Happy Halloween

And beware of hitch-hiking ghosts!


From Doombuggies.com
Ghostpix.com
The Shadowlands
The Moonlit Road
Halloween Ghost Stories
Doombuggies.com
Haunted Mansion

The Friday Furo Questus

Halloween Edition

By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.

--From Macbeth (IV, i, 44-45)

The Questus Tremore
It's a rainy, dreary gray day here in Salt Lake City. Coupled with the date, the mind wanders to tales of ghosts and murders, stories of mysterious events and foul deeds - while the imagination conjures mist-shrouded streets and dark wildernesses, places that Doyle, Poe, or Lovecraft would feel comfortable.

What is it, exactly, about the unknown that facinates the human mind? Our facination with the supernatural? Simply our inablity to explain certain events? To substantiate them?

There are things that do not readily fit into the scientific catalog, things that technology can understand, but not explain. The Wasatch Ghost Investigator Society (see their website, ghostpix.com) has been studying ghosts for several years, and has found something truly amazing: Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). For lack of a better description, they are ghost voices, recorded on tape or digital recorders, and are picked up be recorders but are not heard by human ears when they are recorded. And not all of the voices they record are friendly.

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. -- Joseph Conrad

Halloween is often a time when the evils of men are remembered, as well. Many of the acts of men defy the understanding of their contemporaries. One example that stands out in my mind is a mass murder in Florence, Montana. There, in a small hair salon in that small town, three older women were brutally murdered, for no apparent reason other than they were there.

Halloween historically been a time to remember evil, and to ward it off. The ancient pagan ritual of costumes and masks was designed to scare away any evil spirits ambling by. While the subsequent Disneyification of the holiday has done its best to remove the menacing undertones, the dark remains.

And for some reason the darkness facinates us. Perhaps it is our fear that drives our curiosity - or does our curioisty inspire our fear? I don't know. But it can be interesting.

Oh, that murder in Florence, Montana? That happened on November 6, 2001.

The killer's still out there, somewhere.

Happy Halloween, everybody.

Recommended Reading
VDH: "Bush Must Cross The Rubicon."

A Jonah Goldberg two-fer: "The Secret Files of the Anti-Hypocrite Squad,"

Indeed, offense at hypocrisy has become a warrant to be a bit of a jerk.

and "Golden Days."

It is just one sign of National Review's success that people think American conservatism is very old. It's not. In fact, even as we conservatives cheer the “wisdom of the ancients” and decry the modernity and even postmodernity of our ideological adversaries, American conservatism is arguably the youngest ideology on the block. Marxism, which still clings on like a tough carpet mold in a faculty lounge, is well over a century old.

The last one is an especially good read, a brief tour through the intellectual underpinnings of conservatism.

Thought of the Week
"The devil's agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?"
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles

Churchill Quote of the Week
"Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong."
Winston Churchill

Miers Has Withdrawn

Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination to the Supreme Court.

Good for Ms. Miers.

Ms. Miers isn't a bad person - but she was a poor choice for the court. She was too much of an unknown quanity in terms of her judicial judgement. The Supreme Court is too important a body not to have a better idea of what her approach to law and the Constitution are.

And to those whose who worry about the Court's demographics - is the Court about politics - or the law? Find the best qualified people you can, regardless of their race, gender, or other chracteristics; find people who respect the law, and hold the Constitution supreme.

Now, back to the drawing board. I'm still agitating for Michael McConnell, but I'm no lawyer. And I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.

More info at National Review.

Syria's "Spontaneous" Demonstrations

From the New York Times:

Syrian Government Mobilizes a Vast Rally to Support Assad
DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 24 - Tens of thousands of Syrians, some of them carrying photographs of President Bashar al-Assad and chanting anti-American slogans, protested in Damascus on Monday against the findings of a United Nations report about the assassination of the former prime minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri.

That would be this report, which stated there was substantial evidence Syria was behind the assassination of the popular Hariri. That attack would lead to intense international and public Lebanese pressure. Syria, which had long considered Lebanon its private playground, had to pack up and move out, ending a twenty-year occupation.

