Last Thursday, I mentioned the administration’s 2012 criticism of Charlie Hedbo’s decision to publish “offensive” cartoons. Comes now presidential spokesman Josh Earnest, defending that administration position and asserting that there will be more such presidential critiques directed toward noncompliant media in the future.
This reminds me of something. Oh, yes…
In the late 1930s, Winston Churchill spoke of the “unendurable..sense of our country falling into the power, into the orbit and influence of Nazi Germany, and of our existence becoming dependent upon their good will or pleasure…In a very few years, perhaps in a very few months, we shall be confronted with demands” which “may affect the surrender of territory or the surrender of liberty.” A “policy of submission” would entail “restrictions” upon freedom of speech and the press. “Indeed, I hear it said sometimes now that we cannot allow the Nazi system of dictatorship to be criticized by ordinary, common English politicians.” (excerpt is from The Last Lion: Alone
Churchill’s concern was not just a theoretical one. Following the German takeover of Czechoslovakia, photographs were available showing the plight of Czech Jews, dispossessed by the Nazis and wandering the roads of eastern Europe. Geoffrey Dawson, editor of The Times, refused to run any of them: it wouldn’t help the victims, he told his staff, and if they were published, Hitler would be offended. (same source as above.)
Obama’s desire to ensure that the media avoids antagonizing jihadis is of a piece with Chamberlain and Dawson’s desire to avoid antagonizing the Nazis.
And I’m reminded of something else Churchill said. In March 1938, he spoke of Britain and its allies descending incontinently, recklessly, the staircase which leads to a dark gulf. It is a fine broad staircase at the beginning, but, after a bit, the carpet ends. A little further on there are only flagstones, and, a little further on still, these break beneath your feet.
Link is via Instapundit, where there’s an active discussion going on:
http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/200928/#respond
Hussein is a Muslim, the thoughts and feelings of other Muslims are important to him. More important that your stupid rights white man.
Where would anyone ever get the idea leftists believe in a free press? They never have before. They’re like all tyrannical ideologies, free speech for them, everyone else needs to shut the hell up. And when they really gain lots of power, it’s say and write what you’re told to say and write, or else!
Churchill after Munich:
I will, therefore, begin by saying the most unpopular and most unwelcome thing. I will begin by saying what everybody would like to ignore or forget but which must nevertheless be stated, namely, that we have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat, and that France has suffered even more than we have.
The utmost my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been able to secure by all his immense exertions, by all the great efforts and mobilisation which took place in this country, and by all the anguish and strain through which we have passed in this country, the utmost he has been able to gain for Czechoslovakia in the matters which were in dispute has been that the German dictator, instead of snatching the victuals from the table, has been content to have them served to him course by course.
I would suggest this is appropriate for Obama but he does not understand or like Churchill.
Obama is a jihadi. His goal: destroy USA. Means: Nuclear war with Russia. Somehow he has taken control of the news media. We watch/read only propaganda created in the White House. It is as bad as Soviet propaganda but truth is suppressed totally. That is why Gen. Petraeus is being silenced. We live in a police state.
I think he understands Churchill rather well. That’s why the bust was shipped away. He also understands Christianity. That’s why he supports “equal marriage”, and deception and dope pushing and abortion. Really, there’s not much else to say that has not already been said. His worst critics, those derided as the lunatic fringe, are increasingly being proved correct, spot on. I still hold up hope that someone is going to stand up and start talking about it, but that hope is fading.
I doubt if Obama is actually a Muslim; for one thing, it seems highly unlikely that he could worship anything other than himself. It does seem, however, that the religion has a kind of numinous power for him (remember him saying the muezzin’s call to prayer was “the most beautiful sound in the world”–don’t remember him saying that about, for example, the church bells at Easter)..not surprising in view of the emotional power of childhood experiences.
