The Race Card...

[Nbadan]

...Isn't working out so well for Republicans....

Pat Buchanan: Slavery Best Thing Ever to Happen to Blacks


Barack Obama's speech this past week illuminated aspects of the racial divide in this country in a nuanced and respectful manner. This speech offered an opening for dialogue. Pat Buchanan has offered a response on his blog....



America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

No people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ’60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Link (http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=969)

A few of our favorite past Pat Buchanan quotes:

"The War Between the States was about independence, about self-determination, about the right of a people to break free of a government to which they could no longer give allegiance … How long is this endless groveling before every cry of ‘racism’ going to continue before the whole country collectively throws up?"—syndicated column, 7/28/93

"If we had to take a million immigrants in, say Zulus, next year, or Englishmen, and put them up in Virginia, what group would be easier to assimilate and would cause less problems for the people of Virginia?"—This Week With David Brinkley, 1/8/91

"Our culture is superior. Our culture is superior because our religion is Christianity and that is the truth that makes men free."—Speech to the Christian Coalition, September 1993

"I don’t care about the circumstances of a child’s conception. You want to execute somebody in the case of rape, execute the rapist and let the unborn child live."—New York Times, 2/24/96

"Homosexuality is not a civil right. Its rise almost always is accompanied, as in the Weimar Republic, with a decay of society and a collapse of its basic cinder block, the family."—New Republic, 3/30/92

"Rail as they will about ‘discrimination,’ women are simply not endowed by nature with the same measures of single-minded ambition and the will to succeed in the fiercely competitive world of Western capitalism."—Syndicated column, 11/22/83

"The real liberators of American women were not the feminist noise-makers, they were the automobile, the supermarket, the shopping center, the dishwasher, the washer-dryer, the freezer."—Right from the Beginning, p. 149

[Spurminator]

So what is Buchanan's relationship with John McCain?

[Doc Jerome]

Wow. It took Pat 5 days to come up with this carefully crafted response to Sen. Obama's speech. With keen minds like this one, it's no wonder why the GOP is fast becoming obsolete. They have already crossed the threshold of becoming totally bankrupt in principle.

[Nbadan]

Sloppy seconds?


http://pinkdome.com/archives/bush_mccain_400.jpg

[Extra Stout]

I wasn't aware Pat Buchanan won the Republican nomination.

[xrayzebra]

I wasn't aware that Pat played in big part in any political party
since he tried a failed at trying to run for the Presidency.

Thanks dan for this big heads-up.

One thing dan, are the blacks in the United States better off
than in other parts of the world. Would you google that for me
while you are googling for all this other stuff and let me know.

[Nbadan]

I wasn't aware Pat Buchanan won the Republican nomination.

Really, that's funny because Pat isn't aware he didn't...

[JoeChalupa]

I enjoy Pat Buchanan's commentary on Good Morning Joe.

[Spurminator]

Yeah I'm not sure why the GOP has to answer for Pat Buchanan any more than Democrats have to answer for Dennis Kucinich.

[Yonivore]

Yeah I'm not sure why the GOP has to answer for Pat Buchanan any more than Democrats have to answer for Dennis Kucinich.
That's a good point.

[PEP]

Would todays blacks have been better off in Africa if their kin had never been brought here as slaves?

[Don Quixote]

Would blacks have been better off in Africa if they hadnt been brought here as slaves?

Yes, I think that's Buchanan's point. He is certainly not justifying slavery, nor does any respectible conservative. He is only saying that, because of the hard work, and mistreatment, and garbage, and dehumanization that African people were put through, their descendents were put in a position to reap the benefits of America.

However, it was probably a bit dangerous for a white man to say this. I mean, you know how emotional liberals get ...

If a credible black conservative, such as Stephen Carter, Thomas Sowell, or Clarence Thomas, had said it, I don't imagine there would be much of a furor over this sentiment.

[Don Quixote]

BTW ... I like almost all of the beforementioned Buchanan quotes. I would say they are fairly accurate and representative of conservative views. I also appreciate how, for once, they are cited. They, however, fail to prove that he, or conservatives, are "racist bigot fascist homophobes," as the stereotype goes.

