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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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Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
It has been grueling and frustrating. There was a draft campaign for me, for the U.S. House seat for which an opening surprisingly arose this summer. I was not going to enter that race, but was considering running for Delegate to the Republican National Convention; I opted out of that also, though several others I know are doing so. I was forced to a lot in the College Republicans, and had other ongoing things to deal with, and was, once again, not able to make much progress on pending Graduate school coursework. My blogging, therefore, was not able to be continued during this time, despite having re-started, after a half-year hiatus. I did participate a lot in the Blogosphere, during the Petraus report fiasco, and was criticized for it some, by the usual suspects. I saved some drafts from that period, I think, which will hopefully by published soon. I went ahead and published some of the more-recent draft entries however, so there is some new content below. The blogging will continue. Tuesday, October 23, 2007
I noticed, before bed last night/this morning, that my blog had gotten two hits in a row from people who were searching for the 'Mole Day' song lyrics; I thought that was quite a coincidence, and then saw that my latest hit is also a result of this. It then struck my why... Because today is 'Mole Day'!! (Duh! - Perhaps this is why I wasn't able to make much progress on my work yesterday... ;-) Today is when my Graduate course is, and I have to get going, but here is this year's tribute to Mr. Szabo: Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Note (10/21/07): The trip went alright; I'd like to blog about it, in my next entry... and the issues that arose, during just my short time in Washington. I am currently still 'mired in quicksand' however - and it was getting worse, before I went to D.C.... I am still in a hole, and it has been a struggle to make headway in this. The night before last, my frustrations spiked somewhat, which was reflected in my dialogues with certain others; I need to apologize for that (though the points I raised were very legitimate, and I hope that they realize this). Please pray for me, as indicated at the bottom of this entry, and I hope to be back here soon. Last week, I wish I could have been where everyone else seemed to be. I was so pissed off about no one from the UIS CRs being there (we were all set to send our new Chairman, but that fell through, shortly before the event), that I decided to come to Washington, D.C. this week [despite being endlessly swamped with things I need to get done, including from prior semesters, and getting myself deeper in the hole by the day]. Well, it wasn't just for that reason... But when I was looking at D.C. events coming up soon, I was wondering when the next meeting of the great Robert Taft Club would be, or when the next event featuring someone like U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) would be. I was surprised to see that both of those are happening at the same time!! [ Facebook page ] It was at that time that I realized I should probably make the sacrifice (though it doesn't make much sense, considering what has been going on, with me during the past several months - and especially in the past week!)... This trip will be partly theraputic (it's complicated...), and also, I will use this to attempt to arrange an event, here at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS), featuring presidential candidate Ron Paul - someone who is quite popular among many college students, and younger Americans!! I will also be visiting my old friends at Team America PAC, and perhaps speak to the campaign of U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), another great 2008 GOP candidate for President of the United States... Maybe we can get him to speak at UIS, as well. There is SO MUCH that has arisen, just within the past week or so... And with all that I already had on my plate, it has been much too much. For some reason (partly because I had to use Hotwire, to get a rate that wasn't $600+ - considering that I didn't purchase my ticket until Monday evening, and partly because I had so much to do, before leaving, that I didn't look that closely, I suppose), I thought that my flight was to leave this morning, at 5:58 AM. I stayed up through the night off course [I've had to pull several all-nighters, during the past week... it's been horrid :-( ], but when I left my house, it was already after 5:00 AM, I was terrified of missing my flight [and facing the wrath of my parents, when they found out... but certain students may then have faced my wrath... at putting me in this situation, where I had to deal with so much by myself]. When I rushed into Capital Airport [SPI], I saw a HUGE line at the United terminal, and I realized that if I had to wait in line, there was no way I could make my flight. I thought maybe those people were in line for a later flight, and if they knew that I had booked the one that departs in 20 minutes, they would let me check in (I don't have any bags to check, and had the Hotwire printout in hand). I approached a nice-looking couple of ladies, who were like fourth in the line, and asked if they were on the flight that leaves at 5:58 AM. For a moment, they weren't sure, but the Indian-American lady in front of them prompty answered "yes" - that all the people in were on that flight. I began a sigh of relief, and said - "So we're not going to miss our flight." One of the women answered that they don't even know if that flight is going; it's been experiencing mechanical problems. I had prayed, while rushing to the airport, that I would not miss my flight. But imagine my surprise when, after going to the back of that line, I looked at my Hotwire flight itinerary printout again, and saw that my flight actually departs at 5:58 PM!! I was then a little irritated, but honestly, it might work out better this way, than if I had known the correct time. I did lose some sleep... But if I had gone to bed last night/this morning, it would have been quite late, considering all that I had to take care of, before leaving today. And if I had fallen asleep at some point, would I have been able to have had everything prepared, and have been in time for my evening flight [especially after several all-nighters this past week]? This way, I was totally ready (well, actually I forgot something very important, at home... which I now had the opportunity to go back for!) and packed, in plenty of time for my flight. Also, that early morning at Capital Airport, I saw County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter, who I had just cc'ed on one of the [MANY!] e-mails I had sent the previous night/this morning - this one was to the Hon. Jen Dillman, a former member of my College Republicans organization who was recently appointed to the Sangamon County Board... her first major event - an Open House hosted by Bill and Susan Enlow - is on Thursday, and I was looking forward to attending, but that's the same day as the Robert Taft Club event, in D.C. (where I'll soon be). I also ran into Dr. Diane Rutledge, who remembered me, as she was the Principal of my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade school, and later moved up, I think, to major