Category: The News

You’d think the NYT was slamming the US Military in Iraq.
But it turns out, it’s arch-terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi complaining about Al Qaeda.
I bet the food is terrible, too.

The Pope met with thousands of enthusiastic German pilgrims Monday for an audience; it lasted about ten minutes, but he arrived exactly half an hour late for it, coming from a meeting with non-Catholic religious leaders. He started with a greeting and an apology:

Welcome! I thank you with all my heart for the kind wishes, for the words and gestures of support and friendship that I have received from all the parts of Germany in such an overwhelming way. At the beginning of my path in an office that I had never thought of, and for which I didn’t regard myself as suited, all these signs of your support are really quite a source of strength and help.
Dear German countrymen, next I must beg pardon for the delay. Germans are used to punctuality; it seems I have already become very Italianized!

With irony, he addressed the inquisitiveness of his fellow countrymen about how he had come to be elected:

Now I must tell a little story about how it all happened, naturally without breaking the secrecy of the conclave…. [laughter]. When the course of the voting slowly made me recognize that, so to speak, the lot was going to fall to me, my emotions became quite dizzy: you see, I had believed that I had accomplished the purpose of my life, and could hope to ring out my days in peace. So with deep conviction I said to the Lord, “Don’t do this with me! You’ve got younger and better men, with altogether more vigor and more strength who could step up to this task.”

But a cardinal had slipped a note to him, in which he urged him to be obedient to the Biblical words, “Follow me”, and not to refuse.

So in the end there was nothing else remaining to me but to say yes. I’m trusting in the Lord, and I’m trusting in you, dear friends. A Christian is never alone, I said in the homily yesterday; that’s how I expressed the wonderful experience that we have been able to have in these unusual four weeks that lie behind us. At the death of the Pope, amid all the sorrow, the living Church has appeared and has become visible, so that the Church is a force for unity and a sign for humanity.

The worldwide attention to the last days and the death of John Paul the Second has itself shown what the Church means to people of today, said Pope Benedict.

In the Pope a father had become visible to them, who gave trust and conviction, who somehow bound everyone together. It became visible that the Church is not closed in upon herself, and is not here only for herself, but is a point of light for people in all the world.
It became visible that the Church is not at all old and stiff, many say; she is young and when we look upon this youth, this youth of the late Pope, and finally, at Christ’s tomb, by which angels were standing, then something no less consoling became visible. It is not at all true, as people always say, that the young are only interested in consumerism and pleasure. It is not true that they are materialistic and egoistic. The opposite is true: youth wants what is great! It wants that an end to injustice be declared; it wants inequality to be overcome, and that everyone get to have their share in the goods of the world; it wants the oppressed to gain their freedom; it wants what is great; it wants what is good. And for this reason youth is — you are, we are — altogether open for Christ.

On the World Youth Day:

I am looking forward to Köln, where the youth of the world will be meeting, or better: where the youth will have an encounter with Christ. Let’s go together, let’s keep together. I trust in your help. I ask for your patience when I make mistakes like any man or when some things remain incomprehensible, things the Pope has to say and do according to his conscience and the conscience of the Church. I ask you for your trust: let’s stay together; then we’ll find the right way.

And a word to his countrymen:

I’ve been in Rome for 23 1/2 years, but the roots remain, and I’ve remained a Bavarian, even as the Bishop of Rome.

[Transcribed and translated from Monday’s Vatican Radio broadcasts. The narrations are paraphrased.]

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments concerning tonight’s MSNBC interview, especially to Ken for sending me some still pics and to Trey for directing me to the following internet stream.

We’ve seen the Velvet Revolution in Eastern Europe bring down Communism. The Orange Revolution deposed the Russian-backed dictator of Ukraine. How about a bloodless Black Revolution, to depose our homegrown anti-democratic tyrants? You know, these guys:

They look like harmless people, but they have decided, without asking you, that the opinion of foreigners trumps the will of your state’s legislature. (Not those hick Third World foreigners, naturally, but the suave elite foreigners of Western Europe.) For once, the Washington Post gets it right:

The Supreme Court abolished capital punishment for juvenile offenders yesterday, ruling 5 to 4 that it is unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death for a crime he or she committed while younger than 18.

