Cooper Union

I just finished watching the Cooper Union debate between Mario Cuomo and Newt Gingrich with moderator Tim Russert. I know that Speaker Gingrich was hoping for an open debate and a "coming together" of ideas from the Right and the Left. Unfortunately, I don't think he got what he was looking for from Governor Cuomo. It seemed to me that Governor Cuomo spent more of his time on a traditional lambasting of the Right and very little time trying to find common ground. On the other hand, I think Speaker Gingrich acquitted himself with his usual aplomb.

I will post the link to the debate as soon as it becomes available and encourage everyone to watch it. The only question I want you to answer after watching the debate is "Which ideology is better equipped to lead this country in the 21st century and why?"

Click here to watch.

Vanishing Honeybees

It seems that, inexplicably, honeybees from all parts of the country are vanishing. This article from The New York Times says that "bee losses are ranging from 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast, with some beekeepers on the East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70 percent; beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20 percent in the offseason to be normal."

While this may seem like one of those "bizarre" stories you see from time to time, consider this:
"A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. “Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. "

A Sign Of The Times

And we should all be ashamed.

Quote Of The Day

"When beginning a journey of revenge, be sure to dig two graves."
- Chinese proverb

Quote Of The Day

"According to my dictionary, the word "ally" comes from the Old French. Very Old French, I'd say. For the New French, the word has a largely postmodern definition of "duplicitous charmer who undermines you at every opportunity"."
- Mark Steyn in The Australian February 23, 2007

I Love Australia

We will always have at least one ally in the War On Terror. The Australians understand what is at stake.

Peter Costello, the Australian Treasurer, said "This is a country which has a Constitution. Under its Constitution, the state is secular. Under its constitution, the law is made by the parliament. Under its Constitution, it's enforced by the judiciary. These are Australian values and they're not going to change and we would expect people, when they come to Australia or if they are born in Australia, to respect those values."

Later in the same interview Costello said

"Well, I think there is a lot of anti-Americanism in Australia. It's not just in Australia. It there's anti-Americanism in Europe and other parts of the world and to some degree it may be less in Australia than in countries like France or in parts of the Arab world. But I don't believe we can be complacent about it. It is a real strand of public opinion and I think we ought to engage it and discuss it. The point I'm trying to make is we in Australia have no reason to be anti-American; that where American power has been exercised, such as in the World War II, it was exercised in the defence of Australia, not the attack of Australia. By and large, American power, which is exercised in defence of democracy and in individual liberty, is supportive of Australia in its interests and not a threat to it."

You just gotta love the Aussies.

Is Communism Dead?

This editorial cartoon is courtesy of The Columbus Dispatch and appeared in today's edition. It begs the question "Is Communism dead?". Were our old Soviet enemies really vanquished without firing a shot as Lady Thatcher once said or were they merely taking a nap?

Let's recap:

Vladamir Putin seems to feel fairly secure in his ability to dispatch critics of his regime with impunity, as well as with radioactive isotopes. Very KGB, very James Bond - it almost makes one nostalgic.

In a Cold War style speech February 10th Putin said "What is a unipolar world? No matter how we beautify this term it means one single center of power, one single center of force and one single master."
"It has nothing in common with democracy because that is the opinion of the majority taking into account the minority opinion,".

"People are always teaching us democracy but the people who teach us democracy don't want to learn it themselves."

That's rich - coming from a communist.

The Russians, the Chinese and the Indians all got together recently to make nice and to offer a counter balance to the United States in world affairs, especially since all three have significant investments in Iran.

Speaking of investments in Iran, the Russians have been actively assisting Iran so that they may achieve their nuclear ambitions. Then again, maybe not, if the Russians don't get paid on time.

Not to mention the festering socialism the Soviets infected our universities with during the Cold War. Could it be that the methods they were employing domestically to bring down the United States never really stopped after the Soviet block collapsed?

I'd say Vlad's been a busy boy - rise and shine, indeed.

(CWCID - Glenn Beck)

I Want To Live My Next Life Backwards

This e-mail was sent to me by a good friend who, I swear, sees every funny thing published on the Internet and then shares it with me (and a cast of thousands). Thanks Mike - this is a good one!

