Howard Dean (and an aside on Ward Churchill)

Howard Dean is an angry, little man. A very little man, indeed.

I'm thrilled that the leftists in the Democratic Party elected him as their chairman. He'll do wonders for the Republican Party's success in coming elections. Have the Dems gone mad?

Zell Miller may well prove to be a prophet, with his book A National Party No More.

The unprincipled rhetoric spewing forth from Dean lately- wait a minute...lately?!... this is all the man has!
In a fundraising trip to Lawrence Kansas on Friday, the DNC chairman resurrected the false threat so commonly feared by the paranoid Left, saying "I'm not going to have these right-wingers throw away our right to be tolerant". What the hell is he ranting about? This frequently-voiced fear of "rights" being lost or threatened (can you say Patriot Act?) when an opposing view is offered is downright delusional.

{**Another recent example is the hysteria of Ward Churchill defenders who cried "Free Speech!" when rational people were offended with his likening the victims of September 11 to Nazi war criminal and Holocaust architect Adolph Eichmann, and called for his ouster as a publicly paid professor at the University of Colorado. Losing one's job is not surrendering a right to free speech.
He could stand on a street corner and talk his fool head off, with no threat of government intrusion. He could write a letter-to-the-editor, operate a website, author a book, go on radio, take out newspaper ads, create a webcast, purchase billboard space, seek speaking engagements, parade up and down the sidewalk in a sandwich sign or hoisting a picket sign, drape himself in tee-shirts emblazened with his message, submit an article to Mother Jones magazine or some-such commie rag, paint a van or panel truck with his ideas and drive all over this free country, print his own newspaper or pamphlets, rent out a hall and advertise his appearance- hell, he could even try to sell tickets and make a buck or two, post signs in his yard, rent an airplane to fly banners all over the place, make a movie with Michael Moore, tatoo his message all over his non-Indian body and tour the beaches of America, even run for public office and dedicate his entire campaign to his America-hating propoganda---all without fear of censorship or government intervention or reprisal!**} back to Dean...

It got worse.
Using language that many Democrats found just oh-too-polarizing and judgemental when referrring to the bloodthirsty enemies of liberty who fly planes into buildings and saw people's heads off, Dean sized up the political contest between Republicans and his Democrats this way: "This is a struggle of good and evil. And we're the good." Somehow, Dean managed to locate a patch of feverswamp on the plains of Kansas. I guess that's not so hard to do when you bring it with you.
This is the same man who was unready to pass judgement on Osama Bin Laden until he's proven- in a proper court of law, no less- to be guilty of any actions against this country or our interests. He was uncomfortable with President Bush using the word "evil" to refer to our enemies, the sworn enemies of liberty who themselves make no bones about the fact that they despise democracy, and would stop at nothing to destroy us and our way of life. We can't call them evil, oh noooo. But Republcans? No problem.

imagery from Peggy

I love the creative imagery from yesterday's column by Peggy Noonan, writing about the flap at Harvard over Larry Summers' remarks. She conjures up a good picture of the academists:

But what the Summers story most illustrates is that American universities now seem like Medieval cloisters. They're like a cloister without the messy God part. Old monks of leftism walk their hallowed halls in hooded robes, chanting to themselves. Young nuns of leftist deconstructionism, pale as orchids, walk along wringing their hands, listening to their gloomy music. They become hysterical at the antichrist of a new idea, the instrusion of the reconsideration of settled matter. Get thee behind me, Summers.
These monks and nuns are the worst of both worlds, frightened and so ferocious, antique and so aggressive.

What a gifted writer; what a joy to read!

Moonbat Democrat rant

Here's a precious little example of the modern Democratic Party leadership, courtesy of LittleGreenFootballs:

Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY): Well, you know, they are manipulating the media, they did it in the very beginning through intimidation. They would intimidate the people in the, uh, in the press conference. And ... they would ask — they would allow questions to be asked only of people that they knew were going to ask the right kind of questions, from their point of view. And, you know, that has its effect, had, had its effect on people. People have been — people in the media have been intimidated. The media has changed in the last four years. People have changed in the last four years. They’ve had a very very direct, aggressive attack on the, on the media, and the way it’s handled. Probably the most flagrant example of that is the way they set up Dan Rather. Now, I mean, I have my own beliefs about how that happened: it originated with Karl Rove, in my belief, in the White House. They set that up with those false papers. Why did they do it? They knew that Bush was a draft dodger. They knew that he had run away from his responsibilties in the Air National Guard in Texas, gone out of the state intentionally for a long period of time. They knew that he had no defense for that period in his life. And so what they did was, expecting that that was going to come up, they accentuated it: they produced papers that made it look even worse. And they — and they distributed those out to elements of the media. And it was only — what, like was it CBS? Or whatever, whatever which one Rather works for. They — the people there — they finally bought into it, and they, and they aired it. And when they did, they had ’em. They didn’t care who did it! All they had to do is to get some element of the media to advance that issue. Based upon the false papers that they produced.

Audience Member: Do you have any evidence for that?

Congressman Hinchey: Yes I do. Once they did that —

Audience: [Murmuring]

Congressman Hinchey: ...once they did that, then it undermined everything else about Bush’s draft dodging. Once they were able to say, ‘This is false! These papers are not accurate, they’re, they’re, they’re false, they’ve been falsified.’ That had the effect of taking the whole issue away.

Audience Member: So you have evidence that the papers came from the Bush administration?

Congressman Hinchey: No. I — that’s my belief.

Audience Member: OK.

Congressman Hinchey: And I said that. In the very beginning. I said, ‘It’s my belief that those papers, and that setup, originated with Karl Rove and the White House.’

Audience Member: Don’t you think it’s irresponsible to make charges like that?

Congressman Hinchey: No I don’t. I think it’s very important to make charges like that. I think it’s very important to combat this kind of activity in every way that you can. And I’m willing — and most people are not — to step forward in situations like this and take risks.

Audience: [Clapping and cheering.]

Congressman Hinchey: I consider that to be part of my job, and I’m gonna continue to do it.

I'll add my own thoughts to this on a later post.....

Terri Schiavo

Why don't people in the media check the facts of a story more thoroughly before they print or broadcast?
Terri Schindler-Schiavo is NOT on life support!!!
She get's food and water thru a tube at meal times only. She's not hooked-up to any machines- she doesn't have tubes and wires and equipment hooked up to her.

Since when are food and water considered "medical treatment?!? Her husband wants to refuse her "medical treatment" and let nature take it's course. Well, helllooo: we would all die if we were refused food and water long enough.

You need to investigate this site: http://www.terrisfight.org/ and be informed. Don't buy the unchecked info from the MSM about this case! Maybe there's something, in addition to pray, that you we can do....

"GATES" satire

There's a pretty funny send-up of Christo's "Gates" display that winds it's way thru New York's Central Park.
First, though, in case you've been hiding in a cave somewhere for the last week (ya didn't bump into Osama, did ya?), or couldn't drag yourself out of bed due to the emotional anguish and mental torment from pondering what life could possibly be like...whether, in fact, life would even be worth continuing with no NHL this year, here's what has all the artworld simply buzzing about: (free login subscription required, takes a moment)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/13/nyregion/13gates.html?fta=y



Now then, heeeeere's Hargo's effort (drumroll...): http://www.not-rocket-science.com/gates.htm (direct link!)

And, here's the background on Hargo: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/19/arts/design/19gate.html?8hpib
(free login subscription required)
Pass the croissants!

a little motto of my own...

America is the greatest experiment in human governance since Jesus and His disciples.

Peggy Noonan defense of bloggers

Let me just start with this: I love Peggy Noonan. OK, there, I said it. Now that that's out of the way...
Okay, okay, maybe I'm not quite done yet. Over the last several years that I've been reading Ms. Noonan's essays, I've become convinced that noone else in the opinion business combines intelligence, wit, grace, and clarity of thought as effectively as her. Maybe Charles Krauthammer, but he's not as cute. Her writings right after September 11, 2001 were a salve on an open wound, a hand on the shoulder. If you haven't read that stuff, avail yourself at this site: http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/ and check her archives for hours and hours of brilliant food for the mind and the soul. But I digress...

This link: http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/ will take you to her column, and today's entry is a great defense and promotion of bloggers.

