Friday, September 05, 2003
People who believed when their mamas told them they could grow up to be governor
I just love these stories about the nutcases that put their names on the ballot. Some of these are better than the ones they had in California. My favorite bits of the story:
Quentin Brown, who mows lawns in New Orleans, said, "If Jesus Christ wants me to be governor, I will be the next governor."
"Like John F. Kennedy said, 'Ask not what you can do for the state, but what state officials can do for you," he declared.
"I want to be the independent candidate for all the people. It's just like Martin Luther King said: 'Why can't we all just get along?' "
I just love these stories about the nutcases that put their names on the ballot. Some of these are better than the ones they had in California. My favorite bits of the story:
Quentin Brown, who mows lawns in New Orleans, said, "If Jesus Christ wants me to be governor, I will be the next governor."
"Like John F. Kennedy said, 'Ask not what you can do for the state, but what state officials can do for you," he declared.
"I want to be the independent candidate for all the people. It's just like Martin Luther King said: 'Why can't we all just get along?' "
Blogger problems
Like Robert Tagorda, I've just about had it with Blogger. I was logged in as Roberto Valente today. The scary part was that it looked like I could have changed his password.
Like Robert Tagorda, I've just about had it with Blogger. I was logged in as Roberto Valente today. The scary part was that it looked like I could have changed his password.
More corruption in America's banana republic
This story really doesn't need any comment. Pathetic.
UPDATE: I will add that this, like so much recent corruption in Louisiana, stems from our embrace of legalized gambling.
This story really doesn't need any comment. Pathetic.
UPDATE: I will add that this, like so much recent corruption in Louisiana, stems from our embrace of legalized gambling.
Africa's last absolute monarch?
Yeah, these days it's definitely not cool for tyrants who seize control of a country to proclaim themselves king. It's better just to be "supreme leader" or "general" or "president" -- that way you'll have more respect in international affairs and you might even be able to pretend that you're a democracy.
Yeah, these days it's definitely not cool for tyrants who seize control of a country to proclaim themselves king. It's better just to be "supreme leader" or "general" or "president" -- that way you'll have more respect in international affairs and you might even be able to pretend that you're a democracy.
Women vs. burglars? Bad news for the women -- unless they're armed
Here's a wonderful story of two women who stopped their neighbor's house from being ransacked.
Two women with knees bent and feet planted wide apart to ensure a steady aim held a pair of would-be burglars at gunpoint Thursday afternoon until West Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies could arrest the suspects, the Sheriff's Office said.
No doubt, Spoons would approve of their technique.
The homeowner, Dwayne Coulon, said he was checking soybeans in back of the spillway near Maringouin when he received a cell phone call from a neighbor about the burglary at his home.
His first reaction was, "I don't need this," Coulon said.
But on second thought, he said, "It's good to have good neighbors."
And, I would add, a state law that makes it fairly easy to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
John Fairchild said his wife always carries a weapon when traveling.
Here's a wonderful story of two women who stopped their neighbor's house from being ransacked.
Two women with knees bent and feet planted wide apart to ensure a steady aim held a pair of would-be burglars at gunpoint Thursday afternoon until West Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies could arrest the suspects, the Sheriff's Office said.
No doubt, Spoons would approve of their technique.
The homeowner, Dwayne Coulon, said he was checking soybeans in back of the spillway near Maringouin when he received a cell phone call from a neighbor about the burglary at his home.
His first reaction was, "I don't need this," Coulon said.
But on second thought, he said, "It's good to have good neighbors."
And, I would add, a state law that makes it fairly easy to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
John Fairchild said his wife always carries a weapon when traveling.
Thursday, September 04, 2003
The assault on marriage continues
Slate is fronting an article called The Marriage Trap, a review a new book whose author believes "that marriage is an insidious social construct, harnessed by capitalism to get us to have kids and work harder to support them." She ponders a world where marriages are replaced by "renewable contracts" and nobody is expected to be monogamous.
That Slate takes this seriously shows just how problematic the gay marriage debate has become. The structure of the family is unraveling. A constitutional amendment banning gay marriage would accomplish nothing because states will just authorize it under another name.
I still feel compelled to answer the question put forth in the article: "Why should people get married if most marriages end in divorce?" The whole problem, it seems to me, is that people get married for the wrong reasons. People get married today because they think that their spouse is going to make them happy -- they get married out of selfish desire. When their spouse no longer fulfills their "emotional needs," the reason for the marriage is gone.
