Republicans & Conservatives:

Politics No Longer Political?

We are becoming more motivated by apolitical developments in politics than by political ones.

Many Good Things Lead to Inequality

Growing inequality is a global phenomenon that has been going on for at least forty years. The fact that it has been taking place across so many different types of social and economic systems makes it difficult to identify the causes, propose solutions or even be certain that it is "problem" that should be solved.

Michael J. Fox Stem Cell Research Controversy

Actor Michael J. Fox has a series of political campaign ads circulating television networks in which he tries to persuade Americans to vote for Democrats who support embryonic stem cell research.

Oil Getting Too Cheap (again)

The price of crude oil tumbled 3.9% today. This is good news for the economy but it presents both a challenge and an opportunity. We need higher fuel prices to encourage conservation and the development of alternatives. I have advocated this many times. If you follow some of the links in the linked article you will soon be bored, but you will admit that I am consistent. As the price approaches $55 a barrel, it is time to think of ways to keep the price of fuel from falling.

The Road to Hell is Paved With Good Intentions

We call it minding your own business. It does not mean you have no opinion or don't care. It just means that you spend your time and energy working where you are most effective. If you mind your business well enough long enough, your ability to be effective widens & grows. If you obsess about things you can do little about you become an impotent buffoon.

Liberal Voter Suppression

The law of unintended consequences says that the lies of Democrats will come back to haunt them. Thus it is with years of claims about stolen and rigged elections-- Democrats have succeeded in suppressing Democratic voters.

If we lose the Congress, what then?

I vacillate as to whether we will lose either or both of the houses of Congress, but fear we might. Was never that concerned with the Senate as a loss there appeared unlikely. Until recently, I did not believe that we would fail in the House, now the pundits -- right leaners included -- are forecasting 16-20 seats lost. First hopeful/confident, then deflated. The leftward skew/drift of the polls wears me down.

Read on

An Army of Good Americans (& Some Foreigners)

Many ideas about the U.S. military are outdated or just wrong. A Vietnam era stereotype says they are predominantly poor and/or minority, with the unspoken corollary that they are victims. In fact, the all-volunteer military has never been like that. Today's military looks like America - just a little more southern and a little more rural - and every man and woman chose this job.

Bounce, Bounce, Bounce

So what was the name of that guy from the House who emailed that page? See? In a blink of an eye, THAT issue fades into oblivion, and the Republican Party now has emerged from the fire unscathed and united heading into the final two weeks.

Plus, our friend Joe Lieberman has pulled into the lead. Watch out, my friends from the left...don't go printing that new stationary yet!

A Nation of Wimps, Fatsos & Crybabies

Fat people are driving up American fuel costs by $2.8 billion a year. Kids are lazy and get little exercise. No surprise. Many schools have outlawed dodge ball and some have banned tag. Playgrounds no longer feature physically challenging apparatus. Everybody wants to ensure safety. We end up just getting fat and lazy.

The Republican trump card

Despite the deceitful vitriol emphatically enunciated by the double-talking leftist blogosphere, who downplays the world's most prolific economy and blames capitalism for all of America's ills, credible evidence avows that America's economy is thriving and that the capitalistic ideology advocated by Republicans is fostering innumerable wealth and prosperity not just for the affluent, but for all Americans.

Never mind what we said

I was going to vote for Democrats this election, but then they said that they would absolutely positively NOT be attempting to impeach Bush for his crimes against humanity. Hell, if I wanted someone not to impeach Bush, Republicans would do fine.

Next I suppose they'll tell me they WON'T be raising my taxes either.

How We Almost Killed Public Diplomacy

One of my fellow bloggers recently was critical of a career diplomat for misspeaking . If only public diplomacy was so easy. We speak with awe or scorn about spin. But ask yourself this. If spin is so effective, how come you and (almost everybody else) can see it? There is much more to public affairs than information or even persuasion. Public affairs is relationships. Relationships are what we stupidly threw away during the 1990s. Was it Clinton's fault?

CNN Airing Enemy Propoganda

CNN is doing everything possible to help their allies in Iraq win the war against the American infidels. Ordinarily, one would have to visit a jihadist web site in order to view Islamic terrorists killing American soldiers. But not any more. Last week, CNN's website broadcast a video, A Sniper's-eye view of Iraq, in which correspondent Michael Ware breathlessly narrated the action leading up to the shooting (and possible deaths) of several American soldiers by enemy snipers.

More capitalism = fewer terror cells

Are there fewer muslim terror cells in the U.S. because it's easier for immigrants to assimilate into American society? Contrary to the liberal mantra, America is the land of opportunity.

"What we have here among Muslim-Americans is a very conservative success ethic," says John Zogby, .... "People come to this country and they like it.

November 8, What then?

We have vote by mail here in Oregon, so I've already voted. (Wouldn't it be nice if I didn't have to see another ad for the next few weeks?) So, let's just suppose the election is done and we're surveying the mess. What's changed? What's the same? Where do we go now?

October 20 Sources: A Dangerous Nation

Robert Kagan proposes an explanation for America's reputation. In Dangerous Nation, he says that our idea of our history and our nature differs drastically from what others see. We see ourselves as generally peaceful and interested in the common good. Many of those who have been on the receiving end of our "interest" are less enthusiastic about our altruism.

Towel-Heads & Rednecks

In Maryland & Virginia senate races we hear talk of racial insensitivity. The media went crazy when George Allen seemed to have created a new insensitive word, but when his Dem opponent talked about towel-heads and rednecks, few noticed. In Maryland, a leading Democrat embarassed himself by saying Michael Steele slavishly followed the Republican Party. Nobody cared much a while back when they called Steele a token or an Oreo.