They didn’t “rule it was unconstitutional,” they committed a positive act: “abolished.” As in “the abolition of slavery,” which was done through Congress and the state legislatures through amending the Constitution. These five unelected judges don’t have to go to such arduous lengths to impose their will. With a few hands tapping on computer keyboards, and some shufflings of papers, the laws of 20 U.S. states were erased from the books.
Justice Scalia, as always the Court’s best and most eloquent critic, rips the majority’s decision:

Worse still, the Court says in so many words that what our people’s laws say about the issue does not, in the last analysis, matter: “[I]n the end our own judgment will be brought to bear on the question of the acceptability of the death penalty under the Eighth Amendment”…The Court thus proclaims itself sole arbiter of our Nation’s moral standards—and in the course of discharging that awesome responsibility purports to take guidance from the views of foreign courts and legislatures. Because I do not believe that the meaning of our Eighth Amendment, any more than the meaning of other provisions of our Constitution, should be determined by the subjective views of five Members of this Court and like-minded foreigners, I dissent.

I wonder if the news reports are going to take notice of this biblical allusion from Justice Stevens:

…that our understanding of the Constitution does change from time to time has been settled since John Marshall breathed life into its text [emphasis added].

So the first Chief Justice was like God, breathing a soul into Adam? Is this man really comparing a human judge to the Almighty?
(Read the full text here. Stevens’ opinion starts on page 42, and Scalia’s starts on page 64.)

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is calling for real presidential elections in Egypt, something he’s never done in 24 years. They might end up being rigged, but symbolism is important.
Aside: it’s great when AP uses native stringers to report on the Mideast.

The audience before [Mubarak] at Menoufia University broke into applause and calls of support, some shouting, “Long live Mubarak, mentor of freedom and democracy!” Others spontaneously recited verses of poetry praising the government.

The credulous tone sounds like Pravda in the bad old days.
In my estimation, the Islamofascists have made a serious strategic error by choosing to make terrorism and perverted religiousity into their sole means of gaining support. This essentially concedes all other aspects of economic and civil life to America and her allies. We can show that by accepting basic human freedoms, people can eat well, watch their children grow in safety, have better jobs, and alleviate corruption in public life, all while continuing to honor God in their own way. Their slogan is, “Support us because God wills it, or we’ll blow up your house.” Not the best way to gain the support of The People.
Here’s a quick review of the last 15 months in the Mideast:
Afghanistan: Held free and fair elections. Currently governed by a liberal regime (by regional standards). Working to exterminate the last holdouts of armed Islamofascists.
Egypt: Making moves to allow real national elections.
Iran: The government is still one of the most oppressive in the world, but their people don’t support them. Reform or regime change is practically inevitable, though it might not happen for years; any new government is almost guaranteed to be more pro-Western and pro-U.S.
Iraq: Held elections which the Islamofascists didn’t enter and couldn’t disrupt. Working to build a civil society in most areas of the country, and even the Sunni-dominated areas have apparently realized they’re going to lose out if they don’t play ball with the new government.
Israel: Withdrawing settlers from Palestinian areas. Moving toward restarting talks with the Palestinian authority.
Jordan: Continues its quiet, under-the-table alliance with America by training Iraqi security forces and providing logistical support to non-military programs in Iraq.
Libya: Dismantled its nuclear bomb program (which was alarmingly advanced) and opened itself to the West.
Saudi Arabia: Felt compelled to hold sham elections where the only candidates were the ones vetted by the religious ministry. Still, they didn’t feel compelled to fake elections before.
Syria: Starts making noises about withdrawing from Lebanon, which is a good start.
We can be sure that we will suffer setbacks, but President Bush doesn’t look so crazy anymore for saying Iraq was the key to eliminating despotism and oppression in the Mideast. Still skeptical? Try this: think of one large regional trend that is going against us right now, or a country that is becoming less friendly to democracy and freedom.
In sum, our Islamofascist opponents are losing men, territory, and popular support. This isn’t the time for triumphalism or complacency, but let’s be honest: America and her allies are willing the war on terrorism, and the Mideast as a region is moving toward liberalization.