Peruse Bush's Kansas State Speech

Gentle readers will note that recent posts have been few and brief. Life being what it is, SWNID lately has had to ignore some really delicious stories that need sustained attention. Consequently, we've only had the opportunity to blog what could be blogged quickly.

Today we would be remiss if we did not supply readers with a link to the transcript of Dubya's speech yesterday at Kansas State. We heard excerpts on the radio last night while washing dishes and have since only had the chance to scan parts of the transcript. Nevertheless, we will risk a judgment from our fragmentary examination: the speech was a masterful statement in plain language of the President's understanding of his duties, the state of the world and the needed response to it.

The President appears to have spoken extemporaneously from notes instead of from a prepared text. The effect was impressive. It was even more impressive when Bush took questions.

We hear that MSM outlets have focused on the President's response to a question about Brokeback Mountain. We find the transcript of that remark to be especially amusing, but we assume that the MSM presents it as a demonstration that Dubya is a Philistine.

Will Silence Be Bigger than Narnia?

Gentle reader calus the great informs us that the long-awaited film version of Shusaku Endo's masterpiece Silence, is finally underway.

We urge, encourage and admonish every gentle reader who has not read the novel, which SWNID nominates as the most important piece of Christian fiction of the 20th century (sorry, Lewis fans, I love every word that he wrote, but Silence is without peer), to read it soon so that the movie doesn't spoil it for you.

Martin Scorsese bought the option for Silence years ago. It appears that the success of other faith-films has at last produced financing for the project.

Silence is the story of a Portuguese Jesuit missionary to Japan in the 17th century. Longing for the fame of martyrdom, he goes to Japan to minister to its outlaw Roman Catholic community, whose live under constant threat of terrible torture and death. The novel is a profound meditation on human pride, the nature of grace, and the consequent nature of genuine Christian witness.

Endo, himself a Japanese Roman Catholic, reflected upon elements of Christian faith in all his novels. He writes with a distinct voice and a disturbing eye.

Too few American Christians have read Endo. It's time to correct that.

Fun Facts about Jack Bauer

We thank gentle reader Dave R for the following compendium of wisdom about our favorite cartoon character:

• If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.
  
• Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.
  
• If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
  
• Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.
  
• Jack Bauer got Helen Keller to talk.
  
• Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.
  
• Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
  
• 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
  
• Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
  
• Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
  
• Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.
  
• Let's get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.
  
• If Jack says "I just want to talk to him/her" and that him/her is you... well amigo, you're history.
  
• Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.
  
• When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer hates lemonade.
  
• Jack Bauer does not sleep. The only rest he needs is what he gets when he's knocked out or temporarily killed.
  
• In kindergarten, Jack Bauer killed a terrorist for Show and Tell.
  
• Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.
  
• As a child, Jack Bauer's first words were "There's no time!"
  
• Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.
  
• If you get 7 stars on your wanted level on Grand Theft Auto, Jack Bauer comes after you. You don't want to get 7 stars.
  
• Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
  
• Jesus died and rose from the dead in 3 days. It took Jack Bauer less than an hour. And he's done it twice.
  
• Guns don't kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.
  
• Losing a colleague or loved one for Jack Bauer is comparable to the feeling of missing the elevator for most people.
  
• No man has ever used the phrase, "Jack Bauer is a wimp" in a sentence and lived to tell
  
• Every time Jack Bauer yells "NOW!" at the end of a sentence, a terrorist dies.
  
• When terrorists go to hell, if they say Jack Bauer sent them, they get a group discount.

Lost Whale Sprouts Legs, Walks on Shore

Latest reports from London indicate a most unusual development in the story of the whale lost in the Thames River 40 miles from the English Channel.

The whale, seen at right, has apparently sprouted legs, donned men's swim trunks, size XXXXL, a baseball cap, water shoes and sunglasses, and stepped onto a pier.

Analysts report a similar phenomenon in July 1969 in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. There a similar though younger, somewhat less orotund creature emerged from the water by night, apparently trying to avoid detection by humans. Attention to the event was diverted as it occurred during the Apollo 11 moon landing. A female of unknown relationship to the creature was reported drowned at the same site.

Evolutionary biologists note that these phenomena do not properly constitute evidence of evolution, as both events can only be evaluated as devolution, a development from a more adaptable, intelligent, able species to one less so. "Survival of the less fit is not a tenent of Darwin's theory," noted one expert.