But that's only the lead. Here is how public demonstrations occur in a totalitarian state:

"We are protesting against the Mehlis report because it is untrue," said Marwa Jelaylat, 17. "We were very surprised to hear these accusations against our government."

Like many of the protesters, Ms. Jelaylat was carrying an armload of textbooks and wearing her high school uniform. She said she and her classmates were told when they arrived at school that their classes were canceled and that they would be "spontaneously demonstrating today in support of President Assad."

Damascus University students and public employees said their classrooms and offices had also been closed to allow them to demonstrate. All users of Syriatel, a mobile phone provider that is owned by President Assad's first cousin, Rami Makhlouf, received text messages at about 6 a.m., urging them to participate in "a demonstration supporting the national attitude."

Heh. Shades of "1984," anyone?

Found at The Corner.

Remember St. Crispin's Day

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

-- Wm. Shakespeare, King Henry V

The warrior spirit lives yet. REMEMBER ST. CRISPIN'S DAY!

Venezuelan Ripples

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Church Retreats in Venezuela
Amid increasing tensions between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the U.S. government, the LDS Church has withdrawn all its North American missionaries from Venezuela, spokesman Dale Bills said Monday.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had trouble getting or renewing visas for its U.S. missionaries, Bill said, so it has reassigned missionaries working in Venezuela to other Spanish-speaking missions in Latin America, the United States and Canada. Venezuelan LDS missionaries will remain in the country.

In just four hours Sunday, the Utah-based church removed an estimated 400 missionaries, some between ages 19 and 24 and others who are retired couples. The church has a temple in Caracas, and 144 congregations with more than 122,000 members on their rolls.

It appears that all non-Venezuelan Mormon missionaries, not just American citizens, have been withdrawn.

This is apparently a consequence of Pat Robertson's ramblings e.gage has previously mentioned. I thought that teapot tempest had blown over, but I was wrong. More from the Tribune:

Within the past two weeks, Chavez expelled the Florida-based New Tribes Mission, accusing the evangelical Christian group of being CIA operatives attempting to infiltrate the country. Though the Evangelical Council of Venezuela defended New Tribes, the government is standing firm.

So it's not just the Mormons, Hawkins said. The Venezuelan parliament is working on legislation banning visas for all foreign missionaries.

That last part is a little surprising. I can understand Chavez being a little twitchy over American missionaries - but all foreign missionaries?

I have a bad feeling about this...

Beware The Ninja Threat

As reported in the Idaho Statesman:

Ninjas Rob Idaho 7-Eleven
Boise police are looking for two men who robbed a 7-Eleven while dressed as ninjas.

The robbers, described as being in their early 20s, walked into the 7-Eleven at Ustick and Maple Grove Roads around 2:45 a.m. Friday, threatened a clerk with a butcher knife and ran away with an undisclosed amount of cash. They were last seen heading West on Ustick, Boise police spokesman Lt. Randy Roper said.

A dark-colored passenger car was seen speeding away from a nearby Pizza Hut soon after the robbery and may have been involved.

No one was hurt in the robbery, which is still under investigation.

Apprently the assassination business is poor in Idaho, if the local ninja chapter has stooped so low as to try to survive on pilfered Slim Jims and Big Gulps.

The solution is obvious. The city of Boise must recruit seven samurai from Japan, have them swear fealty to the Mayor, and have them hunt down and eliminate the ninja menace, so the peaceful farmers of Idaho can return to their fields.

Found over at Orbusmax.

The Friday Furo Questus

Questus Furore
I'm sick. Flu bites. In case you were wondering.

Bird flu also bad. Cool link here: Tech Central Station. Bottom line - don't panic, but don't dismiss it either. It is possible, and if it does happen, it could be bad.

Recommended Reading
VDH on Iraq: "With a Whimper."

Jonah Goldberg: "Is Bush a Conservative?"

Patrolling the Front
Cancelled this week.

