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Christopher J. Arndt fights
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
man versus melons John Allwood broke a world record. A man has broken a world record by smashing 47 watermelons with his head in 60 seconds.I am impressed although I imagine superhuman powers of durability, or pain is the more likely experience. Labels: embedded media, off-topic Is self-sacrifice a virtuous sort of sacrifice if there is a belief in afterlife? That is to ask, if one has deep faith that after he dies he will end up in an idyllic afterlife, then is his death for a cause really self-sacrifice? That question is based on the idea that if an afterlife is more pleasant than life then an act which leads to that state is not sacrifice. One is not giving up anything because one is automatically embracing a larger and better state of being. This is crap. I am fairly certain that that is not fatalism or a form thereof but if one's own state of being in life comes with its own set of distinct obligations, duties, and pleasures unique to being alive and not at all associated with something before and after, then certainly a transformation to a different state of being, to a spiritual non-corporeal state of being would be shedding particular pressures and pleasures of corporeal life. If one is enjoying or appreciating an aspect of corporeal life that he knows, then it is a sacrifice to move on to the unknowable universe beyond. Labels: MC 497, politics, theology hard to say what the last blog post will be before CPAC oh well. Get used to the uncertainty. Labels: meta government threatens the Second Amendment? Big surprise there! Anti-gun Land Bill Moving Again -- Gun control should be stripped from the legislation Monday, February 23, 2009 An alert last week asked you to urge your representative to oppose a massive land bill that was scheduled to come before the full House at any time. The good news is that opposition to the bill grew so loud that the leadership pulled it from the calendar so they would have more time to muster enough votes to pass it. Well, that also gives you another chance to contact your own representative to tell him to OPPOSE the anti-Second Amendment Omnibus Land Act. The bill, S. 22, is now scheduled to be voted on this week. S.22 is a mammoth bill comprised of over 190 separate pieces of legislation and will come to the floor with a rule that will not allow pro-gun representatives to offer amendments. There are serious Second Amendment concerns with this legislation. S. 22 will greatly expand the amount of land controlled by the National Park Service (NPS). Because the rights of lawful gun owners are restricted on NPS land, the bill will create even more "anti-Second Amendment" zones. In contrast to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service, which allow State and local laws to govern firearms possession, NPS land was until recently subject to a complete gun ban. In the waning days of his administration, President Bush partially reversed the ban, but that half-way measure still leaves a significant portion of the gun prohibition in place. Gun Owners of America has fought for several years to fully repeal the NPS regulations, but those efforts have been hampered by the anti-gun leadership of both the House and Senate. GOA opposes many parts of the bill that are controversial and have not been debated on their individual merits. Consider just a few provisions of the 1,294-page bill: * Section 2002 codifies the National Landscape Conservation System, which groups together 26 million acres of federal land and places it under one umbrella agency. The NLCS was created during the Clinton administration and run administratively since that time. S. 22 will make the system permanent, raising concerns for hunters and sportsmen. Much of this land is consolidated from the BLM and the Forest Service, which have always allowed hunting and recreational shooting. It is unclear what rules will be promulgated by the new agency and if gun owners' rights will be protected at all. * Section 5204 of the bill establishes the Washington-Rochambeau Route as a Historic Trail. This dual trail begins in Rhode Island and travels 650 miles to Yorktown, Virginia. The trail includes parts of major thoroughfares on the east coast such as Interstate 95 and US Route 1, meaning the gun ban could effect hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting gun owners each day. * Section 5301 authorizes the federal government to buy private land adjacent to national parks and trails. Such land would be controlled by the NPS, and thus be subject to the agencies’ anti-gun regulations. * Section 7002 makes the birthplace of William Jefferson Clinton a National Historic Site. Well, perhaps it's fitting that the legacy of former President Clinton, who was responsible for so many anti-Second Amendment laws, will include yet another "gun free" zone. In all, the bill designates over 2 million acres of wilderness, establishes three new national parks, a new national monument, three new national conservation areas, and four new national trails. If there are parts of the bill that could stand on their own, they should be brought up separately and dealt with in an open and fair process -- and not used as bargaining chips in exchange for compromises of your Second Amendment rights. Some people on Capitol Hill contend that all of these bills already passed the House anyway. In fact, no they haven't. More than 70 of these bills now before the House were only passed by the Senate. The House of Representatives never even held hearings or open debate on these measures. Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT) has indicated that he wants to at least have the opportunity to offer an amendment to ensure that the Second Amendment rights of all Americans are protected. However, right now it looks as though the anti-gun House leadership will refuse to allow any amendments to the bill, in order to ensure that it goes straight to President Obama's desk. There is a possibility that an amendment to protect only hunting and recreational shooting on federal land would be allowed. Such an amendment by itself is not sufficient and is clearly designed as a "cover" vote for gun rights compromisers. Please contact your representative and urge him or her to insist that an amendment be allowed to protect ALL of your Second Amendment rights -- not just hunting and recreational shooting. ACTION: Please urge your Representative oppose S. 22. Labels: guns, politics, press releases, reprints Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Michigan Republicans Marshalling Its Forces FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Robert Wolfer Monday, February 23, 2009 (517) 487-5413
Michigan GOP Finalizes Leadership Positions
New Party Leaders Ready to Position Michigan GOP to Win in 2010
LANSING – The Michigan Republican Party finalized its leadership positions at their state convention Friday evening and early Saturday morning. Delegates to the convention met in individual district caucuses and elected chairmen and vice chairmen for each of Michigan’s fifteen Congressional districts, as well as party state committee members.
