A good friend of mine recently made an observation in defense of modern liberalism (a.k.a. the Progressivism I detest). His comments went something like this:
I find it really disturbing to hear religious people throw out the “Liberal” term as if it’s a curse word. Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Jesus’ say ‘give your possessions to the poor and follow me?’”
Here are my thoughts in response:
I have no issue with Liberalism as a way of life – loving your neighbor and having the attitude of servant is what Jesus taught and what people like Mother Theresa lived out in recent times. The major issue I have is when that concept is integrated into GOVERNMENT, particularly concentrated power in a national government, which is what progressivism, modern liberalism, a.k.a. “nice” fascism advocates. That is, the use of government to regulate everyday life and create heaven on earth. In the ludicrous words of the Obamas’, using government to “fix our souls“. Jesus NEVER advocated governmental involvement. He said give to Caesar what is Caesar’s but give to God what is God’s (Matt. 22:15-22). Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it the rulers of that time who tried to connect religion and government together (the Pharisees) who received Jesus’ stiffest rebukes? [Read more →]
Perhaps the most insidious piece of historical propaganda advanced by those on the political left is the notion that Fascism is a conservative philosophy. Entire generations of social studies middle-schoolers and political science co-eds have been falsely taught that Socialism and Fascism are at opposite ends of the political spectrum, Socialism being the ultimate left and Fascism being the ultimate right.
This fallacy has served Liberals well. Given the Nazi’s high jacking of the Fascist philosophy in the 1930’s, the word has become shorthand for the Holocaust and all things evil. Liberals thus delight in painting their enemies as Fascist. George W. Bush? Fascist! Rush Limbaugh? Fascist! Charlton Heston? Fascist! (come on, Moses? a Fascist? Seriously?) [Read more →]
“These jobs are going boys, and they ain’t coming back to your hometown”- Bruce Springsteen, “My Hometown” (playing today on Dougie’s iPod)
This week Dougie is puzzled about “globalization”. As near as he can tell, the term means we ship American jobs to China and get poisonous toys in return. That his customer service call to Sprint is answered by a heavily accented Indian who’s never used a Palm Treo in her life. Barack Obama keeps decrying the “loss of American jobs to globalization” and Dougie is starting to feel guilty because iPod says, “Assembled in China”. [Read more →]
I have to admit I derive substantial amusement from the Democrats. Being mostly Libertarian or a so-called “Classical Liberal”, I don’t swear absolute fealty to the GOP. But I have chuckle at their opposition. 2008 presents Democrats with the perfect field of battle: an unpopular President and heavily negative public sentiment toward Republicans. The majority of congressional seats up reelection are currently held by Republicans and in districts trending Democrat. Many Republicans in those districts are, perhaps understandably, retiring rather than running.
Given this dream scenario, what are the Dems doing? They’re dining on their own young. The two biggest questions which McCain could not have raised, gender and race, have been nice inflamed by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton themselves in recent months. Not only are the candidates giving the Republicans all the material that could need, but they’re also driving each other ever more left in order to capture their base. War or no war, the USA has never been a ‘left and more left’ constituency. [Read more →]
Does anyone really care what celebrities think? Musicians, actors, directors; what credible thoughts do they bring to the table? Does living in the pseudo adolescence of MTV Cribs or going through Hollywood rehab lend some credible perspective I don’t know about? Do their thick bank accounts and skin-deep lifestyles give them insight into the challenges of everyday Americans? [Read more →]
Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple (Downtown/Atlantic)
Producer: Danger Mouse Rating 3.5 of 5
Top tracks: A Little Better, Open Book, Whatever, Who’s Gonna Save My Soul,
Cool, but not Crazy
Follow-up albums are tough. Fleetwood Mac followed up their 1977-benchmark album Rumours by spending over $1M (in 1979 dollars) to produce Tusk, which their label considered a failure when it sold a mere 4 Million copies. Today, with retail sales on the ebb, great albums are measured as much by their ubiquity as units sold. Gnarls Barkley’s multi-platinum debut St. Elsewhere succeeded on both counts, with the infectious single “Crazy” setting the impossible to match bar at ‘instant classic’. Let’s face it; successfully following up an omnipresent single is a rarified ability known to few writers. [Read more →]
President George W. Bush has been a real downer for conservative/libertarian types, bungling wars and national disasters, to say nothing of his wholesale sellout of fiscal responsibility. Contrary to being Ronald Reagan’s limited-government heir, Bush has frequently pursued polices as expansionist as Democrats. Republican policy goals may be different but their drive to control private life from Washington is the same (The Patriot and No Child Left Behind Acts come to mind). And yet all is not lost. With its Medellin v. Texas ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court reminds us of at least one positive legacy of the Bush Presidency.
