Did you know that the Civil War could have been avoided if the North had bought all of the South’s slaves? Ron Paul thinks so. Why does this man get invited to conservative conferences, again?
Month: March 2010
Around the Web
Required reading on the Left’s “violent tea partiers” meme, courtesy of Michelle Malkin.
Is David Frum a victim? It sure doesn’t seem that way. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.
Jill Stanek takes a look at Bart Stupak’s reelection prospects, post-betrayal.
Global warming caused the plagues that helped Moses free the Hebrew slaves? Who knew that ancient Egypt had SUVs?
Also via Power Line, another handy primer on what’s in ObamaCare: “A Good Government Advocate’s Nightmare.”
America needs about 5,000 more Andrew Breitbarts (hat tip to the Other McCain).
Will Amnesty Torpedo the GOP’s Comeback?
Now that healthcare reform has passed, there’s been chatter about a possible amnesty encore. Some speculate that “immigration reform could KO health care.” On the surface, that seems to make sense – the public hates ObamaCare and everything the Democrats did to pass it, and given how much they hated amnesty when President Bush pushed it, trying again could backfire spectacularly on the Democrats.
However, it could also end up killing all the momentum and goodwill the GOP’s built up with the public over health care. The GOP will have enough trouble maintaining momentum on healthcare going into 2010 and keeping it all the way to 2012, and unlike healthcare, a fair number of prominent Republicans can be expected to defect to the Left on immigration, casting fresh doubts in voters’ minds as to their judgment, responsibility, values, and trustworthiness.
RNC Chair Michael Steele needs to get in front of this as soon as possible by committing to support only anti-amnesty candidates and opposing any pro-amnesty ones. If the GOP is to regain the public’s trust, it has to make it crystal clear that its defectors – even leaders such as McCain, Kyl, Graham, and McConnell, are just that: defectors.
Educational Malpractice, ObamaCare Edition
Jim Hoft has the story about PBS’s shiny new material to help teachers indoctrinate “educate” children on the “fundamental right” of health care, and government’s “obligation to secure this right for all Americans.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: conservatives cannot save America if we don’t take back the schools. Vouchers aren’t enough. Home schooling isn’t enough. As long as teachers & administrators feel free to pull this garbage without endangering their jobs, as long as school boards allow or promote it without fear of electoral repercussions, and as long as local parents and Republican Parties don’t care enough to scrutinize their schools, the long march of the Left will continue to eat our country away from the inside.
We Interrupt the Usual Politics…
…to completely and utterly geek out. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the lightsaber, the signature weapon of the Star Wars films:
Well, it turns out good old Earth science is much closer to making them work in real life than I ever would have guessed:
Truly, a ray of hope for humanity’s future at the end of such a grim week (hey, I’ll take what I can get).
ObamaCare Truth & Consequences
Via Power Line, here’s a list of 20 Ways ObamaCare Will Take Away Our Freedoms, and an op-ed on The Real Arithmetic of Health Care Reform (also, here’s a handy summary of what’s in the bill, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, and for you masochists out there, the bill’s full text, courtesy of Open Congress). Read ’em, print ’em out, and have ’em ready for the next time your lefty friends spout disinformation from the White House or MSNBC. This recap of the states’ experiences with government meddling in healthcare is required reading, too.
Also, check out my latest NewsReal post for where we go from here. The short version: we can, and must repeal this bill, but the GOP is really gonna have to bring their A-game. And for a great explanation of what should actually be done to improve American healthcare, Ann Coulter’s got you covered.
How Not to Argue Abortion (Updated)
I initially figured Capper was a shoe-in for the “Most Embarrassingly Self-Defeating Blogger in Wisconsin” Award—misattributing comments to people based on nothing but a first name, then digging in your heels when called on it seems pretty hard to top. But we have a new contender for the crown: our old pal Scott Feldstein.
Veterans of Wisconsin blog debates know Scott well as a foul-mouthed, hypocritical leftist who would rather conjure up dishonest, unconvincing reasons for ignoring & dismissing opponents’ views rather than actually debating them. In December, this charade devolved into an even more pitiful form: not only rationalizing why he shouldn’t believe his opponents’ claims, but fabricating reasons to suspect that his opponents don’t even believe their own beliefs!
His “reasoning” was—you’re gonna love this—pro-lifers don’t really see abortion as a human rights issue, because if they did, they’d all oppose abortion in rape/incest/life-of-mother cases, too, and they’d also support the sex-ed and condom distribution policies Scott likes; but because they don’t, it’s really all about controlling people’s sex lives.
