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Intellectual Conservative PoliticsIowa.com Weekly Weblog No Runny Eggs
This is the personal weblog of Aakash Raut, established Sept. 2002. It will cover current affairs, worldwide & national topics, local & university events, and provide insight and commentary on contemporary issues and the news from his perspective. Enjoy! --------------- ARCHIVES Sept 2002 - Now -------------
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E-mail - uisconservative-at-yahoo About Aakash 
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Sunday, December 29, 2002
For this Season of Giving... Two worthy causes to contribute to... (one more worthy than the other): I received this message some days ago: (This expires after Dec. 31st [Tuesday], so it's best to follow the link to Excedrin's home page right away... see below!) Dear Friends and Family: The following is very legitimate and perhaps you'll consider joining the thousands of others! There is no requirement to sign anything. All you do is click on the Toys for Tots logo in the upper left section. If you go to the Excedrin home page and click on the link for the Toys for Tots, Excedrin will donate $1 to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. There is no cost to you. [http://www.excedrin.com] When you are finished, please forward this to everyone! Have a SUPER holiday and a GREAT New Year! ------------------- Note: This expires after Dec. 31, so please follow that link right away! I'll update this entry with the other worthy cause shortly... Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Merry Christmas!! May your season be filled with joy and goodwill... And may you feel free to share the Truth about Christmas with others as we reflect upon the birth of our Savior. Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Merry Christmas... Eve!! Here are some recent postings and articles for this season: The Week Before Christmas, BreakPoint The Gift of Christmas, Acton Institute It's a Wonderful Country, Roger Clegg, National Review Merry Christmas, Oliver North, Freedom Alliance Virginia Beach Snags 2002 Scrooge Award, Concerned Women for America Political Correctness at Absurd Levels During Christmas Season, James L. Lambert, Agape Press Thanks to TownHall.com for the above links! Also see: Christmas in Kosovo, BBC On Earth, Peace, Good Will Toward Men - Except Those Living in Iraq, Lee R. Shelton, IV Peace in No Man's Land ~ Christmas 1914, Jennifer Rosenberg The Christmas Truce ~ Fact and Fiction, BBC The Christmas Truce - 1914 And from past years: No Merry Christmas for Persecuted Christians Around the World, Don Feder, Dec. 22, 1997 Get in the Spirit of the Holidays, Linda Bowles, Dec. 27, 2001 A Christmas Healing, Cal Thomas, Dec. 13, 2001 Christmas at Mises.org, Ludwig Von Mises Institute From Col. David Hackworth [Soldiers for the Truth]: A Christmas Wish: Let's End Our Role as Globo Cop, Dec. 26, 2001 Wanted: Peace Goodwill, and a Wise Leader, Dec. 21, 1999 From Nathaniel Krause (U of IL, Urbana-Champaign): Why Coal Makes the Best Christmas Present, Dec. 1997 - quite funny! Thursday, December 19, 2002
Four years ago... I just couldn't let this day go by without commenting on the historic event which occured on this day four years ago. This date in '98 marks one of the most historic occurences of our lifetimes (so far...). It was a very exciting time to be a high school student following politics and current affairs. In the exciting time prior to this historic event, I had been volunteering in the office of my Congressman. It will be hard to forget the news, views, and debate which went on during this period. Tuesday, December 17, 2002
Well, school is finshed - for now - and I'm back! A lot of things to catch up on blog-wise: First off, the obvious: Lott of Trouble Well, the blogosphere went berzerk this past week following those comments made by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) at Senator Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party. (See my post for 12/5 below for more on that.) In fact, we bloggers and political web junkies were actually on this story before it became news in the mainstream public arena. Read about how that happened here in the Washington Post or here in the New York Post. It is amazing how, when you use the web and online publications as sources to keep up on the latest news and views, you can be informed of key issues and events before everyone else. There was so much that transpired between now and then - with respect to writers, commentators, and bloggers - that it is very difficult to choose what to include in this post. As mentioned below, conservative blogger InstaPundit expressed outrage at Lott's comments early on. So did neoconservatives Andrew Sullivan, Jonah Goldberg, David Frum, and Bill Kristol. It is incredible how so many of the leading respected conservative commentators piled onto Lott so early on. There was also a lot of good discussion that went on at Hoosier Review. Zach Wendling posted an entry on Monday, December 9 (see the 12:37 PM post), about how Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) made a racial remark not too long ago, and has gone a lot further than Senator Lott, but never had to face anything like this. There was a good dialogue that followed on the comments section of that post. In the 18th comment on that page, I pointed out the discrepancies between the treatment of Republican and Democrat senators in matters such as this: But even aside from Robert Byrd...(By the way, the inclusion of McCain as a Democrat Senator was intentional...) See the responses to my comment by Paul Musgrave, Bobby Allison-Gilmore, and others. Overall, I have been literally amazed at the way that everyone - the media, the members of Congress, and even conservatives (especially neocons) and Republicans - have pounced on Senator Lott's stupid comments and have blown this whole thing way out of proportion. Lott's statement was dumb, and he should not have said it, but the amount and severity of the response is hard to believe and difficult to comprehend. Fortunately (though a bit surprisingly), our former Senator Paul Simon (D-IL) contributed some much-needed common sense in this matter. Senator Simon was actually at the birthday party, and has publicly stated that Lott's comments, like many others that day, were jokingly made. See more about Simon's principled statements here, here, and here. Also see the quote at the very end of this Fox News report about Senator Lott's apology: Kevin L. Martin, government and political affairs director of the African American Republican Leadership Council, said people were overreacting to Lott's remarks. "By no means was he endorsing segregation or anything like that. It was lighthearted, it was humorous." But the reaction kept on coming. Hoosier Review bloggers posted links to the National Review magazine piece in which the NR editors called for Lott to step down. Read the resulting comment dialogue that ensued after that was posted at Hoosier Review. At the popular blog of Josh Claybourn (an editor of the Hoosier Review), his December 13th entry featured the same thing. Scroll down to see the comments dialogue between myself and others. I haven't even read what the National Review editors had to say, nor do I necessarily intend to - I think that that magazine has been in decline for the past several years. Compare NR's treatment of the Lott affair to that of Human Events, a much better conservative publication. Paul Musgrave, another editor of the Hoosier Review, wrote an article on this subject, which I did read. (The opinions of students and young people can sometimes be more insightful and captivating that those of... well, you know...) Update: Another Hoosier Review columnist, Scott Tibbs, just wrote an article on this topic. It is very good. See Mr. Tibbs' home page here. (Note: I am definitely not endorsing the content of all the pages linked to from my blog entries. I have not even completely read some of the articles that I link to.) For a unique perspective on all of this, the paleo-libertarians and Old Rightists over at LewRockwell.com have some interesting commentary and perspective on this controversy. John R. Parker, Jr. asks "What's the difference?" [between the liberals and neocons re: the Lott affair]. Below are some more articles and commentary: On the Lottamania - Gene Callahan comments Lott didn't say this - A thought experiment by Lew Rockwell American Groupthink - Daniel McCarthy on the neocon reaction to Lott Missed Lottian Opportunities - Steven Yates comments And also: Michelle Malkin on the Vacant Lott Washington Post: For Lott, some Key Endorsements (nice photo!) Ben Domenech with another speech Trent Lott didn't give Richard Nixon: The Checkers Speech (September 23, 1952) Updates (12/24/02): Here are some more interesting pieces: The Real Reason Lott was Forced Out, Dr. Chuck Baldwin Strom Thurmond vs. Harry Truman - includes another proposed Lott speech, Harry Browne --- More on Truman, from the NY Times  Both of the last two articles were in yesterday's edition (Mon., Dec. 23) of LewRockwell.com. The one below is featured in today's edition:
