Chaos At The Council (Updated)

This week's Watcher's Council contest for best post was thrown into chaos when gremlins invaded the Watcher's site, leaving the Watcher unable to post. Nonetheless, into the breach has stepped Joshuapundit, collecting our submissions for the week. And while there will be no vote this week, I strongly recommend to you the following posts for your reading enjoyment:

Council Nominations:

1. JoshuaPundit - Where Hamas Gets It Right JP responds to an editorial by Hamas foreign minister Mahmoud al-Zahar.

2. Cheat Seeking Missles - Our Crumbling Civilization: Killing for Art Edition - CSM posts on the macabre, sickening and morally abhorent story of Aliza Shvarts, a Yale senior who repeatedly became pregnant and aborted the fetuses for the purpose of creating art. How, in any possible institution of higher learning in the civilized world, can there be an environment where it is possible even to come up with this idea, let alone to act on it.

3. Bookworm Room - Root causes - BR looks at the liberal meme of "root causes" to explain away the "evils of society." It is an excellent post, though I would take it one step further. This mindset can be traced directly back to the opening lines of the Communist Manifesto - all is explainable in the context of the oppressed and the oppressor. And the "bitter gate" comment was merely Obama saying that religion - and guns, in America - are the opiates of the small town American masses.

4. Soccer Dad - The Damned Lies Of J Street There's a new so-called progressive organization of leftist, self-hating Jews formed with the money of George Soros and others to advocate for the Palestinians called 'J-Street'. Soccer Dad rips the cover off these sordid folks and exposes what a mounts to a suicidal disconnect from reality.

5. Wolf Howling - The Central Issues Of Obama's Candidacy Obama and his supporters want more than anything to place off-limits questions about his character and judgment. But these issues are central to taking the measure of the man and to determine whether he has the capability to successfully lead us as President. The questions about his character, judgment and veracity are very much open questions at the moment.

6. The Colossus of Rhodey - The Not-So Proportionate Death Penalty (Should It Be?) Death penalty oppononents have problems with veracity and perspective.

7. Done With Mirrors - Done With Mirrors: Documentary DWM ponders Ben Stein's new movie on Darwinism, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed”. While he does not agree with Stein's premise, he is appalled by the agenda journalism of the NYT in their review of the movie.

8. Right Wing Nuthouse - Defending The Pope And Other Counterintuitive Undertakings
Rick Moran defends Pope Benedict from the despicable and ad hominem attacks of Bill Maher.

9. Rhymes With Right - Not Just Youthful IndescretionsRWR notes that the left has two very different sets of moral and ethical standards - with the one they apply to themselves absolving them of any responsibility for their actions taken at any time. Within this rubric, the left would have us believe there is nothing whatsoever to be gleened from the fact of Obama's long relationship with the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers, a man described by one journalist as a man who, years ago, merely committed a few "youthful indiscretions."

Update:

10. Hillbilly White Trash - Is it time to consign Reagan to the dustbin of history?
Mr. White Trash and I disagree in most particulars about McCain - and I say that as a person who very much considers himself a Regan Republican. He sees in McCain a throw-back to the "blue blood" republicans of mid-century last. I disagree completely. McCain has little in common with those folks. To the extent McCain can be analogized to a historical model, its probably Teddy Roosevelt. As to Regan, I think Regan's performance is romanticized by many. That is not to say that McCain is in the mold of Regan, but that the comparison is being made to an indealized vision which greatly skews the perspective. Regan's immigration plans differed little from McCain's, Regan got tax cuts but was never able to reel in spending - something McCain may well be an improvement upon - and in terms of national security, Regan varied from excellent (Cold War) to inept (Middle East) - something which I also believe McCain will improve upon.

I imagine a McCain presidency will drive me bats**t with some regularity. That said, where Hillbilly and I completely agree is that this country has gone much too far down the road to socialism. We break from there. I see McCain as both a stop gap to that and, most importantly by leaps and bounds, the only person whom I trust to make good national security decisions in time of war. That is absolutely paramount. It only took Jimmy Carter four years to screw us royally in the Middle East - and we are paying a heavy penance for Carter's idiocy today. I could not imagine the costs of an Obama presidency in which Obama would negotiate with a nuclear armed Iran little different in most respects from Nazi Germany in the mid to late '30's. I've argued this before, in the post Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and McCain Derangement Syndrome. And thus, I think supporting McCain today is the only viable decision a conservative can make.

Having thus tossed down the gauntlet - and I do so with great respect - I look forward to debating this one with Mr. HWT over the coming months.

11. The Glittering Eye - Reactions
GE reacts to the coverage of Chinese overresponse to Western criticism on Tibet - and has his fur up over both.


Non-Council Nominations:

1. ShrinkWrapped: Playing With Fire

2. The Nose On Your Face: Transcript of Barack Obama's Meeting with Typical San Francisco Citizens

3. Thought You'd Never Ask:I can has freedom of speech

4. Yourish:Muslim schools creating new class of African beggars

5. Max Boot: Stop The Presses

6. OpenMarket.Org:Legalized Child-Stealing in Arlington County, Virginia

7. Zombie: Obama Visits Billionaire's Row

8. American Thinker: The Obama Aesthethic

9. Urban Grounds:Selwyn Davis and What’s Wrong with the Death Penalty in Texas

Updates:

10. My dad the spy (redux) White Trash Republican

11. Pentagon study? Current Events? Not so fast ... Small Wars Journal