I want to live my next life backwards:
You start out dead and get that out of the way.
Then you wake up in an old age home feeling better every day.
Then you get kicked out for being too healthy.
Enjoy your retirement and collect your pension.
Then when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day.
You work 40 years until you're too young to work.
You get ready for High School: drink alcohol, party, and you're generally promiscuous.
Then you go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, and you have no responsibilities.
Then you become a baby, and then...You spend your last 9 months floating peacefully in luxury, in spa-like conditions - central heating, room service on tap, and then...

You finish off as an orgasm.

I rest my case.

Checking In On The Girls

Since we managed to get through this recent bout of winter unpleasantness, M'Lady and I decided to take a stroll (or more to the point, a trudge since there's still a lot on snow out there) around the grounds. While we were out and about, looking in on this and that, we decided to check in on my bees, better known as "the girls" . We circled the hive which was in good order. I put my ear to the hive wall but heard nothing. So, I politely knocked and was rewarded with the buzzing sounds of perturbed bees! They made it too!!!

Click on the picture to get an up close view of one of the girls at work on our cherry tree last spring. I'm adding two more hives in the spring. Things will really be buzzing around here then.

Cooper Union

OK, OK - I know I am overdoing the videos tonight but I am eagerly awaiting this debate. Newt Gingrich and Mario Cuomo will make a long overdue attempt to "raise the bar" for political debate in this country on February 28th at Cooper Union in New York City. The revolution will not be televised, it will be streamed live over the Internet as a webcast starting at 6:30 PM. Be sure to watch and wish both of these gentlemen luck. If they are successful, this could become the template for future presidential debates. We can only hope.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I just listened to a podcast from The American Enterprise Institute titled "Infidel". Ayaan Hirsi Ali gives her fascinating, almost feminist, views on Islam from her own very unique perspective. This is one brave and intelligent woman. She also offers some interesting insights about the United States as well.

I have not read her book but after listening to this podcast it is definitely on my list now.

A Threat From The Future

Since I find myself posting videos tonight, you really need to see this change of pace from my earlier post "A World Without America". Leave it to Greenpeace to come up with a scurrilous piece of propaganda like this. What unadulterated crap.

A World Without America

18DoughtyStreet.com, Britain’s first politics web tv station, has launched a two minute viral campaign to combat growing anti-Americanism across Britain and Europe.

Give it a watch and see what you think.

Quote Of The Day

"We don't have presidential debates today, we have kabuki theatre: Maximally choreographed, minimally informative performance art by the various candidates."
- Newt Gingrich

Democrats - The Movie

I couldn't resist swiping this from Point Five.

WFB

I have been meaning to post William F. Buckley's response to the New York Times Book Review critic Alan Wolf regarding his review of Dinesh D'Souza's new book "The Enemy at Home". This is classic WFB and he is, indeed, the "commander-in-chief of decent and honorable American conservatives".

To the Editor:

Alan Wolfe denounces “The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11” (Jan. 21), the new book by Dinesh D’Souza (I haven’t read it and I reject its thesis). That’s O.K. — D’Souza has written nearly a dozen books, and you lose some. But in a startling final paragraph the reviewer calls on all the world not only to reject the thesis, but to deplore the ventilation of it. He writes, “I look forward to the reaction from decent conservatives and Republicans who will, if they have any sense of honor, distance themselves, quickly and cleanly, from the Rishwain research scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.”

D’Souza is a lively and curious, independent and scholarly young man — I had the pleasure of writing the introduction to his first book, an essay on medieval theologians, written months after his graduation from Dartmouth. As commander-in-chief of decent and honorable American conservatives, I take this occasion to overrule Wolfe’s reprobation, and to advise him to curb his inclination to act as universal censor for the book-reading world.

William F. Buckley Jr.

Vieux Farka Toure

How do you get through a blizzard in Northeast Ohio? With some new music from a Mali guitarist - that's how. I just downloaded the self-titled debut album by Vieux Farka Toure, the son of the legendary Ali Farka Toure. You can go to his website to listen to a few tracks. I recommend "Courage" which, to me, sounds like a combination of an African version of Little Feat and Led Zeppelin at their most Moroccan.

