The Family Golden Rule

-By Thomas E. Brewton

The survival of human dignity and individual rights depends upon vitalizing Christian churches to fill the role that the socialist political state endeavors in vain to play. That role centers upon the family.

For several weeks, Steve Treash, Senior Minister at the Black Rock-Long Ridge Congregational Church (North Stamford, Connecticut) has preached on the Bible’s messages for family cohesion and happiness.

Our church is an outreach oriented one, aiming to continue the ministry of the earliest Christian churches, which in the turmoil of the early Roman Empire, were the principal refuge and solace for the poor, widows and orphans, the ill, and the persecuted. In addition to Sunday services focused on the elements that engender a fulfilling family life, Black Rock-Long Ridge Congregational Church offers to all comers a full range of support services, from marriage counseling to family financial planning and assistance.
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Patriotism?

-By Marie Jon’

The strategy of “slow-bleeding” the heroic men and women serving in Iraq was one of the most disgraceful moments in the history of Congress and should never be forgotten…….

Before President Bush was sworn into office, Democrat politicians were beginning to exhibit some questionably odd behavior, almost across the board. They took to mirroring Socialism, or in some cases Communism in word and deed. It is not unusual that people are asking whether they are patriotic. Politically-speaking, those Americans who are not completely asleep feel that we are living in dire and serious times. At holiday gatherings, families are afraid to discuss political matters for fear of starting arguments.

There seems to be little to no patience amongst we who are living in a deliberately divided country. If Americans are wise — or miraculously “see the light,” they will not listen to those who promise anything to win the White House. Their only goals are to gain power, while creating their own view of America, a worldview, like that of Europe.
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ABC Tries to Tar Fred Thompson With Their Dan Quayle Brush

-By Warner Todd Huston

If you are old enough to remember how badly the press corps treated vice president Dan Quayle — you might recall specifically that they made fun of how he once spelled potato(e) — you will understand why ABC’s Political Radar blog is trying to associate Fred Thompson with Dan Quayle in theirs headlined, “Fred Thompson’s Quayle-Hunting?” They mean the association to be a detraction, something with which they can smear Fred Thompson as he makes his run for the White House.

But, their obvious ulterior motives aside, this attempt to associate Quayle and Fred doesn’t even make much sense. In fact, the whole story is not only a ho hum incident in light of American history, but the fact that they are associating Quayle and Thompson has no teeth to it.
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PC Education: Lost in Space

-By Thomas E. Brewton

A liberal Yale professor takes a critical look at his cohort’s handiwork.

Politically-correct, multicultural education, like a lost spacecraft drifting forever in space with no destination and no way to return home, has lost contact with real life. It has become a caricature of science, a bastardized version that Friedrich Hayek called scientism.

Jacob Laksin’s review on the City Journal website of Yale professor Anthony Kronman’s Education’s End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life describes the growing irrelevance of liberal education in the hands of liberals.
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Is Lutheran Polemicist Falling For The Early Marriage Racket?

-By Frederick Meekins

Despite their inherent stuffiness, one does not usually have to worry about conservative Lutherans such as those in the Missouri Synod falling for too many of the fads constantly popping up in the contemporary Protestant world.

Though conducted in the form of an open discussion, one gets the impression that the idea gaining momentum in the Evangelical community probably thanks to Albert Mohler constantly beating this drum (one wonders if for no other reason to spread the misery) that the truly devout wed at an early age may be seeping into the propaganda organs of this denomination, however, such as Issues Etc, a prominent LMS radio program..

Rather than counseling single Christians to wed earlier or later, shouldn’t both parents and clergy counsel those in their spiritual circle of influence to marry wiser?
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ABC Tries To Credit Democrats for Rush’s $2 Million Ebay Letter!

