Commentary: Defending Gov. Palin

A Response to Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times
By Judith M Kratochvil
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Ever since Senator John McCain (R-AZ) the GOP presidential nominee announced his surprise selection of Governor Sara Palin of Alaska as his Vice President Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell has been hammering away at Palin. This commentary is an attempt to respond to Mitchell and her charges.

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MyOpenCongress: Network, Comment and Vote on Congress

MyOpenCongress is a social network that allows the American people to follow congress and track legislation. The member can select Congressmen, Senators, Issues, and legislation in which they are interested to track and create a personalized profile. It also allows individuals to comment on members of Congress, the Senate, and legislation. The pages for members or legislation also track news stories through google news and blog posts.

Americans can also show bill trackers on facebook by using the Congress.org application. They can blog a bill from the interface and more.

Reducing Teen Pregnancies and Abortions

by Janice Shaw Crouse

The first step in reducing teen pregnancy and abortion is to know the facts. Actually, we know what works. Child Trends and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy published their own data and the corroborating findings of a vast body of scientific research which found that the recipe for delaying sexual activity is parental involvement, good friends, strong faith and participation in church activities. The bottom line, they said, is that parents and friends have tremendous influence on their children, regardless of socio-demographic or economic background and characteristics.

Obviously, many of the nation’s adolescents don’t have those positive influences in their lives; researchers from the left and the right acknowledge the problems associated with single parent families, father absence, declining church attendance, and lack of community networks.

NEA boss praises Gov. Sara Palin

Robert Holland
The Washington Times

(Circ. 100,258) – In general, conservatives were thrilled with Sen. John McCain’s selection of the reform-minded governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, to join him on the Republican presidential ticket, while Democratic operatives cast aspersions on her readiness to be a heartbeat from the presidency.

So, what to make of the verbal bouquets thrown her way by one of the staunchest supporters of Democratic candidates and liberal causes, the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union? In an August 29 statement, NEA President Reg Weaver said, “the 3.2 million members [of the NEA] are pleasantly surprised” by the choice of Palin to run for vice president. One never ceases to marvel at how the NEA brass can presume to speak instantly on any issue for more than 3 million K-12 teachers, but that is the union’s standard operating procedure.

Read more in The Washington Times

Detainees and Habeas – An Open Letter to Sen. Lindsey Graham

I am also reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision and am disappointed in your over reaction to it. The one tweak that may be needed to satisfy the Court is to allow the review to be a habeas review. I thought that the procedures were generous and sufficient, but that does not equate to constitutional and in keeping with the habeas statute. I certainly don’t think you should make a statement like the one you have until you have completely finished reviewing the decision. I am a bit concerned about your constant warring with the Court.

In my reading so far I see nothing that says that they would have a right to sue. However, if the Court did have full review and found that an individual was wrongly detained; especially because of the length of time involved that justice ought to be rendered even if it meant a lawsuit against our government for improper detention.

Hilary Clinton, Sexism, and the Historic Presidentional Bid

Some of Hillary clinton’s supporters believe there is sexism at play in the defeat of their candidate. However, I couldn’t disagree more because I beleive that what ultimately did her in may have been Clinton-Bush fatigue.

 

No one in the media originally brough up the gender card. The Clinton brought gneder in to the race when she complained of being treated harshly by the other candidates, all male, because she was a women. After this incident what was supposed to be her coronation was over. Then you have the mocking by late-night comedians, which can be over-the-top. However, when these same comedians parody President Bush, of whom I am no great defender, and are over-the-top no one complains. Finally, you have the parody by Father Michael Pflager regarding her feeling entitled. While his parody was inappropriate for the environment in which he did it, the parody is something that would have went largely no comment and recieved no punishment if it were of President Bush.

 

If women want a female Presidnet and women want to run for president they are going to have to learn to deal with the same indignified parodies as male politicians do. We cannot laugh at parodies of George W. Bush or John McCain and then complain about a parody of Hillary Clinton. That is a double standard.

 

Until the air of inevitability came crashing down around her and she was not coronated she ran a campaign which looked like her saying she was entitled to the presidnecy, not because she was a woman but because she was a Clinton. Reality set in when Barak Obama started winning in the small contests she ignored. She felt entitled  and she was going to win the large primary states, so the caucuses did not matter.

 

Her hubris and sense of entitlement in the end is what beat her and not any parody, perceived sexism of the media, or the the challenge she got from the other candidates during debates. These were all fair challenges.

 

Women need to still be proud of the historic presidential bid of Hillary Clinton because as she said in her concession speech the highest glass ceiling has been cracked on many places.

Liberal or Conservative?: The use of Political labels to smear candidates

It is now the fashionable order of the day to use the political labels such as liberal or conservative as a smear for a person inside your group that thinks differently on major issues. For example, a Republican being branded liberal is a bad thing inside the Republican group, while a Democrat being seen as conservative is equally bad inside the Democratic camp.  This negative labeling brings up the question what are conservative and liberal other than labels we use to describe people either pejoratively or positively depending on who is using the label to describe an action that was taken.

