NEWSFLASH!! Celebrities Really Are More Narcissistic Than the General Public

It’s true- as hard as it to believe, celebs are more narcissistic.

Now, there is even a university study that proves just that!

You Are As Young As You Feel

How old are you, really?

“Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio….?”

The answer to that question is clear and unequivocal.

The great American heroes can now be found at the Sanity Squad. Our latest broadcast is up and as usual, Shrinkwrapped, Neo-neocon and Dr Sanity just keep hitting the ball out of the insight ball park.

This week, we talk about 9/11 and Pearl Harbor, and the past, present and future. The Sanity Squad conversation is sober and thoughtful.

Really good stuff.

Immigration, Integration, Assimilation And The World We Live In

There was a time when leaving the ‘old country’ really meant leaving. In choosing to immigrate to America, immigrants were also choosing to leave behind much more than familiar geographical surroundings. They were also choosing to leave behind much of what they knew and were familiar with, in exchange not only for a new address, but also for a new way of life.

To stay connected to home was restricted to the exchange of mail, often taking weeks or months. All the while, the integration into the American melting pot was a reality. Leaving home, by definition, meant just that and forging a new life was by necessity, a reality. Becoming American and adopting American values was all part of the immigration experience.

Nowadays, things are very different. There is far less integration and assimilation into a common ‘American melting pot’ because there is no need to integrate and assimilate. The ‘Old Country’ is as far away as an Internet connection and ‘Old Country’ ideas, values and  principles are there for the taking for free or shared with a loved one for 2 cents a minute.

Today, for a few hundred dollars a plane ticket is purchased and the racism, bigotry and hate can be imported from countries where these things are part of the daily existence. Clerics, commununity leaders and teachers can make their way over and infect a whole generation- on our shores and in our backyards. Immigrants no longer need to assimilate into their surroundings. In fact, if they voice a desire to do just that, they are put under tremendous pressure and are at times even considered ‘traitors.’

If we voice our concern over these issues, we are ‘racists’ or bigots.

Immigrants usually opted to ’stay close’ and remain ‘tribal,’ because as a group, first generation immigrants were unsure of themselves and exactly how they fit into the American mosaic. Usually, by the second generation, the children of those immigrants are were very comfortable in their surroundings. Their ‘loyalties’ to their heritage and culture were determined by their community surroundings, family, and the social and/or religious values they were exposed to.

That is no longer true. Entire communities, real or virtual, facilitated by technology have an many cases, supplanted the influence on children that was once the purview of parents and local communities. That is what is disturbing to so many- even the children of integrated immigrants, educated and integrated into society, have turned to ‘outside’ influences- with disastrous results (Eteraz has alluded to this on many occasions. See this, too).

One of the great lessons of the American experience is that we are all equal- all of us, with no exception. Race, creed, color and sexual orientation are not acceptable excuses for hate, racism and bigotry. Hatred is an intersting phenomena. If allowed or tolerated, even a just a little, it will grow and flourish. No one has ever been able to contain hate. We noted, in

Because in a free society, we don’t care about your beliefs. We do care about your actions and behavior. You are free to integrate and to assimilate into our society in whole or in part. We really don’t care. Do not tell us we need to care about your beliefs and your concerns above all else and above our own beliefs. If you do try to make that assertion, you will soon be surprised at how easily you will be marginalized and resented- not for your beliefs, but rather, for your attempt to jump to the head of line. You are not more important than anyone else.

Those who challenge the staus quo are almost always excommunicated from their community, by those who insist the criticism is an assault on their culture or religion.

For example, may regarded Wafa Sultan as an apostate for challenging others to be free to choose their own beliefs. Her critics portrayed her as denigrating religious and cultural values. They portrayed her as a ‘religious reformer,’ a kind of unwanted Martin Luther (King, even), when in fact, she was no more than a kind of Bill Cosby, telling it like it is and stripping away the colored lenses of hate and failure (See Dr Sanity here and Neo-neocon here). Dr Sultan was portrayed as having insulted Islam, whereas in fact, she criticized what Islam had become- a reflection of dysfunctional, racist and bigoted regimes. She never insulted those who believe- in fact, she made it a point to not to- rather, she excoriated the bigotry and hat, and it was for allowing that bit of sunshine that highlighted those realities, she was shunned.

Think about that.

Imagine the contempt our adversaries must have for those of us who who can’t- or won’t even be bothered to defend our own values.

Imagine the always present, but never spoken contempt our adversaries must have for the weakest of us, that willingly choose the dysfunctional behaviors, attitudes and beliefs that would lead them to assist in causing great mayhem and harm to our nation.

To be an American is to be more than someone who comes here to benefit and participate in our economy- and that applies to everyone, equally, no matter what your politics, beliefs or ideology.

While Past Performance Is No Guarantee, It’s A Pretty Good Indicator

Once more, a kind of collaberation is in evidence.

This time, it is not just Jews that are being ’sold out.’ Notwithstanding European and American insistence that Iran be precluded from pursuing nuclear programs, Kofi Annan is pursuing his own agenda.

Clearly, Kofi Annan’s legacy will be one of failure. Darfur, Rwanda, Myanmar (Burma), Congo, Sierra Leonne and a host of other debacles will characterize Annan’s tenure. It is also clear Mr Annan is aware of his legacy (for example, under his administration, the US has amassed more ‘Human Rights’ violations than Saudi Arabia, Syria, Libya and Yemen, for example. In fact, according to the UN, China has fewer violations than the US).

One more thing- the UN will not stop Syria from rearming Hizbollah.