Crush Liberalism

Liberalism: Why think when you can “feel”?

Quote of the day

BEVERAGE ALERT! Put down your drink pronto. You have been warned! From Newsbusters:

Most of Dan Rather’s pontifications on today’s “Morning Joe” rolled off my back, as I flipped between his performance and that of Tiger Woods over the closing holes at Carnoustie.

But something made me sit up and take notice. At 8:34 A.M. EDT, Rather suddenly blurted out: “I’m big on personal responsibility.” And yes, he managed to do so without laughing.

Oh. My. God (insert deity du jour here).

This is the same guy who put demonstrably fake documents on the air in his bid to bring down Bush a few weeks before the presidential election of 2004, then stood by as Mary Mapes and three other high-level executive henchmen took the fall, then just last year continued to stand by the since debunked “fake but accurate” story? Dan freakin’ Rather was trying to convince us that he’s all about “personal responsibility”?

I am marking on my calendar that Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 1:50 p.m. EST, I have officially seen everything.

July 19, 2007 Posted by | Dan Rather, media bias, quote of the day | Leave a Comment

Big Dem donor is a "staunch Republican" in eyes of reporter

In the spirit of Bubba, I opine that “it depends on the meaning of the words ‘staunch’ and ‘Republican’”! From Michelle Malkin:

Great catch here by Warner Todd Huston at Newsbusters on a Chicago Sun-Times reporter’s magical transformation of a big Democrat contributor into a “staunch Republican.” Presto change-o:
Why is it that every time the MSM writes a story about a supposedly “staunch Republican” who is vocally supporting the opposing Party, we have to wonder of its veracity? Maybe it’s because there always seems to be a few little problems with the claim of “staunchness” on the part of the MSM’s favored Party hopper du jour? And in this case, the Chicago Sun-Times story titled “GOP lawyer sold on Dems” by Jennifer Hunter, we have no better assurances than we ever do that the claimed “staunch Republican” is either very “staunch” or very “Republican.”

Sun-Times writer Hunter dug up a supposedly “staunch Republican” named Jim Ronca, a trial lawyer from Pennsylvania. Mr. Ronca, claims Hunter, is “certain of one thing: He is not going to vote Republican in the 2008 presidential election.”

But there is more than that. He also says he’ll financially support Democrats, and he makes this announcement as if this is somehow an earth shattering rebuke to the GOP, or so the Sun-Times wishes us to believe.

Here is the kicker from Hunter’s story:

“I’m not only going to vote Democratic, I’m going to financially support the Democrats,” Ronca said after a luncheon forum of the American Association for Justice, featuring Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Joe Biden. “The Republicans in Washington are an embarrassment.”

Judging from his public donation record, though, this “staunch Republican” also apparently believes that Republicans everywhere else are an “embarrassment,” too. Check out the majority of his political contributions:

$1,000 Harris Wofford (Democrat, PA) 6/22/1994
$250 Charles Oberly (Democrat, PA) 10/3/1994
$500 Edward Kennedy (Democrat, MA) 11/16/1995
$250 Stewart Greenleaf (Republican, PA) 12/29/1999
$250 Patrick Casey (Democrat, PA) 6/3/2000
$500 Ron Klink (Democrat, PA) 6/13/2000
$500 Ron Klink (Democrat, PA) 9/15/2000
$500 Arlen Specter (Republican, PA) 11/5/2001
$500 Allyson Schwartz (Democrat, PA) 3/30/2004
$2,000 John Kerry (Democrat, MA) 5/27/2004
$500 Allyson Schwartz (Democrat, PA) 8/23/2005
$1,000 Bob Casey (Democrat, PA) 9/13/2006
$500 Bob Casey (Democrat, PA) 9/30/2005
$500 Bruce Braley 9/5/2006

Conservatives on the Internet asked Hunter to explain. Her reaction? A column complaining about: 1) how mean the Internet watchdogs are; 2) how readers should blame her editor, not her; and 3) how one registered Republican just decided he’s supporting Hillary, so no one should complain about her embarrassingly inaccurate description of Ronca as a “staunch Republican.”

