Its so often the case that the best thing a person can do to improve his reputation is die. John F. Kennedy is now a legendary president but would he be estimated so highly if hed been able to end his political career as a man and not a myth? Ah the power of martyrdom.
And so it is with the editors and cartoonists of French magazine Charlie Hebdo (CH). In the wake of the Jan. 7 attack on its offices millions are showing their support heroicizing CH and saying Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie). On the other hand there are a few lonely voices such as Catholic League president Bill Donohue who have some less than flattering things to say about the magazine. After unequivocally condemning the killings Donohue called CHs late publisher Stephane Charbonnier narcissistic" and said that the journalist didnt understand the role he played in his tragic death."
While I usually agree with Donohue I do part company with him here somewhat. First the tone of his statement is a bit too deferential toward Islamic sensitivities. Second Im not so sure Donohue himself truly understands the role Charbonnier played in his tragic death. As to this make no mistake:
Charlie Hebdo was an enemy of Western civilization.
Question: Did the people at CH ever oppose the Muslim immigration into France that ultimately led to their deaths?
Maybe Im wrong but Im willing to go out on a limb and guess they didnt that they were rather more inclined to call those who did inveigh against it racists" xenophobes and intolerant bigots. And this certainly was reflected in an interview CH cartoonist Bernard Holtrop gave to a Dutch newspaper Saturday. He didnt say much it seems but amidst his few words he made sure to express his dissatisfaction with the fact that the CH attack will help Marine Le Pens National Front the only prominent French party questioning the nations immigration model.
We might also note that the victims at CH were basically defenseless save the one police officer guarding the journalists because of the gun control that is part of their leftist agenda.
As for the material CH was disgorging Town Halls John Ransom characterized it well saying that the Charlie caricatures were juvenile loaded with bathroom humor and not at all smart. There were many cartoons that I felt were just offensive not just to Muslims but to me as well" (hat tip: Jack Kemp). In other words to reference that failed leftist radio effort CH was the Air(head) America of print. In typical liberal style its artists mistook profanity for profundity cynicism for sagacity and insult for intellectualism. Its reminiscent of the women who strip naked to protest; even if their causes were just which they invariably arent what does it prove? Could you imagine George Washington or maybe wife Martha having bared it all to protest the British? With that mentality would there ever have been a positive and successful American Revolution?
But Ill tell you what it proves: that weve had a successful Western devolution. It proves that Frankfurt School founder Willi Munzenberg wasnt kidding when he said that to impose the dictatorship of the proletariat they would make the West so corrupt it stinks." This putrefaction is now well advanced and CH was part of this decay.
Of course many would respect the fact that CH unlike most leftists didnt spare Muslims the scorn it also heaped on Christians and anyone else didnt like (which seems to have been everyone else). But while this isnt as bad as a fifth column in your midst a platoon that indiscriminately sprays bullets at everybody its own side as well as the enemy isnt exactly helping. (In fact were one of these leftists in a foxhole next to me Id have to frag him before dealing with the foe wearing a different uniform.)
Oh but let me amend that. One might wonder if CH had a side except its own and I suspect that such people dont much like themselves either (can you blame them on that score?); it seemed that everyone was its enemy. CH showed nuns masturbating and popes wearing condoms" as Donohue pointed out and had also attacked the French government which is pretty much socialist no matter who is in charge. And I know a fellow like this by the way; he criticized G.W. Bush for being too conservative and then changed his tune when Obama took office.
He started criticizing Obama for being too conservative.
We might ask such people is there any good in the world at all? Or are you the only good extant?
I know what their answer will be: F*** *** @#$&!"
This typical leftist hatred was reflected by CHs Holtrop who responded to the outpouring of support for his mag rag by dismissively saying We have a lot of new friends like the pope Queen Elizabeth and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It really makes me laugh ...We vomit on all these people who suddenly say they are our friends."
But Holtrop and his comrades had been vomiting on Western civilization for years which is why he doesnt have to worry about me counting myself among his friends. Instead I would remind you of British statesman Edmund Burkes sage words It is written in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters." Were not going to preserve legitimate liberties that would be robbed by men of intemperate minds by being men of different intemperate minds. And whom should we fear most? Who most imperils us? Muslim fundamentalists? Or the left-wing fundamentalists who like dysfunctional cells attacking a bodys immune system make us susceptible to harmful outside agencies? To paraphrase Roman philosopher Cicero an enemy at the gates carrying his banner openly is less formidable than those within the gates who rot the soul of a nation work secretly in the night to undermine the pillars of the society and infect the body politic so that it can no longer resist.
We fought with the besieged Soviets to defeat Hitler but we never said I am Stalin." Im certainly as opposed to Muslim jihadists as anyone but Im proud to say je ne suis pas Charlie.
