Voice in the Wilderness

Monday Reads

2009-02-23T11:10:00.009-06:00

You Tell'em, Gov. Perry - Peggy Venable, Americans for Prosperity, Texas
"I remain opposed to using these funds to expand existing government programs, burdening the state with ongoing expenditures long after the funding has dried up."

Gov. Perry Takes Stimulus Money -- on his own terms - The Voice of the Taxpayer
Gov OK on one time expenditures, not ongoing, unfunded mandates.

The top 10 issues of the 81st session, part 2 - Will Lutz, DallasBlog
Property Taxes, Budget, Insurance, K-12 Education, and Eminent Domain should consume a lot of air in the Texas Legislative Echo Chamber.

Is Straus more powerful than Craddick? - Paul Burka, Texas Monthly
Do new House rules make the speaker virtually invulnerable to removal?

Rep. Ron Paul Delivers Constituent Services - Lone Star Times

State Sovereignty Movement Keeps Growing - Dave Nalle, Republic of Dave

Texas electricity: Lower prices, greater consumer choice - Emma Pickering
Maybe deregulation hasn't been so bad afterall?

Pro-Life Lobby Day coming to Lege on Feb. 24 - Jonathan Saenz, Texas Legislative Update
Ultrasound bill and "Choose Life" license plates on tap this session.

Sid Miller wants more hog hunting from helicopters! - Tony McDonald, Texian Online
Suffice it to say that feral pigs in Texas should not expect a bailout.

Plano ISD — Not Too Shabby; They Like Guns - Trey Garrison
Somehow a cartoon picture of a firearm made it past the public ed PC police.

Out of Fear, Mexico Police Chief Resigns - Tom McGregor, DallasBlog
More disorder on the border.

Houston: 4-year Old Child Abducted and Assaulted by Illegal Alien - Robbie Cooper, Urban Grounds
Jorge Gonzales Hernandez — Abducting and sexually assaulting the children that Americans are too lazy to abduct and assault.

Wednesday Reads

2009-02-18T08:36:00.017-06:00

North Texas Officials Beg for Taxpayer Dollars to Lobby for More Taxpayer Dollars - Americans for Prosperity
North Texas pols use taxpayer money to sign up Austin lobbyists to lobby for - you guessed it! - more tax dollars!

North Texas cities ask for money for transportation lobbying - Michelle Samuelson, Blue Dot Blues
In light of the odious Senate Bill 855, the North Texas transportation tax bill, when local pols use tax payer money to beg more tax payer money, it makes you want to say: What. The. *#@!?

Why are the Democrats complaining? - Paul Burka, Texas Monthly
None of the Republican chairman are identified with the hardcore social conservatives, who were shut out of chairmanships. That is the point the Democrats are missing. Straus gave them a House that is run by moderates.

Calamity: Government officials are putting off some purchases! - Kevin Whited, blogHOUSTON
Government in America does not get smaller. If the recession is sharp, some services may suffer in the short term. But beyond the short term -- government in America does not get smaller. So let's not shed too many tears just yet for the woes of government officials.

Sheila! Jackson!! Lee!!! In freakin' INDIA!!!! - Banjo Jones, Brazosport News
Houston Democratic Congressional Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is a force of nature, blessed with an uncanny ability to detect the presence of news cameras, no matter where they are, no matter what the news event, come hell or high water, and then suddenly appear right in their viewfinders.

State Sovereignty Update - Dave Nalle, Republic of Dave
States are starting to stand up to Washington DC's encroachments by appealing to the US Constitution. Will Texas join them?

Open Schools - Michael Quinn Sullivan, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Bills filed in Texas Legislature would require more transparency in public education spending. Since taxpayers get handed the bill, is it too much to ask to be allowed to examine the receipt?

The Freedom Market Foundation in Texas Fighting the Good Fight - Kathleen McKinley, Texas Magazine
Free enterprise, traditional values think tank stands for religious freedom and the rights of the unborn this legislative session.

700+ Scientists Are Skeptical of Darwin’s Evolution; Texas State Senator Says Censor SBOE - Jonathan Saenz, Texas Legislative Update
State Senator Rodney Ellis (D, Houston), wants to hand discussion of science in textbooks to unelected bureaucrats.

Real cheating in pro sports: New stadiums and eminent domain abuse - Chris Robertson, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Although it is a shame that one of the nation’s leading sports figures has admitted to cheating and taking shortcuts, what is more concerning is the extensive eminent domain abuses over the years that sports teams and cities have engaged in to take short cuts in taking private property.

Voter ID bill referred to full Senate - Mike Ward, Austin American Statesman
The controversial Voter ID bill that triggered a nasty Senate fight last month over a rules change today was referred directly to the full Senate for a vote, setting the stage for new unpleasantness. Now that it has been referred, Senate Bill 362 could be brought up for consideration as soon as next week.

Tuesday Reads

2009-02-17T08:08:00.005-06:00

Job Creation in the Private Sector - A Real Economic Stimulus Plan - Tom Pauken, DallasBlog
Unlike liberal states, Texas leads the way in job create and economic development.

Sneaky tax plan filed in TX Senate - Michelle Samuelson, Blue Dot Blues
Senate bill filed with the caption "local options regarding transportation and mobility improvement projects in certain counties." That's code for transportation tax bill.

Bulked Up - Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Steroid testing law nets 1 out of 2500 high school athletes. Is it a great deterrent or a big boondoggle?

Monday Reads

2009-02-16T09:00:00.013-06:00

Straus releases House committee assignments - Will Lutz, DallsBlog
The Democratic leadership fared a bit better than last session but did not get as many concessions as some Republicans feared. Many conservatives are understandably disappointed with these committee assignments. From a conservative perspective, it could have been worse. Republicans and conservatives did retain some key committee posts and will still retain some influence over the course of legislation.

81st Legislature: A Close Look At Speaker Straus’ Committee Assignments - Vince Leibowitz, Capitol Annex
Elections Committee a disaster for Democrats?

Committee Communiqué - Michael Quinn Sullivan, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Taxpayers get a mixed bag on House Committee Assignments

The top 10 issues of the 81st session, part 1 - Mark Lavergne, DallasBlog
Tuition de-regulation, Texas Youth Commission reform, ultrasound, voter ID, emissions regulation, gas taxes among the issues sure to make headlines.

Can we have a serious talk about nullification?? - Michelle Samuelson, Blue Dot Blues
Gov. Perry can't refuse the stifling stimulus package? What is this, Moscow?!

More staff reductions at the Chron - Kevin Whited, blogHOUSTON
Another Texas mainstream media organ is feeling the bite of hard economic times and the new media.

Mexico – Closing in on Chaos - Melissa Pehle-Hill, Make-a-Statement.org
Retired US Army General sheds light on the gathering threat of violence south of the border.

Texas universities spend without restraint in tough economy - Michelle Samuelson, Texas Magazine
Executive compensation activists may want to set their sites on a new target: Administrators at Texas public universities

University of Texas: Tuition Up 57%, Administrators' Salaries Up 30% - Phillip Martin, Burnt Orange Report
Texas public university students bearing the burden of bureaucratic largesse.

Texas Employer Parking Lot Bill Has Been Filed - A Keyboard and a .45
Senate Bill 730 should help make it easier for Texans to lawfully keep their firearms and ammo in their cars while at work.

Dallas Bookstore Praises Saint Obama - Texas Rainmaker
Bookstore employees do not seem too concerned about the separation of church and state.

Friday Reads

2009-02-13T08:44:00.004-06:00

More on House Committee Assignments - Michelle Samuelson, Blue Dot Blues
Assignments are generally unfavorable for conservatives and confusing for everybody.

Committees - Winners and Losers - Paul Burka, Texas Monthly
The big winners were the Anyone But Craddicks (ABCs).

Gitmo detainees not welcome in Texas - Merv Benson, Prarie Pundit
Texas pols not inclined to house GWOT prisoners.

Big Pork, Meet Big Spender - Michael Quinn Sullivan, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
House Speaker Strauss is putting the wolf in charge of the fiscal hen house.

"Blueprint for an Effective Budget" press conference - Texas Public Policy Foundation

Thursday Reads

2009-02-12T10:06:00.008-06:00

Blueprint for Preparing the Texas Budget: A Gift from Texas to Congress - Peggy Venable, Americans for Prosperity-Texas
Recently announced Blueprint for an Effective Budget provides the guiding principles to Texas budget writers...and the feds might learn something from it too.

Voter Identification Bill is Picking Up Steam - James Armstrong, Voice of the Taxpayer
You know common sense is riding in the back seat when you’re required to present more identification at your local movie theater than at your polling place.

Ogden goes after taxpayer-funded lobbying at UT - Michelle Samuelson, Blue Dot Blues
Spending tax payer money to spend more tax payer money is another one of government's detestable practices.

Carona's Tax Hikes - Terry Collins, Texas for Fiscal Responsibility
A staggering economy, jobs disappearing and businesses failing. So what's State Sen. John Carona's solution? Tax hikes and tax increases.

Pushing for an Open Carry Law in Texas - Robbie Cooper, Urban Grounds
Texas is one of only six states remaining that do not allow the open carry of firearms. Let Texans vote on whether or not to allow open carry in our state.

Wednesday Reads

2009-02-11T08:56:00.005-06:00

Talking like a conservative....and acting like one - Michelle Samuelson
You not only need to walk the talk, you need to know what the talk is.

What If They Threw A Session... - Michael Quinn Sullivan, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
It's not always such a bad thing that the Lege isn't doing a whole lot.

Texans lead in saying "no" to so-called stimulus bill - Voice of the Taxpayer
Go to www.nostimulus.com and make your voice heard.

Moving on Eminent Domain - Mike Ward, Austin American Statesman
Texas pols move to curb eminent domain abuse. Sen. Estes: "Our ability to own and profit from private property is fundamental to not just our economic liberty, but also our personal liberty."

Tuesday Reads

2009-02-10T06:28:00.007-06:00

The Fighters From Texas - Kathleen McKinley, Texas Magazine
Texas Senators stand against the non-stimulating stimulus bill.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Puts Politics Ahead of People's Jobs - Phillip Martin, Burnt Orange Report
KBH stumbles, traditional media fumbles.

Carona legislation will raise taxes to build light rail - Michele Samuelson, Blue Dot Blues
DFW State Senator positioning for pet transportation project.

Community Organizing Explained - Phyllis Schlafly, DallasBlog
Want to understand the innerworkings of how the Left operates? Read up on their forefather, Saul Alinsky.

Taking on a “big dog” - Patricia Kilday Hart
More UTIMCO fallout.

Right Economic Stimulus - Michael Quinn Sullivan, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Protect property tax relief, restrain spending, and use the Rainy Day Fund for legitimate rainy days...like Hurricane Ike.

Monday Reads

2009-02-09T07:46:00.004-06:00

Regent resigns in UTIMCO bonus controversy - Mark Lavergne & Will Lutz, DallasBlog
State Senators fume and fulminate over University of Texas Investment Management Corp. (UTIMCO) bonuses.

Perry/Dewhurst UTIMCO letter is about politics - Paul Burka, Texas Monthly
Did UTIMCO official's support of Kay Bailey Hutchison ruffle some feathers at the Governor's office?

Are There Any Conservatives Left in Texas Politics? -Lone Star Times
UTIMCO bonuses were paid for pre-June 30 performance, before the big economic chill. Are we watching former conservatives morph into pure populists?

Cities queuing at the trough - Collin County Observer
North Texas cities attempt to bring home the bacon from the federal "stimulus" package

Report on energy and environment released by House committee - Asher Price, Austin American Statesman
State politicians postulate that all energy sources have trade-offs.

Jerry Patterson on Texas Monthly Talks - Evan Smith, Texas Monthly
Apparently, he was not packing heat.

Tuition cost concerns bridge ideological gap - Michelle Samuelson, Texas Magazine
State taxpayer supported universities are pricing families out of the higher ed market....and why is tuition getting so expensive anyway?

The Lege versus the BCS - Charles Kuffner, Off the Kuff
It's always heartwarming to see the Lege pay attention to the really important stuff.

Defeating Socialism with Social Media

2009-02-03T17:43:00.003-06:00

The Austin American Statesman is holding it's first ever Texas Social Media Awards, where movers and shakers in the online social networking world are showcased.

Two prominent conservatives are on the list of finalists and deserve your comments and support.

First, is the indomitable Michael Williams, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission. Commissioner Williams was ahead of his time with social media, have a blog at least as early as 2005. His combination of conservative vision, articulate advocacy, and social media engagement will make him a force to be reckoned with in the US Senate.

Second is Dave Guenthner, Director of Media and Government Relations for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Mr. Guenthner is very proactive in engaging policymakers, journalists, bloggers, and activists using social media and is staking a conservative claim to the new media territory of social networking. His work in this area will no doubt point the way for other, like-minded activists to move into the social media sphere and advocate for limited government, individual freedom, free market policies, and traditional values.

Comments on nominees will help push them over the top when it comes to name the top 25. To comment, follow the links above.

Bow Hunting: The New Triathalon

2009-01-07T12:07:00.005-06:00

Recent Bow Hunt Expedition Proves Instructive

Back in November, I made my annual deer hunting sojourn to Castroville, TX. My best friend's grandparents have a farm just north of town. We do some maintenance around the place and they let us hunt it during the season. There are two feeders on the property, one north and one south, with a rifle stand at each plus a bow hunting stand on the north feeder.

One Sunday eve, my friend and I agreed he would take the south feeder and I'd take the north, but which stand, the rifle or bow set up? I had gone bowhunting a couple of times earlier in the season, which featured several missed shots and lost arrows. However, with the wind 15-20 mph from the southeast, I surmised that it would behoove me to give bow hunting another try since the bow stand is northwest of the feeder, a perfect place given the wind. Furthermore, the north stand is about 150 yards from the feeder, a makeable shot with my flat-shooting Remington 700 .270 rifle, but the previous weeks' archery practice made me confident that it would be easier to make a bow kill shot at under 30 yards, which is about the distance of the bow stand from the feeder. Plus, there's the additional challenge and thrill of being extra stealthy, getting close to deer, and observing these beautiful creatures in their natural environment.

So I gathered up my still somewhat unfamiliar bow gear and tromped out to the north bow stand. To avoid spooking any deer near the south feeder where Robb was going, I circumnavigated the field along the east, north, and west sides to get to the north bow stand, about 3/4 mile in all. The last 1/2 mile of that is over uneven, plowed, soft farmland, making for a tiring hike with my unfamiliar bow gear. While a rifle can get heavy, it can at least by slung or put in different resting positions. Not so with a bow. It must be carried in my hand over the unyieldingly uneven and soft ground. Whew!

And that's only the beginning...I also need to tromp through some brush to get to the bow stand. After spreading some additional corn on the vehicle path directly in front of the stand, I need to ascend to the top of the 12 foot stand, no easy feat with bow in hand and the arrows swaying perilously in my cheap Academy quiver. I finally get to the top and find that the 4'x4' wire platform is not near as big as it looks from the ground. The sight of me waddling up the ladder, placing the bow and quiver somewhere without knocking the target sights out of whack, negotiating the final steps, contorting around the seat, all without stepping on something or stepping off the platform must have looked like a perverse ballet. But, at last, I was seated. Add in 5 more minutes for final preparations (putting on cammie gloves, face net, grunt caller, placing the water bottle, nocking the first arrow), and I was set, save for one last, critical operation. Robb lent me his laser range finder, to accurately ascertain the range. I placed the cross hairs on the ground beneath the feeder and, to my surprise, learn that the feeder is only 20 yards from the stand. I had eyeballed it at 25-30 yards out, a potentially disasterous miscalculation in the low-margin-for-error world of bow hunting. Now I know for sure to use the 20 yard sight pin. It was 4:15 pm, 2 1/2 hours before sundown, with plenty of time to rest from my ingress odessey.

Canine Company

About 4:30, I heard some rapid rustling in the brush to the right of the feeder. I peered over and saw a flash of black fur, then black and white fur. "Hogs", I thought. An unexpected daylight visit from feral pigs could make for a nice addition to the Fell family freezer. However, it was not hogs I spied but...dogs.

Dogs?

Apparently, free ranging dogs from a neighboring farm like to cruise around in a poor man's wolf pack. A big black lab, a bigger brown mutt, and a smaller black-&-white beagle/corgy mix moved through the feeding area. At first, I was afraid they were going to scare off the deer, but they moved purposefully through the area...looks like they were on the trail of something. Hopefully, we were not hunting the same quarry.

At 4:45, an hour before sundown, the continuous chime of crickets began in earnest. The time would soon be nigh.

Bow Hunting Fall

At 5:30, a small doe began her approach to the feeding area. Coming in from the right behind the gate, she made an arc through the brush to the feeder, instead of taking the more direct route of the smooth vehicle path. Interesting that she did not go straight for the food, though the gusting winds no doubt made her cautious. After this smallish doe finally emerged under the feeder, I spied a much larger doe just behind the fence to the right of the feeder. For 5 minutes, this larger doe watched the smaller doe and scanned the surroundings. Surmising that no predators where near, the bigger doe plopped herself under the feeder. Judging from the size of previous kills, I estimated the larger doe would dress out at 70-75 lbs. Given the fact that the large doe did not seem to have any fawns with her, she seemed like a good candidate for my first bow kill. "This is great," I thought. "I could have a good size doe relatively early in the evening."

However, as often happens, the deer don't quite cooperate with our grand designs. The big doe seemed to settle herself with her vitals area right behind the pole for the feeder. With a rifle, maybe I could still hit the vitals. With a bow, a big wind and unfamiliar elevated shooting position, I was not so sure. Maybe I shoulda' took the rifle stand after all? So I sat and waited for the deer to move. And waited. And waited. At one point, the smaller doe seemed to move closer to the big one, making me think she would finally move. But no such luck. The big one kicked out one front leg in the direction of the small one to kinda' swat it away so she wouldn't have to move. While interesting to see how deer establish social heirarchy, it was frustrating to sit and wait for a decent shot.

Finally, the big one moved a little further to the right affording an acceptable shot, but not quite as clear as I would like and I still had to lean forward to help clear the pole. While not an optimal shot, with the wind gust ing 20+ mph, I sensed the deer would spook any minute, as I have often witnessed in the past. It was now or never.

I drew the bow and put the 20 yard pin on the vitals. At that moment, she looked up and in my general direction, creating a quartering toward shot, which is not a good angle for a bow. So, I have to sit there, awkwardly leaning forward, holding the draw until she gets back to eating. I'm thankful that the excitement, awkward position, and holding the draw for those many minutes did not cause me to pass out and fall out of the stand! Alas, when she went back to eating, she took a step backwards, behind the pole. Blast it all!

A minute later, she steps forward. It is now 5:45, the owls hoot in full force with the final plunge of the setting sun and the creeping shadows make the shot more challenging. I awkwardly lean forward again, draw, put the 20 yard pin on the vitals, hold my breath to steady my aim, and pull the caliper release. And then I saw something I thought I'd never see deer hunting.....

Sparks.

Yes, sparks. Accompanied by a metallic screech. As best as I can surmise, I did not compensate for the higher impact point of an elevated shot and my ungainly position. I not only missed the deer high, but also grazed the feeder pole, causing the unnatural sight and sound that sends arrows careening into the unrecoverable brush and white flags a-flyin'. Ugh....more bow hunting futility. Maybe I'm not cut out for this sport afterall?

Bow Hunting Redemption

Yet, bowhunting has within it a redeeming power seldom known to rifle hunting: the relative quiet of a bow miss often affords a second chance for persistent hunters that miss the mark.

15 minutes later, at about 6:00, at least four large does approach the feeder from the right. While the evening light was quickly fading, I could clearly make out the outline of a good sized doe under the feeder presenting a perfect broadside shot. I drew again, this time from a more natural upright position, put the pin lower on the vitals, prayed "into Your hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit", and pulled the caliper release. The 60 lb draw weight of the compound bow sent forth the arrow on its deadly errand.

Twang, whoosh, and THWAPPP! Something soft is impacted hard downrange. That has to be a hit, though the encroaching darkness shrouds the results in mystery.

As legal hours conclude, I make the precarious journey to the ground and begin the toilsome necessity of tracking. Under the feeder is the arrow with blood from tip to nock and lots of blood on the ground. (BTW: For you aspiring bow hunters, take note that it's generally easier to find your arrows when you hit your target). I follow the blood trail out to the field and back toward the fence and the brush. Then, there it is in the long grass next to the fence, the day's quarry has lost its grip on life: a successful bow kill at last!

The shot entered and exited just above the hind quarters, just below the spine. At 300 feet/second, the arrow arrives just after the sound of the bow string zinging out its tension, causing deer to instinctively crouch before dashing off, which may partially account for the higher than expected impact point. Also the gusting wind could have caused the arrow to drift further back on the animal than I intended. Or maybe I just need more practice at the bow range. But in any event, this deer, which dressed out at a modest 63 pounds, it was as quick and decisive kill as any I've made with a rifle.

Lessons Learned From The Bow Stand

Bow hunting has been instructive in many ways.

First, it is very easy to miss the mark with your shot. You can miss by aiming to high or low. By misjudging the distance. By taking shots beyond your effective range. By flinching at the last instant. In the Bible, the word "sin" literally means "miss the mark". Indeed, it can be easy to miss the mark in many ways.

Diligent forethought and preparation are required, yet the ultimate results are ultimately in out of your control. One must spend copious time on the practice range, nailing the fundamentals of archery, but also mastering range finding and shooting in odd positions. You need to think through the topography, wind, temperature, shooting position, ingress routes, cover, concealment, equipment needed, sunrise/sunset, deer trails and behavior etc. All those things don't mean anything unless the deer don't show up. Yet, if the deer do make an appearance and you haven't put in the requisite forethought and preparation, you might has well stay home. In one way, you could say the results are in God's hands.

Something dies so that you can live. When you actually see an animal bleed and die, it brings new life to those Old Testament stories about blood sacrifice for the remission of sin. Deer often bleed a lot when shot. It brings home the reality that the food that sustains us from animals doesn't just come in a container from the store; something has died to sustain my life.

Until the next bow hunt expedition....

Halloween's Over, But The Scares Keep Coming

2008-11-06T23:02:00.008-06:00

Are Our 401k's Going to Be Nationalized?

Nothing like reading about next session's Congress to create a reverse Chris Matthews effect (a chill running down your leg).

Thursday morning's Wall Street Journal reviewed the likely Congressional leaders during Pres. Elect Obama's first two years. The following passage was particularly haunting:

Some Democrats are starting to target the tax subsidies for 401(k)s and other private retirement options. [George] Miller, who heads the House Education and Labor Committee, calls them "a big failure" and recently held a hearing to ponder alternatives, including nationalizing pensions and replacing them with special bonds administered by Social Security.

"Nationalizing" is a frightfully antiseptic way of saying "the government seizing and promising to give you something else later on". Unfortunately, other countries are pondering nationalizing pensions. President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina recently proposed nationalizing the nation's private retirement account system. Said Pres. de Kirchner "While the U.S. and other countries are stepping in to rescue their banks, Argentina must protect our retirees."

"...Argentina must protect our retirees." You see how it's like Halloween: the politicians dress up like knights in white shining armor, knock on your, and say trick or treat, where the "trick" is the threat of losing your retirement and the "treat" is your current retirement savings. Then, like the normal trick-or-treater, once they have your treat they saunter off, not to be seen again until next year.

The government taking ownership of citizens retirement money sure is an odd method of protection. It's more likely a ghoulish masquerade to help prop up government revenue, that has recently fallen short because of an economic slowdown. Can you think of any other governments who are facing their own fiscal scares that are likely to come trick or treating at your retirement account door?

