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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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Saturday, December 31, 2005
 Please see the Urgent Update at the bottom of this entry, and see if you can help us out. Thanks!Hello all - This is Aakash again. I am still somewhat busy (and Christian has been doing a superb job in keeping this weblog updated - Thank you so much!)... but I wanted to drop in, with a reminder about today. Around this time of the year, many organizations make requests for end-of-year donations... It was three year-ends ago that I was going to post a message on this weblog, pointing my readers to a donation request from LewRockwell.com. I didn't get a chance to post that then, but that excellent web publication is once again in need of funds... And "You Have Until Midnight" to make a donation to them, or to any tax-exempt organization of your choice, for it to be deductible on your 2005 taxes. If you write a check that is dated for today (December 31st), then that will still be deductible, regardless of how long it takes for the mailing to be delivered. I am regretfully unable to make any contributions, at this time, to any organization or group, due to the money problems that are commonly faced by political organizations - and especially by their leaders (most people don't realize how much personal financing it takes, even for a student organization). The College Republicans at the University of Illinois at Springfield has risen to become the most active College Republicans organization in the state of Illinois, and we plan to continue our efforts for as long as possible. But adequate financial resources are going to be necessary for this - especially with major events such as CPAC coming up before long. In addition, our organization has grown by leaps and bounds this past semester, and during the previous academic year... We are now one of the largest student organizations at the university. Any assistance that any of you could provide would be much appreciated, and I guarantee you that it will be put to good use. If you think that you may be able to help, please send your contributions to the following address: UIS College Republicans (Make checks payable to "UIS College Republicans.") At this time, I don't think that contributions to UIS student organizations are tax-deductible, but I hope that some of you will help out anyway - if not now, then some time soon.
Thank you very much... and of course: Happy New Year!!  Saturday, December 24, 2005
I hope that this season has been filled with joy and goodwill for all of you... and that you feel free to be able to share the Truth about this holiday with friends, family, and others, as we honor and reflect upon the birth of our Savior. Oh, how the time passes! - Christmas Eve 2002 at University Blog I realize that it is too late for Christmas shopping, for many of you (though not for all; there's always late gifts...), but here are some items that you may be interested in. Note: There actually is a way to present a good gift to someone, even at this point. Purchase an online Gift Certificate! I saw yesterday that the Mises Institute is offering them... You can put $10 or more on a virtual gift card, and use it online. With these gift cards, there is no extra cost for shipping, handling, or anything else. You can also send an Amazon.com gift card (from $5.00 to $5,000.00) to anyone, via e-mail. A gift magazine subscription would also be excellent... Any purchase made at that website through the link of an 'Amazon.com Associate' will yield a small commission to that Associate. I had noticed last year that Bill Hobbs had appended each of his weblog entries noting that people could support his site by doing their holiday shopping at Amazon.com. You could use his Associate link to shop at Amazon.com, or you could even use mine. :-) [That's where I got the idea, and the url format, from.] Here are some Christmas-related or other intriguing items that you may want to purchase, regardless of what day it is. The Chronicles of Narnia  , the everlasting epic by C.S. LewisThe Christmas Box, by Richard Paul Evans - Barnes & Noble was heavily marketing this bestseller a few years ago, asking "Do you have enough copies?"... I think a movie that's now been made from it was recently on television. The War on Christmas, by Josh Gibson of Fox News The Case for a Creator, by Lee Strobel The Case for Christmas, by Lee Strobel (Only $2.99!) The Glory of Christmas, by Max Lucado The Penultimate Peril (A Series of Unfortunate Events), by Lemony Snicket 1776, by David McCullough Death of the West, by Pat Buchanan Our Endangered Values, by Jimmy Carter Some interesting Christmas movies... It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Miracle on 34th Street (1994) [or: original 1947 make - IMDB page] A Christmas Story (1983) A Christmas Carol (1999) All I Want for Christmas (1991) The Santa Clause (1994) The Santa Clause 2 (2002) Jingle All the Way (1996) Mrs. Santa Clause (1996) Home Alone (1990) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Special Edition) (1989) Trackbacked to NIF, Third World Country, and Pirates, Man your women! Sunday, December 18, 2005
Help out this blogger by doing your Christmas shopping at Amazon.com! I know I've said this before, but I believe that this is truly the worst situation, academic + health-wise, that I've had, since I started here at UIS. (And this is just the first semester of grad school!)  