VDH discusses European vs American Morality

Victor Davis Hanson knows so well how to say what anyone with a sense of decency innately knows. From NRO:

A Teachable Moment on American-European Faultlines
By Victor Davis Hanson
The full story is not out on Dominique Strauss-Kahn and he is innocent of forcible sexual battery until proven guilty, but already the case has exposed an ancient abyss between European elite and American popular cultures — accentuated by the differences between New York’s rough-and-tumble media and legal worlds on one hand and IMF technocracy and French privilege on the other. There are also questions of race and asymmetrical power in play, as well as the notion that an IMF head should adopt at least a façade of probity and sacrifice, given that his organization lectures tens of millions on fiscal sobriety and belt-tightening.

So far what confuses Americans the most, superficially at least, is that a man of the Left like socialist Strauss-Kahn should seem so comfortable with the elite tastes of the damnable aristocracy — the astronomically priced suits, the $3,000-a-night suite, the Air France privileges, and the medieval Norman baron’s sense of entitlement regarding an immigrant housecleaner — while the supposedly neanderthal, right-wing Americans and their primitive “accusatory” legal system (read the French press on all that) so far are treating the rights of a maid as equal to a Eurocrat’s.

The wonder about the French cultural furor over the incident is not that they consider us parochial and “hung up” on sex, but that the press and its op-ed writers are so blatant in their expressions of class snobbery and national chauvinism. For all the Euro-lectures about Western imperialist colonialism, this story (fairly or unfairly) casts the Americans as the everyman and the French as the haughty technocrat furious that rules of equality under the law apply to him — not to mention modern notions of feminism, about which one would have expected a sophisticated Frenchman to be sensitive.

One also might have thought the French press would have taken more note of the angle that a foreign national accused of committing several felonies is drawing on considerable power, influence, and money in his legal contest with an immigrant maid from Africa. Instead, in French press accounts, one distills a veritable caricature: “How dare those backward Americans do this? Do they have any idea of who Strauss-Kahn is and what he represents, or how we civilized and sophisticated Europeans deal with these dime-a-dozen sort of low-rent sexual accusations against men of culture from mere chambermaids?”

A book also needs to be written about the psychology that drives elites to push for socialism or statism for others even though it would eventually end the easy affluence that they assume as near birthrights for themselves. A Strauss-Kahn suit, a jaunt to Vail, Martha’s Vineyard, or Costa del Sol — these are not only at odds with the notion of a state-mandated equality of result, they are themselves just dessert fruits of capitalism that would wither on the vine if socialism were fully enacted.

What is it that gives powerful people who think we should all provide for others, on their say so, yet they are so arrogant.

Theme for memorial tea shirts right off the campaign blog

It was outrageous that the memorial service turned into a cheering Obama  rally complete with tea shirts. Canada Free Press tracked down the origin of the slogan on the shirts.  

Theme of “Together We Thrive” T-shirt came from Obama’s Organizing for America
By Judi McLeod Friday, January 14, 2011

The “Together We Thrive” T-shirts that starred at Wednesday’s Arizona `Memorial’ originated from Organizing for America (here), a sad fact unearthed by The Drumbeat of Liberty and the Preservation of Freedom editor and Canada Free Press (CFP) columnist Robert Rohlfing.

In the controversy of the pep rally/rock concert style Memorial for those who lost their lives in Saturday’s Arizona tragedy, the mainstream media reported that the “Together We Thrive: Tucson & America” T-shirt given to mourners as they entered McKate Center was the idea of University of Arizona brass, not the Obama administration.

Yet the “Together We Thrive” slogan dates back to a post to Obama’s own Organizing for America in a Feb. 11, 2008 post by self-described “globalist” John Berry IV.

More than passing strange that the Obama campaign message of civility was the same on Feb. 11, 2008 as it was in his Wednesday Memorial speech, and the same one, too carried by the mainstream media in coverage of the Memorial.


“For too long Americans have been set one against the other. It is a side affect of a free market society,” Berry IV posted. “How can profits be maximized, how can I get the work down for the lowest possible costs. This continually sets one group against the other, especially in the blue collar sectors of America. It has become part of the American Business model, whether it was indentured servants, slaves picking cotton, sharecroppers, the industrious people that built the railroads or today’s migrant workers. As long as we remain divided, fighting for the scraps that America has to offer it will be one group against the other.

“What I see in Obama is a chance for revolution. (Italics CFP’s). A chance for every group to be heard; A chance to live the American dream that has been denied to so many…

“In a previous career, I was the global leader of Diversity for a global fortune 500 corporation. I have studied the affects of diverse groups working together and the results can not be denied. Together we Thrive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

University of Arizona brass did not originate the “Together We Thrive” T-shirt. They merely recycled it for Obama—and recycled it in time for what should have been a dignified Memorial for the dead.