These people fundamentally misunderstand the nature of love. True love is about caring for someone else more than you care about yourself. That's why Jesus said:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
In other words, love is a verb, not a feeling. The feeling is a byproduct of the verb. When both halves of a marriage try to care for the other half, both partners benefit and become happier. Selfishness (by one or both partners) is the root of divorce, pure and simple.
Since I'm playing Dr. Laura right now, I'll also tell you to pray and study the Bible as a couple -- my recipe for a happy marriage. Drawing closer to God brings us closer to each other.
Slate is fronting an article called The Marriage Trap, a review a new book whose author believes "that marriage is an insidious social construct, harnessed by capitalism to get us to have kids and work harder to support them." She ponders a world where marriages are replaced by "renewable contracts" and nobody is expected to be monogamous.
That Slate takes this seriously shows just how problematic the gay marriage debate has become. The structure of the family is unraveling. A constitutional amendment banning gay marriage would accomplish nothing because states will just authorize it under another name.
I still feel compelled to answer the question put forth in the article: "Why should people get married if most marriages end in divorce?" The whole problem, it seems to me, is that people get married for the wrong reasons. People get married today because they think that their spouse is going to make them happy -- they get married out of selfish desire. When their spouse no longer fulfills their "emotional needs," the reason for the marriage is gone.
These people fundamentally misunderstand the nature of love. True love is about caring for someone else more than you care about yourself. That's why Jesus said:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
In other words, love is a verb, not a feeling. The feeling is a byproduct of the verb. When both halves of a marriage try to care for the other half, both partners benefit and become happier. Selfishness (by one or both partners) is the root of divorce, pure and simple.
Since I'm playing Dr. Laura right now, I'll also tell you to pray and study the Bible as a couple -- my recipe for a happy marriage. Drawing closer to God brings us closer to each other.
Dr. Death?
NRO on Howard Dean's support of assisted suicide:
Dean boasts proudly of his record fighting against "domestic violence" during his terms as Vermont's governor. He is certainly right about the seriousness of the problems associated with family dysfunction and elder abuse, both of which are rife in our society. Unfortunately, when the issue of assisted suicide and euthanasia comes up, proponents like Dean immediately divorce themselves from these realities, envisioning patient-killing as something that would be conducted only idyllically, by deeply caring doctors who make house calls and loving families whose first, last, and only concern is the well-being of their disabled or dying relatives. The reality, however, is that euthanasia would inevitably involve issues of family coercion, guilt about burdening loved ones, family discord, abuse, and the desire for inheritance and the proceeds from life insurance. How can this self-proclaimed champion of the weak and vulnerable — who is alert to abuse in other contexts — be so blind to the realities of medicalized killing?
Pretty much hits the nail on the head.
NRO on Howard Dean's support of assisted suicide:
Dean boasts proudly of his record fighting against "domestic violence" during his terms as Vermont's governor. He is certainly right about the seriousness of the problems associated with family dysfunction and elder abuse, both of which are rife in our society. Unfortunately, when the issue of assisted suicide and euthanasia comes up, proponents like Dean immediately divorce themselves from these realities, envisioning patient-killing as something that would be conducted only idyllically, by deeply caring doctors who make house calls and loving families whose first, last, and only concern is the well-being of their disabled or dying relatives. The reality, however, is that euthanasia would inevitably involve issues of family coercion, guilt about burdening loved ones, family discord, abuse, and the desire for inheritance and the proceeds from life insurance. How can this self-proclaimed champion of the weak and vulnerable — who is alert to abuse in other contexts — be so blind to the realities of medicalized killing?
Pretty much hits the nail on the head.
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Response to Spoons
I'm not going to defend the President on domestic issues because what he has done is indefensible. He has, with the complicity of the GOP Congress, managed to undue most of what the GOP used to stand for and what got us a Republican Congress in the first place in 1994. Some of us conservatives knew that this would happen and supported a more conservative candidate for the GOP nomination in 2000.
That said, the way to influence the GOP is NOT to stay home or vote for some third-party nutcase. The way to make the GOP more conservative is to get involved in conservative interest groups and work in party primaries for conservative candidates.
Spoons readers would do well to donate some money to the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action or volunteer as an election coordinator (note to Spoons -- your own congressional district needs a coordinator).
