Council Winners
Watchers Council winners for the week of December 28 have been posted.
First place in the council went to Judeo-Christian Doctrine and Moral Freedom by Bookworm Room, which makes broad statements about and finds essential identities between secular left-wing politics in the West and Islamic radicalism.
The trouble I have with all such writing is that it tends to confuse scriptures with faiths (Judaism, for instance, is much more interesting and diverse than you might gather if all you knew of it was the Old Testament) and that it trades in broad and ill-defined categories and treats them as monolithic entities.
Also getting votes were Ron Paul from right here, First Let the Lawyers Kill Us All by Soccer Dad; Lame Duck Crushes Christmas Turkeys by Big Lizards; and A Holiday Primer for Ron Paul Supporters by Rhymes With Right. The last is a reminder that the main obstacle faced by Ron Paul is not the radicalism of his proposals, but the hectoring tendencies of his backers.
Outside the council, the winner was my nominee, Fear by Ron Silver.
Votes also went to Laughter and Tears at Eternity Road, which, if you like his style, you'll love this.
And to Must Police Be Representative? Whom Do They Represent? at Discriminations, which asks legitimate tough questions that turn an ill-conceived policy on its head.
First place in the council went to Judeo-Christian Doctrine and Moral Freedom by Bookworm Room, which makes broad statements about and finds essential identities between secular left-wing politics in the West and Islamic radicalism.
As you can see, the part that really intrigued me was the bit in the second half about rape, since it seemed to highlight the way in which both Islamists and the Left view people, and may go a long way to explaining why people professing these radically different ideologies (Leftism and Islamism) can work so well together. The fact is that, although they devise different (or no punishments) for whatever crime is before them, neither believes in free will or in man’s ability to make moral decisions independent of his immediate circumstances.
The trouble I have with all such writing is that it tends to confuse scriptures with faiths (Judaism, for instance, is much more interesting and diverse than you might gather if all you knew of it was the Old Testament) and that it trades in broad and ill-defined categories and treats them as monolithic entities.
Also getting votes were Ron Paul from right here, First Let the Lawyers Kill Us All by Soccer Dad; Lame Duck Crushes Christmas Turkeys by Big Lizards; and A Holiday Primer for Ron Paul Supporters by Rhymes With Right. The last is a reminder that the main obstacle faced by Ron Paul is not the radicalism of his proposals, but the hectoring tendencies of his backers.
Outside the council, the winner was my nominee, Fear by Ron Silver.
Votes also went to Laughter and Tears at Eternity Road, which, if you like his style, you'll love this.
Americans probably thought the Left had been so defeated by the Reagan Revolution. It's a great part of why we loved Reagan so; he was our champion, and he prevailed on our behalf against his time's greatest threats to freedom and prosperity. But the Left and its topical allies don't accept any defeat as final; they merely fall back to Hell, regroup, and sally forth again. We barely held them off during the Clinton years -- it helped that our memories of the Reagan years were still fresh -- but we've lost ground since. The elections of 2008 are unclear at the moment, but if they should break badly, we'll lose more, and faster, in the years ahead.
And to Must Police Be Representative? Whom Do They Represent? at Discriminations, which asks legitimate tough questions that turn an ill-conceived policy on its head.
