All Things Beautiful

My Father 'The Hero'

 

Today is the 14th Anniversary of my Father's death, always a difficult day for me, no matter how many years go quietly by.... and as I write these words and tears are rolling down my face, I think of My Father and my ultimate hero, the man considered to be one of the most important Serbian literary figures of the 20th century.

Today is also the First Birthday of All Things Beautiful, the blog I started in his honor on the same day a year ago.

To say that I worshiped, admired, and adored him, would probably be the understatement of all time, and not worthy of my friends and family, who know me so well. I think of him often when I have some upstart liberal on my blog falling about, knocking furniture around the room and telling me how I don't understand what fighting for liberty and freedom of speech is all about. Perhaps I don't know or understand this new form of socialism liberals today call their own precious democracy, and perhaps I don't even want to.

They do not know me, nor do they know my family history, nor what we as a family have stood for, for generations, in our small unit nor as the family as a whole. I as a person, am much more defined by my roots, growing up quite literally living the political struggle of Democracy vs. Dictatorship. My Father lived his entire life for democracy; he truly lived and breathed its often poisonous fumes when contaminated with hypocrisy and falsehood spawned from a socialist regime; he sacrificed his own personal freedom and youth for its sake.

David Binder writing for The New York Times

A dozen years after his death Borislav Pekic is acclaimed as one of the greatest writers in the Serbian language [...]

Returning to Belgrade in the waning years of Yugoslav communism, he joined a group of dissidents including Vojislav Kostunica, now president of Yugoslavia, and Zoran Djindjic, later Prime Minister of Serbia, who was assassinated last March. In February 1990 the three men founded the opposition Democratic Party. At their convention Pekic denounced the moribund Communists: "If this system has no moral foundations, principles or laws on which we can all rely equally, it ceases to be legitimate."

Four months later he marched in a demonstration against the ruling ex-Communists of Slobodan Milosevic and was injured in a police charge [...]

My Father used to say that you can never blame others for their cowardice. Everyone has different considerations and aspects to worry about. Some worry about their jobs, some their very lives, some the sponsors who keep them funded. One can only look to oneself and stand upright for what one believes in.

Betrayed many times by close friends, in a totalitarian regime of former Yugoslavia, the most significant of which, resulted in being imprisoned at the age of 18 for forming the first 'Yugoslav Democratic Youth', and sentenced to fifteen years in prison (released after serving five). During this time in prison he conceived many of the ideas later developed in his major novels.

He always forgave his friends and foe alike. He said that they had considerations of their livelihood, which he did not have to worry about due to his privileged background. They feared for their very lives, which my Father had given to the cause of freedom long ago. They had considerations for their families' wellbeing, which my Father did not have (when he married my mother he made his position clear, and she understood that, when I came along I simply was not asked. Heh.)

He forgave them, not because they know not what they do, but because he understood the human weaknesses and survival instincts and embraced them with the true spirit of the courageous man that he was.

Do You Fear Christian Theocracy In America?

"Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane" by Sebastiano Conca 1746, Pinacoteca, Vatican

 

Today is the day when we as Christians think of Christ our Lord, the fast approaching night of his betrayal, and The Passion that follows. Today is the day when our friends the Jews celebrate Passover, and are deep in prayer until sundown. David Bernstein @ The Volokh Conspiracy is running his first Passover Seder and introducing The Passover Bag.

Patrick O’Hannigan, one of my favorite bloggers and a dear friend, has written an excellent essay making a playful rendition of the idea of a Christian Theocracy in America, and how it might affect our every day life. I have always respected Patrick’s opinion and admired his vast Theological knowledge and his amazing ability to explore that knowledge in an ever thought provoking dialogue:

"[...] Some people fear George W. Bush not because his policies keep them up at night, but because the Christianity he brings without guile or apology to an under-dressed public square marks him as the chief scout for what they imagine is a theocracy coming soon to the United States. Anyone trying to confront this fear must come at it on two fronts, the personal and the political. [...]

George W. Bush has been refreshingly blunt about naming evil when he sees it, but he joins past presidents in standing foursquare for religious freedom, and his penchant for “reading people’s hearts” (as he said he’d done with erstwhile Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers) suggests that his administration’s policies are informed more by liberal pabulum than by rigid orthodoxy, even of the so-called “compassionate conservative” variety. Moreover, the president belongs to a Christian denomination that stresses personal rather than communal aspects of worship. Apart from these uniquely Bushian checks on megalomania, the idea of an American Christian theocracy must also be dismissed for political reasons, because American Christians are a fractious bunch. We can and do find common ground on many issues, but we might also thank the Founders for having spared us the drudgery of parliamentary forms that put a premium on coalition-building.

Were America to renounce secular mores in favor of some kind of constitutional theocracy, we Christians would have more work to do than linking hands to sing “what a friend we have in Jesus.” And a sizable number of us would warn anyone who cared to listen about the arrogance of trying to build the kingdom of heaven on earth. In other words, if hippies gave therapy a jump start by growing old enough to sell out to “the Man” and feel guilty about it, wait’ll you see what happens when people who belong to Christ realize that Uncle Sam demands more of their time.[...]

