What lies behind us,
and what lies before us are small matters compared to
what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Chart of the Day: Infrastructure Hype of Obama and Other Spendthrift Statists
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| Courtesy of FEE |
Image of the Day
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| Via Lew Rockwell #sarcasm |
Censorship and the War on Movies
I've sidestepped 'The Interview" kerfuffle (a forgettable comedy flick best known for its death scene of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, shot down by a rocket hitting his helicopter; I believe that a leaked clip of that scene is available here, as of the date of this post ). In a country where our own political leaders are regularly ridiculed, this apparent attack to terrorize Sony for making and trying to release this film and threatening theaters agreeing to show this film is an appalling and unacceptable attempt to infringe on the natural right of free expression. I do understand a cultural sensitivity and the need to save face, but we have an idiom that any publicity is good publicity. Sony's comedy would have bombed at the box office, and reviewers would have panned the flick for free--without any pressure from North Korea; sometimes you give them enough rope to hang themselves. Instead, North Korea gave Sony tons of free publicity for the film that drew more viewers than would have occurred otherwise; I wasn't about to pay $6 pay per view just to get to a 20-second clip--it's like suffering through "St. Elmo's Fire" just to hear the hit song.
Somewhat more intriguing to me as a Catholic was Egypt's ban of the latest Exodus movie from Hollywood. What's interesting is that the Muslim nation's censor did not simply object to the appearance of one of God's prophets, Moses, in a film but that the account is an insult to Egypt's historic past. In particular, there have been claims that Israeli slaves were used to build Egypt's pyramids. The Egyptians claim not only did the pyramids predate the arrival of Abraham, but the workers were well-compensated. I myself am fascinated with poorly documented historical facts behind much of the Bible. I, like any scientist, am willing to go where the evidence takes me. But first, let's deal with the pyramid issue; even when I briefly Googled the issue on Jewish scholars, I find no claim of pyramids; one account I read suggested that the Jews were used for more pedestrian projects like storage facilities. I think the pyramid claim surfaced with certain key English scholars in recent centuries. Now there are interesting questions raised by skeptics about the alleged historical presence of a large-scale Israeli slave population in Egypt; for example, one might expect some mixed marriages between Egyptians and Israelites, and there is scant evidence of this; if the Israelites were key to the Egyptian economy, there's little evidence that their departure causes major economic problems; there are few artifacts establishing the path of the escaping Israelites to the Red Sea.
I will say there are a number of Youtube videos claiming to show contemporary chariot remains (of the Exodus time frame) near the end points of a projected narrow path between the shores of the Red Sea. There has been some interesting speculation on identifying the mysterious Pharaoh of the Exodus and whether he perished in the Red Sea crossing, including a subsequent military campaign by his successor possibly to gain replacement workers.
I understand Egyptian pride and likely distortions in any dramatization of Biblical events, but I think in their place. I would welcome movies that draw attention to historical Egypt and use the occasion of the movie as a teaching moment. The truth stands on its own. Censorship is counterproductive policy.
Facebook Corner
(Drudge Report). Police Again Turn Their Back on de Blasio...
Lack of professionalism. As much as I despise "progressive" de Blasio as a pro-liberty conservative, these men and women are employees of the NYC government and need to respect the will of the majority of residents who voted him into office. There's a time and place for expressing one's opinion as a private citizen and taxpayer--not while wearing your police uniform.
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| Via Libertarian Republic |
This is truly retarded, even for a pseudo-libertarian group. Everyone knows that this fear-mongering is based on a lie: "• Sen. Rand Paul incorrectly claimed "you will go to jail" if you don't buy health insurance and refuse to pay the tax penalty. The law specifically states that those who do not pay the penalty "shall not be subject to any criminal prosecution." Shortly after the law passed, the IRS commissioner at the time said the law precludes jail, but violators will likely face offsets against future tax refunds."
[I got some pushback to the effect that a lawless Administration doesn't care what's written into law and/or the enforcement policy can be scrapped in a heartbeat by Congress.]
Listen, arguing about a proposed law change won't make it happen. The Dems put that into the law just as in RomneyCare to avoid prosecuting people who can't afford to buy insurance. The GOP wants to repeal ObamaCare. So where is the support going to come for your "fix"?
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of the original artist via Heritage Foundation |
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| Courtesy of Henry Payne via Townhall |
Mannheim Steamroller, "Silent Night"