I've had to pull all-nighters several days in a row... [Update: Check out this neat 'encyclopedia' entry; and this essay as well...] I did however, just barely manage to get my work done this week, for my Copyright Law class. It's overdue, but I hope that things will work out. I know that one of the Mises bloggers had asked to see the 'Google Print' [i.e. - "Google Book Search"] section of my final project, when I got it finished; I think I may upload and link to it here... The thing is, I myself have never had a chance to read it through - because of the time constraint, I had to turn it in right after it was completed and printed out; and since my printer here on campus has been non-functional for awhile (drat!), I haven't had a chance to read my own paper. (My eyes are straining too much to be able to sit through 16 and a half pages on the computer screen; it's hard enough typing this right now.) I mentioned a little while ago that I have no idea where my glasses are - and I assume that my contact lenses are still in my eyes; I only wish I knew how to find them and get them out...Also, the filing deadling for petitions, for major party candidates in Illinois, is tomorrow (Monday - Dec. 19th). The State Party has been greatly requesting our help, with getting as many signatures as possible, so that the three new Republican candidates for statewide office can appear on the primary ballot. Those candidates are: Stu Umholtz - Attorney General Sen. Carole Pankau - Comptroller Sen. Christine Radogno - Treasurer Unfortunately, this new ballot-access project came up right after Thanksgiving Break, and right before Finals Week... So the amount of assistance that we've been able to provide has been limited. Hopefully, we can get as many signatures as possible today, and have enough, when the candidates file at the State Board of Elections Office (here in Springfield) tomorrow. I know that my blogging rate has been way down - due to the factors I've alluded to above, and various other things. That is probably the reason that this weblog wasn't chosen as a finalist for Kevin Aylward's annual contest.... By the way, I haven't checked yet to see who the winners were - I think that the final day of voting was supposed to be Thursday, and if it hadn't been for the emergency academic situation I was in, I would hopefully have done an entry, with my 'endorsements' and recommendations... like some other bloggers did (and like I did the first year of this annual contest). I am glad that, like each of the past two years, several of the weblogs that I nominated were chosen as finalists (even though mine was not). I had wanted to have guest bloggers during Finals Week, and before Christmas (errr..., I mean: CHRISTmas). While Finals Week is now officially over (here at UIS), in reality, many of us still have final papers and projects to turn in, before grades are due. I finally got everything done for my Legal Studies course (on Copyright Law) - I told Josh that I kinda sorta now know how he feels - but it still boggles my mind how he can remain a full-time blogger while a full-time Law School student. (I have no idea how I could remain fully sane while a law student... which I why I don't know if I'll end up going.) Josh then showed me that he has started YET ANOTHER WEBLOG, dedicated to legal issues... That guy is really, really gifted; I wish I knew how he does it. (And I wish that JC.com was still up!)  Anyway, speaking of guest bloggers and pending coursework... While all the work for my Copyright Law class has now been submitted, my introductory Graduate School Political Studies course is a different story. I have an essay [actually, two essays] that needs to be turned in for that, as well as the take-home Final Exam. So Finals are actually not over for me (and I suspect, for quite a few others here).Fortunately, there is a talented writer who is eager to guest-blog at this site, during this very-hectic time. Unlike when I've done this in the past, I'm not going to reveal names, other than to say that he's: - a teenage conservative columnist (whose work is regularly published, at several sites) - a first-year college student - has never guest-blogged here before - not Kyle Williams [though I'd love for him to guest blog here as well - esp. since he has now ended his popular - and unbelievable for many - weekly syndicated column :-( :-( :-( ] - an excellent writer and current-events commentator - also a screenwriter and filmmaker (this last one might give it away, for some astute users of the conservative sections of the internet... which are, of course, the best parts!! :-) I am looking forward to having this student writer and film producer take over here, while I'm busy [very busy, unfortunately] trying to save my academic situation for this semester, and take care of some other year-end stuff. If I can make it through this term, I think that things can get better from here. One more thing, before I go: Thanks to fellow traditionalist conservative blogger Glaivester for making this site his "Blog of the Week." He had e-mailed me, awhile back, after finding (when Blogger chose to add their 'profile' feature, and make it [at least somewhat] searchable) that he, myself, and like one other person were the only ones who had A Republic, Not an Empire, under our 'Favorite Books' list. This relates to the past complaints I've had about the lack of traditionalist conservative viewpoints in the Blogosphere - but I've noticed that within the last year or two, as more and more people have started blogging, that has been turning around somewhat (though still not nearly to the degree that is necessary, especially with the situation that our nation, and our world, is in).  One final note, since we are talking about these things: I want to make clear that there have been several guest bloggers at this site, and while all so far (though that might change some time) have been conservative, their views on some issues are not necessarily my own, and vice-versa. The same has been true when I have been a guest blogger at other sites - well so far, I've only done it at one other site, and it was a good experience... though there were times when myself and the main blogger there did not agree. There are going to be disagreements within the Right, and within the Left, based upon how we interpret our philosophies, and how we believe those should manifest themselves, in the arena of contemporary public policy. In addition to the aforementioned writer, I may have one other guest blogger during this time period, and I don't really know what they will write about; it is mainly up to them. Whatever it is, I hope that you enjoy the fresh content here, and don't worry - I will be back (I hope so, at least!) before too long! Best of luck to everyone on final exams (and final projects, papers, end-of-semester wrap-ups, etc....) Good luck, and God Bless!! Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Tuesday (that's today!) is the final date by which I can turn in a Final Exam project, for my Copyright Law class - a project that will comprise almost all of the points for this course. In addition, the ballot-access petition drive, for the Illinois Republican Party, is still ongoing, though they want our petitions for those three statewide candidates to be turned in today as well [I have had to put this on hold, due to these pressing matters; I hope that the others are working on this...] And with other papers due for my graduate Political Studies course, this is truly the worst it's been for awhile - and this is only my first semester of Grad School!! I wish I'd been able to do my Pearl Harbor entries... It feels so bad having to allow the standard viewpoints, inaccurate claims, and pro-FDR assertions to go unchallenged. I think that last December, I saved those posts as drafts, but they were never published (that was right after the major elections, when I was also Chair of the CRs, and that semester, we were more active than perhaps ever before); I don't know if I'll get to do those entries this month.  Fortunately, there will be one or two guest bloggers posting here before too long. For now, I've been up all night, and I need to get back to typing... Tuesday, December 06, 2005
No Time for having No Time I had wanted to post something about this last night... or at least before going to bed this morning... ;-) Today is the day for the special U.S. Congressional election, over in California. This is a significant race, because Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minuteman Project, is running for the open House seat, on the American Indepedent Party (a Constitution Party affiliate) ticket. [past blog entry] [encyclopedia entry] A 'Gilchristmas' victory would be a great present... (Much better than the 'Fitzmas' speculation that's been going around...). Right now, I am sitting at a table outside the university cafeteria, in the Public Affairs Center; following Thanksgiving Break, the Illinois Republican Party had a special project for us... Three candidates for statewide office just entered the race, and we need to get enough signatures to get them on the ballot, before the filing deadline passes. Finals are next week, so this is extremely difficult for many of us, but we're trying to do what we can. This is a very frustrating time period... I now have a ton of blog entries, that I've saved as drafts, or in note form, that have never been published. Because my blogging rate has been down however (possibly the reason that this weblog wasn't chosen as a finalist for the annual contest), I think I will try to get guest bloggers once again. For now, however, I am going to try to get more petition signatures, get these horrible papers and projects finished (for which I already have much less time than I will need!), and try not to overdose on caffeine in the process. (I am glad that the wireless connection for this laptop finally seems to be working here; otherwise I wouldn't be able to post this entry.) If you live in the 48th U.S. House District of California, or know anyone who does, please help get out the vote for Jim Gilchrist today, so that we can have some principled leadership in Congress, and send Washington [and Ken Mehlman] a message, that they cannot afford to remain cavalier about our borders. Thursday, November 24, 2005
"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." - I Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." - Psalm 118:1 I will have one or two more entries posted here soon (I know Thanksgiving is nearly over... But I'll try to have them published tomorrow!) about the meaning of today. For now however, I can only link to my past entries for this occasion (too One more thing (until tomorrow): Try not to eat too much turkey!! I know it may already be too late for most of you reading this (then again, there've been people coming here from all over the world, so perhaps not... plus, there's always leftovers! ;-) Monday, October 31, 2005
Did you know that Russell Kirk also wrote ghost stories? I only found this out recently, and the current National Review home page features an article by R. Andrew Newman about this. Russell Kirk’s Ghosts, R. Andrew Newman, October 31, 2005 Thursday, October 13, 2005
This is typically the busiest time of the semester... And that is true for more than just CRs (though that is taking up most of my time it seems; despite it being a "non-election year" - in Illinois, at least, there are a ton of things that are going on...). With many people in the middle of mid-terms and such, I wanted to leave here a thought that I wasn't able to do last year (we were arranging the Alan Keyes event on campus, which took place on October 12, 2004). I don't know if Columbus Day [latest news and views] was yesterday (10/12/05) or today this year - the state had a holiday on Monday, while we unfortunately did not - but aside from all this, I wanted to say the following, with respect to this occasion: (I hope I don't get arrested by the PC police for this entry...) Tuesday, October 04, 2005
that the primary was today After getting up this morning (and then going back to bed, and then getting up again a little after noon), I checked my e-mail to find an "election-day message" from one of the major candidates in today's special primary in California's 48th Congressional (U.S. House) District, sent via Renew America (Alan Keyes), regarding Dr. Keyes' endorsement. [link] I went over to the very-excellent Politics1.com site when I realized that today is election day in that primary race, but the current top entries there don't mention it. I did see, however, that one of the Politics1.com blog entries from Friday predicted that this would happen. From that, it seems that other Republican leaders have also "crossed party lines" to endrose Jim Gilchrist for Congress, even though he is running under the American Indepdent Party's banner. (The AIP is different from when it was founded, decades ago; it has since become California's affiliate of the national Constitution Party.) Check out the online encyclopedia article (ASAP... before it changes!) for the background information on this race. Here is the pertinent section from the California Secretary of State's official website. And here is the election section from the Orange County website. By the way, I now hold a statewide position in Illinois' chapter of the Caucus for Conservative Action. Mr. Gilchrist is one of the candidates who they endorsed. Here is the brochure [.pdf format] that they created for his campaign. We (meaning the CCA, as well as the UIS College Republicans) are also going to help out with this year's gubernatorial race in Virginia. From Politics1.com, I see that the latest polls have Republican Jerry Kilgore and Democrat Thomas Kaine tied with 45% each; but apparently, Kaine hasn't started running his television ads yet. Both Republicans and Democrats - nationwide - are looking at this as a key election for 2005, one that could affect all of us. We are hoping to get some people from Illinois to go to Virginia, for the 72-hour GOTV efforts. That Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th. For today, best of luck to Jim Gilchrist, in his bid to become the only (and perhaps first?) AIP/CP member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Go Jim Go!! Thursday, September 29, 2005