Is it any wonder that “godly government” ranks as one of those areas where, as Robert Browning famously put it, “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” All that said, it’s fun to speculate about what an American Christian theocracy might act like, in the extremely unlikely event that it ever came to pass.

The Eye Of The Beholder (MALKIN UPDATE)

 

SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE ON MICHELLE MALKIN'S STALKING LAW PROFESSOR

No, this won't do.

Those of you who have been following my comment threads for the past few weeks have been witnessing and at times engaged with one of my commenters who has made it his business to boisterously oppose most opinions of mine and those voiced by my commenters. No problem with that.

Many times we debated and both myself and my commenters offered many links to support our various positions. But when the tables were turned, and detailed requests for supporting controversial assertions remained unanswered, a detailed list was submitted. The answer, "When in Rome...", suggesting that opinions and positions on my blog are not backed up with links or sources. Whilst predictable, it caused me to sit back and to reflect about the type of person who would make such an obviously false claim and to analyze who we are dealing with. 

It seemed to me, that nobody should just come along and make all these very detailed assertions and accusations and, when asked to support any of them, expect us to do his work. Worse still, that is what we have been doing all this time; yet everything has only been dismissed in a manner, which only ever confirmed contempt for our values and beliefs. I realized, that this type of person is truly intoxicated with his or her own self-righteousness. It occurred to me, that the refusal of this kind of opposition to support its assertions and accusations, reduces most of it to nothing more than hate-speech devoid of any substance and nothing more than juvenile attempts to spread poisonous propaganda.

I also had to laugh; all the various characterizations of Republicans describe in fact my view of this type of person to the core. Reading the comment section, I was reminded of the beauty of these exchanges in so far as that all participants are judged only by what they say and how they say it; only by their written conduct. And what stood out, was the consistent display of one of the worst traits: always tearing down what others have build; always assuming 20/20 vision after the fact, whilst arrogantly claiming the "I told you so" posture.

The Importance Of Being Mark Steyn

MARCH 16TH UPDATE: SCROLL DOWN FOR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH STEYN BY HUGH HEWITT

Mark Steyn is one of my favorite columnists. Brazenly forward in his opinion, forthright in his judgment, unafraid of political correctness, and a talented writer. I see a lot of myself in him, other than being so presumptuous as to include the latter attribute of course.

He writes about big issues with tremendous energy, and he has a sensibility now more pertinent to British politics than ever: a refined sense of the absurd. Having been educated in England I have a personal soft spot for the black humor that jumps out of his pages and being politically incorrect (Joseph calm down), can relate to his frustrations.

I admire his courage in voicing what seems to be slowly becoming a taboo subject of Islam, whispered rather than said, ignored rather than faced, and above all pandering to the politically correct, who seem to be under the impression that defending yourself is somehow very distasteful. Better to simply lay down and die quietly in the corner somewhere, whispering apologies, and hoping the crocodile of Islam will eat you last, or should I say burn you last.

Let me go on to rue the passing of Mark Steyn's syndication in Britain, for his column has now been dropped by both the Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator, making his work no longer available in the British press. It is so outrageous to think that we have become such cowards. I have always respected the UK Telegraph and am absolutely appaled at their pc police who are obviously worried about offending any or all of the groups that Steyn regularly offends, because he does not sugarcoat problems or ignore absurdities.

Scott Johnson @ Powerline is asking "What is going on in London?

As another one of his fans my friend Hugh Hewitt puts it: “Mark Steyn isn't "notoriously conservative." He's notoriously talented. I am also certain his readership at the paper and magazine were very high as Steyn is one of the most linked to writers at work in the world today.

So why drop a popular and talented scribe?

George Clooney "I Am A Liberal.There, I Said It"

SCROLL DOWN FOR HOT OFF THE PRESS UPDATE

George Clooney writes in Huffington Post

I am a liberal. And I make no apologies for it. Hell, I'm proud of it.

Too many people run away from the label. They whisper it like you'd whisper "I'm a Nazi." Like it's dirty word. But turn away from saying "I'm a liberal" and it's like you're turning away from saying that blacks should be allowed to sit in the front of the bus, that women should be able to vote and get paid the same as a man, that McCarthy was wrong, that Vietnam was a mistake.
And that Saddam Hussein had no ties to al-Qaeda and had nothing to do with 9/11.

This is an incredibly polarized time (wonder how that happened?). But I find that, more and more, people are trying to find things we can agree on. And, for me, one of the things we absolutely need to agree on is the idea that we're all allowed to question authority. We have to agree that it's not unpatriotic to hold our leaders accountable and to speak out.

That's one of the things that drew me to making a film about Murrow. When you hear Murrow say, "We mustn't confuse dissent with disloyalty" and "We can't defend freedom at home by deserting it at home," it's like he's commenting on today's headlines.