-By Warner Todd Huston

**With Update**

If this doesn’t take the cake, I don’t know what does? On an ABC News Blog called the Political Radar, ABC reports on Rush Limbaugh’s $2 million condemnation letter and throughout the piece continually links “Democrats” to the charity donation that Limbaugh and the ebay bidder for the letter are giving the money to. After reading this ABC blog report, one gets the sneaking suspicion that ABC thinks that Harry Reid and the Democrats are the ones that should be hailed as the good guys responsible for raising this monumental sum for charity. It is clear that ABC did their level best to play down Limbaugh’s part in the story and play up the supposed positive contribution of Democrats.

The report by Z. Byron Wolf starts off trying to massage the outrage of the original faux controversy into a mere episode of political fingerpointing instead of the outright calumny it actually is. “Who says the political fingerpointing in Washington is all for naught?,” the post begins lightheartedly.

And even though there is a lot of “explanation” in this report, the Political Radar report does not take any time at all to fully explain what the letter even is nor the controversy that surrounds it, a move that further softens the outrage surrounding the letter, making it all seem just an amusement.
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Chicago Sneaks Free Newspaper Killing Law into Effect

-By Warner Todd Huston

Even though all the Founding Fathers pretended that they hated the media (which then meant newspapers and tract publishing) each of them had their very own newspaper supporters and nearly all paid for tracts that supported their viewpoints and policies to be published. These tracts and newspapers were usually subscription supported, but sometimes they were freely distributed. Flash forward to today in Chicago. Today, thanks to a law ushered in the back door right under everyone’s noses, it is illegal to distribute free newspapers. Were the Founders alive today, Richard Daley, King of Chicago, would prevent them from distributing their political papers to the public. No speech in King Daley’s city… not without HIS say-so, anyway.

Of course, like all busy body, cradle to the grave governments, the ordinance in question was ostensibly to do something “good” for us all. You see, Title 10, Chapter 8 of the Municipal Code was supposed to “help” us get rid of litter in this fair windy city.

But, tacked onto the law is a little section that bans the distribution of free publications. This ordinance made it unlawful to distribute free “newspapers, periodicals and directories of any kind on any public way or other public place or on the premise of private property in the city in such a manner that it is reasonably foreseeable that such distribution will cause litter.”

Who needs free speech when we can get rid of “litter,” eh?
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Gitmo at Home: DV Courts in America

-By David Heleniak

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence is a very real and significant problem in America. This month would be a good time to address the attempt of state governments to combat domestic violence through the issuance of temporary and permanent restraining orders.

In the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center and our nation’s response to terrorism domestically and abroad, there has been a flurry of negative reaction in the press to the subjecting of suspected terrorists to trial by military tribunal without the constitutional protections afforded other criminals. As John F. Kearney, III, put it in the March 24, 2003 issue of the New Jersey Lawyer, “All of us want as much done by government as possible to protect us from more Sept. 11 attacks or worse. None of us wants to be nuked, poisoned or fall victim to a suicide bomber. But none of us should want, either, to give away our hard-won liberties.” While the legitimacy of using military tribunals to try accused terrorists is getting well-deserved attention, the media has been largely silent on a related topic, the legitimacy of trying defendants accused of a crime, domestic violence, in brief restraining order hearings in the family court, where defendants are denied virtually all of the due process protections afforded defendants in the criminal court. These systems have been in effect much longer than the anti-terrorism measures, and affect many more people, yet one hears very little about them.
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Floridian Raises Billboard Against Chavez — ‘Don’t Buy Gas From This Ass’

-By Warner Todd Huston

It’s about time that an American stands up to an enemy of the United States and fights against people freely giving their hard earned cash to the criminal Hugo Chavez Junta. This man is not only an enemy to the USA but is an enemy to liberty and freedom and any American who buys gas from a Citgo is a traitor to both.

3 Letter Word on Billboard Draws Attention

Cameron Adams made a U-turn to get a picture. “Don’t Buy Gas From This Ass! That’s what it says right there in yellow and blue and red.” Once you spot the sign at Interstate 65 and County Road 287, it’s hard to look away. Mickey Donaldson says he’s never seen anything like it. “We just don’t see ASS on the side of the road everywhere we go in America.” Right now, you can find it on the side of the road in Bay Minette.

