A message from Walt to the anti-everything protesters

A Pew Research national survey released this week shows that more than 70% of Americans are "angry" about the "state of the country". Just 17% say they are "proud" when thinking about the present situation in the Excited States of America.

The survey also found "only minor demographic differences in reported emotional reactions about the state of the country." For instance, "two-thirds or more across all age groups" were "angry about the state of the nation." In addition, the poll found that identical shares of white and black adults (72% each) say they feel angry, while roughly as many Hispanic adults (67%) are "angry" as well.

To all those who will be tempted to take to the streets tomorrow, The Glorious Fourth, to vent their anger, Walt has this to say:

Just for this one day... OK?!

Footnote: The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, authored by Thomas Jeffeerson and a committee of five, occurred primarily on August 2, 1776 at Independence Hall (the Pennsylvania State House) in Philadelphia. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress represented the 13 former colonies which had declared themselves the "United States of America," and they endorsed the Declaration of Independence which the Congress had approved on July 4, 1776. All of the signatories were white males of European descent. Some of them were slave-owners. Get that in ya!

More Muslim refugees than Christians admitted to USA

In this final year of the too-long reign of Hussein Obama, more Muslim "refugees" than Christians are being allowed to come into the US of A. So says the non-partisan Pew Research Center, in a report made public today.

Of the 63,000 refugees -- real and bogus -- admitted during the current fiscal year (which began last October), 29,000 are Muslims. Walt will do the math for you. It works out to 46%! 44% of the refugees declared themselves to be Christians. The remaining 10% were "unknown, unaffiliated or 'other'".

The largest numbers of Muslim refugee claimants came from Syria, Somalia, and Iraq. The Democrats have made a big fuss over the handful of Christian Syrians being allowed in, as proof that they're not discriminating in favour of President 0's co-religionists (?), but the fact is that of the roughly 9000 Syrian refugees who entered this year, fewer than one percent (1%) were Christians.

But wait (as Vince Offer used to say), there's more! The total number of Muslim refugees -- nearly 29,000 -- was also the highest number recorded since the statistics became available. This is also the fourth year in a row that over 25,000 Muslims have gained entry into the USA as refugees.

Here's a final thought. The statistics collected and reported by the INS do not distinguish between "moderate Muslims" [an oxymoron, shurely! Ed.] and Islamic extremists. Should we be alarmed? Surely they can't all be jihadis! OK, let's suppose only 1% of them are. Let's see. 1% of 29,000 would be... errr... 290. How many Islamic terrorists did it take to kill dozens of people in San Bernardino? 2. How many did it take to kill dozens of people in Orlando? Errr... just one (1).

Western and Muslim societies "irreconcilably different", poll finds

Here's a real news flash for you. Western and Muslim societies are different. They have different religions, different customs, and different value systems. And, according to polling data being discussed at the Metropolis Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies, most Canadians -- Muslim and non-Muslim alike -- think the differences are "irreconcilable".

Whether it’s the rise of Islamic State zealots, the killing of free-speech advocates in Paris and Copenhagen or disputes over niqabs, the polling, done by Leger Marketing, shows Canadians share in the growing global anxiety about sectarian conflict. 63% of Canadian Protestants, 62% Jews, 60% of Catholics and 46% of the non-religious believe Western and Islamic societies cannot be reconciled. Even 42% of Canadian Muslims believe the contrast between the West and Islamic cultures is too great to be bridged.

Jack Jedwab, vice-president of the ACS which commissioned the Leger polls, called the findings "a huge blow to interfaith dialogue". He said the belief of a majority of Canadians that the West and Islamic society are locked in inevitable antagonism echoes the thesis of Harvard political scientist Samuel Huntington, author of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of Political Order. Way back in 1992, Prof. Huntington predicted -- correctly, as it turns out -- that people’s cultural and religious identities would be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world.

The Pew Research Center keeps track of such things. Its new report -- "Latest Trends in Religious Restrictions and Hostilities" -- confirms that worldwide social hostilities involving religion reached a six-year peak in 2012 and have remained basically stuck at that level.
Almost three in four global citizens, Pew reports, live in countries where religion-fuelled conflicts run the gamut from vandalism of property and desecration of sacred texts to violent assaults resulting in deaths and injuries.

What are the worst countries in the world for sectarian conflict? According to the Pew index, India shares that distinction with... wait for it... Israel. Next on the "Very High" list are the Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt, Central African Republic, Iraq and Kenya.

What is the link which connects all the countries -- saving perhaps Sri Lanka -- on the list of "Very High" social hostility index? No prize for guessing that they all have Muslim majorities or large Muslim minorities.