The Purge Trial of Trent Lott, Lew Rockwell Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Well, it's that time of year again! STUDY, STUDY, STUDY... For a lot of us collegiate bloggers, now is the time when we aren't able to post as much... We are instead occupied with writing ten-page papers after ten-page papers, cramming for final exams, losing hair, and stressing out over our classes, our grades, and whatever else. I haven't been able to post in several days. My last exam is on Thursday night, though, so by Friday or this weekend, I should be back. Best of luck to all students on finals!! Update: Well, I finished up my exams and class work on Thursday; I think it went pretty well. All in all, this was an okay semester. And starting a blog just may be one of the greatest, most productive, and most enjoyable things that I have accomplished this semester. I still have some things to take care of (registering for new classes, paying bills, etc.), but things seem to be pretty much wrapped up for now. I had wanted to blog some last week, when the Blogosphere was abuzz with heated comments and polemics about Trent Lott, the Republicans and Democrats, and other current affairs topics. I will try to post shortly with some commentary and links. To those students who still have finals, tests, and course work, best of luck! Saturday, December 07, 2002
Here's my Pearl Harbor post for today (it's the 61st anniversary of that 'day of infamy'...) This post may be updated shortly: 
Did FDR Know? Find out here... Well, it's December 7th, which means that I am required to update my blog with at least two news items: First, the less important of those two: Battle of the Bayou It's Election Day again! At least, it is in Louisiana. The election runoffs in that state are scheduled for today. The one that we are watching nationwide is the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu and Republican challenger Suzy Terrell. While I would have preferred one of the other, more conservative, Republican candidates to have been the challenger to Landrieu, I hope Terrell wins. A victory here is necessary in case R.I.N.O. Senators Lincoln Chafee and/or John McCain decide to switch parties or become independent. Also, a majority of 52 (rather than 51) could impact the committee ratios, and help the Republicans push their bills across with greater ease. I will update this post later this evening with information and links about Mary Landrieu suspicious "victory" over conservative Republican Woody Jenkins in the last election (1996). It is said that many dead people voted for her. Meanwhile, here's a CNN article on this race - it emphasizes that voter turnout is what will likely make all the difference in this dead heat contest. An interesting excerpt from this article: At least a dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus are traveling in Louisiana this week. In a sign of how much she fears alienating white voters, the senator has not joined them in public appearances because it could alienate moderate white Democrats, according to Democratic strategists. More to come soon. Also expect a provocative post on the other item for today- Pearl Harbor... Today is the 61st anniversay of that "day of infamy." Thursday, December 05, 2002
I am currently in the middle of writing a paper (it's the last one for the semester!), so I should not be on web, but I couldn't let the day go by without including this amazing news item: HAPPY BIRTHDAY STROM!!  (USA Today photo)
Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) turns the big 100!! Congratulations, Senator Thurmond! Update (12/7/02): C-Span's website has a video of Strom's birthday celebration on Capitol Hill yesterday. Former and future Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) is taking a lot of heat for saying at that event that the country would have been better off if Strom had been elected President in 1948. (Strom, who at the time was a Democrat, ran for President as a third party candidate. Though he only won about 2% of the nationwide popular vote, he managed to take four states.) Even famous conservative blogger InstaPundit is mad at Senator Lott for this statement. Here is a good Associated Press article in USA Today on this birthday celebration. Also see the following: From the Augusta Chronicle: Happy Birthday, Mr. Thurmond From the Kansas City Star: Centenarian Thurmond's legacy will be more than just longevity From the BBC: American Senator celebrates 100th birthday For those who still dislike Senator Thurmond, here is an interesting true story from an Armstrong Williams column: ...[W]hen opposition to segregation ebbed, Thurmond abandoned his separatists' rhetoric... In 1983, he voted to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday. And in 1987, I watched him single-handedly save the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.From James Edwards, Jr. in National Review: Thurmond's legacy Visit the site of the Strong Thurmond Institute at Clemson University (home of the Clemson Tigers). Monday, December 02, 2002
SCOTUS WATCH The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear several important cases, and their rulings could have an impact on the lives of people across the country. Is Affirmative Action on its last legs? Many college students have been following the cases of Barbara Grutter and Jennifer Gratz, the two University of Michigan applicants who were denied admission to the Law School and the the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, respectively, reportedly due to the school's affirmative action policies. These policies have been causing a great deal of controversy and debate at Big Ten schools in recent years. In 1997, both women sued the University, alleging that the admissions policies discriminated against them. Back in March 2001, a federal judge ruled in favor of the plantiff in the law school case (Grutter v. Bollinger). I guess that the school appealed the case, though, and in May the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that judge's ruling (see that court's opinion here) The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will be accepting both cases - the Grutter law school case, and the undergraduate school case, Gratz v. Bollinger. Below are some articles on this: Michigan Daily: High Court Takes On 'U' Admissions Case Washington Post: Supreme Court to Weigh in on Affirmative Action USA Today: Court to Rule on College Race Issue CNN: Affirmative Action Case Awaits Supreme Court Voice of America: SCOTUS to Hear Racial Preferences Case Seattle Times: After 24 years, Supreme Court ready to settle higher education affirmative action ----> More of the latest news coverage on this... This could be the first time that the Supreme Court is dealing of a case of this magitude on this topic since the famous Bakke ruling of 1978. In that case, the Court issed a split decision, ruling that race could be used as a factor in school admissions, but racial quotas should not be allowed. Now, some are predicting that in this case, the Court will outlaw the use of race as a factor alltogether. It could be a 5 to 4 decision, with the Court's three conservative justices, Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas joining with moderate, right-leaning justices Kennedy and O'Connor to form a majority. Dissenting, in this scenario, would be liberal justices Stevens, Souter, Breyer, and Bader-Ginsburg. If this happens, it will trigger even stronger emotions from those on all sides of this issue, and could have repurcussions throughout the nation. What impact would this case have on the University of Illinois system? We are in a different federal court circuit than Michigan, but if this is