American perspectives on the European Union

Pejman Yousefzadeh writes about the defeat of the EU Constitution in France and the Netherlands:

Perhaps, you believe, the Europeans have successfully thrust aside the sclerotic bureaucracy that hindered effective and dynamic policymaking and opted instead for a devolution of power that would help energize the European socioeconomic and sociopolitical structure, instead of a centralization of power that would kill every creative policy impulse yet remaining on the continent.

Gerard Baker, writing for the Editors of the Weekly Standard, argues that the unification of Europe must be less elitist and more populist in its implementation if it is to lead to a stronger Europe.

The administration should stop forthwith insisting that it believes ever deeper and closer European integration is in America's best interest. This was true in the Cold War, when Western European fragmentation would have been a real problem in the fight against communism. But in the more complex post-9/11 world, in which threat perceptions and strategies differ across the Atlantic and within Europe, it is no longer self-evidently in U.S. interests that the E.U. try to eliminate national policies.

UPDATE: Here's another interesting American perspective. Bret Stephens writing for the Wall Street Journal editorial page attempts to separate European myth from European reality.

In the case of the euro, it's true, Europeans have been better served by a single well-managed currency than by a basket of sometimes poorly managed ones. Still, the same Maastricht Treaty that created the euro also imposed arbitrary budget-deficit caps that precluded tax cuts, and every year the EU comes closer to harmonizing its fiscal and regulatory regimes, with ruinous consequences for competition and job creation.

New Redhunter Site

I've migrated to a new web hosting provider.

You can find me at TheRedhunter.com

I'll keep blogger as a backup...just in case.

Why We Must Fight the Mainstream Media

While our troops continue to battle the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan the rest of us need to fight the enemy here at home. Sometimes, I swear, the ‘mainstream media’ barkers seem to be working overtime in order to obstruct any possible progress against terror. This notion that the United States and her allies must walk on eggshells without breaking them throughout this war is a policy that should be agressively challenged. Thankfully bloggers, radio talk shows and the outer rings of the media are countering some of these reckless pieces created by the MSM. But conversely, we still have a staggering number of citizens continuing to support the MSM with the help of other useful idiots: celebrities, politicians, teachers, ACLU,Amnesty International, etc...

This column by Cinnamon Stillwell reflects my exact sentiments on the subject yet in a constrained and civil tone. Here's some of the text:

"This was familiar territory for the media, which led the charge against U.S. soldiers in Vietnam and along with the anti-war movement, managed to stain Vietnam veterans’ honor for generations. ABC White House correspondent Terry Moran even admitted to the media’s Vietnam Syndrome during a radio interview last month. While they held off for a bit after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it didn’t take long for the media to resort to form. And today we find ourselves back in “babykiller” territory. Only this time, it’s all about the poor, abused terrorists at Guantanamo Bay prison."

I have to believe that the vast majority of these people actually think that by offering milk and cookies to our enemies, eventually, they will in turn be converted into lovable little fuzzballs by our kindness and we'll all live happily ever after. I used to subscribe to this mentality so I'm still able to "feel" their state of mind. Okay, I was a young ignorant lad and used emotion rather than reason for thought processing. I have since repented.

On the Gitmo/Koran abuse: "Apparently, none of the reporters involved bothered to read the al-Qaeda manual, which instructs terrorists to claim torture or desecration of the Koran no matter what. Either unable or unwilling to comprehend the strategies employed by America’s enemies, the mainstream media is now openly doing the bidding of Islamic terrorists."

"...One of their arguments is that the United States should confer Geneva Conventions rights on the prisoners at Gitmo. But this would be folly at its worst. These terrorists claim no nationality nor do they wear the uniform of any military. It is only to jihad that they are loyal. In fact, their tactics involve using the West’s adherence to the Geneva Conventions against it."...Our 'useful idiots' seem to ignore these facts completely.

"...Claims that guards at Gitmo used female interrogators to get information out of terrorists and thereby capitalized on Muslim hang-ups about sex were met with shock by the media. This sudden prudery was rather touching, but ridiculously overwrought. I thought that knowing your enemy and using his weaknesses against him is what psychological warfare is all about.

"The terrorists certainly know how to capitalize on the naivete of the mainstream media. All one has to do is to read passages of the Koran to see that adherents are instructed to use any means necessary to deceive the “disbelievers” or non-Muslims. The practice even has a name -- it’s known as “al-Takeyya.” Chilling tales have been told by former Muslims about the cold-blooded lies told to “infidels” in the name of spreading Islam. Whether it be Palestinian terrorists battling Israel or al-Qaeda terrorists attacking the United States, all use deception to defeat their enemies."...does any of this matter to the MSM?

..."No one is suggesting censorship, but how about some wartime standards? Remember the WWII phrase “Loose lips sink ships?” It seems impossibly quaint by today’s standards, but there’s no doubt that such precaution helped America and the allies win the war against fascism. Just imagine what this war would be like if we had the media on our side. Short of that, providing aid and comfort to the enemy should at least be considered unacceptable. The media may be eager to embrace dhimmitude, but the rest of us don’t have to facilitate their surrender.. [emphases mine]

"No longer can the War on Terrorism simply involve soldiers fighting on the battlefield or even the liberation of millions of Muslims. If we don’t start paying attention to the enemy within, it could very well take us down."...The enemy can claim to have been saturated with propaganda, hate, rage, oppression, repression, depression, etc. But what can the "enemy within" claim?

THANK GOD today's MSM bunch weren't around during World War II !!! What more can we do against these fools now? (Hat tip: IntellectualConservative.com)