Lose/lose with a dictator

If the blood-drenched history of the century just past had taught American academics one thing, it should have been that the totalitarian impulse knows no accommodation with reason. You cannot change the totalitarian mind through dialogue or conversation, because totalitarianism — however ingenious the superstructure of faux ideas with which it surrounds itself — is a creature of the will and not the mind…

So begins one of the few news commentaries in the mainstream press to accurately portray the ridiculous farce that occurred at Columbia University this past week. (I was pleasantly surprised to find this in the extremely liberal LA Times.) By giving the dictator of Iran a public forum, and then trying to soften the impact by insulting him during his introduction, Columbia President Lee Bollinger lost on two counts: he gave Ahmadinejab credibility and a giant platform to spew his hateful rhetoric and Bollinger was perceived as “rude” by many in the rest of the world… even those who despise Ahmedinejad and his policies! Way to go, Bollinger and fellow clueless liberals…

See:Ahmadinejad walks away with a win

Who’s the “Sicko”?

With all the hype recently about Michael Moore’s latest propagandafest “Sicko”, far too few are actually looking at what being a patient in a socialized medicine country really means. Basically it means waiting until you’re practically dying before you can get access to care. The only reason that the ballyhooed systems of Canada and Britain haven’t collapsed under their own weight is that they have the United States’ system as a silent backup. Check out this article to see the huge numbers of Canadians who come to the US every year for the care that they would have to wait YEARS for at home… if they could get it at all before it’s too late!
See: Uh-oh, Canada