Uncategorized

00Publius Contributor - 2nd Amendment - Constitution - Founders - History - Media Bias - Patriotism - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

NYTimes Reveals Distrust of ‘Law Abiding’ Citizens

January 31, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The New York Times thinks you are a criminal if you own a gun. The editorial writers at the Times simply don’t believe that you could possibly be a law abiding citizen if you are interested in self defense, their most recent anti-gun piece reveals.

Their January 30th piece, incongruously titled “A Day Without Guns …” — incongruous because the piece itself does not address any such subject as a day without guns — cannot be interpreted too many other ways than contempt for both the citizenry as well as the Constitution.

Twenty years ago, the Florida Legislature cravenly decided to allow “law abiding” citizens to carry concealed weapons merely by declaring their preference for self-defense. Then last July, at the prodding of the gun lobby, the current crop of state lawmakers proved they could be even more corrupt and cowardly than their predecessors by deciding to make the list of gun-toting Floridians a secret.

The quotes around “law abiding” says it all. In such a case, the usage of quotes marks obviously denotes sarcasm as opposed to a mere quote and their position that no gun owner could be a law abiding citizen rings through loud and clear.
Continue reading “NYTimes Reveals Distrust of ‘Law Abiding’ Citizens”

00Publius Contributor - Constitution - Family - Frederick Meekins - Patriotism - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized

English Need Not Board

January 31, 2007 by

-By Frederick Meekins

Rosa Parks earned her place in American iconography for refusing to go to the back of the bus. But at least she would have been permitted to remain on the bus, which would have been more than is being allowed for three Saint Paul school children who were kicked off a bus, they were initially told, because they were no longer good enough to ride the bus because they spoke English.

According to a KSTP.com titled ‘Kids kicked off a bus for speaking English”, bus service along the route in question was now reserved for students other than those speaking English because of the importance of keeping the non-English speaking pupils together.

Illegals are often of the mind now that since they supposedly pay into the tax system, that should somehow earn them a slot at the government trough. But what about boring, run of the mill citizens born here and who don’t get special holidays and entire months set aside celebrating what they happened to be upon emerging from their mother’s birth canal, aren’t they just as deserving of the services they are having increasingly high taxes taken from and assessments levied against them to pay for?
Continue reading “English Need Not Board”

00Publius Contributor - Entertainment - Islam - Islamofascism - Media Bias - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

CBS Report Uses al Qaeda Propaganda Film, Claims it’s ‘CBS Obtained’

January 29, 2007 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

So, here is a question: Why is CBS using propaganda film originally posted on an al Qaeda website and claiming it is merely “CBS obtained” with no mention of the actual source for Lara Logan’s report on The “Battle of Haifa Street”?

The anti-Iraq website called Iraqslogger posted a story about how CBS reporter Lara Logan is crying that CBS seems to have spiked her “Haifa Street” story . Logan has sent out a mass email to all her friends and colleagues in the world of journalism in hopes that they will pressure CBS to show her report that has not yet made it to TV. It has, though, appeared on the internet.

In her email, Logan claims that this story is “largely being ignored” and she asks for her pals to email CBS to get them to air it. But she urged supporters not to mention her “request” to pressure the network to air the piece if they did so. I guess she feels like begging is unseemly…. even though she is doing it anyway.

But, Iraq watcher, Nibras Kazimi a Visiting Scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC., noticed something strange about Logan’s piece.
Continue reading “CBS Report Uses al Qaeda Propaganda Film, Claims it’s ‘CBS Obtained’”

00Publius Contributor - Entertainment - Media Bias - Selwyn Duke - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Let’s Talk About the Butterflies and the Bees

January 29, 2007 by

By Selwyn Duke

Last week many were commemorating Muhammad Ali’s sixty-fifth birthday with a zeal reminiscent of Roman pagans cheering a triumphant Caesar. And as I ponder this, I’m reminded of how people are as quick to forget as they are to condemn.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Ali. Although he knocked the veneer of invincibility off Sonny Liston before I was even a twinkle in my father’s eye, I’m a great fan of history and have watched more boxing retrospectives than I care to mention. I’ve probably seen all of Ali’s notable bouts and, although I’m no Burt Sugar (you know, the guy with the hat and cigar), I’m sure I know as much about the sport as anyone else who was a pugilist for only one day in camp when he was seven years old.

