IN MEMORIAM TONY BLANKLEY (1948-2012).

Another Great Champion of the Conservative Cause has died.





Anthony David "Tony" Blankley (January 21, 1948 – January 7, 2012) was born in London but emigrated with his parents to California. He had a brief stint as a child actor (!), and graduated from UCLA and Loyola Law School with a Juris Doctor. He spent 10 years as a prosecutor with the California Attorney General's office, until his conservative views brought him to the attention of Ronald Reagan. When the latter became President, Blankley served him as a political analyst and speechwriter. The high point of Blankley's career was as House Speaker Newt Gingrich's press secretary.

Apart from his lectures at a host of universities and his work for Edelman public relations in Washinton D.C. and The Heritage Foundation, Blankley was known as the author of two well-received books, The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? and American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century.

By far the best editorial I found on Mr Blankley is this one in The Washington Times, even though it focuses rather on the human being that he was and not on the Conservative:

Mr. Blankley’s dedication to journalism and the craft of writing was unmatched. His wife Lynda Davis told us he was working on his half-finished weekly column shortly before he died. This zeal was fueled by his love of country and deep concern for America’s direction. His two books, “The West’s Last Chance” and “American Grit,” both focused on our contemporary crisis but were tempered by hope and faith in the greatness of the United States and our people to turn it around. Mr. Blankley’s intelligence, experience and humanity made him a truly irreplaceable individual. While his family grieves for a missed husband and father, his extended family at The Washington Times is shedding tears of love and support for their fallen friend. Godspeed Tony Blankley. Requiescat in pace.

But I suspect that's only as it ought to be, right now.


Tony Blankley died in Washington, D.C. of stomach cancer on January 7, 2012 at Sibley Memorial Hospital, aged 63. A conservative intellectual of his stature will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace, Mr Blankley. God Bless.



MFBB.

TEXAS KILLER SANTA CLAUS WAS A MUSLIM.

Around Xmas, amidst a lot of stuff I typically have to take care of towards the end of the year, a short newsflash registered on my radar: "Texas gunman dressed as Santa Claus kills family, self".

Didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, the number of lunatics in this world is steadily increasing.

Then it was off to Poland.

When we got back, I stumbled upon this:






Via urbangrounds.com, but there are a lot of other blogs reporting on the TRUTH behind the Texas Xmas shootings.

In short, that truth is that the killer madman was a MUSLIM, that he could cope neither with his westernized family nor with the fact that his daughter was dating a dirty INFIDEL. So he did what he had to do - according to the muslims' Great Example, that old perverted paedophile scumbag named Mohammed. KILL HER. And with her, his family.


Now, how did Belgian whorenalists report on the story?

Same ol', same ol'. Just one example, Het Laatste Nieuws:


.

Not a fucking word about the REAL ISSUE, not even the to be carefully avoided 'M-word' or 'I-word': the evil politico-religious doctrine of islam at work. Now, that was the cream of Belgian reporters. Now over to the general populace. Accompanying this article were the reactions of eight people. I don't know what I find more appalling:





Translated:

1.) A remark, Kortrijk.

'They should urgently add a manual to those handguns you know. 'First look in the barrel and pull the trigger, before you point the gun on other people.'

Offensive? Not done? Tell us. 27/12/11 16h28


2.) maja konecke

'As a result of overpopulation this will only happen more often, you ain't seen nothing yet!'

Offensive? Not done? Tell us. 26/12/11 18h40


3.) Kansarax Buda, Erps-Kwerps

'And still there's people who are pro the public selling of guns... To them I say: read last month's stories... Is that what we want??'

Offensive? Not done? Tell us. 26/12/11 18h25


4.) Honest meaning, Ghent

'What a world. All the time more violence and less punishment for this violence. A downward spiral.'

Offensive? Not done? Tell us. 26/12/11 16u10


5.) wim janssens, Westerlo

copycat. This happened a few years back in the Promised Land.


Offensive? Not done? Tell us. 26/12/11 11u14


6.) Marc Spandel, Sint-Niklaas

'Since it is in America, the 'gifts' could have been the loaded handguns themselves because the murders occurred right after opening the packages... Maybe this was about a deliberately created drama between rivals whereby the onlookers too had to give up their lives.'


