Tag: Painful Truths

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Arthur, where are you?

Free speech, that old-fashioned notion enshrined in British Common Law and further enlarged in the American colonies, seems to be dying in the mother country. From The Guardian–

Don’t be absurd, you say. But would it be any more absurd than a student being arrested under section 5 for saying to a mounted policeman: “Excuse me, do you realise your horse is gay?“, or the 19-year-old Kyle Little, charged and convicted – though then cleared on appeal – for delivering what was described as a “daft little growl” and a woof at two labradors? Or a 15-year-old summonsed for holding up a sign outside the Church of Scientology’s central London headquarters saying: “Scientology is not a religion. It is a dangerous cult“? (I repeat those exact words here, as my own. Officer, you know where to find me.)

Then there was the gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, arrested and charged for shouting slogans and displaying placards condemning the persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people by Islamic governments, during a protest at a Hizb ut-Tahrir rally. And an evangelical Christian preacher who was convicted and fined for holding up a home-made sign that, beside the motto “Jesus is Lord”, proclaimed: “Stop immorality, stop homosexuality, stop lesbianism.”

It gets worse…

Section 5 of the 1986 Public Order Act says a person “is guilty of an offence if he (a) uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or (b) displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting, within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby”.

Plus, helping enforce that Act is a ratio of 1 CCTV camera for every 32 people.

Wow, lots of folks on Twitter and blogs would be headed straight to the hoosegow if we had that here. Oops, wait, we might be getting there-

Praised by colleagues as smart, friendly and passionate about the law, Teresa Wagner was a leading candidate when two jobs came open to teach writing at the University of Iowa law school. An alumnus, she was already working part-time at its writing center and received positive reviews from students and a key committee.

But after she interviewed with the faculty in 2007, one job went to someone without teaching experience and the other wasn’t filled. She was passed over for other jobs in the coming years. She now says she was blackballed because of her legal work against abortion rights and will take her complaint to a jury this week in a case that is being closely watched in higher education because of longstanding allegations of political bias at left-leaning law schools.

Conservatives have maintained for years that they are passed over for jobs and promotions at law schools because of their views, but formal challenges have been rare, in part because of the difficulty of proving discrimination. Wagner’s case is considered the first of its kind.

“This will put a spotlight on a terrible injustice that is being perpetrated throughout American higher education,” said Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, who says he routinely hears from rejected conservative professors. “What makes Teresa Wagner’s case so extraordinary is she came up with the documentary evidence of what was really going on.”

Seems like we’re starting down the same road- see almost any major university’s speech code.

I just finished watching a really hokey old movie, “Excalibur”, which is basically a straight retelling of the Morte D’Arthur. Really shows its age. Cringe-inducing- almost. But implicit in it is that one day, in her hour of greatest need, King Arthur will return to save Merrie England, presumably from herself. I’m thinking now might be a good time, Art.

And could you stop by the Colonies and remind our people of the one thing that is most important about our freedom- that silly old thing called Free Speech?

 

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Snark’o’the’day (so far)

“Quit whining, beyotches”* says Hilary, who of course didn’t direct her remarks to the latest whiner Anne-Marie Slaughter.

“I can’t stand whining,” Clinton told Marie Claire. “I can’t stand the kind of paralysis that some people fall into because they’re not happy with the choices they’ve made. You live in a time when there are endless choices. … Money certainly helps, and having that kind of financial privilege goes a long way, but you don’t even have to have money for it. But you have to work on yourself. … Do something!”

Clinton added, “Some women are not comfortable working at the pace and intensity you have to work at in these jobs. … Other women don’t break a sweat. …They have four or five, six kids. They’re highly organized, they have very supportive networks.”

My, the Hildebeast’s getting testy in her matronlyness…

Lea Goldman, director of features and special projects at Marie Claire, clarified in a statement that the “whining” comment wasn’t targeted at “that whiny beyotch”* Slaughter.

‘Course not.

*Some comments may have been modified to remove obfuscation and conform to my worldview. I’m not sorry.

via

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Suspended Between Light

Some writers are like fine wine, and are meant to be savored slowly and with maximum attentiveness. Sometimes, Gerard van der Leun is one of those.

The roots of my miracle go back many years and begin, as so many things do these days, online in a long correspondence that became, in time, a deep and abiding friendship and love. Part of that friendship entailed that, although we lived in separate towns, we spent some parts of each year visiting. In this particular autumn she was visiting me. And on this particular day she had — for obscure reasons — postponed her regular daily walk and, upon return, postponed her regular post-walk shower. This meant that during the time she would normally be either out of the house or under running water she just happened standing nearby when my heart stopped. The result was that she started the 911 response within seconds after I stopped breathing. Because of this the three units dispatched to help me came within minutes and returned me to life and transported me to the hospital where I spent the next 13 days suspended between a light and a light.

Like the taste? The whole bottle is here.

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Hildebeast taking a fall?

Nope. No way , Nuh-uh.

Drew M. over at Ace’s place puts it quite succinctly:

Mitt’s been running a campaign based on his leadership and Obama’s unwillingness and inability to lead. The second most popular (maybe the most popular) Democrat in the country, who happens to be Obama’s own Secretary of State, just co-signed that charge by stepping into the vacuum Obama’s cowardice created.

What Hillary has done is hand Mitt a baseball bat, turned him in the direction of the giant Obama pinata on stage tonight and said, “Have at buddy. Maybe I’ll see you in four years”.

Ah, the schadenfreude!

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Some of us knew in ’08

R. Emmett Tyrell, 9/25/08

According to this variation of the Taranto Principle, the media circulate infamies that encourage leftists to confect greater infamies, thus causing the defamed candidate to cop the sympathy vote. That vote will have consequences in this increasingly bizarre election.
Meanwhile the press continues to treat the inexperienced and gaffe-prone Senator Barack Obama as though he is the next JFK. Among the howlers is the presumption that he is an orator of great gifts as JFK was an orator of great gifts. In truth, the Prophet Obama suffers one of the strangest oratorical disabilities I have ever seen in a presidential candidate, to wit: his dependence on the teleprompter. We know of politicians who depend on the teleprompter for fluency. Senator Obama, however, relies on a teleprompter so that he will not be heard talking down to the electorate. If he is not lecturing with his nose in the air he is all uhhs and ahhs. Perhaps if he had served as mayor in a small town he would have gotten over this revealing disorder.

“How did this happen?”, indeed. Heh™.

via Best of the Web

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Biden last night- UPDATE it gets better

Stolen shamelessly from Fox News

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All Biden’s laughter, encapsulated:

Bonus points if you make it through the whole thing 🙂