Thought of the Week
"We lay it down as a fundamental, that laws, to be just, must give a reciprocation of right; that, without this, they are mere arbitrary rules of conduct, founded in force, and not in conscience."
Thomas Jefferson

Churchill Quote of the Week
One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half.
Sir Winston Churchill

Worth Repeating

A bit of Jay Nordlinger - because this bears repeating:

Can you stand a little more ElBaradei? Indulge me in one more point. He has the quite peculiar view — particularly for the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency — that established nuclear powers, such as the United States, have no real right to prevent others from acquiring the same destructiveness.

Here is ElBaradei in the New York Times, last year:

"We must abandon the unworkable notion that it is morally reprehensible for some countries to pursue weapons of mass destruction yet morally acceptable for others to rely on them for security."

A staggering statement, that. Think what it means for Iran and Israel. Think what it means for North Korea and Japan. Think what it means for the entire world.

Forgotten in ElBaradei's statement is the character of an individual regime, and the purpose for which it possesses nukes, or seeks them. All of this is elementary, really — but still not widely enough comprehended.

There, I'm done with Nobel prizes. Aren't you glad?

How Far Does The First Amendment Extend?

For the lawyers and potential lawyers among us, I present the following:

Heated words fly in N.M., and legal trouble ensues

New Mexico man is facing the possibility of a year in jail for carrying a picket sign that called a police officer a "liar" and a "dirty cop."

...The case is the most recent in a small but steady stream of prosecutions under state laws, some dating to the 19th century, that criminalize false, damaging statements about officials or private citizens.

Note that the argument here is not about criticizing the government, per se, or an elected official, but a government employee, in this case a police officer.

Now, I know I may be missing something here. I'm pretty sure e..gage knows more about First Amendment law than I do.

Does the state have the authority to limit free speech in this manner? By the same token, how much abuse to our public officials have to accept? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

The Friday Furo Questus

Questus Furore: Regarding Islam and Terror
Rather than launch off on a whole different tangent, as is usually my wont, I'm going to continue a discussion already started by The Niem and e.gage. Unfortunately, I don't have the time for the considered response I intended (hopefully this weekend I will). So, two quick thoughts:

I don't see anyone around here passing out torches and rope. And while the catalog of hate crimes you mention is disturbing - it could be worse. We don't have lynch mobs running through the streets - and we have in the past. We are not rounding up Muslims and sending them to internment camps - and we have in the past. We're not perfect, but we're better than we were fifty years ago. Give Americans the benefit of the doubt.

e.gage has disagreed with my use of the term "Islamofascism," arguing that the only term that applies is terrorism. I'm going to have to disagree - because Islamofascism exists in Iran, and used to exist in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan*. Now, there might be a better term to describe it - and if you have something shorter in mind I'll be happy to use it. But how do we describe a ideological movement dedicated to restoration of the Islamic caliphate and rule by pure Islamic law - law as defined only by those who advocate this movement?

It's not a theocracy - because power is placed firmly in the hands of a few untouchable men. It is totalitarian government, wrapped in an Islamic flag; a perversion of Islam, rather than a stronghold.

If you will permit me a pedantic moment: terrorism is a method, a means to provoke a change; whereas totalitarianism is an end. This is just the totalitarian flavor of the decade - an Islamic-flavored kind. Its practitioners argue that they represent True Islam - and we cannot prove them wrong unless the normal practitioners of Islam help us defeat them. They are going to have to fight for their faith, disavowing those who go beyond the pale - just as Christians have to do with the Christian wingnuts.

Recommended Reading
Victor Davis Hanson: An American "Debacle."

Jonah Goldberg: Do You Have Miers Mental Dementia Obsessive Hysteria (Mm'Doh!)?

Myrna Byth: Feeling Disappointed?

And lastly, this interesting piece on economic freedom.

Patrolling the Front
This week, we have had an interesting discussion, a healthy back-and-forth that is precisely what I was hoping for when Jamo and I started this blog.

It started with this post by The Niem and went into the comments, then continued with this post by e.gage and its comments.

They have disagreed - but kept it healthy and civil. Thank you - and keep it up.

Thought of the Week
"Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response. And it is in the light of that history that every nation today should know, be he friend or foe, that the United States has both the will and the weapons to join free men in standing up to their responsibilities."
John F. Kennedy, 1961

Churchill Thought of the Week
"Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry."
Winston Churchill

*Note to Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, who recently stated that life in Utah is like living under the rule of the Taliban: I'd like to see how long you'd last there, dipstick.