Now, apropos to the topic, it’s time for a rhyme, so enough about me and back to Ali. I do think he was the greatest boxer of all time, and I also believe he was intelligent (not well educated, of course), warm-hearted and, obviously, witty. It’s also true that Ali is deeply devoted to his religion at this point in his life, as evidenced by his words, deeds and frequent prayer. And this is to be expected. Someone with such a cross to bear (Parkinson’s) could find solace only in the more ethereal pursuits.
Continue reading “Let’s Talk About the Butterflies and the Bees”

00Publius Contributor - Elections - Islam - Islamofascism - Media Bias - President - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

CBS News Radio: ‘Nation Says No to War’, Protests Exaggerated

January 28, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

On a long drive home from a Indianapolis this weekend, I had the dubious pleasure of listening to a CBS news break at the top of the hour on a talk station and in one of their reports on Saturday’s anti-War protests the verbiage used to report the gatherings was so slanted that it was startling and was so obviously intended to make it seem much greater than it really was that it wasn’t even funny.

Reporter Jim Taylor started his report saying “A nation says no to war …” as an introduction to the story of the goings on in Washington.

A “nation” says no? A few protests equates the the whole nation, CBS?
Continue reading “CBS News Radio: ‘Nation Says No to War’, Protests Exaggerated”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - Elections - Founders - History - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

Public Opinion: Experts vs Vox Populi

January 28, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Tension between government by experts (intellectuals, bureaucrats, and independent legislators) and the voice of the people (expressed in elections and opinion polls) complicates politics in our Federal republic.

Relying too heavily on opinion polls or elections is a short road to disaster when the government must determine critical policies that involve intricate financial knowledge, broad knowledge of history, economics, and foreign affairs. The general populace can be too easily misled by propaganda and ignorance of the subject.

But looking exclusively to an expert elite opens the path to tyranny, as the history of socialist collectivism demonstrates. Intellectual cadres, working through an impersonal bureaucracy, display, as a comedian once observed, all the sensitivity of the IRS and the efficiency of the Post Office.
Continue reading “Public Opinion: Experts vs Vox Populi”

00Publius Contributor - Elections - Family - President - Religion - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Carter, Clinton Building Religious Coalition

January 27, 2007 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a move that is designed to cause the “separation of Church and State” worry warts to yawn — because such people don’t mind it when leftists mix Church and State — Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter have joined together to promote what is amusingly being called a “moderate” Baptist organization to rival the Southern Baptist Council. (Carter, Clinton Build Coalition To Attract Moderate Baptists)

It is also being called “non-partisan”… yet they take pains to say that the SBC is getting too “conservative”. And with super partisans Clinton and Carter involved in the kick off, how can it be anything other than “partisan”?

Naturally it is Jimmy Carter’s idea with Clinton signing on for the photo op. Here is how the Tampa Tribune describes Carter’s “moderate” idea:


The new coalition, which is Carter’s brainchild, would give moderate Baptists a stronger collective voice and could provide Democrats greater entree into the Baptist community. But Carter and other organizers are trying to walk a fine line, insisting that the alliance is not directly political while touting its potential to recast the role of religion in the public square.

It’s quite hard to believe that it isn’t political, isn’t it?
Continue reading “Carter, Clinton Building Religious Coalition”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Elections - Media Bias - Patriotism - President - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

New Congress is a mirthful majority

January 27, 2007 by

-By Michael M. Bates

Not only is the new and improved Democratic majority delivering the change, change, change we’ve all been pining for, it apparently will also provide us with some big league grins.

Take Wisconsin Congressman Steve Kagen. Please. Talking to a group of peace activists a few weeks ago, the freshman gloated over some terrific one-liners he purportedly launched when invited to a White House reception for new lawmakers.