Of course, Scott was confronted (by me and others) with credible arguments against all of this (by the way, here’s the latest counter-example to his anti-abstinence studies), but remained “skeptical.” Mind you, he couldn’t offer any good reasons for his skepticism, but proceeded to flaunt the nonsense anyway, as if he’d done…well, something to prove any of it or refute his opponents’ objections. As Allahpundit once said of Dingy Harry Reid, “like a two-year-old who’s just crapped on the carpet, he’s curiously proud of it.”
(Oh, and he also demanded to know what Planned Parenthood lied about, then when I told him exactly what Planned Parenthood lied about in painstaking detail, he ignored it for a hundred-something comments. ‘Cuz he’s such a stickler for the truth.)
But it gets better, my friends. Oh, does it get better.
This week, abortion came up once more on Boots & Sabers. Allow me to quote verbatim, so we can all revel in the majesty that is Scott’s madness:
If you believe—as you say you do—that a 3 month fetus is the legal and moral equivalent of a toddler, then you would either a) be storming the abortion clinic like Rambo to kill the murderous individuals who work there, or b) you’re a pathetic coward who wouldn’t risk his life to save roomfuls of innocent children from death. Of course there is a third explanation: You do know that 3 month old fetuses are not the moral and legal equivalent of you and me.
So, lemme get this straight: unless you also believe in abandoning the political process and the rule of law and killing abortion doctors, you don’t really believe in an unborn baby’s right to life.
There’s really only one way to respond to that:
Make no mistake: These aren’t sincere questions that Scott would stop asking if only someone would give him a good answer. He’s simply displaying a common tactic of left-wing hyper-partisanship: the need to attribute the beliefs of one’s opponents, no matter how sincere or well-argued, to any sort of ulterior motive other than the stated motivation, no matter how specious the evidence.
If Scott truly believes what he’s saying, then his ideology has so fully warped his mind that his capacity for rational, objective thought is completely gone. But I suspect he does know better. I think it’s all propaganda: he’s supporting a heinous practice, recognizes somewhat the odiousness of his position, and will throw out whatever he can to deflect moral judgment and make the other side the villains. Indeed, he deployed this gem of a point as a way of not answering The Family Guy, who noticed he described abortion as “sad and distasteful,” and asked the obvious follow-up: “If it’s nothing more than a lump of tissue, then why is it sad? Are you sad when you have a wart removed? It too was alive.”
Either way…pitiful.
UPDATE: As if we needed another indicator of how messed up the left-wing, pro-abortion mind is, consider the following: Scott says that because humans develop incrementally, meaning that in the period between just-conceived zygote and just-delivered newborn, increasing moral consideration should go along with increasing complexity (he also voted for a guy who had a a problem with those just-delivered newborns, but I digress). He also says that “a 12 week pregnancy can be terminated for any reason at all.”
Okay, so at 12 weeks, it must not be very developed or person-like, huh? I mean, it’s not like it would have any of the biggies, like a heartbeat, a fully-formed brain, or the capacity to feel pain.
Oh, wait. It has all of those things.
Something seems to have failed rather significantly in Scott’s efforts at drawing “reasonable” distinctions. How do you think he’d respond to that? If you guessed “dodge & deflect,” give yourself a cookie.
Pitiful. And monstrous.
Rave Reviews 3!
Hey, kids! It’s time for another installment of Rave Reviews!
