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 Ultra-Orthoblog The official website and daily blog of syndicated columnist and author Ben Shapiro Praise for Ben Shapiro... "Ben Shapiro writes columns from the university that tell basic truths with verve." Daniel Pipes "Benjamin Shapiro... future president of the United States." Larry Elder "Ben Shapiro's columns are smart, informative and incisive. He is wise beyond his years without losing the refreshing fearlessness of youth." Ann Coulter "If you haven't yet partaken of Ben Shapiro's writings you are missing out. His columns are crisp, witty and topical. More than that, they are provocative, controversial and courageous." David Limbaugh "After battling in the trenches of liberal college student press, Ben Shapiro has emerged as a forceful and unequivocal writer to bring views that are underrepresented in mass media." Ward Conerlly "That invigorating breeze from the west is Benjamin Shapiro, whose crisp commentary proves that wisdom sometimes comes with youth, too." Jeff Jacoby "Wise beyond his years . . ." WorldNetDaily "A columnist who sees the world as it really is and knows how it could be." Al Rantel, KABC LA  |
Thursday, November 28, 2002
Sorry for the blogging break Sorry for the break in blogging, Ultra-Orthoblog fans, but my grandfather passed away today in Chicago, so I'm out here waiting for the funeral tomorrow. Not a fun Thanksgiving. I'll resume as soon as I can, but that might be Monday at the earliest. I'll try and check in tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 27, 2002
Arafat cancels Christmas This should teach all the Christians out there tolerant of Mr. Arafat that he is a buffoon. Hand him control of Bethlehem, and he'll cancel Christmas there. Amish Tech Support has worked up an entertaining first stanza to describe the situation. John F. Kerry -- Marrying up in the ranks This very interesting column in the Boston Herald describes John F. Kerry, the man many are tagging as the front runner for the Democratic nomination in 2004, as a "gigolo's gigolo," and the facts seem to bear it out. The guy married into a family with $300 million dollars. Then he dumped her, and picked up a 63-year-old woman (5 years his senior) who is the heir to the Heinz Ketchup fortune (by the way, she was previously married to Senator John Heinz, R-Pennsylvania, so she's no babe in the woods either). The question is, will he dump Ms. Heinz for Bill Gates? University of Callow Liberals of America My great and glorious university, UCLA, is at it again. This time, the student government voted for a resolution against a US attack on Iraq. My friend Andy Jones was the only one to say anything, and even he could only muster a "this isn't a topic we should be voting on" line. How about: "You are a bunch of left-wing morons. Give me one good reason that we shouldn't be going to Iraq." Or: "Why do you think that anything you say has any bearing on anything? You're a group of Communist college students who smoke pot and then claim you've had visions about politics." Now don't get me wrong here -- not everyone who opposes war with Iraq is a moron. But these students are something special. I know. I go here. And I can guarantee that this whole event was driven by the radical Muslim Student Association, as well as other race-baiting student groups who hate this country. "Tyrannical authority" Yesterday my professor called the UN inspections regime "tyrannical authority" that violated "Iraqi sovereignty." Oy. Here we've got about 20 socialists and anti-warniks driving around in a VW bug in a country the size of California looking for stray nukes. That's tyrannical? This article proves just how wacked-out that statement was. We've got the wimpy inspectors and the totalitarian Iraqis arguing about press access to the inspections -- and the Iraqis want freedom of the press! This whole thing is such a joke. Just declare a material breach already and let's get moving. This is a waste of time. Rob Reiner to sue IDF for plagiarism of "Spinal Tap" Today the Israelis shot and killed a Palestinian drummer who was running around awaking his nice, good, kind friends for the Ramadan pre-dawn meal. One problem -- there was a curfew in place, and banging a drum in the streets is not exactly a good way to observe curfew. When the IDF told him to stop, in Arabic, he started running away. It's safe to say he's not the brightest bulb in the basket. Now he's dead. But at least his friends will be awake to eat their pre-dawn meal.
