Conservative Donnybrook

Does anyone else find this extremely disturbing?

Victory!  Albeit temporary victory.  The “buy up” bill was killed in the House today.  We can thank the likes of Rep. Michele Bachmann , (R- Minn) for the death of this socialist and unnecessary bill.  “Every American who has played it safe and smart to avoid debt is being asked to spend the rest of his or her life paying off the debts of Washington and Wall Street,” Ms. Bachmann said.  And she is right. I wish you were in CA, Congresswoman, I would vote for you. 

Danger!  Russian saber-rattlers have announced tentative plans to provide Comrade Chavez and his crazy commie buddies with nuclear technology.  This follows the deployment of Russian naval vessels to the Caribbean.  While Ol’ George has apparently listen to my advice is starting to pay attention to the Western Hemisphere, the simple re-activation of the 4th Fleet will not do.  Increased trade preferences, military funding, humanitarian missions and an end to the “war” on drugs would be a nice start.

Tally-Ho!  General Petraeus has announced that NATO troops will continue to fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan throughout the winter.  Coalition forces have lost some ground in recent months.  It is past time for our service members to show ‘em what they are made of and expand the zone of freedom in Afghanistan. 

Yikes!  The flow of tainted products continues to flow out of China.  In addition to oodles of bad baby formula, chocolate in the Red Empire may also be poisoned.  Cadbury has announced a recall of at least 11 different types of candies made in China.  First toys, now candy.  What’s next? 

Disgusting!  Obama and McCain had very few differences of opinion during their debate.  They surely did insult each other, which is always entertaining, but their policies differed by minuscule amounts if at all.  So a vote for one of them is, essentially, a vote for either of them. 

Outstanding!  The Dodgers, having won only 84 games, will return to the post season for the first time in four years.  They play the little bears starting on Wednesday in the NLDS.  While definitely the underdogs, I predict another disappointing year for the North Side suckers.

Paul Newman passed away today. He was an ardent supporter of the liberal agenda. He was also a fantastic actor. He played leading roles in some of the greatest films ever made from Cool Hand Luke to The Sting. Putting aside politics I wanted to honor the man who gave the world Reggie Dunlop in one of my favorite movies of all time, Slapshot. If you’ve never seen it do yourself a favor and go buy it today. You won’t regret it.

Rep. Thad McCotter of Michigan has unveiled a new plan that he’s pushing as an alternative to the Paulson bailout, it’s based on pushing firms through expedited recapitalization proceedings, relieving distressed homeowners, and limiting the size of financial firms to prevent “too big to fail.”

I attended a lecture by McCotter a couple of days ago, my account of that is here. He had thoughtful comments on the imbalances in our economy and financial system that lead to the crisis. He also expressed his approval of a plan from Chicago prof Luigi Zingales that has gotten some attention, and which seems to have influenced McCotter’s own proposal.

And what do I think? Well, the McCotter proposal is called the EARN Act for Expedited American Recapitalization-Now. I can’t stand cutesy acronyms–rename it! Otherwise, it’s lookin’ good. I’m trying to avoid exhibiting Male Answer Syndrome by opining too much about the financial crisis, about which my level of knowledge and insight is just about zero. But it seems clear enough that the Paulson plan rewards the wrong people and behavior, and I hope that McCotter’s plan generates the discussion it deserves.

Big news from the North Side of Chicago.  No, not that the magic number for the Cubs to clinch their division is down to two.  The iconic Budweiser ad on top of 3701 N. Kenmore is no more.  At least for the time being.  It seems that the Koning (Flemish/Dutch/Belgian for King) of Beers allowed their lease for the ad space to lapse.  Well, that’s what the new owners of the building say.  Budweiser claims that they were never given the appropriate invoice, as required by the lease agreement, by the new owners in order to renew on time.  Now don’t get me started on how a St. Louis beer company is the “official” beer of the Chicago Cubs (I still say it should be all Old Style all the time) but with the postseason coming soon (hopefully) to Wrigley it will certainly take a little bit away from the atmosphere not to have the Budweiser sign enticing Cubs fans around the world to have a cold one.

With the failure of yet another major investment bank and the take-over of another, the public is justifiably worried about the state of American banks.  But should this fear result in a government bailout?  The FDIC fund has about $50 billion to its name and yet there is roughly $1 trillion in assets in our nation’s banks, according to Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics at NYU. 