Hillary to Ds: Nominate Me to Maintain the Streak

So much bloggable news in the last few days ... so little time. SWNID will get to Ray Nagin soon, gentle readers. But this underreported flash needs immediate attention.

The New York Daily News is reporting a new Diageo/Hotline Poll that shows the following:

• Head to head, John McCain (motto: There's no problem that my legislative proposals won't make worse) beats St. Hillary of Dogpatch by 52% to 36%. This is one of the largest margins noted in the history of polling at this point in the election cycle.
• McCain drops to a 36% to 29% plurality over the ever-pollable "unnamed Democratic opponent."
• Hillary only manages a 2% plurality, well within the margin of error, against the "unnamed Republican opponent" (which translates into the vernacular as "corrupt tool of the megarich and job-outsourcing multinational corporations and enemy of America's working families").

The interpretation of these data is so clear that we feel pedantic (alert to gentle readers: "pedantic" is the SWNID Word of the Day) pointing it out. But pedantry is what we do, so here goes:

Hillary's negatives outside the hard core constituency of the Democrat party are so great that nominating her means a loss to almost any conceivable Republican candidate, including Richard Nixon's corpse.

The news is not that McCain beats Hillary. It's that anybody does. McCain will more likely win if the Democrats nominate Hillary than if the Democrats nominate John Kennedy's corpse. Same goes for any generic Evil Republican who would run against the Former Co-President.

So despite what one might think about the judgment of the American public (as demonstrated, say, in the music nominated for the Grammy Awards*), it appears that our republic may remain safely in the hands of registered voters through another presidential election.

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*Before a pedantic gentle reader points this out, I will acknowledge that the Grammy Awards are not based on sales or public opinion polling but on the judgment of members of the music industry. I aver, however, that such opinion is entirely commercial and reflects popular tastes. Further, I assert that the awards given at the "People's Choice Awards" will reflect even worse popular tastes.

Alito as Hamster

Mrs. SWNID shares the following bon mot from the impeccable Mark Steyn, who reflects on Sam Alito's confirmation hearings:

Even smear tactics require a certain plausibility. When you damn someone as a big scary mega-troubling racist misogynist homophobe and he seems to any rational observer perfectly non-scary and non-troubling, eventually you make yourself ridiculous. The boy who cried "Wolf!" at least took the precaution of doing so when there was no alleged predator in view. If he'd stood there crying 'Wolf!' while pointing at a hamster, he'd have been led away for counseling. That's the stage the Senate Democrats are at.

We again ask gentle readers to urge the Ds in their influence to rise to the role of a serious opposition party, and not the fringe band of lunatics that they have become.

Actual Debate Taking Place

A SWNID record for number of comments, eighteen currently, has been set on "The Surveillance Double Standard." We thank shadowy poster jpe for prompting the debate and longtime friend jb in ca for weighing in.

Gentle readers should note the difference in rhetorical style demonstrated by jpe versus SWNID and jb in ca. The former is, per himself, a "lawyer" who, by the powers of lawyerly reasoning and attention to facts, understands SWNID to be a "priest" (apparently Episcopalian or Orthodox, as SWNID is permanently and utterly married for over a quarter century). SWNID and jb in ca, on the other hand, are engaged in higher education: the former a Neutestamentler, the latter a philosopher. Hence, jpe appears to cross examine in comments, while SWNID and jb in ca wax didactic.

All participants are suitably arrogant, of course, as fits the tenor of this blog.

We urge gentle readers to follow the link and watch the fur fly. Or even to engage in the debate themselves.

However, as a new week has begun, this the first week of our spring semester, we doubt that we can say much more on the subject. The point is clear enough, in our never-in-doubt opinion. It is time, to borrow a phrase, to "move on."

In Memoriam: President David Palmer, 1941-2006

An assassin's bullet took the life of former President David Palmer yesterday. Palmer was 55.

Like Senator Bill Bradley a basketball star at Princeton University and the NBA, Palmer served two terms as a congressman and one as a senator before being elected to the presidency. He served one term, as personal scandals undermined his campaign for reelection.

Palmer's political career was distinguished by his extraordinary level of integrity and honesty with the public. Likewise, he was noted for decisive leadership and exceptional courage in times of crisis. Facing down an assassination attempt during the California primary in his first presidential campaign, he later led the country through two serious terrorist threats involving weapons of mass destruction.