a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, I am assuming that it would have an effect on the admissions policies in all the states. I will have to inquire more about this. UCLA School of Law Professor Eugene Volokh was just in an online discussion forum at the Washington Post's website. Many bloggers recognize the Professor as the author of The Volokh Conspiracy, a well-known blog. Check it out here. Professor Volokh comments on the U of Michigan case and other cases in his latest posts. Other Cases Other cases will also be decided by the Supreme Court. In addition to the affirmative action case, the Court has also accepted a challenge to a Texas anti-sodomy law which bars sexual acts between same-gender couples. In doing so, they will be deciding whether to overturn their previous ruling on this issue from 1986 (in the case of Bowers v. Hardwick). See more of the latest news articles on this case here. Aside from Texas, the other states that have this type of law are Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. (A similar statute in Arkansas was struck down a few months ago.) Nine other states have laws prohibiting sodomy between all persons, regardless of gender. The famous Miranda decision will also be under review by the Supreme Court. See the following news items on this: Supreme Court could make Miranda warnings a thing of the past, SF Chronicle Testing limits of police tactics in investigations: Court hears case that could affect terror probe, Christian Science Monitor Visit the Supreme Court on the web at: www.supremecourtus.gov. Wednesday, November 27, 2002
Happy Thanksgiving!! Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 - George Washington Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863 - Abraham Lincoln Great Michelle Malkin column! Thanksgiving Prayer 2002 (This page was taken and modified from TownHall.com.) Also, check out: Thank God for our liberties, Traditional Values Coaltion What Thanksgiving Means to America, Rev. Jerry Falwell Let's Give Thanks for America, Wall Street Journal editors America Rocks! The Greatest Country the world has ever known, Ted Nugent Thansgiving Angst - Stop complaining... and enjoy!, Linda Chavez History and Compelling Notes for Reflection, Ross Mackenzie A Thanksgiving Lesson, Armstrong Williams The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving, Joseph Farah The Plymouth Experiment, Kim Weissman The Truth about Thanksgiving and Free Markets, Richard J. Maybury Update: I left out this great column by new World Net Daily columnist Cassandra Walker: Don't Wait to be Thankful You can also visit her website at CassandraWalker.com. From FreeRepublic: Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours From the Illinois Leader: Immigrant Religious Extremist Group Signs Manifesto (1620) From Rush Limbaugh: An Undoctored History Lesson About Thanksgiving And, from last Wednesday's show: The Real Story of Thanksgiving 
From National Review Online... What We We're Thankful For: An NRO Thanksgiving Symposium From the Blogosphere: - The latest from The Corner, the blog of National Review magazine. - R.W. has temporarily taken over posting at Josh Claybourn's blog; Check out their posts... - And of course, see what the students at Hoosier Review are saying. - Speaking of those HR guys, I am thankful that good people like Paul Musgrave are defending our country. See what Paul is thankful for here. - Kevin Holtsberry writes about his famous baked brie. I wish I could try some. - Like several other collegiate bloggers, Bo Cowgill at Stanford is also traveling. Check out his nice site design. - Jeffrey Collins of the Joyful Christian blog is going to be out of town until Dec. 7. (A lot seems to be happening on that day; it's also the date of the exciting U.S. Senate runoff in Louisiana.) He may be blogging in the meantime, but he also wishes everyone a great Thanksgiving - As do I. From 1650: History of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford And also: Best Food Flicks 
National Review Online covers movies on food. Please note: When I provide links to articles and web pages, I am not necessarily endorsing their content. Tuesday, November 26, 2002
War Watch Is Bush Backing Off on the Iraq Attack? Conservative columnist Bob Novak has caused a great deal of speculation and controversy with his latest column, in which he suggests that the Bush Administration may be turning away from the neocon agenda, and leaning against and invasion of Iraq. Now, some commentators - conservative and liberal - are suggesting that we may not be going to war after all. Traditional conservatives and libertarians must be very hopeful about this; Colin Powell seems to be making a comeback, after having being marginalized by neoconservatives such as Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz. On November 14, these two editorials were featured on USA Today... They are supposed to offer opposing viewpoints, but there is some concurrence. USA Today editorial: Fractured Bosnia offers U.S. cautionary tale on Iraq Pat Buchanan OP-ED: U.S. is not wanted in Iraq An article from yesterday from the nearby paper The Peoria Journal Star: Experts Doubt Intervention Will Bring Democracy to Iraq Here are some current columns on war and freedom from a conservative perspective: Homeland Security: Largest Gov't Expansion in 50 Years, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) The Oval Office Liars Club, Robert Higgs, Independent Institute Homeland, Schmomeland, Charley Reese CATO and Heritage Foundation Wrong on Freedom, Paul Craig Roberts Looking for War with Iraq, Sheldon Richman, Future of Freedom Foundation First base, First!, Col. David Hackworth, Soldiers for the Truth Lost Treasure, America, Dave Franklin Developing the Capability to Build Dossiers on All Americans, Doug Thompson, Capitol Hill Blue Welcome to the American Gestapo, Doug Thompson, Capitol Hill Blue Gulf War Vets Still Ill and Ignored, Florida Today Bush's Strategy Digs U.S. Into Bottomless Hole, Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune The Korean Contradiciton, The American Conservative Bush and Co. are not Conservatives - But some real conservatives oppose these statists, Guerilla News Network The Impossible War, Lew Rockwell War, Freedom, and American Conservatism, Lew Rockwell, Mises Institute Monday, November 25, 2002
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNA & BARBARA!!  (AP Photo)
First Daughters Turn 21! (I guess this means they're legal now... No more run-ins...) I wrote this post about a week ago, on Saturday, October 16. (I know, I know, I'm really late... That seems to be happening a lot lately...) From Patrick Carver's Ole Miss Conservative: Senate votes for pay raise The way things work in the Senate is that there is a automatic "cost of living" pay increase and in order to stop it, there must be a vote to block it. But Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-WI) motion to block the pay hike was voted down 58-36-6. With the slumping economy and financial markets, job layoffs and federal budget deficits, "this is the wrong time for Congress to give itself a pay hike," Feingold said in a statement. My comments on Patrick's post: This summer, didn't the House vote to give themselves a pay raise? (Or was it both the House and Senate that did that?) It was the fourth pay raise in as many years. Meanwhile, the Democrats (as well as the Socialists - such as Bernie Sanders of VT) tell us that we should never have lowered taxes. This would be a good issue to use against Congress when they try to raise our taxes next time... You guys raise your salaries using our tax dollars, and then ask us for more? Before thinking about raising taxes, why not cut everything there that isn't necessary first? For example, why not terminate the lavish pensions and perks that members of Congress receive? Let's see how they react to that... ;-) Tuesday, November 19, 2002
I wrote this post last Thursday (November 14th): Liberty Watch War vs. Freedom? - This is part of a debate on the great, new TechCentralStation conservative website. In related news, I sadly just found out something terrible: House passes "Homeland Security" bill This is the bill to create the new Department of Homeland Security. As a conservative, it is so sad for me to see that only 6 Republicans in the House voted against this bill (the same number that voted against the unconstitutional Iraq war resolution). See the roll call here for this bill, H.R. 5710. 
