Publius' Forum

A modest proposal to ease our gas pains
- By Michael M. Bates

The war on terror. Illegal immigration. Iraq. Government leaks. Dick Cheney's shooting accident. All pale in comparison to the crisis du jour: the cost of gasoline.

Americans are mightily aggravated by prices at the pump. The exasperation could have ramifications on this year's elections. Many politicians will milk it for everything it's worth.

Right now at least, this doesn't bode well for President Bush and his party. A Washington Post/ABC News poll taken earlier this month had 70 percent of those questioned saying that gas price increases have hurt either them or someone in their household............................
Click HERE To Read On

Looks like New Hampshirites, our favorite "Live Free or Die"-ers, have rung up two for gun rights.

Victory Numero el One-o: The New Hampshire State legislature has passed a self-defense law whereby citizens can legally protect themselves in public places.
(See bill language-Click here)

Victory Numero el Two-o: A bill to prevent legally owned guns from being confiscated in emergency situations, ala New Orleans, has also passed.
(See bill language-Click here)

Here is a piece on the first bill from the Boston.com site. (Click Here)

House reverses course, supports expanded use of deadly force

CONCORD, N.H. --Gun owners and advocates carried the day in the House on Wednesday.
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In a surprise turnaround, the House supported legislation it defeated last month that would give people more leeway to use guns to defend themselves in public places.

It also voted for a bill to bar the state from taking guns or ammunition from people during a state of emergency.

"Nothing should chip away at our freedom," argued Rep. Lynne Ober, R-Hudson. If weapons had been confiscated centuries ago, "we might have been singing God Save the Queen," she said.

A Senate-passed bill gave the House a second shot at expanding the right to use of deadly force. It passed, 193-134.

The bill would allow people to use guns or other weapons in self-defense anywhere where they have a right to be. It would remove the requirement that a person retreat when it's safe to do so.

Apparently, Governor John Lynch (Democrat) hasn't vetoed a single bill yet. But he is reported as having "strong reservations" about this one. Let's hope he follows his usual practice of not vetoing and these two bills get passed into law without any further dilly-dallying.

New Hampshire is looking more inviting every day! Good job folks.

(Thanks to Jon Maltz for the heads up)
-Warner Todd Huston

Prominent Evangelical Succumbs To Community Racket
- By Frederick Meekins

Christian author Chuck Crismier, usually so concerned as to the purity of doctrine as to suggest that divorced people who have remarried should consider divorcing their current spouses in order to remarry their previous mates or face the possibility of eternal damnation, came out on the February 7, 2006 episode of his program "Viewpoint" entitled Restoring Community To The Church as part of the growing communitarian chorus critical of George Barna's book Revolution. It is Barna's hypothesis that those pursuing their Christian faith outside the church institutional are just as devout as those that are in the pew every time the door swings open.

Though Crismier does a good job in pointing out that buildings and programs a good church does not make, in his interview with Tod Bolsinger, the author of It Takes A Church To Raise A Christian, he seems to insinuate that the sincerity of one's profession of faith is based on to what extent one not so much surrenders to Christ but rather to the will of the group.................
Click HERE To Read On

According to an entry in Media Bistro's DC Fishbowl, New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller has sent out an email whining that the Media are so put upon as to imagine they might be forced to martyrdom at the hands of the nefarious Bush administration, cheered on by Bush's henchmen.

I don't know about you, but I hear the strains of the world's tiniest violin wafting through the air. Or, as my sainted Mother always said when we kids were complaining, "Let's throw a pity party" for him. Galileo-like, Keller seems to imagine he is headed for persecution by the mighty and powerful, sure that his actions and the actions of his brethren are blameless and right.

I sense eyes rolling all across the county.

Mr. Keller's email begins:

"I'm not sure journalists fully appreciate the threat confronting us -- The Times in the eavesdropping case, the Post for its CIA prison stories, and everyone else who has tried to look behind the war on terror."

You are right, Mr. Keller, neither you nor your fellows "appreciate the threat confronting us". Since you see that threat as the United States, absolving entirely those who would kill each and every one of us and destroy our civilization, you seem to totally miss the threats in the times in which we live.

"Maybe we're suffering a bit of subpoena fatigue. Maybe some people are a little intimidated by the way the White House plays the soft-on-terror card."

Or maybe, the Bush administration is SOFT on the "soft-on-terror" card, since NONE of you are really under any direct threat of that dreaded subpoena.

"Whatever the reason, I worry that we're not as worried as we should be. No president likes reporters sniffing after his secrets, but most come to realize that accountability is the price of power in our democracy."

In other words, you have intimidated every president since Truman and you feel that is the natural order of things. Bad assumption, mate.

"Some officials in this administration, and their more vociferous cheerleaders, seem to have a special animus towards reporters doing their jobs."

No one would be upset if all you did was your job, Mr. Keller. But, where the glee rests is within your "profession", not those "Vociferous cheerleaders" you so despise. It veritably oozes from your work exposing National Security secrets. It shimmers from your every attempt to undermine the rooting out of terrorists. It calls out in high pitched squeals as you propound a recognition of the "rights" of terrorists as all the while you step on the rights of those terrorism injures.

"There's sometimes a vindictive tone in way they talk about dragging reporters before grand juries and in the hints that reporters who look too hard into the public's business risk being branded traitors."

Again, if you were not doing all in your power to harm the prosecution of this war and subsequently placing our troops at risk, that "vindictive tone" might not seem so pervasive to you, Mr. Keller.

"I don't know how far action will follow rhetoric, but some days it sounds like the administration is declaring war at home on the values they profess to be promoting abroad."

What falderal. Bush clearly said early in this war on terror that "if you aren't with us you are against us" and you, Mr. Keller, seem to have clearly picked a side... the OTHER side. Seems to me that if Bush is targeting you and your ilk, he is practicing what he preaches.

Yet, still, there is absolutely no evidence that journalists are being unduly targeted by the Bush administration at all. In fact, Bush is much less harsh on the media than either Lincoln, Wilson OR FDR was, all of who jailed journalists in their time of national crisis.

No, this nonsense amounts to alarmism and self-pity as well as mock outrage, Mr. Keller. But, you certainly have given us all a good example of just why so many Americans are turning against you and your fellows. The rampant arrogance and anti-Americanism in your profession is driving Americans to frustration and causing them to have little sympathy for a journalist pressured to stop being so unpatriotic.

I'd suggest that if you want to stop feeling so put upon, perhaps you might want to at least pretend as if you like the country in which you derive your living. People might stop being so mad at you then.

(See link- Click here)

By Warner Todd Huston

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed (Conspiracy or Stupidity - Who Cares?)
- By R.A. Hawkins

How is it that we still have China as our 'Most Favored Nation' trading partner? A lot of people asked that question when they were granted that status a few years ago. It is a legitimate question because in the long run any nation's economy is controlled by the well being of its people. The well being of a people is also determined by the safety of those people. China has one of the worst records with the U.S. and the world regarding not only human rights, but also just good old-fashioned integrity. By that I mean the western version of integrity. China has integrity, but it is not the kind of integrity that matters if you want to be able to trust.

I'm sure that some of my readers are going to be thinking that I don't trust China. This is not the case. I have an understanding with them. It is the same kind of understanding that I have with our media. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that what comes out of their mouths is meaningless. It is part of the credo by which they live. To them they are speaking the truth when they say anything that supports their cause or purpose.........................
Click HERE To Read On

I didn't blog about this at all because I didn't think that it would really happen, it was too good an idea! But, Conservative talker, Tony Snow, has been pegged as the man to replace Scott McClellan as the President's new press secretary.

Tony is one of the most articulate spokesmen for the conservative point of view out there. Where I live I only get a few hours on Sunday of his weekday radio show, so I don't get to hear very much of him but what I have heard is fantastic. And, his work on TV has always been aboveboard.

I have heard that he signed on with the stipulation that he would have a somewhat free hand with his advocacy for Bush and might have a word or two to say about policy, too. that is ALSO a good thing. Snow is sensible and very smart.

Tony also said that he felt that Press access to the president should be increased, so we'll see how that works. Bush has a LOT to do to turn his last few years around in time for the 2006 and 2008 elections.

I think this is a great move for the Whitehouse and it bodes well for that much needed turn around.

-WTH

It's Not How You Hit The Ball But The Color Of The Bat That Counts
- By Frederick Meekins

Contemporary American athletics has been a success story in that those on the field have embodied the dream Martin Luther King professed at least publicly where achievement would be measured not by the color of one's skin but rather by the content of one's character and ability.