Why did we believe what Walter Cronkite told us? Reputation. Why did we give Dan Rather our trust? Reputation. Why was the NYTimes considered the newspaper of record? It had earned that moniker thru years of what was taken as reporting the truth. It earned it's reputation. Jason Blair almost single-handedly destroyed that. Not just through his own fabrications and deceit, but because the paper practiced affirmative action more stridently than it did fact-checking.

We will all be able to learn, as time rolls on, which voices we believe, and in whom we'll place our trust and to whom we'll turn (or click) when we want the straight scoop.

Whether it be ABC, NBC, CBS, the NYTimes, CNN, FoxNews, Drudge, Instapundit, or Powerlineblog.

I believe that names like Matt Drudge, Glen Reynolds, and the trifecta-of-truth: Scott Johnson and John Hinderacker plus Paul Mirengoff will become very well known in the very near future.

more on this later.....

Favorite sites

http://www.dennisprager.com/
http://www.lileks.com/
http://www.hughhewitt.com/
http://www.powerlineblog.com/
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/
http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/weblog.php


http://www.opinionjournal.com/ ...especially Peggy Noonan

http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/ ...is clever and funny

A blow for Euthanasiacs

The story of Sarah Scantlin ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6953675/?GT1=6190 ) should give some hope to the parents of Terri Schiavo ( http://www.terrisfight.org/ ), whose husband has been trying to legally kill her for 12 years now so that he may get on with his life- oops, he already has! How convenient.
Now, if only he could figure out a way to get his hands on the $1,000,000 or so left in her malpractice settlement... He's apparently blown most of the $600,000 that he got, on legal fees trying to get her money, along with supporting his mistress and their two kids.
The below editorial is a little long to include in a blog, I know, but it's compelling, especially from a 19yr old:

By David N. Bass© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Throughout his decade-long crusade to condemn Terri Schiavo to a gruesome starvation death, Michael Schiavo has habitually hinged his case on three words: "persistent vegetative state." He has pawned the lie that since his brain-disabled wife requires a feeding tube for sustenance, she is no more human than a vegetable; that since she needs more care and attention than the average human being, her life is no longer worth living.
That lie has done its job. Every time we turn on the television and hear the name Terri Schiavo, we are condescendingly reminded of her "persistent vegetative state." Bob and Mary Schindler are blasted in newspaper opinion columns across the country for believing their daughter is still a human being capable of recovery and worthy of protection under the U.S. Constitution. All efforts to save her are in vain, the pundits tell us. She is beyond rehabilitation, beyond treatment and beyond hope.
All fine and good … provided you ignore reality.
The two lawyers serving as head legal counsel for the Schindlers recently had a chance to witness firsthand just how outlandish Michael Schiavo's claims really are. For the first time since agreeing to represent the Schindlers in September, attorneys David Gibbs and Barbara Weller were allowed to pay a Christmas Eve visit to Terri at her hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla.
Did they find a shriveled woman staring up blankly from her bed, struggling to breathe, life-support tubes attached to every portion of her body? Did they see a woman tortured by pain, a woman who had given up all hope for living, a woman who simply wanted to "die with dignity"?
Far from it.
According to an account given by Barbara Weller, the real Terri Schiavo is entirely different from the image propagated by her estranged husband, the mainstream media and the "right-to-die" crowd. Weller recollects that Terri "was very purposeful and interactive" and appeared "very curious about the presence of obvious strangers" when she and Gibbs, accompanied by members from the Schindler family, first entered her room at the hospice.
"When her mother was close to her, Terri's whole face lit up," Weller continued. "She smiled. She looked directly at her mother and she made all sorts of happy sounds. When her mother talked to her, Terri was quiet and obviously listening. When she stopped, Terri started vocalizing. The vocalizations seemed to be a pattern, not merely random or reflexive at all."
Does that strike you as a "persistent vegetative state"? Of course not. Florida law defines the condition as an "absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind" and "an inability to communicate or interact purposefully with the environment." How can a reasonable mind conclude that Terri's condition falls anywhere near either of these criteria?
Weller continued: "Terri was not in bed, but was in her chair. … She was dressed and washed, her hair combed, and she was covered with a holiday blanket. There were no tubes of any kind attached to her body. She was completely free of any restraints that would have indicated any type of artificial life support. Not even her feeding tube was attached and functioning when we entered."
Instead of noticing her so-called vegetative condition, Weller was instead struck by her beauty: "I would have expected to see someone with a sallow and gray complexion and a sick-looking countenance. Instead, I saw a very pretty woman with a peaches-and-cream complexion and a lovely smile. … I was amazed that someone who had not been outside for so many years and who received such minimal health care could look so beautiful. She appeared to have an inner light radiating from her face."
That's where euthanasia advocates loose their feel for true humanity. Human beings are not solely designed to think, but to feel as well. We are not designed with minds alone, but with the capacity to care, to hope and to love others. Terri may not have the same mental capacity you and I possess, but she is still able to experience happiness, express love, and let joy shine on her face. The ability to love and be loved by others is the essence of true humanity.
"As I watched her," Weller concluded, "my foremost thought was that on the next day, Christmas, Terri should not have been confined to her small room in a hospice center … but that she should have been gathered around the Christmas dinner table enjoying the holiday with her family."
I couldn't have said it better myself. A woman who receives no life support or respiration, interacts with her family, endeavors to communicate, feels emotion and is capable of spending Christmas with her loving family is not a vegetable. It's time we dropped the charade and acknowledged Terri Schiavo for what she is – a human being.