Get involved in the campaigns of conservatives like Pat Toomey who are in competitive races against "moderate" Republicans.
Please note that I practice what I preach. I actually spent 2 hours this past weekend volunteering for Jay Blossman, the conservative running in the Louisiana gubernatorial race this fall.
Sorry, Spoons, but deciding to stay home on election day isn't going to change anything except help more liberal Democrats get elected. Staying home is a copout.
I'm not going to defend the President on domestic issues because what he has done is indefensible. He has, with the complicity of the GOP Congress, managed to undue most of what the GOP used to stand for and what got us a Republican Congress in the first place in 1994. Some of us conservatives knew that this would happen and supported a more conservative candidate for the GOP nomination in 2000.
That said, the way to influence the GOP is NOT to stay home or vote for some third-party nutcase. The way to make the GOP more conservative is to get involved in conservative interest groups and work in party primaries for conservative candidates.
Spoons readers would do well to donate some money to the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action or volunteer as an election coordinator (note to Spoons -- your own congressional district needs a coordinator).
Get involved in the campaigns of conservatives like Pat Toomey who are in competitive races against "moderate" Republicans.
Please note that I practice what I preach. I actually spent 2 hours this past weekend volunteering for Jay Blossman, the conservative running in the Louisiana gubernatorial race this fall.
Sorry, Spoons, but deciding to stay home on election day isn't going to change anything except help more liberal Democrats get elected. Staying home is a copout.
UN control in Iraq?
So the Administration is considering a new UN resolution that would give the UN greater authority in Iraq and might establish a UN military command over Iraq under the direction of an American officer. That necessarily means that the media is spinning this as a defeat for the President. This NPR interview with a French idiot was particularly galling, with the interviewer asking if France now feels vindicated (for what? trying to keep an evil, murderous dictator in power?). Of course, what makes it worse is that my tax dollars paid for the interview -- somebody tell me again why I'm subsidizing left-wing extremism.
Of course, every day that Iraq remains firmly under US control is a day of progression toward a better future for that country. Now that Iraqi ministers have been appointed to run the country, a good deal of the important political work has been accomplished. The UN would find it harder now to screw things up that it would have in the past.
The move to get more UN support (and therefore more foreign troops) is inevitable in light of our inability to sustain our current troop deployments. Of course, we could send more troops to Iraq if we had to, but at the cost of a severe strain to our military. We also need to free up troops for a possible conflict with North Korea. The situation there looks worse every day, and we need to be prepared to deal with it.
Ultimately, I find it hard to understand how looking for a new UN resolution is supposed to be a defeat for the President. It seems to me to be a smart move based on the situation our military is in.
So the Administration is considering a new UN resolution that would give the UN greater authority in Iraq and might establish a UN military command over Iraq under the direction of an American officer. That necessarily means that the media is spinning this as a defeat for the President. This NPR interview with a French idiot was particularly galling, with the interviewer asking if France now feels vindicated (for what? trying to keep an evil, murderous dictator in power?). Of course, what makes it worse is that my tax dollars paid for the interview -- somebody tell me again why I'm subsidizing left-wing extremism.
Of course, every day that Iraq remains firmly under US control is a day of progression toward a better future for that country. Now that Iraqi ministers have been appointed to run the country, a good deal of the important political work has been accomplished. The UN would find it harder now to screw things up that it would have in the past.
The move to get more UN support (and therefore more foreign troops) is inevitable in light of our inability to sustain our current troop deployments. Of course, we could send more troops to Iraq if we had to, but at the cost of a severe strain to our military. We also need to free up troops for a possible conflict with North Korea. The situation there looks worse every day, and we need to be prepared to deal with it.
Ultimately, I find it hard to understand how looking for a new UN resolution is supposed to be a defeat for the President. It seems to me to be a smart move based on the situation our military is in.
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Hillary working against Dean
John Fund has an interesting column up today that expands on my views of Howard Dean's candidacy and the battle lines being drawn in the Democratic Party.
John Fund has an interesting column up today that expands on my views of Howard Dean's candidacy and the battle lines being drawn in the Democratic Party.
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Roy Moore has suceeded in sowing discord among Christian conservatives. I hope the fame that he has generated for himself is worth it.
I don't know which aspect of the MTV Video Music Awards I find more depressing and disgusting -- the pornography or the racism. Keep in mind that the main market for MTV is teenagers.
