Morning Jolt - . - With Jim Geraghty Our Era of Blasphemy Vigilantism

Morning Jolt . . .
with Jim Geraghty

Our Era of Blasphemy Vigilantism
Which of these represents incitement to violence?
A) Making a film depicting the violent death of the ruler of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.
B) Telling an angry crowd the night of the Ferguson grand jury decision, Burn this b*tch down!
C) Chanting, What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it [sic]? Now!
D) Making cartoons that offend Muslims.
As you no doubt have observed, some Americans on the left would pick (A) and (D), but not (B) and (C). I
can see the case for B and C, but I would be pretty wary about prosecuting individuals in either case. If
our society is going to bring the force of the law against a person, and either fine them or put them in
jail, there has to be a pretty direct connection between their words and the violence that ensued.
A certain segment of Muslims in France -- and in just about every Western country -- is attempting to
implement blasphemy laws through vigilantism. Sure, theres no law on the books saying you cant do it,
but if anybody catches you doing it, some young man -- with seemingly nothing in this world he fears
losing if hes caught or killed attempting to commit murder -- will come and find you and attack you.
Few American media companies are showing the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo that enraged the rageaddicted Islamists of France. Credit Slate, the Huffington Post, the Daily Beast, and BuzzFeed for showing
them. Thats not an easy decision; you never know when some Islamist out there might decide to show
up at the front door of the offices with a knife, a gun, lighter fluid, or a homemade bomb to register
their objection to a publications decision. Or maybe the bastards look up your home address.
Nonetheless, two of the infamous images are on NRO right now.
Here are the editors, with some real talk beyond the obvious scoffing at the clich that Islam is a
religion of peace.
Thus, there are in practical terms two Islams a religion, if not of peace, then of
peaceful accommodation, and a religion of death.
Western political leaders try to dismiss this second death cult as a perverted or false
Islam, or even as nothing to do with Islam at all. That dismissal is false and, worse,
completely unpersuasive. The death cult has learned imams and sophisticated
theologians among its adherents. They can quote Islamic texts in support of their
revolting doctrines and do so far more convincingly than President Obama, David
Cameron, or Tony Blair do in support of their own. Their scholarship strengthens the
faith of the suicide bombers and child soldiers. And because they justify murder and
issue fatwas mandating it, they exercise some intimidation even over the leaders of the
other Islam.
Muslim political leaders are far more aware of this than those in the West, and
increasingly prepared to fight the death cult. On the eve of the Paris murders, Egyptian
president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attended the Coptic Christmas Mass in Cairo the first
Egyptian president to do so and reached out to these infidels in the clearest terms:
We will build our country together. We will accommodate each other. We will love
each other.
A week before, on New Years Day, Sisi, in the course of an address to leading Muslim
theologians, had called for a revolution in Muslim thinking to abandon its
commitment to texts and ideas that justified killing infidels . . .
Our Foes: A Strange Breed of Bloodthirsty, Ruthless Clumsiness
Some parts of yesterdays outrage feel reminiscent of the Boston bombing for example, two brothers
who are suspects. Some parts feel like the sloppy guys who tried to blow up the World Trade Center in
1993:
Investigators chasing the two brothers who allegedly attacked satirical weekly Charlie
Hebdo, killing 12, found an improbable clue in their abandoned getaway car: a national
identity card, according to French officials.
The document carried the name of 34-year-old Said Kouachi, a man with no police
record, the officials said. But, following the trails, investigators dug out court files of his
brother, Chrif Kouachi, 32, who was sentenced to an 18-month prison term in 2008 for
being part of a terror group, according to Paris prosecutors.
A manhunt was under way Thursday for the two, Frances most wanted men, but
officials warned it could take days to find the heavily armed suspects. A third suspect
has turned himself into police. Police are questioning seven other people as part of the
manhunt, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, and searched an apartment in the eastern
city of Reims overnight.
Police officials said they were puzzled as to whether the ID card of the elder Mr. Kouachi
had been dropped by accident or had been left voluntarily, in a move to claim
responsibility for the attack.
You cannot rule out the possibility they left the ID intentionally, said Emmanuel
Quemener, a police officer affiliated with the Alliance union.
The suspects acted with a mix of military-like professionalism and surprising clumsiness
in Wednesdays attack, police officials said. When arriving in the street of the Charlie
Hebdo offices, the alleged gunmen first stepped into the wrong building. But they later
displayed a high level of training, wielding their AK-47 rifles with ease, and acting with
extreme determination, suggesting the action had been prepared in advance.
Conservatives, Spectators to Americas Theater of Outrage
Stephen Miller, summing up the state of America today and how conservatives remain relatively
powerless, despite some governorships and GOP majorities in the House and Senate:
The only problem for Obama, the protesters and their media is this is the culture their
policies have created. Conservatives held a minority of power for almost a decade and
they certainly dont have a foothold on anything happening culturally. Its not
conservatives getting people fired from jobs, disinvited from speaking engagements or
formulating rape fantasies. That wasnt a conservative the NYPD along with hundreds of
other police officers from around the country turned their back on twice.
Progressive media must be gobsmacked that in the vitriol-filled war of words between
the NYPD union and their darling Warren-wannabe mayor, Bill de Blasio, there isnt a
single conservative to blame. For once theyve found a public sector union they arent
willing to support. Instead, they cherry-pick comments from retired politicians and
columnists even though not one of them holds the influence of an Al Sharpton. There is
no Scott Walker and there is no Rick Perrys racist rock.
Leftists are tearing apart leftist-controlled cities: Oakland, Chicago, Detroit, New York
City, St. Louis, and so on. What do conservatives have to do with it?
This past Sunday, a group calling themselves #BlackBrunch stormed restaurants in the
progressive utopias of Oakland and Upper Manhattan to terrify private citizens who for
the most part sympathize with their philosophies. These stunts arent happening in Utah
or Texas, but in communities rotted out from decades of progressive liberal policies. Yet
conservatives, who take no part in either their demonstrations or ideology, are targeted
because of a cable television channel they choose to watch in the privacy of their own
homes. (Even though that networks pundits largely agree with protesters in the case of
Eric Garner.) Harvard cant even blame conservatives for the changes in their healthcare
plans they demanded, just not for themselves.
Conservatives dont control culture. They dont control Hollywood, music, film,
journalism, the web or universities. They are spectators to the theater of outrage
currently manifesting itself in this country. They can root for their side on social media
which is also, by and large, controlled by liberal ideology but thats about it.
Conservatives are an island of misfit toys. They are sitting in lifeboats and helplessly
watching the Titanic slip under.

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