Sorry for not having updated in a while. (This seems to be happening to many bloggers.) I am currently in the middle of writing an essay. It is on a presentation given in my American Foreign Policy class last week by
Sister Beth Murphy, a
Dominican Sister from here in Springfield.
Sister Beth spent time in Iraq, working to help the people of that country who have been suffering so much, especially since the early 1990's. I plan to update my blog later today. In the meantime, you might want to check out
my earlier column with answers to the widely-circulated
"Questions That Won't Be Asked About Iraq" from a speech by Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) last year. I was inspired to write this after reading other reponse columns Congressman Paul's questions by Libertarian leader
Jacob Hornberger (president of the
Future of Freedom Foundation) and
Owen Courreges of Rice University, one of my fellow collegiate conservative bloggers. (Sorry, I don't yet know how to add that accent mark over the "e" in Courreges.) Just yesterday, I finished a new web article about Saddam Hussein and his actions during the Iran-Iraq war.
A special thanks to
Owen for adding me to his
blog's side listing! Even though I disagree with him about a war with Iraq, he was nice enough to link to me anyway. Muchas gracias, senor! :-)
Back to the essay! I shall return soon...
Update: This is what you get for updating your blog. After I posted and published this entry,
Blogger.com ate up my archive dates listing on the left sidebar (now, as you can see, only the first week of archives are listed). Perhaps it's a good thing that
Google has bought the company that runs Blogger.com; now, perhaps some of these bugs will be fixed. Anyway, you can see a listing of my
archives (in a somewhat crude format, but oh well...)
here.
Update update: [Hmmm... The archive listing seems to have returned. Oh well.]
Note: Several people have inquired as to when I am going to add a
comments feature to this blog. That will be something that I will have to look at in the near future. However, with all the problems that Blogger.com is experiencing, I don't want to do anything to change the template code right now. (Currently, every time I click "Publish" on Blogger, it gives this error message:
Error 503: Unable to load template file. We're working on this. Please try back later.) I don't even know if it will allow me to change my template. I will try to find out more about this.
Also, I seem to be somewhat under attack at
Patrick Ruffini's website; or at least,
my comments and blog postings are. (Contrast their caustic remarks to the
civil discussion that I had with some of the nice folks over at
Hoosier Review, or the
nice back-and-forth dialogue I had with
Owen Courreges and others at
his blog.) Unfortunately, because I still haven't finished this darn essay, I won't be able to defend myself right now. I will be back soon, though, never fear...
Update: I now have an e-mail address for correspondence. It is uisconservative@yahoo.com. I may not get a chance to check it that often however, but I will try to check it from time to time.
posted by Aakash at 5:12 PM
More on the war:There were several things that I had wanted to post concerning the issue of war and conservatism. Shortly after I posted that last entry, consisting of the latest installment of editorials against a war with Iraq from American conservatives, several new things occurred. On Tuesday, in my American Foreign Policy class, we had an exciting, informative, organized debate on whether to go to war with Iraq. There were two teams of four people each, with each making their case for or against the war. Someone else played the part of the President of the United States, while others played the part of Colin Powell, Karl Rove, and Donald Rumsfeld. I was the director of the CIA. In a very feisty debate-style format, those of us who were advisors to the President agressively questioned each side, and engaged in the debate ourselves. Of course, I strongly questioned the pro-war side, trying to get them to back up their case. At one point, someone on that side suggested that I was a "Saddam symphathizer." (More on that later.) Anyway, our President ended up making the decision to go to war.
In an interesting note, three of the students in that class were Executive Officers of
College Republicans. Out of the three of us, only one supported the war, while two of us are opposing it. See below two good articles summarizing the conservative and Republican opposition to the war. (Both of these were on
Thursday's edition of AntiWar.com, the conservative/libertarian website against intervention.)
Washington Times:
Some conservatives still opposing the warPacific News Service:
Anti-War Conservatives Bash Neocon HawksNew! - Agape Press:
Conservatives Against the WarNew! - United for Peace:
Military Officials, Republicans Speak Out Against the WarNew! - Congressman John Duncan (R-TN):
Conservatives Against a War with IraqAs I wrote in
this comment post on the Hoosier Review blog, more conservatives and Republicans need to say:
"Not in Our Name," either!And it's:
One, Two, Three, Four:
We don't want your neocon war!
Five, Six, Seven, Eight:
We ain't gonna Bosniate!
