volume vi, issue x

JHU POLITIKISSUE X, 5/2/11

Volume VI, Issue XMay 2, 2011

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JOHNS HOPKINS’s Only Weekly-Published Political Magazine

Also in this Week’s Edition:

HUNGARY’S NEWCONSTITUTION

By Megan Augustine, ‘13-Page 4

OPINION

www.JHUPOLITIK.com

DAMASCUS SPRING

By Briana Last, ‘14

-Page 3

FROM THE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

By Josh Ayal, Harry Black,and Sam Lichtenstein

-Page 7

THE MORALS OF BOOKBURNING AND VIOLENCE

By Jordan Kalms, ‘14-Page 5

(Continued on Page 2)

HE’LL BE BECKCOMMENTATOR TO LEAVE FOX

here have been many wordsused to characterize Glenn

Beck. He has been called charis-matic and delusional, inspirationaland dangerous, brilliant and insane.However, one word has definedGlenn Beck’s career in televisionand radio more than any other: con-troversial.

He has made enemies and friendswith his outspoken views on politicsand the direction of this country,paving the path for the Tea Partymovement and grassroots move-ments across the land. His effortsand message have disseminatedthroughout the world of politics andengraved into the media art a newchapter of frank and unreservedcommentary. Millions have traveledfrom all corners of America to see

him speak and they tune in daily toabsorb his every word. He has be-come the unofficial leader of a gen-eration of citizens that he has drawnout of the woodwork to engage inthe complicated world of govern-ment and policy. Love him or hatehim, he has defined a new culturebloc over the last three years whichwill continue to make its mark onour nation long after he leaves hisFox News post later this year.

After 21 years in radio, Beck gothis first television job working forCNN as a political commentator. Hisshow, described by the New YorkTimes as a "mix of moral lessons,outrage and an apocalyptic view ofthe future ... capturing the feelingsof an alienated class of Americans,”earned him the Marconi Radio

by Randy Bell, ‘13Staff Writer

Award for Network Syndicated Per-sonality of the Year and the net-work’s second largest audience.

In 2009, shortly after the inaugu-ration of President Barack Obama,Beck was hired by Fox News to hosthis own television show. His showhas consistently gained better rat-ings in the 5pm Eastern-time slotthan the other major news recordsand has been a major factor in mak-ing Fox News the highest rated andmost viewed network in news. Dur-ing his tenure at Fox News, he hasmaintained the radio show hestarted in 2000, which has also beena major success, garnering him over

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LETTERS

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6.5 million listeners and putting him third in ratings, be-hind his conservative counterparts, Rush Limbaugh andSean Hannity. Beck has also written 14 books and put to-gether two major rallies in Washington: the 9-12 projectand Rally to Restore Honor.

Glenn Beck’s commercial success, however, has notcome without a strong critical backlash. His often apoc-alyptic and acrimonious tone has polarized the politicalcommunity and lead to remarks that have driven away atotal of 119 sponsors. For example, n July of 2009, Beckclaimed that President Obama was a racist with “a deep-seated hatred for white people.”He has again and againaccused the Obama administration of socialism, commu-nism, and political conspiracy. He has compared the gov-ernment to Germany’s Weimar Republic and Stalin’sSoviet Union. He has likened the administration, the Na-tional Endowment for the Arts, the study of climatechange, the Peace Corps, and even the act of empathy, toNazism. He has stated that he believes FEMA built con-centration camps to imprison immigrants. Most recently,he claimed that Stephen Lerner, a key official in theService Employees International Union, was a greaterthreat to the nation than were the September 11th at-tacks.

When Glenn Beck retires from his post at Fox News,he will leave behind a legacy of anti-government savoir-faire that has characterized a portion of the voting elec-

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torate. Early on, Beck made a name for himself as ananti-government libertarian. He strongly opposed theObama campaign in 2008 and became a sort of antithesisof the president and his administration since he waselected. Beck perpetuated the major assaults on Obama,leading up to the election, including attacking his rela-tionships with ACORN, Jeremiah Wright, and WilliamAyers.

Glenn, however, has shown opposition to Republicansas well as Democrats, claiming that the immoral culturein Washington has affected most politicians. In fact, inan interview with Sarah Palin, Beck claimed that theonly reason he supported John McCain in 2008 was be-cause she was on the ticket. Beck is hoping for “the nextGeorge Washington” to lead the country out of its pro-gressive tendencies, and has repeatedly stated his fearthat unless Washington moves towards how it was in thedays of the Founding Fathers, the country is on a roadto destruction.

