Conservative Donnybrook

Probably not.  Not yet, anyway.  But here is some classic PJB commentary courteousy of WorldNetDaily.  In this article he comments on the bifurcation of the Republican party (”We are big government and small government, traditionalist and libertarian, tax-cutter and budget hawk, free trader and economic nationalist”) and compares running Rudy to a Faustian bargain (”Rudy offers the right the ultimate Faustian bargain: retention of power at the price of one’s soul”).

Mr. Buchanan, if you’re reading this please feel free to e-mail your submissions to karl@conservativedonnybrook.com. 

Karl, get started on waiver forms!

Share This

New York Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel, that is.  The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee wants to impose a 4% surtax on single incomes above $150k and heterosexual unions above $200k, while reducing the ceiling on corporate tax from 35% to 30.5%.  It is estimated that this new tax will rob nearly 25 million taxpayers of close to $50 billion in 2006.  Rangel, who refuses to go gently into that good night, proved his incompetency earlier this year when he introduced the Universal National Service Act, which would require “all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security.”  The 2007 version of this bill (there were two others, believe it or not) has two sponsors in Congress, neither of which is Ron Paul.

Who knew he was such a big Beatles fan?  He always seemed like more of a Paul Anka guy to me.

Share This

Actually, I just needed a catchy title.  I find both Goldberg and Beinart to be exceptional political commentators.  Here, they wax politic on the Armenian Genocide Bill that Piglosi is trying to railroad through Congress (those checks from the Armenian lobby pouring into California’s 8th Congressional District don’t write themseleves).

Goldberg is an interesting fellow.  He seems to think that the Turkish model is ripe for export to the Muslim world.  After all, it’s a ”stable, secular, democratic Muslim country.”  That’s great Jonah, but no one “exported” democracy to the Turkish people.  Rather, the constitutional republic was formed after ther fall of the Ottoman Empire.  Turkey’s progression was a natural result of the failure of empirism, not the result of it.  Hopefully one day we, too, will become a republic, not an empire.

Share This

With wildfires raging in Southern California I suppose it was only a matter of time before the Democrats and left-wing environmentalists started to whoop and holler about global warming being the cause of the fires. Some groups have taken advantage of the tragedy to use it for political gain, calling for the passing of state laws to reduce car emissions. Going so far as to claiming that President Bush is “burning Californians.” Even Senator Harry Reid got into the act yesterday in front of reporters on the Hill:

As you know, one reason that we have the fires burning in Southern California is global warming. One reason the Colorado Basin is going dry is because of global warming.

But perhaps better judgment prevailed for Senator Reid. Six questions after Senator Reid claimed global warming was the culprit he said this:

Question: Senator, on the California fires, you said that the reason the fires are burning in California is global warming?

Reid: No. Here’s what I - I didn’t say the reason the fires were burning in Southern California was global warming…

Maybe Senator Reid realized in the five minutes between questions that wildfires occur in Southern California every year. The natural terrain in that area of the nation is that of a desert. A desert is dry. A desert is hot. A desert turns into a tinder box in late autumn and any spark thrown into the normal Santa Anna winds at this time of the year will start an unpredictable wildfire.

The natural characteristics of the region have not been the only contributers to the start of the fires. Recently reports have surfaced that these fires were in fact caused by arson and a downed power line. Rather than blaming the boogeyman of global warming and trying to make political capital off of the misfortunes of others maybe our liberal friends should first look to the reality (and maybe even the hard facts) of the situation. Everyday the myth of global warming grows bigger and bigger. We need to put a stop to it before the rubes fork over billions of dollars chasing their own tail.

Share This

Paul Craig Roberts has this wonderful, albeit brief, piece on Chronicle Magazine Online.  Particularly apropos is his mention of the “[v]iolation of the oath of office to defend the U.S. Constitution by practically every member of the Bush administration and Congress.”  But don’t fret, ladies and gents.  As I mentioned here, Shillary pledges to clean House once elected.  Let’s just hope the furnishings in the Lincoln bedroom are nailed down to the floor this time, so they don’t make their way up to Chappaqua.

Share This

One of the highlights of my otherwise mundane day is receiving the Mises Daily Article in my Yahoo! inbox.  Today’s article, written by Jeffrey Tucker, examines the life and work of an often forgotten figure of American conservatism, Garet Garrett. 

In a Q & A session with NRO’s Kathryn Jean Lopez, Professor Bruce Frohnen, co-editor of American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia, refers to Garrett as a galvanizing force for libertarians and traditionalists opposed to the New Deal.  Unfortunately, his answer is spurred by this question: “What’s the most obscure entry you’ve got in there?”