It is refreshing to see, however, that even some of my fellow conservative bloggers and commentators who disagree with me on the Iraq war agree with me on this issue. I remember being glad to see Josh Claybourn's post on October 3rd on this topic, in which he linked to his column on the same subject. Brilliant 13-year-old columnist Kyle Williams also deals with this topic in his July 20th column. [Update: Kyle's latest column is also on this subject...] Do Bush supporters realize that this department, if created, would still be around after Bush leaves office? I wonder how the Republicans would have reacted if President Clinton (or Al Gore) were to propose an identical version of what Bushy-boy is proposing... Well, that could be said about many things, actually; our current "Republican" president seems to be getting away with a lot of things that would never have been allowed had he had a "D" next to his name. To find out more on why this new bureacratic agency is a bad idea, go here, here, here, here, or here. I wrote this post last Friday (November 15th): I thought Larry Elder was a conservative libertarian. Many people have read Larry Elder's columns, as well as his famous book, The Ten Things You Can't Say in America. Elder has long been considered a conservative/libertarian columnist. Larry Elder, along with conservatives, libertarians, and liberals, opposed Bill Clinton's illegal war in Kosovo. In the last presidential election, recognizing George W. Bush's support of Big Government, Elder decided to "waste his vote" on Harry Browne. Larry Elder also had a good column on September 27th blasting Bush's ultra-liberal education proposals. However, in Larry's latest column on Nancy Pelosi, he surprises me. He criticizes Nancy Pelosi for being too anti-war. However, during the Clinton Administration, Nancy Pelosi was pro-war, while the Republicans were leading the antiwar movement. In fact, in the 1996 elections, the Republican Party nominated the now-famous conservative libertarian author and columnist Justin Raimondo [see his campaign site here], the editorial director of AntiWar.com, the conservative/libertarian, Old Right website against intervention. (See my comments on this in response to a post at the Old Miss Conservative blog.) Yes, those were different wars; however, many conservatives (and libertarians) also opposed the first Gulf War (including paleo-conservatives Pat Buchanan, Joe Sobran, and Sam Francis, conservative movement leader Russell Kirk, the Constitution Party's William K. Shearer, Christopher Layne of the CATO Institute, consitutionalist Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), the John Birch Society, and others...). In addition, Larry Elder seems to criticize Nancy Pelosi for opposing the new bureacratic "Department of Homeland Security." (For information on that, see my previous post above.) Then again, I see that in his column, Elder is criticizing the reasons for which Nancy Pelosi and the liberals opposed this agency (union and labor-related concerns); maybe Elder also opposes this new department, but for the right reasons, like other conservatives and libertarians do. I will have to look that up. Many of Elder's criticisms of Pelosi are legitimate though, and the current points being made by conservatives - that Pelosi's liberalism is going to make the Democratic Party look bad - will likely turn out to be true. The Dems would have been much better off choosing more moderate Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN), who is a member of the Congressional Blue Dog Coalition, instead. Update: From Jenn Gray's blog (*Girl on the Right*), I found this Washington Times editorial from last week that has a good summary of Pelosi's liberal voting record and views. I wish though, that I could strike from this article the last sentence from paragraph 7 (on the unconstitutional NAFTA, WTO, and "fast-track" agreements), as well as paragraph 8 (on war). But alas, the Times does not ask me to edit their editorials. Friday, November 15, 2002
Blogger Problems... Again Last night, I spent a great deal of time online, communicating with other bloggers, trying to resolve some archiving problems. The problem that I had been having was that, on the left side of my blog, where it listed the archive dates, it was listing only every other week; it was skipping weeks. For example, it listed: 09/15/2002 - 09/21/2002 10/13/2002 - 10/19/2002 10/27/2002 - 11/02/2002 My archive pages for [9/22/2002 - 9/28/2002] and [10/06/2002 - 10/12/2002] do exist, but they are not listed on the side of my index page with the other archives. Worse yet, they are not listed when I go to edit my blog, so there is no way that I can update the posts on those pages for my archives. For example, my conservative anti-war post of October 10th was updated several times after I posted it. But the only way that someone can see the entire, updated post, is to go to my index page and scroll down. The permalink to that post contains the older version of the post, which contains some errors, and lacks the updates. I tried to fix the problem last night, but it doesn't seem to have worked. I think the only way to save those posts for my archive is to retype them, and repost them now. Below are my two posts from October 10th. Re-Post of my entry from October 10th: I can't leave out the latest updates on our Illinois governor's race! Visiting the Illinois Leader website, I just found out that they are [reluctanty] endorsing Jim Ryan for Governor. I didn't even know that the Leader was going to make endorsements. They were formed right after the March primaries, so this is the first election that they are covering. To see a transcript and commentary from Monday night's gubernatorial debate in Rockford (between Jim Ryan and Rod Blagojevich) you can visit the special debate section of the Rockford newspaper's website. Currently, 57% of the people who voted in their online poll say that Jim Ryan won the debate. According to the Illinois Leader, however, the general consensus among the viewers it that "it was a tie." One woman who watched the debate wrote to the Leader that, according the the amount of laughter, Ryan won; even Blagojevich had to laugh several times. Not having seen much of the debate (they showed it at 2:10 AM on C-SPAN; I fell asleep shortly after it begun), I wonder if everyone was laughing with Jim Ryan, or at him. Update: C-SPAN has finally added the video of this first Illinois gubernatorial debate (from Monday, October 7) to their website. Go to their Campaign 2002 Debates web page here, scroll down to the bottom, and click on "Next 10 records." The Ryan-Blagojevich debate should be one of the top ones listed on that second page. To directly download the video of the debate, you can also follow this link: http://video.c-span.org:8080/ramgen/jdrive/c100702_il.rm You will need the free RealPlayer program to view it on your computer. Cal Skinner, the former Republican state legislator who is the Libertarian Party's nominee for Governor, was excluded from the debate, despite having met the 5% poll criterion (the minimum poll number required for participation in the debate) set by the League of Women Voters. Though the League was initially the sponsor of the debates, the debates will now be held without their sponsorship. Because of Cal's exclusion, Kevin Matthews of Aurora believes that the people of Illinois were the real losers of the debate. Read this article in the Chicago Sun-Times about how Mr. Skinner accidentally tried marijuana. (No, he didn't inhale... but he swallowed.) Also: Yesterday, there was an article indicating that the conservative groups in Illinois were getting ready to give their endorsements to candidates. It will be very interesting to see who gets the endorsements. Re-Post of my 2nd entry from October 10th: Wow! Yesterday, my blog received a total of 16 HITS! (That's somewhat high for a beginning blog.) Thanks to all those who linked here. I had earlier been been meaning to include, in this blog, the letter below... Right now, as I type, the House is voting on the Iraq resolution. Letter Written on Tuesday afternoon, October 8: (I wrote this to the MSNBC show Buchanan and Press, right after viewing their "College Debate" on the Iraq war. The "debate" was between the President of College Republicans at George Washington University and the President of College Democrats. The College Democrat pres was clearly very nervous, and froze up several times during the "debate.") Edited version of letter to Buchanan and Press (Tuesday afternoon): Dear Pat & Bill:
