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February 10, 2015

Global Conning: Temperature Data Cooked in “Biggest Science Scandal Ever”

By Selwyn Duke

What do you get when you combine copious amounts of government grant money, layers of dishonesty, the heat of environmental activism, a few dollops of ambition, and a glaze of science in a political pressure cooker?

It’s a recipe for enriching a few, impoverishing most, and serving up bad policy all around.

If you’ve ever wondered why you’re buried in snow but keep hearing about how we’ve experienced “officially, the second warmest year on record” (when we’re not being told it could be the warmest year on record), know that “officially” relates to the pronouncements of officials, and “official temperature records” have been “systematically ‘adjusted’ to show the Earth as having warmed much more than the actual data justified.”

Read the rest here.
February 10, 2015

Germany vs. the Pope: To Spank or Spank Not?

By Selwyn Duke

We’re a long way from TV depictions of corporal punishment, such as the spanking of the main character in the 1957 film The Invisible Boy (yes, he was invisible at the time). Now we live in an age when many want to make spanking disappear. And recent comments Pope Francis has made — in support of the practice — have once again brought the issue to the forefront.

During his general audience Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope indicated that corporal punishment was a legitimate tool as long as a child isn’t robbed of his dignity. Reports CNN:

"I once heard at a wedding a father say, 'I sometimes have to hit my children a little but never in the face, so as to not demean them.' How nice, I thought, he has a sense of dignity," the Pope said.

"When he punishes, he does it right and moves on."

… "A good father knows how to wait and knows how to forgive from the bottom of his heart. Of course he can also discipline with a firm hand: he's not weak, submissive, sentimental," he said.

"This father knows how to discipline without demeaning; he knows how to protect without restraint."

The issue of corporal punishment for children is divisive in many countries, and the Pope's remarks prompted an outpouring of both support and criticism on social media.

One country attacking the Pope’s comments is Germany, where spanking — also known as “smacking” in much of the Anglosphere — is illegal.

Read the rest here.
February 6, 2015

Terrible Deeds in Christ’s Name? Obama Displays Ignorance of History

By Selwyn Duke

Barack Obama (shown at National Prayer Breakfast) certainly makes his share of mistakes, from believing there’s a language called “Austrian” to claiming to have been to “57 states” to pronouncing “corpsman” “corpse-man” three times in the space of one minute. But while many of his displays of ignorance hurt mainly his own credibility, this was not the case during his speech at yesterday’s National Prayer Breakfast.

Talking about “faith being twisted and distorted,” Obama condemned the Islamic State jihadists as a “brutal, vicious death cult” and cited various Muslim terrorist acts as examples of using “religion” for nefarious ends. He then also said, however, “And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.”

It was entirely predictable. Political correctness demands we portray all religions as morally equal, and, when seeking to balance criticism of Islam with that of Christianity, the Crusades and the Inquisition are obvious whipping boys.

Of course, it is true that during the Crusades and the Inquisition (some) people committed terrible deeds, just as during WWII (some) Americans committed terrible deeds. Yet what’s implied, and certainly what will be inferred by most, is not that even during a justifiable event unjustifiable acts will occur. Obama was instead displaying — and trading upon — common misunderstandings of history.

Read the rest here.
February 6, 2015

Brian Williams Admits Peddling False Story of Taking Fire in Iraq

By Selwyn Duke

NBC newsman Brian Williams (shown) said that while covering the Iraq War in 2003, he’d come under fire. Now many are calling for him to be fired.

Because his story, which he has repeated more than once, is false.

Writes the Washington Post:

Williams said he was not aboard a helicopter that was hit by enemy fire and forced down — a story he retold as recently as last week during a televised tribute to a retired soldier during a New York Rangers hockey game.

On “NBC Nightly News” Wednesday evening, Williams read a 50-second statement apologizing for his characterization of the episode.

“After a groundfire incident in the desert during the Iraq war invasion, I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago,” he said. “It did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the air crews who were also in that desert. I want to apologize. I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by [rocket-propelled grenade] fire. I was instead in a following aircraft…. This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran and, by extension, our brave military men and women, veterans everywhere, those who have served while I did not.”

Williams emphasized his claim that his story was a mere error, saying in his statement, “I would not have chosen to make this mistake.” Yet many believe this strains credulity, especially since his aircraft was “following” perhaps 100 miles behind those that took the fire…

Read the rest here.
February 5, 2015

The Real White Privilege and My Radio Race War

By Selwyn Duke

If you look for the worst in a group, you’re sure to find it. Using a twist on an Abraham Lincoln line, I made that statement on the Mildred Gaddis Show (Radio One Detroit WCHB AM) last Wednesday during a debate on “White Privilege: Myth or Reality.” Finding myself pitted against the other guest, whose name isn’t important, and the black callers, it was a spirited discussion, to say the least.