Offensive? Not done? Tell us. 26/12/11 09u19


7.) jefke fonske, Tremelo

'You always have to pay attention with what you buy for someone (best beforehand establish the amount you will spend etc)'


Offensive? Not done? Tell us. 26/12/11 07u49


8. Gee Bee, Bonheiden

'thus the question is: who committed suicide?'

Offensive? Not done? Tell us.26/12/11 07u32

I honestly don't know what is more "Offensive". The almost criminal negligence and distortion of the truth by our MSM for politically correct reasons...

... or the mind-blowing stupidity, childishness and completely misplaced 'know-it-all' attitude of what you can be sure is a representative sample of the average Belgian population. Each and every of those utterly silly remarks is testimony to a horrifying lack of knowledge about the background of the killer, to a gruesome prejudice against Americans and their 2nd Amendment, and to a gullibility that would make informed readers despair.

One throws in a stupid 'joke'. Another one is convinced it's the Earth's overpopulation. No. 5 sees fit to throw in an antisemitic line for chrissake ('this happened a few years back in the Promised Land'). For yet another one it's once more proof of the stupidity to allow Americans to bear their own arms. There's a Sherlock Holmes with a conspiration theory. And to top it off a doofus with a completely irrelevant question.


.... While the simple and horrible truth is that once more, islam's teachings have been at work here.

The ignorance is breathtaking. A decent press that would report honestly and offer sincere in-depth analysis, would in time yield a smart and objective readership. The above sample is a good measure for what we have got instead. Idiots who are as clueless as they are mindless.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT ICEHOUSE, JOHN CALE.

Icehouse with Hey Little Girl. Skip the frogs.





Thirty years ago and still good. Counts for something eh?



From the same period, John Cale with Dead or Alive.





Rock with balls. Thank you John D. for getting me to know this song back in 81!


Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.



MFBB.

THE CANCER OF ISLAM AT WORK IN AFRICA: NIGERIA GOING THE LEBANON WAY.

Twenty years ago, Nigeria was black Africa's powerhouse, with seemingly, at the time, prospects of becoming as prosperous as South Africa.

That prospect, that dream, is being relentlessly demolished. Because Nigeria is going the Lebanon way, and if current trends continue, I foresee a civil war that will make the dreadful Biafra conflict of the sixties pale by comparison.

The reason?

Nigeria's continuing islamization. Via our pals over at Gates of Vienna:

"Nigeria is an example of a country on the cusp of becoming Islamic: its population is now about 50% Muslim. As a result, it is subject to continuous low-level internecine warfare, punctuated by occasional flare-ups into massive violence, such as the Christmas Day bombings that killed dozens of people.

Yet Nigeria is not a true nation. It is not a homogeneous ethnic and cultural entity, but simply a patchwork relic of British colonialism. If it had formed naturally, it would consist of at least two states: a northern one (mostly Muslim) and a southern one (mostly non-Muslim).

The devout Muslims of northern Nigeria, as represented by the terrorist group Boko Haram (“Western education is a sin”), are now trying to create a de facto sharia state in their portion of the country. That’s what the Christmas Day bombings were about. And now the follow-up is an effort to drive the Christians out of the north and into the south.

Here’s the story from Asia News:





Boko Haram Gives Three Day Ultimatum to the Christians to Flee Northern Nigeria

The “Nigerian Taliban” also advise Muslims in the south to return to the north because they risk being killed by soldiers. Thousands of Christians fleeing. The bishops reject the sectarian drift of the conflict and ask for more security, but also no retaliation.

Lagos (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Christians in northern Nigeria have three days to leave the area before a series of attacks against them: This is the ultimatum set by the radical Islamic sect Boko Haram, which has claimed responsibility for the massacres that took place Christmas day in 12 sites across the states of Yobe and Borno (northeast), Niger (West), Plateau (central Nigeria). The killings have claimed the lives of over 40 people and already thousands of Christians are fleeing in terror.

The ultimatum comes a few days after the decision by President Goodluck Jonathan (a Christian) to declare a state of emergency for the areas attacked, with the deployment of armed soldiers.