Washington's racist mayor Anthony Williams thinks he knows more than both historical wisdom and the invisible hand of economic forces in that he believes the city's new baseball franchise, the National's, should not be sold to the most competent managers but rather to ones whose primary qualifications happen to be the pigmentation of their skin in that this whiney politician insists minorities need to be given a portion of this lucrative prize................
Click HERE To Read On

According to Laurence M. Vance (See his article- click here) the average taxes per gallon of gas in the United States today is 42.7 cents. Some states are less and some more, of course, but let us compare that to the average profit to the oil companies on that same gallon of gas, which is reportedly only 5.8 cents.

Now, I got the 5.8 cents figure from the ConocoPhillips' site (See that byclicking here), and even if we assume -- as a leftist might WOULD assume -- that the oil company stats are low and that we can assume maybe double that figure is closer to the truth, that would make the oil company profit still less than the taxes at 11 cents or so per gallon.

So, we still have the taxes at four times higher than the profit of the oil companies. And, here is where we stand. The "windfall profits" that Chuck Schumer and Ted Kennedy are ballyhooing about, all the gnashing of teeth and bother about those eeeevil oil companies while it is the blasted GOVERNMENT catching all the windfall profits as far as I can see.

So, where is the "price gouging" coming from again?

-Warner Todd Huston

I ran across an interesting example of blind corporate control today.

So, I went to a Barnes and Noble bookstore and was walking past the "Current Affairs" section, a section I frequent, but do not usually buy from.

And I see a book that I want to buy, but it is OBVIOUSLY in the wrong section.

The book is called "The House" by Robert V. Remini and it is about the history of the U.S. House of representatives. Now this book OBVIOUSLY belongs in the history section, not the current affairs section.

So, as I am buying the book, I ask the checkout person why it is in the wrong section. He looks it up on the computer and says, "Yep, New York says it should be in Current Affairs", as if that is a REAL answer to my question!

So, because "New York" (their main office) says so, a book that should be in the history section is placed INCORRECTLY in a section about current affairs! No independent thinking, no realization that the New York office just made a mistake, no sense. Just blind adherence to what the main office says.

So if the New York office told them to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, would they find a map to that bridge in the Archaeology section?

... Only if the New York office says so, I guess!

This from the Las Vegas Sun newspaper:(Click Here for story)

As Reid's power grows in D.C., his support slides in NV

....More proof that regular Americans do NOT like how the democrats operate in Washington D.C.

Call this the department of "What-the-heck-is-he-doing", but apparently all the far left nonsense leaking out of the mouth of Democrat Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, is starting to make the folks back home that voted him into office wonder what the heck is going on with their once sensible and moderate Senator?

Sen. Harry Reid, once a fairly obscure conservative Democrat from the small state of Nevada, is all the buzz inside the Beltway lately - unfortunately for him, it's the Washington and not the Las Vegas Beltway.

Nevadans are wondering how a "conservative Democrat" can be so much like Michael Moore or George McGovern. It's called Beltwayitis. That disease that elected Federal officials get when they want to be loved by Washington. But, to be loved by Washington, you must turn your back on those who elected you to office most often.

But Reid's national stature among activist Democrats, concentrated on the blue-state coasts, carries risks for him at home, analysts say. His consistent opposition to President Bush and his need to mollify the liberals in his party is costing him in Nevada, where polls show he has lost support since becoming minority leader.

"What about what WE want", his constituents scream!

Then the coup de grace...

Matzzie noted that Reid differs from MoveOn.org on a number of issues, such as MoveOn's call for withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2006.

But it is the adulation of people like Matzzie that also endangers Reid at home. "Absolutely it hurts him at home," said Eric Herzik, a UNR political scientist. "He has to take up the cause of the most liberal wing of the party."

Run for the hills, Harry! When nutters like Moveon.dorkers are praising you, you HAVE to know that you have left the realm of representative American and entered the realm of a pseudo-European fantasyland!

But, I say let Harry be... Michael Moore, instead of being Harry! It's all good for the GOP!
-Warner Todd Huston

Is America Losing Its Faith?
- By Warner Todd Huston

Americans are losing their faith. Not their faith in God or religion, though that is slackening as well, but their faith in the essential rightness of America itself. Until recently Americans were quite sure of the basic truths upon which we are formed and the basic righteousness of those truths. Unfortunately, many of us are no longer sure of our "givenness", as Daniel Boorstin so famously termed it.

It's easy to peg the degradation of that surety to the counter culture of the 1960's, of course. The Sixties was a watershed decade for self-doubt, but the doubting began decades before, during the great age of socialist theorizing that swept the world in the early 1900's. Though seemingly immune from socialist practice and politics, we Americans none-the-less fostered reflection on such ideas in our Universities and from the realm of philosophy, history and art our educated elite accepted the concept of relative thinking -- perhaps we weren't really so good after all. By mid century, when William F. Buckley wrote his famous lament about Yale, it seemed that those educators sanguine of American exceptionalism were far and few between. It has gotten no better by the start of this new century as anyone who knows of David Horowitz's work could easily realize.

There was a time not long ago when, to European eyes, both major American political Parties seemed nearly indistinguishable one from the other. There was a reason for that, too. It was because both parties agreed that America was a righteous place differing only on the various technical means to sustain that righteousness. They agreed that our basic ideals were good and both believed that the U.S. Constitution was to be interpreted conservatively as opposed to loosely. Not only were our principles, conventions, and procedures good but they were the best ever conceived by the mind of man. Perhaps even the best that ever could be imagined...........................

Click HERE To Read On

Our own Resa LaRu "Warchick" Kirkland will be filling in for the Schiffer Report host, Paul Schiffer . the show is on at 4PM Eastern time, 1 PM Pacific.

You can check it out at SchifferReport.com

Senatorial Disrespect for American Voters and Values
- By Chuck Busch

What part of "no amnesty" does the Senate not understand? I suppose that all depends on what they pretend the meaning of "amnesty" is? This is ridiculous and tragic. The American people have spoken loud and long about tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws and control of our borders. But, they have been most vocal about not offering permanent residency or citizenship or whatever you want to call it. The American people are not going to be fooled by a semantic deception to disguise the sellout of American sovereignty. As leading border security advocate Tom Tancredo has said, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig."

The senate, however, produced a bill that focuses only on how quickly the government can offer a free pass to millions of illegal aliens to remain in the US. Earlier in the week a supposed "compromise" bill (meaning, the liberals win) had been hammered out that thrilled even the radically liberal Democrat Minority Leader Harry Reid. Incredibly, rather than establishing effective immediate deterrents for illegal entry, the bill allows for aliens to continue to enjoy all imaginable social services and work toward becoming citizens thereby creating a huge incentive for all their compatriots to likewise steal across the border and reap the rewards of this senatorial capitulation. .............
Click HERE To Read On

Iran is a sticky subject. It is no wonder that the Bush administration doesn't want to talk too much about Iran, why they felt it a good idea to shed any talks or discussions with Iran to the supposed EU3 (Germany, France and Britain). With the work going on in Iraq right now, the Bush administration doesn't need a mess in Iran, too. That is for certain.

But, the Iranians are forcing the issue with their attempts to develop nuclear weapons. So, what should we do? We certainly cannot allow the Iranians to get a nuclear bomb the way their society and country is now led. It is becoming ever more clear that the Iranians are not "sensible" with their current leadership. It is also obvious that they cannot be treated diplomatically as if they are "sensible" like one might negotiate with any number of other nations that are guided by the normal principles of economic and national interests.

Economic Interests

In a world of logic a nation is propelled by its economic interests, and in that vein it would be a far easier thing to expect diplomacy to work with Iran. But, Iran is not propelled by the economic interests and logical policy decisions and goals as a reasonably sane country would so be.

Iran has a persistent unemployment rate the hovers around 20 percent and they have little by the way of industry or internal improvement. They have but one real asset: oil. And the only benefit they get from it is export sales because they don't even have the capacity themselves to process it into usable products. They simply export crude and that is about it. So, to imagine it would be effective using economic sanctions as a bargaining chip in any discussions with Iran is just ridiculous. The Mullahs simply have no interest in economic realities. That dog won't hunt, as they say in Texas.

National Interests

Certainly, nationalism is one of the Mullahs' tricks. It is doubtful, though, if that trick would last too long. Every report out of Iran says that the lower classes and the youth of Iran are increasingly turning against the Mullahs. The Islamic revolution that the Mullahs said would spread all across the world never happened, the Mullahs seem to have failed at about every turn in Iran and this has undermined the once blind loyalty that the people had for them.

We can expect the people of Iran to eventually get past their current nationalist spirit guided by the Mullahs and turn to restructure their society and government over the constant failures of the Mullah’s reign.

Unfortunately for all of us, such a revolt is not on the verge any time soon, though. It could take a long time for this internal change over to occur. It may even take the death of the entire revolutionary generation and their own protégés before a new era of rulers might come to power. And we cannot afford to wait for that to happen. A nuclear-armed Mullah state would be too dangerous in the intervening time.