At my CSF small group (Bible Study) last night, I brought up the issue of the 'Save Darfur' campaign, on which CSF has decided to jump upon the bandwagon. (Christian Student Fellowship is the main Christian organization at our university, and one of the largest and most active student organizations on campus.) I raised some points that I thought needed to be addressed, but were being very-much neglected by those in CSF who were trying to 'raise awareness' about this [very-complex and mult-faceted] issue. In an e-mail that was sent to the entire CSF e-mail list, the leader of the organization stated: Save Darfur Fast Let me get into the specifics of these issues, and then share why I think that a movement such as this is unfortunately myopic, and has the potential to do more harm than good. "Think of the children!!..." One of the biggest problems in dialectics - one that I think can interfere with reasoned debate and dialogue - is the graphic and inflammatory "appeal to emotion" (something that is oftentimes used by one party in a debate, in place of solid argumentation or substance). Flashing photos and video of people starving, suffering, or dying is very effective - at a visceral level - and it does have its purposes... but it can also interfere with rational dialogue, instead providing a reductionist mentality for subjects that are much more complicated. When I followed the link to the "Save Darfur" website, and clicked on the "Resources" section where I expected to find arguments backing up their position, I instead found some expository writing, but an emphasis on "Audio/Video" presentations and "Photo Essays." GENOCIDE! "What's in a name?..." In matters that are as vital as those involving life and death, we have to be very careful about the words that we use. Genocide is a loaded term, and also a very dangerous one. Misuse of this term has drawn our nation into bloody conflicts and quagmires, interventions based upon biases and distortions. [As people such as Daniel Pearl would know.] Those who have read this blog for a while should know that I am very much not a fan of internationalism, or of world government-type institutions. However, I think that many of those in the "Save Darfur" movement actually do support the observance of international law; movements like this oftentimes cite the Genocide Convention, which our nation is a party to, to substantiate their view that our nation must take action in foreign conflicts, to prevent or stop [alleged] "genocide." But who determines what constitutes "genocide"? Since our nation is a party to the Genocide Convention, there is an implicit agreement that we have acknowledged the official definition established by it. In order for a situation to be actual genocide (under the law), certain criteria need to be met. [info] Have those criteria been met in Darfur? The House vote Supporters of the claim that genocide has occured in Darfur cite the bill passed "unanimously" by the U.S. House of Representatives, declaring that Genocide is occuring in Darfur. But there are several problems with this. First off, that bill [H.CON.RES.467] cites the Genocide Convention as the basis for its recognition that the situation in Darfur constitutes Genocide. However, nothing in that Convention (or any other law) gives recognition of an official declaration of a state of Genocide in a foreign nation, when it is made only by one member-state party. And since the House bill does not mandate that any specific type of U.S. government action be taken in Darfur, this seems to be a symbolic measure taken by Congress. (At least for now... Some fear that it could be used in the future, as an attempt to mandate actions by our government, and our military.) There is another problem with the passage of that House bill. For an issue as important as this one, why was the bill quickly snuck through the House in the way that it was? Here is a description of what happened, by our friend U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), who serves on the House International Relations Committee: "...Mr. Speaker, this resolution was never marked-up in the House International Relations Committee, on which I serve. Therefore, Members of that committee had no opportunity to amend it or express their views before it was sent to the Floor for a vote. Like too many highly controversial bills, it was rushed onto the suspension calendar (by House rules reserved for "non-controversial" legislation) at the last minute... Excerpt: Floor Statement: U.S. House of Representatives, July 23, 2004 (Read Congressman Paul's entire speech here, and another important piece on Darfur here.) The Bush administration Also cited by the "Save Darfur" movement is the statement made by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, back in September 2004, that "genocide" is occuring in Darfur. However, the Bush administration has more recently been trying to avoid using that characterization; U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, when he was asked about this last April (after making an official visit to Sudan), refused to state that our government views Darfur as genocide. US's Zoellick signals that violence in Darfur is not genocide, Financial Times, April 15 The original Powell statement was made about a year ago, and was backed up by others in the Bush administration, including President Bush himself. I am disturbed by the more-recent admission by the Honorable John Danforth, who served President Bush as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. (and was a top White House