How to identify American totalitarians

by Dennis Prager
May 2, 2006

In the Soviet Union, the future is known; it's the past that is always changing.
-- old Soviet dissident joke

As a graduate student in international affairs at Columbia University, I specialized in the study of totalitarianism, especially, though not only, the communist variety. I found the subject fascinating, but I never for a moment imagined that any expertise gained in this field would prove relevant to American life.

Sad to say, it has turned out to be the most valuable subject I could have studied. The totalitarian temptation is not confined to Nazis and communists; it can rear its head in any society and gradually destroy it. And as the Soviet dissident joke notes, one quick way to identify totalitarian threats to liberty is to identify those who falsify the historical record on behalf of their cause.

In America today, two groups are most actively engaged in falsifying history: the ACLU and the anti-smoking movement.
Get rest of Article here

Read more!

Teaching Johnny About Islam

from the Investors Business Daily

"Education: In our brave new schools, Johnny can't say the pledge, but he can recite the Quran. Yup, the same court that found the phrase "under God" unconstitutional now endorses Islamic catechism in public school.

In a recent federal decision that got surprisingly little press, even from conservative talk radio, California's 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it's OK to put public-school kids through Muslim role-playing exercises, including:

Reciting aloud Muslim prayers that begin with "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful . . . ."

Memorizing the Muslim profession of faith: "Allah is the only true God and Muhammad is his messenger."

Chanting "Praise be to Allah" in response to teacher prompts.

Professing as "true" the Muslim belief that "The Holy Quran is God's word."... Get rest of Article Here

Read more!

Twenty Arguments For The Existence Of God

Peter Kreeft & Ronald K. Tacelli

Many Christians have difficulty defending their belief in God. Too often I've overheard exchanges where Christians rely on pure emotion or, worse, platitudes. The first response is overly subjective; the second is counter-productive. Jesus always had an incisive response that was personal depending on the intent of the questioner. So should we. When challenged about our faith our response should always try and address the true need of the questioner. In some circumstances what's needed is a unflinching intellectual response. It's very difficult to argue with facts, and logically sound arguments have real potency.

The good news for Christians, and theists in general, is that the arguments for the existence of God are myriad. The classic ontological, cosmological, and teleological arguments are particularly powerful and time tested.

If you're not familiar with these, Peter Kreeft and Ron Tacelli have provided an invaluable compendium that's quick to read and relatively simple to follow. I urge you to spend some time following the logic of these arguments. On one level it will provide real grist for your encounters with all true seekers of the Truth. On another it will boost your own faith. I've found great comfort in times of doubt by reviewing these timeless jewels. So will you. - MS

Get "Arguments" here

Read more!

‘Da Vinci’ undermines faith, survey claims

"...readers of Dan Brown's blockbuster novel are twice as likely to believe Jesus Christ fathered children and four times as likely to think the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei is a murderous sect."

As the "DaVinci Code" frenzy demonstrates once again, facts matter far less in determining the course of human conduct than do the passions of the people. History demonstrates that people will seek out reasons to believe a lie if it feeds their appetites. Here we go again.

Read article here

Read more!

The Da Vinci Code

Well it's here, the movie based on Dan Brown's runaway best seller The Da Vinci Code. In a sort of Orwellian twist, the promos for the film admonish the viewer to "Seek the Truth". Only you don't have to. Brown provides all the answers. The gospel stories were made up by Constantine. Jesus was married and had kids. Their descendants are still around. You may have had espresso with one of two of them in Paris, facts the Vatican has been hiding from Christian ignoramuses for almost two thousand years.

Boy I'm glad Dan Brown wrote his book and showed us the light. You laugh, but many actually believe this drivel. It's truly amazing the masses of people that are ready and willing to believe falsehood, even in the information age, on the slimest of evidence imaginable. Frightening really.

You think Iranian President Ahmadinejad really believes the holocaust took place but just says he doesn't to identify better with his fellow Muslims? You'd be wrong. He really doesn't believe the holocaust happened, and neither do millions of other Muslims around the world who've been sold the same pack of lies despite overwhelming and uncontroverted evidence, including tons of tangible evidence, government files, film footage, photographs, the direct testimony of thousands of survivors, confessions from the perpetrators, myriads of eye witnesses including Allied soldiers, German and Polish citizens.

All made up says Ahmadinejad. A conspiracy, just like the Christian gospels. Dan Brown told us so.

Well, for those of you who encounter Brown's true believers I have two suggestions: 1) Don't pass the opportunity to challenge such a blatant lie, and 2) learn the facts. There are plenty of good resources around. Here are a couple of good examples you may want to refer to. The first comes to us from the Catholic Communication Campaign. The other site comes courtesy of Ron Rhodes. Both are excellent sources of information.


Crash the Da Vinci Code
Jesus Decoded

In these days it is well to remember the thoughts of Edmund Burke: "All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing".

Do something.

Read more!

Socialism makes people worse

by Dennis Prager

(Note: this story is a little dated but still right on point)

Throughout much of last week, hundreds of thousands of students in France were angrily protesting. They have been joined by the major French labor unions, which are threatening a general strike.

And what is this all about?

It is all about a new law in France that allows a company to fire a person under the age of 26, without cause, within two years of being hired.

Wow. Imagine that. You might get fired from your first job. Get rest of Article here

Read more!