(Just say NO! to the Leviathan state...)In an update to
my second January 13th entry, I listed the
TownHall.com conservative columnists and the
World Net Daily columnists who are opposing a war with Iraq. Now, I will give a partial listing of the organizations and policy institutes on the right which are opposing the war. (Note: Some of these groups
may not have an official stance on the war, but have many members who are opposing it.)
NOTE: If you want your organization listed here, or if you feel that a group or person has been incorrectly listed, please drop a note
here at this empty Hoosier Review comment board. (That's an
old post, so I don't think anyone there would mind.) Please reserve that comment board only for
corrections to this listing of organizations (not for any other comments). I will also, in the future, probably set up an e-mail address for correspondence to me.
From the Right: Organizations Opposing the WarCato Institute -
The American Cause -
Free Congress Foundation -
Conservative Caucus -
Ludwig Von Mises Institute -
Freedom Network -
Independent Institute -
Rockford Institute -
Polyconomics -
Supply Side Investor -
John Birch Society -
American Reformation Project -
Christian Patriots in Action -
Reason Foundation -
Future of Freedom Foundation -
American Liberty Foundation -
Americans Against World Empire -
Randolph Bourne Institute -
Henry Hazlitt Foundation -
Molinari Institute -
Thornwalker -
WTM Enterprises -
James Webb Enterprises -
Students for a Libertarian Society -
Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities -
Conservatives Against Bush -
Americans for a Free Republic -
The Daily Reckoning -
The Power Hour -
Internet Brigade -
Dulles (D.C.) Nat'l Org. for Women -
NC League of the South -
Southern Party -
Southern Caucus -
Reform Party of MI -
America First Party -
Constitution Party -
Institute on the Constitution -
Center for Defense Information -
Center for the National Security InterestUpdate: I feel bad - I left out the
American Gulf War Veterans Association (AGWVA) from this list. This is a good pro-military, pro-soldier organization - their website is:
www.gulfwarvets.com.
Update: I guess I will also include here the list of conservative columnists opposing the war, which I had posted as an update to
my second January 13th entry:
(I have added some more, also. This is however, only a partial listing.)
-------------------
The following
TownHall.com columnists are opposing a war with Iraq:
(TownHall.com is the well known conservative site started by The Heritage Foundation.)Listed in alphabetical order...
Doug Bandow -
Pat Buchanan -
Steve Chapman -
Sam Francis -
Terence Jeffrey -
Jack Kemp -
Bob Novak -
Alan Reynolds -
Paul Craig Roberts -
Jacob Sullum -
Jude WanniskiThese other columnists are also listed on the bottom of the
TownHall.com columnists page. They are opposing the war:
William Anderson -
Radley Balko -
Arianna Huffington -
Charley Reese -
Joe Sobran
The following
WorldNetDaily.com columnists are opposing the war:
Chuck Baldwin -
Alan Bock -
Pat Buchanan -
Harry Browne -
Doug Casey -
Col. David Hackworth -
Ilana Mercer -
Gordon Prather -
Maralyn Lois Polak -
Bill Press -
Ellen Ratner -
Lew Rockwell -
Paul Sperry -
Jude WanniskiThe following is a partial listing of
other conservative columnists opposing the war:
Jeff Adams -
MacDonald King Aston -
Andrew J. Bacevich -
Bill Barnwell -
Stephen Beale -
Roderick T. Beaman -
Richard K. Betts -
Dave Black -
William Bonner -
Arnaud de Borchgrave -
Phil Brennan -
Joe Bob Briggs -
David Brownlow -
Bay Buchanan -
William Buppert -
Timothy P. Carney - "
Marcus Tullius Cicero" -
Gordon Francis Corbett -
Richard Cummings -
Mark Dankof -
Karen DeCoster -
Michael Desch -
David Dieteman -
Thomas DiLorenzo -
Thomas R. Eddlem -
Ivan Eland -
Jeff Elkins -
Marcus Epstein -
Joe Eldred -
Mike Ewens -
William Flax -
Thomas Fleming -
Sam Francis -
Doug Franke -
Dave Franklin -
Pieter Friedrich -
Georgie Anne Geyer -
Scott Gillette -
Paul Gottfried -
Philip Gold -
Steven Greenhut -
William Norman Grigg -
Jennifer A. Gritt -