It was his personal life that proved his undoing, however. Estranged from his wife, Sherry, during his first presidential campaign, he was later undermined by her politically. His refusal to cover up his wife's activities, beginning with her attempt to hush up their son's involvement in the death of a man accused of raping their daughter, was seen by many as his greatest demonstration of integrity. Others, however, questioned whether a man with such a chaotic household could lead a nation.

Those who knew him personally often commented on Palmer's strength of character. Loyal and warm toward associates, he could nevertheless be steely in his determination. The "Palmer stare"--eyes set, nostrils flared, mouth firm--was legendary.

Out of office, Palmer served as a consultant to the administration of President Logan. He supplemented his income by serving as spokesman for Allstate Insurance.

He is survived by a son, a daughter, and one brother.

Speculation is that his assassination was part of an elaborate plot to derail the antiterrorism pact to be signed yesterday between President Logan and the Russian government. Some also wonder whether the Serbian radicals who sought to assassinate him during his first presidential campaign are somehow involved.

Ironically enough, on the same day of Palmer's death, speculation abounds as to the possibility of America's first real African-American president. Contrarian pundit and jazz critic Stanley Crouch discusses the possibilities of a run by Condi Rice, recently remarked by the first lady as an excellent presidential prospect. Rice, however, is reported by news services as again denying that she has any interest in the job.

Those interested in changing party politics forever may want to check out this site.

A Preemptive Strike on Iran's Nukes

Another provocative piece on today's Telegraph is Harvard (!) Professor Niall Ferguson's bit of prognostication on one possible course that the future may take in the Middle East. In the mode of Sir John Hackett's influential The Third World War, August 1985, Ferguson notes the similarities between, on the one hand, the anti-semitic regime in Tehran rearming and the attendant difficulties that the Western democracies have in responding, and events of about 70 years ago.

He suggests that if war does break out, we will all have wished we had pre-empted Iran's nuclear program. The alternatives are far bleaker.

Will measures short of preemption be effective in protecting the world from the Iranian bomb? Does effective preemption lie within the military ability of the United States or one of its allies? Does it lie within anyone's political ability?

Will such questions get the attention they deserve? On this last point, we are confident of the answer. A prize goes to the first person who guesses.

No Blogging Tonight, 8-10 p.m. EST

We've been patiently waiting for this day since the end of May. We've wondered whether this might be the last such day. Whether it is or not, it's here. 24 has its season premiere tonight.

Gentle readers, there will be no blogging between 8 and 10 p.m. EST. Please do not phone during those hours either.

Fox has teased its addicted public relentlessly about this event. We refer gentle readers to the Fox Video site (on the site, click the link at left for 24) for a clip from episode one of season five, some shallow showbiz interviews with cast members, footage of Kiefer Sutherland cutting a cake to celebrate the filming of the 100th episode, but most especially the last video, a promotion depicting "an obsessed 24 fan preparing for the premiere."

Regarding this last video, we have contemplated suing Fox for developing a promo so obviously based on SWNID. But in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 6:1-8, while not equating the Fox Network with the people of God, we will refrain.

One additional note: part of us hopes that this will indeed be the last season of 24, and we are disturbed by cast members suggesting that the show has inexhaustible potential, an assertion that lacks historical perspective. We fear that one day in a season to come, Jack will be surfing in a leather jacket and will deftly jump the shark poised to attack him. Let's keep it the experience pure, savoring memories and DVDs, with a tastefully limited run.

Please, Fox: don't do to 24 what you've done to the Simpsons.

The Iranian "Left Behind" Drama?

Is Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an Islamic apocalyptic nutjob? Well, we know that he's Islamic and a nutjob, so it's the apocalyptic bit that's in question.

Today's Telegraph offers some detail on the possibility that Ahmadinejad is pushing Iran's nuclear program to enable the appearance of the "Hidden Imam," a figure in Islam expected to appear at the end of days.