It’s interesting that Boko Haram consider it necessary to advise Muslims to flee the south of Nigeria and move north:

Read the full story here.


As has been repeated so often on this site: ISLAM IS CANCER.

The sooner you realize it, the better.


MFBB.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

To all readers of good will, my best wishes for 2012!!! Thanks for tuning in.





MFBB.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to all the people of good will.




Personally, this was the first Christmas without my father, who, as this blog's followers know, died on May 2nd.

What was good is that the yearly tradition of my siblings and me gathering at my parents' house, together with our spouses and children, continued. As far as I'm concerned, I'm on good terms with all of them and I guess that goes for everybody.

This must have been a good thing for mother.

Throughout dinner, I kept looking at several of the photos of my dad mom placed in a number of locations throughout the dining room and kitchen area. It was sobering.

My sisters and I - we did have an exceptional father. There's a lot to be said of him, but I'm at a loss for words. Father - you are missed.



Good night.



MFBB.

BEING RIGHT FOR DUMMIES.

For starters, check out this Bill Whittle video. Watch your back for the Thought Police.





Hat tip CDR Salamander.


Then - who would have thunk it? - a European Central Bank study has come to the conclusion that too much government spending undermines a country's economic performance:

Europe is in the midst of a fiscal crisis caused by too much government spending, yet many of the continent’s politicians want the European Central Bank to purchase the dodgy debt of reckless welfare states such as Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal in order to prop up these big government policies.

So it’s especially noteworthy that economists at the European Central Bank have just produced a study showing that government spending is unambiguously harmful to economic performance. Here is a brief description of the key findings.

…we analyse a wide set of 108 countries composed of both developed and emerging and developing countries, using a long time span running from 1970-2008, and employing different proxies for government size… Our results show a significant negative effect of the size of government on growth. …Interestingly, government consumption is consistently detrimental to output growth irrespective of the country sample considered (OECD, emerging and developing countries).

There are two very interesting takeaways from this new research. First, the evidence shows that the problem is government spending, and that problem exists regardless of whether the budget is financed by taxes or borrowing. Unfortunately, too many supposedly conservative policy makers fail to grasp this key distinction and mistakenly focus on the symptom (deficits) rather than the underlying disease (big government).

The second key takeaway is that Europe’s corrupt political elite is engaging in a classic case of Mitchell’s Law, which is when one bad government policy is used to justify another bad government policy. In this case, they undermined prosperity by recklessly increasing the burden of government spending, and they’re now using the resulting fiscal crisis as an excuse to promote inflationary monetary policy by the European Central Bank.

The ECB study, by contrast, shows that the only good answer is to reduce the burden of the public sector. Moreover, the research also has a discussion of the growth-maximizing size of government.

… economic progress is limited when government is zero percent of the economy (absence of rule of law, property rights, etc.), but also when it is closer to 100 percent (the law of diminishing returns operates in addition to, e.g., increased taxation required to finance the government’s growing burden – which has adverse effects on human economic behaviour, namely on consumption decisions).

Cato@Liberty has the goods. Hat tip Barcepundit.

Of course, over here at DowneastBlog we don't need expensive ECB research to know that.


MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT AN EMOTIONAL FISH, TEARS FOR FEARS.

An emotional fish with - what else? - Celebrate.





Tears for Fears with Break it down again




Sorry for last Saturday's AWOL. I zonked out on the sofa at 9pm only to wake at 4am. So no, there was no sex either.



Gute Nacht.



MFBB.

BELGIAN PRESS SOON DECLARING LIEGE KILLER A SAINT?

By now you must all have heard about the nutter who on Tuesday, December 13, walked onto the Place Saint-Lambert in Liège, Belgium, and started to throw grenades and shoot at random in the shopping crowd. Two teenagers and an elderly woman were killed instantly, a toddler died shortly thereafter. More than a hundred people were wounded. Actually it's no small miracle that the number of dead - the perpetrator included, who reportedly shot himself - can still be counted on the fingers of one hand. Some good background can be found here - and don't forget to have a peek at the guy's cannabis farm.

The name of the killer? Nordine Amrani. Of Moroccan descent. Ahem.