It was a “very playful experience,” Kagen later told the press. Exactly how playful is difficult to determine.
Continue reading “New Congress is a mirthful majority”

00Publius Contributor - Budget - Congress - Economy/Finances - Elections - Media Bias - Society/Culture - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

Opinion Masquerading as Reason

January 27, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Nobody is an expert in all areas of knowledge. Yet, from foreign policy to economics, we give undue weight to opinion polls.

This problem was addressed in Can Voters Make the Decision to Pull Out of Iraq?.

No matter what politicians and the media make of them, opinion polls, for example, evidencing very low approvals for President Bush and his Iraq policies are not of themselves a rational basis for pulling out of Iraq. One highly important reason is that the public hears mostly one side of the argument. Politicians, media, and pressure groups urging a troop pull-out have never addressed the follow-on costs to national security, our economy, and our future diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.

As the issue has been presented, it is the equivalent of asking the public if they would like to live a life of ease at the beach, without informing them of the cost to do so.
Continue reading “Opinion Masquerading as Reason”

2nd Amendment - Congress - Constitution - Patriotism - Security/Safety - The Law - Uncategorized

Congress Pushes Anti-Gun Brady Law Expansion Bill

January 26, 2007 by 1 Comment

-Larry Pratt – Gun Owners of America

The first major anti-gun bill of the new Pelosi-led Congress has already been introduced, and it could prove to be the most serious threat yet to Second Amendment Rights.

On the first full day of the new Congress, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy introduced H.R. 297, the most massive expansion of the Brady law since it passed in 1993. This is a bill that was quashed last year but under the new Pelosi House leadership, the Bill has a higher likelihood of getting passed this time.
Continue reading “Congress Pushes Anti-Gun Brady Law Expansion Bill”

Uncategorized

Associated Press To Carry Bloggers’ Coverage of Libby Trial

January 26, 2007 by

As a member of Media Bloggers Association, I’d like to alert readers that the Libby trial is being covered by MBA and they have announced that they are teaming up with the Associated Press who will carry the coverage.

WASHINGTON DC, January 23, 2007 – The Associated Press has partnered with the Media Bloggers Association to distribute its members’ coverage of the trial of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, to the news organization’s member websites, the bloggers group announced today.

It is somewhat groundbreaking news that the AP is teaming with a Blogger’s association and reveals the ever more progressive legitimacy that Bloggers are attaining. In any case, if you want to follow the Libby trial, here is the aggregated Blog link at MBA:
http://www.mediabloggers.org/scooter-libby-trial

00Publius Contributor - Religion - Society/Culture - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

Unconditional Love

January 25, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Do we love God, or do we love Him for what we want from Him?

Sunday’s sermon at the Long Ridge Congregational Church (non-UCC), in North Stamford, Connecticut, was delivered by Rev. David Newberry. His text was from 1 Corinthians 13.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-2)

….And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Continue reading “Unconditional Love”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Economy/Finances - History - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Jesse Jackson A Racial Profiler Extraordinaire

January 25, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

For the purportedly quintessential civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson sure says an awful lot of racist comments. In a racist attack on Jews, he once called New York City “Hymie Town”, and now he is at it again in remarks made at Boise State University.

Long time activist Jesse Jackson was invited to speak about Martin Luther King, Jr. at the University on the 19th and during the address he claimed that black football players were not welcome on the University’s teams in the 1950s and 60s. He claimed that one of King’s legacies was such that black players were welcomed after King’s civil rights campaigns.

Referring to the two teams that played in the January 1st Fiesta Bowl — Boise State and the University of Oklahoma — Jackson claimed that past teams looked very “different” previous to King’s efforts.

Unfortunately for Jackson, his remarks were ill informed at least where it concerns Boise State. Alan Virta the university archivist, reports that Boise State has had black athletes since as far back as the 1940s. Further he says that the University had no policy that might prevent minority players.
Continue reading “Jesse Jackson A Racial Profiler Extraordinaire”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Islam - Islamofascism - Military - Patriotism - President - Security/Safety - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Senate Hypocrisy on Anti-Iraq Resolution

January 25, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston


Even as the Senate is falling all over itself to seem like they are being stern with president Bush, even as they are puffing themselves up as populists and hearing “the people’s ” dislike of the war, the Armed Services committee voted unanimously to approve the nomination of Army Lieutenant General David Petraeus to command U-S forces in Iraq.

