the all searching eye

This CNN article exposing the misuse of $1 Billion of Katrina aid cites may officials who huffily express their disgust with what happened. For example, one Representative remarked

“…that is no excuse for the lack of preparation, the lack of internal controls and the lack of decisive and professional leadership”

Another Congressman observed:

This is an affront to the American taxpayer, who has been fleeced by the actions of these criminals and the lack of FEMA fraud prevention.

I share these Congressmen’s anger and frustration. My anger, however, is not directed towards “mismanagement” or a “lack of fraud prevention.” My anger is directed at the recipients of the aid. Granted many people used the government’s help legitimately, they were not entitled to it to begin with. And the fact that fraud and misuse existed on such a large scale reflects very poorly on the communities that received large amounts of money.

Unfortunately, instead of point the scorn where it belongs, Congressmen content themselves with political posturing and finger pointing. What they should have said is “We are sorry that so many classless Americans abused the tax payers’ magnanimity when so many hands were extended–demanded prompt and lavish aid only to abuse it. Next time the government will be much slower to shower hand outs. And perhaps, generous individuals will be much more cautious and slow to respond.”

When he is not wishing death upon undesirable heads of state, Pat busies himself by revealing God’s political views. Herewe can read about his moral pronouncements upon the head of the recently hospitalized Arial Sharon. Ironically, Sharon has done plenty of things to get a guy smitten down by God. However, Pat Robertson would applaud those past efforts, including the attempted occupation of Lebanon that resulted in Christian-led massacres in Palestinian refugee camps. What a strange thing it is that the act that would cause Sharon to be stricken down is the act of peace–one of the few Sharon has ever made.

A few weeks ago I posted commentary on Professor Alan Dershowitz’s optimistic view of the recent peace process in Palestine. One doubt I expressed was about those who would adopt the Palestine question as a symbol of a cosmic struggle between good and evil. Sadly, the recent speech by the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reinforced my fear. Several news agencies have reported on his words. Al-Jazeera gives many details, as well as Islamic Republic News Agency-the official state news organ. Some of the most disturbing comments include:

The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land.

This is a direct reference to the cosmic struggle I referred to.

As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map.

And

There is no doubt that the new wave (of attacks) in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot (Israel) from the face of the Islamic world.

The Imam referred to is Ayatollah Khomeini.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, the President stated that a world without the US and Israel would be possible.

If anyone has any doubt about why we are pressing Iran so hard on the issue of nuclear weapons, this should provide ample answer. This is not the talk of a leader who is interested in diplomacy or negotiation. As stated in the articles summing up his speech, he has declared that any Islamic state that recognizes Israel as a state or participates in the peace process will incur Iran’s wrath. This president has declared Israel and the United States as historic enemies, and he has threatened any nation who makes peace with them. Any questions?

While I am not in love with George W. Bush’s recent Supreme Court nominee, I have been disillusioned with Ann Coulter lately. When it came to John Roberts, she argued that he was “unaccomplished,” and that being from Harvard was meaningless. I believe the exact words were:

“He went to Harvard! And Harvard Law! (Since when does that impress right-wingers? So did Larry Tribe. It is one of the eternal mysteries of the world that liberals are good test-takers.)”

Suddenly though, Harvard graduates go from being “good test takers” to:

“The average LSAT score at SMU Law School is 155. The average LSAT at Harvard is 170. That’s a difference of approximately 1 1/2 standard deviations, a differential IQ experts routinely refer to as “big-ass” or “humongous.” Whatever else you think of them, the average Harvard Law School student is very smart.”

Since being a Federal Court of Appeals judge and a veteran government lawyer is not quite accomplishment enough for Ann Coulter, I don’t know what is. In fact, Roberts had more experience on the Federal court than Clarence Thomas did at the time of his nomination–and we know that Thomas is one of her favorites.

Of course, I don’t need to tell her any of that. After all, she is has suddenly decided that Roberts is exactly the type of person suited for the Supreme Court of the United States:

“Being a Supreme Court justice ought to be a mind-numbingly tedious job suitable only for super-nerds trained in legal reasoning like John Roberts.”

Now Ms. Coulter is essentially making the same argument about Miers: that she is unaccomplished. Of course, add to that that she may not be a good test taker–which Ann now says indicates a “humungous” gap between her intelligence and that of an Ivey Leaguer (like Ann).

I’m also confused about what Ann wants in a Justice. Does she want one who will decide cases “our way” (In other words, the way of the majority party)? or does she want a Justice who will refrain from deciding social policy issues, and who will exercise a passive role (this is what she said she liked about Scalia). She wants them to lean with the majority on social policy issues, yet she wants them to refrain from deciding social policy issues.

So is Ann crazy? Schizophrenic? No. Unfortunately, it is much less exciting. In the end, she is proving to be full of hot air. She knows where her bread is buttered, and she knows the pulse of her readership. For that reason, she is not afraid to sacrifice ideological consistency and coherence to keep an exciting, well-read column. She relies on smear, and when the subject of choice becomes yesterday’s news, she turns her invective on the next flavor of the week.