positions in District 186. I then went home, ate something, got maybe one or two hours of actual sleep, and got back here... I was upset once again, about not leaving earlier, and being in rush hour. However, this flight was delayed also... The plane just arrived back at this airport I think [it is currently 6:49 CST], but this has given me time to blog about these events - which is one thing that I wanted to do, but didn't have a chance to, before I left. I see that my prayer has been answered, in a way that was even better than I expected. Please pray that this trip goes well [I am still woozy, from what's happened this past week], and that I succeed in convincing at least one presidential candidate, such as Dr. Paul, to speak at our capital-city Illinois campus. I also need a great deal of prayer for health and energy, during this difficult time period. They are finally beginning boarding on this flight, to Washington-Dulles. I don't know if I'll have web access (or much time for that, considering that my return flight is on Friday), but I will try to at least post an update, after I get back, about this event. Monday, September 17, 2007
I almost forgot! The last time I did an entry on this was four years ago, and I had recently made a mental note to do one this year... but it had slipped my mind (until I saw this entry listed on the "BNN Bulletin - Conservative Blogs" feed, in the sidebar of Scott's Morning Brew (after just going back to an entry there at which I had commented the other day). I wanted to get this entry saved, before this day is over. Naturally, I just went over to the home page of The Conservative Caucus, which emphasizes this event on a regular basis. Sure enough, they have a major event planned, in the D.C. area: (It apparently just ended...) The 2007 Constitution Day Event in Arlington, VA, September 17, 2007 Free Admission Call 703-938-9626 or Email to reserve your seat 7:00pm-10:00pm at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn 1900 N. Fort Meyer Drive, Arlington, VA 22209 703-807-2000 A COMMEMORATION and PUBLIC EVENT Celebrating September 17, 1787 when the Constitution of the United States was adopted. Free Admission Agenda 7:00 PM Howard Phillips Introductory Remarks 7:15 PM Professor Brad Smith Campaign Regulation and the First Amendment 8:00 PM Thomas A. DeWeese The North American Union 8:45 PM Presentation by Howard Phillips of the Andrew Jackson Champion of Liberty Award to Lev Navrozov, Columnist and Author 9:00 PM Remarks by Lev Navrozov 10:00 PM Howard Phillips Closing remarks Adjourn As I've said before, for this occasion, it would be great if our elected leaders - of either party - could actually adhere to the U.S. Constitution, at least once in awhile. But many of those same people who claim to be against the "living document" interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and in favor of "originalism" and the "strict constructionist" view, are hypocrites, when it comes to applying constitutionalists priniciples to matters such as states' rights, global trade, warfare and military interventionism, and overall foreign policy matters. When a Republican is president, it seems that so many "conservatives" no longer care about "original intent" and "strict constructionist" doctrines, but are fine with shredding the U.S. Constitution, to meet ends that they desire. That type of hypocrisy makes me sick. I recently saw a blog comment post, at one of those many "conservative" bloggers' entries, attacking U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), and his presidential candidacy, saying that the U.S. Constitution does not require Congress to declare war, before our nation can go to war... The commenter actually asserted that the Constitution says that Congress has the power to make war, but that that doesn't preclude the President of the United States from taking our country to war, on his own!! The depths that today's "conservatism" has sunken to are truly tragic. And it is also truly tragic that a candidate for President of the United States, who simply believes in adhering to the orginial principles of the United States Constitution, is smeared by "conservatives" as a "nutjob," a "truther," a ... I just checked the official campaign websites of all the 2008 Republican presidential candidates, and Dr. Paul's campaign site is the only one that mentions Constitution Day. It figures. Saturday, September 15, 2007
Before my 'Blogiversary' (see entry below) day is over, I wanted to record on this blog, my weblog's hit stats. My CQCounter is the most accurate for this, since it was started on September 24, 2002; I was deciding on hit counters, and found that a lot of new ones had become available, since I had used them last; a I later came to believe that SiteMeter was better, but I didn't add that counter till later. I almost never visit my own blog; when I need things looked at, I've asked Pieter or others to do so; Patrick Carver and J.D. Talley have also helped out. Also, there were points at which the hit counter failed, or in which my blog had problems; plus, I have learned that SiteMeter (which is perhaps the most accurate of the free hit counters) misses a lot of traffic... So I assume that CQCounter does as well. Nonetheless, here is the CQCounter traffic summary, as of 11:50 PM central time, on Sept. 15, 2007: SUMMARY & AVERAGES Period: 1818 Share Unique Reload Total Average Daily 26 17 43 Average Weekly 187 120 307 Average Monthly 812 520 1,332 Java Script (67.83%) 41,196 13,033 54,229 Java Enabled (65.99%) 39,902 12,857 52,759 Accept Cookies (17.79%) 10,942 3,282 14,224 via Proxy Server (4.28%) 2,480 942 3,422 via Search Engine (21.64%) 14,089 3,215 17,304 Direct hits (44.29%) 13,932 21,479 35,411 Own referrers (4.60%) 1,024 2,650 3,674 Referrers (51.11%) 33,782 7,081 40,863 All referrers (55.71%) 34,806 9,731 44,537 All hits (100.00%) 48,738 31,210 79,948 (Nope - no one ever showed me how to do tables on Blogger; I tried it, with one of my very first entries, on Miss America Erika Harold, and it didn't work too well. I think that Blogger had a hard time with tables at that time, but with the changes, perhaps that problem has been fixed. I have more pressing things to figure out though, in the present.) That last line, for All hits, says: Unique Hits: 48,738 Reload Hits: 31,210 Total Hits: 79,948 I know that updating more frequently - and not having had so many hiatuses - would have yielded more traffic... But that's just the way things are, sometimes. SUMMARY & AVERAGES Period Current Last Average Highest Date Day 15 19 26 223 23-Mar-2005 Week 152 123 187 579 Week 12, 2005 Month 318 474 812 1,807 March, 2005 Year 3,600 7,323 9,747 14,629 2005 TOP Value Share Hits Day of Week Monday (16.4%) 13,128 Hour 14:00 - 14:59 (5.9%) 4,711 Operating System Windows 2000 / XP (81.3%) 64,962 Browser MSIE 6 (76.3%) 61,028 Color Depth 32 bits true (48.0%) 38,408 Screen Resolution 1024x768 (37.6%) 30,088 Search Engine Google (10.6%) 8,496 Continent North America (95.6%) 42,565 Country/Domain Commercial (88.0%) 39,214 Language English (95.3%) 76,224 Time Zone GMT +12:00 (22.8%) 18,214 Friday, September 14, 2007
