My Lewisian Pipe Blog

My Lewisian Pipe Blog is the replacement of A View from Lanternwaste. Same type of content...when I get around to it (lol).

I was Afraid of This

When I first heard the rape story from Ed Klein's book about Hillary, I groaned. Aside from the fact that what she may or may not allowed Bill to get away with in the marriage bed is between them (where it should stay), all this is going to do is raise the, what I call, "martyr factor" for Hillary. Give her an excuse to play the victim card.
I don't seem to be alone in that estimation.Michelle Malkin: HILLARY ON THE SHELF has an excellant rundown of conservative reaction to the book. My favorite line is from John Podhoretz:

This is one of the most sordid volumes I've ever waded through. Thirty pages into it, I wanted to take a shower. Sixty pages into it, I wanted to be decontaminated. And 200 pages into it, I wanted someone to drive stakes through my eyes so I wouldn't have to suffer through another word.
Though Klein suggests in his subtitle that he has written a study of a power-hungry politician — "What She Knew, When She Knew It, And How Far She'll Go to Become President" — he's produced something quite different. An unduly celebratory biography is called a "hagiography." Klein's book is a "hate-eography."

This book is so over the top I have to wonder if maybe Klein is working for Hillary to make her more sympathetic. And believe me, I have even less a desire to see a distaff President Clinton than I did to see the first one.

No Apology Necessary

Douglas Woods, an Australian engineer who was being held hostage in Iraq by insurgents was rescued after being held for nearly seven weeks. What is interesting is what he said in a public statement related in an AP story:

"Frankly, I'd like to apologize to both President Bush and Prime Minister [John] Howard for the things I said under duress," said Mr. Wood, with his American wife, Yvonne Given, and his brothers, Vernon and Malcolm, and their wives by his side.
"I actually believe that I am proof positive that the current policy of training the Iraqi army ... works because it was Iraqis that got me out," he said.

I especially loved the last part of that quote, "I actually believe that I am proof positive that the current policy of training the Iraqi army ... works because it was Iraqis that got me out,". This man obviously gets it. Of course, not everybody is happy about this. Australia's top Mullah is having a hissy because this operation may have endangered Iraqi hostages still being held. And American Muslims wonder why they are viewed with suspicion and contempt.
I also noticed that the treatment Mr. Wood was such he did not want to discuss because it was too traumatic. Wonder if Dick Durbin will denounce the insurgents conduct with the same zeal he misrepresented conditions at Gitmo.
Mr. Wood, you owe nobody an apology. You were under duress. It is very unusual that hostage statements made during captivity can be construed as anything else. Any resonable person would realize that .

See-Dubya Sees it Right

The Dawn Patrol has a link toPatterico’s Pontifications � See-Dubya: Fundamentally Flawed which is an excellant treatise on what "Christian Fundamentalism" is compared to the MSM's lack of understanding of what it is. I think he hits the nail on the head when he says, ... media types and leftists generally tend to use “fundamentalist” when they really mean “person who probably listens to albums by rhinestone-wearing gospel quartets” or “politically conservative” or as a shorthand signal for “we think these guys are wackos”.
The fact is, most reporters cannot distinguish a fundamentalist from anything other than a liberal. The biggest distinction they have a problem with is the distinction between "fundamentalist" and "evangelical" (yes there is a difference). The best short answer for "what is the difference?" came from the late Dr. Ralph Lewis, my academic advisor in seminary who said, "The biggest difference is that as an evangelical I can share my faith with you without being insulting" (cf: See-Dubya's reference to 'Jack-Chick-fantasy' in the linked artical. Anybody familiar with Chick's work knows he would insult anybody who didn't fit his idea as to what is 'Christian'). Many evangelicals are not Biblical literalists and they are found across all liturgical traditions. There are also evangelical protestants as well as evangelical Catholics. Note that evangelical is used to qualify the religious affiliation. A fundamentalist is a fundamentalist. In the fundamentalist mind there is no other valid form of Christianity.

Safe, Legal and (Medium) Rare

WorldNetDaily carries this story Abortionist Accused of Eating Fetuses. I know that Pedophiles' Pal Planned Parenthood is going to cry "fowl" and I know that this "doctor" is no more representative of the abortion industry than Eric Rudolph is of the pro-life movement. Like it or not, however, this is the end result of the whole utilitarian view of human life. Be it abortion or euthanasia when you view human life as a source for "spare parts" and/or research material it is not too much of a leap before we find ourselves living a bad remake of Soylent Green

At Long Last

Do not forget that the Terri Schiavo autopsy results are due out today. Hopefully some light will be shed as to what caused the condition her "loving husband rescued her from" in such a "humanitarian" fashion.