Tommy Rabon says it’s just not right! “Little kids come down here then they be saying mama, what is this right here? You know, that just don’t make sense.” Pam Brooks at the nearby BP gas station believes it’s bad for business. “Well if you’re going fast, you’d think it meant the next gas station which is BP, not a Citgo!”

Citgo is a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. The picture on the billboard is the country’s president, Hugo Chavez.

John McCombs owns the entire billboard and says he had some free space so he put up that message. He believes that if people truly understand world events, they will be a little less opposed to that 3 letter word. “He called my president the devil so I don’t like him. He’s in with Iran’s president and he hates America. That’s the main thing.”

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Photos From CLC – 2007

-By Warner Todd Huston

Photo time, everyone. I finally had the time to get my pics from CLC 2007 together and posted. (I know, I know, almost a week’s gone by!)

I want to start off with a pic of myself, Andrea Shea-King, radio show host in Florida and blogger on radiopatriot.blogspot.com and Ed Morrissey of the famed Captain’s Quarters blog. (photo courtesy of Andrea Shea-King)

It was absolutely fantastic to spend time with Ken Merrero of Blue Collar Muse (and his much younger trophy wife), Andrea and Ed. And we also got to hear from Adam Graham from Adam’s Web on his expertise on podcasting.

Speaking of Ed Morrissey, here he is with the banner for his new blog talk radio effort.

(If you are more interested in Ed’s podcasts go to blogtalkradio.com)

Here is a pic of myself and Alan Keyes from Saturday evening, Oct. 13th.

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Closed-door Energy Taxes Will Harm US Competitiveness

IER Press Release

Pelosi rushes backdoor bill, neglects pro-growth solutions in favor of failed policies

WASHINGTON- Today, The Institute for Energy Research (IER) cautioned that Congress’ proposed $15 billion tax hike on the U.S. oil industry will raise consumer prices and put domestic companies at a competitive disadvantage. At the same time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is avoiding public scrutiny by refusing to review the bill in a bipartisan conference committee, rather than allowing open debate of the details of this misguided energy policy. This closed-door approach to reconciling the energy bill only underscores its shortcomings: less energy and higher prices.

Yesterday, a panel of experts from energy policy and economics organizations discussed the harmful effects of this proposed legislation. Robert Murphy, economist for the Institute for Energy Research (IER); Ben Lieberman, senior policy analyst with the Heritage Foundation; and Margo Thorning, senior vice president and chief economist with the American Council for Capital Formation explained possible unintended consequences for consumers and businesses of higher taxes on the oil and gas industry. For example, the Windfall Profits Tax of the 1980s resulted in lower domestic oil production, higher oil imports, and a depressed U.S. oil industry with reduced profits that limited the development of technologies for obtaining oil in deeper off shore and on shore wells.

“This proposed tax hike would generate only $15 billion, whereas opening exploration in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve [ANWR] would generate $75 billion in revenue,” Lieberman explained. This type of pro-growth strategy, he added, would preserve American goals of increased supply and energy security, whereas taxes undermine them. Lieberman characterized the current proposal as “raising taxes on energies that work in order to subsidize energy sources that don’t work,” referring to the economic inefficiency of biofuel and wind energy.
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Union Rep Helps Illegals Escape Federal Detection

-By Warner Todd Huston

A Federal judge has refused to dismiss charges against an Iowa UF&CW union rep who was arrested and accused of helping illegal workers keep from being detected by Federal immigration officials.

The DesMoines Register reports that Braulio Pereyra-Gabino will stand trial for, “advising workers in the United States illegally of how to avoid detection and arrest,” and that “prosecutors say he did so in orientation speeches he gave to new Spanish-speaking employees.”

An immigration agent recorded a version of the speech Aug. 22, 2006, according to court documents.

Pereyra-Gabino is charged with a single count of shielding from detection and attempting to shield from detection undocumented immigrants at the Marshalltown meatpacking plant from June 2003 until he was arrested.

