Daniel Greenfield

A Smiling Obama Returns to Bloody Jakarta

The media narrative is that Barack Hussein Obama is returning to the place where he grew up as part of a diplomatic tour. The truth is that Obama is visiting a genocidal country and paying homage to its regime, even while many of the atrocities continue. While Obama found time to blast Israel for building housing in Jerusalem, he made no mention of the Indonesian genocide in East Timor. No word about the Indonesian mass murder of between 100,000 to 200,000 people in a country whose population totaled little more than half a million. Shortly after Obama left Jakarta, the Indonesian regime began an occupation that lasted until 1999. An occupation armed and aided by successive US administrations.

Ten Commandments for the Next Two Years

With the 2010 election, the game has changed. Republicans in congress are no longer powerless to do anything, but cast mostly symbolic votes against another piece of the radical Obama agenda. There will be pressure on the Republican congress to engage in bipartisan compromises and blame for inaction if they don't. The grass roots needs to keep the pressure on Republicans, while maintaining their opposition to the Obama agenda, and preparing for 2012. With that in mind, here are ten commandments to keep in mind for the next two years.

Who is Really Distorting Islam?

"All of us recognize that this great religion (Islam), in the hands of a few extremists, has been distorted." -- Barack Hussein Obama "Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those [who say this] are witless. Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all!" -- Ayatollah Khomeini

While we now know that a young Obama rebelled against his mother and attended Koran classes, he clearly  didn't attend nearly enough of them. Or the Harvard genius is back to playing dumb.

God as Government

"In my own time governments have taken the place of people. They have also taken the place of God. Governments speak for people, dream for them, and determine absurdly their lives and deaths. This new worship of government... is a worship I lack. I have no reverence for the all-powerful and bewildered face of Government. I see it as a lessening of the human being and a final looting of his birthright." --Ben Hecht

Sore Losers and Sore Winners

The midterm elections of 2010 have come and gone. It would be easy enough to fall into gloating, but the truth is that while we have come a long way since 2008, we're not nearly where we need to be. The Republican party has been forced into the realization that they can't win as the party of big government, but for all the red meat being tossed out there by Boehner, that doesn't mean that they have actually internalized it as a discipline. The Democrats are struggling to find their message now, but their fallback has always been to blame Republicans for everything. The public refused to buy that when congress and the white house were in their hands, but it may be more willing to hear the message when the media continually focuses on Republican congressional victories.

Time to Let Go of Rabin

The annual anniversary of Rabin's death had long ago become nothing more than a sad circus. It is a stage for left-wing politicians who have otherwise become completely irrelevant, to posture about peace and a chance for the left wing media to breathlessly dig up scandals about "right wingers" disrespecting the hallowed day of Rabin's death. This is the pathetic way that Israel's degenerating left wing elite wastes its time, on hollow speeches about peace and furious articles bemoaning the lack of recognition for their cult of personality.

Liberal Sore Losers

In January of 2009, huge numbers of eager liberals made the trip down to Washington D.C. to celebrate the inauguration of Hope and Change. The mood of the day was optimism. The big change had finally come. Nearly two years later, they returned to Washington D.C. on buses for Jon Stewart's clownfest, but the mood had changed. Contempt had replaced optimism. The left wing of the Democratic party had reverted to its Bush era sneers and jibes.

Christians and Jews Once Again in the Muslim Line of Fire

With the attack on an Iraqi church and the mailbombs addressed to an American synagogue, while the media worry about Islamophobia-- Christians and Jews once again find themselves in the Muslim line of fire. Just last week we were witness to the spectacle of a black NPR liberal being dragged through the muck, accused of being insane or racist, for even conceding that he was worried by Muslim terrorism. The indictment of Islamophobia is that it is somehow an irrational or unreasoning fear. But if a group is actively trying to kill you, then how can fear of it possibly be unreasonable?

When Bias Has Its Own Media

Bias is a normal part of human thought. It is not a good thing, but it exists because we are only human. Our viewpoints influence how we see things. And that in turn influences how we describe them. But just because bias is normal, does not mean that it is acceptable. A doctor may like one patient better than another. That does not mean that he has the right to provide an inferior level of medical care to one patient. He may not be able to help being nicer to one patient than the other, but he may not actively mistreat a less favored patient. That is medical malpractice. Similarly a reporter who does not simply favor liberal politicians, but actively biases stories against their opponents is guilty of journalistic malpractice. He can no longer claim to be providing a public service, only serving as the mouthpiece for his ideology of choice.