Although Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Aileshas declined to comment on the scope of Beck’s retire-ment and which end the decision came from, he did saythat Beck “brought additional information, a unique per-spective, a certain amount of passion and insight to thechannel … but that story of what's going on and whyAmerica is in trouble today, I think he told that story aswell as could be told. Whether you can just keep telling

The POLITIKEDITOR-In-Chief

Joshua AyalEditor-in-Chief

Harry BlackEditor-in-Chief

Sam LichtensteinExecutive Editors

Will DentonMorgan Hitzig

Hannah Holliday

Managing Editor

Matt VarvaroStaff Writers

Randy BellAlex ClearfieldRachel CohenRohit DasguptaEric Feinberg

Becca FishbeinConor FoleyCary Glynn

Benjamin GoldbergPaul GrossingerDan HochmanJordan KalmsAnna KochutBriana Last

Hilary MatfessDaniel Roettger

Ari Schaffer

Faculty Advisor

Steven R. David

JHU POLITIK is a student-run politicalpublication. Please note that the opin-ions expressed within JHU POLITIK arethose solely of the author.

Please sign up for our e-mail list on ourwebsite, www.JHUPOLITIK.com

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PRODUCTION MANAGERS

Casey NavinNeil O’Donnell


like the other movements occurring in the region. As wasthe case in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia, Syria’s revolution-ary forces face a corrupt, authoritarian ruler, whose in-terests no longer align with that of the country’spopulation. Yet, as Syrians find themselves fighting theiron rule of Bashar al-Assad and outsiders watch the vi-olence with horror, many are beginning to determinethat the uprisings look quite different than those in otherArab countries.

What distinguishes Syria from the other Middle East-ern nations is both its political significance in the regionand the tremendous amount of violence that nowplagues the country. As soon as Syrians announced theiranti-government protests, President Assad, who oscil-lated between placating reformers and hardening hisrule during the democratic craze leading up to April’sprotests, began using his military. On April 22 alone, hismilitary is thought to have killed over 100 people in 14separate towns.

The violence has continued as the president employsmore police and paid armed thugs with batons and elec-tric tasers. The death toll since demonstrations beganabout a month ago has reached around 500. The com-parison with previous military crackdowns has beenwidespread. Most infamously, Bashar’s father Hafezruthlessly put down an Islamist revolt in 1982 by shellingthe entire town of Hama and killing an estimated 20,000people in the process. According to many observers, itwill be unsurprising if Bashar continues the brutality hisfather practiced so effectively.

The amplified violence in Syria is undoubtedly due toits strong military force, a military that the West is notprepared to fight against on both pragmatic and ideolog-ical grounds. Unlike Libya, Syria’s influence in the Mid-dle East is tremendous and extends to many othercountries with which the United States is not willing toengage.

The Middle Eastern nation hosts many Iraqi insur-gents, asserts its influence in Lebanon by backing theSh’ia political party-cum-militia, Hezbollah, and sup-ports Hamas, the Palestinian fundamentalist group thatgoverns the Gaza portion of the Palestinian Territories.In addition, the West wants to avert providing fuel forthe flame in future years by leaving an image that the po-litical instability in Syria enabled the United States to as-sert its agenda.

The refusal to intervene has caught the attention ofmany critics of American actions in Libya, who werequick to make accusations of hypocrisy. Yet, the West’s

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that story or not ... we're not so sure.” Beck expressedsimilar views on the retirement, saying “How manytimes can I tell the [George] Soros story?” referring tothe liberal businessman who Beck has frequently tar-geted as a dangerous criminal. Furthermore, part ofBeck’s leave from Fox News could be due to his fallingratings, mostly among younger viewers, and fleeting ad-vertisers, over 400 of which have refused to show theircommercials during the Glenn Beck Show.

Still, Beck has expressed his desire to continue towork with Fox News after his show ends. Beck has beenin talks with Ailes to continue to work together on proj-ects in the future, including documentaries that he plansto make. “I will continue to tell the story and I will beshowing other ways for us to connect," he said after an-nouncing the decision on his television show, and that“we're heading into deep and treacherous waters”.