Also, and this is not said enough, it absolutely is in Iran's national interests to get a nuke. Let's face it. A nation has every sovereign right to acquire a nuclear arsenal. So, to attempt to negotiate with Iran by pretending they have no right to the bomb is just not a legitimate position to take. We can try to convince them that they do not need a nuke, but to act as if they do not deserve one is on its face, absurd. (Of course, they have no moral right to one because of their extremism, but they have a legitimate sovereign right to get one if they so desire)

Religious Extremists

And here is the stumbling block, why they cannot be allowed to get the bomb. This is the first time in a very long time that the world has seen a nation with such power so infused with a wild -eyed, apocalyptic religious certitude. Those currently in control of Iran are entirely sure that wide spread destruction for the sake of purifying the world is their charge. They do not need any 'logic" or any 'interests" based in real world reasoning to justify their aggressiveness. God has told them to do it.

As I mentioned, they have no moral right to such power. They have been the main exporters of terrorism for decades both directly and by offering financial support for many different groups perpetrating terror across the world. They have repeatedly said that they wish to bring genocide to the Israelis and they constantly threaten nearly every western nation.

But, their religion tells them they are in the right and no amount of diplomacy can make a dent in such a concept.

Bomb Them Soon

So, here is the best plan of action. Bomb their nuclear facilities. Bomb as many of them as we can find. Put their capacity to make more as far back as we can. If we destroy much of their current capacity it will take them no less than 3 to 5 years to rebuild. They will also have to rebuild with greater security in mind and that added need will make it even more difficult. If we are lucky we may even get 10 years of safety out of it.

Yes, it will cause them to hate America. But, they already hate America. They cannot hate us any more than they do. In the mean time, another monumental failure by the Mullahs -- the one that would be shown by our successful elimination of their nuclear facilities -- will certainly drive the internal strife faster along. Maybe it could even be a pivot for great change and force the Mullahs out sooner than anyone could imagine. It is hoped the religious extremism will be ended as a catalyst for government afterwards.

But, even if the Mullahs do not get thrown out, we will have made the area safe from unprincipled nuclear attacks for another 5 years or longer. It is a game for time but we are fast running out of time to play it. If we do not do this soon the window will have passed and a nuclear-armed Iran will be a reality.

-Warner Todd Huston

American Alien Aberration
- By Chuck Busch

If the mass demonstrations over immigration policy that have occurred in recent weeks seem strangely out of place, it's because they are. To be more precise, they are an aberration of the American experience. Whereas, it has always been the hallmark of liberty to allow for peaceful protests, these displays are very different in that the participants for the most part were non-citizens. This fact would explain also the abnormal size of the crowds compared to other demonstrations of the past and the wide spread occurrence in many cities across the country.

What America witnessed is typically what third world totalitarian or corrupt regimes experience when they deny their populations any direct input in determining their government. Conducting mass demonstrations in the streets is the only opportunity for oppressed peoples to try to influence their leaders. The illegal aliens living in the United States though they are afforded basic human rights, likewise have no representation in our legislature and therefore no say in government policy. Resorting to gigantic rallies to express their views is a completely natural trait and consistent with their native political experience. Considering that there are an astounding 12 to 20 million foreigners scattered throughout various major cities available for this type of activism, the size of the crowds is not the least bit surprising. .............
Click HERE To Read On

So-Called Evangelicals Denounce The Atonement As "Too Individualistic"
- By Frederick Meekins

In an interesting article posted a Christianity Today, Mark Dever examines growing opposition within the Evangelical community to the substitionary atonement, meaning the death of Christ upon the cross for the fulfillment of our sins.

Thinking they know more than God now, a number of theologians oppose the Atonement as a barbaric holdover from less enlightened times that fosters a sense of individuality among believers. Heaven forbid anything that hinders our sublimation into members the COMMUNITY.

Frankly though, if Christ did not die for our sins and rise from the dead, why bother being a Christian at all? 1 Corinthians 15:19 says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

Furthermore, what's the point of forgiveness and eternal life if it means the obliteration of our individuality in a manner akin to Brahmin in Hinduism or the Nirvana of Buddhism?...............
Click HERE To Read On

Oprah blends confusion with compassion
- By Michael M. Bates

You think Tom Cruise hopping up and down on Oprah's couch was as silly as it can get? You must have missed the talk show queen’s recent program about people living on low wages.


Claiming that 30 million Americans are working full time but are still stuck in poverty, Miss Winfrey cited the statistic as a "shameful secret" proving that the promise of the American dream has been broken. But there's more:


"This is why New Orleans happened. This is why it happened. Because you had people who were working, service people, minimum wage jobs, working people who didn't have the resources to go anywhere. That's the point. That's the point."...........................
Click HERE To Read On

Well, the L.A Times has suspended one of their blog writers. I say saludos to them for facing an ethics question and making the RIGHT decision instead of shucking and jiving and pretending everything is just fine like the dinosaur media usually does.

L.A.Times reporter Michael Hiltzik's "Golden State blog" on the L.A.Times' website has been suspended over revelations that Hiltzik had been using pseudonyms to respond to his own stories on his own blog as well as on other sites. The Times has said that Hiltzik violated ethical guidelines, though those guidelines are not yet made public.

(To see storyclick here)

I say, good show L.A.Times! I am not celebrating that a lefty writer has been "exposed" or taken off the Times' website, but this is a step in the right direction anyway. See, if this writer was attempting to surreptitiously stir up controversy through fake screen names or trying to attack other blogs and writers the same way, this severely damages his credibility.

If a writer is willing to lie about who he is while attempting to promote himself, what else will he lie about? Will he massage sources? Will he make them up entirely? And, doesn't hiding behind fake names tend to make readers take a writer less seriously?

Fake internet names is one of the biggest things that makes me cringe in the Blogging world. If we as bloggers want to be taken seriously, we must not only use our real names but hold to as strict ethical guidelines as "professional" reporters must. It is just so hard to take a blogger seriously if we don't know his REAL name, but only some cutesie internet moniker.

Further, it tends to infantalize our efforts as serious writers and commentators on the issues of the day if we seem to be hiding behind a cutesie screen name. How can one take a political commentator seriously if he is called Bushhogger, or Politalker, or any such kitschy name?(Not to pick on anyone with such a name directly. I am not aware of any blogger with these names I just used, so don't imagine I mean to attack a specific person. I just hate these silly names.)

So, good going L.A.Times for attempting to force a reporter to adhere to ethical conduct in his writing, at least this ONE time. Now, if only they could force the stories in print to be ethical!
(You can follow the story on HughHewitt.com, as well)

-Warner Todd Huston

Whatever Happened to Limited Government?
- By Justin Darr

For some reason, Republicans are scratching their heads and wondering why their poll numbers are crashing, their public support waning, and the fact they might lose seats in Congress during the mid-term elections

Well, here is a reason or two why; over the last 6 years our Republican controlled government has produced the highest levels of government spending in history, soaring deficits, excessive government regulation that intrudes even further into the lives of regular Americans, the belief that the best way to solve the problems of a massive, government bureaucracy is to make it even larger, and the systematic replacement of the promises made to the Conservative base with lip service..................
Click HERE To Read On

Historian, Sean Wilentz, has authored a positively ridiculous appraisal of George W. Bush's presidency in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. Called "The Worst President in History?", Wilentz makes the worst mistake an historian can make; he assumes he knows the future, instead of interpreting the past.

Why do I say that? Because, any historian worth his salt will admit that one cannot evaluate history as it has long unfolded, and can only do so in with the clarity of hindsight, after you have had the time to see all the results of that historical event. Yet, Wilentz has already passed judgment on Bush's presidency even as it has three more years to go before it is even over!

Yet, even with his crystal ball reading, he misreads much of the history he writes about in this article. Here are just two examples:

No previous president appears to have squandered the public's trust more than Bush has.

Wow, is THAT off the mark. He completely forgets LBJ, for instance. LBJ so badly bungled his last years in the White House that he couldn't even run for his own Party's nomination and had to "refuse" to run for the it! He also forgets how close Truman came to not winning a second term (his first elected) the country had become so disillusioned by his years in the presidency to that point. And BOTH those men came into office with much less contention than did Bush!

Here is another badly bungled historical assessment:

No other president -- Lincoln in the Civil War, FDR in World War II, John F. Kennedy at critical moments of the Cold War -- faced with such a monumental set of military and political circumstances failed to embrace the opposing political party to help wage a truly national struggle...

Total nonsense. Lincoln fought the "Peace democrats" nearly to the end of his own presidency and refused to take any of their ideas into consideration and actually banished from the United States an anti-war candidate from Ohio, sending him forcibly to Canada! Wilson even IMPRISONED a presidential candidate during WWI, a far more anti-oppositional move than Bush ever made. And, as far as Kennedy is concerned, he nearly agreed with every last Cold War goal that the Republicans wanted, so it isn't as if he was "opposed" over his own anti-communism. Kennedy's opposition came more from domestic matters than his Cold War ideas.