Want a Mortgage? Get a Burqa.

2008-11-05T22:55:00.005-06:00

Bailout Opens Door to Shariah Compliant Finance

Amid the post election euphoria, it is helpful to keep in mind that we still have Islamofascist enemies determined to do us harm and overthrow our way of life. Their latest stragem is Shariah-Compliant Finance, which is now a much greater threat due to the recent $700B US Government bailout of the US financial industry.

This article by Frank Gaffney Jr. does a good job at spelling out the chilling details. Money quotes:

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Robert Kimmitt set the stage with his recent visit to Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Persian Gulf states. His stated purpose was to promote the recycling of petrodollars in the form of foreign investment here.

Evidently, the price demanded by his hosts is that the U.S. government get with the Islamist financial program. While in Riyadh, Mr. Kimmitt announced: "The U.S. government is currently studying the salient features of Islamic banking to ascertain how far it could be useful in fighting the ongoing world economic crisis."

Well I can see why the Treasury Dept. is going around with their hat in their hand: with the economy slowing down and tax receipts decreasing, they need to come up with the $700B from somewhere. But,correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Saudi Arabia one of the leading exporters of Wahhabi Islam, the animating spiritual force of Al-Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists? Surely, a US government agency would never allow the nation to become financially dependent on such a malevolent force.

"Islamic banking" is a euphemism for a practice better known as "Shariah-Compliant Finance (SFC)." And it turns out that this week the Treasury will be taking officials from various federal agencies literally to school on SFC. The department is hosting a half-day course entitled "Islamic Finance 101" on Thursday at its headquarters building.

Opps, I guess I gave them too much credit. Sadly, the danger won't be confined to the Dept. of Treasury.

Thanks to the extraordinary authority conferred on Treasury since September, backed by the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the department is now in a position to impose its embrace of Shariah on the U.S. financial sector. The nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Treasury's purchase of - at last count - 17 banks and the ability to provide, or withhold, funds from its new slush-fund can translate into unprecedented coercive power.

The Islamofascist financiers will be dicating lending terms to the Dept. of Treasury, who will then dictate terms to lending institutions, who will then dictate terms to individual and corporate borrowers. What could this mean for average, everyday, Joe Sixpack trying to get a mortgage or small business loan?

Could it mean that mortgage loans would be made on the condition that women in the house ascribe to certain shariah codes on women's role in the family and society?

Could it mean small business owners would be limited or sanctioned for doing business with Jewish-owned businesses or selling to Jews?

And, by the way, a certain percentage of the profits would go to Islamic "charities" that fund Islamic terrorist groups seeking to kill US soldiers abroad and US citizens at home.

One can only hope that the President Elect will change this sad state of affairs.

Texas Early Voting and the "Operation Chaos" Effect

2008-11-03T09:14:00.014-06:00

Do Texas Early Vote Totals Belie Low Republican Enthusiasm Meme?

One of the popular themes in the Austin local media last week was the high early vote turnout in Travis County, the academic, uberliberal county of Texas. Thunders Saturday's Austin American Statesman:

"Almost half of Travis County's 609,224 registered voters had cast their ballots by the time early voting ended Friday, easily shattering previous records. "

So how are the early votes breaking?

"When a list of general-election voters is released, political analysts, such as [Leland] Beatty, match the names to the roster of Democratic and Republican primary voters, thereby predicting how many votes will fall to one party or the other.

In Travis County, Democratic primary voters outnumbered Republicans nearly 4-to-1 in early voting as of Wednesday, when the most recent statistics were available, Beatty said....

"We've never seen anything like this election," Beatty said, adding that he thinks Democrats will make gains throughout the state. "

Combine this story with a recent hilarious AP pyschoanalysis claiming Obama supporters are "enthusiastic" and McCain supporters "glum", you might think that Texas Republican voters are just going through the motions in anticipation of an Dem landslide.

But what do the statewide early vote turnout numbers really show?

According to the Texas Secretary of State 2008 early voting page, and 2004 Presidential election page, of the 15 largest counties in Texas, four of the top five in terms of early voting percentage went big for Bush/Cheney in 2004. On the other hand, the bottom five on that list went for Kerry/Edwards or only moderately for Bush/Cheney in 2004. Below is a full list of how the numbers break down:

Remarkably, the leader in Texas early voting turnout at 45.5%, Collin County, went huge for Bush in 2004 (71% to 28%). Assuming that the 2004 election is a reasonable predictor of county voting behavior and assuming that early voting turnout is a proxy measure for voter enthusiasm, it appears that Texas Republican voters are actually more enthusiastic than Democrats.

But wait, a Democratic consultant might point out, traditionally Republican counties showed a big increase in Democratic primary voters this year, followed by the normal, dreary Dem talking points about the people being fed up with the last 8 years of Bush policies yadda yadda yadda.

But what this point of view does not take into account is Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos, whereby Republican voters purposely voted for Hilary Clinton in the Texas primary to prolong the internicine bloodletting on the Democrat side. Since McCain all but had the Republican nomination sewn up by the Texas primary, it is reasonable to assume that a significant number of Republican primary voter heeded the call to stick it to Obama. Perhaps those same voters are sticking it to him now.

I won't go as far as saying that all this big Texas turnout means McCain and the Republicans are going to blow out the Dems nationwide, but I think this is a data point that shows the results may be closer than the polls lead us to believe.

Vote Tuesday!

Texans Show The Way on Financial Rescue

2008-09-30T21:01:00.010-05:00

The most important word in the phrase 'free markets' is not the word 'markets'

President George W. Bush from Texas seems content to simply throw money at the financial crisis. Thankfully, other Texans are illuminating a different path.

Texas Public Policy Foundation board member Jeff Sandefer recently penned a short missive on the Fed bailout and how we should proceed from here.

Money quotes:

Many people have played into the hands of big-government apologists by arguing that free markets are "better" because "they work," rather than defending freedom as a fundamental, God-given right for everyone.

A little reported, and even less understood, facet of the current crisis is that freedom is again in the cross hairs of big government apparatchiks. With Federal mandarins pulling the levers of home mortgage and finance, they will be in better position to determine economic outcomes....according to their politically correct notions of "fairness".

I was fortunate to be with Margaret Thatcher once in England when she reminded a group of Americans fretting about a temporary dip in the stock market: "The most important word in the phrase 'free markets' is not the word 'markets.' You cannot justify your freedom based on today's Dow Jones Industrial Average." Her words ring true, as Bush appointees scramble to stoke the engine of our economy by tossing in ever-larger quantities of our tax dollars and freedom.

We need a Thatcher to step up and compellingly proclaim the truth described above, as well as outline easy to understand principles for how to move into the storm and through the storm.

Fortuitously, another Texan, the Twittering Rep. John Culberson, is making a run at neo-Thatcherism with his statement on the principles that a rescue package should include:

I will not vote to bankrupt future generations to protect Wall Street investment banks from their own mistakes. The best solution to this crisis is to

Suspend mark-to-market accounting rules
Establish a mandatory insurance/guarantee program to cover the banks' losses at no expense to taxpayers
Cut the capital gains rate to zero
Cut taxes for offshore dollars repatriated back into the U. S.
Cut corporate tax rates dramatically to encourage investment and lending
Changing the mark to market accounting rule alone will allow banks to keep non-performing assets on their books until they recover their value, and solve a huge part of the problem.

Finally, personal finance radio show host Dave Ramsey, who's from Tennessee but sounds like he could be from Texas, created a three step action plan reflecting the principles above that all of us can follow:

Pray for our leaders: If there's ever a time when the nation's leaders need the wisdom of Solomon, that time is now.
Send them the The Common Sense Fix to your Senators and representatives . The Common Sense Fix involves creating an investment insurance agency, temporarily suspend mark-to-market rules on subprime loans, and totally remove the capital gains tax to spur investment and liquidity.
Tell others about it. If you're pressed for time, send a link to this blog post.

Introducing RedCounty.com/Texas

2008-09-09T17:02:00.004-05:00

Your Humble Blogger is the Texas Editor

A few weeks ago, a Texas page was launched for RedCounty.com, a community portal for state and local politics from a conservative point of view. I was honored to be asked to be the Editor for the RedCounty.com Texas page.

The revolution in web 2.0 technologies like blogs, texting, Twitter, and streaming digital video are providing regular citizens not only additional news sources but unprecedented channels for providing news content and commentary.

Building on the aforementioned tools, RedCounty.com/Texas is meant to be a common rallying point for Texas citizens interested in state and local politics who believe in from the point of view of limited government, individual freedom and responsibility, free market policies, traditional values, strong national defense and borders. Our goal is to build an alternative media forum that brings forward compelling content on state and local candidates, races, and issues and provide everyday Texas citizens the opportunity to learn what they need to know about the state/local races that affect them and make their voice heard.

Join the conversation at RedCounty.com/Texas.

BREAKING: RNC Bomb Plot Connected to Texas Gov Mansion Fire?

2008-09-09T12:06:00.005-05:00

Local Anarchist Group Has Affinity for Violence

590 am KLBJ reports this afternoon that the Molotov cocktail plot involving two Austin men at last week's Republican National Convention may be connected to the recent fire at the Texas Governor's Mansion.

Two members of an Austin based anarchist group called "The Austin Affinity Group" are locked up accused in a plot to use Molotov cocktails to disrupt the Republican Convention. Now investigators are trying to determine if the pair are connected to the fire that destroyed the Governors Mansion. News Radio 590-KLBJ'Security Analyst, Fred Burton from Stratfor.com says the "Austin Affinity" may have worked with some other groups.

Stay tuned....

Austinites Attempt to Redefine "Cocktail Hour" at RNC

2008-09-09T09:09:00.011-05:00

Some Protests Generate More Heat than Light, But This is Ridiculous

This morning's Austin American Statesman reports that two fine, young citizens of the Capital City had planned to bring a little more...uh, "excitement" to last week's Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN than the convention organizers had planned on:

Austinites David McKay, 22, and Bradley Crowder, 23, were arrested last week on charges that they constructed Molotov cocktails to throw at police during the convention in St. Paul.

Nothing like some wood alcohol, glass bottles, and burning wicks to support the free expression of ideas and and show your tolerance for dissenting political views.

Is this tolerant?

But if you happen to get caught just have some community organizer explain it all away...

An Austin activist who said she met McKay and Crowder in St. Paul said she did not get the impression they were prone to that kind of violence. Lisa Fithian said they were "young men concerned with this country and the direction the Republicans are taking it."

Lisa Fithian, of course, is a long time professional protester, most noted for pulling Cindy Sheehan's strings during the latter's 2005 potemkin "mourning" tour.

What would cause two young men with an otherwise promising future to stray from the true path? Could it be that the University of Texas at Austin does not foster an environment of tolerance, that allows for divergent political views to be respected and peaceably expressed? Perhaps, though AAS commenter monty c has another theory:

they have spent too much time watching MSNBC, this is one sick bunch.

Olberman and Matthews made them do it....Classic.

Palin: The New Thatcher

2008-09-06T10:16:00.010-05:00

"It is the cock the crows, but the hen that lays the eggs."

Friday's Wall Street Journal carried a story highlighting the parallels between the new Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, and erstwhile British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the Iron Lady, it seems there is ample precedent for conservative women to face down the unique opposition they face from both the Left and the Right.

Money quotes, on feminists:

The metaphorical hair stood up on the back of every licensed member of the feminist movement who could immediately see she was a monster out of a nightmare landscape by Hieronymus Bosch. ...

The hypocrisy was breathtaking. Only nanoseconds before the choice of Mrs. Palin as VP put her a geriatric heartbeat away from the presidency, a woman's right to have a career and children was a shibboleth of feminism. One always knew that women with views that opposed those of official feminism were to be treated as nonwomen

On how to stand her ground:

Mrs. Thatcher would have recognized the guns aimed at Sarah Palin as the weapons of the left with feminist trigger-pullers. She also would have known that Mrs. Palin has less to fear from East-Coast intellectual snobs in egalitarian America than she had to fear from her own Tory base in class-prejudiced Britain. She would have told her to stand her ground and do her homework. Read your briefs, choose advisers with care, and, as she once said to me, my arm in her grip and her eyes fixed firmly on mine, "Just be yourself, don't ever give in and they can't harm you."

And finally, on the former, self-appointed masters of the female political world:

And that family of hers: Next to the Clintons with their dysfunctional marriage, her fertility and sexually robust life could only emphasize the shriveled nature of the one-child family of the former Queen Bee of political female accomplishment.

Shriveled nature?!? Zing!

Mrs. Palin's ascendancy has also revealed the impotency of feminism as a political movement. Purporting to speak for "women's issues", modern feminism does nothing but dress up identity politics and Marxist economic theory in power skirts and high heals. How appropropriate that, at the hand of the moosehunter Palin, that this old beast, that has tormented western society for two generations, can at last be slain.

I Knew It Was Too Good To Be True

2008-09-04T09:48:00.011-05:00

Despite Decline in Actual Market Values, Austin Suburb Appraisals Increase and Eat Up Property Tax Rate Cut

In a recent post, I lauded the Austin suburb of Leander for reducing their property tax rates. Yet, we learn today from the Hill Country News that local tax bills are actually going up because the appraisals on property are increasing.

In a thriving community where homes, businesses and schools are sprouting
like Texas bluebonnets in the spring, appraisal values continue to soar.

I knew there had to be a catch. Since property taxes equal appraised valuation times tax rate (for each taxing jurisdiction to which a property owner belongs), there are two variables that can be tinkered with to get to the final tax owed. With the tax man, if the left hand doesn't get you, then the right one will.

But what makes this increase a harder to swallow is market values for the area are actually decreasing.

According to the HCN story, the average tax bills in Cedar Park look like this over the last four years:

2005-06: $4,114.80
2006-07: $4,112.10
2007-08: $4,209.81
2008-09: $4,618.17

The change from last year is a 9.7% increase. Since the taxing rates for most jurisdictions have gone down or not changed, the increase comes from valuation increases. Again, according to the story, the average home value in Cedar Park went from $173,521 to $189,900, an increase of 9.4%.

However, according to City-Data.com, the median home sales price dropped from approximately $240K in the second quarter of 2007 to around $200,000 in the second quarter of 2008, nearly a 17% decrease. Home sales also decreased over the same time from approximately 600 to 350, a 41% decrease.

To be fair, the local pols are grappling with how to serve the needs of a booming community and are, perhaps, to be given credit for not heaping a larger rate onto the increased appraisals.

But in any event, the information above should prove that there is no true linkage between property appraisals done by the local appraisal district and actual market data. Perhaps citizens protesting their property tax increases now have new ammunition?

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch....

2008-09-02T11:30:00.011-05:00

While Prez Election Cranks Up, Texas State Bureaucracies Grind On

Obiden! McCain! Palin! Bristol!

The airwaves and blogosphere is fairly crackling with talk on the upcoming presidential election. With the conventions just half over and a little over 60 days left, the moment is certainly ripe to start schooling up on the who will be the US Chief Executive over the next four years.

Yet, there are other concerns, more close to home, that should also pique taxpayers' interest: Now is the time when Texas state agencies start issuing their legislative budget requests. In other words, now is the time we're going to get our first idea on how much Texas taxpayers are going to pony up to run the government the next two years.

The incomparable Will Lutz of the Lone Star Report recently provided some simple guidelines on how taxpayers can assess the state's proposed spending:

What kind of surplus/shortage will we have? Compare the Texas Legislative Budget Board's (LBB) estimates to the Comptroller's estimate of revenue.
How do we know what is happening with entitlement spending? Entitlements are government financial obligations, mainly public welfare programs, that taxpayers are on the hook for supporting no matter what. Generally linked to caseloads, entitlement spending is a very large and hard to reduce item in the state budget.
What are going to be the big-ticket budget debates in the upcoming session? Check out exceptional spending items from agencies as clues. See below....
How can interested parties and the public follow these debates? The Internet affords many opportunities for additional citizen insight into the budget process.

On the last point, I recommend having a look see at the Texas Legislative Budget Board's website, especially:

The Texas Budget Source: This is basically a window into the actual numbers fed into the state budget process by state agencies. Come here to get the base numbers.
Texas Fiscal Size Up: More detail than you'd ever want on how the trends in Texas government revenue and spending trends. This document is a good resource for examining revenue by source (including federal source), spending by function, and how those two trends compare to population and personal income.
Budget 101: While not exactly light reading, this 74 page document is a good overview of how the Texas state budget process works. However, it does not show the "process behind the process", that is the method by which lobbyists put forward the interests of their clients in hopes of driving business from the state.

Happy analyzing and remember, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Dems Show Sexism with Palin Experience Knock?

2008-08-30T10:07:00.016-05:00

Why is it OK for the man to be inexperienced, but not the woman?

As further evidence that they are reading this blog, the McCain campaign's selection of Sarah Palin for Vice President again shows that they are starting to track with the themes that resonate with grassroots conservatives.

Predictably, the Obiden campaign and their media handmaidens immediately called the kettle black by pouncing on the experience them.

"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency."

huffed Adrianne Marsh, a spokeswoman for Democrat Barack Obama. Continuing the high-tech harassment, Jonathan Alter leered,

"[McCain's] campaign against Barack Obama is based on the simple idea that he is unready to be president. So you've picked a running mate who a year and a half ago was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska a town of 8,500 people. You've selected a potential leader of the free world who knows little or nothing about the major issues of the day beyond energy."

Why is it they hector the female Palin about her alleged inexperienced when the male Obama gets a pass? What are dissaffected, independent leaning Hillary Clinton voters to make of this double standard? Gov. Palin has fought and won against the corrupt GOP power structure in Alaska while fighting her way to the top of the state government. All the while, she's raising a family of five, the most recent with Down's Syndrome. Her path to power has been much more challenging, largely because of the challenges she's chosen.

There are those who might say that the Republicans are acting on racism by hitting black Obama on inexperience, but not the white Palin. Yet there is a different dynamic at play with the Republican method.

By raw numbers, Obama may have been in public life longer, but what has he done? As the WSJ Editorial Page pointed out this morning, he's always kinda' gone along to get along in Southside Chicago politics, never doing anything to upset the grievance industry's applecart. By contrast, as Ed Morrisey recently pointed out, Palin has demonstrably different and more challenging experience. In addition to many more years of executive experience than Obiden, Palin has taken on corruption within her own state party and steered it back to core principle. Reform, return to principle, and the executive chops to make it happen are what Washington DC needs now, especially the beltway GOP. That would be change you wouldn't have to believe in, you would be able to see it with your own eyes.

Michael Williams Shines in Obiden Attack

2008-08-28T11:51:00.012-05:00

Texas Railroad Commissioner Leads the Charge on the Energy Front; A Stealth Energy Secretary Audition?

The indomitable Michael Williams, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, appeared today in the RNC's daily press conference along side national Republican luminaries cranking up the latest attack on the Democratic presidential ticket.

Viewable at Not Ready 08, the streaming video press conference with VP fave Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl, and former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin, developed the themes of experience, strength, courage, substance true bi-partisanship, and energy security.

On the last topic, Comm. Williams, the Texas version of the Secretary of Energy, brought into sharp relief the contrasts between Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain. In short, "Senator McCain believes in an all of the above policy, and Senator Obama does not."

According to Comm. Williams, sound energy policy should strive to do all things right, which includes increased oil and natural gas exploration, be wise with energy conservation, increase utilization of nuclear power (yes!!!). The energy company tax increases, floated by the Democratic ticket, ultimately increases prices for the America family.

"After the rhetoric is over and Americans think about energy costs, Senator McCain has a plan that's good for American families, American workers, and creation of jobs, because it's 'all of the above'."

Comm. Williams also deftly parried the most loaded question of the QA session. When asked if the Republicans had a problem criticizing Sen. Obama on the anniversary of the MLK "I have a dream speech". (translation: aren't you all really just a bunch of big racists for daring the criticize the post-racial Obamessiah?)

After paying due respect to Sen. Obama's accomplishments, Comm. Williams noted that "We [all African-Americans] share that dream" and noted that Martin Luther King Jr. himself once said to black school children that they must always be prepared and must be ready to excel. And, has the other speakers noted in the conference, Sen. Obama did not seem to be prepared.

MLK implies that Obama's not prepared? A brilliant answer to an unfair question!!!

At the end of the conference, Comm. Williams left beaming and chuckling: he expertly made the energy case against Obiden and knocked that loaded question out of the park!

If I were him, I'd be chuckling too. Combine this appearance with his thought leadership on energy issues and scheduled speaking spot at the RNC next Thursday just before John McCain accepts the nomination for president, you have to wonder if Comm. Williams might be a regular on the national campaign trail this fall and a candidate for the Secretary of Energy in a McCain administration.

Where the Sun Doesn't Shine

2008-08-25T15:17:00.011-05:00

Patterson and Bullock tell Ma Richards What to do With Her Opposition to the CHL Bill

At a recent Travis County Young Republicans meeting, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson revealed the inside story on the genesis of the Texas Concealed Carry Handgun law, including a choice exchange with former Lt. Gov Bob Bullock on how to work around then Gov. Ann Richards' anti-concealed carry stance.

Here's hoping that Comm. Patterson runs for a higher statewide office when the time is right.

The Texas Education Market Speaks. Is The Legislature Listening?

2008-08-25T11:50:00.004-05:00

Nearly 17,000 Texas School Children Denied Education Opportunity

A recent study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation found that the the 215 operators of Texas charter school, state-funded public schools with fewer regulatory restrictions than normal public schools, can only serve 87% of the demand for charter schools. There are currently 113,760 students enrolled in charter schools and at least 16,810 on wait lists.

Furthermore, Texas charter schools serve a disproportionately minority and poorer population. According to the report:

Eighty-one percent of students in Texas charter schools are minorities compared to 60 percent of students in traditional Texas public schools. In addition, more than 60 percent of students in Texas charter schools are economically-disadvantaged compared to 56 percent in traditional Texas public schools.

The Texas legislature has set a cap on the number of open-enrollment charters that can operate in the state at 215 (currently there are 196 operating charter schools and 210 active charters), up from only 20 charter schools allowed when the program first started 13 years ago.

This cap could be a deterrent to other companies in the business of running charter schools from entering the Texas education market. Given the fact that charter schools cost the taxpayers, on average, $1500 less per student than normal public schools, why wouldn't the state legislature be more interested in eliminating the cap and allowing more robust competition?

Perhaps the opposition is misinformed about charter schools' purpose and efficacy. According to a Time Magazine article on Texas charter schools,

"The first charters were similar to magnet schools — the school served a specific purpose in a specific location," says Garnet Coleman, a state legislator from Houston. "In my opinion, charters were started as election tools for the 2002 gubernatorial election."

This is a curious assertion by Rep. Coleman, given that the Texas charter school program began in 1995. The Time article continues,

Coleman argues that allocating facility monies for charter schools will take state funding away from neglected neighborhood campuses. Rather than pump funds into the charters, he says, pump money back into the community. "The charter system is a threat to the standard public education system," he says. "It causes districts, politicians and others to ignore the local school's quality."

According to the Texas Ethics Commission, Rep. Coleman has received nearly $10,000 since 2000 from the Texas State Teachers Association, an organization that has expressed antipathy towards charter schools in the past. Perhaps he is being influenced by his patrons on this issue.

Actually, what seems to be happening is that minority and economically disadvantaged parents know all too well the local school's quality and are voting with their feet.

Palin for VP?

