Conservative Donnybrook

…we receive this, in gratitude for the Hope which we possess.

Share This

We’ve had a bit of discussion here and there about what civil citizenship entails and requires, and we’ve lobbed some grenades and thrown up chaff in the bombast. Read this passage from a Roman citizen from Tarsus who appealed his case all the way to Caesar. Bear in mind how that turned out for him. Also remember the words our Lord spoke about the centurion whom the elders of Israel recommended to Jesus, and his words to our Lord.

Share This

Former Illinois Congressman Henry J. Hyde passed away this morning at the age of 83. A veteran of 32 years in Congress, Congressman Hyde is perhaps best known for his role in the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. However, his most enduring work centered around his fight to preserve the culture of life in Washington, D.C. As a devout Roman Catholic he was a constant pillar of support for pro-life causes in Congress. In 1976 Congress passed the so-called “Hyde Amendment,” authored by Hyde, that forbids any federal funding for abortion. Congressman Hyde authored, co-authored and supported countless pieces of legislation that have had profounly positive effects on the United States. During the fall of 2003 I had the opportunity to intern for Congressman Hyde, who at the time was my Congressman, on Capitol Hill. I found him to be a kind man with an extremely high intellect who was not afraid of getting his arms dirty doing the work that had to be done to better the United States. The residents of the Sixth Congressional District of Illinois have lost a great man and representative. So have the people of the United States.

Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine,
et lux perpétua lúceat eis.
Requiéscant in pace. Amen.

Share This

Theives stole more than 400 kegs of beer from the Guinness Brewery in Dublin today. They managed to get away with 180 Guinness kegs, 180 Budweiser kegs, and 90 Carlsberg kegs. Guinness, Budweiser and Carlsberg? Having spent a fair amount of time drinking pints with Karl in law school I know that he has a penchant for those beers (well at least Guinness and Budweiser, but come on Carlsberg is named after him). My only question is where has Karl been for the past few days?

Share This

A friend of mine sent me a link to this video the other day. In light recent comments on the absence of the National Anthem before the Monday Night Football game I’d love to see what some of out commentors have to say about what Rick Monday did here. As far as I’m concerned we still need a flag burning amendment.

Share This

Ahhh, anger.  It does abound.  I wanted to drop this post to say thank you to all those with whom I have discussed, argued, agreed, been disgusted at and been educated from here at Conservative Donny Brook. 

 Seriously, thank you.  All of you make my day more interesting and make me more energized.  I know that our discussions can become heated.  Some people even become offended.  I love it, that is why I am on Conservative Donny Brook….

…Now, back to the fisticuffs.

Share This

But not before a few parting words for the Donnybrook…

Share This

James Pinkerton has a wonderfully snarky column on the “virtual fence” idea that Giuliani and other “comprehensive immigration reform” backers promote. (HT Kaus.)

Here’s Giuliani, quoted in an Associated Press story from last week, headlined, “Giuliani promotes virtual fence.” Explains the former mayor, “Frankly, the virtual fence is more valuable because it alerts you to people approaching the border, it alerts you to people coming over the border.”

That sounds like a good plan, doesn’t it? After all, you use a virtual lock on your front door, right? That way, when intruders approach your house, you can spot them. And when they walk in, well, a police SWAT team is on the way. The key to this enforcement strategy, to be sure, is to respond after the crime has occurred. So it’s strange, therefore, that Giuliani insists that he wants to build at least some physical wall.

Because virtuality works better, Giuliani assures us.

It’s funny how these erstwhile advocates of amnesty insist that they support strict border enforcement, yet the idea of actually building, you know, a fence cannot be countenanced. It ain’t the Panama Canal, people, I think we’re up to the challenge.

Share This

I note with interest recent criticism of paleoconservatives’ apparent penchant for babble and subsequent ineffectual bench-riding and booing. I, like one of my colleagues here at the Donnybrook, was reminded of a pop-culture quotation of no consequence: Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell opined in the second track from their second album (the band’s first major label release, 1988’s “Nothing’s Shocking”), a tune called “Ocean Size,”

Some people tell me Home is up in the sky,

In the sky live a spy.

