Democrats: fulfilling their stereotype of Republicans
Democrats and liberals regularly accuse Republicans and conservatives of ignoring the little guy, of not caring for the poor, the sick, the worker, the downtrodden, etc. They claim that conservatives and the GOP only care about their rich country club buddies, and have no interest in helping the less fortunate in our country.
Of course, these accusations and claims are erroneous, but that's beside the point right now.
What's interesting to me is that the antiwar liberals and Democrats are doing exactly what they claim conservatives and Republicans do... instead of the poor and downtrodden being Americans, though, they are Iraqis, and the antiwar folks apparently have no problem with abandoning them to whatever fate has in store for them.
Of course, it wouldn't be the first time this has happened... many of the same people who want to abandon innocent Iraqis to violence and bloodshed were pretty quick to do the same in Southeast Asia, i.e. South Vietnam, when they pulled the plug on financial aid to that country after our troops were out.
I guess it really is better to be poor in America.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Prophets vs. Science
Al Gore vs. climatologists et al. (Probably not what you were thinking when you read the title.)
Al Gore vs. climatologists et al. (Probably not what you were thinking when you read the title.)
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Blog of the day
NRO's Planet Gore.
Yes, the earth (or more technically, the biosphere) is warming, and yes, human activity probably has something to do with the increase. But to what extent? I don't know, and despite what some would have us believe, it doesn't appear that climatologists know either.
That, together with the fact that bearers of news of apocalyptic doom tend to be wrong (Paul Erlich et al.) makes me skeptical of the fear-mongering about global warming.
With that in mind, I recommend Planet Gore, a blog at NRO that offers a different perspective from that you'll see, oh, at the Oscars.
NRO's Planet Gore.
Yes, the earth (or more technically, the biosphere) is warming, and yes, human activity probably has something to do with the increase. But to what extent? I don't know, and despite what some would have us believe, it doesn't appear that climatologists know either.
That, together with the fact that bearers of news of apocalyptic doom tend to be wrong (Paul Erlich et al.) makes me skeptical of the fear-mongering about global warming.
With that in mind, I recommend Planet Gore, a blog at NRO that offers a different perspective from that you'll see, oh, at the Oscars.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Things are looking up for Williams Arena!
I attended the University of Minnesota for just under three years before transferring to Franciscan University of Steubenville, and I had student season tickets each one of those three years. While the basketball teams those years ('92-'93 to '94-'95) weren't quite the '96-'97 that (now unofficially) won the Big Ten title and made it to the Final Four, they were still fun to watch: Ariel McDonald, Randy Carter, Townsend Orr, Voshon Lenard, et al. From those years to the peak years of that '96-'97 team, Williams Arena was a hot ticket in Minneapolis.
Then, scandal. Faced with the pressures of winning in a major conference, Clem Haskins recruited some guys with solid talent but less-than-solid character and academics. And it caught up with him. Just two years after taking his team to the Final Four, Haskins was forced out and the team was placed under severe penalties by the NCAA.
Dan Monson replaced Haskins, and cleaned things up off the court, but on the court, they turned ugly, and quickly. While some of the blame must fall on the sanctions, Monson simply wasn't able to recruit and coach the kind of talent needed to win in the Big 10. And so he was fired just seven games into this season, and ten years after making the Final Four, the Golden Gophers finished 9-22, setting a school record for most losses in a season. Tickets that once couldn't be found now couldn't be unloaded quickly enough.
Today, none of that matters.
At a noon press conference, Tubby Smith will be introduced as the new men's basketball coach for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, and the last ten years of misery will soon be forgotten.
I attended the University of Minnesota for just under three years before transferring to Franciscan University of Steubenville, and I had student season tickets each one of those three years. While the basketball teams those years ('92-'93 to '94-'95) weren't quite the '96-'97 that (now unofficially) won the Big Ten title and made it to the Final Four, they were still fun to watch: Ariel McDonald, Randy Carter, Townsend Orr, Voshon Lenard, et al. From those years to the peak years of that '96-'97 team, Williams Arena was a hot ticket in Minneapolis.
Then, scandal. Faced with the pressures of winning in a major conference, Clem Haskins recruited some guys with solid talent but less-than-solid character and academics. And it caught up with him. Just two years after taking his team to the Final Four, Haskins was forced out and the team was placed under severe penalties by the NCAA.
Dan Monson replaced Haskins, and cleaned things up off the court, but on the court, they turned ugly, and quickly. While some of the blame must fall on the sanctions, Monson simply wasn't able to recruit and coach the kind of talent needed to win in the Big 10. And so he was fired just seven games into this season, and ten years after making the Final Four, the Golden Gophers finished 9-22, setting a school record for most losses in a season. Tickets that once couldn't be found now couldn't be unloaded quickly enough.
Today, none of that matters.