[boutons_]

"It took Pat 5 days"

he probably got it from right-wing nutter/neo-con think tanks like AEI, PNAC, etc. copy/paste

[Extra Stout]

Better, deeper question: what would Africa be like today if the Muslims had never introduced chattel slavery into African culture?

[Don Quixote]

Ah, yes. A topic mostly overlooked by STers -- the role of Islam in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. I am curious if the common notion that every religion is basically the same (equally wrong, or equally irrelevant, as the thinking goes) can hold up under the reality of actual Moslem rule. I guess we will find out if/when a Western European nation becomes majority Moslem.

[PEP]

Scary to think that back in the 90s I walked around in Morocco and Saudi Arabia without hesitation or fear of being kidnapped, I wouldnt feel safe doing that now.

[Spawn]

Eurocentrism= Good

Afrocentrism= Bad

[Extra Stout]

Eurocentrism= Good

Afrocentrism= Bad
Eurocentrism is just navel-gazing. Western Europe was a cultural backwater until the 13th century at the earliest. The change that occurred between the 13th and 16th centuries came

1) because Europe had to adapt or be conquered as trade routes collapsed and changed due to Turkish expansion

2) European geography lent itself to Europeans' being a seafaring people

3) Turko-Arabic domination of the Mediterranean forced Europeans to find other sea routes

4) The New World with all its bounty happened to be there when the Europeans started heading west

5) Newfound wealth allowed Europe to deal with the East and with Africa on dominant terms.

Western Europe only regained the cultural vitality it had reached 1000 years earlier as the Greeks fled from the shriveled corpse of the old Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire and brought the learning that they, the Muslims, and the Africans had maintained and built upon. The serendipity of contemporaneous cultural revitalization and sudden wealth propelled the West to its modern place of dominance.

This hegemony of the descendants of the Germanic tribes is only 400-500 years old. Especially here in the USA, where we have no sense of history, we think it has always been this way, when really civilizations rise and fall over time.

[101A]

"The real liberators of American women were not the feminist noise-makers, they were the automobile, the supermarket, the shopping center, the dishwasher, the washer-dryer, the freezer."What is wrong with that quote?

It's true.

Were it not for those advancements; housework would have continued to be a job that DEMANDED at least one person's full-time, undivided attention; thus leaving NO time for that person to do ANYTHING outside of the home.


I don’t care about the circumstances of a child’s conception. You want to execute somebody in the case of rape, execute the rapist and let the unborn child live.
There is no other intellectually legitimate position for a person who considers themselves "pro-life" to have. Again I don't understand what is so vile about this statement.



If we had to take a million immigrants in, say Zulus, next year, or Englishmen, and put them up in Virginia, what group would be easier to assimilate and would cause less problems for the people of Virginia?

Because he mentions race, it is a problem? Is this not an accurate statement? It's facetious as far as I'm concerned.

[Don Quixote]

Eurocentrism is just navel-gazing. Western Europe was a cultural backwater until the 13th century at the earliest. The change that occurred between the 13th and 16th centuries came

1) because Europe had to adapt or be conquered as trade routes collapsed and changed due to Turkish expansion

2) European geography lent itself to Europeans' being a seafaring people

3) Turko-Arabic domination of the Mediterranean forced Europeans to find other sea routes

4) The New World with all its bounty happened to be there when the Europeans started heading west

5) Newfound wealth allowed Europe to deal with the East and with Africa on dominant terms.

Western Europe only regained the cultural vitality it had reached 1000 years earlier as the Greeks fled from the shriveled corpse of the old Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire and brought the learning that they, the Muslims, and the Africans had maintained and built upon. The serendipity of contemporaneous cultural revitalization and sudden wealth propelled the West to its modern place of dominance.

This hegemony of the descendants of the Germanic tribes is only 400-500 years old. Especially here in the USA, where we have no sense of history, we think it has always been this way, when really civilizations rise and fall over time.

Yes, I think you have adequately summed up Bernard Lewis', "Cultures in Conflict," the seminal work in which he describes the rise and fall of the Islamic world. The end of the book is fabulous -- he more or less says that the problems the Islamic world is going through now is their own darn fault and not ours.