I want to be more like the ocean,

No talkin’ man, all action.

Continue Reading »

Share This

Well now is your chance. Come up with a “hot new t-shirt design” for Planned Parenthood and win a new iphone (wonder if Apple knows about this). Aborting babies doesn’t seem to be a them they want emphasized in their new t-shirt. Who would have thought? Anyone have any ideas for a slogan?

Even more ridiculous, if that’s possible, is the “Holiday” Cards you can buy from Planned Parenthood. Health, Cheer, Justice, Safety, Prevention (abortion missing yet again). Just what I think of when I think of Christmas.

With thanks to Marquette Warrior for this story.

Share This

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “Ad Hominen” this way:

Share This

Anyone who watched last night’s Monday Night Football game will know that the weather was a major factor in the game. In fact, the game had to be delayed for a brief period due to lightening strikes in Pittsburgh. Due to this delay, and in an effort to keep on schedule with the nationally televised broadcast, the decision was made to skip the National Anthem before the game. Call me old fashion but I like my sports games to start with the National Anthem. I think it serves as a reminder that many soldiers have gone before us, and still do (see Iraq and Afghanistan), so that we are able to spend our Sundays watching pro football among other things. All too often people take for granted the sacrifices made by our military personnel so we are able to watch sports or engage in political debate when we want. I’ll wait and see if any veterans groups get on this.

Share This

Iran announced today that it has developed a missile capable of carrying a warhead 1,200 miles. Within that 1,200 mile radius are several United States military installments and, oh yeah, Israel. Recently, we have had some discussions over the viability of Iran’s nuclear weapons program and whether the United States should take military action on Iran. Whatever your views are on those topics this new missile only goes to reinforce the fact that Iran is working everyday to pose a threat to the United States as well as our goals and allies in the Middle East.

Share This

In a recent article, Robert Novak summed up the credentials of Mike Huckabee in 10 words “…[H]e is a high-tax, protectionist advocate of big government….”   

Besides, do we really want another Arkansas governor ruling our nation?

Share This

Obama has been calling Clinton out for her claims to executive experience due to her years as first lady:

“There is no doubt that Bill Clinton had faith in her and consulted with her on issues, in the same way that I would consult with [my wife] Michelle, if there were issues. On the other hand, I don’t think Michelle would claim that she is the best qualified person to be a United States senator by virtue of me talking to her on occasion about the work I’ve done.”

This seems like a pretty smart issue to hammer Hillary on. The thing is, she can make a good case that her years in the White House amounted to solid executive experience. She certainly at times had more power and access than most vice-presidents, and many cabinet members, do. But in order to make that argument she has to call attention to her role as First Lady as Co-President (or “two for the price of one”) which many people aren’t too comfortable with. It also calls to mind the issue of dynasty and Clinton-Bush fatigue. Finally, she’ll be forced to talk around the colossal failure of her healthcare scheme.

Share This

Slate has put up a good essay/slide show about Charles Schulz and Peanuts, inspred by a new biography that explores Schulz’s troubled life. The essay nicely captures the strip’s often grim tone as it grappled with themes of failure and depression.

The Peanuts merchandising machine and the treacle of A Charlie Brown Christmas allow Peanuts to be remembered as something sweeter, kinder, and more lovable than it truly was. The cognitive dissonance represented by the mass-merchandising success of this prickly, often despairing, sour, and snide work might have been worth more thought in a book of this scope than Michaelis gives it.

Many also forget how excellent the strip was. This is due to the sickly-sweetness of Peanuts merchandise but also because Peanuts peaked in the ’60s and ’70s, and by the late ’80s to the end of the strip Schulz’s powers were in decline.

Share This

Via Sailer, Esquire has compiled the list. It’s good fun.

