Conservative Donnybrook

In the little professional legal experience I have in creating a record and preparing for a trial or arbitration I’ve always been told to start from what happened first and then progress all the way through to what’s happened most recently. That way the entire story unfolds before your eyes and you can see how things progressed (or more often than not, regressed) to were they are. Applying this logic to the New York State plan to give licenses to illegal immigrants you learn something about Senator Hillary Clinton’s character or lack thereof.

First this.

Then this.

Way to drop the hammer of decision making with authority there Senator Clinton, especially in the face of adversity.

What do the Middle East, South East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Eastern Africa all have in common? They lay in the Eastern Hemisphere and have garnered the attention of the United States; economically, politically and militarily. What do Caribbean nations, Latin American nations, and South America have in common aside from being the neighbors of the United States? They are found in the Western Hemisphere and suffer from a (near) complete lack of attention by their northerly wealthy counterpart (no, NOT Canada). I suppose maybe it’s a case of not knowing what we’ve got until it’s gone. I offer the following supposition: The United States ought to spend more money, time and resources in the Western Hemisphere.

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What ever happened to this website?

Every chirping sectarian needs a home of his own, no?

Update: Thank you to Human Events for explaining how the “Ron Paul effect” really works.

Seriously.

Update: The link should work now.

The New Oxford Review has this short piece examining the latent moral allignment between the Islamic world and nations of the West.  We often hear dyed-in-the-wool neocons lambasting Islam for its immorality, but perhaps it’s not Islam’s immorality that’s at issue, but rather ours.  According to the two World Values Studies,

Approval of gender equality in Western Christianity stands at 82 percent, in Islamic society at 55 percent. Western Christianity approves of homosexuality by 53 percent, but Islamic society by 12 percent. Approval of abortion in Western Christianity scores 48 percent, but in Islamic society 25 percent. Approval of divorce stands at 60 percent for Western Christianity, and only 35 percent for Islamic society.

Putting aside the issue of gender equality, it would seem that Islamic society is more attuned to a true understanding of conservatism than America and our Western counterparts.  What accounts for this, of course, is that “‘neocons and Christian Zionists’ share an absolute commitment to Israel.’”

The author of this piece seems to effortlessly gel the immorality of abortion, homosexuality, and divorce with “Christian Zionism”!?!?!?  I’m at a loss for words here.  I’m not denying that our love fest with Israel has been detrimental to our foreign policy, but to our culture as well?

Thoughts?

It seems Warren Buffett thinks you should pay MORE in estate taxes.  He says:

“Dynastic wealth, the enemy of a meritocracy, is on the rise. Equality of opportunity has been on the decline. A progressive and meaningful estate tax is needed to curb the movement of a democracy toward plutocracy.”

Interesting how Mr. Buffett is giving 85% of his Berkshire shares to family foundations…many controlled by his family.  Seems as if Mr. Buffett himself is attempting to avoid the very estate tax he would have the American taxpayer shoulder. 

This is kind of weird. In a recent ad, John Edwards is promising to, using his “power as President,” revoke health-care coverage for members of Congress and their families if they do not pass universal health care:

When I’m president, I’m going to say to members of Congress, and members of my administration, including my Cabinet, I’m glad that you have health care coverage and your family has health care coverage. But if you don’t pass universal health care by July of 2009, in six months, I’m going to use my power as president to take your health care away from you.

Mickey Kaus has some good fun exposing the hollowness of Edwards’ bluster, but putting that aside, isn’t the idea of a President pushing legislation by personally threatening the well-being of members of Congress and their families a little, well, messed up?

Just think of the possibilities!

“If Congress doesn’t approve of a federal subsidy for state family-leave programs, I’ll have their wives rounded up and put on a forced march to New Jersey!” “If Congress doesn’t raise the top marginal rate, I’ll sentence their children to in-school suspension for a year!” “If Congress doesn’t grant me Trade Promotion Authority within the next calendar year, I’ll have them lined up and horsewhipped by US Marshals!”