tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post112477670399109073..comments2024-03-06T03:15:58.539-05:00Comments on <b>THE NEW REFORM CLUB</b>: Van Dyke's Petrie DishHunter Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124906626863168842005-08-24T14:03:00.000-04:002005-08-24T14:03:00.000-04:00That said, BamaDoyle, that was a nicely written pr...That said, BamaDoyle, that was a nicely written presentation of thought.James F. Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747033407956667363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124905556663589892005-08-24T13:45:00.000-04:002005-08-24T13:45:00.000-04:00All of this "Last stand of Western Christian Cultu...All of this "Last stand of Western Christian Culture" stuff misses one salient detail: The clash needn't be.James F. Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747033407956667363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124886081446903742005-08-24T08:21:00.000-04:002005-08-24T08:21:00.000-04:00I would be worried about the U.S. being the last s...I would be worried about the U.S. being the last stand of the West, but we've converted the Asian Rim to our economics and much of the Third World to Christianity. The cultural and spiritual legacy seems poised to continue whether Islam dominates Europe or not.Hunter Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124863046775307092005-08-24T01:57:00.000-04:002005-08-24T01:57:00.000-04:00Welcome, BamaDoyle. Nice presentation.Welcome, BamaDoyle. Nice presentation.Jay D. Homnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714671338316275833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124831337831620532005-08-23T17:08:00.000-04:002005-08-23T17:08:00.000-04:00Actually, a Democratic president would gain my all...Actually, a Democratic president would gain my allegiance because he or she would presumably stand for things like intellectual complexity, a social safety net, and civil liberties over illusory safety.<BR/><BR/>You really don't get it, do you Hunter? My problem with Iraq and the War on Terror has always been one of tactics and motiviation. I do not believe that the manner in which this struggle has been conducted is either effective or in any way moral. I did not buy the rationale for invading Iraq and deposing Saddam, and subsequent evidence has proven me right. This was never billed as combatting religious extremism. It was always about revenge, both in Afghanistan and Iraq. Had Bush said "We're going in to Iraq to depose a tyrant and then, when that country's stable, we're moving on to the next tyrant" I'd have been cheering him on. But he didn't say that, not until it was clear his original rationale was wrong. This was never a struggle against extremism until it became convenient to label it so.<BR/><BR/>My position has always been consistent.James F. Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747033407956667363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124824222517542332005-08-23T15:10:00.000-04:002005-08-23T15:10:00.000-04:00You're the one confusing the issue, JFE. You did ...You're the one confusing the issue, JFE. You did state that the entrail strangling remark gave you an incredibly warm feeling in your tummy, as you put it. And the remark about contain religious extremism was an example of the rhetoric a Democrat GWOT president would use to gain your allegiance.Hunter Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124820903946711722005-08-23T14:15:00.000-04:002005-08-23T14:15:00.000-04:00More to the point, it's quite funny for Baker to m...More to the point, it's quite funny for Baker to make such a comment as the need to contain and destroy religious opponents in a thread about "religiosity being the one true hope for peace" with Muslim extremists.James F. Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747033407956667363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124820815394085722005-08-23T14:13:00.000-04:002005-08-23T14:13:00.000-04:00By the way, JFE, aren't you the one who thought it...<I>By the way, JFE, aren't you the one who thought it would be the warmest fuzziest thing in the world to strangle the last prelate with the entrails of the last priest? If we had a lefty pres. who pursued the current policy while talking about dangerous religious extremism and the need to contain it, you'd be jumping up and down applauding.</I><BR/><BR/>Actually, I pointed out that Jefferson agreed with Diderot on this point during a discussion of the so-called religiosity of the Founding Fathers, but thanks for trying to confuse the issue.James F. Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747033407956667363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124818463013405702005-08-23T13:34:00.000-04:002005-08-23T13:34:00.000-04:00Sorry, T. I thought it was JFE, but I was mistake...Sorry, T. I thought it was JFE, but I was mistaken. Sorry, too, to JFE.Hunter Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124812561111321832005-08-23T11:56:00.000-04:002005-08-23T11:56:00.000-04:00Hunter, Bill Clinton crafted the Liberal motto for...Hunter, Bill Clinton crafted the Liberal motto for the ages. The Conservatives always said: "You made your bed, now lie in it." The Clintonian Liberal says: "You made your bed, now lie about it."Jay D. Homnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714671338316275833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124812515178244502005-08-23T11:55:00.000-04:002005-08-23T11:55:00.000-04:00By the way, JFE, aren't you the one who thought it...By the way, JFE, aren't you the one who thought it would be the warmest fuzziest thing in the world to strangle the last prelate with the entrails of the last priest? If we had a lefty pres. who pursued the current policy while talking about dangerous religious extremism and the need to contain it, you'd be jumping up and down applauding.Hunter Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124812405239835492005-08-23T11:53:00.000-04:002005-08-23T11:53:00.000-04:00Wonder why I'd be addressing myself to li'l ole yo...Wonder why I'd be addressing myself to li'l ole you, JFE? Maybe you're a special case. Maybe you're deluding yourself.Hunter Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1124806836610765202005-08-23T10:20:00.000-04:002005-08-23T10:20:00.000-04:00The bankruptcy of the left-wing opposition to the ...The bankruptcy of the left-wing opposition to the war is easily revealed in the conversation we're having. The uber-secular lefties can't tolerate conservative Christians but they are outraged at offensives aimed at the most virulent strains of Islam. I cannot help but insist that leftist opposition to the war is truly premised upon preventing the GOP from becoming too popular and effecting real re-alignment. If this war were being captained by Bill Clinton and run in EXACTLY the same way, there would be nary a peep from his fellow travelers.Hunter Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.com