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This is awesome for its stupidity:

Never Surrender By LTG. William G. Boykin

General Boykin came to public attention in the most unfair way; he was the target of a media hit piece. The General is a practicing Evangelical Christian. His faith and military service make him a desired target for the media. NBC news and the LA Times ran with stories that lacked honesty and fairness. He was trashed by the political classes and even by the President of the United States. His only defender was Donald Rumsfield, showing yet again that the Secretary of Defense is a man of his own.

The book is a recounting of the role that faith played in a soldier’s life and how because of that faith he became the target of the media. The book is a breezy read that will become popular with church groups and other Christian organizations. The book is also a reminder of how the press manipulates and distorts to shape their own agendas.

Wind Power Not Thought Out

            It seems that there is a whole world of faulty info and data that surrounds the green movement. Now as I said before, I believe in sensible, local options to curb pollution and waste. I do not buy into the hysteria of global warming and I believe that most of the “solutions” that are now being discussed are the products of shoddy thought and ill planning. One need not look further than bio-fuels made of corn to see the tragic consequences of poor foresight and planning.            

            Now it seems that wind farms are a failure. My favorite quote from the piece:

“Analysis from 1996 to 2005 shows similar results: large, rapid, and frequent changes of power output being common occurrences … any national power system has to manage under the worst case conditions likely to occur … These are not extreme cases, whose frequency is so low as to render the events negligible. Rather, these are representative …”

It is not surprising that once again the left is simply wrong. We need sensible policies based on rational science. It is time to leave the hysteria at the door.

Zev Chafets on Rush Limbaugh

            NY Times magazine is running a profile on Rush Limbaugh written by the very talented Zev Chafets. Unlike most pieces written on Rush, Chafets seems to go out of his way to be very fair and the result is a must read profile of America’s and the World’s best talk show host. I grew up intellectually listening to Rush, as did most of the conservatives in my age group. Rush came along when I was in high school, giving me ammunition and the boldness to defy teachers and fight back for my beliefs (it is lazy journalism to believe that Rush indoctrinates, he merely shows us that we have the tools to express ourselves). Rush was there for college, instilling the tools needed to survive “higher education” intact from the true indoctrination. Rush is an American hero.         

            Rush’s role as hero is what causes him so many problems with the media and the left. Those groups despise the idea of true heroes and individuals that question authority (the left was all about questioning authority until they gained the levers of power). Rush is derided as is his audience. Chafets does an excellent job of showing that Limbaugh’s audience surpasses NPR’s for education and knowledge of politics and current events, much to the left’s chagrin. He also points out that Rush is not in the same league as other hosts, like Imus, Hannity, Savage and O’Reilly. That is well known due to constant available numbers and ad revenue. Limbaugh is King, and Hannity is a Prince. Chafets does point to a little friction between the two, but that is to be expected really. When you have a system like talk radio, it is manned by individualists that compete, and the fact that Hannity is on good terms with Rush and Mark Levin speaks well of all involved.          

            Now there might be some blowback against Chafets for going light on Rush, but that would be from Rush haters. Chafets covered all the bases that the left uses against Rush. His wealth, his drug issues, divorces, ostentation and appetite are all covered in the profile. Rush comes off extremely well and likeable, but we know that about the man already. I feel sorry for Zev, his friends are going to be rough on him.

This is making my mouth water…

To be fair, I admire some of Parker’s columns. She is a very talented writer and the book uses facts and research to support most of her claims. Yet, I feel that the subject itself was a mixed bag, as was the book. There is inequality between the sexes. There will most likely always be an inequality due to the simple fact that men and women are inherently different. Any argument that does not account for such a fact will be heavy-loaded with emotion and will lack reason. That said, I do believe that we are not where we need to be to make the sexes as equal as possible. Women, still get the low end in the work place. I will not mention pay disparities because I see that as a red-herring. What I see is that women are put in places or situations that few men would tolerate in the work place, whether it is fetching coffee, organizing parties or picnics or supplying birthday cards and cakes. I know that I use female workers to wrap my gifts (I ask as a friend, but it would never occur to me to ask a male co-worker). I admit this because I am for the most part, the least sexist conservative individual I know.

