Edward Cline's Blog, page 35

The Stalking Horses of "Delegitimization"

The organizers of the "Freedom Flotilla" thought they could shame Israel into lifting its blockade of Gaza by making it concede that the "humanitarian" supplies it carried in its various holds were indeed merely "humanitarian." They are oblivious or indifferent, but mostly hostile, to the necessity of Israel needing to inspect those cargos for arms and military materiel being smuggled to the terrorist organization Hamas. Hamas does not so much govern Gaza's 1.5 million people (aka "Palestinia...

Objectivist Blog Round-Up #151

Welcome to the June 3rd, 2010 edition of the Objectivist Round-Up. This week presents insight and analyses written by authors who are animated by Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand. According to Ayn Rand:

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

"About the Author," Atlas Shrugged, Appendix.

So without any further delay (and...

Flirting with Tyranny

The title is intriguing, tempting, and ostensibly relevant in today's culture: The Treason of the Clerks (La Trahison des clercs), by 20th century French novelist and critic, Julien Benda. By clerks, Benda meant Medieval scribes, a small class of men who could read and write and understand what others read and wrote. The vast majority of men in that period, including many in the various ruling aristocracies, were illiterate. Roger Kimball, in his New Criterion 1992 article on the relevance of...

Obama: Neither Naïve nor Foolish nor Misguided

With some minor editing, I sent this letter to Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post and other newspapers, in response to an article severely critical of President Barack Obama's foreign policy. In it, he points out that Obama's "make nice" policy and obsequious deference to statist regimes are backfiring.

Among other things, Krauthammer questions the friendship of Brazil and Turkey concerning the deal their leaders made with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to supply Ir...

Kagan the Pragmatist "Societal" Girl

What is the problem that so many liberal/left MSM pundits and columnists have with identifying the moral, political, and judicial philosophy of President Barack Obama's latest nominee for the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan? Fox Nation reports that:

In a 1996 paper [in the University of Chicago Law Review:] "Private Speech, Public Purpose: The Role of Governmental Motive in First Amendment Doctrine," Kagan argued it may be proper to suppress speech because it is offensive to...

A Brief Aside on Power

In my May 7th commentary, "'Civility' per Obama," I noted that:

One can't question someone's views or positions without delving into his motives and patriotism. (e.g., "Sir, if you know the idea is patently fraudulent, stupid, and costly, why are you for it?") (Emphasis mine)

I would like to briefly expand on that comment, for it is important to understand the motivation of those responsible for what can only become a catastrophe for this country. It is important for Americans to grasp it, whe...

"Civility" per Obama

Some would say it hardly matters at which school President Barack Obama gave his commencement address on May 1st. I agree. Most if not all American universities are top-heavy with every variety of left-wing and collectivist faculty, concentrated in the humanities and dedicated to lobotomizing their students and weeding out the recalcitrant. But while institutions like Harvard are noisily left, other major schools, like the University of Michigan, where Obama spoke, are quietly so. State unive...

Our Poster Boys for Censorship

I do not make many incursions into the realm of art here, but the Comedy Central/"South Park" imbroglio beckons to me. It is interesting and very important, as many other commentators have noted. It is not just about displaying images of Mohammed or offending Muslim religious sensibilities. It is about freedom of speech.

As evil as government-enforced censorship is, self-censorship is arguably a worse evil. It means that a government bureau needn't threaten you with punishment if you refuse t...

Our Poster Children for Censorship

I do not make many incursions into the realm of art here, but the Comedy Central/"South Park" imbroglio beckons to me. It is interesting and very important, as many other commentators have noted. It is not just about displaying images of Mohammed or offending Muslim religious sensibilities. It is about freedom of speech.

As evil as government-enforced censorship is, self-censorship is arguably a worse evil. It means that a government bureau needn't threaten you with punishment if you refuse t...

More Muhammad B..B..B..Blasphemy!

In response to the recent threats made by Islamists against the creators of South Park, here is my homage to Elvis and blasphemy to the prophet Muhammad and his wicked and intolerant disciples who threaten freedom of speech.



The original Elvis album cover and my inspiration is featured below: