When I was growing up, the Miss America pageant with Bert Parks was the Cadillac of beauty pageants. There was the Miss USA contest, but it reminded me of pro wrestling with various promotions each holding a world championship belt. I really wasn't a big fan of the shows. If anything, I was more interested in the state competitions (not in the annual battle over swimsuit competitions), e.g., would a Cinderella story develop, say, with a Miss Rhode Island or Miss Idaho making the list of finalists? Progressives, of course, had their own criteria--would this be the first black, brown, yellow, red, green or purple female to win the crown?
It was interesting to see a Lebanese American win this weekend. What's more intriguing is the set of questions that they ask today's contestants. We remember last year's Carrie Prejean kerfuffle over her cautious statement in support of traditional marriage. Now, granted, we are used to those divisive questions from the past, i.e., are you in favor of war or peace, pollution, etc.? Should people hate puppy dogs? Are you for or against adoption of orphans? But really--asking questions over the Arizona immigration law or whether birth control pills should be included in the Democratic Party Health Care Law? It's almost if they are hoping for another ratings-winner gimmick like last year.... I'm intrigued by seeing the ladies forced to think on their feet, but these are contrived, often with progressive political overtones.
AG Holder and the Hubris of Progressive Political Correctness
The recent exchange between Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Attorney General Eric Holder is notable for the ludicrous politically correct verbal gymnastics of Eric Holder to avoid using the phrase "Radical Islam":
AG Holder: No, no I don’t want to say anything negative about a religion… that’s not consistent with the teachings of it.
AG Holder: Well, I think potentially incited by an Islam that is inconsistent with the teachings [of Islam]…
Probably the most prominent study based on US Census figures estimates the number of Muslim Americans at 4 million, although other estimates have ranged up to 8 million. As I've mentioned before in my blog, by any objective standard, devout Muslims are patriotic, hard-working American citizens whom share traditional Judaic-Christian moral values and do not subscribe to or support a radical ideology. One of the things I truly admired during George W. Bush's unquestioned leadership following the 9/11 tragedies was the fact he warned against scapegoating Muslim Americans for the actions of foreign terrorists.
On the other hand, we do know that there are a number of radical madrasas (Islamic seminaries), particularly in Pakistan, which sanction violent means to achieve political/religious objectives (e.g., the imposition of Sharia law), and military battles have played a prominent role in the history and expansion of Islam from the start. (This is not to say that other religions haven't benefited from military conquest.) I'm not going to argue the relative proportion or influence of radical schools, but we also have the realize that in the aftermath of 9/11 the radicals enjoyed significant popularity among certain populations (e.g., the Palestinians).
I don't want to engage in legal hair-splitting over the choice in terminology. In fact, Eric Holder knows exactly what we're speaking of. We can adopt Lewis Powell's famous distinction on the classification of pornography (i.e., I know what it is when I see it). There are two principal points I want to get across: First, I seriously doubt that Eric Holder is an expert on Islam, able to offer a substantive opinion on whether there is such a thing as radical Islam--I may be wrong, but I doubt he's even read the Koran; my inference is that Holder's opinion is little more than regurgitated progressive talking points. Second, we don't need some morally self-superior elitist lecturing Congressman Smith over his choice of words. If Holder wants to use other terminology, fine; just don't waste time playing word games with a Congressman.
Political Cartoon
Gary Varvel notes that that the Greeks are mere amateurs when it comes to the spending of American progressive Democrats.
Quote of the Day
But for the act to be virtuous, the donor must give to the right person, for the right purpose, in the right amount, in the right manner, and at the right time.
Aristotle
Aristotle
Musical Interlude:: The AFI Music Top 100
I'm a big fan of musicals and movie theme songs; I'm starting a new series
#1. "Over the Rainbow"
#2. "As Time Goes By"
#3. "Singing in the Rain"
#4. "Moon River"