As per usual, Belgian whorenalists tripped over each other in their frantic attempts to whitewash the killer. De Standaard was behaving as usual - horrible - but this time round it was Het Laatste Nieuws which went home with the Nobel Prize for Political Correctness. Barely a couple of hours after the massacre the Belgian population were kindly invited to have some compassion with poor Mr Amrani:





"AMRANI WAS AFRAID TO GO BACK TO JAIL." Golly. It really stands there. Well yeah, if you water about 2,800 cannabis plants a day and are the proud owner of enough handguns to equip a battalion, you may be beginning to suspect you might end up behind bars. Not for long of course, at least not in Belgium (after all he was free on parole). But having to interrupt your daily business at regular intervals to admire one of the numerous Belgian Holiday Resorts for Victims of Society from the inside may become a nuisance, true.


On the same day, four hours later, I took the following screenshot from the same newspaper's online edition:




"AMRANI DID NOT FEEL LIKE A MOROCCAN AND WAS NO MUSLIM". Sheesh. You can imagine the reporter's misty eyes when he wrote that tearjerker.

Anyway phew! THAT's reassuring!!! He did not feel like a Moroccan, he felt like a Belgian? Wonderful! Finally a fully integrated immigrant! Hey, btw asshole, why do you actually think in the first place we would be interested to know whether the murderer did not feel like a Moroccan? Why is it exactly that we have to be reminded that he was no muslim????


As things stand now, Amrani may be declared a Saint come December 13, 2012.

Now over to some headlines from the recent past.

Let us start with another gem from Het Laatste Nieuws. Do you remember this poor sod?



"BLOODBATH ON ARMY BASE BECAUSE PSYCHIATRIST HAD TO GO TO IRAQ". Yes, poor, poor poor Major Hasan killed 14 of the people he lived and worked with because he had to go to Iraq!!!! Well, as they say over here, 'je zou voor minder'. You'd do so for less.

Y'all can believe it? Do you notice the similarities between the excusing, soothing explanations in both cases? Under no pretext are we to suspect that the killer might have done his gruesome job out of some inbred hatred against the West and/or because of his cultural and religious background, even if the former chose to unleash hell on a Christmas market and the latter shouted 'Allahu Akbar' when emptying his automatic weapons on his colleagues.



However. There's less empathy when the killers are potential instruments to smear parties or schools of thought which are anathema to the regime. In 2006, an 18-year old madman called Hans Van Themsche murdered three people in Antwerp - a white two year old toddler, its Mauritanian nanny, and a Turkish woman. Since the guy's aunt was a VB member, the tragedy was gefundenes fressen to attack the VB, then Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht going as far as proclaiming that all those who had voted VB were responsible for the murder too. De Gucht, a notorious shmuck, is currently under investigation for possibly fraudulent homeownership of a villa in Tuscany, but I digress.


Another example, again with a Het Laatste Nieuws screenshot. In January, a lunatic by the name of Jared Lee Loughner gravely wounded Democratic US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killed several other people. Over at Het Laatste Nieuws , De Standaard et al champagne bottles were uncorked and wild parties held. After the hangovers, the editors crafted gems like this one:





"SHOOTINGS PUT PALIN IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER HATE CAMPAIGN". In the same breath, the author of the article sees fit to smear the Tea Party forchrissake, adding that 'it is a movement bent on obstructing President Obama's health care reforms'. Yeah right.


Then there is of course Anders Behring Breivik, who for the record I consider indeed 'our own terrorist'. FYI, Breivik's analysis I consider correct, his acts I condemn. Anyway, No sooner had he committed his gruesome murders or De Standaard published this article by Seumas Milne, who by a hair's width equalled the Norwegian killer to... American conservatives:





In a sane and honest society, people should have the possibility to hear different bells. As the above screenshots illustrate, in Belgium.... the population at large is fed a meticulously crafted media mix of highly subjective content, expressly designed with the aim to demonize ANYTHING that's a shade to the right of Stalin.


Poor, poor country of mine.


MFBB.

A BLACK DAY FOR BELGIUM: OPENLY GAY COMMUNIST NOW PRIME MINISTER; GOVERNMENT A HALL OF SHAME.

Belgium has a new government. It's a complete and utter disaster, and an insult to the basic principles of democracy and good governance.