Quote Of The Day

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
-Abraham Lincoln

Pandering Idiots and Fools

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a disgraceful resolution yesterday denouncing the Iraq troop surge by President Bush. Ed Morrisey said:
"Unfortunately, the House just sent a huge signal to the terrorists that waiting us out is a winning strategy, one they will not have to endure for very long. I don't believe that the politicians who voted for this resolution are traitors or Quislings, and in fact I strenuously reject that characterization. I think they're idiots and fools, though, and idiots and fools can be almost as dangerous."

Ed left out a word which I inserted into the title of this post - pandering. From Wiktionary:
"To offer illicit sex with a third party; to pimp. To tempt with, to appeal to (improper motivations etc.); to assist in the gratification of. His latest speech simply panders to the worst instincts of the electorate."

Only pandering idiots and fools would endanger the safety of this nation by engaging in a direct dialogue with our enemies and telegraphing our intentions. Only pandering idiots and fools would tell their respective districts what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. Don't tell the voters what Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad said about the insurgents, that "they have a thirst for blood like I have never seen anywhere before." Don't remind the voters how the outcome in Iraq will affect them, their country and Western civilization.

No - instead they set up a closed loop feedback cycle consisting of Oprah, The New York Times and The Democratic Party, stick their fingers in their ears and shout LA LA LALALALALAL while impatiently stamping their feet.

Bring the troops home NOW,

change the channel

AND THIS WILL ALL GO AWAY.

Because that's what pandering idiots and fools do.

Winter Wonderland

Winter visited us again last night. When we awoke this morning we had two to three feet of snow in various locations, depending on where the wind had dropped it.

As M'Lady said this morning "We should get snowed in for Valentine's Day every year!"

Quote Of The Day

"What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long."
- Thomas Sowell

Controlling The Conversation

Let’s get a few things on the table at the very beginning of this post:

1. I do not give a damn what The United Nations thinks about global warming or any other topic of geopolitical significance. Consequently, I have not given up all hope for future generations because of the recent release of a report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

2. Global warming is happening though I do not believe that humans - or should I dare say, Americans, are the main culprits. While the United States uses much more than it's share of global energy based on population, the ratio shifts significantly when viewed against GNP.

3. The data being used to support human responsibility for global warming is derived from a very short time period and does not take into account previous periods of warming and cooling in the past 1000 years. Need I point out that this was prior to the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the internal combustion engine?

4. Other studies have indicated that these previous global temperature fluctuations correspond much more directly to solar activity as opposed to carbon dioxide emissions.

5. I do think we should pursue more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly technologies but not at the expense of torpedoing our economy with lunacy like the Kyoto Treaty. And please, don’t even start about how it’s all Bush’s fault. Kyoto was negotiated during the Clinton Administration. He didn't even bother to send it to the Senate after they voted 95-0 on the Byrd-Hagel Resolution saying they would not ratify it even if President Clinton submitted it. Talk about bi-partisanship. By the way, how’s that Kyoto Treaty working out anyway? Did all of those signatories reach their emission goals? Nah, I didn’t think so.

Then along comes Ellen Goodman who recently wrote an article for The Boston Globe in which she stated that “global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future.” This goes directly to the heart of my point about controlling the conversation. Goodman frames her point by saying, in effect, either you must agree with me or your opinion is not only invalid, it is beyond the pale. This is intellectual dishonesty, pure and simple.

Justifiably so, James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal takes Ms. Goodman to task for her ridiculous statement:

“There's an enormous difference between doubting an outlandish prediction (even one that comes true) and denying the grotesque facts of history. Because we are ignorant of the future, we can innocently misjudge it. Holocaust deniers are neither ignorant nor innocent (though extremely ignorant people may innocently accept their claims). They are falsifying history for evil purposes.

This columnist is skeptical of global warming. We don't have enough scientific knowledge to have anything like an authoritative opinion--but neither does Ellen Goodman, who bases her entire argument on an appeal to authority, namely the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We lack the time, the inclination and possibly the intellect to delve deeply into the science. No doubt the same is true of Goodman.