“An important part of our plan is to invest in training, equipping, and supporting local Republicans,” said Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser. “In order to win, Michigan Republicans must utilize our local leaders to engage and empower our local activists. I am excited about the terrific team that we have assembled and look forward to working closely with all of them to fix our state and reinvigorate our party.”
District chairs, vice chairs, and state committee members serve in their positions for two years until the party’s convention in the winter of 2011. A list of elected chairs, vice chairs, and state committee members is below. District chairs are automatically awarded a position on the party’s state committee. For your convenience a map of Michigan’s fifteen Congressional districts is attached.
District 1
Chairman: Jeff Lamb
Vice Chairmen: Adam Hume Mary Ellen Tryban Rita Hale
State Committee Members: Linda Birgel Beverly Bodem John Haggard John Niemela Mary Sears Anthony Stackpoole
District 2
Chairman: Kurt Van Koevering
Vice Chairman: Suzy Hughes
State Committee Members: Jack HolmesPaul Leidig Janice McCraner Juanita Pierman Joan Runnels Bob Springstead
District 3
Chairman: Kim Yob
Vice Chairman: Dan Koorndyk
State Committee Members: Mandy BolterAndrew Emmitt Richard Houskamp Eileen McNeil Bill Womer Sharon Yentsch
District 4
Chairman: Joan Jackson
Vice Chairman: Steve Rudoni
State Committee Members: Florence "Bobbie" ConnellyKim Emmons Micki McClelland Steve Rudoni Eric St. Onge Gerald Wall
District 5
Chairman: Lutullus Penton
Vice Chairman: Amy Carl
State Committee Members: Prudence AdamAmy Carl James Cowon David Krueger Patrick Portman Christine Young
District 6
Chairman: Joseph Haas
Vice Chairman: Elizabeth Garey
State Committee Members: Megan BuwaldaJoe Calvaruso Paul DeYoung Jennifer Schultz Bob Sills Joyce Watts
District 7
Chairman: Wyckham Seelig
Vice Chairman: Anne Norlander
State Committee Members: Margo AseltineMichael Clark Harry Fallon Carol Greenwald Lola Peterson Chris Simmons
District 8
Chairman: Allan Filip
Vice Chairman: Michelle Hyne
State Committee Members: Tom LeonardCindy Pine JoAnn Sellers Norm Shinkle Linda Lee Tarver Larry Ward
District 9
Chairman: Glenn Clark
Vice Chairman: Theresa Mungioli
State Committee Members: Jim DuistermarsBarbara Harrell Bob McCoy Theresa Mungioli Theresa Stayer Justin Zatkoff
District 10
Chairman: Randy St. Laurant
Vice Chairman: Marianne Weisse
State Committee Members: Lori BabcockRon Babin Kathleen Berden David Gillis Teri Kowal Paul Viar
District 11
Chairman: Abe Munfakh
Vice Chairman: Melissa Fazio
State Committee Members: Paula AbboSam Baki Victor Cassis Mark Garrison Ida Shelly Martha Snow
District 12
Chairman: Janice Nearon
Vice Chairman: David Maquera
State Committee Members: Judy BuchholtzMary Kathryn DeCuir Ron Michals Linn Nichols Victoria Rewiako-Smiley Dan Tollis
District 13
Chairman: Ed Joseph
Vice Chairman: Krista Licata Haroutunian
State Committee Members: David DudenhoeferDonzell Green Jermain Lee Jones Therese Joseph Mary Treder Lang Thomas McCleary
District 14
Chairman: Bill Beddoes
Vice Chairman: Margaret Logelin
State Committee Members: Susan Licata HaroutunianRick Jarosz Laurie McHugh Scott Saionz Darlyn Vigh
District 15
Chairman: Margy Van Houten
Vice Chairman: Bob Bykowski
State Committee Members: James AltiereWendy Carter Susan Chmielewski Frankie Middleton William Runco Paul Sophiea
# # #
Paid for by Michigan Republican Party Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee Labels: Michigan, Michigan 7th District, politics, press releases, reprints, Republicans Barack Obama is worse than Bush 43 because he is like Bush 43 During his administration President Bush sent money for recovery efforts in the Gaza strip. That was the intention of the issuing of American funds. It was a stupid mistake because the United Nations organization he used was merely a wing/branch/front/group for/of the terrorist group Hamas so rather than going to feed innocent Arabs and Palestinians caught in the crossfire, the money went to fund Hamas as they could murder more Israelis and use Arabs/Palestinians/innocents as human shields to intentionally get them killed. That was stupid and borderline incompetent. President Obama is funneling nearly $1,000,000,000 to Hamas in the same method. So we would be culpable again. Given what we know now, this is scumtastic. Of course, Barack Obama knows this because he is covering up the avenue, intentionally obfuscating the identity of the organization the money is going through. Furthermore, UNRWA ambulances are used by Hamas to transport weapons and explosives to terrorists. Its other vehicles have been used to ferry terrorist operatives for attacks against Israeli troops. Its schools have been used both for launching terror attacks and as "summer camps" that provide paramilitary training to tens of thousands of Palestinian children. UNRWA camps are used by Hamas as bomb- and arms factories.We can stop it. Does the Republican National party have the guts? Will Steele have the steel? Will our Congressmen? Do not look at me. My federal legislators are Democrats and Obama-sucklers. Labels: Barack Obama, Israel, politics, Republicans, terror war Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