The fear of been criticized can be paralyzing. Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the run up to the war. In 2003, a lot of us were saying, where is the link between Saddam and bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11? We knew it was bullshit. Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, "We were misled." It makes me want to shout, "Fuck you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic."

Bottom line: it's not merely our right to question our government, it's our duty. Whatever the consequences. We can't demand freedom of speech then turn around and say, But please don't say bad things about us. You gotta be a grown up and take your hits.

I am a liberal. Fire away.

Could someone please explain to me what all the fuss is about? So the hunky George Clooney is a liberal....and?

The Bergdorf Blondes

Getty Images

UPDATE: For those of you who every now again whiff through ATB via Googling Plum Sykes' book Bergdorf Blondes, thinking you have just been the first to discover Mount Everest, and accuse me of copying her idea, please note that my post is very much inspired by Plum's original book, and wherever you feel she should get full credit, I unreservedly give it. But before you get your knickers (La Perla or not) in a twist, take a good dose of a mild tranquilizer like Xanax, and chill....After all, for a Bergdorf Blonde like myself, Plum's idea is based on the originals in the first place....

 

Every now and again we have to take a rest from the hustle and bustle of politics. In the absence of any pressing news these days -- other than Iran's nuclear weapons development crisis, the election of Hamas terrorists in Palestine, ongoing worldwide Muslim riots and killing in reaction to a cartoon, Al Gore's near sedition while speaking in Saudi Arabia, the turning over of our East Coast ports to be managed by a United Arab Emirates firm, the criminal leaking of vital NSA secrets to the New York Times, Mexican military incursions across our southern border, the Iraqi crisis, Congress's refusal to deal with the developing financial collapse of Social Security and Medicare, inter alia -- All Things Beautiful has decided to grant the wish of it's fashionista fans ( who have still not forgiven me for entirely missing Fashion Week), and speak of some more important matters.

Defending the Bergdorf Blondes' social status has become a favorite party line, especially as the Bergdorf Blondes have always been the New York craze. Everyone either knows one, wants to be one, or actually is one. I have written this for the aspirational BBs who need some insider advice on how to proceed. It is a Saturday after all, and we need to chill....

You wouldn't believe the dedication it takes to be a gorgeous, flaxen haired, dermatologically perfect New York girl with a life fabulous beyond belief. Honestly, it all requires a level of commitment comparable to say, learning Hebrew or quitting cigarettes.

Well it all starts with hair color. A murderous commitment required, which a chemically dependent girl like myself is all too familiar with, the blond color must be touched up every seven days, and the hair cannot have a hint of yellow, it has to be very white, very much like Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's was. This is the color to be worshiped and maintaining it cannot involve anything less than the weekly visit to your nearest Redken salon, and a standing appointment with the über-guru Redken Fifth Avenue colorist.

The high maintenance poker-straight blond hair has to be complimented by a weekly visit to Sonia at Bergdorf's for the absolutely essential eyebrow trim, together with the perfect manicure and pedicure by Madonna both essential to maintaining the look.

Narci-surfing, as it is now called (used to be called Googling yourself) is the best way to keep up with how your status is doing in the media. Gossip being the most reliable source of information about yourself and your friends in Manhattan, one mustn't allow oneself to get to the renowned 'Fargo' stage.

Loosely translated it is a debilitating condition often appearing after a stint of Narci-surfing, from which almost all Manhattan girls suffer. The term is borrowed from the well known movie, and is an excellent description of a state of mind of a Bergdorf blond usually precipitating a large social gathering, and involving all the insecurities that go with the pressures of having to keep up with the BBs.

The Virtue Of Courage

One of my favorite cartoons of my father, always admired and inherently teased for his vast and varied knowledge.

I was responding to a comment from the very talented blogger Fausta on one of my previous threads "The Nation of Islam Will Sit At The Throne Of The World...", regarding the whole issue of the American media cowardice in abstaining from publicizing the Muhammad cartoons, and it made me think of my father.

My father used to say that you can never blame others for their cowardice. Everyone has different considerations and aspects to worry about. Some worry about their jobs, some their very lives, some the sponsors that keep them funded. One can only look to oneself and stand upright for what you believe in.

My father was betrayed many times by close friends, in a totalitarian regime, but he always forgave them. He said that they had considerations of their livelihood, which he did not have to worry about. They had considerations for their very lives, which my father had given to the cause of freedom long ago. They had considerations for their families' wellbeing, which my father did not have (when he married my mother he made his position clear, and she understood that, when I came along I simply was not asked. Heh.)

He forgave them, not because they know not what they do, but because he understood the human weaknesses and survival instincts which my father gave up for the cause of freedom.

And again, he always said to me "Look to yourself, not to others. Don't ever rely on others to fight for YOUR freedom. They never will. They will always fight for their own version of it, which is relevant to their own little world. Very few people in history have truly fought for the good of mankind."