Tomorrow (September 15th, 2007), "University Blog" will turn five years old. I remembered a 'Blogiversary Database' that I had entered this weblog's birthday into, but with all the change that's taken place in the Blogosphere [see below], I didn't know if that information would still be there. (I doubt this blog is still in the Blogs4God aggregator, and I know it is not in BlogWise, or BlogTree - as neither of those sites is even up.) I was glad however, to see that the Blogiversary Database is in fact still up, and still has all the data. THANK YOU, Mr. Jim Lynch (who was also one of my first Blogosphere Facebook 'Friends')! www.brightandearlyblog.com/the-blogiversary-database I see that 'The Talk Show American' also has its fifth 'Blog birthday' tomorrow. Congratulations, JR! ------------------------- This weblog was started during somewhat-brighter times (for me, at least) - the Fall 2002 semester. As I noted shortly thereafter, I thought that starting a blog was one of the neatest things I did, that term. Back then, most people I knew did not seem to know what "blog" meant... That would change, in a couple of years. Also back then, there were fewer sites in the Blogosphere, and things were much simpler; there did not seem to be all of these memes, Blogosphere communities and blogrolls, etc... I have said before that I am someone who does not like change; it has been depressing to see how so many high-quality weblogs and websites that were up at that time, are either no longer running, or worse - no longer online. Especially since I became Chairman of the capital-city College Republicans chapter, I have periodically been out of the Blogosphere loop, and my blog updating has also been low. This became clear during this calendar year, for which I did not have a single new entry published; there have been a ton of serious problems I've had to deal with, during the past year especially (though some before that, as well); that has also impacted this. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep this up, but I hope to be blogging for some time longer. ----------------------------- One issue that I had raised, in my comments at Hoosier Review and elsewhere, is that while there was a diversity of opinion, among conservatives, with regarding to Iraq and foreign policy, that diversity was not reflected in the Blogosphere - particularly, not in the youth segment of it. This site is perhaps the only right-wing collegiate or youth conservative blog that took a strong stance against the current Iraq war, before it began. Since that time howevever, there have been more blogs that have started (including by students and youth) that adhere to the traditionalist conservative philosophy. There is still a great deal of work to be done though, in that regard. This blog has dealt with some issues, observations, and news & opinion items, which had been neglected by many others... Several of these topics later became prominent topics of discussion. But I don't want to to get into that here [There'll be time for that, in the future ;-) .] For now, I just wanted to publish a Blogiversary post - the first time I've done so, at this site. I want to extend a strong measure of gratitude to those bloggers and webmasters who have linked to this weblog, in past years, and to those who have done entries, linking to posts published here. I also want to very much thank those people - college students, and many others - who I have gotten to know, through the Blogosphere, the web, e-mail, and AIM, since I started this blog. I want to thank those of you who have been courteous, thoughtful, and understanding, when I have posted comments at your blogs - even when you have disagreed with my point of view. In those cases where I've posted comments or blog entries based on a misunderstanding of your position, or in which I've failed to make my point clearly (and thus caused myself to be misunderstood), or in which I've posted remarks that you felt were rude or off-topic, I apologize. To those who have responded, to my points and positions, by disagreeing, and making clear why you disagree, and have backed up your points with facts or information, I want to thank you, for engaging in civil debate. The Blogosphere is supposed to be about dialectics and dialogue - something that should help up learn from each other. And to those of you who have responded, to the points I've attempted to make during these past years, with labels, name-calling, ad hominem attacks, and false judgements and accusations - Shame on you. Trackbacked to bRight & Early and to Church and State and to Cao's Blog. Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Great Americans are dropping like flies, while I struggle to dig myself out of a hole I published two entries right below [as well as couple new ones, further down, which had been saved as drafts]. The two below are tribute posts to two recently-deceased individuals, libertarian filmmaker Aaron Russo and top Reagan White House advisor Michael Deaver. As I noted in one of the posts below those two, I would like to write something [perhaps as an external article] on Leona Helmsley as well, in light of her passing. And I decided I wanted to post something, on the two-year anniversary of the sudden death of Jude Wanniski. I realized, when writing the post two below, on the passing of Michael Deaver, and reading the beginning of Mike Krempasky's obituary at RedState, that other key advisors to President Ronald Reagan had also passed away recently, I feel bad about not having done entries on them; regretably-belated posts on Lyn Nofziger, Jeane Kirpatrick, and Caspar Weinberger are on my to-do list, for posting next, on this weblog. And I would like to write about former President Gerald Ford as well, like I did at this blog, when he turned 90 - that was also part of a series of entries, on The American Presidency (tangential to a course I was taking at the time). Back then, I was much, much more able to do these things efficiently - both blogging-wise, and academically. [I deal with these problematic issues, further below in this entry.] Now that I have retired as the Chairman of the capital-city College Republicans organization, perhaps some of that vigor and vitality will come back. When I was planning the series of entries, as described above, I went over to 'In the Agora,' and was shocked [though maybe not that much, because this is something that keeps happening now, it seems], to see that Christian leader Dr. D. James Kennedy had now passed away. [catching my breath...] [Update (9/14/07): I had saved this entry as a draft, but before it was published, I went over to Chapomatic, and saw that his latest blog entry was on another passing... The author of one of my favorite books from elementary school, Madeline L'Engle, has passed away.] I don't think I'll be able to do an entry on the passing of Luciano Pavarotti, though I see, from the latest AOL Hot Searches compilation, that pancreatic cancer is what caused his demise, a phrase that I included in the Michael Deaver entry, as it is what he suffered from as well. The death of Aaron Russo came as a shock to me, but I didn't know that he had also been suffering from cancer, for the past six years (from bladder cancer). The sidebar of the UIS College Republicans blog, still has the 'Relay for Life' image and link at the top; the deadline for that was the 31st (nine days ago); I wish I had moved it up the sidebar sooner. Team "College Republicans" raised $610.00 this year, for the American Cancer Society. I also included a link there to Lance Armstrong's website, as he arranged recent candidate forums, first for the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates, and then for the 2008 Republican presidential candidates, which