spokesman with regard to this issue), that the "genocide" declarations were made to curry favor with Christian voters in the November 2004 elections. Perhaps that is a factor why some Bush administration officials have somewhat backed off from the bold "genocide" assertion. What will the "Save Darfur" people say if Gen. Colin Powell - now no longer in the Bush administration - retracts his previous statement (which they are using to bolster their case)? General Powell already seems to be backing off of other bold foreign policy statements that he has made; I don't know if he truly believes that genocide is occuring in Darfur. [Update: I just saw that Gen. Powell, within only about four months of his original claim, was refusing to re-state it: Powell now Mum on Genocide in Darfur] So the assertion that the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration has declared Darfur as "Genocide," while technically true, is also misleading, and has omitted key facts. Once again, I want to reiterate how opposed I am to internationalism, globalism, and world government. (Those who've been reading my blog for awhile should already know this.) That being said, since the Genocide Convention has been used by interventionists to urge U.S. involvement in foreign nations, and since the U.S. is officially a party to this Convention, and since the "Save Darfur" organization (and that e-mail excerpt above from CSF) cite the two aforementioned sources [the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration] to back up their "genocide" claim, and since said sources recognize the Genocide Convention, and recognize international law (and international institutions, like the United Nations and the European Union - no matter how despicable said institutions are), I think think then, that it is fair to cite what these international bodies have had to say. Keep in mind that since the agreed-upon Genocide Convention is international, it is the international bodies that have the authority to officially declare "genocide." And so far, they have not. In fact, both the United Nations and the European Union have stated that the situation in Darfur does not constitute Genocide. U.N. rules out genocide in Darfur, Feb. 1, 2005 [Update: The full, 176-page, report is available here.] (via Coalition for Darfur) EU says Sudan killings are not genocide, Aug. 10, 2004 (Note: I am not saying that if there is an official declaration, by an international body, of Genocide - or any other policy matter - that that is then a matter of truth. While such a declaration may or may not be accurate, however, it will be official.) Since no body or party with appropriate standing, under the law, has declared Darfur as Genocide, and since the Bush administration is [at least somewhat] backing off of its previous assertion regarding this matter, and since the passage of that House bill was quite questionable, and mostly symbolic, and since this situation is very complex, rooted in decades-old conflicts that are difficult for outsiders to understand, I don't believe that it is appropriate for an organization such as Christian Student Fellowship, which is not a political organization at UIS, to take the position that an "all-out genocide" (the term used in an e-mail that I just received this morning) is occuring in Darfur. Note: An online petition exists to urge Secretary of State Powell to retract his "genocide" assertion. It contains some interesting information, and was started by the Nile Basin Society, and by people who seem to have a better understanding of what is going on in northern Africa than probably any of us here at UIS do. Petition Online - The Darfur Crisis: Not Genocide [Created by the Nile Basin Society] Whether or not the situation in Darfur consitutes Genocide is debatable (and is being debated) - but since no general consensus has been reached, I think that CSF, and other non-partisan UIS organizations, need to back off of this loaded assertion. Words do matter. The Christians of Sudan Don't get this situation confused with the [very-real] plight of the Christians in Sudan. The fact is, the 5% of the Sudanese population that is indentified as Christian lives mainly in southern Sudan. Since 1983, more than two million people have killed in the conflict between the Christian south and the Muslim north. Darfur is in northwestern Sudan. Both parties in this civil warfare are Islamic. Some progress was being made in resolving the problems between the Christians in the south and the Muslims in the north, within Sudan. However, the focus on the Darfur conflict threatens to overshadow this issue. If organizations on college campuses want to pray and fast to help end the violence in Sudan, then why aren't they at least focusing on all of Sudan, rather than on one region? Unintended Consequences But in reality however, I am afraid that a visible and national focus on Darfur has the potential to increase instability, resentment, and even possibly violence, in Sudan, as well as in other parts of the Islamic world. I will write about that after my class tonight. Saturday, September 17, 2005
It was two years ago when I last mentioned (and first found out about) this holiday. It would be nice if, before encouraging the people of other countries to come up with their own, we could get our government to adhere to the one that we're supposed to have. We must get our nation back on track. We must take America back.  [.ram file] Saturday, September 03, 2005
Just when I hadn't even begun to update my previous posts - on Hurricane Katrina, and on the passing of conservative leader Jude Wanniski - one of my fellow UIS College Republicans members has just knocked on my door, to inform me that the Chief Justice of the United States [*], William Hubbs Rehnquist, has passed away. This seems to be too much tragedy, in too short of a time. I think I am going to be sick... (.wmv file) Friday, September 02, 2005