SWNID offers the following as a sort of analytical first strike, before this story gets circulated more widely:

• First, comparisons between the expectation of the "Hidden Imam" and the Christian belief in the return of Jesus (hereafter, parousia) will likely be offered whenever this matter is discussed in the press. Gentle readers should remember the dictum that wherever there are similarities, there are also differences. To date, we know of no Christian who has taken over a government and developed weapons of mass destruction to hasten the parousia. Not that it couldn't happen sometime, of course. But we also assert that Christianity is better equipped than Islam to offer internal critique of such a move, were it to occur.
• Second, whether Ahmadinejad is motivated by religious fervor or not is pretty much irrelevant. The bombs go off in the same way regardless of the motives of the guy who explodes them. The point is that a nuclear Iran is intolerable to the rest of the world until Iran becomes a true democracy. As Baroness Thatcher aptly observed, we cannot uninvent nuclear weapons. However, in the hands of liberal (in the historical and best sense of the term, meaning "committed to liberty") democracies, they are more likely to be used only to discourage their use by tyrants than under any other scenario.

Welcome, Leftists!

SWNID has noticed some comments recently posted expressing views somewhat to the left of the blogger. We are struck by this phenomenon, as any commenting on this blog has been unusual, much more so when the commenters are not personally known to the blogger (this is, after all, our little hobby, a means to commune with our peeps), and all the more so when the comments to not reflect the settled opinions of the blogger, who is, after all, seldom wrong.

But grateful for any comments made by actual human beings, we take this opportunity to welcome all members of the vast left-wing conspiracy, be they representatives of the Angry Left or of the Placid Left, if there is such a thing. We urge and encourage you to continue commenting during your sober moments, infrequent as they may be.

To demonstrate our goodwill, we make the following pledges:

We will not inquire about your sexual preferences, grooming habits, use of intoxicating or mood-altering substances, or dietary requirements. Not that it would do any good. No matter what you'd say, for all we know you could be one of the characters in the drawing at right.

We will not demean your favorite politicians or media outlets with silly puns (e.g., Barbara Boxershorts, New York Slimes). Such a practice is juvenile and insulting. We will instead from time to time offer sly nicknames (e.g., Teddy "Splash" Kennedy) or mottoes (e.g., MoveOn.org [motto: We haven't moved on since 1998]). This practice, while still insulting, is sophisticated, reminiscent as it is of Dave Barry's erudite subtlety.

We will not question your intelligence. We don't believe that the differences between conservatives and liberals are explaied by differences in intelligence. In the main, we believe that they are explained by differences in character. And since our character is superior, we are also constrained from openly questioning yours.

We will not complain of persecution, harassment, or personal offense for any remark directed against us. We will attempt the demeanor of Polycarp of Smyrna. It makes us look better and you look worse.

We will, however, delete your comments if they are of a sexual or scatological or patently profane nature. This is, after all, a family*-friendly site.

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*Explanation for leftists: families are what conservatives have instead of abortions.

The Surveillance Double Standard

Gentle readers of SWNID, being thinkers, naturally also regularly read The American Thinker. But to be sure you don't miss this one: a story noting the NY Times's very positive take on the "Echelon" domestic surveillance program during the Clinton administration.

What's noteworthy about Echelon is that it screens nearly all emails and phone calls made in the United States. The super-duper computer that operates Echelon combs those messages for key phrases, (e.g., "Danny really bombed last night") and then kicks out suspicious stuff for further analysis.

Gentle readers will note that such a program was much more intrusive than anything that the Bush administration is accused of doing. They should note as well that it was put to nefarious political purposes by St. Hillary and her randy husband. The Thinker notes that insiders blew the whistle on the sharing of information from Echelon with corporate donors for use against competitors.

Gentle readers will also remember that the Republicans are the party of big business and the Democrats are the party of the little guy.

Having previously noted the existence of this program under Clinton, SWNID says again that Congress has been woefully negligent in not passing statutes to define what constitutes proper and improper use of Echelon and similar spying technology. The War on Islamo-Fascism makes this all the more imperative.

Of course, the recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearings make clear why the Congress doesn't do its job. Congress's job is now to posture before cameras. Governing is the job of the Supreme Court and the MSM.

Write Your Congressman and Protect Your Access to SWNID

The winter edition of the vital City Journal is out, and it includes a detailed and compelling piece by Brian C. Anderson on the threat to free speech posed by campaign-finance reform. But note well: this threat is not just to the free speech expressed in cash contributions. It is to what might be said on talk radio, on cable TV, or even, dare we say it, on a blog.