The man on the front row, fourth from the left, is our new Prime Minister. Elio Di Rupo, a sixty year old openly gay Parti Socialiste hack, instrumental like basically his entire party in reducing Wallonia to utmost poverty and financial dependence on its northern counterpart, rich Flanders.

The manner in which the media - every single branch of it - go out of their way to write the most flattering hagiography about Mr Di Rupo is appalling.

I will try to flesh out this article later this evening.

In the meantime, if you are a productive, contributing Belgian citizen - take a powder.

A strong one.


MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT BECK, MOTT THE HOOPLE.

Beck with Chemtrails.



FYI, 2008.


Mott The Hoople with All the young dudes.



Had it not been for Bowie, who wrote this number, you'd never have heard from these chaps. 1972.



Goedenacht.


MFBB.

BRILLIANT PLAN OF THE DAY.

Worthy of the Supercommittee.



MFBB.

ZUM KOTZEN: ISLAMIC INDOCTRINATION IN GERMAN KINDERGARTENS.

Yes, it has come this far. Watch the following video in which an imam teaches German kindergarten kids how to clean themselves prior to islamic prayers, what a peaceful book the quran is etc.



The German blog Politically Incorrect has the goods.

Hat tip reader Koen Roelens.



MFBB.


P.S.: 'zum kotzen' means having to vomit. One would for less.

AUTUMN WALK WITH MY SON.

My four year old son and me walking in a hilly area in southern Flanders, with a tad of exxageration often called 'The Flemish Ardennes'. One might as well call the real Ardennes the Belgian Alps, but the name got stuck a long time ago. It was coined at the end of the nineteenth century by a man called Omer Wattez, I forgot what his occupation was, a pharmacist perhaps, but anyway, the man was so enamored of (t)his region he dubbed it the way we still call it today.

The photo was taken a week ago, on Sunday, November 20. It was a gorgeous late autumn afternoon, with a crisp blue sky, soft pale brown colors and fresh cool air that made you almost want to drink it.





My boy did quite well, not one moment asking if daddy would carry him. Looking at that photo now, I feel an immense gratitude for having gotten so much. Not much at all in the eyes of captains of industry, career politicians, astronauts and media celebs for sure, but I couldn't care less.

I am a product of my time and age, like everyone, but I think that my idea that we are here in this world to love, learn, and work towards fulfillment of mankinds ultimate destiny towards the stars... is pretty universal regardless of the continent or century one lives on - and in.

On an afternoon like that, it is difficult to believe that there is so much evil in the world. And judging by the news, the entire planet seems to be in turmoil and/or on the verge of a nervous breakdown. As much as I would have liked to just publish this pic and leave it at that, I feel I should add the following quote by Edmund Burke, father of Modern Conservatism:

“A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate.”

Good night - try to live a good life and take care of your loved ones.


MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT NINO FERRER, EARTH & FIRE.

Le Sud, an immortal song from the French-Italian chansonnier Nino Ferrer.





Equally immortal Dutch rock. Seasons from Earth & Fire.




Twas a seventies night. It was about time.


MFBB.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

For all TRUE Americans, that is.





So, not for those... hairy, smelly, lazy good-for-nothings of the OWS crowd. But not for their sympathizers either!

I'd like you to check out this great Michael Goodwin article, found on Fox News this morning: "It's time to talk turkey about income inequality":

"Imagine it’s 1621 in Plymouth and, instead of the Pilgrims and the Indians gathering for the First Thanksgiving, it’s conservatives and liberals. They are sitting down to share their harvests happily and express gratitude for survival.

Yeah, right.

In truth, they’d be fighting over who brought more and who ate more. Those who didn’t get a drumstick would shatter the idyllic scene with shrieking charges of “Turkey Inequality” and wails for “my fair share.”

I jest to make a point. The point being that, 390 years after the first symbol of gratitude created by Europeans on this continent, Americans are locked in a bitter conflict of ingratitude. The tug-of-war over the turkey wishbone is now a polarizing class struggle.

The dividing line is the loaded phrase “income inequality.” It’s all about who eats and who pays.