 The organization I lead will be helping out our local chapter of the Red Cross collect donations for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts this weekend. The Blogosphere is also doing a project this weekend, to help out. Glenn Reynolds has a comprehensive round-up of organizations that you can contribute to, and Citizen Smash has provided an inspirational idea for us to act upon. I will be posting a better entry about Hurricane Katrina soon; for now, please do what you can to help out. Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Oh NO!! I felt, this afternoon, the same way that I felt right after I saw the news about the passing of Colonel David Hackworth (on May 4th), and of Dr. Sam Francis (on Feb. 15th) - shocked and saddened. It was revealed this morning that, on Monday, one of the most brilliant political and economic thinkers in contemporary America had suffered a heart attack, resulting in his sudden passing. Jude Wanniski [www.wanniski.com] was the principle founder of the modern supply-side economics movement - something that shaped what would become the cornerstone of Reaganomics, which would lead our nation out of the depths of depression, and greatly contribute to our victory against the Evil Empire. In more recent years, Mr. Wanniski had received a great deal of criticism, for his often-provokative, and highly-controversial 'Memo on the Margin' articles; especially since 9/11 and the Iraq war, when he would comment on foreign policy matters. Though a conservative Republican leader, he was so distressed by the way the Bush administration had handled these issues, that he became one of the Republicans who endorsed John Kerry for President in the last election (the first time in decades that he'd cast a Democrat ballot for that office). An independent-minded expert, he has offered to serve as a political and economic advisor for Republicans, Democrats, and independents. The most notable political leader who Wanniski profoundly influenced - other than Ronald Reagan - was Jack Kemp, who, as a result, became an advocate for supply-side economics (from which we got the Reagan tax cut). I disagreed with some of Mr. Wanniski's viewpoints and topical themes, but his writings [also see here and here] were quite entertaining to read - something that cannot be said for most columnists (whether conservative, liberal, or otherwise). There is a lot more that I could say about Jude Wanniski, and about these issues... For now, however, I am going to link to an annotated web version of the introduction to the most-recent reprinting of Mr. Wanniski's ground-breaking book, The Way the World Works. National Review magazine chose this book, originally published in 1978, as one of the 100 most influential books of the Twentieth Century. This introduction, to the 4th edition (the 20th anniversary publishing), was written by another supply-side conservative political theorist, our good friend Bob Novak.  Introduction to the 1998 edition of The Way the World Works - Robert D. NovakBuy the Book  "Economic truth is a lever that can move governments, move history...the economic model that we've created truly has become what Jude Wanniski described as 'the way the world works." -- U.S. President Ronald Reagan, December 1988 Most of those reading this entry will not have recognized the name of Jude Wanniski - including probably most conservatives. That is quite unfortunate. The above-mentioned passings of Colonel Hackworth and Dr. Francis failed to get the media attention - even among the "conservative" outlets - that they so richly deserved. (The Blogosphere was a little better - at least in the Colonel's case - that's why it's good that we have this new form of expression and information sharing.) Both Colonel Hackworth and Jude Wanniski were affiliated with World Net Daily, and that superb web publication had a news item on each of their passings. [*] [*] TownHall.com now has this news featured on their front page. After I found out about his death this afternoon [via Antiwar.com, where I also first found out about the passing of Colonel Hackworth in May, and the passing of Dr. Francis in February], I mentioned to Alex that I am afraid that the key figures of traditional American conservatism seem to be passing away. At last year's National Conservative Student Conference, I discussed the deficiency of traditionalist conservatism within our generation. Hopefully, some of that is turning around... The fact that many of the leaders of traditional American conservatism are aging (it figures...) - or have already passed away - shows that those of us in the younger generation need to be strong, and need to be ready to take over, as we maintain our values of movement conservatism and republican liberty. Last week was the first of the semester - and my first week as a Graduate Student, here [still!] at the University of IL at Springfield. Even before school [re-]started, things were very hectic - with the State Fair, the political scene, getting ready for grad school, etc... There were several key decisions that needed to be made. I hope I made the right ones. (This is an entry that I meant to post, as a follow-up to my last one. I should have done it before now...) As I've been working to get essays and other work finished for courses, I found, a refreshing - and somewhat amusing - piece on the American Patrol (Voices of Citizens Together) website: From 19-year old student Lauren Payne: Hello there, Here's the paper. Enjoy! Update (9/5/05): You can view or download Lauren's paper as a PDF file here. (Isn't it remarkable how, sometimes, young people can have more sense, and better judgement, than our politicians in Washington? :-) Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Not too long ago, I had warned that if the Republicans don't take a strong stance for immigration reform, and against illegal immigration, the Democrats could steal that issue away from us. Historically, support for the immigration reduction and immigration reform movements has been a cause that was actually supported by Democrats and liberals... Due to issues relating to labor, economic justice, minority rights, and environmental and ecological concerns. Just yesterday I think, in one of my comment posts (I don't recall where), I linked to this comment post, which links to my past writings, regarding the issue of Democrats retaking the immigration reform issue, and attempting to ride it to victory. After the more-recent Hillary comments along this tactical line, I should have re-published that piece. I am afraid that if the Democrats had followed that strategem in 2004, they may have been able to have won the election. That is why it is so imporant that our party take a firm stance on this issue... Maybe I should have