The failure of Lehman Brothers, Bear-sterns, IndyMac, etc… can be traced to poor investments in debt instruments.  Three years ago these investments were too good to be true.  The banks could purchase bundles of debt instruments from mortgage lenders repackage them and sell them overseas, largely to the Russians and Chinese.  It must have been hard to say “no” to large amounts of cash being thrown at investment banks from foreign governments and unsuspecting (if not naive) speculators.  So hard, in fact, that they all said “yes.”  The question then becomes, does the U.S. government have a responsibility to bailout un-savvy investors through a recapitalization of the FDIC?  What is the alternative, short of allowing these banks and their investors to suck it up; a whole-sale bailout al a Fannie, Freddie, etc…?

To be sure, the failure of these large investment houses is dire for many citizens that depend on such investments for retirement.  And it may be cheaper in the long run for the Government to adequately fund the FDIC than to take over troubled banks simply to keep them afloat.  But much more expensive that allowing the capital markets to do what they do best: correct themselves.  Besides, to takeover every troubled lender, bank, mortgage would require the Fed to borrow more from the Chinese, Russians, Gulf States and other foreign entities.  The government has followed this path to a point.  Socialism here, socialism there, but no socialism for Lehman?  Why stop at Lehman? 

So give me your two-cents (seriously, I could use the money!),  should Washington bail out industries, commit to a recapitalization of the FDIC or should they just let ‘em ride?

Hurricane Ike roared into Galveston yesterday evening. The National Weather Service issued a warning that anyone who failed to evacuate the barrier island risked almost “certain death” in the face of Ike. Nonetheless, thousands of residents decided to ride out the storm and take their chances. Now the survivors of that storm are begging the government to save them. Texas Governor Perry has mobilized 7,500 national guardsmen who will now foray into the devastated community on a search and rescue mission.

Certainly, all of America prays that those who stayed behind have survived the ravages of Ike. But, at the same time, it is appropriate to express some exasperation to those residents who presumed against the good will of the American people and its government for nothing more than to feed their own egos. Their bravado will now unnecessarily place other Americans at risk in order to bail them out. Maddeningly, I’m sure that many of the people who stayed behind would be the first to argue that they don’t need the government to tell them what to do. They would consider themselves to be self-reliant and not dependent upon the government. They have learned otherwise this morning. What they have hopefully learned today is that the exercise of personal responsibility must be combined with prudence. After Katrina and now Ike, perhaps next time a major storm threatens to obliterate a coastal city, its residents will act more prudentially. Probably not.

Via Jonathan Chait, apparently not:

Gibson: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?

Palin: In what respect, Charlie?

Gibson: What do you interpret it to be?

Palin: His worldview?

Gibson: No, the Bush Doctrine. Enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq War.

Palin: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism. Terrorists who are hellbent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though, there have been mistakes made. And with new leadership– and that’s the beauty of American elections of course and of democracy– is with new leadership comes opportunity to do things better.

Gibson: The Bush Doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense.

Andy McCarthy on The Corner (also via Chait/TNR) vigorously defends:

The Bush Doctrine, technically, is not asserting a right of preemptive attack.  It is saying that if Country A facilitates terror, it is responsible for that terrorist organization’s strikes, and therefore we can attack Country A.  That is not preemptive; it is retributive.

It was utterly reasonable for Gov. Palin to press Charlie Gibson on what Gibson meant by the Bush Doctrine.  Everyone does not mean the same thing by the term, there is lots of good faith argument about what it means, and — because the administration itself has only half-heartedly adhered to it — there is also the confusion between theory and practice.

Um, nice try. It seems pretty clear to me that Palin simply didn’t know what Gibson was talking about by the term “Bush Doctrine.” (You can see the video here.) Isn’t that a little bit messed up?

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On this day when we pause and remember the victims of the evil terrorist attacks on our homeland, we recognize the bravery and heroism of the police and firemen who responded to their community’s call for help. I thought I would recognize a local hero in my home town, who also responded to his community’s call and thank him for his service.

In the early evening hours of July 10, 2008, police were watching the house of the mother of a suspected murderer, Brian Reese. As they watched, Barbara Reese pulled up to the house, but then spotted the police surveillance and led them on a high-speed chase through the streets of Indianapolis. Brian Reese was a passenger in the van. At one point, the van slowed and Reese leaped from the van and ran. Several police officers gave chase, including 29-year-old Jason Fishburn. Reese pulled a gun and fired at the officers striking Fishburn twice – once in the protective vest he was wearing and once in the head. Fishburn was rushed to the hospital where doctors feverishly worked to save his life.

After multiple surgeries, Jason Fishburn walked out of the hospital today, two months after being shot. I’d like to publicly thank Jason Fishburn and all of the officers who serve the Indianapolis area for their courageous service.

I was preparing for a 9 am legal research and writing class.  I was in the library, and I came down to the front desk to ask for a staple remover.  I looked up at the television monitor that usually ran class announcements, and saw one of the towers burning.  A librarian said that a plane had crashed into it moments before.
I said “I hope this isn’t terrorists.”