Update: See this article from NewsMax: Republicans Who Voted Against Iraq Resolution Tell Why There are some liberals in there, such as Connie Morella and Amo Houghton, but congratulations to pro-liberty, pro-sovereignty, constitutional conservative Congressmen Ron Paul (R-TX), John Hostettler (R-IN), and John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN)! From what I see at his official home page, Congressman Hostettler just became one of my most favorite House members. It was neat to see Congressman Ron Paul, known for being Congress's constitutional adherent, debate Sean Hannity on Fox News. It is very interesting to see that the liberal Democrats, who consistently oppose "strict constructionist" federal judge appointees, are now making conservative constitutional arguments against the Iraq war resolution, while many Republicans and conservatives like Sean Hannity, who would ordinarily be "strict constructionists," are forced to use the liberal, "living document" constitutional viewpoint in order to justify the war resolution. With all of these hypocritical role reversals and ideological contradictions, it is great that we have true-blue, consistent conservatives, like Congressman Paul, to guide us through this time of uncertainty. Also see the top quotes at the website of the Constitution Party on war and the Constitution. The recently-formed, populist conservative "America First Party" has also taken a stance against the Iraq war; see their August 27th press release. Now, if the media would only start focusing on the conservative (and libertarian) opposition to the Iraq war and war resolution, instead of the just covering the left. Update 2: Speaking of Sean Hannity, and the conservatives who opposing this upcoming war, see this article by conservative Republican columnist and national defense/security expert David T. Pyne, Esq: David Pyne's Weekly Defense Article: Hannitize This To Sean Hannity: A Challenge to Debate You on Iraq It is so refreshing to see that I am not the only one who is unhappy with Mr. Hannity's disregard for the pro-liberty, pro-sovereignty, conservative voices against intervention in Iraq. David Pyne, currently the Executive Vice President of the Virginia Republican Assembly, is a national security expert who works in the US defense establishment responsible for the countries of the former Soviet Union and the Middle East among others. Mr. Pyne has briefed Army transformation and related issues at the Pentagon. He is also a licensed attorney and former Army Reserve Officer. In addition, he holds an MA in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. He is also a member of the Center for Emerging National Security Affairs based in Washington, D.C. See an extended bio of David T. Pyne here. Read more of Mr. Pyne's columns here, here, here, and here. Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Notes on Veterans Day: Honoring our Military Veterans - latest column by Congressman Ron Paul Specialist Michael New's Red, White, and Blue Battalion Veterans Stand with Spc. Michael New; "Real Americans Don't Wear U.N. Blue!" American Gulf War Veterans Association: GulfWarVets.com Soldiers for the Truth: SFTT.org Col. David Hackworth: Hackworth.com Veterans for Common Sense: Home Page National Gulf War Resource Center: Home Page Major Sonnie Bates: MajorBates.com I'll put more stuff related to Veterans Day here soon... Right now, I have an essay to write for my POS class (Intro to Comparitive and International Politics). The essay question? The authors of your textbook advanced the following proposition: The delay in intervention by the international community in the Bosnian civil war, advertently or inadvertently, allowed for favorable conditions to emerge that paved the way for peace, stability, and the emergence of a consociational, or ethnic power sharing, electoral democracy. Discuss and critique this proposition. In your conclusion explore the prospects for the Bosnian government, notwithstanding peacemakers, that might either result in its further fragmentation or its consolidation as a stable consociational democracy. I'm not sure what to say about the first part of that question (or the second part, for that matter). I am anti-interventionist in general (from a conservative perspective - scroll down for my October 10th post), but I don't know if the above proposition is true. Below are some interesting articles on Bosnia... CNN: Background and Information Bosnia, Haiti, and How Not To Conduct a Foreign Policy, Don Feder, 12/18/97 The Policeman of the Balkans, Pat Buchanan, 12/22/97 America Has No Business in Bosnia, Phyllis Schlafly, 1/96 Justin Raimondo for Congress: Pelosi Confronted on Bosnia vote, 11/30/95 America, Keep Out of Bosnia! People in plush offices are thirsting for blood, which our youth will have to supply. Why? - Murray Rothbard, 8/1/92 And, more recently: Bosnia Revisisted: 10 Years On, Nebojsa Malic, 4/4/02 The Balkans Quagmire, Joseph Farah, 8/13/01 U.S. Should Get Out of the Balkans, John Dougherty, 6/28/01 Playing NATO Poker in the Balkans, Daniel McAdams, 3/30/01 Yugoslavia and Afghanistan - How to Understand Media Spin, John Keller, 11/02/01 Gotta write the essay!... More on Veterans Day later... Monday, November 11, 2002
HAPPY VETERANS DAY!! University Blog salutes all American veterans for their great service to our nation and its citizens... We must never forget the courage, sacrifice, and patriotism of our American heroes. **** God bless all current and past military personnel!! **** The full Election 2002 results can be found here at CNN's AllPolitics. Also at that site is this interesting story on the young Tim Ryan, a 29-year-old (hopefully conservative) Democrat who won the Congressional seat of James Traficant, who was expelled from Congress after being convicted of crimes. Traficant ran from prison to get his seat back, but only received 15.15% of the vote. Too bad, Traficant was one of the best Democrats in the House of Representatives, and was correct on so many issues. Anyway, that article says that another 29-year-old, Republican Devin Nunes of North Carolina, was elected last Tuesday as well. The youngest member of Congress is 28-year-old U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL), who ran unopposed for re-election. We need more young Republicans (and others) to run for high-level offices... and win! I wonder how old I will be when I get elected to the U.S. House of Representatives... On the home front, Senator Pat O'Malley (R) summed it up well when he says, "The Democrats may now be steering the ship, but they have no wind in their sails." (Currently, the featured quote at the Illinois Leader.) Karen Hayes, in her letter to the Leader, says that it is time to "re-crown" Senator O'Malley - "His steadfast Republican convictions and clear, focused vision for Illinois apparently upset parts of the entrenched Republican guard’s apple cart," she says, but "O'Malley's foresight, ability, and courage is vital to begin the massive party restoration." I agree wholeheartedly. If someone like Senator O'Malley was made to lead the Illinois Republican Party, that would really start the recovery process in the right direction and steer things in the right direction. Whether the GOP Establishment let that happen? Well, sometimes things