Wondering what's up with Spielberg's titles. "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial" and "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence," brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department.

Continually proving why the White House owes them no favors and should ignore their cries, the chairman of the NAACP vehemently attacked President Bush with language so offensive that even some Democrats have blanched.

Julian Bond, in remarks at the group's annual convention, said that Bush "has selected nominees from the Taliban wing of American politics, appeased the wretched appetites of the extreme right wing, and chosen Cabinet officials whose devotion to the Confederacy is nearly canine in its uncritical affection."

That's right, Bond compared Bush to an Islamic fundamentalist movement that rules much of Afghanistan, has drawn U.S. criticism for its treatment of women, its harboring accused ``terrorists,'' including Saudi militant Osama bin Laden, and its destruction of ancient Buddhist statues. And their obsession with saying that Republicans are all Confederates is downright silly. I do believe that the NAACP ignores the fact that more Republicans than Democrats voted for the Civil Rights Act in 1964, not to mention that the GOP is the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

We already knew that Bond and his brethren pretend not to notice that every White House adviser under Clinton was a white male, while President Bush has the most diverse leadership EVER.

It's a good thing that Bond is focused on the issues that really affect the daily lives of black Americans.

Case in point: Seattle, where a black activist protesting police violence hit Mayor Paul Schell with a megaphone, leaving the mayor with broken bones around his right eye. Now get this, the activist, Omari Tahir-Garrett, 55, says he was arrested only because he is black and had to be dragged out of court shouting he wanted to be tried under American Indian law. Meanwhile, outside a crowd of supporters demanded Garrett's release, chanting "Free Omari" and "No justice, no peace, no racist police!"

In the continuing effort to sexualize children, Surgeon General David Satcher is encouraging abstinence-plus sex-education.

"Imagine a violence-prevention program where kids are given automatic weapons. Or courses promoting tolerance where students are lectured by white supremacists and Afrocentrists. Only in the never-never land of sexual pedagogy is "wait until you're married, but here's a condom in case you have an uncontrollable urge in the meantime" considered anything but self-defeating." (Don Feder, TownHall.com)

Seriously, does a six-year-old need to know how to put on a condom? What's next, teaching kids what positions work best? Why should I let someone else talk to my future child about a subject that packs such an emotional wallop? That's my responsibility, not the schools, not the media. The last thing I need is for public schools to undermine what I tell them by saying that it's okay as long as they use protection, since kids are just mindless lemmings that need to have sex whenever and wherever.

Anyone who thinks that the Hollywood mentality is not as out in left field as described, take note. Last week on "Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher," this exchange was noted between talk show host Dennis Prager and comedian/actress Whoopi Goldberg:

Prager: Why is fighting Communism not a damn good reason? Fighting Nazism was a damn good reason to sacrifice your brothers. Why was fighting Communism morally different?

Goldberg: I'll tell you. Because to me, I'm not sure that Communism is necessarily a bad thing.

Later, when Maher posed that "the Communist empire was evil, and it was bent on world domination," Goldberg responded that she wouldn't say "that's a bad thing," and that the U.S. was also evil and sought to take over the world. Later, she says that the communist system of East Germany was okay because the people had been oppressed all their lives and didn't know any better.

That's it. I don't have to make any snide comments, Goldberg's speak for themselves.

Speaking of Commies, here's a bit regarding the good old-fashioned it-was-cool-until-the-Soviets-killed-millions-of-their-own-people-in-horrible-repression kind: Mayor John Norquist of Milwaukee pens a letter praising the Communist Party USA, which met over the weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Norquist "touted Milwaukee's socialist history in a letter welcoming the delegates," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. "In that sense," the mayor wrote, "we share many things in common with the long history of the Communist Party and all those engaged in the fight for a decent life for working people."

What's next, a letter to a Nazi group touting Milwaukee's proud German-American heritage? (OpinionJournal.com)

Cal Thomas wrapping up the legacy of ex-president Clinton in his new book:

"President Clinton has prospered politically because he is like a parent who allows a child to eat his dessert instead of his vegetables to keep the child happy," Mr. Thomas writes. "Seeking such short-term approval leads to nutritional deficiency."

But wasn't Mr. Clinton largely forgiven, his escapades forgotten?

"Those who still defend this man for political reasons now call on the public to forgive him, though he has not made the request himself. But forgiveness without repentance is cheap grace. It says that what he did to himself, his family, and the nation is as acceptable as the behavior of those who remain faithful to their spouses and a good example to their children."

In other words, Bill Clinton is no Ronald Reagan.

"It was said of Ronald Reagan that he had so much respect for the presidency he never removed his suit coat while in the Oval Office. Clinton respects it so little he has trouble keeping his pants on there."

There were a couple of instances this week of refreshing honesty from members of the media on the long denied tilt to the left in the media.

Peter Jennings, in an interview in Boston, admitted that: "Those of us who went into journalism in the '50s or '60s it was sort of a liberal thing to do. Save the world. Conservative voices in the U.S. have not been as present as they might have been and should have been in the media."

As Jay Nordlinger in National Review wrote of the matter, that "what most irritates people like me is denial: There is no liberal bias. The second-most-irritating thing is: Yes, the media is dominated by liberal human beings, but that doesn't mean there is a liberal bias expressed. What I greatly prefer indeed, welcome is: Yes, there is a liberal bias, and there ought to be, dammit. Years ago, Barbara Walters acknowledged that liberals dominate the media because 'we care about the human condition.' Insulting as that might have been, the candor was utterly refreshing. Walter Cronkite has said similar things: that mainstream American journalists are liberal, and for good reason long may it wave."

The second instance came from Atlanta Journal-Constitution ombudsman Mike King, responding to those who say they smell something foul in the coverage of conservatives:

"That may be because their sense of smell is sometimes well founded. Two examples:

We didn't handle the follow-up stories to the Florida election vote recounts as well as we should have, placing some of them on page one when they tended to support Al Gore's campaign position and relegating those that upheld President Bush's margin of victory to inside the paper.

Not long ago we led the Constitution with a banner headline proclaiming "Bush booed in Sweden" that gave disproportionate attention to protesters of American policies, from the use of the death penalty to how to deal with global warming, instead of the substantive news on the day when President Bush was meeting with world leaders.

Again, what we lost in these stories was the context necessary to explain why we felt they were important enough to merit the front page. It should go without saying: Losing context is a barrier to good reporting and greatly damages credibility. It also contributes heavily to the conspiracy theorists."

Homer quote: "Your lives are in the hands of men no smarter than you or I, many of them incompetent boobs. I know this because I worked alongside them, gone bowling with them, watched them pass me over for promotions time and again. And I say... This stinks!"

Bart's chalkboard: "They are laughing at me, not with me."

Random site: Ideology indicator. BTW, I'm considered a neoconservative.



Jeff's Editorial Page | Column Archives   | Home