Drive That New SUV. Help Clear the Air

Who is more environmentally friendly, a person driving a new Ford Escape SUV or the one in the old Toyota (or maybe an old Volkswagen)? Our habitual scripts are often wrong. If we were serious about cleaning the air, we would junk all the cars made before 1980, since they produce more than 20x the pollution of a similar new car. The wonders of progress . . .

Kill Animals! Cut Trees! Protect Nature

When I tell people about my forest, they often praise me for protecting nature. Their enthusiasm cools when I explain that I am indeed protecting nature by killing some animals and cutting some trees. You just cannot rely on nature to take care of itself anymore. Preservation is not desirable everywhere if you want to protect nature.

300 Million Americans

About the time you read this, the 300 millionth American will have arrived. U.S. population growth is uneven. It is high in many affluent exurbs, among particular religious groups and in some immigrant communities, low in many yuppie cities, such as San Francisco, but the U.S. is unique among developed counties (besides Israel) in that it has a natural fertility rate at replacement level (2.1 births per woman).

Success in Iraq

A year ago I wrote a post on measuring success in Iraq. Some called for quantitative measures, so I did. Some you also made predictions. I have checked out mine and I invite others to do the same. Most of my data comes from the Iraq Index published by the generally liberal Brookings Institute. The record of success in Iraq is mixed. We are doing well on the economic and progress measures and less well on security.

Immigrants; Who Cares?

If illegal aliens paid taxes, even more than citizens, would we care that they are here? If we could effectively screen the drug smugglers and potential terrorists, and immigrants paid proportionately more taxes than the services they consume, the only objection to their presence would be bigotry or xenophobia. So I'm sure there'd be few complaints.

Ex-Lesbian Against Sexual Orientation Policy

As an ardent blogger, I often "blog-walk" and find links to great posts and articles from other writers. Cheryl linked this article on her blog and my curiosity got the better of me. I was very surprised at what I found.

Dissent or Division?

The left is fond of saying that Bush has divided America. But I wonder at the logic of this. Aren't those who say that "DISSENT" is the highest form of patriotism actually dividing America? Logically you can't blame such division purely on those you disagree with. By definition those who 'dissent' are creating the division by setting themselves apart.

Gas Prices Down & No Big Hurricanes (Bush's Fault?)

I was driving down the highway today and saw gas selling for less than $2/gallon. One reason is that some things didn't happen, that big hurricane season, for example. I didn't think last year's horrible hurricane season resulted from global warming but some people did. What does this year's calm mean to them? I didn't blame Bush when gas prices went up, but some people did. What does this drop mean to them?

Bounce..Bounce..Bounce..

How does that Frank Sinatra song go..."flying high in April, shot down in May"...something like that, right? Sounds exactly like the Republican Party right now, doesn't it?

Unless the Repubs have their version of David Ortiz to hit a bottom of the ninth homer, I better get myself a Jack Murtha screen saver.

Slouching towards Gomorrah,

Or goose-stepping to Armageddon? When neo-cons label North Korea 'evil,' it implies that hawkish posturing is the moral high ground; they're fighting evil after all. It makes diplomacy sound like a character flaw.

Can We Get On With The Program?

This morning North Korea successfully detonated a nuclear device during an underground test.

One leg of the Axis of Terror has now gone nuclear.

Can we please knock off l'affaire Foley for a while and attend to business as Americans?

Reforming Election Administration

I have been reading and thinking about Prof. Spencer Overton's book, Stealing Democracy (see link at left) and what it may take to overcome some of the problems this nation has with voting and elections. To be sure, many of the problems we seem to be "experiencing" are not new, but merely have been highlighted since 2000's Bush v. Gore debacle and subsequent efforts at reform.

Oct 10 Sources: Inevitable Increasing Inequality

In a global economy, brains and talent are increasingly important. Firms and governments are finding them in short supply. A world based on merit is a blessing, but it has downsides. Inequality and instability are most obvious. Talent is unevenly distributed and constantly changing conditions allow no rest for the weary, even the talented.

Who Hates Whom

Many non-western cultures face a growing shortage of women as selective abortion and poor treatment leads to increased mortality. Some of this is detailed in an article by Ayaan Hirsi Ali recently republished at AEI called Women Go Missing by the Millions. Ms. Ali faced hostility and death threats when she was critical of Islam, especially the mistreatment of women. She recently moved from Europe to a safer and more welcoming environment in the U.S. and is now a fellow at AEI.

October Surprise: GOP de-Foley-ation

It's over. --Republicans will now lose both houses of congress. Speaker Hastert will resign. Rumsfeld will resign. In fact, in the face of the Foley scandal Bush himself will resign in disgrace (crimes against humanity). Then Democrats will be allowed to merely nominate the next President and (s)he will be installed as President-for-life.

America Should Lead the World on Climate Change

Kyoto was and remains a seriously flawed agreement but the U.S. should be part of a solution. I have been observing European efforts to create a carbon market. It is easy to find problems, but they are making a good start. If the U.S. pushes in the same direction, together we can make it work. President Bush cares about the environment, but he is mistaken about some of the mechanisms to address climate change.

Rummy's The Man

Dear Mr. President;

It's your friend the Mighty Sicilian Eagle who has been very busy protecting your tail feathers from a cold left wing draft. I am pleased that you placed a private call this weekend to our pal Rummy backing him up. I like Rummy a lot and here's why....

A defiant Iran is a dangerous Iran

There comes a time when threats and rhetoric must be substantiated with tangible action--an egotistical athlete must eventually back up his off-field diatribes--for risk of losing credibility.

For the United States, that time is now.

Dean's Democratic Demographics

Howard Dean's accusation that the 2008 presidential race could be determined on race and immigration may indicate the future of American politics.