So, while members of the Senate want to pretend they are against the war, they quietly approve the a general who has vocally and forcefully advocated Bush’s troop surge plans!

Just one more example of the smoke screen the Senate has thrown up on this issue. Cynically acting as if they are heeding the anti-war call while approving the warrior that will put what amounts to a sort of escalation.

The Senate trying to have it both ways with the sole goal to undercut Bush.
Continue reading “Senate Hypocrisy on Anti-Iraq Resolution”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - Elections - GOP - Islam - Islamofascism - Military - Patriotism - President - Security/Safety - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Stopping the Republican Senators Who Support Anti-Iraq Resolution

January 25, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

As I post this, it is apparent that several Republican Senators are supporting a non-binding resolution that will express no support of president Bush’s new direction in Iraq and will directly denounce the raising of troop levels in Baghdad.

The non-binding resolution sponsored by Senators Chuck Hagel (R, Neb), Joe Biden (D, Del.) and Carl Levin (D, Mich) passed the Senate Foreign Relations committee 12-9. The whole of the Senate will now get a chance to weigh in.

Worse news is the trio of Republican Senators who offered their own anti-Iraq resolution in the committee.

Republican Senators John Warner of Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine and Norm Coleman of Minnesota as well as Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska offered a resolution of their own concurrently with the initial attempt to attack Bush’s policy offered by Hagel.
Continue reading “Stopping the Republican Senators Who Support Anti-Iraq Resolution”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - GOP - History - Islam - Islamofascism - Media Bias - Military - Patriotism - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Media: Bush’s ‘Flawed’ Portrayal of ‘The Enemy’ in State of the Union Address

January 24, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

In response to president Bush’s State of the Union Address, the Washington Post’s main criticism seems to be that Bush doesn’t understand who “the enemy” is in the Global War on Terror. Yet as the Post proceeds to knock what they perceive as Bush’s simple minded rhetoric with today’s news article they only reveal it is they, rather, that has no idea who our enemies are.

In his State of the Union address last night, President Bush presented an arguably misleading and often flawed description of “the enemy” that the United States faces overseas, lumping together disparate groups with opposing ideologies to suggest that they have a single-minded focus in attacking the United States.

The Post’s conception of “flawed” is just as ill considered as they imagine the president’s to be and their analysis adds up merely to mirror the conception held by many Europeans.

Once again, a National U.S. paper “arguably” chooses sides with Europe’s interests over that of America.
Continue reading “Media: Bush’s ‘Flawed’ Portrayal of ‘The Enemy’ in State of the Union Address”

00Publius Contributor - Constitution - Elections - History - Islam - Islamofascism - Military - Patriotism - Religion - Security/Safety - Selwyn Duke - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized

Soft People, Hard People

January 24, 2007 by

By Selwyn Duke

If the 1976 western The Last Hard Men has it right, we Occidentals metamorphosed into jellyfish sometime around the early twentieth century. Although this title is more movie marketing than historical statement, there may be something to it. After all, Robert Baden-Powell, a lieutenant general in the British Army, was motivated by the belief that western boys were becoming too soft when he originated the Boy Scouts in 1907.

Regardless of the origin and rapidity of our transition from he-men to she-men, one thing is for certain: We have become a very soft people.

When pondering this, I think about how it is now common to see men cry publicly. Just recently George Bush Sr. broke down while rendering a speech, something unthinkable a generation ago. Why, presidential aspirant Edmund Muskie saw his campaign scuttled by a few inopportune tears in 1972. And before you score me for not embracing the metrosexual model, remember the impression this gives the rest of the world. Feminization may be fashionable, but it doesn’t engender respect among the more patriarchal peoples.
Continue reading “Soft People, Hard People”

00Publius Contributor - Elections - Patriotism - President - Religion - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

Jimmy Carter: Our Worst Ex-President

January 23, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

To give him the benefit of the doubt, former President Carter may have Christian intentions, but he supports a major swath of the atheistic materialism of liberal-socialist-progressivism.