That's right! If you want to keep getting SWNID's mix of free speech on subjects religious, cultural and political with the political intact, you should oppose all efforts to apply campaign finance regulations to the internet.

Actually, you should oppose campaign finance regulations, period. If there's one thing we've learned lately, it's that people can make up their minds even if they're overwhelmed with political ads. After all, Mark Mallory beat John Pepper like a conga drum.

But be sure of this: if the worst happens and the FEC tries to regulate what bloggers can write prior to elections, your faithful SWNID will continue shooting off his mouth with the level of arrogance and insensitivity that you've come to expect. Just let them try to fine us! You can't, as the saying goes, get blood from a turnip!

Final Score: Alito 42, Democrats 0

You've probably heard the one about Ted Kennedy belonging to an all-male club while he was in college. So Kennedy's questions to Sam Alito regarding his membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton have a whiff of ... what's the word? It begins with an h. "Hypostasis"? It escapes me.

Anyway, it seems there's more. The very quotes that Kennedy used in his questioning were clearly and deliberately lifted from context in a way that distorted them.

As it happens, distinguished conservative pundit and writer Dinesh D'Souza worked for Concerned Alumni of Princeton in the early 80s. He knew the context of Kennedy's quotation of the CAP newsletter:

People nowadays just don't seem to know their place. Everywhere one turns blacks and hispanics are demanding jobs simply because they're black and hispanic.

And guess what? It was a satire piece.

We salute ABC News for at least letting reporter Jake Tapper post this on his blog. We'll know that they're ready for the new media environment when they run such stories on the evening news. Not that anyone will be watching by then.

Israel to Robertson: So's Your Old Man

Various news agencies are reporting that the Israeli Tourism ministry has announced that Pat Robertson will be excluded from any development of the proposed Biblical theme park in Galilee.

Meanwhile, Robertson has reportedly issued an apology. Delivered by hand to Sharon's son (does anybody wonder how Robertson gets money for this stuff?), the letter ascribes Robertson's "inappropriate and insensitive" words to Robertson's "concern for the future safety of [Israel]."

This apparently was not enough to placate the tourism minister. Meanwhile, Hugo Chavez could not be reached for comment.

All this raises a question: now that Israel has broken ties with Robertson, will the rest of the world follow?

We can hope. And it seems that some have.

Over at the Conservative Voice, Adam Graham offers that Robertson has "jumped the shark" and calls for him to step down from the 700 Club. Graham's voice is heartening as he still finds means of viewing Robertson's legacy as positive in some regards, that is, "complex," like a "Christian Citizen Kane." He cites Robertson's notable achievements with Operation Blessing and Regent University, while noting his less than stellar record in politics.

But with Robertson's presence on TV, Graham nails the point succinctly:

CBN News is the crown jewel of the network. I remember how the reporters and anchors showed professionalism and poise while covering stories the mainstream media ignored. It is indeed for this reason that Robertson needs to step down from the 700 club. His comments detract from the professionalism of the committed men and women who work for his network. ... A man with foot in mouth disease should not be a broadcaster.

So what is Robertson's complex legacy? Again, we'll quote Graham:

Certainly, if at the end of my days, if it could be said that I helped feed millions, spread the Gospel across the globe, wrote a book on the end times that was better than Tim LaHaye's and rejected the pre-trib rapture, and hosted a TV show with a former Miss America that'd sound like a successful life to me. If on the other hand, I provided a forum for heretics and conmen, brought shame on my network through ill-chosen and unwise pronunciations, and had my political organization shrink to a shell of its former self because of my organizational decisions, than I'd have to consider my life a failure. What then if both were true? I guess that makes him human. For the flaws of great men are very great indeed.

SWNID, being SW but NID, says that Robertson's views of the end times are only marginally less flawed than LaHaye's. But we'll grudgingly grant Mr. Graham's assessment of Robertson's legacy, especially if doing so will in any respect hasten Robertson's departure from the airwaves.