“Calvin, you’d better take a course in logic while you’re there at Hillsdale, because this piece is full of logical fallacies. Oh, and a course in journalism mightn’t go amiss either…you’re a very silly boy, Calvin.” – Peggy
“what a fool you are… drowned by politcal propaganda when you claim to be a student of the very institution you bastardise. you are subversley guised into behaving like a perfect pawn.” – king james
“Look kid I’ve met many of your kind before, you have Dick Cheney written all over you. You’re willing to watch other people shed blood and make the sacrifice, but to chicken shit to put your own ass on the line. Why don’t you put your education on hold and join the fight instead of being some little bitch cheering from the sidelines. But of course we know you won’t, because you rather see other young men and women die for your twisted un-constitutional agenda.” – Justin
“…afgan cave of a mind.” – Rhys
“The problem with you Calvin is that you’ve been listening to Sean Hannity your entire life. If that’s your perspective, if that’s all you know, how do you know any better? You shut off your mind to any opposing views…But I know you won’t change and luckily not everyone is as arrogant as you in their beliefs thinking that they know everything” – Mike
“You seem to have an absolute block in your mind about questioning anything that involves the military…I think it’s sad that you are unable to engage in an intelligent discussion of these topics.” – Aaron
“You Neo-Cons are definitely in denial. Who the hell told you that being Pro-War is Pro-American? […] you definitely need much more education than I thought.” – Branden
“…an Israel Firster.” – William R
“Perhaps you’re not evil, just coldhearted.” – GrrrlRomeo
“I am troubled that my alma mater Hillsdale is producing students of political science with such poor reading comprehension and listening capacities…an unprincipled young man who wishes to maintain present American global dominance without consideration of the damage it will do to our republic in the long run…my name is on plaques at Hillsdale, and yours isn’t.” – Marcus Brutus
“You are such a little drama queen…You are despicable…Calvin, the Defender of Pedophiles. Hey, NAMBLA just advocates ‘free speech.’ They don’t really do anything wrong. Calvin, go join, quick, you little punk.” – John Doe
“So, just labeling someone as crazy without challenging the points they brought up passes as political discourse at the mighty poli sci department of Hillsdale these days?” – infocyde
“Scores of those ‘fringy’ Birchers , whose biggest crime is sticking up for the Constitution, have something on the chicken-hawk college student writing this silly blog entry – they’ve served their country admirably in the military.” – Howling Hurricane
“Ad hominum attacks much?” – spinnikerca
“I am not a 9-11 truther but I don’t have a big problem with those who question government and demand more answers from government. As Glenn Beck would say, question with boldness. Just not 9-11! That’s because, unlike you and him, I am for liberty and freedom in all instances…The elitism card can only work for so long and at some point you neoconservatives will have to articulate where and why I’m wrong or else people will start to suspect you can’t.” – fatlibertarian
“Basically, gays can ride the bus, they just cant sit in the front. As you might say, “gotcha”. Try and twist yourself out of that pretzel, you thoughtless hypocritical carrier pigeon for hate.” – Joshua from NJ
“If ever I needed proof positive that you are motivated by contempt for gay persons, you have just provided me with that proof — without as much as a hint of a fig-leaf of covering rhetoric.” – Phillip Chandler
“Almost embarrassed??? That’s funny Cal, after the stuff you buy into and attemp to defend , I would say you’re not capable of embarrassment . Do all Repu….er ..uh …conservatives share your views ?” – badaboo
“It’s self evident Calvin , take off your political blinders , and if you still can’t see this for what it is …well , that’s not my fault . That’s on you pal.” – eyes wide open
“Love to see the Euphrates run red with Muslim blood don’t ya? Everything you guys spew is anti-Palestinian.” – Jacob
“If you don’t ever encounter difficulty articulating or defending your views, then that may mean that your views are predictable and derivative: They apparently present no challenge to you.” – CK MacLeod
“How sad that Calvin didn’t learn even the tiniest bit of logic and critical thinking allegedly taught at Hillsdale.” – Debbie Schlussel
Start your day right with hateful, ignorant analysis from your favorite knuckle-dragging, pro-gay/anti-gay war monger! Calvin Freiburger Online: shouldn’t you be reading?
Introducing the Official CFO Store! (UPDATED)
The Conservative Armory: The Official CFO Store
Finally! All the intolerant, judgmental, right-wing wit and wisdom you’ve come to know and love from this blog is now available in pithy, wearable form! With tea parties and town halls popping up all over the place, it must be tough for poor Janet Napolitano to keep tabs on so many extremists. Why not help her out by proudly wearing your conservative views for all to see? It’s the compassionate thing to do!
Right now the store has a healthy mix of conservative, pro-life, historical, and anti-Obama t-shirts, plus one of the Web’s finest (and, near as I can tell, only) selections of anti-Ron Paul gear. I’ll be adding new designs as I think of ’em, so be sure to check back regularly!
UPDATE: I set the products to “Private” while I make some adjustments. It’ll be back up soon.
Who Is the Right’s Charles Johnson?
Looks like others are starting to notice that John Doe debates like a foul-mouthed twelve-year-old. For the record, I think Dan Riehl’s original criticism of Glenn Beck, while valid, was over the top, but it’s hilarious to hear Doe equate him with Charles Johnson, because it seems to me that Doe is the Johnson wannabe, not Riehl. While Charles Johnson smears decent conservatives as too “extreme,” John Doe smears decent conservatives as not extreme enough.
Conservative Standards 