U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) -
Gene Healy -
Donald M. Heavrin -
David R. Henderson -
Douglas Herman -
Ron Holland -
Hans Herman-Hoppe -
Jacob Hornberger -
Mark Horne -
John C. Hulsman -
Nelson Hultberg -
Glenn R. Jackson -
William F. Jasper -
Chalmers Johnson -
J. J. Johnson -
E. Michael Jones -
Reginald Jones -
Myles Kantor -
Lawrence Korb -
Devvy Kidd -
Stephan Kinsella -
Andrea Kirk -
R. Cort Kirkwood -
Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski -
James Landrith -
Ted Lang -
Christopher Layne -
Ed Lewis -
Laura Dawn Lewis -
Leonard P. Liggio -
William S. Lind -
John Lofton -
Roderick T. Long -
Al Lorentz -
Jon Luker -
Heather MacDonald -
Tibor Machan -
Eric Margolis -
Christopher Manion -
Daniel McCarthy -
Scott McConnell -
Wendy McElroy -
Ryan McMaken -
Emanuel McLittle -
John Mearsheimer -
Jonathan David Morris -
Ron Neff -
Doug Newman -
William A. Niskanen -
Gary North -
Novakeo -
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) -
Charles Pena -
Howard Phillips -
Kevin Phillips -
Red Phillips -
Kirt R. Poovey -
Christopher Preble -
David T. Pyne, Esq. -
Justin Raimondo -
Ralph Raico -
Fred Reed -
Rip Rense -
Joyce Riley -
Lew Rockwell -
Tom Roeser -
Murray Sabrin -
David Sadler -
Steve Sailer -
SARTRE -
Sean Scallon -
Joe Schembrie -
Dorothy Anne Seese -
William K. Shearer -
Lee R. Shelton, IV -
William A. Shields -
Martin Sieff -
Peter Signorelli -
Ron Smith -
Douglas Spicer -
Alan Stang -
Mary Starrett -
Alina Stefanescu -
Joseph Stromberg -
Taki -
Linda Schrock Taylor -
Kevin Tuma -
Jon Basil Utley -
Laurence M. Vance -
Dave vonKleist -
Stephen Walt -
Col. James Webb -
Christopher Westley -
William Westmiller -
Jim Willie CB -
Thomas Woods -
Brian Youmans -
John P. Zmirak
posted by Aakash at 2:50 PM
War Watch
Here is your latest installment of anti-war, anti-state viewpoints
from the Right:
Justin Raimondo:
The Antiwar Movement Progresses (article from
The American Conservative)
The Bin Laden Tape: The Real Story
Free Taki!
Pat Buchanan:
Why is Iraq at the Top of the List?
The Great Equalizer: Promoting Nuke Proliferation
Kim Jong Il at the OK Corral
The Unintended Consequences of War
Is George W. Bush an Imperialist?
Bob Novak:
The U.S. Imperium: Conservatives Should Oppose Nation-Building
Chuck Baldwin:
Is War with Iraq a Just War?
- News article from Agape Press: Dr. Chuck Baldwin, Baptist pastor and conservative radio commentator, says that without Congress' approval [a formal declaration], war is "unlawful"
[Update: The current Politics News page of Covenant News has some good articles against the war from the Right.]
More from Dr. Baldwin: -
new!
Is America the Revived Roman Empire?
We Are Playing a Dangerous Game
Have Christians Become Bloodthirsty?
Bush Continues Clinton Policy - Puts U.S. Troops Under Foreign Commanders
Doug Bandow:
The Conscription Temptation
Stepping Back from the Brink
If the Administration was right, all Americans would be dead
John P. Zmirak:
We Can't Afford to Annex Iraq
America the Abstraction: The Neocons and Trotsky
Lies, Dam*ed Lies, and Anti-Semitism
Joe Sobran:
What Happened to the War on Terrorism?
The School of Experience: Listening to the European "anti-Americans"
Steve Chapman:
In the Drive Toward War, a Last Exit
Charley Reese:
Is Being Anti-War Unpatriotic?
Hard to Believe
Consequences of War
Going to War
War with Iraq:
It Won't Be Our Finest Hour
William Lind (
Free Congress Foundation):
The Failure of American Strategy
U.S. on the Spanish Road to World Hegemony
Waging War - Confused Aims -
new!
Waging War - Playing at War -
new!
Jude Wanniski (
Supply Side Investor): -
new!
Condoleezza Rice, A Nice Lady
Quiz: Are You A Hawk or Dove on Iraq?
Answers to Quiz: Are you a Hawk or Dove?
Quibbles and Complaints about the Hawk/Dove Quiz on Iraq
Arnaud de Borchgrave (UPI, Washington Times) -
new!
Crossing the Rubicon of No Return
Geopolitical Glass Houses
A Bush-Sharon Doctrine?
Punctured Assumptions: War with Iraq won't be a Cakewalk
U.S. Congressman John Hostettler (R-IN)
Congressman decries war-like mindset - from the Indiana News
New!