Alito's Way: Breathe Deep, Talk Deep

SWNID has paid only passing attention to the Alito hearings, but it's clear enough that he'll sail through to confirmation. Just as clear is the way that the Senate Judiciary Committee Ds are using the hearings as a fundraising opportunity with NARAL, NOW, MoveOn.org and similar limousine liberal patrons. We like what James Taranto has to say about today's hearings, and the hearings in general, at OpinionJournal's "Best of the Web Today." Likewise, Peggy Noonan, whom we admire but haven't linked much, is discussing Alito with her usual graceful prose but an unusual amount of humor. She calls his approach "a low affect tour de force." Now there's a nicely crafted phrase. But for partisan, gloves-off humor, there's nothing like Ann Coulter, who uses the hearings to compare the two major parties:

Today's Republican Party stands for life, limited government and national defense. And today's Democratic Party stands for ... the right of women to have unprotected sex with men they don't especially like. We're the Blacks-Aren't-Property/Don't-Kill-Babies party. They're the Hook-Up party.

We see Alito as a master of patience with fools. As the senator's monologue goes on, Alito goes to his happy place, listening only enough to know the general subject of the question, if there is one (that means that he doesn't listen to Joe Biden at all). Then he patiently walks the bloviating senator, who was likely once a lawyer, through a detailed overview of the legal doctrines involved in the kind of case named, never committing himself to a decision.

For a careful judge, this has to be pretty easy. After all, he has no case before him to decide, just an issue. So he can't render a judgment. Politicians, on the other hand, imagine that everyone is like them. Ask a pol a question, he'll tell you what needs to be done (his "plan") and who will benefit from it (always "working American families," of course). So they don't get how a judge can't give a decision without an actual case. But for the judge, it's easy. He learned the principles in law school, so he just recites them, but he know that cases need facts and appeals need legal records. Having no facts or records, he just recites the principles.

So the judge looks knowledgable and evenhanded, while the senators look like political hacks.

Why NSA Datamining and "Wiretaps" Are Needed

Who recently arrested three Algerians plotting a bigger terrorist attack than 9/11?

The Italians.

Where were the attacks to take place?

The United States.

How did the Italians find the bad guys?

Wiretaps.

How do we know?

The story was covered by European media.

Who hasn't covered the story?

American media.

Why?

Speculation is that the story would support the activities of the NSA over which the President is being so heavily criticized.

Where can you read all about it?

The PowerLine ueberblog, what SWNID wishes we could grow up to become.

What's at Stake in the Global War on Terror

Over at National Review Online, contributing editor Michael Leeden passes along a letter from the family of deceased Navy Seal Robert Dean Stethem, who was tortured and killed by Hezbollah during an airplane hijacking 20 years ago. The letter was prompted by the German government’s release this week of one of Stethem’s murders, apparently in exchange for a German hostage in Iraq.

We strongly urge gentle readers to read the letter. Among other things, it reinforces several points noted variously in this blog. We enumerate:

*Our liberties are protected by the extraordinary self-sacrificial courage of a relatively small group of men.
*European governments are utterly irresponsible about global terrorism.
*The terrorist threat is actually quite old (the Munich Olympics were in 1972, as Stephen Spielberg has so tendentiously reminded us).
*Terrorists tend to stick together, regardless of their specific organization or ideology.
*There is absolutely no substitute for unwavering resolve against the evils of terrorism, as one cannot appease a person willing to torture and kill the innocent wholesale for a cause.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Bush administration has been complicit in the German release of this murderer. We can’t imagine why, unless it is in the vain hope of enlisting German support, which is both unlikely and mostly worthless at this stage. We would prefer that Stethem’s bravery be honored and all terrorists be warned by the hunting down and execution of this evildoer.

Defining Self Centeredness

Armin Meiwes is a cannibal. A German cannibal. It seems that he met a man on the internet who agreed to be killed and eaten by him. Thanks to the rigorous anti-cannibalism laws in the Federal Republic of Germany, he is now serving the inhumane sentence of 8 1/2 years in prison.

And he is filing lawsuits. The entertainment industry is exploiting him without his permission.

He is suing to stop the release of the film Butterfly: A Grimm Love Story, claiming it was based on his life.

"I feel used," MSNBC reports Meiwes as saying. His victim could not be reached for remarks on his own feelings.

Further, according to MSNBC:

Meiwes also is suing German rock band Rammstein, claiming its song "Mein Teil" (My Piece) refers to his case.

Perhaps if the EU hadn't sent so much money to the Palestinian Authority, it could provide better protections against cannibal exploitation at home.

We do not know where gentle readers can send donations for Meiwes's legal expenses, but we will pass the information along as it becomes available.