My great friend Kenny Pierce who was touched by my comment

C. S. Lewis once said that the virtue of courage is a prerequisite for the practice of all other virtues, because otherwise one is virtuous only when virtue has no cost. There are times when something needs to be done, and yet we know that if we step up and do this needful thing, we will pay a heavy personal price. Courage is the virtue that makes us willing to pay that price; cowardice makes us say, “The price is too high; I will not pay it.”

But courage isn’t the only virtue. Prudence is a virtue as well. Sometimes the price really is too high. When we applaud somebody’s behavior as courageous, we implicitly affirm his prudence; we say that the cost was not disproportionate to the needfulness. When we accuse somebody of cowardice, we also, I think, are implying not just that he should have paid the price, but that he knew that he ought to. For if he sincerely believed that the cost outweighed the usefulness, then our true complaint is with his judgment, not his courage.
[...]
It is always hard, when we ourselves are willing to make sacrifices for what is right, to see others who don’t take their place beside us because they are not willing to match our courage. The greater the sacrifice we ourselves have made, the harder it is not to feel that we have earned the right to demand sacrifices of others, for our cause – that they owe it to us to pay the price we ourselves have been willing to pay. But Borislav Pekic saw too deeply and clearly into the human heart, to be taken in by that temptation. On the Cross, Jesus famously forgave His tormentors, “for they know not what they do. Pekic forgave those who failed him for a different reason: he forgave them because he knew, all too well, that, “I know not what I ask them to do.”

A World Apart

From the left Blogosphere:

"Ten Things I Wish Conservatives Would Learn from the Rest of Us." [Ahem].

1. There are more of us than there are of you. Conservatives often conclude from their electoral successes - which hinge on ruthless tactical flair - that they form a dominant majority in America. They do not. Conservatives constitute, at best, a third of the electorate. If you combine the number of voters in the 2004 National Election Study who identified themselves as liberal or moderate, the "rest of us" amounts to 66 percent.

2. All taxation is not theft. Vehement dislike of taxes has been part of the national DNA from 1776 on. But talk-show rants about taxation as thievery are about as logical as expecting McDonald's to give you a free Big Mac, or your car dealer to ship you a free Accord. Taxes are the fee we pay for the many goods and services government provides - from picking up our garbage to protecting us from terrorist attack. It's always fair to question whether you're getting the quality that your taxes should buy. But it's crazy to expect the price of government never to grow.

3. And it's not really your money, by the way. That childish mantra of the tax cutter reminds me of a toddler who is lifted to the basketball hoop by his father, drops the ball through, and exults, "I made a dunk!" Take out your wallet; look at that dollar bill. Whose name is on it? Not yours; the nation's. What value would that slip of paper have without the vast, stable network of rules and procedures upheld by government? Not much. In America (unlike, say, Russia or Iraq), this network is so reliable that some seem to forget it's there. But it is vital, and taxes are the tithe we pay to maintain it.

4. When it comes to government, the magic adjective isn't "small"; it's "effective." A famous line attributed to conservative power broker Grover Norquist describes his movement's goal as "to shrink the size of federal government to the point where we can drown it in the bathtub." As charming as that metaphor is, conservative politicians don't trumpet it when running for election. They just chant about "waste, fraud and abuse." Once they win, and pursue the bathtub project, the middle class yelps, "Wait a minute! Don't cut my programs. Just cut that waste and abuse." If "small" government means being as criminally inept as FEMA was during Katrina, then the bulk of Americans want no part of small government.

It Is About Time We Were Politically Incorrect Part II

To know what I truly believe read my weekend post 'The Effect Of Our Holy Trinity Of Multiculturalism, Moral Equivalence And Relativism On The War Of Destiny'.

It has become necessary to explain to the Liberal side of the Blogosphere that despite the hurling accusations due to my coming out as a "politically incorrect" individual yesterday, I am not "an immigrant hater".

It is quite absurd to say that in any event as I am not a native American. I do however love and respect America and believe that if you do not like your host country, you should leave, instead of constantly knocking that country, complaining about the fact that no one is speaking YOUR language, and openly despising it's culture which you degrade at every turn, and wish it to basically disappear replaced by your own.

If you are an immigrant who relates to any of the above, it is YOU who are rude and not as my commenter Jim R claims the politically incorrect. It is people's refusal to assimilate and to learn the language of the country they live in who have no respect for the culture of their host. I was brought up to be polite, considerate and respectful to my host, otherwise we did not go and visit their house, let alone entertain the thought of living with them!

The Italians didn't have a problem with that nor did the Germans, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese; in fact almost all the Europeans, East and West, in the past and today.

I do not know a single one of my dear Jewish friends of which I have very many, who get offended when I say "Merry Christmas" and wish them also a "Happy Hanukkah". It is only those miserable people, the complainers and the socialist radicals like the ACLU that have a problem with it. They call it politically incorrect.