Though the loss of Glenn’s classic chalkboard machi-nations and passionate rants will leave an indelible holein the 5pm Fox News lineup and telivision news in gen-eral, it is all but certain that this will not be the last wesee of him. His mark on the political community willcarry on into the next presidential election and be a de-cisive factor in the future direction of this country. s

Damascus Spring

by Briana Last, ‘14Staff Writer

The domino effect of revolution in the Middle East fi-nally reached Syria just over a month ago. As a result, un-precedented and ceaseless violence ensued across thenation, mostly coming from the brutal military forces ofthe regime. In many ways, Syria’s revolution looks much

NATIONAL REPORT / INTERNATIONAL REPORT

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Hungary’s New Constitution

by Megan Augustine, ‘13Contributing Writer

Hungary has signed a new constitution into law thatis eliciting criticism from its own people, news agenciesaround the world, the European Union, and non-govern-mental human rights groups. According to many of thesecritics, the legislation is viewed as anti-democratic anda violation of human rights. Despite these criticisms, thenew constitution was passed in parliament on April 18thand signed into law by President Pal Schmitt on April25th.

Points of humanitarian concern amongst the changesin the new constitution include the possibility for im-prisonment without parole, defining marriage as beingbetween a man and a woman, and the protection of lifebeginning at the embryotic state. The critics of these newlaws claim that citizens are being denied their humanrights and that the constitution is discriminatory bybeing heavily biased towards the Christian faith. Oneprominent international rights group, Amnesty Interna-tional, has vocally declared these changes to be humanrights violations, while the EU has said that these poli-cies are in violation of the EU’s constitutional law advi-sory board, the Venice Commission.

Examples of the constitution’s illiberal qualities in-clude the near impossibility to amend it, the weakeningof government transparency, and the preservation of thecurrent ruling party. The constitution declares that a 2/3majority must exist for a law to be passed in parliament,indicating that the current third of opposition groupswill be unable to hold any leverage against the rulingparty. The Supreme Court has been restricted to review-ing cases presented only from the president or at least

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reticence to intervene in a country that seems to be ex-periencing exceptional amounts of violence came to aclose when Barack Obama decided to take small steps asa warning against Assad’s rule. On Friday April 29, thepresident signed off on various sanctions that would im-pose restrictions on three top Syrian officials, Syria’s in-telligence agency, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,which ha close contacts to the Syrian regime. The namesof the officials have not been revealed, but according tovarious new sources the sanctions freeze any assets thetargets have in American jurisdiction and prevent Amer-ican citizens from doing business with them.

The implications of these sanctions have yet to unfold,but it is certain that the fighting in Syria will continuewith full force. The day President Obama imposed sanc-tions, Syrians took the streets in Damascus and aroundthe rest of the country. No sooner had the protests begunin the city of Deraa than troops opened fire, killing fif-teen people.

Political commentators hope that a military interven-tion like the one in Libya will not be necessary. As the vi-olence increases exponentially, Mr. Assad’s loyaltyseems to be waning. Infighting and defection within thearmy has become prevalent as the president’s powerbase, largely composed of Alawites, Sunni merchants,and various high positioned Druze and Christians, fol-lows suit. For a ruling regime that has its base in the mi-nority ethnic group of the country, defections only bringeven greater chances of collapse.

There are also hopes that Turkey, a bordering nationand close ally to Syria, will use its political clout to re-strain President Assad out of fear of an influx of refugeeshoping to escape the violence. However, the country’scurrent seeming ambivalence might be telling of theirpropensity to remain in the sidelines. As Syria’s neigh-bors remain silent and the West makes meager efforts tosuppress the authoritarian regime, the violence willsurely continue to rage. s

INTERNATIONAL REPORT

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one quarter of parliament members, and all other Hun-garians will have no access to the court. Additionally, thepresident has also been given the power to dissolve par-liament in the event of a stalemate regarding the budget.

The EU has called for an inquiry into the new consti-tution to determine its legality. However, according tomany observers, the EU holds no legal tools to combatand resolve the problem. According to Johns Hopkins’sown Dr. Dorothee Heisenberg, the European Commis-sion could take Hungary to court at the European Courtof Justice, but Hungary’s national court would have tocomply with the ruling for any new law to be enforced.

This new grievance against the ruling Hungarian gov-ernment is just one in a series that have occurred sincethe ruling center-right Fidesz party came into powerwith a 2/3 majority in parliament in June 2010. Sincethat time, the BBC has declared that is members havebeen “eroding checks and balances.”One prominent ex-ample of this charge has been a controversial media lawpassed in January that established fines and sanctionsagainst news and entertainment broadcasters if theircoverage is seen as unbalanced or immoral. There areconcerns that laws such as this are intended to preventcritique of government policies.

Within the EU bureaucracy, Germany has been themost outspoken against these changes and has previ-ously spoken about taking away some of the EU presi-dential rights of the rotating EU presidency thatHungary currently holds.

