The truth will out

"Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side," goes the rousing anthem penned by one of our own local boys, James R. Lowell, published in the Boston Courier December 11, 1845 "as a poem protesting America’s war with Mexico." Take your pick: ROP  demonstrators like "Rage Boy " in Kashmir (AP photo) left, or the man Fallaci loved, Papa Ratzi (AFP photo).

"It's good to have come to something approaching the end of this saga, whose lessons are worth remembering." writes Cyrus Nowrasteh, screenwriter of the famously defamed TV miniseries "Path to 9/11," in his thoughtful Opinion Journal piece "The Path to Hysteria," subtitled "My sin was to write a screenplay accurately depicting Bill Clinton's record on terrorism":

The hysteria engendered by the series found more than one target. In addition to the death threats and hate mail directed at me, and my grotesque portrayal as a maddened right-winger, there developed an impassioned search for incriminating evidence on everyone else connected to the film . . . In the era of McCarthyism, the merest hint of a connection to communism sufficed to inspire dark accusations, the certainty that the accused was part of a malign conspiracy. Today, apparently, you can get something of that effect by charging a connection with a Christian mission . . .

It gave us, for one thing, a heartening glimpse (these things don't come along every day) of corporate backbone in the face of phenomenal pressure -- and an infinitely more chilling one testifying to the power and reach of politically driven hysteria. A ripe subject for a miniseries, if ever there was one.

Change "corporate" backbone to "papal" backbone and "politically driven" hysteria to "religionistically driven" hysteria, and the same can be said about Papa Razi's polite but firm refusal yesterday to bow down in dhimmitude before the howling heresimachs of the Religion of Peace™:

At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims.

These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought . . .

I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.

ScrappleFace, with only slight exaggeration, goes for the jugular:

A day after violent Muslim riots spurred Pope Benedict XVI to apologize for implying that Islam has brought more evil to the world, the Pontiff today agreed to consider a petition to add the name of Islam’s founder to the pantheon of Roman Catholic saints. Vatican researchers said the application is already being processed and they need only find one more verifiable after-death miracle attributed to Muhammad . . .

“We already have ample evidence that the long-dead prophet miraculously caused a major religious leader, with a reputation for infallibility, to apologize for telling the truth.”

Whether it's the Keepers of the Clinton "Legacy" trying to repress free speech by pressuring a network to cancel a miniseries here at home or the ululating phantasists of the Ummah calling for Benedetto's head over there, as we blogged awhile back:

The totalitarian impulse runs deep and dark in our species. The dustbin of history is filled with fiery-eyed idealists who saw the one true way and, rationalizing that ends justify the means, took it upon themselves to give thumbs up or down to mere mortals like ourselves.

Just ask George Soros, the hedge-fund billionaire "dedicated to transforming our constitutional republic into a socialist hive," according Richard Poe, co-author with David Horowitz of The Shadow Party, who tells Jamie Glazov in a FrontPage interview [via Atlas Shrugs via Maggie's Farm]:

The Shadow Party operates through deception.  It uses the Democratic Party as camouflage. By posing as ordinary Democrats, Shadow Party candidates trick mainstream voters into supporting them.  Their true agenda remains concealed.  As Soros writes in The Age of Fallibility, “[T]he Democratic Party does not stand for the policies that I advocate; indeed, if it did, it could not be elected.”

When you know what's best for the rest of us, truth need not apply.

Update: Pajamas Media links.

Comments

[hnav]

I like this Pope...

Besides being the mighty Pope Benedict XVI...

However, anyone who upsets the wacky NY Times, or these nutty Radical Muslims these days, seems to be worthy of praise.

Meanwhile, the 'al Qaeda' in Iraq says...
"You infidels and despotic, we will continue our jihad (holy war) and never stop until God avails us to chop your necks and raise the fluttering banner of monotheism when God's rule is established governing all people and nations..."

golly, i thought Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, John Kerry, Babs Boxer, John Murtha, said Iraq had nothing to do with the GWOT?

mmm, those wacky Democrats are such kidders...

[Gayle Miller]

The Anchoress has a "must read" examination of this entire matter at Politics Central today. I have linked to it on my blog.

[TERRY AUGUSTIN]

RIGHTEOUS CONDEMNATION: WITH THE MEETING AT THE U.N. CURRENTLY IN PROCESS, MAY GOD'S ELECT PRAY PSALM 109.

[goomp]

A clear and accurate picture of the animal that evolved as the human.

[Gayle Miller]

Maybe I'm being too sanguine, but I have a slight sense that perhaps the Pope's remarks may have triggered the beginning of the end of tolerance for the screaming rage and destructiveness of these hysterical Islamic creatures. Now the Muslim world may find itself taking on Catholics and Christians who, combined, may constitute a fairly substantial majority - capable of kicking major butt if needed.

[miss kelly]

Catholics and Christians and Eastern Orthodox. The Pope has made quite a few moves to restore good relations (and ultimately reunite) bring back unity between the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox. The patriarch of the Orthodox church was one of the first religious leaders to defend what Papa Ratzi said. I think he's got a pretty good master plan going on.