We live in a Christian country therefore we will say "Merry Christmas" whether the atheists or Muslims or anyone else likes it or not. And if that makes me politically incorrect then I am proud to be, but being rude to anyone in a multicultural society I have never been. I have always lived happily in an international community and have never been considered rude because I dare say "Merry Christmas" to my non-Christian friends, or because I refuse to fall to my knees every few hours and turn towards Mecca.

"War on religion is a war on the underlying assumptions of American political life. Why the same group that insists on equality of outcomes in all matters also insists on undermining the religous basis of American politics is an interesting question. Hypocrisy or double dyed villainy?"

As my great friend Kenny Pierce said: “The intelligentsia has gone a lot further down the road since Jefferson and Franklin, especially in Europe; having attacked Christianity with a certain degree of political success, they have moved on to denigrating Christian values as well, and in doing so they hack at the foundation of our country's prosperity and character. You don't have to be a Christian to be a good American; but you do pretty much have to believe in the Golden Rule. You don't have to be a non-Muslim to be a good American; but you can't be a good American while still believing in jihad and sharia. You don't have to be a Protestant to be a good American; but you can't very well be a good American without possessing enough of the Protestant work ethic to believe that a man who through laziness lives off the sweat of other people's brows is no kind of a man at all. You don't have to hold New Testament views on wealth and poverty in order to be a good American, but you can't be a good American if you have talked yourself into some variant of morality that pretends that it is intrinsically evil for any one person to possess more material goods than any other person, or if you consider that all "charity" should be done by the government so that you can be spared the trouble of ever having actually to be involved personally in the lives of the unfortunate.
[...
You don't have to be a Christian to be a good American; but you do pretty much have to believe in the Golden Rule. You don't have to be a non-Muslim to be a good American; but you can't be a good American while still believing in jihad and sharia."

The Liberals in America have brought every argument of this nature down to accusations of racial prejudice, and ad hominem attacks of being against other cultures if you dare declare that America has a culture of it's own. They have entirely managed to kill any sense of proud heritage they once had, in favor of some sort of misplaced democracy which allows others to spit on their culture. Why? Why should the Americans allow others to spit on their culture whilst living in THEIR country? What's next? We all have to speak Arabic, and live by the Law of Shari'a just so as not to upset our Islamic friends who think our infidel culture is inferior and insult us every day.

Until the West begins to pay attention to what Muslims are saying in Arabic, Persian and Urdu, rather than what their apologists sprout forth for foreign consumption, the word insulting will not take on the new meaning and level of hatred it should do.

This Second May Never Get A Second Change

I received this from a dear friend today. Do you think she is trying to tell me something.

Around the corner I have a  friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and  weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see  my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I  like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he  rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired  men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a  name.
"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim
Just to show that I'm  thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance  between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
"Here's  a telegram sir," "Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in  the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
Remember to always  say what you mean.
If you love someone, tell them.
Don't be afraid to  express yourself.
Reach out and tell someone what they mean to you.
Because when you decide that it is the right time it might
be too late.
Seize the day. Never have regrets.
And most  importantly, stay close to your friends
and family, for they have helped
make you the person that you are today.
"I love you" don't just think it, pick up the phone and say it!
Not later today, not tomorrow, not next week,
'Cause this second may never get a second change.

It Is About Time We Were Politically Incorrect Part I

'The political correctness' bullet

From an editorial published in a Tampa, FL Newspaper, thank you to the politically incorrect Balance Sheet, the links are my own:

Will we still be the Country of choice and still be America if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that came to live in America because it is the Country of Choice?

Think about it. All we have to say is, when will they do something about my rights?

I celebrate Christmas but because it isn’t celebrated by everyone we can no longer say Merry Christmas. Now it has to be Season’s Greetings.

It’s not Christmas vacation, it’s Winter Break. Isn’t it amazing how this winter break always occurs over the Christmas holiday?

We’ve gone so far the other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone, that I am now being offended. But it seems that no one has a problem with that. This says it all.

Immigrants, Not Americans, Must Adapt.

I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge
in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had
barely settled when the “politically correct! ” crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand.

This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As American we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak English, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language.

“In God We Trust” is our national motto. This is not some Christian [in the evangelizing sense], right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women on Christian principles  founded this nation and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home because God is part of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don’t like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don’t care how you did things where you came from.

This is our country, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are done complaining… whining… and griping… about our flag… our pledge… our national motto… or our way of life… I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other Great American Freedom…The Right To Leave.

It is Time for America to Speak up.

Europe has a lot to learn from this. Their problems will increase as time goes on, and the way they have handled their multicultural community has finally come to bite them in the ass.

France's Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is for example especially sore because he had believed that his opposition to the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 would give France a heroic image in the Muslim community. That illusion has now been shattered and the Chirac administration, already passing through a deepening political crisis, appears to be clueless about how to cope with what the Parisian daily France Soir has called a "ticking time bomb".

It is now clear that a good portion of France's Muslims not only refuse to assimilate into "the superior French culture" but firmly believe that Islam offers the highest forms of life. Ahem.