This story goes to show that Unions are not only out to defraud American business, but that they are aiding and abetting illegal immigrants in order to gain more members. And it is not a leap to realize that these additional members will be paying millions to aid the Democrat Party with their dues and that unions are materially supporting the Democrat Party with illicit money stolen from illegal immigrants.

Welcome to the post American world of the left.
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Wisc. Paper: U.S. Army ads in High School ‘Extremely Inappropriate’

-By Warner Todd Huston

In another swipe at the US Military, the Daily Isthmus, a paper from Madison, Wisconsin, published a short piece called, “Army Aims at Schoolkids,” in which the paper quotes an anti-military activist as saying that the ad banners for the U.S. Army posted in Madison’s High Schools is “extremely inappropriate.”

Of course, we should expect one of these anti-military nuts to call out against the U.S. Army for advertising in our schools, but what we shouldn’t have to expect is the subtle bias from this weekly paper that helps those who hate our troops attack the Army. The hallmarks of an editorial board that is against the military is evident throughout this report. From the title of the piece, “Army Aims at Schoolkids,” to the tag line under the picture of the Army ads, “Extremely Inappropriate,” the paper seems bent on loading the story with negative connotations against the Military.
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A Showdown at Tombstone High

– By Lee Culpepper

As high noon draws near, townsfolk in Medford, Oregon, scatter. Citizens peer outside through the safety of their computer monitors and T.V. screens. According to some, a renegade teacher has strolled in to town and this pistol-packing pedagogue (i.e. teacher) is poised for a gunfight.

Determined not to cough-up a 9mm Glock during grammar lessons, English teacher Shirley Katz argues she has more than enough legal ammo to support her right to carry. Loaded with the Second Amendment, the Oregon law, and a concealed weapons permit, Katz insists her argument and her aim are accurate.

Whether Katz is the poster woman for gun rights is not at issue. On the other hand, she has definitely posted a clear and public warning: “Ex-husband and Lunatics, Beware.”

The “sheriff in town,” Superintendent Phil Long, advocates gun-free campuses as the means for ensuring safety; unfortunately, gun-free zones never work when armed murderers swoop in and victimize defenseless people.
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Reuters: Dems Love the Kids, GOP Hates Them

-By Warner Todd Huston

The SCHIP Federal healthcare program debate is based on quite serious and substantive issues. The GOP doesn’t want this Federal welfare program to be expanded to include families that can easily afford their own health insurance (families earning $83,000 a year for instance) and Democrats want to expand this program to include far more families than the legislation ever covered previously. But, if one were to read Reuters coverage of this Congressional fight, one would come away imagining that the only issue is that the Dems want to “back kids’ health care” and Republicans don’t.

What does their headline say to you? “Democrats dare Republicans to back kids’ health.” It certainly sets the debate on the Democrat’s terms, doesn’t it? Those mean ‘ol Republicans hate the kids, it screams! The GOP wants kids to get sick and have no doctor’s care it seems to say.

And as you read Reuters’ coverage, you come away not really knowing what the Republicans have against the bill, but you sure get it that they want to keep poor kids from getting health care coverage. And you sure get that those loving Dems are all about helping poor kids.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Backers of a bill expanding a popular children’s health care program on Tuesday turned up the heat on House Republicans to break ranks with President George W. Bush and overturn his veto.

How is this the “popular children’s health care program,” anyway? Popular with whom? And, calling it “popular” further places the GOP on the rhetorically wrong side of the issue for readers of Reuters.

Naturally, Reuters falls all over itself to utilize another whiney rock star to flog those eeeevil Republicans, too.
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Vote to Kill ‘Fairness Doctrine’ Forever Could Come up Today

-By Warner Todd Huston

In an effort to kill it forever, Representative Mike Pence (R-Ind.) is attempting to force a vote on the floor of the House today over the future of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine.” Pence already secured passage of the “Free Flow of Information Act” to protect the press and is now launching an effort to nix the ability of the executive branch from re-instituting the woefully unfair “Fairness Doctrine,” a relic from the 1980s that deserves to remain dead and buried.