What should we in North America learn from all t his? The polling done for the ACS revealed Canadians' concern about religion-related conflict is leading many to yearn for tighter border restrictions and less immigration from Muslim countries such Pakistan, Nigeria, etc etc etc.

Asked whether governments should deal with security concerns by "making it more difficult for people to come across national borders," 68% of Canadian Catholics agreed. So did 62% of Canadian Protestants and Jews, as well as 51% of the non-religious. Even 42% of Muslims agreed.

The two Leger polls of 2000 Canadians, including 500 born outside the country, were conducted in 2013 and 2014. They have an accuracy of plus or minus 2.9% 19 times out of 20. In general the polling results did not show marked differences between the responses of native-born Canadians and immigrants. Even the new-comers know a problem when they see one... even when they're part of it.

Muslims aren't targetting Libyan Christians, sez Vatican; they are so! sez Bishop of Tripoli

For the last week, the Vatican has been hosting one of its periodic talk-fests known as a Synod of Bishops. Roman Catholic bishops from around the world gather for a bit of lightweight theological sparring and lots of hand-wringing over the sorry state of the world and of the Church.

On February 21st, the Holy See Press Office released a statement which began:
"The Holy Father and the Cardinals have elevated to the Lord a special prayer for the many Christians who, in different parts of the world, are increasingly the victims of acts of intolerance or persecution...because of the Gospel."

The statement goes on to say:
"Unfortunately, we have noticed that many of the current conflicts are described as religious in nature, often surreptitiously pitting Christians and Muslims, while the roots of the conflicts are primarily ethnic, political or economic."
In other words, the Church is once again being politically correct by telling us that the killing of Christians by Islamic extremists has nothing to do with religion, and is definitely not some kind of jihad. Perish the thought!

Unfortunately for the relativists who infest the higher echelons of Holy Mother Church, just four days later, a bishop from Libya said exactly the opposite!

On the 25th, Monsignor Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, told FIDES that the Libya extremists who have become stronger in the wake of the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi are targeting Christians.
"It is not clear what these extremists really want," said the prelate. "They would appear to be shedding the blood of innocent victims to get more visibility. Orthodox Coptic Christians have been their target for some time."
Bishop Martinelli specifically excluded any political or economic motives for the massacre.

Bishop Martinelli made his comments in the wake of the abduction and massacre of seven Egyptian Christians who were living in Libya. This happened on February 23rd in Benghazi, which will be remembered for the attack on the US consulate, which President B. Hussein Obama had nothing to do with Muslim terrorism.

The seven Copts were taken from their homes by armed men. Their bodies were found the next day on the outskirts of the city, riddled with gunshots to the chest and head. The Apostolic Vicar of Benghazi recovered the bodies of the victims and handed them over to the Coptic community.

Globally, the January report of the Pew Research Religion & Life Project on the presence of religious conflicts in various countries, showed a net increase in conflict, which was reported in 33% of countries surveyed in 2012, compared with 29% in 2011 and 20% in 2007. This, of course, has escaped the notice of those in the Vatican who believe that all religions are equally valid, all searching for the same Universal Truth.

Majority of Americans think US should mind its own business overseas

The American government's interventionist foreign policies are wrong-headed, counter-productive and just plain stupid. Ron Paul told you so. Walt told you so. But the Bushes, pater et filius, the Clintons and Hussein Obama told you the opposite. Who ya gonna believe?

To judge by the results of the last election -- was it only a year ago? -- the Merkin people believed the politicians and the establishment. But today comes a sign that the scales are finally falling off the eyes of Joe the Plumber.

Today, for the first time in almost four decades of polling, a study by the Pew Research Center (in association with the Council on Foreign Relations) suggests that the majority of Americans believe the US plays a less important and powerful role in the world than it did ten years ago.

As the chart at the right shows, most people now believe America should “mind its own business internationally”.

The findings of the Pew poll suggest Americans think their country is now less respected abroad, bucking a trend in which Americans believed their reputation had recovered since the Prez Obama was elected. Funny how giving him a Nobel prize for doing nothing except being black would give that impression. But the penny has dropped, and impressions of how the US is perceived under Obama are now, broadly, as negative as they were in the final days of the administration of Bush the Younger.

Although there is a growing desire for the development of stronger trade and business links abroad, it seems that Americans want their leaders to adopt a less interventionist approach to solving the world's political and social problems. It's time, many people think, to stop trying to be the world's policeman and concentrate on fixing the many things that are broken in the Land of the Free Lunch.

But will America's political leaders listen? Is the Pope Catholic? [The answer to both questions is meant to be "NO". Ed.]