things have to get very bad before they can become good. We will have to wait and see what happens. Update: J.C. Coleman writes, in his letter to the Illinois Leader, that we need to elect Senator Pat O'Malley, not "crown" him. Good point. Mr. Coleman points out that the major thing that is wrong with the current GOP leadership is that "...sense of entitlement that is manifest in the self-dealing, corrupt practices of what has been termed the 'Bi-Partisan Combine'..." The new leadership, he writes, "must purge these practices from the party and work to instill a new morality, one that would make Abraham Lincoln proud to be associated with twenty-first century Republicans." Very well said, Mr. Coleman. Here is some more election coverage and analysis: Human Events Magazine election notes: Conservative Issues Worked Well for the GOP, Joseph D'Agostino Year of the Conservative: This House may be more conservative than the one elected in 1994, David Freddoso Bill Simon should have won (and could have, had he run a better campaign), John Gizzi More from Human Events here... Jim Talent's victory gives Republicans immediate control of Senate, The Hill Large Voter Turnout Was Key to GOP Victories, The Hill Black Republicans make mark in elections, Washington Times Ultra-liberal Republican Connie Morella finally defeated this time, Washington Times Ehrilch defeats Kennedy for Maryland governorship in stunning upset, Washington Times FROM THE PUNDITS: Dick Morris on Election 2002, National Review Election 2002: It's No Big Deal, Zach Wendling, Hoosier Review The Right Stuff: What the Republicans Must Do Now, Bill O'Reilly - great column! Republicans In Charge - Now What?, Dr. Chuck Baldwin Political Greed: Kyle Williams on the current state of American politics (Happy 14th B-Day, Kyle!!) - another great column! The State of American Politics, 2002, Pat Buchanan Huge Victory for President Bush and the GOP, Bob Novak Did a particular ethnic strategy work for the GOP?, Steve Sailer - interesting... The People Have Spoken, Armstrong Williams Update: I just found out that brilliant columnist Kyle Williams is still only 13-years old (above, I wished him Happy 14th... In his latest column, listed above, the WND ending paragraph said that he was 14.) Many people (including myself) have found it amazing how someone at that age could write columns so insighful, educational, and professional. I did not get my first column published until I was 17; even then, my writings were not as good as Kyle's. 
See Kyle's blog here, and his column archive here. According to his latest blog post, Kyle has just finished a book - I can't wait to buy it. Keep up the great work, Kyle! Thursday, November 07, 2002
Post-Election Analysis and Updates... I am sorry that I was not able to update this blog right up through the election, as I would have liked to. (On Monday, I actually received an unbelievable 46 hits! - up from just 6 the previous day.) After blitzing for Rich Brauer on Saturday and seeing President Bush speak on Sunday, I caught something and became somewhat sick. It was terrible being ill on Election Day, and also having a difficult paper for class due then as well. Anyway, as everyone has heard by now, the Republicans did well at the local level, terrible at the state level, and terrific at the national level. Out of the three candidates who I volunteered for - Rich Brauer (for State Representative), Joe Birkett (for Attorney General), and John Shimkus (for U.S. Congress), only Birkett lost. I should be thrilled about this, considering that this is the first time that a candidate who I've worked for and supported has actually won the election. Anyway, things should settle down somewhat for myself and those others of us who were so involved in Election 2002. Congratulations to Patrick Ruffini for helping Jim Talent defeat incumbent Senator Jean Carnahan for a U.S. Senate seat pick-up - Also check out Patrick's thorough and insightful post-election research and analysis. And see the reaction to the election from Christian bloggers at the Blogs4God site here. The Hoosier Review writers have also posted their thoughts at their well-known blog. I will have links to election results, more news, editorials, and analysis posted here soon. Congratulations to all candidates, campaign workers, and volunteers who worked hard this year. Thursday, October 31, 2002
Wow! What a coincidence... Just this evening, while in class, I was thinking about the Minnesota situation - the vacancy in the U.S. Senate. I thought that, since Ventura is an independent, why doesnt he appoint an independent, rather than a Democrat, to the open position? And now, I read that that is precisely what he is planning on doing. "I felt used. I felt... violated and duped... [T]hat turned into nothing more than a political rally... I think the Democrats should hang their heads in shame." - Governor Jesse Ventura, expressing outrage at the nature of the Wellstone memorial service Associated Press: Ventura Upset Over Wellstone Service 
Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Republicans Booed; Trent Lott, Governor, First Lady Walk Out NewsMax.com Ventura: 'Democrats Should Hang Their Heads in Shame' Thanks to Ben Domenech's blog for alerting me to the AP news item above. Also see the flashback photo and Mondale quote in the top post on Ben's blog. Update: More on Mondale... Wellstone's campaign manager has apologized for what happened at the memorial service-turned-campaign rally, but Governor Ventura still says that he will appoint an independent, non-partisan Minnesotan to fill the Senate vacancy. "Ventura's statement provoked a flurry of calls, e-mails and faxed resumes to the governor's office from average people who want to be a U.S. senator for a few weeks." (Pioneer Press) Actually, depending on when the winner of the Mondale-Coleman election offically takes office, it could be more than a few weeks that this "average" citizen stays in office. Every two years, new members of Congress are sworn in on January 3rd. In this particular case, however, there is a dispute as to whether the winner of the Minnesota Senate election would take office in January 2003 with the rest of the congressmen, or earlier on November 19, as soon as the election results are certified (which would be one week after the Senate reconvenes for its lame-duck session). The Minnesota Attorney General, Democrat Mike Hatch, says that it is the latter (November 19), while the Governor's office thinks it may be the former (January 3). Governor Ventura says that he has asked the Attorney General and the U.S. Senate for clarification on these rules. This could make a big difference as to who controls the Senate during the lame-duck session of Congress. DEM WATCH Did the Democrats overlook a qualified African-American candidate? From NewsMax.com: Dems Mondale Pick Snubbed Qualified Black Candidate "Democratic Party power brokers in Minnesota picked Walter Mondale as their best hope to retain the late Paul Wellstone's senate seat after passing over a qualified black candidate for racial reasons. "There was one other possibility [besides Mondale]," reports Robert Novak in his Thursday column. "Alan Page, the 57-year-old former Notre Dame and Minnesota Vikings football star who has been an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court since 1993." The Dems went with Mondale instead, says Novak, because "the [Democratic Farmer Labor Party] apparently did not want to risk running the African-American Page in an overwhelmingly Caucasian state...." Read this NewsMax article here, and see the pertinent Novak column here. Bob Novak's previous column detailed his time spent with Wellstone two days before his passing. Was Wellstone's crash more than an accident? Loony leftist columnist Ted Rall believes that Senator Wellstone may have been assassinated. And who may "possibly" have been behind this assassination? President Bush, of course. [Ted