Using a somewhat arcane House rule called a “discharge Petition,” Pence and Representative Greg Walden (R- Ore.) are attempting to defy the House majority and force a vote on the measure. A “discharge petition” would need the support of 218 members of the House to force a vote and Pence already has 201names pledged to support him. He needs only 17 Democrats to join the effort and Pence can defeat the efforts of Nancy Pelosi to block the attempt.

Here is your cue. If you are in a district that sent a Democrat to the House of Representatives, call him immediately and ask him to support Mike Pence’s measure. If he can get this measure passed, we can prevent a future Democrat president from re-instituting the “Fairness Doctrine” by using his power to appoint left leaning FCC commissioners who will be compliant enough to reinstate this failed doctrine of the past. If Pence is successful, we can at least stop this newest attempt by the left to secure left leaning media bias and quash conservative voices in the media.
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The United States is Not Engaged in the War of Ideas

-By Frank Salvato

The United States and governments of the West must use every means available to combat Islamofascist aggression and expansion, both here in the West and in the Middle East. One of the most critical aspects in the war against Islamofascism is the war of ideas. This aspect represents the battle between the Wahhabi, Salafist and radical factions of the Sunni and Shi’ite sects of Islam and the ideology of inalienable rights as embraced by Western Civilization.

If we in the West are to neutralize the aggressive Islamofascist threat to our way of life we must engage in the war of ideas; we must engage in a campaign of disseminating accurate and honest information about the Western culture to those who least understand our way of life, circumventing those who spread propaganda.

There are several avenues exploited by Islamofascists in the proliferation of the extremist ideology, chief among them is the madrasah. Although the literal translation of madrasah is “school,” for our purposes we will focus on the madrasahs that engage in the teaching of the Islamic religious dogma.

A typical madrasah usually offers two courses of study: a hifz course (the memorization of the Quran) and an ‘alim course leading the candidate to become an accepted scholar in the community. A regular curriculum includes courses in Arabic, Quranic interpretation (Tafsir), Islamic law (Shariah), recorded sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadith), logic (Mantiq), and Muslim history.

In a great many madrasahs throughout the world – most notably Pakistan, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia – the teachings have a militant and agenda-driven bent and include ideological and political indoctrination, a constituent of which is promulgating hatred against the West and Western Civilization.
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Gov. Schwarzenegger Vetoes SB180

– By Warner Todd Huston

Imagine the pressure of being asked by union thugs to vote for them to represent you. Then imagine that your ballot is open for them to see it after you cast it. Then ponder this question: how safe would you feel voting against a union thug if he could see your vote?

That is the purpose of the secret ballot. Cesar Chavez, the famed California farm worker organizer, fought long and hard for secret ballots. Of course, then it was to keep the corporate farmers from knowing if a potential union member voted in favor of the union. But, regardless, the secret ballot cuts both ways because now it is the union, rather than the employer, that has more propensity to abuse the worker’s best interests.

But, California’s farm workers already have the secret ballot, right? Yes, they do. But SB180 sponsored by the United Farm Workers wanted the secret ballot eliminated. And it is for the simple reason that they wanted to be able to intimidate any worker that would vote against the union.

Well, thankfully Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed this abomination.
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We Can Beat the Libs with Liberty! School Choice for our Future

-By Israel Teitelbaum

Currently Democrats/Liberals are riding high, and many political pundits are predicting they will be in full control of all three branches of government come January ’09.

We can change this. Right-minded voters can demand of our political leadership to change course and reverse the outcome of the ’08 election. Here’s how.

We need to demand passage of legislation to break the stranglehold that Liberals have on the American family by financially coercing parents to turn over their children for indoctrination in government-run schools. America was meant to be a free country where people make their own personal choices in life, without government interference. Our soldiers have given, and still give, their lives on behalf of liberty.