SNL Weekend Update vesus bloggers everywhere "SNL" is short for Saturday Night Live, and Weekend Update is a regular/weekly skit, the conceit being a (supposedly funny) newscast More here! Labels: embedded media, television just sell me my ink! I do not know what City-Data.com is... Stats About All US Cities"... but I will keep this to look into later. At their forum, however, is an interesting topic/discussion on actors' and actresses' political leanings. It is not productive for my projects exactly, but there is one idea that Mike Huckabee (or Chuck Norris) may be bad because he criticized John McCain. I am having some trouble with the Lexmark Store, just getting color ink cartridges (Number 2)... complete with free shipping. How can it not confirm my payment? The phone number is no good until tomorrow. Then it will not arrive in time by Wednesday. I hope I will not need color ink before the coming Sunday. Labels: Chuck Norris, link dump, off-topic, politics Thursday, February 19, 2009
Porkulus versus the Second Amendment Gun Owner Concerns In The So-called "Stimulus" Bill -- Billions of dollars for anti-gun ACORN and computer database It was a day that will live in infamy. President Obama traveled to Denver, Colorado yesterday to sign the multi-billion dollar, pork-laden, so-called "stimulus" bill into law. But forget the $787 billion price tag you heard on TV. Forget the $12 TRILLION debt limit which the bill created. By the time debt services and other frills of the "socialism bill" are accounted for, the cost will be over $3,000,000,000,000 (yes, three TRILLION). This makes the bill the biggest government spending grab in human history. But what about the details? The hundreds and hundreds of pages in the bill were not made available until less than 18 hours before the final passage vote. But here's what we know in relation to the gun-related provisions: * The final bill continues to spend between $12 and $20 BILLION on requiring your doctor to retroactively put your most confidential medical records into a government database. Based on our experience with veterans, we would expect the government to try to use computerized psychiatric records to impose gun bans on people who have sought (or will seek) treatment. * The final bill continues to fund liberal community action groups like ACORN, which has been convicted in previous elections for voter fraud and is now under investigation in several states for having engaged in massive criminal election fraud on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. Not only that, they have also been involved in anti-Second Amendment activism in New Jersey. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was at least honest when he said it would be a shame to let a crisis like the current recession "go to waste." Like vultures picking on the nation's carcass, the White House has used the nation's pain to lavish largesse on its political supporters, at the expense of the nation's economic survival. And, in the end, this act of ethical depravity was made possible by every Democrat Senator who voted for the bill, plus the defections of three Republicans: Arlen Specter (R-PA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and Susan Collins (R-ME). If there is one silver lining to all of this, it's the debunking of a rumor that recently swept across the internet. The rumor claimed that the provisions of HR 45 -- the massive gun registration bill introduced by Chicago congressman Bobby Rush (D) -- were "rolled into" what was passed. But having searched the contents of the new law, GOA staff has determined the rumor appears to be false. **************************** source GOA press release Labels: guns, politics, press releases, reprints Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Some Students Think with Hard Work Comes Good Grades There is an article in the New York Times about students who expect to be graded well because they do the required reading and work hard. I can understand, often hear about the notion that hard work entitles one to a reward related directly to the difficulty or the level of engagement. That is, if one attacks a problem with a certain level of verve and determination that should almost automatically address what sort of reward or acknowledgment should follow. “Many students come in with the conviction that they’ve worked hard and deserve a higher mark,” Professor Grossman said... He attributes those complaints to his students’ sense of entitlement. “I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed to do and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C,” he