In a few hours, I was standing on the steps of the National Shrine, looking at the tower of black smoke rising from the Pentagon in the south.

WAC

Two HUGE news stories were anticipated today.

The first and potentially most serious of the two was the impending destruction of the planet. Seriously. We were all supposed to die as the planet was sucked down a man-made black hole created by a massive particle accelerator that was switched on last night at 3:30 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time. It seems the French and Swiss, completely fed up with American aggression and arrogance, decided that they could take it no longer and, if everything went right, they’d take everyone else with them. On the positive side, I was looking forward to the prospect that I would not have to repay my student loans. And so, like the Maginot Line before it, their carefully worked out plans made a vague pffffftttt sound as they looked on in dismay. It sort of reminds me of the moment when Deep Thought proclaimed that the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything was 42.

Of course, the other earth shattering (although less so) news that was expected today was Ron Paul’s enigmatic “Big Announcement.”

With much fanfare and anticipation, but lacking clowns and fireworks, Ron Paul announced today that he thinks we should vote for a third party candidate because the two major parties are not significantly different. THAT was the “Big Announcement.” I believe I just heard another pffffftttt sound. Luckily, it was just a pffffftttt sound because if anyone had actually learned that his proposal was to form a, I’m not kidding here, “League of Non-voters” to combat the scourge of an evil two-party system which systematically excludes the voice of the fringe candidate, like Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney, it probably would have sounded more like hysterical laughter and mocking.

At a rally in Nashua, New Hampshire earlier today, Biden responded to a comment from an admirer (shudder) who expressed his relief that Obama had chosen Joe over Hillary. Biden responded, “Make no mistake about this, Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let’s get that straight. She’s a truly close personal friend, she is qualified to be president of the United States of America, she’s easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America and quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me. But she’s first rate, I mean that sincerely, she’s first rate, so let’s get that straight.”

I smell a campaign ad. I’m beginning to wonder if McCain is going to have say anything in one of his political ads other than, “I’m John McCain and I approved this message.”

The AP is reporting this morning that North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Il may have suffered a stroke. He has not been seen in public since mid-August. Speculation about the Stalinist dictator’s health has been swirling for months and when he failed to appear for the country’s 60th anniversary military parade, officials concluded that reports they had been hearing are correct. It appears that the people of North Korea may be one step closer to freedom.

Americans today tend to pride themselves on their cynicism. The idea is if I expect the worst in people, I will never be disappointed. But, pessimism and cynicism is a disease that effects democracies in particular and leads to their eventual demise. Why is that?

If one believes that his vote does not matter, he is easily dissuaded from casting his vote. When one views the world in the essentially Calvinistic way that all of mankind is depraved and bound to descend into sin and depravity, there is no reason for personal responsibility. We excuse ourselves from the general trend. “I’m not one of those who is descending into depravity,” we tell ourselves, ”I’m saved. I have a solid moral foundation. I don’t commit the same sins as my brother.” But, in the end, we expect our brother to commit certain sins and write him off as a lost cause. He’s not one of the elect like me.

On a macro scale, that sentiment expresses itself as most people are lost. I am in a select minority who still believes X, Y or Z. We can convince ourselves that X, Y, or Z is constitutionalism, the rule of law, non-interventism. The list is endless, but in the end, we are setting ourselves apart from the mass of men who don’t really get it.

Truly, what is occurring is that we are telling ourselves that our own conception of the world, or of politics, or whatever, is superior to the conception of most people and therefore we are set apart as some sort of saved elite. We are then justified to hold anyone who differs from our opinions as inferior to us. As heretical. We can demonize them without feeling as though we are passing judgment on them. Or, at least self-damning judgment.

However, by saying that people will never change, that the world is running down and nothing we can do will change it, we abdicate any responsibility we may have possessed. Let us suppose for a minute that the world IS running down. Does that alleviate one (in particular, a Christian) from trying to stem the tide. Aren’t we commanded to stand athwart the downward trend and proclaim the Good News? Doesn’t the term Good News itself seem to indicate a generally non-pessimistic worldview?

I wonder if St. Paul were essentially a pessimist if he would have bothered to preach to the Gentiles. If St. Peter were a pessimist, would he have bothered to bring the Good News to the Jews? If St. Thomas More were a pessimist, wouldn’t he have reasoned that King Henry VIII is going to divorce and remarry regardless of the position he took? Each of those men were martyred for their optimism. Optimism does not always result in happy endings, it is true.

