3/8/2006

15 Responses to “Nail Him”

1. But then mr ramatullah won’t be indoctrinated in secular humanism. Isn’t that what goes on at yale? I’d say rather than fingernails to the dean, send to ramatullah a ticket to next year’s vagina monologues. Also one to the IgNobel awards (but that’s in Harvard, so send along bus fare.)

   actus (6234ee) — 3/8/2006 @ 10:29 am

   
   

2. Two points: 1) Townhall’s main page has Ann Coulter as its headliner. So there goes its credibility. 2) What did Werner von Braun do before he became the father of our space program?

   nk (947b03) — 3/8/2006 @ 7:35 pm

   
   

3. Gather round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun
   A man whose allegiance is ruled by expedience
   Call him a Nazi, he won’t even frown
   “Nazi, Schmazi” says Wernher von Braun

   Don’t say that he’s hypocritical,
   Say rather that he’s apolitical.
   “Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?
   That’s not my department,” says Wernher von Braun.

   Some have harsh words for this man of renown,
   But some think our attitude should be one of gratitude,
   Like the widows and cripples in old London town,
   Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun.

   You too may be a big hero,
   Once you’ve learned to count backwards to zero.
   “In German oder English I know how to count down,
   Und I’m learning Chinese!” says Wernher von Braun.

   — Tom Lehrer

   Patterico (de0616) — 3/8/2006 @ 7:43 pm

   
   

4. Townhall’s main page has Ann Coulter as its headliner. So there goes its credibility.

   By that logic, Thomas Sowell has no credibility.

   Whatever.

   Patterico (de0616) — 3/8/2006 @ 7:45 pm

   
   

5. Nice poem about von Braun. Yours? Extempore?

   I probably should have kept Ann Coulter out of the conversation but that “raghead” remark still rankles.

   nk (35ba30) — 3/8/2006 @ 8:10 pm

   
   

6. Nice poem about von Braun. Yours? Extempore?

   My mistake. I assume too easily that people will know.

   Tom Lehrer.

   I have fixed the comment above with the proper attribution.

   I agree re the raghead remark, but I don’t tarnish Clint Taylor with her nonsense. He has a track record with me.

   Patterico (de0616) — 3/8/2006 @ 8:24 pm

   
   

7. Ok. Back on the subject. The Taliban sometimes pulled the fingernails off women who were wearing nail polish but also hanged the men who raped them. True. That’s how they came into power after the collapse of Afghanistan’s Soviet-supported government. They provided basic services to the people. On the other hand, most of their soldiers cited a Koran they could not read. We are there now trying to bring them into, at least, the twentieth century. I think we should have thousands of their potential future leaders in our schools.

   nk (06f5d0) — 3/8/2006 @ 9:20 pm

   
   

8. Feel free to point out the hyprocrisy of Yale’s decision to admit Sayeed Rahmatullah Hashemi, who supported a regime that killed homosexuals, stoned women, tortured/killed many, and destroyed Buddhas, even though Yale keeps ROTC off campus and files briefs with the Supreme Court protesting the military’s right to recruit on campus.

   Harry Arthur (b318a5) — 3/8/2006 @ 10:28 pm

   
   

9. The Taliban sometimes pulled the fingernails off women who were wearing nail polish but also hanged the men who raped them.

   Only if the rapists were stupid enough to rape them in front of other witnesses who would testify against them. Otherwise, they’d hang the rape victim for fornicating and falsely accusing their rapists of rape. That’s how Sharia works everywhere else, I can’t imagine the Taliban was any better in this regard.

   Me too. It sure is a good thing Pol Pot got a higher education in a western country before he came to power. Otherwise, he might have become a brutal dictator or something.

   Xrlq (98b03d) — 3/9/2006 @ 4:01 am

   
   

10. I thought I was the only one here old enough to remember Tom Lehrer.

    Dana (3e4784) — 3/9/2006 @ 4:51 am

    
    

11. As I understand it, after the withdrawl of the Soviets, bandits would in fact attack travelers and raid villages and rape the women in front of witnesses as well as committing other atrocities. The Taliban started out as flying squads, well-armed and trained by the Pakistani secret service, who would respond quickly to the raids and wipe out the bandits. Little by little they gained acceptance with the population and from vigilantes became a political force. Sort of the way feudalism followed the Dark Ages in Europe, I suppose.

    As for educating our former enemies, we have never been very good as conquerors but we have been very good, for want of a better word, “Americanizers”. We get them to adopt our culture and values. When we leave Afghanistan, and we will, we want to leave behind as many Afghanis as possible who have had a western education. How else will we prevent the country from reverting to the Dark Ages?

    As for the gentleman at Yale, if he has committed crimes in the past, America is the least safe place for him. We are the most likely to render him to Karzai’s government for criminal trial and his victims can sue him civilly here under the Alien Tort law.

    nk (956ea1) — 3/9/2006 @ 5:45 am

    
    

12. “What did Werner von Braun do…?”

    He wrote a book called, “I Aim for the Stars” but it was quickly subtitled, “but, sometimes I hit London.”

    Black Jack (d8da01) — 3/9/2006 @ 6:38 am

    
    

13. I thought I was the only one here old enough to remember Tom Lehrer.

    You don’t have to be old. I have all his CDs. Granted, it was my mom who introduced me to his music.

    Patterico (4d4be8) — 3/9/2006 @ 1:38 pm

    
    

14. Trouble with the strategy of threatening to withhold contributions from Yale is that if you’re a Yale grad, you’re already withholding contributions from the last outrage.

    Attila (Pillage Idiot) (dfa1f1) — 3/10/2006 @ 8:37 am

    
    

15. Is it true that our “friend” from Afghanistan actually has a fourth grade education?

    Talk about about affirmative action.

    Harry Arthur (b318a5) — 3/11/2006 @ 8:56 am