said. “That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A.”So the students expect that if certain boxes are checked and the categorized efforts should summon forth a specific result that most people attribute to genuine achievement. “I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed to do and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C,” he said. “That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A.”When I was a child earning an average grade, that of minimal acceptability, was not an acceptable or encourageable situation, and brought forth encouragement to do better. Failing grades were unheard of and exceptional work was the expectation. Certain courses as they start, begin with a level of perfection and the students are given opportunities to maintain good marks or lose in the scale. Obviously not all courses are like and some are. The final ascertainment of performance occurs in the end, tautologically and judgment in the middle allows one to anticipate failure, or even mere middling and plan for improvement. At no point does merely doing the work, what some would call "showing up" earn top level marks. Either way, earning a "C" means falling short of some top-point or top tier of requirements. A favorite saying is "you can do everything right and still fail." This does not apply. Total application and total engagement does not mean that results will reflect intention. A lesson from my high school years is that applying a creative approach, extra verve as it were, to a test, does not matter and that my efforts combined with the correct answer, is not appreciated unless a particular demand or expectation of the instructor is met: know your audience. There is no such thing as working at an A-Level because A-Level work is A-Level results. My automatic response to the kids with the sense of entitlement is regards to the hypothetically just reaction to effort. If we reward great effort with high scores, should we penalize those who achieve the top marks without great effort? Should we hold it against student who achieve adequacy or produce the best work, each with very little difficulty? This only scrapes the surface in exploring the adequacy of this education in preparing the youth for the requirements to come in life. There is an aphorism: "Work smarter, not harder." People expect results from their workers, employees, servants, functionaries and rarely measure effort. Perhaps only a loving and all-knowing God really cares about the cost of a contribution and not the absolute final value of it. For the humans, what a contribution will buy for the receiver is (usually) more important than what that contribution cost to the contributor. Whose responsibility is it to be concerned with the price of results? Labels: education I will not apologize... for making my last post a reprint of a Republican press release. I will definitely not apologize for the "the image of Republicans/Conservatives" series. The Republicans, as a club and a cause, have suffered from the perception that they/we are just a collective of old or middle-aged fat white men, with lots of money. Trust me, we do not have that much money. Just the same the image of our ideology/philosophy shares that same stigma. This must stop. We can only stop this by acting. We should also encourage people to stand at the forefront as appropriate. Time will come when the educated youth should take point. The more we defer only to 'aged is experienced' the more we leave ourselves less prepared for the depredations of the Progressives and their sick movement. Besides, attractive women portrayed in the proper light are the very best recruitment methods/actors when it comes to gathering idiotic young men. Then we trap them, educate them, and deploy these young people as activists and educators. Labels: Conservatives, meta, politics, Progressives, Republicans Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Mike Rogers versus Porkulus Lansing- Michigan Congressman, Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) blasted the recent passing of the U.S. stimulus bill, pointing out its massive pork barrel spending and programs that will not help the economy in Michigan and elsewhere. He went on to say, “I'm very disappointed in it and I have lots and lots of concerns. The two provisions that would have helped us the most got stripped out of the bill, one was the tax breaks for buying an automobile got stripped out of the bill, and the other one was tax breaks for buying a home got stripped out of the bill.” While Congressman Rogers is in favor of a plan that would re-energize the economy, he is opposed to simply throwing money at such a large problem. At nearly $790 billion, the debt and wasteful spending could hinder the U.S. Economy for decades. Rogers added, “It worries me for my children and their grandchildren, they are going to be the ones paying for this."