2008-08-22T12:45:00.010-05:00

Texas State Prof Suggests Other McCain Veeps Pale In Camparison

OMG WDYTO joe b?
2G2BT!

With all the mainstream media a-twittering about Barack Obama's vice president choice, to be delivered via the trendy text messaging method, now might also be a good time for serious people to think about McCain Veep possibilities.

Texas State Political Science professor Will Ruger recently penned a recommendation for Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Money quotes:

"First, the attractive young governor, ... would provide much-needed energy and youth to a ticket whose main candidate is frequently on the receiving end of "he's so old" jokes. "

And

"Palin would give Hillary-voters frustrated by their candidate's loss and still unsure about Obama a reason to shift over to McCain. And there is no doubt this former Miss Alaska pageant contestant would give red-blooded men in purple states like Ohio a reason to watch the vice-presidential debates. "

Young and attractive, Palin as VP could help dampen the chic aura built up around Obama by his handlers. Furthermore, a female VP pick coupled with the maverick McCain may be enough to peel off disaffected, moderate female Democrat voters in key swing states.

"Palin is as far from a Washington insider as you can get, given she hails from Alaska and is a new face in Republican politics, untainted by any association with the Bush clan or the big-spending congressional Republicans."

The anti-insider message is a good complement in this anti-incumbant year. It would be especially effective if Obama selects Sen. Joe Biden, the prototype Washington insider, as his running mate.

"Palin could do something few Republicans seem interested in or able to do these days: Help fuse the two pillars of the Reagan Revolution, traditional conservatives and libertarian Republicans. "

This is an underreported theme in this campaign. After several years of overspending, big government advocacy, corruption, and ideological drift by the national GOP, Republican voters are left to wonder what the Republican Party stands for these days. A Palin VP candidacy could help signal to GOP voters that fiscal restraint, anti-corruption, and social conservative themes may again be a part of the national policy discussion.

At the end of the day, Palin might be McCain's BFFLNMW.

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?

2008-08-20T16:44:00.020-05:00

MSM Misses Easy Facts in Paddling Story

By now you've no doubt heard the breathless mainstream media cacophony about how minority children are spanked more in class than non-minority children. In a well-organized propaganda blitzkrieg, the eternal scolds at Human Rights Watch have manufactured yet another story from their "America is racist" template that has rippled through the credulous MSM, singling out Texas and Mississippi for their scorn:

"Researchers also interviewed students, parents and school personnel in Texas and Mississippi, states that account for 40 percent of the 223,190 kids who were paddled at least once in the 2006-2007 school year."

But there are some annoying little factoids missed by this fulminating coverage.

Race ratio of students: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, minority children (Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American) make up a majority of public school enrollment vs white children, 62.5% vs. 37.5% for the 2005-06 school year. So, right off the bat, "minorities" outnumber whites by nearly 2 to 1 in the population that could be subject to paddling. (Note: These numbers are only for Texas and Mississippi students)
Single parent incidence: Add to this disparity the fact that, largely due to the welfare state's destruction of the traditional family, a disproportionate number of minority children come from single parent homes. The US Census Bureau reports that in 2007, 60.5% of black families were not traditional, two parent homes, 30.1% for Hispanics, 12.7% for Asian families, and 40% for other, non-white races vs 23.2% for white families.
Behavioral problems for children from non-traditional homes: According to the Child Trends Data Bank, "Among young children, for example, those living with no biological parents or in single-parent households are less likely than children with two biological parents to exhibit behavioral self-control. Young children with single parents are also more likely to be exposed to high levels of aggravated parenting."

So, there's a larger proportion of minority children in public schools, with higher incidence of single parent households, thus having a greater likelihood of behavioral problems. Is it any surprise then that these children act up more in school and require more and sterner discipline? Doesn't that put the paddling story in a different light?

Thirty minutes of Google searching would have revealed the data above, yet all of the stories I've seen on this topic swallow Human Rights Watch's argument hook, line, and sinker. Either the reporters and editors responsible for these stories are getting lazy or they don't want to hear the other side. And they wonder why their ratings and readership are declining.

Is Hell Freezing Over?

2008-08-20T15:20:00.010-05:00

Growing Texas Town Decreases the Property Tax Rate, But What Will Happen to Appraisals?

This week's Hill Country News featured an encouraging story on the City of Leander actually reducing it's property tax rate while increasing services.

"The budget could be increased by $1.36 million to nearly $17 million and more firefighters and police officers would be added, all while lowering the property tax rate to $0.602590 per $100 of property valuation, which is a half-cent decrease from the current amount of $0.607591."

Leander, a growing suburb north of Austin, has wisely chosen to use the growth strategy to raise revenue, instead of the wealth confiscation strategy.

"[City Finance Director Sharon] Johnson said increased fuel costs have been fixed into the budget as well as the projected incomes from Lowe's and Kohl's. "

It seems that having a low cost of living and reasonable tax rates versus the high taxing neighbor to the south, attracts businesses, which, in turn, generate revenue for the city. Of course, we'll have to keep on eye on what happens to property valuations this year, as local pols are notorious for decreasing tax rates and claiming they cut taxes, when they turn around and increase property valuations so that the net effect is a tax increase.

Unfortunately for Leander residents, the city is not the only taxing jurisdiction makin its budget these days. The Leander Independent School District recently announced an increase in its property tax assessments:

The proposed total tax rate is $1.3792. That includes $1.04 for maintenance and operations and a $.3392 tax rate for repaying debt.
...
Last year's combined tax rate was $1.3334, including an M&O rate of $1.0058 and an I&S (Interest and Sinking) rate of $.3276.

Dang, that 1/2 cent per $100 reduction from the City is almost totally eaten up by LISD's increases. So, what could be driving the local school district to boost its tax rates when the city is reducing theirs?

For the first time, LISD is about to become a Chapter 41 district, meaning that some wealth per student will have to be redistributed to the state.

Chapter 41 is the state's socialist redistribution scheme to take money from wealthy districts. When your a lowly property tax payer, when the right hand doesn't get you then the left one will.

You Don't Say?

2008-08-11T16:50:00.006-05:00

UT-Austin Environmentalist Group Swerves into the Truth

A friend let me know about a new UT-Austin campus activism group. But not just any group with pompous, opaque monikers like Institute for Operations Research & Management Science or Latinitas College Council. No, this group, one dedicated to helping "staff and faculty reduce their environmental footprint at work and home" actually has a title that accurately describes what the members are like:

Green Horns.

In an attempt to be clever with the school mascot nickname, this band of 18-23 year old UT-Austin do-gooders has inadvertantly told the truth about their mission.

Green horn, as defined at dictionary.com, is

an untrained or inexperienced person.
a naive or gullible person; someone who is easily tricked or swindled.
a newly arrived immigrant; newcomer.

Heh, someone who is easily tricked or swindled. I guess that explains why this group is off trying to "Buy renewable energy certificates to offset my own personal energy use" and "Get involved with environmentally or socially responsible student groups".

Texas Gas Guzzlers for Obama

2008-08-08T14:00:00.008-05:00

The Weird City's Limosine Liberal Class Never Ceases to Entertain

Cruising the highways of Austin always yields a few laughs from the bumper sticker laden ("9-11 Was An Inside Job!") VW bugs and junky, 1980's vintage Ford Fairmonts clogging up the local roadways.

Occassionally, Austin's wine and cheese crowd also gets its protest on by plastering a few bumper stickers to their gas guzzling SUV's before going to Whole Foods to buy feta cheese and arugula salad.

Today, for example, I spied a 2007 Lexus LX 470 V8 tooling down the freeway with a "Texas for Obama" bumper sticker.

While this little $75,000 beauty gets 12 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway, the driver seems oblivious the Obama's campaign's directives to

Increase Fuel Economy Standards.
Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change.

That's either the audacity of ignorance or hypocrisy we can believe in!

MoveOn Calls On McCaul in Austin

2008-08-07T14:36:00.014-05:00

Liberal Activist Group Parrots Paris Hilton on Oil Drilling

Today in Austin, the local affiliate of MoveOn.org, delivered a petition to Rep. Mike McCaul demanding that the Congressman "offer real solutions to the energy crisis, not gimmicks like drilling."

Accompanied by 852 signatures, the cover letter also said "Rather than more drilling, we need a massive program to switch to affordable, clean alternative energy sources and end our dependence on oil." In big bold letters it exclaims: "America must commit to producing 100% of our electricity from cheap, clean renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, within 10 years." One of the groups talking points memos also states that more offshore drilling won't produce any new oil for about 10 years.

It's interesting that MoveOn's 10 year plan favors risky, unproven energy sources over a known source they admit would be productive within 10 years. What also seems lost on these activist types is that, according to the Energy Information Administration, the price of gasoline in Texas has declined $.20 since President Bush announced he was rescinding the Executive Order banning additional off-shore drilling (from $4.01/gal on July 14 to $3.81/gal on August 4).

Of course, this could in part be attributed to changing demand habits, like less driving and driving more fuel-efficient cars. (And, hey, I did my part. Last month, I unloaded by 21/mpg 1996 Ford Ranger for a 31/mpg 2008 Hyundai Sonata.) Yet, could it also be that speculators see the President's move to lift the off-shore drilling ban has signalled to speculators that the supply relative to demand could increase, thus making oil futures a less attractive speculative investment?

Congressman McCaul's statement on the issue echos this thought: "Opening the OCS [outer continental shelf] and ANWR for drilling will signal our country's commitment to produce more oil. The markets will respond to this committment and gas prices will fall short term."

Maybe if Congress would get back to work and rescind the Congressional ban on off-shore drilling, we'd see even more significant decreases in gasoline prices. Lord knows my family's budget would welcome the reduction in this expensive line item. As it is, assuming about 2000 combined miles driven/month, and an average of 27 mpg between our two vehicles, the recent price reduction above has already saved my family $21/month. Let's say Congress does lift the ban and prices drop another $.30/gallon. That would end up saving my family $44/month versus no action on the governmental offshore drilling bans. While $44 may be a package of cheap feta cheese to Al Gore, to my family that's good money!

And, thus, there seems to be some understated acknowledgement of the virtues of drilling by the local MoveOn crowd.

Local MoveOn coordinator Bill Hamm, pictured above, said that increased off shore drilling would yield "no results for 10 years and the idea it would have any immediate effect [on oil prices] is silly". Yet, Mr. Hamm later admitted he would "agree with Paris Hilton's approach" and allow for limited off shore drilling. The Paris Hilton approach, as documented in this spoof campaign ad, advocates for limited off shore drilling with strict environmental oversight.

Well this is a conundrum, isn't it. On one hand, the group puts forth all sorts of talking points against "gimmicks like drilling." On the other hand, they're for "limited drilling". That's not a "gimmick"?

But more to the point, why is it that that the ideas of a celebutant gag video would have more positive impact on my family's budget than MoveOn.org's combined, documented energy solutions?

Is John McCain a VitW Reader?

2008-08-01T22:02:00.002-05:00

From an AP story today, John McCain recently spoke to the Urban League and had this to say:

"My opponent talks a great deal about hope and change, and education is as good
a test as any of his seriousness," he said. "If Sen. Obama continues to defer to
the teachers unions instead of committing to real reform, then he should start
looking for new slogans."

As noted in a previous VitW post, the school choice issue offers McCain an opening with Hispanics. Going to the Urban League, which is predominantly black, with this message might be a little off kilter, but I'm encouraged that he is taking this heretofore controversial issue to Democrat core constituencies.

King of Preen, Lord of Hordes

2008-07-25T08:57:00.004-05:00

Brit Skewers the Obamassiah World Tour

TimesOnline columnist Gerald Baker has a hilarious parody of the media's beyond-fawning treatment of Barack Obama's overseas trip. Money quote:

And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child's very presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light.

And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their uranium swords into civil nuclear energy ploughshares.

Read the whole post.

Jihadist Market Manipulation

2008-07-22T10:19:00.007-05:00

Islamist Radicals Working To Implement New Golden Rule: He Who Has the Gold, Makes the Rules

While liberal pols' and journalists' antagonist in their ongoing demon of the week drama is currently oil speculators, other more insidious market actors could be in action causing deeper and more lasting harm.

According to a recent post on the Terror Finance blog by Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen, the war on Islamic Fascism should also include an understanding of Shari'a finance and its role in subverting Western economies. Money quotes:

Rising oil prices and the West's dependency on Middle East oil, combined with willful blindness and political correctness, provide a surge of petrodollars, making financial and economic jihad so much easier to carry out. Moreover, according to Shari'a, Muslims hold all property in trust for Allah. Therefore, under the Shari'a, all current and historic Muslim acquisitions everywhere, including the United States, belong to the ummah, in trust for Allah.

So, if high oil prices aren't enough to convince you to support domestic oil production, maybe the threat of our sworn enemies using proceeds from $4/gallon gas against us will. While all Muslims may not uphold the command to hold property in trust for Allah, enough might to work implement the jihadist market menace.

[Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Banna] viewed finance as a critical weapon to undermine the infidels---and “work towards establishing an Islamic rule on earth.” He was first to understand that to achieve world domination, Muslims needed an independent Islamic financial system to parallel and later supersede the Western economy.

As markets globalize and national and regional economies begins mixing with one another, the potential exists that a purposeful, concerted effort to influence Western companies' and governments' in favor of jihadist ideology:

The NASDAQ acquisition, purchases of over 52 percent of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and 47.6 percent of OMX (Nordic exchange), and vigorous expansion of Shari'a finance all steadily implement al-Banna's plan to spread and ultimately impose Shari'a worldwide.

Meanwhile, US elected officials, whom you might expected would be informed and vigilant about such matters, seem pollyanna-ishly unawares:

Responding to opponents of Bourse Dubai's then-proposed acquisition of 20 percent of NASDAQ in September 2007, [Rep. Barney] Frank quipped, “In the ports deal, the concern was smuggling something or someone dangerous. . . . What are we talking about here”--smuggling someone onto a stock exchange? Similarly, [Sen. Bob] Bennett said, “Dubai is making a purchase on the open market of an asset that's for sale. What's wrong with that?”
Although Senator Bennett is correct---buying portions or all of NASDAQ is legal, and NASDAQ regulations could not be changed without Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval---Bourse Dubai's Shari'a influence in the heart of the U.S. markets and economy should have been of grave concern.

Read the whole post.

Let Them Eat Yellow Cake

2008-07-21T16:24:00.007-05:00

Texas and US Lag Unlikely Player in Nuclear Energy

This morning's Wall Street Journal piece on nuclear energy by William Tucker is one of the most cogent yet easy to understand stories I've seen on the virtues of nuclear energy and the arguments of nuclear opponents. Money quotes:

While we may be at a turning point, one enormous question still hangs over this revival of nuclear power in the U.S.: Who is going to pay for it?.... the capital will have to be raised from Wall Street. But not many investors are willing to put up $5 billion to $10 billion for a project that could become engulfed by 10 to 15 years of regulatory delay -- as occurred during the 1980s.

Of course, the inevitable "regulatory delay". Who can blame investors for not wanting to fork over $10B of of hard-won money on the vague hope that some regulatory bureaucrats will get off their keister in time to get a decent ROI. I'm all for proper environmental protections, but does it take 15 years to get those issues figured out? Surely somebody, somewhere in the world has figured out how to responsibly handle nuclear waste and accelerate their nuclear energy development.

...the problem of radioactive waste has been absurdly exaggerated. More than 95% of the material in a spent fuel rod can be recycled for energy and medical isotopes. ... France has proved that reprocessing works. With a fully developed nuclear cycle, the French now store all the waste from 30 years of producing 75% of its electricity beneath the floor of one room at La Hague in Normandy.

The French?!? Oh Lord, don't tell me the French have more cajones than we do when it comes to standing up to the absurd exaggerations of environmentalist scare tactics.

If we are now going to choose nuclear power as a way to resolve both our concerns about global warming and our looming energy shortfalls, we are first going to have to engage in a national debate about whether or not we accept the technology.

It would have been nice if, decades ago, someone in the political world would have seen the trendlines in global energy demand and started carrying the torch for the clean and efficient nuclear option.

Thankfully, here in Texas we have such a person in Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams.

I had the pleasure of hearing Comm. Williams at the RightOnline Summit last Saturday. After hearing his talk, I'm conviced that the solution to the energy problem is.... Michael Williams. Simply channel his energy and light half the cities in Texas ;-)

But seriously, in addition to being one of my favorites for future statewide office, Comm. Williams has long advocated for expanded development of domestic nuclear energy. According to the Railroad Commission website, the US produces 20% of its electricty from nuclear energy and Texas produces 8.8%. Not bad, but we're still 66.2% behind the French!

RightOnline Tweet and Other Bloggers' Thoughts

2008-07-20T17:31:00.006-05:00

Here is my "Twitterized" (140 characters or less) takeaway from the RightOnline Summit:

Build community. Unify TX right blogs w/new tools. Microtarget. Fight global
warming hysteria. Engage local media. Focus -> quality content.

Other bloggers in attendance are alos posting their post-conference thoughts:

Hot Air: Michelle Malkin talk recap - Hit hard, hit fast, hit often.
Urban Grounds: Marvels at the networking opportunities and the indescribable coolness of having Michelle Malkin tell you she reads your blog.
Lone Star Times: Laments the paucity of mini-bars in the hotel rooms, pioneers webified Twittering, and lauds the Sam Adams Alliance (how can a movement go wrong with a patron organization named after a beer?)
Travis Monitor: Highlights takeaways from the global warming and youth media sessions, among others.
Patriot Writer: Posts the inspiring video of Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater produced for the summit.
The American Mind: Chronicles old MSM journalist's fear of dimunitive RightOnline bloggers and links to the Obama quote machine.
Right Wing Sparkle: Event pics.
Blue Dot Blues: Copious speaker and session summaries
Acton Institute: Heady stuff on the intersection of blogging, politics, and the Christian faith.

More later.

ROL LiveBlog: Global Warming - The Cost of Climate Change Hysteria

2008-07-19T16:19:00.008-05:00

After two days of new media oriented sessions, I need to have

Cathie Adams:
Went to Kyoto and quickly figured out it was all about politics.

"Global Warming" is now "Climate Change". Models can't work sun, wind, ocean currents into climate change simulations.

Kyoto delegate admitted it had nothing to do with the environment and everything to do economics.

17k scientists are saying that there is "no convincing evidence" of global warming.

Bali Conference: Al Gore claims in two years, the US will be "somewhere else"...hints at Dem administration

Already spend $16.6B in federal tax subsidies for "green" energy. $24/unit of solar power, $23/unit for wind, clean coal $20/unit (which all = less than 1% of energy produced).

Windfall profits tax on oil companies? 1980-1986 already had it...now were twice as dependent on foreign oil. Bummer! "Drill here, drill now, pay less!"

Iain Murray, from the Competitive Enterprise Institute
Fled Great Britain 10 years to Virginia when the Tony Blair Gov't was elected....Brits now looking at carbon emissions ration.
Author of "7 Really Inconvenient Truths" ....it's all a hoax to let them take over your life. They're following the DDT model in 1960's, now many people in Africa have died b/c DDT is not allowable.

See "Global Warming: What should Texas do?" for TPPF
Concl:

Science inclusive
Expand capacity
Cap and trade is a scam

Obfuscation of climate science: recent NOAA press release was propagandized: Was this June the 9th warmest or 113 coolest? How are they being measured? See http://www.wattsupwiththat.com/ and http://www.icecap.us/ for more details. Also, check out globalwarming.org

Affordable energy brings immense benefits: Wind and solar in 10 years per Al Gore. Need $88B subsidy for Wind/Solar to replace oil/gas/coal/nuclear. When the price of energy goes up, the burden often falls on the poor.

Emissions: Europe and Kyoto countries are worse emitters than the US since 1997. Plus, costs of compliance exceed the costs of the steady state.

Phil Kerpen:
Cap and trade "hidden tax": $1.2trn tax increase over 7 years. Both McCain and Obama support it....ugh! So, see NoClimateTax.com. Pledge you won't hide a big tax hike in an environmental bill.

EPA may do these initiatives through rule making, without Congressional and Executive direction. Even commercial kitchens could be subject to it. See the public comment section on http://www.epa.gov/ or http://www.regulations.gov/. Blog on this and distribute now! Comment ASAP!!!
Here's the URL: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/CE6311A041013ACE85257483005CDD68

Also, see "The Great Global Warming Swindle" by the BBC.

See also http://planetgore.nationalreview.com/ and http://www.cei.org/

Should look at "no regrets" mitigation steps, like changing air line routing from beacon-based to GPS-based.

ROL LiveBlogging: New Media vs Old Media

2008-07-19T15:08:00.008-05:00

Sherry Sylvester: There is no counter in Texas for liberal local press bias.
The biggest tilt is in local papers. AAS 2X as likely to put positive story about Dem Congressman than a Republican.

We don't be need to beat the NY Timees, we need to beat the Statesman and the Star-Telegram.

Dan Gainor: Lots of layoffs in MSM organs. But traditional journalism isn't going away, they're only shifting to the online world. So, blogs will be competing more with MSM online offerings.

So, work to build and protect credibility: be right on the facts. So, have someone to help proof my content.

MSM still burdened by old bureaucratic, unionized mindset.

Know your opposition: Have files on all the local editors and reporters in my local market. Use what they do for my benefit: call them on biased content.

Douglas Kirk
What is the difference b/t old and new media

Who
Old looks at subscribers, new looks at traffic

What
Old has books/mags by topic new has communities by topic

Where
Old: Usually local, regional, national by specialty new: global, with some local specialization

When
Old: periodically: monthly, weekly, daily, etc. More archivable New: immediate, archving is catching up, easier to retrieve. Google teaming with with small town publishers to capture, index small town newspapers, currently scanning and indexing many years worth of small town papers

Why
Both: want to change the world

The revolution: Old media hard to access, new media is much easier. Old media the danger is the bias, danger with the new media is possible inaccuracy.

Old media, had too much control, but getting easy. New media has too much liberty, now more control is beginning to emerge.

Rumors of the death of the MSM are greatly exaggerated

Q. Is the banner ad business model sustainable?
A. Some model is sustainable:

Small central office, with distributed workforce (not paying for overhead)
Sugar daddy/Soros approach, run MSM outlet as a non-profit....they become even more liberal

When we're blogging, might think about buying MSM ads

Q. Texas Muslims, praying imam flap in Texas Senate

A. Bloggers should work with small town papers to get the story out, start making yourself a source; call/contact bloggers going off on the other side of the issue (building the relationship, getting to know the person, helps diffuse issues)

Next steps:

see http://www.businessandmedia.org
also see http://www.smalltownnewspapers.com, see Bulverde Standard (with Freedom Fighter in the subject line)
Get permission to put small town paper editors on your emailing list, ping them with serious newstories of local interest

ROL LiveBlogging: The Map to Victory - How the Right can win online

2008-07-19T13:35:00.009-05:00

Sorry for my poor resolution pix...time for a new digital camera

Maggie Thurber: As elected official, had trouble getting her message out, at first.

Ken Emanuelson: We have some big policy victories in our column. But consider that we haven't parlayed that success to electoral success.

We do not need new conservatism, but a reinvigorated conservative movement.

David Kralik: Works for Newt Gingrich at American Solutions. Four points to consider:

1. Issues: Pick issues we know US ppl will support. Look for uniting, positive issues. See Platform for the American People on the American Solutions site.