Wilentz has no idea what he is talking about and this article is just plain leftist tripe.

-Warner Todd Huston

A Guarded Recommendation -- verges on PC overload- 4 stars

Jon Meacham didn't wear his own religion on his sleeve as he wrote "American Gospel - God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation" but he certainly shows his willingness to bow to PC requirements of a supposedly "balanced view" of religion in America -- show religion but denigrate it as often as possible. But I salute him for trying to be less anti-religious than most. After reading the book you understand Meacham to say that religion is responsible for many good things, some bad, and that various Christian religions were seminal in the creation of the United States of America but that we, today, should rejoice that we can dispose of it all.

But, in the reading one gets a feeling of Meacham's schizophrenia over the issue. Perhaps, though, it is a schizophrenia we all feel over this complicated theme. Is this a "Christian nation" or is it secular? Certainly, Meacham takes pains to say that we are not a "Christian nation", but for every time he makes the disclaimer comes dozens of instances that would tend to make that disclaimer somewhat hollow.

I think my biggest complaint about Mr. Meacham is he seems to constantly compare today's mores with those of our pre-founding era settlers and Pilgrims and finding, naturally, those of our forbearers wanting. I know next to nothing about writer Meacham other than he works at Newsweek, but it seems he is not very informed about the various religious creeds of America circa the late 1600's in comparison with those of other western religions of the time and because of that he seems to misunderstand the freedom and liberty that was born here.

For instance, he snarks that it was inconsistent with Christian religious views for Mayflower Pilgrim and colony leader, William Bradford, to rejoice that a particularly profane and troublesome crew member on the ship died en-route to the New World. Meacham says, "It is not exactly Christian to see the death of a man... as a special work of God's providence...” this shows how Meacham misunderstands what Bradford was saying and how his faith, strict as it was, explained such incidents. It wasn't Bradford being "happy" over a death, it was Bradford sanguine that the man deserved his death because of his rejection of God and religion -- emphasis on man's failing, not Bradford's glee. Bradford would have been happier had the man realized his error and came to faith rather than die horribly on a ship at sea, but that the crewman's own misdeeds caused his untimely death was only an affirmation of the truth as far as Bradford and his people were concerned. Meacham takes this wholly out of context and applies modern morality to Bradford, curiously letting the profane and troublesome crewman off the hook entirely.

He also seems to harp on this mythical claim that the religious right somehow wants to reconstitute the Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution into a religious document or to realize the United States as some sort of Biblical kingdom. In this he is bowing to the overheated nonsense from the secular humanists that have already succeeded in rewriting both history and the aforementioned documents to suit their own ends. Meacham's own overheated imagination leads him down this road even as his discoveries of just how infused with religion our nation's leaders and Founders were and are sort of makes his secular fears of religion groundless. The USA has always been able to combine the two ideals, secular government and religious expression, very well and this is one of the things that makes us so great a nation. After all, what American Christian leader has claimed that the USA should be run strictly via Biblical guidelines like some sort of Christian Taliban? Certainly some outspoken Christian leaders more strictly interpret the Bible than others, but all of them are merely advocating for their followers to drive the debate in the public square their own way, just as every other faction of America has a right to do and always has done. No, it is the anti-religious that is out of the ordinary in American history, not the religious, as Meacham so ably demonstrates.

Even though it seems that Meacham has no love for religion, his book is a great exposition of how intertwined religion was with the Founders and the ideas and philosophies they relied upon to create this great country. If you are religious, you will like the facts in this book, if, that is, you are easygoing enough to get past some of Meacham's snarkiness. I feel, though, that if you hate religion you will not like this book at all as it tends to prove claims of "no religion in America" utterly wrong. That he might tend to make both extremes unhappy might mean he has chosen a pretty good road to travel for his theme.

So, if you can live with some of the PCisms (like the centuries old canard of Thomas Jefferson's slave concubine), this book is filled with some wonderful expositions of just where and how religion "fit in" with the founding of the country. It also helps put various Christian sects and ideas into context for those unaware of how varied American religious experience is. Meacham also helpfully disproves the claims that "most of the Founders were Deists" that far too many half read Americans believe. In fact, some of the reviews on Amazon.com proves how too many people who read a book or two can misunderstand the whole question of the Founders and deism. (It is also quite funny that every review that says that the Founders were all Deists seems to have a preponderance of NEGATIVE votes! Perhaps these wayward reviewers might realize it is they, rather, that are ill informed?)

I recommend this book, even if I disagree with some of the author's conclusions or fears.

-By Warner Todd Huston

Try Being Honest For Once (Why The Fear?)
- By R.A. Hawkins

After watching the many capitulations to cowardice by the media, I have concluded that the entertainment industry and the media (the mouthpiece of the idiots in the entertainment industry) are made up of cowards and girly men. I'm not joking either.

When the religion of peace (Islamic radicals) decided to riot over cartoons that insulted them the media ran and hid. When the TV show 'South Park' had a few items in it that might be insulting to them they self-censored the show. It is the finest hour for cowardice. Some would point to the fact that they support fine art such as 'Piss Christ' etc. But they're safe doing things like that right now. We haven't reached 'that point' yet. It is coming however, and it's going to be ugly........................
Click HERE To Read On

Can A Book Harass at Ohio State University?
- By Warner Todd Huston

Conservatives are not anti-intellectual. I say that to immediately put to rest the first suspicion that many extremist, leftists have when another story crops up featuring Conservatives bemoaning leftist bias in our nation's Universities.

Not to sound too pointy-headed, but some of my own recent book purchases include a three volume set of Plutarch's "Lives", an antique copy of the results of the 1860 US Census, an 8 vol. Collection of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, a 13 Vol. Collection of Thomas Paine's Collected Works, and "The Failure of the Founding Fathers" by Bruce Ackerman, the last a book about the results of the 1800 presidential election and Jefferson's fight with the Supreme Court under Justice John Marshall. Not really what one might call "light" reading there wouldn't you say?

I know of many Conservatives who spend several hours every day reading, whether it be the Wall Street Journal, modern or classic literature, history books and magazines as well as the dozens of popular websites out there that are daily updated. A Conservative is usually no slouch in the continuing education dept., for sure.

So, with that said, we are confronted with yet one more example of the insincerity, oppressive and downright anti-intellectual nature of our nation's professorate.

Ohio State University Librarian, Scott Savage, is being charged with harassment by OSU officials because he attempted to add four current books that present a conservative point of view to a first year reading program reading list. Savage suggested adding The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian, The Professors by David Horowitz, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis by Bat Ye'or, and It Takes a Family by Senator Rick Santorum to the reading list when he saw that the rest of the list contained books sporting all left leaning view points.

Once word got out to Savage's "learned" colleagues, they filed harassment letters with OSU officials claiming that his addition of the conservative books made them feel "unsafe" in the workplace. This caused the OSU officials to file harassment charges and begin an investigation against Scott Savage.

"Unsafe" in the workplace? What does this even mean? Are we saying that the three professors that filed claims of feeling "unsafe" in the workplace think that these books are akin to harassment? Are they saying, then, that these books should be banned from the list, perhaps from the University itself?

But, haven't we heard these very types of educators claim that mere words are harmless, that books and ideas should never be banned because that would be a crime against education, much less freedom of expression? So, how do these books, one written by a sitting US Senator no less, constitute harassment?

Of course these were rhetorical questions and we all know the answer: the claim of harassment is absurd. Worse, the claims are disingenuous. These petty, conniving, oppressive "professors" aren't trying to make themselves feel "safe" in the workplace, they are simply trying at censorship quite to the contrary of the claims of their colleagues for an educational establishment free of such actions otherwise.

But, here is the worst part. The administration is indulging these foolish teachers with their childish pique instead of treating their "complaint" with the contempt it deserves. Ridiculously, OSU officials are acting as if these are serious complaints.

This proves not just that our professors are hateful of freedom of expression, free inquiry, and a well-rounded education for our children and young students, but that our University administrators are too weak to stand up to radicalism and are woefully free of common sense and a willingness to fight for what is right.

Parents, I urge you, if you are paying for your child's University education, refuse to do so if they are attending the likes of Ohio State University. It wouldn't be out of pique or anti-intellectualism that you would be doing so, it would be for just the opposite... unlike the professors there.

By Warner Todd Huston

To "celebrate" the national day of legalized theft, I offer a few quotes and a link to an expose on government waste.

"The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny. The wise and correct course to follow in taxation is not to destroy those who have already secured success, but to create conditions under which everyone will have a better chance to be successful." ---Calvin Coolidge

Here is a great guide as to what the government is wasting your tax money on...