Other recent complaints against Fidesz have been inregards to “crisis taxes” that are being imposed on theenergy, telecom, and retail industries to help offset thegovernment debt, as well as movements against pensionfunds, cultural institutions, and fiscal and monetary au-thorities, which Reuters UK calls “illiberal power grabs.”The party’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has even beencompared to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin,who is widely viewed in Europe as subverting checksand balances and the overall democratic process in hisown country.

In addition to international complaint against the con-stitution, the ratification process in Hungary has alsosparked a series of protests within the country. Manypeople are currently criticizing the government for seek-ing only to solidify its power rather than to uphold thedemocracy and stimulate an ailing economy.

Now that the new constitution has passed, many arequestioning the decision of the opposition parties to pullout of the process to draft the new constitution. That de-

cision allowed the Fidesz party to draft the document onits own, which many have argued is the reason for thebias in the constitution.

Despite it critics, the Hungarian government has goneon a diplomatic offensive to explain the virtues of thenew constitution. Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi hasbeen travelling around Europe and portraying the newdocument as a way to move forward in Hungary’s con-tinuing transition from communism to liberal democ-racy. For his part, Janos Lazar, the leader of Fidesz’sparliamentary faction, has said that the new documentserves to repay “Those Hungarians who changed theregime and political players who took part in shapingpolitical life.”

While observers are sure the debate over the consti-tution will continue – both in Hungary and Europe –many do not expect much progress until Hungary relin-quishes its rotating presidency in June. Even more so,pessimists point out that the likelihood of all of the EU’smember states agreeing on a common course of actionis unlikely. In this respect, the debate over the responsethe new constitution revolves around a much deeperquestion – that of the EU’s powers and place in the 21stcentury. s

The Morals of Book Burning and Violence

by Jordan Kalms, ‘14Staff Writer

On March 20, 2011, pastor Terry Jones burned a copyof the Koran on the grounds of his church in the town ofGainseville, Florida. The book burning was preceded bya mock trial, attended by most of the 50 congregants ofJones’s ambiguously named church, the Dove WorldOutreach Center. Upon the conclusion of the trial, atwhich the book was deemed guilty of promoting terror-ist activities and various other immoralities, the Koranwas then marinated in kerosene and tossed on a portablegrill, where it was publicly burned.

On April 1, protestors overran the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan and rallied together totake communal offense at the actions of pastor Jones.Afghan crowds flooded the compound of the United Na-tions Assistance Mission, leaving 30 men and womendead in their wake and injuring at least 150. Throughoutthe month of April, rallies continued around the Muslim

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world, notably in Pakistan and Indonesia, where smallerand less pugnacious crowds have gathered to show theircontempt for Terry Jones, America, and Christianity. Atthe rallies, American flags have been burned, PresidentObama has been stabbed and torn in effigy, and “Allahho Akbar” (Arabic for “god is great”) has been affirmed,reaffirmed, and reaffirmed again. In India, Christianschools and churches have become the hapless targetsof many successful arsonists. In a truly nuanced and in-novative approach to foreign policy, Iran's Islamic Cul-ture and Relations Organization labeled the bookburning a “Zionist plot”.

Even before the burning occurred, when Jones an-nounced his initial intention to burn the Koran on Sep-tember 11th, a debate was sparked in the media over thequestion of who bears the responsibility for those in-jured when an invariably violent reaction occurs on re-sponse to Jones’s inane plan. That is to say, who isresponsible for the lives of innocent men and womenkilled out of misplaced violence perpetrated by religiousfanatics in reaction to the morally neutral act of burninga book? The answer is undeniably that the responsibilityfor the crimes committed in Afghanistan and around theworld, the murders and the arson and the hate, lies withthe people who committed these acts, the belligerentlypious protestors, and not with those who ostensibly pro-voked them.

In reaction to these events, Barack Obama condemnedthe burning of the Koran and the murders inAfghanistan with equal vigor, deeming both acts morallyreprehensible. CNN’s Fareed Zakaria stated that, “burn-ing the holy book of any religion is offensive, but so iskilling people in reaction to that burning.” These com-ments are typical of American pundits and politicians,who seem incapable of considering one act as worsethan another, especially when it comes to religion. Mur-der, however open minded we strive to be, is a more per-nicious act than book burning, and the atrocities thattook place in Afghanistan are representative of psycho-pathic religious frenzy rather than a reaction to theinanity of Terry Jones. Indeed, the Afghan reaction tothe burning of the Koran gives us an insight into themind of the religious fundamentalists, whose desperateneed to loudly take offense triumphs over considerationfor humanity.