Rall, as some may remember, is the columnist and cartoonist who caused controversy last spring with a controversial cartoon that was said to inappropriately mock the families of the terror victims. After complaints and pressure from many people (including conservative bloggers!), The New York Times pulled the cartoon from their website.] Following the Wellstone tragedy on Friday, I was thinking that conspiracy theorists will probably soon be coming up with theories as to how and why Senator Wellstone was killed. That type of thing can always be expected after a tragedy like this occurs. Though Mr. Rall did not make specific claims about the alleged "assassination," this blogger seems to have it all figured out. And in Baltimore, City Councilman Dr. Kwame Osayaba Abayomi (who, until recently was "Dr. Norman A. Handy") says that the CIA murdered Wellstone because of his opposition to the war with Iraq. At least he didn't blame President Bush. And speaking of President Bush and assassination, did you know that there are some who claim that the first President Bush was behind the assassination attempt on President Reagan? Parascope laid out that case in this report, which I actually came across several years ago. Their claims appear to be ridiculously weak, and at the end of that piece, they mention the alleged Bush-CIA-Bay of Pigs connection. But that's a whole different story. A much more credible allegation of assassination and conspiracy is that regarding the death of Ron Brown. As many remember, Brown was the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration. He was under investigation by an independent cousel, and may have been about to plead guilty and give evidence in the Chinagate and campaign finance scandals. Go here for NewsMax.com's Ron Brown section. Also see this archive of reknowned reporter Christopher Ruddy's articles on the Ron Brown case. The actual photos from the Ron Brown plane crash and death examination are available here. And this FreeRepublic page contains information and message board comments with an article on "The Botched Ron Brown Investigation." Update: I just realized that other online writers are thinking like me... World Net Daily is featuring all these bizarre theories and claims in its current lead story. This WND report also comments on the Ron Brown crash. Tuesday, October 29, 2002
I have been VERY swamped with school work, home work, campaign work, and a slew of other stuff these past several days. Below is a backlog of entries that I should have posted for some of these past days: (in chronological order) Wednesday, October 23, 2002 Happy Mole Day!! For those who have never had chemistry, or who never had a high school science teacher like mine (Hi Mr. Szabo!), you've probably never heard the Mole Song. (Mr. Szabo used to come to school dressed up as a mole every 10/23... He probably still does.) A mole is a unit, or have you heard? Containing 6 x 10 to the 23rd. That's 6 with 23 zeros at the end, Much too big a number to comprehend. You can see the full Mole Song, and listen to the above part of it here. And click here for the website of the National Mole Day Foundation. Thursday, October 24, 2002 Well, today is "United Nations Day." Those who I have discussed politics with before know that you don't want to get me started on the topics of the U.N., World Government, and the "New World Order." 
I posted comments on the U.N. at the blogs of The Hoosier Review (Indiana U.), Paul Musgrave, and others. See my blog comments at Patrick Carver's blog (The Ole Miss Conservative), in which I suggest that he declare his site a "UN-Free Zone," like some towns and websites have been doing recently. (Actually, in my comments on Patrick's blog, I accidently typed the wrong blog name, as you can see in his response. Sorry Patrick!... So many blogs to read... and so little time.) Anyway, I am now officially declaring "University Blog" a UN-Free Zone. 
Find out more about how to declare your website, dorm room, house, car, or community a UN-Free Zone, see the following: http://www.un-freezone.org http://www.unwatch.com/unfreezone.html http://www.mikenew.com/unfreeor3.html Friday, October 25, 2002 Paul Wellstone (1944-2002) U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), his wife, and daughter, have died in a plane crash. This is tragic. Though I would strongly disagree with most of his views, Senator Wellstone was a principled, courageous, and firm leader, someone who we all must admire, regardless of our political ideology. Our country will miss his focus, resolve, and sincerity greatly. All the best to his family, and to all the families and friends of the crash victims. Memorial Page for Senator Wellstone: wellstone.org Paul Wellstone, 1944-2002: Interviews and audio from National Public Radio Yahoo! News: Full Coverage on this topic Saturday, October 26, 2002 On a much happier note, fellow central Illinois youth blogger IlliniGirl is getting married today. Congratulations, and best of luck!! :-) Friday, October 18, 2002
Well, the Chicago Sun-Times has endorsed Rod Blagojevich for governor. Read the endorsement here at the Sun Times' website. Not much of a surprise there. But the Chicago Tribune is also expected to endorse Rod. And some people say that the Tribune is a "conservative" newspaper. Well, I guess by Chicago standards, it would be conservative. Last spring, the Tribune endorsed Corinne Wood (the liberal R.I.N.O. candidate) for the Republican nomination for governor. It is scary that she managed to get 28% of the vote in the March 19th GOP primary. Pat O'Malley, the conservative candidate, received only 29%. And last Sunday, the Tribune gave its endorsement for the Illinois Attorney General's race. As expected, they picked liberal Democrat Lisa Madigan, daughter of the infamous Chicago political machine leader and State House Speaker Mike Madigan. The Illinois Leader, in the photo caption to its article on this, writes: "Surely the Tribune Company requires that its corporate attorneys have more experience than Ms. Madigan." In the Democratic primary, the Tribune endorsed Lisa Madigan's opponent, John Schmidt, stating, "Lisa Madigan would be legally disqualified from being a traffic court judge. But (Michael Madigan) believes she is ready to be Illinois' top lawyer." Visit the campaign site of the most qualified candidate for Attorney General: Experienced DuPage County prosecutor Joe Birkett. One other interesting item along these lines: Jim Durkin, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate (who is challenging the incumbent Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, has suprisingly earned the endorsement of the Chicago Sun-Times. Read that endorsement here. Mr. Durkin's campaign site is at durkinforsenate.org. Saturday, October 12, 2002
Erika Wins Again! Pageant allows new Miss America to promote abstinence (Washington Times, 10/10/02) "Miss America 2003, Erika Harold, announced in Illinois yesterday that she has won her battle with pageant officials over the right to talk about teen sexual chastity." Dan Proft and the Illinois Leader are also mentioned in this article. It says that Erika credited the previous day's Washington Times article for bringing attention to this issue. I had earlier thanked blogger Ben Domench for bringing that article to my attention (in his October 9th post); I should have been aware of it. Illinois Leader: Miss America bursts condom crowd's balloon, Jonathan Imbody, Christian Medical Association Miss America: "Unzipped" (Oct. 9) The "Bullying" of Miss America (Oct. 3) More coverage and commentary: Miss America wins battle to discuss abstinence, Traditional Values Coalition Miss America was ordered not to promote abstinence, Washington Times Weekly Miss America chiefs turn politically correct, C. B. Luce Policy Institute Miss America Unplugged, Beverly LaHaye Institute 'Will not be bullied' Beauty Queen Bolsters Abstinence Message, Agape Press Press Release: Miss America Censored on Abstinence Message, Family Research Council Physicians Support Miss America's Abstinence Message, Nat'l Physicians Center Guts and Glory, Mona Charen Out of the Miss America closet, Suzanne Fields U.S. Congressman Tim Johnson (R-IL) hosts Erika Harold on Capitol Hill And, speaking of issues facing the youth of today, check out former Congressman Asa Hutchinson's recent opinion piece in the Washington Post on drug legalization. The libertarians must be "smoking mad" about this article. Thursday, October 10, 2002