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
Good night all. I've done enough posting for one day, and I'd best be up early tomorrow for the shacharit (the morning prayer service). Hillary-airlines? Carol "Hillary" Hallett of the Air Transport Association is telling the government that airlines need to be nationalized if the government isn't going to pay for security. Because the government is doing such a great job with the education system and all. What ever happened to competition? I guarantee, if some airline had the ability to put on El-Al type security measures, people would fly that airline no matter what the price. It's only these stupid quick-fixes like federalizing airport workers that stifle competition by giving the public the false impression that they're safe up there. Hijacker decides to remain a baritone Apparently there are some things more important to a hijacker than killing El Al passengers. After attempting to hijack an El Al airplane with a penknife, a Palestinian terrorist was captured and questioned by the Turkish authorities. He says they threatened him with castration if he didn't confess. He was attached enough to his genitalia that he gave up the info the police were looking for. Hey, he might have a nice, good-looking camel back home. Let them keep feeling guilty German Chancellor Schroeder is pledging to give Israel Patriot missiles to defend itself against an Iraqi attack. Good. At least they feel they've killed enough Jews in the last century to do this much. And if Schroeder is so insistent that the UN not use German soldiers in going after Iraq, fine. The less militaristic the Germans, the better. Gore-ing Apparently upset by the fact that his popularity is in the tank, Babbling Al has struck back against the white aggressor, calling Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and the Washington Times a "fifth column" according to the Drudge Report. I don't understand why he's so PO'ed. His book is doing rather well, considering it's a boring piece of dog excrement (from what I've seen). And he's leading the race to the bottom for Democratic 2004 presidential candidate. I'm sure this statement will get its fair share of attention, with CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and other cable news channels heartily agreeing with Mr. Excitement. At least Rush will get more airtime. Slapping Arafat around is always a bit of fun. Here, see for yourself. Choice number four is the best. If you build it, this kind of junk will happen As soon as the technology for human cloning came along, you knew it was only a matter of time until someone tried it. Well, that time is here. Three women are pregnant with clones, and one of them lives in -- get this -- an Islamic nation. That's rather an odd convergence of events. But really, what kind of gall does it take for this doctor to wake up one morning and just decide he's God? I understand that cloning can help some people, but we've got more than enough children without parents in this world. Are adopted kids worse than cloned ones? How long is it going to be before a family has identical quintuplets, each born two years apart? Worse, how long will it be before people start choosing traits for their babies as though they were at the grocery store? This is mind-boggling. God gives man technology to cure his woes, but with the proviso that man respects God's creation. I wonder if God will stand for something like this. So, the Israelis weren't lying Over the weekend the Israelis shot a UN worker, claiming they were being fired upon from within the UN compound. The UN scoffed, and the news channels called Israel a bunch of liars, since how could armed Palestinians break into a UN facility with 8 ft. high walls? Turns out that the Israelis were telling the truth. The UN worker phoned an Israeli official and left him a voice mail saying the Palestinians had entered the compound. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for apologies from the UN or the media, though.
Monday, November 25, 2002
Democracy in Iraq and "Palestine" This guy has the right idea about the Middle East. He says we shouldn't aim for goals we can't reach: full democracy in the Middle East is a pipe dream, at least for now. But again, he assumes the existence of a "Palestinian state" is an inevitability. Even if such a state were created as a democracy, it would be a terrorist state. Doesn't anyone seem to realize that majorities in Arab states support the destruction of the state of Israel? It's not just the leadership. Safire and the common misconception about the Middle East I generally agree with William Safire, even though I often find his columns a bit pompous. But I'm getting awfully tired of him getting on his high horse about Israel politics. One of the misconceptions he consistently perpetuates is that a "Palestinian state" is inevitable. He's right about Sharon and Bibi, not because the Israel public wants to "make painful concessions" as Safire claims, but rather because everyone in Israel remembers when Bibi gave away Hebron at Wye River. He's also under the impression that there will be a negotiated peace between the Arab Nazis and the Jewish state: "When a peacemaking Arik shakes the hand of independent Palestine's prime minister, let Bibi and Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert and Education Minister Limor Livnat (the next Golda) fight it out for Likud leadership." Didn't he learn anything from Oslo? Negotiated peace will never become a reality. Transfer is the only real solution to this problem. The day there is an independent "Palestinian state" is the day Israel can kiss its existence goodbye. They'll be hit from every side, and this time they'll only be 9 miles wide. Somebody should tell Safire that even as smart as he assuredly is, he's dead wrong on this "moderate Palestinian leadership will make peace" idiocy. Senators rip Saudis The New York Times has a story today detailing Senatorial criticism of the Saudi regime, which they say has been complicit in terrorism. Gee, ya think? In typical New York Times fashion, they spend over half the article quoting Senator Joe Lieberman, and about three paragraphs on Republican criticism, which has been stronger than Democratic critism of Saudi Arabia for the last year at least. What ever happened to reading the Bible? Apparently, the preacher is no longer supposed to deliver sermons and give moral guidance -- he's also supposed to take HIV tests. In Buffalo, New York, one preacher took the bull by the horns and got tested for HIV in front of his congregation, in order to send a message that they too should be tested. "Once you catch (AIDS), you don't just get rid of it. Do not let yourselves die for a few minutes of pleasure," said Rev. Pridgen. So now it's ok to have sex, as long as you use protection. Is preaching abstinence really such a terrible thing?