Parker’s thesis is correct; there is a war on men and on masculinity. Yet, as a male I do not feel the need for her defense. In one particular space she argues that men should be exempt from child support payments as long as they have no say on abortion. Well, I used that gambit as a freshman in college, a friend walked over and gave the best advice a young college man will get – Don’t forget your jimmy hat (meaning ALWAYS WEAR A CONDOM). Men do have a say in the conception of a child. They can abstain from sex or take the necessary precautions to avoid disease and pregnancy. The constant battles over abortion need not be between the sexes, it is a matter that is unique in every case. She also argues about the need to make restraining orders and evictions harder to obtain. If this policy were implemented, it would mean more dead and or abused women in the short and long terms. A less naïve approach would be restraining orders that do not stay on the permanent record and do not curtail any constitutional freedoms (which in itself may be a violation of due process).

Overall, the book is a highly readable account from a conservative activist point of view. I disagree with a lot in the book, but Parker backs up much of her work with stats. I applaud her there. This is a book that should be read, if only to see the growing gap between us on these issues. I may not agree with her, but she brings up many important issues that need to be addressed as a society.

Obama Hypocrisy of The Day – July 2^nd

            Obama, after hitting Mark Penn for his connections to Countrywide has an insider that had a sweetheart loan from the same company. As is Obama’s MO, he tried to stand by the man until it became a millstone.  Obama, as he is wont to do, threw yet another friend and supporter under the proverbial bus. How anyone can trust this man is beyond me. Now comes word that Obama, the paragon of liberal virtue, has more mortgage problems.  The press has been hesitant to look into the Tony Rezko issues with Obama’s house, now comes more dirty dealings dealing with the same property. Obama, like many others in the Democrat leadership has now been caught profiting from his office. There is no loud outcry from the public and the media is trying hard to give him cover. I ask, what if this were GOPers caught red-handed? Could they survive? Would the press enable them?

Papercuts, the NY Times blog on books wonders if we are facing the end of biography. I for one doubt it; in fact biographies seem to be flourishing in the right hands. David McCullough’s fine book on John Adams is a recent example of what is yet to come out of the genre. There was no easily readable biography of Adams before McCullough.

Authors need to re-examine what has been written before and find away to make it approachable and interesting. Some subjects have too many books, like Ronald Reagan. There are literally hundreds of books about and by Reagan, who I revere, but nothing new is written. Too many books on the same subjects make the genre seem dead and stale, but there is genuine excitement when a groundbreaking book is released.

There is not a more adorable film out this year. I was overwhelmed by the style, acting and music. This is what Hollywood should be making and what audiences would flock to if it were ever promoted and distributed. Miss Pettigrew is a down on her luck lady, heartbroken and poor. She cannot hold a job as a governess, so the employment agency refuses to get her a new job. Knowing the address of a job that the agency has yet to fill, Miss Pettigrew goes there and immediately is thrown into a world she knows nothing about. It seems she was to be a personal assistant to an actress. Well, I do not want to give spoilers, so let’s just say that this is an example of a movie done right.

Here is the novel that the film is based on

and here is the DVD

            As we all know, I am not a huge McCain fan. I do not believe he is a conservative, and I am pretty sure that he leans left when in doubt. Yet, the current attacks of Obama’s henchman only serve one purpose, they will force the angry conservatives to swallow their pride and back McCain. The current strategy to besmirch McCain’s military record only accomplishes one thing – it points out that Obama has zero experience. It is hard to fathom the strategy of attacking a war and senate record when you lack even that. Obama has no national service. He has no national accomplishments. He seems to think that simply because he is Obama, than he deserves this office. The constant smear of McCain only reinforces the utter lack of gravitas and experience of Obama and certainly calls to attention his feeling towards the Military and their sacrifices. America deserves better than Obama.