Washington will spend $23,760 per household in 2006 -- the highest inflation-adjusted total since World War II, and $6,500 more than in 2001. The federal government will collect $20,044 per household in taxes. The remaining $3,716 represents this year’s budget deficit per household, which, along with all prior government debt, will be dumped in the laps of our children

Click here for the full piece by Brian Riedl-Heritage Foundtation

"Throughout most of American history, taxes were levied principally on consumption, rather than income... In the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton had this to say, 'It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption that they contain in their own nature a security against excess... If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the Treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds.' Hamilton was thinking here about direct taxes on consumption, such as the sales taxes levied by most state governments. He was right in thinking that there is a limit to such taxes. Experience shows that general sales tax rates much above 10 percent are very hard to collect. They encourage smuggling, black markets, evasion, production for personal use, substitution for untaxed commodities and other activities that erode the tax base." ---Bruce Bartlett
(Thanks to the Federalist Patriot)
-Warner Todd Huston

Proof once again, that the GOP has no clue how to wield power ... or even keep it, for that matter.

WASHINGTON - As the Senate struggled recently to resolve an impasse over immigration reform, Sen. John Cornyn needed advice from an expert.

He did not turn to President Bush nor to Majority Leader Bill Frist.

"I said, `Trent, how do we get out of this mess?''' said Cornyn, R-Texas.

This heralds bad news for Conservatives in particular and the GOP in general and it means far more than Lott getting some personal power back after he lost it due to that media fiasco over his supposedly "racist" comments a few years ago.

Here is why...

When Lott was Republican leader from 1996 to 2002, some colleagues grumbled privately that he too often caved in to Democrats because he was eager to reach an agreement, check off an item on his list and get home in time for dinner.

This isn't just a "feeling". Lott gave away power to the Democrats when the GOP had been newly christened the "power Party" after Bush's big wins. Because of Lott's dithering and inattention, the GOP never got a real chance to wield power in the Senate, the power that they won fairly at the ballot box. At every turn Lott gave Democrats an equal say in Senate operations, a sentiment they never have and never would return. So, the wins that the GOP gained at the ballot box after generations of the government being in the hands of the Democratic Party were never realized, squandered by Lott. The GOP was never able to try making the changes that the people voted them into office to attempt and that is all due to Lott's unfaithfulness to his Party.

Here is even worse news about Lott's continued "leadership"...

A turning point for Lott came in August after Hurricane Katrina struck his home state, destroying his stately home in Pascagoula, Miss., a framed photograph of which sits on his office coffee table. In announcing last January that he would seek election to a fourth Senate term, Lott cited the need to help Mississippi recover.

Great. So now he will be an even bigger spender than ever because he feels we should turn to government for even more problems to be "solved" by fistfulls of money -- and a great way to bribe the people so he can get re-elected. That's all we need!

Still, this penchant for members of the Senate to begin looking back to Lott is proof of another thing and that is how facile and useless is Bill Frist. Frist has never been able to build a strong GOP consensus. So, the weaker members of the GOP, like Linc. Chaffee and Susan Collins, have drifted back to the guy they KNOW whom they can twist away from Republican principles to get "something done", they'll go to Lott.

So, if this continues and Senator Trent Lott comes back into power in the Senate, it should not surprise anyone if he bends over backwards for Democrats even more, attempting to seem extra-specially "reasonable", to erase his supposed "racist" past. So, expect further losses for the GOP.

It is beginning to look every day as if it is better time to be a Democrat in Washington.

(Source: The Mercury News, San Jose)

-By Warner Todd Huston

Former Gov. George Ryan, who drew international praise when he commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois' death row, was convicted of racketeering and fraud Monday in a corruption scandal that ended his political career.

Ryan, 72, faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy, the most serious of the charges in the 22-count indictment.

The jury found him guilty on all charges.
(Source link)
_____________________
Yes, Ryan was a Republican... and YES this is a good thing. Ryan was the straw that broke the back of the Ill. GOP and he DESERVES what he gets.

Let us hope that the Ill. GOP can now begin to get PAST the good old boy network that bled the Party dry and destroyed any chance that any candidate could ever stand on principle.

The Republicans in Ill. are responsible for the state turning as blue as it is. Now, we re-build.

-Warner Todd Huston

The Monk Bought Lunch
- By David Tatosian

It’s been 4 years and 7 months since 2996 Americans were slaughtered in New York, Pennsylvania and D.C.

The passengers, and dozens if not hundreds of others, died when the planes slammed in to buildings and American soil. An unknown number of our countrymen hurled themselves to the pavement over 100 floors below rather than burn to death. The rest were mauled, devoured, their remains forever lost to us beneath the collapsed towers.

We forget the danger, the brute savagery of a world that crouches and snarls at our borders.

Recently a trailer for a movie about flight 93 was shown in a local movie house. On leaving the theater a woman, through her tears, was reported to have said, "It's too soon, it's too soon"

But she's got it exactly wrong................
Click HERE To Read On

- By Hans Zeiger

The angel who appeared to the women at the tomb in the early hours of Easter gave to our age a good call. "Do not be afraid," he said, "for I know that you seek Jesus Who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Faith runs weak in the West. It is an age of postmodernism, which means that most people can't figure out what to do with themselves. Those who settle on some direction find themselves headed no place in particular. There are many choices and many chances, but there is no truth and no meaning. We propose to murder a fetus, not because we are no longer useful to her, but because she is no longer useful to us. It was the same war on life that claimed the life of Jesus Christ two millennia ago...........
Click HERE To Read On

Here is a problem that I have with media outlets. This time it is the Drudgereport that offers a misleading headline, but Drudge is no different than many other outlets.

Here is the headline Drudge put on his site today (4/15/06):

CHENEYS TAX REFUND OF $1.9MILLION...

So, by reading this, you might wonder why Cheney gets so much back from his taxes? You might, then, immediately jump to the conclusion that this is an absurd refund. And, if you already hate the Vice-President, you might have your passions right along with your class warfare feelings inflamed.

But, if you click on the actual link (GoHERE to see that story), you'll find that the inflammatory title does nothing but anger you even as it tells you NOTHING about what really occurred with Cheney's taxes.

Sure he got a tax refund of $1.93 million. But here is what that headline obscures...

The Cheneys made $8.82 million dollars between them (Husband and wife)
They DONATED $6.87 million to charity
They OVERPAID their estimated withholdings by $1.93 million

THAT is what they are getting back -- their OVERPAYMENT! They are getting THEIR OWN MONEY back!

So, once you get past Drudge's over blown and misleading headline and you ACTUALLY read the story, you find out that (as they say in Texas) there is no THERE, there. But, unfortunately, many won't read the story and that misleading headline will stick in their heads.

Drudge should be ashamed of himself for this wildly misleading headline. But in that he is not much different than many other news media outlets.

-Warner Todd Huston

Much as I hate the New York Times, this story is worth the effort if for nothing else than the ridiculous headline title they placed above it.

Medicaid Rules for Immigrants May Hurt Others

Oh, boo hoo. I feel the tears welling up already...

WASHINGTON, April 15 — More than 50 million Medicaid recipients will soon have to produce birth certificates (By July 1st), passports or other documents to prove that they are United States citizens, and everyone who applies for coverage after June 30 will have to show similar documents under a new federal law.

The requirement is meant to stop the "theft of Medicaid benefits by illegal aliens," in the words of Representative Charlie Norwood, Republican of Georgia, a principal author of the provision, which was signed into law by President Bush on Feb. 8.

At least SOMEONE is finally trying to put the breaks to Medicaid fraud. The FBI conservatively estimates that 10 cents of each dollar spent on Medicaid each year is lost to fraud and abuse. In fiscal year 1994, the U.S. spent $107 billion on Medicaid, so that means more than $10 billion was lost to fraud and deceit.

The budget office expects that 35,000 people will lose coverage by 2015. Most of them will be illegal immigrants, it said, but some will be citizens unable to produce the necessary documents. Some Medicaid experts put the numbers much higher, saying that millions of citizens could find their health benefits in jeopardy.

Umm, it's 2006, folks. How many citizens are born these days with no documentation? This isn't 1850 or even the early 1900s anymore. And the few numbers of people who do have such a problem surely have means by which to correct the situation.

Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, said: "Many older Americans do not have birth certificates because their parents did not have access to hospitals, and so they were born at home. In the last century, all over the South, because of segregation and racial discrimination, many hospitals would not take minorities."

And, since 1910 NONE of these people have a driver's license or other proof of citizenship like tax returns and social security numbers?

Please, don't insult our intelligence when all you are trying to do is block a measure that would tend to defund the medical benefits of illegal aliens!

Now here is the most ridiculous quotes of the Times' piece...

