Wars should be fought to win a victory against an aggressor. That is the true purpose of war. Not nation-building. Not leading an ungrateful rabble to the holy grail of democracy only to have them spit on it. Even preempting a potential enemy’s future capabilities is not, by itself, a reason to fight a war….
Op-Ed Blog
Thoughts on the ACLU
Russell recently took me to task over my statement that the ACLU actively seeks to suppress the Christian religion and highlighted one of his readers who pointed out several cases where the organization has defended individual high school student’s religious freedoms. These cases do muddy the waters. Even though it makes my distaste for the…
ACLU Sues School Over Bible Elective
The American “Civil Liberties” Union, along with People for the American Way and Jenner & Block, LLP, has filed a lawsuit against Ector County Independent School District, demanding the Odessa school system to stop teaching an optional Bible course, saying the elective “violates their religious liberty”. The plaintiffs’ position: “It’s important for students to be…
Defending Ron Paul
Tuesday night’s Republic debate highlighted Texas’ Ron Paul, a Libertarian disguised as a Republican, taking on a while handful of Republican party loyalists. As he did earlier in the month, Paul gave a lot better than he got.Traditional conservatives and Guiliani and McCain supporters are all over him for his anti-war position regarding Iraq. Why?…
Immigration Reform At Last?
A mixed bag of senators announced a “comprehensive” immigration reform plan today that, as I suspected, includes a well-defined path the citizenship for the current crop of illegals. CNN’s highlights: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: • Those who arrived before January 1, 2007, will be given immediate work authorization, granted a “Z” visa and put on path to…
To Torture or Not
Mark Kleiman says that General Petraeus’ recent denouncement of the use of torture demands that those “who accuse those who oppose torture of being foolishlly ‘soft,’ ignorant of the realities of asymmetric warfare, and indifferent to the risk of more terrorist attacks here, now need to say whether they want to apply their slander to…
A Bad Week to be a Teacher
First, Michael van der Galien says that group of teachers from Tennessee need to be fired and quick. Why? From CNN: Staff members of an elementary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as the children cried and hid under tables. … “The…
Farmers Branch, TX: Illegal Renters Not Welcome
According to the Houston Chronicle residents of Farmers Branch have voted to make it illegal for landlords to rent to illegal immigrants: Voters in this Dallas suburb became the first in the nation today to prohibit landlords from renting to most illegal immigrants. The ban was approved by a vote of 68 percent to 32…
Guiliani & Abortion – Finally Some Sense
Rudy Guiliani recently ensured that anti-abortion Republicans would have to look elsewhere for a candidate who represents them on that issue by re-stating his belief in the procedure. Speaking at Houston Baptist University’s Mabee Teaching Theater, he said: “I believe you have to respect their viewpoint and give them a level of choice,” the former…
Hate Crime Laws are Anti-American
The Ayn Rand Institute says that the federal hate crimes law that the House recently voted to expand should be done away with rather than being broadened. I concur. From the article: “The government’s job is to punish criminals for initiating force against other citizens; objective laws that ban the use of force and fraud…