For the most part, the “progressive” attraction to Islam was about seeking an ally against what they perceive as the brutish and ignorant American majority. In the long term, it will probably work out for them even worse than did Stalin’s alliance with Hitler, but in the interim may well cause an equal level of devastation.
What David said – I also don’t believe Obama worships much of anything aside from himself. But it is positively eerie how very sympathetic he appears to be when it comes to the Muslim world. Always the Iftar dinner … the most beautiful sound in the world … and the future not belonging to those who defame the prophet … insisting on how very much that the Muslim world contributed to the building of America. It’s all very … odd.
I still think he expects a great foreign policy triumph with Iran and is preening the Muslims as part of his strategy.
“Hussein is a Muslim”
No, I don’t think he’s a Muslim. But he is very sympathetic to islamic totalitarianism. Just as he approves of leftist totalitarianism.
Anyone who still supports Obama is on my “do not render aid” list.
That may be too benign soon.
Actually, we can be ontologically sure that he is a Muslim by both upbringing and legally. Father and stepfather were both Muslim and there is no sign of apostasy with either. Teaching anything but the Islamic faith would be considered apostasy. Mother was anti-Christian, anti-West. Pretty sure she was not teaching anything from the Judeo-Christian playbook.
And he went to school in Indonesia, where all schools are promoters of the Muslim faith. It has been argued that the school was in fact a Madrassa, but even their equivalent of secular public schools teach [and taught] the Islamic faith. I would bet that in every grade, they started the day with a recitation of the Shahada; the Muslim profession of faith and who is the divine press secretary.
One public recitation is all it takes to make you a Muslim under Islamic law.
Now he may not be devout currently [or he may, q.v. ‘taqiyya’]. But what indication is there from his public life that he holds any other faith tradition to be of value? Or that he is atheist/agnostic? Conversely, has he not shown an affinity for Islam in public life? At the very least he is culturally Muslim, just as the civic culture in this country essentially leans towards the Judeo-Christian tradition because the majority of the people are of that tradition.
Subotai “At the very least he is culturally Muslim”
That’s a reasonable supposition.
And we already know that he is culturally “God damn America” from his long connection to Rev Wright’s church of black fascism.
Side comment: Subotai, Subotai,… Wasn’t that the name of a Mongol ruler, or is my memory faulty? Would that the West had leaders as willing to to ruthlessly defend it from real enemies.
A very good article by Mona Charen, at Jewish World Review:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen011315.php3
Subi is right. So am I. Hussein is a mussie. Deal with it.
I completely agree that he worships nothing but himself. So what, he is not a theologian, but Islam is not theological, it is based on praxis. And so what if he doesn’t get out of bed at 5 am to pound his head on a rug. What per-cent of the world’s Muslims actually do that?
Rev. Wright’s church of black race hatred? Hussein never let on that he was baptized did he? He never heard the “sermons”. It was just a political thing. he did it to solidify his base. How many times has he gone to church since he moved to Washington. It would be all over the headlines if he did.
He is also a Communist. Not just a leftist, but an actual Communist. His father and his step-father might have been Muslims, but his mother, and the grand-parents who raised him were Communists. Is there a contradiction there? Only, if you care about philosophy and theology. Otherwise they are both triumphalist fascisms. Hussein experiences no tension along that axis.
Clearly, his favorite governments, Erdogan in Turkey, Khomeini in Iran, and Morsi in Egypt are all crosses between Islam and Fascism, and all purport to be “revolutionary.
He didn’t go to Paris last weekend. Of course not, Jihadis who kill Jews and opponents of Islam are his favorite people. He isn’t Charlie Hebdo, he is Hussein Kouachi.
To me the only interesting question, is how long after he leaves Washington on 20 Jan 2017 (a mere 737 days from now, Lord have mercy on us poor sinners), is it before he lets the mask drop and he shows his real face. Will he go to Mecca with the Saudi King he bowed down to?
He is going to make Jimmy Carter look saintly and patriotic.