I can't leave out the latest updates on our Illinois governor's race! Visiting the Illinois Leader website, I just found out that they are [reluctanty] endorsing Jim Ryan for Governor. I didn't even know that the Leader was going to make endorsements. They were formed right after the March primaries, so this is the first election that they are covering. To see a transcript and commentary from Monday night's gubernatorial debate in Rockford (between Jim Ryan and Rod Blagojevich) you can visit the special debate section of the Rockford newspaper's website. Currently, 57% of the people who voted in their online poll say that Jim Ryan won the debate. According to the Illinois Leader, however, the general consensus among the viewers it that "it was a tie." One woman who watched the debate wrote to the Leader that, according the the amount of laughter, Ryan won; even Blagojevich had to laugh several times. Not having seen much of the debate (they showed it at 2:10 AM on C-SPAN; I fell asleep shortly after it begun), I wonder if everyone was laughing with Jim Ryan, or at him. Update: C-SPAN has finally added the video of this first Illinois gubernatorial debate (from Monday, October 7) to their website. Go to their Campaign 2002 Debates web page here, scroll down to the bottom, and click on "Next 10 records." The Ryan-Blagojevich debate should be one of the top ones listed on that second page. To directly download the video of the debate, you can also follow this link: http://video.c-span.org:8080/ramgen/jdrive/c100702_il.rm You will need the free RealPlayer program to view it on your computer. Cal Skinner, the former Republican state legislator who is the Libertarian Party's nominee for Governor, was excluded from the debate, despite having met the 5% poll criterion (the minimum poll number required for participation in the debate) set by the League of Women Voters. Though the League was initially the sponsor of the debates, the debates will now be held without their sponsorship. Because of Cal's exclusion, Kevin Matthews of Aurora believes that the people of Illinois were the real losers of the debate. Read this article in the Chicago Sun-Times about how Mr. Skinner accidentally tried marijuana. (No, he didn't inhale... but he swallowed.) Also: Yesterday, there was an article indicating that the conservative groups in Illinois were getting ready to give their endorsements to candidates. It will be very interesting to see who gets the endorsements. Wow! Yesterday, my blog received a total of 16 HITS! (That's somewhat high for a beginning blog.) Thanks to all those who linked here. I had earlier been been meaning to include, in this blog, the letter below... Right now, as I type, the House is voting on the Iraq resolution. Letter Written on Tuesday afternoon, October 8: (I wrote this to the MSNBC show Buchanan and Press, right after viewing their "College Debate" on the Iraq war. The "debate" was between the President of College Republicans at George Washington University and the President of College Democrats. The College Democrat pres was clearly very nervous, and froze up several times during the "debate.") Edited version of letter to Buchanan and Press (Tuesday afternoon): Dear Pat & Bill: I am active in College Republicans at my University, and I have been adamantly opposing the upcoming war with Iraq. It is unfortunate that the college debate that we just saw was between the head of College Republicans and the head of College Democrats. This furthers the myth that "anti-war" is a liberal viewpoint, and being a "war hawk" is a conservative value. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a strong conservative, but I am from the School of the Old Right - I am NOT a neoconservative. The neocons have entered the conservative movement and conned everyone into believing that conservatism involves the support of endless warfare, government expansion, and empire. True conservatism is pro-liberty, pro-sovereignty, pro-Constitution, pro-America First, pro-free markets, anti-state, anti-Leviathan, anti-war, and anti-New World Order. It is time for all traditional conservatives, paleo-conservatives, pro-liberty Republicans, constitutionalists, and libertarians to reclaim the American Right. For more information on these issues, visit AntiWar.com and LewRockwell.com. Contact the Rockford Institute in Illinois, the Ludwig Von Mises Institute in Auburn, AL, or the office of Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX). And of course, subscribe to Pat's new paleo-conservative magazine, The American Conservative. Go Pat Go!
Update: See this article from NewsMax: Republicans Who Voted Against Iraq Resolution Tell Why There are some liberals in there, such as Connie Morella and Amo Houghton, but congratulations to pro-liberty, pro-sovereignty, constitutional conservative Congressmen Ron Paul (R-TX), John Hostettler (R-IN), and John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN)! From what I see at his official home page, Congressman Hostettler just became one of my most favorite House members. It was neat to see Congressman Ron Paul, known for being Congress's constitutional adherent, debate Sean Hannity on Fox News. It is very interesting to see that the liberal Democrats, who consistently oppose "strict constructionist" federal judge appointees, are now making conservative constitutional arguments against the Iraq war resolution, while many Republicans and conservatives like Sean Hannity, who would ordinarily be "strict constructionists," are forced to use the liberal, "living document" constitutional viewpoint in order to justify the war resolution. With all of these hypocritical role reversals and ideological contradictions, it is great that we have true-blue, consistent conservatives, like Congressman Paul, to guide us through this time of uncertainty. Also see the top quotes at the website of the Constitution Party on war and the Constitution. The recently-formed, populist conservative "America First Party" has also taken a stance against the Iraq war; see their August 27th press release. Now, if the media would only start focusing on the conservative (and libertarian) opposition to the Iraq war and war resolution, instead of the just covering the left. Update 2: Speaking of Sean Hannity, and the conservatives who opposing this upcoming war, see this article by conservative Republican columnist and national defense/security expert David T. Pyne, Esq: David Pyne's Weekly Defense Article: Hannitize This To Sean Hannity: A Challenge to Debate You on Iraq It is so refreshing to see that I am not the only one who is unhappy with Mr. Hannity's disregard for the pro-liberty, pro-sovereignty, conservative voices against intervention in Iraq. David Pyne, currently the Executive Vice President of the Virginia Republican Assembly, is a national security expert who works in the US defense establishment responsible for the countries of the former Soviet Union and the Middle East among others. Mr. Pyne has briefed Army transformation and related issues at the Pentagon. He is also a licensed attorney and former Army Reserve Officer. In addition, he holds an MA in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. He is also a member of the Center for Emerging National Security Affairs based in Washington, D.C. See an extended bio of David T. Pyne here. Read more of Mr. Pyne's columns here, here, here, and here. |