While Franklin Roosevelt remains, without contest, our worst-ever President, Mr. Carter is our worst living ex-President.

For a scholarly exposition of Jimmy Carter’s place in history, read the article by Joshua Muravchik from the February issue of Commentary Magazine.
Continue reading “Jimmy Carter: Our Worst Ex-President”

00Publius Contributor - Islam - Islamofascism - Media Bias - Military - Patriotism - Religion - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Internet Store Tells Ordering US Soldier ‘Pull Out of Iraq’

January 23, 2007 by 4 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Resa LaRu “Warchick” Kirkland, one of our correspondents here on Publius’ Forum, has been trying to clear up a wretched email that was sent to one of our boys in Iraq refusing him service and telling him he should “pull out of Iraq”.

Fox News has picked up this story that I have been watching for a few days. I’ve been trying to ascertain if it was real or another example of an internet hoax — sometimes it isn’t easy to tell these days — but I think I can safely say it is real at this point. It has been rather hot news in Wisconsin over the last 48 hours, too.

The question is, will we see it farther and wider? Will the MSM pick up this story of our solder being ill treated by Discount-Mats.com, a Muslim owned, Wisconsin based floor mat company?

Army Sgt. Jason Hess, stationed in Taji, Iraq wanted to purchase a few floor mats form use in his station in Iraq and emailed the Wisconsin based floor mat company to ask if they would ship to an APO address in Iraq?

Here is the text of his original email: Continue reading “Internet Store Tells Ordering US Soldier ‘Pull Out of Iraq’”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Economy/Finances - GOP - Health - Military - Patriotism - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Karl Rove briefing on Bush’s State of the Union Speech- Jan 22, 2007

January 23, 2007 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I just finished a conference call with Karl Rove from the White House and thought I’d pass on the most pertinent points Rove revealed about the president’s upcoming speech.

The president will inform us that he will not bring us most of his economic news until next week in two different speeches. but he will mention that we are in the 41st month of uninterrupted growth.

He will also call for a balance budget in 5 yrs without raising taxes and discuss the wild spending in Congress called earmarks.

But, Rove gave us much of nothing about the economy, so it is apparent that Bush won’t focus on it during his speech.
Continue reading “Karl Rove briefing on Bush’s State of the Union Speech- Jan 22, 2007”

00Publius Contributor - Budget - Congress - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

GOP Not Trying to Stop Pork Spending

January 22, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

When I heard that Representative John Boehner (R-Ohio) was elected minority leader by his fellows in the House, I had a sick feeling in my stomach that he would not be interested in trying to halt earmark spending — or as most people simply term it: Pork Spending.

I think we can see one more example of his general disinterest in tackling earmarks and the obscene spending that Congressmen sneak into the budget to benefit their favorite constituents and causes.

Not only has Boehner kept a big pork spender on the Appropriations committee, Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) who allowed more than 13,000 spending earmarks in the 2005 budget, but he has retaliated against an earmark whistle blower from his own Party. Boehner has denied Representative Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) his spot on the Judiciary committee even though he ranks 6 other members there.

Naturally Boehner pretends that the assumption that he is punishing Flake is untrue. But his explanations are hard to believe.
Continue reading “GOP Not Trying to Stop Pork Spending”

00Publius Contributor - Elections - Media Bias - Patriotism - President - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

WaPost: Without Attack on Bush, it Ain’t Funny

January 22, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Washington Post, today, seems to be lamenting that this year’s White House Correspondent’s dinner will somehow be too nice to President Bush. In a piece titled “With Rich Little, Press Corps Is Assured a Nice Impression”, the Post sees a “controversy” brewing over the fact that an act has been hired that doesn’t treat president Bush as a despised figure.

Being nice simply isn’t an option to the Washington Post, it appears.

Stung by criticism that comedian Stephen Colbert went too far last year in his remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner, the group announced last week that it had lined up a different kind of entertainer for its next dinner on April 21: impersonator Rich Little.

The choice elicited two general reactions: Who? And why?

Only the anti-Bush media could see a desire to be less mean spirited as something to lament.
Continue reading “WaPost: Without Attack on Bush, it Ain’t Funny”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - Elections - History - Society/Culture - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

Democratically Elected?