A nation “dedicated to liberty,” must allow parents the option of choosing the education that best meets the needs of every child without having to suffer the loss of school funding. We require equal opportunity in housing, employment, travel, entertainment and all public accommodations. This is needed for education as well.

This can be accomplished by passing the Civil Rights Act for Equal Educational Opportunity. Although this legislation has not yet been sponsored, the language is the same as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, minus the word “public” prior to “education.” This new legislation would simply remove the word “public” – requiring equal educational opportunity for all children, including those attending private and religious school.
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Rudy Says Fred is All Talk?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Earlier today we posted that Fred Thompson was saying that Rudy Giuliani is no conservative. After those remarks got out, Giuliani’s camp had a few words in retort:

Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella tells First Read that the former New York mayor “is the only candidate who does more than just talk about the importance of Republican principles — he actually has the track record to back it up. It’s easy to throw around meaningless rhetoric, but quite another thing to stand up to a Democratic majority and successfully cut taxes, control spending, and reform welfare.”

Interesting. Rudy says his record speaks for itself, eh?

Well, then, if Rudy wants to stand on that record, let’s review it closer to see how Rudy stood on conservative principles in the past.

On the idea of running for office as a conservative, here is what Rudy had to say in 1996.

“Well, I’m a Republican mayor, but I”m really not. I’m the mayor of New York City. I ran as a Republican, I ran as a Liberal — which really confuses all kinds of people — and I ran as an Independent, as part of the Independent Party, which actually is now the party that’s supporting Ross Perot. So I ran a fusion candidacy, like my predecessor Fiorello LaGuardia. So I’m not the most partisan of Republicans.”

Yeah, his words DO speak for themselves!

Rudy was actively against running as a conservative then. Why should we believe he isn’t still?

And, here is something worse. Rudy recently attacked leftist, extremist George Sorros for being “vicious.”.

“I think that George Soros and MoveOn.org is kind of a new low in vicious, politics of personal destruction…Every campaign I’ve ever seen from them has been about personally destroying the Republican”

Soros is bad in “every campaign” he’s “ever seen” says Rudy.

But there’s that annoying record of Rudy’s standing in the way of that claim and it seems to contradict Rudy’s past distaste of George Soros. As it turns out, Rudy actually freely and publicly once worked with Soros in a coalition of groups and individuals who joined New York City to fight the Federal Government on immigration laws. And Rudy claimed his association with Soros by name in a speech in 1996.
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Conservatives Congregate in Reno — CLC Report

-By Warner Todd Huston

What is it you see in your mind when you think of liberal activists? Is it large groups gathered together to complain or protest? Perhaps. On the other hand, what is it that comes to mind when you hear about conservative activists? Is it a large group of folks coming together to advocate for change? Or do you more often think of a lone guy trying to stand in the way of change? I’d wager it is the later. By the very nature of conservatism, of course, there is a lot of truth to the idea that conservatives are often found standing in the way of change, but it is also quite true that conservatives don’t do “gathering together” very well. Not as well as liberals do, in any case. But, gathering together to affect conservative change was the chief objective of the first annual Conservative Leadership Conference (CLC) held in Reno, Nevada this past week.

Of course, the bulk of the 500 pre-registered attendees were from the nearby western states surrounding Nevada, but folks came from as far away as New York, Chicago, Memphis, and South Carolina to attend this gathering of conservative activists, thinkers, bloggers and planners. And the order of the day was to congregate in fellowship to further the agenda and keep the faith of conservatism in these dark days when conservatives often feel themselves to be stranded out in the wilderness, ignored by the very party that they had a large hand in bringing to power.

There were Libertarians, economic conservatives, those chiefly concerned with immigration issues, and many members of the new media, including Ed Morrissey of the famed Captain’s Quarters Blog. There were fringeish Ron Paul supporters, members of the Nevada Women’s GOP organization sporting Mitt Romney stickers, Signs for Duncan Hunter, writers for the Wall Street Journal, NRA operatives, members of the Heritage Foundation and other think tankers, your average Republicans were also wandering about… just about every representative of the conservative movement was in evidence.