mentioned this election-related aspect of this situation, when I brought it up at last year's statewide College Republicans convention (when Jim Oberweis had spoken). I should perhaps have mentioned that if we don't take a firm stance on this matter, as Mr. Oberweis did in the 2004 primaries, then the Democrats could use this against us. I have a ton of things that I need to accomplish this week, and right at this time, I need to be making preparations our activites at the Illinois State Fair... Thursday is "Republican Day" at the Fair, and the day after that is when our CR organization has been given a table in the widely-traveled GOP Tent at the Fair. There is a lot of stuff that I need to do to prepare for this... I am still working as well, and this is also move-in week for campus. I have to go to campus right now for something, in fact, regarding our GOP activities at the Fair... However (despite the fact that I have a backlog of entries that still need to be posted), I wanted to post this entry now, especially since I found, via the American Patrol website, that Rush actually took up this very issue (the potential Democratic taking - actually, re-taking, of this issue from us, to try to better their chances at the ballot box). I've been commenting about Monday, August 15, 2005 See, I Told You So: Democrats Beating GOP on Immigration Rush: I want to talk about something that I warned you people about many times, certainly in the past month and beyond, and the subject is immigration -- and what was my warning? My warning was to the Republicans: "If you don't get a handle on this, if you don't come up with some kind of policy fast, if you don't make it look like this is a big issue that you care about, the borders, national security, and a bunch of illegals in this country taking jobs, if you don't get on this, the Democrats are going to beat you to it, and this is going to have a profound effect if the Democrats are able to pull this off, as soon as the 2006 and certainly the 2008 elections," and, lo and behold, here I am..." Update (8/24/05): It seemed that just one day after I published this entry, that page at Rush's site had - quite predictably - gone behind the blubbery curtain of "24/7" subscriber-only content. This is an important issue, however, and I am going to make that transcript available online - though possibly for just a limited time (or until the Rush has left out the fact that Democrats have historically (and even somewhat up into the 1990s) taken a good stance on this issue [which I mentioned in my piece on this topic], but that show segment is pretty good. Rush mentions that he has gotten e-mails from people blaming him for giving the Democrats the idea to do this (to try to take this issue, like with the recent actions of Gov. Bill Richardson [D-NM]... and now Gov. Janet Napolitano [D-AZ] as well). But this is false... You shouldn't blame Rush for something that's been discussed for awhile; if anything, you should blame me! ;-) Tuesday, August 02, 2005
I found out, via Rush today (yes, I'm still listening, for some reason...), that there is actually a U.S. House of Representatives race today. This is a solid Republican district... or at least it's supposed to be. Jean Schmidt (R) vs. Paul Hackett (D) The results are being tabulated now... Update (8-6-05): Today was apparently the national "Work Like A Dog Day"... I commented to a couple of my co-workers that this seemed appropriate, considering that we had to get as much as we could accomplished before the week's end. I In case you hadn't heard, a winner is this race was declared that same evening, despite the closeness of the race, and a voting machine crashing in the final county to be counted. Despite who is believed to have prevailed in this race (an outcome that could have been flipped, had the election instead been held yesterday or the day before), I think that the true winner - actually winners - of Tuesday's U.S. House race were actually Paul Hackett and Bob Taft. [No, not that Bob Taft... But another Bob Taft.] Friday, July 29, 2005
Today at work, we had two birthday cakes... For the employees with April/May & June/July birthdays. (My name wasn't on there - but that's okay; it's just good being able to work there this summer.) But now, I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to John Donovan, our friend from across the moat. [Hat tip to Cowboy Blob... whose site I went to via my hit counter's referral listing] How Maybe she would know. By the way, I also want to wish a Happy Birthday to racecar driver Fernando Alonso, who joins me in being 24, and liberal Peter Jennings, who is now 67... and also to Benito Mussolini, who is 122. ;-) Who else's birthday was it today? I think I'll post an entry after this one, regarding this. The CAFTA post (see below) can wait; it will take a little longer to compose... And that issue still had me fuming today at work (again!), despite the fact that "Professor Williams" was hosting today. I wish that he could fill in for Rush more often... (like perhaps on a permanent basis ;-) Thursday, July 28, 2005
It was maddening to be listening today at work, and to find that it had already happened. They said that the President had to "stay up past his bedtime" for that to occur. I had really wanted to post something on this topic before the vote. I had wanted to post something encouraging conservatives, libertarians, constitutionalists, and Republicans to provide the pivotal influence that would kill CAFTA. A constitutionalist congressional organization, The Liberty Committee, was lobbying for our sovereignty, with respect to this bill. We came so close, but it sneaked through. This is so d*mn infuriating. And it is especially infuriating to see 'conservatives' and Republicans supporting this unconstitutional atrocity. But tonight is one of the worst nights for commenting about this... Among other things, I need to respond to an inquiry from another one of the 'GOP Bloggers,' regarding background info he's trying to gather about a certain web advertising program, which I've been wanting to discuss anyway. Words cannot really express how frustrated I am, at the aforementioned and other issues, but watch this space for more soon. Tuesday, July 26, 2005