Click here for the video of the clip from WLNS 6 in Lansing <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKVUPRTzbVY>
### Paid for by Michigan Republican Party Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee www.migop.org <http://www.migop.org> Labels: Michigan, politics, press releases, reprints, Republicans Monday, February 16, 2009
Happy Presidents Day I hate Presidents Day. Half the people work and the other people do not. Labels: holidays Sunday, February 15, 2009
the most hits on a single day for February 15th, 2009, as of 11:25 PM
Labels: meta New Hampshire versus Barack Obama State of New Hampshire with Bill HCR 6 is just on one of several States who are drawing a line in the sand against the Federal Government. For any one of 6 very specific reasons, they will secede. Labels: Barack Obama, Democrats, Liberty, politics, Republicans the Conservative image we should be showing  Stella HawkinsLabels: embedded media, Facebook, imagery, link dump, weblog news IR theory Valentine's Guide the important insights that international relations theory can provide for people in love Labels: holidays Saturday, February 14, 2009
Fred Thompson goes to Mars I hope this goes well for him and may actually drive me to watch the show. I like the premise but I don't normally have the time. sourceUPI Labels: ABC, Fred Thompson, television Valentine's Night Link Dump
Labels: Barack Obama, embedded media, link dump, politics, Star Trek Bill Mahar versus radio conservatives Stand-up comedian and failed network television personality Bill Maher went on Larry King Live and ripped on Rush Limbaugh and essentially every Republican (or Conservative) who uses radio to send the good word or anyone whom receives the good word through the radio. That's how clueless [the GOP] is. They looked to the future and they found radio.There are reasons why radio survives well as a format today and not merely as a precursor to so-called "modern" media technology.
I believe Bill Maher is jealous. His exile to pay-cable from ABC probably still stings. A "man gets taken seriously by more people on an AM radio station than on the least consumer-friendly pay cable station" and Bill Maher is jealous at the fact. He would deny it but I would bet cash he is very very skilled at lying at the fact and perhaps has even fooled himself into thinking he is fully satisfied where he is. Labels: link dump, politics, radio, Rush Limbaugh, technology, television I never thought politicians were ever young Well, I cannot help but think of Barack Obama as a young person, despite his generation being one older than mine. John F. Kennedy was young, too. So here we are - Veto Corleone: 15 Amazing Yearbook Photos of U.S. Politicians National Review linked to it.
Oddly, she looks pretty good on the cover of Vogue. In general I cannot find the woman physically attractive... something about the line of her jaw and/or her forehead, I think, strikes me. Labels: Al Gore, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Democrats, George W. Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Joe Biden, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, politics, Republicans, Sarah Palin Friday, February 13, 2009
200 years and a day after Lincoln's birth I ask the question about revolution. When do we know that this is the choice? People often use the word on the internet but for a civilized society the choice of armed revolt is the last choice you make because after that declaration of independence there is no second chance. Either you win and you have your own government and you are responsible for the corner of the world... or you lose when the government you challenge catches you and hangs you. The punishment for treason is death and an attempt to undermine and overthrow your established regime is definitely an act of treason. In the 1860s Jefferson Davis and a host of former colonies, States, succeeded from the Union and the Abraham Lincoln proved his determination to keep that Union. He preserved that Union. Many say today that Barack Obama is a reflection of Lincoln. Perhaps he is a Bizarro twist of a freedom-bringer. Abraham Lincoln kept the Union and proved his vision of the Constitution... at the barrel of a gun. He was two-fisted and hard-assed. He fired his generals when they failed him. But if the Civil War went the other way it would have been a Revolution, right? A bloody conflict where many Americans die for a vision of a nation... that description fits both our Revolution and our Civil War. These are full measures. People commit their lives and their energies to a cause one could deem holy. This is a cause that many deem worthy. Good men do not kill for nothing, but good men kill. Remember that good men kill. Good men also order other men to kill. There is nothing pleasant about this. It is a recent invention that what is good is pleasant. Abraham Lincoln never was a fighting soldier, meeting bloody combat and including that in his experiences. But it was in the vision of the Founding Fathers that we have a civilian Commander-In-Chief. We have one today. We had