2. Organizing: Study the left in their organizing.

3. Look to the private sector for net strategies, not political consultants

4. Need long term approach to winning online: approaches and technologies

Ryan Gravatt: We're not winning online. Dems are reaping what they sowed in 1998 w/MoveOn.org

RNC is targeting voters with an average age of 55 years old

Dean's problem was not "the scream", but not knowing what to do with all their people quickly enough

Winning online = finding ppl who want to do things in new online world that bolsters old world tactics

Blog alliance: Need to create an aggregation source to enable easy cross posting and cross referencing.

Emanuelson:

DraftFredThompson.com: Created the "FredHeads" and ID'd nationwide supporters with forum for cross-communication. Post-Thompson candidacy, rolled over into state/local advocacy. See reagancoalition.org. Get email AND zip code. Enables easy identification of like-minded people nearby, sub-divided by congressional and legislative district....Helps connect activists with each other.

Kralik:

Measurements of success: cannot succeed unless you measure. ID the key metrics: unique visitors, money raised, how many members, email response rates.

Comments and anecdotes on the site

Getting people to offline events or starting own online presence

Gravatt:

Style vs. substance. Marketing of a website gets readers in the door to hear the substance. Also need to have easy navigation

The appeal of Obama's site are the tools that make them feel like they are participating in the campaign.

For us, once people are in the site, need to give them a reason to stay and/or return. So, be succinct in writing.

Also, give visitors easy tools for action: like "Email this page", "Click here to contribute", etc.

Measure how well you're communicating, driving discussion.

What is a good rate for email opening: 25%. Better to measure click throughs: how many people took the requested action?

Don't tell people exactly what to say, but give the basic talking points and ask them to adapt to their local constituencies....need to allow for more independence on the part of individual message bearers.

See "Wisdom of the Crowds" by James Ciricki (sp?). See Drupal, Ning, Joomla ...enable user-generated content.

American Solutions is starting user-generated solutions lab.

Also, read "Army of Davids" by Glenn Reynolds

Getting more action from readers: give them a call to action and a follow up step. "Now that you did it, what happened?" with an easy (and, if necessary, semi-anonymous) feedback channel.

Liked the ReaganCoalition.com microtargeting tools: Get email and zip code for potential activists to enable microtargeting offline events.

ROL LiveBlogging: Michelle Malkin

2008-07-19T12:45:00.005-05:00

A diminutive laugh machine.

McCain Vs. Obama: One of these things is not like the other!

We don't do what we do to get R's elected, we do it for the set of principles we want to pass on to the next generation.

Why Michelle Malkin is so passionate about blogging:

She's very familiar with MSM rejection, but new media allows ample room for new voices. We're no longer beholden to the elite gatekeepers.

So, be grateful for our opportunities and avoid the inferiority complex among the conservative blogosphere: Remember our many significant victories: Rathergate, Faux-tography, Harriett Myers. Keep watching, writing, blogging, advocating.

Also, look at the current conservative blogger efforts at home and overseas

Pro-military, anti-anti-war
American SheepDogs
Anti-jihadist efforts
John Murtha v Bill Russell. MSM won't talk of Russell, so keep up the blogging and web 2.0 activity

Consider LtGen Chesty Puller pearls of wisdom

Now we can shoot at those bastards from every direction
Hit hard, hit fast, hit often

Every blog post helps save this constitutional republic.

RightOnline LiveBlog: Saturday morning session

2008-07-19T09:10:00.024-05:00

I'm here liveblogging with Robb Wilson, the Samuelson's, and David Shieh from the Austin American Statesman.

"The program will begin in one minute. " I wish I had that deep, resonant, non-regional-radio-voice.

The morning session boasts an all-star line up, though I've been informed that many are neocons...I'll be on guard.

Now showing the AFP anti-earmarks video. It's encouraging to see that grass-roots lobbying and activisim can have an impact.

Tim Phillips

Off the bat, the first message is showing the media that citizens can stand up against overzealous government.

It's also to send a message to elected officials. AFP summits help right thinking pols will know they is a constituency for them.

The third reason is to educate, train, motivate, inspire grassroots activists....and bloggers.

Global warming (or is it "climate change"?) is the biggest threat to our freedom 'cause it means:

Massive new tax increases. $1.2 trillion federal tax increase over a decade. Yee-ouch! Also, look at gas and energy price increases, too.
Lost jobs. $1.2M lost jobs, not just in energy sectors either. Less freedom. We already have to deal with the growing alphabet soup of gov't regulators. Now come the energy police....

Higher taxes result in lost jobs and less freedom: In a perverse way, liberals are proving the trickle down effect.

Peggy Venable

Likes melding conservative activism and online world. Lone Star Times outpaces Burnt Orange Report on total traffic ...heh

Have the potential to get ahead online overnight....Need to communicate new messages using the new media.

Stephen Moore

A gun club newby....welcome to the club Mr. Moore. He got outshoot by little girls ;-)

But shooting guns is a God given right as is driving 75 mph in western states.

These and other freedoms are in great peril right now because of

1. Taxes: Mr. Moore is not a fan of Jimmy Carter. He's quoting numbers....speaking my language: Top 1% of income earners pay 40% of taxes. Top 10% pay 72% of taxes. All Americans above the median pay 97.1% taxes. Under Obama, the highest tax rate would be 53%....up to 60% in NY, CA, NJ.

Yet, in the rest of the world, low taxes and free market policies are sweeping the rest of the world, especially sub 20% flat taxes. I guess Reagan was right!

Spain, Sweeden, France (France) all cutting taxes.

Ireland 48% -> 12% corporate tax rate

Capital is always Dublin Ba. Dum. Ba. Cha.

In 2010, estate tax goes from 0% back up to the 50% or whatever....not a good prospect for older Americans that year.

2. Global warming hoax: "The greatest canard every played on the American people." It's hard to get accurate, or accurately portrayed, data on global temperatures.

Polar bears 25k to 50k...they're not going extinct.

$1.2 trillion

3. No bailouts! The mortgage companies got themselves into this mess, they can get themselves out. Amen brother.

Lots of work to do to protect and advance prosperity.

Grover Norquist

15 years w/o a tax increase.

On one side, many people just want to be left alone: Tax payers, property owners, business owners, 2nd amendment advocates, practicing faith community. So, in spite of other difference, these groups can coalesce around being left alone.

On the other side: trial lawyers, coercive utopians, the two-sided welfare regime...all with a long list of mandates for tax-payers supported goodies.

So, we need to restrain the tax-payer money going to them, then they'll have to turn on each other.

Discussion on branding: Republicans who vote for tax increases are the "rathead in the Coke bottle": it hurts the Republican brand. So, tax issue should help with the election this fall.

Obama tax scheme is going to hurt 2/3 of voters who own stock.

See http://www.congressionaleffect.com/: Investments when Congress out of session 1.6% market return vs 17%.

Vision is to get every government check written documented online.

Merrie Spaeth

Swift Boats Veterans for Truth proved to John Kerry that paybacks are hell. So what's relevant today:

1. Power of negative words: Don't repeat and deny!

2. There is a role for storytellers. Need to tell true, compelling stories that characterize the entrepreneurial spirit. So, our assignment this election is to do what you can, where you are, with what you have.

Michael Williams

The solution to the energy problem is Michael Williams. Simply channel his energy and light half the cities in Texas ;-)

Still a friend of Bush....Pray for the President.

Talk on blogging community. He's been blogging since 2005.

But seriously, on energy

1. More supply is a good thing. Liberals kinda' understand this: they
With almost with a street preachers zeal..."Drill for the benefit of America".

Don't put our food in our cars! Drill on East coast, West coast, ANWR, whereever we have energy within our grasp at home.

2. Continue with natural gas, coal. We have a 200 year supply in Texas alone! But isn't coal "environmentally unsound." Well, Comm Williams is partial to black stuff ;-)
Seriously, can do clean coal.

3. Fire up the Nukes! We can safely store the spent nuclear fuel.

God bless Michael Williams!

John Fund

Pessimism is due to "lame stream media" filtering. But can't be guided by their spin and defeatism. Smart libs know theirs is a minority view. The polling on small gov't vs big gov't same as 2004, so there's potential to turn things around.

So what to do? Ignore MSM spin, attempts to demoralize. "They fear campaigns in the fall like dracula fears a cross". Heh

In fall campaigns, where voters start paying attention: in last 10 pres. elections, Dems lead in Gallup poll 8 of 10 times in July, only 3 won office. 1976, 33 pts to 2 pts down, and others. Only once, since 1944 have Dems gotten 51% of vote in the presidential election. All is not lost, so stop acting like a big wuss.

Don't wait around till 2010. If they have all 3 branches, they'll change the rules in their favo

Card check elections: no more secret ballot elections for union members
See Michegan court purging plan
Same day voter registration....gasps and sighs!
Felon voting
No excuse absentee voting
Campaign finance reform

So, man up!

The election is not over!
If not enthusiastic about beating Obama, get ready for not having power again for a long time

Elizabeth Ames Jones

Texas is rich in energy

30% of natural gas from Texas
Suprisingly, lots of uranium in coastal counties

Remaining oil and gas reserves, while mature, do exist and can be produced. So embrace new technologies, competitive market, responsible transportation and refining.

26 trillion cubic feet of natural gas known in Prudue Bay, plus 114 trillion more potentially.
300 bn cubic feet of natural gass per day produced from Barnet Shale

Technologies: Can use horizontal drilling

What about the future: Need to encourage nuclear, other alternative sources and conservation

Can't wait for government to solve this problem!

We lost because we did not stand for anything positive or constructive.

The Honorable Steve Lonegan

Talking against the entitlement state....because he's a victim of it.

Had eye disease then moved in with grandparents after death of father. Family never expected an welfare check.

Following college, totally lost eyesight, became client of NJ HHS agency.

Saw affirmative action putting him in a box post MBA school, made it hard to get a job.

So took up kitchen cabinent sales job. Liked the $$$ in the classified job posting. Became successful, eventually became presented opportunity to buy the business.

1995 ran for mayor and won in an upset.

Ended up as 3 term mayor with a budget lower than when he took over! (editorial note: this is real "change we can believe in!")

Can look to Founders for inspiration, but must look to the living for leadership.

The Honorable John Carter

Why pull together and defeat Obama....

Supreme Court recently upheld 2nd amendment
Liberal Dems trying to national oil industry

On energy

Liberal Dems want to tax people who want to look for oil and gas. Carter would drill through the hotel floor to get oil if it was here. Liberal Dems energy policy wouldn't get them to work tomorrow!

But we're winning the war on oil and drilling: President announcement for off shore drilling has reduced oil price $11/barrel in last week.

"We're not going to convince Nancy Pelosi because she's brain dead." But have won over some Dem colleagues by standing firm.

Erick Ericson

"It's great to be in Austin, and not be indicted by Ronnie Earle."

Need to stop being pundits and start being activists. See RedState.org: going local. So share your story of what is going on.

2010 is a big race because of upcoming reapportionment. This year's legislature will redraw the lines.

Can be the Samuel Prescotts, get our friends and families engaged.

The Honorable Michael Steele

What he learned from Senate run, can't please everyone, but can tick them all off at the same time. So, that's kinda' what happened in in 2006: R's failed to lead and uphold their principles.

Thus, an opportunity to stand again on principle: Wealth is created by individuals encouraged to take risks.

Likes the AFP them, but want's conservatives to live by their principles again.

Before we leave, today, should answer some questions:

How serious am I about rebuilding the conservative movement one person at a time

How committed am I to fiscal restraint

How committed am I to fight cultural relativism, fight for property rights, transparency in gov't and elections, to start acting on what I believe?

America has changed, but our principles haven't nor their proven effectiveness. We just need to "get our mojo back." Same issues motivate voters today as during the Reagan years.

Gov't should be restrained so as to not infringe individual freedom and responsibility

In this 2 year campaign, many have talked of change. So let's

Change education from gov't control to school choice
Change the tax code to encourage savings
Change energy policy: Drill, baby, drill
Win GWOT

Our best days are ahead of us!

Steele's mother sent him to private school and Johns Hopkins on $3.80/hr.

Take up the call to spread the message and stand against socialism and Marxism.

What am I prepared to push back on? What am I prepared to fight for? If you're not grasping it and moving forward, there's the door.

American will always be a place of opportunity: blog about it, talk about it, sing about it. Move arm in arm together.

ROL LiveBlog: Online Reputation Management

2008-07-18T15:48:00.007-05:00

Online Identify Management a form of Search Engine Optimization with William Beutler

"Search Engine" = Google, all other search engines run similar to Google

Need to get to the top. 1st three results get the most hits. Only 1/3 goes to the second position.

At most, some will go as far as the third page to find something.

Monitoring:

Google yourself
Set up Google alerts to see if anyone is talking about you, can receive via email and/or RSS. (BTW: Technorati.com not as good in blog search anymore)
Set benchmarks

Then, blog, twitter, use social networking accounts (see New Media Strategies)....throw content out there.

Google seem to favor blogs vs regular new sites: more cross-linking increase the credibility score.

Then, build out the online profile: LinkedIn, YouTube, FriendFeed, Flickr, RapLeaf, Naymz. Create accounts using my name as I want it to be searched. RapLeaf, Naymz take it a step further for online reputation management. FriendFeed aggregates the other sites.

Cross-post blog entries: Find allies where can comment or submit guest posts.

Use digg, magnolia, newsvine, delicious.com, stumbleupon to ID user use and tagging, as well as more content for Google to find.

Find something bigger than myself to which to connect.

Answer stories about you.

Use consistent names when commenting

Buy opponents names on Google to make their reputation management harder

Wikipedia: Own the topic; find one strategy and stick to it - have one person be the owner, preferrably one who is trustworthy, competent w/Wikipedia, and some "distance" from the client or campaign

Stay ahead of new platforms and technologies. Consider mahalo.com

Employers, voters, opposition will all "Google" you.

Memerandum.com (sp?): a good aggregator for political blogs - ID's blogs getting linked to. Good place to find what bloggers are talking about, contribute to the conversation, link and get links. Use it to build relationships with higher tier bloggers, but don't be a sychophant about it. Might track along with their content and write posts that build upon or relate to their posts.

Wikipedia: Check out the "Village Pump" forum to ID the guidelines that you really need to follow

ROL LiveBlog: New Media and the Conservative Movement

2008-07-18T14:33:00.011-05:00

Ralph Benko: "We're at the inflection point of a revolution."

NTU YouTube vids

Elizabeth Terrell on web 2.0 tools to learn

Tax Freedom Day song and vid: Uncle Sam eating my paycheck...nice visual
The song is funny, entertaining and makes the point in less than 3 minutes.

UStream.tv
Digital video stream
Includes a built in chat feature and archiving

Qik.com
Computer or phone vid streaming: great for streaming city council meetings on the phone

Seesmic = Twitter + YouTube. Post vids, get quick feedback.

Ralph Benko remarks
How to use these tools to win political battles? Don't use only for communicating a message. Must use to build community, make them simple direct, and action-oriented. See moveon.org example where a lot of people can do a little bit.

Post a Tsunami story, then have a "Contribute" button
Post a story on a bill, then show a link to contact your Congressman

Build partnerships, not just an audience.

See AFourP YouTube channel for Al Gore gas-guzzling entourage. Find and capture the daily hypocrisies of elites. Also, see TheNextRight.com.

Q. Libs are more agile with technology, how can we make a better use of web 2.0 technologies
A. We haven't had to be ahead online before. Should avoid duplication, but try to innovate for independent conservative thinkers.

See "How to Use the Web to Help the World" By Ralph Benko
Benko's Laws include:

Joseph Pulitzers Law: Put it before them briefly, clearly, picturesquely, accurately

Thomas Nast's Law and Boss Tweed's Complaint: Tweed - stop those d--- pictures! Use pix, vids

Arthur C. Clarke's 2nd Law: The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to venture slightly past those limits into the impossible

Limon Beecher's Law: No great advance has ever been made in science, politics, religion without controversy

Emma Lazarus' Law: Web can be the means to unleash the "imprisioned lightening" of the American people

Metcalfe's Law: The value of a telecom is proportional to the square of the number of users

Beinchini's Law of Viral Loops: If you create something people naturally enjoy, they will sell it for you. Then you become a public utility.

So, get the style clear, compelling, sexy. Make it hip to be conservative!

C/C Obama vs. McCain website: Lots of social network features on Obama site, like Twitters, Meetups. Sam Adams people have researched Obama, McCain sites. On top of that, many voters seem to be wrapping themselves up in his identify. Obama's site seems to make it sound like he cares about other's message, and let me tell you how it fits in with mine. It makes connections locally and socially.

A similar dynamic occurs in churches: newer churches focus on building community, small groups, etc.

Ron Paul supporter: Felt excluded, though agree on 90% of issues.

BTW: "Focusing on the 90% we agree on" has been a common theme in all the sessions I've attended so far....perhaps a pre-emptive maneuver to prevent a mini-Ron Paul Revolution at the conference.

Benko: Check out thedemocracyproject.ning.com. 3 classes of people

Spectators
Commentators
Players

The real battles played out in the nominating process, not necessarily elections. So, volunteer on the county committee.

ROL LiveBlog: Creating Quality Content and Traffic

2008-07-18T13:01:00.012-05:00

Hosted by Matt Sheffield of Dialog Media, formerly of RatherBiased.com

Why we're here: to have blogging enabled for activism

"Someone should do something" that's the activist impulse.

Know your site

What is the genre? Political, Personal.

Avoid schizophrenia

ID a focus area or a few focus area(s) to have the most impact. Concentrate on doing a few things well to distinguish yourself

Be a reporter to control the information and the debate. But also must be responsible and have facts to back up the story.

Originality: Find something that other people aren't saying. Do original stories, analysis, pix, vids, interviews....write about pols and bloggers will make them care about your.

Find way to plug into posting stream with other likeminded blogs hitting the same topic.

To get the word out, email links to reporters. They're lazy and will likely welcome sources of easy content. Write about:

Events
Public Meetings
Election Coverage

Use Twitter

To improve search engine score:

Use category tags on blogs
Use same phrase for same topic to improve search engine score
Use key words in the title tag
Surround search terms with teaser content to drive click throughs on search engine

Vids

Can be good supplement to content

Include maps/graphs to illustrate stories

Vids are high work/high reward actvity (be sure to rate vids as needed, low for libs, high for conservative clips)

Agenda for Blog Audience Generation

Organize
Connect: Find sites that want my content: blogivist.com, redstate.com, freerepublic.com, youtube.com, wikipedia on topics in which I'm interested (and have blog posts to link to), word content in a neutral-sounding tone and constantly visit and edit the page..."own" the wikipedia page
Report: Report new stuff! What are other people not talking about that's important? And get to know MSM reporters too, even if they're liberal, they can be good to get to know. Also, in the Web 2.0 world, sharing information is power.
Market: To boost traffic, write about/link to other bloggers, email original content to other bloggers (whole post, or maybe teaser content). Traffic expectation: 1/day and cross post to other sites: w/in 6 months, could get 1000 unique visits per day. Though there's more to blogging than just traffic, need to also think about influence close to home.

Time and content production: should post once per day....fit activism into your lifestyle. If crunched for time, may join group blog.

ROL LiveBlog: Sam Adams "Samsphere"

2008-07-18T10:19:00.025-05:00

Stream of Consciousness Brain Dump on the Samsphere session

Judging from the agenda, there are some promising themes to explore:

Intro: the SamSphere and Blogivists.com
Objectives, Strategies, Tactics
How the Other Half Lives
Building and Sustaining the Texas blogosphere
Blogivists and Wiki's

I. Introduction

SamSphere: community building, invite-only "jam session"

blogivists.com

II. Discussion #1

Group sharing session: The questions seem intriguing, but the format seems a little awkward...maybe I spend too much time online. It's not entirely clear which group I'm in. Could use a facillitator....but, like all good bloggers, we're beginning to self-organize.

How to make money with blogging? Need to make my blog part of something bigger. Should also discuss how to measure, monetize, and capture the value created by quality web 2.0 content.

Bulverde Standard publisher: Send him our blog links. Interesting perspective about how newspapers have a built-in editorial filter, but the web does not. Later, we should talk more about how to make web news and blogs a better, self-policing entity.

"My name is Harvey and I'm an alcoholic"...oops! Blogs to re-establish constitutional principles.

RightWingSparkle.com: blogging for the children ;-) Wants to influence her children.

YeahRightWhatever.com: Home schooling her kids, wants to influence them. Being conservative is not only a political exercise.

III. How the Other Half Lives

Emily Z.: why do this exercise...to start building community...."community is the soul of revolution". Good point. What are the ongoing, purposeful community-building activities we should engage in and who should do it?

Liberal bloggers are better at and started with community. They seem to be far more invested (emotionally, spiritually even) in politics. Can independent-minded conservatives, with jobs, coalesce in the same manner? How?

Thinking Globally, Acting Locally:

Develop clear overarching message
Select an idealistic, achievable goals
Make contact with like-minded person
Share your information
Connect and build your network
Identify specific big goal and move forward (or a lot of something small)

In order to change, one must be bold. "Well behaved people rarely make history." Think w/courage.

Send information on to friends, family, online associates....do "Drill here, drill now, pay less" on a local scale.

See americansolutions.com for contributing and bubbling up ideas.

Be a part of other mainstream communities: Wikipedia, YouTube.

Online Community Building

Helps counter isolation, online and face-to-face
Connect groups that are issue-oriented
Connect the groups to state parties

Why here, now? Why do we care?

Blogosphere is a sanity aid
Serve as rsc for other media

IV. Discussion #2: Building a Liberty Minded Online Community

Should start an Austin conservatives blogger alliance, make it more open, moderated but otherwise freewheeling like RedState.org.

Erick Ericson chat:

Libs have fewer bloggers, but more group blogs. Conservatives are more individually-reliant.

2008 is a big election, but 2010 is the really big election: That's when state legislatures will be reapportioned. So, now's the time to organize. \

See the Georgia example: local bloggers can have an impact.

Cross post to RedState, TownHall, even local content....Add to the conversation!!!

Nic Hall: Online ID managment

Be sure to make online personas the same across social networking communities and applications

What's the attraction of Blogivist.com

Community
Support
Recognition

Wiki's: Use them to aggregate and evaluate content on a particular topic.

Check out UrbanGrounds post and pix on this session here: Good resolution pix, tell-it-like-it-is commentary.

Ballotpedia.org and Judgepedia.org are also useful research tools.

Sunshine Review: Could be a useful tool for digging deeper into government activities and ranking their (mostly inadequate) websites.

Thoughts on the RightOnline Conference

2008-07-18T00:21:00.008-05:00

Today marks the beginning of the first RightOnline summit, a confab of conservative and right-leaning libertarian bloggers from around Texas and the nation, convening in Austin on June 18-19.

The RightOnline home page says: "RightOnline will serve as a meeting place for the free enterprise movement, focusing on how we can more effectively leverage the power of the internet and work together to achieve our common goals. "

To better understand web 2.0 technologies and build the Texas conservative online community, I propose that the the issues below more thoroughly explored at the conference:

Why do we blog? What needs are being met by blogging? How can the broader Texas conservative blogging community address those needs to increase the community's numbers, quality, and influence?
Community building: Should there be some intentional shepherding of the Texas conservative blog community? If so, what form would it take?
Unified online presence: Is there some aggregation portal (like a community blog populated by RSS feeds from member blogs) that could serve as a community rallying point and clearing house of quality content from Texas conservative bloggers (similar to the RedState.org model)?
Multimedia authoring: I really need a primer on how to create quality podcasts and streaming video offerings, as well as integrating them with other media, like blogs and wiki's.
Credibility: How is it built, maintained, and lost in the web 2.0 world?
Influence: How can the community of Texas conservative bloggers influence the broader media and public policy? How can we learn, analyze and disseminate goings-on at the Texas Capitol?
Sustainability: What would be needed to ensure the Texas conservative blogging community continues creating a critical mass of compelling content and increasing its reach?
Monetization: Related to sustainability, is there a business model that would help make the conservative alternative media presence more robust and self-sustaining? How can consistent, quality content producers (be it blogs, podcasts, video, etc.) capture some of the value produced by their efforts?
Next Steps: What should we do between now and the general election in November and the beginning of the Texas legislative session in January?