And presidential candidates came to address those gathered, too. Mitt Romney appeared on Friday. Duncan Hunter spoke on Saturday. Alan Keyes also gave a powerful address after Friday night’s diner. Libertarian presidential candidate, Wayne Allyn Root, also spoke. Romney and Hunter gave townhall meetings, as well.
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Unions Against Democracy in Ohio

-By Warner Todd Huston

Of course, we all know that unions constantly pump themselves up as representatives of a real democracy because they claim to be men of the people. They pretend that they are elected fairly to office and that they have only the best interests of their people in mind. How often these claims are true is anyone’s guess as who really knows the hearts of men? But one thing can be known and that is that unions are not any more above deceit, theft and corruption prone to any men. But one other thing is also true, the entire concept of a union is far more prone to the faults of men than otherwise.

Well, that pontificating aside, there is one more aspect that a union is prone to — at least for one in Stark County, Ohio. And that is a hunger for power. It appears that these petulant would-be politicos in the AFL-CIO in Stark County have gotten mad at the Democrat Party there.

Why you ask? How could a union be mad at their patron party, the Democrats?

It seems the Union imagined that they somehow deserved an automatic seat on the four-member County election board upon the resignation of a previous member but the local Democrat Party put up one of their own folk, Samuel Ferruccio, Jr., for the seat instead of the handpicked shill the union offered.

So, what did the union do?

Effective immediately, the council and its unions – which represent 30,000 workers – won’t donate money, walk door-to-door or make phone calls in support of Democratic political candidates in Stark County.

Hilarious. The union took their black ball and went home!

Says unions rep Mike McElfresh, union shill in question:

“This is not about anything personally, but we’re not getting the respect that’s due,” said Mike McElfresh, second vice president of the Hall of Fame Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Not anything “personally.” Jeeze, what a lie that is!

So, the union put their shill up for the election, anyway.

He lost.

Maier said Ferruccio earned 51 votes and McElfresh only 14 from the executive committee.

“We had an election,” Maier said. “It was a very democratic process.”

A “democratic process” is NOT what a union is interested in, obviously!
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Thompson: The Last Real American Presidential Candidate

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here is how I see it; Fred Thompson may be the last quintessentially American candidate for the White House that we will ever see.

One statement that he made in Dubuque frames his entire philosophical position perfectly.

He told folks in Dubuque that he had “no special message for Iowans.”
Exactly right! He has nothing different to say in Iowa than he does in Peoria, Illinois, Boston or New York. He is NOT a panderer. He is not bending and shaping his “message” to fit the crowd he faces. He has ONE philosophy, ONE idea of what “America” is.
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Un-American San Francisco Supervisors Condemn Michael Savage

City by the Bay’s Politicians Preach Tolerance But Won’t Tolerate Dissent

-By Selwyn Duke

It cannot be a coincidence that those who preach tolerance the most are often the most intolerable. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to condemn talk show host Michael Savage for “hate speech” after a failed attempt to do so in August. Just for the record, there is no discernable correlation between hate and hate speech, except that when leftists hate you, they will accuse you of it.

It is precisely for this reason that Savage’s comments are not really germane to the issue at hand. To be sure, it’s not even correct to say they “inspired” this maelstrom, as the true impetus behind it is a leftist dogmatism that cannot abide rightist dynamism. And if Savage’s comments embodied anything, it was the latter. Here is what he said, as I related it in my first piece on this matter:

“On his July 5 broadcast Savage quipped, ‘I would say, let them fast until they starve to death, then that solves the problem.’”

It was a joke . . . much like the San Francisco supervisors. Only, a funny one with a foundation in reality.
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Ultimate Internet gatekeeper?