I Wish Tom would just Cruise on Outta here

Quite frankly I am sick of the whole Tom-Katie thing. One of the side effects of over-exposure is that sometimes things get exposed that should be. Like when one party seems to have an almost maniacal obsession with the other.
Thanks to Michelle Malkin I came across freekatie.net. Now I find Tom Cruise's romance of someone half his age disturbing. Especially his insistance that Warner Brothers pay a Scientology rep to be with her (feeling a bit insecure, Tom?). Katie, however, is a big girl. If she thinks that someone with Tom's track record is a good bet for a life together, well she probably needs to have her head examined, but it is her choice. At least I hope it is her choice.
Normally I do not care too much about the wife-swapping game called celebrity romance. But there is something disturbing about this. Almost as disturbing as a 47 year-old man wanting to share his bed with little boys.

Queen of what? Pull the Other One

REmember the "Queen of Nice" who used to be so sweet (to those who agreed with her) and even had Elmo visit from Sesame Street to her talk show? Well, those days are gone for Rosie O'Donnell (if they ever truely existed). Reading Michelle Malkin: ROSIE O'DONNELL: PSYCHO MOM was painful. It is painful to read about a self-absorbed celeb who has forbidden her lesbien lover from breast-feeding their baby. Why? Because she was jealous. She admitted it...proudly. According to this, O'Donnell said, "I'm like, 'You've had your limit, honey, no more!'"
Rosie, this is not about you. This is about the baby. Rosie, this is a child, not a puppy or a play toy that exists for your pleasure or self-fullfillment. It is a child that has needs that supercede whatever you think your needs are.
This is also about why you should not be a parent and it has nothing to do with your orientation. Rather, it has everything to do with your being a selfish immature brat! Kelli carried and gave birth to the child, she is the one to breast-feed. You could have been the one to carry and give birth and breast-feed and develope that bond you are so jealous of. I obviously did not breast-feed my sons, my wife did, I sure as heck did not come running in saying, "You've had your limit, honey, no more!" because I was afraid there would be a bond between Ellen and the boys that I couldn't share. Guess what Rosie, the bond between Kelli and Vivienne is different because she carried and gave birth and if you cannot accept that then you have no business having children.

Welcome to Freedom's Zone

I have been honored with a spot on the blogroll of Freedom's Zone. The new aggregator on the sphere. What really attracted me to this international blog is this passage from its statement of purpose:

We oppose tyranny of all forms and intend to use our combined talents to fight for the persecuted and the oppressed through our keyboards. Our objective is to defend and extend Western civilization and culture, with all it's existing freedoms, for all people of all faiths, from both sides of the political spectrum. We all share the belief that regardless of whatever differences we may have from our individual religious and political world views, we have more in common with one another, than we have differences.

I look forward to this association where it may lead.

If You Can't Stand the Heat...

Based on the account in Professor Who Belittled Believers Drops Bid To Head Up a Department - June 8, 2005 - The New York Sun it seems that Brooklyn College associate professor of sociology, Timothy Shortell cannot stand the heat, so he is getting out of the kitchen. After his election as department head, some of his writings were brought to light.
The ones that caused the heat to be turned up were comments like these:

On a personal level, religiosity is merely annoying - like bad taste... This immaturity represents a significant social problem, however, because religious adherents fail to recognize their limitations. So, in the name of their faith, these moral retards are running around pointing fingers and doing real harm to others. One only has to read the newspaper to see the results of their handiwork. They discriminate, exclude, and belittle. They make a virtue of closed-mindedness and virulent ignorance. They are an ugly, violent lot

His supporters claim that comments like that are taken out of context. Will somebody please show me a "context" where such phrases like "moral retards" can be construed as anything short of bias against people of faith. That does not wash any better then his claim that his academic freedom was some how abridged. Mr. Shortell, academic freedom is not a garantee that your opinions will be embraced without reaction. Such inflamatory comments are quite sufficient to raise questions about your possiple bias regarding students and faculty members who might be people of faith.
I am also not impressed with the defense that there have been no complaints of bias against him. Does that nobody has complained, or that the faculty has sided with Shortell and rejected the complaint. The "union rep" never made that clear and until he does I will question the veracity of the statement. Along with the Sun and Robert Kaiser of the American Association of University Professors I question if academic freedom is even an issue with regards to what is an administrative post. What he chooses to present in his lectures is one thing. The question, however, remains; can he leave his very public bias in the classroom and not have it taint his administrative duties? Judging from his whining, no.