Also, for some principles on user generated content, see this post from the editor of OhMyNews.com: 10 Preconditions for the Value of User-generated Content

Am I asking the right questions above? Are there others that should be addressed? Please add your thoughts and, even better, links to your blog posts on any of the issues raised above in the comments section of this post.

More later....

Choice Words (and Numbers)

2008-07-16T11:38:00.012-05:00

School Choice an Hispanic Opening for Texas GOP?

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal carried a story on the opportunity John McCain has to make in-roads with Hispanic voters: School choice. Money quotes...

Fifty-two percent of Hispanic voters have a favorable view of school choice, according to the poll, while only 7% had an unfavorable view. When asked about vouchers pecifically, 32% expressed a favorable opinion compared to 13% unfavorable.

Unexpected numbers for sure and definitely at odds with the teacher's lobby, one of the Democrats' core constituencies.

But where the poll really gets interesting is on school choice as an electoral issue: 65% of those surveyed reported that they would be more likely to support a candidate for office who supports school choice, including 35% who said they would be "much more likely." Only 19% said they would be less likely to vote for a pro-school choice candidate.

65% are more likely to support a candidate who supports school choice?!? That is a game-changing number.

Hispanic voters are overwhelmingly young and have exhibited a propensity toward political independence -- and no issue is more tangible for them than educational opportunity. If Hispanics align their voting with the educational interests of their children, it could alter the electoral landscape -- not merely for this election, but permanently. (Emphasis added)

And as if that were not juicy enough, consider that, in Texas:

Nearly 25% of eligible voters are Hispanic (nearly 3.6 million total potential voters)
Nearly 63% of vote-eligible Hispanics are under 45 vs 52% for the overall population
Hispanics are projected to become a majority sometime between 2025 and 2035

1/4 of Texas voters, at the family stage of life, will be the majority within a generation: Will someone please call the Texas GOP and let them know a big opportunity has just dropped in their laps?

Why I Left Austin for Cedar Park

2008-07-15T11:19:00.015-05:00

Ideas have legs. Unfortunately for local politicians, so do most citizens.

It's been a year of life changes for the my family, including marriage, a new job in different part of town, and our first child on the way. Thus, my wife and I were faced with a decision about where we want to reside for the next chapter in our lives.

My fashionable southwest side bungalow was too small and too far away from work and family, so we had to undertake a move. Furthermore, the weirdness of south Austin was a little too present in my old neighborhood. Booming car stereos, bizarre lawn ornamentation, the occasional transient, six cars per house in some cases, and generally careless attitude of some residents may seem quirky or even chic for a young person aspiring to urbane hipness. But for my money, those items are deal killers when it comes to raising a family.

Thankfully, God opened a door to move to a charming house in culturally conservative, southeast Cedar Park, just northwest of Austin. As our home search progressed, we were presented with decisions that brought into sharp relief the differences that exist between municipalities. The decision makers at city hall have tremendous power to shape the lifestyle and environment of the lowly property owner and resident.

Our target neighborhoods were quickly narrowed down to two: Forest Oaks in southeast Cedar Park and Avery Ranch in far northwest Austin. Separated by only Brushy Creek Road and a couple of miles, at first blush the two neighborhoods are very much alike: similar location, both close to the popular Brushy Creek Lake Park (like Lady Bird Lake without the bums), similar demographics, both in Leander ISD.

However, an analysis of property taxes reveals an important difference: comparable houses in our price range in the Forest Oaks are taxed at an average rate of $2.10/square foot versus an average rate of $2.56/square foot in Avery Ranch. Both neighborhoods are in the same school district and in Williamson county. Therefore, for a 2100 square foot house, that comes out to a $964.35/year or $80.36/month premium for the privilege of living within Austin city limits. That's over 20 gallons of gasoline/month!

The difference can no doubt be attributed to the City of Austin's proclivity for incrementally bumping up property taxes through fashionable referendums for questionable school improvements, the largley unaccountable county health district, and stealthily gaming the property tax equation by slightly reducting the tax rate but dramatically increasing property valuations.

And I'm not encouraged that the Austin City Council will be able to restrain itself from further gorging itself on city property owners' bank accounts. City leaders have been signalling their appeasement radical environmentalists for several years. More recently, they've been trying to put this collectivist worldview into action by imposing "point of sale" restrictions on property owners trying to sell their properties that require several thousand dollars of "green" upgrades before a house can be certified for sale for the supposed cause of "protecting the environment". A recently elected city council member bragged she would "Support the City's Climate Protection Plan and ensure that an inclusive stakeholder group develops future energy efficiency standards. " The past, present, and future omens are seeming very favorable to radical ambitions.

Therefore, I assess that the risk of increasing local tax burdens, even in the face of increasing gas and food costs, is too high in Austin. So, for the benefit of my current and future family, I chose the Cedar Park neighborhood even though it is slightly further away from work than the Austin neighborhood. How about that? The Austin City Council's kowtowing to environmental radicalism is encouraging suburban sprawl.

God Blessed Texas...

2008-03-27T10:01:00.009-05:00

...With Affordable Housing and a Good Economy

Seen in an AP story on Yahoo News this morning:

"Four Texas metropolitan areas were among the biggest population gainers as Americans continued their trend of moving to the Sun Belt in 2006 and 2007, according to Census Bureau estimates to be released Thursday. ....

"People are running away from unaffordable housing, from the economic slowdown," said Karl Eschbach, a state demographer in Texas. "I would expect Texas to stay at the top of a slowing game." ....
According to figures compiled by Eschbach, 16 percent of Americans who moved to other states between July 2006 and July 2007 came to Texas, which led the nation for the second straight year in that category.

This story highlights why it is important to fight the good fight for limited government, individual freedom and responsibility, free market policies, and traditional values at the state house and city hall. By keeping state and local taxes relatively low, encouraging people to take care of themselves, fighting off the most onerous environmental regulations, and enabling developers to build homes, Texans have created a place where other people want to live, work, and start businesses.

Our exertions in blogging, organizing, advocating, for the traditional worldview in government are paying off! But it also shows what is at stake if we should slacken our resolve.

Primary Fairness

2008-03-13T14:19:00.002-05:00

I've posted on See Ya Dubya on the call for counting Michigan and Florida. Take a look and check it out.

Admnistration Bashing for Sport

2007-12-19T08:38:00.000-06:00

It's getting depressing reading the news these days, especially the comments made on some of the articles. It seems that there are a large number of people out there whose favorite sport has become Bush Bashing. And I'm fairly confident that it isn't just Democrats.

My question to all of the Bush-bashers out there is: Did you vote in the last Presidential election?

I'm guessing some didn't because the frequency and number of diatribes bashing the current administration would suggest that the number of Americans who voted in the last election should be sky high, but it wasn't.

I strongly hold to the view that if you don't voice your opinion of who should be leading us by casting a vote, then you give up your right to complain. So with 08 being a Presidential election year, and the primaries coming up, I say to all the current administration-bashers "Shut up or put up at the polls".

I realize that this comment may be somewhat inflamatory and could possibly result in Hillary running the country for another 4-8 years if enough people actually go to the polls and vote for her (which she shouldn't be allowed to do because she's already had her chance to run the country for 8 years and didn't take care of the things she's campaining on now - i.e. health care), but it's a matter of principles. It is not just a right, but a privilege to be able to vote on who leads our country.

Stepping off the soapbox now.

The Flag, God, and Political Posturing

2007-10-11T13:55:00.000-05:00

Apparently, the Stephen Ayers, Architect of the Capitol, now thinks he’s God. No wait, that’s wrong, he thinks he’s better than God, and is therefore not allowing references to God on flag certificates.

According to an article in the Washington Times, a man in Ohio recently requested to receive a flag that had flown over the Capitol. His son had hoped to present the flag and the accompanying certificate to his grandfather, an Army veteran. They wanted the certificate's inscription to read, in part: "In honor of my grandfather, and his dedication and love of God, country and family." However, when the flag and the certificate arrived from the Architect of the U.S. Capitol's office, which handles the Capitol flag program, the word "God" had been eliminated.

When asked about where he got the authority to do this, Ayers either could not or at the very least would not provide a clear justification. It’s a major abuse of power.

Ayers claimed he did it because he thought it might be offensive. Who does he think he is?!? That’s not his call to make. Even if for some reason, the recipient think it was offensive; that would be between the recipient and the person giving it. Ayers has no right to decide what others think will be offensive. The only person he should be deciding what’s offensive for is himself. Who made him king? It’s censorship pure and simple.

And what’s more he’s got the Speaker of the House defending him. More than 100 members of the House of Representatives, mostly Republicans, went to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a request to stop Ayers censorship and overturn the policy being used to omit references to God on the flag certificates. Instead of stopping it, she defended it. She claimed it wasn’t about religion but about what Ayers thought was appropriate. However, a spokesperson for the Speakers office said that a Democratic proposal might resolve the issue. Looks like Pelosi’s response was correct. It’s not about religion. It’s about politics.

Hat tip to Cleveland Ohio’s Plain Dealer who has a blog on Pelosi’s defense of Ayers that is really good.

While there is a policy that says “religious references” are not allowed, a reference to God isn’t necessarily a religious reference. Even the Speaker said it wasn’t about religion. So if it isn’t about religion, then common sense says that policy shouldn’t be applied. If it’s not about religion, and the quoted policy doesn’t apply, then what’s the problem with putting in the word God if requested? I mean really, references to God are inscribed on not only on our currency, but even on the Capitol building itself which the Architect’s Office is charged with caring for. The next thing you know, Ayers will be out there with a sandblaster removing the word God from that inscription too.

My initial thought on this was my favorite one-line expletive quote from Grey’s Anatomy: "SERIOUSLY!"

On a personal note to Travis: Congrats on your wedding this weekend my friend!

Squeaky Wheels & All That

2007-08-15T12:12:00.000-05:00

They say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. It’s no more true than in state budget appropriations. When Perry vetoed $154 million in health insurance for community college employees, he heard about it, and very loudly too. Community college officials across the state pitched a fit – a big one.

Perry’s response? Give them more money – at least $200 million - but regulate how it is to be used – only $92 million for health insurance. Next question… where to get the funds? The answer, from other agencies of course. And the kicker? Shhhh, let’s take it from those who will quietly take the hit. At least that’s the opinion of Ken Armbrister who is the governor's legislative liaison and a former state senator. According to today’s (8/15) Statesman, he testified yesterday that the money to return the vetoed funds to the community colleges should come from other budget items "without a very vocal constituency." How’s that for a kick in the pants? Play nice, and lose funding. Personally I can't believe he said it in a public setting. I mean really, even if you think that you don't say it out loud. That's just inviting trouble - and probably a bigger headache.

I’d say to the other agencies whose program funding will be proposed to be cut, take a lesson from the community colleges and throw a big hissy fit about it. If the funding is going to come from items without a 'very vocal constituency' then best make your collective voices heard loud and clear. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for increasing health insurance for the community college employees, but there has to be another way other than taking it from items already appropriated. Perry goofed in vetoing the health insurance funding – not to mention the way he handled the whole issue. Others shouldn’t have to pay for his mistake - again.

Exploitation of Fallen Soldiers is not Free Speech

2007-07-20T10:52:00.000-05:00

I was outraged when I heard that Austin artist Vincent Greene, and Arizona vendor Dan Frazier are using fallen soldiers to exploit their own purposes by placing the names on t-shirts they are selling. They have placed the names of fallen US soldiers on t-shirts to make political statements often against the wishes of the soldiers’ families. And now that laws have been passed in both Texas and Arizona placing some conditions on their actions they are challenging the laws as being unconstitutional, claiming what they are doing is a matter of free speech.

According to an Austin American Statesman article in today's paper, the fallen soldier bill that was signed by Governor Perry this week doesn’t say the names can’t be used, it says they can’t be used without permission from the families. People have no problem getting permission to use song lyrics, or other written words, however these two are upset because they are being asked to show some consideration for the families of fallen soldiers and ask permission to use the name instead of exploiting them for their own personal gain without any consideration for the families.

I’m all for free speech, but Frazier & Green’s speech isn’t free. It has a price. Those paying the price are the families of fallen soldiers. They pay in additional grief & anguish. Frazier says he’s doing it so other families won’t have to go through the same grief. Apparently though, he doesn’t care if he's adding to the grief of those already suffering. If they truly cared about the families of those serving in the armed services they should be trying to find ways to help ease the grief, not add to it. It’s one thing if he can get permission from the families, but he doesn’t care if he angers the families who don’t want the name of their fallen soldier listed, which is wrong in more ways than I can think of. I have family members in the armed services and I know if they fell, I wouldn't want someone using them to make a political statement and would do everything in my power to stop them.

If it’s important enough for them to want to make the statement, it should be important enough for them to get permission from the families. And if they truly care about the families of the soldiers they should honor those who don’t want their soldier’s name included on a t-shirt to be sold and not exploit the grief of others for their own personal gain.

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime - NOT!

2007-06-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

You know, every time I think I’ve seen the most ridiculous thing in the world something else comes up. In Illinois, students were denied their high school diplomas because their friends and family cheered in support of their accomplishments at the graduation ceremony. According to the AP article, the students can get their diplomas once they complete 8 hrs of public service.

Oh come on! Give me a break! If anyone should do the public service it should be those who were cheering, not the students. They had no control over the actions of others while they were walking across the stage. The Galesburg school district has gone overboard with their ridiculous and unreasonable punishment for students who did absolutely nothing wrong.

How do you say “Gig ‘em” in Arabic?

2007-03-19T12:13:00.000-05:00

Apparently the same way you say it in English. TX A & M is dedicating it’s new engineering building at it’s branch campus in Qatar (TAMUQ). It seems that the students there are fully embracing Aggie traditions, including “Gig ‘em”, according to an article in today’s Statesman. I must say I’m impressed with TAMU for their vision (wait a minute, let me shake that off. I’m used to aggie jokes instead). However, the Statesman article also indicates that there are some who aren’t necessarily impressed, in fact quite the opposite. Some believe that TAMU is aiding actual or potential enemies by teaching them engineering. I think that’s narrow-minded.

While I by no means, want enemies of the US trained, education at all levels is essential to overcome fear, hatred, religious intolerance, and racism. A UPI analysis piece in the Middle East Times addresses the challenges Qatar faces as it works toward improving their education system. It applauds them for trying to reverse the ‘brain drain’ in the region that’s come from the hostilities. In the past few years there have been assassinations and kidnappings of scientists, and academics which has caused others to leave because they fear they might be next. Qatar’s answer to this is Education City, which is the result of cooperation between Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, Middle East industries as well as US institutions of higher education. Their goal is to educate in the Middle East in order to help keep them in the Middle East. Many who come to the US for college, end up not returning home, thereby robbing them of valuable resources.

TAMUQ’s neighbors in Education City include Virginia Commonwealth University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Carnegie Mellon University, and Georgetown University.

Kudos’ to Qatar & TAMU.

Muslim Cartoon Caper, 2.0

2007-02-19T20:16:00.000-06:00

(HT to The MEMRI Blog and RCP) Another cartoon has surfaced that could be considered intolerant and insensitive to a culture's values. But this time, the offenders are of Middle Eastern origin, mocking the cultural mores of the West.

The Egyptian publication Al-Ahram recently posted a cartoon titled "'Hillary' and 'Obama' – A Woman and a Negro are Participating in the Campaign for the American Presidency". The caption said "This is another sign of the collapse of the Western civilization'."

Now let's see how the "American Street" responds to this blatant hate speech. I suspect it will be considerably more self-restrained than the infantile, anti-infidel Danish cartoon intifada.

Islamic Wifebeating 101

2007-02-09T18:24:00.000-06:00

According to prominent Muslim scholars, it's OK if she was beaten as a child

(Hat tip to Strategypage.com) It seems the Islamic faith is more...uh, "advanced" than us infidels on the topic of domestic tranquility. To learn more, click here.

And They're Off & Running...

2007-01-22T13:18:00.000-06:00

Over the last week, there have been 3 major presidential candidacy announcements (with several others in the wings waiting to see what happens): Senators Barak Obama, Hillary Clinton, & Sam Brownback.

Maybe it's the conservative Kansas girl in me, but I'm for Brownback. And not just because he refers to his journey to the White House at the "Yellow Brick Road" (which I personally found amusing). Yeah, sure some are saying that he's the underdog; and CCN's coverage of his announcement claimed he was overshadowed by Hillary's announcement (although I'm not sure it really did). In all fairness, though, CNN did include comments by others suggesting that he not be underestimated. I concur. He shouldn't be underestimated.

I'd love to see the nominees be Obama & Brownback. That would be a race worth watching.

The Making of a Radical

2007-01-15T07:41:00.000-06:00

Terror Groups Capitalize on Alienation, Need for Sense of Purpose

An essay posted today on the New Yorker website is worth a read. Azzam the American by Raffi Khatchadourian explains how one Adam Ghadan of rural California drifted from his hippy parents' farm, to death metal, to Islam, and finally to Al Qaeda propagandist. The post includes an insightful analysis on the path from confused teenager to latter day Joseph Goebbels:

"[forensic psychiatrist Marc] Sageman discovered that most Al Qaeda operatives had been radicalized in the West and were from caring, intact families that had solidly middle- or upper-class economic backgrounds. Their families were religious but generally mainstream. The vast majority of the men did not have criminal records or any history of mental disorders. Moreover, there was little evidence of coördinated recruitment, coercion, or brainwashing. Al Qaeda’s leaders waited for aspiring jihadists to come to them—and then accepted only a small percentage. Joining the jihad, Sageman realized, was like trying to get into a highly selective college: many apply, but only a few are accepted."

Terrorists seem to play to the yearning and searching for a bigger cause. This appeal is combined with a positive social experience.

"Sageman examined scholarship on other revivalist movements and found important parallels. He learned that doctrine played a negligible role for new converts to the Reverend Moon’s Unification Church, for example. “Many moved into the Moonie commune because of their attachment to group members while still openly expressing rejection of the Moon ideology,” Sageman wrote in his book, “Understanding Terror Networks,” which was published in 2004. But, once the converts experienced the social benefits of their new community, accepting their friends’ beliefs was much easier. Later, when asked by researchers about their conversion, most Moonies spoke of the irresistible appeal of the church’s religious outlook, and had forgotten their initial skepticism about the faith."

Read the whole post.

The Looming Snafu

2007-01-10T21:26:00.000-06:00

US Intel Incompetence Tops Al Qaeda Bumbling in The Looming Tower

How can a group of blundering, nomadic, social misfits pull off the greatest terror atrocity in history? It's easy when the good guys stay busy defeating themselves. Such is the message of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright.

Mr. Wright's thoroughly exhaustive tome moves crisply through the histories of the Al-Qaeda players, their success and failures, the valiant attempts by under-resourced FBI maverick John O'Neill, and the systemic, bureaucratic incompetence in US intel agencies that opened the door to 9/11.

Ironically, ultra-violent Al-Qaeda drew inspiration from a prim, bookish man named Sayyid Qutb. Qutb, who actually lived in the US during the 1940's, was struck by the licentiousness, superficiality, and spiritual vacuity he experienced here:

"Qutb saw a spiritual wasteland, yet belief in God was nearly unanimous in the United States at the time. It was easy to misled by the proliferation of churches, religious books, and religious festivals, Qutb maintained: the fact remained that materialism as the real American god."

This is a common theme through the book: young Muslims being radicalized in the West. Perhaps this insight can help answer the question lefty's bray about all the time: "why do they hate us": maybe it's because our collective spiritual life is so vapid and unsatisfying. However, religious chauvinism and cultural envy might have something to do with it as well.

"[the 1967 war with Israel]....was a psychological turning point in the history of the modern Middle East. The speed and decisiveness of the Israeli victory in the Six Day War humiliated many Muslims who had believed until then that God favored their cause. They had lost not only their armies and their territories but also faith in their leaders, in their countries, and in themselves. The profound appeal of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt and elsewhere was born in this shocking debacle. "

Himself a cultural chauvinist, Qutb is also legalistic, pompous, goody-two-shoes priss, an Islamic prototype of The Church Lady. Yet, Qutb's writings became the ideological foundation for Ayman Al-Zawahiri's and Osama Bin Laden's quest for purpose.

However, the movement often feels like a Koranic Keystone Kops. Afghans laugh at Bin Laden an his mercurial band of gung-ho jihadis as they bumble their way through makeshift military operations against the Soviets. Bin Laden often falls ill when hostilities break out. Bin Laden is bilked of millions in Sudan. An operative in the USS Cole attack oversleeps and misses videotaping the event. And in an episode that encapsulates the mutual ineptitude leading to 9/11, the FBI fails to capitalize on the egregious operational security lapse of Zacharias Moussaoui, the pilot training student who asked about New York City flight patterns and if cockpit doors could be opened during flight.

There were many other dots left unconnected due to the parochial turf fighting and institutional empire building amongst CIA, FBI, and NSA management. The CIA finds evidence that USS Cole bombers are connected to 9/11 operatives, but can't get the information to the FBI. The FBI spends millions of dollars and thousands of hours to replicate signals intelligence infrastructure the NSA already has but refuses to share. Minneapolis FBI agents aren't allowed to more fully investigate Moussaoui, thus leaving his connection to Al Qaeda money men unrevealed. This quagmire of constraint came about because of the Foreign Intelligence Services Act of 1978, additional Clinton Administration restrictions in 1995, and the natural risk aversion of government bureaucracies.

Tonight, President Bush delivered his revamped plan for victory in Iraq. Said the President,

"The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time. On one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation. On the other side are extremists who kill the innocent, and have declared their intention to destroy our way of life. "

The Looming Tower explains the motivations driving the extremists and highlights the institutional barriers to defeating them.

Babies: The Anti-Jihad

2006-12-10T18:48:00.000-06:00

A book review of America Alone

Demographics are destiny and the secret weapon in the War on Islamic Fascism is diapers and baby carriages. This is the thesis of America Alone by Mark Steyn.

This book is about worldviews and the actions that flow from them. If you believe your culture to be valuable, you will work to protect and propagate it. If you think your culture to be racist, bigoted, homophobic, or the latest academic smear du jour from your local multiculti humanities professor, why have any kids to keep it going or lift a finger to defend it from the latest gathering storm? Thus, the moral foundations of Western society have eroded under the drip drip drip of multiculturalism, moral relativism, and welfare state debilitation. Opines Steyn, "A suicide bomber may be a weak weapon, but not against a suicide culture."

In this case, the gathering storm is a cataclysm of declining birthrates in Europe coupled with rapidly multiplying, unassimilated Muslims moving in. In Europe, the storm is breaking and we can see the clouds on America’s horizon.

Partially at fault for this hideous state of alarm is the overweening nanny state, obese in Europe, but getting rather corpulent on this side of the pond as well. The big government mentality has the cumulative effective of fomenting dependence on the government teat, dulling the peoples’ will to take care of themselves, and subtly forestalling ascendance to true responsibility and adulthood. Unfortunately, it is not totally clear that the governments playing the school yard drug dealers are willing to stand up to the new school yard bully, the rising tide of Islamism. Indeed, the recent praying imams stunt was specifically designed to probe our governmental responses to Islamic fascism veiled in the robes of racial politics. How long will we keep passing the test?

