Kind words concerning the junior senator from the great state of New York are rarely written in these pages, but Senator Hillary Clinton has made the right (and politically advantageous) decision in opposing the "International Freedom Center," an anti-American "historical" display masquerading as an educational exhibit that was to be placed near Ground Zero. From the New York Post: (thanks to natskvi)
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday dealt a crushing blow to the International Freedom Center planned for Ground Zero, saying she wants the project canned for failing to listen to the 9/11 families."I cannot support the IFC," Clinton declared last night in a strongly worded statement in response to an inquiry from The Post.
Her tough comments are Clinton's first significant remarks about the controversy raging at Ground Zero over the Freedom Center, which 9/11 families and other critics fear will become a center of anti-Americanism.
"While I want to ensure that development and rebuilding in lower Manhattan move forward expeditiously, I am troubled by the serious concerns family members and first responders have expressed to me," Clinton said.
"The LMDC [Lower Manhattan Development Corp.] has authority over the site and I do not believe we can move forward until it heeds and addresses their concerns."
Once again we owe the families of 9/11 thanks for holding policy makers feet to the flame... This is a small victory which I'm hopeful represents a much bigger issue -- the 'hate-America-first' crowd doesn't have a stranglehold on our government -- It only appears so because a majority of the left leaning malcontents and loud mouths in the media wish it to appear so --
Is Hilary Clinton more, or less, intelligent than her husband? If more intelligent, will her intelligence enable her to see, despite all the pre-fabricated nonsense, beyond the false pieties about, and the ignorance of, Islam? We are told that she has read, and is even a fan of, Oriana Fallaci. Can this be true? If so, it is a good sign. IF the American forces remain in Iraq much longer, the Republican candidate in 2008 may not be able to distance himself completely from the Bush Administration's policy, and as a result, will surely lose the election.
And thus what various Democratic candidates think about Islam, have learned about Islam, matters.
Hugh:
Who knows to what effect Hillary read or reads Oriana Fallaci? Did she do this reading before or after she gave Suha Arafat a big hug after Suha made her completely spurious claim that Israel was poisoning the Palestinians' water supplies?
Hillary is a politician, first and foremost, and therefore probably inclined to tell us what she thinks we want to hear.
In one of her recent books Oriana Fallaci reports that the owners of her favorite New York bookstore, the Argosy, tell her that Hilary and Bill are both big fans of hers. What shall we make of that? I don't know, but the thought that they have read Oriana Fallaci, or at least that Hilary has, and is a fan, is something one would of course like to believe. This doesn't mean I would support her. It means I would not necessarily go round the bend, as I otherwise might, if she were to be the candidate, or even the successful candidate.
It is the nature of Bill and Hillary Clinton that everyone they meet feels like friends of theirs. I know a few people who have met one or both, and they are remarkable in this ability. Separate from this is their innate intelligence. I have no doubt both are vastly superior to Bush Jr. in this regard, and his stance on principle is pretty worthless, because he is too stupid to engage in critical thinking vis a vis religious issues (as a "person of faith" he respects Islam).
I do know Bill reads voraciously. There can be little doubt he knows about the criticism of Islam sites like this one and others represent. Hillary no doubt listens to him. I think she will be a much better president that Bush, concerning the issue of Islam and its imperial designs. It is very hard to take the sum of a politician's words and intuit what their actions will be. They do tell people what they want to hear. She is hard headed enough not to be a flaky lefty...I hope!
Quijybo
I hope no one confuses the posting above with any kind of endorsement. It just struck me as a curious comment from Fallaci, passing on what she heard from the Argosy Bookstore owners (two, or possibly three, sisters), one worth being made aware of.
Tancredo, Giuliani, Ward Connerly, any number of Republicans would probably be better on the matter of Islam than Hillary Clinton -- given the constraints of the curreent Democratic Party. Wouldn't it be nice, however, if that Party, or some of those in it, were to study Islam, what its canonical texts contain and what its history tells us, and then were to speak about Islam truthfully, without fear of disfavor.
Someone might combine such truth-telling with a call for the American Forces to Leave Iraq, not because Islam is not a problem, but because it is, not because we did anything wrong in initially making war on Iraq, but because trying to construct a certain kind of peace is not only futile, but self-defeating if the goal is rightly regarded as sowing division and demoralization within Islam, not in creating a Muslim nation-state that will, necessarily, eventually (and probably quite quickly) revert to the status of enemy. "How do we know -- the Qur'an tells them so" -- this should be sung to the tune of "Faith, Hope, and Charity/That's the way to live successfully" a song made famous, I think, by Roy Rodgers and Dale Evans.
Young Lochinvar may not come from the West, but a reasonable facsimile, in the Democratic Party, of the late Senator Henry Jackson, who would treat Islam the way Jackson and Dickie Fosdick (and Richard Perle, in his pre-Hollinger salad-days), treated Soviet Communism, would thrill, and help purify the party. And would win.
Quijybo,
As a democrat (sorry Gary =( ) I hopes, I hopes I does.
The Prophet Geoff
BBUH
Prophet Geoff,
I certainly like the Dems more, but only because the Republicans stand behind an idiot like he is a savior. If it were Giuliani, or Hagel, or McCain, or probably a hundred other people capable of critical thought, I would not be appalled at the republicans, but they rallied behind their man, and he is a buffoon. Faith will not stop the Jihad. Reason and critical thinking, however, can pop the balloon that is Islam (I'm paraphrasing Ali Sina here).
Quijybo
Hillary Rodham Clinton used her anti-war voice in opposition to Vietnam, Supported the Black Panthers. Aligned with the Communist movement. On her trip to Afghanistan In November of 2003, she attacked Bush's "war on terror" policys as misguided in fromt of our miltary service men and women. Her remarks were broadcast on Al-Jazeera and used as a tool to empower the enemy. She later stood by her remarks, "What I said is what I believe".
Her Husband dropped our military size and strength down to nearly half of what he had at the begining of his first term.
At hearings after September 11, 2001 to lessen the restrictions on enviromental impact the military is burdened with, she did not attend, her husband's actions had the Navy training base closed at Vieques.
I would not take this non-support of the 9/11 memorial as reason to place her in the Oval office,
Geoff~ no probs my friend! I did after all vote for Clinton once (the 2nd term).
Not to worry, I have a good trainer in my Best Man / 2nd best friend (after my wife). He is teaching me to see just how bad just about Every politician is.... I always said it was the lesser of two evils, I just didn't know how true that was.