Garrett was a celebrated writer and editor, contributing his talents to the New York Sun, New York Tribune, and Saturday Evening Post, among others.  He was a stentorian voice against Roosevelt’s socialist New Deal and criticized his desire to intervene in WWII.  It is a wonder why Garrett’s name is all but forgotten in conservative circles.  Tucker provides the most coherent explanation available:

Despite astonishing eloquence and prescience, Garrett’s stirring attacks on the New Deal and condemnations of the American imperial mindset found few takers in the Cold War era…Whereas many intellectuals on the Right and Left regard the peaceful, bourgeois society as something of a bore — with the middle class amassing wealth and spending it on fripperies — Garrett saw peace and freedom as the essential precondition for the real drama of human life that revolves around creation, association, love, courage, and the full range of human vices and virtues that transform society in spectacular ways.

In a sense I am guilty as charged, because I have not taken the time to read as much of Garrett as I’d like.  However, if you have some free time I suggest picking up The People’s Pottage, a rather dark work that chides the welfarism of the New Deal.  Help remember Garet Garrett for something other than his parents’ droll sense of humor

Share This

This story from the LA Times reports that six illegal immigrants were arrested after stealing food from a relief center in San Diego. As bad as it is that they were caught stealing food from people who have lost everything they owned, it is the comments of the Border Patrol agents who responded to the call that has me concerned.

According to the story:

Border Patrol agents are not looking for illegal immigrants at the center but will continue responding to police calls for assistance.

“We are not in any means at Qualcomm for enforcement capacity,” he said. “We are not there to take advantage of a situation.”

Why in the world not? Border Patrol agents take the following oath on their first day:

I, . . . . . . . ., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foregin and doemstic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Part of that oath is the obligation to enforce the immigration laws that Congress has enacted. 

I spoke to a friend of mine about this story over lunch today and he provided an explanation of why he thought the Border Patrol is right in this instance. According to him, “They probably would rather the illegals showed up at the relief center than to have to round up their dead bodies from their homes later.” Fair enough; and that might even be what they are thinking. But seriously? Would rational people opt to be killed in a fire than to risk deportation?

Imagine that some notorious gangster on the FBI’s Most Wanted List (like, for instance, James “Whitey” Bulger, who incidentally may be in Sicily) sustained a gunshot wound and wandered into the emergency room. Of course we want the doctor to treat the wound, but we also would want and expect that doctor to report the whereabouts of the gangster to the FBI. And then we would expect the FBI to act on the information. We would never set up sanctuary ER’s where criminals could be treated for wounds with no questions asked. Why should illegal immigrants be any different? Breaking the law should get you no preferential treatment. 

It is gratifying that most of the Republican nominees have finally come to see that securing our borders and upholding the law of the land is of paramount importance. Even John McCain has moderated his rhetoric and now says that he will focus on securing the border before pressing for comprehensive immigration “reform” (i.e. amnesty). This leaves Rudy Giuliani as the sole hold-out in the Republican pack.

Share This

FOXNews.com - Kenyan Monkeys Make Lewd Gestures at Women

Perhaps the Kenyan government can arrange to have these monkeys enroll in sensitivity training.

Share This

It would seem that Governor Daniels has been reading some of my suggestions over at another blog I participate on: Indiana Political Review. There I suggested,

I think the way to do this is to put a cap on the property tax, say 1% of the assessed value of the property. Further, the assessed value must be tied to real-life market values (based on comparables in the same neighborhood, for instance) so as to prevent the assessor from simply inflating the assessments to get around the caps. In order for the government to deviate from the cap level, they would have to make a case to the people of Indiana to adopt the measure in a statewide ballot.

Setting the government’s salary, so to speak, would force them to evaluate each and every expenditure to make sure it is in the best interests of the State of Indiana. In addition to the restraint that such a system would impose on the taxing authorities of this state, this system would promote the predictability of future tax bills. I was hit with a 62% increase during the last few weeks (on top of the 100% increase 4 years ago, that equates overall to a 224% increase from what I was paying just four years ago). I want to be sure that I won’t have to eat another 62% (or worse) next year or the year after that. This system ensures it. The predictability in turn will promote stability in property prices and may even increase the value of homes when buyers can safely project their costs into the future instead of having to discount today’s price in the face of unknowable tax increases in the future. If property values are enhanced, assessed values will increase and the government will enjoy more revenue. Everyone wins in the end.

The current system leads to a Detroit-style Urban Death Spiral, which sort of sounds like a cool amusement park ride, but trust me, it’s not a ride you want to be on.

I am gratified that the Guv has reposed so much confidence in my ideas.  Continue Reading »

Share This