After work today, I rushed to the Hoogland Center for the Arts... I was invited to see a young man, who I had had heard was a great piano player, perform here in Springfield. What I witnessed was remarkable. Go to www.sujeet.com to see why... Sujeet, who I see has [well-deserved] national - and even international - recognition, is the same age as I. Despite having Down Syndrome, he has become an accomplished player of not only the piano, but the clarinet and violin as well. This evening's performance was incredible, and Sujeet's work is very inspirational - to all of us. And the thing is, he just arrived here, with his parents. I didn't even know this before today, but apparently, his father was close friends with my father, not too long after they came to America. After the concert (sponsored by major disability organizations), Sujeet and his parents have come to our house, to visit, and we will likely all be going out to dinner. (Due to the weather situations, their flight, which was supposed to arrive in Illinois yesterday evening, was delayed until this morning.) They have to leave for home soon. At sujeet.com, you can find out more about this amazing young man, and about his work. I think that a short documentary about him is also available for viewing there... and you can find out about purchasing his CD as well. I was going to post more about the Judge Roberts situation next, but I thought that I should share this evening's experience right now. More current-events commentary will be up here before too long, but for now, it's time for dinner. Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Update (7/25/05): I regretfully note that at this time, I cannot support the nomination of Judge John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court. I was already having doubts, but my last [indented] update, at the bottom of this entry, gives a brief overview of why I arrived at this conclusion, on Friday. If the known information about Judge Roberts changes, however, then things might be different, regarding this... As of now, I feel that him serving for a lifetime on our nation's highest court is too great of a risk. Please check out the updates to this entry (below); I will have more up on this soon. One of the main realizations surrounding last night's surprising pick for the U.S. Supreme Court that many people are having is the fact that an unusually-limited amount of background information is known, regarding his personal viewpoints on the major hot-button issues facing our nation today. Many conservatives - as well as some liberals - were holding off on staking a pro/con position on his nomination, due to this fact. But after seeing how two excellent leading group weblog sites took a stance in favor of John Roberts' confirmation - the same night it was announced! - ['Confirm Them' and 'Save the GOP'], I posted the following comment: Whoa there - Let's slow down, guys... This afternoon, I was forced to turn off Hannity [on only my 3rd day of listening!], because he - along with his guest John ["sexy boobs"] McCain - were so incredibly irritating. I've written about both of these annoying neocon windbags before... and will probably have to comment about their [il]logic and senselessness again soon. Developing... Update (7/21/05): I turned off Hannity again this afternoon [ it had popped on, mid-show, after the Cardinals lost :-( ] - as if the "Sith Lord" wasn't RINOstic enough, he this time had the RINO Rudy on his show. They both expressed their love [I think that was actually the word Sean used] for 'Tony the Tyrant' of England, and compared him to Churchill... something that may not be that far off, actually. The fact that the former mayor [a supporter of partial-birth abortion] expressed support for Judge Roberts, and that he emphasized that the judge's brief filed against Roe v. Wade was specifically not his own opinion (but that of his administration) does not reflect well upon our new nominee. I will be posting more about this issue soon... I also want to comment on today's horrible bombing in London. Update (7/22/05): Some weird electrical problems struck us late this afternoon in the office, and we had to turn off all electronic equipment - and go home. And this had to happen after 4 PM, on a Friday, the same day on which I had taken the morning off, and would have actually been wanting to work late! [If only this had happened on a Tuesday or Wednesday...] Also, this is the day when I would have liked to have kept Sean Hannity's radio show on. Fortunately, these problems began after he had finished his interview with David Boies. Yes, that David Boies. At least this afternoon, his liberal guest has enough honesty to wear a "D" (not an "R") next to his name... unlike some people. As indicated above, I have already been expressing doubts [as have a number of other conservative bloggers] about whether SCOTUS nominee John Roberts can be relied upon to be a constitutionalist justice, if allowed to serve a lifetime on the highest Court in the land. I mentioned above that the fact that the infanticide-supporting former mayor and the RINO-supreme senator from AZ [is it Vader or the Sith?] were enthustically backing him does not reflect too well on him... But in reality, that doesn't necessarily reflect too poorly on Judge Roberts, either. But when today's guest, an individual of remarkable talents and strong convictions [but possibly-questionable ethics] who served as Al Gore's lead attorney in Bush v. Gore (had he won, Bush would never have become President in 2000), expressed lavish praise for Judge Roberts, my eyebrows raised higher than they've been this entire week, as did my blood pressure. At 3:43 PM CST, Sean told David Boies, "It's kind of scary how much you and I are agreeing on some of these issues..." You aren't the only one who finds this type of thing scary, Sean. Note (7/21/05): That's what I had thought in my mind to write, in the update to this blog entry... Unfortunately, I couldn't post this at the time, being at work. I wanted to pause here, in this entry update, to delay my sharing of what transpired next in that interview. I will post the details about that later tonight; I think what was said on the show is quite significant - and perhaps somewhat scary, considering the stakes involved. Update (7/21/05): I had already been having doubts about the Roberts nomination, but here is what clinched it for me, during that David Boies interview with Sean Hannity. |