The thanks you get…

Is it possible that Republicans are fed up with Bush and the party’s current “leaders” to the point that they’re leaving the party? Of course it is! But to define a Democrat trial lawyer who has been giving the majority of his money to Democrats before Bush got elected as a “staunch Republican” is disingenuous and a bastardization of the English language that ol’ Bubba can appreciate.

This is a dishonest tactic often seen with the left: they pretend to be Republicans or disenfranchised former Republicans so as to give themselves a level of credibility to which they are not due. No self-respecting Republican would vote for any of the Marxists masquerading as moderate Democrats, even if he hated Bush and other Republicans so badly that he’s counting down the days until January 20, 2009.

July 19, 2007 Posted by | media bias | Leave a Comment

"Libertarians and the war"

Excellent column by Randy Barnett in Opinion Journal. Please read the whole thing, an excerpt of which is here:

While the number of Americans who self-identify as “libertarian” remains small, a substantial proportion agree with the core stances of limited constitutional government in both the economic and social spheres–what is sometimes called “economic conservatism” and “social liberalism.” But if they watched the Republican presidential debate on May 15, many Americans might resist the libertarian label, because they now identify it with strident opposition to the war in Iraq, and perhaps even to the war against Islamic jihadists.

During that debate, the riveting exchange between Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul about whether American foreign policy provoked the 9/11 attack raised the visibility of both candidates. When Mr. Paul, a libertarian, said that the 9/11 attack happened “because we’ve been over there. We’ve been bombing Iraq for 10 years,” Mr. Giuliani’s retort–that this was the first time he had heard that “we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq. . . . and I’ve heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11″–sparked a spontaneous ovation from the audience. It was an electrifying moment that allowed one to imagine Mr. Giuliani as a forceful, articulate president.

The exchange also drew attention to Mr. Paul, who until then had been a rather marginal member of the 10-man Republican field. One striking feature of Mr. Paul’s debate performance was his insistence on connecting his answer to almost every question put to him–even friendly questions about taxes, spending and personal liberty–to the war.

This raised the question: Does being a libertarian commit one to a particular stance toward the Iraq war? The simple answer is “no.”

First and foremost, libertarians believe in robust rights of private property, freedom of contract, and restitution to victims of crime. They hold that these rights define true “liberty” and provide the boundaries within which individuals may pursue happiness by making their own free choices while living in close proximity to each other. Within these boundaries, individuals can actualize their potential while minimizing their interference with the pursuit of happiness by others.
…
But here is the rub. While all libertarians accept the principle of self-defense, and most accept the role of the U.S. government in defending U.S. territory, libertarian first principles of individual rights and the rule of law tell us little about what constitutes appropriate and effective self-defense after an attack. Devising a military defense strategy is a matter of judgment or prudence about which reasonable libertarians may differ greatly.
…

Please, read it. It’s great stuff!

July 19, 2007 Posted by | Iraq, libertarian | Leave a Comment

Silky Pony botches analogy about poverty

The Breck Girl, he of the $1200 ‘do and energy hog multi-million dollar mansion, tries again to relate to the “common man” in the “other America” in which he doesn’t live. From BTN:

Silky Tells Matthews That Being Poor Is Not Being able To Eat At Restaurants
07.17.2007 – 04:03 PM | Greg Hengler

Chris Matthews really strokes the Silky Pony’s mane here. First, Silky is invited by Matthews to debate on Hardball against other Dems but his Silkiness says that he will agree to only if ALL candidates will be invited. This coming after the secret conversation caught on live mic between the Silkster and Hillary. How fair of him. Next, Silks answers Matthews’ question: “Tell the people what it’s like to be poor?” Silky tells the cliff notes version of his often-told story of leaving a restaurant as a young lad after his father saw how he could not afford to eat there. That’s poor! Not eating out. Wow, if Silky keeps on his “Poverty Tour” everyone will be able to eat at Spago’s.