Jennifer M. Ng'andu of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic group, said, "A likely consequence of the new requirement is that a number of people will be cut off Medicaid even though they are eligible."

They quote a representative of La Raza?? The group that wants to destroy the US and re-conquer the US for Mexico?? No, the "likely consequence" of this new requirement isn't 'that a number of people will be cut off Medicaid even though they are eligible", it's that a whole slew of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS will be cut off from that aid and RIGHTFULLY so.

Lastly, here was another stupid quote...

Carla J. Vigue, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Medicaid agency, said the requirement would make it more difficult for citizens to get Medicaid.

It is perfectly well and good that Medicaid should not be easy to get, Mrs. Vigue. It isn't a RIGHT that people receive Medicaid, it is a BENEFIT that is provided by the state and that benefit should have as many anit-fraud measures as possible to safeguard the public treasury.

Source: New York Times

-By Warner Todd Huston

I have come into possession of a highly classified document being issued to the graduating class of America’s top school of journalism in Paris, France. A careful reading of this address to those journalism students is revealing and will assist us in seeing how they are going to sally forth to change the world after their long hard days of watching Katie Couric, worshipping at the feet of Michael Moore, and leaving copies of the New York Times laying on coffee tables for effect.

Here is that secret missive...

Dear Graduating Journalism Student,

Congratulations on graduating after these many long months of matriculation. Though you are part of our graduating class, you still have many things to learn as you set out to change the world. So, as we in the administration await your Parent’s last few tuition payments, we have this one last bit of fundamental information that you will need to be as effective as we all hope you will be.

We make our living with words, this cannot be denied, and this being the case we must be sure that we are all on the same page as per our usage of those words. It must be remembered that the pen is mightier than the sword and words are the blood that drips from the pen. So we offer you some definitions of the most important words, of which the lower classes are generally ignorant, that you'll need to know to properly carry out your journalistic crusade. After all, you will be responsible to inform the great unwashed of the important principles of the day once you go forth into the higher echelons of journalism and without the properly patterned vocabulary you will find your job much harder.

So, without further ado, here are some of those aforementioned words and their definitions.

America- A failed concept that should be cast aside by a caring and intelligent society, but never say this directly because the masses aren't as smart as you and still have some vague feeling that being American is a good thing.

Europe- Generally better than America, but still not perfect.

Western Society- Should be used ironically when humor is needed, but in serious stories it should always be followed by the usual descriptions of the oppressions and murders for which it is responsible.

Government- Generally used in place of the archaic word "Heaven" unless the current government is in conservative hands. Then the antitheses, "Hell", becomes the meaning.

Democracy- Also means oppression. It can also mean freedom, but only when used by the UN or the DNC. Democracy is only legitimate when used for socialist ends. It is misused when conservative measures are adopted because of it.

Capitalism- This is an excellent word to use when you are looking for another word to describe the poor being put down or old people and children being killed.

Democrat- Good. Should any Democrat not live up to this definition, however, the story isn't worth pursuing.

Republican- Evil. Should any Republican not live up to this definition, however, the story isn't worth pursuing.

Taxes- That from which all things should be paid.

Low Taxes- Oppression

Religion- An archaic ideology for which we no longer have a use. But it is also oppression.

God- A word that forms only part of a curse word and since we generally don't print curse words unless we are on websites, this word should rarely be used.

Christianity- A cult of destruction and death... and oppression.

Islam- A way of life that just needs to be understood.

Abortion- A right. If we believed in God we'd say he gave us this right.

Gun- A device that will instantly kill everyone it sees unless in the hands of our own bodyguards.

Racism- A hatred for those who are different. It is endemic only to white people.

White- This is a word of oppression. Many think it a mere description of a color, but it is no such thing.

Black- This means oppressed minority. In journalism we realize that this word also denotes a group who are unable to get by without our direction, but we never say this out loud. After all, we don't want these poor people upset or forced to work or think too hard.

Male- Synonym for violence and rapine.

Military- A large group of dullards who must be carefully leashed so as not to kill those with whom they come in contact. They are useful after natural disasters sometimes, however, so we should keep them around.

Facts- We are not sure where this word comes from and cannot understand why the "people" continue to use it? We believe it just to be slang for something.

Plagiarism- See above definition.

Well, proud graduating student, we hope you take this last lesson well to heart. Remember, you are the only thing standing between the yawning ignorance of the masses and a better future for all, so don't let us down. Go out there and do what we know is right.

P.S.- Your diploma will be sent to your Mom's house as soon as that last check clears. Still, you really don't need it anyway. Your rights as a journalist preclude your having to prove anything to anyone!

... and there you have it. We should all use this list to understand what journalists mean when they use these hard to define words.

-Warner Todd Huston

Tell me if this seems fair to you...

The average age of men in the USA today is 75 years old. OK, that is a statistical finding. Let's say you are 74 and 1/2 years old and someone tells you that you are slated for death because your average life span is over in a few months. And at 74 and 1/2 you are about to go over your time limit, after all. Statistically speaking of course.

Would you think that is fair?

Now let's say that, instead of being a 74 and 1/2 year-old man, you are a 5 and 1/2 month old fetus in the womb. And people tell you that the average age of "viability" is 6 months and it is time for an abortion for you because you just haven't reached that time yet ... statistically speaking.

Would you think THAT was fair?

I’m just wondering.

-By Warner Todd Huston

A "4-D" sonogram of a fetus in the womb

American flag appropriated by illegal immigrants
- By Michael M. Bates

"We are not criminals," was constantly intoned at rallies around the country Monday. That's nonsense.

People who break the law to enter the United States are by definition criminals. Even if, as at the Washington rally televised on C-SPAN, venerated legislators such as Senator Teddy Kennedy say they aren't.

Notable was the Massachusetts solon having a translator interpret his words. The crowd shouldn't have expected much fluency from Ted. After all, he was tossed out of Harvard for having another student take a Spanish examination for him...........................
Click HERE To Read On

Democrat announces for President, '08

Leaving no stone unturned, Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) has announced he is running for the 2008 democratic nomination for president... yes, already!

Apparently he thinks he is a McGovern redux with his stance against the war in Iraq and that this stance will make him "special" amongst the Democratic field. But, he is worse than McGovern in many ways, which is GOOD for the GOP. One of his past pet ideas, for instance, was a "citizen's wage", a guaranteed annual income of $5,000 a person mandated by the Federal Government regardless whether that person had a job or not.

He was a senator from Alaska from 1969 until his defeat in 1980 . Gravel nominated himself for the Vice Presidency at the Democratic national convention in 1972, which is amusing since such nominations are done by others, not the candidate. There is also some evidence that he spoke before a Holocaust-denier's organization in 2003.

Yes, this is an "A" number one nut job, folks, and we could but pray that his is the face the Democrats put forward in this time of war!

To vote Democratic is voting to lose the war, raise your taxes, and destroy the economy and this guy would lead that charge. I only lament that he will be laughed at as much as, if not more, than was Dennis Kucinich. Unfortunately, it is doubtful whether the Democrats will reveal their true stance against our security by running someone as anti-war as this nut-job.

But, I want to here announce that I am supporting Mike Gravel's run for the Democratic nomination for president for 2008!

GET STONED WITH GRAVEL, MAN!

Words "Mother" & "Father" Barred From Spanish Birth Certificates
- By Frederick Meekins

There was once a Greek philosopher named Cratylus that refused to speak but rather wiggled his finger in response to a question because he believed things were in such a state of change and flux that by the time he responded the answer would be linguistically meaningless.

In the postmodernist rush to abolish all traditional values, Spain's socialist government is removing the terms "Mother" and "Father" from birth certificates and replacing these titles with "Progenitor A" and "Progenitor B" in order to accommodate the legalization of gay marriage in that European nation.

How they plan to circumvent biology, they have not yet announced...............
Click HERE To Read On

Saving CBS News
- By Nathan Tabor

To hear the mainstream media tell it, Katie Couric will be the savior of CBS News. She's perky, blonde--and getting blonder by the day. She is widely portrayed as a tough interviewer who manages to exude the sweetness of an Iowa poultry queen. The CBS Evening News--which is consistently dead-last in the ratings, welcomes her as a breath of fresh air--the type of lady who can attract the under 35 crowd--even though she herself is pushing 50.

But it will take more than a Colgate smile and a cheerleader personality to rescue network news, which seems to specialize in bashing anyone considered patriotic, pro-military, or anywhere to the right of Ted Kennedy. It's no accident that, during that dark period of American history between the two Presidents Bush, many ordinary Americans referred to CBS as the Clinton Broadcasting System................
Click HERE To Read On

Just a note about how sick and tired I am of the media in the USA.

This business of the president "leaking" information is so illustrative of their stupidity that it sickens me. It is also a perfect example of their agenda driven "reporting".

