johnsrealmonline.com Blog

Say what you will about this guy. He must be at least a little brave. Or a lot stupid.

So Valentine’s Day has officially passed. Does this mean we won’t have to see those irritating Vermont Teddy Bear and “Pajamagram” commercials any more?

Who woulda thunk it? Tennessee has cracked the top ten, in at number 10 in the Coaches poll and number 8 in the AP poll.

Via Team Gop, you might think that favorite son Bill Frist would be the first presidential candidate to get a grassroots Tennessee blog, but you’d be wrong. That honor goes to Mitt Romney.

Michelle Malkin has a roundup of world press caving to jihadi rioters.

Crystal Humphrey:

Again, these cartoons are nothing new. Look at how religion is treated on a daily basis, even in America. We have plays about Jesus being gay, “art” such Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ” and TV shows depicting “true Christian lifestyles,” like “The Book of Daniel.” However, I have yet to see any Christians burn down NBC’s headquarters or toss Molotov cocktails into theatre performances.

Do religious groups have the right to express offense at blasphemous portrayals of their religion? Certainly. Does that mean they should go out and terrorize others? Well, I really shouldn’t need to answer that. Nonetheless, under the logic of the more violent Islamic protesters, a five-month-old cartoon is more offensive than countless instances of bloodshed in the name of Allah and thus more worthy of combat. Again, figure that one out.

Ya know, this whole moral equivalency thing I’ve been hearing lately is getting quite tiring. Is it true that certain images evoke an angered response from practitioners of other faiths? Sure. Yet I cannot imagine any major world religion responding with such violence. Anger? Protests? Yes. Murder? Not so much.

That’s not to say violence hasn’t happened. Eric Rudolph bombed abortion clinics and the 1996 Olympics, and an Israeli killed Yitzhak Rabin. But in both cases, self policing kicked in. Christians condemned Rudolph. Jews condemned Yigal Amir. Both were punished for their actions. I’ve yet to see much condemnation of the rioting. Most have either made excuses, or even endorsed it.

I’m all for tolerance and understanding. I am not for murder, and when it happens (particularly because of cartoons) no cultural mores can justify it.