dealt with this horrible disease. I think that Tony Snow would also appreciate this. The upcoming series of posts will be somber, but it help keep alive the memory of influential Americans, who are no longer with us (at least not physically, though the impact of their work continued to be felt today). With those posts, it may not be until the next "next month" (October) that I finally get published my in-depth polemics, on the "Operation Yellow Elephant" meme, and why it is actually harming the antiwar movement. My thoughts about this, and an update on my current situation, is right below. ---------------------------------- I wrote myself a note two weeks ago, regarding this blog, that I think I'm going to wait till next month [i.e. - this month, September] to do the series of entries refuting Max "Son of a Blumenthal" Blumenthal's hatchet job on the College Republican National Convention, while addressing the "Operation Yellow Elephant" meme, from the perspective of an antiwar conservative - and one who does, in fact, believe in the 'chickenhawk' argument (as long as it's used against the appropriate people). In less than a week, this site will have its 5-year 'Blogiversary'. As many people know, I have been opposing the Iraq war here, since before it began; this is one of the few conservative sites in the Blogosphere, for which this is the case, and perhaps the only conservative collegiate or youth weblog, which opposed the Iraq war, from its tragic beginning. When I first became a College Republican, Bill Clinton (Baby Blumenthal's father's boss and professional media character assassin) was still President. I was anti-war at that time, as were most conservatives and Republicans (as well as some principled liberals), and as I have pointed out - numerous times before, at this blog, and elsewhere - Democrats & liberals support warfare and military interventionism more often than conservatives and Republicans do. I don't want to get ahead of myself... I will do a series of entries, refuting the "Operation Yellow Elephant" nonsense, and the deceptions of MiniMax and his ilk. That series will be very LONG - and perhaps published as a working paper. ---------------------------------- Right now, the semester has started to heat up - Despite the major problems that have been taking place, this past year especially, and through this summer, I have re-registered for Graduate School once again. I have a HUGE Final Report due, for my Internship in the Electoral Process, regarding the last Spring Elections, and a great deal of work remaining from a prior semester's Graduate course as well, which I should have gotten completed by now, but was not able to do so, due to a number of unfortunate situations and circumstances that arose this summer. Like I said last winter, I need to make a lot of very-major decisions, and time is running out. In that entry, I used this article, as a possible springboard, of how things can still get done, even after time has passed [Cold Case is on right now, and I've started watching those episodes, as they seem motivational as well]. But in looking at "Offbeat" news stories a few days ago, I saved this item, about Queen guitarist Brian May - or I should say, Dr. Brian May!! - and I saved this one, about new/old football linebacker Mike Flynt. These examples are much more extreme [re: the number of years], than the situations I've had to face, but there are many people who are of that age, who accomplish their goals, even after a great deal of time has passed. I think I need to better determine what my goals actually should be (though perhaps not?), but maybe it isn't too late for that. Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Purchase the film TODAY, at low cost, from Amazon.com! Freedom Fighter Aaron Russo, R.I.P It was on Saturday (August 25th) that I was surprised to see the e-mail from my friend Chris Bennett, to the Springfield, IL Ron Paul Meetup group, entitled "Freedom Fighter Died Today." It said: My good friend and producer Aaron Russo passed away today. http://gordonunleashed.com/blog/2007/08/24/may-aaron-russo-rest-in-peace I remember Aaron Russo was a candidate for President of the United States in 2004. I had not been able to go up to St. Charles with Chris, on March 18, 2006, when the Illinois screening was held, for Mr. Russo's documentary film, America: From Freedom to Fascism. I remember, that Saturday morning, State Senator Steven Rauschenberger's family members were going to be down here in Springfield, to go "sign-ing"... I was supposed to meet up with them, and help with that (the Senator was running for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, after withdrawing from the Governor's race), but was too worn out to do that either. [Note: Could now-former Senator Steve Rauschenberger be running for something else, in the near future?]  At earlier College Republicans meetings, we discussed that upcoming movie event, which was at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles (suburban Chicago). Chris later talked about doing a screening of this film on our campus... He also mentioned that the entire movie has been put onto Google Video.Our old paleo-conservative/libertarian friend, Mr. Lee R. Shelton IV (of Ever Vigilant) has, as one of his latest blog entries, a tribute to Aaron Russo. I was thinking of doing a blog posting with that documentary film on Google Video, but having such little time to blog, during this period (and still having a backlog of stuff to write about), I am glad that Mr. Shelton has included the movie, in that entry of his. Besides, I still don't even know how to do video embedding, in blog entries. Audio CD read by the author! A Different Drummer When President Ronald Reagan passed away, three summers ago (and five days into my first term as Chairman of the College Republicans), I posted blog entries at this blog, at the College Republicans blog, and at Watchblog, and I issued a statement, on behalf of the College Republicans at the University of Illinois at Springfield. I almost forgot - A photo of me, at the Reagan statue in the Reagan Peace Garden at Eureka College, was placed on the AP Wire, and appeared in several newspapers, including the front page of the Peoria Journal-Star. On the afternoon of the day this occurred (Saturday, June 5th), I spoke to Tom Gillespie, and he recommended A Different Drummer, by Michael Deaver, as a good book on President Reagan. I had seen that book before, but I did not know if it was a pro-Reagan book or not. As it turns out, Mr. Michael Keith Deaver served in the first term of the Reagan Administration as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, from 1981 to 1985. He passed away a few weeks ago, of pancreatic cancer, at his Bethesda, Maryland home. Mr. Deaver was 69. