PHILISTINES AND PALESTINIANS
Responding to Moses in Mecca, TTP member "Marco" has asked about the historical lineage of the ancient Philistines and their connection to modern-day Palestinians after whom they are named. OK, Marco, here goes. The origins of the Philistines are unclear. Genesis 10:14 lists the Pelishtim as among the sons of Ham, shorthand for the Hebrews' traditional enemies which also included Egyptians and Canaanites, while Amos 9:7 claims they come from "Caphtor." At least two things about them are clear. They are not aboriginal to the Levant (east coast of the Mediterranean) and they are not Semitic.
MOSES IN MECCA
Have you ever wondered why Arab Palestinians think Jerusalem is so important to them? Why they say there will never be Arab-Israeli peace until they control it? They say it's because of the "sacredness" of the Al Aqsa Mosque. So here's a thought experiment: What if it were discovered that Moses, of whom the Bible says, "no man knoweth of his grave site," was buried in Mecca? What would be the response of the Islamic world if millions of Jews began claiming that Mecca was sacred to them now just as it is sacred to the Moslems, and demanded that they had the right to build a Dome of Moses next to the Kaaba as a pilgrimage shrine honoring the Founding Patriarch of the Jewish People?
THE ANTI-ASSIMILATION MOVEMENT
Assimilation - defined as the act of becoming part of or more like something greater - is being opposed by increasing violence these days, from calls for a return of the American Southwest to Mexico by the Reconquista movement to the encroachment of radical Islam on the streets of Paris Members of immigrating minority groups are increasingly refusing to assimilate into the cultures of their resident countries. The lack of assimilation by immigrants to the United States - both legal and illegal - is culminating in an American identity crisis and poses a serious problem for the future of our country. This movement toward anti-assimilation stands in stark contrast to the very concept of our nation
RENDEZVOUS AT MANDALAY
The response we've gotten regarding our To The Point Rendezvous announced last month has really been gratifying. Here are the latest details. You know when and where: Las Vegas, Nevada - starting Friday evening, January 26th and ending Monday morning, January 29th. There is no conference fee and folks are free to stay where they want. Costs (meals, activities, etc.) are Dutch Treat. Yet we've been swamped by emails asking where am I staying and where will we congregate. The answer is Mandalay Bay.
THE SURRENDER REPORT’S SILVER LINING
At first I, too, thought the Iraq Surrender Commission Report was a total downer. But I'm more and more convinced that it was a great blessing. Not that they intended it to work out this way, but the Wise Men (and the token Lady) have elevated Iran to its rightful place in our national squabble over The War: dead center. The Surrender Commission Report underlines the basic truth about The War, which is that we cannot possibly win it by fighting defensively in Iraq alone. So long as Iran and Syria have a free shot at us and our Iraqi allies, they can trump most any military tactics we adopt, at most any imaginable level of troops. Until the publication of the report, this was the dirty secret buried under years of misleading rhetoric from our leaders; now it is front and center.
FRENCH ANTI-ISLAMOFASCISTS? MON DIEU!
Among American conservative and hawkish political circles, it's an article of faith that much of Western Europe is anti-American. Whether it be dislike for President Bush, opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the American refusal to be governed by international institutions, the growing Eurabian alliance or simple resentment of U.S. military and economic superiority, many of our Western European allies seem often to be more like enemies. None more so than France, with whom our country has developed shared hostility in the post-9/11 world. So it was with great surprise that I found myself in the company last weekend of French people who are fervently pro-American. It was a dinner party held in the San Francisco Bay Area and given in honor of Philippe Manteau, the French founder and president of a think tank called the Euro-American Liberty Institute (EALI).
AN UNSERIOUS LIBERAL ELITE
I panned the puerile recommendations of the Iraq Study Group in an earlier column, and will not re-plow that ground here. But the mere existence of the ISG tells us some unpleasant things about ourselves that we ought to know, but evidently don't. First, there is the speed with which Congress palmed off its responsibility to conduct oversight of Executive Branch policies to a private panel of has-beens. It's time our lawmakers paid more attention to their responsibilities, and less to their privileges. Then there is the glee with which many in the Washington establishment -- particularly in journalism -- greeted the (glaringly obvious) finding that things are not going well in Iraq suggests an elite so insulated and out of touch that it sees no ill consequences flowing to themselves from a defeat being inflicted upon their country. The appropriate response of serious people would have been concern, perhaps anger. But an elite that sees a big setback in the war against Islamofascism chiefly in terms of its impact on domestic politics is not comprised of serious people.
GET BACK, MOHAMMED: TONY BLAIR DOES THE BEATLES
One of the most all-time famous songs of the Beatles is Get Back. It was first performed publicly on the rooftop of their Apple Studios in London on January 30, 1969. Not until that April was it released as a single recording. It's solid fun golden rock n' roll, which you can enjoy by watching the rooftop performance of Get Back. As you do, listen carefully to the melody and the words of the first verse. For it seems that British Prime Minister Tony Blair performed what musicians call a "cover" of the Beatles' song, when he delivered a speech last Friday (12/08) to an invited audience at Downing Street (the British White House). Blair declared he expected Moslem immigrants to conform to the common values of British culture: "Conform to it, or don't come here. We don't want the hate-mongers." He was in effect singing Get Back with these revised lyrics: Momo was a Moose-limb and a true believer Thought he'd kill some infidel scum Momo left his home in Quetta, Pakistana For a Lon-donistan slum Get back, get back. Get back to where you once belonged Get back, get back. Get back to where you once belonged. Get back, Momo. Go home. Get on home, Mohammed. Your momma's waiting for you....
Chapter Twenty-Nine: THE NIGHT OF TEARS
The Jade Steps Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Night of Tears Malinali looked at each of the men standing silently around her. Several of them were weeping. She caught Bernal's eye. "We mourn for him, Doña Marina," he said quietly to her, "and not just those of us who were unable to protect him from his own people today. All of us are in sorrow, for he showed such kindness to us." That she would be holding the hand of an Aztec Emperor as he died, that the Aztecs themselves would murder their King, that these mysterious men from another world who had come to conquer his kingdom would weep openly over his death - these were thoughts she found overwhelming. She crossed herself and prayed silently to the Virgin Mary for comfort and understanding. It was Cortez who broke the silence. "Doña Marina, please select a noble from Montezuma's entourage and have him deliver a message to the people of this city: He is to tell them that their Lord is dead at their hands, that they have killed their king. They must now give him the funeral and burial rites he deserves, and after that they must allow us to leave the city in peace."
THE SCANDAL OF STUPIDITY
If you've seen the story all over the media about incoming Democrat Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Silvestre Reyes botching basic questions about Middle East politics, you've probably asked yourself - are these guys really that dumb? Here's one way to answer the question. Until he was tapped by President Bush to run the Security & Exchange Commission, Chris Cox (R-CA 1989-2005) was acknowledged for years to possess the most formidable brains on Capitol Hill. There is absolutely no doubt - he is breathtakingly bright. But when I tweaked him once about his reputation (I've known Chris since 1986 when he joined the legal counsel's office in the Reagan White House), he gave me a bemused smile and said, "Jack, being the smartest man in Congress is like being the tallest building in Topeka."