Ultimately, this book is a blood transfusion for the Western will and a call to wage ideological war. Increasing troops in Iraq from 140,000 to 1.4 million won’t make a bit of difference if we don’t have the will to use them properly. The recent Iraq Study Group report, cobbled together by a cadre of risk-averse bureaucrats reflects the weak-willed wussy-ness of a certain segment of the American political establishment. Some Islamofascists have already recognized it as such. "The report proves that this is the era of Islam and of jihad," said Abu Ayman, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. Our job is to convince them otherwise, not just through the implements of war, but also in the marketplace of ideas and with the sword of the spirit.

The stakes of this contest are huge. Says Steyn:

"Americans and other Westerners who want their families to enjoy the blessings of life in a free society should understand that the life we’ve led in the Western world since 1945 is very rare in human history. Our children are unlikely to enjoy anything so placid, and may well spend their adult years in an ugly and savage world unless we decide who and what we are is worth defending."

Failure to do so will fail to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

Damned if they do; Damned if they don't

2006-12-08T13:33:00.000-06:00

I think it’s rather ridiculous that the Eanes Independent School District is being sued because they are following the law. By complying with the Texas Public Information Act, the school district is being sued for spending too much time and taxpayers money on open records request, according to an article in today's Statesman. Man, I’d hate to be the Eanes ISD Superintendent right now.

By law the school is required to respond to open records requests at no charge to the person making the request. However, it takes staff time and copying costs to do this which most people might not realize or take into consideration.

Apparently there have been a large number of open records requests, the majority of which come from only a couple of parents. The funny thing is that although the ISD is abiding by the law, the parents filing the majority requests are griping that the district isn’t complying with the law correctly (translation: how they think the district should respond). One claims hostility from the district and the other claims that Eanes ISD isn’t following the law.

OK, my response to these parents would be that it does take some time to fulfill the requests. They should be patient and exercise some discretion in what and how much they request. They should also be respectful of the staff who are there to serve them and they children, and they might have a better experience in receiving the records you request. Or if they don’t like the way the staff are handling the requests, they should get a job with the Eanes ISD and fulfill the requests the way they think it should be done.

And as far as the parent filing the lawsuit against the district, I’d say he has it wrong. He shouldn’t be suing the ISD, he should be suing the parents who are overloading the district with open records requests.

The Eanes ISD is only following the law as set by the State of Texas. So come on people, give them a break and the respect they deserve.

He Gathers The Lambs In His Arms

2006-12-02T09:25:00.000-06:00

Air Force Sargeant Pic Defeats Leftist/Insurgent Weapons of Mass Distraction

The picture below is of Air Force Chief Master Sargeant Jim Gebhardt.

According to a recent Air Force Times story:

"The young infant had received extensive gunshot injuries to her head when insurgents attacked her family killing both of her parents and many of her siblings. The chief had a knack for comforting her and they often would catch a cat nap together in a chair.
...

While deployed to Iraq, the chief tried to help out any way he could. He figured holding a baby that needed comforting that would free up one more set of arms that could be providing care to more critical patients.

"If I have an opportunity to help out, I look for that opportunity," he said. "They had more than enough to do."

The chief was not alone in volunteering at the hospital. There were more than 800 different volunteers at the hospital during the time he was deployed to Iraq, he said. Some of them volunteered so much that he mistakenly thought they were assigned to the hospital. "

In addition to the obvious act of individual compassion, this picture also symbolizes the greater mission currently undertaken by the coalition and coalition forces.

Armed forces come to the aid of a populace brutalized by tyrants and Islamic Fascists
Patiently and voluntarily bear with them through their healing process
Giving them (and the rest of the world) hope for a safer future

Ahh, those Freshmen

2006-11-10T09:15:00.000-06:00

I got the following from Travis's roommate Robb; and appreciating good satire, especially within the realm of higher education, I thought it was worth sharing, so we have a guest blog from Dr. Robb Wilson, professor of Chemistry:

Satire is a dying art form. Not because there are few who can do it, but because there are fewer and fewer who can recognize and appreciate it. As a lecturer at a large, highly respected state university, I feel it is part of my responsibility to challenge my students to think critically, and not just in my field (chemistry), but to apply those skills also to other areas. Therefore, with this in mind, I try to bring current events and outside things into class, usually at the beginning, and apply it in some way to chemistry, or vice versa. Thus, the day after Saddam was convicted, I brought it up at the beginning of class, saying I was glad he’d been convicted, and explained that I had been a civilian technical contractor in Baghdad when he’d been caught. I opened the floor of the class for a few minutes to any questions about the situation and about my personal experience over there, and I felt it was reasonably productive and informative for them.

So, today, being the day after the 2006 Congressional Elections and the turn over of the House and maybe Senate to the Democrats, I had an inspiration. I announced the following to my 275 freshmen in General Chemistry:

“In honor of the election results yesterday, I am considering a major policy shift in this class. I am considering proposing grade reform, in the form of GPA welfare. If, at the end of the semester, you are making an ‘A’ in this course, you will ‘donate’ 7 points to the class. If you have a ‘B’, it will be 5 points, a ‘C+’, 3 points. Then, everyone making ‘D’s’ or ‘F’s’ will automatically receive a ‘C.’ If there are surplus points, I will retain them as administrative overhead, but if there are too few points, we will engage in deficit point spending. Of course, if I really wanted to be fair, I would eliminate all tests and homeworks, and just give everyone a ‘C.’ Chemistry learning would decrease, but everyone would feel better about it. How does that sound?”

During my spiel, the class as a whole were laughing and cheering, so I thought they were with me, and upon my final question, they erupted in support. Beginning to be concerned, I then asked, “Ok, those of you currently making ‘As’ and ‘Bs’, how does this sound?” Of course, they, a smaller fraction of the class, were strongly against the proposition. I then made a couple of comments that I thought strengthened the idea that I was not being serious.

After class, as normal, a group of students clustered around to ask some questions. One asked about a grading issue regarding the final, a normal reasonable question. The guy behind him chimed in with, “So we are still guaranteed a ‘C’ even if we are failing?” I laughed and said, “Of course not.” The disappointment on his face was real, and at least one other person behind him sighed/groaned with disappointment.

SO, on Friday, I will have to make a statement of clarification. I will introduce it with a definition of satire. I will then explain that this is how welfare and other entitlement programs actually work, and this is how the income tax system is based. It may not be general chemistry, but some things are more important than molecules. And the sooner they understand how the real world works, the better for them. Then I will move on to the different kinds of solids that exist and why they have the structures they do as a result of their chemical and physical properties.

Fighting hard for the education of the next generation,
Dr. Robb J. Wilson

Early Voting Begins today

2006-10-23T12:49:00.000-05:00

For those who don't want to wait in lines on election day, remember that early voting begins today (Oct 23) and continues through November 3rd. You can find early voting location information online at the Secretary of State website.

If you're still not sure about the candidates, you can find a good rundown of the candidates and their position on the issues in the Free Market Voter's Guide. You can also get more information from the Free Market Foundation website.

Election day is 2 weeks from tomorrow (November 7th). Whether you do it early, or on election day, please exercise your right to vote.

Things that tickle my funny bone

2006-10-09T12:20:00.000-05:00

I was e-mailing my friend Rendi about the TX-ou game since she's currently out of the country working for the State Dept and didn't get to watch it. It told her that I was amused at the end of the game when the camera started showing sad sooner fans. The cameraman had to be a UT fan because an ou fan wouldn't have taken those shots. There was a little boy about 7 or 8 with tears streaming down his face in the last few minutes of the game. Don't know if he was upset about ou losing or just wanting a corn dog. Of course being in a room full of UT fans, staff and TX-Ex's we were mercilessly mocking the sad ou fans along with the ou cheerleaders who still had smiles pasted on their faces for the camera even though they were getting their rear ends kicked all over the Cotton Bowl during the second half. And yes, I still have a sore throat from screaming. All that's left to be said about that is Hook 'Em Horns!!!

Weekend amusements started on Friday night with the Gubernatorial Debate. First it was at 7:00 on a Friday night that was not only during High School Football season but on TX-ou weekend. I'd be interested to see how many people actually watched it, or just read one of many recaps that can be found in the major TX newspapers. There were points at which you just had to laugh because it was so ludicrous that you either had to laugh, cry, or get totally hacked off - the least emotionally exhausting was laughing.

I thought Chris Bell either had guts or stupidity when he referred to his 3 Republican opponents at the beginning of the debate. Come on Chris give Carol a break. Carol used to be a Democrat as you so astutely pointed out (and a Republican, and now an independent - so much for party loyalty). While I'm a Republican (since birth as I grew up in the middle of Dole country), I did find Bell amusing. Plus he asked Strayhorn a variation of my question for her. Strayhorn pledged not to take donations from parties with cases at the Comptroller's office, but apparently hoped no one would figure out that she had (and still had the nerve to deny it). His question was how could the State of TX trust her. He was asking in reference to campaign finance, and mine is a more general question, but it was still a valid question which I don't think she actually answered. So why should we trust her when even she can't tell us why we should trust her.

Then I thought Strayhorn was the proverbial pot calling the kettle black when she asked Perry about stiffer penalties for child sex abusers and his lack of action on that issue - especially when she's campaigning for Governor on some of the same issues and promises she used when she ran for re-election as Comptroller in 2002. Where's the program for 2 years of free Jr College education Carol? You said you knew where the money was coming from in 2002, yet it still isn't in place and you're using the same promise to campaign for Governor. (should we even go into the 'unforseen' budget deficit of early 2003 conveniently right after she won re-election?) I'm hoping Texans aren't stupid enough to fall for that one again.

Then there's Kinky. The name says it all. I was happy however to hear that he wouldn't name an education administrator who smoked marijuana - even if it was made legal like he's touting in his campaign. Of course I had a problem with him stating he'd continue to smoke his cigar and offend people if elected. If I wanted to be offended, I can find that on any street corner, or better yet, the West Mall at UT.

Then there was the trivia section of the debate in which most of the questions weren't answered correctly, or totally avoided which made me chuckle while I shook my head. That was pretty much my response during the entire debate.

The last thing that made me laugh this weekend was found on southbound MOPAC right before the exit for 2222. There was an empty police car sitting in the median with a 1-800 number on the window and a sign that says "Apply Now". Does this mean APD needs more officers? I'll give it creativity points while laughing at the breaklights of those who had been speeding down MOPAC (me included).

Will Wonders Never Cease

2006-09-27T07:50:00.000-05:00

Apparently I'm not the only one who had a problem with Travis County paying for weight loss surgery for their employees. The decision has been reversed as a result of public outcry. According to the Statesman article, there was not enough evidence of benefits in the face of all the calls, e-mails, blogs, etc they received against the decision.

The wonder of it all is not that the decision was reversed, but that the county commission finally listened to it's constituents.

Trimming Fat the Expensive Way

2006-09-19T13:09:00.000-05:00

OK, so I heard it first this morning on The River 102.3, then saw it in the Statesman. It stunned me for a minute. Is Travis County really going to use taxpayers dollars to cover the expense of a weight loss surgery for their employees? According to the Statesman article, the decision could be made as early as today.

While I can understand the need for bariatric surgery for some (being the overweight diabetic that I am), I can't understand why the county should use taxpayer dollars to fund it. I can't afford it for myself. What makes them think I'd want to pay for someone else's surgery?

It seems to me that the county is trying to solve a symptom instead of a problem. There has to be a better way to encourage weight loss among the county employees other than surgery.

I also find fault with some of the arguements for the program.

County staff suggests it will save the county money in health costs in the long run, although there is no conclusive data to support this claim. In fact many municipalities who have supported this found that it cost more than estimated.

While the American Society for Bariatric Surgery say that states commonly cover this procedure, no one cared to point out that the State of Texas doesn't. I'm torn over this. Part of me wishes they did, just so I could see if it could work for me as a mediocre-paid state employee, but then my common sense kicks in and makes me realize it's probably a good thing that they don't.

There are also some risks involved with bariatric surgery that no one seems to be addressing. While it may help some, it can cause greater health problems in some which would increase health costs for the county.

I think the county should go back to the drawing board and try to find other alternatives such as cooperating with businesses to provide incentives that promote healthy lifestyles like many private corporations do. Yeah, I know that government entities don't often like to do things that the private sector does, but sometimes they have good ideas that should be taken into consideration. I got a discount on my gym membership because I'm a state employee. It may not be much, but it's a start. And it didn't cost the state or taxpayers a single penny. Too bad Travis County can't say the same about their proposed program.

Newt Gingrich: Secret VitW Reader?

2006-09-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

Newt Gingrich has a great article in the Wall Street Journal today about the what the Civil War can teach us about the current War on Islamic Fascism. Money quote:

We have to be honest about how big this problem is and then design new, bolder and more profound strategies to secure American national security in a very dangerous 21st century. Unless we, like Lincoln, think anew, we cannot set the nation on a course for victory.

Has Mr. Gingrich been reading my recent posts on Civil War battlefields? Read the whole story.

O Brother, Who Art Thou?

2006-09-06T07:41:00.000-05:00

Dem Candidate Gets That Old Timey Religion

Chris Bell, has had a revelation of sorts (hat tip: Lone Star Report, subscription required). Speaking at Southwestern University a few days ago, the Democratic Candidate for Governor claimed,

"I could no more separate my personal faith from my public service than you could separate the Lone Star from the Texas flag. My faith is a fundamental part of who I am, and it informs every aspect of my politics."

Sounds like the "separation of church and state" liberals carp about all the time may not be all it's cracked up to be. Or maybe it depends upon what your definition of "religion" is. Preached Brother Bell:

"What would Jesus do about stem cell research? Jesus didn't tell us to heal the sick unless politics gets in the way. When Jesus healed the lepers and gave the blind their sight, he didn't stop to worry about slippery slopes and potential implications. My faith leads me to the conclusion that pursuing the cures to diseases such as Parkinson's, which took my mother's life, is our moral responsibility.

What would Jesus do? He would not let political objections stand in the way of healing the sick. Stem cell research isn't just a good idea; it's a moral calling."

Mr. Bell cleverly "forgot" to mention if he was referring to just embryonic stem cell research or adult stem cell research, but one can infer from the context it was former. Embryonic research currently requires the death of an unborn child, while adult research does not.

So, according to this new dispensation, Jesus is for killing unborn children for an risky research scheme like embryonic stem cell research? I guess he forgot to read Psalm 139 in his catechism.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Or Jesus in Matthew 19:

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Cut and Run, Civil War Style

2006-09-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

Battle for Kennesaw Mountain Shows Link Between Politics and War

On tap for yesterday''s visit in my Civil War swing through the south was the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Preserved in the beautiful Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, this battle holds important lessons for today.

Part of the Union's 1864 Atlanta campaign, General Sherman constantly outmanuevered and outflanked Confederate General Johnston's forces, though never outfought them.

The campaign illustrates the necessity of taking and maintaining the initiative in war. As the Israeli's recently re-discovered, in war it's always better to choose when and where you fight when facing a determined enemy. Taking the initiative requires military professionalism and preparation. Defenders' terrain and morale advantage can be countered by superior generalship, supply, logistics, and fast maneuvering. However, fielding a force at as high a level of professionalism as Sherman's in 1864 requires a conscious decision by the politicians to fund and build such a force. Making this committment, then, requires that the society knows and believes who they are and what they are fighting for.

Another key lesson from this battle and campaign is that politics drives war. 1864 was an election year. Anti-war apathy was growing in the North, thus putting pressure on the government for a speedy resolution. The Southern leadership knew this and surmised if they could stall the Yankees through 1864 with no major victories, pacifist forces in the North would win the election, thus leading to a negotiated end of the war favorable to the South (that is, keeping slavery legal in those states). Cut and Run Democrats existed in 1864, under the sobriquet Copperheads. (Their rhetoric sounds eerily similar to today's anti-war Democrats).

One can't help but think that the political pressures that drove Lincoln caused him to put corresponding pressure on his generals to win a quick and decisive victory. In turn, Northern generals could have been pushed into risky attacks they may not have otherwise taken. Correspondingly, Southern generals were keen to stall and delay. In this way, politics drove military strategy and tactics. It seems that the politics of the day were the first cause of the bloodletting at the Dead Angle, an imposing triangle shaped salient in the Confederate lines.

I counted 260 paces from the treeline of the Union position to the top of the Confederate earthworks of the Dead Angle. Between lies a wide open green field that gently slopes up to the Rebel position with the last 50 yards or so at a steeper angle.

Imagine you are a Union soldier mustering under the treeline just before the assault was to begin. All the invisible, political forces inherent in the conflict are about to thrust the military spear at the enemy, which you are the spearhead.

Dashing through grass up to the Dead Angle, cannister shot and musketry rattles in front of you raining down a deadly hail of steel and fire.

You hear zzz-zzz-zzz as bullets and minie balls whiz over your head. Comrades fall all around you.

As you climb up the hill toward the Confederate redan, you can see the defenders training their muskets on you and dangerously close range.

As you emerge from the small brush before the lines, you discover a heretofore silent Confederate battery, less than 30 yards away, with cannons aimed right on you firing anti-personnel cannisters and grapeshot.

Now it's too dangerous to stand, so you crawl to avoid the unrelenting fire. Other soldiers have straggled even to the top of the Confederate earth works, only to be cut down by bayonetts or clubbed muskets. You duck under the small crest 30 yards from the line. Smoke, fire, rattling muskets, wounded soldiers mewling in the hot Georgia sun are all around you. You and your comrades have suffered the consequences of the unyielding political pressures.

"War is cruelty; there is no refining it." Gen. William Sherman.

Selma

2006-09-04T08:22:00.000-05:00

My Civil War tour hit a snag in Selma, as there seems to be scarcely any rememberance of the Battle of Selma anywhere within the city limits. One obscure stone monument commemorates the important battle that happened there in April 2, 1865. Selma was a major center for arms manufacturing. The Union victory at Selma further weakened the Confederacy and helped hasten the end of the war. (There is a museum on the site of an old Confederate foundry, but it was closed when I was in town).

Also remarkable about the Battle of Selma is the Confederate forces were led by the revered and feared Nathan Bedford Forrest, who had previously won numerous, improbable victories with his innovative mobile cavalry tactics, a forerunner of 20th Century Blitzkrieg warfare. However, at Selma, Forrest was defeated by Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson and the Union's unrelenting numerical and material advantage. Forrest was also a founding member of the Ku Klux Klan.

But it seems that Selma would just rather forget the Civil War altogether.

With the iconoclastic arches of the Edmund Pettus Bridge always looming over the heart of the city, Selma seems perpetually gripped in shame of the brutal response by police to the voting rights march over the bridge on March 7, 1965. In response, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

But why not commemorate the battle in 1865 that helped pave the way for the civil rights victories of 1965, especially when the losing Confederate commander later became the first Imperial Wizard of the KKK. Keeping up a battlefield monument might be a way to, you know, stick a finger in their eyehole?

The Siege of Vicksburg

2006-09-03T09:27:00.000-05:00

Who Has the Will To Win?

Yesterday, I continued my battlefield swing through the South at Vicksburg, MS, site of the battle for control of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. Since the Confederates had a few months to prepare for the 1863 Union siege, the defenders built many strong fortifications and a supporting trench network, a large portion of which has been preserved.

On the way into town, I heard Albert Mohler interviewing Mark Steyn on the radio. The following discussion was on asymmetrical warfare and the Hezbollah-Isreal conflict:

Mohler: “Is [the result of the conflict] an indication that…advanced democratic societies really can’t fight wars anymore because of public opinion and other concerns?”

Steyn: “Asymmetric warfare means it doesn’t matter if you are a nuclear power. It doesn’t matter if you have hundreds of thousands of tanks and bombs. What matters in terms of survival is the will to use your full force to recognize your enemy and defeat your enemy. And to the modern progressive mindset, there are really no enemies. The concept of the enemy is alien to the post-nationalist way of looking at things. And suddenly, I think you can argue, in large parts of the so-called Western World, people simply do not feel strongly enough anymore that there is anything worth dying for. …. And, chances are, that, if there is nothing worth dying for then, in a sense, you are already spiritually dead inside.” (Emphasis added)

This exchange proved to be prescient, as the Battle of Vicksburg was, at its core, a test of wills and causes.

The verdant setting of Vicksburg National Military Park, a sanctuary for twilight joggers, hardly seems befitting a long and deadly siege. It also seems vaguely sacrilegious to see monuments to Union armies ensconced on southern soil.

What’s also striking about the site today is how tangible the 143-year-old conflict still is there. The breastworks, redoubts, redans, and zig-zagged saps are still visible, reminders of the causes still cut into the land, monuments testifying that people here once believed enough in something to fight and die.

While most of the site is overgrown with trees, there are some sections where the short space between the Union and Confederate lines is visible. It’s sobering to think that the large armies, with a full complement of field artillery pieces, went at each other at nearly point blank range. The picture below of Thayer's approach for example, shows that Union soldiers had to scale a steep hill in the face of Confederate fire from the top, only about 150 yards away.

Standing between the artillery fortifications, some scarcely 50 yard apart, one can see how dreadful the May 19 and May 22 failed Union assaults must have been, which cost nearly 4000 Northern casualties.

Overall, the estimated casualties of the 6-week siege were 35,825 (US 4,550; CS 31,275), plus the humanitarian disaster of women and children being forced into underground shelters with little food and water. A great price was paid for the Union to win this decisive battle.

Thankfully, the people and government of the Union thought that a United States of America and the elimination of slavery were worthy causes for the grievous price paid at Vicksburg and countless other battlefields strewn across the Southern and Eastern states.

This is part of what makes America exceptional versus other nations throughout history. It’s not that we’re perfect. Far from it, actually. But, we eventually do recognize what is wrong with our society and eliminate it, even at great pain and cost, because it is the right thing to do.

But, what if the North had the same attitude as today’s elites? What if post-modernism, multiculturalism, and the other mental and moral diseases stalking today’s academic, government, and cultural centers existed back then? Would they be willing to put forth the blood and treasure necessary to see the campaign and siege to its final, decisive conclusion? If not, what would our world be like today?

Battle of Mansfield

2006-09-02T08:49:00.000-05:00

On my way out to Virginia for 6 months of active duty with the Navy, I am blessed to have the opportunity to visit Civil War battlefields to absorb their history and see what they may be able to teach us today.

Yesterday, I visited the Battle of Mansfield, about 35 miles south of Shreveport, LA. Fought on April 8, 1864, it was the last major battle won by the Confederacy and denied the Union control of Louisiana and Texas. A portion of the battlefield is preserved at the Mansfield State Historic Site.

The climactic battle of the Union’s Red River campaign, designed to capture the Louisiana capital of Shreveport and open a path to Texas, was a military disaster for the North.

Anticipated by the Confederates since the spring of 1863, there were many perils and trials in store for the Federals, that culminated at the Battle of Mansfield. Dogged by regional antagonisms, lack of a unified force command, little respect from other Corps commanders, an unclear endorsement from Washington, DC, and poor intelligence, Northern Major General Nathaniel P. Banks’ campaign was doomed from the start.

Another factor was also working against Banks. As a force defending its homeland against a foreign invader, the Confederate forces under Major General Richard Taylor had the defenders’ natural intelligence and morale advantages. In addition to knowing the geography much better than the Federals, the Confederates also had a clear and tangible sense of what they were fighting for.

For example, this monument prominently stands in front of the visitor center main entrance.