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Carolyn Deaver, and their two children, Amanda Deaver of Washington, D.C. and Blair Deaver of Bend, Oregon. I was just thinking about how I was out-of-state (I think it was during one of my trips to California... or as I was returning from it) when I found out that Donald Regan had passed away; I knew that Mr. Regan was also an important member of the Reagan Administration, who served as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. I just saw, when looking at the Wikipedia encyclopedia article on Michael Deaver, that Mr. Deaver actually served under Don Regan, and under White House Chief of Staff James Baker III (who has been in the news most recently, for his opposition to the neocons, with regard to Iraq). I was confused as to how Michael Deaver could have also served under Don Regan, but then I saw this document at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Collections, mentioning how Regan and Baker had switched jobs (also dealt with in that Paul Craig Roberts column), thereby giving Deaver a new boss, for the last few months of his service as Deputy White House Chief of Staff, under the greatest President of our time. While serving in President Ronald Reagan's White House as Deputy Chief of Staff,  Michael Deaver, then-Chief of Staff James Baker III, and then-Counsellor to the President Edwin Meese III were known as "The Troika" by some, due to their large degree of influence over national policy, through their key advisory roles.Michael K. Deaver also served as the Presidential Liason for the 1984 Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the International Olympic Committee, and as the General Chairman of the 1985 Inaugural Committee. After his service in the White House, and subsequent legal difficulties, Michael Deaver served as the Vice Chairman, of Edelman International: www.edelman.com/Michael_Deaver Brian Koss, like myself, has a Bachelors in Political Science, and is going for a Masters. (Though unlike myself, I hope he is making major progress, in that regard.) I just found Brian's blog, and he re-prints the Washington Post article on Michael Deaver's passing. Another weblog I also just found, "Culture and Christianity," did an entry, also recommending Michael Deaver's A Different Drummer, which was recommended to me, as described above. When searching for something in my room the other day, I noticed that the newest paperback version of that book was one that I purchased, when I was out-of-state, some months ago. (I haven't had a chance to read it, though.) I don't know much about Elijah Garcia (I also just found his blog), but his post on Michael K. Deaver's passing is the most thoughtful one I've seen. He references the audio version of that book  , which I learn is actually read by Mr. Deaver himself! The Audio CD is available at Amazon.com (new or used), for as low as $3.99 !! And last, but not least, our old friend Mike Krempasky of Red State has this insightful and penetrating tribute to Michael Deaver. (I plan to do something on Jude Wanniski - the two year anniversary of his passing - as part of this series of posts, and I mentioned Donald Regan above, but I had temporarily forgotten about Lyn Nofziger and Jeanne Kirkpatrick and Caspar Weinberger, who I had never gotten a chance to blog about... Mike reminds us about them, and I think this may actually be the best Michael K. Deaver tribute I've seen, in the Blogosphere.) As you can see in that poignant post, Mike Krempasky works for Edelman, the public relations firm which Michael Deaver was International Vice-Chairman of, as noted above, so he actually knew Mr. Deaver.  The Troika: Chief of Staff James Baker III, Counsellor to the President Ed Meese, Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver at the White House. December 2, 1981 Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Note (9/1/07): I published an entry here, last night/this morning, which was earlier saved as a draft below. It is below. [Go here: Permalink] Explanation entry goes here, as described on the Post-it note.
 Purchase the film TODAY, at low cost, from Amazon.com! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom Fighter Aaron Russo, R.I.P Note (9/5/07): I wrote and published an entry here, on the passing of Aaron Russo, earlier this evening - after having saved an unpublished draft space here. (I had also saved a draft entry below this one, for the passing of Michael Deaver, and one above this one, for an explanation-of-sorts, regarding my blogging plans.) Since I want to add something more to this series (I hope to write something about the passing of Leona Helmsley, and perhaps something about the young Sean Kingston's morbid #1 hit song, and maybe about Owen Wilson as well), but since these drafts were saved last month, I am publishing these posts as new entries, dated for today. So I am deleting the Aaron Russo entry from here, and it has been published above (with today's date - September 5th). I am re-saving the other two draft posts (mentioned in the first paragraph, above) tonight... I don't know if I'll get all of that material published before bed, but they are now saved, with today's date, and a reader will be able to see them one after another, on an archive page, along with any follow-ups I may do (that is, if this blog's anchor permalinks are still working well here, as they have in the past).  While attempting to arrange these blog entries and organize my thoughts, I am simultaneously struggling to dig myself out of an academic hole... Right now, I need to finish a HUGE Final Report on my internship in local election campaigns, from last semester, before I can start this semester in improving my Graduate School status. (Fortunately, I stopped working at my regular job, as of Friday, but focus and concentration and stamina is the key... not to mention health and energy.) -------------------------- - Cultivating Greatness: Is Perfection Slowing You Down? (via Freelancing Journey) - How to Read a Blog Entry, in 13 Steps (via Joe Carter) - 24 Tips to Becoming an Early Riser (via Joe Carter) - 18 Overlooked Things that Everyone Should Bring to College (via Joe Carter) Thursday, August 16, 2007
- - - - - - - -  Do you want to use Google Earth [latest news], or any other FREE component of the Google Pack software suite? If so, you can help out this blogger by downloading the FREE SOFTWARE PACKAGE (or any piece of it) through the referral link button provided here. Even if you download and use just one component (such as the very-popular Google Earth, or any other of the free software programs in this suite), I will earn a referral commission. And all of the Google Pack software programs are TOTALLY FREE!! You can also help out this blogger by purchasing an item from Amazon.com through this referral link. I will get a referral commision for any item purchased at Amazon.com throught that link - whether you need to buy textbooks, buy used books, buy a CD, a DVD, computer software, video games (like Naruto, whatever that is), a Nintendo Wii, a Sony Playstation, an xBox 360, an iPhone, an iPod, a digital camera, a laptop computer, a Blackberry, a PSP, a GPS navigation device (those are very helpful!), a computer chair, a computer desk, a lawn mower, a scooter, kitchen appliances, a watch, a swatch, a jacket, underwear, or even fresh grocieries (latest news...). Something a little new... I don't know if they've had a Presidential Primary Straw Poll at the annual "Republican Day" events and program, at the Illinois State Fair, in years past. Though I've been coming to the State Fair since I was a tad, I've only been attending Republican Day since 2002 (actually, on that day that year, I was at the Contract for Life and Family, kind of an alternative event). So I don't know if, in 1999, or years prior, there has been a Straw Poll on Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair. [Latest news....] Whether this was the first time or not, what happened today is a unique event, because the primary in Illinois (and in other states) has been moved up earlier than ever before... So