I'm on CNBC's Dennis Miller tonight. If they let me float a segment (that is, choose a topic), like they've let my friend Jill Stewart do — she's also been on more than me, and gotten to hold the chimp, not that I'm competitive or anything — I'm going to talk about the ridiculous notion that instead of fighting terrorism, we should prevent future attacks by sitting down with the terrorists and finding out what they want. Haven't they made it clear enough what they want? They want the entire world to be an Islamic state, complete with Sharia law. I don't think we should want to meet them halfway here.
Speaking of modest dress requirements, I have some Orthodox Jewish friends who don't like it when I wear my usual sleeveless/low-cut tops on TV — sends the wrong message, they say, and I suppose they could be right. But ever since Sept. 11, I've become fonder of anything that offends the Islamofascists. "Step on a crack, break old Hitler's back," kids used to say during World War II. These days I sometimes think to myself: "Dress like a tart, break an Imam's heart."
***
Update: Well I'm back from taping Miller, and did indeed get to talk about the above topic, but wasn't as good as the last time I was on. And I was hoping to get to another topic, CBS's threat to sue the FCC if they're actually fined, but we ran out of time. A Zero Mostel-like comedian named Max Alexander, who was on the Varsity Panel with me, was very funny, though. I wish I'd thought to put pretzels in my pants!
don't you dare listen to them. in many ways, said orthodox jewish friends of yours are the terrorists to my own heterosexual wallowing. if you care about me at all, which you may not i'll totally concede this point, you'll seriously consider wearing a bikini tonight. consider it your own way of escalating the war on terror. just think about it....
I've never heard the phrase "Step on a crack, break old Hitler's back" before — and I'm wondering what it means &what it was used to mean. It's not clear to me whether Hitler had some policy regarding cracks in the street, or what that children's rhyme is a response to. But I'm very intrigued &curious :)
-morgan
Please be careful holding the chimp, though...
I agree with Jason's sentiment in the general. A more scantily clad Seipp is a good thing.
Is that supposed to be sarcastic? Who exactly is saying we should stop fighting terrorism and just sit down with them?
On the other hand, there are lots of people who are not Islamist terrorists but who may become Islamist terrorists. These are the people who can be won over by American policies. The fear is that they will instead be won over by the terrorists. America needs to show to them that it is not the enemy of Arabs and Islam and that the terrorists do not represent their cause. We should be concerned about doing things that piss off the "Islamofascists" because these things may also piss off other Muslims and encourage them to support the terrorists or to become terrorists.
Matthew Yglesias makes a similar point, a bit less tactfully, here.
Instead, maybe you should entertain us with your thoughts on whether there's a libertarian qua libertarian foreign policy. Or, if that's too heavy, perhaps you could just describe to us the underwear you're wearing right now.
Besides, your plan to appear on tv clearly violates the zero aggression principle. The most fundamental right is the right to property. In Islamic countries, women are always a man's property. Remember, we can't judge their culture because all political systems are equally worthy (except for American democracy, because it lets *ugh* redneck fundamentalist Christians vote). Since your appearance on TV (if seen in Iran) might encourage women to rebel against their rightful owners, you're clearly initiating agression against those poor moderate Muslims. You harlot, you.
I love Volokh with comments. It's like DU, except instead of seething self-important liberals, you have seething, self-important libertarians. Plus the added bonus of watching libertarians try to interact with *gasp* a girl.
Please keep on posting, Cathy.
I'd bet Noam Chomsky has said things to this effect, and many Europeans consider him a real authority on foreign policy.
I stayed up just to watch the Varsity segment. Cathy had the most gravitas of the whole panel, including host Dennis himself.
And yes Cathy, you're hot.
Caught a little of one of the current 15 minuteteer's - the "anonymous" CIA author - on Chris Matthews last night. From what I heard, he's proposing skipping the negotiation phase and adjusting US foreign policy to accommodate the perceived wrongs of the jihadists.