Related on ATB:

It Is About Time We Were Politically Incorrect Part II
The Effect Of Our Holy Trinity Of Multiculturalism, Moral Equivalence And Relativism On The War Of Destiny
The Unexploded Bomb Of Global Politics
The Declaration of War on Christmas
The Jihad Apocalypse 'A Muslim Obligation'
The Clash of Civilizations

Time Is Money

Cover of 'Time' Magazine January 2005  'Persons Of TheYear' Bill Gates, Paul Hewson 'Bono', Melinda Gates

This cover has caused an uproar within the Blogosphere, partly because some feel that neither Bono nor Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates deserve to be chosen as Time's Persons of The Year, and partly as some feel that whilst perhaps at a stretch, they can accept Bono and Bill Gates, why Mrs. Gates?

My opinion, is that Melinda Gates has done more for The Gates Foundation philanthropy than Bill would ever have been able to imagine, and using his billions in a way his narrow minded attitude could never fathom. The MSM always talk about their efforts as a couple, but for those in the know, her efforts are what gets things done. She just lets him sit in the big chair and feel that he's the one making the decisions. Well he is, when decisions are made regarding amounts. But who do you think gets the ideas to him in the first place, and pushes like there is no tomorrow to get those ideas realized. Melinda is the one with the true commitment and drive, steerig the philanthropic vision for The Gates Foundation.

So me, I feel why Bill Gates?

I would go as far as to say that his business ethics are in direct opposition to those moral and ethical qualities which are being celebrated as a standard amongst those singled out by Time for being 'Persons of The Year'.

Why do I hate Bill "The Predator of The Internet" Gates, and what do I mean by hate?

I am carefully choosing the word hate as it best describes my feeling of intense and passionate dislike for mediocrity; for "That will do for the moment" attitude. Especially when mixed with: "They won't know any better anyway".

Bill Gates' Microsoft epitomizes the rise to success of such half-measure mentalities, and, worst of all, the distilled essence of the success has since been enshrined as a gilt-edged case study in all business schools around the world: If you can, put out a new product, no matter how incomplete and badly designed, wrap it in marketing hype and hyperbole and muscle out any competition by all and any means possible. DO NOT worry about the enduser, because if you have played your cards right, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO.

I have such a strong aversion against Bill Gates and the culture he instilled in Microsoft, because instead of its success, it should be a case study for 'missed opportunities'. All the charitable 'Billions' pale into utter insignificance if compared with the 'Trillions' of lost productivity around the globe caused singularly because of the "This will do" mentality instead of passion for quality and for "Making things better".

I was not at all surprised to learn that Microsoft has agreed to block Chinese blog entries that use words like 'democracy,' 'freedom,' 'human rights,' and 'demonstration.'" In a blog entry, EC vice president Margot Wallstroem said Microsoft, Yahoo and Google were matching their morals to suit new markets. In particular she said the firms seemed to have deleted words such as "ethics" and "corporate social responsibility" from their codes of conduct.

Perhaps when Bill Gates stops having flexible ethical standards depending on where he operates and what furthers his own agenda, he might indeed be worthy of consideration, but until then he does not get my vote.

Some, like Ed Morrissey @ Captain's Quarters feel that there are more deserved individuals out there who should have been given the honor instead:

"The true newsmakers this year, as Michelle Malkin notes in photos, were the people who went into the streets and overthrew dictators and autocracies in order to gain freedom for their nations -- in most cases, through non-violence. Ukrainians had their Orange Revolution; the Lebanese forced the Syrians to beat a hasty retreat across the Bekaa Valley after 29 years of military occupation following the murder of a pro-freedom statesman; and Iraqis faces bombs and death threats three times to in voting for a democracy and a new constitution to replace a genocidal tyrant in the heart of the Middle East, the first time that has ever occurred in an Arab nation.

Pick any of those examples, or roll them up into one pro-democracy movement that has tyranny on its heels throughout Southwest Asia and North Africa. Those were the real newsmakers this year. Instead, Time decided to go as obscure as it possibly could and picked three fine people whose impact on 2005 will have us all wondering what the hell they did to deserve the cover of Time by 2007."

And some like Michelle Malikin, simply call Time Magazine's choices "lame", and provide ample solid evidence as to why.

More @ Ed Driscoll and Betsy Newmark.

Spare No Punches (SUNDAY OPEN THREAD)

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WHAT MAKES YOU ANGRY?

WEIGH IN......SUNDAY OPEN THREAD

Now let's see, what makes me angry.

What makes me angry are negative people, people that see everything from a negative standpoint.

My father taught me many things, and many things I learned from simply observing him as a child, in awe of his incredible goodness and compassion to other's inadequacies.

Pessimism he taught me, is an illness of mankind. He said that the world was full of people who saw the glass half empty, and my job was to show them how it is half full.