our state could be a key player in the 2008 presidential primary contest, in both major parties. (This is not a good thing, from my perspective, as the longstanding system benefited the more conservative candidates, such as in 1992 and 1996, when the annointed GOP frontrunners stumbled badly... which is a reason the GOP Establishment felt the need to fix it for W. in 1999.) [Update (8/19/07): Paul Weyrich also notes that the new system dangerously favors the big-money candidates.] The straw polls and grassroots events are still there however, which allow the grassroots candidates [as opposed to the Establishment ones] a chance to shine. ** I still need to post a recap of our experiences at the big Iowa Straw Poll [which has been, and still is, the mother of all Straw Poll events]. We have some video and photos from there as well, including some of us with some of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates... I wish there was more time available - so we could post some on the UIS College Republicans weblog too... There are so many other recaps [from our many events] that I wish I had the time to publish there as well. But I thought that, being one of the oldest Illinois Republican bloggers [or I should say: this being one of the oldest weblogs by an Illinois Republican], I should do an entry before this long day is through, with the results: All Republican candidates [or potential candidates] for President who were either 1) included the national GOP presidential debates or 2) garnered 5% or more in a national poll were listed on the ballot.] Mitt Romney - 373 votes Fred Thompson - 184 votes Ron Paul - 174 votes Rudy Giuliani - 107 votes John McCain - 38 votes Mike Huckabee - 28 votes Sam Brownback - 10 votes Duncan Hunter - 6 votes Tom Tancredo - 2 votes**** Illinois Straw Poll NOTES - Actor and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) is not a declared candidate, but the popular downstate State Senator Bill Brady was advocating that we vote for him, in this Straw Poll. - Illinoisan John Cox is still a candidate (and has been, for the greatest amount of time), but the conservative leader and successful businessman was not on his own state's Straw Poll ballot, because he was neither in the GOP presidential debates, nor polled 5%, either of which criterion could have yielded inclusion. - And former Wisconsin Governor (and former U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services) Tommy Thompson withdrew from the race, after a poor showing in the Iowa Straw Poll last Saturday... His older brother, the remarkably popular 2002 Libertarian Party gubernatorial nominee Ed Thompson, has [possibly] endorsed U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) for President. Dr. Paul had a large, well-organized, and ultra-enthusiastic contingent at today's Illinois Straw Poll, as they did in Iowa. Ditto for Mitt Romney (who bused in a ton of people, from all over the state).  I have saved two entries below this one, as unpublished drafts, to be filled in later, with recaps on the Iowa Straw Poll. Maybe, if I try really hard, and ingest an even higher-than-usual amount of caffeine this weekend, and maybe some Lexapro or Ritalin or B-complex vitamins, we just may get some recaps - from both the Iowa and Illinois Straw Polls, not to mention the CRNC Convention, etc... - published at the UIS College Republicans weblog, in addition to this one. ------------------ Buy Nathan Tabor's new book on the United Nations: The Beast on the East River I wrote a somewhat-prescient [I suppose, now] Watchblog article featuring Nathan Tabor's past column about the Bricker Amendment... something that other commentators have more-recently addressed. I also just formatted and uploaded Nathan Tabor's article on 2008 Republican presidential candidate Duncan Hunter, the conservative U.S. Congressman (R-CA), for whom he is now an internet campaign consultant. Friday, August 10, 2007
I was earlier in a rush to post my series of entries on the recent Biennial Convention of the College Republican National Committee... especially with Max Blumenthal's hatchet job on the College Republicans. It doesn't seem so urgent, and necessary to get off my chest now, though. I still plan to publish those, but during the past week or so, I've been rushing to plan a trip, for my College Republicans chapter (University of Illinois at Springfield) to the huge Iowa Straw Poll event. The Iowa Straw Poll is a huge event... perhaps the biggest event of the presidential primary season. It is currently being discussed, all over the television and print media. [latest news] [Ames Matters] [Regaining Luster] The last time there was an Iowa Straw Poll contest on the Republican side was in 1999. While the internet was definitely a major force in national campaigns and presidential politics at that time, now, the Blogosphere has specifically become key, in regards to the latest politics and current-events topics.  U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) has been doing great on the internet (with his presidential campaign, as opposed to others), like the "Buchanan Brigades" were, in 1995-1996 and in 1999, with Linda Muller's famous web work. [Note: To those individuals and groups who've complained about this, with regard to Dr. Paul, it's not about stacking the polls results, or about "spamming"; it's because many people on the web (though not as much in the Blogosphere, as I've before complained about) are pro-traditionalist conservatism, pro-libertarianism, or pro-Constitution... It may be related to other trends as well.] I was surprised to see that one of my old Blogosphere famous adversaries, Patrick Ruffini, has actually predicted that Ron Paul will finish a successful second in the Iowa Straw Poll.  [More on Ron Paul and Ames] [The Ron Paul Iowa Straw Poll Blog] U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) is another excellent presidential candidate, with a great deal of grassroots conservative and constitutionalist support. Here is an Iowa campaign commercial for Mr. Tancredo. The Colorado Congressman's presidential campaign even has an "Iowa Idol" competition. (Update (8/13/07): I just found the weblog where I first saw this featured... It is still the top item listed, even though the event is over. Iowa Straw Poll ) ---> Join "Team Tancredo" and Army Against Amnesty at the Iowa Straw Poll!! Good news article on Tom, from May (Denver Post)  Update (8/13/07): I had been surprised [very pleasantly, though!] to see that our old friend, Mr. John Cox, is participating in the Iowa Straw Poll.I had been surprised when I saw [perhaps on Capital Fax], during the Spring 2006 semester, that Mr. Cox was running for President of the United States... He was the first Republican candidate to formally announce. Many of us, here in Illinois, remember John Cox, from his runs for U.S. Senate in 2002 and 2003, and his subsequent run for Cook County Recorder of Deeds... He also had a radio show, up in the Chicago area. Though his candidacy is not widely-known, and he was unfortunately excluded from the presidential debates, the Cox campaign is definitely determined and energetic. [Update (8/14/07): And I just saw this news report, from a little over a year ago, which demonstrates how true this is, including for Iowa!] And the John Cox for President 2008 campaign website is superb: Cox 2008 - John Cox for President Review of John Cox's latest book, by our friend Nathan Tabor Will VOTE FRAUD Mess Up the Iowa Straw Poll? There have been concerns that vote fraud may affect the outcome of the Iowa Straw Poll, as has happened in the past. Linda Muller posted this important entry at Pat Buchanan's weblog, on this topic. In an entry I published here a few years ago, I noted that voter fraud may be what prevented Pat Buchanan from prevailing in the Republican presidential primary in 1996. Jim Condit of Network America uncovered strong evidence of vote fraud in the 1996 Iowa Caucus... Had Bob Dole done a few percentage points worse in that Caucus, he would have finished behind both Patrick Buchanan and Lamar Alexander, and he would have dropped out of the presidential race, as per his own statement.  