At a noon press conference, Tubby Smith will be introduced as the new men's basketball coach for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, and the last ten years of misery will soon be forgotten.
Labels:
college basketball,
sports,
University of Minnesota
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Another quote for today
"So often the Church’s counter-cultural witness is misunderstood as something backward and negative in today’s society. That is why it is important to emphasize the Good News, the life-giving and life-enhancing message of the Gospel (cf. Jn 10:10). Even though it is necessary to speak out strongly against the evils that threaten us, we must correct the idea that Catholicism is merely “a collection of prohibitions”."
-- Pope Benedict XVI, in an address to the bishops of Ireland on their "ad limina" visit to Rome, on October 28th of last year.
"So often the Church’s counter-cultural witness is misunderstood as something backward and negative in today’s society. That is why it is important to emphasize the Good News, the life-giving and life-enhancing message of the Gospel (cf. Jn 10:10). Even though it is necessary to speak out strongly against the evils that threaten us, we must correct the idea that Catholicism is merely “a collection of prohibitions”."
-- Pope Benedict XVI, in an address to the bishops of Ireland on their "ad limina" visit to Rome, on October 28th of last year.
A quote for today
"Those who devote themselves to the purpose of proving that there is no purpose, constitute an interesting subject for study."
-- Alfred North Whitehead referring to Darwinists, in The Function of Reason (Princeton University Press, 1929), p. 12. Cited in turn by Fr. Stanley Jaki, "The Science of Education and Education in Science" (PDF) in The Challenges for Science: Eduation for the Twenty-first Century (The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 2002), p. 67. Cited also by Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, "Reasonable Science, Reasonable Faith", First Things (April 2007), p. 24.
"Those who devote themselves to the purpose of proving that there is no purpose, constitute an interesting subject for study."
-- Alfred North Whitehead referring to Darwinists, in The Function of Reason (Princeton University Press, 1929), p. 12. Cited in turn by Fr. Stanley Jaki, "The Science of Education and Education in Science" (PDF) in The Challenges for Science: Eduation for the Twenty-first Century (The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 2002), p. 67. Cited also by Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, "Reasonable Science, Reasonable Faith", First Things (April 2007), p. 24.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Quote of the Day
"We Christians must not fear spiritual confrontation with a society whose ostentatious intellectual superiority conceals its perplexity before the final existential questions."
From Pope Benedict's address to the first group of German bishops on their "ad limina" visit to Rome last November.
"We Christians must not fear spiritual confrontation with a society whose ostentatious intellectual superiority conceals its perplexity before the final existential questions."
From Pope Benedict's address to the first group of German bishops on their "ad limina" visit to Rome last November.
Labels:
Catholicism,
Christianity,
Pope Benedict XVI,
secularism
Friday, March 16, 2007
The Dangers of (Blind?) Loyalism
Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, has an interesting article at Real Clear Politics on an underlying error in the President's style of management: a trust in "good men" and "good women" which insufficiently takes their credentials into account.
I continue to believe that George W. Bush is both a good man and a good president, but he is certainly not without fault nor above rebuke, where legitimately necessary.
Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, has an interesting article at Real Clear Politics on an underlying error in the President's style of management: a trust in "good men" and "good women" which insufficiently takes their credentials into account.
I continue to believe that George W. Bush is both a good man and a good president, but he is certainly not without fault nor above rebuke, where legitimately necessary.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Sean Hannity
On Tuesday, I was talking with some friends about conservative talk radio, noting that Laura Ingraham was my runaway favorite, with Rush coming in second, and the rest finishing far, far back, in this order: Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Mike Gallagher, and Michael Savage. One of those I was talking with indicated her preference for Hannity, and I opined that I basically can't stand him, at least as a talk show host. I find him superficial and quick to exaggerate and demonize his opponents' views. I also noted that his Catholicism seems to be of the cafeteria variety, based on some of his comments on the air.
It was rather ironic that my take was validated by Sean himself just a couple days later, when he had a back and forth with HLI president Fr. Thomas Euteneuer on his Fox News TV show about his (Sean's) views on contraception (which he apparently supports).
He employed his standard form of argument: raise a couple sound points in the midst of a deluge of non sequiturs and quasi-ad hominems. Father said that Sean's grasp of the faith seemed superficial, and while Sean disagreed, I thought that he actually confirmed Father's take.
Find more at Amy Welborn's post here, and do read the comments.
On Tuesday, I was talking with some friends about conservative talk radio, noting that Laura Ingraham was my runaway favorite, with Rush coming in second, and the rest finishing far, far back, in this order: Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Mike Gallagher, and Michael Savage. One of those I was talking with indicated her preference for Hannity, and I opined that I basically can't stand him, at least as a talk show host. I find him superficial and quick to exaggerate and demonize his opponents' views. I also noted that his Catholicism seems to be of the cafeteria variety, based on some of his comments on the air.
