Damn American Culture, It’s All About The ‘Latino’ Vote

May 31, 2007 | Filed Under Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Foreign Policy, Islam, Islamofascism, Media Bias, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, Uncategorized, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Michael Gerson of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the one time “conscience of the White House”, presents the perfect it’s-all-about-winning stance that some Republicans of the Karl Rove wing of the GOP adheres to in this current amnesty for illegals conflict. The idea is that if the GOP is seen as responsible for letting illegals become automatic citizens with little impediment to their attaining that status this will make these immigrants grateful enough to vote Republican and secure a GOP electoral victory for the foreseeable future.

Gerson’s rationale can be seen in his Washington Post article of May 25th, but, unfortunately, Gerson’s is both a cynical and unsafe stance to take. Cynical because it reduces the whole episode to be about nothing but getting votes and unsafe because it is a self-destructive, society destroying move to make the argument into a mere vote mongering scheme.

Gerson’s column starts off with a lament about “anti-immigrant sentiments” in 1882 and goes on to finger point at a current “certain kind of conservative” that we have today who he imagines must be just as racist as our hundred twenty-five year-old kin ostensibly were.

Interestingly, Gerson is all ready to cite a one hundred twenty-five year-old history where it concerns his perception of lurking racism but ignores the only 21 year-old history that figures far more prominently in this debate born of Reagan’s great 1986 amnesty mistake. Few of the requirements and restrictions asked of illegals during the ‘86 Reagan mistake were ever realized, yet we are expected now to assume that new requirements will be honored with today’s efforts?

Fool me once…
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Immigration: Solutions, Not Excuses

May 31, 2007 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Immigration/Immigrants, Media Bias, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Selwyn Duke, Society/Culture, Uncategorized | No Comments

By Selwyn Duke

One frailty of man is that he is very adept at finding excuses to justify laziness and irresponsibility. There’s no point helping people because everyone is just out for himself anyway. Why study or work? I mean, no one is going to give me a break. I won’t take care of myself because you’ve got to die of something. We can’t deport 12-20 million illegal aliens.

I could point out that the word “can’t” never used to be in the American vocabulary. I could mention that members of the “can’t” set find it entirely possible to tax 100 million people and then transfer the money in hand-outs to 80 million others. Some of them even aspire to control the health care of 300 million Americans through government. Why, their ambitions just seem to grow with the size of the big government scheme.

There are two truths here. First, if ancient Egyptians could build the pyramids, if ancient Chinese constructed the Great Wall, we can deport any number of invaders and keep them out.

The second truth is that we don’t have to.
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Democrats Don’t Care About “The People”

May 30, 2007 | Filed Under Congress, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, The Law, Uncategorized, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Now, some of you who are familiar with my past work might be a bit taken aback at the title of this piece. I usually don’t use such uncivil language, preferring instead to let the reader draw his own conclusions. However, after seeing the points I have to offer today, it is impossible to mistake the claim of the title, that the Democrat Party doesn’t care about American citizens and what they want, nor do they care much about our system of government wishing to tear it down to reflect only their own interests.

Last week, the Democrat Party tried to eliminate a decades old rule that allows the minority Party to slow the advance the bills that the opposition proposes. Since 1822 a rule called “motion to commit” has been used in Congress by members of the minority Party to force a bill back into committee before it gets a full hearing on the floors of Congress.

This “motion to commit” allows the minority Party another chance to alter a bill in committee before it goes to vote. Often for a Party in a minority status, this is the only way for them to have any say in a bill brought forth by the controlling Party.

The Democrat Congress under Nancy Pelosi, though, wanted to remove even that one chance the current Republican minority has to affect legislation by eliminating the ages old rule.
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Unexpected Benefits of Adversity

May 30, 2007 | Filed Under Family, Publius Contributor, Religion, Society/Culture, Thomas Brewton, Uncategorized | No Comments

-By Thomas E. Brewton

What seems to be a disaster may be God’s way of prodding us into action to accomplish larger goals.

Sunday’s sermon at the Black Rock-Long Ridge Congregational Church (North Stamford, Connecticut) was delivered by Rev. Kevin Butterfield. His message was the need to let go, to move out of our comfort zones and become witnesses to the unchurched, secular members of society.

It is not enough to hear and understand the Gospel; we must act upon it. We must lead kind, respectful, loving lives, and we must seek opportunities to serve those in need. People, particularly the young, must see us walk the talk. Hypocritical lip service will poison evangelical progress.

After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Christianity made rapid gains in Jerusalem. Then disaster struck. Stephen was stoned to death. Christians were scattered to Judea and Samaria. Rather than the end of the church, however, this proved to be its great beginning.
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Frisco Based MSN Travel Writer Disgusted By ‘Ugly’ American Travelers

May 29, 2007 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Foreign Policy, Media Bias, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, Uncategorized, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Diane Vadino, travel writer for MSN, seems to be just as disgusted by Americans who travel abroad as those foreigners whom she quotes in hers titled “How American Travelers Are Viewed Abroad: The U,K.”. Vadino revels in the “ugly American” stereotype and seeks out all the Brits she can find to validate her point. She even “apologizes” to an Iraqi for the evil of U.S. foreign policy on her visit to England.

In what woefully promises to be the “first in a series”, Vadino wonders, “Which affects British perceptions more: Stereotypes of the ‘ugly American’ or our country’s foreign policy? Or is something else at play?”

I can only imagine how often Vadino will say how much we are hated because of our foreign policy in this series, but whatever is to come this first segment is chock full of hating Americans by Brits… even as they are happy to eat our fast food, watch our movies and listen to our music not to mention take our money.

Vadino leads with the “ugly American” example (MSN even supplying the quintessential “ugly American” photo to accompany the article), recounting how we are loud, brash, stupid and annoying when we visit other countries. Yet, as she leads with all this negativity, she then turns around and says that this “unflattering view appears to be in the minority”, at least among the British people she spoke with.
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Hawaiian Supreme court to Say if Bloggers are Journalists

May 29, 2007 | Filed Under Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, The Law, Uncategorized, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Another test of whether Bloggers should be considered journalists or not is soon coming up in Hawaii. At issue is whether or not a Blogger there should be forced to turn over her sources for a story she wrote on a questionable land deal.

A lawyer trying to get an Internet writer to testify and turn over notes for a court case says Web bloggers shouldn’t have the same rights as mainstream reporters.

With the Internet increasingly blurring the line between “journalists” and everyone else it is only natural that we should come to a time when classifications and rulings must be made.

The courts will have to weigh how many press freedoms extend to the realm of the Internet, said University of Hawaii constitutional law professor Jon Van Dyke.
“How does she differentiate herself from the zillions of other people who use the Internet, posting things on MySpace or whatever?” he asked. “If we’re going to give special protection to the press, we should have some idea of who’s in it and who’s not.”

Absolutely the professor is right. These questions need to be answered. I often wonder myself just when what I write here on the Internet might serve to drag me into court for one reason or another. I get enough hate mail and threats of court action as it is and the legal limbo is a bit off-putting.

… not that this will deter me, naturally.
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