To Do The Impossible, Just Try Harder

How to airmail a water buffalo to Afghanistan. You'll have to click the link to understand.

Afghanistan Today

Go read "Dead Man Laughing" at the Belmont Club.

Soccer, The Jihad Way

An actual fatwa on soccer, as related by Michael Ledeen in National Review:

1. Eliminate the four lines defining the playing area;

2. Ban the use of language like "foul," "penalty kick," "corner kick," "goal," and "out of bounds." Anyone who says such things must be thrown out of the game and duly punished;

3. You can’t stop playing just because you break your hand or foot. And no yellow or red card for anyone who does that to you. No way. You drag the opponent into a proper sharia court and testify against him;

4. Since the infidels have eleven players on a side, Muslims must have either more or less, but not that satanic number;

5. Proper dress codes must be enforced, no colorful shirts and shorts, and no numbers;

This is the only time you need wory about dress codes. When you progress to Jihad, you can then dress as women, police, ambulance drivers...

6. Remember that this is preparation for jihad, don’t waste time celebrating a win;

Probably because you will have blown yourself to kingdom come, so save the celebration for the afterlife, I guess.

7. Change the length of the game from the usual 45-minute halves;

8. In fact, no halves. Either play the whole game non-stop, or have three periods (remember that the infidels play two halves);

For there is no rest in the war on the infidel!

9. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, that’s it. No overtime, no penalty kicks;

10. No referee. That’s obvious, since you can’t talk about fouls, corner kicks, or any of the other things that referees decide;

11. No fans. If soccer is preparation for jihad, why would anyone watch? They should be getting ready for jihad themselves;

12. After the game, no comments about either the outcome or the merits of the players. You can talk about how your body feels (your muscles are stronger, so you’re going to do better when it’s jihad time, etc.);

13. No cross bar on the net. Two poles will do just fine;

14. If anyone tries to hug a player who has scored, uh (can’t say "goal"), inserted the ball between the posts, "you should spit in his face, punish him, and reprimand him, for what do joy, hugging and kissing have to do with sports?";

15. No substitutions.

"Hey, Mustaffa, my ankle's sore. Can you carry this suicide bomb for me?

Ledeen closes:

You might think that this is so ridiculous that it was laughed out of civil society, but you would be wrong (and the society isn’t civil, anyway)...

It’s an odd thing to believe, even for an Islamofascist. After all, Osama himself is said to have rooted for Arsenal when he lived in England, and Khomeini himself, than which nobody grimmer can be conceived, actually played the game. But times have changed, as the power of the clerical fascists has expanded over a new generation of believers.

The Friday Furo Questus

A WASATCH FRONT (almost) WEEKLY FEATURE
Questus Furore: Oh, That War
The President gave an excellent speech on the War on Terror today. It is a speech I was hoping he would make.

But I'm not sure anyone heard. It merited a whole 30 seconds on the news tonight. And the critics wailed, as they have every night.

But some great points were made:

...The murderous ideology of the Islamic radicals is the great challenge of our new century. Yet, in many ways, this fight resembles the struggle against communism in the last century. Like the ideology of communism, Islamic radicalism is elitist, led by a self-appointed vanguard that presumes to speak for the Muslim masses. Bin Laden says his own role is to tell Muslims, quote, "what is good for them and what is not." And what this man who grew up in wealth and privilege considers good for poor Muslims is that they become killers and suicide bombers. He assures them that his -- that this is the road to paradise -- though he never offers to go along for the ride.

Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy teaches that innocent individuals can be sacrificed to serve a political vision. And this explains their cold-blooded contempt for human life. We've seen it in the murders of Daniel Pearl, Nicholas Berg, and Margaret Hassan, and many others. In a courtroom in the Netherlands, the killer of Theo Van Gogh turned to the victim's grieving mother and said, "I do not feel your pain -- because I believe you are an infidel." And in spite of this veneer of religious rhetoric, most of the victims claimed by the militants are fellow Muslims.

