The Case of the Translator and the House Speaker

Remember back in August when Vanity Fair ran that great article about Sibel Edmonds called “An Inconvenient Patriot“?

Part of the story was about how, as part of her work translating for the FBI, Sibel had overheard American Turkish Council types bragging about bribing the Speaker of the House, “Denny boy” Hastert, into withdrawing a House resolution condeming Turkey for the Armenian genocide. (Murderous governments condeming each other for 90-year-old pogroms seems a bit silly anyway, no?)

In any case, Hastert’s office basically just laughed it off at the time, but now 5 months later, for some strange reason, they have decided to defend themselves – in a quite pathetic manner.

BradBlog has the letter from Hastert’s attorney (including David Rose’s response) and Sibel’s complete demolition of of their too little too late defense of his actions.

Sibel Edmonds’ website

A Conspiracy of Dunces

Matt opines that Flemming Rose, the provocateur who commissioned the Muhammed-is-a-terrorist cartoons, can’t be accused of double-standards because he’s reprinting cartoons “satirizing” the Holocaust.

Not so fast, Matt: wait until he decides to visit David Irving in jail, perhaps with a file hidden inside a cake.

The point is that this issue has absolutely nothing to do with “free speech,” since the Danish government never tried to censor the cartoons. What it’s all about is hate, pure and simple — the kind of hate that precedes a war. With Rose bloviating about a “culture war” and a “clash of civilizations,” there isn’t any doubt about his intentions. The extremes, in this case, feed on each other. Somewhere, Osama bin Laden is smiling …

Re: Idiocy Times Two

If this comes to fruition, then at least Rose can’t be criticized for maintaining double standards on freedom of speech. We’ll see if the same holds true for the various commentators who have hailed his decision to run the Islam cartoons.

I hasten to note, however, that editors shouldn’t have to prove their objectivity/fairness/whatever by appeasing those who shriek loudest. If the point of the Muhammad cartoons was simply to challenge hate-speech laws, then taking on other, bigger taboos is a logical next step. But printing Holocaust cartoons in the name of “balance” is a non sequitur. It implies that, far beyond supporting free speech for both blasphemers and Holocaust deniers, a “fair” editor is obligated to see no difference between the two. If Rose really believes that, then yes, he is an idiot. If, however, his intention is to strike a blow against the thought police, then let’s hear it for those plucky Danes.

Idiocy Times Two

The provocateur at the center of the Muhammed cartoon controversy, Flemming Rose, verifies my thesis that he is a complete idiot by declaring that his newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, is seeking to publish cartoons “satirizing” …. the Holocaust. Where will they get these cartoons? Oh, not to worry: an Iranian newspaper has announced a Holocaust cartoon contest.

Ever Consider a Letter to the Editor?

There is no excusing the Muslim mobs who have used or threatened violence in response to the infamous Danish cartoons. Period. If that’s not immediately apparent to everyone, Messrs. Cavanaugh and Parris should help out.

One of the many galling aspects of this display of mass imbecility is the smugness it affords our own violent wackos in the West – for instance, those civilized gents who want to bomb al-Jazeera into submission for its “hate speech.” (If you think I’m talking about obscure bloggers, think again.) America’s wackos hate free speech, too, though they’re less enthusiastic than their Muslim counterparts about getting their own hands dirty – at least for now. A few months ago, one of David Horowitz’s goons was kind enough to provide us with a glimpse into the collective psyche of America’s brownshirts, who are apparently itching to let it all hang out:

    Expect heavily armed and infuriated conservatives to launch a cleansing war against the traitors. The armed will mow down the mostly unarmed segments, especially those elements that devoted forty-plus years to anti-American hatred to destroy this country. Should the likes of Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Michael Moore, Ward Churchill, Dennis Raimondo, et al. act out their sedition in a just-nuked America, expect their bodies to be found shot full of holes. Expect gun battles at banks, food stores, ATMs, gas stations, and outside hospitals. Leftist professors will be strung up. It will be every man, woman, and child for themselves.

You know, sending a rabid rant to Backtalk would be much easier, but whatever, dudes. Just please point that gun somewhere else as you lecture us on the sanctity of unfettered speech, OK?