Federal bench appointments are frequently the olive branch Republicans offer to conservatives; this week the branch blossomed. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for a 6-3 majority, firmly affirmed the sovereignty of these United States and refuted the expansionist tendency of the federal executive. In a twist of irony, Bush was sternly reprimanded by his own appointments, Roberts and Samuel Alito, while drawing support from 3 dissenting opinions written by justices who sided with Al Gore in 2000. [Read more →]
“Some of you are going to lose your friends for watching this film. Some of you may even lose your jobs.” – Ben Stein (Expelled trailer)
On April 18, 2008, Ben Stein declares war on Charles Darwin. Or, more accurately, that is when he launches the theatre offensive. War was declared the moment he decided to make the movie “Expelled”, a film that promises to attack a smug scientific community hell-bent on eliminating any and all opposition to the theories of Darwinism:
“You can’t win Darth. If you strike me down I will become more powerful then can possibly imagine” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars IV: A New Hope
Forget about Michigan and Florida primary do-overs; it doesn’t matter. Ignore the spin from the respective campaigns; it’s meaningless. Set aside all the pointless chatter about “momentum”; the normal rules of momentum went out the window when Hillary Clinton smugly forced the issue after losing 11 straight primaries. [Read more →]
Last week I bemoaned MSNBC’s decision to cancel Tucker Carlson’s political affairs show (Losing Tucker: TV, Political Discourse, & Lou Dobb’s Mock Journalism, March 12, 2008). “Tucker” was the only show I could consistently stomach; an aberration from the pandering, mock-journalism of many shows currently on-air (Lou Dobbs and Keith Olbermann top my hit-list).
For many reasons, some founded but most not, Carlson has always drawn more detractors than fans. As a supporter I frequently get shouted down. However, Lanny Davis, one of Carlson’s guests on his final show last week, summed up perfectly why “Tucker” was a show of preeminent quality. A Democratic operative and Hillary Clinton campaign supporter, Davis had this to say last Friday:
I may question Davis’ political loyalties but I wholly support his thinking here. [Read more →]
Ever since the infamous Clinton “Red Phone” commercial, observers have been asking just what experience Ms. Clinton has that makes her so much more qualified than Barack Obama. After drawing an initial blank, her campaign has advanced a host of tenuous examples, including claims that she help bring peace to Northern Ireland. In honor of Saint Patrick’s weekend, then, here is a quote from Irish political leader David Trimble (made March 8, 2008 to The Daily Telegraph):
I don’t know that there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill going around…I don’t want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principle player.
Of course, as Charles Krauthammer and others have identified, the “Red Phone” commercial is not really about experience so much as familiarity. In other words, do you really know and trust this guy Barack Obama? Democrats may bemoan their extended primary season but as questions endure about Obama’s close relationship with his vitriolic, bigoted pastor of 20+ years, perhaps it’s a good question.
Comedian Lewis Black has a great bit about how Democrats and Republicans consistently present opposing “facts” on the same issues. Black’s demand that “there have to be some FACT facts” illustrates the subjectivity that exists in every speech, interview, and article (including this one). Nowhere is this more evident than the innumerable rants and raves about the War on Terror. How does one peel back the partisan rhetoric and figure out what’s really going on?
Michael Scheuer’s latest book, Marching Toward Hell: America And Islam After Iraq, is a good place to start. [Read more →]
Pride goes before a fall; a haughty spirit before destruction - King Solomon
The Elliot Spitzer story is shocking but perhaps not as shocking as it appears to those of you not living in New York. Spitzer came into the governorship wearing a larger than life man-of-justice mask but what lay behind that facade was an arrogant man who thought he could do whatever he pleased.
Many, if not most, of Spitzer’s big cases as a prosecutor were predicated on him acting like a thug, pushing companies around, and threatening to indict every employee if boardrooms wouldn’t capitulate. Spitzer’s comment to Assemblymen Tedisco, the ranking Republican in the State Assembly, upon taking office was “I am a f***ing steamroller and I’ll roll over you or anybody else.” Classy guy. [Read more →]
Televised news could easily top my list for “the biggest problem in American politics”. The feeling is particularly raw this week as my favorite political affairs show, MSNBC’s “Tucker”, will air it’s last episode tomorrow. This is upsetting not just because it was the one such show I could consistently stomach, but also because of what it indicates about the direction of televised news. MSNBC and other networks have been experimenting with a couple of different approaches to partisan coverage and the demise of Tucker Carlson’s gig signals a victory for a lesser option.
Since the first televised Presidential debate in 1960, which contrasted a vibrant John Kennedy with a sweaty Richard Nixon, the boob tube has heavily impacted political discourse. Over fifty years the flow of mass political thought in America has shifted from the deliberative written word to sound byte campaign spots and 527 ad-buys. [Read more →]
Despite striking wins by Hillary Clinton last week, Barack Obama continues to be the Democrats’ presumptive nominee. Rightly so. He appears destined for the pledged delegate lead and, no matter how the Clintonistas may spin it, first place is first place. But is Obama really the Democrats’ messiah or just another George McGovern destined for defeat?
For those born after the 50’s a brief refresher on George McGovern is beneficial. Like Obama, the Senator from South Dakota was a devout member of the “progressive” wing of the Democratic Party. In addition to a liberal domestic agenda, McGovern was an outspoken critic of American military involvements of his day. In contrast to Senator Obama (great speeches but little action) even McGovern attempted to legislatively force American withdrawal from Vietnam by sponsoring the McGovern-Hatfield Amendment in 1970. [Read more →]
