Republicans & Conservatives:

Transformational Bush

There is no evidence of an operational link between Iraq and Al Qaeda with regard to the 9/11 attacks. But that does not mean that they are unconnected. After the disintegration of communism, the world seemed safe, secure and predictable. 9/11 reminded us that the world remained a dangerous place, that hateful people from across the world could reach out and kill Americans. After 9/11 we became less tolerant of distant dangers, more vigilant.

Democrats report no abuse at Gitmo

Before they make fools of themselves and slander their country, politicians like Durbin and Kennedy might try listening to their own Democratic colleagues who have actually visited Guantanamo. They would have learned that Democrats who actually did more than read about the place saw no signs of abuse. And this is not the first time. About a thousand reporters have visited the place, as well as senators, House members and congressional staff.

A Question for the Dems...

After reading several liberal blogs these past few days, I need a liberal to clear one problem up for me!

Should Unocal sell to CNOOC?

Here we are. A country that claims to be striving towards being less dependent on foreign sources of energy and just over the horizon looms a deal to sell one of our MAJOR American Oil Companies to a company in a far from trusted competitor in the world market - China.

Never complain. Never explain. Never apologize.

There is merit in this muscular piece of human relations advice. There are valid reasons to complain, when you want to correct a defect, for example. Valid reasons to explain might be so another person understands what he needs to do and why. You should apologize, when you have made an obvious error and you plan to correct it. But besides explaining factually and social lubricant apologies, these things should be done sparingly.

Democratic Deception Defeated by its own conclusions

All I know is what I read in the newspapers and I tend to read the liberal Washington Post. There is an interesting article today that must be read very carefully to avoid the spin. Take out your yellow underliner pens and watch the deception machine try to do its work.

Stop Kidding Yourself - It is a Holy War

Call it what it is. A Holy War. Anyone who believes there is not a Holy War being fought must be living in a different world. Those who are concentrating their efforts on the fight in our own country about whether a kid can wear a cross to school or thank God in their commencement speech will one day wake up and realize they were fighting the wrong fight.

What is an American Conservative?

To really flatter someone, tell him exactly what he thinks of himself. I understand that will be the case here. But there are so many people describing me and my sort, that I thought it might be a good idea to get my own thoughts on record.

Lobbyists Don't Use Plastic

It's amazing to me. How many lobbyists showed up to 'water down' any new laws protecting consumers from credit card fraud and identity theft? Can anyone count that high?

Happy Father's Day!!

I just got back from the West Coast, so I am a little late in posting this... Though over there, it is still Father's Day. For today, I wanted to share the material that the excellent TownHall.com website (recently emancipated from the Heritage Foundation) has featured for this ocassion:

The importance of being Dad
Dads everywhere deserve our gratitude.

- Rebecca Hagelin: Dad, we need you
- Rich Lowry: Father is the best
- Jonah Goldberg: My Dad, 1931-2005
- Charmaine Yoest: In Pursuit of Princes
- Chuck Colson: Cinderella Man
- C-Log: Share your stories about Dad

Nuke Em

1979 witnessed the worst nuclear plant accident in American history. Nobody died. Nobody even got seriously ill. At worst people were exposed to about as much radiation as in six chest x-rays. But there were victims. The accident effectively ended the building of nuclear new power plants in the U.S. so thousands died or became sick from the use of dirtier and more dangerous energy production methods, such as coal, oil and natural gas. Beside pollution, more CO2 was added to the atmosphere.

Enemy America

Nothing says I love you like another reference to a Soviet gulag. This is outrageous! Scandalous! The Soviets were anti-fascists. How can Durbin compare this evil Bush administration to the Soviets whose only crime was outlawing private enterprise and enacting lasting campaign finance reform?

It's the UN again

Once again, the UN is in the news.

The US contributes 22% of the general operating budget of the UN and 27% of the peacekeeping budget. With these kind of numbers, apparantly Congress is of the mind that the UN will recreate itself in the Congress' image. I'm not so sure.

Saving us From Ourselves

One has to wonder if this is satire these days. In a world where personal responsiblity is being denounced as passe, this Onion "plea for help" almost sounds like something one might actually hear. (Hattip Radley Balko) . "I eat 3,000 calories before getting out of bed in the morning... Can't someone in Washington help me?...Everyone just acts like it's not their problem." Sounds too real. And in this age of Big Government -and where "save the children trumps freedom" (sorry, Lisa) mentalities prevail -- will even conservatives be able to resist the Nanny State?

How 750 Students Saved Florida

Pop quiz: under Florida's robust voucher law, how many students have taken advantage of the program and moved from a failing public school to a private one?

I gave away the answer in the title: 750. To put this number in perspective, some 10,000 disabled Florida students use another school-choice program to attend private schools. Clint Bolick, a school choice advocate, brings some convincing numbers to the table in a Wall Street Journal editorial today.

ACLU and Child Pornography

This is a disturbing subject for me, as well as it should be for any parent and civilized person.

The operative word here, being "civilized".

Gitmo and The Geneva Convention

This post is to seek guidance and provoke discussion concerning the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and the application of the Geneva Convention.

Srebrenica

It is interesting how video makes news. This news is literally a decade old. Srebrenica was the scene of the worst massacre in the Bosnian war - 7000 murdered. The town filled with refugees after the UN had declared Srebrenica a safe haven, but UN Peacekeepers stood down when Serbian fighters threatened.

Fair and Balanced

We all have our prejudices and saying that we see the world from our point of view is a tautology. The world is too complicated to understand without the use of mental models. The model determines which parts of reality we will emphasize and which we will ignore. Most models are unconscious, which is why we sometimes just can't understand other points of view.

George Bush: Champion of the Environment

It depends whether you want a cleaner environment or you want to talk about a cleaner environment. The fact is that the air and water in America are cleaner today than they were last year and will be cleaner still next year. No president can turn that around and we can't credit or blame President Bush.

Brick Back Bricker: True Conservatives Don't Trade Away Sovereignty

I wanted to use this entry to share an excellent article that I recently came across, on a subject that most other conservative commentators never discuss. I had included this column in a past blog entry, but this piece seems especially relevant after I saw something on the news, just yesterday, about how President Bush recently spoke to the Organization of American States, with central American trade issues being the new hot topic.

Pro-Choice, Pro-Child

Conservative New York Times columnist John Tierney highlights a Florida Supreme Court case today over school choice. While the argument is old, the evidence he draws on is compelling.

Koran Abuse Greatly Exaggerated

The military detailed abuse of the Koran at Guantanamo. There is really very little fire, despite all the smoke, sound and fury. U.S. guards showed remarkably good behavior, especially considering the conditions and the uncooperative prisoners. Koran abuse was often at the hands of the detainees. I guess some of them care less about their faith than we were led to believe.

Competition: A Bad Thing?

As I was driving to work the other day I was listening to a discussion about competition.

Thinking about the environment

Where you stand on the environmental debate can be charted on four dimensions. Are you religious about the environment or practical? Do you trust in the efficacy of government regulations or not? You can make a grid based on this. In quadrant I (religious/distrustful) you find Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber). In quadrant II (religious/trustful) you find Greenpeace, PETA maybe. Quadrant IV (practical/ trustful) features people like Teddy Roosevelt, and the property rights and "wise use" crowd inhabit quadrant III(practical/distrustful.) Few people comfortably occupy only one quadrant all the time, but these are helpful categories.