On one level, income inequality is real, and growing. Yet as a bedrock and urgent political issue, it’s pure hokum, cooked up in the socialist faculty lounges and the back rooms where the government unions pull the strings of puppet pols. The aim is to hijack emotions and grow the government pie so favored voters get a bigger slice.

It has surprisingly wide appeal. People from the vagabonds playing drums in Zuccotti Park to the billionaire mayor of New York who rousted them, Michael Bloomberg, say income inequality is a big problem..."

Read it all. But Goodwin's last paragraph contains the money quote:

"Having given up on the meaning of America, which is about expanding opportunity and liberty for everyone, income equalizers are pitting Americans against each other in a fight certain to make losers of us all."

Jawohl.


MFBB.

SPANIARDS ARE MORONS.

From the nosebleeding editors at that leftist rag, De Standaard:

RESOUNDING VICTORY FOR SPANISH CONSERVATIVES.


"This Sunday, November 20, the Spanish Conservative Party (PP) was the resounding victor in Spain's parliamentary elections. This much was clear after counting 75% of the votes. The PP claimed victory.


Mariano Rajoy's People's Party beat PM José Luis Zapatero's Socialist Party with utmost ease and can count on an absolute majority in Parliament.

After counting 75 per cent of the votes the PP could sign up 187 seats in the 350-seat Spanish House of Commons, the biggest score the party ever obtained. The socialists won 109 seats and have admitted their defeat.

The continuing high unemployment in Spain and the gloomy economic forecast in the country led many Spaniards in the voting booths to end Zapatero's premiership, which lasted almost eight years.

Rajoy and his PP now face the difficult task to turn around the Spanish economy and at the same time decrease the budget deficit by enhancing taxes and force through austerity measures."

Now, why are Spaniards MORONS then, you ask me?


Well, we have been there before.


Yes we have.


Many, many times on this blog we have pointed out the foolishness of the Spaniards to opt for Zapatero and his leftist loons when they had had such a terrific premiership in the person of the brave conservative Aznar, who amongst others slashed unemployment by 50%.


Six years ago, on this blog, I blasted the Spaniards for opting for a fucking communist and for giving in to muslim terrorists, in the wake of the Atocha bombings. Apparently, it took them 7 years to come to the same conclusion as I did back in 2004.

But that's not all. That lofty, competent gentleman Aznar had himself cleaned up the mess of an earlier generation of socialists under Felipe Gonzalez. And in 1982 it was for Gonzalez that the Spaniards chose after the center-right Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, once a technocrat in generalissimo Franco's government - which was responsible for the first 'Spanish Miracle' (Milagro Espanol). In fact, we see a pattern here and actually one that is repeating itself all across the globe. Leftist governments screw things up. When the screwing up has gotten so bad that the voters have had enough, they elect rightwingers again. The rightwingers may clean their predecessors' mess up, and get things back to normal. Then they are rewarded for that by the voters promptly electing leftist smoothtalkers again. These ones then right away set to work to obliterate the good results of the Right, after which the whole cycle can repeat itself.

There really isn't that much difference between the transitions a.) the UK's Attlee/Churchill, b.) Australia's Keating/Howard, c.) Canada's Martin/Harper, the US's Carter/Reagan or Spain's Gonzalez/Aznar. Or now Zapatero/Rajoy.


So, even if I'm pleased with yet another victory for the Right, it is also with a profound sense of déjà vu that I regard Spain's most recent whim. Rajoy inherits an unemployment of more than 20%, which is exactly what Aznar inherited from Gonzalez. Aznar brought it back to 10%. Personally, I don't think Rajoy is of the same caliber as Aznar - he's some kind of euro RINO - but still he should be able to get Spain back on track. Somewhat.

But what will be his reward four, or maybe eight years hence?

No, Spaniards are morons.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT RUPERT HOLMES, T.REX.

Him, from Rupert Holmes.




Essential seventies music.


T.Rex with Get it on.





Too.


Nite.


MFBB.

MARK STEYN ON THE GRAND CONVERGENCE OF THE NON-PRODUCTIVE.

Terrific article in the Orange County Register, Nov. 4, by Mark Steyn on the 'Occupy' movement: Occupiers part of grand alliance against the productive
At heart, Oakland's occupiers and worthless political class want to live as beneficiaries of a prosperous Western society without making any contribution to the productivity necessary to sustain it.