 

I beleive that there are four categories of individuals inside both major parties: conservatives, liberals, moderates, and neoconservatives. This labeling gets more complicated because different actions can earn different labels for the same person. What is the meaning of each of these labels?

 

• Conservatives are those who adhere to a philosophy of conservatism which believes in tradition, stability, and established institutions. Core political political positions include lower taxes, limited government, limited regulation on business and investment, and a strong national defense.
• Liberals are those who adhere to a philosophy of liberalism which belives in progress and essential goodness of the human race. Core political positions include autonomy of the individual as well as protection of civi rights and civil liberties.
• Moderates are those that profess non extreme positions on the core issues of both liberals and conservatives.
• Neoconservatives are people who promotes the assertive promotion of democracy and the intervention of the United States in world affairs by military means.

(Definitions from Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.)

 

These thoughts are coming out of an article that is in The State newspaper this morning. Political columnist James Rosen chronicles Senator Lindsey Graham’s voting record in his article Graham : Liberal label inaccurate. The article chronicles the difference in treat he recieves from the media and political colleagues and that he recieves from the people, particularly of the upstate region he calls home.  Currently he gets defined by the relatively few times he crosses a party line to solve a problem. The actions looming largest in the minds of the voters are the following:

 

Immigration: Senator Graham supported a bipartisan compromise that included border enforcement and a set of rules that most liberals disagreed with to legalize the illegals that had been here for a certain amount of time. This seemed fair enough, but many just wanted them all sent back.

 

Torture: He questioned the administration’s policy on the definition of torture. This angered “conservatives” who thought that he should go along with the administration on this point. He questioned this policy based n his experience as a military lawyer. The military is, by nature, a conservative institution.

 

Hillary Clinton: Sen. Graham praised Hillary Clinton which recieved criticism from conservatives.

 

Gang of 14: Counted correctly as one of his accomplishments, but nonethe less highly criticized by fellow conservatives. He brokered the deal to preserve the instittution of the United States Senate.

 

Looking at each of these actions to measure his conservatism or liberalism is foolish becasue one has to measure his entire record. It is also not neccessarily conservative or liberal to walk in lockstep (which he hasn’t done) behind a president. Looking at each of these actions puts him n the moderate-conservative camp. I am not counting the praise of Hillary Clinton in the caluculation because I think that one can have no political agenda when praising a colleague.

 

I see the immigration compromise as moderate becasue it allowed people to recieve special visas after returnining to their country of origin and meeting certain requirements.

 

Sen. Graham’s response to the torture is conservative because it follows established precedent and laws. It also follows the experience of the military, which he loves and is a very conservative institution. In his response he also wanted to protect any member of our armed forces that may be held captive.

 

The Gang of 14 compromise could also be seen in a conservative light as preserving the institution of the United States Senate and allowing the confirmation of several formerly controversial nominees, as well as, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.

 

Calling Sen Graham a liberal is using the term as a pejorative in order to gain political advantage and is espescially disingenuous when one examines his entire record and observes the hard right camapign he is running just to maintian his Senate seat.

 

We need to properly use the labels to identify people instead of as pejorative. I do not fell that either position of seeking progress or maitaining tradition is wrong. In fact I beleive that this country is about seeking progress within the existing traditions and institutions of the nation.

Letter Regarding Iran

I am gravely concerned that we are on the road to war in Iran. Considering S.J. Res. 23 (2001), S.Amdt. 3017 (2007) and Gen. Petraeus’s recent testimony I fear there may be either a resolution to take hostile action against Iran or the president claiming he has the authority to do so based on the aforementioned acts of Congress.

There are also the reports in the New York Times and Washington Post this morning about the Iran threat. This smells of being a reprise of the buildup to war with Iraq. It also doesn’t ease my fears that Adm. Fallon, who was trying to calm the frayed nerves of Middle Eastern countries, has resigned his post. He had said upon nomination that there would be no war with Iran on his watch. Now that we are not under his watch I fear that we will get ourselves whipped into a frenzy again and take hostile action against Iran.