For the record, a president CANNOT "leak" information. It is NOT possible. Anything a president releases is, by its very nature, no longer classified. The president is in charge of this information and it is his responsibility to decide when it may be released and when it should not.

Now, it may be inadvisable that a president release one bit of info or another, but it is NOT an illegal leak, regardless of its advisability.

Now, what can we make of the media and their constant refrain of a "leaking" president? Are they merely too stupid to know what they are doing, or are they employing negative phraseology in order to erode further the president's approval ratings? That is the question. But, I don't think the answer is an either or proposition. I believe it is both.

The media thinks that the president DID "leak" this information (because they are too stupid to understand what role and capabilities the president has) and they are, in turn, using this misunderstood concept to then undermine the president. They think that this is a perfect "Gotcha" moment. And they are further misinforming the American people with this nonsense.

It really is a truism that a liberal cannot be an informed person and still be a liberal.

-Warner Todd Huston

The Let Them Rest In Peace Act now winding its way through the Illinois state government is an important piece of legislation, not only because of what it is targeted at today, but also because of its larger consequences.

I have written before on the much misunderstood subject of the American tradition of freedom of speech and this issue is yet another fine example, offering a better understanding of that subject.

But, first, I will talk about what this particular bill is all about.

Many may have heard of a sick-minded organization that has been picketing the funerals of US soldiers. Their position is that US soldiers are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of the punishment visited upon us by God because of our society's acceptance of homosexuals. Tortured logic, or shall we say no logic at all, to say the least. This group is so vile that I will not here give them the benefit of advertising their names or the name of their organization. They do not deserve the free publicity.

This bill is meant to make protests of any sort illegal at funeral services.
(To see the bill go to SB1144)

Here is a bit of what it says on the Operation Home Front Website:

The interest of families in privately and peacefully mourning the loss of deceased relatives are violated when funerals are targeted for picketing and other public demonstrations.

Picketing of funerals causes emotional disturbance and distress to grieving families who participate in funerals

Full opportunity exists under the terms and provisions of this section for the exercise of freedom of speech and other constitutional rights at times other than within one-half hour prior to, during, and one-half hour following the end of funeral services.

This is an admirable bill, not only for stopping the hateful garbage foisted upon grieving parents at the funerals of the brave soldiers who gave their "last full measure", but because it recognizes common decency. A grieving Mother should not be forced to have her right to a private ceremony abrogated because some whack job wants to conflate the war in Iraq with the evils of accepting homosexuals in society at large. Or picketing for any other reason for that matter. Even, say, a labor dispute. For instance, should the grave digger's Union decide a certain cemetery is to be picketed, said Union would not have the right to disrupt a funeral service, nor should they.

The last bit is the key paragraph recognizing that freedom of speech does not -- let me repeat, does NOT--cover just any speech at any time. The Founders expected, and themselves practiced, reasonable curtailment of speech in public through community standards. Such standards varied from state to state, even county to county, giving each community the freedom and liberty to regulate themselves without Federal interference. The Founders meant only political speech to be in the most free category. An American citizen does NOT have the right to say just any thing he wishes to say, free of proscriptions by law or society, at any time just because he feels like saying it. It just never was a right and it never should be because such a right would destroy the ability of a society to regulate itself. It would amount to license, not liberty.

It cannot be said enough that one man's rights end where those of another begin. That is just as true when we are discussing the impact that speech has on those around us. Certainly we have a right to our opinions and our choice of political affiliation. But it is reasonable and quite legal to limit some speech in some instances or situations.

So, go to these web pages and offer your support for this initiative. And help the grieving parents of our soldiers, at least in Illinois. If this law is successfully passed, it might be one that other states might emulate.

For the response by the state, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn's press release can be seen here

By Warner Todd Huston

Camouflage Deemed Racist
- By Frederick Meekins

A Colorado school has banned camouflage as well as other assorted patriotic paraphernalia on the grounds that such raiment represents a divisive brand of patriotism (meaning any that does not support the sublimation of the United States into the New World Order) and thus presents a potential threat to public safety. In a similar decision in San Diego, a school there has banned the flag as well as red, white, and blue clothing.

It is about time people remembered just what country this is. If old glory offends you that much, you should have never come here in the first place. Maybe students can find happiness and prosperity back in the geographic trashpiles they fled from but from which they continue to derive their sense of pride and identity.

Just how far does promulgating regulations about clothing in the name of harmony at the expense of individuality extend? If skinheads don't like the Jewish kids wearing yarmulkes, are school administrators going to make students remove those?..............
Click HERE To Read On

Miss McKinney regrets. But won't apologize
- By Michael M. Bates

Last week Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney found a new way to multitask with her cellphone. It's alleged the Georgia Democrat poked a U.S. Capitol Police officer with her phone when he thoughtlessly challenged her for bypassing a House office metal detector.

Ms McKinney made the usual excuses. The incident happened because she's black. Because she's female. Because she's "progressive." If those oldies but goodies don't work, she may turn to a more original defense: PTHD, post traumatic hairstyle disorder..........................
Click HERE To Read On

White House To Measure Sewer Piss To Determine Levels Of Drug Use
- By Frederick Meekins

Those more concerned about feigned gentility than the loss of human liberty will probably be offended by my earthy language. But the term is used in the King James Bible so I am going to use it here.

Rather, such offense should be directed towards those in government no longer viewing American citizens as free people but rather as one massive prison population to be corralled, monitored, and experimented upon.

All in the name of monitoring drug use (the old for the sake of the children argument), the Bush Administration has launched a program to measure the levels of cocaine byproducts in the wastewater around the Potomac River Basin. According to the Washington Post as of March 27, 2006, thus far only Fairfax County has received the results of its collective drug test..............
Click HERE To Read On

Sabotage of Immigration Reform
- By Chuck Busch

If a legislative bill could be devised that would increase illegal immigration double fold, alienate the American people, appease a foreign power, reinforce the sense of entitlement of non-citizens, foment civil unrest, demoralize the Border Patrol, abandon national security and jeopardize the entire cultural and constitutional balance of the United State, then no better example can be found than the proposal passed by the Senate Judiciary committee this last week. Eight Democrats and four Republican dupes reacting to the weekend massive protests over stringent reforms voted to sell out the country in opposition to six steadfast mostly western Republican Senators trying to bring sanity and seriousness into the debate.

What Border Security?

The senate bill does authorize a "virtual wall" of unmanned vehicles, cameras and censors to monitor the border but otherwise does very little to physically stop foreigners from coming into the country. It does have a provision for doubling the Border Patrol by adding 2000 agents next year and 2400 annually for the succeeding years through 2011, but how is this going to fix the problem now? Last year under our current border security system, an estimated 500,000 persons (the same number as was seen on the streets of LA last weekend) slipped through into the U.S. Since the Senate panel intends to do nothing this year, are we just going to accept another half million to add to the swarms of illegal aliens already here and who are not about to leave? And how are 2000 more border agents going to make any difference considering the size and length of the territory to be guarded.............
Click HERE To Read On

Corruption (Gas Pains)
- By R.A. Hawkins

One of the lessons that the left could use right now is the story about crying wolf. It never seems to fail anymore and it hasn't for about thirty-five years now. If you don't get your way, say it's racism or sexism. If you get into trouble over something, say it's racism or sexism. If anything at all happens to you that you just plain don't like, say it's racism or sexism. This is true for McKinny, that radical leftist poster child from Atlanta who allegedly hit a Capital Hill Policeman, as well as for our mid-eastern terrorist apologists. The sad part is that all too often this kind of a charge is considered to be serious and worthy of attention. We even see this type of thinking in our illegal immigrants and their vocal apologists.

Part of the problem is the way we tend to deal with even the seemingly smallest of issues these days. The natural inclination is to look away so as to save our self any of the attendant difficulties we might experience if we get involved. There is a simple little word for it...cowardice. There I said it. Too often those who do get involved find they are suddenly embroiled in counter charges from the guilty. Who cares what the corrupt mind thinks of you? Why should you care in any manner other than to deal directly and honestly with them? Scumbags have a lot of difficulty dealing with you when you answer their charges with the truth.......................
Click HERE To Read On

September 11th at the Movies--Too Painful to Remember, or Too Eager to Forget?
- By Justin Darr

Ever have a conversation with someone who does not want to talk to you about the subject at hand? You know the ones: Why are you asking me for money again? When are you going to get around to returning all the tools you barrowed? And, what are your intentions with my daughter?

The worse part about these conversations is not just trying to bring the subject up, but having to sit through someone's restatement of the facts as you know them, but with a little twist that comes from their peculiar filter on reality: "So, when I said, 'I need my reciprocating saw by Tuesday,' you thought I meant, "Go ahead and keep it.'" Or worse, they just stymie you and avoid the entire subject by blaming you for bringing it up in the first place: "How could you ask me to hurry up when I’m busy watching television," or, “How could you be so insensitive to bring up my years of drinking and womanizing when I am so upset that my wife has left me?”