Our skepticism rests largely on intuition. The global-warmists speak with a certainty that is more reminiscent of religious zeal than scientific inquiry. Their demands to cast out all doubt seem antithetical to science, which is founded on doubt. The theory of global warming fits too conveniently with their pre-existing political ideologies. (Granted, we too are vulnerable to that last criticism.)

Above all, we can't stand to be bullied. And what is it but an act of bullying to deny that there is any room for honest disagreement, to insist that those of us who are unpersuaded are the equivalent of Holocaust deniers, that we are not merely mistaken but evil?”

Ms. Goodman goes on to say “There are astonishing gaps between Republican science and Democratic science. Try these numbers: Only 23 percent of college-educated Republicans believe the warming is due to humans, while 75 percent of college-educated Democrats believe it.” Which only proves what - that Republicans are better educated than Democrats? In the vein it was originally intended, her comment amounts to elitist arrogance masquerading as fact.

Ms. Goodman says in closing “Can we change from debating global warming to preparing? Can we define the issue in ways that turn denial into action? In America what matters now isn't environmental science, but political science.”

I couldn’t agree more.

iPod Madness

I finally succumbed to an overwhelmingly irresistible urge to own an iPod. At last count, I have downloaded 179 podcasts which translates into slightly less than a weeks worth of listening and I have only had the little beast for five days! The Heritage Foundation and The American Enterprise Institute have proven to be treasure troves of podcasts on a truly remarkable range of subjects. If you thought I was wonky before – just wait.

Also, be on the lookout for podcast recommendations from yours truly. You can listen to them on your computer if you don’t already own one of these contraptions. As a matter of fact, here are a few from The Heritage Foundation to get you started:

“America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It” – a great speech by Mark Steyn about his most recent book which I just read and heartily recommend.

“A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater’s Presidential Campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement”

““24” and America’s Image Fighting Terrorism: Fact, Fiction or Does it Matter?” begins with a brief speech by then Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff,
followed by a panel discussion with some think tank folks, the creators/writers of 24 as well as President Logan, Tony Almeida and Chloe! The panel’s moderator is none other than Rush Limbaugh.

You can get these by subscribing to The Heritage Foundation Event podcasts via iTunes. And, of course, they are free.

Newt Gingrich

I recently watched the speech Newt Gingrich gave at the National Review Institute. Last month, when I told M'Lady that I wanted to go to the NRI and should probably take our Young Miss as well, she asked "Why?"

I said in addition to all of the great conservative speakers National Review lined up for their event it was also the weekend of the Peace March! Sarandon, Robbins, Penn and Fonda -oh my!

For those of you, like me, that missed attending the Institute, Newt's speech can be watched by clicking here. This is important viewing regardless of what part of the political spectrum you call home. After watching it, I am convinced that Newt does not really want to run for President - he wants to run the Movement. Give him a few minutes of your time and see what you think.

Six Weird Things About Me

In an effort to lighten up the tone around here lately (I describe the blog to M'Lady as "all war, all the time") I have linked to a funny and light-hearted post over at Villainous Company. Cassandra was tagged by another blogger to write six weird things about herself and then tag six more bloggers, chain letter fashion. While I won't go so far as to tag my fellow bloggers, I will pick up the challenge on an individual basis.

1. I always write with a fountain pen, when I’m not typing on a laptop keyboard. M’Lady thinks it’s funny!

2. I am in the middle of reading four to six books and as many magazines at any given point in time.

3. I carry a side by side shotgun with high brass shells when I go pheasant hunting and keep buckeyes in my field vest for good luck. It hasn’t improved my aim but I keep thinking it might.

4. I give all of my family members and close friends nicknames, yet I do not have one myself – at least not one that anyone repeats in front of me.

5. One of my undeniable truths of life is that the fewer people that agree with me, the more I know I’m right.

6. I frequently drive much faster than the posted speed limit and consider anyone that passes me to be a public menace. I can also tell the age, gender and parental marital status of my fellow drivers from great distances.

Quote Of The Day

Newt Gingrich spoke last weekend at the National Review Institute Summit and among many gems there was this one:

"Republicanism did not make Conservatives a majority; Conservatism made the Republicans a majority. There’s a huge difference."