Smacking down moralistic moral equivalency

A little history lesson (here) about ending WWII for Jon Stewart.

Living free versus dying

This morning I was reading the latest edition of Imprimis. The essay from Mark Steyn hammers the reality that we are inclined to want many things other than freedom when push comes to shove. From the article:

"Give people plenty and security, and they will fall into spiritual torpor," wrote Charles Murray in In Our Hands. "When life becomes an extended picnic, with nothing of importance to do, ideas of greatness become an irritant. Such is the nature of the Europe syndrome."

The key word here is "give." When the state "gives" you plenty—when it takes care of your health, takes cares of your kids, takes care of your elderly parents, takes care of every primary responsibility of adulthood—it's not surprising that the citizenry cease to function as adults: Life becomes a kind of extended adolescence—literally so for those Germans who've mastered the knack of staying in education till they're 34 and taking early retirement at 42. Hilaire Belloc, incidentally, foresaw this very clearly in his book The Servile State in 1912. He understood that the long-term cost of a welfare society is the infantilization of the population.

I thought of the subject again over lunch with a friend as we discussed the stress of employment and paying bills and most-things-work-related . . . a comfortable, secure, high-quality-of-life job is very appealing at times. Steyn's article, beyond any perceived (or real) relationship to contemporary partisan politics, provides insight into a founding principle of our great republic: Live free or die.

Wow, "more info" equals "more pro-life"?

I've heard some speculation that recent polling trends (in favor of the pro-life position) were a reflection of push-back following the election of the most abortion-friendly president in American history, but this article suggests that the pro-life trend (which has been occurring over several years) may be the result of increased use and availability of ultra-sound.

Iranian "Elections"

I was intrigued by the headline, "Iran approves candidates," linking to an article about Iran's upcoming presidential election. From the article:

Campaigning has officially got under way in Iran's presidential elections, with just four people cleared to run out of the 475 who registered.

Iran's Guardian Council cleared four candidates, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the current president, to run for election, Iran's Jumhuri-ye Eslami newspaper reported on Thursday.

The Guardian Council likely thinks they're "guarding" the people from themselves.

Pro-life legislation finally gets a vote in TN House

Pro-life victory in TN: SJR 127 passes the House at last.

Hey, is Nancy Pelosi a lawyer?

There's a "movement" afoot to disbar 12 Bush Administration attorneys for their purported support of "torture." VELVETREVOLUTION.US : The DisbarTortureLawyers Campaign:

Torture is illegal under both United States and international law. The Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, and it states that treaties signed by the U.S. are the “supreme Law of the Land” under Article Six. The Geneva Convention and The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment both prohibit torture and have been signed by the United States. These laws provide no exception for torture under any circumstances. Moreover, the United States Criminal Code prohibits both torture and war crimes, the latter which includes torture. The Army Field Manual prohibits the use of degrading treatment of detainees.

Despite this well-established law, under the Bush administration, torture was authorized by George Bush and kept secret using classified designations. The White House requested legal memoranda to support its use of torture and it received those authored by a host of attorneys, including John Yoo, Jay Bybee, and Stephen Bradbury. Attorneys who advised, counseled, consulted and supported those memoranda included Alberto Gonzales, John Ashcroft, Michael Chertoff, Alice Fisher, William Haynes II, Douglas Feith, Michael Mukasey, Timothy Flanigan, and David Addington.

(emphasis mine). Well, it wasn't exactly kept a secret.

Majority of Americans "pro-life"

Poll: Majority of Americans Are Pro-Life for the First Time

Fifty-one percent of Americans consider themselves "pro-life" and just 42 percent say they are "pro-choice," the first time a majority of the country has stated a personal objection to abortion since Gallup polls began tracking the data 15 years ago.

See Newsbusters for more info on the poll.

Remembering 9/11

While I was at youtube, I came across this stirring documentary about 9/11. It is an excellent reminder of the enemy we face in Jihadist Islam.

Great movie speeches . . .

Great art inspires us to great things, in my opinion. This movie clip inspires me to be willing to fight and risk loss.

What song brings a tear to your eye?