any religion, and also stipulated that there would be no single Christian denomination installed as a national religion, there was no question that our laws were to be firmly based on the Judean Ten Commandments and on Christ's mandate to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

That setup brought us amazing success as a nation, lifting us from our humble beginnings, through crisis after crisis, to become the leading nation of the world.

Now, though, we are throwing away the very source of our strength and greatness. Yet I am not giving up on our country. I am encouraged at the stand and the attitude of our president, and inspired by his courage. There are many more of his stripe in Washington now.

Though Rome and other empires have decayed and fallen, the cultural war in the United States can and should be won by the majority of Americans — a majority to whom Kerry and the Democrats disdainfully refer to as the "far right." They are people who believe in God and in the original concept of "one nation under God."

As a nation, we are now at the point of no return. The good guys are finally angry enough to join the fray, and I pray we are not too late.

John Kerry is not among the good guys. The Democratic Party isn't, either.

Indeed, on the subject of national security, John Kerry epitomizes a fatal weakness in the Democratic Party.

During the decisive days of the Cold War, after the Democratic Party changed during the mid-1960s, the party was on the wrong side of every strategic debate on policy regarding Vietnam and the USSR, and is now generally on the wrong side in the war on terrorism.

The truth is that the Cold War was barely won by a narrow margin — a victory and a margin determined by the political choices made by our government regarding suitable steps to deter Soviet attack and finally win the Cold War.

If the U.S. had followed the Democratic Party line, the Cold War would have concluded with the U.S. having to surrender without a fight, or the U.S. would have been defeated in a nuclear war with acceptable losses to the USSR.

It was not Johnson and Carter and the Democrats; it was Nixon, Reagan, George Bush and the Republicans who led us to victory in the Cold War.

And George W. Bush and the Republican majority — not John Kerry and the Democrats — can lead us to victory in the war on terrorism.

Jeremiah Denton is a retired Navy admiral who served in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1987.

The Blog from the Core asserts Fair Use for non-commercial, non-profit educational purposes.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sun. 03/21/04 02:43:01 PM
Categorized as Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode & John Kerry.

"How to Win the Terror War"

"Unless the U.S. retreated entirely into its borders, unless the U.S. allowed radical Islam to start prevailing, unless the U.S. stopped assisting democracies and pro-Western regimes, unless the U.S. stopped combating the jihad movements around the world, unless the U.S. stopped protecting itself, then the U.S. is still going to be hated."

Bill Steigerwald interviews Steven Emerson in yesterday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Q: Where have we failed in fighting this war?

A: In looking at the war against militant Islamic fundamentalism, there are two components. One is the criminal attack on those who are violating the law by either carrying out attacks or assisting those who carry out attacks.

Second is the political component, which consists of a need to discredit those who perpetrate or justify militant Islam generally under false cover by pretending to be a moderate or a civil rights group when, in fact, they are essentially providing coverage for Islamic extremists.

It's not illegal to be an extremist. It's not illegal to even call for the death of America. Therefore that wouldn't be covered by any type of criminal prosecution. However, that requires an active willingness to confront them politically, and that's where we have failed miserably and increasingly so since 9/11 — with radical Islamist groups pretending to be something they are not.

There has been a willingness, unfortunately, by the head of the FBI as well as by various political leaders, to embrace the militant Islamic groups and legitimize them without confronting their radical agenda or asking them to unequivocally condemn and repudiate Islamic extremism....

Q: What's it going to take to defeat these Islamist militants around the world? Or are we in for a global war without end?

A: Traditional wars have armistices to sign. There's not going to be one to sign here. There's a military component, a religious component and a political component. In a sense, the military component is the easiest.

The most difficult is to essentially discredit the militant Islamic movement. There is a real disconnect between those who support suicide bombings and justify terrorism and American values that abhor any type of political violence. Unless there's going to be a willingness to challenge the extremists, not appease them, then they're going to flourish.

Do I think that we're going to be successful in discrediting them? Not necessarily in the short term. To a certain extent, we need to embark on a genuine effort to embolden authentic, moderate Muslims, not the ersatz ones who say they condemn terrorism, but then, if asked if they condemn Hezbollah, they say, "No, it's not a terrorist group."

We need to promote the moderate interpretation of Islam by emboldening and empowering Islamic reformers to instigate a self-criticism within the Islamic world. I'm often asked what the panacea is here, and the answer is, we need to see an Islamic reformation. Then I'm asked how will we know there is a reformation, and I say, "One very telling indicator will be the appearance of many Muslim comedians." ....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sun. 03/21/04 11:33:53 AM
Categorized as International & Social/Cultural.

Three by Millay III

Three sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Sonnets xxviii

I pray you if you love me, bear my joy
A little while, or let me weep your tears;
I, too, have seen the quavering Fate destroy
Your destiny's bright spinning—the dull shears
Meeting not neatly, chewing at the thread,—
Nor can you well be less aware how fine,
How staunch as wire, and how unwarranted
Endures the golden fortune that is mine.
I pray you for this day at least, my dear,
Fare by my side, that journey in the sun;
Else must I turn me from the blossoming year
And walk in grief the way that you have gone.
Let us go forth together to the spring:
Love must be this, if it be anything.

(from The Harp-Weaver)

Sonnets xcvii

When we are old and these rejoicing veins
Are frosty channels to a muted stream,
And out of all our burning there remains
No feeblest spark to fire us, even in dream,
This be our solace: that it was not said
When we were young and warm and in our prime,
Upon our couch we lay as lie the dead,
Sleeping away the unreturning time.
O sweet, O heavy-lidded, O my love,
When morning strikes her spear upon the land,
And we must rise and arm us and reprove
The insolent daylight with a steady hand,
Be not discountenanced if the knowing know
We rose from rapture but an hour ago.

(from Fatal Interview)

Sonnets xcix

Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink
Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain;
Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink
And rise and sink and rise and sink again;
Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath,
Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone;
Yet many a man is making friends with death
Even as I speak, for lack of love alone.
It well may be that in a difficult hour,
Pinned down by pain and moaning for release,
Or nagged by want past resolution's power,
I might be driven to sell your love for peace,
Or trade the memory of this night for food.
It well may be. I do not think I would.

(from Fatal Interview)

Collected Poems (1956), ed. Norma Millay, pp. 588, 657, 659.

See also Three by Millay II: Sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sun. 03/21/04 07:31:21 AM
Categorized as Literary & Sunday Poetry Series.