The Ports Deal
I didn't want to post about the Ports Deal initially; now it's dead, so I don't have to. But the killing of the deal and the ways it was handled, will have affects of it's own. And the backlash in public opinion is something the Arab world needs to hear.
I would have listened to Bush and considered his stance, if he had bothered to explain his position on the ports matter, but he often fails to realise he needs to explain. Sure, we have to trust him up to a point, but he can't ever assume we trust everything he does unconditionally.
The backlash of public opinion on the ports deal may have been influenced in part by the cartoon riots. People are sick of fanatical Mulsims demanding we change our culture to suit them; that we respect their religion on their terms, even though we don't believe in it. I'm sure many Americans are begining to wonder if Islam is even at all compatible with an open and free society; if it will ever demonstrate that it is civilized; that it's adherents can be trusted.
The Bushes have such strong business connections in the oil industry, and are actually good FRIENDS with many influential Arabs. I think it blinds them to the things many of us see. These wealthy Arabs aren't OUR personal friends; we see the sheiks saying one thing to us on our media in English, then they say something completely different in arabic on Al Jezeera to their own people.
The Sheiks enjoy all the benefits of our open and free society, while crushing their own people at home, giving money to religious extremists and causes, and encouraging their citizens to blame the West for all their economic and societal ills. They have been doing this for many, many decades, and as long as we tolerate it, we are the enablers in the situation.
I admire Bush for many things, but he is not above criticism. I think he needs to practice some "tough love" with his Arab friends. If they don't make some real changes, they should expect diminishing support from us as a consequence. I think many Americans realise this, and the ports deal objection is just one manifestation of it. If the Arab world wants more respect, if they want to be trusted, they have to demonstrate they are worthy of trust, and EARN it. For too long they have believed they can just buy anything they want. It's time they learn otherwise.
The Oscars
Ben Stein, Peggy Noonan and Ann Coulter all had great and pertinent things to say about the Oscars. Ann's cutting commentary on George Clooney's idiotic remarks was to the point and richly deserved. I'm tempted to reprint it here, but you can find links to all these and more at The Chatterbox Chronicles, as well as Miss Chatterbox's own commentary. Highly recommended!
Related Links:
Red, White and Blue Dawn:
How Hollywood needs to stop worrying and love the flag
Conservatives in Hollywood?!
BILLY ZANE AND GARY BUSEY
CO-STAR IN AN ANTI-AMERICAN
TURKISH PROPAGANDA MOVIE
War Films, Hollywood and Popular Culture by Michael Medved. It explains a lot about hollywood and their attitude towards the military these days.
6 comments:
"Sure, we have to trust him up to a point, but he can't ever assume we trust everything he does unconditionally."
Exactly... I think this is the exact terminology I have been looking for, Kudos..
Most of my family comes from Maine. The population of Maine increases by two-thirds in summer; its a real vacation land. Summer in Maine is like a big holiday, a lot of fun for everyone.
Many of the "Summer People" are families like the Bushes. They are often wealthy and educated, more so than the locals who live there year-round.
The locals sometimes complain that these summer people sometimes display an "attitude"; that they are somehow a better class of people, and therefore can do as they please and don't have to explain themselves and what they are doing. It occasionally backfires on them, when they try to do something and the locals rise up and say "Hell NO!" They expected no opposition to what they do, and are shocked when it happens.
Bush sometimes reminds me of this, when he fails to explain, then seems genuinly shocked when people question him. As president, he should never forget that he needs to explain and communicate what he is doing and why.
That doesn't mean I hate Bush. Even in Maine, the locals don't hate the Summer People; they bring in a lot of income to the state, and they are fun to have around, too. But if they get a bit too cocky, they create resentment and the locals want to see them put in their place. I don't see that as a bad thing.
I support Bush, and I would have liked to hear the arguments in favor of the ports deal, but we never got the chance. So be it. But there are reasons it played out this way, and he needs to pay more attention to that, instead of just trying to push things through.
I have seen things improve when he explains. He has sometimes been able to turn situations around or adjust his course in a better path by explaining things. I wish he would remember that, and do it more often.
So do I. I wish he would explain his take on our borders, for one thing.
Did you notice that Cathy Seipp left you a comment on your "The fascists of free speech" post?
Thanks for the link :-)).
I still need to read that Michael Medved article. Patrick gave me the link for that also and I like Medved. I'll check out your other links also.
Wow!!!!!! I just read the Red, White and Blue Dawn. That is excellent and made a lot of great points I hadn't thought about. And its funny because Back to the Future was one of the few movies I saw in highschool. I still love that movie :-).
Gayle: Yes thanks, I saw it, and I have corrected my post as requested.
LMC: Yes, I got a lot out of Red, White and Blue Dawn, too. But since they did find a way out of their slump then, it makes you wonder why they don't do it now.
In the Michael Medved article, he states that Hollywood now gets 70 percent of it's revenue from overseas; and that the movies that sell best overseas, are anti-American ones.
I saw that Peggy Noonan said in her editorial that she doubted that Hollywood made movies only for money, because they aren't making movies that many Americans want to see. She is assuming that America is still their target market, but if Medved is right, it no longer is.
Could it be that, Hollywood no longer CARES what the American market wants, because they are making most of their money in foreign markets; that it really IS just about making money? It would explain a lot.
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