What You Should Be Reading on the Web

I slow down on the weekends. Hey, a girl needs her beauty sleep, right?

In the meantime, I've been reading up and here's some reading to keep you busy, too:

Victor Davis Hanson on former President Carter:

In his dotage, Carter is proving once again that he is as malicious and mean-spirited a public figure as he is historically ignorant. And for all his sanctimonious Christian veneer, and fly-fishing, ‘aw shucks blue-jeans image, he can’t hide an essentially ungracious and unkind soul.

If you do not have Dr. Hanson bookmarked yet, please do so. His words serve as a tincture on the would of our moral relativistic times.

Jonah Goldberg calls the Iraq War the extremists "exuse du jour". Of course Iraq has "made us less safe" and here is why:

If you’ve ever stood up to a bully, you know how this works. Confrontation tends to increase the chances of violence in the short term but decreases its likelihood in the long term. Any hunter will tell you that the most dangerous moment is when you’ve cornered an animal, and any cop will tell you that standing up to muggers puts you in danger. American colonists were less safe for standing up to King George III, and the United States was certainly safer in the short term when we stood on the sidelines while Germany was conquering Europe. Heck, we would have been safer in the short run if we’d responded to Pearl Harbor by telling the Japanese they could have the Pacific to themselves.

He contrasts standing up versus appeasement German style:

For me, the truly dismaying news this week didn’t come from the NIE but from the German media. A German opera house announced that it would cancel its staging of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” because Berlin police concluded that staging the opera — which includes a scene in which Jesus, Buddha, Poseidon and Muhammad are beheaded — would pose an “incalculable security risk” from jihadists. Germany, recall, proudly opposed the Iraq war — but still narrowly missed a Spain-style terrorist attack on its rail system this summer.

A leading Muslim spokesman in Germany explained that he was all for free speech, as long as it didn’t offend Muslims. The Germans’ all-too-typical appeasement of terrorism no doubt makes them “safer” and “creates” fewer terrorists.

And all it cost them — for now — is Mozart.

First it was Mozart and you said nothing. Then they came for Bach and you looked the other way. And then they came for the Dixie Chicks.....

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Dean Barrett over at Hugh Hewitt interviews himself about torture and even describes water boarding for those who would like to know....and I think you should know, if you're to form an intelligent opinion on the torture issue.

5) What’s the best way to get information?

Unquestionably water-boarding.

6) Gosh, I live in an intellectual broom closet and determinedly try to avoid any enlightenment on this subject. Please, please, please – don’t tell me what water-boarding is.

No dice. In water-boarding, the subject is strapped to a board with his feet above his head. A sheet of cellophane is placed over his face. Since the technique has existed and been used successfully for centuries, cellophane wasn’t always the face-covering tool of choice. It used to just be a cloth. The interrogator pours water over the cellophane. This triggers a gag reflex. The prisoner feels like he’s drowning. He feels that way because the combination of everything causes supreme disorientation. If one speaks with intelligence agents who openly used this technique like the French, Germans or Russians, they swear by it. It also works quickly. The rumor is that Khalid Sheikh Muhammad broke in under a minute.

Is it torture? To my way of thinking: Yes. Should torture be used to extract information from a terrorist in the midst of a horrid plan to kill people? Yes. Will some innocent people be harmed? Yes.

Do the terroists conform modern notions of warfare? No. Are their methods aimed at military targets? Not when they succeed in their mission.

Shouldn't we be better than terrorists? We are better than the terrorists. Ask the current residents at Abu Graib asking for the U.S. troops to "please come back". The U.S. is not engaging in wanton use of intense interrogation methods wantonly or without cause. This is war. It is hell. There is nothing nice about killing someone, to state the obvious. Remember Sheikh Kahlid Mohammed is still alive and to be tried by military tribunal. Hopefully, he is given a death sentence and publicly hanged.

Repeat: We are at war.

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Michelle Malkin is on a blogging roll. Her topics range from an FBI Raid in Louisiana against Arab store-owners. Very interesting. Watch for updates. She also talks about how God has to be taken out of Veggie Tales on NBC. Yes, that would be one of the pillars of the Mainstream Media displaying their tolerance for all to see. Finally, read her post about the French writer and teacher who is in hiding for having the temerity to say that Mohammed was a polygamist and the Koran reeks of violence.

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Finally, over at Ace some much need levity: First, the new Miss World order is looking, um, perky. The question on everyone's mind: Do all young ladies in the Czech Republic look that naturally beautiful? Hey, I just report. You decide. Second, Muslim cabbies in Minneapolis offended by booze swilling Westerners now get Taxi signs notifying potential customers to move along if they have booze. There will be unintended consequences to this latest indulgence in political correctness. First it was the drinkers. Then, it was the ham-sandwichers. And when they stopped driving Senate members who harrass young boys. Oh, wait, they are still welcome. I bet no one saw this coming.....