Right-Wing "Newspeak"

George Orwell, in his novel 1984, created a language called "Newspeak" which the totalitarian rulers of Oceania used to distort the people's thinking processes and make it easier for them to accept the regimes lies. Even though Orwell was using an exaggerated form of the actual distortions of language employed by the Soviet Union, recently right wing extremists have begun to engage in similar distortions of thought and language.

The recent waves of homophobic legislation, from Russia to Nigeria and Uganda, as well as the recent bill in Arizona that would legalize discrimination against gay people, is being promoted by a coalition of right wing groups. Many of these are the usual suspects, the Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage, as well as other groups that claim that homophobia is a manifestation of "religious freedom," names like the "Liberty Counsel." This basically is the twisted logic of these creeps; that "religious freedom" gives them the right to persecute other people. The Oceania regime, who's secret police called itself the "Ministry of Love," was just as repulsive.

"Stand Your Ground:" Licence to Kill

Michael Dunn, a 47 year old white man who murdered a black teenager, has been convicted of attempted murder but the jury hung on the question of murder. This was clearly a case of racial violence, Dunn has a long history of making racist statements. It should be obvious that "Stand Your Ground" laws pander to white fears of "black crime," and encourage racial violence by whites against blacks. The sickness of racism continues to fester.

Guilt by Accusation

The recent resurgence of sexual abuse accusations against Woody Allen by his former adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, brings back an old convoluted scandal from 20 years ago. Mia Farrow, who had a relationship with Allen from 1982 to 1980, adopted Dylan and 10 other children, in addition to 4 biological children she has birthed over the years. In 1987, Farrow gave birth to a son Ronan, who was presented as the son of Woody Allen, but Farrow now claims he's actually the son of Frank Sinatra, to whom Farrow was married from 1966 to 1968 and who was 30 years older than Farrow.

Concerning the allegations made by Dylan Farrow, she was examined by a medical team who concluded that the allegations were untrue. Even though we've been told to "Believe the Victim," we should keep in mind that these cases are extremly complex, and we should be very reluctant to condemn people wihtout conclusive evidence. In added twist, another of Farrow's adopted sons, Moses, not only denies Dylan's accusation but also claims that Mia herself was often physically abusive toward her children. And we must believe the victims, right?

The question of sexual abusive has been plaguing the legal system since the 1980's when the McMartin case in California first led us to believe there were pedophiles under every bed, only to have the charges collapse when brought to the light of day. We could make a major research project about people who have been convicted of sexual abuse, and then the convictions have been overturned. In all matters we should not assign guilt simply on the basis of an accusation.

The Decline and Fall of National Review

Climate scientist Michael Mann is suing the National Review and one of it's contributors Mark Steyn. Steyn, a professional blowhard and Islamophobe known for making the rounds of Rush Limbaugh and other such shows, compared Mann to pedophile Jerry Sandusky. The remark was totally off base; just the kind of scurrilous attack that blowhards like Steyn habitually make. Many believe that a protracted battle could ruin the National Review financially.

The decline of the National Review itself illustrates the decline of American conservatism itself; from the intellectualism of William F. Buckley, it passed on to glib propagandists like Jonah Goldberg and Rich Lowry, and then to venom spewing morons like Mark Steyn. You could say it went from dumb to dumber.