January 22, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Former President Jimmy Carter and presidential candidate Christopher Dodd believe that the mechanics of the ballot box sanitize a victorious dictator.

The Wall Street Journal editorialized, in its January 17, 2306, edition, about the worrisome economic and political coalition of Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Cuba.

In passing they noted, “All the while, [Venezuelan dictator] Mr. Chávez has had American enablers who excused his growing repression, or blamed it on a reaction to U.S. policy. Foremost among them has been Mr. Dodd, who has defended Mr. Chávez as “democratically elected” despite his clear trend toward authoritarianism. In 2004, the circumstances surrounding a recall referendum were so anti-democratic that the European Union refused to act as an observer. Jimmy Carter nonetheless blessed the outcome amid heavy irregularities, and the U.S. State Department endorsed the process.”

Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers Party, let’s remember, came to power via the democratic and legitimate process of winning enough votes to gain control of the Reichstag.
Continue reading “Democratically Elected?”

00Publius Contributor - Economy/Finances - Health - Media Bias - Science - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

More Globaloney — Al Gore Skips Agreed to Newspaper Interview With Danish Skeptic

January 21, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Proving that Al Gore isn’t interested in any dispassionate investigation or debate about global Warming, Gore perpetrated a last minute disappearing act and skipped an interview with the biggest Danish paper, Jyllands-Posten, that was set up months in advance.

Flemming Rose, the Jyllands-Posten culture editor, penned an interesting expose of Gore’s ducking out on the Wall Street journal’s Opinion Journal site today taking the former VP to task. How many other papers do you think will mention Gore’s cowardice?

Bet, few… if not no… others do.

Al Gore is traveling around the world telling us how we must fundamentally change our civilization due to the threat of global warming. Last week he was in Denmark to disseminate this message. But if we are to embark on the costliest political project ever, maybe we should make sure it rests on solid ground. It should be based on the best facts, not just the convenient ones. This was the background for the biggest Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, to set up an investigative interview with Mr. Gore. And for this, the paper thought it would be obvious to team up with Bjorn Lomborg, author of “The Skeptical Environmentalist,” who has provided one of the clearest counterpoints to Mr. Gore’s tune.

Gee, Al. If you are so sure of your “facts” what is so outrageous with a little adult debate in front of a newspaper editor? It isn’t like you were invited onto the Jerry Springer show or some other lowgrade venue, after all.
Continue reading “More Globaloney — Al Gore Skips Agreed to Newspaper Interview With Danish Skeptic”

00Publius Contributor - Health - Media Bias - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

AP: Making McDonald’s A Chinese Fat Kid’s Paradise?

January 21, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The AP has published a story today about the grand opening of the first McDonald’s outlet with a drive-through window in China. It opened yesterday in Beijing to rave reviews from its first customers.

Apparently, the fast food chain is growing by leaps and bounds in the communist enslaved nation. McDonald’s China CEO, Jeffery Schwartz is quoted in the AP piece about the company’s growth in the Red Nation. “It’s huge. It’s a real priority for the global company because of the potential growth in China…We think drive-throughs are a big part of this.”

And, when you read the AP’s story everything seems upbeat and glowing about McDonald’s growth and future opportunities in China.” It’s all good”, as they say. And, it is no surprise that the AP’s business writer, amusingly named Joe McDonald — no I am serious, that IS his name– was so aglow over the heightened business opportunities for the McDonald’s chain.

Then you look at the picture supplied with the story…
Continue reading “AP: Making McDonald’s A Chinese Fat Kid’s Paradise?”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - Economy/Finances - Elections - Family - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Class struggle rhetoric obscures the truth

January 21, 2007 by

-By Michael M. Bates

There they go again. White House aspirants, themselves extremely rich, attack the wealthy using the customary us versus them framework.

