Posted on 06/14/2006 12:39:23 AM PDT by neverdem
Michael Berg, a Green Party candidate for Congress in Delaware, announced on national television that he regretted the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He didnt blame al-Zarqawi for beheading an American contractor. The man responsible was President Bush the real terrorist.
Any other politician would have been vilified for saying that. But Berg, as the father of the American who was beheaded, belongs to a new politically invulnerable class. Arguing with someone in mourning just isnt done unless, of course, you are Ann Coulter and you have a new book to sell.
She managed to offend everyone from Hillary Clinton to Bill OReilly by suggesting that some of the activist widows of the Sept. 11 victims were enjoying their husbands deaths. Thats over the top even for Coulter. But she has identified a real problem: How do you conduct a political argument with grieving relatives?
Coulter faults liberals for exploiting victims and their relatives as human shields for their arguments against the war and in favor of gun control. But conservatives use these tactics, too. Bush had the parents of a slain Iraqi soldier stand up during the State of the Union address as a tacit endorsement of his policy.
America is supposed to be a government of laws, not men, but the surest way to pass a law is to name it after someone, ideally a girl or woman. Dozens of states have passed Megans laws. Theres another measure against sex offenders in Ohio called Nicoles Law, not to be confused with the Nicoles Law in Massachusetts, which requires carbon-monoxide detectors in homes.
There is a federal Katies Law (giving money to rural police agencies), a New Mexico Katies Law (requiring DNA samples to be collected from suspects), and a Minnesota Katies Law (providing money to track...)
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
Micheal Berg...A green Barf candidate....
True, however idiocy seems to be the basis of all "Dim" causes and he passes that test with flying colors.
The man may never forgive himself for putting the idea in his son's head that terrorists were "warm and cuddly". That is his personal hell he will need to deal with. We mourned his loss as a nation, but we are not obligated to tolerate outright stupidity on his part.
Cheers and Jeers (Democrats booing Hillary Clinton on video!) How sweet it is!
Victor Davis Hanson: How Oil Lubricates Our Enemies
From time to time, Ill ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
Whether it is... or isn't... matters little. What does matter is that the 'Jersey Girls' used it as a weapon to advance a political agenda that affects my countries national security. Creating redundant layers of bureaucracy to assuage the 'emotions' of a select group is pure nanny-statism.
Coulter exposed their cheesy charade with refreshing candor... I commend her for it.
Their every word and every deed offend me.
99% of the drive by media cannot even get Ann's words right.
In every instance they offend me.
Michael Berg gets a pass....and no animosity from the MSM or talk shows or anyone! ...
..for his totally insane, unconscionable support of the very monster who sawed of his son's head....
...but Ann is drawn and quartered for spotlighting these kooks!
I am discovering that my compassion is limited. What this tactic does is eventually makes all of us numb to the grief of those who, by using it to advance a political agenda, force us to examine their behavior.
If Michael Berg had not encouraged his son to work for progressive outcomes, perhaps Nick would be alive today. If the Jersey Girls had been satisfied with their $1.6M (on top of life insurance and other assets) and behaved with decorum,
no one would question their grief and loss.
We have decayed to the point where it is considered ideal to win a debate on emotions, and not on logic.
Emotions are not reality. We as a people need to remember that.
She managed to offend everyone from Hillary Clinton to Bill OReilly by suggesting that some of the activist widows of the Sept. 11 victims were enjoying their husbands deaths.
"I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell."
Harry S Truman, in Look, Apr. 3, 1956
Thanks for the ping!
Exactly what you were saying.
I call it the Tyranny of the Anecdote.
Worth repeating: "We have decayed to the point where it is considered ideal to win a debate on emotions, and not on logic."
Emotions are not reality. We as a people need to remember that.
In the end, grief legislation is bad for everyone, including the bereaved. This is an excellent editorial.
Thanks for posting it.
I actually think the foundation for this has already been laid. That is why alcoholic driving congressmen can get treatment for their disease, and partying interns can get access to the president and Senators can drive them home via a bridge. There is no accountability, it's all about one's personal life.
It hasn't come to murder, per se, but we're getting there.
Brilliant.
The Democrats started this whole business, I believe, with the Widow Carnahan in Missouri. Then there was the Paul Wellstone business, which fortunately backfired. Then the 9/11 widows. Then the families of peaceniks killed in Israel. Then Cindy Sheehan. Then . . . .
No one can tell me that the leftists don't deliberately seek these people out and push them forward, fund their appearances and give them publicity. No one can tell me that the news organizations don't have rolodexes full of these useful idiots, ready to pull them out whenever they need them. And the useful idiots are always good for another quote, which makes them thoroughly complicit.
Then, if anyone objects, the proverbial s*** hits the fan.
Those widows let their "grief" be used for political purposes, again and again, deliberately. They deserved Ann's scolding. That's why the media are so angry. Because what Ann said is true.
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