If I can accept a divine Commandment, it’s this one: ‘Thou shalt preserve the species.’ The life of an individual must not be set at too high a price. If the individual were important in the eyes of nature, nature would take care to preserve him.”

- Adolf Hitler, Hitler’s Secret Conversations, 1941-1945 (New York: Tarred, Straus, and Young, 1953) 116.

Preservation is tied to the iron law of necessity and the right of victory of the best and the strongest…Whoever wants to live, must struggle, and whoever will not fight in this world of eternal struggle does not deserve to live…Even if this is harsh – it is simply the way it is.”

- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Munich: NSDAP, 1943) 316-317.

Honkey Hunters Hate Jews

I love this quote so much I want to marry it and have lots of little baby quotes:

September 24, 2008 6:21 PM

ABC News’ Teddy Davis Reports: Florida Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings pointed to Sarah Palin on Wednesday to rally Jews to Obama.

“If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention,” said Hastings. “Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through.“…

Asked about the Hastings criticism, Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella said, “We’re taking a pass.”

Seeing as this is basically a “how much more” style argument, albeit presented in appalling English for a congressman, what representative Hastings seems to be arguing is that Jews and Blacks are inherently of less value than a moose. “If she’s willing to shoot and skin a moose, how much more would she be willing to…” actually, though having thought it through, I’m not sure what he’s implying here: Hunting and skinning Jews and blacks? Who is this clown?

This clown is, in fact, a former judge who was impeached in the eighties by the House of Representatives in a vote of 413-3 on charges of corruption (soliciting bribes from a defendant to reduce their sentence) and perjury.
Given his criminal past, it should not be surprising that representative Hastings was on Nancy Pelosi’s shortlist to be chairman of the Intelligence Committee (she eventually went with Reyes, thankfully).

In any event, you can read about representative Hastings’ shennanigans in the Washington Post and in National Review. Its a fascinating story, entertaining even if it weren’t so disgusting. And there’s a character named “Waxy Gordon”. Come on, you know you’re curious.

Anymore, Bill Clinton gives me Warm Fuzzies

Forget Obama’s workout schedule, or Palin’s sexy-librarian chic: These things shall pass. What always remains a constant, like the tides or a good friend, is Bill Clinton’s ability to amaze. He really is the only politician who warrants keeping the tape rolling 24/7.

This from Politico:

Bill Clinton: Will respect Jewish holidays, then ‘hustle up … cracker vote’ in Florida
- by Ben Smith

In an interview with CNN’s Larry King airing tonight, Bill Clinton offered a slightly unusual reason for postponing his campaigning for Obama: The Jewish high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which he’s not known to observe.

“When [the Clinton Global Initiative] is over, and after the Jewish holidays, which follow close on it, I intend to go to Florida, to Ohio, to northeast Pennsylvania, and to Nevada at a minimum,” he said. “I may do events in Arkansas depending on what the Democratic Party does down there. And I’ve agreed to do some fundraising for them in California and New York.”

“Are you kind of feeling Jewish that you’re waiting until after the Jewish holidays?” King asked, according to a CNN transcript.

“No. But I think it would be — if we’re trying to win in Florida, it may be that,” Clinton began, before discussing his real Florida target: “You know, they think that because of who I am and where my politic[al] base has traditionally been, they may want me to go sort of hustle up what Lawton Chiles used to call the ‘cracker vote’ there.”

“But Senator Obama also has a big stake in doing well in the Jewish community in Florida, where Hillary did very well and where I did very well. And I just think respecting the holidays is a good thing to do,” he said.

Honestly, whatever they pay Larry King, double it. Money well spent.

In Which We Are Momentarially Intrigued by Vogue

The Above magazine arrived at my home as so many things do, and I remarked to my wife as I surreptitiously shifted it from the coffee table to the magazine rack “That is a terrible cover. Looks like King Kong.” Which indeed it does.

This thing is, aesthetically, a disaster. The photographer should be drawn and quartered, and the editor summarily sacked. And predictably, it has stirred up a bit of controversy over “racial stereotypes” and whatnot. Now I wouldn’t normally give this sort of thing a second thought, but that cover has stuck in my head over the last few days. Couldn’t figure out why, until Buddha connected the dots for me:

The cover also closely resembles this bit of United States recruitment propaganda from the Great War which I had shown to my ninth grade European history class just two weeks ago.

In Which Wisdom comes out your Speakers

The good folks at WRF” sent me the latest Think lecture, by the always wonderful Calvin Seerveld. It is entitled “Cities as a place for public artwork: a GLOCAL approach”, but the role of art in the public sphere is only the beginning. In the process of laying the foundations for his thoughts on public art, Dr. Seerveld outlines in broad strokes some of the moral underpinnings for a redemptive understanding of economics and community. You can (and should) download the lecture here (think #15). Don’t neglect to look at the urban artwork gallery (from the slide show which Dr. Seerveld used at the lecture, I assume).

This particular lecture is a part of the Stained Glass Urbanism project. In light of Revelation 21:10 – 22:5, this is something we all ought to be actively interested in, but I think will be particularly exciting and encouraging to those living in metropolitan areas. Listen, read, and then do.

In Which We Make No Home for Freaks

First Things, a journal of religion, culture, and public life (as its byline states), published an excellent article in their On the Square: Observations and Contentions section entitled
Worth Dying For by Richard John Neuhaus. This is something you should read.

Years ago, Christopher Lasch wrote that the reason we no longer have freak shows at county fairs is not because we are more sensitive and compassionate but because we have created, or aspire to create, a world that has no place for freaks. I regularly pass on the way to work the New York center for cerebral palsy. It is both touching and inspiring to see caretakers gently helping hundreds of children—their eyes rolling, limbs flailing, and grunting speech—getting in and out of the buses that transport them to the center. Prenatal testing and the unlimited abortion license will make sure that there is not another generation to burden us with the need for such caring.

In Which We Ask an Honest Question

Can anyone explain to me how to tell the difference between a “black” person and a “white” person?