To be sure, I am not defending the position of Mr.Jones, a religious zealot in his own right and a homo-phobe at that. However, I will say that Jones was wellwithin his First Amendment rights as an American when

he burned the Koran, and though his actions needlesslyendangered the lives of soldiers in the Middle East, histheatrics only gained the relevance that they have cometo bear because of the petulant sensitivities of the Mus-lim world.

The reason I say “Muslim world” rather than use theunclear and trite categorization of “religious extremists”is because it is the distinctly mainstream Muslim leadersthat have reacted so mindlessly to the actions of Mr.Jones. The leaders of Iran, Afghanistan, and Gambia,where an estimated 90% of the population is Muslim,have called on U.S. officials to arrest and prosecute Mr.Jones. In Pakistan and Lebanon, millions of dollars havebeen offered to anyone willing to kill the pastor. TheSupreme Leader of Iran stated that, “all Muslims holdthe U.S. government and their politicians accountable”.

In conclusion, I argue that it is time the Muslim worldcame to understand that requesting the arrest or prose-cution of an American, British, or Danish citizen forcrimes that do not exist within their respective countriesis a request that is as illegitimate as it is repugnant. Justas the Koran is a holy artifact of Islam, free speech is anirrevocable pillar of Western society, and will not standto be demolished at the request of religious leaders whothreateningly shake their fingers in our direction. PastorTerry Jones, British author Salman Rushdie, and Danishcartoonist Kurt Westergaard were all within their rightsto peacefully poke fun at or to sternly criticize the ten-ants of Islam, and no amount of hostile protesting, high-minded sermonizing, or impulsive murder will changethat fact. s

OPINION

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Loyal Readers,

While it is difficult to come to terms with the passing of time, this is the last issue of JHU Politik of the semester –and, consequently, the last issue under our guidance as Editors-in-Chief.

When we thought of the idea for this publication during the summer of 2008, all we had was just that – an idea. Wedid not know what we were aiming for, nor did we have any conception of how to carry out even our most basic con-cept. We started with just three readers and three writers – us. We struggled to gain funding, find qualified writers,and find readers other than our parents. (Incidentally, thanks mom and dad.) We steadily gained support among ourfriends, peers, administrators, and professors. Today, we have 26 students on our masthead and a weekly readershipin the hundreds (and, occasionally, thousands) that spans multiple continents. We could not be happier.

During our time as Editors-in-Chief, we are pleased that we have been able to witness the development of JHUPolitik into more than just a weekly publication. The magazine has sponsored speaking events, produced special is-sues, and acted as a medium through which political organizations on campus can connect with more likemindedstudents.

More than anything, though, we are pleased that JHU Politik has become a forum for debate and dialogue. At a uni-versity with so many students who desire a place to engage in conversation, we are honored to provide a place forthe free exchange of ideas. Ultimately, we hope this will be our most lasting legacy.

When the three of us (along with the rest of the members of the Class of 2011) graduate on May 26, we know we willconfront both a country and world that are changing rapidly. Many of the central tenants of both domestic and in-ternational politics that have defined past decades are increasingly becoming less certain. More than at any time inthe past, the futures of our country and planet appear less clear. Established norms, rules, and supposed certaintiesare all in the midst of a profound transformation - one that none of us will completely comprehend for at least theforeseeable future.

Yet, we also believe that we have it in our capacity to choose the path we wish our country and shared global com-munity to take. Although we did not invite a confrontation with uncertainty, we are convinced that the true test of apeople’s strength is how it rises to tackle the challenges put before it. We are sure that we have it within our powerto dream bigger, reach higher, and fix seemingly insurmountable problems. That is why the dialogue provided bythe free exchange of ideas is so important. While some of us may disagree – occasionally, passionately –we are con-vinced that the continual collision of ideas is what will ultimately produce policies that make for a more peacefuland prosperous future. We hope that this fundamental conviction in the power of conversation will outlast our timeat Johns Hopkins University.

In closing, we would like to thank you, our readers. No matter our efforts, it is you who make our job worthwhile.We hope you have enjoyed the past three years of publication and we hope you are as excited as we are to see whatthe future of JHU Politik holds.

Sincerely,

Josh Ayal, Harry Black, and Sam LichtensteinEditors-in-Chief

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REPUBLICAN

FOREIGN POLICYA DEBATE FEATURING

COLIN DUECK

Author of HardlineProfessor of

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Monday, May 2nd7:30-9 pm

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volume vi, issue x

Documents

major news recordsand

making fox news

hisfox news post

major factor

major rallies

president obama

sam lichtensteinpage

beena major success