This guy is a virtual cornucopia of material for the blogosphere, isn’t he?

July 19, 2007 Posted by | John Edwards | Leave a Comment

Terrorism involved? Nah, couldn’t be!

From Ace:

Large Cache of Weapons Discovered In Dallas Apartment Near Federal Building; Fundamentalist Christian Sought For Questioning
—Ace
Well, I assume he’s a fundamentalist Christian. They keep telling me those are the sorts of violent zealots who stock up on Armageddon levels of firepower.

Given that the tenant keeps traveling back and forth to the Middle East, I can only assume he’s part of some sort of Biblical/Left Behind Christotourism travel package.

Anyway:

Federal sources tell CBS 11 News that law enforcement officers have confiscated a large cache of weapons found in an apartment near the federal building in downtown Dallas.
…
Police are still taking inventory of all the weapons seized. Among those discovered were two AK-47 rifles, an Uzi 9 millimeter submachine gun, a TEC-9 submachine gun, a 40 millimeter ordnance launcher, a handheld ordnance launcher, and about 500 rounds of ammunition.

Police seized the weapons even though they say it’s possible for all of them to be legal.

Child pornography was also found in the apartment, which could lead to criminal charges.
..
Authorities tell us the tenant travels to the Middle East frequently and just returned from there this morning.
…
However, authorities say there is no reason to suspect terrorism as a motive.

Nah, no reason at all.

Just because a pedophile likes to stock up on machine guns and ordnance launchers doesn’t mean he’s all about terrorism, now does it, you judgmental b#stards? For those of you on the left, the prior sentence was sarcasm.

July 19, 2007 Posted by | religion of peace | Leave a Comment

$1 mill for mystery project

Anyone tired yet of the “culture of corruption” hypocrisy? Me too. From Politico:

What’s a paltry one million dollars to a member of Congress?

Well, apparently not enough to know if an organization about to receive that big block of cash actually exists.

Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona, the fiscal crusader who’s never met an earmark he likes, questioned Democratic Rep. Peter J. Visclosky of Indiana on the House floor Tuesday about whether the Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure actually exists – since, hey, it’s getting like a million bucks or something.

Visclosky, who chairs the spending subcommittee responsible for the project, had to admit that, well, he didn’t have a clue.

After a lengthy back-and-forth, Flake, complaining that his staff couldn’t find a website for the center, asked Visclosky, “Does the center currently exist?”

“At this time, I do not know,” the Indiana Democrat replied. “But if it does not exist, the monies could not go to it.”

As if that wasn’t bad enough…

And who could possibly be the sponsor of such an earmark? Yes, you guessed it, the man Republicans love to hate, Pennsylvania Democrat John P. Murtha.

Despite the money’s uncertain destination, the House rejected Flake’s measure to strike the funds, 326-98. And the Visclosky bill also sailed through, 312-112.

As I said, what’s one million dollars to a member of Congress?

UPDATE: I failed to report last night that a certificate filed with the requested funds says the money is actually earmarked to Concurrent Technologies Corporation, a nonprofit technological consulting firm. A brief search of campaign finance records shows CTC President and CEO Daniel R. DeVos, of alternately Central City and Johnstown, Pa. has contributed $7,000 to Murtha’s reelection campaign since April 2002.

Abscam Jack, still crazy after all these years. Quite a deal for Abscam Jack and DeVos, wouldn’t you say? DeVos gives Jack $7k for his re-election campaign, and gets a nice cool million (not a dime of which is out of Abscam Jack’s pocket) as a return on his investment. I guess it’s a good thing we’ve got those principled, uncorrupted Dems running the show now, huh?

July 19, 2007 Posted by | corruption, Murtha, pork | Leave a Comment

   

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