Mona Charen of NRO Skewers Ron Paul
Nov 23, 2007 Link Fest, Political
I am not a Ron Paul supporter but to be clear, I have not gotten on the bandwagon of any candidate. I need to see more before I take a decision as to whom I will support. I understand there is a big net roots campaign for Ron Paul of Texas. I have written in the past that I like most of Paul’s views on domestic policy but I have some real issues with his foreign policy especially with regard to the war on terror in Iraq. I just can’t get my hands around this idea that we caused the attack on 9/11.
However, I have found that Paul appears to be an honest man with strong devotion to his ideals. While I might not agree with all of them, I can see his is true to them and does not flip flop around like many other candidates. Mona Charen of NRO wrote a piece about Paul and in it I think she went out of bounds. She makes some good points but then likens him to some of the groups who happen to support him. She also took a stab at him because he received money from a person (or people) who have bad beliefs.
I do not think a politician has to give back money just because the donor has ideas that others do not like. This is not to say that candidates like Hillary Clinton should be able to keep money that was donated under questionable circumstances which border the realm of illegality (if they are not down right illegal). This goes for all candidates but when donors just happen to be people with whom others disagree it is unreasonable for anyone to expect them to return the money. The politician in question does not have to agree with the donor to accept the money.
Imagine if Clinton were required to give back money from the gay and lesbian or ILLEGAL immigrant support groups because others found their positions detestable? Of course Hillary agrees with the groups so that makes it easier but I imagine that she would accept money from any conservative group that donated it legally regardless of their positions. If the person wanted Hillary to win she would take their money no matter what positions they personally held as should any politician, so long as the donations are legal. Charen makes the leap that Neo Con (a term that more people than Paul use) is shorthand for the Jews. How many times have Democrats used that term and why have Jews not found it offensive?
There is a little battle going on and the Paul campaign sent a letter to clear up some of Charen’s assertions. Whether or not that will do any good is hard to say.
However, it might be helpful if the Paul supporters stopped inundating email in boxes with their ardent support for Paul. Ticking off the people who have the power to write widely read columns does not seem to be a smart course of action.
As always, please feel free to comment.
Others with similar items:
Nuke’s, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Woman Honor Thyself, Three Forces Of Evil, Right Truth, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Cao’s Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, Chuck Adkins, and Dumb Ox Daily News, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Tags: Democrats, domestic policy, Hillary Clinton, honest man, illegal immigrant, mona charen, neo con, nro, ron paul, war on terror
Veteran’s Day 2007
Nov 11, 2007 Link Fest, Military
Today we celebrate Veteran’s Day though tomorrow is the day it will be observed. The United States is a great country because it has a history of fighting for what is right and for joining others in fights for what is right. Leading the charge throughout history is the American Military and the great men and women who serve in the armed forces.
There is no draft today and yet men and women step up to the plate to fight the war on terror and to prosecute our actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. These men and women are unsung heroes who are often forgotten until some crisis comes up requiring tough people to do violence on behalf of the protected.
We have the greatest military in the world and, unlike other nations we do not go around conquering countries and taking what they have for our selves. We help them out in their fight and we help them rebuild. Japan and Germany were conquered and yet they prosper today as allies of the US. Many others have us to thank that they still have a native language and that they have not become the property of another, stronger, nation.
Today we thank the men and women who give all for people they do not know in order to make this world a better place. We honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow countrymen. I read this definition of a Veteran at a site this morning: (Big Dog Salute to GM Roper)
“A veteran – whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve – is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The ‘United States of America’, for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’†(Author unknown) Right in a Left World
Thank you veterans. May God bless you and keep you safe.
Others with similar posts:
Stop the ACLU, Perri Nelson’s Website, Rosemary’s Thoughts, A Blog For All, 123beta, Stix Blog, Right Truth, The Populist, Grizzly Groundswell, Stuck On Stupid, , Adeline and Hazel, Nuke’s, The Uncooperative Radio Show!, The World According to Carl, The Pink Flamingo, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Tags: american military, blank check, fight the war, great country, great men, national guard, ultimate sacrifice, unsung heroes, veteran, war on terror
Response to Wildfires by Military not Hampered by Deployments
Oct 30, 2007 Link Fest, Military
It did not take long for people to blame George Bush for the wildfires in California because of his [past] opposition to global warming and because of a general hatred of the man. People compare the response to the wildfires with the response to Katrina and there are those who believe that the wealthier Californians made out better than the poor folk in New Orleans. The fact is, all response starts at the local level and then rapidly involves state resources. The local responders put their plans into effect quickly in California and the state rapidly became involved. The National Guard responded proactively by moving planes equipped to fight fires closer to the action by placing them on training missions until they were requested and the official request could be initiated.
The state asked for help early and it got that help. Unlike the leaders of New Orleans and Louisiana, the leaders of California acted responsibly and did not wait for the federal government to swoop in to help. Had Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco acted as quickly and decisively there might have been a better outcome in New Orleans. I heard someone state, on one of the news shows, that the response of the military (especially the National Guard) was hampered because of the deployments of our reserves to the war on terror. The truth is, a very small portion of California’s National Guard members are actually deployed and those deployments did not hamper the efforts in fighting the wildfires. In fact, the military was in place and had to wait to assist because the system had to play catch up with other entities necessary for the military to assist.
In fact, the Defense Department was so aggressive in responding to the dozens of wildfires that scorched nearly 500,000 acres this week that military pilots and crews were in place and set to fly a full day before they were finally allowed to do so, McHale explained.
~snip~
Some 2,500 National Guard soldiers were deployed to help fight the fires, McHale said, as were 350 active duty and civilian Defense Department employees. An additional 17,000 National Guard troops were on standby for activation to the fire lines should they be needed, he said.
“The military response to the wildfires in California was not inhibited in any way, to any degree, by deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan,†McHale said. “The capabilities that we needed in Southern California were fully available from our domestic inventory of resources, and those capabilities were made available as fast as was humanly possible.†[DOD News]
Proper leadership is necessary in response to any disaster and the leaders in California demonstrated how it should be done. While I certainly realize that the disasters in New Orleans and California were two completely different entities, I also have heard and read the complaints by people who compared the two events. There is this feeling that California fared better because of its demographics and that is simply not true. There are many ILLEGAL immigrants in the Southern part of California (who hope to find jobs rebuilding the place) so the poverty vs well off does not completely wash, though there were many more rich people affected in California than New Orleans. Additionally, wildfires progress differently than floods and are a different beast to tame all together but since people brought it up…
The overarching theme is that proper leadership in the time of disaster is key to providing the best possible outcome and California outclassed Louisiana in that arena. California leaders gave firm evacuation orders and people obeyed. New Orleans gave half hearted orders and did not enforce them and certain parts of the population did not take them seriously. People died because the leadership of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana failed the people who they were elected to protect.
Let us hope that Bobby Jindal can change the culture of corruption and welfare entitlement that is pervasive in Louisiana, particularly in New Orleans, and get that once great state back on its feet.
BTW, contrary to what people think, arsonists and not global warming, were to blame for the wildfires.
Others discussing similar items: Lost Paradise, Perri Nelson’s Website, , AZAMATTEROFACT, Right Truth, The Populist, DragonLady’s World, Cao’s Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Jo’s Cafe, Adeline and Hazel, third world county, The Uncooperative Radio Show!, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Republican National Convention Blog, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Tags: californians, fight fires, katrina, Link Fest, mayor nagin, national guard soldiers, new orleans, war on terror, wildfires in california