It says:

“Texas remembers her sons by whose valor and devotion the Federal enemy was defeated at Mansfield, April 8, 1864 and thereafter in several bloody engagements driven from the Red River Valley. Thus, was Texas saved from the physical ruin wrought by the war in every other southern state.”

Furthermore, the main charge on Union lines that day, led by General Albert Mouton, consisted of troops from Louisiana and Texas. Clearly, they perceived their homes, land, and livelihoods were threatened, thus adding to their motivation.

This combined with superior knowledge of the land, sharp military acumen, and Union blunders, the outnumbered Confederates tied up 35,000 Union troops and supplies that had to be diverted from other, more decisive theaters, thus prolonging the war by several months.

Of course, I have no sympathy for the cause of slavery. But the lesson from this battle is that knowing and believing in what one is fighting for can yield decisive results on the battlefield.

Blogging Semi-Hiatus Ahead

2006-08-29T22:13:00.000-05:00

Dear VitW readers,
Just wanted to give you a little update on the latest goings on at Voice in the Wilderness.

I will be in Virginia for 6 months on active duty orders for the Navy. Thus, my blogging will likely be more sparse than before and not on as many Texas-y topics as I will not, in fact, be in Texas during that time.

However, from time to time, I'll drop a line on my Navy experiences (at least the unclassified ones) as well as tidbits of interest from Virginia, like the George Allen/James Webb race for the Senate.

Of course, I'm always on the lookout for co-bloggers or ghost bloggers. So, if you think you fit the bill, please shoot me a note at texastommy at austinvoice.net.

Divine Redirection Causes Pregnancy Reflection

2006-08-24T21:16:00.000-05:00

Dem Abortion Stooge Plays Unwitting Role in Pro-Life Decision

I support LifeCare Pregnancy Services in Austin, a non-profit pregnancy center that counsels women and men about pregnancy, sexual health, and relationships. Today I received the most delightfully ironic letter from them.

"In July 2006, a young pregnant woman who was considering an abortion came to LifeCare for help. She had seen an article in the Austin American Statesman about Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-CA) report which stated that crisis pregnancy centers were giving out misleading information. She saw LifeCare's name in the article, called the Helpline and scheduled an appointment at LifeCare for the following morning. After talking with the LifeCare counselor, she decided to carry her baby! She registered for childbirth and parenting classes, and signed up for a PAL (mentor). LifeCare is helping her look for housing to assist her move away from an abusive home situation." (emphasis added)

Rep. Waxman, thank you for your cynical criticism, which has now helped turn a young woman away from the vile clutches of your patrons in the abortion industrial complex and towards true recovery and true hope.

Funny old world, isn't it?

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20

Not Quite Their Finest Hour

2006-08-15T21:48:00.000-05:00

Review of "Londonistan" by Melanie Phillips

"The alarming fact is that, far from continuing to embody the bulldog spirit that enabled it to fight of fascism in the twentieth century, Britain remains in a widespread state of denial. It understands well enough that it faces a mortal threat from radical Islamicists. But by and large, it does not understand why it faces this threat." (Emphasis added)

Thus begins the incisive but depressing tome by Melanie Phillips on England's internal weakness in the War on Islamic Fascism.

With a steady fusillade of damning exposition, Ms. Phillips fingers lax immigration policy, liberal religion, multiculturalism, rule of lawyers, media bias, spineless politicians, and the Marxist societal critique as the pre-conditions for the parallel culture of unassimilated Muslim immigrants (aka Londonistan) to emerge in Great Britain. And the lessons of England can also be applied to the US.

Multiculturalism insinuated into the national psyche makes people question if Britain is even worth fighting for. Rationalism, with its implicit reliance on mutual good faith, is vulnerable to a brute force attack of religious claims backed up by credible intimidation. The rationalist mindset also discounts ideas derived from deep spiritual beliefs and misses the spiritual power that drives Islamicists. Sadly, this is probably why authorities are intimidated into compliance with Islamic demands, like building a 70,000 seat mosque at London's Olympic complex for the 2012 games. No other minority group is accorded such preference.

Furthermore, the Church of England's anti-Israel stance and passive complicity in Britain's surrender to Islamicist demands is jaw-dropping. The church's abandonment of the public sphere has created public confusion about the nation's identity and values. The most tragic statement in the book is that secular state is

"... a kind of surrogate Sharia institution. And so the public space abandoned by Christianity is filled. By no means all Muslims want this to happen. A growing number of them are actually rather keen on benefiting from the personal freedoms and tolerance that are the British way. The problem is that the British no longer appear to agree."

Ms. Phillips acknowledges that Christianity should again be pre-eminent in Britain, though this book falls short of in crafting a spiritual battle plan based on prayer and the redemptive power of Jesus Christ in the lives of individuals and the life of the state. Yet, Ms. Phillips has still done righteous work in sounding the warning bell both for Britain and the US.

While extinguishing the liquid explosive plot last week was a tactical victory, the deeper, decisive worldview contest remains: What does it mean to be British? Will the Brits again draw up the spiritual strength to face an existential threat as in former days? Or will they, to quote another British non-appeaser, "cast away real and important means of security and survival for vain shadows and for ease"?

In Search of Spine

2006-08-05T21:33:00.000-05:00

Check out the latest by Victor Davis Hanson (the Gandalf of the Blogosphere): The Brink of Madness. Money quotes:

"And finally examine here at home reaction to Hezbollah — which has butchered Americans in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia — from a prominent Democratic Congressman, John Dingell: “I don’t take sides for or against Hezbollah.” And isn’t that the point, after all: the amoral Westerner cannot exercise moral judgment because he no longer has any?"

and

"It is now a cliché to rant about the spread of postmodernism, cultural relativism, utopian pacifism, and moral equivalence among the affluent and leisured societies of the West. But we are seeing the insidious wages of such pernicious theories as they filter down from our media, universities, and government — and never more so than in the general public’s nonchalance since Hezbollah attacked Israel. "

The point is that before one can make a determination about the proper response to trouble, one must have a correct and clear moral vision to discern what trouble really is.

I propose that fighting the war on Islamic fascism requires calling right "right" and wrong "wrong". The ruling class desperately needs a clearly understood and exercised biblical worldview to understand the threat in its variegated forms and formulate the proper response (be it spiritual, theological, political, media, economic, diplomatic and/or military).

But where can such men and women be found?

"You are pathetic, you are small. You resemble an orangutang"

2006-08-02T22:44:00.000-05:00

Why can't we produce politically incorrect, anti-terror music videos like the Israelis? (Hat tip to Mattzilla at LST)

Israel Pays for Previous Pacifism

2006-07-24T19:38:00.000-05:00

What good does it do to listen to weak-willed hand-wringers when engaged in a mortal battle against Islamicist terror?

A recent report from Stratfor.com (subscription required, but well worth it) cogently analyzed the motives and methods of Hezbollah in the Middle East's most recent dust up, demonstrating that it doesn't pay to give terrorists a breather. Money quotes:

Hezbollah had prepared for war with Israel for years. It had received weapons and training from Iran and Syria. It had prepared systematic fortifications using these weapons in southern Lebanon after Israel's withdrawal, but also in the Bekaa Valley, where its main base of operations was and in the area south of Beirut, where its political center was.

The withdrawal referred to above is the Israeli Defense Force's (IDF) abandonment of southern Lebanon in 2000 after an 18 year engagement. Then, as now, the Lebanese government was too weak to govern that area and terror groups were building staging areas there. But, after 18 years of low-intensity conflict, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak promised to withdraw the IDF as the Israeli people were wearying of the drip-drip-drip of small but steady casualty reports from the area. Hezbollah used the intervening 6 years to re-establish its capabilities in southern Lebanon to attack Israel and endanger Lebanese civilians, capabilities we are seeing in action today. This disengagement also gave the terrorists the opportunity to seize the initiative.

Looked at from Hezbollah's point of view, taking the fight to the Israelis is something that has not happened in quite a while. Hezbollah's hitting of Haifa gives it the position it has sought for a generation. If it can avoid utter calamity, it will have won -- if not by defeating Israel, then by putting itself first among the anti-Israeli forces.

The timing is perfect for Hezbollah: their Iranian and Syrian patrons can use Hezbollah attacks now for their purposes and the opportunity must be seized before rival terror organizations fill the power vacuum in south Lebanon. By launching the offensive at a time and place of it's choosing, Hezbollah has positioned itself to be a political winner, barring a military disaster which does not appear imminent. The Barak retreat merely bought Hezbollah 6 years to rearm and reorganize, which now puts Israel in the place of

Enduring more attacks
Executing a long, grinding military campaign
Maintaining a long-standing occupation against an enemy that has been specifically trained and equipped for guerilla warfare among innocent civilians

The current conflagration in Lebanon highlights the need to take the fight to the terrorists and their client states or else be subject to the whimsical ambitions of evil and violent men.

Kennedy, Kerry, Boxer, and Radnofsky

2006-07-23T16:33:00.000-05:00

Dem Senate Candidate Positioning for DC Lobbyist Gig?

Barbara Ann Radnofsky, Democratic nominee for the US Senate seat held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, seems not to have her finger on the pulse of the Texas body politic.

When not begging online votes for California Senator Barbara Boxer's PAC poll, she's busy cavorting about with Ted Kennedy and John Kerry....in Massachusetts. And when she does return to Texas, she spends her time on laughably moronic radio ads.

Are these the actions of a candidate serious about mounting a challenge in the thoroughly Republican state of Texas? Or tactics of an effort to gain Senator face time cleverly disguised as a political campaign run on the backs of Texas' liberal netroots?

If Ms. Radnofsky is serious about giving Sen. Hutchison a real run for her money, she might want to take a page from another Democrat angling to win in a Bush-voting state who is running a credible campaign. Democrat James Webb is giving George Allen in Virginia a spirited race for that state's Senate seat. Webb, a former Marine Corps officer and Secretary of the Navy under Reagan, seems able to sound conservative themes, while simultaneously stroking traditional Democrat hot buttons. In a state that Bush won by a respectable but not overwhelming margin of 54-46 in 2004, the lantern-jawed, Vietnam vet Webb may have some success pulling more men into his his column (Bush won Virgina men by a margin of 59-40) and has a shot to win in Virginia.

Radnofsky, by contrast, is a paramour of the normal, liberal constituency groups in Texas that speak loudly but carry a small stick. In a state that went for Bush in 2004 by a margin of 61-38, one would expect to see more nuanced positioning in the proximity of conservative core issues, while simultaneously casting code words and knowing glances to the activist base.

In light of this heretofore obtuse strategy that seems a sure failure, what are we then to make of Radnofsky's quixotic campaign? Could it be that Ms. Radnofsky's true aim is to elevate her stature among the national Democrat elite to so as to procure an office on K Street instead of the Capitol Building?

Terrorists Probing Louisiana Targets

2006-07-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

But Don't Tell the New York Times!

According to StrategyPage.com, the Department of Homeland Security recently found a pipe bomb floating in Lake Pontchartrain, near New Orleans.

While not a large explosive device, it reminded everyone at DHS that a major terrorist threat is the destruction of one of the railroad bridges over the Mississippi river. These bridges carry a major amount of freight traffic, and the loss of even one of them (if only for a few weeks, while being repaired) would have a noticeable effect on the economy.

It seems someone thinks the New Orleans area is a good place to practice terror bombing trial runs. Could this be because Katrina showed that the state and local governments are seemingly incapable of protecting the interests and well-being of their constituents?

Al Qaeda knows about this, thus counter-terrorism officials are trying to found out who made the Lake Pontchartrain bomb. That's because this device had all the hallmarks of a test, for a larger bomb capable of dropping one of the nearby Mississippi river bridges.

Hopefully, the New York Times won't rat out the investigation before the terrorists are caught.

Cease-less Fire & Foot-in-Mouth Disease

2006-07-17T19:08:00.000-05:00

When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said "enough", it wasn't what most people thought it would be. As reported in the Jerusalem Post, Olmert said in a national address from the Knesset, "And I say to everyone: no more! Israel will not be held hostage - not by terror gangs or by a terrorist authority or by any sovereign state."

Personally, I don't think Israel is asking too much. What they want is the return of abducted Israeli soldiers, deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon, withdrawal of Hezbollah from the area, and the fulfillment of United Nations Resolution 1559 which includes but isn't limited to disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias along with exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon. Cease fire will come after these are met.

For centuries, not wait, make that millennia, many nations and peoples have thought they can walk all over Israel, and I think Olmert is right, enough is enough. However, being realistic, I don't believe there can be true peace in Israel until Jesus returns. And I look forward to living in the New Jerusalem - shoot, I wouldn't mind living in the current Jerusalem if it was at all feasible, even in spite of the unrest in the area. It's a beautiful city and a very warm and hospitable people.

I must admit that I was surprised at Olmert's Kennedy-esque language when he invoked the phrase "Axis of Evil" in reference to Iran and Syria, stating that they are interfering by working through Hezbollah and Hamas. He's got a gift for rhetoric - or his speech writers do.

As surprised as I was by Olmert's language, I was just as unsurprised by Bush's language when he got caught using an expletive on an open mic at the G8 Conference. However, between Bush not recognizing a hot mic in front of him, and Newt Gingrich jumping the gun by calling the hostilities in the Middle East the next world war, it irritates me that these men shoving their foot in their mouth is drawing attention and media coverage away from the more serious issues in the region.

And if I could take a moment to say something to Mr Gingrich... What are you thinking Mister Speaker? Does the term "self-fulfilling prophecy" mean anything to you? We don't want hostilities in the Middle East to escalate to a world war because people are calling it that and making others believe that's the inevitable next step. If you can't say anything productive, keep your mouth shut.

I was relieved to get an e-mail today stating my friend, who was our tour guide through Israel when I was there last fall, is safe along with her family. We should continue to pray for the nation of Israel. And for our elected officials, both former and current, that they would be more careful about what they say, to who, and in what forum. Yes, that means watch for hot mic's Mr. President.

Prelude to Immigration Demagoguery?

2006-07-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

"Racial Expulsion!" Cries the Statesman

The Austin American Statesman recently posted a glitzy, multimedia presentation to its website with the charming title: "Leave or Die: America's Hidden History of Racial Expulsion". Leave it to the Statesman to showcase the best and most uplifting things about America shortly after the Fourth of July. Of course, the true message that comes through is: "Don't be too proud of your country, you patriotic, flag-waving yokels!"

How long will we have to wait before someone on the left draws a moral equivalence between the these awful, but isolated turn-of-the-century incidents and the movement to secure the nation's borders and enforce its immigration laws?

In the meantime, we'll have to wait on the hard-hitting, Multimedia Flash production about the ethnic cleansing currently practiced by the Muslim majority in Sudan against the Christian/animist minority.

Don't Let Texas Become France

2006-07-02T10:25:00.000-05:00

The young, native-born woman left her friends' residence late in the evening, trailed by two assailants whom she did not know. About 2:30 am, their car rammed her vehicle and forced her off the road. The men, who are illegal immigrants, forced her into their car and sexually assaulted, stabbed and beat her. This is not the latest episode of some weak-willed, European nation standing by while it's Muslim, immigrant population goes on a grotesque rampage. This incident happened in the middle of the Lone Star State. According to KWTX.com,

A teenage girl who was forced off a rural road by two men who beat, raped and stabbed her and left her to die in a roadside ditch is “very very fortunate to be a survivor,” Limestone County Sheriff Dennis Wilson said Thursday. ...

Wilson said two illegal immigrants have been arrested in connection with the brutal attack.

Javier Guzman Martinez, 17, of Mexico was arrested in Limestone County and Noel Darwin Hernandez of Honduras was arrested at a bus station in Waco as he tried to leave the country, Wilson said.

With our hypocritical, inconsistent enforcement of border laws, we shouldn't be surprised when illegal immigrants ignore the very laws that provide the freedom they abuse.

Bleeding profusely, the girl somehow made her way to a house a half-mile from where she was left to die. ...
“The community is devastated because she is such a sweet girl,” Mexia
School Board President Don Corbitt told News Ten.
“We don’t understand how anyone could do anything like that to a girl at all, much less someone as sweet as she is.

What a horrific experience. By the grace of God she survived, and these two, wretched men are in custody. The federal government failed this sweet, young woman, just as it has failed the entire state of Texas by refusing to secure the border and enforce our immigration laws. The federal government is failing in its first duty, to keep the peace, and insist on assimilation of new immigrants. We have enough problems with our own, homegrown lowlifes. How many more sweet, young girls could also fall prey the barbarism of rapacious illegals?

This confluence of folly threatens to put the Texas on the same, baleful course as France, where a cataclysm of demography, porous borders, and alien identity now buffets and tears asunder the social contract.

Let's not be like France; secure the border and insist on assimilation.

Real Texas Men of Genius

2006-06-28T21:54:00.000-05:00

Those "Real Men of Genius" ads by Budweiser always give me a chuckle. Now they have one specifically for male citizens of the Lone Star State. For you fella's out there who think you're way tougher than those other-49-state-wussy-boys, who have "Don't Mess with Texas" tattooed on your arm, a case of empty Shiner Bock bottles in the bed of your Ford F-150, and a "Texas: It's Bigger than France" bumper sticker, this Bud's for you (HT to Mattzilla at Lone Star Times):

Mr. Way Too Proud of Texas Guy.

More Border Disorder

2006-06-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

I found this mildly disturbing story in the Austin American Statesman this morning:

Austin police got a call about 2 p.m. Monday that "some individuals were being held against their will" in the 10800 block of Newmont Road...

[Nina Pruneda, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] said the nationalities of the people held in the duplex at Windy Trail and Newmont Road for several hours were unknown, but she confirmed that they were not U.S. citizens.

There's still a lot of facts to be uncovered to this story, but, in any event, it does raise another dark issue in the illegal immigration debate: the specter of human trafficking. Lax border enforcement creates opportunities for trafficking of persons across the border, and sets up the persons being transported for victimization by criminals, as my have been happening in this case. What's compassionate about that?

When Weird Begets Wired Threats

2006-06-23T18:56:00.000-05:00

Austin girl assaulted for exposing too much info. online; Austin teacher caught exposing herself

Austin, Texas prides itself on being weird. One can hardly drive down the freeway without seeing bumper stickers proclaiming

"Keep Austin Weird"
"Keep South Austin Weird"
"Keep The Edwards Aquifer Weird"
"Keep 459 North 3rd Street Weird"
"Keep My Border Collie Weird"

Ok, I made up the last three, but you get the point: we're weird, we know it, we're not afraid to show it. Yet, two unfortunate stories have recently shown that weirdness can carry a cost in today's interconnected world.

The first incident of wired deviance involves an Austin ISD art teacher busted (sorry, bad pun) for having nude pictures of herself posted to the internet. According to the Austin American Statesman story:

[teacher Tamara Hoover] and her girlfriend, photographer Celesta Danger, said they don't know how students found the pictures, which have been removed from the site.

"The first 18 pages of my site are of other people," Danger said. "They really had to look. It's really bizarre."

Well, Ms. Danger, one doesn't really have to look very hard, just scroll through your Flickr.com pages or search on "Tamara Hoover". And you think it's bizarre that people look through all the pictures you post? What were you expecting when you posted them to the interconnected, global, electronic network with an audience of millions? Furthermore, this business that they did not know how the students found out about the pictures is open to debate. Says the Oak Hill Gazzette, another Central Texas paper,

According to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, the students found out about the website through Danger herself.....

...when asked why she would tell students about her website when she knew nudes of Hoover had been poster there, she declined to answer on the advice of attorney Jay Brimm, who has asked that the couple not speak about the case until it's resolved.

That last sentence makes me chuckle, since Ms. Hoover and Ms. Danger have made many public statements about the case, including a story in the Austin American Statesman titled, "Austin art teacher tells her side". Why tell your side when your lawyer advises you to keep it quiet?

For her part, Ms. Hoover has some issues with moral discernment

"I'm not endangering my students. . . . I've never advertised this to my kids. It's a private matter."

Ms. Hoover, get out of the 1950's. The world wide web is a giant billboard. When the pictures are posted to a public, searchable website, that's de facto advertisement and no longer private. Furthermore, this digital dalliance could mislead students down a false and dangerous path. Teachers are models of morality (or immorality) that students will invariably emulate. If the teacher chooses to engage in homosexual behavior, which is inherently dangerous, in her own residence, behind closed-doors, that's her business. But putting it on display for the whole world to see is a de facto endorsement of the behavior and sends two bad messages to the students: Homosexual behavior is good and exposing personal information online is good.

The second point was recently proven tragically wrong in Austin. A 14-year old, Travis county girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by an older man from nearby Buda who she met on MySpace.com. Of course, this in no way absolves the young man for perpetrating the alleged crime. If found guilty, I hope he receives a severe penalty. But the point is that the teenagers should not be encouraged to expose sensitive, personal information online, where dangerous predators lurk. And teachers, along with parents, set the example for the students.

However, in the Weird City, that does not seem to be happening in this case. On one hand, we need to educate kids to expose less of themselves online; on the other we have the teacher exposing too much of herself online. Such is the state of moral rectitude here in Topsyturvydom.

From Lobster Fest to Lobster Fast

2006-06-16T23:25:00.000-05:00

Crusty Activists Get Boiling Mad, Clamp Down on Crustacean Cuisine

Austin's perpetually adolescent political culture threw another tantrum this week. Apparently, some granola-eating patrons of Austin's hip Whole Foods store threw a hissy fit over live lobsters being stored in a big fish tank. According to the Homaridae huggers...

"PETA applauds Whole Foods for joining Safeway in making the kind decision to spare lobsters — complex animals who feel pain and can live to be 100 years old — from living in filthy, cramped tanks," said Matt Prescott, manager of factory farming campaigns for the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"Complex animals who feel pain"? Has Mr. Prescott been channeling himself into a lobster ala Shirley McClain?

For the sake of argument, let's say the tank wasn't on the up and up or was too crowded. Cleaning it up and/or adding another should have been a sufficient remedy for the alleged crustacean crime. But, no, the green leaf bigots won't be appeased until the rest of us are pinched into their uniform view of the world.

I grew up in Iowa, home of many fine beef, poultry, and pork delicacies. My cultural heritage is one of raising and consuming livestock. Consequently, I enjoy eating the flesh of animals and consuming a good beef tenderloin or shrimp scampi is how I choose to define my reality.

Furthermore, consumption of animals is large part of my faith tradition and spiritual journey:

"[Abraham] bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.

Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son."
Genesis 22:9-13

The sacrifice of animals so that people can live is deeply symbolic of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, often called the Lamb of God, for the sins of the world.

But now, vegan militarism is imposing its narrow and dogmatic view of food consumption on the rest of us by intimidating Whole Foods into appeasement. Excluding lobster necessarily diminishes my choices in expressing my spiritual walk and takes away an object lesson in sacrificial atonement. Next thing you know, they'll be bashing halibut instead of Halliburton. They should be more inclusive instead of exclusive!

Their unilateral rush to ban will leave us in a culinary quagmire!

Who will stand up and speak truth to power?

A Nation of Hypocrites

2006-06-15T21:39:00.000-05:00

Immigration Issue Reveals Cafeteria Law Abiders

Once again, Victor Davis Hanson nails it. In his June 15 post on RealClearPolitics, Dr. Hanson expertly exposes the many duplicities of the various constituencies in the immigration debate:

The alien from Mexico chooses which American laws he finds convenient. He wants our border police to leave him alone -- until he becomes lost in the desert or is attacked by robbers.

The employer expects trespassing laws to be enforced to keep vagrants off his premises, but then assumes that the same vigilant police will ignore the illegal status of his cheap labor force.