Its so often the case that the best thing a person can do to improve his reputation is die. John F. Kennedy is now a legendary president but would he be estimated so highly if hed been able to end his political career as a man and not a myth? Ah the power of martyrdom.
And so it is with the editors and cartoonists of French magazine Charlie Hebdo (CH). In the wake of the Jan. 7 attack on its offices millions are showing their support heroicizing CH and saying Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie). On the other hand there are a few lonely voices such as Catholic League president Bill Donohue who have some less than flattering things to say about the magazine. After unequivocally condemning the killings Donohue called CHs late publisher Stephane Charbonnier narcissistic" and said that the journalist didnt understand the role he played in his tragic death."
While I usually agree with Donohue I do part company with him here somewhat. First the tone of his statement is a bit too deferential toward Islamic sensitivities. Second Im not so sure Donohue himself truly understands the role Charbonnier played in his tragic death. As to this make no mistake:
Charlie Hebdo was an enemy of Western civilization.
Question: Did the people at CH ever oppose the Muslim immigration into France that ultimately led to their deaths?
Maybe Im wrong but Im willing to go out on a limb and guess they didnt that they were rather more inclined to call those who did inveigh against it racists" xenophobes and intolerant bigots. And this certainly was reflected in an interview CH cartoonist Bernard Holtrop gave to a Dutch newspaper Saturday. He didnt say much it seems but amidst his few words he made sure to express his dissatisfaction with the fact that the CH attack will help Marine Le Pens National Front the only prominent French party questioning the nations immigration model.
We might also note that the victims at CH were basically defenseless save the one police officer guarding the journalists because of the gun control that is part of their leftist agenda.
As for the material CH was disgorging Town Halls John Ransom characterized it well saying that the Charlie caricatures were juvenile loaded with bathroom humor and not at all smart. There were many cartoons that I felt were just offensive not just to Muslims but to me as well" (hat tip: Jack Kemp). In other words to reference that failed leftist radio effort CH was the Air(head) America of print. In typical liberal style its artists mistook profanity for profundity cynicism for sagacity and insult for intellectualism. Its reminiscent of the women who strip naked to protest; even if their causes were just which they invariably arent what does it prove? Could you imagine George Washington or maybe wife Martha having bared it all to protest the British? With that mentality would there ever have been a positive and successful American Revolution?
But Ill tell you what it proves: that weve had a successful Western devolution. It proves that Frankfurt School founder Willi Munzenberg wasnt kidding when he said that to impose the dictatorship of the proletariat they would make the West so corrupt it stinks." This putrefaction is now well advanced and CH was part of this decay.
Of course many would respect the fact that CH unlike most leftists didnt spare Muslims the scorn it also heaped on Christians and anyone else didnt like (which seems to have been everyone else). But while this isnt as bad as a fifth column in your midst a platoon that indiscriminately sprays bullets at everybody its own side as well as the enemy isnt exactly helping. (In fact were one of these leftists in a foxhole next to me Id have to frag him before dealing with the foe wearing a different uniform.)
Oh but let me amend that. One might wonder if CH had a side except its own and I suspect that such people dont much like themselves either (can you blame them on that score?); it seemed that everyone was its enemy. CH showed nuns masturbating and popes wearing condoms" as Donohue pointed out and had also attacked the French government which is pretty much socialist no matter who is in charge. And I know a fellow like this by the way; he criticized G.W. Bush for being too conservative and then changed his tune when Obama took office.
He started criticizing Obama for being too conservative.
We might ask such people is there any good in the world at all? Or are you the only good extant?
I know what their answer will be: F*** *** @#$&!"
This typical leftist hatred was reflected by CHs Holtrop who responded to the outpouring of support for his mag rag by dismissively saying We have a lot of new friends like the pope Queen Elizabeth and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It really makes me laugh ...We vomit on all these people who suddenly say they are our friends."
But Holtrop and his comrades had been vomiting on Western civilization for years which is why he doesnt have to worry about me counting myself among his friends. Instead I would remind you of British statesman Edmund Burkes sage words It is written in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters." Were not going to preserve legitimate liberties that would be robbed by men of intemperate minds by being men of different intemperate minds. And whom should we fear most? Who most imperils us? Muslim fundamentalists? Or the left-wing fundamentalists who like dysfunctional cells attacking a bodys immune system make us susceptible to harmful outside agencies? To paraphrase Roman philosopher Cicero an enemy at the gates carrying his banner openly is less formidable than those within the gates who rot the soul of a nation work secretly in the night to undermine the pillars of the society and infect the body politic so that it can no longer resist.
We fought with the besieged Soviets to defeat Hitler but we never said I am Stalin." Im certainly as opposed to Muslim jihadists as anyone but Im proud to say je ne suis pas Charlie.