one in Lincoln. Lincoln committed men to die. Lincoln committed men to kill. Either course be it the victory of the rebels or the preservation of the union would have been a freedom for many purchase with the blood of others. In the case of Union the Americans sought to end a slave empire, nipping it in the bud. Emancipation really was freedom purchased with blood. All freedom is purchased with blood as currency. Freedom from sin 2000 years ago is the celestial template we follow when we re-state the bumper sticker mantra that forever defines the line we cross to appreciate our loves and enjoy the wide-open spaces: Freedom Isn't Free. The Emancipation I write of is of course the end of the American slave system and the great pledge in the West to terminate (on our end, anyway) the horrible pattern of slavery began in Africa. Man and flesh as property ended. But it took blood as sacrifice for man to be man and not an item. So I read bloggers talk about revolution as if it will pop into being in their lifetime. Wow that's bright. We lovingly toss about words that in real application mean violence and death on a massive scale. We casually toss about these words. Well, not we because not I. If the United States is now socialist, secular, and these are the days that liberty dies, should we revolt? Should we not? Why not? We will not revolt. I will not revolt. I am not anticipating a world that resembles the Postman anytime soon and I do not know how to ride a horse. It is good to realize that somethings may come to fruition, but let's not be stupid. ever Labels: Barack Obama, politics Wednesday, February 11, 2009
so the Labor Party's influence is the lowest yet? Pardon the sudden shift towards Israeli politics, but I have five regular readers so my academic direction trumps all five cries of protests. Now I have zero readers. The vote is over. Likud is just below Kadima. Kadima may now be the Center-Left party of choice as oppose to Labor, which only won 10% of the vote. Since Likud is 21% and Yisrael Beitenu won 12% one could argue that Israel is moving in a center-right direction or sitting at a center-right position. This is assuming that a successful coalition comes forth. Kadima leader Livni declares that the people chose her. "The people chose me in droves. I feel a great responsibility to translate the power that has been given to me into action, to advance the country and to unify the people," said Livni from her Tel Aviv home.She feels that a mere plurality gives her a mandate or so she acts, thus she will fight for the spot and bids for coalition with Yisrael Beitenu. Of course, she has to act this way because with the bulk of the voting population voting against any single party, Likud merely need achieve a coalition with the next-largest center-right party to determine the direction of the country and nullify Livni's wishes. Labels: Israel, MC 390, Michigan State University, politics Tuesday, February 10, 2009
France v Algeria http://www.lewrockwell.com/wall/wall24.html http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Algeria.shtml http://www.tocqueville.culture.fr/en/voyages/v_algerie-01.html http://www.springerlink.com/content/qnlchtp1fr8mlb71/ http://www.h-france.net/vol5reviews/vincent2.html http://www.theinfidels.org/zunb-alexisdetocqueville.htm Labels: history, Michigan State University some bits on Neocolonialism I heard some raw judgment recently leveled at "Neocolonialism" and I had some difficulty coming to grips on its precise meaning. Granted, I am sick. Merriam-Webster says thus: This does not help me. Back in the NRO Corner in 2003 Jonah Goldberg prints a letter discussing the overlap/crossover between neo-conservatism (such as it is) and neocolonialism and how it's mostly labels, and exporting democracy is mostly 'what's good for the goose is good for the gander'. Over four years later some on the Left see the practice of the term as a hinge on which Arab's electoral politics turns. None of this clears stuff up. Kwame Nkrumah, of 1965, wrote a book called Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of imperialism, but I really do not care. Monday, February 09, 2009
template update I love a good old Template Update. How many of these have I had? Let's see what the virtue or today is? theblogprof I like it. It's got the versatility and the jazz of content all weblogs across the internet need. Labels: meta, template update typical Republican treatment of the candidte for US Senate in Michigan This "Voters' Guide" article from 2005 (the date of the article is unclear; the archive was made in 2005) discusses then-State Representative Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski's bid for the US Senate against Carl Levin. The state Republicans had nobody in mind to challenge 24-year incumbent U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) other than Raczkowski. Republican Party Chairman Rusty Hills was pumping Raczkowski. Volunteers were giving out “Rocky for Senate” T-shirts as convention attendees stepped off the boat. Everybody seemed excited about the energetic and very