If you were a mourner who took home a “Together We Thrive” T-shirt have a look at the bottom of your shirt. “Rocking America and Rocking the Vote” is a common theme of the DNC, and it’s right there on your Memorial T-shirt memento.

Welcome to the era of Obama, where cheering and standing ovations, for the first time in history, became part of the Requiem for the Dead.

I have posted the whole article here as I feel it is important that everyone know this was a campaign rally for the democrats, but more importantly for Obama.  To see a screen shot of the Organizing for America post go here.

The Wisdoms of VDH

You all know how I like this man's writings.  He has two websites I check regularly;
one is Works and Days , the other is Victor Davis Hanson's Private Papers .  He has some real jewels there right now.  Here are links to them.

The Obamaites’ About-Face
2011 Politically-Incorrect Resolutions
Paradoxes of the Present Age, Profound and Trivial
He does share his site with others and this one is by Bruce S. Thornton.
“No Labels,” No Democracy

Go read them all. I think Mr. Hanson is one of our great philosophers.

The Adminstration is using DOJ and IRS to try to squelch opponents

UPDATED below
This is according to an editorial in the Wall Street Journal.

Shutting Up Business
Democrats unleash the IRS and Justice on donors to their political opponents.
If at first you don't succeed, get some friends in high places to shut your opponents up. That's the latest Washington power play, as Democrats and liberals attack the Chamber of Commerce and independent spending groups in an attempt to stop businesses from participating in politics.
[....]
Chairman Max Baucus of the powerful Senate Finance Committee got the threats going last month when he asked Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman to investigate if certain tax exempt 501(c) groups had violated the law by engaging in too much political campaign activity. Lest there be any confusion about his targets, the Montana Democrat flagged articles focused on GOP-leaning groups, including Americans for Job Security and American Crossroads.

......In a letter to the Federal Election Commission, Minnesota Senator Al Franken expressed his profound concern that "foreign corporations are indirectly spending significant sums to influence American elections through third-party groups." From the man who stole his Senate election in a dubious recount, this is rich.

Even Mr. Franken admits in his letter that the Chamber's commingling of funds in its general accounts is not "per se illegal," but apparently he thinks it's fine to unleash federal investigators because the Chamber cash might contribute to the defeat of fellow Democrats.

The outrage over the Chamber is especially amusing considering the role of foreigners in U.S. labor unions. According to the Center for Competitive Politics, close to half of the unions that are members of the AFL-CIO are international. One man's corporate commingling is another's union dues.

There is more in the editorial, I have copied just a little. Read it all here.

UPDATE: I had guests yesterday so didn't do much online or watch the Sunday News shows. Apparently I missed CBS laughing at Axelrod over their attempt to slam the Chamber:

Schieffer Mocks Axelrod: Is Complaining About GOP Ad Dollars ‘The Best You Can Do?’
by Noel Sheppard

CBS’s Bob Schieffer on Sunday mocked President Obama’s senior adviser David Axelrod for echoing last week’s unsubstantiated charge by a liberal website that the Chamber of Commerce is funneling foreign money to support Republican candidates.

“The New York Times looked into the Chamber specifically and said the Chamber really isn’t putting foreign money into the campaign,” said the Face the Nation host.

“This part about foreign money, that appears to be peanuts,” chided Schieffer.
When Axelrod continued to press the issue, Schieffer said almost laughing, “If the only charge, three weeks into the election that the Democrats can make is that there’s somehow this may or may not be foreign money coming into the campaign, is that the best you can do?”

Indeed, which means that in the course of roughly 24 hours, both the New York Times and Bob Schieffer thought CAP’s claim was largely a bunch of baloney.

Even the folks at CBS remember where a lot of the Obama campaign money came from...
Read it all at Newsbusters.

We are all feeling alienated from our government

There are good reasons why. Here are some links:

The House Divided (Andrew McCarthy in National Review)
How long can a people remain a People when its leaders side with its foes?

Getting Lectured on Human Rights by Mexico (Mona Charen, National Review)

Krauthammer's Take (the Corner from National Review)

The Privileged Call for Limited Dictatorships (The Anchoress, First Things Magazine)
be sure you read this one if you don't read any of the others.

The New International Order (Richard Fernandez from Belmont Club, Pajama media)
another one of the "must reads."

Democratic Arrogance is everywhere

This from the Dead Pelican, a Louisiana political page similar to the Drudge Report:

EMAIL DETAILS CONSTITUENT'S CONFRONTATION WITH MARY LANDRIEU OVER HEALTH CARE

It matters not if you are liberal or conservative…We all had better start to pay attention to this lesson…..

I was in Washington DC yesterday. With 20 other restaurateurs we visited with the Louisiana congressional delegation. We had an enlightening talk with United States Senator Mary Landrieu, if you're interested in what a member of the Democratic leadership of the Senate had to say to her constituents, then read on.

