Posted on 07/05/2005 9:10:28 AM PDT by Jackknife
What a weekend! What a holiday! Millions of Americans celebrating the very freedom they fear, and that nice man Bob Geldof telling us evil Americans what we should be doing with the money we work so hard for! Why, we should be sending it to Africa, that's what.
Lets give thanks that Live 8 is over. What a bunch of sanctimonious, self-righteous, narcissistic jerk-offs. They top off their great multi-venue circle jerk Sunday with a demand that the United States cough up some more money for something they refer to as "aid and justice for Africa." These rock stars have a goal. They are demanding that the evil United States cough up 0.7% of its gross domestic product and send it to Africa. What these footstools don't grasp is that the 0.7% isn't theirs to demand or theirs to distribute as they see fit. That money belongs to the men and women of the United States who got up every morning and went out and damned well earned it. Personally, I don't give a flying fornication just how much of our money they think should be sent to Africa. I dare say that the average sheetrock installer in Sheboygan donates a greater percentage of his earnings to charity than do these insipid rock stars.
And just what is it about Africa? Here is a continent with an incredible abundance of natural resources -- and a history that speaks to nothing but poverty. So, these Live 8 guitar players want to do something about poverty in Africa? Maybe they should be demanding the return of land in Zimbabwe to the white farmers from whom it was stolen! Just a few decades ago Zimbabwe was one of Africa's richest breadbaskets. Zimbabwean farmers fed their own country and many of their neighboring countries with the food from their farms and ranches. Then along comes their new exalted ruler ... the great Robert Mugabe. He sends his goon squads out to steal the land from the white farmers - murdering many of them - and turns those farms over to his revolutionary soldiers. What happens next? Hunger, that's what. Now Zimbabwe can't even feed its own people, let alone the citizens of neighboring African countries. To make matters worse, Mugabe is now engaged in a campaign to destroy the homes of poor citizens in Zimbabwe's capitol so that they will move back out into the bush where they won't be so visible and problematic. So ... did you hear one of these rock stars even hint that the United States should do something about Mugabe? Are you kidding? Sure, they like want to fight like poverty and like all that .. but that doesn't mean that they're ever going to like say one like negative word about any of the like dictators who like steal so much of the aid money and like keep their own people in poverty.
Oh .. and here's something else that these brilliant rock stars you won't hear about. I'm talking about the birth rate in Africa. In Africa, as in America and in so many other parts of the world, the people who can least afford to raise children are the people with the highest pregnancy rates. It is considered to be gravely politically incorrect in America to ever suggest that a woman who cannot afford to raise a child should do something to prevent pregnancy. It seems you can't address this situation in Africa either. The solution for African women having children they can't afford to raise is to go to the United States and confiscate the money needed to raise them.
The problems faced by Africa are largely cultural. Though our illustrious rock stars wouldn't touch this, the dominant African culture is one of irresponsible reproduction, tribal warfare, submission to dictatorial despots, anti-capitalistic governments and unprotected sex leading to rampant disease. Live 8 isn't going to change this, and either is confiscating more American wealth to be poured into this mess.
The answer to African poverty may well be to shed this burden of political correctness and to start calling the shots over there as we see them. If these intellectually superior rock stars really want to do something about poverty and justice in Africa a good first step might be to ask the Western world to forcibly remove Robert Mugabe from power in Zimbabwe and return the farming land to its rightful owners.
Yeah ... like that's going to happen.
AND A WORD ABOUT THE G8 PROTESTORS
It looks like the cops had their hands full with the anti-capitalist protestors at the G8 conference in Scotland over the weekend. It's no wonder, after all one of these protestors told a reporter that they wear masks because violence is a way of life for them. As the G8 summit proceeds through the week I'm sure we'll see more and more of these insipid protestors ... hopefully with a full compliment of bloody noses.
Come on, folks. Just take a look at these mindless myrmidons. Do they look like people that you would ever willingly trust with any meaningful responsibilities? Oh sure, we have the occasional leftist icon out there getting some face time, but for the most part these raggedy anti-capitalist protestors are college-aged children who have never had to rely on their own income-earning abilities to pay the rent or to put food on the table. They're a ragtag bunch caught in that magic age where you know it all and where you have answers to all of the questions plaguing civilization. It's really a pity that the media is going to pay them so much attention as they go on their destructive rampages this week.
ping
A good one.
Neal's right on the money with this one.
Absolutely correct.
Hey 'Borg...check this out. It's not that often you hear truth so plainly spoken!
This cash could go to each country, either to the President or the Central Bank with a request that it be spent to eradicate poverty. I'm sure they'll be thrilled! And, I think it is grossly unfair of the folks that think that Africans with wealth should share that wealth with other Africans. It is their wealth to spend, not ours and if they don't want to give it to other Africans, that's their business.
good article
Unfortunately, in the case of women in Africa having children - yes, it is true it's not usually their fault. Their culture is usually such that rural women have little choice over their destiny, and little access to birth control. They are controlled by their families - father, husband, brother, uncle.
Reform the government and the culture to include private property rights, have men support their families, allow women the right of self-determination(not a slave of their family), and you might see a big difference.
It is politically incorrect for me to say the following and I will probably get flamed for it, but here goes. If Western charities and NGOs are going to give African babies vaccinations and vitamins to reduce child mortality, they MUST also convince the parents to use birth control to prevent more children. We do no favors for the poor by helping them have bigger families than they can feed.
It should have been an 'Africa Get Your Act Together' concert, designed to encourage Africa to get its house in order.
Poverty comes from a spiritual black hole..
Another man without a clue about biology. Hey Neal, take a remedial Biology class and learn something you ignororamus!
Otherwise, good article.
Oh, well, I couldn't agree more. I think Rush Limbaugh had it right - the rock stars get to stroke their egos at the expense of everyone else and then go home to their ultra-luxury lifestyle.
Cuts straight to the bone, doesn't it.
Yeah - I forget who it was, but there was one movie actress who went to Africa a year or so ago, stayed in a luxury hotel while being transported by helicopter and limo, and proclaimed that the "simple" African lifestyle of basic food, mud huts and walking was so much better than the American gas-guzzler, high consumption, destroy the environment attitude. Hers is typical of liberal elitist-type thought, and all those hypocrites up on stage are guilty of the same.
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