Yes, Ms. Coulter is a good writer. Yes, she’s smart. She’s also funny, clever, and quick-witted. But, what does she really think? I don’t think we know from her writing. Therefore, I don’t think we conservatives can safely rely on her to make our arguments for us, or to chuck bombs at the left. In fact, we don’t even need her. The left has driven itself into near-obsolescence without anyone’s help.

I’ve decided to start a culture column. It will appear once or twice a month and will contain something drawn from the vast pool of human historical knowledge. To start it off, I would like to direct readers to the U.S. government’s “Basic Readings in U.S. Democracy.” The website contains many transcripts of pivotal documents in our country’s history, including the Declaration, the Constitution, landmark court cases, and historic speeches. Each transcript is a time capsule, and taken together they illustrate the trajectory that our country has followed. Great acts of heroism and sacrifice stand in contrast to dark hours of injustice.
I encourage readers to browse these writings and speeches. They tell a great deal about where we have been.

Articles and editorials abound hyping the growing selectivity of elite colleges and of parents’ obsession with getting their children into one. However, this website of an admissions consulting firm will take you into the true twilight zone behind this craze. For example, the mission statement says:

IvyWise is an educational consulting company committed to providing comprehensive admissions counseling services to students and their families worldwide. IvyWise counselors are devoted to educating and guiding students through each step of the application process, enabling students to gain admission to the most selective nursery schools, kindergartens, secondary schools, colleges and universities, and graduate and professional schools

Well-to-do parents have so fallen off the deep end that they are paying five figures to get the upper hand in admissions processes. Unfortunately, this trend represents a growing materialism in our society. Yet, I do not want to give the impression that companies such as IvyWise are the problem. In fact, they derive their existence from the social factors that have created this ultra-competitive meritocracy which now reaches into the lives of toddlers.

At any rate, I was seriously disturbed at the concept of admission coaching for nursery school. I leave it to you to decide whether I am overreacting.
Abuzachary

In many of his writings, Religious scholar Hugh Nibley used scripture and other ancient sources to point out one of the great prevailing evils through all human history: Trading human life for money or profit.

The recent scourge of fraud in the wake of Katrina has angered me enough to actually make a post here about the hurricane–something I had decided not to do originally.

I encourage anyone making donations to the relief effort to read the article I ‘ve linked to above and to be very careful about where they send their money–especially through the internet. As in many other instances following a major disaster, corrupt people are spoofing the the Red Cross website and creating fake websites to take donation. This is a vile and revolting phenomenon, and I hope that as few people as possible will be fooled by it.

I wonder if anyone besides me is tired of reading headlines such as the following every other day:

Oil prices spike upon report that Saudi prince x skipped breakfast this morning…

Record prices for crude oil follow the news that a Pepsi machine was not refilled at a Riyadh refinery…

Gas prices reach $3.00 in the wake of a Bedouin allegedly sneezing within the vicinity of a Saudi pipeline…?

Saying that the U.S. depends on Saudi Arabia is like saying Michael Jackson is an interesting fellow. What’s disturbing about this is that we know Saudi oil money is providing the cash for many terrorist operations. In essence, Americans are chipping in to their own demise at the hands of some very bad people.

The eagle-eyed U.S. congress sees the obvious solutions in the new 12 billion dollar energy bill from which we will benefit “for the next five or ten years”. Basically, congress has helped line the pockets of already obscenely wealthy oil companies while simultaneously buying 10 years of time to say “just wait. Things will get better…”

In the meantime, we will continue to pay too much for gas, our economy will suffer, and worst of all, we will keep quivering in our depths every time a grain of sand in the Rub Al-Khalii is displaced.

Unfortunately, the answer is going to have to lie with the American people. We often refer to the generation that lived through the Depression and WWII as the finest in our history. The strength of our country was affirmed in their time because of a spirit of sacrifice. Sadly, now we turn to our government leaders for answer to these pressing problems of security and economy (which are inseparable). At the same time, we are not interested in changing self-destructive habits such as selfishness, over-indulgence, and ultra-consumerism in order to regain our independence from a foreign power.

Perhaps we could be thought of as a fine generation if we reversed the trends set in motion by our baby-boomer parents. If we made personal sacrifices such as disciplining our consumption, individually cutting our fuel usage (our grandparents even rationed their food!), and averting imminent servitude, we might just command that kind of respect from our grandchildren. In the meantime, we would financially weaken the terrorists who depend on the revenues from Saudi Arabian oil.

All-encompassingly has raised the issue of the subtle revisionism nearly all media sources are perpetrating in their coverage of the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombings. Spanish-speakers will also enjoy the commentary on argepundit. One of the most compelling points:

Los que realmente amamos la paz, sabemos que esta solo es posible cuando se basa en la justicia, no en la entrega y la rendición.

Roughly translated:

Those of us who really love peace know that it is only possible when it is based on Justice; not on giving-up and surrender.