Sunday, November 24, 2002
Awww yeah I admit it -- I'm a huge fan of Lord of the Rings, the movies, not the books (which drag on forever and contain mounds of rather bad poetry). I threw things at the television when A Beautiful Mind beat out The Fellowship of the Rings for the Oscar. And I cursed the Florida Supreme Court when Ron Howard won Best Director. Now, I'm not the kind of fan who will dress up as Gimli and walk on my knees to the theater to see The Two Towers, but I will definitely go the first week. In fact, my younger sisters are trying to bribe me into taking them to see Harry Potter just because they're now showing the preview for The Two Towers. So good news! Time magazine is describing that The Two Towers as "dazzling," and saying that the action sequences are tremendous. Only a month left! Paul Krugman, NY Times professional babbler Check out this ultra-rational smack-down of Paul Krugman by Man Without Qualities. Definitely worth reading. Parsha and politics According to Jewish law, Jews read a portion (parsha) of the Torah (Old Testament) every week on Saturday. Since the Torah is a document that always remains current, there are political lessons to learn from each week's parsha. This week, we read Parshat Vayishlach from the book of Bereishit (Genesis). In 32:25-30, the Torah relates the struggle between Jacob and an angel -- commentators explain that this angel was the protecting angel of Esau, the brother and pursuer of Jacob. Here's what the Torah says: Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When he perceived that he could not overcome him, he struck the socket of his hip; so Jacob's hip-socket was dislocated as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn has broken." And he said, "I will not let you go until you bless me." He said to him, "What is your name?" He replied, "Jacob." He said, "No longer will it be said that your name is Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with the Divine and with man and have overcome. There's a message here for those who oppose a war on Iraq. A commonly-used excuse not to take out Saddam is that if he sees he cannot prevail, he will use his weapons of mass destruction. But just as Jacob had to fight the angel to gain his blessing, even with the knowledge that the angel would injure him if the angel saw he could not prevail, so too must the civilized world secure the blessings of freedom and prosperity by destroying the regime of Saddam, even with the knowledge that he will try to injure us on his way down.
Saturday, November 23, 2002
Daschle advocating fascist censhorship: From the Democrats, should we be surprised? My friend David Limbaugh has a great column regarding Tom Daschle ripping his brother, Rush. The liberals want victory at any cost, even if that means silencing free speech (see campaign-finance reform). They're looking for an excuse to shut down Rush and Hannity and Hewitt and Prager and Medved. If they can make it seem like these guys are either a threat to incite violence or political ad-time (of which they are neither), they'll look for a way to ban them. The hypocrisy of Daschle and his leftist party is almost too much to stomach. They'll accuse President Bush of killing old women and children, but they won't let people criticize them. Hooray for capitalism! I keep kosher, so I can't really enjoy the benefits of this new price war between McDonald's and Burger King. But this is a perfect example of the market at work. Burger King is lowering the price of its burger to $0.99 to undercut McDonald's. This is heaven for consumers. To foster demand for a good, heighten the supply and drop prices. When demand rises, raise prices. This is always the trade-off: when prices are low, there may be less jobs available for workers, but products are cheaper. When prices rise, more jobs will be available with the company, which will want to produce more of the product at a higher price. Anyone who thinks government could do anything near the job that the free market does is out of his/her gourd. Setting "fair prices" gives less incentive for companies to produce, and setting prices too high to keep jobs means jacking the consumer. The market is a conglomeration of the relative demands of consumers. The government can't imitate that. Can you tell I've been reading Hayek, Hazlitt, and Sowell? Another reason for Israelis to vote right-wing The always-willing-to-help Palestinian Authority Maureen Dowd strikes again! Does she ever stop babbling? Last time, her column lied about Israeli math textbooks advocating murder. Now she's fawning over Eminem in a wretchedly groveling Mrs. Robinson-type column. "A gaggle of my girlfriends are surreptitiously smitten with Eminem," Dowd breathlessly writes. She then goes on to rip the rapper for selling out, not being violent enough, etc. "It used to take longer for rebellion to go commercial," she whines. Dowd can't seem to deal with the fact that she's not a young, popular cheerleader any longer -- she needs to start acting her age, as hard for her as it is. Can you believe this idiot won a Pulitzer Prize? Shows how corrupt that award is.
Friday, November 22, 2002
Good Shabbos! The Ultra-Orthoblog bids you goodbye until tomorrow night, at which time blogging will resume. Thanks for checking in!
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Open mouth, insert foot Dear Tom Daschle, You made a very silly mistake last week when you said the US wasn't winning the war on terror. Today, the US captured a major Al-Qaeda terrorist in the Persian Gulf. And we're moving on Iraq. Haven't you yet realized that your old strategies aren't going to work? You tried the "we're losing" strategy in February. Bill Clinton tried the "kill Rush Limbaugh" strategy. You're moving in the wrong direction, Tom. Please right the ship before opening your mouth again. Sincerely, A concerned citizen who would rather see you run than Hillary My latest column Dear readers, here's my latest rant, taking on the left-wing psychotic anti-war protesters. Enjoy! I'm back! Sorry for the delay sports fans, but I'm back and better than ever. Schoolwork and punditry have been keeping me extremely busy, but now I'm getting back to business. The most interesting news story of the day is the latest Daschle idiocy. He rips Rush as a public menace, causing wackos to go out and send death threats to poor old Tom. Guess what, Tom -- all Rush does is call you on your mistakes. When he stops doing that, you've made America into Saudi Arabia. Even so, "Maverick" John McCain couldn't resist bashing the undisputed king of the talk radio airwaves. On KFYI radio in Pheonix, he made this brash statement about the Maha Rushi. A word to the wise, Sen. McCain: Don't mess with the big dog. Rush will eat you alive. |