His grandmother, typically in leftist families, was probably conservative and went to work every day so Barry could go to private school.
Subotai Bahadur was Genghis Khan’s chief general. I adopted it as a nom d’blog shortly after 9/11. Back when I was wearing a badge for a living, for a while I had a captain who was a PC politician, not a line officer. Right after 9/11, while one of my officers [I was a SGT] was getting ready to go [he was retired SF, in a Reserve SF unit]; said captain started yammering to the effect we were not really at war, and that all they would do is send a couple of US Marshals to Afghanistan to arrest Bin Laden. I had earlier posted the Congressional Authorization on our squad room bulletin board, and pointed to it and quoted it. Took the captain aback, it did.
He said, “____, you’re to the Right of Genghis Khan!”. I said,”No captain, you’re wrong. I am not to the Right of Genghis Khan. I am to the Right of Subotai Bahadur, his chief general . . . who was a real hard ass.”.
Captain threw up his hands and went back to his office. There was general approbation amongst my crew, and we went out to fight Darwin.
Khan is revered in Mongolia although no one knows where this tomb is located. His portrait is on their money and they are one of our firmest friends in Asia. They should try to transplant some of Khan’s y chromosomes to Obama.
In 2003 a groundbreaking historical genetics paper reported results which indicated that a substantial proportion of men in the world are direct line descendants of Genghis Khan. By direct line, I mean that they carry Y chromosomes which seem to have come down from an individual who lived approximately 1,000 years ago. As Y chromosomes are only passed from father to son, that would mean that the Y is a record of one’s patrilineage.
Obviously not Obama. I even wonder if he has a Y chromosome sometimes.
From Conan the Barbarian:
Subotai: Food… FOOD! I have not eaten for days.
Conan: And who says you will?
Subotai: Give me food, so I have strength when the wolves come. Let me die, not in hunger, but in combat!
Conan: Who are you?
Subotai: [jumps to his feet] I am Subotai! Thief and archer! I am Hyrkanian… the great order of Kerlait!
Conan: So what are you doing here?
Subotai: [holds up chains] Dinner for wolves.
[Conan laughs, Subotai laughs]
I’d heard that ∅ and his wife were in fact baptized, which would put him into apostate territory as far as the strict Moslems are concerned. I suspect that Foster is correct about who he worships, though.
Can’t Obama appoint a press Czar, then issue executive orders? There is zero chance of Congress acting on this, and according to noted Constitutional law scholar Obama, that is all the justification the President needs to issue an order.
Leftism is the abandonment of Western Civilization. That includes the destruction and abandonment of human rights.
“Subotai Bahadur was Genghis Khan’s chief general. I adopted it as a nom d’blog shortly after 9/11. Back when I was wearing a badge for a living…”
Great story. I’m glad I asked you rather than relying on “google is your friend”. I hope you continue to share your experiences and insights here.
And thank you for your service, sheepdog.
Kipling’s “Dane-Geld, A.D. 980-1016”
It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation
To call upon a neighbour and to say: —
“We invaded you last night–we are quite prepared to fight
Unless you pay us cash to go away.”
And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!
It is always a temptation for a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say: —
“Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”
And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.
It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray;
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say: —
“We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that pays it is lost!”
More on the big guy. Looking for his tomb.
he’s since been credited with great contributions to civilization.
Like his Y chromosome.
After they find Genghis’ tomb, they should look for ,a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaric_I#Death_and_funeral”>Alaric’s tomb. Alaric was the King of the Visigoths, who sacked Rome in 410 C.E. He died shortly after the sack in Southern Italy, and he was buried under the riverbed of the Busento near Cosenza in Calabria with some of his most precious loot. When the burial was completed, the river was was restored to its usual channel and the slaves who had done the work were put to death so that they could not tell others of the tomb’s location.
Do that right this time:
After they find Genghis’ tomb, they should look for Alaric’s tomb.