Former Senator John Edwards’ 2004 stump speech about two Americas, one for the rich and the other for everyone else, was dusted off for last month’s announcement that he’s trying for the top spot this time around. He declared his candidacy in New Orleans, he said, “because no place better demonstrates the two Americas I’ve talked about for a long time.”
Continue reading “Class struggle rhetoric obscures the truth”

00Publius Contributor - Constitution - Elections - Founders - GOP - History - Patriotism - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Royal Illinois GOP Says Who’s ALLOWED to be Republican

January 20, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last month I wrote an op ed about how this one last move by the Illinois Republican Party drove me from the state’s Party as a self-proclaimed member. (Why I left the Illinois Republican Party) I warned that their announcement that only THEY were allowed to say who is allowed to proclaim themselves to be a Republican and who was not smacked of anti-democracy and a tendency toward monarchical elitism.

Well, it didn’t take them long to prove me correct.

As the new year began the haughty, bigwigs in the Illinois State Party decided that the Republican Assembly of Lake County should not be “allowed” to use the word Republican in their organization’s name.

Imagine the gall of the state Party? Who are they to decide who is “allowed” to use the word Republican and who is not?
Continue reading “Royal Illinois GOP Says Who’s ALLOWED to be Republican”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - Elections - Founders - History - Patriotism - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

Congress Resurgent?

January 20, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Will we have a reprise of the post Nixon-era Congressional invasion of the President’s Constitutional powers that led, among other things, to eviscerating the CIA?

Congress is reassessing the President’s Constitutional powers, as it did in the aftermath of President Johnson’s Vietnam war and President Nixon’s Watergate scandal.

The new Democratic Congressional majority are challenging the Constitutional powers of the President on the whole sweep of national security measures. They are particularly infuriated by President Bush’s intention to deploy 17,000 or more new troops in Iraq, their ire augmented by the President’s short-term ability to do so whether they approve or not.

Presidential wartime powers are succinctly delineated by the Constitution’s Article II, Section 2: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States…..

Counterbalancing this seemingly absolute Presidential authority is the Constitutional provision that all taxes and appropriations, including those for military purposes, are the prerogative of Congress.

In principle there is nothing wrong with Congress sparring with the President. The question is whether it is for domestic political advantage at the expense of our national security.
Continue reading “Congress Resurgent?”

00Publius Contributor - History - Military - Resa LaRu, "Warchick" Kirkland - Security/Safety - Uncategorized

DANGEROUS RUMORS Taking Today’s Gossip Seriously

January 20, 2007 by

-By Resa LaRu Kirkland

I received the following email from a colleague right after Bush’s speech:

I’m doing a show on the speech, and some things don’t make sense, given the wire the last couple of months that something big was going to happen in early 07. Now we are getting 20,000 more troops, 3 carrier battle groups, and offensive ops in Somalia. Throw in the Iranian officers we’ve captured, and something smells like sulfur. Have you heard of anything from your Israeli contacts, or anyone else as to what is really happening? No way in hell we send 3 carriers to the gulf for Iraq…–Casey Hendrickson show, KXNT Las Vegas.

Hmmm…rumors are dangerous things. Pass it on mentality is often cruel and flawed. But this time, it makes me think back on other rumors in our past.
Continue reading “DANGEROUS RUMORS Taking Today’s Gossip Seriously”

00Publius Contributor - Family - Health - Media Bias - Religion - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

ABC News: It’s ‘OK For Girls To Go Wild’– Our Teens and Sex

January 19, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

ABC News is trying to assure us that young girls who have a “fascination with itsy-bitsy clothing, misogynistic hip hop music and porn star-esque celebrities ” is just behavior that “isn’t cause for alarm”.

Some Say It’s OK for Girls to Go Wild — Though Teens Are Expressing Their Sexuality More Than Ever, Some Say It’s Just Part of Growing Up, Not Cause for Alarm

Gee, I feel better already.

Wearing short-shorts and belly shirts, grinding to hip-hop hits, and posting provocative pictures of themselves on the Internet — the behavior of many teen and tween girls has parents wondering if their daughters are bound for a lifetime of promiscuity and loose morals.

But some psychologists and child-development specialists believe nothing about the teenage drama has really changed. While young women may express their sexuality more overtly than they have in the past, for the most part, their behavior isn’t cause for alarm. It’s a necessary step in growing up.

Continue reading “ABC News: It’s ‘OK For Girls To Go Wild’– Our Teens and Sex”