He explained to me that this attitude is a part of the self preservation of their own emotions, in an attempt to protect themselves from being hurt. Sounds all terribly logical and for a split second you may think it makes perfect sense, but wait...the irony comes in the fact that through this very pessimism which they have built around themselves as a protective shield, they become deeply pessimistic and negative within themselves whereupon they cannot any longer distinguish between the shield and their true feelings.

When I was a little girl, my father taught me many things, but one of the most important was to have relentless faith in myself, and be positive in the knowledge that whatever I do, I have done the best I can, and whatever that is, was good enough for him. The worst sin of all was mediocrity as far as he was concerned, and by doing your personal best you elevated yourself out of the subjective hole of mediocrity.

There is not a single thing that he taught me which was more valuable than this lesson, in establishing my persona, and standing up tall and straight for the principles and people I hold dear.

Negativity and fear, are evil's direct way in, and you'll find in life that the more positive you are the more positivity will come to you, and the more that glass will look half full.

 

The Generous Art of Giving

The Photograph, 'A Beautiful Day In New York' courtesy of The New York Social Diary

The fascination of extremes, is something I always find intriguing about the streets of New York. Having always been under the shelter of the Manhattan square of haven, I somehow never get the often shocking moments reserved for the citizens of the lower West side. By definition the effect is entirely lost on the native New Yorkers, who oblivious to it all, happily chuckle past in their Manolos. I often wonder what happened to these people who push all their belongings in an overflowing shopping cart and how did they get that way. Then I open another bill and wonder......

Try for a moment to divorce from the way you feel about this issue. It feels Orwellian, doesn't it? It doesn't seem fair that it's not just good enough to be politically correct or qualified or good at what you do. It does not matter what political spectrum you belong to. That's not even close to what it takes to succeed in today's marketplace of ideas. Instead, you must frame your message in a way that gives people a story that matches their worldview.

I heard a speach given by the spokesperson for the governor of Missouri a while back. She was supporting the Governor's claim that eliminating Medicaid in Missouri was a moral, socially acceptable act of generosity. She explained how unfair it was for taxpayers to subsidize health care for the poor, and that in fact, eliminating health care for the poor might be quite positive because it would encourage people to go out and get a job. She did this in a calm and reasonable manner, and you could hear the foundation being built. After all, how can you be against people going out and getting a job? How can you be against people keeping their own money... If this story fits your worldview, I'm sure it sounds reasonable and believable. If it doesn't, the story won't persuade you. That's the way marketing works--you don't persuade people with your story, you just give people who already agree with you the tools they need to persaude their friends. Heh.

Loyalty To The Truth on Thanksgiving

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE PRESIDENT''S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION

Hugh Hewitt inspired me to write this post today. Read this it's brilliant.

The loyalty and integrity we should have as bloggers is to the Truth and liberation of that Truth, and not to the Truth we assign to the political denominations we belong to. And above all to the good old fashioned family values of integrity and loyalty to that Truth which we celebrate at Thanksgiving. Respect for each other as bloggers no matter what we believe in is paramount, and no amount of self gratifying echo chamber rhetoric should come in the way of a good upbringing, and manners, above all being grateful today that we have a voice.

Thanksgiving is a day for giving, and what I would like to express today is my gratitude for the ever fiery American spirit enshrined in The Atlantic Charter drawn up between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in which they deem it right to make known certain common principles in the national policies of their respective countries on which they base their hopes for a better future for the world:

"They respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign rights and self-government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them."

There are a few Bloggers that I would like to single out on this Thanksgiving Day who stand out as the True Ladies and Gentlemen of the Blogosphere, holding their diplomatic heads up high above all others showing us all that politics and opinion despite loosing your head at times does not have to mean also losing one's manners.

The first of those is Hugh Hewitt, who I call 'The Ultimate Gentleman' of the Blogosphere. Gentleman because he encompasses all the qualities that the word originally meant and more.

Ed Morrissey @ Captain's Quarters, 'The Gentle Giant', because he has the biggest heart which he proudly wears on his sleeve.

The Anchoress is 'The Angel' because she simply is one.

The Five Love Languages

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'Our Kenny', otherwise known as Kenny Pierce @ Redneck Peril, who started off as a reader of my blog, and ended up getting fan mail on All Things Beautiful, has now been allocated special 'Kenny bandwidth', specifically to cater for his long comments on my previous post 'Theology Matters', and 'You Just Need to Walk Away'. And my readers are loving it!

We were both featured by one of my favorites -  Hugh Hewitt, originally myself only, in relation to my coverage of Hugh's 'not to be missed'  'One True God Blog', and then as his introduction to the real star of my blog - 'Our Kenny' -  the Author of the 'Longest Comment in the History of the Bloggosphere'.

Now, I will tell you the story about the 'Five Languages of Love', told in a simple e-mail to me by 'Our Kenny', and posted here as a great read:

You Just Need To Walk Away...

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Last night, I read on Ed Morrissey's blog :

"I wasn't aware that "articulate" constituted some sort of racist smear, but apparently Oliver Willis writes his weblog to set us all straight. When I wrote that Michael Steele, Maryland's lieutenant governor, had that particular quality, it must have made Oliver rather angry. Paying a compliment to an African-American in his mind means that one assumes the rest of the population lacks the quality noted in the one."

