Straight From the Horse's Mouth...

Now, I am convinced that someday, after I am gone and the reigns of State are passed on to someone else, people will sit around on a special day called "Erik Was Right Day" and share stories of how they once doubted me, but then it turned out that they should have agreed with me.

"Remember that time in the late 1980's when Erik said that the Soviet Union was going to be a thing of the past very soon and we all thought that was crazy? Well, it turned out that Erik was Right!"

or

"Remember when Erik said that the whole dot com revolution was more hype than anything and that current and future gains in productivity were nowhere near high enough to justify the inflation on these stocks in the market? Wow. We thought that was pretty funny. Well, I wish I had never put any money in with that venture capital firm that funded toiletpaper.com. Erik was Right!"

or even

"Yeah, there was that time when Erik said that real estate prices were hyper inflated and that the bubble would inevitably burst, in spite of the fact that real estate pr firms kept saying that, contrary to all history, what we were seeing was something different and that normal conditions no longer applied. Man, I wish I didn't spend half a million on a dilapidated shed in West Oakland."

And of course there will be this one:

"Remember when Erik said that within our lifetimes Mohammedanism would cease to be a major religion? That it would be reduced to a quaint cult in the mountains with about as much relevance to the world stage as Zoroastrianism? Once again, Erik was Right!"

Anyway, as we witness the tail of the dinosaur twitching as the beast dies in fitful agony (stay away from that tail, it has spikes that curve like scimitars), the lie of "Moderate Islam" will peel away from the truth faster and faster. Now, a year or two ago when I said that, I got a few howls of indignation from typical compassionista liberals as well as from an indignant Mohammedan girl straight from Jihad Central Casting.

After all, Imam Bush told us that Mohammedanism is a religion of peace, and isn't he authorized to issue Grand Fatwas?

Well, I have said it before, and I will say it again: Moderate Mohammedanism is a fraud. It is either a lie to the outside world, to assuage our justifiable suspicions, or it is an internal lie to make a life of comfort and ease in the West seem compatible with the "evil and inhuman" faith of Mohammed.

And you know what? There are decent and honest Mohammedans out there who will admit as much.

And you know further what? I respect the ones who admit as much. To believe in what Mohammed taught and not be an extremist is to be the sort of mealy-mouthed loser who wants to hold hands and welcome the transgendered community to our faith community gathering place, blah blah blah.

Barry Goldwater, who was one of that rara avis, an honorable Liberal, almost got it right when he said, "Let me remind you that extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice. And also let me remind you that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." His view of liberty was deeply flawed, but his understanding of certain basic truths was not.

Let me amend the words of the late, great Goldwater and remind you that extremism in the pursuit of Truth is no vice, and let me further remind you that moderation in the pursuit of the Good is no virtue.

In related news, in yesterday's cleaning, I found a box of foreign coins, including a handsome 5 peseta piece from Spain with a picture of Francisco Franco (may he be canonized soon) and the inscription "Francisco Franco Caudillo De Espana Por La G. De Dios 1957." I think I am going to frame it, alongside the other nifty coin I found, a Citta del Vaticano 200 lire piece with a portrait of "Ioannes Paulus II PM AN IX MCMLXXXVII" (may he also be canonized soon). This will remind me of my student days when I had photos of both men over my desk. I believe that I was the first Student Senate Chairman at UCSC to do so.

Someday, it will be the Feast of San Francisco Franco and some of you will be sitting around and suddenly something will pop into your mind:

Yes. Erik was Right.