Why should we send troops to Iraq, that fight has been waging for centuries. The Balkans, same deal. What can we do to change human nature. These people have hated each other for centuries and nothing we can do will change that. Why should I vote in the next election? After all, there’s not a whit of difference between the candidates. Both candidates will screw you.

When a person offers solutions or ideas to address the problem, it is always easier to puncture his plan, to show its faults. Even if one does not have a viable alternative. We see this happening all the time. There are those who propose change and solutions and then there are naysayers who say, “You are deluded. Do you really think there are any differences between what you advocate and what we have?” People who throw rocks, but offer no alternatives are essentially pessimists with nothing to offer.

I choose to tread a different path than those who throw up their hands and declare futility. In the end, I might be duped by my candidate. He may screw me in the end. That is entirely possible. But, I think that we as Americans have an opportunity here to make a positive change. We have an opportunity to roll back part of the innovations and experimentation that the Left has wrought on this country over the past 50 years. To be sure, if we are successful, we will succeed in only turning back a fraction of what they have accomplished, but we will be one step closer. And, perhaps next election we will be able to make another step closer to the ideal. This battle cannot be won in one step. But, it does require a positive view of humankind, of our fellow citizens, that they will see the right and good and take steps to move that direction. If we are wrong in our optimism, we will only be disappointed. If we are right in our pessimism, we will have helped to bring our worst fears about.

Jim Rogers is upset about the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle.  So am I. 

The Fed has now bailed out “homeowners” whom had no business buying AND lenders who lined their pockets while destroying their business.  Now its MY job to pay off these loans from both ends?!  Outrageous.

So, I am a little behind the times.  Sue me.

The U.S. Navy has reactivated it’s 4th fleet.  The original 4th fleet was created in 1943 and disbanded in 1950.  The fleet is charged with patrolling and humanitarian work in and around the Caribbean and South America.

This is most welcome news.  The U.S. is starting to wake up and see that our future is tied to that of our neighbors.  Reactivating the 4th fleet demonstrates U.S. strength while offering assistance to those most in need.  Good luck and God bless as your mission continues.
Even leftists such as Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega have witnessed the generosity of the U.S. Navy:  “There is a warship in Bilwi, but with medical aid. The ships from the U.S. are coming to help the people, and we have to sincerely express our gratitude.”

Meanwhile, the Russians have teamed up with Chavez to participate in war games in the Caribbean.  The Russian navy will, reportedly, send a battleship to the region.  Excuse me while I contain my laughter.  A battleship?  Really?  Navies still have those?   A large, un-protectable target hardly seems like a serious threat.  Maybe we should retaliate by sending Old IronSides on down to observe!

The original conception for the site design was to include a still shot of the great donnybrook scene from The Quiet Man as the banner image. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a suitable graphic that could be diverted to that use. The photo that has been used since the inception of Conservative Donnybrook is from another John Wayne movie, Red River and shows the scene where Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) and Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift) finally come to a climactic confrontation.

However, in my mind, the fight scene from The Quiet Man is the greatest donnybrook ever depicted in cinema. See for yourself below.

I’d love to hear your nominations for the title of Greatest Donnybrook scene. Also, if anyone is technically adept and has access to a DVD from which the fight scene above can be captured (in particular, the fight scene around the hay stack and showing Thornton in the process of clocking Danaher), feel free to send it to me at Karl@ConservativeDonnybrook.com. Unfortunately, I only have the movie on VHS.

When the pugnacious Palin posed a question about the purpose of the vice president, pundits pounced, questioning her preparedness for the post. The primary point of a vice president is to wait patiently for the possibility that the pros in the Senate equal the antis and to provide a vote which punctures the parity. When one places the potential preparedness of our vice presidential pick against that of their presidential pick, it is quickly evident that our proposed VP is as prepared as their presidential pick. Perhaps more so. For their person possesses a penchant for proclaiming “present” when polled instead of picking a position.

A second pasttime for the president’s partner is to preside as our Republic’s representative at State funeral proceedings. Past that, there is not much to the position of vice president. The pundits’ preoccupation with Palin’s preparedness for the post is puzzling given the relative paucity of purposes that a vice president must perform.

…and therefore, I offer this, a most hilariously conceived and deftly executed epic. Outstanding!

This article confirms the sad but true fact that almost double the amount of people have been killed in Chicago this summer as compared to U.S. soldier deaths in Iraq over the same period of time. This figure alone opens up too many issues, from gun control (Chicago has banned handguns in a similar law to Washinton DC’s) to the war to even Senator Obama (whose political base/backers have controlled the city for years), to discuss in one post. However, I would ask those who think that the war in Iraq cannot be won, what does this mean for the City of Chicago? Is the City doomed?