What Ed actually said was: "Articulate, knowledgeable, passionate, and humorous, he [Steele] embodies the communication skills of a Ronald Reagan with a keen grasp of policy."

You are such a racist Ed! How could you speak like that about an African American person?! Can you not be more sensitive and say: "Inarticulate, stupid, dispassionate, and devoid of any sense of humor, he embodies the communication skills of a Richard Nixon with a keen grasp of policy."

Can we all just agree to compliment Oliver Willis by declaring that he is in no way articulate.

I apologize in advance for any racial slurs I may have inadvertantly uttered, such as the word 'racist' for example, I should have used the word 'potato' instead, much more appropriate. Don't you think, yes, much more appropriate and less racially explosive...although no, there is the digging of the potatoes in the South....yes that could be a racial slur.

Remembrance of Things Past

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Today we are all New Yorkers again

We remember, we mourn, and we do not forgive. (Please be patient whilst it's loading)

'One flew over the Mexican Border'

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A Man fires himself out of a cannon across the U.S. - Mexico border on Saturday, in the name of Art.

The Artistic Performance is called "One flew over the void", and is a living sculpture  depicting "Dissolving borders" between the two countries.

Just something to make you laugh this morning Michelle Malkin! That's all we need, huh?

Homage to Warhol

 

In eager anticipation of Holly Wiersma's long awaited movie 'Factory Girl', we manipulated this portrait of me as a homage to Andy Warhol. It really is amazing what you can accomplish with software these days. The above was done with Photoshop, and although it takes some time to get to grips with, it is quite incredible what can be achieved flying solo.

The Miniature Earth

Today's bomb attacks on London made me think of two things: "How much more can we take?" and  "How much more are we going to take?". And then I remembered making a discovery a few years ago, a simplification of a set of statitics which we all think we know, but statistics that still eventually remain in the abstract. Well I've decided to point you to this albeit classic simplification of a subject which we still ponder about, world's statistics simple enough for us to understand. Make sure however that you wait long enough for the movie to download to enable you to press play.
"If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would be something like this:

One Bling for every Song you Love

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Here we go, the first 'That's Hot' post, which I have been meaning to do for a while now. It has to by definition be dedicated to Paris Hilton for obvious reasons, and my friend Amisha who just loves bling gadgets.

Podcasting is the future, and we have to arm ourselves with the chic equipment to match. One simply can't podcast without the bling! Encrusted with 1000 Swarovski crystals, one for each song you love to listen to on your iPod, or one for each podcast you collect and download, or one for each podcast you record yourself.

Bring that bling to the podcast thing, and take the plunge!

'You can never be too Rich or too Thin'

 

Nan Kempner, the best known of Manhattan's society hostesses made it her life’s work to test the truth of the Duchess of Windsor’s adage that a woman can never be too rich or too thin. Sadly one of the great society icons  died on Sunday, July 3, at her Manhattan apartment. Having known her socially for some years now, I have, like many others wondered how she managed to stay so wafer thin. "My chef " she said to me once with a wink. For lesser mortals like myself, hiring a chef was the beginning of my demise into constant weight gain, and trying to copy Nan by developing a smoking habit, only resulted in a very chronic and politically incorrect cough. I will miss her.

We Mourn with the Citizens of London

We mourn with the citizens of London.

We pledge to help track down and kill the perpetrators, the planners, and their helpers.

We note that it is 46 months after September 11, 2001, and that Osama bin Laden is still alive and at liberty. That somebody can plan September 11, and remain alive and at liberty provides powerful encouragement to those who think of following in his footsteps--including those who planned, aided, and carried out today's atrocity in London.

More attention to Osama bin Laden and his ilk, please. And less attention to using Osama bin Laden as a pretext for launching hair-brained neoconservative schemes, please."

Brad DeLong

Over 1700 dead Americans, and close to half a trillion dollars later....

My Father 'The Hero'

Read the extended version of the below post, written on 2 July 2006, including many moving comments from readers of Pekic and ATB.

Today is the 13th Anniversary of my father's death. It's always a very tough day for me, and it doesn't change as the years move on. This 'Sketch for a Portarait' of my father was written some ten years before his untimely death by his great friend and mentor Borislav Mihajlovic Mihiz, and for me captures the heart and soul of my memories of My Father 'The Hero'.
Only a short time has passed since Ivo Andric and Milos Crnjanski, having reached their zenith, began to bask in their future eternal fame and then passed from life to our literary tradition. They had ended their long, productive careers at an auspicious time in Serbian literature, leaving in their wake a number of gifted, first-rate writers who have already moved well into the realm of high art. I want to introduce one of them to you, one whose place in the future history of Serbian literature is already secure, and would be increasingly so. He is right here, living in our time, growing and developing before our very eyes - it is only right that we should get to know him.