VoteFraud.orgAlso check out Bev Harris's Black Box Voting website. Update (8/13/07): Also check out this post, and the comment discussion thread there, at the new 'Conservative Heritage Times' weblog, which I recently found [and added to the sidebar of my war-related archive weblog.] Perhaps in response to the concerns about voter fraud at the Straw Poll event, the Iowa Republican Party issued this press release. Update (8/25/07): Latest news on the Diebold voting machines... Latest Blogosphere entries... Latest news on Diebold + Iowa... Latest blog entries on Diebold and Iowa Update: RELATED BLOGS Cyclone Conservatives - superb site!! Ames Straw Poll Blog Iowa Voice In Case You’re Not in Iowa … - Aug 11, 2007 You can still follow all developments at today’s Republican Straw Poll, where Iowans ... keeps track of Iowa politics on her blog as does Bret Hayworth who ... New York Times - 1579 related articles » Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Put that Facebook 'Note' (edited) here or later, and then those refutational entries. Another Washington, D.C. trip ruined... unnecessarily I wanted to publish here the 'Note' I published on Facebook (which, by the way, it seems lately that bloggers are piling onto), right after coming back from the National College Republicans Convention last month. In this note, I mentioned the Young America's Foundation "Midwest Conference," in April, in Minnesota, which the UIS College Republicans were at. Since the time I wrote this note last month however, something tragic has taken place, regarding where we were in April, for that YAF Midwest Conference (this is different from the Washington, D.C. event that we were at last month). It was probably on the night of the 1st (of this month) that I received a phone call from Matt Mau, letting me know that the bridge we had gone over, in traveling to Minneapolis, from Springfield, Illinois, had just collapsed. [ Latest news on the Minnesota Bridge Collapse... ] [ Latest Blogosphere reactions to the Minnesota Bridge Collapse... ]  Tragedies like that make the problems that we are dealing with, in our daily lives, seem trivial in comparison. --------------------------- Facebook 'Note' - Published July 16, 2007 Within a 3-year time period, this was the 6th trip to Washington, D.C., that I have organized (or in the case of the Virginia 2005 gubernatorial election, helped organize), for the UIS College Republicans. At the major conservative/CR regional and national events, the UIS CRs typically has the biggest delegation of any organization in Illinois (11 total at CPAC 2006, 8 at the YAF Midwest Conference, 4 at the CRNC 2007 Biennial Convention)... I don't think anyone remembers that, though; the high turnover rate many of these D.C. organizations have, in their staff, is also very problematic. During the earlier conferences and conventions we've attended in D.C., there were bad parts, and good parts, but I usually ended up very much enjoying the experience. http://uis.blogspot.com/2004_08_01_archive.html#109199994326335233 The two most recent times however, my experiences in D.C. have led to a overall negative impression of the events. I should not have been forced to deal with almost all of aspects of each trip, including the before, during, and after. As I said here, most people don't realize how much behind-the-scenes planning, labor, TIME, and MONEY goes into planning each event, whether domestically, or across state lines. On several occasions, I have warned people that potential trouble was brewing, and that I should not have to be dealing with all of this. In some cases, they have ignored this, and continued to take everything for granted. With our trip that just concluded, the media has reported that it went smoothly. But (with the exception of our undoubtedly-blessed trip to the Presidential Inauguration), almost no trip or convention truly runs smoothly. This really cannot happen again. --------------------- Fred Thompson speaks to us Note: I didn't catch his faux pau (re: Barry Goldwater and Russell Kirk), but the person right in front of us did. Associated Press video coverage (featuring the great Ryan Sorba, who I was glad I got to meet there, along with Francisco Gonzalez - whose sidebar link I now have corrected, at my secondary weblog) Trackbacked to Samantha Burns: OTA Weekend and Point Five and 'Stop the ACLU.' Saturday, July 21, 2007
- - - - - - - - Please help out this blogger by using Amazon.com through this referral link, or by downloading useful FREE Google products through these referral links.I was wanting to post, on Saturday, July 7th, an update to my last post, about the fact that I was leaving, for two separate trips (combined into one!). There has still been a major time and lack-of-assistance problem, that has interfered with blogging, among other things. "He's supposed to be retired!" is what another UIS student noted, when we were speaking to Alderman Steve Dove, following one of the City Council meetings [up to this point, I've attended every one of them, I think, since our new majority took office]... However, despite my term as Chairman of the College Republicans at UIS (the University of Illinois at Springfield) officially expired on June 1st, I have been continuing my term [unofficially], up through the present. We have raised some money, towards the trip to the National College Republicans Convention... and there have been over a dozen local events, just this summer alone already, that we have been invited to attend. I mentioned at work on Friday the 7th that I had to pack for two trips (though my father ended up doing most of it, for myself and my brother)... We were leaving, to visit family down South, and from there, I would leave for D.C., for the College Republican National Committee Biennial Convention [from July 12th through July 15th], and then come back to Dixie, before finally returning here to Illinois (which I just did). I was scrambling, on the late night/early morning of Friday the 6th/Saturday the 7th, to print out fundraising letters, make CRNC Convention preparations, pack the appropriate materials, make the appropriate phone calls, send the appropriate e-mails, make sure that the flight, hotel, etc.... arrangements are okay, and sign, seal, and stamp the direct-mail letters, which we will have to drop while on the way to the airport. After finishing the printing in the early morning hours (of Friday the 6th), I returned a phone call - at 4:30 AM!! (The guy works on third shift though, and needed info, about the CRNC Convention, and other issues.)  