-By Scott Cleland

Imagine one company was allowed to become the world’s de facto editorial filter by which Internet content gets found, the only revenue collector for most Web sites and the dominant gatekeeper for any business seeking to reach Internet users and Web sites. Imagine further that one company had “private dossiers” on most all Internet users that could, with substantial accuracy, tell the company any individual’s religion, politics, health status, income level, sexual preference, gender, age and personal secrets — and had an economic incentive to secretly exploit those individuals’ private information for financial gain. Finally, imagine that company had little accountability to consumers, competition, regulators, or independent third-party oversight.

One doesn’t have to imagine this company at all, because these are the very real stakes in the merger review of the pending Google-DoubleClick transaction by the antitrust authorities at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission. While most everyone knows Google as the worlds most popular search engine and leading brand, few are familiar with privately-owned DoubleClick, which is the behind-the-scenes global leader in serving online ads to Web sites around the world. These antitrust reviews will determine if combining the No. 1 and No. 2 global networks of Internet advertisers, Web sites and viewers would be anti-competitive.
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The Keyes to Reno

– By Warner Todd Huston

Ambassador Alan Keyes addressed several hundred attendees of the Conservative Leadership Conference being held in Reno, Nevada on Friday night, October 12th. Ostensibly he was there to explain why he was running for president of the United States but it soon became obvious that he was there far more for a cause separate from a simple run for the White House. Ambassador Keyes was there no less to rejuvenate the Republic and if mere passion could turn back the tide of anti-Constitutionalism, Alan Keyes would be the dynamo powering that effort.

Instead of simply desiring the national spotlight to take the Oval office, Keyes is seeking the pulpit for his oratory was not just your average meet-and-greet, no simple canned speech. Keyes’ presentation was more sermon than stump speech, and as powerful as that description assumes.

When he first mounted the stage, the setting seemed a tad incongruous. As Ambassador Keyes took the microphone form those who introduced him, a 12-foot-high Duncan Hunter for president banner loomed behind him, dominating the view of the audience before him. That somewhat odd juxtaposition of the monumental face of Hunter peering down at the seemingly diminutive Keyes didn’t dissipate with Ambassador Keyes’ initial comments, either. For Alan Keyes admitted he was about to break Ronald Reagan’s famed 11th commandment; “thou shalt not speak badly of other Republicans.”

But that incongruity quickly vanished for the audience as Dr. Keyes warmed to his theme. The Hunter for president banner that initially seemed to loom so large vanished to the mind as Keyes’ oratory captivated, compelled, cajoled and cavorted across that stage. All eyes and ears were on Keyes and, as always, he held that audience in the palm of his hand.
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Forgetting our Soldiers, American’s Skewed Priorities

-By Warner Todd Huston

Recently I saw a story that seems, at first, to be a heartwarming tale of a selfless American sacrificing, if only in a small way, for one of our soldiers in uniform. But, upon reflection, the story does more than tell the tale of one American doing something nice for a soldier. It tells the tale of American priorities that are warped, if not turned entirely on their head.

As writer Roddy Stinson of the San Antonio Express-News relates the tale, the story is a disarmingly simple one. A woman on an airliner gives up her seat in first class to a U.S. soldier in uniform. The other passengers are impressed and give the nice woman a round of applause.

Last Wednesday, while flying from Phoenix to the Alamo City on U.S. Airways Flight 207, a San Antonio man, Gil Anderson, witnessed something memorable.

Shortly before takeoff, he overheard a flight attendant tell a young uniformed soldier sitting in front of him:

“A lady in first-class wants to switch seats with you.”

The soldier accepted the offer and walked up to the first-class section.

“When the lady came back to our area, I had a tear in my eye,” Anderson said when he phoned this column soon after his plane landed. “I gave her a little round of applause.

“Then, by golly, everybody in that area started applauding,” he said in a voice tinged with emotion. “It was a very moving moment.”

Acknowledging the applause of Anderson and the other passengers, the first-class lady said simply:

“I did it because he deserves it.”

The story almost raises a tear until you catch yourself with a curious cock of the head, realizing that something is wrong here.

This is the key part that reveals that things are out of whack.
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