ISI e-update

Memorial Service for E. Victor Milione, ISI President Emeritus Dear Judy Kratochvil, ISI has planned an April 12, 2008 memorial service in Washington, DC to honor E. Victor Milione. Victor Milione passed away on February 10, 2008. For thirty-five years, from 1953 to 1988, he was the guiding force of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, serving as executive vice president and then president. For more information on E. Victor Milione’s ISI legacy and memorial service, please visit http://www.isi.org/spotlight/milione/tribute.html “Vic Milione embodied the virtues of honor, integrity, and piety that are the essential human qualities of a free and humane society. His noble spirit continues to enliven the ISI mission. With heartfelt gratitude, we honor his memory.” -T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., President, ISI

R.I.P.: William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008), ISI’s First President For half a century, William F. Buckley Jr. was the most widely recognized and respected conservative public intellectual in America. He had also served in 1953–54 as ISI’s first president. The institute’s current president, T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., said on his passing, “It was William F. Buckley who crafted the intellectual consensus that accommodated conservatism’s warring proponents of freedom on the one hand and of moral order on the other. Freedom, he showed, was the indispensable means for achieving moral order. The success of the modern conservative political coalition would not have been possible except for the antecedent intellectual consensus forged by Buckley in the pages of National Review.” For information on ISI’s tribute to William F. Buckley Jr., including video and audio lectures, articles, images, and more, please visit http://www.isi.org/spotlight/buckley/tribute.html

A Film Guide for the Thinking Cultural Critic ISI Books proudly announces the publication of God, Man & Hollywood: Politically Incorrect Cinema from The Birth of a Nation to The Passion of the Christ Buy now at a 45% discount until March 31st By Mark Royden Winchell List Price: $28.00 Sale Price $15.40 Beginning with D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation and ending with Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, Winchell reveals the politically incorrect notions at the heart of eighteen classic films, including Ben-Hur, Patton, The Deer Hunter, and Gangs of New York. Along the way, he shows how a number of filmmakers, sometimes unwittingly, have produced unconventionally honest explorations of the nature and meaning of shared human experiences. Winchell ends with synoptic assessments of an additional one hundred politically incorrect films, from About Schmidt to Zulu. The result is an indispensable film guide showing that sometimes even Hollywood has done better than we typically give it credit for. Mark Royden Winchell is professor of English at Clemson University, where he also directs Clemson’s program in the Great Works of Western Civilization. He is the author of books on Joan Didion, William F. Buckley Jr., and neoconservative criticism and of authorized biographies of literary critics Donald Davidson and Leslie Fiedler, among other volumes. During the past quarter century he has published over 120 essays and reviews in such periodicals as Sewanee Review, the American Conservative, and Modern Age.

The Eric Breindel Prize for Journalism The Eric Breindel Memorial Foundation is again offering a $10,000 prize along with a paid internship at FoxNews or the New York Post to the writer whose work best reflects the values championed by former New York Post editor and columnist Eric Breindel. Read more about the award on its website: www.ericbreindel.org. Entries must have been written and published within the past year to qualify. Don’t feel constrained by the guidelines’ seemingly narrow focus: the judges are open to creativity. Last year’s winner, a Collegiate Network student from Claremont, took the prize with an article that examined homelessness in London in light of Burkean principles. If you would like to read the winning articles from the past two years or have any questions about the award itself, please contact Liz Persing of the Collegiate Network at epersing@isi.org.

Attend the Tuscan Classical Academy Located in a restored Tuscan hilltop estate 25 kilometers north of Florence, the Tuscan Classical Academy is based on long-standing traditions, ideals, and values. The Academy was founded by architectural restorer and educator Lynn Fleming Aeschliman, who started renovating the Capitignano property in the late 1960s. The Academy brings together talented and experienced architects, artists, teachers, and theorists who are devoted to the classical, medieval, and Renaissance traditions in the arts. The Academy Fellows promote the arts as essential to human flourishing and well-being as well as professional competence and growth. The Capitignano estate has several major buildings that contain a library, studio, lecture hall, salon, living and dining accommodations, as well as a swimming pool, tennis court, and lovely terraces. The Academy runs collaborative programs with the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, INTBAU, the Erasmus-Jefferson Summer Institute (University of Virginia), the Boston University College of Fine Arts, TASIS: The American School in Switzerland (Lugano), and for the past two summers with the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (New York). Independent students are welcome to apply to attend on a credit or non-credit basis. Please visit www.tuscanclassicalacademy.org or email Lynn Aeschliman at lfa@tasis-schools.org for more information.

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Editorial: We recommend Mike Huckabee | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Opinion: Editorials

Editorial: We recommend Mike Huckabee | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Opinion: Editorials

Whatever Texas Republican primary voters do Tuesday, John McCain is all but guaranteed to be the party’s presidential nominee. It is mathematically impossible for Mike Huckabee, the last remaining major GOP contender, to capture the nomination. The former Arkansas governor even turned up on Saturday Night Live recently to poke fun at himself for not going away.

Let’s be clear: Mr. Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, remains our choice for the GOP nomination. But Mr. McCain has racked up by far the most delegates and leads among Texas Republicans by a wide margin in recent opinion polls. Though he can’t clinch the nomination Tuesday, victory is undeniably close.

Aside from his long experience and personal courage, he has a solid record of fiscal responsibility and has been on the right side of campaign finance reform and environmental issues. And he was correct and principled to lead the fight for comprehensive immigration reform last summer. Still, his age – 71 – and his choleric temperament gave us pause, particularly when contrasted to Mr. Huckabee’s sunny-side-up brand of conservatism.