personable Raczkowski except, perhaps, Raczkowski himself.It may not be inappropriate to say that Rocky was pushed. Generally the Michigan Republican Party even runs candidates against Car Levin just to make the Democrats spend money on defending the US Senate seat, ostensibly. What generally happens is the Republican candidate burns money and time collecting a check in the "Lose column" in their own electoral record, with mixed results about keeping his or her name in the public eye for the sake the future political career. The fact is that the US Senator rarely ever spends money, and never spent money to my memory, regarding the defense of his seat. The Democrats do not re-allocate cash for the defense of the seat. What did happen was entirely predictable. Republicans gave Raczkowski the job, but not the money it takes to get the job done. The state Republican Party, still $750,000 in debt after the failed re-election campaign of former Sen. Spence Abraham (R-Auburn Hills) and President George W. Bush in 2000, didn’t have a lot of cash to throw around. What money they did have was going to gubernatorial nominee Dick Posthumus.The Michigan Republican Party was also less than adequately generous with State Representative Jack Hoogendyk in the 2008 election cycle. The State Party was already (arguably) broke and campaign finance laws forbade the MRP from campaigning for Hoogendyk in the same strain/paragraph/breath as for the State Legislative campaigns, the US Congressional campaigns or the McCain Presidential campaign. I insisted that the Jack for Senate Campaign be the focused statewide political campaign, for a number of reasons, including the schism between the Yob masters of McCain and the Sterling counterparts, essentially shutting out the main thrusts of the Party itself which was led by Sterling hands. For good reason no one listens to me; I lack the political capital. So whatever it was worth inadequate funds went to Jack For Michigan. I naturally believed that if given the funds to summon up or create, manifest a level playing field then Jack Hoogendyk could provide a serious challenge to Senator Levin's incumbency. The point of the campaign, of course, was not to have something more for a cash-strapped MRP to spend money on, but to provoke the Michigan Democrats to spend money themselves. Of course this is a failure and it is always a failure. At best we could hope for the GOP legislator to use it as a platform for issues, generate a sizable dissenting vote against a Democrat in an election cycle where straight-ticket voting for the Democrats was a juggernaut, and keep the Hoogendyk name out in the public mind. I am not certain there was a success in any of those. At the very worst Jack Hoogendyk could ride the Senate race to an unsuccessful drive to be the state chair for the Michigan Republican Party. The chairmanship of State Party will fall to Ambassador Ron Wieser. Even though the election of Ambassador Weiser is not official, the other candidates have dropped out, including Jack Hoogendyk. As for Rocky Raczkowsiki, people assumed he would run again in 2008 but dropped out in early 2008 at the state Convention, explicitly endorsing Jack Hoogendyk, citing his oncoming military service. Rocky is an officer and a reservist. As it is we have a destructive pattern here with the automatic assumption that Carl Levin will always win. We push the job of candidate onto people knowing they will fail and fail to support this role. Republicans can always use the "young blood" argument insisting that the Democrat Senator who has no Michiganian residence must stand aside for a new point of view, but the voting public generally displays a certain comfort with the incumbent they seemingly have always had. I think it looks rather conservative in a way. Until Senator Levin retires I wonder why we run anyone substantial, because for all the attention the race receives we might as well run a ghost. Then again, Senator Levin was set to retire before this present term, and he decided not to just to preserve the Democrat Majority in the Senate. Perhaps this will be his last term, meaning that the Senate seat will be up for grabs in 2014, putting it against the Gubernatorial race for central attention. That kind of attention face-off did not go well for Rocky in 2002. It will take a study of more specific statistics and genuine political science to determine the solution. Labels: Jack Hoogendyk, Michigan, politics, Republicans KIPP videos, studying the Knowledge Is Power Program Here are some samples of something to link in on. The KIPP Academy charter school was profiled on Making Schools Work, a PBS special by Hedrick Smith that aired on 10/5/05. KIPP on Making Schools Work (part 1 of 2) KIPP on Making Schools Work (part 2 of 2) Labels: embedded media, MC 348, Michigan State University, movies Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Mark Steyn was guest-hosting on Rush Limbaugh yesterday, February 3rd 2009. Here is the official daily page for that session. I am aware of the necessary copyright violation and I will take the risk.