..."I don't "stand with the 99%," and certainly not downwind of them. But I'm all for their "occupation" continuing on its merry way. It usefully clarifies the stakes. At first glance, an alliance of anarchists and government might appear to be somewhat paradoxical. But the formal convergence in Oakland makes explicit the movement's aims: They're anarchists for statism, wild free-spirited youth demanding more and more total government control of every aspect of life – just so long as it respects the fundamental human right to sloth. What's happening in Oakland is a logical exercise in class solidarity: the government class enthusiastically backing the breakdown of civil order is making common cause with the leisured varsity class, the thuggish union class and the criminal class in order to stick it to what's left of the beleaguered productive class. It's a grand alliance of all those societal interests that wish to enjoy in perpetuity a lifestyle they are not willing to earn. Only the criminal class is reasonably upfront about this. The rest – the lifetime legislators, the unions defending lavish and unsustainable benefits, the "scholars" whiling away a somnolent half-decade at Complacency U – are obliged to dress it up a little with some hooey about "social justice" and whatnot.

But that's all it takes to get the media and modish if insecure corporate entities to string along. Whole Foods can probably pull it off. So can Ben & Jerry's, the wholly owned subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch corporation UniLever that nevertheless successfully passes itself off as some sort of tie-dyed Vermont hippie commune. But a chain of stores that sells shirts, ties, the garb of the corporate lackey, has a tougher sell. The class that gets up in the morning, pulls on its lousy Men's Wearhouse get-up and trudges off to work has to pay for all the other classes, and the strain is beginning to tell.

Let it be said that the "occupiers" are right on the banks: They shouldn't have been bailed out. America has one of the most dysfunctional banking systems in the civilized world, and most of its allegedly indispensable institutions should have been allowed to fail. But the Occupy Oakland types have no serious response, other than the overthrow of capitalism and its replacement by government-funded inertia.

America is seizing up before our eyes: The decrepit airports, the underwater property market, the education racket, the hyper-regulated business environment. Yet, curiously, the best example of this sclerosis is the alleged "revolutionary" movement itself. It's the voice of youth, yet everything about it is cobwebbed. It's more like an open-mike karaoke night of a revolution than the real thing. I don't mean just the placards with the same old portable quotes by Lenin et al, but also, say, the photograph in Forbes of Rachel, a 20-year-old "unemployed cosmetologist" with remarkably uncosmetological complexion, dressed in pink hair and nose ring as if it's London, 1977, and she's killing time at Camden Lock before the Pistols gig. Except that that's three-and-a-half decades ago, so it would be like the Sex Pistols dressing like the Andrews Sisters. Are America's revolting youth so totally pathetically moribund they can't even invent their own hideous fashion statements? Last weekend, the nonagenarian Commie Pete Seeger was wheeled out at Zuccotti Park to serenade the oppressed masses with "If I Had A Hammer." As it happens, I do have a hammer. Pace Mr. Seeger, they're not that difficult to acquire, even in a recession. But, if I took it to Zuccotti Park, I doubt very much anyone would know how to use it, or be able to muster the energy to do so.

At heart, Oakland's occupiers and worthless political class want more of the same fix that has made America the Brokest Nation in History: They expect to live as beneficiaries of a prosperous Western society without making any contribution to the productivity necessary to sustain it. This is the "idealism" that the media are happy to sentimentalize, and that enough poseurs among the corporate executives are happy to indulge – at least until the window smashing starts. To "occupy" Oakland or anywhere else, you have to have something to put in there. Yet the most striking feature of OWS is its hollowness. And in a strange way the emptiness of its threats may be a more telling indictment of a fin de civilization West than a more coherent protest movement could ever have mounted.
©MARK STEYN

Jawohl.


MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT THE WHITE STRIPES, FUN LOVIN' CRIMINALS.

The White Stripes with Seven Nation Army.





Fun Lovin' Criminals.



With Scooby Snacks, that was.


I s'ppose I'm sounding like a broken record when I say I'm too f*cked up to produce some decent posts, but that's how it is. I arrive home in the middle of the night too tired to get behind the puter. Christ.


MFBB.