U.S. Congressman John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN)
Conservatives Against a War with Iraq
Former U.S. Congressman Paul Findley (R-IL)
America Awash in Jingoism? - Convocation Speech at Illinois College
(Note: The same week that he delived this speech, Mr. Findley was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by College Republicans at Illinois College (in Jacksonville). It occurred at an event sponsored by that student organization. Also at that event, former state Senator Patrick O'Malley gave a speech about youth in politics. Unfortunately, I had class, and it was right before final exams week, so I was not able to attend.)
U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
Sorry, Mr. Franklin, We're All Democrats Now
The Great Global Social Security Giveaway?
Waning Prospects for Peace and Freedom in 2003?
From the Texas Observer: An Anti-War Republican! An interview with Congressman Ron Paul
Remember Congressman Paul's famous 35 "Questions that Won't Be Asked About Iraq" from last fall? A certain college student from Illinois has written a response column with answers to those questions...
Update: Shortly after I made this post, a couple good articles were published on antiwar conservatives. See
this article from
The Washington Times, and
this one from the
Pacific News.
posted by Aakash at 9:07 PM
Neocon Watch
Turning Tables
Well, it seems that what goes around, comes around. Many of the leading neoconservative commentators in America have, for the past several years, been doing a very good job of smearing those who get in the way of their agenda. (
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7) Ironically, these commentators have been employing the same type of smear tactics and labeling that the Left has been using against conservatives, and continues to do today. The neocons have made it a habit of labeling traditional conservatives, libertarians, and some leftists as "anti-this" and "anti-that," and as haters of .... whomever or whatever, but now, some of them are the ones getting labeled. See
this article in the
Washington Times about how Republican leader and conservative activist Grover Norquist (President of
Americans for Tax Reform) has accused Frank Gaffney, David Keene, and others of bigotry. I don't know whether these accusations by Mr. Norquist are true, and if they are not true, then what he has said is very wrong. However, it is unique to see those who are usually doing the smearing in the hot seat for a change.
To be fair...
Update: Right after this article from the Washington Times was published, there was a response to it at the home page of Mr. Gaffney's organization, the Center for Security Policy. I am trying to find that response statement at that site, but the front page has been updated several times since then.
This might be the one. The
current front page of the site also has another item responding to these accusations, with strong criticism of Mr. Norquist.
Here is Mr. Gaffney's
response article in the Washington Times. And here is
an article on Norquist from the Weekly Standard.
The home page of
Citizen Soldier, a good organization, has also been updated with information on this controversy.
Update 2: I saw Ben Domenech's
blog post about this a few days ago; he has updated that entry since then with some more information. Ben mentions that he watched Norquist talking about this on Fox News. That actually occured on February 7th on "The Big Story with Josh Gibson." I didn't see that show, but a transcript of it, obtained via
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (c), has been
posted here.
And with regards to Mr. Gaffney: I just noticed a couple days ago, when looking at the now-famous
Chickenhawk Database, that he is listed there as having avoided military service due to, of all things, "zits." I tried looking up information on that, but was unable to find anything. Does anyone know what the story is on this? (That must have been one bad case of acne!)
Speaking of
the chickenhawks, I came across something very amusing on the message board of the
Illinois Leader (Illinois' conservative news source) a few days ago about our old friend,
Rush Limbaugh. Rush was anti-war during the Clinton administration, but has been a cheerleader for this war, along
with others who never served in the military. While someone at Hoosier Review
posted a link to "amusing [pro-war] protest pictures" at Rush's website, a much funnier poem on
"Limbaugh and the Chickenhawks" was posted here on the Illinois Leader's discussion board. Hillarious!
(Find out more about what kept Rush from serving in the military
here at the popular Snopes.com site.)
Good news:
LewRockwell.com is beating National Review Online in the
Alexa ratings! Baby Goldberg is
not pleased...
Update: I just found out that the person who I call 'Baby Goldberg' is himself
having a baby... Actually, the one doing that would be his wife, Jessica Gavora. Lucy Tighe Goldberg was just born last week. Congrats!
You can send your congratulations (and any advice, from those of you who have experience in this - I certainly don't) to Jonah and Jessica at:
welcomelucy@nationalreview.com.
posted by Aakash at 8:58 PM
This is a day late... Actually, two days now, since I got home late last night:
Happy Birthday Ronnie!!
(From the Reagan Ranch.)
A hearty congratulations and best wishes in honor of the greatest president of our time.
posted by Aakash at 2:04 PM