HT: Michelle Malkin

What Does This Make Kerry?

If President Bush is a Moron, as his critics characterize him then their hero, John Kerry must a bigger one...if only slightly so. According to NewsMax.com, Kerry's cumulative average was 76 compared to Bush's 77. Obviously neither did anything to write home about, but Bush didn't try to tell his father that "D" stood for "distinction". I do hope Kerry's father wasn't foolish to fall for that. If explanations like that were commonplace for Kerry, that might explain the latest nonesense with his form SF180. It also signifies a character flaw that makes me even more glad he is not president.
HT: Little Green Footballs and Museum of Leftwing Lunacy

In Case You are Wondering

You may well be asking why I still have the Kerry counter in the side bar. Mainly because signing the form then releasing only the same stuff that you released during the campaigne does not count. Either let it all be available or not at all. What he has released thus far makes him no more credible than that copy of Downing Street memo he has been waving around on Capitol Hill

Waiting for another Kerry 180

I know he said he would sign it. Cao’s Blog � Kerry 180 posits that Mr. Kerry seems to have found another way to divert attention from the fact that it has been more than 100 days since his promise to do so. Namely the previously mentioned Downing Street Memo, which the 9/11 commission has already pretty much poo-pooed. Like Cao and a number of others I fully expect him to announce that he has signed it, but has not yet turned it in to the appropriate office.
Kerry's 180-180 continues

UPDATE This what happens when you blog when you first get up in the morning.
Apparently I did not pick up on something. Apparently Kerry really did sign it...requesting a copy for himself which he then edited and released himself (gee, that was mighty thoughty of him). Of course what was released was nothing more than he released for the campaign. The Boston Globe seems to be impressed. Me? Well, I'm with Raven who says:

I want details about all the little combat situations Kerry was involved in. I want to know if he really got shot by the enemy or whether he did it to himself in order to get the medals….

The file does not provide new documents about various combat actions. It contains mostly a repetition of Kerry’s citations for the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. For example, it does not include the combat ‘’after action reports” that detail what happened in some of the firefights in which Kerry participated.

Mr. Kerry, come clean!

Kerry: Impeach Bush; Me:You Need More than This

I was reading Cao’s Blog � Kerry: Impeach Bush and for a second I thought somebody had found something substantial. It turns out that the "Downing Street Memo" is not a British government document somebody obtained. It is a 5th column newspaper making unsubstantiated allegations. Unfortunately those do have a nasty habit of gaining traction as Cao rightly points out in her suggestion to Google, "Impeach Bush"

He Deserved Better and the Pentagon Was not Worthy of Him

I have been following the ordeal of Lt. Pantano since I learned of the gross injustice perpetrated on him. Yeah, I know, he was aquitted. The situation never should have come to trial All that they had on him was the word a sargent who looks in the mirror every morning and says to his reflection, "I should have been a lieutenant". Today I learn fromRaven at And Rightly So! that Lt. Pantano has resigned his commission. I cannot say that I blame him. The real shame is that while the USMC loses a man of the caliber of Lt. Pantano, it keeps the likes of the sargent (who I refuse to name).
Semper Fidelis, Lt. Pantano.

Monkey Wrench Thrown into PP's No Child Molester Left Behind Program

According to the New York Times an Indiana judge has required that state's chapter of Planned Parenthood to cough up the records of a number of patients under the age of 14. It seems that Margret Sanger's organization thinks it okay-fine to withhold information concerning statutory rape. In Indiana sex with a minor 14 or younger is considered rape...consentual or not.

Nationally, Planned Parenthood officials and other supporters have likened the situation in Indiana and a similar request for medical records in Kansas to fishing expeditions and say they fear that it is part of a strategy to intimidate providers of reproductive health services.

What hogwash. The fact is that PP is more concerned with loss of revenue so much so that they are willing young women on the alter of molesters. I think that "PP" should stand for "Pedophiles' Pal" I hope their demagoguery of the situation fails and those behind the decision to obstruct justice are charged as accomplices.

HT: Michelle Malkin

You Will Not Find Me on Their Blogroll, but...

The Cotillion is definately worth going to check out. It was started by Beth, Jeanette and Jody. The Cotillion is comprised of conservative female (this is what keeps me off their blogroll...plumbing issues...lol) bloggers and is definately worth a visit and/or inclusion on your blogroll.