Above: Monument to the Founding of the North Korean Workers’ Party. Recurring themes in these autocratic art projects include giant fists and enormous metallic statues of departed despots.

Share This

From the Washington Post:

Overall, “there doesn’t seem to be a lot of progress being made. . . . I would think that from [the Taliban] standpoint, things are looking decent,” the intelligence official said. …

While U.S. and other NATO forces have maintained a firm hold on major cities, they have been unable to retain territory in the vast rural areas where 75 percent of Afghanistan’s population lives, several sources said. Ground hard-won in combat has been abandoned and reoccupied by Taliban forces, which establish dominance over local governmental bodies.

Emphasis mine. Sounds similar to what’s gone on in Iraq. Do we need a surge in Afghanistan, too? All this seems to put to lie the argument, put forth by Iraq War boosters, that the Iraq War has in no way diverted resources from our occupation of Afghanistan, thus harming our efforts there.

The strategy is “clear, hold and build,” said Seth Jones, an Afghanistan expert at the Rand Corp. “You clear the Taliban out, then you hold it for a period of time. You keep forces there, including Afghan forces, then you begin to build, then expand and go into neighboring districts. The problem has been that when you move troops into neighboring districts, you don’t have enough to hold what you just cleared.”

Of course, this is old news. Evidence of the Iraq War diverting resources and focus from Afghanistan was clear from this NYT article back in August:

At critical moments in the fight for Afghanistan, the Bush administration diverted scarce intelligence and reconstruction resources to Iraq, including elite C.I.A. teams and Special Forces units involved in the search for terrorists. As sophisticated Predator spy planes rolled off assembly lines in the United States, they were shipped to Iraq, undercutting the search for Taliban and terrorist leaders, according to senior military and intelligence officials.

Guess it’s just that traitorous MSM trying to undermine the war effort!

Share This

I have just come across an interview with columnist and blogginghead James Pinkerton on Lawrence Auster’s blog regarding Pinkerton’s The American Conservative cover story The Once & Future Christendom, in which he elucidates his “Shire Strategy” for the defense of Western civilization.

The AmConMag piece and interview both appeared in September, so this is a terribly un-timely blog post. So sue me!

In the exchange with Auster, Pinkerton expands on the thinking behind his AmConMag article:

What really impelled me to write this piece was the vision of the Muslims dynamiting the Vatican, as I read about 30 plus years ago in Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints–and I’ve had plenty of occasion to think to myself that Raspail was not wrong about where current trends are headed. I am Protestant, not Catholic, but still. And once I thought about that, and prayed on that, it became clear to me that if the Muslims overran Europe, Christendom would never recover–at least not here on earth. To use a Tolkien analogy that I don’t think made it into the final draft, it would be as if all Christians were wounded by the Blade of Morgul. Frodo was so wounded, and never recovered–the books end happily, but that can’t really be said for Frodo himself. By contrast, if it’s merely the atheists and secularists who overrun Europe, then the Continent can be won back, or at least preserved, allowing the Remnant to exist, and Europe to find its way, hopefully, eventually, without being conquered from without.

Read the whole thing! And for those of you on Facebook, Pinkerton has begun a group called “Council of the West” as a followup to his AmConMag piece, and also two other Facebook groups–”Sovereignty Caucus” and “American Sovereignty Caucus” (why the need for both, I don’t know)–along with their respective blogs.

Share This

The Financial Times has an interesting article examining a “dynastic disease” in American politics.  The author’s evidence for this?

- “[W]e are about to hold a presidential election that may extend a sequence that gives the land of the free four years of George H.W. Bush, eight years of William Clinton, eight years of George W. Bush, son of, and the start of eight years of Hillary Clinton, wife of.”

- “Congress is littered with the spouses and sons and daughters of former congressmen who wanted to keep the position in the family. The father of Representative John Dingell of Michigan served in Congress for 22 years and then handed the job to his son in 1955.” Continue Reading »

Share This