David N. Bass is a 19-year-old Christian homeschool graduate who writes for World Newspaper Publishing and is a regular columnist at AmericanDaily.com, IntellectualConservative.com and RenewAmerica.us. While attending college, he interns at a pro-family public-policy organization. Bass is currently working on his first novel.

All hail the Blogosphere!

Eason Jordan
Well, let that be a lesson to the other elitist liars out there.
In case you're not familiar with the story: http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/11/easonjordan.cnn/index.html Keep in mind, this is his team.
Or, here's a site created for this story alone, with lots of links to the many facets
of this drama throughout it's run: http://easongate.com/


What in the world is it that guides and motivates the MainStreamMedia in it's shameful neglect of this story, until it's epitaph?
Their collective refusal to inform us that a major figure in American/world journalism slandered our soldiers and then prevented the video proof of his venom from being aired is a more important story than the particulars of the one they ignored.

Thank God for the Blogosphere. When the collective power of these truth-seekers sinks it's teeth into a story, the truth shall be revealed.
Here's a bitingly clever poem from Vandereun about this (the references are familiar to Blogospherians) :
http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/005117.php

First Dan Rather. Now Eason Jordan. Batter-up!

Introduction

Welcome to a brand new blog (as if the world needs another one, eh?), by an early inhabitant of the Blogoshere.

I've only just begun, as the Carpenters sang, so please be patient with the development of this site.
By way of introduction, let me say say that I'm a political junkie (would you not agree that CSPAN is one of the greatest gifts to the electorate?) intrigued by the process, but truly compelled by the ideals and principles that animate and govern our political discourse. I'm passionately interested in learning what others think about a whole host of important topics, and fascinated with the world views that guide and inform those opinions.
I love a spirited and vigorous, but principled, debate, and I lament the absence of specificity I see within almost all dialogues between the left and the right.
At the same time, I'm often bothered by the neglect by those involved to periodically revisit The Goal. As I follow debates about some program, policy, or even personal and business plans, I frequently ask myself: What is The Goal, here? What are we trying to accomplish?
Are we losing sight of The Goal, buried in the process, somehow?
Now, a pertinent example would be a very welcome thing indeed. You're probably muttering to yourself, "what the hell is this fellow babbling on about, anyway?" (I just found myself asking me that very question.)
And... I'll hafta get back to you on that. At the moment, I'm too anxious to get this initial posting posted, so that I can see what the heck this thing is going to look like!

As a general rule, I'm quite utilitarian, desiring substance over symbolism..more concerned with the content of one's character than the color of one's skin...I'd prefer a grubby, scuffed up quarter to a shiny new nickel.. a well worn paperback copy of In His Steps is more precious to me than a newly printed and bound copy of My Life autographed by Bill himself...you get the idea. My way of saying: don't expect too much from me in the way of site design. But I would like to make this another clearinghouse for some great opinion writers I've run accross out there, as well as a place to pour my own thoughts, and especially to see some dialogue on current issues and always-relevant topics in life and culture.