When 25 Iraqi children are killed in a bombing, or Iraqi teachers are executed at their school, or hospital workers are killed caring for the wounded, this is murder, pure and simple -- the total rejection of justice and honor and morality and religion. These militants are not just the enemies of America, or the enemies of Iraq, they are the enemies of Islam and the enemies of humanity. (Applause.) We have seen this kind of shameless cruelty before, in the heartless zealotry that led to the gulags, and the Cultural Revolution, and the killing fields.

Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy pursues totalitarian aims. Its leaders pretend to be an aggrieved party, representing the powerless against imperial enemies. In truth they have endless ambitions of imperial domination, and they wish to make everyone powerless except themselves. Under their rule, they have banned books, and desecrated historical monuments, and brutalized women. They seek to end dissent in every form, and to control every aspect of life, and to rule the soul, itself. While promising a future of justice and holiness, the terrorists are preparing for a future of oppression and misery.

The critic's response? "They're not really a threat, and besides, Bush has no strategy." Of course, they've been real helpful, just chock-full of complaints...er, ideas. It's all Bush's fault, you see, because he didn't support [insert liberal cause here]. And now it is up to them to stop him, through their wise words, stirring protest songs, and principled stands.

But just last evening, a "specific threat" was made against the New York City subway system. Last week, a man blew himself up at a University of Oklahoma football game. We may very well be on the leading edge of a terror offensive.

Of course, these stories are still developing.

The Islamist movement has, for well over a decade, announced their intentions to kill any who stand in their path to total dominion. When will we take them at their word?

Recommended Reading
Victor Davis Hanson: "The Quiet Consensus" and takes a look at an alternative Iraq.

Iain Murray takes a look at the Conservative Party in Britain.

Jim Robbins analyzes President Bush's speech yesterday.

Jonah Goldberg on Harriet Miers.

Patrolling the Front
e.gage is still finding random pictures. Is it that quiet up there? One thing we definitely agree on, though - you should go see Serenity.

Jamo (j.m.) is maintaining the U2 watch, and finds an interesting article on the power of books. He and I also examined the latest nomination to the Supreme Court.

Adam (The Niem) is back! He reviewed Serenity for us, reviews the start of the second season of Lost, and shares some favorite Conan O'Brian jokes.

Nathan wonders if Harriet Miers is part of a bigger strategy.

Matt and Maine Man are MIA, and Spencer (The Unknowable) has been lurking in the comments.

And me (Tyler)? I want to believe Ms. Miers is a good choice, but I'm not convinced. I think President Bush flubbed this one. It's also the 50th anniversary of National Review, there's some interesting earthquake news, and you really need to go see Serenity.

Thought(s) of the Week:
"Personal relations matter more in international politics than the historians would have us believe. Of course, nations will follow their overriding interest on the great issues regardless, but there are many important occasions when the trust built up over several years of contacts makes a real difference to how things turn out."
-- President Ronald Reagan

"I aim to misbehave."
-- Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, Serenity

Churchill Quote of the Week:
"Statesmen are not called upon to settle the easy questions. These often settle themselves. It is when the balance quivers and the proportions are veiled in mist that the opportunities for world-saving decisions present themselves."
-- Sir Winston Churchill

Like a lamb to the slaughter...

What do you think of Pres. Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers?

Personally, I think she is like a sacrificial lamb being presented to appease the bloodthirsty Democrats who are just dying to oppose Bush in any way they can. I think that there will be a large opposition. It will be close when confirmation time comes around, but she may be defeated.

So, in this political chess move, Bush's next appointee may be better known and more easily confirmed because people will be sick of the bickering and Democrats will have been satisfied that they were able to thwart Bush, at least with Miers.

China Pounded By Longwang

Really. Honest.

"BEIJING, China (AP) -- Typhoon Longwang pounded southeast China with heavy winds and rains but appeared to be weakening as it moved inland, weather officials said Monday."

It's a [CENSORED]

[Remainder of post has been censored. Tyler's posting priviledges have been suspended for the rest of the day, while he attends sensitivity training and "attitude adjustment." Our apologies.
- The Editors]

"What Was That?"

Serenity. Go see it. You will enjoy.