Naiveté, Ignorance, and Idealism: A Dangerous Combination

Breitbart article (below) about Kayla Mueller who was abducted and killed by ISIS paints a different picture of this young woman than I previously understood. 

She seems to have been more in sympathy with the plight of the Palestinians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would put her at odds with much of what I believe about this conflict (short version: I do not view Israel as an "occupier"). 

A dangerous combination, naiveté, ignorance, and idealism. 

While I sorrow for her untimely death, and am angry at the slowness and passivity of the Obama administration in terms of responding to the evil that is Islamic State ("we missed rescuing her by this much..."), I'm also disappointed in the fact that this twenty-something literally died for a cause that I don't think she fully understood. Millennials in general, and leftists, in particular, don't tend to listen to both sides of an issue. 

Dennis Prager explains the Middle East problem in five minutes in the video below: 



Perhaps people like Kayla would be less likely to jump on the anti-Israel bandwagon if they learned more about Israel's history. Nevertheless, I am sorry for this loss. Such a brave soul. I wish I had a fraction of her courage. 

Mueller Appears to Have Been Misled, by Joel B. Pollack

The La La Land of Facebook

E-mail to a friend, posting here with a few edits and updates. The comparison of Facebook to the Matrix came up while we were texting. She hadn't heard of or seen the movie, so I followed up with this message:

What's the Matrix? Here's a short answer (from Wikipedia):

The Matrix is a 1999 American-Australian science fiction action film written and directed by The Wachowskis, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. It depicts a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix", created by sentient machines to subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Computer programmer "Neo" learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, which involves other people who have been freed from the "dream world".

​Facebook strikes me as a pretty good analogy. I've given up trying to inject "reality" into my occasional posts. People just don't seem to want to hear bad news. So while World War III is taking place in the real world, the good people in Facebook Land talk about sunrises, baby goats, puppies and kittens, grandkids, anniversaries, restaurants, etc. All fine, all fun, but try to interject something having to do with the real world and you run the risk of being "blocked or unfriended. Who likes a spoilsport? 

A few exceptions. One person in my "friend" list (she's not even a friend, just someone I know from the Writers Guild) is a rabble-rouser, unabashedly, unrelentingly political, can't stand Obama and isn't afraid to let people know. She's actually funny, snarky and sarcastic, constantly posting articles, etc. that I find interesting and actually read. One of the few Facebook denizens not plugged into the Matrix.

Other exceptions: Democrats reviving old grievances (against George W. Bush, the Iraq war), environmentalists or animal rights activists. Conservatives like me tend to tiptoe into Facebook Land, "like" something they agree with and even occasionally join the conversation. But we seldom step into left-leaning discussions (why isn't there a dislike button?).  

My involvement on Facebook lately is mostly passive, with the occasional random posting (some arcane bit of information like Botox being botulinum toxin would probably make the cut) or birthday greeting even though I'm still old school and love actual notes and cards (hand-written preferably). 

Occasionally I feel the old stirring of wanting to just SCREAM at stupid people who don't seem to care about what's happening outside the Matrix...but I get over it pretty quickly. I'm not sure that's a good thing, but it is what it is. 

Are We Charlie, Really?

Follow up to previous post: 

Listening to Mark Steyn literally fuming at those who are expressing "solidarity" with the murdered Charlie Hebdo journalists. These same people are the ones who are appeasing the radical Islamists. 

Here's Steyn on The Kelly File, saying much the same thing. 

One observation: why does Megyn Kelly refer to Mohammed as "the prophet" Mohammed? Would she refer to Jesus as "Lord and Savior" in an interview? 

The Mighty Pen?

Posting here two editorial cartoons following yesterday's despicable massacre in Paris. Putting on a brave face. 

The question is, Will there be anyone left with the courage to continue the "mission" of those who died? It's not entirely clear that western media and political leaders won't continue to kowtow to radical Islam. One day after the attack, President Obama's press secretary announced that Obama will be placing a priority on fighting Islamaphobia. Even today, some news outlets either won't print or are obscuring the offending cartoons from Charlie Hebdo (even while will permitting offensive images of Jesus Christ). 

So while yes, in the immediate aftermath of this assault on freedom of the press, millions of people are raising their pens in an expression of solidarity with the journalists and cartoonists who died in the massacre (Je suis Charlie), others are chiding them, among them this horrible man named Bill Donahue from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, who wrote that it's " too bad [Stephane Charbonnier] didn't 'understand the role he played in his tragic death."

So yes, raise your pens, raise your signs. But after that, will we write? draw? publish? We can only hope. 

Rob Tornoe 

Lucille Clerc

No Go Zones Coming to a City Near You?

What freaks me out is the idea of “no go areas” not just in France, but in other parts of Europe, as well, and apparently even in parts of the United States (Dearborn, Michigan). 

Imagine living in a no go zone and the authorities won’t come to your aid if you call for help. It’s a nightmare.

"Muslims Segregated from French Society in Growing Islamist Mini-States" (Washington Times, January 8, 2015).