It was also, unfortunately, a good example of how hatred is like darkness: the more there is, the less you can see.

To the other guest and the black callers, white privilege’s reality was simply a “fact” everyone was obligated to acknowledge, and the only legitimate question was the extent to which it has affected our lives. My debate opponent was flabbergasted that I denied this.

(more…)
February 5, 2015

Little Boy Suspended for Pretending to Have Lord of the Rings Magical Powers

By Selwyn Duke

Nine-year-old Aiden Steward told a schoolmate he could make him disappear with his magic ring. It was an idea the wee lad got after watching The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies the weekend before last. But the only one who disappeared was Aiden.

His unauthorized exercise of imagination inspired school officials to suspend him last Friday for, as OA Online reports, making a “terroristic threat."

Now some observers lament that many educators need to disappear — from their roles molding young minds.

Read the rest here.
February 4, 2015

Whither Islam? Religion of Peace or Religion of War?

By Selwyn Duke

"I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.”

— Koran (8:15)

Every holy book contains some very unholy words, they say. If you presented certain select verses from the Bible in isolation, it would seem equally violent, they say. The problem with Islam is a few misled miscreants and misinterpretation, they say.

The question is, do misinterpretations of the Islamic canon explain the extremist Muslims?

Or do they explain the “moderate Muslims"?

Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut certainly has a very definite opinion. Writing a piece entitled “Islamic Terrorism: The Taboo Topic” at the Gatestone Institute recently, she states bluntly, “Why should anyone be afraid of a 'religion of peace'? Because some of its supporters threaten to kill you, and often do.”

Read the rest here.
February 3, 2015

Chris Kyle and the Kill Zone: On Calling Snipers “Cowards”

By Selwyn Duke

The resounding success of film American Sniper has inspired criticism from certain quarters, ranging from the perhaps reasonable to the wholly irrational. As to the latter, there has been much sniping from the left-America Left. Actor Seth Rogen tweeted that the movie reminded him of fake Nazi propaganda footage in the film Inglourious Basterds. Former Vermont governor and ex-DNC chairman Howard Dean essentially said that theatergoers seeing Sniper were angry Tea Partiers. And, not to be outdone, documentarian Michael Moore tweeted, “Tomorrow’s Sunday School (1) What Would Jesus Do? Oh, I know what he’d do — hide on top of a roof and shoot people in the back!” This was after Moore had already opined that “snipers aren’t heroes” and said, reported CNN, that his “‘uncle was killed by a sniper’ and that he was ‘taught that all snipers were cowards.’”

The Clint Eastwood-directed film, portraying the exploits of record-breaking Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, is setting its own records: It’s now the highest grossing war movie ever (current box office total: $250 million) and just enjoyed the best Super Bowl weekend of any film with a $31.9 million haul. But while it’s said success is the best revenge, it must be emphasized that the least important aspect of this story is the man and the movie. More important is the Left’s attempt to discredit military snipers as a group. And what is the truth? Do snipers deserve credit or contempt?

Read the rest here.
February 2, 2015

Is Pedophilia Okay if You’re “Born That Way”?

By Selwyn Duke

“Now, many experts view it as a sexual orientation as immutable as heterosexuality … a deep-rooted predisposition … that becomes clear during puberty and does not change.”

The above idea was expressed with respect to homosexuality decades ago and since has become left-wing dogma. The thinking is that if someone was “born that way,” if the behavior is “natural” for him and he didn’t choose his feelings, how could it be wrong?

Yet the opening quoted line wasn’t penned decades ago — it’s only two years old. And homosexuality wasn’t the focus.

It was about pedophilia.

Read the rest here.
February 2, 2015

Pedophilia, American Style: Legitimizing Child Rape

By Selwyn Duke

Fast cars, fancy restaurants, opulent yachts, private planes — and child molestation. It’s not something that was ever featured on Robin Leach’s TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but “pedophilia may be emerging as the characteristic sexual perversion of the American elite.”

So says American Thinker assistant editor J.R. Dunn in a piece titled “Pedophilia and the American Future.” Dunn opens with an obvious story: that of billionaire hedge-fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, who beginning in 2008 served 13 months in prison for abusing and trafficking in underage girls. It was a slap on the wrist, say critics — facilitated by high-priced lawyers such as Alan Dershowitz and former Clinton special prosecutor Kenneth Starr — for a man who violated perhaps hundreds of minors and could have served life in prison.

Read the rest here.