A Storm is Coming

If you've ever seen a movie in which a boat is caught in a storm. At first the waves are distant and the crew ignores them. Then suddenly the storm has swept in and everyone is running for cover, doing anything they can to prepare for a storm that's already here. And that's the left wing of the Democratic party right now, too slow to recognize the storm because of its media cocoon and now rushing to throw anything they can at it, from voter fraud to scandals and smears.

National Survival for America and Israel in the Age of Bureaucracy and Terror

(The following is based on a talk and Q&A session that I gave this week in Encino, California at the home of Tammy. Thanks to her and to all the guests who helped make this a great event.) Today we live in the age of terror. And we're reminded of that every time we turn on the news or go through the airport, as I did on the way here. And for millions of Jews and Non-Jews around the world, Israel has come to be seen as the canary in the coal mine, whose status testifies to our status, and whose health testifies to our own.

When Jewish Windows Break

Several years ago a small group of notable British Jews, such as Anglican Atheist comedian Stephen Fry, Quaker writer Stevie Krayer and Claire Rayner, who once visited Israel and said she didn't like it because the people were rude to her which probably justified all those suicide bombings, put out a statement announcing that they were refusing to celebrate Israel's Independence Day. Rather they said, "We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East."

The Left’s War on the Economy

Obama may be losing the War on Terror, but his War on the Economy is headed full speed ahead. The joblessness, the unemployment rolls and an economic in which the only people still making money are in the government, in public sector unions or on Wall Street is no accident. It was the intended result all along. What Obama and the Democrats miscalculated is the mobilization of populist opposition and the speed with which the public turned to the Republicans for solutions, instead of treating Obama as the Great Savior for extending their unemployment benefits.

The Offense Test

The Offense Test is very simple. If another driver on the highway flashes me the middle finger, it is generally accepted that he is a jackass. If I try to kill him in response, it is generally accepted that I am unfit for civil society and should be locked up.

What Makes Johnny Dhimmi Run Away?

We talk a lot about Dhimmis and Dhimmification but aside from the generic yielding to Islam, what exactly does a Dhimmi look like?

The Five Stages of Liberal Grief for Obama

There are five stages in the grieving process from Denial to Acceptance. American liberals are now moving through their own five stages of dealing with the decline and fall of the myth of Obama. The last time they had invested this much in a politician was the Kennedy Administration, yet there is no assassin's bullet to explain the fall of Camelot for them here. Instead they have to come to terms with the reality of Obama's failure.

The Obama Administration’s Palestinian Civil War

There is no debate within the Obama Administration on whether to support Israel or not, mainly because there is no one within there who supports Israel. The only debate is which Anti-Israel terrorist group to support, Fatah or Hamas. That is because the civil war between Palestinian Arab terrorist groups, Fatah and Hamas, isn't just taking place in Gaza and the West Bank, but also within the foreign policy establishment. Unlike the actual civil war, no one is being thrown off buildings or shot in the head, rather there are position papers and fierce behind the scenes debates. The split falls roughly between along ideological lines between the Clinton Administration veterans and some of Obama's new radicals. Between liberals and the hard left.

The Liberal Lynch Mob Comes for the Jews Again

The ADL just honored Rupert Murdoch who delivered a speech mentioning Jabotinsky. At the Huffington Post, David A Love demands to know "Why would a prominent civil rights organization -- one which is supposedly dedicated to fighting bigotry and discrimination -- present an award to a man whose cable network profits from race-baiting and hatred?"

A Worse Life is Waiting for You

Prince Charles recently visited a Mumbai shantytown and praised its "sustainability" in which residents recycle their waste and build their own homes out of whatever materials come to hand. There is of course a word for this form of "sustainability", it's called grinding poverty. Charles is of course not the first rich European to romanticize poverty as some sort of higher spiritual principle. But it's easier to apply that brand of orientalism to India, to assume that people with brown skin who live in terrible poverty are more spiritual, rather than poor. Had Prince Charles gone back in time, he could have seen that same form of "sustainability" in London. But people do not recycle their wastes and use found objects as building materials because they are environmentalists, but because they have no choice. When posturing hipsters in the United States dig through trash cans for food, they're Freegans. But when people who have to dig through garbage cans for food do it, we call them impoverished.

As the Leaves Turn, So Do the Democrats

After the euphoria died down, the oceans sank and the confetti was gathered up, we're back to Democratic incumbents in conservative states running away from any association with liberalism, toting their rifles, putting holes in cap and trade, and mocking Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco hippies. The magic is gone, and the Obama Umbrella is full of holes. Turning Obama into the messiah was supposed to provide unlimited cover for the left's agenda. But the charisma has faded, and as the leaves turn, so do the Democrats.