No matter what the subject or the person involved, people who react this way are just trying to avoid the facts showing they made a mistake, and are now unwilling to admit it.................
Click HERE To Read On

The NewHampshire Underground is spearheading a fight to stop The NH legislature from passing a law to ban smoking in restaurants and bars. (HB 1177)

Jon Maltz says, "I don't smoke, I never have, and I never will.  I don't like it, and I don't like being around people doing it.  But if someone wants to run a bar for smokers, it isn't my right or the state's right to tell them that they can't do it."

I couldn't agree more. What is WITH this Nanny State that people are trying to create?

(Here is a discussion on the topic that might prove of interest. Scroll down to see Jon's idea of boycotting a restaurant owner who claimed that he need the state to hold his hand to "help him ban" smoking in his own establishment. If this guy wants to ban smoking in his own place what does he need the government's dubious help for?)

I am getting to love these NH Undergrounders!! Go, boys, go!

-Warner Todd Huston

George Will has an interesting article about our Illinois Gubernatorial candidate, Judy Barr Topinka. (A 'Straight Talk" Test For 2006)

It's mostly just straight forward discussion of the GOP's tenuous possibility to get back in political power in Illinois, with a mention of same in California and New York state. But, the article is mostly about Illinois' situation with our brash "straight talking" candidate, Judy Barr.

Most of it isn't too revealing until you get to the last two paragraphs and then you hit paydirt...

Topinka says Karl Rove urged her to run, hoping to offset in Illinois a probable gubernatorial loss in New York. Would she like President Bush to campaign for her? An aide says not exactly: "We just want him to raise money." Topinka does not demur as the aide adds: "Late at night." Pause. "In an undisclosed location."

Maybe Illinois Republicans have found their John McCain. Now they will find out whether such "straight talk" works.

What in the heck is this woman doing? She has told all Bush voters that she doesn't want their support as WELL as telling the president -- a president whose own political director urged her to run -- that she doesn't want his help, just his cash! So, even if Rove was willing to help her, why would he do so now that she has basically told him she doesn't want the president's help?

Does Topinka think that no one reads the newspaper?

Then, Will calls her our "John McCain"? Sure, if by calling her a person that is only out for herself with NO interest in the Party either locally OR nationally, maybe he is right in that assessment.

Illinois's GOP has been destroyed by successive waves of Ryans who have stolen their way to riches as well as a Party that has permanently eschewed any claim to ideology or principle and steered straight for pure power politics empty of meaning. And it is obvious that Judy Barr Topinka is not one who will "fix" the Party, but will leave it in much the same shape she found it, empty of meaning and out of power.

-Warner Todd Huston

China Better on Taxes than Democrats?
- By Warner Todd Huston

From CNN:

China slaps a tax on chopsticks

Charges on goods unveiled in bid to preserve environment

Plans to impose a 5 percent consumption tax on both disposable wooden chopsticks and wooden floor panels would help curb the plundering of timber resources and efforts to protect the environment, the Ministry of Finance said.

Much as I am loath to give an "attaboy" to the Chinese, they have at least realized what a tax does and it is a lesson that the Democratic Party should learn.

When one goes to a restaurant in China one encounters (or used to encounter before this taxation plan, anyway) a container with disposable wooden chopsticks wrapped in paper wrapping at each table. There one may take them as needed and then throw them away afterward.

The Chinese government says that over one billion (yes with a "b") pairs of these disposable sticks are thrown away every year and that is a LOT of wasted wood. It is waste that the Ministry of Finance is looking to curb. So, they have decided to tax these disposable chopsticks in hopes that the waste can be made less..........................

Click HERE To Read On

Citizens Against Government Waste has released their 2006 investigation of the worst Porkbarrel spending in Congress and it ain't pretty.

From the Summary:

The historic lack of restraint in the appropriations process has helped create a projected $371 billion budget deficit in fiscal 2006 and a national debt of $8.5 trillion.  Whether the lobbying scandal and the outrage of taxpayers over “bridges to nowhere” will force Congress to cut the pork remains to be seen.

The 2006 Congressional Pig Book is the latest installment of Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) 16-year exposé of pork-barrel spending.  This year’s list includes:  $13,500,000 for the International Fund for Ireland, which helped finance the World Toilet Summit; $6,435,000 for wood utilization research; $1,000,000 for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative; and $500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, N.C.

This year, there was good news and bad news.  For fiscal 2006, appropriators stuffed 9,963 projects into the 11 appropriations bills, a 29 percent decrease over last year’s total of 13,997.  Despite the reduction in the number of earmarks, Congress porked out at record dollar levels with $29 billion in pork for 2006, or 6.2 percent more than last year’s total of $27.3 billion.  In fact, the total cost of pork has increased by 29 percent since fiscal 2003.  Total pork identified by CAGW since 1991 adds up to $241 billion.

Even though Alaska led the nation with $489 per capita ($325 million), it was less than half of Alaska’s 2005 per capita number of $985.  The runners up in 2006 were Hawaii with $378 per capita ($482 million) and the District of Columbia with $182 per capita ($100 million).  Alaska’s drop can be attributed to Sen. Ted Stevens’ (R-Alaska) descent from the throne as Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman.
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Go to the site and see the BILLIONS of waste.

It's sickening.

If the Founders weren't spinning so fast that we are in danger of altering the equatorial constant of this planet already, THIS story would have them oscillating so quickly as to make them transcend dimensional barriers!

-Warner Todd Huston

ARAFAT LIVES! Alive And Well in Mexico
- Resa LaRu Kirkland

Apparently, he had to move there after faking his death--I guess. But it makes sense, after all, if you know that Mexicans are the Palestinians of America! In Mexico he has apparently built a following of the same lame-brained, easily-led sheep he'd fostered for decades in the non-existent land of Palestine.

This time, however, Mexico is a real land. We know because we're forced to deal with their illegal fall-out every day. We know because we're forced to press the number 1 key on our phone if we want the message to be in English; otherwise it commences in Spanish. We know because Walmart has as many signs and products in Spanish as they do in English...a balance that is beginning to tilt toward Spanish more and more of late. We know because we beat them like they stole something in the Mexican-American war 160 years ago. And that beating is the source of their recent temper tantrums and childish posturings we've been forced to witness.

How reminiscent of the Middle Eastern Palestinians this has become! After all, they are against rules of decency, against logic and reason, are for committing crime after crime against a neighbor whose hard work has managed to make them wealthy in stark contrast to themselves. Rather than admit that they are backward and behind and raped of their prosperity by a wickedly corrupt government and a people too busy screaming and throwing rocks to better themselves in the land of their birth, they demand we do that work for them.............
Click HERE To Read On

RIVERSIDE -- Jurupa Valley High School senior Josh Denhalter asked the school board to remove MEChA student groups from all campuses in the district Monday

"I don't think our school board should promote or allow a program on our campuses that promotes or advocates violence against America," Denhalter said.

Monday's demonstration followed a protest Denhalter staged outside of his high school Friday, after he was suspended for promoting the event earlier in the week.

Denhalter said he originally wanted to hold a "pro-America" rally on his campus in response to recent walkouts at schools all over Southern California opposing stricter immigration legislation.

The 17-year-old said one of his major objections to the group is that its constitution calls for the reclaiming of portions of the southwestern United States purchased from Mexico during the treaty of Hidalgo Guadalupe in 1848.

"MEChA is an organization that pledges their allegiance to another nation besides the United States. They believe America is an occupied state; they have declared a war on America," Denhalter said.

He said taxpayer dollars should not be spent to support MEChA in public schools.

Graciela Larios, chairwoman for MEChA at UC Riverside, said many people misinterpret the group's founding documents the way Denhalter has.

She said it is quite common for people to criticize MEChA's charter documents, especially the phrase, "Por La Raza todo, Fuera de La Raza nada," which in English means, "For the race, everything, outside the race, nothing."

Like Larios, he does not expect the board to ban the group from campuses but said he will attend every board meeting until MEChA is banned or until groups on district campuses disavow themselves from MEChA as a whole.

"If they are really just out there to help educate a group of people and provide a place for people to go, it's not a bad thing," Denhalter said. "But when they go out into `the physical liberation of our land,' that is not something that should be on campus."

(Story Source)
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I wrote an article about these groups several years ago, and it looks like they have done nothing if not gotten worse.

But I have to give kudos to this high school student for his recognition of the anti-American character of this group. Josh is a fine American and we need more kids like him willing to stand up against these groups that wish to destroy the very country that gives them the freedom to spout their hate.

I wish Josh Denhalter a rich and rewarding future!
-Warner Todd Huston