Talking directly to me because of a question I asked her, concerning the fact that we will be forced to shrink our workforce and lay off several hundred employees if Obamacare takes effect she put me in my place. She said the following:

# We are paying for your employees health insurance now, if you cannot stay in business and pay for them, then we will just continue to pay for them after you are out of business. I think she really believes she is paying for it…she forgets that we…you and I are paying for it.

# We believe people need insurance more than jobs. I seriously doubt the folks I will have to terminate will agree with that, especially since I pointed out to her that many employees in hospitality are otherwise unemployable since they are unskilled and their alternative is welfare.

# The law does not differentiate between companies in industries with single digit profit margins like hospitality and industries with much higher profit margins…you have to learn to deal with it.

# If you don't like the bills we are passing then elect others.

# The bill is law, I do not want to discuss it, deal with it.

This just shows the arrogance of the Democratic congress.  There is more, read it all.

My Sentiments Exactly

From Real clear Politics
RNC Slams Specter for Being 'Rude and Arrogant'
by Tom Bevan

Seeking to capitalize on Snarlen(sp) Arlin's blunder the other day, RNC Co-Chairman Jan Larimer released the following statement:

“Senator Specter's rude and arrogant comments yesterday were not only disrespectful to Congresswoman Bachmann, but demeaning to all women. Senator Specter should immediately apologize to the Congresswoman and to all of his constituents for such disgraceful behavior. Women should never be treated as second class citizens. It's clear Senator Specter has spent too much time in Washington, and this November I am confident Pennsylvanians will choose a new direction.”

I started a draft post on this subject earlier this morning. This is a better way to put it. I had also included some remarks by Sarah Palin quoted in Gateway Pundit.

Sarah Palin sent out a Facebook message today in support of the March for Life that is being held on Friday. She told her supporters that real advocates are pro-life.

Life News reported:

“The pro-life movement is pro-women, and it empowers women with the message that we are strong enough and smart enough to be able to pursue education, vocations and avocations while giving life to a child,” she writes today.

“This movement is largely run by women. In fact, many of the earliest leaders of the women’s rights movement were pro-life – women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Alice Paul, the author of the original Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, who said, ‘Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women,’” the Feminists for Life member adds.

I think both these events show an anti-woman bias exists in liberals. Arrogance and believing a feminists would take away the most feminine part of her body, her unborn child, seems to be extremely anti-woman to me.

Did She Really Say That?

Why, yes, yes she did.  Martha Croakley is having a hard time of it lately.  Every thing she does is wrong, just wrong.  You all saw the video of the the administration thug who was sent to help her campaign pushing and shoving on a reporter. Now she has put her foot in her mouth even more.  I found this on Powerline blog, lots of links there, too.
Quotations from Chairman Martha

Coakley is ending the campaign on a high note of condescension. William Jacobson highlights a classic quote from a Boston Globe feature on Coakley's campaign. In an election with such high stakes, with so little time left in the campaign, the Globe wondered if she was being too passive.

"As opposed to standing outside Fenway Park? In the cold? Shaking hands?'' she fired back, in an obvious reference to a Brown video of him doing just that at the Winter Classic hockey game played at Fenway. 

 (Does "Let them eat cake" come to mind? RC)

 
Powerline continues

Coakley has achieved a remarkable two-fer. First, she alienated Massachusetts's hockey fans with her careless jab at the Winter Classic hockey game, a big deal to local sports fans. Now, former Red Sox star Curt Schilling is on the case. He has posted an item by Cassy Fiano about Coakley's faux pas on his blog, in a post titled "Want ANOTHER reason to NOT vote for Martha Coakley???":

...If she hasn't done it yet, Martha Coakley may have just killed her campaign...

 

She's apparently been trying to win the title of Worst Political Campaign Ever, and she might have just clinched it with her little dig at Scott Brown over Fenway Park [quoting the Globe article].

The appearance characterizes Coakley's approach to this truncated race. Aware that she has little time for the hand-shaking and baby-kissing of a standard political campaign, she has focused instead on rallying key political leaders, Democratic activists, and union organizers, in hope they will get people to the polls....

Coakley bristles at the suggestion that, with so little time left, in an election with such high stakes, she is being too passive.

"As opposed to standing outside Fenway Park? In the cold? Shaking hands?'' she fires back, in an apparent reference to a Brown online video of him doing just that. "This is a special election. And I know that I have the support of Kim Driscoll. And I now know the members of the [Salem] School Committee, who know far more people than I could ever meet.''

There are just so many things wrong with that statement.

Some might question why we here in South Texas should be concerned with politics way up there in the Northeast.  We should do anything we can to help get rid of the "Kennedy seat" in the senate.  Scott Brown said it so well when he said, "it is not the Kennedy seat, it is the PEOPLE's seat"   So true, so true.