I think I did get a little sleep though; it helped that our flight wasn't till the afternoon. So much happened, on both trips - especially the CRNC Convention in Washington, D.C.... which is what will be the subject of my next weblog entries. The lies of Mr. "La Republica" (Max Blumenthal) and the illogical "Operation Yellow Elephant" movement (which are viralling through the Blogosphere - and even on CNN!) will be skewered through and through - from my antiwar conservative student perspective. First however, I am going to do an entry, recapping some stuff from the Convention (more specifically, from the communication & discussions that I had there...) - reviews of our experiences there may be posted at the UIS College Republicans weblog. || Cyclone Conservatives || Iowa Straw Poll || Iowa Straw Poll Blog || Illinois College Republican Federation || College Republicans at UIS || Articles for today: How to Set Up and Run a Successful Conference Call Eight Advantages of Direct Mail Fundraising Letters over other methods of fundraising - excellent overview by expert Alan Sharpe! Don't Waste Your Time - Use it wiselySaturday, July 07, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Update (7/24/07): I've noticed that two of the people mentioned in this post - Chris Isaak and Michael Vick, have coincidentally been featured on the television news since I published this entry. (I was actually in Georgia, when the latter's controversy arose... so it was all the more featured there.)In addition to Josh Claybourn (as I've noted in prior years), I found out that our liberal friend Matthew Yglesias [who now blogs at The Atlantic magazine's website!], also turned 26, around this same time... Like me, perhaps he is feeling old.  As I said on Facebook, my birthday was mostly negative. (Though, since I don't have "Twitter," my "Status" said, at the end of that Tuesday, that "Aakash is finishing a mostly horrid birthday."Things could have been a lot, lot, lot worse though... When seeing things like that, it makes our complaints, even if legitimate, seem trivial. -------------------------------- June 26th is an important date. (And I'm not saying that just because it's "National Chocolate Pudding Day"!) There have been several famous people born on this day. Athlete Babe Didrickson Zaharias in 1914, Elvis music manager Colonel Tom Parker in 1909, distinguished author Pearl S. Buck in 1892, Civil War Major General Abner Doubleday, the man who invented baseball (or so we want to be true), in 1819. Among those living famous Americans with today as their birthday are singer Billy Davis, Jr., who is 67, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Klaus von Klitzing, who is 64, singer Chris Isaak, who is 51, legendary biker Greg Lemond, who is 46, baseball players Derek Jeter and Jason Kendall, who are 33, actors Chris O'Donnell and Matthew Letscher, who are both 37, actor Jason Schwartzman, who is 27, NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who is also 27, Aakash Raut, who is 26, pop artist Casey Desmond, who is 21, Brazilian racecar driver Carlos Iaconelli, who... Wait a second, one of those birthday people isn't really famous... Yes that's right, today is the 26th anniversary of a momentous occasion in history. On June 26, 1981, Aakash Raut was born at Saint Vincent's Hospital in New York City. And the world would never be the same. Whatever... Josh Claybourn's date of birth precedes mine by two weeks. On his birthday Many notable things have happened on June 26th in recent and past American history; some good, some not so good. The positive (or neutral) things first: 1498: The toothbrush is invented. 1819: The bicycle is patented by W. K. Clarkson. 1870: The first section of the Boardwalk in Atlantic City is opened along the NJ beach. 1896: First movie theater in the United States opens. (Why didn't we go out this week [i.e. - those from UIS]?) 1923: The first race of the 24 hours of Le Mans is held. 1924: U.S. forces leave the Dominican Republic, after eight years of occupation. 1959: The St. Lawrence Seaway is opened. 1963: President John F. Kennedy says the famous words "Ich bin ein Berliner." Did he call himself a jelly doughnut? Maybe not...) 1964: The Beatles release their album A Hard Day's Night. 1979: Muhammad Ali, 37, announced his retirement as world heavyweight boxing champion. 1987: Dragnet, the movie, opened in the U.S. 2000: The first map of the human genome is created. This year (2005): Her Royal Highness Princess Alexia of the Netherlands is born!! (at 2:40 PM) Unfortunately, some negative things have also happened on this day: 1248: The Pied Piper leads 130 children to their deaths in Hamelin, Germany. 1784: Delaware freedom fighter Caesar Rodney passes away*... He had been suffering from asthma and skin cancer of the face. [* Note: At that informative encyclopedia link above Wikipedia describes the date of his passing as June 25th... The History Channel has it on the 26th, though.] 1807: Lightning strikes a 1945: The charter of the United Nations is signed at a conference in San Francisco. An interesting note: Who presided as Secretary-General during this founding conference? None other than Alger Hiss, one of the highest ranking member of the U.S. State Department. We now know that Hiss was secretly working for the Kremlin as a Communist spy, and stealing top secret information, passing it along to the Soviets. I recently heard that they actually named something after him... at a college or something. What is this nation coming to?... 1975: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India declares a state of emergency due to "deep and widespread conspiracy." 1977: Elvis holds his last concert. 1993: President Clinton orders cruise missile attacks on Iraq after his administration concludes that the Iraqi Intelligence Service was behind a plot, discovered about two and a half months earlier, to assassinate ex-President George H.W. Bush while he was in Kuwait City. Claiming that "compelling evidence" showed that Iraqi intelligence orchestrated the assassination attempt, Clinton ordered airstrikes against what he claimed was their headquarters in Baghdad. Twenty-three Tomahawk missles, each costing over one million dollars, were fired from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. In addition to destroying the buildings, several of the "smart" missiles went off course and landed in neighborhoods, killing innocent civilians, including Laila al-Attar, one of the most talented female artists in the Middle East, who was helping to promote the work of women artists throughout the world. [ My archived entry, at Pieter's 'Deux Ego', about this whole mess. ] 1996: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Virginia Military Institute must admit women, or else lose state support. 1998: Gone with the Wind, famously released in 1939, is restored and re-released by New Line Pictures. * * * 2002: A federal court rules, by a vote of 2-1, that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional, because it includes the phrase, "under God." I recall being upset at this ruling, but in a way, it could end up having some benefit. Those of us who are constitutionalists and republicans could be able to point this out as a reason why we need more "strict constructionist" judges on the federal bench, and the U.S. Supreme Court. 2003: Former SC Governor and retired U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond passed away at the age of 100. I was somewhat shocked when I saw the news. It wasn't that long before that I had wished Strom 'Happy Birthday' on this blog, and then, he passed away, on mine. |