It's reminiscient of the Carly Simon song, "We're so vain ... and I bet we think their societal upheaval is about us ..." Maybe not.

The books of Bernard Lewis are a must for anyone, lib or otherwise, really wanting to understand the dynamics of the Arab world, and perhaps asking questions like, "why do they HATE us?," "why are they so backward?" etc. OF course, for some STers, that might entail actually reading a book, instead of being on ST all day wasting all their darn time.

[Don Quixote]

And more ... a letter from a friend of mine in Israel.

Hi Don Quixote,

I hope all is well with you. How is the paper writing
coming along? I was just in Jerusalem today (it's not
that far from here, this country is small) and went to
the Yad Vashem museum (AKA the holocaust museum). It
was memorable.

The big news here is the Muslim convert that the pope
baptized on Easter. WOW.

http://www.zenit.org/article-1142?l=english

That's his testimony in English, which is a nice easy
read. Hopefully many more will follow his steps.
Though some think that BXVI's act was folly (see my
blog for that discussion). But I think it was a great
and brave act.

Peace.

Rosinante

Here's the article ...
LONDON, APR. 10, 2001 (Zenit.org).- A preacher from Iran has started a low-key campaign to convert Muslims in Britain and northern Europe to Christianity, the Telegraph newspaper reports.

The 43-year-old evangelist was forced to leave Tehran because of threats to his life after he began preaching to Muslims about Jesus Christ. He uses a false name for safety reasons and preaches in Midlands hotels to Muslims, many of Iranian origin.

He does this knowing that in Iran and some other Muslim countries attempting such conversions are considered worthy of the death penalty. In Britain, he is free to approach any person of any faith, but is aware that this could provoke reprisals.

In an interview, Mohammed, as he is known, told the Telegraph: "If you are a Muslim and you change your faith in Iran they are allowed to kill you. You are unclean. It does not happen in practice, but the provision is there. The extremists believe that if they kill me or Salman Rushdie they will go to paradise. The threat is everywhere."

Determined not to be intimidated, Mohammed has begun broadcasting Bible lessons in Farsi on the radio which are transmitted to Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikstan.

In Britain he has a following of a few hundred Muslim converts and is seeking Farsi-speaking disciples to help him look after his growing flock.

He held a conference in the Netherlands and 147 Muslims came. More than 90 became Christian during the week.

Do note the real danger that converts to Christianity face in Iran. It is perfectly permissible and legal to kill anyone who renounces Islam. As of 2008, Christianity does not face the same restrictions in the UK, but if and when England becomes majority Moslem, that will change.

[Don Quixote]

And here's the link to the testimony of the Italian Moslem journalist whom the pope baptized this Easter.

http://www.zenit.org/article-22151?l=english

Although I would have preferred he become Baptist or somehow Protestant, he still made an extraordinary and brave move at age 56. Unfortunately, he will have to go into hiding since he has renounced Islam.

[smeagol]

Is Islam the religion of peace?

[xrayzebra]

Is Islam the religion of peace?


Of course it is, you are peaceful after death. And that is
what you face if you don't play by their rules. A violent
death and peace thereafter.


One thing, you know I wonder what happens if the
Muslim runs into the guy he just killed on the other side.
That would be an interesting hookup.

[Don Quixote]

Is Islam the religion of peace?

Well ... it is certainly possible to be a Moslem and be peaceful, and basically believe in peace. I imagine that the majority of the world's Moslems are this way.

But, yes, Islam as a whole does seem predisposed towards violence. There are a number of reasons -- both cultural and deep-rooted theological -- why this is the case. To make it very brief ... the Islamic world is in decline and blames the West, blames Israel, blames modernity, and anybody but itself for it. Most of the countries have atrocious governments and not many opportunities for advancement. And

Second, Islam is much, much different from Christianity. Islam is not only a religion, but a political system as well. It is also geared to view life as a struggle to achieve power and glory. (This contrasts with the basic Christian message of "taking up your cross" and "suffering.") So when Moslems suffer what they perceive to be injustice, their system cannot handle it, and therefore, we have jihad.

This is a very brief discussion of the matter, but no, Islam is not a religion of peace unless Islam is in charge. Then it is usually peaceful.