It was rather ironic that my take was validated by Sean himself just a couple days later, when he had a back and forth with HLI president Fr. Thomas Euteneuer on his Fox News TV show about his (Sean's) views on contraception (which he apparently supports).
He employed his standard form of argument: raise a couple sound points in the midst of a deluge of non sequiturs and quasi-ad hominems. Father said that Sean's grasp of the faith seemed superficial, and while Sean disagreed, I thought that he actually confirmed Father's take.
Find more at Amy Welborn's post here, and do read the comments.
A conservative's candidate (with a chance) for '08?
Some conservatives have been pushing and hoping for a Fred Thompson candidacy for 2008. While I think Senator Sam Brownback is the best on the issues of the current and possible candidates, I think Thompson would be a great nominee.
More on him and his appearance on Fox News Sunday -- including his take on the bigger issues -- here.
Some conservatives have been pushing and hoping for a Fred Thompson candidacy for 2008. While I think Senator Sam Brownback is the best on the issues of the current and possible candidates, I think Thompson would be a great nominee.
More on him and his appearance on Fox News Sunday -- including his take on the bigger issues -- here.
Labels:
2008 Election,
conservatism,
politics,
Republicans
Politics as usual
From an AP article today:
From an AP article today:
- The Senate's No. 3 Democrat said Sunday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign because he is putting politics above the law. Sen. Charles Schumer cited the FBI's illegal snooping into people's private lives and the Justice Department's firing of federal prosecutors.
Schumer, D-N.Y., said Gonzales repeatedly has shown more allegiance to President Bush than to citizens' legal rights since taking his job in early 2005.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Article of the Day: Islam and the West
This OpinionJournal article discusses Ayaan Hirsi Ali and her critique of Islam.
This OpinionJournal article discusses Ayaan Hirsi Ali and her critique of Islam.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Post of the Day
Interesting post at On the Square on one of the latest anti-religious polemicists. The source of what is bad in religion [sic] is, apparently, certitude. The fact that (at least many) religious people are certain about their beliefs is somehow a dangerous thing.
The anti-certitude position has become a popular one of late in arguments against both religious and political conservatism (I really hate using political terminology for matters of faith, but it'll have to do for now). From Andrew Sullivan to the fellow discussed in this post, the fact that people are certain about things is somehow a bad thing. Of course, what's ignored or downplayed is the fact that these critics have their own certitudes, but those are in some way different from the certitudes of those they (attempt to) criticize.
Much more could be said about this, but I'll leave it at that for now.
Interesting post at On the Square on one of the latest anti-religious polemicists. The source of what is bad in religion [sic] is, apparently, certitude. The fact that (at least many) religious people are certain about their beliefs is somehow a dangerous thing.
The anti-certitude position has become a popular one of late in arguments against both religious and political conservatism (I really hate using political terminology for matters of faith, but it'll have to do for now). From Andrew Sullivan to the fellow discussed in this post, the fact that people are certain about things is somehow a bad thing. Of course, what's ignored or downplayed is the fact that these critics have their own certitudes, but those are in some way different from the certitudes of those they (attempt to) criticize.
Much more could be said about this, but I'll leave it at that for now.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Post of the Day
Here's a post at RedState detailing a talk Hillary Clinton recently gave at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights lobby. She explains how "mean-spirited" the Federal Marriage Amendment is, how she supports civil unions for gays, and a few other heart-warming things.
Here's a post at RedState detailing a talk Hillary Clinton recently gave at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights lobby. She explains how "mean-spirited" the Federal Marriage Amendment is, how she supports civil unions for gays, and a few other heart-warming things.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Article for today
As the new archives template indicates, there is an inverse relationship between blogging activity here and the welcoming of the Burgy Babies into the world ('04, and twins in '06). Finding the time and energy to blog has been a challenge, to say the least.
Nonetheless, due to the demands and expectations of some of the readers here, I'm going to try to highlight articles or posts that I've found interesting on a more regular -- perhaps even daily -- basis. We'll see how it goes.
For today, I recommend this article at Right Reason; it's an interesting attempt to explain the difficulty in establishing democracy in the Middle East, by pointing to the strong tribal culture prevalent in Arab society.
As the new archives template indicates, there is an inverse relationship between blogging activity here and the welcoming of the Burgy Babies into the world ('04, and twins in '06). Finding the time and energy to blog has been a challenge, to say the least.
Nonetheless, due to the demands and expectations of some of the readers here, I'm going to try to highlight articles or posts that I've found interesting on a more regular -- perhaps even daily -- basis. We'll see how it goes.
For today, I recommend this article at Right Reason; it's an interesting attempt to explain the difficulty in establishing democracy in the Middle East, by pointing to the strong tribal culture prevalent in Arab society.
Labels:
Arab culture,
article of the day,
democracy,
politics
Saturday, March 03, 2007
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