And does the city council that orders its policemen not to turn over arrested illegal aliens to the border patrol similarly allow townspeople to ignore their municipal tax bills?

When thousands operate cars without state-mandated licenses and car insurance, why should other drivers bother to purchase them? If police pull over motorists and do not verify the legal status of aliens, why do they check for outstanding arrest warrants of citizens?

It's the cafeteria approach to law-abiding: pick the laws that are most favorable to you, leave the rest. And is if that weren't bad enough, getting in the habit of breaking these laws would lessen what makes America with immigrating to in the first place:

Yet once we as a nation choose to ignore our keystone laws of sovereignty and citizenship, the entire edifice of a once unimpeachable legal system will collapse. Ironically, we would then become no different from those nations whose citizens are now fleeing to our own shores to escape the wages of lawlessness.

Thankfully, there is a solution, if we have the foresight and moral courage to pursue it. Said Dr. Hanson in a different column:

If we worry most over balkanization of America and the potential radicalization of illegal aliens, then two issues should rise to the fore: border enforcement and assimilation. Before adjudicating issues like amnesty and guest workers, first simply close the border now to stop the influx. That way we can define the problem as one of 11 million illegal aliens rather than of 15-20 should we become mired in a long drawn-out debate.

I love it when Dr. Hanson agrees with me. Our laws and culture must insist on a assimilation to a unique American identity. But this pre-supposes that the American identity is better than the alternative and worth assimilating to. Yet, I can hear the braying of "cultural chauvanism", "racism", and "intolerance" from Austin leftists now. Undaunted, Dr. Hanson takes this theme one step further.

Second, to avoid both the current mess, and the even worse one that may be on the horizon in Latin America, all solutions must be relegated to the general aim of assimilation. The key would be to divorce the present expatriate Mexican community from their spiritual kindred in Mexico by ensuring that they are the last generation of illegal aliens.

Now that is radical, but it is what has led to the assimilation of many other groups of immigrants over the years. With little or no chance of returning to the home country because of danger or distance, integration into the local community looked pretty enticing. Why not create the same separation by fiat for Mexico?

Dr. Hanson makes the choice before us very stark. Uphold the law, enforce the border, insist on assimilation, and the idea of the American republic can be saved. Give into moral laxity, leave open the borders, and tolerate the growing, unassimilated underclass is to set America down the same baleful path as Europe. Choose wisely.

BTW: For more on immigration, see my previous posts on God, Man, and the Border.

Don't Disrespect the Military

2006-06-11T19:18:00.000-05:00

I started a blog on this one other time, then set it aside. A few months ago, I was watching Scarborough Country on MSNBC and they were talking about the protests at military funerals by followers of Fred Phelps. I’d say the discussion was heated, but there wasn’t an actual ‘discussion’ since Phelps wouldn’t let anyone else get a word in edgewise. It was so bad that Scarborough cut off his mic. I hadn’t seen him do that before. A tiny part of me laughed at the fact that his mic was cut off, but the rest of me was enraged at the activities of Phelps followers and slightly disappointed in Scarborough for having him on the show and giving him a larger forum.

Anyway, I saw an article in today’s (6/11/06) Statesman about what Phelps mistakenly calls a ‘ministry’ (he needs a dictionary, not to mention a clue); and it got me all riled up again. Nothing he preaches is in line with the Bible, and hatred of people is never in line with God’s will. All he’s doing is leading people astray. Equally infuriating is the fact that Phelps and his followers are disrespecting the military men and women who gave their lives for the freedoms he abuses on a regular basis.

The fact that Phelps ‘church’, if you could call it that, is in Topeka, KS, is a source of embarrassment for all Kansans. It makes me glad I’m now a Texas resident. It also makes me wonder if he’s related to John Brown, the other notably embarrassing personality from Kansas who was radically self-righteous, not to mention slightly delusional.

Even though there are no legitimate churches that support what Westboro Baptist Church is doing, there are unfortunately some who choose to follow this ‘cult’, for lack of a better word. However, there have been measures taken to minimize the protests. To date 31 states have passed laws designed to curb these type of protests. I’m hoping the remaining 19 states will follow suit quickly. President Bush has already taken care of the legislation for the national cemeteries, which was signed, appropriately, on Memorial Day.

It’s a fact of life that some people are opposed to our military and their involvement in certain geographic regions. However, that is no reason to show them anything but the utmost respect. Even if you don’t agree with the locations where our military units have been deployed, please do not respect the job they have chosen to do, which is to protect the freedom and safety that you and I enjoy on a daily basis, sometimes with their very lives.

God, Man, and the Border, Part III

2006-06-10T15:03:00.000-05:00

The Role of the Church in Immigration

In the previous posts on this topic, I examined how the Bible frames immigration as a two-way street between the immigrant and the native society. The native society should treat aliens fairly and humanely; the immigrants should take up the native society's culture and norms. Furthermore, the Bible delegates to government the responsibility of keeping the peace and punishing the wrongdoer, both of which require a defined and secure border.

Between the principles of assimilation and securing the peace, there is a gap. Immigrants don't always just show up on our doorstep knowing the language, culture and norms. Who will help them over the threshold of integration? The Church can help fill this breech (by "Church", I am referring to the full Body of Christian believers, not just a particular institution or denomination).

The Church's raison d'etre is encapsulated in Jesus' commission to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20:

"...'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. ..."

In other words, Jesus is saying that any actions or teaching set upon by the Church should be rooted in making and instructing His disciples. Furthermore, as a function of fulfilling the Great Commission, acts of compassion and charity can help bring the message of the Gospel to those who have not heard or believed it.

Galatians 6:9-10 says

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Similar directives are found in James 2:14-18, and I John 3:17-20. Notice that these acts are not ends to themselves, but in service to a greater cause. "Reaping a harvest" is metaphor to people being brought to faith in Christ.

Ministries that help immigrants integrate into their new home can help fulfill the biblical principles of fair treatment, assimilation, and doing good to others.

In these integration ministries, immigrants would be actively mainstreamed into American society and fast tracked to self-sufficiency. This mainstreaming could include English language instruction, real US history (not the politically correct kind), guidance on finding jobs and private social service organizations as well as connection to local faith communities.

For Christian groups in particular, such ministries could also aid their Great Commission calling. For example, Mission Possible, an inner-city ministry in Austin, TX, features a community service initiative that provides food, clothing, job training and literacy to those in need....all for the purpose of supporting Mission Possible's mission. Groups like Mission Possible might look to expand these ministries into the "immigrant mainstreaming" space, coupling immigrant integration services with spiritual outreach and discipling that is appropriate for the particular people group.

In this way, aliens can be treated well and have the tools to integrate into the receiving society. The Church can also function as designed: helping people in need, communicating the Gospel, and acting as society's compassionate friend.

At The End of the Day
The government controls the border and immigration. Immigrants work to become a part of the native society. The Church helps integrate immigrants into the culture and wins the right to proclaim the Gospel. These are the biblical principles on the role of government and the church regarding immigrants that should be our beacon of light in the hazy and conflicted immigration debate.

It should also be noted that, in the current conflagration over immigration lies an opportunity for the Church. Thousands and tens of thousands of new people are coming to our land, many of whom have not heard or fully understood the message of hope and redemption of the Gospel. There is also an opening for the Church to season the debate with salt and demonstrate the potency of the Bible in dealing with complex contemporary issues.

Postscript: The book of Ruth is a case study in the biblical principles of immigration. Ruth, a young widow from the nation of Moab, accompanies her mother-in-law to Israel. There, she is befriended, cared for and eventually taken in marriage by Boaz, her "kinsman redeemer". Assimilation to the new culture, family bonds, private generosity, and fair treatment are key features of the story.

Master Race 2.0

2006-06-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

The Nazis tried and failed to create a master race. But for those who still think they need to improve humanity through selective breeding and genetic manipulation, there's new hope in an emerging trend:

Online sperm marketing to unmarried women

A recent story from BreakPoint.org describes our brave, new world:

Leann Mischel, a Pennsylvania college professor, was ready to have a second child. And she wanted the new baby to have the same father her son did. The problem was that Mischel had no idea who he was: The father of her son was 'Donor 401' at a sperm bank. And the bank had sold out of Donor 401's genetic material.

I guess shacking up with a live-in stud is too patriarchal and old fashioned for Dr. Mischel, a single mom.

But Mischel was in luck. As the Washington Post put it, Carla Schouten, another sperm-bank mother from San Jose, had "the gift of a lifetime for Mischel" ?an extra vial of the father's sperm chilling in her doctor'?s refrigerator.? She gave it to Mischel, who used it to father her second child.

That would make for some awkward Father's Days and family reunions in the future. And where's donor 401 when you really need him? Doesn't he know there's a growing market for his genetic material?

Increasingly, men and women are buying and selling eggs and sperm; other women rent out their wombs for a fee. Egg donors with Ivy League educations and sperm donors with doctoral degrees can charge far more for their products. You have to wonder: How long will it be before the most popular 'donor fathers' and 'egg mothers' decide to cut out the middleman and sell their products on Ebay?

Those Ebay web pages would no doubt include user ratings and grading on criteria like health, intelligence, education, athleticism, creative talent, etc.

People who buy genetic products want the best that money can buy. For example, the man who fathered the babies of Leann Mischel and Carla Schouten, and of nine other women, is 6-foot-4, good at sports, has a master's degree, and is of German descent. It all sounds a bit like the plot of a creepy novel, one that involves neo-Nazis trying to spread the seeds of a new Master Race.

Creepy novel: Maybe Dan Brown will write it and call it "The Genetic Code". According to a Washington Post story, Dr. Mischel hooked up at Fairfax Cryobank, which markets its services this way on Google:

Great Services: personality testing, wide donor choice, vial buybacks.
Sperm Banking with Fairfax Cryobank

Sounds like an ad for your local savings and loan. Can BlogAds, clever jingles, and TV commercials be far behind?

Why We Fight

2006-06-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

"United 93" Reveals the True Enemy

Ideas have legs.

What one believes will eventually be acted upon in the real world, with real world consequences. The film United 93 illustrates this truth to devastating effect.

Director Paul Greengrass, who has also directed The Bourne Supremacy and Bloody Sunday, treats the story with a minimalist, almost documentary approach. Often using hand held shots to put the audience in the action amongst the players, the viewer is swept up in the unfurling drama.

Thankfully, Mr. Greengrass avoids the temptation to overdramatize the event with big name actors, a sweeping score, in your face specials effects, historical revisionism or creative license with the facts except to fill in the blanks. What's left is a taut story that highlights the heroic acts of the passengers and engrosses the viewer to the end. This is no small feat since we all know the ending.

However, the greatest, if unintended, gift of this movie is how it reveals the demonic nature of radical Islam, not only because it is bad, but because so much of it looks good. The cold-blooded Islamofascists are clean-shaven, straight-laced, earnest, focused and determined: the type of people you want working for you if they weren't plotting to slit your throat. But the respectable exterior masks a spirit of power, force, manipulation, deception, and control, all in the service to a false god.

With the true nature of the enemy thus revealed, it makes it easier to understand why President Bush's direction for the War on Islamic Fascism (sometimes called the War on Terror) makes more sense. The enemy understands nothing but power and domination. Reasoning, tolerance, and restraint is not part of their worldview. Visiting violence upon the weak and unsuspecting is. One can only restrain this barbarism by punching it in the face or bully boy posturing. That's what they understand. (By the way, how ironic is it that the European sounding character is the one counseling capitulation to the homicidal Muslims).

This point is amplified by the characters words and actions and what they reveal about the Gods to which they pray. The Islamic murderers sneak attack in the plane is spun as a simple hijacking, not the suicide mission it was. The passengers and crew, heretofore conditioned to acquiesce to hijacker demands, cower in the back of the plane. This facade enables the Islamicist fanatics to maintain control and power. However, the terrorist barbarians soon get a "we're screwed" look on their faces when they figure out that the passengers are on to their ruse. At that point, the terror tactic has lost its power and now the board is set for the informed confrontation. Juxtaposed against this iron discipline is the simple faith of the passengers drawing strength from the one, true God in prayer before taking decisive and righteous action.

Sadly, United 93, stumbles a bit on this point. The Islamofascist are shown praying all the time, however, the Christians among the passengers also prayed fervently and urgently before the final showdown. Mr. Greengrass chooses to represent this true, engaged faith with only a few mechanical recitations of the Lord's Prayer. The film also apes the left's question begging indictment of President Bush for not being immediately reachable, as if that would have made a difference in the grand scheme of things. Much more intriguing, if beyond the scope of this film, would be an examination of the previous administrations efforts, or lack thereof, to combat Islamic terror.

But these are minor hiccups. This film gives a complete view of the events as they happened, including the chaos at the various air traffic and military command centers and a reasonable inference of the flights final moments. Furthermore, it gives a clear view into the nihilistic savagery we are fighting and why it must be fought.

God, Man, and the Border, Part II

2006-05-31T19:38:00.000-05:00

The Role of Government
In my previous post on this topic, I explored the Bible's take on immigrants in general: that they should be treated with respect, but also that they should assimilate to their prevailing culture. The next component of the biblical worldview on immigration entails the role of the government, as that institution has ultimate authority over the border.

Scripture has very explicit and limited directives for the government. The government is "God's agent for good" (see Romans 13:1-7), and exists to keep the peace, punish the wrong-doer, and commend those who do well (see I Peter 2:13-17) . How does this play into the immigration debate?

In order to keep the peace, the government must have jurisdiction over a defined geographical territory. In order to have jurisdiction over a section of land, a border must be drawn around that land, so that it's clear the government has control on one side, but not the other. To maintain that control, the border must be secure. If the border is not secured, everything unravels: the government cannot control its jurisdiction and its ability to keep the peace and punish the wrong doer is eroded or eliminated. Psalm 147:13-14 illustrates how peaceful and controlled borders are a good thing:

"Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion, for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat."

Therefore, any immigration reform, to be right by scripture, must include effective reforms to maintain the territorial integrity of the United States. Without border security, territory near the border will be devoid of the government's peace keeping power and eventually descend into chaos, as many sources report is beginning to happen at the US border with Mexico.

Part and parcel with border security is immigration control. It's one thing to secure the border, quite another to effectively and efficiently process the many legal applications for citizenship. Certainly, we should welcome all immigrants who want to learn English, assimilate and contribute to our culture and peacefully live in our society. Getting the Immigration and Naturalization Service to the point where it can properly process applications is beyond my means to grasp at the moment. But, I propose that more efficient processing of legal immigrants would probably help reduce illegal immigration. Also, providing tax incentives to private enterprises and non-profits that assist in new immigrant assimilation could help lighten the load on the tax payer. A prime example of these grass roots immigrant integration activities is Chipolte Restaurants, who offer English as a Second Language in their employee training.

Up next: The Role of the Church in Immigration

God, Man, and the Border, Part I

2006-05-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

With all the talk about immigration reform, I thought it would be constructive to have a look at what the Bible says about immigration and the role of government. Interestingly, it turns out that God's Word says quite a bit about immigration and foreigners. If the book that is not only the inspired Word of God but a large influence on our culture, laws, and freedoms has something about the topic, it may be wise to search out what it says and converse on its application.

I propose that the question should be "What are the biblical principles on the role of government and the church regarding immigrants". The role of government should be discussed as that is who has ultimate authority over the border. The role of the church should be discussed as there is much the church can do and is called to do that applies to the immigration question.

The principles I've found in scripture on this topic include.....

Treat the alien with respect
Role of government is to keep the peace and punish the wrong doer
The church is the comfort and guide to the culture

To be right by scripture, any solution should conform to all these principles.

What the Bible Says About Aliens
All people are made in the image of God and are worthy of respect because they all bear the image of their maker. Furthermore, the Old Testament often repeats tells the Israelites to treat aliens well and not to mistreat them (see Exodus 22:21, Exodus 23:9-12, Leviticus 19:9-10, Leviticus 19:33-34 among others). This injunction is repeated so often that it seems there was a serious issue with mistreatment of aliens, implying there were many foreigners in the land and that they were vulnerable to exploitation. Malachi 3:5, in particular, exemplifies this point:

"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty."

Exploiting foreigners and depriving laborers of their due wages sounds suspiciously like what happens with illegal immigrants today. Employers can pay them below market wages for legal workers as well as skimp on their benefits. Is it right for employers to exploit these people?

While scripture clearly proclaims the intrinsic value of the alien, it also acknowledges the differences between ethnic groups and nationalities. There are several passages contrasting the cultural mores of foreigners versus those of the Israelites (for example, see Genesis 35:1-4, Deuteronomy 31:15-17, Deuteronomy 32:15-17, Joshua 24:19-23, Isaiah 43:11-13 among others). Clearly, scripture assumes that cultural and religious mores of the nation of Israel were better than others and commands the Israelites to stay true to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not take up foreign gods. Furthermore, there is a strong expectation for aliens to accept integrate into this prevailing culture and system of laws (see Exodus 12:48-49, Leviticus 17-18, Leviticus 20-25 among others).

In other words, God's Word points to a two-way street: fair treatment for the alien by Israelites, and fair treatment for the Israelite nation and culture by the alien.

This trade-off has worked well for this country for centuries. But now, assimilation is underplayed by both immigrants and natives. After all, if all cultures are equally valid, why require one group of people to conform to the culture of another? Such are the fruits of political correctness.

Coming soon: The Role of Government.

Dutch (Re)Treat

2006-05-20T11:17:00.000-05:00

Does Europe's Slow Motion Train Wreck Have Lessons for US Immigration?

The latest European surrender to the rise of Islamic Fascism occurred this week. Former Muslim turned critic of Islam and Dutch Parliament Member, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, was forced out of the country by increasing threats by radical Islamicists and the knee-knocking appeasement of the government authorities.

This morning's Wall Street Journal featured an excoriating editorial (subscription required) on this disquietude from Holland. Money quotes:

"The Somali-born politician is leaving, no, fleeing her adopted homeland because the Netherlands and much of Europe prefer a traditional Muslim woman who keeps her mouth shut over one who objects to Islamic intolerance. "

When you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything. The Dutch seem not to have the spiritual strength to stand up to the bullying and intimidation in their midst or even call a spade a spade.

"Nearly half of her countrymen want her stripped of her citizenship. They have succumbed to the dangerous illusion that if only she were to go away, all the problems of radical Islam would go away with her."

50% of Hollanders blame the victim! So, instead of girding up and facing the threat, they duck and take cover behind the victim's ficticious crimes. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, they all think if they feed the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat them last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured. Such are the fruits of "multicultural tolerance". How much are they willing to tolerate?

"Ms. Hirsi Ali offered a final warning on that score this weekend. ' I am...preparing to leave Holland,', Ms. Hirsi Ali told reports. 'But the questions for our society remain . The future of Islam in our country, the subjugation of women in Islamic culture, the integration of the many Muslims in the West: it is self-deceit to imagine that these issues will disappear'."

In the face of cowardice, evil becomes more aggressive. Far have the Dutch fallen from wise counsel of ancient scriptures: Resist the Devil, and He will flee from you.

Underlying the culture clash is the growing population of unassimilated Muslims who come from, or whose parents come from, North Africa and the Middle East and the grip of radical Islamic ideology. The combination of declining native population, the failure to control immigration and little assimilation among new arrivals has brought this day nigh.

Of course, the immigration debate in the US has a different flavor, as most immigrants do not (yet) adhere to a worldview of nihilistic dominion. Yet, these things fester over time and one can see the embryonic stages of such ideologies in the reconquista rantings of MEChA and La Raza. The failure to apply proper control and integration now could be planting the seeds of civil war for our children and grandchildren.

Time for Al-Qaeda to Pull Out of Iraq?

2006-05-11T17:55:00.000-05:00

It seems Al-Qaeda's headlong rush to war has left them in an operational quagmire. A recently intercepted message reveals that all is not so glorious in the Jihadist camp (hat tip to Op For). Says the communique:

There is a clear absence of organization among the groups of the brothers in Baghdad, whether at the leadership level in Baghdad, the brigade leaders, or their groups therein. Coordination among them is very difficult, which appears clearly when the group undertake a joint operations.

Sounds like a clear case of poor advance planning. How could they not foresee that the coalition would use devious intelligence methods and overwhelming force to disrupt operations? Furthermore, they admit their only viable strategy is to play to Western media bias and that said strategy is flawed

The policy followed by the brothers in Baghdad is a media oriented policy without a clear comprehensive plan to capture an area or an enemy center. Other word, the significance of the strategy of their work is to show in the media that the American and the government do not control the situation and there is resistance against them. This policy dragged us to the type of operations that are attracted to the media, and we go to the streets from time to time for more possible noisy operations which follow the same direction.

This direction has large positive effects; however, being preoccupied with it alone delays more important operations such as taking control of some areas, preserving it and assuming power in Baghdad (for example, taking control of a university, a hospital, or a Sunni religious site).

Their plan is to show that the coalition has lost control, but they can't prove that the coalition has lost control because they cannot muster the operational gumption to successfully assault a key target. We must really be kicking their butts.

At the same time, the Americans and the Government were able to absorb our painful blows, sustain them, compensate their losses with new replacements, and follow strategic plans which allowed them in the past few years to take control of Baghdad as well as other areas one after the other. That is why every year is worse than the previous year as far as the Mujahidin'?s control and influence over Baghdad.

They admit they're losing! The rest of the message has a similar, defeatist tone. Read it all here.

Ready to Re-Serve

2006-05-08T17:25:00.000-05:00

DCO School Enlightens New Sailor

The last 2+ weeks I have been at the the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, FL for the Direct Commission Officer Indoctrination Course (DCOIC), the introductory training for people who have been commissioned as Navy Officers upon joining the Reserve component of the US Navy. This method of officer ascension is for people who are well along in their civilian or Navy enlisted careers.

Overall, it was a challenging and fun experience. Getting up at 4:30 everyday was a shock for a sleepy head like me. I also learned that I could:

Throw down a full breakfast in 7 minutes

Re-acclimate to spartan, communal boarding arrangements

Pick up standing in ranks, right facing, and marching in about an hour

Endure 6 straight hours of "death by PowerPoint"

Run information with trademark military "call-response" cadence (personal fave: "I wanna' be a drill instructor...I wanna' shave off all my hair....I wanna' be a drill instructor....I wanna' wear that smokey bear")

Fix a broken pipe....while submersed in 4 feet of rising water. The pictures below are from the DC wet trainer, a large steel box featuring splashing water, clanging tools, shouting teammates, and dim lighting that are meant to simulate a damaged ship. Everyone should do the DC wet trainer at least once in their life.

These leaks need to be fixed in sequence. The vertical pipe is high pressure, the horizontal is low pressure. If you fix the horizontal first, the vertical pressure will be too much to handle.

Who needs Starbucks when you've got hundreds of gallons of chilly water rushing at you? Be sure to hold your gear tight. Dropping it will make you and your teammates crabby.

Into the rushing onslaught! Ooh-rah!

The DC wet trainer is quite...uh... wet. The two pix below a fair representation of what you actually see when inside the DC wet trainer while trying to perform complex mechanical tasks in sequence with everyone else.

Inflate my pants to form a life preserver while simultaneously treading water

Score 201 on a 9mm Baretta shooting course

Closely observe the mannerisms of my instructors.....

....and publicly mock them in skits.

I am 35 and have no prior military service. I learned of this program from my former boss at the Capitol, State Representative Carl Isett. By joining the US Navy, I hope that I can have some small role in the War on Islamicist Facsism, preserve our freedoms, provide the same freedom for others and help make the world safer for the next generation.