Labels: Mark Steyn, politics, radio, reprints, Rush Limbaugh Barack Obama, merely a politican Part V My friend Fransisco Gonzalez enumerates how President Obama's new "change"-type 'more honorable' nominees for his Cabinet are merely men and not men of especially high integrity either. Of course, Bill Richardson. Tim Geithner. Tom Daschle. These three men represent three major appointments in the Obama Administration.These guys do not represent normally high integrity either. I do expect greater integrity than normal for the Secretary of the Treasury, given his massive power and direct impact on fiscal and personal liberties. This is not a serious improvement, but we should not expect anything orders of magnitude different from politicians. Labels: Barack Obama, Democrats, politics Rahm Emmanuel versus the US Constitution Rahm Emmanuel is the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. The following is Mr. Emmanuel speaking at the Brady Center. I believe it to be a reasonably accurate reflection of President Obama's view of a vital tool we Americans need to secure our rights. I will explain the significance of Brady later. A quick (Google) search of National Review Online's site will bear good fruit on that account I would hope. Two quotes to remember. One is the point of the Modern Left. "Our task of creating a socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed." - Sarah BradyThe other is the view of the traditionalist and the rational mind, bent towards liberty. "Laws that forbid the carrying of armsdisarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." - Thomas JeffersonSee the difference? Some more raw meme, scream, promotion, and data from YouTube user DontBeObamaZombies: CNN- Obama To BAN Guns SPREAD THIS FOLKS, PLZ!Follow using your own judgment. Labels: Barack Obama, Democrats, politics Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Mexicao City Policy is about Americans paying to kill brown-skinned people more ripping off Chris Gast: Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow had an opportunity to keep our tax dollars from going to organizations who perform or promote abortions in foreign countries, but both chose instead to fund abortion providers in the name of "population assistance." Labels: abortion, Democrats, link dump, politics, Republicans Mark Steyn guest-hosting the Rush Limbaugh show  On February 2nd, 2009 the guest-host of Rush Limbaugh's radio program, according to an then-ill Citizen X, was Jason Lewis. I hate Jason Lewis. I messaged Mr. Name Removed calling Mr. Lewis "the disease" and claimed that Mark Steyn was the solution. Today I know that Rush Limbaugh's people certainly stalk me on Facebook because today the guest-host is Mark Steyn.
 Labels: Facebook, food, link dump, Mark Steyn, radio expect nothing new with a new AG What I saw on Yahoo today: I insist that a politician-lawyer-cop's insistence that there will be no "favoritism" is automatically a lie, but I think there is still irony in this man's resume. I hope to have time to pursue stuff on the FALN clemencies later. The man sympathized with murderous terrorists. The utility of such is a bit thin given my lack of consistent readership. The irony always lies in "clean break". The Bush administration, as far as I know, continued the horrific policy of Rendition. Attorney General Holder defends this policy as it allows him to distance the moral negligence from the President. The policy began under the Clinton Administration. This is no clean break. Labels: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Democrats, politics the Left still believes its myths about President Bush 43 The CNN Political Ticker is about President Obama seeing his Office (of the President) as a more casual thing than his predecessor but the comments reflect some memes that will not die. This does not mean that the comments are genuinely interesting; They are not. The comments on the ticker (like some I say on beliefnet on February 2) are simple, concise, and perfectly accurate examples of untruth that many Stupid Apes in my country dogmatically believe. The fact that Former President Bush was dwelling on small little details such as wearing a suit coat in the Oval Office just further proves that he was asleep at the wheel... Figures he would zero in on small mindless things. That's about all we were ever going to get from a "C" student.The Left loves the idea that the President was simply stupid. The second-to-last guy they trumpeted as really smart, much smarter than the President, Senator Kerry, had inferior grades. But logically - an adherence to tradition is not proof of policy alertness. Of course, there is the call of war crimes. Mr. President please go to work now and arrest Bush And Cheney and all their co-horts and send them to Gitmo... please take care of the last eight years first. Our country needs to be rid of this sewage for good. Please flush them to the place they made for themselves.Disrespect aside, there are not actual crimes committed. There are obvious memes about war, hurricanes, and markets. I wish he would have had a rule about helping people (Katrina), not lying (Iraq war), accountability (banks, insurance companies, and years of missing emails), and by all means a rule about protecting liberties (Patriot Act).There are obvious things to remind the planet.
Now for irony. Now better people, more honorable people, will have to clean up the disaster left in your wake. It has already started with ethics reforms and opening wide the Freedom of Information Act.Of all of President Obama's appointees for the Cabinet there are a Treasury guy who cannot pay the common man's obligation of taxes, a Health and Human services guy who would not pay his own employee's health, a Commerce Secretary undergoing Federal investigation, a law guy who went out of his way to get violent murderous terrorists out of prison without being asked, and I am sure I am scratching the surface. A lot of these "more honorable people" are criminals in their field, inompetents at their chosen obligation, or terrorist sympathizers. I would rather my nephews hold these offices. At least the ten-year-old knows that blowing innocent Americans up should be punishable. By the by, FOIA has been FOIA for decades; it is not opening wider. Labels: Barack Obama, Democrats, George W. Bush, politics Monday, February 02, 2009
Robocop the movie There will be no posts for today, no commentary, and no politics, news, or anything personal. I lack the time. To make it up to you, if you are a loyal reader you will get to watch this ultra-violent movie for two hours. This R-rated film is a basis for much of the ultra-violence we love today. Labels: embedded media, movies, science fiction Sunday, February 01, 2009
start holding for your home
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